Adding To My Intellectual Posterity (or, Yet Another Failure To STFU :))

I'm going to archive my most recent foray into Internet Fame here because, if you can't be narcissistic on your own blog, why bother to even keep breathing on your own, I ask you?

Part The First: Should Jeff Bezos Hire Humanity?

For the permalink challenged: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/worldtransformed/2017/08/01/should-jeff-bezos-hire-humanity

Followed "the next day" by Part The Second: The Semi-Automated Economy by The World Transformed

Second chorus, same as the first:
https://soundcloud.com/phil-bowermaster/the-semi-automated-economy?fb_action_ids=10156475543678712&fb_action_types=soundcloud%3Apublish

Proof positive that you don't actually have to know what you're talking about to have a "respectable" (or at least printable) opinion.

You really should buy the book:

Visions for a World Transformed

Friends Of The Ages

I have collected a series of advisory posts I wrote for my friend Charynn McCurdy here, because I thought I did rather well in putting together my disparate memories of lessons learned, but more because I wanted to retain easy access to my interactions with my friend.

I have had many acquaintances over my 63 years of life, but not that many friends, and of those never a friendship so unlikely seeming at first glance. What does a man nearing retirement age have in common with a teenage girl (beyond the obvious source of attraction - I'm old, not blind, and Charynn suffers not at all in the attractiveness department, but that's still not it) (really :)) (Ok, that's still not ONLY it, alright?) (Jesus Tits!)? Turns out, the differences in her and my individual assumptions makes the least consequential of our statements or beliefs shared with each other into a journey of mutual discovery, and our truly consequential revelations into shared confessionals that armor us from our personal demons and doubts (I hope they do for her too). Or perhaps this is only evidence of why my friendships have been so few, because I imbue them with over-much meaning and significance.

Every question we ask, every statement we declare, every opinion we assert to each other, in every aspect of our lives, all are influenced by and bounded within our assumptions. The unspoken, indeed too-often unasked and unquestioned, beliefs and ideas that guide how we construct our understanding of life and each other. The unquestioned assumption that right-and-wrong = good-and-bad, that truth = justice, that faith = fact. Charynn and I steadily discover that we share a belief in so many things, agree on so many different conclusions, but that we arrive at these shared convictions by means of completely different assumptions.

Do friendships go somewhere? People so often say, "Our friendship has gone ...", and then recite a time travel itinerary. My friendships seem to abide instead, the few recognizable landmarks in my passage through life. We all move on, of course, inevitably apart if history is any judge. And that's probably both good and natural, if more than a bit lonely. Experience changes our assumptions, obligations change over time, commitments tend to compete for our individual time and other resources; perhaps it's only healthy that we gradually withdraw from interaction with our friends over time. Or, perhaps it's a consequence of having over-many shared assumptions in the beginning?

Perhaps Charynn and I will be able to make the time together to discover how that question gets answered.

I hope so ...

Welcome To Arkham Tumblir ...

... where the truth is just Crazy Talk.

Racism is much discussed in recent months (years?). There is a dictionary definition, of course, and pretty much anyone you might care to ask can offer up an example of what racism is to them.

But what is it really?

Consider this; racism is Elitist Ideology taken to the broadest possible human application.

In religion there is a Supreme Being/God/Gods, one (or more) entities that are the ultimate Elitist(s) humans have so far been able to imagine.

In actual physical reality here on Earth, human history is just crammed full of various examples of Kings, individuals held up as the penultimate example of human superiority over other humans, at least by those who personally gain in some way by enforcing that "fact" on everyone else.

In less prosaic terms, Elitist Ideology holds that the elitist is superior to others as an intrinsic consequence of being one of the elite. It is simply assumed that the Elite accomplish more and greater things than do other, lesser humans.

As there can be only one king at a time, so too can there be only one Most Elite at one time. Which is something of a problem for all the also-rans. Not surprisingly, there is fierce competition to be acknowledged as The Elite, and less surprisingly still a hierarchy of Elites as well.

Do you see the connection yet? Each level of elitists requires some group of lesser elitists to acknowledge their superiority. This necessarily dilutes the standards required for one to become acknowledged as being Elitist enough to have an opinion of another's elitistness (totally a word) to make a public opinion worthwhile amongst Elitist circles.

Eventually we get to the most common of social competitiveness, Common Othering.

