Saturday, September 28

The 15 minute telephone call

   After 34 years it is a remarkable diplomatic opening for the presidents of Iran and the United States to have a 15 minute telephone conversation. Even more remarkable for the President of Iran, Mr. Hassan Rouhani, to say he wanted to talk to the President of the United States, and for Mr. Obama to quickly place the call. The road ahead for relations between the two countries is long and will have some potholes in it, but it can be successfully navigated for the benefit of all.
   Two things to watch out for: One, the inclination to think it is sanctions against Iran that alone are responsible for this breakthrough. Iran has survived for 34 years and to deny or ignore good will on the part of President Rouhani does a disservice to him and the people of Iran. Two, Israel and Iran are at loggerheads over realistic fears about nuclear weapons. The United States is not going to leave Israel’s side but we cannot let this chance to improve relations in the area evaporate because of Israeli intransigence.
   It is to be hoped the 15 minute telephone conversation on September 27, 2013, will come to be recognized as a milestone in improved relations. 

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Sunday, September 22

Frank Seabrook Hay, Jr., 1926-2013,R.I.P.

(Note: The following are remarks I planned to make at the celebration of Frank's life on Saturday, September 21, 2013, at Rodenberg Chapel, Franke at Seaside, Mt. Pleasant, SC. Speaking, however, was limited to three members of his large extended family.)

   It is a happy feeling to be back at Franke at Seaside among so many friends, even though the occasion is also a sad one.
   We come together to celebrate the life of our friend Frank Hay and at the same time extend to his beloved wife Frances and all the family members our condolences and love.
   I had been at Franke for over three years when Frank and Frances came to live here. I was a regular participant in “The Week That Was,” a discussion group dealing with current events, most of them political in nature. The weekly group attendance was 25 to 30 residents, male and female. The group was led in a most capable manner by Jeff Erickson, a volunteer coordinator, who is with us today.
   The group was essentially divided into two camps. There were conservatives and liberals. Each camp held views peculiar to their own persuasion. Some of the attendees spoke up frequently and wanted to share their opinion, and hopefully convert others. A number of attendees listened silently, sometimes smiling or nodding their heads one way or the other.
  Then one day a new face was in the crowd. It was Frank Hay. Initially, Frank was somewhat of an enigma.  He didn’t seem to have any of the prejudices that dominated the participants. He could not be said to be in one camp or another.
   After a few weeks I began to recognize Frank as a free-thinker. He formed his own opinions about important subjects instead of accepting what others were saying.
   It slowly dawned on me that Frank would have been right at home during the birthing years of our great country. He would have enjoyed the company of Washington, Jefferson and Franklin. He would have believed in the separation of church and state and the freedom of man to make his own choices in all matters.
   Like Galileo, Frank did not feel obliged to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason and intellect had intended for us to fore-go their use.
   In 1790, George Washington urged congress to promote science and literature. He said that in every country knowledge is the surest basis of public happiness.
   Frank was like this. He came every week to The Week That Was armed with six or seven supporting documents in a folder with which to urge thought and discussion. His arguments were spoken with intelligence and moderation. He did not believe that speaking loudly made anyone’s argument any more persuasive.
   I sought out and enjoyed Frank’s company and that of Frances. They amazed many of us on several social occasions with elegant demonstrations of ball-room dancing. Frank’s skills on the dance floor made him the envy of more than one man here at Franke. Especially, when wives said, “See!”
   We served together on the Active Lifestyle Residents’ Council here at Franke and for a year Frank was our recording secretary. He carried out his duties with determination and skill and everyone benefited from his accurate rendition of what happened at the meetings.
   Frank came to my apartment one day and took away an idea of how to re-arrange his living space to make it more livable. He told me about this later and I felt good about it. Who doesn’t like a bit of praise now and then?
   We sat together and enjoyed dinner at the counter in the Bistro on many occasions and it was a pleasure to share our thoughts.
   My wife, Joyce, and I came to visit Frank in late August and enjoyed again his company and our discussion. He was his usual optimistic self and we left with joy in our hearts at how well he seemed to be getting along. Alas, that was only temporary and the Master of the Universe had other plans. I would like to think He will enjoy Frank, the free-thinker, for all eternity as much as we enjoyed him for the three years he was with us at Franke.
   Frank was my friend and I will miss him very much.
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(Complete blog here.)




Wednesday, September 11

BMW engineering lacks common sense

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/03-05_BMW_745Li.jpg This is a 2005 BMW 745Li Sedan. 
BMW enjoyed record sales in August 2013 and for the first time sold over a million vehicles during the first eight months of 2013. So they must be doing something right, right? Well it is not great engineering nor parts reliability coming out of Munich.
I have a front light that needs a bulb replacement and the local BMW service writer estimated it would cost about $400 because the front bumper has to be removed to replace a bulb. A bulb cost about $40 each. He suggested replacing matching bulbs "while we got the bumper off." Remove  a bumper to replace a light bulb. Who is the Fubar'd genius who came up with this one?

I bought this vehicle in a private sale about two years ago from the previous owner. To date, I have $5,200 in repairs on a BMW with less then 76,000 miles on it.
The driver's seat cushioning has become  problem and I am afraid to ask what a new seat would cost. (BMW has already replaced the front passenger seat cushion.)
I am under-impressed with German engineering.

Thursday, September 5

Do we need a life?


I don’t know what this says about us (the wife and I) but last night we watched the concluding episode, number 102 of “Weeds, the Showtime serial about an urban wife and mother, Nancy Botwin, who, when her husband dies prematurely, turns to selling marijuana to maintain the family’s comfortable lifestyle. The show ran eight seasons, 13 shows per season, for approximately 50 hours of TV. We watched it all commercial free from Netflix via Roku and we did all this watching over five or six weeks, usually four episodes a night. The same time it would take to watch a two hour movie.
   The series created by Los Angeles born Jenji Kohan was never boring. A great cast of captivating regular characters supplemented periodically with fresh faces introduced and hanging around for a few episodes all contributed humor and suspense. Many of the half-hour situations were seriously over the top but this made the series as addictive as its title.  One thing we especially enjoyed was watching the youthful actors playing the Botwin children age as the show went on over eight years. The basic cast was kept together throughout the run of the show.
   Some people, who have seen this series, or parts of it, may consider it nothing more than trashy fantasy and I don’t disagree with that assessment, but for adult laughs it is hard to beat.
   Only things is it worries me that we watched it all. We could be brain-dead. AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaH.

(Complete blog here.)

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Monday, September 2

42 Great Shots

Great pictures are a visual delight and these are in that category. I've included one of them below. They are from the 2013 National Geographic 25th annual Traveler Photo Contest,and appeared in The Atlantic, where Alan Taylor wrote "National Geographic was once more kind enough to allow me to share some of the early entries with you here, gathered from four categories: Travel Portraits, Outdoor Scenes, Sense of Place, and Spontaneous Moments. Photos and captions by the photographers. "
Scroll down in the story and Enjoy!

A group of 12-14 hyenas were chasing a herd of 7-8 elephants. The elephant herd included 2 adult females, a few teenagers, and a baby that was a few days old (belonging to one of the adult females). The hyenas were trying to get at the baby. In this picture, the mother is kicking at the hyenas. (© Jayesh Mehta/National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest). 
 
 
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