Monthly Archives: November 2021

Sailing through life

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As the fall has moved on, mariner has focused more time on the internal affairs of home and garden. It is a relief not to follow closely each day’s news and thereby carry the weight of misguided voters and politicians, regardless of polarity and party.

He has completed repotting the frost-sensitive bulbs and plants; he has made a small bench to hold flower pots in his office; he has cleared the vegetable gardens for next year; next are the trellises and rabbit-guards necessary for the survival of small vulnerable shrubs. As winter sets in he has maintenance to do on tractors, lawnmowers and in-house projects like repairing a door and some basement windows.

Then there is the family gathering at Christmas; it is a week of immeasurable cacophony and family joy. The world ends at the front door.

But his mood is a lot like someone who is aware of impending doom. It is a feeling of despair that has dried of activity and lay like an ash at the back of the mind. Daily life continues with projects and distractions but there is a faint sense in the background that the outside world isn’t going to be kind.

So mariner will continue focusing on distractions like how to make a smart television do what mariner wants it to do – it can’t; mariner needs a tower for digital broadcasting; streaming is not convenient and is intensely iterative. In January the seed catalogs will arrive virtually every day for a month. Will this be the year mariner builds a small, traditional greenhouse? The backyard needs to be graded; mariner hasn’t used a bobcat since he laid a road to the farm equipment shed – maybe 1995. The orchard will get a trimming in January, too. A year from now in 2022 mariner plans to make his first batch of apple cider.

A hospice can be fun if one knows how to work it. As a Christmas gift for him, mariner has suggested a hover board.

Ancient Mariner

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Indeed so. These years are difficult to manage and offer little reward for our efforts. Confronted with a pandemic, an irrational president, a changing work environment and a period of unusually intense generational shift, such broad confrontational experience makes us experts.

Everyone probably rehearses what to say or not if anything about politics, religion, the old days or the in-laws pops up during the holiday gathering. As an aid, mariner provides a quote about arguing. Credited to Jonathan Haidt, Professor of Ethical Leadership at New York University, it’s an analogy about the effects of arguing by using a rider on an elephant:

“Think of the rider as your rational mind and the elephant as everything else about you, the automatic processes, the 99 percent of what’s going on in your mind that you’re not aware of.”

Most of us spend our time trying to reach the rider. This is us forwarding fact-checks, arguing about the integrity of Dominion voting machines, or debating the evidence in the Rittenhouse trial. But Haidt notes, “if the elephant doesn’t want to move, then no rider in the world can force him into motion. The elephant simply overpowers the rider.”

So don’t waste time arguing. The elephant isn’t going to move. Further, don’t take it personally – the elephant doesn’t.

Tomorrow is a day of consuming, not only of great cuisine but of the joy of family, friends and the pleasure of being in a caring environment.

Make it last; the world still will be there on Monday.

Ancient Mariner

Thoughts on Evolution

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Mariner writes this blog to avoid picking the last apples to make a year’s supply of apple butter. Why does he defeat himself with laziness? His thoughts turn to what evolution has created in the 900,000 years of creating the hominid line. It certainly hasn’t stood still. Everyone has seen the ascent of man chart. Mariner provides a variation below:

Paleontologists often identify key transitions that mark different physiological species. The most common are when –

֎ Early monkey species came down from the trees. Groups or tribes of the new ape species began to have a more stationery society and expanded their diet to more insects, small creatures and additional low vegetation like roots.

֎ In Northern Africa there were periods of drought that forced the ape-hominid to forage more widely. The demands of this long lasting period demanded the ability to range even farther, taking more energy and stamina to sustain the species. Two key evolutionary improvements were the ability to perspire and a brain that could take charge of basic visceral functions when hunting, thereby allowing man to outrun animals by wearing them down.

֎ But something new was happening. Evolution was changing the brain. By the time these early hominids left Africa, frontal lobes were growing rapidly in the brain. Early man began to have the ability to surmise beyond physical reality. There was a new smartness that required logic to perceive advantage. When the early hominids arrived in the Fertile Crescent, the area had perfect weather and a robust ecosystem. Man surmised, “If we’re going to eat so much of this grass (Kamut/Khorasan, an ancient version of wheat), why not collect the seeds and grow it more conveniently”. Because an excess of resources could be created, this was the beginning of agriculturally-based society and feudal capitalism as well.

֎ Evolution had provided man, by then called Homo erectus, the advantage to breed rapidly and consequently H. erectus had to expand territory across whole continents in order to sustain what was considered a safe survivability. Evolutionary ethics promotes successful survivability; expansion is possible because of a certain advantage to the species. This is not new; today consider the Lionfish, a flourishing invasive species in U.S. Southeast and Caribbean coastal waters. The difference is that Lionfish do not have frontal lobes. Humans, on the other hand, know full well the relationship between investment and profit: “chop those trees down, damn it, there’s money to be made!” or maybe, “Kill those savages, they aren’t Christians!” Both logical in evolutionary terms.

