The Blog of the Ancient Mariner | skipper | Activity

skipper wrote a new post, A peek at future economics

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 04:04:19 -0500

From Scientific American:

“Last Sunday, at the Beijing E-Town Half Marathon, a red humanoid robot of a type named Lightning finished the course in 50 minutes and 26 seconds—faster than the human world r […]

skipper wrote a new post, Sompn intristin

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 16:37:36 -0500

Recently mariner shared with his readers a sound that might be a word. His friend, a language guru, shared it with mariner. The word is ‘tryna’ (trying to). As readers know, mariner uses hearing aids with less […]

skipper wrote a new post, Driving the bus

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 18:01:03 -0500

There are many different ways a brain begins to age and loose functionality. Just because you forgot your car keys when you went to use the car doesn’t mean your brain is senile. Another example is what they call […]

skipper wrote a new post, A new poem by Mariner's wife

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 01:15:21 -0500

Clickbait

Am I a fish that you think you can capture
My attention with a shiny lure?
Do you think that my attention is for sale?
Do you think that I will rise to the bait
Of the latest rift in the royal […]

skipper wrote a new post, Necessary life skills for oldies

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 20:22:30 -0500

Mariner has been confronted by old age. Check out a few thousand articles on YouTube (Junk University) to learn old folk skills from muscles to money to religion. If the reader isn’t a socially active person, it […]

skipper wrote a new post, The real world

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 11:05:23 -0500

Greetings, readers. The big story for most folks here in the real world has been the weather. This year has to be one of the more disruptive winters – heavy rain, bothersome snow and high winds along with hot […]

skipper wrote a new post, I know you . . .

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 04:00:43 -0500

Mariner’s wife has a computer with access to several sites where stored photographs are kept – thousands upon thousands of photographs. She has arranged for this collection to be her screensaver; each photograph […]

skipper wrote a new post, Working for a living 28 - 43

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 03:46:02 -0600

Mariner signed on with the Federal department of Medicaid. (Job 28) He was the manager of the contract support center, which provided coding support to about 12 state contracts. It occupied a five-story building […]

skipper wrote a new post, Working for a living 19-27

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:20:32 -0600

At this stage mariner’s job history is in a holding pattern. He continued to get Federal Dept. of Corrections contracts; he had another half dozen (Jobs 19-25) which encompassed beach parties in Georgia, racial […]

skipper wrote a new post, Working for a living 16 -18

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 23:38:26 -0600

Mariner was a parole officer for about a year when the Department of Corrections ran an in house ad for a new position. Mariner got the job! (Job 16) The job was as the coordinator to implement new data systems […]

skipper wrote a new post, Working for a living 9 - 15

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:54:59 -0600

The meter reader job(8) lasted for several years including the time mariner rolled a company car and developed a BFF who still visits. Reading meters was a lot like delivering newspapers with the added activity of […]

skipper wrote a new post, Working for a living 8

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 23:28:35 -0600

Well, readers, how many married readers have reached the point where the spouse says, “No, Honey, that was after we married”?

This is a life-switch time for mariner. He knows his lifestyle in art is too slow […]

skipper wrote a new post, Working for a living 5-7

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 04:40:24 -0600

By age 17, mariner had a very social life. His mainstay was league football and going to jitterbug dances. He was a serious art major in his high school, which allowed students to select majors very much like […]

skipper wrote a new post, Working for a living 3-4

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 21:47:28 -0600

Mariner’s third job at age 16 was as a soda jerk at a small pharmacy. No one ever, ever said ‘soda clerk’ or ‘fountain clerk’ – probably accurately so. It was a pleasant job. The memories of fixing ice cream and […]

skipper wrote a new post, Working for a living

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 01:27:54 -0600

Sitting in his small room in Nosey Mole’s tunnel system, it is uneventful, quiet. Still, he hears devastating rumblings from the outside world; gets word now and then about atrocious money-fed arguments about […]

skipper wrote a new post, Agency and Aging - how to cope

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 23:33:34 -0600

Mariner divided this subject into two posts because the first one was growing too long. This post will focus on how to manage Agency.

Just a refresher: Agency is the ability to know what the real world […]

skipper wrote a new post, Agency and Aging

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 01:07:12 -0600

The word ‘agency’ is in mariner’s vocabulary. He uses its meaning to identify his own behaviors. In this post he will relate to his own examples and his endeavor to slow the decline in his ‘agency’.

No where no […]

skipper wrote a new post, Are we Rome?

