I came across this song / singer today. Loved it.
When people have tried to communicate a problem and have been repeatedly:
- Blocked
- Ignored
- Told to report it to an uncaring or partisan authority
- Told that they are in the wrong
- Told that the bad actor is in the right
- Told that they are not allowed to deal with the problem (not allowed to defend themselves)
- Told to deal with a problem that is too big for them to deal with on their own
When people have literally lost their ability to communicate, because the words they have been speaking are not being heard and they have no idea what words will work…
People become hurt, angry, and violent. After a while of being in this state, these people will again attempt to find a resolution, either by hurting or killing themselves or someone else (possibly multiple people). This is how you end up with kids in school with a weapon or adults on top of buildings with a weapon. These people feel that they have been wronged by the populace at large.
Does this mean they are right to act this way? No. If the first person in the chain of responsibility is unwilling or unable to solve a problem, then the next person in the line should be approached. If the teachers, counselors, or principle aren’t doing their job, then the next outlet is the police, a religious leader (such as a pastor), friends, family, etc. The buck doesn’t stop with teachers.
It does mean that something has gone terribly wrong with the system and it has festered long enough that someone has felt the need to respond very violently to a bad situation. This usually indicates that the person was being attacked in a very violent manner. This can still be a mental attack, but even mental attacks can be excessively vicious and cruel.
Again, this doesn’t mean that a violently lethal response is acceptable or reasonable, but it does make it understandable. Understanding a situation is the first step in resolving a problem. Which, in the case of students being wantonly physically or mentally attacked in a school, where the authority figures ignore the problem, take away the students’ rights to defend themselves, then tell them that they are in the wrong… This situation is long overdue for correction.
I recommend putting the kids in question into an arena that lets them pit their mental and physical skills against each other. This would prevent kids from feeling that they can gang up on one kid in order to prove they are somehow the big kid on the block. And seriously, point out that kids who excel in school are more likely to get decent jobs when they graduate. Teachers are responsible for pointing this out as many times as it takes, to get the point across. Kids who are bullies are more likely to be doing poorly in their classes, because they feel the need to prevent other kids from excelling. It’s as if they think that hurting someone else’s chances somehow makes their chances better. Eventually, this kind of bad actor will get caught in the act, but can’t we put a stop to it sooner, rather than later?
Ignoring the problem usually ends up with one kid getting beat up by multiple other kids; repeatedly. The logic behind a bunch of kids feeling the need to band together to beat up on a kid they think is weaker than any one of them… This thought process still fails me, but it is what they do. Again. If you provide no solution, the kids will fight it out, outside of your view and with no rules in place.
DIY Tips and Tricks. Or… Cool and very useful stuff that you can make for yourself.
I’ve noticed that there is a LOT of awesome and inspiring DIY (do it yourself) info out there for survival back to the basics, such as Food, Shelter, and Clothing. I’ve decided to repost this post any time I add something I’ve found that’s interesting. Whatever is newest, will be Bolded and in Italics. If this list becomes too large, I will break it down into sub-topics. If you find that one of these links no longer works, please let me know.
I figure, that we (humanity) can either help each other out and thrive or we can all go back to the dark ages due to hate and ignorance. I personally don’t believe that it was romantic to live in mud and wattle huts, with no electricity, and without the capacity to share ideas. Every additional voice has the capacity to make all our lives richer, so long as that voice is encouraged to learn and grow.
Now… you might just blow off DIY, because you can buy these things ready-made at the store. Or… maybe you think that some of these things are no better than Doomsday Prepping. Please reconsider. Some of the best inventions out there wouldn’t exist, if people weren’t trying to think of a way to do something for themselves or have an idea on how to do things better. You just have to come up with a way to make your idea easily reproducible, advertise it, and then get your product to your customer.
Who knows… You might be sitting on the next great invention!
30 Garden Hacks & 5 Minute Decor Tricks
Fishing Bow from Large Bicycle Tires
Homemade Alcohol Burner/Cookstove
– Requires a small jar with lid; another larger lid (or a metal plate); 3 long bolts, with washers and nuts; and a copper tube.
Multiple Seed Starting Tricks
– Some of these are duplicates of the 30 Garden Hacks. I will review and delete it if I find that everything is a duplication.
So, someone has sent an e-mail, called, sent a physical letter, or they impudently walked right up to you or your door and they are asking for confidential information. They sound like they are contacting you about something important and they’re making it sound urgent…. This is a very standard ploy used by scammers. They’ll pretend to be from the IRS for back taxes or that your account with Apple (or some other organization) is about to be deleted or disabled [never mind that you’ve never had an account with that organization], they might even be pretending to be offering you a job.
+ No legitimate business will call you to ask you for your username and password. NOT EVER! They don’t need it, because they already have it.
+ The IRS doesn’t call you or send e-mails. Look for Registered mail. Look for people with badges at your door. Not e-mails. Not phone calls.
These evildoers do their best to not give you enough time to think about what they are telling you or to run the information past someone else for a logic check. These people wouldn’t be doing this if they knew they couldn’t make money doing it. This means that enough people fall for these scams that these evildoers can live off of the general populous’ naivety (gullibility).
** Who’s the general populous you say? That’s you, me, and everybody. I’ve taken proof of one of these scams to the police. They said they couldn’t do anything about it, but they could take the check for training purposes… What training purposes, if they can’t do anything about it? I reported the matter as mail fraud (which is a separate entity from the police). The police should have recommended this, rather than blowing it off. Ok. I digress, but just because you don’t get traction using one support path, doesn’t mean you should lose heart and give up. These people won’t stop, until it is no longer profitable for them.
What to look for:
Test 1: You have a virus on your computer.
* Logic Fail 1: Who are you and why do you THINK you have the right to access to my computer to be able to tell me that? i.e. I’m not paying anyone to actively monitor and report on such things. Not even Antivirus services do this.
+ These people are trying to get you to give them access to your computer to put something on there (possibly even the virus they’re claiming to be trying to help you get rid of).
Test 2: Hi this is your son/daughter/grandchild (they might even use that relative’s name). I’m in Florida/Utah/where ever and I need bail. If I can pay $xx,xxx the police will drop all charges.
* Logic Fail 2: The police do not drop charges because they’ve been paid. That’s called bribery and is a good way to get arrested.
* Logic Fail 3: My son/daughter/grandchild is nowhere near that location and would have advised me, before going to such a place. (Check with another family member or call that person on another phone if you’re uncertain of their current situation.)
+ These people are obviously after your money. They will go giggling off into the night, never to be seen again. Don’t do it.
Test 3: A fake offer of employment. You can work from home (awesome!), they’re going to send a check, so you can buy the equipment (huh… flag 1), you just need to buy the equipment from their vendor (really… flag 2). Oh… and they want you to deposit the check outside of banking hours (seriously… flag 3), then spend your money, with their vendor… before the check can clear (Wait, stop final flag. You’re done).
* Logic Fail – Flags 1 & 2: Why are they sending me a check to use with their vendor instead of having the vendor ship the equipment to me, while they pick up the bill?
* Logic Fail – Flag 3: They obviously don’t want me to talk to a bank clerk, who could tell me straightaway that this is a fraud.
* Logic Fail – Flag 4: Never let anyone talk you into cashing a check, then spending your money on faith that a check will clear. NEVER, EVER, EVER.
What to do about it?
* Never give your personal information Birthday, Social Security Number, usernames, passwords, or bank information to anyone that you have not contacted via verifiably legitimate means. In other words, look up their phone number in a legitimate directory.
What can our service providers do about it (Internet and Phone)? They can set up servers that prevent calls and e-mails from pretending to be from sources that they are not from. They could protect us from scammers, but as of now, they are not doing so. I personally am tired of the constant barrage of calls pretending to be calling from within my home state, which are actually coming from outside the U.S. altogether.
Useful Resources:
Cyber Attack Maps – Accurate or Eye Candy?
https://blog.knowbe4.com/cyber-attack-maps…accurate-or-just-eye-candy
Phone Call Attack Scams – Security Awareness
https://www.sans.org/security-awareness-training/resources/phone-call-attacks-scams
So many articles and so much excitement about COVID-19.
Based on the numbers that I’ve seen so far, I have and continue to compare this disease to the Flu. Am I saying that it isn’t anything to get excited about? NO! What I am saying is that “The Flu” is a very nasty bug that we have never treated appropriately and that if we gave the Flu and the “Common Cold” the respect they are due, we might actually kill these nasty bugs.
My husband just pointed me to a beautiful example of a country that has given this sickness an appropriate level of respect (Thank you!). I went to the CDC’s global map for the COVID-19 outbreak. Lo and behold, Taiwan isn’t even listed! And wait… I found multiple articles that tout Taiwan’s success and specify that there are political reasons that prevent Taiwan’s inclusion in the map. Wow. Seriously, this is too important to be trying to use it as a platform for throwing people’s weight around or swinging the next election.
What are they doing that every other country isn’t? It’s simple. Every citizen is wearing a mask. Every single solitary person is wearing a mask. The government has allotted 3 masks per week per person, to be picked up at their local pharmacy. And yes, they have a national database for their pharmacies to make sure people aren’t getting more for free than they have been allotted. The people who are working in food production (for example: restaurants; fast food and fine dining), they’re wearing masks AND gloves.
Restaurants
Please. If you run a restaurant (fast food or fine dining), please require your people to wear a mask and gloves. You can be a major roadblock to this disease. You don’t have to wait for the government to get a clue and mandate them.
Private Citizens
- Well, as previously stated, wear a mask, when you leave the house.
- Don’t go to a restaurant that doesn’t require the people handling the food to wear a mask and gloves. (Don’t just let your favorite restaurant go out of business, insist that they set the example for others.)
- Parcels: Don’t bring anything into your house that you don’t have to. Leave the boxes outside and get rid of wrapping paper and box stuffing immediately. Then clean (wipe down) anything that you’re keeping.
- Bills\Mail: Keep only the (usually) one page required for paying your bills and the return envelope (if you even need it) long enough to pay the bill. You can scan a copy of your bills using a scan application on your phone, to send a copy to your computer. MS Office Lens is a scan application that I use and like, but there are a lot of scan applications out there. Then you can get rid of the rest of the paperwork.
- Wash your hands frequently.
- Before you handle anything inside your vehicle.
- After you get home and after you’ve finished cleaning up anything you brought home with you.
- Especially when visiting anyone in a “fragile” condition, such as the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions.
- And, of course, anytime you visit a bathroom.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Please pass it on.
Ok. So take this seriously, but don’t let the title or the focus of the following YouTube video fool you. It isn’t just Millennials that have this problem. He’s definitely right that Dopamine, just like Adrenaline is highly addictive and that balance is the important factor.
Here is the test for whether you have an addictive and unhealthy habit:
- Are you letting important things, such as cleanliness and family responsibility slide in favor of your favorite “hobby”?
- Do you find yourself spending money you can ill-afford on your “habit”?
- Do you find yourself making excuses for your behavior or saying something like I can quit any time I want?
It doesn’t matter how many other people tell someone, that something is a problem. If the person with the problem doesn’t decide that it is a problem, nothing will be solved. If YOU have a problem, the first step, the same with all other addictive habits, is to recognize that it IS a problem and that it isn’t acceptable to YOU.
It isn’t just illegal drugs that can lead to such poor behaviors and you aren’t alone. The following YouTube video provides a few very good examples of alternative addiction behaviors:
Many children lose their confidence in their reasoning ability when they start learning math that includes replacing values with a character – example: x+4=6, where x=2. A really good teacher helps children past this point without too much difficulty, but that presumes that all the children are paying attention at the moment this concept is explained and that your child’s teacher is a really good teacher.
I know that I was confused when this concept was first introduced.
The problem I have with this concept and the current method for teaching this concept is that there is no reason for it to be so hard for children to learn. Small children are such amazing learning sponges that all they have to do to get this concept across to them is to put it to them this way in kindergarten or before they even start school:
Replacing a number with a letter of the alphabet is the same as giving it a nickname, so you and your teacher both know which number is missing or which number you are giving as an answer.
Then presenting these examples:
If you asked children to think of math this way and teach it this way from the outset (the very beginning of learning it), all children would have a much easier time learning math.
One day when I have grandchildren, I will be teaching them math in this manner and introducing the additional concept of how to move numbers from one side of the equals side to the other, as soon as they understand the difference between addition and subtraction.
I plan on encouraging them to think of math as a game and a puzzle that can be fun and interesting, rather than let them be discouraged and frustrated by the current educational system.
This Article could have many titles: Action vs. Inaction, Should I or Shouldn’t I, or the one below (but it’s too big) are all decent titles. I choose this one today, because of a conversation I had with a coworker a while back, of which I was reminded today.
I would’a, I should’a, I could’a, but I didn’t vs. I wouldn’t have, I shouldn’t have, I could have not, but I did it anyway.
Not doing something (depending on the situation of course) might be just as bad, if not worse, than having done something. If you are aware of someone who has committed or is about to commit a crime and you do not report it, you are complicit in the act. That means you are responsible for it occurring (if you knew of it beforehand), for their getting away with it (if you learned of it after the fact, and responsible for future criminal activities by those same people if you never report it.
