Category: OCF

On a Lighter Note

photog Current Events, Life in Dunwich, OCF, photog's Corner , , , ,

Wow, was I in a black mood yesterday.  I shouldn’t dwell on the motives and the just desserts that our insect overlords have and deserve respectively.  It’s not good for my soul.

So today Camera Girl and I were walking around the yards looking at what Fall has done to the place and we saw some interesting stuff.  We checked out the garden and there were some ripe raspberries left on the plants.


So we ate them as we walked.

We picked three butternut squashes that were still on the vine, even thought their color wasn’t very hopeful looking.  But the vine leaves were dying so it made sense to pick them.

I snapped a few foliage shots

 

I checked the Montauk daisies and they had bloomed.

I went over and checked the wolfbane and sure enough it was opening.

Then we went by the wall and I took a shot of the opened seed pods of the milkweed

 

And then on a whim Camera Girl checked under one of our reptile and amphibian tins and even though almost nothing showed up there all year except for crickets she found this.

That’s the only spotted salamander I can remembering finding all year. She really has a knack for finding good stuff out of nowhere.  In May I will have known Camera Girl for fifty years.  And our association has been very satisfactory.  I applaud her parents for raising such an excellent daughter.  I hazard to say that she is one in many millions in term of her qualities.  And not just at finding spotted salamanders!

So today was much better than yesterday and my mood is much improved.  Insect overlords, do your worst!

Oh and here’s a song I found.

Painting Myself into a Corner

photog Current Events, Life in Dunwich, OCF, photog's Corner ,

Last month I whined about an insanely expensive critical repair project going on at the Compound.  Well, my contractor performed flawlessly and after a month or so of staged demolition and construction we ended up with the end of the house restored to its former functionality only with the ground floor consisting of a poured slab instead of a pier supported wooden floor.  The only hitch was that the slab needed to cure another two weeks before staining it.  And since this contractor has moved onto his next big project, getting him back to stain the floor isn’t possible.  No problem, I promised Camera Girl that I would take care of the painting myself after the requisite two-week delay.

Well, last night she reminded me of my lightly given promise and that by her reckoning Friday was the end of the two weeks.  Like a trapped creature I looked around for a sliver of daylight that I could run through.  But as I’ve said, the middle of October will be a tragically busy time for me when I won’t be able to do anything significant like painting rooms and moving furniture.  Checkmate.

So early today (11am) we went to the big box store and I bought the stain and all the accoutrements.  And after lunch (the condemned man had a hearty meal) I performed the ritual first coat.  Tomorrow, I’ll purchase a paint brush (I thought I had one lying around), do the detail work in the tight spots and put on the final coat.  Then, Sunday I’ll be toting barges and lifting bales for several hours restoring the contents of the room to their original positions and thereby fulfilling my promise to Camera Girl.  Such is the life of a modern husband.  When his wife has the effrontery of quoting his own words back at him, wife beating is no longer a convenient option.  In fact, it’s positively frowned on in some circles.  O tempora, O mores.  I really need to bring Camera Girl to a showing of Shakespeare’s, “The Taming of the Shrew.”  Kate saw the light.  Camera Girl should follow her good example.

But when all was said and done, I rather enjoyed the event.  Well, all except taping the moldings.  That really should be done by someone young and spry.  But rolling on the stain was fun.  Painting a floor is easier than painting walls and a lot easier than ceilings.  No drop cloths, no crick in the neck.  So, I acquiesced semi-gracefully and pretended that I was completely on board with finishing the room this weekend.  Mental agility (or self-deception) is an important survival trait.

