Prepping for H2O days!

Happy Saturday. And I hope yesterday was your year’s best since it was National Donuts Day. I skipped the celebrations, but that’s probably for the best. At Dunkin’ it’s coffee and donuts as a snack, I went the solo coffee route.

Mentioning yesterday, I learned that if one has the thermostat set on ‘heat’ in June it’s in error. I was on my Zoom exercise cluster when I first noticed that I was dripping sweat on my Yoga mat as if a faucet had turned on. It turned out that exercise coupled with an inside humid temperature of 79 is not a happy combination. Early afternoon all was good (by then I’d also downed over 20oz of water).

Bet you didn’t Know – Now what would that be compadre? Ever heard of Stricker’s Grove? No? It’s an amusement park located outside of Hamilton, OH about 25 miles from our little abode. Started by Henry Stricker in 1924 on 55 acres of property. Henry worked at Procter and Gamble where he allowed his fellow employees over as a picnic spot on weekends.

Stricker’s Grove is a family friendly amusement park where I’ve never been. The reason is simple, it’s only open to the public 4-days a year. It’s still family owned, now starting year 101.

You ask, “How do they stay alive”, simple, it’s a destination place for events, company outings, weddings, and so forth. A quick factoid, years ago it was Ralph Stricker himself who built the Tornado, a full-scale wooden roller coaster as well as a smaller kiddie one..

“Are the rides safe?”— might also be something you wonder about, but don’t worry, the place is checked out by the State. Also, somewhat different, in Ohio it’s the Department of Agriculture which inspects amusement parks. It makes perfect sense. If you understand how a cornstalk snaps, the principle of Coaster snapping applies.

CWC 2025 – Some of you have probably had enough of me babbling on and on about the Club-World-Cup 2025 soccer event which starts this coming week. But it is nothing like what I spotted on BBC Sport: “Men ‘hid in toilet for 27 hours’ to watch Champions League final for free”. This happened in Munich; Click here to read just how they survived their escapade.

But for me, tomorrow I get fitted for my uniform gear and pick up my accreditation pass. Tuesday I am on the University of Cincinnati practice field to perfect the 15-minutes of ‘Rah-Rah’ officially labeled as the “Pre—Match Ceremonies Team” – I must be a slow learner because they have blocked 4-hours for me to learn the 15 minutes of glory.

Included for our team will be the display of the Tournament Brand Banner & Team Crests, then Music & some chorography, Team player walk on, match info, Player announcements, and breakdown of everything on the pitch. Whew! All done in 15 minutes.

A Very Special Visit/Day – Then on Thursday it really kicks in, I have a hospital visit at 7:00AM (my exact procedure requires that I drink an inordinate amount of clear liquid, sans solids).

Then at 5:00PM I’ll be back on the UC practice field to perfect the ‘Rah-Rah’ routine. Thursday should be fun and will certainly be the highlight of the week! Marcia is chortling. Adrianne is driving me around and will probably wonder why she volunteered for that chore. Me? I am a little more sober about the start of the day.

Corner dogs – The corner of Chaos & Mayhem was mostly quiet this week, except for one incident. A lady residing nearby has two dogs and one crazy habit. See, she puts her ‘pets’ on their leash (most times) and then drops the end she should be holding on the ground. Basically, she free-ranges her dogs which roam in about a 40’ or so radius. Mostly it all seems works – except for her picking up any ‘deposits’, which she doesn’t.

This week her lazy habit didn’t fare so well. Another neighbor’s daughter happened to set out to walk another neighbor’s two dogs – hers were properly on leash. The dogs caught sight of one another. Let’s just say that by the time the ruckus died down the daughter was in tears. That very next day the daughter reappeared, now with her upper arm all bandaged up (Ace). Sometime later that same day a city truck marked “Warden” rolled up and the driver went to the lazy dog owner’s home. And so, it goes.

Maybe that lazy woman would be better off heading for the Chinese online shopping site, TEMU where they’d sell her an electronic, peeing, attack dog.

Dayton – Vai and her Olohana’s Polynesian Dance were invited on Dayton’s GoodDay ABC Channel 22 this week. They performed a couple of dance numbers for the live show where Vai represented Tonga. Guess who was all smiles? Vai herself, her mom and dad, and Marcia and me.

Groceries – by now regular readers know that Marcia LOVES on-line grocery shopping. Yesterday morning, at 9:00, the Kroger truck rolled up and the groceries were brought to our front door. That evening Marcia commented that, including our delivery, she had counted 14 Kroger trucks roll by.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Yesterday was the 81st year of the invasion of Normandy (June 6, 1944). During WWII the allied factories (primarily the USA, UK, & Canada) produced a lot of aircraft – 630,000. Do the math, how much time between each new airplane to be completed and roll off the assembly line.

1) “12-minutes”
2) “1-hour, 12-minutes”
3) “47-minutes”
4) “2-hours”
5) “5-minutes”
6) “1-hour, 47-minutes”
7) “18-minutes”

Schlemiel! Schlimazel!

Happy Saturday. Coffee for a sensation and a disaster:

The disaster: This past weekend, “Cannes is in a total slowdown, meltdown, there’s no coffee anywhere, and I think the town has run out of croissants, so this is like crisis territory,” Australian producer Darren Vukasinovic told Reuters news agency reflecting on the Cannes power outage at the Film Festival.

The Sensation: At this place enjoying a coffee is an almost holy event. Crowned the most beautiful café in the world with its breathtaking feature of eclectic architecture is the 130 year old New York Café in Budapest, Hungary.

Ai – Here is an adaptation of Ai: “Scientists at Caltech, for example, used an AI fluid simulation model to automatically design a better catheter that prevents bacteria from swimming upstream and causing infections”.…..”rather than progress through a long line of progressively better designs”.

what will happen in the near future, years rather than decades, as Ai capability speeds up incrementally? What will happen as Ai begins to think and starts communicating with its own kind in its own language independent of human ‘coders’? Already, just this past month Ai was asked to perform a few simplistic math problems after which it was to stop and shut down. The system easily solved the math, but, then would not quit. Eventually the human engineers had to pull the plug.

Now think of tens of thousands of Ai systems talking with each other, can every plug be pulled?

