Punish him...or reward them?

One reader of "Calling all voters" told me that she agrees completely about not donating any money for election campaigns. "It is absolutely unnecessary." Most American voters can read and have the ability to obtain reliable information about the candidates and the issues. They don't need to watch or read political advertisements.
    But my friend doesn't agree about what to do on Election Day. (I had written, "Follow Nike's advice and just go out and vote.")
    After losing the elections of 2000 and 2004 (my friend voted for Gore and Kerry), she was made hopeful in 2008 by "Obama's great plans and ideas."
    But midway through 2012 she is bitterly disappointed. "Obama has not delivered anything he promised." She says that she is "not going to waste my time to vote this year."
    Bitter disappointment is a poignant, personal reason not to vote, and my friend is not the only one who could use that excuse for shunning the poles in November.

But not voting for that reason is equivalent to punishing President Obama without taking the Republican party's deliberate roadblocking into consideration.
    The Republicans' oft-expressed Number One Goal has been (and continues to be) to put Obama down and make sure he can't be re-elected. If my friend doesn't vote, she will be rewarding Congressional Republicans more than she will be punishing President Obama.
    But I have faith in my friend. I'm sure that she'll see the illogic of her intention not to vote and will show up at the polls on Tuesday, November 6, hoping to give the President another chance (and the Republicans fewer members of congress). And helping to give the nation another chance.
    I hope that everyone else suffering disappointment over our government's frustrating stalemate (and I'm one of them) will not reward the obstructionist party in November by refusing to vote for anybody at all.
    To do that would not be the first step in taking our country back.

The how-many-miles? hour

A report on Facebook recently, of a 41-minute, 49-second 4.0 mile run by my cousin Sara in Arkansas, inspired me to see how far I could walk in a mile. I guessed I might still be able to do 4.5 miles and wanted to test it. I'd walked 2.4 miles or so (I didn't record it) in 40 minutes yesterday on an elliptical machine at the local fitness center, knowing that I could do significantly more than that on "the open road."
    But how much more?
    On my wife's recommendation, I'd recently installed RunKeeper on my Droid. So, of course, I'd let it keep track of the time and the distance.
    So, at 7:26 a.m. today I set out. I hadn't turned on RunKeeper's audio commentary, so, as I approached home, after walking for what seemed almost an hour, I took out my Droid, turned it on, and entered the pin number, trying not to slow down. Fifty-two minutes and something.
     I continued past my house a couple of blocks and circled back. It was 58 minutes the next time I checked, and I held the Droid to be able to stop RunKeeper at precisely 1:00:01 hour.
    Four-point-16 miles. One-third mile less than the 4.5-mile target.
    Not too bad for an old guy.
    And I might be able to improve that some with practice.
    I could gain a couple of hundredths of a mile by turning on RunKeeper's audio....

Little cousin

[Click to see the beauty better]

I almost put my hand on the tiny frog posing next to the garbage bin handle this morning, a tiny frog whose glorious beauty shines through even a quick cell-phone photo. Could any more frog beauty be revealed through editing (or from a photo taken in RAW with a DSLR, or from one taken with my Zeiss Ikon Contaflex on silver halide film)?
    Yes, no doubt.
    But this morning—now—the beauty already evident (it's in our minds, after all, isn't it, the mind's eye of our beholding?) is enough, and more.
    We share this planet, little guy (or gal).
    We're even related, unimaginably way back in time—about three hundred and forty million years back in time (340,000 millennia!), if I understand Richard Dawkins right from reading his 2004 book, The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution (see the chapter "Amphibians," beginning on p. 293).

Hawk calls

The hawk was about 250 feet away
[Click to enlarge]

I had some excitement yesterday clicking the shutter continually as fast as my Coolpix would allow (approximately every two seconds). At any moment I knew the hawk (it might have been a Cooper's Hawk, or Chicken Hawk) might spot prey and swoop off the limb...and the camera might record it!
    Unfortunately, about a half-second after the sixtieth click or so, the hawk flew off—and so was a good way toward its prey by the time I could have clicked again. Actually, I did click again...but the camera recorded an empty limb. My disappointment was heightened by the treasured mental image of the hawk's coming toward me in the first split second after take-off

Calling all voters

A comment about voter apathy on yesterday's post made me realize that my apathy toward making a donation to the political party I'm registered with might be interpreted as indicating that I'm also apathetic toward voting. I am not. I vote regularly and am proud of it, however frustrating it is to "lose." (I haven't kept a tally, but I suppose that I lose roughly half the time, which would be consistent with the typical motion of the pendulum back and forth between progressive and conservative, Democratic and Republican, in the United States.)
    The comment on yesterday's post cited low voter turnout. Almost as many eligible voters don't vote as do, sometimes more (especially in mid-term elections).
    Why doesn't everyone vote?
    Who knows for sure.
    Rather than focus on the reasons why not, I'd like to provide a reason why everyone should vote. My hope is that at least a few eligible voters who otherwise probably wouldn't vote in the next election will vote as a result of considering what I have to say:

First, money. Don't waste yours. Refuse to donate to political campaigns. Neither you nor I can buy anything politically. (I assume that no millionaires or billionaires are reading this.) We little people all have better uses for our money.
    If we take all of our money out of the campaign wars, the only money that will remain will be that of the rich people who almost own the country already anyway. Let them waste their money. We can at least get a chuckle out of that, and some satisfaction that we're shepherding our money better than they're shepherding theirs.

