What Would Jimmy Do?

I read an article yesterday that stated that LEGO had failed in an attempt to make their product more environmentally friendly. LEGOs have always made their “bricks” out of plastic — it’s not a recent thing, that they turned to plastic after being made of wood or metal, or some other substance. They started out being made of plastic and they still are today. 

LEGOs are made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, better known as ABS. The problem with that is that ABS doesn’t biodegrade and it’s not easily recycled. So, as you might imagine, concern about climate change and pollution have made this material increasingly taboo. Responding to this concern, the LEGO Company is in a rush to find alternatives. 

Two years ago, Lego announced it had made impressive progress in developing a suitable robust material made from recycled plastic bottles. This material is known as recycled polyethylene terephthalate or rPET. The LEGO company CEO called for companies and policymakers to stand together globally for a just and green transition to a net-zero future. 

However, the article explained that LEGO’s project to transition away from ABS to rPET had failed. The company determined that the new equipment and process needed to be used for rPET manufacturing, would have a heavier carbon footprint than if they stuck with ABS.

The article went on to explain that LEGOs don’t provide as much of a threat to the environment as some products because LEGOs are generally not thrown out — they are kept for many years and often passed along to the owners children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 
I guess there may be some truth to that — we still have legos that out kids had…. hopefully our grandkids will take them and pass them along.
— 30 —

I watched an interesting segment on 60 Minutes last Sunday about quantum computing. The program was fascinating and frankly a little disturbing. When these computers come along with their magic large number factoring capabilities, I’m going to be even more lost in the world of technology than I am now. 
Maybe its just me being my curmudgeon self, but I think there are a lot of things with our current computing systems that should be fixed before we take that quantum leap.

One of the most frustrating things about using a computer today, or even my phone, is passwords. It seems like every time I need to access a particular site, I have to put in my user ID and password. It doesn’t matter if I’ve asked my computer to save it or not and, apparently, if I’ve used the same password more then two or three times, it’s no good anymore and I have to come up with a new one. If our kids, or grandkids come to our house and use their phones/computers, all our devices inform me that out network has been accessed by someone new and we have to log in all over again….

The first computer I ever owned was a TRS-80, made by Radio Shack — a few years later, I got an Apple IIC. We used those computers for years — and — when you wanted to use them, you turned on the power switch, waited a few minutes for them to “boot,” and…. and there wasn’t anything else,  that was it. You just started using the computer — it didn’t ask you do do anything, or provide it any information before it was ready to serve you. In fact, until just the last several years, that’s the way most computers worked. But today, we have passwords for our phones, iPads, computers, Internet, local area network, some functions in our cars, lots and lots of company sites, banks, TVs, TV channels and even some of our appliances… the list just goes on and on.

I understand the need for privacy and security in this day and age, but it sure seems like the keen technical brains that are working on things like quantum computing, could take a few minutes and figure out how to make us average Joe’s lives simpler by coming up with a scheme to make our electronic gadgets user friendly again.
— 30 — 

“A day that will live in infamy,” President Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his speech responding to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Every year, on December 7, Pearl Harbor Survivors, veterans, and visitors from all over the world come together to honor and remember the 2,043 service members and civilians killed during the Japanese attack. 
The attack on Pearl Harbor created a wave of patriotism and outrage. Less than a year after Pearl Harbor, 50 million of the 132 million Americans were employed in the war effort working for the government. 

Something that isn’t well-known is that on the morning of December 7th, 1941, the Wickes-class destroyer USS Ward attacked and sank a Ko-hyoteki class midget submarine near the entrance to the harbor, making it not only the first shot fired on that day, but the first official American shots in the War.

The Pearl Harbor attack began at 7:55 am (Hawaii time) on Sunday morning. Japanese aircraft were launched from the Japanese fleet north of Hawaii that consisted of 67 ships —6 heavy aircraft carriers, two heavy cruisers, 35 submarines, two light cruisers, nine oilers, two battleships and 11 destroyers. They deployed 353 aircraft — 40 torpedo planes, 103 level bombers, 131 dive-bombers and 79 fighter aircraft.

The US declared war on Japan on December 8th. Three days later, Japanese allies Germany and Italy declared war against the United States.
Most ships on “Battleship Row” in Pearl Harbor returned to service after the attack, but the Arizona and Oklahoma were damaged beyond repair by bombs or torpedo hits. Of the 2,026 American sailors and marines killed in the attack, 1,606 had been aboard those two ships.

