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)

Mars Landing Schemes - Then and Now

 

Once upon a time, A guy named Robert Zubrin wrote a great book, called “A Case For Mars”. He outlined a simple plan, called Mars Direct, where two missions could be launched. One would be a supply craft, that would land a bunch of supplies for a crew to use to live on for a while. The other would be a crew canister itself, to land on Mars, near the supply craft. He outlined what seemed like a simple and elegant plan to send people to Mars, and bring them back again.

Then we went through some changes over the years, since around 1996 when that book was written. The Shuttle program was discontinued. We relied on Russian Soyuz to get into space. Until finally, SpaceX came long with their crew dragon. The Crew dragon is great for what it does. But it can’t lift heavy components like the Shuttle did. So Elon & Co are working on their Starship heavy lifter. But it has blown up several times, and is nowhere near ready for prime time. And the Chinese are making slow but steady, regular progress in space, constructing their own complete space station. They are planning on collaborating with the Russians on another space station, and even a Moon Base.

The other day on some TV show, up pops Mr. Zubrin again, spouting some nonsense about using a Star-boat, carried inside a Starship, to bring a crew to Mars and back. No more simple, direct plan. Now it involves multiple ships, refueling, stations along the way, etc. In my humble opinion, a real big mess. I partly blame NASA and the subcontractors, for repeatedly failing to meet targets and get the Artemis booster and other components built and launched. Nothing but huge cost overruns and delay, delay, delay. So the government is forced again and again, to turn to Musk for help.

What can Elon Musk do that NASA cannot? And why is this? What changes could NASA make to achieve the same level of success as Musk & Co?

In any case, it is sad to me to see Mr. Zubrin reduced to parroting some ridiculous space-boat scheme, when at one time he had a stellar plan to get people to Mars. (Disclaimer: Zubrin is a respected scientist with degrees, who has worked for Lockheed, etc, in the past. I have a lot of respect for the man, who is also a well-regarded author. Was just chagrined when I saw him in the aforementioned video clip. Mars Direct was a much more impressive plan.)

In any case, it doesn’t matter – now we are going to try and beat the Chinese and land people on the Moon again. Where is a Werner Von Braun when you need him? Maybe India will beat us all back to the moon. Lol. Thanks for reading my rant.

Time Travelling Detritus

 

The episodes come one after the other.

Romances, nerdy adventures,

clubhouse kids using lightning for time travel juice.

Repeating scenarios all end in a brothers’ death.

Possibilities for stories seem endless.

Long ago I realized that we

all have one time traveling construct:

our minds and memories.

We built many aids and assists;

Writing, photographs, movies,

digital memory devices aplenty.

One of the most recent,

online social media sites,

saturate our minds with memories:

Old photos, videos, mementos.

Time becomes a Horizontal Now,

packed full of wayback leaps,

and the occasional “what if” future idea posted.

Our linear sensory worldview gets distorted.

The young coming up have a different worldview,

and their offspring will have a new one, too.

It’s good to be alive to witness all of this,

even if it gets confusing and mind-numbing.

Science fiction can send one off into

speculative time whirligigs, still always

granting us a second chance to live our

lives today better, when we shut off the TV.

Safe travels everyone, and try not to

trip over yourselves exiting some spacetime loop.

See you on the other side of – yesterday?

little white

 

A long hike brought on an urge,

so I headed into a nearby porta-potty.

Stepped into the hot green space,

tried to pull a locking thingy closed.

Trying not to smell the environs,

I unzip and let a steaming stream loose;

Standing there pissing, spy a white spot

against the green plastic lit up by the sun.

Squinting closer, I see a little white spider.

Gives me a thing to watch as I unload,

sound reverberating, attention riveted

on that tiny white creature lowering itself.

It moves a bit, then turns around, tries to climb,

lowers itself more, hangs in space and rotates...

What kind of universe does it perceive?

Its milky way is this large green KYBO;

Don’t know and don’t care, because

I’m done pissing and zip it up again.

Leave its universe with a push of the door,

perhaps wish it luck making a web or whatever.

