Getting Older

Well, I have passed another milestone.  

I arrived at age 75 the other day.  Achieved didn't seem to be the right word, since achievement is commonly defined as "a goal being reached by effort, skill or courage."  In my case, I kind of snuck-up on it, by merely surviving.  

I did not plan to live this long.  Life expectancy for my cohort --males born in 1942 -- was age 68.  My dad died at age 64, and none of his three brothers lived past age 65.  So I went through middle-age believing that Noonan men could count themselves lucky to enjoy a year or two of retirement.

That's why I took early retirement (ie started collecting Social Security) at age 62.

But here is the thing about life expectancy: From birth, the actuaries have to factor-in the average rate of demise for those who will succumb to accidents, war, disaster, infectious disease and other threats to life.  Assuming you don't wrap the family car around  a tree on prom night or drown in the lake, there is a raft of fatal diseases that strike during young adulthood and middle age years.  But if you survive until age 65, there is a new calculation. Suddenly, you get a reprieve of another 18 years.  Now, the new life expectancy age for my cohort is 83.

Eighty-three seems old to me.   My new goal is trying to achieve that age.  This time, it will be a deliberate objective; I will not sneak-up on it, I will arrive on a band wagon drawn by a team of six Clydesdale.   Well, you get the idea -- I will apply effort, skill and courage to get there.

I think it will take a lot of effort to stay upright, to keep moving and be as flexible as possible.  Gravity is an enemy of age, it keeps trying to pull us down.  I plan to reduce my body mass significantly to lessen gravity's effects on knees and joints.  

It will take skill as well; the brain wants to shrink, to erase memories, to shut down -- just when we need it the most.  We can't let that happen.  We must encourage our own curiosity, caring,  and social interaction just when it is easier to sit in front of the TV like zombies watching  Jeopardy, The Kardashians or NCIS.    We need to keep reading, doing crosswords, challenging mental acuity by debating those who disagree with us.  

It will take courage -  I like the definition: "Strength in the face of pain or grief."   We need to keep a perspective on ourselves and the world, recognize those emotional triggers and fears which are the meat of media "news".  We need to stay positive,  and to stay funny.  A sense of humor is indispensable.   

Frankly, I have given-up on questions like "Why are we here?"  "Is there an afterlife?"  I  can accept that my life may have no more meaning than a crow's. 
Just the same, both the crow and I want to stay alive as long as possible.

No More Trolling

Sometimes I get tired of trolling my friend George's blog.  You should click that link if you haven't heard enough about how Barack Obama personally ruined the country.  

I know what you are thinking:  I'm too lazy to write in my own blog.  OK, maybe a little.  I admit that it is a lot easier to troll someone else's cockeyed view of things than to come up with readable factual statements about the state of affairs.  Besides that, I am frankly too cynical to believe that anyone in public office is looking out for the citizens.

Besides no more that two or three people are likely to read this blog, so why bother to write and edit a piece that no one reads?

  Or if they do click on it they just scan for tidbits so they can write snarky comments.

One of my more progressive friends recently asked "How you can stay  friends with someone who thinks Trump is (despite acknowledged flaws) is the right man to Commander in Chief?"

  I answer, isn't that what friends are for? Standing by someone, even when you think they are wrong?

Our values are not so different

We agree that America is great, especially if you were born lucky: good looking, smart parents, etc.
We agree that people ought to work for a living.
We are wary of our fellow men many of whom are selfish, dishonest and ignorant.
We are kind to animals and respectful of our elders (of which there are fewer every year)
We don't cheat, steal or take advantage of our fellow citizens.
We distrust any advertisement that has fine print or and asterisk after the word free.
We are suspicious of strangers.  We tend to like individuals, but not mobs.

I could go on for hundreds more points of agreement, but you get the idea.  My point is that political disagreements are really temporal, emotional, and, in most cases, theoretical.  Why these differences of opinion have become so divisive is a mystery to me. 

Most people I know on both ends of the spectrum have a lot in common: they are not going to have an abortion, they do not walk around with loaded semi-automatic weapons and large capacity ammunition clips.  They don't burn flags in protest.  People should use toilets that are appropriate to their plumbing.   They think that immigrants should come here legally and pay taxes.  They think vicious criminals should be punished commensurate to the crimes they commit.   

