New SETI Findings

Secrets of SETI Revealed

In our time of renewed overwhelming interest in UFO's, alien life forms, and their impact on the human race, I must bring this subject up. I think that it would be unfair to the regular readers of my blog, both of you, if I did not at this point reveal the secret findings of the SETI Project (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), and why no one ever wants to talk about it. I will discuss the debate set off by a recent astonishing discovery. These kinds of subjects elicit very strong opinions from both the scientific and metaphysical communities.

THE SETI FINDINGS (Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence))

SETI scientists have discovered a song. The song has reached us, eons after it was originally performed, from the depths of intergalactic space. The complete text of the song is very blurry. Translation AI algorithms are mightily challenged, but the refrain goes something like this:

My Face and Body

Are Just Fantastic

I am a Material Intergalactic.

This song, performed by some far off pop star, obviously confirms the following: 

the materiality of at least some race of the intergalactic population, the intense universal interest in pop stars, the universality of vanity, and the universal appeal of both bad music and bad lyrics. 

The Debate in the Scientific Community 

This finding was so depressing to SETI scientists that many of them abandoned the project altogether and went on “benders” of various kinds. The remaining scientist split into factions debating what action should be taken. One group was in favor of removing the “I” from the SETI acronym, believing that  “Search for Extra Terrestrials” would be a more appropriate name for the project.  Just drop the word "intelligence" at the end. Another group thought the project should be turned over to producers and hosts of Reality TV in the hope of collecting vast intergalactic royalties, and setting up a retirement fund for the the scientists as they fled from the project. 

The Debate in the Metaphysical Community 

The debate over this revelation in the metaphysical community has been fierce. Doubt is now cast on the veracity of certain channeled entities who have claimed the exclusive non-materiality of all intergalactic beings without exception. This notion is challenged by the lyrics.

Channelers with very strong opinions have become nasty with each other. Some channelers now claim that the entity channeled by one of their rival colleagues is not fit to carry the lunch pail of their own channeled entity. This in spite of the fact that lunch pails went out in the 70’s.

A Sad State of Affairs 

This state of affairs was compounded by further SETI revelations that the singer of the song was (yet again) pregnant by another actor/singer after she had already given birth to septuplets. She was said to be using birth control at the time.This last finding prompted a huge rush of scientists from the SETI project

The Treatment for the Problem 

Some scientists and metaphysicians sought out professional help for the emotional distress caused by these events. Common antidepressants were prescribed. Many scientists yearned for the good old days when no signs of extraterrestrials could be found and it seemed that human beings were alone in a mysterious and imponderable universe.

The Alien Wallpaper Experiment: How to Succeed in the Arts

    I have been an oboist for most of my life. You can just imagine the fortune I have acquired by playing and teaching the oboe. Well, maybe you can’t. It is noteworthy that a former teacher of mine famously told his freshman class that of the five or six oboe players entering the conservatory that year, maybe, just maybe, one of them would make a living by playing the oboe.

    With the daunting circumstances of my profession in mind, I mulled over how to develop an alternative money-making plan. Since I have always enjoyed drawing and designing, I thought to make it big by striking it rich in the art field. Now, I realize that visual artists, like oboe players, do not make much money.  This led me to several considerations that have guided my most recent artistic efforts.

First, the markets for art here on Earth are just too limited.

   To make it really big, it is necessary to have a market that extends beyond the confines of this solar system. To make it truly, truly big, one would need to serve the galactic market. Why think small? With this in mind, I decided on a course of designing wallpaper for aliens.

    I thought a good name for this effort would be, “The Alien Wallpaper Project”. I truly love this name, and I became quite attached to it as frequently happens to me when branding a product. For instance, when my Baroque Trio musical group was in the process of finding a name for itself, I suggested, “The Vivaldi Marching Band”. Sadly, this name was soundly rejected in favor of a more formal name, but I have remained attached to it ever since! Ah Well! But back to The Alien Wallpaper Project. It occurred to me that if instead of “Alien Wallpaper Project”, I used the name, “Alien Wallpaper Experiment”, then I would have a terrific three letter acronym,  AWE.

