A New Day,

Yesterday we looked back.,Today we look forward.

 In these five simple characters is an entire universe of information. But, we are going to focus on the enormous destructive implications. Energy equals Mass times the Speed of Light squared. Light travels at 186,000 miles a second, square that number and you have something indescribable to a layperson.  Working backward it becomes obvious that it doesn’t take much mass to create a lot of energy.

Burning a 5 pound piece of wood would yield, if you could capture the energy given off as heat, light and the gasses in the smoke, five pounds. A simple chemical conversion, fuel turned to energy, E=m. Even a chemical explosion is governed by the same laws. In the explosion the energy is just released very quickly. A chemical reaction can only yield as much energy as the mass involved. It is the release of the atom that changes everything. 


There is a tremendous amount of energy holding atoms together. The building blocks of the  universe. Breaking the nuclei apart or forcing them together (fission, or fusion) releases energies on an enormous scale, the power of time and space. 

At the center of a nuclear explosion temperatures can reach 100,000,000° Celsius, the same as the center of the sun.  Within seven-tenths of one millisecond from the detonation, the fireball from a 1-megaton weapon is about 440 feet across, and this increases to 5,700 feet in 10 seconds.

Shock waves travel out, smashing buildings, trees, crushing people, turning the area into finely shredded kindling. Soon the entire area is burning. Dust from the blast combine with smoke and soot from the resulting fires and rise into the atmosphere. 

Since the infrastructure has been destroyed, most of the population killed and those unfortunate survivors are being painfully consumed by radiation poisoning there is no hope of containing the fires. So, they grow, and consume everything in their path.

Before long the clouds block the sun’s rays and the temperature begins to Plummet. Computer models suggest it could remain below freezing for over six months. Fortunately, we have yet to test the accuracy of the predictions.  But, even if they prove to be less drastic, and we can only hope we don't find out, the radiation and prolonged cold and dark would interfere with photosynthesis killing much of the food crop.

Before long many of the plants and animals would die. Following closely are the already weakened survivors who are battling exposure, at least some radiation poisoning and starvation. And those are the “lucky” ones who weren’t close enough to be killed instantly. There will be no survivors, not really. Even if a person lasted through that would they still be human in any way except shape?

When you consider the end does it really matter who fired first, or who was “right?” Probably not. But, those in charge still assume they have the right to make that decision. I'm not so sure. So, I am starting a movement, #MakeAmericaDeadAgain. Join me, together we can make a difference. You don't have to be a Grateful Dead fan to join, but it would give us something pleasant to talk about when the apocalypse gets too heavy.

Our quote for today comes from Mohamed ElBaradei

"I think one country with nuclear weapons is one country too many."

Extremes and Humanity, It Never Changes.

"Not one of them has the least thing to blame himself for. Not one has any guilt. One might believe that everything was for the best, even though a few million men lie under the ground. ...and the end and aim of it all is to have the war over again, the next war that draws nearer and nearer, and it will be a good deal more horrible than the last. All that is perfectly clear and simple. Any one could comprehend it and reach the same conclusion after a moment's reflection. But nobody wants to. Nobody wants to avoid the next war, nobody wants to spare himself and his children the next holocaust if this be the cost. To reflect for one moment, to examine himself for a while and ask what share he has in the world's confusion and wickedness—look you, nobody wants to do that. And so there's no stopping it, and the next war is being pushed on with enthusiasm by thousands upon thousands day by day."

From ; Steppenwolf, by Herman Hesse

It Gets Worse

The quote above was from a passage where Harry Haller was explaining to the lovely and mysterious Hermine why he was so universally despised. Since the novel was published in 1927 it is safe to assume he was making a reference to World War I and World War II. And he was certainly accurate. It was much worse, for everybody.

Hesse was an intellectual with a keen grasp of human frailty, and the undeniable thirst for the absolute. And certainly, being a European he understood the way wars could grow beyond any relation to the origin.

It Always Gets Worse

Take, for example, the Thirty Year War. Brought to you by competing faiths. Catholics and Protestants who were intent on destroying each other, or at least claiming victory and thereby proving
that God, did, indeed like them best.  But, when it was done churning over the nation of Germany at least 20 percent of the population had perished. Civilian casualties would not be matched until World War II. Unspeakable atrocities had been common. It was an awful chapter in the history of man.

