Pipeology - The Fine Art of Pipe Smoking and Thought

 On December 20, I wrote my first post for this blog and now this is my 100th post.  Maybe I should celebrate in some way, because I still have you clicking on them.  Whether you read them or not doesn't really matter as much, because I don't know, but I believe most of you do.  And I'm still smoking my pipe, maybe too much according to my wife, but the fact is as I said yesterday I enjoy both my pipes and writing these posts. I mentioned AI creations yesterday and I just didn't want to get into the dark side of AI, because according to Musk, there IS the dark side.  I could get lost down a rabbit hole from which there is no return.  And yes AI has a dark side, for sure.  But it's just too soon to say where AI could take us.  These posts could all be AI generated.  Even I could be AI!  Every cute hot girl on the Internet could be AI.  A candidate for president could be AI.  Anyone could be AI.  AI could rule the world and ...

 Well, in a way thinking is an outlet too.  I might write several posts in a day, and I'll go back over them and maybe I'll publish a post and think twice about others.  I don't publish everything I write.  But writing keeps my mind active and prevents me from ruminating about useless thoughts.  I've taken a day off here and there, but I like to have something daily, if I can.  A lot depends on what I read and what sticks in my mind.  I Snoke my pipe while writing and the tobacco I choose to smoke is just as important as the pipe itself, but often that choice is limited.  The fact is that smoking my pipe is something I do for relaxation.   The other day, I wrote a post about AI--Artificial Intelligence, and decided it was too dark for what I want to do here.  I still have it, but am thinking about doing it over.  I try to keep things light here.  These articles should be as much fun to read as I have in writing them. ...

 Okay, so I have a major in psychology with a couple of minors in English and Philosophy.  My English taught me writing, but philosophy is aboit as useful as the name implies.  As for Psycholgy, we used to say that and a quarter would get you a cup of coffee.  At least it's value has gone up to about four bucks now.  But actually I have found my education to at least be useful in understanding and to some degree (no pun intended) writing about life in general.   I know that all social media uses algorithms to target us with certain ads or ideas, with most of us complaining that our phones are listening to us.  When SmartTV's first came out we were instructed on how to turn off the listening devices on our TV's.  But these days we just seem to be accepting of the fact that the Internet is listening to us as evidenced by Alexa sending us stuff from Amazon we didn't know we ordered.   Such is the case with YouTube.  It too uses an...

  In some fifty years of pipe smoking I still have all but one of my pipes.  The one I don't have any longer is my Shire pipe which had a crack in its stem on both sides.  My wife suggested I just throw it away.  I did.  But I notice my only Churchwarden pipe is beginning to burn through.  It has a very small bowl and it too wasn't very expensive.  So, I am in search of a replacement Churchwarden pipe.   One pipe smoker says he never burned through a pipe.  I'm keeping my Churchwarden for now, but I now have a couple of pipes I will no longer smoke.  The Lord of the Rungs franchise has increased an interest in pipe smoking by the younger generation and I am hoping pipe smoking will continue to be a viable hobby.   Today I am smoking my Peterson System pipe with my second bowl of the day, which is my Bosun tobacco.  I find this Virginia tobacco has a nicotine kick to it, but I find it pairs well with a good cup of hot ...

 If there is one thing I have not done is plagiarize.  I don't think.  All writers have simular ideas as others, but every writer has their own way of expressing themselves.  I might read something and glean ideas, but plagiarism involves a word for word idea or thought.  We aren't talking about phrases, but actually lifting full paragraphs from others. I don't believe I have written much over the years that are my own ideas, but I can honestly say I have never plagiarized a work, as my writing will often attest. Such is not the case with a Duke University student giving her speech to her own fellow senior graduates at a Duke University graduation.  Her work was primarily lifted from a speech a Harvard grad gave to his class in 2014.  When this was pointed out to Duke's administration, the speech was taken off the Duke website and other actions were to follow.  I don't give a lot of details here, because if you are interested you can look up the a...

