“They’re made out of meat.” “Meat?” “Meat. “There’s no doubt about it. We picked several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, probed them all the way through. They’re completely meat.” “That’s impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars.” “They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don’t come from them. The signals come from machines.”
“So who made the machines? That’s who we want to contact.” “They made the machines. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Meat made the machines.” “That’s ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You’re asking me to believe in sentient meat.” “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you. These creatures are the only sentient race in the sector and they’re made out of meat.” “Maybe they’re like the Orfolei. You know, a carbon-based intelligence that goes through a meat stage.” “Nope. They’re born meat and they die meat. We studied them for several of their life spans, which didn’t take too long. Do you have any idea the life span of meat?” “Spare me. Okay, maybe they’re only part meat. You know, like the Weddilei. A meat head with an electron plasma brain inside.” “Nope. We thought of that, since they do have meat heads like the Weddilei. But I told you, we probed them. They’re meat all the way through.” “No brain?” “Oh, there is a brain all right. It’s just that the brain is made out of meat!” “So… what does the thinking?” “You’re not understanding, are you? The brain does the thinking. The meat.” “Thinking meat! You’re asking me to believe in thinking meat!” “Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat. The meat is the whole deal! Are you getting the picture?”
“Omigod. You’re serious then. They’re made out of meat.” “Finally, Yes. They are indeed made out meat. And they’ve been trying to get in touch with us for almost a hundred of their years.” “So what does the meat have in mind?” “First it wants to talk to us. Then I imagine it wants to explore the universe, contact other sentients, swap ideas and information. The usual.” “We’re supposed to talk to meat?” “That’s the idea. That’s the message they’re sending out by radio. ‘Hello. Anyone out there? Anyone home?’ That sort of thing.” “They actually do talk, then. They use words, ideas, concepts?” “Oh, yes. Except they do it with meat.” “I thought you just told me they used radio.” “They do, but what do you think is on the radio? Meat sounds. You know how when you slap or flap meat it makes a noise? They talk by flapping their meat at each other. They can even sing by squirting air through their meat.”
“Omigod. Singing meat. This is altogether too much. So what do you advise?” “Officially or unofficially?” “Both.” “Officially, we are required to contact, welcome, and log in any and all sentient races or multibeings in the quadrant, without prejudice, fear, or favor. Unofficially, I advise that we erase the records and forget the whole thing.” “I was hoping you would say that.” “It seems harsh, but there is a limit. Do we really want to make contact with meat?” “I agree one hundred percent. What’s there to say?” `Hello, meat. How’s it going?’ But will this work? How many planets are we dealing with here?” “Just one. They can travel to other planets in special meat containers, but they can’t live on them. And being meat, they only travel through C space. Which limits them to the speed of light and makes the possibility of their ever making contact pretty slim. Infinitesimal, in fact.” “So we just pretend there’s no one home in the universe.” “That’s it.” “Cruel. But you said it yourself, who wants to meet meat? And the ones who have been aboard our vessels, the ones you have probed? You’re sure they won’t remember?” “They’ll be considered crackpots if they do. We went into their heads and smoothed out their meat so that we’re just a dream to them.” “A dream to meat! How strangely appropriate, that we should be meat’s dream.” “And we can mark this sector unoccupied.” “Good. Agreed, officially and unofficially. Case closed. Any others? Anyone interesting on that side of the galaxy?” “Yes, a rather shy but sweet hydrogen core cluster intelligence in a class nine star in G445 zone. Was in contact two galactic rotations ago, wants to be friendly again.” “They always come around.” “And why not? Imagine how unbearably, how unutterably cold the universe would be if one were all alone.”
I have no idea who wrote this, but it sure does give the reader a different perspective on our predicament as the ephemeral meatsack monkeys that we are.
If you always follow through and do what you say you will do, if you do good things that support others, animals, and nature, and if you do those things above and beyond what is required – more good things will come back to you in great and helpful quantities.
The Universe, Gaia, God/Ja/Allah, The Great Spirit, Karma…something far larger than we little apelike creatures, notices our good actions and supports them with even more good things.
Do only good things.
Do what you say you will do.
Follow through.
Leave things better than you found them.
One Love.
Peace.
*photo of a Monarch chrysalis on a Milkweed in my garden as an attention grabber.
“The freedom we seek is to use our own mind and body, to live our own life, instead of the life of the belief system.”
“Everything you perceive is being filtered through your entire belief system. And the result of interpreting everything you perceive by using everything you believe is your personal dream, an entire virtual reality in your mind. Perhaps you can see how easy it is for humans to distort what we perceive. Light reproduces a perfect image of what is real, but we distort the image by creating a story with all those opinions and beliefs that we learned. We dream about it with our imagination, and by agreement we think that our dream is the absolute truth when the real truth is that our dream is a relative truth, a reflection of the truth that is always going to be distorted by all the knowledge we have stored in our memory.”
“The dream of life is really an illusion, and everybody lives in the reality he or she creates – a virtual reality that is only true for the one who creates it.”
“The truth is that beliefs and ideas only exist in one place: the human mind. They are not “out there” in the world, but rather the filter by which everything we perceive gets sorted.”
“Life as you perceive it is a reflection of your perceptions and beliefs. It is not real, but rather a dream. To some this may sound negative, but in fact it is positive because if your life is a dream, and you become aware of the fact that you are the dreamer, then you can consciously create the dream you want to see and live the life you want to live.”
“The dream you are living is your creation. It is your perception of reality that you can change at any time. You have the power to create hell, and you have the power to create heaven. Why not dream a different dream? Why not use your mind, your imagination, and your emotions to dream heaven?”
~Don Jose Ruiz
(Art by ‘Felipe Posada’)
There are no rules other than those we create that say we must follow a belief system, be it religious or political or any other, in order to live on this planet in this time.
True freedom is found only by freeing your mind from the ancient control systems devised by those who want to control you, your time, your energy, your money, and your consious. Free your mind and use your finite amount of uptime to think for yourself and do good things for others, and for our planetray life support system.
OMFGWTAF! Are these festering rotten scroatbags serious!?!? The first time I heard of this BS I thought – no way, they didn’t just drop that dam dirty bomb of distraction.
Well, after several hours to process, and do some online “research” – it seems this is a real event. They dropped the bombs and kill3d kids and teachers. KIDS AND TEACHERS!! Then – more bombs. One twisted crackpot religious lunatic kill3d. Then – our brave servicemen kill3d and our rotting puss-filled corpse of a potus praises statues and fukkin curtains… and when these brave service person’s, who had paid the ultimate price, bodies were returned home with honor, the hateful childrapistpotus did not remove his hat to honor the fallen – WTAF!!
But it just cant be reality…I must be fukkin dreaming. Nobody in this country would actually say something so incredibly lame…maybe from north Korea…or one of those other backward, greedy dicktater-led countries that do not seperate church and state like the USA does…or once did anyway…our founding fathers are spinning in their graves.
…but what about the constitution? Isnt that a binding…sacred…almost religious document? Now it seems that those who once preached to uphold the constitution at all cost, no matter what, no matter who dies…now those same people are just choosing to ignore it…WTAF!
Oh…and never mind the huge and in fukkin BOLD fact that we…our entire culture…has absolutely zero…ZERO…credible evidence – that ANY of the mystical gods, angels, and SO MUCH other random BS in the Bible and other evidence-lacking dusty ancient sacred books and all the words vomiting from the mouthpieces kings and clergy of the multitudes of religions and denominations – have ever even existed at all. In all logical likelihood the reality is this: all the stores in all the old religious books are simply lessons and myths to help ancient folks make sense of the world and culture around them. These old books are only reality inside the readers own head.
When I was young I was taught that in any important decision, one should put evidence first, and the decision second. The reverse of that is a decision without supporting evidence, and those who use this misguided strategy are in search of one of two things:
An emotional response possibly seated in a personal desire or need.
Or
Greed and control seeking hubris. Hubris is dangerous.
To make decisions without factual, logical, supporting evidence is insane.
It seems that these people – that some of us have chosen to place into power – are absolute fukkin deranged lunatics that should be locked securely in padded rooms.
For them to actually say the unbelievably and stupendously stupid things they have said about bringing about the “end times,” or “armageddon,” or whateverthefuk – with the most outrageous of them all that his orange painted magasty DJT was sent by jeezus/god et. all. – is totally and rabidly barking mad.
I still keep pinching myself hoping to wake up from this bizarre nightmare…but no, apparently I am awake and this IS reality.
So many human lives have been cut short, so many civilizations turned to vine or dust covered rubble, so much knowledge has been lost, destroyed by religiopolitical cult leaders claiming their way is better because they claim that an imaginary god figure said so – often through the mouthpiece of a fat, bloated, king, president, chief, or bigman…and even more bizarre and inexplicable – they followed the imaginary god/king’s made up commands and destroyed so many real and beautiful things that actually physically existed…and they did it all believing they were correct and in the name of their chosen leader or god that they could not even see worth their own eyes. Either they all were deranged lunatics, or greed and power mad driven charlatans with absolutely zero empathy predating upon their followers, or both of these things.
Sadly it seems history is repeating itself.
It seems that the dangerous cults of lunatic fringe religion are trying their best to bring back holy wars at the cost of…everything moving forward.
The toxic weight of the religious trauma this is going to instill into everyone who survives this mess will be immeasurable.
Speaking of religious trauma – for the first few decades of my life I was traumatized by the religion i was born into – Christianity. From a very early age I was confused by all the bizarre talk of loving each other, taking care of others, including the weak, the old, the poor, the homeless, the immigrant. ..but then, quickly followed by and absolutely terrifying to a young child – follow my invisible all powerful sky dwelling God, or burn in hell, suffer horrifying end times BS, Jesus this and Jesus that, the heaven and hell, fire and brimstone, rivers of blood, multiheaded beasts, 666, demons, devils, nostradomous, nukes, the cold war, yada, yada, yada. Even while writing these words I still feel the anxiety welling up inside me – but I know this is not a god or devil pulling my strings…it is the constant programming I received from the church, my culture, my (well meaning) parents and family who were also under the spell of all the religiopolitical madness. All of it that still to this day causes a PRSD type reaction in my mind. All this twisted mystical hate and fear filled BS really traumatized my young brain and truly wrecked my evidence based decision-making process…for many years.
The only way I was ever able to dig myself out of the mind killing grave that was that twisted religious death worshipping religiopolitical cult, was to remember what my amazing mom taught me about evidence supported decision making and critical thinking. Without evidence supported critical thinking skills, you will fall for and follow anyone and anything that promises paradise. My mom was also a teacher, she encouraged me to read and learn about anything that interested me, and she supplied books, frequent trips to the public library, and the power of the acquisition of factual knowledge. Through her I learned that knowledge conquers fear.
This is why I choose to not follow any religion. This is why I choose to follow the evidence wherever it leads and use the methods and tools of science and my own brain to make decisions for myself and others.
The only “religion” I respect is Buddhism – and its not even a religion, its a practice based on peace, kindness, compassion, and self discovery.
