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Notice, we never pray for folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folk for whom we pray!  For prayer is a great deterrent.
    —     Leonard Ravenhill
[This afternoon, at roughly 2:30pm, I should be starting my heart “surgery” / ablation procedure.  The procedure normally takes between 2-3 hours, with a similar amount of time in post-op / recovery.  This means I will probably have to spend the night in the hospital under observation.  If all goes well, I should be home tomorrow with a heart that’s still tickin’.
Please keep me in your positive thoughts and prayers…
    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022 If That’s What You Mean
2021 Awakening The Glow
I Remember
2020 Golden Eagle
Like #45: Incompetent Donald
2019 #45: Who Lost By Three Million Votes
2018 Torn Between Two Loves
A Girl And A Boy
2017 I Think They Are Starting To…
2016 Living There
2015 Bookin’ West
Beyond My Reach
You Never Call Anymore…
2014 Winning?
2013 Still Inventing
2012 Motivated
2011 Waiting In Line At Starbuck’s

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And here is the latest snapshot of our front yard daffodils.
There are a few sprouts still left in the middle of the photo, but by the time they finally bloom (if they ever do), the earliest blooms will probably already have started to fade / die.  You can see the one’s on the right are already starting to droop a bit.
Still, next week is the start of Spring and the heralds have sung their glorious hymn!
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On This Day In:
2022 Dreading The Slide Towards War
2021 Joyous Incompatibility
My Heart Will Be Waiting
2020 My Gift To You
2019 Two Guarantee Freedom
2018 Less Mouth And More Back
2017 I Ought To Be A Little Careful
2016 Rising From The Ashes
2015 Honor
2014 Disappointment
2013 Seeing Heart
2012 On Success
2011 What This Place Needs Is Another Theory

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A little while back I posted a photo of our first daffodil of the year.  I mentioned we have a bunch of sprouts, but it was the “lone ranger”.  Well, some of its neighbors have come out as well.  Here’s two shots of them…
First, is the wide view…
Note the wet cement…  It is raining (again), today.  We had the wettest February in quite a few years.  We are currently at the start of another “atmospheric river” and expecting several days (and inches) of rainfall.
Here’s the “long” view – down the front of the house, from the front door towards the car port.
As mentioned in the prior post, my better half planted several dozen daffodils here and more in the actual front yard (as well as the back yard).  The one’s in the front haven’t really even come up yet.  The back have sprouted, but not bloomed.  We don’t know what the end result will be because the heavy rain and (at times) hail has given loads of our plants quite a beating.  The fruit tree blossoms (cherry and plum), in particular, are now almost bare.  So, we just have to wait and see…
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On This Day In:
2022 What Really Hurts
2021 Republican Governors Don’t Help
We’re Coming To Your Town
2020 With Friends Like This…
2019 Still Better Than Third
2018 A Tough Row To Hoe
2017 Just In Case
2016 Republicans Eat Their Young
2015 Still 99%
2014 Affirming The Wall
2013 Maintain The Freedom
2012 All Good
2011 Fountains Of Life
Staying Alive

