The Daily Stoic After a Year

by | Dec 30, 2022 | Advice, LifeSkills, Musings | 156 comments

The Daily Stoic Week 52

 

The Daily Stoic

The Practicing Stoic

Meditations

How to Be a Stoic

If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool (h/t mindyourbusiness)

What I’m currently reading:

How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius: Robertson, Donald J.: 9781250196620: Amazon.com: Books

Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.

 

It’s been a year since I started my weekly installment of The Daily Stoic. I am proud to say, I never missed a week and I hope it was useful for some of the Glib readers.

The book is broken down into a logical sequence from shallow concepts building to practical and spiritual ones.

January starts with an explanation of what is under my control and what is not under my control. This seems like a simple concept, but I was surprised at how much energy I was wasting being angry about many things I have absolutely no control over.

February deals with self control and not giving in to emotions that are not healthy or productive. Anger was the main issue, but I had others also.

March is about an honest self assessment and figuring out what is important and directing my energy towards that. Surprising to me at how bad I was doing at that.

April deals with achieving the proper state of mind for living a good life, regardless of external forces. Another one that I thought I was doing better than I actually was.

May begins dealing with using the Stoic principles in daily living for self improvement. This is when I noticed my state of mind improving.

June goes into dealing with problems without getting upset or losing perspective. Another area I struggle with.

July explains the practicing Stoic’s duty to others and themselves. If I don’t take care of myself, it is more difficult to take care of others.

August helps to deal with shortcomings of yourself or others and is a reminder that perfection is unachievable, but still a worthwhile goal. Perfection is still a long way off, but improvement is not.

September goes through managing your faults and starting back on the path after going the wrong way rather than adding to bad decisions with more bad decisions. It is hard to change course, but it was necessary for me.

October is mainly about your character and being ind to others, instead of judging them by a standard they don’t follow. I have a hard time with this one.

November teaches us to accept the things we cannot change and the people we have to deal with. I deal better with things I can’t change than I do people.

December is a reminder that everybody dies and how to deal with it. It is a little morbid, but something that happens to everyone will eventually happen to me.

Why Stoicism? I never really had a guiding philosophy growing up. One of my main influences in life at around 12 years old were the heroes in Louis L’Amour’s westerns. Then I learned more about honesty and being a stand up type from my step-dad. At 22 I got married and tried to be a good husband and father. Joining the Marine Corps helped me to be the kind of man I wanted to be.

My life went fairly well, we were never rich, but not starving either. As I got older, I began having anger issues. This wasn’t directed at my wife, it was usually anger at something I was working on or anger that I had injured myself and was unable to workout at the level an active duty Marine should. I managed to muddle through, although my wife would comment at faces I made or yelling she heard coming from the garage.

I have now retired from the Marines and have a fairly easy and well paying job. I should be happy 24/7, but I was feeling a little lost and I also totally quit working out (after 20 years, it seemed a good decision). Spoiler Alert: It was a bad decision. A year later I started working out and running again, encouraged by what I learned from the Stoics.

In one of the What Are We Reading posts, I think Tundra? listed Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and how it was helping him keep anger under control. That piqued my interest, so I bought it and read through it fairly quickly. Then I read The Daily Stoic, going through a month every day. Then I read Letters From A Stoic by Seneca. Then I reread The Daily Stoic going through it more slowly as it was starting to sink in.

Around this time, I had surgery to remove a cyst. This was supposed to be no big deal, but it got infected and I found myself unable to get up from the bed without assistance. Three days in the hospital with the first day and a half ringing for the nurse every time I had to go to the bathroom was very humbling and upsetting.

Once I was home I spent 8 weeks on the couch. Luckily my wife is amazing and I didn’t need anything. In spite of this, I was raging on the inside with helplessness and the unfairness of it. I started to really read the Stoic writing and actually put it in practice. I slowly noticed an improvement in my mood and also in how I was able to appreciate all the things my wife was doing for me.

I am still struggling with my “instant anger”, but have improved greatly. I also have become more disciplined with my sleeping and working out, although I am currently not doing so well on that front. My wife even commented that she hasn’t seen “angry Ron” in a long time.

I am working on incorporating the teachings into my daily life, but looking back I am in a totally different state of mind dealing with life and when I do get angry at inanimate objects, it almost feels fake and it is very easy to reset myself, even when I am hungry.

I hope this wasn’t too rambling and disjointed. I thank everyone for their kind words and critiques.

