Pipeology - The Fine Art of Pipe Smoking and Thought

 Does Florida have seasons?  Not really.  It will get cooler and already we have fewer 90 degree days.  I notice when I come out to the lanai in the mornings it's not as hot and humid as it was just a couole of weeks ago.  But a lot of northerners who love to see leaves change in the Fall with Fall-like temperatures, often miss experiencing Fall-like conditions and scenery when they move to Florida.  It's Fall, but not really here. Most don't stay through the Summer months because of the Florida heat and humidity.  I was looking for a Fall tobacco, and of course, on every list was Autumn Evening.  I checked many lists and one tobacco frequently listed was Lane RLP-6.  Don't ask me why they don't give it a name.  But RLP-6 is a Virginia and Burley blend mixed with some Cavebdish.  It is an Aromatic with Vanilla, Caramel, and notes of Chocolate.  Another tobacco I found was Rum and Maple by Sutliff.  Anything with Maple flav...

 I was going to write a whole article about the subject of love today and even had one written, but I deleted it.  Why?  One either knows what love is or one doesn't.  And for those who don't, they become the philosophers of the world.  It's that simple.  There are no complex theories about love.  One either knows what love is, or one doesn't.  I leave philosophy of love to those who don't know.  It's that simple.  The philosophers of the world are always searching for meaning and the rest simply don't care. That's why there is little money to be made in the world of philosophy because, let's face it, most of the time we simply do not care.  Maybe everyone cares about love.  That's why there are so many songs written about it.  But only those who do not know what love is ask the question.  It seems a lot of people belong to that club.  I don't.  So, I have no need to write about it.  I deleted that post...

 Jim Ctoce wrote a song called Photographs and Memories.  Okay, I've been writing a lot lately about theology, philosophy, and psychology.  I will only say these are my backgrounds in life studies.  Today I want to move on to something else.  I want to move on, because...  well, because.  Because we live in Florida now where there are rainbows, sunsets, and beaches.  Because life is full of adventures.  I have the photographs that remind me of all the places I have been with friends and family.  Most of you will be making your own memories. My first digital camera was purchased in 2004 and was a 2.4 MP camera that did nothing special.  It held a 100 MB card.  But today, so much has changed and now cameras take stills and can be used for making videos on 128 GB cards, or larger.  So much has changed since 2004.  We have a ton of photos up to that time and we have made prints of photos taken since 2004, but now a lot of...

 I've lived in cities, but I'm basically a small town kid.  Smoking a pipe just might be a big city's person's hobby, but there is a down home feeling about guys (and they are 99% guys) who do pipe smoking videos.  I have spent a lot of time living in the city, but still most people who lived in the city areen't from there.  Smoking a pipe has a down home kind of appeal to it.  But even city slickers who've I've known to smoke a pipe aren't city people.  They converse as down home people. But why is this?  Well, maybe the granny who sat on her front porch and smoked her cob pipe is to blame.  A pipe smoker may have been at one time a professional person, but more than likely was a down home type who landed a professional job in the city.  But if you watch as many pipe smoking videos as I have, you'll find every one of these videos have a folksy feel to it.   We can point to so many sophisticates who smoked a pipe, but Mark Twain see...

 Overthinking can destroy one's soul.  Pondering life's problems is one thing, but overthinking is self-destructive.  I still backslide into overthinking.  But I have done this all my life.  Overthinking was my lifestyle.  But no one told me what it was.  It was a lifestyle that nearly destroyed myself and my soul.  It took Divine intervention to stop doing that to myself.   Nothing is more destructive of a person than overthinking.  When we accept what is as is, we begin to focus and leave the outcome to what is, NOT what it WILL be, simply because we do not know.  The one key to relaxation is to NOT overthink.   Overthinking makes us neurotic.  When I relax with a pipe, the one thing I work hardest on is my habit of overthinking.  I had to learn this.  But like so many things I say here, it can't be taught to learn not to overthink.  It has to be a goal.  One has to choose to NOT overthink....

