Ole Mossy Rock

Seattle is known for being a wet city. Not wet as in alcohol, although there's plenty of that too, but wet as in rain.

As of the evening of April 25th, Seattle had 44.7 inches of rain between October and up until then in April. As the headlines announced, we smashed the record set just last year for the most rain in the October-April period. Of course, because we are such a young city, we've only been keeping such records since 1895. But two sequential years breaking the rainfall record? What's up with that?

When Kuro and I went walking a couple nights ago, we decided to look for moss, one of the natural results of the rain. We found moss in plenty and of various kinds. Moss on rocks, sidewalks, tree limbs and roofs.

Moss growing on a small shed roof just across our back fence.

We found many varieties of the four kinds of moss: sheet moss, cushion moss, haircap moss and rockcap moss. I don't know how many varieties there are in each division but the articles in Wikipedia and other places go on seemingly forever.

Here in Seattle many people battle the moss. They fight the moss in the lawn, on the sidewalk and on the roof. They put up a good fight but the moss always wins. Some people don't fight but seem to enjoy the moss that grows everywhere.

Moss is called "koke" in Japanese and is admired instead of despised. Most people who grow bonsai encourage moss to grow in various ways over and around the roots, and temple gardens sometimes have glorious expanses of various kinds of koke.

We sometimes walk this way just to admire this huge old wisteria vine that stretches along the top of a fence from property line to property line, probably fifty feet. I don't know how old it is but it is covered with beautiful moss now and it will soon bear blossoms from here to the end of the fence.

I've walked these same streets for many years, both with our old Kuro and now this new dog, Kuro, and I've looked at flowers, trees and sunsets. I've looked at moss before but I've never searched it out and really seen it. It's everywhere.

As Henry David Thoreau said, "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

Moss gets along well with our wild violets that, like moss, grow in the shady moist places, if left alone.

Three or four different kinds of moss plus some lichens thrown in for a bonus.

Speaking of lichen, the micro-climate on this north side of an old fence grows a bumper crop. Several kinds fighting for space plus a couple kinds of moss find breathing room.

Moss, moss, everywhere, if you really see what you are looking at.

Moss and lichen grow on the larger branches of my nashii (Japanese pear-apple) tree.

The old saying goes, "A rolling stone gathers no moss." Stationary stones and old tree branches allow moss to grow undisturbed. Shiny growth wears a badge of new life. No moss here until the new leaves join previous generations in the humus below.

As I get older I find it necessary to roll a little harder to keep the moss from growing.

Renewal

The recent warmer weather accelerated my feeling of renewal that happens every spring.

The flowers are rushing to bloom, the leaves are bursting from their buds and the air smells cleaner and fresher. We even saw the sun for a couple days here in Seattle.

The older I get the more I appreciate the sense of renewal that happens this time of year. When I was younger, the days rolled by one by one, weeks took a full week to pass and tomorrows seemed endless.

Now, as the passing days, weeks and months total nearly four score years of living on this earth, my days spin by quickly. Sunday barely gets going before Saturday pops up and the months pass like weeks did in years past.

I think this apparent speed is caused by accumulating memories that blend current observations with the old. I seldom see a genuinely new thing unless I search for it. The temptation is to go with the same old emotions, fit new sights into the old and categorize the passing scene as, “the same old, same old.” Only if I set out to find a new shape, color or idea nearly hidden in the smoke screen of old memories can I find something that stimulates a new question or thought.

Not saying that old memories are bad, just that they should be used with discretion. As I get older I find refuge in some of those old memories of gentler and happier times when time passed slower and multiple blinking, beeping, talking and vibrating electronic things weren’t competing for my attention. The bad memories tend to be forgotten so it's a pleasure to run the mental cursor over the pleasant old memories, savoring them like a special dessert, but I try to remember that the new is important also. In fact the new is a big part of reNEWal.

Over the years I’ve tried to stay in shape by exercising but this year brought a new opportunity. I started a formal yoga class. At first my old brain tried to fit the new exercises and poses into memories of similar exercises but as I concentrated on the differences, gradually new muscles began to quiver and newly stressed joints began to ache. Then, as the new became clear, new memories, instead of being blended, were added to the old. Time slowed, I began to observe different things and, looking back, the hour of yoga exercises seemed like half a day of memories.

