Seismic Noise Has Dropped by up to 50%, allowing quieter earthquakes to be detected. That’s me you hear yelling.

a photo of me, by me, looking quizzical. I’m not mad, really I’m not. Or we’re all mad here.

This morning I posted a link to a NYT story that had multiple bits of new information.  One of the more important bits (that I didn’t get to this morning) was that seismometers all over the world have responded to the lockdown orders that have some 90% of the world’s population staying home other than for essential activities.  I personally was little affected by that order (even though I live in California).

As a result of that “stay at home” order, we (not I) are mostly staying at home.  I still take walks in the splendid isolation of my abode among the peach and almond trees.  I still go to the pharmacy for the medications that I take, most important of which is ibuprofen.  I still go to the grocery store.  All my banking needs are taken care of online and most of my bills are paid online.

My wife is still working as a physician assistant.  We still fill up the gas tank on our Toyota Highlander.  Nothing has changed except that I am posting to this blog more frequently.

Yet the seismometers say the world is quieter, and as a result we can hear the smaller earthquakes and the little things that are just the earth’s crust moving around.  What is more, the air quality in Los Angeles has greatly improved.  Now wouldn’t it be grand if all of the people who were running around like chickens with their heads cut off would just stay still?

I know, that’s terribly cynical.  I do feel bad, very bad, for all the people who are dying miserably, alone, because they are under quarantine or isolation in the hospital.  Yet human existence is suffering, or so the Buddha says.

So, if you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.  Or don’t.  I’d rather you didn’t.  You don’t have to follow every ridiculous instruction you get, do you?

Only follow an instruction if it makes sense– or if you can make sense out of it, which means you may have to think about it for a while.

What did the Buddha mean when he said, if you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him?  Let me know if you figure out what it means.  I’ll be sitting here, quietly listening.