The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

To balance the not-completely explained rant today offer the picture of a lonely mushroom in a sea of grass. Very elf-like.
We have nothing to fear but fear itself. Russian spies and the War on Drugs. The latest news is that eleven Russian spies were arrested in the US. This is another attempt to keep the masses in line through fear by arresting another group of incompetents. One more step on the way to the complete destruction of the Bill of Rights. This has been going on since Mr. Ansinger decided black people were a drag on America and the way to correct the problem was to strike fear into all of us by making a freely grown benign weed against the law. He started with a movie that today has a cult following among the youngsters of our country. It proved an excellent successor to Prohibition which was intended to put pressure on immigrants. But more importantly it allowed a radical expansion of the police and their tactics. Then Nixon initiated impossible to win War on Drugs. Another step on the way to the destruction of the Bill of Rights.
Today we have the unwindable War on Terror which efficiently transfers US tax money to the corrupt administration in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that pallets of $$ totalling 9 Billion dollars have been shipped OUT of Afghanistan, a country whose total revenue is only 12 Billion $$ per year. Where is that money headed?
And let's not forget the war in Central America in the 1970's which was supported by the shipment of TONS of cocaine by CIA operatives into black communities in the US. The profit going to corruption and the illegal war.
The path to sanity in today's world is to repeat the following mantra anytime you hear of the arrest of another 'shoe bomber' or other wacko: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. FDR said it following the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was inspiring then is still so today.
Corruption and illegal wars are proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

The cats are out!

Gold is up and the cats are out! I passed three on my walk today. Cats that is, not gold. The photo is of one that I've not previously seen. Friendly little fellow.
The weather is typical for this time of year. It's nice knowing the sun is up there somewhere.
I'm close to the end of Brian Greene's "The Fabric of the Cosmos".
I am constantly struck by the age of the Universe, 14 billion years old. But I'm more surprised by the knowledge we have gained about the Universe in the last hundred years. A hundred years ago we thought our galaxy was all there was. Now try to imagine how much we'll learn in the next hundred years.
One hundred years of knowledge prove that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Gold is up but there's no music in the air. I checked the Internet and it is Saturday although the radio claimed it is Friday. What's up? Time will resolve this asserted difference.
Which is a nice segue to the topic of time. At the present most believe that we live in a universe of ten space dimensions and one dimension of time. Mathematically this meets the demands of String Theory. However, the limitations of String Theory do not limit the Universe to a single time dimension. Try to imagine a second time of which to keep track. How would that work? Geometrically we can consider a two dimensional construct of a string is what is referred to a 'brane'. The extra dimension is assumed to be one of space . But that isn't necessarily the case. That extra dimension could be one of time rather than space. How elegant. A place for everything and everything in its place.
A second dimension of time would be proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

A few quantum jokes.

A hydrogen atom lost its electron and went to the police station to file a missing electron report. He was questioned by the police: "Haven't you just misplaced it somewhere? Are you sure that your electron is really lost?"
"I'm positive." replied the atom.

Heisenberg was driving down the Autobahn whereupon he was pulled over by a policeman. The policeman asked, "Do you know how fast you were going back there? Heisenberg replied, "No, but I know where I am."
The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is proof that we're all on this flight together.
And because I'm feeling generous, check out the theology of the Flying Spaghetti Monster with a pictorial representation of the instant of Creation. http://www.venganza.org/

Dick

There were no natural disasters.

I passed two cats and two dogs on my morning walk. As the two dogs went around the block I saw them twice. Since there were no natural disasters of which I am aware, it's probably a moot point but I am not sure whether to count the dogs as two or four since I saw the same ones twice. There was a quake south of here about two weeks ago but I can't see any connection thereto.
The weather is June gloom quality but is expected to clear up (as usual) late morning.
I got some free advice from my Mac guru. She's still in business. I had planned to spend $$ to get a speech recognition working on my Mac. She pointed out that my Mac cannot run Leopard (Mac 10.6) so I can't run the software I had planned on. $$$ saved. She suggested I try to find an older copy on ebay that I can run. Thanks Cindy.
A Mac guru is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Nude bikers join my boycott of BP.

Nude bikers join my boycott of BP. Check o t the address below for much more info on the ride.

http://www.asylum.com/2010/06/14/world-naked-bike-riders-boycott-bp/

On another topic, boycotts forgotten for the day, yesterday was Fathers Day (of which I am one). Daughter Deb and Son-in law Rick drove down to take me out for a Fathers Day lunch. I had the biggest hamburger I've ever seen. We took the opportunity to sit in the sun for a while before leaving to eat. Ahhhh Paradise.
No sooner had we returned than the phone rang with Rick calling from distant Davis, CA. After a chat with Rick and Karen I assumed the horizontal position to watch the Red Bull air races on the electric TV. The most surprising thing about the races was the pilots themselves. The average age was 50!
All in all it was a superb day .
Air races are proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

There's bluegrass in the air.

