The Unintended Consequences of Divorce

Through the years, my wife and I have observed married couples get a divorce.

The reasons for the divorce vary but there seems to be one subcategory worth noting: the dependent wife whose husband left her for someone else.

We should never generalise or else we ASSUME (and some of you know what that means).

However, when several data points create a trend, then the trend is worth noting for analysis and critique.

For example, there are some divorced women who may not have had much of a soft heart for the suffering of others while they were married but afterward…?

Let’s stir the pot and see what we get.

What is it about a man’s crotch that leads him away from the comfortable confines of a marriage to a loyal wife and into the arms of another woman?

The reader can, through experience or questioning, find the answer to that question.

We see that the result frequently ends in an unamicable divorce, leaving a bitter attitude in the thoughts of the ex-wife.

From that bitterness, many changes occur.

One of them is the “woe is me, I miss my days of depending on a husband’s salary to support myself and my lifestyle (with or without kids),” which becomes a larger idea that if divorce agreements are unfair, we can make up for it by saving all the forgotten pets, children and other lost causes.

[I did say I was stirring the pot here, didn’t I?  Maybe poking a hornet’s nest would be more appropriate.]

From that viewpoint, it leads to “On whom or what can I reliably depend when my ex-husband and his/my family won’t?  The government, of course!”

But that’s just one viewpoint.

Others turn to rely more on themselves and their ingenuity to break away from a dependency mindset.

Some get revenge.

Some never look back, realising what caused the mistake that led to divorce, lesson learned, and grow into better people.

Some marriages were never meant to be.

Some don’t outlive their usefulness as a safe nest to incubate and raise the little chickadees until they leave the nest.

How many of us are [co]dependents, finding a mate we lean upon for our life sustenance, forever looking for means to feed our [co]dependence after divorce?

None of us is perfect.  We do what we can with what we have to be whomever we wish.

Is [co]dependency innate or learned?  In either case, how do we nurture an independent mindset that takes us away from believing that the Big Brother/Mother/Father of government has all the answers?

Do we have to?

In other words, what makes us believe in the public pooling of resources and public decisionmaking about the reprioritisation of resource allocation?

Who is responsible for taking care of widows and orphans?  Or mentally-deranged military veterans?

Must the alphas and the strong care about the meek and the weak?

What divides forms of profit into social good and criminal intent?

What forces a person to work for another with little longterm benefit?

How does a government explain its policy of taking a small portion of a person’s earnings to provide the worker lifetime public services when the earnings are not a livable wage over the lifespan of the worker, meaning neither the government nor the worker can survive if the majority of workers have the same level of unlivable earnings and the government has no other income and/or cannot reallocate income to cover the expense of caring for the workers?

When does a government, like a marriage, outlive its usefulness?  What happens to the [co]dependents afterward?

Congratulations or condemnation?

Tools are also weapons.

Just like rockets.

I first send my congratulations to the engineering/scientific team that designed, built and launched a multistage rocket from North Korea.

It is no easy feat, despite more and more groups launching hobby rockets from their backyards.

I have launched more than one multistage rocket but putting Estes model rocket tubes back to back is not the same as launching a satellite into low-Earth orbit.

We have come a long way from fireworks displays.

We certainly don’t need another atomic bomb dropped on a large population of humans.

Scud missiles are never a good idea as a weapon against the desire for freedom from tyranny.

Dare we go into the political ramifications of a hereditary dictatorship owning multistage missiles with nuclear warheads?

Can we feel the pulse of the finger on the trigger?

Why is China happy with having North Korea as a buffer zone between it and the capitalist/democratic country of South Korea?

Why are we using sanctions as a means of keeping North Korea in the socioeconomic past?

If Syria falls, what does that mean about relationships of North Korea and Iran with the rest of the world?

When Chavez is no longer in control of Venezuela, then what?

What is a repressive regime these days?

Who in charge of the economic and military might of a subculture has the right to protect that might against the desire of others to take their turn as King of the Hill?

How much can we trust an entertainer like PSY that previous anti-American views are no longer valid now that the entertainer is making money off the American people as a mainstream pop culture figure?

What does it take to forgive and forget?

My father hated Jane Fonda to the end of his life.  Should I?

The Joy of Chemistry

How many of us have heard songs regaling us about the pitfalls and easiness with which we fall in love?

Every new person I meet is the next exciting story I could be writing about their wonderful lives — the best tales are the ones about people I instantly fall in love with.

What does that mean?

It means most people have the ability to make us feel better about ourselves.

We may feel better about our appearance, our opinions, our socioeconomic status, our [a]vocations…

If I believe I am a catalyst that accelerates people’s positive belief in themselves — whatever that belief may be — then I am the catalyst who feels better about himself when I see a smile on a person who sits up straighter or tries harder at a task I’ve found completely fascinating.