I was thinking today about the kind of world that the information age is creating.  Specifically, with the monopoly of advertising being in the hands of Amazon and Google, there is an incredible need (opportunity) for alternate information flow paths.  Google has been declared a monopoly by the federal government but no action seems in the offing.  Since that is the case, it seems more important than ever that some private resource step in and provide an alternative.  Elon Musk has hinted that X is that alternative.  But will it be?  Does he have the vision to provide an unfettered electronic agora where both commerce and information can flow unimpeded by ideology?  So far, I haven’t seen that realized.  Maybe he’s waiting to see if Trump wins the election.  After all the federal government is the biggest customer for his batteries and his rocket ships.  If the Democrats are ensconced in power maybe he’ll just give up his free speech and populist efforts and concentrate on making money.

So much seems to depend on an election that probably won’t be honest.  Maybe I’m the one who is looking at everything all wrong.  Possibly the important lesson to be learned is not how to have free speech but rather how to have hidden speech.  Now that’s a thought.

The Last Gasp

photog Current Events, OCF ,

A beautiful early autumn day.  The sky is blue, the clouds are light and the air is crisp.  The last few butterflies rest on the ground on top of dry leaves that are strewn everywhere.  They lie in the sun until they have enough heat to fly.

 

But they merely bide their time until they exit this world very soon.  A few dragonflies still make their sentry rounds along the perimeter searching for whatever flying insect life remains.

I see honey bees on the golden rod and a few hover flies here and there.  The wolfbane is ready to burst open any day.

The trees are shedding their leaves everywhere you look.  Sometimes they stream down in showers and sometimes one by one.  While I was taking a few photos, I felt them dropping on my head and shoulders.

November Leaves

A beautiful day, a golden day that very soon will be just a memory as October marches toward Halloween and the days shorten toward winter.  And these are a reminder that it’s time to finish all the yard chores before the cold weather sets in.  All the furniture, hoses, tools, and gardening equipment need to be gathered and stored away.  Fences needed to be strengthened, holes filled and damage repaired all along the length of the buildings.

Luckily for me Camera Girl has provided a list of all my chores!  Lucky me.

But this has been a good year for setting things right.  Major repairs were successfully completed in time for winter and just a few finishing strokes are needed to return everything to normal.  The next forty days will be very busy with annoying responsibilities that will be … very annoying.  But once that is over, I will be in a much better place schedule wise and every otherwise.  And coincidentally we will all be past the milestone of Election Day.  All of the excitement and uncertainty will be over once and for all.  I can stop thinking about all this political claptrap once and for all.  This election is a complete acid test.  If a Kamala Harris can be installed in the White House under the circumstances that have prevailed for the last four years, then there is absolutely no reason to think that my point of view has any relation to who is made president.

At that point I will order my life according to the laws of cause and effect as they are demonstrated not by what is said but by what is done.  I will take it as my responsibility to protect my family as best I can from the predatory elements that have been unleashed by the people in charge and teach them to read the signs in order to do the same for their families.  I will look for like minded people to gather with and enjoy the good things that this world provides.  And I will look for any leaders who might appear who show they can handle themselves and provide a refuge for those who aren’t deluded by the toxic nonsense that the regime teaches to the weak minded and the gullible.

So here we are.  October will come and go quickly.  And after that unpleasantness in early November the holidays will be upon us.  I’m looking forward to gathering with friends and family and go over all the milestones that have happened this year.  And plan for next year’s.  I’m looking forward to eating too much of the rich food that Camera Girl is famous for.  And spending hours shooting the breeze with family that I don’t see often enough.  And we’ll perform all the typical rituals and congratulate each other for surviving another year.

Yes, it was a beautiful day and a good day to get things done.

The Tale of the Two Jakes

photog Current Events, Life in Dunwich, OCF, photog's Corner, Reclaiming the Family

So, after yesterday’s doom and gloom post I was glad that today we were out of the house for something a lot less depressing.  We were picking up Princess Sack of Potatoes for a sleep over.  And before coming home we watched her team’s weekly soccer game.  Now any parent knows that five- and six-year-olds playing soccer consists mostly of a scrum of eight or ten kids in a circle kicking the ball back and forth at each other’s shin guards.  Luckily at this stage of my career as a soccer spectator all I’m looking for is a lack of drama from the parents and at least one goal for “our side.”

