Week 39

So no excuses, I forgot to blog.  I kept thinking, Ok I have to do that and then promptly wandered off to the next thing.  So that is full on my fault. 

What to write about?  Well I recently saw a documentary that made me have some very strong mixed emotions.  It was about using cloning to resurrect extinct species.  Now I'm not a big fan of cloning but I am a huge fan of NOT wiping species off the planet because we are irresponsible twits. I won't get into the whole religious perspective, but I do think it is a very slippery slope ethics wise.  In a way cloning can start to devalue life.  Oh that's gone, ok lets bake up a new one... DING! ready.  Seriously, did  you know for 100G you can have your pet cloned in Asia so when they die you have and exact genetic match and don't have to say goodbye to rover or spot?  You can even customize them to have neon toenails!  I'm not kidding, it's a real thing!  That's crazy!

However in some ways, I feel it would be a good thing to make amends for species that we are directly responsible for destroying.  Such as the thylacine commonly known as the tasmanian tiger( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thylacine , the giant moa of New Zealand ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Island_giant_moa ), and the elephant bird of Africa( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird ) to name only a few.

This documentary had several others on the list but the one that made me feel extra ookie was the Neanderthal.  I have no idea why I was so shocked about that ability.  I mean we have how many humans running around the place and according to these scientists a great number have Neanderthal DNA (which I have to admit I believe considering my dating history).  But to refer to resurrecting a human species as casual as you please in a documentary listed as extinct animals made my brain fall out.

Are they animals or people?  The documentary referred to them loosely as both.  WHAT!?  So, cloning in general in most countries is illegal, and cloning people is super illegal... but they want to put cloning Neanderthals on the to do list.  I don't know about you guys, but DANG!  THAT AIN'T RIGHT! 

Even if you did clone them, then what?  Put them in a Zoo?  It's not like they can get a job.  Unless it's working on the oil patch or driving cab - then maybe, but still!  You want to bring people into a world they don't understand, have no ability to function in, and then what? They won't have any culture, that is learned behavior and the last thing we need is more people acting like a bunch of entitled snots with a god complex.  Humans have that covered thanks.

I need to stop ranting, I'm getting all worked up.  Anyway, something to think about.  Just because we have the ability to do something, doesn't mean we should be doing it.  We need to think about what we do and how that effects things down the line. 

Week 38

Every week I find myself searching for something to write about.  If I think I have an idea, I try to note it down so I don't forget come blog time.  As the week evolves, emotions and perspectives flow and change, some of them become less important.  Well maybe not less important but less relevant in the moment.

This coupled with the sheer volume of blog expectations makes blogging one of the hardest requirements for me.  Include the massive demand my life has on time, and I find it very difficult to keep up with the requirements. 

And though I have posted something for every week, they have not always been in their week allotted.  Last week case in point was posted on a Tuesday, not the previous Friday.  I thought I was so cleaver making blog day on a Friday to give a buffer for completion.  Life has had other ideas.  So I guess the success of my completion of the blogging aspect is subjective. 

I have not completed all the assignments by their allotted times, but I have gotten something on line for every assigned week with in 48 hours of their due dates.  Is the success measured by the letter of the requirement, or by the spirit of it?  I'm not really asking, I know the answer.  I'm just talking to myself in an attempt to jog the grey matter into producing something of relevance and interest.  Doesn't seem to be working.

I guess a better question is at what point does the requirement stop being an assignment and become a life tool?  Where and how does that para dime shift happen?  Write about the journey.  Take consistent action.  Create habits that become lifestyle changes.   These are all steps for creating change.  But when does change happen?  Is it a sudden epiphany?  Is it a stealthy transference that happens gradually when you aren't paying attention to making it manifest?  Is it somewhere in between?  Is it consistent to all aspects?  Is it easier to change driving habits than it is to change study habits?  Is there a secret catalyst to accelerate change?  Once change happens, is it there forever?

The thing is there are so many variables to creating and maintaining change.  In my experience changes happen as uniquely as their situation and some changes need to be reinforced where as others are just there BLAM! no looking back.  Yet as diverse as they are, they all have one process in common.  Have a goal, take consistent action.  Including a success coach and reviews of the process are also great, but to me they are supporters of the core.  Know what you want, and work for it.  It's as simple and has hellishly hard as that.

Week 37

So my uncle is back in the hospital.  His kidney issues have escalated again and have now developed a heart problem for good measure.  Not sure how long he will be in, or if he will come out at all.  I guess we will wait and see.  The last few years have been chokkerblock full of funerals.  Not fun.

Week 36

"It's been a long days' night, and I've been workin like a dog"
Truer words I've not heard today.  Escalations, process reviews, and all manner of work related brain damage.  So much brain damage :(

"It's been a long days' night, I should be sleeping like a log"
Well it's a bit early for bed, but rest assured I'll be doing some heavy power sleeping in just a little while.  Hopefully Mira won't decide she's not ready for bed and attacking my toes under the blankets is a good idea.  I make no assumptions considering she thought it was the best idea last night.  Nothing like thinking she's finally settled down and you are drifting off, only to have a her burrow under the covers and put a cold, wet nose on your feet.  She's a weird dog.

Anyway, I'm tired and I'm not that much of a Beatles fan to begin with.  Although when I was in Liverpool I did go to a bar that they had preformed in before they made it big, at least so the story goes.

Ah Liverpool, described by those who live there as the armpit of the UK.  I didn't find it unpleasant, but that was what they said.  I did point out it could have been worse... it could have been the butt crack of the UK.  That seemed to make them feel better.  My work there was done.