Sunday, May 29, 2022

Cellphone Screen Web Design

My notes, projects, tips, resources, links, files, and plans for CSS Style Sheet Webpage Design are now found online.  

I normally use a desktop Dell computer and a large Samsung digital monitor.  Most of my webpages, created since 1998, have been in simple HTML code, mostly created using Microsoft Front Page 2003 software.  

Years ago, I created an Green Way Research Index to my hypertext documents in HTML.  My interest and skills has been mostly in Content Creation (writing, reporting, research, documentation, compiling, linking, bibliography, guides...).   

I have decided to try to learn how to create webpages in both HTML and CSS code to display properly on my Samsung A32 cellphone.  I am learning how to CSS code from two textbooks.  I am now using Dreamweaver 2021 software for writing and editing, and use two textbooks for learning how to use Dreamweaver.  I also use online resources for learning CSS and Dreamweaver.  

Web publishing for decent display on a good web browser on a big monitor is one challenge, writing for display on a typical small screen cellphone is another challenge.  I check my webpage on Google Chrome and Microsoft Bing, on a big monitor.  I check my webpage on my Samsung A32 cellphone.  

I hope to learn how to use CSS coding ONLY to create webpages for cellphones that will display properly in a greater variety of cellphones.

This coming week CPS46.css ONLY!  CPS = Cellphone Poetry Series

The first document I created using a CSS style sheet is called : 
 
Seaside Snippets: Short Poems by Michael P. Garofalo

This first document worked fine in my Samsung A32 cellphone, but not so well in terms of margins and text size in my wife's newer and slightly larger Samsung cellphone.  I hope to learn how to improve my CSS webpage design skills in this area by using my two textbooks:

Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, CSS, JAVSCRIPT, and Web Graphics by Jennifer Niederst Robbins, 2018.  

HTML&CSS: Design and Build Websites.  By Jon Duckett.  Wiley, 2011, 500 pages.  


I have experienced some heart health problems since April 23rd, and so I have been taking in easy more.  Webpage design is definitely easy on the body, and challenging for the mind.  


Other relevant links to my short poems include:  

Slices from Time after Time

Poetry by Mike Garofalo

Cuttings: Haiku and Short Poems by Mike Garofalo

 



Saturday, May 28, 2022

Time and Time Again ...

I enjoyed reading The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli, 2018.  A fine summary of what physicists and philosophers of the past and present have thought about time, cogent examples, poetic analogies, good explanations of the issues involved, clear and readable.  

"The entire evolution of science would suggest that the best grammar for thinking about the world is that of change, not permanence.  Not of being, but of becoming.
We can think of the world as made up of things.  Of substances.  Of entities.  Of something that is
Or we can think of it as made up of events. Of happenings.  Of processes.  Of something that occurs."
Order of Time, p. 97  

I now have two other books to read by Carlo Rovelli, an Italian theoretical physicist and popular science author.  I borrowed the two books from the Cascade Library Branch of the Vancouver Regional Library District.    

Seven Brief Lesson on Physics, 2016

Reality is Not Wat It Seems: The Journey into Quantum Gravity, 2017.  


One book I am now studying each day is Learning Web Design: A Beginner's Guide to HTML, CSS, JAVSCRIPT, and Web Graphics by Jennifer Niederst Robbins, 2018.  I am designing my first CSS page for a cellphone display.  

Process Philosophy: Bibliography, History, Links, Information, Quotes.  By Michael P. Garofalo    


My own recent poetic reflections on Time, from my Slices of Time After Time:

.....  

"The arrow of Time never rests,
moving forward unrelenting
irreversible
from hot towards cold
from organized to disorganized
from past to future
from moving towards stillness
from life towards death.

Or, so it seems,
      to us,
      with our little particulars in view,
      and our social survival habits a must.


The spiderwebs of Time are legion,
multitudes of nows of heres;
Uncountable heres and theres
      unhitched
from any eternal present everywhere."  .....



the surf swallowed
all in its way─
night and day

the sea
smashed on the shore─
drifting thoughts


Thursday, May 26, 2022

Leaving the Seashore

Today, I head home to Vancouver from Pacific Beach. I plan to spend a few hours touring the City of Olympia.  

I collect poems, quotes, and sayings about life by the sea: Reflections of Beachcombers.  

Here are a few of my own poetic reflections:

From Slices of Time

The arrow of Time never rests,
    moving forward unrelenting
         irreversible
from hot towards cold
from organized to disorganized
from past to future
from moving towards stillness
from life towards death.
Or, 
so it seems,
    to us,
    with our little particulars in view
    and our social habits a must.
    
The spiderwebs of Time are legion
multitudes of nows of heres;
Uncountable heres and theres 
    unhitched
from any eternal present everywhere.

For a woman at eighty, or a lass of eight,
Time past or present carries different weights.