So, why are we so polarized on these issues, when it is clear that neither political party really cares about the citizenry, but is only incented by the donations of lobbyists and rich partisans?

Who is Looking Out For US?

Yesterday,  President Trump announced his plan to reverse the recent thawing of US relations with Cuba that began under the Obama administration. And that strategy seemed to be working for both sides.    

Trump justifies his new sanctions as being in the interests of Cuban citizens who are still oppressed by the Castro regime.   It's nice to know that our dear leader is looking out for the interests of the oppressed Cubans.  But, reversing the relaxed access and trade that has been benefiting small businessmen in both Cuba and US does not seem be a promising strategy.  Let's remember, sanctions didn't accomplish anything during the past 50 years.  The Castros are perfectly willing to stonewall these sanctions to maintain dictatorial control.

Most Americans now believe that improved access to Cuba is in the interests of both country's citizens, helping the economy of both trading partners.    

My wife opined that Trump is a "Manchurian Candidate."   He is taking steps to stifle any investigation of Russian influence while at the same time applying policies that will create a vacuum in Cuba that will be readily occupied by the Russians.  90 Miles form Florida.

Scary thought.  Now with Bill Riley gone, who is looking out for us?

Melting

After the gluttonous River Boat vacation in April, and the attendant gain in poundage,  Judy and I decided to sign-up for Weight Watchers.    

So we did that 2 weeks ago.  Since then we have become super-aware of what we are eating (and drinking).  So far, I have dropped about 10 lbs, mainly by adhering to the plan, counting what they call "smartpoints" -- every item of food is assigned a point value based on the combined amount of saturated fat, sugar, protein and calories.  A serving of chicken is 2 points, a beer is 5 points, Gin and diet tonic is 3 points.   A slice of pizza is 8 points. We have given up pizza and fried foods for a while.   

The higher point items are most processed foods, oils, butter, mayonnaise, pastries, deserts, sauces, potato chips, and restaurant foods -- often because of portion size.    I'm allowed 40 points a day and there is a weekly bonus award (about 40 points) for moments that are too good to pass up.  So if I can be physically active (which I have been), reduce portion size, generally follow point guidelines, I can have several beers or cocktails every day and not feel deprived -- and still lose weight.  All vegetables and all fruits are zero points and unlimited quantities are allowed.  So if I am hungry I can always fill-up on salad or eat an apple.

Don't worry, I haven't got religion!  I'll not harangue anyone about dieting, but I just wanted to let you know what is going on, in case you notice some shrinkage and mistake it for AIDS or other wasting disease.   

 

They say any diet works for the first few weeks, mainly because you start to pay attention to what you are eating.  It's already getting a bit exhausting to plan every meal and snack, counting every teaspoon of dressing or other high calorie substance.  

So we'll see how long we last.  It helps that we are both doing it, so we have banned any unhealthy items from the fridge/lardor.  

(Also, Gin and diet tonic ain't so bad with fresh lime.  ) 

 

Disturbing Patterns

Just finished "In The Garden of Beasts" (2011) by Erik Larson.  Historical nonfiction is not my usual reading fare, but Larson's "Dead Wake" was so engrossing that I thought I'd give this one a shot. Larson is a master at writing a story that keeps you turning the page, even though you already know how it ends.

This story is set in 1933 Berlin.  William Dodd has been appointed by President Roosevelt as the US Ambassador to Germany.  He arrives in Berlin with wife and two adult children, completely unprepared for the changes that are already taking place.  Through letters and diaries, we get first hand accounts of the systematic dismantling of a vibrant, civilized society by Hitler and his cohorts.

One of goals of the Third Reich was to control the newspapers. Hitler and his senior staff launched a campaign to discredit and shut down unfavorable news.  Fear was a major weapon in keeping the truth about the human rights abuses (mainly inflicted on Jews and "undesirables") from getting-out to the world.  

Jews were methodically isolated and maligned.  Before 1933, the German intellectual and finance community was dominated by Jews. They were the perfect scapegoat for the economic problems that was afflicting all of Europe.   By the end of 1933,  Jews were forbidden to work for Newspapers, government jobs and most other influential positions in Germany.

By the end of 1934, Hitler was named Fuher.  Things did not get better.

I am not the first or only one to notice what is going on in the USA today.  I hear similar threats and blaming from our president.  The fake news, The media is "the enemy of the people" (a favorite Stalin phrase).

