Older is still not Dead

 

No climbing Mt Everest for me,

nor swimming down the Amazon.

Just drive by major mountain ranges;

And those 1,000 mile trail hikes?

Nah, I think I'll just watch it on TV.

Not every one of us can be superhuman;

But I'm still pleased at the things I have done.

No. 1 is staying alive and reasonably conscious.

No 2 is housed and well-fed, and enjoying friends.

I've traveled to various places in the US,

and to some European cities when I was a student.

I've watched the forward march of technology,

from the early clunky computers and calculators,

all the way to today's slim handheld marvels.

I've witnessed the construction of an enormous

orbiting space station, built and staffed by many nations.

A second one was lofted by the Chinese, who are currently

planning a human-crewed Moon landing. They'll do it, too.

I've enjoyed some great times with friends,

and warm, congenial holidays with Family.

While there has been the painful loss of a sibling,

her descendants have achieved many wonderful things.

Let the billionaires pat each other on the back,

Our humbler lives are full of simple novelties;

The future rushes at us without any slack,

but we can stay content with friends and families.

Freddy, get me some coffee

 

In the near future, there will likely be some production and sales of humanoid robots. Likely playthings for the rich at first, they may eventually seep down into the middle classes. Perhaps we will call them Hu-bots, for humanoid robots. Like, “I just bought a new Hubot today, think I'll name it Freddy. Freddy will be able to answer most any question, wirelessly attached to the Internet. It/he will be able to back itself into a charging port at night, and go quiescent. But Freddy will have an “off' switch, to entirely shut down his power source – Freddy will (or should) have numerous safety protocols built in. It will probably have a way to disconnect from the Net, and go into a 'local' mode. In Local, it might be able to perform simple tasks, but could not answer any deep questions.

New home construction (expensive homes) could incorporate Hu-bot docking stations or areas, so your one or two Hubots could park themselves and charge up. Some Hubots could have specialized programming to care for older or sick folks, or to help care for infants. And yes, some might even be adapted to satisfy sexual needs – and why not? We already have a plethora of sex toys – the Hubots could just take it to the next level. Hubots would add some interesting changes to our society – but we could adapt to them. We already live with a lot of technology that can be dangerous if used wrong or breaks or whatever. We may as well take the next step.

Some thoughts on the humanoid robots: Businesses that make and sell these should be publicly traded, so individual investors can get an opportunity to invest. They should be regulated similar to automotive companies, to ensure a very high degree of safety. But not so strangling of regulation to slow or prevent adoption. China is already working on these. We better get going on it ourselves, here in the US. Informative videos and posts and general info should certainly be put out to the public to help us adopt to the new 'companions' in our society. Perhaps in homes there could be a 'dead zone' where the Hubots could not enter or operate, so any nervous people could seek refuge. Perhaps the Hubots would simply shut down or off if they left their zone of operation – a totally fail-safe zone.

This can be done, I have no doubt.

Here in the US things have looked grim in the past. But somehow, we have been able to recover, and generate whole new industries. With our multitudes of intellects, we have risen to ever greater heights, and achieved the seemingly impossible. We can add to this with the creation and production of a series of humanoid robots, to use and to sell to the rest of the world. It will be exciting to see the changes coming ahead.

The Best Dance Carries a Happy Stance

 

Outside there are four yellow umbrellas,

with compact wooden tables underneath.

It all looks tiny, a simple local food joint.

Until you walk in thru the front door, and it opens up;

Bright yellow colors tinged with magenta meet your eyes;

A hostess welcomes you warmly, and offers

you the choice of a booth or table.

You follow her to your chosen spot,

and get seated, then handed some simple menus.

The Happystance doesn't have a big selection,

Just four or five breakfast dishes,

some lunch items and entrees for dinner.

A happy simplicity pervades this bright space.

A cheerful waitress takes the drink order,

then returns to take your food requests.

You are offered an array of sauces for your eggs,

with salt and pepper included, of course.

The workers all show happy stances in this dinette.

The food comes soon enough,

eggs done to order, two wide pieces of

sliced toast, with homemade jam on the side.

The coffee tastes good, and the décor gives

a fun vibe, another happy stance in this dinette.

Walls covered with pictures of eggs,

sunny side up, run into the decorated ceiling.

