20190531 SAVERS for FRIDAY

SILENCE

Tried to silence for 60 seconds.

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.

Also said aloud for 60 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER.

EXERCISE

Did my 1+ routine (through to 35/70) for May 31st:

1. ankle/wrist circles 70
2. toe/finger stretches 70
3. bicycle crunches 70
4. shoulder rolls 70
5. inversion table 3 70-second sets
6. push-ups 2 sets of 31 (62)

next push-ups days:

Sunday 6/2:                           1 set of 33 push-ups, 1 set of 35 squats

Monday 6/3:                          2 sets of 34 (68) push-ups

Wednesday 6/5 and beyond:  2 sets of 35 (70)

READING, WRITING

Read for 60 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  

He speculates that there were "spiritual forces" at work even back before the Agricultural Revolution.  Mammoth stone structures are found all over the world.  Stonehenge dates to 2500 BC.  The huge pillars recently found in Turkey date to 9500 BC, which was before the AR had taken root (so to speak).  What, Harari wonders, could have convinced pre-AR sapiens (who were, as far as we know, still hunter/gatherers (aka foragers) ) to stop and carve out these huge pillars???

Next reading will reveal what Harari thinks could be the answer.

20190530 SAVERS for THURSDAY

SILENCE

Tried to silence my brain for 60 seconds while still in bed.

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.

Also said aloud for 60 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER.

EXERCISE

Did my 1+ routine for a squat day on May 30

1. ankle/wrist circles 70
2. toe/finger stretches 70
3. bicycle crunches 70
4. shoulder rolls 70
5. inversion table 3 70-second sets
6. squats 70

(yay!)

READING, WRITING

Read 60 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He says that there are some big "MAYBES" in analyzing history, to say the least.  Pre-literate humans did things, but they didn't leave histories behind.  So...... we can only guess.

Harari says that there WERE likely cultural & spiritual components to what motivated pre-literate humans to become farmers.  I'm assuming he will now speculate as to what those components were.

We'll find out more on the next reading.

20190529 SAVERS for WEDNESDAY

SILENCE

Did it a bit better this morning, for 60 seconds

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.

Also said aloud for 60 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER.

EXERCISE

I did my full 1+ monthly routine for 5/29

1. ankle/wrist circles 70
2. toe/finger stretches 70
3. bicycle crunches 70
4. shoulder rolls 70
5. inversion table 3 70-second sets
6. push-ups 2 sets of 29 (58), on my way to 2 sets of 35 (7-0)

READING, WRITING

Read 60+ seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He postulates that the Agricultural Revolution (which began about 12.5K BC and evolved into what it became for centuries thereafter by about 8.5K BC) was not planned; it was a huge mistake; it was a "miscalculation," which is not unlike many other miscalculations Sapiens have made throughout our history.

And then he introduces the idea that there was some kind of "divine intervention" that, whether real or in the imaginations of humans, could have caused the AR to occur.

And now my SAVERS routine is done for the day.

20190528 SAVERS for TUESDAY

SILENCE

Forgot to do the SILENCE thing, but my brain WAS "silent" all night" so I don't mind if I forget to do this part.

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
5. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.

Also said aloud for 60 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER.

EXERCISE

Did my full 1+ routine for a Thursday, 5/28:

1. ankle/wrist circles 70
2. toe/finger stretches 70
3. bicycle crunches 70
4. shoulder rolls 70
5. inversion table 3 70-second sets
6. squats 70

READING, WRITING

Read 60 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He says that with the advent of the Agricultural Revolution (12,500 BC to 8,500 BC), the old life was doomed.  Villages popped up and the hunter/gatherers could either join or run away.

In like fashion today, we write immediate and ill-conceived emails in response to others' emails, rather than taking the time to reply in a thoughtful way.  Before emails, we hand-wrote letters less frequently, and with more consideration and thought.  Today, we email people, often with less fore-thought.  The pre-email days of correspondence have died.

I agree with Harari on this; however, I am much more deliberate in writing emails than he describes.

I'm wondering if I shouldn't go on a campaign of handwriting letters to people.

