All posts by David Todd

Bible study, home improvements, Writing

Closer To Normal

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Dateline: Sunday, 2 March 2025

This may not be a terribly long post—we’ll see how it goes.

Over the last couple of days, I’ve felt a little more like my normal self, settling into my normal routines, getting normal things done. When I wrote on Friday, I felt overwhelmed by the things I had to do. But by the time Saturday wound down, and I looked back on the day (and on Friday), I realized I had accomplished things close to normal, as well as having completed a couple of special projects that would allow for doing normal things. Here’s what I got done,

  • Worked 15 minutes out in the yard. That may not sound like much, but that’s the first outdoor work I’ve one since Thanksgiving.
  • Did the final edits on A Walk Through Holy Week, Vo. 2.  I did that over Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Since I’ve done writing only one day since before Christmas, I can’t tell you how good this felt. I figured, If I can’t wrap my mind around writing, I have much editing to do. Perhaps that will be a stimulant toward writing.
  • Finished transcribing some journal sheets from 2014-15 that I found in an old file cabinet. This took a lot of effort. But getting it done was a huge relief. I have a couple of small journal books still to transcribe, but somehow these don’t seem as daunting.
  • Got a smallish batch of family photos (21, I think) sorted, saved electronically, and agreement reached on how to dispose of them.
  • Completed some major reorganization of the storeroom. We have sold off enough things that we have a little extra shelf space available. This allowed me to fairly easy to move things around, getting like things together, exposing some things I hadn’t seemed for years. We still have a long way to go at decumulation, But it’s looking a fair amount better.

Despite doing all this, and working my hardest at a cardio rehab session on Friday, I felt good. My energy level remained good. I took sitting breaks when I needed to, as well as a reading break at midday.

This week I plan on getting AWTHW-V2 ready for publication and actually publish it, maybe by Wednesday. After that, I hope to get a start on the last week of writing to go on the next volume followed by editing and publishing tasks.

And tomorrow morning a woman is coming by to pick up some surplus office supplies for her non-profit. It will be nice to have some surplus materials gone and space recovered.

Well, it’s one to finishing a good Lord’s Day with reading. Nothing better.

 

goals, home improvements, miscellaneous

So Busy, So Tired

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Tonight is the alignment/parade of the planets. Just after sunset, we are supposed to be able to see seven planets, a highly unusual event. Except, if you read the fine print, Saturn will be so close to the setting sun you really won’t be able to see it. The one further out from Saturn (Neptune or Uranus, I forget which), will only be visible by telescope. You need to have a cloudless sky to see it, and a rural area not beset by light pollution will help quite a bit.

I don’t know what our cloud cover will be tonight, but all the other conditions are right for viewing in my area. The light pollution is to the east of us, and the viewing will be in the western sky. But we have one pesky problem: trees. We live in a forest. Mercury and Saturn will likely be below the tree line. I’m not sure about Venus, Mercury, and Saturn.  So for us to see the planetary parade, we need to go somewhere that gives us a vista to see the four, or maybe five, planets.

But the bigger problem for me is the busyness and tiredness of the last few day, which will continue today. By the time sunset arrives, I will certainly be too tired to drive the three miles to the best venue close to me.

What’s making me so busy. In a word, decumulation. In another word, decluttering. In a third word, cleaning and organization. The last three days I’ve been working hot and heavy at these three thing, and will continue today. I’ve been purging business records, and stacking the paper for shredding. Other papers go straight into the recycling pile. I’ve also been transcribing old handwritten journal sheets into my electronic journal, and checking the odd genealogy paper against my electronic files.

I could write pages and pages about this, but I need to get to decumulation and decluttering work. I’ll let these few words speak for themselves.

Oh, by the way, yesterday I got back to writing. Editing old stuff instead of writing new stuff, but it’s part of the writing process—the first I’ve done in over a month.

