Posted inLiving with a catheter

Hope vs. Reality vs. Idiocy: my chronic condition conundrum

When my wife and I talked with an Oregon Health Sciences University urologist three weeks ago about my bladder/prostate problem, wanting to get a second opinion from Dr. Jonathan Witten, I told him that I was looking for a balance of Hope and Reality. Meaning, I explained to Witten, I was desirous of getting more hope for eventual recovery of my peeing ability than my local urologist, Dr. Mhoon, had offered up. But I also wanted to know the reality of what my prognosis was.  (For background on my urinary retention and weak bladder problem, which led to depression, see…
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Posted inBooks Salem

Our town’s attractiveness, like perfection, is mostly in the mind

I wish life was perfect. It isn't. The Buddha taught this. Life is suffering. We're born, we grow old, we die. Our goal shouldn't be to try to eliminate suffering in a vain attempt to make life perfect, but rather to look upon things as they imperfectly are without unduly reacting to them with thoughts and feelings of  Ugh! So wrong! Horrible! Can't be! Likewise, the place where we live has to be accepted as a blend of positives and negatives that will forever dance together in an intertwined dance of opposites that both attract and repel. Take our current…
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Posted inHome life

Why are there so many kinds of windshield wiper arms?

I'm an atheist, but after spending way too much time today trying to figure out how to put new wiper blades on our cars -- each of which has a different kind of wiper -- a prayer to the Automotive Gods seems in order: Please put this thought in the mind of every car manufacturer CEO -- we shall all agree on one type of wiper arm for every car we make. I recommend that this be the J-hook type. It sure seems to be the simplest. Our 2014 Toyota Highlander has that type of wiper arm. I have no…
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Posted inSalem Writing/Weblogs

Geronimo Tagatac’s wild wonderful whimsical visions of Salem

A local man with a great name fashions some marvelous creative writing on his Facebook page. I love these vignettes by Geronimo Tagatac, a really interesting guy. This is the Salem I want to live in.  And the great thing is, I already am. It just takes eyes like Tagatac's to see it. Here's his most recent "Salem." offerings. Geronimo Tagatac Salem. A woman made of wet leaves rustles into the espresso house, turning and flashing orange, yellow, red, lemon, and pale green. She carries the smell of tropical rain and visions of soundless animal silhouettes sliding through damp spaces…
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Posted inHome life Recreation

Photos of Black Butte Ranch by bike and dog walk

Laurel, my wife, and I are the happy recent buyers of a 1/4 share in a Black Butte Ranch house. (Scroll down for a video of what the house looks like.) Today we went on a mid-afternoon bike ride around part of the resort property, then took the dog on a walk that started in Black Butte Ranch and ended on land outside the development.  Here's photos of our excursions. The house is located in the part of Black Butte Ranch that was developed first. So it dates from the 1970s. It's been updated, as you can see from the…
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Posted inWeb/Tech

iOS 11.0.2 just froze my iPhone 8 plus. Here’s how to restart it.

Last night I dutifully updated my new iPhone 8 plus to iOS 11.0.2. This morning it froze up after I checked my weather app. No response to any touches. Of course, I can't be sure this was due to 11.0.2, since iOS 11.0.1 is causing problems. Regardless, I called Apple Support because i couldn't restart the phone. My previous phone was a 6 +. I guess I should have realized that the restart process might have changed over the past few years. So here's how you restart an 8 plus: (1) Press the up volume button on the left side(2)…
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Posted inHealth Home life

Everybody is hurting in some way. My compassion lesson 101.

I'm not the most compassionate guy. But ever since I started having some semi-serious health problems, and the depression that accompanied them, I've become quite a bit more understanding of what other people are struggling with in their daily lives. The Buddha said that life is suffering. He was right on.  Almost invariably, when I talk with someone about my physical and mental problems, the person I'm conversing with will bring up their own problems that I wasn't aware of before. Or mention what a near and dear one is going through.  Now, I realize that this isn't exactly groundbreaking…
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