Life in a vacuum sucks.

That was some spicy chili!

I had breakfast with a former student/colleague/friend this morning. Josh pastors a church in Glendale and we get together once a month to talk shop and life in general. I came home and changed into work clothes, planning to finish up the wiring on Ilsa. I got the starter wiring done and came in the house. Didn't even put my wrenches back on the wall, I was so wasted. At 93 degrees, 42% humidity and a dew point of 66 I was as drenched in sweat as I am after a hard workout at the gym, and it only took me about 30 minutes to get that task done.
That time on the Oregon coast has turned me into a weenie.

Mark Twain said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was one summer in San Francisco." The same applies to the OR coast.

Sally Ride, the first woman in space, has died of pancreatic cancer. She was 61, which just happens to be my age.
Last week one of the oncologists who Pam sees frequently at the hospital (she works on 5C, which is the oncology unit) was seeing patients at the office when he dropped dead. His partners were unable to do anything. Turns out he had an aortic dissection, a condition in which blood suddenly flows between the layers of the aorta, forcing the layers apart. It often results in a complete rupture of the aorta, a massive bleed, and almost certain and near immediate death. He was active and otherwise healthy so far as anyone knows. He was in his early 60's.
Ain't no guarantees, folks. Better be ready.

I got butt dialed today - by one of our elders. I don't know whether to feel honored or insulted. But when he heard my voice coming from his pocket he answered, and we had a nice conversation about yesterday's final round of the British Open and Tiger's collapse.

I was supposed to have a Skype conversation with a theology class in Michigan this afternoon (an evening class for them). Alas, for some reason we couldn't get Skype to work. I'd call the prof and it would ring and ring and ring. Same when he tried to call me. But neither of us could hear the incoming call. Drat! I was looking forward to it.

When will the political battles start up again? How long is an appropriate time after a massacre before a return to men behaving badly?

I'd read that an NCAA staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity, had said over the weekend that Penn State was going to wish they'd rec'd the "death penalty" instead of what was coming their way. Now we know why. The death penalty - shutting down the football program for a year, after which they can apply for reinstatement - wouldn't have trashed the program as thoroughly as this 4-year ban from all post season appointments, a $60 million fine, and the loss of 20 athletic scholarships for each of the next four years. As part of the penalties, any Penn State football players can transfer to another school and play immediately instead of sitting out at least one year before taking the field. Why would anyone currently playing for that team stay there? Why would any high school player want to go to Penn State anytime soon? It's going to take years after the penalties expire to put that program back together.

So, are the penalties appropriate?

On the one hand they penalize people who had no part in the horrible crimes - athletes in other sports who will lose out because the big income sport has been crushed, area small businesses who depend on the influx of the fans who turn College Station, PA into the third largest city in PA on football weekends, all the staff who work within the football program whose employment may be in jeopardy...
But how else does the NCAA send a message that sports doesn't outweigh everything else, including moral responsibility in criminal cases of the first order?

I think the real question is, how many other programs at major institutions - mega-dollar football, or basketball programs - have similar secrets being buried for the sake of the bucks?