Health, travel

Waiting on Normal to Return

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Hi folks. The last two week my wife and I were in Massachusetts (Worcester and Boston) for our son’s surgery. I only planned for a week, but the surgery was delayed, then a snowstorm at our home airport delayed us further. Thus, I didn’t plan ahead for blog posts for that long of a trip.

I’m also having difficulty getting back to normal. Hopefully, by Friday I’ll be back with a meaningful post.

America, Politics

End Birthright Citizenship

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For a long time I’ve been an opponent of birthright citizenship. In most countries of the world, a newborn’s citizenship is based on that of the child’s parents, not where they happen to be living when they are born. In the entire world, only about 33 countries have birthright citizenship. Some have it conditionally, but most of the world’s almost 200 countries don’t have it at all.

So why does the USA have it? Because of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. This was the amendment the made it clear that freed slaves were citizens. But the wording applies to anyone born within our borders. Is that what we meant to do, or is it the result of a poorly worded amendment? I don’t know.

But this can only be changed by a Constitutional amendment that supersedes any other related provisions of the Constitution, as previously amended, the establishes:

Citizenship of anyone born in the USA is based on the citizenship of the child’s parents.

It wouldn’t be quite that simple, but that’s the basis of the amendment. I believe President Trump is wrong to think this can be done by an executive order. Even an act of Congress would not be enough.

Could such an amendment pass and become part of the constitution? Maybe. I’m not as sure of this one as I am about the last one I posted on.

America, Politics

Re-Configure the Supreme Court

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When the Constitution was written, the framers wanted a way to distribute power away from any one person or group, and to have a means of checks and balances so that no part of the government could become a bludgeon someone would wield.  So one thing they wanted to do was make the courts as independent of the Executive and Legislative branch as possible.

Hence, the Constitution provides that judges are nominated by the president (executive branch), approved by Congress (legislative branch), and serve for life (or, as the Constitution says, under good behavior). Removal of a judge could be only by impeachment by Congress for violation of the Constitution. The thought was that so long as judges didn’t have to worry about fixed terms and being subject to reappointment, they would be independent of both the executive and legislative branches. One other thought that went into that was that once a judge retired, rather than serve into their dotage, they would have no means of support, what with pensions being unknown.

But times have changed. The lifespan of judicial nominees is much longer than it was in 1787. Rather than the likelihood of serving ten or a dozen years, the norm is now 20 or 30. Judged now get good pensions, so if they decide to retire, their support is firm and generous. And Supreme Court justices are in great demand as speakers and command hefty speaker fees. So at least two of the thoughts about what would make judges independent have disappeared. Maybe it’s time to remake the court.

The financial need for lifetime appointments has disappeared. Now, the only reason for lifetime appointments is keeping S.C. justices independent is to not subject them to limited terms and reappointment. My thoughts are: change lifetime appointments to fixed terms, and do not allow for reappointment. That keeps them independent, and the lack of support being a reason for lifetime appointments is gone. So appoint justices for fixed terms, require them to retire, and keep the court rotating.

How would this work? Change the Constitution to fix the number of associate justices at eight (thus getting rid of the idea of court packing that rears up every decade or so). Have the justices serve for sixteen years, then retire. The rotation should occur in odd numbered years, so that the selection process doesn’t happen in an election year. Make the chief justice still a lifetime appointment.

Thus, in each presidential term, two justices would be appointed. The entire supreme court, not including the chief justice, would turn over every sixteen years. There would have to be a transition period from lifetime to fixed terms, but this could be done based on longest serving associate justice to newest. The transition would start beginning with the odd numbered year after a ratification of an amendment to make this happen.

What about a vacancy due to a death or early retirement? You either make the new appointee be a justice only until that term is over, or you leave the seat vacant, or perhaps you make the new appointment for the remainder of the term plus 16 years. Each of those keeps the judges independent, as they would not be subject to reappointment.

