Author: John

My blog is about my personal opinions only and do not reflect or represent any company that I work for either past, present or future. I will not hesitate to use the benefit of my experiences in telling the story of what goes on in the real world. beep/bop/boop

Thursday Sarcasm – Politicians Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Speaker Pelosi gets her hair done inside while forcing businesses to stay closed (at least until the election and then we’ll see how the winds blow).  I guess there are two sets of rules, one for them and then the ones they make for the rest of the country.

The ruling class used to be called the bourgeois.  The others are now called the flyover states.  I wonder who will get tired of this stuff?

The sarcasm is that she claimed it was a set up from a business she also claimed she supported for years.  Why would they do that to her?  Would there be an apology if she wasn’t caught?

Great Sayings – Why We Strive In Life, Not For Participation Trophies

“Don’t do what you want. Do what you don’t want. Do what you’re trained not to want. Do the things that scare you the most.” – Chuck Palahniuk, Author of “Fight Club”

 

The more difficult the struggle, the greater satisfaction from the accomplishment. That saying is from both my Mother and me.

No one gives a rats ass about a participation trophy.  We want to win.  To win you have to struggle, train, learn and fight for what you want.  Look at what athletes do to attain victory.  There is only one winner and second place is first loser.

There is only one CEO, but that person sacrificed along the way in time, travel and lack of attention to their family.

Dedication, training and commitment to any goal is necessary to achieve and succeed.

Overcoming what you are afraid of is and equal victory.  The sense of satisfaction we get from beating our demons is as great for some as is winning a competition or succeeding in life.  We were made to overcome obstacles in life and learn from that struggle.

Don’t give up or give in.  Relish the sweet sense of victory or vanquishing what held you back.

 

Tuesday Sarcasm – Sports Stars Agree to Play To Get Paid

This has nothing of course to do with the fact that they don’t get paid if they don’t play and that TV ratings are down 40% because we are tired of their shit, telling us what to do and what to say.

We watch them play to distract us from real life, not because we want people playing a kids game to tell us how to think.

Sarcasm Monday – More Russian I Didn’t Do It From The Kremlin

An Anti-Kremlin blogger got his ass beat outside his home.  Of course the Kremlin denied that they had anything to do with it.  If my blog gets hacked, we’ll know for sure that they did.

As for me, I like most of the rest of the world living in 2020 don’t buy it.  See Putin on Friday.  He of course was calling for free elections.  I guess that is on the Kremlin do not do list.

I was hoping to post about Sports Stars being hypocrites and I’ll get to it, but this was too obvious….Here is a snippet and a link.

August 31, 2020

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Moscow police opened a criminal inquiry on Monday after anti-Kremlin opposition activist and political blogger Yegor Zhukov was beaten and left bloodied outside his home at the weekend.

The 22-year-old student, who was a leading figure in large anti-government protests last year, was taken to hospital late on Sunday after being assaulted by two people outside his apartment in western Moscow, his allies said on social media.

They published pictures of his bloodied face covered in bruises and gashes.

He was among more than 1,000 people detained in Moscow in July 2019 in one of the biggest crackdowns on anti-Kremlin demonstrators in recent years. He and other protesters had taken to the streets to call for free elections.

Sunday Humor – WIZZ Air Affected By Covid….Wizz Air, Did Anyone Think About That Name?

Here is the story about how Covid/Corona/China/Wuhan/whatever virus has affected the airline.

BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Wizz Air <WIZZ.L> will sharply reduce weekly flights to and from Hungary from Sept. 7, the airline said, after the government announced it would ban the entry of foreigners to try to rein in the coronavirus outbreak.

It’s not the actual story, but I read WHIZ Air.  That’s right, piss air, pee pee airline, piss flights, the jokes write themselves.

I don’t know who thought about that name, but a little research on the Internet might have been helpful first.  Seriously, it’s not like someone in the country had English as a second language.

Political Suspicion and Sarcasm – Sure Putin Didn’t Poison The Anti-Putin Candidate

I’ve decided to branch out to do more sarcasm.  It seems that politics, celebrities and sports stars are the easiest target so we’ll see who cooperates.  They are equally losers and out of touch with the real world, so this shouldn’t be hard.

Starting here with Putin.  Who doesn’t think he had them poisoned?  The victims big mistake was to criticize Vlad, dumbass.  Putin is not going to give up any power.  Just bump off any competition, threaten the public and voila, re-election.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny’s sudden illness has upended his strategy to challenge Vladimir Putin’s grip on power at upcoming regional elections. But it also exposes a longer-term issue – the leadership vacuum within Russia’s opposition.

Navalny, 44, now lying in a Berlin hospital after a suspected poisoning, had been urging supporters to vote tactically for candidates running against the ruling United Russia party in mid-September.

Full story here.

It’s too obvious. Here is a list of people that didn’t look both ways before crossing the Putin street.  If you notice he’s not afraid to nail the victims outside of the country either.

There were several famous poisoning episodes during the Cold War. Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissident died after a KGB agent pricked him with a ricin-tipped umbrella. In 1957, Nikolai Khokhlov, a KGB defector, came close to death after drinking a cup of coffee laced with an unknown type of thallium.

Poisonings have occurred under Putin almost since the start of his rule. In 2004, Viktor Yushchenko, a candidate who ran against a Kremlin-favored incumbent for Ukraine’s presidency was poisoned with dioxin, leaving him disfigured.

The same year, the celebrated investigative journalist, Anna Politkovskaya fell suddenly ill and lost consciousness after drinking a cup of tea while flying to the Russian city of Beslan during the school siege there.

In 2018, another former Russian intelligence officer Sergey Skripal, was nearly fatally poisoned with a nerve agent in the English town of Salisbury. The poison, which was identified by British investigators as a nerve agent, known as “Novichok”, developed by the Soviet Union as part of a secret chemical weapons program. Russia again denied responsibility, but U.K. police were able to track two men, who were later identified as officers in Russian military intelligence. Both men, Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin were found to have previously received Russia’s highest state honor, awarded personally by Putin.

Friday Saying – A Different If A Tree Falls In The Forest Point Of View, Mensa Version

Even if one tree falls down it wouldn’t affect the entire forest. Chen Shui-bian

 

Yes, the one we know is “If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it does it make a sound?”, but in a way the above one is more correct.

Of course it makes a sound, but unless it is a forest of one, it doesn’t affect the forest.  The reason is that life goes on.  We are all trees in the forest of life, but we are born, live and then die.  Most are forgotten, but that is the way of life.  What is it’s meaning and what is your contribution to society, family or….?

Here’s a quick test to see what you’ve done.  Write your own obituary.  You’ll see what you’ve contributed and what you have done.

Which brings me to my favorite Mensa joke.  What is the meaning of life, give 3 examples.  Those who understand it will get it.

Thursday Saying – How To Confuse People In A Sentence

All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height. Casey Stengel

 

There’s not much I can say to this other than it’s genius, or a better Yogi Berra-ism than Yogi could have said.

The next time I want to stop the talking or confuse others, I’m using this one.

Things Not To Do – Arguing On The Internet

I already talked about this in the post “Stupid things that smart people do“.

I posted about how people have Internet road rage also as they are so brave hiding behind their screens doing things that would get their asses kicked in real life.

Arguing on the Internet is the biggest waste of time, other than social media.  Why do you ask (even if you don’t)?  Besides being a waste of time, you are looking at the best side of people and comparing it to the worst side of you (they take better vacations, their family is nicer, I’m not as pretty……).  It’s like a first date or job interview.  You are seeing the side they want to show you, not the real McCoy.

People think they are going to convince others that they are wrong or should switch to think like them because they are right.  Neither of these will happen.  You won’t convince anybody of anything and you just wasted more time in addition to Facebook, Twitter (the cesspool of the Internet) or any of the other time suck sites.

The other people that argue with you are the ones who do it to piss you off.  I know some of these people who do it for sport.  Hell, I get people in comments here who want to make their point because they believe they are right and I am wrong.  My answer is get your own blog.

Don’t be a time waster.  Don’t argue with people who ate paste.  Life is too short and someone out there really needs your help or time, not the kid from school.

