One Direction

 One of a couple of sprigs I still remember from glancing through Stephen Hawking's book  "A Brief History of Time" is the fact that time is a one-way arrow.  He even had a big fat arrow to illustrate - one way only.  There is no going back.  We know that we will inevitably be going forward, and that it will pass faster than we realize, making us wonder where it all went.

     So we know that we are on this one-way roller coaster that cannot be stopped, or slowed, except in our memories.  But - we can make use of this.  We can start a long-term program, knowing that the time will pass.  We can wake up every day and say to ourselves  "Today I am going to do this or that activity to put myself one day closer to my goal.  Because today I decide (again) that I am worth it, that my goal is worth pursuing, and that the time will pass either way, no matter what I do.  So it is up to me to decide - to move forward with the inexorable arrow, to be carried by time, and to carry my goal with me, and never waver.   I can ride this time train to the end, and carry my goals with me, because I am worth it!  One can harness this inevitable motion we are in, on, and a part of.

     There is no magic machine to ride backwards.  But you can swim downstream and be propelled by the movement of the universe, and take advantage of the same, day by day, hour by hour, with your consistent efforts.  

     Good luck achieving your goals, and happy holidays to all. 

Limited Lines

 

A 700-page tome can garner much praise,

netting an author fame and a big payday;.

Yet how many will read every single page,

and be able to recall the words conveyed.

A short-eight-line poem pays no bills,

nor earns an astounding commissions;

While it may lack convoluted-plot thrills,

you can read and comprehend it in seconds.

With enough time left over for coffee and texting,

or if you are exotic, an herbal tea and some sexting.

Have already robbed you of these extra seconds,

So have a nice day, and please be kind and pleasant.

Happy Winter Solstice Everyone.

Perched Atop Many Years

 

Once way back when,

in dim memories of elementary school

hallways, with clumps of bodies exiting

classrooms, I measured my progress.

The groups of younger, smaller kids kept

increasing with each passing year.

Our class got taller, until we left entirely.

We went to other schools, and

I started at the bottom again,

gradually moving up the chain.

Until that sunny Graduation day,

wearing the black gown and cap.

Another transition from top to bottom.

Starting at a new company, the

future seemed glowing and golden.

So many benefits spread out before me,

a banquet of wonderful possibilities.

The the training and learning began,

and there I was, at a lower bottom than ever.

But somehow I learned, absorbed,

ground my way slowly to a full position.

For a brief moment in time I felt on top again.

Full of impulsive arrogance, I stepped off the brink:

A succession of lesser employments unfolded.

At times I slogged higher on the hill of one of those,

and felt a bit more in control of my future destiny.

Until I finally crossed that line of Retirement and was

able to claim Social Security – talk about being on top!

Now I sit perched high above the years and gaze down.

Looking back at all of the struggles, even as I keep

my eyes sharp for gig opportunities to augment my stipend.

Worries about health and aging have replaced worries of whether

the boss is mad at me, or I screwed something up royally.

Getting up on a Monday morning and not having to rush out

is its own sweet reward, savored every single damn Monday there is.

Feelings of gratitude to have made it here to write about

“What a long, strange trip it has been” indeed.

Brooding December

 

The river is brooding and moody,

the woods quiet, nestled in sleep.

Even the deer are sheltering from

the blast of winters fury or a hunter’s slugs.

But it is still warm today…

So I hike through dry brush and packed dirt,

or trudge along sandy riverside temporarily thawed.

Not even many birds are out and about.

At least no fisher-peoples to trip over while snapping pics.

A silent, almost surreal landscape not unlike Iceland,

or Asgard -- this time of year anyway.

The day seems nice, but sky gods are plotting their

latest devastation to hurl against humanity,

while we huddle below, praying to them to

at least keep our furnaces running.

You never know what a sky god will take a notion to do!

Time to turn the thoughts to the holiday celebrations,

happier times indoors with family or friends.

Even if things are forced and endured, and

especially if events are enjoyed and savored.

It is worth it – better than being stuck outside!

A Quantum Future

 

400 qubits are enough to take over humanity?

What little value we have in the grand picture,

the overarching sweep of history, on a galactic scale.

Other civilizations may have been swallowed by their

artificial constructs, and that is what is radiating in all

of the spectrums of light throughout the universe.

Thirty years more, and we’ll all be ordering things

ready-made from factor modules, controlling it

from headsets or implants or voice or handwaves.

