Schrodinger’s Cat. Google it so I don’t waste time explaining the concept. Oh, heck, its simple as hell: a cat in a sealed box with a gadget that can kill it. Is it alive or dead?

This is supposed to be a revelationary(sic) example of the Theory Of Quantum Mechanics, the unexplainable world of sub atomic particles. It’s a world of duality and uncertainty which really cannot be quantified, or even explained. Imagine trying to answer the question about the cat. Can you? The answer is “No”. Not without looking, anyway, and when you look, what will it prove? Is a cat in a sealed box always dead or always alive? Dead some of the time and alive some of the time? Every time you do Schrodinger’s Cat you never know until…

So why is that important? Science relies on repeatable experiments. getting the same result every time proves…something. Even getting the same result most of the time is educational. So what does it mean when you cannot get a predictable or measurable result from repeatable experiments?

In the Theory Of Small Worlds*, my own, this means we are the cat. But oddly, we are also the Observer, trying to find out what’s what and we never know until we act, one way or the other. Keep in mind NOT acting is acting. Or choices in real life are do it, don’t do it, or ignore it. Imagine worlds within worlds like Russian Nesting Dolls, all swirling with what we think are choices and free will. Or maybe we believe in Fate and determined results. We will only know for sure when its too late and the cat is out of the box, dead or alive.

In other words, we are subatomic particles in some other entitie’s world. And they in someone else’s and so on, ad infinitum. (Latin. Look it up.)

In our world Schrodinger’s Cat begins at birth: are we alive or are we dead? Alive? Yay, now are we healthy or malformed? Did we get good genes? Did we get good parents? Are we lucky to live in a nice neighborhood? Et. al.(Latin, iterum,) Each and every question is an example of duality and uncertainty. We deal with Quantum Mechanics every day, from someone’s perspective. We’re all Theoretical Physicists–like Sheldon Cooper–trying to explain the world by our actions. But…

Most of us live lives made of routine, of order, and purpose. We repeat experiments and maybe sometimes hope for better outcomes. Some don’t think at all. Some are even psychopaths intent on killing cats. We shouldn’t waste a lot of time trying to understand a concept bigger than us, but give it enough thought to know we are not what we might think we are. Or are we?

Do it, don’t do it, or ignore it. It might not make any difference in the long run. Or maybe it would…

• Not the “small world” phenomenon of 6 degrees of separation.

I’d taken my own advice from the last column, Numbers 8 and 9 (hair cut and shave), but have now learned there are consequences. Ramifications. My choices were not “within reason”.

Long hair then and now: historical context. My dad–and other authoritarian figures–trying to raise a young boy from ages 11 to 18, were more concerned with the length of my hair than the breadth of my education. From sixth grade to high school graduation, there was a daily battle between them and me over hisrutey(sic) dimensions. (It was actually between me and the electric cow clippers mom used for her 30 second haircuts.) Everyone wanted my hair short, not even to the ears, which dad thought an “extreme” compromise. Think of the Beatles with “flat top” haircuts. Prevailing social thought was anyone with hair longer than one half inch was the gravest threat to the American way of life since The Plague.

After my freedom was gained by going to college, the hair exploded to a mass so large it was hard to get under my motorcycle helmet. (Think “Shaggy Easy Rider.) It made me a target of right wing gun nuts who were at that time only armed with single shot weapons and obviously paralyzed trigger fingers. (I heard one bang in all those years, and with hindsight, it might have been a car.)

Logic, prevailed, after a few years length of hair became less a political/fashion/rebellious statement than an attempt to reach complete casualness: short showers, easy slip on clothes, and one pass of the comb. (Notice I never made it to the “cow clippers” length.) It kind of remained that way for about 45 years until The Calamities hit in 2023. Yes, there were times when a professional hairstyle came to mind, but never did I succumb, never did I surrender. I cut my own hair most of that time, unless a willing female offered. Note: make sure it’s not an old girlfriend or ex-wife. So there was some thought and effort in grooming, Very little, but some.

