Tag: life

3 D Printing, Why?

Like many of you, I suspect you might find you have more time on your hands these days. Yes, there is still work but, virtual work?

Human interaction distinguishes us from furry friends who now have more freedom than we do.

This summer, as I watched a squirrel eat the last of my peaches, it was not lost on me that I was on the inside looking out.

Sanity is not overrated.

I began the ‘two weeks to flatten the curve’ much like Tom T Hall did in his song ‘A Week in A County Jail.’

I scoffed at the toilette paper shortage reports and laughed at the nutcases who scrambled to buy masks; after we were told we didn’t need them.

After a month went by, and we were commanded to wear masks, I wasn’t so antagonistic toward the people in the store yelling at others who did not have a mask of some kind on.

Much like the Bologna and scrambled eggs fed to our singer, songwriter friend, single ply TP wasn’t that bad when you could find it.

It became apparent that the TV had to go.

Systematically, the different news feeds on my phone were also turned off or deleted one at a time.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

If I were not going to get my social addictions met via my usual methods and I had turned off the TV, what was my strategy for keeping sane to be?

While I am book smart, I am also one of those who can do whatever I put my mind to—not bragging, just a fact.

After catching up on a myriad of things I wanted to get done and with no reprieve from the pandemic insight, the next logical thing was to give Jeff Bezos more money.

Purchasing a 3D printer, much like waiting on the secret decoder ring from Ovaltine, the day arrived when Alexa announced there was movement at my front door.

By this stage of the game, I eagerly answered the door, speaking with salespeople, making friends with every kind of delivery person, and even social distancing with the landscapers who were not wild about talking with a customer. Whatever happened with the Jehovah’s Witness? I have time…

Opening the box was eerily reminiscent of my erector set from about the same time as the decoder ring.

Assembling this thing was not for the faint of heart.

Up to the challenge, I spent the next two hours watching videos, with each one telling the viewer something a little different. Armed with the basics and lots of ‘tinkering experience,’ the games began.

At this point in the story, I was reminded of the Internet back before graphical user interfaces. The only people who took advantage of the Internet were geeks. It was command-line driven, and like PCs as a whole, it was the interface that made it possible for Greg Shorthand to be placed alongside typewriters and stone tablets in the dustbin of history.

3D printers have been out for a while, and I waited for multiple reasons. Time to tinker with it, was one of the main reasons.

Like installing rev 0 or 1.0 of any software is an invitation for arrows, or at least scars on your back, the bleeding edge of any technology is usually fraught with disillusionment.

While there is no doubt in my mind that someone will create a 3D printer that anyone can pluck out of the box, turn it on, and print stuff, today is not that day.

I entertained this idea in the first place, as I restore old radios. Knobs, other hardware, and maybe even cases could be printed. Would they have the same value? No, but it would still be entertaining.

As of today about the only thing I have found this useful for is eating up lots of time, and making tchotchkes, or as I call them, dustables.

While this is a popular model printer, it is from 2018, which is ancient in dog years. We heard how they were looking for people with these things to make parts for face shields.

I find it humorous that one of the places you can use to create things is a place called ‘Tinkercad.’

After attempting some of the ‘highbrow’ cad software, Tinkercad is easy to use. If you get one of these printers, you had best like to tinker.

The two weeks to flatten the curve are now ten months. The curve appears alive and well.

With winter on our back doors and, of course, the holidays, I would encourage everyone to do something positive and not dwell on what you cannot control. Every subject that I loathed in school I went back and visited. Why? Why not. When I think of the information at our fingertips, and it is taken for granted, it boggles my mind.

Social media is rife with animus from people who I would never expect. Then you have the fact-checkers who blatantly post their obnoxious views on anything they don’t happen to like.

Yes, Facebook does not get much of my attention these days. I don’t need people telling me what to think; you don’t either.

I might look at resin printers next after I push the envelope with the filament variety.

I sincerely hope you have a Merry Christmas. If you are a 3D enthusiast, drop me a note. One can connect with communities, but why not connect with people who at least read what I write?

Yes, the Jailers wife got much prettier each day, and so it goes. -Best

Anonymity

Peoples behavior amazes me!

If you are inside a bank or the DMV, nobody would just walk up in front of you and cut in line, would they? Generally speaking, no!

