Bourgeois Philistines of Minnesota

Well, Hey Howdy Y'all!

2012-01-02T14:07:00.002-05:00

Haven't been here for a while!

I thought I'd post my Holiday pics here.

Yes, that's the dog under those clothes. I call this picture "Merry Christmas!"

Yay! Loot!

Christmas at Mom's; 700 miles south.

That's Mom, my brother-in-law, the older girl and my brother. I forgot to open the flash and the picture came out yellow and grainy, but, if you don't blow it up, it's kinda pretty.

'Liina got on my nephew's bull.

No! Wait! I forgot I'm an old geezer! He's my great nephew!

My sister's rooster. He's probably got a name, but I didn't catch it.

67°F out New Year's Eve. Then we drove back home to 18°F. Couple inches of snow on the driveway with ice underneath. Or about 19° and -8°C, respectively. I think I did my math right this time.

Since Blogger decided to wipe out my old template

2011-09-11T22:43:00.000-04:00

and all my links (which I we seriously considering redoing from the ground up anyway), I decided to change to this one, which I find rather pleasant.

Chomski and Forced Sharing

2011-09-05T10:51:00.001-04:00

I read these two articles in close proximity. It makes an interesting juxtaposition: Noam Chomsky, Closet Capitalist and Beware of Forced Kindness A Lethal Destroyer of Your Happiness.

I don't know how I screwed up that Chomsky link, but it's fixed now. By the way, I should say that I agree with Chomsky about as much as I agree with the Hoover Institute - Chomsky's better about American foreign policy than they are.

Running talk

2011-06-21T23:27:00.001-04:00

I ran Grandma's Marathon last Saturday. Here's how that went:

I got that image from here.

The last two long runs on my training program for the Afton 50K are both 26-milers. I actually ran 25.88 two weeks before the Marathon and, of course, the Marathon is 26.2. I trust them to measure that right. I did about the same time...well, no...by the chip, I was considerably faster - even though there's a lot more wandering around on your feet before any race than there is before any training run.

Interesting factors: I mowed the lawn the night before the race. Probably not recommended. It was under 50 degrees (F - 10 degrees C) for most of the race and windy as hell. Mostly a tail wind, but when the strong gusts hit your sweaty back, it's quite a chill. Nasty day to be outside in shorts and a t-shirt - and all wet besides. I didn't stick around the Finish Area any longer than it took to fill up on free food.

They had the white "Hypothermia Danger" flags out. The fast runners liked it. The cold and the tail-wind, I mean. They might have liked the flags, too, I suppose. I doubt that anyone asked. (I know I didn't.)

Anyway, I took Sunday and Monday off, except for trimming my hedge, which was quite a bit overgrown. It made me sweat, but it didn't seem like terribly hard work.

Today I ran 8.35 miles or so. Since I the 50K is a trail run, I ran beside the paths, roads and sidewalks as much as I could. I avoided places where the cant was too steep and deep puddles. We had a thunderstorm today. And, actually, another tornado touched down a few miles north of where I work.

The run went pretty well: 87 minutes, and I felt strong enough to kick up to an 8-minute mile pace for the last 3/4 of a mile. I was feeling like freakin' Superman, actually. I wanted to go faster, but I've injured myself that way, so I didn't.

Edit: Oh, hey! I just looked at my training log on Map My Run. I did the 25.88 run in 5:23. That's almost a full 11 minutes slower than I did at Grandma's.

Adele's Rolling in the Deep is the best song ever!

2011-05-06T23:40:00.002-04:00

Pick your link from here.

She's a genius! The song may be equaled, but it can't be beat.

OMG! She's going to be at First Ave on May 26th! I'm going to have to find out what they're charging!

Edit: Ah Crap! It's sold out already.

Watched a couple good movies

2011-03-13T23:31:00.000-04:00

I'm going to put O Brother, Where Art Thou on my favorite movie list. It's just brilliant from start to finish.

Groundhog Day doesn't quite rise to that level, but it's got a couple scenes that keep you chuckling for a while after the movie.

Ouch!

2011-03-12T02:45:00.000-05:00

I don't want to be one of these kinds of philistines. What I really meant to say, originally, when I came up with my title, is that most people have a lot more going on in their minds than demonizers give them credit for.

I don't think I've proved that here, but I'll give her a bit more of a go before I give up the blog.

I picked up a movie at Half-Price Books about the original Philistines that I want to talk about, but I'll have to mull it over a bit more first.

The violence you can stop, you must stop.

2011-02-20T01:15:00.000-05:00

I was having a little debate on Youtube about Stef's reading of deMause's The Origins of War in Child Abuse (which can be found here as well as here).

That has led me to believe that it's about time I put my thoughts on morality down in writing. I accept Stefan Molyneux's arguments in Universally Preferable Behavior: a Rational Proof of Secular Ethics. On page 53 of the PDF, he starts his proof of the validity of the Non-Aggression Principle.

Hmm. I'm going to have to look closer look. I've just fried my brain doing a scan of the entire book.

Anyway, the thought I had when I wrote the title of this post was that it does fit the UPB format, except that it's unenforceable. Because we can't know the capacities of an individual we would enforce it on. That removes it to the level of an Aesthetically Positive Action. People like it when you do it, but they may not use force to force you to do it.

Bundling up for winter runs

2011-02-05T15:38:00.001-05:00

The temperature went from 18°-22°F while I was running today, and I'd have to say that I was relatively comfortable. No doubt spandex, or whatever those tights are made of, works better than the cheap stuff I wear, but I'm not here to help rich people. Except maybe to preserve their wealth by not squandering it on unnecessary stuff. I mean, I don't think I'd look good in that anyway.

Today, I took the risk of skipping the long johns and the undershirt; I only wore one pair of socks (but that's been plenty - I haven't run in temperatures colder than 10 below, ignoring windchill). I was OK with just sweat pants and two layers of polar fleece jackets on my upper body - one with a hood. And my Twins ballcap. I just wore my TC 1-Mile technical shirt under the jackets.

Oh, I also wore a safety vest for visibility. It was foggy out when I started. And my little knit gloves. They work just fine once you're warmed up. Keep your hands in your pockets for the first couple miles.

If there'd been any wind, I would definitely have needed the long-johns and undershirt. As it was, my shirt got completely soaked with sweat and apparently my jackets were flopping around enough on the bottom, where the vest wasn't holding them in place, to fan cold air in and darn near freeze the sweat. When I showered my belly was red and the hot water stung it.

Other things I should mention before I forget: I ran 16 miles in 3:15. The 16 was planned, the 3:15 was surprisingly slow, but I suppose that was due to the fact that there were a lot of slippery patches, and I prefer to run on a layer of snow rather than frozen asphalt and concrete. Or ice.

I slathered my feet with Glide and duct-taped my nipples. Technical shirts are rough on those (the latter, not the former). I used inch-square pieces today as an experiment and they worked like a champ. I've tried ¼ inch squares and ½ inch squares, but they haven't lasted for a whole long run. I can't get these off even now. Oh, well. My wife's the only one who'll have to deal with them. Pretty sure I'll be rid of them by Tuesday.

Invictus, by William Ernest Henley (1875)

2011-01-29T11:41:00.000-05:00

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

After all the fluff has settled, here's where we're at

2010-12-18T11:54:00.001-05:00

Hm. For some reason, Blogger's flipping my picture sideways.

As to my scientific methodology: I grabbed my four foot ruler, walked out to the nearest undisturbed spot in the yard (to my front door) and pushed the ruler down into the snow as far as I could. I didn't sample more spots.

So there.

The computer thermometer tells me it's 14ºF out. Warming up a bit.

[My character map calls the degree sign a "masculine ordinal indicator." What the hell?]

I wonder if there's anyone around here taking pictures

2010-12-07T22:45:00.001-05:00

like this guy.

Awesome pictures, man! The nature pictures, I mean. The people pictures are fine, too, but they don't blow your doors off like the plants & critters.

Dennis Curtin is his name.

I thought it was good of my camera to take this good of a night picture for me

2010-12-05T23:36:00.000-05:00

I thought this one was OK too.

The first one's looking South from my front step, the second one's from about thirty feet closer. Real photographers like to know details about the equipment, so I'll tell you that it's a Canon PowerShot SX110IS and I turned to knob/dial to SCN, whatever that means.

You know, I'd probably post more here

2010-11-04T00:56:00.000-04:00

If I'd called this blog "The Sober Epicure" or, perhaps, "epicurean". I swear to god, when I think of the limitations those words imply, I can't think of a thing to write, whereas "The Sober Epicure(an)" is much more descriptive of me. I want to get high-falutin' now and then, and I have here, so I've let the name and the promise down. But limiting me let's me down.

I chose bourgeois philistine because there are a lot of enjoyable things that fall within the clichéd, mundane, trite realm...and I wanted to defend those things. Funny thing is, that having chosen then path, suddenly it seemed that I couldn't find any attcks on them. There are some, yet, but they just seem to be jokes and I don't want to be a stuffed shirt attacking comedians. As long as they're funny. The jokes I don't think are funny are usually political, and I have another blog for dealing with those.

"Sober Epicure" also wouldn't have been very descriptive of me when I started this blog. I suppose I could have discussed the qualities and tastes of the various cheap beers and malt liquors and the value of swilling them down in great quantities, but I guess I never really felt proud enough of doing that to want to brag about it. I was quite the master at sneaking off to the liquor store, hiding my beer and hiding the empties as well. The pride in those great accomplishments didn't last any longer than it took to do them. Then it was time to drink.

But I have learned, quite literally to smell the roses and to really deeply feel a cool, crisp glass of water. To sense enjoyable things with as many senses as possible at once.

And, now it's time to enjoy the sensation of my blankets and pillow as I slowly dive into my unconscious mind.

I had a couple more pix I thought were worthy of posting

2010-09-26T21:09:00.000-04:00

The bottom is just a detail of the top.

Big Race Next Sunday.

2010-09-26T00:07:00.000-04:00

I only have to run about 10 miles between now and then. I ran 11 today. i managed to maintain a speed of 6.5 miles/hr the whole way. I think I was pretty steady. 48-55 degrees and cloudy helps a ton.

I was thinking about running a 5K a couple weeks after the big one. It'd be like a balls to the wall sprint after all this distance running. There's one down in south Minneapolis the third weekend of October. They're not quite as easy to find as I'd like them to be.

I wonder if there'd be any money in gathering info on races all into one website. I think I could get into that. Do research, google around, call people - post it to the web.

I've been wondering what my "passion" is. That pretty much describes it.

Googling right now, the first one in the future is MTCM's on Saturday. I'm sure you could still sign up as of now. I won't be running anything that day.

Here's the answer to my question: nope, there's no money in it.

I'm starting to get into some distances that I'm proud of in my running.

2010-09-05T01:21:00.001-04:00

So, I may just be blathering on more about my workouts than I have been. Today I ran, according to Map My Run, 19.2 miles in 3½
hours (3:29:30 to be exact). That's at least half a mile farther than I was estimating during the run, and at an average speed under 11 minutes/mile, or 5.49 mph. I was doing better than 6 mph at least through mile 12.
Map My Run also tells me that I burned 2926 calories doing it.

Now, the temp didn't get above 65° F, so that, no doubt, had a considerable bearing on my results. Once again, it was sunny and dry. Absolutely gorgeous day! September is a wonderful month. And, I've got to praise my new New Balance shoes for keeping my feet comfortable. That's the same brand as my old shoes, but they were breaking down and causing me knee pain.

I have some bizarre-ass feet, so what works for me might not work for you. If you're thinking about taking up running, you've gotta at least go talk to a professional running-shoe expert, or go to a lecture on it, like I did. It's made a huge difference in my shoe choices, both for running and wlalking/work. I no longer have the foot, knee and hip pains that I was contending with before. Or, when I do, I know how to fix them.

I invented a trick to help me pick up the pace when I catch myself dogging it: I start to breathe deeper, inhaling to a count of four steps and exhaling to the same count.

Whoa! Tighty Whities? Bad running gear!

2010-08-30T23:21:00.000-04:00

17 miles in 'em - extreme discomfort.

Enough said, eh.

Training for the Half Marathon is done.

2010-08-05T22:02:00.000-04:00

Now it's time to rest up.

I've got some painting to do tomorrow - on the house; nothing artistic, just painting the white highlights. Oh, and I need to mow the lawn and take the old garage door to the dump.

I'm on vacation.

1989-2010. Not a bad run for an appliance.

2010-06-09T22:46:00.000-04:00

It's my fault the old Shop-Vac died. I left it outside to dry after vacuuming up water that might have had sulfuric acid in it. It rained cats and dogs the next day. The watersoftener ran yesterday and reflooded the low parts of the basement near the floor drain I was trying to unplug. I plunged out the drain, which runs fine now, and went to get the Shop-Vac to clean up the bathroom rug. Then I remembered that I'd left it out under the eaves in front of the garage door.

I poured about a cup of water out of the motor compartment. I gave her twenty-four hours with the dehumidifier to dry out. It wasn't enough. She lasted about five seconds after I turned her on before the motor burned out. I should have blown her out with a blow dryer first.

No time to mourn. I still have to get that rug dry.

Whoops! The numbers don't lie

2010-06-08T17:40:00.000-04:00

1:34:15

2010-06-05T17:12:00.002-04:00

That's my time for the Manitou 15K. They don't use electronic chips, so that's my gun time, and I wasn't paying attention to anything but whose feet I was about to step on at the start, so I can't even estimate how long it took me to get to the starting line. Maybe twenty seconds - it wasn't that big a crowd.

Some were probably turned away by the thunderstorm predictions, but we only got a few raindrops during the race. It was raining pretty steady out last time I looked outside, but that didn't start until after noon sometime. Race conditions were cloudy and high sixties, with almost no wind. A little warmer than perfect racing weather, but pretty close.

For the first 5K I just hung with this group that seemed to be going the speed I wanted to go. The second 5K the crowd was pretty stretched out, so I just concentrated on breathing at the rate I thought would keep me at about a 10 minute mile pace. My watch verified that I was doing a heckuva job at it, though I was lagging a bit. The final 5K I pushed it a little more, though it started on a long upgrade - you probably wouldn't notice it in a car, so I waited on that until I got to the "top" before pushing. Then, finally I did a real kick for the last quarter mile, steadily accelerating through the finish line.

They probably haven't posted the results yet, but let's see anyway.

Nope. Not yet. They're supposed to post them on Apple Raceberry JaM by 6 PM.

I bet you're wondering how I feel now.

I've got a couple of raw spots - notably, one blistered toe, but other than generally tired legs, I feel pretty good. I mean, thank god it's raining and the yard work is all done for the week.

Oh, yeah. The floor drain in the basement is backing up so I've been hauling three gallon buckets of water from the clothes washer to the shower drain. Now we've knocked a hole in the wall between the laundry area and the bathroom and run a hose directly from the washer to the drain that works. I put the hole in a spot that wanted some work anyway, so no biggy there.

Ok, here are the official Manitou 15K results. Apparently I lost a second: 1:34:16.

79 Mins for 7 miles yesterday

2010-05-27T21:17:00.000-04:00

33 Mins for 3 today.

Just keeping track.

Let me start gathering notes for that spiritual autobiography

2010-05-26T00:25:00.004-04:00

About Al
The name "Old Whig" comes from Hayek's "Why I am not a Conservative," in which he disparages conservative positions and places himself in the Lockean camp. He says some things in praise of Edmund Burke in that article...fortunately Burke once wrote a piece called "A Vindication of Natural Society," which makes it possible for me to continue using that moniker.

My Life

Milestones: My "best friend" punched me in the stomach three times in Kindergarten. (Maybe that shouldn't be listed first, but chronologically it's the first thing that disturbed me. It was the birth of a deadly rage, in me.) Dad taught me to fight and I "got even" with that sob. That was never satisfying. I wanted to be friends, or at least be left alone. Both of those were out of the question. He wouldn't leave me alone, and he couldn't take me. Beating him up became a grim, several-times-per-week chore. Nobody offered him psychological counseling or me a better solution. Christ! I was 5, 6, 7, 8 years old! People are telling me, "You're fighting too much," or "violence doesn't solve anything..." Funny that nobody seriously tried to stop us. Ever.

...

Age seven: accepted Jesus as my Savior and was baptized. We went to a Wesleyan church which is a fundamentalist offshoot of the Methodists. My mother was raised Missionary Baptist in Oklahoma, and occasionally we went to an Assemblies of God church in town. In college, I called myself a Baptist/Methodist/Pentacostal. The first and the last figure the other is a variation of Satanism. Ho ho ho!

Age eight: started beating the crap out of my enemies. It got to be a dull chore.

Age nine: Read the whole Bible. When I was done, I started rereading it, bogged down in Leviticus, skipped ahead to Numbers, bogged down again, skipped to Deuteronomy, bogged down again... No, I was good with the Books of History, plodded through the Books of Poetry and the Major Prophets (Daniel is good story-telling), gave up on the Minor Prophets, except for Jonah and went ahead to the New Testament. Most of the preaching and teaching I heard all those years was from the New Testament, though we did some OT Bible studies from time to time over the years.