I plan on continuing this series, but I am not sure of what the content will be. I am open to suggestions or if everyone is tired of this let me know.

Music this week is the Winery Dogs. They have a new album in February and I will be seeing them in concert in Virginia Beach on March 31st.

The new single rips.

If you like rock, these guys bring it.

 

About The Author

ron73440

ron73440

What I told my wife when she said my steel Baby Eagle .45 was heavy, "Heavy is good, heavy is reliable, if it doesn't work you could always hit him with it."-Boris the Blade MOLON LABE

156 Comments

  1. UnCivilServant

    I plan on continuing this series, but I am not sure of what the content will be.

    The Daily Epicurean? Or another contrasting philosophy?

    • Zwak, who has his own double cross to bear.

      Marquis De Sade – 120 Days of Sodom?

    • ron73440

      I don’t know, from what I’ve read of Epicurean’s philosophy it’s not something I would follow.

      • Michael Malaise

        You’re not epicurious?

      • MikeS

        Booo!

    • Not Adahn

      Wheel of Philosophy, turn turn turn, tell us the lesson that we should learn.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Ah a time when it was okay to make fun of the hand that feeds and make jokes that went over 99% of your audience’s heads

  2. Don escaped Texas

    I don’t follow these posts closely, but I absolutely love the personal notes today.

    Which questions are worth answering? In the dead post, we were reminded for the millionth time that the size and staffing of the federal assembly and bureaucracies are unbeatable; what to do? Is there no point in resisting, ranting against the machine?

    On Glibs dot com we pick and choose which ships have sailed and which should be defended to the death. On occasion I’ve been told it’s too late, tacitly to pipe down even about central enumerated rights that are being transgressed. Simultaneously I have read virtuous defenses of the they-can-have-my-2A-when-they-pry-it-from-my-cold-dead-fingers variety. Another unending debate is between my hate-them-all and the very popular better-to-lose-slowly-a-Republican.

    Glibs is not one place with one mind, but the vagaries suggest there is a frontier where we cross into the worth-defending. What’s the right balance? My vote continues to defend principle, that the stupid party and and the evil party are similarly objectionable, and it’s never the right answer to say that ship has sailed, that popularity and even defeat never mean that up is no longer up. What does stoicism tell us about which ships have sailed?

    • ron73440

      What does stoicism tell us about which ships have sailed?

      I don’t know there is an answer.

      To me it is in my power to fight any unjust actions of the government, but I know it could be futile.

      I also have to understand the consequences of my actions and deal with them properly.

      Basically, I have the freedom to do as I will, but also the freedom to handle any adverse reactions.

  3. The Late P Brooks

    March is about an honest self assessment

    NOOOOO! Anything but that!

    • R C Dean

      No kidding. I’ve made it this far. I suspect an honest self-assessment would end with me eating a shotgun barrel.

      • UnCivilServant

        pica is a terrible disease.

      • MikeS

        I know that word from 8th grade keyboarding class and had to look up what you were referring to.

  4. cyto

    Hey, I am looking for a link to an old reason story.

    Remember that story about the guy who left his prescription bottles for codeine in his work van at the airport… Tampa Florida, I think? It was back when they were pushing the pill mills and the feds were all over Florida. They were a valid prescription, but since he didn’t take them all and had a couple of prescriptions, they charged him with possession with intent. Seems like they also took his truck, savings and condo. I may be mashing a couple of cases together.

    Same time period as the guy in a wheelchair who got arrested for taking too much prescription opiods for chronic pain and then the prison doctors gave him more.

  5. DEG

    I am proud to say, I never missed a week and I hope it was useful for some of the Glib readers.

    Thank you Ron. It has been useful to me.

    • R C Dean

      Same here. I’ve really appreciated these. I think I’m naturally inclined toward Stoicism, but these posts have really helped give it a little more definition? structure?

      • Fourscore

        Thanks, Ron. The past couple years have taught me not to take anything for granted. Getting angry or upset won’t change anything. Your articles have always brought a little sunshine to my old curmudgeon heart.

      • ron73440

        Glad to hear it from all of you.

  6. The Late P Brooks

    November teaches us to accept the things we cannot change and the people we have to deal with. I deal better with things I can’t change than I do people.

    My three part rule:

    Fix it, get rid of it, or live with it.

    Applies to people as well as things. Fixing people is hardly ever a viable option.

    • cyto

      Is there any other option?

      It seems like a binary tree..

