Category: Uncategorized

Determined

Episode #852 May 31, 2025 A one-word description of my personality is determined.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcjzHMhBtf0 Every situation can be addressed and assembled like a puzzle. Group the shapes. Group the colors. Research every aspect to visualize the big picture. Define the edges of the project to understand its limits. Apply all the straight-edged pieces to the edge. Understand and build a solution from the outside in. Eventually, at the end of the process, the last piece of the puzzle will be obvious. Don’t stop. Keep going. Determine your fate. The hardest part of finishing a project is finishing the...

Selfish

Episode #851 May 24, 2025 We have come to expect everything all the time for ourselves.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef9QnZVpVd8 Our expectations of others are so low that even with good intentions fall below our own self-image. Politicians are all corrupt. Teachers are brainwashing our children. Scientists are driving up the costs of manufacturing and, therefore, products with their fabricated pollution warnings. Climatologists invent the threat of global warming to justify higher taxes and fund expansive social programs.  Drivers own the road with their high beams and tailgating. Medication is a plot to make us sicker to sell more drugs. People...

Audentis Fortuna Iuvat

Episode #850  May 17, 2025 "Nona stamina ducit, Decima metitur, Morta secat." “Nona draws the threads, Decima measures, Morta cuts.” — Ovid paraphrase   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lweVp978_c The roles of the three Fates suggest the idea that aspects of our existence are beyond our control. But what of free will? Philosphers posit that conclusions like birth, major events or death might be fated, but fortune governs the path, opportunities, twists and turns along the way. Free will allows us to push the limits of what is achievable. “Fortune favors the bold” is a phrase used to encourage pushing the limits of what...

Do Nothing

Episode #849 May 10, 2025 Sometimes, but certainly not always, doing nothing is the right thing to do.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX2bE-OBtwk   Some weeks ago the smart light on my under-the-sink water filter faucet went out. The lights are meant to advise if the filter is OK, needs replacement soon, or must be replaced right now.  Green, yellow and red. It was the green light that extinguished. I could not remember how long ago I replaced the filter. I’m sure it was more than a year. The filter box claims that the filter is good for one year or 1000...

Hawaiian Shirts

Episode #848 May 3, 2025 Paula’s side of the closet is pink. My side used to be tie-dyed.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISkMx6b6K_c Recently, I’ve had a fondness for Hawaiian shirts and now my side of the closet is a cacophony of colorful patterns. Some have interesting, artistic patterns. One of the first Hawaiian shirts I bought was the pattern of Vincent Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night.” Paula and I went to arts and crafts day in Idyllwild. People stopped me and said, “Oh! That’s Starry, Starry Night.” I had to reply, “Close, but that is a lyric from Don McLean’s song...

Zero inbox

Episode #847 April 26, 2025 Some of my readers are overwhelmed with email.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZOqlYm1Vb4 My inbox has been filled with as many as 200 email messages. I have seen inboxes with 2000 or more. It drives me crazy. It makes me sad when readers ask me to remove them from my blog notification list. They say their inbox is so full that they cannot make sense of it. Their solution is to cut themselves off from part of the enjoyment, information, and quality of their lives by requesting to be removed from mailing lists. Please don't go. Do what...