The one DISADVANTAGE of hand-writing letters is that once you've put pen to paper and written a word (or sentence or paragraph), it's not as easy a process as typing and correcting the same in a document.

So, I might attempt to find a compromise.  Type out the message, make corrections during & afterwards, and THEN hand-write it with pen & papaer.

Maybe I'm too late.  But it's an intriguing idea.

20190524 SAVERS for FRIDAY

SILENCE

Tried to silence my brain for 60 seconds.

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.

Also said aloud for 60 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER.

EXERCISE

Did my full 70 based exercise routine for the 24th of the May:

1. ankle/wrist circles 70
2. toe/finger stretches 70
3. bicycle crunches 70
4. shoulder rolls 70
5. inversion table 3 70-second sets
6. push-ups 2 sets of 24 (48), since this is May 24th. (Will plateau when I reach 2 sets of 35)

READING, WRITING

Read 60 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He writes that when humans moved into the Agricultural Revolution (12K BC to 8K BC, approx), we began the adoption of an "iron law of society," which is that we seek ways to make life easier, we find them, and they become necessities.  50 years ago, it was washing machines, vacuum cleaners.  Today, it's email.  Instant gratification becomes permanent necessity.

I agree with him on this.  And I've long thought that we've lost something of ourselves, our nature, as we eliminate cumbersome societal norms in favor of high-tech instant solutions.

What do we lose?  Dunno.  What might we be gaining?  Dunno.

But I do know that we're still transforming our society, and I'm guessing that it will continue to evolve.  I definitely do NOT know if it's better, or worse.

20190523 SAVERS for THURSDAY

SILENCE

Tried to silence brain; not an easy thing for me to do.

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, professional and knowledgeable philanthropic foundation administrator.

Also said aloud for 60 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER.

EXERCISE

Did my 1+ routine for the month; full routine based on 70)

1. ankle/wrist circles 70
2. toe/finger stretches 70
3. bicycle crunches 70
4. shoulder rolls 70
5. inversion table 3 70-second sets
6. squats 70

READING, WRITING

Read 60 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He says that the establishment of permanent villages during the early years of the Agricultural Revolution did 2 negative things:  increase in population, and increase in disease.  The people, over hundreds/thousands of years, did not realize that they were leaving behind a better life.  But, "too late!" - the trap had snapped shut, he says.

As for me, a casual observer of humankind today, and considering what Harari has written, and can't help but think that, 

     IF the human AR brain "back then" was capable of figuring out how to plough, plant, harvest, and feed the growing numbers of village people, 

     THEN at least some of them could also figure out ways to minimize the disease, keep the grain secure, limit the population, and ______________ (I've forgotten the 4th thing I was just thinking about - dementia?).

I'm not saying they did that; if they tried, they did a poor job.  They were not yet thinking globally, but they might have been thinking regionally.

Again, who knows?

20190521 SAVERS for TUESDAY

SILENCE

Fitful night of sleep; did not try to silence my brain, other than to (hopefully) do so during sleep.  (I think I might have dreamed about Millie - vague dream memory)

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.

Typed for 60 seconds; if I get a call from David, I'll do 10 every day.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER

EXERCISE

I have now resumed my daily exercise routine based on 70:

1. ankle/wrist circles 70
2. toe/finger stretches 70
3. bicycle crunches 70
4. shoulder rolls 70
5. inversion table 3 70-second sets
6. squats 70

The exception is push-ups (M,W,F) for MAY & part of JUNE:  on May 22, I'll do 2 sets of 22; on May 24, I'll do 2 sets of 24; etc. until I reach 2 sets of 35.  Then it'll be 2 sets of 35 (or 70) every other day.

READING, WRITING

Read for 60 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He says that the permanent villages (a product of the Agricultural Revolution, circa 8000 BC) created several changes in society:
a.  food supply increased substantially
b.  women had children more frequently (1 per year)
c.  increased population required increase in agriculture
d.  increased agriculture required more help in the fields.
e.  living in permanent villages led to disease, and infant/child mortality (33% died before 20 years old)

These are not good results, obviously.  But they are what homo sapiens unwittingly decided to do.  I wonder if, had there been an "Agricultural Revolution sales team" somehow touting the advantages of the AR, how would their plan for an AR been received by the hunter/gatherers of the time.