Former Google CEO, Dr. Eric Schmidt, provides insight into the future – ‘future’, think the next five years. I’ve been following his insights for some time.

Here are two interviews. The first is short and was for a Congressional hearing. The second is with Noema – a magazine published by the Berggruen Institute. Should yo want more, the second interview is fascinating, more detailed and lengthier (about 20-minutes).

Congressional Hearing (short)

Noema Magazine interview (detailed)

Already a number of the large national companies, think Google, Apple, Meta, or Oracle are moving forward fast and furiously. Then, a myriad of start-ups are also joining the fray. Ai is in our future, like it or not we have little choice.

“Today, Oracle has 162 cloud data centers, live and under construction throughout the world. The largest of these data centers is 800 megawatts, and it will contain acres of Nvidia GPU clusters able to train the world’s largest AI models”
Larry Ellison, founder & CEO of Oracle

Dinah’s party – Monday was a glorious time at Cathy and Jason’s home celebrating Dinah’s high school graduation. Cathy’s side of the family (who we don’t often see) were all gathered, Marin was there, as were schoolmates, and a table full of fellow rowers.

Adrianne and Tevita, in Tongan and Polynesian tradition treated Dinah as the “fahu” (leader) and hence Dinah walked around with many necklaces of candy placed on her – later these were then given out to friends by Dinah (at least to many of them). It’s a lovely tradition.

Glorious weather. Great conversation. Bagels with Lox (my favorite), and the thought that I could do one of these each and every week.

Pennies – Having traveled back and forth to Canada for years I’ve watched them operate from before and after they removed the penny from their currency. Seamless! Think, no torn pockets due to the weight of jangling coins. Actually, in Canada’ it’s still torn pocets since they use a ‘Looney’ and ‘Tooney’ coin for their $1 & $2 equivalents, they still have pockets full.

So now it’s our turn, the penny is on the way out. The mint has already stopped making pennies (cost about 5 cents for every penny made). You’re a collector? You better hoard!

Oh, that Highway – Half the time in The Ramblings you’re expecting some incident to have occurred here at The Corner of Chaos & Mayhem, often car related. Not this week.

A few days ago I drove Vai and Vili to near Dayton for practice. About even with Middletown on I-75 all traffic stopped. It was an accident on the south-bound lanes. No idea on the ‘how’ or ‘why’. All I saw was a red minivan laying on its ROOF, balanced dab-smack ON top of the concrete divider. I asked Vai next to me to grab her mobile and take a picture. By the time we got organized the tow truck had cabled the thing off the concrete and there it was, laying on its side. I hope that the occupants came out OK, the vehicle did not.

Aging Specs – Stats can be a wild thing. Even more so when reflecting back over the years – for me, now mostly time-squeezed. Remember back the years? The sweats just asking a girl out for your first date? The time you were allowed to climb behind the wheel and how your foot shook working the (now no longer) third pedal? Sitting in class and opening that empty ‘Blue book’ as finals kicked in? Burying a parent and the extreme sense of loss and the knowledge of how time was slipping?

Yet, at the same time, aging is something magical. Now for us, Baby-Boomers’ or even those close to. Here is what all we’ve experienced:

We were raised during the 1960s, Vietnam and the Summer of Love, all at once. Musically it’s been Jazz, Blues, Crooners, Pop, Rock, and Rap – but the Classical kept us focused.
We’ve shuffled and bungled through eight decades.
Touched two centuries, two millenniums, and one of them reaching back to times earlier than the Civil War, the other stretching into Space and Infinity and Ai.

You’ve got to admit that it’s a special time in our history. As I’ve stated, Life is Amazing!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Sister Marizele of Brazil got rave reviews on their Catholic TV station playing which instrument?

1) “1/32 size violin”
2) “contrabass saxophone”
3) “Moog synthesizer”
4) “beatbox”
5) “Celtic harp”
6) “Buck dancer clogging shoes”
7) “Melodica”

Will I, Won’t I – Don’t I, Do I

Happy Saturday. And a happy Memorial Day weekend.

Spring is quickly passing into summer. This week summer vacation started for our local school kids. And I experienced my first summer special of the year. At last weekend’s Regatta at East Fork Lake park, I wanted a mid-day pick me up. Asking if anyone else wanted a coffee I was asked to bring an iced coffee. Asking the window person at the Food Truck – if they had cold coffee; and they did. Yes, that one item solidified it, summer has sprung.

The Ceremony – Thursday afternoon I attended Dinah’s graduation ceremony. 400-strong was her class of 2025. With that size the ceremony was held at the University of Cincinnati’s Bearcats basketball arena.

Aside from her athletic scholarship she was also the recipient of a financial grant – proud parents to be sure.

Years ago, two of our kids graduated from Dinah’s school, plus her brother Marin and mother Cathy. It was announced that their school, Walnut Hills High School, this past year was ranked #1 out of the 864 High Schools in the State. Even though a public school an entry exam is required. Each student must take Latin for 3 years.

The net result is that each one of my gang is substantially smarter than me.

Climbing Around – After all of that ceremony stuff, when heading home I couldn’t find my car. OK, has the laughter died down yet? I do know that this was a ‘geezer’ move. The UC campus is TOTALLY different from anything I remember. Several new and expanded buildings have been ‘shoe-horned’ into what is already a tight campus. Add that everything is a series of staircases, both up and down, and a multitude of ramps.

I knew I left the car in one of the 11 multi-level garages on campus. The problem was that we were escorted out of the basketball arena from a different exit than how I entered. Once outside it’s impossible to just turn a corner to retrace your steps in. The sun had set, making it difficult to pick a direction. Ultimately the ‘coup de grâce’ was that when I finally discovered the garage, I was not aware that it was actually two buildings which initially only appeared to be one.

Yes, I know, I know that on my mobile phone a GPS location pin can be placed as an aid. But this is easily not thought of when preoccupied with other matters – such as meeting up with the rest of the family.

After all of this, when I finally got home Marcia was sound asleep.

Old Radio – Driving earlier this week I tuned in to one of our local ‘oldies’ stations. It wasn’t that long ago that it was exclusively “Big Band” sounds and radio comedy or drama from the 1930s ‘40s, and 50s. Now music from the 1960s and ‘70s has entered the “oldies” lineup.