Driving down the road however, that is a different story. The signs will clearly point out that one lane is going away in X miles and folks will run that lane down to the last few inches and then cut in front of someone, and expect it to be ,OK… When it happens to you, you are pissed. When you do it to someone else, that is ok.

Because we are in our cars with the windows rolled up, we are invincible and are “anonymous.”

A mile down the road it will all be forgotten until the next time that you have it done to you or you do it to someone else.

The truth of this however is that the person who you cut off maybe one of those with a bad temper who needs to take some anger management classes. They may stay mad about it for hours, or even the entire day or longer! I have known folks who when you speak to them about this their demeanor changes and the anger that they felt comes right back out and they are pissed all over again.

Yes, it is their problem and they need to deal with it but; do you want to be responsible for this? Do you want to be the one to push them over the edge? Maybe you don’t care but trust me when I say this, some of those that do heinous things out of anger no doubt had some of the “straws in their back pack” put in there by folks who were jerks on the road.

Social media is another place where we can be anonymous. We can “post” calling others names that we don’t agree with or, simply show our ass and laugh it off.

Lead by Example

You don’t like to be called names or cut in front of so, first and foremost, don’t do it. No matter how much you want to, resist the urge to be a jerk. Pretend that all of those folks stuck in that traffic line are friends and neighbors and folks that you will see again.

There is a group that I am following that is for people afflicted with a type of medical condition. There are folks who talk shit to people because they are using some pseudo name and no one really knows who they are so they can be a complete ASS. They are cowards. Hiding behind a pseudo name attacking those which you don’t agree with is cowardice. Not only is it cheap and complete chicken shit behavior, they are trying to make themselves feel better (smarter, more powerful) at the expense of others.

People on this particular group have health issues and are looking for people who are in the same boat for comfort and they find cowards who hide behind “handles” attacking them or others.

Texans are pretty good folks. We are generally polite and would not cut someone off just to do it. Most of the folks that I see cutting folks off, have license plates from other states, mostly from the north, why is that?

While Texans are known for our hospitality and polite demeanor, you should also know that we are also known for packing guns.

An armed society is a polite society.

Shortly after concealed carry became law here in Texas the first person to get shot was involved in a case of road rage. This person got out if his car and started trying to break the window on another car who he managed to cut off.

The guy pulled out his gun and when the other man did finally break the window, grabbed him by the collar and started punching him in the face; the guy pulled the trigger.

While this is an extreme case, it is fact that when temperatures get higher there are more incidents of road rage. Not only does the temperature play into this but keep in mind because of the huge influx of people Texas is enjoying economic growth and with it a growth in people. With that growth we have a growth in infrastructure to support them and that means road construction. Lots and lots of road construction.

Treat others as you would want to be treated, and don’t respond to cowards! Ignored behavior goes away.

I cannot stress enough to “lead by example.”

There are those of you who will say, what about if we get into that lane going away situation, by accident?

That happens and it has happened to me. The correct way to deal with that is to immediately try to get over, instead of running it down to the end. Most drivers will see and understand that for what it is, and not that you felt like you are better than them and don’t have to wait like everyone else.

-Best

Thought for the Day

How much do we notice as we go through a day?????
Lisa Beamer on Good Morning America – If you remember, she’s the wife of Todd Beamer who said ‘Let’s Roll!’ and helped take down the plane over Pennsylvania that was heading for Washington, DC back on 9/11.

She said it’s the little things that she misses most about Todd, such as hearing the garage door open as he came home, and her children running to meet him.

Lisa recalled this story: “I had a very special teacher in high school many years ago whose husband died suddenly of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her insight with a classroom of students. As the late afternoon sunlight came streaming in through the classroom windows and the class was nearly over, she moved a few things on the edge of her desk and sat down there.

With a gentle look of reflection on her face, she paused and said, ‘Class is over, I would like to share with all of you, a thought that is unrelated to class, but which I feel is very important. Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves. None of us knows when this fantastic experience will end.

It can be taken away at any moment.

Perhaps this is God’s way of telling us that we must make the most out of every single day. Her eyes, beginning to water, she went on, ‘So I would like you all to make me a promise. From now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice.

It doesn’t have to be something you see, it could be a scent, perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone’s house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground. Please look for these things, and cherish them. For, although it may sound trite to some, these things are the “stuff” of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted.

The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all of us, and I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.

Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at sunset.