Who benefits from the terms Nark and Snitch? An even better question is who uses this term? The answer…. criminals. Criminals who hurt, steal from, and or murder other people. Criminals who harass and intimidate people who just want to live their lives in safety, by telling them that they will be narks or snitches if they go to the police for help and threaten harm to them, their families, and their friends in retribution. How can we really live in safety? By turning them in and making sure they cannot do it again. Yes, this means that some innocent people will get hurt and possibly killed, but living in fear and letting criminals hurt and kill people anyway and without any hindrance isn’t helping anything or a good way to live.
If your ‘friends’ enjoy committing criminal activities and tell you that you cannot be their friend if you don’t pitch in and help, they aren’t very good friends. The simple fact that they are pressuring you to do something that will end you up dead, in jail, or on the run (no better than a hunted animal), makes them the worst kind of people to be around.
On a side note, there is no such thing as a victimless criminal activity. We all, each and every one of us, pay for them. Whether through paying higher insurance costs, fear of attack, higher taxes, or higher costs for products.
This recipe is has the benefits of fruit tastiness with none of the reluctance related to eating veggies.
It is very light, very filling, focuses the mind, and provides lots more energy than a higher calorie meal. Unlike other meals (fattier and or with processed sugars) it seems like the body can use most (if not all) of the nutrients and energy potential.
I recommend trying it for breakfast, then doing something that keeps you preoccupied for four or more hours. If you try this, please let me know how it works for you at http://thewilesway.com.
Try it. If you like it, please share the link with someone who will appreciate it.
A fair mix of berries and veggies. Excellent for breakfast and dinner.
Per serving
155 Calories
Calcium = 9%
Fats = 20%
Protein = 8%
Sugars = 31%
Vitamin A = 39% (Be careful to not exceed 100% of Vitamin A in a day.)
Vitamin C = 101%
Prep Time | 15 min |
Passive Time | 2 min |
Servings |
Meals
|
Ingredients
- 24 Almonds Soak 24 hrs in clean water
- 1/2 Banana
- 3 Florets Cauliflower Fresh Frozen Deluxe Normandy Blend (Birds Eye) (includes cauliflower, broccoli, & carrots)
- 3 Florets Broccoli
- 2 Baby Carrots
- 1/2 Cup Triple Berry Blend Use an even mix of 3 berry types from: Raspberries, Cherries, Blackberries, Blueberries
- 6 Strawberries Medium
- 6 Pineapple Chunks
- 1/8 Cup Kale or Spinach
- 1 Stalk/Branch Celery
- 1 Radish Medium
- 6 Cherry Tomatoes or 1 Tomatoe Medium
- 2 Cups Water Filterered (or otherwise cleaned)
Ingredients
|
|
Instructions
-
Throw it all into a blender. Chop then Blend.
Recipe Notes
Points of Interest:
- Blend up your ingredients (separately) and use traditional ice-cube trays to create 1/8 Cup portions that store compactly, don't spoil easily, and fit in the blender for meal prep.
- This recipe only shows Kale or Spinach using this trick.
- Blending significantly compacts food, while adding some air, which drastically changes ingredient quantity requirements. If you're going to do this, measure, blend, measure, then compare so that you know the difference.
- Tomatoes should always be fresh.
- Soak the almonds in clean water (I use filtered) for 24 hours, then rinse them. (Improves Digestion)
Aside:
Clean Water: Click these links to read up on the dangers of fluoridated & chlorinated water.
I started filtering my water after I realized that I was experiencing continuous, unmitigated, and agonizing abdominal pains. Since I started filtering my water, making sure to clean off as much soap residue as I can from my dishes, especially any dish that can contain water (i.e. bowls, cups, pots, pans, and mixing bowls {Soap goes to the bottom of the dish if you simply dump the rinse water.}); and started avoiding pork products (one of my allergies), my abdominal pains have completely disappeared. If I am not careful with any of those three factors, the pain comes back (but to a lesser degree). Anyone diagnosed with Crohn's disease should consider whether these types of factors are affecting them. It does take a few weeks to notice the difference.
Share this Recipe
Prep Time | 15 min |
Passive Time | 2 min |
Servings |
Servings
|
- 24 Almonds
- 1/2 Cup Honeydew Melon
- 1/2 Banana
- 1/2 Cup Fresh Frozen Deluxe Normandy Blend (Birds Eye)
- 1/2 Cup Triple Berry Blend
- 1/4 Cup Strawberries
- 1/4 Cup Celery
- 1/4 Cup Pineapple Chunks
- 1/4 Cup Kiwi
- 1/8 Cup Rutabagas
- 1/8 Cup Kale
- 1/8 Cup Beets
- 1/8 Cup Avocado
- 1/4 Cup Tomatoes
Ingredients
|
|
- Throw it all into a blender. Chop then Blend.
Notes of Interest:
- Blend up your ingredients (separately) and use traditional ice-cube trays to create 1/8 Cup portions that store compactly, don't spoil easily, and fit in the blender for meal prep.
- Tomatoes should always be fresh.
- Soak the almonds in clean water (I use filtered) for 24 hours, then rinse them. (Improves Digestion)
- Because of the avocados, this is a slightly heavier (more of a maintenance) smoothie.
Want to lose weight?
I’ve spent many months considering the problem of weight loss. Losing heart is the biggest problem people face, when trying to lose weight.
I have a solution or two to this problem. The biggest problem to not keeping to the weight loss path is not being able to see the truth. What is it every big business uses to determine their successes and failures? They use log books, charts, and graphs.
I recently found an app that tracks what you eat: showing calorie intake, nutrition value, and weight loss. If you fix your own food, you can enter the ingredients. It even allows you to pull up the menus from a lot of restaurants. I was already losing weight when I started using it, but being able to look back at the times when I was losing weight and being able to compare them to the times I was staying steady or gaining weight, has helped me through some rough times.
Now, there are probably other apps that do the same thing… possibly even better. This is the one I found and there are some things that I would do to upgrade the app but it’s a good start.
Try it out, you have nothing to lose but weight: My Fitness Pal.
If you do, I recommend that you NOT try to diet for a full month, while using the app. This will give you what scientists call a control, which is an unaltered example for the purpose of comparison. If you start feeling… less than optimal, I recommend leveling out for perhaps a week or two (not trying to lose or gain weight).
What started me losing weight? Increasing my intake of vegetation to 2/3 of my diet being fruits and vegetables. This literally changed me from a couch-potato, who had difficulty walking around in a store, into someone who could, at will, walk 10 miles without stopping. A Fruit smoothie for breakfast and a veggie smoothie for dinner has cleaned up my bloodstream in an unbelievable manner. My heart rate is back down to between 45 and 65 bpm. Yes, this is normal for me. Now, even when I do not eat right (the increased veggies) or exercise, as long as I do not go over my calorie limit (which is not the “average” and the above app helped me determine what it was), I am still losing weight.
P.S. Regarding those restaurant menus. For someone trying to lose weight but wanting to still be able to go out, relax, and have a good time…
I recommend deciding on how many calories you are willing to eat before you go out (just like going gambling and not taking credit cards or money with you that you’re not willing to wipe out), divide up the food into enough portions to give you that calorie limit and put the rest into a to-go box immediately. Think of it as being able to enjoy yourself several times, instead of just once.
Ignorance vs Stupidity vs Bravery
Many people mix up the terms ignorance, stupidity, and bravery. I discuss these terms under the topic of education, because knowing or not knowing the difference between stupidity and ignorance makes a difference to people’s ability to learn. The reason for this is that many people use the term ignorance as if it were a stick and as something that a person should be ashamed of. Example: “You’re so ignorant that you’ll never learn (stupid is also used incorrectly here) . I put to you that everyone is ignorant of something. Ignorance is only shameful when a person is obstinately and willfully ignorant. Stupidity really has nothing to do with a person’s ability to learn either, except when someone is willfully ignorant. Example: I don’t know versus I don’t want to know.
I recommend that the next time someone attempts to use the term ignorance as a stick on you, that you tell them, “Ignorance is curable with the willingness to learn, while the stupidity of making assumptions about a person’s character is a personal flaw that, if it becomes a habit, is difficult to alter. Wait, no… perhaps not the second half of that. Too likely to start a fight. It is helpful to know the second half; however, as it helps stiffen the spine, when dealing with such situations.
Getting upset with someone who makes such character assumptions is a wasted effort, as they have only proven their own ignorance twice over. The first time by making an assumption in the first place and the second time by using the term ignorant incorrectly.
If an educator uses either ignorant or stupid as a stick, bat, or blunt object to beat up their student, it should be simply reported to the school system and that person should be educated by the school system, not the student or their parent. The student should be moved to a different class or a different school altogether if the educator is not dealt with appropriately.
The difference between these terms, along with other mean-hearted/cruel terms and appropriate behavior related to their use is something that children should be made aware of, as there is a high probability that a child will not bring it up to their parents.
For example, children often have difficult experiences at school, because they are unaware of good ways to deal with or respond to the mean and cruel things that other children or their instructors might say to them. The last thing a child (or anyone for that matter) should do is act upset or angry when in a confrontation, regardless of whether or not they are.
Taunt: Your momma wears combat boots!
Possible Responses: So. Who cares? / So. Is that important to you for some reason? / So. That means she’s strong and a fighter. / So does that mean your momma doesn’t?
Attitude and bearing are as important as the response. If you act afraid or flinch away, you mark yourself as a victim for future attacks. If you act aggressively, you are inviting the situation to escalate to a physical fight.
I recommend teaching children to fight, but advising them that it should always be a last resort. My father told me, “Never throw the first punch. You had better not start any fights, but if you get into one, you had better finish it” In other words, if you allow yourself to be beaten up by bullies, they don’t simply go away, they keep coming back for more.
Please discuss this with your children and by all means, post a few other taunts, regardless of whether you have come up with ideas for how to deal with them. We might be able to toss around a few ideas and come up with some good solutions. On my website please, or I likely won’t see them and chances are that only your immediate friends will get to see them:.
To post on the website: thewilesway.com
- You have to be registered and the post has to be approved.
- The website will not allow a lot of crude words to be posted, so if it won’t post, you will have to simply refer to what you mean.)
Assumption: A theory or belief that is accepted as true without proof.
Bravery: Acting in the face of danger in spite of fear and with knowledge of the danger, because it is the right thing to do.
Ignorance: A lack of knowledge/information/data.
Stupidity: Behaving without sense or judgement.
Taunt: A comment meant to anger, provoke, or wound.
This means that a person who acts poorly in ignorance, does so because they are not aware of all the facts, while a person who acts poorly with stupidity does so regardless of the facts.
Example of bravery: She ran into the burning house to save a child.
Example of ignorance: He died of smoke inhalation, because he didn’t know the house was on fire.
Example of stupidity: She refused to be helped by a thief, so she drowned.
Your Body: The Best Chemical Lab in the World!
If you want to feel better, eat better.
If you don’t feel good, the problem and solution may lay in your diet. About a year ago, I was too exhausted after work, to even think about walking even a mile. Just going grocery shopping caused me excruciating pain.
This year, after significantly changing my diet (and a few months to work up to it), I am now able to walk 10 miles a day. I have hopes that I may be able to run again in the near future.
What did I change? I increased my intake of vegetation to 2/3rds of my diet, I try to eat fish 2 to 3 times per week, and I eat 24 almonds daily.
The vegetation breaks down roughly into 1/3 fruits and 1/3 vegetables. Amongst these I include avocado, pineapple, apple, orange, celery, blueberry, strawberry, raspberry, kale, spinach, banana, and honeydew melon. This list changes a little day to day, as I run out of some and get more, but I try to keep this core list available in my kitchen. How can I eat so many different items in a day. I don’t eat a lot of any one of them (about 1/8 cup for most items). How can I keep them on hand long enough for them to be useful, using such small quantities at a time? I throw them into a blender and freeze them in ice-cube trays (which coincidentally happens to come with 1/8 cup cubes). The better to make fruit or vegetable smoothies with.
The back pain and migraines crop up very rarely now and generally are only a reminder that I should get back on the diet (and by now I should know better, right?).
Side benefits: I am no longer feeling constantly dehydrated (side requirement for this drinking filtered water).
Stopping the oil industry will not solve any problems without a reasonable alternative. And by this I seriously mean a cheaper, easier to support, much cleaner, and safer alternative.
Right now the Big Bad Oil Industry supports us in getting to work and transports our food to the groceries, emergency services to our doors and back to the hospitals, raw materials to production facilities, and makes possible ever so many more things that we (today) consider to be the necessities of daily life.
We have wind farms and solar farms producing some power and some individuals have wind turbines and solar panels at their homes. It is expensive to install and maintain these options. I do not have the real numbers on the benefit to the individual in using these options. Having done some research on the matter, finding clear cut answers is not simple or easy.
Example:
Watts:
Required to run/support the use of a Refrigerator, Freezer, Water Heater, Stovetop/Oven, Microwave, Coffeepot (alternative hot water on demand, water heater for hot drinks), T.V., Computer and Modem/Router (multiplied by however many computers you are running in your house), and whatever other thing you might want to keep plugged in all day along with two or three lights and two or three other hot power outlets several times per day for random stuff, such as vacuuming the house or what have you. Household Calculation
Purchase Cost:
Installation Cost:
Plus the Damage Cost if you install it yourself and do it wrong:
This of course would vary, but has to be considered.
Batteries:
Because neither the wind, nor the sun are available all day every day.
Maintenance Cost:
Because you cannot just install it and expect it to run for the next 20 years to life without any maintenance.
Estimated Reoccurrence Maintenance Requirement:
Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semiannually, annually, biennially, Etc.
