Charlie's Blog

2012-02-11T10:11:00.000-05:00

Random Thoughts on Various Subjects

2012-02-11T08:15:00.003-05:00

1. CAMPAIGN

I don't really have much to say about the presidential campaign. I have sort of stopped thinking about it. I just find it humorous watching conservatives choke on Mitt Romney and vote for the likes of Gingrich and Santorum. Mitt really needs one of these guys to drop out. The fact that Gingrich and Santorum couldn't make it on the ballot in a few states indicates to me they have no fucking chance. But in the interim, they are drawing blood and inflicting heavy damage on Romney. Mitt would much rather begin his battle against Obama, but the GOP won't let him.

Ron Paul is done. It is clear that he is campaigning just to be heard at the convention. All those smug pundits who said Ron Paul couldn't win were correct. He can't win.

2. HALFTIME IN AMERICA

This was without a doubt the most laughable Super Bowl commercial this year:

Clint Eastwood should be ashamed. He hasn't laid an egg like this since Bridges of Madison County. Basically, Chrysler paid a man who is supposed to be a libertarian to help rehabilitate the fact that they received a taxpayer funded bailout. Now, Chrysler is owned by Fiat, an Italian carmaker. I think Remy does a much better job with his commercial:

3. INTERVENTION VS. NON-INTERVENTION

I have been reading and listening to various conservative commentators defend interventionism abroad as opposed to the "isolationist" views of someone like Ron Paul. Basically, it is that whole "they hate us for our freedom" bullshit. It is the good guys versus the bad guys. This issue is what unites Republicans and Democrats, and it is the only reason Ron Paul isn't the GOP frontrunner. This is also why Tea Partiers never became libertarians.

The antidote to this mythmaking are facts. Unfortunately, the facts that the antiwar crowd present are under reported. For instance, Iraq is still a shithole where Shias are now dominant over Sunnis and will certainly become the ally of Iran when that war starts. What has intervention achieved? Similarly, what did intervention do for Vietnam? And why is China liberalizing despite the fact that we haven't invaded?

I am going to have to take pains to reply to the myths being put out there by the interventionists and the neocons. This is some of that asymmetry I am talking about. With the cancellation of Freedom Watch, it certainly appears that libertarians have their work cut out for them.

4. SOME CAREER ADVICE

The best career advice I can give to anyone working today is to always be looking for another job. Companies are always looking for some way to fuck their workforce, so it behooves you to have zero loyalty to any employer. This is because companies have zero loyalty when it comes to you. A job is not a marriage. It is a business deal. Unfortunately, people in deals often attempt to use fraud, deception, threats, and intimidation to get what they want. Workers do this when they go on strike. Companies do this when they lie to their workers or attempt to extract from them work without paying for it. Another tactic they do is to give a worker a certain number of hours to get him hired and in the door then cuts those hours after he has settled into the position. Another tactic is to fire workers to save the jobs of some parasites and then take that work and put it on the ones remaining. In every one of these tricks, the company attempts to get something for nothing.

Termination is a two-way street. Your boss can fire you. But you can also fire your boss. There are other jobs. Going on strike doesn't change anything. Neither does going to the labor board. What changes things is the free market, and it behooves you to shop around for jobs just like you would a new car, a cellphone, or a computer. Bad companies deserve lousy workers. Lousy workers accumulate as good workers hit the exits. As this process continues, that company loses money, managers get fired, and outfits go bankrupt.

Am I looking for another job? Always.

2012-02-10T04:13:00.000-05:00

MALNIC

The Consent of the Governed

2012-02-10T02:00:00.003-05:00

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

It is a popular notion among many libertarians that people want freedom, but they are denied freedom by the government. The masses are either duped or cowed into submission to the powers of the State. Though this notion is popular, it is untrue. Orwell's 1984 cannot exist for a majority of the population. It can only exist for a minority. For the majority, it is Alduous Huxley's Brave New World. In short, no majority can ever be the victims of tyranny. Tyranny is the majority.

It is always within the power of the majority to change or abolish its government. The fall of the Soviet Union and the Arab Spring are testimony to this. The recent defeat of legislation to crack down on the piracy of intellectual property on the internet is another example. Even when faced with the facts of its own coming fiscal collapse, the government still will not override the will of the people to establish a balanced budget. Conversely, the electorate are given freedom options and candidates in election after election, yet those candidates get voted down in favor of whoever is the slickest liar. The majority of the population get the government they expect and ask for. If they don't, that government will collapse or reform itself to accord itself with those wishes.

Changing the government is a simple matter. You merely need to change the hearts and minds of the majority of the population. No change in elected officials will ever do the trick. A libertarian as president would make little difference if he was elected in opposition to the will of the majority. In short, all governments whether monarchy, dictatorship, democracy, republic, or anarchy is at the will and mercy of the vast majority of the population. Even Rome had to offer bread and circuses to keep the people from revolting.

People do not want freedom. The history of the world and countless examples demonstrate this truth again and again. Freedom is not popular. It isn't that people want to be enslaved and impoverished. They do not necessarily want other people to be enslaved and impoverished. But they do want to collect money they did not earn, and they want to punish those they despise. Those twin desires are why we see the erosion in social and economic liberty. This is morally repugnant, but the government as well as the people cover over this immorality with an appeal to the "common good." This makes wrong turn into right. A neighbor may not have the balls to go next door and rob his neighbor at gunpoint, but he is quite content to let the government do it for him.

What the government allows the majority to do is to pursue immoral actions while absolving itself of culpability. Nothing demonstrates this more than the German myth that the people in Germany were at the mercy of Hitler. The reality is they loved that man, voted him into power, and supported him until their defeat and their disgrace. Ashamed of the Holocaust, this myth of impotence popped up to cleanse their guilty consciences of the crimes they were complicit in.

To be against the government is ultimately to be against your countrymen. You are defying them and their crimes and immorality. Libertarians must not make this distinction between the government and the people. The government is the people. Once this is established and repeated again and again, the people will have to answer for the crimes they have supported. At that moment, they can either remain complicit in the crime, or they can choose to stand apart from their countrymen and defy them. This is what it means to be a libertarian. Libertarians are the ones who defy the majority.

Changing the government won't change the people. Changing the people will change the government. The way to change people is to hold them morally and intellectually accountable for either supporting or defying the government. This is done on an individual basis. As for those who declare apathy and indifference, this is no excuse either. There are no sidelines when it comes to tyranny. You are in the game whether you chose to play or not. This is why it is called tyranny.

Eventually, tyrannies collapse as they must. But they are often replaced with another tyranny. This is because people don't change. They want to collect money they did not earn and punish people they hate. The only hope is a moral hope and revolution. I don't know of a single libertarian who believes in liberty merely as a voting option. It is part of a worldview and a lifestyle as well. This is because freedom demands responsibility. Until the majority of the population is converted to this libertarian worldview, nothing will change.

Libertarians are great educators. We permeate the culture in a variety of ways. But does it make any difference? I can't think of a single person in my life that came around to my way of thinking on anything much less liberty. My personal belief is that people tend to not listen. It goes as far as closing their eyes and sticking their fingers in their ears. Not only do they not know, they don't want to know. Watching the reaction to Ron Paul demonstrates this better than my words can express. Ron Paul is respected for being right and promptly ignored.

The other popular belief amongst libertarians is that people will become libertarians once they learn the facts. This is also not true. I have benefited immensely from these educational endeavors, but I am already a convert. The failed war on drugs shows the folly of government actions in this regard, but I have yet to convince anyone that it should be abandoned. The simple fact is that Prohibition ended because most people liked to drink. Similarly, marijuana will be legalized as more and more people actually smoke the shit. But it won't come as a result of some change in thinking. Likewise, people respond strongly against SOPA legislation because it might interfere with them downloading their torrents. But they are silent on NDAA because that will be against individuals who are probably Muslim.

There are no principles animating the population. The Egyptian Revolution was basically a case of an old fart miscalculating and shutting down the massively popular internet. You can tax us and take away our freedoms. But don't fuck with our Facebook.

Freedom is not popular. It never was, and I doubt that it ever will be. Almost every libertarian I know acknowledges this in one way or another. Libertopia is merely the belief that the majority might come around. They won't, but it is nice to dream. In the end, people want their welfare checks, and they want whoever they hate to suffer. People are utterly fucked up. This is why I am a libertarian pessimist. I don't ever see this changing. Freedom when it happens is mostly accidental.

2012-02-10T01:00:00.000-05:00

THURSDAY

2012-02-09T19:39:00.003-05:00

1. Fox cancels Freedom Watch on the Fox Business Network. This was the best libertarian show on the air, and it is now gone. And, it really sucks that it is gone. Napolitano is awesome.

2. I wonder when they will cancel Stossel's show.

3. I believe there was fraud in the Nevada caucus. I am not much into conspiracy theories, but things are really starting to stink with the GOP establishment.

4. If you are going through Freedom Watch withdrawal, I recommend LRN. I listen to it through iTunes.

5. Suge Knight got busted with weed. I am shocked. SHOCKED. It totally changes my opinion about the man. I suspect he is also fond of 40 oz. bottles of malt liquor, handguns, and women with large asses.

6. They are coming out with inhalable caffeine. That is fucking awesome with a capital A.

7. They are cancelling House. To be honest, House was tapped out when House tapped Dr. Cuddy's sweet ass.

8. I watched three episodes of World's Toughest Fixes today. This show doesn't get a lot of attention, but I think it is the best of Blue Collar TV because it focuses more on the work instead of the antics of the host or the drama of the workers. It is educational and thrilling at the same time especially the episode where they work on the TV tower. That one will put you on the edge of your seat.

9. The cancellation of Freedom Watch and Ron Paul's inability to win a primary or caucus demonstrates to me beyond all shadow of a doubt that the libertarian message cannot and will not catch on with the American people. Freedom is not popular.

10. I suspect the popularity of the smartphone is its ability to take porn on the road or to the bathroom. Beware the sticky smartphone.

2012-02-09T11:07:00.000-05:00

Asymmetry

2012-02-09T09:18:00.006-05:00

What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.
NIETZSCHE

In the gaming world, there are cheaters who enter online arenas with modified controllers, hardware, and what have you that give them a distinct advantage over their competitors. This stuff is frowned upon and will often result in 5000 day bans from these arenas which is the gaming equivalent of the death penalty. Gamers despise this cheating, but it still goes on. It seems the gaming world is as dirty as the Tour de France. I have a friend who is a gamer who despises this cheating, and we have had long discussions about it. For him, the game should be fair in terms of equipment, and it should be purely a match of skill and wits. Some people simply don't have this skill, so they resort to cheating. I asked him if it made any difference to him. Was he still able to win against the cheaters? His surprising answer was that he was able to beat them and win. The cheating made no difference and probably enhanced his skill level. This was an epiphany to me.

Life is not fair. That might be news to a few people, but I think the vast majority of the people reading this already know this. But we all seem to agree that life should be fair in one way or another. The epiphany I had was a rejection of that idea. Life should be unfair. There needs to be a certain level of unfairness and injustice in the world. I gave this concept a name, and that name is "asymmetry." I will explain.

In my study of martial arts, I find that the learning process is pretty basic. I get my ass kicked by someone who knows it better than I do. Those repeated defeats at the hands of my superiors is what makes me better. This is asymmetry. I am a midget fighting a giant. But each time I fight, I grow a little taller.

Asymmetry is the stimulus necessary for these increases of skill. If things were absolutely symmetric, no progress would be possible. All progress is the result of unfairness. It could be an enemy, a friendly opponent, or merely circumstances. In order to progress, we must battle with those things that have advantage over us. If they do not destroy us, they will make us stronger.

The dangers of asymmetry are twofold. The first is that we will be destroyed. This is why no one practices catching bullets. The second is that we will surrender and give up. Wisdom is knowing when to fight and when to run. As long as we can progress, we should stay and fight. If we can only destroy ourselves, we should step away. But we should not step away and take the pussy option if there can be progress in ourselves or our situation even in a defeat. Victory is often at the end of a string of defeats.