 The 18-25 year old demographic seems to be the loneliest people.  They are spending hundreds a week for gym memberships that include climbing walls, and are joining art classes, and spend upwards of $500 a month dining out.  It seems working from home and the pandemic have isolated the younger generation into being alone a lot.   But it happens to all ages where social media doesn't meet the needs of isolation, but rather contributes to it.  People by our very nature are social beings.  We crave connectivity to others. But there is a difference between being alone and being lonely.  Loneliness is an environmental factor in alcohol and drug use.  But there is a difference between loneliness and being alone.  Some people can be alone without feeling lonely, but that all depends.  Loneliness is a contributor to health issues and even death.   Writers and artists spend a lot of time alone, but these aren't the only occupation...

 If I could smoke a pipe indoors last evening, I would have.  But I had some wine instead.  But if there is any reason to smoke a pipe, last night's football game is a good reason.  I feel as though I need to comment on THE game, but I won't.  A lot of people needed to smoke pipes in that stadium last night.  No question about it. But the main reason to smoke a pipe is for relaxation.  That is the number one reason.  A pipe takes one's mind off anything stressful.  I often will think that there are times when pipe smoking should be allowed.  Alcohol tends to make people belligerent in stressful situations and yes, even the coach needed to smoke a pipe.   Okay, I won't say anything more about last night's game.  I've written about this so much, but I have a tendency at times to get strung out.  And I have come out to the lanai and smoked a pipe.  Doing so calms my nerves.  I wish at times that some people wou...

 I was thinking yesterday about what this blog should be.  It's still primarily about pipe smoking, but I decided it is about life.  I read my news feed daily.  There are so many things I read that could be of interest, but sometimes I just want to write about life.  We win when we choose to live.  My goal here is to give my readers something to begin their day.  I COULD choose about politics or religion, but my goal is to entertain more and make you think less.  But in the end there might be something you can think about. I could write about the 20 foot crocodile seen swimming under a pier in Miami, for example and write about the crocodiles in Florida.  But really, there are all kinds of critters here in Florida including Eastern Diamondback rattlesnakes like the one that bit an Amazon driver the other day as he delivered a package to the front porch of a customer.  He's fine now, but he had to call 911 for help.   Or I could...

 The photo above is this morning's sunrise.  It will be mid-morning when I post this, but hope you enjoy seeing the photo. I smoke a pipe for one reason and one reason only.  It is MY connection to my Spirituality.  I can't explain it any other way.  Not without more detail.  Smoking a pipe clears my head and strengthens my soul.  It calms my spirit.  It is MY connection to the Divine.  I can't say this is a reason for everyone to smoke a pipe.  Every pipe smoker has their own reason, but this is mine. I have wrestled with demons all my life.  And say what you will about the spirit world, but most any woman wouldn't have put up with my demons.  But this is what a pipe does for me.  I win by smoking a pipe.  I can't explain it any other way.  It is a tool for meditation and connecting with the Divine.  I would rather be attached to my pipe than people in general.  I know that people are important in our ...

 The most expensive pipe tobacco sells for about $35 an ounce.  It is actually sold as a kilogram for £900.  I broke it down for the US monetary value.  It is Larson Hand Pressed pipe tobacco.  If I could find someone who had Balkan Sobranie it would be about $20 for a 1.75 ounce tin, but it is the most difficult tobacco to find.  Every Internet shop sells it, but no one ever has it in stock The most expensive cigar in the world sells for $1.36 million.  But the ten most expensive cigars otherwise range from about $700 to around $60,000.  These are just ball park figures.  There is a company that sells a cigar for a grand, and for that price one is flown to Honduras and is given a factory tour.  There are perks given to those who buy a box of the most expensive cigars.   But like a bottle of fine wine, once it is consumed, I guess one would have the cigar band as proof one had it, or the box they came in.  I wouldn't mind ...