 This morning I am smoking my Birthday Nording with some ready rub tobacco called Bosun by Gawith Hoggarth & Company.  We had a discussion in our household about society having twenty years left according to a recent study by Stanford scientists.  These researchers looked at fossil records and determined life is deteriorating at the same rate as the extinction of dinaaours.  But it seems that acceptance of the next twenty being the last years is generational.  I told my wife that I read an article saying the Boomers are on the last fight out of Saigon, a reference to the pull out of troops in Vietnam in 1974.   As to whether we have twenty years left is up for debate.  And I guess it depends if one is an optimist or pessimist.  Boomers might be more pessimistic, because, well, they probably won't be here in another 20 years, or at least most of them.  But I'm an optimist, because I think we will see a new beginning.  And THAT wa...

 I was smoking my Angel pipe yesterday early evening with the last of my Good Stuff/Cherry blend as I listened to a beautiful music video on YouTube and all felt right with the world.  I had watched some end of the world videos, just to see what others were saying.  I've written about all the fears people have about so many things including a Zombie Apocalypse.  But I have no such fears.   As I watched the beautiful pictures on the screen and listened to the music I was at perfect peace until a commercial came on.  But when it was over my mind returned to that peaceful feeling.  I have watched a lot of videos about listening and learning in regard to being quiet.  I learned to listen to the quiet while living in NY.  It's noisier here, but I still listen to the birds.  I listen to the quiet inside.  I do this while smoking my pipe. While waiting for my wife to finish some shopping I went into a busy Spanish Cafe and ordered som...

 I don't use my phone for social interaction too much.  And for all practical purposes I probably don't need a Smartphone.  I could probably get by with just a regular cheap phone.  I gave up an iPhone for an Android phone and am regretting that decision.  Our car has Apple Carplay, but only Bluetooth connectivity for Android.  My next phone will be an IPhone.  But my purpose for having one isn't for games or social interaction, but my Smartphone keeps me informed. I do most on my phone that would be done with a PC laptop, but my phone keeps me connected to the world.  I use it for some texting, but somehow a Smartphone device makes me feel connected to the world and not isolated as a regular phone would make me feel.  I often will smoke my pipe, read the news, and watch videos, especially YouTube.  I use it for photography and replaces a DSLR instead.  I enjoy using my phone for photos and movies.   But its connectivity t...

 I wrote yesterday about the collapse of civilization as we know it, saying researchers are giving us about twenty years.  Then I read of a man who had a near death experience and didn't notice any bright lights or anything unusual, but from the experience he learned resiliency.  Now, I am sure most of you are asking me what these two have to do with each other.  Actueally quite a bit.   I'm not worried smoking my pipe will harm me, but there might be those who will insist I am polluting the air and some say my pipe will kill me.  I say to those who are worried my pipe will kill me, balderdash!  My pipes might be adding time to my life by keeping the blood pressure down.  And having faced death twice in the past dozen years, I can attest to the resiliency of fear.  I have none.  Really.  My pipe will not harm me.  I can say this about many things in life, but I have zero fear of death and dying.  None, whatsoever....

 According to Stanford researchers that is how much time we have left for society to exist as we know it.  They said our consumption of the earth's resources and the need for monetary growth will deplete humanity's ability to survive.  Now, for the good news.  The earth will go on.  But without us.  So, what do I think about reading such news last evening?  I was going to write about AI, but AI might exist without humans.  Once AI learns to replicate itself, it won't need humans to do it for them.   So, according to Stanford scientists there isn't much time left.  So, what do we do until then?  Sit around and worry?  No.  We live our lives without giving it any thought.  We'll let the scientists and prognosticators worry about the end of society.  A lot can happen in twenty years.  I almost didn't write about this today or any other day, but it's newsworthy and the information is out there.  It was...

 Yesterday I wrote about the collapse, of sorts, of the banking industry.  Then yesterday afternoon there was some coffee left over from the morning and I was drinking some coffee and smoking my pipe with my Cherry tobacco.  Then it occurred to me I could write about a 150 care pile-up on a Michigan freeway because of a freak snowstorm.  Or I could wite about it being alligator mating season here in Florida, but we have too much to worry about as it is.  So as I was drinking some coffee and smoking my Cherry tobacco, I asked myself as to what I could write about today. I label myself as a misanthrope.  For those of you who might not know what that is, it's a person who doesn't like people.  But the fact is, I'm not really, because there are times I actually like people.  But I like to be alone, like I was yesterday afternoon drinking my coffee and smoking my pipe--alone.  Those who know me will say I am nothing like a crotchety old guy. ...

