A Penny for my Thoughts

It is often said that a man has many amazing ideas. There are those who would take of them without giving due credit or payment for that thought, however.


Personally, I think that if someone thinks of something, they are duly entitled to one penny per copy of that idea that is sold. Direct deposit to bank account is quite easy to do. Even today, there are those who know exactly who thought of an idea that they have unjustly taken.

I think that companies who do this should follow an honor system; if they take an idea from someone else, that someone is entitled to at LEAST one penny per copy sold, as well as a copy of their own.

I support this idea because I personally don't mind not getting credit; after all, I lacked the resources to make it myself, but I wouldn't mind a penny for my thoughts and a copy of my own such that I may benefit from it without paying $100+ for my own idea.

Six Degrees of Genetic Mutation

"In our each and every deliberations, we must consider the impact on the next seven generations" - Iroquois Council Code of Laws

I believe this quote has a very valid point- Only recently are we figuring out that our consumptions affects the next few generations. But how far does it go?

I think it requires a total of 8 generations to see all of the effects; The reason for this is because as we progress through phases just as the Universe does.

These phases occur, using a negative beginning point;

Personal Harm- Consumption of substance has a negative average effect

Offspring Alteration- As you pass substance through contact to your young they will develop

Heritable Traits- As these are passed on to young, things now take another direction and

Allergic Reactions- As allergies occur and are overcome, these then develop into

Immunities- As Immunity accumulates for bad portions of the substance, we may run into

Safe Consumption- Now that we have gone through 6 steps in order, we then have gone through our "Six Degrees" of mutation.

So, the idea is that, if the human race were to smoke tobacco, we would over time see birth defects, inherited desires for the contents, allergies, but then eventually immunity to negative effects and safe or beneficial consumption. Welcome to the world of what I refer to as Epigenerational Medicine.

At Your Command

At Your Command

by: Rob

'Wandering ever the footsteps soft,

to walk any lighter would take aloft.

Concerning ever the emotions harsh,

careful to avoid muck-ridden marsh.

Pondering never the unfair situations,

but thought of such can bring elations.

Preparing to ride out each darkest day,

you can know what comes your way.

Wondering freely about all in view,

can show you exactly what is true.

I seek the gates of fine iron wrought.

I seek the barrier of conscious thought.

I look beyond beauty and splendor

to find the great gossamer vendor.

Merchant of the undesirable dreams.

Dealer in dark visions obscene.

To walk a path of taboo and torment

take a step closer to my next informant.

These wily winding wind-swept waves

crashing, thrashing, flung up on shore.

No hope or chance unless divinity saves,

left behind, forlorn, and begging for more.

To not in conscience give leniency to the weak,

to not in preference give alms for the poor.

Ever searching, world-weary eyes do seek,

the sight which would cripple, bring knee to floor.

Not in reverence or indefinable pain,

but endless awe of sights unseen,

to venture forth into depth of brain,

to grasp unearthly beauty of the serene.

Without restraint of fear, and faith devoid,

do I venture forth to the darker side,

onward towards that which others avoid,

I step forth with others, my spirit allied.

To darkest depths of demonic halls.

To deepest holes of hopeless despair.

Through frozen fields of hellish fury.

Through flowing bardo of tainted blood.

Across great chasms of black deceit.

Across endless seas of burning dreams.

I step forth, my mind clear.

I move ahead, my heart afire.

I venture outward, my soul pure.

Towards the one I love without fear.

Advancing along with passionate desire.

Approaching final strides to reach my cure.

Into the depths of ice,

and into the heart of fire,

abandoning every vice,

as my soul sings higher.

Show me the way to your place of rest,

I will come for you, at your call's behest.

Show me the way to your heart's abode,

I will come for you, no matter the road.

Show me the way to your emotional well,

I will come for you, braving every hell.

Show me the way to call out to your love,

I will come for you, through any mountain shove.

Ever I wait, for your solemn call.

When you do, it will echo the hall.

Like changing colors in northern fall,

Your cry for me would come forth from all.'

Into the Void

Into the Void

"Just last night I got to thinking,

while sheep cross fence were winking.

The stars in the sky,

so please my eye,

I wondered if there were a reason.

As I lay calm in comfortable bed,

blanket bov my body and pillow neath my head.

I feel it's right to mention,

that I asked myself a question.

Why is it they're there just teasin?

We've been to mountain top,

and between islands hopped.

Dived the ocean's blue,

Hell, we even flew!

