Blog Archives
Thought for today
The biggest barrier between me and peace is my instinct to analyze why I didn’t, don’t, or might not have it. Stillness silences that instinct.
-Deschene
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Objectivist-C
Are you a Mac or iOS programmer? Do you write code in Objective-C?
Do you know who Ayn Rand is?
If you like both, there’s now the perfect programming language for you: Objectivist-C!
Objectivist-C was invented by Russian-American programmer Ope Rand. Based on the principle of rational self-interest, Objectivist-C was influenced by Aristotle’s laws of logic and Smalltalk. In an unorthodox move, Rand first wrote about the principles of Objectivist-C in bestselling novels, and only later set them down in non-fiction.
You can read all about it here. 
(h/t Ed)
I think my favorite is:
In Objectivist-C, software engineers have eliminated the need for object-oriented principles like Dependency Inversion, Acyclic Dependencies, and Stable Dependencies. Instead, they strictly adhere to one simple principle: No Dependencies.
Heh.
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Quote(s) for today
There are two kinds of people in the world: the ones that protest and complain and want fairness despite never having earned it, and the ones that fight their asses off to be important and make a contribution. You have to earn the right to be treated fair. The people that have a problem with that are the scrubs.
Read the whole article. It might be in the context of football, but it’s all about working hard(er) and achieving goals.
There’s two other passages I thought were excellent:
Adopt a winning attitude that understands you will fail but allows you to achieve your goals.
If possible, have someone in your life that won’t coddle you, but call you out on your bullshit. Whenever I faltered from this attitude my father set me straight.
- Complained about school? Suck it up and study.
- The coaches won’t look at me? Quit crying and get better.
- I don’t like my job! Change your attitude or quit and do your own thing.
- I don’t make enough money! Find a way to make more.
and
The important thing is that you make yourself indispensable at what you do. Work as hard as you can to be the best at your given role. If that’s protecting the punter, do so with such precision that no one can take your job. Do not take your job for granted. Make it hard on the coaches to take you out. Fight like hell to do your job better than anyone.
That’s one I’ve known and done my best with in my own life and career, and one I’ve been working to pass on to my kids.
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I don’t understand racism
I don’t understand racism, I never understood it. I can’t understand the fact you could hate somebody from half a mile away and never even speak to them and hate them. That’s fucking so dumb. There are black assholes, white assholes, Japanese assholes, whatever assholes… there’s always plenty of assholes. But until you speak to people, you never know which they are, a good guy or an asshole. Give ‘em that chance. That’s the only thing I’m prejudiced against, that’s assholes.
- Lemmy
I love Motörhead. I love Lemmy. You can hear him saying the above at about 4:40 into this interview:
That’s how I feel about it. It doesn’t matter much what your skin color is, what your gender is, what your sexual orientation is, what your religious preference is, what your beer choice is, what your ethic background is, whatever. For the most part it doesn’t matter. All that matters — to me — is if you’re a good person or if you’re an asshole. The sort of person you are transcends all those other mundane attributes, and is really all that matters.
(I say “for the most part” because sometimes those things matter. Like the SNL sketch of Tim Meadows trying out for the Bill Clinton role. Because sometimes there are just realities.)
I guess I’m only a person of half-color… maybe even less, because mixing white and yellow just winds up some odd shade of pale. I’ve felt the sting of racism and discrimination because I’m Korean, I’ve felt it because I’m white, I’ve felt it because I’m a half-breed, I’ve felt it because I have long hair, I’ve felt it for numerous other reasons because someone judged me based upon shallow perceptions. I know it exists and have dealt with being the victim of racism and discrimination throughout my life.
I do understand where racism, stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination comes from. It’s a very human thing to do, and we all do it. We all discriminate. We all attempt to take our experiences and classify them and draw conclusions from those experiences. And often it’s based upon very limited experience, very limited perception. It’s how humans function. The question is, what do you do with it? Because you can laugh at stereotypes, you can find ways to bring positive things out of them, or you can focus on being negative and hateful.
