Lift Up Your Hearts!

So states an Orlando Sentinel article with the bizarre and ominous headline, "Hong Kong Tests Toys for Date Rape Drug."  It appears that the Chinese manufacturers of a children's arts and craft item called Spin Dots (also known as Bindeez), instead of using the non-toxic compound 1,5-pentanediol, substituted 1,4-butanediol, which metabolizes into the "date-rape" drug gamma hydroxy butyrate when swallowed.

Surely the article's author was being facetious, for it is abundantly clear why the substitution was made; as the article states, the non-toxic compound is between three and seven times more expensive than the dangerous one.  It is the Chinese-made toothpaste scandal all over again, in which toxic diethylene glycol was substitued for harmless, but more expensive, glycerin.

I came upon this Sheep Dash game in an article on sleep cycles.  Supposedly it provides a measure of how sleep-deprived one is, though they admit reaction time is slowed by aging as well.  I've found I score "Bobbing Bobcat" pretty consistently, and it tells me to go get a cup of coffee.  I only score worse when a head-bobbing sheep tricks me into jumping the gun.  Once I achieved "Rocketing Rabbit" but have not yet repeated the feat.  Maybe after a nap....

I'd be interested in seeing how you video game players score.  I expect you'll do much better, though it won't be a fair contest since none of the video gamers I know are as old as I am.  :)

Natsukashii!  There's no sound like it.  I had lost track of Discovery while out of town, but the familiar twin sonic booms as I was fixing lunch alerted me in time to turn on the television and watch the landing.

It had actually been quite a while since I'd heard that sound—even if the shuttle doesn't have to land in California, it sometimes takes a path other than one that goes over our part of the state.  This time it was quite subdued, though still obvious; at others it has been known to wake us from a deep sleep.

Heard in passing:  Money you pay in taxes doesn't come out of your pocket.

There's a chance I missed something critical here, since I just walked by the radio and didn't hear the whole story.  But what I heard was the results of a survey of people in the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and some other countries, about which the reporter stated, with a serious and worried tone, that people in the United States pay about $1000 more per year in out-of-pocket health care expenses than those in most of the countries surveyed.

Most of the countries have socialized medical care and their people pay heavily in taxes for their services.  I should hope they'd be paying less out-of-pocket!

But somehow, if you pay money to the government, rather than to a doctor, it doesn't count.  As an economist I know keeps reminding me, "A dollar is a dollar is a dollar."  And so is a pound, a euro, or a franc.

After a rainy day, the weather cleared in time to encourage the trick-or-treaters to come out.  We had more than usual and I was afraid we'd run out of Mounds bars, so a couple of times I gave out one each instead of two.  I needn't have been so parsimonious—the flow dried up at 9:00 as if someone had thrown a switch, and I turned out the porch light at 9:30.

It was a more pleasant group of people this year, too.  At least one, and usually all, in every group said "thank you"; only one, very young, asked, "Can I have more?"; most were young children escorted by parents; and the only group of older kids (middle school, I'd guess) had costumes and were polite.  Very encouraging.

It's an old trick, I fell for it, and I'm glad.

Grocery stores love to put attractive displays in the checkout area, in hopes of luring shoppers to add one or two more items to their carts while waiting.  Albertsons has large displays of fresh, hot French bread, particularly irresistable to those who come to the grocery store on their way home from work.

I rarely give in to the temptation, but today I saw something new:  Nabisco's Honey Maid Gingerbread Graham Crackers.  I recommend you all go to your nearest tempting grocery display and buy some!  It's hard to imagine why anything this good can get away with being called "cracker" rather than "cookie," but hey, at least it's whole wheat.  :)

Hmm, guess I'd better find something to work on in a part of the house closer to the front door.  Trick-or-treaters are starting to arrive, and the frequent interruptions make writing difficult.

The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz (Free Press, 2003)

I must send this book back to the library without a proper review, but it deserves a few comments.  After hearing a friend's summary, I had to find out more.  I'm afraid I was somewhat disappointed, but I think that was more because my friend's summary was so good, causing me to expect more than was there.  I almost, though not quite, would have been as well off with just the summary.  I also might have appreciated it more if I had not already read so many books by Stephen Covey, of which this book reminds me very much.  I think Covey's books are well worthwhile, and this too, but there wasn't as much new as I had expected. (More)

I wasn't one of the ones she "tagged," and I generally think "memes" are generally inane, but Liz over at Smithical posted this one, and I like it, so I'm jumping on the bandwagon.