 

 

Monday Saying – Why You Should Be Brave Enough To Say Yes or No (bonus for Introverts)

“In truth, the degree of anyone’s success depends on how often they can say the word yes and hear the word no.” – unknown.

 

Many are afraid of what others will think if they divert from their principles and don’t give the real answer.  It would save both parties a lot of time and angst if you would just be honest.

For Introverts, this is the best conversation.  It cuts through the BS small talk about why you can or can’t do something and gives the appropriate answer.  You’ll be respected for getting to the point quickly and will feel better about yourself for being honest.

Some, albeit a few might get their feelings hurt, but it will pass once they see you have done the right thing.  Many will appreciate that you gave them a straight answer, even if it isn’t dressed up and decorated with flowers and bows before you dance around your answer.

Say it, Yes or No.  Then move on to a deeper conversation.

Friday Saying – Einstein On Success and Perserverance

I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.

 

Many have heard this as if at first you don’t succeed try, try again.  While this is true, it assumes that you can just force success.

As we know, Einstein could see things through his thinking that few could fathom.  This was finesse rather than force.  Nevertheless, this does show that he never gave up and continued despite setbacks.

That is the lesson, don’t give up just because you didn’t get it right the first time.  Will you come up with the Theory of Relativity?  It’s doubtful, but you just might find meaning in your life.

Thursday Quote – Nietzsche On Social Media and Peer Pressure

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to tell them to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.

Nietzsche hated “the Herd”. He was often writing against the ideas and ways of the masses in favor of the free thinker who has risen above them. This statement is a clear example of this worldview.

Who are the herd?  They are social media telling you what to think, say, speak and what your values should be.  They are the MSM, celebtards and sports stars who want to force their values on you because of an outdated construct that equates fame with power.

Think for yourself and don’t be afraid to say it.  Don’t be a dumb ass though and say it when you are surrounded by Antifa or the rioters.  There is no reasoning with them right now and even agreeing with them can get you an ass whooping.

Don’t take your views from the media.  Almost no entity is more biased at this point.  Don’t succumb to pressure from social media.  That is just the new high school for the in crowd.  Be your own person instead and think for yourself.

Nietzsche is not wrong about the herd.  You’ll never respect yourself if you think like the herd just to be one of them. It isn’t worth it.

It is a smart person who avoids trouble, but chooses wisely when and where to take a stand for his values.

Wednesday Saying – Nietzsche on Suffering

What does not kill me, makes me stronger.

For Nietzsche, psychological growth is one of the most important things there is. Experiences do not have to be pleasurable to be good for us. Often it is suffering which gives meaning to our lives. By gaining experiences, good or bad, we grow as people, so long as we survive them, of course.

This quote is usually said as a quip, rather than to understand it’s true meaning.  Navy Seals fully understand this and what it takes to not give up even when you want to and it is the easy path to take.

File this under the school of hard knocks, of which I have a Ph.D.

Friday Saying – John Wooden On Life

All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.

John Wooden

 

Wooden was perhaps the greatest college basketball coach ever.  I think the fans at Duke, UNC and Kentucky may argue, but would still accept his legacy.

My mother told me something similar.  Life is about overcoming problems.  She said it is a series of hurdles that you have to overcome and there will always be another one.

One will always be on one of 3 sides of a situation.  You will be approaching it, enduring it or having just overcome it.  How you deal with it defines you.

With respect to Wooden, it does make life easier when you don’t go too overboard on any of the peaks and valleys.  They all pass and there will always be another one.

Thursday Saying – How To Win

You will never win if you never begin.

Helen Rowland

 

Wayne Gretzky said you miss 100% of the shots you never take.

Sometimes things hold us back from trying.  It could be fear of failure, embarrassment, procrastination or just timidness.

Learn from the lessons in life.  It’s OK to try and fail, because that is the start to the road to success.

Start now and don’t regret never having done whatever it is.

Wednesday Saying – How You Act Make A Difference

Act as if what you do makes a difference, it does – William James

 

No matter what you do, someone is watching.  Your kids learn by imitating you. Your co-workers watch you to see if you carry your load.

The military in the trenches of warfare want someone next to them they can trust, with their lives.  It could come down to that in an instant.

Whether you are spiritual or secular is noticed also.  The way they treat you will be your judge of how they perceive your actions.

So, actions speak louder than words.  Others notice.  Some may not care, but with the internet, nothing you do is ever forgotten.  The politicians in this years election are going to have to deal with it.  Some have decades of experience, some have a few years.  They will all be judged by what they have done and who they have done it for.

Also, don’t be a dick on social media.  It will haunt you forever.

Act right, do the right thing because it makes a difference.

Tuesday Saying – Who Is Normal?

“The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well.” – Joe Ancis

 

Some say there are skeleton’s in everyone’s closet.  The way I say it is that everyone has a story.

When you meet someone, it’s like a job interview. They put on the best version of themselves.  It’s kind of like a first date.  They show you the best version of themselves and how good they are.

Once you know them, the warts begin to show.   We let our guard down and you begin to see the real person.

Unless you go through this process and learn, you play a video in your head of who you think the other person is.  It’s rarely right because you don’t know them or what they’ve been through, or what they are capable of doing (to you).  That is why they seem normal.  My rule is that most are not.  Everyone has a story.

It’s why I usually don’t talk much about myself and just try to be the real me.  The sooner you show who you really are, the quicker you can weed out the fakes you run into.

How To Piss People Off

I laughed at this, especially the staple and the beeping.

Leave the copy machine set to reduce 200%, extra dark, 17 inch paper, 99 copies.
In the memo field of all your checks, write “for sexual favors.”
Specify that your drive-through order is “TO-GO.”
If you have a glass eye, tap on it occasionally with your pen while talking to others.
Stomp on little plastic ketchup packets.
Insist on keeping your car windshield wipers running in all weather conditions “to keep them tuned up.”
Reply to everything someone says with “that’s what you think.”
Practice making fax and modem noises.
Highlight irrelevant information in scientific papers and “cc” them to your boss.
Make beeping noises when a large person backs up.
Finish all your sentences with the words “in accordance with prophesy.”
Signal that a conversation is over by clamping your hands over your ears and grimacing.
Disassemble your pen and “accidentally” flip the ink cartridge across the room.
Holler random numbers while someone is counting.
Adjust the tint on your TV so that all the people are green, and insist to others that you “like it that way.”
Staple pages in the middle of the page.
Publicly investigate just how slowly you can make a croaking noise.
Honk and wave to strangers.
Decline to be seated at a restaurant, and simply eat their complimentary mints at the cash register.
TYPE IN UPPERCASE.
type only in lowercase.
dont use any punctuation either
Buy a large quantity of orange traffic cones and reroute whole streets.
Repeat the following conversation a dozen times.
“DO YOU HEAR THAT?”
“What?”
“Never mind, it’s gone now.”
As much as possible, skip rather than walk.
Try playing the William Tell Overture by tapping on the bottom of your chin. When nearly done, announce “No, wait, I messed it up,” and repeat.
Ask people what gender they are.
While making presentations, occasionally bob your head like a parakeet.
Sit in your front yard pointing a hair dryer at passing cars to see if they slow down.
Sing along at the opera.
Go to a poetry recital and ask why each poem doesn’t rhyme.
Ask your co-workers mysterious questions and then scribble their answers in a notebook. Mutter something about “psychological profiles.”

Friday’s Saying – Henri Fredrick Amiel

“The man who insists on seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides.”

 

A more common version of this is he who hesitates, hesitates.

No one knows the outcome of any decision.  We only have a few scientific theorems that are somewhat certain, for now.  They could be proven incorrect (Einstein’s Theory of Relativity) if we use scientific methods.

The same can be said for our everyday lives.  We usually think we are right, but we don’t know how it will turn out.  Many times our decisions help or harm others in ways we never intended them to.

Nevertheless, most of the time, making a decision is better than not making one, or procrastinating.  I’m in favor of getting the best intel you can to make a good decision, but in the heat of the battle you have to make one.

This is why some are better leaders than others.  They have the right instincts or have been through enough to have history and experience on their side to make a better decision.

There have been good young leaders, it’s just that most don’t have the wisdom of a life lived to not know when to shut up.