I should talk about what a lousy witness for Christ I was at school. I'm sure nobody ever thought I was anything but a heathen there. If they knew I was a Christian, they were repulsed by me. I had a foul mouth, talked "dirty," ...and, most shameful of all, when I became a big jock, I bullied some people. There's a guy named Dave I need to make amends to.

College: German major, Math & Philosophy minors. Graduated a nihilist. Nothing was true unless it was right in front of my face. I went to the Grand Canyon to make beds. I was shanghai'ed to drive a delivery truck (because the boss was a racist and the other candidate was black).

I found that part out when I got to know the boss better. I was ashamed to look the other candidate in the eye after that.

I need to check something. Some part of me doesn't want me to describe my time at the Canyon. Or doesn't like the way I've done it, now, twice. I've discovered two ways to accidently delete a post.

Suffice it to say, I met a guy who was the quintessential Christian moron, rejected him, read Nietszche and enjoyed godlessness for a while.

Where I'm at right now:
We raised our kids Lutheran, though, lately I've been monkey-wrenching church attendance. I've just been absent when it's time to go, so nobody goes. It's not the right way to handle it, I'm sure.

It's hard for me to believe that my wife didn't get that I was an atheist until I said it flat out a couple of weeks ago. I guess she was working really hard at keeping two and two apart. I suppose the whole thing of rejoining the choir made a really effective smoke screen. (I like singing and I like the style of music we sang - and the choir director and members... But I can't help them spread that word anymore.)

I have three witnesses that prove there is no god: my brother, my stepson and the guy from the Canyon. They're the strongest Christians I know and all nutty as squirrels.

Moron running

2010-05-16T23:56:00.001-04:00

Just so I don't forget, after the race last Thursday I jogged back to the start to get the girls, so there's two miles total that day. I ran 38 minutes Friday night - not sure how far, I cut across a park at one point. Saturday I ran from the house to and around Palmer Lake - seven miles in 80 minutes; and today I ran 75 minutes for an as-yet unmeasured distance. I'd like to think it was over six miles, but I haven't mapped it out yet. It'll be a good route to have in my Map-My-Run profile, because I'll be using that one again and expanding out from it.

I'm feeling over trained right now, so I'm going to rest tomorrow.

I'm feeling pretty cocky today

2010-05-14T10:31:00.001-04:00

No, I can't say that I really kicked butt in the TC 1-Mile. I ran too cautious a race and finished in 8:09. I was slowed in the beginning by people who had no business lining up in the front. That's what I get for running in the "Family Wave."

No, I had good reason to do that. The Master's wave started a half hour later, and I was headed back to the car by then. And that was good, because... Laurie was working late and I had the girls with me. I think they had a mildly good time. After picking up my race packet - number and chip and a pretty cool looking shirt - we had an hour to kill downtown, so we walked over to this sculpture park in front of an office building. Naturally the younger girl got us all yelled at by a security guy by climbing all over everything. Actually, he looked like he understood perfectly, but 'orders is orders.'

But, sorry, no death, destruction or great bodily harm ensued... No chases - per se - or slaking of wanton lust, for those who demand such things.

Cinco de Mayo? Aw, bleep! Missed it.

2010-05-06T17:20:00.001-04:00

Misleading title alert.

As a follow up to the previous post, I found myself sending this message...yes, to someone who cares:

I'm signed up for the Twin Cities Marathon on Oct. 3, but I'm not asking you to include that. I'll need to do some races to train for it, so it won't be hard to get the numbers. I'm signed up for the Twin Cities 1-Mile next week. There's the Manitou 15K on June 5th I could be ready for, the Minnesota Half Marathon on Aug. 7… so 1+9.3+13.1 gets me 23.4… Just need to throw in a 5k.

So there's a basic outline of my training program for this summer (summer starts right after the snowstorm tomorrow night). 9.3 miles by June 5th is pushing it quite a bit, but I'll deal with it (I hope).

Now I've done it

2010-05-01T11:46:00.002-04:00

I finally overcame my ambivalence about running another marathon and signed up for this fall's TCM. I certainly wasn't expecting any feeling of elation over it, but I feel downright euphoric. I'll be darned.

I had already signed up for the TC 1 Mile on May 13th, but I was having a heck of a time getting motivated to train for it. I'd done a few 2 and a half mile runs, but I wasn't working it into a habit. Now I walked 3 miles at lunch yesterday and ran 2 and a half last night and this morning. Last night I pushed a measured mile a little. I did it in ten minutes. This morning I dogged it a bit and did the mile in about ten and a half.

Sunny and 52 this morning. Kind of cool for a t-shirt and shorts, but I managed to work up a sweat. I took a "before" picture of myself, but I don't think I'll share it until I have a fairly impressive "after" picture.

I was surprised by how elated I felt after I filled out my registration. Apparently something inside me really, really wants to do that. I guess I don't just want to be "a guy who ran a few marathons." This'll be my fourth TCM. I took last year off to let my feet and legs heal up, but, emotionally I felt rotten all year. I didn't like not having the big goal out there to reach.

It's absolutely the peak of Spring here. There are pink, white and red apple blossoms all over everywhere, the lilacs are in bloom, the young leaves are neon green, the whole world smells like candy... What a wonderful time to be coming back to life! It was sunny and 52 during my run this morning. A bit cool for a T-shirt and shorts, but not too bad. Exactly the weather I'll want on October 7th, or whenever race day is.

I banged my knee on a chair last night. It's hurting pretty bad now, though since I managed a slow jog for two and a half miles, it probably won't screw up my training for the TC 1-Mile. It would if I were planning to win, I suppose, but I don't. I just want to get close to 7 minutes.

The wife's at Clutterers Anonymous right now and the kids are watching cartoons. I haven't showered up yet.

I just discovered Medici.tv

2010-04-03T12:32:00.001-04:00

I'm watching Mozart's Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter" played by the Orchestre national de Lyon, directed by Ton Koopman.

It's Mozart, so naturally it's beautiful.

The Portal Credits song is about the prettiest song

2010-03-30T19:16:00.002-04:00

I've heard in a long time.

If you ignore the subject matter, anyway.

You wanna hear a guy sing some good tunes

2010-03-29T01:16:00.002-04:00

Check out Dave Kopp. All original stuff.

So, d'j' all celebrate the holidays appropriately?

2010-03-18T17:22:00.003-04:00

The Ides of March, St. Urho's Day and St. Patrick's Day?

We fired up the hot tub for St. Urho's Day, but otherwise, we didn't do nuthin'.

I been bustin' my @$$ tryin' t'figure this crap out

2010-02-15T11:21:00.003-05:00

and it's been in the accessories file all along. Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Character Map.

They got crap like this: Ωand ⅓, Ä... All kinds of stuff I want to use.

Favre and the Horny Helmets won today

2009-11-15T21:53:00.005-05:00

As did the Packers.

Favre connected on a 60 yard bomb to Rice (was it?) that was incredibly impressive.

Oh! I said I put up a couple pix to show how things are going at Mom's house.

Well, here's the bunch I brought out trick or treating:

Quite the cute bunch, aren't they?

Here's Mom and the family:

And, Fall in Muskogee:

Check out what the Krauts call a Handbook

2009-10-25T14:18:00.005-04:00

Build a better mousetrap...

2009-09-07T11:08:00.004-04:00

We have, of late, had the opportunity to test several different types of mousetraps. Sticky-traps work well, but I think the mice, since the boards don't silence the victims immediately, learn to avoid them. And, if the mouse is strong enough, it can work its way off if you don't get there quickly and mash the mouse into the glue. (Wear a glove. Then, also, you have to drown them, brutally. A most personal proceeding.) We've caught over a dozen of the little effers with those.

We tried these plastice live-traps, but they caught nothing. Though the bait paste they came with does seem to draw mice when you use it with another type of trap. The old-fashioned snappy kind of trap silences them immediately, but doesn't always go off, and somehow they don't seem drawn to them.

The one that's working best is a slight modification of the old-fashioned trap which has a plastic bait holder that holds the jaw well, yet is somehow more sensitive than the old, metal type.

This one, right here.

I thought of a little ditty while showering up after the long

2009-07-06T10:08:00.003-04:00

July 4th weekend:

Bug bites and sunburns and duck-poop-caused itchin'
Long weeds and deadfalls and Mom-in-Law's bitchin'
Patching the rooves that hail damaged last Spring
These are the truths of our lake cabin dreams.

All right, a couple lines were tortured into to place to fit the rhyme and meter. We didn't have any rooves to fix this time around. But I'm not quite clear on why they need to remove deadfalls from the woods. Not that it isn't fun to play with chainsaws.

Oh, and I actually like my mom-in-law quite a bit. So, sorry about that one, Mom. But...you know...stereotypes...rhyme schemes...

I went to the shrink today

2009-05-27T23:09:00.003-04:00

I'm saying this back here because I'm a chickenshit. Man, I behave like a spoiled baby! What part of me wanted to sick Molyneux and Ron on each other? What the hell was that?

As to the therapy session, I just blatted all my fears and worries and guilts all over the guy. I couldn't get 'em all in in one hour, actually. Basically that was just the poor sod's introduction to me.

I diagnosed myself as a narcissist. He said we'd talk about that next time.

I'm still not quite clear on how the payment for this works.

Here's something philistinish

2009-05-19T00:41:00.004-04:00

The song, "Love is the Answer," has been running through my mind a lot for the last month or so. It came to mind first when I was watching this 9-11 Truther on YouTube, though then it was ironic (my intention in singing it), because the guy was pushing some kind of New Age religion. Now that I'm checking out Stefan Molyneux, though, it keeps coming back.

It's late. Remind me to dig up some links for you. OK, I found some, though I still have to get the YouTube links. And work in Alice Miller while I'm at it. Molyneux talks about her book, The Drama of the Gifted Child, which I haven't been able to find at the local bookstores, new or used, but I think she may just have said the most important thing she has to say right here. I mean, important for you and me, right now.

Here are the lyrics (edited by me):
LOVE IS THE ANSWER
England Dan & John Ford Coley

Name your price
A ticket to paradise
I can't stay here any more
And I've looked high and low
I've been from shore to shore to shore
If there's a short cut I'd have found it
But there is no easy way around it

Light of the world, shine on me
Love is the answer
Shine on us all
Set us free
Love is the answer

Who knows why
Someday we all must die
We're all homeless boys and girls
And we are never heard
It's such a lonely, lonely, lonely world
People turn their heads
And walk on by
Tell me is it worth just another try

Light of the world, shine on me
Love is the answer
Shine on us all
Set us free
Love is the answer

Are we alive
Or just a dying planet
What are the chances
Ask the man in your heart for the answers

And when you feel afraid
Love one another
When you've lost your way
Love one another
And when you're all alone
Love one another
And when you're far from home
Love one another
And when you're down and out
Love one another
And when your hopes run out
Love one another
And when you need a friend
Love one another
And when you're near the end
We got to love one another

Light of the world, shine on me
Love is the answer
Shine on us all
Set us free
Love is the answer

Light of the world, shine on me
Love is the answer
Shine on us all
Set us free
Love is the answer

For some reason, they've got Todd Rundgren singing it here.

Here's my cat

2009-04-20T00:22:00.004-04:00

The pic's from last Christmas, but I was just digging through the old files and I thought this was a great one. That's me she's sitting on. She won't sit on anyone else.

They're starting the creative round of layoffs at work.

2009-04-03T20:43:00.004-04:00

They didn't get me on this round, but it's early yet. I noticed some preliminary leading indicators of an upswing coming (I forget what, I just remember having the thought - somebody's buying something or other). But it all depends on how the gov't - intentionally or not - screws things up.

The Mises guys are predicting hyperinflation.

Well! We can get on with that bourgeois lifestyle, then!

2009-03-18T11:13:00.003-04:00

My piece of the stimulus bill:

wireless and broadband deployment grant programs

(including transfer of funds to Al Erkkila for the Al Erkkila Personal Economic Stimulus Program)

For necessary and unnecessary expenses related to the Wireless and Broadband Deployment Grant Programs established by section 6002 of division B of this Act, $2,825,000,000, of which $1,000,000,000 shall be for Wireless Deployment Grants and $1,825,000,000 shall be for Broadband Deployment Grants: Provided, That an additional $365,000,000 shall be paid directly to Al Erkkila in the form of subsidized loans that do not require repayment. Provided Further, That the funds be used by Al Erkkila to retire to the Bahamas or for whatever. Provided Even Further, That Al Erkkila will receive free Green Bay Packers tickets for life. Provided Even Further Still, That Al Erkkila shall be treated as a cabinet-level appointment for the purpose of income tax reporting, and therefore no taxes shall be paid on any of the aformentioned benefits. And one more thing: Barney Frank is hereby expelled from Congress, effective immediately upon enactment.

H/T Mr. Pt.

Get yours here.

Recent pix of the kids

2009-03-17T22:24:00.005-04:00

I was just going through the picture files and found a good one of Rosie back at Christmas in Mom's kitchen:

And here's Aliina celebrating the first nice day of the year. I call it Scotch Scarlett:

I made a slide show video with Media Maker last night.

2009-03-04T01:45:00.008-05:00

They're just stills of my nieces wedding. I posted some of the pictures before, but let's try this anyway.

So that's my first video editing effort (ever).

I also made my first powerpoint presentation ever, tonight. If I can figure out how to post that here, I will. I just jumbled a lot of crap together, so it ain't no great shakes.

I wanted to make my own video, but I can't figure out how to connect my video camera to my computer. In fact, in the directions, it says it might not work. That's kinda discouraging.

Update: She had a baby the other day! They named him Mitchell.

It's a deep expression of love, respect and support for a family member who's having a hell of a bad time.

It made me cry.

New movies you say?

2009-02-22T18:58:00.003-05:00

Just so you don't get your hopes up, I'll list the flix first, so you can decide whether you really want to keep reading:

UHF
Dodgeball
Madagascar II
The Penguins of Madagascar

And last weekend we got

I am Legend
Minority Report and
Shenandoah

Did I say "new"? I meant new to me. I'll try to give each one at least three sentences:

UHF: I'd seen it on cable back when we had it. I didn't expect much from it; I figured it'd be dumb, but I laughed out loud quite a lot. Weird Al isn't much of a dramatic actor but he writes some funny stuff. The whole is better than the separate clips available on YouTube. I bought it because my daughter had been watching those.

It came double packed with

Dodgeball: I figured, "What the hell! People talked about it quite a bit, and it's cheap. Why not?" The old geezer coach (Rip Torn! Of all people!) cracked me up. And if that's not Ben Stiller's natural personality (God, I hope not!), he's one of the best actors of our generation.

The chick's hot, too.

You'll notice that I got Madagascar II and Penguins together as well (you can't be bourgeois if you're not cheap). I'm going to cheat and review them together as well. Hilarious, the lot of 'em. I don't know who Danny Jacobs is, other than the voice of King Julien, but there's another guy (along with Stiller) who's not afraid to make a complete jackass of himself for the sake of art.

The wife gave me I am Legend and Minority Report for Valentine's Day. [I love you too, Hunny Bunny!] Both of them deserve more than three sentences, but I'm lazy, so:

I am Legend: I suppose everybody knows by now that this is a repriese of the same story The Omega Man is based on. This one's a touch better, though I think Charlton Heston did a heckuva job on the older move. Will Smith is a mere five years younger than I am, (plus one month and eleven days, ignoring the two leap days)... He's 40, man! Close enough to my age, all right!?

Unfortunately, since the kids were watching it with me, I had to downplay the scary parts.

Minority Report: good action/adventure. Interesting special effects. Up there with Cruise's Mission Impossible.

Does that count as three sentences? Three fragments? It deserves better, but...well, you know.

Is it saving the best for last to put Shenandoah here? It's probably the deepest story, though there was a fair amount of schlock in it. Anderson is a very sympathetic character to me, but...didn't Sheridan burn that whole valley to the ground in 1864? They went a little easy on the Yanks, if you ask me.

But I enjoyed the speech.

Well, I didn't do anything this weekend

2009-01-18T22:50:00.004-05:00

I slept all day Saturday (after I took down the Christmas tree and hauled it out to the curb). Today I went to church, then I watched the Arizona Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburg Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens. During the commercials I watched my new DVD Nietzsche and the Nazis.

Kelley Ross has written a review of it, Nietzsche and the Nazis, with some strong arguments against Dr. Stephen Hicks' "personal view," which inspired me to get the DVD and view it for myself.

Here's Ross' conclusion:

Hicks is confused enough about morality that he agrees with Nietzsche on the "slave revolt," and this serves to vindicate the influence, which he mentions himself, that Nietzsche had on Ayn Rand. This merely serves to illuminate the failings and oversights of Randite ethics. Nietzsche and the Nazis would be much better if Hicks were not carrying water for the peculiarities of Ayn Rand's own defense of liberalism and capitalism. By apparently agreeing with Nietzsche's denigration of Jewish and Christian compassion and charity, Hicks in truth burdens his case for freedom, democracy, liberalism, and capitalism with a weakness that the enemies of all these, today principally on the Left (but also in Islamic Fascism), have never hesitated to exploit. Politically, leftist rhetoric is still, even in America, much more pervasive and effective than any defense of the free market or private property.

