Pipeology - The Fine Art of Pipe Smoking and Thought

 For those of you who don't know what an UAP is, it's an acronym for what we're once labeled as UFOs.  UAP stands for Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.  Congress has been holding hearings from government officials on UAPs.  A lot has been said about these hearings, with some wondering whether the Chinese or the Russians are behind the development of UAPs.  While UAPs are a mystery, most don't seem to think they are of this world.   I have a theory about UAPs, but one needs a Spiritual tin foil hat to follow my reasoning.  I too, do not believe they are of this world.  But my reasoning says they are Spiritual in nature.  But how do I arrive at this conclusion?  This is where a Spiritual tin foil hat is needed.  In my thinking God does not need UAPs to make His presence known, but anything evil is material.  Evil needs battle-ready armaments.  In my thinking, if something is of God, it is peaceful and leaves those who e...

 I saw a list on the most boring things we can do or do often.  I have heard it said that watching golf is like watching grass grow, or as others have suggested, watching paint dry.  Now, I know of no one who sits around and watches grass grow.  But all of us have been stuck in traffic.  On a list of fifty of the most boring things we do, this was number one.  Everyone hates sitting in traffic.  No question.  The Glasgow Times compiled a list of fifty boring things people do almost every day.   While the list is British, it translates virtually anywhere in the US except here in the US as opposed to sitting in traffic being number one, our list says being bored at work is number one.  Maybe here in the US we have more ways to pass the time when sitting in traffic.  Power Point presentations were high on the Glasgow Times list.  The Kardashians were number 14 on that list right after European football analysts.   O...

 In my belief system, unless one has intentionally taken a human life, everyone gets a thumbs up from God.  I don't really care about one's beliefs.  I come from a super religious family, but I'm different.  I've had best friends who have been Atheists and I've known the most religious people in the world.  But in MY book everyone gets a thumbs up with the rare exception.  It's just how I think. I don't care what one has done, how one thinks, or what one believes or doesn't believe.  I have one criteria for writing a person off.  Just one.  And whether one is religious or not, this is my ONLY criteria.  I've probably thought this way my entire life, but as I've grown older I had to learn.  The whole world could write me off, but I have never taken a human life and in my own Spirituality, this is all that matters.   I don't expect many to think as I do, but I allow for most any belief and any non-belief, for that matter....

 Cornell and Diehl has 221 different tobaccos and Sutliff has 177.  This is only two of about 100 different tobacconists on Smoking Pipes website.  And of course one can do one's own blending and the list is virtually endless.  I could do nothing but write tobacco reviews here.  There are a lot of tobacco blends out there including tobaccos sold on other sites.  I read there are several thousand tobacco advertised blends with some hardly ever reviewed.  I read tobacco reviews, but I don't really pay a lot of attention to reviews. Some respond to reviews and I've only written a few reviews that I've posted.  One example is Old Professor that didn't get a very high rating, but it is a favorite.  Early Morning Pipe by Peterson has a lot of reviews, but I smoked that quite a bit when Dunhill had that blend.  Various English blends are similar with some being more rich and bold than others.  Many Aromatics are similar with Aromatics bein...

 I'm not an oenophile, or a connoisseur of wines.  I told my wife yesterday that I will write about a wine we purchased more or less just for the heck of it.  It is Lamarca Prosecco Rose.  We were at Walgreens and they had these various summer kinds of wines on a seasonal display.  Because it is a sparkling wine the 187 ml bottle had a foil wrap around the opening like a fine bottle of Champagne.  My wife suggested I try it as it wouldn't hurt.  So, we bought a bottle and put it in the refrigerator. I actually forgot about it until I opened the refrigerator to grab a Coke.  There it was.  I am sitting on the lanai as it is raining this afternoon as I write with a glass of this sparkling Italian Rose.   I got out a relatively large wine glass, but 187 ml isn't a lot.  So, at least I don't have to worry about it having any affect on me.  The alcohol content is 11%.  My wife says it's a cute little bottle.  There yo...