Five Good Things

Silence  This blessed commodity is very hard to come by these days.  I don't mean total lack of sound so much as freedom from mechanical, manmade sounds and loud sounds in any form.  As I sit here in my office, it is "quiet":  Porter is reading, there is no music, television show, nor telephone conversation to hear.  And yet I am still assailed by noise at significant volume:  the chug of a hard drive, the whirr of a fan, the whine of a monitor.  If I sit on our back porch early enough, I can avoid the noise of pool pumps, air conditioners, and power saws, but the birds, bugs, frogs, and squirrels don't quite drown out the roar of the highway two and a half miles away.  Waiting at the doctor's office, driving down the road, eating at a restaurant, getting one's hair cut, grocery shopping—whatever we do, we are bombarded with sound.  And when was the last time your church allowed any amount of time at all for silent prayer and meditation during a worship service?  At one of ours, we designed a Maundy Thursday service that included a full minute of silence; it seemed an eternity, but was very powerful.  Without silence, we will lose our ability to think deep thoughts.

Hugs  In our sex-obsessed culture, we have forgotten the critical importance of non-sexual physical affection.  Without it, infants "fail to thrive"—they die.  As we grow, we learn to endure that deprivation, but we die inside.  Only young children give their affection freely; perhaps that's why they are so beloved.

Books  Our connection to the Great Conversation, to the past, to the wide world, to worlds of fantasy.  How could we live without books?  Whether a dusty genealogy tome in the library, a delightful novel with a comfortable chair and a cup of tea, or a children's book and a grandchild in my lap, I love books!

Water  Was there ever such a wonderful element?  Cold water, the best drink ever for a thirsty throat; cool water to swim in on a hot day; water for washing away the grit and grime of life; no wonder God endowed this symbol with such rich spiritual significance.

Making Music Together  Music, itself, is a Good Thing, but the miracle of coming together and making music for the joy of it is a Very Great, Powerful, Healing Thing.  With our professional music groups, our concerts, and our CD's, we have access to music of a variety and quality no other era could imagine.  But we have almost lost what it means to make our own music, and that is tragic.

Porter had to get up early this morning for a 7:00 dentist appointment, but that didn't stop him from staying up late last night.  Now his beloved Boston Red Sox have won the World Series twice in his lifetime, which until now few living Red Sox fans could say.  He's been too busy to watch all the games, but he enjoyed a few, especially last night's.

Congratulations to the Red Sox, and to those of our New England relatives who are enjoying this victory!  Condolences to S, the Yankee fan.  (No, not that S -- the other S.  I know the one S is a dedicated Red Sox fan!)  I hope T&B are happy -- I've forgotten where their loyalties lie.

I've been waiting for The Good Shepherds to become available online ever since I read the print version in Christianity Today magazine.  This positive, upbeat story resonates with me in so many ways, it well deserves a post.

[Insert the usual disclaimer here:  This way of life is not for everyone; it not my intention to offend, nor to imply disrespect for other people's life situations, much less push anyone into a lifestyle that is far from mainstream—albeit that it would have been considered normal by most of our ancestors.  But I can't help considering this a very cool life choice indeed.] (More)

Apologies to those of you who are waiting for the story of last weekend's adventures in Sarasota.  That will come, but in the meantime it's been a while since I posted, and I just came upon the essay I wrote for a genealogy contest with the less-than-inspiring title of this post.

The circumstances were interesting, however.  Because the sponsoring organization was Irish, I thought my story might be of interest to them.  Maybe it was, but not enough to win. However, a blog owner can be her own publisher, and since they didn't want it, I'm sharing it here.  :) (More)

It's been a while since I've posted anything in the RETHINK category, but I was inspired by this article on the differences in chilbirth between the United Kingdom and the United States. As much as I have come to appreciate midwives and the option of home birth, the point of this post is not to tout the British socialized health care system, which I know has significant problems. Nor do I wish to make the all-too-common mistake of assuming that an idea is better just because it's not American—or because it is European—an error which is just as dangerous as its opposite.

