Life On A B-I7

Red vs. Blue Part Deux

See Journal Entry on 10/9

I think the reason there are people that want to take the country back to the previous century, is simply because they don’t have the capacity to deal with modern society’s complexity. It’s ironic because the leaders implementing this transformation are not dumb. They are the opposite of dumb in fact, but there is a vital part of their capacity to deal with the complexity of modern society that is simply missing from their intellectual makeup.

Oversimplification? Perhaps. Give me a better answer… please…

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 71

Learn to leave your past behind. That’s not to say you ignore it, only that you learn from it and move forward. Love where you’ve been and look forward to where you intend to go.

Remember these two words: persist and resist. Persist in doing what is good resist doing what is not virtuous.

Red vs. Blue

It’s clear Trump and his enablers are coming after blue states. There is an effort to split America into two factions, and it is working rather well. When I watch NFL Football on TV or watch the Baseball Playoffs, I don’t see how that can happen to America, but it is happening. At the heart of it is Project 2025. Returning America to religious conservatism and minimal government at the expense of everyone except the rich. In our complex world, that would be a disaster. I don’t understand why there are people that think that is a good ides. What do they gain from the suffering of their fellow humans? The answer to that is beyond my understanding.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 70

It’s a good idea to always ask yourself this question before acting. Is what I am about to do consistent with who I am, and who I desire to be? The hard work of living is to always ask this question of ourselves before we act. This will help us to hold on to what we know is the correct path.

I Cry Sometimes

I often cry when I listen to music. I’m not sure why. I’d like to know. I don’t think there is anything wrong with me… Perhaps I shouldn’t be the one to judge whether or not there is something wrong with me…

I’m going to hazard a guess. I’ve reached that point in my life where I have the time and the capacity (I’m not senile yet… that I know of) to reflect on where my life has been and where it is going. When I was younger, I was too busy for that sort of thing. Now that the path in front of me is relatively clear I can allow myself the luxury of self-reflection.

Is that the answer, or has something changed biologically that has made me more sensitive, more appreciative… It could be both.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 69

Is there something better to strive for than pleasure? Of course there is. Remember that freedom, honesty, kindness, and a clean soul outweigh the gain to be obtained through the enjoyment of pleasure for pleasure’s sake.

Here We Go…

I try not to write about my personal life. After all, who really cares if I’m happy or not. Perhaps one or two people, but in the greater scheme of things, very few. That’s not going to stop me. So let me just say how lucky I am. I have a partner that, well, couldn’t be much better. She’s beautiful and cares about me. I love her, and I think most days if she were offered another choice, there’s a good chance she would keep me. (That could be out of convenience… you never know.) The bottom line is things couldn’t get much better and I am fully aware and appreciate that.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 68

Doing wrong is a strong urge that can be difficult to resist. Before giving in to the urge to wrong someone, think about how that act will make you feel. Will you really be set free by that act? The answer in all cases is no.

Is It Too Late?

“This is the 5th time we have emailed you.”

So it is…

Keep emailing me. I love hearing from you. At some point you are going to have to come up with a narrative that will open the eyes of Trump voters. Better get busy or it’s going to be too late for our country.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 67

Watching other people achieve success is a blessing. Life is not a zero-sum game. Other peoples success does not diminish me unless I let it. Put aside jealously and learn to celebrate with others.

My App Award

What is the best writing app for the Mac that no one knows about, besides Ulysses…? That would have to be Craft.

Not only does it provide unlimited capacity, is beautifully designed, has amazing capability, it’s also fun!

I use it to keep track of all sorts of random subjects that most people would probably use separate apps for. Everything from finances to tracking my daily health routine. In fact, in my world (a world where writing is an enjoyably and pursued on a daily basis) Ulysses and Craft are the only justification I need for owning a Mac.

I think it’s interesting to point out that one is German made and the other is Swiss made. I realize I’m going out on a limb here with what I am about to say, but I don’t think the American software ethos is capable of creating apps as functional and beautiful as these two, at least that has not been the case in my experience.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 66

“It is better to do your own duty badly
than to perfectly do another’s.”

The Bhagavad Gita

Good Advice

Here is some good advice, creative and otherwise, taken from Austin Kleon after he took it from the Bhagavad Gita:

“It is better to do your own duty badly
than to perfectly do another’s.”

That’s probably why I get the same comment over and over again from my editor. “It would have been much better if you had said it this way…” It should be noted my editor rarely reads my posts, either before or after they go up!