My universe contains a beautiful spring day in May,

and I’m going to enjoy it. Good luck,

little white spider suspended in stinky space.

You’ll need it.

Fit Impressions

 

Repetitive droning of treadmill motors

walking or trotting seeing flashing display

Time elapsed and time remaining synchronous

keeping time with my legs and breath.

Glace up at the bodies of all ages,

young and solid, older and bulky,

or plain old and frail,

all pumping their blood,

keeping healthy or chasing health.

Those young bodies that can take or do anything

amaze one that has spanned six decades.

“Did I ever look like that?”

But they are indifferent, flexing and flicking,

their minds on many different things.

Some are like me, just numb to the need to

repeat, repeat, repeat the workout,

persist and stay at it,

fighting caloric accumulations,

hoping to look a little bit better,

to live to chase another day.

Remembrance Roads

 

Another one of those

“On this day when” remembrances

pop up on a social media news feed.

I browse through pictures of some past road trip.

Making my way down dusty state roads,

rural areas unfolding with their soft scenery;

Chartreuse chicken coops next to rambling old farmhouses,

bits of old cloth hanging from a nail for a door handle.

I slow my car, to snap a few pics, then bite into one of the

last doughnuts on the front seat, vague fears of rotten teeth

swirl, while I remind myself to go to the dentist one of these days.

But I just taste acrid memories, as remembrance

of things done sift in and out of my thoughts.

“What would my life have been had I come from one of

these rural areas, with nothing but hard work and growing things around?”

I sniff, then sneeze – some dust of the past, perhaps.

Think and muse as I drive.

At one time, some of these farmsteads had families,

children running around between the barns,

their laughter echoing in and out,

startling the laying hens and hogs nearby.

But those days are long gone, memories like dust hanging in the air.

Time to drive on, drive on, always driving on.

Mixed Bag

 

     Ah, the summer travel season approaches. And since I took a long drive this spring, can share some impressions after navigating around 3,000 miles of the Interstates. First – if you don’t need to take a long drive, maybe you just shouldn’t this year. There are many construction areas, as state crews try to keep the roads maintained the best they can. In some places, there are potholes, or sudden holes that look like something hit the concrete surface at high velocity, leaving a jagged hole with some debris. A tire hitting one of these really makes a jarring impact. Luckily, we didn’t have a flat.

Then there is the traffic itself. People are always in a hurry. Especially large SUV’s and trucks that roar by, ignoring speed limits. Semi-tractor trailers try to pass each other, and often end up blocking the passing lane. Or they swerve on and off the rumble strips, doing who knows what inside the cab while their vehicles wobble all over the road. And yes, to be fair, sometimes cars whip in and out dangerously close to the Semi’s. It is a free-for-all wild west atmosphere at times on the Interstates – it can be a real test of nerves, and lead to a lot of cursing and unpleasant emotions. Long distance drives are not always easy. The glory or romance of just getting away from it all on the open road is appealing, for sure. But the reality can be much less pleasant.

This is not to say that traveling is all bad. There are many amazing things to see out there, especially here in the USA. And when you get to a destination, it can be delightful, to check into a nice hotel and be greeted warmly, and get a great room. Or to see an amazing national park for the first time. Great memories. It is worth it to see new destinations. Just be sure and pack a lot of patience with you, and try to be somewhat courteous on the highways. Pay some courtesy forward on the roads – you may get some back in return. Traveling can be a mixed bag! It is worth it. But it sure feels good to get back home too. Happy journeys – and may they be safe too. (be attentive on the road – watch out for what is up ahead). Thanks for reading.

Hobby Heaven

 

For some people it’s trains…

To paint them, or ride them around, or have

a big model railroad layout in the basement.

Makes their life complete – and happier.

Others may collect cast-iron car models,

larger or smaller or matchbox size.

They line shelves and collect dust,

but look racy like they want to go fast.

Some buy a lot of glass sculptures,

then shelving to display their finds.

If the sun hits them just right they gleam,

but also attract dust that obscures the shine.

Others like life-sized cars or statues,

or whatever they take a fancy to.

