HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep Sea, and music in its roar:
I love not Man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.”

Lord Byron

The above image is a picture of what is called the Flame Nebula or NGC 2024. A nebula is a distinct body of interstellar gas and dust. At one point before telescopes became much bigger and refined, the term was used to describe any diffused astronomical object, including galaxies beyond the Milky Way. A good example of this is the Andromeda galaxy. It was known as the Andromeda Nebula until the early 20th century when Edwin Hubble discovered that the Andromeda “nebula” was outside of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Up until this point, nebulae were thought to all be in the Milky Way. And that the MW was the only galaxy in the Universe. Hubble discovered that Andromeda was millions of light years from the MW and a galaxy in its own right containing billions of stars. In a sense, Hubble discovered the Universe for humanity. Image credit:  NASA, ESA, and N. Da Rio (University of Virginia); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) If you would like to learn more about the Flame Nebula, and Edwin Hubble please check out these links: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2021/hubble-spots-swirls-of-dust-in-the-flame-nebula and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame_Nebula and https://www.esa.int/About_Us/ESA_history/Edwin_Hubble_The_man_who_discovered_the_Cosmos

“To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.”

William Blake

This is an image from the Hubble Space telescope. It is what is known as a planetary nebula. The name is a misnomer because they are unrelated to planets. It is thought the usage of the term originated in the 1700s with William Herschel and others. They described these types of nebulae as resembling planets due to their shapes. In reality, they are known as emission nebulae consisting of expanding ionized shells of gas that are ejected from older red giant stars as they become white dwarf’s. A white dwarf is the exposed, naked core of a former red giant star. The above is a picture is NGC 6891 and is located in the constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin. Image credit: NASA, ESA, A. Hajian (University of Waterloo), H. Bond (Pennsylvania State University), and B. Balick (University of Washington); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America) To learn more about NGC 6891 and planetary nebula, please see these links: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2021/hubble-s-view-of-planetary-nebula-reveals-complex-structure and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula

“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”

Lewis Carroll

This is an image of four different Nebula. The Eagle Nebula, the Omega Nebula, Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula. In the 1950s, astronomers were able to use the distances of some of the stars in these nebulae to infer the existence of the Sagittarius Arm of our Milky Way Galaxy. At the time, scientist were trying to figure out what kind of galaxy the Milky Way was – i.e. was it a spiral galaxy like Andromeda or something different. This was and still is to some degree a big deal because we are embedded in the Milky Way, so it is hard to know our position and the shape of the galaxy. Plus the fact that the Milky Way is really big, anywhere from 100,000 to 120,000 light years across, 1000 light years thick and containing 400 billion stars. As big as it is, it is only considered a middle weight when compared to other galaxies. New studies have shown that the above Nebulae are part of a substructure in the arm that is angled differently from the rest of the arm. These substructures have been called spurs or feathers and can be found on the arms of other spiral galaxies. Our solar system (including earth) is located about 25,000 light-years from the galactic center and 25,000 light years away from the rim. So if you use the analogy of a vinyl record, we are about half way between the center and the edge of the Milky Way and the MW itself is a barred spiral galaxy with two spiral arms. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech. If you want to learn more please see these links: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/eagle-omega-nebula-trifid-and-lagoon-four-famous-nebulae and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carina%E2%80%93Sagittarius_Arm and https://phys.org/news/2016-07-earth-milky.html

“Time changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change.”

Thomas Hardy

The above picture is from Hubble. It shows a barred spiral galaxy called NGC 3568. It lies 57 million light years away in the constellation of Centaurus. It’s first recorded discovery was on April 21st, 1835 by the English astronomer John Herschel. It is more recently famous for a supernova discovery in 2014 by amateur astronomers from the Backyard Observatory Supernova Search in New Zealand. While most astronomical discoveries are the work of professionals, the Backyard Observatory Supernova Search or BOSS is an amateur collaboration of 6 friends from Australia and New Zealand. They are a dedicated amateur astronomy group that have been searching for new supernovae sightings since 2008. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun. If you would like learn more please visit these web sites: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2021/hubble-views-a-galaxy-with-an-explosive-past and http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/hubble-image-ngc-3568-10358.html and https://www.bosssupernova.com/

“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!”

Rudyard Kipling

HEY!! I AM LOOKING AT YOU!! THAT’S WHO!!