֎ Since Roman times in the West, Human frontal lobes have taken over ethical control of what used to mean ‘survival’ to the planet’s ecosystems – themselves a product of evolution but without frontal lobes. Humans with their ever growing frontal lobes have expanded into Einstein’s universe of time and space and they are eager to expand beyond this planet to leverage the profit motive even while significant numbers of the human species languish on Earth.

– – – –

Mariner stops here to pick apples. What about these frontal lobes? Are they a self-destructive error on evolution’s part? Thousands of species including many Homo precursors have gone extinct because of unintended shortcomings.

Have a happy holiday season!

Ancient Mariner

 

More about gumption

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Mariner is one of millions of older people all around the world – beyond career, beyond younger generations, beyond participation. Recently he assigned the word ‘gumption’ to the special motivation it takes to be a successful old person. Below is another description from folks who know a lot more about it than mariner does. Being old himself, he understands clearly how true these words are from The Journal of Positive Psychology in 2016:

“Coherence: how events fit together. This is an understanding that things happen in your life for a reason. That doesn’t necessarily mean you can fit new developments into your narrative the moment they happen, but you usually are able to do so afterward, so you have faith that you eventually will.” [coherence means one is an engaged part of reality, a fellow player]

“Purpose: the existence of goals and aims. This is the belief that you are alive in order to do something. Think of purpose as your personal mission statement, such as “the purpose of my life is to share the secrets to happiness” or “I am here to spread love abundantly.”

“Significance: life’s inherent value. This is the sense that your life matters. If you have high levels of significance, you’re confident that the world would be a tiny bit—or perhaps a lot—poorer if you didn’t exist.”

It takes a lot of gumption to sustain these three values, especially if you live alone, especially if you are infirm and shut in, especially if you are financially destitute.

If you are an old folk and have difficulty with these descriptions, depression and slow demise will occur. If you are a young person, your gumption still is required to apply these principles to have a happier life.

Arouse your gumption and turn things around. Be prepared; no career has ever required more effort.

Ancient Mariner

 

The Next World War

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Understand that mariner and his alter egos do not have the ability to predict anything. Mariner just reads tea leaves . . .

What makes world wars ‘world wars’ is a unification of several nations united against a group of other nations; typically the nations are spread about a bit and share partially unified political, military and economic support. Modern telecommunications have allowed a number of autocratic governments to quickly, by historic standards, share objectives, strategies and resistance to other nations that they consider to be enemies (all democracies). Below is a list of the leaders of these autocratic nations – all of which already plot support for one another in an effort to stave off pressures from democratic nations.

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela

Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus

Vladimir Putin, Russia

Xi Jinping, China

Recep Erdogan, Turkey

There are, all in all, 50 significant dictatorships around the world but the list above actively is plotting to disrupt or weaken democratic influence in world politics and economics. One dictatorship of note is excluded because it lacks the sophistication of the other dictatorships: North Korea, who on its own is an unpredictable and uncontrollable disruption.

The fuses that will ignite destructive behavior are neighboring nations and organizations. For example, not many news cycles go by before mention is made of Poland, NATO, Ukraine, Slovakia and Lithuania – just to name nations adjacent to Russian-controlled Eastern Europe.

China has made it clear that only China will dominate the Pacific; Taiwan definitely is a fuse and, possibly, Australia. Japan has committed to support the U.S. and Taiwan if conflict erupts.

Since the Vietnam War, nuclear agreements have pushed off Armageddon but recently both Russia and China (along with North Korea) have active production of more nuclear rockets. Also, since the Vietnam War economic sanctions have held errant behavior to a degree but this is an increasingly irrelevant strategy – particularly with Russia.

If open conflict occurs, it will not be a typical bullet war like World War II or Vietnam. The war will be fought largely by electronically disrupting the internet, satellites, banks, utilities, military intelligence and international supply chains and, given the added pressures of global warming, immigrants themselves will be weaponized to cause disruption in a nation’s functionality – note Belarus already is using immigrants to disrupt Eastern European politics.

Open conflict will not encircle the planet as it did in past world wars but will be used as a distraction and an aggravated disruption while more economic and technological advantages are pursued. Count on smaller, less affluent nations to be battle zones.

What can’t be predicted is the intense interruption that will be caused by global warming. Whether there is open war or not, every nation will be tested in its own sovereignty by flooding, droughts and continent-sized changes in agricultural stability – not to mention massive human migrations and economies drained by a pure need to physically survive.

A highly speculative thought is if open conflict can be delayed until 2040, global warming may prevent any thought of war as nations shift to survival mode.

The Zees have their hands full.

