Pipeology - The Fine Art of Pipe Smoking and Thought

I have sat by the pool and have written these posts from the patio of my son's house.  I now have a change of scenery as I sit on the lanai of our second floor condo and comment on whatever I see in the large canal in the back of our condo.  The owner says she has sat here and has seen dolphins, manatees, and the occasional boat go by.  I don't know if I will see the fins of sharks sticking out of the water, but the fact is we will be here for the next seven months. My pipe cabinet and pipe collection could be kept out here as there are hurricane shutters, if needed to protect this part of the condo.  But actually, it's more peaceful here and quite conducive for writing.  The sun shines in here during the morning hours, but the remainder of the day the lanai is shaded.  It really is quiet here and is very idyllic.  A change of scenery is nice.  We had a hot tub guy fixing the hot tub who said the pool my son has is larger than most he's seen....

I'm sitting here in the early morning on the patio by the pool, womdering why flat-earthers are even a thing.  But that topic is for another time.  I haven't smoked a pipe every day.  Yesterday, we took my pipe cabinet and my pipes to our rental condo and today, I have nothing to smoke.  But later on, we are going to take the rest of our stuff over.  Taking a break from my pipes isn't all bad, however.  It will take me awhile to get my pipes organized in my cabinet.  I am leaving my large cigar box behind until I figure out what to do with it.   We bought a new Angel statue not too long ago and I will make room for that on top the cabinet.  We are thinking about moving the cabinet out into the lanai and I will keep all my pipes and tobacco out there.   Being up on the second floor, we won't be seeing wildlife as we did watching the bunnies outside the pool's lanai.  Every morning I could hear the Burrowing Owls as their vo...

 Whenever I write a post for this blog, I am usually smoking a pipe.  These posts are meant to be conversational in format.  Smoking a pipe lends itself to a conversation, even if I converse with myself.  Someone told me long ago to write as I would normally speak.  I am sort of a theologian/philosopher, but I don't want to necessarily write as I think.  I try to avoid any discussion of religion, but sometimes religious thought creeps in from time to time. I am usually deep in meditative thoight about something.  The other day my wife mentioned that this lady was suing Celebrity Cruise Lines for keeping her husband, who had passed away on the cruise, in a drink cooler.  There are too many questions without context, but every cruise ship has a morgue.  And it makes one wonder why the body wasn't shipped back home with the wife of the deceased from the next stop.  And I wonder whether the drink cooler was her idea.  I don't know. But ...

 The James Webb Space Telescope fascinates me as it explores the edge of the known universe.  I'm fascinated by concepts of time travel.  I'm fascinated by the travels of Voyagers 1 & 2.  In fact, I watch as many YouTube videos as I can find on these topics and more.  I think with our current technologies, travel to any other planet besides our own moon would be suicide missions for anyone on a manned spacecraft.  But like Musk, I am fascinated by the possibilities.   I wrote about Musk and SpaceX the other day and decided I was too harsh on Musk and his dream of going to Mars and deleted that article.  But the James Webb is giving theoretical astrophysicists headaches, because what it has discovered wasn't expected.   The more you know, the more you don't know. Theoretical astrophysicists are now questioning whether Black Holes even exist.  But in addition to these discussions leaves questions about whether time travel is ...

 This one might be as much for my wife as it for those of you in general.  My wife isn't crazy about my Old Professor pipe tobacco.  Most, if not all, English tobaccos smell like the furniture caught on fire, as one reviewer says.  So, I have since revised my next tobacco order to include nothing but Aromatic tobaccos that have a pleasant room note.  A couple are Cherry flavored tobacco blends, and I have carefully gone over my list to make sure each tobacco blend has a pleasant room note.   One question I have is about a Whiskey Cavendish I have included I may take off my order and substitute Autumn Evening instead.  The condo to which we are moving is a non-smoking community, but the owner has made allowances for my pipe.  But in deference to those around us, I've decided any tobacco I smoke has to pass my wife's smell test, which Old Professor does not.  I checked a list of best Aromatics and most if not all the tobaccos in my next or...

This article can't do justice to the subject of today.  But I'll share a few thoughts.  Love can be as powerful as cocaine to the mind.  Someone asked me years ago what love is.  Actually love is a motivating factor in all we do in life.  It's not just the addictive high of going from one love affair to the next.  That addictive high IS a drug.  But over time, love becomes a reason why.  Falling in love is easy.  Staying in love is the work and effort.  The drudgery of working every day is motivated by love.  For some it is the love of money.  For most, however, it is the love of just getting by.   Some are motivated by the love of a spouse or children.  Every day people leave the comfort of their homes in order to make a living doing whatever it is they have chosen to do.  Some might not make much, but some of those love their work.  There has to be instilled in a person the love of work.  Starvin...

