No Longer a Terror

 

A huge predator with wicked rows of teeth,

designed to kill and tear flesh from bone…

For thousands of years we feared them.

They could have hunted us more effectively,

but we weren’t preferred menu entree.

From mariners in ancient times,

to luckless WWII sailors in the Pacific,

It seemed like humans were a favorite

snack of sharks, especially great whites!

Then along comes someone like Ocean Ramsey,

who starts to swim in the water alongside tiger sharks.

She deduced from experience how to approach,

present herself as an equal predator, arm extended out,

vertically positioned. And indeed it worked.

When the creature got too close, she just pressed its head

away to the side, or down, and off they went.

No threat, no problem on either side of the species divide.

Remarkable – a feared apex predator reduced to an

oceangoing pal, or at least a fellow vertebrate chum.

She swims around them, underneath, over their backs...

Holds the fin of a great white and cruises the currents.

The people filming while in cages underwater must feel

like last years news now. No help for it.

Another year passes, another wonder happens, I’m amazed again.

One slender blonde woman has upended and advanced inter-species

communication, and also done a lot to protect a threatened lifeform.

Will wonders never cease. I’m glad to be here to see such wonders.

Monumental Movements

 

Etched in granite bases,

carved in a realistic fashion,

Stately statuary depicts humans that were

highly esteemed in some past generation.

Some celebrated local hero,

or the head of a powerful movement.

Perhaps a great leader or president,

honored and revered for several or

many generations. Before historical

revisions caused these heroes to be reviled.

Hysterical crowds hurry to tear them down,

removing in one day some figure that had stood

proudly for at least a hundred years.

Is this right? It depends on who you ask.
Right or wrong are fluid concepts that can change.

Nothing is permanent in the propaganda world.

Not a newspaper that can fade or be shredded,

or burned casually as a fire starter.

Not a book, nor even a solid granite statue.

Human animosity, though, seems permanent.

Big Iron Plods On

 

Mainframe computers have not passed away,

they are still very much around today.

With enormous amounts of memory arrays,

they conduct voluminous transactions always.

Twenty-four-seven, three sixty five per annum,

These iron hulks churn out work in routine rhythms.

Smaller computers have found their way onto desks,

into laptops and tablets, cellphones and watches too.

These can take care of the irregular, boutique items

that populate our busy lives, all good and competent.

But some backroom beasts have to keep track of it all,

saving society’s records, perhaps preventing a downfall.

Thus a few companies have continued to engineer

and construct these very large computing frames.

Their transactional throughput compared to giant pipes

that direct massive data flows, nourishing vast enterprises.

The benefits to us are obvious if one takes a look.

Business is at our fingertips, world knowledge in our hands;

Mountains of data checked and secured by hidden giant servants.

Reasons Why

 

Watching a 1960’s TV series brought to mind some of the optimistic plans and ideas that people had for living in space back then. While we now know how difficult it is, it doesn’t hurt to revisit that earlier optimism at times, and remind ourselves that is is still a beneficial idea to go do some of these things.

The thought of taking a trip to an orbiting space station to float around and take in the sights for one or several days can be appealing. Or to even visit an adult-themed space station to enjoy other pursuits. Heck, maybe just buy a ticket to a resort on the Moon. Float around in a large domed play or entertainment space. The low Moon gravity would allow enhancements to many activities, from team sports to new games that would be invented just to take advantage of the low gravity. Perhaps new forms of handball, or basketball, or football or hockey, using differing playing fields. Arena Football would berr one candidate. Gymnastics would really get a boost from the low-gee environment.

Retirees could enjoy living on the Moon, with the lower gravity making it easier to get around, or to enjoy physical pursuits that would not be easy on the Earth’s surface.

Perhaps adult casino-resorts could thrive on the Moon as well, and bring in more income to help pay for other infrastructure projects.

Observatories located on the far side of the Moon could make some new scientific discoveries. These could be automated, visited only occasionally.

A real exotic tourist destination would be Mars. Resorts here would be high-end indeed. Tourists would pay a premium to see sunrises and sunsets on the bluish-red horizons of Mars. Observatories and research labs could also be located here.

The establishment of a “Inner Sstem” economy could benefit Earth’s economy. Activities like asteroid mining could add to the sum total of humanity’s wealth. This wealth could be used to lift the poorer nations up. The entire human race could benefit.

As a former US president once observed, “We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard!” In other words, this presents a challenge to humanity to step up, to do the hard things, for the benefit of all.

It is easy to get lost in the minutiae of present-day politics and financial upheavals. But it is useful, even necessary, to remind ourselves of the benefits of moving forward and outward, and taking possession of our entire Solar System for the benefit of humanity. Thanks for reading.

Words Worth Many Photos

 

I’ve taken many photos of the Iowa outdoors,

seeming thousands of rivers, streams, woodlands.

Thousands of views of sweeping riverbanks and sandbars.

Natural scenes colored by sun and grasses and brown soils

into surreal beauty laid out before my camera.

How to find the words to describe such beauties?

It’s all about timing, finding that perfect light,

the browns, siennas, tans and yellows of a

winter landscape, snows absent, undergrowth resplendent.

A wide, sweeping riverbank with rippled sandbars,

bluish waters reflecting sunlight.

seagulls on the water like elongated white dots,

or slate gray waters reflecting quotidian lumps of cloud.

Some scenes can feel remarkable,

leave one breathless in their simple yet stunning beauty.

Then I can spend the next several hours conjuring up

some verbal description of nature’s wonder and symmetry.

Easier to just give up, and go take some more pictures.

Memorial for a Dear Sister

 

What price can one put on a life well lived?

She gave of herself in every way she knew how.

Memories of her are an integral part of her siblings memory,

things she did to enhance us will stay behind for all time.

Not only her earlier admonitions to me to eat healthy,

‘avoid the destructive things,

try to stay out of trouble for my own good.’

Tapping the brakes on those less-desirable impulses as a teen;

(now the last ‘hen’ has passed on)

But also her later chats, informing us about her children,

and their new children, and news about our former homes.

Every so often I would get more of her beneficence,

even from long distances. And it would be refreshing.

My dear sister will always remain in our memories,

and also in all of her children and grandchildren.

Rest in peace SGWP 06/25/1951 – 06/03/2025

What Shall I

 

Going through a list of things to do,

shall I water the potted geraniums?

Weed the marigold seedlings?

Maybe pull the overgrown fescue and bluegrass

invaders out of the Cosmos patch over yonder.

But the sun is up to 11:30-ish, beating down

through a smoky haze in the air today.

Think I’ll go inside and write something.

Hmm, how about those kickboxing robots

I saw on ABC or NBC, maybe a haiku.

Two small forms attack

plastic and metal impacts

both last many rounds.

A new use for AI

surrogates fight it out

settle many disputes

artificial deaths

replace many real losses

wars settled in plastic.

Real problems defy

any easy solutions

generate wishful fantasies

humans obsolete

let artificial brains solve

residual problems.

Enough abstract typing

time to go turn on the TV

stream my troubles away

Have a good day.

(this was not typed with the help of any AI)