 I usually write a few days ahead and then choose one for the day and finish it up just prior to posting around 10:30 in the mornings, sometimes later on weekends.  I began this one a few days ago and finished it up this morning. We are seriously looking for our next place.  It's possible we could be here until January, but that all depends.  We have little to move, but as to whether the next place is furnished matters not.  My wife says we could return to our son's place for a month or two, but personally, I would rather move from here into our next place.  In my thinking buying a place would be best, but we have invested in a place in NY.  And neither of us are too keen on ownership. There only requirement I have is that I can smoke my pipe on the lanai, as most places in Florida have lanais. I'm not expecting our next place to be anything like what we have here.  This might be the best of all possible worlds right now.  My wife has found p...

 I order tobacco about once every month or so.  Someone said they like my tobacco reviews.  I've decided to order two tins of tobaccos I've never tried before with my regular order.  I've been wanting to try Carter Hall for some time now.  There is a smaller ounce and half size pouch that right now Smoking Pipes has none available.  But I might buy the 14 ounce tin and keep it at my son's house as I am almost out of my Old Professor.   There is a brand called Caribbean Blue that has a  line of tobaccos and one of theirs is called Wyme.  I put that in my wish list.  I knew what to expect when I ordered Early Morning Pipe, which is a lighter English blend I like a lot.  However, I don't think I said much here about Cult Blood Red Moon, which is one I hadn't tried until recently. I want to comment on Cult Blood Red Moon and tell you what I thought of it.  First of all, my wife likes the aroma of Tropical Export better than al...

 I am unable to explain much about my Spiritual life, but let me touch on a few things.  First of all, I'm not fond of politicians from school boards to presidents.  I'm registered with a party here in Florida, but most likely won't vote.  This comes, once again, knowing politicians from an early age.  Ministry is a lot like playing politics, because people often tell preachers what they want to hear.   But then too, I kind of feel as though my thinking is different from most and as a Spiritual person I feel as though I am guided by the Spirit and often it means for me to just listen.  My cardiologist at the time of my heart attack advised me to shut out all news after 5:00pm and just relax before going to bed, but in my own way, I am a news junkie.  I still try to live his advice. I try to avoid all the news when I go to YouTube after dinner.  I watch old TV shows like excerpts from game shows and something like Highway Patrol from the ...

 I have a moniker I use for myself associated with a YouTube account.  I thought at one time I would publish under that moniker.  But I've decided at some point to use my real name, but I do have a few accounts where I use "Brother Ralphie" for my name.  And because it is a name that at least sounds religious, I get a lot of YouTube videos that are spiritual in nature.  But I hardly ever respond using that moniker. I'm no longer interested in being Brother Ralphie on-line.  There are those who know who Brother Ralphie is and for this reason, using my real name doesn't hide anything.  But my point is that I thought at some point I could be some kind of Spiritual guide for others.  But instead of offering advice, I choose rather to listen.  Some people just need someone to listen.   I believe listening is what I do best.  I don't seek advice from anyone, and I have found that all I need is for someone to just listen.  But I ...

 I won't say I am a religious person.  I am my own kind of Spiritual person.  I don't need an authority telling me what to believe and I interpret the Bible and other Scriptures my own way.  However, I might touch on religious themes here and there, but my concern is for all human life and I leave it at that. Because I smoke a pipe, I always tie-in pipe smoking in some way.  My wife says I find really different off-beat things to write about.  I try hard not to overlap what my son does.  But a lot of themes always relate to pipe smoking in some way, or there is a segue to smoking a pipe.  I have given thought to my next pipe, which will be a new Churchwarden pipe. I have one Churchwarden pipe that I fear is on the verge of burning through.  I tend to smoke my pipes hot and I have a few that are close to burning through.  I don't really need a new pipe as I have plenty but I have two Churchwarden pipes in my one wish list.  One is a ...

