Weekend Update - 4th of July
So much happened and where to begin gentle readers?
I think it will be easier if I just go chronologically. I should avoid missing any key steps along the “yellow brick road.”
Oh, the drama.
Oh, the humanity of it all.
Oh, the female blond college dummy from Boston.
It was a near tragedy of monumental and epic proportions. The female blond college dummy from Boston was wailing on her cell phone, in a voice that was way too loud so that even I could hear her, with my bad hearing, whether I wanted to or not.
I was at the airport to pick up the Princess who was flying in from Atlanta.
She was telling the person on the other end of the phone connection that the flight numbers were all wrong and the times were all wrong. She was moaning about the fact that she would never be able to pick up her party who was coming in from Atlanta. She was decrying the incompetence of Delta Airlines.
I think she was actually on the edge of a panic attack.
And, she was spoiling my contemplation of the passing parade of people waiting for their arrivals with her pathetic compliants.
I got up from my comfy as possible airport terminal waiting area furniture and pointed out to Bambi the Bimbo that she was reading the Departure Schedule instead of the Arrival Schedule. That did make a significant difference.
Then, I sat down and returned to my contemplation of the passing parade in the terminal.
The look of shock and horror crept over her face as she came to the realization that some old fart [me, well, I have a full head of grey hair so that makes me look old] had just made a complete fool of her. I think she also realized that almost everyone else, within hearing range and that was a couple dozen people, knew the old fart had made a complete fool of her.
She ended her conversation with a curt, “I’ll call you back.” She clicked her phone off and gave me the nastiest look I can recall getting in a long, long time. If her looks could kill gentle readers, your humble scribe would now be writing from the great beyond or wherever I will end up when my time comes.
I won’t say bad things about the college in Boston that she may have attended because I don’t know for certain if she went there or someone just gave her a tee-shirt from the college in Boston.
Bambi the Bimbo was waiting for a young man who was on the same flight as the Princess. While the Princess and I were waiting for her bag, I was tempted to go tell the young man how his friend had made a fool of herself.
Then, I said no, it would be wrong to do that. Besides, based on her performance that I saw, I am highly confident that she will have more than one opportunity to demonstrate her mental ability or lack thereof in the very near future for him.
The Princess also liked Daddy’s Hawaiian or Aloha shirt from Tommy Bahama. She liked it and wanted to know why I was wearing it and shorts to pick her up. I said that we are in Southern California and it is Summer and this is an appropriate style of dress
The Princess’ flight was a good one, as flights these days go. She arrived safely and so did her bag. The bag was one of the early ones out of the plane and that was a real plus because her flight was late arriving in Los Angeles. She was happy the special TSA locks, that I picked up for her, worked on her bag. Daddy, as usual, found a close in parking spot so we had a very short walk to the Pathfinder.
The Pathfinder looked great after a wash and a wax. It was clean and shiny. The Princess was happy with the way it looked. I think the full gas tank excited her even more.
The Princess and I had a great lunch by ourselves. We ate at L. A. Food Show. It is in Manhattan Beach, California and it is one of our favorite casual dining places around. We talked about a number of things and ideas so it was time very well spent.
I told the Princess about the blog comment from last night about how she and her girl friends do not take prisoners when it comes to young men. She giggled and laughed and said that was true. She is going to tell the girls when she gets to Las Vegas and her roommate Emily when she gets back to Atlanta.
My trip to the doctor on Friday morning was successful. He commented that I was loosing weight and that everything looked good. He drained about 2 cc’s of stuff from the cyst on my wrist so it looks much better now and will be almost back to normal in a couple of days. And, I got one of my prescriptions renewed so I am good to go until annual checkup in about eight months.
All in all, the weekend’s start on Friday was excellent.
I had planned to see the new Miyazawa anime, HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE, at my local sterile multi-plex. It was playing there on Thursday. It was not playing there on Saturday. I guess it got pushed out by WAR OF THE WORLDS although they allowed the dreadful REBOUND to be shown there. It made no sense to me.
Anyway, I was glad that I woke up early. This gave me time to rethink my preliminary plans for the day. I did get in some laundry, nice to have clean clothes. While I was waiting for the dry cycle to run through, I checked the newspaper for a location to see the anime.
I decided to go to the multi-plex out by where the Big Guy lives. The drive was a little longer but there was much better freeway access and less traffic. And, the really big plus, I could park my car inside for free. This is always a key feature when you have a black car and you are faced with locking it up in the bright, warm sun of the morning and afternoon.
