What? Oh, right, sorry…. I’m referring, of course, to Pearling…. I’ve often wondered if I had chosen wisely, to make this process the lynch pin, so to speak, of my entire life, responsible in great part for any sanity I may be fortunate to possess. Now, I am up almost two hours later than has been my habit for months (thanks to ignorant doctors….), to perform an act which has no real purpose beyond what I’ve just mentioned. Yet, because I am late, feel like I’m in White Rabbit mode, all fussed and bothered because I’m late, guilty, Guilty GUILTY!…. Humph!

Nobody is paying me. Nobody will miss any deadlines. Nobody will die (that isn’t scheduled to do so by Fate). No animals will be harmed. But, I feel guilty, for not getting posted by this time, but, horror of horrors, got more than 3 hours sleep for the first time in almost seven weeks…. That means two things…. First, I got lucky last night…. NO, no, not THAT kind of lucky, though the young lady who helped me out IS quite pretty. No, one of the budtenders from the collective where I get my cannabis products came by to deliver an order, & was kind enough to apply some magic cream to my entier back for me, to reach where I cannot….

Glorious! The magic cream made me feel almost normal for nearly two hours, putting me in an almost giddy mood….. THAT is why I was lucky….sheesh. Y’ll should get your minds out of the gutter…. Any who, after that, I slept, not like a baby, which wakes up often, and wets the bed, but, like an adult with a clear conscience, i.e. peacefully…. Well, as much as ever happens, all to the good, in my book…. I woke up, saw the clock, and rejoiced, as I groaned, knowing the guilt would drive me like a Cadillac….

Now y’all have been treated to five or six paragraphs of chatty nonsense, none of which has anything to do with this Pearl, other than peripherally, I think I’ll get a move on, to see if I can’t finish this quickly, get it posted, and bring an end to the guilt…. Oh, I just realized, I never did say what the hell I was talking about up there, did I? Well, the presence of my guilt, which I ONLY feel when abrogating Duty, indicates to me that Pearling IS the proper job for me, at this point in my life…. So, the pressure I put on myself to get it done each day, having written as well as I can, is my chosen Duty, which makes it okay to feel the guilt, for a moment…

The rest of course, was just babbling, to get us to this point, where we will proceed to employ our now-habitual ruthlessness, and get us the hell out of here, before I can embarrass myself any further….

Shall we Pearl?

“Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are dead.” — Aldous Huxley

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Eleven years ago, NASA’s Rover, Opportunity, landed on Mars. Its rugged performance in covering in its travels, literally, thousands of square miles of the Martian landscape, surpassed all expectations by far, as did its twin Rover, Spirit, which landed shortly before Opportunity. Both Rovers exceeded their mission parameters, exploring Mars as far as they could go, searching for signs of life, or the conditions which may have indicated the presence of those factors which would allow life to exist….

Flowing water, a sure sign of that possibility, was found to have once been common on parts of Mars, as was evidence that microbial life could have existed…. The video gives a good explanation of the extent to which the Rover mission has been an unqualified success…. Hopefully, the embedding code will work this time; if not, just click on the link to view the video on Space.com, where I found it…. I’ve also included, at the end of the section, an Infographic Poster NASA created to show the accomplishments of NASA’s probes, including an artist’s rendition of the newest Rover on Mars, Curiosity….

Solid logic, brilliantly applied to simple, accurate observation…. it doesn’t get any better than this, for humans. Nobody has ever expressed so well, or so tactfully, exactly how absurdly STUPID one must be to believe the world is flat, or that the Earth has the remotest possibility of being the center of the Universe…. Yet, there are still, in this age of computers, with machines made by the hand of man exploring other worlds in our solar system, hitching rides on comets, who believe both of those concepts…. The most ironic part of that idea is the FACT that at least three or four such people, supposedly with college educations, and/or law degrees, are currently members of the US Senate…. with the distinct possibility there are a few more disguised as Members of the House of Representatives….

Can you believe that? Though I find it hard to do so, I must, as those fools have already made their positions clear, in public statements on record…. In spite of that, they continue to get elected to their positions, year after year, indicating there are a large number of people in our country whose degree of stupidity rivals that of a rock…. of the dirt or mineral variety, not the music genre…. I swear, it scares me to death sometimes, just thinking of how many IDIOTS voted for Mitt Romney in the last election…. At least Barack Obama is a skilled liar; it makes it easier to see why people get fooled by him. But, Mitt the Twitt, he is so obvious a liar, I’m continuously surprised he doesn’t break into laughter every other sentence, at the sheer unbelievability of the crap that comes out of his mouth….

