Don't Lose Sight of What's Important

When I first started writing this post this morning, I had planned on making it about the whole argument surrounding the perceived racism of the Confederate flag.  I personally have no ties to that flag, other than enjoying the country music and southern rock that have used it quite often, plus looking pretty sharp on the General Lee when I used to watch the Dukes of Hazzard.  Whether or not states or buildings choose to fly that flag really has no effect on me because I know anyone with racist thoughts or actions will continue on doing so regardless of what perceived racist symbols get banned.  It's the loving actions of good, kind people that are the key to ridding racism from this planet, not ridding Walmart of white linens because the KKK uses them for uniforms, which I'm sure will be someone's next big brainstorm.

The loss of life in Charleston, SC was a complete tragedy. I pray for the families and friends of those who were lost and I feel anger every time I see a picture of that shooter, knowing he committed such a heinous crime against innocent people. But what continues to bother me additionally is that the situation was morphed into a discussion about a flag, which deflects from the real important topics.  I had to stop writing this morning because I had to go to work, but the time in between then and now gave me opportunity to think even more about something else I had seen just before I left the house this morning.  While the entire country debates about a flag, mass genocide is occuring on the other side of the world.  I looked at the photographs and was shocked by what I saw.  I'm glad I didn't see the extremely graphic ones, but the descriptions of what happened were enough.  It was enough to keep me somewhat rattled all day. 

We are so wrapped up about subjects that would seem frivolous to those living in ISIS-controlled areas of the Middle East.  While we debate gay marriage and Bruce Jenner's transformation into Caitlyn, there would be no debate with ISIS; homosexuals and transgenders would be thrown off rooftops as I've seen in pictures.  Children in this country have to worry about Common Core, an obesity problem, and eventually what college they will attend; in the Middle East, Christian children are being crucified and some, if they're female, are being used as sex slaves.  Today I saw that men were drowned in cages, blown up in cars by grenade launchers, and forced to wear explosive decapitating necklaces under the oppressive, evil grip of ISIS, but the top story in this country was the Confederate flag.

The shooting that occured shows that we are not without our own type of terrorism here domestically.  Racism is a cancer in our country that we have definitely made progress in eliminating, especially in the last 50 years, but it still exists.  I mentioned earlier that I thought good, kind, loving people are the key to continuing that eradication, but there could be another impetus for that change.  If we would actually give attention to those ISIS stories instead of burying them somewhere in the newspaper or attributing them to a political party trying to employ fear tactics by trumping up the violence, maybe we would realize that survival is just as important as love.  It's only a matter of time before the operatives ISIS has in this country rear their ugly heads to bring their level of terror to our cities and towns unless we realize we're all in this together and fight back.  White, black, male, female, old, young, gay, straight, Christian, atheist...we are all infidels to ISIS & we are all in danger unless we unite.

These were some heavy topics here and I hope that I've articulated my points well enough for you, the reader, to know how passionate I am about this.  Years ago, I heard Glenn Beck say that we as people need to find the areas where we agree and build on those instead of dwelling on the points where we can't agree.  That idea has resonated with me ever since and I believe strongly that we can make it happen.  I believe it's more imperative now than ever.

Effect then Cause?

Before you read any of what I'm about to write, you first need to visit this link and read the article to know where I'm coming from.  Don't worry...I'll wait for you.

 

http://secondnexus.com/technology-and-innovation/physicists-demonstrate-how-time-can-seem-to-run-backward-and-the-future-can-affect-the-past/

 

If your head hurts after reading that, I completely understand.  Apparently it has that effect on some people.  For others, like me, all it did was create more questions.

 

So, basically, in a nutshell, what scientists discovered was that when observing a helium atom passing through a slit, the atom could behave like a particle or a wave as it then passed through one grate towards a wall.  But as it became possible to randomly drop a second grate behind the first one, the atom would behave like a wave every time the second grate was dropped.  The mind-blowing part about all of this is that the atom didn't change as the second grate was dropped...it changed seemingly in anticipation of the dropping of that second grate.  More simplified:  it's as if the atom KNEW that the second grate would be there, so the atom changed immediately into a wave upon its release.  Quantum physicists believe this is an example of a future event affecting the past, but they're not sure how or why it happens.

 

After reading this, I began to formulate my own questions.  The article brought up the experiments done in the large particle accelerators, like the Hadron super collider, and I wondered if this new information could be applied to this situation.  When particles are sent around the super collider, energy is given off in different forms by the traveling particles.  I'm wondering if the same can be said for atoms traveling in wave form.  In wave form under conditions of a vacuum, would two atoms in wave form be fluid enough to pass through each other or would they collide in the same way particles do?  If they do, indeed, slip by as two people passing on the street, is there any friction inside that vacuum which would cause the waves to slow?  If they didn't slow by any type of friction force and if they gave off energy as they traveled the accelerator, would that energy be able to be harnessed for usage?  Saying all that is possible, we could be looking at a sustainable form of energy yet to be explored.  Obviously, we'd have to weigh the cost factor involved with building accelerators, as well as investigating possible health risks, but it would be worth a try.

