Daily Stoic Week 23

by | Jun 3, 2022 | Advice, LifeSkills, Musings | 126 comments

Last Week

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:

The Stoic Challenge

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

 

June 4

“Why then are we offended? Why do we complain? This is what we’re here for.”
—SENECA, ON PROVIDENCE, 5.7b–8

How do I get stronger? By picking up heavy things and putting them down. How do I improve my temperament? By dealing with small setbacks while keeping control of anger, and using those lessons on larger ones. I am learning to enjoy challenges because they improve me, if I do what I am here for and don’t get offended and complain about it.

 

June 5

“We cry to God Almighty, how can we escape this agony? Fool, don’t you have hands? Or could it be God forgot to give you a pair? Sit and pray your nose doesn’t run! Or, rather just wipe your nose and stop seeking a scapegoat.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.16.13

My wife is religious, I am not. I never saw any use in praying for miracles. Her friend prayed when she locked her keys in the car, and then called a locksmith. My wife told me this later and didn’t appreciate my comment that the second step was much more productive. My wife prayed for my recovery, which I appreciated, but the work I’ve done to get back in shape seems to provide better results. I don’t think praying hurts, but it is important to take action and control what you can.

 

June 6

“Think of those who, not by fault of inconsistency but by lack of effort, are too unstable to live as they wish, but only live as they have begun.”
—SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 2.6b

Bad things happen, but I have seen people create their own bad circumstances and seem to have no desire to get away from them. My dad was a lazy dishonest person that talked a good game. His sister was the same sort. Our cousins all grew up to be dirt bags on welfare, while my brothers and I resolved to do the opposite. All of us are doing fine and have all been married for a long time. Not that we didn’t have rough patches, but we had the determination to work through them, while my cousins seemed to give up if things didn’t work out for them.

 

June 7

“We like to say that we don’t get to choose our parents, that they were given by chance—yet we can truly choose whose children we’d like to be.”
—SENECA, ON THE BREVITY OF LIFE, 15.3a

Who do I respect and who have I learned from? I learned from my dad how not to be, but I learned from my step dad how to earn respect and be painfully honest. I also learned from quite a few of my Marine Corps section chiefs and platoon sergeants, both positive and negative examples. My first big influence was Louis L’Amour books. As an unhappy 12 year old, I found his books and I think I read all of them. I didn’t realize until later how much of an influence they were. Now I am learning from long dead Roman philosophers. It doesn’t matter who you learn from, it matters what you learn.

 

June 8

“You must build up your life action by action, and be content if each one achieves its goal as far as possible—and no one can keep you from this. But there will be some external obstacle! Perhaps, but no obstacle to acting with justice, self-control, and wisdom. But what if some other area of my action is thwarted? Well, gladly accept the obstacle for what it is and shift your attention to what is
given, and another action will immediately take its place, one that better fits the life you are building.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.32

My life is based on a foundation of my family. This is solid because my wife and I both do things to keep it that way. My job is based on my foundation of knowledge and a good work ethic. I have had external problems, but have never been unemployed for more than a week or two since I left home. When I lost one job, I was able to get another one. When one job wasn’t providing the opportunities or pay I felt that I was earning, I kept working there until I found something else. My wife was stunned when she found out a few years later how much I hated working there. I never complained to her, that seemed counter productive.

 

June 9

“There is no vice which lacks a defense, none that at the outset isn’t modest and easily intervened—but after this the trouble spreads widely. If you allow it to get started you won’t be able to control when it stops. Every emotion is at first weak. Later it rouses itself and gathers strength as it moves along—it’s easier to slow it down than to supplant it.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 106.2b–3a

When I am aware of my mindset and catch the anger early, it is easy to laugh at myself and control it. When I am not paying attention and let my anger build. It is much harder to reign in. Then I have to take a deep breath, maybe walk away for a while, sometimes I have to stop doing what I was working on all together. Getting better at this, but sometimes it feels like the anger sneaks up on me.

