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Author: |
Emory Schley |
Created: |
10/4/2006 3:15 PM |
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Readers are invited to comment on any of the items or discussion seen below, or any matter of concern here in Beautiful Marion County! |
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It's been a really great run, but it's now time to say 'adieu' |
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By Emory Schley on
12/28/2007 5:45 AM
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And so it ends... this is the final blog in a series that started last Feb. 7. There were a few half-hearted attempts before then, but Feb. 7th marked the first of my seven-days-each-week blogs, a series that lasted until May 11, when the powers-that-be figured my time could be spent more productively in some other activity. But even then, the blogs continued, three times each week except during vacations. But now, after some 77,000 words on this blog, it’s time to hang up the old green lampshade, clean out the desk drawers, turn off the computer and say farewell to a vocation that has served me well and faithfully for some 36 years.
I’m going to miss being able to “surf” the newswires and read the news a full day before it comes out in the newspaper. I’l ...
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Christmas past, with a wary eye on the future |
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By Emory Schley on
12/26/2007 5:57 AM
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Well, that was quite a Christmas yesterday, wasn’t it? I was pretty sure I didn’t wind up on Santa’s Good Little Boys and Girls List this time around, so I really wasn’t expecting much. The past few years, my wife and I seem to be getting and giving our presents to each other at some point before Christmas, so when the big day actually rolls around, it’s kind of anticlimactic. However, yesterday’s bounty proved me wrong in my prognostications once again.
The four of us in our immediate family got together, unwrapped a few gifts, talked a little, laughed a lot, had a pleasant meal, visited a bit more, then kind of melted away to our individual domiciles, content and happy. All things considered, it was a most pleasant experience. I wish all holidays could ...
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One facet of Christmas shopping always seems to get left out of planning |
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By Emory Schley on
12/24/2007 5:58 AM
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Tomorrow’s the big day, only one more full day of shopping until Christmas! I’m getting ready to make my annual raid on the stores to stock up on the presents I’ve got on my to-buy list. Hope there’s still some stuff left on the shelves. I usually wait till late in the season before I start looking for presents anyway, it’s more of a challenge then.
One of those tasks I generally overlook and one that just never seems to get onto my list of things to do is the wrapping of the gifts I buy. It’s not that I don’t ever wrap presents, it’s just that I never even think about that facet of the holiday happenings, what with being consumed with the idea of buying the correct present for the correct person at the last possible moment.
&nb ...
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Why I quit making New Year's Resolutions many years ago... |
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By Emory Schley on
12/21/2007 5:59 AM
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It’s that time of the year when we should start considering what resolutions we might make for the New Year of 2008. I generally don’t bother with the practice anymore. I’ve disappointed myself so many times in the past when I’ve failed to follow through on a goal for the new year, that I’ve gotten lazy and now generally take that infamous Path of Least Resistance, which in my case, is just not to make any resolutions at all. Over the years, I’ve thrown the proverbial towel into the ring on at least a few occasions; and when it came to New Year’s Resolutions, that particular towel was the easiest one I’ve ever thrown.
Hopefully, those of you who may be reading this are built of sturdier stuff than I am, because the underlying logic of resolutions for the ...
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Frosty mornings trigger memories of even frostier mornings of long ago |
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By Emory Schley on
12/19/2007 6:43 AM
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Monday morning marked the first really cool morning we’ve had so far this season. It was a chilly 36° when I awoke at 5:30 a.m., then the temperature continued to slowly go down to 32.8° before it stopped then began its slow climb back up to more comfortable numbers. I’m sure the air conditioners in Florida appreciate the break and the chance to quit running 24/7 for a day or two at least. I’ve often thought that it’s surely a good thing that air conditioners don’t have labor unions. If they did, Florida would only have about a third of its present population.
When we first moved up here from Miami back in 1971, we weren’t all that accustomed to such temperatures, although my wife and I had certainly experienced much worse in the past. She ...
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A new little toy for the technological cognoscenti |
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By Emory Schley on
12/17/2007 5:56 AM
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I recently purchased a neat little device named Neo. It’s made by a company named AlphaSmart. The business was started by a couple of ex-Apple Computer employees, but they sold out their interest in the company awhile back. The “neat little device” I referred to is a simple little gadget that is absolutely ideal for writers. It’s a keyboard with an LCD screen. It has a mini-word processor inside and a calculator. It also has a built-in dictionary and thesaurus – and that’s pretty much it. Some people might think it’s pretty meager, but I find it’s ideal for just writing, punching in those random thoughts that won’t last long enough to commit them to paper, and all those other really neat ideas that occur to you for various stories, columns, essays, whatever. It’s small enough to ...
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One of nature's true wonders slowly being restored to former glory |
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By Emory Schley on
12/14/2007 5:57 AM
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My wife and I went over to Dunnellon last Saturday, to Rainbow Springs where they were having the park’s annual Santa Over the Rainbow event. The park was ablaze with color as bright colorful Christmas lights, arranged in and amongst the branches of the park’s copious shrubs and trees and bedecking the buildings all evoked a peaceful Christmas spirit.