Nevertheless, despite these tendentious weaknesses, and the peculiarity of its structure, Nietzsche and the Nazis is a valuable and, on the whole, impressive work. That Nietzsche was not an individualist and that the Nazis were socialists are points that seriously need arguing against other admirers of Nietzsche, on the former point, and against those who, on the latter point, promote the leftist interpretation of fascism as a form of capitalism. Hicks does this all effectively, even as he performs the valuable historical service of preserving and expounding what the ideology of the Nazi regime actually was, and the reasons why a great many Germans really supported it. We should not forget that the eugenics movement in the United States was not completely discredited until it was obvious what the Nazis had done, faithfully, with such ideas. At the same time, the attraction of Nietzsche for Stephen Hicks himself is evidence for the thesis that intellectually serious people, whether Nazis or not, can believe this stuff.

Emphases and links are in the original.

I must say, I didn't find the Randian touches particularly disagreeable, but, then, I've been tempering my Objectivism with Ross's insights for a number of years now. I won't feel very qualified to argue against Dr. Ross until I finally get around to finishing one of Kant's books - or, rather, several. The impression I got of Kant from my college course on him (called Romanticism and Alienation, and it wasn't exclusively about Kant, we also surveyed Fichte, Hegel, Schilling and some other German Idealists - my paper was, more or less, "Fichte and the Nazis"; I think I got a B- on it)...

Oops! Digression!

Anyway, my impression of Kant from that class was that he deserved both barrels of what Ayn Rand fired at him. It is Ross who got me to reconsider. The trouble is, I'd rather read Ross than Kant or Schopenhauer.

I know that the points Ross goes on about in his review, even with his forewarning, aren't ones in which I feel much of a personal stake, so I found it difficult to get as worked up over them as he did when I watched the movie (the first time, without the football games). I've read four books on Hitler, including Mein Kampf and The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, and thirty or fourty on World War II, visited Dachau, stayed for two and a half weeks with a former SS soldier and been otherwise inundated with information about that epoch... You'd think I'd be tough to impress on that subject... But I was impressed with Hicks' presentation of the similarities and differences between Naziism and Nietzsheanism.

And, of course, I am interested in the comparison of Hicks' achievement with my own.

Update: Aha! Now I see a bit more clearly.

Honor the Earth: Impacted Nations: a traveling art show

2008-11-26T22:21:00.004-05:00

[Feel free to skip the next post down. But if you do read it, remember, I like to make Grumpy Old Man jokes (I'm talking about my intro), so while I try not to distort the truth, read some humor into it. I'm no Dana Carvey, but I think I'm funny anyway.]

I took some pictures of the artworks on display at work. I thought you'd be interested. I think it's good stuff that deserves to be advertised. Go see an exhibit.

I don't know that these two are necessarily my favorites (the picture is, but there are a lot of close seconds), but I wanted to show a couple of pieces to indicate the variety of works on display. There is also a blanket called "Peace and Friendship Forever?" depicting some of the promises America has made and broken with the indians.

Oh, I see the "Media Coverage" links, at the bottom of the page I've linked in my title, take you to more images from the show. And here's that blanket, though there is a LOT of detail that doesn't show in that picture. I'm not showing the picture that I have because I didn't want to shrink it down to a bloggable size. I wouldn't want to do that without permission anyway. I got to that page via the "Artwork, Artist Statements and Biographies" link on the main page.

I've been sitting here for a half hour, trying to distill my thoughts about my ancestors and ancestry, the present state of indian/white relations, the meanings of the artworks... A lot of thoughts... Some of my ancestors may have been involved in oppressing others of my ancestors... All the misunderstandings and warmaking.

Oh! I've been there! On top of some of those peaks! What he describes, in the artist's statement...you feel it.

Well... Shall I be a true philistine now and smash the reverie?

No. I won't. Real life will do that soon enough. Indeed that's what a lot of the exhibit is about.

I took that damn IPIP-NEO test

2008-11-25T23:32:00.003-05:00

I don't much care for their interpretation of my current opinions about my current job performance as meaning that I'm lazy and do shoddy work. No, I'm unambitious, bored *&%^less, angry at myself and some of my family members that I find myself in this situation... But! The customers are not now and have never been the problem; I treat them as human-beings with dignity and needs that I know how to fulfill. Work is the one place where I can make a perfect product without interference from a bunch of smart-ass kibitzers - indeed, due to the lack thereof.

I may not have been sufficiently honest about my anger levels, or perhaps, didn't relate the questions about my anger level to the questions about my work performance.

With that cheery introduction, here are my results. Oops, wiped out the formatting, let's see if I can edit it. Here:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/5/j5j/IPIP/ipipneo300.htm ">IPIP-NEO Narrative Report

This report compares Alekiller [I thought that was a clever semi-anagram for my name] from the country USA to other adult men. (The name used in this report is either a nickname chosen by the person taking the test, or, if a valid nickname was not chosen, a random nickname generated by the program.)
This report estimates the individual's level on each of the five broad personality domains of the Five-Factor Model. The description of each one of the five broad domains is followed by a more detailed description of personality according to the six subdomains that comprise each domain.

A note on terminology. Personality traits describe, relative to other people, the frequency or intensity of a person's feelings, thoughts, or behaviors. Possession of a trait is therefore a matter of degree. We might describe two individuals as extraverts, but still see one as more extraverted than the other. This report uses expressions such as "extravert" or "high in extraversion" to describe someone who is likely to be seen by others as relatively extraverted. The computer program that generates this report classifies you as low, average, or high in a trait according to whether your score is approximately in the lowest 30%, middle 40%, or highest 30% of scores obtained by people of your sex and roughly your age. Your numerical scores are reported and graphed as percentile estimates. For example, a score of "60" means that your level on that trait is estimated to be higher than 60% of persons of your sex and age.

Please keep in mind that "low," "average," and "high" scores on a personality test are neither absolutely good nor bad. A particular level on any trait will probably be neutral or irrelevant for a great many activites, be helpful for accomplishing some things, and detrimental for accomplishing other things. As with any personality inventory, scores and descriptions can only approximate an individual's actual personality. High and low score descriptions are usually accurate, but average scores close to the low or high boundaries might misclassify you as only average. On each set of six subdomain scales it is somewhat uncommon but certainly possible to score high in some of the subdomains and low in the others. In such cases more attention should be paid to the subdomain scores than to the broad domain score. Questions about the accuracy of your results are best resolved by showing your report to people who know you well.

John A. Johnson wrote descriptions of the five domains and thirty subdomains. These descriptions are based on an extensive reading of the scientific literature on personality measurement. Although Dr. Johnson would like to be acknowledged as the author of these materials if they are reproduced, he has placed them in the public domain.

Extraversion

Extraversion is marked by pronounced engagement with the external world. Extraverts enjoy being with people, are full of energy, and often experience positive emotions. They tend to be enthusiastic, action-oriented, individuals who are likely to say "Yes!" or "Let's go!" to opportunities for excitement. In groups they like to talk, assert themselves, and draw attention to themselves.

Introverts lack the exuberance, energy, and activity levels of extraverts. They tend to be quiet, low-key, deliberate, and disengaged from the social world. Their lack of social involvement should not be interpreted as shyness or depression; the introvert simply needs less stimulation than an extravert and prefers to be alone. The independence and reserve of the introvert is sometimes mistaken as unfriendliness or arrogance. In reality, an introvert who scores high on the agreeableness dimension will not seek others out but will be quite pleasant when approached.

Domain/Facet........... Score 0--------10--------20--------30--------40--------50--------60--------70--------80--------90--------99
EXTRAVERSION...............10 **********
..Friendliness.............24 ************************
..Gregariousness...........31 *******************************
..Assertiveness............0
..Activity Level...........14 **************
..Excitement-Seeking.......55 *******************************************************
..Cheerfulness.............11 ***********

Your score on Extraversion is low, indicating you are introverted, reserved, and quiet. You enjoy solitude and solitary activities. Your socializing tends to be restricted to a few close friends.

Extraversion Facets

• Friendliness. Friendly people genuinely like other people and openly demonstrate positive feelings toward others. They make friends quickly and it is easy for them to form close, intimate relationships. Low scorers on Friendliness are not necessarily cold and hostile, but they do not reach out to others and are perceived as distant and reserved. Your level of friendliness is low.
• Gregariousness. Gregarious people find the company of others pleasantly stimulating and rewarding. They enjoy the excitement of crowds. Low scorers tend to feel overwhelmed by, and therefore actively avoid, large crowds. They do not necessarily dislike being with people sometimes, but their need for privacy and time to themselves is much greater than for individuals who score high on this scale. Your level of gregariousness is low.
• Assertiveness. High scorers Assertiveness like to speak out, take charge, and direct the activities of others. They tend to be leaders in groups. Low scorers tend not to talk much and let others control the activities of groups. Your level of assertiveness is low.
• Activity Level. Active individuals lead fast-paced, busy lives. They move about quickly, energetically, and vigorously, and they are involved in many activities. People who score low on this scale follow a slower and more leisurely, relaxed pace. Your activity level is low.
• Excitement-Seeking. High scorers on this scale are easily bored without high levels of stimulation. They love bright lights and hustle and bustle. They are likely to take risks and seek thrills. Low scorers are overwhelmed by noise and commotion and are adverse to thrill-seeking. Your level of excitement-seeking is average.
• Cheerfulness. This scale measures positive mood and feelings, not negative emotions (which are a part of the Neuroticism domain). Persons who score high on this scale typically experience a range of positive feelings, including happiness, enthusiasm, optimism, and joy. Low scorers are not as prone to such energetic, high spirits. Your level of positive emotions is low.

Agreeableness

Agreeableness reflects individual differences in concern with cooperation and social harmony. Agreeable individuals value getting along with others. They are therefore considerate, friendly, generous, helpful, and willing to compromise their interests with others'. Agreeable people also have an optimistic view of human nature. They believe people are basically honest, decent, and trustworthy.

Disagreeable individuals place self-interest above getting along with others. They are generally unconcerned with others' well-being, and therefore are unlikely to extend themselves for other people. Sometimes their skepticism about others' motives causes them to be suspicious, unfriendly, and uncooperative.

Agreeableness is obviously advantageous for attaining and maintaining popularity. Agreeable people are better liked than disagreeable people. On the other hand, agreeableness is not useful in situations that require tough or absolute objective decisions. Disagreeable people can make excellent scientists, critics, or soldiers.

Domain/Facet........... Score 0--------10--------20--------30--------40--------50--------60--------70--------80--------90--------99
AGREEABLENESS..............45 *********************************************
..Trust....................70 **********************************************************************
..Morality.................59 ***********************************************************
..Altruism.................16 ****************
..Cooperation..............46 **********************************************
..Modesty..................62 **************************************************************
..Sympathy.................23 ***********************

Your level of Agreeableness is average, indicating some concern with others' Needs, but, generally, unwillingness to sacrifice yourself for others.

Agreeableness Facets

• Trust. A person with high trust assumes that most people are fair, honest, and have good intentions. Persons low in trust see others as selfish, devious, and potentially dangerous. Your level of trust is high.
• Morality. High scorers on this scale see no need for pretense or manipulation when dealing with others and are therefore candid, frank, and sincere. Low scorers believe that a certain amount of deception in social relationships is necessary. People find it relatively easy to relate to the straightforward high-scorers on this scale. They generally find it more difficult to relate to the unstraightforward low-scorers on this scale. It should be made clear that low scorers are not unprincipled or immoral; they are simply more guarded and less willing to openly reveal the whole truth. Your level of morality is average.
• Altruism. Altruistic people find helping other people genuinely rewarding. Consequently, they are generally willing to assist those who are in need. Altruistic people find that doing things for others is a form of self-fulfillment rather than self-sacrifice. Low scorers on this scale do not particularly like helping those in need. Requests for help feel like an imposition rather than an opportunity for self-fulfillment. Your level of altruism is low.
• Cooperation. Individuals who score high on this scale dislike confrontations. They are perfectly willing to compromise or to deny their own needs in order to get along with others. Those who score low on this scale are more likely to intimidate others to get their way. Your level of compliance is average.
• Modesty. High scorers on this scale do not like to claim that they are better than other people. In some cases this attitude may derive from low self-confidence or self-esteem. Nonetheless, some people with high self-esteem find immodesty unseemly. Those who are willing to describe themselves as superior tend to be seen as disagreeably arrogant by other people. Your level of modesty is average.
• Sympathy. People who score high on this scale are tenderhearted and compassionate. They feel the pain of others vicariously and are easily moved to pity. Low scorers are not affected strongly by human suffering. They pride themselves on making objective judgments based on reason. They are more concerned with truth and impartial justice than with mercy. Your level of tender-mindedness is low.

Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness concerns the way in which we control, regulate, and direct our impulses. Impulses are not inherently bad; occasionally time constraints require a snap decision, and acting on our first impulse can be an effective response. Also, in times of play rather than work, acting spontaneously and impulsively can be fun. Impulsive individuals can be seen by others as colorful, fun-to-be-with, and zany.

Nonetheless, acting on impulse can lead to trouble in a number of ways. Some impulses are antisocial. Uncontrolled antisocial acts not only harm other members of society, but also can result in retribution toward the perpetrator of such impulsive acts. Another problem with impulsive acts is that they often produce immediate rewards but undesirable, long-term consequences. Examples include excessive socializing that leads to being fired from one's job, hurling an insult that causes the breakup of an important relationship, or using pleasure-inducing drugs that eventually destroy one's health.

Impulsive behavior, even when not seriously destructive, diminishes a person's effectiveness in significant ways. Acting impulsively disallows contemplating alternative courses of action, some of which would have been wiser than the impulsive choice. Impulsivity also sidetracks people during projects that require organized sequences of steps or stages. Accomplishments of an impulsive person are therefore small, scattered, and inconsistent.

A hallmark of intelligence, what potentially separates human beings from earlier life forms, is the ability to think about future consequences before acting on an impulse. Intelligent activity involves contemplation of long-range goals, organizing and planning routes to these goals, and persisting toward one's goals in the face of short-lived impulses to the contrary. The idea that intelligence involves impulse control is nicely captured by the term prudence, an alternative label for the Conscientiousness domain. Prudent means both wise and cautious. Persons who score high on the Conscientiousness scale are, in fact, perceived by others as intelligent.

The benefits of high conscientiousness are obvious. Conscientious individuals avoid trouble and achieve high levels of success through purposeful planning and persistence. They are also positively regarded by others as intelligent and reliable. On the negative side, they can be compulsive perfectionists and workaholics. Furthermore, extremely conscientious individuals might be regarded as stuffy and boring. Unconscientious people may be criticized for their unreliability, lack of ambition, and failure to stay within the lines, but they will experience many short-lived pleasures and they will never be called stuffy.

Domain/Facet........... Score 0--------10--------20--------30--------40--------50--------60--------70--------80--------90--------99
CONSCIENTIOUSNESS..........23 ***********************
..Self-Efficacy............27 ***************************
..Orderliness..............54 ******************************************************
..Dutifulness..............39 ***************************************
..Achievement-Striving.....1 *
..Self-Discipline..........32 ********************************
..Cautiousness.............33 *********************************

Your score on Conscientiousness is low, indicating you like to live for the moment and do what feels good now. Your work tends to be careless and disorganized.

Conscientiousness Facets

• Self-Efficacy. Self-Efficacy describes confidence in one's ability to accomplish things. High scorers believe they have the intelligence (common sense), drive, and self-control necessary for achieving success. Low scorers do not feel effective, and may have a sense that they are not in control of their lives. Your level of self-efficacy is low.
• Orderliness. Persons with high scores on orderliness are well-organized. They like to live according to routines and schedules. They keep lists and make plans. Low scorers tend to be disorganized and scattered. Your level of orderliness is average.
• Dutifulness. This scale reflects the strength of a person's sense of duty and obligation. Those who score high on this scale have a strong sense of moral obligation. Low scorers find contracts, rules, and regulations overly confining. They are likely to be seen as unreliable or even irresponsible. Your level of dutifulness is average.
• Achievement-Striving. Individuals who score high on this scale strive hard to achieve excellence. Their drive to be recognized as successful keeps them on track toward their lofty goals. They often have a strong sense of direction in life, but extremely high scores may be too single-minded and obsessed with their work. Low scorers are content to get by with a minimal amount of work, and might be seen by others as lazy. Your level of achievement striving is low.
• Self-Discipline. Self-discipline-what many people call will-power-refers to the ability to persist at difficult or unpleasant tasks until they are completed. People who possess high self-discipline are able to overcome reluctance to begin tasks and stay on track despite distractions. Those with low self-discipline procrastinate and show poor follow-through, often failing to complete tasks-even tasks they want very much to complete. Your level of self-discipline is low.
• Cautiousness. Cautiousness describes the disposition to think through possibilities before acting. High scorers on the Cautiousness scale take their time when making decisions. Low scorers often say or do first thing that comes to mind without deliberating alternatives and the probable consequences of those alternatives. Your level of cautiousness is average.

