Babble, extended...again

   This may be a disjointed blog entry because I shall be rambling on various subjects and some of what I write may be repetitive: I rarely re-read things I have posted and likely have said some of these things before. 

  >To cover current events I’ll give my spin on the war in Gaza, where the violence is just the latest iteration of centuries of conflict. Anyone claiming that only one side or the other is guilty or innocent simply has not done their research. Both populations have historically been victims and perpetrators of injustices, so my inclinations follow that of General William Tecumseh Sherman, who at the beginning of the American civil war, stated:

"You people of the South don't know what you are doing. This country will be drenched in blood, and God only knows how it will end. It is all folly, madness, a crime against civilization! You people speak so lightly of war; you don't know what you're talking about. War is a terrible thing! You mistake, too, the people of the North. They are a peaceable people but an earnest people, and they will fight, too. They are not going to let this country be destroyed without a mighty effort to save it ... Besides, where are your men and appliances of war to contend against them? The North can make a steam engine, locomotive, or railway car; hardly a yard of cloth or pair of shoes can you make. You are rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical, and determined people on Earth—right at your doors. You are bound to fail. Only in your spirit and determination are you prepared for war. In all else you are totally unprepared, with a bad cause to start with. At first you will make headway, but as your limited resources begin to fail, shut out from the markets of Europe as you will be, your cause will begin to wane. If your people will but stop and think, they must see in the end that you will surely fail“

In other words, war is hell and for any individual or group to advocate for it is madness. In the latest case Hamas perpetrated a hideous invasion of Israel and Israel began what is its latest violent response. Many opportunities for peace and coexistence have been squandered over the decades and centuries and now more innocent people are dying. Egypt and Jordan have done nothing to absorb the refugees because they want nothing further to do with this long running destabilizing situation. So like Sherman's march to the sea there is a kind of scorched earth policy being deployed which in the end will either create a lot more resentment and bitterness or-and I can only hope that this is true-the participants on both sides will finally acquire the wisdom to think of their grandchildren and reach a lasting peace agreement. Could the state of Israel just as easily have been created in the deserts of New Mexico? Probably, but only if the religious nonsense about ‘holy ground’ had been abandoned and respect for the entire planet replaced it. The worth of a place is determined by the value of the ideals by which it is nurtured. So if Israel decides to flood the tunnels to rid Gaza of the festering cancer that Hamas has become, and future Israeli extremists can be restrained, I shall mourn the loss of innocent life but hope that both Palestinians and Israelites might look to the future once and for all time. 

> Beth and I have noticed the poor driving of people lately, mainly in their inability to maintain a constant speed. One would suppose that cruise control had never been invented, or that modern cars were incapable of cornering at a steady rate, so we see driver's slowing down far more than necessary then accelerating at a fuel wasting rate. We assume that being distracted by cell phones or in dash infotainment systems is responsible for much of the behavior we see, but simple inconsideration is the culprit for other things; Yesterday I  was held up in the drive through of a bank when a woman ahead of me finished her transaction at the ATM then proceeded to put the money into her purse and adjust her paperwork for a full minute before pulling ahead. Why basic respect for those behind her did not motivate her to move her car is a failure of human decency. Small, selfish things sometimes translate to more consequential behaviors. 

 > I have noticed people having grandiose arguments about things such as gender neutral bathrooms or banning books, or gun control, or abortion-which, as important as those issues may be, ultimately are all distractions from more important issues like climate change and artificial intelligence. The latter will affect not only certain segments of humanity, but our entire species. Predictions of scientists vary from total destruction within 50 years to only a small probability of the world ending within the century. One thing is certain to me; there is nowhere to hide. As Jackson Browne said in 1973-“ you can hold on steady, try and be ready, but everybody’s gonna get wet. Don’t think it won’t happen just because it hasn’t happened yet.”  It is a matter of when, not if, humanity will reap the consequences of its own success. However much we ignore it, the oceans Are warming, and acidifying, and being over-fished, and CO2 and methane Are accumulating in the atmosphere and ice Is melting, and the human population Is continuing to grow while other species and ecosystems are declining. The Earth is our only island, so eventually there will be nowhere to hide from ourselves. Politicians and lobbyists and corporations and average citizens can argue about other things as they build their portfolios and their ‘secure’ bunkers, but what kind of world will they inherit when billions have died foolishly because human beings did not show foresight and restraint? I sometimes wonder what quantum computing combined with artificial intelligence will create; when a super-intelligence computes at a pace we cannot comprehend, what will become of us? But I have no control beyond my own little space so lament the inability of our species to live responsibly.

  > My final rant will be about the lack of critical thought by so many people and the hypocrisy and corruption and tribalism that consumes human nature. It is clear from psychological studies that facts and reasonable arguments rarely change someone's mind-particularly if their views are constantly reinforced by like minded thinkers. The polarization of the country is proof of that; we have all been raised in a similar culture yet hold divergent views about its worth and direction.  Demonizing others rather than embracing differences is a propaganda method used by some people, and social media has amplified negative voices that used to be marginalized. I suspect that both genetic and environmental factors influence the viewpoints that people defend, and I also presume that this is how we have evolved; there will always be those who defend hate and slavery and greed and all the other darker sides of our being.  But I do not fatalistically conclude that there is no hope, only that we are -each of us- responsible for defending the better sides of our nature and resisting those darker forces in ourselves and others. 

