Lightning Strikes, Hellfire Missiles and Renegade Humans

This line of paranoid thinking sprang out of a lightning strike close by - which is why I cut the 15-mile run short by 5 miles, not wanting to meet the storm that was barreling in.

Today I used a web app that uses GPS, time splits and Google Maps to create a map showing where you've been, how long it was, how fast you did it, and how much you climbed:

Today's run: 10 miles, with 306 feet of climbing, first 5 miles in 45 minutes, the second 5 in 41.

You can see it here. For that matter so can anyone else, since its visibility is set to "public."

But even if visibility wasn't set to public, would my route be visible? Just how much information does my iPhone transmit and who gets to see it? Do you feel a very pronounced sense of unease when you are about to answer the question "Do you want to share your location information with X?" ?!

This line of paranoid thinking sprang out of a lightning strike close by - which is why I cut the 15-mile run short by 5 miles, not wanting to meet the storm that was barreling in. Yesterday's flash flood experience in the canyon was still fresh, after all.

The search for Harsha Maddula, a Northwestern University student, who drowned last week, was focused on Wilmette harbor - the location where his cell phone last sent a signal form. In an instance like this, sharing your location information with a web or phone service provider is a pretty good thing.

Question: When does it become a not-so-good thing?
Answer: When you become designated as a terrorist or enemy of the State.

As of September 25, 2012 the Obama Administration has authorized 294 drone attacks in Pakistan alone¹ with some of the casualty figures listed below:

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that between 391 – 780 civilians were killed out of a total of between 1,658 and 2,597 and that 160 children are reported among the deaths. The Bureau also revealed that since President Obama took office at least 50 civilians were killed in follow-up strikes when they had gone to help victims and more than 20 civilians have also been attacked in deliberate strikes on funerals and mourners, tactics that have been condemned by legal experts.

Watch this delightful documentary - brought to you courtesy of military.com - of a recording of a Hellfire missile obliterating Bad Guys in Iraq. Kudos to the whimsical sound engineer:



Drone strikes represent another deep wound in the quickly-dying esteem of America in the world, on a number of grounds:

1. The Geneva Conventions define the range of actions that are legal in a state of war. Because the United States is conducting a "War on Terror" it claims the right to sidestep the rule of law in that no nation-state is defined as a combatant and therefore no "war" is actually taking place.
2. The use of targeted assassinations - of which the United States is the leading culprit - is illegal. It does not allow the victim access to the rule of law, or one of the rights we take for granted, innocent until proven guilty. 
3. The use of targeted assassinations against a United States citizen - takes this approach to a new extreme. On September 30, 2011, Obama authorized the assassination of the American-born cleric, the killing of Anwar al-Aulaqi, in Yemen.

So let me get this straight: if the United States government makes the decision - and makes it without any outside vetting/accountability/judicial hearing - then I had better throw away my iPhone for good, since a bloody fucking missile can come out of the sky - like a lightning bolt (albeit one directed by conscious intent)!

Why worry? We're talking about terrorists - not ordinary people like you and me! But that raises the big, BIG question: 

    Who decides who is a terrorist?

And this is where the genie comes out of the bottle: it's one thing to have the American government label you as a terrorist, but drone technology is spreading fast, so if anyone else decides you're the enemy, what's to step them from taking you out? It seems the US long ago abandoned the moral high ground, and the precedent is set for anyone else with drone technology to use it indiscriminately.

Drones are also getting quite small. After 911, I idly wondered if the next terrorist attack might be on Rumsfeld, Bush, Cheney and Rice - with model airplanes (aka "drones"). I idly wondered about this in print - then wondered - in that wonderful time when Americans happily gave up their civil liberties in an orgy of fear mongering and bloodlust for revenge - if my name had made it onto a "list." What does it take to get your name on a list - the CIA's, Al Qaeda's, Israel's, your next door neighbor (because your next door neighbor can get their own drone).

This sounds painfully familiar because it is: since the first use of the atomic bomb in 1945, we've been held hostage by our fear of nuclear annihilation; fortunately that fear has led to efforts to prevent its use again. But it seems that curtailing the use of a much-easier-to-acquire technology is - at the very least - going to require some moral leadership by those who already have it. And on that account, it's completely missing.

Today's run: 10 miles, with 306 feet of climbing, first 5 miles in 45 minutes, the second 5 in 41. 3 weeks until the Amsterdam Marathon. One week (average, with 4 strikes/month in 2012) until the next American drone strike.

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drone_attacks_in_Pakistan

The Smell of Cordite and Flash Flood Fears

After yesterday's 7-mile ran (at 8000 ft above sea level, and heart rate between 175-190 bpm for one hour) I decided to slack a little and go on a leisurely hike, to give my body a chance to recover a bit.