But, it was a long time ago, we have learned so much.

What happens if we change the labels. Let's start with a classic, something older, less fashionable, but still relevant, Capitalist and Socialist. If you are in the mood for something more current and in vogue you can choose Christian and Muslim. Patterns expose themselves, nothing ever changes. We pretend that it is new, and important, but it is only the same movie with new actors. To quote Bob Dylan, "The game is the same, it's just on a different level."

Imagine what Harry Haller would say about this. Maybe his words are just as good today.

And A Quote To End

Today we are going to close with something from Albert Einstein.
“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

#MakeAmericaDeadAgain.

A look back and a look forward, they look so similar.

A Look Back;

In keeping with the politically free theme, and our #MakeAmericaDeadAgain movement we have decided to study human needs, mostly the need for power. The need for power beyond 

And, if you want to talk about power a great place to start is the ancient Assyrians. They had some power, and were uninhibited as all hell about its use and potential. 

According to historian Will Durant;

"If we should admit the imperial principle – that it is good, for the sake of spreading law, security, commerce and peace, that many states should be brought, by persuasion or force, under the authority of one government – then we should have to concede to Assyria the distinction of having established in western Asia a larger measure and area of order and prosperity than that region of the earth had ever, to our knowledge, enjoyed before."

Of course, that kind of peace and security come with a price. In the case of Babylon the cost was absolute destruction. According to Sennacherib, King of Assyria 705 to 681 bce. Here is how security was achieved in Babylon;

 “I levelled the city and its houses from the foundations to the top, I destroyed them, and I consumed them with fire. I tore down and removed the outer and inner walls, the temples and ziggurats built of brick, and dumped the rubble in the Arahtu canal. And after I destroyed Babylon, smashed its gods and massacred its population, I tore up its soil and threw it into the Euphrates so that it was carried by the river down to the sea.”

A Look At Today;

 It isn’t much different than what is happening in Syria today, I guess. It was much more difficult and required a lot more labor, but the results are more or less the same.  But, what happened to Babylon took place a long time ago, and the crisis in Syria is so far away. And I was never very good at history, or geography.

Looking at the world today makes me wish I would have paid more attention to both, though. And it certainly makes me wish world leaders would have learned a little more from the past. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, right? Only when they repeat it with today’s arms and abilities the whole world will end up like Babylon, or Jerusalem, or Carthage.

Oddly enough, (or maybe not odd at all) they always had a reason for every barbarous act of annihilation. Today, they are just interesting bits of information on Google. Nobody ever thinks, "man we haven’t changed," we still find a reason, and still pretend it makes sense.

#MakeAmericaDeadAgain

I think we will end with some more Grateful Dead today;

“If the game is lost then we're all the same
No one left to place or take the blame
We will leave this place an empty stone
Or that shining ball of blue we can call our home”

Winter Olympics

I am not a big fan of the olympics. I admire the dedication and ability of the athletes, the years of sacrifice, and work that it took to reach that level, and the dignity and composure these children display carrying the crushing expectations of an entire nation. I salute them. But, the olympics have been consumed by the human instinct for futile gestures, and shameless grandstanding. Boycotts, and threats steal the spotlight from the unity these games are supposed to forge.

Watching Vice President Pence practicing his own brand of old testament diplomacy in South Korea is only the latest example. Of course, considering how Mr. Pence felt so strongly players should not  kneel for the national anthem before football games because sports events is not the correct forum for political expressions only adds a comic touch to the drama. Of course, it fires up the faithful, they love the confrontation, the bulldog tenacity, the line in the sand mentality. 

But, what is the next step. Suppose the oppressive regime continues to ignore the constant warnings and threats, which, given the history of North Korea seems likely, what then? Tougher warnings? More strident speeches? An even steelier glare across the border, from a vice president wearing a flight jacket emblazoned with military insignia? Bombing sorties? Invasion of a sovereign country? 

