In observing animals for many years now, both domestic and wild, the young of many species exhibit much curiosity. Far more of their behavior is learned than instinct is another observation I have made. Traumatic experience will elicit some unusual responses in animals, and I hypothesize that they experience a wider range of attachment and sensory appreciation than has previously been attributed to them. Thank you for joining us gmilam. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
The most enduring state, in my observation, is CHANGE. I will go so far as to hypothesize that CHANGE IS THE ONLY TRUTH THAT CAN BE VERIFIED. Interesting to observe, also, that the majority of persons and creatures are somewhat discomfited by change. You would think that by now we would have evolved beyond this reluctance. :shrug:
Change endures.....it is a process that never stops, sometimes moving so slowly as to be barely noticeable, as in the progress of a glacier (although there are 'galloping glaciers) and in other cases, change is wrought in the blink of an eye as when the recent tornadoes descended upon Joplin and other areas of the Mid-eastern United States. The memories of the experience and the devastation will be enduring, and many persons who survived the ordeal are possibly contemplating a move away from the region often called 'Tornado Alley.' A tornado is a very photogenic phenomena.......provided that it is at a safe distance.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! The building in the foreground looks as though it has endured considerable in it's time as well.
I don't know if you find this of your interest; but in the teachings of Gautam Buddha this is a key concept you just bumped into. Buddha spoke in “Pali” language, therefore I post the Pali words in case you want to google them (you would find extensive documentation for each), as the English translation lacks the poetic meaning of these words. According to Buddha there are 3 characteristics of existence (sankhara, or kamma: the world of cause and effect – see “dependent origination”): 1. Impermanence (Anicca): nothing is permanent; which is the matter you exposed. 2. Dissatisfaction (Dukkha): it is caused by the individual attachment of things that are, like all that exists, impermanent. In other words, if you are attached to something that exists (therefore it is impermanent), then that very attachment will lead you to be in unsatisfactory circumstances. 3. Non-self (Anatta): all that can be perceived by the senses lacks a “self” (all that exists is subject to “anicca”), and it is not the true nature of every living being. So if you can perceive something with any of your 5 senses, that something does not have a permanent existence. These 3 marks are interdependent; you cannot have one without the other. Normally we think that we are what we can perceive, to create a sense of “self”; but this “self” is impermanent and therefore the attachment to it is the cause of the most painful of all unsatisfactory circumstances. According to Buddha, “nirvana” is quite the opposite of “sankhara” (everything has its opposite); therefore it is commonly referred to as “the other shore”. It is said that Buddha described his state of being with these words: “Gate gate, paragate, parasamgate bodhi svaha”.This is roughly translated to “Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone all together beyond. OH!! What an awakening!!!”.
I just grabbed it off the net for illustration purposes and the image properties name Tillsonburg, Ontario, which has been known to have tornadoes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OiMy6sFTiw It rather depends on how one defines 'for real'.....Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Looks like a real tornado to me...pretty well-formed. Have not seen one in touchdown yet, but I've seen two funnel clouds. One was an up-the-snout view. That was...hmmm....exciting... Got out of the car at a restaurant and was all "Woah!" when I looked up at the green sky to see it pointing at me and the family. I've got a nice camera now-in my purse! it's storm season! I live where we get hurricanes...AND tornadoes. Oh, and floods. Of couse the hurricanes produce tornadoes and floods, so they are sort of the trifecta. Also ice storms...and droughts. And heatwaves. I think I've seen a plague of giant grasshoppers too, when I was younger! Must be all those topless bars we have here...Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! One enduring memory I have that I treasure beyond anything: We were down where the lighters go out to sea, and my mom had never seen dolphins playing off the bows of ships. She thought those were like doctored photos or something. So she looked, and for the first time saw a pod of wild dolphins surfing a bow wave and vaulting merrily into the air. She squealed "COOL!" like a little girl. I will always remember that moment.
http://www.gotopless.org/news.php?item.3.1 Personally, for most of my activities, firm support is preferable. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! If I lived in a very hot climate, I might be inclined to sign the petition. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Not quite sure why so many cultures get their knickers in a twist over a bare female chest, and some are still so far in the stone age that women nursing children are expected to go to an area like the ladies restroom. Yet an incredible amount of advertising capitalizes on the comely female form. Perhaps that's the issue. If skin was 'exposed' and we became accustomed to this state of affairs, there would be less interest in such 'provocative advertising', and hence less revenue to be had. It usually comes down to the money, one way or the other. That is an enduring fact, lol.... We come into this world without pockets......Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
On This Moonless Night The Hubble Ultra Deep Field of 10,000 galaxies in its 3D fight Has galaxies moving away, some very near the speed of light. These were all found in an eleven day collection of light sparks From but an area the size of a grain of sand in the night’s dark. Over a hundred billion galaxies and more exist overall, This realm being so large since the Planck is so small. We on our Earth are very near to the insubstantial, Our existence not at all elemental but circumstantial. All was from the fluctuation of a nothing not able to stay there, With quick inflation fast separating the virtual particle pairs. We knew there could be no other cause, it causeless itself, And that from then on, evolution used what was on the shelf. The continuing expansion will spread all unto the deep, When the thinned out gruel lays itself down to sleep. And so this tells us what our beginnings ultimately meant, Which is nothing at all within this vast cosmic firmament. To look for what endures in the ongoing cause, Turn to the basics, such as the conversation laws, For they, in summation, with infinite precision, Maintain from their depth all the other decisions. (Even Nothing cannot stay still.)
that Yukon poem was, in a word, golden. I checked out the Yukon on Google images; absolutely beautiful. that poem though... wow... pleasing to the ears and even more pleasing to the heart.
