“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.”
Desire is a passion. I’ve noticed over time that to start and continue any task, vocation or avocation requires passion to do it. This is different from trying a fad.
Find someone who is competent and passionate about something and you’ll have loyalty and a better chance of success.
“A psychiatrist is a person who asks you a lot of expensive questions your wife asks for nothing.” – Joey Adams
Editor: Try to find the humor in this one and be offended elsewhere
My standard reply is that aliens are all that is left to see when people talk about 2020. There’s still a month left.
I know some introverts. They have a lot to say and are very deep people. The problem is that the others talk over them a lot of the time. I watch the introverts just shut down at that point and a great story or deep conversation stops.
If you know someone like this, give them a chance. You might be surprised to find a loyal and interesting friend.
I’ve heard it said that governments based on a republic have an average life span of about 200 years throughout history. That means America is in overtime.
Other nations have been unable to unseat the USA as the de-facto world leader by force, so they are using the 5th column instead. Here is the definition of the 5th column -> Link to 5th column.
I have chosen to not be political, rather than observe patterns and history on this one.
This is his, not mine. I have some other days that deal with eternity, but will be another day and another saying.
Enjoy what Twain says and I hope it helps you discover yourself. Hint: If you concentrate more on improving you instead of others, you’ll probably be ahead in life and others will be able to stand you easier.
“The incompetent with nothing to do can still make a mess of it.” – Lawrence J. Peter
I know this is not all that witty but bear with me. The reason it is there other than it is true is that in all of my posts, I have one entitled Euphamisms for Stupid, which has been in the top 5 for Google since 2006 worldwide. It is pages and pages of these. Go get one and use it at a meeting today:
Like a pair of children’s scissors, bright and colorful, but not too sharp
Million dollar body and a 2 dollar engine.
Mind is in neutral, body is in gear
Mind like a rubber bear trap.
Needing a few screws tightened
Not firing with all spark plugs
Not the brightest light in the harbor
Not the brightest light on the Christmas tree
Not the sharpest hook in the tackle box.
Not the sharpest pencil in the box
Off his rocker
On/off switch is broken in the off position
One Fruit Loop shy of a full bowl
One neuron short of a synapse
One taco short of a combination plate
One turbine short of an airplane
One-celled organisms out score him in IQ tests
Prime candidate for natural deselection
Proof that evolution CAN go in reverse
Requires directions to lay sod
Room temperature IQ
Running about a quart low
Running on empty
Sets the lowest possible goals, and consistently fails to achieve them.
Sharp as a bowling ball.
She is so dumb, she couldn’t tell which way an elevator was going if she
had two guesses.
I wish I had written something of extreme intelligence that changed the course of history, but it looks like laughing at ways to say someone ain’t that bright is what it is for now.
Note: to the SJW, this post as with most of mine is made in jest. Try to have fun and not ruin the day for others.
I heard other versions like if you teach a man to fish, he’ll drink beer all day and so forth.
I also read that women think more about what men are thinking about, than men actually think in real life.
Thinking clearly about the future lets you live wisely in the present. – Unknown.
Part of the discussion when I heard this was to not live in the past. Be guided by your past to avoid mistakes or achieve success, but that is different for everyone.
The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next. – Mignon McLaughlin
People familiar with addiction will recognize this. Sometimes you just have to make it to the next goal in front of you because the whole view of what is going on in life can be overwhelming at times.
You can make this little accomplishment and then the next. You build on these small steps and you’ve made it through whatever you’re going through, even if it is the election
“The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would hire them away.” – Ronald Reagan
I saved this gem as election day is tomorrow. For the most part, it’s 90% true. The only difference in this election is that one of the candidates was stolen from the business world.
The rest of the year you can be yourself, but…..even Michael Keaton said it in the Batman re-boot:
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela
“Being terrified but going ahead and doing what must be done—that’s courage. The one who feels no fear is a fool, and the one who lets fear rule him is a coward.” – Piers Anthony
“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
This says it better than I can. Everyone is afraid at some point. Learn to use fear as a fuel to fight against it and you can learn to overcome it.