Basically, anyone you can identify as being in some measure (usually of a determinedly ephemeral qualification) less than you makes you among the Elitist Class ... in your own opinion at least. The real trick here is to convince others (no, not those Others) that they too are part of your Elitist Class also, if only they will recite the mantra you provide them with.

The slightest difference in appearance (or manner of speech, or ... well, pretty much anything can be used to make an artificial distinction, can't it? It's in the nature of an "artificial distinction", isn't it?) is by far the easiest and most common example of human Elitists demonstrating their superiority over others.

And there you have it. Racism is Elitist behavior taken to the broadest application within the species. More simply put, a racist is someone who uses superficial, external distinctions to claim superiority over those who display arbitrarily Other superficial, external features from him/her self. Just as an aside, you can often discover how far up the Elitist scale people consider themselves to be by how immaterial they hold the lesser standards to be. The true Elitist often doesn't consider external appearance in gauging the status of someone else - unless there isn't enough difference between them otherwise, then ...

There is no racism, there is only elitist self-aggrandizement, practiced by those who have no actual achievements by which to be measured against others to determine a status that is, at best, chimerical and entirely external to one's actual character.

Strive to be among the elite at whatever you do, and to never be elitist about anyone, yourself most especially.

EDIT (11/28/2016):

While looking for something else I had written, I came across a post from September of 2012 in which I used the opportunity of a Tamara Keel post to examine elitism from a practical perspective.

Therein I linked to a 2006 post from Gary Gagliardi's old Warrior Class Blog in which I looked at the classical strategy aspects of elitism in a variety of human activities.

I consider Albert Nock's dismissal of "the uneducable" to be merely another example of Othering. By excluding any instance of individual success in improving one's status or condition in life that doesn't rise to the level of eliteness that Nock seems to require, it becomes very easy to simply shrug one's shoulders and ask, "What can one do?", and continue bewailing the lack of (presumably fellow) elites in the world.

As a final comment on the ramifications of elitism, a philosophical note to take away with you:

And here we come to my belief, my faith if you will, in the value of strategic science to the individual.

As defined by the science, we are each of us “alone” in that each of us is a unique and wholely separate position from any other’s. From that, the only way of evaluating and advancing our position is by relating to and forming relations with (alliances) other’s position. The individual can only and ever be a separate part of the whole. There is a profound sense of relief from the realisation that “I am alone” isn’t an expression of aberration; the only correct response is, “Well of course you are! And so are all of us.”

You are the only "you" there is. Opportunely, there are many other yous, each equally alone, and each variably available to join with you in some fashion, to some purpose. You will all still be alone, but you can do so together if you choose. That voice you hear in your head? It's only your echo. If you will listen to those other voices you can hear though, together you can make a lovely harmony. It's possible to lose your sense of alone-ness in the flow of the melody; perhaps doing so is somehow necessary to being a healthy human being. The only way you can ever achieve elite recognition is by contrasting your abilities to someone else's. If you aren't part of The Remnant, all you are is alone and totally ignorant of your measure as a human being.

Join the chorus.

How Did That George Carlin Line Go?

"I stand here before you, completely behind you, ..."?

Sorry Gary Johnson, I had to stand with my DV Brethren and Sisteren on this one.

Catch you in November.

NBC Poll results

So, I finally found something to say ...

... that I want to say forever.

We all have our personal kinks and quirks.  One of mine has been a 40+ year belief I expressed as, "Why would I want to help the cops identify the body afterwards by having a tattoo?"  Like I said in the title, now I finally have something I want to say just that permanently.

Like many people, I find practicing martial arts a useful means to achieving emotional self control.  It's the same mental process you go through developing physical self control, I believe.  The emotional stimuli that triggers the electro-chemical neurological process that results in a physical response in martial arts or a violent emotional response pretty much anywhere, is the same mechanism whether it occurs on a training floor, or a barroom or bedroom floor.  The difference is that regular martial arts training teaches an inherent level of control as part of the response mechanism.  In much the same way that we rarely read of a citizen with a concealed firearm permit using a gun in a deliberately criminal fashion, we rarely read of practicing martial artists being involved in physically or emotionally abusive personal relationships.  Maintaining a regular practice regimen imbues the individual with an emotional control mechanism as an intrinsic part of the training process.  I've long believed the training and interactive practice with others is massively helpful in dealing with other emotional issues like fear or anxiety (which are not necessarily extensions of one another).