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Waaay back in 1976, I was stationed in New Jersey and thought I was going to be transferred to a post in California.  (Instead, I got stationed in Germany.)  One of the guys in my company had a Kawasaki 900 motorcycle and he was going to be stationed in New York (State), so he didn’t think he’d be able to ride it enough to justify continued ownership.
To make a long story short, I took it off his hands…  And then road it across the continent!
I was trying to make it across as quickly as possible and was hoping for three thousand mile days of travel.  The first day, I traveled from east New Jersey to about an hour west of Chicago in 17 hours.  I guess the roads were a lot slower / worse then because Google Maps says it’s only about 830 miles and a 12 hour drive.  I’d left at dawn and stopped after 9pm.  My memory says my odometer put it just over 1,100 miles.
The next day was smooth sailing across the farming central states to North Platte, NE.  I recall it being about 600 miles, but Google says it’s closer to 750.  The third day I only got a couple of hundred miles (Cheyenne, WY) before hitting a bitter cold front.  Although I’d only been on the road a few hours, I called it a day and got some sleep.
I awoke to find I was caught in an overnight freeze which turned into a snowstorm.  Because I was traveling in May / June, I was sorely unprepared for the extreme cold and nearly died from the wind-chill and the icy slush constantly being thrown on me by the passing 18-wheelers.  I had picked up a cheap “rain suit” at a roadside gas station, but it was next to worthless as it was not meant to stop ice-rain and wind-chill.
I ended up getting rescued by a guy driving from PA to CA.  He saw me standing on the side of the highway trying to flag SOMEONE down.  My hands were practically frozen solid and he had no ties to tow my bike so we ended up turning around and going to the first available stop to buy some rope, then returning for my bike.  We ended up securing my bike to his open trunk and we proceeded from there.
As it happens, the storm caused a blackout across much of that part of the state (WY).  When we started to run low on gas, we pulled into a gas station but there was no power to run the pumps.  The attendant said the next station was only 30 minutes further down the highway, and it might be on the other side of the power outage.  As there was nowhere to stay or keep warm, we decided to risk it.  We bought a small length of hose – just in case.  Of course we ran out of gas and had to use the hose to siphon gas from my bike to his car.  We did and managed to (finally) get to a working gas station.
When we parted ways, he thanked me for saving his life.  I asked what he meant and he said if he hadn’t stopped for me he would have been stuck out in the middle of nowhere out of gas and probably froze to death waiting for someone to help / rescue him.  I said (the equivalent of):  “What goes around, comes around…  You saved me.  I saved you.”  We shook hands and wished each other good luck on the remainder of our trips.
The rest of the ride (to San Francisco) was pretty uneventful – beautiful, but without anymore life threatening events anyway.  I did break my speedometer flat-lining across the Utah Salt Flats, but that’s a story for another day…
Two more things:  I had a matching color scheme, full-wrap around, Bell Star helmet AND (disclaimer:) the above image is not my “actual” bike.  It is simply and image of the bike I did have and which I found online.  I make no claim to ownership of the image or the bike in it.
I sold the bike / helmet after less than 90 days of ownership when I received my orders to report to Germany.  After my experience crossing the country in the middle of the year, I had no intention of tempting a full winter (or two) on a bike in Germany.
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On This Day In:
2022 Full Of It
2021 I’m Still Learning To Play
What Are You Looking For?
2020 All You Can
2019 No Wall And Not One Dollar
‘Cause It Makes Me Scratch
2018 Mirror, Mirror
2017 Keep On Keeping On
2016 Reflections
2015 Is It Time Yet?
2014 Ask Any Follower
2013 Cornered Or Surrounded?
2012 Escape
2011 Achievement
Not Unreasonable Enough

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Each year, Spring starts and we get our first splash of color.  My wife’s favorite flower is the Daffodil and she has planted them in both the front and back of our home.
Here’s a photo of the brick “planter’s box” we have in front of our house with this year’s sprouts…
So far, only two have started to flower and only one is actually open and blooming…
In addition to the “normal” ones, she has also planted some of the “mini” variety…
And…
Yes, that’s a rusting horseshoe at the feet of Saint Francis.  No.  We don’t play horseshoes…  It’s just one of the many ornaments we have for “eye-candy” in the yard.
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On This Day In:
2022 Suggestions (The Order Of Precedence Is Optional)…
2021 But That’s Certainly Irrational
Just Goin’ To My Room
2020 The Butterflies Are In Trouble
2019 The Deep Center
2018 Oh, Heaven (Too)
2017 Now Pausing Makes Sense
2016 Just Spicy
Only One Part
2015 Positive Acts Of Creation
2014 One Thing Is Clear
2013 Corrections
See Greatness
2012 Gemutlichkeit
2011 Back On The Asphalt

