Criterion

When people want to name a college or university, they often think of the word “Harvard”.  It is certainly true that Harvard University is an old and respected school.  But is it the “best” college?  At that point, some might answer “Depends what you mean by ‘best’.  Least expensive?  Most expensive?  Highest number of satisfied students?

When trying to decide what sort of best we are interested in, we are dealing with the question of criterion.  What variable are we looking at?  When evaluating anything as complex as a university, there are many, many possible criteria.  If we settle on a variable, just one, that is the criterion we are using. These words come from Greek.

Sometimes, I think maybe Americans are very interested in being “Number One” without thinking “Number one in what?” Number one in auto crashes?  Number one in sleep disorders?

Not so lovely

On Monday of this week, I wrote about her elegance and grace. She walked into our yard proudly, gracefully.  She wasn’t wearing any clothes but we don’t expect a white-tailed doe to do that.  A couple of days later, she was back and not so elegant.  She impolitely pushed her mouth into a bird feeder, trying to get the seed there for herself.  We chased her away.  If she is going to be so poorly-mannered, she can stay away!

Kids and puppies

I saw an ad for miniature Australian shepherd puppies.  It showed little kids and puppies tumbling over each other and watching it, I could feel joy ascending in me.  I don’t plan to have a little kid around nor a puppy, let alone five of them. But the happiness, the energy and the enthusiasm are almost tangible, so present, so visible.

I can see a small public playground from my office.  When a car pulls up, kids inside burst out and RUN to climbing and swings.  No hesitation, no pondering: just GO!

Buck rub

We have several young trees that could be stunted or killed by buck rub.  That happens when male deer rub their foreheads and antler on tree trunks, often damaging or killing the tree.  Their heads itch strongly so the bucks rub against the trees.  Rubbing leaves a scent claiming the area and advertising the buck’s presence to potential mates in the neighborhood.

We have a spray can of repellant to protect our young trees.  It does tend to help our trees survive.

Sylvia Boorstein

Sylvia Boorstein is one of my favorite writers.  She writes non-fiction about Buddhist life and practice.  She has a book called “Don’t Just Do Something, SIT THERE!”  To me, that is a brain-catching title.  Somewhere in her books, she has a chapter called “Nobody’s grandmother is a Buddhist!”.  Those words came from her eight-year old granddaughter when the girl discovered her own grandmother was a Buddhist.

I think one of the difficulties Americans have is that Buddhism does not have formal joining ceremonies, according to what I read yesterday.  It has beliefs, convictions, practices.  Once those are understood, anyone can believe, be convinced, practice.

My experiences with Buddhist topics began when I read about college classes in relaxation.  I thought, “What, students come to class and just relax?”  Well, yes.  Some people, at many ages, need to improve their ability to relax.  They may need, or come to value or improve their ability, to relax, to be comfortable with themselves and their minds.

Ameta Center and Buzz

The Mid-State Technical College in Stevens Point has a building in the Business Park called the Ameta Center.  It was built, as I understand it, mostly to house training for medical technicians, specialists needed to use medical technology.  

When we watch “The Closer” and its follow-up “Major Crimes”, we do see gun fights and physical violence when a suspect attacks officers or others.  But there is a member of the crew, Buzz, who is a technologist.  When the investigation team is thinking about some criminal misdeed, Buzz is called upon to tape sights and sounds connected to the investigation.  Buzz is constantly called up to freeze, enlarge, repeat a scene.  His part is a good example of how a technologist, familiar with and comfortable with audio and visual tools that enhance memory and analysis of key events, is an important worker in multiple fields today.

Over-powering presence

We spot her walking in and a quiet sense of awe flows over us.  Such elegance, such grace.  Good thing I am not a buck.  I would be chained to follow her everywhere.  A young doe came into our yard this morning.  Sure, she is cautious with a kind of caution that is smooth and knowing.  Hope she comes again.

Sometimes

Sometimes, I need to know exactly what was said. My hearing is poor, especially for decoding speech.  We had the family over for lunch for Father’s Day and Lynn asked me to sweep the floor.  Later, she said, “Did you sweep ?” but I thought she had asked “Did you sleep?”  Just that 2nd letter: sweep, sleep, steep,seep.  It matters. Often, when she senses I am missing something she said, she spells out the word but I often can’t tell what letters she said.  This time, I did hear that W and I realized what she was saying.

Dad Day, Summer Solstice

I read that men come from a woman’s body and they spend their lives trying to get back in.  Indeed, the sex drive can be a burden to anyone as well, of course, as a source of pleasure: immediate, parental, satisfying, fulfilling.  I imagine there will be plenty of salutes to fatherhood but I add mine here.

Tomorrow is also the day of the summer solstice, when the earth is positioned to get its longest day in the Northern Hemisphere and marks the beginning of summer on the North side of the equator.  Have a good summer, Dads, Mothers, Children.

Federal holiday

Today is the holiday “Juneteenth”, celebrating the end of slavery in the US.  I have a book “Slaves without Masters” by Ira Berlin about free Blacks in the American South before the Civil War. I am not very surprised that there were black people who were not slaves in the South before the Civil War but I had never thought about the possibility.

I knew about a New Yorker article, possibly in 1997 by Malcolm Gladwell, about the best runners and sprinters being Black. The book “The Great Stain” by Noel Rae has valuable information on sex between slaves and owners.