We’ll never have perfect clearness because we can’t see the future.  If we did, life wouldn’t be worth living.

Great Sayings – On Why To Be Positive by Wilson Mizner

If you count all your assets you always show a profit.

Wilson Mizner

 

Some people use the version of this that the glass is half full.  Some are optimists, some are pessimists.

How you look at life (and your life) can certainly change your perspective and your attitude.

It’s your choice to be happy or miserable.  Some are happiest when miserable, but I can’t change that.

When you are happy and count your blessings, others will feed off of that and you could change a life.  Just remember who gave you your blessings.

Great Sayings – Marcus Aurelius on Celebtards, Sports Stars and Politicians Today

“The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject.”

Marcus Aurelius

 

Celebrities pretend to be someone else.  They are trained liars.  Sports stars are the best of the best at playing kids games.  Politicians for the most part live to be re-elected and like celebtards, are trained liars (many are lawyers who are masters at not telling the truth).  The MSM are the worst.  They are news readers that have a bias one way or the other.  None of them really know about what they are telling us to do.  It is almost always do as I say, not as I do.

Why the hell would we listen to these people’s opinions?  For the idiots who trust social media, it’s because they live a false life on social media.  Kids (I include millennial’s to teenagers here) haven’t had enough hard knocks in life.  Sometimes it is the parents fault for trying to not have them go through what made them learn about life.  That’s why everyone got participation trophies and time out.

Older people who buy into what others are saying instead of finding out and deciding for themselves have no excuse.  Life causes us to learn whether we want to or not.  It’s called making mistakes and learning from it.  They just didn’t learn from it.

The net is don’t change your values because you went with the crowd.  That didn’t work in high school and it won’t work now.  Learn to think for yourself and do what you know is the right thing to do.

Seek out those who know what they are talking about, not those described in paragraph one above

Great Sayings – William Penn on Right vs. Wrong

“Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”

William Penn

 

The peer pressure (or social media pressure) to go with the crowd is burdensome at best, overwhelming at worst.  Standing out from the popular opinion and risk being ostracized for doing what is right is too much for some.

This seems tougher for the youth who are trying to fit in, or those who are not self-assure in who they are.

Stop seeking adoration if it causes you to drift from your moral compass.  You may drop from the popular crowd, but why would you want to be a part of a group that seeks to do wrong?

If today’s youth (and a good percentage of adults) would think about this, we might not have riots in big cities, we might get along better, we might give each other more space instead of condemning them or cutting them off in traffic.

In your heart, you know right from wrong.  Try doing it for a change.

 

Great Sayings – George Eliot Talks About Sports Stars, Politicians, Celebtards and Social Media

Blessed is the man, who having nothing to say, abstains from giving wordy evidence of the fact.

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t like getting told how and what to think by people who aren’t qualified to do so.  Athletes are paid well to entertain us and distract us from the drudgery of life.

Celebrities pretend to be other people on screen or on stage.  They are paid liars basically.

Politicians, well I guess everyone has their own opinion, but most hold them in low regard.  When I say low, most who are polled have them below used car salesmen.

All of the above get fame, adoration and a lot of money for what they do.  I don’t fault them for making the most of their work, only how much influence they think we care about

Social Media?  It has become the cesspool of the bad side of people.  Sort of an internet road rage.

With that being said, my advice to all of them is to never miss any opportunity to shut up.

No going back, how Covid has changed us

Covid has changed our lives for good, and possibly/probably not for the better. Let’s take it by activity.

Travel

Here is some history. Flying used to be fun, economical and had good service. We used to like going on an airplane until some jag-off decided to try and light his shoe bomb on a plane.  Then another tried to blow up his underwear. We now have to queue in a long line  and I’m not all that sure that it’s stopped anyone other than the average Joe traveler. It hasn’t stopped the TSA from copping a feel on strangers.  The food sucks now and isn’t free anymore. Flying is more like the line for enlistment (including your prostate exam by the TSA) than to get on a plane.

With Covid, we can now add a temperature check, face masks and the the fear of catching anything from being in a tube for hours with little to no service.  The airports are petri dishes for bacteria.

Given the losses on travel companies and equipment manufacturers, it doesn’t bode well for the travel industry or the travelers.

Going to the office to work.

The requirement to be in person at work not as necessary as thought.

Before remote working, we had to be in the office or no one could be fully sure that you were earning your pay. Travel and working remotely eased that but there still are some bosses who didn’t trust their employees.   I had one piss-ant manager named R. Gorman when I worked at Thinkpad who didn’t trust anyone. He  sent a memo called rules of the road where you had to be in the office. All that got him was no trust or loyalty from the team. We were technologically equipped to work from anywhere and always did on business travel, but there still was some requirement to be in the office otherwise.

Employees want to be empowered to succeed. When that happens, they find ways to be creative and accomplish their goals. Conversely, when you treat them like school children, many will act that way. Just like with Ray, our productivity went down and the Ray jokes went up.

Now, no one can go in to work while we are socially distancing, and most jobs (non-manufacturing) are still getting done. It’s easy to reach anyone at anytime (too easy and too intrusive) but the oversight of said taskmasters is not needed. In a way, the people are now empowered and they still get the work done.  This one could be a benefit of Covid.

The downside is that a lot of empty buildings will lose their real estate value as there is no need to be in the office with the exception of essential workers.

How it affects the home

For us introverts, I thought it would be a time that we could cancel and/or avoid engagements until Zoom invaded our lives. Now even virtual happy hours are like a meeting. I’ve noticed that it’s hard to get privacy when kids and dogs are in the room or yelling in the background. Spouses or parents have been caught parading nude in front of the camera by accident.

When you meet in person, it’s easier to read body language and have someones attention. I tend to drift during Zoom meetings and have multiple devices that I often look at. I’ve noticed that I’m not alone.

Trouble for Introverts

Normally, we would be in pig heaven not to have to go to the office. In addition to the invasiveness of Zoom/Skype, we are stuck in the house with extroverts who won’t leave us alone. It’s like being trapped in hell. You want the quiet and the peace you got when the extrovert was in the office, instead your personal space is invaded and you can’t escape the dreaded small talk.  The place that used to be your refuge has been invaded and there is no escape.  It’s a fucking nightmare.  It’s the people in your house that you can’t get away from.

How are you supposed to recharge your social battery when an extrovert is constantly draining it all day?  Please, leave me alone and talk to your girlfriends.

Schools

The school model is now exposed, especially at college level. No more extortion for dorms when you can do 90% online. College professors are no longer as essential. Recorded classes, especially at the 100 and 200 level are adequate. Online testing and submitting required homework is routinely done online even well before this virus.

It turns out that colleges are a Breathtakingly overpriced product.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/05/breathtakingly-overpriced-product-mike-rowe-says-covid-19-revealed-college-really/

According to Mike Rowe: “They’re gonna’ find big thinkers with easily accessible ideas who are exponentially more interesting than professors, and soon, I hope, our obscene love affair with credentialing is going to stop, and we’re going to pause in every imaginable way, and look at what is essential – not just in workers or in work, but in education, in food, in fun. Everything is going to be forced through a different filter,” he said.

Colleges will also be exposed on their sports programs. Sports are a bank fund that pays for a lot of other school expenses and is a recruiting tool for enrollment. The schools will now have to rely on actual academics as a draw for students instead of March Madness or Bowl season. Maybe the students will now get an education instead of an indoctrination to Marxism.

Conversely, this is a big positive as the cost of education has the opportunity to go down (but so far the colleges are still extorting the same ransom from parents). Room and board are a large part of the cost of an education. Combine that with the lack of a requirement for many classrooms and there is the road to cutting costs.

It is not in the best interest of the Major institutions to charge less, but the cat is out of the bag that you can get almost as much done online. I hope that the masses will overcome and help this opportunity for cost cutting.

For elementary, middle and high school, I think it will hurt our youth.  There is a need for hands on in basic learning and kids have the attention span of gnats.  Sometimes you need to snatch their asses back to attention when it’s learning time.

New paradigm for getting essential needs like groceries.

Essential services like cancer, emergency rooms are same, but will change. Non-essential Dr. visits are now handled over the phone or via video. Dr.’s can now dedicate more of their time to real emergencies or necessary in-person visits. A person using the Emergency Room for healthcare because they don’t have insurance is going to go way down.

