We did it again

We assured each other that we would take a trip.  We need a trip.  Of course, we have taken trips before.  We have been to Europe several times and to Australia and New Zealand.  We have driven to all 50 US states.  

As recently explained, we wanted to drive to the town of Wisconsin Dells and we did.  But when we got there, we were not charmed.  Everything seemed too commercial.  We drove to another town and walked.  As we walked, we discussed what we had done and what we wanted to do.  We discovered that we both felt disinclined to go anywhere but home.  We drove home happily.

Since then, we thought of driving to an unusual place in Wisconsin but yesterday was too stormy and rainy for a trip.  We waited to today.  We talked and discovered that we both felt disinclined to take a trip.  We realized that not taking a trip, we would not have to pack.  We wouldn’t forget things and discover we had left an important item at home.  We visited the cultural circle in the riverfront park, drove to Emy J’s for coffee.  Then, we came home and had lunch.

Is it the year 2026 already?

Is it 2026 already?

Why didn’t somebody tell me?  I have got to buckle down and get cracking.  I haven’t started on a great American novel or a hit play or a best-selling memoir.  I am getting further over the hill each day and if I am not careful, I am going to stop breathing without any of my great work done.

I just asked Google “How many people have expired without their great works even begun?”  I got this answer:

It is impossible to provide an exact number, but historians and researchers estimate that roughly 102 billion to 105 billion people have lived and died throughout human history without their "great works" ever being realized. [1, 2]

This concept traces back to a famous quote by physician and author Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.: "[Alas for those that never sing, / But die with all their music in them!]"(http://www.ibiblio.org/eldritch/owh/vless.html). Spiritual teacher and author Dr. Wayne Dyer famously popularized this idea as, "Don't die with your music still in you."(https://www.drwaynedyer.com/video/dont-die-with-your-music-still-in-you-wayne-dyer-and-daughter-serena/). [1, 2, 3]

Here is how researchers and analysts break down this loss of human potential:

• The Historical Toll: Out of the estimated 110 billion humans who have ever been born, the overwhelming majority lived in eras dominated by war, disease, and the basic, grueling struggle for survival. Their "great works" were either completely lost to time or never had a chance to be conceptualized due to circumstances beyond their control. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

• The Modern Equivalent: In the modern era, analysts (such as those at the Wealth Research Group) estimate that up to 92% to 98% of people ultimately pass away without ever achieving their goals and dreams. [1, 2]

• The Reasons: This staggering percentage is rarely due to a lack of talent or ambition. Instead, sociological studies suggest people most often defer their potential due to the fear of failure, societal pressures, or putting off what they want to do for "someday" until time simply runs out. [1, 2, 3]

Couldn't find it

There was a meeting for former faculty on campus today.  I did save a postcard telling about the event but I didn’t read it carefully.  It did not say what I thought it did.  I went to the room I thought was the meeting place but no one was there.  I immediately guessed they had moved to a different site.  I went there: nobody.  I asked a dean’s secretary and she told me a third location.  Nah - I just went home.

How do they find my blog?

Almost any browser computer program uses a version of artificial intelligence unless deliberate steps are taken to avoid AI.  Leading browsers are Chrome, Foxfire, Safari but there are several others.  So far, my own experience hasn’t changed much from the development of AI.  What did change my computer search experience was reading search questions and phrases that others had asked about the same or similar searches.  When a group of researchers discuss a problem among themselves, comments and others’ questions continuously inspire others in the group.  A family discussing a problem may produce ideas that no one in the group had before the group discussion began.

A friend asked how people in other parts of the world find my blog.  I am not sure but I am confident that several different avenues lead to reading my posts.  Google offers some statistics and information about blogs published by them.  A small portion of page views come from direct contact with Google Blogspot.  There is no restriction on access or subsequent use of my posts.

I had never seen reports of page views from a particular Asian country but then they started.  I searched the name of a person I had recently informed about my blog and found that person was an “influencer”, a person, often on YouTube that speaks that language and promotes ideas and products

This blog and others

I did a little math today and figure that I have posted on the blog about 90% of the days since I began it. I have been writing “Fear, Fun and Filoz” for 18 years.  I have been retired for 21 years.  After I retired, I learned a bit about meditation and I thought it might help any beleaguered student teacher to know about meditation processes and ideas.  I don’t have formal training in the subject but I have read quite a bit.

Over time, more and more YouTube presentations, books, athletic teams, and trainers became available to teach meditation and I became aware of how many materials and sources there were.  But by that time, I was in the habit of writing a bit each day.  I abandoned the practice of explaining mediation and just wrote about things that came to mind.

When I am too busy to write, I often suggest that readers try blogging on their own.  If interested, search “Google blogging” and/or “Wordpress.com”.  Or simply search for “blogging hosts.”

Contrast

On this day of the year, fifty-eight years ago, I landed at the Stevens Point airport to take a job as an assistant professor of education. On this day today, I am scheduled to attend a party for a great-grand daughter who days ago graduated from high school.  On that day, fifty-eight years ago, I didn’t have any grandchildren, much less grandchildren who had children.  Things change!

Blog pause

It is a busy day for me.  This is a good day to read the 6000 posts already posted for my blog.  Or, start your own blog.

Fawn

We had a fawn in our backyard this morning.  No sign of the mother.  When we moved here, I wanted to try doing without a lawn.  We bought seed from a Wisconsin company that sold prairie grass and wild plant seed, intending to avoid a recurrent need to cut the grass.  We found that grandchildren can be lost in high grasses and asked a landscaper to take a look.  He said that many people desired the sort of plants we had grown.  He suggested we leave two large areas of wild plants but have small lawns we kept cut.

That idea has worked well.  It was in the wild plant area that our fawn settled down for a nap.  When it curled up for a rest, it was nearly impossible to see him (maybe “her”) except for the tips of his ears, perked up and alert.  When we checked later, he had moved on.

Bluebirds of irritation

We have a carefully constructed and positioned bluebird house in our backyard.  We must have the same pair we had last year now. The male overdoes his job of protecting but does get the idea that the other male he sees reflected in our windows is HIMSELF.  So, he keeps flying at the intruder, crashing into our windows.  I have talked to him, sent him texts and emails to no avail.  My wife has explained to me how bluebirds are lovely and have trouble surviving so she does not want me to go too far trying to discourage his crusade against strange opponents.

Banana duct-taped to the wall

I know we are experiencing high prices but I am confident that I can find a banana for less than 6 million dollars.  The Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan contributed an art exhibit to a French museum consisting of a real banana duct-taped to a wall.  Of course, a real banana aged into rot over time but museum staff replaced the rotting fruit with a fresh banana as needed.  I read that the purchaser of the artwork got a certificate of authentication and a booklet explaining the process of buying a new banana and tape.

The web shows photographs of the art work.  As far as I have heard, eating artwork is unusual, rare even.  This reminds me of my friend who collects rare books and my other friend who delights in writing the author’s name in handwriting on the cover page of a book.