Nobody wins wars anymore. And this is not a conspiracy theory based on the profit margins of General Dynamics or Grumman Aircraft. It is the only conclusion to be made from recent history. Certainly everybody will lose if nuclear weapons are used, that much is obvious to anybody. So what point overshadowing the games with bluster?  

George Orwell said “Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac.” Maybe that is the point, maybe that was the play all along. Either way, it makes me sad to see the world sink so deeply into the past. 

Starts well, ends in despair.

Variety is the spice of life, true, but it is hard to bottle. Impossible to sell, and the demand today is almost non existent. Travel almost anywhere and there is a McDonalds, and business is booming. A Big Mac will taste the same in Miami FL and Seattle WA, and everywhere in between. It isn't healthy, normally it isn't very fast and it reeks of conformity.

One of my coworkers eats the same thing for lunch every day. It makes him happy. He knows where he is going, he knows what he is going to order, no long drawn out decisions. When I go out to eat it is torture. I agonize over the menu, fish tacos or a tuna melt panini? And then the minute the wait person walks away I regret my choice. "Oh, if only I would have gone with the buffalo, blue cheese chicken grill then I could be happy." But, it wouldn't work. My sons won't even go out to eat with me anymore. Maybe they can't stand my suffering.

My wife will still go out to eat with me. She has perfected the art of refining silence. We have been married a long time and she knows when to stop listening and when to start. I can worry, and sweat, and internally debate the virtues of various side dishes and she will nod, smile and thank the gods of happiness she found someone who is so keenly aware of the potential varieties of life. Or something like that.

I know, though, outside my little bubble of indecision the world marches on. Exactly the way it
always has. Young men, children, really, are sent to die in foreign countries for reasons that defy explanation. But, it has always been that way.  So, it will always have to be that way. Dull, dreary, consistency, nothing changes. Nobody asks why.

In the building where I work there is a door we hardly ever use. It is in a shallow recess, maybe three feet deep. It is a perfect place to sleep, if you don't take into account that it is outdoors, in the middle of downtown. But, it will keep most of the wind and rain off the cardboard boxes that will soften the stern, uncaring concrete. Last week there was a man with a wheel chair that made his way up the shallow ramp and called the little man made cave home. Today there was a child, so innocent looking, so young, he should have been talking about the classes he was taking in high school. But he was sleeping outside, no where to go. It is that way every year until winter's deadly cold drives them someplace they can light fires and huddle together for warmth. Mind numbing routine, unchanging patterns of bleakness so dark most people ignore them. But, they are there, obvious, all you need to do is look. And nobody asks why?

"We can't help everyone, Tim" People tell me."We can't help anyone," is always my reply. And then I ask "why not?" and nobody can answer.

Technology, my old friend.

Today is a big day, here at Life Explained. well it isn't actually today. It is kind of tomorrow, and a little yesterday, and a lot of Monday. Look, we understand Monday is anathema here at Life Explained, we call it Disciplinary Monday because of all the forms, and complaints, and first aid procedures that are required just to get to to quitting time.

We spend more time filling out the 1797/J Assault, Happened in Kitchen form on Monday than the rest of the week combined. We are actually considering giving everyone their own coffee maker to avoid the confrontations. It would save a fortune on mugs, saucers, and the occasional toaster smashed over someones head, not to mention all of the synthetic, nonabsorbable monofilament used to stitch people closed again. But we have to find 237 coffee makers of the same coffee maker (no mean accomplishment) or it will be war next Monday. And nobody has time for that.

But, we are not here to talk about that. We are here to talk about the good news. Tomorrow night we are going to purchase my new iPad Pro. Which is why tomorrow is featured so prominently in the first paragraph. Obviously, today is Wednesday.

Monday is featured because my wife told me I had to make up my mind by Tuesday morning. I could never make that kind of decision in the morning, depending on how you define morning, I guess. If you say it ends at Noon, well maybe I could work my way through the process. But if the clock stops when I leave for work at 6:30 it would be futile. I need time to agonize, to let doubt creep in, and twist my thoughts, there has to be inner turmoil, a schism. I need that.

So, after hours of negotiations I decided by Monday (there's that word again) evening I had decided to allow my wife to buy me a new iPad Pro. What a lucky girl.

