Haiku Four - honoring a former Iowa Governor

hot southern winds blow,

carry away dripping sweat;

see procession pass.

Governor's honor,

good man honored by public.

Rest in peace Bob Ray.

Example to all,

humanitarian life;

historic high mark.

Words few or many,

inadequate to express the admiration

for a human being who lived his beliefs,

walked the walk,

put his acts beyond where his mouth was.

Would that we could do half as good.

-

Haiku Three

smartphone informs me

TV programs delight me

bugs eat my garden

Haiku Two

Twenty-five years ago, in 1993,

all 99 Iowa counties were declared

disaster areas, qualified for federal aid.

250,000 people were without drinking water.

Now, today, the Saylorville reservoir is full,

not quite to overflowing.

More rain is on the way this weekend.

Rain in northern Iowa that will flow our way.

We had a letup this week, with lots of sunshine.

The calm before the storm?

Another major disaster looms?

Anything can happen, and usually does.

Here is hoping this is not the case,

that the rains will be gentle, mild, light.

That more sunshine will drop the reservoir,

lower the rivers and streams back to normal.

Cross your fingers everyone.

And keep emergency supplies handy.

- - - - -     Haiku Too

more rain keeps coming,

reservoir filled to the top.

get ready, Des Moines.

Haiku one

rains fall down endless

water flows against gravity

plans and lives submerged

Blocking Financial BS

There have always been pursuits of a better economic system for transacting business.

The latest incarnation is, of course, the Blockchain, and digital currencies. The idea seems to be to remove the central banks from these transactions, and simply have people exchange digital chits back and forth. Trouble is, theories seem simple, until you put them into practice. Bitcoin has been reported on extensively. This currency seems safe, in that it is pegged to the total quantity of gold – 21 million ounces or somesuch. So its value is going to go up, theoretically. But somehow, the digital entity, decentralized as it is, got swept up in speculative frenzy last fall. The value of one bitcoin went ou to near 20,000.00 – and then collapsed. Now it stands at around $6,000.00 .

     This behavior seems remarkably like any other bubble or speculative froth. What was supposed to be a distinct entity, not at all like some penny stock, ended up behaving a lot like some penny stock, some pump and dump thingy. The blockchain technology itself is suspect now. It seems to require more and more computing power, as the ledger contains all of the transactions ever made regarding the digital currency. Some are saying that the processing power to “mine” bitcoin or process the ledger's transactions is equal to that of a small country. Others are saying that the blockchain model is good for pursuing other goals that require huge amounts of processing power.

     To me, the whole idea of crypto-currency seems to be a real slick way for one or a small group of people to print money on a colossal scale. The recent story in Wired about the Tezos currency is a good example. Time will tell, and I could be wrong. But for the average small investor, with only a few bucks to spare, my advice is this: Open a savings account, and toss some money in every month.       You will keep all of it, and you should even get some fractional interest money. No commissions, no transaction fees, and no bullshit. Just your money in the bank. Oh yes, and try not to touch it.

Thanks for reading.

Regeneration

The salamander can automatically regenerate a limb. The hydra, a microscopic water animal, contains a lot of stem cells and can continuously regenerate itself – it is being studied for longevity properties.

     There are intangible things that also endlessly regenerate. The bright optimism of the young.

Glowing promises of politicians and salespeople. Hope of oppressed humanity everywhere that somehow, things will get better tomorrow than they are today.

     Oh, and hatred. Hatred is a ten-headed monster that endlessly regenerates, no matter how much love, tolerance or tit-for-tat we hurl at “it.” Repressive politicians promise justice and retribution. White Supremacists wave swastika flags, and sprout like dandelions all over the landscape. Mass migrations and refugee exodus happens over and over, with a predictable reaction, over and over.

     Us versus them, my tiny infraction is nothing compared to your major crime, get your uniqueness off of my unique patch of earth. Hatred springs eternal. Fortunately, like cold to hot, so does love. The duality of nature seems to go on forever. It is beyond comprehension to know when it will all end.

- end

Summer Reigns

The bees, flies and mosquitoes know it,

flowering shrubs and weeds show it.

Birds sing melodious tributes to it,

Soft sprinkling breezes add a caress to it.

The warm season is here, high summer!

Festivals add their own gaiety and color,

outdoor concerts send aloft musical notes.

Live theater, picnics, gatherings of happy folks.

Highways are crowded with eager travelers,

plans made, executed, changed over and over.

Movie theaters pack them in with a new mega-show,

Even political machinations 'take a back seat' when

confronted with peoples summer celebrations.

Us creatures of usual habits and social certainties

emerge from our burrows and throw lawn parties.

Enjoy the ephemeral Iowa summer beauty,

before comes too soon another winters cruelty.

