Am I the only one who wonders why a television commercial might try to convince me to buy a particular television set by showing me the wonderful picture it produces?
I mean, I can see why advertisers might want to show me a photograph of a new car that makes my older car look like junk but they show this new television set with the great picture and I see it on my older, substandard television set. I assume I’m supposed to notice a difference.
When I see this I do think it looks pretty good but since I can already see it without buying anything, I keep what I have.
Usually.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
October 26, 2008
10/26/2008
10/23/2008
I JUST MISS MEETING STEVE HORVATH
I still have many memories of World War II. Sometimes it's difficult for me to get my mind around the fact that there are people, now in their 60s, who weren't even born until after that war was finished. Some of the memories I have are quite vivid and though I'm sure I’ve forgotten much, every once in a while something comes along that brings back a memory.
One such thing happened recently. It made me remember 1945 when I was in the United States Navy training to be a pilot and stationed at Pensacola, Florida. It was near the end of the war and also near the end of my training. The program at Pensacola was scheduled to be three months long with classes every morning and flying every afternoon. The problem was the weather was uncooperative. It seems that in the summer there are thunder storms almost every afternoon. This meant that three months had passed and all classroom work was finished but much of the flying had been canceled. Since there were no more classes we were free for the morning except we were required to have some sort of Physical Training for one hour every morning. A group of us organized a softball game and each morning we would sign in and play a game. I played shortstop and a man named Steve Horvath played next to me at third base.
Now Steve was an excellent athlete and taught me many things about playing my position. I still remember some of the things I learned from him. One that comes to mind is, "Any ball that the third baseman can reach is his to play." Some years later when I was in college I played third base and I could hear Steve's words every time a ground ball came in my general direction.
When we left the Navy we lost track of each other. Steve returned to his home in Michigan and I went to mine in Massachusetts. I never knew what happened to Steve though I thought about him often. The other day I was reading our local newspaper and doing as I usually do, scanning the obituaries. (I have no real reason for doing this, as I know very few people living in this area.) Imagine my surprise when I saw Steve Horvath's picture and a brief biography so that I knew it was the same Steve Horvath. Here for the last six years I've been living just a few miles away from Steve and never knew it. I may have even passed him in the market for all I know.
I suppose there's some kind of a lesson here but I'm not exactly sure what it is. In the past I've made attempts to track down old friends and, except for one, found they had passed away. One friend had died just one week before I called. I guess the lesson to me is that we are all going to go someday so it's best that we try to enjoy every hour of every day. I do that except for that hour that seems to devote itself to nothing but political rhetoric.
Thanks Steve, it certainly was a pleasure knowing you.
The Old Professor
Carmel California
October 10, 2008
One such thing happened recently. It made me remember 1945 when I was in the United States Navy training to be a pilot and stationed at Pensacola, Florida. It was near the end of the war and also near the end of my training. The program at Pensacola was scheduled to be three months long with classes every morning and flying every afternoon. The problem was the weather was uncooperative. It seems that in the summer there are thunder storms almost every afternoon. This meant that three months had passed and all classroom work was finished but much of the flying had been canceled. Since there were no more classes we were free for the morning except we were required to have some sort of Physical Training for one hour every morning. A group of us organized a softball game and each morning we would sign in and play a game. I played shortstop and a man named Steve Horvath played next to me at third base.
Now Steve was an excellent athlete and taught me many things about playing my position. I still remember some of the things I learned from him. One that comes to mind is, "Any ball that the third baseman can reach is his to play." Some years later when I was in college I played third base and I could hear Steve's words every time a ground ball came in my general direction.
When we left the Navy we lost track of each other. Steve returned to his home in Michigan and I went to mine in Massachusetts. I never knew what happened to Steve though I thought about him often. The other day I was reading our local newspaper and doing as I usually do, scanning the obituaries. (I have no real reason for doing this, as I know very few people living in this area.) Imagine my surprise when I saw Steve Horvath's picture and a brief biography so that I knew it was the same Steve Horvath. Here for the last six years I've been living just a few miles away from Steve and never knew it. I may have even passed him in the market for all I know.