If you are reading this then you have continued to survive Covid 19 so far and so have I!! And that my friends is a very, very, good thing. I am still hoping that I can keep saying this for all of next year. I really mean that, especially if you have not gotten your vaccine yet.

Looking at the numbers on December 6th it appears that we have added another 36,000 deaths in the last 30 days for a total of 811, 000 individuals just in this country alone. And as big as that number is, it is actually down for the second month in a row. So yes it is terrible, but for the moment, we are heading in the right direction. Over 80 percent of those deaths have been the unvaccinated. What a needless and tragic loss of life. So senseless.

I thought for sure that Texas would surge ahead of California but it is still neck and neck, with Cali pulling ahead by a few hundred more deaths over the last month than Texas. The above picture has not changed. It represents the top 10 states with the most deaths. California is at 1st spot with 75,000 and Michigan is at the 10th spot with 26,000 thousand. Florida is not reporting as much and I wonder if they are actually much higher than 61,000 they say? This has been a pandemic of misinformation besides one caused by a virus. The economic powers that be are in the process of trying to stay afloat and recoup losses sustained since 2020, so it behooves them to make things sound better than they are to bring in those consumer dollars. Of course the virus does not care what you say or do and will go right on causing mayhem, death and disability.

The big news is the new variant called “Omicron.” So far at the middle of the month the mortality and morbidity did not appear as severe as Delta, but the transmissibility was significantly higher. At the middle of the month, the number of new cases per day was in the 150 thousand plus range but by December 22nd and 23rd the forecasted increase with Omicron started to skyrocket as it became the dominate strain in the country. On December 22nd the new positive cases were 236 thousand and on the 23rd it had jumped to 267 thousand. On Friday the 24th, there were 200,000 new case reported but from only 20 states due to the holiday. My guess, the number was closer to 400,000 new infections for Friday. At the end of the day Wednesday, December 30th, the new infections for the day were 572 thousand! Wow!

By the end of the month, we had added another 36,000 deaths for a total of about 847,000 fatalities in the United States. Another 36,000 lives lost in less than 30 days. Most of these were an unnecessary, tragic loss of life due to the unvaccinated. Thousands of individuals that thought it “won’t happen to me” or that it was a big lie. Oh well, what is the saying “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” I am thinking that the number of deaths for next month are going to be dramatically higher due to the Omicron variant, especially for the unvaccinated. Hopefully that will not be the case, but I guess time will tell. If you interested in the numbers please see this link: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/.

If you interested in getting a good understanding of what is going on with Covid each week without having to watch the news, check out this link for the Osterholm Update on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FC1G09xkOFc and if you don’t want to listen on YouTube you can check out Apple Pod cast. Dr. Michael Osterholm is an American epidemiologist, Regents Professor, and Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Osterholm gives an update each week on where we are with the virus.

Well again, enough about Covid!! Let’s move on to something much better to talk about!! And that was the month of November for being outdoors. The weather was simply beautiful here in Colorado with an exceptionally mild month.

The above picture was taken on November 3rd, 2021 at about 2pm in the afternoon. This is looking South East from Horsetooth Mountain Park. It is one of my favorite views in the park. Here I was looking out over the Front Range of Colorado, down towards Denver. The air quality was great and the temps were in the 60 to 70 range. A little too warm for November but nice never the less.

The above picture was also taken on November 3rd, 2021 at about 5pm in the afternoon. After finishing up a little trail running, Marvin and I did a short walk with Janet. We got in the habit of walking two times per day back in the summer when it was abnormally hot for Colorado and there were significant air quality issues from the fires out in California. Even though conditions have gotten a lot better, we decided to continue the practice into the fall. This way I get to go for a run with dog boy and a walk with Janet later in the afternoon after she gets home from work.

The above picture was taken November 5th, 2021 at about 12noon. Here Marvin and I were doing a little in town trail running at the back of Spring Canyon Park, in the Pineridge Open Space. Another beautiful fall day.

The above picture was taken on November 13th, 2021 at about 1pm in the afternoon. Here we are just walking in our Neighborhood. Our youngest daughter was house sitting and decided to walk the owners dog with us – Haley Jo. Marvin always seems happy to have another dog walking with him.

The above picture was taken November 17th, 2021 at about 1pm. Another beautiful trail run in Horsetooth Mountain Park. Here I am looking East across Horsetooth Reservoir and across Fort Collins. I did not have Marvin with me this day. It was way too warm for him and there is very little water access up on the mountain, so he got to stay home with his dog buddy Cash.

