Posted inMiscellany

Corporation Compliance Recorder scam

It looks like the Corporate Compliance Recorder scam described by the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau has made its way to Oregon. In the mail today I found this official-looking envelope addressed to the non-profit community association that I’m the secretary for. I believe this is the time our annual corporation fee is due, so at first I thought the mailing was for real. But the $95 fee was steep, and I’d never heard of a requirement to disclose annual minutes. Of course, there isn’t such a requirement. These scammers on Market Street are hoping that people don’t read the…
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Posted inPhilosophy Science

Me and the Milky Way

I’m trying to put my problems into perspective. New Scientist magazine is helping me out. The current issue has a great article on the Milky Way galaxy. This is where I live. You too. When I consider the big picture, really big, of what surrounds us, earthly aggravations look a lot less immense. In my saner moments, I’m able to juxtapose what gripes me with the galactic point of view. Then I see how miniscule are the mole hills that I’ve been regarding as mountains. [All quotes are from the New Scientist article.] I’m going to be fifty-seven this year.…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Salem is #1 in Wal-Marts!

Like my fellow Salem blogger Trey, I too was thrilled beyond words (until now, obviously) when I picked up today’s Statesman-Journal newspaper and saw the front page story: “3rd Wal-Mart fills racks: Salem will have more Wal-Marts than any other city in Oregon.” Recently Laurel and I had been talking about what new businesses we’d like to see in Salem so our quality of life could be improved. We mused, perhaps a Trader Joes? A Whole Foods Market? Or a Middle Eastern restaurant? We were thinking so inside the box. More precisely, inside such a small box. I realized that…
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Posted inHome life

I’m getting softer with age

The older I get, the softer I become. And I’m happy about it. Let me hasten to point out that I’m speaking about my martial arts training, not, um, something else. For nine years I labored in the field of a Shotokan karate dojo. Shotokan is one of the hardest of the hard-styles. I then transplanted myself to the Pacific Martial Arts Academy here in Salem, where, for about four years, I cultivated the mixed-style approach taught by Warren Allen—a blend of karate, jujitsu, aikido, weapons training, and other disciplines. Now I’ve thrown myself into nurturing the seed of Tai…
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Posted inWriting/Weblogs

Blogmobile

Here's a depiction of the Blogmobile concept car, courtesy of the April 4, 2005 The New Yorker. The driver kind of looks like me. Given how much time I spend on my weblogs, my wife probably would say "It is you!"
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Posted inCurrent affairs Sustainability

Oregon’s climatologist still a Pollyanna on global warming

While we were in Camp Sherman last week I picked up the Bend “Bulletin” and saw a front page story about a talk by Oregon’s climatologist, George Taylor. I’ve written before about how Taylor denies that manmade greenhouse gases are causing global warming, thus putting him at odds with the vast majority of scientists studying the earth’s climate. The story, “Expert says state drought just a blip,” shows that Taylor is still going around spreading disinformation about the reality of global warming. He was quoted as saying, “We don't really understand climate. (The data) doesn't say humans don't have an…
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Posted inWriting/Weblogs

Ultimate rejection letter

Last month I was excited to receive an ultimate rejection letter from Beacon Press. Like most writers I’m a connoisseur of rejection letters. Since I’ve received so many, I figure I might as well appreciate them. I’d sent a copy of my book, “Return to the One,” off to Beacon Press, The University of Chicago Press, and the State University of New York Press. I told them that on Amazon it was currently the #1 best selling title about the Greek mystic philosopher Plotinus. And this was with very minimal publicity/promotion. I candidly admitted that I’d probably been wrong to…
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Posted inFamily

One hour with my father

Here’s a contrarian Mother’s Day story about the one hour I spent with my father. Note: the one hour, period. This wasn’t the best or worst hour, nor the happiest or saddest hour. It was the only hour I spent face-to-face with him. Well, not counting a bunch of hours when I was a baby that I can’t remember. These are the only photos that I have of my father, John Hines. They always have been part of my Baby Book. I used to stare at them a lot when I was a kid, wondering what my father was like.…
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Posted inNeighborhood

Messing with mallard natural selection

Laurel, avid animal lover that she is, can’t resist messing around with natural selection. Today she put up this sign at our nearby Spring Lake, warning people that a wild duck, or mallard, has chosen to lay her eggs in a highly public spot (maybe she’s an exhibitionist). Before showing you the nest, I want to point out the professional quality of this sign. It’s good to know that, if all else fails, we can always open up a sign shop. Laurel contributed the printing, the UPS man brought us the cardboard, and I thought of the protective cling wrap.…
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Posted inCurrent affairs

Amazing! I enjoy Fox News

Fox News usually is the news network that I love to hate. I watch it in lieu of aerobic exercise, because the unfair and unbalanced Fox News style does such a good job of getting my heart racing. But today I enjoyed how anchor Shepard Smith handled two stories: the Texas state House’s approval of a bill that bans suggestive cheerleading and a provision in Congress’ Real ID Act that allows the Homeland Security secretary to unilaterally suspend federal laws. It seems that long-awaited cracks are starting to appear in what used to be monolithic Republican support for conservative policies.…
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Posted inPhilosophy Recreation

Poor us

Yesterday Laurel and I felt sorry for ourselves. You probably won’t feel sorry for us. But then, you’re not us. If you were us, pretty obviously you’d feel like just us. And even though you’re you and we are ourselves, I bet you’ve engaged in some similar feeling-sorryness that appears ridiculous to anyone else but you. Here’s the deal: wanting knows no bounds. I realize this philosophically. The Buddha clearly explained how desire leads to suffering, and I’ve read my share of Buddhist books. But it isn’t until I’m face to face with a concrete example of how my wanting…
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Posted inRecreation

