Loyalty without truth
is a trail to tyranny.
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a middle-aged George Washington
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Wednesday, 17 December 2014 at 2h 4m 7s | Wonderall |
If you have never heard it
before click here.
This is one of my favorite old compositions from 2001. I can't remember how to play it now, but if
I bothered to sit down and figure it out again I probably could. Anyway, I listen to it every now
and then. Hope you enjoy it.
I created it over the summer of 2001. While the Cheney commission was busy working with Oil
executives over the carving of the oil fields of Iraq. How innocent we were back then. The big
issue of the day was a spif in Asia over China getting upset with our military planes flying over
their airspace. Who woulda thunk that 5 months later airplanes would be a so much bigger and
transformative issue.
Wow, yea, we really were naive that summer of 2001.
The song is named "Wonderall".
| Wednesday, 17 December 2014 at 0h 52m 24s | Winter Storm #3 |
Winter Strom #3 is packing some rain, but it drizzles and stops for 15 minutes and then picks up
tempo and rains for 15 minutes, repeat. Notice the long North-South cloud tail.
This is typical winter storm formation on the west coast. A weather system "Low" spins counter
clockwise and what happens is one of the tails of the "spin" winds up going South to North into the
California coastline. West coast weather is a series of spinning bands of water, unlike the East
coast. The North-South tail brings the rain and dumps it all over California while it moves
Northward into the coast. Then it spreads out a little bit over the valley and slams snow into the
Sierra Nevada mountain range. That snow is the water supply of the entire California population
(much like Lebanon -- another arid environment that depends on winter storms bringing snow to the
mountains just off the coastline.)
Right now (according to the California Department of Water Resources ) the snow pack is about 50% of normal
for this time of year, but still only about 12% of the April 1st average. Rain disappears in
California after April until November, with rare exception. So these last 3 winter storms are a big
help in easing the drought, but California is far from out of danger. We need about 3 or 4 more
winter storms to get even close to 75% of the April 1st average.
Let's cross our fingers. We were dangerously close this last summer from water rationing.
| Wednesday, 17 December 2014 at 0h 37m 53s | Immigrants next door you say ? Really? |
This says it all -- despite not mentioning Native American Indians.
| Friday, 12 December 2014 at 2h 51m 24s | The current weather |
This is the second winter storm actually. Here is a picture at 6:25 pacific time.
It's been raining steadily all day since 6 am. It's now 6 pm. It is still raining. The wind is
not as bad as it has been in past winter storms, but the rain is intense and steady. I cannot
recall a winter storm that had so much rain as this one. We probably got 6 inches or more in a 12
hour time frame.
| Thursday, 11 December 2014 at 23h 52m 24s | Poem |
It's your bad attitude
You have to find a way
you have to be the one that says the right things
you have to listen when the time comes
you have be the one that steps aside
lets people go down their path
and then be there without judgement
if per chance people ask you for advice.
Don't tell them what they want to hear
although that's really what most people want
when they ask for advice
they want you to reinforce their concrete mind
with soft words that massage the cracks
and the imperfections
the insecurities
the uncertainties
the ambivalence about the great unknown.
But ...
You should however do just the opposite.
You should just tell it like it is
state the facts
explain your point of view
and let the words fall where they may
pull apart the crevaces in the paradigm
throw the crystal mirage on the floor
and let the pieces shatter
because there is no sanctuary in a fragile ghost of larceny
in which the theft is of the true self
the potential in all humanity
the possibility of something better
something more sustainable and long lasting
than the temporary soothing of an irrational artifice.
So step aside while the fools trip over themselves in utter stupidity.
Don't laugh
have empathy with your fellow humans
because after all
other people
are just like you.
They do stupid things sometimes.
They make mistakes.
Sometimes they got a lot on their mind
and yea well sorry
shit just happens.
Don't go looking for blame
because
the constellation of reasons for why things happened
is beyond your mortal capacity to fathom in the moment.
Maybe one day in the future.
Maybe.
Maybe you might understand how things just turned into crap
but right now
right now you are filled with emotion
and your mind can't make sense of all the things you think are evidence
because actually you are just focusing on whatever invigorates your emotion
and you can't see anything else.
You are in no shape to be an imperfect observer of all events and details.
So calm down.
Take a deep breath.
Step back and see the bigger picture.
| Tuesday, 30 September 2014 at 1h 50m 8s | Nawlins Napsters Wins --- 8 years in a row. |
The time has come for me to brag about my fantasy baseball prowess. A small consolation for my tiny
little ego. (Yea, right.)
The second league was much more difficult. Only in September did I begin to separate from the pack
-- thanks to Jacob DeGrom, Drew Storen, Carl Crawford, Starling Marte, Jorge Soler, and Wilmer Flores.
Let league number one be a testiment to the insignificance of batting average in the modern era. I
was last in batting average but still beat the living crap pants off of everyone in
the league. Honestly, I'm a little surprised myself, but that's what happened.
And please take notice, you win with pitching.
| Wednesday, 27 August 2014 at 2h 41m 12s | Thought of the Day |
Greed always undermines the essence or means of existence that enabled wealth in the first place.
The studios of Hollywood are filled with dramas and plots involving the self-destructive paths of
greedy selfish fools who couldn't see past the inner spirals ending in their demise. People lose
millions of dollars trying to gamble at twice the odds, just to make more money; or they spread their
investments too thin because they want more and don't have the capacity to stop while they are
ahead. Relationships often fall
apart because one of the two people wants too much of the other person to the point where that other
person feels that they are being taken for granted, or that their love is not being being
reciprocated. Greed is the entropy that disrupts a normally smooth functioning system -- because some
people want more than others, or have to go faster than others, or have to be the first to get
attention, etc. , which tilts the dynamics of the system
out of balance.