An article in the Ideas section of the 2-19-2017 edition of The Boston Globe (  "Will The Media Be Crushed?" by Martha Bayles) addresses the current sentiment expressed by the Trump administration -- that the media is "dishonest." The irony of the kettle calling the pot black is seemingly lost on many observers on the right.

I think dishonest is the wrong word.  The media is not about facts anymore.  The media is about entertainment. And money.    Journalism is not what it was when I was in college.  We took courses in Investigative Journalism that emphasized the who-what-when-where- and why of the news.  This isn't the case anymore.  The line between "news", "analysis" and "opinion" has become fuzzy.  We were taught to report the facts with objective neutrality.  Value laden terms or opinions were only valid when in quotes, spoken by a source.  You can hardly find a story today that doesn't contain the bias of the author.

Many so-called breaking news stories reveal zero facts.  A breathless reporter stands in front of a building, preferably a burning apartment building.  "Something may (or may not) happened and we are the first to bring it to you live on (or near) the scene !  More details at 11." 

The average American, if he even exists, is skeptical of the news, especially news that forces one to rethink their current beliefs. While we blithely accept the evil that the opponent ideologies wallow in, we are reluctant to accept the notion that our idols may also be flawed.

We must remember that in 1930's Germany, the most educated and successful citizens were not Nazis.  It was the less educated, less hopeful masses who joined the Nazis in blaming others for their misery.  Much like Trump today, who appeals to the least-informed among us. 
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Unintended Consequences: How Xenophobia boosted China's Rocket Program

This content was published on the Public Radio WGBH site. 
( The story was compelling enough to copy. It tells how McCarthy era fear-mongering caused the USA to  deport one of our most valued scientists, who went on to become the father of China's rocket program. )

Fear can lead to dumb decisions. 

And that could be an unintended consequence of US President Donald Trump’s ban on travel and immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries, according to Peter W. Singer of the New America Foundation. 

  
There are legitimate security concerns when it comes to deciding who to allow entry into the US from places like Syria and Iraq. That is why rigorous vetting procedures are already in place for asylum seekers from war-torn countries. 

“It’s a two-year process. It involves all sorts of different things from background checks to fingerprints to iris scans, you name it,” Singer says. 

Singer notes, however, that the framing of Trump’s executive order is about the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — even though the home countries of the 9/11 plotters aren't included in the ban. 

“If this executive order had been put into place back in 2001, it would not have stopped either 9/11 or any single act of terror in the United States that has occurred since,” Singer says. 

Take the case of Qian Xuesen, a Chinese scientist Singer recently wrote about in Popular Science.  

Qian was born in China in 1911 and came to the United States in 1935 to study aeronautical engineering at MIT. He later took a job with the US government and worked on several programs, including ballistic missile technology and the Manhattan Project, the secret atomic bomb program. 

In 1949, Qian was named director of the jet propulsion lab at Cal Tech. Singer says Qian earned a reputation for being an undisputed genius. 

But in that same year, Mao Zedong’s communists took over mainland China. Soon after that came Sen. Joe McCarthy's Red Scare, a witch hunt targeting suspected communist sympathizers in the US. 

Singer says Qian’s attendance at a party held before the war was used to implicate him as a communist sympathizer and a security threat. The FBI apparently believed that the social gathering was organized by communists from Pasadena, California. 

“Solely for the fact that he attends this party, his application for US citizenship is denied. ... [Qian] then loses his security clearance, and then he’s placed under house arrest,” Singer says. 

The Chinese scientist was held in detention for four years, and then deported back to China in 1955. 

The head of the US Navy at the time was quoted as saying that Qian’s deportation was "the stupidest thing this country ever did. He was no more a communist than I was and we forced him to go.” 

Back in China, Qian went on to become a national hero who helped make great strides in China’s nascent nuclear, missile and space programs. 

“Over the next couple of decades, [Qian] becomes known as the ‘father of Chinese rocketry,’” Singer says.

In fact, Qian helped develop the long-range missiles that still target the US today, Singer says, along with the Chinese nuclear program. 

Singer sees Qian’s story as a powerful example of how fear of outsiders in the short term can end up backfiring on your own nation’s security. 

“We lost one of the top scientific minds of the last century that had already contributed greatly to US security and was clearly going to contribute more,” Singer says. 

