Posted inCurrent affairs Salem

Bridging our Divide meeting was a mind-opening experience

I'm a left-leaning atheist. Last night I had pleasant interactions with a Christian conservative. That was the goal of the Bridging Our Divide meeting at the IKE Box: to get people to listen to those with differing political views with empathy, respect, open-mindedness. Here's part of how the Bridging Our Divide web site describes their mission (they're based in Portland, but hold meetings around the country): Bridging Our Divide is working to promote constructive dialogue across political and ideological divides by creating forums for conversation.   Our work is focused on hosting Community Dialogue Events and Common Ground Debates in various…
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Posted inHome life

Two ways (among many) our dog controls me

Some people worry about artificial intelligence becoming so powerful, devilishly smart computers will rule humanity. I've got a more pressing immediate problem: I'm under the control of our dog, and I'm powerless to do anything about it.  ZuZu looks innocent, doesn't she? Well, let me tell you, looks deceive. Particularly when it comes to canines. ZuZu is a master manipulator. My wife, Laurel, is a volunteer at the Willamette Humane Society here in Salem, Oregon. She's got the exalted rank of a "blue" walker, which means she can handle the most difficult dogs. If I volunteered there I can't imagine…
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Posted inWeb/Tech

Don’t trust Google’s “security issue found” alert if you use Apple Mail

Google caused me a lot of frustration last night. I got an email from Google that warned of a security issue. After I dealt with it, I couldn't use Apple Mail to access my Gmail account.   Bottom line: don't trust a Google security alert if you're a Mac user. Here's the disturbing details of what happened to me. First, I got this email from Google. At first I thought this could be a scam. But after Googling "Google security issue found on your account" I became convinced that the email message really had come from Google. So I decided…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Moderation in the pursuit of justice is a virtue. Usually.

Today I came across a letter written by Martin Luther King while he was in jail. It criticizes "white moderates." That got me to thinking about Barry Goldwater's saying about moderation. Interestingly, King and Goldwater seem to have something in common, though their political views were very different. King: First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate,…
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Posted inHome life

For us, this is a fatal flaw of continuing care retirement communities

My wife and I are almost 70. We're still trying to figure out what we want to do in life. Or rather, the rest of our lives. I've written about our quandary in numerous blog posts, such as: I'm 65. Where's my "aging hippie" retirement community?Our retirement community conundrum continuesNew York Post features us in story about hippie retirement communitiesWhy it makes sense for seniors to postpone living in a retirement community At the moment we're still living in our non-easycare 3200 square foot, multi-level house on ten acres in rural south Salem, Oregon. We're thinking more seriously about moving…
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Posted inPhilosophy

Aliveness is a pretty damn good goal while being alive

You and I are alive. I know this to be true, because I'm writing what you're going to be reading, and writing/reading require being alive. The question is, how alive are we?  Pretty clearly, aliveness comes in degrees. At one extreme, someone in a coma is living, yet just barely alive. Maybe not at all.  Most of us would say that there's a point at which life isn't worth living. This is why so many people have a living will, durable power of attorney, do not resuscitate instructions, and such. But there's also the question of aliveness in what we…
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