As such, our modern aristocrats can't see past their own small pecuniary interests and narrow
circles of influential patrons. The vast majority aren't interested in
developing and investing in a nation, but in making more profits, paying less taxes, and getting
some sort of recognition. At least
this is the net result of their actual aggragate actions, regardless of the convoluted and lexical
political
language that is often spoken as cosmetics over the actual intention. They assume themselves to be the
pillars of the human race, worthy of privileges by their extreme wealth and self-inflated rank. The
foundations and non-profits that they fund are really just organizations that pursue their own
agendas. They are not really an investment in society but an extension of their ideology which
captures more
of the social order within its grasping fingers. Basically, they want to buy a moral statement.
It's not charity, but an extension of their pride
and authority, a moral authority through which they establish a connection in a paternal sense,
another branch of the empire beneath their feet.
Taxing
societies members and then paying for certain social opportunities (like college, health care, or
police ) out of the collected tax dollars is ALWAYS more effective and efficient than out sourcing
this collection of money to various wealthy philanthropists. So when the mega-wealthy and their
hired spokespersons always praise charities as the antidote to big bad government, they reveal
themselves for what they actually mean.
| Friday, 15 August 2014 at 2h 21m 35s | Yes I am still alive |
Once again, I have gone dark for a few months. Rest assured that I have gone nowhere, but I have
been spending time doing a lot of research on nutrition that is totally mind blowing (look up Gary
Taubes on youtube) of which I will get around to
start blogging about sometime soon. That's why I'm really doing this blog post -- to remind myself
to do it.
I've also been going through this whole "Common Core" charade that strikes at the heart of the
profession I love, which pains me quite dearly. However, I am a hopeless perpetual optimist. I
refuse to get
stressed about matters of which I have no control, and insist upon viewing the insanity of transition
with a positive view towards finding the beneficial nuggets that exist. After all, even a pile of
shit has
enough nutrients to sustain flies and various species of bacteria, right?
I haven't been wanting to blog my opinions about "Common Core" for a lot of different reasons;
but the number one reason is respect for Terra Nova High School and the wonderful school district
for which I work.
Because truth-be-told, the district is itself amidst a sea of change outside of its control. They are
all good people, and I feel fortunate to work with such dedicated, integrity-filled people. Hence, I
have no desire to raise contention and ruckus about matters external to the district's control,
because I
know parents and students may quite possibly read this blog, and I don't want anyone getting the
wrong impression about the place where I absolutely love to be working.
And frankly, teaching is always hard. You don't do this job unless you understand the time you work
for 36 weeks. 60 times 36 (2160) is the MINIMUM number of hours per year -- which is more than 40
times 50 (2000)
weeks. BY 160 HOURS, OR 4 MORE WEEKS OF 40 HOURS.
(YEA, that's right, teachers work at least 4
more weeks per year than the normal 40 hour per week worker who works for 50 weeks and gets 2 weeks of
total vacation -- holidays included)
This is why I detest "experts" who have never taught. They think
teaching is something that can be mass-packaged and standardized.
Because it's not. Teaching is getting to know 150+ students every year and being able to somehow
create a schedule of events and activities that best meet the needs of every single one of those
150+ students. You can't put that in plastic-wrap in sell it, but oh don't let that stop them from
advertizing otherwise and using dramatic cinematography to oversimplify reality and make a selling
point -- the purpose of which IS ALWAYS the desire to make money. That's why all the big textbook
companies (Pearson especially) developed the common core standards.
I better stop. Peace out.
| Thursday, 29 May 2014 at 4h 36m 28s | The Inimitable Vin Scully |
Jamie Womack had been in the minor leagues 13 years and just got his first call up to the MLB as a
Los Angeles Dodger. He was asked by Vin Scully whether it bothered him. According to Vin Scully,
Jamie's response was ...
I didn't put much emphasis on where I wasn't. I worried about where I was.
--Jamie Womack
UPDATE: The kid (well, he is younger than me) comes up to pinch hit. Vin Scully details the events.
Most people do not know his background. He's certainly well put together. He's 6 foot 2 and 220
pounds.... All those years. All those nights waiting and praying to get the phone call. Well let's
see what happens.... And a one hoper, right to the glove hand of the first basemen. Well, you
can't hit it much harder than that.
| Thursday, 22 May 2014 at 23h 41m 34s | Thought of the day |
Man will always feel alienated from the environment.
Man took the jungle, the wilderness, the
marshlands, and the prairies from the other animals. Mankind altered the environment to suit the
needs of the feeding and tbe aggregating of more people. Animals that could be eaten, controlled,
or herded
were gathered and put in between fences, into pens, and within barns. The other animals were
exterminated, one by
one, and the effectiveness depended upon the belligerence or protest of the animals in question.
Those that were passive remained. Those that were aggressive in their rights, such as tigers,
usually lived on the verge of extinction, until the civilization of mankind got to a point where
there was no more question as to whom was at the top of the food chain, and then these aggressive
species got some sanctimony from humans who wanted to put them in zoos and look at them on Saturday
afternoon's while eating popcorn and ice cream with the kids.
Now that mankind has become the creator of the environment, this theft of the Earth by one
species has left a void. Yet, the instincts of the homo sapiens have not abated; even if the
environment
in which we have evolved over millions of years has vastly changed in the last 4,000 years. The theft
of the landscape has now inverted, and mankind is now stealing from one another.
Or as Nostradamus once said in a famous prophesy, "...and man will become a man eater."
I heard that line from a movie by Orsen Welles who narrated a film about Nostradamus I saw while in
High School. To this day, I still hear the same audio track I hear 30 something years ago.
In fact, I probably repeat myself. I know I've said as much at some point in this blog over the last
12 years.
BTW, yes, I'm finally back after a long absence.
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