The Sublime Roundabout

Bubbling up to the surface Like a long-forgotten steamer trunk Dripping and cold from the depths below Seaweed clinging and draped across and around Dripping dank and cold Yet perhaps filled with treasure Bubbling up to the surface  Like molten lava in a vast brimstone lake Glowing and orange red and fiery Spewing ropy molten stone across the landscape  Hot and hot and hot Yet bringing forth the wealth of the earth below Bubbling up to the surface  Like the life-giving waters of a spring Flowing clear and pure and constant  Spreading across the dry landscape Cool and deep and placid Yet joyful and sweet and lovely Blazing across the sky Like a bolt of lightning from the throne of Zeus Shining across the deep storm's face Leaping from the crest of one bank of clouds to another Quick and fleeting and ephemeral  Yet burning the mind and searing the soul Blazing across the sky Like the golden rays of Apollo ...

Why must you hurt me, when I love you so? When I can do nothing else nor want to, for love made me and fed me and kept me in better days? Why will you cut me, and disfigure my face, and fill me with woe? I have only loved you for your beauty as you once loved me for mine in the days before the world moved on. Now you scar me with nails and put burning drops of quicksilver in my nose; you have set the animals on me, so you have, and they have eaten of my softest parts. Around me the evil men gather and there's no peace from their laughter. Yet still I love you and would serve you and even bring the magic again, if you would allow me, for that is how my heart was cast when I rose from the earth. And once I was strong as well as beautiful, but now my strength is almost gone. - Stephen King The Dark Tower

I wish I could wash my mind Like I wash my hands My hands get all kinds of things on them And it usually just washes right off Yet my mind.... my mind... Things crawl in there and take up residence Sometimes welcome Sometimes not And it seems that the unwelcomed are those That put their feet up on the furniture And stay a while

This weekend I spent some time in southern Utah. It was a total blast - we went to Calf Creek, which is one of my absolute favorite places on earth. But this post isn't about that. Rather, this post is about the night's sky. See, for the first time in my life, I saw the Andromeda Galaxy. It looks like this: What I saw through my binoculars looked a little more like this: Just a faint smudge with a brighter central region. So here's what's been blowing my mind. Andromeda is 2.5 million light years away. That's so far away that it's almost incomprehensible, although it is close enough to see with the naked eye (after I knew what I was looking for I was able to see it, but it was very, very faint). First off, think of how much light must be emitted in order to even see anything at all! But then, thinking of the distances involved, we're really looking back into the past. See, the light that's finally hitting our eyes was emitted that 2.5 ...

I don't want to go to Mars. I find that I just have very little interest in going someplace that far away. I do like exploring, but I'll stick around my own planet, thank you very much. However, geek that I am (and I know you are too!) I find myself fascinated by our efforts to get to the red planet. I love the pictures that we've seen and wondered when we'd take the first human selfie from the surface (or even the orbit) of Mars... I loved Matt Damon in The Martian , which was not at all what I was expecting (way better!). So today I'm worried about the Schiarparelli  lander. Like the earlier attempt by the European Space Agency (ESA) at landing on Mars (the Beagle 2 ), there appears to have been a mishap and they've lost communication with the lander. Here's hoping things are OK and they can repair or restore communications... Here's an image showing the successes and failures of missions to Mars: It appears a little incomplete (t...

These are just too beautiful not to share:

No, not this: http://emp.byui.edu/marrottr/callelectsurjsbrmc.htm I mean this: http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/official-statement/political-neutrality I read this article this morning: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5802d33de4b0985f6d15724c I'm guessing that there are a lot of LDS folks who are uncomfortable supporting Donald Trump for President. And I'm sure that there are a similar number of LDS folks who are uncomfortable supporting Hillary Clinton. But the reasons for this are interesting. LDS folks are interested in the character of people. This may sound like a given, but we have a strong doctrinal background for this. In the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 134 clearly spells out each member's duty with regard to the government AND the elected officers and officials: 1 We believe that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering ...

i wish that you could just understand me

Him: I often wonder why God would send us here if He knew we would be tortured and suffer so much. If we lived with Him before we came here, and since He is omnipotent, surely He could have taught us things. Instead we come here and feel so lonely and suffer so much. I am sure that there were things that we could only learn in this way. But I wonder what they are. Her: I think that people who question such things have weak faith and understanding. Him: So you're saying that my understanding is weak and my faith is imperfect? Her: I think so. (Fin)

For some reason, the word "sufferage" always reminds me of this: I know it's silly, but then much in life is. Especially mine. :) One thing that's not silly is this: http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/election-update-women-are-defeating-donald-trump/ Thank goodness for the 19th Amendment.

I know a few things about myself, foremost amongst which is that I am a geek. I know this isn't a surprise to any of you who read this blog and/or know me... I was recently in a training where the presenter posted a picture of some clouds that looked something like this: and asked if anyone knew what these were. I of course raised my hand and said they were mammatus clouds. She was delighted that anyone would know what these were. :) Fellow geeks of the world, UNITE!!! This morning I came across this article: http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161013-this-map-will-show-you-the-windiest-place-on-earth-right-now It links to this website, if you'd prefer a larger version: https://earth.nullschool.net/ Give it a try. It's way fun. :) At least, for geeks like me it is.

