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Poems and Thoughts by Frank Maurer

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Technology

Mutation Manifests Phylogeny opus 34

Our new, ever present device, held in right or left hand;
We sit, lie, walk, and more, with our 'other connections'.
Are we ever able to have our continual mechanical companion
Be disconnected from our minds and from our thumbs?
Will this new device lead us to yet another
New mutation, now of thought,
As mutation has created our opposable thumb?
As with the diminution of our molars--
Not needing to chew so incessantly on branches,
Or as with the basic uselessness of our appendix,
Now not needing an additional digestive organ?

But remember, our embryonic tail is ephemerally present
Because of ontogeny--not because of more recent disuse!

Who's Really in Charge? opus 40

Oh, we humans are so clever
With our ability to precisely measure
Altitude or depth (anywhere)
Distance (down the road or the distance to Mars)
Time (sundials, a pocket watch, or a precise atomic clock)
Temperature (of the body or of a physical location)
Speed (of a Tesla or of a space station)
Ballots cast (hmm, well perhaps not this one!)
And so many more, but the question is

Why is there only a good but limited ten day weather forecast?

Who's really in charge?

AI (Artificial Intelligence) opus 108

What sort of warped mind
Would fake the countenance and words of the Pope?
Or fake those of presidents or film stars?
Will AI be utilized to rewrite our 'holy' scriptures?
(Hmmm--substituting one set of myths for another?)
Will there be a time when counterfeit news
Won't be discerned from what actually occurred
So that populations will be manipulated like a circus elephant?

What of our science reporting--
Completely constructed from AI--
(Many papers now submitted, are already based on this horrible flaw.)

And students--from high school to university--
Will their degrees be as fake as their 'research'?
Will our society ultimately be just a house of cards
And collapse around us in a heap of confused rubble?

Will missiles be so supersonic
That only AI might be able to intercept?--
Decisions required to be made so fast--way beyond human ken.
Regarding this; one voice has cried out:
'May such systems at least be programmed
With compassion and understanding
To result in a more 'human' outcome.'

There are of course, positive uses for AI;
In medicine, engineering, bioscience, various devices, and possibly even art.
But is the tradeoff otherwise worth these AI 'advances'?.

Atomic energy was once viewed as a 'saveall' for the world,
But, as is now occurring with nuclear-armed Russia over Ukraine,
Will the world be held helplessly as a hostage
To the possible outcome of our own creation?

Rare Earth Metals opus 134

Here we go again!
Now on the seabed, rare earth metals
Have been 'discovered' in brownie-colored muck.
The question, those who are aware are now asking,
'Just how might these elements be harvested
Without destroying this whole seabed ecosystem?'
Once again, our earth most likely will be compromised
As a result of the 'needs' of the Runaway Species!

As Pogo stated in 1970, commemorating the first Earth Day in S.F.,
"We have met the enemy and He is Us."

Driverless Monsters opus 180

Driverless monsters are invading San Francisco streets.
A waiting passenger takes a deep breath before entering.
Wending towards its destination, the passenger reads some text,
Or with some anxiousness, vicariously 'helps' to control the pathway.

Of course, with any new human creation,
There are those who oppose and counter technological progress.
The weapon used in the SF streets to counter these monsters,
Is the strategic placing of traffic cones
To confuse and disable this new invading humanless robot.

Stay tuned to view the unfolding future of humanless everything!

A Divided Body? opus 201

Have you ever had a thought
That our bodies are now subdivided into various departments?
We are not one entity, but rather a kaleidoscope of functions:
From podiatry at the foot to ENT at the top.
In between exists cardiology, gastronomy and urology.
As with much of our society, our bodies are medically subdivided.
Of course one argues that specific knowledge is necessary
So that the pundits are able to understand the complexities of each system.

Oh well, it is just a thought as to how,
With deeper and more complex comprehension of anything
There obtains a possibility that the vulgar ceases to understand anything.
Is everything we now know so complex, that the common person
Will just not be 'in the know' about much?
With the human species being obliged to learn so much more,
Are we to 'rest on our laurels' with the ease of possibly even allowing
Augmentation of yet more AI into our future lives?

Reconciliation or (just) Recognition? opus 228

Three generations sat together at Thanksgiving,
Discussing, in part, their problems with communication.
The oldest one, who spoke well,
And did not grow up with electronic communication,
Actually apologized for having been so stubborn
To resist the new electronic mode of talking.
The middle generation liked the apology,
But offered no compromise.
The youngest of the generations,
Admitted he just did not use email and will not talk
With the oldest generation's attempt
Of at least trying to pass on something to him!
From the elder's viewpoint, minimally,
He only made a truce of emotion,
And gained no true compromise from the other two;
Hardly reconciliation and perhaps just recognition.

Humans are the only animal who evolutionarily
Can speak and have a complex, written language.
Will this marvelous genetic ability languish--unused--
And mutate back to vocal grunts and silence,
Augmented by spurts of electricity?

Orientation to Our World opus 249

Humans always knew that which was around them:
Plants for food and medicines,
Creatures from termites to antelope for nutrition,
Poisonous species from both Kingdoms,
And perfect orientation to travel here and there.

In the Kalahari I saw all of this manifested--
A Bushman (now better called San, Khwe, Basarwa, Khoisan)
Even guided us for many miles,
Through the 'featureless' bush, compass in his head,
To a single cave (Drotsky's) which we wished to study.

Today our youth devour fatty, sugar-laden junk food,
And have no idea of what they have passed,
Using the mindless, electronic GPS which,
If the system were to fail, they would be utterly lost.