  I took the above photo the other evening from our lanai.  My wife suggested I post it here. Speaking of my wife, we sold off a lot of furniture when we left Ohio.  We left some behind in NY.  My wife and I were discussing our needs for our next place.  I saw on a Facebook post that a girlfriend was upset when she and her boyfriend decided to rent an apartment together.  He went out and bought a 75-inch TV for $480 and set it up on a partially finished TV stand.  He has a folding chair for himself with a cardboard pizza box next to the chair.  She took a photo as they have no other furniture; posted it on Facebook; and then asked for comments.  Now, I'm not asking for comments, but really guys don't want much.  Unless a guy wants a four bedroom house with a man cave.  But some guys just need a big screen TV, a chair, a pizza box, and a computer or a game console.  That's pretty much a guy thing.  And for a lot guys, that'...

  https://youtu.be/13HppvluaJ0?si=HdpMtqgIrKNSAZlo I'm going to be lazy today.  There are at least a few of you interested in smoking a pipe.  The video above has 1.4M views on YouTube.  I thought about doing my own videos in my own style, but there is just so much out there.   It's good to have a few pipes so one doesn't smoke the same one every day.  And it's good to have several different tobaccos on hand.  But there is nothing wrong with having a favorite.   I thought about more to add like cleaning your pipe with pipe cleaners and having a tamping tool.  But he tells you what you need.  It's not a long video, but I have watched a lot of vids about pipe smoking.  This one is pretty good.  Just enjoy.  Today it is my Nording Number 2 pupe with some Revelation.  Thank you for your time and Peace to you all. Dave PS.  I like his beard!

 There are introverts and there are extroverts.  It's not unusual for one to be attracted to the other.  I have always been introverted sometimes "forced" into the role of an extrovert.  But as I am older now and can look back on my life, I can say that I was often "forced" into being something I'm not.  For this reason, some might have seen me as a kind of "rebel."  I never felt as though I could hide.  But now, there is no question I am an introvert and my wife is quite the opposite.   I bring this up, because one person who lives exclusively on a cruise ship says he is an introvert who meets people on his cruise ship on his terms and not the terms of others.  The only thing about living on a cruise ship I might find appealing is the daily room service where the stateroom is cleaned daily and the beds are made and all meals are provided.  I might enjoy meeting others on MY terms.  But living on a cruise ship is not an appeali...

 We've had a pet for about 40 years of our nearly 50 years of marriage.  Pet videos always bring a smile to our faces.  Cat videos are priceless.  But why?  In fact, why do we even care?  Because as every Pet owner knows, our pets are special.  They depend on us.  Yes, some people get carried away with their pets.  And some pets get more attention than human famiky members.   My wife and I have talked about owning another pet, but we've decided a pet isn't for us right now.  And maybe we are finished with pets all together.  Separation anxiety ensues when traveling, which is why some people sneak their pets onto planes, dressed as babies, or pretending they are service animals when they're not.  But pet videos always bring a smile to our faces.  Why? Because most of us understand the devotion a pet has to their famiky or owners and vice versa.   I enjoy the videos and I know the enjoyment a pet brings t...

 If there is a Holy Graul for pipe tobacco, it has to be Balkan Sobraini, which is about as rare to find on the market as hens teeth, if you'll allow for the analogy.  I am one of a few who has had Balkan Sobraini.  It is a Virginia and Oriental mix that is superior to most anything.  Sutliff makes what it calls a Balkan Mixture which sells for about a tenth of the price.  I put that in my wish list and we'll see when it comes time to order more tobacco. I received a bag of Super Value Ultra that I will describe in two words.  Mellow and smooth.  That is all one needs to know about this tobacco.  It is Burley with the Cavendish as I assume is Virginia and the flavoring is what I will say is vanilla with a note of just a tad bit of chocolate.  It gets less than three out of five stars on Smoking Pipes, but it is what some would say is a drug store tobacco.  But like Captain Black Original, if one just wants to smoke a pipe this will do ni...