What does all this have to do with tattoos?  I'm glad you asked.  :)

In a word: HEMA (which is actually an acronym technically).

Historical European Martial Arts isn't only about swords, although I do enjoy that part very much. It is very much about all of the history that includes all of the martial arts and practices that play an often under-recognized part in European (and the many places that derived from European) history more generally. Figuring out how what it says on the paper (or weaving, or parchment, or ...) actually achieves what we think it says it's supposed to achieve is a big part of the challenge. Often categorized as "western martial arts" to distinguish it from the multitude of martial disciplines originating from eastern and central Asia, as a functional matter HEMA includes pretty much any martial discipline or practice that has a surviving historical record of instruction and some interactive contact with a European nation or empire (which includes Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Scandinavia in its several political contortions, and probably several more I can't think of off the top of my head).  In my personal context, HEMA is a martial arts study that is in large part an intellectual process, something my 62 y/o arthritic knees appreciate quite emphatically about 30 minutes into the day's lesson.

24 hours after having the work done:

A few quick observations:

Being as it is a life membership, and I am a contributor to the SENS Foundation and supporter of the Healthy Life Extension philosophy more generally, stipulating even a hypothetical completion date will hopefully prove to be pointless.

Also, actually tattooing a registration number on one's forearm would be just that insensitive, don't you agree (that is, once the HEMA Governing Council comes up with an actual membership card that might, or might not, have a member registration number on it)?

On an artistic note, I was deliberately careful to make my design different from the actual HEMA Alliance trademarked design, although I was equally careful to include as many of the motifs of that design as the talents of the tattooist and the state of the tattooing art permitted (apparently the white color ink doesn't hold up nearly as well, or as long, as do the other colors and turns a funny beige color with exposure to sunlight).  Thus, a keen-eyed observer will notice that the Latin motto in the ribbon banner has been left off, and the font spelling out HEMA ALLIANCE is slightly different from that on the official image (I had a shadow line added as the easiest means to achieving this end). Hopefully all will agree that these modifications raise my tattoo from the category of "trademark infringement", to that of "unique art work, inspired by ...".

The lovely and talented Katrin Berndt, and if you don't follow her on YouTube and the rest of social media it's your loss, had a recent incident involving someone else "stealing" her original tattoo design of a seriously painful chest piece (scare quotes because her original is still safely in place, but there is a counterfeit copy being worn on someone else's chest; her video on the matter is here).  She also posted a video "Getting Your First Tattoo" here you might find as helpful as I did.  Unlike herself, I regard my tattoo design as being inspired by another design from the outset, so anyone else (who actually qualifies, you understand :)) certainly has my permission to mutilate themselves share my display of enthusiasm for HEMA on there own person, sanity and other considerations allowing.

Sensitively, of course.

The Evitability Of Donald Trump

So, most of my FB feed is testing there hand (and credibility) at calling the election based on reported results and variably shaky math; here's my offering (and there will be no math here, I promise) (I'd say "So vote for me", but I'm concerned some really low information voter actually might).

As of today, 16 March, 2016, according to Real Clear Politics Trump has a total of 629 delegates (including Carson's 8), Cruz has 396 (which I assume already includes Fiorina's 1), Rubio has 168, and Kasich has 138, which combines to more than half of the total number of delegates available.

IF Ted Cruz can convince Marco Rubio to pledge his delegates to him in exchange for Cruz nominating Rubio to fill the open Supreme Court position, AND convince Kasich to pledge his delegates to Cruz in exchange for the position of VP, THEN Ted Cruz has 702 delegates to Trump's 629 and a very interesting bargaining position.