Beautiful beach and waves of Caribbean Sea

Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double dip ice cream cone. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn’t do.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

GOD Bless you every day of your life.

The nicest place to be is in someone’s thoughts,

The safest place to be is in someone’s prayers,

and the very best place to be is.. .

In the hands of God.
HAVE A GREAT DAY!

#toxic #people

Toxic people

If I don’t agree with you, lock-step, I am wrong and therefore must be dismissed. That however is not good enough, not only must I be dismissed, I must be told how stupid that I am for not seeing things exactly as you do! And when I am being informed of how brainless that I am, the informer is compelled to use the most derisive terminology that they can come up with. Not only am I attacked, but my lineage is attacked! Further, the attacks are from the faceless, nameless, who build themselves up, by tearing others down. Please note that if that is your tactic, I will not engage you.

Firstly, if we all agreed on everything, than we would all most certainly be taking the blue pill. (Brave New World.)

Opinions are formed by many factors including, who your parents were, what geographic area of the world that you were born and grew up in. Where you went to school, what you studied. Who your professors were and where they grew up, and where they studied. Your views are predicated on so many different factors that we can not all possibly agree on everything as, we are a diverse people.

Diversity builds strength and character.

In my daily walk, I choose to have friends that are as diverse in nature as night vs. day. Why? If I have friends that are all “like minded,” how can I possibly grow as a human being? “This is my box, as long as I stay inside the box the world will be ok, please don’t try to confuse me with the facts!”

Folks; that thinking is profoundly flawed!

There is a modicum of truth out there from just about anyone with a brain. I heard a man on a talk show trying to convince the moderator that since all people come from Africa that the black man is the father of the entire human genome and therefore all species of man everywhere should treat the black man with the respect of a parent, and pay homage to them. He as a matter of fact went on to say that they were entitled to receive stuff from the white person, for this reason.

The moderator somehow managed not to laugh at this guy, and while I was thinking how misinformed that this person is; I was interested in his take on the world. He, like many does not look outside the box. Somewhere in his history someone passed that story to him, and he did not question it.

Early man traces back some 6 million years.. There were several different “evolutionary developments of man” in that time period and while man may have fist walked up right in what is now Africa, you must remember that Africa did not look like it does now back 6 million odd years ago, and with tectonic plate movement, was probably not located anywhere then, where it is today.

The truth will set you free!

We as a people must learn to embrace the truth. Before we embrace it, we must learn what the truth is. Many don’t want to do this because the truth is uncomfortable.

Are you the type of person who goes to the doctor if you have a strange pain? Not the kind of pain that keeps you up at night, on a scale of 1-10 say it is a 2. Do you go get it checked out? Are you the kind of person who goes and get regular check ups and do you go for cancer screenings both of the external kind as well as the invasive type that all of us dread.

Why or why not?

If you do, you are one of the few who is willing to learn the truth and then deal with it. If the truth reveals some form of cancer; catching it early increases your odds of beating it, our outrunning it. If not, the truth scares you and you would rather live in your box. I know people who will not even go to the doctor for a simple check up as they “feel fine!”

We had a blood drive at the office one day. One of my friends was called by the folks after the fact, and told to check with her doctor as there was something not right with her blood. You need to understand that this person never missed work, was never late and exhibited no symptoms of any illness prior to finding out that there was a problem.

She found out that she had leukemia and the remarkable thing was, she died two weeks later! The brain is so powerful, that when she was told that she had cancer, her brain killed her! That is why it is imperative that when you are sick that you keep a good mental attitude; and if you are really sick, you find a place that treats the entire body, not just the illness.

There are many reasons that people have issues with evolution.

The basic issue is really a matter of human limitation; we cannot conceive of 4.5 billion years, we simply can’t do it! If our limited mind could; we would be railing against the $18 trillion of debt that this country currently has dug itself into but, we cannot put that into any context that makes sense.

Why do you think so many people play the lottery? Large numbers are not something that our limited minds can fathom. The odds of winning are 1 in 250M rounded down.

But still many people buy tickets so they are either, really bad at math or, they cannot conceive of how many 250 million other folks playing affects the chances of them winning.

We cannot comprehend 4.5 billion years of age on the earth and we cannot comprehend that man has been here for over 6 million years so, we invent something more tenable. We invent the creation story.

Now before you write me and call me names; I have a third possibility for you, one that I happen to think makes more sense.