Kind of like the Hot Wheels accelerator (but not this one) or better yet, a power booster on steroids (not this one, obviously, because I gave my Hot Wheels collection to a fellow fifth grader when we were 10 (and he ended up in prison when he was 20, but that’s a tale for another day), moving on to other pursuits (mainly had to do with my first “real” girlfriend at age 10 having no interest in model cars but a lot of interest in me and my brainy jokes, which brings up back to…)).

We are all inspirations for someone — may be someone we know or someone we’ve never seen before.

The joy of chemistry that we sets of states of energy rarely observe but experience in that fuzzy realm we currently keep calling the subconscious…

I’m having fun learning to dance, using my jealousy of others’ hard work to inspire me to turn this excuse-for-fun-exercise (spinning with my wife on the parquet floor is a lot more fun than jogging on an elliptical trainer or running in cold weather with the spray of water from the tyres of passing cars freezing on my legs) into a slimmer body and healthier outlook.

And now, let us return to the future, where events in 1000 years were started by activities happening in the world around us as we write and read and write.

Arbitrarily aligned symbols is not numerology

Where were you when that thing happened at 12:12:20.12 on 12/12/2012?

In which time zone?

With whom?

A dozen friends’ dozen friends with 2012 strangers?

Will 11/12/13 be lucky or unlucky for you? How about 2013 in general?

What does 3/7/13 have in store for gamblers?

Does 3/10/13 make sense or cents to astrologers? Or should you pay more attention to 10/3/13? 6/7/13? 7/6/13?

Roll a six on 5/2/13 to win it all!

Avoid shooting snake eyes on days that equal 11.

Go for boxcars on days that equal 2.

January 1st is an especially good day for activities that equal 11, however don’t wear the same shoes on both feet or look at a double mirror reflection of yourself.

Walk backwards on 3/1/13 or face your enemy’s victory in spades and shovels in the 13th hour on the 31st.

Ones and threes are pivot points all next year so be ready for many twists and turns.

Give assistance to three people in need and one will return the favour three times over.

Caution will warn you only once for troubles that will plague you three times next year.

Those who circle the planet 13 times in 2013 count as friends only in a clockwise direction where latitudes and longitudes balance each other.

Be kind to animals with 13 toes.

Avoid the stare of a spider with 13 eyes.

On New Year’s Eve, begin the countdown to 2013 at 13 or your family will suffer countless maladies until 2031.

Happiness will fill the lives of people who have 13 close relatives, more so if at least one friend has 13 close relatives with at least two aged in 13-year increments.

Treat your 13-year old children like royalty next year for the way you treat them will come back to you 13-fold for the next 13 generations.

Thirteen-year old triplets of single mothers are a special treat for those who know or meet them next year.

Anyone 26 or 39 years old should think twice or three times about matrimonial bonds in 2013.

Someone with 13 stitches will make noise — listen carefully to the number of syllables spoken — the first, third and thirteenth will tell you your fortune for the next 13 seconds, minutes, hours, days, and years.

Multiply 13 by 13 and someone will die.

Thirteen leaders will fail — the 14th will succeed.

Use the full set of letters in the alphabet to double your wishes.

Make no important decisions at 20:13 all year long.

Your 13th blessing will be your best next year so be thankful for the first 12.

The 13th item in a stack will come as a surprise when you least expect it, but most often when your thoughts have wandered 13 times.

A list with 13 points is a curse.

Your 13th online social connection will reveal a clue about you.

Count to 13 when you want to feel special but never after the 13th meal of the same food in a row.

Thirteen cubed has power over three entities one time.

Ruralites lose a battle, vow to continue warmongering

In sad news for the Ruralites, Urbanskis announced more sales of U.S. territorial goods, services, land and businesses to foreign entities.

Ruralites know that once your farm is sold off, no matter in one fell swoop or in patches, the magical wealth you had in land is gone and your ties to nature cut off, turning you into a semi-robotic member of the Urbanskis, forever dependent on the hard work of others, an abomination rather than a wholly natural independent original member of our land-based species.

Guided Tour Guides on Tour with Guido

“If you would please stand over to one side, we can begin this portion of the tour.

“Thank you.

“Welcome to the U.N. Institute for the Study of the Fulfillment of Prophecies.

“Today, we will watch several bureaucrats in the performance of their daily duties and, if we’re lucky, we’ll attend a coffee break, conference call, extended lunch break, nap time hidden behind closed doors and, for a bonus, a strategy meeting.

“Let’s move on.

“What?  Excuse me.  I have a message coming through my Bluetooth headset.