      Fix/don’t fix

      Fix? Done

      Don’t fix? Keep and live with/dispose

      Keep? Done

      Dispose? Done.

  7. MikeS

    This was great, Ron. I got into it kind of late, and then didn’t stick with it. My 2023 goal is to start at the beginning and follow the book as close as possible with the calendar. Simultaneously reading Meditations and others as I go.

    I hope you keep the series going. Maybe a weekly book report on the writings of Stoics? Both ancient and modern?

    Maybe throw in a little Louis L’Amour? 🧐

  8. Rebel Scum

    *peruses morning links*

    It’s shocking (not really) that leftists in the government behave like that fascists they claim to hate.

    I could be a tradhusband because I can do all of the homemaking AND take care of the yard.

    Just roast your brussel sprouts in the oven with salt, pepper and garlic. Jeez.

    Fossil fuels are the only thing holding the power grid together and need to be further utilized.

    Didn’t Trump donate his presidential income to charity? Of course he paid no taxes during that time.

    • juris imprudent

      Trump’s interest income was several millions – a $400K annual charitable donation wouldn’t offset that. He zeroed at tax liability through loss carryovers.

    • Fatty Bolger

      Just roast your brussel sprouts in the oven with salt, pepper and garlic. Jeez.

      They’ll still taste like Wario’s farts.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Curious as to your knowledge of Wario’s fart smell? Is that like saying something tastes like shit?

      • Fatty Bolger

        Inductive reasoning, my dear OBE. Wario loves garlic, and brussel sprouts taste like farts. These facts are indisputable. Therefore, it stands to reason that Brussel sprouts roasted with garlic must taste like Wario’s farts.

      • Ownbestenemy

        This is the indisputable logically deduction I have grown to love here

      • MikeS

        I eat bigger brussel sprouts than you for breakfast!

      • Ownbestenemy

        When Adam Sandler was mildly funny

      • UnCivilServant

        So… regular cabbages?

        Sounds gassy

    • ron73440

      Just roast your brussel sprouts in the oven with salt, pepper and garlic. Jeez.

      My wife grills them in butter, they are excellent.

    • hayeksplosives

      *sigh*

      I KNOW how to make good brussels sprouts when working with fresh sprouts from the produce section.

      My problem (and hence my question) is that the ones that were delivered are frozen, thus doomed to be squishy and slimy upon thawing. I will attempt to roast the slime away in the oven.

      • ron73440

        She buys the ones on a stalk from trader Joe’s.

      • Lackadaisical

        I’ve done this when desperate, They won’t even be as good as fresh, where you can get ’em a little crispy, but they won’t turn out terrible.

        I think defrost and drain, then roast,

      • Name's BEAM. James BEAM.

        I’ve never had a problem working with frozen sprouts. Mind you, I prefer slow sautés, which probably mitigate against the “sliminess” problem you’re having.

        My favourite sauté recipe for brussel sprouts:

             https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/pumpkin-ragout/

        For reasons that just baffle me, the recipe gets quite a low rating (2.1 out of 5 stars). It’s quite adaptable; I use butternut squash in place of the called-for pumpkin, and take full advantage of the caramelization that a good sauté can create. I also allow the sprouts to caramelize, so that can be a bit tricky with the timing.

        This is a go-to recipe for weeknights, especially during the winter months.

  9. juris imprudent

    Thank you Ron for the dedicated effort, it is appreciated. I just read Bloom’s Closing of the American Mind, and between your work here and his, I’m inspired to undertake a little philosophical digging of my own – the examined life and all. Though I am more interested in what lies outside the Socrates-Plato-Aristotle linage – right now being intrigued with a modern look at Pyrrhonism; Fogelin appears to have some interesting work to read.

  10. The Late P Brooks

    I plan on continuing this series, but I am not sure of what the content will be.

    Good.

    To be honest, I see “self-improvement” as a lost cause. Not because I am in any way exemplary or well developed. I yam what I yam, and that’s all what I yam.

  11. The Late P Brooks

    I’m leaning hard toward nihilism, myself.

    • juris imprudent

      That’s kind of the line I’m trying to avoid. Reading Nietzsche at the moment and not getting a lot out. Which I guess is good.

  12. EvilSheldon

    I love Winery Dogs, and Virginia Beach isn’t too far for a road trip…

    • ron73440

      Would love to see you if you do make the trip.

      Elevation 27 is the venue.