Having studied biology and realizing that each cell is actually a machine, I too find it difficult to believe that random happenstance, even over billions of years is responsible for us.

So how about this for a possibility; what if, some omnipotent being used the evolutionary process to design what we have today? What if the stories that we read in Sunday school, are his way of allowing us to deal with our creation; as we could not possibly understand genetic manipulation 2000 years ago. What if God’s language is that of science?

Dealing with the facts on a scientific basis makes life much simpler. Dealing with others on common grounds “which we all have” makes life with others possible.

I do not require you to agree with me to be friends with you and I don’t require that you submit to my way of thinking in order to carry on a conversation. I do require that you be open to the possibility that your way of thinking may not be iron clad. Staying open to other possibilities is what I am about.

There is strength in diversity of thought. There is always room for growth as a person and acceptance if not simply the respect of others views.

As one who studies philosophy, I enjoy the Sufis among others. There actually is common ground, if you care to look.

Embracing life is a philosophy that I hold close, and I think most would benefit from. Man must build up each other, instead of tearing them down.

I do not allow toxic people into my circle. Observing boundaries and not crossing them keeps me sane. Sharing with you some of my walk is my effort to help my fellow man.

Above all else, seek the truth. Be willing to look outside your box for the answers. I truly feel that we are all connected in some grand way and while some might call this “new age” or put some other bullshit label on it, a large number of you will know this to be true.

Boundaries

As I spoke earlier about setting boundaries, I want you to imagine for a moment, the solar system. The sun in the middle and each and every planet orbiting the sun as it has done for billions of years.

Now for argument sake, pretend that you are the sun. Your friends or family are the planets. Your BFF might be Mercury who you tell everything. Like the best the sun has to offer, mercury also gets the worst as it is really too close but, what are BFF’s for?

Now you have other friends who are out there with Venus or the Earth or Mars etc.

Toxic folks are like Pluto “who I still think is a planet,” but just kept at a distance as they are simply toxic. They still get some energy from you, but not very much. Have you ever noticed how some people will simply rob you of your energy? Push them away from your circle.

Learning to set boundaries will keep you sane. Learning to keep toxic people, thoughts and practices away from you is truly an art, but one worth attempting. You let Pluto come do a close fly by, every now and then to see if they have grown any. If they have, maybe you let them into Jupiter’s orbit or maybe even Mars!

The lesson here is you are in control of your destiny. Don’t allow others to poison your well.

-Best to you and those that you care about!

Life, Wealth and Happiness

I chose the title carefully as the three can me mutually exclusive.

Stuff and Reality

Most of us grow up seeing a pattern of “wealth = happy.” In fact some of the poorest people that I know are some of the happiest. How is that possible?

The world today tells us that we “need” an expensive car, or the largest flat screen TV or whatever the newest gadget is. Apple is doing their part by providing a new version of their products about every 18 months or so.

A few years ago a “car phone” was for the most exclusive and wealthiest of us. Today, kids in grade school have a much more sophisticated version than I would have dreamed possible just a few years ago.

A simple automobile that cost a few thousand not too many years ago now cost upwards or $40K. Of course you can spend $24K for the same basic car but it does not have the “logo” that the $40K car has. Will the less expensive car do the same as the expensive car, probably; but it will not have the social status of the $40k car? I cannot envision spending $150K on a car but there are many on the roads.

If you are a churched person you no-doubt know that “God will provide.” Does that mean that if you pray really hard and give money to the church that you will get the $40K or $150K car? No. It means that you will have the necessities of life. The trick of course is realizing what the “necessities are.”

This is where the poorest among us have the rest of us beat. They are happy with what they have. One of my favorite song writers penned the phrase, “it’s not about having what you want, it’s about wanting what you got.” If you think about that, it is so true.

“Failure to plan is planning to fail!”

Am I telling you to settle for less than what you have or want? No, I am telling you to set your expectations accordingly, set your goals a little higher than your expectations, and take the actions necessary to achieve those goals.

Much like project management, your goals need to be fully planned. What do you want, what does the end goal look like, and what does it take to achieve it? What milestones must you achieve to get to where you want to go or be? Goals should be on some sort of timed deadline. If you set dates to accomplish certain milestones you are more apt to succeed at the end goal. Start with prayer for wisdom. Praying to win the lottery is probably not going to get you anywhere. If it does; please keep me in mind.. J Realistic goals are part of the prayer process. Few grow up with the goal of being a garbage man. If you did, “bless your heart.” Many end up there because they failed to plan.

