As the night falls and the moths scatter to various attractions,
Somehow, someway, the receding light will persevere in smaller venues,
And those left along the margins
In an awkward darkness will somehow grapple their way
Toward meaningful place, even with the safety of only a single star.
To live at all, running a gauntlet of destiny,
One must confront inevitable loss.
But destiny doesn't stop even for a crash and burn
Even for those overconfident with joy which are felled by quick despair,
And a trail of delusion.
Think of the creatures scourged by frost that find ecstasy in the emerging green,
Think of the lone warrior that emerges, soul intact, from devastation,
Think indeed, of the travails of your own self,
Who wears scars with silent pride, and the stories behind their blood,
No trick of time is too cruel to overlay your own prescient love,
No design of circumstance too unbearable to transmute into
The pride of survival.
Endurance?
Consider the brave who peacefully wage justice even as their hunger
Makes brittle their bones, and voices faint..
Faith?
Consider the rising and setting of the sun, the ebb and flow of tide,
The sureness of the few absolutes.
Love?
Consider a fleeting moment of absolute passionate involvement,
Where the world faded from view and you kissed the quintessence,
The archetype, the very virtue of Love Itself,
Even as the messenger simpers away befuddled with delivery.
Ignore the repercussions of daring,
For even the seconds elapsed now are riddled and sculpted by the same chance
That makes a fool to fly and dethrones the mighty.
Enter bravely yet the next few seconds with the resolve
To care more, give more, in spite of the dark and this fiery collision
With the governing principle of galactic twirling,
Betting on thriving in the night
And becoming more
Than that which has momentarily obscured your starstruck whims.

Biological Diversity in a Crowded World: Past, Present and Likely Future

How much do we know about the diversity of organisms on our planet? First, estimates of the number of distinct species of plants, animals and fungi (eukaryotes) that have been named and recorded — a simple, factual question, like how many books in the library catalogue — range from 1.4 million to 1.8 million. Second, estimates of the total number of species present on Earth today range over more than an order-of-magnitude, from a low of around 3 million, to a high of 30 million or possibly much more. And third, we have even less idea of the rates at which species may currently be going extinct as a result of habitat destruction, introduced aliens, overexploitation and other consequences of human population growth.

Will Compasses Point South?

The collapse of the Earth's magnetic field, which both guards the planet and guides many of its creatures, appears to have started in earnest about 150 years ago. The field's strength has waned 10 to 15 percent, and the deterioration has accelerated of late, increasing debate over whether it portends a reversal of the lines of magnetic force that normally envelop the Earth.

A reversal could knock out power grids, hurt astronauts and satellites, widen atmospheric ozone holes, send polar auroras flashing to the equator and confuse birds, fish and migratory animals that rely on the steadiness of the magnetic field as a navigation aid. But experts said the repercussions would fall short of catastrophic, despite a few proclamations of doom and sketchy evidence of past links between field reversals and species extinctions.

I'll be working away from computers most of the day, so light posting until afternoonish- by light I mean none, I suppose.

I slept a full last night for the first time in days... I'd been averaging a measly 3 to 4 hours, if that recently. I think I'm out of the weeds sick-wise, but I'm not really into working today; I just want a free pass for paradise as an excuse to get out of the house and back into the world.