Ancient Mariner

 

Caste the mote

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Mariner stumbled across a small analysis that suggests the United States is struggling with an ingrown caste system very much like the caste system that exists in India. Americans don’t pay much attention to India (they should, it’s a sumo nation). India covers a large part of Asia and has a cultural history dating back six thousand years. The culture is a mix of authoritarianism, Buddhism, Hinduism and a current political structure instituted by the British occupation during the age of Colonialism (1600s to mid-1900s).  Rather than devote pages of copy to describing India’s history, mariner will provide simplistic comparisons between the two caste systems. A simple chart describes India’s caste system:

The smaller type in parentheses is helpful. Twice Born, loosely interpreted, means those who were born under normal circumstances but remade themselves into successful leaders of the nation, religion or wealth. In the United States a similar structure exists with different terminology. For example, where would the reader put the white-college-successful democratic party? Where would the reader put the labor class? Taking into consideration India’s stronger theocracy, where would the reader put conservative evangelicals? And obviously, where would descendants of slavery be put? And the Oligarchs and capitalists?

Mariner hopes this is enough information to demonstrate how castes work. Certainly the two systems don’t reflect identical cultures but the point of the analysis was how hard it is to deconstruct what are, in fact, culturally cemented castes. The samples mariner used for the United States date back to the nation’s origin. The first settlement introduced slavery from the get-go. Remember the Puritans? Remember Native American genocide? Etc. etc.

That the Declaration of Independence says ‘all men are created equal’ doesn’t displace Western Civilization’s long practiced, class-based social structure.

Having read the analysis – just a paragraph in a larger article about politics – mariner now has a different perspective about the troubles the U.S. is having. Maybe people can’t break embedded castes but a pandemic plus artificial intelligence together are having a go at it. Primarily, the changes are superficial and economic in nature, caused by recent changes in elitist society. Unfortunately the embedded castes like racism, Christian theocracy and plutocracy will be around for the foreseeable future.

Is there a U.S. comparison to India’s sacred cows (in light of the fact that the United States virtually eliminated the existence of the American Buffalo)?

Ancient Mariner

 

Read all about it!

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In the news. Newsy broadcasting had an article about marijuana and the current attempt by Congress to make it nationally legal so it can be taxed. Turns out the marijuana older folk played with had 3 percent THC; today the hybridized weed contains as much as 30 percent. Further, medical cards issued by doctors are relatively easy to acquire (fake). With a medical card a person can buy a tar-like concentrate that often causes serious emotional problems and physical damage to the brain. Newsy interviewed a mother whose son died from abuse.

In the News. Britney Spears wins release from conservatorship. Britney’s father demonstrated an evil, abusive, perhaps even psychotic abuse of his daughter for 14 years. Not that Britney was an angel by any means but those wild times have been behind her for years; it has been made clear that her ongoing career was financially curtailed by her father. Truly, money often is at the root of evil. Conservatorship is supposed to be an aid to those who can’t make rational decisions about money and other decisions that affect one’s wellbeing.

In the news. “The Liberty Way”: How Liberty University Discourages and Dismisses Students’ Reports of Sexual Assaults. Jerry Falwell’s university joins the company of athletic managers allowing sexual abuse of the women’s Olympic gymnastics team. An article published by ProPublica reports that the University ignored reports of rape and threatened to punish accusers for breaking its moral code, say former students. An official who says he was fired for raising concerns calls it a “conspiracy of silence.” Read the full account at

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-liberty-way-how-liberty-university-discourages-and-dismisses-students-reports-of-sexual-assaults?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletter&utm_content=feature

In the news. The former chief executive of a tech company in suburban Chicago who lost his job after he threw a chair inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot was sentenced Friday to 30 days imprisonment. Rukstales was forced out as CEO of Cogensia and sold interests in the firm after his participation in the riot became known and the boards of directors for the firm’s clients were ready to cancel contracts. Is it a threatening thought to realize that not everyone at the riot was a gun-toting, white supremacist labor class person? Remember the pillow guy?

This post is a crude attempt to emulate yellow journalism. Similar to TV news, so much sensationalism is thrown at the reader it is hard to determine whether some subtle implication may have importance.

For example, marijuana has had a level, generic aura about it all along except for its early twentieth century association with opiates. Who knew it had morphed into a potent psychedelic? How that was unnoticed is the more important story.

In Britney’s case it is the regulations for invoking conservatorship. There must be hundreds of abused conservatorships that aren’t reported because the individual doesn’t have a famous profile. The same applies to other decisions like moving someone into a hospice. Living will regulations have been developed as a response to some issues but regulations may be lacking when deciding about someone else’s wellbeing. Morally speaking, no human should be reduced to a simple commodity.

