Posted inPhilosophy

I become a Taoist

I’ve decided to convert to Taoism. In accord with the spirit of my new faith, I’m taking my conversion pretty lightly. Probably I’ve always been a Taoist. Probably everyone is. But who cares whether what I just said makes any sense or not? This is the nice thing about Taoism. One of the early Taoist sages, Chuang Tzu, is called the “genius of the absurd.” He’s famous for saying that he dreamed he was a butterfly, then awoke and was himself again. But he didn’t know whether formerly there had been a man dreaming he was a butterfly, or if…
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Posted inMiscellany

Don’t pass up these great Internet gifts

Thank you, o gloriously generous Internet! For today I received two great gifts from you: (1) a free download of the beta Google Desktop Search, which is so wonderful I would say I am speechless, if it weren’t for this posting; and (2) a link from a fellow Oregon blogger that led me to The Smoking Gun story, “O’Reilly Hit with Sex Harass Suit,” which contains marvelously explicit descriptions of the sexual fantasies Bill O’Reilly purportedly shared with an unwilling staffer. The Google gift seems to work precisely as promised. After this teeny-tiny (for what it does) 400kb download installed…
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Posted inMiscellany

Microsoft, why can’t you get it right?

Oh, Microsoft, why is our relationship so strained? After I praise your XP SP2 update, yesterday you let me down with a muffed security fix. Optimistically, I had turned on the “automatic updates” feature, and noted that some large files were being downloaded via our slow dial-up connection. When I tried to shut down my computer, I was met with an “updates will be installed upon shutdown” notice that I had never seen before. Still optimistic, I went ahead and clicked “shut down,” after which I gazed upon an endlessly recurring loop of installation messages, as described by my fellow…
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Posted inEntertainment

“Mean Girls”

Last night we enjoyed watching “Mean Girls.” Curled up in our Camp Sherman cabin around our substitute for a campfire, a TV/DVD combo that another owner blessedly added to our broadcast TV-less entertainment options, this movie stimulated Laurel and me to reflect upon our own high school years and compare them to how “Mean Girls” presents modern high school life. “Mean Girls” is about, not surprisingly, a bunch of mean girls who are obsessed with looking good and preserving their social status. Led by a Queen Bee, Regina, “The Plastics” (as they’re called by other students with the eyes to…
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Posted inRecreation

Suttle Lake has survived

We hiked around Suttle Lake in central Oregon today, all 3.7 miles, and have photos to prove that while the B & B Complex fire may have scarred the area, its beauty survives. Last fall we attempted the same hike but were stymied by “trail closed due to fire damage” signs. A lot of work has been done since then on the trail that circles the lake, for which we’re most grateful. As soon as we parked the car and walked to the lakeshore we could tell that Suttle Lake was still its beautiful self. In places the fire went…
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Posted inRecreation

Images of the Sisters Harvest Faire

Generally it’s my policy not to purchase anything in a store that calls itself a “shoppe,” or attend an event that bills itself as a “faire.” But Laurel and I make an exception every October for the Sisters Harvest Faire, which fills several blocks of this charming central Oregon town with over 200 juried vendors of handcrafted quality arts and crafts. Last year’s HinesSight posting about our visit focused on how little attention our dog, Serena, got from Faire visitors even given (1) her natural adorableness, and (2) the blue bandana that I had affixed to her neck to give…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Bush’s “Need some wood?” instant web site

Proving that liberals are way tuned in to the Internet, Bush’s “Need some wood?” comment during tonight’s debate has spawned an instant www.needsumwood.com web site. Laurel heard the site mentioned on Air America while driving home this evening and, thankfully, remembered that “some” was spelled just as Bush probably thinks it is, or we never would have found it. Like many debate watchers I couldn’t understand what Kerry was getting at, and seemingly Bush didn’t either. Apparently in 2001 Bush did indeed get $84 in business income from his part ownership of a timber-growing enterprise. But this certainly wouldn’t make…
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Posted inMeasure 37

Funniest truth in the Voter’s Pamphlet

If you read nothing else in the Oregon Voter’s Pamphlet, be sure to treat yourself to a smile and check out the last “argument in favor” of Measure 37, the horribly ill-conceived attempt to trash our land use laws and Californicate Oregon. This is an inspired use of humor to reveal the ghastly truth about Measure 37, cleverly infiltrating the “for” section of the arguments for and against. The sponsor of this “$$$ Make Money Fast With Measure 37! $$$” is Peter Bray, who promotes a must-see “Get Rich Quick With Measure 37!” web site in his argument. It’s clever,…
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Posted inSustainability

“Sustainable” Fairview: is it really?

Today’s Salem “Statesman-Journal” has an article about a Friday-Saturday open house at the 275 acre Sustainable Fairview property. I’m glad to see any hint of openness from Sustainable Fairview Associates, the LLC that Laurel and I are members of, and which I’ve criticized in various posts (under my Sustainability category) for not understanding either (1) what “sustainability” really means, or (2) how to manage a mixed-use development of this scope, regardless of how sustainable it is. If you go to the open house and walk around the property, you’ll see a lot of interesting old buildings and beautiful natural land.…
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Posted inHome life

Feel the fear and install SP2 anyway

A Windows XP Service Pack 2 CD arrived in the mail from Microsoft a few days ago, but I had left it on the dining room table until this afternoon, fearful because of past malevolent Microsoft experiences that if I so much as touched it my computer would stop working. I kept my eye on the CD, looking for signs that it was possessed. But I didn’t see any green vomit dripping from the cardboard mailer, nor hear any guttural chanting in Latin when we were in bed and the house was quiet. I read the “Before installing SP2” guidelines…
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Posted inBooks Plotinus Writing/Weblogs

