This is the book I am following.
Another good read.
I like this one also.
Working on this book currently.
Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.
Jan 15
“Tranquility can’t be grasped except by those who have reached an unwavering and firm power of judgment—the rest constantly fall and rise in their decisions, wavering in a state of alternately rejecting and accepting things. What is the cause of this back and forth? It’s because nothing is clear and they rely on the most uncertain guide—common opinion.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 95.57b–58a
I try to stay rational in my decisions and because of this, I don’t vacillate. I figured out really early in my Marine Corps career, the worst kind of leader was an indecisive one. I’ve had a mantra “make a decision and stick to it”. If you are making decisions not based on principles and instead based on what you think will make people happy, you will be the worst kind of leader.
Jan 16
“So in the majority of other things, we address circumstances not in accordance with the right assumptions, but mostly by following wretched habit. Since all that I’ve said is the case, the person in training must seek to rise above, so as to stop seeking out pleasure and steering away from pain; to stop clinging to living and abhorring death; and in the case of property and money, to stop valuing receiving over giving.”
—MUSONIUS RUFUS, LECTURES, 6.25.5–11
It is hard to change habits. During our work from home phase last year I got in the habit of staying up too late and waking up just in time to log in. I wasn’t running or working out. Reality hit one day when my jeans barely fit around my waist. It took a while, but I got in the habit of going to bed at 10pm and waking at 5am to either run or go to the gym. In that way I was no longer seeking the pleasure of staying up too late and avoiding the pain of exercise. I never had been clinging to life, after a couple close calls in Iraq, I figure I’m on bonus time. It’s important that my habits are there for a reason, not just because they’re my habits. It’s hard to not place value on receiving money, that is why I go to work. Try to remind myself it’s not the most important thing.
Jan 17
“I am your teacher and you are learning in my school. My aim is to bring you to completion, unhindered, free from compulsive behavior, unrestrained, without shame, free, flourishing, and happy, looking to God in things great and small—your aim is to learn and diligently practice all these things. Why then don’t you complete the work, if you have the right aim and I have both the right aim and right preparation? What is missing? . . . The work is quite feasible, and is the only thing in our power. . . . Let go of the past. We must only begin. Believe me and you will see.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.19.29–34
It is in my power how I react to things. I have done enough reading and learning to have a solid base to filter these reactions. Why do I still follow the wrong impulses? Make the decision to move forward and go.
Jan 18
“Pass through this brief patch of time in harmony with nature, and come to your final resting place gracefully, just as a ripened olive might drop, praising the earth that nourished it and grateful to the tree that gave it growth.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 4.48.2
Understand death is a part of life. Enjoy your time and use it well, so that when you die, you can look back and know it was not a wasted life. I struggle with regrets for things I didn’t do and some things I did do. I am working to handle them in the present and not let them cloud the future.
Jan 19
“A podium and a prison is each a place, one high and the other low, but in either place your freedom of choice can be maintained if you so wish.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.6.25
I saw a documentary on a guy who was framed by his ex wife for murder and spent 15 years in prison before he was exonerated. He spent his time in there mentoring and tutoring other inmates. I wish I could remember his name or more about the case, but the main thing that stuck with me was his attitude. He was interviewed while still in prison and his case was going through the courts. He basically said while he hopes to be released, it didn’t really matter because he was helping others while he was inside and because of that he was never really in jail.
Jan 20
“Your principles can’t be extinguished unless you snuff out the thoughts that feed them, for it’s continually in your power to reignite new ones. . . . It’s possible to start living again! See things anew as you once did—that is how to restart life!”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.2
I had a bad week dealing with being couch bound the second week I was out of the hospital. The first week I was so happy to be out, the couch didn’t bother me. I had to mentally refocus on what I can control and how to deal with the situation I could not control. Always remember, if you’re struggling, it’s in your power to refocus and start again.
Jan 21
“Ask yourself the following first thing in the morning:
What am I lacking in attaining freedom from passion?