 I know there is a lot of fear in the world today and perhaps nothing is as fearful as the collapse of the banking industry.  The fact is such fears have had an affect on Wall Street.  But the fear is real and so are the possibilities.  I don't know how to alleviate such fears.  I just don't.  Most might say there is comfort in numbers.  Others might say that Wall Street gets jittery when someone sneezes.  Some might blame the political system, whichever side you are on, the other side is to blame.  The fact is that no industry is immune from the ways of policy makers.  The banking industry has been part of a political football since the founding of the Federal Reserve Bank, which is governed by an independent board of directors.  The US Government borrows from that bank and it issues money based on a complex formula.  But the fact is that while Washington has been tweaking with the banking system, since the great depression, t...

 The only time I have watched a full basketball game of any kind this year has been this week.  I have been tempted to give up watching sports all together, but somehow it seems college basketball and football has some story to tell.  After football season I just couldn't watch basketball of any kind. But the tournament always has a story.  This year it was number one ranked Purdue getting beat by a number 16 seed.  It hasn't happened that a 16 has defeated a number 1 seed since 2018.  That was the first time it happened. In four days the field of 64 is reduced to a field of 16.  Every game tells a story.  This is true of college football, but there are the usual suspects in college football with the rare exceptions.  I enjoy the drama of both college basketball and college football.  I didn't want my son's involved with football, but it was their choice anyway as they participated in music and drama.  But the fact is I enjoy the dr...

 I am a Spiritualist.  This is how I explain myself.  How long have I been this way?  Probably all my life.  My pipe is part of my religion.  It may seem I do nothing but smoke a pipe and spend a lot of time alone, but doing so keeps my mind calm.  I might be difficult to understand as a person, but my whole life has been special as every single life is important. Spiritual people aren't always the best at holding down jobs, nor are they always on a career path.  More often than not they might be homeless or instuionalized.  But they can be career oriented and might have high paying jobs.  But generally, Spiritual people aren't motivated by money and fame.  But they can be found in Spiritual places doing Spiritual work.  But more often than not their responsibility is to be a kind of guide for others. They are most often found in places where one might expect to find Spiritual people and many have an income from their work as S...

 I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos, but I am amazed at what the algorithm throws up at me.  One video says God is trying to talk to me and if I don't listen [to this video] I will miss out on $10,000,000!  Or another says good luck will leave me if I don't listen to their video.  It's all about click bait and if there is one thing I hate is click bait.  And for the most part  watching these videos is as much of a waste of time as watching paint dry.   Now, having said this about click bait, it seems I am just seeing more of it, whether channeling Angels or God wanting to do something for me, or learning about psychology in regard to relationships, it just seems like there is some lure to hook one in to click on a video.  I began by watching videos on Taoism, which might define my religious beliefs, but then I moved to relaxation videos.  Then I was on YouTube enough using an old moniker for myself that gave YouTube some inklin...

 TikTok has a fairly new AI program that is now about a month old.  It is called Bold Beauty.  It can be downloaded as an editing software extension directly from TikTok.  What the program does is take what the camera is given and enhances the facial or body photos into an idealized version of oneself.  In fact, the photos have become so perfected that young ladies who see the perfected version of themselves want plastic surgeons to create the perfected version, which any plastic surgeon would say is an imposiibility. It was used at first by influences who were able to transform themselves into a more perfect version of what they already were.  But mental health professionals are worried about the fake images of teens being used to illustrate to them what they aren't.  Some mental health experts have said they have seen an increase of suicidal thoughts by young girls girls increase as much as 59%, when teen suicide rates are up dramatically since Covid...

