An Essay On Man 

~Alexander Pope

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;

The proper study of Mankind is Man.

Plac'd on this isthmus of a middle state,

A being darkly wise, and rudely great:
With too much knowledge for the Sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride,
He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest,
In doubt to deem himself a God, or Beast;
In doubt his Mind or Body to prefer,
Born but to die, and reas'ning but to err;
Alike in ignorance, his reason such,
Whether he thinks too little, or too much:
Chaos of Thought and Passion, all confus'd;
Still by himself, abus'd, or disabus'd;
Created half to rise, and half to fall;
Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all;
Sole judge of Truth, in endless Error hurl'd:
The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!
    Go, wond'rous creature! mount where Science guides,
Go, measure earth, weigh air, and state the tides;
Instruct the planets in what orbs to run,
Correct old Time, and regulate the Sun;
Go, soar with Plato to th' empyreal sphere,
To the first good, first perfect, and first fair;
Or tread the mazy round his follow'rs trod,
And quitting sense call imitating God;
As Eastern priests in giddy circles run,
And turn their heads to imitate the Sun.
Go, teach Eternal Wisdom how to rule—
Then drop into thyself, and be a fool!^[10]

— Epistle II, lines 1–30

 

Approach the opening
That hides the trail.
Breathe in that first.
The difference of just these steps
That lead you to this point
Are miniscule.

Another step follows the last,
With towers coming to view.
A cathedral
With needle carpet.
A quiet introduces itself.

A breeze stirs the canopy
But never reaches your face.

You, hearing the rush,
See the bendings atop.
Here the stillness remains,
Cut only by your feet's crunch.

The blaze catches your eye,
Reminding you of raison d'etre.
Resist departure. 
Turn.
See your past.
Take another breath.
Know the next will be
Not the same. 

One finger.  One alignment.  One throw.
The sight is glaring.
The course set in ice. 

 

Forward Steps

Forward Steps -

A sacred movement comes about

where sawn between the events

is found a certitude of facts, 

beyond, again, the known challenged. 

We cry to all to assist in our quest,

a trueness needed to spike the flag,

against the barriers we refuse to sucomb,

and upwards victorious in all our battles.

Slipping

Slipping

This is no true explanation.
Your search will only return you

    to what you were taught.
It's acceptance or rejection is singular.
Personal.
Decide your beginning
    or end.
Decide when you will be responsible;
Today, right now, or when the decision.
    is made.
Make your life what it will be.
Make your existence one to be remembered.

But, by whom. 

 Global operational coal-fired power stations by country 2022

Published by N. Sönnichsen, Aug 3, 2022

 China has the greatest number of coal-fired power stations of any country or territory in the world. As of 2022, there were 1,110 operational coal power plants on the Chinese Mainland. This was nearly four times the number of such power stations in India, which ranked second. China accounts for over 50 percent of total global coal electricity generation.

Coal phase-out worldwide

Coal power plants present various health and environmental threats. Besides demanding large quantities of raw material to be burned, this energy source pollutes water and has high greenhouse gas emissions. Due to these reasons and to tackle the climate crisis, 40 countries committed to phase out their coal power plants at the COP26 summit in 2021. However, the three leading economies with the greatest number of operational coal-fired plants that year did not agree to the terms. In 2021, the global capacity of coal power plants in construction stood at 184.5 gigawatts with an additional 111.8 gigawatts announced, which is nonetheless a considerable decrease compared to the previous years.

Carbon dioxide emissions

China has been the largest coal polluter worldwide since 1990. In 2020, figures reached a record high of 7.4 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide. That year, India had the second largest carbon dioxide emissions from coal use, followed by the United States. The U.S. was either the largest or second-largest polluter for 55 years, before being overtaken by India.

A Time Late

A limit is placed as to

when you may touch your future.

That voice is not

your own.

That voice is louder than

you could ever be.

It has been heard 

by all.

They look to you.

The time will be told

when you will be told.

Again, 

that might be 

too late.

Regards.

Regrets.

Repeat.

 

 

Container

Shattered walls entangle dreams
Together reach distant wants
Repeat repeat then insist
Driven slightly to justification

Again
Again
Look through the window
See the edges.

Our Future With an EV

 Our dependency on fossil fuels is slowly being reduced, in hopes that we can "save" our planet.  This action isn't as altruistic as it sounds.  We are "saving" the planet for OUR survival.  We have seen that, in the past, this globe has the ability to remain viable return of life even after a cataclysmic event, such as the meteoric strikes in Mexico and Siberia.  The dinosaurs suffered greatly, but life continued.