 

The article also brought up Schroedinger's cat, one of my favorite quantum quandaries.  As some of you may know, the theory of Schroedinger's cat states that in a box exists a cat that is possibly alive or dead.  Until we actually open the box to see which statement is true, both statements coexist and are true.  I'm sure others have already thought of this, but I suggest that there are more than just those two possibilities.  If the box is never opened, how are we sure that what's inside is actually a cat?  Could it be some other sort of animal or inanimate object?  Could there be NOTHING in the box?  Being that this is a quantum physics issue, could a tiny black hole have opened in the box, causing all matter inside to be sucked in, thus leaving nothing there?  Perhaps my favorite one of all, though, is this one.  What if we opened the box and immediately we found ourselves inside the box looking out?  Is there a possibility we are already in the box, waiting for it to be opened, or would the act of opening the box cause us to switch inside?  Maybe when the box is opened and we're inside, we'll see Schroedinger's cat on the outside observing us.

 

So, yeah, I'm sure a lot of you will just pass this off as an over-active imagination trying to find something to do while performing repetitive tasks at work, but others of you might take my questions and try to answer them or maybe come up with questions of your own.  To me, this is what science should be:  people coming up with the whys and why-nots and discussing them.  With this type of science, even the greatest minds still don't have the answers, so in a lot of ways they are in the same boat (or box) as us.  That should give you a vote of confidence to use your brain on issues like this and not feel as if you need a degree in quantum physics to join the conversation. 

 

As you come up with your own ideas, please feel free to comment here or on one of my various forms of social media.  I look forward to see what you think...or is it backward?  Seems we may have to revisit the order of how things happen from here on out.

Every Dark Cloud Has a Silver Lining

"There's two ways of lookin'

at them holes in your shoes.

You can dig the ventilation

or sing the blues."

-- "Rainbows Colored in Blue", Sanford Townsend Band

 

 

Everyone loves Mondays, don't they?  Mondays for me aren't as bad as they can be for some people, but they still aren't my favorite day.  I find it tough to get back in the swing of things after a weekend and everyone else seems to, as well.  Because it was sunny outside and there was a nice breeze, I decided to take a walk at lunch, as I have been trying to do when the weather cooperates.  Today, my walk was almost three miles round trip, with a stop at the Dollar Tree in the middle for some water.  As I'm checking out, the cashier noticed the bracelets on my right wrist & said "That one with 'Hope' is pretty".  I wear two bracelets, both related to cancer.  The green one that says "Accelerate the Cure" was for my uncle Marlin, who passed away from multiple myeloma.  I've worn it every since they gave it to me and I haven't taken it off.  The second is a purple one that my mom was handing out when I was going through Hodgkin's Lymphoma and it says "Faith, Hope, & Love".  I explained to the cashier what they were for and she held up her hand for a high-five, saying that she, too, had gone through Hodgkin's.  Seven years she had been healthy, but still kept her hair short as a reminder.  The customer behind me then told us that her father-in-law passed away from NON-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, to which I gave my sympathy for her loss.  I paid for my items and went on my way, but I thought about that brief exchange the entire way back.

 

I struggle every day of every week to find a reason to want to get up and face my job.  I know it's not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but it's what I have to do for now.  That conversation made me realize that although my cancer was one of the most curable you can have, I was blessed to be standing there talking to that cashier, who shared in the same blessing.  I could just have easily been the customer's father-in-law, who left behind a family that obviously still feels the pain of his loss. 

 

The lyrics I quoted above eloquently but simply state that there are two sides to every situation and it's how you choose to look at it that makes the difference.  Can we control every situation that is thrown at us?  No.  Other people have wills as strong as you and some of them seem to be set on making life tougher.  What we can do is attempt to change how we look at the situation.  Yes, Mondays can suck and so can our jobs, but nowhere near as much as going through a life-threatening disease or the loss of a loved one.  When you can say you have a job, that you get an hour lunch break at that job, that you have enough money to buy some food and drink, and you can enjoy a walk in the sunshine without any difficulty or discomfort, that should be considered a good day.

 

So this is me verbalizing my attempt at changing myself for the better.  I'm not saying that I won't still grumble, because it's human nature to do so and it's difficult to modify that.  But what I am going to try to do is to consider my thoughts before they come words and actions so that hopefully I can become more positive and from that, only good things should come.  If you agree, I encourage you to do the same.  We'll support each other and try to keep each other on the right track.  Feel free to send me a message, public or private, to let me know you're on board.