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Consider the Universe. To think that we humans on planet Earth are the only living things in the universe is asinine. As a matter-of-fact, Earth humans are probably not even the smartest, most advanced life forms in the universe. Believing that there exists more advanced life forms in the universe is not only reasonable, but more than likely true. One time when he was asked if there was a God or not, Albert Einstein mused that a betting man would go with "there is a God", because the consequences of being wrong otherwise would be far more consequential. He was spot on! Growing up, I was raised Roman Catholic by my mom but also attended Presbyterian bible school during summers spent at my paternal grandparents home. I learned all the classics: stories of angels & archangels; Adam & Eve; Noah & the great flood; the story of Christ - from the immaculate conception on out; you get the idea. And mixed in were fun facts, like who begat who; men who lived to be 900 years old; two of every animal living peacefully on a boat - all the good stuff I might need for my turn on Jeopardy! some day. And I didn't buy one word of any of it. I'm too much a left-side-of-brain, scientist. This is not to say that I don't believe in a supreme entity, but all the biblical stories were too fantastic to be anything other than fables for teaching morals. I guess I always believed that we were not alone in the universe, and that we were most likely not the most intelligent life form in the universe. There is a series on the History channel called Ancient Aliens, and if you have not seen it yet, I highly recommend it. If nothing else, you will see more of the ancient ruins from throughout the world that you would most likely never otherwise see, and I guarantee (or your money back) that you will be in awe at what you see. The series delves into so many unexplained subjects that it is well worth your time investment to binge watch the entire series, start to finish. That's 22 seasons (270+ episodes) to consume, quite a big gulp to swallow. But you eat the elephant one mouthful at a time, so I suggest as a starting point, you watch S20 E11 Mysteries of the Maya , S20 E17 Egypt's Giant Tombs , S21 E7 Mysteries of the Aztecs , S18 E6 Secrets of the Star Ancestors , and S16 E5 The Forbidden Bible . Then, after watching those 5 episodes, make up your mind as to the commitment to watch the rest. There is so much unexplained about our ancient ancestors, including the architecture of their structures & how they were constructed without advanced technologies, that you will come away wanting to know the answers to some very simple questions. If your religion includes spiritual beings - e.g., angels - then you do believe in ancient aliens as angels are, by definition, not of this world, thus they are extraterrestrial in nature. Civilizations from around the world all include the same themes - that beings arrived from the heavens & that they taught the civilizations agriculture, language, astronomy and other sciences, among other things. Native Americans, Maya, Aztec, Egyptians, Peruvian, Indian, Chinese and other cultures all recorded beings from the heavens arriving in vehicles that the populations were never exposed to and therefore didn't have the language to adequately describe. When you see the records - whether they were petroglyphs, or incorporated into structures such as crypts or pyramids, or even passed down in the oral histories - one thing is clear: the universality of heavenly beings descending in various crafts, providing people with the tools necessary to advance their civilizations, then departing. Where these stories from vivid imaginations, or actual records of events experienced by our ancestors? If you watch Ancient Aliens with an open mind and are willing to consider possibilities other than those you were taught to believe, you will find a growing fascination with our ancient history. Whereas only 30 years ago we were taught that random events created a "primordial soup" from which all life on Earth arose. We were taught that the oldest civilizations dated back 3,000-4,000 years. But recent archeological discoveries the world around have unearth the remnants of civilizations dating back to 10,000 years or more! Recent discoveries have greatly expanded our evolutionary tree, and the human genome project has greatly enlightened our understanding of the relationships among species. Our once myopic view of life and history has been greatly broadened by the combination of advances in science & technology coupled with remarkable discoveries in archeology. The discovery of micro-organisms on the outsides of the International Space Station's windows, the discovery of exoplanets that are in the so-called Goldilocks zones in other galaxies, the radio signals picked up by the SETI project, and re-evaluating the oral and written histories of our ancestors describing visitation by Star Ancestors as historical accounts rather than tall tales - these and so many more events have opened our eyes to the possibility that we are not alone in the universe and that Earth may have been visited by other civilizations in the past and continues to be visited by alien life forms. What the Ancient Astronaut Theory professes is that there has been visitation of planet Earth by non-terrestrial entities for tens of thousands of years (or longer); that non-terrestrial entities have had significant effects on shaping humanity; that their visitations were recorded by ancient civilizations in the forms of oral histories and petroglyphs that are in effect historical records and not merely "cave wall doodlings". Ancient Astronaut Theorists probably believe true more of the stories of the Old Testament than many of today's religious leaders do!