Welcome SomethingClever, The works of Robert Service, the Bard of the Yukon called by many. Here is another of his lessor known poems, of prodigious length and empathy with the gold-tortured soul of those prospectors of old.
There is nothing needs adding to that, 'Seeker. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Beyond words, nothing needs saying, yet everything is heard......
Thank you for your eloquent expression of the enduring search for the foundation of the ongoing, well know bard of the science forums. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
The gentleman led an interesting life, though as observed in this biography by Wikipedia, it is not quite as exciting as his enduring legacy of ballads. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Service
I never tire of stories about the Yukon. I love the lore of the gold rush, and I love the way of life that follows the seasons both then and today. It takes me back to my childhood in Michigan. I know that is a mild climate relative to Whitehorse and Dawson City, but based on it I can relate, lol. Someday I'll visit and take in the history and ambiance first hand. Maybe follow the Yukon river up to Dawson city. If I do I will let you know.
Should you make the journey to the land of the midnight sun, quantum_wave, you most certainly had keep me in mind to call. Yukoners have a reputation for hospitality and I don't want to accrue any demerit points on your account, fella, lol.....Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Skagway is only a couple of hours away, and one of the excursions that many enjoy is a two hour train ride from sea level up to the White Pass on one of the world's most enduring feats of engineering. The old steam engine pulls the train out of the station, through town and to the switching yard, where the diesel engines are then connected for the climb to the pass. Here is a short 'teaser'. Plenty of shops in Skagway if your Missus would rather that you played engineer and she went shopping for the 'cultural experience'. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSzksF2JqXQ&NR=1
Afternoon cloud had moved in, and with the temperature moderating in advance of the potential for scattered showers, I saddled the sorrel Morgan mare, tying a light jacket behind the cantle in case I had misjudged my timing of when the precipitation would hit. The Yukon was a semi-arid climate and the rugged terrain made for a multitude of micro-climates and areas of rain shadow. The mare was of sufficient experience that no preliminaries were required and I swung up onto her back as soon as the bridle was secured. We walked up the lane and soon were cantering toward the Alaska Highway, noting that the season of the Crocus had come and gone and that the Lupin and Jacob's Ladder now held dominance on the wild flower front. We crossed the highway and followed a network of makeshift roads established by those in search of firewood. The road wound and ambled following the least obstructed route through the mixed timber and we kept a wary eye for bears and moose, both frequently seen in these parts. Only a few squirrels and birds made comment of our intrusion and I took note of what had changed since our last journey on this path some ten months ago. Most of the changes had been wrought by humans: an abandoned stock racing car parked in a graveled clearing with the safety glass smashed in, with 'SUX' boldly proclaimed in artistic design on it's trunk. Beer cans and single use beverage containers of the usual fast food outlets, empty cigarette packets and other debris associated with the social events of our kind. Obviously there had been some bush parties held since last we had come this way. At last we came through to the South Klondike Highway and traveled the road allowance back toward the junction with the Alaska Highway, circling back toward our starting point. The dandelions were awash in their cheerful golden hues, blooming on fairly short stalks, a tribute to our lack of spring rains. The kinnickinnick had a good set of blooms, small bell shaped flowers of white with pink tinged edges. The mealy berries were only useful for birds and as a survival food, for they clung persistently to the evergreen ground cover, even under the snow. Rather tasteless and dry, but of sufficient nutrition to keep one alive. The traffic roared by, rather in excess of the speed limit, as there were few enough law enforcement officers to monitor the many miles of highway between communities. Every once in a while they set up a speed trap on the highway and usually netted many in an afternoon. The visitors were easy to spot. They were the ones actually observing the speed limit. A few spits of rain fell upon us, yet not enough to warrant unpacking my coat, and I noted that it was not even sufficient moisture to settle the dust. The bits of moisture were sucked up, even as they descended in this land of short summers and long winters, a harsh landscape with a fragile ecosystem, where a single set of tire tracks across the moss and lichens could endure years after their making. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
Here in the Yukon, we have a Cadet Camp and on occasion one sees vintage WW2 equipment on the highway, including the infamous Willy's Jeep, designed with ruggedness and simplicity in mind. Check this out for something that endures.... http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=lgwF8mdQwlw&feature=player_embedded
