8/14/2010

PLANS FOR WHEN THE EARTH DIES?

The other day I was watching a television program which described how scientists think the earth was originally formed. It also explained how our planet has a limited life span and eventually will end up being unable to support any life forms much like Mars is said to be today. Before anyone panics, some say this is supposed to happen about 2.3 billion years from now. It is assumed that by then technology will have developed enough so that somehow we will all be able to move to a different planet before “Last Call” and the lights go out forever.

That may work out for most people but I am very certain I won’t be one of the ones moving. First, it will be a very, very long trip inasmuch as our nearest planet is Venus and distance between Earth and Venus varies but the minimum is about 25.5 million miles. That’s much more than any Frequent Flyer Miles plan would cover and, in addition, it would take a very long time and I would rather stay right here and perish with our planet than spend that amount of time with that kid kicking the back of my seat.

The Old Professor
Carmel, CA
August 14, 2010

8/09/2010

TIGER WOODS AND ME

Even if you know nothing about golf you probably have heard of Tiger Woods. Up until recently he was generally conceded to be the best golfer in the world. But then he ran into some problems. It became public knowledge that he had been involved with several rather sordid sexual adventures outside of his marriage. Eventually this led to a divorce and Tiger Woods went into a clinic for the treatment of Sexual Addiction.

After several weeks he returned to the professional golf tour and has been anything but successful. Last week he was in a tournament and finished next to last place.
He placed 79th in a field of 80 players. He played in the much same manner that I used to play when I played golf. He couldn't seem to hit the ball straight. If there was some kind of trouble he seemed to find it and when he finally did get the ball on the green he had trouble making it go in the hole.

That's exactly the way I used to play golf before I finally gave up and conceded it just wasn't my game. Any alternative reason for my poor performance never occurred to me. Now I'm beginning to wonder if it wasn't somehow related to the fact that I never was a “sexual addict” though that might have been fun.

It's possible.

The Old Professor
Carmel,CA
August 9, 2010

8/05/2010

TOO MUCH SPARE TIME?

Each morning I read our local newspaper. I find it very interesting to read the Letters to the Editor. I also enjoy, though that may not be the right word, reading the Obituaries or Death Notices. I suppose the reason I check these every morning is that I am pleased when I find my name not there.

Lately an interesting discussion has been raging in the Letters to the Editor section. One man started by strenuously objecting to the obituaries describing a person as having “passed away.” His contention was that people die and they are, therefore, "dead." As he says, “They haven't “passed away” or “gone to their maker” or any other way of describing it. He stresses they are dead and that's all, period.

In spite of the fact that this seems a rather innocuous subject, the debate has raged on for several days. Personally, I see this as an activity for people who have too much time on their hands.

But, in all honesty, I suppose that's what I'm doing right now.

The Old Professor
Carmel. CA
August 8, 2010