Flowers on an Unused Stove opus 270

A bouquet, watered in a drinking glass,
Rests on an unused stove--
Unused, because the cooking in this household
Utilizes a solar box--
Sometimes 'touched up' with the microwave.

The World's Panama Canal opus 283

The Panama Canal, like the Suez Canal,
Is critical for economizing world shipping,
Resulting from the hard-won excavation of miles of terrain.
Today, though, with so many actual and pending earth changes,
Drought is challenging the Canal's water levels,
Reducing the daily number and size of ships passing through.
Unknown to many, the Canal's water is not sea-, but fresh--
There are several springs in the local lakes providing such
And these water bodies are manifesting lowering levels.
These lakes also provide water
For several million inhabitants of Panama.
Once again, as will occur multiple times over,
Water for agriculture vs the cities
And at the Canal, water for transport vs the same,
Will be in constant competition to provide the growing demands
For food production, transport, and the ever increasing humankind.

Oh, Dear Southern Alabama opus 310

Our Southern states maintain their infectious friendly cuisine and manners.
Sadly, they hold onto 19th century-thinking concerning several subjects.
Specifically, here, is the question, when is a human, really a human?
The Alabama Supreme Court has now ruled
That a frozen embryo (a fertilized egg) is a child!
Since when could we ever freeze a child?
Since when is a frozen, unattached embryo, (an 'extra uterine child'),
And not within a female uterus, ever be considered a human child?
One of the repercussions, of course, is that 'childless parents'
May no longer be enabled to have a child!
Blind religious edicts lead to human tragedy,
When juxtaposed with the present, technological world.

Science has been developed to yield a life more 'disease free',
As well as a life with reduced mindless toil.
Here, science has allowed human couples, unable to conceive,
To be able to have a possible and healthy pregnancy.
This certainly is a clash of modern technology and continual archaic thinking.

Why Do We Have a Leap Year? opus 314

Why do we have a Leap Year every four years?
The Romans in 45 BC had this figured out!
(Julius Caesar borrowed this idea from the Egyptians.)
They realized that to maintain the calendar (Julian),
In sync with the rotation of the planet,
They needed an extra day every fourth year! --
A perfect year is actually, more accurately, 365.242190 days.
Thus the added day in February every fourth year.
But, Caesar overestimated the solar year by about eleven minutes,
Leading to an overcorrection by about eight days each millenium.
Pope Gregory XIII later addressed this by adding leap days in years divided by four,
UNLESS the year is ALSO divisible by 100. Fine tuning further,
A leap day is STILL ADDED in years divisible by 400!

So you now know perhaps more clearly than most other citizens,
The precise formula as to how the calendar maintains winter in winter!

Wish to have a More Exact Calendar? opus 316

Many people have wished to have a more permanent calendar,
Where the dates would be on the same day, forever!
Holiday dates and scheduling problems
Would be fixed in an organized manner.
Christmas and New Year's Day would always be on a Monday,
While the Fourth of July would always be on a Thursday.
One feature would be having every six years,
A leap week, rather than a leap day.
The extra seven days would occur at the end of that December,
Which, as leap day attempts to do, would 'eliminate calendar drift'.
In addition, the year would be divided into four three-month quarters.
The first two months of each quarter would be comprised of 30 days,
While the third month of that quarter would have 31 days.
And again, it is claimed this would regularize things
To be easier and less costly.
The name of the calendar to accomplish all this
Is the Hanke-Henry Permanent Calendar.

In reality, though, our present-day calendar may be the one,
Into which we are locked.

The Hidden Perils of 'New' Technology opus 324

As the Romans reveled in their new technology with lead,
So we 'moderns' revel in the wonders of morphologically plastic, plastics.
Lead poisoning for the ancients and micro- and nano-plastics for the moderns' lungs!
(By the way, lead--plumbum--Pb--gave us the name for plumbers!)
(Will we have a new handle for the ignorant plastic-killers?)
(Removing lead pipes is one thing, but plastics of any sort pervading the whole world?)
(If we could only pause and think about possible implications.)

Coping With the Climate Crisis opus 342

The temperature in our world is absolutely ever-gradually rising.
This is a result of our own success in polluting technology.
Industry, transportation, cooling and heating of our living quarters.
There are two approaches to this problem:
The first is to temporarily alleviate the great heat--
Planting more trees, covering irrigation canals with solar panels,
Painting all rooftops white, lightening black asphalt with coatings,
Photovoltaic panels, batteries, solar box cooking,
Using methane production from human waste to burn for energy.
But these are only environmental bandages.
The second and ultimate effort must be to radically change our technology
To less polluting systems and attitudes therewith in how we basically live.
This change will take willpower,
But it is a must for a comfortable and successful future.

Technological Augmentation of Testosterone opus 360

The hormone testosterone flows strongly in male human mammalians,
Formerly adapted to augment strength, aggression and fearlessness
For self survival and to protect those living in their small bands.

Today, with the invention of more and more powerful firearms,
The strength of testosterone is now transferred from the body alone
To a powerful and over-proportionally functional trigger finger.

Dig Your Canines into this One! opus 364

It is interesting to contemplate
As to what might have caused
The difference between canine morphology
Of us--the hominids--and our fellow pongids
(Including Chimps, Bonobos, Gorillas, and Orangutans).
The dentition of the human mouth
Was really our manipulating third hand.
Then came the invention of tools,
Rendering the lesser utilization
Especially of our large canines.
Thus with tools, combined with the opposable thumb,
Our canines evolved to a 'respectable' size',
Unlike the more exaggerated canine morphology
Of our 'brotherly' pongid hominoids.

