boltzmann’s brains final paradox and his late cat freckles

Warning.  This post may venture out a little farther than normal into the weeds of obscurity and geekiness.

Ok just in the unlikely case that any physicist or philosophical purist happens across this blog entry I hope freckles demonstrates (wow I had to think about subject/verb agreement there 2nd time in this sentence) that I’m being silly and playful with mixing ideas.

Lately, as a result of my OCDness and maybe having too many hobbies, I’ve been thinking about efficiency and as I often do how I can take it to the extreme or if you like Latin or you too are OCD you can read that as ad nauseam or ad infinitum or if you really hate the direction this is going, reductio ad absurdum.  So as an exercise of all those at once and hopefully to help illustrate my point, I often try to get two birds (or more) with one stone (or in my case words).    The bird thing is an example of an idiom and often leads me down the path of trying to remember the difference in a metaphor, idiom, cliché, euphemism, and trope to name a few.  All those words link to http://www. merriam-webster.com which is one of the better dictionary sites because it has a lot of extra information such as word origin, etymology, thesaurus and a rhymes with list (useful if you like writing poetry).  So before you get the idea I’m gaslighting, I’ll move on but only slightly.  🙂

So thoughts on why I blog?  Here is the short list of birds umm err words:

1. to share a story often personal which hopefully at least some people will find interesting.  Teh internets is a big crazy place so maybe.
2. to practice writing – grammar and content.  I know I often get the former wrong.
3. to document words and ideas that I have learned that I can share with others who are interested.  I do this with many hyperlinks in my blog posts.
4. to share useful tech-tips – tools and websites, etc.
5. to explore ideas or thought experiments that I think of sometimes that don’t fit into my fiction writing.
6. I’m sure there are many others that I can’t think of right now.  🙂

So why the title other than the word “final” being required to participate in the wordpress daily prompt?  So I have a long commute to work each day and I often play this recall game in my mind while I drive.  It may be that I hear something on the radio or an audio book or college lecture audio that I’m listening to and it reminds me of a word or concept that I’ve encountered in the past.  So on this one past day I was trying to remember Boltzmann Brain and all I could picture in my head was this image:

I know disturbing, right? LOL.  Well I kept forgetting to look it up when I got home or to the office but I would keep remembering it (the game not the words I was looking for) when i got in the car and started my daily commute.  So I spent days in agony trying to remember the words “Boltzman Brain.”  Now that I’ve mentioned it here, I’ll never forget it again – it has been etched in the halls of immortality on the Internet.  🙂

So I used the word “final” because I don’t really plan on writing about Boltzmann again (although it is possible) and if I actually believed (I don’t) as part of the theory goes that I and my brain are nothing more than a Boltzman Brain then it would be my last paradox on that subject.  And what about poor freckles?  Well obviously a reference to Schrodinger’s Cat (yet another paradox) since we were on the topic of physics and paradoxes and let’s just say I opened the box the cat was in (metaphorically) or was it Pandora’s? .  LOL.  I guess that depends on whether or not someone clicked this link expecting a serious discussion on physics.  Well I warned them early on.  🙂  I’ll have to save that discussion for another day.

 

 

learn to take control of your happiness and creativity and build truly great things

learn to take control of your happiness and creativity and build truly great things

My name is Jason and I live in Florida.  I’ve always liked to create things whether it was art, music, stories, crafts or video games – and that’s the short list.  🙂  I have a lot of appreciation and respect for other people who create things also.  I think too often people are overcritical of themselves and their work and sometimes they don’t see the beauty within themselves and in what they create.  I include myself in that group.  I’m trying to learn to be more open minded and appreciative of things around me because it’s easy to take what we have for granted when in reality everything around us is fragile including life itself.  I hope that you try to be all that you can be and encourage others around you to do the same.  Life is too short to stay stressed out and always worrying about what others think of you or your work.  Be happy with who you are and what you create and learn to draw happiness from within.   And I honestly believe that during your amazing journey you will learn to create truly remarkable things.   I chose the single word sun for my site tag line because of it’s enduring warmth and brightness and because it’s Summer time.  The pictures on this post are from my sunny walk at the park today during lunch.  Enjoy.

