Pipeology - The Fine Art of Pipe Smoking and Thought

 I had to look up to see which teams are in the NHL and NBA playoffs.  I know Cleveland got beat by the Celtics.  But right now, for me at least, it's baseball season, but I might care about either the Reds or the Guardians, which used to be the Indians, but I can't get used to the name change.  ESPN+ has recorded baseball games from the day before and since I don't follow the scores it's like watching live, but usually it's two teams I don't care about, but it's something to watch.   With a 162 game season a game here and there doesn't matter. The Pirates are playing the Braves from a game recorded two days ago.  I could just look up the score, but I don't want to.  I'll root for the Braves.  I've never liked ANY team from Pittsburg.   But it's baseball.  I'm just into college football and that is about it.  I'll start getting into college basketball after the college football season is over, but I was never a big fan of ...

 David Berkowitz was just denied parole for the twelfth time.  He is now 70 years old and was captured in 1977 after killing six and wounding five in a string of murders in NYC as the "Son of Sam" murderer, as he called himself.  Okay, I won't spend any more time on this except to say he heard voices telling him to kill.   First of all, I know enough about psychiatry to be dangerous, as is often said of novices on a subject.  I know that there are mentally ill people who have actual conversations with themselves.  Often such people are harmless.  But then someone like Berkowitz hears voices to kill.  These are the ones that need immediate help.  The problem is, we don't know who these people are until they act on those voices.  Then it's too late.  But every mental health professional will always ask whether one wants to harm someone or themselves regardless of who it is as a patient. But in this case intervention was too late....

I drink two large cups of coffee a day, but sometimes I want some decaf coffee.  I usually keep a bag of ground decaf coffee available.  But decaf coffee might be disappearing.  Methalene Chloride is why.  It can cause eye damage, liver problems, and other health related issues.  So, the FDA is talking about removing all decaf products off US shelves. First of all, this might affect consumers who don't drink any caffeine.  So, when I read this I wondered how many people this would affect.  I'm not supposed to drink caffeine, but then I'm not supposed to smoke a pipe either.  Even alcohol could be risky to my health.  But I've been alive for 13 years since my heart attack and I've experienced no chest pains.   I kind of look at it this way, my heart is protected by my Spirit Guides.  In my thinking, nothing can damage my heart.  But then I don't take unnecessary risks with my heart.  I guess if you want to know the tru...

 At first, I felt writing about my Spirituality was too religious, but over time I've felt more comfortable about doing so, because some of you seem to like when I do.  I'm not selling anything nor am I condemning anyone to hell.  It's different and it's who I am.  I can't help that.  My pipe is a part of it.  But it took quite awhile for me to feel comfortable writung about it.  I asked myself why this is and it's because I write mostly about it here. But why did I feel uncomfortable.? Very simply put, I'm pretty quiet about it.  Except with a few.  And to those few it's my obsession.  I didn't want to write about it here. Not at first.  I feared there would be those who wouldn't understand.  But my Spirituality explains the last 30 years of my life and I smoke a pipe.  I am pretty rare by both accounts.  But my pipes and tobacco are also a part of it. And I'm at my best listening and not talking, but when I'm not wr...

 I had something else for this morning, but today is a day we remember the dead.  Not just war heroes, but really anyone who was a part of our lives and are now gone.  Neither my wife or myself have any surviving members of family apart from siblings and their heirs.  Fortunately, neither of us have lost a sibling, but the oldest is now 82, with his health failing.  That is my wife's oldest brother.   But today is a day we remember.  I was probably more of my Mom's son that I was closer to my dad.  And as I grew up in the church, we were never geographically close to family.  I grew up apart from either sets of grandparents, so I felt I didn't know them very well.  The church was supposed to be family, but in a way it kind of was, but wasn't.  So, there's no one there I can I say I miss except for my Mom. So, that is where I am this morning.  My Mom was one-of-a-kind.  She was literally the salt of the earth.  Sh...

 Before I write a post, I want every post to flow, without much thought.  If I think too much, or I I'm thinking too hard a post won't flow.  Everyone has some kind of belief system, even if it's no believing at all.  Each one of you share in my own Spirituality.  I have my own religion, if you want to call it that.  I am an evangelist for Human Life.  I find living in today's world with my belief system very stressful. Some people believe that if they belong to something, and they have disagreements, instead of working to change it, they leave it.  Some things ARE written in stone.  But that all depends on what it is they are leaving behind.  But then I know the theology of my Spirit Guides would be acceptable to no one, but I've since learned my beliefs align more with Buddhism.  But it's only been in the past five years or so I learned this.  My Spirit Guides told me Jesus died for every sin except for the taking of Human Li...

My son and I played chess together for the first time since he was quite young.  Playing chess with him brought back a flood of memories about playing chess and other things in my life.  I can take some things seriously.  When I was in high school I played chess regularly with the son of Russiam immigrants.  He could usually beat me, but he was the only one who could.  I became known as a very good chess player. I tend to dabble in things like playing pool in college.  Until I got so good at pool no one on campus could beat me.  College was like that for me.  I dabbled in college until my senior year when I got straight A's.  There are things I take very seriously including my Spiritual life.   Chess teaches life lessons.  In order to be good at chess one needs to think ten moves ahead.  I was thinking only of my next move.  I could see maybe a few moves ahead, but not much beyond that. Chess teaches to see the big pi...