So Many Choices are Dividing Us opus 365

As our technology continually fragments,
It results in a kaleidoscope of competing means of communication.
How our news is transmitted from many rival sources
As well as what type of means we just 'talk' to each other,
Has divided our society, our politics, our religious groups,
As well as our basic family structure!
'I listen only to this or that--the others are fake.'
'I do not and will not talk with you on such and such a technology--
I use only such and such a means to communicate.'
The old fashioned telephone is now considered slow, intrusive,
And the voice is obsolete!
Faxing, Email, and texting plus others go quickly out of mode and fashion.
With our present many means of learning what is going on (news!),
Or how we just talk with each other,
Has no longer brought us together, but has divided us,
To the point that we just plain refuse to interact,
Merely because of the 'brand' of the means used.
With all this technology, we are being brainwashed
Into separated states of isolation.

AI and Honey Bees--New Introductions into Society opus 390

AI is a new 'entity' entering our society.
It shall bring many 'benefits' to medicine, education, research and warfare,
But shall also be utilized by those who will harm society.
AI, in the greater picture, with its thirst for power, will be affecting climate change
In a major and exceedingly harmful way,
Unless several breakthroughs to lessen negative effects on society are
manifested.

Similarly, the introduction of the (European!) Honey Bee has had a
parallel biological effect.
It was introduced to produce honey, but more,
To pollinate the ever-increasing flowering plants in our 'growing' agriculture.
Being introduced, this 'new' species in a new place is vulnerable to the whims of evolution,
Including the many pests which have taken advantage of a vulnerable 'foreigner'.
If the use of Honey Bees fails, due to disease and increasing Climate Crisis temperatures,
Will the whole pollinating system of North America
Crash to a halt with simultaneously decreasing tumultuous food production?
Great ideas and systems may appear ingenious and invulnerable,
But in the long run, may not survive the desired intended human system!

Are We in Climate Reversal with AI? opus 394

AI has now come into our lives--for better or worse.
The number of data centers
Have nearly doubled in the last 5 years.
This means greenhouse gas emissions
From them have almost doubled in those 5 years.
This also manifests that, all the plans
'Of mice and men' concerning the Climate Crisis
Are severely challenged and have changed
The whole carbon emission calculations.
A single 'ask' to our 'Chat' requires the power
For one light bulb for 20 minutes!
The use of the internet requires a pittance compared to AI.
And all those data centers in the world now humming
Use as much electricity per year as all of Italy!
The goal of Google and others is to build ever bigger,
Finally reaching the level of supercomputers
With their huge electricity consumption,
Which will produce ever more CO2 emissions
Increasing the Climate Crisis effect.
Could Google's pledge of net zero emissions by 2030 now ever be met?
Their latest quote is cleverly announced as "reducing emissions may be
challenging."
So, where does that leave us, the common person who just wants to breathe?

Domestication opus 396

Have you ever noticed the multicolored coat of reindeer (caribou)?
In addition, if you conduct deeper research, how about Fallow Deer?
Both these species have been semi-domesticated
Over centuries of human manipulation.
The Sami have herded reindeer forever
And Fallow Deer were transported from Turkey to Britain in 1100 AD.
When an organism is 'protected' by humans over a long period of time,
Evolutionary parameters fall away because coloration is irrelevant to survival.
The domestication of wolves to dogs is another example--
Reduction of dentition and snout, floppy ears,
And a curled tail manifest themselves.
The Russian experimentation of foxes revealed the same phenomena.

Humans became 'domesticated' with the advent of cooking.
A large heavy jaw with large teeth has now manifested into a finer jaw
And smaller teeth, with some, the molars, becoming obsolete!
Many of us have crowded teeth--tooth size is changing
Slower than a diminishing jaw!
From ingesting grasses and leaves to tearing apart raw meat,
To masticating cooked food--we are the only animal which does so.
It is interesting that all other primates, when given the choice,
Prefer cooked food--it is just that the brainpower is not there
To associate cooking and the need for fire!

Technology May be Our Salvation (At Least for a While) opus 421

We are working towards human habitation on the Moon and even Mars.
Without technology, there is no possibility of such an occurrence.
Here on Earth, will some life at least, be 'salvaged'
Through our future innovative technological climate change inventions?
Ironically, soon, survival on our Earth,
May be synonymous in methodology,
With our inventive exploits for outer space!

A Marine Fantasy opus 449

In a dream of my long past, I built ships.
We sailed (and rowed!) from one island to another,
Each hidden from view by the curvature of the Earth.
If we were careful in our construction we arrived safely--
Of course storms were often a deciding factor.

To construct such a vehicle there were no nails--
Each plank was cut and fitted to the next.
We made small holes along the planks
And literally tied the future boat together.
(We thus simply sinued tight the planks.)
Along the joining margins of these planks of wood,
We sealed each line of joint with pine pitch,
Ensuring, as best we could,
The future seaworthiness of our vessel.
Our floating creation led us into our unknown future,
Much as all decisions made by each of us,
Lead us into the unknown of life,
Ready to meet the ultimate unknown of eternal darkness.

Did Humans Really Build the Pyramids? opus 485

Were the pyramids actually built by humans?
Many have wondered, contemplating the huge stones.
Djoser, pharaoh of Egypt's Third Dynasty, was buried
In the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, Egypt.
It has been suggested by researchers
That a hydraulic system was used.
There were two shafts inside the center of the pyramid
In which water could flow in and out.
A pulley mechanism was used to raise the now lighter stones,
Allowing huge stones to be lifted up to 200 feet,
On a moving vertical platform!
This pyramid led the way, first using fully dressed stones,
Rising into the first pyramid shaped structure--
A revolutionary type of architecture.
This pyramid was built at the end of a watershed,
Allowing an adequate (to be further researched) amount of water
To be utilized for such a massive venture.
At the end of the moat is the Gisr el-Mudir enclosure for water.
This is combined with the 'Deep Trench' to form a water treatment plant.
At the same time, this entrapped water could also be used
To regulate flow for 'practical uses and vital needs'.
This combined system and pulley mechanism with a platform,
Was capable of greatly lessening the workload of the laborers.
Past evidence has demonstrated that these ancient people
Used hydraulics for building ports and irrigation systems
As well as, of course, more easily delivering heavy materials.