Facing your fears means just that. If you run away, you will be afraid from then on until you deal with it.
“In all recorded history there has not been one economist who has had to worry about where the next meal would come from.”
I suppose that being an economist is like being a weather forecaster. You are more likely to be wrong about your guess, but people still tune in the next day in case you might be right.
“Discretion is not the better part of biography.” – Lytton Strachey
For me, this goes well with, “you are lucky if you are over 50 because you did all of your stupid stuff before the Internet”. Amen to that.
I’ve written about how meetings are a waste of time and how to avoid them. This just confirms that it’s true if you know Sowell.
I just finished a conversation with a successfully retired executive. He told me the secret to retirement is to keep your life uncomplicated. These two are related.
If you do something really well are paid for it, you hit the lottery. If it is one of your 1000 things, you still are ok. If you are hating your job and don’t something you do well you might be a dumbass.
Life is too short to not enjoy what you are doing. Sure, we have to do things we don’t want to, but not all the time.
If you do this, your life will be a lot easier than swimming upstream doing something you don’t like and aren’t good at. There is nothing wrong with tenacity, as long as it is combined with intelligence.
The moral of the story is don’t be a dumbass.
I have noticed that nothing I never said ever did me any harm. – Calvin Coolidge
I heard another version that went never miss a good opportunity to shut up.
I liked how Coolidge spoke after he thought. That way, he didn’t have to say that much and got right to the point. Others knew he wasn’t going to waste their time with BS so when he talked, they listened.
Still, most of you, cut the crap and the small talk. It’s a waste of time and is annoying.
You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.” – Henry Ford
It’s true, you can really only promise to do something once and get fully believed, unless you do what you promised.
The bane of Introverts is small talk and inevitably, during small talk comes promises or boasting of things one will absolutely do. I’m more surprised when they actually do what is promised than by the cheap words now.
Yes, you are being judged by what you do, and probably fairly. Don’t make a promise you can’t keep. Better yet, keep your mouth shut unless you’ve already delivered on the promise.
I seem to get 3 and 9 a lot lately. I got real tired of 2 and am glad that is fading away.
Maybe you have to know the darkness before you can appreciate the light. – Madelline L’Engel
Some have to reach their rock bottom to recover from disease, broken heart, addiction or whatever the poison is. Everyone has a story.
Going through it, recovering or learning how to live with the darkness is when you grow. Admitting what is bothering you is a good first step, but we move on and deal with things our own way.
You sure appreciate how much you have when you think how little time you have to enjoy it. Choose light and not darkness.
We watch sports to distract us from life, politics and the hate that is in the news. The pro athletes now think they are qualified to tell us how to act and think. While they are exceptional in their profession, they play children’s games and get paid handsomely for it. I think the best should be paid the most.
That doesn’t qualify them for anything else though, especially on life, patriotism, politics, morals or everyday living. They waste more money in a month than most of us make in a year. I make those decisions for myself and will bet my IQ against theirs for their paycheck.
So by being political and trying to use their influence, they have alienated those of us that needed that escape and didn’t want a political statement when I felt like being patriotic. All I see is some self-centered people biting the hand that feeds them.
They are burning their bridges, just look at the ratings crater. There are a lot of fans that have moved on. We went through Covid and found out that we have a life other than watching sports players who diss us.
What goes around comes around.
“In truth, the degree of anyone’s success depends on how often they can say the word yes and hear the word no.” – Chuck Palanuik
Some people stop at no. Not me. If you want to succeed, you have to just look at that as a stepping stone to overcome. Life is about overcoming. That gives us the greatest satisfaction. It’s not likes on social media. It’s when we dig deep, think clearly, seek help and pull ourselves up to victory from the jaws of defeat that gives us the greatest sense of accomplishment.