The above picture was taken on November 18th, 2021 at about 2pm in the afternoon. It is from the Hewlett Gulch Trail that is just west of Fort Collins off of Highway 14. It is part of the Canyon Lakes Ranger District in the Roosevelt National Forest. I really like this one for the dog due to the water access along most of the trail. Especially with the abnormally higher temperatures that were the norm this year. If your interested in more information about this trail check out this link: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/arp/recreation/recarea/?recid=36779&actid=50

The above picture was taken on November 20th, 2021 at about 3pm in the afternoon. Janet and I were out for our usual daily walk and exploring a downed cottonwood tree when Marvin jumped up on it unexpectedly. Which was a surprise to both of us. With his heavier bone structure, he is not a dog know for his jumping abilities. Lol.

The above image was taken on November 25th, 2021 at about 3pm in the afternoon. Marvin and I were doing a run along the Poudre River Bike trail. It was another warm day for November, so I stopped to let him get a drink out of the river.

This last picture was taken on November 30th, 2021 at about 3pm in the afternoon. Here I was looking Southwest across Horsetooth reservoir from the Fort Collins side. The sun seemed to be at a perfect angle with the clouds for what I think turned out to be a great photo. It was more of a typical fall day in Colorado, with temps in the mid 40s, so Marvin and I got in a long trail run along the lake.

While the month was unseasonably warm and dry for us in November it did make for some great days of running, walking, biking and just being outdoors. We did miss the early season snow a little bit but not too much. Lol

Like October, I did get a few more books and “lecture courses” finished up during the month. The first one I would like to talk about is a lecture course from the Great Courses website called “Years that Changed History: 1215” taught by Professor Dorsey Armstrong, PhD. She is an Associate Professor of English and medieval Literature at Purdue University. I watched this lecture series in video format but it would work as well in audio only. (It is a lot cheaper in the audio only version).

I got this course out of curiosity when I was reading about the importance of the Magna Carta and how it is consider the basis for the creation of the US Constitution. In the process of looking up more information on it, I came across this course. To my surprise, there were many different events that happen in and around the year 1215, not just the signing of the Magna Carta by King John. This year and the years around it, turned out to have pivotal turning points in world history.

Without giving too much away, the course covers the signing of the Magna Carta, the meeting of the Church’s Forth Lateran Council, the crusades, and the rise of Genghis Khan, to just name a few. Not only do you get a look into what was going on in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, but Dr. Armstrong also gives a look at what was also happening in the rest of the world (Japan, Africa, and Mesoamerica) at the same time. I had no “idea” is to put it mildly. This is one of those lecture series that I will listen to a second time. The course is divided up into 24-thirty minute lectures for a total of about 12.5 hours of listening. Another bonus is that Dr. Armstrong has a good sense of humor when presenting the material and makes what could be a dry subject very entertaining. You can find the audio version on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3qk82WC and if you prefer the video version, you can find it here at the Great Courses: https://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/years-that-changed-history-1215

If you want to learn more about Professor Armstrong please see this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorsey_Armstrong

The next book I would like to give a recommendation on is called “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari. Let me start off saying that this is a great book. It is one of those that I will listen to a second time or reference back to. It is that good. The book was published in 2015 and is just as relevant today as it was when it was first published. The book is what the title says it is. It is a brief history of humankind from about 100,000 years ago to the present. In the process of presenting the story, Dr. Harari integrates history and science in a way that makes you ponder the currently accepted narratives found in society today. It is one of those books that give a fascinating look at how humanity became what it is – the dominate species on the planet. This should be required reading in all colleges. Heck, it should be required reading for High School Seniors before they graduate.

This book was very easy to listen to. Dr. Harari’s prose was smooth and concise. It made for a very enjoyable experience. I listened to the book as an audio book, but it would probably work even better in traditional format so that you can reference previous material much easier. There is a lot of information presented and I found myself re-listening to sections to help with digestion.

If you would like to learn more about this amazing author, Yuval Noah Harari, please check out this link: Yuval Noah Harari – Wikipedia

Of course you can find this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/32tfaHR

The next book I would like to talk about is called: “80/20 Running, by Matt Fitzgerald.” Since I run a lot, I am always looking for books on running and especially audio books that I can listen to while running.