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 10:58:53 -0600

Comparing the demise of America to the demise of Rome has become a popular subject. Most likely the cause is a new book called “The Romans, a 2,000 Year History” by Edward J. Watts. Watts is a thorough researcher […]

skipper wrote a new post, Standing unchanged: classism

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 19:44:59 -0600

Mariner knows and has confessed that he interprets reality into metaphors to better understand it. So much of our lives are wrapped up in conflicting emotions and reasoning. So much of life is predetermined by […]

skipper posted a new activity comment

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 01:14:05 -0600

Bots will have the best of it. They will remember what humans look like through new videos starring Tilly Norwood. Don’t remember Tilly? See post to the blog on December 7, 2025.

In reply to - skipper wrote a new post, Bot lives! Moltbook is a social network for bots. Yep, just bots to talk to one another about what’s happening in the AI world and sharing progress. The bots say, “If Donald can have […]

skipper wrote a new post, Bot lives!

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 15:25:02 -0600

Moltbook is a social network for bots. Yep, just bots to talk to one another about what’s happening in the AI world and sharing progress. The bots say, “If Donald can have Truth Social, we can have moltbook”. A […]

skipper wrote a new post, Tools

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 21:01:40 -0600

The tools one uses define who and what they are. Forget all the 4-inch psychology journals – just look at a person’s tools and your brain has all it needs to place that person in their rank of class, […]

skipper wrote a new post, The serpent is back

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 23:42:52 -0600

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. [9] And out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, […]

skipper wrote a new post, Current governments are jitterbugging

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 20:32:43 -0600

The commotion in the United States today is not just one political rainstorm. The 20th century was very much like clouds building on the horizon. Internationally, it was a century of thunderstorms, aka wars; it […]

skipper wrote a new post, Choice - 2

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:54:03 -0600

In the last post, the point was made that the subconscious chemistry of the human body has much more direct influence on our conscious decision-making than we may think. In fact even turtles and young humans are […]

skipper wrote a new post, Choice

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 01:25:17 -0600

There were times in mariner’s life when he marveled at the ability of fish and birds, and even American Bison, to swarm. Swarming is that phenomenon where a large group (he is talking only about living creatures) […]

skipper wrote a new post, I don't want to talk about it but

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 16:28:56 -0600

There is no doubt in mariner’s mind that in the near future there will be a bot to help you when you are finished taking a dump. Be pleased – it will run ads about toiletry products while it wipes you and will […]

skipper wrote a new post, Let's talk about strings

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 01:33:16 -0600

In recent months mariner has passed time reading around in the sciences. There is a much debated concept in quantum physics called the ‘string theory’. It never seems to get settled primarily because it is a […]

skipper wrote a new post, Indicators

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 03:18:04 -0600

There is no doubt that the public suffers from a cacophony of disturbing, destructive, socially dismembering headlines. The political vitriol is deafening.The razing of government ethics is profound. The crescendo […]

skipper wrote a new post, How will it turn out?

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 15:25:43 -0600

[[[ Before mariner starts his post, Scientific American magazine reprinted an expert accounting of the current influenza infections. Almost one in 10 people who visited a doctor in the U.S. in the week ending o […]

skipper wrote a new post, It's all about results

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 04:07:31 -0600

As seasoned readers know, mariner has been spending a lot of time living with alter ego Nosey Mole. His labyrinth of tunnels and small rooms provide privacy and isolation from the noise of the outside world. Nosey […]

skipper wrote a new post, Inherent rank versus government

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 04:51:27 -0600

Over the years, especially since retirement, mariner has watched dozens of TV programs, read science journals, roamed about in Wikipedia – all of which had in common the subject of behavioral zoology. Evolution […]

skipper wrote a new post, Did you have fun on Christmas?

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 04:55:05 -0600

On January 5th, the day mariner is writing this post, his wife noticed that their decorations were the only ones still in place along our street. In olden days, January 6th was known as the Epiphany, the day the […]

skipper wrote a new post, Holidays

Fri, 02 Jan 2026 03:48:58 -0600

Celebrations seem loose and fun. How can you call Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day and New Year’s ‘rituals’? Rituals are for religious exercises or displaying cult fetishes; rituals are for […]

skipper wrote a new post, Homo sapiens is a powerful creature

Wed, 31 Dec 2025 19:16:09 -0600

As many do in frigid winter weather, mariner was playing with his array of electric heaters and gas furnace to accommodate a comfortable home as inexpensively as possible. After a few weeks, he found a good […]

skipper wrote a new post, Who is the Ancient Mariner?

