Being precise

The two of us sometimes work at being precise.  There can be a need for exactitude.  It can be a conversational game.  It is sometimes an expression of exasperation between us.

"Honey, I'm off to the store."

"What store?" 

"Kroger's"

"Will you get some eggs?"

"A dozen?"

Just to be a wiseacre, I may come home with 11 eggs or 13.

So far, wiseacre-ing has not led to a demand for a divorce.  

My education and yours

Sometimes I see forms that include a space for "education".  It is usually clear that what is being asked for is what is often called "my level of education" or what degrees have I earned.  I graduated from kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, high school, college and graduate school.

When I learned that I needed to state what I wanted to study in graduate school, I answered "educational research", even though I wasn't sure that any schools taught that or related subjects.  When I inquired at some schools, I sometimes found they said they didn't offer a major in that subject.  My doctoral program was labeled "Educational Research Methods. Measurement and Statistical Analysis".  

OK, let's get real.  You and I started "learning" and getting impressions before we were born.  You can look up "learning in the womb" to see some of what is often learned before birth.  As toddlers, we learned all sorts of things.  If you are hot to learn about toddler intelligence, you can refer to sources listed on this page:   t.ly/nE6BE

I spent some time in doctoral studies learning about what has been referred to as an American obsession: trying to "measure" a child's intelligence, given though it is not quite clear just what intelligence is.  Efforts to "measure" intelligence date at least from 1916.

A common image of people being educated shows students listening to a presentation or a person reading.  But we sophisticates know that activities like being frowned at, punished, kissed, fed, bullied, flirted with and tackled are quite educational, also

Notes, prompts for my blog

When you write a blog, a fundamental question is "What am I going to write about?" Some people write when they have an urge or reason and not otherwise.  That approach leads to many days of no-writing.  It seems to me that most starting attempts die off but I am not sure what the main causes are.

I have found that even though I am no longer young, I get lots of ideas, memories and experiences that might be the subject of a blog post.  I get enough possible topics each hour that I lose them if I don't make a note of them.  Google reports I have 5698 posts or slightly over 90% of the days that have passed since I started on March 29, 2008.  I have deliberately skipped days when I was traveling since such days are often busy and a connection to the internet can be iffy.

I use my judgment when I have something come to mind that might be a blog post.   If it seems current and likely, I make a note, possibly a few words, enough to remind myself of what the notion is.  I separate the first five notes from any further ones just so I have a small set to choose one from.

"The In-between" and "Nothing to Fear"

As you might assume, I have never died.  As I wrinkle, I get reminders of the possibility and I have heard it happens to everyone.  So, I expect to but not yet.

There are so many references to life-saving this and life-saving that, it seems possible that fear of and avoidance of suspected procedures and activities is a major factor of people's lives.  When I have interviewed robins and rabbits about why they so often run away, I keep hearing about possible harm and death.  I guess any form of life can spend time, caution and worry fearing death.  

It seems to me that I could make death into a big deal but I suspect it doesn't need to be, especially having lived to a fine age. I read 'The In-between" by Hadley Vlahos, RN and I thought it was excellent.  She is an experienced hospice nurse who serves people who are dying.  I guess the title refers to moments when people are in between being fully alive and when they aren't.  Recently, I saw a book called "Nothing to Fear" by Julie McFadden, RN.  I started reading it aloud to Lynn but found the author repeating the message of the book's title too often.  I told Lynn my impression and she said she felt that way, too.  We dropped the book but I recommend "The In-Between."

CNN Photos of the week 7/27/2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/24/world/gallery/photos-this-week-july-17-july-24

Itches

She needs trips and travel.  They get her out of the house and seeing new sights.  We both can tell we are getting older but her needs still apply.  We live in a beautiful state and we drove around the central part of it today, in places we hadn't been, viewing scenes and sights we hadn't seen before.  It does her the most good if she drives and she did.  It was a beautiful and worthwhile drive.

Salute to shoppers

I have the idea that men often know a particular item they want to buy and go to a store and buy that item.  My idea is that women more often go to see what is offered.  If they judge what they find worth buying, they buy.  If not, they wait to a later trip.  Of course, either sex can go pick up an item that is desired and either sex can explore what is on offer.

When you consider what is in the house, each room, each closet, each drawer or shelf, you realize that no matter who bought what, much time, effort and money went into gathering the household goods.  It took time and effort to assemble all that.  So, yes, consumers are called on to expend intelligence, funds and judgment to gather what people want and need.   Thanks, Shoppers!

Still friends

In the early 70's, two women taught at a small elementary school about 25 miles from their homes.  They and two others often rode to the school together.  One day, they had a bad accident.  The driver was killed but the others were unhurt.  The two women are older now but they are still friends.

