A Frozen State

Politicians love to pontificate,

Sum up all their accomplishments;

They call this speech the “state of the state,"

Ignore the other party's admonishments.

The state of our state

would be first-rate

if only the subzero cold

would get gone post-haste.

Springtime will bring the best

that Iowa has to offer – bless

our winter-weary souls as much

as politician-free TV would impress!

Stay warm everyone.

- end

What everyone else is talking about

Some links of interest of all kinds.  Have fun  :-)

Over-policing mania proves flawed

http://www.salon.com/2015/01/10/americas_over_policing_bombshell_how_new_data_proves_stop_frisk_critics_were_right_all_along/

Trans Teen and pancakes inspire the internet.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gay-voices/''

Possessed and out with it now.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/domenick-scudera/i-am-possessed-by-a-demon_b_6436274.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices

Bad gay porn acting

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/bad-gay-porn-acting-is-all-you-really-need-right-now#.axDbw20V3

Cumber baby OMG

http://www.buzzfeed.com/elliewoodward/omg-a-cumberbaby-im-not-okay-someone-hold-me-oh-lord-my-feel#.olEQ4wYNK

31 photos that are kind of, well, uncomfortable...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/uncomfortably-silver#.vqE34PVge

Last surviving rescue dog from the 9-11 disaster

http://i.imgur.com/UwW5cCn.jpg

Australian newspaper publishes Mohammed cartoon

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/01/10/australian-newspaper-publishes-mohammed-cartoon/

Catch!

http://i.imgur.com/h1WXhp9.gif

Taken off my pants in most malls

http://www.reddit.com/r/Showerthoughts/comments/2r0ek6/ive_taken_off_my_pants_in_most_malls_that_ive/

- never ending

Je Suis Charlie

Terrorists fleeing a printing plant got shot full of holes today.

Good riddance to more of the scourge of humankind.

They don't stand a chance against democratic traditions;

Their hatred rages, uncaring and blind.

Freedom of expression, especially speech, is a cherished value of democracies. Even though it often seems  offensive, vile, repulsive and repugnant, nevertheless it is important to allow people this freedom. Dictatorships over time have tried to repress it, without success. They have fallen every time. Democracies, however, appear to have stood the test of time. 

The danger in the West seems to have been, up until now, a major corporate or political interest affecting the media, putting forth a too-conservative or too-liberal message. The terrorists in Paris showed us there is a greater threat to ourselves than each other!
     Fanatical religions that advocate violence are a real threat to us all, no matter what religion it is they claim. If they force their will upon the weaker members of society, using some supposed interpretation of a holy book, they are wrong. If they mutilate or torture women in the name of some pride or prophet, they are wrong. Religion and government should always remain separate – when someone tries to combine the two, disaster always seems to follow. Fanaticism is a threat to us all.

We all stand with France against the evil that these terror groups represent. I am glad they finally got the terrorists today, and am sorry that innocent lives had to be lost. I hope we can rid the world of these terror-pushing vermin and make it safer for everyone else. Time will tell. Thanks for reading.

Hawks Shot Down

Off they go,

our heroes in black and gold.

Ready to play in a bowl game;

Also to brave sunny elements

on Florida beaches and taste

delicacies in restaurants.

They have fought hard all year,

gone through grueling practices,

even won some games on the road.

Now they face the most difficult

opponent of all – their own selves.

The warming sun saps their edge,

good food and drink puts them at ease.

Their coach gladhands the press

trying at the very least to appease.

So they take to the field,

full of good hospitality,

their hard edges blunted...

And lose horribly.

Run after run penetrates their lines,

score after score puts them behind.

They attempt rally after rally,

finally scoring on sheer will.

But the damage is done, victory

easily won by the opposition.

Maybe next time we might want

to confine them to their rooms until

after the game.

A victory would be rewarded,

with beach time, meals and fun.

A defeat would be met with a

silent plane or bus ride home.

Something to consider as our

beloved Hawkeyes flap home

with tail-feathers drooping.

Either way, they have the

rest of their lives to

recover from defeat,

or celebrate victory.

      - end

Happy New Year

A year of new possibilities,

fun experiences with friends,

travel to warm places,

seeing some new faces.

Adventures,

vacations,

work ordeals aplenty.

Cool waters in hot sun,

happiness radiating everywhere.

Intimacy amidst the joy.

Shared moments of warmth

poetry

of physical release,

motion, action, reaction,

rest –

bliss.

Sleep,

repeat,

endless...

life is fun,

and then the rest;

a bright future beckons us.

     - end

I see

I see the smiling faces, warm greetings of loved ones to each other.

I see the happy scampering kids running around mothers.

I see the occasional frown of a shopkeeper beneath their smile.