I suppose there's some kind of a lesson here but I'm not exactly sure what it is. In the past I've made attempts to track down old friends and, except for one, found they had passed away. One friend had died just one week before I called. I guess the lesson to me is that we are all going to go someday so it's best that we try to enjoy every hour of every day. I do that except for that hour that seems to devote itself to nothing but political rhetoric.
Thanks Steve, it certainly was a pleasure knowing you.
The Old Professor
Carmel California
October 10, 2008
10/16/2008
STRANGE NOISES
Today I had an unusual experience; not that being unusual is exactly a rare occurrence here. I needed to go to an office and that required my parking the car some distance away and walking to the office building on a nice clean, cement sidewalk. As I was walking along I noticed a strange sound coming from my shoes. Since I had never heard this before I wondered what was causing it. So I paused and flexed each shoe but couldn't seem to duplicate the sound. I concluded that it must only happen when I was walking. So I proceeded to walk but every once in a while I would skip. That is, sort of hop on one foot and then the other. Again, I couldn't seem to duplicate the sound.
So I was still rather puzzled as I approached the building with the big glass doors. Then I saw my reflection. There was a lady walking behind me and she was wearing high heels.
Obviously I had found the source of the sound. I held the door open for the lady but noticed she kind of slid in staying as far away from me as possible.
I'm not sure that I blame her for that.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
October 16, 2008
So I was still rather puzzled as I approached the building with the big glass doors. Then I saw my reflection. There was a lady walking behind me and she was wearing high heels.
Obviously I had found the source of the sound. I held the door open for the lady but noticed she kind of slid in staying as far away from me as possible.
I'm not sure that I blame her for that.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
October 16, 2008
10/14/2008
CAREER DECISIONS
I read in the news that some banks are in trouble due to bad investments of one kind or another and in order to keep them banks running, the United States government is stepping up to provide some of them with money. Lots of money.
This reminds me that many years ago I decided I wanted to be a teacher. (It wasn’t until much later that I changed that to “educator”.) In my long career in education there were many times I discovered I had made some poor financial decisions and I ended up owing more money than was coming in. Whenever that happened, and it did several times, I went out and got an extra job to cover the mistakes I had made. It never even occurred to me to ask the government to bail me out.
I should have been a bank.
In addition to making some poor decisions I was the victim of a less than complete education my college provided me. I first learned there was an “unpaid vacation” every summer when I went to my first teaching job. So, for many years I went to work in industry every summer.
I should have been a bank.
It shouldn’t be that hard for a bank to balance their finances. It’s a matter of working more hours. “Banker’s hours” has come to be an accepted term in the language. I wonder why they don’t work longer or work harder to avoid finding themselves in financial difficulties.
I should have been a bank.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
October 14, 2008
This reminds me that many years ago I decided I wanted to be a teacher. (It wasn’t until much later that I changed that to “educator”.) In my long career in education there were many times I discovered I had made some poor financial decisions and I ended up owing more money than was coming in. Whenever that happened, and it did several times, I went out and got an extra job to cover the mistakes I had made. It never even occurred to me to ask the government to bail me out.
I should have been a bank.
In addition to making some poor decisions I was the victim of a less than complete education my college provided me. I first learned there was an “unpaid vacation” every summer when I went to my first teaching job. So, for many years I went to work in industry every summer.
I should have been a bank.
It shouldn’t be that hard for a bank to balance their finances. It’s a matter of working more hours. “Banker’s hours” has come to be an accepted term in the language. I wonder why they don’t work longer or work harder to avoid finding themselves in financial difficulties.
