Pipeology - The Fine Art of Pipe Smoking and Thought

 As I write this post, it is earlier in the morning and the water is perfectly calm.  But I know the morning breeze will come up shortly as it always does and there will be noises from both construction and mowers.  I'm smoking my morning pipe while sipping a cup of hot coffee, and like the waters, my spirits are calm.  We might stay here through the first week of December, but my wife has contacted a few places that interest us.  We'll be working on that later in the day today. We have our son's place as an alternative until we find something.  So, we have a month to work on it.  I'm smoking my very first pioe this morning.  This Joby isn't my best pipe, but a first pipe is always special to every pipe smoker.  I'm on my second bowl of Estate Blend for the day and just now the morning breeze is rippling the water below.  Such it is with every day, we wake up and begin to ponder the day.   My wife is in a meeting as I am writin...

 I read so many stories about a dysfunctional society where it doesn't take much for someone to post a 30 second video critical of this or that hoping to get a vital video.  It just seems that the things that used to not matter matters now.  First of all, as most of you know, I'm an old school guy where politeness matters.  But politeness no longer matters these days any longer.  Everyone has a knee-jerk opinion on most anything these days, where standards no longer exist.   People are filming everything these days for social media reactions.  It doesn't matter what it is.  It used to be that cameras, especially film cameras were non-existent.  But these days everyone has a camera and can post on social media most anything with reactions being instantaneous.  There seems to not be much thought that goes into what people say or do, because everyone wants to post that one viral video of the day.  So, immediate reactions are impor...

 I don't mind seeing gambling involved with professional sports, but I hate to see gambling involved with college football.  For one thing, until a player reaches around the age of 25, he's a kid.  Essentially college kids play NCAA football.  And of course there's always some kid that could be paid off to throw a game, but in today's world that is so hard to do when so much is at steak for these kids and their teams.   But I write about this today, because some booking agencies in Vegas refuse to put out a line on any Michigan game.  And that just might influence the rest of college football.  Vegas really shouldn't have a say what the NCAA does, or the BIG for that matter.  I'm writing this on the Friday before the day of posting, but this isn't just about the Michigan program.  I'm writing about professional gambling on college football in general. As it is so often said, one can't put the genie in the bottle.  Vegas will take od...

 I wrote two tobacco reviews for Smoking Pipes and then after they've been posted for nearly two years, I decided to take them down.  It's not that they weren't read, but many times a reviewer might want to remember what they said about this or that tobacco.  I don't need to remember what I said about Plum Pudding Special Reserve or Autumn Evening.  I almost wrote a review of Eileen's Dream saying how much I didn't like it.   But I decided to cellar some Eileen's Dream and then get it out after a few months.  It is exactly what I thought it might be.  It mellowed a lot and now I would give it about four out of five stars.  Fresh from the tin it is so strong that it would ghost my pipe.  It would take three bowls of another blend to get the flavor out of my pipe.  But after a few months it has aged nicely and behaves itself quite well.  The cigar leaf in it needs time to settle down. And the Whiskey coconut needs time to mesh to...

 I am a firm believer in Divine Intervention in this world.  This is why I can relax with a pipe.  I am not going to take sides in any war.  I simply do not believe in warfare.  So, I would make for a lousy politician.   In fact I take no sides in politics.  I could say the same is true about religions, faiths, or beliefs.  Some might suggest then that it gets pretty lonely for me in my own Ivory Tower.   If you ain't where you're at, you are no place, aa Colonel Potter says in M*A*S*H.  I view life from an Ivory Tower. It ias been said of those of us who are middle of the roaders in most all things are the loneliest.  Maybe.  But we make that choice not to please others, but to simply please ourselves.  Nothing much surprises us and nothing really makes us angry.  Is this a good thing or a bad thing?  It is neither good or bad.  It is a conscious choice we make, the same as those who choose sides....