I see many entrepreneurs, all offering free samples, all hoping for a good day.

I see smiles painted on, plastered on, varying, waffling – facades strong and weak

I see gray skies and gray ground outside of the warm pleasant shopping mall.

I see reality underpinning artifice everywhere I look.

I see we have done a good job applying our veneer of civilization.

I see a few birds swimming in a thawed December river; they are in formation.

I see formations everywhere, in nature and humankind.

I see a military world at war with itself, and yet wondrously holding together.

I see blurs in the morning before the cyber-news impresses and depresses my soul.

I see pictures of despair and occasional shoots of hope.

I see greedy markets gyrate, resonating with the greed in me.

I see little hope, but sometimes I see a little more.

I see the endless stretch of days and wonder how to make them mean something.

I see how fortunate I am, at least some of the time.

I see how powerless I am to change, and wonder that I have done as well as I have.

I see you, and how sometimes that makes this day truly special.

I see the priceless value of another human soul resonating with mine somehow.

I see how little an artificial currency really means when I have the real you.

I see a thrashing universe, and sometimes tiny bits clinging together.

I see time slowed to a crawl, and us clinging so tight we cannot separate.

I see darkness and I see light.

I see.

Vast new resources

Out at the edge of our Solar System lies the Kuiper belt. Thought to be full of the leftover material from the formation of our Solar System, this is an area studded with millions, perhaps billions of small worldlets and planetoids. Many are thought to be coated with water ice, as well as frozen hydrocarbons. This class of objects is also known variously as Trans-Neptune Objects, or Scattered Disk Objects (referring to the gravitational effect from Neptune's orbit). We are discovering more and more about this region of space all the time. There are undoubtedly a lot of valuable metal ores on many of these bodies. Someday in the distant future, humanity will be out there, studying, surveying and eventually mining and colonizing them.

Closer in, orbiting Saturn, are also many moons. We have discovered a total of 53 natural satellites so far, many in just the last ten years (thanks to the Cassini probe and ground observations). Each one has unique characteristics. Some sweep through or near the rings, creating gaps between the rings. There may come a time when we have automated outposts on the stable moons in Lagrangian orbits surrounding Saturn.

When humanity is able to construct outposts along the way, perhaps on Jovian Moons, and then Saturnian Moons, the way will be paved to go all the way out the Kuiper belt. Even then, we will have barely “scratched the surface” in finding and harvesting resources. For beyond the Kuiper belt, surrounding it and the rest of the Solar System, is an even larger mass of cosmic debris called the Oort Cloud. It is theorized that this cloud, which overlaps the Kuiper belt at its closest point, extends all the way out to a half of a light-year from the Sun or more.

The distance between the Earth and our Sun is 93 million miles. This is also known as “one AU” for astronomical unit. The Kuiper belt is around 50 AU distant from Earth. The Oort cloud is theorized to extend all the way out to 100,000 AU. These asteroids, worldlets and planetoids are not densely packed, but rather a fair distance from each other. Remember, we have sent several space probes through the inner asteroid belt, just beyond Mars, without hitting any rocks. These have made it to Jupiter, Saturn and even to the edge of the Solar System and beyond (Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft).

Our Solar System is so vast, and contains so much wealth, it boggles the mind.

The vastness and richness of Space makes our Earthly problems seem tiny in comparison, at least to me. All this wonder is beckoning the human race to come and partake. Here is hoping that we will discover the resolve and will to do so.

My upcoming book, “New Venture” will touch on some of the possibilities – and of course,the perils and dangers too. New Venture is due out sometime next year. Thanks for reading.

(Facts and figures taken from Wikipedia and NASA informational pages freely available on the Net.)

Universal Shorthand

Quote from a song:

“Mathematics is the language of love”

In the spirit of fascination with math's ability to describe our universe in shorthand, here are a few old formulas – and some new stuff from the imagination.

π – Greek letter and symbol meaning the ratio of a circumference of a circle to its diameter. The number goes on forever, but a popular designation is 22/7 (22 over 7) or 3.14159.... One of the irrational numbers, and mentioned in such movies as “Contact” based on the book by Carl Sagan.

An irrational number is any real number that cannot be expressed as a ratio of integers. Most real numbers are therefore irrational. Some have theorized that someday a “superior mathematics” will arise where most irrational numbers become rational.

Einstein's famous formula: E=MC2 or energy = matter converted, squared. A small amount of matter can be converted to a large amount of energy, especially in nuclear fission and fusion, or even nuclear bombs.

Euler's Identity:

eix π

e denotes exponential progression, and π denotes the perfect symmetry of a circle. Both are “transcendental” numbers – they go on forever. Someone named Euler combined their quantities to describe space and time. There is an article in the current issue of Wired magazine that goes over it in detail – very fascinating stuff.

