Large Fierce Mammal

An artist’s rendering shows the Orion spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. (NASA via CBC News)

While the first landing on the surface of the Moon was motivated by international rivalries and political agendas, in its development, the fallout of space exploration has given us a host of technologies we take for granted and rely on every day. It was beneficial to society at large, and its legacy incalculable. Mars One, on the other hand, is predicated on finding novel and innovative ways to use existing, off the shelf technologies to permit Human life to be where Nature has already decided it shouldn’t. This instead of bringing the same commitment to bear on solving the problem inexorable growth and voracious consumption has become to the Earth and all Her children, Man included.

I’m staying here to do what I can do, ever striving to get closer to the Earth, not further away. ~ The Ecology of Space Exploration

The excerpt above is from my article posted here on 14 January 2013, and those words returned to the forefront of my mind while reading last week’s CBC News piece, Orion spacecraft helps NASA prepare for future Mars journey. More specifically, I was pleased to find my sentiments echoed in a related article linked from the CBC item, written last June by Quirks and Quarks host Bob MacDonald. Titled Let’s go to Mars, but make sure it’s for the right reasons, Mr. MacDonald begins:

A new report from the US National Research Council on Spaceflight recommends a more realistic approach to sending humans to  Mars, including the rationale that going there, “ensures the survival of the human species through off-Earth settlement.”

That is the last reason we should explore other worlds.

And closes with these gems of ecological right mindedness:

The biggest lesson we have learned by going to other worlds is how rare the Earth is. From the first images of the blue marble taken by Apollo astronauts from the far side of the moon, to the pale blue dot seen from the far side of the solar system, our little planet is turning out to be the only oasis we know of in a vast, hostile universe.

All the other planets in our solar system, plus the nearly 1000 discovered around other stars, are all interesting, but deadly. When we do find another Earth equivalent somewhere out there, it will be so far away it will be unreachable.

So, sure, let’s go to Mars. In fact, I will volunteer to make the first boot prints in the red soil. But like any traveller in a strange new place, I will think about what I left behind and be happy to return home.

Let’s go to other worlds to discover the nature of planets, so we can appreciate our own and learn better ways to protect it. Let’s not use Mars as a reason to think of the Earth as disposable.

Amen Brother.

It certainly can’t be denied that enforcement of rules, regulations, and the laws of the land represent the single least popular aspect of government, at any level. Likewise, the application and collection of regulatory fees and taxation revenue run an exceedingly close second. While there will always be an outlaw component in society that will naturally veer onto the wrong path even when it makes more sense to stay on the right one, law enforcement becomes easier when coupled with well administered public education and support. This is why police agencies, fire services, building inspection authorities, and municipal emergency measures organizations budget resources to perform these functions, ensuring that the people living and working inside their jurisdictions understand not only the why and how of the rules that affect their lives, but who to talk to for clear, no nonsense information.~ Dog Days – All Stick and No Carrot

When I wrote those words back in March of 2012, I was talking about municipal Dog control by-laws; but what I said then applies equally and globally to any situation where the everyday life of individuals meets the governing operational guidelines of official public safety agencies.

I speak from more than 30 years as a professional consultant in the fields of security; risk assessment; municipal, provincial, and federal level emergency planning and agency training; self defense, self reliance, blade and firearm training; detection Dog training and handling; emergency communications; incident command; and not least of all, emergency services call handling and dispatch. In that last one, I literally wrote the book on police/fire/medical dispatch for two Nova Scotian police jurisdictions and five fire service districts. For 17 years, I personally trained every dispatch staff member, and oversaw daily operations, of that kind of facility we all know well – the kind wherein every time the telephone rings, somebody is in trouble. (more…)

Source: https://visionsofempire.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/the-implications-of-hunting-camouflage/

Speak the word “camouflage”, and the minds of most will immediately turn to things military; but in truth, camouflage has been in use since the first organisms ensured the survival of their kind by evolving means both to passively evade consumption by a higher tier predator, and for predators, to remain undetected by prey until the last moment.

Yes, this is actually a Fly. (Source: http://beespotter.mste.illinois.edu/topics/mimics/)

Passively. There’s the distinction, for camouflage in Nature is all about going about your business without attracting unwanted attention. This can be by means of going unnoticed by blending in, or by going to the other extreme, and thereby appearing to be something that isn’t on the menu. The first example explains why the best place to hide a car is in a parking lot, and the second why there are camouflage techniques that are intentionally eye catching rather than blending the wearer into the background. In this class are flies that are coloured in the black and yellow striped scheme characteristic of some Bees and Wasps, for tasty and tender though they may be, they LOOK like something that can sting, and what Frog, Fish, or Bird wants that in their mouth? (more…)

“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”

~ Winston Spencer Churchill on the policy of Appeasement ~

I instantly recalled the derisive words of Winston Churchill while reading some spoken by the Ukrainian Prime Minister as quoted in a CBC News piece published 9 November 2014 under the title, Vadym Prystaiko says West losing interest in Ukraine, ‘Everybody is afraid of Russia,’ says outgoing Ukrainian ambassador:

In September, newly-elected Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko visited Canada and addressed Parliament.