Haiku by Michael P. Garofalo

Blooms of Spring
flanked by evergreens---
sunshine on stones

the sea
smashed into the shore---
drifting thoughts

the surf wallowed
all in its way
night and day

cells in my hand
moving the sand─
raindrops washing the sea

rocks of the jetty
slick and cold─
black rockfish gather below

grains of sand
on Graylands' strand─
needles on pines



Olympia, Washington




While on this trip to the Southwest Washington coast I read two books:

I have found the following traveler's reference book to be invaluable while exploring the State of Washington.  It is detailed, specific, thorough, well researched, and highly informative:  
Exploring Washington's Past: A Road Guide to History.  By Ruth Kirk and Carmela Alexander.  Seattle, University of Washington Press, Revised Edition, 1995, detailed index, 543 pages.  

The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, Volume 2, Contemporary Poetry.  Edited by Jahan Ramazani, Richard Ellmann, and Robert O'Clair.  W.W.Norton, Third Edition, 2003, indexes, 1210 pages.


By Michael P. Garofalo


Wednesday, May 25, 2022

Lake Quinault

 Today, I plan to visit Lake Quinault and the Quinault Rain Forest.  



I have been camping in a yurt at Pacific Beach State Park.  Pacific Beach is only 31 miles from Lake Quinault via the Moclips highway.  Lake Quinault is the gateway to the Quinault Rain Forest in the Olympic National Park.  Very dramatic scenery in this area.  Seacoast, rivers, dense forests, mountains, lakes ....


Lake Quinault, Quinault Rain Forest, Quinault River

Lake Quinault is 52 miles north of Aberdeen, and 68 miles south of Forks. 

Lake Quinault Photographs

Quinault River Photographs

Quinault - Lodging

Quinault - Restaurants

Lake Quinault Lodge    Photographs   Built in 1926. 

Rain Forest Resort Village

Quinault Indian Nation 

Quinault Lake  Olympic National Park Region 

Quinault Rain Forest: Six Stunning Hikes Around Lake Quinault

 

"The Quinault Rain Forest is a temperate rain forest, which is part of the Olympic National Park and the Olympic National Forest in the U.S. state of Washington in Grays Harbor and Jefferson Counties. The rain forest is located in the valley formed by the Quinault River and Lake Quinault. The valley is called the "Valley of the Rain Forest Giants" because of the number of record size tree species located there. The largest specimens of Western Red CedarSitka SpruceWestern HemlockAlaskan Cedar and Mountain Hemlock are found in the forest as well as five of the ten largest Douglas-firs. The forest receives an average of 12 feet of rain per year. It is believed to be the area with the greatest number of record size giant tree species in the smallest area in the world. It does have the largest trees in the world outside of the state of California and New Zealand.  Located on the western side of the Olympic Mountains, the Quinault Valley was carved out by a glacier and ends at Lake Quinault.  The Qinault Rain Forest is a tourist area with a number of resorts and lodges located on either side of Lake Quinault."
 Quinault Rain Forest

 

Quinault Valley Brochure  "The Quinault Valley is a wilderness gateway to alpine meadows, jeweled lakes and ice-carved peaks. For shorter visits, the valley has a scenic loop drive and short trails through temperate rain forest in both Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest.  Quinault is located in the southwestern area of the park."   

 

"Once the novelty wears off of the Hoh, after the Queets has been attempted, and the Bogachiel has been fully hiked, locals and visitors to Olympic National Park tend to settle on exploring the Quinault Rainforest for the rest of eternity.  Complete with an amazing lake, fantastic day hikes, rustic, large lodges, and remote chalets, it is hard to find a location more beautiful than the Quinault.  For those who like simple walks, the Rainforest Trail near Lake Quinault Lodge consists of 13 miles of fun, easy to access, well-maintained trails. Along the road to the more remote hikes, waterfalls plunge down along rocky sections, flowing into the salmon-filled, eagle-lined Quinault River. The region is beautiful, breathtaking, and the perfect example of rainforest beauty. Capped off with the majestic views of mountains, waterfalls, and wilderness from the Enchanted Valley, the Quinault Rainforest must be experienced to fully understand its majesty."
-  Douglas Scott, The Magical Rainforests of Olympic National Park

   

Quinault River  NS

Quinault Rain Forest Nature Trail

Quinault Lake and Rain Forest Brochure  Hiking map, trails, information. 