We've braved squall and monsoon,

we've even put a man on the moon...

But I wonder, what's keeping us here?

Is it reluctance from failure or fear?

The stars in the sky,

they so catch my eye!

They're beautiful in their argent glow,

maybe, one day, we'll go to and fro.

It's getting late now, and I'm ready to sleep.

I nod my head, and signal the sheep.

Letting wonders cease as I come to rest,

from such concerns I mentally divest.

One day our galaxy with life will teem,

until that day comes, I can still dream."

There comes a time when all people reach a point in life, the dilemma of dilemmas, and it is an inevitable point. This dilemma is so weighty because it is a simple decision, about a simple thing. If that may seem backwards to you, you might be right. While a complex decision can be difficult to understand, it has sufficient detail to give a good idea of the results. However, with a simple decision, things are much more difficult to predict. This decision is the decision between pursuing your hopes and dreams, or giving them up to focus on more important things. Many people make different choices for many different reasons, but the end results are usually the same regardless of reason. Either you give up your dreams and never achieve them or wait so long that it becomes less enjoyable than it would have been, or you keep your dreams and end up not focusing on what's important, and do not have the benefit of a covered survival.

I think too many people have been giving up their dreams recently. It's a sad sign indeed when the people who are most doggedly pursuing such an emotional topic are scientists and people out to make money. We've lost a part of humanity in the process somewhere, a little piece that fell off because it got nudged the right way or intentionally removed like a stray thread. We've lost the very drive which brought us up to this level; the drive to fulfill dreams and explore. Space is the last thing on the minds of the people right now, but it's our reluctance to take the next step that has caused so many problems.

When we look at something such as space travel, we tend to think it's exorbitantly expensive and nigh impossible, however that shouldn't stop us from investing in it. Many of the social problems of today could be fixed by technology developed explicitly for space colonization. If we were to set up a moon or mars colony, for example, we would need a way to transport sufficient supplies to the colony, a way to provide medical assistance that doesn't require a 3 day round trip, housing which is disaster resistant(impact or storms) and is light and easy to set up(we have to get it there remember?), manufacturing and resource gathering technology to reap the benefits of colonization, we would need agricultural technology which could operate in inhospitable environments which have low supply of water, and speaking of water that's somewhat important too.

However, while the cost of developing for space travel is oh-so-high, what we do not realize is the sheer impact of these technologies. For example, the medical technology required for the trip and colonization would have to treat injuries, administer dosages of medication, treat individuals for exposure, and be able to do all this on limited staff, resources, and energy. In other words, we need automated computerized diagnostics and other such systems which can be applied in hospitals to reduce the cost of health care. Another excellent example is the agricultural technology needed; by using aeroponic growing systems, we can put the farm directly inside the city, which would cut down on fuel costs and labor costs of transporting that food from the farm(in an area which risks drought no-less) to the cities which need it.

We can't bring giant assembly lines worth of material to colonies with us, so we need technology which is able to gather and process resources on-site into goods(which are effectively compressed) that can be used there or transported back to Earth. As such, rapid manufacturing technology is of pivotal potency to the real world; rapid manufacturing is a different manufacturing method which effectively creates an item using base components, and is able to create any variety of machine or component that can be programmed into it. This "One unit" system would drop the cost of entering into business by a huge degree; you won't need to buy $50,000 worth of machinery to enter business. Communities could even allow public use at resource and energy cost. The same technology which would allow us to create this technology would also give us near-perfect recycling ability; if the system can assemble items with base components, it can disassemble items into base components.

Energy technologies to be used on the trip need to require less mass, so as to prevent reducing the ship's momentum, and they also need to be powerful enough to last long trips without refueling(in whatever fashion they may). These could be implemented on Earth as well, giving us cheaper, cleaner energy(in space, the less byproduct you make, the less you have to scrub). Even electronics would be vastly improved, because by using the best tool for the job, we would likely move forward from electronics into new levels of control such as spintronics, photronics, or boptronics (Electron spin computing, light computing, and bioorganic computing respectively).

That's just the benefit from the technologies we need to go somewhere else, and doesn't include the impact of discoveries made at the somewhere else. New types and alloys of metals naturally occurring(so we don't have to expend energy to make them), new plants and animals which may lead to cures for cancer and AIDS, and if we're lucky, new kinds of sentient life. If we can trade for their technology, we don't have to spend as much money researching and developing that new application. Space represents the next age for mankind, but we have a choice before we go.