 Professor Lo Chung-mau of the university of Hong Kong told the legislative body that one way for smokers to quit lighting up in public places is for everyone to stare at such persons.  If everyone stared, the offender would most likely not "hit back," as he says.  As a pipe smoker, I am sensitive about where I smoke my pipe and believe that as a pipe smoker I care how those around me feel about my pipe. Pipe smoke, in general, does not emit all the chemicals in the air as do cigarettes.  There are those who are sensitive to any tobacco smoke.  I find cigars especially offensive, so when I smoke a cigar these days it will most likely be smoked at my son's house on the patio by the pool, as I did yesterday. Smoking is not the path to hell.  Disapproval of others in not the path either.  Public disapproval of most anything one does that goes against the grain is embarrassing at best.  In my thinking the pathway to righteousness begins with acceptanc...

Everyone loves a great love story. Brocarde is a British singer and musician, who at the age of 40 married Eduardo, except Eduardo isn't ordinary.  He's a ghost.   I am not making this up.  She wore a black wedding dress at the abandoned Asylum Chapel and actually was married in a ceremony with what can only be described as "haunting" music.  But if that isn't enough, after seven months she got a divorce from Eduardo because he was captivated by and had an affair with the ghost of Marilyn Monroe.  She said she had had enough.  He wouldn't give her up, Brocarde said.   This is so strange on so many levels, I am not sure where to even begin.  Not much was said about Eduardo, but she evidently had plenty to say about the affair.  Nothing was said in what I read about this chapel other than it was abandoned.  And I am not sure I want to know where this chapel was or even who officiated the wedding and what guests were in attendance...

I don't need to overstate the obvious.  Temperatures are rising.  Scientists are saying it might be too late to do much about it.  In the northern hemisphere where it is now summer,  it's hot in Europe, not just the US.  It's been hotter here in SW Florida than normal.  But the fact is it's hot.  I could write a lot about how the climate is changing, bu I won't.  Not everyone has air conditioning or cool ocean breezes like this early evening, as I am writing.   Some find heat sexy, but when it's too hot one might not like hugs from a sweaty body.  It got up to 91 here today, and even those who have summer homes up north haven't been able to escape the heat or the summer torrential rains that have come with it this year.  It has been as hot as 95 here, which is hotter than usual. I have always enjoyed hot coffee on days like today, but don't ask me why.  A pipe might be considered something one enjoys in the fall and winter...

 I'm a Boomer.  I cant help that i am a Boomer.  I'm ight smack dab in the middle of all Boomers.  Except for this blog, I'm done with social media and my texting skills aren't so great.  I find myself looking up the meaning of so many three letter acronyms.  The other day I had look up what an OP was.  By the way, it means Original Poster, which I am never one.  I don't understand all these acronyms, but I try.  I signed into a pipe smoking forum and they gave me a dictionary to decipher all these different acronyms.   I want to add various doo-dads to my posts but don't out of fear I'll get them wrong.  But at least I try.  I drive a car old people drive, but I know how fast it is from 0-60, and for an old person's car it's pretty darn quick.  And I'm an old guy who smokes a pipe.  I could write a lot about smoking pipes.  In fact, I could do nothing but tobacco reviews.  However...  I find life ...

 It is very Buddhist for one to say one has just enough.  In a Capitalistic society one never has enough.  Capitalism seeks a bigger house, more land, a bigger boat, or that huge truck.  But a Buddhist says one has enough.  It is said of ministers that churches will keep them poor if God keeps them humble.  But this is not true any longer as the wealth measures the success of a minister.  Still, the average salary for an average minister is less than $40,000 a year.   Most think lawyers make a good living with most lawyers making about $60,000 a year.  Just like all professions there are exceptions to the averages.  Depending on savings the average retiree makes about $1500 a year with many retirees having no savings and are still in debt.  It's hard for most to say they have enough.  Some work three jobs just to pay off school loans, pay rent, and own a car.  So, how can one say one has enough? I won't get into all t...