One More New Year's Eve, Following Thousands opus 494

It is New Year's Eve and I am with the stone tools--
The stone tools I have been collecting--
Those of the ancient Neanderthal.
As I open each wrap, sent from France!,
I look at the stone, ponder its use, and then hold it,
As I visualize the Neanderthal, themselves,
Holding and working with each stone.
Is there any way that one might
Really fantasize a million years ago?
I feel so close to these people through their utensils,
Manifested in a scraper, a blade, a drill,
A cleaver, a handaxe, or a point.
The only thing missing is the cave fire pit
With many of us seated around.

A Positive Point Towards Talking opus 495

When we are actually talking with another,
Rather than via a modern electronic device,
Our heart rate might mutually increase, as well as,
Dilation of eyes, and increased similar brain activity.
Electronic devices do not often elicit these mutual reactions.
Thus, perhaps one might conclude that those who are truly aware,
Will never totally abandon good, and often necessary,
Audible conversations.
Electronic intercourse is not really a part of basic human behavior.

(The telephone still has the voice and its inflections,
So, as a 'needed' compromise, speakers have learned
To exaggerate the voice a bit to get their point across.
Emojis, concerning their attempted remedy,
Really fall short of this emotional communication )

Did Neanderthals Have a Feeling of Ownership? opus 499

I have now collected a good number of Neanderthal stone tools,
These from an old collection in France--tools 100,000 years old!
I hold each one, and feel how it might have been to skin a Fallow deer.
Many made of flint or chalcedony
Are more or less attractive in color and shape.
Some seem to have been more efficient in their task.
Some feel more comfortable when held, ready for the task.
From this I wonder if, as we might have behaved,
That there were 'favorite' tools, claimed exclusively for ownership.
'No, that is my tool--do not dare touch it.'
Did Neanderthals have a feeling of personal possession?
We now know they collected objects of 'useless' beauty,
Just for the attractiveness of the shell or stone.
By discerning beauty, did these people feel ownership
Of some of their stone tools?

Human's Success on Planet Earth opus 500

Have humans been so successful because of greater strength or intelligence?
Probably not. However, humans seem to be able to imagine a myriad of possibilities
And inventively combine them in ever-increasing ways.
We continually push boundaries; the driving of cultural evolution.
Other species use tools, modify communication, and innovatively harvest food.
But these changes are fairly static, with no radical transformations.
Humans accumulate knowledge, but also reinvent and expand its delimitations.
Our openness allows quick adaptation with complex sequences,
To solve pending problems as well as future challenges.
Many creatures have an evolutionary ceiling; humans seem to have no limits.
Humans have transformed their environment--other animals merely adapt.
This transformation is bolstered by the cycle of cultural accumulation.
The enigma of human's world domination is understood,
By comprehending our ability to imagine, thus creating a boundless future.

(Was this one of the reasons the Neanderthal didn't make it?)

A Mystery Footprint opus 525

Then 'they' came upon a mystery footprint.
The time in history was between
136,000 and 73,000 years ago.
The print of the walker left rounded anterior ends
With crisp margins and indentations,
Where possible strap attachments met the sole.
The dimensions were quite consistent
With those of hominin tracks;
Probably made by juveniles or small adults.
The prints were most likely from sandals--
A life saver from foot lacerations.
However, so far, no actual shoe remnants
Remain from the Middle Paleolithic,
Which a young, future investigator
May finally come up with, and the clinching evidence?

Cloth vs Paper? opus 552

Online, a writer was complaining about the terrible thinness of napkin-plys.
He wondered if there were someone who could recommend a thicker-ply brand.
I emailed back the following: 'Please, save trees and,
Since you obviously are very cognizant, concerning napkins,
Use good-old cloth napkins, where thickness cannot be rivalled,
Having feel and quality which are superb.
(Just throw them occasionally in with your regular wash.)
We are a throwaway society and by which, such actions
Could result in a small, but important ripple effect.
Do consider other things in your life-use which could also be modified.
If we do not consider these actions now,
Our children and grandchildren will certainly pay.'

The Mason (Inspired by Jay W.) opus 554

Could you ever imagine yourself as a bricklayer--
Or, namely, a mason or a builder?
In German it is Maurer and a Mauer is a wall,
And the verb is mauen--boy, they have it all tied up!
But back to the point; a bricklayer builds huge things--
Walls and such, using only tiny rectangular 'cubes',
Fused together with well mixed mortar.
Piece by piece, each element is put in place,
With, obviously, a greater plan that these small elements
Will finally result in a great facade, winning praise,
Delight, and an emotion of being overwhelmed.
How is it that one has such patience and foresight
To create these magnificents to inspire all those
Who would not dare to attempt such creations?

Playing Chess with Tariffs opus 563

Well, at this moment, we have tariffs flying in and out--
A frantic display of minimal planning wielded by outrageous power.
In the latest round (4th?). electronics are spared the tariff-tax,
While our farmers and their products are left in the fray.
Interesting that our leaders spare electronics,
While leaving farm products and food on the shelf (or not)
To languish for our population--
Are we really able to ingest electronics?
Our addiction to the latter, may starve us with neglect of the farmers!