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 65

Everything in the universe is part of a larger whole. We are citizens of the world, not just the United States. What harms the individual harms the community, what harms the community harms the individual.

Lying

It’s very disturbing to have a President that lies to the public on a daily basis… and does it with venom.

As a single example, he told more lies in a single one hour news interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” than most people tell in a lifetime (not my words). If you ask him something he doesn’t like (or understand) he turns on you and says things like “that’s not a very nice question.” Apparently you are only supposed to ask him questions that allow him to use a lie from his vast repertoire.

When will all this sociopathic lying end? When the sociopath no longer has the bully pulpit. That’s going to be awhile. I hope it’s not too long for all of us that are living on a fixed income.

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 64

Meditate often. All things are connected. The more effort you put into seeing this truth, the better you will be able to handle adversity. We are all related to our fellow human beings and to the environment. We must never forget that.

What is a Delusion?

Trump hates Obama. He bitterly complains about him every chance he gets. He is clearly prejudiced. He is also obsessed with the Nobel Peace Prize. He has made it a goal of his Presidency above almost all others. A goal he does not have the capacity to understand let alone achieve. Are you making the connection? I don’t understand why this is so difficult for his supporters to figure out, unless of course they take the same dim view of people that don’t look like they do…

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 63

If you invest in being good and wise, you will never have to fear the market or fear a relationship disaster. Being good and wise are virtues that will never abandon you.

Four Favorite People

Well maybe not my favorite, but pretty close, especially when you compare them to certain people in similar positions of judicial, science, health and political leadership today.

These paintings were done by artist, and I’m proud to say my friend, Adam Hansen out of Seattle. He specializes in urban and pop art. You can learn more about Adam at Addicted To Paint

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 62

Does not a lamp shine until it runs out of fuel? Why not let your light shine brightly without interruption until you run out of fuel?

Add Four Half Width Photos to a MicroBlog Post

To do this trick, you will need to use the GIMP image editor. This is not a simple application but, 1) it’s free, and 2) it’s the simplest way I have found to do this.

1. Export 4 photos each with width 300 to desired working directory.
2. Create a 590 x 790 blank canvas in GIMP.
3. Open all four photos using “File Open as Layers…”
4. Select the Move tool (M) and drag each photo to its desired position.
5. “Export As…” naming the file and choosing PNG file format.
6. Open the PNG file in Preview.
7. Export as JPG (best quality). Use extension JPEG.
8. Delete temporary files. Move new file to desired directory.

Here’s what you get. In case you hadn’t guessed it, this is my cat…

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 61

Most people set as their goal the acquisition of money, success, adulation, or love for love’s sake, or some combination of these. If you see someone fixated on one of these, you have found an example of a life that you should shun. There is only one true goal to strive for, that is virtue. Virtue is found in the pursuit of honesty, the exercise of discipline, and a life of courage. Virtue and true love are the only goals worth striving for.

Add Two Half Width Photos to a MicroBlog Post

To do this trick, you will need to use the GIMP image editor. This is not a simple application but, 1) it’s free, and 2) it’s the simplest way I have found to do this.

1. Export 2 photos each width 300 to desired working directory.
2. Create a 590 x 390 blank canvas in GIMP.
3. Open both photos using “File Open as Layers…”
4. Select the Move tool (M) and drag each photo to its desired position.
5. “Export As…” naming the file and choosing PNG file format.
6. Open the PNG file in Preview.
7. Export as JPG (best quality). Use extension JPEG.
8. Delete temporary files. Move new file to desired directory.

Here’s what you get. In case you hadn’t guessed it, this is my cat…

Stoic Thought of the Day — Day 60

The old saying, “all evil needs to prevail is for good men to do nothing,” is true. We must not only not do evil, we must actively work for good. Whatever form that takes, take the time to become involved.

Add One Full Width Photo to a MicroBlog Post

Why not? This assumes you are on a Mac, but that’s probably not a big deal.

1. Open Photos.
2. Select desired photo.
3. Select “File” + “Export” + “Export 1 Photo”.
4. Choose JPEG width 600.
5. Click “Export”. Select desired directory.
6. Navigate to chosen directory.
7. Rename exported image.
8. Go to post in Ulysses (my writing app).
9. Select “Markup” + “Image”.
10. Select “Files”.
11. Select image from the chosen directory.

Here’s what you get. In case you hadn’t guessed it, this is my cat…