      • ron73440

        It’s actually March 30th

  13. The Late P Brooks

    Didn’t Trump donate his presidential income to charity? Of course he paid no taxes during that time.

    It’s a trick. False charity as a smokescreen to throw the gullible off the scent of his barbarous treachery and anti-democratic authoritarianism. He probably donated that money to a John Birch Society front group.

  14. Scruffy Nerfherder

    I would also like to thank you Ron for reminding me every week of how insufficient I am.

    Now where did I put that bottle of bourbon?

  15. Penguin

    …a reminder that everybody dies and how to deal with it.

    .

    Yeah, I got that in February. The people at the hospital were surprised I responded as well as I did to treatment; they basically told my brother I was dead man walking (well, sleeping). Unfortunately for me, my brother came up and tried to start clearing my place out. Hired a couple people. I lost a lot of stuff that I would have love to have kept, including an umbrella that I got in London and was basically my only souvenir from that visit.

    • Penguin

      No idea why there’s such a gap between the quote and my writing. Sorry about that.

    • MikeS

      Damn, Penguin. That really sucks. Sorry to hear that. A literal adding insult to injury kinda thing.

    • ron73440

      Doing better, I hope.

      Was it a misunderstanding with your brother or is he a vulture like some of my relatives?

  16. The Late P Brooks

    Maybe throw in a little Louis L’Amour? 🧐

    “Life Lessons, as Taught by P G Wodehouse”

    Don’t pretend I’m kidding.

  17. Hyperion

    Just

    • MikeS

      learn

    • Ownbestenemy

      Stop

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        Hammer Time

    • Hyperion

      Fuck me already today, I cannot even type.

      Anyway, just a curious question if I can manage.

      How many Stoics do we believe the current generation of Yutes will produce? I mean have you been on Reddit lately? Every 15 year old there, which is by far the majority there, whine incessantly about anything and everything and are convinced they have some chronic disease and will die any time now. Almost all of them seem to be on at least one type of psych med. I mean I know that the lockdowns and fearmongering had an adverse effect on them, but they were already more fragile than probably any generation in the history of humanity. I do not see then churning out a bumper crop of Stoics. But maybe that is just he cynic in me and I am wrong.

      • UnCivilServant

        People change.

        Especially when hit in the face with life. Some stand up, some break down, some go sideways.

      • Hyperion

        The current political class in charge of everything, are working overtime to make sure they never face any consequences for anything, ever and are completely coddled, cradle to grave. Maybe if they ever get a job and get audited by one of the IRS agents, who will by that time equal the entire population of the USA, they will snap out of it. Oh, shit, I forgot, by becoming a protected class, like shoving their body full of hormones of the opposite sex and voting correctly, they will get a pass on that too.

      • Rebel Scum

        convinced they have some chronic disease and will die any time now

        Considering the covid jab is being forced on them…they might be right.

      • Hyperion

        You make a valid point.

      • ron73440

        I think the glorification of mental illness and never having real struggles in life have wiped out resiliency.

        If everything goes sideways, some of them will surprise themselves how they learn to deal with it.

      • juris imprudent

        The whole world at their fingertips, and Reddit, or any other social media, is filled with narcissistic blathering. It doesn’t speak well of the species.

  18. Not an Economist

    From the dead thread the suspect in the Idaho murders was from a university not far away but was arrested in Pennsylvania.

  19. The Late P Brooks

    from a university not far away

    Washington State?

    • Not an Economist

      Yes.

      • Not an Economist

        He apparently was a graduate criminology student who was looks like he was crowdsourcing methods on how to get away with crime.

      • Gender Traitor

        A tragic misunderstanding of the intended purpose of a criminology degree?

      • juris imprudent

        For my dissertation…

  20. mexican sharpshooter

    A year has flown by, am I a better person?

    Indeed. I found it rather useful, even if I am not always around to comment.

  21. Rebel Scum

    The thing about batteries and cold is…

    Angry Tesla owners have been sharing videos of their vehicles refusing to start during the massive winter storm that impacted both the United States and Canada.

    The Daily Mail reports that numerous Tesla owners have reported being unable to access their vehicles due to frozen door handles during a severe winter storm in Canada and the United States. Rachel Modestino, a meteorologist from Ontario, experienced this issue firsthand on December 23 when temperatures reached a low of 5º F and her car’s door latch failed to function.

    Your surprised that your door is frozen shut?

    • Rebel Scum

      you’re, even.