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Things I should do in retirement:
1) exercise;
2) read books;
3) review books;
4) work on blog site;
5) learn guitar / music;
6) watch movies / TV / YouTube;
7) research books;
8) buy books;
9) rearrange books;
10) talk about books
Things I actually do in retirement:
1) watch movies / TV / YouTube;
2) work on blog site;
3) learn guitar / music;
4) exercise;
5) rearrange books;
6) read books;
7) review books;
8) research books;
9) buy books;
10) talk about books
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On This Day In:
2022 True Measures
2021 Moments With You
I Remember I Told My Sorrow
2020 A Post-Valentine Thought
2019 A Little Magic
‘Cause It Makes Me Feel Happy
The Mark Against Your Name
2018 Nice To Meet You
2017 All Nations & Religions
2016 Given The Choice
Why Is He Wearing Red?
2015 Within The System
2014 None But…
2013 Obviously Longer
2012 A Childhood Poem
Who Are You Callin’ Leather-Faced?
2011 In No Particular Order
The Need For Proof

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In my continuing efforts to learn more about playing guitar and making music, towards the end of last year, I began trying some  “finger-picking” styles.  Before that I was either using a “plectrum” (guitar pick) or just casually strumming with my thumb / index finger.  There is an obvious tonal difference between the two: using a pick tends to be louder and with individual notes better defined;  no pick (to me) sounds “fuller” but softer (muffled isn’t the right word to describe the sound, but it’s all I can think of).
Finger-picking is used the most extensively (exclusively) in Classical and Spanish style guitar playing and frequently in Country (“Travis Style”) and Jazz.  As these styles are all far beyond my basic skill set, I have (to date) paid little heed of the physical requirements of this / these style:  Fingernails.
As I began exploring these styles (yes, my reach exceeds my grasp), I kept stumbling on advice for how to maintain appropriate nails – length and shape.  And, in turn, I’ve tried growing my nails out…

PIMA“: P = pulgar (thumb); I = indice (index finger); M = medio (middle finger); A = anular (ring finger)

Traditional “Classical” style uses the thumb (“P”) and three fingers (“I”, “M”, “A”).  The “pinky” is unused.  Traditional “Travis” style uses only thumb and index finger, but most guitarists nowadays use at least two fingers (and usually three).

1 – 2 mm past your finger / nail join point

The traditional “strike-zone / sweet-spot” for finger-picking is the point where the nail and finger join.  This allows the guitarist to both deaden a moving string (using the finger pad) and get the most precise release point for the string (the edge of the finger nail).
Of course there are a variety of individual factors which determine how long and what shape your nails need to be, including: the shape of your fingers, the width of your nails, the shape of your nails, the distance from the join point (finger and nail) to the top of your individual fingers and the angle of “attack” you use to pluck each string.

Poorly shaped, but approaching the correct length

Bottom line?  Too much, too soon.  Yes, I can feel the difference when playing, and yes, I can hear the difference, but this is a LOT of hassle.  I have a LONG history of OCD with my fingernails.  I don’t bite them, but I keep them VERY short and just going a few weeks to grow them out this far is driving me crazy!  LoL!!
So, no, I won’t be keeping my right hand nails long…  And, so, my dreams of becoming the next Andrés Segovia / Merle Travis must fall by the wayside…  (Just kidding.  I have NEVER dreamed that!)  Now, where are my clippers?
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On This Day In:
2022 Do People Know What You Stand For?
2021 The Republican Party Can Survive Trumpism (If It Wants To)
Don’t You Ever Ask Them Why
2020 Art Work
One Person (Republican) Can Make A Majority
2019 Hopefully, Closer To Noon
Can You See The Bottom?
2018 Stock Market Sets Another Record Under #DumbDonald
#LyingDonald: About That Special Prosecutor Testimony
2017 We Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
2016 But You Have To Learn It Feels Good
2015 Never Stop
2014 Caution
2013 Treat Her Like A Lady
2012 Build New Worlds
2011 I Grok Elegance
Standing Relish