 

June 10

“If you find something very difficult to achieve yourself, don’t imagine it impossible—for anything possible and proper for another person can be achieved as easily by you.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.19

I am working to improve my internal reactions and get back in shape. I know even at 50 it’s possible to do these things. I see other old guys at the gym and I know, if they can do it, so can I. Same with fixing up my truck. It seemed pretty daunting at the outset, but I watched YouTube videos and knew it was possible to do it in the garage.

 

I will be on a ship most of the day Friday, but I hope you enjoy this:

Hostage to Heaven

It’s Dave Lombardo’s band after leaving Slayer. He is a god among men when it comes to drumming. The double bass drums when the singer hits HEAVEN are amazing.

Rusty Nail

Savage Seas (Retribution)

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

126 Comments

  1. Plisade

    “Sit and pray your nose doesn’t run! Or, rather just wipe your nose and stop seeking a scapegoat.”

    We could always just ban noses.

    • R.J.

      Common sense snot control.

      Thank again Ron! You make Fridays better.

      • ron73440

        Glad you like it.

        BTW, I enjoyed The Lost Empire, but could not get into the Hillbilly movie.

        Next week sounds entertaining.

      • R.J.

        Not every movie will be for everyone. I hope you do like next week! It is a pretty modern movie as kung fu films go.

  2. DEG

    My first big influence was Louis L’Amour books. As an unhappy 12 year old, I found his books and I think I read all of them.

    I remember reading Louis L’Amour books when I was a kid. I remember liking them. I have no idea where they got to.

    A relative suggested I read Zane Grey, which I never did. I should fix that.

    Thanks Ron!

    • Dr. Fronkensteen

      His autobiography Education of a wandering man is very good as well.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Riders of the Purple Sage is a classic for a reason. Also, fishing.

      • Fatty Bolger

        That’s the only one of his books I’ve read. The overall plot was OK, but I thought the writing itself was pretty poor. I mostly enjoyed trying to visualize the countryside and towns as he described them. He does manage to convey a real sense of what it would look and feel like at the time.

    • Drake

      The Big Sky by A. B. Guthrie Jr. got me the first time I read it. I really felt like I was out where the plains meet the Rockies with the Mountain Men.

    • ron73440

      I loved L’amour, but never got into Grey.

      I think I started Riders of the Purple Sage, but didn’t get very far with it.

      Haven’t reread any L’Amour, wonder how they hold up.

  3. Mojeaux

    I’ve got lots of things to say about prayer, but it’s all a jumble. It involves meditation, expression of gratitude, clearing one’s mind to address the topic at hand.

    The only thing that is not a jumble is “Pascal’s wager.”

    • EvilSheldon

      I’ve been an atheist since I knew what the word meant. But it would be pretty silly for me to dismiss prayer, when I use active visualization every time I shoot a gun…

      • ron73440

        I always sing Chug a Lug in my head, it keeps me loose and relaxed.

    • Semi-Spartan Dad

      The only thing that is not a jumble is “Pascal’s wager.”

      Disagree there. Even if you agree with the logic of Pascal’s wager, Pascal steals an enormous base in presupposing god must be singular and all encompassing, i.e., that his god is the correct and only god. You’d have to include belief to Odin, Zeus, and Shiva as well or the whole thing falls apart.

      • Mojeaux

        I wouldn’t be surprised if other gods didn’t even cross Pascal’s mind. That said, I think we can safely assume “God” can be applied to any beneficent deity one worships.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        I wouldn’t be surprised if other gods didn’t even cross Pascal’s mind.

        That’s my point. Pascal presents it as a binary choice between A (belief in his god) and B (non-belief). But it’s not a binary choice. There are an infinite number of possible gods and thus an infinite number of choices.

        Praying to Pascal’s God when it’s really Odin that exists is not going to get you into Vahalla.

      • Plisade

        Agreed. It assumes that believing in or worshipping God leads to everything good. It could lead to everything bad. Or it could lead to the same fate as the Atheist. His wager is a false choice; it’s more like a roulette wheel of infinite numbers and colors.

