Unsettled Times

 

We have had several inches of rain here in Des Moines the last few days. The entire state of Iowa seems like a wet, dripping soaked rag right now. These heat waves and ferocious storms seem kind of bizzare, off kilter, indicating some major climate change – to me anyway. Unsettled times.

The head of the Secret Service resigned, after a grilling by congress. But congress was not content with that, now they are grilling the acting head of the secret service. It is so easy to point fingers and make accusations after the fact. But it appears to me that no matter how large and complex a policing apparatus, a lone wolf can squeeze thru the cracks and create chaos. Throwing more billions at them won’t fix it. I’m no expert. If they learned anything, it is watch those rooftops, and report what you see to many others.

The Democrats have a new presidential candidate, and are energized, inspired. Now this will be a real horse race! A presidential campaign with an unpredictable outcome for sure. Any odds-makers will have their hands full. Democrats have to cast aside any apathy and get out and VOTE, if they want to affect the outcome. Unsettled times.

The wars around the world keep on going, even if they aren’t really called wars. Ukraine vs. Russia. Russia and China vs Nato. Israel vs Hamas, Hezbolla and the Houthis. They really have their hands full! Unsettled times. Human beings really like killing each other. How are we still here?

The Space game goes on. SpaceX is launching Falcon 9’s again, and working on their giant Starship rockets. Rocketlab built twin Mars probes for NASA, getting ready to send them off. The other companies are trailing behind. SpaceX is the undisputed leader in launching capability right now.

But the others are all working on something or other. The same launching tech that sends warheads aloft also sends up human dreams and aspirations. Unsettled times.

All we can do is wish each other luck, cause we’re going to need a lot of that.

Derecho Memories

 

Hard to believe that it has been almost four years since a murderous Derecho blew through Iowa. It laid waste to the entire state. And right in the middle of a Pandemic, no less. Times were already tough. Many restrictions, job cust. The economy ground to a halt, for the most part. The government was issuing big checks to everyone, but there was not much to spend it on, other than the stock market. And amdist all of the other chaos, the skies turned dark. Rain came in torrents, blowing horizontally. After an hour of this land hurricane, it subsided and the sun came out. And one could see trees felled, wires down everywhere. Total destruction! It took a few days just to get roads cleared, and some wires picked up off the streets.

A slow recovery began. Utility companies came in from other states to help. And gradually, the power came back on in neighborhoods. It was such a bad time, in a year of bad times. June had seen the BLM rioting in different cities. Later on, my job changed due to ongoing employment events. But the August Derecho was a capper, like a final punch in a Hollywood fight that knocks someone to the ground, out cold. But of course, this was no Hollywood drama. It seemed to go on forever.

And now I rarely ever think about it. But a survey reminded me of it this morning. Thinking of how relatively well things are going now. The economy is booming. Businesses are back to normal. Once empty streets are clogged with traffic. One could almost compare it to the roaring 20’s of a century ago. It seems like we are so much better off now. (As long as Russia and Nato don’t get into a shooting war directly.)

Sometimes remembering just how bad things were in August of 2020 helps put a context on anything happening nowadays. Even an ugly presidential campaign. Have a great weekend everyone.

Musing through Spacetime

 

Spacetime.

A term used often by physics fans and experts.

The word seems to mean ‘space’ or physical reality and ‘time’ or a progression of events.

Thus I can say that my garden is made out of “spacetime.”

I sowed the seeds at one time, then various other times I watered them, weeded and thinned them out.

When the flowers grew and bloomed over time, they were and are comprised of space + time, or spacetime. Discrete physical manipulations spread out over time create objects of ‘spacetime.’

A backyard or indoor construction project is made not only of wood, screws and nails, paint and etc.

it is also made of spacetime – the sum total of all the materials constructed over time.

A poem written or imagined over time = spacetime.

My car, built in an assembly process, equals spacetime.

(I wonder what kind of math they could use on that idea.)

When I go to bed, I sleep through a tunnel of spacetime.

When I watch TV, I waste hours of spacetime.

If I’m lucky enough to get intimate with someone, I have sex through spacetime.

Everything is made up of various versions of spacetime.

Freezing all motion would trap us in a 2-d world, without any spacetime. Just space.

Existing frozen, forever.

High enough energies would liberate more dimensions and variations of spacetime.

Someday, someone will figure out calculations and testing methods to uncover an underlying reality encompassing all of spacetime, relativity theory and everything else. Good luck to them.

In the mean-time, I’m going to use up, consume, waste some more of my spacetime watching Netflix.

Have a good day.

Say no to P-2025

 

Project 2025 is a big plan to replace administrative officials on many levels with ‘true believers’ who are less qualified to do the job is dangerous for the beneficiaries of those services.

Project 2025 is exclusionary to many classes of people in the United States who have been helped in the past by inclusive policies. Non-discrimination and equal opportunity laws have benefited many people in the past 70 years. Federal laws and agencies have been created to help Americans. Now they would do away with the department of Education, and enact cutbacks on Social Security and Medicare, hurting people who have paid into these their whole life. Wage earners willingly endure withholding for social security and Medicare, under the promise that they will get this back in their retirement, and be cared for. Ripping this away from taxpayers just to enrich federal coffers is just plain wrong.

Enforcing Christian religious beliefs on a nation of diverse, different belief systems is cruel. They are pushing the values of a state religion onto people who want no part of that. Our founding fathers wisely crafted the constitution to ensure the separation of church and state.  This should never be tampered with.

Replacing policymakers and administrators with party apparatich “true believers” is just imitating what Stalin did in the old Soviet Union in the last century. It did not work then – he got worse performance and a monolithic state. And it will not work now, forcing Christian nationalism down the throats of an unwilling populace. Say no to P2025.

We are supposed to be a free nation. But the promoters of the 2025 plan want to insert government into various aspects of our lives, from disallowing women to get an abortion, to taking away legal protections for LGBT people, to reductions in federal payments to retirees. Project 2025 would be a disaster for many, many Americans.  Abuse of the many for the satisfaction of the few?  Hell no.

Be careful what you wish for. Supporting the reactionaries who crafted this publication would rob you of your liberties, and insert themselves into your lives on many levels. We are supposed to be the land of the free, not ruled by a religious theocracy!

Twilight of June

 

Now the Thirtieth and the twilight of June,

with the sun canting along across the sky;

End of festivities with colors that festoon

rainbow banners and balloons we let fly.

The long sweet serenade of chicadas

foreshadow some more midsummer heat;

shadows that also lengthen dip inside us,

trigger emotions, tell us solstice is complete.

Just a small pause in the frolicking of summertime,

one to renew our efforts to find joy and make some fun.

We crank the AC as temps and humidity levels climb,

seek out some more adventures before the season is done!

Cooler temps and darker skies will come soon enough,

June twilight a hint, reminder that time does not bluff.