Digging to Find the Truth

What is true and what is not?

This blog started out as somewhere to list my ancestors and record what I remember about them. As I have no decedents, this has not turned out to be greatly motivational, as I expected. Oh well. It does not matter, for soon we will all be dead anyway. There are too many people in this world already, the earth will only support so many in steady state carbon dioxide level, which we pasted in 1960. Carbon dioxide is being produced twice as fast as it is converted back to oxygen. This higher carbon dioxide level is causing warming, and as a result, methane hydrate in the arctic is melting releasing more methane, causing faster warming. We are beyond the point of return, we are headed for a hot house condition. Oh well, we all just die anyway.

We humans are loaded can be loaded with a belief system over our physical genetic operating system, and in turn, knowledge is loaded over that. Some parts of the belief system and knowledge system are wrong, and should be corrected. Knowing where our ancestors came from is all fine history, but does not help in correction of our belief system, nor help us live better now. Some of the information they had may help us as the living standard declines over time as the geopolitical system breaks down and the current young are left scrambling for a living. I expect that many of them will find themselves living in the winters in a couple hundred square feet per person heated space. Oh well. We current live well.

The human animal is likely the most successful species ever; other contenders depend on us; rats, cats, domestic animals, cockroaches, etc. We have destroyed our own environment, it is done for now, even though it is still livable for a few more years. This is reality, not pessimism, even though the optimistic see it as pessimism. Reality should be the target. Reality is the truth, and that is important.

To me, the realization that gods are just concepts, and belong to a group of concept class of objects, like mathematics, physics, geometry, calculus, class of objects that seam real but have no physical existence. These exist beyond space and time. We humans likely need a belief system of some sort for rapid early learning, but religions have corrupted what is really needed. We need to be clear of any supernatural thinking; that is dangerous and is not reality. We need to learn a clean strong moral system, to practice a virtue system, and always require critical thinking. We do not need supernatural thinking. This would be equivalent to taking all the good of all the religions and deleting the supernatural, unfounded, and bad. The conflicting concepts would need to be resolved and rationally codified, as specific concepts, not as general stories.

Story telling is the original art. It existed when the lesson of the story was not clear as a definable principle, and even today, some of those principles have not been isolated and defined, although philosophy has made tremendous inroads in some of these. Realizing that we can correct our belief system is a major break through. Now comes the tough part, each generation must learn the same stuff, and it must be filtered through the teaching generation to the learning generation. No teaching generation should load supernatural thinking into the learning generation. We have a responsibility to teach the truth. Failure to do so is basically abuse of the young.

If we are going to have peace at the world level, with modern communications and travel, there must be a standardized moral, ethical, virtue, behavioral code world wide. Not in my life time, but they must come. Oh well, that is for the next generation. It is enough to figure out what is right and just for myself and my community first for now.

Looking back, many generations likely had atheists. In our family Gus was one. He was burred with his buffalo great coat, a knife, and a gun, or so I was told, but that was Julius's decisions.

Enough.        


             

Winter Solstice Letter

Another year, and another winter solstice letter. What has happened in the last year? And welcome to the exciting show coming up in the next few years as we face reality.

First, I regret to inform those who do not already know that I have become a raving atheist. I always was a bit that way anyway, but now that I am retired, I have had time to study this and examine reality, sciences, and the like. It can be the most fair of the belief systems, everything is hypothesis, there are no absolutes, but much is bloody unlikely. We live in a time of rapid change and as a result tradition needs to take a hinder seat. We need to learn to think our way through these troubling years ahead. Oh well. Much is beyond our power, but in the power of others to achieve the necessary results. 

The causes of climate change have passed the point of no return; carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is over 400ppm in the atmosphere, and methane is over 1600 ppb in the atmosphere. In 1960 these numbers were 280 and 500. The Arctic is 20 degrees C warmer, the September sea ice is down to 25% of 1960 levels, and methane hydrate is melting, releasing more methane about 200 times the rate it was in 1980. By 500 ppm Co2, we will be suffering. The second whammy will be methane at 3000 ppb. The third will be nuclear winter. Few others care so why should I? Oh well.    

The world cannot support this level of population, and nobody will voluntarily reduce their life style. We all are becoming protectionist, which is not a bad thing, I think. We have gone too far in trading, and not in producing everything we can ourselves. Oh well, the carbon dioxide and methane will likely finish us baby boomers off.   