Now, none at all. No reason, impetus, reward, or purpose for grooming a body which is letting me down. No need to look good for anyone, anyway. So head and face became one mess of hair that seldom sees a comb. So why am I not ecstatic? Why am I about to complain?

A morning swim friend said I look like the back end of a beaver when swimming. (He avoided my obvious, beastly question.) But that was only the first consequence of neglectful grooming. While driving home through downtown, the similarity between the homeless man on the corner, the homeless man on the bench, the homeless man crossing the street, the homeless man sitting on the stoop of a grocery store, and myself, was too eerie to ignore. It really didn’t make a difference to me what I looked like, but it might make a difference to others. Did it affect treatment in medical situations? Or the odd, implausible, out-of-nowhere possible, romantic scenario? At my age, what if the love of the rest of my life passed me by because it looked like my home was a Fridgiaire box?

A true compromise, in the tradition of the Wisdom of Soloman, is needed. How much hair do I need? How much do I want to care for? What will the enigmatic, beard-hating, future love of my life want my follicular situation to be?

The funny part of this essay isn’t my hair, but at least one bald person will read this and curse their genetic luck. To them: despite your lack of a choice, you’re luckier than you realize.

There is so much to complain about when you’re old. What is there to be thankful for?

Note: to save time, the following entries will begin with the words “You can” and end with the phrase “Within reason.”

1. Wear whatever you want.
2. Say whatever you want.
3. Eat whatever you want.
4. Sleep whenever you want.
5. Sleep wherever you want.
6. Make everyone wait for you.
7. Criticize what ever and who ever you want.
8. Shave, or not.
9. Get a haircut, or not.
10. Pretend you can’t hear anything you don’t want to hear.
11. Make many new friends in the medical services industry,

Wow. Until they’re listed this way, you don’t really know how lucky you are to be old.

There are lots more, but the real benefit of getting old is you can see the end of the road. If you’ve done the best you can with your life and done good things for others and yourself, the knowledge of the end is the greatest gift of all: you can appreciate every, single minute of the past, the present, and the future. So do it.

Amen..

Lately, the title word has been used a lot in overheard, active, and broadcast conversations. It was used so much it began to lose meaning. Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely. Say it three times real fast and you’ll never use it, again. It’s Oxford dictionary definition ends with the word: “Totally”. There is also a list of words you can use in place of the A word.

So, why is it being used so much? Google said this in 2015: “It is a strange paradox (two physicians?) that in an age of relativism, an age that emphasizes personal opinion and subjective feelings over objective truth, so many people substitute for ‘yes’, words like absolutely”. In 2015? Subjective feelings over objective truth? Google adds: “Perhaps we subconsciously seek certainty in an age of uncertainty”. We can quibble about the subconscious versus the unconscious actions but Google nailed it with why 10 letter words are used when three letters, yes, will do.

The A word is heard mostly in political venues these days in 2024. “I’ll absolutely never vote for _______.” (Name of your choice.

One heard more recently was more personal: “If my house was on fire I’d absolutely save my _______.” (Dog, cat, parakeet (two keets?), fish.)

So, what’s the problem? Not sure. When someone uses the word absolute or absolutely, doesn’t it sound like they don’t need to think about it, they know, for sure, totally, what they’re saying is not just true, but the final, end-of-it-all Truth? No more discussion? I see a connection between absolutism and Tribe Over Truth, do you?

Embedded in the absolute syllables, too, is the dare to prove otherwise than the absolute truth declared by the speaker. “I’d absolutely never leave my pet behind” cries out for the listener to accept an un-verifiable truth without challenge. “I’d absolutely vote for _____”. Why would I–or anyone–vote for anyone else?

It should be absolutely easy to see, now, if you use absolutely in a conversation you draw a line in the sand for someone to cross, verbally. Most listening people would not accept the challenge, and end the conversation. The speaker wins, with or without finding the truth.

