The World Within Us

There was a world already here long before we were born which will still be here long after we are gone.  That is one world.  The other world is the one known only to us as individuals.  It is a world no one else can see. That world is what resides in our individual minds. Or, in our individual consciousness, if you will. That is what I recall Sir Ken Robinson said in one of his talks.  If you have not heard of Ken Robinson, it is worth a peek at You Tube or at Ted Talk.  

It  looks much too intuitive, doesn't it? Too natural, to even be considered worth an "u-hum" as defined in Urban dictionary, much less an "uh-huh".  Thinking a bit more deeply we must realize that such a world begins and ends with us.  That is the one thing we do take with us to our grave.    Ken Robinson, who by the way died last year, did mention it only briefly as a segue between two topics during that one presentation I listened to but that was what stayed with me.  I wished he had spent more time on it.  But then, perhaps, it was better that way, because now we are provoked to think from within that world - that individual private world that is impervious to even a peek from others. Unless we let them.

Why is this significant?

Profoundly, and if I may preface it this way, that world that was here before we were and eternally hereafter "exists" because we are here to ponder it, to appreciate it, to be awed or threatened by it, to wonder or question it, and so on and on.  Yes, the moon will still be there even if we are not looking, or that the tide will rise and ebb because of it, whether we like it or not, but without a conscious, sentient being, none of that will mean anything.  For that matter, the entire world has no meaning, if there is no one to perceive it. Of course, that is because we look at it from our perspective. For a thousand million years when life first emerge and develop, it can be said that only the Creator saw what and how those creatures were doing.  Wait!  What?

Some of us will wonder that way.  Why did God wait that long for some of the creatures to develop a consciousness sophisticated enough to have the ability to ponder such a world? Is it God's infinite patience? Or, is a thousand million years merely a single second in God's eternal clock? Not for us to question why because we will likely not understand the answer anyway, so we are left with that world within our mind - our consciousness - to see all that we are allowed to see.

Think about this.  It is from that world within us, within our minds, that we actually first begin to make life our own and how to go about living it.  It is from that world that we will learn what it is we will be good at in order to pursue not only a good means to earn a living but attain a life well-lived. Unfortunately, we now live in a culture where the measure for success, therefore the attainment of happiness, is based on the acquisition of material things.  It follows therefore that the world outside, not the one within us, is all that matters and so we lose sight of what lies beyond economic measures.  We obscure the view of what should be a well-lived life with one that is what those in the outside world believe it should be.

Let's digress for a bit.

Lawyers and investigators  make it their business to take a peek at what we are thinking.  Or, they want to see what it is in our world that makes us look at the outside world the way we do. That is because much too frequently eye witnesses see the same event a little or much too differently.

Politicians and pundits want to influence our internal world so that we may see the outside world the way they want us to see it.  The media want us to see the outside world to influence what goes on inside our head.

Social media strive to change the outside world so that we may  see  from within our world the view they want to promote.  Case in point - just to name one - is this thing about white privilege.  I am not white, but if I were and I am told that my life had taken on a different but special trajectory because  of my skin color, then the burden of guilt weighs much too heavily to carry from an early age to adulthood.  But that is exactly what white children are bombarded with in many public schools today, that continue on for those who enter our universities.  Cancel culture is such a heavy but one crude blunt instrument to use on the population but it is wielded with abandon today.

From much of the media coverage that is propagated abroad, America is a racist country. Consequently, as recently as a couple of days ago, the Chinese delegation, not surprisingly, used that to lecture our Secretary of State when representatives from both sides met in Alaska.  When one political party and the woke generation use race, or labels of systemic racism, as a cudgel for their cause and agenda, it is to be expected that it will be used by those who oppose America's influence in the world.  We cannot help but note that those who paint the racist label on this country are the very same ones who encourage illegal immigration through our borders that they would rather not protect. Why would anyone let children go to a place where racism is rampant?  

Let's look at numbers.  According to FBI data, 1,000 unarmed men were killed by police between 2013 and 2019.  Or, an average of 142 people per year.  Of that total, 47 were black men.  By the way, it does not say if all of those killed by police were innocent people; or, were they committing crimes when the shooting occurred? But the media seems to propagate broadly, which includes to the rest of the world, that there is and had been an epidemic of black killings by police.  From the context of the total U.S. population of 330 million people, that number loses its intended political effect but nevertheless, it is today still being promoted.  Yes, blacks only make about 13% of the total population, so a third of those killed by police is a serious anomaly but it is a far cry from "blacks are hunted down by police like dogs", as one voice yelled loudly.

