Second Chance

Author: dev7

  • fast math

    I recently noted the passing of my18,000 birthday. I celebrate my birthdays daily. why not?
    It just sort of occured to me as a fun exercise in “fast math”.
    I figured, if I was 100 years old, that would be 36500 days, plus 25 leap days. so on my 50th, that would be 18262 days.
    so about 8 months prior to July 2006, that would mean 18000 days should some time in november of this year. huh.
    I checked it using emacs calc, which can do math on calendars. its damn smart, and even includes the leap day calculation.
    like this:
    alg’ <Fri Dec 2, 2005>
    alg’ <Sun Jul 29, 1956>
    – 18023
    alg’ <Fri Dec 2, 2005>
    23
    – <Wed Nov 9, 2005>
    that’s the kind of thing that interests me. ok, I’m weird.

  • the unit of time

    The unit of time we call seconds relate, I believe, to the beat of a man’s heart when at rest.
    Minutes and hours are constructed in a way that relates seconds to days using a numerlogical system based on the number 360, the approximate number of days in a year.
    The numbers 12 and 360 were sacred to the ancient mesopotamians, as were the shapes circle, square and triangle. This mystical numerology and geometry crops up often in ancient religion and science, from the Pythagoreans to the Mayans. These numbers are special because they relate the number of lunar cycles in a year (about 12) to the number of diurnal cycles in a year (about 360). They also allow a circle (representing either the heavens or the earth) to be divided into symmetrical units we now know as degrees, minutes and seconds. The square represents the cardinal directions, and the triangle generally represents relationships, such as that between heaven, earth, and man.
    Originally, there were 12 hours in a “day”, defined as the duration between sunrise and sunset. Think of a sundial, rather than a mechanical clock. So such “hours” relate to days as months relate to years. The arc of the sundial would be divided into 12 equal segments, although the duration of each “hour” would vary in absolute terms by the time of year, depending on how far from the equator the observer was.
    The brilliant men of the ancient Levant, encompassing a fertile crescent-shaped region from Lebanon, through Turkey, Kurdistan and Iraq, of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian civilizations happened to be living relatively near the equator, and so this seasonal effect would be negligible within the limits of their ability to measure.
    Other brilliant men living in other parts of the world in other times, such as the Chinese and the Mayans appear to have independently developed some sophisticated systems of time measurement with comparable predictive ability, but it was the system of the Mesopotamians that formed the basis of our modern calendar and time system, which is now accepted without reservation throughout the world. If only we could establish such accord in other realms, such as language, religion, and dvd formats.
    So.
    The partitioning of time into years is in relation to earth’s revolution around the sun;
    Into months, the moon’s revolution around the earth;
    Into days, the earth’s rotation on its own axis.
    But weeks?
    The ancient Babylonians marked time primarily by the lunar calendar, and divided the roughly 28 day lunar cycle into four quarters, basically by the quarter phases of the moon, with various rituals associated with the respective days of each phase. Eventually, this seven day cycle lost its connection to the lunar calendar, but certain rituals remained associated with the seven day cycle.
    Centuries later, the Greeks followed this model, naming the days for the sun, the moon and the five known planets, themselves named for the gods Hermes, Aphrodite, Ares, Zeus and Cronus. The Romans followed the greeks, substituting gods from the their own pantheon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The germanic tribes, influenced by roman civilization, substituted gods from their own pantheon for the romans: Tiu, Woden, Thor, Freya. Thus in English we have Sun’s day, Moon’s day, Tiu’s day, Woden’s day, Thor’s day, Freya’s day, and only Saturn’s day remains from the Roman pantheon in the English names for days.
    The Judaic calendar probably derives, either directly or indirectly from the Babylonian, substituting traditional Jewish rituals associated with the Genesis story of creation, and Judaic numerology, in which the number seven was considered sacred, for on the seventh day, God rested.
    The seventh day is called the ‘sabbat’ meaning to stop, to pause in one’s work (rendered in English ‘sabbath’). We are taught to stop for a reason. To reflect, and ponder God’s work. To rest from our own work, and to give thanks. Something for all of us moderns to consider. Rest and contemplate and honor the sabbath. It is a commandment from your Lord.
    The division of time into weeks is thus unique, and different from all other conventional time divisions we use.
    According to the Mosaic law, there is in addition to a sabbath day, a sabbath year. In the ancient tradition, fields were to go fallow for a year, anyone could eat the fruit that grew untended, slaves were to be set free, and all debts and grudges were to be forgiven.
    One was to have been fortunate and prudent enough to allow for this, or one might rely on the support of one’s family and community otherwise.
    For some of us lucky moderns, the sabbath year lives on in the so-called ‘sabbatical.’ I think there is a lot of wisdom in this. If you can’t take a whole year off, at least pull back a little bit, reflect, contemplate the mystery of the cosmos, be grateful and honor those around you, your friends, family and even your servants. And take care to forgive any grudges you may be holding. You will be glad you did.
    On the seventh cycle of sabbath years, in other words, every fifty years, there was the Jubilee. It is named for the Jubal horn, the special ram’s horn, which was blown in celebration. In contrast to the sabbath, which occurred on different cycles for different individuals, the Jubilee is like a sabbath year observed by the whole community. In Jubilee years, God-fearing elders would compete with each other in acts of generosity, showing their gratitude for God’s benevolence by freeing all their slaves, and forgiving all debts, and sharing all their possessions with one another.
    Something to think about.

