Friday, September 30, 2022, Delray Beach, Florida


Notes From My Journal

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Hurricane!

It’s been a long time since a strong hurricane passed through this part of Florida. The last one that hit us hard was Irma, a Category 4 storm, in 2017.

Ian came and went Tuesday and Wednesday with only a minimum amount of damage. At Paradise Palms, we were lucky. A Queen Palm blew over. (It will be righted today.) And a 30-foot Royal Palm basically broke in half. It looks like a huge toothpick. (That one’s a goner.)

The thing about living in a hurricane zone is that every time there is one, the weather channels do everything they can to get high ratings. And that means lots of silly stunts to make it look worse than it is.

Ian was classified as a Category 5 storm. That’s as powerful as a hurricane can get. These monster storms can bring wind speeds of more than 150 miles per hour. But it’s not just the wind speed that determines the potential damage a hurricane can cause. Just as important, sometimes more important, is how fast it moves. It might surprise you to know that slow-moving hurricanes generally cause more damage. That’s because they spend more time in any given area pounding away at buildings and trees. Another big factor is storm surges, which, in areas like ours (just across from the beach) often cause the most damage.

Since 1924, there have been 35 documented hurricanes in the North Atlantic that reached this level. And of those, five hit the United States at Category 5 strength. Each is, in itself, a fascinating story. You can read about them here.

Business & Marketing

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Checking In on Checking Out

The last time I was in an airport, I selected a coffee and a sandwich at a kiosk, only to discover that there was no one there to check me out. I stood there, puzzled. Then I noticed that the cash register was more than just a cash register. It was a self-checkout machine.

“Oh, boy,” I thought. “This is going to be embarrassing.”

I’d had a few run-ins with such equipment before. If you’ve ever been in a situation where you’re incompetently trying to make a machine work, while people stand behind you, shaking their heads, you know what I mean. This particular machine, though, was easy to use. I felt a flush of pride when it thanked me for my purchase.

I got to wondering about automation in general and these automatic checkout machines in particular. I’m sure they’re economical in terms of labor costs. But what about the cost of dealing with people that need help to use them? And what about theft? (No one was watching me. I’m pretty sure I could have walked away without paying.)

I did a bit of research. Apparently, there are lots of people who share my discomfort with this technology. According to a report in the WSJ, two out of three shoppers report having problems with it.

Nevertheless, the number of these machines is increasing. In 2018, self-checkout accounted for 18% of grocery transactions. Last year, it was 30%. This year, it is expected to be 35% to 40%. And some chains, like Walmart, Kroger, Dollar General, and Albertsons, are testing self-checkout-only stores. (My friend and colleague, TS, tells me that Amazon is trying something even more advanced. You just pick up what you want and leave the store with it. All the items are tracked, and your account is billed.)

According to The Hustle, one of these machines costs from $14,000 to $40,000. Even amortized over two years, it’s cheaper than hiring a human checkout clerk. Do the math over a 10-year period, which is probably closer to the machines’ useful life expectancy, and you have numbers that are impossible to ignore. Humans behind cash registers will soon be a thing of the past.

In the meantime, there will be embarrassing moments for people like me. Like this one:

Click here.

Fun and/or Interesting

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How the World Will Look to Your Kids and Grandkids 

I’ve always thought that the answer to racism would be miscegenation on a universal scale. Likewise with religious intolerance: Make it a universal law that you can get married only to someone of a different race and religion. (No need to deal with sex and gender. That area is already an open border.)

If we could just get on with it! Start marrying across racial and religious boundaries until we are one homogeneous globe of mutts!

And that day may one day come. But it won’t be in the next 28 years.

According to a report TS sent me from Gatestone Institute, baby-making trends around the world are widely different and will change world demographics greatly by 2050. The long view is this: In wealthy countries, we have negative birthrates, while birthrates in the poorest countries are growing rapidly.

The facts, as reported, are surprising. Here a few of the findings:

By 2050…

* More than half the increase of the global population will be concentrated in just eight countries: Nigeria, Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Tanzania in Africa. Plus India, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Nigeria will have more inhabitants than Europe and the United States.

* Islam will have overtaken Christianity as the predominant religion in the world.

* Taiwan’s population will have shrunk to 20 million people, their average age rising from 39 (today) to 57. At that point, from China’s point of view, Taiwan will be almost irrelevant.