 One of the things that a B.A. teaches is critical thinking.  I was going to be critical of those my own age who gave up the idealism of the 60's for wealth and status in life.  Then I was going to write about Crystal, Rainbow, Indigo, and the Star children born in the 90's and later, some of whom are grandchildren of those youth back in the 60's.  I wrote all that stuff and deleted it.  It wasn't necessary. But about those children born then and since, there is a reason for them to exist today.  They're special children.  I was born too soon to be among them, but in my own way, I am special, unique, and unusual.  I can't expect most anyone to be as myself.  So, I decided the post I deleted was just too self-righteous.  I can't expect anyone to be like myself.  And I don't.  NOT really.   I think the reality of life set in with most of my generation.  And I don't blame anyone.  But the other day I did. ...

 I had a post written for today, but I deleted it.  My wife and I are in search of a place of our own.  My wife misses living with just the two of us in our own place and I was on my soapbox yesterday thinking I might write something rather negative.  But I don't want to write against others but be supportive.  I thought maybe I wasn't supportive enough in yesterday's published post, but really I don't wish to be critical, but to just make you pause for thought.  There is nothing inherently wrong with wealth, but I don't want others to lose perspective while earning a living. I realize I am different and have been for just about all my life.  But i do think that the years have taught me much particularly about spirituality which is MY own path.  Even my pipe smoking is part of my path, which is something we are considering in finding a place of our own.  But I certainly don't recommend for most anyone to take up the pipe.  But I do find ...

 There was a time when I struggled with depression, but for quite some time I have been relatively happy.  This is not to say every day is perfect.  Yesterday, I did some research on wealth and happiness.  And I want to share some thoughts about both today.  Both in regard to what I found and my own personal life.  Before I go any further, let me just say that I think of myself more of an exception than the rule.  My own happiness can't be measured by either wealth or anything tangible.  I AM different.  So, whatever I say here does not apply to me. Mark Twain says that if one is virtuous without wealth, one will go through life unnoticed.  Psychology says a man who has money needs many women and a woman who has money needs no man.  Wealth changes a person, but to be truly happy, one needs to make a million dollars a year, and after that money doesn't buy happiness.  Someone said, we can't feed the poor and attack the problem o...

 Ignorance can be bliss.  The more one knows, the more one might wish they didn't know so much.  If a scientist learns that the Yellowstone caldera can erupt at any time, that scientist might lose sleep worrying about it.  The scientist is able to interpret all scientific data related to the Yellowstone caldera.  Such information and the ability to read the data just might prevent them from getting a good night's sleep. Astronomers are trained to study the stars, comets, and asteroids.  If an asteroid the size of a school bus is approaching the earth, such knowledge might keep the astronomer up at night worrying about the asteroid, which might not have an earth impact.  But still, in all the astronomer knows, they can't stop worrying about it. I was reading about how DNA testing has revealed some interesting things, that might be left being unknown.  Half brothers and half sisters have been found through DNA testing.  But it's the parents of ...

 We bought a new Angel from Amazon that was delivered yesrday.  Every Angel I shopped for had wings.  I know that for some people Angels are mythical creatures that do not in any way connect with our lives.  Then there are those for whom Angels are real.  I fall into the latter camp, but have been until recently, very quiet about Angel's.  But in all the Angels I looked at on Amazon they all had wings. In fact removing wings from Angel's would be like changing the date of Christmas.  Most anyone would say Angels must have wings.  Any imagery of Angels without wings would be like removing wings from birds, or destruction of wings of a butterfly.  Or it would be like saying fairies don't have wings.  Can you imagine Tinker Bell without wings?  But there is nothing in the Bible that depicts Angels with wings. But what of historical works of art?  Because Angels seem to appear out of nowhere, it is assumed Angels have wings.  ...

 Computers have changed education with computers having replaced teachers in some cases.  High school students are no longer seeing college as a viable choice and are instead opting not to attend college all together.  It is getting so that only the top 10% of income earners will be sending their kids to college.  But college administrators are not seeing their colleges as the career path they once were.   One reason is the cost of college and how entry-level wages after college have not kept up with inflation.  Many of the potential college bound kids say the cost isn't worth it.  And many employers are no longer requiring degrees for entry level jobs that once required them.  And since Covid, learning across the globe has changed with many realizing a conventional classroom is no longer necessary.   In addition to all this is what is available on the Internet.  Granted an Internet degree isn't as valuable as one from a conven...

