“Why You Procrastinate”, NYTimes
Worth Thinking About
“Why You Procrastinate”, NYTimes
Sunday’s Bumper Sticker
Thursday’s Theme Music
Upon looking out the window this morning, the neurons began singing, “And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.”
Welcome to May 12, 2022. Today is Thursday. Some folks are bracing for tomorrow: Friday the thirteenth. I’m not one of them. It’ll be another day of routines for moi.
Speaking of routines, Sol rose at 5:53 this morning and will set at 8:22 this evening. Rain is forecast for the valley. We’ve squirmed up to the upper forties on the thermometer with aspirations for reaching the upper fifties. The cats continue expressing displeasure to me, demanding to know what I’ve done with the sun. Treats, petting, and food do not mollify them. “Give me sunshine!” they cry with Mel Gibson drama from Braveheart. The young ‘un, Papi, is especially dramatic in his performance.
In interesting news — to me, at least — one of our beer drinker friends reported on finding and naming a previously unknown onion variation, Allium Incomptum. The daughter of another beer drinking friend provided the drawing for the Bio One submission. Fun stuff.
For music, the neurons went through several old Paul Simon offerings but then kicked in with another tune after a convo with a cat. Papi was being disdainful of several things — just one of those moods at that point — so I said to him, “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.” Well, the neurons jumped right in with the chorus out of “Notion” by Kings of Leon from 2009: “So don’t knock it, don’t knock it, you’ve been here before.” After a bit, Papi gave in and ate, then galloped around and played, and was feted with catnip.
Stay positive, test negative, etc., etc. Coffee has been found again; lo, I am saved. Cheers
Worth Noting
David Walden, Computer Scientist at Dawn of Internet, Dies at 79
I worked for IBM for over a decade after retiring from the military and became aware of David Walden’s name while I was there. I’d heard of the work of the I.M.P. before that while reading about ARPANET. People like Walden contributed to this thing called the net and develop it to the point where we have the connectivity of today. I take the net for granted, complaining about it when it’s slow or won’t load, along with the work that Walden did, but it’s pretty amazing when you regard its technology.
RIP, David Walden
Back to Bed
It’s become one of those days. I started off optimistic and energetic. Despite the leaked SCOTUS decision regarding Roe v. Wade and the various responses to it, I thought, it hasn’t been finalized. It may have even been floated by Republicans to see gauge reactions. Maybe, right, fingers crossed, etc.
But then I go on to the news. Ohio elected a guy, a Qanon promoting individual who thinks Joe Biden is tearing this country apart. He says, “Our grassroots movement across northwest Ohio intensified with every terrible mistake the Biden administration continued and still continues to make. I am more energized than ever to unite the Republican base.”
What terrible mistakes have been made? That’s not specified. I’m sure he’ll point to oil and gas prices, inflation, ignoring, of course, the global view of what’s going on in that realm with supply lines, Trump’s contributions to the problem, and the war. Perhaps, being a QAnon’er, he’ll point to the ‘COVID-19 Hoax’ or ‘the stolen 2020 election’, ‘illegal mandates’, or other things already proven to the contrary. How they hold on to the lies and disinformation that’s been spread. This man might well end up in the U.S. Congress, alongside Boebert, MTG, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Ron Johnson, and that ilk.
Then I see headlines about a few more murders and news about Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine. All of it drains and angers me, but also frustrates me. It’s sad to read of people’s behavior and thinking. In many ways, when I think of the net, that’s one of the things that comes to mind: TMI. But then a friend shares information about AI testing bees and their networking processes, and I think, see? Technology is also good.
Yes, science and technology can be wonderful, when used right. Perhaps, that’s what bugs me: we have so many undermining technology and history, twisting their narrative to promote themselves as saviors of freedom and progress. 1984? Oh, yes. Often, the motivation behind these people and their movements turn out to be the ancient problems of racism and greed.
Instead of going back to bed, I’ll deep back into my writing world. Got my coffee. It’s time to write like crazy, at least one more time.
Cheers
Tuesday’s Theme Music
Typical Tuesday for late April. Sun and clouds are pugilistic about who will rule the sky. The clouds were here first, they said, pointing out that the sun didn’t get there until 6:14 AM. “That’s the point,” the sun replied. “I’m only going to be here until 8:04 today while you clouds are coming and going as you please. Shouldn’t I have the sky while I’m here.” They were still arguing when the seasons came in and started putting in their points.
It’s April 26, 2022. Just five more shopping days until May 1!
I have the song “Mother” by Danzig (1988) circling the morning mental music stream. I was watching the new season of “Russian Doll” on Netflix, and they used the song. Well, the neurons reacted by saying, “I haven’t heard this in so long,” and latching onto it like a kitten taking a nipple. So here I am.
The song was a protest to labeling music for content and made a big splash when it arrived. As many noted, the labels warning children that there was sex and violence, or drugs mentioned in the song, prompted more interest in the music. As many told me later, “I didn’t even know “She Bop” by Cyndi Lauper was about masturbation.” All of that was part of a larger anti-pornography movement. Now, of course, we have the web, which casts a whole different kind of shadow over the world.
Stay positive, test negative, follow the CDC advice, etc. Here’s the music. A cup of coffee is summoning me to the other room. Cheers
Sunday’s Theme Music
Quiet day has come. Although it’s quiet right here right now (cue Jesus Jones and van Halen for the neurons – although the Jesus Jones song is “Right Here Right Now”, the van Halen song is always conflated because my late buddy Randy always knew “Right Now” but didn’t know “Right Here Right Now”, see?), news stories echo through the head. Several were about shootings or outrageous driving (and their results). This weekend also brought several tales about boats capsizing and people drowning. Was it always so crazy? some of the neurons ask.