Replacement Cost: (Each part individually and the entire setup)
Everything wears out, especially batteries.
Estimated Reoccurrence Replacement Requirement:
Annually, biennially, decennially, Etc. Because replacement shouldn’t have to happen as often as maintenance.
Do you have a reasonable alternative to Big Oil to offer or any answers to the above questions?
- Watts: Power, calculated using amps and volts. Example: Household light fixtures might take a 3-way lightbulb, that uses 30, 70, or 100 Watts.
- Watt (W)=Amps*Volts
- Amps or Current (I): The workhorse in electricity, amps are what run our equipment. As little as .1 to .2 amps is deadly. It isn’t the volts, which the big danger signs announce in the thousands of volts.
- Amps=Watts/Volts
- Volts (V): The factor in electricity that pushes amps along the wire. You might have thousands of volts and a relatively tiny amount of amps.
- Volts=Watts/Amps
I came across this question earlier today, while researching for something else and found people discussing and arguing over a bunch of awesome words that are niche-specific. These terms describe periods of time, which are most commonly used to identify and define other things or in financial reports. I could not find a single list/chart of these terms or a single word or phrase that includes these terms, perhaps someone can help me with this.
While doing this research, I read a post that hit on one of my sore spots, because it discouraged the use of the word Tertile, citing the complaint, “Why use a word that most readers will have to look up in a dictionary to understand?”. I don’t disagree that the term is unlikely to ever be a common use word, not even as common as its relative terms (such as quarterly and annually), but I do have a serious issue with the statement as a whole. Seeing as I do not wish to attack a person, but I do wish to attack a concept, I am bringing the problem here.
Quarterly is too hard a word for some people, but yet there is a time and a place for it. As such, it is a commonly used term gardening and in the world of finance and business, but far less used in other areas. Granted that I just can’t see “tertile” flowing off my lips in a sentence describing how often I do something… I have to file tertile reports (every three months or four times a year). It just doesn’t sound right, which means it will never be used, unless someone in a position of authority decides they just have to have a three month report and just love the term. No one is going to reach for this term automatically.
You might think triannually would work, but that is actually every four months and occurs three times a year and the popular term for that is quarterly. You might try to throw some terms together, like quadranually. It looks a little clunky, but it might catch on. (Quadrennially is every 4 years.)
The meat of this article:
I take exception to discouraging the use of less commonly used terms, just because someone might have to look something up. As shown in the example of quarterly (above), there are a lot of terms out there that are specific to tasks, such activities that are done infrequently and work related tasks that are fairly narrow to a specific type of field. Should we give up the word “rafting,” because I haven’t done it or talked to anyone about it in over 10 years? NO! Should we not learn what a cumulonimbus cloud is, because we don’t work in the weather industry? NO!
How far do we go before we say, “I know enough words and I don’t need any more for understanding the world around me and communicating with others.”? If we never learned new words (often accomplished after childhood by looking up words that we don’t understand or don’t see very often), we may as well all be grunting and pointing.
If you don’t know a word that someone uses or you find in an article, please look it up!
A stagnant mind rots from disuse, just like a scummy pond. The more words we know, the more creative we can be, because the variety of concepts a larger and larger word pool encompasses is just like using larger and larger numbers.
Given the digits 0 through 9 to create a two digit number, you have a relatively small number of possibilities for numbers that you can come up with. Assuming we’re working with whole or positive numbers, this gives you 90 possible numbers, because 0 through 9 are single digit numbers. Every digit you add after that increases the number of possibilities exponentially. You can figure it out like this: If you have 10 you have 10 possible permutations. When you add a digit, you have 100 possible permutations, so times or multiplied by 10. 10×10=100, 100×10=1,000, 1,000×10=10,000. Simple, because to times by 10, all you are doing is adding a 0 at the far right of the number.
Learning is essential, not only to success, but to self-realization, world-realization, galaxy-realization, and universe-realization. What is your place in existence? If you are not willing and able to question everything and simply accept what you currently see or understand as “they way things are,” you will miss so many beautiful and wonderful marvels. You might accept many lies or myths as the truth. Granted that sometimes we find out that a myth was actually a reality that we did not understand yet, myths are often things we make up to quantify what we have to deal with in life, but have little to no grounding in reality.
If I learn about ambient today, I might also learn about ambient temperature, then I might decide to learn what can radiate heat and create a change in the ambient temperature. After that I might learn a better and more efficient way to heat our houses or melt ice off the roads. I could be amazing, but not if I don’t go out of my way to learn something new.
Quote: Once you stop learning, you start dying — Albert Einstein
Please learn, grow, and make every day of your life an adventure!
* Ambient: area around or surrounding
* Permutation: In math, the arrangement of numbers.
Note: If someone can come up with a better or nicer way to get this point across, I welcome recommendations.
2nd Note: If you don’t post your responses directly to my website, I probably won’t see it. I generally only see responses to my own Facebook posts, and which do not post to my website. And I have to approve posts, before anyone else can see posts submitted to my website. It cuts down on the unsolicited advertisements, viruses, spam, sheer rudeness, and profanity.
I have read many philosophies of life, most of which are true. Here are a few:
- Life isn’t about how many times you get knocked down, it’s about how many times you get back up. -Col George A. Custer
- It’s been stated a few different ways, including taking hits and falling down, by different people, but it’s the same sentiment of moving on with your life, the game, the show, etc..
- This is a good one, but it’s true and false:
- It isn’t about whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. -Grantland Rice
- I think this one explains the sentiment better:
- What matters isn’t how well you play when you’re playing well. What matters is how well you play when you’re playing badly. -Martina Navratilova
I just read a beautiful one.
- A father, in an effort to explain the value of life and how dealing with it is important, boils potatoes, eggs, and coffee. The hard potatoes become soft, the fragile eggs with soft innards become hard, and the coffee changes the water into an aromatic drink (thus changing its environment).
- Each person decides what kind of person they will become by how they choose to respond to adversity (the boiling water). You can become soft, you can toughen up, or you can change the world around you. Your choice.
- Author Unknown (If you know the originator, please let me know.)
- Also written with a carrot instead of a potato.
- Each person decides what kind of person they will become by how they choose to respond to adversity (the boiling water). You can become soft, you can toughen up, or you can change the world around you. Your choice.
Please share your “Positive” philosophies regarding life on this article on thewilesway.com. There are plenty enough other sites that indulge in negativity, that we do not need to do it here.
Philosophizing is the act of considering reality, how things work, why things work, and how these things interact and relate to each other. These “things” include geology, the stars, emotions, thought, human relations, animal relations, love, war, and anything else you can dream of.
- Relations: Relationships, including interactions with each other and other species.
So, you’ve been telling lies and suddenly someone caught you in it. Now don’t you wish you hadn’t started down that path to begin with?
For the sake of clarity, lying is not simply telling an untruth. Lying is telling an untruth, with the foreknowledge that it is not true.
The embarrassment, shame, and horror you feel come (some say) more from the fact that you were caught than that you lied in the first place. I disagree. The pain of being caught in a lie comes from the fact that you’ve lost the trust of the person you lied to and often your reputation with everyone you deal with suffers the same hit.
Granted, that people will grant some slack for a lie to someone in poor health about someone or something they care intensely about, if telling the truth (or not) might be a life or death situation. People are not generally so forgiving in other situations. How can people trust you if you are willing and able to lie to them? Generally, the more senseless the lie, the less trustworthy the liar. Lying when the truth would have served the situation better is the most senseless lie and is often committed by pathological or compulsive liars (this is a psychological issue). The type of liar who commits this type of lie is most often a pathological or compulsive liar.
Lies grow and change, getting bigger and harder to remember over time. Liars sometimes do not even realize when their stories have become too fantastic to be believed. Have you ever heard of someone being trusted… to meet an expectation? I would far rather someone have an expectation of me that I am reliable and even a little ruthless in telling the truth, than as a person expected to lie.
For all that, the biggest problem with telling lies is that if you tell a lie often enough, you will no longer recognize it as a lie. Lying to yourself is a deadly dangerous game, which leads to madness. Especially when you are finally caught in the lie and doubly so if someone you care about was hurt, physically or mentally, because of the lie.
Granted, that some truths cannot be said without some serious repercussions. Example: Honey, does this look good on me? No dear, it doesn’t hide the bulges well enough. (There’s brutally honest and then there is plain stupid.) A far better answer would be: No dear, it just isn’t right for you. The cut is all wrong.
You don’t have to be brutal to tell the truth and the truth does not have to always directly answer the question. It isn’t always a lie to tell someone something nice from a different perspective than what the question asked for. It isn’t nice, however, to let poor fat me go on thinking I’m not fat, because it isn’t healthy to be overweight for long periods of time. A better place, time, and approach to the subject can provide a whole different outlook for both parties. Example: Honey, I love you dearly. You are my beautiful rose and would hate to be parted from you. I am worried for your health (this works better if you can include yourself using “our health”) and I think we need to start walking (running, going to the gym, etc.) and cut a few bad things from our diet.
Anyway, back on topic.
I will admit, people lie. They will lie out of fear, concern for another, to impress someone, for ambition, for personal gain, and for many more reasons (that usually sound good to the individual at the time). I know of no one who has never lied, accidentally or otherwise.
Examples:
Truth by answering a different question –
- Daughter – Dad, can I go out with some friends?
- Dad – Are you going to a party? (If the answer is yes, dad’s answer is NO and daughter knows it.)
- Daughter – (Who knows the definition of a party is generally ‘a social gathering, with eating, drinking, and entertainment,’ but also knows dad won’t object to a small party of her friends.) Dad, it’s just me and (names off invited guests). We’re going to watch a movie at X’s house. There will be no alcohol involved.
- Recommended alternate questions for this situation:
- What are your plans? (If that doesn’t elicit a satisfactory answer.)
- Where will you be, who will be there, will there be drugs or alcohol (alcohol is a drug, by the way) involved, what is a good alternate contact phone number for someone who will be there, and when do you plan to return?
- What are your plans? (If that doesn’t elicit a satisfactory answer.)
Lying by Omission (purposely leaving out pertinent facts, that would more honestly answer a question):
- Same question from dad, but daughter’s answer is: Jana and I are going to watch a movie at her house. (Completely failing to mention that several other or a large number of people are attending and alcohol will be involved.)
- Why is this still a lie? Because it doesn’t even attempt to address dad’s real concern.
Lying by Commission:
- Daughter – Dad, can I go out with some friends?
- Dad – Are you going to a party? (If the answer is yes, dad’s answer is NO and daughter knows it.)
- Daughter – (Who knows very well that her plans include her dad’s definition of a party.) No Dad, it’s just me and (names off three or four people). We’re going to watch a movie at X’s house. There will be no alcohol involved. (When alcohol is involved and there are over 100 people invited.)
Lying by misdirection:
- A truth: Politicians who tell the truth about their plans in a platform is considered a novelty.
- A lie: A politician who told a truth on their platform is a reliable breath of fresh air.
- The misrepresentation: Politicians who tell the truth about their plans in a platform have told the whole truth and can be relied upon to continue to tell the truth.
Lying by truth re-patterning, obfuscation, and/or insinuating a falsehood onto the truth (hiding or obscuring the reality). This is often used in books for plot twists and is often a lie of omission too, but not always. Truth re-patterning without omission is not easy, but quite possible.
- Truth: John – I saw Jim at the bar last night, talking to Amber.
- The Lie: The implication that Jim was having relations with Amber, when John knew very well that John only went to the bar to pick up a friend to make sure he got home and only briefly spoke to Amber to find out where his friend was within the bar. Most of this lie is accomplished with body language and tone of voice.
It is better, by far, to never lie at all, than to have to explain or try to excuse a lie. When you cannot answer a truth directly (such as when you have a legal or job-related obligation to not divulge information), I recommend that you answer with the truths you can say, answer a different question, or don’t answer at all.
This is not (in any way) to be taken as permission to take truths and twist them to your whimsy, so that the resultant pattern is a lie or to lie at all. If you make a decision to lie, on your own honor be it.
This is the most amazing news! I found three articles recently, regarding replacing or repairing teeth. Two of these articles state that you can regrow your own teeth and the third is a repair for small cavities that vastly outstrips current technology.
The articles that talk about Re-Growing teeth both use our own stem cells that are already within our jaws or teeth. One uses existing (bad) teeth as the starting point, the other builds a scaffolding that our stem cells can grow into. These are up and coming, in the near future technologies.
Using the Existing Tooth:
- http://www.slate.com/blogs/business_insider/2014/05/31/scientists_have_figured_out_how_to_regenerate_teeth_with_lasers.html
Using a Scaffolding:
- http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/how-to-regrow-teeth-in-your-mouth/
Repairing Small Cavities:
- http://www.healthyandnaturalworld.com/toothpaste-fills-cavities-without-drilling/
And a home recipe, why not:
- Read the first several posts. Don’t miss Dave’s post (down a ways).
- http://www.permies.com/t/45249/toxin-ectomy/Natural-ways-regrow-teeth-save
Important Note: Please remember the rules for The Wiles Way. No one on this site is giving you orders. As an adult you are responsible for your own decisions and actions. If you are not an adult, you should be reviewing important decisions with a responsible adult.
Who determines whether a change is an improvement, a failure, progress, or regression? You and I do. But we cannot do this if we are unaware of what’s out there or if we hear a twisted or outright untrue representation of a situation or events. This is why fact-checking is so important.