What for tranquility?
What am I? A mere body, estate-holder, or reputation? None of these things.
What, then? A rational being.
What then is demanded of me? Meditate on your actions.
How did I steer away from serenity?
What did I do that was unfriendly, unsocial, or uncaring?
What did I fail to do in all these things?”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 4.6.34–35
I try to ask these questions daily as I get ready to sleep. Usually it’s the same answer: anger. I am mostly a happy guy, but anger at the world, my current medical situation, or even at a tool I can’t find or a part that won’t fit through the hole I took it out of. I used to make fun of my brother when we were kids trying to make model cars because he would SNAP and smash it or push too hard and break it. As I’ve gotten older, those tendencies have manifested themselves in me. I don’t like it and am trying to keep control of my actions and temperament.
Here’s a band most people never heard of unless they’re from Georgia.
I’m not from Georgia, but I had a roommate who was.
Understand death is a part of life.
I think part of the Covid Panic is due to some people not understanding this.
I used to make fun of my brother when we were kids trying to make model cars because he would SNAP and smash it or push too hard and break it.
I was that kid that got frustrated and angry when screwing up model kits, and other things.
Thanks for another installment!
I never was, but have somehow grown into it.
It still crops up every now and then.
Having done all these medical reports, with people in the 80-100 yo age range with severe health issues yet are still a FULL CODE (do whatever is necessary to keep them alive, up to and including life support), I can say that many, many, many people–OLD people!–are deathly afraid of death. I did a report once on a 90something who had a quadruple bypass. That’s a man who’s afraid of death. It’s as if they think they can escape it completely because medicine is so advanced.
It’s the advances in medicine that, I think, give people a false sense of security. So here comes along COVID, whacking down anybody it feels like whacking down (because it’s sentient, you know) (the Grim Reaper) and people feel helpless because medicine is not THAT advanced and suddenly, mortality becomes more than a vague, far-off, maybe-never possibility.
Very, very few of the old people I do reports on are DNR, but when they are, they are fucking ADAMANT.
I forgot to complete that thought.
I believe they are so adamant because they don’t trust the healthcare workers to respect their decision.
I’ve heard stories that the health care workers don’t follow DNR’s because they’re scared of getting sued.
My paternal grandmother had a DNR. After a stroke, she was unconscious lying in a bed in the retirement home. The staff were providing some level of care while they figured out the extent of the damage from the stroke. I think it was a combination of CYA/gather information for my grandfather, who had the power of attorney for her, so that he could make a decision.
While this was going on, one of my cousins convinced my grandfather to rescind the DNR. He did it and had the staff do whatever it took to keep her alive.
My grandmother lasted a few more days to a week before she died. She never regained consciousness.
That cousin of mine was on the shit list for much of the family for a while. Most of us agreed: My grandmother would have been fine with my grandfather saying, “She has a DNR, she’s not coming back, let’s respect the DNR.” Instead, nope, he listened to our cousin.
Mojo, I wore the bracelet a few months ago, I made sure all the attending people were aware of it but not vocal.
I am definitely a DNR.
In a coma with a feeding tube seems like a gray area. If the body is alive and you kill it by starvation, that seems wrong.
If the body is only alive because of a machine forcing it to breathe, that also seems wrong.
Yeah, living will can be helpful there. You can stipulate certain conditions and name a couple of people to speak for you.
Illustrated here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q16uINZ1IMQ
Stay on top of it, though. I’ve revised mine a couple times as the laws have changed.
Yeah, I’ve got to completely re-do mine. I think it’s 10 years old and, among other things, pre-dates my marriage.
Every state law is different, although they are largely the same. In most states, you can have a living will (setting out your wishes) and a health care power of attorney (designating someone to make decisions for you if you can’t).
YOU NEED BOTH OF THESE. And pick a health care agent who is willing and able to go toe-to-toe with doctors and hospital bureaucrats to enforce what you said in your living will. Doctors who are askeert of being sued if they follow your wishes to be something other than full code are two things:
(1) Unethical pussies.