This morning I came across this article - http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/10/12/497063888/asian-americans-continue-to-drift-away-from-republicans-but-it-s-a-complicated-s And I found it interesting. For a number of reasons. First off, let's try to define what "Asia" is. I think that those in Far East Asia consider themselves as "Asians", but where do you draw the line? Traditionally it's been the Ural Mountains, a roughly north to south mountain range that extend from the Arctic to the Aral Sea. That's all well and good, if you're looking at Russia - which is a vast, complex country that spans two continents. Are the Russians in the eastern part of the country Asian? And there are countries that are considered part of Asia, but whose citizens are not like other "Asians" - India, Pakistan, Arabia, Farsi, and the whole "Middle East" deal, with it's Palestinians, Turks, Jews, Kurds, Iraqis, Jordanians, etc....

Also, HAHAHAHAAAA! Elephant!!!

I'm not even sure how to start this one. I'm going to try to think as rationally as I can... There's just so much. Anyway - bear with me. 1. The Trump Talk. How can anyone speak like that? I mean, I'm a dude, and I've been in the Navy, and I know that people talk like that. So I'm not surprised, sadly. But... I'm disgusted. I haven't even bothered to watch or listen to what was said - I can guess, and I've read a couple of commentaries about it. And Mr. Trump himself called it "locker room talk" whatever that means, and as if that excuses it. I just... I don't even know what to think. I'm not sure if I'm more disappointed that he said it in the first place or that I'm not surprised. I'm also disappointed that this is what we're talking about, rather than the issues. It's a distraction, and it has become an issue in its own right - for better or worse, character is something we have to talk about when it comes t...

I've been thinking a lot about you Praying for you Wondering why God would lead you to a job That just tortures you this way Does He want you to be tortured? Are you supposed to learn from this experience? If so, what? And when will you have it learned enough? What he thought: Heh

There is within me A tiny black hole Of the deep space variety One that sucks everything in And gives nothing back And not even light Can escape There is within me A vast burning star Brighter and hotter than Our own sun Sending forth glorious light Warmth, heat, and fire That fills the immensity of my heart And lights the very depths of my soul And sometimes the blackness wins And sometimes the light wins But it all happens inside my soul Unseen, unknown Unknowable...

So I was in Lowe's the other day to buy some plumbing supplies. They had already trotted out their fake Christmas trees. Other than the fact that it is somewhat jarring to see Christmas trees mingled with Halloween yard displays, the more disturbing aspect was that it was SEPTEMBER. Then I read this: http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20160929-this-is-why-christmas-creep-makes-us-cringe One of the lines I love most in this article is the following: Part of Nicotera’s anger, for instance, is that nostalgia for an earlier time. “The day after Thanksgiving, the whole world opened up and there was Christmas,” she recalls. “People today are missing that thrill — they are missing the awe and surprise.” And this is all too true. One of the greatest things I remember about Christmastime is the unfolding of events, the heightened anticipation of seeing the tree go up, of the gradual increases in decorations both around town as well as in my home, and of the Advent calendar marking t...

Found this article this morning: http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/03/travel/china-hunan-glass-toilet/?iid=ob_lockedrail_topeditorial I'm all about good design. It's important to how one experiences the world, and the built environment is important to people - it's where we spend a large portion of our time. So when it comes to a bathroom, experience is everything. Scroll down to the end of the article and check out the pictures of toilets in unusual locations. It's worth it. And try to imagine yourself in one of these locations, taking care of the necessary... All of this reminds me of my favorite bathroom experience. I know, it's not something we talk about, but this one... Yeah. It was memorable. So I went with the boy to a debate tournament as a judge. I'd done this a couple of times - debate tournaments are always looking for judges, and they'll take just about anyone. This one was more fun than usual because instead of just judging the argument stuf...

"Desire" Two hearts fading, like a flower.  And all this waiting, for the power.  For some answer, to this fire.  Sinking slowly.  The water’s higher.  Desire  With no secrets. No obsession.  This time I'm speeding with no direction.  Without a reason. What is this fire?  Burning slowly. My one and only.  Desire You know me. You don't mind waiting.  You just can't show me, but God I'm praying,  That you'll find me, and that you'll see me,  That you run and never tire.  Desire

Had an interesting conversation Saturday with my sweets. She asked about the wage gap and if I believed that it was a real thing... So I went back (mentally) to this article: http://www.vox.com/2016/8/1/12108126/gender-wage-gap-explained-real and this video: We discussed how this is a fairly complex thing - that as a society, women earn much less than men - something like 78 cents on the dollar, and that in the same profession (assuming the same level of experience and education) women earn 94 cents on the dollar. We talked about the fact that society views jobs traditionally occupied by women (teacher, nurse, secretary, etc) as being less valuable and that this contributes to part of the large-scale problem. And we talked that irrespective of the job - that is, people in the exact same position and functioning in exactly the same way - women earn less than men FOR NO GOOD REASON. Now, I understand that women have other responsibilities that they feel responsible for, includi...