When it comes to be our time to enter the next frontier, we will be faced with a simple choice; Do we play along, or do we keep fighting amongst ourselves. Mind you that we can never divorce ourselves from war(important to note), as it will be necessary at some point in the future as we may meet beings which are not-so-peaceful. Those who do not learn the Art of War are doomed to fall to those who do. United we stand, Divided we fall; if this is true for cultures and alliances, then it must be true for humankind as a whole once we voyage into space and interact with other species.

I've been through the dilemma I began this piece with, and I know what my choice on the matter is. So for now I wait and watch, and hope someday we will become ready of our own natural course, or I can help bring us up to bat.

Leap of Faith

The reslience of safety

Oh gentle Sakura

As you stand and let petal fly

As if testing the wind

You open your seeds so they may fall

And find new ground to root in

But gentle Sakura

You have so many petals

If you slowly go through them all

and test the wind and their fall

And wait too long to drop your seeds

The ground will get too moist and be full of weeds

Take the leap, the unknown dive

the embodiment of the falling petals

if you do this you'll thrive

Instead of waiting for perfection's grace

You look for promise, and turn to face

Let it drift, and find its way, into that deep unknown dive

As we hold tight in our security, we are confronted by opportunity knocking. But if opportunity is knocking, it's applied there's a door and attention to be gained; if noone answers, opportunity goes away. We hold fast to our safe ways, our laws which have governed us faithfully through the times, and to the belief that our system is in some way right and would be defaced if changed. But it is not so fragile as one would think, and it is not so marred by alteration. Our ideals which unite us under a communion are the same ideals which forge government, as ideals change to encompass new people, and as new people enter into the selection, government should be like the membrane of a cell, protecting its interior from interaction except by certain required nutrition. Reshaping and reforming to encompass the absolute extent of the variety of opinions and ideals, not just the majority or average. If laws are written to guarantee everyone's right to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, the population is much happier and more productive, as well as in control of their own system and are governmentally free.

We people are like the seeds of the tree of society, dropping around the world and forging independent identities, and giving off more seeds to populate elsewhere. It is in clinging to existing systems which have become stagnant that we begin to malfunction and deteriorate from stress. Work systems should be designed to encompass the absolute comfort, relaxation, and health of the workers; because a happy, well-educated, comfortable, healthy worker is a lot more productive. They should be inspired to seek their own direction so long as it does not impair the operation of the whole, or the operation of individuals.

We as a world society need to take a leap of faith into that great unknown, it's in our very nature, from everything we are and have ever been. That leap into the unknown is what pushes us to evolution physically, mentally, socially, and technologically. It would seem just in time that the Universe has provided a suitable chasm to cross just in our time of need. I believe an ideal leap of faith for today's world would be to sit down and work together, and put resources towards space travel. We might not know if anyone is out there, but have we ever? When Leif first hit what is now Canada or when Columbus hit what is now America? They had no idea what they were going to see or if any life or resources would exist when they arrived. They hoped for them, because such things would be interesting and deserving of more investigation, but they never knew if they would be there.

By devoting ourselves technologically and psychologically towards the ideal of spreading to the stars, the technology which would be derived as it is invented for space travel could solve much of the world's current problems such as hunger, resources, energy, and transportation. Likewise devoting ourselves psychologically to the ideal means acting in life not for survival(once guaranteed by technology or society) but for exploration, interest, intrigue, and entertainment. Some will go off to other places looking for resources, some will go off looking to live on a new exciting frontier, some will stay home and work on the challenges which face us here.

We should open the door to the new frontier and accept it willingly and whole-heartedly, as it may indeed fix many of the issues we have today.

Harmony oh profound

In life we have a lot of individual hardships. Self-esteem, labor, health, just to name a few. However, we have a tool against these. We have society. By working together to solve mutual, and then individual problems, we cover more ground faster. If more people are hungry, then improving food technology would be of most benefit. If more people are poor, then improving living technologies such that those poor people do not suffer the fate of their luck would be of most benefit. If more people are unhappy, then improving recreational and entertainment technologies such that those people can feel joy would be of most benefit. The value of communion is not in what the community can do for the individual, but what the individual can do for the community on the whole. Many forms of life exhibit this act of communion, and it would in fact seem to be mostly those creatures which are successful. By banding together we gain mutual strength and the ability to prosper.

As my other posts, I begin with a poem.