      • Nephilium

        This is very similar to the suggestion put forward by the Quirmian philosopher Ventre, who said, “Possibly the gods exist, and possibly they do not. So why not believe in them in any case? If it’s all true you’ll go to a lovely place when you die, and if it isn’t then you’ve lost nothing, right?” When he died he woke up in a circle of gods holding nasty-looking sticks and one of them said, “We’re going to show you what we think of Mr. Clever Dick in these parts…”

        –Terry Pratchett, Hogfather

      • Plisade

        Just read the plot summary… Whoa.

      • Nephilium

        The Discworld series is hands down one of my favorite series of books I have ever read (and re-read, and re-read). Hogfather is a Christmas book, it’s the fourth in the cycle following Death and his family. Shouldn’t be too terrible to jump into as a read even with that. The best entry point to the series as a whole is probably Guards! Guards!, which is the first of the Watch cycle (and bypasses some strangeness in the earlier books while PTerry was finding his voice).

      • Plisade

        Sounds cool! Thanks for the recommendation. Weird is good.

      • kinnath

        Discworld is awesome.

      • ron73440

        Never read any Discworld.

        It sounds like something I would like, but right now my list of waiting books is too long.

      • Tundra

        Yeah, I’m with Neph. Probably my favorite series.

        And I read Hogfather every Christmas.

      • kinnath

        I have a lot of books and series that I love.

        Discworld stands head and shoulder above all the others.

      • EvilSheldon

        Feet of Clay is unintentionally the greatest libertarian polemic ever written.

      • Pine_Tree

        Re: stolen base. He’s very definitely using shorthand, wherein “God” in his phrasing is the obvious one that me means. It’s not really a stolen base – he reasonably assumes the audience knows that and isn’t nit-picking on verbiage or translation. He’s not structuring it as a Euclidean proof from first principles.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        It doesn’t so much fall apart as it becomes a different problem. Now, instead of being an issue of 1 of 2 mutually exclusive options, it’s an issue of many options, some of which are mutually exclusive and some of what aren’t.

        Could there be millions of options? Yes. Practically though, we’re taking about what? A handful of religions where their God requires fealty. A bunch of religions where the gods are anthropomorphizations of natural processes. A bunch of religions where the gods don’t seem to give half a shit about people and are off doing their own thing. A bunch of religions that acknowledge a spiritual/higher realm, but not a personal God, and various forms of atheism and agnosticism. In practice, Pascal’s wager isn’t some powerball lottery game, it’s a selection between all of the religions and non-religions where no fealty is required and the handful of religions where fealty is required.

    • Lackadaisical

      I think prayer is very helpful for calming someone down- the sister (?) was probably better able to handle the situation(calm down and actually think), lower her stress, etc. by praying.

      I pray every time I fly and I’ve never died in a plane crash. 😉

  4. Kwihn T. Senshel

    By dealing with small setbacks while keeping control of anger, and using those lessons on larger ones.

    “He that is faithful in little is faithful in much”
    This is a hard lesson to learn for me, although I’ve also tried to pass it on to my kids. It’s a seductive thought to believe that if only I was given this ‘big’ opportunity or was tested in a more obvious way that I’d succeed, but it doesn’t work that way: You must learn to handle the small before the large. It’s almost never true the other way.

    • trshmnstr the terrible

      We’re struggling through this right now. Wife and I were talking through our anxiety as we stare down a potentially huge change in lifestyle and how we can and should make small changes now to commit before the big reset and adjustment happens in a few months.

      It’s so easy to see ourselves as being in a holding pattern, waiting for the big reset (moving to a homestead) to happen before implementing improvements in our lives. Pushing through that and making changes now is important. OTOH, there are things that simply can’t or don’t make sense to be done in our current circumstances.

      The mantra I keep using is “improve 1% each day” (credit: Justin Rhodes).

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        We just this last year committed to a house and land before we were really ready. I have anxiety over that (taking on more debt before we probably should have), although I also believe that the opportunity and the way it was presented to us was providential, and don’t regret it (especially given where interest rates and prices keep going in our area!).

        I say that to say that we also really struggle with the “just start” option: I want to have everything lined up, constructed, programmed, planned, and purchased before actually taking action, and we are working though just starting small, adjusting and learning, and then growing from there.

