Bi Polar People

At 17,125,200 square kilometres (6,612,100 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world by area , covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area, and the ninth most populous, with about 144.5 million people as of 2018, excluding Crimea. (Wiki) “Putin wants the old Russian empire back,” Poroshenko said. “Crimea, Donbass, the whole country. As Russian Tsar, as he sees himself, his empire can not function without Ukraine . He sees us as his colony.”  Source:  reuters.com

Photos from 2003 Ironically he now lives on the beach Happy seven-0

Having some fun with my grandson.  Now he is as tall as I am

Live earth view from the European Space Agency's Columbia module

Who do we thank for democracy?    Source:  NYT op ed  Joseph Kelly Mr. Kelly is the author of “Marooned: Jamestown, Shipwreck, and a New History of America’s Origin.”  Painting:   William Halsall, 1882

Animals come together after a storm

An interesting site with helpful information for linux users

Is this real  Does it need to be for the message to be clear  Do you believe all that your senses tell you  Have we forgotten what it feels like to be genuine  Does it matter

Oh River Ouse none of these pebbles be for thee,  but me and mine alone.  Borrowed to be sure for they were never mine.  The blogger's prerogative to share or bear personal insights that may be of interest to anyone who bothers to view. The comment above refers to Virginia Wolf who filled her coat pockets with stones before stepping into the River Ouse.   

And he saith to them: Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men.    The catholic church is a family of the faithful.   Papal disagreements confuse and disperse their children who cling to their faith despite infighting.  Catholics can continue to believe in their faith from  enlightened men within who are not always the intended rock upon which Christ build his church - blogger opinion Linked Vanity Fair Article by John Cornwell October 31, 2018 5:00 am

Managed care Source  Wiki

Vo te

  Persistence pays  One more panut

Eliminating voting rights through local laws  A party takes advantage of the voting system in order to manage power  "It's a rigged system."  An illegitimate voting system produces the wrong political players  Voter frustration causes apathy at the polls  We need a voter rights bill

Thru the screen Television character TV Characters Posterized pond shot

Patiently waiting for entry

Words can mean just what they read  Amazing isn't it 

Is the sky falling on Democracy  Adequate vigilance would answer that quest by creating investigative commissions Source     aei.org

Green Source  me

An American and a Russian aboard a Russian space craft were aborted automatically when their  rocket failed  They landed safely after after a 7.6g decedent   The last time the Soyuz system had a launch failure was in 1983  It was a successful launchpad abort and everybody walked away healthy    Source theatlantic.com  photo tass.com  article by  Marina Koren Oct 19, 2018

This may be a wolf spider , I'm not sure.  Photo taken with one of Nikon's early 3.5 megapixel digital camera's with wide angle lends in 2003.  Atlanta Ga. Sources:  sister's garden, wiki, photo-mine

This lizard found refuge on the rear view mirror of my car after battling forty mile an hour winds  It made it all the way to the bank  I hope he finds something tasty in the parking lot

Artist conception of planets outside of our solar system  Download the poster of one of these planets  Click on Explore  Travel Bureau for other galactic possibilities  Hey kids see whats out there source   nasa.gov   gizmodo.com What would it really be like to live alone on an alien world? Stranded, struggling to survive? And what would it be like when you find something on that world that’s transcendent, and bizarre, and impossible to explain? Ostiary , a short film created by Ghaffar Studios (a solo project of Danish Ghaffar), seeks to answer that question. In its moody nine minutes, it is lush, creepy, and lonely. Soundtracked by lovely ambient music and drenched in purples and blacks, it’s a fascinating, beautiful little film.

Personal opinion:  In the absence of reason, rules and dogma the brain solves problems while we sleep and thus restores our sense of well being - or at least a being we believe we can live with.  Awakening challenges us to be who we are among those who make the laws that govern our lives.     "...his deepest appeal lies in an unspoken promise that lies behind the others: to undo the Enlightenment, to free us from the burdens of living rationally in a world where nothing is settled and where everything—economic well-being, national borders, gender identities, domestic arrangements—is up for grabs."   This article was first published in the Baffler No 41, and on thebaffler.com  by  Gary Greenberg

Well now what

July 2015  Daughter's apartment

“Whom the Gods Love They Drive Nuts”  John Steinbeck The writer knows who he is because he does it - writing.  Thoughts converted to languages is rewarding for the creator and hell for the person who misses the point.  If you're roasting your readers, use the link on this page.

I worked for this company back in the day when the operating system was given the distinctive name of operating system 2.  I recently bumped into a person who said he was the only one of his group who was still employed by big blue after fifteen years.  It is still a fine place for hard working people.

"Dark matter  is a hypothetical form of  matter  that is thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter  in the universe, and about a quarter of its total energy density. The majority of  dark matter  is thought to be non-baryonic in nature, possibly being composed of some as-yet undiscovered subatomic particles." Source: nature.com   Wikipedia

The appearance of the judicial process for some but not all is the minor traffic violation or divorce court.  Others deal with the ultimate decision of one man on far more serious issues.  The Kavanaugh hearings are defining for all what type of behavior the person who delivers justice is responsible for.  The process of representation is not a crash course in getting your way, but knowing the ways of a system of rules and laws that govern our lives delivered by one man - a judge.     Source:  nytimes.com 

"The American Enterprise Institute is a public policy think tank dedicated to defending human dignity, expanding human potential, and building a freer and safer world. The work of our scholars and staff advances ideas rooted in our belief in democracy, free enterprise, American strength and global leadership, solidarity with those at the periphery of our society, and a pluralistic, entrepreneurial culture." Source: AEI.org

12 Strong Men

Where we belong

In its natural form, today a swamp marsh remains as a park Public access shows us how this area once was Homes on retention ponds from the reclaimed marsh 

"Perhaps most telling was the list of countries that Trump highlighted at the end of his speech as those embodying the “dreams” of the kind of nations our children will inherit. Trump praised Saudi Arabia, a brutally repressive dictatorship where women have few rights, and which is fighting a war in Yemen that is creating a humanitarian catastrophe. He praised Poland, a Nato ally where democratic institutions are under assault from its own government. And he praised Israel, a US ally that runs a military occupation of the Palestinian people in the West Bank. If these countries are Trump’s idea of the future we want to leave for our children, Trump’s vision of the world he wants to build is quite dark." theguardian.com   by Michael H Fuchs  Isolation in a world economy is counterproductive at the very least.  It removes the level playing field for less fortunate economies.  The richest of the US may influence policy in this country, but will ultimatel...

The Person Therein    You visit the person therein and say to him...   Don't I know you from some far away place and time?   Didn't you collaborate in this rhyme? I don't think so friend, I have better things to do,           Like muse of the misery of man and his zoo. We barely speak much, nor chat or chatter,           I often wonder what's the matter. Strangers true we are! Why have you bothered to travel so far?     I must confess I'm lost without you,      and many things have cost me dearly.       For lack of talk with you is my most grievous sin,       and I repent from afar and from within. Do not snatch at me with remorse,           those lost days of foolishness are of course.            I've been here all along,    ...

Source  theatlantic.com

Don't you look funny A photographer will go to any lengths to get a picture

Overall most call centers have empathetic and helpful people who know their product.  I have stumbled onto a machine driven support line that was just infuriating.  Computers (phones) aren't really smart.  They only provide an environment to think with.  Call it a cognitive crutch. 

I am an atom  Please leave me alone