I should have been a bank.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
October 14, 2008
10/13/2008
SOME DAYS YOU GET LUCKY
I had a very interesting adventure the other day. It was Friday just a little before six o'clock. I remember the time exactly because I had needed to go to the bank and, as the bank stays open until six o'clock on Fridays, I just made it. I had managed to get my business done and was on the way home driving on a very busy 4-lane highway. That's two lanes each way. I was in the slow lane which I was to learn is referred to as the number one lane and I was going about 35, possibly 40 mph which might have been a little slower than most of the other people were driving. Because it was six o'clock or so most of them were probably anxious to get home.
As I approached a street on my right I saw a black car trying to get into traffic to go in the opposite direction from what I was traveling. That meant he would have to cross two lanes and turn left. I could see his head turning left and right and I think he finally saw an opening and made a dash for. The only problem was he apparently didn't see me. When I saw him inching out I eased over one lane. Just before I got in front of him he made his dash for it and ran right into the passenger side of my car knocking me and my little Prius into the very busy oncoming lane. I managed to control the car and drove off the road facing traffic but I was very, very lucky that none of the oncoming cars hit me.
I sat there for a few minutes just composing myself. I thought I had seen a black car hit me and then drive off. But I noticed there was a tan car parked on the road behind me. So I eventually got out of the car and walked some 50 feet to that car. There was a lady sitting in the car, she rolled on the window and I asked, "Are you the person who hit me?"
"Hell no. I was a witness and I just called 911 for you. I saw the car was a black BMW S. but I didn't get the license number. He hit you and took off."
So, we waited for some enforcement officers to appear and it turned out we waited more than an hour and she stayed with me the whole time. What a wonderful lady.
I decided to walk back to my car and see what kind of damage had been done to the car. As I was walking along I heard a strange clacking sound in the middle of the road and, lo and behold, there was the front license plate from the missing hit-and-run driver. As I walked back toward the lady I said, "Some days you just get lucky."
Eventually all of the paperwork was finished and luckily the car was still drivable. It wasn't until I got home that I had time to think of the experience and realized the few seconds I was in the wrong lanes, facing cars bearing down on me were probably the most terrifying times of my life.
However, as they say, all is well that ends well. I was lucky in that the passenger side seat was empty and I do have insurance to cover the damage.
I imagine there is some guy who managed, or thought he managed, to get safely home after he had hit someone. I'm getting a great deal of pleasure out of imagining his surprise when the police arrive at his door and ask if he lost his license plate. I wonder if they will arrest him for leaving the scene of an accident. That’s a crime.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
October 13, 2008
PS My car should be back in a week or so and there is an estimated $3,100.00 damage.
As I approached a street on my right I saw a black car trying to get into traffic to go in the opposite direction from what I was traveling. That meant he would have to cross two lanes and turn left. I could see his head turning left and right and I think he finally saw an opening and made a dash for. The only problem was he apparently didn't see me. When I saw him inching out I eased over one lane. Just before I got in front of him he made his dash for it and ran right into the passenger side of my car knocking me and my little Prius into the very busy oncoming lane. I managed to control the car and drove off the road facing traffic but I was very, very lucky that none of the oncoming cars hit me.
I sat there for a few minutes just composing myself. I thought I had seen a black car hit me and then drive off. But I noticed there was a tan car parked on the road behind me. So I eventually got out of the car and walked some 50 feet to that car. There was a lady sitting in the car, she rolled on the window and I asked, "Are you the person who hit me?"
"Hell no. I was a witness and I just called 911 for you. I saw the car was a black BMW S. but I didn't get the license number. He hit you and took off."
So, we waited for some enforcement officers to appear and it turned out we waited more than an hour and she stayed with me the whole time. What a wonderful lady.
I decided to walk back to my car and see what kind of damage had been done to the car. As I was walking along I heard a strange clacking sound in the middle of the road and, lo and behold, there was the front license plate from the missing hit-and-run driver. As I walked back toward the lady I said, "Some days you just get lucky."
Eventually all of the paperwork was finished and luckily the car was still drivable. It wasn't until I got home that I had time to think of the experience and realized the few seconds I was in the wrong lanes, facing cars bearing down on me were probably the most terrifying times of my life.
