Sometimes Yelling at Alexa Isn't Enough

It is dark. We sleep. The electronics do not.

 

At 0600 precisely, the alarm starts loudly blaring a song.

 

“Alexa,” I say sharply, from a dead sleep. “Turn off alarm.”

 

Blaring continues.

 

“Alexa,” we both say commandingly, and almost in unison, “STOP!”

 

Unfazed, the song blares on. Loudly. Surely the neighbors can hear this?

 

“Alexa, turn down volume,” I order with my 500’ voice. The little blue light ring illuminates, but insolently, the song continues at its stentorian volume level.

 

“Alexa, turn on bathroom lights,” Linda says with her best teacher voice. Maybe with the little beast’s attention diverted to another task, it will thereafter be able to perform its actual duty.

 

Bathroom light goes on. Song continues. Loudly.

 

Feet hit the floor. “I’m just going to stretch your neck, you insubordinate little box of microchips,” my inside voice says.

 

I stride powerfully around the bed and as my hands come up to reach for its scrawny throat (well….power cord) I notice that it is NOT the little blue-ringed black troglodyte troublemaker that is singing that now even louder song.

 

It’s one of our mobile phones. Heh heh.

 

Stupid `Lexa.

 

#firstworldproblems

Apical Buds and the Intelligence of Trees

At first glance, there's nothing too remarkable about this small redwood tree growing near our house.

But I know something about its history. And there is a remarkable story here.

After I planted it, I discovered to my surprise that beavers will eat redwood trees. Dang. A couple of winters ago, a beaver turned my five -foot redwood into a six-inch stob.

But it lived, and because it had good root infrastructure, it started growing again. Now, it's again about five feet tall. And protected from long-toothed rodents that dwell in water.

Last year, the apical bud (the topmost, and dominant growth area) died somehow. I wondered what would happen to it, but I kept adding fertilization and water. By the way, redwoods are not native to the central valley of California where we now live. They need a LOT of water, and so are found naturally along the coasts. This redwood however, is not far from a year-round creek, and may have already discovered that water source.  It is growing happily.

Early this year, I began noticing the branch at right in the photo beginning to slowly bend upwards from nearly horizontal. As you can see, after about six months, it is almost vertical. The new apical bud is at the top of this branch.

That, to me, is remarkable.

How did the tree know to transfer apical dominance to one of its limbs? And how does it cause the limb to slowly bend until it is upright? And how does it know when that limb is fully upright?

There is an intelligence among trees. There is something going on within that allows them to be aware of their needs, and even aware to some extent of what is going on around them.

I suspect that intelligence is more significant than we yet imagine.

When I really "see" nature, my heart turns by habit to nature's God, and remember when my heart first knew Him as an adult. That happened in a plant ecology class in my university training, of all places. I remember the day sitting in class when I had become sufficiently aware of the massive interconnections of the plant and animal word.....and that was more than 50 years ago. Today, much more is known.

I realized then that the intricacies of creation could not possibly have happened by chance.  I realized that God was, and as I opened my heart to that reality, that He is.

And in time I my heart came to know that He loves me. The transference of apical dominance and self-bending a limb is pretty amazing.  But a God that loves me and communicates with me: THAT'S a real miracle.  😃

Losing Weight With Friends: A Better Way

This isn't a brag. It's a strategy that has worked for me. I'm sharing this in hopes it will help others.

After being overweight for decades, at 178 lbs (81 kg) I am now in the normal weight range for my height, as my body mass index (BMI) is now under 25. 

 

My wife tells me I look good and feel good. That's an even better motivator than BMI

Here's the strategy: On a camping trip in early June, two friends and I decided to lose weight. Each of us was overweight. It showed and we felt it. 

 

The next day, we sent our beginning weights in a text thread. Almost every day since then, we have continued to share our weights. Many days, it's just a number. Other days, it's a number and something humorous or encouraging....or a bad excuse for a small weight gain. 

 

We're men, so there's an element of competition here, of course. But honestly, the most valuable part of this is that we are each invested in the success of the other two. And it has worked: between the three of us we have already lost more than 60 lbs (27 kg). Each of us is approaching his goal weight. I'm down 16 lbs (7 kg) with 3 lbs (1.3 kg) to go. All of us feel better, and all are seeing health benefits.

 

How did we lose weight? Simple: we ate less and exercised more. There's all kinds of ways to go at this. I have been using Weight Watchers, and I find as a side benefit that it helps me understand good portion size and the caloric content of my usual foods. I also try to walk 8,000 steps a day.

 

But in my heart, what really made the difference was the encouragement of two friends!

University Education: Why Would We Pay for Leftist Indoctrination?

My university experience was a great time in my life. It is where I met my wife, it prepared me for a rewarding career, and it opened my eyes to new knowledge, new ways of thinking, and new ways to learn. The University of Alaska in the 1990s was very valuable to our adult children as well. 

But today, as I think about our two granddaughters, I am seriously doubting the wisdom of their future attendance at nearly any of the colleges and universities in the United States or even abroad. Most of these have left their honorable purposes to become leftist indoctrination camps. 

I am not concerned about exposure to ideas from both ends of the ideological spectrum. That’s healthy. What I AM concerned about is the overwhelming preponderance of leftist faculty and staff and a smothering teaching of “correct think”. 

Our family has poured years into our granddaughters’ healthy emotional and spiritual growth, and much money into excellent private education. For them to lose that would be a disaster for them and their family, and those that follow after them. 

Clearly, not everyone coming out of America’s colleges and universities today is steeped in neo-Marxism and nihilism, but many are, to the great dismay of their families, and to the diminishing of America. The massive college debt of many young Americans is bad, but the educational outcomes are worse. 

And speaking of debt, is a university education in many disciplines really worth what people are paying? 

So…..American colleges and universities: are you listening? I am one American father and grandfather and financial supporter of education who views you with massive distrust.

An Ordinary (But Deeply Powerful) Sunday Family Lunch

We did something ordinary today.  We ate our Sunday lunch together, the three generations of us here.  It's ordinary because we do this almost every Sunday.  We started this pleasant habit about four years ago -- now around 200 times.

But ordinary does not even begin to describe the deep human value of this simple activity. Sharing food is deeply woven into humanity. There is a bonding that happens each time we sit at table together. It feels like silken threads added layer upon layer binding us together.

Not only are we sharing food, we are sharing ideas, hopes, and dreams. While sometimes we have important subjects to discuss as a family, mostly it's just happy talk, the casual conversation of people who know each other well. Plans are hatched for other activities we do together. Sometimes we ask for help with a project or a need. We often talk about the church meeting we were part of earlier in the morning. And we're Americans, so we talk about politics. :) We often find that two or three hours slip away before it is time to go our separate ways.

I believe what is happening at a superconscious level is even more profound. In these regular gatherings, we are each teaching each other who we are as a people in a family, how we respond to life, and how we communicate and connect emotionally with each other. Family history is shared in little pieces, and the younger learn from the older who they are and where they come from.

And there is a simple profundity at the spiritual level as well. We begin our meals together with a simple grace. It's a habit, but habits are powerful, and this one reminds us each week that we live our lives with attitudes of gratitude and a recognition of Jesus, who is at the center of all. This is what we have sung together for many years:

Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus

For this food, for this food

And our many blessings, and our many blessings

Amen amen amen

So......today, I'm deeply grateful for this ordinary thing we do, and the extra-ordinary family of which I am a part.