Day dreaming (while driving in traffic is not a good idea) nevertheless, it’s what I was doing. And so, I remembered that back in June of 1985 (I had to look that up later) almost every local radio station ran a series of ads daily. The ads were for an under-construction underground mall – Plummet Mall!

Secretive, coy, hints galore, perfect shopping temperatures, and escalators directly into any store is what the ads promised. In fact, the Chamber of Commerce was upset that they hadn’t been informed of a new mall. The then Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co. pointed out construction couldn’t start because no one had applied for service. Listen to what I enjoyed back in 1985, 2 of the ad spots plus the final one:

You should know that the brainchild of the Plummet Mall spoof was a guy named Jerry Galvin who then had a NPR radio show called Talk Back. Jerry lived nearby in our neighborhood and he and Marcia played sandlot Volleyball together. Fun times!

The Square – Our first home was in the Hyde Park neighborhood of the ‘Nati. Our kids, then little tykes, were all pushed around the place in strollers. One of the ‘go-to’ areas was Hyde Park Square. The quiet, live able, ambiance of the area is what has stuck over the years – till now.

Times are a ‘changing. Out of State developers, big ideas, lots of money, little sense of community other than their version of growth, big-ness, and similarity. All couched in an ’improved’ Connected Cities boondoggle of an idea to increase population density. All coupled with something which magically then begins to look like an every other town designed with similarly planned cheap facades. Bye, bye ambiance.

Currently our city is a one party ‘progressive’ government. No opposition voice to force second looks. In a “follow the money” move the city government ram-rodded the developer’s concept without an ear for the Hyde Park neighborhood counsel’s ear and quick railroaded an approval for the Square redevelopment scheme.

Ah, but there are elections. To get the opposition to the proposal on the November ballot 12,000 signatures were needed. The neighborhood activists wanted 15,000 signatures to allow for ones tossed. Yesterday, the last day to load City Hall with the petitions, they were inundated with 18,340 petitions.

Somewhere in one of those boxes lies a petition which contains my signature.

Oh, that Corner – Don’t forget that we live on the Corner of Chaos & Mayhem. Mid-week, mid-day, we heard a massive Bang. I calmly told Marcia that a truck tire must have blown, explaining that to her at the very moment a second ‘tire’ blew. This convinced me that it was something else.

Looking out the front/side window Police had blocked off the street. Out back five or so houses away I saw the Swat team armored truck and police with their big guns running into a yard. I went outside and talked with the cops blocking traffic. Turns out they were serving a search warrant. Non-compliance required a couple of Flash grenades. Two characters ran and were quickly collared and put in a cruiser. In 15 minutes, Swat left, and all was quiet once again. Once more the Corner was ready for its next adventure.

FIFA – (FIFA, world governing body of association football was founded this past week on May 21st in 1904)

But I digress, the start of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 soccer tournament is only a few weeks away. As I’ve ‘crowed’ for weeks, I am a volunteer for some of the activities. All instructions and subsequent quizzes have been completed successfully. Tomorrow I’ll join a virtual final role specific training course. In the meantime, I’ve I locked in the games I’ll be working at.

Here is the exciting news. I will a role at the first tournament game held at our TQL stadium in what for me will be a truly massive event. Two of the world’s pre-eminent soccer teams; Fußball-Club Bayern München (Germany) against Auckland City FC (New Zealand). This is too cool!

Understand that last summer a few of my favorite days were in Munich right as soccer fever was raging there. Then, for years, I represented a company headquartered in Auckland. Can you now see why being at TQL stadium with these two teams on the pitch is special to me?

Marcia’s probably Thought – “You can likely judge a person’s character by just how quickly they can break down a cardboard box.”
Did I mention that we had recycling collection this week?

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

What term for a broken car was used in a 1960 Volkswagen ad?:

1) “lemon”
2) “rustbucket”
3) “squished bug”
4) “junker”
5) “hooptie”
6) “clunker”
7) “beater”

Lies Told

Happy Saturday. Actually, Happy Friday evening. My rationale is two-fold. Saturday morning I’ll be heading out for Harsha Lake, East Fork State Park outside of Bethel, OH. It’s the Midwest Junior Rowing Championship and it’ll be the final regatta for Dinah on the team. Next on her list will be Syracuse University – which is a little distant to just ‘mosey’ on over for some cheering.

Then, in a couple of hours we’re being promised heavy weather – thundershowers, Hail, possible Tornadoes, and wind gusts of 75mph is the potential. I didn’t want to wake up early in the morning ‘sans’ electricity (while my generator is tucked away at the cabin). Hence, this Friday evening epistle works better – so enjoy.

Now hope that by morning power is still on and my coffee at the ready:

Hillside Initiative – It’s a fairly well-known fact that 19% of the ‘Nati’s corporate area consists of hillsides. Eons (think billions) years old residual pieces of ancient mountains.

What we have we affectionally called ourselves the City of Seven Hills, and it’s for a reason. Cincinnati and its bedrock is unique and world-famous. What ended up here is a trough for escaping ice melt – the Ohio River. Then as “those ancient mountains eroded over time and sank beneath a series of shallow seas teeming with marine life, some as familiar as coral and some extinct like the trilobites. The time period when our Upper Ordovician rocks and fossils were deposited, about 450 million years ago, has been named the Cincinnatian Epoch.” (https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/top-to-bottom-2021/cincinnatis-geological-bedrock-is-famous/)

When our kids were in grade school, I took them to a construction site atop our highest hillside (Twin-Towers for local readers) where we collected enough fossils of ancient water creatures for each of their classrooms – about a shoe box full.

All of this means that it doesn’t take much of an untoward weather situation and it’s “let the slip sliding begin”. Keeping roads from being unusable with a blanket of mud. Or houses and patios wanting to skid.

Bottom line, as time marches on the increase in regulations and work on the properties built prior to those regulations are still ‘works in progress’ – The Hillside Initiative.

Lies Told – Remember when Trump (45) unleashed “Operation Warp Speed”? It was then assumed that the Covid vaccines were an updated modification of traditional vaccines – wrong! These were a new experimental mRNA biotechnology.