 It seems news of what I am writung about today seems to change almost by the minute, but I can't help but watch what is going on in college football, as I listen to podcasts from both Ohio State and Michigan about the NCAA investigations of the Michigan program.  It seems to me that coaches salaries ate based on winning and I've heard at least a few say Harbaugh will leave Michigan for the Chicago Bears.  Of course, right now, rumors of all kinds are flying around, and I'll wait for the dust to settle before I make my own conclusions. I find college football entertaining.  Even NCAA investigations are entertaining at best, as often, once the allegations are there, it takes years for the NCAA to move on sanctions.  However, investigations of the latest allegation into the Michigan program seems to be moving rather quickly against Michigan with at least a few fans of other BIG schools saying the BIG come to a decision by week's end.  There are a few college ...

 Okay, I'm not a whiskey drinker, but the top tasters of wines, whiskey, and other spirits got together for the autumnal world event for 2023 and handed out their awards.  I won't go into detail about how the winning Whiskey is made, but it comes from The Craft Irish Whiskey Company which took great care in creating the winning Whiskey for 2023.  The Whiskey in question is called The Dorn and sells for $223 a bottle, which according to world Whiskey prices for the finest Whiskey is quite reasonable. The aging process begins in Oak Whiskey barrels, where it is aged for three years, then it is moved to Bourbon Oak barrels where it is aged another four years.  For a Whiskey to be aged only seven years and win top honors is quite rare.  Usually one might think it has to be at lest twelve years old.  But if this Whiskey is purchased seven years old, conceivably it would only be that much better in another five to eight years.   I'm not a Whiskey drinke...

 According to Smoking Pipes I have moved up to a Silver Tobaaco Meister.  I've decided this is a good time to review what I have found to be my favorite pipe tobaccos.  And perhaps if I had a thousand dollar Dunhill pipe, my thinking might be a little different, but still a pipe is only as good as what goes in it.  So, I was thinking it's time for a solid tobacco review and go over what I've learned from some 50 years of smoking a pipe. I'll begin with my all-time favorite that is probably the most expensive pipe tobacco.  If I had one tobacco to smoke it would be Seattle Club Plum Pudding Special Reserve.  But of all the tobaccos I will mention in today's post it is by far the very most expensive.  In all likelihood, unless someone were to give this to me as a gift, more than likely I'll never order it again.  It is simply too expensive.  I can't tell you how many blends I have smoked, but in 50 years it is in the low hundreds. So, let's tal...

 I want to say that in this world today, I refuse to stress.  I began taking to a kind of calmness after we moved to NY, but it began in our apartment after we sold our house.  Some might think there is a kind of security with home ownership.  But I found the opposite to be true.  Ownership of anything, including investments all have their own stresses.  And for some security and owning a home is a kind of security that most people want.  In my own way, I agree with this thinking, but I also believe ownership of anything has its stress. However, it is what it is and I work at being calm in all circumstances.  My wife will tell you that I sometimes fail at being calm, and my sleep pattern gets disrupted from time to time.  But I have my way of falling asleep at night and usually I get a good night's sleep.  As I mentioned before the news of the day can get to me and when it does I'll seek a diversion of most any kind.  But smoking a ...

 First of all, I write a lot for family.  But secondly, my writing is inclusive and not just for a few.  I am woking on my wish list for tobacco which changes almost daily as I add a few here and there and then drop others.  I try to keep tobacco expenses to about $50 plus allowing for about $10 shipping per order.  But it's still much cheaper than paying pipe shop prices.  I've found Smoking Pipes to be the best on-line retailer for both pipes and tobacco.  They make shopping easy and will store a wish list of tobaccos and pipes that one might want for each customer.  This list changes almost daily as I add some and delete others. There is a tobacco for one's every mood and most of they time they always have favorites in stock.  Smoking Pipes have good written descriptions and reviews are honest written by pipe smokers as myself.  Their ratings are pretty spot on.  They let you know if a tobacco is in their list of top sellers and ...

 Our lives are full of memories.  Jim Croce wrote a song called Photographs and Memories.  After nearly some fifty years of marriage we have a lot of memories stored on old photographs.  I remember taking rolls of film to places like Photomat or the local drugsture to have film sent to a processessing lab to be developed.  I once thought about having my own developing lab in our house, but gave up on the idea because I didn't have the space for a darkroom.   Paul Simon once wrote a song called Kodachrome.  This was a film used mostly for making slides.  I stull possess a few slides made from Kodachrome.  Back in the day, I used mostly Kodak film for photographs.  We could choose whether we wanted matte photos or glossy photos.  And long ago one could choose whether one wanted photos with or without borders.  It seemed like such a simple time and cameras back then were relatively cheap and unsophisticated; not like cameras ...