(2) Ignorant. They are immunized against liability if they follow your express wishes.
I’ve been watching “Something is Killing Me” on HBOMax. Really undermines any faith in the medical establishment.
#metoo
Haven’t heard of it, but my general belief is that the human body is really complicated, and most doctors aren’t just nowhere near as intelligent as they believe, but too ego driven to even consider they may be wrong. It’s a world of credentialism where people really know little and will never admit it.
They are pharma reps. That’s it.
The service writer at your local Chevy dealership has more integrity.
The fact that “evidence based medicine” is a relatively new thing is freaking scary.
Its even scarier when you know how weak the evidence is for a lot of it.
I appreciate this as a good reminder to focus on what I can control and let the rest go
I’m glad.
I started writing these for myself and with the requests for content from Glibs, I figured I might as well submit them and see if they are worth being published or not.
It’s funny. We all know it, but most of us routinely fuck it up.
https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2022/01/13/2-marines-receive-religious-exemption-to-covid-19-vaccine/
Two exemptions. And from the chain of command, probably reservists.
“See, we’re not rejecting All of the requests!”
It’s like you know first hand how government plays these games.
Oh Mama, I’m in fear for my life from the long arm of the First
Firstman has put an end to my running, and I’m so far from my home
Oh Mama, I can hear you a-cryin’, you’re so scared and all alone
Firstman is comin’ down from the gallows, and I don’t have very long
I hope Patrick Mahomes breaks his fucking leg on Sunday. Literally.
“I hope Patrick Mahomes breaks his fucking leg on Sunday. Literally”
That’s a shitty thing to say about anyone, have you no decency at all?
What do you have against Mahomes? He won’t date you?
His wife and brother are annoying, but Patrick seems okay.
He’s a good egg.
I am The First Of All Firsters. I could steal your wife, seduce and turn a sexy Russian spy, and fuck three progressives into libertarians in one night without batting an eye.
Pam Shortt’s broken both her legs and I wanna dance with you.
Mojeux,
I wish you and your Chiefs the best on Sunday, may you too be able to celebrate a crying Big Ben on the sidelines.
Thank you! We will need the luck because I don’t trust us not to fuck it up.
I’m low key rooting for the Bengals to make it through. Burrow is impressive, and it’s not the Ravens or Stillers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCYDE_P9AKM&t=16s
Just keep it within 3 and get reasonably close.
How does it feel to know that the Steelers broke yet another Browns QB?
Next year, I look forward to them continuing the tradition of getting Btowns coaches fired. Though, without Roethlisberger, the Browns may be able to crawl out of the basement that they once again find themselves in.
/looks at the standings
Well, the stolen Browns are in the basement. The new Cleveland ones came in 3rd. And Baker was broken when he tried to make a sack long before we played the Stillers.
Does any of it matter? Aren’t the Packers just gonna roll whoever gets there?
I would never bet on Aaron Rodgers when it counts the most. He had one playoff run.
He’s going to have to go through the Bucs again, and I aint betting against Tom Brady, either.
Baker’s spirit was broken by the Steelers a few weeks ago. I know it’s hard for you to admit, but the guy limped off to IR and may never be seen in a Browns jersey again.
It’s not hard to admit at all. He should have gone in to get the surgery months ago. There’s rumors around the local sports writers/talkers that the reason the game plan involved Baker getting sacked so much was that Stefanski let Baker do the game plan he’s wanted to do earlier in the season after the injury.
I don’t know what the water cool gossip in Cleveland is. I just know that as an outside observer that Sefanski has gotten cute in every game he’s coached against the Steelers. Instead of attempting to run the ball (which, especially this year, hasn’t been hard to do against the Steelers), he lets Baker drop back and plays into the Steelers strengths and his own teams weakness.