Of course, we may go pick it up tonight, my wife's car needs some repair, (an assembly of hoses and aluminium that carries coolant from one place to the other is leaking) and we may have to skip the gym, and proceed directly to the store.

Stay tuned for updates.

History Explained, Part 1. Not Part 1 of History, though.

Eight months ago I had my yearly appointment with my doctor.  He is a very nice man, normally, and he takes pretty good care of my whole family.  But, he was a little upset about elevated cholesterol, and a few extra pounds.  After hearing my admission that taking my medicine was not high on my list of priorities, he was was stern.

Telling me about the risks associated with the things he felt I was ignoring, he went on, at length.  I sat, on that examination table, looking at my feet, being scolded, criticized, and feeling ashamed.  One by one he detailed my risks, as I looked around the small room, thinking of escape, there were posters, and signs about insurance, and co-pays, and the need to use the proper code for a visit.  Apparently, this doctors office would not call a procedure an emergency, to save a patient from having to meet a deductible, or call a cold a chronic illness.  There was nothing about humiliation anywhere, I hoped our insurance covered disgrace.

I was soft, and he was right, I had no discipline, too lazy even to get up and take my medicine, it was embarrassing, and I vowed to do something about it.  Oatmeal for breakfast, medicine every night, fruit and vegetables constantly.  It was a start.

Then, my wife told me they had opened the gym at the school where she works to spouses.  It was a ticket to redemption.  Going three times a week, and feeling good about myself.  My body is shaping up, and thanks to the miracle of podcasts, so was my mind.  I have been diving into history podcasts with the enthusiasm of an evangelist called to witness, and each episode makes me hungry for more, and each workout makes me want to push myself a little harder next time.  In four months I will march into the doctors office a changed man.

So, here is the first installment of History at the Gym.

"After us the people of our race will wear garments of gold.  They will eat sweet, greasy food, ride splendid corsairs, hold in their arms the loveliest of women.  And they will forget they owe these things to us."  Genghis Khan.

Genghis Khan was born into war, at least into a endless battle to stay alive.  He lived his life in a constant state of arms, and conquest.  And, though, the Mongols had no written history at the time there was certainly stories told about ancestors who had unified the nomadic tribes, and swept down with a vengeance on the sedentary people, smashing, destroying, a force of unbelievable ferocity, only to be seduced by the eases and comfort of genteel society.   Genghis Khan probably understood the peril that faced his descendants was more insidious than destructive.  A gradual softening, a process of assimilation, and he probably understand how powerless he was against this irresistible force.

But, that was not a problem when he invaded The Western Xia Dynasty.  Leading his forces through a complete destruction of the Northern Portion of the Xi Xia.  Mongol intelligence gathering was phenomenal, and Genghis Khan was an expert at using the internal strife of his enemies to drive them apart.  This may have been a common tactic among Steppe nomads, but it was certainly a strength of Genghis Khan.

Knowing well that the Tanguts, and Jurchen tribes would not support each other, and that the ethnic Chinese did not care for either tribe, Khan drove through the Tanguts, leaving cities destroyed, and the landscape riddled with destruction.  It was a complete rout, and the Tanguts were powerless against the highly mobile, disciplined Mongol army.

After sieging the fortress at Kiemen, (a heavily fortified, well provisioned garrison guarding the only pass through the Helan mountains) the Mongols were unable to breach the defenses.  One of the most widely used tactics of the Mongol army was the feigned retreat.  It seemed to work almost every time, even when it was known in advance.  Perhaps there is a mentality in a fighting unit that forces them to pursue a retreating foe, an uncontrollable instinct to destroy, that will not allow any discretionary behavior.  And, it worked superbly.  The army of approximately 120,000 men flowed from the fortress, and were slaughtered (a fairly common result).

Finally, slowed by the walled capitol city, Ke-wo-luo-hai, the Khan's army began a siege.  Steppe nomads historically had trouble with walled, fortified cities, and Khan's army was no different, at this early point.  Using the slaves captured in the campaign they began to dam the Yellow river.  Damming a river is dangerous and difficult, and it did not work as planned.  The water flooded the Mongol camp, and they were forced to move to higher ground.  But, the Tanguts, knowing that the enemy facing them was not simply raiding, and was an threat to their very existence, most of their empire had been destroyed, and the Jurchen were not coming to help so they felt it prudent to negotiate.  