In my experience, most modern religions very rarely use evidence to support their decision making process…but dusty old words from an ancient book, written and rewritten by countless bloated kings and authors, and then taken far outside of their historical context…sure, why not. In fact, it is often the exact opposite, with the evidence from the last 2026 years suggesting that more blood has been shed in the name of religions than in all wars ever waged on planet earth. The rivers of blood have already been shed and if there is an actual hell, we are now living in it and DJT and his mindless minions are the devil and his demons.
These people are absolutely fukkin insane.
Examples: 911 and Iran – so many parallels between the radical islamic terrorists who attacked the WTC and Pentagon, and the lunatic fringe chrustofascist malignant morons now pulling the strings of yet more bloody oil wars in the middle east.
Oh, let us not forget the E. Files. Remember all the violat3d young girls, women, boys and men, the redrum and kanabilism, the pain, the endless lies, and the disgusting fear mongering and toxic racist h8. If there ever was an antichrist, the vile potus and his demented lunatics running this once great land are the embodiment of that mythical sentiment.
But all that is just my humble evidence-supported opinion.
If this speaks to you in any way, I have written at (even greater) length about the topic of religious trauma, and what it took me to shake off the sticky, gripping, toxic tentacles and hugely heavy anchors of religion. It is one of my longest blog posts and it helped me sort through my thoughts and finally get out from under the thumb of the religio-political mind control system that many of us in the US were all exposed to beginning from day one. If you are struggling with what is going on in the world or within your own mind, then feel free to read my post through the below link. If it helps you sort things out then please feel free to share, and I wish you, and all of us luck, love, and peace with whatever comes our way.
In logical response to all the recent, and increasing negatively pitched “reports” and mud and FUD slinging being manufactured (by organizations funded by big oil) and spread all over the mainstream and social media about electric vehicles…and the ensuing wave of negative/emotional/thoughtless comments from oponents and haters in regards to the technology…I offer just the facts on EV’s from the point of view of an EV owner and educator of over a decade.
FACT: In 2013 I purchased a one year old 2012 Nissan Leaf (100% electric car) with 1,200 miles on the odometer. I drove the Leaf for over 6 years and 75,000 gas-free miles.
In 2019, I traded up to a new 2019 Chevy Bolt EV which i have driven over 80,000 miles and i am still driving today.
In 2025 I moved up yet again into a new, 2026 Chevy Silverado EV (CSEV) pickup that currently has clocked over 7000 miles on it odometer.
I drove all of these vehicles as daily drivers commuting to work daily and back in all weather, on paved and gravel roads, and up and down the mountains we call home. I drive an average of 40-45 miles/day and more on weekends. Due to the wonderful and growing EV charging network that continues to expand and open the roads to EV drivers – I can go almost anywhere with no problems. I have driven across NC, SC, TN, and several times to North central Florida without issue.
Here are a few of the most repeated myths followed by the peer-reviewed facts about EVs.
MYTH: It is very expensive to charge an EV.
FACT: Just the opposite. It costs me an average of 0 – .02 cents per mile to drive electric. I drive ~200 miles/week so for my use case I pay zero to $4/week for automotive fuel depending on where I charge my EV.
It is zero cost for fuel when I charge on solar-produced electricity (over 75% of the time). The remaining 25% of the charging is at home and rarely at community EV charging stations (level 2 and 3) where I usually pay around $2 – $12 to fully charge my EV and many of these stations are in fact – free. Many of these stations are also solar, hydroelectric, nuclear powered – so a good portion of that electric free-range fuel is renewably driven by locally produced energy sourced in the US (not half a world away in the mid east etc) and therefore, zero emissions and energy secure(no oil wars and dirty politics needed)!
FACT: Even when I account for the cost of all the electricity I have used to fuel both my EVs over the last decade – I have still saved many thousands of $$$$$ that I would have spent on single-use gas and oil had I continued to drive a toxic old fossil burner.
MYTH: EV’s have very short range, will run out of “juice” and leave you stranded.
FACT: While my LEAF did have very limited range at ~75 miles – the Bolt will travel up to 250 miles on a single charge and my CSEV will take me upwards of 475 miles on a single charge!! Like most newer Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) powered vehicles they all have alert systems to let you know when your charge level is getting low. They also have sophisticated GPS navigation systems that allow you to plan your trip ahead of time taking into account stops at charging stations along the way.
While it is understandable that this lifestyle is not for everyone, advances are being made in the EV, battery, and charging infrastructure that, within a few years time, will put 500+ mile range capable EV’s on the roads from most of the world’s major auto makers.
FACT: No matter if you run out of a charge or you run out of gas – it is your fault for not planning ahead.
MYTH: “Electric Vehicles are not zero emissions, they run on coal, and are dirtier and more polluting than internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles that run on gas/diesel fuel.”
Let’s break it down.
FACT: Battery Electric Vehicles BEV’s (the focus of this report) do not run on anything but electricity and are themselves – truly and fully zero emission. That being said, depending on how that electricity is generated– the place it gets its electricity to charge its traction battery–could be “dirty” (coal) or “clean” (renewable energy) but in most places it is a combination of both so let’s dig deeper.
FACT: A small ICE car emits ~390 grams of Carbon Dioxide CO2/mile.
FACT: The average power consumed by a small EV is ~.25 KWh/mile.
FACT: ~907 grams of CO2/KWh is emitted from coal fired power plants in the dirtiest 100% coal-based electricity generation areas.
FACT: 907 (g) x .25 (KWh) = 226 grams/mile in dirtiest 100% coal-based electricity generation areas, which remains lower than the 390 grams from the small ICE car so in reality, even if your EV is charged in an area that gets all of its electricity from coal, EV’s are still cleaner than a comparable ICE powered vehicle… and FAR cleaner than these children.
MYTH: Building more EV’s will require us to build many more power plants to provide all the electricity to operate all of them.
FACT: EV’s are charged from the same utility grid that your mobile devices use. Like your devices, EV’s come with their own charging cable that plugs into a standard 120v outlet*. Like your mobile electronic devices they are most often charged at night, while you are sleeping, and when electricity generated from emissions-free wind (and no, wind turbines do not kill all the birds, feral cats, windows, pesticides and fossil fuels do), hydro, nuke power is in low demand, lower in cost, and goes mostly unused – so there is ample supply to power your EV. *In development now are inductive charging highway lanes that, when you need a charge, you will just simply drive in the lane and your car will charge while moving at speed! There are now available inductive charging pads (just like you can buy for mobile devices) but made for EV’s. This will eliminate the need to plug in your EV and one day you will be able to just park in an EV charging parking space or in your garage and your car will automatically start charging.
FACT: The US power grid is getting cleaner every day as more fossil fuel fired power plants are retired and more renewable energy power systems go online – so in these areas especially, EV’s are much cleaner.
FACT: Due to the fuel mix of the grid getting cleaner, EV’s get cleaner as they age. This is never a fact with ICE cars that constantly loose efficiency as they age due to wear and tear of all their moving parts.
Learn more here:
greencarreports.com/news/1086927_coal-makes-electric-cars-bad-no-plug-ins-show-coal-as-worse
FACT: One parking space covered with a canopy of photovoltaic solar panels (2.5KW) in the southeast would produce around 3,292 KWh/year. This will operate an EV for around 13-16K miles of 100% emissions free driving on clean, sunshine generated electricity!
FACT: EV’s produce a portion of their own fuel via the process known as regenerative breaking – try to find an ICE powered vehicle that does that!
FACT: The average EV travels an average of 4 miles/Kilowatt hour (KWh) of electricity.
FACT: It takes 6 KWh of electricity to refine one gallon of gasoline (source US DOE).
FACT: The average EV can travel 24 miles on the power that it takes to refine just one gallon of gasoline!
FACT: It takes ~9 KWh of energy to extract and transport the crude oil that will be refined into that gasoline.
FACT: An EV could travel an additional 36 miles on this energy.
So, no new power plants are needed, especially if we do not produce the gallon of gas. So…get an EV, and drive 60 all-electric miles on the same amount of energy we are generating today to refine all that dirty gasoline…and fight all those wars to keep it flowing.
And…
Save the 44 gallons of water that it takes to refine that one gallon of gasoline! It is a no-brainer.
MYTH: It is very expensive to power an EV.
FACT: The average cost of electricity in the US is 12 cents/kWh. Therefore the average person driving an average EV 15,000 miles per year will pay about $540.00 per year to charge it. How much did you pay for gasoline/diesel last year? I bet it was much more than $540. Think about what could you have done with all that extra money you spent on gas and oil? Just think about it…or feel free to remain in denial of the facts. It is your choice, not mine – I made my choice decades ago.
FACT: Believe it or not – five 100 watt light bulbs left on continuously for a year use nearly the same amount of energy as it takes to power an electric car 15,000 miles! Here’s how: Five 100 watt light bulbs use 500 watts. In 24 hours they use 12,000 watt-hours or 12kWh. In 365 days they use 4,380kWh. A typical EV that uses 30 kWh for every 100 miles will use 4,500 kWh to drive 15,000 miles! Simply by turning unnecessary lighting off at your home, you can drastically reduce or completely eliminate your annual transportation fuel cost. Try doing that with an ICE powered vehicle! (The cost of LED lighting products has dropped recently so we have replaced almost all of our light bulbs in our house with LED’s. This has not only saved us money but we have also totally offset the cost of driving our EV just by upgrading our lights to LED!)
Learn more here: pluginamerica.org/drivers-seat/how-much-does-it-cost-charge-electric-car
Cars are not the only way you can reduce emissions by switching to EV’s
FACT: One piece of gas burning lawn equipment such as a lawn mower emits more hydrocarbon pollution into our shared atmosphere than a gasoline-guzzling crew-cab pickup truck! You would have to drive a 6.2L V8 truck almost 4000 miles to equal the emissions produced in 30 minuets of use by a gas powered 2-cycle engine such as a string trimmer (weed-eater). Why not use an all electric string trimmer or lawn mower—there are many available now and they all can even be fueled with renewable energy you can generate at home! I made the switch to all-electric lawn equipment over a decade ago and it just works. Even my two chain saws are all-electric.
MYTH: EV’s, solar, and wind power are not American because they do not create jobs or use the oil/gas that we fight deadly wars to acquire.
FACT: The Nissan Leaf is made in Smyrna Tennessee and provides good jobs to thousands of American and Tesla provides over 120,000 jobs!!
Today there are more Americans employed in solar construction/maintenance jobs than there are coal miners mining coal. The wind energy industry provides great jobs to over 50,000 Americans. And that’s just for starters…
FACT: Sourcing our energy domestically (be it solar, wind, hydro, coal—whatever the source) provides many good jobs to Americans and is much more efficient and much safer than traveling thousands of miles, dealing with governments—that are often hostile and feed money to terrorism groups—extracting it, then finally bringing it back to be refined and used only once- thats right, fossil fuels are single use and that single use comes at great cost and loss of life due to the needless wars that often must be fought to keep it flowing.
FACT: It is far more American to be self sufficient and produce your own energy at home, than it is to rely on an outside source to provide you with that energy.
FACT: You can power your home and your EV with off-the-shelf renewable energy (solar, wind, hydro, etc ) that you make at home…and even make a profit from the excess!
Maintenance
MYTH: EV’s are expensive to work on.