This wall will not fall today

Oh how many ways my life can end wailed the weary man,

Why not count them, said the wise,

To which the weary man woefully replied,

It could be plague or infected vermin,

Poison plants or sins infernal,

Fiery death, in heat consumed,

Or drowning beneath the tide, with thine limbs restrained.

Oh, so many, I cannot possibly count them, said the weary.

To which the wise started to wonder,

Is there truly so many ways for life to go asunder?

From war and plague to goof and blunder,

Why do we attempt to consider such an unknowable thing?

And the wise went on his way.

Oh how many ways my country crumbles, wailed the weary politician,

Why not patch the walls, said the wise,

To which the weary politician replied,

It's too late, it's all gone wrong,

I wouldn't even have time to sing a song,

The boat is sinking, no time to bail,

Things are so hopeless there's a HOLE in the pail!

We didn't see it coming, it rushed in so fast,

Our golden dreams have been left in the past!

To which the wise started to wonder,

Is it really so frail? So piecemeal and tattered?

Falling so fast that it cannot be lifted?

That our only hope is to give up and be sifted?

And the wise went on his way.

He stopped in a clearing, with nature abound,

He had a sensation, a realization profound,

He started speaking, with not a soul around...

When we are ill and we suffer, we require another,

In kindness they help, and with nary a word,

As they know in time of need, the favor will be returned,

But what of when we are without another?

Stricken down by something or other.

When we are down, and left all alone,

with noone to turn to, a situation most dire,

We tend to release ourselves to the consumption by fire.

So is it not best, to be kind with no goal?

Guarantee in effect, the presence of another?

And what of death and its unpreferrable sort?

When things look hopeless should we just press abort?

When we commune and share our hearts and our minds,

we always seem to make excellent finds.

A backup of sorts, for when hope is lacking,

to draw upon to not give up and go home packing.

Do we not protect ourselves by grouping?

Much like the atoms that are taking up space.

Are they concerned with their self preservation,

as they make such a direct and fine structural presentation?

Are they thinking like many I've seen?

Concerned with the beginning and the end, and nothing in between?

Whether or not they do, an idea can be gleaned,

by peering at their chosen path, on scales unforseen,

where each atom is, and where it's ever been.

We see that they align in the most suitable way,

building up a wall of "this wall does not fall today".

When we look at our environment, our world, or our universe, we can find one singular common thread. A seemingly unconscious natural desire to survive is ingrained in our very existence. This unconscious desire for survival can be arranged into a simple choice; left or right. Door number one, or Door number two. The reason it can be arranged into a simple choice is because when you pay attention, the rules are very simple. When it comes to survival, you will always be faced with a single common component of decision making; whether or not this action benefits you. In this simple left right process, when followed in certain patterns, we get everything we can observe. Elements are composed of two dominating categories that encompass the whole; are they essentially spinning left, or are they essentially spinning right? That is to say, is it matter, or anti-matter. From there further division results in the diversity which encompasses the entire periodic table. Life choices are broken down into beneficial or non beneficial. From there further division results in the diversity which encompasses the entire experience, including pain, happiness, and neutrality. One might argue there's a point in between, however, neutrality has a unique trait which makes it truly neutral. Given everything in existence exists, it must not be completely neutral, but rather in the slowly decaying process of neutralization. So, given this, in an infinite sample of time, any matter which exists eventually becomes neutral, likewise given this, it means that nothing which exists can be perfectly neutral in every way, there must always be a remaining imbalance, though that imbalance itself may be neutralized.

Given this simple breakdown, we can apply this to many other concepts; politics, agriculture, healthcare, business, technology, and it still applies. What this concept also describes is how to alter any system which it can be applied to for efficiency and effect. Reducing waste and imbalance by using technology which operates with reactions of a smaller particle. Less energy is needed to move a smaller particle, and so it is more efficient. If we also focus our intention on solving the most basic of problems such as food, shelter, clothing, cleanliness, available work, once those bases are covered individuals are freed to be individuals, to seek happiness instead of survival. This change would reduce crime, if not eliminate it. The legal code becomes much simplified as well, guaranteeing all individuals the right to seek life, liberty, and happiness of their own accord, so long as that seeking does not interfere with the life, liberty, and happiness of other individuals.

Remember, a given system is entirely reliant on all of its unique individual parts, once a piece is removed or alienated in any way, the system has dysfunction. All people are considered equal, likewise the contributions made by all people are considered equal. There are only two immigration requirements in this system. You work in the name of the country you live in, and will respect the rights of all others in return for being granted the aforementioned rights.