 It takes me awhile to drift off to sleep at night.  My wife falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.  Not so with me.  So, I get put my laptop, and I watch a lot of YouTube vids.  I'm not crazy about YouTube, but until something comes along that's better, I feel as though I am stuck with it.  But lately at night it seems the algorithm at YouTube seems to know I often am up until I drift off so to sleep. So, the algorithm has been giving me a lot of videos lately that are ASMR related helping me to sleep.  The tones of the music are a rather monotonous 450 Hz or there abouts without much change in pitch or sound.  But the fact is that while many of these vids are for overnight use and are anywhere from eight to ten hours long, they are designed to stay with one through the night.   But what I am finding most fascinating is that YouTube has figured out my fascination with anything angelic in nature.  There are videos that gu...

 I sometimes sit on the patio and listen to the birds chirp and sing, in the early morning, which tells me all is right in my world.  A woman in Missoiri bore the child of a man that was dead when she conceived.  Really.  She is a 26 year old woman who worked in a morgue and is accused of having sex with about 60 corpses!  Only NOT in Florida.  Prosecutors believe she applied for the job and was hired because she is a necropheliac and for this reason her attorneys say she is mentally ill and should be treated as such.   I don't want to talk about this child, because it seems to me this is too bizarre to be true.  But I read aboit it yesterday and decided to do some research into the subject.  The "father" was a vetinarian who died in an automobile accident and DNA tests prove him to have been the "father."  The biggest question is:  Now what?  The prosecutor says he has never seen a case like this in 25 years as a prosecut...

 I could write about so many things today, but I keep stressing the point that I smoke a pipe for one basic reason:  Relaxation.  The whole world seems as though everyone is facing stresses of all kinds.  I have been asked what our plans are, whether we stay in this house or we find a place of our own.  My wife and I discussed home ownership, and neither of us want to own a home again.  We have made Cape Coral home here for the past several months and it seems to us that rent here is fairly reasonable.   But I told her I have one requirement for a new place, and that is that I can smoke my pipe with few restrictions.  I haven't smoked indoors for several years now and I must say that smoking my pipe in the garage in NY in the dead of winter was totally miserable.  A day here in Florida has not gone by that has prevented me from smoking my pipe outdoors.  Early last evening I sat here on the patio and I began watching a video of one ...

 Before I go any further, today is my son's birthday and I'll give a shout out to him this morning.  I read a blog post about a pipe smoker who named his pipes.  I never gave it a thought.  I'm not into naming my cars, nor have I given much thought to giving proper names to anything I own.  I did give it some thought however, as I was smoking my newest Nording yesterday, to having another name for it aparr from my newest Nording.  I have two Nording pipes apart from my Angel pipe that I have a difficult time distinguishing for my posts here.  I hesitate to say one of my Nording pipes is a birthday pipe, because my Angel pipe is actually my birthday pipe and the other I purchased a few weeks after my birthday. I just refer to my pipes by manufacturer, style, and/or number, if they have one.  I thought about names for my pipes, if I were to name them, but am not so sure what those names would be.  Yesterday, I was smoking my newest Nording and ...

 Okay, so my title doesn't really ask a specific question, but maybe just a broad existential one,  but this weekend most of the country with a few exceptions is going to...  Drum roll...  change our clocks.  And for the past several years now, Congress has been trying to pass a bill making Daylight Saving Time permanent.  But why, oh why, do we go through this ritual twice yearly with Daylight Saving Time being eight months of the year? Sure, I can ask why about a lot of things, like why smoke a pipe, but I decided the question is about why do we have to keep messing around with our clocks!?  Okay, anyone can Google the question and find out that Benjamin Franklin proposed the idea as a joke.  So, we borrow an hour from the morning and then add it back in the shortest days of the years.  Are we Time masochist?  Do we really enjoy losing that hour in the Spring? Once again we go through the ritual in a this early Sunday morning and again...