For someone with patience and smarts, mathematics offers endless challenge and entertainment – a miniature universe in our minds, reflecting the macro universe 'out there' . And with major discoveries, for instance the discovery and usage of the value zero, new vistas open up. There is no telling what we will discover in the future. But if the past is any guide, there is no real limit to the expansion capability of the human race.

While thinking about things like math formulas, I came up with an idea for a shorthand for emotions. There is another person who wrote a book on this subject, but I'm just throwing out my 2 cents (not for profit. )

If we assign a symbol or value to common emotions, say a delta symbol for happiness, or a minus symbol for sadness, then it may become possible to run some simple “emotional equations” to reduce common human emotional experiences etc to equations. Then it is not such a stretch to assume one can program a computer with said equations, and have it (or a robot face) express said emotions.

It is all mathematical symbols and equations, and as people have shown, these can be coded and run on computers very well.

We Feel emotions, at a foundational level inside. But deep in our brains, are they not simply patterns of electrochemical pulses, ordered surges of chemicals? Serotonin, dopamine, norepinepherine. Sodium and potassium. Ordered firings and surges of chemicals. Someday we may reduce emotions and feelings themselves down to seemingly simple mathematical formulae. At that point we may be said to have evolved from homo sapiens sapiens, since we will have codified and resolved our own emotional processes. The same could be said for memory encoding in the brain. And researchers are working on deep understanding of these processes as I type this. 

When all this will happen, however, is anybody's guess. I get emotional just thinking about it! 

Thanks for reading.

Sinuous no more

I was born in an analog world,

clock faces, radio signals, even car ignitions.

Electromechanical ways were sophisticated 

enough to drive society.

Today I sit and survey the past,

here in a world where every moment

of time is sliced and diced into a million

million pulses. Music is digitized,

sampled and played back -- yet still sounds good.

Pictures, sound, videos, news all streams of

discrete bits, on and off and on again.

Present reality is digitized from top to bottom.

No gentle undulations, only harsh divisions.

Segmented, separated experience so efficient

but in a way so much less mysterious.

Abundance in an absence of romance.

Little did we know – so we took the chance,

bet our future on cybernetic controls.

Here we are, like it or not.

But it is not so bad, really, most of the time,

with the world at my fingertips. 

Loss of analog technology 

seems insignificant today.

     - end

Thanks Cityview for printing my article

http://www.dmcityview.com/guest-commentary/2014/11/26/des-moines-37-years-of-change/

- end

Links in a chain of scribery

Some book links:

Experimental Tales www.createspace.com/4973862

The Osmotics www.createspace.com/4661301

Mirror Worlds www.createspace.com/3633147

A Strange Enterprise www.createspace.com/4281639

Future Property www.createspace.com/3859469

Shadow Intersection www.createspace.com/4113022

   - end

 

 

Race Divide by Zero

The blacks riot in the streets and scream at

a sea of grim faces behind riot helmets.

Whites pontificate and speculate,

wring hands and bemoan realities.

The Asians who were once virtual slaves

to build railroads and industries are not complaining.

No marches or cries for justice or burn baby burn.

They quietly work and build new foundations –

Homes, businesses and industries. China makes

most everything in our households, but we still

blame each other and delude ourselves.

The Asians will own us all, and laugh their

way to their shiny new banks, while we

squabble and fight over scraps. A few

of us might be able to afford to visit their

casinos on the Moon, but most will just

try to get a job there, to make ends meet.

- end

Things to be thankful for

I have a nice home to live in, and a job,

a car and a cat – many things to be thankful for.

Good to count our blessings as well as shortcomings.

Others are all too willing to count the failures -

I will count blessings and benchmarks and achievements.

There is also this tech revolution I'm privileged to watch:

The ability to select and watch so many programs,

stop, record, save and repeat them on diverse platforms.

The ability to call up information on almost any subject,

save it, record it, print it, and forward it.

Libraries are being rendered obsolete,

and other technologies once stand-alone

are absorbed by this enormous presence called the WWW.

Applications are moving over to cellphones.

Smartphone owners now hold a ticket to the world

in their overworked fingers. Ever-changing reality.

Time to catch the breath, and marvel at the wonders;

taste the goodness our collective table delivers.