 Ever since about 1500 B.C. there have been devices for measuring time.  We say the universe is about 14 billion years old.  But there are those today who can't keep track of time.  It's called time blindness.  Some people have a clock in their heads and know when 15 minutes or an hour is about up, or they know how long a project will take.  People with time blindness have no such clocks.  But is time blindness a real thing and should it matter to employers? Frankly, I never heard of time blindness until I read an article about it describing this young lady who went to a job interview and told her potential employer she had time blindness.  Such a person would be considered a high risk by an employer who has expectations about being on time and wants to know if a future employee would know how long a project would take and whether such a person would be relied upon to know what time it is.   In today's world even seconds could matter....

 Okay, I dont really want to write about religion this morning, but there has been so much news about religion it seems I just cant ignore it.  But I am not evangelizing or propagating a belief.  My wife and I both were very religious within the context of a conventional faith and religious beliefs.  But instead of saying that I have none, I say I am done with conventional religion. I learned long ago that a more Buddhistic approach to religion was going to be my path in life, but this is not acceptable to most or I believe it's not acceptable to most, although I'm not really a Buddhist.  With so many people today who identify with no religion, it semms to me that more religions would go out of their way to be more accommodating. But they don't.  The Southern Baptist Convention voted to remove one of the largest congregations from their fellowship, because it has ordained women on staff and the church wouldnt remove them.  The United Mettodists are str...

 We officially became Florida residents yesterday with both of us getting Florida licenses and registering our car to the state of Florida.  We have now been residents of six states and believe this will be our last transfer of our residence.  We know our son's house is at least fairly permanent so we use his address for most everything.  I received a copy of the July issue of Esquire magazine here, but my thinking is that because I've ordered tobacco to be sent to our temporary address that it's a complimentary issue from one of the places from which I've ordered tobacco. It's been a long time since I've received a magazine by mail.  But I found the issue interesting.  I'm not sure if it's just this one issue or they signed me up for a year.  I'd hate to be on a mailing list for this address, but nothing is private any longer.  I almost didn't use this condo address, but preferred my tobacco orders to be sent here instead.  We now have a fai...

The world's largest cruise ship has sset sail for a trial maiden voyage.  The initial voyage of Royal Caribbean Icon of the Seas will be in January 2024.  It will sail on 7-day cruises in the eastern and western Caribbean.  It will boast of a handmade oceanic themed carousel and will have seven pools, one of which will be the largest at sea.  It will include nine hot tubs and six water slides.  It will have a full-sized movie theater.  The ship will accommodate 6,000 passengers and have 15 bars and restaurants with one being karaoke themed.   It is 226,000 tons and has 19 decks.  Each passenger will have a GPS tracker, so they won't get lost.  It is a quarter mile in length.  This ship was built in Finland and will sail from France.  There are comparisons to the Titaic which weighed about 25,000 tons to give you some idea.  I could go on and on about this cruise ship.  Both my wife are finished with cruises, with both...

 I have been seeing a lot of YouTube videos promising health, love, healing, and prosperity if I just watch.  But these videos don't answer the biggest question of all.  I have quoted Mark Twain on numerous occasions who once said he was born to smoke a pipe.  Some people say they were born for a variety of reasons.  But the meaning of life is whatever you want it to be. I can only answer this question from my own perspective.  At least one person suggested I smoke something in my pipe other than tobacco.  I might have a mote spiritual experience if I smoked Marijuana, for example.  Maybe some might suggest I take a Sir Conan Doyle track and smoke opium instead.  A pipe shop I frequented was broken into and at least a few pipes there were used for crack cocaine. But in all honesty I've never had any substance other than tobacco, but that maybe Marijuana might open my mind to a deeper spiritual experience, but I don't know.  I know my wif...

  I thought I would download an image from Smoking Pipes and hope I don't get in difficulties by doing so.  The above pipe is called a Favola Churchwarden from Savinelli.  My wife really liked the blue stem of this pipe.  Favola in Italian means fable.  I have a green stem pipe and one gold stem colored pipe.  But the blue stem of this pipe is not just a blue stem, but looks like something from a fable, or might have been owned by Hans Christian Andersen. I've written about Churchwarden pipes in some previous posts.  But this pipe is definitely different.  The bowl is a smaller Apple bowl, but I like the appearance of the stem with a small gold band separating the stem from the shank.   Do I have to have this pipe?  Not really.  Smoking Pipes has a number of these pipes available, so they won't sell out quickly.  Maybe instead of a Dr. Grabow pipe at any price, this pipe would be a better choice.  One of the problems ...