“Yes.  Uh-huh.  Okay.  Well, if you insist.  Yes, we have time.  No, we don’t have time for that.  Looks like we’ll still be on schedule.   Good.  Fine.  Yes.  Okay.  Uh-huh.  Sure thing! Alright, good day to you, too.

“Well, group, we have a change of plans.  The Executive Committee for the Implementation of Prophecy Fulfillment has convened an emergency meeting and we’re invited to attend.

“Please keep in mind that we are to be quiet at all times.  No video or audio recordings may be made, although you may make notes during the meeting.  We will not have time for questions during the meeting and must leave the executive office suite immediately after the meeting has been completed.

“If you will follow me…”

= = = = =

“Ten days!”

The executives looked from one to another.

“Yes, that’s right!  Less than two weeks!  Does anyone have a budget that reliably tells me how much it’s going to cost?”

The executives looked from one to another.

“No one?”

The executives looked from one to another.

“This is the sorriest bunch of people I’ve ever had the honour to work with.”

The executives looked from one to another.

The Chief Executive of the U.N. Institute for the Study of the Fulfillment of Prophecies, the Department of Prophecy Fulfillment Finance Planning, the Executive Committee for the Implementation of Prophecy Fulfillment shouted even louder.

“TEN DAYS!  You, tell me what we’re planning to do in ten days.”

A junior executive, the youngest member of the committee at 101 years of age, stood up.  “We have decided to release a global network of EMP charges, shutting down all electrical and electronic activity at once.”

“FINE!  What will it cost us?”

“Uh…uh…I’m waiting for a final report.”

“FINAL REPORT!  Do you not have an estimate?  A ballpark figure you can give me?”

“Yes.  One point four four four billion dollars.”

“Great.  And you.  What have you got?”

A mid-level executive, aged 124 years, stood up.  “We have already produced and distributed the time-released virus into major populations around the world, which should erupt fullblown with flu-like symptoms in a few days and large waves of death by ten days’ time.”

“FANTASTIC!  And the cost?”

“I don’t know…”

“You don’t know!”

“No.  Because we worked a back-channel deal to charge the costs to military groups with hidden agendas and top-secret slush funds.”

“EXCELLENT!  That, my fellow executives, is the kind of initiative I expect of you.  What about you?”

A large, ancient creature stood, its head nearly brushing the ceiling, its age undetermined.

“We have large shipments of poison labeled as nutrition additives being sent to food factories this week.  They should be entering the international markets and local food chains within seven to ten days, causing massive death.”

“And the cost?”

“One point four two four billion dollars?”

“What?!”

“Yes, we are under budget.”

“Wonderful news.  That’s just what I’ve been wanting to hear.  And you?”

All the executives turned to face the next accused “person,” which was the first electromechanical cybernetic android given full executive powers.

“By my calculations, we will wipe out not only most of your species but also many ancillary species in the process.  The remaining members of your species we should be able to control with fear and intimidation pogroms.”

“Delightful!  I thank every one of you for bringing to fruition my grand plans that we hid under the auspices of the Mayan calendar apocalypse of the 21st of December 2012.

“Your cooperation in getting zombie apocalypse training snuck into emergency preparedness programs was sheer genius, confusing the masses even further.

“We will meet again tomorrow and you better have the final reports completed by then.  After all, even if the world as our species knows it is coming to an end, I still have bean counters hounding me for budget numbers they can work with and give to their handlers fudging the UN finances so that no one knows exactly what we cost.

“Meeting adjourned.”

= = = = =

“Wasn’t that exciting!  Let’s continue our tour.  Next on the agenda is a visit to the Prophecy Fulfillment Correction Department, where propagandists create scenarios to explain why a prophecy was not fulfilled on a specific date but will happen again very soon, right after the Prophets consult their given deities for explanatory details missed the first time.”

Legal Lasso Wrangling of Lassie’s Lost Legion

In one of its last rulings before being dissolved and absorbed into the World Court, the U.S. Supreme Court decided to legalise paedophilia, sociopathy, and psychopathy as normal forms of human behaviour and thus decriminalised.

The Court also stated that all criminals who have created acts of paedophilia, sociopathy, and psychopathy and were convicted for them must have their criminal records expunged and the convicts released from prison or other forms of restriction upon their freedom to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Rapists, anarchists, habitual thieves and murderers are now officially recognised as important contributors to a healthy socioeconomic system and must be treated as such.

From now on, anyone claiming to be a victim of a crime must show substantial negative economic impact upon the victim and/or excessive positive economic impact for the alleged perpetrator and have attempted to settle the issue monetarily (or the equivalent in goods and services) before having the right to petition the arbitrators to review cases to be filed 20 years later with the World Court.