A 21st Century Book Burning opus 573

Most of us, especially older persons who grew up with books,
Distinctly remember historical films, showing books being thrown into bonfires.
Since the 1400's, when the Gutenburg printing press was invented,
Education and information about the world was multiplied by many factors;
So it was with the creation of organized educational institutions.
Today, the slow 'destruction' (ie 'burning') of educational organizations,
Formerly reaching out to free thought and encouraging individual choices of ideas,
Is peeking out at the adumbrations of a terrible one-sided educational format,
Which will stymie the present, golden-age of knowledge-seeking.
In a democratic, free-thinking world, one must be exposed
To all thought, discuss everything , and freely make up one's own mind.

Distribution of Energy opus 575

The 'need' for Modern Civilization's energy-hunger,
Greatly compromises the state of our planet:
Masses of wires or pipelines;
Air pollution or radiation dangers;
Dams or huge diversions of waterways;
Disruptive construction (ie 'walls'),
Destroying wildlife habitats and corridors.

Now, to ever-more quickly solve questions using AI,
Additional masses of energy are sucked into the system
To divert electrons from basic human needs
To frantically decide
How to continue moving one way or another!

A Moment in an Elevator on the Second Floor opus 582

I was exiting from my Ophthalmologist exam;
Entered the nearby elevator and pressed the button.
Nothing. No up nor down. My mind started to calculate:
Would I be abandoned here for hours?
I had heard of such--those marooned in these up and down devices.
My mind calmly covered the possibilities.
Checking, I then looked up at the elevator indicator--
A red number '2'.
What had I done to cause such?
I am on '2', wishing to descend to '1'.
But the indicator says '2'.
OMG--'The wrong button was pressed?'
Humbly, I pressed '1' and low and behold, I descended!
Amused and relieved, I exited onto '1' with additional relief
And a joyous feeling, walking out into the afternoon sun!

Blind Devotion? opus 584

Easter Islanders, blindly carved ever-more of their 'sacred heads',
Until all 'needed' resources were completely diminished.
With the creation of our excessively hungry new god--AI--
Will we also inevitably go the way of the now extinct Islanders?

An Unintended Holiday Consequence opus 597

Tariffs are slowly (?) seeping into our society and economy.
China, the recipient of many tariffs, has this year pulled a 'fast one',
Or better, we have pulled the 'fast one' on ourselves!
For the 2026 US 250th anniversary, when fireworks are a paramount item,
Tariffs now at 30% and possibly may suddenly rise to as much as 140%,
Are already placing a real damper on both 'back yard'
And professionally performed ceremonies around the nation.
Beyond that, the commercial purchasers of fireworks
Have no idea as to what to do for next year,
Because our fireworks, almost 95% of which are Chinese manufactured,
Must be ordered one year ahead of time.
A possible balanced conclusion could be
That our ceremonies might be dimmer,
But with climate change, the danger of fires may burn less bright.

A New Stab at Creating Abiogenesis-Life opus 600

The 1953 Miller-Urey experiment utilized an abiogenesis method
To create life (or at least some amino acids),
From non-living molecules which included
Ammonia, methane, hydrogen, and water all subjected
To an electric bolt to simulate lightning.

A new parallel experiment included electrical exchange between
Charged water droplets in a mist with a diameter of 1 to 20 microns.
Large droplets were positively charged and small, negatively charged.
Also present in that mist was ammonia, CO2, methane, and nitrogen.
During this process carbon-nitrogen molecular bonds were formed.
The charged water droplets emitted light and spark,
Yielding a chemical transformation.
The idea is that lightning may have been too infrequent to 'create' life,
But water spray might have been a more likely scenario--
The mist-generated microlightning, giving rise to amino acids and life!

An alternative hypothesis is still ever-present:

Hydrothermal ocean vents produce amino acids
With the combination of seawater, hydrogen-rich fluids
And the extreme pressure, deep below the sea.

Still another hypothesis is that organic molecules are formed in space
And carried (panspermia) by comets or fragments of asteroids

Whatever turns out to be correct on our 'Blue Marble',
We realize that water is the important, crucial element for life--
More important in the life-producing process than formerly acknowledged.

More Guns and More Gas opus 602

As the numbers of guns increase,
So also, shall more mindless deaths.

As earthly CO2 levels increase,
So shall the entire world be profoundly affected.

And, now--the newer challenge of Methane as the Arctic thaws;
How might we humans react to this even more profound challenge?

Diminution of Codfish in Our Food Chain opus 607

Evolution? Humans actually causing evolution?
Nonsense!
Well, here's one for you, oh you doubters.
Codfish have been pursued and netted for centuries,
Capturing these one-meter-long beauties.
As time proceeded, those smaller adults escaped the nets.
The human selective pressure was always removing the 'big ones'.
This slowly shifted the selective adaptation to an ever-smaller size.
So, as a result of 'we-clever-humans',
With our superior technology and frequency of use therewith,
We have literally destroyed a prize and sought-for prey,
To an unwanted and undesired minimal size,
Because of the unheeding and ignorant knowledge of adaptation,
Through evolution and the process of natural selection.

Are Audio Books a Form of Reading? opus 608

The ability to read is an important aspect of human life.
The debate has begun as to whether audio books count as reading.
According to an NPR-Ipsos poll,
40% of adults felt such books were not a form of reading:
This poll was comprised of men 65 years old and older,
And those with no four-year college degree.
But what does science say? No significant difference,
Between reading, or listening to, or doing both.
The information retained was basically the same!
HOWEVER, school-aged students did worse when utilizing audio alone.
In other words, they comprehended, understood, and recalled less than readers.
So, when one is learning to read, one needs the actual experience of reading!