After the November 2024 election, I self-imposed a total news blackout. No TV, no newspapers, no online news outlets. No discussions with family and friends about news, no matter the topic. And folks, I can honestly say that after 8 months, my life couldn't be any better! No stress, no aggravation, no anger at the sheer stupidity of the American people and the hypocrisy of the so-called Christian right. No matter what happens in this country or in the world, the quality of my life remains unaffected. The old adage that "No news is good news" couldn't be any truer! My generation is on the wane. We had our time and now its up to the subsequent generations to make this country and the world what they will. But no matter what they make of it, none of it will have any effect on the quality of my life. I have achieved what I once thought impossible - the nirvana of apathy! I simply do not care what happens outside of my family & friends. I am not a Democrat. I am not a Republican. I am an American, as proud of that label as I am disgusted by either of the political labels. To all those who voted, and especially to all those who didn't vote in the 2024 election , I truly hope you got what you wanted... and deserve. Regardless, the quality of my life remains as high as can be.  And should things really go south, Costa Rica is only a flight away!

Here I am, sitting in my local Starbucks as I often do in the mornings, enjoying my decaf and solitude. Oh, I know most of the workers at Starbucks - a great group of gals and guys - but when I have my coffee and tablet in front of me, I get totally immersed in the latest J. Robert Kennedy thriller in front of me, and nothing around me gets through. Well, almost. Today, some inconsiderate slob of a person sitting at the table behind me decides it is appropriate to engage in a speaker phone conversation in this public place. What the hell??? Is there some reason beyond my ability to grasp that they can't use the freakin' phone like it was intended, with ear to speaker? Needless to say, I was a bit more than ticked-off that this specimen of inconsideration intruded upon my otherwise serene world. Folks, no one else cares to participate in your speakerphone conversation, nor do we care to hear it. It is common courtesy and decency to NOT put your phone on speaker in a public place. I was so tempted to turn around and engage in the conversation, and when she would inevitably say "This is a private conversation!" I could explain to her why it was NOT a private conversation. These same people are most likely the ones who bitch and gripe should someone or some company, or heaven forbid, the government!, put cameras in a public space. They cry foul on their right to privacy! When you are in public, by definition, you have NO privacy outside the clothes you wear and the purse or briefcase you carry. You have a responsibility to ensure that your "private" conversation on your phone remains private, and not broadcast into "public". In the same vein, people who create a mess at a table in a public place, such as a Starbucks, have a responsibility to clean up their mess before they leave. People think it is alright to unwrap their food, prepare their beverage, consume both, and then leave the wrappers, cups, napkins and whatever other flotsam they created on the table for someone else to clean up. These people obviously live in a pig stye of an abode and feel that it is their God-given right to leave the mess for someone else to take care of. Here's an idea - rather than stopping by a public restaurant, why not waddle over to your trough and slobber yourself some feed in the privacy of your own barnyard? And moms, please don't stand idly by, doing absolutely nothing, while your child screams at the top of their little lungs for as long as they can while you sip on the Triple-shot Half-Caf French Mocha Pumpkin Spice Latte you so desperately need. Children will be children - hell, we all were at one time, whereas some of us have grown up - but allowing a child to exhibit such bad behavior in public is neither considerate of others nor good for the child. If you allow such bad public behaviors unchecked as a toddler, don't wonder in disbelief when your teenager lands themselves in jail. Learning right from wrong = including what is acceptable public behavior - occurs before they start kindergarten and continues through grade school, and is YOUR responsibility as a parent, not the school system or anyone else, to instill in the child. If you're not willing to invest the time requires to raise your child correctly, get your freakin' tubes tied tightly into a big bow - it will be a gift all of us will enjoy.