Tuesday evening I joined an EmpowerU class for an evening and listened to Dr. Robert Malone, the originator of mRNA vaccine biotechnology. He discussed exactly how mRNA vaccines differ from traditional vaccines, and what made the COVID vaccines risky. He discussed how early on he voiced his concerns which resulted in him leaving his laboratory ‘baby’.

It was the ‘Fast Track’ which allowed a decade old experimental track fraught with failing to gain traction, especially by Moderna. Being tested for a variety of ailments including Cancer, those still totally untested on humans vaccines gained approval under an Emergency Use Authorization.

Initially assumed that the mRNA would be localized at the injection site, instead it spread, and no one had knowledge exactly where the injection was spreading to and how long the mNRA would last. Remember that testing during the early animal testing phase at Moderna was halted because these were found to be far too dangerous for future testing on humans.

As the rollout took shape hundreds of Docters and scientists such as Dr. Malone who voiced opposition were quickly shut down and their Social Media discussions and their reports erased. A smiling ‘silver tongued’ new ‘god’ had emerged, the nation’s definitive Covid media director; one Dr. Anthony Fauci. He of popularizing a “Trust the Science” lip service. The media swiftly jumped on the adoration bandwagon.

It was a fascinating hour and a half, and at the same time brutal.

FIFA – Last weekend I spent a chunk of the weekend afternoon on an “e-course” — all part of my role during the FIFA Club World Cup journey. Areas such as “Safeguarding”, FIFA’s efforts to turn ‘waste’ into a re-useable, and on ‘disabilities. The latter on how to turn the game experience for people with special needs into a positive experience.

Next on my volunteering platter is a part-specific virtual learning session for my role; “pre-match ceremonies”.

Marcia just shakes her head and is somewhat non-plussed with my obscene(?) level of enthusiasm.

I just smile.

Thought for this week – “If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.“

Katharine Hepburn (1907 – 2003)

WRONG! Cabin Pressure means the worry trying to find a timely ‘window’ to head north to the cabin. I’ve been searching for the right time to head north; trust me, I’ll keep you posted.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Your tongue is covered in four types of small bumps known as papillae. Five of these detect taste. Which of the following do not a detect taste:

1) “smokiness”
2) “sweet”
3) “salty”
4) “bitter”
5) “umami”
6) “sour”
7) “texture”

80

Happy Saturday. As busy as it was a week ago, it was as quiet this past week. Hence, this week’s Bonus Points at the end of The Ramblings reflect such sought peace. However now, even though dawn has not yet arrived it’s also no longer time to grab some more shut eye – so, its COFFEE Time.

80 – It was May 8, 1945, eighty years ago last Thursday when WWII in Europe ended. Germany’s surrender caused celebrations throughout the western world – V-E Day had arrived. The two Jewish sisters my parents had housed rejoined their family (all of whom survived the many ‘razzias’ and betrayals). The shot down Canadian flyer who we housed for a couple of weeks rejoined his military.

And what I have no memory of other than the visual proof is that I too was a happy little guy celebrating this great day. One picture is flag waving with my dad, waving finally a well-hidden, i.e. “verboten”, Dutch Red-White-Blue flag, the other with neighborhood kids – I’m in the wagon, a kids mini parade.

Thought – Years ago, during my school years it was not uncommon that as a WWII and Holocaust anniversary was celebrated that the phrase; “never again” was commonly heard. Today, when some interviewer heads to a beach where College aged kids are enjoying Spring Break stops them to ask simple questions. Something like “on what continent were most of the Axis WWII battles fought?”
         They can’t answer. They have no clue! But they’ll march blindly with slogans such as “from the River to the Sea” while ignorantly spewing forth a stream of antisemitic gibberish.
                  We’re in trouble!

It’s a SCAM – Last November’s elections brough a massive change, something we have all seen. Our nation’s lifestyle had, over many decades, slipped down onto a one-way path akin to the old ‘boil-the-frog’ apology, a metaphor for a slow demise. And like most every facet of life, a pattern which never reverses and won’t make for ‘a making it better’ outcome; not better always has a downward trajectory.

Now that the change which was brought in last November has taken root it’s become apparent that it’s not just a Party changeover, it’s an attempt for dramatic change of the totality of our way of operating.

One piece targeted for change is the Nation’s health. This past election has two key positions which are now poised to disrupt our negative health trending. A few weeks ago in my Ramblings [April 12th, 2025 “Planning a Pursuit”] I posted a series of graphs detailing the horrific national pattern of increased Type 2 Diabetes, childhood obesity, and Autism. Now there has begun an active effort for possible health change to these and other chronic diseases and to address our nation’s overall health issues.

At the helm is Robert Kennedy, Jr. as Secretary of HHS. Then this week was nominated as our Surgeon General Dr. Casey Means. She is a supporter of RFK Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda. 37 year old Dr. Means is savvy in social media, and is a Stanford educated/trained thoracic surgeon and author (I’ve listened to about 3 hours of discussions and interviews with her and am thoroughly impressed). No longer is it “same old, same old”.

She has strong views on both the pharmaceutical and food companies. Bottom line, the ‘chronic disease’ epidemic is now another bullseye on the national ‘must fix’ targets. She states that RFK, Jr. “has a vision for what I want for my family, future children, and the world.” In other words, as change gets implemented, expect a lot of hate from said global industries and their dollars pushed towards their lobbyists and media friends.

Change is already underway. This week I received an ad for a healthier option on-line grocery store called Thrive Market (I have no connection to this outfit and haven’t used them yet; I just liked what I spotted). But similarily,Thursday I picked up this bag of this pack of a healthier Oatmeal at Costco and yesterday morning had probably the best bowl of hot Oats I can remember.

Question? is this the beginning of the end of a scam known by every K to 12 student as “The Food Pyramid”?

Evil lasts into the generations – the Bible provides numerous examples of generational sin. This week our town dealt with just such an example. Here is what occurred; a teenager, an 18 year old, joined up with friends and stole an auto in Kentucky. They drove the stolen car into Ohio and were spotted in the west side of town. Cornered they all ran. The 18 year old was spotted. Told to stop he turned and pointed a loaded Glock pistol at an Officer. Two shots and the 18 year old lay dead.