The cheater attempts to give to himself an unfair advantage. At the heart of every cheater is weakness. They follow their own set of rules, and their string of victories actually makes them weaker instead of stronger. Similarly, those blessed with talent or advantages grow weaker over time instead of stronger as they remain within their comfort zones and exploit their advantages.

Those who progress continually seek out asymmetric opportunities. Bruce Lee was the master of this. His greatness came from constantly seeking out those who could beat him and learning to beat them. He went against a Hollywood system that was not favorable to Asians, and he became one of the greatest stars in cinema. Life was never fair to Bruce Lee. He had to fight for everything he achieved. The irony of his death is that it seemed that Fate itself was a hater of this man who defied his destiny to become what he was. We can say that life should have been fair to Bruce Lee, but Bruce Lee would not have existed without that asymmetry.

Once you embrace asymmetry, your whining should cease. You don't want things to be fair. Fairness is the desire of pussies. You want the stimulus that comes from adversity. It is good to have haters and enemies. It is good to not always have things go your way. As Seneca put it, "Disaster is virtue's opportunity." Asymmetry is the deliberate embrace and pursuit of disaster.

The fear of asymmetry is the fear of losing. In a victory or loss, we discover who we really are. But as we see, it is possible to lose with honor and win with dishonor. That sense of honor should matter more to us than victories or defeats. The real loss is dishonor and disgrace.

Life should not be fair. You should not want it to be fair. One you embrace this, few things will trouble you further. You won't worry anymore about setbacks, adversity, cheaters, enemies, or the rest. Instead, you will welcome these things as the spurs to your greater development. And when you triumph over your enemies despite their advantages, they will scream out about the unfairness of it all. And they are correct. Nature does not allot virtue equally. Some are better than others. This is the way it should be.

2012-02-08T21:37:00.003-05:00

Q & A

2012-02-07T20:03:00.003-05:00

Q: Are smartphones a waste of money?

A: It is difficult for me to answer that question because I think it is person relative. I know a smartphone is a waste of money for me. It is also a waste of money for a lot of other users as well according to this article that points out that 1 in 4 smartphone users consume no data at all. In addition, less than 1% of smartphone users come close to using 2GB a month. For those 1%, a smartphone is probably worth it. For everyone else, it isn't.

The one advantage of a smartphone over a dumbphone in terms of business is the email capability. Add in a full keyboard for texting, and you have the BlackBerry. I have never owned one myself, but I could see where it would be essential for office workers, people in government, business leaders, etc. I think the tactile keyboard is a huge advantage over touchscreen devices.

The iPhone changed the game with the Android phones right behind them. Those phones are not serious phones. They are toys. Their main use is for playing games, fart apps, updating your status on Facebook, etc. They can be used for serious purposes, but I think most of the people buying these phones are not the ones using them in this way. I can't help but notice that most of the people I see with smartphones tend to have lower IQs and are atrocious with money. These are the same folks who used to run up their phone bills each month buying a hundred different ringtones.

For some folks, these phones are pretty damn vital. Like I said, it is person relative. But from where I sit, I just see people getting ripped off with another piece of consumerist crap. People will call me a Luddite for this, but I remember some awesome tech products that came out which no one cared about in the long run. This would be things like the Apple Newton, the Palm Pilot, and now, Blu-Ray disc players. The smartphone seems different as now over 30% of cellphone subscribers own one.

Are smartphones a fad? I can't answer that because any prediction I make would probably be wrong. But I do like to look back at what came before to see if there is some precedent. Has the public ever adopted a new technology only to drop it as they retrenched to something simpler they had before? The dismal sales of Blu-ray disc players shows this to be the case. But it never really caught on in the first place. The videophone and the color fax were also failures back in the day.

The best precedent that I see is the 8-track cassettes that came out in the 60's and the 70's. These were massively popular during that time, but they faded. They were clearly superior to vinyl and reel-to-reel tapes. You could play them in your car. Cassette tapes would later come along and be popular as well, but they did not really supplant the 8-track player. I know the reality. People liked FM radio, and those 8-track tapes wore out and sounded crappy after awhile. Vinyl endured while the 8-track faded away. Even after CD players, the iPod, and what have you, people still love vinyl records.

I see smartphones as being like those 8-track tapes. I could be wrong, and they may be the future. But the fact that the people who own smartphones don't use them except primarily to make calls and send texts tells me they will probably fade out. My own decision to stick with a dumbphone was based largely on the fact that I hardly ever use my iPod touch. I still have my old DVD player instead of the Blu-ray. I never upgraded to a high def TV. I don't own a DVR. The constant surges to upgrade has left me a bit fatigued as devices I own are outdated before they are worn out. It makes you want to simplify it all. I think this is why vinyl has seen a renewed popularity.

2012-02-07T11:45:00.001-05:00

[SOC]

2012-02-07T08:00:00.001-05:00

I write these things on Saturday morning as a creative warm up. Mornings are rough for me as that is when I am at my most decaffeinated.

It has been a mild winter. I suppose I should be grateful for that. Meanwhile, Alaska and Seattle have been buried in snow, and it all somehow has something to do with climate change. I'm tired of that shit. They just don't fucking know, and they can't come out and say it. The irony is that the same people who harp the most about global warming are utterly oblivious to the coming financial calamity and the debt crisis.

* * *

That was as far as I got on Saturday morning with that post. I was running late for Fight School, so I did the RTOVS and hauled ass. After that, my life became a blur of work and sleep for two days. I missed the Super Bowl working late. No big deal as I find working weekends way more tolerable since giving up the sports habit. You can either watch people doing things, or you can do them yourself.

I just got done writing an email to Malnic. Malnic is very stimulating. I drop everything online to respond to a Malnic email. Malnic has that same creative urge that I have. Most people I correspond with have interests in politics, philosophy, or economics. Malnic is the only one who creates. I think people are afraid to create because you are taking something from inside of yourself and putting it out there to be praised or damned. In that respect, we are comrades.

Talk to me long enough, and you will hear me whine about TME--Time, Money, and Energy. TME are the resources we all use to accomplish our objectives. If we fail to accomplish an objective, it is usually as a result of a lack of one or more of those resources. For instance, I believe that I can cure cancer if I put my mind to it. The problem is that I will probably die of cancer before I ever get to the cure because there is that whole medical school thing you have to do before tackling that cancer thing. Plus, I don't have the money for that sort of thing either as I would need a great deal of funding to do the research involved. So, we temper our ambitions to what we think we can reasonably achieve given the time, money, and energy that we have.

People think their failures are due to some lack of virtue on their part, but I don't see it that way. I think it all goes back to the TME issue. I remember my brother lamenting the loss of fitness and chalking it up to some degree of laziness on his part. The reality is that he spends numerous hours working on engineering plans and his few leisure hours with his family. This isn't laziness. Ultimately, there are only so many hours in a day, and he devotes most of his time to being an engineer, businessman, husband, and a father. Since that time, he has cut back a bit on work and got back to working out. I am sure when something doesn't get done on the job he laments his laziness there.

The reality is that our ambitions exceed our resources. In my study of achievements, I can't help but notice how so much achievement is the product of neglect in other areas. What you don't do is often as important as what you do. That nugget of wisdom forms the kernel of the minimalist lifestyle strategy. This is why less is more.

Minimalism is nothing more than being deliberate in what you are going to shun and neglect and eliminate. Most people are not deliberate, and they let the failures dictate what happens to them. The result is a messy frustrating life. I know all about messes and frustration. The only antidote I have found is the creation of a "Not To Do" list. You need to make deliberate decisions on things you are not going to do. This will help you concentrate your time, money, and energy on the things you really care about. That is Leo Babauta's wisdom in a nutshell.

I am someone with a large appetite for new interests. If I actually indulged all of my interests, I would achieve nothing. I am not talking about climbing Everest or painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I am talking about the most mundane of things like taking out the trash or cleaning my bathroom. In fact, most of the bad habits people report are mostly neglect of important but mundane things in pursuit of the things that really thrill them and make them happy. This would be things like eating right, getting some exercise, and flossing. Watching TV, partying, working, blogging, painting, and many other things consume our interest so much that we end up neglecting other things in the process. I have literally lost hours and been late to things because I started a blog post that consequently consumed my being. I have to have a "go to sleep" alarm on my Timex to remind me to go to bed, or I will forget to sleep.

My "Not To Do" List or N-List is the following:

1. Do not watch televised sporting events.

I am tempted all the time to watch NASCAR, the NFL, and UFC. I keep putting the sports talk station on my car radio preset and removing it at least once a month. It gets uncomfortable having a convo with one of my buds, and sports comes up and I go silent. I didn't know the Patriots and the Giants were playing in the Super Bowl until a week before the game. The reason I don't know this stuff is because I have to put my mental energy and time into things that matter more to me than watching these competitions and keeping up with them. The most blatant example is that I can watch mixed martial arts, or I can learn mixed martial arts. I choose the latter. The same thing goes for fitness. I can watch football, or I can go work out.

2. Do not begin new hobbies.

I have a friend who is a drummer, and I have gone to see some of his gigs. We talk a lot about the drums and favorite drummers. I am not a drummer. He gives me music catalogs for drum equipment because he thinks I am going to break down and buy myself a kit. I never do. I also get hunting/fishing invites almost weekly from other friends, and I always turn them down. I can barely do the things I have on my plate now, so adding new things will be money wasted. I take a keen interest in these things but only to the extent that I like to write about them. I even attend offbeat church services even though I am an atheist merely to indulge my curiosity. The bottom line is that I am a journalist except jobs in that field pay so poorly that it is simply a hobby for me. Good journalists and writers are merely explorers of worlds who report back to their respective audiences.

Except for writing, my only other leisurely pursuits are getting in shape and learning self-defense. I can't even call them hobbies because I see them both as being vital to living well in much the same way you wash your car and change the oil. Both have as the aim the preservation of one's bodily functions. The workouts are more chore than pleasure, but the ironic thing is that you will get your chores done. It is more a "have to" than a "want to."

3. Do not buy the unnecessary.

This is the tools/toy thing I have mentioned on the blog before. I wanted a smartphone, but I disciplined myself to buy a durable dumbphone. Similarly, I want to buy a hulking 4WD pickup truck with mudgrip tires, a wench, a roll bar, and a set of chrome truck nuts hanging on the back. What I will get will be a small pickup that is good on gas and won't cost me a month's pay to put tires on. The irony is that I find the tools more delightful than the toys. This is because I use the tools while toys end up unused and neglected.

4. Do not get another girlfriend.

This is the latest item on the list. Nothing eats a man's resources more than a woman. There was a time when a good woman was an asset. Now, they are mostly nagging liabilities. This struck me when I saw that the guys do most of the cooking on Jersey Shore. Women are a waste now. Over the last year of unattachment, I have more TME than before. TME beats TLC especially when TLC doesn't exist.

5. Do not listen to anything other than country or rock.

I spent a decade (the 90's!) exploring different musical genres from classical to jazz to hip hop to soul to electronica to ambient to what have you. I had a library of CDs. In the end, I still like to listen to rock and country. 90% of that library of music went unplayed in favor of whatever was on the radio. Since then, those CDs have disappeared in favor of digital files that remain unplayed on my computer. I mostly listen to the radio. The reality is that my musical explorations only revealed to me that what I really like is what I have listened to since I was a kid. Country and rock are to me like Coca-Cola and Levi's jeans. You really don't need to fuck with those things. They are fine just as they are. The lesson is that the familiar doesn't always have to lead to contempt.

6. Do not indulge wanderlust.

Living somewhere else is appealing because it offers new sights and new experiences. Travel is also pretty cool. But if you do enough of it, you start to notice the same things instead of the new things. This would be seeing a kid in New Delhi wearing a pair of Levi's and drinking a Coke. This cures whatever notions you might have that you are missing something by not traveling more. The reality is that the world is smaller than you realize. The experience of the new pretty much ended with the advent of the glossy magazine, the television, and the internet. As a friend who spent a honeymoon in the Cayman Islands told me, "Save your money. All the good parts you see in the brochures. Going there only lets you see the ugly parts."