  • on units of time

    the unit of time we call seconds relate, I believe, to the beat of a man’s heart when at rest.
    minutes and hours are constructed in a way that relates seconds to days using a numerlogical system based on the number 360, the approximate number of days in a year.
    the numbers 3, 6, 12, 24 and 360 were sacred to the ancient mesopotamians.
    seconds are to hours as days are to years, more or less.
    originally, there were 12 hours in a “day”, defined as the duration between sunrise and sunset. think of a sundial, rather than a mechanical clock. so hours relate to days as months relate to years.
    the partitioning of time into years is in relation to earth’s revolution around the sun;
    into months, the moon’s revolution around the earth;
    into days, the earth’s rotation on its own axis. but weeks?
    despite being named in western parlance for various nordic and roman gods, the division of time into seven day weeks derives from the judaic genesis story of creation, and judaic numerology, in which the number seven was considered sacred, for on the seventh day, God rested.
    the seventh day is called the ‘sabbat’ meaning to stop, to pause in one’s work (rendered in English ‘sabbath’). we are taught to stop for a reason. to rest, and give thanks. to reflect, to ponder, and to appreciate the fruit of God’s work, as well as that of our own.
    the division of time into weeks is thus unique, and different from all other conventional time divisions we use.
    according to the Mosaic law, there is in addition to a sabbath day, a sabbath year. in the ancient tradition, fields were to be allowed to go fallow for a year, slaves were to be set free, and all debts (and grudges) forgiven.
    one was to have been prudent and frugal enough to allow for this, or one might rely on the support of one’s family and community.
    for some of us lucky enough, the sabbath year lives on in the so-called ‘sabbatical.’
    on the seventh cycle of sabbath years, there was the jubilee, in which great feasts were to be held, and God fearing elders would compete with each other in acts of generosity, showing their gratitude for God’s benevolence by freeing all their slaves, and forgiving all debts, and sharing all their possessions with one another. its interesting how some traditions are maintained but others seem to be forgotten, even by the most devout.

  • I wasn't getting what I needed

    I wasn’t getting what I needed, there’s no use papering over it. Maybe I would have, had I gone back, or if I had been different, or if everyone else had been different, or both, whatever. What difference does it make now? I found someone who loves me, and we have a nice life together. I found a good place — its not perfect, but evidently, it suits me. People can believe whatever they want, but if they can’t understand or appreciate that, well, that’s not my problem, is it?

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  • Pannini [Sanskrit means 'complete' or 'perfect']