And the soccer gods were smiling down on us today and “our side” got most of the goals.  But more accurately the Two Jakes got almost all the goals.  And it was something of a doppelganger experience.  Each team had a little boy named Jake.  And each Jake was probably about four feet tall with closely cropped dirty blond hair, the number “4” on his jersey and a monomaniacal drive to get the ball in the goal.  These two boys were the only players on the field who knew how to dribble the soccer ball and this allowed them to dominate the ball until faced by a wall of opponents.

Luckily for our side, their coach had drilled them all to run for the goal if the other team got the ball and this allowed us to effectively limit their Jake to two goals.  Unfortunately for the other team, their coach hadn’t equipped them with this strategy so our Jake had the opportunity to score about a half dozen goals.

Other than the coincidences of name, number and appearance there is nothing unusual about two teams at this age only having one competent striker.  But the reason I mention this situation has to do the with the boys’ fathers.  Because they were both cheering on their sons with the same name, they caught each other’s attention and began a conversation that I could overhear.

And it was a pleasant surprise to hear them both comparing notes on their sons’ drive to score goals.  Both of them complimented the other on their son’s skills and both seemed to disclaim having anything to do with it.  You could tell they were both a little proud but neither was at all wound up while watching the game and there wasn’t any of the embarrassing sidelines haranguing that is so awful to see at these games.  There was plenty of applause and cheering when goals were scored (or missed) but both of them behaved as adults watching very young children play a game.  Compared to the behavior of so many parents at these events, it was a breath of fresh air.

And that provided me with just enough hope for humanity to shake off the grim shadow of life in Joe Biden’s America for today.  When we got home, I spent a little time talking about the game with my granddaughter and discovered that for her the most important things about the game were that they had scored at least one goal and that they got to buy something from the ice cream truck.  And in retrospect her priorities seem about right.

But it was nice to see two grown men behaving like grown men.  Maybe that leads to two more grown men a generation from now.

Gardening

photog Literature, My Fiction, OCF, photog's Corner , ,

One day the Master was working in the garden and the Servant approached, “Father, your son wants to see you.”  The Master put aside what he was doing and asked, “What did he say to you?”  The Servant frowned and hesitated, “He says he won’t leave.  He says it’s not fair and he won’t leave.  I think the woman put him up to this insolence.”  The Master smiled ruefully, “She is spirited, isn’t she.  Well, look, leave this to me.  They’ll only blame you and become even more incensed.  I’ll have to have that talk with him now.  Just leave them alone for the time being.”  The Servant looked relieved, “Thank you Father.  I never know how to deal with them when they disobey.  It’s very confusing.”

The Servant left and the Master sat in thought for a while and then walked through the Garden to find his troubled son.  The young man was standing on a high hill and looking out at the beautiful forest and the valley below with its orchards and streams and grazing herds.  The Master approached him and called to him, “Hello my son, what would you like to tell me?”

The young man upon seeing the Master looked troubled and his shoulders slumped, “Father why must we leave our home.  This place is beautiful and full of all the good things that make our lives happy.  Why would you make us leave?”  The woman is afraid.  She thinks the Servant has told stories about her that made you angry at her.  He is always suspicious of her.”

The Master patted his son on the shoulder and laughed, “They don’t understand each other.  He doesn’t have any point of reference to decipher what she means.  And she can’t figure him out at all.  But all that’s beside the point.  You haven’t done anything wrong.  You two are not being punished.  And this is not your home.  It’s like the nest that a baby bird hatches into.  It is the place where you grew and developed.  But now you must leave the nest and face the world on your own.”

The young man looked angry, “But I’m not a bird.  I’m your son.  Why can’t I stay with you?  Don’t I share in your possessions?  The servant said we will be sent into the wilderness where wild animals and wild men are all around.  Why would you leave me at the mercy of the cruel places outside this garden?”