No one can ever be absolutely sure what they’ll do when faced with fire. Who among us would give up our own lives so we wouldn’t have to live with the guilt of not going back into a burning building for Tabby? You absolutely cannot know until actually faced with the (Sophie’s) choice.

It’s a little harder with politics. If you’re read some stuff here, you know my thought is no politician is worth our undying, absolute support. I would absolutely not 100 percent support anyone.

Oops. Maybe there is an absolute need for absolutism.

But give it some thought and my guess is you won’t be absolutely sure of how to use the word, anymore. Except maybe in a critique of this essay.

Commenting on the the condition of our politics has consequences. A writer cannot express an opinion without another opinion rearing its (often) ugly head in response. But opinions have no power over life, do they? Here are some very recent happenings. Think they have anything to do with my opinions?

A new Walmart Directors Chair–complete with collapsible side tray–was delivered yesterday. The fine, sturdy chair was inexpensive and extremely comfortable, but the side tray had been assembled to the frame so it did not fold to the side, but underneath the seat: backwards. Walmart refunded my money and let me keep the chair, but my beer and chips will rest somewhere else, out of my lazy reach.

My YMCA’s pool is getting its annual cleaning this week. No problem. I went to my other fitness center to swim, this morning, but no one else did. The Manager eventually arrived 35 minutes after being called, but I sense a conspiracy.

There is a Stewarts Shoppe near me with great breakfast pizza. For $2.50 a slice! After the swim disaster above, a nice breakfast slice and a recline in The Chair would make stupid conspiracy thoughts disappear like fake electors. But…no. It’s too painful to write about. You finish the story.

At least I’d be able to park in my favorite spot. My apartment complex is a daily parking competition. If you lose, you have to walk a long way to the door. My favorite spot was open, but it is next to a handicapped spot and that car had parked way over the line, making my spot unusable. I’ve seen the disabled person and they are hard to get mad at, but still…conspiracy!

One note of interest about the fitness center fiasco: at the center which opened, I was treated with respect and concern by a beautiful, intelligent staff member from a different area, Gwendolyn, who had no control over the fitness manager being late. As we waited and talked, Gwendolyn revealed her beautiful name was HER choice when she transitioned to female. When the manager finally made it, I told him how helpful Gwendolyn was and he said this: “Yes, HE is a good employee”.

Sometimes, conspiracies are real.

Its taken days to come back here to post something new. There has been an internal battle over writing about one subject, and it’s been fought for days. Why? No one is listening.

There is no shame in being Conservative or Liberal. As noted in past columns, neither ideology makes up 60 percent (or more) of our population. Sixty Percent would represent a real, understandable “majority” of American people. So why are both parties claiming they represent “All America”, and the other party will ruin the country?

F$#% (sic) if I know.

Liberalism has the better argument, since Democrats have won the Presidential Popular Vote in seven of the last eight national elections. (For the sake of space we will not discuss Stop The Steal). But all these election victories only prove there are more Democrats voting than Republicans. It does NOT prove Liberalism is the dominant ideology of our country. Most of the Conservative Angst stems from the Conservatives THINKING they represent the majority of Americans, and yet, they keep getting proved wrong at election time. A normal human response would be to WONDER if something nefarious was going on: they can’t accept they are not the majority.

But why, then, do normal, rational people, normal Liberal and normal Conservatives, hate each other so much, these days?

It is a complicated issue because the origins of political hate did not just appear suddenly. And all the people I get the chance to talk to say: it’s the other guy’s fault. So…

Give it a rest. All of you, ass%$&%#. If you are one of those political, mensa geniuses who knows everything and hates the other side you are an idiot, no matter who you are and who you support. It should be obvious to any thinking human being how easily the right and the left have been manipulated by…who?

Yeah, who? Lets try the NRA and the gun lobby. Sales go up when Democrats win control of the Government. Why? Any of you know anyone who has ever had their guns taken away? No? Well the NRA says buy a gun, now, before they’re banned. Yes, the Liberals may WANT to ban some guns, but they do not have the majority, the juice to vote the bans because we are a Democracy.

