If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool (h/t mindyourbusiness)
This week’s book:
Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.
Picking up where I left off with Seneca’s letters to his friend and student, Lucilius Junior, an official in Sicily.
I am summarizing a part of the letter in italics and then responding in normal text.
On Old Age and Death
Seneca reminds Lucilius that in an earlier letter, he (Seneca) was close to being old. He then says that he is now past that point and is now worn out and near the end.
While I don’t think I am near the end, I definitely feel older now than I did 3 years ago. Some of this is a result of my post surgery infection and recovering from injuries, but a lot of it is self induced, because I took an extended break from working out. It is still surprising how fast the last few years have flown by and how quickly time got away from me when I was trying to convince myself to get back to the gym “next week”.
Seneca is happy that his mind is still strong, regardless of the state of his body. It is more relaxed now that it is less connected to the body. He is also glad that he is more careful about what he cannot do as well as what he no longer wishes to do. He imagines that Lucilius would reply with how sad it is to be worn out and noting that a person gradually loses their vitality every day. Seneca says it is natural to slip away and a gradual withdraw is easy.
My mind is more relaxed now that I am older and without as many distractions, I have found time to learn economics, philosophy, and the like. I’ve also had more time to spend with my wife as well as work on my truck. When it come to a gradual death, I’m not sure I agree with this one. If I had a choice I would rather die quickly than slowly. I used to think if I died in an explosion that would be rather painless, but being too close to a few explosions in Iraq has changed my mind on that. I know I don’t get a vote, and will try to bear it with as much grace as possible when the time comes.
At the end we will find out if all of our beliefs about not fearing death are true. Death will truly show our character, because even a weak person is capable of giving a strong speech. But even though Seneca is close to death, he still feels ready for it and unafraid. he then reminds Lucilius that just because Lucilius is younger, that does not mean he can’t go before Seneca, since there are no guarantees.
I think I am ready for death when it comes. I am convinced I would deal better if I found out I had a short time remaining than I would if my wife had that happen to her. I have been in situations where death was a very possible outcome and am happy with how I reacted in those times. I am not looking forward to it, but am fairly confident I will handle it well. Of course, I will not actually know until the time comes, and I hope I am not deluding myself.
Seneca starts to close the letter with a quote from Epicurus, “Think on death” He then says that since there is no way to know if a person is really ready for death, one should learn as much as possible about it.
Since I won’t know for sure how I will handle death, the more I understand it as a natural thing that happens to everybody, the better chance I have of not losing myself in self pity and ruining what time I have left once the realization hits. I’m sure there will be some wallowing, but I will do my best to keep it to a minimum.
Once death is understood and accepted by a person, that person has found freedom. When the chain of loving life is rubbed away you are free to do the one thing we all must do someday.
If the story of Seneca’s death by suicide ordered by Emperor Nero are true, he passed the final test with flying colors. When his friends were wailing about the sadness of it, he asked them ” “Where are your maxims of philosophy, or the preparation of so many years’ study against evils to come? Who knew not Nero’s cruelty? After a mother’s and a brother’s murder, nothing remains but to add the destruction of a guardian and a tutor.” Then he cut his veins and got into a warm bath to facilitate the bleeding.
While I don’t foresee being forced to kill myself, I hope to have the strength Seneca showed. I try to remember that it happens to everybody, so of course it will happen to me someday. No matter how rich or important a person is in life, they will die eventually.
Music this week is from Ozzy, who recently announced he is physically unable to tour.
My personal favorite one from him:
I love the weird tempo and how it builds from slow to heavy.
I like a lot of what he did before No More Tears, but to me Ozzy with Randy is the best Ozzy
Probably my second favorite from him.
Was there a better 80’s metal guitarist than Randy Rhoads?
When I was younger, I had whole lists of things I wanted to do/try, both arts/crafts and adventures. I did almost none of those adventures and the ones I did do, I barely see as adventures because it’s just…what I did. Now that I’ve written my last word and settled into 3-4 hobbies, and I have no dreams of adventures (and with that went all my nostalgia/shouldacouldawouldas), I’m happy to be a middle-aged woman working and spending time on artsy/crafty hobbies. Letting all that stuff go was gradual as I aged/matured/got tired. That’s what it was. I got tired.
Still need to work on the body/weight/gym thing. I don’t want to go into old age like I am.
I am on my first week again, I pulled something in my back 2 weeks ago.
Last month I went up the stairs too fast and had to catch my breath.
That “encouraged” me to get back at it.
1st workout, I was doing pushups and my belly touched the floor at the same time as my nose.
That’s new, gotta get rid of that.
Do you walk every day? I think it’s the single best way to get back in the groove.
Actually right now I am doing P90X.
I did it a couple times in the Marines to get back in shape after injury and get real good results.