And now, the super-tiny sound-bite version, aka, the fortune cookie:

One cannot drop a pebble into a pond without making ripples, unless one could drop ripples into a pond to cancel out those of the pebble.

To be at peace is to accept all things

'Cannot be late, I watch and wait,

 The iron hands keep moving,

 Always in time, always feeling fine,

 My grandfather's clock is tocking.

 For it is a trickster in every way,

 I know it runs slow, its gears are ground low,

 But no matter when I look, it's the right time of day.

 I toil and boil as quarter til goes half past,

 I blur then I focus with my chronographic locus.

 We move along without unnecessary haste,

 Waiting for the other to wince.

 I sat down here, I thought an hour ago,

 but truly it was ten hours since.

 For this clock never lies,

 It watches and it spies,

 Waiting to reveal, in systematic motion,

 It's itching appeal, its surfacing notion.

 What I ask, when I ask, forever it just ticks on.

 I revel in it, I wretch and I crumble

 As I sit and watch my time grow closer.

 Tell me this, oh clock on the wall,

 Why do we pay so much attention as we fall?

 Is it curiosity or perverted desire?

 A necessary fuel for our innermost fire?

 We wander so much, and trip so often,

 It makes me wonder if we can be open

 To a world without pain and without struggle.

 Can we really live in such a place,

 Where one of our greatest joys is not written on our face?

 But it is now my time to pass,

 I hope that I do not seem crass,

 as I lay here and count down the ticks and the tocks,

 watching and thinking about grandfather's clocks.'

Peace is a very relative term. Peace is whatever seems calm and restful in comparison to motion. As we look further and further into the Universe, we are going to have to ask ourselves the inevitable question. If everything getting larger LOOKS slower.... will it, by all of our ability to measure, actually do so if we look far enough? What is the visible difference between stopping and starting... if you ever come to a halt, you often end up questioning if it truly is the last halt, you're almost forced to. But see, at a moment of cessation, we are able to infer what is going on through our knowledge. Our knowledge is the understanding of all information we have gathered. But what is it to gather this information?

Normally, this gathering happens by selective process. You get information about what you like, avoid hearing about what you don't. There's plenty of information to gather this way, especially if your opinion of like and dislike, or right and wrong, changes as you learn. But let me ask this.... what is the next step? Where do you go from there? Once you accept everything that you consider right, how do you gain more information? Naturally, you start seeking for more sources, but what of the obvious one? The one still right in front of you? If we stop and start listening to the "wrong"... maybe we'll find some value or knowledge in it. But then, how do we do this? How do we knowingly accept information which we perceive as wrong? It's possible, but difficult and frustrating.

There is a way though, as there always is. The simplest way to be able to accept information which we perceive as wrong is to stop perceiving it as such. If we can find a way to stop the information from seeming wrong in comparison to everything else we've heard, it becomes very easy to digest. How does one do this, though? It's actually really easy. You just have to listen to any new information solely as information without judging it. You can judge it later. It is important to judge things, in the long run... right way to use a gun.... wrong way to use a gun. Because information is applicable to the real world in some way. So it is necessary for us to categorize it as proper or improper. But it is not necessary to categorize it on the receiving phase when we first listen to the information.

If we do not consider information right or wrong to begin with, it is given equal chance among all other ideas and information. The way I feel is that the idea not spoken is the idea not given a chance. If you squelch a voice based on its past behaviours and its credibility or lack thereof, it cannot be heard. If the voice, or idea, cannot be heard, it is not given an equal chance. Everything I say is based on this perspective.

As we investigate this state of mind further, we find that the basic labels of "right" and "wrong" are at once very fluid, and unnecessary if we are mindful. We do not need to avoid every stove because we know it can burn us, just the hot element. We do not need to avoid every fight with a loved one because it can damage our relationship, just the damage the fight can do. If we were to always operate with regard to what the repercussions of our actions are, we would do nothing but improve over time.

In the end what we can understand is that acceptance is happiness. Inability or refusal of acceptance is not happiness. We grieve the loss of a loved one precisely until the moment we accept the loss of them and move on. We feel guilty so long as we refuse to accept the negativity of our actions, likely because we ourselves believe them to be wrong. Frustration comes when anything you do bites you on your own ass. It is through acceptance of these things that we can dissolve the things that are not happiness. It is through understanding of their lessons which we can learn without harm. All is well with the Universe.