Neuroticism

Freud originally used the term neurosis to describe a condition marked by mental distress, emotional suffering, and an inability to cope effectively with the normal demands of life. He suggested that everyone shows some signs of neurosis, but that we differ in our degree of suffering and our specific symptoms of distress. Today neuroticism refers to the tendency to experience negative feelings. Those who score high on Neuroticism may experience primarily one specific negative feeling such as anxiety, anger, or depression, but are likely to experience several of these emotions. People high in neuroticism are emotionally reactive. They respond emotionally to events that would not affect most people, and their reactions tend to be more intense than normal. They are more likely to interpret ordinary situations as threatening, and minor frustrations as hopelessly difficult. Their negative emotional reactions tend to persist for unusually long periods of time, which means they are often in a bad mood. These problems in emotional regulation can diminish a neurotic's ability to think clearly, make decisions, and cope effectively with stress.

At the other end of the scale, individuals who score low in neuroticism are less easily upset and are less emotionally reactive. They tend to be calm, emotionally stable, and free from persistent negative feelings. Freedom from negative feelings does not mean that low scorers experience a lot of positive feelings; frequency of positive emotions is a component of the Extraversion domain.

Domain/Facet........... Score 0--------10--------20--------30--------40--------50--------60--------70--------80--------90--------99
NEUROTICISM................89 *****************************************************************************************
..Anxiety..................56 ********************************************************
..Anger....................38 **************************************
..Depression...............89 *****************************************************************************************
..Self-Consciousness.......99 ***************************************************************************************************
..Immoderation.............99 ***************************************************************************************************
..Vulnerability............82 **********************************************************************************

Your score on Neuroticism is high, indicating that you are easily upset, even by what most people consider the normal demands of living. People consider you to be sensitive and emotional.

Neuroticism Facets

• Anxiety. The "fight-or-flight" system of the brain of anxious individuals is too easily and too often engaged. Therefore, people who are high in anxiety often feel like something dangerous is about to happen. They may be afraid of specific situations or be just generally fearful. They feel tense, jittery, and nervous. Persons low in Anxiety are generally calm and fearless. Your level of anxiety is average.
• Anger. Persons who score high in Anger feel enraged when things do not go their way. They are sensitive about being treated fairly and feel resentful and bitter when they feel they are being cheated. This scale measures the tendency to feel angry; whether or not the person expresses annoyance and hostility depends on the individual's level on Agreeableness. Low scorers do not get angry often or easily. Your level of anger is average.
• Depression. This scale measures the tendency to feel sad, dejected, and discouraged. High scorers lack energy and have difficult initiating activities. Low scorers tend to be free from these depressive feelings. Your level of depression is high.
• Self-Consciousness. Self-conscious individuals are sensitive about what others think of them. Their concern about rejection and ridicule cause them to feel shy and uncomfortable abound others. They are easily embarrassed and often feel ashamed. Their fears that others will criticize or make fun of them are exaggerated and unrealistic, but their awkwardness and discomfort may make these fears a self-fulfilling prophecy. Low scorers, in contrast, do not suffer from the mistaken impression that everyone is watching and judging them. They do not feel nervous in social situations. Your level or self-consciousness is high.
• Immoderation. Immoderate individuals feel strong cravings and urges that they have have difficulty resisting. They tend to be oriented toward short-term pleasures and rewards rather than long- term consequences. Low scorers do not experience strong, irresistible cravings and consequently do not find themselves tempted to overindulge. Your level of immoderation is high.
• Vulnerability. High scorers on Vulnerability experience panic, confusion, and helplessness when under pressure or stress. Low scorers feel more poised, confident, and clear-thinking when stressed. Your level of vulnerability is high.

Openness to Experience

Openness to Experience describes a dimension of cognitive style that distinguishes imaginative, creative people from down-to-earth, conventional people. Open people are intellectually curious, appreciative of art, and sensitive to beauty. They tend to be, compared to closed people, more aware of their feelings. They tend to think and act in individualistic and nonconforming ways. Intellectuals typically score high on Openness to Experience; consequently, this factor has also been called Culture or Intellect. Nonetheless, Intellect is probably best regarded as one aspect of openness to experience. Scores on Openness to Experience are only modestly related to years of education and scores on standard intelligent tests.

Another characteristic of the open cognitive style is a facility for thinking in symbols and abstractions far removed from concrete experience. Depending on the individual's specific intellectual abilities, this symbolic cognition may take the form of mathematical, logical, or geometric thinking, artistic and metaphorical use of language, music composition or performance, or one of the many visual or performing arts. People with low scores on openness to experience tend to have narrow, common interests. They prefer the plain, straightforward, and obvious over the complex, ambiguous, and subtle. They may regard the arts and sciences with suspicion, regarding these endeavors as abstruse or of no practical use. Closed people prefer familiarity over novelty; they are conservative and resistant to change.

Openness is often presented as healthier or more mature by psychologists, who are often themselves open to experience. However, open and closed styles of thinking are useful in different environments. The intellectual style of the open person may serve a professor well, but research has shown that closed thinking is related to superior job performance in police work, sales, and a number of service occupations.

Domain/Facet........... Score 0--------10--------20--------30--------40--------50--------60--------70--------80--------90--------99
OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE.....60 ************************************************************
..Imagination..............87 ***************************************************************************************
..Artistic Interests.......89 *****************************************************************************************
..Emotionality.............27 ***************************
..Adventurousness..........51 ***************************************************
..Intellect................71 ***********************************************************************
..Liberalism...............14 **************

Your score on Openness to Experience is average, indicating you enjoy tradition but are willing to try new things. Your thinking is neither simple nor complex. To others you appear to be a well-educated person but not an intellectual.

Openness Facets

• Imagination. To imaginative individuals, the real world is often too plain and ordinary. High scorers on this scale use fantasy as a way of creating a richer, more interesting world. Low scorers are on this scale are more oriented to facts than fantasy. Your level of imagination is high.

• Artistic Interests. High scorers on this scale love beauty, both in art and in nature. They become easily involved and absorbed in artistic and natural events. They are not necessarily artistically trained nor talented, although many will be. The defining features of this scale are interest in, and appreciation of natural and artificial beauty. Low scorers lack aesthetic sensitivity and interest in the arts. Your level of artistic interests is high.

• Emotionality. Persons high on Emotionality have good access to and awareness of their own feelings. Low scorers are less aware of their feelings and tend not to express their emotions openly. Your level of emotionality is low.

• Adventurousness. High scorers on adventurousness are eager to try new activities, travel to foreign lands, and experience different things. They find familiarity and routine boring, and will take a new route home just because it is different. Low scorers tend to feel uncomfortable with change and prefer familiar routines. Your level of adventurousness is average.

• Intellect. Intellect and artistic interests are the two most important, central aspects of openness to experience. High scorers on Intellect love to play with ideas. They are open-minded to new and unusual ideas, and like to debate intellectual issues. They enjoy riddles, puzzles, and brain teasers. Low scorers on Intellect prefer dealing with either people or things rather than ideas. They regard intellectual exercises as a waste of time. Intellect should not be equated with intelligence. Intellect is an intellectual style, not an intellectual ability, although high scorers on Intellect score slightly higher than low-Intellect individuals on standardized intelligence tests. Your level of intellect is high.

• Liberalism. Psychological liberalism refers to a readiness to challenge authority, convention, and traditional values. In its most extreme form, psychological liberalism can even represent outright hostility toward rules, sympathy for law-breakers, and love of ambiguity, chaos, and disorder. Psychological conservatives prefer the security and stability brought by conformity to tradition. Psychological liberalism and conservatism are not identical to political affiliation, but certainly incline individuals toward certain political parties. Your level of liberalism is low.

The questions were about criminals, not lawbreakers. I differentiate between the two. Some laws are criminal.

After that crack, TF

2008-11-22T00:45:00.005-05:00

I'm going to have to post some pix of the Mormon rellies:

Wait, there's a boy missing... Oh, there he is with his Dad:

I can't really feel too guilty about invading their privacy or anything; they blog here. But, hey! If you go over there, don't be leavin' any snarky comments or anything: that's my niece and nephew, and, I guess, my great-niece and -nephew (Holy crap, I'm old!). And they're the nicest people in the world! Hopefully they think the same of me.

I don't want them feelin' the need to backtrack you back over here and find out what I'm really like.

Hey, doesn't my niece, here, look a lot like this gal?

Since it's, like, 15° out tonight

2008-11-21T23:45:00.006-05:00

it seems like an appropriate time to post a couple pix of my niece's wedding in Muskogee, OK, from last June. (Okay, okay, I just found the old camera.)

Some of you may recognize the grizzled character in the first pic. Yup, Ron's alive and well. That's my mother and my Grandma behind Aliina, along with a bunch of cousins and Aunt Linda and Uncle Joe. I'm particularly fond of Aliina's pose in the second picture.

Oh, that's Aunt Paula, there, too (in the first pic). And that might be my sister, the bride's mother, up by my truck.

Hayley Westenra is a New Zealander, eh?

2008-11-20T00:53:00.004-05:00

What an extraordinary talent she is! I found her in the Celtic Woman group and I was intrigued by the fact that she didn't seem to be with them all the time, so I had to find out what was up with that. She shows off her Kiwi accent at that site. Subtly different from Aussie - I can usually tell who's what between the two accents, but I couldn't tell you how.

The Wikipedia article says she's Dutch and Irish. I suppose, there must be Dutch people in a place called New Zealand. Westenra's a Frisian name.

I'll be picking up more of her stuff.

What? You don't think it's bourgeois to like a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice? I'd say "love," but there are...you know...implications.

What I did over the weekend

2008-10-20T15:46:00.003-04:00

I'm somewhat proud of myself. Saturday, I put the pool away. It looked clean enough to me, but I did have to vacuum out all the leaves and the water. Then I pulled it out of the shade to dry in the sun. Then I rolled it into a ball twice the size of the box, jammed it in as best I could and stowed it in the shed.

Good enough.

I started to rake the front yard then, but I decided it'd be better just to run the bagging lawn-mower over it. Looks good.

Sunday we overslept for church. The wife started b... uh, nagging at 10:15. That's when we have to be in the car and on the street to get to church by 10:30. She was up at 8:00. Therefore she's virtuous and we're not.

You know what I'm thinking.

Anyway, well, the furnace hasn't been working this fall. The indicator light said everything was just dandy, but it wouldn't turn on. Laurie called Ron and handed the phone to me. Ron walked me through a bunch of tests and we got the bugger running. Well, I had to go to Menard's and get a new thermostat, but everything's working now.

More later.

Events lately

2008-10-03T23:24:00.003-04:00

Two weekends ago, we went to the Pine City Fall Gathering. Last weekend we went up to the Inlaws lake place and this weekend I'm running the MTC Marathon.

That's the outline. Maybe I'll flesh it out when I'm not bummed out at losing the big game in Washington. Maybe these guys will help.

I suppose the people who still stop by here are aware

2008-09-18T01:00:00.003-04:00

that my tagline, or whatever you call it, "Seeking transcendence one relationship at a time" is a bit of satire. But since nobody's mentioned it, I figured maybe I should say something.

Any suggestions for how I could make it funnier?

[Edit-5/16/2010: Good thing I quoted the tagline, eh? Since I changed it. It's actually quite a brilliant line. I think I changed it out of guilt.]

Oh, good. It's clearing up. (Not for the squeamish.)

2008-09-16T23:01:00.004-04:00

[Before I get to that, remind me to say something about Snopes' Sarah Palin articles before the election. I've got that page sitting open now and I'm about to use it for something else.]

Yesterday was my last chance to take a really long run before the Marathon. I had the day off, so I decided to run down from the house here to Victory Memorial Parkway, south to Wirth Parkway to Cedar Lake Parkway and on over to Lake of the Isles. The whole route is just beautiful, except for the plain old city streets in this neighborhood.

Let's see if I can find some good images... Not so good of Memorial Pkwy, it was taken too early in the spring... Here's the Theo Wirth Golf Course as it will look a few weeks hence, I ran by that... I've gotta get a new digital camera. Somehow ours didn't make it back from Oklahoma. Oh! There's Brownie Lake! I like to look at that as I run by.

This guy's got some pix of the Cedar Lake Bike Highway. I run for a mile or so alongside that on the pedestrian path. And this pic is definitely Lake of the Isles, not Lake Calhoun. If you flip through those pix, there are several of Lake of the Isles. Calhoun is a big, round thing. Oh, this is better!

When I get a new digital camera, I'll post some good pictures.

Well, the run went just dandy, though it took me four and a half hours. I'm sure it was a full twenty miles, maybe a little more. Wouldn't want to peak too soon, don't you know. I was draggin' my a-- pretty bad by the time I got home. That was at 1:12, I started at 8:40 AM. It's been tough to train consistently this year, for the same reasons it's been tough to blog consistently. Some of the same reasons, anyway.

But... This is where the squeamish might want to turn away. I got in the shower and soaped up, when suddenly the call of nature became urgent enough, that I got out of the shower all soapy to take care of it. My pee was all red! Real red! And then I got nauseous and dizzy. I'm not sure if that was just squeamishness or if I had really lost that much blood... I feel exactly the same way if I watch someone take blood out of my arm, whether its a lot or a little. I can't watch that. Now I know what happens if I see it coming out of my you-know-what.

I still needed to rinse off the soap, but I was afraid of what might happen if I didn't sit down, so I sat down in the shower stall to rinse off. Thank God! Next thing I know, I'm at a party where everybody's talking and moving like a vidoetape on fast-forward, I open my eyes and can't figure out what the hell's going on or where I am. I was having such a nice nap, why do I have to get up now? What the...? Oh, I'm in the shower!

I'm still too soapy, the shower head is still in my hand so I finish rinsing; apparently I was in a stable position, I hadn't flopped over much... Now I have to get up and get the towel. Okay, that worked out OK, but I rushed through the drying and grabbed a pair of shorts in case my daughter, who was due home from school any minute now, walked in on me. Put the shorts on and went to the next room to flop on a mattress we have on the floor.

Then the doorbell rang. I'd locked her out.

The details get rather mundane after that. I read somewhere that blood in the urine is a common occurrence after a long run. Don't bother the doctor unless it persists longer than a day or two.

So, I guess I'll just monitor the situation for another day, and if I'm not happy with the progress, I'll go bug somebody about it.

So that's what's on my mind. How about you?

Welp, we stopped by the DQ on the way home tonight...

2008-08-27T21:43:00.004-04:00

We bought a couple squishy burgers (bbq sandwishes) and a couple hotdogs and a load of Buster Bars... The wife's got a new job with the local school district and we were over helping her set up her room.

Speaking of jobs [and I usually don't, but] the SuperMegaCorp I work for just got bought by SUPERDUPERMEGACORP. Word is, there'll be no noticeable changes down at my end right away. We'll undoubtedly start seeing signs of reorganization inside a few months. I think I'll find it interesting to observe this process from the underside. Those who find my pro-business naivete irritating will be happy to hear that I'm potentially facing some hard schooling.

We've been having critter troubles lately.

2008-07-11T00:10:00.003-04:00

A week ago last Friday, a squirrel managed to drown in our pool. So I got to pick him out (could have been a "her" for all I know - I'm pretty squeamish about looking, and I'm not well enough versed in squirrel parts to know if I could tell, anyway). Rigor mortis had set in, so it was like handling a little, furry statuette. That told me he'd been there awhile, but not too terribly long.

I bagged him up, and threw him in the dumpster. I forgot to say any words of condolence to his relatives. "He was a cute little guy..."

So we drained the pool, mopped it out and refilled it.

No sooner did we get that done, when my daughter comes down and informs me that we've got a raccoon on the back porch, eating the cat's food. The wife and I head out to scare it off and the bastard casually rips a hole in the screen and jumps out. So I put the windows back in and blocked the door with boards.

Next day, after church, we stopped at Fleet Farm and bought a live trap. I set it up by the porch, tossed in some cat food, and woke up Monday to find another cute little critter napping in the cage. I went back inside, put on some leather gloves and went out to haul him away. He'd rolled the cage on its side, so I had to roll it back. When I started to reach for it with my hand, the little bugger transmogrified into a demon, screamed and lunged at my fingers. Kinda took me aback. So I rolled the trap over with the bottom of my shoe. Got to see a couple more of those lunges. I picked up the cage and, carrying it out away from my side brought him around to the truck and loaded him in the back. I dropped him off in a park on the east side of the Mississippi. I don't think he'll find his way back.

