skipper

  • Yes, it’s common knowledge that few citizens think Congress cares about them – about 74 percent on a recent poll, another poll had it in the 80s. Two large and lengthy articles have been written this week abo […]

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    By Wiley:

    Is it possible that our eager scientists are consumed by the phrase, “I do it because I can”? Is Homo sapiens ready for an automated lifestyle? Is the biosphere ready for Homo sapiens to have […]

    • I doubt if it was ever one problem at a time. Even as Rome was burning there was the eternal question, “What’s for supper?”

      The answer to the question “Can we Homos handle it?” is Yes We Can! (Wouldn’t that make a catchy political slogan?)

  • Everyone should make a point of continuing to learn new things about life and nature. Like exercises, we do it every day, right? However, mariner offers a few classes below that are interesting.

    ֎ From […]

  • An afterthought is death by assault rifle. Do you have a bullet-proof vest? You have a beard, you know. Is that socially questionable?

  • On January 10, 2022. Mariner posted the following:

    “Poignantly, mariner misses the word ‘gay’. It was a richly nuanced word that combined the sensation of friendly, entertaining and memorable into a three lette […]

    • An afterthought is death by assault rifle. Do you have a bullet-proof vest? You have a beard, you know. Is that socially questionable?

  • For most readers, this is a new word. Roughly speaking, it means the set of sounds in a language. We are accustomed to using written letters to organize our language into words, grammar and the expression of […]

  • Mariner’s wife took him on a Father’s Day trip to the next county, known for its small villages and the fact that there are no stop lights in the entire county. But – they have the largest milkshakes he has ever […]

    • Mariner’s wife should add that this question did not come out of nowhere. It was based on the discussion that if we age and die due to shrinking telomeres, it is possible that science will find a way to extend life through manipulation of telomeres. The problem then becomes–if everyone has the opportunity to live almost forever then how do you control the population? Hence the question: would you give up having children if it meant you could live forever? And if you chose to have children, wouldn’t you also have to agree to a shortened life span for them? It gets complicated very quickly! Which leads to the question, would it be better to live in a world without science and just have two ponies and a cart?

  • Mariner is an old codger. The wiring between his brain and his mouth is damaged. Consequently, he cannot recall words, especially nouns and names of things if the mouth is asking for them – the brain knows but w […]

  • Mariner was questioned “Who is Amos?” referring to the mention of that name in the last post. Mariner apologizes for having an empty page under the Heading ‘About the Author’ which has been blank for several […]

  • The post heading is the title of a book by Donald Worster.[1] It is about the relationship between humans and the planet. In a sentence in the book, he says, “We are not of this planet.” Nevertheless, Mr. Wor […]

  • There must be dozens of worries from which to choose. Perhaps start with some of the big ones: A failing democracy, the collapse of religion, war with China, Trump becomes President, Social Security gets chopped, […]

  • Last year and early this Spring mariner wrote about some deals he made with indigenous wildlife in his yard. Indigenous means Creeping Charlie and moles, both known as pests.

    The deal with Creeping Charlie is […]

  • ֎ Mariner always suspected there was something wrong about the Holy Bible: A school district in Utah pulled the Bible from the school libraries because it had ‘vulgarity and violence’ in it. That explains why, […]

    • Your story on the voters data base “ERIC” was featured tonight on the PBS Newshour.

    • We’ve had the “Nextdoor” app, site, whatever ya call it for several years now. It’s a great way to see how uneducated your neighbors are. It’s like the neighborhood Facebook page, which I joined and unjoined in rapid succession. You can’t have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.

  • When mariner worked as a project manager, he learned that certain individuals made it difficult to run the project. For many reasons related to power insecurity, bad personality, uncontrolled desire to change […]

  • To start the subject of the post, here is a cartoon from The Week:

    Referencing a recent post, the cowboy culture, one of independent success and individual respect, in their battle against benign neglect by […]

  • Ever so slowly, thinkers and writers, even in the news industry, have begun to ferret out the real battleground in today’s hectic lifestyle. It is a battle of tradition – the American image that has been bred int […]

  • This Spring, mariner planned to move his vegetable garden to another spot in the backyard. He reasoned that March would have enough good days to build new raised beds and fix several maintenance issues that make […]

    • I don’t have a plot to plant in; I wish I had your raised bed maintenance blues. On the upside, there are now five tree beds on my block, though they are “managed” by the local BID Business Improvement District.
      Keep gardening Mariner!

      Raised bed and plotless,

    • Horticultural management is strenuous so please stay hydrated and please do not let the grass grow higher than 4 inches.

      A friend of mine once suggested that car horns should be manufactured such that no two were the same and any two honked at the same time would create a harmony. Lawnmowers next?

    • You’re still mobile. You’re just slower than you used to be. You have some ground to work that some people would die for in the “non-sketchy” neighborhood you live in. I’m the last person anyone would label as Mr. Positivity, but count your blessings. You have “something to get up for”. You may be my very senior brother, but I get it. I used to do physical labor 8-12 hours a day. Now – 6 hours tops. The best part about being retired is YOU”RE WORKING FOR YOURSELF. So cut yourself some slack.

  • As we live each day, dealing with the nitty-gritty of each hour and minute, as we get pushed around by schedules and interpersonal dialogue, as we absorb the distractions of the world at large, we lose track of […]

  • Here’s the favorite cartoon from The Week magazine:

    The daily news is so redundant that any of us could write a broadcast. Perhaps the most important news to come along recently is the growing moral and e […]

  • skipper wrote a new post, Words 2 years, 7 months ago

    Language is a complex, embedded and demonstrative part of our consciousness. Language tells us who we are, what is important not only as a subject but what is important to our own reality. As an experiment, a set […]

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