Quinault Rain Forest Family Trip: Moss, Giant Spruce, and Rain

Quinault Rain Forest Bus Tours

Lake Quinault Rain Forest


"The Quinault Rain Forest is one of four rich temperate rain forest canopies that lie within the west side of Washington’s Olympic Mountains. It begins in the Mount Anderson drainage to the east and the Low Divide drainage to the northwest.  This majestic forest follows the paths of the North and East Forks of the Quinault River. These forks meander down the valley and merge into one Quinault River, which enters beautiful Lake Quinault.  The Quinault Rain Forest completely surrounds Lake Quinault, bringing its unique biological community to the shoreline.  Big Douglas firs, western red cedar and pacific silver fir dominate the main forest upper canopy.  Adding to this rich dark green are the moisture dependent Sitka spruce and the western hemlock. The forest canopy is open, allowing streams of sunlight to reach the forest floor.  These huge conifers along with the big leaf maple and alder along the river bars comprise first impressions for those visiting the Quinault Rain Forest.  The Quinault Rain Forest understory is comprised of fern, devil’s club, and hanging curtains of moss, which add a rich bright, green hue. Indian-Plum, salmonberry, thimbleberry, blueberry and wild blackberry bush flowers provide nectar for the rufous hummingbird and bees. A variety of wild flowers and bright berries add their special colors to this enchanted garden setting.  Bear grass, skunk-cabbage, twisted-stalk, trillium, bleeding heart, Indian paintbrush, and bunchberry are a few that can be found. The forest floor’s covering is dotted with the delightful earthy colors of mushrooms and lichens that abound in this damp ecosystem."
 Quinault Rain Forest  

 

"Lake Quinault (/kwɪˈnɒlt/ or /kwɪˈnɔːlt/) is a lake on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington state. It is located in the glacial-carved Quinault Valley of the Quinault River, at the southern edge of Olympic National Park in the northwestern United States. One of the most dominant features of Lake Quinault is its location within the Quinault Rain Forest, a temperate rain forest.  Area activities include fishing (with permit from the Quinaults), scenic drives (a loop around the lake is longer than 30 miles (48 km)), and hiking. The southern side of the lake features a system of short hiking trails maintained by the U.S. Forest Service that are accessible to casual day hikers.  he southern side of the lake is home to the historic Lake Quinault Lodge and the Rain Forest Resort Village and is encompassed by the Olympic National Forest. The Quinault Loop Trail on the south side of the lake and the nearby Quinault Rain Forest Interpretive Trail connecting campgrounds, trails, and the lodge, with excellent temperate rainforest viewing. Each trail was designated a National Recreation Trail in 1979. The north side of the lake is bordered mainly by private homes and some small resorts located in Olympic National Park.  Lake Quinault receives an average of 332.92 centimeters (131.07 inches) of precipitation per year."
 Lake Quinault - Wikipedia
 

Taholah Village at Pacific terminus of the Quinault River.  Store, small museum.  Quinault Indian Reservation territory.   

 

"The Lake Quinault Loop is one of the state’s most breathtaking scenic drives, dazzling everyone in the car any month of the year. From visiting the World’s Largest Spruce Tree and exploring the beauty of Merriman Falls, to enjoying the elk near the Kestner Cabin and picnicking along the lake at July Creek, there are no wrong choices while driving around Quinault.  The best place to start is at the Lake Quinault Lodge. Originally built in 1926, in the same style as the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone, the two story, V-shaped structure is rumored to be the location where President Franklin Delano Roosevelt decided to support the creation of Olympic National Park. Watch for animals, enjoy moss draped trees, see towering forests and enjoy the babbling brooks and numerous roadside waterfalls found along this short, 34-mile loop drive. We have outlined ten destinations to explore along the paved and dirt roads that circle Lake Quinault, promising to give you a day’s worth of beautiful and stunning must-stop destinations. For an added bonus, drive out to Graves Creek and into Olympic National Park. Along this out and back gravel road, you’ll be surrounded by unrivaled wilderness, huge trees dripping in moss, and endless sights of ferns."
-  Douglas Scott, Lake Quinault Rain Forest Auto Loop Road 


Four Days in Grayland
By Michael P. Garofalo

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

Douglas Fir Trees

Douglas Fir trees abound along the coastal northwest mountains, Cascade mountains, and Olympic mountains.  I have four such beautiful Douglas Fir trees in my own backyard in Vancouver, Washington.  



"From the decks of the 
Pringle the foliage of the Douglas Fir appeared yellow-green in the sunlight but dark, almost black when shaded.  The broad lower branches dropped gently, the upper branches curved up at the tips, and the crowns formed perfect pyramids.  The boles were seen to be very straight and of great size.  Even from a distance the men were struck by the symmetry of the massive cinnamon-brown columns.  When the ship anchored at Discovery Bay and the party went ashore and into the forest, they were awed by the trees' height and by the thickness of the furrowed bard, sometimes a foot through to sapwood.  They measured fallen trees and found them 250 to 280 feet long and twelve to fourteen feet through at the butt." 1853, "The Last Wilderness," Murray Morgan 1955, p. 55




While visiting Nisqually Forest Industry Nursery in 1950, a seed harvesting nursery, Murry Morgan writes:
"A Douglas Fir cone contains from twenty to eighty seeds: a bushel of cones, when dried and threshed, will yield from four ounces to a pound of seed.  Each pound of threshed Douglas fir seed contains forty thousand potential trees."  ...  After holding a fifty pound bag of Douglas fir seeds, Murray writes: "For a moment I will never forget, I stood in the dim office with the rain beating on the roof, and I held in my hands the seed of two million Douglas firs--the forest that our children's children's children will see growing on the slopes of the Olympics."




