Sunday, October 23, 2022
In bed around 10, awake at 6:30, 5 pss, one glass of chablis before dinner, and another with dinner.
I43 Construction Project
Reading an article in this morning's WaPo by Ashley Parker about the ups and downs of Joe Biden's first two years as President. The article mentions the massive Infrastructure Act but says little about it. The reference however made me think again of how impressive the reconstruction of I43 is. It's hard to imagine how much planning and management have gone into this project. I see its implementation every time I drive north or south on the freeway, all the way down to Capitol Drive and all the way up to Grafton. It's impossible not to be impressed, struck by the immensity of the undertaking, the number of engineers, planners, managers, construction workers, foremen, and supervisors whose somehow coordinated work makes the accomplishment of the overall goals possible. It reminds me in a less grand way of the extraordinary accomplishment represented by the Webb telescope, orbiting the Earth from its spot 1,000,000 miles away, reaching farther into the Universe's past, back toward the Big Bang, than ever before possible. Also, the project of aiming a satellite at a 'moon' of an asteroid, trying to hit it so as to be able to deflect an asteroid that may one day hurl towards Earth and a fatal Big Bang. Just astonishing feats of human cooperation towards a common goal, so clearly possible for engineers and scientists, so woefully impossible for politicians and hoi polloi as we hurl towards not just authoritarianism but Fascism. The current electioneering for the midterms reminds us almost every hour of every day, at least when there is a television or radio on, that it's much, much easier to hate one another than it is to love one another, the Great Commandment notwithstanding. It's infinitely easier to be simply indifferent to one another than to love or, perhaps even harder, to like one another, to harbor nasty thoughts or judgments or simple hunches about others than to imagine hidden goodness in them, kindness or even saintliness in them. It's as if we live in Bunyan's Slough of Despond except that rather than being crushed by our own sinfulness and unworthiness, we are crushed by the wickedness, the worthlessness of Others, political Others.
Nemeses
Is the plural of nemesis nemeses or nemesises? I opt for the shorter word, Occam's Razor. Geri's nemeses are mostly seasonal. In the Spring, it's the white-tailed deer eating her new flowers. In the Fall it's the ginkgo berries, thousands of them on the garage driveway and lawn, waiting to be stepped on and squished, oozing smelly exudate on the bottoms of shoes and temporarily staining the dark asphalt with ochre splats. Throughout much of the year it's the chipmunks, brazenly digging into her outdoor flower pots to secret their treasures. And not to be forgotten - those predatory coyotes who probably would not seek to make a meal out of our beloved Lilly, who is probably too large for coyote bait, but you never know, especially if they are paired up or, God forbid, in a pack.
Winter Coming
Time to turn off the water to the outside spigots. Geri's scooping up every ginkgo berry she can, bagging them for tomorrow's trash pickup.
Schadenfreude
How petty can I be? I'm feeling some delight that the Packers lost again today, 3-4 on the year, 3 straight losses, and 2 straight home losses. My feelings are based entirely on being a big non-fan of QB Aaron Rodgers, god's gift to football and to the world. How does a team with Mr. Football at the helm lose like this, Mr. Leadership, Mr. 'Yes, I've been immunized'?
Petit's Clavigo
Watched more. Wow, lusty. Who knew? Lotsa bouncing, twitching, lurching, and leering, and no mistaking what is being reflected by the movements, oral and genital coupling. I wouldn't have thought a ballet based on a story by Goethe would be this sensual. I guess I need to learn more about Herr Goethe. 😓😅😈😳
What Just Happened
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