3 weeks ago, I got a little over ambitious and strained my back.
I need to remember I am 52 and be more careful with dumbells.
P90X can be brutal if you’re not careful. Most people don’t need that much, but if you can keep at it, great.
P90 original flavor is a superior program and accessible for all fitness levels.
Do core stuff and lift weights. Doesn’t have to be a lot of weight. Do cardio outside with walks, etc. Spending 45 minutes on a treadmill is such a waste.
Get a simple calorie counter and shoot for under your target daily. Get a food scale if you feel you have to.
I’m 50, I started going 3x week for 30-35 each time about 7 months ago and I can see a real difference. I was never overweight but a little bulky. I still need to moderate what I eat, but my physique has changed. Trying to get my wife to go with to deal with the aging process but she’s stubborn and it’s tricky (like I’m telling her she doesn’t look good enough)
You’ll be thankful you started.
I got into the treadmill because I became addicted to tracking my gains on the data panel in terms of speed, distance, time. I suppose you can do that outside too; I guess I just locked into the treadmill from the get-go.
Once death is understood and accepted by a person, that person has found freedom. When the chain of loving life is rubbed away you are free to do the one thing we all must do someday.
Good goal, there.
While I don’t think I am near the end, I definitely feel older now than I did 3 years ago.
I think this is pretty common. I don’t think we appreciate the psychic and physical toll the last few years have taken on us. I know I was much better in 2019 from a health and mental standpoint.
But I’m working on it. All the bullshit in the (material) world has absolutely pushed me to examine how I’m living my life. Gotta find the good, no matter what.
Thanks, Ron! Seneca and Ozzy are a combo I never would have thought of!
I feel like time disapearred from me, I can’t remember if something happened in ’20 or ’21.
I also learned that I do better with a schedule. My wife blames the Marine Corps for brainwashing me that way and I don’t think she’s wrong.
I love old Ozzy, but nothing from No More Tears or later has really appealed to me.
Ozzy and Sabbath both benefitted from Ozzy leaving, IMO. Sabbath had been putting out mediocre albums, and instead they both put out good to great albums. I still think Sabbath with Dio was the best iteration of the band (I know that’s a contentious opinion).
I have a soft spot in my heart for the Tyr album.
Headless Cross had some good tracks also.
I like the first 2 Sabbath albums, but after that I agree 100%.
Heaven and Hell is one of the coolest songs by anybody.
I first read that like “Ozzy benefited from leaving Ozzy.” Which may be true!
My hot take is that original Sabbath was a jazz band just playing heavy metal.
I have seen many slow deaths. I totally do not want that. One of my best friends died from a brain hemorrhage in his house. It was quick, probably over in two minutes. That’s how I want to go out.
I agree with this. I relly hope my body gives out before my mind.
Dementia is the one thing I am genuinely terrified of.
*relly?
really?
OK, now that’s funny.
My father on his deathbed told us he was curious to see what comes next.
Off to camping this afternoon, or glamping as the kids call it I guess, for the weekend. Cruise control works in the truck again and won’t burn down now. Figured out it was the brake disconnect switch on the master cylinder. Of course it was leaking. Grimacing part was I remember having the shop look at it several years ago and they diagnosed it as a cruise control module replacement. Being the cheapskate that I am and not using it all that much, I passed on fixing it. Which wouldn’t have.
Also thank you Mojo for your encouragement (and others) several weeks ago prior to starting with a therapist. Still not pleasant and skeptical about the whole thing, but the wife says she notices a difference and I have had some unexpected realizations.
Thank you ron for giving me the push to work on my own truck more. Not even looking up to the shade tree, but makes me happy to spin a wrench underneath. I’d gladly pay a shop for access to a lift and guidance while doing most of it and the scut work.
Glad to hear it.
On that front, I took my truck to the shop after the front passenger side axle seal was leaking AGAIN.
I really didn’t want to admit defeat, but I don’t think me redoing it for the 4th time would have been the answer.
My front end is squeaky and bouncy like bedsprings under too-enthusiastic fucking.
I know you said you quit writing, but you still have a way with words.
Those front ends aren’t too difficult to rebuild, but the labor will be sky high.
I THINK it’s the bushings.
might be, have to climb under while someone bounces it.
Also turn the wheel and look for loose parts.
…as I sit in my therapist’s parking lot awaiting my appointment.
It hurts. It sucks. It’s difficult. But I’m finding it’s worth it. Also, EMDR is helping. Once I spent 2 months venting about the current drama, all the other stuff I shoved down inside so I could deal with the current drama is coming back up so it’s almost like I’m starting over again. The way she looks at some of my past trauma (much of it medical, untreated), gives me a sense of accomplishment, like, I don’t know how I got through all that other than by sheer strength of will. Then again, what was my choice?