The survivors that served on the USS Arizona have the option to join their lost comrades and make the ship their final resting place. Crew members who served on board the USS Arizona during the attack may choose to have their ashes deposited by divers beneath one of the sunken Arizona’s gun turrets. 

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor a second time on March 4th, 1942 — in what they called Operation K. They used two 4 engine naval flying boats, nicknamed “Emily” by the allies. They could carry one ton of bombs and had a crew of 10. Also known as the flying porcupine, the planes had five 20mm cannons and four machine guns in turrets and blisters.
However, on March 4th, radar saw them coming, and just after midnight, air defense dispatched fighters to patrol Pearl Harbor. Because they were unable to see the target due to cloudy weather, one aircraft dropped bombs on a remote hillside and the other dropped its bombs into the ocean.

So today is National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day — a day we should truly “never forget.”
— 30 —

I’ve mentioned before that I never knew about St Nicholas Day when I was little — I only learned about it when I was much older. Claire, on the other hand, always knew about St. Nicholas and it was always celebrated in her house. 
We observed St. Nicholas Day with out kids, but I’m not sure they really got into it like some people.
But anyhow — today, December 6, is St. Nicholas Day.

Most people know that St. Nicholas was a friendly man who brought joy to the children in his hometown with gifts — but — like most things, there’s much more to the story than that….

The Dutch are responsible for the change from St. Nicholas to Santa Claus. The Dutch brought traditions of “Sinterklaas” (that’s what the Dutch called St. Nicholas) with them to North American and founded New Amsterdam, in 1621. Shortly afterwards, English settlers made the name sound more like what we’re used to hearing today — Santa Claus.

But back to St. Nicholas — his path to sainthood wasn’t easy. He was tortured and imprisoned for his faith until the first Christian emperor gave religious liberty to Christians everywhere. St. Nicholas was made a Bishop of Myra when he was only 30 years old — that earned him the moniker “boy bishop.”
One of the more famous stories of St. Nicholas, aside from giving gifts to children is his intervention on behalf of three men who were falsely condemned to death. When they were to be killed, St. Nicholas risked his life by grabbing the sword from the executioner’s hands and throwing it on the ground, demanding the men be set free.
He had such authority that the executioner left his sword where it fell. Later, the man really responsible for the crime the three men would have died for, sought forgiveness from St. Nicholas and confessed his sin.
St. Nicholas forgave the man and absolved his sin — after he underwent a period of repentance. 

Throughout the centuries many stories and legends have been passed down about St. Nicholas’ life and his good deeds. No wonder he has the reputation for being an extraordinary character and why he is so beloved as a protector and help of those in need.
— 30 —

Years ago, we were in Hawaii and we went to dinner at a very nice restaurant. I think on this particular night, we went out to eat a little later than we normally do. Anyhow, the restaurant wasn’t very crowded and while we were eating, most of the patrons finished their meals and left. We were one of only two or three, or maybe four, couples left. Just about the time we were finishing up, an older couple a few tables from us began to argue. I don’t know what the argument was about, but it got pretty heated and the husband (I’m assuming he was her husband) stood up, threw his napkin on the table,and announced (loud enough for everyone to hear,) that he’d had enough and stormed out the door. The lady seemed very upset and looked at us and said, “what do I do now? I don’t have any money.” 
Well, as you can imagine, we felt sorry for her and we paid her check and called her a cab. She told us what hotel they were staying at, so we paid the cab to take her to that hotel.

I’m not sure why I thought of this experience, but I just wonder if the couple had a real argument, or was it just a scam? Did they do this on a regular basis? It’s funny, but that thought never crossed our minds back then. I wonder if the same thing happened today, would we handle it the same way? I hope we would, but it seems like the world has become more cynical and we become suspicious of most everything. But that’s the way it is — everything changes, and obviously not always for the better.
— 30 — 

Around this time every year, most of the dictionaries and a few other sources choose their “word of the year.” It’a always interesting to see what they think should be the word of the year. Some years it’s driven by circumstances, like the pandemic, sometimes it’s due to some new technology or discovery and sometimes it isn’t even a word — a few years ago, it wasn’t a word, it was an emoji.

Anyhow, as I said, there turns out to be lots of words of the year, depending who chooses them. 
I decided this year to just focus on two pretty well-known sources — the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and the Cambridge Dictionary.

