July '08 Pot Poury
Since I haven't done an autobiographical type blurb in a while, I will do a little catching up. I have been living in what one fellow colorfully called the buckle of the bible belt for about four years now. It is a long way from paradise but I am reasonably content here---- no plans to move anywhere. When I moved here I anticipated getting the same sense of satisfaction from the ocean as I did the mountains. Not even close. I don't dislike it here, it's just sort of bland in comparison to the Colorado Rockies. It wouldn't do at all if I were younger, but I am quite comfortable rocking away my final years here by the sea. In retrospect North Myrtle Beach is probably as good or better place to live than any other place on the east coast. There is one hell of a lot of tourist money here, so there is an ample supply of upscale niceties---- gourmet foodstuffs, entertainment, shopping, etc.. It is also much cheaper to live here than it was in Boulder County and perhaps naively [PERHAPS?], I think I have enough income to live comfortably without fear of hardship regardless of the economic trends. And driving on the Pork Barrel highways of 22 and 31 is really a joy.
Perhaps a refresher of sorts about my writing style and word usage is in order. I think about stuff---- I think about stuff a lot, sometimes for a long time. When I get to the point where something makes sense to me, I write it in here. I am not trying to write my own theory of scientific anything, I am writing about science from the perspective of my viewpoint. My goal is not to provide my readers with Jim's Godterms they can quote, but rather to suggest broad vistas that you the reader might find useful in deciding for yourself a world view that makes sense to you. Not to read and memorize "facts"--- but to think about things. This is not some motivational message to validate your qualifications to think for yourself. This is an angry rant to blame most of our social problems on our irresponsible habit of reading to each other the things the "experts" have written. If you can't say it in your own words, you don't understand it... and with Google at your fingertips that is inexcusable. I briefly referred elsewhere to my former four letter W word wherein we were instructed to write our reports to the tenth grade level. When I use less common words, I do it not to try and impress readers with my big vocabulary, but simply because I like words. New ones are fun to use. It is easy enough to keep a dictionary on your tool bar and cut and paste words you don't know and are curious about, or you can just skip over them. Some of the words I use were new to me until if found them in my trusty online thesaurus. Now about the bold lettered word big. Ordinarily, I would cut/paste it to my thesaurus and use one of these words.
large, great, huge, giant, massive, vast, enormous, considerable, substantial, extensive, immense, spacious, gigantic, monumental, mammoth, bulky, burly, colossal, stellar (informal) prodigious, hulking, ponderous, voluminous, elephantine, ginormous (informal) humongous, important, serious, significant, grave, urgent, paramount, big-time (informal) far-reaching, momentous, major league (informal) weighty, powerful, important, prime, principal, prominent, dominant, influential, paramount, eminent, puissant, adult, grown, mature, elder, full-grown, generous, good, princely, noble, heroic, gracious, benevolent, disinterested, altruistic, unselfish, magnanimous
see how easy that was???
I take my retirement from political activities seriously. I have no idea who the mayor/city manager of North Myrtle Beach is. I have never been to city hall. I can deal with whatever policies/laws they decide so I really don't give a damn about the local government. Lucky for me, because if I were involved in local citizenship affairs it would be Don Quixote Rides Again. I am perhaps more careful than most to obey most of the local laws/procedures even those I think are stupid or backwards. I do this not out of a sense of respect for the rules, but because if I were hauled into court by some redneck cop and faced a local judge and jury, they would take one look/listen to me and say "Guilty!, by the way what was the charge"?
That said, I will make a couple of observations. The local citizenry seems to have used India's Caste system as a model. Even though India's constitution makes caste discrimination illegal it is still widely practiced, and the local NMB yokels have joined the party. The four NMB castes are 1) Tourists, who are tolerated but not respected. Their sole societal role is to part with their cash, mostly by being overcharged for a plethora of simple minded, plasticised trash. 2) The Good Ole Boy Network class whose primary attributes are hypocrisy and corruption. 3) The Commoner/Menial Worker Class, who are treated like shit, and have lost the will to rebel. 4) And the Stranger in A Strange Land caste of which I seem to be the only member.
The only local government institution about which I am knowledgeable is the North Myrtle Beach Aquatic and Fitness Center. This fabulously appointed facility is as well equipped and meticulously maintained as any upscale health club in our largest cities. I happily use it six days a week, which makes my criticism somewhat hypocritical. Check our their website for yourself.
The fitness area, typically called a weight room, boasts the following top of the line equipment.