All of this stuff on the N-list would suggest a boring monochromatic existence for me, but it isn't like that at all. What I have found are the ironies of life. The supposedly good things in life are oversold. The really good things are the familiar things and those without the glam and the advertising. It is the difference between reading a thick novel like The Count of Monte Cristo and watching Transformers. I have done both, and I can tell you that book is unforgettable. I am still trying to forget Transformers.

2012-02-07T07:34:00.001-05:00

Quotable Quotes

2012-02-05T08:21:00.003-05:00

Black leaders and white liberals have kept black Americans so focused on superficial indications of racism, that we overlook the most pernicious and ruinous use of race, that is, as an economic weapon – not just to deter one's employment in companies created by others, but to hamper the ability to create employment for oneself.
ELIZABETH WRIGHT

The great thing to remember is that the mind of man cannot be enlightened permanently by merely teaching him to reject some particular set of superstitions. There is an infinite supply of other superstitions always at hand; and the mind that desires such things - that is, the mind that has not trained itself to the hard discipline of reasonableness and honesty, will as soon as its devils are cast out, proceed to fill itself with their relations.
GILBERT MURRAY

The greatest threat to the future of our nation - to our freedom - is not foreign military aggression ... but the growing dependence of the people on a paternalistic government. A nation is no stronger than its people and the best measure of their strength is how they accept responsibility. There will never be a great society unless the materialism of the welfare state is replaced by individual initiative and responsibility.
CHARLES B. SHUMAN

The truth is that private ownership of property is the greatest instrument of freedom ever designed and it is sheer folly to speak of granting a man freedom while withholding that instrument from him.
BERTEL M. SPARKS

Trade between two individuals, entered into freely, always results in benefits to both parties. Otherwise, why should they trade?
W.M. CURTIS

The end of the law is, not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.
JOHN LOCKE

Do you not see, first, that – as a mental abstract – physical force is directly opposed to morality; and secondly, that it practically drives out of existence the moral forces? How can an act done under compulsion have any moral element in it, seeing that what is moral is the free act of an intelligent being? If you tie a man's hands there is nothing moral about his not committing murder. Such an abstaining from murder is a mechanical act; and just the same in kind, though less in degree, are all the acts which men are compelled to do under penalties imposed upon them by their fellow men. Those who would drive their fellow men into the performance of any good actions do not see that the very elements of morality – the free act following on the free choice – are as much absent in those upon whom they practice their legislation as a flock of sheep penned in by hurdles.
AUBERON HERBERT

2012-02-05T08:15:00.000-05:00

[U.] Take the Cannoli

2012-02-05T02:00:00.000-05:00

u-daddy is primed for CRIME. my felony? straight k to them motherfucking BRAINS. gonna hit it and quit it in another installment of THE UNKNOWN BLOGGER. spread them legs and take what the u-man is delivering.

super k bomb on the nwo. END GAME BITCHES:

buy GOLD motherfuckers:

lady di died in a HIT. straight SHIT from Paul Mooney:

james cameron BUGS OUT of the USA. what does he know? alex jones drops the k bomb:

randy gage drops the straight cheese on the FRINGE OF FEAR:

the u-balls is drained and never in vain. the u-man has busted the nut and now must cut. let's rock them AMENS. u-daddy wants to feel the love. SHIT ON THE HATERS. i gots no love for you. sleep with the fishes bitches. peace to the posse. out this motherfucker.

2012-02-05T01:00:00.000-05:00

Random Thoughts on Various Subjects

2012-02-04T20:28:00.003-05:00

1. GOP PRIMARIES

Since voting in the SC primary, my interest in the electoral process has waned considerably. I am at the point where I no longer care to vote. The fact that I voted for Nikki Haley back in 2008 has left a really bad taste in my mouth as she has demonstrated that she is nothing like Mark Sanford except when it comes to her sex life.

I had pledged to vote for Gary Johnson who is running for the LP spot, but I don't feel like wasting my time to actually go to the polls to cast a vote that is meaningless. The bottom line is that a stupid nation cannot elect a smart president. Libertarian pessimism is my modus operandi from now on.

Libertarian pessimism is the belief that freedom is the best way to go, but that people will never choose to be free because they don't want the responsibility that comes with that freedom. The proper response is not to vote or be hopeful but to denigrate the American people for being irresponsible pieces of shit. The libertarian pessimist shines a mirror in their faces and reveals to them the ugly truth of what they are.

Statism is here to stay until it collapses. Any future revolutions will be ignorant revolutions where people call for more socialism. There is nothing I can do to change this reality. I already do all that is within my power. People simply cannot and will not embrace freedom. They will always return to that statist trough again and again even if it is empty.

Freedom is merely the short period where one regime exhausts itself before it is replaced by another just like it. This is essentially the thesis of my book, Libertopia and Leviathan. That one will take awhile to write as I amass the scholarship to defend the thesis.

2. LANCE ARMSTRONG

This shit is really unbelievable. For 90% of people targeted for federal prosecution, jail time is a certainty. It doesn't matter if they are innocent or guilty because the system is so utterly befucked that your only hope isn't an acquittal but a lesser sentence for a plea bargain. Lance did not roll over for the Feds, and they are now dropping the charges. I have mixed emotions.

The libertarian in me cheers this as I think the government should stay out of sports doping completely. This is something best left to athletic leagues and authorities. OTOH, I think Lance is dirty as fuck, and this trial would have finally gotten to the bottom of the allegations against him which I believe to be true. But in the end, I assume Lance is guilty of being a doper and a cheater, but I don't want him to go to jail for this. I just want him disgraced in the public eye. Is this too much to ask?

I wish they would do a reality show where there was a jury that decided things like this for the sake of entertainment. Both sides get to present their facts and a randomly selected jury gets to decide the case. The accused is welcome to come and testify which they probably won't do. This would naturally tie in to a potential title for the show--In Absentia. I think it would be a hit. We could also retry OJ and Casey Anthony.

3. FACEBOOK IPO

My personal belief is that this IPO is ridiculous. Let me explain it as best as I can. Companies issue stock as a way to raise capital. This capital is used to expand the business through the acquisition or construction of greater means of production. For instance, a car company might come out with a killer prototype, so they issue stock to raise money to build a factory to make cars.

Facebook is not like a car company. There is no means of production beyond the servers the site runs on and the people that maintain it. So far, Facebook has shown no need for an infusion of capital. In fact, the operation should largely be self-sustaining and self-financing through the company's revenues. Why do they need to issue stock? What extra capital do they need to operate?

The whole point of this IPO is to allow current shareholders in the company the ability to cash out and walk away. In other words, they need some suckers to buy their overvalued stock. As you can see, the people inside of Facebook are not looking at making their fortunes from the future cash flows of the business. Of course, if I owned Facebook shares, I would sell them, too. But this is a sucker's bet. The people who buy this IPO are fools. We are going to see a replay of the Greater Fool Theory with this one.

2012-02-03T01:00:00.000-05:00

THURSDAY

2012-02-02T22:00:00.000-05:00

1. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "As of this moment, I'm estranged from my own mother and most of my family, and I'm not sure that's going to change much. I'm not saying why, I'm just saying that's how it is. It's okay though. I've gotten used to it. I'm an island, kind of like Antigua: hot and humid, definitely a destination of choice if you want to get freaky or just kick back. And pretty isolated."--Comedian Tracy Morgan

Family Feud

2. Trump endorses Romney. Mitt gave the Donald some hair care tips in exchange for the endorsement.

3. I have spent my entire day on Facebook. I forgot to pick up my pants from the cleaners. I haven't eaten. This sucks. Facebook is a black hole that sucks up time. Yet, I know I'm never going to quit it.

4. Don Cornelius had great hair. He always looked sharp. Adios, amigo.

2012-02-02T18:11:00.001-05:00

Americans Hate Muslims

2012-02-02T10:29:00.009-05:00

It was a strange but telling moment. It was during the GOP debate when Ron Paul talked about a golden rule of foreign policy. The crowd booed. The hatred was obvious. As my amigo Ishmam Faisal put it, it was ironic that Christians would boo the Golden Rule. This is where this country is at. Americans hate Muslims.

Nobody wants to come out and put it that bluntly, but I will. The average American absolutely despises Muslims. And where did this hatred come from? 9/11. Everyone knows this. Prior to that time, most Americans thought of Muslims and Arabs as those odd people living on top of our oil. After 9/11, the secret wish of every American is to exterminate to the last man, woman, and child every single one of those raghead camel jockey motherfuckers. This hatred is so extreme that America has sacrificed every principle, its economy, and even its own freedoms in its desire for revenge on these people.

9/11 happened as blowback for US involvement in Middle Eastern affairs. It was only a matter of time before people who used to be on the US payroll would turn on the Americans and repay them for their stupidity. These facts are under reported in today's media. This is because this is history, and the MSM is not interested in history. The MSM is interested in events as they happen. The result is that Americans witness these things and have no context for them. But these facts are readily available on the internet for anyone who has the ability to use Google. These facts are also common knowledge amongst those who work in government or the military.

To put things in context, imagine if some foreign hostile government decided they didn't like the regime here in America and wanted to change it. So, they sent over secret agents to recruit radical motherfuckers like Timothy McVeigh. They trained them, gave them weapons and money, intelligence, and anything else they might desire to perform terrorist activities inside this country. Are you mad yet? This is exactly what the US has done and continues to do in foreign countries. And let's say one of these Timothy McVeigh types turned on his former benefactors and attacked them. You would think it to be ironic justice, wouldn't you? This is how the Muslim world feels about Osama bin Laden. He isn't a hero to them so much as the bomb that blew up in the American face that the Americans created.

This is how it really is. Americans never stop to consider why the Muslim world is not fond of America. Americans react the way some redneck would react when a black family moves into the neighborhood. They ain't one of us, and they need to disappear. This is why the stereotypical picture in the American mind of Muslims is that they are a bunch of crazed suicidal terrorists who irrationally blow shit up and kill people.

The hatred that American people have for Muslims is in the same tradition as the hatred held for blacks and Jews in a previous time and what is witnessed now in regard to Mexican immigrants. Europe is close behind with politicians and people declaring that "multiculturalism has failed." This is code for "those ragheads need to pack their shit up and get the fuck out of Paris/London/Copenhagen/etc."

This hatred is turning America ugly. The American people like to think they are better than this. We like to think that we respect civil liberties and human rights. America is the shining city on a hill that the rest of the world should emulate. But this isn't the case. The US has tortured detainees, violated its own Constitution, and made a mockery of the Geneva Conventions. The American military has gone abroad and killed people including many innocents. What sort of reaction should we expect from abroad? This is what is so mind boggling. Americans still think they are the good guys.

Check out this wall art from Tehran:

This sums up the picture of the USA abroad. We are the country with the bombs and death from the air. Critics will say this is just anti-American propaganda. It is just propaganda when it isn't true. Unfortunately, in this case, it is true. When Iran gets bombed into oblivion in the near future, the Islamists will say, "I told you so."

If this whole situation looks like two trains heading towards each other on the same track, it is. It is ignorance meeting ignorance. I am under no delusion that the Muslim world is some enlightened modern society. Honor killings and burkas tell me otherwise. As an atheist, my fondness for Muslims is at absolute zero. Of all the religions in the world, I detest Islam the most. But I also believe in live and let live. I am also not a pacifist. I own weapons and study martial arts for self defense. I support the defense of America. But I also know that this irrational hatred of Muslims will turn us into the very thing we are supposed to hate.

To put this into perspective, here is some North Korean propaganda depicting American soldiers having a little fun:

Sickening, eh? How could they portray our soldiers like this? How could they depict our men in uniform as nothing more than sadistic barbarians? Here is the reality:

Now, at this point, some apoplectic patriot will say something like, "That is one bad apple. You can't judge an entire nation by the actions of one asshole." Well, guess what, you can't judge the Muslim world by the actions of the one asshole Osama bin Laden. And I must add that OBL used to work for the good ol' USA at one time. He helped us defeat the Soviets. Remember those guys?