Merriam-Webster chose “authentic” as their word of the year. This one kind of puzzles me — it seems to me that nothing much is authentic any more. You certainly can’t believed most anything on social media is authentic, turns out that much of the news isn’t authentic, either. You have to be careful buying car parts (or airplane parts) because there’s a real possibility they’re not authentic. And of course with the explosion of Artificial Intelligence, it’s getting harder and harder to determine what is authentic.

The Cambridge Dictionary came up with “hallucinate” as their choice for word of the year. I guess I think this one might make a little more sense. As the campaign for president is gearing up, most of the talk I hear doesn’t make any logical sense — maybe some or most of these people really are hallucinating. Again, AI, or more particularly generative AI, may have played a part in their selection. So if it’s generative AI or the political climate, they both seem to stray from reality and truth….hallucinating may be a good term. 

Just as I finished writing this, I thought I probably should check to see what the Oxford Dictionary picked this year, after all it’s pick usually get the most press. The Oxford word of the year for 2023 is “rizz.” I have to be honest — I’ve never heard that word before and have no idea what it means. According to the Oxford University Press, it is derived from the word “charisma” and it refers to a person’t ability to attract a romantic partner through “style, charm or attractiveness.” The Oxford folks added that the word can also be used as a verb, in the phrase “rizz up,” meaning to attract or chat up a person. 

So three different sources came up with three pretty different words for this year. With a little imagination I could see why two of them might have been chosen. The third one baffles me. Apparently I have absolutely no rizz at all….
— 30 —

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. The first Sunday of Advent varies — it falls between November 17 and December 3. Advent season can be as long as 4 complete weeks or as short as 3 weeks and 1 day. It begins four Sundays before Christmas and ends on Christmas Eve. The first Sunday of Advent is the start of each new Church year. The word “Advent” comes from the Latin Word adventus, which means “coming” or “visit.”

Around this time of year, commercialism has taken over and you see a lot of Advent calendars for sale. An Advent calendar is a special calendar used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas.The Advent calendar was first used by German Lutherans in the 19th and 20th centuries, but now it’s popular among followers of many Christian denominations. The first Advent calendars for sale usually had pictures inside each “window” on the calendar, and later they they began to put a chocolate behind each window’s door. Today there are beer, wine, various types of food and even toys in the Advent calendar windows….

Another prominent symbol of the season is the Advent wreath. Advent wreaths have four candles — usually one is lit each of the four Sundays before Christmas. Each of the four candles has a meaning — Hope, Peace/Preparation, Joy and Love. The candles also have names: Prophecy Candle, Bethlehem Candle, Shepherd Candle and Angel Candle. The third Sunday of Advent is also known as Gaudete Sunday in the Catholic Church. Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin. The third Sunday of Advent candle is pink (or rose) colored — it is lit to represent joy and anticipation of Christmas. The Catholic Church uses the color pink, or rose, to indicate a joyful feast day or holiday. Gaudete Sunday’s counterpart in Lent is Laetare Sunday, another break in penance to rejoice in hope as we approach Easter. During both days, a priest will usually wear rose vestments.

Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) inaugurated a season of preparation for Christmas called Advent, composed of prayers and responses, and preached from a series of scriptures appropriate for the season. In the 11th century, Pope Gregory VII decreed the observance of a season of Advent that was to last through the four Sundays before December 25, beginning on the Sunday nearest to the feast of St. Andrew (Nov. 30) and ending on December 24. 
So starting today, it is the season…..
— 30 —

Well, here it is nearing the end of 2023 — and as I always do, I made New Year’s Resolutions for the year. And, being a man of my word, I’m here to tell you how I did with my 2023 resolutions. Every year (for some reason) I make resolutions and before the year is over, I report back here — honestly — how I did. So here’s this year’s report…..