I recommend using a search engine to pull up the same article from multiple vendors, especially from at least two news vendors with differing political opinions (yes, news vendors have political opinions) and (if applicable) from the political reporters/parties. You can tell a news vendor’s political opinion by comparing the differing reports of the same events. It is amazing how different the same story can be reported.
When I find articles of interest, I will post the links below this article (in the menu).
Example: Topics > Progress or Regression > 3D Printers
If I feel a subject is worth debate, I will find opposing viewpoints to compare the reports.
Good vs Evil or GOD vs DEVIL
Religion has the ability to provide social stability, a sense of community, a moral code (rules for appropriate behavior), basic education, and activities that bring people together as a community. Religious organizations often keep people out of trouble by providing such activities as dancing, sports, pot luck meals, sewing bees, and sales). Religions usually have rules for behavior and attitude, with rewards for good behavior and a punishments for bad behavior. In some cases religious law is/was indistinguishable from government rule, though the religion and or its laws might change with the head of such a government.
A religion is a belief in a creator god or gods. In the case of gods, these may have been gods from the same pantheon (organization or group of gods) or rival gods. Some religions include evil adversaries called demons. Some beliefs hold demons to be rogue gods (gods who no longer have followers and have gone crazy); spirits from evil thought fragments, lost objects, resentful dead animals, or resentful dead people; or fallen angels.
Historically religions have added to and taken away from education and art. Some religions have been known to destroy the art, texts, histories, and structures of other religions. Whether this activity was sanctioned by a religion, the activity of a rogue zealot, or a group of zealots in a particular case, would require research. Unfortunately the records of specific incidents themselves may have likely been destroyed or hidden. For an overview of information on this topic, search for “destruction of religious”. The recommendation drop down provides options for art, sites, images, and shrines. These options are only the popularly searched topics. If you simply run that search as-is, you might be shocked by the persecutors and the persecuted.
Also in the histories is the shocking behaviors of various religions, which… after having been persecuted as a young religion, persecute other religions in their turn after becoming a more powerful group. A search for religious persecution provides inadequate information, because religions are often limited to thinking of their own experience or the timeline of their own beliefs and that is what they publish.
One resource that attempts to put information on religions in order by “important” events and includes more than one religion is Wikipedia: Timeline of religion, though I notice that it does not include pantheons, such as the Greek, Norse, and Roman gods, relegating these to mythology and therefore misses a huge number of religious events of note. There may be other better resources out there… still looking.
Another abominable practice, slavery, was not repudiated by some dominant religions or world power governments until very recent history. Read these interesting historical documents for some shocking information about slavery and religious persecution: SLAVERY: ITS RELIGIOUS SANCTION, ITS POLITICAL DANGERS, AND THE BEST MODE OF DOING IT AWAY, “In His Name” by E. Christopher Reyes, and Christianity and the Roman Empire.
The Image:
I do not believe that the it was a mistake or accident that changing only two letters in GOOD and EVIL leaves you with to GOD and DEVIL. If you remember the difference between the two and seek to do good and shun evil in all your activities and thoughts, you will be far closer to heaven than any organized religion can help you get. Organized religions “should” be a group of people (large or small), who have banded together to share in their beliefs, support each other, and help others (as the last two are “good” things to do).
I find, however, that organized religions tend to be far more concerned with keeping that church (organized religion) in existence and with blotting out competition (other churches), than in helping people reach favor with a deity (a heavenly ruler).
In Summation: A religion has the ability to do great good or great harm, either through individuals, in groups, or as an organization. Some of the greatest good deeds and some of the most heinous evil deeds have been done in the name of a god. A religious organization is only as good as its members.
In my personal opinion, any religion that condones, abets, or encourages acts of evil (including slavery, murder, and inciting panic that leads to murder) and fails to openly and privately repudiate such actions and attitudes, fails to meet the basic definition of religion. As such, they should be denounced by every government and refused the protections/recognition allotted to a religion. (Especially when its members start embracing such evil notions.)
Minecraft: Seeds & World Hot spots
So, you’ve found this game called Minecraft, but you want to start playing next to a village, a lava pool, a ruin, a temple, a dungeon, or in a flying city. You can let Minecraft create random maps until you find something you like, start throwing random seeds into the World Generator, or you can search the Internet for something interesting.
There are a few methods you can try, in order to help you decide whether you like a world or not. The easiest ways to do it without cheating are to climb a nearby tree, hill, mountain, or build a dirt tower. Aside: If you build a dirt tower high enough, you can escape death in the night from monsters. It’s a very boring wait though.
Before you take off and if you find something you like, I recommend using F3 to write down your XYZ location. I use a spreadsheet to keep track of such things.
Important Note: Toggling Gamemode;
- /gamemode creative (turns on creative mode)
- /gamemode survival (turns off creative mode)
Warning! This is a cheat! (Requires Cheats be enabled in More World Options, when creating the world.)
Changing your gamemode allows you to build or destroy quickly, evade monsters (they stop attacking you, but not villagers), fly, access all items and blocks (unlimited), etc.
Flying:
Type /gamemode creative – then double-tap the space-bar and you can fly up high enough to get a view of the land (space = up, shift = down, and double-space = flight off/on). If you get lost, you have three choices for finding yourself again. You can use the above information to keep track of your starting point and current location, you can get your character killed (which takes you back to your starting point or the last bed your character slept in), or you can delete and recreate the World. The quickest way, by far, to get back to your starting point, is to turn off creative mode from a great height. It’s also possible to move around via portals, but you won’t have the ability to create these right away without cheating (big time).
Navigating in Minecraft:
- X = East -45°/West 45°
- Y= Up/Down
- Z = North 180°/South 0°
It seems that once you find a special location, you will find more… if you follow the correct path from the first one you found. This can be done above ground and under water, but is very difficult underground. Many of these sites are, just barely, within sight of each other, when there is a clear line-of-sight. As in, if you are halfway between both of them, you can see them both by turning 180°. I’ve seen this occur on a few worlds now.
Mapping:
Example World – Seed: DownLow
- I came up with this seed, though someone else may have tried it already. For this one, once you find one of the below villages or temples, 0° and 180° takes you right along a line of temples and villages. They seem to occur at about 100° to 250° intervals, but there could be more goodies below ground and underwater. Notice the last village, which is way far away from the rest, but still along the same line.
Starting XYZ: 11.500 / 72 / 30.500
Temple XYZ:
- -317.876 / 123 / -397.797
- -357,548 / 74 / 568.568.
Village XYZ:
- -234.989 / 73 / -138.841
- -267.048 / 73 / 53.050
- -294.752 / 105 / 1314.106
Example World: Seed: 54258544 (Follow the link to see the article from the person who recommended this seed.) There’s supposed to be all kinds of awesome locations: villages, floating islands, etc., but I haven’t found them yet.
Starting: XYZ: 20.500 / 63 / 211.500
Village XYZ:
- -442.487/ 71 / -938.446
Mines XYZ: (These points are not over the center of the location, because they are only visible from beside the location. Some of these points may lead to the same mine.)
- 692.446 / 83 / -344.1111
- -637.344 / 77 / -148.881
- -679.454 / 71 / -79.081
- -690.470 / 75 / -76.064
- -851.756 / 71 / -568.925
- -922.046 / 81 / -622.415
Pumpkins XYZ:
- 1151.117 / 74 / -999.114
- 292.821 / 80 / -272.323
I will continue adding to information on these two worlds on this article, but if I work on any other worlds, I will attach a document.
Weapons Safety
Weapons safety is not really about guns, knives, or any other offensive or defensive object that you may lay your hands upon. Weapons safety is a frame of mind, an attitude that defines the role of the weapon, the responsibility of the bearer toward its maintenance, and respect for its hazards.
The NRA covers the basic rules for weapons handling (really firearms handling) at http://training.nra.org/nra-gun-safety-rules.aspx. These are VERY BASIC rules. They rely far too heavily upon this thing called “Common Sense.” The term common sense is far too often mistaken for “USE YOUR BRAIN and THINK!” Common Sense is not common because people are wise or have wisdom in general, but because it comes from a shared pool of knowledge. In other words “Common Sense” is LEARNED knowledge, so please don’t get frustrated when someone doesn’t understand something you think is basic. Either explain it or direct them to a resource for the information.
Note: These rules do not include, very large weapons, such as tank or a nuclear weapon, whose only purpose is the complete destruction of people and property). These rules are for tools or objects that are useful as weapons against an attacker, such as a would-be murderer, a lion, or a bear.
Weapons Safety Rules:
- Weapon Definition: Anything useful in attacking someone or defending yourself and others with is a weapon. These “things” include the words from your mouth, your teeth, your hands, your feet, your head, a lamp, a light, a bottle, a power cord, a knife, a gun, a sword, etc..
- Respect your Weapon! Recognize that a weapon “is” a weapon and that playing with a weapon is dangerous and leads to serious repercussions. Respect a weapon for both its short-term and long-term repercussions at ALL times. A person who plays with a weapon is not mature enough, trained well enough, responsible enough, or mentally competent enough to be trusted with a weapon.
- Learn the specific safety rules for any given weapon and train with it in its primary function until it becomes nothing more than any other tool: not important beyond its primary function and not thought of as a weapon for offense or defense unless it is required for that function.
- An example of a tool that is very useful as a weapon is a belt knife. A belt knife has a multitude of purposes, to include opening boxes, prepping or eating food (as long as you clean it first), cutting twine, cutting tags off of product, etc. The variety and number of uses for a belt knife are uncountable.
- Get weapons training for the use of your weapon as a weapon! The use of a weapon should not be exciting, exhilarating, or adrenaline inducing. Fighting for your life is adrenaline inducing enough on its own. For random objects, actual weapons training is not possible and general weapons (such as bo, sword, or staff) would be sufficient.
- Never drop your weapon! Always secure it safely upon your person until the situation is confirmed clear of danger and then put it away securely or dispose of it properly (such as in the case of picking up a random object). Dropping your weapon means that an aggressor can pick it up and use it against you.
Signs that someone is “Playing” with a weapon:
- Threatening people with a weapon for no other reason than to show off the weapon, to frighten someone, or to make the wielder feel stronger and bigger than the person they are threatening.
- A disregard for the safety rules for the weapon. Waving a weapon around with no care for who it might hurt, for example pointing a gun at someone (regardless of whether it is thought to be empty or loaded) and saying “bang”, then stating that they were “just playing”. People die this way, with no intent of the person “playing” to hurt anyone.
- Perceiving the primary purpose of a weapon as a way to hurt or kill people, rather than to acquire food, defend oneself, or whatever its real primary purpose is.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Neither maturity nor wisdom replaces specific training or education on weapons handling.
Games & Gaming
Games come in many flavors and styles, each carrying its own benefits. People create games at the drop of the hat for the purpose of entertainment and teaching.
Game types include (but are not limited to) board, ball, card, dice, peg, video, chance, challenge, race, and dare.
The dark side of gaming:
Gaming is a diversion, when not taken seriously, but can be as addictive as any drug, driving people to waste every penny they earn in games of chance or every free hour they have on diversionary games. This leads people into neglecting themselves, and their families, homes, hopes, dreams, and goals.
The bright side of gaming:
Many games are useful in improving eye-hand coordination, understanding of the laws of physics, understanding of strategy, math, spelling, and as many more possibilities as there are things to learn.
Recommendation:
Try to balance work, home, family, and diversions. As often as you can, include your family in your diversions. It’s soon enough that children run off to live their own lives (often far from home and family), so enjoy your family while you have it near.
Cube Living or Couch Sitting and their Effects on You!
The popular belief of the purpose of confining animals to small cages is to increase the fattiness of the meat. Now, consider this in relation to how much you move around and how much activity you get per day.
I was going to compare working in a cube-farm (workplaces filled with compartments called cubicles) to foie gras, but after doing a little research, the practice no longer confines the ducks to tiny little cages and we (the average worker) do get to move around for breaks, lunch, and going home daily. Additionally duck’s livers are huge and fatty regardless of this change.
I still feel that eating without expending energy through activity, is likely produce a similar situation to that of the making of foie gras. Example: working in a cube-farm, then going home to be a couch-potato. There is plenty of research and many statements that tell you to work out and eat a healthy diet, but not a lot of statements about what it does to our internal organs, compared to… say what happens to farm animals that get lots of rich food and don’t get out much. I would like to know, yay or nay, one way or another, but I highly suspect that poor eating and lack of exercise is very bad for us AND is reflected in the health of our internal organs, as well as our appearance (which is a far secondary concern to me).
I would like to encourage anyone who can, to replace your personal computer desk with one that offers the ability to stand or sit: preferably one that allows you to slide a treadmill up to it or alternatively a bicycle or elliptical machine. For those who don’t sit in front of their computer a lot, perhaps the same equipment set behind your couch or recliner would be beneficial.
I plan to get one or two as soon as I can afford it.
Which reminds me (tapping watch) time to go for a walk.
Reasoning with Yourself is Not always an Easy Task!
Do you ever set goals for yourself, with a full intention of following through and find yourself distinctly unwilling to take the steps necessary in order to succeed, when it comes time to take those steps or doing things that undermine your goals? The problem is that the psyche is complicated, yet simple, and a bit contrary at times. If those terms don’t like they belong together in a sentence, then here are a few concepts and thoughts that might help to understand the situation:
Freudian Principle: The ID, the Ego, and the Super Ego
The ID: The childish whimsy of “I want”.
The Ego: The decision-maker.