time’s apprentice

a stern teacher and a willing apprentice

an early lesson counting with tiny thumps, followed shortly by tiny wisps of air

sights, sounds, tastes, feelings and scents in a wild wild world, they are all there

curiosity follows, exploration, crawling, walking, falling, and walking with care

playtime begins with so many toys and friends and ends with a torn yellow bear

days with hours of numbers and letters and two long bus rides in the bully’s lair

then emotions lots of them with no where to go and what’s this, arrgh, chest hair

then a new close friend and sadness that she’s gone and realizing how life is unfair

out of despair a new friend and a new little family is born with many memories to share

days turns to weeks to years and decades and loss repeats itself almost to much to bare

finally time’s final lesson hugs and kisses some real and some not and a final prayer

 

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It’s not great but it’ll have to do i suppose.  It’s not all about me except the torn yellow bear was when my beloved Pooh bear was chewed up by dogs.  They tore his ear and I kept the bear for many more years.  LOL.  The new close friend was about a friend of mine in high school that was murdered by someone robbing her house.  Luckily they caught the guy and I think he is in prison for life.   😦

 

 

a zip and a prayer

a zip and a prayer

I’m constantly amazed at how insensitive, uncaring and thoughtless some people can be to drop off a dog or puppy beside the road and zip away in their car.  It must be easy for them to shut out the reality of their mind and not think about how the puppy will likely starve or get run over. So many days spent being alone and being hot or cold without food or water.

I’ve seen this event play out over and over during the years – rarely does the animal find a new and caring owner soon after being dropped off if at all.  One of the earliest memories I have from such an event was seeing a healthy dog sitting beside the road from where his owner dropped him off.  He sat in the same spot waiting very patiently without moving thinking his owner would surely return to pick him up – he just needed to wait a little longer.  Surely thinking his owner wouldn’t leave him all alone and without food or water.  Days went by and the dog didn’t move ten feet from that same spot and with each passing car you could see the excitement in his eyes which was quickly followed by sadness that the vehicle kept going by without stopping.  I saw him from the school bus window and I was too young at that time to take care of an abandoned animal but I told some adults about it.  I never found out if someone finally picked him up but the fact he was an adult dog probably didn’t help his chances of being adopted by a stranger.  Where i grew up as a kid was a popular place for people to abandon animals.

Some days ago my wife found a puppy wondering down the road towards the end of our driveway.  The puppy was starving and very emaciated with her ribs showing.  We’re going to try to make her story a happy one.  Meet Katy…

She’s still looks sad sometimes but her ribs don’t show quite as bad as when we first got her.   And she’s learning to play and be a happy puppy again.  She was playing with my shoe earlier today.

And her new best friend, Nala who just survived a a moccasin bite.  Nala is still getting over the moccasin bite and getting used to her new friend – she’s not used to another dog invading her space but they play well together so far.  This is Nala’s face when I told her we were adopting Katy.  Nala is used to being the center of attention.  LOL.

If you know anyone that is considering abandoning an animal beside the road talk them out of it and talk them into taking the animal to a shelter instead.  And if you need Nala’s help use this picture of her stare down.   Hopefully no one can resist it.  🙂

the mouse in the willow and the fry in the lake

the mouse in the willow and the fry in the lake

The sad young mouse looked out of his tiny window in the willow tree down at the lake below.  He saw a tiny creature in the water and asked his mother what it was.  She said that is a fry.  “Well, how does he breathe under water mommy?”  His mother looked at him for a moment and then said, “Well, you see son.  The fry’s mother has great magical power and she passed some of that magical power to her son so he too can breathe under water. ”  The tiny mouse said, “Wow.  I wish I had magical powers.”  She looked at him and smiled and said “Everyone is magical in their own way.  Even you.  ”