 I had this theme all written yesterday, but I didn't like it.  So, I deleted it and decided I needed more time with this theme.  Yesterday's theme about Dr. Grabow pipes was on my mind, and I could have said more.  But I wanted to spend more time developing the theme of thoughts.  I asked my wife about what it meant when people say they hear voices.  Because, while I have many thoughts going through my head at any given time, I can honestly say I have never heard voices. I have a difficult time understanding what it means when some people say God speaks to them.  Do they actually hear the voice of God like I hear my wife speaking to me, or is it more of a thought?  I can't recall precisely what my father said once in a sermon from the pulpit, but I believe I once heard him say he once heard a voice call his name.  He looked around and no one was there.  But he believed it was the voice of God that he understood to be a call to ministry....

 A cob pipe can be had for less than ten bucks.  And I can honestly say that a good cob pipe is worth it.  I own a cob pipe I don't smoke all that much, because for my tastes the bowl is relatively small.  But, yes, a cob pipe is worth it. I told my wife this morning that I haven't written anything for this morning.  I almost didn't publish today, but she suggested writing about pipes today.  The other day in anticipation of Prime Day for Amazon members, I decided to put a Dr. Grabow pipe in our wish list.  I know I've written about Dr. Grabow before.  They aren't the cheapest of Briar pipes, but let me put it this way, they might be the best of the cheaper Briar pipes.   As to whether I'll buy this pipe remains to be seen.  One, I don't need a new pipe; and two, it's a Dr. Grabow pipe.  But there is nothing wrong with my owning a Dr. Grabow pipe.  However, unless the price drops I won't consider it.   I'm smokin...

 I'm not sure this event takes place in Florida, but it COULD be anywhere.  Let me explain this.  Beaches always need cleaning, and often cities and counties don't have crews to get it done, so they will welcome volunteer help.  Throughout my life, I've volunteered to do different things.  But this woman volunteered to clean up a beach.  She is filmed by a friend picking up sticks and putting those sticks in two trash bags. A video shows the woman with her two trash bags blowing in the wind.  But instead of filling those two bags, she is filmed leaving both partially empty bags on the beach blowing in the wind.  And she just leaves them there for someone else to fill and remove them instead of doing it herself.  She thinks she's being clever to pick up a few sticks and leave. Social media then roasts her for being a poor steward of the beach, as social media should.  One commentator said the REAL trash left the beach, referring to the wo...

 Robert Johnson, a blues musician supposedly sold his soul to the Devil in Clarksdale, Miss., at the crossroad of highways 49 and 61.  It is perhaps the greatest American myth.  It is said, as the story goes, that Robert Johnson wanted to be the best and may have been the first rock and roll artist in the world.  But he didn't start out that way. As the story goes he was good on the harmonica, but as a blues guitarist he was considered poor at best.  He played with Son House and Willie Brown one night and as the story goes he was not received well at all by the crowd at the local club. His song "Cross Roads Blues" tells the story about meeting a man at the cross roads at midnight.  Why this is an American myth is that no one knows for sure, but Robert Johnson is a legend in music history and most who have researched his life believe the story to be true.  Clarksdale is the birthplace of the blues as the legend goes.  Robert Johnson sought to make ...

 There are now a number of ideas about the universe origins floating around out there.  I'm fascinated by a number of plausible theories, but the Big Bang is the least of them.  It seems less and less plausible that some atoms got together and created all this.  Some physicists have theorized that ours is just one of an infinite number of universes, but the James Webb Space Telescope is opening up all kinds of plausible theories like parallel universes and ideas like we are in our own Blck Hole. I'm not really a physicist, so I can't address the various ideas, including one that suggests we are in a kind of Matrix controlled by a Master Race.  From strictly my own theological/philosophical reasoning, it might be more plausible to believe time does not exist except by our own making.  It's possible that the universe has no beginning and thus it has no end.   Our finite minds can't grasp the idea of infinity, and the possibility is that the universe...