   

Fort McMurray fire, 240 miles direct away, produced a bit of smoke, and a lot of evacuees around here, something like 125,000. It will require a lot of labor to rebuild, if and when that happens. There should be a requirement for clear space around towns and cities like that. But then there should be a requirement to control the size of trees in all cities on high plastic soils, but there is not. In fact the stupid City of Edmonton promotes trees that cause high plastic lacustrine clay soil shrinkage from drying and that damage houses. Oh well, that is politics as opposed to reason.

I am not going to take on any of these issues, but knowing the obvious, sit back and watch the young whirl away. Until there is a government in power that places the people first, the problem will not be resolved. Note that I did not say solved, for the only solution is reduction in world population back to 3.5b or so and stabilized industry of profitable carbon fixing established. We are the species at risk, if this is not done soon. We current humans do not do well in a methane rich atmosphere. The next sapient species may be able to breath in a methane rich atmosphere. The lesson endith here. Oh well. 

My sister, Merris and her husband, David came for a visit in mid August from Wyoming. It was her 50 high school reunion.  Other than that I did not lay eyes on any relatives in the last year. Oh well. I have been in a period of not wanting to do much of anything, other than what needed to be done… garden, grass, fix, repair, patch, paint, restore, etc, and there is just too much of that. 

The garden was poor, it was dry until the end of June, then wet. Tomatoes and cucumbers froze off on June 25 this year. Reseeded the cucumbers, and got two tomatoes from Sue’s nephew Robert’s, so they were late, but we got enough. Climate change is real, and dramatic weather shifts are occurring. Carbon dioxide is rising too high.  

I am fully retired except for three stupid legal cases where I am an expert witness on. All these are hang overs from 2009, 2011, and 2015. Defence, defence and quiz-government prosecution. The legal system is as stupid as the political/government system.  

We were to Saskatchewan twice and BC twice, and Sue made one more trip each way, no two extra to BC. Her family is getting old, and her cousins are dying off. I guess we are doing our part to address overpopulation. Sue is planning a trip to Houston USA in December. Burn that carbon fuel.

I will close at this point, and wish you all seasons greetings.

The mangala sutra

More or less...

Avoid people exerting a negative influence and only associate with people exerting a positive influence.
Show respect to those who have earned it.
Live in a suitable location.
Have done good deeds in your past, set yourself on a suitable path.
Have good learning, suitable attitudes and practical skills.
Follow a code of discipline, practice appropriate speech.
Support your parents or guardians and take care of your spouse and children.
Have an appropriate and balanced livelihood.
Be charitable and practice virtuous actions.
Help your friends and relatives, be blameless in one's own conduct.
Refrain from harmful acts with great effort.
Refrain from intoxicants and be diligent in your practice.
Venerate those worth of it.
Be humble, content and grateful.
Embrace the teachings at the right time, now.
Have patience and learn how to give and listen to advice.
Have a teacher and discuss the teachings.
Practice self-restraint and understand the four truths.
Follow the eightfold path and work toward freedom from suffering.
Be unaffected by worldly conditions and understand impermanence and nonself.
Free yourself from defilements.
Achieve lasting peace and true happiness.

Round Robbin

I am sitting on the round robin letter, waiting for a day at home, to sit down and write,,, something. It will come, but not today or tomorrow, and then I will be busy for 2 weeks with stuff, then I will be busy with more stuff, and then perhaps... I just do not know.

It make one round a year so that is about right. Oh well, atwajda.

Three Trails Home

One of the Mayerthorpe history books on line

http://www.ourroots.ca/toc.aspx?id=8508

Alfred William Mitchell ( -2016)

Alfred William Mitchell   

dod july 30 2016

(Bunclody, Co. Wexford) (peacefully), at Riversdale Nursing Home, Ballon (Carrigduff, Bunclody and late of Irish Sugar), loving husband of Jane and father of George, Rosalind, Anita, Alan, Heather, Paul and Robert; sadly missed by his grandchildren, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt, nieces, nephews, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, relatives, neighbours and friends. Reposing at Lennon's Funeral Home, Bunclody from 3 o'c. until 8 o'c. today (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday) from 3 o'c. with removal at 6.30 o'c. to St. Brigid's Church, Kilrush for reception at 7 o'c. Funeral service on Tuesday at 2.30 o'c. Burial afterwards in the adjoining churchyard. No flowers please. Donations if desired to St. Brigid's Church, Kilrush. "Safe in the arms of Jesus"

Jane nee Brownrigg, daughter of Nellie nee Tully, father's sister.

it is time

it is time to either do something with this blog or shut it down. What is the question.

After getting screamed at for what I said somewhere, and then the silent treatment, I just do not care anymore.

garden

Planted onions and carrots today.