Collecting things is addictive and fun,

but lightens the bank accounts too.

The shrewd ones collect money itself,

buying stocks, bonds, or precious metals.

Money as a collectible takes many forms…

And can yield some great returns, as well as

disappointing results at times.

Sometimes it is more fun to have ‘things’

of indeterminate, fluctuating values.

Things you can touch, hold in your hand,

enjoy heft and girth, rather than estimated worth.

And when the markets crash,

as they often, inevitably do,

you still have your pieces,

something solid to hang on to.

No doubt the weather changes

 

One day we get 80 degrees and high winds,

the next it’s 35 degrees and snowflakes are swirling.

The Iowa weather roller-coaster is really moving!

Another reason to have a good HVAC system.

Once upon some distant time, I thought things were

more, well, static, or frozen in stability.

It was cold in the winter, hot in the summer,

and moderate in the fall and spring.

Then as I grew, developed or paid more attention,

began to notice these wild swings in weather.

Warm or hot early springs, tulips popping up,

then sudden blizzards snap us back to winter.

Summer weather with its nasty severe surprises,

tornadoes and derechos and 8-inch downpours.

Would find myself asking, “It never used to be like this,

did it?” I cannot remember weather being so wild.

We seemed to get long stretches of warm or hot days

in summertime, moderate ones in the fall,

cold and snowy ones in the winter.

Actual temperatures? I never knew or kept track.

Maybe we just didn’t have as much information,

which today we get bombarded with, inundated.

In 1973, the entire state of Iowa got buried from a

freak snowstorm, up to two feet of snow.

The whole state was paralyzed. Snowmobiles became

ambulances. Everything else shut down.

A week later, it had all melted off, and life resumed.

Freaky weather has always been there,

whether anyone realized it or not.

Let’s see, only 10,500 more years until the next ice age.

Hotels

 

They can be a source of real joy, or of frustrations.

You get parked after a long day of traveling. Maybe you drove on interstates or state highways, and endured detours or slow traffic. Maybe you overpaid for gas, or endured smelly rest areas, with sketchy characters lurking. Or maybe you flew, and had to lay over at expensive, crowded airports, with confusing gate locations. But whatever the case, you walk into a hotel with some sense of relief. You are finally here.

In a good place, they only need a few pieces of information, maybe an ID. You may write down your car license plate, and check the boxes that say you agree not to destroy the room, etc, etc. Then they hand you the card-key, and give you relevant details, like wifi passwords. And off you go to the elevator or stairway, card in hand, anticipation building.

You get to your floor, and then seek out your room number. Assuming you can see the room numbers on a wall somewhere, and get to your room, you present the card to the door reader, and hope the door opens. Most of the time it does, with that satisfying green light and a click. You open the door, and enter.

Most often when I get to this point, I like what I see. There is a large king-sized bed (or two queens if I’m going with a friend). There are three or four pillows lined up atr the headboard, sheet and blanket tightly made, and appealing furniture around. A chair and lamp in a corner past the bed, by the window. In some rooms this is a pretty simple chair, in others a larger, more commodious one. The desk along the wall facing the bed varies. The ones I really like have a lamp or two on the desk, with rocker switches at the base to turn them on. They also have some kind of base or strip to plug in USB cables, and hopefully a couple of three-way plugs for laptops. The TV usually rests on a separate area of the desk, or on a chest of drawers. A remote should be sitting right by the TV, so the guest doesn’t have to hunt for it.

The better rooms will have a simpler remote, and a large selection of channels. In some hotels, many of these are blanked out. But most rooms now have a decent-sized flatscreen in them, at least 32-40 inches wide. In one area of the desk, or on a separate table, will be a small coffeemaker and some packets of coffee and tea. This is often a welcoming sight – I’ll be able to get up, and get my cup of java in me before I head out. Some have Keurig coffeemakers. Nice, as long as they work. Most of the time they do work.

