When in doubt, just get really, really strong. It tends to cure most problems in training – and life.
Philosophy
A tidbit of wisdom
Besse Cooper is among an elite group of eight super centenarians who have lived to the age of 116.
Her secret to longevity? “I mind my own business,” Cooper says. “And I don’t eat junk food.”
Emphasis added.
Full story. (h/t Maku mozo!)
thinking
“The third-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the majority. The second-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking with the minority. The first-rate mind is only happy when it is thinking.”
-A.A. Milne
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
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. 🙂
Quote for today
He who is unaware of his ignorance will only be misled by his knowledge.
-Richard Whately
Response to: The Perils of Open Carry
On her Facebook page, Kathy Jackson shared this link about “The Perils of Open Carry“.
Given my recent open carry oddness experience, a few things about the article struck me enough that I wished to comment.
Before I start out tho, I should say that I’m not really an open carry advocate. Do I find it odd that it’s illegal in Texas? Yes I do. Do I wish open carry was free and legal here in Texas? Yes I do. If I could legally open carry, would I? Probably not, but I appreciate having the freedom of choice because sometimes it may be the right choice.
1) Open carry will cause hassles with other people and eventually the police.
Yes I can see this being a reality today, but the more I’ve thought about it the more I’ve come to believe it’s something that has to be done to allow for change.
Let’s say the wording was changed to “Openly allowing black people to walk around will cause hassles with other people and eventually the police.” Sure that was the case years ago, but today? It’s not perfect, but it’s better. Should we keep black people, or gays, or Jews, or Catholics, or women under wraps because it will cause hassles and eventually involve the police?
How about instead we let people freely live their lives, and work to spread education and knowledge?
2) Criminals are not deterred by openly carried guns
Yes they are. There’s the Waffle House case back in 2010. There’s also numerous stories in the Chris Bird book “The Concealed Handgun Manual”.
But I will grant, it does change the game for a criminal. The author presents a story that showcases that the crime in fact seemed to be motivated by open carry! He wanted to steal the open-carrier’s gun! So it didn’t just not deter him, but it also was the prime motivation for the crime itself!
3) Getting your gun taken is a likely possibility!
It’s possible, but when we talk to private citizens about how retention holsters aren’t necessary, it’s backed by many years of looking for a case where this happens. We might see more now, and certainly we will change our stance if we see this is in fact an issue.
But that all said, the author is right. You don’t have magic abilities nor are you Billy Badass enough to keep all criminals from ever getting within 10 feet of you. Shit happens.
4) Most people who carry guns have crappy holsters and no weapon retention skills
This is the one that struck me most, given what I saw the other day. Two people with guns on their hips in crappy holsters. I have no idea if they have any retention skills, but the crappy holster alone was enough. And it may not be just the holster, but their whole equipment system, such as a really cheap belt.
I don’t totally agree with Mr. Ellifritz’s reasoning, but I’m not in total disagreement with him either. I know this can be a controversial and passionate subject for many, even within the “proud gun rights advocate” community. My personal preference is to minimize abridgement of good people, of maximizing freedom and choice. But always remember, just because it’s legal doesn’t always mean it’s the right nor best thing to do. Legality doesn’t equate to moral or right or just or good or sound. I would just prefer to have it as a legal option, because the more choices a good person can have, the more options responsible people can work with, the better decisions they can make.
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.
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!
Stuff From Hsoi 