    I was reading about this cat, named Panini (no, not the tasty italian bread. see here).
    He was in fact a brilliant mind, a student of the Vedas, and perhaps one of the most innovative people in the whole development of knowledge. He lived about 400 B.C., and noticed that the version of Sanskrit used in the ancient shastras or poetry of the ancients, differed slightly from the version spoken in common use in his day. He decided to set out the rules of Sanskrit grammar.
    (“Sanskrit” means “complete” or “perfect” and it was thought of as the divine language, or language of the gods.)
    Astadhyayi is his main work, and it describes a scientific theory of phonetics, phonology and morphology, giving formal production rules and definitions to completely describe Sanskrit grammar.
    Keep in mind that the earliest known Sanskrit script is Ashoka’s from (250 BC), while Panini lived around 400 BC. He must have had vast portions of the Vedas, not to mention his own tome, memorized!
    The more I learn about this period in Indian history, the more fascinated I become. I’ve read an abridged version of the Mahabharata twice, and I’m reading the Bhagavad Gita now. The Gita is the dialog between Arjuna and Krishna that takes place before the great battle of Kurukshetra. The Gita is actually one of several significant accretions onto the original tale of the Mahabharata, which is itself a grand epic, with its own internal stylistic consistency, value system and tone. The Gita was added much later, at least several centuries after the composition of the Mahabharata, and modifies the values implicit in the story itself and make explicit some other beliefs, in some ways consistent with the teachings of the Vedas, and in some ways refinements, extensions or even contradictions of them.
    The Gita is in some way like the New Testament of Hinduism, but the Vedas and Upanishads are in some ways like the Old Testament. They relate to one another, and claim to be consistent, but one supercedes the other. The similarity holds in that Lord Krishna represents a named, benevolent, omnipotent deity, distinct from the abstract, more distant, equally omnipotent deity of Brahman. Krishna is more personal, taking on many avatars throughout creation, for many reasons, one of which is to help instruct mankind.
    The Vedas form the background and underlying religious law of the Mahabharata, and are a universe unto themselves.
    All this leads me to wonder about the conventional wisdom of historians, who, lacking specific evidence of cultural exchanges between India and Greece about this time (say, 400 BC – 300 BC), conclude that the march of Alexander’s army to the Indus in 327 BC was the first interaction between these people. Its preposterous.
    Curiously, India attained political unity for the first time under Chandragupta (322-298). Meghasthenes, a Greek traveller is known to have visited India around this time. He wrote an account of his travles “Indica” available to us only in fragments.
    Meghasthenes or others, perhaps centuries earlier, could clearly have brought Indian ideas back to ancient Greece, or for that matter, introduced the Indians to some Greek notions.
    Greek philosophy does have a fine pedigree of its own, going back to Thales of Miletus (around 640 BC), with a first flowering of the Eleatic philospophers in the sixth century BC.
    At the very least, exchanges could have been made indirectly. Let’s not forget the ancient Mesopotamians, the Babylonians, Assyrians and Persians, all of whom were known to both the Greeks and the
    Its astounding to me that many ancient manuscripts of Indian sciences and astronomy have still not been explored. How can that possibly be?
    But its fascinating to contemplate an imaginary exchange between Pythagoras, say, and Panini, or to trace the roots of the development of Algebra by the Arab philosopher and mathematician, al-Khawarzmi, or the development of astronomy via al-Beruni, the Arab astronomer who translated many classical Indian texts into Arabic around 1200 AD.

  • what I tell myself

    what I tell myself is, all these people, they live in queens, or the san fernando valley, or whatever, and they tell themselves, they couldn’t stand to live as far from the ocean as all that, but when you look at the quality of life that they actually have, going to work at the dry cleaners, or stuck in traffic on the lie for most of their existence, and maybe they get out to the beach a couple of times a year, that would be good.
    no question, there are many lives being lived in this country that pretty much suck. many of them in or near urban centers, lives so abysmal, that people who live in the country — even poor people who live in the country — just couldn’t comprehend. I suspect there’s different kinds of misery out there, but given a halfway decent family life, and the truth is, you don’t need lots of people to have a good life, just a few friends, a bit of family, and just one lover. that’s all you need. that’s the way its supposed to be. and people say they need the city life, but the older I get, the less I need. and the changing times have only helped — with the internet, and satellite tv, and all the crazy communications technology we’ve got working for us, if you want to really get out there, you can.
    but the complexity of my inner workings, its like the intricate gearworks of a fine watch — a watch that not only tells the time, but rather, how much better it would be if the time were actually something other than it is.
    and then I give the lie to myself, and I am that person, on lamar boulevard, stuck in traffic, asking myself, “what the hell am I doing HERE?”, but in the scheme of things, that rarely happens. you spend the vast majority of your time in certain circles, and mine revolve around the short drive through suburban neighborhoods past my kids’ school, to work, to the park, to the lake. and other than the odd trip to town, to the hospital all too frequently, lately, to the airport for a business trip or vacation — that’s about it.
    but then it comes back to me. why am I here? at first, I won’t lie to you, it was a stoner’s paradise. plain and simple. think about it, a university town, not a bad university, not that hard, not that challenging. on its own kind of hip circuit. and when you get out of town, we’ve got that kind of pure, western air, like you’ve seen in so many westerns, but this is real. and on top of that, the people are friendly, the girls are cute, and the dope is cheap, and plentiful. can you blame me?
    ok, so there it is, there’s you’re fucking answer to the riddle. turns out, I’m a really lucky person, who stumbled onto something good, really good. my only regret, if I have any, is that I didn’t realize how good it was, and double down, you know? but, I came away from the table a winner. only you can’t always just come right out and tell that story the way it happened, now, can you?

  • I love to write

    I love to write. Its fun to imagine someone is interested in what I have to say.

  • its a peculiar irony

    its a peculiar irony that drugs such as lsd, heroin and cocaine were introduced into the anti-war community in the sixties as a form of “active measure” by the u.s. intelligence community specifically intended to disrupt their activities and discredit or otherwise inhibit the effectiveness of its leadership.
    the results were overwhelmingly successful, but the “project” snowballed and got out of hand, creating a significant problem of its own as an unintended consequence.

  • martha wainwright has this

    martha wainwright has this song called “bloddy mother fucking asshole” which incorporates lyrics like “I will not put on a smile for you” which along with the title are repeated endlessly. ok, martha, let’s make a deal. you don’t put on a smile for me, and I won’t listen to you. ok?