They gave gold, silver, silk, and all sorts of good stuff to the Mongols, and promised to be at their beck and call.  A promise they later reneged on, which turned out to be a hideous mistake. 

So, the Mongols have installed a buffer between themselves and the Jin Dynasty, received a lot of good stuff,  And created a lot of problems, killed a lot of people and went back to plan, and learn.  That is what they did.  Genghis Khan probably never learned to read, but he knew how to learn, and he could lead.  And he was just getting started.

Tonight, we have the treadmill, an added 15 pounds to each of the resistance machines and the campaign against the Jin Dynasty.

Change is difficult.

Yesterday we talked briefly about our new accounting software, and the almost limitless potential it might provide, it is truly a flexible, accommodating bit of programming genius with options that can be custom built for each unique requirement.  It was expensive, but it has received very high praise from most of the associates who have gone through the training session.

Of course, as we discussed yesterday, there are some people who are not delighted with the change, and are attempting to (Please, may we have one or two cones, to go?) stop the implementation by occupying the break room on the 6th floor, the room with the soft serve ice cream machine.

We detailed our plans to send in several squads from the custodial department  In a brilliantly devised, and exceptionally executed pincer movement we mobilized several units from research and development and began a full scale assault on two sides of the the break room.  Using organic small arms fire, and some light artillery provided by the secretarial staff we began to get the upper hand.

In a surprisingly coordinated (particularly when you consider it was the accounting department) counter attack the Accounts Receivable Brigade concentrated their assault on the smaller R And D contingent to the south, and under a withering hail of automatic weapon fire began to push the force back through the ornate interior French Doors, and into the  barren, open hallway where the lack of adequate cover would have left them exposed and vulnerable.

After several air strikes it seemed the weary Accounts Receivable people were going to be overrun and there would be ice cream for everyone.

While consolidating our hold on the entry way, and thinking the battle was almost won, we were hit by a large column from the Human Resource Liberation Army.  Slamming into our exposed southern flank, they rolled up the assault team like a row of dominoes and managed to capture the small conference room.

We are going to settle in for a long campaign, right now we are calling in reinforcements from the legal department, and our hopes for speedy resolution are dashed.

We are here for you, when you need us most.

With the accelerating pace of technological innovation our world is constantly, and rapidly shrinking, becoming more compact, and compressed.  Journeys that used to take months now last hours, and the isolated sense of security is now a remnant of a distant memory.  We find ourselves in a time where headlines from across the world are a constant reminder our sense of insulated, secluded existence is nothing more than an illusion.  

Journeys that used to take months now are over in hours.  It has in many ways become a "global village."  We need to take that next step and become "the family of man."   We need to break down the barriers of intolerance, and dogmatic superiority, and welcome each other, with warmth, and friendship.

During my recent bout of historical inquiry I have noticed a few recurring themes, one of which is the introduction of radical variables into any unstable equation involving armed states normally leads to war, destruction, and radical change.  And this may be one of those times, it is hard to say, but who wants to roll those dice?

What the world needs is someone who is willing to take the lead, be the bigger man, and begin the long, painful, trying process of world unification.  Someone who only wants to help, and is not seeking grandeur, or fame, and is only thinking of others, someone who only wants to usher in a new era of understanding and mutual prosperity.

Fortunately, I am willing to volunteer.  The first step needs to be some sort of token, mutual sacrifice.  With that in mind, everybody in the world should send me one dollar, or drachma, or ruble, or euro, or whatever.  If you can't afford to send a whole (insert monetary unit of choice) then a small portion will be suitable.  It is the shared sense of giving, of working toward a common cause that is important, even vital to our continued existence.

I will use this money for the "Life Explained Worldwide Harmonious Understanding and Peace Initiative," and maybe dinner and a few drinks, this is difficult, thirsty work after all.  But, taking the long view it is imperative we learn to work together, there is too much at stake.

So, please, give generously to this noble cause, you will feel better about yourself.