The same day, Prime Minister Stephen Harper reiterated Canada’s “steadfast” support for Ukraine “in the face of the Putin regime’s persistent military aggression.”

Ambassador Prystaiko says it’s obvious why Canada and other coalition countries are willing to take on ISIS but not help Ukraine fight pro-Russian separatists in the country’s east.
Cda Ukraine Ambassador 20140303

Vadym Prystaiko is leaving Ottawa and set to be confirmed as the new deputy foreign minister for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s incoming government.

“Everybody is afraid of Russia,” he says.

But he cautions Canada against this approach. “Some seriously believe that feeding Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova to the bear will make him quiet… satisfy him so he won’t go further.”

Last year on this day, I wrote:

I began this piece with a reminder that time distances those now living from the lessons to be learned from the lives of those who have come before. Let me add this – Adolf Hitler didn’t invent genocide, and ideals of world domination exist as strongly today as they have always done. If it only takes a single generation to forget this, then the same can be said of anything, including skill at arms and a willingness to stand in harm’s way. When the Wolf is at the door, you will be happy that a few have never forgotten. ~ My Poppy is Red

There’s a song called The Green Fields of France that I included in a in my Remembrance Day 2010 article titled Lest We Forget – A Parting Shot, and I invite you both to read it and listen to the song as part of your observances today.

On this year’s Day of Remembrance, let us not forget the sacrifice of those who stood, and continue to stand, in harm’s way; but most of all, let us neither forget nor forgive the folly of those who continue to put them there, whichever side they’re on.

Even though it’s been around since the month before I first kissed Mrs. LFM and ignited what still burns with a searing heat to this very day, Samurai Jack is a recent discovery for me. While I expect all my readers will set aside the time it takes to read whatever is connected to the links I embed here, I know you’re all busy and it’s still early in the day, so here is a brief explanation of the series:

Samurai Jack is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network. The series follows time-displaced samurai warrior “Jack” (voiced by Phil LaMarr) in his singular quest to find a method of traveling back in time and defeating the tyrannical demonic wizard Aku (voiced by Mako Iwamatsu). Episode plots range from dark and epic to lighthearted and comic, but often contain little dialogue. Stories instead rely on the series’ highly detailed, outline-free, masking-based animation, as well as its cinematic style and pacing. Many battle scenes in the series are reminiscent of samurai films, and since Jack’s robot enemies bleed out oil or electricity and his monster and alien foes bleed out slime or goo, the action of these films can be exhibited while avoiding censorship for blood and violence.

Samurai Jack premiered on August 10, 2001, on Cartoon Network, and has since garnered high critical acclaim. It won four Primetime Emmy Awards, six Annie Awards, an OIAF Award, and received eight additional nominations. Cultural influences on the series range from the 1970s TV series Kung Fu to the works of directors Akira Kurosawa and David Lean. The series ran for four seasons, totaling 52 episodes, and the series ended on September 25, 2004.

Jack and the Scotsman tells the tale of how our Samurai first met the character known simply as “the Scotsman”, but more than that, I discovered on watching it that if one ignores the conspicuous absence of a hot and ferocious Woman by Jack’s side, this particular episode metaphorically encapsulates, to perfection, my life on Earth so far. In Truth, it has all the elements – A Man on a quest. A treacherous bridge across the abyss leading to an unknown destination through what, to a lesser being, would be mists of uncertainty. Ever present enemies one must resolutely cleave through. Bagpipes and the inevitability of a Scotsman. Watch this and understand me. (more…)

The Cowboy Way

By LFM

The first thing on in morning,
And the last thing off at night.
A Cowboy’s hat is always there,
Be prospects dark or bright.

He may forget his britches,
But never so his horse.
And a Cowboy’s faithful to the job,
As is his hat of course.

Throughout this series I’ve applied the title of  “dark sentiment” to a variety of emotions, events, human acts, portrayals, and situations. Tonight we’ll talk about the darkest sentiment of all – True Love.

True Love is the darkest of sentiments both because it has the power to motivate those blessed enough to be possessed by it to the performance of feats that are incomprehensible to the great unwashed, and because, in its truest form, it does not exist to most of the world. In that, it is truly dark because True Love is only understood by the few who are granted its epiphany by the Gods. I speak in absolutes here because I, and my beloved Mrs. LFM, are so possessed. ~ Dark Sentiments 2010 – Day 28

Today marks the end of the fourth season of Dark Sentiments, and the sixth anniversary of the blessed day of the LFM nuptials on the perfect All Hallows Eve of 2008. As is usual for this ever so significant date, I am turning my mind to other things today with thanks to all who clung on for this year’s DS ride. (more…)

We of the LFM Clan reside in an antique farm house sitting atop a granite foundation that readily affords access to our basement by all manner of creatures. To the degree, in fact, that our basement stands as its own balanced ecosystem. Mice and Moles, for example, regularly pass through, as do the Minks from the nearby river that hunt them. Likewise, an assortment of arachnids, insects, crustaceans, and other arthropods, inhabit that space. Rarely do any of them move “above stairs”, and the policy for those who do is to liquidate any who have demonstrated knowledge of the stairway to Heaven. It may seem harsh, but it works. If we don’t get them, the resident Dogs will.