In exchange for Trump throwing his support (and his delegates) behind a Cruz/Kasich ticket on the first convention ballot, Cruz offers The Donald the position of Councilor-to-the-President and Ambassador Plenipotentiary (either of which is a good, solid, insider-power-broker position).  As CttP, Trump is an active participant in Cabinet meetings at the Presidents discretion and serves as Cruz's direct representative overseeing such national interest efforts as hardening the national electrical grid infrastructure or maintaining the nations interstate highway system and bridges for example (all matters of legitimate federal concern and projects that Trump has no little degree of practical experience with).  As Ambassador Plenipotentiary, Trump serves as the President's personal envoy to foreign governments and individuals.  I rather imagine the "smoke filled room" conversation between Cruz and Trump might go something like this:

Look Donald, I need you to kick ass and take names on these national infrastructure projects so I can dump specific instructions on the cabinet officers responsible for actually running the works projects.  At the same time, I'm occasionally going to want to send you to some foreign capitol to give them a healthy dose of the heebie jeebies.  That way, when I come along a bit later and tell them, "look, fellas, it doesn't have to be that way, you know" they'll be a lot more likely to see the advantages of whatever I throw down on the table at them, cause let's face it, you've got the "scary mofo" ju-ju hands down.  Take the wife along; there'll be plenty of opportunities to keep her sweet with some power shopping afterwards.  You occasionally go throw a scare into the chinks, russkis and whoever else jumps ugly, so I can come along after and get us what we really want.  That is the art of the deal, right?

Using today's numbers, that gives Cruz 1,331 delegates, which is more than enough to secure the nomination on the first ballot with no convention jiggery pokery from the GOP good ol' boys needed.

This also sets up a general election campaign that looks something like this:

1. Carly Fiorina earns her cabinet appointment by cutting the feminist legs out from under the Hillary campaign and savages Democratic party campaign positions and statements savagely.

2. Marco Rubio keeps the GOPe in line and supportive-ish (and he and Cruz as sitting Senators do whatever deals need be done to keep that Supreme Court appointment "open") and savages Democratic party campaign positions and statements savagely.

3. John Kasich gets a new wardrobe for the traditional VP international funeral gig, as well as bones up on space policy in a "private space access" economy, and savages Democratic party campaign positions and statements savagely.

4. Donald Trump spouts the Cruz/Kasich campaign positions ruthlessly, tosses the occasional (and thoroughly vetted-in-secret-in-advance) foreign policy knee-wobbler to the media, and savages Democratic party positions and statements savagely.

5. Ted Cruz campaigns in a statesman-like, generous and positive manner, always taking the high road on any policy dispute with the other party's positions and campaign statements, interspersed with content-free but encouraging statements regarding foreign policy.

See?  No math (shut up back there, addition is not "math"), no charts, no graphs; just a simple narrative explanation that has as good a chance of meeting reality as most members of Congress ever seem to, so it has that going for it.

Finding Zara Larsson

Ever had one of those days when you almost can't quite convince yourself that it's really worth the effort to not go ahead and take that last step?  Most military veterans are familiar with that convoluted train of thought, and mostly we manage to do something else.  For the last decade and more too many of us haven't though, at a rate of 22 a day on average here in the US.  Thousands of us every year.  Why isn't this strange company to find myself in?


This is my story of how I'm not one them quite yet, and how a teenage Swedish Pop singer plays an important part in continuing that string of accomplishment into the future.


Most stories have a beginning, and this one starts when I was a teenage Californian whose voice stubbornly wouldn't settle into any recognizable vocal range.  Instead of singing, I read.  In particular, I read Robert A. Heinlein, and the works of his that most impressed me had to do with the Howard Families and Lazerous Long in particular (no links - consider this an exercise of your Google Fu :)).  Never mind the wiz-bang technology or the somewhat questionable philosophy; the thing that stuck in my testosterone-flooded mind was the reason ol' Woodrow Wilson Howard claimed to be the real cause of his having lived for so long (English tense gets a little bit fuzzy when you're describing a Future History event you read about 50 years ago). 


Basically, he didn't want to miss what comes next.  You see, in the first few decades of his life he recognised that not only did change continue to occur, it occured in a recursive fashion.  A new thing over here leading to something entirely else over there, inspiring an improvement to something totally unrelated some other place.  Sometimes good, sometimes not-so-much, but always the predictable pattern that, if you can just hang around long enough, you will see some wonderful newness and have a chance at experiencing greatness.  The trick being to live through the experience, of course (if there's no trick to doing it, where's the adventure part of the story?).


Which brings this story back around.


 I first read about the concept of a "wikiwander", following one wikipedia link after another until you find yourself in serious need of a loo and more coffee, from Tamara Keel though I doubt she would claim to be the originator even if she was.  You can do the same kind of thing on You Tube.  Lindsay Sterling leads to Pentatonix, which (somehow - I was there and even I'm not real clear how) leads to Five Finger Death Punch, which obviously gets you to Taylor Swift, to ... wait a minute, who's this chick? 


