Chipmunks and writing

One commenter said I seem to have overlooked the possibility that despite their speedy movements, chipmunks may be relaxed all the time.  I admit that seems quite possible. I hadn't thought of the fact that I am a human, with human experience and I may be seeing the tiny animals through my own lens.  The comment made me think of the book "An Immense World" by Ed Jong, about different animal senses that give various creatures information and experience that humans don't have.

The other commenter told me about the pleasures of writing about events and feelings about those events and then later reading over that writing.  With free word-processors for a computer, such as what is available with Google Docs and Drive and free access to tools and facilities for publishing one's writing, such as with Blogspot and Wordpress, observing and writing now and re-reading later, maybe years later can bring deep pleasures.

Just calm down

I am impressed by how good and right meditating feels.  The quality went up once I realized how good an anchor for my attention my breathing was.  I read "Conscious Breathing" by Gay Hendricks, one of my favorite authors.  I also read "Breath by Breath" by Larry Rosenberg and I learned about long periods of meditation, as performed by Buddhist monks in Korea.  I am certainly not much of a marathon anything, including giving myself calm and appreciation of my life and its blessings.  I like to do a little and come back later.

It is the beginning of spring now and that means local chipmunks are out of torpor stage and flirting and fighting.  They run across our back raised deck, drinking some of the water out for birds and wildlife.  I have looked in vain for calm, Zen chipmunks but they all seem faster than a human eye.  I suspect that none of them meditate or are capable of it.

Pockets

Lynn complains that women's clothes often have no pockets.  And, when they do, the pockets are often ridiculously small.  I assume the lack of pockets is meant to avoid modifying the body shape an onlooker sees when looking at a woman.  That female human shape, often called an "hourglass", with its characteristic top, small waist and hips is an eye-catcher for men.

Lynn said today that thrusting a finger into women's pockets often shows that no more than half the length of an index finger will fit in.

I usually have what I need in my various pockets, often with one or two still empty and available.

I realize that carrying a purse can make having quite a number of items handy.  Using Duckduckgo showed that the history of pockets and carrying bags is complex and goes way back. 

Trans fish

I read today that the species of fish called "Clownfish" have a strange deal.  If the main breeding female dies, the main male turns into a female and carries on with her role.  That's all I know.

The last page

I have tried to write a journal many times.  In the past, I have tended to buy a nice clean notebook, write entries on about ⅔ of its pages and drop the effort.  As a result, I have many half-used notebooks.  

I know that I am an anticipator.  When I can see the event almost ready to happen, I tend to jump the gun.  But yesterday, I began writing on the very last page of the notebook I began using for blog prompts on February 3, 2022.  Back then, I had not realized that writing to a general, unspecified audience was an activity that was good for me.  I had not developed a habit of noting ideas for a day's post in writing as ideas occurred to me. I had not invented a limit of five ideas, marking them in a way that showed there were five and writing down additional ideas that came along on that day with a different mark.

I am proud of myself for keeping track of one notebook and using all the pages.  I have definitely discovered that some good ideas come to mind that will slip away at my age if I don't write clues for myself.

CNN photos of the week 4/6/2025

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/03/world/gallery/photos-this-week-march-27-april-3/index.html

Diminshed effort, very diminshed nest-bit

It is not that they can't find materials.  I think there are plenty around.  I am hoping that the pair are losing their enthusiasm for the site.  There really isn't room for a proper nest.

Looking that up

When I look something up, I can tell it does me some good just to formulate the wording of the inquiry.  I almost always use Duckduckgo since it prides itself on keeping my searches "private", that is somewhat secret.  Normally, I am not ashamed of my searches but I am interested in avoiding having people all over the world sending me emails that explain why I should be buying their products.  

I was impressed by Jacques Barzun's comments that scientists are discovering so much new stuff that it is straining our supply of words just to name new discovered parts, processes and particulars.  One way we handle the strain is to use a perfectly good word for something new, something additional.  Say, I write the computer code for a new program that I want to sell.  Let's call it "slidingboard", even though it doesn't slide and it isn't a board.  From now on, when you look up "slidingboard", the first uppity-up pages of the results will be about my wonderful, handy, lovely program and not about playground equipment.

Again??

Our tax preparer called and said that the IRS says I didn't pay my estimated taxes.  Again.  Ha!  I was disturbed when I found I had forgotten before.  I had to pay an additional penalty and I felt good about paying when I should.  However, it looks like they are correct.  Some payments appear to be missing.  Damnit!

Small temp and small time

We know a fellow who is about our age and suffers from dementia.  She was supposed to take him to a physician today for a check-up but we worried that the roads might be too dangerously slippery with ice. Later, she called and said the roads were not bad at all.  Some of our weather apps said the outside temperature was 32 degrees but some said it was a little warmer, maybe enough to not freeze.

I have four different weather apps on my iPad and they rarely agree totally.  Besides, we are often said to live in Stevens Point but that can point to a rather large area.  There are occasions where one app or another says it is raining or snowing when outside of our house there is no trace of either.  We are used to clocks, weather reports and sometimes computers or house phones not agreeing with each other.

The same sort of disagreement happens with time readings.  My watch, my computer, my tablets, various clocks around the house can disagree as to what the exact time is.  I used the labels "small temp" and "small time" for times when I am interested in the exact time or temperature but I have learned that idea is somewhat mythical.

Woo-Woo

I am interested in the books and writings of David R. Hamilton.  His book called "Why Woo-Woo Works" is about his working as a pharmaceutical chemist but becoming interested in aspects of modern life that did not seem to stand up to modern methods of scrutiny.  His interests can be said to relate to the subject of placebos and nocebos, instances where positive or negative words and beliefs are held by humans who are, or seem, able to affect their own or others' lives with ideas that aren't supported by modern methods of testing, experimentation and evidence collecting.  

The novel by recently deceased author Tom Robbins called "Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates" features an explorer who gets cursed by a tribal medicine man.  The explorer is told that he will die if his feet touch the ground.  The man remains in a wheelchair from then on.