FACT: EV’s rarely need major servicing because they have fewer moving parts than ICE vehicles. EV’s have only a handful of moving parts in their power plant whereas the average ICE engine has thousands! Therefore, EV’s require far less maintenance to keep them “healthy” and are therefore they are much more economical to drive.
I have been driving electric for over a decade and over 160,000 miles, and my EVs have required no specialized routine maintenance by me other than the occasional washing and vacuuming, a set of new windshield wiper blades, adding a little air to the tires, and the occasional topping off of the washer fluid, changing the cabin air filters, and one set of brake pads on the LEAF – you know, the things you would need to do to any type of vehicular construct no matter its fuel source.
Had I been driving a legacy vehicle I would have had to spend far more time and money over the same time-frame. For example, to keep my 2013 Honda Pilot 4×4, (the last ICE vehicle that I owned) running in an efficient as possible manner (for a machine with so many miles – 120+k – and so many moving parts that can and will wear out due to constant use thereby lowering the fuel economy of the vehicle and lowering the amount of money in my bank account) I used a bio-based fully synthetic American made motor oil, and I change the oil filter when I change the oil. Just the oil/filter change and new spark plugs for the Honda cost us ~ $230** over its last 30k miles! Operational costs for user replaceable parts and non warranty covered parts for the Bolt EV during this same period of time = $55 (wiper blades and cabin air filter)!
The simple fact that EV’s do not have as many moving parts as petroleum powered vehicles makes them much more reliable and cost effective to operate than their fossil fuel powered counterparts. The do not have or need any of the parts that commonly wear out in gas/diesel vehicles such as: belts, chains, hoses, air/fuel filters, water pump, spark plugs, glow plugs, oil, filter, clutch, transmission, muffler, catalytic converter, exhaust pipe…they do not even have an engine.
MYTH: EV’s are new…scary…future technology.
FACT: Electric vehicles are anything but scary and nothing new. The electric motor that moves them has only a few long lived moving parts and is a proven technology that has been used to make our lives easier since the mid-late 19 century.
They pre-date ICE powered vehicles and were hitting the roads of the world in the late 1800’s – see the timeline here: energy.gov/articles/history-electric-car!
FACT: Most of our houses/businesses are totally electric. Washer, dryer, refrigerator, heating and cooling, lighting, entertainment systems, power tools…all electric…with many electric motors and systems that quietly work in the background keeping our lives comfortable. Why is it then that we continue to use outdated petroleum powered transportation systems to get around?
MYTH: “EV’s are slow, like golf carts, dangerous, and I heard that they catch on fire and burn to the ground all the time.”
FACT: EV’s are anything but slow. The little Nissan Leaf EV will go 0-60 in around 10 seconds. The Bolt EV 0-60 in 6ish, and the CSEV – 5 seconds. The Tesla Model S Plaid 100% electric car has the world record for the fastest accelerating production four-door car ever! It accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in a brain melting 1.8 seconds!
Dangerous, totally the opposite – the Tesla Model S was rated by the NHTSA as the safest car ever tested…in history! And each new Tesla product is safer than the last.
Fires, there have been around 287,000 vehicle fires per year since 2003…less than a dozen of those involved electric cars…ALL of the others were ICE powered vehicles.
News agencies just love to manufacture drama and the fact that gas powered cars burn all the time is not anything new, its not dramatic anymore…but let an EV catch fire and it is all over the headlines because sensationalist drama centered around anything new feeds the weak minded. (Note: I am not saying anyone reading this is weak minded because if you have read this far you obviously are interested in the facts and not the manufactured drama :-))
Think of it like this: if everyone had been driving clean, fast, safe, low maintenance electric vehicles for the last century, and someone tried to get you to drive or even ride in a vehicle powered by an incredibly toxic, flammable, explosive liquid fuel—what would you do? Personally, I would R.U.N.N.O.F.T!
MYTH: Electric vehicles are expensive.
FACT: While it is true that a new top of the crop EV will set you back over 100K, you can get a new EV such as a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Bolt for less than $40k and a used one for much less. You must also remember to factor in that you will NEVER pay for gas and oil again and that in itself adds up to thousands of dollars/year…even when you account for the cost of the electricity used to fuel your EV! Then, when then you factor in all the money spent on tune-ups and engine/transmission/exhaust system repairs for most ICE powered vehicles – all the savings add up to reveal that most EV’s are much more economical to own and drive than your average ICE powered vehicle. Oh and since EVs don’t have catalytic converters to steal, you won’t have to worry about that issue…ever.
MYTH: When the battery wears out a new battery will cost more than the car is worth.
FACT: When an EV’s battery degrades to the point where it is no longer able to store enough energy to propel you in your daily commute, the battery can be easily replaced with a new one-it is as plug and play as the one in your mobile device…only larger. After the battery is replaced you essentially have a new car. Note: all EV manufactures have excellent battery warranties/leasing options that serve to help new EV drivers “ease into” a better way to drive and are great incentives for adopting a this technology.
MYTH: A used EV battery cannot be used for anything and is toxic waste and must be tossed in the landfill.
FACT: Used batteries can be recycled just like any battery but before that time comes they can be used in stationary power storage facilities, as back up generators connected to homes and businesses and off-grid power stations especially when connected to renewable energy power systems. Learn more here: nytimes.com/2015/06/17/business/gm-and-nissan-reusing-old-electric-car-batteries.html?_r=0
It is illegal in most places to toss out a 12volt car battery and it is the same with a used EV traction battery – and since they are fully recyclable, they can be remanufactured into new EV batteries over and over without needing to continually mine the earth for raw materials.
Check out https://www.redwoodmaterials.com/
MYTH: There is nowhere to charge an EV?
FACT: Most EV drivers charge their cars at home but when out on the road there are thousands of EV charging stations (EVSE) in the USA alone and the number is growing every day. To find out how many are near you just take a look at Plugshare.com.
FACT: Most EV owners love their cars so much that they have become “crusaders” of the technology and promote them every chance they get because they know from experience that that they are a much better way to drive.
MYTH: “EVs are “woke” democrat cars.” Yes, I have heard that bizarre comment from some people. Really, you are going there…why, and what productive purpose does it serve?
FACT: EVs are a transportation technology. Thay are the next most logical step in the story of transportation. Get over your attempt to politicize…everything. If you want to live in the past, go ahead. The only direction any of us can move in life is forward.
FACT based OPINION: Driving ICE powered vehicles is like purchasing a subscription to dependency on a highly toxic, highly addictive drug that shortens your life while constantly draining your bank account and damaging everything it comes in contact with.
OPINION supported by SCIENCE, RESEARCH, and EXPERIENCE: All of these reasons and more are why EV’s are superior to everything else on the road and one day in the near future gas/diesel will go the way of the dinosaurs.
Be the change you wish to see in the world and the world will change.
Special Thanks to Bob Harris of Black Bear Solar Institute for compiling some of the facts in this document! Learn more at: blackbearsolarinstitute.org
Special Thanks to the members of the Blue Ridge Electric Vehicle Club for supporting the future of transportation and renewable energy technologies.
I will never go back to gas.
All that being said, here is another take on this subject from the land down under:
“Alright, strap in because the dummies need infinite education.
Every time you clowns think you’ve kicked a goal with the “ahhh but wind turbines need oil, batteries need mining, steel needs coking coal” routine, I can practically hear the last two brain cells high-fiving. No shit, Sherlock. Nobody is disputing oil is useful. Oil is insanely useful. That is exactly the fucking point.
Oil takes millions of years to form. Millions. You don’t just whip that up in a factory between smoko and lunch. It is essential for medicine, agriculture, plastics, lubricants, fertilisers, cosmetics, clothing, electronics, about 98% of modern life. Nobody serious is saying “no oil ever”. What we are saying is maybe, just maybe, lighting the stuff on fire and huffing the fumes inside your air sacks like idiots isn’t the smartest use of it.
We should be stockpiling oil for this generation and future generations, not pissing it away by turning it into exhaust fumes so Dave can rev his Hilux at the lights. You want to know how dumb that is? Go stick your face behind a tailpipe and inhale for a few minutes. Let me know how that goes for your lungs, champ. That shit is carcinogenic. It is literally poison. That is why asthma rates are up, lung disease is up, and lung cancer is up. Burning petrochemicals and breathing them in turns cities into rolling chemistry experiments.
And don’t give me the “but we’ve always done it” crap. We also used to shit in holes and die of infected paper cuts. Progress happened.
Using oil without burning it, in products that last decades, medicines that save lives, fertilisers that grow food, plastics that actually make modern healthcare possible, that is smart. Wasting it by setting it on fire for transport when we have cheaper, cleaner alternatives is fucking moronic.
Electric transport and renewables are not about pretending oil doesn’t exist. They are about not being dumb enough to burn a finite, irreplaceable resource into the atmosphere like cavemen discovering fire for the first time. We don’t want to drag the planet back to the Carboniferous era where it was basically a Turkish sauna with ferns the size of buildings.
And here is the real punchline. While you’re pounding your chest defending fossil fuels, you’re donating your money straight to petrochemical giants and oil states. Congratulations. You are sending your hard-earned cash overseas so Saudi princes can buy another gold-plated toilet while you scream about freedom.
You don’t need to be Albert fucking Einstein to see this. Oil is too valuable to burn. Clean air is better than poison. And if you’re still clinging to this nonsense, it’s probably because you’re emotionally attached to the idea of setting ancient dinosaur juice on fire and calling it masculinity.
Do us all a favour. Stop confusing “oil is useful” with “burn everything forever”. One is intelligent. The other is fucking stupid.”
Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Dj38Q2y4D/
I honestly don’t think some humans care at all how others view them when they are in public…and maybe they do not even realize they are in public.
What follows is some of my over half a century of observational evidence of this bizarre and problematic phenomenon:
“Adults” who are loud talkers insulting/bullying/demeaning the person(s) they are with in some bizarre attempt to draw attention to their target(s) with the goal to make some lame point or expose/humiliate, when in reality they are making themself look supremely infantile. Here’s an idea: grow the frak up you 12 year old little brat!
People talking loudly into their mobile communication device as if increasing the volume of their voice will make the person on the other end of the “line” hear them/understand them better. Here’s an idea – noone anywhere wants to hear your incoherent, chimplike hooting, no matter how important you believe you are…and your device has a super sensitive microphone that can detect a whisper, AND the ape on the other end has a volume control and will turn you down when you get annoying. Be respectful you filthy, matted, hairball.
People watching videos/things on their mobile devices at max volume (or any audible volume) in a resturant, waiting room, bus, train, plane, ship, etc…this is happening 20′ from me as i type these words. Here’s an idea – be respectful of others and get some earphones/buds you obnoxious drooling troglodyte!
Parents/people loudly yelling hate/ obscenities/absurdities at their unfortunate offspring. Here’s an idea – don’t have offspring if you cant control yourself and treat them with the respect they deserve. Are you purposefully trying to lead by your awfully hateful example and make them a carbon copy of your disgusting hateful self?!
People talking loudly at each other across a span of space occupied by other humans (ex. train, plane, bus, waiting room, resturant etc.). Here’s an idea: walk closer to each other and converse at a reasonable voice being respective of the others in the room. Whatever it is, it is not all about you, you miserable stinking troll.