Wealth that was unimaginable in previous times

will be available to all – all who don’t unduly

upset the authorities in charge – or the AI in charge.

Will some of these technologies make it into space?

Certainly some, since it takes extreme technology

to even make it to outer space, and survive there.

So astronauts will lead the way, our tech demonstrators.

How long it takes to trickle to the rest of us

is a matter of conjecture and discussion.

But sometimes too much, too fast can be damaging.

Nevertheless, entire industries rise and fall on the

basis of one simple improvement, factored into all.

See you on the other side of tomorrow!

No class like the old class

 

The class of ‘75 is still in touch,

those disparate lives across the country.

We are all 48 years and an email away;

so many years and miles, places and times.

Vast distance and murky memories crossed

instantly, made fresh and real again.

Grainy mental images surface again.

Classrooms and teachers and lugging books,

prefects and brothers and late-night parties.

Moments happy and sad, terrifying and thrilling.

Homecoming excitement and basketball tournaments,

those colorful coaches saying “What the hell!” or even

“Open your damn biology books!”

Shakespeare records played by that gruff Bball maestro.

Stunning Colorado scenery made a perfect backdrop

to all of the teenage boarding school dramas and comedies.

It was an out-of-this-world experience, and we left there

able to compete academically and on the playing fields.

Others should be half as lucky

as we were to attend Holy Cross Abbey

way, way back in the dim mists of the 1970’s.

Go Bears! can still resonate today,

bring a smile to our faces as we

remember those golden years gone by.

The Right Pick

 

Booth or Table? is asked.

It used to be

Paper or Plastic?

That stopped me cold at times

on a busy Saturday morning,

when I had so many more things

to decide than what kind of bag to use.

A long time before this it used to be

Beer or mixed drink?

Dance or sit and talk?

Your place, or mine?

Bottom, or top?

The summation would arrive through a

fog of anxiety, as if by magic:

Whiskey and soda,

Dance then sit (on your lap?)

Mine,

Versatile.

Some magic times have to be taken

moment by moment, step by step.

However things turn out,

just keep taking those steps,

somehow you will get through it.

Today it was a table, a long one,

with many familiar faces.

After the coffee and smiles and chat and food,

there was no doubt in my mind:

I made the right choice.

Happy Thanks Day

 

So many things to be thankful for.

That my failures haven’t landed me on the street,

living in a tent and surviving on scraps and handouts.

Or in some prison or six feet under the earth.

Thankful that I stayed employed for many years,

built up retirement funds and credits that keep me

housed, fed and comfortable in my now older years.

Thankful that I still have a car to get around in.

Thankful that AIDS and Covid-19 didn’t take me down,

that I survived all of the other more minor afflictions.

So many others fell from these and other diseases.

I can pause and consider these things while I sit and

enjoy a big thanksgiving dinner with other survivors.

Thankful to enjoy the good things, wonders of the present

time, in good enough health to enjoy the benefits.

Search at my fingertips or voice command,

more options for travel and entertainment.

More ways to connect with others for intimacy.

May others be blessed as I am and enjoy a healthy life,

and good times and friends to celebrate the best moments.

Thankful for all of the kindnesses and gracious favors

that others have given to me, or done for me.

Thankful for many things on this Thanksgiving of 2023.

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

China

 

From rickshaws and dusty villages,

once conquered, humiliated and abused,

barefoot and wearing rags...

arose a new colossal economic superpower,

practically on par with the mighty USA.

Mao once said that “they will sell us

the rope to hang them with,” and

there is more truth to that than not.

Cheap labor, central planning and persistence

have transformed them into a major force,

now sailing the world’s largest navy.

What kind of future do we want?

One with irradiated rubble and a few

starving survivors, living in squalor?

Or one with amazing technologies,

wearable headsets to operate all of

our transports and technologies -- 

through neural interfaces custom-tailored...

Also real progress on climate change and

global hunger and poverty?

It is up to the present leaders to

not push us on the path of

inevitable war, destruction and despair.

Let’s opt for the better, brighter future,

the high road out of nuclear confrontation!

Haiku Play

 

out to eat today

an expected friend not there

time to move on now

some things don’t turn out

best laid plans fall through on us

pack up and move it

road yonder beckons

new chances just round the bend

there will be more friends

later down the trail

who should show but my old friend

renewed contact fun

it is not over yet

there will always be chances

get that chin up now

(These probably break a lot of traditional rules, but they are 5-7-5 at least.)