The Super-Ego: The conscience, the nagger, or a person’s ability to tell right from wrong.
Alternatively:
You might also think of these concepts as the head, the heart, and the gut.
The Heart: The ID. Still the whimsy of wants and needs, but also concern for friends and family.
The Head: The Ego. Again, the thinker and decision-maker.
The Gut: The Super-Ego. Instinct or knowledge of a situation beyond the immediately apparent.
The writer of an article I recently read thinks that the sense of “self” is the ID or the childish whimsy of “I want”, with the ID and Super-Ego hanging out mostly in the background. This mostly agrees with Freud’s theory, which further states that most of a person’s psyche is unconscious thought. While I agree that the psyche appears to work along Freud’s concept of ID, Ego, and Super-Ego, I disagree with the writer of the above article, in that the ID cannot be reasoned with. I also do not believe that the average person’s ID is their sense of self. Here is my thought on it.
While the average person thinks of the Ego as the “Self,” because it is the decision-maker. In reality the “self” consists of all three psychic parts. If you have a problem with carrying through on a goal that you set for yourself, then these parts of your ego are out of concert. Which means that you have not convinced yourself, on all levels, of the necessity to complete the steps in your goal. Additionally, it isn’t necessarily true that the ID childishly (as some people assert) does not want to take care of a problem. It may be either the ID or Super-Ego that is being contrary, but not necessarily disagreeing about the goal. The discord may simply be in how you plan to accomplish your goal.
How do you deal with it, when a part of your own consciousness has openly rejected something that you know you need to do? You do the same thing you do when your mind and body are silently rejecting your goals (often by undermining your efforts). You have to find a way to resolve the conflict. To do this, you first have to determine what the conflict is.
You cannot reach your goals, because (for some reason) you are distressed and your psyche (one or more parts) disagrees with you about how to resolve the problem. The heart of the matter though, is that distress means an unhappy stress and you need to find a way to resolve that unhappiness. This isn’t always readily possible, because the source of the problem is how you earn your income or someone in your family has a problem that you have no control over, or a whole host of other possible inconveniently irredeemable issues, which could be distressing you. The problem may also not be readily apparent. How do you deal with it, when resolving the actual problem is not immediately possible or beyond your control? At this point, it is time to have a serious, sit down talk with yourself. How you do this depends upon you. I like to take a walk, run, or do martial arts, while I consider the situation or write it out in an article like this one, where I hash out the pros and cons of every angle of the situation that I can think of. The bottom line here is that it is time to be honest with yourself about your situation.
First, you have to recognize and accept what you do not have control over. I can present evidence and my opinions to the people I care about or someone in a position authority over a situation, but in the final analysis, they are responsible for their own actions and behaviors and I am responsible only for my own and what I have direct control over. Then, take in a deep breath and let go of the stress related to the thing you cannot control, as you breath out. This takes a while to learn how to do (much meditation). Second, I determine what (within your realm of influence) you are responsible for and have control of.
Example: Why am I not losing weight, even when I exercise regularly or eating right? Why do some “diets” work, while others fail, even though they work for others? It could easily be that you are literally fighting yourself.
The human body happens to be a walking chemical lab, creating its own pharmaceuticals (drugs) as it feels it needs them. If that statement sounds like it comes out of nowhere, it really doesn’t. If exercise and dieting create unhappy stress (distress) for you, then this triggers your body to produce chemicals that hinder your body’s ability to lose weight. Current popular belief states that Cortisol is the culprit in weight gain, because it tells your body to store fat, and this may be so (perhaps time and further research will tell). There are a lot of theories about how to reduce cortisol out there, *most of them telling you to buy their product. If what you are doing, in order to reduce weight, is not working, then you are likely doing something that is not reducing your stress. It might in fact be increasing your distress.
Then there are instances, when it is time to complete that task and I simply feel myself digging in and feeling that “I DON’T WANT TO” sensation, which means that my ID has stepped out of the shadows and loudly stated its rejection of my goal. The Super-Ego is “usually” a bit more quietly insistent in its wants and needs.
Resolving the Conflict:
I find that for me to get behind a goal I need at least three good or strong reasons to do so. Conversely, if I am not accomplishing a goal, there may likewise be three good or strong reasons that are preventing me from completing that goal. If you do not think that there are so many reasons for you to do or not do something, this may be so or it may be that you just haven’t taken the time to think about it. So let’s have my little talk and see how it works.
Example of a Sit Down Talk:
The Problem: I’m overweight and having trouble with accomplishing my exercise goals and with losing weight.
The Obstacle or Sticking Point: I am coming up with pseudo important things to do or I am outright unwilling to exercise when it is time to exercise.
Example: I want to work out and lose weight. I have a plan. I set a date and time. I have a schedule, but I always seem to find something more urgent to do or something that needs done, which takes precedence over my goal to work out.
Influencing Factors (Good or Strong Con Reasons {inhibiting or against reasons}):
- Exercise is painful to me anymore, so it gives me little joy and therefore increases my distress.
- I have no one to work out with who can make the experience more enjoyable, encourage me, and maybe help me keep on track in spite of myself.
- I see little to no improvement, when I control my diet (trying to eat healthy, not all those fad diets) and or exercise.
- Exercising in front of people, especially in popular exercise outfits, is embarrassing and stressful, because being overweight does not look good. Okay, this one I have to recognize as a Pro and a Con.
- Some people, wittingly or unwittingly, provide me with opportunities to derail myself.
Influencing Factors (Good or Strong Pro Reasons {positive or for reasons}):
- Being overweight is unhealthy and the longer people are overweight, the more unhealthy they or I get. This includes hypertension, diabetes, and so on, which lead to even worse and potentially fatal health issues.
- Weight loss doesn’t happen overnight. Weight loss requires “Life Changes,” including how long you spend on sedentary tasks, how you exercise, how much you exercise, what and how much you eat, and joy or happiness in your weight loss activities and in your life. In other words, it takes effort over the long term along with a dedication to the idea of weight loss, which is a conscious determination and an unconscious willingness, in order to make progress.
- Being overweight feels bad, slows you down, makes it hard to move with grace or ease, and makes you look bad (to yourself and possibly to others).
- If being overweight is embarrassing, it is all the more reason to exercise, perhaps just not in large groups at first or come to the realization that the people working out with you are there for the same reason you are, because they are unhappy with their weight or realize that the only way to keep themselves in good shape and looking good is to exercise; therefore, if they are laughing about how you look and make you the source of their amusement, they are mean-hearted, vindictive, and spiteful individuals who are not worthy of your company.
- Temptations can be overcome:
Cookies, cakes, and such are tempting, along with overeating. Get the temptations out of the house, learn to say “No Thank You,” & mean it (recognize that it is a derailer, not a treat). Get some treats into the house that are healthy, perhaps some that might go bad quickly (perishable) but definitely other items that have a good shelf-life.
Examples: Ready-to-Eat nibblers, such as precut fruits and vegetables in the fridge along with fresh fruit and nuts on the table.
I recognize the preponderance of weight (value) for the pro versus con reasons.
Ok. I cannot simply kick my husband out, just because he offers me tasty treats that derail my goals. Quitting my job, which is often a point of stress for people, but is an overall stressor and are not directly related to this issue and might provide a temporary satisfaction but would create even more problems if I did not already have another job lined up. So, since I have decided against doing something rash and not helpful in the long run, I need to look at resolving the conflicts that I have a little more control over and have a little more relation to the issue. Since I obviously want to lose weight, what is the crux of the problem? While facing each item on the Con list items is often necessary, sometimes just one of those items will make each or some of the other items harder to deal with. So, what can I take away (remove) from the Con list that improves my chances for meeting my goals? Looking over my itemized list, “Pain in Exercise” pops out rather glaringly. So now I know. Now that I know, what I do with that knowledge? I know that I have to cut out the exercises that cause me more pain than enjoyment or do them in a less intense way than I might want, such as walking instead of running. I know that the more I exercise the more likely I will be to lose weight, but if I work out too intensely or for too long, it leads back to pain, adding a dose of boredom, which takes away any enjoyment I might gain from the activity and take me right back to the stress that is unhelpful in losing weight. Keep in mind that the more weight I lose, the less pain I might feel when exercising and conversely the more weight I gain, the more it will likely hurt to exercise. Just one more of those cause and consequence loops that makes life so interesting.
Now, when coming up with your Pro list, you really should come up with a Pro item that counteracts or contradicts each of the items on the Con list. It really helps in convincing each facet of the psyche (back to the ID, Ego, and Super-Ego).
Side-by-Side Comparative Analysis: (The Short List)
Con | Pro |
1. Pain in exercise. | Find Workarounds. Example: low impact exercise and low impact sports. Use ice, massage, and heat as indicated. Keep in mind that losing weight makes exercise and movement less painful and thus makes it easier to work out. |
2. Lack of Improvement | There is no magic wand for weight loss. It takes effort over the long term, along with a dedication to the idea of weight loss, which is the conscious determination and unconscious willingness, in order to make progress. |
3. Lack of Support | Find a support group or do something along with exercise to make it enjoyable. Example: listen to music or take classes, such as dance or martial arts. |
4. Distractions and Derailers | Get the temptations out of the house, learn to say “No Thank You,” & mean it, and keep healthy snacks in the house. Examples: Ready-to-Eat nibblers, such as precut fruits and vegetables in the fridge along with fresh fruit and nuts on the table. |
5. Increased Stress & Lack of Enjoyment in exercise | See Items 1-4 & 6 |
6. Embarrassment in Exercise | Find a workout outfit, which you look and feel comfortable in. Recognize that the people who would ridicule you for attempting to improve yourself, are not worthy of worrying about, in what they think of you. |
So I think I have covered just about everything pretty thoroughly except for acceptable workout outfits. That means acceptable to me, when talking about myself or acceptable to you, when you think about this in relation to yourself. For me, an acceptable workout outfit would be either a leotard and shorts or skirt. Alternatively, a light pair of workout pants and a T-shirt that closely resemble sweats, but thin. Not so thin that you end up being able to see dark underwear through them, but not so thick that they could cause overheating in a gym or in the summer. Sweats are best in cool to cold weather, because if you heat up too quickly you will overheat and there went your plan to get in a goodly bout of exercise. Bearing this in mind, please remember to stay hydrated, when you exercise.
One last look at happiness and joy. You will notice that I mentioned them several times in this article. The lack of these in your life leads to increased stress and distress. If you have a preponderance of stress and distress over happiness and joy in your life as a whole, all the happy exercise in the world might not help you. I highly recommend you make the same chart that I made above, regarding your life’s happinesses and stresses, then try to identify methods and activities you can do to remediate or resolve the problem.
Now, if sitting down and talking to yourself does not help you, because admit it, sometimes we just refuse to listen to ourselves or the people closest to us (such as parents, siblings, and spouses, and our children {if we have them}), it is time to find someone to talk to who you trust and admire, who will give you advice that you will listen to. I may end up being the same advice you gave yourself, but sometimes we just need that affirmation.
I hope this finds you well and inspires you to take a fresh look at the goals you might have been having trouble with. Please share this article with others if you think it might prove useful to them or other people they know. If you want to let me know you like this article and want more in the future, please go to my website and Like it there.
Good Luck in your honest endeavors and Good Day to you all.
Remediate: A solution that does not actually solve a problem, but does reduce its chances of occurring or its impact if it does occur.
Smidgen: small or tiny amount.
On Freud
I do not recommend every concept attributed to Freud. I have not yet found direct articles written by Freud, only articles written by others, which tend to contradict each other. Many of which lead me to believe that he had a few fixations of his own and was married to the concept that all psychic issues stemmed from a childhood trauma (at least at one time), completely disregarding the possibility that a person might have a perfectly decent childhood and have a traumatic incident in adulthood. Yet other articles contradict some of those notions or imply that he later changed his stance. Here are two articles that portray differing opinions on Freud; one and two. Please remember that it is always best to go to the source, when making judgements about a person or their character.
Though I do grant that having a traumatic childhood or a traumatic childhood event can, without guidance from peers, parents, or counselors, cause a person to be less able to deal with life’s later demands, they can also make a person much more capable of dealing with life’s demands. It all depends upon the individual and how they sort and process a situation within their own mind.
I believe that Freud came up with a lot of important and relevant notions related to psychology, but I also believe he came up with a lot of quackery or someone took some of his theories and turned them into quackeries. I would probably have to review all of his original works to have a smidgen of a clue.
On People with an Agenda
Be wary of people who tell you something, when they have an agenda, such as the acquisition of money or power. It does not mean they are lying about everything or even lying at all, but it may mean that they may twist the facts to suit their purposes. Though not everyone who is trying to sell you something is trying to do so purely for their own benefit. Be aware and wary, but please try to keep an open mind. For example: In this article I am trying to sell you and on the idea that you can be the master of your own fate by taking a closer look at your situation. Not a bad goal I trust and I hope you will agree.
I feel that the English language is a fairly robust language, being a blend of multiple other languages and because of its versatility in being able to incorporate terms from other languages. I feel that this is largely because of its Latin and Greek roots (especially their roots and prefixes). The roots and prefixes provided by the Latin and Greek languages allows most words to be modified to alter the use of the words, such as using past tense and future tense. Example: abjure – give up, throw away, or reject: especially related to belief(s). This example uses ab, which is a Latin prefix that means away from.