        (Heh, I have found myself watching hours of YouTube videos on building nesting boxes for chickens, and realizing that I could have had them actually DONE in the time I’ve spent on ‘researching’ the right style, material, etc.!)

        I do like the ‘little each day,’ although I fail at that a lot. Trends are the thing. Where are we heading?

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        “Release the Quacken!” 🙂

        I’ve seen a number of his, and have found some good stuff there.
        Thanks!

      • Mojeaux

        LOL I should have known. One time I asked Travis Corcoran if he’d read the Foxfire books. Boy, did I feel stupid.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        Not at all, good suggestion!
        I find it’s hard to weed through (hah!) some of the homesteading/self-sufficiency material, as I’m seeing a lot of what I’d consider “homestead as YouTube revenue stream” content, and so suggestions from others are much appreciated.

        I’m not as far along as some here (Semi-Spartan comes to mind), but trying to build a community of mutual support and resources one (small) step at a time.

        My FOMO anxiety really hits me sometimes, when I think of what all needs to be done. But, we’re blessed where we are, far beyond what I deserve.

      • Mojeaux

        I am the opposite of wanting to homestead. I think about all the work and just wilt, but I also realize how dependent I am on modern conveniences. I know many skills I can barter for (sewing/quilting, some construction).

        If anything happened to Mr. Mojeaux once XY is 18, I’d probably do what KK is doing with getting an RV. I might attempt to scale down to #vanlife, although how successful I’d be with that, is also up for question. Being constantly on the move might have advantages homesteading doesn’t.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        I am the opposite of wanting to homestead.

        I’m of the age now where the shiny of something like homesteading isn’t there: I know that it’s a lot of work, and have already seen myself fail enough in life that I have no delusions of my ability to succeed at all things in this endeavor either.

        For me, it’s much more a matter of
        (1) Trying to become less dependent on “the system”. This was not a strange thing even 40-50 years ago: Most people had some chickens for eggs or grew a garden. Just the way it was.
        (2) Build something more ‘real’ locally with others. LIke many here, my current job is knowledge work, and not all that satisfying in itself. But building real connections with others around food and family IS real, and far more meaningful to us. So, to whatever degree we grow our own food or are more self-sufficient, it’s with a view of supporting our community, and creating something lasting.

        And, agreed, Mo, there are definite pros to a mobile-capable lifestyle. Everything is trade-offs. Hope I never come across as though I’ve found the ONE RIGHT WAY 😛

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        I’m not as far along as some here (Semi-Spartan comes to mind), but trying to build a community of mutual support

        It’s strange seeing that because I’m always feeling behind in what I’m trying to do. Something like this is the year we’re going to get bees and make honey, no next year, no really the year after…. I guess that feeling may never go away.

        I say that to say that we also really struggle with the “just start” option: I want to have everything lined up, constructed, programmed, planned, and purchased before actually taking action, and we are working though just starting small, adjusting and learning, and then growing from there.

        I’ve found that a huge part of learning with all of homesteading stuff is failure. Things are not going to go as planned and you’ll only learn by trying and failing. And then using that to rebuild better. You should have seen me trying to change implements on the tractor. Watched hours of Youtube and still set about trying to change them out the worse possible way. It took hours and lots of skinned knuckles but finally worked out how the 3 point implement system adjusted with a wrench.

        I watched every YouTube video under the sun and read countless articles before carefully planning our outer fence. It’s 4,000 feet of woven wire field fencing. I knew the “correct” way to connect the 330′ sections was to splice them with a crimping tool. Supposedly that creates a tighter connection than the original wire. Then one day I woke up to cow who laughed at my crimps and popped through them like it was nothing. That was a thousand dollar mistake. Ended up reinforcing every connection with a cattle panel to prevent another escape.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        I’m always feeling behind in what I’m trying to do

        Oh, you might be, you’re just farther along in being behind than me…

      • juris imprudent

        …adjusted with a wrench.