All of this would have to happen by an amendment to the Constitution. Could such an amendment be passed? I believe it could. Most Americans would welcome a more frequent turnover of justices, independence of justices is preserved, the specter of court packing is forever gone, and you get a balance of appointees among all the presidents.

Any thoughts?

America, book reviews, History, memories

Book Review: The Yellowstone Story

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Volume 1 went from boring to overbearing, but managed to get the story across.

It was probably in 2008, during our last trip to Yellowstone National Park, that I dropped in a bookstore outside the park and bought two books, The Yellowstone Story, Volumes 1 and 2. I read the first chapter of Volume 1 right away, got busy with other things, and set it aside. When we got home I picked it up again, read the next four chapters, and laid it aside, wondering if I’d wasted my money.

You see, the first five chapters were, to the best of my recollection, boring. They were about the years before the creation of the park, and were essentially: This party came to Yellowstone from this direction, saw this and that, and left by that direction. Chapter after chapter. No wonder I put it down.

But several months ago, I was in The Dungeon, looking for things to get rid of, and my eyes landed on a short stack of books that had been damaged by water maybe fifteen years ago. I figured I would read these (if the water hadn’t rendered them unreadable), then sell or donate them. One was The Potter’s Wheel—it was very readable. Another was Christ and the Inheritance of the Saints—it was more badly damaged and deteriorated by age, and unreadable. Two others were the two volumes of The Yellowstone Story.

Volume 1 is lightly damaged, whereas Vol 2 severely damaged. Remembering how boring Vol 1 was at the start, I still decided to read it so that I could discard it. So after finishing What If Jesus Was Serious, I opened Vol 1 to chapter 6, about 1/3 into the 326 page book, and began reading. It was the story of the formation of the park. And the story was quite interesting—for a while.

As the story of the early years of the park unfolded, the book bombards the reader with names of people and places. I found keeping them straight was impossible. Buckskin Jim, Yellowstone John. Bill the Hunter. Whatever they were, they all ran together very quickly.

If you could get through the names, the story was good enough. This was the USA’s first national park, and no one really knew how it should be run. Local folks from nearby Montana and Wyoming began poaching game and stealing timber. The railroads fought over which one could run a spur into the park. Visitors had poor accommodations and brought bad reports home. But somehow, the park survived the encroachments and ineffective leaders.

Volume 1 ended with the ending of civilian leadership, around 1885, thirteen years after the park was formed. Volume 2 must start with the first government leaders. I finished Vol 1 yesterday, but will hold off on Vol 2 (if it is sufficiently readable) a couple of weeks while family things are front and center. Vol 1 was extremely well researched, with numerous endnotes making reference to park records, letters, newspapers, Congressional and Territorial records. I started reading them but quickly gave up as being too time consuming. The book is truly written on a scholarly level. It is far from the typical souvenir book you buy at tourist sites.

So how do I rate this book, will I ever read it again, and what do I do with it? Despite the boredom of the early chapters and name bombardment from cover to cover, I give it 4-stars. I don’t think I will ever read it again, unless I read some in the early chapters to see if my seventeen-year-old judgement is the same. I’ll hang on to it until I get past however much of Vol 2 I can read, then I will dispose of them in whatever way seems best.

Politics, rant

An Ill-Timed Photograph?

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Nazi salutes, or an expression of prayer from across the room?

I’ve not don’t much following of the “Nazi salute” by Elon Musk flap. I’ve seen the photograph, and heard snatches of commentary by talking heads. But I’ve not gone out of my way to learn the whole story.

I assume the photo of the salute was pulled from a video, though possibly it was a still photo. As one who has given a talk or two when photographers were on hand to capture a shot for the newspapers, I’ve watched those photographers wait for the exact moment to get the most embarrassing shot—perhaps when you scratch your nose or ear. Or they wait until you make a gesture and take the photo.