 In today's world, if you aren't posting on social media, or if you aren't communicating with email or by texts or by phone, your silence to yourself can be deafening.  But I have spent hours working without talking and I have spent a lot of time by myself.  But if smoking a pipe has taught me anything it is that silence without a TV or communicating is time well spent.  But why? Smoking a pipe often by myself has taught me something.  People who don't say much are often perceived as being wise.  I sometimes wish I had spent more time by myself in the woods of of our upstate NY home.  But we believe things like the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  Many people fear silence because too often silence is a fear of loneliness. Being by oneself is nothing to fear, but the contrary.  Being quiet forces one to listen.  I know what I am saying here is nothing new.  C. S. Lewis says the pipe closes the mouth of the foolish.  Abraham Linco...

 There are times I had wished myself to have thought differently about some things than I did.  I have been anti-war pretty much all my life.  I never protested against the Vietnam War, as an example, but I was one of those who chose not to serve if I could avoid doing so.  I was 17 when I graduated from high school, but in September of 1969 I registered for the draft receiving a college deferment.  But the draft was on hold until the first lottery was held in December of that year. My number was 313 out of 366, which meant that unless an all-out war took place they would nevelr get to my number with the highest chosen was about 25.  I could have enlisted for non-combat duty, but at that time the military was not a popular option.  So, I continued with my education.  But looking back on it all these years, I have my questions occasionally about not serving, but the regrets are few and far between. My path was destined before me.  And now look...

  I know most, if not all of you don't care much about my tobacco choices, while pipes are at least interesting.  I am undecided between ordering a pouch or two of Half & Half or a full 7 ounce can.  I just might order a couple of pouches, because it is one of those blends that has been around for over a hundred years and can't be all bad.  But like Captain Black or Borkam Riff or other over-the-counter (OTC) blends as they ate called, they are great for sampling, but one wouldn't smoke them every day.   I think 7 ounces of something like Half and Half is over kill.  I bought a 14 ounce can of Sir Walter Raleigh that took me nearly two years to use up.  Even then I mixed some with Good Stuff, but it just added a touch more Burley that was already there.  I am thinking Half & Half is a lot like Good Stuff without the slight mint flavoring.  Some said Half & Half is an excellent blending tobacco like my Good Stuff.  A Burl...

Today is Friday and let me begin by saying that I figured out my Angel number using my birth date.  My number is 7.  There is a formula for figuring it out, but there is a much more complicated formula that several websites use that require too much info than I am willing to give.   I know I wrote about this on Tuesday, but while I don't really want to get into it, I'm now fascinated by angel numbers having studied this topic all week.  But logically it only makes sense to me that 7 is my number.  It has been my number since the beginning.  I was number 7 in little league and chose number 7 as my number for oir church's softball team as a pastor in Wisconsin.  Number 7 was always my favorite number. I want nothing personal posted to any website.  I have tried to avoid the semblance of writing religious thoughts, but I have since delved deeper into angel numerology and I promise this is the last time I will mention it.  I hope.  But ...

 Maybe I have too much time on my hands for smoking my pipes.  But being kind of retired gives me a lot of spare time.  However, my time spent is at home.  We have done all the traveling we want to do and due to our health we spend our time at home, which led my son to believe that maybe we need our own place.  This way he wouldn't have to plan his life around us.  As of yet, we haven't heard about the condo for which we applied, but no news is good news.   My son just asked me if I'd want a dog.  We've always had pets since the kids were little and for the first time in decades we don't have a pet.  But owning a cat or a dog is almost too much work.  But I'll think about it.  We can't have a pet in our new place, but after that we will see.  Maybe I have too much time on my hands and I could be a bother to some, but I know I'm needed, so I don't feel like I have nothing to do, but sit around and smoke my pipe.  But I...

  Whenever I get a new pipe, it takes some time smoking it for me to figure out whether I like it or not.  Such was the case of my new Peterson Sherlock Holmes pipe.  And really, at first I was disappointed in how I thought it was breaking in.  But now having lived with it for over a month, it will more than likely rate right right up there with my Peterson System Standard pipe, which is probably one of my better and older pipes. So, one might understand about putting another Peterson pipe on my shopping list.  One of the major differences is the fishtail stem, which is a more traditional stem as opposed to the P-lip stem on my other Peterson pipes.  The Aran line of pipes is the least expensive of the Peterson line of pipes, but that is not to say it isn't as good.  This pipe is more in line with traditional pipes without a lot of the Peterson patents.  What is obvious is the missing nickle or silver band around the shank end of the pipe. But tha...