So, I don’t think any conspiracy is needed to explained why Baker ended up sacked 9 times. He only ran the ball 22 times in the first one, too (not counting Baker’s scrambles). Baker dropped backed to pass on 36 times (counting sacks and his attempts to run). Not quite as bad as this past game, but the Browns didn’t trail throughout, either.
It is hard to change habits.
Yes. I have been thinking on this a lot lately. Clear’s book mind fucked me a little as I’ve always worried more about goals than habits, not realizing that the achievement of a goal often results in abandoning the habits that got you there. Better instead to create and maintain habits that help make you what you want to be.
Good stuff, ron. Thanks!
When I was younger I would have this issue with working out. I would get in shape for a PFT (Physical Fitness Test) Then 3 or four months later I would start working on my pull ups AGAIN to get ready for another PFT.
The crunches were always easy for me, and we did plenty of running as a unit, so the only part I worked on was pull ups.
It wasn’t until I got older and had to recover from an injury that I discovered the beauty of having a constant workout schedule.
I’m enjoying this series very much, Ron – thanks!
I hope your balls are better.
For Ron and his balls.
Much better lately, I am able to go to work now.
Went on a ship Wednesday and yesterday.
I underestimated how weak I am, going up the ladder wells took the wind right out of me.
As I was finishing on Wed., I hit a wall and once I got home I died for two hours.
Yesterday wasn’t as bad, I was tired when I was done, but not exhausted.
Take your time rebuilding, friend. Just do a little more each day. People hear “don’t sweat the small stuff” and and forget that the big things in life require investing in the small stuff that leads to accomplishing the big things.
Enjoying the series Ron, keep going!
+1 Thx
I was a little nervous for the first one, maybe no one would enjoy it, but I figure you get what you pay for.
After a week of everyone constantly wanting my attention at work, things have suddenly gone silent. It’s eerie.
Oh wait, it’s friday afternoon before a three day weekend, they’ve all left already.
I’m still waiting on confirmation from my boss that we’re off Monday. The Account Manager has already been telling the client we are, so… that could get interesting.
I’ve also got a group that’s part of the migration happening tomorrow that’s just NOW going through UAT and bringing up issues, which are getting directed to me.
Sounds like fun.
Did you give your boss a deadline to get back to you “else I’m just going to not be in”?
Yeah, especially since the UAT was supposed to be completed a month ago. Then it’s also comparing between the old system and the new, and finding changes that were not replicated over by some people that I’ve been trying to trace back and replicate.
No, she’s following up. She’s heard the same thing, but received no official word, nor is it showing as a holiday on the company calendar. If I had to take a guess, it’s probably starting next year, and some people didn’t pay attention to the year and started spreading it through the company.
@ Neph
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYFO5qPpM_I
Entertainingly, my company is not involved in the upgrade at all. That’s being done by the customer and the vendor, we’re on the hook for after cutover support (3 days after the migration). So I’m doing this for good will and to continue making sure the contract gets renewed. This specific issue they’re trying to blame on a change that wasn’t ported over (which is accurate for some of the issues which I’ve resolved).
Think I found Neph atwork.
I have built out things on a customer request that was terrible and wouldn’t work. I explained where the issues were (in a written document), and had them sign off on it. When they complained that there were issues, I pointed out the exact issues I had predicted in the written document with their signatures.
In idiotic company news, they just announced at about 14:45 Eastern today that we would be taking MLK Jr. day as a company holiday.
“Uh, thanks, but a little more advanced warning would have been nice.”
Sounds rather like some organizations’ last minute “Gee, I guess we’d better close for Juneteenth or there’ll be hell to pay” moves from last summer.
The message said this would be replacing one of our later holidays… looking over the schedule it looks like the day after Thanksgiving will no longer be a company holiday.
And yeah… more notice then a couple of hours before the EOD Friday would be nice.
That’s messed up
That’s heinous.
And a great way to get everyone to resent MLK….
the day after Thanksgiving will no longer be a company holiday
That used to be the standard.