I did not invite the Big Guy to join me because I know he is not an anime fan like I am. Besides, he had to work on his mini-treatment final for his Story Structure class.
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE is an excellent Miyazawa anime. I really enjoyed myself. I thought some of the characters came from SPIRITED AWAY, especially when Sophie is changed into an old woman.
While it is certainly enjoyable and worth seeing, I find that I like his PRINCESS MONONOKE better. The characters seem more developed and it was easier to find an emotional attachment to them.
After the anime, I drove home, stopping at the market for food to grill over the weekend. I picked up some steaks and some chicken. This will last me about two weeks or so. My selection on Saturday afternoon was on the limited side. Still, there were plenty of choices.
Since it was too early to start cooking when I got home, I went out on the balcony and sat in the sun. I smoked a cigar while I read Business Week and Fortune magazines. It was a wonderful way to relax as the day wound down.
I grilled the steaks first because that seemed like a good idea to me. I had a small steak and a baked potato with sour cream and chives and a salad of a sliced tomato with chopped red onions.
The Big Guy called me while I was eating dinner. He called to say he had sent me his mini-treatment to review for him. I went to see if I could open it, I could, and then I said I would look at it after I watched my Korean historical drama series, The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin on television. I thought he would have the commented version back by 10:00 PM or so. I told him that I would call him on Sunday and we could take about my comments.
My Korean historical drama series, The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin, reaching a climax point. Yi is getting ready for his biggest naval engagement yet. He will take on the bulk of the Japanese navy, about 400 warships and transports, in a desperate battle to turn the tide of battle against the Japanese invasion forces. His forces are outnumbered and are approaching the point of being trapped, not the best position to be in.
I expect Yi will prevail over the Japanese commander, Wakazaki. The Japanese commander is too emotional and more concerned with his standing with the Shogun back in the Home Islands than in following orders. He also lacks the necessary battle discipline necessary to win at sea.
Yi has become something of a Korean version of Admiral Lord Nelson; he has beaten the Japanese in 21 straight naval engagements. Yi wins because he has been able to fight all of the battles from the position of strength. All of his battles are ones where he crosses the “T”. His fleet is the top of the “T” where it can fire its broadsides at the single approaching lead ship of the Japanese forces.
Parenthetically, I would add the Japanese finally did learn how to cross the T. Admiral Togo, with a vastly inferior in number fleet, defeated a Russian fleet in 1905 in the Battle of Tsushima. This lead to a cease fire in the Russo-Japanese War; the peace treaty was brokered by Theodore Roosevelt and that earned him the Noble Peace Prize.
I should also point out that the Koreans carry about 12 to 14 cannons on each warship while the Japanese can only carry 2 cannons and most of the Japanese fleet is without cannon. This provides a tremendous advantage of being able to destroy your enemy before he can come in range of your ships.
Sunday is my day to sit and read the paper. Actually, I sit and read the newspaper after I get rid of the advertisements and sections that I have no interest in. That cuts the paper in about half.
The Big Guy and I spent about 40 minutes on the phone today, discussing the mini-treatment and ways to make it better. I want to think that I helped him with the project. I think I was the voice of clarity. Some of the sections were so obscure that even I missed them and I am probably one of three or four most knowledgeable people about the subject matter.
Tonight’s episode of The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin was Episode 73. The battle between Yi and Wakazaki has just started with Wakazaki falling for Yi’s opening gambit. The opening gambit is a defensive maneuver to break up the integrity of the Japanese fleet by giving them some Korean ships that are part of the attack van guard, to chase. The Japanese appear to have taken the gambit and are breaking up their formation to chase the Koreans.
The upcoming battle looks like a replay of the great Greek victory over the Persians at Salamis in 480 BC. For those of you that have not studied naval history, the situation is about the same. The Greeks were badly outnumbered, hopelessly outnumbered would have been a better term. The large Persian fleet had chased the Greeks into Salamis where they planned to smash them.
The Greeks knew the waters and had chosen the battle site with great care. The large Persian fleet could not enter the area as a group. Small groups of Persian ships could only go through the narrow entrance at a time. When the small groups of Persian ships came through the narrows, they were rammed and sunk by the Greeks, who now had a numerical superiority.
In the end, it was a total defeat for the Persians. Without their navy to protect the supply convoys, the Persian army would either starve or retreat. It retreated in bad order and was cut up all along its line of retreat.
The Japanese fleet must travel through a narrow body of water at low tide. According to tonight’s episode, the narrows are really narrows, around 400 yards or under 400 meters wide. When you allow for rocks and shoal water, the navigable gap is much less.