Have you ever heard a voice that touched a void place in your soul?  That you didn't even know was there (that last is sort-of in the nature of a void, actually; the absence of any detectable presence)?  It's not the lyrics especially, that's a different thing; this is about the timbre and presence of the voice itself.  They say when you first hear your childrens voices is like that, but ... sorry, not so much. 


It all tends to run together in my memory now, but I think the first song was "Endless", or maybe "Carry You Home", and I know "Rooftop" was in there.  It mystifies me why no commenter has correctly identified the emotion in "She's Not Me, Pt 2".  That's not anger; if the girl was pleading any harder, she'd be in tears (which I'm guessing is more of an Italian thing than Swedish).  If I'm wrong, and she is anrgy instead of frustrated, then Pt 3 is going to feature something large, sharp and pointy if Swedish cultural history is any guide.  More probably, Pt 3 would demonstrate the effect of finding someone who appreciates that Me is not She and how little interest Me has in how anyone else is (that made sense when it was between my ears).


Most people I expect, but military vets for certain, have a recurring schedule of hard-to-get-through times; you'd think after so many years of practice dealing, it would get easier.  I know it was late summer (which here in Texas runs from June till "will this never end?"), and there were other stressors I was letting get the better of me, but that was when I first heard those songs.  I let the experience of Zara's voice get lost in the mix of (mostly non-) events that were also taking place at the time. 


I re-discovered her in early October, which is fortunate since birthdays are a pretty common trigger for dark thoughts and emotional desperation.  The CD "Zara Larsson 1" was only available through her european music company then (via Amazon natch), but I bought it anyway as a BD gift to myself.  I'm thinking it isn't actually possible to wear out the electrons in my computer, but I've been giving that theory a rigorous test ever since. I downloaded my copy of the CD into Windows Media Player, made a playlist of it, and have proceeded to try my neighbor's patience mercilessly.  I can say without reservation that there is widespread sentiment where I live, work, and even among people I only occasionally drive by, that "Zara Larsson 2" can't be released soon enough.


Man, am I in love with that girl's vocal cords.


Proof of my boyhood belief that life will offer new and different relief if I can only just hang on, is illustrated by my discovery of Zara and her love of song.  Those of us who take the periodic opportunity to look the void straight in the eye are usually intimately familiar with both ends of the gun barrel.  I keep all my blades sharp enough, and know how to push away instead of cut across.  And then "Uncover" comes up in the rotation, or maybe it's "Wanna Be Your Baby", and all that other relief stays on the shelf.  There ... but not, you know?   


And that's how I do it.


All my life this sense of certainty that, no matter how bad it gets there will be some newness for me to discover and learn to experience, is what keeps me from stepping into the void instead of tossing off the usual wink as I turn away.  I'm lucky really; my lifetime accumulation of owies are bearable with the usual abuse of OTC nostrums.  I've gone through the amatuer pharmaceutical pursuit and come out the other side (mostly) unscathed and un-arrested (there was that one time, but moral certainty doesn't rise to the level of actual evidence so far in this country, so a misdemeaner charge had to suffice) (also demonstrating that the human capacity to survive the spontaneous over-consumption of at least one particular amatuer pharmaceutical is way more than US government anti-drug propaganda would have it) (just sayin' ... :)). 


I've always managed to find a way to get to the next newness, and that always enables me to keep looking elsewhere than the business end of one of my guns or (literally) fall on one of my swords.  Oh yeah!  Martial arts aren't just chop-socky these days, there's Historical European Martial Arts!  With ten centuries or more of Western Martial Arts tradition to pick from, there must easily be a dozen or more time-tested tools to make one hell of a mess of yourself for the crime scene boys and girls to wade through after.  :)  The books alone stack up to a pretty stiff drop, never mind the sharp stuff.


All of this is very hard for anyone else to go through.  Mostly (and completely understandably, trust me) they haven't.  Not for long.  There always comes a point where all the good becomes entangled with all the rest, and I must offer a powerful attraction to otherwise sane women because they all have shown good sense and stepped away eventually.  There's a school of thought that has it that, after you reach a certain age, you shouldn't take on another pet because you'll die before it does. That pretty much sums up my thoughts about involving another woman in my life. 