For good or ill, we are all human. What makes us ugly or beautiful is the extent that we acknowledge that common humanity. Evil is when we lose sight of this. Evil is when we deem others to be less than human, and we justify being less than human ourselves in getting revenge. If Osama bin Laden's goal was to destroy American freedom and exceptionalism, he succeeded. This is because we have been his allies in evil. When you sleep with the Devil, it comes at a price.

All wars are political and ideological. Behind every war is the belief that our way is better than their way. Everyone wants the moral high ground. On 9/11, the USA had the moral high ground. At that moment, the USA could choose dignity or revenge. It chose revenge. This mindset has permeated the American psyche. The lessons of Vietnam were forgotten. Numerous videos and pictures of American atrocities abroad feed the bloodlust. The insatiable desire is to make them all pay for that day over and over and over again. The result is that America is becoming just like them.

My writing this will almost certainly result in a string of hate and abuse from my fellow Americans. But I have simply told the truth. Americans hate Muslims. The US foreign policy is essentially to kill off the Muslims and take their oil. And it is going to happen. I have no illusions about that. After a decade of this, the hatred has not abated one iota speck. The hatred will not stop until the US has committed mass atrocity on the scale of the Holocaust and replaces hatred with guilt. But I think America is beyond being horrified now. I talk to my fellow Americans. This would be the people in the street. They honestly and sincerely don't give a fuck. They share videos and photos on their cellphones and laptops of the atrocities I mentioned. They laugh. They eat that shit up. And when I express my disagreements with them, they look at me as if I am some sort of sympathizer with the enemy. And people wonder why I arm myself and learn martial arts.

I don't hate Muslims. This doesn't mean I love them. I wouldn't hesitate to kill one if he threatened my life. But in the end, I recognize that even Muslims have the rights to life, liberty, and property. I don't think they have the right to abuse their females or tell me how to run my life. But if they want to believe stupid things, I don't really care. They have their way, and I have mine. The one thing I believe is that minds are changed not by force of arms but by example. I endeavor to live the way I think all people should live and provide a good example. I think America should do the same.

TRUE SHIT-Negative Image

2012-02-02T02:00:00.000-05:00

1. Stare at the red star on the girl’s nose for 30 seconds
2. Turn your eyes towards the wall/ceiling or somewhere else on a plain surface.
3. Keep blinking your eyes.

TRUE SHIT.

2012-02-02T01:00:00.001-05:00

WEDNESDAY

2012-02-01T20:53:00.003-05:00

1. Link love.

2. At this point, the most important thing Julian Assange can do for himself, Wikileaks, and freedom is to make some money.

3. Too much suicide in the news today.

4. There are gonna be a lot of Facebook millionaires. One of them will certainly be Tim Ferriss. Get ready for the hate, Tim.

5. If you own stock in Facebook, learn a lesson from the dot-com bubble. Sell that shit and buy some gold and Treasury bonds. This way you can keep paying the rent when Facebook becomes the next MySpace.

6. Asperger's syndrome is where you have a nerdy person who can't get laid because they spend all their time doing math and playing chess. I think that sums it up.

7. I know this guy who bought a new smartphone except he can't afford to pay the bill each month. Most of the time, his shit is turned off. I'm thinking that smartphones are dumb.

8. I had a nightmare that my indestructible dumbphone got destroyed. Seriously.

9. Peyton Manning is damaged goods. He needs to retire and go into coaching or broadcasting. The alternative is life in a wheelchair with a bowel specialist who scoops shit out of your rectum every other day.

10. Math and chess are looking very interesting these days.

2012-02-01T20:47:00.001-05:00

MALNIC, Picasso Revisited

The Kinetic Nature of Happiness

2012-02-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

There is no joy in idleness.
PURITAN SAYING

Happiness comes from action and cannot be achieved in a static state.
MIKE TOMASEK (a Facebook poster)

Jackson Pollock catches a lot of flak for the artwork he created. The criticisms are along the lines of artwork that a kid could create. Those criticisms may be valid, but I think they miss the point of why Pollock painted the way he did. The element that gets overlooked is motion. Those splatters of paint across the canvas came at a moment when Pollock was trying to capture something. This would be the motion and by extension, the exuberance of the painter. We mock this in art but celebrate it in music. Pollock's frustration was in trying to capture a kinetic phenomenon in a static medium.

We experience this same frustration in our own lives. People try to find happiness in static things. It could be a possession or a person or a passive experience. Do you doubt this? How many times have you thought to yourself how nice it would be if you could just get all your shit together? The idea behind this is that happiness is some endpoint of an activity. The irony is that once the end is achieved the happiness vanishes.

I encounter this feeling often when I write. I put work into a blog post and pick the words I want to express the idea. It is actually quite thrilling to be in the process of creation. Then, there comes that point when the work has ended. It is sort of like when the mountain climber knows that he has reached the summit because he has nowhere else to climb. The work is done. In that brief moment, there is a feeling of satisfaction. You have accomplished something. As good as it feels, this is not happiness.

Happiness is the process. Happiness is the action that leads to those satisfying ends. Once the end is achieved, the temptation is to rest on your laurels. This rest is stasis. Stasis is death. Overindulgence in this stasis is the undoing of your happiness.

Happiness requires constant motion. You must always be doing in order to remain happy. If you doubt this, look at the miserable people. What do they all have in common? They don't move. They are lazy. They are stuck. They don't change. If there is one certain antidote to depression, it is motion.

One of the ironies of happiness is that it often comes following some disaster. It could be the loss of a job or a divorce or what have you. The reason happiness often comes after these things is because they are motivators for people. People start moving, and this movement creates happiness. If it were up to me, I would have paint and brushes in every mental hospital and psych ward and prescribe painting as therapy. I would show some Pollock creations to help people get over their lack of talent. My own artistic creations are the product of filling time with activity when I run out of stuff to write. I don't consider myself an artist, yet I seem to have put together a sizable portfolio of work.

Society deems this endless activity as some sort of pathology. I think society is fucked up in this regard. Work is denigrated in favor of leisure. Retirement and vacation are held up as the good life. Buying things is preferable to doing things. You can see the stasis with its creeping death seeping into everything.

When I see one of those Corona ads in a magazine or on television, I recoil in revulsion at it. The message in the ad is that the good life is found in relaxation, sitting on the beach, and drinking beer. I have done all those things. That is not the good life. I know people who do those things as a lifestyle, and they are the most miserable people I know.

I think Nike ads better capture the true essence of the good life. Their ads always extol the virtues of activity and motion. Even when they feature an athlete at rest, the rest is the pleasurable reward of labor accomplished in the gym, the track, the road, the trail, and the field.

Happiness is essentially the flow that you experience when you are engaged in meaningful activity. Flow stops when you stop moving, creating, working, etc. Pathology is when we attempt to find happiness in what should be the means of accomplishment instead of the ends. This would be gluttony, materialism, laziness, addiction, etc. Materialism is a fine example as people go out and buy status objects. I find that I prefer objects of high utility. Rest is another example. Many people want to be on their ass as a permanent state of being. I usually want to be on my ass just long enough to recover physically from a day of work. I often lose sleep because I wake up in the middle of the night and cannot resist the temptation to go write something. Four hours later, it is time to go to work, and I am a zombie. This is when that gallon of coffee comes in handy.

A truly happy life is one of constant motion. The only consistently negative emotion in a happy person's life is frustration. This happens when you spend too much time on one project to the neglect of another project that is often vital. This would be blowing off the gym to finish cleaning the house. Better life management helps with this, and I find minimalism to be an effective strategy in this regard. This would be Aristotle's dictum of moderation in all things.

Happiness is a life in motion. Unfortunately, Jackson Pollock couldn't figure this out. He died in 1956 after getting shitfaced drunk and crashing his car. I like to compare Pollock to Picasso who did know something about happiness as Picasso spent his entire life even into his 90s producing thousands of artworks from paintings to ceramics to sculptures in various styles. Picasso was robust. Pollock was self-destructive. I think Pollock was only happy during those moments when he was spreading paint on canvas. The rest of his time was spent in drunken misery. Both men were successful and acclaimed in their times, but it was Picasso who moved on with his work. Pollock stagnated and went into a downward spiral. The lesson in all of this is to never stop moving.

2012-02-01T01:00:00.001-05:00

TUESDAY

2012-01-31T20:00:00.004-05:00

1. Mitt will say anything to get elected. Newt will say everything to get elected.

2. Mitt owns Florida. This is because he bought it.

3. It is said that Heidi Klum fell for Seal after seeing his gigantic dick in a pair of bicycle shorts. True love.

4. I wish I had my own Super PAC. I would have a lot of fun with that.

5. The Cinnamon Challenge:

6. My state wants Amazon shoppers to pay their fucking sales taxes on purchases. They can suck on it.

7. No, I am not going to take the Cinnamon Challenge. Don't ask again.

8. I'm not into making fun of a candidate's looks or the looks of his wife. I make an exception for Callista Gingrich.

9. That hair is oddly familiar.

10. I wonder if Callista fell for Newt after seeing him in a pair of bicycle shorts. I'm trying to get that image out of my mind. I think I'll go take the Cinnamon Challenge now.

2012-01-31T19:13:00.000-05:00

Q & A

2012-01-31T05:28:00.002-05:00

Q: Do people have free will?

A: This is one of those deep philosophical questions I don't spend much time thinking about anymore. It is also one of those questions that have made me reject a rationalist epistemology in favor of skeptical empiricism. Whenever you have a dispute like this that has gone for eons unresolved, you are going to find that science succeeds where philosophy fails.

Everything you choose to do in life is the consequence of neurons and chemicals firing in your brain. We like to think that some part of us exists outside of this chain of material cause and effect. This is not the case. A brain injury or disease can change your entire personality. In this respect, determinism reigns.

On the flip side, physics and math demonstrate to us that there is a high degree of variability in spontaneous systems. This would be the study of stochastic processes. This is also why so many things in life made up of small and predictable events can be wildly unpredictable in the aggregate. This unpredictability and apparent randomness is where we get the concept of free will.

As I go along, I find this paradox again and again. It isn't just free will and determinism. Quantum physics throws similar paradoxes at us. What you think is so just ain't so. Or as another wise person put it, the universe is not only stranger than you imagine but also stranger than you can imagine.

The reality is that human beings are animals determined by their biology and programmed to do wildly unpredictable things. There is no conflict in nature but merely a conflict in our understanding of nature. Free will and determinism are rendered meaningless. This is why I don't waste time thinking about them anymore. Neither tells the full story.

2012-01-31T05:00:00.000-05:00

The Minimalists on Comments

2012-01-31T04:26:00.002-05:00

During the interview Seth talked about a part of his brain that distracted him from his writings when his blog had comments. This voice would constantly tell him that his writings weren’t going to be appreciated by his readers. So Seth would argue with himself about a sentence here, or he’d add an extra sentence there to justify his point of view and avoid offending his readers. Seth said, “I realized I had a choice: I could have a blog with comments and no posts, or a blog with posts and no comments.”

That was our lightbulb moment. We felt the same way: we could have a website with comments and no essays or a website with essays and no comments. So we killed the comments.

In short, we had to kill the comments before they killed us. Kill or be killed. We turned off comments because we didn’t want them shaping our writing into something inauthentic. If that happened, we’d be doing you a disservice. Plus we were spending 20 to 25 hours a week moderating and responding to hundreds of comments, which wasn’t adding as much value to our lives as it was taking. The comments were meant to engage readers, but let’s face it: less than one percent of the people who came to our website actually left a comment. There are better ways to stay engaged.

Comments Killed the Internet Star: Why The Minimalists Killed Comments on Their Site

I am always mystified as to why anyone would publish a blog on the internet and turn off comments. Seth Godin gives his reasons for turning off comments. The Minimalists give an amen to this strategy. But Godin's reasons strike me as post hoc rationalization for being thin skinned. No one wants to admit to this, so they proffer other high minded reasons for turning off comments.

