Pilot's Log

Sagittarius Horoscope for week of January 12, 2012

I suspect you may soon find yourself in a situation similar to the one that 19th-century American President Abraham Lincoln was in when he said the following: "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. But if this is tea, please bring me some coffee." In other words, Sagittarius, you may not be picky about what you want, but whatever it is, you'll prefer it to be authentic, pure, and distinctly itself. Adulterations and hodgepodges won't satisfy you, and they won't be useful. Hold out for the Real Thing.

The other day I looked through a pile of old periodicals for sale and found three of the Ducimus Camouflage & Markings pamphlets. I can't believe that I'd never seen any before, and suddenly I want to get both the compiled volumes. So what if they're innaccurate, dated and low tech...they're worth having.

Finishing it up. The dregs went on some Graham crackers earlier tonight...and to empty/clean the jar:

A kettle of boiling water;

A latte mug with instant coffee and creamer powder added.

Add the boiling water to the empty jar, stir for a minute with a long iced tea spoon, then pour from the jar into the mug.

Mix well and drink. Not as good as the Lindt Pan-Galactic Cocoa Blaster, but pretty darned decadent.

Scientists Announce A Breakthrough In The Search For The Cause Of Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder.

As somebody who was in this condition as a child, and is somewhat still afflicted now (as in, I'm finding it increasingly difficult to motivate myself) I find this development very interesting. Remember, my childhood predates Ritalin. For me, it was either coffee or amphetamines.

The only drawbacks I see are the same drawbacks I see with prescription drugs in general--the out-of-control marketing of drugs by the manufacturers (yes, those fine-print-laden and sappy TV ads on the network evening news and talk shows and soap operas) which then feeds a black market (q.v. e-mail spammers allegedly from Canada) which recreational drug users/abusers will exploit.

But a philosophy question: If a pill gives a kid a happy childhood, is it really a happy childhood?

FP

Back from a trip to Sister's in Asheville for a reunion/gift swap. The swag talley:

* Three shirts: one from Mom & Dad; two from a family friend.
* A Calvin & Hobbes book.
* A huge double-capacity coffee cup, a packet of instant cocoa and two packs of cookies, from Sister.
* The Art of War/The Prince/Frederick The Great's Instructions To His Generals (one book) from my new Brother-In-Law.

The Calvin & Hobbes book was the final result of a "Dirty Santa" game. The first gift I had chosen was...well...bizarrely synchronistic. A novelty pair of sunglasses, that resembled both the Batman cowl-top and Enemy Ace's goggles. However, my very stylish niece decided that she wanted them and swiped them on her turn, so I swiped the book. So those of you who wanted me to cosplay an aviator, you almost had a piece of your wish delivered today. It may still happen--just another way.

FP

Yesterday I got up in the morning, went to the kitchen pantry and found that Dad had purchased for me a two-week supply of Kellogg's Pop Tarts. And I noticed that all the boxtops had already been cut off.

ME (to DAD): Did you send for the Indiana Jones canteen or the backpack?

DAD (very smug): Both.

No doubt, I was born to be a dork. I came from the best bloodline for that possibility.

*Noshes a S'Mores Pop Tart, washes it down with coffee*

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Cake. Chocolate Macaroon Bundt with confectioner's powdered sugar on top rather than frosting. Nicely cool. A steamy mug of cafe au creme (or that new Vanilla drink that General Foods makes) to go with it.

Today Mom decided we had to get me a couple new pair of trousers. We got them at the Dickies at Belz mall in Pigeon Forge. Also went to Red Roofs and saw housewares at the Oneida store...very tempting latte mugs and skillets.

The Foozles has been sorta replaced by a branch of the Christian Bookstore chain that also includes stores at Red Roofs, Jake Thomas/Parkway (locals know of where I speak) and Route 66 in Kodak (a branch I have never visited). We went to the Jake Thomas store and noticed that they've drawn down their stock of secular books in order to pack in more Christian books. And they play more blatant Christian music on their P.A. system. There's only so much of that I can stand.

Hey.

I've been addicted to caffeine since I was prescribed coffee (along with Dexedrine) as a boy of seven years' age. I know there are worse substances to be hooked upon, and I'm thankful that I've been able to avoid such things so far. But just the same, I wish I could break my cycles, just to say that I could.

It used to be that in the summertime, I could leave the caffeinated beverages and the chocolate out of my diet for a couple weeks or so, gladly trading my tea habit for lemonade, orange punch, and the like. But since moving to Tennessee it's been harder to do that. Especially since my folks still seem to think that chocolate in any form is a treat for me any day of the year. Nothing wrong with chocolate, I guess...although around Christmas and birthdays and Valentine's and Easter we wind up practically overdosing on the stuff.

Working a night job had been no picnic. I had to rely on coffee and tea to keep me running. And then I'd have trouble sleeping overday and waking up in the late afternoon to start it all over again. I did two one-year "tours of duty" as a night man at hotels...and it's ultimately no surprise that my caffeine habits have been at least a contributing factor to both my burnouts. Wish I could blame my college freshman burnout on caffeine too--but I can only blame myself, I gave myself too much of a class workload that term.

I drink about a pitcher of tea a day and supplement that with one or two cups of coffee/mocha/hot cocoa and the odd snack. Dad's homemade chocolate chip cookies are a frequent delivery vehicle in this house. Or Dad will hand me a chocolate milkshake he made for me without me asking him. (Up here, I don't like drinking anything cold in a month whose name has an "R" in it.) Someday I'll crunch the numbers and see what it comes to in caffeine milligram terms. I'm afraid of the final figure.

As for carbonated beverages, I reserve those for eating out and often not even then. I like the places that have serve-yourself soda fountains...sometimes I'll mix a drink that's part orange and part Mountain Dew/MelloYello. I used to drink root beer more often but that specific taste has changed a little.

Ever think of what goes into your body in geopolitical terms? Of course, coffee comes from South America and places in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific. Cocoa comes from Africa, as does the kola root to flavor your Cokes and Pepsis. Tea comes from all over Asia and the Indian Ocean region. Sugar comes from the Caribbean and Polynesia...and even plantations in South Florida. What do you know about the planters of these crops? What do you know of the people who tend them and harvest them? What do you know about the people shipping them to our markets? Madison Avenue has co-opted all of their voices from us. Maybe as a culture we really are in grave danger if we can't see past the shelves of the supermarkets and discount stores.

I like coffee and I like tea. But I wish I could be sure that they are my servants and not my masters.