People who crowd up to the elevator door as if upon arrival it will be magically empty and is there only for them. Here’s an idea: push the call button and stand back you impatient wank walker.
People who blow their nose in a crowded public place such as a resturant – even with a napkin or handkerchief, this is just disgusting and nasty. Here’s an idea – have some respect for others around you, step into the bathroom or outside and blow your festering infected air hole all you like you putrid steaming snotnozzle.
Impatient bully types who just have to be first in every line, que, or intersection. Here’s an idea you greedy tantrum tossing tool – have some respect for others and wait your damn turn.
People who disrespect our only planet by littering, defacing nature with graffiti, poachers, and those who exploit nature for personal gain without any consideration for future generations…
…and so many more. If you have encountered similar lack of respect from the seething masses of humanity then feel free to add your own examples in the comments.
If a highly advanced, long-lived, extraterrestrial species from another galaxy landed on Earth today and told us we were all part of a long-term planetary biology/evolution “lab” experiment designed and implemented several million years ago in the attempt to discern the direction biological evolution would take under the unique environmental conditions offered by this planet and its star…
…and/or…
If Jesus (or any other religious prophet) returned and/or appeared – and he was a dark skinned, barefoot, long haired, “herb” smoking, robe wearing, bisexual, “hippie” “dude” whose pronown was “whatever man” and he was asking all of us to destroy our walls, weapons, governments, religions, superficial labels and divisions, and all coexist and live in harmony…
Recent events suggest that many people who call themselves religious would probably deny the flesh and blood evidence standing in front of them, and cry “demon,” “witch,” ” infidel,” “imposter,” – and then try to crucify and/or dissect them.
Sadly, the fearful, preconceived notions of what many believe their god and/or extraterrestrial visitors should be are far too limiting and microscopically small, to allow them to see the grandeur of the cosmos as it actually exists, and all the amazing possibilities it may hold.
A personal history lesson that may inspire others to get some much-needed mental and spiritual health help.
Please keep in mind if you choose to read this: I did not write it as an attack on anyone’s personal beliefs/politics etc., your beliefs and political choices are yours and yours alone.
What follows are only my own personal experiences, observations, and opinions on these establishments, as well as a deep self-analysis and critique of myself and of the system we humans are born into and are often told we must just accept as “This is just the way things are.” – without ever questioning any part of it…or else!
It would have been far easier on me if I did not choose to question any of it, but thats just not me. I have always asked the questions many fear to ask.
Therefore…
I have chosen to share this with you in the hopes that my story, my observations, my informed choices based on the answers (and lack thereof) that I have uncovered and discovered, may serve to offer you some insight into your own decision making process.
If my choices, thoughts, and words, upset, offend, or anger, you, I apologize, that was not my intent.
However, your offense or anger at my thoughts, observations, and personal opinions may in fact suggest that there could be some truths in what I have observed, truths that only you must confront in order to grow as a concious, thinking, human being.
Let us begin.
When I was growing up, my developing, impressionable young mind, and later my young adult mind, was frequently subjected to what I now see as intentionally targeted religious and political trauma. To use some of the now common derogatory catchphrases being passed around by those seeking to mold and control the minds and actions of others;
I was conditioned, brainwashed, force-fed, and even indoctrinated into all of it by many well-meaning, yet unknowingly (or maybe knowingly) previously “indoctrinated” people all around me.
So many adults, often calmly, and nicely – but in all likelihood unknowingly – threatened me with, what, to me at the time, were deeply and intentionally terrifying words and imagery, from bizarre ancient stories and fables often used as scare tactics to try to persuade me to act a certain way, behave, and maybe even actually believe their unusual old stories as actual fact-supported reality – even though they could provide absolutely zero fact-based evidence to any of the characters and happenings in these old fables.
Yes, many of the ancient fables had good lessons, lessons that are important for all of us to live by today. However, some of the stories were bizarre, twisted, and even bloody.
When I would ask my elders if the stories and the people in them were real (and later, why there was no evidence) they would almost always say “you just have to have faith my son, and just believe.” I would reply – “do you mean like believing in the Easter bunny, Santa Claus, bigfoot, or the Loch Ness monster?” They would always reply, no – this is different. When I asked how it was different they would answer with; “it just is.” or “Just trust me on this.” So no…no real answers, only many failed attempts to deflect and delete my genuine curiosity in the why and how of these wierd stories, and this thing we call life.
Don’t even get me started on the absolute physical/biological/hydrologic/meteorological/geographic and temporal impossibilities of the Noah, Jonah, and the parting of the Red sea stories…and so much more. Case in point – the Sloth and Noah’s ark – how did sloths get from what is now central and south America…to the middle east? What about penguins…and Tasmanian devils, Banana slugs, the flightless Kiwi birds of New Zealand…enough said.
None of it made any sense to my curious, logic-seeking young mind.
I did not understand the purpose of any of it.
I eventually concluded the following; due to the huge lack of evidence – most of the adults must be living in a make believe collective fantasy world that exists only inside their own heads…and if this was not terrifying enough, the simple yet utterly terrifying fact is this; they were attempting to assimilate me and countless others into their imaginary, elite world of gods, devils, ghost* people with bird wings (if you are the ghost of a dead person then why do you need wings, don’t ghosts have the enchanted ability to defy gravity?), talking snakes, heaven and hell, bible, cross…and now, gun and flag-waving creepy racist and hateful religiopolitical, book banning, clubs and cults. *yet another bizarre evidence-lacking construct the adults share with their children…why?
It was as if you could not even exist as a human being in this society…in this tangible world of reality, without being a member of one of their imaginary worlds of make believe – and be a part of their flock, fold, party, club, organization, congregation, or cult.
I aksed them why a person could not exist without being a member of their cultish, seperatist, religious and political clubs – yet no one could answer this question…it was as if they had never even considered it…or maybe they were conditioned to be afraid to even consider it.
They would often say those individuals following other types of religions/political systems were full of, and led by, nonbelievers – and all of them were lost souls – doomed to rot and burn in the festering fires of hell for eternity.
Even more unusual; periodically they would mass together and chant bizarrely worded and phrased sayings and songs and then symbolically ingest the “body” and “blood” of one of their long-dead – but not dead – savior beings…then say things like “those who do not choose to follow our loving, living (yet dead but not dead…WTAF) savior will burn in the fires of hell for eternity” and that if I did not join their specific fold, flock, team, or congregation – so would I. What wierd and sadistic ways to love your flock and your children.
It was all so freakin bizarre and such a horribly traumatizing thing to subject young children to – yet from my point of view, everyone I knew was, in one way or another, in one cult or another.
Later, while reading the dictionary and encyclopedia (yes, i read them often for fun), I discovered the word cult and concluded, based on the definition and my own observations, that this is what almost everyone I knew was a part of – these widely accepted, even called “normal” by the masses – these cults of religion and politics.
Websters definition of cult:
-A religion* regarded as unorthodox or spurious.
-Great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work.
*Religion: -A personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
-the service and worship of God or the supernatural
-commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
-the state of being religious
-A cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
Scrupulous conformity
I have chosen to share my story with you in the hopes that my observations and choices may offer you some insight and awareness that may serve to help you in some way.
Synonyms of religion: creedo, creed, faith, persuasion, cult.
As I input more knowledge into my young brain, I began to connect many dangerously toxic dots, dots that seemed so blatantly obvious to me, but for some odd reason we’re invisible to everyone else around me. None of any of it made any sense.
I also frequently overheard seemingly good people, and the smaller numbers of fanatical, cultish believers often gossiping and saying mean and nasty things behind the backs of others – some who were even their friends and family – such as; “they are going to forever burn in the fires of hades because they don’t live as we do, love as we do, and believe as we do and worship our god, the one true and only god,” and/or, “What a communist democrat” or “damn greedy republicans, all they care about is themselves.” and “they are all a clear and present danger to our way of life and if you don’t worship HIM , and/or vote for HIM or HER, then your soul and this country is done for.”
Yikes! Why can’t these people actually think for themselves?!?!?!
Why can they not see the obvious facts before them – that these religious and political systems we believe to be so solid, lasting, and permanent…they are yet more examples of experiments in small numbers of weathy, powerful people, controlling large numbers of less fortunate “common” people. That is all this is, nothing more – it is yet more examples of humans experimenting…and like the thousands of dead religions and failed societal governing systems – these to shall eventually pass into the history books alongside all the others. I know this to be reality now, but way back then…I believed in them, and believing did far more harm to me and absolutely no good came of it.
What about that thing that so many of them so often preached about – you know, not judging others…? I guess that one only applied to them on Sundays – and I watched as so many of them said one thing on Sunday, then did another all the other days of the week. This fact truly irritated me deeply because it was evidence that the believers didnt really believe and it was all an act, a stunt, a way to seem to be conforming to societal norms.
With all the confusion in my head, I would often ask my elders: why would a loving, all powerful, creator being toss its own creations – it’s children that it claimed to love and cherish – into a lake of boiling hot lava and fire – after they had already died, as if death was not bad enough – and then leave them there to suffer the fire, lava, scary, ill tempered red devils and such for eternity* (so strange right?) – if they said a “bad” word…or didn’t spend their entire short life showering them with love by paying homage to them all the time and give them their finite money and time on Sunday and Wendsday, and through the mail…why would an omnipotent god-being that could do anything it wanted – including make money, riches, things, and entire planets, stars, galaxies, etc…from nothing…why would it need ephemeral human money…why all the endless butt kissing and showering of its massive ego…why would it need to send one of its creations that it had a disagreement with to the magma-filled mantle of the planet (why THIS planet, why not one of the trillions of other planets out there in the Milky Way galaxy…or any of the countless other galaxies??) to endlessly torment thise who were on the naughty list? How did this “devil” not instantly incinerate?…oh right…it is super natural…riiiiight. *Oh and by the way, I was under the impression that once a creature is dead, it cannot feel anything – including pain – any longer. What gives here?
If my choices, thoughts, and words, offend, anger, or upset you, I apologize, that was not my intent. However, your offense at my thoughts and observations may suggest that there could be some truth in what I have observed, truth that only you must confront in order to grow as a human being.
I would also often ask;
What about the bizarre, yet bizarrely accepted practice in some religions of allowing newborn babies to have their genitals mutilated under the knife (or even the mouth!!) in the name of their parent’s chosen religion – myself included – what kind of loving god so brainwashes its believers that they freely choose to commit this barbaric act!!!??? What right did they and do they still have to commit such a heinous, destructive, and traumatic act in the first fragile moments of the life of a brand new human!!!??? It is a truly despicable and disgusting blood-soaked ritual that must be abolished. It was not yours to chop or bite off in the name of your imaginary god!!! I want my foreskin back!!! Yes, I went there.
Then, not that long ago, twisted lunatic fringe dwelling religious fanatics killed even more people by hijacking and flying passenger airplanes full of innocent people into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, thousands died, more blood flowed, believers offered thoughts and prayers as if that was going to bring back the dead.
Evidence supports that in the wrong hands, the cults of religion and politics destroy life, progress, and prosperity.