Some relations continue to matter over the years.  Not only that, but sometimes we get better at sharing friendships, at communicating, at seeing aspects of others that we appreciate.

Write a blog

I started writing with the idea of alerting college students  to the value of mediation.  As time went by, more and more sources, books, videos became available on the subject but by then, I had become accustomed to daily writing.  

I am impressed by the many online tools Google offers for free. t.ly/3qRc0  I favor Windows operating system and Apple tablets so not everything is Google but I do find that Google has thoughtful, useful, well-designed services.  I did try WordPress for a while and it seemed a likely alternative.

My intention today is simply to emphasize that writing daily, about what comes to mind, seems a valuable tool.  I have never written steadily before having some knowledge and experience with online tools.  I am confident that my age and background affect all my experiences but if you are looking for a good tool for both self-reflection and social communication, I recommend blogging.  I note that most of the blogs I have seen tend to be added to very sporadically so you may want to make an effort to be persistent and steady.

"Amy's Luck" and "The Improbability Principle" by David Hand

These are two books by the same British mathematician, the first can be skipped, I think, but the 2nd is very memorable. "Amy's Luck" tells of a child who kept having bad luck and starts to search for good luck.  The 2nd is one of my favorites and is a collection of things that happened that are not at all likely.  

One improbable story is about a man who was struck by lightning more than once but not hurt.  Lightning struck his grave after his death!  Another improbable event is about an American woman who drew the winning numbers in two state lotteries but unhappily got the numbers switched, winning nothing!

Pockets on men and women

It surprises me how much pockets matter.  I am confident that pockets can hold things that make for a bulge in my silhouette and I guess that many women have special shapes they want to show off.  My brother-in-law predicted more than 20 years ago that advertising would persuade men to carry a purse but it seems not to have happened, yet. My wife sometimes complains about there being no pockets on her clothes or such tiny ones that they are rather useless.  From traveling, I taught myself to keep my wallet in a front pants pocket, where it is sometimes difficult for even me to get it out.  I was happy to find that my smartphone fits nicely in my pocket.  Even without a purse, I can usually carry the items I need and want.

CNN Photos of the week 7/20/2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/17/world/gallery/photos-this-week-july-10-july-17

Not today

We had a busy trying week.  Today is a good chance to catch up, repair, rest and relax.

Breakfast cereal

A book that affected my life is "Blue Zones American Kitchen" by Dan Buettner.  He has written about places on earth where people have managed to live unusually long lives and he has concentrated on what such people eat.  I had read some other Buettner books but while reading that one, I realized I had perhaps been too influenced by my wife.  She habitually asks what she had yesterday at a meal and seeks something different for that meal today.  In other words, she guides her eating by the concept of variety.

I read long ago that the Japanese government used the guideline of 30 different foods a day.  I realize that there are micronutrients that our bodies need and variety can help with desire for good as well as getting those nutrients.  But, I have been satisfied with the breakfast flakes in Heritage Flakes and have purchased them in cartons of 6 many times.  That cereal, from Amazon, with milk and fresh blueberries and a banana after is great.

Senior eating

We have eaten together for decades and we know how much to cook and serve.  Well, at least, we did.  Things change, don't they?  We still want to watch our weight and fat levels.

One thing that has risen is the number of meetings, parties, gatherings at which food is served.  I don't know about data on food served vs. no food served.  I am confident that many people I know feel they are creating a better atmosphere by serving some sort of food.  But that means that more often one or both of us arrive at a usual mealtime having recently eaten cake, or chips or something.

I think the more important factor is our aging bodies.  We burn food more slowly so where we used to eat two pieces of chicken each, now we simply are too full with that much.  We want less, we are comfortable with less, we need less.

"The Women" by Kristin Hannah, "Squeeze Me" by Carl Hiaasen

I have found that many readers of this blog appreciate book suggestions.

My wife's book group read "The Women" by Kristin Hannah and I read it aloud while she did puzzles.  I thought the book was one of the most gripping I have ever read.  I have learned quite a bit about women and their psychology from my mother and sister, from schoolmates and from the tv show "Call the Midwife".  Within in the last few years, I read about a maturing young woman who expressed a fear that someone, anyone would dislike her.  I was astounded and I still am, at least somewhat. As a guy who stood, scantily clad, before hundreds of people who saw me as the opponent in high school and college wrestling matches, I certainly understood that many people in that crowd wanted me to be pinned, to lose.  I am not sure about hatred but I certainly expected it.  "The Women" is about a young woman from a wealthy family who joined the US armed forces and served in Vietman.  Tending to horribly wounded young men was bad enough but to come home and find boiling groups that hated her and her service was much harder.  