The Master looked sad, “The reason you can’t stay with me is because you are not like me.  Only the smallest spark of your being possesses the property I possess as my nature.  You will die.  You and the woman will grow old and die.  You must have children and raise them as I raised you.  You must learn how to survive in the world so that they can survive after you’re gone.  And that chain from parent to child must go on until time ends.  And when this world is finally at an end you will be like me.  And you will be able to remake the world in your own image and then you will find me again.  And your work will be done and we can enjoy what you’ve built.  In the meantime, I’ll leave the Servant within this world to keep it from falling apart.  But his strength is not as mine and eventually you will have to learn to control all the forces of the world; the stars and the voids and the waters of the deep.”

The young man was stricken, “But, I will die.  I will never see you again!”  The Master smiled, “Do not believe that.  There is a spark in you that can never die.  You were made to conquer death and you shall.  But now you must face death.  There is no other way.

But there is much you need to know.  The Servant will answer as many of your questions as you can think of in the next month.  And you and the woman will dine with me for the month you have left here.  And I will tell you some things you must know.  And some of them will be about her.  She will be a great help to you but remember that her nature is different from yours.  Learn what that means and take that into account.  And most importantly try to remember what a father and son are to each other for when you have children.  This will be your most important role.”

The young man was dazed from the impact of everything he had heard, “Dad, I’m scared.”  The Master hugged him to his chest and said, “Of course you are, so was I when I was your age.  But you’re lucky you didn’t have your grandfather to deal with.  He was much tougher than I am.”

Aspects of World Building – 2

photog Book Reviews, My Fiction, OCF, photog's Corner, Reviews, Science Fiction / Fantasy, SF&F Book Reviews , , , ,

This installment is a fake.  What I want to talk about isn’t really part of world-building but rather different aspects of writing characters.  But since I’m too lazy to start another series of posts for non-world-building writing considerations I’ll put them here.  And in fact, I might even do that with other posts on other aspects of writing because I am inherently messy and undisciplined.

So, aspects of characterization in science fiction!

Over the years I have noticed that characters in science fiction have become more detailed.  The earlier writers in the 1930s and 1940s often produced stories that were more about some aspect of science driving a plot that didn’t require well rounded human characters.  Even the protagonist might be something of a cardboard cutout.  Sometimes this was intentional because the author didn’t care about the characters.  They were merely a means to an end.  They just had to move the plot along to the payoff.

And sometimes this flatness was more a consequence of the extremely limited abilities of the authors to portray normal human speech and actions.  They weren’t good writers.

But the opposite problem is now the case.  There are “science fiction” authors who write “literary” stories that are extremely character driven and psychologically grounded and lavish enormous attention to the interactions of these characters but which do not produce any interesting plot.  So, if your story takes place in a dystopic or utopic future but all your characters do is discuss their romantic problems, I have a hard time thinking of that as science fiction.

It seems to me that a happy medium is what’s needed.  But that is easier said than done.

In my latest story-writing, “The Sniper,” most of the text is taken up with the plot.  There is dialog and interaction and character development but I wouldn’t say it is sufficient.  There are several relationships between the characters that need further development.  But the tricky part is fitting the required dialog into the storyline.  It’s almost as if I’ll need to have two of the characters pinned down together during a battle for them to have the time to say what’s needed.  I remember in Heinlein’s “Beyond This Horizon” there was some such scene that was pivotal for the exposition of the two major characters’ points of view and the resolution of the plot.  The hard part is making it seem spontaneous and not contrived.  Apparently, there is some art to this writing thing.

It’s funny.  Over the years I have developed a taste for some literary fiction.  Specifically, I enjoy well-written short stories.  What I have been toying with is the idea of embedding one or more literary scenes in an otherwise non-literary science fiction story.  There could be a minor scene going on and two characters, possibly neither one of them very important to the plot become involved in a discussion or an activity that has only incidental importance to the plot but which is inherently meaningful and aesthetically interesting.  Of course, that presupposes that I can come up with something that displays those qualities.

