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What’s life like in Colombia?  Well, slow days a lot out in the country so you may have to stay away if you need lots of excitement.  This morning like 5am the rest of the family went out with a group up to some lagoon up in the mountains for bird watching; I stayed home.  Internet was out, happens sporadically so I just had some corn flakes with a banana, did 25 pushups and same of tummy curls, still no internet so put on some black, rubber work boots and went outside.  We’re small by country standards, only 2 acres, but still a lot fits in it.  We’d planted (had a guy do it) around eighty (80), 2-ft sized trees around a month ago so I walked around just making sure they were ok, you know, weeds and all that.  Then of course checked the 8 Romeros (like pine trees) we’d planted a year ago alongside the entrance driveway which are now around 4 feet tall.  They now look really cool, it’s great watching them growing up, especially one the car ran over 6 months ago.  Next, to keep busy (no malls around here), I wrote a song on my work desk, and started foolin’ around on the guitar to see what would work; that’s the fun part, and that took about an hour.  Then made a cup of coffee, sat outside on the porch facing the mountains, while figuring out little projects I’m working on.  Ok, so the gang comes home, listened to their adventure up by the lagoon, misty, woody area filled with birds, of which they identified 15, and then we had lunch.  They’d mentioned a rattle sound under the car so off I went on the 5-minute drive to the Pueblo, found Orlando the Mechanic next to the one gas station, and for 10 bucks he fixed some connecting fixture under the car that was the culprit.  Left the car there, walked 2 minutes to Sebastian the Pharmacist’s store in the main plaza, stayed 10 minutes as he likes practicing English with me, then before coming home went by the bakery and for about $1 got like nearly a dozen fluffy rolls.  Everyone calls me Don Harold (not to be confused with Don Corleone from the Godfather), and it still takes some getting used to as I’m walking around greeting all these polite, wonderful town folk.  Back home now, I almost never watch tv as life is more interesting, but do read ebooks, and now am writing these notes in mid afternoon, sent later from my phone. Sometimes we’ll go off to some other town or major city, do some traveling in-country or whatever, but the simple life is like taking in a continuous burst of fresh air. (Click the post TITLE to view or make a comment).

Here’s a shot, magnified a bit of our pueblo around 6:15pm tonight. No stars are out yet. Speaking of stars, do you know our world, in the Milky Way galaxy, has around 400 billion stars in it? And that’s just our galaxy. And it takes light around 100,000 years to cross our galaxy. So if you think our galaxy then is huge, consider this. Based on surveys of the local universe, its estimated that there are approximately 2 Trillion, ( two thousand billion) galaxies, or even more. Some are smaller or larger than our Milky Way galaxy, but can you even start to imagine this? There is no way to wrap our minds around that type of figure is there? What is interesting is that our little planet, in this infinity of impossibly enormous space, has life. Being alive and conscious, we have “meaning”. If we are the only evidence of “meaning”, that means my life and your life is so precious, each day is a beautiful moment to picture. Finally, just to end this night, imagine when you look up at the stars at night, some of those lights that you see are like a journey into the past that you are only seeing now. Some of those lights, like from the North Star, take over 400 years to reach the earth. Enjoy life, enjoy time, make sure you give your life meaning. (Click the TITLE to view or make a comment).

I’ve marveled at how much I’m loving my life now. Not because of earth-shaking things as such, but simply because living in Colombia, the change here being more laid back, allows time for me to think. Yes, it sounds simple but it’s a huge thing; let me explain. I remember being around 12 years old, me the skinny ‘lil kid climbing up a breadfruit tree in our backyard one night. I remember contemplating how as we grow, how in the fields of interest we each have, how we learn big, fancy words that are uncommon. It could be in any field, could be a science, literature, anything. I really remember thinking how that was a big moment, a huge meditating discovery! Anyway, now I’m retired, and after all the experimenting, growing up, the rat race and all, again I have time to think, to discover. This is great, going back inside to where I feel the tug to discover whatever I want, and with the internet open to all knowledge, you only need imagination. And with all the radical changes coming in the next three years, I’m so excited that I can change the world, because I have the time, and more important, I have the imagination. So it’s not only being in Colombia, but a state of mind, anywhere you are, to open your mind to your thoughts. (Image in AI) (click the TITLE to view or make a comment)