        A very large wrench? 😉

      • Tulip

        I have no desire to homestead, although I want a smaller location and a bigger garden.

        I do want to push back on the more real community. I have a very real community among my neighbors. We talk about our pets, gardening, share tips and help each other in multiple ways. And I’m in a close in suburb of DC. You don’t need to move to a homestead for that.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        I do want to push back on the more real community […] You don’t need to move to a homestead for that.

        Might be a definitional thing: I see a ‘homestead’ as “We’re growing/raising our own stuff to support ourselves and/or others”, and doesn’t necessitate a particular lot size or neighbor distance.
        But, I know there are those that would argue for a minimum threshold of size, or location, or livestock, etc,, but at least for me, I don’t agree. I think you can ‘homestead’ just about anywhere to some degree.

        In some ways, what is called ‘homestead’ nowadays is just ‘how normal people lived’ not too terribly long ago.

        And, agreed about the community; I didn’t mean to imply that only occurs in certain rural areas or something. I think it’s much more a mindset or local culture than a given location or activity.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        To Tulip’s point about community, I’ve encountered some real community in the suburbs, but it was very few and far between, and it was damn fragile. It always seemed that once the sprawl overtook the area and the traffic started to get bad, people started having excuses why they couldn’t show up anymore. Then a few of the stalwarts die or move away, and then the spark is gone. I don’t doubt that there are a few exceptions to the rule out there, but out of the 10-ish neighborhoods I’ve lived in, only 3 had meaningful community, and 2 of those had the community erode as the city overtook them.

      • Tulip

        It doesn’t have to be fragile. Mine has survived multiple turnover in neighbors. Also, things can be fragile in smaller areas as people leave or die, etc.

      • Tundra

        Totally agree, Tulip.

        Even relocating halfway across the country, we’ve been pleasantly surprised at the quality of community in our little corner of the burbs. Lots of good people even in a supposed blue shithole.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        I have found myself watching hours of YouTube videos on building nesting boxes for chickens

        You and me both. I have the advantage of not being “there” yet, so there’s a ready made excuse for not taking action. That said, I’ve tried to force some action to keep skills up and get a head start once we land at the homestead, which is why I have a bunch of container fruit trees in the backyard.

      • Drake

        Kind of the same place. We sold our house and are renting while… not really sure what we do next. Buy in this maybe soon to crash market? Build while that’s pricey and there are supply chain interruptions.

        Or just wait to see what the next few months bring – probably the right answer but stressful.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Yes on the stressful. We’re technically out of our lease right now and are running month to month. The prospect of a rent increase dropping on our heads at any minute (or worse, a notice to vacate) adds to the anxiety.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        Oh, and I admire your ability to watch Justin Rhodes (no sarc, he has a lot of good info). I can’t take him. Something about him is just smarmy and fake. Wife likes him fine; I just…can’t.

        Living Traditions Homestead, English Country Life, and Bushradical are more my style.

      • EvilSheldon

        I like BushRadical a lot.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        I can’t remember his wife’s channel’s name, but I think it’s really cool how they will each post a video on the same project, but from their individual perspectives, which are quite distinct.

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        He’s a bit artsy and overscripted for my taste, but his setup is top notch. I also respect how much he gets the kids involved.

        I have trouble engaging with living traditions homestead. They’re actually right in the area we’re looking at buying, so I want to like them and learn from their in-situ experience, but i find their style and tone to be like nails on a chalkboard to me.

        I watch Perma Pastures Farm, but I’m choosy because he’s a bit conspiratorial (Chem trails, 5g, etc) and preachy at times.

        David the Good is hit or miss for me

        OffGrid with Doug and Stacy is good when they’re doing something. The talking episodes I usually skip.

        Jack Spirko more for the anarchism than the permaculture, but he’s skilled at talking about both.

        Back to Reality doesn’t post as often, but it’s usually really good stuff.

        I’ll have to check out English country life and bushradical. I haven’t seen those ones.

      • Kwihn T. Senshel

        A number in there I haven’t seen, thanks!

        Can understand on the Living Traditions. I find myself looking for the how-to stuff, and skipping a lot of their Q&A or similar content.