I am one of those people who LOVE the English language. Yes, this statement makes many people look at me as if I am a bit crazy, but I really don’t care. I enjoy the grammar jokes, just as much as I enjoy techie jokes.
I would like to help other people come to realize why I like the English language so much and come to be as good using it as I am, preferably better. No, I am not perfect at using the English language. I still consider myself to be a student… considering how many words are in it and how many are still being added, I expect I will be a student forever. I do not consider this as a bad thing. I view it as I would any work of art in nature: a thing of beauty, which is ever-changing. I am, however, fairly proficient and always seeking improvement.
I will keep a compiled list of terms that I feel are essential in conveying meaning within the English language (but, which I feel might be a bit under-used) and which I happen to use in my articles, along with a short, possibly more clarifying definition than you will find in a dictionary. Example shown below:
- Ab: away from
- Abjure: give up, throw away, or reject: especially related to belief(s).
- Constructive Criticism: A recommendation for improving a situation or process and possibly for preventing future problems of the same or similar nature.
- Jure: right, fair, or reasonable. Used in relation to judgements, law, jurors, and jury: abjure and de jure.
- Proficient: competent or skilled.
- Side Note: People who are proficient at something can still make gross errors and mistakes. Correction by people who care about that person should be appreciated and welcome (as long as it is polite and delivered with concern for the individual and the subject matter {though laughter and ribbing are sometimes acceptable for some mistakes, especially from dear friends}). Even better than a correction is a constructive criticism.
If you see an under-used term that I have used in my articles, but haven’t added to the list, please let me know and I will fix it.
Within the topic of Education I plan to include education tips, hints, and recommendations.
Here is my first example:
The learning methods break down into the concepts of See, Hear, and Do. I advocate using all the methods possible to get the maximum learning experience. I would compare this to keeping at least three solid points of contact at all times, while climbing a cliff face (without a rope).
See It: Watching someone else do something.
Hear it: Listening to someone describe, define, or teach a topic.
Do It:
- Doing a task, while someone explains how it’s done or shows you how to do it.
- Doing a task, while doing research through: books, interviewing experienced people (everyday anybodies and pros), video tutorials, and web articles.
- Doing a task through trial and error, using experimentation: preferably scientific experimentation (logging trials, errors, and successes) and improvements.
Rote: My grandmother’s mantra was: read, recite, review, repeat. This is the rote method of learning, which depends upon *dinning the material into a person’s head until it sticks.
Critical Thinking or Meaningful Learning: Encourages students to understand concepts so that the information transfers to other situations and purposes, rather than only within a specific scenario.
Everyone has a learning method that is best for them, whether listening to someone teach, reading, copying, editing the material, or a combination of these methods.
My recommendation
If I am going to learn by rote, my mantra is: read, recite, write, review, repeat. Writing the material that I am trying to learn gives me a chance to edit the material, thus ensuring that I look up unfamiliar terms and rewrite the material in a format that makes more sense to me and allows me to better understand it. Using this editing method ensures that even rote learning is more useful to me than it would be if I stuck to traditional rote learning, because if I understand a concept it sticks with me for far longer than simply memorizing data.
Traditional Teaching: Uses “Hear It”, “See It”, and “Do It” by having the teacher instruct the students, while writing on a blackboard/white board/overhead projector, and requesting the student to take notes, then encourages the student to think about the topic by asking them questions and asking them to ask their own questions. The best teachers encourage the student to consider how a topic fits into real world situations.
- Rote & Din: Forced learning, by constant repetition. Example: Dinning it into your head (visual graphic – imagine hitting yourself over the head with a book.
- Note: The reality of the example would be useless. It is simply a simile or comparison. A metaphorical example does not expect you to take the example literally.
A lot of us have been that person up in front of everyone, stressed out… pulling at the collar of our shirt, sweating bullets, and hoping we can do a good job, but so stressed out that we stumble around, regardless of how well we know our subject. No one really wants to be that person who stresses out in front of everyone. We all want to do our best, and we really don’t want to look incompetent, when we’re really just nervous. Video tutorials are the absolute best method for getting practice at public speaking, because we don’t have to show the parts where we stumble, we get a chance to see what we look like before the viewer does, and we can use this medium to train ourselves out of bad habits, while we learn to relax.
Unfortunately, a lot of people who are doing tutorials are not taking best advantage of this feature. Here are my recommendations to improving a video tutorial, so that you can “Look Like a PRO”. The more you practice at it, I promise, the easier it will be to do it with less and less editing.
- Remove Dead Air, mistakes, and nervous chatter:
- Cut sections of dead air. Dead air is very boring, it lends to an uncomfortable and stressed out instructor, it takes unnecessary viewer time, and provides no training benefit.
- Example: Cut download wait times by simply announcing how long it took after the cutout section. Example: After making the appropriate selections… “Ok, starting download of X. I’ll be back when it’s done. … Welcome back, that took x minutes.”
- Remove the sections where it doesn’t work right, such as the part where the install file didn’t run, and you realized you had to run it again using admin rights. At this point, start over from the “last known good” point in the video and simply state something like… “and this part requires admin rights, so right click on the file and select ‘Run as Admin’.”
- Remove nervous chatter, to include UM, UH, YEAH, and off-topic/agitated commentary, which does not lend well to public speaking or providing instruction/teaching. Nervous chatter makes the speaker appear to not know what he/she is talking about; regardless of the speaker’s knowledge base or skill level.
- Cut sections of dead air. Dead air is very boring, it lends to an uncomfortable and stressed out instructor, it takes unnecessary viewer time, and provides no training benefit.
- Text Log:
- Keep a log to the right or left of what you are doing, which shows the *concise* instructions in text.
- Example: To clear cookies and temp files from the IE (Internet Explorer) browser:
- Keep a log to the right or left of what you are doing, which shows the *concise* instructions in text.
IE: Clear Cookies and Temp Files
– In IE > Tools > Internet Options > General tab > Browsing History > Delete > Select preferred delete items (items 2 & 3 at a minimum) > Delete > OK.
Note1: Keeping a text log on screen allows distracted users, such as myself, to know that we have/haven’t missed something important, so that we don’t backtrack unnecessarily.
Note2: An additional benefit of keeping this text log is that it helps keep the speaker on-topic. It also provides the instructor with a downloadable take-away instruction for the viewer.
These are my recommendations; I hope they help.
PS: Some of these instructions also apply very well to public speaking.
Have you ever received the error that states your file’s name is too long? Whether when saving a file, renaming it, or moving it, this error is sometimes hard to understand the reasoning behind it.
Cause: A file’s name can only be 256 characters long. Sounds like a lot… well it isn’t, when consider all that goes into a file’s name.
Okay, so how does a 3 character file name break this limit? The file’s name includes every folder above it in the file tree.
This list of characters precedes every file in your documents folder:
The tree looks like this:
- C:\
- users
- user.name
- my documents
- documents
- my documents
- user.name
- users
- documents is a sub folder to my documents (as shown above).
or this:
C:\users\user.name\my documents\documents\
That is at least 26 characters, not including your user.name, which totally depends on what you picked for your username.
Then you have to include the names of all the folders that you use to keep your files organized in, such as:
my awesome trip to Hawaii\daily documentary\day one of my adventure….
Then one day you might decide to move a perfectly fine length name to a sub-folder under Archived Adventures\The Ongoing Saga\2010 a Year in Review\ and the additional upper echelon folders causes the problem.
You get the idea. It doesn’t take long to trip the 256 character limit, especially at work, when you have to keep your files under your organization name\office name\special project name\version name\etc. and most especially when people like to make these folder names excessively descriptive.
Solution: Use acronyms or very short, preferably one word description names.
Example:
- c:\users\user.name\my documents\documents\federal government\department of health and human services\food stamps application\requestorname.docx
- c:\users\user.name\my documents\documents\Fed\HHS\FS App\reqname.docx
This method gives you much more leeway in the file’s actual name. You simply have to remember to keep a document that defines the acronyms to train new employees\users and as a reminder for existing employees\users.
We love them, we hate them, but even on their worst day, who wants to go back to using pen and paper or a typewriter with its 3 carbon copies?
Under this topic we will discuss computers, their use, abuse, useful techniques, repair tips, and coding.
Under the “Use” topic we will attempt to demystify and clarify the inner workings of computers, debunk disinformation, and discuss how to get the most out of our computers.
- Disinformation: False information, disseminated with good or bad intentions.
If you choose to do something, you have done it by commission. If you choose to not do something, you have avoided that thing or omitted it, which is omission. It is sometimes difficult to know ahead of time, which is the best choice. Sometimes the result of the choice is good and sometimes it is not so good. Regardless of your choice, you are responsible for the outcome.
Example: I see someone shoplifting. If I report it, I have a clear conscience. If I do not report it, I am equally responsible as the thief, for the price hike that the business has to apply to make up the price of the stolen goods. There are a number of other possible repercussions on both sides of that gate, but I will cover that in another article.
These choices are generally based on a person’s beliefs in what they believe to be right and wrong or the chance of personal gain. Often though people make decisions based on what they feel others will think of their decisions. When a person makes bad decisions because the people they spend time with, this is called “hanging with the wrong crowd.”
I prefer to surround myself with those who acknowledge their flaws and failures (whether to themselves or to anyone willing to listen) and who actively work to improve themselves, than associate myself with anyone who repeatedly makes the same errors (of omission or commission), with no true remorse. It might also keep me out of jail. Unfortunately, no amount of admissions or apologies makes a bit of difference to the beauty or ugliness of a person’s soul. True contrition (a deep feeling of responsibility and regret), along with an attempt to make amends and prevent a repetition, will assist in preventing the souring of a person’s heart.
- Insanity: mentally ill or irrational.
- Doing the same thing repeatedly, while expecting a different result. – Albert Einstein
- Absolution: Forgiveness, whether by God or some person.
The procrastinator’s mantra: I can do it tomorrow! The problem is, that tomorrow never comes. Tomorrow is always tomorrow, while today I am having far too much fun doing… whatever else it is that catches my flighty interest.
Procrastination or the lack thereof is the dividing line between the successful and the mediocre. You can literally finish that sentence in a number of different ways: in this life, in this world, in business, in trade, and so on ad nauseam. A truly successful person, however, such as a leader in the business industry requires a little more oomph than simply not procrastinating. That type of individual does not wait for opportunities, they make their own opportunities. This is off topic and I will come back to this in another article, but it points out the vast gulf of difference between where a procrastinator is and where most people would like to be. You cannot simply wait to win the lottery, before aspiring to your dreams. You have to start with taking care of the little things and the big things that require your attention, daily. Call it practice.
If you can manage to take care of business (personal or otherwise) regularly and practice taking care of things as they present themselves to you, it becomes possible to see and act on those limited time opportunities of a lifetime (No, I am not talking about the frauds who use that phrase to hook you in).
For some very good thoughts on procrastination, go to Good Reads: Quotes about Procrastination.
I particularly like this quote, as it dovetails so nicely with the point I am trying to make above:
“Success is not obtained overnight. It comes in installments; you get a little bit today, a little bit tomorrow until the whole package is given out. The day you procrastinate, you lose that day’s success.”
I am as guilty as the next person of procrastination. I think it is likely one of the easiest sins of omission a person can commit. It is also a creeping thief. Take this for an example:
Imagine you didn’t do your laundry this week, forgot to vacuum the carpet, and didn’t wash the dishes for several days in a row.
Ok, the vacuuming doesn’t get any harder for you to do, if you leave it for a few weeks, but the dirt gets ground into the carpet and becomes impossible to get back out. If you continue on this course, it eventually makes the carpet’s filth noticeable, grimy, and disgusting; no matter how much and how you try to clean it. Don’t forget, dirt eventually gets under the carpet, which will destroy the carpet, the padding (if it has padding), and the floor underneath it.
The dishes and the laundry, however, are another (even more disgusting) story. The dirt (and other things) found in laundry and on dishes that have been left to sit unattended includes microbes, germs, bacteria, viruses, molds, and mildews, along with all the other larger critters that take advantage of our negligence, such as ants, cockroaches, silverfish, mice, rats, etc.
The longer you go without doing these chores, the harder and longer the job becomes, until it seems the best course would be to simply bulldoze everything and start again.
Here is an article that defines The 6 Different Types of Procrastinators – Find Your Type &We’ll Show You How To Fix It.
Though I would title “The Worrier” as “The Overwhelmed or It’s Too Hard!” and the subtitles to “Many tasks seem risky, unnecessary, or too hard.” and “It’s easier to stay in my comfort zone and avoid change.”
I hope this finds you well and encourages you to defeat your procrastination demons as I hope it helps me with my own! Good Luck!
- No, the attached picture is NOT my house and I’m not telling who it does belong to.
I like the idea of everyone serving a minimum of two years. It would serve multiple purposes.
- Everyone would be able to claim work experience.
- People would lose the unrealistic notion that weapons somehow jump off the shelf and are dangerous all on their own.
- If everyone started out as a Private/E-1, the military would be able to pick from the best of them for those who wanted to go on to be officers.
- Everyone would learn proper weapon’s safety. The biggest rules of which are:
- Never point a weapon at someone unless you intend to use it (Don’t play with guns, knives, etc.).
- Panic solves no problems, ever!
- If you are in a life threatening situation, don’t drop your weapon until it is certain that the threat has been cleared (and don’t drop it anyway… it is disrespectful to your equipment).
Do you agree or disagree? Please give a reason for your position and/or additional reasons for having mandatory military service.