Now, the Gatestone Institute is clearly a conservative organization. And it’s obvious from how they present these facts that they don’t like what the future will bring. But facts are facts. If you have always assumed that the world you grew up in (and live in now) would look largely the same in the not-too-distant future, you might want to read the entire Gatestone report here.

And click here for a link to the same data, presented differently.

A Word to the Wise

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Miscegenation is a fancy word for “interracial marriage.” Now usually considered offensive or pejorative, it is derived from a combination of the Latin miscere (“mix”) and genus (“race”). As I used it above: “I’ve always thought that the answer to racism would be miscegenation on a universal scale.”

Worth Watching

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Sir 

Released (France) Dec. 26, 2018

Written, produced, and directed by Rohena Gera

Starring Tillotama Shome and Vivek Gomber

Available on Netflix

During my time in the hospital, I was so distracted that couldn’t bring myself to watch a movie. I spent a lot of time playing solitaire and other mindless digital games. Not healthy or productive, I know.

Since coming home, I’ve been trying to get back to more challenging forms of entertainment. I’m treating my mind the way one would an upset stomach. I began with Jell-O, and then moved on to more substantial things. The other night, when I was at what I would call the “mashed potato” stage, I chose to watch Sir. A romantic comedy, but with a twist.

Sir is an Indian, Hindi-language movie made in 2018. I could tell from the packaging that it was about an Indian woman that goes to work for a wealthy, single man. But since the story is located in Mumbai and not LA, I knew it would be more problematic than the rich-man-poor-girl cliché with a predictable happy ending. I know India. And I know it is a very class-conscious culture. The poor girl-rich-guy story can’t work easily there.

And so, I watched it. And liked it very much. It had some of the elements you want from a rich-boy-poor-girl romantic comedy, but with a serious portrayal of the class consciousness of Indian society.

Critical Reception 

* “A Cinderella tale of sorts, the film nonetheless gains gravity for its insight into Indian social rigidities that tether both impoverished villagers and well-heeled urbanites.” (Maggie Lee, Variety)

* “This is a delicately observed and attractive drama with some great Mumbai cityscapes and an excellent performance from Shome.” (Peter Bradshaw, Guardian)

* “Sir is a delicate and powerful look at human connection.” (Alison Gillmor, Winnipeg Free Press)

You can watch the trailer here.

Fun and/or Interesting

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From Bonner Private Wine Partnership: Julien talks about the best Spanish reds…

Inside Paradise Palms Botanical & Sculpture Gardens

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The conservancy that I’m developing in West Delray Beach, FL, has one of the largest and best-curated palm tree collections in the world, as well as a growing collection of outdoor sculptures, a traditionally styled Japanese tea house, a stock of African cycads, and dozens of other exotic plants and trees.

Here’s one of the palms:

The Everglades Palm

Also known as: Paurtois Palm and Madeira Palm
Binomial name: Acoelorrhaphe wrightii

We have several large species in the Florida section of the park. I like them because (1) they are native to Florida, (2) they are a clustering plant, which makes me think of the jungle, and (3) they are a monotypic genus, which is pretty rare. (A monotypic genus is one with only a single species.)

The Everglades Palm is native to southern Florida, as I said, but it’s also native to Central America, Colombia, and the Bahamas.

The trunks are covered in fibrous matting. The petioles (leaf stems) are long and orange with sharp teeth along the edges. The leaves are palmate (fan-shaped). A distinctive feature of the Everglades Palm is the production of small green flowers that turn into pea-sized fruit. (Like you see below.)

The ripe fruit of an Everglades Palm

The fruit starts out orange and turns black when mature.

For more information about Paradise Palms, click here.

Readers Write

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“I just wanted to say how happy I am to see you get through your recent speed bump in life. I really love your blog and look forward to reading your observations. I’ve learned a lot over the years. Please stay healthy and keep the joy coming our way.” – TA

“You’ve been a mentor from afar for me. Especially your essays on productivity. I wish you continued health and success for many more years!” – ND

“I continue to be dazzled by all you write – and everything else you do.” – BB

Postscript

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I have a file marked “Old-Man Jokes.” It’s filled with jokes distributed among various groups of golfing buddies and high school friends. For most of the world, these jokes are groaners. And rightly so. Nonetheless, I like to think that the ones I like are better than average. Here’s a recent one I liked a lot. You tell me. Is this funny… or am I an old fart?!!!

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