There's bluegrass in the air so it must be Saturday. The radio show is interrupted by their pledge drive so it's not straight through music today. But it's infinitely better than right wing talk radio.
I'll not walk today. Later on I'll do some shopping to make up for it.
I polished the Martin guitar in preparation for its meeting with a new owner It surely is pretty but my fingers don't work correctly anymore. God bless C.F.Martin.
No airshow or music festivals today and the ride-on-em trains aren't running today so I'll spend most of the day horizontal in front of the electric TV watching whatever.
Electric TV is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

So the world goes on.

Today is the 60th day since oil started to flow unrestrained in the Gulf and my boycott against anything Arizona continues to gain steam. Yesterday four police men who were scheduled to attend a training session in Arizona were told they would not be going. My boycott is so sucessful that I will add BP to my list. And gold continues its upward mobilism. So the world goes on and on and on and... in perpetuity.
Utah executed a man by firing squad last night. In keeping with tradition one gun out of five contained a blank so no one would know whether they fired a kill shot or a blank. Ahhh so easy to soothe our individual and collective consciousness.
Collective consciousness is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Should I carry Mace?

It's gray out there. Even the ducks are walking. The walk was quiet. No cats, dogs or wild animals. Although come to think of it the crows have been rather noisy for the last week or so. In spite of the challenges they haven't attacked .... yet. Should I carry Mace? I never have seen"Birds" so am not familiar with the ending.
The book I'm reading is speaking of the direction of time. Einstein showed us that there is no directionality of time in his equations so time should flow in both directions, in contradiction to our every day experience. Eggs break but never unbreak regardless of all the Kings men. And then outlines several instances of entropy (there we go again). So I'm back to the mysteries of entropy again. So I'll just slog my way through knowing some good will come of it in the end.
Entropy as a measure of randomness is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Coincidence? I think maybe.

On my morning walk today I was listening to Mississippi John Hurt fingerpicking Creole Belle on his guitar. I realized that if the Parkinson's costs me anything it's the joy of picking up my guitar and singing along to "Creole Belle" or "Freight Train". Oh well. When we are men we put away our childhood things.... something like that I guess.
The weather was typical June weather, dark and overcast. I didn't pass any animals other than a lone cat across the street. Coincidence? I think maybe.
Coincidences are proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Spring has sprung.

Ahhh me. Spring has sprung all around the neighborhood the sun was well up when I left for my morning walk and I watched a cat stalking a squirrel but the cat had more patience than I so I walked on by.
The photo is of a Great Dane who often sticks his head over the fence as I walk by to let me know he's there. But the idea of his head being that high up in the sky tickles my funny bone. I had to finally take this one. He has a brother who frequently joins him to make a chorus.
In addition to the Danish canine I saw four cats, a squirrel, one aeroplane and a single mushroom for those who are keeping score. Busy day. Must be the weather.
Seeing four cats on a single day is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

The photo goes with yesterday's picture of brother Bob with Dick Deboer. That's me languishing flat on my back next to my poor beautiful aeroplane with Dick crouching over my head stabilizing my neck. This photo will always remind me of how lucky I was that day. Had my neck twisted another 1/4 of a millimeter, I would have been a paraplegic at best and possibly gone to that Great Hangar in the Sky. Thanks again Dick.
I feel strangely disconnected today. Emotionally I'm unchanged but something just seems 10 degrees off. The Parkinson's was calm with no conscious thought on my part. Although I continued there was a remote feeling that the meditation was not necessary today. What to make of that? I have not missed but one meditation period since I stated. It's too valuable to me. Maybe it has to do with the photo above. Who's to say? I had selected that pic yesterday so my unconscious had a whole day and night to cogitate on it.
Unconscious thoughts are proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Brother Bob with Dick Deboer

I'm not up to facing the challenge of writing then repeated corrections. Instead I offer for your perusal the photo of brother Bob with Dick Deboer and his twin daughters. If you recall, Dick was the saviour who was johnny-on-the-spot as my aeroplane, depleted of fuel, descended to the ground. Dick saved my life. Bless his heart.
People like Dick are proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick (this one not the other)

Quantum mechanics tells us...

I found the telephone # of my Mac guru and will call her this afternoon to see if she's still around. Lately it's been getting harder and harder to type anything that makes sense. My right hand seems to push whatever it chooses. So I type, make corrections and then corrections to the corrections ad infinitem. I tell you that to tell you this. There is a program called Dragon which can convert spoken word to text. Just what I need. The problem is that Dragon requires OS 10.6 and I am running 10.5. Quantum mechanics tells us that these numbers have some jiggle in them but I don't think there's enough to go from 10.5 to 10.6 with any reasonable probability.
Once I have 10.6 running I can get Dragon and make my life a whole lot more manageable. Bless you Steve Jobs wherever you are.
In the meantime I'm reading Brian Greene's book "The Fabric of the Cosmos". It's like visiting with an old friend. Therein I hope to discover whether space itself is continuous or quantized. I'm betting quantized since the world runs on quantum mechanics. Time, although flexible, will tell.
Steve Jobs is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

June gloom and gold.