From what you just read, it is often a relief or solace  to be able to get back to the world within us to make sense of all the information we are constantly being fed by media, social media, and by politicians and pundits.

Lest we forget, it is from within that world that is the only place we can claim to be of our own making, and it is one where we can take comfort because that is where everything that is about us must first begin. It is from there that we give beginning to our dreams, our ambitions, a source of relief when we need one but it is also the only place from which our love for another human being must first begin.  It is the place from where we acknowledge the love of those dear to us. Is it a complicated place?  Yes.  But it is a lot simpler when compared to the world outside where we have relatively little control.

It is from within that world that we can reminisce good and wonderful memories. It is from there that perhaps, if we want to, and there is nothing wrong with it, we carve out a place where we can be contrite, console ourselves, be grateful for what we have and relinquish unfulfilled dreams that weigh us down but instead focus on what remains of those we still want to accomplish. Soon we find that that world from within is one powerful and impregnable place for anyone to dare enter.

One caveat, and it could be a significant one, is when we give up the key to that world within for one or another to enter, and for lack of any other way to say it, "to mess things up inside". Unfortunately, consent is all it takes.  And often, that consent may come one trickle of allowance each time until that door is wide open. 

So, be a superhuman, and make that place your own "Fortress of Solitude".

   

Are You Curious to Know?

 Are You Curious to Know ..?

1.) .. If you have Neanderthal DNA in you?  If so, do you understand that you may harbor Neanderthal thinking?

The Neanderthal lineage, depending on whom you ask, may have begun 315 to 800 thousand years ago. Their uninterrupted pre-historic existence ended just 40,000 years ago.  Undisputed is that the oldest fossil on record is from about 430,000 years ago.  What this means is that Neanderthals had actually lived/existed for far longer interval than modern humans, so far.  While a 167,000 year old fossil is considered the oldest human outside of Africa, where first homo sapiens species may have all begun, 100,000 years ago is considered the pivotal split from which we - modern humans - first emerged.  We cannot, even if we collectively gather all our hubris, claim superiority over Neanderthals.  They've lived for three times longer than we have, so far, and we're about to extinguish ourselves with the mere threat of climate change and racism and racial inequity.  Neanderthals are thought to have perished from the sudden cooling of the earth that brought about a prolonged ice age.  On the other hand, modern humans were brought up by warmer climate.  That is the reason, through the wonders of adaptation, that we now have far less body hair in us, while our distant ancestors were practically covered with fur.

"Neanderthals arose in Europe after pre-humans left the African continent and apparently never made their way back south".

It is suspected that Neanderthals and homo sapiens lines may have intersected briefly, long enough for some kind of ancient inter-marriages to have occurred that remnant Neanderthal DNA had survived in us.  In fact, it is surmised that we inherited some of their genes that help us fight invasive micro-organisms or provide us with immunity from certain diseases.

But, be careful, our President suspects we may still be clinging to Neanderthal thinking for protecting our borders. Neanderthals used the crudest of tools to survive for as long as they did but they were protective of their territory.  I guess that is what the President meant about Neanderthal thinking.

2.) .. What "cancel culture" is doing?

Well, for one thing, feminism is under threat.  Or, for that matter, gender is losing distinctiveness fast.  And it is under furious assault.  Being first woman vice president or president, as a distinct future possibility, is losing a special place in the annals of accomplishments because the blurring of gender delineation is clouding the social and political landscape. Out of that rubble will emerge pure neutral genders.  Girl and women athletes and all past record holders can only look on while transgendered super athletes will break every world speed and strength barrier in women sports. The most noble roles, at least by old fashion standards in the nuclear family, "Mom" and "Dad", are the the latest to be cancelled, after six Dr. Seuss books are taken out of circulation. By the time this is over, statues, books and social order destructions will seem like the passing of a fashion trend.  The English language will be made more doubly difficult because  we may never be able to distinguish who is talking because "he", "she", "aunts" and "uncles" and all gender-specific pronouns are excised from the vocabulary.  Lest we forget communist China begun with a nation wide "Cultural Revolution".  Pol Pot and the Khmer Rogue went by the same playbook, except they failed to hold on to power.