The reality is that comments sting like a bitch. Well, they don't with me, but I could see where other people aren't like me. The beauty of a blog is that it is interactive. People get to respond to what was written. You can't do this with a book or a magazine. The result is that a blog post is more of a conversation starter than anything else. Even if you don't want that conversation, it will be had on Facebook or other blogs like this one.

I find comments to be valuable. Commenters on this blog have literally changed my thinking and my life by the things they have written here. Granted, you get some fucknuts who take a heaping shit on the convo, but these are opportunities for comedy. I see them as a challenge to come up with something witty as a comeback. Hell, a large part of my Facebook popularity comes from those witty retorts.

The downside of commenting is the spam. That can be a pain. I am quite fine with people voicing their opinions or spewing bile and hate. I'm not too fond of people using my blog to link to crap or scams they are trying to sell. I do delete that shit. But for the most part, I find comments to be a valuable part of my blogging experience, and I don't censor.

The upside of commenting is that I judge the success of a post by the amount of comments it generates. Pageviews are worthless. When people care enough to write a reply to what you wrote, you have done something special.

Some people can't handle it. I understand. But I cut my teeth in internet messageboards and other places, so I'm used to it. It is like what I am learning in martial arts. You learn how to fight by getting your ass kicked repeatedly in sparring sessions. The same applies to blogging. If you can't handle the battle, don't step into the arena.

2012-01-31T04:24:00.001-05:00

MONDAY

2012-01-30T20:00:00.002-05:00

1. Ron Paul got the ultimate endorsement. Snoop Dogg says to vote for Ron Paul. Pure fucking awesome. Toke up!

2. Jack White goes solo with new work. A good thing.

3. First song is here.

4. I wish to Christ that Greece would hurry up and fucking implode. This is what happens when a country does not having a living will. Put them out of their fucking misery.

5. Apparently, donkey semen is a little too much for NBC. Hey, it's just a fluid. What is the big deal?

6. Alec Baldwin is pre-diabetic. So, he lost some weight to try and become pre-undiabetic.

7. I think the cure for type 2 diabetes is the elimination of all sugary soda drinks and running 100 miles per week. I'm halfway there. I switched to diet.

8. Liam Neeson is the Clint Eastwood of our times.

9. I wonder if donkey semen can cure diabetes.

10. They should reboot Dirty Harry with Liam Neeson. It would be fucking awesome.

2012-01-30T04:48:00.001-05:00

Sublimation

2012-01-30T04:00:00.000-05:00

For the record, I think Sigmund Freud was a fucknut. My opinion of the entire psychiatric establishment is incredibly low, and Dr. Freud is definitely on my villains list. As a doctor and a mindfucker, he was truly a piece of shit. But as a philosopher, he had some interesting ideas. One of those ideas was the idea of sublimation.

Sublimation is where you take impulses that could be negative and turn them into a positive. For instance, a person prone to violence might redirect that energy into martial arts. A person prone to alcohol abuse might turn that into a love for running. It is a useful strategy because it keeps you from doing bad things and suffering negative consequences like going to jail.

Freud pointed out that sublimation worked very well on the impulse of libido. One can sublimate the desire to fuck by creating art instead. In Freud's day, indiscriminate fucking could get your ass in big trouble. Plus, doing cocaine on top of it doesn't help either. Freud had some issues. But the guy is correct. Not being in a single minded pursuit of ass frees you up to pursue other things such as inventing the quackery known as psychotherapy. It is said that Freud upon hitting middle age told his tender wife to finger her own pussy because he had work to do. He never hit that snatch again. That story is apocryphal, and I am taking some liberties in my telling of the tale. But it fits Freud's strategy of sublimation.

Sublimation is an experiment that I have been trying myself over the past year. I have taken steps to avoid finding myself in another relationship knowing that it is a fruitless pursuit that eats up resources. The result of the experiment so far is this. I have more money in the bank. My physical fitness has improved. I have been learning martial arts. I am writing more. My mood is better.

Let's face facts. Sex consumes a lot of our time, money, and energy. Freud knew this. Considering how it all ends up in a fruitless waste of those resources, doing without sex is a very productive thing. This explains the virtues of monastic existence in a nutshell. Being without a significant other and eschewing dating is liberating in many ways.

I see the emotion of love as being the worst aspect of sex. I consider love to be a kind of pollution along the lines of being drunk or high on coke. I am a straight edge guy, and I believe that a drug and alcohol free existence is the best strategy. Love is just another drug. Avoiding love is a good strategy, too. Why subject yourself to the emotional devastation?

Casual sex offers the pleasures of the flesh without the corresponding emotional fallout that comes with a relationship. It is merely enhanced masturbation with the possibility of acquiring an STD and/or eighteen years of child support obligation. Sex outside of a monogamous relationship is a risky affair in terms of the consequences to your health. So, there has sprung up the myth of celibate perversion to spur people to stay at the roulette table. If you aren't getting laid on a regular basis, you will go insane. I don't see any evidence for this. People incapable of sex like the physically handicapped do just fine. Is Stephen Hawking insane because he is confined to a wheelchair and can't plow some sweet ass like in his youth?

I think the idea that celibacy leads to mania is up there with the myth that masturbation leads to hairy palms and blindness. Granted, having regular access to a warm and shapely body is sweet, but it comes with such a heavy price that it becomes easier to let those desires go in favor of more fruitful endeavors. Even regular visits to a sex worker is better than being in a relationship.

I don't think the sex act is what eats up the resources so much as the relationship part. When your thoughts and activities are consumed with another person. It is difficult to get on with the other things like work. I can personally attest to the strain created from being attached to some nagging bitch. In time, the sex ends, and you just have the nagging.

I have seen positive results with this sublimation strategy, so I can tell you it works. The only downside is navigating the minefield of available opportunities that pop up at you. Women become more direct when they are ignored. You don't want to hurt their feelings especially when they are kinda hot. But you are trying not to start something you know you will regret finishing. It can be awkward.

I once shared a house with a guy back in the 90's who was a really good looking dude. He had no problem in the getting laid department. Women literally begged him to be his maintenance girl. The conventional wisdom was that he was gay or something. Wanting to settle the issue for myself, I snuck into his room and found a voluminous stack of Playboys and Penthouses he kept in a closet. Finally, I had a frank conversation with him about the fact that he didn't date. He told me that he didn't want the bother of it all. He had too much shit to do.

I had a great uncle who was the same way. He was in a thirteen year relationship with a chick that he dumped, so he could live alone until the day he died. She loved him from what I hear, but he was clearly tired of her shit. He had other things to do, and he did them.

Ralph Nader is also in this club. That guy has never married. When asked about marriage, Nader is reported to have said that he had to choose between a wife and a career because he couldn't have both. The guy lives on $25K a year, owns no car, is a millionaire, a workaholic, and what have you. My own lifestyle is becoming like this except I am keeping my car.

Women are anchors. This is a bonus if you are a drunk prone to self-destruction. It is a negative if you are a productive type of man wanting to do something other than being a worker drone for some worthless bitch. To do great things, you need all your resources and the freedom to deploy those resources. Women are merely shitheaded consumers of a man's energy and freedom. Freud and others argued that it is sublimation that has lead to the many great achievements in human history. This is debatable. The world might be a better place if Freud had kept fucking his wife. But what is not disputed is that sublimation helps you get more shit done. I already know that between ass and work that you are better off with work.

2012-01-30T03:00:00.000-05:00

[SOC]

2012-01-30T02:00:00.000-05:00

I just woke up from a nightmare. I have many nightmares. This particular nightmare was the prison nightmare. Most of the other nightmares are variations on the theme of human cruelty. I just have a lot of them for some reason.

The cause of my nightmares is obviously living alone. I remember only one nightmare in my life before my current living situation. I didn't have nightmares while in my various relationships. I just have nightmares now as a product of solitude.

People who spend a lot of time alone become paranoid. This paranoia feeds the need to be alone. It becomes a downward spiral. In time, you are that crazy guy with the beard and the shotgun living in a cabin up in the mountains. The irony is that sort of lifestyle is starting to appeal to me now.

Nightmares are a small price to pay for not being in a living nightmare. You just have to suck it up. My mantra is to do it alone. I don't ever want to rely on other people ever again. That is the one lesson I have learned in my life. Don't ever sacrifice yourself for the sake of other people. When they are done with you, they will toss you like a sack of wet garbage.

Living alone requires extreme self-reliance. Because humans are social, they derive comfort from living in social arrangements. It makes them feel secure even if that security is a lie. For instance, in prison, people in protective custody are safer than those in the general population. But they are also isolated which makes their minds do tricks on them. The human animal desires the pack even if that pack might turn and render him to pieces.

I know better. The people you love always hurt you. It is their nature. This is what I find so sad about life. Life is short. When you die, it is over with. There is nothing else but this life. We are cast into an uncaring and indifferent universe. Ultimately, all we have are each other. In light of this reality, you figure people would be kinder to one another. But they aren't. They have to shit on you as much as they can before they die.

This is sad shit. I can't change it. I can't make people be smart or caring or considerate. This is not in my power. The only rational response to this reality is the one I do now. I live alone. If I ever forget, I merely have to read Facebook status updates to bring me back to reality. People pour out their grief there. One chick was going on about her cheating husband. Guess what. They got back together. What a stupid woman. I have to shake my head at this. This is how desperate people are to not be alone.

My waking moments are not lonely or fucked up. The only thing I notice are those damn dreams. I think the secret to ending those dreams is to sleep with the television on.

2012-01-30T01:00:00.000-05:00

SUNDAY

2012-01-29T20:00:00.002-05:00

1. I have changed the settings on the C-blog to only show 10 posts on the regular page. Prior to this, I had seven days on the page, but it takes forever to load because of my current output. Originally, it would be 7 posts on the page as my quota was one post per day. Now, I post three to four times a day upping that total to 28 or more.

2. I post a lot of nature pics for the simple reason that I find them stunning and gorgeous. I have also made it a commitment to spend more time outside. I blame it all on this guy.

3. Palin endorses Newt. I would call them Dumb and Dumber, but it is more like Dumb and Completely Fucking Nuts.

4. The bookstore is toast. Everyone will be reading their Kindles in Starbucks. I have foreseen it.

5. They ask if Newt is the next Reagan, but I don't remember Ronnie being a colossal asshole.

6. Celibacy is considered perverse. Promiscuity is seen as normal.

7. Retarded people are funny.

8. Yes, I am going to burn in Hell for that one.

9. It is easy to be celibate when you get free handjobs from the TSA.

10. Link love.

2012-01-29T05:00:00.002-05:00

Quotable Quotes

2012-01-29T04:00:00.000-05:00

‎The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so they will not become the legalized version of the first.
THOMAS JEFFERSON

Man is an over-complicated organism. If he is doomed to extinction he will die out for want of simplicity.
EZRA POUND

Manufacturing and commercial monopolies owe their origin not to a tendency imminent in a capitalist economy but to governmental interventionist policy directed against free trade and laissez faire.
LUDWIG VON MISES

Whenever is found what is called a paternal government, there is found state education. It has been discovered that the best way to ensure implicit obedience is to commence tyranny in the nursery.
BENJAMIN DISRAELI

Do not consider Collectivists as "sincere but deluded idealists". The proposal to enslave some men for the sake of others is not an ideal; brutality is not "idealistic," no matter what its purpose. Do not ever say that the desire to "do good" by force is a good motive. Neither power-lust nor stupidity are good motives.
AYN RAND

Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.
FREDERIC BASTIAT

You know, if government were a product, selling it would be illegal. Government is a health hazard. Governments have killed many more people than cigarettes or unbuckled seat belts ever have.
P.J. O'ROURKE

The tax-gatherer is the very man I have to deal with—for it is, after all, with men and not with parchment that I quarrel—and he has voluntarily chosen to be an agent of the government.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU

No matter how careful you are, there’s going to be the sense you missed something, the collapsed feeling under your skin that you didn’t experience it all. There’s that fallen heart feeling that you rushed right through the moments where you should’ve been paying attention. Well, get used to that feeling. That’s how your whole life will feel some day. This is all practice.
CHUCK PALAHNIUK

2012-01-29T03:01:00.000-05:00

[U.] Immigrant Song

2012-01-29T02:00:00.000-05:00

u-fans!! u ready for the HAMMER OF THE GODS?!! u-daddy is swinging it in his hands. get ready for a straight k blow to them motherfucking BRAINS. this unknown blogger reveals ALL. it's all here. illuminati. new world order. VACCINES. plus, your president is from KENYA. don't be FOOLED. barry obama is feeding you some SHIT. so, open them legs and your MIND and get ready to learn some SHIT.

alex jones talks to a smart dude about FREEDOM:

truther girl on megaupload BULLSHIT:

costa concordia was an ILLUMINATI hit job:

barbarian rebellion on THE END:

truther girl with some truth on GARDASIL:

KILLUMINATI:

tenebroust with heavy negativity on OBAMA:

barry obama in CONTEMPT OF COURT:

alex jones with a special BONUS from home:

randy gage with some special CHEESE:

oh yeah. u-man HITS IT AND QUITS IT. hope u learned something. the u-balls is DRAINED but not in VAIN. time to jet. SHIT ON THE HATERS. peace to the posse. u-man is out this motherfucker till next week. peace out.