 Robert DeNiro says he doesn't do heavy lifting with his newborn daughter.  A lot of dads still think caring for children is the work for moms.  After leaving ministry I worked a lot of evenings.  And while I seem to be tooting my horn, so to speak, my kids got the best of both worlds.  Even stay at home dads these days don't do their share.  But maybe aa I look back on it, I could have done things differently.  I told my wife the other morning that the two of us are just used to each other. We considered maintaining a home and child care as team work.  And for us it just worked.  I understand the age of Robert DeNiro and the money he has to pay for others to do the heavy lifting of child care.  But there is no substitute for a dad who helps to raise his children.  Maybe that is the problem in today's world as kids get older.  Dads just don't take an interest in raising children.  Nothing is tougher in this world than bein...

 Joran van der Sloot has confessed to the killing of Natalie Halloway 18 years ago and is serving 46 years in a Peruvian prison for unrelated murder charges.  He is deemed a serial killer and at 36 will mostly spend his life in prison.  He confessed to her murder saying her body was thrown in the ocean.  He's guilty, but none of this would have come to light if he hadn't tried to  extort her mother for the information she so badly wanted.  But this does not bring this beautiful young woman back to her family. I read as much as I could about him before I would lose my breakfast.  Reading all this literally made me quite upset.  He'll always be a murderer.  I don't care whether he had a come to Jesus life changing experience or not.  He'll forever be a murderer and nothing can change this fact.  I had a post written I've since deleted and decided to write this one in its place.  I get too Spiritual and too peach-y as my wife says...

 I know I've written about coffee before, but lately in the mornings I'll wake up earlier than my wife and I'll make my coffee and drink a cup with my first pipe of the day.  Usually it's before lawn mowers or construction equipment make their noises.  I have a good coffeemaker and we bought a good coffee bean grinder.  In my thinking there is nothing like watching the sun rise with a good cup of coffee and a pipe. I'm not very fussy about which coffee we buy, but I don't want to spend a lot on coffee.  Very seldom do I buy coffee from a coffee shoo when I am out with my wife.  If she's shopping or doing something else I might buy a cup of coffee, but I don't like to buy coffee at coffee shops.  I'm not a big fan of Starbuck's.  There is a coffeemaker that uses pods here at our condo and once in a great while I'll make a cup of decaf after I've had my caffeine for the day.   But there is nothing like that first cup of coffee with my firs...

 I don't disconnect from the world when I am alone smoking my pipe.  I might spend a lot of time alone, but not really am I alone.  I just read an article about a 19 year old from Vietnam being accepted to Miami University.  She had dreams of spending time at the beach surrounded by palm trees.  But the Miami University was in Oxford, Ohio surrounded by corn fields.  She laughs about it now as she says they have an excellent business school and because of her scholarship, her parents could afford it. It was suggested this girl needed to do her research.  But she says she feels safe in Oxford and it worked out for the best.  Miami of Ohio is considered the Ivy League school of Ohio.  So, things always work out for the best, even when we arent sure.  She visited Miami Beach on Spring Break and didn't feel safe there.  Reading this story brought a smile to my face as my father attended Miami in Oxford for a year.   I interact...

 I'm happy being quite alone, but writing is a lonely occupation.  In coming up with a daily post, I'll read a news article, or I'll just write about that which is on my mind.  It takes about an hour on average to write a post and about another half hour to go over it.  But if my writing doesn't flow, I'll delete what I have and start over or abandon the idea and move on to something else.  No one sees an arricle until I post it.  Since I type on my phone, my mind can work a lot faster than my forefinger finger tip.  But if a concept flows my finger keeps up and I simply slow down my thoughts. Such it is with today's topic of teenage angst and loneliness, which was prevalent in my day without video games and social networking.  But I am always saddened when I especially read about a teen suicide.  Paul Simon addressed loneliness in much of his music, often sung so brilliantly by Art Garfunkel.  I have every vinyl record and CD this duo e...

