Posted inMiscellany

We interrupt this weblog…

We interrupt this weblog for some commercial messages. Well, quasi-commercial, since HinesSight is not supported by any dependable source of income, in the traditional writer’s spirit. I’ve just built up a small stack of items that are calling out to be publicized, and want to shut up those annoying little voices from the pieces of paper on the rug beside my desk. Plus, I want to stop rolling over them every time I push my chair away to get another snack, or take a nap, after laboring at my literary projects for the usual half hour or so at a…
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Posted inWriting/Weblogs

I’m dreaming of killing someone

Actually, several someones. My fantasy starts with the Fulton County (Georgia) school system, which recently expelled a high school freshman for writing a fictional tale in her private journal about a student who dreams she kills a teacher. I saw this girl, Rachel Boim, interviewed on CNN today. You couldn’t ask for a more intelligent, articulate, and mature 14-year old than Rachel—who undoubtedly surpasses the Fulton County school administrators in all of these qualities. When asked if she would write the tale again, given what has just happened, she wisely said, “Of course I would. It was just a story,…
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Posted inPhilosophy

God, save us from “God”

If you read Meister Eckhart, and I certainly recommend that you do, you’ll find numerous references to freeing ourselves of “God”—the false thing— so we can truly get in touch with God—the real thing (there are lots of translations of Eckhart, this Penguin Classics book is my favorite). Here’s an example, where Eckhart praises genuine spiritual poverty: I said before that a poor person is someone who does not even will to perform God’s will, but who lives in such a way that he or she is as free both of their own will and of God’s will as they…
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Posted inDogs Recreation

Dining tip/Triathlon win

First, a dining tip. We heartily recommend, whether you are a vegetarian or not, the “Garden Plate” dinner selection at the Black Butte restaurant—where we just celebrated my second birthday dinner, ten days after the first celebration with my sister and brother-in-law. One difference this time: I had to buy my own dinner. Another difference: as good as DaVinci’s restaurant in Salem is, this Garden Plate dish was really spectacular. Since we want Black Butte to keep offering the Garden Plate, and our waiter said it took some serious lobbying from the waiters/waitresses to get the chef to make a…
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Posted inRecreation

Central Oregon excitement!

Wow, it’s been a pretty exciting day here in Central Oregon! We just got back from a trip to Bend and Sunriver in which we visited a Costco store! Yes, it isn’t politically correct to admit this, since Costco is one those giant “big box” stores that squeezes out local competition, but we love Costco. It’s so full of surprises. We went in with the single-minded intention to buy some supplies for the Camp Sherman cabin, and as soon as we passed through the door we were sidetracked by the giant display of men’s and women’s winter jackets. A men’s…
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Posted inRecreation

Camp Sherman catch-up

I always feel guilty when a week or more goes by between HinesSight postings. So it is time for Camp Sherman catch-up, now that we’re ensconced in a quiet cabin in Central Oregon for a few days with no TV to watch. I emphasize those words to demonstrate our Thoreauian commitment to natural simplicity—though actually it is less a commitment than necessity, since television signals can’t make it through the trees and Black Butte to the cabin, and neither cable TV nor cellular service has found its way to Camp Sherman yet (for which we’re grateful, really, except on Saturday…
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Posted inDogs

Why dogs don’t invent computer chips

Recently Laurel excitedly pointed out to me a news item about dogs sharing 75% of human DNA, or something along those lines. I wasn’t impressed, since I knew that chimpanzees and people are 98% genetically similar, which makes our dog a much more distant relative. And the more I play “buddy ball” with Serena, the more I am convinced that even that 75% may be a decided overestimate. For those unfamiliar with dog play paraphernalia, “buddy ball” is the brand name of Serena’s light-up-in-the-dark ball, the light-up feature being a necessity given her underdeveloped retriever skills, as it allows me…
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