It saddens me deeply to see so much negativity, especially as of late. So much hate. So much anger and destruction. So much division. And some of the worst offenders are those that think they don’t do it, that they’re better, they’re above it (see my prior article). I have more respect for someone that’s racist and admits their racism, than someone that’s racist but denies it yet actively participates in it. That whole “log in your own eye” thing.
I’ll leave you with another song from another favorite band of mine, Tesla. The song is called “Caught In a Dream”:
If you can imagine this, the whole world sharing one big kiss
These are thoughts all through my brain, that I daydream everyday
That I’m alive and well, and right now, I’m alive, I’m feeling…well
It’s my life to live my way, so I’ll keep daydreaming away
And who knows, maybe someday, it will all come true
And I will get my way, and we will live as oneI’m caught up in a dream, I’m gonna wish for it all
No one’s gonna tell me how, no way, this is my dream now
I’m caught up in what seems simply impossible
I ain’t gonna change a thing, no way, it’s my dreamAnd what cannot will be done, for every living thing under the sun
Forget color, forget race, and just be one big happy face
Among this sea of people, live among God’s creatures, sharing love
That was sent down from above, here to share with one another
Father, brother, sister, mother, everybody sharing love, sharing loveI’m caught up in a dream, I’m gonna wish for it all
No one’s gonna tell me how, no way, this is my dream now
I’m caught up in what seems simply impossible
I ain’t gonna change a thing, no way, it’s my dream, this is my dreamWhat if…I close my eyes and everything will be alright
Here in my fantasy, living in harmony
Make my dream come aliveI’m caught up in a dream, I’m gonna wish for it all
No one’s gonna tell me how, no way, this is my dream now
I’m caught up in what seems simply impossible
I ain’t gonna change a thing, no way, it’s my dream
I’m caught up in a dream, I’m gonna wish for it all
No one’s gonna tell me how, no way, this is my dream now
I’m caught up in what seems simply impossible
I ain’t gonna change a thing, no way, it’s my dreamNow, if you can imagine this, the whole world sharing one big kiss
Take away the pain and hurt, make like heaven here on earth
Without reason to die, and giving everlasting life to all
Thought for today
We seek security, constantly demanding that there shall be no disturbance; and it is this desire not to be disturbed that makes us avoid what is and fear what might be. Fear is the ignorance of what is, and our life is spent in a constant state of fear.
-Krishnamurti, via Maku mozo!
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Quote for the day
One last piece of advice — if in doubt and you don’t know what to do, train your balls off and take the last week off. If you’re strong, you’re strong. Weak people find excuses — strong people lift big weights. And to be honest, this last paragraph of advice is all you really need.
- Jim Wendler, from a Blood & Chalk talk.
Jim might be talking about powerlifting, but the concept applies to life period. Weak people find excuses. Strong people lift big weights. Those weights may not be pulling a bunch of 45# plates off the floor. It might be working 4 jobs because you need to feed your family. It might be writing the next big app that will change the world. It might be caring for a sick and disabled loved one, because they cannot care for themselves. Weights aren’t always made of iron, but strong people move those weights every day without excuse.
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Quote for today
Pro FB players need to change nothing. Zero. Unless one of us have played 12+ years in the NFL and can comment from experience and have coached as a SC coach in the NFL for a decade or more, it’s nothing more than being Al Bundy. I realize that this is way off topic but it drives me nuts when anyone criticizes something that have never, ever done or ever will. Grow fucking balls and realize you don’t have all the answers. And listen to Sabbath. And fuck your wife every night. And make sure she never goes a day without being fully appreciated. Hug your kids every day but don’t be their fucking best friend. Use baby wipes post-dump too.
- Jim Wendler (a post he made on the 5/3/1 Facebook Page)
Perseverance and Persistence
Nicholas Bronkall writes about perseverance and persistence.
Just read it. We all need such a reminder now and again.
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What’s your excuse?
Ali McWeeney. Lost the lower part of her left leg (above knee) in a boating accident… at 20 years old.
She refused to give up powerlifting and strongman competition.
(h/t RossTraining)
What’s your excuse?
