If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool (h/t mindyourbusiness)
Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.
July 16
“To what service is my soul committed? Constantly ask yourself this and thoroughly examine yourself by seeing how you relate to that part called the ruling principle. Whose soul do I have now? Do I have that of a child, a youth . . . a tyrant, a pet, or a wild animal?”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.11
I am committed to being a good husband and father. Do I always manage to do this as well as I like? No, but if I know what the goal is it helps to keep me on track. If I had no goal, it would be easy to slowly lose focus on this. I work on having the soul of an adult I can respect and not be a pet or a wild animal.
July 17
“As you move forward along the path of reason, people will stand in your way. They will never be able to keep you from doing what’s sound, so don’t let them knock out your goodwill for them. Keep a steady watch on both fronts, not only for well-based judgments and actions, but also for gentleness with those who would obstruct our path or create other difficulties. For getting angry is also a weakness, just as much as abandoning the task or surrendering under panic. For doing either is an equal desertion—the one by shrinking back and the other by estrangement from family and friend.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 11.9
Oh boy, I struggle with this one. People are difficult to deal with sometimes. Some of my co-workers were having a discussion about gas prices and inflation and how it was the republican’s fault. I didn’t say anything, just made fun of them in my head. Is this the proper stoic response? Probably not, but it’s better than I would have done last year.
July 18
“My reasoned choice is as indifferent to the reasoned choice of my neighbor, as to his breath and body. However much we’ve been made for cooperation, the ruling reason in each of us is master of its own affairs. If this weren’t the case, the evil in someone else could become my harm, and God didn’t mean for someone else to control my misfortune.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.56
Stoicism meets libertarianism. This passage tells me to not worry about my neighbor’s life and my neighbor shouldn’t worry about my life. If I worry too much about what other people do, it would stress me out and instead of bothering them, it would ruin my state of mind. If only we could get the government to act as a good neighbor.
July 19
“As Plato said, every soul is deprived of truth against its will. The same holds true for justice, self-control, goodwill to others, and every similar virtue. It’s essential to constantly keep this in your mind, for it will make you more gentle to all.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.63
Another one I struggle with. Sometimes I don’t believe “every soul is deprived of truth against its will”. It seems many are willfully ignoring the true results of what they “know”. I try to tell myself that I don’t know everything and just because I believe something doesn’t make it true. I have to be more accepting of the fact that most people don’t know what they are talking about on a real level, yet are so certain that they end they alone are correct.
July 20
“The unjust person acts against the gods. For insofar as the nature of the universe made rational creatures for the sake of each other, with an eye toward mutual benefit based on true value and never for harm, anyone breaking nature’s will obviously acts against the oldest of gods.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 9.1.1
I am not religious but I understand what he means by acting against the gods. If I am dishonest, it ruins that relationship. If I act irrationally angry I can break things and cause harm to my wife (mental, not physical). Thieves disturb the natural order of the world and create distrust among the good people.
July 21
“Whenever you have trouble getting up in the morning, remind yourself that you’ve been made by nature for the purpose of working with others, whereas even unthinking animals share sleeping. And it’s our own natural purpose that is more fitting and more satisfying.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.12
My bed is really comfortable. On the weekends, it’s easy to lay there for a while and just relax. I have things to do and can’t just be a vegetable and be like my dogs. If I don’t get up I start to feel useless and sluggish. This quote from Marcus Aurelius shows that this has been a problem for humanity as long as we have recorded history. I have successfully used this quote and others like it to get my lazy ass moving at times when I would rather not.
July 22
“Nothing is noble if it’s done unwillingly or under compulsion. Every noble deed is voluntary.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 66.16b
Nobody forces me to be nice to my wife. If I was forced, it would be an empty niceness. If I was forced to do a favor for someone, I’m sure I would do the bare minimum, whereas doing it from my own free will, I can give gladly and try my best to ensure the favor is successful.
Today there is no music, I am submitting this late because we had a leaky garbage disposal last night. Last minute trips to Lowe’s are always fun, but I did get a new disposal and put it in so my wife could use the sink this morning. Fun, fun, fun
Good hubby.