When I look into the bathroom facilities, I see varied sights. More and more have bottles mounted on the walls, for hand soap, shampoo, even lotion. One I stayed at recently had a small note on the sink basin mirror, that said “if you would like separate bottles of lotion and soap, you can request these at the front desk.” I didn’t, and I doubt most people would. But it’s a sign of the times. To lessen environmental impact, and perhaps save a bit too, more and more hotels will just mount bottles on the wall of the shower, and the sink area. If they do offer the individual bottles this gives me a better impression, like the place isn’t cheap-ifying everything.

One of the last hotels that I stayed in had a room that was palatial, by older hotel standards. It even had a couch – was more like a suite. Hotel rooms seem to be getting larger, with more amenities included, like the fridge and microwave that seem to be almost ubiquitous. No wonder costs are going up. Enjoy your stay, everyone.

Compassion Rules

 

So thankful for those compassionate human beings;

Their kind manner and positive regard make my heart sing.

They uplift my spirits and give me confidence in the future.

So glad that compassionate people are around,

to make life bearable, to smooth the path forward.

Their kindness makes a bleak day tolerable, and a

sunny day so much more brilliant.

They are a gift from the universe (to the universe).

Antidote to darkness and despair.

They are the key to progress in many ways.

They forgive mistakes and push people forward.

A heartfelt message of gratitude for those

patient and willing to overlook blunders,

compassionate enough to give a hand to a straggler.

Your kind acts will not be forgotten, rather appreciated

for as long as there is memory in this human being.

Thank you!

Hard Copy

 

Words on the screen are insubstantial,

waving in and out, blurring the lines.

Words on a printed page

Black stamped on white

sharp relief, solid-gold reality

steady and always present.

Maps on a screen, all jittery and jumpy,

tell you which way to go with voice or line.

Scroll and zoom in and out,

fingertip convenience but energy-expensive.

Maps on a printed page are there solid,

never change, always tell you where you are going.

Reliable and steady, always there – one-dimensional.

The virtual world is alive and stimulating,

appealing and energizing.

But the day that you lose power,

printed material once again resolves into sharp relief,

and we are all relived that we thought to save it!

Just in case….

No, Do Not Go Backwards

 

In the recent past, there was a general trend in our society to be more open and accepting of different races, and sexual orientations, and gender identities. But in the last year or so, there has been this mad rush to dismantle these added protections and frameworks. Like DEI, for instance.

Many corporate entities added DEI initiatives in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. These were meant to make someone feel welcome and included in most any kind of a corporate organization, no matter your skin color, gender or sexual orientation. And what is wrong with that? They wanted to hire a diverse workforce, representative of society, and to make everyone feel like they fit in. To me, this is the sign of a strong and prosperous society. We are big and strong enough to welcome in all of our diverse elements, to make everyone feel welcome and at home.

But, a sign of a weakening and fearful society, one that is becoming less prosperous, is to exclude. To exclude classes that one has recently allowed to come out in the open and breathe freely, without fear. To create divisions and conflict between diverse groups of people, to distract them from some bigger picture perhaps.

There is a minority of people who were recently allowed to come out in the open and participate in society. Society was adjusting. Rest rooms were being modified to be single-use, or designated a ‘family restroom’, to accommodate different genders. Gender pronouns were being recognized, accommodated, used widely, disseminated generally. Society was making the adjustment, despite some grumbling from certain quarters. We were all getting used to this new world. And when one thought about it, why not – what is the harm in being a fully inclusive, loving society? This is the mark of an advanced, enlightened civilization!

Nope, it just couldn’t last. The dank qualms of a reactionary group were just too much to ignore. Our baser, more fearful natures took over our political leadership. They threw out the enlightened treatment of everyone in society. Tossed out the good with any perceived “bad” (like letting schoolkids discuss gender issues. ). We are just setting ourselves back, and setting up renewed fighting and struggling in the future. We are just creating more pain and anguish, and for what reason? In some cases, it is being based on an ancient set of texts that barely even mention anything about gender or sex. People are getting all up in arms about what some very old literature supposedly condemns as ‘wrong.’