2012-01-29T01:00:00.000-05:00

SATURDAY

2012-01-28T12:58:00.010-05:00

1. In an effort to make coffee convenient, I started using Folgers Single Packs. Here's a tip. Don't waste your fucking money. Half the time, the teabag coffee splits open sending coffee grounds into your coffee. If you try and drink this crap, it will leave gritty grounds in your teeth and down your throat. Folgers sucks.

2. I endeavor to write and maintain the sort of blog I would want to read. This should explain the pics of sweet ass.

3. It is said that the Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper. This is bad news. We already know Washington has smoked the Constitution.

4. Ron Paul ain't dropping out. Why should he? With two words, he can decide the next president of the United States. Those two words are THIRD PARTY.

5. Every so often, someone tells me to censor comments here. Fuck that. That is just fucking stupid. Besides, the thread of hate on my triathlon post is a beauty to behold.

6. Sometimes, I debate whether to put a joke here or post it as a Facebook status update. My life would be a lot less complicated with a single platform.

7. There is one good thing I can say about Rachel Maddow. She always wears sensible shoes.

8. Erin Brockovich should look into the fact that most of the pols in Washington are full of shit. It has to be something in the water.

9. Workers spend $1000 yearly on coffee. I go through a can a week of the cheap stuff from Walmart. This would be 7 bucks or about $364 a year. But this doesn't count what I drink at work. This would be another can bringing it up to $728. Then, there is the cup I buy daily from Dunkin' Donuts, McDonald's, Krispy Kreme, etc. This would be another $2 daily adding $730 to the $728 total. $1458. Damn. I'm going to have to become a java dealer to support my habit.

10. The creator of the Liberty Dollar got twenty years for creating real money. Meanwhile, the Fed keeps pumping out the fake money. The world is fucked.

11. I left out the Diet Mountain Dew, Sugar Free Red Bull, and Diet Coke I also drink. Yeah, I have a problem. Not going to fix it either.

12. Link love.

2012-01-28T12:15:00.001-05:00

Random Thoughts on Various Subjects

2012-01-28T10:32:00.002-05:00

1. GOP PRIMARIES

I don't really have much to add on this topic. The dream candidate for the GOP would be someone who is a Tea Party conservative, a born again Christian, and a hawk on national defense. Unfortunately for them, the two people who met all those qualifications--Perry and Bachmann--dropped out. This leaves the Mormon, the lunatic, the libertarian, and the closet homosexual. So, they are going to try and draft Mitch Daniels to jump. Daniels doesn't want to run because his wife left him for another man, and he took her back. Yeah, I don't understand that shit either.

I'm not making predictions anymore. The real question I am facing is why I bother voting anymore. My anarchist friends are winning that debate.

2. RAND VS. THE TSA

This story made a lot of headlines this week as Senator Rand Paul was detained in the airport by the TSA thugs. Naturally, I am on the side of Rand Paul and anyone else who dares to defy these unconstitutional searches. Apologists for the TSA will defend the agency by pointing out that the searches keep us safe. I don't think they do. If people in prison can fashion weapons inside or get them smuggled to them, it takes no stretch of the imagination to see that a terrorist would have little problem getting a weapon on board of an airplane. Search for "zip guns" on YouTube and be amazed at the inventiveness of people. One of these weapons disassembled would pass very easily through inspection inside someone's carry on luggage. All the searches do is close a few doors and windows into a house with an infinite number of doors and windows.

The government already knows this information. Government types are pretty stupid, but they aren't that stupid. When it comes to terrorism aboard an airline, it is merely a matter of when it will occur not if it will occur. The reason the TSA and Homeland Security go to such extreme measures is twofold. The first is to make themselves blameless when the next incident occurs, and it will occur. They simply have to point to the pornoscanner and hernia exam at the airport to show they have done all they can short of a strip search and body cavity invasion to keep you safe.

The second reason is more sinister. The government clearly wants to remind you that they run this motherfucker. That is the part I despise. Those searches at the airport are merely the first phase in searches nationwide in other venues from sporting events to bus terminals. Those searches will test your submission to the state apparatus. This is what they really want. Doubt this? Look at how Rand Paul was treated. The guy is a UNITED STATES SENATOR. Do you really think Rand Paul is a terrorist? The only thing Rand Paul did was show some spine. That will get you detained. In time, it will also get you locked up and detained indefinitely without trial. Your crime will not be terrorism or possessing a weapon but having the delusion of being a free person.

3. DEMI MOORE MELTDOWN

Watching Demi Moore self-destruct is sad. It is clear she is taking her break up with Ashton Kutcher pretty damn hard. I've said many times in the past that love is bullshit. I don't think I have pointed out how destructive love is. Love is like a nasty drug with severe withdrawal pains. Clearly, Demi still loves Kutcher very much, and he basically tore her heart out and took a massive shit in the bloody hole he left. As someone who has gone through the same pain a few times myself, I can tell you that it isn't worth it especially if the odds indicate you are very likely to be a loser in this sick game.

There comes a point in time when people stop looking for love and simply aim not to feel it anymore. I call this autoremission. Abusers of alcohol, drugs, gambling, or what have you will reach a point where the pain and consequences are worse than any pleasure they receive from the drug or behavior. Without treatment, AA, or anything else, they stop. They clean up their lives and move on. It is often a miraculous transformation.

Love is a drug just like any other. It lies because it tells us that this person in our lives is worth a damn when they really aren't. At some point, people realize that love is bullshit. The only rational response isn't to try and make it work. This is like someone saying they can make cocaine work. No, they can't. You flush that shit down the toilet and move on with life. Love is no different than cocaine. People burned in love learn this, and a few like myself make the decision to not fall for it ever again. This is autoremission. You go from wanting to find love to not wanting to feel that hurt ever again.

Demi Moore wants to stop hurting. In time, she will. She has my sympathy in this regard, and her life shows that love has no mercy on the rich and beautiful either. There is no happiness in love. There is only delusion.

4. STATE OF THE UNION

What can I say? Obama is a clueless fucking idiot. The saddest part was his prescription for dealing with the higher ed bubble. What a fucking joke. I am realizing that politics isn't about telling the truth and changing hearts and minds. Politicians merely assume that people already have made up their minds, so they cater to their mass ignorance and attempt to pull off some sort of progress through triangulation and spin. The answer to the higher ed bubble is to end federal student loans. This is politically unpalatable, so other solutions which aren't solutions at all are proffered.

Leftards and Obamabots make the claim that Obama does the best he can, but "they" won't let him do anything else. I always ask for the identity of "they." But "they" is us. It reminds me of that classic line from Pogo. "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

I am going to agree with the leftards on this. The truth is that an honest politician doesn't stand a chance. Look at what is happening to Ron Paul. Against popular will, the President has very little power whatsoever. A person like a pundit or a journalist who can sway public opinion exerts as much or more power and influence than any elected representative. The illusion is that government is our master when it is really our servant.

I am coming to grips with this problem like never before. The issue of voting and the rest is also reflected in this. It has to do with the consent of the governed. I will have to work up a blog post on the topic to explore it further.

2012-01-27T23:14:00.001-05:00

If thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat: if he thirst, give him water to drink.
Proverbs 25:21

MALNIC

2012-01-27T01:00:00.001-05:00

THURSDAY

2012-01-26T20:57:00.006-05:00

1. The strongest solar storm since 2005 is hitting the earth. I think this may explain the slow playback of the doom/stoner metal on YouTube.

2. I bought a new cellphone today. It is the Casio Ravine 2 from Verizon. This is what it looks like:

A description of the phone from an online review:

This rugged phone is designed for workers in hazardous environments such as transportation, construction, the military, and law enforcement. This handset meets military standards 810G certification to resist water, immersion, shock and dust resistance, humidity, altitude, vibration, solar radiation, low and high temperatures.

It is virtually the same as my last phone in terms of features which I kept for damn near five years before it started cracking up. They had a smartphone from the same maker, but I don't see how a phone can withstand abuse when one entire side of it is made of uncovered glass. This is why I like flip phones. Basically, I bought the phone that contractors, plumbers, and electricians would own. It isn't sleek. It feels and weighs like a brick.

I have resisted the smartphone temptation. Owning an iPod touch which I barely use has taught me that the smartphone is merely another way to charge you for the internet. I just want a phone to be a phone not a computer, camcorder, or anything else.

3. An entertaining video of the original Ravine:

4. Verizon should pay me for all this free advertising.

5. Here's the smartphone review:

I don't see anyone doing that with an iPhone.

6. Matthew Broderick is reprising Ferris Bueller for a SuperBowl commercial. I see a sequel coming. Bueller in middle age would be interesting. But he'd have to be a Fortune 500 CEO or something. I can't imagine Ferris going on to being a schlub like the rest of us.

7. I just used my cellphone to hammer a nail in the wall and kill a home invader.

8. I'm going to admit it. Seeing Mitt as the next president fills me with disappointment. Seeing Newt as the next president fills me with dread and loathing. I suppose I'm pulling for Mitt over Newt.

9. I've said this before. I am saying it again. Anyone who votes for someone other than Ron Paul is a flipping idiot and a retard.

10. Pulling for Mitt over Newt is like pulling for diarrhea over constipation. At least diarrhea doesn't split your asshole wide open on the way out.

11. Link love.

2012-01-26T20:50:00.000-05:00

Utopian Misconceptions

2012-01-26T19:10:00.007-05:00

This picture is circulating around the internets. I have seen many like it. Most of them are some variation on Somalia. Libertarians look at a picture like this and laugh at so many levels at the sheer ignorance behind the picture. The person who made this is being clever, but they end up sounding like a retard quoting Shakespeare. I merely have to point out that LASIK eye surgery will cost me about $2K while a routine appendectomy without insurance will put me in debt for the next decade. The difference? LASIK is not covered by insurance. Appendectomies are covered by insurance. Additionally, most ambulance services are privately owned. I might add that if you want your property protected, you are better off with private security than your locally tax feeding pig who can't help you except to write you a speeding ticket or lock you in the government rape room for smoking weed.

I can go on and on with the examples. You have private airlines vs. government funded AMTRAK. There is UPS and FedEx versus the US Postal Service. In fact, the only government service the government excels at is stealing as they have filched more of my cash than any burglar or thief I have encountered. Yet, the person who created this picture is under the delusion that something like emergency medical care would not exist if it wasn't for the government. This shows his utter stupidity.