Impossible to know, but interesting to speculate.  If we can retroactively project our societal mindset on to the homo sapiens of 8000 BC, I would guess that most would be all for it.  It seems sad, but the author doesn't list any of the significant societal advantages to the AR.  I can think of some:

a.  development of medicines for injury and/or disease
b.  group academic development
c.  safety in numbers
d.  architecture, art

I'm hoping Harari will explore these and other advantages he might see in the AR.  We'll see.

20190522 SAVERS for WEDNESDAY

SILENCE

Tried to silence my brain for 60 seconds.  Didn't.  But at least I tried.

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.

Also, said aloud for 60 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER.

EXERCISE

Did my 1+ a day til 35 routine:

1. ankle/wrist circles 70
2. toe/finger stretches 70
3. bicycle crunches 70
4. shoulder rolls 70
5. inversion table 3 70-second sets
6. push-ups 2 sets of 22 (since today is May 22nd)

READING, WRITING

Read 60 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He says that the Agricultural Revolution, which gave rise to the term "farmer," brought about unanticipated results:  harder work, and more death.  He is careful to point out that the population increased (since women could have more children), and OF THAT INCREASED POPULATION, "more children died."  He has no way of knowing that the percentage was greater, although such would be his necessary puzzle piece in solving the puzzle:  WHY DID HUMANKIND "MISCALCULATE" (his term)? 

His answer is that all through history, humans have miscalculated when they've taken a gamble which they cannot see completely or clearly.  So he speculates that they adopted a simpler approach:  If we work harder, we'll have a better life.

Not so, says Harari.  Life was MUCH better before the AR took hold.  And he holds that life for humans in 13,500 BC, or even 9,000 BC was MUCH better than life in the AR (8,500 and beyond).

I don't know.  This argument seems protracted and with little solid substance.  It could have been how Harari postulates.  It could also have been how mankind survived some other unknown threats to their existence.  It could also be how a creator envisioned it.  Humans of 13,500 BC had their "raison d'etre," and the early AR folks had theirs.  And we have ours.  It's not all necessarily the same for ALL humans.  Harari can't know that.

But who knows?  Scientists and sociologists and others think they have a good idea, but I'm guessing that they could be missing a little, or even a lot.


NOTE

I noticed that if I don not PUBLISH each post on the day I write it, then it's saved as a draft.

20190520 SAVERS for MONDAY

SILENCE

Was silent all night; tried again for 60 seconds.

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER.

EXERCISE

Did my Date + 1 exercise; now basing on 70.

1. ankle/wrist circles 2 sets of 35
2. toe/finger stretches 2 sets of 35
3. bicycle crunches 2 sets of 35
4. shoulder rolls 2 sets of 35
5. inversion table 3 sets of 70 seconds
6. push-ups 2 sets of 20

READING, WRITING

Read 70 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He says that by 9500 BC, people began to plan for the next year by setting aside seeds.  Then they began to plant deeper, and thus to plough and plant and water and weed and guard against pests, etc.  By 8500 BC, permanent villages had sprung up (e.g., Jerico)

My question is, how did he (and others) figure all this out??

Dunno.

But I do know that another week has gone by, a week without even a "peep" (call, email, text) from DT.

I feel foolish again.  I think there is likely no, or very little substance to DT's mine deal.  Else he'd have at least "peeped."

*sigh*

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.

20190515 SAVERS for WEDNESDAY

SILENCE

Tried to remain silent for 60 seconds.  Mild success, partly because I don't recall what I thought about as I tried NOT to think.

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.

Also said aloud for 60 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER.

EXERCISE

I did my 30 day routine for the 15th of the month:

1. ankle/wrist circles 60
2. finger/toe stretches 60
3. bicycle crunches 60
4. shoulder rolls 60
5. inversion table 3 1-min sets
6. push-ups 2 sets of 15

READING, WRITING

Read 60 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.  He says that the transition from hunter/gatherer to agricultural took some groups (i.e., the Latufians in the Lavant) about 3,000 years (from 12,500 to 9,500).  During this transitional period, they learned how to seasonally harvest wheat, and that gave rise to permanent villages (stone), along with necessary tools to process the wheat crops.