Thanksgiving day we can pause, sit and enjoy

good food and company, maybe even put away handheld toys.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Transhumanism

I recently became acquainted with it.  Seems optimistic, hopeful, and worthwhile.  See the below table.  Definitely food for thought.
----------------------------------------------

TABLE OF TRANSHUMANIST VALUES

Core Value

•         Having the opportunity to explore the transhuman and posthuman realms

Basic Conditions

•        Global security
•        Technological progress
•        Wide access

Derivative Values

•         Nothing wrong about “tampering with nature”; the idea of hubris rejected
•         Individual choice in use of enhancement technologies; morphological freedom
•         Peace, international cooperation, anti-proliferation of WMDs
•         Improving understanding (encouraging research and public debate; critical thinking; open-mindedness, scientific inquiry; open discussion of the future)
•         Getting smarter (individually; collectively; and develop machine intelligence)
•         Philosophical fallibilism; willingness to reexamine assumptions as we go along
•         Pragmatism; engineering- and entrepreneur-spirit; science
•         Diversity (species, races, religious creeds, sexual orientations, life styles, etc.)
•         Caring about the well-being of all sentience
•         Saving lives (life-extension, anti-aging research, and cryonic 
•                                               - end

Epiphany at work

It just occurred to me while going through my usual routine today.   There will always be folks making critical or catty remarks, humorous or not.  But real history is always made by those who kept doing things, making things happen.  Like Henry Ford, T. Edison, N. Tesla, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and so on.  The critics and rock-throwers are not remembered for trying to stop the doers.  The Doers are remembered for persisting, and changing our world. 

Poem like a Comet

We landed on a comet the other day,

after a billion-plus mile journey;

The little guy is named Philae,

set down on the surface with “no worries.”

Another step outward for humanity,

Billion-mile destination achieved

after a long convoluted trajectory,

Accomplishment hardly to be believed.

Someday people will walk on these worlds,

Digging samples and snapping pictures.

“Asteroid for sale” signs will be unfurled,

New homes for many, no longer obscure.

What excuse will we come up with for war now?

“Lebensraum” no longer a reason to start a row.

- end

marking history

     Today the human race sent a spacecraft to orbit a comet traveling towards the Sun.  It detached a small lander, which successfully landed on the surface.    The orbiter is called Rosetta, the lander Philae.  Both are names taken from another historic time, the finding of the Rosetta stone in the early 1800's.  This helped us decode ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
     A historic time we live in, taking these first small steps.   The Dawn probe visited a minor planet in the Asteroid belt, and is on its way to another.  Other probes have visited every planet out to Neptune, and now New Horizons is speeding on towards Pluto and the Kuiper belt  (due to arrive in 2015).   Heady times.   Perhaps future occupants of a greater Solar System presence will celebrate our historic first steps - or at least make schoolchildren remember the dates.
     A hearty congratulations goes out to the ESA for their accomplishment.  Eagerly awaiting first photographs from the surface of the comet.   
     - end

Winters blast

     As I struggle to insulate my house against the coming onslaught of winter, it is difficult to keep it all in perspective.   The surface of the comet that the Rosetta space probe will be sending a lander to is much colder.  Perhaps as cold as 300 degrees below zero.  The surface of Pluto is minus 350 degrees.  In some regions of space it goes down to minus 400-some.  Compared to that, our overnight low of 35 degrees seems positively balmy.  
     Just counting my (chilled) blessings here in the Midwestern US. 

     On another note, I read that DARPA is supposedly working on computer programmer code that would autocomplete, much as word processors and smartphones do now.  In my humble opinion, we have gone far enough.  I can't type anything anymore without some stupid program thinking I am stupid and trying to suggest what word it thinks I want to type.  It is wrong most of the time, and just makes me angry and frustrated.  So much of the 'autocomplete' technology just makes a lot of people angirer and more frustrated.  Why do this to people?  It is just not right.

     Next thing you know, our cars will be loaded with auto-drive.    You will drive to the store, and a few other places.  Then, when you try to go to work, the wheel will spin left instead of right or whatever, and take you to the grocery store, auto-completing for you, assuming you are not smart enough to drive your own vehicle.  F*** autocomplete and autocorrect - I loathe both of them.  Thanks for reading.

Post-election reminder

Republican winners:  From the early 1930's up until the early 1970's, the US economy underwent the largest expansion ever. Our standard of living increased greatly, our life expectancy increased, and our sens of well-being increased. I can remember my dad saying that back in the 1930's, Nobody had any money. Nobody. We were all poor. By the early 1970's many people had a comfortable standard of living. Sure, we had poor, but we also had a thriving middle class, with good union-scale wages.

Interestingly enough, there was also a large expansion of social programs. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Food stamps. Other assistance to the poor.

Compassion and taking care of the least of us paid off pretty well, it would seem. Try not to cut the throat of the workers who will bear the brunt of our economy – you may be cutting your own throats as a result.  Thanks for reading.

Talented chef link

Follow this for some wonderful meal ideas, complete with screenshots.

http://briantaylorcarlson.wordpress.com/

Enjoy.