Believe it or not, Christmas Eve didn’t used to be a holiday, either.
Xmas Eve is not a holiday around here.
Looks like there was a bit of complaints about the short notice. We can now work Monday and use it as a floating holiday later in the year. As the client I support is doing a large cutover (and would be calling me regardless), I’ll work it and take the day later.
It’s a 3 day weekend?
For my co-workers it is.
Me too.
Yes. Yes it is. Plus a “wellness day” on the 28th, so 2 4-day work weeks in a row!
Still the same amount of work to do, though.
I got kicked out of my office, all the Govt workers wanted to leave early, and us lowly contractors aren’t allowed to be there by our selves.
Still got paid for a full day.
#yourtaxdollarsatwork
Shhhhhhh
https://youtu.be/KN9Vx3fatHM
Oh wait, it’s friday afternoon before a three day weekend, they’ve all left already.
So now you can actually accomplish something?
WhoawhoaWHOA there, big fella. Let’s not contemplate anything rash.
No, that’s about right. If you are a govvie, you don’t want to get caught by your peers actually accomplishing things – they get mad when you make them look bad. So you wait until they’re all pretty much gone, do some work, and then when they all come back in on Tues they think something magical happened over the weekend.
We don’t have that problem, but I’ve had a friend actually get told to slow down by his co-workers for that very reason.
houseoffice elvesOld union guy
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/485132-john-kuczwanski-killed-in-road-rage-incident/
People be crazy.
So even Prius drivers in Florida carry, huh. Florida is sounding better and better.
lol. a place where even the Prius drivers have guns.
RIP Jim from The Office.
nice
Killed by his own road rage.
Justified homicide.
Suicide by Prius?
Chances are if you drive a Prius you are already dead inside.
His wife said he was trapped and assassinated, so this must be a coincidence:
Well, that’s quite the plot twist
I forwarded that one to Andrew Branca to see if he’s interested in doing a stream of this if it goes to trial.
Florida, man…
Sounds like a good shoot to me.
Kinda sad, though. Losing a gunfight to a Prius driver.
I met someone today so fucked up that they could ruin a First already made by The First Of All Firsters. FUBAR doesn’t even begin to describe them.
Looked in the mirror again?
Jealousy? Not very stoic of you.
I’m working on it!
Super Angry OT Rant:
So once again my daughter’s daycare class is being sent home for two weeks because a kid was exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID. This wouldn’t that big of an issue if we both didn’t work, so now we have to scramble to find ways to work while having two children at home. And the cherry on top is that this is year end at my firm and we have to do a million tasks to close the books and get shit right for the auditors.
I’m so tired of this COVID theatre because it’s taken away a lot of our freedoms and created unneeded inconveniences for a lot of people even though this shit has a low mortality rate. It’s also a reflective of not only how risk adverse our population has become but also embracing authoritarian methods simply because they don’t want to make the effort to keep themselves safe and to justify their overblown fears.
In short, fuck the assholes.
Who pulled the 2 week number out of their ass?
Thought it was down to 5 days, and that’s only if you have symptoms.
The daycare is in Cook County (Chicago area) so those fucks are more authoritarian and anti-science than most of the other counties in Illinois.
The daycare themselves aren’t creating these rules, it’s the county and state forcing them to follow their bullshit ass edicts.
And that’s a high bar to clear.
When I see friends and acquaintances lose their shit over people doing “unsafe” shit in regards to COVID, I’m tempted to tell them to fuck off and lock themselves in their bubbles because it’s time for everyone else to move on and live life. It’s also very obvious that masks do shit to stop covid nor getting vaxed a million times but yet they want to continue their little bullshit theatre because it feeds into their victim mentality and also live out their authoritarian fetishes where they can get a front row seat in watching the government destroy people’s lives who don’t follow the program.
It took a lot of doing to hold back from saying that to a colleague who was ranting about the unvaxed.