 I decided to do a little research about happy cities in Florida.  And I decided to do my own comparison shopping, because...  Well, because.  First of all no list is definitive, but this is about comparing Florida cities to each other.  Wallethub says Florida is the eighth happiest state in the US.  I've decided not to bother much with lists, because a list is just a list and yesterday I quoted one list.  I'll go with Florida as being at least one of the happier states to live in.   Here in Florida there are a lot of places to live and instead of relying on some article I decided to do my own research.  First of all, Florida is a pretty happy state in which to reside.  We'll start there.  Then we'll examine those cities I wrote about yesterday.  And after doing my own research, I decided Men magazine has a bias against Florida.   First of all, according to Wallethub Cape Coral is the fourth happiest city in Flor...

 Florida has four cities in the top 20 unhappiest cities in the US.  But the city that tops the list is most surprising at best.  It is St. Petersburg.  I read one lisr that said Detroit is the unhappiest city in America.  I'll go with what i read in an article and you can find your own lists.  I am not sure which magazine did the survey, but I believe it was Men magazine.  They took into consideration suicide rates, traffic congestion, crime, antidepressants, and unemployment.  All these factored into the compiling this list.  It just gives me something to write about this morning.  In one list for example, Plano, Texas was the happiest city in the US.  Ask me if I'd be happy in Plano, Texas. Tampa was number four on the list followed by Jacksonville at number eight and Orlando at number 19.  For a comparison, Boston, for example, has a lower suicide rate than Anchorage, Alaska.  Since we now live in Florida, I didn't see...

 I was thinking about this as I read about Bruce Willis and his dementia.  He used to be an avid reader, but now he doesn't read any longer.  He's just about uncommunicative.  I read about what his friends and family are saying about him.  It made me ponder about my own aging.  I don't worry about it, but my eyesight isn't what it used to be.  My mental faculties haven't changed that much.  I have to think about Jeopardy answers a little harder these days.   But the fact is that we all age.  And with aging comes health issues.  I can worry about my wife's health to some degree and she worries about my heart.  I told her IF I did have another heart attack I wouldn't survive it more than likely.  But as to how much time I have to live is not my decision to make.  I pretty much live one day at a time and just don't worry about the future. The future always takes care of itself.  And such it is with health....

 A researcher doing a study of AI relationships with men opened an AI site and immediately had 1,000 men with 15,000 on a wait list.  One man told her he was in an AI relationship and this prompted her to do her own research into AI relationships.  She warned that such relationships would lower birth rates and make men more lonely except for the fantasy of the relationship itself.  The researcher didn't reveal how much money she made from these relationships, but it had to be substantial, and funded her research. Such relationships are strictly emotional.  But for her research she found such men weren't going to risk heartache from a real relationship.  I can only conclude such relationships are multi-generational, but more than likely are younger men not taking risks with real women.  This is the danger of AI.  An AI partner can say anything the man wants to hear.  Such relationships are both time consuming and non-productive, but they fulfi...

 Jesus made Judas the treasurer of his little group of men.  Evidently, Jesus and his small band of men lived mostly on donations.  But that is speculative on my part.  But I like the simplicity of any faith that is not run like a business.  This was a real turn-off for me in regard to ministry.  Everyone needs to make a living and today, there isn't the simplicity of any business, including the church.  Nothing is simple these days.  I don't know if the Roman Empire had tax forms or whether Jesus had to declare Himself as a tax exempt ministry. We know nothing about tax  forms of the Roman Government.  We know that Matthew was a tax collector by profession.  It seems today, many people are doing research on the Roman Empire.  We in today's society seem fascinated by the Roman Empire.  Why does Roman life fascinate us so much today?  I think it's because of Rome's downfall and many compare what is going on in this cou...

 It was about this time of year exactly 50 years ago I decided to take up pipe smoking.  Back then smoking a pipe was a lifestyle while now it is a hobby.  Even today it's not a lifestyle, but I devote more time to it now than I did then.  We weren't supposed to smoke on campus as I would be finished with school in March, but I decided my senior year was already just about over and there was no way they wouldn't let me finish just by my smoking a pipe.  Besides, I was already a rebel and took the risk. I had just met my future wife and she thought the pipe was cool, even helping me to choose it.  I was one cool dude in my senior year.  But about this time of year I reflect on my life back then, and I must say my world was quite rosy then.  I was a cool senior in college.  My whole life was ahead of me.  According to my wife, my pipe added to my charm.   That was about 50 years ago.  Do I see myself as an old guy smoking a ...