    • Sean

      Pour some very hot water on it.

      *snicker*

    • Michael Malaise

      This is why I only drive convertibles during the winter.

    • Drake

      You live that far north and don’t have a garage? Or had something more valuable than a Tesla to put in it?

      • kinnath

        I have a three-stall garage. My summer car is in there. The rest of the vehicles sit out in the cold.

        Something about collecting too much shit and being unable to get rid of anything.

      • Sean

        Something about collecting too much shit and being unable to get rid of anything.

        My gf is making me nuts with that. AND she has a storage unit too.

      • Rebel Scum

        Mine needs a storage unit for the excess clothing she has. I swear she could clothe a village in Africa for a week without them having to wash anything.

      • Lackadaisical

        That is a redline, no storage units. I’m too cheap.

      • Sean

        She has her own money and can spend it how she wants.

    • juris imprudent

      There’s a Sam Kinison rant there trying to get out, amirite?

    • Rat on a train

      Their door handle design is nerd-stupid.

      • kinnath

        electronic latch instead of mechanical latch?

      • UnCivilServant

        And it sits flush with the door panel with no means of operating it untill some computer tells it to move to a position where the user can het a hold of it.

        There are so many things in their design which is meant to make a showroom demo go “ooh, shiny” but is actually bad for real conditions.

      • kinnath

        Elon seems to be a pretty bright dude. But there are so many things about the Tesla that make me cringe.

      • Rat on a train

        You don’t want to use a touch screen to control your windshield wipers?

      • kinnath

        NO

        Touchscreens are an abomination in vehicles. They cannot be operated without looking directly at them. They are unsafe.

      • Scruffy Nerfherder

        HEY SIRI

        Flash my highbeams at the asshole coming the other way with his still on

      • kinnath

        touchscreens are second only to voice activation as evil operator’s interfaces.

      • juris imprudent

        Wait for the AI that when you reach for the screen says “stop, you were scratching yourself – go wash your hands before you touch me”.

      • Rat on a train

        “Hey Google, change the display mode of the touchscreen.”

      • MikeS

        Instead of a four-position switch for wipers, the driver is supposed to press a button on the left stalk and then turn his/her/zir/their attention to the central touch screen where different wiper speeds, including a not-very-smart “Auto” mode, can be selected.

        Oh, hell no.

      • kinnath

        Sounds like a disaster.

        Operating complex machinery requires, and I mean requires, physical controls to support muscle memory.

        Touchscreens have value for navigating deep menus system (like for maintenance). But controlling the wipers with touchscreen is fucking stupid.

        It’s a car, not a giant fucking smart phone.

      • Ownbestenemy

        No feedback either complicates things. Controls all have a specific feel from wipers to headlights to radio controls. Touchscreen “buttons” just have some haptic feedback that is all the same.

  22. Riven

    Thank you for this series. I almost never have time to check it while it’s “live,” but I’ve read it (and the comments) every Friday afternoon while I’m lifting instead of playing in my own links.

    Insightful and interesting stuff, as always.

    • ron73440

      Thanks, I appreciate that.

  23. The Late P Brooks

    Don’t you just hate Israel Nazis?

    Israel’s new government was sworn in Thursday, with Benjamin Netanyahu returning to the prime minister’s post 18 months after he was ousted.

    Why it matters: It’s the most right-wing and religious government Israel has had since its establishment, and its expected policies could significantly change the country.

    Dark shadow of fascism!

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Benji might start a war with Iran. Which of course would be at the behest of DC.

      I’m not really a fan.

    • juris imprudent

      Bring forth the Ark!

    • Rebel Scum

      Tbf B.N. has been pushing the mandatory vax and literally said Israel was being used as an experiment for the jab. It’s all rather ironic.

    • Grosspatzer

      I work with Israelis. They are all over the map, from Orthodox to secular atheist, but they do have one thing in common: they hate Bibi with the fire of a thousand suns. Yet he keeps getting elected. I guess my colleagues are not a representative sample.

      • Not Adahn

        I thought they were between Jordan and Egypt?

      • Rebel Scum

        “And yet (((they))) control the world.” – Ye

      • Grosspatzer

        -.-

  24. Rebel Scum

    Sure, until the Russian winter offensive begins.

    Kyrylo Budanov, the head of military intelligence in Ukraine, has reportedly told the broadcaster that fighting between his nation and Russia is now deadlocked, with neither side being able to make any headway.