Cursed or Blessed

 

Blessed are the communities that do the blessing,

feeding the hungry and staffing hospitals and schools.

Doing the good and necessary that needs doing,

helping humanity as a whole while believing.

Omnipresent religion sits everywhere one looks,

Catholic and Lutheran, evangelical not forsook.

One can believe in fairies, trolls and monsters,

Satan and Jesus and Almighty God in His throne.

It does not much matter what one believes,

so long as they manifest those eternal qualities –

compassion, charity, forgiveness, humility and love.

These in themselves seem to hold the supernatural.

Instead of killing each other off for once and all,

we pause, consider, forgive, be generous in our charity.

Practicing patience and thoughtfulness and kindness.

we overrule our baser impulses of rage and jealousy.

And thus make the world a better place for our families,

our friends and offspring and loved ones all over.

Knowing we are flawed and imperfect,

we can struggle to attain a higher plane.

Whatever god purports to say it,

we can all strive to live it.

No matter who brings you some grain of gold,

it is and remains gold all the same.

Bright and valuable and yours to honor.

To the insect worlds, humans are the gods!

Current Events

 

So the AI can’t write a decent poem?

good, gives us humans a bit of hope.

Our technology is a mere reflection of us.

Flawed and bumbling, yet it sometimes reaches

new heights and raises our morale.

Then failures follow successes,

dashing the same encouragement,

leaving us bereft, and forced to start again.

Hasn’t that been our story since we

came down from the trees and stood up?

We win some, find new foods, hurrah

in our successes until nature and chance

rub our noses in the dirt, and break our bones.

If we do manage to up-evolve to a new

machine intelligence and overcome

the limitations of space and time –

Then we’ll do a virtual head-shake together,

and wonder how we ever made it through those

dark, awful days of the early 21^st century.

Maybe by then our AI intellects will figure out

how to write a poem.

Maybe.

#/> end program.

Offline Hacks

 

When everything else is humming along fine,

plans unfolding as they should in real time.

Obstacles encountered are easily surmounted,

Frustrations endured or forgotten or flouted.

The blessings get counted and feelings are fine,

occasional good surprises are truly sublime.

Conversations with friends work out alright,

house and yard maintained to prevent blight.

Until all of a sudden early one night,

Internet connection drops with a fright.

That Smart TV is now deaf and dumb;

no more emails, surveys or social media fun.

This is when things turn unpleasant and surreal,

resourcefulness kicks into high gear to appease

those cravings with over the air TV and real books,

temporary inconvenience survived, angst overlooked.

After an hour it came back on, and the information stream

was interfaced with, thus returned to an AI-infused dream.

The Fall is Falling

 

Fall is falling like it promised,

trees dropping pretense and baring their souls.

Squirrels are scrambling and collecting food,

Preparing nests for the white bitterness ahead.

Temperatures tease us with warmth and breezes,

lure us into complacence before those inevitable drops.

No matter, we Midwesterners know to prepare;

and at times pause to take in the color and beauty.

Markets rise and fall with the temperatures,

raising some spirits before dashing our hopes.

The only thing we can count on is the

weather – we know it will change a lot.

We will fall into our usual holiday rotation,

giving thanks, presents and toasts to a new year.

Making promises we know we will not keep,

but smiling and happy nevertheless –

for a while anyway.

Bundle up – here it comes!

Rondeau play

 A Game of When

It takes so long, this exploration game.

Every new mission it’s always the same.

Years of preparation and repeated testing,

discarding or tweaking or endless vetting.

Looking towards novel discovery and fame.

Mishap or disaster invites new blame,

error discovery explanations seem lame.

Newscasters engage in some digressing,

it takes so long to succeed in this game.

We want to find new territory to claim,

despite past treaties warning refrains.

Repeated failure can be distressing,

hard to keep taxpayers from denigrating!

It takes so long to cement new gains.

Parade of Data Machines

 

Parading images go past in memory,

Wondrous devices of the past, now passed.

IBM electromechanical marvels

Selectric typewriters, Chain and train printers,

higher speed behemoths eating ink and paper,

spitting out data in reports on continuous forms.

DEC VAX multitasking monsters,

many students could message and network.