 I can't keep up with all these acronyms that are used these days.  I'm old school.  And I make no bones about it.  I won't go so far to say that I'm an old guy, but I'm old school.  I will read or hear various terms the younger generations use and find myself constantly looking things up.  A good example is OG, which stands for Original Gangster, but this just means someone had the Original idea or concept of something.  But that is just one example.  And I hear these terms during college football broadcasts, which often sends me to my phone to look up definitions. I'm savvy enough on some things, but I fear misusing terms ideas or acronyms I know nothing about.  My wife is on Facebook a lot and I think she's less old school than I am.  But I try, just like a lot of "oldsters" who try to keep up.  I know that certain subjects have their own terms for things that only those who study such subjects would know.  I know a few theo...

 I could say my smoking a pipe is a part of my religion.  It is a choice I make by Divine decree.  I don't have to smoke a pipe.  It is by choice.  Take it from my wife, I ALMOST need to smoke a pipe.  I could say it is for mental health that I do.  At least for me, I could say my smoking a pipe is a ritual, beginning by choosing a pipe for a day.  I have four tobacco canisters out here on the lanai and my tobacco choice is almost ritualistic.   I COULD say everything about my smoking a pipe is a ritual.  I like to have my first cup of coffee with my pipe.  I could argue that my smoking a pipe calms my very soul.  Most any Buddhist would never smoke a pipe.  I have many Buddhistic beliefs.  But a pipe is not one of them.  I could be quite sacrilegious and say my pipe is like incense, but my wife might suggest that it depends on which tobacco I'm smoking and add that is a far reach.  A very far reach. My...

 I had an article about time written, but came across an article about the Jerusalem Syndrome.  Someone is crazy for even coming up with it, but some visitors to the Holy City act out a character from the Bible.  A 40 year old Jewish tourist from America acted out by destroying two priceless statues on display at the Jerusalem Museum, saying they were against the teachings of the Torah.  That would be like me visiting the Roman Coliseum and saying I am a gladiator and think the statues are my enemies in a gladiatorial fight. But it seems this is a thing.  People will visit a site and pretend they are a biblical character and act out their fantasies.  I have a photo of a Roman Centurion holding a sword to my neck and I'm smiling in the photo.   But in no way did I attack the gladiator.  The Coliseum is a historic museum site.  The thought never crossed my mind that people actually act out their fantasies.  But evidently this is a thi...

 I gave some thought yesterday after renaming RLP-6 "Shwashbuckler."  Where did this come from?  Even today, if I'm watching a storm from the lanai and my wife comes out and it's not raining she might ask if it's been raining.  I might say that it's a lot of shwash with little buckle.  Where does this come from?  Back in the 70's when we were first married, we would watch older movies on TV.  But we might consult with the TV Guide and see what they wrote as a review. So, there was this pirate movie on that looked interesting called "The Shwashbuckler," and we looked it up in the TV Guide.  After their review we chose not to watch it.  Why?  TV Guide said it had a lot of shwash but little buckle.  So, if it's stormy without rain I will comment to my wife that it has a lot of shwash but little buckle.  Hence, I've never forgotten that movie review, but I still have never watched the movie. So, if RLP-6 is like Captain Black Origi...

 I said in my post yesteeday, that I would review Lane's RLP-6.  It is just about the same as Captain Black Original, but without propylene glycol added as a preservative.  This will give the tobacco with this chemical added a very slight chemical taste, and if RLP-6 is the same I would prefer it, as in bulk it is a bit less in cost.  Pipe shops often will buy bulk tobacco in five pound bags and give certain tobaccos their own proprietary names.  RlP-6 is Lane's name for it just for this reason. Lane uses a weird lettering and number system just because they sell in large bulk quantities to tobacco shops.  Shops can then name the tobaccos anything they wish.  Sutliff's Rum and Maple is named what it is.  Since RLP-6 is Captain Black Original, I would prefer the former over the latter.  I prefer my tobaccos to be chemical-free.  However not a lot of store packaged tobacco has propylene glycol, but I might have noticed it mote in Mixture 7...