    The spy chief is said to have then asked for more western weapons, a common request from Ukrainian officials since the start of the conflict earlier this year.

    According to a report by the BBC, Budanov has described the situation as being “stuck”, with Russia’s offensive on the country having now long run out of steam.

    • Lackadaisical

      I’m not sure there will be one if they haven’t started yet? Hasn’t it been pretty cold there already?

      • Rebel Scum

        The ground has to be sufficiently frozen to facilitate combat vehicle movement because of soil conditions in Ukraine. According to Colonel Macgregor (one of the people I listen to on the matter, often appears on Judge Nap’s YouTube channel) that has not happened yet.

      • Lackadaisical

        Hm.

        I have also been assuming something would happen in winter, I guess there is still time.

  25. The Late P Brooks

    Where would you suggest I start?

    Just about anywhere. It has been quite a while, but I remember “Leave it to Psmith” as being a good example of “keep calm and carry on” unflappability.

    • Toxteth O'Grady

      Jeeves series.

    • Rebel Scum

      I didn’t know it was based on Polish folklore. And it looks like they overestimate the number of blacks and asians in Poland at the time. The Great did the same thing with the Russian imperial court.

    • ron73440

      Don’t get me started on the Witcher.

      I know nothing about the Blood Origin show, but I read the books and the Wild Hunt game is phenomenal.

      I got Netflix because the show looked awesome.

      By the end of the first season, I was bored and confused. Henry Cavill killed it as Geralt, but the storyline was a mess.

      My wife has gotten tired of it because I have a standard rant I go on.

      The reviews of season 2 showed it becoming more of a mess and I don’t think the showrunners read the books at all.

      If they did, they didn’t like them.

      • Rebel Scum

        So it’s the Rian Johnson treatment.

      • ron73440

        Pretty much.

        In season one they said there wasn’t time for Geralt and Ciri to develop a relation ship, and instead it was just “destiny”.They had time to show Yennafer’s transformation, which was not important at all, and was only hinted at in the books.

        I will stop there, I could probably write an essay on how bad they mangled a great story.

    • Lackadaisical

      Calling books based on slavic folklore ‘germanic’… *rage induced*

      • Lackadaisical

        I’ll be stoic about it instead.

        I’ve found intentional breathing very helpful there.

    • Drake

      I’ll watch the next real season of Witcher in which Henry Cavill bashed down attempts by showrunners to make it woke. Then I’m done, maybe with Netflix in general.

      • ron73440

        I dropped Netflix after season one was over.

  26. juris imprudent

    Bwahahahaha

    Three House Democrats, Reps. Lou Correa (Calif.), Jesús García (Ill.) and Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), said they would not vote for the package unless it included Dreamer protections, but they were ultimately forced to scale back their demands after moderate Democrats staged a backroom campaign to minimize the bill’s immigration proposals.

    And of course evil Senate Rethuglikans!

  27. PutridMeat

    I am not sure of what the content will be

    Hedonism?

    Thanks for the consistent efforts over the year. Not sure I’m completely down with Stoicism, but, like most well developed, sustained ideas, it has something of value to offer.

    • ron73440

      Well, you do appreciate good music, so you have that going for you, which is nice.

      • PutridMeat

        you do appreciate good music

        Don’t tell MikeS!

        Winery Dogs is one of those I just can’t get into. They got the chops, a bit of the blues, but nothing grabs me hold me. I’ll listen – I did play through all your links in the background – but won’t go out of my way to find it. Shrug.

      • MikeS

        I was just going to say “he also appreciates bad music.”

  28. The Late P Brooks

    He apparently was a graduate criminology student who was looks like he was crowdsourcing methods on how to get away with crime.

    I had the killer pegged as a rabid militant incel, based on the photos of the women.

    He’ll be going to a place where he can learn from people with hands on crime experience. The “getting away with it” part, though….

    *assuming he is the guilty party, that is

  29. Rebel Scum

    “My umbrella doesn’t work unless you use yours.”

    U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy last week permanently blocked a section of law the state said was meant to prevent employers — including many health care facilities — from discriminating against workers by requiring them to be vaccinated against communicable diseases, including COVID-19.

    “The public interest in protecting the general populace against vaccine-preventable diseases in health care settings using safe, effective vaccines is not outweighed by the hardships experienced to accomplish that interest,” Molloy concluded in his Dec. 9 ruling.

    There is no such thing as “the public interest”. Go fuck yourself and die in a ditch.