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At the start of each football season, I say the same thing:  “Two things define a “good season” for the 49ers – 1)  win the Super Bowl, or 2)  beat the Rams twice.  I don’t care if we go 2 and 15, as long as we beat the Rams twice.
Today we were defeated in the NFC (National Football Conference) Championship Game by the Philadelphia Eagles.  It was not a close loss.  It was a resounding beat down (31 – 7) based on the final score.  Congratulations to the Eagles and their supporters!
As a LONG time 49er fan, I am (of course) disappointed in the defeat, but this was a VERY good year for us.  No, we didn’t win the Super Bowl – we didn’t even qualify to lose the Super Bowl.  But, if you look back at my earlier standard for a “good season”, we DID beat the Rams twice.  Please recall this is (was) the defending Super Bowl Champion Rams (last year), which beat us in NFC Championship Game to go on an play in the Super Bowl.  Last year, I qualified my original standard to insert: “Defeat the Rams in the playoffs” as #2 and the original #2 became number three.
After review, I added:  defeat the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs or defeat the Cowboys and / or the Raiders in the regular season.  Defeating the Cowboys in the playoffs is a borderline #4, but beating either the Cowboys or the Raiders in the regular season is really just a sweetener – nowhere near satisfying enough to make an otherwise unsuccessful season a “good” one.
So…  How did the Niners do this season?
1) No Super Bowl win  – oh, well…  You can’t win (or lose) if you don’t qualify.
2) Beat the Rams twice in the regular season – sho ’nuff!!  We smoked them twice within five weeks:  03 Oct (24 – 9) and then 30 Oct (31 – 14)!!
3) We beat the Cowboys in the playoffs:  19 – 12, and,
4) We beat the Raiders in the regular season:  37 – 34
5) NFC – Western Division Champions
6) Winner of two playoff games
Unfortunately, luck, injuries and good / bad calls are a part of every game and every season.  It’s hard to say which individual breaks / events were the most significant.  Obviously, losing your two suited-up quarterbacks was important, but the defense played (most of the game) well enough to win if a few of the other things had gone our way.
And so our team will watch the Super Bowl from their living room couches instead of from the sidelines – just like us…  There’s always next year!
And once the taste of this last game fades, we’ll all realize (remember) this was a VERY good year.
So, I’m offering a big THANK YOU to the team and all the staff of this year’s San Francisco Forty-Niners!!  Rest.  Recover.  And, let’s get ’em next season!
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On This Day In:
2022 A Murmuring Note
2021 Satisfied If Not Fulfilled
You Don’t Know
Urban Ballroom
2020 R.I.P. Kobe
2019 Looks A Lot Like #45
2018 Trying To Stay Young
2017 Seems Reasonable To Me
2016 We Can Get Through This Together (In Time)
2015 How Long Is A Piece Of String?
2014 Heathen, n.
2013 Wisdom’s Folly
2012 When The Student Is Ready
Disconnected Leadership
2011 The Complex Richness Of Life

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Today was a surprisingly emotion tugging day for me…  I received a notification of subscription renewal for Wired Magazine for just shy of $30 for the year (a monthly issue – hard-copy via “snail-mail”).  This is more than normal (at least in the past) and I just don’t believe I can justify the continued subscription now I’m into my sixth year of retirement.  So, I’ve canceled my subscription…
 
I started reading Wired back in 2000, when I got hired as a web-development manager in San Francisco (just before the “dot-bomb”) at a “dot-com”.  The company I was working at had a whole bookshelf of every back issue of Wired from inception to present (2000).  I started at issue #1 and read them all – cover to cover – during the time I was separated from my family.  After I got current, I purchased my own subscription and have maintained it all of these 20+ years – until today.  So, I am probably one of just a few people who can say they’ve read EVERY issue of almost 30 years of Wired.  Interestingly, (to me anyway), I was the only person at the company who EVER read the magazine.  I asked!  I also asked why we kept the annual subscription if no one read the magazine, and was told:  “We have a handful of subscriptions and we just renew them all each year.”
 
Now, in full disclosure, I have to qualify that I’m “currently” a few months behind in my reading, due to “life issues”, so you will probably see multiple quotes from 2022 issues in the future as I wrap up the outstanding reading.  My future son-in-law is also a hard-copy subscriber, and he’s promised to hold on to and pass along his copies.  Other than that, there’s always the public library…
 
Having cancelled my subscription to Time Magazine last year (June 2022 – after a near 50 year relationship), it feels strange to cut another string from my past primary written information sources.
 