 I am a rule breaker.  I have been all my life.  It is commonly said rules are made to be broken.  Risk takers break rules and sometimes laws, but I personally try hard not to break laws. I break rules.  I don't give it much thought until I'm called out, then the guilt sets in.  I've tried to not feel guilt for thirty years, but still I know people judge.  Risk takers break the rules.  They have to.  Some people know the rules better than others. Rules are made by parents, schools, religions, institutions, and companies. Some rules are cultural.  Some are geogrphical. Some are religious.  Usually rules begin at home with parenting and start at an early age.  The rules are guidelines for the safety and security of the children.  Then the children go off to school and are expected to abide by the rules of the schools. Both society and companies have rules of expectation.  And if one doesn't follow the rules one WILL be ...

 I was a part of SETI - Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence - since it's inception in 1999 until it shut down in 2020.   It was a group of astronomers that developed the SETI program in Berkley, California.   I remember trying to download data for analysis in 2020 and received information from SETI that packets of data were no longer available.  I have owned various computers during that time, but every computer I owned I hardly ever shut down because i was constantly running the program in the background, and I was curious as to whether anything unusual would occur and I wanted my computer to be the first to find it.  So, I kept my computers on just to run the SETI program.  According to the institute there were about 2.5 million of us offering CPU time to SETI.  The amount of memory used on any given computer was negligible at best. But during that time and all those computers being used SETI found nothing unusual or out of the ordina...

 I don't write for click bait and I'm not seeking a large audience here.  Sometimes life throws us curve balls we don't expect.  I'll read a news item and will wonder if I want to write about this or that.  I'm not writing about sensationalized events, but I might think about or ponder something for a few days before writing about and throwing in my two cents, for what it's worth. You won't see anything earth-shattering here, and some subjects I find too delicate to write about from my own perspective.  But I'm not a very verbal person, however, I find writing as an outlet.  I'm not trying to give advice, but from where I sit, I'll think about something and often wonder how I'll say what is on my mind.  I realize my life is different and has been for decades.   So, I write from my perspective and how I think about this or that.  I enjoy smoking my pipe, like my Boswell this morning, and my wife knows when I am lost in thought, and indeed...

 There is an album called Sunday Morning Coffee my wife and I enjoy listening to on Sunday mornings.  It is produced by American Gramaphone and is performed and arranged by Chip Davis of the Christmas albums produced by the same company called Fresh Aire Christmas.  We have just about every Fresh Aire album ever made.  But when it's not that time of year the Sunday Morning Coffeee album is one of my favorites.  There is something special about Sunday mornings.   There have been songs written about Sunday morning.  I won't go into details here, but both Johnny Cash and the Monkees performed songs about Sunday mornings.  I don't know what it is aboit Sunday mornings, but it seems a cup of hot strong coffee on a Sunday morning with good background makes Sunday mornings special. There was a time when Sunday mornings meant Subday School and church services, but now it is a special time to sit back and relax.  While Sunday's could be just anot...

 Tom Hanks niece now says she wants more camera time.  Yes, extroverts need exposure.  But my thinking is that when we force something to happen we fail.  If we have something to offer the world, we simply need patience.  It seems that with today's instant celebrity status, those who try and fail are jealous of those who have made it. I say to those who are trying, to have patience, and just maybe not try too hard.  If it is to happen, it will.  And sometimes it takes years, and not months, weeks, or days.  And many times it takes time to build the relationships needed for success.   I say to those who are waiting to relax, do what you do best, and wait.  So, what do you do while waiting?  Sometimes absolutely nothing.  And it is that period of time that is most stressful.  But too often we start to guess as to whatt others are doing on our behalf.  Many times we just don't know.  At least for myself, this i...