There is no downtime for paperwork and other overhead that comes with any job, but that got handled off-line mostly anyway.

Rely on technology more, but the risk is that you can take down a society like the virus did. Beware of hackers though, where there is opportunity, there will be bad guys looking to make your day worse.

Shopping

Groceries have taken a turn for the better/worse/something different. Now that we went through the great toilet paper shortage and people have enough to wipe their asses for the next 5 years.   They can realize that a little planning can condense 5 shopping trips into one, or one delivery or pickup.

A lot converts have been made for grocery delivery. There are a few kinks that need to be worked out though. I’ve gotten stuff I didn’t order, but mostly I rarely get everything I wanted, even if I put in what the substitute would be product. There is no shopping for the store brand that is a whole lot cheaper.

We have gotten used to queuing a lot more now. It used to be the end of the world for some people who had to wait for more than one person to checkout. Now, we’re standing on X’s taped to the floor like kindergartners waiting to go potty.

As is the trend, online shopping has picked up and the downside is retail stores are less needed.  Again, this is a loss in real estate value and will leave a lot of square footage available.

So all in all, some of this is good, but a lot of it was unnecessary. If it wasn’t an election year or if there were different political leaders, a whole lot of people wouldn’t be losing there freaking minds over every little thing that they look for to be offended by.  HCQ would be over the counter like it is in a lot of countries and we wouldn’t be held hostage for masks as no one really seems to know whether it truly helps or hurts us yet.

I’ll remain optimistic that society will adapt.  I’m pessimistic that this is a political power opportunity to control the masses and we should beware.

Great Sayings – Ralph Waldo Emerson on Living For the Moment

With the past, I have nothing to do; nor with the future. I live now.

 

Yes, I know you have to plan for the future, but you don’t know what path it will take. Plan for multiple scenarios if you want.

I heard this saying in different words: Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, I live for today (Kimi Raikonnen).

Life goes by fast.  Stop suffering for things you did in the past.  There is nothing you can do to change what happened.

Stop worrying yourself about what might or might not happen tomorrow.  Tomorrow will take care of itself.  You have the past as a guide to know how to deal with it.

Great Sayings – Confucius Said It Before Wait, Hold My Beer Was Invented

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.

 

A person must know their limits.  Those who know more than you will quickly know when you have gone past the line of your knowledge (abilities, capabilities, etc.)

It’s no shame to say I don’t know, especially if it gives you the opportunity to learn or grow.  It’s only those afraid to say they don’t know or act like they do that miss the chance to expand their life.

Swallow your pride and seek others help.

Also, don’t say here, hold my beer and do something stupid.

Saturday Humor – Fixing The Name of The Washington NFL Team

Read the title, this is humor and tongue in cheek at that.  Don’t take it any other way.  I don’t care if they re-name the team the Washington Team, but that doesn’t preclude me from making fun of the situation because someone sent me this and I think it is a clever play on words.

The world has bigger problems than this so try and have a laugh, then move along.

Great Sayings – Why Meetings Suck

“Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.”

– John Kenneth Galbraith

We’ve now found out during Covid that in person meetings are not necessary.  Actually, most of us knew that from sitting in them and wishing we were dead or anything to not be there.

I do know a few people that love meetings and live for them.  I think they don’t want to work, or it’s the place they think they can actually wield power.  I avoid those people so I don’t have to go to their meetings.

I’ve written before why Meetings are a waste of time, and how to avoid them.

As an introvert, I loathe meetings.  My rule was that if there were anymore than 5 people nothing was going to get done.

Avoid them at all cost.  They are a time suck and we’ve now proven that you can get work done without them

 

Great Sayings – Why We Love Someone

Nobody loves a woman because she is handsome or ugly, stupid or intelligent. We love because we love.

-Honore de Balzac

 

There is someone for everyone.  I once read (so it might be somewhat true) that there are 15,000 Mr. or Mrs. Right’s for each person.  The problem is that they are spread around the world so they might not be next door.

The other saying is that goes with this is that Love is blind.  You love because we were created to love and to be together.

With all the nonsense going on in the world right now, it would be a whole lot better if we concentrated on loving someone instead of causing mayhem because they think they hate someone.

Love is a decision.  The romance usually wears off in 12-18 months.  After that, it is a cause, not an emotion.  Looks wear off with age.  The real beauty is inside a person.

Let that sink in.

Great Sayings – D.L. Moody On Dealing With The Problem That Is Ourselves

I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man. – D.L. Moody

 

Yes, we are many times our biggest problem.  The constant decisions of right vs. wrong and living with the consequences.

We all have a moral compass, it’s just that some choose to ignore it.  Unfortunately, the more you do something, the more you become numb to it.  There are few regrets for doing the right thing.  There are always regrets for doing wrong, either now or down the road.

Even if you escape it in the temporal world (while you are living), there are consequences in the Eternal world (your soul).

Moody was a biblical scholar and he refers to all of the above.  He is worth reading up on as he was a wise person, but still fought with himself and his struggle on Earth.

Great Sayings – Understanding Life As You Grow Old, Confucius and Jean Paul

Real knowledge is to know the extent on one’s ignorance. – Confucius

The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it. – Jean Paul

 

How many have said I wish I knew then what I know now?  Well, you would have lived life differently and not have learned what you know now.

The known unknowns and the unknown unknowns are the mysteries of life to learn.  Don’t be blinded by arrogance to think that you know everything.   Always try to learn something, anything no matter how little and you will never be disappointed.

Also, appreciate what you have for today.  You don’t know what tomorrow brings, or how many tomorrow’s you have.  It’s easy to be dissatisfied when you are selfish or self-centered.  Try looking at things from anothers point of view, especially their view of you and see if your thinking is clear.

 

Great Sayings On Genius, Suckers and Stupidity, How Much and How Often They Pass By Our Life

“Everyone is born with genius, but most people only keep it a few minutes.” – Edgard Varese

A sucker is born every minute – P.T. Barnum

“Barnum was wrong – it’s more like every 30 seconds.” – unknown

“Human genius has its limits, but stupidity does not.” – Alexandre Dumas

We live in trying times.  It is tough to know what is really true, especially if you listen to the MSM, celebrities, sports stars or trust social media.  This means more as we are in an election cycle.

Inside, we all have a moral compass, it’s just that many refuse to look at it, study the facts and make the right decision.  Most see the world through the view of someone else’s beliefs.

Be smart and don’t be afraid to go against what is popular while sacrificing what is true and the right thing to do.  Sure, you may lose a few people in your life, but in the end you’ll be a heckuva lot better off not swimming against the current into the jaws of those who feast on the idiots.

Great Sayings – Who Is Rich? – Benjamin Franklin, But I Say Different

“Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody.” – Franklin

I think this was referring to materialism  People always want more, even when they get what they want.

King Midas wanted everything he touched to be gold, but he couldn’t eat and lost his child who was turned to gold.

I read that 4 out of 5 NFL players go bankrupt after being multimillionaires.  Most lottery winners declare bankruptcy.  Steve Jobs, Rockefeller’s, the Rothschild’s, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes and all of the most wealthy died stinking rich but wanting more.

You can’t serve 2 masters.  It’s a quote in the Bible.  You will serve one or the other, God or money.  It also says that where your treasure is, so shall your heart be.

For some, it is not wealth, rather they seek fame or some hobby or a person.  None of that will make you rich.

I’ve already said above where to look for answers that will give you your only source of happiness.  It isn’t in material things, rather spiritual.   There is nothing wrong with having material wealth, just don’t worship it.

Good luck

Great Sayings – Words Married Couples Should Never Use

“Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use.”

Wendell Johnson

 

When I went to a group for married couples early in my marriage, this was one of the significant topics.

Sure, it’s written in humor in the quote above, but it is very true.  Nothing is always or never like you never put the toilet seat down or you always leave the lights on.  It’s just not true and both parties know it.

The reason I say married couples is that people dating or living together can just leave with little damage other than feelings.  While it’s not believed by a lot of people, the concept of marriage is until death do us part.  Some still pull that off.

So never say always and always say never.