        I like English Country Life for their chicken content (that’s their primary ‘business’), as that’s our first livestock effort here, and for the non-American perspective. Some of what they talk about or give instruction on is not usually covered in American content, which is great. Frustrating when I can’t find a recommended product in the States, though.
        (also, I LOVE the English term for homestead: Smallholding. Think that’s perfect)

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        It’s so easy to see ourselves as being in a holding pattern, waiting for the big reset (moving to a homestead) to happen

        Very cool on the move! What are you looking for in your homestead?

      • trshmnstr the terrible

        Our big goals are to have enough room for an orchard, good sized garden, a greenhouse or two, and chickens/ducks (layers at first, eventually meat birds) ….maybe sheep someday. We want something where we can have some outdoor recreation space up close to the house (pool, nice patio and/or deck, fire pit, maybe even room for a tennis court eventually), but easy access to the animals/garden. We want easily accessible community, particularly a church that isn’t super far away, opportunities for the kids to do some semblance of sports, etc.

        We’ll probably end up on 5-8 acres out in the area between Joplin – > Springfield – > Bentonville in the west Ozarks. Wife wants to be within reasonably convenient contact range of a large enough city to have “real” grocery and other amenities within a 30 minute drive. I want to be far enough out that there’s no fear of any city overtaking us, whether by development or by cultural infiltration. Were it solely up to me, we’d be looking at a bigger plot of land, but 5-8 acres is a good compromise for us at this point. I can always buy a plot of land a few minutes down the road if I want to do something more.

      • Mojeaux

        Then I suggest Lebanon.

      • Semi-Spartan Dad

        That sounds great. I would suggest finding a place with a pond high on your list and maybe a place to set up an outdoor shooting range. I don’t know what the rules our at public places, but it’s been great taking my daughter shooting without dealing with any age restrictions. Can also shoot shotguns and rifles no problem.

        You may be surprised at what you find. We were looking at places > 10 acres and found a 10 acre turnkey homestead with everything, including an orchard, firing range, and pond. But it was too far away. For about the same price as the 10 acre place, we found 30 acres with all of the above in a 30 minute drive of a national grocery store and 12 minutes from a regional one. Though the immigrants from Naples that set up a legit Italian deli in the backwoods of VA is my favorite place. That is a real gem.

      • juris imprudent

        Name/location for said gem?

  5. trshmnstr the terrible

    My wife is religious, I am not. I never saw any use in praying for miracles.

    Methinks these are related, yes?

    Seriously though, one may be able to cobble together some psychological basis for the value of prayer, but it’s going to be pretty weak sauce. If you don’t believe you’re praying to someone or something, prayer devolves into an admission of helplessness and an organization of your thoughts. Both of those can be accomplished in other ways.

    By the way, my most common prayer isn’t “fix this for me daddy”, it’s “show me why this is happening so that I can lean into Your purpose.” The God that I’ve experienced isn’t so much about playing cosmic concierge as He is about putting me in positions to grow in faith and understanding and giving me outlets for the outpourings compelled by that faith and understanding.

    • Kwihn T. Senshel

      One thing I have come to appreciate in the Orthodox Church is the way that prayer is taught.

      It’s not about transactions (“give me this” or “fix this”, although that’s certainly not prohibited), nor is it Jesus-as-guidance-counselor, but about learning to keep our nous (heart) in the presence of God without distraction, which then gives us what we need to engage in the underlying spiritual warfare we may not even be fully conscious of.

      I’m obviously way over-simplifying, but while intercessory and supplicatory prayer certainly exist, it’s the re-centering of our nous that’s the focus, and that then leads to praise, intercession, etc.

    • ron73440

      By the way, my most common prayer isn’t “fix this for me daddy”, it’s “show me why this is happening so that I can lean into Your purpose.”