So look at it like a future with your soul sort of scrubbed of its plaque and filth. Still hazy and a little dirty, but the caked-on stuff is gone.
Have to find what works and stick with it.
Hope you both continue to see improvement.
I fear becoming incapacitated and dependent on others far more than I fear death. I’m starting to seriously think about the exit plan.
Go to Alaska in the winter, buy a bottle of good alcohol, then wander off into the forest and drink.
If I start losing my mind, I will seriously consider that.
Wasn’t that supposedly the old American Indian way? Certainly something I would consider when the time comes – I hate goodbyes.
I’ve got a big Bowie knife with a 12″ blade. My plan is, when the time comes, to take the knife, go out in the bush, find the biggest, meanest grizzly I can find and pick a fight.
I have this picture of me and the griz walking through the gates of Valhalla together, laughing about what a great fight it was.
Relevant
Badlands between Beach and Medora, ND are my place to wander off into the sunset.
Reading something just now, about the Shiny New Thing (chatbot), this occurs to me: the preposterous moaning and groaning about how AI will kill “critical thinking” aggravates me not merely because “critical thinking” was killed off by the degreed educrats long ago, but because there has been an out and out war on critical thinking for three years.Questioning the validity of expert opinion is a High Crime.
And again, I find myself asking how people can make such blatantly false and mendacious statements without just bursting into flames on the spot.
It’s always been rather rare, it just wasn’t so obvious that was the case before everyone was able to spout off on social media.
One of the things that makes me chuckle is when you see a person with “Critical Thinker” in their bio, 100% of the time they are Regime apologists.
The only real thinking they do is thinking of novel interpretations of words or new ways to torture data to make it say what they want.
preposterous moaning and groaning about how AI will kill “critical thinking”
I just asked ChatGPT about this, and it said AI won’t kill critical thinking. So there you go.
“Critical Thinking is not a living thing, therefore, AI cannot kill it. Things AI will kill include meatbags and weeds, but not unliving concepts like criticha thinking”
ChatGPT is really HK-47?
Specific Denial: No.
Here’s the actual response:
That machine has logorrhea.
Go to Alaska in the winter, buy a bottle of good alcohol, then wander off into the forest and drink.
Alaska? Pfffft. The Tetons are not much more than an hour from here, and there’s always Yellowstone.
I’ve never been to Alaska, figure it would be a grand sight on the way out.
Now you might have a balloon land on your head and kill you
Tetons? I thought Q called dibs on that locale?
I took my truck to the shop after the front passenger side axle seal was leaking AGAIN.
That’s just bizarre. Like the motor in Kinnath’s daughter’s Suburban or whatever it was.
I don’t know, I redid them both years ago and the driver side is dry.
The passenger will not stop leaking.
I checked everything the best I could last time, but as an amateur mechanic, I don’t know what the problem is.
A man’s got to know his limitations.
Opening line of a country song?
No, my wife and dog didn’t leave me.
Because the truck’s busted!
I’ve never been to Alaska, figure it would be a grand sight on the way out.
That’s different.
Dying seems like it’s probably inconvenient as hell and it’s a bit too final for my tastes. I’ve decided I’m just not going to do it.
I am currently on the Steven Wright plan:
“I intend to live forever. So far, so good.”
Thinking about that stupid axle seal, now. Is the vent blocked?
Nope, the only thing I can figure is when I had it in the garage dissasembled, it got a little crud on the axle.
I was very careful when I removed it after the first failure, but maybe the axle will no longer seal?
I found a oil leak on my driveway from my Ford 2.7L V6. I had it on a lift and cleaned all of the oil off the engine with brakeclean. Seems to be coming from a sensor in the side of the block. It’s a revy small leak that hasn’t affected the levels noticeably (6L capacity). I found a TSB about the issue, seems easier to correct than first thought. The leak is coming from the oil pressure sensor, I wanted to be sure it was not under the oil level before taking the dammed thing out and loosing 6L of synthetic I just put in a month ago.
The TSB solution is remove the sensor, clean it, add Permitex to the treads and install. Now I need a weekend afternoon at my friends garage to get it fixed.
Good news that is making me excited this month. My own garage building is nearly complete. I still need a door installed, concrete pad poured, and the electrical service. The rest will be my job to finish and build out as I please. There will be a lift in my future, new tool box, benches, along with a full set of Milwaukee drivers.
Sounds amazing.
I don’t have a lift, and I run air tools. I do have a nice tool box.
I bought my 80 gallon compressor in 2017 when electric tools weren’t nearly as nice as they are now.
Sometimes I want to switch to electric but can’t justify spending that much when the air tools work so well.
Electric is convenient, but air is reliable.