However, as they say, all is well that ends well. I was lucky in that the passenger side seat was empty and I do have insurance to cover the damage.
I imagine there is some guy who managed, or thought he managed, to get safely home after he had hit someone. I'm getting a great deal of pleasure out of imagining his surprise when the police arrive at his door and ask if he lost his license plate. I wonder if they will arrest him for leaving the scene of an accident. That’s a crime.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
October 13, 2008
PS My car should be back in a week or so and there is an estimated $3,100.00 damage.
10/05/2008
AT LAST, MAYBE
A few days ago the famous American football player and sometimes actor, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of kidnapping and armed robbery. It is almost a certainty that he will be spending many years in prison. In a way, for O.J. Simpson this might be considered a plus because 13 years ago, when he was acquitted of the brutal slaying of his ex-wife and her friend, he made a pledge. He vowed to spend the rest of his life trying to find the real killer.
Since then I have seen him and read reports of him searching on many golf courses and in casinos, nightclubs and restaurants. It's rather obvious he has been unable to find the real killer so there is a real possibility he may be successful and finally locate him in prison because that's where many murderers are. There is even a chance he might share a cell with the real killer.
The Old Professor
Carmel California
September 5, 2008
Since then I have seen him and read reports of him searching on many golf courses and in casinos, nightclubs and restaurants. It's rather obvious he has been unable to find the real killer so there is a real possibility he may be successful and finally locate him in prison because that's where many murderers are. There is even a chance he might share a cell with the real killer.
The Old Professor
Carmel California
September 5, 2008
9/30/2008
I GET SNUBBED
A few people may remember a short time ago I used this blog to announce to the world that I had won the writing contest sponsored by the local newspaper. I am proud to say that I not only won first prize but also an honorable mention, a feat accomplished by very few authors. If you would like to look at these prizewinners you can still click here for the first prize. Click this one for the honorable mention.
Keeping these prestigious awards in mind you can imagine my chagrin when I learned there was to be a Carmel Writers & Ideas Festival featuring 35 well-known authors and I was not one of them. At first I couldn't believe it because the population of Carmel is not that large and the number of authors, particularly prize-winning authors, who live here couldn't be that many.
It wasn't so much that I wanted to be recognized, I can do that right here. However, I noticed The Festival ran for three days and the cost of attending this started at $515. I checked the website at http://www.carmelauthors.com and found the $515 tickets were for the cheap seats and that the 2008 Festival was sold out. If I had been invited to attend I would have been honored and probably be able to whip up something to present that might be worth a small honorarium, say $35 or so. But alas, no one even contacted me.
I probably shouldn't have made that last statement. Our phone was out of order for half a day recently and probably that's the time they called me. Oh well, there's always next year, though considering I'm bearing down on my 86th birthday, they had better hurry.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
September 30, 2008
Keeping these prestigious awards in mind you can imagine my chagrin when I learned there was to be a Carmel Writers & Ideas Festival featuring 35 well-known authors and I was not one of them. At first I couldn't believe it because the population of Carmel is not that large and the number of authors, particularly prize-winning authors, who live here couldn't be that many.
It wasn't so much that I wanted to be recognized, I can do that right here. However, I noticed The Festival ran for three days and the cost of attending this started at $515. I checked the website at http://www.carmelauthors.com and found the $515 tickets were for the cheap seats and that the 2008 Festival was sold out. If I had been invited to attend I would have been honored and probably be able to whip up something to present that might be worth a small honorarium, say $35 or so. But alas, no one even contacted me.
I probably shouldn't have made that last statement. Our phone was out of order for half a day recently and probably that's the time they called me. Oh well, there's always next year, though considering I'm bearing down on my 86th birthday, they had better hurry.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
September 30, 2008
9/28/2008
1 plus 1 equals 2
It seems to me that I often hear someone say, “I never was good at math.” I never really understood this. Math is not a gift or something you are born with like freckles. The thought that some people are born with the ability to eventually solve quadratic equations is, to my mind, ridiculous. It’s a skill one develops more like walking than anything else. You start out with very simple steps and eventually you are able to appear on Dancing With The Stars.