The "Fuel Of The Day" we see becoming popular today is electricity, and much of its production these days is being sourced by "alternative" measures, mostly with solar panels and solar panel "farms".  

One of the, if not THE largest, worries we now face is the need to store all this power being produced.  In the past, electricity production output could be better controlled to times of need by manipulating the processes; fossil-fuel generation, hydroelectric flow increases, atomic-fuel plant accelerations.  But, with solar (and in some instances, wind) power, production is not possible to meet all the demands presented, especially when nature does not cooperate; solar at night, wind during "calms".

And then, we face the "replacement" costs for all the devices we will need to utilize with the reduction in our fossil-fuel dependency.  If our major personnel-use transportation vehicle remains as the family car, we see that we will no longer be able to head to a corner "electric station" to "fill up" our vehicle's batteries.  Technology does not currently exist that allows for super-charging a battery system within minutes.  This process has been brought down to a reasonable hours level, with most needing 2-3 hours at minimum.  However, the draw of the power needed to accomplish this task can not be provided with the infrastructure currently in place for many, if not all, homes and individual night-time charging locations.

An additional concern that most people have not realized is the additional strain Rare Earth Metals (REM) mining and refining is going to place on our environment.  While we have a long history of steel production, with its iron and coal and other large-production ores, with its sussequent known and obvious pollution results throughout the century, we also have little history with the production of these REM's currently in need.  Some of the latest literature shows that much of the earth's REMs are located in mainland China, with just a minor amount here in the USA. 

What is not known well is now much energy is needed and how much pollution is being created for each OUNCE of REM needed in our current electronic devices.  They ALL need some and some need them ALL in order to function at the level to which we have been accustomed.  

By how much are we going to be able to slow the very pollution, and its climate change, we now see if what we are replacing was LESS than what we are heading towards?  What is one ounce of a REM takes 100x more energy to produce than a ton of steel?  What if the production of one ounce of a REM pollutes the earth more than a single coal-fired generation plant for an entire year?

We don't know, and we WON'T know, as long as China is the supplier and our demand for devices continues at the current pace.

Free isn't free. And next-day delivery isn't next-day.

Amazon is beginning to feel the weight of its own size.  Making a guarantee of "same-day" or "next-day" delivery has been shown by this year's Christmas shopping season to be a near-impossibility.

With one exception, all of my recent purchases have arrived in a timely fashion.  BUT, several of them seem to have taken an around-the-world trip in getting here.

One that comes to mind is a certain recipe book.  On one day, I ordered a copy for a family member.  It was delivery WEEKS before Christmas.  Two days later, I reconsidered and ordered an additional THREE copies, both for personal use and for potential gifts.  Just two days.  These books are still out there somewhere.

When I checked two days ago, the infamous shipping flow chart showed that they had been shipped and were "Out For Delivery", even though the location they were being distributed from is 60 miles away.

Today, when I checked the status again, this same order was now located not even within 500 miles; in New Jersey.

Why do we tolerate this?  Because we've been trained to believe that "Your Order Has Shipped" means that it's actually moving somewhere.  In fact, this has really meant that your item is no longer considered part of THEIR inventory.  And, you'll get it when you get it.

I'm starting to get the feeling that "Out of Stock" is NOT part of their business model; that they glue down that ONE last item, just so it can't be placed into the queue of purchases.

Let's hope "Big Brother" Amazon doesn't creep further into our society.  This waiting for package delivery is starting to sound standing in line in the Socialist environment.  

Now I can't seem to get Ron Howard singing ….. "O-ho the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin' down the street.  Oh please let it be for me....."

QUID PRO QUO

IF there is no "quid pro quo" in government and politics, especially in the Capitol, then we should insist that Speaker Pe-lousy should be required to appoint the three Democratic members of the House, who voted AGAINST Impeachment, to "Chairman" of a House Committee. 

Then again, Party Chairman Tom Perez very likely already has them on his "HIT LIST", and they'll all be shunned and ignored, having their Party Membership challenged or revoked.

China Is Older

Consider this..

China, as a "country", has probably been in existence for over FIVE thousand years.  Its language and culture has been developed for over thousands of years, long before the birth of Christ.  The people have organized under numerous leaders, both self-declared and "elected".  It is known to have created and championed a plethora of innovations throughout its history.  The peoples have introduced, formulated, adapted, and adopted improvements of agriculture, manufacturing, and technology from the start.  People still refer to Confucius for wisdom and guidance. It is the "tortoise".

The United States of America has been in existence for LESS than 250 years. It's language was borrowed from elsewhere.  It's culture is under constant change, from decade to decade to the current hour to hour transformation.  It has, without question, been a leader of change from the time of the Industrial Revolution.  The innovations it has brought forth have impacted the entire globe.   Social Media is now it's guiding light.  It is the "hare".