My walks with Kuro allow the same kind of observations, but only if I take advantage and look for things. As we walk along the day’s route, Kuro is always looking for new things so I try to take a page from his book and see what I can see that is new. Sure enough, as I look more closely, ignoring those tempting memories, new things pop up.

Some people we pass are engrossed in their electronic devices, catching up on emails or Facebook or maybe the latest headlines. I figure those things can wait until we get home. Better to find something new in the always new spring scene. Even from one day to the next, IF you look, there are differences that won’t be visible until next year, if then.

I say, “embrace renewal,” not only of our physical surroundings but also of the brain. If I let them, new sights and changing scenes can bring new thoughts and memories, rejuvenating a tired old brain and body.

Full Moon over Fallen Cherry Blossoms

It was a little late when Kuro and I got away for our evening walk tonight. We had a heavy rain squall come through earlier in the day then just before dinner another storm blew through. This one contained a center of heavy rain mixed with hail. Bottom line was we didn't leave the house until about eight.

The grass was wet and the windy blustery but, a walk is a walk, as my little dog would say.

Last Sunday I posted about the cherry blossoms in our neighborhood. It's been cool so they have lasted well until today. The heavy rain and hail knocked many of the older petals off the trees.

In some places cherry blossoms looked like a recent snow fall.

Kuro kept watch while I snapped some photos. The light was fading fast so I tried to get two or three shots in what light remained.

Maybe because he's color blind, Kuro doesn't care about the blossoms. Then, again, maybe
it's because he has other things in mind. Four-legged animals that move fast interest him
and two-legged animals that might threaten his master also catch his attention.

The single pink and white traditional cherry blossoms are nearing the end of their life but tonight we saw the double white blossoms just coming on.

It was dark by this time so this photo was taken by the light of the street light. I took several shots trying to catch
one between gusts of wind when the smaller branches wouldn't be moving too fast for this slow shutter speed.

We usually walk west for a couple blocks then north for about a mile then back over the hill to the east and south again so we have downtown in sight for most of the walk home. Tonight as we rounded the corner headed for home, there was the full moon rising just north of downtown Seattle.

We were lucky to catch the full moon clear of clouds.

Walking along at night, the big moon was a lovely sight. It is near the northernmost point of its orbit this month so we don't see the moon over various parts of Seattle since the city is farther south (from our vantage point here in middle Magnolia).

Jupiter shows in this enlarged shot. This is a good time to see Jupiter since it is pretty much
opposite the sun this time of year.

The temperature was in the low forties and the wind was gusty out of the south but Kuro said it was a good walk and I had to agree.

1984 at Hand?

After thinking overnight about the cherry blossom posting I decided the ending wasn't exactly what I wanted, so decided to try to revise it.

My blog host, Blogger. com, has a provision for revising and updating entries. In the past I have made small changes but his time decided to change the complete ending. It was a simple matter of bringing up the post via the "edit" option, making the revisions and hitting the "update" button and suddenly the real world changed.

During last night's midnight reverie, it occurred to me how eerily similar our internet is to Orwell's news outlets in his novel, 1984. A reader of that blog post would not know that the previous ending had been different. In fact, unless someone had printed or made a screenshot of that post, the old ending would be unknowable to almost everyone.

I suppose it's possible the old revisions can be found somewhere in the innards of Blogger and for a law enforcement agency to subpoena (or maybe just ask for) those, but for all intents that old ending is gone.

I know that certain governments control and change the "news" to fit their perceptions of what is useful for their citizens to "know" about the rest of the world, and even what happens inside their own countries. They invariably describe themselves as "democracies" but their definition is different from my definition of how a democracy works.

Many years ago I used to listen to and sometimes read the "news" from Xinua or Pravda. In those days it was pretty obvious propaganda, what with references to "running dogs" and "lapdogs," "imperialist lackeys" and the like thrown around rather indiscriminately. Occasionally, even today I run across articles from those same news agencies. Today they are more sophisticated in their delivery even if their ultimate goals are still the same.

With most of our media on board certain ideological trains, I wonder how much the citizens of our country are subjected to similar news-changing influences by either our government or other powerful forces who subscribe to the concept that they know what's best for our citizens to hear?

