Conclusions? None Today

I hate to admit this, but I watched the entire Senate hearing yesterday. It was a hell of a show. Mesmerizing. Ir was a dark drama that, when all is said and done, makes Macbeth look bright and cheery.
Did we find out what really happened? Not at all, nor should we have expected to. All we heard was 'he said' and 'she said'. This was not a trial and there was no presentation of evidence and no witnesses. It was a show, but a moving and well played show. All I can say is something happened. It is as definite as anything can be that Dr. Ford was assaulted, by someone at sometime and was left traumatized. For whatever reason, she associates Kavanaugh with that incident, and has done so for years.
He showed properly righteous indignation at being accused, but, as the day wore on, he seemed to grow a bit shaky and incoherent. He stopped answering questions and just kept repeating lines from his opening statement. He became apoplectic, then unresponsive,, when pushed about a possible further investigation, not a response you would expect from a man swearing his innocence. He also grew very touchy when pushed about his fondness for alcohol. I speak from experience when I say that such a response comes when you are indeed uncomfortable about your level of alcohol consumption. The point being made was, of course, that heavy drinking does wreak havoc with memory.
There are no conclusions to be drawn. In my own opinion, something happened and we will never know what because neither party really remembers. There are gaps that will not be filled in because they cannot be filled in. Should he be confirmed? No, because there will always be an overhanging cloud. That is not fair to him, bur life is not fair and it is not appropriate that a Supreme Court Justice is obscured by clouds. What I think does not make a bit of difference and he will be confirmed.
Still, it was great drama. But, when the dust settles and the uproar dies down, what will remain is the ugliness. This was American politics at its rawest. It is nothing new, but we seldom see it on such open display. There is not 1 Senator or lawyer who can, if honest, walk away with their head held high. I have seldom seen such stupidity and incompetence, such willful ignorance and stubborn nastiness. This is our Nation at its worst.
One last point. The Democrats have one chance to rake a lot of seats in the mid-terms. They must motivate young, left wing voters to get to the polls. If they play it right, the Republicans have dealt them a winning hand, 

The Destructive Lunacy of the News Media

I do not much care about the outcome of the Supreme Court Nominee. These things come and go and, most always, the opposition party acts like a bunch of buffoons. I expected no more nor no less than what is happening.
What is a disaster is the news coverage. On all news broadcasts, you are hearing pundits, commentators and reporters going on and on, over and over again about the facts of the issue. Guess what? None of them, not a single one, knows what happened at those parties.They were not there. I was not there and you were not there. Yet those in the media ramble on about the issue. The White House is throwing in random comments. A variety of Congress people (is that how we now phrase it?) are offering opinions and none of it means a thing. Commentary by Elmo and Big Bird are of equal worth. Let me say it again. None of us know what happened because we were not there.
The proper response to all of these accusations is, "Hey, here are some accusations. Let's have them investigated by the proper authorities and we'll let you know what they find. Stay tuned." Instead, the media goes on and on, just picking at sores and keeping everything on edge. They drag out all sorts of so-called experts, including some in Government on, nit a day by day, but hour by hour basis. Those idiots go along because it's and election year and this gets them on TV. And it makes things worse.
It is ironic that all of this is over a Judicial appointment and, instead of letting Judicial processes run the investigation, we have turned it over to the news media
The whole display, on both sides is sickening. My advice. Forget the whole mess. Go to work enjoy your day, go home, have some fun and get some rest. This stuff is lunacy and the news media, Congress, the White House and everyone else involved should hang their heads in utter disgust at a display that makes childish tantrums look like fine behavior. The whole mess is sickening and , ultimately is doing irreparable harm to the USA. As Jack Nicholson's character in Easy Rider said, "This used to be a damn good Country."
Hang on folks, it is going to get worse. The mid-terms are only a month and a half away and this will not be fun.

Daytime TV

I have been sick for a couple of days with God knows what. The flu, a cold. some exotic mosquito borne disease from a far off tropical land, whatever it was, it hut me like a ton of bricks I/m still not back to normal, so I have nothing of importance to say.
But, maybe I do. When you are ill, the temptation is to get bored, bet up and get busy and there are 2 possible results from those actions. !, you will make yourself sicker or 2, you, being contagious, will make others sick. Now that I think of it, there is a third possibility. You may will do both of the above
But, help is on hand. Daytime TV has something for everyone and is a fine way to pass tome when you just cannot do anything else.
Soap operas, old comedies and drams, and game shows have been around since the 1950s. Talks shows seem a bit scarcer than they used to be, bit they are still around, along with the Judge Judys and other pseudo-court room battles.
My usual choices are the History Channel, The Travel Channel. The Food Channel,  and  the Golf Channel. I can, when sick enough, watch hours of Ancient Aliens, Chopped, Bizarre Foods ot Feherty.
Today, thankfully, I am a bit better. Still, I am a little tired and have some congestion, so, after lunch, I am going to lie down for an hour or so. I wonder if Chopped is on.