Nevertheless, every Autumn brings an invasion of Deer Mice navigating from basement to attic and back again by way of hidden passageways inside the walls, seeking warmer climes inside in favour of dealing with Nature in the raw. Naturally, this comes with the presumption that we’ll willingly share our larder, but that isn’t on. With no malice of any kind, this is dedicated to every Mouse, or other thing, that has fallen, or will come to fall, by LFM hand, tooth, or claw, simply because they knew too much.

Home Invasions

By LFM

A Mouse had been into my cutlery drawer.
Things weren’t quite so clean as they had been before.
So I baited some traps and I placed them around,
And I kept my ears pricked for that snappity sound.

T’was less than an hour before the first snap,
And I found a wee Deer Mouse stone dead in a trap,
But that wasn’t the end of it! Not by a mile!
I had no idea how the corpses would pile!

I hate no fellow creature, no matter the kind,
And there’s one rule of killing that governs my mind –
If I want to eat you , or you want to eat me,
Then the Hunt is in play – only one will go free.

But I have one more rule that applies to my home,
And it’s given me reason to write you this poem.
Unless you’re invited, or paying me rent,
None will ever be sure where what’s left of you went.

Jonathan Button (Image credit – Jonathan Button)

I introduced you to Jonathan Button back on Day 2 with his take on the tale of Red Riding Hood, but as we near the end of this year’s season of Dark Sentiments, I can’t resist giving you one more taste.

Behind Closed Doors is the story of Gregory; a little boy faced with no choice but to confront his demons. Some viewers have expressed dismay at what they see as a disjointed relationship between the boy and the monster that constantly torments him by night as it hammers on his closet door and urges him to release it, but I found the connection was crystal clear to me. Let’s see what you think. (more…)

“Black as six feet up a Moose’s ass,” is a common term here in the Great White North, used to describe conditions so dark you can’t, as we also say, “See your glass in front of your face.” Things get that way in the bush when the moon is less than half full, but also in other places; day or night, inside and out; including of course, six feet up a Moose’s ass.

Speaking for North America, it’s hard for the average 21st century town or city dweller to grasp how recent a thing it is to enjoy the benefit of street lights at night; and even more so, indoor lighting because even in the days of candles and lanterns there were those who lacked the wherewithal to keep the lights on.. Beforehand, the Moon was called the traveler’s lantern, and nobody went any further than the barn or privy after dark unless the Moon was sufficiently in play. Potential for misadventure don’t you know.

In writing her PhD thesis (Dangerous Spaces: Working-Class Homes and Fatal Household Accidents in Suffolk, 1840-1900), Dr. Vicky Holmes looked back to the Victorian era, and with the aid of coroner’s inquests describing cause of death, “… explored daily life and its inherent dangers in urban working-class and rural labourers’ homes.” In the words of the good Doctor herself:

One chapter of my PhD thesis was entirely dedicated to the dangers of the “the staircase.”  I had, after my initial literature review, assumed that the two common causes of these accidents would be darkness and drunkenness.  Yet, I was soon to discover that the causes of fatal falls were far more complex: in addition to darkness, staircase design, absent handrails, age, infirmity, gender, and even marital status frequently played a role in these fatal events.  Drunkenness, however, did not.  Beginning with today’s post on darkness and the fatal household fall, I will, over the following weeks, explore the various causes and discuss why drunkenness rarely contributed to the fatal domestic fall.

Naturally though, it was the bit about the dangers of darkness that caught my eye. After all, my stairways are sound, I’m not all that old, and my own extensive research has already confirmed that navigating them whilst in my cups is no cause for concern beyond the risk of realizing on gaining the top of the stairs that I have left my glass somewhere at the bottom. Bugger.

Anyway, returning to the revelations afforded us by the work of Dr. Holmes:

Working-class dwellers were accustomed to moving around their homes in darkness.  Yet, despite this familiarity with the dark, the staircase was one part of the home where a lack of light did nevertheless result in a number of untimely deaths.  An absence of light was frequently attributed in the coroners’ inquests of Ipswich and the Liberty of St. Etheldreda (East Suffolk) as a foremost cause of stair-related falls, with over half of all fatal staircase falls occurring in the late evening and night-time.  In 1847, 77-year-old Samuel Ellis of Woodbridge, upon getting out of bed around 2 o’clock in the morning to let another resident into the house, and ‘having no light fell down stairs, falling with his head upon the flag stones; he was taken up bleeding from the mouth and nose and quite senseless, and died in about 12 hours’.

I invite you to further explore all four parts this enthralling matter of the pitch black staircase here, with a reminder to stay sure of foot good Reader, if not sober.