All this makes sense to me.  I think the author means for us to lament the loss of the hunter/gatherer groups who roamed the planet.  But I'm not sure that it was such a bad idea for humans to make this transition.

But who knows?

20190509 NO SAVERS TODAY

.... I hope I hope I hope I'm not holding out for nothing.

(thinking of ACONDA)

20190508 SAVERS for WEDNESDAY

SILENCE
Well, I was more or less "silent" all night.  Does that count?

AFFIRMATIONS

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.

Also said aloud for 60 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER.

EXERCISE

I did my full "work up to 30" day exercise routine.

1. ankle/wrist circles 60
2. toe/finger stretches 60
3. bicycle crunches 60
4. shoulder rolls 60
5. push-ups 2 sets of 15

READING, WRITING

Read 60 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Ivan Harari.  He says

that Homo Sapiens gradually adopted the culture of eating grain; along with that, they learned how to limit the frequency of pregnancy (and family size) since they were still nomadic.  He states that "round the clock nursing" is an effective means of birth control (I didn't know that, or maybe I forgot it.)

Grains grew more and more, and people began to cultivate them, cook them and eat them.

I still have trouble with this author in the way he phrases his ideas.  He said that people "inadvertantly" began to sow seeds, when it could have easily been that some people actually promoted the planting and harvesting of grains.... right from the start.  There could have been excitement in the village over wheat grains:  the new food.  But he's the prof, so he likely is correct.

20190504 SUMMARY OF TELCON W/DAVID TIMPSON RE MINE DEAL (A)

My routine has faded away, I guess.  But now I'm focused on DT's phone calls on Thursday, Friday & today.

Thursday:  I received a text from DT asking if I could talk then, but I didn't see the text for about an nour.

When DT texts (quite rare), I sense that there's something important going on.  At the time I was in Pomona at Hamilton Board & Care, where I had times I could talk, and other times when I could not.

So I texted back several times through the day, but DT did not respond.  I went into my usual mode of "why is this happening this way??" and the like.  I speculated that if DT sent the text and then did not follow up with me or answer my texts, then I could likely assume that it was NOT about the mine deal ("A")

"A" will be my shorthand designation for "ACONDA" which is what DT often calls the mine in Nevada.

So, I wondered if his friend back East had passed away, and he just wanted to let me know.  I also wondered if it might be about his son Dan, who has a badly sprained ankle, along with marital & Church troubles right now.  And I wondered if it could be just an effort to keep in touch.

All that proved wrong.  But I didn't find out until Friday morning.  DT called me and gave me a thumbnail summary of what is going on with A.  His voice sounded quite happy as he introduced the latest developments with regard to A, Michael, Credit Suisse/First Boston, and the expected amounts of money involved, along with a rough timeline for the next 3 months.

DT mentioned that he and Michael and another person would be meeting today, and that he'd have more information at the end of the day.

(YAY!)

But, in spite of my best efforts to facilitate another phone call between me and DT, it didn't happen Friday night.  :-(  He texted that he was ambushed by unexpected visitors, and then was exhausted.

So we agreed to talk this morning, and we did.  Here's what DT told me:

Michael owns interest in a gold mine in central Ontario (about 100 miles? North of Toronto), which I will call "K" (Klinor?).  Michael is proposing that DT's mine (A) can become a similar venture to K.

Here's how K became what it is today:
1.  CSFB:  Credit Suisse is a large bank, and they also own First Boston, a brokerage house.  As a trading platform, they require a customer's credit to be at least as large as the investment loan being considered.
2.  CSFB has given the K mine a credit line of 88 million euros.  They have done this because they know that the mine has approx. 100,000 ounces of gold in reserve, and this translates to approx $100,000,000 USD in credit.
3.  CSFB official (someone named Wendy) has 100% approved this status; Michael & DT have seen the pages and pages of paperwork.

GAME CHANGER:  Michael, with this new status, now has access to funds which can (and will) be used for A.