      That’s like the Stoic thoughts “Don’t pray to have sex with that woman, pray to control your urges so you don’t have those thoughts”

  6. Tundra

    “There is no vice which lacks a defense, none that at the outset isn’t modest and easily intervened—but after this the trouble spreads widely. If you allow it to get started you won’t be able to control when it stops. Every emotion is at first weak. Later it rouses itself and gathers strength as it moves along—it’s easier to slow it down than to supplant it.”
    —SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 106.2b–3a

    This is a good one. All of my bad habits could have been easily and quickly nipped in the bud, had I a vision for where I was headed.

    Thanks, Ron!

    • Kwihn T. Senshel

      bad habits could have been easily and quickly nipped in the bud

      Was going to post something similar, Tundra.

      Seems like most of what I deal with in my self-destructive (or just unwise) tendencies are habits I’ve build/fed over years and even decades in some cases. I must be careful not to fall into the trap of “If only I had stopped it then, I’d be better off, so what’s the use now?” First part of that may be true, but it’s always worth it to do a little better today than yesterday.

      • Tundra

        A few weeks ago there was a good reminder that removing bad habits is only step one. They must then be replaced by something else.

        It ain’t easy, as you say, to make the small improvements that over time become new habits.

    • Drake

      I was thinking of the Texas cops while reading it.

      We didn’t go into the school and stop the guy because… insert cowardly excuse here…

  7. R C Dean

    I don’t think praying hurts, but it is important to take action and control what you can.

    As noted Stoic philosopher Ben Franklin observed, “God helps those who help themselves”.

  8. kinnath

    Tested negative for Covid today. Good news. But I am still fucking tired.

    • Nephilium

      Hey… not all of us are Code Monkeys.

  9. MikeS

    A fellow Louis L’Amour fan! I started reading Louis when I was around 14 or so. Just love his writing. More than once I’d buy two of his books and have them both read before the sun rose the next day…made for a very tired day in school. Over the years I’ve put together a complete collection of his books and have read them all from 1-3 times. It’s been years, I should read a couple again.

  10. Sean

    “Heavy is good, heavy is reliable, if it doesn’t work you could always hit him with it.”

    Unloaded.

    • Chipwooder

      “Why do they call him the Bulletdodger?”

      “Because he dodges bullets, Avi!”

  11. UnCivilServant

    *headdesk*

    I get that this person is applying to be an intern, but when looking for an IT job, why would you list “Reptile Care”, “Dog Care”, and “Cat Care” on your resume? Other fields, maybe. But IT?

    • Gender Traitor

      Is reptile care good training for a help desk position?

      • UnCivilServant

        Not so much.

        Maybe herding cats works better?

      • Nephilium

        It shows he can connect with cold, unfeeling creatures… like most IT workers.

    • juris imprudent

      Cat herding I could understand.

    • Kwihn T. Senshel

      Maybe the person is going for a career change, or exploring one?

      Better to have a not-relevant work history than none at all.

      • UnCivilServant

        It’s not even work history, it’s just listed among the skilled, there is no work history tied to it

  12. Gender Traitor

    So far so good with respect to the “yard” sale… but the sun hasn’t advanced far enough to eliminate the shade where I’m sitting right in front of the garage door.

    • Gender Traitor

      … except I just noticed that the old Advent candles melted in the sun. ?

      • Tres Cool

        Good thing I didnt bring you chocolate.

      • Gender Traitor

        Oh, that would have been eaten immediately.

  13. mikey

    Headline: “ Man arrested at the US Capitol with high capacity magazines, body armor and fake badge”

    The weapon? A BB gun.

    https://tiny.iavian.net/1noce

    • Gender Traitor

      “But it was an ASSAULT BB gun!!!1! eleven!”/MSM

    • Sean

      Hope he had a bottle of lube on him too, cuz he about to get fucked.

    • Chipwooder

      “That can’t even break the skin, Clark”

      “It could break the skin, and leave a very bad infection!”

    • Timeloose

      Was he a carney carrying around a air powered tommy BB-gun and trying to shoot out a red Xs?

    • Plisade

      Open bolt. I disliked the M-60 for that reason, always wanting to rack it before firing, while simultaneously knowing that to “rack it” I had to pull the trigger, which meant it would fire (yeah, yeah) without my intending. Confusing, to me.