Tuesday morning, before dawn, my wife and I are wakened by the screen porch door slamming and banging. Again. That was one of the symptoms of the previous feral burglar. I didn't do anything about it right then, except reboard the door, then I forgot about him until, late that night, when I was headed to bed I hear clattering and banging of the boards falling over. So I went roaring out the door... I think I had some kind of weapon, but I don't remember what. Fortunately, he hadn't quite made it in when I did that.

This time, I boarded, barred and blocked the door with every heavy thing I could find. He didn't come back that night.

I set up and baited the live trap again last night and woke to find another napping raccoon in it this morning. Hopefully, not the same one. Repeat of previous performance, but this time I took the litter p----rhead out east of 35W, just in case it was, indeed the same one and he knew the route from the park across the river straight back to my house.

I feel a little bad about something, though. All my friends are hunters and trappers (and fishermen, though that's beside the point), and I'm none of those things. I'm itching to get a pelt. I've never seen a litter of 'coons with less than three...I think the term is "kits."

The sibling or parent of those two twerps better keep that in mind.

I was watching some more episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies

2008-07-03T01:00:00.003-04:00

again tonight. It really was a funny show.

Did you know that Irene Ryan died with a million dollars in the bank? Left it all to the whippersnappers.

Hard to hold her wealth against her: she was brilliant!

Steve needs to read The Mainspring of Human Progress

2008-06-08T00:02:00.003-04:00

Henry Grady Weaver would not have objected to me spending a sunny afternoon making this with a magnifying glass:

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Weaver was a disciple of Rose Wilder Lane and Isabel Paterson.

This seems like pretty good stuff to me

2008-05-25T20:26:00.002-04:00

EARN YOUR FORTUNE IN
FINDER'S FEES
The Easiest Money You'll Ever Make!
by: J.F. (Jim) Straw
Would you like to earn $75,000 per month for 5 years?

One Finder did. He saw an item in a newsletter offering 10,000 barrels of Crude Oil per day for 5 years. Putting that seller together with a buyer at a small refinery, he earned a fee of only 25¢ per barrel, and collected his fee of $75,000 every month for 5 years.

How about trading less than $1 in postage and a couple hours easy work for $100?

Not a big fee but it was so easy another Finder couldn't pass it up. Reading a "collectors" magazine, he came across an ad seeking some college memorabilia from a college near his home. He made some local telephone calls, located the items wanted, wrote a letter, and earned an easy $100.

Do Fast-Food Franchises interest you?

More than one Finder makes staggering fees each year by just finding "locations" for fast-food franchises. Others earn smaller, but consistent fees, finding locations for Vending Machines and Coin Operated Games. It takes some research, time, and an eye for consumer buying habits, but some of the fees would boggle your mind.

Two Finders - Two Fees!

One Finder had a "seller" offering a warehouse full of closeout & surplus inventory. The other Finder had a "buyer" looking for closeout & surplus inventory. They saw each other's listings in the same newsletter. After a few telephone calls and letters, they earned over $25,000 each.

Did you know there are firms in this country who "manage" hotels, mobile home parks, apartment buildings, etc., for the absentee owners?

Those firms often pay substantial Finder's Fees if you can find properties for them to manage.

Would you believe over $50,000 per year by just matching Newspaper Classified Ads with the Telephone Book Yellow Pages?

One Finder makes that much and more each year by just matching-up the wants & availables in Newspaper Classified Ads from neighboring areas with the Yellow Pages in his town and other Classified Ads from other newspapers.

If you can think creatively, you might be able to pull-off one like this!

A company had been trying to dump a huge volume of lead weights for ages. They couldn't find a buyer. Then a creative Finder figured out that those weights could be used in the commercial fishing industry. His creative thinking was rewarded with a substantial Finder's Fee.

Television Advertising pays big bucks to Finders, too!

NO! You don't have to run any TV advertising. Just find people who need TV advertising and connect them with TV stations who will run their ads. Of course, first you have to strike a deal for "dead" air time.

It would take a couple hundred pages to tell you about all of the Finder's Fees earned in machinery & equipment deals.

As you probably know, there are literally hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of pieces of machinery & equipment setting around, in almost any industry you can name. Find a buyer. Earn a fee.

If a product or service can be sold or bought, there is a potential Finder's Fee just waiting for a Finder with the "know-how" to earn it. There are Finder's Fees to be earned in every small town or big city, in every state and country. All you need to do is match-up the buyers and sellers, put them together, sit-back and collect your fees.

And...you can start your own Finder's Fee business for less than it would cost you for a good meal at a fine restaurant. - All you really need is a typewriter, business letterhead, and a telephone to get started.

"Why would any company pay a Finder's Fee?"

There are over 240,000,000 people in this country -- and millions of businesses (small, medium & large). Can any business know of ALL of the sources of supply, potential buyers, or providers of necessary services? -- Not on your life!

Why should a company spend thousands of dollars, and tie up essential employees to do nothing but research the existence of these suppliers, buyers, and providers -- when they can easily let a Finder go to the trouble of locating the contacts they need. And, those fees are considerably less than what they would have spent if they had done the research themselves.

Finders EARN their fees by weeding-through the unqualified leads and flakes; by following all of the dead-end paths; and eventually putting their hands on a real, honest-to-goodness source, buyer, or whatever. -- THAT is what a Finder gets paid for doing.

A company, or individual, who pays a Finder's Fee, pays it so they won't have to chase down all of those unqualified leads, blind alleys, and dead-ends.

It is really far easier than you might imagine...but...if you don't know how to do it (and do it right), you may chase down all the blind alleys without ever finding a profitable match. - That's what happens to most amateur finders - a lot of blind alleys but NO Fees!!

I've spent over 30 years of my life as a finder - gathering facts and doing the things that you need to do to be a professional finder. Starting with a $42 unemployment check, I became a multi-millionaire.

During those 30-plus years, I made every mistake ever made by amateur finders - until I learned how to do it right. -- I have earned Finder's Fees for locating everything from a World War II bayonet (for a collector) to buyers for Oil Field Equipment.

Over the past 10 years, I have watched as literally thousands of men, and women, have tried to become Finders. - Most of them don't even know, for sure, what a Finder's Fee is, or how a Finder earns those fees.

The real tragedy of this situation is that there are literally millions, upon millions, of dollars out there just waiting to be claimed by someone who can "find" the buyer, or seller, needed to complete the transaction.

What Is A FINDER?

Unfortunately, most people...even many of those who call themselves "finders".....don't really know "what" a finder is, or how to start earning Finder's Fees.

In order to define what a Finder "is," let's first point out what a Finder "is not."

A FINDER is NOT a PRE-SELLER -- Pre-sellers accept a selling price from a product source, add-on what they feel to be a fair margin of profit, and sell the item. After they make a sale, they then buy the product and ship it to the buyer.

A FINDER is NOT a DEALER -- Dealers take-on a product, or service, for continuing promotion and sales. They are responsible for the distribution of a product, or service, from the prime source to the end user.

A FINDER is NOT a REPRESENTATIVE or AGENT for either the buyer or seller. -- Representatives & Agents are empowered by their clients to negotiate the purchase, or sale, of specific products or services. They can legally sign documents obligating their clients.

Too many "supposed" Finders are not really Finders at all -- they are Salesmen, Agents, Representatives, and/or Pre-sellers.

A Finder is nothing more than a "match-maker" for a fee. The professional Finder simply matches QUALIFIED buyers with QUALIFIED sellers, or vice versa - "FOR A FEE!"

Finders DO NOT sell anything; except their knowledge.
Finders DO NOT negotiate anything; except their own fees.
Finders DO NOT add-on their profits.

"Contacts Are A Finder's Stock in Trade"
"Contacts" are the bread and butter of the professional finder. All he is really selling is names & addresses of QUALIFIED contacts.

The following are the most important points to remember:

(1) Be a FINDER; not an Agent, Representative, Salesman, or Pre-seller. DO NOT try to sell anything; simply offer QUALIFIED contacts to your clients who offer a Finder's Fee. Nothing more.

(2) As a FINDER, let your contact and your client negotiate their own deal; once you have brought them together.

(3) Use the finest materials (letterheads & envelopes) available, and maintain the most professional business approach in all of your dealings.

(4) Furnish only QUALIFIED contacts to your client. UNqualified contacts only come from UNqualified "amateur" finders.

(5) NEVER give your client the name & address of another Finder. When you do, you start a Daisy Chain, and are not entitled to any form of Finder's Fees.

(6) READ...READ...READ...ever increasing the number and quality of your contacts.

(7) Keep chronological and complete files of all of your correspondence (even telephone calls) with both your contacts and your clients.

(8) Always FIND IT FIRST, before contacting a potential client. This one action, alone, will save you a lot of money in paper that doesn't go into the waste basket.

(9) If you don't get a response from the potential client, DO NOT do what childish amateurs do DO NOT blame the advertiser; blame yourself. You probably didn't offer the potential client what he wanted; so, try again, or give up, on that particular finding opportunity.
NOTE: If one advertiser doesn't respond to your contact offer, you should keep your eyes open for a similar Finder's Fee opportunity; to which you can make the same offer. - BE SURE to re-confirm your contact.

(10) The "key" word in being a successful finder is PATIENCE. The reason most amateur finders never earn their first fee is because they push for a fast close. They try to negotiate the deal for the principals. DO NOT do it!! Let your principals close their own deal, in their own time. A "right" deal will close itself. A "wrong" deal will never close; no matter how hard you push and shove.
As a finder, you can work anywhere you want, at any time you want - just by keeping your eyes & ears open. Even an offhand comment overheard on the street can lead to a finder's fee.

Whether you live in Podunk, or Metropolitan New York City, you can earn constant, and sizable, Finder's Fees all year, every year.

Your family, friends, business associates, and local merchants (as well as people all over the nation, and around the world) can make you a fortune -- if you know who will pay you a Finder's Fee for information you hear and see every day.

Using the information in this report, you can be well on your way to earning your fortune in Finder's Fees.

This report was excerpted from the complete, master course, "Finder's Fees - The Easiest Money You'll Ever Make" by J.F. (Jim) Straw; the only professional finder to ever write on the subject. The complete, master course has been the bible of professional finders since 1978. -- Available in our Power Tools for Entrepreneurs.

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FINDERS WANTED - Earn Exceptional Finder's Fees. click here

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J.F. (Jim) Straw
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Dalton, GA 30720-8029
jfstraw@businesslyceum.com
Be sure to mention you saw it in the Business Lyceum.
Copyright - 2006, J.F. (Jim) Straw. All rights reserved.

Oops!

2008-05-10T22:23:00.004-04:00

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I was trimming my hair today, when the guard fell off. So the only option I could see was to do this.

Oh, well. It was on my list of things to do before I die.

Don't worry. My daughter still looks like this:

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I need to thank Rosie when I get home

2008-04-14T10:05:00.003-04:00

for all her help this morning. My wife had to get up and head out early today for work and I had to get the kids up and out alone.

I was up late typing up some papers, so I was having a heck of a time getting out of bed. Rosie saw that and got Lena up and dressed and made sure she went potty. Hopefully, they both ate something. I had a glass of milk, but I just realized I didn't check into whether they had anything.

Anyway, I couldn't have done it without her, and I'm grateful. I'm afraid I was mostly gruff and grumpy at the time. She did a good thing and deserves something special for it.

David Broza

2008-04-04T21:20:00.004-04:00

is the greatest genius of our age.

OK, he's got serious competition from Tiger Woods. But I, personally, get more joy from music and this guy puts an extraordinary amount of joy into his music and gets back what he puts in. Maybe more.

Is it bourgeois to be passionate about great jazz? Maybe not, but Broza transcends labels and styles and classes with his jazz. He stands on the shoulders of giants, no doubt. But he's on top.

He was born in Haifa, Israel, son of the first folk singer to sing in Hebrew, met many world famous musicians who made pilgrimages to the Holy Land and came to see her, then they moved to Spain, where he learned their styles and songs, and America, where he learned our jazz and rock-n-roll.

You can see it all in the PBS special: David Broza at Masada: The Sunrise Concert. I'm especially enamored of the Israeli singer (I'll probably misspell this) Kelee; a gorgeous woman with a magnificent voice. And the Jamaican water drum player, Sujya(?), who beat with his hand on a Kerr jar that he dipped in a tub of water, to marvelous musical results. And the Hebrew/Arabic duet he did with a Palastinian band leader who so joyfully sang with David and the child chorus their song of peace and love. Though I understood not a word, I raised my hands to heaven during that song. From their lips to God's ear.

What they showed on PBS had one flaw: it was only one hour. I could have stood another three or four.

Awesome!

My daughter's just like me.

2008-03-02T23:35:00.004-05:00

I guess this goes here. I try to do things about my bourgeois lifestyle here. I know I promised to do a better review of the new production of My Fair Lady today, but I've been rather busy since I made that promise. It rates every positive thing that can be said about it, I kept finding myself grinning during the performance - it may well be the best musical ever, and these guys really do it brilliantly.

Maybe that's as much as I need to say. But back to my daughter:

We're talkin' the older one. Tonight we were talking about her homework project, somehow the subject turned to geology and she ran up to get a library book she checked out today to show me what the MOHS scale is. That's the same rock hardness scale I learned in junior high, but I didn't know the name. Apparently there's another scale for minerals that I wasn't aware of. I should have asked about that.

I tested her personality at INFP, which is pretty similar to my INTP, but I keep in mind that I'm not a professional, and I have to wonder if that personality type might be more common among children. It strikes me as an immature way to think to me, but then all you bastards look childish to me. You're all getting worked up over some insignificant BS.

The thing about INTPs is that we're as close to Spock as humanity has to offer. We think like him, but we keep finding ourselves freaking out over some damn thing.

Here's a homely topic

2008-02-13T19:57:00.003-05:00

My four year old daughter just took care of the whole pooping issue all by herself. It fell to me to check her work, and it appears that she did everything perfectly.

I exclaimed, "You're a Big Girl now!"

You can understand my excitement, I'm sure. Hangin' around poop...well, that's not where I want to be. Poop is yucky.

But, it occurred to me to wonder, what are the other major signs (or whatever) of growth?

I'd especially be interested in what milestone I should work to pass next.

So, the Giants won

2008-02-04T21:53:00.001-05:00

And, since my last post, that applies to both the NFC Championships against my Packers and the Superbowl.

And, guess what? I'm one of the guys who dissed them both times. They look like a team that can't handle what they're going to go up against until the game ends. I mean, how can a team that barely eaks out a win in every game keep that up through the Superbowl, where they faced the best offense anybody's ever seen?!

[Here's a great recap.]

Answer: the Giants' defense is better than any we've ever seen. They make great offenses look like amateurs.

If they can do that to the Patriots, it makes me feel a helluva lot better about my Packers. In fact, since the Pack took them into overtime, it makes me think that "we" [yeah, like I had a hand in it somehow] might have beaten the Patriots. Favre seemed to be pretty well protected in the NFC Championship game. The Giants' D were all over Tom Brady.

If only there weren't this other team out there.

Hey! It's absolutely THE Cinderella Story that every American kid dreams about when he's out in the yard tossing a football to himself. With 2 minutes and 30-something seconds to go in the game, the Giants get the ball back deep in their own territory and Eli Manning engineers an 83-yard drive - in the face of fierce opposition - with two major completions to David Tyree...well, I guess the NFL frowns on unauthorized published descriptions of their games, but it ended with an easy-looking TD completion to Burress with just over 30 seconds left.

It would have taken a miracle for Brady to pull it out at that point. Brady tried his best to provide that miracle, and nobody would have put it past him, but the Giants' D wasn't allowing any miracles yesterday.

[OMG! You didn't see that screw-up, did you? If you did, well, I confused Tyree with Moss in the last two drives. ACH!]

I tend to notice things like blocking and pass protection when I'm watching games, and both defenses were tearing the O-lines up, so when I see a defensive struggle it takes a while for me to figure out what went wrong. It looked like incompetence... but I was focussing on the wrong side of the ball.

"TERENCE, this is stupid stuff..."

2008-01-26T00:06:00.001-05:00

is the first line of my favorite poem of all time. It's by A.E. Housman, and I think he put it at the end of his collection (linked to the title above), A Shropshire Lad, because he saw it as I do - as a kind of dessert after eating the meat and vegetables of the rest of the book. Unfortunately, it's Baked Alaska following plain (but healthful) fare.

It's difficult to say anything about Housman's poetry in general, or A Shropshire Lad in particular, that he doesn't say himself in "Terence." Although, one thing he doesn't say, in any of his writings, is that the darkness of them may have been the result of the fact that he was a gay man in Victorian and Edwardian England. And abstinance didn't make him as happy as he could have been.

"Terence" is Housman's justification of the dark subjects he usually wrote about. And even knowing that - how uninspiring it sounds - I love it because it's such a personal story, with a clear moral (though without sacrificing the story, or forcing the rhyme-scheme) and a wonderful ancient history lesson to boot.

The thing's kind of a mini-epic - and it's funny, informative and sobering.

I...OMG! The Packers are playing today!!