Do I look down on those folks, not on your life! It takes all kinds of folks to make the world go round. If more folks planned better, I think that finding a ditch digger or garbage man might cost more money. I make a point to know my garbage collection folks. If I can, I go out and tell them good morning etc. The same is true of the mail person and even the janitor at the office. They are all people and disserve the respect that you yourself would want. If you think that you are better than them you are in dangerous territory.

Wealth or the lack thereof.

I would seriously recommend taking the Dave Ramsey course for you who are just starting out. After listening to his radio show for several months, I am convinced that he should be a required course in high school. Credit card companies would lobby against that but, that would be just too bad. Our progeny need to understand the fundamentals of his wisdom, and the sooner the better.

The good news is that if you are a parent you can go through the course with your kids. It does not need to be mandated from the Ivory towers of DC. Many churches around the country offer this course. Why? A tenant of the course is to be generous, think there could be a connection? Too Cynical? Only they and God know their motives.

His mantra goes against current trends in advertising and indeed the way that we spend money! His philosophy and wisdom really came from making mistakes and learning from them. These are mistakes he made many years ago. So, why make the mistake if you can learn from those that have already done it? Like history, if you don’t know it, you will repeat it.

The jobs that you take should reflect some part of the path that you are on in order to achieve your goals. Jobs can be milestones. Let’s say I want to be a geologist. I would start out learning everything I could about the subject from books to social groups that are like minded. I might take an internship at a company that studies core samples. Even if I have to wash beakers or crush rocks, I would be part of the process and undoubtedly something I learned would stick that I could apply later.

The society we are in today has kids out of college with no practical experience looking for the big paycheck and the corner office. Bless their heart!

Many out there just take anything to get some sort of income. Folks, this is ludicrous. Letting fate decide your future is a formula for a life filled with dead end jobs being someone’s slave. If you can’t afford to leave the bedroom that you grew up in, you are on the wrong path! If you are forced to return to the bedroom that you grew up in because you are not making enough money to live on your own and be investing money in your future, you are certainly on the wrong path, or making bad decisions.

Briefly, fast food jobs are for kids in school. Those jobs will allow them to earn some spending money, gasoline and insurance money and if they are strict with themselves, some savings for college. They teach the fundamentals of the working world and truthfully make one appreciate a real job when they get one. I am a firm believer that everyone should have a fast food job as a child.

Retail jobs in general are the same type of job. Most retail jobs are not a career choice that should be anywhere in your decision making process. If those jobs are part time they are for kids living at home. Unless your end goal is to manage some high end retail establishment, you have no business working there unless of course, you are a teenager.

There is definitely a difference between adult jobs and “youth” jobs. “Youth jobs are training wheels for life.”

One job does not fit all.

I see way too many older folks taking retail jobs in places where there should be kids. I think this is a direct reflection of the times that we live in. The sad fact is that these older folks in these jobs allow their attitude towards that job to come through while dealing with the customer. It is not hard to tell that they are not happy and feel that the job is beneath them. Guess what; it most definitely is! Staying in that job is mistake of monumental proportions. Stay in it long enough to retrain and re-invent yourself if necessary, and then leave it for the teenagers that it was originally designed for.

Some older folks are taking these jobs to get out of the house. If you need the money, at least shoot for management. Leave the kid jobs for kids. Of course if you had planned correctly you would not need the money and could be spending your time out of the house, volunteering somewhere.

The last few years, entitlement spending is at an all time high. We are paying people to stay home and live on the government tit. That money that the government gives away comes from those of us who are working, not living on the ignorance of a government run amuck. If the politicians that think that what they are doing is correct they need to revisit it.

Anyone taking money from the government that should be working should be “reinventing” themselves. Currently if you are attending school you are not eligible for unemployment. What kind of foolishness is this? If you don’t find suitable employment in X months you should be required to take some classes and I would argue that those classes should be subsidized by the government. If you get an “A” 100% re-imbursement and so forth. It is almost as if we don’t want you to ever work again, we want you to live on some small amount of money taken from those that are working. Folks this is crazy!

If you know a politician or someone that you can talk some sense into by all means lets push this initiative. People need a hand up, not a handout!