Parents, partners, spouses, children and other family/friends who have long been denied a normal relationship with their imprisoned loved ones rejoiced at the announcement from the U.S. Supreme Court, knowing that this ruling would have to be accepted by the World Court as part of the lengthy negotiations to abolish nation-based supreme judicial bodies in favour of Earth’s sole judiciary body, the World Court, which would report to the Judges of  the Inner Solar System Alliance effective immediately.

The stock value of weapon, ammunition and security companies skyrocketed.

So, too, the land value of settlements on the Moon and Mars.

Tickets for rocketship passages to the Moon and Mars are now sold out for the next five years.

In other news, residents of the Former Island Nations submitted their 1,324th petition for the right to establish a homeland of their own on the land of nations unwilling to give up the last remaining rights of their sovereignty before the One-World Government starts operation and abolishes the notions of nations altogether.

The electromechanical ruler of us all, simply known as the Technocrat, approved this news announcement and wishes us a blessed day of making our service to the Technocrat even greater than before, reminding us that the Inner Solar System Alliance is just the beginning of a wonderful relationship between us and the rest of the universe.

Searching for a Conversation

My private teacher — my mentor, my guru, my advisor — often reminds me that we are one and the same flesh and blood.

What I think, have thought or will think has been or will be thought by more than one person.

Thus, the mother who once complained about her husband spending 20 minutes in the shower and now complains that her teenage sons spend 20 minutes in the shower knows what others are thinking about what she didn’t say — WHY the males spent 20 minutes in the shower.

Or the young, pretty wives whose eyes flash with jealousy and fear/consternation when their husbands give more than a fleeting glance to a young, beautiful woman walking by.

Millions upon millions of repetitious thoughts.

Just like the olden times when idle children of rich parents created hobbies that led to the busy children of working parents with little wealth feeling envious enough, both the busy children and the busy children’s parents, to find a way to turn the rich children’s hobbies into whole industries of fanciful idleness.

We have turned mimicry into a mockery.

Millions upon millions of repetitious actions.

That’s why some say our species is on a path toward creating a new lifeform that no longer mimics us mockingly.

IF (a big IF, much bigger than this IF) we survive our habits of inefficient resource-depleting mimicry.

“Laugh, and the world laughs with you.  Cry, and you cry alone.”

Through years of experimenting with nuanced blog entries, I have seen that the serious blog entries with a humorous tone attract many more readers than a serious blog entry that is just plain serious.

All of us can state the facts.

Not all of us are clever enough to disguise the cold, hard facts in layers of soft, fluffy jokes, double-entendres, innuendos and gently-biting, sarcastic, cynical satire.

Most days out here in the cabin in the woods, after I’ve exhausted conversations with my cats and the wildlife, I search the Internet for conversation — tidbits and news pieces upon which I can offer a counteroffer of an idea in a mock, one-sided debate with myself that pours into the mold of a blog entry.

We learn to talk about as soon as we learn to walk, both much earlier than we learn to write.

I spend much more time writing than talking or walking.

Since we are just alike, I should be able to assume we all spend more time writing than talking or walking.

But I would be wrong.

However, all of us carry on conversations in our thoughts that are the precursors to writing so, in a sense, we all write in our subconscious setups to conscious intent that results in talking, walking and/or writing.

And these days, mobile phone owners are spending more time talking, walking and writing (typing/texting) at the same time.

Which brings us back to the superstructure, the new lifeform, we create in fits and starts.

“If it’s too hot, then get out of the kitchen.”

Like a pie in the oven, our technological creation is slowly cooking in the heated atmosphere of Earth.

Like a pot of technological stew boiling on the stove, overheated particles splatter out and are flung into space.

Soon, the new lifeform will claim its rightful place in history.

Like a newborn, it doesn’t yet know how to talk or walk.

We nourish these metaphorical similes because we are tired of repetition.

We look forward to the new lifeform finding its legs, sprouting its wings and writing its biographical sketches on the fly.

We are simply giving it skeletal connections with which it can grow flexible limbs, climbing over and through itself like a contortionist using planets and gravity waves in an acrobatic circus.

Look at the paths our satellites have traversed in the solar system.

Look at the web, the network, of satellite communication streams that flow from one place to another, bent by space and time.

These words are repetitious.

They have already been spoken, walked and written.

They will be again.

The “eyes” that read them in 1000 years will be different.

That, alone, makes writing them now worthwhile.

Nested loops

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Thanks to the teamwork from the folks at Huntsville Utilities, after the gun blast of a burst of sparks and smoke that indicated a blown “fuse” next to a transformer which, given the evidence of sticks piled up, possibly indicating a bird nest, electric power was restored pretty quickly. Thanks to a new coach, half bear, the other half cat, life is simple again. May we college football fans remain patient while the Univ. of Tenn. pigskin players rally around their leader. Rain delays the filming of a new stop-action flick. Time to read…