The next day, a recently retired much beloved Deputy Sheriff provided street-crossing duty to escort pedestrians to and from the University of Cincinnati for the Graduation ceremonies. While helping there, a car accelerated and aimed directly for this deputy, killing him instantly. Turns out, the driver was the father of the killed 18-year-old. The kid’s father and the grandfather both had rap sheets.

Yesterday, services for the Deputy were held at nearby Xavier University’s Basketball venue, Cintas Center. Police from 7 states and from regional departments, plus citizens attended the service. On TV the procession showed 50 pipers, at least that many motorcycles and a half hour long procession.

All this sadness caused by an; “it was just a car grab joyride moment.” Wrong! It was a long string of failure on a wide array of fronts, beginning with family.

FIFA – Yesterday I received my formal acceptance invitation letter to volunteer at next month’s FIFA, Club World Cup soccer games for the games played here at our TQL Stadium. After submitting an extensive application and after an all-morning training session at Xavier; I am THRILLED!

There are 18 categories where, to make this event a success, volunteers are essential. I was offered for my role to work the pre-match ceremony dealing with the banners and displays for the team’s entrance prior to kick-off.”

To me, at my tender age, this is HUGE. On the pitch amidst the over 25,000 roaring fans is absolutely wild.

Outpost Lodge – Owners and friends Jim and Ann Kehoe sent their newsletter updating the happenings at Jobammageeshig lake (just say ‘Jobam’) a few kilometers to the north of where our little camp is. To any readers who also received the newsletter, my apologies. It’s not so much about anything they wrote about. What it contained was a link to a YouTube of a professionally created Television show for any and all fishing fans, especially fly fishing, and this I wanted to share. As a bonus there are great regional lake and Outpost views. Enjoy the show and the scenery of the Northwoods we continue to love:

Anyway, with this Saturday’s Ramblings I seem to be back on track.

Now, since avid reader Paul reminded me, Monday is Vili’s final concert of the year (school Jazz band and he plays Sax). It’ll be held at The Redmoor which is currently a show venue with bar and food that started as a theater in the 1940s. The Redmoor also happens to be about a block from our first house in Cincinnati. It’s a going home event.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Ever wake up around 3:00AM wishing that a bit of ‘white’ noise gets you back to sleep? Which of the following are also recognized by noise ‘connoisseur’ Abigail Castel as a background frequency to aid sleep?

1) “red noise”
2) “green noise”
3) “blue noise”
4) “brown noise”
5) “pink noise”
6) “white noise” 

In High Gear

Happy Saturday. At this end it was a non-stop seven days. Seven glorious days! Now, Sunday morning it’s another mug of coffee. Then I’ll update a few of the highlights.

It’s a SCAM – Early in the week our Cathy was the organizer of a “Scan—Proof Seniors” experience. At a nearby church with a large lounge where it was a full house of nearly 180 of us who took part in this event. As an aside, I took along my personal attorney (smile here) and friend, Rosalie, to ask the more serious questions (she’s very good).

The introduction was given by one of the Judges of our Common Pleas Court. That was followed by the head of the State’s Elder Justice unit of the Attorney General’s office. Among the several other presenters were folk from the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Truly a worthwhile time spent especially the morphing of those pesky online scams which are becoming more and more difficult to snag. The critical takeaway – DELETE or HANG UP! Then, if you’re uncertain, call a contact number on the back of your card as your call-back number.

This was all recorded by Radio Station WMKV 89.3FM for later distribution – Welcome to WMKV – 89.3 FM

Asian Food Fest – proved that I could withstand any massive crowd being pushed at me. Vai and her Polynesian Dance group took over one of the stages to cheers from the crowd. And so went the ‘Nati’s annual Asian Food Festival with about 150 differing food stands. It was also time to test some of the normally undiscovered delicacies. Fun time.

Dinah – returned from an invitational Regatta next to New York City. Made it into the finals where they finished fourth. A video tape of the event was made which also gave the opportunity to ‘mic’ the Coxswains up – here is how the event was described:

“Inside the Boat: What Racing is ACTUALLY Like”
“The Kings Crown Rowing Association Regatta brought in top tier junior teams to compete in their 1v, 2v, and 3v eights. The fastest finals of the weekend. Women’s 1V8+: Saugatuck, Row America Rye, Cincinnati Juniors, and Greenwich.”

Fast forward to the 6:52 minute mark for the women’s start (Cincinnati Juniors are in Lane 3).

Where Pigs Run – Flying Pigs that is. The ‘Nati runs a large Marathon race (currently underway). The Flying Pig which has been rated as “The #1 in the Nation”, is an especially massively fun event.

Yesterday they held several of the ancillary events including a 5K. I couldn’t resist and signed up. Pouring rain couldn’t stop the thing. Turns out that I am a (using a horse racing term)  “mudder”. It was a great time to be had with 6,816 entries. The age 80 – 84 category had six of us and I was posted as coming in first. YES!

(be sure to read how the ‘Finish’ line is labeled)

Then a quick hot shower and it was off to the town of Xenia.

A World A’Fair – was also held yesterday at Xenia’s County Fairgrounds, I counted 26 countries represented. With two stages constantly active it was a wonderful opportunity to see native costumes, music, songs, and dances. Should you be wondering, yes, Vai’s dance troupe was also on stage – twice.

For dinner Tevita and the kids had Indian food. Adrianne and I Lebanese Falafel and Hummus. Then for dessert it was Dutch Appelflappen and for me a glass of Grolsch beer (brewed in my birth city of Enschede).

Since yesterday was a 17-hour day, this morning I got a bit of a slow start.

And now, Marcia just announced that a steaming hot bowl of Steel Cut Oats is ready. So, I’ll stop, pour some and add a little drizzle of Molasses. So Good!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Which of these countries do NOT have an Income Tax?

1) “Finland”
2) “United Arab Emirates”
3) “Vanuatu”
4) “Brunei”
5) “Antigua”

Be this Ramblings “Lector” over morning Coffee

Happy Saturday. For me it’s a bit of a wild weekend and likewise next weekend. Which reminds me. Next weekend I’ll be participating in one of the Flying Pig races. The big full marathon (20,000 strong) will be on Sunday. I’ll be participating in one of the several offshoots next Saturday – a 5K. So, next week’s Ramblings will be on Sunday!