The Cliffs at Corkins Lodge

The route started below the lake, then wound its way up to the top of the cleft, center-right. It's not a lark in the park, but nothing to write home about, not much more than 2000 feet of climb.

I'd climbed the thing in 45 minutes during a visit in 1998 - back when I could claim to be a passable imposter for a "young...well...nicely-aging middle-aged man," and I wanted to see to what extent accelerated decrepitude had set in over the 14 years since. 

Tree serving homage to Theodor Seuss Geisel at 9200 ft.

I went higher...

The Corkins Cliffs are approximately 2 billion years old. 

[View animation demonstrating the superiority of 'merican technology in creating geological formations].

...and higher! Got-dandruff-some-of-it-itches!!! This time it took 47 minutes. I lay down and wept, saddened at the bloated, decrepit carcass I'd become in such a short span of time - at least within a geological context.

 The corpses of 192 climbers - killed 1921-2006 - litter the slopes of Mt Everest. [source]

The Earth faded from view. The moon swept past, then Mars, Jupiter and all the outer planets. I smelt the willful ways of gas...wait...I am subconsciously plagiarizing a Brit-pop spoken word performance artist from circa 1986! Truly: my feet were solidly, achingly on the ground. Of the fundamental forces in the universe, gravity was front and center in mine.

Over and over I heard bull elk, imitating elk mating sounds they'd learned from YouTube. For a few moments I regretted my bleeding-heart liberal anti-gun bias. It was a little scary - especially for a man who's a little too much in touch with his feminine side. Remembering the Boy Scout training I never had, I settled on a testosterone-induced ruse to hold them at bay - the plunging of rocks over the cliff edge:

Surprisingly the Republicans have not fallen completely over the cliff with their selection of the Romney-Ryan ticket. 

Extraterrestrials attribute this phenomenon to the "Perfect Storm" of (1) the power of denial, (2) the failure of the 

Obama-Biden ticket to deliver on its promises and (3) the human proclivity toward gratuitous self-destruction. 

[Source: Reuters]

While I do not love the smell of napalm in the morning, that burst of cordite awoke the true-blue American in me ... until I realized I had to climb all the way back down. Shucks.

Teddy Roosevelt - a Republican - was instrumental in creating the park system we take for granted more than a century later. 

While many of us wake up in the morning with the feeling of a rat chewing on our stomach as we think about our 

gratuitous consumption - to an extent that we're leaving a Cesspool of a World to our children (much less 7 generations out) -

 few of us really do anything about it. Romney's worldview imagines expanding exploration for oil, gas, minerals and timber 

into these preserves which had largely been kept off-limits (until the Bush-Cheney administration's policies, 

thankfully overturned in the early days of the Obama administration.)

I donned the emergency kilt I always carry with me on treks in the wilderness, and made my way for Scotland.

But Scotland was nowhere to be found. 

Like Colonel Kurtz in reverse, I descended down to the Brazos River. I shed the kilt - then adorned myself in a wreath of Fear. Why? Well...all hell broke loose in the form of a Biblical Deluge, a Category 4 hurricane, the onset of monsoon season - aka "torrential downpour!" Imagine yourself near the mouth of a 20-mile long, 2000-foot deep canyon then - as you look back 15 minutes later - and only 3 of the 9 river crossings that have to be accomplished before an exit from the canyon onto a safe elevation - you spot multiple streams of water roaring into the canyon! Flash floods are mean and nasty events!

The Burmese Python kills its prey by constriction, rather than by venom, as does the 

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, which combines toxicity with the element of surprise. 

[Source: the 2012 Election Playbook, by Karl Rove]

Long story short - this story has a happy ending. In the midst of a cascade of rain-turned-to-hail at the mouth of the canyon, I turned back east and shot the boiling cauldron of right-wing forces laying siege to The American Way, and thanked my lucky stars that I live in Amsterdam.

The Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of 

Mauritius, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

Today's tally: 6.51 miles, 2400 feet mean elevation change, 5 hours. T-minus 22 days until the Amsterdam Marathon

Endorphins, Endocannabinoids, and Dimethyltryptamine

N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT or N,N-DMT) is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound of the tryptamine family. Its presence is widespread throughout the plant kingdom.^[3][4] DMT occurs in trace amounts in mammals, including humans, where it putatively functions as a trace amine neurotransmitter.^[5] It is originally derived from the essential amino acid tryptophan and ultimately produced by the enzyme INMT during normal metabolism.^[6] The significance of its widespread natural presence remains undetermined.