The Big Cat is Back

Okay, I was wrong. Tiger Woods did win another tournament, and did so in fine style. I never thought he could overcome the enormous physical challenges and, as I know from personal experience. constant pain takes a psychic toll. Remember, he has a whole bunch of metal in his back. But he did it.
A year ago, he could barely stand and was developing a pretty strong drug problem. But, when given the all clear from his doctors, he went to work. He returned to the gym an d the golf course and worked. He had to build a new swing when he had no idea how far he could push things. He is 42, a time of life when pro golfers don't win a lot. He was able to do this for a couple of reasons.
First, at this point, no one in the game knows the game better. He has hot and practiced every shot imaginable and know every bump on most of the courses
Second, sheer will power. Once he saw he could play, he was determined to be competitive. Once he was competitive, he was determined to win. Here's an example. At some tournament earlier in the year, the weather was rainy and cold by the time dusk was falling. All the other players were in for the day. No one was on the practice area, except Tiger. He was on the putting green, in rain gear, by himself, hitting purr after putt.
If he can stay healthy, next year's golf season may be very interesting. Today's young stars will have to step it up because, Tiger will not back off.

Look to the Rabbit

Americans and may other folks are going to have to change their eating habits. The main issue is beef. I love beef. When I was a kid, its was cheap and I was brought up on huge roasts and sirloin steaks and huge hamburgers. It was great and I still lobe them. But, here is the problem.
It takes a lot of land to raise cattle, along with a lot of feed and a whole lot of water (for both the feed and the cows). Potable water is an issue around the World. As the climate changes, and make no mistake, it is changing rapidly (sorry Mt. President. You are wrong about this issue). drought is affecting huge American farming area. California, where they grow a lot of produce is in a long drought and the Midwestern farmlands where they grow all the grain are also lacking rain. When less feed is grown, you must raise fewer cattle and it will soon become a question of whether we want water and produce for humans or feed and water for cows.
To those who say, as some always will, 'That won't happen in the USA," well, it has. Read your history books and learn if the Dust Bowl days of Oklahoma. The difference is that there were a lot fewer people than there were then
Beef will likely nit go away entirely, but it will grow monstrously expensive. Pork is an option but, again, there is a problem. Free range pork is a wonderful meat. Pigs raised on today's factory farms have a nightmarish life and, the ensuing karmic issues aside, they have little flavor. Same for poultry. We have fushed the oceans literally to bear death and while farm raised fish is fine, you had better look closely ar the farming conditions, unless you enjoy eating hormones and pesticides.
So, I believe that we must turn to the rabbit,, It takes very little room, food or water to raise them and the meat is tasty and wonderful, lean and healthy. They are easy and cheap to raise, in part because they breed like, well, rabbits. You have a continuously self replacing crop.
All you have to do is get people to stop thinking of them as Bugs Bunny or Peter Rabbit. Those who raise them. my Dad did when he was young (it was during the Depression and they raised them for meat) will tell you that to know them is not to love them. Dispelling the myth of the cute little bunnies should not be difficult.
So, I say to you, Look to the Rabbit, unless you really want to live on tofu. Have a Blessed and fun weekend