Easter Sunday – for me started with a sunrise service held at Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum. A wonderful service and message, and a beautiful sunrise. I did reflect on the fact that I seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time at the place, what with visits, history seeking, races, and now an Easter Service.

Normally we think of the Womb as life’s beginning. But on Easter Sunday listening to scripture where women arrived at Jesus’ Tomb when asked why they were there – the ‘Tomb’ had become the beginning of life. I was at the right place after all.

Coffee – Now, coffee at the ready, I’ll be quick since Jason will be over shortly. We’re picking up some stuff and since I have my senior GPS, I’ve been invited along:

I got myself a seniors’ GPS. Not only does it tell me how to get to my
destination, it tells me why I wanted to
go there in the first place.

Amish help – it was a headline written by a Natalie Sandoval which grabbed my attention: Amish Easily Do What Federal Government Wouldn’t Do For Months.

The article starts playing on the old ‘how many’ joke with the lines:

“How many federal employees does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Zero. They’ll just wait for the Amish I know to do it for them.”

I seems that for the past 6-months about 2,000 Amish folk from Pennsylvania have, quietly, been rebuilding the town of Chimney Rock, NC, following devastation by Hurricane Helene. These are Amish from the Great Needs Trust. Six months straight ….. rebuilding the town’s homes, businesses, and bridges.

I understand that many other groups have also been involved, from Florida to my state of Ohio, but was unaware of the work this Amish community was performing.

To me this is what America is all about, the roll up your sleeves, pitch in, and get it done attitude. This day and age, all too often, it’s much whine, wail, and gripe.

Actually, if recollection is correct the ‘can do’ attitude dates back big time to the great earthquake of April 18, 1906 in San Francisco which killed 3,000 people and devastated the city. By the time trains with Federal help had been assembled and rumbled into town, rebuilding was already well underway.

What Happens When – you wake up at 1:45 in the morning. No, not a ‘privy’ call, but because moving blue and red lights are playing on the ceiling.

I have no idea how long that had been going on, all I know is that both Marcia and I got up to grab a front and center seat in the sunroom. The corner of ‘Chaos and Mayhem’ was living up to its well-deserved reputation.

Across the street were police, fire, and a smaller well-lit unmarked vehicle with two inspector types. In the mix there sat an OK looking sedan with four open doors as well as open trunk and hood. Many flashlights were playing all over the thing and through bushes and neighboring houses. All of this ‘dance’ was performed in total silence.

Approaching 2:30 a flat-bed tow truck joined the party and began to load the car-of-interest. Ten minutes later all that remained was a newly created parking spot. Marcia and I returned to bed and settled in for a more peaceful rest. And so, it goes here in the corner of …………

Senior Shopping – has become easier and easier. For the past year Marcia has performed the ‘chore’ of grocery shopping online. In part because of her difficulty getting about and in part because she really doesn’t trust me. A lack of trust due to my love for impulse buying and love for exploring what I call; “the exotic”.

This week I watched as she deftly clicked on the site’s presentation of the common stuff she orders. Clicked on coupons she wanted to use. And easily searched out new or different products. Twenty minutes at most and she had the order completed. A bit of a reflection on the best time for Kroger to deliver (she settled for 9:00 – 10:00 am yesterday) and yesterday at exactly 9:01 the truck rolled up (I checked).

Were Marcia to gain access to the ‘winged’ sandals worn by the Roman god Mars, I don’t believe she’d return to the actual chore of cart pushing.

Without Comment – Just a simple chart for you to reflect on. It’s the change in Carbon Emissions (for those who find that study important) by time and by country/region. It’s interesting and worth more than a quick glance.

Now best get ready for Jason to pop on over. Last evening we all gathered at the nearby neighborhood favorite, Gordo’s pub-&-grill for dinner with Jason – who had a birthday mid-week. It was a bit of a mix since Tevita was in Philadelphia for work and Vili was on Andros Island in the Bahamas with his 8th grade class. Nevertheless, we feasted. As you can readily see, it’s the kind of feast which should not be held any more than once a month.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Which of these jobs have NOT disappeared (as a teenager I actually worked as a ‘pinsetter’)

1) “Leech Collector ”
2) “Gandy Dancer”
3) “Phrenologists”
4) “Linotype operator”
5) “ice cutter”
6) “pinsetter”
7) “Lamplighter”
8) “Lector”
9) “Soda Jerk”

“Ubuntu”

Happy Saturday. Yesterday I attended the FIFA Club World Cup ‘25 volunteer training session. What quickly came obvious among the group was the African term ubuntu which is from a mix of African languages. In English it is best explained thusly; ubuntu encompasses a broad definition with the thought of ‘what I do to myself that is good/welcoming/enthusiastic/or with integrity will consequently be equally embraced by the whole community’.

Coffee – but first, since it is morning, a meme which in these parts stays just a meme since I am not surrounded by morning persons, i.e. Marcia (except this morning – she was up at 6):

Easter weekend – Praying the Steps in Mt. Adams at Holy Cross Immaculata Church is a Good Friday tradition going back over 150 years. For Catholics it’s saying the Rosary on each of the 94 steps. No one is turned away and the local Bishop Joseph R. Binzer began blessing the steps at 1-minute after midnight on Good Friday, by day’s end 8 to 10 thousand faithful will have completed the ritual.

My plan is to head out and participate in a nearby outdoor Easter service (although doing the ‘steps’ is still a bucket list item). Happy Easter everyone. Having said that do keep the Christian’s being slaughtered in the Congo in your prayers.

RFK Jr. – last week’s Ramblings had me post several statistical charts dealing with the inordinate increase in Autism, obesity, and diabetes – all being highlighted by Kennedy. This week I read how Kennedy has established new rules on food additives:

Kennedy stated that he’s — “given food company executives two years to remove Red 40 and other artificial dyes from their products.”

The CEO of Pepsi, which owns Doritos, said … “The consumers like them to be very red, and we have not yet found a vegetable dye that we can match, but we’re going to do it.”

Change is in the wind!

“I don’t want a pickle
I just wanna ride on my morotcycle” (Motorcycle Song, Arlo Guthrie)

Last weekend — I was on the Matt’s 5K Pursuit and passing me on the course was cadre of Sherriff patrol on big rumbling Harley’s. On the trail, either I could have been ‘smushed’ or maybe done the reverse. That’s when Arlo’s old Motorcycle Pickle Song came to mind, especially the following bit (see, the mind does wanders during these events).