So many ridiculous requirements can be explained by, “something must be done, this is something, therefore it must be done”.
If that’s the standard, they might as well lock their doors and throw out the key because that is going to be the entire population of the United States in short order.
That’s why we must increase the testing.
And also Ron, thinks for your article today. I’ve been a fan of the stoics for a while but times like this is when you really need to ponder on their writings.
Glad you liked it.
You can also tell that the daycare leadership hates doing this but if they do anything differently, the large Steve Smith dick of the county and state government will fuck them in the ass.
that is going to be the entire population of the United States in short order.
That has been the entire population of the United States for a long time.
“Theatre”. You must be so angry that you’re spelling like a darn furriner.
It seems to me most theaters in America call themselves theatres.
I was going to call my Thursday posts “Crapsterpiece Theatre “ but someone had already used the name.
I’m having a hard time squaring stoicism with agitating for needed changes. Does accepting what is mean you shouldn’t DO SOMETHING about X injustice?
That’s a difficult part.
I think you should do what you can, but to beat yourself up if nothing changes, when you know you’ve done all you could, is counter productive.
Also following the Stoic philosophy doesn’t mean to go live in the middle of nowhere and withdraw from the world.
It’s more of accepting what you can control.
Did you try to improve something?
Was it worthwhile to make an attempt?
Even though the ultimate outcome is not in your control, what you tried to do is.
The hard part is accepting that your efforts could be in vain.
You have the right to work, but for the work’s sake only. You have no right to the fruits of work. Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working. Never give way to laziness, either.
Perform every action with you heart fixed on the Supreme Lord. Renounce attachment to the fruits. Be even-tempered in success and failure: for it is this evenness of temper which is meant by yoga.
Work done with anxiety about results is far inferior to work done without such anxiety, in the calm of self-surrender. Seek refuge in the knowledge of Brahma. They who work selfishly for results are miserable.”
― Bhagavad Gita
Similar concept in the Bhagavad Gita. You can agitate for change knowing you have no control over the outcome. You can do the right thing even if doing so will get you punished. Just do it in the mindset of tranquility and acceptance of your fate.
I sometimes wonder about engineers. On my LG range, all the knobs that control the burners have a copper support stud, except the oven. They use a plastic one and that has broken off. Seriously, did that decision save you money?
I guess they are brass, not copper. BUt still point stands.
I too wonder about engineers.
One model of airplane we make has the wing attached to the fuselage with a 9/16″ fine thread bolt. Now 9/16″ bolts are pretty rare to begin with but to find one with the correct grip length is even more difficult. It turns out there are only two companies in the U.S. that make NAS bolts in 9/16″. Neither of them had stock when I needed them.
If the engineer would have specified a 5/8″ bolt…well those are much more common. And cheap.
In essence we save 2 ounces of weight for a cost premium of over $300 and weeks of waiting. 2 ounces!
I think Chesterton’s Fence comes into play. Probably it was just a stupid decision, but 20% of time there was a damn good reason the weird decision was made.
Maybe those bolts were plentiful back in the 50’s when the type certificate was approved. Or the inertia of laziness.
Oven burners are different and require controls, so it’s a different part altogether,
I get that…but why not put a brass stud?
Wonder how long the Feds plan on making the cases drag on? They surely don’t want acquittals just before the mid-terms.
Drag on so they can scream sedition! all the way to the polls.
Why would they care?
If it makes them look bad, no one will cover it, and in the meantime they can use these charges as a cudgel against any peasants who forget their place.
https://www.fox29.com/news/teen-wounded-during-attempted-carjacking-turned-shootout-in-mount-airy-police-say
Another one?
Damn.
City of brotherly Love my ass.
I’m having a hard time squaring stoicism with agitating for needed changes. Does accepting what is mean you shouldn’t DO SOMETHING about X injustice?
An excellent question.
Isn’t it more about making yourself the best you can be while accepting that are certain things that are outside of your influence. That doesn’t seem to be too much of a leap.