China has seen societies, cultures, and countries grow, blossom, challenge it, fade away, and die.  NO ONE has ever conquered China.  NO.  ONE.  EVER.

To be so naïve to think that China "needs" anything from the USA in order to survive is pure fantasy.  It's trade "negotiations" mean nothing.  Industrial pollution is just the cost of keeping citizens employed.  As long as there is no widespread revolt, and those in power can remain in power, nothing will change.  If thousands of its people must perish in order for the state to continue, so be it.  It matters little.  Just don't drink the water.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".

There is no such thing as "personal space" in their culture.  (Have you ever encountered someone from China in a public setting and wondered how they could be so rude?  They aren't rude.  They just don't know that personal space is a "thing". ) What's theirs is theirs.  What's yours is theirs.  That's just a matter of fact.

In recent history, both Hitler and Stalin "negotiated" their positions toward one of conquest.  Their gains were made mostly under the belief by western leaders that they spoke in only truths.  And, yet, each regime lasted less than 60 years.  Communist China is over 100 years old, has had repetitive change in leadership, and shows no sign of slowing down.  It shows no desire for conquest.  It is just patiently waiting for everyone else to fail.

It is just waiting for the hare to die.

What is China waiting for?

"Six months later, after a visit to Berlin from the rudely bumbling Molotov, Hitler gave the order
for a greatly expanded plan of attack that would take place in May 1941, while
his minions continued to negotiate with Stalin’s emissaries about the trade
agreements."

Deathride, John Mosier

Rephrased....

Six months later, after a visit to Beijing from the rudely bumbling Guiliani, Xi Jinping gave the order for a greatly expanded plan of attack that would take place in 2021, while his minions continued to negotiate with Trump's  emissaries about the trade agreements.

You can't help but understand that the study of international "attacks" has been and will be used time and time again.  The attack we will see will NOT be violent, resulting in immediate deaths and destruction.  The attack we will experience will be on our technology and our dependence upon it.  An satellite-borne EMP could paralyze our entire hemisphere, making all but the overly-paranoid survivalist an eventual target for death.  Understand that we can't even receive clean drinking water once our computer-directed water system have been shut down.

If You Build It, Will They Come?

Joyce and I recently returned from a Buffalo-to-Seattle and back trip to visit with Michael, Sophia, and our newest granddaughter, Louisa.  And, yes, we drove.  Wanting to avoid certain known areas of high traffic, we used the "Canada Route" to get to Michigan and back.  Having not been west of Minnesota in ANY of our vehicle-based vacations, I used the Good Sam Trip Planner to locate and reserve campsites along our route. 

For some areas of the Country, we seldom saw other small RV's or travel-trailers sharing the road with us.  But, in others, these numbers soared.  And, depending on the time of day, they could be seen out-numbering all other vehicles with which we were traveling.

And, when it came to campgrounds, our over-night stays put us in some more-than-crowded campgrounds, regardless of how far off the beaten path we may have found ourselves; the UP of Michigan, rural Minnesota, no-where North Dakota, and mountainous Oregon.  Then, when we began our return, destination-area campgrounds became larger, more numerous, and even MORE attended.

So, what was the overwhelming realization/conclusion?

What about "us"?  Where do folks stay in Western New York when they travel here?

When I read an article last year mentioning where to go and where to stay when taking a "circle-route" around the US for those full-time RV'ers, the route COMPLETELY avoided all of this part of the State, including our "Seven Wonders of the Natural World", Niagara Falls.

Take a look at what campgrounds and the number of sites are available and you'll quickly see the probable answer.

There are NO campgrounds within 30 minutes of downtown Buffalo.  There are NO campgrounds within 5 miles of the Falls in Niagara Falls, USA, the closest being outside of the City.  In contrast, there are no less than a DOZEN campgrounds in Yellowstone and nearly as many within 10 minutes of Mount Rushmore, each garnering 100's, maybe even 1000's of RV-traveling visitors.

What is one of the largest complaints we constant from Niagara Falls business owners?  People come.  Visit the Falls.  Then, leave within 2 hours after arriving.  Having recently visited the Niagara Falls Reservation State Park, Joyce and I saw parking lot after parking lot after parking lot, with empty store front after empty store front after empty store front.  The only "density" of people/vehicles was seen directly around the Seneca Niagara Cassino.  GAMBLING should NOT be what Niagara Falls retains any tourist with.