There are rumors Mitt will run again in the next national election…. I can’t say I’m thrilled to hear it, even though he is such an attractive target for us bloggers…. I think, though, if it comes to pass again, I might consider my alternate future plans, reverting to the hunting trip I’ve been planning most of my life…. which is an oblique reference I don’t intend to discuss. ‘Nuff said on that….

The mere thought of having to look at, and listen to that idiot (Romney) again, even if he doesn’t garner the nomination, makes me ill. Ill enough to quell any further thought of ranting; it’s too hard to maintain any objectivity when I get that angry. Rage does make life harder, but, the mere idea of so much SHEER IDIOCY ever getting anywhere NEAR the White House will put me there in an instant, so, we’ll finish this otherwise excellently started rant with an old school pearl, taking our best shots at those Asininnies we call the Pundits…. Oh, what the hell, we’ll throw in any good shots we come across that will bring a good wince from any of those categories we love to hate…. dogma dogs, legal eagles, pimps, snakeheads, you know, all the assholes…

“How many things, both just and unjust, are sanctioned by custom!” — Terence (185-159 BC) — Heautontimoroumenos, Act iv, Sc. 7, 11, (839.)

“It is not possible to find morality in struggles for power. Your enemies view you as you do them and likely regard themselves as virtuous in their attempts at mayhem upon you. In struggles for power, your judgments should be based entirely on self-interest and finding as direct and economical a route to your goal as possible. If that route is bloody and barbaric, so much the worse for those who oppose you.” — V, anonymous author of The Mafia Manager, St. Martin’s Press

“To get rid of a pain in the neck, try yawning.” — Smart Bee

“Whether women are better than men I cannot say — but I can say they are certainly no worse.” — Golda Meir

“Truth is a statue, and you are all just a bunch of pigeons.” — Smart Bee

“It isn’t pollution that’s harming the environment.  It’s the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.” — Vice President Dan Quayle

“Half a mind is a terrible thing to waste!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Note: The last two pearls are connected; I happen to know the quote by Zippy first appeared the day after Dan the Man made his now famous observation…. Fuck ’em all, the assholes….

gigoid has spoken….

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Here is one of my older poems, included today simply to save time…. a futile pastime, at best, but, one we humans insist on pursuing, in spite of numerous years of experience with such frustration…. SIGH…. At least we can write poems when we feel bad about it….

Pearl type: Old school; Category: Constructed previously via subconscious misdirection; Method: SB to pick, sans parameter;  DoD (Degree of Difficulty)**: 8/10;  Format: Minimalist style….   (** indicates degree of MY difficulty; the Gentle Reader may find their own DoD by multiplying the given figure by a factor of three… Thus: today’s GRDoD is: 24/13…. See how that works?….

Hey, it had to be done. The proctors were starting to complain about never being able to find any pearls using any sort of search criteria, or anything to enable them to fix out risk factor ratings, refusing to give me ANY until I’d made some categorical divisions, so a data table could be formulated to track statistical minutiae, thereby confusing the issue sufficiently for them to feel comfortable…. I could tell them it won’t help, but, they’ll have to learn on their own; everybody does…. Y’all can just enjoy the results, which you will find immediately below this line…. Don’t worry, I fixed it all so it won’t be a difficult point to find today…. didn’t want to confuse the proctors…. yet….

“Inasmuch as the mathematical theorems are related to reality, they are not sure; inasmuch as they are sure, they are not related to reality.” — Einstein’s Observation

“All men should strive to learn before they die what they are running from,  and to, and why.” — James Thurber

“Down in their hearts, wise men know this truth: the only way to help yourself is to help others.” — Elbert Hubbard

“It is not a man’s duty, as a matter of course, to devote himself to the eradication of any, even the most enormous wrong; he may still properly have other concerns to engage him; but it is his duty, at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought longer, not to give it practically his support.  If I devote myself to other pursuits and contemplations, I must first see, at least, that I do not pursue them sitting upon another man’s shoulders.  I must get off him first, that he may pursue his contemplations too.” — Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience

“If you cannot find it in yourself, where will you go for it?” — Confucius

“To give pleasure to a single heart by a single kind act is better than a thousand head-bowings in prayer.” — Saddi

“It is well for people who think to change their minds occasionally in order to keep them clean….For those who do not think, it is best at least to rearrange their prejudices once in a while.” — Luther Burbank

There you go…. I hope nobody strained anything….

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Well, I did it. Not only that, but, I’ve found a new piece to add to the ending statements of farewell, as a reminder to practice what we preach, as far as possible in this world of woe…. In the meantime, I’m outta here; see y’all tomorrow, ffolkes…. Remember to always….