And just like walking, math starts out easy. When I hear someone contend they “never could do math” I might ask what part gave them trouble. “Was it one plus one?” If that concept was grasped then “How about 2 plus 2?” If this approach was carried to ridiculous lengths one might find there was one simple step that was missed. Since that brick is missing from the building it obviously can’t be built much higher.
So, all the INWGAM (I Never Was Good At Math) people it is possible to go back, put that brick in place and go from there. You will find, as I have, that having some math skills comes in handy in unexpected places. The other day I ran across a Life Expectancy Table and was able to use my math skills to determine I was exactly half way.
I will admit to using a calculator here but I subtracted the year I was born from this year and converted that to weeks by multiplying it by 2,548 because there are 7 days in a week and 52 weeks in a year. I then divided this by 12 because there are 12 months in a year and subtracted 4 times the usual days in February to allow for Leap Year. The answer came out to be almost exactly half of what my life expectancy is.
If I were one of those INWGAM people I never would have known this. Now I can get on with the second half of my life. It should be fun.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
September 28, 2008
And just like walking, math starts out easy. When I hear someone contend they “never could do math” I might ask what part gave them trouble. “Was it one plus one?” If that concept was grasped then “How about 2 plus 2?” If this approach was carried to ridiculous lengths one might find there was one simple step that was missed. Since that brick is missing from the building it obviously can’t be built much higher.
So, all the INWGAM (I Never Was Good At Math) people it is possible to go back, put that brick in place and go from there. You will find, as I have, that having some math skills comes in handy in unexpected places. The other day I ran across a Life Expectancy Table and was able to use my math skills to determine I was exactly half way.
I will admit to using a calculator here but I subtracted the year I was born from this year and converted that to weeks by multiplying it by 2,548 because there are 7 days in a week and 52 weeks in a year. I then divided this by 12 because there are 12 months in a year and subtracted 4 times the usual days in February to allow for Leap Year. The answer came out to be almost exactly half of what my life expectancy is.
If I were one of those INWGAM people I never would have known this. Now I can get on with the second half of my life. It should be fun.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
September 28, 2008
9/26/2008
AN ACT OF KINDNESS
This is a true story I don't tell very often because it involves a very unhappy time of my life but there is one bright spot in it that some people might find helpful.
I was 27 years old at the time. I had a marriage that was painfully crashing and I had no idea how to fix it. I was working two full-time jobs and for the first time in my life I was living completely on my own in a small room at the YMCA, which was all I could afford.
The YMCA building had a basement and in this basement there was a lunch counter. I think they sold sandwiches and such but the only contact I had with it was at breakfast. The first time I went there I realized I didn't really know what the proper procedure was for ordering something. I noticed a row of small boxes of cereal on a shelf and there were some bananas I could see. When the lady behind the counter inquired as to what I wanted I told her I would like a box of cereal and a banana. She proceeded to get a bowl, open the box and pour the cereal in it. She then picked up a banana, and this is the part that surprised me. She peeled the banana and sliced it into the cereal. She then handed it to me with a small carton of milk and the appropriate silverware and a smile. Being inexperienced I had no way of knowing if this was the way it was done or I even thought she might be doing this especially for me because in some way she recognized the pain I was going through.
That was almost 60 years ago and even to today I think of that kind lady every single time I slice a banana. I almost always wish there were some way that I could thank her personally. Of course, I can't because she was much older than I was then and there aren't that many people who are much older than I am and still around.
I think my point is this: It's possible that every one of us might be in a position to administer some little act of kindness to some person we don't even know and that act will be remembered and appreciated by that person for many, many years.
So let's do it! It probably won't cost much and certainly can't hurt.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
September 26, 2008
I was 27 years old at the time. I had a marriage that was painfully crashing and I had no idea how to fix it. I was working two full-time jobs and for the first time in my life I was living completely on my own in a small room at the YMCA, which was all I could afford.