I got upset with my husband this morning for an inconsequential joke gone awry, then I felt bad because he does so much for me.
Sometimes, today was important because she has to cook to take stuff to a friend’s house.
“Some of my co-workers were having a discussion about gas prices and inflation and how it was the republican’s fault.”
I probably would have baited them a bit… “Gosh, how did they do that? How did they manage that with no Congressional or Executive power?”
Like they would even understand the comment.
Their lack of understanding was painful.
One of them mentioned the reserves being sold to China and the biggest Democrat didn’t believe him because “That would have been on the news”.
I’ll push back a bit on that. Oil is a global commodity.
If selling to China at $120 bbl allows US refiners to purchase on the spot at $110 bbl compared to $120 bbl with no release it is a net benefit to the US.
But the optics suck and it isn’t a long term fix. So it is purely politics however you look at it.
The optics suck even harder: They sold it to a company that Hunter has a position in.
I read that too.
I understand that, it was funny that the biggest follower of the Dems didn’t believe it.
Luckily most people don’t think that.
In fact, the most shocking recent polls show that the majority of Americans believe Democrats *intentionally* caused high gas prices.
I work with federal workers, I’m a lowly contractor.
Gotcha
the majority of Americans believe Democrats *intentionally* caused high gas prices
Which is counterintuitive, because the Dems said they want to increase gas prices. Since when do politicians actually accomplish a declared goal?
nice
Aha! Were you able to get in the Forums and see the Texas meetup?
Since when do politicians actually accomplish a declared goal?
When the goal is to fuck over all or some part of the populace.
When it lines their pockets.
Empathy for the disposal disaster. We had ours start spraying water all over the undersink cabinet while we had my sisters and BIL over for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago.
Stoic music: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dheVr7Wdrro
Plastic outlets are shitty and stupid.
Mine was dripping out of the bottom pretty good.
When she first yelled that water was coming out of the cabinet, I was concerned.
I had installed a large one opening sink and resurfaced the counters for her about a year ago, so my first thought was that I had screwed something up and we’ve had water building up somewhere and it just now started to show.
Luckily that was not the case.
Mine was dripping out of the bottom pretty good.
You’re prepping for a colonoscopy, too?
Bubble butt is not just something that Q links to.
January, can’t wait.
Not a fan of disposal problems, especially since every repair job is mine alone. Last time I traded out a disposal I used a car scissor jack and a homemade wooden platform to raise it and hold it in place for ease of maneuvering. The only thing more awful is toilet ring repair. One must be truly Stoic to accomplish these tasks alone.
Toilet ring repair is past one of the lines where I go “A professional I will need.”
You mean the wax rings under toilets? Those are super duper easy and cheap though, especially compared to other plumbing jobs.
My wife did that when I was at work long ago after my daughter made her [In Plucky Duck Voice] “toys go down the hole”.
I got home and she was like, “Help me lift the commode back into position.”
Yes, but replacing a leaking one is messy and time consuming.
Super duper easy… to fuck up and have shit water all over your floor.
I’ve done 4-5 and never had an issue, but I also don’t do a dump on the first try using the things lol.
When you’re trying to do it by yourself, it is super easy to come down on the ring crooked and mash it. Then it’s time for a new ring.
Step 1: Flush Toilet
Disregard my snark…I misunderstood you. I’m with Lack’, though. Do a test run first. haha
You need these.
Much easier and cleaner.
Waxless ring for the win. Impossible to mess up, clean, and cheap.
I’ve installed 5.
Insinkerator is lifetime guarantee. I had one fail 15 years after the previous homeowner installed it. They sent me a new one for free and a $25 visa debit card for my time and trouble. Call the 800 number if yours dies.
I like these, Ron. Thanks.
Glad to hear, thanks.
Same here.
With regard to the far enemy (the lefty blob of government/academia/media/managerial zoomer class), I’m doing reasonably well avoiding anger with some combination of apathy and SugarFree-style bemused cynicism. I think its Stoic-adjacent, because I file all that under “shit I can’t do anything about”.