Freedom

In our culture, we often prattle on and onn about 'freedom' and we have no real idea what we talk about. Freedom comes with many definitions.
There is freedom to, the idea that you can do exactly what you want. There is a validity to this. If you wish to write, or become a dishwasher, or walk around the Country, no one can it should stop you. But, such freedom has a dark side and this is the realm of the many monsters that are loose in the World, There are those who rape women and those who rape the financial world and those who rape the Earth itself. Are they free to do so? In a sense, yes. Nothing can really be done to stop them from trying. Of course, the rest of us can try to stop them from continuing to do so. Sometimes, we do stop them, but we should get better at that.
Then, we have freedom from. This can take 2 forms. The first, physical, can be boiled down to freedom from want, the idea being that no one should go hungry or homeless. This is a profoundly noble idea and, while this will very likely never be fully achieved, it is a goal we must never lose sight of.
Then, there is the freedom from compulsions. If you are driven to do something and you cannot control these drives, you are not free. For example, if you cannot avoid chocolate ice cream and you are 80 pounds over weight and no that is killing you, you are trapped by your compulsions. You are not free. This is true of people with addictions to drugs, food, alcohol, sex work sports, money or anything that rules your life.  Now, not all of these compulsions are awful. If you are addicted to sex and confine your activity to relations with your spouse, that is not a great problem, although you will likely go through your days really, really tired. On the other hand, an addiction to amphetamines will kill you, but not before you go stark, raving mad. All of our addictions are to things that are pleasurable and, in and of themselves, not necessarily bad. It is the trap that the person finds themselves , their lack of freedom from the compulsions that is the problem.
Our Creator has been gracious in giving us a World  where we have great freedom and rarely does anything to curtail or freedoms, with the exception of the Natural laws of the physical World. But, we are not guaranteed freedom from consequence. Anything that takes away your freedom from is too be dealt with cautuosly or not at all.
The freedom to do as we please is fine withing limits. Those limits kick in at the point we start interfering with the freedom of others. The exceptio of course comes when we take away the rights of those who engage in blatant and damaging criminal activitie, ie those who step on the freedom of others. Remember, there are consequences.
But, far more important are the freedoms from. No one should be denied the necessities of life. That is to be assumed. The freedom from our various compulsions is where our true freedom lies and, when we deal with these issues, we find ourselves free of so many other troubles. Free at last. Those are fine words.

Guilt

Guilt is an odd topic to write about these days. Seems that the current trend is to ignore the subject to sweep past misbehavior under the rug. The past is past, move on. One problem with that. It is not the way things are. The past creates ripples in space-time. We all do wrong. We know it and feel bad about it, unless of course you are a pure psychopath and blessedly there are very few of those. This is guilt for you folks who don't know. It is a natural, human feeling. What you do with it is the key.
There are those who try to slough it off. 'Well, it's no big deal.' Sorry, often it is and it will come back to bite. Or, there is this.'Well, we;re all human and we're all just old sinners.'  Nope, that won't cut it. All of do wrong, but we are called om to try to do better and you cannot let your humanity excuse your sins.
Then, you have folks who go to the other extreme. They wallow in their guilt, bemoaning the fact  that they have done evil and  deserve a lifetime of punishment. That accomplishes nothing and causes huge damage. It freezes you and brings all hope of progress to a halt.
Built can, and should be, an energizer, driving a person to do better. If amends for the sin can be made, make them. Apologize to your Creator and try to make things right with the offended party. At the very least it should push you to do something positive. Move on, yes, but only after you have learned a lesson and only when you have an idea of how to move things on a positive direction.
An acceptance of the old idea of guilt would actually be a healthy thing. Just don't get buried in it.

Maybe I spoke to Quickly

Recently, I conceded the Country to the Socialists. I may have been to hasty. Not because there are not a whole lot of them. The left wing may gain a bunch of seats in the mid term elections, but it may be very temporary. This will not be a political blog. It is more about our perceptions and about how things can change in an instant. And, about some surprising twists life can take.
In the wake of Florence, much aid is promised from the Feds and I am sure a lot of money will ve sent. But, so far, the emergency relief has been handled by local and state officials in conjunction with many wonderful volunteers, many from other states. The National Guard, military and FEMA are not doing the hard, quick work needed in disasters. They, no doubt, will get there and do good work, but so far, it is a local effort. A fine job is being dome without Washington. If folks are paying attention, they will see that the Feds are limited, both by circumstances and by their inherent incompetence. Corporate America, the other darlings of the left are impotent in such situations. Again, local residents and businesses are the heroes.
At the same time, reports on the economy are painting a far less rosy picture than the Administration. Things are somewhat better, but not that much, unless you are at the upper echelons of a large corporation. On top of all of that, the whole Washington power structure is teetering on collapse from the weight of its own bloated corruption. Spies and secret cabals, bribes and lies, double dealing and rampant sexual misbehavior, have all meshed together to paint a sleazy picture of power mad corruption and both sides are up to their necks in in the muck.
Now, many, especially among younger voters will turn up their noses and vote the party in power, Republicans, our, and turn to the rhetoric of the left. Not their fault. They have not been taught enough about how the World functions to know better and are being media led. Many will just skip the elections and I don't blame them. The left will make gains and the Federal mess will get bigger and worse. But, eventually, the disaster of the Feds and the efficiency of local and State governments, combined with the humanity and heroism of  what we , call ordinaty people( U hate that term, we are all extraordinary), may drive home the point that we must function locally and in a true free matket (By the way, our economy is now a cannibalistic, cut throat capitolism. We have not been a free market economy since before the Civil War. Sometime, read a bit about Lincoln's power grab whicj was followed soon by the rise of the great robber barons like Rockefeller, Carnegie, Morhan and a few others. They, in conjunction with old Abe, ruined this Country).
The left will likely have its day, but it will be a short one. The Federal Government will prove itself incapable of handling much of anything. Corporate America will price itself out of the US markets and concentrate on the World economy which will, in turn fuel a revival of small American businesses.
The final result will be a return to the idea of some of the Founding Fathers, The USA will become a loose confederation of States withe Federal Government being responsible only for defending us from foreign direct aggression and arbitrating  squabbles between the States. Sanity will be restored after a brief period of madness. Maybe. Hopefully. My advice is to keep yourself out of the way as musch as possible and pay attention. realize this. Perceptions determine reality and events, often unexpected, will change perceptions. Have a Blessed day.