I assume it’s the same way with a video. With modern moving pictures equipment you can, I believe, pull a single frame out and present it like a still photo. So you could go through a whole take of a talk last, I don’t know, ten minutes, and find the single frame with the most embarrassing gesture and present it for the world to see. The only way to know would be to watch the whole video and see what the man was doing at that moment that looks like a Nazi salute. Or look at all the still photos taken that day. Still, the complete video will be better.

I rather doubt that Musk was giving a Nazi salute. More likely he was gesturing as he talked and his arm momentarily was frozen in the positions that mimics the salute. The fact is that numerous photos of people from both the Left and the Right have been presented. People on the Left present the ones of people on the Right and say, “See, see, all those right wingers are a bunch of Nazis!” People on the Right present the ones of people on the Left and say, “No, it’s not a Nazi salute, unless all these Left wingers are doing the same thing. Quit being ridiculous fanatics.”

At church yesterday, we had a specific time of prayer for someone—in this case for a baby being dedicated and her parents. Often our people are invited to come to the altar at front and lay hands on the person. Or, since that would be a crowded space, in this case to stay in their seat and extend an arm toward the person at front as an expression of prayer. People stayed in their seat and extended a hand. If someone who knew nothing about this practice wandered into the sanctuary and saw the extended hands, they might think it a Nazi gathering.

My point is all this bru-ha-ha about a still view most likely pulled out of context is ridiculous. Are there no better complaints to make about the current administration? No better way to off criticism of government. Let’s do things that are effective, not things that make us feel better about our argumentative self.

family, home improvements, miscellaneous

Still Too Busy

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Yes, between decumulation and getting ready for a trip and dealing with health issues, finding time to write a meaningful blog post just isn’t there. I thought of it Thursday night, but was dealing with purposeful sleep deprivation for an EEG on Wednesday that effectively took three days out of my week. Friday found me too busy trying to wrap up several decumulation tasks. Last night I sorted through two 3-ring binders, and got rid of one and all the papers it held.

Work continues on that decumulation, but I see lots of progress. I’m hoping that this week we will take a load of miscellaneous things to the new Goodwill donation center that opened just a mile from our house. I’m hoping also this week to begin going through old family photos of Lynda’s paternal family, take electronic pictures of those we want copies of, and send the rest on to relatives. That depends, however, on Lynda being well enough to look at them.

Today I will do two main tasks. First, create electronic forms for 2025. I didn’t do this in January because I didn’t get December’s finished. So to do his, it means first finishing December, copying the files to 2025 files, making the few alterations for the new year, and entering January’s data. I’m talking about family budget, book sales, and stock trading records. This will take about two hours, I think. Second will be filing a mass of papers that have accumulated on my worktable in The Dungeon. A lot of these are health papers, and I hope they go into place fairly easily. Still, this is probably an all-day task.

Whether I get to do a little writing or not is up in the air. It would be nice to find an hour to write, but I make no promises.

Carlyle, home improvements, travel

Still Very Busy

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For the last week, I’ve been quite busy with small decumulation tasks. I sell a book here and there, including two on Saturday, one yesterday, and one today. Saturday I re-discovered a bunch of old computer floppy discs in The Dungeon. They are now on the way to the trash barrel, including an empty case for holding another 20 discs. I transcribed 21 old journal sheets from 2014 and 2016 from when I was working hot and heavy on Thomas Carlyle writing/research projects. I just finished that work. And today I identified two more items to list for sale.

Consequently, I don’t have a substantial blog post for today. See you all on Friday, hopefully with something a little more meaningful.

Oh, year, I also spent a couple of hours planning out a trip. It’s amazing how much time that took, and it’s not done yet.

miscellaneous, Writing

Too Busy This Week

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Friday snuck up on me. I have no blog post ready. It’s been a busy week, as I’ve been overwhelmed with things to do.  I had medical appointments every day. Been working on decumulation tasks every day. One day I was able to sneak in a little writing.

I’ll try to be back with a real post on Monday. And maybe later today I’ll drop back in and add a little to this post.