Doing better with my daily Stoic exercise of not cursing at other drivers. I believe the only profanities I uttered this week (and there were only a couple) while driving weren’t specifically directed at other drivers, but more at situations (“What the hell?”). My temperature while driving just generally seems lower, as a result (I’m going to say).
I’ve changed my commute route going home. It’s a couple minutes longer, but the drive is much less annoying (due to ongoing construction.)
I look forward to these, and it’s a good way to get into a good head space going into the weekend.
Thanks
“My reasoned choice is as indifferent to the reasoned choice of my neighbor, as to his breath and body. However much we’ve been made for cooperation, the ruling reason in each of us is master of its own affairs. If this weren’t the case, the evil in someone else could become my harm, and God didn’t mean for someone else to control my misfortune.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 8.56
That’s a really good one. It’s pretty easy to let someone else’s bullshit hurt you. Gotta fight that every day (especially for those of us who spend way to much time on the intertubes).
Thanks as always, Ron. These are a great way to round out the week!
Ever since I went to WFH 3 (and now 4) out of 5 days a week, I’ve had a lot of trouble getting up in the morning. Not sure exactly what’s going on. Staying up later than I used to is part of it for sure, but a touch of ennui is at play, too. I need to not be like my dog.
I’d like to be one of those dudes who can bounce out of bed, work out and then go.
But I prefer a quiet cup of coffee on the front porch.
That’s me, but I wouldn’t use the term “bounce”. I *roll* out of bed, go to the bathroom, take my BP meds, and go downstairs to the gym. The Mrs. often gets up even earlier to train (she goes to a gym or trainer), so we usually get to bed early. Of course I don’t do this the morning after practice.
Nothing wrong with that. I’ve always felt that mornings should be contemplative.
I’ve always felt that mornings should be
contemplativeslept thru.Not that I can do that anymore, unless I’ve been at a card game ’til 4 AM.
On deployments, I used to sleep in my running shorts and 10 minutes after the alarm went off, I’d be in formation ready to run.
Had an older roommate once who hated me for that (I owned the clock), I didn’t see the problem.
Now it takes a half hour from alarm to me leaving on a run.
For me this is 99% of my issue.
When I go to bed on time, getting up is easy.
Like you, I don’t do as well on my telework days.
Also, the server error is back.
Interesting. The same time a server issue happened here, my work VPN went down and my internet speed tanked to “red alert” levels. Might have been a lot bigger that just Glibs.
I need to not be like my dog.
Nobody’s going to kink-shame you for sniffing other people’s butts.
I think this has already been posted. If you haven’t read it, it is full of, erm, interesting details. I larfed at this line:
STEVE SMITH ABIDES. AND BY ABIDES, MEAN . . . .
That boy just don’t seem right in the head.
36%.
10% Yikes!
Reason takes an L.
Ouch.
haha
If I’m reading that right, Notorious Slander Merchants, the SPLC, are saying Reason isn’t antigovernmnet?
Is that what it’s saying?
Correct!
Cocktail parties uber allles!
Even SPLC, who thinks 75% of of the country are white supremacists, don’t think Reason is that serious. Ouch.
When you can’t even get the right people to hate you…
Isn’t that their whole raison d’etre?
libertarian focused is one way of putting it
Oh man that has to sting.
This seems about right.
The Brandon administration set to music.
I was expecting Yakety Sax.
Being in tune and on beat is white supremacy.
I thought that was black supremacy?
This is why they’re not a real country.
shitty results
6️⃣3️⃣
8️⃣9️⃣
this is due to personal moral flaws
no doubt
that’s why I’m here
Doing some worldbuilding during lunchtime. I was trying to work out how much tunnel a mine would have had to move to produce one ton of gold. I found that the yield today for modern methods were anywhere from one ounce per two tons to one ounce per ninety-one tons of rock. After calculating the volume (using granite and quartz densities) I found that this would require moving a cube of anywhere from eighteen to eighty three feet on a side. My first instinct was “that’s not so much” then I calculated it in terms of tunnel length using a five foot square cross section (I’ve been in enough mines that this is fair enough for workers digging by hand). The upper bound was a tunnel network 4 1/3 miles long.