There's a positive thought in there somewhere.


That's another thing about human anguish; I don't understand why Zara singing about it is solace to a kinked-up soul, but I'm grateful.  It's not like music hasn't always been a big part of my life, because it very much has; I've just been miserable at doing anything with it myself (and everyone around me has been too, on the occasions I've tried).  Song has always moved my spirit, but this girl's voice transports my imagination like (almost) nothing else ever has.  Resist the temptation to help me over-think this.


After decades of accumulating ill-health, I find myself losing weight and gathering strength again.  Daily yoga (this is a good starting point) and working on the footwork of long sword make other exercise more likely.  Whoever said life doesn't have a soundtrack never heard of earbuds and MP3 players.  :)


Tip-toeing cautiously around the "that's kinda creepy" boundary, I keep having this day-dream about a rooftop cafe in Stockholm.  I can't tell if it's a Wednesday, but I know it's the 3rd of September.  Right as the sun goes behind the skyline, and the day's heat begins to fade, I stand up from my seat at our table and wave to this astonishing blond girl in a really nice dress just inside the entry.  She walks towards me in the way only a woman can and I help her into her chair.  We talk about the places between eternal love and no longer, and how our questionable cardiac health makes hanging on so much more possible.  Later, we dance to a song she loves but never gets to dance to normally.  Meat is on the menu, because life is a pretty simple choice really, so make sure yours are your own and not for somebody else's reasons.  Humanity is this planet's apex predator because we are omnivores.  That said, just because we can eat damn near anything doesn't automatically mean we have to eat everything all the time.  (I wonder if I can get the chef to include that little homily on the printed menu for the meal?)  (Why am I asking you?)  My dream dinner date with Zara Larsson (with a lyrical assist from Taylor Swift apparently :)).


Let's just face facts here, shall we?  If your imaginary fantasy life isn't as vivid, satisfying and confused gratifying as mine is, who's loss is that really*?


Watching and listening to Zara Larsson over the coming years as her music grows and develops, promises much distraction from the final choice.  That's not a reason for her to do all that, but I'll take it all the same. 


If you're a fellow vet, I hope you find your Zara Larsson.  I can recommend a good one. 


*Oh, and just for the record, my memory of that "really nice dress" usually involves helping her back into it after finding it amongst all of my own clothes in her room.  What!?!  I'm old, but still a guy. 

So, 61

I don't really have a lot to say about the occasion, or I do and don't want to get into all that just now.

Mostly both, I suspect.

I have been having some initial success writing original fiction at Amazon Studios these recent months, and I do intend to write more on that come the day.  Right after I hit the "Submit" button.

Much like writing fiction that isn't painfully derivative, my sixth decade is proving harder to make headway in than has been my previous experience.  Yes, I know, nothing surprising there; it's discovering the distinction between the knowing and the doing that's the challenge I suppose, the realization that tried and true no longer gets you where it always has.  Finding new ways to do old things will be a feature of the coming decade I fear.

I don't really have a song this year, so something fun and motivational* (sorry about the ad and it will probably auto-start).

*It's my perspective; deal with it.

Blog-type Squee

Took the opportunity that being sick permitted and called in to tonight's edition of The Squirrel Report and got to talk to Kevin Baker who can wax lyrical about philosophy and rights, but apparently doesn't dance while still liking bacon.

All kidding aside, I managed to hold the enthusiasm to a mostly coherent level (I think) and conversing with the man I've been reading and citing as a reference in my personal education on these and other matters for so many years was a completely unexpected honor.  That I spent the better part of an hour and a half nerving myself up to.  You just don't want to choke, comes the moment, you know?  :)

There's just no way I'm going to make Gun Blogger Rendezvous in Reno, Nevada this year, but maybe I can put something together for '15.  Have to start rounding up suitable autograph swag ...  

XP-less

Spent much of the day moving out of WinXP.  Well, sort of and mostly - if some casual passerby should happen to point out where/how I can put my established email account (Outlook Express) (don't judge) onto Win7, I could complete my escape and would snivel much less in coming days.  I resorted to the (temporary, damnit!) measure of moving most of my favorites/bookmark list onto the blog, so there's some added content to wade through.  Maybe you'll find something of newish interest.