 I was going to ask whether social media has become too adult, but I saw a YouTube video yesterday asking whether social media is causing society to collapse with the video suggesting that Facebook owning Instagram is causing societal problems.  Then I saw a video suggesting that Amazon is causing the collapse of brinlck and mortar retail.  There is no question that the Internet is causing disruptions in societal norms. TikTok is a prime example of how social norms are deteriorating right before our very eyes.  It's the fact that since Tik Tok, the average attention span of teens has shortened more than it has ever been.  Someone suggested that at the rate attention span is being shortened, the next generation of children will have the attention span of goldfish. I have seen a lot of changes in my lifetime, but nothing has caused more societal change than the Smart phone.  Tik Tok is designed specifically for Smart phone use.  With Tik Tok videos about...

 I thought I had more Good Stuff than I actually had on hand.  I mixed about half Good Stuff with half Cherry Cavendish.  I was pretty much spot on in my expectations.  Good Stuff by itself was quite good.  But mixing the two gives a slight Cherry taste without it being overpowering.  Good Stuff has a slight minty taste, but the blend is even better than expected.  Mixing Good Stuff with Black Cavendish made for an exceptional blend, but blending it with Cherry Cavendish is far better than I expected.   I thought I had more Good Stuff than I did, and mixing it half and half used up the remainder of my Good Stuff.  I have enough Cherry Cavendish left to smoke alone or blend it with something else.  There is no tongue bite with the mix and the flavoring is delicate. I am well pleased with my mix.  I now have quite a bit of a new blend with some Cheery Cavendish left.  So, I was able to add a batch of something new that I did...

I received my new Sherlock Holmes Calabash pipe yesterday.  In choosing what I would smoke in it today, I decided on trying some Briar Fox tobacco in it.  I had just received my order late yesterday and decided I would smoke my new pipe with some new tobacco this morning. In regard to the pipe itself, it's actually larger than expected with a very large bowl.  But the fact is, this is the first substantial pipe I have purchased in over a year.  I ordered a Nording about this time last year.  I have only one pipe now on my list which would be a Savinelli Churchwarden pipe.  What I like about this pipe is that the silver band is embossed with the likeness of Sherlock Holmes indicating is from the Sherlock Holmes line of pipes by Peterson.   There is no need to review the pipe although some might wonder if the pipe is worth it.  I can assure you the pipe is worth it.  This is my second Peterson pipe.  I haven't really smoked it enough ...

 I have three different tobacco blends arriving this afternoon that I have never tried.  I don't enjoy reviewing tobacco very much, because it seems my palate is not aa sensitive to tobacco tastes as it once was.   But I ordered eight ounces of Low Country Cherry Cavendish to mix with some of my Good Stuff.  I have learned that Good Stuff is an excellent blending tobacco with the right Cabendish.  Cavendish tobaccos are heat treated and have a rich stand alone taste that makes for perfect blending tobaccos.  I read that Good Stuff is an excellent blending tobacco with just about any Cavendish.  So, some Good Stuff with Cherry should blend well together.   I have not had any tobacco from Low Country, so we will see what I think of their Cherry Cavendish.  But in addition to the order placed to arrive today are two blends I have not tried from Cornell and Diehl.  One is Briar Fox, which is one of Smoking Pipes top 50 selling blen...

 I was going to answer this question along with writing about tobacco and reviews, but decided I needed two posts to cover them adequately.  Today, I will write about pipes, exclusively, and tomorrow I will write about tobacco and reviews.  But the real question is, why aren't there pipe reviews.  And the answer is quite simple:  There don't need to be any.   Buying a pipe is different from buying tobacco.  If one wants to spend $500 on a Dunhill pipe and has the extra money and wants a status symbol, one will spend $500 or more on a Dunhill pipe.  But if one has only $50 to spend on a pipe, one might get a good cob pipe or one might just get a Dr. Grabow pipe.   But the average pipe smoker will spend a hundred or so on a Peterson or Savinelli.  A pipe purchase isn't just determined by price, but manufacturer, and shape and size of the pipe.  Erin Go Braugh makes a Gallway Calabash that looks identical to the Peterson Sher...