Within my personal vernacular, “schmaltz” is primarily reserved for music of a highly sentimental or conventional character. However, the word has another, less poetic but no less evocative meaning.
The luxury of a rainy day in bed
A rainy day on Hilton Head Island is rarely uneventful. Being directly exposed to the North Atlantic, with only modest sand dunes and Palmetto ferns for protection, the island often bears the brunt of unrestrained ocean weather. Rain here is seldom gentle; forecasts frequently warn of severe thunderstorms, wind advisories, and gusts reaching 80 km/h, making the air feel even cooler. When last evening’s forecast promised a stormy day ahead, I made an easy decision: I would forego my usual tricycling and indulge in the rare pleasure of sleeping late.
De minimis non curat lex
There once was a lawyer named Rex
Who was endowed with a small organ of sex
When tried for exposure, he replied with composure
De minimis non curat lex!
De minimis is a Latin expression meaning “The law does not concern itself with trifles”, a legal doctrine dating back to the 15th century by which a court refuses to consider inconsequential matters.
The allure of oligarchy
With the unfolding histrionics of Trump’s recent election, it is increasingly apparent that there is a rift between liberalism and libertarianism. One (liberalism) is openness to new ideas; the other (libertarianism) advocates minimal state intervention. The paradox (that is, the unanticipated conflict between social welfare and personal independence) is that anything which violates the entitlement of others to freedom from the conduct of others is interpreted as an invasion of that privacy. As a result, the dominance of the majority (specifically its putative rulers) becomes the priority. This in turn precipitates attack on anything which unsettles the unobstructed traction of the rulers’ interests. Examples of this transition include intolerance of minority religions, intolerance of minority needs and behaviour, intolerance of minority literature, division of labour interests, commercial and political governance, etc. Basically anything that disturbs the rule of governing interests is discounted. It must be expected that the universal human nature for preservation of its self-interest will prevail. There is no logical reason whatever that distances or defends that preoccupation. To imagine that the actors of the drama have attended some school of beneficence before assuming control is irrational.
To the forefront…
It was a homage, a yearning to fulfill. I had to see the beach again. I had to rise upon the dunes and sense the wind across the sea. As I sailed on my tricycle along the winding pathway through the green corridor, I asked myself, “Would I admonish myself for not having tried?”
Backstepping
In control theory, backstepping is a technique developed circa 1990 by Petar V. Kokotovic, and others for designing stabilizing controls for a special class of nonlinear dynamical systems. These systems are built from subsystems that radiate out from an irreducible subsystem that can be stabilized using some other method. Because of this recursive structure, the designer can start the design process at the known-stable system and “back out” new controllers that progressively stabilize each outer subsystem. The process terminates when the final external control is reached. Hence, this process is known as backstepping.
The hype and international drama surrounding the latest White House meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy has caused emotions of many people to boil. Including my own. Though naturally I cannot speak for others, I have within the past twenty-four hours come to a radical reversal of my initial thoughts. Oddly enough my change of opinion has been prompted by social media. I know that will immediately prompt its own adverse reaction; but that too has become a source of different opinion. Social media for all its many faults – not the least of which include the publicity of falsehoods and intentionally devious distractions – is the medium by which much of the population of many countries relates to one another. Given the mounting objections to so-called press coverage through all the standard vehicles such as CNN, MSNBC and FOX NEWS, it is questionable whether they improve on what is being fed to the public. What has captured my attention in particular with what I have heard on TikTok in the past twenty-four hours are videos of qualified people addressing, not political positions so much as historical accounts. Some of these accounts are favourable to the American position, others are not.
Cake and coffee
We’re on a roll! It’s March 1st and we started things – our closing month here – with uncommon gusto. After an early morning breakfast at Palmetto Bay Sunrise Café (where the clatter and chatter and bustling activity reflected the island’s atmosphere of buoyancy on this sunny cloudless day) we stopped at Publix, got a few things, then headed home over the newly paved roads to our winter cottage at Lands End on Braddock Cove. But not before having diverted to Zips Car Wash where in addition to a summary wash we also vacuumed the car and sprayed and wiped the interior (as well as dusting the dash). All of which is to say, an ideal outing on a brilliant Saturday morning.
The whole bag!
Today is the end of February. Another perfect day on Hilton Head Island SC, clear sky, moderate temperatures, that magic feeling “Nowhere to go, Nothing to do”. The paving of the roadway in the immediate vicinity of Lands End (where our cottage is located on the southern toe of the island) nears completion; the sidewalk pathways are now finished, no more having to battle construction zones for cycling. The workers, in spite of their rough appearance and noisy machines, perform with artistic precision.
The signet ring
The signet ring is as singular as an engagement ring or a wedding band. It is predominantly worn by men and normally on the non-dominant left hand pinky finger. It is meant to be both noticeable and modest, a corruption not dissimilar to the austerity of royalty though without the middle finger vigour of the papal ring for kissing.
Ocean release
It has taken me a full month to adjust to our new bearings on Hilton Head Island. Even though we’ve always resided within Sea Pines Plantation whenever we have visited; and, even though over the past decade we have incrementally descended southerly from Marriott’s Grande Ocean where we first lingered here at the most northern end of Sea Pines (actually just outside the gate), then to Turtle Lane, Calibogue Club Villas, Beachside Tennis Villas, Cutter Court Villas (in Harbour Town) and South Beach Club, being now situate on Lands End (which as the name suggests is the most southern point of the island) there are very different highlights which distinguish the place. For one, we’re on Braddock Cove which adjoins Calibogue Sound and the North Atlantic Ocean. On this flat, sea level island there is nothing of consequence impeding the wind from the ocean. We are being perpetually refreshed in spite of being otherwise highly insulated and removed.