That’s a lot to dig by hand.
*An initial math error came up with 22 miles of tunnel, but I double checked my work and found that was the value for a tunnel five feet tall and one foot wide.
I suspect that modern mining allows for much less productive (by percentage) mines. I wonder if it would be economical for a manual gold mining operation to dig that much ore to produce 32,000 ounces of refined gold.
I don’t know. I doubt it, but I’m having difficulty finding data on yield rates from ancient mines. Evidently, they didn’t keep notes on the waste material, just whether they were still making money.
Well, using slaves probably helped the bottom line.
Given that ancient mines were often a deathtrap, and utterly miserable, nigh hellish places, getting a free man to go into one was difficult.
See modern mining in Africa. But if you use children, your cross section of your mine can be a lot smaller.
Ancient techniques involved following veins so a lot less dross, but also a lot more material left behind.
At 1oz/2ton, you only need 253 feet of active tunnel per ton. Sounds more feasible for manual techniques.
worldbuilding sounds like a form of colonialism to me.
probably old methods were in places with more gold than modern ones. when the real easy sources were done new tech allowed getting it from forms unreachable
Considering that modern methods of precious metals mining generally involve very energy-intensive processes like grinding the ore into fine powders and then separating the materials in flotation cells using very dense liquids to get the highest yields and least waste, I’d be willing to bet that older, manual methods were much less efficient and had lower yields.
But as others have pointed out, they also had first crack at the richest deposits.
Oh, definitely.
One ton, if I calculated correctly, is about $57MM dollars worth.
That is the scale you would expect for a modern corporate mine. Not sure what world you are building in, but wouldn’t be at all accurate for anything pre-modern.
I’d like to direct your attention to Egyptian, Nubian, and Roman gold mines.
It is most certainly within the scale for premodern endeavors.
Dacian gold mines were the best gold mines.
I haven’t read up on how they were run, so I didn’t include them in my examples.
I guess I think of the gold rush miner panning for gold in the river scale.
It shouldn’t surprise me that those existed, I guess.
Fun fact, in the Ghana empire, they did mine placer deposits (collecting the gold washed down a river) and managed to collect absurd quantities of gold until the climate changed and the rivers themselves dried up.
In that circumstance, it was a case of “Throw more people at the problem” to scale up.
“Whenever you have trouble getting up in the morning, remind yourself that you’ve been made by nature for the purpose of working with others, whereas even unthinking animals share sleeping. And it’s our own natural purpose that is more fitting and more satisfying.”
that is easy to say when you don’t have a hangover
The best hangover cure is to go for a run. Running will make you so miserable that the hangover won’t matter.
I didn’t know the undead got hangovers.
It usually results from sleeping like a bat and hanging from the rafters. Everything rushes to the head and they wake up miserable.
Drinking from alcoholics.
Buddy just texted me that masks at SFO and MSP were in the 30-40% range. Who’s ready for some more plague theater?
That’s nuts. At PIT and IAH last week I didn’t see more than 2-5%, if that.
Propaganda works.
I bet clothes wearing was near 100%.
At SFO? Not sure about that.
in Romania plus Netherlands and Belgium I say masks are at 1% at best
Cool. Some co-workers and I are starting to plan a trip for 2Q next year to one of our plants in Belgium.
belgium is dirty and the beer sucks, but otherwise nice
You and UCS should hang out, both of you have no taste.
Everyone has a blind spot, his is missing the excellence that is Belgian beer.
Fine. Leave all the La Chouffe blonde to me.
Last time I was there, I got to eat at a restaurant in the countryside (our stuff is way out in the boonies–they have a beautiful countryside), that was branded or had some deal with La Chouffe. They had plenty of their, and others’, beers there. We sampled quite a lot of them.
I don’t remember it that way, but I was staying with relatives in the countryside in a new and immaculate home, so…
It’s definitely higher in Switzerland. I’m pretty sure many of them were not American tourists.