Thoughts in Passing

Monday is here and I have nothing in particular that I feel like writing about. So, just some passing thoughts.
The Storm has devastated N. Carolina and their flooding has not peaked yet. I hope that a lesson is learned. Florence came ashore as a Category 2 and dropped to a 1 quickly. Yet, it has been catastrophic and the damage was not in the least confined to the eye wall area. As is usual, the wind is spectacular, but it is the water that does the worst damage. Do not concentrate on the exact strength and where landfall will be. The storms are horrific and a slow moving minimal hurricane or a tropical storm can be worse than a fast moving, strong storm., although both are fearsome.
Second, the Cavanaugh mess. Maybe the allegations are true and he was a bad boy. Maybe very bad. Bit, if so, why is this information coming out 35 years later.
The Manafort plea bargain seems to further confirm the fact that all of the sides in our political circus are  corrupt beyond what we might have suspected.
Much is being said about Obama;s reemergence into the political fray. Who cares? He only has the power that he is given by those who pay attention to him. I ignore him.
Personally, I would rather spend the day thinking of better things. The lovely, yellow flowers in the hedge next door are far more arresting than the mess we see daily on the news. I am looking forward to the upcoming baseball playoffs and the PGA finale on Atlanta this weekend.
I would rather spemd time contemplating the good fried chicken dinner we will have tonight or the coming of the crisp, cool days of autumn that are nearing. Most of all,  I am planning what we might do to celebrate my friend Deb's quickly arriving birthday.
Call me irresponsible. I do not care. I have at last reached the age when I feel justified in letting younger folks deal with running the World. After all, it is now theirs. I watch and have thoughts and make comments, but even those are growing less frequent. I am content to enjoy my life. I hope I am around for long years to come. I worked hard, very hard, throughout my life. I, like many my age, deserve the chance to just enjoy the World. At the same time, young people deserve their shot at running things. I do hope that they do a better job than we did. Have a Blessed day.

Patience

We humans are a hasty, impatient lot. That is quite understandable since we know we have limited time on this Earth. But we must temper this with wisdom. You cannot do everything at once and, somethings must wait. Sorry. That's just the way it is.
Haste makes waste goes the old saying and that is true because when you hurry, you often get sloppy and make poor choices.
Nature ,obes in cycles. Modern humans, especially Americans, do not accept that. For example. Most folkks love melons. Melons come into season in the summer and early fall in most of the Country. Well, Americans want melons whenever they get the taste. As a result, we pay huge sums to have melons shipped across the Country from California. They are picked green and are nearly tasteless, b ut we get them. They cost a lot in terms of gas usage, traffic, pollution, man hours and they are sorry excuses for melons, but we get them.
But, there are times of year when even our Western lands cannot grow them. Do we patiently wait the next season. anticipating the next, sweet batch of goodness? No. We start shipping them in from Guatemala. More cost, because they now are bringing them in on ships and then trucking them across the land. And, the quality is just as poor, if not worse.
Time was, we waited with anticipation for the year's first melons, usually around the Fourth of July. It was fun to wait and then have that waiting justified and satisfied. This is called delayed gratification and it is a fine thing Now, we damage the environment and the economy in hour list for instant satisfaction.
This is just one example of our impatience and admittedly, it is a somewhat trivial one, but I think it makes my point. Yes, there are emergency situations, but, by definition of the word emergency, they are rare.
I bring this subject up because a great many Americans are about to get a sharp lesson in patience. Hurricane Florence is passing, very slowly. Already I hear reporters asking officials about damage reports and repair status. The storm is not over, but they want answers now. Sorry. Cannot do that,
 And the residents are going to find themselves in a situation that will be unpleasant at best. No power. No cable or internet. Water everywhere. Automobile traffic nearly impossible. Food deliveries to stores will be slow and sporadic if stores are even able to open.
And, what will be the worst for them all, there is not one thing they can do to solve the problems.  I have seen this before and have been in it. It is so hard to deal with, but you must and the only path is patience. Americans do not like having to be patient, but that is all you can do. There is one plus in that. You will learn a great deal about who you are as a person.
Stay calm and help your neighbors. That is how you get through. The rest of us, those not in the storm need to pray for those who are about to suffer.