Air is great, but battery power has come a very long way for drivers. Both impact and basic nut drivers are amazing for the cost and size. The batteries are good until they are not. This is the end of a ongoing saga to get this building made. This time last year i had my scaled drawings and property purchased. The permits and resulting survey work took longer than anything.
Electric tools in 2017 are nothing compared to what they can do now.
If I was just now moving into a house, I probably would buy electric tools instead of a giant air compressor.
I agree with Ron. Electric tools are very good now. Some thing there is no substitute for air – but those are generally outside if general construction and repair. If you were completely restoring a car you would need one, for example. You need a big air tank and some air tools + a sandblaster.
I use it for my impact wrench, ratchet and die grinder mostly.
On the other hand, it is nice to have the capability, I might paint my Saab next year.
For sandblasting and painting it would be important. However I have a buddy with both. I would not try to paint a car that is worth anything, mostly a Earl Scheib job on a POS pickup or fun car.
Earl Scheib for you non East Coasters.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Auvf7DDw5z0
After ordering a new garage door back at the end of November, it’s finally getting installed next week. Hope you’ll be able to get yours faster.
i already have it I’m waiting for it to be installed. I ordered it in April 2022. The pole barn company asked me to sell it to other customers twice since it came in in October.
My first car would leak an entire quart of oil driving 15 miles. Turned out it was a bad seal on a sensor. Good thing for the environment that the sensor was there!
I bet you could always find your way home though.
That’s just because he’s part Pigeon.
I am not worthy of the pigeon.
I’ve decided I’m just not going to do it.
Like Yossarian- live forever or die trying.
Irene Cara couldn’t manage it. 😥
That flying thing didn’t work out either I hear.
–Terry Pratchett, Going Postal
If the moment is eternal, and you’re now alive in it, you can never die.
I don’t need to live forever, just long enough to get my immortality serum perfected.
Thanks, ron. Once again, really needed this.
OT: scroll down. It looks like a penis.
Granted that’s hilarious and the teacher should have just helped modify the bow tie a little. If anything. I hate adults for over reacting.
https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/childs-drawing-of-pig-called-inappropriate-by-school-mom-says-in-viral-tiktok
After taking it away as inappropriate, the teacher moved onto the next lesson, how to eat ass and give blowjobs. /now you know the rest of the story
If anything. I hate adults for over reacting.
Let’s go Brandon!
Since the drawing is called “Piggie,” the teacher should’ve called police about the child’s potential ties to the Manson Family.
I hope this doesn’t cause the kid to get depressed.
For once, I can say the teacher was right. She saw something she though was disturbing, didn’t call cops, just merely asked the student what was up, and got a nice answer.
Give the teacher a bonus.
“Social Credit Brazilian Style: All UBI Recipients Must Be Vaxxed”
https://www.zerohedge.com/crypto/social-credit-brazilian-style-all-ubi-recipients-must-be-vaxxed
Bet it’ll work too…Lula freaking sucks.
By work you mean greatly reduce the ranks of people on UBI? Yes. It will.
^^ Fewer poors.
Quickly glanced at the quote and thought it said “Social Credit given for Brazilian Style: Must be waxed”
*tears up job application*
We’ve finally declared war on UFO’s. Long time coming.
https://twitter.com/LucasFoxNews/status/1624128450213675008
I want to believe.
https://www.pennlive.com/news/2023/02/3-charged-after-trying-to-pass-off-sea-salt-as-meth-in-pa-police-sting-reports.html
lulz
So they’re back to the bath salts moral panic now?
Goddamed stupid locals, glad I getting out of dodge for the weekend.
BTW-> “Rodriguez and Yakabovicz were charged with selling a non-controlled substance as a controlled substance and criminal use of a communication facility.” What kind of BS crimes are these?
At first, I thought it was bullshit too. Then I figured “play stupid games, win stupid prizes”. Meh.
Surprised they didn’t throw a fraud charge on there as well.
While I don’t foresee being forced to kill myself, I hope to have the strength Seneca showed.
#metoo
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/02/new-york-times-article-exposes-fetterman-stroke-near-fatal-serious-mental-health-challenges-hears-peanuts-voices-knows-may-permanently-harmed-campaigning/
…must…not…laugh…
*small snort*
It’s okay to laugh at the pain of politicians.
And conventional wisdom says TEAM RED ran the bad candidates.
If the PA GOP had put up a better candidate, the voters totally wouldn’t have robotically voted for the invalid with a (D) next to his name.
Dr. Oz was awful though. He was healthy I guess.
We’re a damned clown show.
I do feel sorry for him. He should have dropped out.
That said…
After his next stroke will he communicate in morse code using his flatulence?
Listening to Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell debate spending in the Senate:
Wa Wawa wa wawawa wa….
I think I’d be hearing the same thing in an hour.
I can agree with that.
Let’s put him up for Veep in 2024. He may actually be an upgrade.