Business is not ignorant of this fact. To get skilled workers to work for peanuts on a part time basis vs. dealing with kids who often have not developed a good work ethic is a bargain. If they get college graduates to slave away at minimum wage jobs, that too is a bargain for them! Keeping them at part time so they don’t have to screw with benefits, another win!

We see the argument to raise the minimum wage so people can make a living at these part time jobs that school kids should be doing. The pay is not the issue, the issue is that adults should not be doing these jobs!

Slavery is not Dead!

The problem is that these kids need those jobs as that is the next part of their training to become good workers. A part time retail or fast food job is not for anyone that is serious about making a living. Managing these occupations is another story however; it is slavery at best as you are most undoubtedly salaried and will work 50 or 60 hours a week and “it will be expected.”

Raising the retirement age was another mistake on so many levels. Companies are shoving you out the door when you are 50 and looking for the college kids fresh out of school to bring in and abuse.

This guy still votes too. That is another blog for another time.

Very few companies see the value in bringing in older Americans as they would have to pay them a decent wage. On top of that, these folks have experience and to some degree that experience might be askance of the job requirements and or environment of that company. The phrase “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” certainly may play through their mind. Mature workers are excellent employees most always as they are skilled professionals and are not the party animals that they once may have been. Their children are most probably out of the house, so little will pull them away from their task.

Mature workers indeed need a vocation as we were designed to work. Those of us who linger in the couch or in front of the TV or video games all day are most probably going to expire way before our time. “A body in motion stays in motion!” Keeping a regular schedule, going to bed at a decent hour, getting up at a decent hour, greeting the morning sun for fifteen minutes in the morning will keep you healthy. There is of course more to it but these fundamentals are all too often overlooked!

If you take a look at the richest people in the world (which is out there on the internet) you will notice Bill Gates is number 1. The Wallmart and Sam’s ilk are close to that and there are so many others. What I would like to call to your attention is that none of these made it there because they are “nice people.” They are shrewd business people. One has to wonder if they are “happy!”

Some of you may try to extol the virtues of Mr. Gates as he gives money to different charities, “what a nice guy!” When Bill was buying the first operating system from a guy for $4k and licensing it to IBM for millions, I was involved with computers. When Mr. Jobs was a criminal, phone phreaking, making his first large sum of money, I knew about it and how he did it. When Bill got the windows idea from Xerox who happily showed him their ideas and products and told him about it being open source he happily took it and ran with it.

I have kept up with Bill, not because I am angry with him, he is a shrewd business man. One has to wonder if they “the richest folks in the world” are “happy” and how much money is enough? How do people get so rich? I wish I could say it was by treating people right and practicing good “ethical” business practices…

Retail stores hire folks are minimum wage and then give them just enough hours so they don’t have to pay for benefits. Some reward their slaves with a few more hours for extra effort while only giving a few to the people who are not really motivated to be there. Folks, it is hard to be motivated for $8 and hour, especially when it takes more than that to get a hamburger. If you are working for someone, even as a slave, do your best as you are gaining experience not just in folding clothing but in dealing with people, managers and situations out of your control. This also should teach you the value of an education and setting goals!

What is your goal? Money is not a goal, but a tool. Like a hammer or saw, it is nothing more or less than a tool. Money is a common tool that everyone can use to pay for or gain enough of to obtain food, shelter and the other basics for life. In some cases it can buy you an island or maybe a small country.. It is still a tool and a means to an end.

Your goal should be to be happy, that I would wish for you. Deciding on what is (happy) is another story. Some find happiness in stuff, and others find it in family and friends. Some of the happiest people that I know find happiness in serving others and or taking care of the other creatures that live amongst us.

I think that happiness is nothing more than a state of mind and those that have little to worry about seem the happiest. I guess if you’re rich enough to hire people to worry about things for you, so you can focus on being “happy” that might be one example of being one of the world’s richest folks might work for you.

Personal growth, understanding the person in the mirror, makes me happy. Each and every time I learn something about me, I am a little happier. There are few things that are in “your control.” Getting a good education, understanding that knowledge is power is a great foundation for being happy. Using that knowledge in a way that is consistent with “enlightened people” to me is a mark of wisdom. Serving others, in some way that is consistent with who you are is another way to become happy. I find that helping others takes my mind off of “self.” Looking at the bigger picture, one can appreciate the complexities of life and sort out the small stuff that should be in the noise, and not artificially elevated to demand your full attention.