They’ll say yes sooner or later if you don’t take no for an answer.
Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. – Mark Twain
I wasn’t sure if this should have been a sarcasm post instead of a saying. Why? Everyone, especially sports stars, rioters, news makers and celebrities seem to think that they are owed something. They are like the rest of us, the world owes you nothing.
You are what you make of yourself and the sum of your choices that got you where you are. That means the responsibility for life is yours to either buck up or suffer for not pulling your share. The responsibility is yours and no one else’s. Except for some circumstances that are random or uncommon, ou can take either the credit or blame for where you are in life.
My advice is to do good, stop blaming anyone else and make good choices.
“The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.” – James Baldwin
Someone said find your passion and you’ll never work a day in your life. This is not true. Sooner or later we become victims of routine or more likely other people will make your job a pain.
This is the ugly side. At some point even Michael Jordan had to retire, but he still can’t go to a restaurant without people bothering him.
Enjoy what you have and be glad you get to do it.
Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can. – Paul Tournier
Rocket Scientist Ozan Varol wrote this about winning:
1. You think you can’t do something.
2. You’re forced to do it (or you’re brave enough to try).
3. You find out that you actually can.
Winning is a habit. Seals and champions know how to win by practice and banning any thoughts of giving up. A lot of winning (or just succeeding, which is a win for some) is beating your mind. When you give yourself positive thoughts and remember how you’ve achieved success in the past you’ve accomplished a lot of the battle.
Life is a fight sometimes. It is always a fight for some. Winners don’t win by accident. They learn how to win, but they thought they were going to win.
In an interview about being in the zone, Hall of Fame players were asked about being in the zone. Most said it happened once in a while but couldn’t predict it. Dan Marino said he was in the zone for 17 years because he thought he could win.
Don’t give up. Take the challenge bit by bit and be a winner.
“No man remains quite what he was when he recognizes himself.” – Thomas Mann
Once you take your guard down and truly admit who you are, you get to see the person that is you. It’s doubtful that you’ll ever show this person to others except on a deathbed, but once you see yourself as you view and judge others.
We think we are invincible and nearly immortal when we are young, but the scars of life take it’s toll as do the decisions we make or avoid and we aren’t who we think we are.
As we age, inside we still see ourselves as the younger version until things start breaking down, but Zoom meetings will show you that age is taking it’s toll. Maybe that is why some hide their looks with makeup.
The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators. – Edward Gibbon
I’ve heard a version of this that goes, “The harder I work and prepare, the luckier I am”.
Sure every pig finds an acorn once in a while, but nothing beats being prepared for most outcomes, situations and other events. Yes, the more you do something, the more experience you have to call upon to guide you. The only gotcha is human emotion and interaction. That is never predictable in the outcome.
Fortunately, you can at least anticipate that this is going to happen and how you will react.
There you go. It was 3 sayings in one for today, enjoy.
I just read this headline. I’m not sure if Jane Fonda is that isolated from reality or just that stupid. Once again this is a person who is an actor trying to tell us those of us who have real lives what to do. Here is the link to WUWT if you want to shake your head wondering how did these people get this way.
Here is the irony that I just read after the above:
Sept. 6 (UPI) — A drastic temperature swing and a dose of early season snow will have residents from Montana to New Mexico wondering what month it is by Tuesday.
A storm is forecast to bring a mixture of rain and snow across the Intermountain West and the Plains Monday through Tuesday night, spreading precipitation from northern Montana to Texas.
Snow is forecast to begin falling in the northern Rockies of Montana and Wyoming on Monday, before extending southward through northeastern Utah, Colorado, and northern New Mexico into midweek.
This has nothing really to do about the climate for me because meteorologists can’t get the forecast right about tomorrow, let alone 2030. It’s about how out of touch the idiots in Hollywood are.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
“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.
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.
“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
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
“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
“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.
“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.
“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?
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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?
“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.
Delusions of Adequacy 