Life in Colombia

So Colombia has big cities like Bogota and also lots of small “pueblos” like mine.  Yesterday I went to  La Vega (no, not Las Vegas).  The trip there is on a long winding mountain road, full of green pasture with cows and horses scattered around the mountainside, picturesque little communities in between, with small gates leading up paths to country lots, or even big red bricked metal gates, colorful, even palatial at times.  In Colombia food is rather inexpensive, like US $3 for a basic lunch meal with meat, veggies, beans and rice, with soup for starters and a drink (see pic above).  Not bad.  Gas here is expensive, like $4 a gallon, but on the other hand on monthly basis, electricity  $25 a month, water $5, health insurance $35 (same service like in US), 1 DZ eggs about $1.50, loaf of bread about $1, and for around $25 at the fish market, packaged Chilean salmon from which I can cut maybe 8 large steaks.  Outside of the main cities you can even rent a place with 2-3 bedrooms for around $400 a month. That’s cool, isn’t it?   Couple all that with clean country air, temperature around 68 degrees Fahrenheit and its pretty nice.  Colombians are very friendly, easy to talk to, are helpful if you’re in a jam, and in two minutes will take you in like family.  Now and then we’re back in the States as we have a small condo there, but the lifestyles are so different, the outlook more laidback and relaxed here.  Even the stores in cities are fantastic; imagine going down a street, full of people walking on the sidewalk, small shops, specialized from clothes and shoes, trinkets, cellular, bakeries, to bigger department stores, abundant coffee shops filled with people having little cups of coffee, referred to as “tinto”.  All this on one side of a street filled with cars and buses!  I’ll write about here from time to time to give you a glimpse.

Imagination is more important than knowledge – Albert Einstein. So looking at this I remember all my life I’ve been fascinated with my thoughts, where they go, how private they are and where they take me. Sometimes we pick low-lying fruit, like going for a 6-hour drive for vacation, or maybe more, like a far-away country to explore. The thing is, everything in our life is created by other humans, no smarter than you, so your imagination is what can make a difference. Sure its great when you change mankind, but the real Glory, is when you get to imagine, dream, and execute your own ideas. Of course you’re not going to be the 100 meter record holder when you’re older, but that’s what makes living great. We constantly have new dreams and changing ideas. By becoming what you dream, by taking steps towards those goals on your mind, that’s where you need to be. You don’t have to live your life like everyone else, your path, the thing on your mind today,,,,,yes, today,,,,, just do it! Imagination helps you break out of a dreary old day to become more of you. That fulfils you, makes you proud. Your mind, it’s beautiful, isn’t it? (Image in AI) (Click the TITLE to view or make a comment)

I’m really excited, I’ve tested and it seems everything is working the way it should, so I’ll double check again and see if I can release my website to internet access tomorrow Wednesday.

If you were born between 1946 and 1964 you are a baby boomer, so named because of the huge spike in birth rates after world war 2. I fall in that category, and what fascinates me, is that my generation is witness to the greatest period of inventions and human progress in the history of human life. From space flights, computers, internet, healthcare, smartphones, artificial intelligence, robots; it is all so spectacular! So you can’t plan on just retiring any more, because you see with rapid changes, so much in the world will change in the next 3 years; and so you have no choice but to keep learning new things. And right now you need to learn the basics of artificial intelligence, even if you’re just of College age or older. (image in AI) (Click the TITLE to view or make a comment)

I got this epiphany just this morning. It’s just luck I guess, but in the back of my mind over the last few days, I’ve wondered what’s been inspiring me. I now realize its that my life seems to have more future now! You see, we’re the only species on earth that are concerned with time and how much we have left and how old we are. But retirement has changed me. Before I was locked into corporate time frames, you know, like evaluations, promotions, producing; but on someone else’s dime! Now I choose where I’m going, and don’t have to worry about time. Like this Blog, or that I decided to start learning artificial intelligence, or started playing the guitar. The world is fast moving, and I love being part of it. So I don’t have to worry about time, I just live doing more and more and having fun. Try it! Life is about expressing yourself and learning more day by day. Even if you’re still working now you can do it. Learning new things should never stop. That’s exciting. There’s always time! What else do you want to do? (image in AI) (Click the TITLE to view or make a comment)

So our dog “Lucas” died a couple of weeks back, and for sure he left a gaping hole in our hearts; its like, you have no bad memories of pets, do you? They’re just a bundle of pure love, funny at times, characters they are, love attention, and irreplaceable; and with these words, I let my dog Lucas go to Dog Heaven. (click the TITLE to view or make a comment)

The mind is so interesting. I have always found specific songs somehow attach themselves to a person, a place, or maybe a time. I could be driving, a song comes up and bang, there’s that memory. Or just a song comes to mind and it happens, or I hear a song on a store speaker. It is not a conscious act me making it so, but the way the mind puts a placeholder, connecting songs to something in my past. Is that the same with everyone? I suspect so but I’ve never asked. I think offhand there may be around 20 songs that this happens with, evenly spread across people, places, or a time. As I’m writing this, actually putting my mind to it, it seems to me that these connections probably represent an important snapshot to something meaningful in my life. You think so? (image in AI) (click the TITLE to view or make a comment)