The next day the mouse was on ground next to the lake and saw the little fry crying.  He asked the little fry why he was crying.  “Some tall creatures, came and took my mommy,”  the little fry said sobbing.  The mouse remembered what his own mommy had said about the fry’s mother being magical and told the fry it would be ok.  Your mother will be back soon enough little fry do not worry.  But the little fry continued to cry.  It wasn’t long before the tall creatures returned and the little mouse hid behind a large plant by the water.  The tall creatures released the fry’s mother gently back into the water and he noticed she had some new colorful adornment on her with strange markings.  After the tall creatures left, the little mouse went back to the edge of the water where the little fry was jumping with excitement after being reunited with his mother.  “Mommy, mommy, there is the magical mouse I was telling you about.”    After hearing the fry’s kind and intriguing words, the little mouse smiled widely, his first smile in many days.

 

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I felt like writing a little story tonight.  The daily prompt words have been challenging lately.   LOL.

 

the pearl opaque, the clam half-baked

the pearl opaque, the clam half-baked

It seemed like a good day for a non-sequitur. Some time ago we amassed a noble dog army to help fight the evil snake empire.  Today the snake empire injured two of our little brave warriors, Nala and Wilburt.  We think Nala took the brunt of the venom so she’s sleeping in the little dog hospital tonight with an IV drip, antibiotics, and benedryl.  Wilburt is still here on blueberry hill toughing it out.  The dog doctor aka vet called us an hour or so ago and gave us a bit of good news that Nala’s swelling doesn’t appear to be getting worse and her heart rate is still good.  The same cotton mouth moccasin bit both of them.   Wilburt is pictured below – it’s difficult to see it from this picture but his left side of his face and neck is swollen.  He’s getting doses of benedryl.

We’re hoping that both our little brave warriors live through this ordeal.  Nala is the main one we are worried about because her head and neck was extremely swollen.  The snake is dead but the evil snake empire is getting an early start since the warm season is just beginning.  Sargent our biggest and toughest warrior has already killed one of the snake fighters a while back all by himself – he really hates snakes.  He’s a blue heeler and he’s already survived a direct hit from one of the vipers last year.  The only thing that scares him is lightening and bad weather.  LOL.

About 10 years ago I killed over a dozen ground rattlers in one season.  I opened our sliding glass door that same year and happened to catch something out of the corner of my eye and it was one of them trying to slither into the house.    He didn’t make it.  Hopefully between the dog army, the new chicken army, and Midnight the Ninja Cat we can beat back the evil snake empire from blueberry hill.

you got to be jolting me

you got to be jolting me

So today on the way home from work I stopped and picked up some Chinese food, including chicken and brocolli which was in brown sauce that had gotten on the plastic bag the plate was in.  And predictably the unavoidable happened, the brown sauce got all over my right hand.  I scrubbed my hand incessantly with a napkin because I knew I had to make one more stop on the way home.  I had to get my new baby chicks a chicken feeder and waterer so I could keep their cage cleaner than it is with the temporary bowls and such.  So i went into the farm supply store and grabbed what i needed and then some additional items so I could get out quickly.  The girl at the register was very nice and chatty.  I told her i had just bought 8 baby chicks from them a few days ago so I needed to buy them a feeder and waterer;  she held up the ceramic eggs i had also bought and gave me a strange look.  She said wow they grow up fast don’t they – meaning the ceramic eggs are used to encourage fully grown hens to lay eggs in a nest.  I smiled and said well I have older chickens too that are already laying eggs.  And I explained my purpose in buying each additional item as she scanned it.  I paid for all the items and she reached forward to hand me my receipt and she snatched her hand back initially with a quite “shocked” look on her face and carefully handed me the receipt as to keep her distance from me.  Her chatty demeanor had changed also and she wasn’t interested in conversation all of a sudden.  I kind of looked at her with a puzzled glance and shrugged my shoulders and walked out.  As I was walking out the door I saw streaks of peculiar brown sauce now partially dried on my right thumb.  Apparently in my rush to wipe all the Chinese sauce off my hand and finish my errands I had missed some.  I felt like i should go back in and explain the situation at once but I was too embarrassed so i continued onward to the car and drove off quickly.