The Momentum of Speech opus 612

I have been struggling doing business on the phone,
Especially with young women.
Because they talk so fast, it is difficult to follow at times.
The scuttlebutt is that Gen-Zers talk faster than Millenials,
Because of the former being exclusively exposed
To the ever-expanding, all-consuming, social media.
Also, scientists record that greater numbers of women
Are using a growly, creaky, 'annoying' speech pattern now named 'vocal fry'.
But why, in general, are people speaking faster now?
One study implies that listeners find fast-talkers more persuasive.
Slow speakers can be assumed to be less intelligent or competent,
While very fast talkers might be seen as less truthful or less kindhearted.
In a competitive society, people might hurry their words for fear of being interrupted.
A bustling, competitive or clamorous school environment might reinforce rapid speech;
A child or older student learns to speak hastily to be heard.
If we interrupt each other in society, rapid speech becomes a survival skill.

Social dynamics in our high pressured society
May have a great influence on women's speech:
Women are taking a greater role in the workplace,
Competing with men, who some surveys show, talk faster,
So it is natural that young women compete back by also speaking faster.
The other factor, along with this, is that sexes mimic each other
And just like cultural mimicry with an accent,
Speed might also be imitated so that one better fits in with peers.
High pressure workplaces require quick information delivery.
Fear of interruption in that workplace causes a rush to finish thoughts.
And if there is emotional intensity involved,
This might lead to uncontrolled rapid speech.

At any rate in my nearly 84 years listening to others speak,
I definitely notice an increase in speaking velocity,
Especially in young women, who are definitely
Dominating the telephone answering services.
This is not prejudice, but merely an old guy observing his fellows.

Codfish Are Becoming Greatly Reduced in Size. An Additional Thought opus 617

Is it possible for humans to 'cause' an evolutionary process?
Nonsense! Impossible! But wait.
Three foot Eastern Baltic Codfish have been harvested for centuries.
But in the last few decades, reduced size of fish have been continually reported.
In 1996 their size was 3 feet; in 2019, half that size; now one fits in two hands.
Is this due to climate change or to fishing activity?
Using larger nets, the smaller fish escaped easily; an advantage being small.
After a fishing ban in 2019, the genetics of the fish maintained their small size.
Upon examining otoliths (from the inner ear) collected between 1996 and 2019,
They demonstrated that the growth rings showed slower size increase.
In addition, the DNA corroborated that same conclusion.
Ever-smaller parent fish are generating ever-smaller offspring.
This indicates that the cods' evolution is pressured externally.
The scientists conclude that this evolutionary process is driven by human activity.
They conclude that, "This is scientifically fascinating, but ecologically deeply concerning."

The Taco Bell / Voice opus 638

Taco Bell has installed hundreds of AI devices,
In their Drive Thru windows, much to the dismay of customers.
Besides trying to get the AI to comprehend a verbalized order,
Several customers are fighting back.
To get a human to intervene with the AI / customer interaction,
One customer asked the AI for an order of 18,000 paper cups!
No one knows if that customer did drive away with all those cups.

CLT--Cross Laminated Timber May Rejuvenate Use of Wood opus 653

In this new age of climate change--or crisis,
Wooden houses would seem to be the last choice for construction.
However, there is a new method of using wood,
Which has superior fire performance, is lightweight, and very strong.
Incidentally, its superiority is also demonstrated with
Acoustic, seismic, and thermal performances.
Because it can be prefabricated to precise dimensions,
It is fast and easy to install, with almost no onsite waste.
With its design, flexibility, and low environmental impact,
CLT is becoming an advantageous alternative
To the usual materials such as concrete or steel,
Particularly in commercial and multifamily construction.
Panels are first formed with bonded multilayers
Of kiln-dried boards stacked in alternating directions.
The panels are pressed into solid, straight rectangles,
Consisting of an odd number of layers (3 to 7)
And are prefinished before shipping.
This preliminary work even includes window and door openings!
With everything cut to size, the finished panels
Are incredibly stiff, strong, and stable,
Being able to handle load transfer on all sides.
Lower grade wood (appearance) and recycled wood
Can now be freely utilized.
With careful harvesting, languishing timber industries
Might now be stimulated to go back into production.
Our climate crisis is stimulating thought in new directions!

The Lugging of Coal Clinkers opus 662

I just heard that the world-wide use of renewable energy
Has outstripped by more than half the use of coal.
Coal is a dirty, polluting substance which releases masses of CO2.
The mining of coal also causes Black Lung in the human workers.
Ironically and thoughtlessly, the 'regime' wants the use of coal to increase,
But has cruelly cut all research funds towards this terrible disease.

This announcement has brought forth from my childhood memories,
Our urban household use of coal to winter-warm our New England home.
The delivered coal order (by the ton) was poured down a hatch into a huge bin.
Later, the coal was carried in buckets to the basement furnace,
The shovelled black diamonds were cast through a fire-roaring door;
Just how much each time I used to throw in, I do not remember.
I always remember the iron-clunk sound as I closed the iron door.
But that was not all, in order to stay warm.
As days passed, the furnace had to be periodically cleaned!
Burnt coal leaves a so-called 'clinker' waste. (Possibly a New England term.)
We had huge tongs, used to remove these clinkers to a metal barrel.
These clinker-barrels had to be dragged up, out of the basement
And dragged down the driveway to the curb collection site.
A lot of work all winter, just to keep warm.
Contrast that to today, where an urban home just clicks a switch.
Presently living in the country, our counterpart to my childhood travails,
Is wood burning with all its analogous chores.
Now, no more wood burning, yielding to my solar-produced electricity.
We have come a long way.