Time

Time is perhaps the greatest mystery. St. Augustine said that when he didn't think about it, he understood it. But, when he thought about it, he realized that he had no way to discuss it, Einstein called it a persistently stubborn illusion. You can even make a case that past, present and future are all happening at once.
Bur let's not get all scientific here. On a day to day level, we all know how slippery time is.  Days can fly by in a blur and, here and there, days can seem to drag on for months. The mind can seem to crawl through data and sometimes process input in a blink.
New Age types often prattle on about staying in the 'now.' You cannot do this. There is something called the Hallusian gap. The fastest we can process sensory input is about a thirtieth of a second
In essence, we are always watching a movie of our lives. We see what just happened.
That aside (okay, I have o get a little scientific) the smallest unit of time we can measure is called Plank's time, about 6 times 10 to the negative 25 power, and unthinkably runt number, but a number nonetheless. Before that, the laws of physics break down (this is a singularity). What exists then, if anything, id unknown. But it does mean that in the purest sense, there is no 'now.'
I gave no idea why I am writing this. Maybe, as I get older, I am trying to find a way to stretch the days, but any such effort is doomed to failure. Time will do what it does and pass. Shakespeare wrote that 'the days creep by at a petty pace." He mist have written that when young, because as you age, they fly (my Daddy told me that and I laughed at such foolish talk. He was right.).
What to do with time? Nothing, Don't drive yourself crazy. Time is an interesting topic to think about, but all you can do is follow the advice of the great band Little Feat and "roll with it."
Have a great 'Time' today. And, please, say a few prayers for the folks in the path of Hurricane Florence. God bless all of you.





What to do? What we always have to do with life. In the words of the great band :ittle Feat, "Roll with it."

Homeless

1. Feeling alone, the army's up the road
   Salvation a la mode and a cup of tea
   Aqualung my friend don't you start away uneasy
   You poor old sod, you see it's only me Jethro Tull, Aqyalung
2. Ever been homeless" I have. Ne and my friend Deb were for 4 days in  Ft. Lauderdale, Fl in 2002. Just bad luck and a bad economy in a bad spot. No drufs or alcohol. We had both been clean for years.
3. It is a nightmare. If you want to get in a shelter, you have to register about sun up and, then, you cannot stay there in  the daytime. That didn't matter because we were not going to one. They are more dangerous than the streets. The daylight hours aren't too bad/ You can walk around and hang out in malls or parks. Then comes dark.
4. You cannot stay still fir long. Coos will move you along or try to arrest you. Not their fault, just their job. There is no place to get indoors. If it;s cold or rainy, you just have to do your best and get under a tree or behind a wall to break the wind and rain. When the weather breaks, you walk.
5. Sleep is the real issue. It is far too dangerous to sleep on the street sides or any open grounds. Even if it were safe, the street noise is constant. If you find a quiet place, out of sight, it is even more dangerous because, if you find it, so will others.
6. There are people out there, at night who are dangerous,, mean, crazy or both. Of course, alcohol and drugs are often their fuel, but nit always. Sometimes, the sober ones are the worst.
7. Then are the scenes that break your heart. Women with little kids, Physically handicapped people. Old folks, some very old.
8. Again, sleep is the problem. You catch naps. 10 minutes here, 20 there. And it is not really sleep. more of a light doze. By the end of the 3rd day, I was hallucinating lightly. By the 4th, it was fairly intense. Blessedly, a few things went our way and some nice folks helped and we got out of it. Things were touch and go for a spell, but they did get better.
9. Right now, in America, there are many, many homeless. About a quarter of the m are children. I cannot imagine what this does to them. Something must be done, but what?
10. Government, on all levels, seems to have no clue. Churches, some of them, do help a bit. The problem is that there are just so many to help.
11. It is almost impossible to find work when you have no home. You need to be in a reasonably stable environment to make any headway. If you get a little money, there are extended stay hotels and thatr is a whole lot better than nothing, but they take most of a week's wages to stay in and you can never seem to get ahead enough to get a real place. Also, apartment agents do not look kindlt on such places when they start checking you rebtal history. And while those hotels are better than nothing, they are not places that you want to stay at for ling. They are costly and many of the folks there are none too stable.
12. The only solution I can think of is for Governments to but abandoned properties and renovate them to house the homeless. The cost would be extremely high, but something must be dome if we are to continue to call ourselves a civilized land
13. Truth is, nothing will be done anytime soon. There is no will to do this. Instead, most people will just go about their business and, when they see a homeless person, just shake their heads and say'what a pity.' Or they will grow hostile. I have seen this. They want such folks rounded up and hauled away. Where" they don't car e as long as they don't have to see them.
14. But see them is assured.  Again, what will the children going through such nightmares grow up to be. I can promise you that it will nit be pretty.
15. I will leave you with a thought from Steely Dan's song Razor Boy. "Will you still have that song to sing, when the Razor Boy comes and takes your fancy things away." Always in this World, the chickens come home to roost..