Scary stuff to think about and more the reason to support news sources who report the facts as best they can without inserting too much government, personal or corporate bias.

Hanami, Cherry Blossom Viewing

This is cherry blossom viewing time around the world, at least in the northern hemisphere, and especially in Japan.

In Japan hanami means cherry blossom viewing. Literally hanami means flower viewing but for the past thousand years or so it has meant viewing cherry blossoms.

Kuro and I went walking Sunday afternoon to admire to blossoms in our neighborhood. I'm not sure how many cherry trees are in Magnolia, but within a mile of my house there must be fifty or more. 

Hanami is the occasion for flower viewing parties where groups of people take special food and sake to parks or temple grounds when the cherries are in bloom. There they spread blankets or thin tatami (straw mats), share food and drink and admire the ephemeral beauty of the cherry blossoms.

After a few cups of sake, people begin to sing, and after a few more cups of sake, especially the groups of younger people can become quite boisterous.

There is an even older tradition in Japan of viewing plum flowers, umemi. This custom, even though more ancient, doesn't appeal to the younger people so sometimes older folks will go to view the plum blossoms and enjoy a more sedate party, without the boisterous sounds of the young people partying nearby. 

As the cherry blossoms mature, they begin to fall while still in their prime. Today when we were walking under the trees and admiring the blossoms, they were just reaching maturity and there were no petals on the ground. Maybe by tomorrow evening the petals, still fully formed and elegant, will begin to fall. 

In Japan the petals falling at their peak of beauty came to symbolize soldiers in war, falling in their prime.   

Instead of soldiers, I see the falling petals symbolizing the people in our civilization who die unnecessarily.

• In the United States about 44,000 people died last year from drug overdose
• About 88,000 people died in 2015 from alcohol-related causes.
• Texting while driving causes 1,600,000 accidents with at least 4,020 teen deaths each year.
• There are approximately 480,000 deaths caused by smoking and breathing second-hand smoke.
• Pedestrian deaths while texting are on the increase. No concrete numbers yet but authorities estimate paying attention to cell phones causes ten percent more pedestrian deaths each year.

Like these flowers, light can shine through people. That light comes from religion, ingrained culture or family teachings. Religion denied, culture changed without thought for the greater good or families dissolved into individuals can block that light and the flowers suffer.  

We admire the falling petals of the cherry blossoms but so many lives flickering out before their time is sad. We need some changes in our lifestyle. Perhaps that's a topic for a different post.

Data, Data & More Data

Lately, I've been reading about the increasing volume of data generated in the world.

Twenty-five years ago in the early nineties, we were talking about Bytes (8 single binary digits) and Kilobytes (1,024 Bytes) of data and dial-up modems with speeds measured in a few KB per second. Over the intervening years we've moved through Megabytes (1,024 KB) and now, Gigabytes (1,024 MB), with Terabytes (1,024 GB) sometimes used in home computing. The next measurements are Petabytes (1,024 TB) and Exabytes (1,024 PB).

Not used every day, but already named are the four next steps, Zettabyte, Yottabyte, Brontobyte and Geopbyte. It's hard for me to imagine volumes of data that large. One Yottabyte is 10 followed by twenty-four zeros and a Geopbyte has 10 followed by 30 zeros worth of bytes.

For comparison, the entire digital collection of the Library of Congress (LOC) (not counting multiple backup copies (continuously updated) stored at other locations) probably contains on the order of 11 or 12 Petabytes and right now is growing at over 15 TB a day. Even at that speed the LOC would add only a little over 5 PB of data a year. At the current rate it would take over 200 years but, of course, the pace is always increasing so it won’t be long before the LOC reaches the size of one Exabyte.  

Incidentally, I didn't mention why Bytes are the basic value when it comes to computing. As mentioned above, a byte contains 8 bits. A bit can only be off or on and we see it most often shown as 0 or 1. Since there are eight of these little guys in a Byte, the total number of the various combinations of values (01111111, 01111110, 01111101, etc.) is 256, which are enough to represent standard letters, numbers and symbols.

I first became interested in data when studying teletype (TTY) transmission in the Army Security Agency in 1959. In those primitive days (even though much advanced over smoke signals and such) teletype messages were punched onto narrow paper tape using what might be called a 5-bit system. The tape was wide enough to allow up to five holes to be punched in a line across the tape.