An Op vs a Hoop opus 689

The question of fairness comes up with trans girls playing on a girls' team.
This pertains to any sport where these 'invaders' have attempted to join in.
Size and strength seem to be the issues at hand.
Society will most likely work out these issues over time.

So now I turn to basketball, where the issue might not be gender,
But rather height.  New players are chosen more and more frequently,
For their ability, but also for their height.
I, personally, as a non-basketball fan, raise the question--
Is it fair for a team to have a seven foot-nine player (like Oliver Rioux),
When the basket hoop is a relatively mere ten feet above the floor?
How might one equate these two phenomena for fairness?
Perhaps at least for the present, there might be 
A player height regulation for the latter example,
Or there must be a rethinking concerning the height of the hoop.

Don't be Screwed! opus 690

It is just now 2 AM (0200 Hours) and my lights are still on.
I fell asleep earlier and woke to ABBA songs.
Memories jumped from my time in Sweden as a researcher,
Back to Africa teaching, and then Turkiye before that--
And my time in Turkey (now Turkiye) 
Was a juxtaposition of the great city of Istanbul,
And my travels doing field work near the rural villages.
One of the facts that hit me, while working near those villages,
Was that many still had no electricity
And solar was not yet invented for the 'commoners'.
While meeting with a rural planner,
I was introduced to the concept that when electricity did reach a village,
The birthrate of that area began to diminish.
The light in a home shifted interest in the physical
To conversing, reading, game playing and hobbies. 
The change was quite dramatic in a short period of time!
Learning this fact in Turkiye, brought me back to the TVA of the US.
The creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority
Must have created the same phenomenon.
It took a Turkish researcher to focus me in on my own country!.
So, the joke and play on words was
'Screw in a light bulb and stop all the screwing around!'

Two Approaches to Climate Change opus 693

Two older male friends had a minor verbal clash,
Discussing the way we each felt about the world's future.
The first travelled often, but vis a vis climate change,
He said it is too late;  there are millions of cars;
There will be ten billion humans within this century,
He will continue to travel to see friends and family
'Because one person cannot ever make a difference.'
To be noted, he has no children.
I, the second protagonist, felt very uncomfortable with this recounting.
I have solar panels, two batteries, drive limitedly, a hybrid car,
And cook with the sun, using a solar box.
Most of my driving now is limited to local shopping and appointments.
I try to consume good, healthy vegetables recycled, 
As waste, from a local store.
Also noted, I have two children and grandchildren--make any difference?
So, I guess I have resigned myself to realizing
That the two of us are just neutralizing each other's life procedures.
Even though we were each adamant, the two of us
Do not at all solve the climate future, if we even wished to.
OR, is there still a chance there are enough of us to make that difference?

An Ambivalent Scooter Owner opus 696

My grandson, Rowan, is now an 'older' five.
He has graduated from crawling, to walking, then running,
To his present stage of discovering the wonder of wheels! 
Wheels came into his life vicariously through toy trucks and other play things.
Suddenly, one day, he was presented with a small, three-wheel scooter,
Which he mastered and controlled, especially on his way to school.
Each morning his Dad followed him on his way to the halls of education.
He loved and enjoyed his little scooter, becoming bonded.

Then, I, his grandfather, contemplated something more 'grownup'.
It would have only two wheels, an adjustable handle control and brakes!
Well, it arrived in a big box, left unopened until Rowan's arrival.
While we were munching on burritos, the box, unopened, nearby.
I was explaining a few features about his potential new scooter.
Rowan was hesitant, saying he really liked his little three-wheeler,
And did not really want this upgrade in his life.
One exception became evident when he asked if there were any LED lights.
And no, there are no such upgrades on this model.
Out of the box it came, now being assembled by his Dad.
Gleaming white, large tires, and a fancy brake system.
Rowan viewed it with a little less reluctance,
Not wishing to betray his relationship with his first love.
He stepped onto the platform, handles firmly gripped,
And off he slowly, then more rapidly glided onward,
Left foot powering the sleek vehicle down the drive.
He never looked back, (until he returned),
Beaming with a newly discovered joy.
No ambivalence now, successfully having taken that unknown step,
As we all have done, leaving that familiar past,
Gliding into an exciting new, unthought of, until discovered, new world.

When Do Children Play? opus 700

When I was a child, some 75 plus years ago,
We were sent out to play, with or without lunch,
And were expected to be in before dark (winter)
Or by supper time (summer).
To add to the verbal agreement, my mother rang a large ship's bell, 
To make sure we knew that the hour of return had arrived.
There was no worry nor even a thought
That we children were in any mortal danger.

Today, such unsupervised freedom would never even be contemplated.
Children are walked (driven!) to school each day and then retrieved--
I was perhaps walked to school on my first day of first grade.
With so much concern and fear by today's parents,
Why is it that the same concern does not exist
For their children, when using social media?
It is also a great 'trouble-maker' for children's well being.
Some, even going so far in a troubled way,
To take their own lives because of great distress.
Many of such young ones do not even contemplate going outside
To enjoy and be calmed by the original Nature from which we all evolved!

A Tragedy Caused by a Loose Wire opus 701

We have all received some item or another,
Transported by one of those huge container 'barges'.
They have evolved to become so very large
That the complexity of such vessels 
Results in a myriad  of elaborate wiring.

Now to 'Dolly', one of those container ships
As long as the Eiffel Tower is high.
After loading in the Baltimore harbor, it commenced
Towards the very long Francis Key Scott bridge and open sea.
The ship soon became out of control, heading towards the bridge.
It careened straight into one of its support columns,
Basically destroying the whole collapsing structure
And killing six workers repairing potholes during the night hours.