Probing the Alien Marketplace

    Having accomplished my branding, I thought I’d probe the alien marketplace. I decided that in order to maximize my brand, my customers must be upscale aliens. They must be aliens with galactic capabilities, at least technologically advanced enough to mine asteroids, and able to extract Helium 3 from the atmosphere of planets like Saturn to fuel their spaceships. They must be capable of faster than light travel to come here to buy my products, and they must use quantum entanglement to communicate about my products to the folks back home.

    It occurred to me that this kind of abundance and capability monetized must mean that one of their universal drachmas has got to be worth, let’s say, a billion of our dollars, maybe more. This is just logical, is it not? This led me to consider that I would only need to sell one swath of AWE to a private alien, an alien corporation, or an alien non-profit, to be set for life, or at least until my competitors successfully market to the aliens, and the value of alien currency is rebalanced by more trade with Earthlings.

    With this in mind, I have produced AWE I and AWE II. I have yet to produce AWE shucks, but AWE III is in progress. 

Alien Wallpaper I

Alien Wallpaper II

Rules and Filters

Everyone’s mind has rules and  filters layered upon us by life and by our teachers, and by our contact with the other people in our lives. These rules and filters tell us what we can and cannot do, what we can and cannot be, what we can and cannot attempt.They are the basis of our self-limitations. For instance, I may have an architectural idea. My rules and filters tell me I an not an architect. I have a concert idea. My rules and filters tell me I am not a good enough musician to pull it off. I have an art idea. My rules and filters tell me I do not have the skills to accomplish it.

It may take a major blow to our lives to open the gates in our minds so that we can proceed in the direction of our callings and set aside the rules and filters for some area of our lives; to accept the ideas that bring us to our joy in life, to declare ourselves willing to risk time and effort and emotional energy for love and accomplishment and fulfillment, to willingly engage in the creativity that makes time seem to vanish for us.

When we are able to accept the urges of creativity in ourselves, and able to override our rules and filters, we are transformed. Any sense of boredom is gone, replaced by challenge. Any sense of uselessness is gone, replaced by flow, and we discover a reservoir of strength to overcome negative self-evaluations, and relegate them, at least temporarily, to the compost heap of creativity where they belong.

Negative self-evaluations are voices that can be transformed. The energy of the limiting and shaming voices can be used instead to create positive and encouraging voices because this energy is our own energy, even if we think we have lost it. We can create positive voices in ourselves, affirming, loving, caring voices. We can give these voices validity and strength and living energy, and we can learn to accept praise and encouragement from those around us.

Surrealism at Bargain Prices

After a recent trip to Spain, and the Salvador Dali Museum, I am very aware that “The Dali’s” work has appreciated enormously  in value over the years. I am sure that one of his original paintings featuring his signature melting clock would be worth far, far more than I could possibly afford.

My wife and I arrived at the local Ross (Dress for Less), looking for clocks, decorations for the upcoming H.G. Wells “Time Machine” meeting of our book club. We were following up on a tip from a friend that this clothing emporium has clocks for sale. Trying my best to make myself intelligible to the young clerk we first encountered at the check-out counter, I said, “Do you have any, like, clocks?”

The clerk caught on to my perfectly inflected dialect right away. With no hesitation, she  pointed her thumb at the rear of the store. “They’re on the back wall”, she said. Sure enough, after the long walk to the back of the store,  we found some “like, clocks”. Unbelievably, one  was a reproduction of the Dali melting clock featured in many of the Dali’s Surrealist paintings I’d just seen in Spain. It was available for  the surreal Great Recession price of less than $20. This like totally blew my mind, man!  A Dali melting clock that actually keeps time for under twenty bucks! The clock melted off the wall and into my aging, melting cell structure. Treasuring this great “Time Machine” oriented decorative find, we started for the front of the store, my wife and I incredulous at finding Art for Less at “Dress for Less”.

Now, you may not know that there is a Hindu Deity department at the Dress for Less  store. I for one, certainly had no clue that a place like this has a Hindu Deity department. We sort of wandered into it, a corporate version of a “head shop” on two well hidden shelves. There I discovered a statue of Ganesha for less than $15.  Dali and Ganesha in one place, and  “Ganesh for Lesh” to boot!