      • Plisade

        Me likey!

        Switching categories… Any experience with Steyer? I’m drawn to this but don’t know anyone who’s fired them…

        https://www.steyr-arms.com/us/ssg-08

      • Drake

        Heard great things, held an AUG and thought is was really ergonomic. But not with that lovely.

      • Plisade

        Right on. I’ll keep it on the list 🙂

      • db

        I have fired one of those. Very nice. But very pricey.

      • db

        Had the standard shitty trigger that HK puts in their rifles though.

  14. Ted S.

    6X
    49

  15. hayeksplosives

    “If you find something very difficult to achieve yourself, don’t imagine it impossible—for anything possible and proper for another person can be achieved as easily by you.”
    —MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.19

    Well, we can quibble about the “as easily” part since we are not all gifted the same, but I don’t think that’s his point.

    I have always found it interesting that in sports that measure an individual’s ability to run fast, jump higher, swim faster, throw further, etc—things that are completely objectively measurable—once a long-standing record is broken, it seems that there is a new record set shortly thereafter, is if the other athletes needed to see that long-standing record broken to prove to themselves that it could be done.

    Somehow then they find it in themselves to push a little more, because they KNOW it’s possible. Even if they don’t set a new record, they set a new personal best.

  16. Lackadaisical

    “Why then are we offended? Why do we complain? This is what we’re here for.”

    Who knew Seneca had the internet.

  17. juris imprudent

    Leftists recoil in nightmarish anguish!

    A reasonable question: Who cares what these superannuated politicians have to say? A reasonable answer: Even now, a generation after they came to power, Clinton and Blair are still the emblematic representatives of a distinct brand of progressive centrism.

    That description is faint praise to some ears, and criticism to others. But this is an apt moment to recall a time when it was invoked unambiguously as a compliment.

  18. juris imprudent

    AYFKM?

    In response to a letter sent by Reps Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Perkins Coie, the legal arm of the Democrat party, admitted this week that “the FBI has maintained a secure work environment within Perkins Coie offices” since 2012.

    • Lackadaisical

      uh… what? the fuck?

      • Tundra

        Right?

        There is no such thing as peak corruption.

        Until it all comes tumbling down, I guess.

      • Lackadaisical

        It will just have a different flavor then.

    • ron73440

      Do you think they’re working together?

      You’re a conspiracy theorist, and probably racist.

    • Fatty Bolger

      Bet there are a few other three letter agencies in there, too.

    • db

      That sounds really, really fucking shady. I don’t care what political party it is, that should not be going on.

    • R C Dean

      What the fuck is any law firm doing let law enforcement office with them? Any third party officing in a law firm is a massive confidentiality problem, but law enforcement?

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Not salvageable.

      We’re way beyond the Rubicon here.

  19. juris imprudent

    I am not going to be stoic about this.

    While Trump put an end to the CIA proxy war, his efforts to further extricate the U.S. from Syria by withdrawing troops were thwarted by senior officials who shared the preceding administration’s regime change goals.

    “When President Trump said ‘I want everybody out of Syria,’ the top brass at Pentagon and State had aneurysms,” Christopher Miller, the Acting Secretary of Defense during Trump’s last months in office, recalls.

    Jim Jeffrey, Trump’s envoy for Syria, admitted to deceiving the president in order to keep in place “a lot more than” the 200 U.S. troops that Trump had reluctantly agreed to. “We were always playing shell games to not make clear to our leadership how many troops we had there,” Jeffrey told Defense One. Those “shell games” have put U.S. soldiers in harm’s way, including four servicemembers recently wounded in a rocket attack on their base in northeastern Syria.

    • Tundra

      We aren’t getting out of this by voting.

    • kinnath

      Treason

      There should be hangings.

      • juris imprudent

        Drawn and quartered, 8th Amdt be damned.

    • ron73440

      I was glad when my son joined the Marines, and I am more glad he did not make a career out of it.

    • Scruffy Nerfherder

      Again. Not salvageable.

      Perhaps you could publicly hang the worst of the bunch as a warning, but this is straight up treason.