Great Sayings – The Count of Monte Cristo

“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine!” —  The Count of Monte Cristo

This is one of my favorite books. I’ll be honest that I don’t remember this line, but when I came across it I found it to be the story of everyone’s life.

How you face adversity should be with the same intensity that you face success.  The emotion will be different, but the effort should be equal.

Your hopes will be dashed on the rocks more than once.  Learning how to handle that without being destroyed gets you through the next dashing.

Conversely, when you succeed, how you handle it should be as if you have done it before.  There should be internal satisfaction with no need to put down the opponent, other than the hurdle you overcame.

Great Sayings – Judging a Person By Who They Are, Henry Ward Beecher

“A man’s ledger does not tell what he is, or what he is worth. Count what is in man, not what is on him, if you would know what he is worth — whether rich or poor.” –Henry Ward Beecher

Steve Jobs died with 9 billion dollars. It does him no good now.  He built a dynamic company that employees thousands and touches millions.  He also refused to acknowledge his daughter when she was growing up.  Which is more important?

Many of us want to show off what we have or what we look like on the outside.  Look no further than the cesspools that are Facebook and Instagram.  No matter how good the lives look there, what do they look like on the inside?  Actually, most people reveal how terrible they really are on Twitter, but that is not a dress up platform like the others.

What is in you?

Surprise! A Dogs Age Is Not 7 Times A Human’s – Here Is the Real Chart

If you want to do the math, here is how:

The most precise method involves the empirical equation that the researchers discovered, which is 16 x ln(dog’s age) +31 = human age, (that is the natural logarithm of the dog’s real age, multiplied by 16, with 31 added to the total.)

You can compute this using any calculator which has the ln function. Simply type your dog’s age. Press ln. Press x and type in 16. Press + and type in 31. Hit the equals sign and there you have it.

Hat tip to Psychology Todayhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/canine-corner/202007/genetics-shows-how-convert-dogs-age-human-years

Humor Sayings – How To Count By That Famous Actor

“Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your shoes.”

Mickey Mouse

I’m going to leave any sense of my usual pontificating based on wisdom here.  They of course couldn’t say it on TV, but the old locker room joke is that guys can count to 21, do the math.

I haven’t looked at his picture recently, but I don’t think Mickey had 5 fingers on his hand either.

Great Sayings – The Bias That People Have

People only see what they are prepared to see.  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

I’m not going to get political here because I think people should make up their own minds.  Most already have.  The problem with the MSM and Social Media is that you can confirm you bias, no matter what it is by going to what sources you feel comfortable to read.  That is your filter.

What I do think is that the actual smart people will have an open mind to both sides of any situation and look at the facts and ask questions.  We should challenge what is out there every time there is a “major issue” to see what the real answers are.

It takes time and you will have to have an open mind, but coming to the right conclusion instead of viewing a situation through the filter of what someone else says is the way to truth.

This is not easy.  What is easy is to fall back to your usual sources and just believe and regurgitate what is being said.

Take off the filter and evaluate like a detective.  Come to the right conclusion based on facts, not feelings or especially on what someone else said.

More On How Little People Care About the Opinions Of Actors and Hollywood

Let’s face it, actors are people who pretend to be others for money.  A few make it as big stars so good for them.  I hope more are successful.

Many in Hollywood or wherever the pretenders live are separated from the real world.  They have a good education in acting, but seem to lack an understanding of how little their opinion matters.  Many sport that valuable high school degree that is just the stepping stone for the rest of the country.

The number of Instagram followers is not an indication of their influence or education, except to minions of teenyboppers who want their shot at fame.  The meme above talks about politics, but they seem to interject when it is social media acceptable for them to tell us what they think we should do.

The celebtards, as I have seem them referred to want to force their beliefs on the 9-5’ers.  The problem is that those two groups live in different worlds.  Most in the real world understand what it takes to survive in a less privileged life.

At the end of the day, most of us just want to see them ply their trade to entertain us and distract us from our worries and troubles.  We don’t need them to tell us how to think, vote or live our lives.  Stick to acting so we can enjoy it.

I’ve posted before how no one really cares about celebrity opinions.  I thought I’d just revisit it.

Great Sayings – Covid 19 and Weather Forecasters

“The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised. ”

George Will

 

Yes, you are never wrong when you do this.  Covid/China/Wuhan/whatever virus deaths were off by millions.  You can’t really trust a weather forecast until the time you need it to be right.  You can’t lose.  Predict the worst with a probability and then you can’t really be wrong, just a little off.

I’m an optimist, but I want things to be correct, based on facts and history whenever possible.  Forecasts can be based on these 2 things to get an accurate measurement, when you want it to be.  I guess that’s the big gotcha for these 2.

Great Sayings – How To Read The News (Or Don’t If You Don’t Have To)

“Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws.”

-Douglas Adams

I worked with the press/media for 3+ decades.  I know they don’t write the correct story and at best it is partially true.  It is also biased one way or another depending on the publication.

It seems these days that all we get is bad news.  There is an old saying for news outlets, “If it bleeds it reads”.  There is also the sex sells and others that are the same.

It might be best to not look at the news very much right now, at least until the election is over.

My other piece of advice is to not just read (if you have to) things that confirm your bias.  It won’t really inform you although it could make you feel better than what you don’t agree with.

The MSM isn’t going to write anything good or unbiased right now.  If you know that going into it, you can treat it with the (dis)respect it deserves.  Also, don’t even pretend to get proper information from social media.  You’ll drive yourself and others crazy.

To Tim O’Reilly, On Global Warming And Rising Tides When He Told Me We Were Doomed And Will Drown.

After reading a post that claimed rising tides threatened the world a while back, I suggested to him that the tides fluctuate. Science plus history prove the Statue of Liberty isn’t drowning, or Florida sinking like his hero Al Gore promised. I was pointing out the obvious to no avail. I’ve rarely encountered such an elitist, who was so wrong on a subject (except Al Gore).

check it out Tim, The tides aren’t rising in 500 years. Global warming science isn’t hard if you lie. I figured it out and so did you. I’m just the one pointing out the truth you don’t want to believe.
One of Al Gore’s Houses
Which came true Tim O, or James G or Tom R? You guys were nuts and wrong every time.

His argument was that climate science is hard. (It is when you only try to scare others with fake predictions and not facts to back up your position and then the scare never happens). It’s hard to defend when none of those descriptions of doom ever come true, hot or cold. The tweet below shows the Grand Tetons the same as they were 100 years ago

What is funny to me is that instead of decent discussion which I offered, I instead got an ad hominem attack on my character. It was an ill advised use of a bully pulpit as without any personal knowlege of me, I was told I was a typical Fox News watcher (I refuse to watch any news channel, especially FOX l as they all are biased in some way, read my blog and you’ll see). This is typical leftist behavior when they don’t get their way. Start saying they are racists, supremacists, Hitler, deplorable’s and so forth.

There were the other usual liberal attacks on me personally about beliefs I was accused of but don’t have, typical of when you run out of facts. I was this or that, because I wouldn’t worship Gaia and no mention of my knowledge of science and history, and especially facts. So he lied about the tides and about me. Good job there boy.

I also know that Carbon Dioxide is a nutrient for plants. That is the settled science. These idiots call it poison and wanted to tax it. Did anyone go to biology class?

The offer to talk is now rescinded because I don’t have time for Internet trolls like Tim or people who won’t get educated about what they spew. They aren’t going to believe facts and have adjusted it to fit their pre-determined outcome.

Evidence That Climate Change Is A Hoax Perpetuated By The Rich, your hero’s.

proof the rich don’t believe it either

So the Greenland Ice is growing and Florida is still there. The water around the statue is at the same level it’s been for 100 years and Tim is a troll it appears and is wrong. I’ve added at hastag for TIm, a social media terrorist.

THE PAUSE IN TEMPERATURE

I offer a few facts, something Tim didn’t have when castigating others on social media.