"Chicago 1981" rendered in Webdings font.

PhotoCredit: Lucia DeFrank

When ingested, DMT acts as a psychedelic drug.^[7] Depending on the dose and method of administration, its subjective effects can range from short-lived milder psychedelic states to powerful immersive experiences; these are often described as a total loss of connection to conventional reality with the encounter of ineffable spiritual/alien realms.^[8]

 Driving toward Los Alamos late afternoon, 26 Sept 2012

Indigenous Amazonian Amerindian cultures consume DMT as the primary psychoactive in ayahuasca, a shamanistic brew used for divinatory and healing purposes. Pharmacologically, ayahuasca combines DMT with an MAOI, an enzyme inhibitor that allows DMT to be orally active.^[9]

 Artists's rendering of enhanced synaptic activity and expression of MAO re-uptake inhibitor.

The psychotropic effects of DMT were first studied scientifically by the Hungarian chemist and psychologist Dr. Stephen Szára who performed research with volunteers in the mid-1950s. Szára, who later worked for the US National Institutes of Health, had turned his attention to DMT after his order for LSD from the Swiss company Sandoz Laboratories was rejected on the grounds that the powerful psychotropic could be dangerous in the hands of a communist country.^[13]

DMT can produce powerful psychedelic experiences including intense visuals, euphoria and hallucinations (perceived extensions of reality).^[8]  In this Phase II clinical study the observer reported a nuclear blast cloud of a 10-15MT device above Los Alamos.

Dr. Rick Strassman, while conducting DMT research in the 1990s at the University of New Mexico, advanced the controversial hypothesis that a massive release of DMT from the pineal gland prior to death or near death was the cause of the near death experience (NDE) phenomenon. Several of his test subjects reported NDE-like audio or visual hallucinations.

 Sample image of children's pacifist  icon. Photo courtesy of Blackwater Corp.

Endorphins ("endogenous morphine") are endogenous opioid peptides that function as neurotransmitters.^[1] They are produced by the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus in vertebrates during exercise,^[2] excitement, pain, consumption of spicy food, love and orgasm,^[3][4] and they resemble the opiates in their abilities to produce analgesia and a feeling of well-being.

Chemical structure of alpha-Neoendorphin (α-Neoendorphin)

A publicized effect of endorphin production is the so-called "runner's high", which is said to occur when strenuous exercise takes a person over a threshold that activates endorphin production. Endorphins are released during long, continuous workouts, when the level of intensity is between moderate and high, and breathing is difficult. This also corresponds with the time that muscles use up their stored glycogen. During a release of endorphins, the person may be exposed to bodily harm from strenuous bodily functions after going past his or her body's physical limit. This means that runners can keep running despite pain, continuously surpassing what they otherwise would consider to be their limit. Runner's high has also been known to create feelings of euphoria and happiness.

Female conifer stalking lone aspen during rut.

A study at the University of Arizona, published in April 2012, argues implicitly that endocannabinoids are, most likely, the causative agent in runner's high, while also arguing this to be a result of the evolutionary advantage endocannabinoids provide to endurance-based cursorial species. This largely refers to quadruped mammals, but also to biped hominids, such as humans. The study shows that both humans and dogs show significantly increased endocannabinoid signaling following high intensity running, but not low-intensity walking. The study does not, however, ever address the potential contribution of endorphins to runner's high.^[16] However, in other research that has focused on the blood–brain barrier, it has been shown that endorphin molecules are too large to pass freely, thus very unlikely to be the cause of the runner's high feeling of euphoria.^[17]
 

MRI (enhanced colors) evidence of inability of endorphin molecules

 to penetrate blood-brain barrier. Image courtesy of 

Sandia National Laboratory (2004)

• Number of alcoholic liver disease deaths: 15,183
• Number of alcohol-induced deaths, excluding accidents and homicides: 24,518
• Social and other related costs: unknown
• Legal status: legal

       Source: Deaths: Final Data for 2009, table 12

The Rarámuri or Tarahumara are a Native American people of northwestern Mexico who are renowned for their long-distance running ability.^[1][2] In their language, the term rarámuri refers specifically to the males, females are referred to as mukí (individually) and as omugí or igómale (collectively). Originally inhabitants of much of the state of Chihuahua, the Rarámuri retreated to the high sierras and canyons such as the Copper Canyon in the Sierra Madre Occidental on the arrival of Spanish explorers in the 16th century. The area of the Sierra Madre Occidental which they now inhabit is often called the Sierra Tarahumara because of their presence.