Rainbow Springs State Park is one of those delightfully beautiful areas, that alas, has been allowed to deteriorate greatly over the past three decades. A valiant band of volunteers is slowly, but surely resurrecting at least a taste of the park’s glory days. The pathways are uneven and take extra care to negotiate these days. There is no longer a big aviary filled with exotic birds. No longer is a skyride carrying to ...
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Don't like your life? Then change it! |
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By Emory Schley on
12/12/2007 6:09 AM
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The Christmas holiday season, for some reason I’ve never quite been able to understand, brings out moods of depression among some people. I’ve seen a few news stories that claim the suicide rate always seems to spike around Christmas day, a time when most people seem exuberantly happy. I suppose if circumstances are such that you’re lonely, depressed, without a friend in the world, then ending it all might seem like a viable option.
But life is just too great to do something like that. Loneliness can be cured. If you can’t seem to keep friends, ask yourself why. Do a little soul-searching and then change whatever needs to be changed in your character, and soon you’ll begin having friends, dear friends, too. If you’re depressed, go outside and take a long walk, preferably through the woods and commune for awhile with Mother Nature. Th ...
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A day without coffee is like a day without sunshine |
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By Emory Schley on
12/10/2007 5:56 AM
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Almost every day at work, I fix myself a mug of instant coffee, and as my career slowly fades into the sunset, so the contents of that big jar of Folger’s Instant are slowly fading away, too.
I started drinking coffee at my desk several years ago, when the coffee vending machine in our company snack room was removed.
This, as I recall, is the third jar of instant coffee I’ve bought since the machine was removed. I’m a coffee lover from way back, having imbibed the stuff since I was a child of 8 or 10 or so. Back then, I used to drink it with cream and sugar – maybe I should say cream and LOTS of sugar – but I abandoned the cream and sugar decades ago and now just drink it black.< ...
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Pondering a somewhat different direction in life for the new year |
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By Emory Schley on
12/7/2007 5:47 AM
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I’ve been giving some serious thought to writing a book lately. I know a lot of people, at some point in their lives, claim they’re going to write one; but very few of them ever actually get around to doing it. I read one time that only several people out of every thousand will ever write a book; and further, that of those who do, only several of every thousand written will ever get published.
But computers and the Internet have changed many of those old harsh realities.
There are many more opportunities to get published today than they were in the past. The Internet and the home computer have served to open up the entire field to anyone who yearns to see their name in print. I’ve written a c ...
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Almost time for annual shopping spree to begin |
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By Emory Schley on
12/5/2007 6:10 AM
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Time is sure rushing by for some reason. Here we are only 20 days out from Christmas already! Pretty soon, I’m going to have to start giving some serious thought to what I can buy for Christmas for the family and friends. Holidays can be quite a drudgery at times. That’s why I generally wait until Christmas Eve before I start my Christmas shopping. Not only does it keep me from obsessing on what to buy and for whom for several weeks, but it keeps me out of the crowded aisles, too.
When you shop on Christmas Eve, sure, you have to contend with crowded aisles, but by limiting your purchase season to that one evening, you at least minimize your exposure to crowds. Some people go back to the stores during the busiest time of the year over and over, repeatedly exposing themselves to the pressures, tensions and travails that afflict typica ...
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Looking forward to major changes in my lifestyle |
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By Emory Schley on
12/3/2007 5:54 AM
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Well, here we are well into December, winding up yet another year. This year will be a bit different though, at least for me. I’ll be retiring at the end of the month, so December will be a month I’ve both looked forward to, and dreaded, for perhaps much of my adult life. I’m looking forward to not having to get up at 5:30 each morning, although a little furry critter who shares our household may not approve of that enough to actually let it occur. He seems to be hard-wired into a 5:30 a.m. feeding of fresh food, so putting victuals out the night before doesn’t work, doggone it!
Making doctors’ appointments will be much easier, no longer must I insist future appointments be on Monday or Tuesday, preferably late in the day. And unless I just feel the need ...
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Will Christmas shopping season turn out to be a boom – or a bust? |
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By Emory Schley on
11/30/2007 6:05 AM
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Perhaps it’s a cynicism that comes with old age, but I frequently am afflicted with that old deja vu feeling when confronting the everyday world I live in.
Take for example, the Christmas shopping season, which started off with a bang the morning after Thanksgiving. Many shoppers, all across the country, got up in the middle of the night to take advantage of special pricing sales in many mainline retail establishments. Almost everyone in the retail game offered deep discounts, two-for-one pricing, and all types of extra incentives to entice shoppers to plunge wholeheartedly into their first shopping forays of the holiday season. And it worked. Malls and stores were filled with milling throngs eager to snare whatever bargains they could pounce upon.
But as the buying season progres ...
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A Sunday walk in the woods does a fellow good this time of year |
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By Emory Schley on
11/28/2007 6:00 AM
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Last Sunday, I took a little trip over to the Land Bridge Trailhead located on County Road 475-A just a tad over two miles north of County Road 484. There’s a trail through the woods over to the Land Bridge which straddles I-75. In fact there are several trails through the woods there, one for walkers, one for horses and their riders, yet another for bicyclists.