June gloom continues unabated and gold prices still reach for the sky. That's yin/yang to perfection. On second thought the gold may refer to the sunrise at beginning of the dissipation of the gloom. Whatever....
Nothing has greatly changed in the world so I'll stop here. But the video is just because.
No change is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Gold is up.

Gold is up and continues its upward trend reflecting the value of the dollar more than the value of gold itself. We can't print dollars without someone catching on. The gold bugs of thirty years ago were right but timing is everything. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Hofstadter continues to confuse me about what is an I. I should have known the book was indecipherable when the blurb of "Brilliant" was ascribed to the London Times. Another confusing Brit.
I am always amazed at how regimented most people are. I occasionally meditate twenty minutes early which results in my leaving for my walk twenty minutes early. That twenty minutes makes a world of difference in who and what I see. What a difference in such a small amount of time.
Synchronicity is proof that we're all on this flight togethter.

Dick

June gloom is back.

June gloom is back and so am I along with a nice flush of mushrooms. Five pretty little ladies as seen on the left.
On the right is a black and white cat I've seen before but this time he came over and checked me out top to bottom. Good attitude.
Which reminds me that the book by Hofstadter presumes to answer "What is 'I'"? I still don't understand what he is saying mostly because he has a propensity to make up words that the meaning of I may or may not figure out.
The Gulf oil continues to burst forth. And I continue to recommend that the top oil company executives ingest and bath daily in oil saturated water until the gulf states are restored to their former pristiness.
The County of LA has joined the City of LA in supporting my boycott of anything Arizona. I think the pressure is winning.
Pristiness is proof that were all on this flight together.

Dick

I have nothing to say today.

I have nothing to say today. I have finished the book on quantum entanglement and will return to trying to understand Douggie Hofstadter.
Quantum entanglement is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

We jointly passed the time.

There he was, Arlo, the son of Woody Guthrie singing a true country classic, "City of New Orleans" as we jointly passed the time on my morning walk. I cut my musical teeth, as it were, on the songs of Woody G. I think to this day our national anthem would be the very singable "This Land Is Your Land". But it is not to be.
On another musical note: I was scanning the channels last night on the electric TV and came across a two hour homage to the great guitarist, Chet Atkins. But I tell you that to tell you this, as I was tuning in, there was the beautiful Queen of Country Music, Emmy Lou Harris singing "Precious Memories". My heart skipped a beat. When I die and go to heaven (or whatever metaphor is proper) I know Emmy Lou will be there to sing country ballads for me. And such a pretty package. She's holding up so well, too. I still remember in the 60's when she and a bunch of compadres stole the body of Gram Parsons and drove it from LA to the desert for proper disposal (burning if my memory serves).
Burning anything is symbolic of the fact that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

Dr. Schrodinger and me.

I had a tought during my morning meditation. The answer to any question with a definite answer can be solved by what is referred to as a quantum computer. How such a device works is unimportant to this idea.
The condition any hydrogen atom exhibits can be represented by its equation of state (EOS) as shown by Dr. Schrodinger. The change in condition can be calculated by subtracting one EOS from another. So Change = EOS1-EOS2. Then to be clear, since this is a quantum action let's 'relativise' everything. Now Change = REOS1-REOS2. Inputting the question as a Change and subtracting REOS2 from REOS1 we can get the answer to any calculable question and some that aren't. Imagine the possibilities!
There are two major challenges to be met before we can build one of these. First, I leave to the reader to provide the equations of state in the proper form. And and secondly, at present, calculating an EOS for more than a single atom is beyond our capabilities.
Major challenges are proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick

A two hour homage to Johnny Cash.

Yesterday was Memorial Day and I was surfing the channels on my electric TV when what should appear to my wondering eyes but the beginning of a two hour homage to Johnny Cash, his life and music. His performances of many of his songs were interspersed with interviews of his comadres telling tales of good and otherwise. Then I got caught up short as he sang "The Ballad of Ira Hayes". Here was a day of pride in America in memory of our service men and women tainted by the shame of how we still treat what the Bible refers to as 'the least among us'. The emotions that song stirs in me make proud to be a liberal American. Bless you Johnny and bless you Ira wherever you are.
I finished the walk today to the sound of songwriter Julie Gold singing her song "From A Distance".
"From A Distance" is proof that we're all on this flight together.

Dick