18-Dure

Lifetime

Shroud Of Turin <- YouTube

In a dark sea of centuries wherein nothing seemed to flow, a lifetime was only a brief eddy, even for the man who lived it. There was a tedium of repeated days and repeated seasons; then there were aches and pains, and finally Extreme Unction.

And a moment of blackness at the end – or at the beginning, rather.

For then the small shivering soul who had endured the tedium, endured it badly or well, would find itself in a place of light, find itself absorbed in the burning gaze of infinitely compassionate eyes as it stood before the Just One. It would be hard to believe differently.

A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959) by Walter Miller

17-View

Liftoff

View of rocket launched from Vandenberg, 200 miles away – Thanks M

From our front porch this morning, we could even see the 1st stage booster separating from the 2nd stage and its return for landing on earth. The only things missed were the roaring sound of the nine thruster engines, and a 4-hour drive from Central California back home to Northern California.

16-Dent

Gaskin

Rodeo Bronco

The gaskin is the part of the horse between the stifle and the hock.

So, now you know.

Update April 16, 2023: Things are looking up because the Lidocaine Patch relieved my back muscle pain from the bicycle accident of April 3rd , 2023, enough to allow me to finally get a good night’s sleep.

And life is beautiful, because nature can be beautiful no matter the fearsome forces at play.

14-Sing

Fourteen

Singularity: The expected moment in history when the amplification of human intelligence begins to accelerate exponentially by the application of advanced technologies to augment the brain. –Raymond Kurzweil

All is lightness & bright;
While the forces of nature
Show us the height
Of the Universe’s favor.

chat.openai.com

fortnight = 14 days; stone = 14 pounds