It would appear that the Japanese are headed for the same end as the Persians almost 2,000 year earlier. I will probably miss most of the battle next Saturday when I go celebrate Father’s Day with the Princess and the Big Guy. I will ask the Big Guy to tape it for me.
Full and fair disclosure: I do know how to program a VCR. I can even set the time. The trouble is the cable box. The cable box was manufactured by X Company and I have a product manual from Y Company. Those of you with Adelphia Cable already know that I am lucky just to have a manual.
I slept in on Monday. It felt good to stay in bed until 6:30 AM. I know that may be early or very early for some but it is late when you are used to 5:00 AM reveilles.
I did do some more writing on my dissertation today and feel very good about my progress. I know that I should be much, much further along. I think I have lacked the motivation to work harder on it. Recently, though, I have become more focused and anxious to finish it and become a Doctor of Business Administration with a concentration in Management.
This afternoon I took advantage of the sun being out and read on my balcony. I finished a book by C.K. Prahalad titled, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. It is a very fascinating book that offers a simple solution to solving the problems caused by poverty in the Third World. Surprisingly, it avoids all of the tired and failed panaceas of large scale cash donations and other failures. It also increases the likelihood that democracy will take a strong hold in countries that adopt the solution.
Obviously, the solution is unlikely to see the light of day anywhere in Africa. The solution kills off corruption and bribery with clear and transparent government. Corruption does not survive in the light of public inquiry.
I had wanted to see the 4th of July concert by the Boston Pops Orchestra tonight. I have always enjoyed their version of the “1812 Overture with cannon.” And, no orchestra does “Stars and Stripes” like the Boston Pops. Unfortunately, it will not be broadcast locally until 10:00 PM. The one hour broadcast is just too late for me to stay up for, regardless of how much I would enjoy it.
In an hour or so, I will walk down the beach and watch our local fireworks. It is not as spectacular as the Boston event. It is close and easy to get to. I can walk and there is no parking to deal with. Of course, the music will not be there but life is full of compromises anyway.
I hope you enjoyed the Independence Day weekend if you live in the United States of America. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed your weekend.
If you enjoy your freedom, be sure to thank a veteran.
Be well and stay happy.
I think it will be easier if I just go chronologically. I should avoid missing any key steps along the “yellow brick road.”
Oh, the drama.
Oh, the humanity of it all.
Oh, the female blond college dummy from Boston.
It was a near tragedy of monumental and epic proportions. The female blond college dummy from Boston was wailing on her cell phone, in a voice that was way too loud so that even I could hear her, with my bad hearing, whether I wanted to or not.
I was at the airport to pick up the Princess who was flying in from Atlanta.
She was telling the person on the other end of the phone connection that the flight numbers were all wrong and the times were all wrong. She was moaning about the fact that she would never be able to pick up her party who was coming in from Atlanta. She was decrying the incompetence of Delta Airlines.
I think she was actually on the edge of a panic attack.
And, she was spoiling my contemplation of the passing parade of people waiting for their arrivals with her pathetic compliants.
I got up from my comfy as possible airport terminal waiting area furniture and pointed out to Bambi the Bimbo that she was reading the Departure Schedule instead of the Arrival Schedule. That did make a significant difference.
Then, I sat down and returned to my contemplation of the passing parade in the terminal.
The look of shock and horror crept over her face as she came to the realization that some old fart [me, well, I have a full head of grey hair so that makes me look old] had just made a complete fool of her. I think she also realized that almost everyone else, within hearing range and that was a couple dozen people, knew the old fart had made a complete fool of her.
She ended her conversation with a curt, “I’ll call you back.” She clicked her phone off and gave me the nastiest look I can recall getting in a long, long time. If her looks could kill gentle readers, your humble scribe would now be writing from the great beyond or wherever I will end up when my time comes.
I won’t say bad things about the college in Boston that she may have attended because I don’t know for certain if she went there or someone just gave her a tee-shirt from the college in Boston.
Bambi the Bimbo was waiting for a young man who was on the same flight as the Princess. While the Princess and I were waiting for her bag, I was tempted to go tell the young man how his friend had made a fool of herself.
Then, I said no, it would be wrong to do that. Besides, based on her performance that I saw, I am highly confident that she will have more than one opportunity to demonstrate her mental ability or lack thereof in the very near future for him.