User-friendly Internet precursors on CRT screens,

nothing but black background and blinking cursor.

Huge rooms full of iron frames and blue or red boxes,

Clattering printers, hum of disk drives and fans,

Halon signs and Big Red Buttons for emergency shutdown.

So impressive in the 1960’s and 1970’s,

so obsolete now they are all scrapped.

Fun to put my phone on “do not disturb,”

and look back at the days of yore on Youtube.

Remember what was and what we had to endure.

But back then we thought it was the ultimate...

Many things are different in this day and age,

but one thing remains constant:

Human addiction to war and killing,

with the innocents suffering the most.

Technology explodes – in more ways than one!

That Galactic Arm Called America

 In the Washingtonian system we reside,

The capital of the (American) human tide. Alpha Centauri, now Cincinnati's realm, With factories and industry, overwhelm.

New York's the financial heart, shining bright, Entertainment, business in its starry light. Broadway, a planet, endless theater's grace, Asteroids, Jazz, Hiphop, Electronica's space.

Pittsburg's domain, where molten metals meld, Smelting, ingots, major industry to be held. Trade flows abound in the Lakes System's space, Duluth, Milwaukee, Green Bay, they embrace.

Southwest worlds, in the desert they gleam, Palm Springs and Vegas, a vibrant dream. Entertainments galore, endless delight, Elvis and Marilyn androids frolic day and night.

In the Pac Northwest, waters do flow, Seafood harvested, edibles trade grows. Seattle's the center, mega in its might, Trans-shipping seafood at the speed of light.

Alaska's ice worlds, a frozen domain, Harvesting, hunting, asteroids they gain. Eco-tourism thrives, enjoying the pristine views, In the Alaska System, a virginal nature debut.

Colorado's mountains, adventure's true call, Skiing, rafting, hiking and scaling for all. Party places on slopes, joyous and grand, In the Colorado System, a galactic wonderland.

New Orleans, a party that never does cease, Non-stop, year-round, a city to please. Clothing-optional, where spirits are free, Planet Redlight to enjoy sensual ecstasy.

Yet in this galactic arm, America's hold, Conflict and rivalry abound, a tale quite old. For peace to prevail is a challenging feat, Perhaps galactic tourists should take a backseat!

(With thanks to the mighty GPT 4 for help with this one.)

Future Clean Gone

 

A better future sits incubating in

warehouses and labs around the world.

Some will enable lighter cars that never

run out of power, fed by the roadways.

Others promise new, cheaper batteries

made of abundant substances like iron.

One can read about or see news on

the wondrous new tech and get hopeful.

Maybe we won’t go down the tubes

after we squeeze that last drop of oil out,

or pollute our air so bad the planet will end us.

And then war breaks out all over the place,

spoiling the beatific visions outright.

We are so clever and good at inventing things,

including ways to eliminate ourselves altogether.

The coin of human survival is tumbling in the air,

we never know which side it will land on,

and whether our luck will finally run out.

Heads or tails?

Colony Football

 

    When we start building colonies on the Moon, and eventually Mars, the subject of sports will soon come up. Although early colonists will probably have little spare time, eventually they will need some recreation in their lives. So some games and sports will be introduced. But regular football and baseball, etc, may not work so well on the Moon due to space limitations. So someone will have to come up with games better suited to low gravity and more confined spaces, at least initially. Arena football is a possibility, or Pickleball. Table tennis, perhaps, able to be played in a smaller space. Smaller games that can be played in a common area.

    It may be that paddles for game can also be used for another purpose, making them more justifiable as cargo in a long flight to Mars. While computer games can certainly make the flight, a few board games might be enjoyable to be played among the crew as well, just for the physical sensation of moving pieces on a board. Computer displays can do a lot, but they don’t easily replace the excitement of competitive physical movements. Some compact physical competition games on a colony can add to people’s sense of well-being and contentedness.

Old Acquaintance is Not Forgotten

 

Met up with a friend the other day,

we fished and talked and reminisced;

The passage of years spun me away,

left in a state of remembrance bliss.

The span of time over years made me dizzy,

as we recounted people we knew and loved,

or escaped or discarded or left in a tizzy.

All the old feelings that were shoved

aside bubbled back into the sunlight.

No longer anything except friends,

we can share and laugh and remember

all of the experiences covering decades.

We spent some pleasant moments together

before returning to our own living situations.