-end

pollinators going wild

Summer Solstice

Another June 21st,
Solistice has arrived.
The woods are lush with greenery,
birdsong suffuses the air.
A great time for a photo and video walk. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0Osij30a1I

Enjoy the beauty.

Your Personal Infinity War

The young people today can view

mighty heroes of all kinds on the move.

They slay dragons, smite evil aliens,

take on mega-sized transforming monsters,

save the day and make the ultimate sacrifice.

A dying hero might mumble,

“Don't worry about me, just save Sarah

and get the jewels to Central Command.

They must destroy the black hordes to save

humanity for all time.”

Moviegoers or Streaming-watchers sit transfixed,

their minds grappling with such a supreme sacrifice.

But take heart, beleaguered colleagues!

Worry not, Christian soldiers and Freedom Fighters!

You do not have to face killer aliens,

giant demons or marauding Orcs.

Not even treacherous mob bosses or backstabbing

business associates. No, none of that.

All you have to do to change

the course of time and history is...

ready yourself........

Vote in the elections this November.

Evolution - will we lose the vocal cords?

First there were the PC's, all the rage.

Everyone wanted one – celebrities were touting them.

“Do your homework.”

“Save Recipes.”

“Learn programming!”

They matured, and became indispensable.

Then, the Internet burst upon the scene.

A novelty at first, it took around 20 years.

Now it is ubiquitous – everywhere.

The smartphone debuted in 2008.

ten years alter, they are all over the place.

Indispensable for many things.

What is next?

Some kind of wearables.

Glasses most likely.

Or those in combination with implantable

electrodes, lenses, memories.

And everyone will want one.

Typical college dorm room, 2118. A group of students are perched on the bed, or desk, or against a windowsill. They are all jacked in to a wireless device. Each is “seeing” a common space. They have learned to use brain interfaces to wi-fi tech. They are all seeing the same space, and their avatars are talking, or accessing the net, showing, sharing, enjoying video experiences. An alert pops up. They break trance, and unjack. The Dean is givign a common speech, and attendance is required. Even though he could transmit it to them all, old ways still have to be given their due. They disperse to their respective rooms, to perhaps clean themselves up a bit before meeting in the common area.

Higher-end gear allows for a more immersive experience. While dollar-store stuff only allows for crude outlines. But everyone gets a jack when they reach puberty, and they can be re-fitted every few years as one ages. This revolutionizes everything from controlling household bots to medical diagnosis, to socialization and even pornography. Vocal cords begin to get rusty as they are used less and less. Eventually humanity may not need these at all. Like cursive writing, polite conversation goes the way of the buggy whip.

Days Fast Passing

Our youthful faces leave no traces,

just the spaces

between widening pores,

and packed halls of memory stores.

The days pass and then they are done,

one by one – one by one.

Only good memories (and pains) remain.

Age presages me no longer being.

Nothing can prepare one for death.

How slow and dragging at times,

swift and fleeting upon recollecting;

I muse and smile, or reminisce and grimace.

Cannot sit still like a dead fly on the windowsill,

must rather raise and hover and seek like the dragonfly.

Make more memories in the tiny time that remains,

powerful flashes to fill the last legions of cells.

What can one do with limited funds and means,

make the meager resources count and stretch that last blast?

The Internet can tell and show and help and point,

Go on an adventure, take a cruise, feed a rave crave.

I'll make my last memories and you can make yours,

someday other scorekeepers will see who did best,

made moments last, had the most incredible last flash.

Time's arrow never stops, nor turns backwards,

We will ride that train to the very last brilliance,

and no one will mourn the fun we all had.

Imitating Leadership

Poor Nate,
his campaign must abate,
Will garner much hate,
and animosity.

Should he now just skate?
Just another sad reprobate?
There will be ferocious debate...

But oh, wait!
The Donald was accused of the same thing,
many times magnified - and he still won!
He is now our President!

So ignore the slings and arrows of fate,
do not dither or hesitate;
Go ahead and run, Nate!
You can win too - anything is possible these days.

Do not procrastinate - Go, Nate, Go!

Sad update - campaign cancelled - no more Nate

It is a shame - the other side will celebrate!

crazy days here

Warmer weather has finally arrived;

no more ice traps thrown across our paths.

Now it is idiot-time, mayhem-season.

When booming beats vibrate from cars,

drunken fools snarl the highways,

drug parties sprout up like noxious weeds.

Bonfires color and smudge the night sky,

hollering voices punctuating smoky air.

Gunshots stitch through the night madness,

wrecks litter pavements with anonymous debris...

And emergency rooms admit patients with

little information other than a fake name.

Five'o'clock news titillates with tragedies,

and we shake our heads in wonder, thinking

“Where has our civilization gone?”

The line between “exciting” and “deadly”

thins all the time, becoming invisible.