My resolutions for 2023:
I resolve to unsubscribe to all the (un)helpful e-mails that try to sell me stuff that zI don’t want and can’t afford. 
Grade: E (that’s for EFFORT.) I honestly tried to get rid of these things, but it turns out it’s harder than trying to get through to a real person when you need customer service. I tried every trick I know, but honestly I’ve got more in my e-mail than I did last year. I’m trying to decide if I should give this another shot, or just give up.
I resolve that I will not act my age.
Grade: A- I really put a lot of work into this one and pretty much made a fool of myself at every opportunity. I’m not sure if someone is more annoying when they act like they’r younger, or when they act their age — or older.
I resolve to make the usual unusual.
Grade: A — I truly did make the usual unusual. I have to admit that that isn’t necessarily a good thing, because some of the usual things I used to do and not think about, became a real challenge this year for some reason. I found lots of ways make routine projects into major challenges.
I resolve to learn something I never learned as a child.
Grade: C — I think I may have learned something new this year, but I honestly can’t remember what it was. As I mentioned last year, I had a pretty dull childhood, so I’m pretty sure I learned something this year that I didn’t learn when I was a kid. I lowered my grade to a C because I even though I’m pretty sure I did it, I can’t remember.
I resolve to do something nice for other every day week.
Grade: A — This was the year of niceness for me. I’m almost sure I was nicer than I was in 2022. I even expanded my practice of rolling the neighbors’ trash cans back after the trash was picked up.
I resolve to become really good a procrastination.
Grade: A+ — I totally succeeded at this one. I think I’m getting so good at this I’m turning it into an art form….

So there you are — my honest assessment of how I did with my resolutions for 2023. And even as good as I think I did, I think I can do even better. In a few days, I’m going to sit down and jot down a few things I’m going to do to make me an even better person in 2024.
— 30 —

Here it is December already — the 12th, and last, month of 2023. December is always a busy month with lots of holidays, feasts and happenings. It’s a busy month, so take a deep breath and let’s get started…..

The month of December originally consisted of 30 days. When January and February were added to the calendar, December was shortened to 29 days. But then when the Julian calendar came along, two days were added to December, making it 31 days long.

The month of December brings along the winter solstice. This is the shortest day of the year, or at least the day with the least amount of daylight. This year, the solstice is on Thursday, December 21. 
December’s full Moon is called the full Cold Moon and will appear on Tuesday, December 26 — it reaches peak illumination at 7:33 a.m. EST.

Along with Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the Month is filled with activities to keep us busy — December 3 is the first Sunday of Advent, followed by Saint Nicholas Day on December 6. December 7 is one of those days that we should never forget — National Pearly Harbor Remembrance Day.
And the month also includes the Bill of Rights Day, Wright Brothers Day and the first day of Kwanzaa, along with Boxing Day in Canada and the UK and as mentioned earlier, the Winter Solstice.
And — according to legend, frost on the shortest day is said to indicate a severe winter.
So buckle up — let’s get on with December…
— 30 —

Yesterday was our twin granddaughters birthday. Over the past few years, I’ve talked a lot about twins — there’s something about them that just seems very special. And it turns out that I’m not the only one that thinks there’s something special about twins….

Twins account for only about 3% of natural births, but throughout history they’ve had a big impact on human culture. Twins have been worshiped as gods and persecuted as witches. Artists, writers, philosophers and even scientists have obsessed over these dual-beings — twins have left their mark on everything from ancient myths to modern genetics. They’ve often been referred to as double-trouble or twice as nice. Some of my extensive research revealed that twins have been an obsession for a long, long time.

In the ancient world, twins were often thought to embody the dualistic nature of the universe and the battle between good and evil. In Greek mythology, the twin gods Apollo and Artemis governed the sun and moon. And maybe the most famous pair, Romulus and Remus — the twin brothers who were raised by a shed-wolf and went on to found the Roman state.

If you’ve been to China, or just visited a Chinese restaurant, you’ve probably seen the “laughing twins” — these twins are Taoist immortals who have come to symbolize harmony and joy. Their origin is somewhat of a mystery, but they may have been actual historical figures. The “double-motif” is popular throughout China. The “Double Happiness” symbol is everywhere and prominently displayed at special occasions. 

I spent some time in West Africa and while I was there, the daughter of one of the Embassy officials (who was studying African history) told me that the birthrate in that area was around four times the world average and that twins played a particularly powerful role in many of those cultures. The Yoruba people of Nigeria call twins “spirit children,” and believe that thet have an unusual closeness to the supernatural world and can bring good or evil to their families. Among the Yoruba ethnic group, one in 11 people is a twin. In ancient times, the Yoruba viewed twins with suspicion, and sometimes sacrificed them. But today, twins are considered lucky. I also uncovered an interesting fact — the Yoruba consider the firstborn to be the younger of the two. They believe that the “senior” twin sent the younger one out first to scout the world.

So twins continue to be a little “mysterious,” and I think that’s a good thing. But I think most people have come to realize, as we have with Rory and Ellie, that they may look the same, but when you’re around them you begin to see them as unique individuals.
— 30 —