“ Hello, Miss. Do you have any like, Hindu Deities, and, like,  Dali Surrealist melting clocks for less than twenty bucks?”

 “Like who doesn’t, sir? They’re on the back wall.”

A Jealous Chicken

Our kindly chicken father, who lives nearby, his name is Jim. It was Jim who awakened us to the news one day that one of our flock, Miss Frizzle, was not herself. Jim said he thought she was egg blocked.

A quick chicken browser action informed us that egg block is a serious condition that can also halt the progress of elimination and eventually lead to the demise of the chicken. We were concerned.

The web also informed us that some symptoms of egg block are that the chicken imitates a penguin, waddling in an almost upright position instead of the usual chicken walk. The egg blocked chicken has no appetite and does not socialize with the flock. She holds her tail feathers down instead of the usual perky upright position. In addition, It may be possible to find the unlaid egg in the chicken by feeling around her abdomen, or you might feel some shell of an egg that has broken inside. We actually did this with the help of our friend, Anne, and couldn’t feel any of these things.

A few remedies were offered, and we chose the one that looked most attractive to those like us with limited chicken experience and lots of empathy and personal involvement with a stricken chicken.

Here is the remedy:

A Peacemaker Chicken

In our flock of eight beautiful chickens, all named, and all loved for their unique personalities, we have a mille fleur, a truly beautiful chicken whose mottled colors, diminutive size, and human friendly nature made her a favorite with us right away. We have named her “mini me” for her size. She loves to be talked to and will stay in your presence as if eager to hold up her end of the conversation. She loves to be picked up and have her neck and comb stroked, and she will sit on your lap and read a book with you if you just ask her.

But Mini also has another side to her nature. Though the smallest chicken in the flock by far, she is also the most aggressive with the other birds. She will peck them, pull their feathers, and chase them around the yard and do this repeatedly to another chicken she has picked out for this treatment. It can get so bad that the other chickens will pile up in one corner of the coop, making one large protective mass of chicken to protect themselves from Mini.

This behavior is particularly notable when Mini is “broody” as her breed tends to be. During her broody times, Mini will sit in a nesting box on any eggs, her own or those of other chickens that may have accumulated there. She will not leave the nesting box or the coop, making it difficult for other chickens who may want to use that nesting box. The whole time she makes her “broody” noises that warn the others away.

There is one chicken that Mini never pecks. She never pulls her feathers or chases her around the yard. This is Greybeard, one of the largest of the hens and certainly the calmest. Greybeard comes over to speak with me when I enter the chicken coop. She keeps up a steady stream of calming noises that make me glad to share a chicken coop with her. Greybeard is not a flirt, but she does offer from time to time, by her position and her demeanor, that if I want to rub her back, then that’s quite all right with her. It is very easy to be around Greybeard.

Greybeard’s unique solution to Mini’s broody ways is to stay close to her in such a unique way that it was startling when I first saw it. The nesting boxes are large enough to accommodate one egg laying chicken comfortably but with little room to spare. Greybeard not only approaches Mini when she is broody in a nesting box, she actually enters the box with her and sits with her, crowding her big chicken body in there almost on top of Mini. Mini puts up no fuss, does not object in any way, stops making broody noises, and remains calm. It is Tao-tally amazing.

I am happy to report that Mini eventually leaves off her broody periods, allowing the chicken coop to return to normal. Meanwhile we are so fortunate to have Greybeard the Buddha Bird among us.

The Collapse of Everything

Went to a planetarium show on black holes recently in which we learned that super-large and massive stars collapse and become stellar black holes. At the end of the show, there was a light-show representing the possibility of going through a stellar black hole at just the correct angle and  emerging from it in another universe,  another place and another when.

At the center of our galaxy is a super massive black hole. It was never stated at the show what might have collapsed to form this super massive black hole, only that it is there. It appears there is such a black hole at the center of our galaxy, and every galaxy.

I am left with a few questions:

What has collapsed to produce these super massive black holes? What is it about galaxy formation and on going galactic processes that requires them?