"Squeeze Me" by Carl Hiaasen is much lighter.  A rather nice old lady winds up squooze to death by one of those Florida pythons, an event that enables several different groups and agencies to "explain" what happened using different stories, lies and misunderstandings.

Belt, suspenders and physical bodily change

Several people have told me they too find they are not as tall as they were.  The book "Man Overboard" by Dr. Craig Bowron, MD is about aging, especially in men.  It describes aging as an 'extractive' and 'reductive' process.  We who have aged some have experienced that side of aging that is 'redistributive', the deal where some of my lovely muscles have fallen into my pants.  

I was once measured to be 5 feet, 5 inches, not a glorious height for a man, but better that 5'3" that I have shrunk to.  

Now, when I take a seat, my belly expands quite a bit.  Then, when I stand, it shrinks.  If I loosen my belt as I sit to accommodate my greater girth, I can embarrass myself if I fail to close my belt again as I stand up.  Some men cease depending on their waist and a belt and switch to suspenders and their shoulders instead.  I have some suspenders but haven't switched yet.

"All our agents are assisting other callers"

We get most of our meds by mail.  That means that every now and then, I need to contact my nurse practitioner to fix a problem.  Today is Monday so 9 AM is probably one of the busiest days to communicate with a medical professional.  My phone said I waited on hold for 30 minutes for a human.  That is the longest I have had the stick-to-it-ness to wait.  During that time, about once every half minute, I get a recording of a nice lady informing me that everyone is tending to other callers.  The system has probably been informed that I am a grouch and can be left to the bottom of the list.  Well, it seems that way to me.  The nice lady seems to think I may not be listening carefully and as minutes click by, she is correct.  So, she repeats herself twice every time.

I admit the system offered me the option of having it call back when someone was free but I didn't accept.

CNN Photos of the week 7/13/2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/10/world/gallery/photos-this-week-july-03-july-10

Pastries

On Saturday mornings, the two of us have various breakfast possibilities.  It is usually something different from everyday.  Lynn sometimes makes fried eggs and sometimes makes scrambled eggs.  We have been told by a health professional to avoid many eggs but this recent article raises questions and possibilities. t.ly/7FrUf

 Another possibility is pastries.  When we used to go to Madison more often, we sometimes bought pastries from Dunkin' Doughnuts.  We have several good bakeries here in town, one of which is so popular there is always a line at their sales window.  We have a Dunkin' Doughnuts in town and I bought Bavarian creams for us today.  Yummy!

Making bits of time fly

I was surprised when I saw a title "How to clear your mind". I looked at the suggested article and it said "Read a magazine".  I took that to mean get myself something to attend to, something that would keep my attention.  I was sufficiently surprised that I remember the advice clearly.  

I think I can clear my mind easily enough but it is also a procedure to make the little bits that time that bug me fly by.  When I have a few minutes to wait for the doctor to come into the room or the broadcast to begin, I find I can read a paragraph or compose a prompt. Of course, there is the danger that I will get so engrossed with the pseudo task, that I fail to come out in time for the event I was waiting for.

Capybarra Appreciation

Yay!  Today is capybarra appreciation day, a link on my Windows to MSN news informs me.  I often find it announces something or someone quite unexpected to dedicate the day to.  I am reminded that Dagwood was told by Mr. Dithers that Dithers had been considering installing a plaque on the water cooler dedicating that popular device in the name of Dagwood Bumstead.  Dagwood was surprised and said he was surprised and delighted.  Mr. Dithers said that he was just waiting for the $500 naming fee.  

I have no doubt that capybarras are insufficiently appreciated but I don't have an endless supply of appreciation just lying around so I may withhold my appreciation until later.

Kindergartens in the US

As a grad student in my home state, I was already somewhat involved with the University of Wisconsin because of the little book by Campbell and Stanley called "Experimental and Quasi-experimental Designs for Research".  Because of that and other contacts, I chose to look for teaching jobs at the U. of W. When Lynn went to grad school, we had been living in Wisconsin so she gravitated to the U. of W. for PhD studies.

The other day, when I was blogging about my history, I wanted to cite some of the things I had read and heard about Wisconsin higher learning.  A friend who is a lifelong admirer of the Peabody family of Boston felt that I had wrongly credited Wisconsin with having the first kindergarten in the US.  We did some scrambling and decided that the Peabodies had the first English-speaking kindergarten and the one in Wisconsin was the first German-speaking kindergarten.

A pint in the morning

When I explained what my sensations were before falling, the doctor asked follow-up questions and said I should drink more water.  It isn't exactly clear how much water a person of my age, sex, activity level should drink.  I have read that as people age, they lose some of their ability to sense thirst.  So, that avenue is often not available.  There is a well-known idea that one should drink 8 eight oz. glasses a day but needs are now said to be more individual than that.  Since the human body tries to keep the right temperature and uses evaporation (sweating) to handle heat surplus, the amount of humidity already in the air and the surrounding temperature have important effects on the body's use of water.