“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” – Lord Acton 1887
“Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it” – William Pitt the Elder, Earl of Chatham and British Prime Minister 1770
Yet people who get into power keep trying for that absolute power…. Why is that? (No, I’m not trying to say they all do it.) Perhaps part of the problem is that someone who goes for that position either wants to solve problems or craves power. It isn’t even close to a 50/50 situation, but it only takes one really nasty person to ruin life for everyone and the reputations of a lot of other honest people.
- Drawn from the hat (computer generated random pick).
- Limited time job.
- You can’t give yourself a raise or a stupendous pension (though a prorated amount based on the time spent doing the duty would be just and fair).
- You are responsible for your behavior the same way everyone else is.
- You can only do it so many times in your life (for example: No more than three terms regardless of the office held).
Well, obviously the person who commits a crime is responsible for his or her actions. There are, however, other people who hold some to equal responsibility for the commission of a crime, as those who committed the act.
A person who witnesses a crime or who has certain knowledge of a crime and does not report it is responsible for that crime and every other crime that person commits thereafter, because of their failure to report it. It is called aiding and abetting. If that person reports it, but that individual gets away or is not found guilty (through no fault of the witness), the witness is relieved of responsibility for that criminal’s actions.
Fictional example: Spiderman witnesses the crime in action of the man who later kills his uncle.
Seriously, it can be that simple. It is more than possible for you to witness the criminal activities of an individual who later causes harm to you or a family member. If this happens and you fail to report it, you have to live with that guilt.
Does that mean that you should report someone, because you think they look like they did something wrong? Probably not. People often wear a guilty expression on their faces for a sundry of reasons that may have nothing to do with a crime or criminal intent, such as forgetting to take out the trash. Now, if they react guiltily to mention of a criminal act, that is something else again.
If you intend to report someone on suspicion of a crime, do you say… “that person did it!”? No, you report the facts only and don’t make something up. If the wrong person is put away, because you made something up, you are again guilty of aiding and abetting the crimes of the actual perpetrator from that moment on (though not the original crime if you were not a witness to it).
Well what if that person threatens you or your family? Such a threat is a serious reason for concern. If you let that person get away with it, even if you never tell a soul, you and your family remain in danger every day. Even if that person goes to jail because of some other reason, you and your family could be in danger and you have the added joy of living in fear and guilt. Far better to turn them in, get them off the street, and hope they keep them there forever. Though in such a case it might be prudent to find a job elsewhere.
What about the fear of being called a stoolie, stool pigeon, nark, squealer, or whatever other nifty name they can come up with? Who benefits from intimidating people with these “names” and threats of retaliation? The criminal element, that’s who. Who benefits from keeping children ignorant of their rights to an education, the ability to earn a living, and the right to a better life? The criminal element… and those politicians who seek to benefit from the frenzy of an uneducated mob (oh wait… again, part of the criminal element).
Who benefits from people who are afraid? Bad people.
If you hang out with people who are concerned with or worried that people might “nark” on them, they are probably not the best people to spend time with. Concerned that no one else will give you the time of day? Well, it is likely because of the kind of people you run with. Of course it could be that you’ve made yourself frightening to look upon in some other way, but most people can make friends, even if they were born with an *ugly mug, once people get to know them by their actions, reactions, deeds, etc.
* Beauty is only skin deep. Beauty lasts only a short time, but personality endures. No one wants to spend time with a spiteful and vindictive person, but everyone wants to spend time with a beautiful soul.
The psychology of *man is no easy or quick study. Many an acclaimed and lauded individual gained credit for great thinking, by ascribing their own thoughts or behaviors (or the behaviors of a limited population) to all of mankind. This is an easy trap to fall into, so please do not view these people too harshly. The same issue occurs in the realms of science, the study of medicine, and other such disciplines by individuals ascribing the attributes of a limited group or population to the entirety of mankind or a discipline of study.
Another pitfall is the attempt to judge people from another time or country with current or local expectations of a standard of “normal” or “right” behavior.
Example:
Christopher Columbus owned slaves. The view of this behavior by today’s standards holds this behavior or activity as abhorrent and inhumane, yet it was not only accepted, but an expected practice during his lifetime.
☼ Man – Short for mankind, human, or homo-sapiens, the male or female of the species.
☼ Psychology: The study of the behavior of living organisms: the interactions of mind and body, the effects of ingested and absorbed substances on the mind and body, how an individual acts/reacts, and how a group acts/reacts.
+ Psychology cannot truly be called a science, because we simply do not know enough about the subject, as of yet.
A number of writing traits are irritating and distracting to a reader; however, the content of some stories does offset these sins and some authors are good enough writers that these problems are less noticeable. Even so, it is advisable to avoid these issues.
1. Preaching and Sermonizing.
It is understandable that a writer have a theme or moral to a story, as it would not be worth reading or hearing otherwise. It is not understandable for a writer to get up on the pulpit or soapbox and beat the reader about the head and shoulders in lengthy, out of place (misplaced), or repeated moralizing; especially when not saying anything new.
For example:
Among a number of stories, that I dearly love, regardless of the sin of excessive sermonizing, are Jean Johnson’s The Sons of Destiny series and Terry Goodkind’s The Sword of Truth series. When the reader skips several pages, because he or she read it earlier in the same book, it is not a good sign. Jean only does a few sentences (finding several ways to say the same thing), while Terry does paragraphs to pages of sermonizing at least once in every book. I forgive them both, because the storyline is interesting, inspiring, and innovative; in each case.
2. Spelling and grammar errors.
The trend of self-publishing produces many books that are not properly edited. Such professional editing prior to publishing is likely more expensive than the average person can afford; however, after a publication has reached a certain level of success, there is no real excuse for not getting the story properly edited and republished. Of course, even a well-edited story ends up with a few errors.
For example:
Whispering is a very quietly spoken comment or conversation.
Wispering is not a word, but could evoke the imagery of a conjuror creating or summoning a wisp.
3. The word or phrase of the week.
Occasionally an author fixates on a word or phrase and uses it repeatedly, without consideration for finding other methods of getting the point across, such as using a thesaurus to find other words that have the same or a similar meaning. This is especially noticeable and horrific, when the word is misspelled. The mind expects to see a higher percentage of certain words, such as of, the, and, while, and said. Special circumstances increase the probability of other types of words, such as when traveling an increase in the navigation terms over, under, through, around, between, near, and far. Start repeating an uncommon term an undue number of times in a story and the word begins to lose its punch and flavor.
For example:
Supposing, spelled incorrectly as supossing is very conspicuous. Repeat this word 50 times in a novel and the reader will notice it and could get annoyed. Misspell this repeated word that many times and the reader could throw the book down in disgust, even if it is the only mistake in the book.
4. Circling the Drain or Hanging out on the Event Horizon of a Black Hole.
Circling the drain is where the author seems to have mislaid or forgotten how the story was supposed to end. Alternatively, it is a failure to get to the point before losing the reader’s interest or annoying the reader beyond redemption. It is rather comparable to watching a TV show, where you reach the climax of the story and it cuts to commercial for the next five hours.
For example:
Dragonball Z takes several episodes to complete a single fight scene (each fighter might make a challenging statement and make one or two attacks along with much posing and muscle flexing. Bleach takes numerous side-trips that add to the story (eventually), but take the audience away from the story, just as it seems to be getting to a climax. There are more appropriate and less annoying moments to take side-jaunts that build up the story and stretch it out.
Do we think about history, social mores and pressures, themes, or the moral of the story when we read a book? Possibly not, but these are some of the driving forces behind the writing of a story and what makes a story interesting enough to read or listen to. What is the difference between a story that the average populace puts down, never to be read again, after the first few pages to a chapter and a story that the average populace reads from cover to cover without much thought to eating, sleeping, or taking necessary breaks? A story that was extremely popular a hundred years ago might not be more than an interesting blast from the past if read today.
Stories that continue to be relevant regardless of the timeframe discuss themes that affect people regardless of the era. Popular topics that continue as interesting beyond their era of origin include family and family ties, survival (farming, ranching, wilderness, etc.), and striving against stacked odds. These topics are interesting, because people relate to them regardless of when they occurred or will occur (Fantasy & Sci-Fi).
One of my favorite stories highlights a number of these topics (family and family ties, survival, and striving against stacked odds) and was written by Alan Dean Foster. Flinx had no memory, no family, and no records of his history. The Adventures of Pip and Flinx takes this child from boyhood to man on a quest to find his place and his identity. The story is rife with surprises and displays characters of depth and passion. Some of these characters are good people with integrity and others are hate-filled and bigoted.
These stories include scenes with violence and death. If you are a young person still living with your parents, you should ask them to review these stories, before reading them. Why do I recommend these stories, even for young impressionable people? Because life is filled with good and bad people. We should be thankful for the good people and prepared to defend ourselves from those who are not. If children are not exposed to thoughts of terrible situations and the notion that considering possible methods of dealing with them, when they are young, they will not have the versatility of mind or the fortitude required to deal with them. These stories are also very well written, with characters who have personality and who show care for more than self interest.
I used to hate writing book reports, primarily because I did not see a point to writing something that no one but a single teacher would ever see. Yet I have come to believe strongly in the power of words and the value of presenting a differing viewpoint. So many voices out there advocate an ideology that I find to be anti-survival, that I have to wonder about their priorities and purpose. It also distresses me that children taught to not defend themselves, eventually and logically snap. No, this result is not acceptable, just inevitable. You cannot teach a child to submit to eternal torment, without expecting them to eventually lose it. Bullies pick on VICTIMS. More on this topic in Bullies and Other Abusers.
So, aside from that side-jaunt, I plan to recommend reading material (stories) that I truly enjoy and provide book reports that cover, not only the basic theme of the story, but also the moral or ethical value of the story (which often ends up being multiple morals per story).
The Adventures of Pip & Flinx stories by Alan Dean Foster, in order are:
- For Love of Mother Not
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- The Tar-Aiym Krang
- The Orphan Star
- The End of the Matter
- Flinx in Flux
- Mid Flinx
- Reunion
- Flinx’s Folly
- Sliding Scales
- Running from the Deity
- Bloodhype
- Trouble Magnet
- Patrimony
- Flinx Transcendent
Foot Fungus: Home Remedy
My father successfully used this method to rid himself of a terrible case of foot fungus (open sores and all). The doctor told him that he had 7 different kinds of Athletes Foot. This was in the early 1950’s and he had tried all other treatments of the day. He tried this method in desperation. He stated that he figured that since bleach kills just about anything, it should work… and it did work.
Take two containers (large enough for one foot to fit into), fill them both with just enough water to cover the foot. Hold one foot over the first container, while pouring Clorox bleach over it until the pain is too much. Put the foot into the (now) bleach water, until that becomes too painful. Move the foot to the clean water to rinse, then dry the foot. Repeat this process for the other foot (if it is also affected). Repeat this activity once daily until the sores are gone.
Consider also that he wore white socks that were washed in bleach and which he changed daily. Foot fungus transfers and resides well in moist warm locations, such as bathrooms, shoes, and socks. To prevent a reoccurrence, it is highly recommended to clean these items well or replace them (as appropriate), keep your feet dry, change your socks daily, and wear shower shoes in public showers.
WebMD has a description of several types of foot fungus, common treatment information, and recommendations for prevention.
This month I have been a little distracted by research. I have been trying to expand my repertoire of knowledge about programming/coding/web development.
If you are interested in learning to program or code, here are a few of the sites that I have recently been visiting:
What is a split end? A split end is found on broken hair, where the broken end of the hair splits lengthwise into two or more fractured ends.
Split ends result in hard to manage hair and are the result of badly managed hair. Many people hack their hair off in despair, because of split ends. This is because split ends cause uneven, ragged, and poufy hair which is highly prone to static electricity.
There are several stages to hair care:
- Washing
- Drying
- Combing/Brushing
- Hairdressing (includes curlers, curling iron, hair spray, perms, relaxers, dyes, etc.)
Each these stages of hair care is important to good hair management and can improve or worsen hair condition, but different types of hair require different hair care products. Today I am discussing combing and brushing, which should apply equally to all types of hair. One old adage states that you should brush your hair 100 times on each side every night. If I did that, I would have static electricity and broken hair, regardless of how well I treated my hair otherwise. This brings us to the fact that different types of hair require different hair care methods. My hair is neither dry nor is it prone to greasiness. I would never dream of using hair extensions, primarily because my hair is already so thick and heavy that I have to consider whether to cut it short or keep it up off my neck every spring in order to protect myself from over-heating.
Static electricity causes hair to tangle (far worse than without static electricity). Tangles knot up in combs and brushes. Pulling a comb or brush indiscriminately through tangled hair causes split ends. Split ends (and old hair in brushes and combs) cause even worse static electricity and therefore even worse tangling problems.
People often use conditioners to cut down on static electricity and to make hair brushing/combing easier. Using a conditioner simply makes my hair break easier, if I assume that the conditioner protects me from tangled hair. This is because the comb rides so smoothly and easily through my hair, until it hits that knot and then my hair snaps, because the comb is moving so fast.
These are the rules that I follow to reduce hear breakage or split ends:
- Always clean the hair out of the brush/comb, after use. This cuts down on static electricity.
- If the brush/comb gets grungy, it may be cleaned in soapy hair, with a soapy brush, or in the dishwasher (if it is dishwasher safe).
- Start combing/brushing the hair at the ends to work the tangles out gently, rather from the top, (which causes the tangles to knot). This is the same process used with soapy hair to clean the comb/brush and can be done standing up straight or bending over, with all the hair hanging down together.