This is a lot to chew on. Questions and thoughts are always welcome.

-Best to you and those that you care about!

Time

Some measure time by the ticking of a clock, others by the days of the week and still others by the years that pass.

One of my favorite songs has a line in it about “being in the autumn of my life.” That sounds almost forlorn in retrospect.

The truth (you know how I like truth) of the matter is that most of us measure time by the weekends. We relish the hour when Friday afternoon rolls around and we can take some “time” to go out, sleep in, golf or what have you.

I used to watch people walking into the office on Monday morning and then watch them leave as the evening skies turn a pale shade of azure with crimson overtones flashing across the skies, dancing across the few clouds that sailed by.

In the morning people are full of life. There is just about a glow to most of them. Around twilight, the glow has turned to hollow, shadowed facial structures. The enthusiasm that they greeted the day with has long since departed, leaving them bereft of cheerfulness. They are in fact vapid, of that essence of “life!”

Looking upwards towards the kaleidoscope display of nature’s own brand of art, is not even a passing thought. We have lost our way in the maze of time clocks, political correctness, rules and social mores. We have forgotten how to be “us.”

Making our way with the throngs of other drones either by bus train or car we head to that last bastion of relief, our homes. Summoning the last bit of energy in reserve, they “we” plod through our charted course until we finally can collapse into our beds, maybe even inviting death’s “sting” as we contemplate the day today, and start thinking about tomorrow. Would that “sting” really be so bad?

The weekends are fraught with their own unique brand of dull drum, as we now must take care of the things that did not get taken care of during the week. This thing called life happens on those days of the week that end in “Y,” and many of us may wonder “why” we chose the path that we did.

Time can be measured in heart beats. I truly believe that time is relative in that manner as the creatures with the fastest heart beat seem to live the shortest amounts of time, conversely those with the slowest, seem to live much longer.

We sell our selves every day, one heart beat at a time. Every heart beat that you spend, is one less heart beat that you have left. Since we do seem to measure time with our hearts may I humbly suggest that you fill your life with love and laughter? Life is too short to be angry.

I overheard a man today complaining about his employer at great lengths, regarding their intelligence, their breeding and so forth; and I could not help but notice that he was working for them. His brand of “living” was to sew seeds of his discontent to fellow workers and stew in his lot in life. We could talk about negative and positive energy but that is a topic for another day. Do you know that when you are upset or angry, cortisol is released; the stress hormone. Does it really pay to be “angry,” Only if you want to shorten your life, and the lives of those people around you!

Time is what we make of it, and we are all the stewards of that time. Tomorrow will take care of itself, live for right now, in the moment. Enjoy what you do even at your work for there are no do-over’s, this is it!

You can do that with what I call PMA, the diametric opposite of PMS, to borrow that awkward condition in some women’s lives, as an example.

Positive Mental Attitude

It takes practice but after 45 days of doing it, you will be a different person. I have been practicing it for years and I do not look like those that I described earlier. As the matter of fact I appear quite young for my age. I guess I will have to write about that one day soon. In short, don’t get caught in others negative attitudes and don’t ever project one. Life is too short to hate, to be angry, to live in a constant state of turmoil.

Allow me to share one brief story of how I discovered PMA.

I had a job that involved going out to customers’ locations, carrying a 40 pound box of tools, parts and so forth to repair what needed to be repaired. While I really liked what I did, and I enjoyed dealing with people, I really loathed the fact that parking was a hassle; it was in the south so high humidity and pop-up rain showers were normal on top of being in a large city.

One day I parked blocks from where I needed to go, as it was raining so all of the “close up” parking was taken. The rain in this case was caused by a tropical storm sitting on top of the city, in short rain was moving horizontally as well as vertically. Wearing dress clothes(very wet ones), carrying that tool bag, slogging through running water, I finally made it into the building. Another older gentleman was behind me, so I held the door for him. As we climbed into the elevator I began grumbling about the weather, the day etc. As I was trying to engage this man in conversation as “I do that” his demeanor was very much different from mine. He seemed content if not jovial. He took off his hat and allowed the water to run onto the floor and patiently listened to me while I droned on about the rain.

Before he left he passed this on to me and I have never forgotten it. “Son, anytime you wake up sucking air, it is a good day!” We were at a hospital for cancer treatment, and I can only assume that he was a patient. I had discovered PMA!