Sunday was a beautiful day for getting out and enjoying the great outdoor beauty this part of Florida has in such abundance. I’ve been to this particular trailhead and walked to the Land Bridge perhaps dozens of times over the past few years, but I don’t believe I’ve ever seen so many others out and about and enjoying Nature’s wonders at the same time. Often in the past, I’ve found I’m the only one on the foot paths, and only occasionally will a ...
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A fantasy come true might not be so great after all |
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By Emory Schley on
11/26/2007 6:00 AM
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One of these days, I’d like to just forget all about the few cares and woes I have, and just float aimlessly down a peaceful, quiet river in a canoe, soaking up the sun, listening to the birds and wildlife along the banks of the river, and the gentle lapping of the water along the length of the canoe. No paddle, no compass, no map, no itinerary, just a peaceful little excursion down the river, letting Nature carry me along with abandon wherever and however it may.
I’m not really sure why I find such an idea so appealing, but it’s one that I’ve entertained in my fantasies for many years. When you start analyzing that wish though, you quickly discover its flaws. Among its shortcomings: What if an alligator tips the canoe over, and you don’t even have a paddle to fend off the beast? What if you plow into a thicket of ...
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Keeping up with growth is a never-ending challenge for officials |
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By Emory Schley on
11/23/2007 5:50 AM
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Last week, I was on vacation, so that’s why there were no blogs written for a period of time. Last Sunday marked the final day of my vacation, but I had to attend to a matter that got inked in on my calendar months ago. I was a guest of the American Jewish Club in the State Road 200 community of On Top of the World where I was invited as a guest speaker. On Top of the World is a gated community, and I recall when the bulldozers first showed up in the area and began toppling trees and ripping out underbrush to make room for the new development.
My wife and I had moved up here in 1971, and many times we traveled SR 200, then still a lonely two-lane roadway that probably saw more wildlife crossing it than automobiles. But times have certainly changed. Now the area is exploding in growth and new developments fill many an architect’s CAD systems, w ...
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Almost time to start on that long, long list of stuff to do |
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By Emory Schley on
11/21/2007 6:05 AM
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The old calendar is slowly closing in on the final days of my career. It’s a time I approach with some trepidation, but with a certain amount of joy as well. My list of things to do after I retire is so long I know, realistically, I’ll never even approach getting all the tasks taken care of, but if I stick to the list, then I certainly won’t lack for anything to do.
And then there’s the matter of travel. There are lots of places in this country I’ve never seen. I do believe I’ve seen more of Europe than I have of the United States. For example, I’ve never seen New York City, the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty. My eyes have never swept over the wonders of the Grand Canyon, or Yellowstone, or Mount Rushmore. I’ve never been to California, or Chicago, or Las Vegas. Boston, Philadelph ...
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There's just something endlessly fascinating about pi |
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By Emory Schley on
11/19/2007 6:35 PM
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Lots of numbers are endlessly fascinating, but none more so than π. In speech, it’s pronounced “pie,” but in its written form, it’s pronounced more like “pee.” It is, of course, our old friend from geometry and algebra days, the one that allows us to solve math problems that involve circles.
Modern computers have figured out the value of π to a trillion places. In 2002, the value of pi was computed to 1,241,100,000,000 places, or if you’re not very facile with numbers, that’s 1 trillion, 241 billion, 100 million! A trillion, for those a little unsure with numbers of this size, is a million millions, or a 1 followed by 12 zeroes or 10^12. However you look at it, it&rsqu ...
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A little bit of magic, please, Maestro! |
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By Emory Schley on
11/9/2007 5:52 AM
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It’s odd how just a little misdirection and a flair for razzle-dazzle can cause someone else to totally misinterpret what you’re doing to the extent that they are completely baffled. A buddy of mine way back in the fifth grade in grammar school once showed me the secret of a trick he used to do with a rubber band. The effect is this: You show your closed hand, in a fist configuration, to your about-to-be startled spectators. A rubber band is wrapped tightly around the index and ring fingers. Then you quickly open your fist and the rubber band “magically” jumps from the index and middle fingers to the ring and small fingers, apparently “teleporting” itself instantaneously through the first two fingers.
It’s a very simple trick, one you can probably figure out for yourself if ...
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Thank you very much, but no thanks! |
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By Emory Schley on
11/7/2007 6:01 AM
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There are lots of little nit-picking peccadilloes that plague us during our everyday activities. Among the most annoying, at least to me, is whenever I buy some little gee-gaw, the sales clerk always asks if I want a service contract to go with the item. As a marketing tactic, it strikes me that this is not a very sound strategy. It can have a deleterious effect in the mind of the customer. I’m sure this technique adds a lot of additional bucks to the bottom line of the ledger, but most of the experts say service contracts generally aren’t a good idea for the consumer, who winds up paying for repairs that are never made, in most instances.
Most items bought from reputable sources have at least a 30-day warranty on them, and some even longer. That should be long enough to get the item home, open up the packaging, and take the little gee-gaw for ...
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