2008-01-12T17:34:00.001-05:00

OK! The game's tied 14-14! You can say I haven't missed anything.

Snowin' hard at Lambeau Field! Awesome.

Fumble...the Pack's got it!

I'm not gonna do a play by play ... Favre lobs a TD!
.......

Oh, isn't that fun? Blogger just wiped out my brilliant description of Favre's escape from the sackers and the shovel pass for first and goal that set up an easy three yard run for touchdown.

The Pack has now tied the team record for first half points in the playoffs with 28.

Seattle scored a Field Goal. Score now 28-17.
.........
OK, after all that crap, the score is now 42-20. A new Packers record for post-season points.

The Packers finally have to punt. Crap!
.......
Special Secret Double Delux Bistro Burger!

Wait to buy it until the owner gets back in charge.
......
Nobody's able to move the ball in this weather.
........
Seattle pulls a couple running plays and the game's over!

Favre 173 yards, 3 TDs. And my daughter was impressed by the announcer's mention of the snowball.

What I saw of the Oklahoma ice storm

2007-12-14T23:18:00.001-05:00

On the way down to my Uncle Bill's funeral I ran into freezing drizzle, starting south of Des Moines. The defroster, while it was heating the cab to about 100°, couldn't keep the ice off the windshield. I had to slow way down to give it a chance to keep up. When I got down to 35 mph, and had stopped for the third time to scrape it clear (and Liina said, "I gotta go potty!"), I decided we'd just take a motel for the night.

So we stopped at the Super 8 in Bethany, Missouri. I had seriously considered stopping at The Sundowner Motel in Cameron, because it was the first motel I ever stayed in, and I was almost overcome by nostalgia for it. But, finally, I was convinced that the temperature was going to continue to drop faster than I could head south, so I'd never get ahead of the weather...another thing that worried me, was that somebody with more of an angle to their windshield, and, therefore, less trouble seeing through it, would be driving overconfidently and rear-end me...and "I gotta go potty" was the last straw.

The next morning the drizzle continued, but with warmer temps, the defroster could keep up. The roads were always okay - their ice treatment, Iowa's and Missouri's seems to be very effective, though, even so, I had to be careful to stay in the ruts as I neared Carthage, Mo.

So that was the experience that told me not to try to drive home on Tuesday.

Here are the pix I took Sunday, after things had been sitting for several hours in warmer weather.

All right, that's nothing like my Mom's pix of the Ferris coming through the Duluth Entrance about the same time of year after a storm in the mid-70's (or my buddy Dutch's mom's pix of his dad's boat, the McCurdy, which came in right behind the Ferris - both of 'em looked like they were made of icicles).

I want to reiterate, this is the worst that Muskogee saw. Tulsa and Oklahoma City got the full brunt of the big storm. (Though Muskogee was hit by one equally as bad last year, though more localized.) I took these pix of my Mom's yard on Sunday:

Sorry about the scrap lumber. It wouldn't be there if it were my place. And it wasn't when Mom was ambulatory, either. I need to spend some time there next summer. I need to go down there with my list of things to do.

Here's the front yard:

Muskogee wasn't hit at all by the big storm, thank God.

My boss wasn't sounding very sympathetic when I call and told her that I wasn't going to drive up through it. Though, when I talked to her today, she told me that, after she talked to me she listened to the news and found out that it was, indeed, a big deal. As I hinted, I wouldn't have thought of it as much of a deal, myself, if I hadn't tried to drive through a minor precursor of it a couple days before.

Packers 34, Vikings 0

2007-11-11T19:15:00.001-05:00

Awesome!

I want to know how San Diego did, though. I was thinking that, after the Vikes womped them last week, the Packers were in for some $#!# this week. But nope. The Vikes absolutely rolled over and let Favre and the boys have their way with them. Of course, I had to watch every minute of it. Hadda make sure they'd hold the shut-out. They tried to give up a TD toward the end of the fourth, but Bollinger decided to toss the capper to our guy.

Here's what else we've been up to this weekend:

I bagged up about half that pile.

One more?

Hazlitt's One Lesson

2007-10-15T11:05:00.001-04:00

The art of economics consists in looking not merely at the immediate but at the longer effects of any act or policy; it consists in tracing the consequences of that policy not merely for one group but for all groups.

Nine-tenths of the economic fallacies that are working such dreadful harm in the world today are the result of ignoring this lesson. Those fallacies all stem from one of two central fallacies, or both: that of looking only at the immediate consequences of an act or proposal, and that of looking at the consequences only for a particular group to the neglect of other groups.

It is true, of course, that the opposite error is possible. In considering a policy we ought not to concentrate only on its long-run results to the community as a whole. This is the error often made by the classical economists. It resulted in a certain callousness toward the fate of groups that were immediately hurt by policies or developments which proved to be beneficial on net balance and in the long run.

But comparatively few people today make this error; and those few consist mainly of professional economists. The most frequent fallacy by far today, the fallacy that emerges again and again in nearly every conversation that touches on economic affairs, the error of a thousand political speeches, the central sophism of the "new" economics, is to concentrate on the short-run effects of policies on special groups and to ignore or belittle the long-run effects on the community as a whole.

The "new" economists flatter themselves that this is a great, almost a revolutionary advance over the methods of the "classical" or "orthodox" economists, because the former take into consideration short-run effects which the latter often ignored. But in themselves ignoring or slighting the long-run effects, they are making the far more serious error. They overlook the woods in their precise and minute examination of particular trees. Their methods and conclusions are often profoundly reactionary. They are sometimes surprised to find themselves in accord with 17th-century mercantilism. They fall, in fact, into all the ancient errors (or would, if they were not so inconsistent) that the classical economists, we had hoped, had once for all got rid of.

It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present their errors to the public better than the good economists present their truths. It is often complained that demagogues can be more plausible in putting forward economic nonsense from the platform than the honest men who try to show what is wrong with it. But the basic reason for this ought not to be mysterious. The reason is that the demagogues and bad economists are presenting half-truths. They are speaking only of the immediate effect of a proposed policy or its effect upon a single group. As far as they go they may often be right. In these cases the answer consists in showing that the proposed policy would also have longer and less desirable effects, or that it could benefit one group only at the expense of all other groups. The answer consists in supplementing and correcting the half-truth with the other half. But to consider all the chief effects of a proposed course on everybody often requires a long, complicated, and dull chain of reasoning. Most of the audience finds this chain of reasoning difficult to follow and soon becomes bored and inattentive. The bad economists rationalize this intellectual debility and laziness by assuring the audience that it need not even attempt to follow the reasoning or judge it on its merits because it is only "classicism" or "laissez faire" or "capitalist apologetics" or whatever other term of abuse may happen to strike them as effective.

Aliina said, "I really like you, Daddy!"

2007-10-12T21:03:00.001-04:00

Well! I had to answer, "I really like you, 'Liina!"

So she raised me, "I love you, Daddy!"

I called, "I love you, 'Liina!"

She laid her cards on the table, "We love each other!"
We had to split the pot.

At least, I think I got my fair share. Did she ask me to do something? I'm sure I did it! What do you need, dear?

Happy Birthday Jon, Denise and Heather!

2007-10-10T09:17:00.001-04:00

All those people were in my classroom in, I think, first, fourth and fifth grades. Denise was in the grade ahead, so we had to have a combined class for that to work.

Denise, my cousin, is the oldest, you would think, "obviously," but Jon is a full year older than Heather. I don't know why they let Heather into our class - I suppose, because she could already read, or something - but she fit in just fine. Somehow or other, by fifth grade, we were all part of a clique, along with Bonnie, Tim and, sometimes, Jane.

It's funny, but I don't remember any of us being particularly introverted back in those days. I know I had episodes of wallowing in self-pity, but only a couple.

Ugh! Trying to write in spare moments doesn't work. I'll get back to ya.

A few words on my latest readings

2007-09-29T22:29:00.001-04:00

I've been reading the Jack Reacher stories by Lee Child. Action/Mystery stories. Good stuff. Keep ya up all night. Reacher, the almost larger than life hero, is a "liberal" but his sense of justice is spot on and he acts directly, but wisely.

I read Aladdin and the Magic Lamp to Rosie. Quite a bit different from the Disney movie. Sindbad the Sailor was in the same book. It too is quite different from the movie Sinbad the Sailor that I saw in a seedy theater once.

Rosie gave up on Oliver Twist as hopeless. It's certainly not a laugh a minute, like The Pickwick Papers. We also read Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception. Next is Robert Silverberg's Gilgamesh The King. Be gettin' to that in a minute.

Now I'm reading That Hideous Strength, by C.S. Lewis, after having read Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra - all on The Probligo's recommendation. Very enlightening stuff: pretty deep theology, delivered entertainingly. Since I'm not done with the last book of the series, I'm still not sure where there's a vision of a utopia that I'd actually want to aim for in them.

And I'm also working on The Betrayal of the American Right, by Murray Rothbard and Freedomnomics, by John Lott. I'll get links for those after I put the kids to bed.

The White Man's Burden

2007-08-31T10:35:00.001-04:00

by Rudyard Kipling.

Like it or not, you should know it.

Take up the White man's burden --
Send forth the best ye breed --
Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captives' need;
To wait in heavy harness
On fluttered folk and wild --
Your new-caught, sullen peoples,
Half devil and half child.

Take up the White Man's burden --
In patience to abide,
To veil the threat of terror
And check the show of pride;
By open speech and simple,
An hundred times mad plain.
To seek another's profit,
And work another's gain.

Take up the White Man's burden --
The savage wars of peace --
Fill full the mouth of Famine
And bid the sickness cease;
And when your goal is nearest
The end for others sought,
Watch Sloth and heathen Folly
Bring all your hope to nought.

Take up the White Man's burden --
No tawdry rule of kings,
But toil of serf and sweeper --
The tale of common things.
The ports ye shall not enter,
The roads ye shall not tread,
Go make them with your living,
And mark them with your dead!

Take up the White man's burden --
And reap his old reward:
The blame of those ye better,
The hate of those ye guard --
The cry of hosts ye humour
(Ah, slowly!) toward the light: --
"Why brought ye us from bondage,
"Our loved Egyptian night?"

Take up the White Man's burden --
Ye dare not stoop to less --
Nor call too loud on freedom
To cloak your weariness;
By all ye cry or whisper,
By all ye leave or do,
The silent, sullen peoples
Shall weigh your Gods and you.

Take up the White Man's burden --
Have done with childish days --
The lightly proffered laurel,
The easy, ungrudged praise.
Comes now, to search your manhood
Through all the thankless years,
Cold-edged with dear-bought wisdom,
The judgment of your peers!

Seems to me that, as Kipling presents the matter here, the value gained is insufficient to justify the price paid.

Not to mention the assumption that White Men should be doing these things.

This fellow has other thoughts on the matter.

Well, I ran 18.6 miles yesterday.

2007-08-20T16:41:00.001-04:00

I didn't exactly burn up the roads (and trails). Took me 3 hours and 39 minutes. I was stopped by traffic a number of times, I stopped at a convenience store for 5 or so minutes to buy an energy drink (I wonder what the lady thought of me dripping all over the place, or if she got it that it wasn't all rainwater), and a couple times I just needed to stop and reset, I was draggin' my ass so bad.

By the way, 18.6 miles is a full 30K. The important thing was to go the distance. Once again, I ran the first half too fast and couldn't maintain the pace after that. When I checked it out on MapMyRun I found out I had my mental mile-markers in the wrong places.

Ah, well. Same route next weekend, plus another 1.4 miles.

I got this important bit of trivia from ETR

2007-08-14T10:09:00.001-04:00

"[T]he largest lake on an island in a lake on an island is Crater Lake on Vulcano Island in Lake Taal on the island of Luzon in the Philippines."

I can't figure out where to put the link to a picture of all that, so I'll put it here.

And, since it's a volcano, it's not unlikely that there may one day be an island in that lake too.

Post #100! I have to celebrate family values.

2007-06-22T23:21:00.001-04:00

Here's my daughter as the Grinch:

We're going to have to make sure she pays attention in Sunday School.

She's getting taller:

Finally I caught her twice in a row when she wasn't smiling. She's a very smiley girl. But I'm not going to try to prove it right now. Usually I post a pic of the older girl's dance recital this time of year. Well, I expended all my photographic efforts videoing the thing this year, but here's a picture of the aftermath:

So those are the loves of my life. Minus the gal who isn't interested in being made famous via the Blogosphere.

Here's something I want to remember

2007-06-20T10:01:00.002-04:00

The brain and the memory work awesomely fast; they also work best for comparatively short periods of time. The more you can do during that time, the more likely you are to retain it. Time and again, our experience shows that it is not necessarily the people who take the longest over a task who do it best, but those who approach it with energy, enjoyment and a brisk clarity of purpose.

Brain Train: Studying for Success, by Richard Palmer. I'm reading it free on Questia. He's defending speed reading. Hopefully he'll tell me how to do it pretty soon. I don't have all day.

Name That Tune!

2007-06-15T17:21:00.001-04:00

A work in progress:

Physiocrats are posers as libertar-EE-ans
Objectivists hate us 'cuz we let in cretins
Conservatives hate us too for the same thing
Liberals think we're all of the Right Wing

Once you get the hang of it, feel free to try to lend a hand.

Have a quote or two from Randolph Bourne:

2007-06-08T11:45:00.001-04:00

Under the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, any person knowing about a man’s unlawful detention may apply for a writ ordering the jailer to “have at the Royal Courts of Justice the body of” the prisoner.

Whoops! That's a good quote, but it comes from Habeas Corpus to the Rescue, a rather gripping account of the salvation of a Polish defector to Britain in 1956, by Alexander T. Jordan, British journalist. Emphasis mine.

Here's a paragraph of Bourne's The State:

Government is obviously composed of common and unsanctified men, and is thus a legitimate object of criticism and even contempt. If your own party is in power, things may be assumed to be moving safely enough; but if the opposition is in, then clearly all safety and honor have fled the State. Yet you do not put it to yourself in quite that way. What you think is only that there are rascals to be turned out of a very practical machinery of offices and functions which you take for granted. When we say that Americans are lawless, we usually mean that they are less conscious than other peoples of the august majesty of the institution of the State as it stands behind the objective government of men and laws which we see. In a republic the men who hold office are indistinguishable from the mass. Very few of them possess the slightest personal dignity with which they could endow their political role; even if they ever thought of such a thing. And they have no class distinction to give them glamour. In a republic the Government is obeyed grumblingly, because it has no bedazzlements or sanctities to gild it. If you are a good old-fashioned democrat, you rejoice at this fact, you glory in the plainness of a system where every citizen has become a king. If you are more sophisticated you bemoan the passing of dignity and honor from affairs of State. But in practice, the democrat does not in the least treat his elected citizen with the respect due to a king, nor does the sophisticated citizen pay tribute to the dignity even when he finds it. The republican State has almost no trappings to appeal to the common man’s emotions. What it has are of military origin, and in an unmilitary era such as we have passed through since the Civil War, even military trappings have been scarcely seen. In such an era the sense of the State almost fades out of the consciousness of men.

[Bourne died in the flu pandemic of 1918; he starts talking about WWI in the next paragraph.]

Here is the opening salvo of The War and The Intellectuals:

To those of us who still retain an irreconcilable animus against war, it has been a bitter experience to see the unanimity with which the American intellectuals have thrown their support to the use of war-technique in the crisis in which America found herself. Socialists, college professors, publicists, new-republicans, practitioners of literature, have vied with each other in confirming with their intellectual faith the collapse of neutrality and the riveting of the war-mind on a hundred million more of the world's people. And the intellectuals are not content with confirming our belligerent posture. They are now complacently asserting that it was they who effectively willed it, against the hesitation and dim perceptions of the American democratic masses. A war made deliberately by the intellectuals! A calm moral verdict, arrived at after a penetrating study of inexorable facts! Sluggish masses, too remote from the world-conflict to be stirred, too lacking in intellect to perceive their danger! An alert intellectual class, saving the people in spite of themselves, biding their time with Fabian strategy until the nation could be moved into war without serious resistance! An intellectual class, gently guiding a nation through sheer force of ideas into what the other nations entered only through predatory craft or popular hysteria or militarist madness! A war free from any taint of self-seeking, a war that will secure the triumph of democracy and internationalize the world! This is the picture which the more self-conscious intellectuals have formed of themselves, and which they are slowly impressing upon a population which is being led no man knows whither by an indubitably intellectualized President. And they are right, in that the war certainly did not spring from either the ideals or the prejudices, from the national ambitions or hysterias, of the American people, however acquiescent the masses prove to be, and however clearly the intellectuals prove their putative intuition.