I enjoyed reading the following book:

The Last Wilderness: A History of the Olympic Peninsula.  By Murray Morgan (1916-2000).  University of Washington Press, 1955, 2019, 262 pages.  Mr. Morgan was an author of 21 books, a newspaperman, and historian.  His storytelling is engaging, lively, and filled with personal accounts of the people who lived and worked in the Olympic Peninsula.  Logging and fishing were the mainstays since 1850 for settlers, and now tourism is a key economic contributor.  

Douglas Fir - Wikipedia

Murry writes about the Indians of the Olympic Peninsula and their thoughts about the forest resources:

"The water that falls on the western slopes means wealth to--the wealth of the rain forest.  The Indians believed that the forest was made from the bodies of those who lived on the land in the Time Before Everything Changed.  Once, they said, there was no wood in the land, nothing but grass and sand, so Those Who Changed Things decided the Indians would need fuel.  They went out changing people.  To one they said, "You are old and your heart is dry; you will make good kindling wood, for your grease has turned hard and will make pitch.  Your name is Do-ho-dupt, and you shall be the spruce tree, which when it grows old, will make dry wood always."  To another: "Your name is Kla-ka-bupt, and you shall be the hemlock, with your sour smell."  Those Who Changed Things knew the people would want some harder wood--so: "Kwahk-sa-bupt, you of the strong muscles and firm flesh, you shall be the alder.  You, Kla-ahik-tle-bupt, are tough and strong, and you shall be the yew tree, and people will use you to make wedges for splitting logs.  And the people will need soft wood for canoes, so you, Lla-ae-sook, the young-old man, shall be the cedar."  To Dopt-ko-bupt they said "You shall be the crab-apple, and since you have a bad temper you shall bear sour fruit."  And the trees grew and endured."
-  Murray, 1955, p. 6




  


This week I camped at a yurt at Pacific Beach State Park.  It is 31 miles from Lake Quinault via the Moclips highway.  Lake Quinault is the gateway to the Quinault Rain Forest in the Olympic National Park.  Very dramatic scenery in this area.  Seacoast, rivers, dense forests, mountains, lakes ....

"Douglas fir, the dominant tree on the Olympic Peninsula, has also been called Oregon pine, red pine, Puget Sound pine, Oregon spruce, red spruce, Douglas spruce, red fir, yellow fir, Oregon fir, and spruce fir.  Its scientific name, Pseudotsuga taxifolia, is a compound of Greek, Japanese, and Latin, and means "false hemlock with foliage like yew."  David Douglas (1799-1834), the Scottish botanist and explorer who is honored by its popular name, describe the tree in his field books as "one of the most striking and truly graceful objects in nature."  Then he added prophetically, "The wood may be found very useful for a variety of domestic purposes."
-  Morgan Murray, p. 55


Four Days in Grayland
By Michael P. Garofalo



Monday, May 23, 2022

Pacific Beach Yurt Camping

Today, I will drive from Vancouver to Centralia on I5, then to Raymond on WA6, then north on 101 to Aberdeen and Hoquiam, then northwest on WA 109 to Pacific Beach on the shores of Pacific Ocean.  It is approximately 175 miles of normally easy driving.  Pacific Beach is about 35 miles from Aberdeen.  

I will be camping in a yurt campground.  I expect the usual: rain, cold, dampness, big waves.  I have never camped at this State Park in the past.  

Pacific Beach State Park, Washington








Aberdeen  Population 16,900   NS  Largest city on the southwest Pacific coast of Washington. 

Aberdeen Images

Aberdeen Lady Washington Sailing Vessel  NS

Aberdeen: Polson Museum     Aberdeen Timberland Library

Aberdeen Stores:  Shopping   Restaurants   Cannabis 

Grays Harbor Historical Seaport in Aberdeen

Around Aberdeen and Matawan.  By Helen Henderson.  Arcadia, 1996, 128 pages.  Images of America Series.  History, photographs. 