Just look at the fear machine at work with the headlines…’most dangerous variant ever!’ while deep in the articles it says otherwise.
SF is probably the most vaccinated city in the world. Something like 80% of kids are triple shotted.
SFO has always been thus – it is a big gateway to and from the East.
The West’s Chernobyl
https://stevekirsch.substack.com/p/are-the-uk-ons-covid-numbers-believable
That’s using the UK government’s published numbers.
Kids are the worst.
I hope this isn’t true- even as someone who made certain my son didn’t get the ol’ jabberoni.
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-62184425
Sad news.
Paging SugarFree, SugarFree to the white courtesy phone…
The formula of her speeches of there is a thing and that thing is needed for things so you can do things is just too…weird.
*spins the random Reddit link wheel*
Guaranteed to give EvilSheldon an apopletic fit.
The Russians testing a vest in that Reddit is better, but NSFWish.
*twitching, foaming*
LOL
WTF
https://www.reddit.com/r/Idiotswithguns/comments/vzeqra/say_yes/
I was anxious the moment he was handed the pistol and the supplier nor the receiver checked if it was loaded. The rest was just torture to watch.
Yup.
These types of videos don’t really bother me because he’s a damned moron and if he shoots himself or one of the idiot bystanders so be it.
Now the one I linked just above is a different story.
They bother me.
Dude is only a moron because he’s never had the opportunity to be anything else. Any of us could be in exactly the same position, if we’d fallen in with a bunch of dimwits in the formative phase.
Perhaps, but he’s not a child with no ability to conceive of the inherent danger.
In a simpler age years ago I used to advocate “gun safety in the ghetto”. It was my response to handing out condoms to young teens without parental involvement.
“We know that people are are going to get capped, but we want to make sure that only the intended victim gets shot and not innocent children in the nearby playground.”
Generally I got blank looks.
I’m… not not against it.
White pill time:
return on grift looks to be diminishing rapidly
WTF
If you could point to anything that demonstrates that this is nothing more than a fucking cash grab, this would be it.
It doesn’t fucking work, at all. What happens is you get over COVID in five days then it recurs four days later. So you spend damn near a month getting over COVID. Like my wife, who still believes what the media tells her.
Anything that returns drug prescribing privileges to pharmacists is fine with me. Most physicians know nothing about pharmaceuticals beyond what the cute pharma rep told hospital management.
I’m pretty sure a couple of the unclaimed bodies liquefying in our morgue are pharma or device reps. You don’t mess with our supply chain director. Hell, I’m afraid to ask her how she gets half the stuff we buy. During the worst of the mask shortage at the beginning of the pandemic, we had so many masks we had to drop a Sea-Tac container next to our warehouse to hold the overflow.
Every noble deed is voluntary.
I try to act generously with no expectation of reward. It’s easier some days than it is others. (and with some people)
I extend the principle of ‘for no reward’ to include being as anonymous as possible. If I’m doing something I regard as a good deed, seeking plaudits would diminish that.
Or so my thinking goes.
I thought that one was particularly good. Democrats hardest hit though.
I used to help my young Marines with their car work(brakes, tune ups and the like).
I would never let them pay me, but I would let them buy me lunch at Jack in the Box.
I’m stoicly failing at anger management.
I blame the heat. And Brandon.
I blame Brandon’s Army of Mendacious Retards and Tyrants.
Eventually you will learn how to murder stoically.
Today’s GOA anti-gun control campaign:
http://www.votervoice.net/Shares/BC5krAGEBCnhXAjm6Ya7FAA
Thanks for writing these, Ron. I am having a hard time being stoic, especially at work. I almost lost my temper this week, but I managed to keep things to majorly annoyed. Noobs busting hand tools (punches) that have to be custom machined, and then come asking for more like I can just poop them out.
On a happy note, I got to see a new PA today. The new practice is even closer to my house than the one I’ve had for over 16 years. My last doctor retired in 2020. The new PA is lovely, charming, and easy to talk to. It’s a good thing she got me in. My meds were all gone and my BP was at 152/98. After we talked for awhile, she asked if I was depressed. Nope, just trying to be stoic, I said.