And, from A War Diary:

The kind of war which we are conducting is an enterprise which the American government does not have to carry on with the hearty cooperation of the American people but only with their acquiescence. And that acquiescence seems sufficient to float an indefinitely protracted war for vague or even largely uncomprehended and unaccepted purposes. Our resources in men and materials are vast enough to organize the war-technique without enlisting more than a fraction of the people's conscious energy. Many men will not like being sucked into the actual fighting organism, but as the war goes on they will be sucked in as individuals and they will yield. There is likely to be no element in the country with the effective will to help them resist. They are not likely to resist of themselves concertedly. They will be licked grudgingly into military shape, and their lack of enthusiasm will in no way unfit them for use in the hecatombs necessary for the military decision upon which Allied political wisdom still apparently insists. It is unlikely that enough men will be taken from the potentially revolting classes seriously to embitter their spirit. Losses in the well-to-do classes will be sustained by a sense of duty and of reputable sacrifice. From the point of view of the worker, it will make little difference whether his work contributes to annihilation overseas or to construction at home. Temporarily, his condition is better if it contributes to the former. We of the middle classes will be progressively poorer than we should otherwise have been. Our lives will be slowly drained by clumsily levied taxes and the robberies of imperfectly controlled private enterprises. But this will not cause us to revolt. There are not likely to be enough hungry stomachs to make a revolution. The materials seem generally absent from the country, and as long as a government wants to use the war-technique in its realization of great ideas, it can count serenely on the human resources of the country, regardless of popular mandate or understanding.

Oh, I forgot to mention that all these links came from Foundation for Economic Education President Sheldon Richman's article Illiberal Means, Illiberal Ends, now also linked in the title bar here. Read that. And when you've finished that, read the Ralph Raico pdf that he links.

V for Vendetta: preliminary notes for a review

2007-05-16T15:24:00.001-04:00

Wikipedia article. Actually belies, somewhat, the notion that the Norsefire regime is intended as a direct outgrowth from the Thatcher government.

I prefer Spooner and the early Herbert Spencer to Bakunin. Hell, I prefer Nietzsche and Stirner to Bakunin.

I like what Moore says about the movie, "[The movie] has been "turned into a Bush-era parable by people too timid to set a political satire in their own country.... It's a thwarted and frustrated and largely impotent American liberal fantasy of someone with American liberal values standing up against a state run by neoconservatives—which is not what the comic V for Vendetta was about. It was about fascism, it was about anarchy, it was about England."

I haven't read the graphic novel. I think I will.

Update Mon. 5/21/07: Got it Saturday, read it by 5:00 Sunday - it is illuminating. Moore is right. It seems hard to believe that the movie is actually a milk-toast (must I use a "que"?) version of the story, but, yeah, it does cut out the harder edges of the fascism and anarchism in the movie. And in doing so in the case of the latter, eliminates the need for V's important distinction of the difference between anarchy and chaos.

As I say, I'm not sanguine with the Bakuninist idea that the current society must be destroyed before we can rebuild a better world, but in the case of a totally fascist world, as presented in V, I can see it.

One of the funny ironies is that they show the decapitation of a fascist state. Where have we seen that before? If you're going to be wishy-washy about it, you wind up in Iraq.

The flaw in the Bush invasions, is that the rebuilding has been undertaken using collectivist, centralized control methods. I'd like to think that they were trying not to make the mistakes in privatizing that were made in the former Soviet Union, but simply retaining centralized control of Iraq's resources hasn't proven too efficient either. Any more than it did for the Soviet Union.

A Moral, by God!

2007-04-29T23:53:00.001-04:00

Ooh! I wish I had more hay to make out of a title like that. If you think you can, go to it! Consider it an assignment.

No, I'm just basking in the afterglow of a Donald Hamilton novella published as a serial in Collier's in Dec. 1953-Jan. 54, called "Smoky Valley," which can be downloaded in four parts (pdf) for free here. I hope I'm not causing any trouble for Mr. Martinez by publicizing the fact in my small way here.

The moral may be found in this passage, which I don't think is too much of a spoiler:

He had destroyed a way of life, and he would have to build another in its place. He had no enthusiasm for the task, but he knew that it was his. A man could not meddle with human lives without taking responsibility for the result.

People online like to use "[snip]" to indicate what I'm doing here.

He said, "I know no gentle way of fighting, Miss Wilkison. I tried to make that clear at the start, but no one would lesten. I couldn't risk my men's lives by being choosy in my methods, or in the people I asked for help....

Whoops! A bit too much of a spoiler right here. Back to the moral.

"For the most part, Miss Wilkison," he said, "those are decent people who want no more than to be let alone. I'll have no trouble with them, or they with me, Miss Wilkison."

There's never been a clearer expression of The Cowboy Way.

Donald Hamilton taught me to speak "English, not gobbledygook." If I can convert one person into a fellow fan of his, I would feel that I have repaid him a debt I feel deeply. For instance, it would make me very happy if someone could tell me where that "gobbledygook" quote is from. And, yes, I doubt if Hamilton ever ended a sentence with a preposition. Somebody else taught me that. "The best writers of the English language have been ending sentences with prepositions since time immemorial." I quote that from memory, so it may be a little off. Too bad I don't remember who said that.

I think I'll lard up a post with pictures.

2007-04-15T22:57:00.001-04:00

Not sure if Image Shack with appreciate me at all, but hey!

Here's a hint of the weather a week ago, on Easter:

Speaking of Easter, what do you make of this?

I think we're going to have to do some reprogramming.

Anyway, Thursday we get:

You can't see it, but the little one was holding that umbrella for good reason. It was snowing to beat the band.

Then Friday:

She wants me to fix the snowman, naturally. We did eventually find enough snow around the yard to stand him upright again, but...

Yesterday (No, that's not the same snowman):

Today I was out in shorts and a T-shirt sliding down the slide with Lina and teaching Rosie how to throw a football. I didn't bother with the camera though, sorry.

April in Minnesota.

I hear they got the real thing in Kansas yesterday, but we sure didn't. It must have something to do with the elevation there. We're at about 1000 ft here, they're about 4500 ft. It looks flat as a board from here to there. Go figure.

slug·ging percentage (slŭg'ĭng)

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n. Baseball.
A player's total number of bases reached on hits divided by official times at bat, expressed as a three-digit decimal and used as a measure of batting power. Also called slugging average.

I can never keep that in my head.

Wait! Walks are completely excluded? So it's a completely different stat from on base percentage which includes walks and is divided by plate appearances rather than at-bats.

Ho ho! I love baseball!

Poetry that doesn't rhyme!?

2007-04-06T14:31:00.001-04:00

What kind of a philistine are you?!

Walt Whitman (1819–1892). Leaves of Grass. 1900.

7. When I read the Book

WHEN I read the book, the biography famous,
And is this, then, (said I,) what the author calls a man’s life?
And so will some one, when I am dead and gone, write my life?
(As if any man really knew aught of my life;
Why, even I myself, I often think, know little or nothing of my real life;
Only a few hints—a few diffused, faint clues and indirections,
I seek, for my own use, to trace out here.)

Oh, go "find" yourself!

People have been begging to know what my favorite song is.

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The one I find myself singing or whistling the most often is:

Here Comes The Sun
(George Harrison)

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
Little darlin' it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darlin' it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
Little darlin' the smiles returning to their faces
Little darlin' it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Little darlin' I feel the ice is slowly meltin'
Little darlin' it seems like years since it's been clear
Here come the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
Here come the sun, here comes the sun
It's all right, it's all right

©1980 Southern Music/Northern Songs.

From the album "Flaming Schoolgirls"

Oh, whoops! I didn't notice I was on Joan Jett.com. Oh well, I like Joan Jett, too. Not as much as I like George Harrison. Though I'd probably refuse to sleep with George if he asked me to.

Especially these days.

I'm still reading Brian Doherty's Radicals for Capitalism

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The title bar links to it.

It's wonderful to read a summary of everything I've been studying for the past ten years. He treats the major figures of Libertarianism fairly and honestly, dealing in depth with the ideas and personalities of Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek, Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard and Milton Friedman and also covers Isabel Paterson, Rose Wilder Lane, Leonard Read, F.A. (Baldy) Harper and a ton of other interesting characters.

When I'm done with this book it'll take a special place on my shelf with Charles Sprading's Liberty and the Great Libertarians [see FEE's review here] and Jim Powell's The Triumph of Liberty, the books that show the growth and development of the ideals of individual freedom from ancient times to today. If I had Gibbon and Macauley and Rothbard's histories, they'd be up their too. (I read Macauley's History of England online, and people I respect push the others.)

Doherty may well be the best writer of the lot, though. He breaks up the heavy going philosophical and economic theory with an occasional, well-chosen anecdote.

Since Omni pushed me into it, I'll share a couple paragraphs from the book. The first describes the "prickliness" of libertarians, but isn't properly an anecdote. The second shows the principle in action (anecdotally).

P. 19:

Like obscenity, libertarianism is something I know when I see, and other libertarians feel the same way. Many a movement libertarian's favorite pastime is reading others out of the movement for various perceived ideological crimes. As Fred Smith, head of the libertarian think tank Competitive Enterprise Institute, says, "When two libertarians find themselves agreeing on something, each knows the other has sold out." Libertarians are a contentious lot, in many cases delighting in staking ground and refusing to move on the farthest frontiers of applying the principles of noncoercion and nonaggression; resolutely finding the most outrageous and obnoxious position you could take that is theoretically compatible with libertarianism and challenging anyone to disagree. If they are not of the movement, then you can enjoy having shocked them with your purism and dedication to principle; if they are of the movement, you can gleefully read them out of it. Libertarians (not all libertarians, certainly, and not even many) have advocated on libertarian principle private ownership of nuclear weapons; the right of parents to starve their children; and that, if you fell off a building and grabbed onto a flagpole and didn't have the explicit permission of the person who owned the balcony, you ought to let yourself fall rather than violate their property rights by crawling to safety.

Actually, I suppose those illustrative vignettes are almost anecdotes. I think that passage of the book is destined to become the most famous.

The anecdote I had in mind to illustrate the claim made above isn't nearly as funny as the passage, so, since I closed the book on it accidently and opened on a better anecdote, I'll give you that one (it doesn't illustrate that point):

P. 255:

The Circle Bastiat boys [Murray Rothbard, Leonard Liggio, Ralph Raico and a couple others in the 1950s] were also pranksters who liked to disrupt other people's realities for their own amusement and occasionally for moments of libertarian Zen wisdom. When talking to young socialists, they enjoyed turning some of the socialists' predictable rhetoric back on them, for example, soberly explaining that socialism might have been all right in the primitive conditions of the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries. But in today's complex, modern machine era, surely they could see that we must have laissez-faire--it's just the irresistable motion of history, the inevitable wave of the future, no point in fighting it.

And they had more of the right of it in saying that, as well.

Doherty puts this breezy facility with words to work (so you don't have to) in his explanations of Rand's epistemology and Austrian economics, and his portrayal of Friedman brought me to read him back into the movement. (See page 300.) I think Doherty's like me, he loves Libertarianism and libertarians (not to mention Liberty), and hates hate; knows that we can't "all just get along," but prefers to present forgivable humans rather than demons to destroy. The real demons are bad policies, not the people who come up with them.

I just found myself compelled to say one of those

2007-03-04T15:09:00.001-05:00

things that could only come out of the mouth of a parent: "No biting the xylophone!"

Go ahead! See if you can work that one into your next conversation! I'll bet you have to cheat.

Want to see my snowbanks?

And here's a picture I call Bunny and Moomoo:

Time Will Run Back, a couple excerpts

2007-02-10T18:51:00.001-05:00

"But I'm still bothered, chief, and I'm sure most people are still bothered, by the huge profits made by a few enterprisers. Surely such huge profits aren't necessary in order to get them to produce the right goods!"

"Your trouble, Adams, and the trouble of these people you speak of, is that you and they still persist in looking only at the winners of the biggest prizes. You assume these to be typical; you forget about the offsetting losses of the losers. Let's look at a lottery. Let's say that the man who runs the lottery sells 1,000,000 goldgrams worth of tickets, and hands out 900,000 goldgrams in prizes, keeping 100,000 goldgrams for himself."

"Very reasonable of him," said Adams sarcastically.

"I'm not interested in him for the moment," continued Peter. "I'm talking about the subscribers to the lottery. Collectively they must lose money."

"Collectively they lose 100,000 goldgrams."

"Right, Adams. But each individual who subscribes dismisses this collective result from his mind, if it ever occurs to him. He subscribes precisely because he hopes that he, individually, will be a winner. He is not interested in the fate of the other subscribers. Now if the people outside of the lottery looked only at the winners of the huge prizes and thought these were typical, and forgot about the huge mass of losers, and if they began to talk as if these winnings were made at their - the outsiders' - expense, they would be talking the same way you are talking about profits under our new free enterprise system."

"But aren't these big profits, chief, at the expense of workers?"

"You will usually find, Adams, that the enterprisers who make the biggest profits pay the highest wages. If the profits of the successful enterprisers are at the 'expense' of anybody, I should say that they were mainly at the expense of the unsuccessful enterprisers who made the poor guesses and misdirected labor and capital....And why should you assume that the high profits of the successful enterprisers are any more at the expense of their own workers than at the expense of the owners of their borrowed capital, or of the consumers?"

Adams seemed lost in thought.

...
These two quotes come from different conversations. I felt the need to mention that. BTW, Adams is uncomfortable with calling Peter Uldanov, dictator of Wonworld, by his first name, as but he feels comfortable with "chief." Once you've read the book, you can point out how the previous sentence is inaccurate, but then you'll also know why. Shh.

"...Then it wouldn't be very accurate, chief, to call your new system a 'profit' system?"

"Certainly not in a declining or even in a stationary economy. It is of course, a profit-seeking system. But then I suppose there is a sense in which all of us are seeking 'profit' under any conceivable system. We speak. We speak of spending a 'profitable' evening when we mean merely that we have enjoyed ourselves. We say that reading a book has been 'profitable' when we mean that we have been instructed by it. 'Profitable' action of any sort is merely action that achieves, or partly achieves, the end we are seeking, regardless of whether that end is self-regarding or not.... I can't understand this unpopularity of 'profit' except as envy of the successful. Why should there be any more stigma attached to the word 'profit' than to the word 'wage' or salary'? Why should one form of income be considered less honorable than another? Why should the people who are afraid to take risks begrudge the rewards of those who have taken them successfully?"
...

I mentioned that you can download the book for free from Mises.org, and that I'd tell you how to buy a copy after the excerpts. Actually, I forgot that I can make the title into a link on this blog, so that's what I've done.

I don't suppose the boys would mind if I posted the blurb from the Mises Print on Demand Store:

A novel by Henry Hazlitt, first published in 1951 and revised in 1966. The plot line explores the economic theories of capitalism and socialism. It begins in a fully socialist society in which the new leader begins to rethink the economic basis of the system. Slowly, piece by piece, he dismantles central planning and replaces it with a market system. All the while, the characters engaged in a Socratic-style discussion about the implications of money, exchange, ownership, markets, entrepreneurship, and more. Hazlitt was well equipped to be a fiction writer. He was literary editor of The Nation for 3 years and the successor to H.L. Mencken at the American Mercury. This novel is an excellent introduction to the problems of economic systems, and can be a great benefit to young people who are curious about the meaning of economic analysis. It is, in fact, suitable for all ages.

There was one other bit that I thought was awesome. Let's see if I can find it...

Oh, here! From page 290-1 of the pdf:

"Precisely, Adams. We must absolutely forbid coercive monopoly. Perhaps that was the central evil of state socialism. The state's monopoly of power, and its monopoly of production. But we must do more than fight monopoly and encourage competition. We must draft our laws in such a way as to raise the level of competition. We must so draft them that a man who seeks his personal profit cannot attain that selfish goal except by promoting the public welfare."

"And how are we going to do that?"

"We must forbid him, Adams, to do anything that injures the public welfare. Therefore we must forbid theft, fraud, deceit and all misrepresentation of goods. We must illegalize every form of force violence, extortion, intimidation, coercion. We must compel men to keep their contractual promises, to pay their just obligations and to fulfill their contracts. The corollary to private property is private responsibility. We must not allow a private industry to thrive at the cost of killing or maiming its workers, or injuring consumers of its products, or menacing the public health, or polluting public streams, or polluting the air, or smudging whole communities with the residue of smoke. We must force every industry to pay the costs of the injury it inflicts on the person or property of others."

That's actually the earliest of the excerpts. Perhaps it would be better salesmanship on my part to place that one first. But I'm just too lazy.

How to exorcise a ghost

2007-01-29T19:43:00.001-05:00

A taste of The Pickwick Papers:

'What strange things these are you tell us of, Sir,' said Mr. Pickwick, minutely scanning the old man's countenance, by the aid of his glasses.

'Strange!' said the little old man. 'Nonsense; you think them strange, because you know nothing about it. They are funny, but not uncommon.'

'Funny!' exclaimed Mr. Pickwick involuntarily.

