Thursday, March 27, 2014

All the good poets are dead



O Solitude,
thou selfsame cure for
thy sister Lonelynesse.
Thou scaffold for crows;
thou sweet sacrifice of the soul.

I sent my SOS to the world
a quarter century ago.
But ‘tis too late, I am
drowned in solitude.

Be not deceived by what you’ve read.
All the good poets are long-since dead.

What final word be ventured?
What idle mind the next give birth?
Always it’s back to silence,
surrendering all violence;
drawing back, drawing near,
the Land without fear –
but two angels bar the way,
their fiery swords hold sway.


[This poem copyright © 2014 by Reality Wedge!]




Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Spartan warriors



Some of my ancestors were Spartans. They were amongst the toughest humans to walk the planet. After hundreds of years though the toughness seems to have dwindled somewhat, unfortunately. But not so the spirit.


      This is Sparta!

A protea up close and personal by 'd'


Friday, March 14, 2014

The Mushroom






                           I measured the diameter of this ‘shroom. It’s 24 cm across, give or take a centimetre.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Life is a game, play it.




                                                                 Life is a game, play it.
                                                                     Mother Teresa

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Protea close-up 1: a pic by the D-meister!


                                               Wow! What a neon pink! It's fantastic! : )

                                           The 2 pics above were taken on a later walk by 'd'.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Custard Apple

                                        I believe this to be a custard apple fruit. It's not fully grown yet.

Stop!



                       
                          ‘Sometimes people don’t know when to stop, so you must know when to stop.’

                         ‘Stop working for a living* and start living for a working.’
                         *This does not mean you give up your job!

                          Zen proverb: “To know when to stop – that is the right beginning.”

Monday, March 3, 2014

I still await the plumber.



My friend informed me by e-mail today:
‘I still await the plumber -- guy didn't even respond to my phone call, after promising to be here today. I dunno. Some people, you can't give money to.’

In the Leprechaun movies we have humans tangling with a nearly indestructible entity bent on retrieving his stolen gold. The great Warwick Davis, who starred in ‘Willow’ plays the Leprechaun. Less supernatural entities also bent on getting as much gold (cash) out of you as possible are: dentists, doctors, lawyers and plumbers. Have I left anyone out? Politicians, maybe but they’re more subtle.

Recently I obtained a few pages of photocopied materials à propos this discussion. It purports to be some hastily photocopied pages from a secret manual known only to those who have graduated Plumbing School. It reveals the standard operating procedures and practices of the plumbing profession. The individual, a friend of yesteryear, who leaked the documents was studying to be a plumber but dropped out apparently due to a crisis of conscience.

Plumbers' Manual, Section C: Appointments, paragraph 1:
Never go to client on day agreed, delay as long as possible. Make client sweat.
The objective is to annoy the client and make them as desperate as possible to facilitate the willing extraction of large sums of money. The client will do this in part to be rid of you. Do not take it personally, be professional and courteous at all times. Remember the client is always wrong but must never be told that he is wrong.

Plumbers' Manual, Section A: Charging, paragraph 1:
Always overcharge. As a plumber your first rule is to plumb the depths of your client's financial resources. While ruining your client financially is highly desirable, most plumbers will stop short in order to allow the client to amass more funds for the next plumbing job, in which, of course, it is recommended that you charge more than the first time you were called out.

Balanced Prepping



I enjoy watching National Geographic’s ‘Doomsday Preppers’. It appears that to do prepping you have to go all the way, if you want to stand a realistic chance of surviving. But I have reservations about this. Some have commented that what preppers are sacrificing is what makes life worthwhile in the first place, so it becomes self-defeating. They have a point. Not to do any preparation for potential crises and disasters, is, in my opinion, highly irresponsible and shows a lack of foresight. So, what I’m advocating is a balanced form of prepping. Enjoy life – go to the movies and the occasional visit to a restaurant etc. but also take some steps just in case.

For those who disagree and want to go the whole hog prepping – that’s admirable in a way. Good luck to you. Remember, though, why you’re doing the prepping in the first place: the health and wellbeing of your family. Your children may become resentful if they are never allowed to have fun like other kids. They might rebel and then your plans will be frustrated. It may be a good idea to relax the pressure on those nearest and dearest to you, at least, some of the time.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

An Attractiveness Scale



While all females are equally beautiful, they are not equally attractive.

It is quite common for guys to score a female’s attractiveness as a number between 1 and 10, 1 being very very unattractive and 10 being some kind of supermodel. Here is a slightly modified version of that scoring system.

5 = Gibraltar or ‘Gib’
5+ = Gib + (read ‘Gib plus’)
6- = Indonesian – (read ‘Indonesian minus’)
6 = Indonesian
6+ = Indonesian +
7- = Hawaiian -
7 = Hawaiian
7+ = Hawaiian +
8- = Haitian –
8 = Haitian
8+ = Haitian +
9- = Jamaican -
9 = Jamaican
9+ = Jamaican Rhumba!
10 = Kokomoan*

*‘Kokomo’, a song by The Beach Boys.