So many innocent human beings have been brutally murdered in cold blood in schools, in churches, on the streets – by religiopolitical flag, religious book, political parchment, and weapon waving fanatics. Where are all the god or gods during all this bloody madness? If the god refuses to stop the cold blooded murder of HIS innocent children in a school, or worshpers in one of HIS own churchs – then it is my opinion that the god simply does not in fact exist. o
Why would an all-powerful creator god father being create evil?
Again, my own findings, experiences, observations, and the evidence all around me suggest that this, this reali~-~ted, and my energy will move on into another life form or natural process and I am 100% OK with and ready for th ‘ x
In the meantime, I have so much to do and not enough time to do it. Ther
If it was in fact so all-knowing and all-powerful, and such a good god… couldn’t he/she/they/them/it just choose to just NOT create bad things such as evil, hate, devils, demons, disease, pain, war, death, childhood cancer, viral infections, brain and body eating parasites, ticks, chiggers, fleas, malaria, bot flies, botulism, brainworms, and such? Couldn’t it just snap its fingers (like Thanos or Q*) and delete all these horrible things from existence and create only peace, love, health, prosperity, puppies, and happiness instead?
*BTW, I fully understand that these are fictional characters created by humans to tell a story and teach a lesson to the viewer/reader…just like Santa Claus, the easter bunny, the tooth fairy, Zeus, and all the thousands of other gods and goddesses made up by humans…but what i fail to understand is how a person of today can still choose to believe in the non-existence of all those ancient gods and modern myths, yet believe in their “one true god”…whichever one it is they have been taught is “real”…even though it has zero evidence supporting its reality…
Why are innocent little children and good, hard working, caring adults dying of cancer, disease, starvation, massive storms, floods, fires, disasters, alcoholism, war, disgusting parasites and disease, automobile, aircraft, and other accidents, ALS, AIDS, Malaria… why were people suffering from learning and developmental disorders, born deformed, or with debilitating autoimmune disorders, heart disease, etc,…why were and are slavery, prejudice, hatred, bullies, meanness, and war, – all just allowed to happen to innocent people everywhere by this so-called loving good god? It either does not love us, does not care about us, made many mistakes in the recipe, is not all powerful, did not create us, or simply it just does not actually exist.
Why were we taught to fear those labeled by some god-cult believers as witches, but not those lopping off their heads, hanging them, eviscerating, or burning them to death in greusome public spectacles?!?!?!?!
If killing is evil, why then is it OK and accepted by some believers to kill in the name of gods and religion like was done to the “witches” (women) and those with brown skin, or of indigenous heritage – and is also done so often in the Bible and other dusty old religious books? WHY!
Tangent time: why do some organisms have to kill, eat, infect and infest* other animals – and people to exist? (to me, this is yet even more irefutable peer reviewed evidence that we human beings are also animals) – *predators, parasites, scavengers, bacteria, viruses, etc.
If I were all powerful and wanted to create a life form, I would not design it to brutally kill or scavenge and then ingest my other creations to gain the energy it needs to survive – that is just bad engineering, it is messy, and it creates a breeding ground for germs. I would also not intentionally design and release microscopic – worms, ticks, fleas, mosquitoes, lice – and microscopic viral and bacterial (covid, plague, malaria, ebola, lyme disease, rocky mountain spotted fever, tetanus, hookworm, leeches, ) and so many other parasites and pathogens that use the bodies of others of my creations as food sources and/or incubators for more of their own kind while making my creations sick, in pain, dead, and/or vectors of said diseases/parasites to my other creations that I supposedly love – all that would be highly illogical, most counterproductive, and just twisted, sadistic, and morbidly sick.
What I would do is design an organism to be powered by endlessly renewable, clean, solar energy from the nearest star. This design would also eliminate the need to eat, bad teeth and cavities would not exist, we would not need to sloppily suck and slurp nutritional secretions from the breasts of our mothers, we would not need to eliminate (defacate and urinate)…the lack of all that would streamline the design even more by eliminating the entire digestive system…in other words, I would create plants. Maybe plants are the perfect organisms. Maybe, if there is a god being out there somewhere, maybe we meat munching, hairy, teat sucking, drooling, dripping, pooping, infected, mammals are a failed experiment that he/she/they/them/it couldn’t turn off due to our propensity to breed like…um, humans…hmmm.
Any engineer designing any machine would make it as simple and as low maintenance as possible, not the highly complex, chemically, physically, and spiritually needy, always breaking down, weak, mostly hairless, bipedal, apelike bodies our fragile meat-computer minds are stuck inside.
For more on this subject take a look at this from my friend Joe:
Enough said.
Plants.
Yes plants.
Yes, an omnipotent being would design plants, not people. It is common sense really.
There are over 300,000 species of plants…and only one species of human. Therefore, It seems clear to me that if there is an all powerful creator being somewhere out there, they are really happy with plants and kept churning out more and more species while ignoring the singular bipedal ape with the oversized brain that thinks it is so important.
End Tangent.
Continuing onward, what did the snake do to deserve all the hate? I have known many snakes and none of them ever talked to me or tried to get me to do “bad” things to others – they just tried to get away from the big scary mostly hairless cultish apes who are always killing and harming far more snakes, than snakes will ever kill or harm people…and sadly, they do so most often in the name of made up gods and fearful seperatist death worshiping cultish religions.
Why do so many people pray to an imaginary god/father figure to help/heal/save them when they are in danger, suffer natural disasters, are sick and/injured in the hospital – when it is the doctors, nurses, firefighters, EMT’s, police, military, SAR teams, engineering, and science teams who are the ones doing the saving, curing, protecting, healing? If their god was real and if he/she/it/them/they, truly existed and/or truly cared…wouldn’t it just choose to not put its creations in danger/pain/suffering in the first place? Why would it conjure up all these bad things to torment, harm, and even kill, its children? Wouldn’t it be like the shepherd/farmer who works very hard to keep his sheep and other livestock safe, healthy, happy, and away from the wolf (only to kill and ingest them later)? I guess not.
It also seems to me that this god fellow, and all the devils, heavens and hells, Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, and Sasquatch are the same – we are told by our elders they actually exist…somewhere…somehow…yet we never see any real evidence of any of them.
Funny thing, none of my elders could ever answer any of my probing questions. They would often even act afraid of my questions and then say things like “Dont ask such questions!” or “Pray to (their) god and it would reveal the answers you seek.” So I did, I prayed, because at the time I believed, so I was afraid…no, I was terrified of the angry, vengeful god, the pitchfork wielding grinning devils, and all the eternal fire and damnation the adults had repeatedly downloaded into my head since I was an innocent little baby with a brand new brain.
The years of fearful conditioning was getting to me. Yes, this was the world of my youth.
This is the cold reality of religious trauma, and to me, it could possibly even be considered a form of child abuse – but that is just my humble opinion.
They would also often say that god knows your thoughts. Really, if this is so, then why did/do we need to pray, couldn’t the all knowing god being just read our minds and know what we were thinking before we thought it?? They had no answers for me.
But no…no voices, no answers or insight came, and nothing at all ever changed.
Kids and adults still died from horrible diseases (a friend died suddenly in middle school from encephalitis), accidents (another friend died in a terrible car accident), and so many innocent did not know died horrible deaths at the hands of deranged lunatics with guns, knives, sticks, rocks, fire, poison, and sometimes they even took their own lives (my mother’s best friend offed herself with a rope and a good friend’s brother used his service pistol…and the list goes on and on.
As i am fond of saying – We are our own most limiting factor.
Fires, storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami, floods, still destroyed property, forests, nature, animals and people. People who worshiped a god, gods, or none at all – they all died equally. I suppose their gods did not care and I know for a fact that nature does not care one bit about any of us, so we must take care of ourselves and each other.
Huge oil, timber, and development companies and war machines destroyed and continue to rape vast tracts of pristine nature and indigenous civilization in the name of ephemeral profit, oil, coal, gas, gods, religion, and lame politics…and their gods just sit back and watch and let them destroy its creations…even innocent little children…why did the gods let them get away with it! I thought these gods were the ultimate shepherds presiding over their beloved flocks…where are the gods when their flocks needs them? What a terrible shepherd, obviously the gods that are stuck in so many people’s heads simply do not exist.
My childhood best friend had diabetes, I watched him suffer with it for decades. I also watched as the miracles of medical science saved him and keep him alive with insulin…not a god, not prayer – but medical science and engineering. Science works miracles every day – science is the god, and doctors, nurses, medicine and engineering are the angels and the miracles.
Yet, even with the medical marvels working miracles for many, the “demon” that is cancer still stalked and killed good people including three of my friends – two of them prayed to a god daily…but their god still killed them at a young age with horrible pain, suffering, and anguish.
AIDS killed countless humans until science slowed the killing. Science, not gods.
Another good friend of mine and her infant child were brutally killed by a drunk driver who fell asleep at the wheel – their car was torn in half – WHILE THEY WERE ON THE WAY TO CHURCH to pray to their almighty loving “good” god!! Their god is total bullshit. Their god is not real. If it was real it would have saved them!!! The drunk driver that killed them lived and is still out there driving around. WTF!
My wonderful adoptive dad suffered for years and died broken and alone from a prolonged, painful, toxic death from depression, alcohol and tobacco addiction. Where was his god when he needed him?
My beloved adoptive mother recently died at the hands of the mind eating “demon” that is dementia – it destroyed her beautiful mind and her body soon followed. She was a 2nd grade elementary school teacher and a devout Christian her entire life, she gave so much of her time and money to her students and to the church she co-founded with dad in the 1960’s, she helped so many people and was loved by so many, even though she never had much – yet her god chose to destroy her mind and kill her body slowly and painfully. What an ungrateful, hateful, sick and twistedly evil god it must be. Her death was the last straw that broke any remaining connections i had to that twisted cultish manufactured religious world. Her god killed my mother with torture, and I then killed her god with that evidence. Her god, the god of my youth is stone cold dead to me.
My biological father, a great protector of wildlife, nature, and the law, and a generous member of the community…lived for many months in great discomfort with kidney failure and horrible pain. The “miracles” of modern medical science and engineering kept him alive through dialysis and pain stopping surgery – but he suffered so much in his weak and failing body and in the last months of his life he was bedridden and unable to go home to be with those he loved. It tore my heart out to see him that way. It was a great releaf from the rigid wasteing darkness when he finally passed away. We all miss him greatly, but his pain and suffering is finally over.
What burns me deeply, like a white hot fire poker pushed slowly into my eye, is the knowledge that he spent his entire life protecting his god’s creation and its wonderful wild creatures from greedy, uncaring people, he preserved thousands of acres of wild lands (you know, that old creation thing), he protected good people from bad people…and yet, despite all the good he did for nature, his family, others, and for the world – where was his god when he needed it the most?!! Why WHY did he have to go through all that debilitating misery? His god did not help him, therefore, his god is dead to me.
A few years before his final fight, he and my siblings had to watch in heart ripping pain as their mother/his wonderful wife, an accomplished nurse who expertly cared for the sick and her family, was also attacked by the brain eating vampire that is dementia and swiftly succumbed to its voracious appetite for the minds of its victims. Where was their creator when all this was happening? Why didn’t it intervene? It is obvious to me that it either is powerless, does not care about its creations, or it simply does not exist. Her god is dead to me.