Those words rattled around my head for that day, the next and so on. Every time I am having a tough time, those words re-play themselves they in fact, resonate with my soul; I usually strike a grin and silently thank that man for sharing that one bit of advice. Rarely do I have “bad days” any longer. It put things into perspective for me and it is my prayer that this may help someone else who is having a “bad day.”

Take a moment to smell the roses, watch the clouds, and my personal favorite is to watch the ocean. I can sit there for hours just watching the waves and listening to the seagulls and other birds going about their day. That is time well spent..

-Best to you and those that you care about!

Life

Life is more than a box of cereal, or a board game that one might play on a rainy afternoon.

It amazes me that people will rise up and take on animal cruelty in such a vehement manner but, when it comes to human life, we seem more lackadaisical or indifferent.

The dichotomy that exists between animals and people are plenty.

A fetus is out of sight, not furry or cute and quite frankly treated like a disease.

Baby animals have some redeeming quality, even if they are some sort of featherless bird.

We will push our lawmakers to adopt strict laws on any sort of cruelty to animals but when it comes to human life we politicize it. All of the sudden a fetus becomes a political football used to paint the other side in some sort of negative light. This is anything but a proud moment in history and I truly believe that somewhere down the road we will be judged for this. It may simply be in the history books and unless the trend of re-writing history continues, our grandchildren will look back at this generation and ask, “What the hell were they thinking?”

A few days after insemination (about the time the women misses her period), a fetus has a heart beat and its own unique blood type. I would argue that this is when life starts. Birth control ok, morning after pill ok, termination up until the fetus has a heartbeat I could live with. After that it is simply killing a life that you don’t have the right to kill.

The simple facts are that your choice in this process is to “choose” to have protected sex or not. Whether your decisions produce a baby, or infects you with herpes or aids is now out of your hands. Choose to practice safe sex or know that there may be consequences for your actions.

The other issue that needs to be aired out is “death with dignity.” Currently if you or a loved one has some terminal incurable disease, you are pretty much left to die of “natural” causes. This is anything but natural in that you are deprived of food and water and your organs have to literally fail, one by one, until enough toxins build up in your body to cause the heart to stop. Since we have no idea what the person is feeling “as they can’t tell you” I would argue that our treatment of the ill needs to be changed. These people could last several days in this condition. Since we can’t talk with them, we have no idea what they feel, what they are thinking or what is going on!

We treat our damned criminals more humane than this!

The criminal is strapped to the gurney where an IV is installed. Through this IV at the time the order is given to execute the person, a chemical is given to sedate the person ( a general anesthesia). He or she is put to sleep much like you would be put to sleep for a medical procedure. After the person is asleep, more chemicals are given “paralytics as well as chemicals which stop the heart.” I stress that the criminal is not there for that procedure. Anyone who has ever been put under knows that the scariest parts are the unknowns and anticipating the procedure. I would suspect that the criminal’s worst part of this is taking that last walk into the death chamber, and being strapped to the gurney.

The argument is that death with dignity “could” become a slippery slope, in that anyone could elect to die whether they were terminally ill or not. If someone wants to die there are many ways to accomplish this and a loophole in some law should not stop us from offering assisted suicide to the terminally ill.

There is another argument in that these “death panels” that are actually in this unaffordable health care act, could be expanded to terminate a life that has reached some arbitrary cost to keep alive.

No person should have this power to decide for another if they are to live or die. Unless the patient assigns someone as a medical proxy; giving them the power knowing full well that they will let you go if the situation is that grim. If you create a living will and in that document your desire would be to die with dignity “morphine drip” that should be legal and allowed. With enough morphine the respiratory system shuts down. By the time that happens, the person has long since drifted away.

If no such document exist than the doctors should do everything in their power to keep you alive. I am referring to coma patients who cost a lot of money to take care of. We know that many people if given time will come out of a coma.

Medicine in the most general terms is a practice and why drugs work as they do or people live who should be dead is a mystery. Often times your doctor will prescribe medications to you that they have no clue how they work, they just do.

Until our medical acumen progresses to such a state that we understand much more, we should always error towards life.

As far as cruelty to animals…; I am vehemently against it. Hopefully Dante has a special place arranged for those who would harm animals.

-Best to you and those that you care about.