Hexagonal lights hang down from above,

purple, yellow and white shapes hovering over.

What an interesting place this is!

Complete with soft and hard rock music

coming from hidden speakers around;

Full of diners, yet containing muted joys.

No one asks your political party or

heated partisan opinions at the

Happystance Diner – just if there is

anything else you need today.

Happily for you and others,

no, nothing else besides the check.

Another day made brighter,

at the Happystance Dinette!

Unpleasant Exercise

 

Huffing my way down the trail,

waving away the mosquitoes and gnats;

Wondering why I just had to

walk this river trail once again.

Oh yeah – daily exercise.

I wanted to make it interesting, I thought.

Something to break up the routine,

to motivate myself to get out and move,

I thought.

This darned humidity is making me sweat

enough to soak the front of my shirt,

and the cloud of skeeters is making inroads

on my neck and back – or new roads of red bumps.

The river nearby is high and light cloudy green -

any sensible aquatic life is sheltering in deep crevasses.

Only the stupid human is clomping along a narrow trail,

trying not to trip over rocks and roots.

Well, at least I'm getting exercise,

and sharing my blood with hungry insects.

When I finally make it back to the car,

gratefully start it up and crank the AC,

A decision is made.

Tomorrow,

my walk will be indoors at the fitness center.

Bye bye, river – maybe I'll visit again in the fall,

when you show clear vistas and are dressed in

bright fall colors. Then you'll be sexy indeed.

Metaphorical Fun

 

You hear so many fun metaphors,

some mixed up like a big goulash.

“Boots on the ground” has been

beaten into the earth.

Variations of 'on the ground' are numerous.

Are AI businesses on a 'gold rush' or

are they really just on a 'sugar rush' ?

(thank you, CNBC for these gems.)

Businesses are 'relevant out of the gate'

like suited CEO's bursting onto a horse race track.

Struggling with under compute,

but nice momentum in the enterprise!

Agentic behavior determines

infrastructure builds - but

We're leading the pack, while

grasping at bright, shiny objects.

Behind closed doors, we can be

winner of this whole ball game.

Just port into that data stream,

voracious for more GPUs and compute.

Fertile ground here, savvying the

dark arts of what's happening?

Reading the tea leaves, but not getting

too far in the weeds.

Got to maintain this optionality,

andd avoid excessive data dependence.

Build all of these digital roads,

at the end of the day.

Since you went there, and you like xyz corp.

Emote, it isn't.

As always,

Empowering every stakeholder,

so have a nice day all.

And don't sell everything yet;

new horizons are always just

around the next well-executed corner.

A Cold Villanelle

 

When the cold war ended, we yelled “Yippee!”

Seemed like all the paranoia was done with.

The victory went to the land of the free...

No more fallout shelter lacking windows to see,

The concrete curtain was deconstructed!

When the cold war ended, we hollered 'yippee.'

Our gaze turned inward, fretted about the economy.

We watched movies about some evil Sith!

The victory always went to the land of the free...

We could safely reduce the size of our military,

Invest peace dividends in dot-com behemoths.

When the cold war ended we bellowed “Yippee!”

We threw parties and soirees with much glee,

No more eastward glancers, fear replaced with glitz;

victory was assured in the land of the free...

Now a resurgent Russia is baring its teeth,

Here we go all over again forthwith;

We thought the cold war ended and yelled “yippee!”

No victory cheers today in the land of the free!

(that was mine.  Here is Chat GPT4s villanelle.)

Whispers Beneath a Frosted Sky
(A Villanelle about the Cold War)

The silent world stood balanced on a wire,
With missiles poised and eyes behind a screen.
No warmth could thaw the frost of hidden fire.

Steel birds took flight while leaders would conspire,
Their smiles masked intentions cold, unseen.
The silent world stood balanced on a wire.

In shadowed rooms, the threats grew ever higher,
A chessboard sprawled in diplomatic sheen—
No warmth could thaw the frost of hidden fire.

Each side proclaimed their peace as they drew nigher,
While spies crept through the cracks that lay between.
The silent world stood balanced on a wire.

A breath, a spark, could raise the funeral pyre,
The world held hostage by a cruel machine.
No warmth could thaw the frost of hidden fire.

Though walls may fall and silence may retire,
The echo lingers in what might have been—
The silent world stood balanced on a wire,
No warmth could thaw the frost of hidden fire.