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On This Day In:
2022 You Ought To Be Having Fun
2021 Democrats Talking To Republicans
  Talkin’ To Myself And Feelin’ Old
2020 You Are Not Late (Yet)
2019 Too Difficult To Try
2018 Hold Fast
2017 The Only Real Security
2016 Time Said
2015 If Only Common Sense Were More Common
2014 PTI
2013 What Now, Then?
2012 Big C, Little B
  Duty, Honor, Country
   

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If you’re reading this, it means you’ve survived 2022 and last night’s New Year’s Eve party…  Congratulations!
A new year full of opportunities awaits us.  Let’s all make healthy choices as we try to survive politics, climate change(s) and a dicey economy.
Happy 2023, everyone!!    —   kmab
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On This Day In:
2022 Happy New Year — 2022!
New Year Changes To My Blog
2021 Happy New Year — 2021!
Facing The New Year
2020 Happy New Year — 2020!
2019 Happy New Year — 2019!
2018 Happy New Year — 2018!
2017 Happy New Year — 2017!
2016 Happy New Year — 2016!
Remembering My Brother
2015 Happy New Year — 2015!
2014 Happy New Year – 2014!
2013 Another New Year’s Thought (In Case It Rains)
Happy New Year – 2013!
2012 Best Wishes For 2012!
Where Did You Spend New Year’s Eve?
2011 Happy New Year (2011)!!

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To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life.  The money is the gravy.
    —    Bette Davis
[It normally takes seven to seven and a half years of retirement for the average American to “recover” all of the funds paid into their Social Security retirement funds during their forty odd years of work.  I’m well over half-way there and looking forward to the gravy!    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2021 Four Down, Three To Go
It Still Ain’t
Boosted
2020 Three Down, Four To Go
Twenty-Four ‘Til You
2019 Two Down, Five To Go
2018 Year One, Done!
2017 First Day Of Retirement!
2016 Revere And Criticize
2015 Global Climate Change May Test This Statement
2014 Adaptability Won
2013 Disappeared
2012 Fuller
Life On The Range
More Classics
2011 Stoned Again?
2010 Insubordination… And That’s Why I Love Her!
Losing – Week One

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As we in the United States are currently experiencing terrible flooding in our South – South / East and extreme deadly heat in our South – South / West, let us take a moment to think about our fellow humanity suffering equally devastating weather related catastrophes in other parts of the world.
Tonight, as I am thinking of / praying for my fellow Americans in Mississippi, I am doing the same for Pakistan where there are estimates of over 1,100 people having lost their lives and over 20 million are homeless due to rain and flooding.
May God / Allah assist you in your time of need…
Salaam Alaikum for and from the people of America.
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On This Day In:
2021 Why Republicans Are Unhappy
I Guess It’s True
2020 A Tiny And Fragile World
Your Lyin’ Eyes
2019 Day 1: Done
#IncompetentDonald Fails On All Three
2018 I Put It Down To Bad Teachers
Day 34: In And Out
2017 And The Future Is Now
2016 I Am
2015 Positively Aiming Higher
2014 Suspicious Minds
2013 We Are Not Alone
2012 Lawyer, n.
2011 Each Day Remember…
2010 Impossible Dreams of Camelot

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LoL!!  Yesterday, I reported I was shocked to find that for the first time since starting my blog a country other than the U.S. had recorded the most views for a day…
Well, it turns out I pulled a “#TrumpTheLoser” and created Fake News before the final tally…
The “next-day” / yesterday full view count is in and the “balance in the force in the universe” has been restored with the U.S. well over the view count of Australia.  No “Ashes” for the Ozzies, after all.
In my defense, I can only say nobody told ME in advance there would be a end of day surge – AND it didn’t occur to me until today.  (LoL!!  And now I’ll go back to almost never looking at meaningless blog numbers.)
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On This Day In:
2021 No Profit Without Risk
And One For Me
2020 He’s Forgotten About Drugs And Rock ‘N Roll
2019 I Still Walk Daily
A Windy Monday
2018 No Religious Test, Yes Religious Ban
2017 Looking At #DumbDonald
2016 No Great Thing
2015 Happy Memory
Of Two Minds
2014 Sums
2013 Memories & Binging
Admiration Due
2012 Choices Matter
2011 Acceptance Is The Key
2010 Just A Permanent Crease…
Bodily Functions