Get Ready

I see hurricanes ablowin'. I think the end is almost here. Credence Clearwater Revival
Well, it's not that bad, but somewhere on our Atlantic Coast there is going to be a nasty little storm. Where is impossible to say right now because hurricanes are so unpredictable. It is a Category 4 at the moment. Generally these tings weaken as they approach land, but not always. Folks really don;t need to be concerned with that unless they are directly in the path of the eye wall/ That is usually a small area. Those in that area have a serious problem.
But that doesn't let others off the hook. You will have high winds and a ridiculous amount of rain If you are on the shore line or one of the little island along the coast, you need to leave now.
Everyone else in the area will have a rocky rode, but, if you use good sense, you will be fine. I have been through 7 hurricanes and 16 tropical storms, so let me give you a few helpful hints;
Make sure all of your cell phones are fully charged and use them sparingly. You will almost certainly lose your power. I have seen the power restored in 12 hours and I have seen it take 3 weeks
Fill as many containers as possible with water and pit as many as possible in your freezer. That will keep the fridge surprisingly cold for about a day.
Fill your bath tub and as many buckets as you can find with water. There are often water problems since, without power,city pump stations shut down. Some cities have enough generators but most don't. The tub and buckets won't be for drinking. They can be used to flush toilets and believe me, that comes in handy. Just take the lid off the tank, pour in the water and flush.
If you have a generator, great. Make sure you know how to use it and do not put it an enclosed area. Same with grills and camp stoves. Use them indoors and you will either burn your house down or die from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Stay pit until the authorities say you can go out. After the storm, there will be many dangerous situations outside and emergency crews need clear roads. Don't get in the way.
You are going to have to learn patience. You will get power back when ypu get it. Getting angry does nothing. Be prepared. You may not get your cable or internet service for a good while. Nothing you can do about that.
Here is a tip you seldom hear. But a few cans of mosquito repellent. There will be standing water and that means that about a week later, there will be millions of the tiny blood suckers around and you are dinner.
The storm itself is a wonder to behold. Rarely do wee see the full power of Nature. The aftermath is a nightmare. Things are dirty, wet, smelly and dangerous. The areas hit will be changed and there is nothing you can do about it. If the storm does the unexpected, and turns out to sea, don't get angry at officials who launched emergency procedures. They cannot wait until the last minute. They do a reasonably good job . If it misses you, just be thankful. Stay safe and God Bless all of you.

Computer Madness

Let me quickly say that I love my computer. I don't want it to get mad at me and it is a bit cranky today. Actually, it is not the computer, it is the whole internet issue.
I gave just spent almost 2 hours getting my email. I only bothered because I am expecting something important. I kept losing connections and very bizarre things. It deleted the one thing I wanted without me touching the keyboard and it took a very long time to retrieve it from the deleted file/ This got me wondering just how much time is lost each day through such malfunctions.
We were told that all this technology would streamline all procedures, eliminating much paperwork and freeing workers for more creative tasks. Now, constantly, I run into situations where computers are down or internet connections are overloaded and business and other works slow to a crawl. Information gets lost and important issues, sometimes just get wiped out. They disappear, lost in some alternate universe, I suppose. Occasionally they pop back into our reality, more often not.
Part of the issue is simple, but I do not believe it will be solved anytime soon. There is just to much stiff being sent over the internet. It was initially designed to disseminate technological and scientific data, Then businesses started using it and that was fine. Now, we have the ridiculous use of social sites and there is just too much junk being sent.
Back in the dark ages, not many tears ago, if  little Alice wanted to tell her folks how her Economics exam went, she picked yo a phone and called, not texted or tweeted. Of Cousin Sally wanted you to see h,er new baby or Uncle Fred wanted you to see his new car, they sent photographs. I know that sounds primitive, but it worked. It was nice. You do not have to see or know everything the instant it happens. Delayed gratification is very sweet.
What will happen? People could wise up and stay off their computers a bit. That likely will nor happen. The Government could step in and demand that internet providers charge more and thus limit usage.. They can do this by increasing taxes on companies like ARR and Comcast, or they could charge  companies like Facebook  a huge licensing fee that they would, of course, pass on  to the customers.
Or, the whole thing might just collapse under its own weight. As demands increase, the systems will have to become more complex. Chaos theory states that any system that grows too complex will break down. Then, we will see what can be dome  with the remnants.
Until then, I suppose we all will just have to put up with what is an increasingly more complex systen that, here and there just does really strange things.
To alter Shakespeare a little, the fault lies not in our computers, the fault lies in ourselves.