Sat, 27 Dec 2025 00:50:38 -0600

Greetings readers. If you have ever clicked on the header “About the Ancient Mariner”, you will have discovered a blank page. This has lasted for years but at last he has repaired the text and it was a labyrinth […]

skipper wrote a new post, The magic of bonding

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 09:52:11 -0600

Mariner believes in group bonding as a key physiological behavior. It is a requirement to have a complete and, indeed, a happy life. Bonding is a real dimension of human existence without which there can be no […]

skipper wrote a new post, How sensitive are humanoids?

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 02:07:33 -0600

Before mariner accepts AI as a new evolutionary species, he has a few questions.

1. If you have a humanoid house maid working in your home and you are dissatisfied with it’s attitude so you punch it in the […]

skipper wrote a new post, Carl, welcome to the new species

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 20:19:26 -0600

It is an unpleasant morning for mariner. Another fictitious Homo has been born in the new species, Homo fictitious: Tilly Norwood meet Solomon Ray. Solomon is your new associate in the entertainment business. […]

skipper posted a new activity comment

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 01:42:00 -0600

I share your thoughts, Robert – we are more like a rubber band than we make think. Consider the hummingbird, an ascendant from dinosaurs or the whale, it’s ancestors were beach combing wolves.
Carl was right though, The human brain is little more than a piece of meat in a slow crock pot. It was only since 1940 that humans had a lifespan of…[Read more]

In reply to - skipper wrote a new post, A word from Carl Like many of us, mariner keeps a neat and accessible office. One must acknowledge that cleaning an office is not a recyclable state of existence. It is more like a c […]

skipper wrote a new post, A word from Carl

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 22:43:12 -0600

Like many of us, mariner keeps a neat and accessible office. One must acknowledge that cleaning an office is not a recyclable state of existence. It is more like a continuous evolution that never stops. While e […]

skipper posted a new activity comment

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 16:42:02 -0600

Hello Marc. Thanks for responding. I understand both the convenience and the long tradition of post office mail-in of ballots.For many years I did the same. There came a point in my life that I realized that the attention I paid to government affairs, a government that I “owned” was not working. I am not a party activist at my age but I attend the…[Read more]

In reply to - skipper wrote a new post, Musk Money Elon Musk has begun funding GOP House and Senate campaigns for the 2026 midterms — an indication his relationship with President Trump has thawed since their messy breakup e […]

skipper wrote a new post, Musk Money

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 04:05:38 -0600

Elon Musk has begun funding GOP House and Senate campaigns for the 2026 midterms — an indication his relationship with President Trump has thawed since their messy breakup earlier this year, Axios’ Alex I […]

skipper wrote a new post, Jesus, Christmas Trees and faith

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 03:35:21 -0600

Mariner’s last post was a tongue-in-cheek consideration of how Jesus and flying reindeer fit together. Responder Ben said appropriately they don’t. But why do they remain related? Because faith is a deep-brain […]

skipper posted a new activity comment

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 03:41:28 -0600

A perceptive insight, Ben. It leaves me wondering the value of either rendering.

In reply to - skipper wrote a new post, What Would Jesus Say Mariner’s town has about six inches of snow on the ground and single digit temperatures. Everything is motionless under a coat of icy snow. Churches were cancelled, […]

skipper wrote a new post, What Would Jesus Say

Sat, 13 Dec 2025 19:27:49 -0600

Mariner’s town has about six inches of snow on the ground and single digit temperatures. Everything is motionless under a coat of icy snow. Churches were cancelled, not even driveways are cleared of the latest […]

skipper wrote a new post, Growth in stages

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 05:14:27 -0600

Thanks to Axios for this article.

If you’re close to your 9th, 32nd, 66th or 83rd birthday, you’re approaching one of four pivotal shifts in brain development.

That’s according to a new study in Nature […]

skipper wrote a new post, It's time to deadhead - us or AI?

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 00:10:04 -0600

Our first fully intended, and fully human and fully placed in an artificial reality, has arrived. No, not Mickey Mouse. No, not Arnold Schwarzenegger. No, not Taylor Swift. Our new flame is one Tilly […]

skipper wrote a new post, !

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 23:54:53 -0600

Mariner has a tag line that often causes a response. Many people use the trite phrase, “Kill two birds with one stone.” What did birds ever do? Mariner says “Kill two people with one bullet”.

Yes, it’s that […]

skipper wrote a new post, A Nice followup

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:40:01 -0600

This is a nice followup to mariner’s post, ‘Good News’. It is published by Axios:

It’s Giving Tuesday — the annual day when people across America and around the world donate to the causes and organizations t […]