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Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Maybe Obama bought a $15 million house on Martha's Vineyard (a place basically at sea level) because he has the super power of being able to stop the oceans from rising. Or maybe he knows that dire global warming threats are a scam... I think electric motorcycles are cool but part of me wonders "What's the point?" Motorcycles already get great gas mileage and electric motorcycles are so quiet as to be potentially dangerous. Many people drill holes in their cycle's muffler to make them louder and so easier for motorists to recognize that they are sharing the road. Electric motorcycles may be so quiet as to be practically invisible... Not that people needed another reason to hate Boston sports but the $15 million home the Obamas are buying belongs to Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck... Who knew - there really was a Crash Davis - but he wasn't a catcher... "If you accomplish something good with hard work, the labor passes quickly; but the good endures; if you do something shameful in pursuit of pleasure, the pleasure passes quickly, but the shame endures." - Gaius Musonius Rufus... Warrick Dunn is the man!... Just saying but at his age this is probably Bernie Sanders last chance at running for President. If the DNC screws him over to tilt the field towards Biden or Harris - what's the chances Bernie runs as a Third Party Candidate? Something to consider... 

Martha's Vineyard and the Garden of Eden

Yesterday the Boston Globe had an article about the death of 500 acres of oak forest on Martha's Vineyard and how it is related to climate change. I couldn't stop thinking about the article all day.

To me the key quote from the story was the following:

“It’s what makes the story interesting,’’ Oswald said. “The same two types of trees are dying at the same time’’ today, just as they did 5,000 years ago.

That's right - 5,000 years ago almost the exact same thing happened in almost the exact same place. I immediately thought that this fact makes blaming man-made carbon emissions for what is happening a bit of a stretch. I mean it's not like what happened 5,000 years ago was because of slash and burn farming practices or driving SUV's. It occurred to me that the author of the article was careful to use the term "climate change" instead of "global warming" all through the article.

I also started thinking about what was happening 5,000 years ago and then it clicked. About 5,000 years ago civilization was taking root in the fertile crescent around the meeting of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This is the area that many have identified as the most likely setting for the Biblical Garden of Eden. Today this area is part of modern day Iraq.

That area today is home to the so-called Marsh Arabs. This is worthy of note because Saddam Hussein tried to punish the Marsh Arabs in 1991 by draining the marshland and destroying both the ecology of the area and the way of life of the Shia Marsh Arabs. We are talking about one of the most ecologically diverse areas on the planet which encompasses roughly 8,000 square miles. That area is just about exactly equal to the size of the entire state of Massachusetts. We are talking about the setting of the Biblical Garden of Eden.

You don't hear much about the restoration of the ecology of this area - do you? You would think that restoring the area that is the metaphorical Garden of Eden in an area roughly equal to the entire state of Massachusetts would rate as high as the problems of 500 acres of forest in Massachusetts. You would be wrong. The reason, I'm convinced, is that George W. Bush was the main cause for this ecological recovery in Iraq and no main stream media wants to give Bush credit for anything. I'm amused by that.

I'm also amused by the fact that 3,000 years ago in this same fertile crescent - man started fermenting beer. Glorious beer! Yet in this modern day there are towns on Martha's Vineyard that are dry. They don't allow alcohol. You can't blame George Bush for that. You can only hope that these towns will eventually become civilized.

I Love Gay Head

I was unable to post yesterday because business took me over to Matha's Vineyard. The above is a picture of the cliffs at Gay Head and the Aquinnah lighthouse. I stopped by there yesterday because it really is a beautiful place.

Since I didn't have a chance to post yesterday - I didn't have the opportunity to post my Pick of the Day (POTD) which is just as well because I really didn't have one (no time to study the matchups, etc.). One thing for sure - I wouldn't have picked the Red Sox. There's no way to know how John Smoltz was going to perform his first real start back. A final pitching line of 5 earned runs in 5 innings could have been predicted. Personally I don't think Smoltz's poor performance yesterday means much. If he doesn't show improvement after his third start - then that's another story.

I also didn't have an opportunity to update the Red Sox magic number - which now stands at 87. If I did have a chance I would have noted that 87 equals four-score and seven and I would have made some comments about Abe Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address.

One final note - I'm guessing the title to my post will get my blog some interesting visitors. It will be fun to what watch types of searches pop up.

The Death of Labor Day

Growing up Labor Day was the defacto end of Summer. It was the last weekend (and a 3-day weekend at that) before school started and football took precedence in the sports mindset. It was a BIG deal! Now Labor Day is just "meh".

I'm not sure when it happened or even why it happened but across the country schools have thrown away the tradition of Labor Day being the end of summer and the signal for start of school. Now kids are back in school in August. Why? I don't get it. This change has killed Labor Day.

Yesterday I had business on Martha's Vineyard. I was able to get my car on a morning ferry with no reservation. I was set to have to leave my car in Woods Hole and be a pedestrian on the island but no - they had some openings for walk-ups like me. Years ago this would have been impossible.

Driving around the island I saw plenty of free parking spots at the various beaches I drove past (or stopped at for a quick dip in the ocean). Getting a parking spot used to be the biggest hassle. Today on the Friday staring the long Labor Day weekend plenty of free parking was available and the beaches were sparsely populated. And this wasn't due to high gas prices or anything due to the economy. This is because the kids have been back at school for over a week and the idea of a last big weekend of summer has been dulled and deadened by back to school and the responsibilities and activities that go along with that.

The teacher's unions and the education "experts" have killed the traditions of Labor Day and for what? Seriously - tell me what benefit to the kids exists by having an extra week off during the year or ending the school year earlier in June.

Big Labor Day cookouts? Those seem to be significantly down too.

This all struck me as I walked into the famous Black Dog in Vineyard Haven for dinner. Friday night on the start of the long Labor Day weekend and I get seated right away? Don't tell me its gas prices or the economy. The teacher's unions and no respect for tradition school administrators are killing an American institution.

And for what?