Second, the campaigns. Ignore them. Don't watch the advertising the aforementioned rich are paying for. That will add significantly to your sense of satisfaction. The joke will be on them. Bigger chuckle for you.

Third, the ballot. Using as good sources of information as you can (not the advertising) and consulting your own values, make a list of the candidates and the measures that you would like to see elected or passed. Some of the choices may be close; if so, study a little harder.

Fourth, election day. Follow Nike's advice and just go out and vote. Take your list with you. Ignore the "vote for" signs that are posted at least fifty feet away from the polls. Ignore the leaflets being thrust toward you as you approach the entrance.
    Vote early, get it over with. Take something to read, a Sudoku, a crossword puzzle, something to pass the time if you have to stand in line a while.  Don't think of the time as wasted (see number five).
    Then go about your life as usual.

Fifth, next day. Look at the election results. Enjoy knowing that because you and every other voter in America (who wasn't unavoidably detained) went to the polls yesterday and cast your informed votes (without being at all influenced by political advertising) the people have finally taken their country back.
    The joke on those who bought the advertising will be the biggest possible. Don't split your sides laughing. Don't let your satisfaction slip into smugness.
     Just be justifiably proud.

Wow! Doesn't that feel great!
    It's the revolution.
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[Follow-up]

Getting to know the devil

I completed one of those political questionnaires yesterday that, besides seeking numbers to rank election issues, seeks to gauge how likely it is that you might donate money to the party. To a direct question whether I'll donate, I checked the "no" box and found myself explaining, "I don't have money to waste on stupid political money wars."
    And I was thinking, The one percent who are in a position to outspend me (and everyone else I know combined) already own most of the country anyway. Political campaigns anymore seem designed to make the poor poorer and the rich richer. I just don't care to participate in it.

Apropos that thought, a friend told me recently that he and his wife are moving to Costa Rica:

Costa Rica is like it was here in the 50s, only we still have all the goodies. The temp is 72 to 83 during the day and in the lower 60s at night. Spring year round. We can live there, for $1.500 a month. That includes everything.
    If the Dems lose big this year, you can kiss Medicare as we know it good-bye. Unlike the US, Costa Rica has in their Constitution that healthcare is a human right. Can you see the wonderful people of the good old USA agreeing with that?
    We may get down there and after a year hate it; but what the hell, we're not going to live forever and everybody needs one last great adventure.

    I told him that I would never do anything like that myself. But the only reason I could give him was, Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.
    And I'm not even sure what that means.

Interestingly, when my wife and I were in Bulgaria last year, I found myself remarking, What if we retired here? (As you know, I often just find myself doing things, and more and more often, after reading Sam Harris's book Free Will, wonder why. In this case, I think I was just being whimsical.)
    However, out of curiosity, my wife checked into whether we could even collect our United States social security checks if we lived in Bulgaria. She found out we couldn't.
    I'm pretty sure my friend will be able to receive his social security checks in Costa Rica. I tried to confirm this by googling "in what countries can americans collect social security." The second link listed took me to a Social Security website that provided the following general information:

If you are a United States citizen, you may receive your Social Security benefits outside the United States as long as you are eligible for them. Regardless of your citizenship, there are certain countries that we are not allowed to send payments. For more information, please see the section titled Countries To Which We Cannot Send Payments in Your Payments While You Are Outside The United States (Publication No. 05-10137).
    If you are planning to be outside the United States for six consecutive calendar months or more, you can find out if you can receive your Social Security payment by using the Payments Abroad Screening Tool.

Costa Rica seems to be okay.
    Hmm, healthcare in its Constitution, eh? And what season was that year round?
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[Follow-up]

Dahlia delights

[Click to enlarge]

I took the photograph of my wife's Dahlia on June 7 with a Nikon D60. The original JPEG is shown to the right.
    After darkening the midtones in Photoshop's levels adjustments (an option I'm grateful to Ken Marks for suggesting in order to emphasize the flower over its surroundings), I tried some "artistic" filter effects and selected the ones that appealed to me.