 I have to admit that while I am smoking a pipe when I write for my blog here that I want to write all about pipes, tobacco, and pipe smoking.  But I realze that a lot happens in this world that deserves commentary.  But sometimes I don't want to deal with all that stuff.  There is just so much I could be writing about, but sometimes I just want to keep things simple.  And for me, nothing is as simple as grabbing a pipe and sitting down with a good tobacco and simply just share a thought or two. Do I have my own thoughts?  Oh, sure I do.  But I am not Einstein, even though I might smoke his tobacco and I don't pretend that I was Captain Black in a previous life.  I don't pretend to think I had a previous life.  But reincarnation, or thoughts about it, bring up a lot of interesting ideas.  Even the subject of reincarnation is an interesting idea in and of itself.  If one is an Atheist now, will one come to an understanding in the nex...

 Truth is whatever you want it to be.   I think like a theologian/philosopher. Do optimists ever get disappointed?  If I had more stress, I would die from it.  But the question would be:  What if one is always disappointed?  First of all, while this isn't about happiness, pessimists are never happy.  They always expect the worst.  But what is the worst?  I've been writing tobacco reviews and was going to write another this morning.  I guess I could say I've survived the worst that can happen.  Nothing has killed me yet.  But if you ask yourself what IS the worst, chances are you'll survive it.   I talked to my wife the other day about this.  Whatever the worst is, I'll survive it, but dwelling on the worst will shorten your life.  Fear of the worst is an unnecessary fear.  And if the worst doesn't happen are you just going to say it will?  Then what?  The worst thing is dread.  Dread...

 My wife bought me a pack of Velvet pipe tobacco for my birthday.  It is a Burley based tobacco with a little Virginia and a liqueur flavoring.  It is a smooth tobacco that has been around for over a hundred years.  According to Smoking Pipes I have now been recognized as a Silver Pipe Tobacco Meister having tried over 50 pipe tobacco blends in the past two and a half years.  I have tried enough pipe tobaccos to know what I like and don't like.   I may have found a favorite old timer blend Aromatic in Captain Black Original, but Velvet pipe tobacco isn't very different.  In short the 3.38 star review it averages on Smoking Pipes might be a little low for this tobacco.  It's better than that.  One, a lot of pipe smokers don't care for Burley based tobaccos, but two, it's a less expensive old codger blend that has a very mild taste.  Burley by itself is not really flavorable, so it needs some Virginia and a little liqueur flavoring....

  Tha pipe shown above was given to me by my kids as a birthday gift, they purchased this at the Renaissance Festival in Ohio.  I will say I have no pipe like this one.  It is more of a Gandalf pipe from Lord of the Rings.  All my pipes given to me as gifts are all special pipes.  But I have to admit they outdid themselves with this pipe.  I now have two churchwarden style pipes I can smoke regularly.   My first chirchwarden is a Savinelli that I fear is on the verge of burnout, so I have retired that pipe.  Another is more decorative, and although I have smoked that one, my thinking is that it is more decorative and is on display on my pipe cabinet.  My wife gave me a beautiful blue stem pipe with pearl swirls that is a Savinelli that replaces my other Savinelli.   The pipe above has the initials of the carver.  It is a handmade Briar pipe.  But my two pipes are special this year, because I wanted to replace my Savin...

 I am smoking Revelation Match this morning by Sutliff.  As I said in yesterday's post, Revelation was Einstein's tobacco of choice, but his was from Philip Morris Tobacco Company.  As one reviewer says, it doesn't make one smarter, or feel smarter.  My pipe this morning is my Boswell pipe, which was a birthday gift from my wife in '97.  I know the year, because this Boswell has the year stamped next to the engraved signature on the pipe shank.   My wife gave me a churchwarden pipe for my birthday.  It is a Savinelli Churchwarden Favola pipe with a colorful light blue stem with pearl swirls mixed in.  Favola in Italian means fable.  It looks like the kind of pipe a storyteller would smoke.  I liken myself to a kind of storyteller, going back to the Middle Ages when stories were told by such a person smoking a pipe, if indeed pipes were a thing back then.   Tobacco didn't arrive in Europe until the 1700's but it's the kind ...