Four Days in Grayland
By Michael P. Garofalo

Sunday, May 22, 2022

DaoDeJing Chapter 73

 Dao De Jing, Laozi

Chapter 73

"One who’s fearless in being brave will be killed.
One who’s fearless in being cautious remains alive.
One of these is useful, the other harmful.
Heaven disdains what it disdains
Who knows the reasons why?
Even the wise find these things difficult.
The way of heaven
Overcomes easily without contention,
Replies though it does not speak,
Invites though it does not summon,
Obeys the laws though it seems free.
The net of heaven is vast.
The mesh is wide
But nothing slips through."
-  Translated by A. S. Kline, 2003, Chapter 73  


"Courage carried to daring leads to death.
Courage restrained by caution leads to life.
These two things, courage and caution, are sometimes beneficial and sometimes harmful.
Some things are rejected by heaven, who can tell the reason?
Therefore the wise man deems all acting difficult. 
The Tao of heaven does not quarrel, yet it conquers.
It speaks not, yet its response is good.
It issues no summons but things come to it naturally because its devices are good.
Heaven's net is vast, indeed! its meshes are wide but it loses nothing."
-  Translated by Dwight Goddard, 1919, Chapter 73 

"Daring to act means death
daring not to act means life
of these two one benefits
one harms what Heaven hates who knows the reasons
the Way of Heaven wins easily without a fight
answers wisely without a word
comes quickly without a summons
plans ingeniously without a thought
the Net of Heaven is all-embracing
its mesh is wide but nothing escapes."
-   Translated by Bill Porter (Red Pine), 1996, Chapter 73 



"That courage which is manifest by bravado and foolhardiness,
Leads to disaster and death.
That which is not so manifest,
Leads to life.
Between these two,
One benefits - one does not.
Even the Sage has difficulty in knowing why one of these brings destruction from above.
It is the way of nature -
- Not to compete, yet to achieve victory.
- Not to ask, yet to obtain an answer.
- Not to summon, yet be supplied all needs.
- Not to overtly plan, yet to achieve results.
Truly - the net of nature is cast far and wide.
Tho' its mesh be coarse,
Yet nothing escapes."
-  Translated by Alan B. Taplow, 1982, Chapter 73  

"One who shows bravery by being daring will get killed one who shows bravery by not being daring will survive.
But in both these cases: "Sometimes it helps, sometimes it harms.
What Heaven picks to hate - who knows the reason?
And so the Wise Person: Treats things as difficult.
Heaven's Way: Not contending, but excels at overcoming not speaking, but excels in getting answers not summoning, but people come of themselves lax, but excels at organization.
Heaven's net is very wide - loosely woven, but it lets nothing slip by."
-  Translated by Michael LaFargue, 1992, Chapter 73 



"Reckless bravery leads to death;
careful bravery leads to life.
One leads to good, the other harm.
Heaven hates what it hates:
who knows the reason?
Not even those who are enlightened know why.
The Dao of heaven
does not contend yet overcomes with ease,
does not speak yet communicates with ease,
does not summon yet attracts things naturally,
seems unhurried yet plans with ease.
The net of Heaven is vast.
Its meshes may be wide,
but not a thing slips through."
-   Translated by Tim Chilcott, 2005, Chapter 73 





 
Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching


Saturday, May 21, 2022

Change of Plans: Heart Problems

Unfortunately, for me, I could not take my planned Yurt Camping Trip to Pacific Beach on May 23-26.  

In late April, I worked too hard in my backyard garden one clear cold damp day, and I had a mild heart attack.  On May 15, my cardiac medical group and EKG tests revealed that my heart was now in AFib  (atrial fibrillation), and my internal pacemaker recorded an incident on April 24th, that put my heart in AFib.

I am scheduled for a cardioversion on June 8, 2022, at the Peace Health Hospital Complex, Mill Plain Blvd., Vancouver, WA, Physicians Pavilion, Cardiac Division - Electrical, the procedure will be controlled by Dr. Zahourian, at 10:00 am.  I have Medicare and Anthem/Blue Cross Medical Insurance in Vancouver.  

Maybe this procedure can help me in some way.  My Five Lucky Fingers Are in a Bird's Beak!!  

Five years ago, Dr. Gungor installed a pacemaker to correct my increasing bradycardia problem.  This device has worked wonders to my sense of well being.  I take my blood pressure each day, and my heartbeat is never lower than 60 beats per minute.    

Right now, 2022 05 21 6:36 am,
If I am sitting, then I feel fine. 
I can stand and move slowly and carefully on flat surfaces.  I wear good shoes.  
I use a good long cane for balance and avoiding falls.  
I handle all bathing and personal care and dressing myself on my own.
I try to stand up and move my body every 30 minutes ... limbering, stretching, walking, chores.  
I am taking a blood thinner: Eliquis
I take flu prevention measures and consider myself as high risk right now.  
I enjoy reading, writing, photography, website creation, and many private hobbies.  
I handle most assigned household maintenance chores on schedule.  
I can no longer do heavy lifting or very strenuous activities as when I was 65 years of age.
I enjoy Yoga at home, Feldenkrais, Qigong, slow Tai Chi practice, stretching. 
I no longer teach Yoga, Tai Chi Chuan, or Qigong.    
 