Daydreaming

What a day for a daydream. The Lovin' Spoonful
That was one of my favorite songs in the mid-60s and it fits my mood today. When I was a wee lad, teachers would chastise is for daydreaming. We had to be bust and thoughtful, They were dead wrong. Daydreams are an expression of our minds constant need to create. Stifle them and you lose an important part of yourself.
You can learn a lot about yourself by, while awake, letting your mind rom free. What draws your attention. Are your fancies dark and mysterious or light and whimsical.Are they always of a sexual nature or do you dream of great deeds. Don't judge, after all they are just little fantasies, but they can reach you a lot.. On occasion, ideas od worth pop through. Answers to what has been vexing you may appear.
Even if your daydreams are not profound, they give your mind a nice little break suring the day, a few moments of freedom from the daily grind. They are amazingly refreshing.
Now, you do have  to exercise some control. If you're driving a truck, you don't want to dreaming of throwing the winning pass at the next Super Bowl. If you are performing brain surgery, you don't want to be drifting away to a lovely tropical shore.
But, when you have a break in your daily action, letting your mind drift away for a few moments is a fine health thing.
I write this post on Friday because I always found Friday, especially late in the day when the week us winding down to b e a fine time to ease off. A little daydreaming helps set the stage fpr the weekend. I hope ypurs is a wonderful and Blessed weekend.

Chaos

We live in an orderly Universe governed by rational laws. Mostly. The Creator threw in a wild card, chaos/ We can predict very little because we never know all the factors influencing reactions. On top of that, we have quantum influence. In the quantum, world, not only are their countless reactions happening at amazing speeds. I can only speculate, not being God that this was done to prevent a stagnant Universe. A mechanical, clockwork Universe would be incredibly boring.
There are folks, many, who are not thrilled with this. It shows up in all religions, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, even some types of Hinduism. Not so much in Buddhism, but that is really more of a psychology than a religion.
You see this among the World's leaders. They want power with the intent of establishing a World order that meets their ideas of the way things should be. Upon establishment of that World, they will fight, bully and connive, cheat, lie and even kill. This has happened over and over again throughout human history and still continues. It does not, has not and will not work for any extended period of time. For brief instants, yes, although always at a terrible price.
 The Universe will not abide stagnation and will not long tolerate those who try to impose their will over the Creation. And yet, the elite, the powerful continue to try . They are quite mad and yet they are the World's leaders and many of the populace just go along with their agenda. Maybe they hope to make some money, maybe they are scared to oppose, maybe they want to bask in the false glory of their leaders, or maybe they just are too beaten down to stand up and say no. Or maybe they want the reassurance of tyranny, preferring that to the discomfort of uncertainty.
The Universe is glorious because it will always change and always amaze. You cannot own it, you cannot possess it and you cannot control it. Because of the chaotic nature of things, chaotic in the sense that we can never know all contributing factors in a process and never be sire of the outcome,  for the same reason, all attempts to impose any individual's or any group's view on our World, is an affront to our Creator. It is an attempt to set yourself up as God and that will not work. Have a very Blessed day.