Two armed thugs broke into my cousin’s rural home in the middle of the night and brutally shot my elderly cousins. They wounded Danny and murdered Judy in cold blood – for what – money?!?! These were wonderful, helpful, well loved members of the small community in which they lived, they weren’t rich, they weren’t threatening, they were just good people… and yet they were brutally attacked and one died… why WHY!?!? Where was their god damn god?!?! Why didn’t it protect them from the demented greedy thugs?!?! WHY!!! BECAUSE IT DOES NOT EXIST – THATS WHY!!!
The damn predatory thugs escaped and are still out there, probably still thieving and killing. The uncaring god of my cousin is dead to me.
In early 2025, a favorite YouTube creator of mine – The Desert Drifter – was in a horrible automotive accident and he later passed away. Why! His videos were so well done, so educational, so beautiful in how they shared a love and respect for the land and for ancient cultures – and in his videos he and his wife spoke of how they were Christians and loved God. Yet, their god brutally killed him – so his god is dead to me.
Steve Irwin, aka The Crocodile Hunter – worked hard to educate people on the value of wildlife and nature. He protected vast tracts of land from development, he did so much good…but he was killed by one of the wild creatures he loved. Why!!! Why didnt his god protect him?!? His god is dead to me.
Why are so many innocent kids still dying, starving, suffering?
Why do so many of us endlessly suffer from physical and mental health issues when we could be productive members of society?
Why are innocent people still kidnapped, enslaved, trafficked, addicted to drugs?
Why are war and hate still rampant?
Why are despicable heartless people like adolph hitler and donald trump allowed to spread fear, incite hate, rape, rule, murder, and destroy?
Why did hundreds of thousands die in that big tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, hurricane, flood, wildfire, war, plane crash, plague, pandemic?
What did all those human beings ever do to this so called loving, all powerful god that gave he/she/it/them/they the right to “punish”, harm, and brutally kill all those innocent people, all those mothers, fathers, sons and daughters, and little babies???
None of that is love, it is indifference, it is outright hate. It is as if he/she/they/them/it (god) is a cat tormenting, mauling, and then viciously killing all the mice (us) for its own sick and twisted enjoyment…or, as evidence suggests – it is far more likely that, like Santa, Zeus, Sasquatch, and Nessie – it simply does not actually exist and was invented by ancient people to explain the how and why of things happening around them.
Over all the years, all my genuinely thoughtful, probing questions never have been successfully answered. The believers would just say deflecting, reason, curiosity, and thought cancelling things such as “our father works in mysterious ways” or “its in gods hands” and the old “pray about it.” What a total and complete copout.
When I was in my teens, I began to notice all the rich politicians grinning through their teeth while kissing random babies and making empty promises on TV…and the bible thumping preaching pontiffs in church on Sunday (and on TV) asking for money from my mom and so many others – who didn’t have much money – it was then that I began to see through their cultish insanity. What would a rich politician, preacher, or omnipotent, supreme being need with my beloved mom’s very limited money? Oh right, they need it to pay homage to their god(s) by constructing mega churches, mansions, private jets, giant wooden non floating arks full of manufactured religiopolitical propaganda and outright lies (see the religious fanatic Ken Hamm and his Ark Encounter monstrosity)…their one true god is the almighty dollar. If you cannot see that, you need some professional help.
As the decades passed by I conducted extensive research by reading many books by many great thinkers, scholars, religious types, as well as many ancient religious texts, I studied ancient cultures, their myths, gods, etc., and came to realize the following:
While many religions started out with good intentions and their followers do in fact do good works, help people, and so on…many more are just corrupt businesses built upon the backs of all the ancient fearful books, myths, stories, and so on. So much blood, pain, suffering, hate, war, and so much needless death in the name of so many different gods – they are nothing more than cults of personality, control, and profit.
When I was in my 20s I began to realize I didn’t need any of them in my life. They were creating far more questions, anxiety, depression, and trouble in my mind, my world, and in the world as a whole, and I did not want any part in their malignant mythological madness.
Yet, at the same time I also noticed around me that some believers and religious types and their teachings and organizations were presenting good life lessons for anyone to learn and yes, many followers of today’s religiopolitical organizations are truly great people who do actually help those in need, and work very hard to make a better future for us all, and that is very good and very needed. While I fully applaud and support their selfless acts and humanitarian actions, I am not at all concerned about those that do good deeds in the name of a god, religion, or lack therof. What deeply concerns me are the cultish lunatic fringe dwelling extremist evangelical types that will not accept or even consider anything outside their chosen system of belief. Those who are quick to judge others, quick to twist, edit, modify, and even re-manufacture the words and teachings of their stone tablets, dusty old books, scrolls, and documents, to suit their fear and hate driven agendas and desire for profit, control, and belonging to their chosen cult…all while working behind the scenes to incite fear, hate, and to divide us from each other – some even go so far as to kill others and/or destroy property, and even go to war in the name of their god/religion/politics – the religiopolitical soup they are swimming within. That is so very wrong and it is not helping anything or anyone.
As a wise person once said:
“A very powerful and profound statement indeed. And expresses my thoughts why I have nothing for the American Brand of Christianity, nor Evangelical Christianity. It is a threat to humanity, the Earth, and Christianity overall. “To the church of my youth, What did you expect me to do? You taught me to love my neighbors, to model the life of Jesus. To be kind and considerate, and to stand up for the bullied. You taught me to love people, consider others as more important than myself. You taught me to sing “red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight.” We sang it together, pressing the volume pedal and leaning our hearts into the chorus. You said that “He loved all the children of the world”. You taught me to love my enemies, to even do good to those who wish for bad things. You taught me to never “hate” anyone and to always find ways to encourage people. You taught me it’s better to give than receive, to be last instead of first. To help the poor, the widow, the stranger at the gate. You taught me that Jesus looks at what I do for the least-of-these as the true depth of my faith. You taught me to focus on my own sin and not to judge. You taught me to be accepting and forgiving. So I paid attention. I took in every lesson. And I did what you taught me. But now, you call me a “libtard”. A queer-lover. You call me “woke.” A backslider. You call me a heretic. You make fun of my heart. You mock the people I’m trying to help. You say I’m a child of the devil. You call me soft. A snowflake. A socialist. You shun the very people you told me to help. What did you expect me to do? I thought you were serious, but apparently not. You hate nearly all the people I love. You stand against nearly all the things I stand for. I’m trying to see a way forward, but it’s hard when I survey all the hurt, harm, and darkness that comes in the wake of your beliefs and presence. What did you expect me to do? I believed it all the way. I’m still believing it all the way. Which leaves me wondering, what happened to you?”
—Chris Kratzer”
All that said, and after much soul searching, it is now my humble opinion, based upon my years of research, life experience, observation, anxiety, doubt, and oh so much religiopolitical trauma, that I feel compelled to suggest the following…and remember, the only evidence i have that allows me to make this suggestion, is a great and deep pit that is lacking any measurable repeatable evidence.
This experience and gigantic lack of evidence suggests to me the following;
All the gods, religions, etc. all of them – are based upon stories made up by countless tribes of ancient early agrarian peoples from all over the planet to help them understand the world around them, and to comfort them from the cold hard realities of nature and of death, teach lessons of living in a society, and/or control the masses in support of an elite, greed, power, and control driven ruling class of bigmen, kings, queens, chiefs, and politicians.
Over the thousands of years since they were written – not by a god or gods – but by early humans who’s consciousness was awakening to the realities around them and had them questioning what they were experiencing – these ancient stories were then passed down, edited, adapted, modified, and manipulated to fit the needs and desires of kings, queens, chiefs, politicians, and bigmen – and yet even more blood flowed, millions more died in flames, at the gallows, in horrible torturous dungeons, while masses of believers watched and jeered in fear and support of the senseless killing by the leaders of the believers. Still more countless innocents perished under the stones, spears, fire, guns, germs, and steel, in the name of crowns, thrones, and politics, invisible lines in the sand, imaginary gods, and many more blood-soaked religious cults.
Oh, and let us not forget the countless babies, young children, virgins, those labeled witches and/or different, and many others that have been brutally sacrificed, murdered, burned, had their beating hearts torn from their chest, been brutally molested and raped by bent priests and politicians, left bleeding or freezing on an altar stone on top of a mountain, tossed into volcanoes, and/or enslaved in the name of countless religions and countless gods over countless centuries…why did the god or gods allow his creations, his children, to destroy his other creations, his other children – it makes no sense at all. If I were the parent of a child who started acting like some people do today (and back into deep history as evidenced in the archeological record), I would surely not let them get away with the heinous and bloody acts and tantrums they have perpetrated upon other humans – some they even claim to love. I would punish them gently, and I would teach them how to treat each other. I would be a good father and I would lead by example.
Where is he. Where is this god(father) when his children harm, disrespect, enslave, bully, rape, kill, and massacre others in HIS name?
Where was he in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, in all the wars, in the aftermath of all the hurricanes, tsunami, fires, floods, plagues, and on and on. Where was he?! Where is he now?
What about the bizarre, yet bizarrely accepted practice in some religions of allowing newborn babies to have their tender young genitals mutilated under the knife (or even the mouth!! – yes, it is a thing.) in the name of their parent’s chosen religion – myself included – what kind of loving god so brainwashes its believers that they freely choose to commit this barbaric and sadistic act!!!??? What right did they and do they still have to commit such a heinous, destructive, and traumatic act in the first fragile moments of the life of a brand new human!!!??? It is a truly despicable and disgusting blood soaked ritual that must be abolished. It was not yours to chop or bite off in the name of your imaginary god!!! I want my foreskin back!!! Yes, I went there.
Then, not that long ago, twisted lunatic fringe dwelling religious fanatics killed even more people by hijacking and flying passenger airplanes full of innocent people into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, thousands died, more blood flowed, believers offered thoughts and prayers as if that was going to somehow magically bring back the dead. WTAF!
So many innocent human beings have been brutally murdered in cold blood in schools, in churches, on the streets – by religiopolitical flag, book, political parchment, and weapon waving fanatics. Where are all the god or gods during all this bloody madness? If a god refuses to stop the cold blooded murder of HIS innocent children in a school, or of devought worshpers in HIS own churches – then it is my opinion that the god simply does not in fact exist.
The reality is this: All these gods we humans have dreamed up – exist ONLY in the minds of their worshipers.
Evidence supports that, in the wrong hands, religion and politics destroys life, progress, and prosperity.
Then, even more recently, some truly misguided religiopolitical cultish types tossed into the mad mix – old dead flags, toxic hyper-nationalism, stories of “promised” lands, guns, hate, fear, money, oil, division, prejudice, control, and so on…and now we have a very dangerous situation that may just blow up in our faces – if we let it. We must not let it.
Again, my own findings, experiences, observations, and the evidence and lack thereof all around me suggest that this:
The visible, measurable, tangible reality of nature all around us, is the only reality – it is all there is, and there is nothing more.
I believe this is the great fact that so many believers fear. They fear the reality of our shared existence. They do not want to believe that they are just another animal at the mercy of the whims of nature. They fear their own mortality. The fear their kinship with nature.