JFC
https://federalnewsnetwork.com/management/2022/07/usps-postal-union-defends-check-cashing-pilot-despite-lack-of-customers/
Wow. That is lame. You could cash checks on a street corner and do better.
We must spend more to expand it!!!
Liars gonna lie, I guess. I didn’t even know it was a thing until I read this article, but there’s people that want the USPS to offer full fledged banking services. To help “unbanked individuals”. JFC
Didn’t Charles Ponzi try a form of combining postal services with banking?
Just figured out how to fix the boss’s PowerPoint presentation after he accidentally changed the slide design part way through and didn’t know how he’d done it. This after hardly ever using PwrPt since I started at the CU 22 years ago. Boss added PowerPoint Goddess to my existing title of Excel Goddess. 👸
Now he’ll NEVER let me retire. ☹️
So you’re getting a pay raise, right? Right???
As a matter of fact, I am! But so are most of the other employees on account of Brandonflation.
Leadership gathered us all up for a state of the company meeting. One of the questions asked at the end of the meeting was about inflation. HR gave a wandering, non-committal answer about market surveys and maybe, just maybe, next year this will be addressed.
Another inadequate semi-useful cost of living adjustment. Well, better than nothing I guess.
South Carolina does the unpossible – bipartisan election improvements.
That looks pretty ok. Interesting how even though Democrats approved of it, there was still a 20% gap between Republicans and Democrats.
Not big on the ballot harvesting provision, even if limited to five. But I suppose that was one of the compromises.
Ballot harvesting = broken chain of custody, in my book.
Change my mind.
USPS attorneys told the Postal Regulatory Commission, in a filing last week, that allowing customers to purchase single-use gift cards worth up to $500, using a business or payroll checks as payment, doesn’t count as the agency branching out into new, non-postal services, as restricted by the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act.
USPS charges a flat fee of $5.95, won’t accept checks larger than $500 and won’t disburse cash for any checks. Four post office locations are currently participating in the pilot in Washington; Baltimore; Falls Church, Virginia, and the Bronx, New York.
I know this is hard to believe, but you can get a better deal at walmart.
Walmart has been trying for a decade or more to become a bank. Regulators won’t let it happen.
I keep waiting for Walmart General Hospital.
I absolutely believe that Walmart, Target, and other major retailers should in the business of primary care. Consumers can compare prices and go as upscale or downscale as they want.
Kids have an annoying habit of getting sick outside of standard business hours. I always wanted to be able to stop one place to have my kid’s symptoms checked and then pick up whatever scripts are needed.
I wanna get health care at a Trader Joe’s.
Why not
I like TJ’s. I imagine their health care would be good, affordable, and quirky.
Any Cash and Go or Moneytree already fills this need.
Most of those got closed in this area under restrictions on payday loan establishments.
Another completely unforeseeable outcome!
It will be news to most greens that solar panels aren’t sustainable.
Math is hard.
Do they put prop 65 warnings on the panels?
but had no comprehensive plan to dispose of them
[insert exclamation of astonished disbelief]
E-mail from my local congress critter touts how they passed a budget with some highlights.
Emphasis added.
Nice.
Why is PA doing background checks that are redundant with the feds?
It’s part of the process to purchase a handgun in PA. They require a separate background check and a registration form that totally doesn’t go into a big registration database that is prohibited by state law because courts have ruled that the big registration database is just a database of background checks.
Here’s an interesting little flashback to Jan 20, 2021.
Biden will save Ukraine from corruption! HAHAHA!!
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/why-ukraines-business-community-has-high-hopes-for-the-biden-presidency/
This means reinforcing US support for Ukraine in order to get the country back on the reform track.
SInce US support is the input to the Ukraine money laundering op, how would increasing it reduce corruption?
That is what is so funny, especially now that we know what Hunter was up to over there and 10% for the Big Guy etc.
It was never for a noble cause.