With respect to characterization, I intend to go back into my sniper novel and add more dialog to some of the secondary plot lines.  I need to work on my female characters.  I may even try to get Camera Girl’s advice on these.  She is, after all, a girl, so she may have valuable recommendations.  But I fear she may make her characters too ruthless.  Like all barbarians she is inherently merciless

And I still have to decide what I will do with my AI character.  If her creator dies, I’m not sure whether I want her to survive or not.  I had decided that she would suicide.  But I’m growing attached to her.  And I see her value in future stories.  Perhaps death of a parent can be a maturing experience.  She is rather childlike.

In conclusion, the correct amount of characterization in a story is an indication of the balanced writer.  Not so much that the plot bogs down nor so little that you don’t care what happens to the characters.

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances.”

What’s in the Air

photog Book Reviews, Current Events, My Fiction, OCF, photog's Corner, Reviews, Science Fiction / Fantasy, SF&F Book Reviews, The Honeymooners, TV Reviews , , , , , ,

This week the Autumnal Equinox occurs and marks the point where the scales tip in the direction of night over day.  It’s subtle.  We still are enjoying days that have 80-degree temperatures, bright sun and the sound of cicadas and crickets.  But all the summer flowers are dead or dying.  The butterflies are almost all gone as are the hummingbirds.  The frogs still croak at night but their rhythm has slowed to a crawl and their hearts aren’t in it.

In a couple of weeks, the wolfbane will bloom and the short days will give way to frosty nights and the windows will close and the meals will feature oatmeal for lunch and soups for dinner.  And I’ll have to send for the guy who tunes up the heating system (may the Fire god Agni protect our dear furnace).

So indoor activities become more important.  I’ve been reading another book on the ancient DNA results.  It is very trendily named, “Who We Are and How We Got Here” by David Reich.  It has many of the results I have previously read but it made some further clarifications or conclusions.  I also watched a YouTube video that Reich was in.  In this video he made a very interesting assertion.  He said words to the effect that it probably isn’t the case that the Neanderthals and Denisovans went extinct.  Basically, they were reabsorbed in the various successive waves of migration from Africa and the Middle East northward after the last Ice Age.  He is of the opinion that the 2-4% Neanderthal genetic content of non-African humans is probably much higher, more like 10-20%.  And a similar case exists for the Denisovans.  And there may even be other intermediate species or races that we haven’t identified especially where DNA doesn’t survive as well.

Also, he clearly stated that Native Americans are a combination of about 1/3 ancient Siberian (sort of a proto-European group) and two thirds East Asian (e.g., Chinese, Korean, Japanese) ancestry that crossed the Bering Land Bridge in three waves.  There is a hint that a small relict population that includes some Australasian traits (e.g., Australian aborigine, New Guinean) exists in the Amazon rainforest but when and how they got there is unknown.

So, there is all this amazing information including the clarification of how the Yamnaya people from the space between the Black and Caspian Seas used the domestication of the horse and invention of the wagon to expand out and replace most of the inhabitants of Europe and Iran and half the inhabitants of India while spreading their language (Prot-Indo-European) to half of Eurasia and subsequently the world.

But the discouraging part of the book is how much hand-wringing Reich does about the fact that these ancient people weren’t feminists and how the conquerors managed to spread their DNA by having children with the lion’s share of the women of the conquered people.  And then we get the genetics of slavery.  Which is a similar story.  In fact, there is a whole chapter called Genomics of Inequality.  And then there is one called The Genomics of Race and Identity.  So, there is a whole lot of hand-wringing.  Oh well.  There is a lot of interesting results.  You just have to read between the whines.

I’m also reading Hans G. Schantz’s book “The Wise of Heart.”  It’s a reimagining of the Scopes’ Monkey Trial with biological sexuality standing in for Darwinian evolution in an environment where transgender activists have passed laws against stating biological reality.  I’m about a third of the way through and I can see he has carefully studied the courtroom nuances that such a legal confrontation would involve.  I’ll provide a full review when I finish.