The book "Quench" by Cohen and Bria looks at the question of human thirst and adequate water consumption.  Cohen is a physician and Bria has studied desert peoples' habits and is an officer of the Hydration Foundation.  The book emphasizes the importance of water in fruits and vegetables and not just liquid water swallowed.

Our state

Our state

 

Wisconsin's state seal shows a farmer and a miner.  We do have lots of farming and are a leading state for dairy.  t.ly/yHI5K

I have been in education and teacher training just about all of my working years.  The state does have good schools at all levels and a proud history of education.  To highlight Wisconsin's notable education firsts, consider the following achievements:

• First state to establish a public university system in 1848.

• Home to the first kindergarten in the U.S., founded in 1856.

• Introduced the first statewide high school graduation requirements in 1901.

• Pioneered the first public library system in the nation in 1876.

• Launched the first vocational education program in 1917.

• Established the first university-based extension service to support rural education in 1912.

Where we live, in central Wisconsin, we have sandy soil and such soil quickly drains water away.  You see extensive agriculture-level sprinkling systems in many crop fields.  

We have Lake Michigan along the east side of the state and Lake Superior across the northern side.  I have heard that in some parts of the world, our "Great Lakes" are referred to as "inland oceans".   I think that is apt terminology since the lakes are indeed massive.

CNN Photos of the week 7/6/2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/03/world/gallery/photos-this-week-june-26-july-03

Process philosophy

Yesterday, I listened to three friends discuss "Process Theology". I had heard the name but otherwise was in the dark. I looked up the subject and learned that the name Alfred North Whitehead, a mathematician and philosopher (1861-1947), was associated with what some webpages called "process philosophy'.  One of the assembled friends is the man from whom I first heard about Eastern religion, especially Buddhism.

The Bhudda and others said "Everything changes" and it seems that is true.  So, if one approaches one's convictions and life principles as being in a process of development, it may be more flexible and better fitting than aiming at a perfect statement or product that is static and unchanging.  

I see several books I can begin reading quickly to learn more about ideas of process philosophy.  I may start on them when I get everything else done.

Our first 4th here

We moved to this town in late June.  I had just finished my doctoral studies and UWSP and the chair of education kindly landed me a summer position.  I had never lived in a town this size and it takes the 4th of July seriously.  There are dances, barbecues and fireworks.  It was a welcome event that made us feel both patriotic and involved in upbeat activities. Summer school is a big-deal for the School of Education since teachers can get raises if they earn a masters degree and summer offers a good chance to make progress toward one. Now that I think of it, I realize I flew here while my wife drove our unreliable car the thousand miles with our possessions and daughters here just days before the 4th.  No wonder it seems an up time!

Different possibilities

It is a good idea to compare a computer to a smartphone and to a tablet no matter what software you are using.  The computer is more powerful but that can mean there are more options and tools available with a computer.  For instance, with Gmail, the interface (the layout of what the user sees) includes some handy tools that are missing on other types of devices.  You can see how many messages are in the Inbox, how many of them are "Unread" (unopened), immediately see if you have messages marked as spam.  I like to delete messages starting from the oldest ones in the Inbox when the total Inbox contains 1,000 or more emails.  That is rather quick and easily one on a  computer.

Meds and pills

My friend is a retired pharmacist.  I think he told me once that some term I used had been dropped.  I do see that "tablets", "capsules" and "chewies" are names that are used on the packaging of meds that we take.  I imagine that George Washington (1732-1799) and Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) did not take daily vitamins and meds.  

Our medicines were shipped to us by a firm that closed down so we were switched to another.  Just getting the names of her meds and my meds to the new supplier was a good-sized task.  

The little plastic pill containers with a pocket for each day of the week are very helpful.  I see that many of the things I have trouble remembering are repetitious.  When I try to remember if I took my morning pills today, just using memory can result in images from today and from other, recent days and I get mixed up as to what I am remembering. Just looking at a pill container straightens me out, so long as I know what day of the week today is (it's Wednesday, right?)

Too much thinking and questioning

An older, highly bookish, educated guy like me has plenty of time to think and to question - sometimes, too much. I think I may be getting better at judging when I am over-using my thinking.  Two or three possible questions to ask myself, to wonder about, maybe to look up answers to occur to me on just about any subject very, very quickly.  If I let myself get pulled into wondering, questioning, comparing judging, I can miss important deadlines and customary activities that I want to do, such as moving about, cooking, eating, putting out the trash at the right time, hydrating, shaving, etc.