“Then in turn we helped jump start this vast [Chinese] missile and space complex that’s still a rival to us today.”  

Not every scientist or university student being blocked from entry to the US by Trump’s executive order is going to make the same kind of impact that Qian did, of course. 

“But each and every one of them will be a story of lost opportunity,” Singer says.  

Attribution: https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-02-06/us-trained-scientist-was-deported-then-became-father-chinese-rocketry

Headlines and alternative facts

Random Thoughts

- Trump just signed an order to with hold funding from foreign non-profits that offer abortion counseling.  This is typical of shallow Pro-Life thinking.  If they considered the consequences of their actions they might see that many of the babies that they insist must be born to live a life of poverty and strife will grow into the same adults that they want to throw in jail, keep out of the US, and off the welfare roles.

- It was reported that one of the last (classless) acts of the Obama administration was to authorize $220 Million to the terrorist Palestinian Authority, despite a GOP request to hold back those funds. Trump should claw-back those funds and give a refund to people like me who actually pay taxes.

- There has been a huge flap about how many people attended the Trump inauguration, and the subsequent handling of the "alternative facts" given to the press.  I think the Trump staff is right when they say that the liberal press taunted them with comparisons of the attendances at previous Obama inaugurations.  How could Trump not fire back with exaggerated claims of a million an and a half bodies as far as the eye could see?
   I chalk this up to "irrelevant information" designed by the TV news editors (on both sides) to fill time because they have nothing of substance to talk about.  These days every time I see a news show with more than two guests, I switch to Comedy Channel.  These goat rodeos with panels of 5 or 8 people are unwatchable and bereft of useful information.  Don Lemon is the worst.  He should be fired if for no other reason than being drunk on camera on New Years Eve.

- As he promised, Trump has acted to remove the block that Obama had put on the Keystone XL pipeline.  I think this is a bad idea.  Here are my reasons.

• The pipeline is intended to bring Canadian oil to Texas for export..  
• The shale oil that is being extracted is the least pure oil, accessed by fracking. 
• Fracking uses a lot of fossil fuel to power the extraction engines. Thus it is much less efficient than other *available* sources of oil.  
• Many of the involved private landowners and civil authorities in the path of the pipeline object for various reasons.
• America is already independent of foreign oil.  This oil will be exported at low/crude tax rate to foreign refineries.
• It is a short term jobs creator.  Admittedly, thousands will be employed to create the pipeline, but once finished less than a hundred permanent jobs will be created.  
• Does does not lower fuel prices in the US. May actually result in regional increases. 
• Accidents can and do happen.  This is a project that does not benefit 99.4% of Americans.
• The only real beneficiaries of this project will be the Oil companies and construction companies involved.  
• Check out my facts at:  https://www.nwf.org/pdf/Global-Warming/KXL_Myths_vs_Facts.pdf

      Who you gonna believe? The lying oil companies or the National Wildlife Federation?.

English Majors Need Not Apply?

There was an article in yesterday's Boston Globe  about the plans at  a small NH college (Colby-Sawyer) to discontinue two major concentrations which were once thought to be the cornerstones of a Liberal Arts education:  English and Philosophy.  

I suppose this is a reflection of the relative level of interest in these fields.  The college reports that currently there are only 18 students majoring in English, and no Philosophy majors.  I guess it makes logical sense that parents who are looking at annual tuition costs of $54,000 per academic year, are urging their kids to choose more practical degrees that will translate into career opportunities later on. 

I am disappointed by the general assumption that Liberal Arts degrees are inferior to Science and Technology sheepskins -- largely because of the higher salary levels that engineers enjoy upon graduation.  

On the other hand,  I am pleased to report that there is a sparse but growing body of information that disputes the knee-jerk assumption that STEM graduates will outperform Liberal Arts majors in some critical jobs.  

One CEO admits: "Looking back at the tech teams that I’ve built at my companies, it’s evident that individuals with liberal arts degrees are by far the sharpest, best­-performing software developers and technology leaders. Often these modern techies have degrees in philosophy, history, and music – even political science..."

In another Wall Street Journal piece entitled: "Good News Liberal Arts Majors, Your Peers Probably Won't Outearn You Forever" 
Points to numerous examples of Liberal Arts majors whose salaries tend to close the gap and their careers mature.   Click on the article and take a look at the lifetime earning chart.  You might be surprised.