My wife noticed my pipe smoking T-shirts were both wearing thin and suggested we might want to look for new ones.  I told her I could get new pipe smoking T's, but she sugggested something different in brighter colors.  And this is where all this begins. First of all, I need to make a disclaimer here by saying this article is about information and is not to be viewed from a perspective as one who believes in what I am about to write.  This is only to inform and is not either an endorsement or a dispute of a particular way of thinking.  But I first came across what is called "Angel numerology" in a YouTube video that said that God was speaking to me if I saw 1111.  I never gave it a thought until my wife suggested I needed new T-shirts.   I told her I might be able to find something on Amazon I might like.  So, I began looking for new T-shirts on Amazon and decided I might want to look for something related to Angel's.  Then I saw a number of ...

 The pipe above is an estate pipe that has been smoked and is hand carved by Anne Julie.  It is a Rhodesian pipe selling for $3,000 from Smoking Pipes made in 2017.  It has nothing to do with my post below, but I found it to be interesting. When I write a post for this blog, sometimes I might comment on some news item or a pipe, but sometimes I'll write about what is on my mind.  Your first impression might be that my mind is blank.  No, I'm always lost in thought about something.  My wife and I THINK we'll be moving to a furnished condo at the end of this month.  We are thinking aboit what we might need, but all we really need is some personal stuff.   We might go in with our son on the purchase of a condo, but we'll see.  We have a seven month lease for a place that's just a few miles from his house, then we will decide what we want to do.  But that is on my mind this morning.  We're keeping his home as our address.  It'...

 I believe I said in another post that I never had professors who smoked pipes.  So, I can't identify with leather chairs one sinks into or wood panelled walls with an old professor behind a fairly modest wooden desk full of papers, smoking a pipe.  But such is the imagery of Old Professor pipe tobacco.  As I discovered both Autumn Evening and Tropical Export as my favorite Aromatics, I may have found my favorite English pipe tobacco. Old Professor by Sutliff has just the right amount of Latakia to give the Virginia's and other Orientals just enough flavor.  I asked my wife to smell the bag of tobacco right after it arrived and she liked the aroma.  After smoking several bowls in several pipes, I found the balance of the tobaccos to be perfect.  The aroma is what I would say is as ot was described.    It burns cool and it needs no relight.  The moisture content is perfect and needs to be kept just slightly moist to give it that extra fla...

 An Australian mayor is suing ChatGTP for defamation.  Brian Hood is the mayor that says if one researches his name, ChatGTP said he served time for a bribery scheme at a bank in which he was employed.  In fact, he uncovered the scheme and had the perpetrators arrested.  But can he sue AI for false and damaging information against his reputation for either libel or slander?   I am watching this case closely, because it is the first time AI has been sued.  It's almost like asking if one lusts for AI women, is it lust if the women don't exist?  In fact there is a lot about AI we just don't know.  Yes, it's the creators of AI that are being sued, but what if the owners go back and correct the information their AI gave?  We just don't know and this is a case brought forward in Australia.  Could AI be sued in courts for a likeness of someone that has done harm to one's reputation if AI is the creator of that content? Here in the US where...

 The other day I was smoking my Sherlock Holmes pipe while sitting here on the patio listening to and watching the rain fall.  It was so calm and peaceful as I listened to quiet music on YouTube on our outdoor TV.  I felt so calm.  Some might think I spend too much time alone.  But I never feel lonely while smoking my pipe, because at my age, I have a lot to think about.  My pipe and my thoughts keep me company.   That is the joy of quiet.  Smoking a pipe requires no electricity and needs no batteries.  It is almost as old as civilization itself.  Maybe through history some have died from smoking a pipe, but I contribute my  health to my pipe, although I might be an exception and as I've said before I am not an evangelist for pipe smoking, because I think my cardiologist might have been right to say no tobacco use is best.  But I have been one who always believed myself to be exempted from norms.  I am not normal. I w...