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Shocked!  Shocked, I say.  For the first time (since starting this blog back in 2009) I’ve gotten more views from a single country which are greater than from the U.S.  Somebody pinch me…  🙂
Over the years, Canada and India have come the closest (Canada most often), but they never quite got there.  Thank you “Down Under”!
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On This Day In:
2021 The Truth Shall Keep Us Free
Let Your Hair Down
2020 But What About Tomorrow’s Blog Post?
2019 Don’t Forget Obstruction Of Justice
An Honest, Unvarnished Assessment
2018 #45 And The Republicans Are Pretending (So Far)
2017 Made
2016 Halves
Accepted Fraud
2015 Even The Little Ones
2014 Who’s On First?
2013 No Equal Measure
2012 A Single Host
2011 No Exemptions
2010 Memories Of KSA – Inside The Fire

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WAY back when I was starting high school (just before the meteor killed most of the dinosaurs), I signed up for a social studies / current events class.  As our homework, we were expected to become familiar with current events by reading at least one “national” publication (as opposed to a local newspaper with national news).  My mom always tried to encourage our reading so she signed up for three (four actually):  Time Magazine, Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report.  The fourth was more for herself and the whole family:  Life Magazine.
Thus began my (more or less) life-long subscription to Time Magazine…
We dropped the other two after the first year’s subscriptions ran out – but she kept me going on Time.  There was a brief lapse while I was in the military and in training, but I picked it back up when I got stationed in Germany for my last two years.  I was reading the “International / European” edition.  I didn’t realize there was a “different” version until after I’d already subscribed.  I just assumed everybody in the world got the same news – after all, our “national” version contained international and European news.  But of course, this was a completely different focus / emphasis and I – being the ugly American – resented I wasn’t getting as much American news.
Anyway, I kept it up when I got out and went to college and, in fact increased my subscriptions to include the Time / Life book series on “understanding computers”, the book series on history and civilization, the book series “Reading Program” – (kind of a mini-“Great Books”) secondary works of famous authors, and two music series: “Great Men of Music” (classical composers) and “Big Bands”.  I continued my weekly subscription when we moved to Liverpool and again upon returning to the Bay Area.
Now, however, my 50+ year relationship with Time has run its course.  My subscription ended towards the end of last summer (2021).  For whatever reason, they continued to send me issues until the end of January this year (2022), but I did not and will not be renewing my subscription.
There are three primary reasons for my non-renewal:  1)  As of five years ago, I retired and funds are getting tighter.  Now don’t get me wrong…  I can still “afford” the subscription.  I just choose to spend the limited discretionary funds on other things.  2)  the magazine has gone from a weekly to a every-other-week magazine.  They are under pressure to turn everything over to the internet and are apparently struggling to keep up staff, quality and quantity.  The practical effect was the weekly was getting thinner and thinner.  Their shift has “almost” restored the number of pages in any given issue, but it’s still only half as many pages of information.  And, 3)  the magazine has modified the typeface in their hard-copy.  I’m fairly confident they explained / justified their reasons for doing this in one of their editor columns, but frankly, it (the magazine) is just less appealing to look at now.  And so I’m moving on…
And just to make a long story (post) longer…  Why now?  If the subscription ended last year and the “bonus” issues back in January, why am I writing this (blog post) is the end of “Time“?
It’s purely personal.  I get the issue in the mail.  I take a quick glance to see if there’s anything I “NEED” to know about now.  I read that.  The issue then goes into my “throne” rack to be read cover to cover when I’m doing “something else”.  So, now, at the end of six months, I’m all caught up and “moving” to other things…
I am continuing my subscription to “Wired” magazine and I will be occasionally be posting quotes from that source.   I will miss the Red border and (regretfully) I’m sure my overall knowledge of current events will suffer / decline.
Back in the Principal’s Office of my high school, there was a framed question on the wall:  “Time is passing…  Are you?
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On This Day In:
2021 Best To Be Trained And Educated
The Great Relief
2020 Diversity And Uniqueness
2019 Ebb And Flow
2018 America: Paging #45
2017 Near By
2016 Maybe Someday
2015 How’s The Cow?
2014 Mind Made Up
2013 On Purpose
2012 The Dream
2011 What Could Be More Comfortable?

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