Sometimes, after sitting, when I get up and start walking quickly or up a hill, I will become lightheaded, weak, breathing more rapidly, chest tightening, alarmed/anxious/concerned, unbalanced ... sick.  I suddenly feel totally out of shape, a weakling, and I sit.  In a minute or so my breathing returns to normal, all senses functional, and I get up and move OK.  Knowing now that I am being treated for AFib makes these new unpleasant bodily experiences even more alarming - is this episode the BIG ONE that will cash me out, TIA me, stroke me...   

I can no longer climb to the top of Mt. Lassen, 10,457 feet, as I did in 2006 at age 60.  I did view the northeast side of Mt. Ranier last summer from Sunrise Point ... driving to this viewpoint.  Digressions keep the mind off one way tracks of thought.  

I was eating lunch with a co-worker in 1975, Mrs. Lesnick, and she had a heart attack and died there.
I visited some during the last hours of my father's life.  He was unconscious, quiet, and dying of congestive heart failure.  I spoke with a kindly Roman Catholic Priest who gave my dad the Last Rites.  

In April 2022, I walked nearly every day for 40 minutes.  Sometimes I came back breathing pretty hard.  Mostly, felt fine walking under overcast Vancouver Spring skies.  

The unpredictability of these new unpleasant bodily spells/attacks, and the anxiety they can arouse, makes me favor staying at our home in Vancouver from May 15th - June 30th, 2022.  I will just take it easy in Vancouver until my 
June 8 cardioversion procedure.  I have the support of family here to help me through any difficult times.  

So, I cancelled my trip to Pacific Beach State Park, Washington, 5/23-5/26.  They refunded a decent amount.  Booking a Yurt for $62 a night is practical for a solo camper like myself.  A person needs to be sure of their health when they go Yurt camping alone at a distant place like Pacific Beach.  

However, I am going to let the next four posts about going to Pacific Beach and the Quinault Rainforest run anyway.  They have local travel information, facts about Douglas Fir trees, and info on the Quinault Rainforest.  

As if ... What was Planned ... Local Travel Information ... Places I Plan to Return To Soon 

Karen and I garden at our home.  Winter and Springtime temperatures between 40F to 55F, keep gardeners dressing warm in Vancouver.  

We planted three trees in December.


Birds love juicy wisteria blossoms.





Ready for some chores.


Two dogs want to be in the warm corner
of the cold garage in winter.  Near
the workbench, space heater, and tools.
We were dog-sitting the Golden Retriever under my seat.






Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Training Principles

"1.) Head upright to let the shen [spirit of vitality] rise to the top of the head. Don't use li [external strength], or the neck will be stiff and the ch'i [vital life energy] and blood cannot flow through. It is necessary to have a natural and lively feeling. If the spirit cannot reach the headtop, it cannot raise.

2.) Sink the chest and pluck up the back. The chest is depressed naturally inward so that the ch'i can sink to the tan-t'ien [field of elixir]. Don't expand the chest: the ch'i gets stuck there and the body becomes top-heavy. The heel will be too light and can be uprooted. Pluck up the back and the ch'i sticks to the back; depress the chest and you can pluck up the back. Then you can discharge force through the spine. You will be a peerless boxer.

3.) Sung [Relax] the waist. The waist is the commander of the whole body. If you can sung the waist, then the two legs will have power and the lower part will be firm and stable. Substantial and insubstantial change, and this is based on the turning of the waist. It is said "the source of the postures lies in the waist. If you cannot get power, seek the defect in the legs and waist."

4.) Differentiate between insubstantial and substantial. This is the first principle in T'ai Chi Ch'uan. If the weight of the whole body is resting on the right leg, then the right leg is substantial and the left leg is insubstantial, and vice versa. When you can separate substantial and insubstantial, you can turn lightly without using strength. If you cannot separate, the step is heavy and slow. The stance is not firm and can be easily thrown of balance.

5.) Sink the shoulders and drop the elbows. The shoulders will be completely relaxed and open. If you cannot relax and sink, the two shoulders will be raised up and tense. The ch'i will follow them up and the whole body cannot get power. "Drop the elbows" means the elbows go down and relax. If the elbows raise, the shoulders are not able to sink and you cannot discharge people far. The discharge will then be close to the broken force of the external schools.

6.) Use the mind instead of force. The T'ai Chi Ch'uan Classics say, "all of this means use I [mind-intent] and not li." In practicing T'ai Chi Ch'uan the whole body relaxes. Don't let one ounce of force remain in the blood vessels, bones, and ligaments to tie yourself up. Then you can be agile and able to change. You will be able to turn freely and easily. Doubting this, how can you increase your power?

The body has meridians like the ground has ditches and trenches. If not obstructed the water can flow. If the meridian is not closed, the ch'i goes through. If the whole body has hard force and it fills up the meridians, the ch'i and the blood stop and the turning is not smooth and agile. Just pull one hair and the whole body is off-balance. If you use I, and not li, then the I goes to a place in the body and the ch'i follows it. The ch'i and the blood circulate. If you do this every day and never stop, after a long time you will have nei chin [real internal strength]. 