  I've ordered a new rack for my pipes when I ordered the Old Professor pipe tobacco.  I left a rack in NY, but the major differences are that it had holes instead of slots and it was straight instead of the more square pattern above.  The rack above is Teak, while the rack I left behind was Pine with Walnut stain.  The rack above is a far better rack.  My old rack held five pipes and this one will hold six pipes.   A rack is important for Briar pipes parrularly, because it allows them to sit upright and dry properly.  My wife asked me if I have enough pipes for it.  Yes, but I'll move my best pipes to it and keep it on display.  The answer is that I have plenty of pipes to fill it.  There are pipe cabinets and racks costing thousands of dollars if one has a pipe collection worth that kind of display.  Some racks can hold as many 72 pipes or more, but some racks are for pipe shops, as are some cabinets.   Pipe shop ow...

 In my perfect world there would be no political thought but individualistic free-thunkers where only one thing mattered:  Every single Human Life.  It would be a world where indivuals would choose how to achieve a perfect balance between living and to let live.  But my perfect world cannot exist within any political system.  So, I am a free individualistic free-thinker who thinks outside the box.  If I say NOTHING is more important than Human Life, there is no system that can support my views. The Eastern mindset is different, because it stresses the importance of the individual and NOT a system.  My system of thought supports the indivual and not governmental systems.  It is separate from all religions.  It does not require a group.  But indivualists such as myself are very rare, because it seems people need groups.  For whatever reason free-thinkers in regard to Human Life are like the Thoreau's of this world who shun anything re...

 A tobacco pipe is often a great conversation piece.  Pipe smokers were once known for being great conversationalist.  And pipe smokers were known for their mild-mannered demeanor.  I can't say this is as true today, simply because unlike the fifties and sixties when 30 million people smoked a pipe, there are only three million of us today, so we aren't as well-known as they were back then.   I have had some of my best conversations while smoking a pipe, including conversations with family.  But most anyone would ask why or even how a pipe does this.  I have only a few word phrase to describe what a pipe does to one who smokes a pipe.  It forces us to listen.  My favorite quote about pipe smoking is from C. S. Lewis who once said that a pipe closes the mouth of the foolish.  It's not so much that a pipe smoker is more intelligent, but people who spend more time listening just seem that way.   A pipe has taught me to listen...

 I had an English professor that all his students said he needed a cane and a pipe.  He was a Yale graduate and was typical of a New England gentleman.  I never had professors who smoked pipes, so a nostalgia trip with Old Professor pipe tobacco won't remind me of the old professors I had.  But for some reason, I have been on a nostalgia trip and I'm not sure why.  Old Professor just seemed like the old professors I saw on TV as a kid that often smoked a pipe, however, TV has no way to broadcast aromas. I was never around pipe smokers, but I have been intrigued with pipe smoking since I was a kid.  I never got into cigarettes, and smoking cigars didn't appeal to me because I never liked the smell of them.  But a pipe?  For some reason I was always fascinated by the pipe.  And I have been for fifty years, but don't ask me why.  I've explained it the best I can often wishing more of my professors smoked a pipe.  But the idea of the sm...

The number one by itself has no power.  Any number to the power of one is still that number.  Three Dog Night from the late 60's to the early 70's had a song called, "One is the Loneliest Number."  The number one by itself has no power.  But I have been reading about the power of indifference.  All it takes is one person with an idea.  Or that one person with indifference could be the most powerful in the world.   If you think about it, the most creative people are just one person.  I read about a woman in Canada who found out that Jeep owners liked to get together, but during Covid they did not.  So, she did what she thought she could do to help Jeep owners keep their community.  So she started putting little rubber ducks on the dashboards of Jeeps.  Now it seems that all over the US and Canada you will see Jeeps with a collection of rubber ducks placed by various individuals who thought that a good idea.  A collection of...

 There is a reason why my blog asks if you are 18 or older.  I write about tobacco use and tobacco products including pipes.  But I also can write about anything I wish.  I can write the word "sex" without getting into issues, but the fact is that I can write about most any topic I wish.  But if we're to be over-the-top religious or political, I could get flagged.  But this blog is about my pipe of the day and tobaccos.   I have been about as "adult" as I want to get.  This blog site has rules.  So, in order to stay within the rules, I won't go beyond that which I have written.  Currently I am working on my wishlist for the Smoking Pipes website.  I have been shopping for what I think might be good English tobaccos.  I guess one could say I have been like an old professor to my family, but while I might have the educational status of one who could be called "learned," I see myself differently. One of my son's visited Oxfor...