'Yes, funny, are they not?' replied the little old man, with a diabolical leer; and then, without pausing for an answer, he continued--

'I knew another man--let me see--forty years ago now--who took an old, damp, rotten set of chambers, in one of the most ancient inns, that had been shut up and empty for years and years before. There were lots of old women's stories about the place, and it certainly was very far from being a cheerful one; but he was poor, and the rooms were cheap, and that would have been quite a sufficient reason for him, if they had been ten times worse than they really were. He was obliged to take some mouldering fixtures that were on the place, and, among the rest, was a great lumbering wooden press for papers, with large glass doors, and a green curtain inside; a pretty useless thing for him, for he had no papers to put in it; and as to his clothes, he carried them about with him, and that wasn't very hard work, either. Well, he had moved in all his furniture--it wasn't quite a truck- full--and had sprinkled it about the room, so as to make the four chairs look as much like a dozen as possible, and was sitting down before the fire at night, drinking the first glass of two gallons of whisky he had ordered on credit, wondering whether it would ever be paid for, and if so, in how many years' time, when his eyes encountered the glass doors of the wooden press. "Ah," says he, "if I hadn't been obliged to take that ugly article at the old broker's valuation, I might have got something comfortable for the money. I'll tell you what it is, old fellow," he said, speaking aloud to the press, having nothing else to speak to, "if it wouldn't cost more to break up your old carcass, than it would ever be worth afterward, I'd have a fire out of you in less than no time." He had hardly spoken the words, when a sound resembling a faint groan, appeared to issue from the interior of the case. It startled him at first, but thinking, on a moment's reflection, that it must be some young fellow in the next chamber, who had been dining out, he put his feet on the fender, and raised the poker to stir the fire. At that moment, the sound was repeated; and one of the glass doors slowly opening, disclosed a pale and emaciated figure in soiled and worn apparel, standing erect in the press. The figure was tall and thin, and the countenance expressive of care and anxiety; but there was something in the hue of the skin, and gaunt and unearthly appearance of the whole form, which no being of this world was ever seen to wear. "Who are you?" said the new tenant, turning very pale; poising the poker in his hand, however, and taking a very decent aim at the countenance of the figure. "Who are you?" "Don't throw that poker at me," replied the form; "if you hurled it with ever so sure an aim, it would pass through me, without resistance, and expend its force on the wood behind. I am a spirit." "And pray, what do you want here?" faltered the tenant. "In this room," replied the apparition, "my worldly ruin was worked, and I and my children beggared. In this press, the papers in a long, long suit, which accumulated for years, were deposited. In this room, when I had died of grief, and long-deferred hope, two wily harpies divided the wealth for which I had contested during a wretched existence, and of which, at last, not one farthing was left for my unhappy descendants. I terrified them from the spot, and since that day have prowled by night--the only period at which I can revisit the earth--about the scenes of my long-protracted misery. This apartment is mine: leave it to me." "If you insist upon making your appearance here," said the tenant, who had had time to collect his presence of mind during this prosy statement of the ghost's, "I shall give up possession with the greatest pleasure; but I should like to ask you one question, if you will allow me." "Say on," said the apparition sternly. "Well," said the tenant, "I don't apply the observation personally to you, because it is equally applicable to most of the ghosts I ever heard of; but it does appear to me somewhat inconsistent, that when you have an opportunity of visiting the fairest spots of earth--for I suppose space is nothing to you-- you should always return exactly to the very places where you have been most miserable." "Egad, that's very true; I never thought of that before," said the ghost. "You see, Sir," pursued the tenant, "this is a very uncomfortable room. From the appearance of that press, I should be disposed to say that it is not wholly free from bugs; and I really think you might find much more comfortable quarters: to say nothing of the climate of London, which is extremely disagreeable." "You are very right, Sir," said the ghost politely, "it never struck me till now; I'll try change of air directly"--and, in fact, he began to vanish as he spoke; his legs, indeed, had quite disappeared. "And if, Sir," said the tenant, calling after him, "if you WOULD have the goodness to suggest to the other ladies and gentlemen who are now engaged in haunting old empty houses, that they might be much more comfortable elsewhere, you will confer a very great benefit on society." "I will," replied the ghost; "we must be dull fellows-- very dull fellows, indeed; I can't imagine how we can have been so stupid." With these words, the spirit disappeared; and what is rather remarkable,' added the old man, with a shrewd look round the table, 'he never came back again.'

'That ain't bad, if it's true,' said the man in the Mosaic studs, lighting a fresh cigar.

Apparently Dickens hated paragraph breaks, but he was a hell of a storyteller anyway. And he provides practical advice, too.

Interesting article

2007-01-19T18:02:00.001-05:00

Christianity and Modern Economics, by John B. Clark.

Click the first page link offered, and the "Next Page" button to continue reading.

I believe I'll try to translate these two paragraphs

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from Mises' review of Rothbard's Man, Economy and State into non-technical English. Primarily for the benefit of my own understanding, and secondarily for the benefit of anyone else who happens by.

For the casual reader, Word gave me this summary which you might read instead and skip the two 'graphs:

Mathematical equations, says Rothbard, are appropriate and useful where there are constant quantitative relations among unmotivated variables; they are inappropriate in the field of conscious behavior. In a few brilliant lines he demolishes the main device of mathematical economists, viz., the fallacious idea of substituting the concepts of mutual determination and equilibrium for the allegedly outdated concept of cause and effect. The positivist slogan, "science is measurement," in no way refers to the sciences of human action; the claims of "econometrics" are vain.

Let the machine do what it can do, says I.

As long as I'm doing that, I see we've got a Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level of 16.0. I'll try to knock it down to around 10.0.

The mathematical economist attempts to ignore the difference between physical phenomena, on the one hand, the emergence and consummation of which man is unable to see the operation of any final causes and which can be studied scientifically only because there prevails a perceptible regularity in their concatenation and succession, and praxeological phenomena, on the other hand, that lack such a regularity but are conceivable to the human mind as the outcomes of purposeful aiming at definite ends chosen. Mathematical equations, says Rothbard, are appropriate and useful where there are constant quantitative relations among unmotivated variables; they are inappropriate in the field of conscious behavior. In a few brilliant lines he demolishes the main device of mathematical economists, viz., the fallacious idea of substituting the concepts of mutual determination and equilibrium for the allegedly outdated concept of cause and effect. And he shows that the concepts of equilibrium and the evenly rotating economy do not refer to reality; although indispensable for any economic inquiry, they are merely auxiliary mental tools to aid us in the analysis of real action.

The equations of physics describe a process through time, while those of economics do not describe a process at all, but merely the final equilibrium point, a hypothetical situation that is outside of time and will never be reached in reality. Furthermore, they cannot say anything about the path by which the economy moves in the direction of the final equilibrium position. As there are no constant relations between any of the elements which the science of action studies, there is no measurement possible and all numerical data available have merely an historical character; they belong to economic history and not to economics as such. The positivist slogan, "science is measurement," in no way refers to the sciences of human action; the claims of "econometrics" are vain.

The first thing I need to do is chop up these long, Germanic sentences. Then do something about the vocab...

Philistine Philosophy from Hans-Hermann Hoppe

2007-01-13T19:56:00.001-05:00

Actually, it's bourgeois philosophy, but I like the aliteration. Sorry I let this blog sit so long. This is from Hoppe's introduction to Murray Rothbard's The Ethics of Liberty (which is also available online here):

Rothbard sought and found support for his contention regarding the possibility of a rational ethic and the reintegration of ethics and economics based on the notion of private property in the works of the late Scholastics and, in their footsteps, such "modern" natural-rights theorists as Grotius, Pufendorf, and Locke. Building upon their work, in The Ethics of Liberty Rothbard gives the following answer to the question of what I am justified doing here and now: every person owns his own physical body as well as all nature-given goods which he puts to use with the help of his body before anyone else does; this ownership implies his right to employ these resources as one sees fit so long as one does not thereby uninvitedly change the physical integrity of another's property or delimit another's control over it without his consent. In particular, once a good has been first appropriated or homesteaded by "mixing one's labor" with it (Locke's phrase), then ownership of it can only be acquired by means of a voluntary (contractual) transfer of its property title from a previous to a later owner. These rights are absolute. Any infringement on them is subject to lawful prosecution by the victim of this infringement or his agent, and is actionable in accordance with the principles of strict liability and the proportionality of punishment.

It's much later, but if I add this things will be clearer:

Inspired in particular by the nineteenth-century American anarchist political theorists Lysander Spooner and Benjamin Tucker and the Belgian economist Gustave de Molinari, from the outset Rothbard's anarchism took it for granted that there will always be murderers, thieves, thugs, con artists, etc., and that life in society would be impossible if they were not punished by physical force. As a reflection of this fundamental realism — anti-utopianism — of his private-property anarchism, Rothbard, unlike most contemporary political philosophers, accorded central importance to the subject of punishment. For him, private property and the right to physical defense were inseparable. No one can be said to be the owner of something if he is not permitted to defend his property by physical violence against invaders and invasions. "Would," Rothbard asked, "somebody be allowed to 'take the law into his own hands'? Would the victim, or a friend of the victim, be allowed to exact justice personally on the criminal?" and he answered, "of course, Yes, since all rights of punishment derive from the victim's right of self-defense" (p. 90). Hence, the question is not whether or not evil and aggression exist, but how to deal with its existence justly and efficiently, and it is only in the answer to this question that Rothbard reaches conclusions which qualify him as an anarchist.

The classical liberal answer, from the American Declaration of Independence to Mises, was to assign the indispensable task of protecting life, liberty, and property to government as its sole function. Rothbard rejected this conclusion as a non sequitur (if government was defined by its power to tax and ultimate decision-making [territorial monopoly of jurisdiction]). Private-property ownership, as the result of acts of original appropriation, production, or exchange from prior to later owner, implies the owner's right to exclusive jurisdiction regarding his property. In fact, it is the very purpose of private property to establish physically separate domains of exclusive jurisdiction (so as to avoid possible conflicts concerning the use of scarce resources). No private-property owner can possibly surrender his right to ultimate jurisdiction over and physical defense of his property to someone else — unless he sold or otherwise transferred his property (in which case someone else would have exclusive jurisdiction over it).

There have been some things missing from the Classical Liberal answers I've been studying. This book promises to provide them.

But I think I'll have to stop quoting from Mr. Hoppe's brilliant summation, lest I tread upon his copyright. The link is the title bar.

I urge you to read it.

I'm just here to destroy some comment spam.

2006-12-19T17:41:00.000-05:00

Don't mind me.

The Gospel According to Clayton Makepeace

2006-12-13T14:54:00.001-05:00

I’m amazed that so many folks have a hard time admitting they like money. I love money. In fact, I believe the guy who first translated I Timothy 6:10 needed glasses: I’m sure it should have read, “The LACK of money is the root of all evil.”

If money is evil, time is evil … freedom is evil … your very life is evil. Because all money is, is a physical manifestation of time.

You’ve got two choices of how to spend each day. You can spend it doing what you want to do, or doing what someone else – a client, for example – wants you to do.

So when you work, you’re selling your scarcest resource: Chunks of your life. You only have so many minutes on this planet and you’ve agreed to trade some of them in return for money.

Now, you can sell your life for peanuts if you want. Me? I’m looking for the highest bidder. That means making sure every minute I spend working brings me the maximum number of simoleans possible.

That lets me provide a great life for my wife, kids and grandkids. It lets me donate to charity. It lets me BUY BACK chunks of my life later on and have the freedom to do whatever I please. It means when I’m 96 years old and pooping in a diaper, I won’t be a burden to anyone.

Awesome! Genius!

Oh, before anybody goes off on me, let me include his next paragraph:

So my goal list has only one item on it: Make more money. So long as I’m not violating a personal ethic, or a law, or a regulation, or hurting someone else, I’m going for the moolah.

Kinda reminds me of "...And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

I'm really looking forward to that lightening bolt, aren't I?

I just turned Comment Moderation back on.

2006-12-13T13:53:00.000-05:00

I was getting a flood of spam comments. I won't require you to verify that you're real, I'll do that myself. The system will notify me when you've commented so I'll get to it quickly.

Apparently I can't go back and delete those comments, so if anybody needs any Viagra there's a link around here somewhere for you.

I just finished reading Little Men to my daughter.

2006-11-14T22:51:00.001-05:00

It's definitely bourgeois, but if anyone calls it philistinish, why I'll... I'll... Well, I don't know what.

Actually, I suppose the Avant Garde would call it philistinish. It's the height of Victorian literature.

My daughter could read Alcott's books herself, of course, but I think we get much more out of it this way.

If you want to inculcate good family values in your children, you can't do better than read Luisa May Alcott to them. She does a wonderful job of making old-fashioned morals interesting and entertaining.

This passage, which loses its poignancy by being ripped from its context, almost makes me question Ethical Egoism (though, I assure you, I could reinterpret things to suit my favored system). It's an impromptu eulogy given for a beloved character:

"Let me tell you a little about John Brooke, and you will see why men honor him, and why he was satisfied to be good rather than rich or famous. He simply did his duty in all things, and did it so cheerfully, so faithfully, that it kept him patient and brave, and happy through poverty and loneliness and years of hard work. He was a good son, and gave up his own plans to stay and live with his mother while she needed him. He was a good friend, and taught Laurie much beside his Greek and Latin, did it unconsciously, perhaps, by showing him an example of an upright man. He was a faithful servant, and made himself so valuable to those who employed him that they will find it hard to fill his place. He was a good husband and father, so tender, wise, and thoughtful, that Laurie and I learned much of him, and only knew how well he loved his family, when we discovered all he had done for them, unsuspected and unassisted."

Mr. Bhaer stopped a minute, and the boys sat like statues in the moonlight until he went on again, in a subdued, but earnest voice: "As he lay dying, I said to him, 'Have no care for Meg and the little ones; I will see that they never want.' Then he smiled and pressed my hand, and answered, in his cheerful way, 'No need of that; I have cared for them.' And so he had, for when we looked among his papers, all was in order, not a debt remained; and safely put away was enough to keep Meg comfortable and independent. Then we knew why he had lived so plainly, denied himself so many pleasures, except that of charity, and worked so hard that I fear he shortened his good life. He never asked help for himself, though often for others, but bore his own burden and worked out his own task bravely and quietly. No one can say a word of complaint against him, so just and generous and kind was he; and now, when he is gone, all find so much to love and praise and honor, that I am proud to have been his friend, and would rather leave my children the legacy he leaves his than the largest fortune ever made. Yes! Simple, generous goodness is the best capital to found the business of this life upon. It lasts when fame and money fail, and is the only riches we can take out of this world with us. Remember that, my boys; and if you want to earn respect and confidence and love follow in the footsteps of John Brooke."

This suffers terribly from the lack of context and looks like heavy-handed moralism, but is there anybody who could condemn the way this man led his life? It's definitely the sort of thing I'd tell my kids about a friend in the same situation. I hope not to have to, I know a couple guys who live by their principles to the same degree.

Come to think of it, they're both my brothers-in-law, as Mr. Brooke was to Father Bhaer, the eulogist here.

And I had a hand in fixing both of them up with my sisters. So I have one thing to be proud of, at least. (Though the guy I directly fixed up with the younger sister was quite the diamond-in-the-rough when I did it.)

[I still need to find a guy for the third sister. But I didn't do the first two on purpose, so I can't let that weigh on me or the magic won't work.]

Anyway, Ms. Alcott is every bit as engaging a storyteller as the other authors we've read, L.M. Montgomery, C.S. Lewis, J.K.Rowling [It's the initial thing, must be! We'll have to read J.R.R. Tolkien next.], Rose Wilder Lane and her mother Laura Ingalls Wilder (Roger MacBride has convinced me that Laura didn't do it alone).

Basic Knowledge of Knowledge

2006-11-07T16:41:00.001-05:00

All abstract knowledge of reality begins with our only direct point of contact with reality: perceptual observation. For example, the first concepts formed by a child are those formed directly from perceptual data; they are what philosopher Ayn Rand, the first philosopher to fully identify the hierarchical nature of knowledge, called “first-level concepts.” A child looks out at the world, perceives entities, and integrates his perceptions into these first-level concepts—concepts such as “cat,” “dog,” and “horse.”

Using these first-level concepts, a child is able to form simple generalizations such as “cats meow” or “dogs bark.” From these early concepts and generalizations, and with further observation, he is then able to form more abstract concepts (concepts further removed from the perceptual level) and to make more abstract generalizations. For example, noting the essential similarities between cats, dogs, and horses, he is able to form the concept “animal.” He does not look at the world and see “animals”; he looks and sees cats and dogs and the like—from which observations he is able to form the corresponding first-level concepts. Then, having formed these abstractions, he is able to form the broader abstraction of “animal.” Eventually, having made countless observations, and having grasped a complex range of concepts and relationships on various levels of abstraction, he is able to form generalizations such as: “All animals are mortal.”

A concept or generalization is more or less abstract according to its cognitive distance from the perceptual level. Concepts and generalization exist in a hierarchy, from the perceptual level to the highest level abstractions.

Highly abstract concepts presuppose a very long chain of prior conceptualizations. This is why, for example, so much knowledge must be gained for students to learn calculus.

There's more and more to come from her on this. The title bar is a link, btw.

All right, Omni. You win.

2006-10-19T12:08:00.000-04:00

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