There are only 32 combinations using 5 holes/no holes (mark or space, digital 1 or 0) so our keyboards had a shift device. In the lower case were letters (all capitals) and some functions such as space, carriage return and new line. Upper case used those same keys to represent numbers and symbols and other functions such as bell. Of course, the SHIFT function, denoting lower (letters) or upper (numbers) had to be part of the code too so the receiving TTY would know when to shift appropriately. Interestingly, Japanese TTY keyboards had three levels of shift because of the greater number of simple characters required to spell out the complicated kanji (pictograph) characters.

After working with the system for a few months some people got good at reading the character codes and could read the message straight from the tape instead of waiting for it to go through the TTY machine and print out on paper. 

About all I remember after all these years is the code 2,4 for "R" and 1,3,5 for "Y" which were incorporated into test tape loops that would be transmitted continuously as a place holder on a radio frequency. A sample tape might read: "CQ CQ CQ DE KRGN KRGN KRGN QSA IMI RYRYRYRY" CQ means "Calling unspecified stations," DE "This is," KRGN transmitting station's call sign, QSA IMI "What is my signal strength" and RYRYRY is a test since it tests all five mark/space conditions (2,4 for R and 1,3,5 for Y) on the TTY machines, transmitter and receiver.

During the middle of the last century the quantity of data began to grow quickly as handwritten letters and books were supplemented by phonograph recordings, movies, and wire and tape recordings.

Even where I worked, the paper tapes, magnetic tapes and paper copies of radio transmissions were saved and shipped back to the United States in ever increasing volumes. 

Sometimes I read about the ever-increasing volumes of data being generated and saved but I also wonder if any thought has been given to the number and sophistication of the measuring devices and the frequency of measurements as they affect data accumulation?

For instance, only one hundred years ago, a ship's log might contain notes for speed and heading, rudimentary weather observations, disciplinary actions, the daily plot of location, berthing and sailing times and other important information, all written by hand in a paper logbook.

Ships today have logs a little more complex and usually more than one.

The official Deck Log might contain all information required by the owner or the US Navy if a government ship. Navy ships might have all or some of the following information in their Deck Logs (from the Naval History and Heritage Command website):  

·        Absentees

·        Accidents [material]

·        Accidents/Injuries [personnel]

·        Actions [combat]

·        Appearances of Sea/Atmosphere/Unusual Objects

·        Arrests/Suspensions

·        Arrival/Departure of Commanding Officer

·        Bearings [navigational]

·        Cable/Anchor Chain Strain

·        Collisions/Groundings

·        Courts-Martial/Captain's Masts

·        Deaths

·        Honors/Ceremonies/Visits

·        Incidents at Sea

·        Inspections

·        Meteorological Phenomena

·        Movement Orders

·        Movements [getting underway; course, speed changes; mooring, anchoring]

·        Passengers

·        Prisoners [crew members captured by hostile forces]

·        Propulsion Plant Status changes

·        Receipts and Transfers [of Crew Members]

·        Ship's Behavior [under different weather/sea conditions]

·        Sightings [other ships; landfall; dangers to navigation]

·        Soundings [depth of water]

·        Speed Changes

·        Tactical Formation

·        Time of Evolutions/Exercises/Other Services Performed

Depending on the ship's purpose there might be cargo logs showing loading, unloading and stowage data on cargo with notes about the periodic mate's inspections, especially of the refrigerated cargo. There might be an engineer's log concerning the operation, maintenance and fuel consumption of the engines and their might be a medical officer's log showing data concerning that area of operations.

Much more data is recorded, and more frequently than ever before. Sometimes I wonder if we didn't have the capability of automatically recording all that information whether it would still be required.

Considering the area of weather, Grandpa used to look up once an hour or so from his work in the fields, feel the wind blowing and say, "There's a brisk SW wind today and it looks like it might rain," generating only a few data points per hour and he seldom recorded his readings.

Now we have forecasters parsing that SW wind into data flows that would be almost unrecognizable to Grandpa. Velocities and directions broken down by increasing numbers of locations into hourly (or more frequent) data spreads; wind shadows, convergence zones, mini-versions of same for many localities; precipitation at surface, upper level and in between zones, and quantities and qualities of each; and eddies and swirls both natural and manmade, measured as frequently as desired, AND recorded and preserved for how long?