I do not fear this reality. I cherish my connection to the animals and the natural world. In fact, my connection to nature is a soaring spiritual experience.
I do not fear my own eventual death. I did not exist for billions of years before I did, and when I’m gone, I will not know it. The remains of my body will be recycled back into nature from where it originated, and my energy will move on into another life form or natural process – and I am 100% ready for that factual eventuality.
While I do not fear my own eventual death, I will however miss being alive, I will greatly miss the ones I love….but i won’t because I will be dead.
In the meantime, I have so much to do and not enough time to do it. Therefore, I should live while I’m here, enjoy and experience what it means to be concious in and of this life I am living. I will love, do good things for others, make a positive difference for the future, leave things better than I found them – IMHO that is what this life is all about….it is not about unending blind devotion to an imaginary superhero-like friend or a bloated toxic mouth-breathing puppet politician.
Clearly you can see that I am unhappy with the way things work and I’m angry at the way our culture seems to be working very hard to vector its highly fermented, souring, infectious death cult religious culture to its youth.
I talk big and often spout certainty at uncertainty…and at all the thousands of gods created by us ephemeral bipedal multicolored mostly hairless primates…but honestly, is there a god or gods – I do not know and I do not care.
What I do know is that I will not speculate, claim, or believe anything just because someone tells me to do so unless that thing is supported by peer-reviewed evidence – not magical or fearful thinking.
I do not have any evidence at all to support that any gods do or do not exist, but if evidence is ever found to support a controlling creator being existing on a level outside of our reality as we understand it, and/or the existence of a non-corrupt, empathetic, caring, politician – I will adapt my understandings of these things, accept them if the evidence is sound, and go on with my life. Until that time, I will not blindly follow the ancient dogma, and malignant myths, madness, and magical mysticism promoted by the masses.
Yes, I suppose all this makes me an agnostic, a humanist, a free spirit, or some other label…and I’m 100% OK with that.
Nor will I treat any politician or pontiff like a king, hero, or savior and I will not give them any of what little money I have…they take enough as it is in the form of taxes.
Yes, I will vote – but only because as a citizen of this country and this planet, it is my duty and I must have a say in the future of things. However, I will never vote party or personality, I will always vote for evidence-supported logic, reason, and reality. I will always honor facts and evidence. I.E. If the facts and evidence support that a politician or pontiff committed crimes against our country, humanity, and nature – then that individual will never receive my vote.
Going a bit back in time again – for young me, the damage had already been done. The well-meaning adults of my childhood had unknowingly created a massive mental block, a thick wall of rutting mythological religious madness and strutting political nonsense blocking out reality, to form in my mind. A thick wall of religious and political mental trauma that followed me around for decades and held me down like a lead anchor intentionally designed by its ancient forgers to restrict and limit my movements in the one and only life that I was living. Despite the fact that none of it, none of the twisted greedy politics and bizarre fabricated religious antics of the human being has ever made any sense to me, and it still does not make any sense to me at all…but the mass of the heavy anchor was still there…anchoring me to the devious dictates of the past, weighing me down with imaginary imagery and deep seated fears of things that do not exist. But that is the nature of trauma is it not?
Despite my lack of understanding – then and now as to why people continue to blindly follow these ancient destructive, divisive, cultish, irrational dictates, – my own research, education, and experiences soon led me out of the dark, limiting shroud of religiopolitical trauma and allowed me to destroy the imaginary gods and demons that had been existing only within my mind and tormenting me for so many decades.
While I destroyed the demons and broke the chains – the ghosts of the decades of religiopolitical conditioning, the programming, and the brainwashing from all sides – they remain to this day, burned like a hot brand on my mind by the world I grew up in. Often, it takes considerable energy to overcome these ghosts and think my own thoughts without the ghost of a god or devil attempting to pop into the mix and stir things up. This is the sad reality of religiopolitical trauma.
The great irony of the entire thing was that the well-meaning people from my childhood, all their friends and followers, the media, movies, and tv shows, they had all unknowingly been corrupted by the teachings of their elders and their cultures. They then created and curated all the gods, devils, heavens and hells they feared so deeply within their own minds and within their own culture. They promoted the ideas and the twisted images of hell for them (and for me) to live in within their own minds, an imaginary mental hell full of the very fires, devils, demons, and a heaven with a vengeful, hateful, selfish, judgemental, god – surrounded by winged angels – sitting upon a huge golden throne glaring down on the world like a toxic old father, or a bullying boss who would harshly discipline you and/or terminate you on a whim. They created all the things they all feared so much and then passed their toxic fairy tale creations on to their children.
I remember most of them all as good, caring, loving, people – why couldn’t they break the cycle, why couldn’t they break down the walls of trauma as I have done… as I am still trying to do? I’m not special? What gives me the ability to see through the smoke, mirrors, and snake oil created by the fearful hunter-gatherers, farmers, and controlling greedy charlatans so long ago and so recently? Why couldn’t they do so as well??? Maybe they were/are addicted to the bizarre religiopolitical ideas they have worshipped for so long, maybe they are comfortable in their illusions and that is all they need.
After the thick walls of religiopolitical trauma finally came tumbling down and i broke free from the anchor, it was as if I bobbed to the surface of a sea of darkness and was thrust into the light and I awoke from my fitful, traumatized, terrorized sleep. I was finally free of most of the mental darkness and madness…but the ghosts of the past do still linger, lurking deep in the dark recesses of my subconscious like the Balrog of Morgoth.
Life does not have to be this way.
Yes, I know some of you may feel the need to judge and call me “woke” “damned” “lost” a “black sheep” or “free spirit” – whatever. Question: why are you so judgmental of MY lack of adoption of YOUR beliefs? They are your beliefs, not mine. My beliefs should not matter to you unless your cult leaders have given you a task to assimilate others into your flock, fold, or party…if that is the case then you really need to get some professional help before you are the cause of anothers demise.
Do you feel the need to dislike or even hate or attack me? What have I done to hurt you? Why do you feel the need to attack me for my lack of your beliefs? It is my choice to not believe as you choose to. Why do you feel the need to attack others for having beliefs different than yours…and I know, it seems like that is what I’m doing here. Maybe that is what it looks like, but that is not my intention. My intention was to share my story, my experience, my long road to trying to find my real self, to heal myself.
My goal also is to analyze the system, the matrix we are all stuck inside.
I know, I have probably made some of you uncomfortable*, I may have somehow unknowingly threatened your beliefs and hopefully, that made you think outside of them, to analyze them for what they really are.
I have been uncomfortable with all this religion and political madness as long as I can remember. But finally, I feel like I am putting it behind me. Finally I feel like I am my own person. Finally I feel truly free.
Hopefully my story has inspired you think outside the box you may have been trapped inside for so long.
But if you are afraid of thinking, knowledge, reality, then I am unable to help you.
Go ahead, call me names, feel free to say what you will, that is your choice and that is your problem. I am not concerned with what you think about my choices, they are MY choices, not yours – I care what I think. Last I looked this is a free country and freedom applies to everyone, not just your religiopolitically modified ideas of what it should be.
However, I do respect what you choose to think and believe, and you are free to think it, believe it, and fully free to choose it. However, if your choices bully, target, and harm others, and/or threaten their personal freedoms and my personal freedoms in the name of your chosen religion and/or your politics – then you are a danger to yourself and others and you may benefit from some serious professional help.
Throughout this longterm self analysis and observation, I have finally realized that I am the owner of my own mind, and my own thoughts such as they are and as imperfect as they are, and I can make my own decisions and live my own life. I will not let those with cultish, controlling, agendas control my mind and my decision making process.
I choose to think for myself.
The real question here is this: when will all of the believers and followers of all the bizarre and twisted myths and evidenceless prophets and profit driven charlatans ever wake up from their dreams and accept reality for what it is…I do not know. What I do know is that from my observational point of view – the reality of nature, consciousness, and existence is all there is.
If I am able to help even one person step out of the mists of myth and madness and find a way to accept the reality of reality by sharing my story, then I have made a difference.
If any of this sounds familiar and/or if you believe that you, or someone you love has been the recipient of religious, political, or other lunatic-fringe toxic dogma, elite clubs, cults, or secret societies, and the resulting traumatizing emotional state they seek to instill in your mind – maybe it is time you get some professional help and break down the thick walls of religiopolitical trauma that separate you from the reality of reality.
We all only have a finite amount of uptime, it is our choice what we do with the time we have.
Choose wisely. Knowledge Conquers Fear. Free your mind. Do good things. Leave things better than you found them. Coexist. One Love.
Note: I will continue to update this post and it’s comments with new insight and unique observations of others who have inspired me to think outside of the highly restrictive box I recently escaped from. Feel free to add your own stories, insight, memes, etc.
Another trip around the sun completed successfully.
Some perspective: On this day (July 15th) in 1968 I came into this reality – whatever this reality really is – and as of today, I have existed in this reality for 54 earth years.
Some perspective and observations.
I was premature so I had to cook in an incubator for a while until my body took over and I could support myself without the assistance of science and technology.
I was soon adopted by two amazing people Cathy and Clayton – who accepted me into their home as their own child. They later adopted another child in need and named her Lesly who then became my wonderful sister. She met Jonas and they raised two wonderful children – Cody and Ashlyn – who I just know will go above and beyond and do great things. I am lucky and proud to be a part of this family.
I was born in the middle of one of the times of the greatest scientific and engineering achievements humankind has ever experienced: the Apollo-era moon missions and landings…and, fitting the space exploration and cultural turbulence of the times, the first incarnation of Star Trek – my favorite TV series – was on TV…and it still is and all of its incarnations and I love them all for the messages they bring to all of us – if we have the capacity to understand and accept them and put them into practice.
I have been alive (whatever that means) for ~473,040 hours and accruing. I have orbited our closest star Sol 54 times. I have now traveled around 31,536,000,000 miles (50,752,272,384 kilometers) through space in an ever-spiraling circle around a rather remote and average little yellow star while riding on a water-soaked living rock along with you and over 7.9 billion other naked, bi-pedal, mostly hairless, multi-colored, fire and tool-using, thinking apes, and countless other amazing life-forms – while spinning at an equatorial rate of around 1000 mph (1,609.3 kph) while at the same time passing through the icy blackness vacuum of space at around 67,000 mph (107,826 kph) in our orbital path around the sun while also orbiting around Sagittarius A* the supermassive black hole in the center of our home galaxy at a rate of around 514,000 mph. At this rate, it will take me, you, our wet rock, and our star – about 229 million years to make one trip around the galactic center thereby completing one Galactic Year. And all of this, all of us, everything, our entire Milky Way galaxy – is traveling through intergalactic space at around 1.2 million mph (1.9m kph) relative to the cosmic background radiation.
Ponder it.
So far, I have had an amazing existence full of tons of excitement, exploration, friendship, laughter love, and light as well as periods of loss, pain, hardship, and a little bit of darkness.
I was here the last time Haley’s Comet passed by our pale blue watery rock of a dot in 1986 (and I plan to be here to see it again when it comes back around again in 2062).
