Pop's Day

Channeling the Man in Black to honor all the dads out there on Fathers' Day:



By the way Pop, if you're reading this, thanks for not naming me Sue.

Filling Holes

Self-discovery can come slowly. And sometimes, even if it feels like you’re close to a breakthrough, you can be miles away without realizing it. On the other hand, if it feels miles away, you could be knocking on the door.

I experienced an epiphany a few weeks ago. Out of nowhere, a pastor who I know quite well extended an invitation for me to become a youth counselor. The possibility intrigued me, but I hesitated for obvious reasons:

(1) Could I give such a position the time and attention it deserves? (2) Was I ready to bear the responsibility of being a powerful influence over a child or teen? (3) Would I be able to say the right things in any given situation? (4) I do the church thing occasionally but definitely have a long way to go. Did I have the spiritual knowledge, etc., to qualify me for this gig?

All valid concerns, but the pastor gave me an entirely different reason to question myself. After addressing the above points, he cautioned, “If you want to do this in order to fill a hole in your life, then it’s likely that this isn’t right for you.”

Since hearing those words, I’ve pondered them frequently, trying to understand exactly what they meant. Immediately, they made sense in the context of my decision. Still meandering down the path of self-discovery and maturity, it was apparent that one of the reasons I was considering the counselorship was indeed to fill a hole in my life. As such, I would risk becoming overly dependent on the satisfaction I might get from the position (or maybe overly exasperated) to the point where it might adversely affect my ability to carry out my responsibilities. It was quickly obvious to me that I should pass.

Then, I began to generalize this idea. There are probably many serious undertakings in which a similar approach should be made: if you’re doing something simply to fill a void, then you should think twice about going through with it. Relationships come to mind. So do other forms of volunteering and, in certain contexts, career moves. In each of these situations, it’s healthier to develop a stronger foundation first, at which point you’re ready to tackle the implications of filling the “larger” holes.

However, using this philosophy as a universal reason to avoid trying new things in general is an overcautious way to live, to be sure. Besides, if you follow this too strictly, you end up in a catch-22 situation. How can you fill the holes in your life if you need to be “hole-less” before you are qualified to fill them? By that logic, you’re stuck in an unending cycle.

I think you can draw the line here: if an attempt to fill a hole by taking on a new challenge might significantly affect others’ lives, to the point where a sudden change or your overdependence on the presence of that challenge could negatively affect others around you, then you should think more carefully.

So here was my conclusion: say you’re meandering down that path of self-discovery, still working to fill certain holes in your life. First, aim to seal the smaller holes with individual tasks and responsibilities. Eventually, and naturally, you’ll be able to do things like a youth counselorship -- or any of those important things you could use to fill the “larger” holes.

At least now, I’m still early in my journey, and at times the road to self-discovery seems miles, counties, states away. But as far as I know, maybe it’s just around the bend. And while the holes may at times seem as gaping as that sinkhole in Guatemala City a few weeks ago, maybe they’re just a little more manageable.

Friend Request

Non Sequitur, by Wiley Miller

Slow Down

The skyrocketing fox population in rural England apparently is cause for concern among speeding automobilers:


Which obviously begs the question: what OTHER hilarious signs are out there to entertain us on those lonely highways?




I think this one's my favorite, but I have no idea why:

Stir It Up

Hurricane season started today. Uh oh.

The Atlantic Basin got a little bit of a reprieve last year: only nine named storms and three hurricanes. And on top of that, the hurricanes were named "Bill", "Fred", and "Ida". I mean come on, did anyone REALLY feel threatened by that?

People way smarter than me are predicting much more activity in the coming months. Water temperatures are at record highs. On top of that, a weak El Nino is depriving the atmosphere of strong upper-level winds necessary for wind shear, which is really effective at ripping the heart out of tropical cyclones before they can get their juices really flowing. Add it all up, and NOAA is predicting up to 14 hurricanes, 7 Category 3 or higher.

All of that could translate to one of the more active seasons in history -- although hopefully nothing ever outdoes 2005, which spawned monster after monster in the Gulf of Mexico (Katrina, Rita, Wilma) en route to running out of names, forcing us to use the Greek alphabet to name storms 22-27.

And that's not even speaking of the BP oil spill off the coast of Louisiana (Day 43 and counting). Sure doesn't sound good, does it? Could the spill throw a monkey wrench into the 2010 hurricane season, or vice versa?

NOAA released a nice little write-up on the subject. There are a lot of variables and possible outcomes. The spill probably wouldn't have much effect on hurricane development. On the other hand, a hurricane could actually disperse the oil more quickly by chopping up the water with high winds and seas. Or it could drive the oil inland via storm surge, depending on the track of the storm.

The worst storm surge is typically found in the eastern eyewall. Think about it: if the storm is rotating counter-clockwise (as it always will in the northern hemisphere), then the eastern side of the circulation is where seawater would most forcefully be pushed onto shore. Thus, if a hurricane slammed Louisiana, bypassing the oil slick slightly to the west, the results could be disastrous for the Louisiana wetlands. On the other hand, if one were to track over the Florida panhandle, the oil could be pushed back into the Gulf.

It seems unlikely that this question will go unanswered for too long. But you never know: ironically, maybe a couple of good tropical cyclones is all the Gulf needs to more quickly rid itself of this disaster.

P.S. On a related note, as I was browsing aimlessly through Wikipedia earlier tonight, I found this picture of a Hurricane Hunter flying in the middle of Katrina's eye. Is that not the craziest thing you've ever seen?

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ADDENDUM: A new report released today estimates that the oil will invade the Atlantic coast of Florida "within weeks" and disperse through the Atlantic basin by the end of July. Helpful animation: