My Book Problem

    I have a book problem. Some of you may identify with them, but some of my issues I do not expect all to understand. That's okay. To each there own.

    1. I am trying to get through this book, from the library, called "History Play". It is interesting but awful at the same time. Rodney Bolt. Many of his paragraphs are too long. Much of his wording and stories are hard to follow. But I am sticking with it. I think that his evidence and arguments as to why Christopher Marlowe is the real William Shakespeare, which changes how I and others think about things, I guess. The lauded Bard is the son of a cobbler instead of the son of a glove maker. 

    Maybe it changes nothing. But learning about the times, the politics, the ways and the surroundings is quite compelling and eye-opening to me. It is a different kind of book; I want to finish it but it is a slog. Like some others that I have pushed through, even this year. (See: War and Peace).

    99 more problems? Lessee.

    2. There are so many books that I would like to read. Too many. I cannot do it.

    3. I do not give myself enough time to read more. Some of this is other interests. Some of it is discipline and energy.

    

    4. I have written a book or two that I have not edited nor published. They sort of haunt me. But, such life.

    5. My dad has published three books. One, from the 1970s, is no longer available, I would guess. But his other two from this century are purchaseable! Letters to Lucretia and Lost Memory.

    6. I own many books that I have not read. I want to. They sit there on the levels of my home. Waiting. Some collecting dust. Latent, energy, hein?

    7. I read in other languages. I have some good ones in Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese. And others.

    8. The Holy Bible is great to read. I wish I spent more time on it.

    9. The Book of Mormon is great to read. I like to read it on other languages, too.

    10. There are smart and educational books to read. I wish I could read, and retain, the knowledge therein.

    11. James Joyce is a great writer, but Ulysses is a gamut of thuddy duddiness. Maybe some day. Who knows? Maybe Artificial Intelligence will spoon feed me with it in a old folks home when I am 103?

    12. Maybe AI bots will inject book pills into our blood stream so that we can ingest and incorporate great literature. Perhaps we can have it implanted so that we just know "Wuthering Heights" and "Little Women", by heart and by spleen.

    13. My favorite childhood series, the Chronicles of Narnia, are ignored and neglected by the majority of my children and their friends.

    14. People do not see or enjoy the genius of Arthur C. Clarke.

    15. Oh, yeah, C.S. Lewis. He is a tremendous Christian and it would be amazing to read more of him.

    16. However, J.R.R. Tolkien did not think Lewis was qualified to pontificate nor ruminate about Christ and the true religion. Oh, those corrupting rings of power!

    17. Books can be heavy. 

    18. Books take up space. Too much, in the opions of others, like some I might be related to.

    19. Some books get corrupted by water, rat droppings, and other detritus.

    20. Some books are lent out but never return.

    21. Some books are given away! (That is okay.)

    22. Books are hard and soft. But they all have charms.

    23. Some books are trashy and trash. I have read a few. I try to avoid them.

    24. Some books eschew hate. Mein Kampf. Whoo boy.

    25. Some people think that some books of religious value push hate and judgment. Or judging inherently is hateful. Okay, fair to think through.

    26. Wow, this list is long. About books. And problems. And me. And you.

    27. I have many favorite authors that I would like to read more of.

    28. I am at an age where I need to be more decisive about some books.

    29. What books did I read at age 29? I married and read the four part trilogy "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galazy." That was sweet. Thank you, sweetheart. I read the fifth part in 2010 or so, from my local library.

    30. I read Dune and realized that George Lucas borrowed a lot.

    31. I read Crime and Punishment and I realized that that book was influential. And not bad. Othe Russian books are harder, I say.

    32. I have blogged enough to have a book or three. Not sure how coherent. AI could make something of it all. Bet.

    33. Larry Bird's number. I have read some on him. Indiana kind of thing.

    34. Kurt Vonnegut is from Indiana.

    35. So is John Mellencamp. Lyrics are things that go into books.

    36. Okay, I need to look at book. Rodney Bolt, anyone? Son of a glove maker...

    37. All right, stopping at my dad's birth year. The once and future author.

    100 will come later.

    PS. 38. Can AI on Wayback Machine find my old Foxsports blogs? edclinchsaints' or edclinch'sit, those ones?

    PPS. 39. Can someone fix my hijacked Linked In accounts? Help.

    Books.

Will the Rich and the Powerful Work to Alleviate Hunger and Despair?

    Many rich and wealthy generate work that provides sustenance. Good on them.