As for the membership of the rioters, the real story is how potent the danger to democracy is given the amount of money involved in weakening elections and the broad but unreported cultural membership of the rioters.

Ancient Mariner

A pause to ponder

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Mariner’s wife has traveled west to visit our children and grandchildren. Mariner is left in a quiet home. Cold weather has shut down outside activity. Still, there are chores to be done, Amaryllis to be forced and some apples to process. Later there will be repair to outside furniture and garden trellises.

But Thanksgiving approaches, spirits will be lifted as we celebrate the humanness within us via our families and friends. Then there’s Christmas and New Year. It truly is a time to huddle and martial our awareness to important spiritual strengths and to restore common civility – feelings that have been bruised by our society.

There are certain physical tasks that we must perform to assure wellness in a time when wellness is hard to come by. Each of us must physically in person perform a charitable act, not just one but as many as we can muster. There is a vast number of poor and destitute who are forgotten by government, by the income-secure among us and by those of us claiming a successful life. Many thousands of US citizens don’t know where the next meal will occur and many of those have dependent children. Do some research to help target your affirmation as a civil human being. Meet their need. Be the Good Samaritan.

In these days of turmoil across all facets of our society, it is important to strengthen our sense of self. We must organize our positive civil abilities to be centered and strong as we struggle with an unstable society. Nothing speaks to personal confidence and security more than sharing.

Ancient Mariner

 

A small light of wisdom

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Internet-based journalists contribute more about the science of the future workplace than television journalists. For example, several journalists have begun to analyze the impact of artificial intelligence on organizational structure, speculating about psychological, sociological and economic concepts. As a group these journalists poo-poo the Zuckerberg view of his metaverse that will replace three-dimensional space in the workplace.

Annie Pearl, Chief Product Officer at Calendly, a platform for building business applications, predicts that transitions will center on three-way efficiency through collaborative dialogue exchanged between IT, end users and product teams. Another theme among journalists is that the biggest loser in new AI-driven businesses is middle management; AI will expedite development and decision making to a near real-time event – no time or need to pass proposals and permissions up and down organizational boundaries. Many teams may not even have a “boss”.

Chris Perrotti, VP of Digital Workplace at LogMeIn, suggests that Generation Zers will have a different perspective on the workplace that diminishes literal definitions about workplace versus remote workplace; whatever works will be what happens. Speed is the new management strategy rather than literal top-down authority.

Generation Zs, born between 1997 and 2012, just now are entering the workforce. Mariner suggests the visions of the new futurists may take 10 – 15 years to emerge from the din we now experience. Nevertheless it is pleasing to see well-grounded intellectual thought beginning to map our new AI future. It is time we silenced money grubbers like Donald and Zuckerberg and looked for new, insightful leadership – including at all levels of government.

As a follow up to mariner’s post about being done with 2021, there are suggestions that don’t sound like the ‘work’ mariner suggested. How about crossword puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, many forms of art, and an endless list of activities that include classification, categorization and even purpose-driven travel – perhaps to see in person the world’s largest ball of string in Branson, Missouri. At the most expensive end of the list is the large RVers who flock to the southern states.

Whatever the distraction, make sure it keeps the reader from suffering the deadly outpouring of 2021 daily news.

Ancient Mariner

 

Call 2021 a year done with.

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Does anyone still watch TV news? First, the broadcasts are full of nothing but disaster; nothing is accomplished anywhere unless it is an increase in aggressive populism, crime rates, failure in the ecosystem, threatened democracy or the gathering of war clouds. Second, the news is targeted and skewed to attract and sustain certain types of viewers; consequently news is soaked in criticism, drama and biased speculation. ‘News’ must be redefined to mean, as Joe Friday said, “All we want is the facts, Ma’am.”

Even more destructive is that society now gets its ‘facts’ from social media.

So, in November it is a good time to return to hibernation in the home. The colder weather turns one’s mind to inside hobbies and events – something like the string of fall and winter holidays or making some hearty soups and casseroles. With the weather changing, it is time to bake rather than grill.

It may be a good time to put down the smart phone and pursue old fashioned hobbies like knitting or repairing that wobbly chair. One task that is always needed is to clean out the filing cabinets, closets and the garage. A chore mariner faces is to paint and refurbish lawn furniture. How many years has it been since the lawn mower blades have been sharpened? It’s a good time to paint that back hall. Visit family you haven’t seen for a while.

The point is this: Everyone, rich or poor, young or old, smart or dumb or any race – needs to refocus on the self; society is unstable and not much comfort to the self. The trick is to occupy one’s time doing things on a firsthand basis, doing something where you determine a successful outcome all by yourself! Mariner likes the analogy of a bear preparing for the winter: eat well, make a comfortable place for yourself and stay in for the winter.

Perhaps your sanity and scruples will be better prepared for next spring . . .

Ancient Mariner