26 Treadmills
9 Recumbent Bikes
5 Upright Bikes
4 Arc Trainers
54 Pieces of Selectorized, Plate Loaded Free Weight Equipment
7 Free Motion Selectorized Weight Equipment
1 Multi-Weight Station for persons w/ disabilities
4 Airdyne Bikes
9 Spinning Bikes
1 Fitness Stepper
13 Precor Elliptical Machines
Here we have 133 pieces of the best exercise equipment money can buy so the fine citizenry of North Myrtle Beach can stay in great shape. Wha du prob bro? On a typical weekday morning there are about 10-15 patrons in the fitness area, most of whom are past middle age and clearly have not exercised (or stopped eating) for many years. So at any one time each of us has our choice of at least 8.9 unused pieces of equipment from which to choose. Never in my life have I seen such an under utilized facility. With that sort of capital investment and operating expenses reportedly at about one million per year, how can this company expect to make a profit? Oh, wait a minute, it's not a private company, it is a government facility, paid for and partially maintained by taxpayer dollars- legally intended for the use and well being of all the area citizens. But in a basely brazen policy of elitism the city sets the membership fee so high and restrictive that most people in the commoner caste can not afford to join. That is blatant discrimination, and I believe the city leaders don't stop with simple discriminatory policies, but cross the line into downright corruption.
Within the membership there is a small group of folks in training for a local triathelon. Good for them, and one would expect a certain pride and comradery in the group. I certainly admire and respect their efforts. But...
returning to the facility one morning I spotted nine racing type exercise bikes parked in the hallway. They are made by Schwinn and according to the online sales page go for $1,300 each. Seemed strange to me, the last thing they needed was more equipment. The next day they had been moved, but not to the fitness area. Instead I found them tucked away in a little used multi-purpose room. Couple of days later I saw a training class of GOBN stalwarts pedaling away. The ambiance message was clear----- this is a private party, no riff-raff allowed. Most of the time the bikes sit parked in one corner with the room lights off. I won't allow myself to give a damn beyond this blog.... but had I not hung my Don Quixote outfit on the wall, there would be some Freedom of Information demands in the mail. As it is I hope to assuage my conscience by just noting here that this is political corruption at its finest.
Before I leave the subject I want to make a couple of observations about my fellow exercisers. I don't mean this as a valid criticism because the behaviors are examples of local culture, and thus have every right to exist without harassment- but are fair game for sarcasm. Here we are in pseudo sex heaven. The place is littered with strip joints, euphemistically called Gentleman's Clubs, and hookers flourish. Pretty wide open town, huh? But then in the rec center, the men's room features individual showers with double curtains. The rec center director laments that she is helpless to force the men running around buck naked to cover up. Nonetheless the majority of men do go through this quick cover up before anyone notices that I have a penis routine. [It would be totally inappropriate of me to suggest that the director's attitude is reflected in her hair style, so I won't mention it.]
Some time ago I wrote that the local populace seemed dispirited, just do/believe what they are told without thinking. Here's an example. Sign in the fitness area requests that for health and sanitation reasons patrons are to wipe down each piece of equipment after they use it. The center maintains number of locations for paper towels and cleaning solution. I can't believe how many patrons not only do that, but make a big show of wiping down the seats with whatever deadly potion is in the spray bottles. For just a tiny bit of background information, most of the weight machines have a pin with a yellow knob on one end for selecting the desired weight. The pin is typically moved by placing two fingers on the interior side of the knob and the thumb on the outside surface of the knob. Even though the fingers are far and away the way most germs are passed on, I have never seen anyone wipe off the pin knobs. And apparently it does not occur to them that they don't wipe down the seats in a restaurant, on buses etc.
Two bad ass germs are hanging out in their local orifice-
Germ 1: Know what I'm gonna do? I'm going to move over to the butt cheeks or back and hang out. Then when this sucker sits at a machine, I am going to go through their gym clothes, wait around on the plastic seat till some other fool sits down, and then I am gonna go through their gym clothes, and look around for a weak spot I can infect.
Germ 2: You idiot, you can't do that.
Germ 1: Oh yeah? Why the hell not?
Germ 2: Cause you ain't got no legs!
Germ 1: oh
Just one more Stranger in a Strange Land episode. I was sitting in the center's wonderful sauna, couple of guys had sweated enough and left, only other person in there was a woman. Keep in mind that these are GOBN folks, ostensibly more cultured than the commoners. So this lady says that she has a joke to tell me. It was a stupid racial joke about Obama, the White House, and two hunters with their dogs who came up from Louisiana because they heard there was a c*** in the White House. When she finished the joke, she started this HLOL, and it took her a few seconds to realize I wasn't laughing. I didn't come down on her case- what's the use? I just said that because many of our social problems are too severe to be resolved, and should Obama get elected then he will inherit all the blame simply because he is black, and that it would likely lead to increased racial tension.
Have a nice day. Don't mind me, I'm just going to sit here and cry for a while.