    Churches have money to help the desperate and poor. Members of those churches, and mosques and synagogues and temples, donate their monies and time, and even labor and expertise to the good of others.

    My father helped out wealthy and poor, and did not seek remuneration. 

    Perhaps people took him for granted.

    I am not sure. You could argue that.

    Who gives and helps the most?

Biggest Killers who Are Human in the World, 2026

    1. Likely Vladimir Putin? That is why Alex Ovechkin, biggest NHL scorer of all time, should sing a different tune. He makes millions here in North America, and lauds an autocrat baby killer back home. Irony? Not sure what that awfulness is, Alanis Morisette.

    2. Bibi Netanyahu? Hard to get around Gaza. Pretty awful. But there are worse, possibly...

    3. Donald Trump. Pulling medical aid and life saving drugs in Africa in 2025 was pretty bad. Maybe hundreds of thousands died? 

    4. Elon Musk. See above.

    5. Nicolas Maduro. He has killed a lot of Venezuelans, I think. Not sure how many.

    6. Xi Jinping. We cannot tell how many have been killed in China.

    7. Kim Jung Un. Hard to know how many North Koreans and a few others have been murdered or died off because of him.

    8. The leaders of Iran. Is there a Mujtaba over there in command?

    9. There have to be some mean killers in Africa. More than Latin America.

    10. Zelensky? Many of us see his deaths caused as self-defense. Depends on perspective.

    11. Who am I leaving out? The leaders of Afghanistan, perhaps. Or the awful Cartel leaders of Mexico, certainly. Many, many killed.

    How do we let them do it? We do not have enough knowledge, power, or passion.

    We likely need more. More of all it.

    Less murder and killing.

    

    

 Claudio Orlate, Matt Michalovich, and Bobby Keaton

    One in Chile, another in New Jersey, and another in Virginia. 

    They joined the Church of Jesus Christ. They went other ways. We hope to see them return.

 Quest for Goodness. Targeting Productivity. Looking for Love, Perfection.

    Negativity gets in the way.

    We look for reasons and causes to improve, progress, succeed.

    There are an abundance of all these things. We must find them and embrace them.

    Stick with the good.

    I can be negative, pessimistic. About myself, about others.

    I must be resilient. Like Victor Frankl preaches. We must find meaning.

    The meanings are there. From humanity. From economics. From religion. From state.

    Love drives most of us. Joy, passion, fun, knowledge.

    Let faith, hope, and charity reign.

    Let us be of good cheer, and forgive ourselves and others.

    

 I Give and I Take; So Imperfectly

    Yes, old enough to know better,

    But still bumbling in many ways

    I give some things, I share some things

    But I also take and misuse

    Far from perfect, far from even outstanding

    I come up short, like I did in sixth grade.

    I grew slower and duller, fatter and less coordinated

    I could not do the obstacle course right.

   So many errors! What was wrong with me?

    That was not the right Eddie. Eddie had changed.

    I had been fit, I had been sharp. True, loyal, strong.

    I slipped, as we do in life.

    My father remained hard and steadfast, as he has.

    I am unlike him in some ways.

    I give and I take differently than my father.

    As we do. Sons, daughters.

    I did not clean properly, it was stinky enough to gag.

    I am sorry, honey.

    The sink needed unclogging.

    And then: the laundry detergent spill!

    Oof, what an oaf as I.

    Another day in the life, too many many messes to return to.

    I kept the children alive, she maintains.

    I like to help as I can, I say.

    I am part of the team.

    And the team of Christians involves Jesus.

    Our Lord.

    Over time in the ages of Queen Elizabeth many killed in His name, sadly.

    Today we digress upon points of heredity and doctrine.

    Huthis and their dissenters. 

    Sunni will rule the day, says those stalwort of the Kingdom.

    The Saud clan, like those mentioned in Dune. 

    Frank Herbert, once and future prophet.

    I wander, I drift.

    Like the sands of Arrakis, or Kuwait.

    Old video clips of me wandering the paths...

    Of a base familiar yet far away.

    Thousands of us serve there. We do our thing.

    Near the Gulf. Like Pedro, my fellow co-worker, and MP.

    A military policeman, doing his duty.

    Where was I? 

    My wife said the Princeton man was loaded, living in Santa Barbara.

    Not me.

    I am relatively poor.

    I am not making enough.

    I am not earning the higher pays.

    

    I am that kid messing up in front of the whole gymansium with my peers and my teachers.

    I lost something, I lost my strengths.

    Turned from me, my family was not as it was.

    How I hoped, or believed things can be.

    Should be. Would be.