I can envision a future of weather data generation (around a major airport, say) where directions, velocities and dew points might be sampled every few seconds for the many variables that might forecast wind shear, icing potential or other desired (or gov't required) information. There might be sensors for everything from micro bursts to hourly trends, reported from sensors spaced every few feet around the perimeter of the runways and even sampling a few thousand feet up the glide paths. All this division of general observations into discreet data bits will result in accretion at ever increasing volumes.

And, of course, the same principles apply to everything from data streams emitted by astronomy, oceanography and microbiology to those of national economic sampling and forecasting, inter (and intra) national espionage and all sorts of realms in between.

Can you imagine how many Megabytes of data are generated by one CT scan? There might be twelve to thirteen MB of data generated for each scan and there are about 80 million scans done per year just in the US, all resulting in more collections of data held for years or even decades to keep insurers and lawyers happy.

And how about the streams of data collected or generated by space satellites as they increasingly use high-definition photography and all-frequency radio intercepts.

All this expanded data generation begs the question, "what good is it?" Will we eventually be able to (and should we) accumulate, and meaningfully process, enough data to forecast the weather without fail in the Magnolia area of Seattle? Will anyone ever be able to state (to paraphrase the old example) that a butterfly flapping its wings a little off kilter in downtown Yokohama today will forecast the path of a twister through tornado alley on April 19th? And will the decreased weather-related deaths allowed by better forecasting be more than offset by the increasing deaths from distracted drivers checking and texting the latest weather on their phones?

Maybe we should relegate large blocks of this newly expanded data mass to some sort of "Snapchat" for data? Two minutes after its purpose in life has passed it will go "poof" and disappear forever, thus saving a Yottabyte or Geopbyte of storage for more important things?

Looking back over the past seventy-some years, it amazes me how the volume of data has grown. Of course, the speed of communication has increased at a pace unforeseen even twenty or thirty years ago. I read recently that at the end of 2016 global internet traffic exceeded 1.1 Zettabyte and that will double by 2019. And that’s just the internet.

Where are we headed? I don’t know. With quantum computing (and other quantum-related advances), artificial intelligence and other computing developments, maybe we can postpone blowing ourselves up until the sciences governing behavior and negotiation catch up and let us solve some of our inter (and intra) national problems.

I’ll leave the solution of those problems to you younger folks. Meanwhile Kuro and I will enjoy our walks and smell the roses and other flowers along the way.

Flower Power

I am fortunate to live in a residential neighborhood where there are flowers in every yard. Flowers bloom at their appointed time but this time of year brings a bonanza of colors and shapes as the warming weather brings March showers and March flowers. The old nursery rhyme doesn't work anymore.

This year the flowers started, then slowed, then picked up speed and now are bursting forth everywhere.

Have a look at these flowers and feel their power to brighten your spirit and put a spring in your step.

I know flower time has sprung when the crocus says "Hi."

English Daisies don't discriminate. They grow here in Seattle too.

Don't know for sure but think this is a sweet smelling Daphne. I can smell them from 10 meters in the right breeze.

Madrona flowers just getting a good start.

Oregon Grape flowers the same.

Daffodils holding court. The judge is off to the right.

Camelias don't last long in our rainy weather.

Even wild dandelions are friendly this time of year.

I don't know the names of some but admire them just the same.

Ditto.

A rather spindly Azalea bringing color to its yard.

These looked sad after the last freeze but they've recuperated and are now in flower.

In a wide median not far away grow several wild plums. I need to point my camera more carefully to capture close ups.

Red-flowering currant just getting up a head of steam.

Even though Seattle is a little warm in the winter, hyacinths seem to do fine in certain micro-climates around the city.

Our area has an abundance of moss. Some people fight it but I like its laid back attitude.

A flowering weeping white cherry yesterday. The traditional flowering
cherries will soon be blooming and sending their petals on the wind.

Pansies and daffodils with tulips not far behind.

For some reason the forsythia was a little later than other flowers this year.

Even the tiny flowers are worth a look. With many sisters they form an attraction.