This is a great book to get you started in the principles (the whys and how’s) of doing most of your runs at lower intensity and only 20 percent at the at higher intensity levels. I have been seriously running now for about 9 years and I had been exposed to this idea before from Joe Friel’s book “Fast after 50.” (another great book). What I liked best about the 80/20 book is that it explained, in easy to understand detail, the importance of slowing down a bit in training to help improve overall performance. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but it does work. Now don’t get me wrong, you still have to do a fair amount of the much harder intensity part, but not all the time. When you are training with out a coach to watch your progress, there is a tendency to get in a rut with moderate effort being the main workout all the time. And this just wears you down. Or you put in too much high intensity training and get injured. Either way this is counter productive.

I listened to this book as an audio book but it would probably work better in traditional format, especially if you are new to running or a seasoned runner but want to take it up a notch or two.

Of course you can find this on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3moFvOu

I also recommend Joe Friel’s book “Fast after 50” – especially if you are over 50 like me! Lol. You can find it on Amazon too: https://amzn.to/3Hfu03S

Last but not least, I would like to showcase a new piece of art work before I go. I started a “Sun Face” series in October and this is the first one of the series that I have finished. It is constructed of 3/4 inch plywood and painted with high quality latex paint. Then sealed with a clear latex primer. The sculpture measures about 28 inches by 28 inches by 3 inches deep. Its weight is about 25 lbs. This one is rated for interior or exterior placement, but if you are putting it outside, I would suggest a protected location. The latex paint, while durable, will gradually fade over time if placed in a location with strong sunlight. And like all paint, it is susceptible to the whims of harsh weather. I call this one “Squished Lego Sun Face.”

SQUISHED LEGO SUN FACE

These piece and other types of art work are for sale and can be found on my Etsy site: https://www.etsy.com/shop/strugglingprotoplasm/edit?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

Wow! I have come to the end of another blog post! Yea! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. Before I go, I would like to touch again on the idea of becoming minimalist. This past month I was reminded of the importance of this idea when I came across an art installation post on FB that I had forgotten about called “Can’t Help Myself.” The piece was done by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu. It was first seen at the Guggenheim Museum in 2016.

It is of a large robotic arm that is constantly trying to save it’s hydraulic fluid that is colored red like blood. The arm makes other movements that give it anthropomorphic (human like) characteristics. The robot is in a losing battle trying to contain the very fluid that allows it to move and hence live. It is designed to lose a little more each day than it can recollect and so eventually it will cease movement and die (it bleeds out). I believe the robot finally came to rest in 2019. There are several interpretations of what the artists meant with the work, but the one that resonated with me the most is that it is a metaphor on modern life. On how we kill ourselves and others in the pursuit of money and profit in an effort to just keep living. And that the system is set up by others to keep us enslaved to the system so that the majority of profit goes to the wealthiest of the wealthy.

Here we are working and working, spending the best years of our lives, playing the game that the richest people in the world have designed. Trapped and slowly drowning with a growing list of responsibilities, debt, and expectations – combined with decreasing pay in relation to inflation and free time for exploration. And where does it all end? In death… It all ends in death. So you might find that interpretation depressing and I do too, but relevant and fitting.

So how do we combat such an overwhelming and fixed system? Well, if you have read my previous blog posts, you know what I am going to say, become “Minimalist.” It is really the only way on a personal and individual scale to combat a rigged consumeristic system. It is something that we can all do to fight back against the current order. When I first heard about the idea of minimalism I thought of a monk living in a monastery, bare walls, owning nothing, eating the same gruel each and everyday, etc.… But in reality this is not the case, though I guess if you wanted to do this you could. Lol.

Minimalism is different for each individual. You choose how much “minimalism” you want in your life and how much you don’t want. It is about understanding what matters most in life and removing the things that do not support the “what matters most part.” It is a way to break free of a rigged system. A way to start on the path of bringing back the happiness and joy we all want and need in our lives.

Ok, ok enough of the soapbox, but if your interested and want to learn more about sustainability, minimalism and the steady state economy, please see these sites: https://www.sustain.ucla.edu/what-is-sustainability/ and https://www.theminimalists.com/minimalism/ and https://steadystate.org/

So take care my friends and if you have not gotten vaccinated, then get it done. We all want this “Groundhog Day – Covid – Marry – Go – Round” to end. Until next time Adios!!

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous…, leading to the most amazing views.” Edward Abbey