3.) .. We just elected our first super president?

Judging by last night's first presidential speech, our President and his administration, by pure super powers, are solely responsible for why we have millions and millions of doses of Covid 19 vaccines, less than three months from his inauguration.  It takes super amnesia to not recall that at the first issuance of a travel ban to help stop the spread of the virus, he vehemently opposed it as a then Presidential candidate, accusing the then sitting President of Xenophobic behavior.  It actually takes super arrogance or selective forgetfulness to realize that vaccines take time to develop and produce because then, if he recalls the timeline involved, it would have meant giving credit to the previous administration.  To not even mention the previous efforts of the last administration also takes super malice.

It also takes super nonchalance to not even hold a solo press conference to answer questions from the media.  Well, that's what happens when one has super handlers to dictate and shape a super agenda.  It also takes super guts to not admonish the teachers unions to go back to school to do in-person teaching, for which they are getting paid, science and the CDC findings notwithstanding.  It takes super use of science to be able to determine to the exact date the time for people to begin doing small group celebrations - July 4th.  Why not June 15, May 11, or perhaps tomorrow?  To recall the King of Siam from the Broadway musical, "The King and I", it is "scientific" to make such pronouncements.

4.) .. That the Green New Deal could end intercontinental travel, except by ships?

Think about this.  Electric airplanes?  If it's all the same to all the scientific super thinkers, let's remind them that the physics of the jet engine requires fuel/air mixture at the combustion chamber to produce super-hot gasses to thrust the 404,000 pound Boeing 747 off the ground and travel thousands of miles to cross the Atlantic or Pacific.  Electric powered planes will only do propeller propulsion to fly.  And would you trust an electric-powered aircraft packed with rechargeable batteries to cross oceans?  While jet fuel diminishes its weight over the course of the flight, batteries - fully charged or dead - will weigh the same at takeoff and landing.  Jet engines allow for jet aircraft to fly and land with only one of two engines running. Electrically run propeller planes will be dead in the air.  But we'll do away with air polluting jet aircraft, anyway. But wait!  People like John Kerry, as he fondly described his answer to a reporter, when asked about why he uses private jets to travel. "People like me" needs to cross oceans by private jet to receive an environmental award.  At least, Greta Thunberg sailed to New York on a sail boat when she made her now famous U.N. speech.  But, I must end with this ..

Are Child Miners Exploited to Manufacture Electric Car Batteries?

The use of child labor to extract cobalt from mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo is certainly a major problem.

The Laundromat

The Texas winter freeze saga continues.  For lack of a better way to dull the searing pain it caused countless folks, calamities like it are equal opportunity disruptors of life.  But then, such an unforgettable experience also brings to light the many instances where and when one may find opportunities to be grateful, even thankful that life continues even in times of adversity.  "The Laundromat", a rather intriguing title if it were a TV sitcom,  is an unlikely scene for gratitude but it was and still is for me.

Like millions of other Texans who were affected by broken pipes - hence, interrupted water service - lingering effects have remained and will likely be for awhile. The good news is that there are more people now with water.  The not-so-good news is that a good majority of those only have partial access to water inside their homes.  Most of what the overworked plumbers have done, working 12-15 hours a day, was to plug broken pipes in homes that allow for water availability in sections of plumbing that were not damaged; the broken portions were merely isolated before complete repair and restoration can be undertaken at some future time after all the workload had gotten back to normal.

So, we're grateful we have water in two of the four bathrooms and most importantly in the kitchen.  However, we cannot do the weekly laundry because there is no water by the utility area where the washing machine is located.  The clothes dryer - which uses natural gas - works but what is there to dry? My wife was distraught.  She felt helpless as the pile of clothes and towels was rising to the height of a termite mound on a Kalahari desert.

The winning idea of the day came from me.  I'll do the wash at the local laundromat. We'll do the drying at home.  I had to do it in consideration of my wife's health, I knew it precluded even for her to come along.  The nearest laundromat is 25 minutes away by car, aptly named "Stop N Wash". Bringing the three baskets of laundry from the car to the laundromat's machines and back was a man's job.  That's what my gallant thought was until I realized soon enough that I was often the only guy at the laundromat doing the  chore.