THE PLAN:
1.  of the 88 MM euros, 50 MM euros is kept in reserve/high yield trading accounts at CSFB.

2.  38 MM euros (43 MM USD) can be withdrawn by Michael.

3.  Michael will take $500K USD for
     a.  (______ unknown by me)
     b. $150K to "Turn 2" (carbon bonds?) which is the entity that will fund DT & his partner.  They will receive $150K, and $75 will go to DT.
     c.  $200K to do the A mine geological work (i.  drilling holes for samples, and ii. fly overs which will detect the location of metal v. dirt)  Michael expects this work to begin soon & take about 45 days.  Then in another 30 days from then, CSFB wil approve A mine and give it the same status as K mine.

4.  In addition, Michael's speculation is that A mine will yield 10 TIMES the amount of the K mine.

5.  Expectations are that the A mine will become part of a joint venture with other mines; the partners will be DT & Byron, and Michael and John.

6.  A mine will yield a "Ton of money" in the next 3-4 months.


(gasp.  catching my breath.)

So, DT asked rhetorically, "IS THIS ALL REAL?"

YES.  Why?

1.  DT has seen the paperwork.
2.  Michael is a PLAYER, not a spectator.
3.  Michael's partner (in the Friday meeting) is David _______, a SLC lawyer, who has duly impressed DT as a "good guy."

I asked DT what he might guess as a time frame for me to become involved both in a financial way, and in a time commitment way.

"90 DAYS - or sooner" was his reply.

He said that he would be getting money ($75K) next week, and could then loan me money if needed.

DT introduced the idea of researching "Coalition Foundation" approach to humanitarian activities.  Eg., Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has a "reserve" of $50 BB which they do not touch, but the interest from the reserve is used for humanitarian projects.  Usually such a Foundation has a minimum of $100 MM.  The term "Evergreen Trading Program" is used.  There would be an administrative agreement in place that would govern the money distribution, support, etc.  (DT used the term "10-x" in some way).

Sooooo.......... after 5 years (for me) of dreaming....... this time there is HARD EVIDENCE that the dream is about to move forward.

I hope so.

20190506 SAVERS for MONDAY ADC (AFTER DAVID'S CALL)

The call I've been waiting for, for years now, finally came on Thursday, May 2nd; I didn't know at first that it was THE CALL, but by Saturday May 4, I knew.  So now, my SAVERS are designated as "ADC" - after David's call.

SILENCE

I did not lie awake but silent this morning.

AFFIRMATIONS

(This is a new affirmation for a new chapter of my life)

1. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
2. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
3. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.
4. I, Ken Taylor, am a loving, knowledgeable, and professional philanthropic foundation administrator.

Also, said aloud for 60 seconds.

VISUALIZATION

I AM A SAFE AND COURTEOUS DRIVER

Repeated for 60 seconds.

EXERCISE

Did my "build to 30" exercise routine:

1. ankle/wrist circles 60
2. toe/finger stretches 60
3. bicycle crunches 60
4. shoulder rolls 60
5. inversion table 3 1-min sets
6. push-ups 2 sets of 15 (until the 15th, then +1 every day)

READING, WRITING

Read 60 seconds in SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari.

He says that 70K years ago, Homo Sapiens arrived in the MIDDLE EAST, and were still hunter/gatherers.  Over the next 50K years, Homo Sapiens evolved into agriculturalists.

He says that built into our genetic make up is a "control" on procreation:  in good times, more children were borne; in bad times, fewer.

If I were to be asked to characterize the writing of Harari thus far (page 98) in my very slow progress through his 466 page book, I would say that he is a careful and logical writer of what he perceives as "the way it happened."  And today, I have not taken issue with what he has written.  But I will also add that I am not at all 100% convinced that the homo sapien transition from hunter/gatherer societies to agricultural societies was all that bad.  He says it was very bad.

If he is right, then I am left with a feeling of helplessness, since it began 70K years ago, and it continues to this day.

I'm hopeful that he will eventually give us possible solutions to the "badness" parts of the Agricultural Revolution, while holding on to the goodness parts.