Note 1: Sometimes one encounters a female with an amazing body but a not-so-attractive face or vice versa. Scoring can be difficult here but the score refers to face and figure combined.

Note 2: The Kokomoan is in a special category. She may be any score below 10 but because she’s ‘the one’, the one you marry, she’s designated Kokomoan, a perfect 10 out of 10!

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Large UFO Mass Sightings frequency study



Statement: It has been claimed by UFO enthusiasts that mass sightings or sightings in general are becoming more frequent and that a very large mass sighting (possibly by a million people is due to occur soon). There is a build-up to something big.

To determine if large mass sightings are indeed becoming more frequent I have gathered data regarding mass sightings.

Question: Are large mass UFO sightings increasing in frequency (are there more sightings occurring in less time)?

For my purposes I define large mass sightings as ones witnessed by over a hundred people and those witnessed by over a thousand people.

UFO Mass Sightings info obtained from:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_major_UFO_sightings (took only Kolkata incident from here)


Date                                    Name                                Number of witnesses    
June 1, 1853                Tennessee College Campus                numerous (my estimate: 7-20)  
April 17, 1897              Aurora, Texas                                   citizens (my estimate 6-24)
Feb 25, 1942               Battle of Los Angeles                         dozens, poss. more
Jan 7, 1948                  Madisonville, Kentucky,Mantell killed    dozens
July 29, 1952               White House UFO incident                   dozens to a hundred?
Sept,13-25, 1952         Operation Mainbrace                          multiple (my estimate: 5-25)
27 Oct, 1954               Italian Stadium                                   10 000
Nov 2, 1957                Levelland, Texas                               15 or more
Dec 9, 1965                 Kecksburg Incident                           numerous (estimate: 12-24)
April 6, 1966                Westfall UFO Encounter, Australia    more than 200 and prob. less than 230
April 17, 1966              Portage County Police Chase                    about 12
1982-86, peak:March 24, 1983 V-shaped lights Hudson Valley   more than 300
Nov1989-April1990,peak30/31Mar1990   Belgian Wave      approx. 13 500
Mar 30, 1993               The Cosford Incident                              hundreds
Sept 16, 1994              Ariel School, Zimbabwe                              62
March 13, 1997           Phoenix Lights                                    thousands
July 14, 2001               New Jersey Turnpike                                 15
Nov 7, 2006                Chicago O’Hare                                     hundreds
29 Oct, 2007                Kolkata,India                                        hundreds
Jan 8, 2008                  The Stephensville Lights                           40


Large Mass Sightings (all over 1000 people):
27 Oct, 1954                           Italian Stadium                                   10 000
Nov1989-April1990,peak30/31Mar1990   Belgian Wave      approx. 13 500
March 13, 1997                         Phoenix Lights                           thousands

Interval between 1st and 2nd sighting is 36 years.
Interval between 2nd and 3rd sighting is 7 years.

I reckon, there’s not enough data to establish an escalating number of large mass sightings. If a 4th sighting occurs in less than 7 years, let’s say in 4 years’ time then perhaps that would indicate an escalation in frequency?


Large Mass Sightings (all over a hundred people):
27 Oct, 1954                           Italian Stadium                                                10 000
April 6, 1966                          Westfall UFO Encounter, Australia               more than 200 prob. less than 230
1982-86, peak:March 24, 1983 V-shaped lights Hudson Valley               more than 300
Nov1989-April1990,peak30/31Mar1990   Belgian Wave                         approx. 13 500
Mar 30, 1993                          The Cosford Incident                                         hundreds
March 13, 1997                    Phoenix Lights                                                  thousands
Nov 7, 2006                           Chicago O’Hare                                                    hundreds
29 Oct, 2007                        Kolkata,India                                                      hundreds

Intervals between incidents in years: 12, 17, 7, 3, 4, 9, 1

Frequency fluctuates. It goes up and down. Conclusion: No escalation.

Conclusions:
There may be more UFO sightings of all kinds* (i.e. by single individuals, small numbers as well as larger numbers of people) than ever before but how many of these are credible, and do not involve hoaxes? Of the large mass sightings how many can be discounted due to hoaxes or other explainable phenomena? The statement made that the UFO phenomenon shows that there is going to be something really big on the horizon is not well-founded according to this study done here.

However, looking at the data from another point of view, it can be readily seen that from 1954 onwards some very large mass sightings have occurred. I would say these are the largest mass sightings in human history (as far as we know), and they all occurred in the space of only 43 years (1997-1954=43), as opposed to all the millennia that have gone before. So, from that point of view, the really big UFO events have already manifested themselves.

* http://chateaudifpress.com/prisoners-testimony/weekly-columnists/arraiel/ufosightingsincrease

Going from UFO to IFO = Alien craft



Photos that look like alien craft could be alien craft. Could be. So you start to ponder, to wonder if they could be what they look like. But you know that you still don't know for sure. It's tantalising, I guess. It's fun to speculate. However, they ALL remain unidentified and not identified. If they're all unidentified there is not one single hit for alien craft.

UFO = Unidentified Flying object
IFO = Identified Flying Object