The T'ai Chi Ch'uan Classics say, "when you are extremely soft, you become extremely hard and strong." Someone who has extremely good T'ai Chi Ch'uan kung fu has arms like iron wrapped with cotton and the weight is very heavy. As for the external schools, when they use li, they reveal li. When they don't use li, they are too light and floating. There chin is external and locked together. The li of the external schools is easily led and moved, and not too be esteemed.

7.) Coordinate the upper and lower parts of the body. The T'ai Chi Ch'uan Classics say "the motion should be rooted in the feet, released through the legs, controlled by the waist and manifested through the fingers." Everything acts simultaneously. When the hand, waist and foot move together, the eyes follow. If one part doesn't follow, the whole body is disordered.

8.) Harmonize the internal and external. In the practice of T'ai Chi Ch'uan the main thing is the shen. Therefore it is said "the spirit is the commander and the body is subordinate." If you can raise the spirit, then the movements will naturally be agile. The postures are not beyond insubstantial and substantial, opening and closing. That which is called open means not only the hands and feet are open, but the mind is also open. That which is called closed means not only the hands and feet are closed, but the mind is also closed. When you can make the inside and outside become one, then it becomes complete.

9.) Move with continuity. As to the external schools, their chin is the Latter Heaven brute chin. Therefore it is finite. There are connections and breaks. During the breaks the old force is exhausted and the new force has not yet been born. At these moments it is very easy for others to take advantage. T'ai Chi Ch'uan uses I and not li. From beginning to end it is continuous and not broken. It is circular and again resumes. It revolves and has no limits. The original Classics say it is "like a great river rolling on unceasingly." and that the circulation of the chin is "drawing silk from a cocoon " They all talk about being connected together.

10.) Move with tranquility [Seek stillness in movement]. The external schools assume jumping about is good and they use all their energy. That is why after practice everyone pants. T'ai Chi Ch'uan uses stillness to control movement. Although one moves, there is also stillness. Therefore in practicing the form, slower is better. If it is slow, the inhalation and exhalation are long and deep and the ch'i sinks to the tan-t'ien. Naturally there is no injurious practice such as engorgement of the blood vessels. The learner should be careful to comprehend it. Then you will get the real meaning."

-  By Yang Cheng-fu (1883 - 1936) as researched by Lee N. Scheele


 T'ai Chi Ch'uan Bibliography

Yang Style Taijiquan

Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan  By Fu Zhongwen.  Translated by Louis Swaim.  Berkeley, California, Blue Snake Books, c 1999, 2006.  Bibliography, glossary, 226 pages.  ISBN: 9781583941522.  VSCL.  Fu Zongwen (1919-1994) was a student of Yang Cheng Fu.  Translations of many Tai Chi classics are included.  A list of 85 movements are provided.  251 movement analysis illustrations.  Over 76 of the illustrations are traced and drawn from photographs of Yang Chengfu.  Detailed descriptions of the long form, pp. 26-162.  Push hands information.  Yang Tai Chi essentials.



Master Cheng's Thirteen Chapters On Tai Chi Ch'uan. By Cheng Man-ch'ing. Translated by Douglas Wile. 101 pages. Sweet Chi Press, 1982. 101 pages. ISBN: 978-0912059006. Originally written in Chinese in 1949. VSCL.


The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan. By Yang, Chengfu (1883-1936). Translated by Louis Swaim. The original publication date was in 1934. The original book was edited by Professor Cheng Man-Chi'ng. Berkeley, California, North Atlantic Books, 2005. Introduction, appendices, bibliography, 124 pages. ISBN: 1556435452. In this book, the entire sequence of the specialized and named martial movements/postures/sections/forms is numbered from Section 1 up to Section 94; thus, the popular long taijiquan from, the Yang 94 Form. VSCL.





Monday, May 16, 2022

A Blessing for Death

"I pray that you will have the blessing of being consoled and sure about your own death.
May you know in your soul that there is no need to be afraid.
When your time comes, may you be given every blessing and shelter that you need.
May there be a beautiful welcome for you in the home that you are going to.
You are not going somewhere strange.  You are going back to the home that you never left.
May you have a wonderful urgency to life you life to the full.
May you live compassionately and creatively and transfigure everything that is negative within you and about you.
When you come to die may it be after a long life.
May you be peaceful and happy and in the presence of those who really care for you.
May your going be sheltered and your welcome assured.
May your soul smile in the embrace of your anam cara."
-  John O'Donohue (1956-2008)l, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom, p. 230. 