    Families are forever.

    In my Lord's church, it is thus.

    As we preach and proclaim.

    Sadly some things end.

    I will it not.

    I will overcome.

    With thy aid and help.

    I need mercy.

    Not pity.

    But no...

    I can continue to fail.

    But we learned today that all the failures are overcome by strength and faith in Jesus.

    

    I need it more.

    I need Him more.

    Let me.

    Let me do it, Father.

    And forgive, for I am far from perfect. Or even outstanding.

Prime Time Sports College Football Predictions and Results: Week 3, 2026

    I bought this magazine because I was on a roll this last summer; I saw a few of them at a Harris Teeter grocery store and the fix was in. I went back later and got them all. Well, I walked next door to a book store and purchased one or two there, too.

    My alma maters were on a roll. Have been on a roll. Indiana has the longest current winning streak in the nation, and the BYU Cougars are awfully good as well. Both are poised to do wonderful things.

    As mentioned not long ago, IU was off to a slow start at home against the Hilltoppers, but after a serindiptous 14-0 half time lead (a last minute interception set up the second score), the Hoosiers did their due diligence and won 38-0. Beebe, the second running back, was getting stopped quite a bit. Not Turbo Richard, fortunately, and IU was able to turn over Western Kentucky maybe three times on downs, including a goal line stand earlier in the first half. The Cougars have some injuries, as do the Hoosiers, but they should be okay. A couple of defensive standouts are being held out between court decisions, which is quite stupid. Back and forth, yes and no.

    But they can weather the losses. We hope.

    So now about this magazine. They pick number one seeded Indiana to be eliminated by number 9 seeded Ohio State! And eventually 4 Notre Dame will beat #6 Oregon!

    They also picked Hawai'i and Oklahoma State to make the College Football playoffs. The Rainbow Warriors to be number 12 and the Cowboys to be 11. Week one ended those fantasies with Hawai'i lost to new ACC underwhelmer Stanford, and OSU of Stillwater was pacified by the Tulsa Hurricane. Wave or Hurricane? It is easy to mix them up with Tulane. Doubtful that the Warriors or the Cowboys will run the table and make it to the CFPs. Who else? Maybe Tulsa? Maybe James Madison again.

    Should prove interesting. Meanwhile, the Ducks of Eugene have been laying eggs. They looked shaky versus the Boise State Broncos and then were upended by the... Oklahoma State Cowboys! As I told a couple guys at work, one of whom is from the state of the Sooners, we do not know what the OK State Cowboys are. But, I am quite sure they are not CFP bound.

    Who else? Texas, Georgia, Miami, Ole Miss, (no Alabama!), Texas Tech, and... USC.

    We. Shall. See. The Trojans alllowed a bunch of scores to the lowly Rutgers Knights, in Piscataway, the same Schiano dudes who got whooped by the formerly 138th ranked Massachusetts Minutemen.

    Okay, UMass is 3-0, but they are not that good. CBS has them as 90 something. Who knows? Stranger things have happened. But seriously, the guys from the fungus stadium up in Springfield, the state of the Puritans and the Bay? I went there. I hope that they get a new venue to play. That thing...

    A Purdue fan told me that IU's Assemlbly Hall was like a high school stadium, that in 2005. That joker can laugh all the way to his numerous toilet bowls in his stinky West Lafayette field, Ross Aide or whatever the talent-wonting Boilers call it.

    Dumb Boilers. Mostly that guy. I guess he eats crow now, as I sit on my Cignetti giant killers.

    Okay, Sports Prime mag: what else have you messed up? No Alabama? Even one loss LSU may push their way in. Perhaps Penn State is good enough? Or... Florida?

    What of this Mississippi State? Tennessee.

    Should be fun. Play on. More magazine foibles later.

    And my guy, Phil Steele? Did he even predict a CFP scenario. Lemme check...

    Playoff Contenders and Order

In his 2026 preseason power polls and preview materials, Steele outlined the top teams and expected playoff contenders, tabbing programs like Notre Dame as a national title favorite and naming teams like Alabama as a top "surprise" playoff contender. [1, 2]

His projected order of teams facing playoff-caliber trajectories for the season includes:

Rank	Team
1	Notre Dame
2	Georgia
3	Ohio State
4	Texas
5	Indiana
6	Oregon
7	Miami (Florida)
8	Alabama
9	Texas Tech
10	BYU
11	USC
12	SMU Whoops! SMU stopped by the Louisville Cardinals. Sorry, Phil. No one is perfect. Especially not me.     Blog on.