I am stoic about the fact that the 22 year old bartender at Dave and Buster’s will never be able to mix a proper Sazerac. I must accept this and never order a mixed drink more complex than a margarita from Dave and Buster’s.
It’s amazing how often bartenders can screw up a Manhattan (“why are there ice chips floating in my Manhattan? Why is it frothy?”). They’re all “incompetent until proven otherwise” at this point.
Agreed. Only attempt to get a mixed drink at high-end bars with old bartenders. Otherwise it is a recipe for failed expectations. Be stoic and drink the Johnny Walker Black at Dave and Buster’s. With no ice. Because that bartender kid puts his bare hands in the ice drawer.
What the hell?
https://fox17.com/news/local/boosters-urged-by-tennessee-hospital-as-42-of-those-hospitalized-at-facility-vaccinated-covid-19-pfizer-moderna-symptoms-omicron-delta
Mildly interesting graphics.
And how many are considered unvaccinated because they were admitted within the window after after the shot but before “vaccinated” status?
Looking at the graphics, it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference if you are vaccinated. Also only 33 patients? In the whole place?
But 9 are critical!
9!
It depends on how big the hospital is. Some hospitals don’t even have 33 beds. But, we are dealing with a “journalist”, so it takes some decoding – of 33 COVID patients hospitalized, etc.
At around a 60% vax rate (I assume), that shows minimal effectiveness of the vax for preventing hospitalization. If 42% of their COVID patients are vaxxed, the relative risk reduction is basically gone.
“Those who are hospitalized at the facility and have been vaccinated are primarily over the age of 60, representing 11 of the 14 vaccinated patients.”
Still a disease of the old.
I like stoicism, I think. I don’t expect it to help me be happy. It just is.
After some things it is not possible to be happy ever again, except once in a while one might manage to forget for a few seconds and fool himself. He might remember a time when he was truly happy, how delicate that moment was. When his awareness reasserts itself he feels, in contrast to the brief remembrance, a more acute sorrow.
It will help you to be more tranquil and think more about where you invest your time and energy.
If you let it do that for you, that will lead to more happiness, I believe.
I learned along the way how to feign or fake anger, when it was necessary to make corrections or in dealing with people. It wasn’t real but more theatrical than any thing else. That way after the event was over I didn’t let it bother me emotionally.
Some people that knew me well and were looking over my shoulder would laugh (quietly) and sometimes explain to other person that it was phony. Sometimes I used a quiet mode,,just get up and start to walk away.
Ron, I worked for a West Pointer LTC Bn Commander, he was not going to make a decision until he ran it by Brigade. He also blamed us subordinates as fall back guys. His replacement was just the opposite, he took the heat and pointed out my errors of judgement but always in private and it was over. Both those guys taught me a lot.
Isn’t it more about making yourself the best you can be while accepting that are certain things that are outside of your influence. That doesn’t seem to be too much of a leap.
You know what they say. “You might not be interested in Big Brother, but Big Brother is interested in you.”
What happens when being your best becomes impossible because you can’t get into the grocery store without making a show of fealty and submission?
Sometimes you have to make hard choices.
I got the jab because work required it.
I will not get the booster. I do not wear a mask outside of a hospital or airport and I only fly for work.
In neither place do I cover my nose. These are all under my control.
I know this doesn’t really answer, but it’s an individual choice where the lines are.
My rule:
I won’t wear a mask unless you pay me to.
I won’t get a booster unless you pay me to, and there isn’t enough money for that.
Parallel structures?
We can’t change the system – that is obvious. We can be creative and circumvent it, though.
If the engineer would have specified a 5/8″ bolt…well those are much more common. And cheap.
In essence we save 2 ounces of weight for a cost premium of over $300 and weeks of waiting. 2 ounces!
Use 5/8, and center drill them.
I suspect that improvising with airplanes is discouraged.
That’s what I would do on my truck.