 Mt wife says that sometimes I get rather philosophical in my posts here, but then I am a theogian/philosopher about life and living.  I don't want this blog to be just about pipe smoking.  I don't want it to be religious or political, although I write quite a bit about my Spirituality.  But it's just about me.  I don't pretend to be something I'm not.  But one might say I am just an old curmudgeon interested in many things.   You know I'll include pipes, pipe smoking, and tobacco in every post.  I celebrated my 72nd birthday yesterday, but it was  a quiet day with just my wife and I.  And I guess I am feeling a little reflective about life, but I've learned not to compare myself to others.  Many never made it this far.  And every year I read about the deaths of famous people and hope they found the meaning of life.   I am quite happy to have lived in the 50's and came to adulthood in the 60's.  I call mysel...

 I watched quite a bit of college football this past weekend and yes, the usual suspects all won.  But like every year there were unranked trams that were surprising.  I won't go into detail, because most of you don't care.  It just takes awhile for me to get back into college football and the pros don't do much for me.  Every season for football I'll wonder if I should even care.  It seems as I get older I am that much more removed from the excitement of football altogether. I know some of you care, but instead of watching games I'll check the final scores, which team is the home team, and the margin of wins and losses.  I often like to see how Vegas does against the spreads.  But since I often don't care enough to sit through whole games, I'll often want to know about predictions and outcomes.  There were some rules changes that shortened the games, but now fans are complaining about that time being filled with TV commercials.   I...

 One of the things our technological age has done is give people the freedom to work from most anywhere in the world.  All one needs is a computer with Internet access and a cell phone.  There are some rather enterprising individuals that call a cruise ship home.  They wonder why they should pay monthly rent when for about the same amount they get free meals, drinks, access to a gym, and Wi-Fi access anywhere on a ship.  All for the same monthly rent they'd be paying most anywhere. And if a cruise ship isn't your thing, our technological age has allowed people to live most anywhere of their choice.  Some have bought RVs that allows them to travel most anywhere in the continental US.  And if traveling isn't your thing, buying a tiny home is affordable most anywhere one chooses to live.  The options are limitless for those who work from home. Some companies like Amazon are now saying those people who have been working from home have to come in the o...

  Life is relational.  It begins with family and expands outward.  But sometimes there is interference in that outward expansion, and for such people that expansion stops or shrinks.  In my case it is the latter.  So, for me, life is about doing no harm either to others or to oneself.  And I believe the straight and narrow is to avoid both anger and depression.   But how does one do this?  That IS the path of MY Spirituality.  It can't be taught.  If it could I'd be materially the wealthiest man in the world.  For me at least, I have one example, but there are no mentors.  In fact, it just might be the loneliest path a person can take.  Almost always for such people, there is something that happens to a person that makes them uniquely Spiritual.  In that regard there are others similar to me, but still not the same as me.   A Spiritual person might be alone, but we never feel lonely.  We don't seek...

 In a word, yes.  If you dont know what cord cutting is, it's getting rid of cable TV.  But to do this you need a Smart TV, or an app based device like Fire TV or a Roku.  But that is a one time expense.  Just about every TV sold today is a Smart TV.  Cutting the cable cord is so easy to do.  But then one needs to decide which of the app based services one wants to have.  Netflix, Peacock, Disney+, Paramount, etc. all add up. The reason why I am having this discussion now is because just this past week, cable companies are telling investors not to be too optimistic about the future of cable TV.  The number one reason is that cable does not have on-demand services.  So cable plus these extra services is still expensive.  One could say that one still needs Wi-Fi, which is often bundled with cable pricing.  But is cord-cutting cheaper?  Yes, is the short answer.  One can get app based TV for as low as $20 a month, but th...