The Princess also liked Daddy’s Hawaiian or Aloha shirt from Tommy Bahama. She liked it and wanted to know why I was wearing it and shorts to pick her up. I said that we are in Southern California and it is Summer and this is an appropriate style of dress
The Princess’ flight was a good one, as flights these days go. She arrived safely and so did her bag. The bag was one of the early ones out of the plane and that was a real plus because her flight was late arriving in Los Angeles. She was happy the special TSA locks, that I picked up for her, worked on her bag. Daddy, as usual, found a close in parking spot so we had a very short walk to the Pathfinder.
The Pathfinder looked great after a wash and a wax. It was clean and shiny. The Princess was happy with the way it looked. I think the full gas tank excited her even more.
The Princess and I had a great lunch by ourselves. We ate at L. A. Food Show. It is in Manhattan Beach, California and it is one of our favorite casual dining places around. We talked about a number of things and ideas so it was time very well spent.
I told the Princess about the blog comment from last night about how she and her girl friends do not take prisoners when it comes to young men. She giggled and laughed and said that was true. She is going to tell the girls when she gets to Las Vegas and her roommate Emily when she gets back to Atlanta.
My trip to the doctor on Friday morning was successful. He commented that I was loosing weight and that everything looked good. He drained about 2 cc’s of stuff from the cyst on my wrist so it looks much better now and will be almost back to normal in a couple of days. And, I got one of my prescriptions renewed so I am good to go until annual checkup in about eight months.
All in all, the weekend’s start on Friday was excellent.
I had planned to see the new Miyazawa anime, HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE, at my local sterile multi-plex. It was playing there on Thursday. It was not playing there on Saturday. I guess it got pushed out by WAR OF THE WORLDS although they allowed the dreadful REBOUND to be shown there. It made no sense to me.
Anyway, I was glad that I woke up early. This gave me time to rethink my preliminary plans for the day. I did get in some laundry, nice to have clean clothes. While I was waiting for the dry cycle to run through, I checked the newspaper for a location to see the anime.
I decided to go to the multi-plex out by where the Big Guy lives. The drive was a little longer but there was much better freeway access and less traffic. And, the really big plus, I could park my car inside for free. This is always a key feature when you have a black car and you are faced with locking it up in the bright, warm sun of the morning and afternoon.
I did not invite the Big Guy to join me because I know he is not an anime fan like I am. Besides, he had to work on his mini-treatment final for his Story Structure class.
HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE is an excellent Miyazawa anime. I really enjoyed myself. I thought some of the characters came from SPIRITED AWAY, especially when Sophie is changed into an old woman.
While it is certainly enjoyable and worth seeing, I find that I like his PRINCESS MONONOKE better. The characters seem more developed and it was easier to find an emotional attachment to them.
After the anime, I drove home, stopping at the market for food to grill over the weekend. I picked up some steaks and some chicken. This will last me about two weeks or so. My selection on Saturday afternoon was on the limited side. Still, there were plenty of choices.
Since it was too early to start cooking when I got home, I went out on the balcony and sat in the sun. I smoked a cigar while I read Business Week and Fortune magazines. It was a wonderful way to relax as the day wound down.
I grilled the steaks first because that seemed like a good idea to me. I had a small steak and a baked potato with sour cream and chives and a salad of a sliced tomato with chopped red onions.
The Big Guy called me while I was eating dinner. He called to say he had sent me his mini-treatment to review for him. I went to see if I could open it, I could, and then I said I would look at it after I watched my Korean historical drama series, The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin on television. I thought he would have the commented version back by 10:00 PM or so. I told him that I would call him on Sunday and we could take about my comments.
My Korean historical drama series, The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin, reaching a climax point. Yi is getting ready for his biggest naval engagement yet. He will take on the bulk of the Japanese navy, about 400 warships and transports, in a desperate battle to turn the tide of battle against the Japanese invasion forces. His forces are outnumbered and are approaching the point of being trapped, not the best position to be in.
I expect Yi will prevail over the Japanese commander, Wakazaki. The Japanese commander is too emotional and more concerned with his standing with the Shogun back in the Home Islands than in following orders. He also lacks the necessary battle discipline necessary to win at sea.
Yi has become something of a Korean version of Admiral Lord Nelson; he has beaten the Japanese in 21 straight naval engagements. Yi wins because he has been able to fight all of the battles from the position of strength. All of his battles are ones where he crosses the “T”. His fleet is the top of the “T” where it can fire its broadsides at the single approaching lead ship of the Japanese forces.