War

We humans have been fighting each other as long as we have been on this planet. By the time the early nation-states, like Sumer, rolled around, we weer fighting on a grand scale. I have no problem with self defense, but most wars are wars of acquisition. Nations want what others have, and try to take it from them.Okay, that's how it has been. Things are a bit more subtle now, but, in essence, the same. Look at the current scenarios.
No one is attacking the USA. With our nuclear arsenal, we will not be attacked. Yer, we have troops everywhere. Why?
Iraq did not attack us. Terrorists from Saudi Arabia led the 9/11 attacks. Afghanistan did harbor ben Lauder, but we found him in our ally, Pakistan's mountains He's dead, we are still in Afghanistan Iran has not attacked us. N. Korea has not attacked us. Vietnam never attacked us (the Gulf of Tonkin incident was staged' the military's own records admit this). On and on goes the list, and America's troops are still scattered all over the Earth. Men and wo,en are being killed and crippled. Why?
Thar's the easy question. Power. Control. And their stepchild, wealth. Troops are scattered simply to protect American bug business interests. To keep any country that might get a dollar richer off us, under our thumbs.
You say, what about terrorism?. Look at the facts. Most of our terrorism is home grown. Even 9/11 was done by our great allies, the Saudis.
N. Korea? They are just trying to scam is to get money and trade. They know that any attack is suicide.
The creation of nuclear arms, killed the classic idea of war. Now, we fight lottle battles for no reasons other than economic.  Or for the display of power. Poiwer is the most addictive drug their is, and its pursuit is a deep mental illness.
There will come a time, sooner rather than later, when the USA will no longer be the big dog. This has happened to every powerful, militant Nation in the history of the World and there is no reason to think we will be the exception. How will we handle that? Well. that is for those coming along now, the younger Americans. Maybe, they will finally, at long last see the lunacy of War. Or, they may choose to go out in a blaze of glory, much like Hitler did in Germany. Or they may just curl up in a little ball and whine. I have no idea. Bur, it will be their choice.
As always, have a fine and Blessed day.

We Can Talk About It Now

We could try to reason, but you might think it treason. The Band, We Can Talk About It Now, from the album Music From Big Pink
The above is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite albums, by one of my favorite bands. It comes to mind because, for a brief while, I have the Senate hearings on the Supreme Court nominee's confirmation on the TV. Not for long, I can assure you. Seemongly, we can no longer talk about it and many do think that all attempts to reason are treason.
I am not commenting on the Nominee. He seems to be a cookie cutter model of all the rest of the Nominees. Probably a nice gut, bright enough but not brilliant and definitely not a creative thinker. In short, competent, but dull. I really do not care if he is confirmed or not.
My problem is with the state of dialogue in this Nation. So far, all I have heard in this hearing is a lot of statements. Each side is making statements, but they are talking at each other. There is no give and tale, no reasoning.
Since the writings of Plato and his recreation of Socrates' dialogues, verbal give and take gas been the basis of reasoning in Western Civilization. That seems to be gone now.  A society cannot function without such conversation without becoming a dictatorship. We are a democratic republic and cannot survive as such without talking to each other and engage in give and take, reasoning together.
So far, no and this seems to have become the norm. There are some others voicing opinions, but they are in the gallery screaming incoherently..
To some, this hearing is important and they are getting a sham hearing, and that is all there will be until we learn to talk about things and to reason again. I do not think that day is soon to come.
But, it is a good day, mild and pleasant and I feel pretty well. My advice is to ignore the whole mass of lunacy and  have some fun. Blessings to all of you.

Autumn

The Autumnal Equinox, I love that phrase, is almost here. I love the Fall. It is my favorite time of year. The crisp mornings, mildly warm days with cool breezes, and the nice chill at night are perfect. I love putting on a light sweater in the morning, then switching to short sleeves in the afternoon and a light jacket at night. I think it is so fine to stand in the Sunshine on a fall afternoon and get toasty, knowing that a short step into the shade will cool me down nicely.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the hot languid days of Summer, the bite of Winter and the beauty of Spring, but my favorite is Fall. Even the food changes. Cold Sandwiches and salads start giving way to soups and stews and ice cream starts to give way to hot pies right our of the oven. Hot, strong mugs of tea replace tall glasses of iced tea.
The Fed Ex playoffs are underway, if you like golf and the Baseball playoffs and World Series are just around the corner. Football is cranking up and tennis is winding down. Horse racing fans, like myself, will soon be treated to the Breeders' Cup.
Today is Labor day, the last holiday of Simmer. Barbecue, baseball, swimming and golf and late baseball and early football ate on RV. The real holidays, for me start soon. My friend and companion of 34 years, Deb, has her birthday the end of the month. Then, it's a short hop to Halloween and Thanksgiving, the end of Fall marker. Then Christmas and New Year to usher in the deep Winter months. The year's cycle is wonderful. All of life has some elements of a cyclical nature and one of the grandest things that we humans do is our celebrations of these always returning Holidays.
I believe that these cycles echo our existence. We enter life, stay a spell, then leave and come back. Unlike most Christians, I fully believe in reincarnation. Actually I prefer the older Greek term. the transmigration of souls. It sounds fancier, and somehow more Western. That this belief separates me from other Christians is not a big deal to me. I never thought that anyone system of thought held all the answers.
Anyway, today is not a day for such theological debate. Today is for hot dogs and baseball, chili and football, burgers and swimming. In short today is simply a celebration of the end of one season and the start of the next. It is a celebration of life.
Sp, each and everyone of you should have a great day. Be happy and have fun. God bless all of you.