> At heart I am a contented person who believes that America is already pretty great. Certainly not perfect, but much better than many places in the world today and throughout history. I have lived in a tent, slept under bridges, rented apartments, lived in mobile homes and houses, owned cars and motorcycles and bicycles and kayaks and televisions and sofas and beds and ovens and can openers and many other material possessions. I have been free to move about the country and disagree with my government and join protests and do almost anything else I have wanted. In that regard I am like many other Americans but-lest people believe I have been unusually privileged-in 26 years of full time work I never grossed more than $31,500 and that amount was only for a few years. For most of my working life I have traded money for time. I benefited from the combined incomes of marriage for 13 years, then as a divorced father my obsessive hobby was walking and writing, so I lived frugally and drove a moped to work. I borrowed $15,000 from my mother to buy a trailer home which I repaid within six years. For twenty years I contributed 10% to a 401k,-which has profited my retirement- and while helping my elderly mother I lived cheaply while I worked on my book. After Beth and I met we combined resources but both of us have always been members of the lower middle class. Our situation may differ from some Americans but it seems to me that the loudest complainers in this nation do not focus enough on the wonderful things about their personal lives. They whine about Americas faults while driving fancy trucks and talking on cell phones to plan parties where they will have their choice of foods from around the planet. They blame politicians and immigrants and homosexuals and blacks and deep states and anyone but themselves for their discontent. They forget that every country, institution, family and individual has both flaws and qualities, so they lash out rather than examine their own attitude-which is all they have that is lasting. That is the crossroads the United States and civilizations worldwide have entered-not simply arguing over personal differences and disagreements- but fundamental threats to the world we will leave our descendants. Like I stated above- I have no answers and no expectations of changing minds that are already committed. I simply refuse to be complicit in what I consider to be immature, ignorant, intolerant and ultimately destructive behavior, so I speak out where and when I can. Do I expect my words to influence those in power when I write to them? Not directly, although someone somewhere will read them, and from those seeds perhaps something positive will grow. At all times I remember that reality is natures way of cutting through human hubris-including my own.

"One-quarter of U.S. adults say 2024 will be a better year than 2023 for them personally, and 24% expect it will be a worse year. Some 37% of Republicans expect it’ll be a worse year for them, compared with 20% of independents and 13% of Democrats.

Just 5% of U.S. adults are “extremely” or “very” confident that the federal government can make progress on the important problems and issues facing the country in 2024, with 7% of Democrats and 11% of independents being optimistic, compared with 1% of Republicans.

The AP poll of 1,074 adults was conducted Nov. 30–Dec. 4, 2023, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to represent the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points. "

New Roof

We had the shingle roof replaced (covered over) with gavalume, standing seam metal, which theoretically will last up to 50 years. Gavalume is steel coated with a combination of zinc, aluminum and some silicon, as opposed to galvanized steel which is just coated with zinc-hence the greater durability. Standing seam refers to the interlocking ridges with the fasteners underneath, versus the exposed fasteners on many standard, corrugated metal roofs. It cost a little more but should stay watertight with very little maintenance. Around here up to two layers of shingles can be covered over so long as the underlying roof structure is solid, and the 1x4 wood strapping creates a one inch air gap for ventilation. We also put new R-30 insulation in the attic floor in preparation for re-finishing a living space there. This house is a Sears kit home built in 1950 with a main living space of about 1000 sq feet, although with a finished basement and attic the usable space is more than that. We replaced a still functioning 34 year old central air conditioner last summer and the furnace and water pipes are about five years old. So with regular but economical maintenance the foundation and systems are rock solid after 74 years.

 

Words as Symbols

     “...it is as easy to teach the name of an idea, if it is clearly formulated in the child’s mind, as to teach the name of an object. It would indeed be a herculean task to teach the words if the idea did not already exist in the child’s mind. If his experiences and observation hadn’t led him to the concepts, small, large,good, bad, sweet, sour, he would have nothing to attach the word-tags to…If you give a child something sweet, and he wags his tongue and smacks his tongue and looks pleased…and if every time he has this experience, he hears the word ‘sweet’...he will quickly adopt this arbitrary sign for his sensation…It is is not the word, but the capacity to experience the sensation that counts in his education. “  - Anne Sullivan, teacher of blind and deaf child Helen Keller 

Which encourages the question: What 'sensation' motivated human beings to invent the word 'god'? My assumption is that it was the sensation we call 'mystical' or 'spiritual' which 'feels' beyond the self and is difficult to put into words-a sense of 'oneness' and connectedness to all of creation-the total peace and love as described by near death experiences. 'God' the word has also been used to describe the unknown such as the origin of the Universe and other mysteries and phenomenon. It has been applied to power and joy and fear and love and vengeance and other human experience, as well as used as explanation for the sun and wind and other natural forces. The near death experience seems to me to be the closest to 'truth' that living humans will ever know, but I do not know why that unity and peace sensation has been so corrupted by the ego and divisive rituals common to many religions, nor why people believe the words of ancient texts over present day experiences-as if our ancestors were more capable of touching the 'God' essence within each of us more than we are today. Helen Keller was given the words after she was self aware of the object or sensation, so we should all be conscious of words as secondary symbols of something more original.

