“It may be that when we no longer know what to do we have come to our real work, and that when we no longer know which way to go we have come to our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.”
– Wendell Berry
Month: July 2022
Kevin Kelly: Civilization requires optimism
I saw this piece arguing for optimism written by Kevin Kelly and had to share it here. I’ll include a snippet below.
The whole piece is banging around in my head, because I lean toward cynicism, which is the child of Pessimism and GoFuckYourselfery.
Continue reading “Kevin Kelly: Civilization requires optimism”absolute truth
Trailer: “C’mon C’mon”
This trailer looks like a must see.
sadness and the incredible likeness of idiocy
Yesterday, we drove from NC to Chicago. Somewhere in Ohio, just outside of Dayton, we stopped for gas and to pee.
With the heat, we don’t leave our dog Josie alone in the car so we take turns using the facilities. On my way into the gas station, I spotted two people at their Harley Davidson filling it with gas. They are pictured above. But this is after their tank is filled.
When I came out, this is how I saw them. It took little time for me to notice a lit cigarette in the man’s hands between two fingers.
It stopped me in my tracks. I stared at him and wondered, should I run to my car, yell for Tina and Jo to get in, and peel off before that place went up in an explosive blaze of moronic derpy derp derp …
I whipped out my phone, snapped this pic before speeding my walk, getting in our car and shooting off, pointing out to Tina & Josie that the nutbag on the Harley was at the pump with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
This guy is a metaphor for America. While the majority are reasonable people, engines off, filling their tanks without lighted cigarettes, cigars, or other open flames in hand, this dumbass thinks he’s smarter, above the law, and the welfare of the otherwise decent people are now in his mercy. His selfish, anti-life, anti-rules behavior is loud and clear.
It’s a stretch to blame this on former President Trump, but it is entirely his fault.
Just kidding.
It’s yours.
Continue reading “sadness and the incredible likeness of idiocy”Tim Harford: the power of disorder to transform our lives
This post is for me to remember to review this later. If you watch it, no spoilers.
Your first “5” tools for building fame, money and respect
This is a satisfying video to consume, but the contents are oddly inspirational and make me want to go to Home Depot with a list.
The number 5 feels very loose here, but damn.
fake parents
Ideopunk: 100 Tips for a Better Life
These 100 Tips for a Better Life is a solid glance and consideration. Here are some of my favorites:
4. “Where is the good knife?” If you’re looking for your good X, you have bad Xs. Throw those out.
13. When googling a recipe, precede it with ‘best’. You’ll find better recipes.
17. Done is better than perfect.
21. Exercise (weightlifting) not only creates muscle mass, it also improves skeletal structure. Lift!
22. Exercise is the most important lifestyle intervention you can do. Even the bare minimum (15 minutes a week) has a huge impact. Start small.
23. (~This is not medical advice~). Don’t waste money on multivitamins, they don’t work. Vitamin D supplementation does seem to work, which is important because deficiency is common.
35. Noticing biases in others is easy, noticing biases in yourself is hard. However, it has much higher pay-off.
59. Those who generate anxiety in you and promise that they have the solution are grifters. See: politicians, marketers, new masculinity gurus, etc. Avoid these. (Jeremy’s note: I would include openly religious people)
92. You have vanishingly little political influence and every thought you spend on politics will probably come to nothing. Consider building things instead, or at least going for a walk.
95. Some types of sophistication won’t make you enjoy the object more, they’ll make you enjoy it less. For example, wine snobs don’t enjoy wine twice as much as you, they’re more keenly aware of how most wine isn’t good enough. Avoid sophistication that diminishes your enjoyment.
92. You have vanishingly little political influence and every thought you spend on politics will probably come to nothing. Consider building things instead, or at least going for a walk.
ode to lu bear
On Monday morning June 20, 2022, we said goodbye to our girl Talulah. She was a huge part of our lives for twelve short years. And I miss her as much or more than any one person or pet I’ve ever loved and lost.
We adopted Talulah in 2010. When we picked her up, Tina opted to sit in the back with her. There was no containing Lu’s excitement. It was a happy day.
We believe she lived life a dog could live. Our work lets us be home a lot which afforded us lots of time for her. For that, we are grateful.
Continue reading “ode to lu bear”
Le Café Wittypoots 