the new baby chicks were a little cranky when they first arrived

the new baby chicks were a little cranky when they first arrived

I have 5 chickens currently and two are so old they can barely walk.  I don’t normally cull/euthanize them as I let them pick their own time to go or unfortunately sometimes a predator decides for them.  Today, I decided to start a new flock so I bought 8 baby chicks from Tractor Supply – I’m keeping the old flock also but I’ll probably keep them separated.  I use chickens to help recycle kitchen vegetable food waste so we send less to the landfill.  I also throw leaves that I rake up from the yard into their pen and I let them free range as much as possible in fenced in areas I’ve created.  Chickens are much more efficient at composting than using compost tumblers or compost piles.

I try to let them get as close to my garden as I can depending on the crop type and I think they help control insects so I can keep my garden more organic and use less pesticides.  I only use pesticides when I have no other choice and sometimes even then I don’t use them.  LOL.  I’ve lost entire crops to insects sometimes because I didn’t use pesticides.  And when that happens I feed the lost crops including the insects (if possible) to the chickens.  Of course another benefit of having chickens are eggs.

I find it ironic that the box i brought them home in is shaped a lot like a KFC box.  A few interesting notes about terminology.  If you buy straight run chickens of any breed then that means it contains males and females randomly since with most breeds you can’t easily distinguish between males and females when they are young.  If you buy pullets only then it only contains females.

The low here in Florida tonight is 62 degrees Fahrenheit so that’s a wee bit chilly for young chicks as you can tell by them huddling close together to stay warm.  I hooked up a 75 watt incandescent light bulb to give them a tad bit of heat to get them through the night.  The government has cracked down on the old light bulb types so it’s getting harder to find them when you really need them for their heat.  The gov wants everyone to buy the new non-incandescent types that are more energy efficient and give off little heat.  I’m ok with that because it makes the country more energy efficient but it doesn’t make it any easier for me raising baby chicks.

the timely refrain from life’s domain

The Timely Refrain from Life’s Domain

walk, speak, run but don’t no don’t look back
the dry grass high the distance far
the wind soft the trees stretch high

walk, speak, run but don’t no don’t look back
time creeps no sneaks elusive it peaks
from behind every valley atop every hill

walk, speak, run but don’t no don’t look back
you can’t escape fate life bestows
don’t try you’ll fail then weep so deep

time time hide hide not now not now
not ever not ever one more day one more day
old frail silent heart i miss thy song
old frail silent heart i miss thy song

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Whew.  Didn’t mean to go all existential and such.  Not sure if it’s grammatically correct and makes sense but decided to play with words today.  I had a hard time coming up with something with the word “timely” geez.  🙂  I started not to add a picture because i wanted everyone to read it in their own way.  Hopefully I’m not plagiarizing any of it because I kept thinking some of it sounded familiar but I googled several parts of it and didn’t find any hits.

 

 

he wasn’t pleased; this wasn’t the droid he was looking for.

he wasn’t pleased; this wasn’t the droid he was looking for.

As a matter of fact this was no droid at all – this was a malfunctioning iPod touch.  Malfunctioning as in the very important home button had stopped working.  I’ve had the device for nearly four years and used it practically every day and the home button stopped working over a year ago.  It’s not a perfect workaround but check out this link from apple if you have the issue with yours and don’t want to fork out so much money to have it repaired.  Sorry about the corny set up for today’s PSA but hey, Star Wars is fun.  One final comment on the droid thing; you’ve probably saw the various inspirational posters out there – this link is a nice twist on that.

Finally, on a different note, one of my favorite things to do is visit flea markets and yard sales.  The Storm Trooper is on a creature called a dewback. I snagged them both for $5 which I thought was a good deal.  I bought the hot wheels in the background from a nice Hispanic family at Sadie’s Flea Market in Dothan, AL along with a bag full of toys including an awesome giant pirate ship.

I liked the following picture better than the one at the top but it didn’t make sense with my caption to have an R2 unit working with a storm trooper.  LOL.