To me, humankind, over many millennia, have created a body of absolute truth outside itself. And while the basis may have originated in religious texts, the law has evolved and changed to recognize the changing, growing, vibrant entirety of humanity. As the human race grows and changes, then so must our body of agreed-upon body of laws governing behaviors. A law that governed a tiny tent society in Judea is not adequate for over eight billion human souls today. Absolute truth, the body of law, must reflect the change that humanity has undergone.

To take a recently recognized group of people and render them invisible under the law again is a major offense of the idea of universal law itself. To give them recognition and protection, then yank it away a few years later, is completely unjust and harsh. It is the sign of a fearful and sinking society, a society that is moving in the wrong direction. Any thinking, feeling human being should oppose this hard turning back in our laws and society! It is only going to do harm to the ones we may love and care about, to our family members, and ultimately to ourselves, as our legal structure further erodes.

Thanks for reading.

Math Formula is our Friend

 

Once upon a time, there was a quantity

measured in an arcane formula,

or not so much, really.

It was just called Delta-vee.

Nothing so erudite as E=MC/2

or long-winded like X + Y + Z =0.

Just a measurement of change in velocity.

Distance and speed together,

for a full reckoning of directionality.

Just make sure your propulsive element

has full functionality!

No ‘Buck Rogers’ without the big bucks,

No high performance rocketry;

No reaching Earth orbit, either,

without enough change in Delta-vee!

Thrust is everything, you see,

as long as you go in the right direction.

So make sure of the proper Delta-Vee,

and avoid any meteorite deflections!

But I never claimed to be an expert in rocket science,

So thank you for following this simple explanation;

Lucky that we have computers to rely on;

digital servants to calculate those Delta-Vee variations.

Mathematics is a map of our entire reality,

so sometimes it’s good to revisit the science;

reminding selves that formulae like Delta-Vee

help us tame and explore many externalities.

Elon and Jeff need help lofting all those rockets;

The math computers tackle care of all the details;

the proper Delta-Vee ensures profitable orbits,

So they can celebrate, tell tall tales and sip cocktails.

Then and Now - This and That - Old Guy Musings

 

Back in the late 1970’s and early 80’s, I was a poor working stiff. But I could go out and find places to spend money, when I had it. Bank branches were all over the place, gas stations on almost every corner. Lots of shops, small and large, dotted city streets. The shopping malls were full of stores, and people too, on the weekends. Even on slow days, our shopping economy seemed to be thriving.

Now, older and retired, I have a little extra money, and a lot of extra time these days. But as I go out and about in town, there are not many places around any more. Once thriving restaurants are closed up. Storefronts are turned into something else. Downtown offices are being converted to housing units. Shopping malls are empty, and being re-purposed. The visual perception I’m getting is that our economy, and in some ways our society, is moribund, stalled out, withering away. It is a frightening and depressing perception.

Sure, we have a whole other economy running hot – the Internet/online/shipping economy. Storefronts are virtual-visual. Goods are loaded from warehouses to trucks, to end up at our doorstep. We can buy more things than ever – but just not “outdoors” or in our town. We walk around a local town and our five senses tell us it is dying or dead. We know better – our homes are full of stuff, and we put more stuff into storage units when we run out of room.

It seems strange, but we live in two worlds in a shopping sense. Granted, there are still places we can shop in person, but they are insignificant compared to what was around in, say, 1978. It is as though most of us are walking around with their awareness in two worlds at once. The virtual cloud-world on their phones and computers, and the real, physical world. Trouble can arise when we don’t make a clean shift from one to the other worlds.

Sometimes, I think that drivers rushing around, cutting in front of people, hurrying up to red lights, etc, are still living in the Internet world, where everything one desires is a mouse-click away. But when you are driving a vehicle, things take time – you have to wait for all the other people out there in the physical world to make their decisions and operate their vehicles. Things on the highway are not a mouse click away, but must be dealt with in a real, physical sense. We have created a virtual way of existing and are now victims of convenience, in a sense.

If these AI programs begin to take over the running of physical systems, like traffic lights, utility delivering and so forth, we could be further victimized by our own clever contrivances, who will have taken on a life of their own. May our new overlords have mercy on us and our slow, fleshy ways. Maybe they will even leave us a small store to shop at in the next century, when we can unplug from the giant matrix of world machinery. Our offspring will get to see if that ever comes about.  Good luck out there.