 The Tarahumara also use the toe strike method of running, which is natural for barefoot running. The long-distance running tradition also has ceremonial and competitive aspects. Their races can last anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days without a break. Pre-tool humans may have used persistence hunting universally to hunt prey. Humans in excellent physical shape, given the time, can outrun quadrupeds, which slow down when fleeing over long distances and lose their ability to pant while running.^[31]

The Tarahumara dispense with Western-style product fetishes and behavioral norms, 

ingesting prodigious quantities of a corn-based beer (albeit low in alcohol content) 
prior to/during their legendary 2-day running events

Today's workouts:

• 2 hour physical therapy strength and stretching
• 7 mile run

T-minus 23 days until the Amsterdam Marathon

Running in Wonderland

An account of a 90-minute run at Corkins Lodge, between 8000 and 9000 feet above sea level, in which the runner experiences altitude sickness and consequent loss of capacity for structured thinking.

We begin the race by running down unrighteous pathways to receive our free lunch in the Energy Bar, located down the nervous system pathways, first door to the left, near the frayed and tattered clothing next to the bed.

This hallucinatory relic is firm reminder of a terraced, labrynthian aqueous abode - no trace of which any longer survives. Trout fishing season peaks here in August.

By throwing the impact area toward either forefoot or mid foot, one feels the quiver and totality of strained calf muscles up the wet steps and onto the upthrusts.

Slowly the river seeps moisture into your beard, and holds it there for as long as it takes you to shave.

His ascent is also the most potent evidence yet that last year’s nuclear disaster at ... we're sorry (next slide please)

At the news conference afterward, a reporter pressed him to say whether he thought waterboarding was torture, and Mr. Romney replied, “I don’t.”

"Please send a snapshot of the weird shoes!" demanded the Girl From Rio...

Near the aspen grove I jogged past a member of the cast - lost for some 43 years - who recited her line: "The only good human is a dead human!"

A number of competitors are believed to have melted down - especially those of the second register  - bearing sphinxes and wanton minxes on the third try.

Said the rabbit to the beaver “You used to be much more..."muchier." You've lost your muchness.”

In the home stretch the course pierced the looking glass, so we ran through it darkly:

In some cultures and religions, minor amputations or mutilations are considered a ritual accomplishment … however unlike some non-mammalian animals (such as lizards that shed their tails, salamanders that can regrow many missing body parts, and hydras, flatworms, and starfish that can regrow entire bodies from small fragments), once removed, human extremities do not grow back. [source]

Next to the pool is the sauna, open during the winter months.

This concludes today's report. It is now T-minus 24 days until the Amsterdam Marathon.

"Damned asshole! Acts like he owns this garden!"

[26 days before the marathon]

"Damned asshole! Acts like he owns this garden!"

In addition to a nearly-unbearable happiness (running for the first day in 13, realizing what a think blanket of depression I'd been suffocating under), oxygen deprivation (9000 feet above sea level, first full day in New Mexico), and a cannabis-induced otherworldiness , the forest can be a spooky place without crossing paths with someone who yells a phrase as they pass you in a voice tinged with tenseness, anger and eyes a little glazed over.

Spooky enough that the Joker's phrase - spoken just before he nonchalantly kills his next victim - came to mind...

"Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

If I was passing a psychopath then I had to follow the rules of etiquette gleaned from What To Do When Encountering A Psychopath in the Wilderness (Natural or Urban) [Harcourt, Brace & Jovanovich, 1984, NYC, briefly...

1. Don't ask about their mother/father/childhood/first sexual experience
2. Don't criticize their visual presentation
3. Don't laugh sarcastically
4. Avoid eye contact
5. Do move away quickly
6. Do - if the guilt feeling is right - toss out a non sequitur (e.g. "Have you noticed how everyone around here drives as if they're comatose?") - idea being to invoke a sense of camaraderie.

I couldn't think of anything cool to say so I kept going...but then became plagued with the question: If he's not a psychopath, what the f*ck was that all about?

After awhile I pieced together a plausible narrative: he was a former Jesuit monk, excommunicated, because he'd converted his love of God into love for Nature (smart move) and had an epiphany regarding the raw evil ensconced within the International Capitalist Conspiracy and therefore was ranting about the self-righteous fat landowner who'd chewed him out when he'd veered from the path onto private private...in this case "garden" being a poetic reference to the Earth belonging to everyone equally perhaps.

Today, just below the summit, we inverted the scene (with him on his way down). Silent this time - except for the vague tumble of music from his headphones.

Ah! Yesterday he was singing along with the lyrics!

But what freakin' song has those lyrics??! Given his delivery style I'm thinking something closer to to the grindcore band, Godflesh, than Godspeed You Black Emperor.  Ideas?