After weeks of sleuthing, a tiny error was miraculously discovered.
One wire, among thousands, was found to be loose inside a fuse box.
The reason it became disconnected was because
An identification tag, wrapped around that wire,
Had been attached too close to the control box door,
Gradually causing tension which had dislodged the wire
And thus the control mechanisms of the ship.
This is why a pilot will walk around hisser plane before takeoff,
Has confidence in the mechanics' ability to find any error,
And, in the cockpit, always going through a long and complex checklist.
We are building ever bigger-- but should there be 
A logical limit to size-producing  disasters? 
I was a pilot myself and always was aware 
Of the inspection-part of my every flight, no matter how short!

Danish Postal System Gone After 400 plus Years opus 712

After more than 400 years, the Danish Government Postal System has ended.
The utilization of this system has dropped 90% in the last few years.
Now one must mail things from a private store--no longer a post box.
Electronic communications have starved the old-fashioned system.
Now holiday and birthday greetings will mostly be compulsively electronic.
(By the way, any unused stamps can be returned for face value.)

Our postal system, about 200 plus years old, created by Benjamin Franklin,
Is teetering towards the same fate as that of Denmark.
Will I witness this occurring in the short remainder of my life?
Will I no longer be able to march into my Post Office, announcing,
"I am here to buy stamps to support this institution"?
Will I no longer be able to add a turkey feather to my epistle,
Augmenting the mystique of my correspondence?
Historically, the pending passing of an era, which I will always hold dear.

The Metric Conversion Act opus 720

I arrived to live near Davis, California, in 1979.
I shall always remember the State sign on I-80.
The sign indicated the distance to Sacramento and the East Coast,
But not in a usual manner--there were two systems used!
One was the normal 'mileage', the other, the metric.
What was going on?  Metric in the US?  Yes indeed.
The US was the last country to attempt to go metric. 
In the 1970's, President Ford put forward the Metric Conversion Act.
This was an attempt to at last convert this country to the metric system.
Of the many entities needing conversion, road 'mileage' signs were one.
This, as we know, did not succeed.
However, to match the rest of the metric world,
Much of our food and drink, automobile and aircraft dimensions,
And our medications are also measured  metrically.
But our children are stuck with the British System.
How many feet in a mile?  (5280).  How many meters in a kilometer?  (1000).
How many inches in a yard?  (36).  How many centimeters in a meter?  (100).
I won't even ask how many feet in a rod?  (16.5 feet or 5.5 yards)!
Ok, a Chain is 66 feet or 22 yards.  Ten Chains in a Furlong!
Oh, and there are 100 Links in a Chain.  (0.66 feet or 7.877892 inches equals one Link).
Do you see my point?  The metric system is built on base 10.
For a child to thoroughly (which they don't) learn the British System,
It takes about three years of school time to perhaps learn this system.
Can you imagine how many other important things could be learned instead?
The metric system uses basic names (centi, milli, deci, kilo)--no Furlongs!
And conversions are accomplished by merely moving a decimal point!
Need I say more, considering the precious learning time available?
We, as a people, are absolutely stuck in our ways.
(Just as our British cousins were for so long!) 

Our Huge New Battleships opus 725

Recently, I listened to our second-term president
Propose yet another scheme for our future..
This time it was that we needed twelve huge new battleships,
Two being completed by 2030, the end of this decade.
I was amused, but disappointed, we must have yet more war machines.
Soon thereafter, I was listening to a retired naval officer discuss this plan.
He expounded that the US has not completed the ships already in the making,
Because this country no longer has up-to-date shipyards.
He said there was no budget for such monstrous ships.
He also firmly stated that such large vessels were sitting targets for our times.
We needed, instead, more efficient but smaller ships,
Which could agilely maneuver and separate a large target to many.
He concluded, "They will never be built."

In that vein, now, a portion of the White House has been destroyed,
For a huge new ballroom to fulfill the president's delight,
Will it ever be completed for that magnificent ball event?
Responsible dreams and proposals are one thing,
But plans made in the air to fulfill an ego, are yet another.

Surveying a Pond Base opus 733

After my dear mother died, I inherited her house on our farm.
It was smallish, but tidy with a few solar embellishments.
The four huge wooden house rafters extended eight feet outside,
Creating a rustic ambiance.
The roof (and ceiling!) and beams were absolutely horizontal.
As well, the tiny main porch was unimpressive with a concrete flooring.
This was all nice, until we had our first severe rains--
The badly sealed flat beams guided water inside to leak in the rooms.
The porch guided water back to the inner house wall,
Because some idiot had not checked the slope before pouring concrete!

Each time I cope with these 'flat' problems,
I am reminded of my fish pond constructions and surveying.
I created ponds from deserted quarry mining,
Shaping, molding and carefully building each pond, 1/2 to 2 acres.
Unlike the builders of my mother's house,
I carefully surveyed the floor of each pond,
Allowing not less than a three inch drop,
From the furthest end, to the opposite drain pipe area.
I built the ponds long before my house inheritance,
But now, with each rainy California winter, as the house has its minor floods,
I recall the diligence I mustered to slope my ponds just right,
And continually wonder why the builders of a house for humans,
Couldn't have been as careful as I, constructing a home for plain old fish!

Will K Cars be Our New Coffins? opus 742

Having returned from Asia, Trump declared his love for the tiny, economical K car.
Prominent in Japan, would these tiny cars fit into this country's traffic?
Offsetting economics, they are small and slow;
Placed into a rushed society, having many accidents.
A huge trailer-truck attempting to slow suddenly behind a smaller, slower car,
Could most likely result in a catastrophe of a crushed car with its driver.
Our high-speed freeways might introduce a new category of death.
With such decisions, we must consider the adage of water and oil.