I should admit here that I graduated Northeastern University as an English Major.  Despite my inability to spell or punctuate correctly, I managed to come away from NU with one great asset - my wife of 49 years.  We met in Creative Writing class.  

Even in 1968, (unless you could write like Papa Hemingway)  there were few career paths for graduating English Majors.  You could go on for a degree in fine arts (MFA) and go into the publishing industry as an editor or proofreader. Or go to grad school for an MED so you could teach.  Or you could go out into the scary world of commerce as an administrative flunky.

Following a short stint in academic administration for my alma mater, I chose the latter road.  I worked for eight different companies in my career.  When applying for a job I always fibbed a bit on my resume/application.  Instead of English as my major, I would write English-Journalism because I thought it would make me seem more practical.  After all, I had taken a course in Investigative Reporting.   I guess it worked, because most of my working life I've been a Systems Analyst, Project Manager, Managed a Product Admin group, and was a even Program Manager for New Products Manufacturing, for goodness sake!  

You may ask how my degree in Liberal Arts/English prepared me for a career in High Tech companies.  Beats me!   I like to think that my Liberal Arts courses helped me to hone my analytical skills and communications abilities.  Luck plays a huge role in anyone's life.   (As a side note, I wish more people who present themselves as journalists on TV and in print could take a few courses in investigative journalism.  I often find myself reading a so-called News item and thinking "This sounds like an editorial."  But I digress.)    My wife also found gainful employment in Sales (Mfg Rep, Payroll Software, Insurance) and retired as Training Manager at a Bank.  Not bad for a couple of English Majors with BA's.

So I am one who still believes in a Liberal Arts education, as a foundation for developing critical thinking skills and understanding the cultural richness of our civilization.  

The Job is only one facet of life, after all.  Most of the joys in life are experienced in leisure time.   Far and away the most important characteristic of successful people is the ability to relate to others. Science and Math do not teach you that.


  
   

Breaking News

"Breaking News"  The other day CNN breathlessly announced that they had exclusive leaked information about a security briefing where it was revealed that intelligence sources had unverified accusations about Donald Trump.  Unverified salacious accusations.  Black mail worthy videos that the Russians had in their possession.  CNN announcers were careful to stipulate that these murky allegations were unverified, but the tone and urgency of the announcement was the same as if reporting a plane crash.
  Soon, other news stations were picking-up this story.  Before you could say "WTF?" speculation on the likelihood of Trump's carnal misdeeds while in Moscow being caught on camera were the fodder for talk shows and pundit programs.  In a press conference this week, Trump denied everything, of course.  He also refused to take any questions from the CNN reporter because he "worked for a fake news organization."

On this issue, I agree with The President-elect.  Unverified allegations are not "Breaking News." They are not "News" at all.  CNN editors, Wolf Blitzer and the other talking heads who promulgated this story should be fired.

This raises another raft of annoyances about the so-called News industry.

Weather fatigue.  Why is ordinary winter weather covered as News?  I can understand why local stations might want to cover weather-related human interest stories,(bloody crashes, families burned-out of their homes in icy weather with firemen frozen to their hoses, etc.)   and local storm warnings can be useful to viewers especially fishermen and people looking for information about school closings.  But if you watch TV news on an ordinary winter day, at least a third of the time is spent watching a weatherperson standing in front of a map, yakking about isobars and windchills. Sorry, but seasonal weather is not news and it is certainly not entertaining.  Most annoying are the clever interactions of the news readers and the weather person as they try to fill time.    Worse, on the evening news programs we are forced to waste time watching footage weather related highway accidents in South Dakota. Yup, roads get slippery in winter.

What happened to the Weather Channel, where you could go and check to see if your upcoming trip or event would be affected by the weather?

The Crawl.  Another annoying feature of cable news is that stupid linear crawl of information that runs at the bottom of the screen while you are listening to other Breaking News, trying to read the captions and also seeing loops of  old file footage  of Osam Bin Laden brandishing an Uzi because they have no relevant new video.

"A story you heard first on our station."  For some reason, news editors think that we care who broke the story.  99% of the time, the exclusive story could easily be covered by this script: "We are first on the scene here in ______ where police are investigating something.  We don't know what happened and  in fact cannot answer any of the who what when where questions of traditional journalism.  But we wanted to show you some video of us standing in front of a building.  Complete story at nine when everyone will be reporting the same story.."