On The Seventh Floor

Library Tree constructed of books,
The kind we had before Kindles and Nooks.

Adaptation

"Some people say that I'm aloof
Because I live on this tin roof,
And when the day gets boiling hot
Then most cats jump, but I do not."

- from Cat in the Hat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Quest

A missing book.
I look and look.
Round and round.
Until it's found
Next to a spot
I checked a lot.

Brrrinng It On

With a loud alarm clock
Morning arrives without warning
In an auditory shock.

Inadequately Incentivized

What would you expect from a concerted effort to raise the status of women while encouraging the idea that the male/female distinction is fluid? I'd expect more male-to-female trans-actions than vice-versa. This seems to be the case. I cannot guarantee that's the reason.

Despite the incentives, without fail,
Every morning I wake up male.

Geo Wishes

This is the time of year I would want to visit Panama. Just so I could say

Merry Christmas
From the Isthmus.

But under the circumstances...

From the urban prairie:
May your Christmas be merry.

Faith Spotted Eagle, 1

A so-called "faith-less" elector
Decided to select her,
And so Ms. Spotted Eagle,
In a process quaintly legal,
Won herself a vote
And a spot as a foot note.

Kitchen Scene

I find it hard to be whiny
While staring at something shiny.

CGI Extravaganza

I was asked for my unpopular opinions,
So I looked out across my vast dominions,
But every time I thought of a belief,
I found most feel the same - what a relief!
Except, now here's a thought that's not in vogue -
I went to see a movie called One Rogue,
Or something like that, anyway, and I
Was not as spellbound as the average guy.

Secondarily

I just found out that the word "college"
Isn't in the Constitution.
So I'm for calling it the Electoral High School
As a compromise solution.

My Lack of Knowledge Regarding the Electoral College

I thought they all got together for one big vote in D.C. But, no. They meet in their own states and mail in the results. Who knew? Well, I'm sure a lot of people knew, and for that matter, maybe I knew and forgot. I did take Civics at one point.

But I don't want to blame myself for my ignorance. I want to blame somebody else. So I blame the media. Why didn't they keep me informed about this?

Also, I blame the government. When I vote for President, I'm really voting for some Electors, right? But do I see their names on the ballot? No! I am kept in the dark about who I am really voting for. Can that be constitutional?

I'm in favor of keeping this system,
Although my knowledge is weak.
If the college were gone, I would miss them -
Let's treasure it as an antique!

Woof

Dogs and humans co-evolved

To get some sort of problem solved. 

No one's sure what that was at all,

But probably it involved a ball.

+11 F or -12 C

The moon has risen: bright, enormous.
But its rays tonight don't warm us.

I'd say to make a home complete,
It's very nice to have gas heat.

Breaking In

All the best hacking
Involves Russian backing.
American kids are falling behind!
A little spear-phishing could sharpen their minds!

No Revelation

When naming a truth is impolite
It's left to the rude to be right.

Solar Powered Destruction

Snow person I built
Just the other day
Has developed a tilt
And is melting away.

Lights

It's the time of year
for electric evergreen cheer.

In Canis Major

Why is the Dog Star
Always Sirius
When real dogs are
Often delirious?

Two Parties

The two party system is a see-saw, in which whoever is "up" tends to think their triumphant upness is permanent.

The humiliation burns
Whenever it's time to take turns.

Evolutionary Question

Fish struggles to understand
Whether it's true
That going on land
Is a better thing to do.

Olfactory Imagination

If you ask me to remember a smell, I can, but it never seems super vivid. 

However I sometimes dream a smell, quite vividly, and I know this because I sometimes wake from a dream, still "smelling" something, puzzled whether the scent is real or imaginary. 

My brain in its dreams

Works better it seems

Than when it's awake

And I consciously make

Requests to re-smell

A scent I know well. 

Baking

Last night, for today's charity bake sale at work, I made the only thing I've ever baked on my own - lemon bars.

By coincidence, I was watching a TV legal drama last night, an episode of "Bull", in which jurors were being dismissed by the defense when they answered that they preferred baking to cooking. The idea was that baking requires lots of attention to details, and the defense didn't want jurors who were focused on the details at the expense of the big picture. 

When you fail

To deal with details

They can derail

The effort to bake

That glorious cake

You're hoping to make.