Granted, western towns like Cle Elam, Custer, and Jackson have a, well, "western" appeal to them, but once you get past all the souvenir stands, there are still the bars, restaurants, and "necessaries" that every traveler still demands; banks, drug stores, grocery stores.  BUT, neither downtown Niagara Falls OR Buffalo have addressed any of these same offerings.  And what WORSENS the whole experience for either urban area is the total lack of parking accomodations within a reasonable distance of the urban core.  Try taking an RV into the downtown core of Buffalo and tell me where you finally find a place to park. I'll wait.

   

Look in the mirror

Global warming?  Maybe.

Climate change?  Probably.

Man-made?  More likely than not.

The United States as the largest contributor?  Depends.

Depends on what?  Depends on whether or not you consider the US CONSUMER as part of that contribution.  And NOT just considering what your daily fossil-fuel usage might be; heating, cooling, electricity, travel fuels. 

Consider first what device upon which you may be viewing this.  Consider how much energy it takes to locate, mine, process, and refine those milligrams of rare earth metals that are used in IT and every other phone, pad, laptop, computer, server, switch, and satellite needed to type and see this message.

Consider next how the country in which these resources are produced cares LITTLE about how it hurts our world's environment, and cares more about an economy strong enough to keep its peoples employed and fed.  Consider how NOT doing so would result in MILLIONS of its citizens revolting, showing the world another failed communist/socialist attempt at government.

The leaders and governments of both India and China are in NO position to have a concern about how an American consumer might need to dispose of another lithium-ion battery, how much arsenic there might be in the pigments that color that child's toy or drinking cup, or how many tons of pollutants are spewed into the atmosphere or oceans.  They need to provide their manufacturing firms the opportunity to provide just enough employment wages for a majority of their population to keep them housed and fed.  If the air everyone breathes or the water everyone drinks causes a deadly disease, so much the better; fewer people to worry about.

So, saying that the United States and its citizens are the largest contributors to climate change, you'll have to qualify that by asking how much "new" is enough.  We've raised generations on "disposable" to the point where anything that lasts longer than 10 years is TOO old-fashioned to be worthwhile. 

There's a reason that some of these items have lasted that long.  And very little of it has to do with heavy metals.

I Don't Need To Turn My Furnace On When I'm Not Home

I remember when having a Remote Control for a television was a HUGE convenience.  Just think.  You needn't stand up and walk across the room and turn the DIAL to get the next station OR to raise/lower the volume.  You didn't have to adjust the "Color" and "Hue", "Contrast" and "Balance".  Then,  once you disconnected from your chimney-mounted 32-prong antennae, with its TV-top directional locator, and sold your soul to "the cable company, they took care of all that for you.

You no longer had to stand in line for your $5.00 popcorn and $3.00 soda once Home Box Office arrived.  You just popped an Orville Redenbacher in the microwave and saved that $8.00. On top of that, you needn't drive to your local mall and it's TWO screen theater.  That $1.50 ticket price now seemed EXPENSIVE compared to the entire MONTH of movies right at home.

Now?  Two generations later, the "Big Screen" isn't seen in Panavision stretched across a 65 foot stage.  Penny candy now costs a buck.  And "Recliners" aren't just for falling asleep in while watching the late evening news.

Forget about signing up for another "loyalty" or "frequent shopper" key-tag.  Those new "chip" cards, the ones that are more secure, keep track of every cup of coffee, every head of cabbage, each and every beer and order of nachos you ever had or will have for the rest of your life.  That information is then collated, organized, evaluated, and recorded, then SOLD to the highest bidder so they can glean whatever they want.  You think that the shower curtain you just searched for on Amazon is now Magically appearing on your cellphone by chance?  Good one.

Last week, an AI program was introduced to the game of Chess and, within FOUR HOURS, without even being given ANY guidance, was able to beat a Grand Master.  FOUR HOURS.  Why?  Because it was NOT following any man-made approach, using its own, self-taught agenda.  What did it do?  It had NO regard for or assigned any emotional attachment to the pieces.  It only wanted to win.  And it did.

The total imbalance of the worth of a vote from anyone living outside of metropolitan NYC will never be addressed.
Bad enough there are more Assembly Districts in that area than the rest of NYS combined.
BUT, they're also allowed more SENATE seats because of their higher population, contrary to the definition of what it, the Senate, was supposed to represent.

 

 

departing views seen with humor

a longing

melancholy

morning with coffee and

facing in the right direction

 see the horizon and falling stars

wrest the urge to stay

a comfortable sleep

the frosty morning

again

and again

All it takes is to put a label on something or someone to achieve a positive defense or a negative attack. 
When did we become a world defined by adjectives?