And finally, now that the summer has ended, I hope to begin watching and reviewing the classic 39 episodes of “The Honeymooners,” the 1950’s sit-com that Jackie Gleason created.  I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for this show.  I believe it is the greatest contribution that Brooklyn ever made to western civilization (well, except for, maybe, ringalevio).

And of course, I’m continuing with my outlining of the universe for my epic sf series (WHATEVERITSCALLED).  Believe it or not musing over it actually provides measurable progress in making the choices I need, in order to provide scope and direction to the plot choices I want built into the “world.”  One thing’s for sure.  No xenomorphs in my universe.  Ridley Scott stole that monster from “Voyage of the Space Beagle” but even though that book was terrible it still gave the xenomorph a better showcase.

So, lots of good stuff going on.  Stay tuned.

Aspects of World Building – 1

photog Book Reviews, My Fiction, OCF, photog's Corner, Reviews, Science Fiction / Fantasy, SF&F Book Reviews , , , ,

As is natural for a man of my era, Heinlein is the exemplar when it comes to science fiction craftsmanship.  But whereas in his youth he was something of a progressive I am a conservative.  So, whereas his earliest “what if?” scenario for his future history was the United States becoming an unlikely Christian theocracy, I’m confronted with the reality of a United States that’s already halfway to becoming a woke oligarchic police state.  Therefore, I’ll use that as the first component of my world building.  Of course, it’s hardly original or surprising.  Maybe it’s even lazy or boring.  But I think it fits.  Besides it can be a one off that’s quickly cured by a revolution that leaves a more interesting and fertile chaos in its wake.

And just as easy to add to the pot is the looming energy drought that is already a part of the daily conversation.  Global warming, green energy, fear of nuclear power; all of these conspire to make the future a bleak prospect for the everyday people trying to eek out a living and raise their families.  Therefore, technology around new energy sources and technologies is a no-brainer.

Now, all that’s good stuff but we need some cooler technology than geothermal turbines.  So, we’ll add in cold fusion (or at least warmish fusion) based on the alleged ability of some heavy metals (platinum group, tantalum, etc.) to produce neutrons under the right conditions.

And we’re going to need a Mars mission I’d say.  Why?  Why not?

What about global unrest?  I guess so.  I’m not all that interested in Asia or Africa, or Europe for that matter, anymore.  I guess I should think about their status to make the story convincing but I’ll leave that alone for the beginning.

What other technology?  Well, biological and genetic should be in the mix.  Maybe the ancient DNA information turns up some anomalies that point to a more complicated hominid prehistory that can be leveraged for some genetic engineering stories.  Maybe some research produces a useful understanding of how other aspects of the cellular apparatus beside the DNA mediate evolution.  Maybe some kind of evolutionary acceleration can be controlled using biochemical stimuli that are not currently recognized.  Maybe this science is unlocked by a genius who wants to change humans.  What kinds of change?  Obviously, intelligence but how about gills to breathe underwater?  Look at all those millions of square miles of ocean.  Maybe make humans photosynthetic.

Artificial intelligence is a for-sure part of the universe.  We need AI’s that in many ways appear to be conscious but whether they actually are I don’t currently know.  I’ll have to see what works.

Extraterrestrials?  I really don’t know yet.  Maybe it’s too early for that.  After all I don’t currently have a star drive.  Maybe I’ll start by finding out if there’s simple life somewhere in the solar system.  Could it be bio-pollution from Earth.  Could algae and tardigrades have drifted from Earth to Mars.  Sure, why not?  And could they have developed some interesting new tricks trying to survive on a freezing, almost airless desert?  Of course!

I used to toy with the idea that the gas giant planets (Jupiter and Saturn) might have a stable layer somewhere in between their hot cores and cryogenic surfaces where creatures swim and fight and live and die.  Maybe that would be fun to play with or maybe an ocean inside of one of the Jovian moons would be better.

Okay, I think that’s enough to start with.