Metolius River traffic and weather report

Reporting from the shores of the Metolius River in Camp Sherman, Oregon, just a few hundred yards from the head of the Metolius, and just a few hours late (hey, I’m on Camp Sherman time): Nobody is on the trails. Except two people and a dog. One of whom (not the dog) says that walking traffic is flowing freely. Just like the rain. Cool 53 degrees rain. And that’s your Metolius River traffic and weather report. 5:30 pm, May 1, 2005.
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Posted inHome life

“But you already have a … ”

When Laurel walked in the door I figured that I should state the obvious, since the contents of the box that had just arrived from Amazon were scattered on the counter and a new battery obviously was merrily charging away in the new charger. “I got a new camera.” Then I heard the words that every woman must learn to recite in When You Become a Wife school: “But you already have a _____ .” Laurel filled in the blank with “camera.” In the past it has been “computer,” “cell phone,” “GPS receiver,” “atomic watch,” and the names of other…
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Posted inWriting/Weblogs

Icon envy?

If you have a weblog or web site, do you have icon envy? When your beloved cyber-creation loads in a web browser, does the address bar just show a bland generic icon next to your URL? Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’d be so much happier if I had an icon of my own?” Until recently I answered “yes” to each of those questions. Now you likely can see (if you’ve got Firefox) that I’ve got my own HinesSight “H” favicon (favorites icon) proudly displayed. With a few fairly easy steps, you can have your own favicon just like…
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Posted inDogs

Bad Dog Police case file: Serena

Date of report: 4-26-05. Location: South Salem Alleged violation: excessive digging Suspect: Serena, a Shepherd/Lab mix, a.k.a. “Wonder Dog” Dispatcher notes: Received call at 4:15 pm from man identifying himself as suspect’s owner. Said his dog needed to be scared straight. Incoherent babbling about “rooting!, rooting!” made it difficult to determine details of situation. Assigned case level 1 priority; determined address and forwarded to Bad Dog officer in area. Officer notes: 4:32 p.m., arrived at suspect’s home. Met in driveway by excited owner who kept saying, “She’s over there! Hurry, before she licks off the evidence!” Followed owner around side…
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Posted inWriting/Weblogs

“Return to the One” reviewed in Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Soon after my book about the Greek mystic philosopher Plotinus was published, I sent a copy off to the Bryn Mawr Classical Review. Since I managed to write “Return to the One” without any formal education in the classics or Greek philosophy, I figured it would be cool to even have a chance of being reviewed by an entity that “publishes timely reviews of current scholarly work in the field of classical studies.” Yesterday I decided to see if a review had been posted. My timing was excellent. A review by Dr. G.S. Bowe of Bilkent University had just appeared.…
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Posted inDogs

Dog news flash: Retriever retrieves!

More accurately, this headline should read: “Half-retriever retrieves!” That’s why this story, documented by the photo, is such big news for us. For we have spent the past four and a half years with Serena, a Shepherd/Lab mix, whose independent German side overshadows her compliant retriever side when it comes to bringing balls and sticks back to Laurel and me (see “What you’re missing if you don’t have a dog” for details of my Buddy Ball travails). Lately we’d noticed that Serena had become even more retrieving-resistant than usual. Partly this was due to the allure of spring smells, notably…
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Posted inEntertainment

“Fever Pitch”

I enjoyed seeing “Fever Pitch” last Monday afternoon in an actual movie theatre, where the picture was considerably larger than the DVDs we normally watch on our TV and the sound system was much louder. Apparently hearing aid manufacturers have an under-the-table agreement with Regal Theatres to ratchet the decibels up to dangerous levels instead of forthrightly buying pre-movie ads, because the four thousand or so previews we were forced to view before “Fever Pitch” started made me wish that I had brought along earplugs—which Laurel had, always-prepared woman that she is. My visiting sister and brother-in-law were ensconced in…
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Posted inFamily

Lori Ferguson of Concord CA, read this

Are you Lori Ferguson, born June 12, 1990, who lives in Concord, California, and whose parents are Cathy and Steve Ferguson? (Or do you know Lori? If so, pass this message on to her). I’ve got a message for you about your grandparents, whom you haven’t seen since December 1999..

Bob_and_carol_ann_gray
Lori, I’m your great-uncle Brian. Yesterday I took this photo of your grandfather and grandmother—Bob and Carol Ann Gray—in front of the lilacs at our home in Salem, Oregon. They’ve been visiting my wife, Laurel, and me. We’ve talked, as we always do, about how much they would like to see you, to talk with you, to get a letter from you. Any connection with you would be better than nothing.

As I’m sure you know, since 2000 your mother and father have refused to let Bob and Carol Ann have any sort of contact with you and your brother, Bo. To put it bluntly, this is cruel and unusual punishment for grandparents. They love you a lot. This enforced separation has caused them a lot of pain.

You’re old enough to make your own decision about whether you want to see your grandparents again. I hope you’ll choose to contact them. Their phone number in Walnut Creek is 925-939-1474. Their email address is randcagray@comcast.net. It’s time, long past time, to bring you together with them.

I’ve still got a stack of correspondence from your mother and grandmother about the family rift that led to this hugely unfortunate situation. I tried to serve as a go-between. Obviously I didn’t succeed.

Lori, I have no idea what your parents have told you about why they don’t want you to see your grandparents again. And I’m not going to make any judgments about who is right and who is wrong here. My personal impression is that your mother made a big deal out of a small misunderstanding.

I’ll end with some excerpts from a letter I wrote to your mother on March 20, 2000 (see continuation to this post). Please read them with an open mind. I spoke my own mind quite strongly. I didn’t intend then, nor do I intend now, to disparage your mother’s and father’s religious beliefs, which you might share. I just wanted to have them do some thinking about what it means to be truly spiritual.

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