Mementos

 

A geode gathers dust and obscures its colors;

Elephant statue wears dust on its back.

Plastic statues dance across the shelf.

A tiny medicine bottle stands by nearby.

Tiny ceramic owls gaze out, flanking a

lightpost from some Victorian street scene.

Beer cans hang out on the shelf above,

in front of dog-eared paperbacks and movies.

Flat river rocks and small statuary echoes of

happy memories, times gone by.

Little reminders of past places visited,

memory jogs of fun times had long ago.

But they jog empty cells now – destinations

forgotten, although good time tokens themselves

adding appeal and delight to a small living room.

The mementos become memory and add to the

aura of a living space all on their own.

Don’t you dare throw them away.

So you need to get rid of some Moon Dust

 Here is one idea to handle it:

A crew might construct a large room to receive a person with a bulky spacesuit. Then the astronaut would proceed to walk through a narrower, square-ish entry at the opposite end from the airlock door. This would have three long, narrow strips running all the way around the entry, recessed inside the entry frame. Each strip would have powerful fans built in along the sides of a flat metal strip, drawing air and regolith dust inward. (At the center of each strip would be a flat-ish metal strip that is red-hot.) Any regolith that hits the strip would presumably melt, turn molten. Then a fan at the base would draw material downward – or the molten regolith would flow downward by some fashion. Perhaps the strips could be moving slowly, to draw the molten material down. At the base, the strips could traverse a long, narrow space where they could somehow deposit or drop the molten stuff into a receptacle. Then, rotate back into the chamber to catch more materials. The whole unit would only be activated by a button inside the airlock, or another inside the base – so it would not use any more power than necessary. (It is presumed that electrical power would be at a premium.)

Three such strips, spaced about 1 ft apart, could catch most of the moon dust that an astronaut brings in. A final poweful filter and fans could catch any remainder. The molten material could even be injected into a mold and used as building material or shielding.

The expense of an airlock like this would mean there is just one, installed at the human entry to a moon base. But it could solve the problem of abrasive, cutting dust particles carried inside, and even use them as molten building blocks. The door could be powered by the on-site nuclear powerplant, or by solar power separately.

To test the idea, a chamber could be built on earth, and glass powder could be used to test the “catching ability” of a chamber entry like this. It would be worth it to try it out, since molten regolith that is diverted out could help keep occupants healthy, and also be used as a building material on the Moon.

The main problem is coming up with a fan assembly that could be used to draw air and dust inward, across a super-hot strip (air or gas that would have to come from somewhere). And finding a metal that could be heated like that, and contained, and even turned. CO2 gas might be used as a drawing-in gas, thus utilizing exhalations. Or some other gas, like nitrogen, which might be needed anyway in a long-term base. It is one possible solution to dealing with that nasty glass-like lunar regolith dust.

Thanks for reading and at least considering the idea.

loops and arcs

 

To be young and anticipate all of the future delights.

Times ahead with some intimate other,

cuddling, kissing and realizing intense feelings.

The unknown powerfully beckons!

Even after the physical is finished, that ache in your

gut stays on, and you moon away, in love with love.

To be in the moment,

making love or simply kissing;

everything else is shut out,

time slows and you are happy to exist right now.

To be older, and lose the anticipations,

no more sense of wonder or hope.

You’ve done it all, experienced love and loss,

rebound and more love and more loss.

Various intimate scenarios have unfolded,

and expended themselves with high intensity;

fiery suns erupted inside you, then faded away.

The older body will not function as well,

and if sexual pleasure happens at all, it is shorter, more furtive.

Wonder and delight is left to swim in the sea of memory.

(No longer desired, one can sit back and watch other scenes play out.)

The dramas of life can unfold on TV or in others,

and one can relax, and rediscover the simple things.

Thanks given for each day one can stay healthy and mobile,

and maybe go see some sights.

The sweeping arc just repeats with each human lifetime.

I’m just glad that we were able to enjoy ours to the fullest.