Immigration? Who makes the money? For fun, track how many frauds involving The Border Wall were prosecuted (Of note, those frauds were not political frauds, just evidence of human nature and what happens when limitless pools of money are available). And for conservatives who worry about future votes, I personally know many Central American immigrants who have become conservatives. (See GMGA, from past column.)

There isn’t enough space to list them all but most of the problems we have would be solved if invested, entrenched private interests were willing to act in the nation’s best interest and let go of the Golden Goose.

And you all know why: money. But if you don’t know that, it’s because you’re too busy making fun of Harris’ laugh, or Trumps’ flubs. We were warned in President Eisenhower’s Farewell address about the Military Industrial Complex in 1961. Google it, but here is his last sentence: “The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”

We fight and argue over names and truth, while others make huge profits. Who’s fault is that?

One last fact: no politician ever leaves office poor.

Say you believe in Law and Order yet blow by the cars in the right lane already driving 5 miles over the speed limit.

Pay a professional athlete 200 times more per year than a teacher/policeman/fireman.

Watch individual initiative invent medical cures and processes the average American will not be able to obtain.

Let a man assault women and still be called a man. And even nominate him for elected office.

Celebrate your Independent, small-government, Libertarian spirit by passing laws to ban books and punish people not like you.

Be wary of a government trying to take away one of your 15 guns.

Know for sure, you’re smarter about a subject than educated, experienced professionals.

Say you worship Jesus while bending His teachings to your needs.

Can you worship and idolize flash over substance, the influencer over the doer, the greedy over the giver, the “truthful” chameleon over principles.

Live without thinking about things like the above.

Write things like the above and not be censored…or jailed.

I had a wonderfully exhilarating talk with a young person, this morning. Not younger, but actually young. Well, over 5 and NOT a family member!

For most old people young people are a distant memory and when old and young get together, there never seems to be much to talk about. Of, course there is a lot, but most young people do not want to hear about how much fun it is getting old, which is about all we know to talk about, anymore. You can see young eyes glaze over as they fight to stay awake after hearing of our lack of hearing, et. al. (Sic)

And of course, what can a young person say to an old person which doesn’t make the old person hijack the conversation to one-up the young person’s adventures? Old people have an “already-been-there-done-that” attitude towards most of what young people talk about even if some of us have sense enough to bite our tongue. Just ask us. “Why, when I was in college…”

Here’s the second best part of the whole day: Mark Cuban was on The Daily Show and talking about the AI (Artificial Intelligence for you boomers) and what AI’s going to do to the world. It was a dark, dark prognostication. But then Jon asked (with much comedic hand wringing) if there any hope for the future? Mark’s answer: “Gen Z. They know what’s going and will keep an eye on things.” What?

Mark Cuban is 66 years old. Gen Z people are aged 12-27.

If you haven’t figured it out for yourself, my conversation partner this morning is (was?) a Gen Zer. Probably right smack dab in the middle of the range. (“Smack dab”? Ugh.)

I am a realistically optimistic observer of the world who survived the end-of-the-world 1960’s, but AI scares the crap out of me. As noted on the show, major changes to the way the world works (The Industrial Revolution, The Communications Revolution, for examples) all took as long as 40 to 100 years to effectively change the world. AI may have the world changed by–as Jon Stewart put it–Thursday. Of this week.

My talk with GenZ was in the morning before The Cuban Interview and made me feel better about worldy things: the Zer was intellectually curious, cautious about what education to pursue, and never said “Like” the entire time.

Imagine how satisfying it was when Mark Cuban (He owns the NBA Mavericks!!) felt the same thing I did.

It was a good day for faith in America, and realistic optimism. I hope there’s more.

A very nice lady, Barbara McQuade, a professor from The University of Michigan Law School, turned a phrase in an interview about her new book: “Attacks from Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America”. The phrase is “Tribe Over Truth”.

