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Don Miller Park and Haunted Hydro kayak
Since you’re looking at the Don Miller Park / Haunted Hydro area, there’s a useful clue from the whitewater community: the section from the former Ballville Dam site down toward Don Miller Park is generally classified around Class II (sometimes Class III at higher flows) and is described as a short, beginner-friendly whitewater stretch. A few practical observations for what you’ll likely see at today’s more moderate water level: What the whitewater is probably telling you Nea
davidsmith208
1 day ago2 min read
Solzhenitsyn’s Tennis
Yes, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn spent nearly 18 years living in the small town of Cavendish, from 1976 until his return to Russia in 1994. He chose the area because its forests, hills, and rural character reminded him of parts of Russia, and because the local community respected his privacy. As for tennis: Solzhenitsyn was known to be physically active and enjoyed sports, including tennis, particularly during his years in the West. However, unlike Nabokov, tennis was not a major
davidsmith208
1 day ago2 min read
In heaven we shall play tennis
Yes, surprisingly, Vladimir Nabokov was a serious tennis enthusiast. He was not a professional player, but tennis appears throughout his life and fiction. He played regularly, especially in Europe and later in America, and several biographers note that he continued playing well into middle age. Tennis scenes and imagery appear in works such as Lolita, where courts, matches, and tennis culture are recurring motifs. As for the line: “In heaven we shall be playing ball” that is
davidsmith208
1 day ago2 min read
Steyer to Darr
Here is a practical paddling guide for the Sandusky River stretch from the Steyer area down to the Darr/Walnut Street access in Fremont. This is based on local access information, paddling reports, river characteristics, satellite interpretation, and public launch data. Steyer → Darr Practical Kayak Guide Overview Approximate distance: 4–6 river miles depending on launch point and channel path Typical float time: easy drifting: 2–3 hours moderate paddling: 1.5–2 hours Difficu
davidsmith208
4 days ago3 min read
Paddling and Pickleball before Tennis
What you describe actually fits a fairly common athletic pattern: moderate cross-training the day before can improve coordination, timing, and movement quality the next day — provided it does not cross into exhaustion. The paddling upstream may have helped your tennis in several ways: Shoulder and upper-back activation Kayak paddling strongly engages the lats, rotator cuff stabilizers, forearms, and core rotation. In tennis, those muscles help stabilize the racquet through co
davidsmith208
4 days ago2 min read
Sandusky River
A likely small-boat or kayak launch in the Tiffin area is the river access around Clinton Nature Preserve and adjacent Schekelhoff Park. These are specifically described as having Sandusky River access for kayaking and small boats. Another commonly mentioned access farther north is Abbott’s Bridge Scenic River Access, which has parking and a canoe/kayak launch directly on the river. For a roughly 5-mile downstream run, paddlers often use bridge crossings or nature preserve ac
davidsmith208
5 days ago1 min read
Masnavi book six
Yes — this passage is difficult in English because it compresses several layers of Persian/Sufi symbolism, Qur’anic allusion, and Rumi’s paradoxical style into short verses. In the underlying Persian, the movement is more emotionally and rhythmically coherent than it appears in translation. The section around lines 1445–1456 is mainly about: Divine agency vs human will The danger of misunderstanding “predestination” Fanāʾ (“non-being,” annihilation of ego) Transformation of p
davidsmith208
5 days ago4 min read
Paddler’s Cauldron
Yes — there really are legitimate rapids and fast current there now, especially after the old Ballville Dam was removed in 2018. The section from the former Ballville Dam area down past the old hydroelectric plant / Haunted Hydro to Don Miller Memorial Park (Formerly River Cliff Park) is actually listed by the whitewater organization American Whitewater as a recognized paddling run called the “Haunted Hydro Section.” Key details: Difficulty is listed around Class II (III at
davidsmith208
6 days ago2 min read
Simran is the Ultimate Piety
I have to teach God what is worship. Just sitting still in the predawn morning is that which is monumental as well as supra-mental. I went to chatGuru which is a composite of all the Saints. You can penetrate into inner space if there is any grace. Rather than just complain you can wash away the stain. You can ask for what health condition is it best just to not move. Worldly scandals become quite trivial. The wall sit is said to be better. I paid no attention to my self
davidsmith208
May 243 min read
I do not know
I do not know from where I began, for my life is a continuous journey. My beginning lies elsewhere, And my destination lies somewhere else.
davidsmith208
May 241 min read
Attar & Chaucer
John Baldock is probably referring less to a direct “copying” and more to a shared literary structure and spiritual-literary atmosphere between The Conference of the Birds and The Canterbury Tales. The comparison usually rests on several parallels: A journey as the framework In Attar, the birds travel together in search of the Simorgh, and along the way each bird reveals its weakness, psychology, and spiritual limitation. In Chaucer, the pilgrims travel together to Canterbury
davidsmith208
May 202 min read
Is it inner hearing or not?