Later.
Since I haven't done an autobiographical type blurb in a while, I will do a little catching up. I have been living in what one fellow colorfully called the buckle of the bible belt for about four years now. It is a long way from paradise but I am reasonably content here---- no plans to move anywhere. When I moved here I anticipated getting the same sense of satisfaction from the ocean as I did the mountains. Not even close. I don't dislike it here, it's just sort of bland in comparison to the Colorado Rockies. It wouldn't do at all if I were younger, but I am quite comfortable rocking away my final years here by the sea. In retrospect North Myrtle Beach is probably as good or better place to live than any other place on the east coast. There is one hell of a lot of tourist money here, so there is an ample supply of upscale niceties---- gourmet foodstuffs, entertainment, shopping, etc.. It is also much cheaper to live here than it was in Boulder County and perhaps naively [PERHAPS?], I think I have enough income to live comfortably without fear of hardship regardless of the economic trends. And driving on the Pork Barrel highways of 22 and 31 is really a joy.
Perhaps a refresher of sorts about my writing style and word usage is in order. I think about stuff---- I think about stuff a lot, sometimes for a long time. When I get to the point where something makes sense to me, I write it in here. I am not trying to write my own theory of scientific anything, I am writing about science from the perspective of my viewpoint. My goal is not to provide my readers with Jim's Godterms they can quote, but rather to suggest broad vistas that you the reader might find useful in deciding for yourself a world view that makes sense to you. Not to read and memorize "facts"--- but to think about things. This is not some motivational message to validate your qualifications to think for yourself. This is an angry rant to blame most of our social problems on our irresponsible habit of reading to each other the things the "experts" have written. If you can't say it in your own words, you don't understand it... and with Google at your fingertips that is inexcusable. I briefly referred elsewhere to my former four letter W word wherein we were instructed to write our reports to the tenth grade level. When I use less common words, I do it not to try and impress readers with my big vocabulary, but simply because I like words. New ones are fun to use. It is easy enough to keep a dictionary on your tool bar and cut and paste words you don't know and are curious about, or you can just skip over them. Some of the words I use were new to me until if found them in my trusty online thesaurus. Now about the bold lettered word big. Ordinarily, I would cut/paste it to my thesaurus and use one of these words.
large, great, huge, giant, massive, vast, enormous, considerable, substantial, extensive, immense, spacious, gigantic, monumental, mammoth, bulky, burly, colossal, stellar (informal) prodigious, hulking, ponderous, voluminous, elephantine, ginormous (informal) humongous, important, serious, significant, grave, urgent, paramount, big-time (informal) far-reaching, momentous, major league (informal) weighty, powerful, important, prime, principal, prominent, dominant, influential, paramount, eminent, puissant, adult, grown, mature, elder, full-grown, generous, good, princely, noble, heroic, gracious, benevolent, disinterested, altruistic, unselfish, magnanimous
see how easy that was???
I take my retirement from political activities seriously. I have no idea who the mayor/city manager of North Myrtle Beach is. I have never been to city hall. I can deal with whatever policies/laws they decide so I really don't give a damn about the local government. Lucky for me, because if I were involved in local citizenship affairs it would be Don Quixote Rides Again. I am perhaps more careful than most to obey most of the local laws/procedures even those I think are stupid or backwards. I do this not out of a sense of respect for the rules, but because if I were hauled into court by some redneck cop and faced a local judge and jury, they would take one look/listen to me and say "Guilty!, by the way what was the charge"?
That said, I will make a couple of observations. The local citizenry seems to have used India's Caste system as a model. Even though India's constitution makes caste discrimination illegal it is still widely practiced, and the local NMB yokels have joined the party. The four NMB castes are 1) Tourists, who are tolerated but not respected. Their sole societal role is to part with their cash, mostly by being overcharged for a plethora of simple minded, plasticised trash. 2) The Good Ole Boy Network class whose primary attributes are hypocrisy and corruption. 3) The Commoner/Menial Worker Class, who are treated like shit, and have lost the will to rebel. 4) And the Stranger in A Strange Land caste of which I seem to be the only member.
The only local government institution about which I am knowledgeable is the North Myrtle Beach Aquatic and Fitness Center. This fabulously appointed facility is as well equipped and meticulously maintained as any upscale health club in our largest cities. I happily use it six days a week, which makes my criticism somewhat hypocritical. Check our their website for yourself.
The fitness area, typically called a weight room, boasts the following top of the line equipment.