The New Pause paused last month because I was ill. Many apologies for the interruption. Now, however, it resumes – and it has lengthened from 7 years 7 months to the end of April 2022. To the end of June 2022, the New Pause is now 7 years 10 months in length:

This Pause, like its predecessor, which was an impressive 18 years 8 months (UAH), or 18 years 9 months (HadCRUT4), is, as always, not cherry-picked. It is derived from the UAH monthly global mean lower-troposphere temperature anomalies as the period from the earliest month starting with which the least-squares linear-regression trend to the most recent month for which data are available does not exceed zero. Whatever the data show, I show. Or, in the immortal words of Dr Roy Spencer, speaking of his dataset, “It is what it is”. In that splendid dictum speaks all true science.

The least-squares trend, which Professor Jones at the University of East Anglia used to recommend as the simplest and most robust method of deriving global-temperature trends, takes due account of all monthly values, not merely of the starting and ending values.

It sucks when you are wrong. But the point of climate change isn’t carbon reduction (Trump reduced it more than any president), it’s controlling others and grifting money.

I feel sorry for people like him. It must suck to go through life choosing to be purposely ignorant about science. It must suck to be wrong and to not change, but when you are in that deep, there is no getting out. You’ve bought the lie hook, line and sinker.

The European Union’s parliament has decided that nuclear power and gas power from plants now qualify as “green energy.” The proposal passes the EU parliament as Russia is threatening to cut off all natural gas transit to Europe in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The news was reported by Disclose TV on Wednesday morning.

JUST IN – EU Parliament declares nuclear power and gas as “green” energy.

— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 6, 2022

“EU Parliament declares nuclear power and gas as ‘green’ energy,” the news account tweeted.

It was also reported by the Associated Press in a piece that reads more like an outraged editorial.

“European Union lawmakers voted Wednesday to include natural gas and nuclear in the bloc’s list of sustainable activities, backing a proposal from the EU’s executive arm that has been drawing fierce criticism from environment groups and will likely trigger legal challenges,” the AP noted.

Great Sayings – How To Play the Game Of Life

You can only win in the game of life if you play. Those who stand and watch others don’t get to play or live life.

 

Some sit on the sidelines and watch.  Some want to play but are too afraid.  Others jump in and never worry what happens and some can fall into a mud puddle and come up wearing a dry cleaned tuxedo.

Most of us do all of these things, but not trying is the worst sin of the above.  There is no shame in trying and failing if you learn and try again.  Use what you learn and apply it to the next situation.

Great Sayings – How To Deal With Change (Covid 19 edition)

For the timid, change is frightening; for the comfortable, change is threatening; but for the confident, change is opportunity. –

Nido Qubein

What goes with this saying is that change is the only thing that stays the same.  It’s going to happen so how you deal with it is how it’s going to affect you.

Being frightened isn’t bad.  It heightens your awareness (fight or flight) to notice it’s happening and allows you to deal with it.  Those who embrace it and see the upside will be better off.  Running away from it isn’t going to stop it.  Life goes on and so must you.

As we get older, we get more used to it or get more used to running from it.  It’s your choice.

Look around you right now.  It’s happening with Covid 19, the riots and political back biting.  Stay above it and don’t believe what is being written (actually don’t read the news or social media, neither of which are likely to tell the truth).  Decide for yourself.

Great Sayings On Moving Forward In Life, Despite Your Circumstances

Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start. – Nido Quebein

 

You can’t change the past, regardless of how it treated you.  You have to learn from it and move on.  You also have to realize that it happened to make you the person you are.  You will never be someone else so stop trying to be like them.  Being yourself and accepting who you are is a gift.  Many refuse that gift.

Social media is who people want you to think they are and want you to be.  It’s becoming mind poisoning for many.  Enjoy and be happy for others, but don’t let it define you.

This comes to today’s saying.  Whatever happened happened.  It’s time to take what you’ve learned and make the most of what’s ahead of you.  You don’t know how long you may have to get done what you need to get done.  Try to enjoy it along the way.  You never know what lesson today brings to help you the rest of your life.

This is the only description I know of the amount of life you have ahead of you, but it is not for us to know.  If we knew the ending, we might not live our life the way it should be lived.

Great Sayings – Einstein On Being A Genius

Don’t let others get you down.  Don’t live your life by others version of what you should be.  It’s hard to buck social peer pressure and be yourself, but that’s what it can take sometimes to find the real you.

Stop wasting your life on social media to define yourself by others.  In fact it looks like staying off of social media except for family and a few actual friends looks like it makes your life better anyway.

It’s hard to seek your dreams.  You have to pay the bills and raise the kids, so sometimes your dreams or reaching your capabilities doesn’t come in your 20’s like it did for Albert.

That doesn’t give anyone a free pass for not trying their hardest to do their best.

Great Sayings – Muhammad Ali On How To Train

I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.
Most of winning is done before the event.  Sure, some people occasionally bring a surprise to the fight but almost always the winner also won in training.
I strive to win everything.  I win practice before training.  I try to win training.  I then try to win the event.  It showed me that tenacity over talent can accomplish a lot.
When you feel like giving up, don’t. You won’t know what you can achieve until you push your limits.  This counts at work, in life, sports and almost anything.

Great Sayings – Shakespeare

We know what we are, but know not what we may be. – Shakespeare

 

Another version of this goes – You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.  That was either Gretzky or Jordan.

Some don’t try for fear of failure, some don’t try because they lack courage.  Both lose because there is a reward for winning and a reward for learning if you fail.  I heard Michael Jordan say that he took over 30 shots to win games and missed, but it didn’t stop him the next time.  He said when asked if he was worried he might miss and he answered that why would worry about something that hasn’t happened yet?

Don’t let your inhibitions keep you from excelling.  You never know what is inside you until you try.  Many times I haven’t felt well for an activity that I needed to be well conditioned for, yet wound up killing it because all I needed was a warmup.

Go after it today, then go after it tomorrow.  Keep going after it until you can go.  The reward is not a trophy, it is the sense of accomplishment that will help you try again the next time.

Finally, let it be the judge of who you are, not social media.  That is turning into a cesspool of being a time suck and dragging you down because you think something is different than it is.  Don’t be a sheeple.

Sayings – Why You Should Never Give Up

Behind every success or overnight sensation is usually a long list of mistakes and failures, don’t give up.

 

I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned far more from my mistakes than successes.  When I succeed, I usually expected to, whether or not I knew if I had a chance.  It usually is a result of optimism and confidence, but we all have that if we want it.

The corollary to this is whether you learn from your mistakes.  If we’re alive, we’re going to make a mistake sooner or later.  Not doing it twice, especially on the important stuff is the key.  Learn from it, but don’t dwell on failing.  Dwell on succeeding by not repeating the past.

Knowing what is important is the next key.  Start with people.  If you’ve made a mistake, admit it and try not to let it be a hurdle for you.  If they’ve made a mistake (and harmed you in some way) learn to forgive.  Also, learn to move on.  The faster you can do this, the less you will be bothered by whatever it was.  Don’t let anyone live rent free in your head

 

Great Sayings – Ralph Waldo Emerson on Life

What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

You take with you what you’ve been through as an education.  Hopefully you learn and don’t repeat the mistakes and instead, use what you learned for good.

Nevertheless, you may not realize your capabilities unless you stretch your goals and keep striving for more.

The bad guys in the media and those who are trying to re-shape the world in their image want to take away your hope.  Don’t ever give that up.  It’s what keeps us going and not fall into trap of complacency.

Great Sayings – What The Heck is Aristotle Really Saying?

“In the case of all things which have several parts and in which the totality is not, as it were, a mere heap, but the whole is something besides the parts, there is a cause; for even in bodies contact is the cause of unity in some cases, and in others viscosity or some other such quality.”

I got this from Mark Manson.  The original quote we think we know goes like this; the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.  Mark points out that almost nothing Aristotle says is all that understandable so I thought I’d give an example above.

Usually I have something pithy today, but I thought I’d throw in an example of something we think we know and really don’t, along with how little we pay attention to history.

Great Sayings – Self Survival By Governments, Innovation and Those In Charge, but are not True Leaders

Hat tip to Moonbattery

For politics, we need balance.  History shows that too much dominance by any side makes for lack of clear vision as leaders.  Their goal becomes being re-elected instead of serving the office they were elected to.  There are plenty of examples.

In Companies, being the solution to a problem is one business model, until the problem goes away then so do profits.