Such a winning idea should have been one to count as part of the many hardships one had to endure in times like these but I did not want it to be. It was an opportunity for social exploration and an informal study of one human experience hardly discussed or often ignored.

First this.  The dry cleaning and laundry service industry in the U.S. had revenues topping 10 billion dollars in 2016.  The laundromat - a self service washing and drying business - was at about 5 billion dollars annually.  For perspective, there are 44 countries in the world with GDP (gross domestic product) under 5 billion dollars a year.  And there are a dozen countries at the lowest rung where their GDP is under a billion dollars!

It is conceivable that in the developed world many may never in their lives experience using the services of a laundromat.  Clearly, very few will recall that the laundry machines of old were coin operated. I knew that well when on the first year as new immigrants we live in an apartment complex that had for its selling point a laundry service onsite in one of its premises. I remember it like it was yesterday when during wash day my wife and I would go during weekends or evenings down the stairs through a winding path to get to the laundry "center". With a coffee can full of quarters and our own detergents.  I don't recall that there were fabric softeners then.

Photos below are just miniscule examples of how people, perhaps in half  of the world, do their laundry routinely, today.  I do not have a single reason, not even one odd miserable excuse, to feel disadvantaged or be tormented by the thought that now I had to drive 25 minutes to get to a laundromat.

When I saw the photos above, to grumble is a verb that should never be part of the lexicon in the developed and western world.  To complain about washing clothes when technically all of that is done by machines that are now equipped with so much computing power that  was not even possible for the average person during the years when the world first witnessed Neil Armstrong and others went to and landed on the moon.  Truthfully, the moon lander was designed by engineers wielding slide rules and using paper spreadsheets.

The 25 cent coin-operated machines are gone.  You can still bring quarters (25 cent coins) but the attendant will have to exchange them with paper bills for insertion to a receptacle and issues you a "Cyber Laundry Card".  You can use a debit card directly on the machines.  If you put in a ten dollar bill, you get an eleven dollar credit, or twenty-two dollars on a twenty dollar bill.  Do you know what it gives you? A whopping 10 % return on your money. What bank gives you that?  From the address, one sees that the laundromat is on another city from where we live.  But I am still not complaining about having to drive over there.

I was slow on my first attempt to operate the machines.  Although, often there were first timers too who would seek assistance on the intricacies of the system.  But it didn't take long to acquire because the machines proved to be idiot proof.

One lady came in with laundry that needed seven machines.  She was on the phone, even while interacting with the laundromat assistant. During all that time that she was loading the machines, putting on the required detergents and fabric softener and bleach, she never put the phone down.  She raised multi-tasking to another level.  How she kept the conversation going without missing the flow of the exchange was worthy of a study on how to effectively curb "attention deficit disorder".  Forgive me for eavesdropping on her but what was there to do besides watching the machine spin, rinse and spin even more furiously to a crescendo until, "Cycle is Done, Thank you" prompts you to go ahead and open the latch.

One other time, it was last Saturday, there was only one car in the parking spaces in front of the laundromat before I eased mine in.  As I entered I heard two people in a very animated conversation at one corner lined with tables for folding laundry.  I did my routine - looking like I really knew what I was doing, clearly far from the novice that I was on my first day.  Although I wish there was someone with me to hold a conversation with while doing the mundane task. Two people talking continued with nary an interruption.  I needed to go to the restroom, so I had to go through the area where the two were talking.  To my surprise, there was only one lady there busily but neatly organizing her laundry in well-ordered stacks. Her phone was on speaker and her conversant companion was obviously, wirelessly somewhere else.  Technology put to such work as to make work go by quickly.  For her, anyway.

Now the modern laundromats look like these.  I took these photos of "Stop N Wash".  But there is more to be said.

 

It is clean, well lit, and even the rest room is clean.

Contrast the last three photos to the above.  How on earth can anyone drive himself or herself to whine or groan over going to the laundromat?  I know I will be going again next week until we get our plumbing fixed completely.  

A dose of perspective is always the best motivator.  I always say, that no matter how bad your situation might be, somehow there is always one other worse than what you have.  If you don't see one, imagine there is one  because somewhere in one spot of the world, someone there wishes he or she has your problems.