To be a libertarian is not unlike one of those zombie movies where you have a remnant of a few uninfected individuals versus a horde of slow moving undead whose cerebral functions have ceased, but they still move mindlessly with no greater urge than to devour the few remaining normal people. The reason libertarian ideas sound utopian is because people are never going to accept them. They lack the necessary intelligence to grasp that the free market gives them greater prosperity, health, and flourishing than anything the government provides. It's like a person who rejects a fountain of living water because there is a small fee to drink from it in preference for slurping from a busted sewer pipe because shit is free.

Is everything perfect in a free market? Fuck no. I routinely experience dissatisfaction with various products and services. Some of them are complete crap. Others are worth their weight in gold but still affordable. The difference between the free market and government services is that I have a choice in the free market. If I don't like something, I can fire that provider and pick another one. I can buy a competitor's product. I can get my money back. This is not an option with the government. With the government, you can take it or leave it, but you still have to pay for it.

The real utopians are the statists who believe that by ceding control over to the government that everything will be absolutely wonderful. It never is. When you call out the statist on this, he or she will endeavor to point out how we merely need the right people in charge, and everything will be perfect as promised. Once again, this never happens. Every election is one epic fail after another. This is because government is always one-size-fits-all sort of like the bed of Procrustes.

The great mystery to me is why people are such lovers of the government. The best answer I can come up with is that people perceive greater value in things they get for free as opposed to things requiring payment. This is why parents continue to send their kids to public school instead of homeschooling or sending them to private school. This is why people will take a crappy public road as opposed to a private toll road. For a person to switch from the free model to the paid model, the paid model must offer substantially more value.

No government service is ever free. We all pay for it with our taxes. People who receive or expect to receive more than what they paid love government. Those who pay more and end up with less despise government. But because there is a disconnect between the payment and the services rendered, people are under the delusion that these things are free. But they aren't free, and the actual price tag is much higher with less value rendered. The empirical evidence for this is staggering. Yet, people happily keep supporting their government. Then, when the gravy train comes to a screeching halt, they revolt.

The real enemies are not the lying politicians, but the people who elect and support them. No government exists without the consent of the governed. My anarchist friends believe that people are basically good but have been duped and coerced by the state into adhering to the government system. But this isn't the case. Government is a spontaneous creation of the natural order of human relations and actions. From biology, we see that life comes from spontaneous order. But that same spontaneous order also gives us predators and disease. In the political realm, government is the disease. It grows out of people's ultimate desire to get something for nothing. This is the cornerstone of utopianism.

This is why I subscribe to the consequentialist viewpoint and support agorism. When people see things from an empirical basis, they are rapidly convinced. Even the most unpleasant truths will be faced and accepted when people see that they are indeed true. This is why the creator of the picture above has done his damnedest to portray libertarianism as some utopian lie. It is like the person drinking from the busted sewer pipe telling everyone else that someone has pissed in the fountain. We can argue that this isn't true. Or, we can simply drink from that fountain.

The truth is revealed as government fails and the free market succeeds. Unfortunately, it takes government failure for this to happen. People cling to their delusions for as long as they can remain deluded. Why are people like this? I don't know. What I do know is that not all people are like this. Some of us know better and challenge people's delusions. If libertarians have any delusions, it would be the hope that people might wise up. It is the hope that there will be a mass outbreak of common sense among a horde of imbeciles.

2012-01-26T01:00:00.002-05:00

2012-01-25T01:00:00.000-05:00

TUESDAY

2012-01-24T20:00:00.003-05:00

1. Demi Moore to rehab. I wonder if it was cocaine or scrips. Now we know why she is so skinny.

2. I'm not posting any Demi pics. Her ass was played out for me long ago.

3. Pelosi has dirt on Newt. Obama wishes she would shut up until he gets the nomination.

4. Listening to the state of the union as I write this. Same shit. I will be hearing it again next year no matter who wins.

5. Soros says the Occupy Movement will turn violent. I never thought I would ever agree with that guy on anything. Never say never.

6. I keep making predictions about the primaries, and I am batting a fat zero. No more predictions. I have no clue what will happen. Remember, I'm the same guy who thought it would be Hillary vs. Giuliani.

7. Obama just said that corporations need to hold still for their rape instead of going overseas with their profits.

8. Julian Assange is launching a talk show. I don't think it will be on Oprah's network.

9. Seal is keeping it classy in his split from Heidi pulling a page from the Bruce Willis playbook. Of course, the rumors are that Willis was cheating on Demi. It is easy to be classy when you are the cad.

10. I think Demi started doing drugs to make up for another broken heart. Apparently, she hasn't learned her lesson. LOVE IS BULLSHIT.

2012-01-24T11:05:00.001-05:00

Charity is Shared Misery

2012-01-24T09:12:00.005-05:00

It is a well established fact that government welfare programs don't work at eliminating poverty. In fact, they actually help to increase poverty as a consequence of moral hazard. Conservatives and libertarians make the argument that charity is better when done through private means as opposed to government means. There is some truth to that. But let's face facts, folks. Even private charity is a failure. This is because charity is shared misery.

Before I begin, it is important that I make a distinction between charity and patronage. Patronage is where you donate money, time, and the rest to some project that is not aimed for private profit and usually results in a public good. This could be a rich billionaire who makes an endowment to a university for a school of arts or business. This could be a museum or public library. It even includes your donations to cancer research, public broadcasting, or independent journalism. Patronage is not charity.

Aid is not charity either. Aid is where you give money and resources for relief from some calamity or disease. These would be donations to the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders, etc. The calamities could be earthquakes, floods, cholera, political unrest, etc. The calamity is not poverty.

Charity is the contribution of money and resources to the relief from and elimination of poverty. This would be soup kitchens, homeless shelters, Habitat for Humanity, and the like. The track record of all these endeavors is piss poor. Even on a private level, giving money to some homeless guy is not going to change his poverty. Sometimes, they aren't even poor. I have met homeless guys who weren't homeless at all but discovered that begging is actually quite lucrative.

The belief is that poverty and homelessness is simply a calamity, and sometimes, it is. A teenager kicked out of the house at age 18 probably wasn't asking to be poor and homeless. But there it is. Similarly, someone who loses everything in a fire is in similar dire straits. We shouldn't look down on these people because shit happens. As someone who once had to sleep in his car, I can tell you that events can very easily put you in a place you never thought you would be.

Poverty happens when someone either can't work or won't work. People who have been injured or facing illness or excruciating pain are in this category. A quadriplegic is also in this category except his or her condition makes them permanently incapable of working except in purely intellectual terms. Unless you are Stephen Hawking, it is doubtful that you will be able to turn enough cash with just your mind to cover the cost of your constant care. But people like this are in the minority. Often, they are very old, very sick, or the victim of some accident. When you see the amazing things paraplegics and the blind do, it kills a lot of your sympathy for people who whine that they can't work or make a living.

The other argument is that there is something fundamentally flawed in the capitalist system that makes people poor. I agree. There is. The fundamental flaw in the capitalist system is that you have to get off your ass and work. There is always work. People complain that these jobs are in fast food or other demeaning and humble occupations. But the fact that these jobs still go unfilled even in a recession should tell you all you need to know. Poverty is the inevitable result of laziness. Charity is the subsidy for that laziness. It doesn't matter if it is government charity or private charity.

Giving money to people without some quid pro quo results in moral hazard. Charity creates poverty. It does not cure it. A society based on charity as witnessed in communist and socialist countries collapses as a result of this moral hazard. We all know this. Even leftards know this. The reward for subsidizing bad behavior is the production of more bad behavior. So, if charity and welfare don't work, why do we still support these things?

Charity is fundamentally the sharing of misery. Its aim is not to help the poor as much as to punish the rich and virtuous. The poor have a surplus of misery while the rich have a surplus of happiness. This is why leftards always talk about equality because they aim to equalize this happiness/misery thing. The misery thing never gets fixed. What does get fixed is the happiness thing. Charity and welfare succeed wonderfully in causing grief, pain, and frustration for the rich. The more it fails the better it "succeeds." Not only must the rich person part with his wealth, but he is also denied the satisfaction that it did some good. His productive effort has been utterly wasted. This pleases the leftard immensely.

If this nauseates you, welcome to the wonderful world of envy. In the leftard world, envy is a virtue. Hating the successful is socially acceptable. Being successful yourself is tolerated so long as you pay the proper penance. This means voting for Democrats and recycling your garbage. Otherwise, you get to keep your earnings.

Any comparison of the wealth of the capitalist world to the communist world shows that there is greater material abundance in capitalist countries. Even the poor are better off materially as a consequence of capitalism as even the laziest pieces of shit still manage to own cars, TV sets, and smartphones. This doesn't matter to the leftard. Capitalism is a failure because the rich are materially better off than the poor. Fundamentally, the rich are better off than the envious leftards. That is the real crime.

Libertarians and conservatives are averse to telling it like it is for fear of being smacked down as elitist or something. But there it is. Charity is punishment for being successful. Leftards could give a shit about the poor especially considering their own low levels of giving. All that matters is that some rich fucker pay for the crime of being rich. Some rich people fall for this line of crap like Bill Gates. Others don't like Steve Jobs.

The best way to help the poor is to become successful. Become rich not because you can give to charity or pay more taxes but because you create jobs, products, and innovations. If you feel lucky and want to help those less fortunate, give to organizations that provide aid not charity. Want to share the wealth? Be a patron of the arts and sciences. Build museums, libraries, and universities. Support scientific and medical research. But don't waste your money trying to make poor people stop being poor. You are only making the problem worse not better. You are just sharing the misery. Share some happiness instead.

2012-01-24T06:40:00.000-05:00

Q&A

2012-01-24T02:00:00.000-05:00

Q: Should the private lives (and failings) of presidential candidates and politicians be fodder for the media? Does it matter?

A: I can only speak for myself, but as long as the activity isn't criminal, I don't care. In fact, if some of the activity is criminal such as drug use or tax evasion, I don't care. It makes for great headlines in the newspaper, but it matters little when it comes to public policy.

People love gossip. When I was growing up, rags like The National Enquirer were garbage journalism. Nowadays, the only difference between the tabloids and the news is that the news at least makes sure the gossip is accurate before publication or broadcast. Other than that, it is the same thing. People love dirt.

I admit that I love the dirt. I'm not going to lie. I'm no different than those housewives who buy those rags in the grocery store. I consume a lot of news especially the hard news. This gossip makes for great jokes and lightens the mood for me. But when it comes to democracy, none of it matters. The upside is that anyone who lives in the public eye has a tremendously thick skin as a consequence. In fact, the best strategy for dealing with the gossip media is to be a shameless scoundrel. Libertarians have an easier time with this.

The thing that bothers me is how people can get in an uproar over some politician's cheating on his spouse or smoking a joint, but they totally overlook the real scandal which would be that politician's voting record, stance on issues, and the rest. Gossip and character assassination serve as useful distractions.

The time is coming when the personal lives of journalists will become fodder for public consumption. I see things heading that way with dirt coming out on folks like Keith Olbermann, Bill O'Reilly, Piers Morgan, and Erin Burnett. Most of that is small potatoes, but journalists are celebrities now. They will certainly catch the same shit they smear on others. Perhaps then, we can get back to hard news and real scandals like the ones Wikileaks uncovers.

2012-01-24T01:00:00.000-05:00

MONDAY

2012-01-23T18:52:00.005-05:00

1. Rand Paul would not let the TSA fondle his balls after finding something strange in the pornoscanner. They detained him. Bastards.

2. If you buy a Chevy Volt, you are a fucking idiot.

3. Two guys try and rob a Waffle House in Spartanburg, SC. One of the customers has a concealed weapon and makes someone's day. Sweet.

4. Taleb endorses Ron Paul for President. And people wonder why I like that guy so much.

5. SCOTUS slaps down the cops over GPS tracking devices. I think I see a pig peeling one of them off my car now.

6. Brad Warthen is a douchebag.

7. PSYCHOANALYSIS OF THE GOP RACE: Newt is the id. Mitt is the ego. Ron Paul is the super ego. Santorum is repressed homosexual desire.