The YMCA building had a basement and in this basement there was a lunch counter. I think they sold sandwiches and such but the only contact I had with it was at breakfast. The first time I went there I realized I didn't really know what the proper procedure was for ordering something. I noticed a row of small boxes of cereal on a shelf and there were some bananas I could see. When the lady behind the counter inquired as to what I wanted I told her I would like a box of cereal and a banana. She proceeded to get a bowl, open the box and pour the cereal in it. She then picked up a banana, and this is the part that surprised me. She peeled the banana and sliced it into the cereal. She then handed it to me with a small carton of milk and the appropriate silverware and a smile. Being inexperienced I had no way of knowing if this was the way it was done or I even thought she might be doing this especially for me because in some way she recognized the pain I was going through.
That was almost 60 years ago and even to today I think of that kind lady every single time I slice a banana. I almost always wish there were some way that I could thank her personally. Of course, I can't because she was much older than I was then and there aren't that many people who are much older than I am and still around.
I think my point is this: It's possible that every one of us might be in a position to administer some little act of kindness to some person we don't even know and that act will be remembered and appreciated by that person for many, many years.
So let's do it! It probably won't cost much and certainly can't hurt.
The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
September 26, 2008
9/18/2008
AN ELECTION IDEA
Most people who have read my blogs know there is very little serious material here. I hope it's been noted that I especially avoid discussing political subjects. However, this time I'm going to make an exception.
As most people in the United States realize, there is an election coming up in November that will select a new president. We have been constantly bombarded with politicians explaining to us why we should vote for them. There's only one problem and that's a big problem. They all tell lies! For some reason they are all afraid to admit there is anything they can't do even though the United States Constitution forbids a president making decisions without involving Congress.
Wouldn't it be refreshing to have a candidate who told the truth? For example, if he were to be asked, "What will you do about global warming?" and the candidate responded with, "I don't know because I am not an expert on global warming but if I'm elected I will find the best people on earth to advise me about global warming."
"Well, Mr. Candidate, what will you do about health care?"
"I don't have a clue at this time but there are many people who do and I shall consult them."
Just suppose that some candidate did that during the whole election process. Wouldn't it be more honest? Personally I would rather see a new president who is intelligent enough to seek out answers to problems instead of one who seems to know all the answers to problems without anywhere near sufficient knowledge to make a wise decision.
Wouldn't it be smart to vote for someone like that? I know when John F. Kennedy was elected president he promised to put a man on the moon within 10 years. He had no idea at all how that would be done but he knew how to get the project started and, as it turned out, many people did know.
The Old Professor
Carmel CA
September 9, 2008
As most people in the United States realize, there is an election coming up in November that will select a new president. We have been constantly bombarded with politicians explaining to us why we should vote for them. There's only one problem and that's a big problem. They all tell lies! For some reason they are all afraid to admit there is anything they can't do even though the United States Constitution forbids a president making decisions without involving Congress.
Wouldn't it be refreshing to have a candidate who told the truth? For example, if he were to be asked, "What will you do about global warming?" and the candidate responded with, "I don't know because I am not an expert on global warming but if I'm elected I will find the best people on earth to advise me about global warming."
"Well, Mr. Candidate, what will you do about health care?"
"I don't have a clue at this time but there are many people who do and I shall consult them."
Just suppose that some candidate did that during the whole election process. Wouldn't it be more honest? Personally I would rather see a new president who is intelligent enough to seek out answers to problems instead of one who seems to know all the answers to problems without anywhere near sufficient knowledge to make a wise decision.
Wouldn't it be smart to vote for someone like that? I know when John F. Kennedy was elected president he promised to put a man on the moon within 10 years. He had no idea at all how that would be done but he knew how to get the project started and, as it turned out, many people did know.
The Old Professor
Carmel CA
September 9, 2008
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