Parenthetically, I would add the Japanese finally did learn how to cross the T. Admiral Togo, with a vastly inferior in number fleet, defeated a Russian fleet in 1905 in the Battle of Tsushima. This lead to a cease fire in the Russo-Japanese War; the peace treaty was brokered by Theodore Roosevelt and that earned him the Noble Peace Prize.
I should also point out that the Koreans carry about 12 to 14 cannons on each warship while the Japanese can only carry 2 cannons and most of the Japanese fleet is without cannon. This provides a tremendous advantage of being able to destroy your enemy before he can come in range of your ships.
Sunday is my day to sit and read the paper. Actually, I sit and read the newspaper after I get rid of the advertisements and sections that I have no interest in. That cuts the paper in about half.
The Big Guy and I spent about 40 minutes on the phone today, discussing the mini-treatment and ways to make it better. I want to think that I helped him with the project. I think I was the voice of clarity. Some of the sections were so obscure that even I missed them and I am probably one of three or four most knowledgeable people about the subject matter.
Tonight’s episode of The Immortal Yi Soon-Shin was Episode 73. The battle between Yi and Wakazaki has just started with Wakazaki falling for Yi’s opening gambit. The opening gambit is a defensive maneuver to break up the integrity of the Japanese fleet by giving them some Korean ships that are part of the attack van guard, to chase. The Japanese appear to have taken the gambit and are breaking up their formation to chase the Koreans.
The upcoming battle looks like a replay of the great Greek victory over the Persians at Salamis in 480 BC. For those of you that have not studied naval history, the situation is about the same. The Greeks were badly outnumbered, hopelessly outnumbered would have been a better term. The large Persian fleet had chased the Greeks into Salamis where they planned to smash them.
The Greeks knew the waters and had chosen the battle site with great care. The large Persian fleet could not enter the area as a group. Small groups of Persian ships could only go through the narrow entrance at a time. When the small groups of Persian ships came through the narrows, they were rammed and sunk by the Greeks, who now had a numerical superiority.
In the end, it was a total defeat for the Persians. Without their navy to protect the supply convoys, the Persian army would either starve or retreat. It retreated in bad order and was cut up all along its line of retreat.
The Japanese fleet must travel through a narrow body of water at low tide. According to tonight’s episode, the narrows are really narrows, around 400 yards or under 400 meters wide. When you allow for rocks and shoal water, the navigable gap is much less.
It would appear that the Japanese are headed for the same end as the Persians almost 2,000 year earlier. I will probably miss most of the battle next Saturday when I go celebrate Father’s Day with the Princess and the Big Guy. I will ask the Big Guy to tape it for me.
Full and fair disclosure: I do know how to program a VCR. I can even set the time. The trouble is the cable box. The cable box was manufactured by X Company and I have a product manual from Y Company. Those of you with Adelphia Cable already know that I am lucky just to have a manual.
I slept in on Monday. It felt good to stay in bed until 6:30 AM. I know that may be early or very early for some but it is late when you are used to 5:00 AM reveilles.
I did do some more writing on my dissertation today and feel very good about my progress. I know that I should be much, much further along. I think I have lacked the motivation to work harder on it. Recently, though, I have become more focused and anxious to finish it and become a Doctor of Business Administration with a concentration in Management.
This afternoon I took advantage of the sun being out and read on my balcony. I finished a book by C.K. Prahalad titled, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid. It is a very fascinating book that offers a simple solution to solving the problems caused by poverty in the Third World. Surprisingly, it avoids all of the tired and failed panaceas of large scale cash donations and other failures. It also increases the likelihood that democracy will take a strong hold in countries that adopt the solution.
Obviously, the solution is unlikely to see the light of day anywhere in Africa. The solution kills off corruption and bribery with clear and transparent government. Corruption does not survive in the light of public inquiry.
I had wanted to see the 4th of July concert by the Boston Pops Orchestra tonight. I have always enjoyed their version of the “1812 Overture with cannon.” And, no orchestra does “Stars and Stripes” like the Boston Pops. Unfortunately, it will not be broadcast locally until 10:00 PM. The one hour broadcast is just too late for me to stay up for, regardless of how much I would enjoy it.
In an hour or so, I will walk down the beach and watch our local fireworks. It is not as spectacular as the Boston event. It is close and easy to get to. I can walk and there is no parking to deal with. Of course, the music will not be there but life is full of compromises anyway.
I hope you enjoyed the Independence Day weekend if you live in the United States of America. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed your weekend.
If you enjoy your freedom, be sure to thank a veteran.
Be well and stay happy.
posted by Chuck Reinhardt at 7:28 PM
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