(that one is very good.)

Survived the Heat

 

The air outside is heavy and damp,

heat emanates from every surface.

The sun blazes down relentlessly,

burning away any remaining optimism...

How can it be so miserable?

It takes an effort to walk through it,

like wading through a sea of miasma,

carrying odors galore and pollutions too.

As the white torturer slowly sinks west,

an agonizing watch of the thermometer takes place.

By 9 PM, it has gone down several degrees –

but you can’t tell from how the air feels.

The only place to be is indoors,

with an AC blowing from one side,

a box fan circulating from the other.

It feels better, but not wholly so.

The AC compressor cycles on and off at 84-86.

84 degrees is still too damn hot!

One can try to do things inside;

watch more TV, play on the Internet, etc.

Flopping around from one thing to the next,

a fish out of water trying to be content.

Then a day of storms, and cooler air comes.

Ahh, what a total relief. Nighttime bliss

with cooling air, and the next day it only,

only reaches 85 with a breeze.

Never mind the smoky air...

Cooling the living room is now a breeze too,

as the AC merrily chills the room to the low 70’s.

Sweet! Wonderful. I can feel alive again.

Maybe alive enough to go outdoors and clean up

the yard from all the storm damage.

Gratitude Practice

 

Que Bueno!  The large, fluffy foliage and flowers on the Cosmos nearby;

Happy for the big blackberries forming up on the giant bushes.

Glad for the purple cone flowers getting ready to show their colors.

Grateful for my compact house that still holds together,

and provides me with a comfortable place to live.

Grateful for the ability to make modest amounts of income,

and keep myself going financially.

Grateful to be well-fed, with an abundance of fish and ground beef.

Glad for the capability to use the web and smartphone to

access the world and interact with many people all over.

Grateful for the friends who swirl in and out of my life,

like so many sparrows, sometimes lighting awhile

and imparting songs of meaning and pleasure before

departing, leaving their virtuous trails.

There are a lot of things to be thankful for.

Even the mosquitoes that bite me,

reminding me that not all is perfect,

life goes on whether I want it around or not.

The annoyances and typos and political warfare

can be real downers, but they will not stop

the show that is me from going on,

as long as I am able to take a breath.

I’m grateful for breathing,

steady and regular,

day after day.

as long as that will last,

Thank goodness.

Trillions to the Future

 

In the past, only national governments were

launching satellites into space. No longer.

Now you have companies around the world,

financing and launching orbiters – the

connections cross many borders.

The financial investment is booming,

and Low Earth orbit is getting crowded.

But people want to get out there, for

whatever reason, so the boom continues.

It’s a good time to get a foothold on

some space companies’ stocks. A

trillion-dollar economy holds lots of

income opportunities for investors.

The militaries of many nations continue to

drive a lot of investments, but this is

morphing into more private investment too.

There will be more and more investments out there,

some with big payoffs, some without.

Should be an exciting time…

And unlike in the past,

we can watch it all unfold in real time,

on our computers, phones, smart glasses, etc etc.

We will vicariously experience everything.

Such excitement!

Pieces, not Peace

 

Russia is in full on Soviet mode,

trying to crush Ukraine, threatening the Baltics.

China is aiming lasers at German aircraft.

The US is ramping up defense spending,

and arms shipments to Ukraine and Israel.

The eagerness of humanity to end itself is astounding.

We keep eschewing war, claiming to want peace,

then in the next instant we are ready to claw

each others’ eyes out.

So WWIII keeps on smoldering,

ready to break out in flames any day.

This might be a good time to stock up

on non-perishable food and medicines!

And beware, wars are not usually helpful

to bull markets, on any bourse or exchange.

Any still left standing after a nuke swap,

that is. Survivors will regress to tiny

local markets, trading bones and scraps.

Where will the pieces fall?

How many will be edible,

or non-radioactive?

I can remember as a child,

waiting for the world to end every so often

back in the 1960’s when such warnings were common.

Now, as an older guy, once again I’m wondering if or when

death will come from governments getting very stupid.

Wouldn’t it be great if people could act

non-human for a change, and actually

bring about an end to so many inane wars.

That might be the biggest benefit of some

arriving alien civilization –

stamping out human squabbles!

Never know…

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.