The better model is innovation.  Not that I find it that innovative, but look no further than the iPhone as an example.  Conversely, we are still stuck with Windows however and I find no real innovation there.  I left that platform as quickly as I could

Then of course there is Facebook, Twitter, Google and host of other platforms that haven’t really offered a solution other than sucking the time out of your day and providing a place to move along anarchy.

Look at the motives of the person trying to offer a solution.  Are they selling you a bill of goods, re-election or innovation?

Great Sayings – JFK on Lying

“For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie–deliberate, contrived and dishonest–but the myth–persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

President John F. Kennedy, Yale University Commencement, June 11, 1962

It’s hard to know what to believe these days.  The media (MSM) lies to us every time they communicate, politicians say what they think others want to hear (there are a rare few that don’t) and Social Media is just a group lynching now for whatever you say that more than 1 other person disagrees.  Worst of all are the celebtards who think they have a clue to what life is really about and get together to preach to the masses because they have a million Instagram followers.

The bottom line is if you don’t believe in something, you will fall for anything.  For me it is faith, but everyone has to find their own way and their own rock to anchor to.  Good luck.

If everyone starts repeating the same thing, use your critical thinking to decide whether it is worth going along with or if it is even true.  I question just about everything until I know the motive.  Also, I quit Twitter, Quora and only look at FAKEbook for group events that I’m supposed to show up at.

Great Sayings – Advertising vs. The News (both suck)

“Advertising is the modern substitute for argument; its function is to make the worse appear the better.”

-George Santayana

Over the years, we’ve found ways to skip ads.  We record shows and fast forward through them to watch what we want.

Lately, I’ve been skipping the news because I’m sick of the biased reporting, from either side of the story.

Advertising somehow makes having hemorrhoids, toe fungus, yellow teeth and bad breath seem better.  All of it at the cost of the fast speaker at the end telling you all of the things that will harm you when you use the cure they are selling.

The news tells you all the harm that is happening to you to make you feel worse.  So advertisements during the news hour is a recipe for depression or anger.

I hope all of this crap is just the result of it being an election year and will go away after November.  Unfortunately, since they’ve already gotten rid of Brian Williams, Bill O’Reilly, Matt Lauer, Katy Couric and the rest of the losers and the news still sucks it probably won’t.

I just don’t watch now and I feel better.  Tell me when it changes.

 

Great Sayings – How To Succeed and Not Just Sit On Your Ass

It’s not just knowledge, succeeding is knowledge put into action.

 

There are a lot of smart people.  There are a lot of successful people that have lower IQ’s, but are smarter in life.  The difference is what they do with what they know.

The difference is putting yourself into action.  It’s also known as common sense.

I’ve worked with a lot of people who bitched that they never get ahead or that they are better/smarter/have been there longer/deserved it more than the person that got the promotion or the new position.  Almost always the person that got the prize was the one who took the chance and did the work.

Don’t sit on your ass.  Get out there and do something, then do more.  Rinse and repeat then watch the results.

There is too much history behind this to show that it works.  You don’t win every time, but that is why they play the game.  This one is called life.

Great Sayings – Life is Tough Buttercup

When you do things because they are easy or the easy way, life will be hard in the future. When you do things that are hard, life will become easy.

I remember in my early working days when I was busting ass on a Saturday.  A friend of mine was giving me a hard time about working while he was on his way to Hawaii because he only worked 2 weeks a month (he was a stewardess – his words).  He was flying there for free because he worked for the airlines.

I knew that I was making a short term sacrifice for a long term gain.  I couldn’t afford the trip both in terms of money or time off.

A few years later, he decided not to serve cokes in the air for a living, but had wasted 15 years of working experience.  I had committed to getting ahead early in my career to enjoy my time later in life.  That required me to work hard when I was younger and sacrifice some things.

Now, I go where I want, when I want.  I’ve long since retired and my friend is still catching up and will be working for a long time.  I can afford a ticket to wherever, usually on frequent flyer points.  Life is a full circle.

I’m not a fortune teller, but life is short and there is a time for work and a time to reap the rewards of that work.  I knew that early and instead of living for the moment I had to work hard and sacrifice to enjoy the fruits of that labor.

We all learn lessons in life, but the are eerily similar.  Few are sports stars, win the lottery or inherit their wealth.  You need to work tenaciously, suffer from some hard knocks and learn from your experiences.  I knew way back then that goofing off early in life when you should be building the foundation for your life was the right decision.

I decided not to rub it in with my friend now that we are on the other side of the equation.  He is suffering enough and it’s just not worth it to me.  The results speak for themselves.

Great Sayings on Discernment – Spurgeon

Discernment is not knowing the difference between right and wrong, it is the difference between right and almost right.

Times are weird right now.  What once was considered wrong is now right, just because.  The reverse is also true.

Don’t let what is going on tear you from your principles or the ability to know what is right.  It is difficult and it is also hard to know if you are correct in your discernment.

History is a good teacher.  It is important to have principles and stick to them.  It’s just hard to do when the world is upside down.

 

Sayings That Sound Dirty But Aren’t

TOP TEN LEGAL SAYINGS THAT SOUND DIRTY, BUT AREN’T

Have you looked through her briefs?

He is one hard judge!

Counselor, let’s do it in chambers.

Her attorney withdrew at the last minute.

Is it a penal offense?

Better leave the handcuffs on.

For $200 an hour, she better be good!

Can you get him to drop his suit?

The judge gave her the stiffest one he could.

Think you can get me off?

***************

TOP TEN GOLF SAYINGS THAT SOUND DIRTY, BUT AREN’T

Damn, my shaft is bent.

After 18 holes, I can barely walk.

You really whacked the hell out of that sucker.

Look at the size of his putter.

Keep your head down and spread your legs a bit more.

Mind if I join your threesome?

Stand with your back turned and drop it.

My hands are so sweaty I can’t get a good grip.

Nice stroke, but your follow-through leaves a lot to be desired.

And of course the list wouldn’t be complete without this……

Hold on, I need to wash my balls first.

 

Mask Follies – When Covid Kids Go Back To School (Humor)

Local school board is deciding whether or not to make kids wear masks at school. Here is what will happen.

Here’s how I think requiring masks might work in elementary.

Please don’t snap Billy’s mask in his face.

Your mask is not a necklace, bracelet, or any other form of jewelry.

You should not be using your mask as a slingshot. Please put it back on your face.

Please do not chew on your mask.

Your mask should be on your face, not on the back of your head

I’m sorry your mask is wet, but that’s what happens when you lick the inside of it.

I’m sorry you sneezed. Here’s a tissue. Wipe out the snot as well as you can.

No, you may not blow your nose in your mask.

Why is your mask soaking wet? You just came back from the bathroom?

And you put it back on your face after you dropped it?

I’m sorry you broke the elastic on your mask by seeing how far the band would stretch. Now you’ll have to hold the mask on your face … or use this duct tape.

Please take the mask off your eyes and watch where you’re walking. I don’t care if you have X-ray vision.

Please take the mask off of your pencil and stop twirling it.

I know the mask fits over your pants like a knee pad, but please take it off of your leg and put it on your face.

What do you mean you tried to eat your lunch through your mask?

Please don’t share your mask or trade masks. I don’t care if you like Ingrid’s mask better than yours.

I’m sorry, but your mask is not school appropriate.

We’re not comparing our masks to other kids’ masks… everyone’s mask is unique and special.

No, you may not decorate your mask instead of doing your work. I don’t care if you have a Sharpie.

You’re not a pirate, please take your mask off your eye.

Try to get the gum off as much as you can.

Please don’t use your mask to pick your nose.

I’m sorry you tripped, but that’s what happens when you put your feet inside the elastic of your mask.

No, your mask doesn’t make it hard to get your work done.

Your Mom will need to get you a new mask since you chewed a hole in that one.

Why is there a shoe print on your mask?

No, you cannot eat the snow through your mask.

I don’t care if you were in art class and being creative; we do not decorate our masks.

We do not beam other kids in the face with balls. No, their masks don’t make it not hurt.

Please don’t plug your nose holes with your mask.

Who’s making that noise?

I’m sorry your ponytail is stuck, that’s what happens when you see how many times you can wrap it around your mask.