Good rebounding

We returned to Karma on Third this morning for a second try at an orange lavender scone.
    "Not a scone," the barista told us.
    That explained its unusual shape.
    "It's a shortbread cookie, with orange and lavender. There's one left."
    We enjoyed it with his excellent coffee, and my wife joked that it was no wonder Siegfried had helped himself yesterday. A joke because Siegfried's game for anything he considers food. (He'd eaten the wax paper the "scone" was wrapped in as well.)
    May doing good indeed rebound for Karma on Third—its proprietor didn't charge us for the cookie. Thank you, Lorna.

'Sgone, 'sgone, 'sgone

The local newspaper yesterday morning announced the opening of a new restaurant in Mebane (Karma on Third), including the information that it opened at 7 a.m. every day except Monday, when it opened at 5:45.
    My wife and I went there for lunch later. The proprietor and a couple of her friends welcomed us. They were the only ones there.
    "Oh," the proprietor said, "I'm so sorry. We're closed."
    We told her about the newspaper article, and she admitted that we were not the first who'd come by that day thinking they opened extra early, rather than at 5:45 p.m.
    I told her that at least I had learned the answer to my question why they open earlier on Monday—I'd misread the newspaper, which, in fairness, had given Monday's time as "5:45 to 8 p.m. Monday."
     She apologized again and, for our trouble, she gave us an unusual scone. It was shaped like a cut, triangular piece of tart. Orange and lavender she said it was. Sounded interesting.
     We went down the street to another restaurant for lunch and on the way home, we agreed that I'd make coffee when we got home and we'd drink it with the orange and lavender scone.
     I put the water on to heat and set the scone and two dessert forks on the dining table, before going to the bedroom for something.
     I was in the bathroom when my wife called from somewhere in the house, "Where did you set the scone?"
     "It's on the table in the dining room," I yelled.
     "No," she said, "I'm afraid not."
     I don't suppose that Siegfried felt sad about depriving us of a taste of the scone. But he may have felt a bit of an upset stomach?
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[Follow-up]

The wind behind you

The image of Willard Bond's oil painting, "Running Home," featured in his New York Times obituary yesterday ("Willard Bond, Vivid Artist of Yachting, Dies at 85"), is so striking, my first thought was, Why had I never heard of this painter?—especially given that my daughter and her husband are boating enthusiasts, even competing together in the 2010 Pacific Cup sailboat race from San Francisco to Kaneohe, Hawaii.
    The obituary says that J. Russell Jinishian wrote in his 2003 book, Bound for Blue Water:

Crews scramble, sails drop and raise in a flurry of activity. The tension is high, adrenaline pumps, orders are yelled, spray flies, seas and heads pound, your whole world spins as you are unconscious of everything else around you. If you want to know what it is like to be in the heat of a yacht race, just look at a painting by Willard Bond.

From the examples provided in the obiturary, I can believe the concluding sentence.
    I must add two caveats, however: Only two examples are given in the obituary¹, and author Jinishian has a financial interest in Bond's work—seeing as how he is an art dealer and profits from selling Bond's paintings.
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1. You will see dozens more images at Google's finding for "Images for Willard Bond."

More day colors of Lily

These photos were taken last Thursday. I don't know how I managed not to take any photos of my wife's yellow Day Lilies (one word on Wikipedia, which see for more photos).
    If retirement offers me nothing else of interest to do today (ha!), then I'll stalk the yellows. (But note that the four below all have significant yellow in their pallette.)

x

The color purple

My wife might have said, "See the purple feast,
Look how the colors intertwine—
The Calla Lily's white goblet sheath,
Purpled from serving communion wine,
The Astilbe, the bouquet that the priest
Dropped in the vat entering the shrine."

Oh, all right, I'll ruffle mine too

I dearly love the gentle Carolina Pigeons (Mourning Doves) who visit our yard. Yesterday, shortly after noon, this pair sat together on the top edge of a fence plank for about ten minutes, while I pressed and pressed and pressed the shutter cable release.

I even made a movie (although I need to practice the wobble out of my technique).

Two's company, three's a crowd?

Uncropped (click to enlarge)

My third subjects on Wednesday were these three crows (I think they're crows). The sun was beyond them relative to the camera, but the resulting silhouette effect is interesting. With my modest Nikon ED50 fieldscope, lighting would have to be "perfect" for me to get a stunning result at the distance (about 500 feet).

_____________
"Two is company, three's a crowd."

First digiscopes of retirement

Uncropped (click to enlarge)

Ironically, having learned from Sam Harris that my free will is only an illusion, I was finally able within a few days of reading his book (Free Will) to get my act together and set up my digiscoping equipment for some bird photographs. My first subject was an obliging Mockingbird, who sat on a bird-feeder pole for as long as I needed for several dozen photos, from which I selected these eleven.

I'm grateful to Mr. Harris for providing ideas that, when added to the potpourri of ideas already ensconced in my synapses, led to my finally doing the first digiscoping of my retirement from UNC. However bereft we may be of actual free will, our lives can continue to provide the illusion that we have it so long as we continue to let new ideas into our heads.