26 Treadmills
9 Recumbent Bikes
5 Upright Bikes
4 Arc Trainers
54 Pieces of Selectorized, Plate Loaded Free Weight Equipment
7 Free Motion Selectorized Weight Equipment
1 Multi-Weight Station for persons w/ disabilities
4 Airdyne Bikes
9 Spinning Bikes
1 Fitness Stepper
13 Precor Elliptical Machines
Here we have 133 pieces of the best exercise equipment money can buy so the fine citizenry of North Myrtle Beach can stay in great shape. Wha du prob bro? On a typical weekday morning there are about 10-15 patrons in the fitness area, most of whom are past middle age and clearly have not exercised (or stopped eating) for many years. So at any one time each of us has our choice of at least 8.9 unused pieces of equipment from which to choose. Never in my life have I seen such an under utilized facility. With that sort of capital investment and operating expenses reportedly at about one million per year, how can this company expect to make a profit? Oh, wait a minute, it's not a private company, it is a government facility, paid for and partially maintained by taxpayer dollars- legally intended for the use and well being of all the area citizens. But in a basely brazen policy of elitism the city sets the membership fee so high and restrictive that most people in the commoner caste can not afford to join. That is blatant discrimination, and I believe the city leaders don't stop with simple discriminatory policies, but cross the line into downright corruption.
Within the membership there is a small group of folks in training for a local triathelon. Good for them, and one would expect a certain pride and comradery in the group. I certainly admire and respect their efforts. But...
returning to the facility one morning I spotted nine racing type exercise bikes parked in the hallway. They are made by Schwinn and according to the online sales page go for $1,300 each. Seemed strange to me, the last thing they needed was more equipment. The next day they had been moved, but not to the fitness area. Instead I found them tucked away in a little used multi-purpose room. Couple of days later I saw a training class of GOBN stalwarts pedaling away. The ambiance message was clear----- this is a private party, no riff-raff allowed. Most of the time the bikes sit parked in one corner with the room lights off. I won't allow myself to give a damn beyond this blog.... but had I not hung my Don Quixote outfit on the wall, there would be some Freedom of Information demands in the mail. As it is I hope to assuage my conscience by just noting here that this is political corruption at its finest.
Before I leave the subject I want to make a couple of observations about my fellow exercisers. I don't mean this as a valid criticism because the behaviors are examples of local culture, and thus have every right to exist without harassment- but are fair game for sarcasm. Here we are in pseudo sex heaven. The place is littered with strip joints, euphemistically called Gentleman's Clubs, and hookers flourish. Pretty wide open town, huh? But then in the rec center, the men's room features individual showers with double curtains. The rec center director laments that she is helpless to force the men running around buck naked to cover up. Nonetheless the majority of men do go through this quick cover up before anyone notices that I have a penis routine. [It would be totally inappropriate of me to suggest that the director's attitude is reflected in her hair style, so I won't mention it.]
Some time ago I wrote that the local populace seemed dispirited, just do/believe what they are told without thinking. Here's an example. Sign in the fitness area requests that for health and sanitation reasons patrons are to wipe down each piece of equipment after they use it. The center maintains number of locations for paper towels and cleaning solution. I can't believe how many patrons not only do that, but make a big show of wiping down the seats with whatever deadly potion is in the spray bottles. For just a tiny bit of background information, most of the weight machines have a pin with a yellow knob on one end for selecting the desired weight. The pin is typically moved by placing two fingers on the interior side of the knob and the thumb on the outside surface of the knob. Even though the fingers are far and away the way most germs are passed on, I have never seen anyone wipe off the pin knobs. And apparently it does not occur to them that they don't wipe down the seats in a restaurant, on buses etc.
Two bad ass germs are hanging out in their local orifice-
Germ 1: Know what I'm gonna do? I'm going to move over to the butt cheeks or back and hang out. Then when this sucker sits at a machine, I am going to go through their gym clothes, wait around on the plastic seat till some other fool sits down, and then I am gonna go through their gym clothes, and look around for a weak spot I can infect.
Germ 2: You idiot, you can't do that.
Germ 1: Oh yeah? Why the hell not?
Germ 2: Cause you ain't got no legs!
Germ 1: oh
Just one more Stranger in a Strange Land episode. I was sitting in the center's wonderful sauna, couple of guys had sweated enough and left, only other person in there was a woman. Keep in mind that these are GOBN folks, ostensibly more cultured than the commoners. So this lady says that she has a joke to tell me. It was a stupid racial joke about Obama, the White House, and two hunters with their dogs who came up from Louisiana because they heard there was a c*** in the White House. When she finished the joke, she started this HLOL, and it took her a few seconds to realize I wasn't laughing. I didn't come down on her case- what's the use? I just said that because many of our social problems are too severe to be resolved, and should Obama get elected then he will inherit all the blame simply because he is black, and that it would likely lead to increased racial tension.
Have a nice day. Don't mind me, I'm just going to sit here and cry for a while.
Later.