Ranting reaps a review

Proving either that ranting results in a rapid response from the cosmos, or, more likely, that magical thinking is alive and well in my twisted mind, after yesterday’s posting I was pleased to find an email from the Radical Academy waiting for me when I turned on my computer this morning. My book had been reviewed! My fingers were trembling slightly as I clicked on the link to Dr. Jonathan Dolhenty’s review. For while I have been eager to have “Return to the One” reviewed, naturally I was envisioning positivity at the end of the Review Rainbow, not negativity. Thankfully,…
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Posted inPlotinus Writing/Weblogs

I get an exclusive interview with myself

It’s been three months since my non-fiction book about Plotinus, a 3rd century Greek philosopher, was published. So I thought I’d catch up with myself and provide an exclusive update to my HinesSight weblog readership about what is happening with “Return to the One.” I found Brian outside, enjoying an unusually warm October Oregon day on his deck. Me: Thanks for taking the time for this interview. Brian: No problem. I’ve managed to fit you in between reading the Oregonian sports page and taking my Sunday afternoon nap. Always got time for someone I’m so close to and admire so…
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Posted inHome life

DMV license renewal horrors

I’d been dreading going for my first over-55 license renewal, since the notice said that an eye test was required. For though my optometrist had assured me that my contact lens-assisted vision was better than DMV requires, more and more I’ve been using the “go past it and turn around” approach to finding unfamiliar streets. “We’re supposed to turn right on Cranberry Street,” Laurel will say. “OK,” I reply, straining to read the letters of signs that used to be much larger twenty years ago. I can only assume that budget cuts have forced cities to put up smaller street…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Air America hangs up on Lars Larson

What a moment it was, 6:55 pm today, when I heard arch-conservative talk show host Lars Larson call in to Randi Rhodes’ arch-liberal Air America radio program. Lars and Randi are two of the most irritating people on radio, proving that pomposity, big egos, impoliteness, and ill-informed opinions can be found equally on both the left and right sides of the dial. Lars phoned to tease Randi about being “punked” by her guest the preceding hour, Patti Smith (the singer). I didn’t hear all of the interview, but got in on the end of it. They were talking about Ralph…
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Posted inHome life

Two blondes at one time

Last night my dream became reality. Two beautiful blondes were all over me on the sofa. Yes, prayers do come true. The only problem is that I wasn’t specific enough in my plea to the cosmos to fulfill my fantasy. One of the blondes, who happens to be my wife, was absolutely perfect. The other blonde, however, left a lot to be desired. Not that Serena isn’t also perfect in her own right. But certain sorts of intimacy flow much better when everyone involved is a member of the same species. Nonetheless, Laurel and I had just watched a PBS…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

“If America were Iraq, What would it be Like?”

This is a great question, ably answered by Juan Cole in a posting with the same name on his web site, Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion. Cole is a history professor at the University of Michigan. Noting that the population of the United States is over eleven times that of Iraq, he starts his essay by multiplying statistics from Iraq by that number. “Thus violence killed 300 Iraqis last week, the equivalent proportionately of 3,300 Americans. What if 3,300 Americans had died in car bombings, grenade and mortar attacks, machine gun spray, and aerial bombardment…
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Posted inNeighborhood

We buy really expensive blackberries

Here’s a look at some of the blackberries that we just agreed to buy for more money than you'd believe, along with impressive quantities of poison oak. We couldn’t pass up an opportunity to purchase the five-acre lot next to us when Mary, the owner, offered to sell it. We had a nice visit with Mary and her sister this afternoon and worked out an amicable deal that was sealed with a handshake. Crafty real estate wheeler-dealers that we are, naturally we had never walked over quite a bit of the property that we agreed to buy. And we only…
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Posted inHome life

Bikers for Aristotle…Why Not?

I love those passing moments that stick in your mind. Hardly any moments do. Most moments are, by nature, momentary. But once in a while an instant in time seems to reflect a lasting truth, something to be grokked for its wisdom potential. For example… Last night, sitting around after my martial arts class, I hear someone say the word “curry” while I’m putting my sandals on. Instantly I have an uncontrollable urge for Indian food. Conveniently, there is an Indian restaurant just a few doors down from the Pacific Martial Arts dojo. I order a couple of dishes plus…
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Posted inNeighborhood

Cougar sighting/land use win

Two news items for south Salem’s Spring Lake Estates residents: a cougar has been sighted nearby, and Marion County Planning affirmed the denial of the lot line adjustment that Laurel and I have been fighting on behalf of our neighborhood. and the environment. On the cougar front: I just got a call from Carolyn Davidson, who heard from her neighbor Jenny Bennett, who was told by some guys painting her house that they saw a cougar roaming the farmland next to Spring Lake Estates. So I agreed to pass on this word to other people in the area, both directly…
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Posted inFamily

West Hollywood condo for sale

OK, it’s unlikely that I’m going to find any buyers for a West Hollywood condo via my Oregon weblog, but I figured I’d take a stab at helping out my daughter and her husband. Theirs is the 950 Kings Road, #244 listing at $429,000 under "current listings." I figure that a percent or two should flow my way if I broker a deal, which would get me started nicely on a Mini Cooper S purchase. Celeste and Patrick, if you’re interested in moving from L.A. to Sisters (Oregon), I found a nice home for you at the same price. Doesn’t…
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