    • Lackadaisical

      Wow, that is a terrible ruling.

  30. Lackadaisical

    ‘It’s been a year since I started my weekly installment of The Daily Stoic. I am proud to say, I never missed a week and I hope it was useful for some of the Glib readers.’

    It is impressive that you kept it up every week. Much respect.

  31. Not Adahn

    We are doomed. We will learn to love Hizzoner.

    “It blows my mind how much we have not embraced technology, and part of that is because many of our electeds are afraid. Anything technology they think, ‘Oh it’s a boogeyman. It’s Big Brother watching you,’” Adams said. “No, Big Brother is protecting you.”

    • Mojeaux

      “No, Big Brother is protecting you.”

      I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.

    • juris imprudent

      Time to wall off NYC. Sorry about that Rhywun.

      • Sean

        Give him notice. I can stash him in Jersey City.

    • Grosspatzer

      Barf.

    • MikeS

      “No, Big Brother is protecting you.”

      This sounds like something the villain would say in a fiction story. CWAEA

    • ron73440

      That’s a real quote.

      Sometimes the links shared here really test my Stoicism.

  32. The Late P Brooks

    I work with Israelis. They are all over the map, from Orthodox to secular atheist, but they do have one thing in common: they hate Bibi with the fire of a thousand suns. Yet he keeps getting elected. I guess my colleagues are not a representative sample.

    I just find it amusing in a perverse way to see the media slinging “right wing” around as a catch-all slur against anyone they dislike. i suppose Jews oppressing Palestinians qualifies as white supremacy, too.

    • Rebel Scum

      People seem to take two, diametrically opposed and simplistic sides on what is probably a more complex issue when it comes to Israel and Palestine.

      • ron73440

        People seem to take two, diametrically opposed and simplistic sides on what is probably a more complex issue when it comes to Israel and Palestine. any issue

        FTFY

    • juris imprudent

      Palestinians have slightly darker skin?

  33. Mojeaux

    I think stoicism is really just not for me. I think I’m misinterpreting it or something, or missing the mark by just thismuch.

    However!

    The source of my drama is not present.

    I’m in therapy and I was blessed enough to find a good one straightaway.

    I have good meds.

    Intentional breathing, as per @lack, is also helpful.

    As I read it, if I were a stoic, the amount of drama wouldn’t matter, and I wouldn’t need therapy or meds. So this is why I think it’s either not for me or I’m not grokking it.

    • ron73440

      Nothing works for everyone.

      I think it works for me because I am a generally straightforward person and the simplicity of it goes with my character.

      • juris imprudent

        I think that’s why I’m drawn to the Skeptics, though god knows, the cynics are tempting.

  34. The Late P Brooks

    Back to Wodehouse- for sheer entertainment value, m”Uncle Fred in the Springtime”.

  35. Grosspatzer

    Ron, thanks for this series. I’ve been trying to incorporate some of these things to deal with my own anger issues with mixed results, but it helps. I stopped attending 12-step meetings a long time ago for various reasons, but one of the positives about those things was help in dealing with those issues (a lot of that seems to have been taken from the stoics), and there’s been something missing. A weekly dose of stoicism has helped me to get back on track.

    • ron73440

      Glad to have helped even slightly.

  36. The Late P Brooks

    As I read it, if I were a stoic, the amount of drama wouldn’t matter, and I wouldn’t need therapy or meds. So this is why I think it’s either not for me or I’m not grokking it.

    “Suck it up” is not always effective. That’s the plain truth.

    • Hyperion

      Don’t worry, when we all get our cyborg bodies, we’ll have settings we can select. One of them will be ‘Stoic’. Just select that one and go about not giving a fuck as long as it’s on.

  37. The Late P Brooks

    One of them will be ‘Stoic’. Just select that one and go about not giving a fuck as long as it’s on.

    Screw that. I’m going with Samurai Warrior.

  38. R.J.

    Thanks for a great year Ron. I really enjoyed your series. I hope you keep going into the next year. You have a routine now, you will find a way to continue. I did the same. I almost considered bowing out after one year. But I kept going, and tried some new things. All the sudden, I have done another three months. I salute you!

    • ron73440

      Thanks, I have watched some of your movies.

      I did like the Zero Theorembest of the ones I’ve seen lately.

      Hebrew Hammer is in the que.

      • R.J.

        Moonwalkers is all you, Ron. Enjoy.
        See you next week! Keep us stoic!