It was a terrible day to go outside anyway.  Thunderstorm(s), inches of rainfall, the day's high temp was 51F and only got there after the wind dropped.  Can't say I'm actually excited to go back to work Monday, but my banker is looking less nervous and I have to pay for all this new technology I'm likely mis-using. 

Dear Vox Day

I believe that's why it is called The Theory Of Evolution and not "The Fact ..."

Much like the gentleman you quote, I don't know how the theory works either, but here's a thought.

I suggest that a stipulated set of amino acids (and I nominate Dr. Tour as having the last word here) be given a computer code representation, that (a very large number of) the conditions that an (also large number) of that same theoretical collection of amino acids might have been confronted with in both a series and parallel method of exposure, with a series of random (but not inconsistent with modern climatic patterns) selection of physical conditions as well.  Let the computer simulation program run to some reasonable approximation of the geologic time scale of Earth and, I suggest, we might have a first-order approximation of TENS.  Or not.  If nothing else, it's a way to help better decide where to throw away allocate our research funding.  I suspect learning how to develop better computer simulation models from the existing evidence.

Don't look at me to do it though, I have neither the finances nor the mental horsepower to put it all together.

Just to be clear, I remain unconvinced of any proposed theory that purports to explain physical existence - even your apparent first choice.  Personally, I endorse the Fart Theory of Physical Existence; I fart, therefore I am.  The odoriferous evidence is irrefutable I am consistently told.

Also, I have no trouble recreating the effect ad initio either.

Srsly W-T-Effin-F

Will somebody (Borepatch, Vox Day, ESR - all of you have written in a knowledgeable-seeming fashion about this) please write a post on what this "Dark Enlightenment" is supposed to be in aid of?  What is it about?  What does it claim to be about?  Is there in fact any "there" there?  In terms of non-internet relevance, where would you rank its claim to moral and human ethical values on a scale between Lord of the Flies and The Alamo?

Yes, I read this Telegraph article; no, I'm still not any better informed than I was before doing so.  Neither, apparently, is Mr. Bartlett, though that doesn't slow his willingness to "explain" things.

A little help here ...

I Blame JayG

I've been following along via JayG for a few months now as the Elio Motors motorcycle/car continues its development process.  A two-seat tandem vehicle that features a 60 hp 3-cylinder engine powering the 3 wheeled vehicle (which is what technically makes it a motorcycle).  80+ highway mpg (45+ city) out of an 8 gallon tank.  Fully enclosed cabin with A/C, power windows/locks, 3 air bags, 15" rims ... a lot of features for a $6800.00 price tag.

I just now put $500.00 down on my all in order for the first actual new vehicle I've ever bought.

Claimed delivery window is 4th quarter 2014 so I can hope for a birthday present.  The factory is an hour or so east of here (it's actually closer than the nearest planned dealership is) so I will definitely be exercising the factory pick up delivery option.  Texas doesn't require a helmet and is one of the many states that doesn't require a motorcycle endorsement (for this particular vehicle type) on the driving license too.

Haven't really settled on the basic options yet, but I'm leaning towards the silver and black paint job with the 5-speed manual transmission.  I'm also more than likely going to use the company's "credit card financing" method instead of the more traditional methods.  Basically, you buy gas at triple the pump price and everything over the actual fuel purchase amount is applied to your remaining balance in lieu of a regular loan payment.

Come on Jay, get on the list with me and share the anticipation frustration.  :)

Gee Thanks!

Now I have to buy a bigger hat.

Seriously, thanks Chris.

A Bump In The Road To Wellville

This past Sunday afternoon at about 4:30 I started feeling pain in my left hip.  Within an hour, I was almost in tears.  On Monday, I went to the Doc-in-a-box where I was irradiated and given codeine for pain.

This resulted in a man in great pain who was also high.  Not there fault, it was all they could do.

Other than get me an appointment with an Orthopedic specialist for the following day.  Whimpered my way there on the Tuesday expecting a "hip shot" (injection into the hip region) of cortisone and whatnot to resolve the pain and begin therapy.

When you go to an expert, you don't get to tell him what he finds wrong with you.  IOW, there's nothing medically wrong with my hip, thus no hip shot for pain relief, but I did get a much bigger bottle of codeine and an appointment for an MRI the following day.