Finding out some things about each other

we never knew, then or now, that reveal

more facets of each others personalities;

Shortcomings and strong points alike.

A friend rediscovered is a friend anew!

Wacky engineering thought

 

Sometimes coming up with a new tech idea means changing the way we think about physics, and physical laws. Oftentimes they do this with huge mathematical models, etc. But sometimes a different viewpoint can help matters too, or adding another element to the techno-pysical collection or soup.

Rockets lift using the physical concept of action-reaction. A huge hot mass is ejected out the back of a rocket, and it lifts off and ‘rockets’ away. Perhaps the physical concept of action-reaction could be modified. Could there be a way to “trick” a mass into thinking that it is ejecting mass? Somehow at a subatomic level or something. Maybe by just creating a super-hot center and compressing it (without ejecting it), and on some subatomic level the mass comprising the rocket “thinks” it is giving up mass and/or being pushed upward, and therefore the rocket mass reacts by lifting off. Just an idea to play with, something to nudge thinking in this direction.

Maybe there is some way we could manipulate subatomic particles under a rocket and trigger a reaction of lifting off. I’m sure Werner VB and Robert Goddard probably thought about this too. But then again, they didn’t have the tools we do at the present time. Anyway, happy tinkering out there. I hope (or wish) that someone could come up with some novel way of escaping the Earth’s gravity well.

Profundities and Absurdities

 

Sometimes a profound statement or idea will occur to me.

Like ‘time is an accidental by-product of existence’

or ‘when the Big Powers learn to manipulate gravity,

then the real wars will begin.’

Profound concepts of time and space all shifting around.

Time is the 4^th dimension, controlling the shape, look, appearance,

texture of space. Space is always changing in time,

so what space looks like always depends on the timing.

In our minds, all space from birth to present exists simultaneously in memory.

The longer we are alive, the more time is stuffed into us.

Maybe our lifespan depends on how much time our brains can hold.

Pondering that a pot-smoker might have -

or a bored oldster,

typing away another Saturday night.

But the daily absurdities keep playing out in the news,

and overwhelm any rare profound moments.

Polls keep showing a certain candidate beating of his rivals;

He is merely a reflection of the worst in humanity,

a darker image of us that we just can’t escape.

The US forming alliances with other world powers,

and repeatedly getting betrayed by said same powers.

Hemorrhaging billions on warfare with Russia and China,

even if the alternative is worse.

Nature is full of the eaters and eaten.

The bears eat seals or whales, or anything

else they can find that is tasty to them.

Many animals spend all their time

seeking food, fending off attackers,

or mating and rearing their young.

Only humans need to seek out entertainment.

Only we have enough food to eat that we can

seek out other pleasures at our leisure.

Enough random profundity for one evening.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

Keeping in Good Repair

 

Riding along on a trail,

shifting gears up and down.

Over time the gears slip out,

requiring more and more attention.

Derailleurs and sprockets eventually wear...

Driving down the highway,

the Ford roars with a louder voice

every month – those manifold pipes

and catalytic converter showing their age.

My old house remains a comfortable abode,

even as the soffit sags, paint peels, and pipes leak.

“She” is showing her 60 plus years more and more.

Physical things last for a time and then they wear out.

Human bodies, too, acquire age and show their wear.

Knee cartilage wears out, hips need replaced, lungs scar.

We just hope for a good “body mechanic” to

stave off catastrophic failures and keep us humming along.

Entropy is one tough opponent,

a target for temporal postponement!

BRIC a brac

 

They are forming a line,

all of these little countries eager to

escape the US Dollar’s “hegemony” over the world.

They form little partnerships to

trade back and forth, and generate new alliances.

But can they really trust each other?

Every country has its own interests to protect,

they tend to forget that they all share one

common globe, that ‘third rock orbiting’ the Sun.

Climactic shifts and mega-disasters affect us all.

It seems it’s time for humans to learn to cooperate.

Cooperation yields better results than desperation.

Like lead actors in a high-school play,

we need to get over our personal fits and do the right thing.

For our descendants and their offspring too,

end the constant warfare,

learn to work together,

solve common worldwide problems.

For the benefit of us all.

But the BRIC throwing will probably continue,

hope my glass doesn’t get broken out!

Next trip to the grocery store,

thank those petty alliances for the latest

price shocks.

Maybe now is a good time to expand that home garden.