I rode along in spirit and in support of every space exploration mission humanity has launched since I can remember way back as a 4-year-old kid watching it happen live (well, almost live since round trip communication time between the earth and moon is 2.6 seconds) on TV and then running outside in the yard to look up at the moon where the last Apollo astronauts were bouncing about the lunar surface in the early ’70s. I have since watched in awe, great appreciation, and hope as the space programs of planet earth sent many amazing interplanetary probes to the Sun, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Titan, Neptune, Pluto, asteroids, comets, asteroids, and more. I watched as the incredible Space Shuttles flew on huge pillars of flame and 15 nations set aside their differences to build the International Space Station – a castle of science, discovery, and international cooperation 249 miles above all of us in the “sky.” Today I am elated at the rapid evolution of non-governmental space exploration and travel organizations and I hope to see us back on the moon soon – and then sometime before I kick off – great shiny Starships landing on Mars. Go SpaceX! Just a few days ago I witnessed the mind-blowingly beautiful and deeply data-rich images from almost the beginning of time and space come beaming down to all of us overly encephalized hairy tit-sucking mammals living upon this pale blue dot from the incredible James Webb Space Telescope – and I look forward to seeing more that will come to us over the next 20 – 30 years and am so excited for how much the JWST’s imagery will increase our knowledge of our own cosmic evolution.
I chased nature and wild animals, first as a child for personal interest sake, and later in the name of science, education, and conservation of species. My favorites being the misunderstood creatures of the world such as reptiles, amphibians, bats, Opossums, and vultures.
On a few occasions, my body was invaded by festering armies of microscopic “wildlife” that tried to use me as a replicator for more of their kind and/or end me, and yet, my own immune system as well as the findings of many, many great scientists that came before allowed me to boost, augment, and bio-hack my body through the use of antibiotics and vaccinations thereby giving me a “force field of science” inside and out so I could continue awkwardly onward into the future.
In 2014 I came closest to feeding the soil, worms, and trees when a rather archaic and not that useful part of my internal anatomy (my appendix) malfunctioned and suffered a massive R.U.D. (Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly) – so I had it removed by a robot that was designed by science and piloted by a scientist we all call a doctor so I could continue in my present state of gangly existence.
In 2016 I had an encounter with a wild venomous serpent (Timber rattlesnake) who was only defending himself due to my accidental stupidity and, while I was in no danger of meeting my end – it did really hurt a bit and slow me down for a few weeks (yes, the snake still lives in the wilds of the forest ) The only way I was able to overcome this one without losing a finger and possibly suffering lasting damage to my body was through the findings of science. Yep, there is that science thing again. Ain’t it wonderful
This past year the current plague impacting humanity (SARS CoV2) finally caught up with me. It was no fun at all and took me out for a week or so but I recovered – again thanks to science and my science-augmented immune system.
On all these close calls (and many I have not even been aware of due to my science augmented/trained to recognize and destroy the “bad guys” immune system via all the vaccinations I have gladly rolled up my sleeves to receive since I was a small child ) I was given another chance at existing in this reality through the findings of science, miracles of modern technology and engineering…and possibly a little bit of some as yet to be discovered by science mystical energy field or omnipotent ancient and possibly extraterrestrial/interdimensional intelligence that, for some really disturbingly strange reason, many individuals/cultures/factions on the planet have coined many different names/stories/belief systems for – yet cannot ever seem to agree upon…and often even choose to childishly take sides, argue, fight, and believe it or not even murder each other over…so bizarre and childlike is the proudest monkey.
IMHO – if this intelligence exists – it is as far “above” us as we are “above” our closest relatives the Chimpanzee and Bonobo…or maybe the bacterium…or the virus. Whatever the case, I’m pretty sure that if it does exist it might be studying us as we study the animals…or the virus…and it cares not one single bit about our posturings on its behalf, the myriad of books we write about it, our childish bickering on who/what it is, who or what is “right” and “wrong,” who uses which bathroom, who’s skin is what color, who is “left” and “right,” etc. – just like we do not care about the comings and goings of bacteria and viral organisms…until they invade our personal space and become overpopulated…hmmmm…something important to ponder if you are able to see deep enough or large enough to ponder it…
At an early age, I became tired of all the factions telling me what to do, how to believe, how to think, how to live my life, and how to be a human – so I chose to follow my own path. I chose to listen to nature, to the evidence and logic and teachings of the wilderness, and to the findings and ponderings of the great minds and philosophies of history. Some may call me a “free spirit” – nice! – thank you! Some have called me “lost” – really, how rude! But whatever the case may be this is my path, no one can choose it for me and likewise, I will never try to force it on you or anyone. You must all find your own path.
I learned to drone a didgeridoo – so very ancient and cool!
I fell in love with a wonderful, beautiful, and intelligent human female called Marian and we settled down a bit…but not too much
A few years later I fell into a wonderful career inspiring, leading, and sharing nature, science, and reality knowledge with amazing at-risk youth on the connections, beauty, and joy of nature, wildlife, science, and life the universe, and everything.
While working to inspire tomorrow’s youth to better themselves by connecting with nature, wilderness, wild things, and to trust science and let it be their guide in life – I have connected with so many amazing human beings in my students and my coworkers – my life has been so deeply enrichened from my time with all of you amazing people and I am so grateful for all of you and your lasting contributions to your classroom and to my personal journey.
My incredible students, interns, volunteers, amazing friends Jim and Bob, and I all worked together over many solar orbits with many more amazing project supporters to build a photovoltaic solar power plant that benefits not only our classroom and campus but the entire local community with clean, locally-produced renewable energy from our nearest fusion reactor in space – the sun! Update: During my most recent solar orbit we all – and some wonderful and most-generous new friends – worked to create a solar-powered mobile outreach classroom called the SS NaSA PoD (Science Steve’s Nature and Science Adventure Pod of Discovery) – that will allow us to bring our nature, wildlife, and science messages to our students and to the region – so cool!
About 10 orbits ago my wife and I started phasing out almost all our connections to nature, life, and future-harming dirty fossil fuels. We have been driving mostly electric since 2013 and intend to soon go fully electric with most of our transportation, energy, and fuel needs coming from EVs and local renewable energy sources.
Just a few solar orbits ago the amazing findings of the science of genetics and DNA sequencing allowed me to connect with my wonderful biological father, sister, brother, and other awesome family members and answer many of the questions about my genetic roots and my connections to nature that I have had since an early age.
And now I find myself near the end of a global viral pandemic that has sadly ended the lives of many and upset the lives and plans of most. As before, I will follow and trust the science as I ignore all the other randomly repeated, vociferous, evidence-lacking, overly emotional, opinions and options and roll up my sleeve and gladly accept the expertly recommended vaccinations against this microscopic attacker (but I did still get the virus – only not as bad as some I know who did not or could not roll up their sleeves). I will continue to trust in science, even with its changeable and incomplete nature, to give me guidelines and support during this global human emergency. I hope you will choose to join me and in doing so, together, you and I will get through this thing – and hopefully, I will still be here to rewrite this yet again next year on this day.
Whatever all the facts and reasons may be, I am very glad to still be here on this incredible and sometimes bumpy but always interesting wild ride through the cosmos with all of you other crazy wonderful, and beautifully mixed-up mosh pit of humans and always wonderful animals.
I’m not sure where we are going or when, where, and why we exist – but wherever, whatever, whenever, and whyever – at least we are making good time and it has been and will continue to be one heck of a wild ride through the cosmos on this one strange rock we all call home.
Thank you all for being here and for riding along on this roller coaster called life with me Now let’s all take another spin around the sun together on spaceship Earth!
Improvise, adapt, overcome, evolve, survive, and thrive.
By now we were supposed to have flying cars, starships and space stations full of people, outposts on the moon and Mars, thinking robots living among us, renewable and fusion energy sources powering our lives, unlimited low-cost resources from a 100% recycling-based economy, equality, coexistence, and freedom for everyone and all creatures.
WTF happened?
A small number of greedy, wealth and power-mad, crusty old white men who fear change – choose to focus on outdated ancient dogma and toxically-tribal, control-focused, anti-progress, knuckle-dragging fear, and warmongering tactics – are hell-bent on stopping anything and anyone who wants evidence-supported progress, positivity, and coexistence.
These twisted, small-minded, hateful, heavy-handed, charlatans, are plotting and scheming to destroy any chance the majority of us have at a better future by undermining anything that works to better our lives.
The question is why?
Why are they so focused on destroying the future?
I am not targeting one specific political or religious “team” – I despise the competitive “team” approach because it was designed from the get-go to divide us from each other. I am calling out all of those – whomever they are – who constantly and consciously choose to ignore the evidence, ignore reality, ignore the voices of the people and instead choose to do all in their power to – out of greed, control, and possibly even out of spite – choose to do exactly the opposite of what should be done. It is as if they are choosing to intentionally screw things up for future generations.
Maybe I am giving them too much credit. Maybe they are just idiots who do not have the capacity to think ahead and see the consequences of their decisions. Maybe their minds are dumb from breathing leaded gasoline most of their lives, and/or numb and blinded by so many years of conditioning and programming from whatever cult of personality they choose to worship telling them their way is the only way no matter what the evidence, common sense, science, or their rotten, putrid little shriveled stone of a heart my try to say to them – if they even have a heart.
It seems that these toxic individuals may be working to infiltrate the very framework of our society and are trying to divide all of us from each other.
Why? What is their goal?
Why would anyone willingly choose to put their own greedy self-interests over any chance at a healthy, happy, future for all…hmmm…I wonder why?
I suppose the answer comes down to the fact that genetically we are still so very young in the evolution of our species.
It was not that long ago that we were living in caves eking out our existence with only rock, stick, and fire as tools. We were terrified of anything outside of our very limited frame of reference. Anything different than what we or our tribe knew in our daily existence would be labeled a threat and destroyed – out of fear and self-protection.
Therefore, since not enough time has passed to rid us of these ancient ways of thinking it seems that even though we have technologically evolved to turn our rocks, sticks, and fire into cement, steel, electricity, and rockets – some of us still have strong genetic traces of our ancient tribal tendencies and for some it seems that these fear-based tendencies are absolutely impossible to overcome.
We still often fear differences in others.
We still often attack that which is unknown to us.
We still often deny reality in favor of myth and legend.
We still often harm those we love for false feelings of power.
We still often seek comfort in what we know – not in what could be.
Even with all our amazing accomplishments – many of us still will often choose the path of fear, hate, greed, ancient comfortable dogma, and today, over the much better options of acceptance, love, generosity, peer-reviewed evidence, and tomorrow.
The big question is this: will we ever evolve past our infantile, child-like, me-first, bully-like, natures – before we kill ourselves off?
Maybe, maybe not.
Maybe one day we will overcome the natural odds and evolve to transcend our short-lived primate bodies and the physical world to become one with the energy flow of the universe.
Or maybe we are just a failed evolutionary experiment destined to become only a plasticized blip in the rock-recorded fossil record of deep time.
Only time will tell.
Strive to rise above the status quo.
Strive to find only the positive in life each day and to extinct the negative.
) The only way I was able to overcome this one without losing a finger and possibly suffering lasting damage to my body was through the findings of science. Yep, there is that science thing again. Ain’t it wonderful 
Stevo's Personal Blog 