Praying Mantis

           This is the first praying mantis that we have seen in the yard since we moved in eleven years ago. This species is one of 2 common in the north, the Chinese mantid- Tenodera aridifolia sinenis, and both northern species are non native. I have seen other mantids locally while walking, but because of the relative paucity of open fields in these  mountains this is not their favorite habitat. Mantids feed on many different insects and mostly sit motionless to ambush any prey that comes near. I recall as a child playing with grasshoppers by throwing them in the air to watch them fly, and saw one disappear into a shrub. When I went over to look I saw a praying mantis eating it like a cob of corn, holding it in its vice like forelegs and taking bites as though it were a sandwich. Mantids are unique insects in that they are able to swivel their heads and gaze directly at a thing, which presumably enables them to better discern their prey without moving their bodies -which might alert prey to their presence. 
      My daughter in law protects mantid egg cases on her shrubbery, where they hatch into hundreds of miniature mantids that then fan out over her garden and hopefully eat harmful insects. That is, the ones that do not eat each other, for they are hungry carnivores from the start and do what it takes to survive.  ( click on pics to enlarge)
 

Genuine 'Evil'

     This is a book about the power structure in North Korea, or at least, what can be gleaned about an extremely suppressive, repressive murderous regime that does all it can to conceal itself.  As just one example of many abuses in the book: in 1996 "five Protestant Christians, their hands and feet bound, were thrown before a large steam roller".  Forced to watch, some observers fainted at the 'popping sound' of the skulls being crushed. These public executions and the total suppression of religion, free thought and any perceived threats such as not clapping enthusiastically enough at state events have been continued under present leader Kim Jong Un. His sister Kim Jong Un is a little more behind the scenes but an equally ruthless part of the bloodline that defines North Korean power. Remember that these are the people Mr. Putin is making deals with and against whom Ukraine is fighting for their lives. How so many Americans, including so-called Christians, can  ignore the horrific, immoral, murderous behavior of these countries and placate dictators in the guise of 'peace'  is incomprehensible to me. If 'patriotism' or 'nationalism' are not guided by inclusive, moral and ethical ideals, what manner of 'freedom' are we pretending to defend? I am not so naive as to advocate violence against nuclear powers without just cause, but if resisting these kinds of people with sanctions and policy and sending weapons to the people who are doing the fighting is controversial-then what kind of people have we become? Are we so distracted by our smart phones and petty political differences that we cannot renounce the true sociopaths among us? 

Intentional Poverty

 This is another one of those books by a very informed author that infuriates the morally and ethically conscious reader. It details the laws and tax breaks and outright prejudice that perpetuate poverty in the richest country in the history of the planet. Mr. Desmond, a Princeton professor who has 'risen' economically from a poor childhood through both hard work and public subsidies, is the first to recognize the white privileges he has benefited from. He also deconstructs all the biased myths people use to blame the poor for their condition by detailing the  policies that favor the middle class and the wealthy; he explains how the banking, housing, welfare and other institutions really work to keep the poor, poor. It is a sobering but not surprising viewpoint easily recognized by anyone who has worked two jobs to pay bills or has watched others do so. He somewhat regretfully concludes that the persistent inequality in America exists because we "want it to", or at least, those with power do. I do not know if that is the 'deep state' the Trump fanatics wish to dismantle, but their savior is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the present system and Trump will do all he can to perpetuate it. But the present rules benefit people in both parties, and they do whatever they can to sustain them. As Ella Baker, civil rights activist, said, "Those who are well-heeled don't want to get un-well heeled."  or, as Mr. Desmond says, " Follow the money, all of it, and you can see how a trend toward private opulence and public squalor has come to define not simply a handful of communities, but the whole nation."  I personally wonder why so many Americans are so disgruntled, or rather, so unappreciative of their relative wealth and good fortune, but I am a minimalist who knows truly the difference between needs and wants. That distinction seems to have become confused in some people.

AI

        The recent calls for alarm by some tech workers about the threat of artificial intelligence are 100% correct. Even those who 'program'  AI and set it in motion do not understand how it works and arrives at some of the conclusions it does. When that capability outpaces human intelligence at a pace of 'thought' and 'innovation' well beyond human capabilities...it is reasonable to question what Pandora box we have opened and whether there is any way to control  it.  Like every other scientific advance, technology can be used for either 'good' or 'evil', but as  history has shown with previous human inventions,  AI too is being weaponized by human beings; those threats are frightening to any sane person. On just a common laptop AI can devise thousands of new toxic molecules that could poison humanity.  AI flying a simulation jet can outperform any experienced, top ace human pilot. In time, maybe artificial intelligence will suggest solutions to the very problems it creates, and help us solve the problems we have created. Maybe it's lack of 'feelings' for self preservation will be more ruthless and it will destroy itself, or us, or both. Those are some of

the unknowns the tech people are concerned about.