In America, anyone can own an automobile. If you are able to afford one, you can purchase one. If someone you know wants to give you one, they can. And if you want to give one to someone, you can, too. America is great! But, if you want to drive that automobile, you can if you meet certain requirements. First, you must be old enough to acquire a driver's license, and to obtain a driver's license you must past a written test and a road test in most if not all states. These tests are to ensure that (1) you are familiar with the laws governing driving an automobile, and (2) that you can handle the vehicle sufficiently under most conditions. For example, if you are blind, you cannot handle a vehicle sufficiently to ensure the safety of yourself and others. Similarly, if you don't understand what a yellow traffic light means, you jeopardize the safety of others as well as yourself. Therefore, knowing & understanding the laws regarding operation of a vehicle are critical to obtaining your driver's license. Once you have your driver's license, you are free to drive your vehicle wherever you desire, right? For example, if you wish to drive to the grocery store, or to visit grandma, or take your children to school, you are free to do so. But, you must obey certain restrictions. For example, you cannot drive your vehicle on the left side of the roadway, or on a sidewalk. You cannot drive at any speed, but must obey speed restrictions posted on the roads. You cannot drive your vehicle at night without proper lights. You cannot drive the wrong way down a one-way street. The point is, these constraints are imposed by law to ensure the safety of yourself and others. Furthermore, there are constraints on the type of vehicle you may own and operate in public. You cannot own & operate an 18-wheel semi without the proper driver's license for that type of vehicle. You cannot own an Abrahms tank or a mobile missile launcher and drive it down a public roadway. Freedom of ownership does not imply you may own whatever you wish to own nor does it imply use without constraints, and the primary, if not sole, reason is public safety. Freedoms are not unrestricted. We all have the freedom to live safely in America, and that freedom trumps all others. You have the right to worship as you please, but you may not worship by conducting human sacrifice. You have the right to play your stereo as loud as you please providing it does not disturb your neighbor's right to peace & quiet. Why should gun ownership be any different than vehicle ownership? "The right to bear arms" does NOT mean you may own any type of armament you desire. You cannot own a grenade launcher, nor a so-called "dirty bomb" nor a nuclear warhead. You may not own an ICBM nor a landmine. In other words, you may not own arms meant for mass-destruction or mass-killings. There is absolutely no reason any civilian needs such weapons nor any legitimate circumstance for their civilian use. When the US Constitution was written, this country was a far, far different country than it is today. There were legitimate needs for having a rifle or handgun - hunting for food, and personal protection of self & family. Although some may argue today that those needs no longer exist, there are still individuals who do hunt for food, who do hunt to protect their livestock from wildlife predators, and those who do live in remote areas that cannot rely upon local law enforcement agents for protection. And yes, there are those who simply want to ensure their personal safety and that of their family by owning a firearm. Those who wish to hunt - for food or simply for sport - should be able to own a rifle or shotgun. And those who wish to own a firearm for home security and personal protection, should be able to own a pistol. If someone is breaking into your home, you cannot rely on the local police arriving there instantly to prevent home invasion. But the right to own a weapon does NOT come without constraints. First, just as you need to do to own & operate a vehicle, you need to be licensed, aka have a gun permit. And in order to obtain that license, you need to pass certain requirements to determine if you are able to operate that weapon safely. That is the true reason for gun permits - public safety. And for public safety, there needs to be constraints on the type of weapon you may own and use. There is no legitimate reason to own a weapon meant for mass destruction/mass killing. Just like you select the type of vehicle to meet your intended use, you should select the type of weapon for your intended use. If you intend to hun, you purchase a hunting rifle. If your intent is personal protection, you select a pistol. If you purchase a high-capacity fully-automatic weapon, you intend to kill large numbers quickly and indiscriminately. THAT is the reason there needs to be restrictions on the sale of high-capacity fully-automatic weapons. No reasonable person should be promoting the elimination of your "constitutional right to bear arms". I think the problem with the current national conversation is that it is focused entirely on banning specific types of weapons; it is far too easy for people to jump from "banning AK-47s" to "banning all firearms". The conversation should not concentrate on banning firearms but rather emphasize the public's right to ownership of hunting and personal protection firearms. Maybe we should change the language from "gun permit" to "firearm license" so that people subconsciously equate it to a driver's license with all that that implies. But most importantly, put the banning of any specific type of firearm within the context of protecting the public's right to hunting and personal protection firearms so that the NRA and others cannot easily make the jump to banning all firearms. Finally, it is critically important to recognize the role firearms has played in the entire history of this country. Some would say that it is now a part of the American DNA. As a young boy, I played old west Sherriff with my cap pistol, and soldier with my cap rifle hunting down Nazis. The most popular type of TV show was the western. Like it or not, there is no denying that firearms are a part of our culture and as such that will not change. What can change is the types of firearms the public is allowed to own and use, and the determination of who may own one. But that change is not possible with the current federal legislature. Everyone bitches and moans about Congress, yet they continue to re-elect their Congressmen over and over again. Apparently it is everyone else's Congressman that needs to be ousted, not mine! So long as we continue to re-elect the same legislators, we cannot expect change. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome." Yes, it is insanity!