 I learned long ago that if you have to explain something, you might be better off not talking about it.  Most things can't be explained away.  Politicians are worse for not explaining their thinking.  And once they start explaining, the explaining never stops.  But I'm not getting into either religion or politics or explaining about what I mean when I mention a "new beginning."  I'll attempt to explain this without religion or politics, because it's neither. Every day is a new beginning.  And I could stop right there.  I live with no remotse, no regrets, and no guilt.  There was a time I could never say this.  There has always been a philosopher in me that had my own way of explaining life.  Every single day begins a new adventure.  And when we go to bed at night, we can look forward to the new adventures of the next day.  I look ahead just far enough and the past is what has made me the person I am today.  And today...

 I enjoy watching old advertisements about most any product that no longer exists, particularly the sexist ads from the 50's and 60's.  A number of these sexist ads stick in my mind, but the ones mentioned more often today are ads about cigars and cigarettes.  One ad isn't really sexist, but it was assumed back then that most professional people were men and women were relegated to the kitchen.  One such ad showed a male doctor smoking a cigarette with the ad saying 9 out of 10 doctors recommend smoking Camels. Sex was used to sell anything from washing machines, shaving cream, to car tires and spark plugs.  It was assumed a lot of women didn't drive and if they did they needed automatic transmissions and tires that wouldn't go flat.  As for spark plugs, those ads said that getting a particular brand of spark plugs would make sure she gets home, presumably from the supermarket.  And when there is no man around a brand of a particular car tire wouldn't ...

 I wrote a post similar to this one, but decided to post this one instead.  A pipe may or may not last a lifetime.  It just depends.  Under normal usage a pipe could last a long time.  But Briar does burn.  It just depends. There was a time when a typical pipe smoker might own a few pipes.  But a collector who buys on average a few pipes a year, might not ever burn through a pipe.  But it just depends.   I would rather smoke a pipe than cigars, because of health reasons.  The typical pipe smoker might not have a shorter life than any non-smoker, but the number of pipe smokers over age 65 is rather rare.  Most pipe smokers are between the ages of 18 and 25, with all other age groups evenly represented except those over 65, who are the least represented in a fairly recent study done in 2014.  Generally those who are 65 and older aren't in as good of health. It is the older pipe smoker who has the money to spend on both pipes...

 Telling someone to have a nice day is a carry-over from the 60's that began with a T-shirt and a smiley face.  And of course it was mocked in all sorts of ways.  But it all began with the smiley face, which by the way, was never trademarked.  The guy who created the smiley face wanted everyone to use it and now we have smiley face emojis that express every emotion possible.  In passing the other day, the carry over from my Northern roots showed when I told one in passing it's a beautiful day, like for Florida that is unusual.  In the upper climes a beautiful fay can be unusual through June.  Down here such a comment means nothing except for after a hurricane.  I've been here for almost six months and have not experienced a day that wasn't beautiful.  So a comment like, nice weather we're having, means absolutely nothing here.   It raises the question as to where I have been for six months.  Where have I been?  Alaska?...

 I told my wife the other day that Florida is often referred to as God's waiting room.  It's a place where old people come at the last part of their lives.  However, I refuse to think of it that way.  I feel as though I am here on a mission.  I might be waiting, but I am not here to wait for the end, but a beginning.  All of life is about a new beginning.  So, when I think of the history of my life, this is NOT the end. We all serve a purpose no matter what you believe that purpose is.  It's why when my wife and I choose to move out, which will not be soon, I prefer to be around younger people.  I enjoy hearing about their hopes and dreams, and I prefer not to just sit around and reminisce, but still my wife and I have a lot to reminisce about.  I know smoking a pipe is generally referred to an old man's hobby, but I tend to believe it is a hobby for anyone, women included. I've gone into cigar bars and have not seen many women in them....

 Tomorrow is the NCAA men's basketball final.  Last night I was watching the first of two games smoking my cob pipe with the last of my Bosun tobacco.  I only bought two ounces of it and I wasn't sure I could give it a proper evaluation.  I had a post for this morning I was thinking about, but I think I will save that post for tomorrow.  It's been awhile since I've evaluated a tobacco, but I think I have only had my cob pipe out one other time since I bought it. Some might say a ten dollar pipe is pretty cheap for a pipe and my corncob pipe has a pretty small bowl.  But that Bosun in a cob pipe is a pretty good combination.  I also smoked some of my Tropical Expprt in that pipe, making me wonder whether I should evaluate the pipe instead.  But I smoked enough of my Bosun in a few pipes making me feel confident enough to evaluate the tobacco.  Bosun is a ribbon cut tobacco which means one breaks some off and wads it up and firmly packs the bow...