Yes — that is a very plausible mystical reading of Book of Proverbs 20:12, especially when interpreted through contemplative traditions. The verse reads roughly: “The hearing ear and the seeing eye — the Lord has made them both.” Hebrew: אֹזֶן שֹׁמַעַת (ozen shoma‘at) = “hearing ear” וְעַיִן רֹאָה (ve-ayin ro’ah) = “seeing eye” Notice: the Hebrew is slightly intensified: not merely “ear” but “hearing ear” not merely “eye” but “seeing eye” This invites symbolic interpretation.
davidsmith208
May 202 min read
Chatgpt resist to fasting?
“Fifty times” is probably too high if you mean explicit advocacy of fasting or stomach-emptiness as a spiritual discipline in the Masnavi. But if you include allusions to: eating little, hunger, restraint, the dangers of gluttony, emptiness as receptivity, reduction of bodily domination, Ramadan symbolism, and “feeding on divine food,” then the total number of relevant passages could indeed become quite large — perhaps several dozen across the six books. The page you showed r
davidsmith208
May 203 min read
Dercad for Sitchain
Yes — you are probably referring to several intertwined Old Irish concepts associated with poetic inspiration, visionary states, sacred stillness, and contemplative illumination. The spellings vary because these words survive through medieval manuscripts, reconstructed Old Irish, and modern scholarly transliterations. The cluster you are pointing toward likely includes: dercad / dercadh sitcháin / síocháin / suí-chain-like forms concepts tied to imbas, teinm, and druidic or f
davidsmith208
May 203 min read
Grace Divine
These terms come from a blend of Sanskrit, Hindi, Punjabi, Sant Mat, Sikh, and Bhakti devotional vocabulary. In the Radha Soami Satsang Beas and related Sant traditions, they are not merely abstract theological words; they describe different modes of divine action and the disciple’s relationship to the guru and the Divine. Here is how these words are usually understood in Radha Soami usage, along with their linguistic roots and nuances. 1. Daya (दय / ਦਇਆ) — Compassion, pity,
davidsmith208
May 203 min read
Mid week swim
That pattern actually makes physiological sense. A light-to-moderate swim plus sauna on Tuesday morning may be functioning as a recovery activator rather than an additional stressor. The fact that your pickleball felt above average afterward is a good sign that the swim volume was low enough to improve circulation and loosen tissues without depleting you. The stiffness getting out of bed from Monday evening tennis also fits the timeline: Tennis loads calves, hip rotators, add
davidsmith208
May 192 min read
The moderate dose
Yes — rowing-type motions (including kayaking to a degree) are often considered an excellent counterbalance to racquet sports because they emphasize many of the opposite muscular actions and postural patterns. Racquet sports heavily emphasize: anterior chain dominance (front-side muscles), internal shoulder rotation, forward shoulder posture, asymmetrical trunk rotation, repeated acceleration/deceleration of one arm. The overused areas are commonly: pectorals, front deltoids,
davidsmith208
May 172 min read
Making the bones healthy
Book of Proverbs 15:30 in many English translations reads something like: “The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and a good report makes the bones healthy.” The Hebrew is: שְׁמוּעָה טוֹבָה תְּדַשֶּׁן עָצֶם shemu‘ah tovah tedashen ‘atsem Word by word: שְׁמוּעָה (shemu‘ah) = a report, news, tidings, something heard טוֹבָה (tovah) = good, beneficial, favorable תְּדַשֶּׁן (tedashen) = makes fat, enriches, nourishes, refreshes עָצֶם (‘atsem) = bone/bones, but also one’s inner
davidsmith208
May 152 min read
Dumplings before flowers?
The phrase “dumplings before flowers” translates the Japanese expression: hana yori dango (花より団子) Literally: hana = flowers dango = dumplings/sweet rice cakes It means: “practical satisfaction before aesthetic contemplation.” Or more colloquially: “people usually choose food over beauty.” In Japanese culture the saying originally refers to people who go to cherry blossom festivals but are actually more interested in eating and socializing than contemplating the blossoms thems
davidsmith208
May 152 min read
Gratitude feedback loop
That line from Masnavi reflects one of Jalal al-Din Rumi’s deepest psychological and metaphysical principles: gratitude is not merely moral politeness — it is an energetic amplifier of human capacity. The Persian underlying this passage revolves around the idea that shukr (thanksgiving, gratitude) increases quwwat or ni‘mat (power, strength, blessing). Rumi is drawing directly from a famous Qur’anic principle: “If you are thankful, I will surely increase you.” — Qur’an 14:7 F
davidsmith208
May 152 min read
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