 I could bring up that I have been channeling Jimmy Buffett in the past couple of days.  My wife brought up the subject of Richard Simmons aa I was listening to music from the 60's and 70's as I sweltered in the Florida heat.  She asked what his video was called.  I said I was sweating here on the lanai listening to the oldies.  It seems everyone had some kind of exercise video back in the 80's and 90's.  Richard Simmons had a name for his--Sweatin' to the Oldies, and numbered each one.  I think he got up to about fifteen or so.  But it seems everyone had some kind of aerobics exercise video.  I could start listing them from memory. But it was Olivia Newton John's song, Let's Get Physical, that capitalized on the exercise craze.  Then Suzanne Sommers had her Thigh Master and videos associated with that.  A lot of night owls stayed up watching her infomercials.  We have since learned the Thigh Master did nothing but make a lot o...

 A person who is a Disney cast character here in Florida came up with a simple hack.  Say you go to bed at night and you wake up and you notice the power was out and have no idea for how long.  Or you leave your house and return and the time on your microwave is flashing.  How do you know your stuff in the refrigerator didn't thaw?  Is it all still good? Here is the simple hack.  You filll a plastic cup with water.  Don't use glass as freezing will make the glass shatter.  Then you put that cup in the freezer.  After it is frozen, place a quarter on top.  Then if the electricity has gone out and the quarter is more than two inches deep, you know the electricity was out for too long and your stuff needs to be thrown out.   It's such a simple hack.  A lot of people during hurricane season leave their homes when a storm is approaching and can be gone for days at a time.  Or you might go away for a few days.  Did the...

 I've smoked the last of my Old Professor.  It is a good English tobacco.  But my wife didn't like the room note as I thought she might.  One reviewer said it reminder his wife of days in college, and therefore she liked it. Another said of his wife that she could imagine her grandfather smoking in his easy chair. But Old Professor didn't bring back such memories for my wife.  She had an uncle who smoked a pipe, but she said he smoked Prince Albeet. So has Consummate Gentleman dethroned my appreciation for the Old Professor.  It seems it has.  Consummate Gentleman is $12.40 for about and ounce and a half and Old Professor is $2.90 for an ounce.  Old Professor gets even cheaper as one buys more.  I bought a half pound not having tried it, but I knew I'd like it.  I'll just smoke less of Consummate Gentleman and buy it if is on sale or as a special purchase. It's not that I have to smoke Old Professor.  I want to smoke something my wi...

I failed to mention in yesterday's post that the first golfer had just lost his wife.  Not a big omission, right? Retirees are divorcing at a rather alarming rate.  But why?  Well, first of all it's not just men divorcing their wives.  It is partly out of fear of spending the rest of one's life with the wrong person.  Men's income goes up about 10% after retiring and divorcing, while income for women decrease about 27%.  But a lot of it is at-the-end-of-life fears.  About one-third of all divorces in America involve couples over 50.   I read about this the other day and the rate is alarming for those who study statistics.  I think part of it is that GenZ and Millennials are putting off marriages.  The marriage rate has slowed, as is putting off buying homes and raising families.  But still that doesn't explain why couples who have been married so long get divorced.  Maybe for men it is a delayed mid-life crisis, and for wo...

 My wife shared the following with my yesterday.  We just don't know.  Life is short.  Two golfing buddies were on the links.  The first asked the second what he was doing for dinner.  The second said his wife wanted him to stop off at the store for some cornbread and chili, but he didn't want to.  They walked a bit and the first said, "Make the chili."  The second thought for a moment and decided that he'd make the chili.  Why?  'Cause life is short.  When the wife wants to watch TV together or go to the pool, you do it.   Why?  Life is short.  One never knows when one will lose a mate.  You just do it.  Same goes with friendships and family.  You just do it.  So, his thinking about doing something his wife wants to do, he thinks to himself to just make the chili.  Same thing.  Life is about making the chili.  That can be said of anything a spouse wants to do.  You just do...