- I avoid using a brush on my hair, because it is harder to clean the hair and grunge out of it and it is more likely to tangle the hair in the brush.
- Starting with a wide-toothed brush/comb that has widely separated teeth and moving once or twice to a brush/comb with smaller teeth with smaller separations also reduces the amount of broken hair and thus split ends. I usually use three different sizes of combs.
By following these methods I went from unmanageable and unruly hair that conditioner could not even help to I do not usually use a conditioner and yet I do not have to get my hair cut more than once a year to once every other year and I don’t even necessarily have to cut it then.
Note: These instructions do not include shampoos, conditioners, or any other hair management concoction, because hair care for different types of hair varies widely. Also because of this problem, there is no guarantee of using this method getting rid of all split ends. Even I, eventually, get split ends and once you have one, more split ends occur much more easily. Once you have them, the only way to get rid of them is to trim your hair.
If you are going to use a food supplement (includes energy drinks), physiology altering substances, or mood altering substances (includes legal over the counter or prescription substances and illegal substances}, please be aware of the hazards. Hazard information is available through Internet searches and the FDA warning label (when applicable). Definitely, please make sure your children are aware of these hazards and preferably before they are likely to be exposed to them.
There is no doubt that many people rely upon certain substances to improve their health, focus, energy, metabolism, and for many other purposes. The use of such substances should be considered with care. The old saying of, “Too much of anything, even a good thing, is a bad thing,” is the core consideration of concern for this post. An example of this concern is the energy drink. Take a look at a few different brands of energy drinks. You will see quantities, in excess of the daily recommended allowance by 8,000 to 16,000 percent. Even if the substance is water soluble (meaning that the next bathroom trip flushes any of the substance in excess of what the body can use) this kind of abuse of the body will not go unnoticed, especially in long term use. Vitamin B12 is one such high energy substance. It is water soluble. Excess amounts do flush from the system. So what is the point of putting such ridiculous amounts of this substance into an energy drink? Not only is it hazardous to drink a single serving of these drinks a day on a regular basis, many people drink multiple servings of energy drinks daily, which is expressly warned against on the label. Even when the body flushes a substance, it still has to go through a certain number of organs and 8 to 16 thousand percent of a person’s daily allowance will tax these organs enormously. When talking about liquids, those substances travel through the liver and the kidney. The body adjusts, after a while, to a “new state.” This applies to pain, pain killers, anti-histamines, poisons, and any other substance introduced to the system. Once the body has accepted a “new state,” getting the same result takes more than it did before, thus encouraging us to abuse our bodies even more. Any takers for an early requirement for kidney dialysis or organ transplant? Anyone? Anyone? Not exactly something that a person thinks of, when reaching for something on the store shelf. I cannot say that I am any smarter than anyone else in regards to these physiology enhancing substances. The siren call lured me, while completing my bachelors and masters degrees. How else does a person work full time, do school full time, and manage to do a part time job too? Clearing the affects of the energy drinks and dependency on them from my system will take a while. Whether the dependency is psychological or physiological should not matter (hopefully). I did manage to find one that had no more than 300% of the daily requirement for anything though, which was actually much more effective and had fewer negative side-effects than other brands.
Do you have pain and bloating in your abdomen along with constipation or diahrea? These are all symptoms of what doctors call IBS (irritable bowel syndrom. Doctors do not have an answer for this problem, other than possibly to keep an eye out for foods that make the problem worse and avoid them (WebMD). I know, we all want answers and we want them now. Here is an example of three different and horrific IBS problems that I have, that might help you to narrow down the cause of an IBS problem.
- Soap Residue: Failure to do a swish rinse (which carries soap out of a container dish {glasses, bowls, and pots}, much better than filling and dumping it), leads to searing abdominal pain, bloating, liquid diarrhea with loose stool, an extremely hot and painful abdomen, and (after three days of exposure) bloody stool. This was recognized after realizing that the use of liquid soaps for hand washing for three days led to cracked and bleeding skin on the knuckles of my hands.
- Note: If you tell a doctor about bloody stool, they will do an anal probe and (if the cause is IBS) may throw their hands in the air stating they didn’t find anything, because they are looking for cysts (possibly cancer).
- Chlorinated Water: All the same symptoms as Soap Residue plus a horrific heartburn, except that it takes longer for bleeding to occur.
- Pork: Any amount of pork, even the smallest droplet of grease, causes me constipation, bloating, stinky gas, stinky burping, an extremely hot and painful abdomen, feeling full and starving at the same time, depressed breathing, and a general feeling of weakness and sickness. I am not sick, when this occurs, but I feel sick. These symptoms take about three hours to notice and continue for no less than three days, which is the same reaction time for all of my food allergies. This is the only food allergy I have that has the IBS symptoms. Most of my food allergies cause depressed breathing.
I am not trying to tell anyone what causes their problems. I am trying to point out that it is not just food that can cause these problems and that cutting out an entire food type for a week or two (because it takes at least 3 days for the pork symptoms to clear my system), may be required to identify the problem. Pork is an especially hard one to identify, because a lot of people eat it without thinking about it. Items to suspect of having pork in them include spaghetti and meatballs, pizza (peperroni, canadian bacon, and sausage), clam chowder, and most breakfast offerings at a restaurant (bacon, sausage, omelets, ham), to name a few . The list goes on and on I fear. Pork was in my diet at least once in any given 3 day period, most of the time. I had to go overseas (away from my family) to realize the extent of my problem and to get complete control over my diet. I was using a water filter and had cut my diet down to chicken and fresh vegetables. The change in how I felt was amazing!
As far as I know and regardless of the cause, I do not believe that there is a solution, other than watching my intake carefully to prevent exposure to the “known” causes of the problem. Yes, there are medications out there for IBS, but why take a medication (that may have side-effects, could cause changes to my metabolism, and could cause the deterioration of one or my of my organs {one of many possible side-effects of drugs}), when I can simply avoid the causes of the problem?
My Korea trip was the first time I had a bloody stool problem, possibly because of exposure to the massive amounts of chlorination in the water and the reason I first started filtering my water. I also do not believe I had a serious problem with pork before this trip either. But that is cause and effect, not problem and solution.
There is a vast difference between a social state and a welfare state.
In a social state everything goes to the better welfare of all. This means that everyone who can work, does work. The resultant resources of that work goes to a central repository and then is distributed equally. Note: This is an idealist situation that has been tried and has only succeeded on a very small scale and short term, such as a town or low population county. All it takes is someone getting into power that puts their own welfare above the welfare of others and this system falls apart.
A welfare state has people who expect to be supported, regardless of their ability to support themselves. The problem with this setup is that when the people who work hard to support themselves realize that people who do not work are taken care of without all the stress and hard work, they lose the required incentive to continue working. When the number of people who are working, falls below the number of people who are not working, this system falls apart and everyone starves.
Neither of these systems works. These systems are naive and short-sighted. If working harder nets people less than or no more than what they receive if they work poorly or not at all, what is the incentive to work or achieve? These systems lead to scientific, medical, technological, and social stagnation.
Why should you state the obvious?
- People often fail to pass concepts on to their children, coworkers, subordinates, etc., because they think the concepts are obvious and should not need to be stated.
- Sometimes the obvious to one person is not so obvious to others.
- Sometimes people need reminders of the obvious, because they just aren’t thinking of it.
- Often, people think of certain concepts as obvious after discussing them, but had not used them or incorporated them into their daily lives until someone mentioned them.
Why people fail to state the obvious:
-
Many people do not bring up topics that they think of as obvious, because they think they might be razzed, denigrated, dismissed, thought less of, etc. Many wise and important concepts are lost in this way.
Thought from Ehrin:
When I write statements up, I tend to forget to include the parts that I think of as obvious, but those points often seem to wow people. I don’t know why. Maybe because they WERE thought of and covered.
Abuse is long term repeated attacks, whether physical or verbal, that cause physical or mental harm. Abuse may be a “well meaning,” attempt to get someone to do or say something that the person believes to be the right thing, but that is no excuse for continued misbehavior, once the person has been advised that the behavior is abuse and unacceptable.
Are you tired of being a victim of abuse?
Whether the abuse is from a school bully, someone mistakenly called friend, a family member (spouse, child, parent, sibling, etc.), a coworker, or a supervisor, the first thing to learn is that no one has the right to abuse others: heart and mind. You cannot simply know a thing, you have to believe it, for it to make a difference in how you think and behave.
Stopping abuse has three primary parts:
1. The first and foremost step is to stop being a victim.
- Predators identify prey by sight, smell, and sound. Bearing and attitude are the biggest factors in not being a victim. Face it, humans are animals and have instinctive behaviors. When humans behave like prey, those humans who are more predatory in nature, zero in and attack.
Note: Attitude and bearing are affected by self concept, affect a person’s attitude toward self and others, and affect how others see (view) and treat a person.
- Bearing is a person’s body language: how someone stands, sits, and reacts physically. In other words, bearing is a person’s physical reactions to someone else, a situation, or an experience.
- Attitude is a mental reaction to someone else, a situation, or an experience and is often, but not always, reflected in a person’s bearing.
– Methods useful in improving an individual’s behavior and concept of self:
- Self defense courses, such as martial arts. Learning self defense, provides the means of preventing the production of fear pheromones (smelling like a victim), by giving the means to defend against attack and the confidence to not be terrified.
- Personal development classes
- Mediation classes teach people how to talk to others, by helping to identify the source of problems, mitigating factors, stressors, and solutions to issues, in order to mediate a resolution to a conflict.
- Psychology classes
- Public speaking classes
– People who are often mistaken for victims include people who are shy, timid, or loners. Many a bully has found out the hard way that a shy, timid, loner is not necessarily a pushover or a victim. Learning appropriate body language, however, helps to prevent an attack before it begins, by portraying a confident individual, capable of self defense and possibly returning favor for favor.
2. Educate the abuser or remove yourself from the situation.
– Sometimes people simply do not realize that their words are hurtful in the extreme. Sometimes, all it takes is having a frank discussion, laying down boundaries, and drawing a line in the sand, by advising the person that the abuse is unacceptable and that other options exist.
– Sometimes, as in the case of a bully, it does take self defense. Remember to never instigate a fight. The instigator is automatically in the wrong and such behavior leads to incarceration, expulsion, etc. You should, however, always be ready and willing to defend yourself. My father told it to me this way, “never start a fight, but you had better be ready to finish it.” In other words, do not roll over and let someone beat you up. Do not forget to get evidence, such as an audio or video recording of the confrontation/conversation, as a hazardous situation may merit a restraining order or defending the right of self defense (in court or in the principle’s office).
– If there is any concern that this is a hazardous situation (perhaps even if not), this discussion should occur in neutral territory, preferably with an authority figure (definitely with someone on hand to mediate and prevent a physical safety issue, but be ready to leave. Again, remember to get evidence.
3. Talk to someone in a position of authority over that person and be prepared to leave if that does not solve the problem.
– If the person cannot be educated, you do not have to put up with continued abuse. You have choices.
- Jobs are a dime a dozen. A person’s life and health are not worth keeping a job. Get a new one if necessary.
- Attend a different school.
- A hardened bully can go to Juvy (juvenile hall) or a school for problem children.
- A person “called friend,” who is willing to hurt a “friend,” is no friend and is easily dismissed.
– If the first person in the chain of authority contacts does not provide satisfaction, do not be afraid to go over their heads. If starting with a teacher, other options are the counselor and the principal. If starting with a supervisor, other options are the manager, human resources, or the EEO office. If the problem is with a family member, authority figures may include that person’s parent, siblings, or grandparents.
If the situation merits it, do not be afraid to take the issue to the police and do not forget that there is always the option to leave. (If underage, leaving a parent’s house does require the intervention of the police.)
Please refer to rule #5 in the courtesy rules. You are responsible for your own choices.
Thoughts and ideas are like water flowing downstream. If you do not take steps to preserve them, they are gone: leaving no trace.
I have met many people who have wonderful bright ideas, but fail to write them down. Sometimes this is because they feel that the idea or thought is so impressive that they cannot forget it. Other times they feel that no one will think their thought or idea worthy of consideration. still others have so many ideas crowding around in their heads that by the time they find a writing implement, all they can remember is the latest idea.
Please write down your thoughts and ideas, even if you do not think them all that impressive. Not all ideas, on first review, are that impressive. Sometimes they have to be stored or put away and reviewed later. Sometimes thoughts need airing in front of an inventive and innovative person (we all know someone like that), a person who has the ability to see possibilities.
Psychology & Behavior
15-Jun-2013
The psychology of *man is no easy or quick study. Many an acclaimed and lauded individual gained credit for great thinking, by ascribing their own thoughts or behaviors (or the behaviors of a limited population) to all of mankind. This is an easy trap to fall into, so please do not view these people too harshly. The same issue occurs in the realms of science, the study of medicine, and other such disciplines by individuals ascribing the attributes of a limited group or population to the entirety of mankind or a discipline of study.
Another pitfall is the attempt to judge people from another time or country with current or local expectations of a standard of “normal” or “right” behavior.
Example:
Christopher Columbus owned slaves. The view of this behavior by today’s standards holds this behavior or activity as abhorrent and inhumane, yet it was not only accepted, but an expected practice during his lifetime.
☼ Man – Short for mankind, human, or homo-sapiens, the male or female of the species.