Congratulations to all the people that did get out and vote. Good job. One of the largest, if not the largest, turnout in midterm history. From my point of view we didn’t get the blue wave that could have been. But we have started the process. From the close (oh so close) loss in Texas to the one in Florida the people came out and started turning the tide. We couldn’t really expect to completely turn the country blue now could we?

Let’s not stop here. We still deserve a seat at the table. All voters do. The voices now must be heard and also now must be listened to. At this time over 100 women have been voted into the house. This in itself is quite an achievement.

It looks like we now have our first Native American woman in Congress (New Mexico’s Deb Haaland). And also our first openly gay governor (Colorado’s Jared Polis). Kudos to our ability to look past differences and elect people who are right for the job. Sometime tomorrow we should have a complete accounting of how the leaders of our country have changed. From the state to federal level we will see a completely new landscape.

The Democrats now have control of the house. Oversight is back is style! But this isn’t about Democrats or Republicans. Tonight it’s about the people. Bringing people together, bringing everyone to the table. Making sure everyone has a chance to make a difference.

Once again, good job America. We have changed the course of our history. Now let’s make sure we continue to grow as citizens of this great country. Unity is now back in vogue! Divisiveness has been kicked to side.

Normally I wouldn’t put a post with this title in the Bright Side of the Story category. Except this time it’s a good story about the one trillion or more plastic objects floating around the Pacific Ocean. Below is an article directly from the web site “The Ocean Cleanup” Please take the time to read this amazing attempt. And donate if at all possible.

The Ocean Cleanup Soon to Begin Removing Plastic Pollution from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch 

San Francisco (USA) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands), September 8, 2018 – The Ocean Cleanup, the Dutch non-profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic, today launched the world’s first ocean cleanup system from the San Francisco Bay. The cleanup system (“System 001”) is heading to a location 240 nautical miles offshore for a two-week trial before continuing its journey toward the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, 1,200 nautical miles offshore, to start the cleanup. System 001 is being towed from the San Francisco Bay by the vessel Maersk Launcher, which has been made available to the project by A.P. Moller-Maersk and DeepGreen, its current charter holder. 

 

Hundreds of scale-model tests, a            series of prototypes, research expeditions and multiple iterations have led to The Ocean Cleanup having sufficient confidence in its technology to launch its first full-scale cleanup system. System 001 consists of a 600-meter-long (2000 ft) U-shaped floating barrier with a three-meter (10 ft) skirt attached below. The system is designed to be propelled by wind and waves, allowing it to passively catch and concentrate plastic debris in front of it. Due to its shape, the debris will be funnelled to the center of the system. Moving slightly faster than the plastic, the system will act like a giant Pac-Man, skimming the surface of the ocean. 

The system will be deployed in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the world’s largest accumulation zone of ocean plastics. Situated halfway between Hawaii and California, the patch contains 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, and covers an area twice the size of Texas. 

The Ocean Cleanup anticipates that the first plastic will be collected and returned to land within 6 months after deployment. This will mark the first time that free floating plastic will have been successfully collected at sea. After returning the plastic to land, The Ocean Cleanup plans to recycle the material into products and use the proceeds to help fund the cleanup operations.

While the main objective of System 001 is to prove the technology and start the cleanup, a secondary goal is to collect performance data to improve the design for future deployments. Hence, the system is equipped with solar-powered and satellite-connected sensors, cameras and navigation lights to communicate the position of System 001 to passing marine traffic, and enable extensive monitoring of the system and the environment. After delivery of the system to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Maersk Launcher will remain active as an observation platform for several weeks.

“Maersk contributes to the protection of the ocean environment through our sustainable activities in both ocean and land-based activities. As a responsible maritime operator, we are committed to ensuring that the oceans remain a healthy environment for generations to come. We are therefore very pleased to contribute with services and equipment to The Ocean Cleanup.” says Claus V. Hemmingsen, Vice CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk and CEO of the Energy division.

Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, stated: “I am incredibly grateful for the tremendous amount of support we have received over the past few years from people around the world, that has allowed us to develop, test, and launch a system with the potential to begin to mitigate this ecological disaster. This makes me confident that, if we manage to make the technology work, the cleanup will happen.”

Boyan Slat added, “Today’s launch is an important milestone, but the real celebration will come once the first plastic returns to shore. For 60 years, mankind has been putting plastic into the oceans; from that day onwards, we’re taking it back out again.”

Once successful, and if the funding is available, The Ocean Cleanup aims to scale up to a fleet of approximately 60 systems focused on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch over the next two years. The Ocean Cleanup projects that the full fleet can remove half of the plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch within five years’ time. This is in line with The Ocean Cleanup’s ultimate goal: reducing the amount of plastic in the world’s oceans by at least 90% by 2040.

If you know anything about me you know I am a grandfather now. If you don’t know anything about me, well now you do! I went through all the usual machinations about “what do I want to be called”. Can I be Grandpa when the other grandpa is Grandpa. Why not? I had a Grandpa Nat and a Grandpa Howard. I always knew who I was talking about. Didn’t know Grandpa Howard for long. He passed away when I was 3 or 4. Grandpa Nat was actually my step-grandpa on my dad’s side but he was the only grandfather that was really part of my life.

At one point I was going with Grumpa, because, as you know, I can be a bit grumpy. But that would sound like the kid had a speech impediment. So then why not just Grandpa Rik? I don’t know, just didn’t happen. I became Pop. Mostly because I can use a sound as my name. I’ll teach the little tyke to make a (you guessed it) popping sound instead of saying my name.

I had a Pop, not the bubbly kind but the grandfather kind. I didn’t know him. I may have met him at some point but I have no recollection. I have seen a picture or two during my lifetime. That isn’t why I decided to be Pop (that’s explained above). But there is another reason. I was listening to an audio book and the main character was Pop to his grandkids. I liked the way the narrator (who happened to be the author and main character) used the word. It sounded loving and wholesome and cool. And since I admire this character and really wished he had run for president I am taking his lead.

So there you have it. A short history on me being Pop. So to paraphrase “put you lips together and pop”!