I’m sorry to tell you, but your child thought her mask made her a superhero. She tried to fly off the jungle gym at recess …

I’m sorry your breath stinks in your mask, maybe we should all try to brush better.

Please take those cookies out of your mask. No, you are not a chipmunk.

Things You Realize When You Get Older

I found this and agree with most of it.  It was written by an introvert if you couldn’t tell by the first bullet.

I used the last bullet when raising kids.  It kept them (mostly) out of trouble that a lot of my friends had to go through.

A lot of it really refers to personal responsibility for your actions and outcomes.  I wish more people were doing that right now instead of blaming others for their problems or as an excuse to act improperly

  • Books are your best friends.
  • Looks do not reflect character.
  • It is not necessary to impress people.
  • It is OK to be single.
  • Nothing happens by chance, everything happens by choice.
  • Crying does not mean you are weak.
  • Apologies can be accepted, but after that trust is usually denied.
  • People treat you according to their need.
  • You usually treat people like they treat you.
  • If we believe life is a blessing, it becomes one.
  • You are responsible for your own happiness.
  • Being reason behind someone’s smile is utter bliss.
  • Taking responsibility of your own life is the only way to create the life you desire.
  • There is no excuse for binge drinking. The consequences may be serious.

Great Sayings – On Revenge

Revenge is taking the poison and hoping others die. Forgive everyday. – unknown

I really don’t mean the saying today for what has been going on the last week even though it applies.  It is a saying for all of life.  What happens this week will be over soon and there will be another issue to try and cause strife.

On a personal level, we all run into someone every once in a while who says something or does something that either causes harm or offends you.  It’s best to forgive and move on.  Whether you can forget is up to you, but the other person is probably not thinking about you.

I read the best revenge is not giving a shit.  Once you do that, you can forgive a lot easier.

Great Sayings – Alexander Graham Bell

People breakup in relationships.  They get laid off from work.  Those close to us die.  It happens to everyone sooner or later.

You will always keep that memory whether or not you want to, but moving on is part of life.  Yes, it takes time, more for some than others.  Some never move on as a loss is hurtful.

The best thing I can offer is that every experience can help you grow.  Try to look for the positives.  Try to remember those things or people that you lost for their positive influence on you.  Sometimes if you can’t move on, at least move along until the pain is less.

The other situation I often see is that you don’t get the dream job you thought would change your life.  There is always a next job if you keep seeking and no one thing is the panacea of life that will cause it to stop if it doesn’t go your way.

Great Sayings – What Your Enemy Fears

“You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.”

Eric Hoffer

Sun Zhu said something similar about noticing your opponents weakness and you will win the fight because they can no longer hurt you.Much of the strife we go through is fear based recently.  It caused us to leave life and self-quarantine, until it was ok to go out and riot.  It’s been going on for a week now an there will be plenty of data shortly as to whether we really need to social distance anymore, because they sure aren’t doing it in the riot cities.

Remember Greta Thunberg?  She’s not even a blip on the map, nor is global warming.  The scare mongers have moved on to the next issue. I haven’t been afraid of these things because the truth is that we live in the greatest times of mankind ever.  Yes we have problems, but that is life.

There is no need to be afraid and have unnecessary fears.  The glass is really half full.  These can be the greatest years of our lives if we stop buying into the crap that the media and social media tries to feed us.

If you put your faith in something that is a rock and then you won’t be afraid.  Think for yourself and look at the facts to decide if what is going on is real or someone’s agenda.I think we are going to become more numb to these repetitive scare tactics being thrown at us and we will stand up to scare tactics by those who are trying it.

Great Sayings – Aristotle on Anger

“Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person, and to the right degree, and at the right time, and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody’s power and is not easy.” — Aristotle

 

It’s hard to figure out who is angry and who is an opportunist with what is going on right now.

Some people can go from zero to life in prison in 2 seconds.  Others seem to be able to take more than most.  As I grow older and with more wisdom, I realize that a lot of things really aren’t worth getting upset over.  I realized this when I was younger, but usually after I got angry and did something I regretted.

Oh, this works for other situations also, like relationships and work situations also.

Success Sayings – On Work Relationships

Build relationships because people work with the people they know they can trust.

 

People generally want to do their best.  They want to succeed and will bring others along with them.

I have worked with people who trusted me and I know that even though I always gave it my all, I’d give more for those who I knew I could trust.  Conversely, while I didn’t work less for those I didn’t trust, I certainly didn’t prioritize them in my time or task management.

People who went out of their way to do me harm I stayed as far away from as I could unless it wasn’t possible.  Even then, I was wary of them to the point that I didn’t offer to help when I could at times because I was wary of retribution or motives.

I can’t be that different than anyone else.

Build trust and people will trust you back.  Be trustworthy and others will notice.

Great Sayings – For High IQ People, or Anybody In a Group

If you are the smartest person in your group, you need a new group.

 

You are not going to grow if you don’t stretch yourself.  There is no standing still.  You either are advancing or falling behind.

Don’t fall behind.

Sayings – Thank You Captain Obvious (Covid-19 related)

“The universe is a big place, perhaps the biggest.” – Kilgore Trout

 

I didn’t label this as great.  It is however, a break from the anarchy going on right now.

About the only positive I can take from the rioting is that we’re going to see real quickly if social distancing is necessary anymore.  It’s surely not happening in a lot of places at once.

It seems like history is repeating itself.  There were protests in the 60’s at the same time we sent men to the moon.  Space-X just had a successful launch on Saturday.

Great Sayings – Jimmy Buffet on Past Relationships and Introverts

If the phone doesn’t ring, it’s me.

 

Good songwriters are clever with words.  This song is really about how you can’t re-live the past, but it’s also about introverts.

First, if the past was so good, why did you break up?  You can never go back because it won’t be the same.  Just try to remember the good times.  You’ll have others in the future, just different.

Next, there are many times I don’t call, text or start a conversation.  It’s not because I don’t want to or don’t have something to say, I just don’t want to get stuck in a small talk situation that is meaningless.  It doesn’t devalue my feelings on our relationship/friendship/acquaintanceship that we have, I just would rather talk if we really have something to say.  It is the life of introverts.

People don’t realize it, but introverts tell better stories.  There is way less going off the path and including unnecessary details and the timing of the punch line or the moral of the story is far more effective.

I doubt anyone thinks about me or other introverts not calling, but if the phone doesn’t ring, it’s me.

I always changed the saying at the bottom of my work email.  Some of them are ones that I have posted recently.  This was the last one I had when I retired from IBM.

 

 

Great Sayings – John Wayne On Life

Life is hard; it’s harder if you’re stupid.

John Wayne
Yes life is hard, especially if you choose the wrong people, the wrong sources to get your information and put any faith in social media.
The filter you choose to get your information is usually someone trying to persuade you to their position.  Think through things and look past what others say to see if it is true, relevant and is in accordance with your principles.
Don’t be stupid

Great Sayings – How To Handle Failure

Failure is but a paragraph in the book of each human life. It is the pages that follow that ultimately define us.

 

I don’t know who said this, but will give attribution if someone knows.

Some give up, some use it as motivation to try harder and some invent failure for extra motivation (Michael Jordan on rivals).

We are all going to go through it.  When you do, you should already be thinking about how you are going to deal with the aftermath.

Sayings – Men vs. Women (Me being provocative)

Men are by nature merely indifferent to one another; but women are by nature enemies.

-Arthur Schopenhauer
This post is to see if anyone is really paying attention.  Yes, I’m being provocative on purpose. This is someone else’s quote, but I can be sarcastic and this proves it.
I have no real idea what goes on in the mind of females, nor does anyone really.  I’ve posted other stuff on men vs. women like how they complement and trash each other.
The things I’ve noticed are what everyone else already knows like girls getting along fine until you throw a man that both girls like  into the mix, then watch the sparks fly as they fight over the guy.
I’ve been told by girls that they can notice something wrong with another female they don’t like and when asked how do they look, they say you look perfectly beautiful.
Guys don’t give a shit.  Here’s an example.  Two guys are wearing the exact same thing at an event and IF by chance they notice they’ll just say great minds think alike or you have good taste.
So we’ll see if you are paying attention and if anybody gets pissed off.