That same afternoon I did get in to see my usual Doctor and he was able to look over everyones notes and accumulated work (x-rays and the like) and he thinks that, along with some arthritis developing in my lower back and pelvic region - not surprising in a man of 60 years, some hopefully still-minor damage has occurred to a disc in my L-spine or that possibly something else has pinched the nerve running down into my left leg.

Wednesday, I went to get the MRI.  I've had one before for my knees.  Surprising to me, a spine scan is less complicated than one of the knee; only took about 20 minutes, even with the do-over toward the end when I had to move or wet myself.  Something else I discovered - when in a building that contains an active MRI machine, don't bother texting anyone.  Your message(s) will eventually go through, but the (increasingly irritated) replies will all appear on your phone in a cascade of bloops and beeps once you get into the more usually constructed portion of the building, like reception say.  I wasn't taking notes at the time, but either the electronic symphony coming out of my pocket or the sight of me madly choking down drugs while whimpering my way toward the water fountain will likely get you looked at in a concerned fashion by everyone else too.

Just saying.

The ortho guy won't be back in town 'till next week, so I get to spend the next several days looking at the clock to see if my morally ill-prepared self control is stronger than the pain-addled rest of me (the label says "every 6 hours", which so far means my life still has unfulfilled aspirations as of yet) along with ice packs wedged dangerously close to the groinal region, resulting in sporadic (not to mention hasty) inspections for testicular frost damage.

So, I'm never not in pain and I'm too high to do much of anything more demanding than move the blue ice pack somewhere a little less close to my urinary tract.  I failed to mention that I did get a course of steroids to keep track of along with all the rest.  I'd forgotten how steroids make one urinate so much more frequently.  Levitating up out of bed from yet-another nap with one leg in agony and the other in cramp is not an experience I can recommend.  Note to self: just drink more water, you're too high to know if you're thirsty or not anyway.

I am told that there are good non-surgical therapies these days even if it turns out to be a ruptured disc in my spine.  I resolutely refuse to speculate, mostly because doing so requires too much mental horsepower.  I'll know more next Tuesday.

Happy New Year

It being after midnight here in East Texas (and no sirens to be heard either for a change), I wanted to note how good this past year has been for me personally and to say how much I'm looking forward to this year's promise.  I know that the concern for Obamacare and his administration's financial shenanigans are all the rage, but I choose to focus on things more close to home and heart.

Best wishes to all who stop by these pages in the coming year and I hope you find your way back to reality real soon now. 

Cheated Death Again

Flew back home from my vacation to Oregon this evening - right in front of the thunderstorms and inches of rain.

No problems from TSA or the airlines, despite my carrying several firearms along with my other baggage. It is important to allow sufficient time for the system that has grown into place at airports to function. If you do then you'll spend an hour or so cooling your heels 'till your flight departure more than likely, but have the time to deal with unexpected delays should they occur. Having the capability to research airline and regulatory requirements beforehand in such an easy and extensive fashion sure does make traveling a less stressful and more enjoyable experience, even on an economy (well, sort of ...) budget.

Had a great visit with my son and his family and am already beginning thinking about a more elaborate visit next year - perhaps I can convince my daughter and S-i-L to take part too, even if only for a few days. I'd like to see the cousins together, not to mention my children.

Laundry tomorrow, then back to work on Monday. Such is life here in "the future".

What's In A Name?

Via Alan of Vicious Circle and The Squirrel Report infamy renown comes notice of the Super Hero Name Generator website.  Use your actual name or not; male, female or none-of-the-above as you like.  Fun for all!

My superhero name is: Captain Proxima

You are an alien, brought to Earth and trapped here by accident. Now, you must use your innate abilities to battle the forces of darkness, while trying to find your way home!

Star Creation - Your powers give you the ability to create miniature stars, tiny super-heated suns that you can manipulate and hurl as weapons! Now, you protect Baconville, Ohio from murderers, while also battling the evil plans of The Thirteenth Gunslinger!

My alter ego is as an itinerant short-order cook of the local namesake grilled meat and perennial contender in the State Fair annual BLT competition.  The Thirteenth Gunslinger is, of course, the secularized cousin of the 13th Mahdi, so is my arch enemy and target of my flaming bacon grease attacks.  A rasher of entertainment all around.  Yum.

In Commemoration

Upon the occasion of my 59th birthday, This.

Zombie Outbreak?

Come on, what else was I going to call something like this after I saw it at Drudge?