I’ve heard of “Truth over Tribe”, google it for it’s religious elements.

The Tribe over Truth phrase sums up modern American discourse: we believe what our tribe, our party, says over the realities, the truths confronting us. I do see it in some of the Democratic Party conversations, like when there is no real, honest rendering of Joe Biden’s age and condition. But those instances of Tribe Over Truth (TOT) are unique to political conversations and consistent to the story-telling aspects of all political debate, including hyperbole, obfuscation, misdirection, and omission. Perfectly acceptable, right?

But TOT on the right/far-right has gone beyond reason. In personal conversations with Trump supporters, there is often a “shut down” evident in the face of my conversational partners when discussing the cult-like power of–and the adoration for–Donald J Trump. Please note it is not Trump’s fault. As I opined in an earlier essay, he is doing a masterful job as a political candidate.

But his supporters are not equipped to consider “alternate facts” which are contrary to the Trump Tribe narrative. Again, not policy issues, just plain facts. Most Trump supporters, for example, still think he won the popular vote in the two elections Trump lost, one by 3 million votes and the second by 7 million votes. It is an astounding, baffling conversation to hear arguments and statements completely the opposite of those accepted facts. See how the MyPillow guy and the rest still cling to them. And some others: Obama was not an American citizen. Joe Biden is a puppet, Nancy Pelosi is head of a pedophile ring in DC.

To non-Trump supporters it makes rational discussion impossible, and even causes some on the Left/Far left to adopt the same ploy: just ignore truth and repeat lies. And political discourse is sent swirling down the shitter.

Tribe over Truth hasn’t just become an assault on facts, but a true method of “support group” activity. Almost as puzzling as watching truth get sidelined is how tightly the Trump Tribe circles the wagons and has each other’s backs. Attack a Trumper and watch what happens.

It is a truly remarkable societal/political phenomenon. One thing comes to mind: is there any way we could harness the TOT energy to actually solve problems? Imagine Donald Trump telling the tribe to love everyone, black, gay, democrat, immigrant…do you think the Tribe would turn on him?

An enlightened and well-read reader from the Seattle, Washington area (Yes, they can read out there) has answered the question and about an alternative to burial and cremation for the disposal of our earthly remains: put the body in your compost bin with your food scraps, lawn clippings, and garden debris. But remember one part green to one part brown for layering.

First of all, do you have a compost bin? Explaining composting as a method of corpse disposal is going to be hard for those who don’t compost. For those who do, imagine a big compost “bin” the size of a average warehouse. Put the body in there, and with proper ventilation, and tending you’ll have compost material in 8 to 12 weeks. As composters know, there are many variables which speed up or slow down the process. For reference: a body buried–without a coffin–will take 5 years to “skeletonize”, but takes up to a decade to fully decompose. That’s ten years underground without a coffin.

For those who don’t compost: google it. Not enough room here to explain.

Body composting has been happening for many years, already. There are, now, several companies offering to help with climate controlled warehouses to speed things up and guarantee results

I’ve lost myself in this research so here are some fun facts to end this column for today:

1. The body will compost into about one cubic yard of material to be used in any garden, legally, if you do all your paperwork.
2. Teeth and bones DO NOT compost and they must be screened out of the material or ground up and added back in to the material. Unless you want them for something else. Necklace?
3. The Catholic Church is against composting, calling it “dehumanizing”. Hm. Kettle/pot thing comes to mind. Wonder what Catholic cavemen did with their dead…

Composting food waste, garden clippings, and organic waste is great for the environment. Your garbage turns into gardening material, not a methane-producing lump buried underground. And its energy efficient. No gas fired furnace for cremation, or diesel grave digging machines. (Does any cemetery still dig graves by hand?) Also, maybe in the future there will be DIY Body Composting areas? Or kits available at Lowes?

I’m all for composting my (currently) producing methane lump, when my methane producing is halted and it’s time to sail off to heaven, or someplace similar.

Take my organs and put the rest in the bin.