The song desscribes how Arlo doing 150 mph on a cliff road flew off that cliff. Knowing he wouldn’t survive he eased back on his bike, got his pen, and wrote the song. Since the song survived it’s only logical that Arlo did too. He magically landed on the top of a police car and it died.

You just have to love the brilliance of Arlo!

What me Worry? – It made me wonder just how many of the thousands of people enjoying The Masters golf tournament in Augusta claim to be deeply concerned about this decade’s bugaboo, Climate Change?

The reason it crossed my mind began when I saw just how many private jets landed at Augusta’s little airport – 2100 throughout the event. The attached flight detail is from last Sunday when 229 private jets left the area – homeward bound. Luckily, this also means that once back home these seriously important people can again get back on track expounding serious concern reflecting on how best to ask the rest of us to be seriously concerned on Climate Change.

‘Fave’ Hammond – I’ve always loved the sounds of those little Hammond organs. Get me some old timey Gospel music, add a Hammond, let me shut my eyes and I’m in heaven as long as that instrument plays.

Years ago, when the Reds (then the ‘Redlegs’) were still playing at the old Crosley Field there was a guy by the name of Ronnie Dale (1931-2017). He started playing an hour before gametime. Then at the end of the 2nd, 4th, 5th inning, the 7th inning stretch, and finally, for 15 minutes after the game.

The Reds would hit a home run and Dales’ Hammond would come to life. He’d play stuff we’d sneer at these days, “The Hokie Pokie”, “Happy Days are Here Again”, or stuff such as “On Top of ‘ol Smokey”.

It certainly was a calmer time, wasn’t it?

FIFA at TQL – Yesterday I spent 3-hours at Xavier University doing FIFA Club World Cup ’25 volunteer training. Mid-June until mid-July, 63 games in 11 cities scattered about the country requires 9,000 volunteers (I was 1 of 99 attending our session). Volunteers are needed for 18 different functions at each event.

What had me do a doubletake was the age percentage numbers for each group:
Age 18-30 (44%)
Age 31-50 (41%)
Age 51-70 (14%)
Age 70+ (1%)
Care to venture a guess the grouping I am stuck in?

Enjoy The Hawkin Singers as we get ready for Easter morning!

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Which two of these named people held the first Patents for the automobile windshield wiper

        1)     “Mary Anderson ”      
        2)     “Edsel Ford”
        3)     “Carl Oscar Hedstrom”
       4)     “John Oishei”
       5)     “Ignaz Schustala”
       6)     “John Jepson”
       7)     “Clayton Leach”

“Planning a Pursuit”

Happy Saturday. Now that the waters have started to recede – and are doing so requiring no cleanup in our condo – yeeha! Having said that, I’m not gloating since for those affected, cleaning up basements and first floors filled by quickly drying sticky River mud it’s an awful job.

People that live in the flood-plain areas are a special breed. Almost all, to a person, they are totally aware that every decade or so they’re in for a horrible mess and cleanup. Yet, they love the views and thereby accept those infrequent disruptions. Bottom line: they wouldn’t trade their lifestyle.

After the wild market this week, let me post a line I picked up: “Economists were created to make weather forecasters look good.”

Coffee – Wouldn’t it be nice were I not to natter on and on about my morning affair with coffee? I’ve listened, and so instead, allow a few minutes for a co-production of the Erasmus Huis in Jakarta and the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam to properly recite a bit of the “story of Coffee”:

Quote – Today’s quote is from the library of the delightful and political satirist, P.J. O’Rourke  (1947-2022). I decided to quote O’Rourke to acknowledge last weekend’s visit to Miami University in Oxford (O’Rourke’s alma mater) and my study this week on what the whole Robert Kennedy Jr.’s MAHA movement is all about. Here are O’Rourke’s sage words:

“If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free”

Pan Rocks ’25 – Ever spent some time attending an event and wondered just how it happened that you got so lucky? Well. Last Sunday well over a thousand of us just got that feeling. As we worked our way to our seats it was a ‘sea’ of steel drums.

Additionally, the very large drum kit placed in the center was specifically set up to replicate the drums played by Rush drummer Neil Peart (1947-2020) – after all, the evening celebrated the music of the band Rush. As if that weren’t enough, add a couple of bass guitars, an old ‘60s vintage Moog synthesizer, and at one point introduce the Miami University Men’s Glee club – about 100 strong (jumping about as if they were in a Mosh Pit).

The sound explosion was AMAZING!!

For family members click on the link below to head for Adrianne’s video taken from the opposite side of the stage, from her vantage point she captured a closeup of Vaioleti and you see Vai play her double Alto pans. Click HERE

MAHA – Here in the ‘Nati we’re lucky to have a non-profit group called Empower U. Empower U is a free University with the bi-line of: Educate – Enjoy – Engage. This week I sat in on a presentation by Dr. Jay Rissover. Rissover, recently retired after practicing internal medicine for 36 years, has taught post-graduate medicine at a local hospital system, and is an activist.

He presented to us some of the history of our current Secretary of HHS, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. Also doing a bit of a deep dive into some of RFK’s more controversial comments and positions. It was fascinating!

Should any of you also be interested the whole talk and Power Point can be viewed on Rumble (click here on Rumble to be linked directly). Scan past the short, 10-min, presentation shown first.

Here are a couple of sets of numbers which either correlate or juxtapose by happenstance. We don’t know, but that is exactly why we should look deeper – this is what RFK’s MAHA movement is about.

Slide on the left (click to enlarge) are the stats of reported cases of Autism over the years. Then click on the slide on the right to see the stats for Recommended Childhood Vaccinations over a similar timeline.

On the left I’ve placed the dates/numbers/percentages for Childhood Obesity and on the right Childhood Diabetes. Should these numbers correlate (and they seem to) then these numbers are beyond shocking.

Below is an easy to grasp JPEG detailing what RFKs MAHA principle are:

Matt’s Pursuit – Tomorrow morning I’ll join in on the 20th Anniversary 5K for this event. I love this event for two reasons. It generates funds for the purchase and training of K9 dogs for Police search and rescue (have provided funds for 117 K9 dogs to date). Even more, the whole event is held at Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum. Wonderful scenery, nice and hilly, and with over 44-miles of roadway the 5K route happens to go directly past the grave site of my parents – it’s an opportunity to check if all is ok.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Remember those bell-bottom denim dungarees worn by U.S. Navy sailors like forever? Why did that style of trousers get started?