More tragedies, scores and grudges settled,

futures eliminated with hidden handguns.

Party on, misguided souls, and thin the gene pool.

I won't stand in your way:

I'll be home behind a locked door,

watching your mug shots parade past on the news.

Part of me will pine away for the peace,

quietude after a thick blanket of January snow

descends upon our fair city, putting us to rest.

- end

Always a critic

But someone has to say it   *grin*

There exists a triangular swath of bottomland,

right next to a busy highway, marked as a preserve.

The rumble, growl and whoosh of countless cars

serenades a few blackbirds as they flit around.

The spot of wetland has a gravel trail through it,

leading to a raised viewing area. One can look thru

binoculars to see various birds shown on information plaques.

If any are around.

I have never seen any large birds there,

despite visiting many times.

Perhaps all of the growling, snarling motors

tend to discourage any waterfowl from

taking up residence at the preserved site.

Kind of like people.

Would you want to build a house right next

to a noisy highway? Didn't think so.

Neither would I.

Have a good Monday.

Happy five-one

Mayday,
heyday,
closer to payday.

Dance around the maypole,
dodge all the raindrops and lightning bolts.
For some of us it is just another birthday.

International Workers Rights day,
started in the US, adopted by the commies,
honored by loyalty day in the 1950s.
Venerated in some fashion by most of us.

To me it means balmy breezes,
no jacket worn outdoors,
trees and shrubs exploding with fragrant blossoms.

Presages a month when one just wants to move outdoors,
live under some beautiful tree,
forget all the problems and concerns
that will, nevertheless,
rear their ugly January-like heads.

Happy warm weather day everyone.

Life, artificial and real

Living systems are electro-chemical and have evolved to originate from sensory and feeding. Layers of awareness are stacked on top of each other. These have originated from the earliest forms of protolife – to feed, avoid dangers, and reproduce. Even the most sophisticated robotic systems can not be alive like our “wetware” or electrochemical selves that have evolved from primitive sensory systems. They will always be artificial constructs of ourselves.

Now if, like Dr. Frankenstein, we manage to create unique forms of biological life that could function as added memory, or increased muscle strength, that is different. These would be wetware created by the superior wetware, or rather, us. Perhaps future AI systems will be a hybrid of both, using the advantages of each, biological and electronic. There are already nano-systems being studied down at the molecular level, from my understanding. The future will be startling, to say the least.

https://io9.gizmodo.com/how-medical-nanotech-will-change-humanity-forever-1476398307

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4064704/

- stay fresh, everyone

Alien Triple-X musing

*** Adult subject matter ***    You have been warned.

Alien Sexual Fantasy

When a blow-up doll is not enough,

when dildoes become simply passe;

electrical stimulators get too rough,

sexual partners become ho-hum, everyday.

Perhaps it is time to try something new,

if you can find the right extraterrestrial.

Get wrapped in an ameoba, like a foot in a shoe,

every orifice can be filled with vibrating joy.

If an extraterrestrial is not available,

you might have to make one yourself.

It should be pliable plastic and fit around

you, insert-able into every place you want it.

Warm and soothing and stimulating,

surrounding, penetrating and comforting;

You might get so attached to your new

friend that no human lover will compare.

So go ahead, find malleable plastic,

roll the dice.

Just think, all that sex,

and no risk of crab lice.

 - end

Hopeful Outlook

Bezos' Blue Origin is preparing to explore the yonder,

While Musk and SpaceX loft regular payloads;

Xcor and Sierra Nevada build mini-shuttle hardware,

preparing to send tourists to play in weightless abodes.

Back on Earth, technology advances relentless,

average Joe's and Jane's have to master and adapt;

Shiny, flashy toys help them in this intricate task,

Their children soak in the new, enthused and rapt.

Thus society transforms year after year.

New ways of consuming and entertaining

manifest and become routine, methods clear.

We counteract bad consequences, maintaining

our status quo, climate change notwithstanding.

If we can ignore the loud drums of war,

perhaps we can survive, and keep humanity standing!

Why not try this

Here is a thought: Why not try and get Russia to join NATO, and participate in world governance. They could see that we are not a threat to their way of life, whatever that is. Of course that is the theory behind the UN – but the UN is ineffective nowadays. There needs to be a “trust colossus” or "Colossus Trust Agreement" between the major world powers – to not let another world war break out, to take care of pressing problems in the world, to reassure each other that our borders are staying put – no more “lebensraum” actions or getting even for old violations.

Lesser powers like Syria, Iran and Israel would have a major coalition pressing them all to behave, get along, work things out, settle your damn issues so we can solve the real problems like overpopulation, climate change, feeding the world, fighting pandemics, etc.

Just some thinking out loud today. Thanks for reading.