Freedom is just another word for nothin’ left to lose
Nothin’, don’t mean nothin’ hon’ if it ain’t free…– Kris Kristofferson
Chris
Pink
In honor of Inter Miami’s record-setting season that just wrapped up, I have changed the highlighted colors on this site to the team’s pink home kit. They will host the MLS Cup playoffs starting next week with the final on my birthday, December 7. I’ll leave the colors up until then. Or, I’ll change my mind. That happens. These team colors of pink and black matches well with the new dark mode script I installed too.
Before the team was awarded the season’s trophy, the FIFA president announced that Inter Miami, in a never-before-opportunity, has earned a spot in the 2025 World Cup were they will host the first round in Miami. No major league team anywhere has played side-by-side with their national team. Is it conceivable that the United States, the host country, plays and loses to a team from it’s own country?
Maybe, perhaps maybe, I can convince Tracy to agree with joining me to go see another World Cup.
We Are Not On The Same Page
Read what no one else is reading. Otherwise, you’ll end up with the same ideas as everyone else.
Read different subjects to make connections where others see none.
Portable Time Portal
“What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. One glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years.”
—Carl Sagan
Use Wisely
It’s too bad that access to most of the world’s information does not come with the wisdom to know how to use it.
Night Mode
Pulling up and reading this website’s default theme color is a bright white. However, when reading in low light that could be blinding and potentially disturb the un-approving significant other trying to sleep. That’s an issue.
Introducing night mode that will automagically render to match a reader’s default display settings. So if your device is in light mode the website will be light. Dark mode display on your device? Dark it is. However, I have installed a script on the page that allows you to toggle to the desired light/dark setting.
Soundtrack
If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?For I must be traveling on now
‘Cause there’s too many places I’ve got to see…— Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd
By weaving music into our travel narrative, we can emphasize the role of sound in experiencing different cultures and locations.
For example, the lyrics at the beginning of this post were especially poignant when visiting the band’s airplane crash site and memorial. The song “Free Bird” was a fitting tribute and enhanced our experience as we drove away and listened to a few other hits from the band. The goosebumps were visible on the arm as it steered the car.
Further down the road, I switched the soundtrack to “New Orleans and Dixieland Jazz Essentials” as we drove over Lake Pontchartrain and into N.O. The experience is enhanced with relative music.
Specific songs or genres can evoke memories, reflect the character of a place, and enhance the overall journey.
“El Camino Negro” or, “The Black Road” is a perfect soundtrack while driving through western Texas, New Mexico or the California desert.
And no road trip soundtrack would be complete if you don’t add Johnny Cash’s ultimate travel song “I’ve Been Everywhere”
I’ve been everywhere, man
I’ve been everywhere, man
Crossed the deserts bare, man
I’ve breathed the mountain air, man
Of travel I’ve had my share, man
I’ve been everywhere
So let me encourage you fellow travelers to be open to discovering new music during your journey. Create a communal playlist where each traveler can contribute their favorite songs related to the locations you visit along the way, fostering a shared experience and making the road trip more memorable.
Hotel Art Critic
This idea was inspired by our recent road trip and will be included in the Explore More book, brought to you by the Denbow Modern Classics publishing house.
- Tip: Stop at any hotel, small motels, inns, BnBs, etc, and critique the strange, bland, or hilariously bad art that often graces the walls.
- Task: Make up elaborate backstories for each piece, imagining who the artist was, their emotional state, and what profound meaning they were trying to convey. Share your critiques in an ironic blog post or social media series titled something like “Art from Room 204.”
24/24
Back in December of last year, I set a reading goal of 24 books in 2024. Today I just wrapped that goal up with plenty of time to spare for the remainder of the year.
It was a fitting choice to complete the original classic of Dracula, by Bram Stoker in mid-October and Halloween coming up. I had intended to read other classic monster novels, but for now, I don’t know if my heart is into that.
It happened again, where I reserve multiple titles from the library and they are all 8-24 weeks out. And yet, they all, somehow, become available all at once.
For now, I have decided to read Stephen King’s book, On Writing. A non-fiction book that gives insights into his prolific style.
If interested, you can check out my Reading page to see what was on my digital nightstand.
Hell, you can even take a look at the screenshot too.
Technicolor Kindle
Do I need a colored e-ink reader? No.
Do I want the colored e-ink reader. Yes!
Amazon is quite stingy with their Kindle trade-in offers though. $25 for a year-old Paperwhite and $5 for an old Fire tablet? $30? Hmm.
I like the option to include Kindle Unlimited reading with the upgrade.
Not now but soon I suppose.
Diversity
This morning I woke up to an unusually chilly day down here in southwest Florida. A cold front blew its way down, probably following us from Tulsa, because it was 60 degrees with a light wind. Thankfully, I still had my one sweatshirt close by from our trip up north.
While walking outside around the house surveying the hurricane clean-up needs, I noticed, really noticed the diverse flora at our home and smiled. We don’t have these species back where I am from. Oh, and that coconut that was left in the yard from a few months ago has sprouted two large palm fronds. We need to move that somewhere else before it plants roots and grows into the power lines above it.
I snapped some images with the iPhone as I walked and surveyed the plants. Okay, according to the Information button found inside Apple Photos, we have an Areca palm, 2 tall coconut trees, a tree called Job’s Tears, an avocado tree, an Izote tree (yucca), 6 Garden Croton, 5 Spider Lily, several Tiplants, 1 surviving banana plant left (2 died in the storm), a dwarf umbrella tree, a Spiderwort plant, Shell Ginger, Yew plum pine tree, and a few more royal palm trees. Throw in your garden variety tropical shrubs and wow, what a unique, diverse collection we have here just in our yard.
The landscaping needs a lot of love after being left on its own for a year and a half. I’m looking forward to the projects…someday. Because a lot of these flora are self-sustaining and low maintenance, landscaping is on the back burner. Hopefully, though, we can tackle this while it is still an unusually cool fall and winter.
P.S. I neglected to mention the Dragon Sword plant I purchased for Tracy as our housewarming gift. This has yet to be planted. But where?