1) “as a patriotic mascot which appeared on boxes of Cracker Jack ”
2) “washing the decks of the bell-bottom pants rolled up quicker”
3) “maybe an 1813 Navy file about the arrival of Commodore Stephen Decatur”
4) “we really don’t know”
5) “ designed after popular 19th-century English sea shanty”
6) “designed in 1901 as an alternative to heavier wool pants”
7) “potential use as a life preserver”

“A wet March plus Two”

Happy Saturday. And it rained for 40 days. No not really, and no, I am not into ship building yet. But we’ve had a bunch of weather (roof of our condo building damaged) and it’ll continue through Sunday. Currently, depending where exactly you measure, the river is between 8 and 10 feet above flood stage, and 3” more rain expected in under 24 hours – water won’t start to drop till next weekend.

In these parts they’ve closed the gates on the flood walls. The venue where we saw Willie Nelson last year would have been cancelled today since it’s now under water. Where it’s much more of an issue is immediately to our south in Kentucky with all the hollers and creeks.

Coffee update – Then, our dependable Mr. Coffee machine died. It died mid percolate cycle – and didn’t bother to alert us. In the morning it looked like it was ready and waiting when I noticed that the hot plate was really hot and when I added water the first cupful instantly spit out steam. All this with none of the normal lights lit. I could NOT turn it off other than by a plug/unplug scheme.

Hence, let me introduce our newest family member, Mr. Cuisinart the coffee maker. This one with more modes than I think we’ll ever use. So far so good.

Call me crazy – but during my school years, literature and history I always found enjoyable. This week it appears we successfully slid through April Fools Day. So how did these two, history & literature, meet up?

There is thought it harks back to one, Geoffrey Chaucer, who in the 1390s wrote The Canterbury Tales. Question, is there any kid who has not struggled with this wonderful poetic? Either case, this from “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale,” where a rooster tricked by a fox says: “Syn March bigan, thirty dates and two.”

Do the math, March has 31-days, so ‘March-with-30-plus-two-days’ becomes April 1st. Was this the genesis of all the foolishness?

An Anniversary – Decades ago it was one of my kids who got me interested in a singing duo: Over-The-Rhine (named after a, then, nasty part of the ‘Nati where they holed up on the cheap). As an aside, today in the Over-The-Rhine area with its myriads of Restaurants, Pubs, and Boutiques you can find condos clearing the $1-million mark.

Anyway, I finally heard a CD and fell in love with the group. Later there was a fund raiser to preserve the Norwood’s old St. Elizabeth church to which I went. It was Karin (Karin Bergquist) who with husband Linford (Linford Detweiler) quickly made up the band: Over-The-Rhine. Those few hours were time with talk, music and lunch. Meeting up with Karin over Pizza solidified my appreciation for the duo.

At one point I took Marcia to Wilmington where, at a restored old Opera House, we saw them at a concert. And so, it goes.

This week it was a “my how time flies” moment when the group’s newsletter informed me it was the 20th anniversary of the release of their album “Drunkard’s Prayer” (recorded entirely in the living room of their then in nearby Norwood home to mark them stepping through a rough spot in their marriage). This album is part of my ‘all-time-favorites’ lineup. I hope Marcia won’t mind if the music heard on Clinton Springs this weekend carries the sounds from that album – at least that is the prayer hope.

Should I? – should I restate the fun years and long affair with my little French Deux Chevaux (2CV)? Maybe you know this iconic car better by its long line of deprecating and dismissive nicknames: Umbrella on Wheels, Tin Can on Wheels, Le Canard, Leelijke Eend (ugly duck), Dolly, or Tin Snail.

No matter what you call it, these are amazing cars. Early on in their production they won one ‘First’ after another. Mechanically, likewise there were many a first: all disc brake, independent suspension, and for simplicity both cylinders fire simultaneously, to name just a few. And these little marvels worked, boy, did these cars perform.

Then recently I came across the best 2CV tale I’d heard about. In 1993, Émile Leray, a French mechanic, driving through the Western Sahara Desert ran into a major problem. It appears he crashed his Citroën 2CV into a rock and became stranded. Nothing nearby and remember this was 1993, so NO mobile or signal of any kind. The guy had two choices, find a solution (the best) or wait to die.

Apparently, he had both extreme heat and only a mere 10 liters of water. Thus time itself was an issue.

His solution, tear the trusty 2CV apart and try and use workable parts to build a motorcycle – totally unthinkable, but possibly possible.

So, in the middle of the desert heat and minimal tools he did the impossible, in 12 days. He tore the frame apart and modified it. Removed the engine and got it mounted. Made the transmission workable in his ‘motorcycle’ frame.

He got the improvised rig i.e. ’motorcycle’ started and managed to drive it a number of miles to where he was eventually rescued.

Émile Leray proved that with determination, a trusty 2CV (and some serious mechanical skills), a little Deux Chevaux can defeat even the Saharan Desert.

RUSH – I am talking about the band from mostly the 1970s (formed 1968) which created a sound that blended much of what we then heard. Personally, what makes it somewhat interesting is the fact that RUSH as a band originated in Willowdale (Toronto), Ontario Canada the same area I spent my high school years.

So today, actually this evening, I’ll be making the 50-minute drive to Oxford, Ohio and Miami University. Not to hear RUSH, but to hear the sounds of RUSH performed on steel drums!

Here’s the scoop. Granddaughter Vaioleti and her school’s Steel Drum band, along with like bands from 6 other high schools will be performing.

Should be so cool! Just to stay current for any younger readers the 70’s term ‘cool’ is now, and here take your pick; “awesome”, “rad”, “chill”, or “hip”.

Life is AMAZING!

Dirk

BONUS POINTS:

Who declined his Nobel Prize in literature?

1) “Ernest Hemmingway”
2) “Jean-Paule Satre”
3) “Mercy Otis Warren”
4) “Robert Caro”
5) “(Irish Friar) Edward Hicks”