Death and Dying: Quotes, Poems, Lore 

Sunday, May 15, 2022

DreamWeaver Days - Now Beginning

Dw     DreamWeaver

Adobe Dreamweaver Version 2.1 2021
I started using DreamWeaver on May 15, 2022
By Michael P. Garofalo 


From 2003 to 2022 I used Microsoft Front Page 2003 to develop webpages and websites. 
Pretty much simple .html webpages.  Index: https://www.egreenway.com/index.htm
Using Front Page was free after that first CD purchase way back in 2003.  

I use CuteFTP for FTP file/image transfer/management, and do not, at present, use Dw for that function.  There are many specific 2 panel line ups I have set up and linked up via all the specialized FTP settings need to connect with my WebHome on a Blue Host WebServer in Utah.  All my specialized and personalized settings work well in the CuteFTP software.  I think I first used this FTP transfer software back in 2000.    

I currently use the Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Bridge package (@ $11.00 per month) .   My wife and I have many current photography projects.  

I have used Blogger since 2005.  It a quite powerful blogging tool for my low tech needs, is free, has plenty of options, and works just fine.

Unfortunately, My old "free" Microsoft Front Page 2003 will no longer work anymore @May2022!  Died!  RIP FrontPage.  

I purchased, installed, and am now (5/15/2022-) using and learning to use
Adobe Dreamweaver Version 2.1 2021.  

The Adobe Dreamweaver software comes with many good on-line instructional videos.  User groups, Q&A groups, UTube instructional videos, online instructors, and books are available to help a person learn how to create and edit webpages (i.e. hypertext documents, online documents) and manage whole websites using DreamWeaver.  Cost = $23.00 per month.  

This DreamWeaver software is used my many website design professionals along with possible WordPress applications.   

I purchased about $150 on DreamWeaver printed textbooks; mostly used.  I will probably use the following book as my main guide to using DreamWeaver:

Adobe Dreamweaver Classroom in a Book (2021 release)  1st Edition.  By James Maivald.  Adobe Press, 2021, 464 pages, $56.00.  

For now, in May, 

editing old webpages with Dreamweaver (Dw) for practice;
text editing features, side panels, tricks, search/find, design view WYSIWYG, keystroke setups; 
inserting images, graphics, links, text;
reading Maivald's DreamWeaver book;  
uploading edited hypertext documents to Blue Host WebServer using the CuteFTP software;
checking my work on Google Chrome home desktop Samsung screen;
check on consolidated $56.00 a month plan for all Adobe software; 
templates in Dw for photo gallery or shows;
add more "Sites" to DreamWeaver;




Thursday, May 12, 2022

Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo

Here are a few selections from a collection of 1,043 one-liners (i.e., quips, quotes, aphorisms, jokes, observations, etc.) from Pulling Onions by Michael P. Garofalo:


Mother Nature is always pregnant. 
Time creeps, walks, runs and flies - it is all about moving things. 
Chaos breaks its own rules to allow Order to play. 
Dogmatists are less useful than dogs. 
Take life with a grain of salt, and a icy margarita. 
The best things in life are more expensive than you think. 
Rather than "love mankind," I'd rather admire a few good people. 
Some flourish when crowded together, others don't. 
Garbage In, Compost Out. 
It is more about You and Now, rather than Them and Back Then. 
Hunting for tomato worms- no mercy. 
A pocket knife will be its dullest at just the right time. 
While gardening the borders between work and play become blurred.
When gardening, look up more often.
Just the right words can be worth more than a thousand pictures. 
Death's door is always unlocked. 
A flower needs roots; beauty a society of minds. 
A callused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb. 
A working hypothesis is far better than a belief. 
Only two percent of all insects are harmful.  Why are they all in my garden? 
Create your own garden, the god's certainly won't. 
That something is eternal is unverifiable. 
Most laws of Gardening are merely local ordinances. 
Failures, disorder and death are the Grim Reaper of Entropy at work. 
Somehow, someway, everything gets eaten up, someday. 
The meaning is lost in the saying - a nature mystic's dilemma. 
Vigorous gardening might help more than a psychiatrist's couch. 
A gardener is no farmer, he is much too impractical. 
No garden lasts for long - neither will you. 
Shade, in the summer, is as precious as a glass of water. 
A wise gardener knows when to stop. 
Gardens are demanding pets. 
Unclench your fist to give a hand. 
The little choices day after day are the biggest issue. 
Gardening is but one battle against Chaos. 
When life gives you onions, you ain't making lemonade. 
Many friendships are sustained by a mutual hatred of another person or group.
Read until you go to seed. 
Death's door is always unlocked. 
Autumn Yellow, the mirror image of Spring Green. 
What you see depends on when you look. 
Beauty is the Mistress, the gardener her slave. 
One's "true self" is changing and elusive. 
A little of this and a little of that, and some exceptions - these are the facts. 
Does a plum tree with no fruit have Buddha Nature?  Whack! 

-   Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo  (1,043 One Line Quips)