The Dark Ages

Today at 1:25 P.M. I officially entered the Dark Ages.  No, it has nothing to do with lack of electricity.  I installed blackout cellular blinds in my bedroom to help ease my migraines.  The nice thing about them is they also are insulating too, so they will be useful at night when it is cold out as well as days when it is hot.

Pop Quiz

1. Who are food stamps really meant to help?

  a.) The poor
  b.) Farmers
  c.) Multinational food corporations

Blogiversary

It's the one-year anniversary for my other blog, The Long Ascent.  To commemorate, I posted a special (long) post on The Death of Tyranny.

Giving 1000%

I can literally give 1000%.  But that is very much dependent on how I set my levels.  By giving 100% on a daily basis, I mean taking what I can do over a decade and dividing by 3653.  So when I give 1000% one day, that means I may only be able to give 50% for the next 18 days.

There are a couple of points about this perspective.  I choose a decade because that is long enough to even out things like broken legs or pneumonia without changing too much because of aging.  (This won't be true for the first or last decade of life, of course.)  More importantly, if you define 100% as the maximum you can do in a day, then you will either be constantly falling short or you will eventually wear yourself out.  Most critically, if you live that close to the edge, if anything happens, your life will fall apart.  With my definition, you have some reserves for emergencies that demand it and are mentally prepared to recuperate afterward.

How Many Squares Do You See?

From Boom 99.7 on Facebook

Feel The Breeze, Smell The Manure

"Israel’s outgoing civil defense chief predicts monthlong war, 500 dead after strike on Iran" on the Washington Post

Just Learn

This is my response to "Go to trade school, young man" by Patrice Lewis on World Net Daily:

In my not so humble opinion, everyone who is capable needs to get some form of post-secondary education.  The United States has one of the best systems of adult education in the world.  Of course, that is partially due to overburdening children's schooling with noneducational requirements.  The real question is what form that education should take.

If you truly want to do something which requires a college degree, by all means, go to college.  If you truly want to work in a trade, go to trade school.  If you don't know what you want, try out different things before committing.  For example, if you think you might want to work in house construction, try volunteering for Habitat for Humanity.  And don't be afraid to try new things, even things you don't like.  I hate doing my own taxes, but I took the H&R Block introductory tax course so I could do them better, and I found to my surprise that doing other people's taxes was enjoyable.

Even when you have a career, don't stop learning.  The brain is like a muscle, the more you use it, the better it works.  Studies have shown decreased rates of senility in people who keep their minds active.  You can take courses which further your career, or find something for an interest you have or a hobby you enjoy.

If money is an issue, consider taking one class at a time while you're working.  It may take longer to get your degree but not necessarily to get your degree paid off.  You also aren't taking such a big risk if you decide you don't like the field you've chosen or can't find a job in it.