Monthly Archives: July 2014

Another Link In The Chain

I could go in sooo many different directions with that one. It could be like “Another Brick in the Wall” only darker, {Black Floyd?}. It could be whips and chains kinky. Or I could be cleaning a rifle thinking how nice it is to be at the top of the food chain.

I haven’t been hunting in almost 20 years. I prefer not to do much killing. If I can get meat in a store I really don’t feel a need to kill it myself.

But is that really better? It’s more sanitized for me, but factory farms aren’t particularly nice for the animals. Is it better from their standpoint to run around free until they happen to cross paths with a predator? Is being shot a more pleasant death than being eaten alive? Anybody who has watched a cat play with a small animal has to wonder. And what about injury and disease or starving to death? Kobe beef cattle live a pampered life I’ve heard. Drinking beer and getting massaged by Japanese people doesn’t sound so bad. Here in the States the animals raised as 4H projects are probably the best treated non-pets. They aren’t free to do what they want, but they are pretty comfortable. Pets have a relatively pleasant life usually. Certainly I would consider it more pleasant than NOT being a pet.

So how do we view that freedom as a human? You want the state to take care of you? If you’re born rich it’s unlikely your parents are going to let you starve or be eaten by predators. What’s that? We’re at the top of the food chain you say. Really? There might be some predators that haven’t heard that. But very few people get eaten in cities, at least in a non-sexual way. But some aspects of life in the herd or hood require a degree of cooperation. Free medical care, why would I want to pay for that? The same reason public health departments were created. You’re part of a herd not an individual on an island. An alpha individual might lead a herd for a while, but that never lasts. Sooner or later the alpha changes, and individuals on the way out don’t usually fare as well as the rest of the herd. In a perfect world you don’t have jealousy. In an imperfect one you have robbery, swindling, and exploitation because someone isn’t happy with what they have. You might share. They might not.

But let’s get back to that food chain business. The bird eats the ants. The bird dies. The ants eat the bird.

The herbivore eats the plants. The carnivore eats the herbivore {in a totally non-sexual way of course}. The carnivore dies and rots. The plants absorb the carnivore.

The sun runs low on hydrogen and goes into a red giant phases. The surface expands beyond the orbit of Earth.

Maybe I should go fishing instead?

Wild

We Should Be Statesmen

What does it mean to be an American? Would you ask that of Canadians, Mexicans, Peruvians, or Argentinians? They are American also. North and South America are America too. We are the United States of America. Since we share the name American shouldn’t we be Statesmen? Linguistically I think it makes sense. Calling our citizenry Statesmen would be setting the bar high. I don’t think the politicians and talking heads would agree.

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2014/07/01/pew-44-not-proud-be-american

I usually try to be light-hearted with some word play. To be politic used to mean to be tactful, political correctness is less kindly viewed now so I’ll throw in a Non Sequitur.

http://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2014/07/14#.U8YVaUD5cUw

Do you live in the past? I used to.
Wild

Circles Are Irrational

A square peg in a round hole, what’s the problem with that? Sort of the idea of a die, but who wants to die? And there are six sides for every die. I knew a woman that went by Peg once. She was round. Her hips were round. Pythagoras would say, “It’s hip to be square”. He was definitely in squaresville man. A very rational man can handle area with three squares a day. Less rational people might need infinitesimals but they would believe in integration.

IS PEG’S HOLE ROUND? I DON’T KNOW. IS URANUS HOT?

According to this guy in Kentucky the solar system is getting hotter.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/09/3458131/smith-mars-climate-change/

Wild

BTW, if you want to rationalize a circle you need some pi.

Rimes With Hoar

I am a crossword enthusiast. Spelling and trivia are really really handy when it comes to doing crosswords. Rime and hoar both are types of frost. So the title in this case is kind of like frosting. Am I getting icy stares about now? Is that from too much hoaring around? I do have a bit of a hoarding tendency. I digress, but actually digression is my whole point here.

Over the years I have spent a fair amount of time outside. I never really spent much on outdoor gear though. I bought an Alice pack shortly before I got out of the Army. I was impressed by just how much stuff you could put in or attach to it. It’s nice to have handy stuff with you. It does add the weight on though. I was in during the mid 80’s. I think they have better stuff now. And I have learned that there is a lot of civilian gear that is lighter, more ergonomic, and basically better than my old military stuff. When I bought my pickup in 90 I started keeping picnic and hiking/camping stuff in it, but I didn’t put the stuff in the backpack. I put it into the toolboxes loose. After I got rid of the pickup in 04 I didn’t start outfitting my car the way I had my truck. This past 4th of July I went to a park for the first time in quite a while. It was tiring but brought back memories. I dug out my pack and my picnic stuff. I knew where all of it was. It was in good shape. Yes I am a hoarder. It had been 19 years since I had used the pack. I knew where it was. I knew what was in it. Granted the rubber bands had dessicated. Items with elastic had dry rotted. BUT otherwise everything was usable. Well, I am going to have to get new hot dog forks. The old ones rusted. And I suspect the emergency flares probably wouldn’t work either, but I don’t plan on having any emergencies.

Emergencies can happen though. I could run into a bear. The bear could want my pic-a-nic basket. I posted about that on my previous post. The guy signing makes it look almost like dancing because he signs to the beat. Maybe he’s a wanker bear. These bears look friendly too.

Wild