It’s Sunday, April 24, 2022. Getting the calendar right requires a look down at the computer screen’s corner. Writing does that to me. Get deep into it, and then suddenly, I become confused about dates, time, food. I end up walking with Homer Simpson and Randy Newman singing “Left Foot, Right Foot” in my mind.
It’s forty now but the weather folks say that we’re heading to 71 F today. It’s a believable claim, when I peer at the cloudless blue sky. Sunshine is flashing off everything. Weather, though, can be deceptive, promising you, “Yeah, it’s warm and sunny out here,” then cutting off body parts with an icy knife when you step out to enjoy the invitation. Weather thinks humans are as dumb as the cats. The cats aren’t dumb about the weather, but they have short memories. Plus, whenever the weather isn’t to their liking, they blame me with stony gazes and tails curled up against their bodies.
I’ve always wondered how well that tail-curling really works to keep them warm. I bet some scientist has studied it. I’ll also bet that someday we’ll have genetic modifications that allow us to have tails, and there will be people walking around with tails hanging out. I’ll probably be dead by then, though, so I’ll need to haunt the planet until it happens.
Sunrise was at 6:16 AM. Sunset will be at 8:02 PM. Rain is expected later this week and the temperatures are gonna crash again. Get out and suck up some vitamin D while you can, if you’re in this area.
Turning to sports, the neurons have a firm hold on “Right Now” by van Halen from For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, 1992, and are relentlessly playing it around snatches of “Right Here Right Now” in the morning mental music stream. I gotta get off this crazy thing.
Stay positive, etc. Just read of a COVID-19 outbreak from a prom, but everyone’s symptoms were mild or they were asymptomatic. You never know when a new variant will unleash though, do you?
I need coffee. Here’s the music. RIP Eddie. He and Valerie had such great hair. Cheers
Thursday’s Theme Music
Today finds us at the juxtaposition of winter and spring and the week called Thursday, April 14, 2022. Snow on the mountains is a hopeful sign for us in our drought-struck state while the buds and flowers remind us of spring’s promise of life and growth.
Sunrise was a solid showing of light and warmth at 6:32 AM. Showers have drifted away, the clouds moving on for the moment, muttering about, “maybe coming back later,” perhaps after they go off to chill and have something to eat or drink, maybe even coffee. Although just 41 F right now, the sun’s presence makes it feel warmer to me. A 44-degree high is all they say we can hope for before sundown at 7:51 PM.
Reading the news, I can’t stop the conclusion from jumping into my head that Putin is a terrorist. “Don’t you dare join NATO, or I will nuke you,” he metaphorically shouts in his cold, threatening tone. Isn’t that the way of war, though, “don’t do that or we’ll do this,” pressing an escalation of tension with fear and the threat of violence. If not a terrorist, he’s certainly a bully. I know, the U.S. has its own version of bully tactics, too. At least we haven’t overtly attacked another nation recently.
The neurons have planted “My Sweet Lord” by George Harrison in the morning mental music stream. Released when I was fourteen, its slide guitar, rhythms, and lyrics mesmerized me. Yes, I know of the later copyright infringement action and the obvious connection between “He’s So Fine” and “My Sweet Lord”. While “He’s So Fine” is an excellent song, its lyrics and slide work didn’t have me sitting there listening again and again.
Stay positive, test negative, drink coffee, wear a mask as or when needed, and get the jabs as, when, etc. Sorry about the coffee bit; it just jumped in there because it’s that time. Not trying to influence you or anything, no, about the promise of what that hot, dark beverage can do for the body and soul, no, not at all.
Here’s the music. Look – sunshine! Hey, it’s raining. Cheers
Finding A Way
I just finished reading Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson. It’s a novel worth the time to read, but it will consume some days. Dealing with the geopolitics and technology associated with climate change, especially the trifecta of increasing heat, rising oceans and seas, and increasingly violent and larger storms, Stephenson puts the details to work in the novel right from the beginning: a small jet can’t land in its destination of Houston because high temperatures bring on thinner air. There’s not enough lift to sustain the small jet.
Two other interesting aspects struck me in this huge book. One was a story related to London’s mayor and the 1953 flood. After the flood, engineers came up with a solution but were stopped from implementing any changes for twenty years as political infighting took over. By the time the solution was accepted and a consensus achieved to build it, the solution was already overcome by new problems because these things — climate change, rising waters, etc. — are not static, friends.
The second intriguing, amusing, and probably prescient aspect regarded how Americans responded to rising waters and more flooding: they raised their houses and began building them on stilts. That caused a boom in the house-raising/stilt industry. And sure, you can see that, right? People in their houses on stilts, looking out windows, safe, but surrounded by water. It’s one, the sort of approach people will take, adopting a limited, short-term idea that addresses only their personal issues. Two, it’s the sort of business idea that others will eagerly seize and press, making money while they can. Greed, you know.
That second point reminds me of anti-vaxxers and COVID-19. (BTW, the world has endured several more COVID pandemics between 19 and the book’s period.) They don’t trust the government; don’t trust the vax; don’t trust the medicines. Yet, that’s where most rush to be saved while their loved ones look on and damn the government for not doing more.
Meanwhile, wealthy people in the novel, like the billionaire character, raised his Tudor-style mansion and guest houses and outbuildings, and built a mesa out of clay, high above the flood waters, so they can keep living a safe, comfortable life.
Anyway, the book offers deep ideas on the world’s vectors from where we are to where we might be. It will make you think, or at least caused that in me. Cheers
Michael Seidel, writer 