What strikes me as so vitally important, especially for Americans who, thanks to the size and historical self-sufficiency of our country, tend to have less contact with other cultures than most educated people, is the great benefit of listening to and exploring other people's views on topics that are so well-ingrained in our own lives we never question them. Ideas that are so much a part of us we imagine anyone who would think otherwise as uncultured, uncivilized, and ignorant: "They do such-and-such because they don't know any better. When they see our way they will know it is best." Most of us wouldn't actually say that, but it's a strong gut reaction. It's a good thing, then for all of us to encounter people who have equally deep-seated feelings that their ways, very different from ours, are superior. Whether we come away from the comparison with our minds changed, or more convinced than ever that we are right, we benefit from the encounter.

Not many people can learn this lesson by living in another culture, as Janet has. But the Internet can be a great eye-opener, and most of us probably have neighbors, co-workers, and church or school friends who would be happy to share a different cultural view.  Not to mention that getting married, even to someone from one's own culture, can be a surprising introduction to the thought that ideas, habits, and customs we take for granted are not necessarily universal. :)

Far be it from me to champion the inane and dangerous idea that all cultures and customs are equally valuable.  But I think most of us are much more likely to make the opposite error.  I preach to myself most of all.

I'm designing a playroom, and have been for years.  I don't ever expect to see it, since (1) our children are grown, and (2) my design takes no account of cost.  Nonetheless it's fun imagining what I'd do if I could, kind of like mentally spending lottery winnings (even though I never buy a ticket).

My playroom would be as much outdoors as it could be while still being usable in all seasons—lots of large windows or sliding glass doors with screens, perhaps, and an indoor/outdoor connection.  The latter could be a door, but wouldn't a tunnel be fun?  There would be a large art/craft section, and music (instruments for playing and a CD player for listening), and a brachiation ladder; well-stocked bookshelves and perhaps a sunken reading pit with comfortable cushions; a timeline all around the room and many maps and pictures on the walls.

The centerpiece of my imagined room has always been a structure of tunnels, ladders, ramps, and steps to encourage crawling, creeping, and climbing.  I was quite excited to discover that such a thing really exists!  However, even if Heather and Jon had room for it, and we could afford it, they wouldn't be getting it for Christmas.  This one was custom-made for a Hong Kong preschool.  Still, maybe the idea will catch on.

I had an interesting discussion yesterday with a man whose children graduated not long ago from our local Catholic schools system.  He mentioned that his son found his college classes much easier than the ones he took in high school.  This man believes that education in the United States in general, and textbooks in particular, have been significantly "dumbed down." As I've written before, I both agree and disagree with that statement.  I find it generally true even though there are notable, marked exceptions.

I'm not one to be overly awed by statistics purporting to show how much better other countries' educational systems are.  It wasn't that long ago that we were sending teams to Japan to discover why their children were learning so much more, yet at the same time the Japanese were sending teams here to learn why American students were so much more creative and innovative.  And yet the signs are screaming like downtown Tokyo, from this tiny preschool to the large population of foreign students on U.S. college campuses, particularly in the hard sciences and engineering:  Other countries take education, effort, and discipline far more seriously than we do.

So far we have survived on our creativity, our intellectual capital, and our tremendous natural and financial resources.  We've also enjoyed political and economic systems that are conducive to innovation and growth.  And we've been lucky.

Would I revamp our educational system to sponsor preschools such as this one all over the country?  No.  But I do wish Americans respected children, valued education, and encouraged self-discipline much more than we do.

And I'm going to keep my eyes open for play structures like that one.

We watched Bridge to Terebithia yesterday, and I've been struggling with what to say about it ever since.  As usual, Porter knew exactly what he liked and didn't like, and had no trouble expressing himself on the issues.  Often I can, too; in fact, I did so easily with the other movie we watched this weekend, the Oscar-winning The Apartment.  (In brief, it started off slowly and the story was unpleasant, but Shirley MacLaine's acting was amazing and powerful.)

I should have known Bridge to Terebithia would be harder to critique, because Porter's commentary—during and immediately after—which I usually find informative and interesting, was more annoying than not.  That happens when I have been very much drawn into a movie, and anything that calls me back prematurely is jarring, rather like being jerked out of a deep meditation by the telephone.  Whenever I am thus entranced by a movie, I know rational analysis will be difficult. (More)

Organizing for Your Brain Type by Lanna Nakone (St. Martin's Press, 2005)

Heather reviewed this book, and generated quite a discussion, some of which was actually related to the topic.  I started adding my reflections as i read it, but have decided it's best not to clutter up her post anymore and have started a new post here.  Below are a few of my reactions copied from her post; I'll add more in the comments to this post as I continue through the book. (More)