8. Newt once called for the death penalty for pot smokers. Gary Johnson, a pot smoker, was not amused.

9. The death penalty for adultery might make Newt shut the fuck up. Actually, it wouldn't.

10. I think Brad Warthen has some repressed homosexual desires. He indulges them with a TSA patdown at the airport.

2012-01-23T18:50:00.001-05:00

[SOC]

2012-01-23T02:00:00.001-05:00

Right now, I am just trying to get my brain going. The coffee is done. I ate two fruit and grain bars. I eat a lot of those damn things. One of the secrets of the brain on fire is the necessity of glycogen for the mental process. The brain runs on glucose, so when you drink coffee, you want to toss in some carbohydrate as well. I also recommend two lemon filled glazed donuts from Krispy Kreme.

I've been listening to LRN lately through iTunes. So much of my media consumption is audio. I think I have pointed out before that audio sources are like vegetables in your diet. Vegetables fill you up, give you essential nutrients and vitamins, taste awesome, and won't make you fat. Similarly, audio fills your brain as you do other things. It could be driving, housework, or mindlessly grinding away on a dreadmill at the gym. I'm a big fan of the iPod shuffle for its convenience in this regard as you can take it with you almost anywhere without it being a burden. I load mine with brainy podcasts like EconTalk. This is how I get smart while getting other shit done. I will have to do a blog post on my favorite podcasts.

I'm trying to ignite my brain as hard as I can right now. It is raining hard now which really sucks. Going outside for some forward movement helps to ignite the brain. I don't recommend carrying the iPod on walks and runs. One part is just safety as people have a nasty habit of getting hit by airplanes (seriously) because they are wearing headphones and don't hear danger coming. The most famous story was the airplane that needed to make a crash landing on a beach, and this guy was out there on the beach taking a run while wearing headphones. FUCKER GETS WIPED OUT. He never heard that shit coming. That sort of thing is kinda rare but getting creamed by some blue hair in a Buick is more common.

Stefan Molyneux is on LRN right now. For a guy that I don't always agree with, I listen to him often. I don't share his anarchism. I don't think rearing children in a non-aggressive household will make one bit of difference. A fundamental belief amongst anarcho-capitalists is that people are inherently good, and they are somehow corrupted from the outside by government, bad parenting, etc. If we remove these things, a non-aggressive society will magically appear. This sounds naive to people which is why libertarianism has a certain utopian ring to it.

Liberals have a certain belief in the inherently good nature of people. Conservatives are darker believing that human nature is self-seeking but can be disciplined. This is why they have their respective philosophies of government. For liberals, human nature gets corrupted by the greed of capitalism which is why they are always going on and on about all those evil corporations. Corporate influence is what corrupts the otherwise benign nature of human beings with the profit motive.

Conservatives believe that human nature is inherently selfish and evil. They see the free market and capitalism as being just fine because it channels these selfish impulses into benign channels. The profit motive is what makes the grocer and the computer maker provide me with the things I need to live. Since I have to purchase these things, this motivates me to get off my ass and go work which benefits other people. Government is necessary to spur people to other forms of virtuous behavior such as refraining from rape, theft, assault, and murder. But it also gets into areas such as keeping you from smoking pot, looking at porn, or fornicating.

Libertarians blend the economic conservative principles with the liberal social principles. But this still does not address a fundamental question. Are humans inherently good or evil? That is a difficult question to answer. We have both examples of atrocity and altruism that we can choose from to make our case.

My own belief is that human beings are inherently selfish. This is the constant. The variable is what they perceive to be in their self-interest. For one person, their self-interest will motivate them to work and care for the poor and unfortunate. For another person, their self-interest will motivate them to try and purify the white race from the pollution of the Jews and the darker races. When you mix all of this up, you end up with a vegetarian like Hitler who was kind to animals but exterminated millions of people. Self-interest can cause atrocity, but it also makes people want to be moral and feel good about themselves.

The variability of human behavior is tied to people's worldview. You are never going to eliminate people's selfish aims. This is why the leftard project is utterly doomed. This is also why anarchy doesn't work. The argument from anarchists is that government always leads to tyranny. The problem is that they isolate evil in the abstract. In this case, it is government which is aggression. But government is people. This gets forgotten. The argument is that limited government leads to bigger government. But this does not mean that no government does not lead to government. Anarchists make great pains to paint government as a sort of mafia. What they overlook is the real mafia. It should be apparent from real world example that in a state of anarchy that enterprising individuals will get together and pursue aggression. This is what happens in Somalia with the piracy. This is what happens in Mexico with the drug cartels.

In the intellectual dispute between liberals and conservatives, the evidence is clearly on the side of conservatism. This does not mean that there are not serious flaws in conservative thinking. But the Burkean notion of statecraft as soulcraft holds true. Steven Pinker's work in this area also lends credence to this idea. Government works best when it curbs the aggression of others. It oversteps when it goes beyond that mandate to go after non-aggression. This is why government has shown some results in reducing murder but fails miserably with something like Prohibition.

There is nothing inherent in government that makes it good. I think I can also add that there is nothing inherent in government that makes it evil either. In short, government reflects the same variability we see in human nature. Both the capitalist and the thief are motivated by greed. The difference is that the capitalist opts to trade while the thief opts to steal. Similarly, we despise government when it collects taxes or prosecutes the drug war, but we see it in a more benign light when a judge throws out some frivolous lawsuit or affirms the rights of some accused criminal.

These are all Enlightenment concerns. These are the things that the Founders debated before signing the Declaration of Independence. This is also what happened leading up to the drafting of the Constitution. In the history of the world, what makes our current era so remarkable is simply ideas. That is the only difference between our times and society and what existed during the Roman Empire. What has changed is thought. Ideas have consequences. The government we have is a direct reflection of the ideas that the population has regarding freedom, prosperity, flourishing, etc. If this is in doubt, look at the revolutions that hit Eastern Europe during the fall of communism or the Arab Spring. The real power is not in the gun or the tank but in the realm of ideas.

My personal belief is that what has lead to change and progress is the rise of empirical thought. When people see it for themselves, they respond to it. People become cold to rational arguments. This is because people know from their experience that you can establish rational arguments for almost any point of view. But truth is not the consequence of a perfect chain of logic. Truth is what actually exists. When ideas are demonstrated and shown to be true, they take hold immediately. This requires work, but it always pays off.

This is deep stuff to ponder, and I have plans to put it in a volume that I have planned called Libertopia and Leviathan that I will write at some point. I'd get a book written if I don't blog so damn much. But I think the real answer to my productivity issues is more coffee.

2012-01-23T01:00:00.000-05:00

SUNDAY

2012-01-22T21:16:00.003-05:00

1. Nassim Taleb has a new book coming out. Unfortunately, it will be 9 months in coming.

2. All his books are the same sort of like the songs of AC/DC. But they fucking rock!

3. Link love.

4. Joe Pa is gone. Sad end to a great coach.

5. I live here, so I'm entitled to talk shit. Ron Paul was dead last in SC primary voting. This is because the state of South Carolina is full of stupid motherfuckers.

6. Anonymous continues to lay waste to its enemies. I hope I never piss those guys off.

7. I can attest that you can piss off leftards and triathletes with little ill effect.

8. TIP FOR BLACKBERRY: Make an Android smartphone.

9. In Newt vs. Obama, I'd rather have Obama. Newt is like Mentos in Diet Coke.

10. Romney lost in SC because he got an endorsement from Governor Nikki Haley. Seriously.

2012-01-22T21:12:00.000-05:00

Quotable Quotes

2012-01-22T04:00:00.002-05:00

Men in authority...will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive.
HENRY STEELE COMMAGER

Mystical references to “society” and its programs to “help” may warm the hearts of the gullible, but what it really means is putting more power in the hands of bureaucrats.
THOMAS SOWELL

An inevitable consequence of socialism is the division of society into two groups: those who are consuming government “services” and those who are paying for them.
LEE ROBINSON

We are living in a sick society filled with people who would not directly steal from their neighbor but who are willing to demand that the government do it for them.
WILLIAM L. COMER

No man is great enough or wise enough for any of us to surrender our destiny to. The only way in which anyone can lead us is to restore our belief in our own guidance.
HENRY MILLER

Experience [has] shown that, even under the best forms [of government], those entrusted with power have, in time and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.
THOMAS JEFFERSON

Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grand-children are once more slaves.
D.H. LAWRENCE

The fact that all citizens have an interest in the common provision of some services is no justification for anyone's claiming as a right a share in all the benefits. It may set the standard for what some ought to be willing to give, but not for what anyone can demand.
F.A. HAYEK

But the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.
JOHN STUART MILL

I have no respect for the passion for equality, which seems to me merely idealizing envy.
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, JR.

When freedom prevails, the ingenuity and inventiveness of people creates incredible wealth. This is the source of the natural improvement of the human condition.
BRIAN S. WESBURY

The chances of your being harmed by terrorists are mathematically minute. The chance of your being robbed by your own government? That’s easy: 100 per cent.
JOSEPH SOBRAN

If we cannot by reason, by influence, by example, by strenuous effort, and by personal sacrifice, mend the bad places of civilization, we certainly cannot do it by force.
AUBERON HERBERT

The usual road to slavery is that first they take away your guns, then they take away your property, then last of all they tell you to shut up and say you are enjoying it.
JAMES A. DONALD

2012-01-22T03:00:00.001-05:00

[U.] Riders on the Storm

2012-01-22T02:00:00.001-05:00

put some grease in yo crease because u-daddy has some DOUBLE PENETRATION for you. don't clench off the k. u-man will make your day. get ready to learn. the end is near. shit is coming DOWN. see the signs and RECOGNIZE. illuminati. four horseman. PLANET X. mayan shit. 2012. ufo spaceships in the sky. it is all coming to this point. can u see it? can your BRAINS handle the TRUTH? this is IT. put on your DEPENDS because this SHIT is going to blow WIDE THE FUCK OPEN. gold, guns, and groceries. UPOCALYPSE NOW.

here's a little comedy from cousin SQUEAKY:

iranian FALSE FLAG coming:

SURVIVAL:

you can hear the sounds of REVELATIONS. the upocalypse is COMING. 2012 is NOW:

you can change reality with your MIND. find out the truth on PARALLEL UNIVERSES:

randy gage delivers the cheese on PROSPERITY. watch and LEARN:

them u-nuts is DRAINING DEEP. i can feel it. was it good for you? it was good for me. let me light this newport and burn it down. once i nut it is time to cut so go clean your butt. u-daddy is booking out til next time. this is not the end. but it is THE END. peace to the posse. SHIT ON THE HATERS. u-man is out this motherfucker.

2012-01-22T01:00:00.001-05:00

2012-01-21T20:54:00.001-05:00

SATURDAY

2012-01-21T20:00:00.002-05:00

1. Free e-books:

Falling While Sitting Down
How to Be Remarkable
The Flinch

Available for a limited time. Get your copy today.

2. I voted for Ron Paul in the SCGOP primary. It was kinda sad because I knew it would be the last time I would see his name on a ballot. Most people in SC are too stupid to vote for Ron Paul.

3. Seal and Heidi Klum are getting a divorce. Another couple who bought the lie.

4. You knew I wasn't going to let you down on this. A shot of the delicious Heidi Klum:

5. It is said that Seal is a well endowed male. Clearly, Heidi wasn't with him for his looks.

6. I bet Seal was sharing his endowment. Heidi was one of the selfish types. I wonder if she shared some of her endowments.

7. Julian Assange has spent the last year fighting extradition to Sweden. The irony is that if he wins he won't ever be able to leave the UK again as he will face that extradition again wherever he goes. The US can then extradite him straight from the UK. He will see the inside of an American courtroom. It will be the trial of the decade.

8. HuffPo has 11 Health Habits to help you live to be 100. I have a twelfth one. This would be not dying.

9. As I write this, Gingrich is the predicted winner here in SC. Kinda sickening. Apparently, adultery is preferable to Mormonism or non-interventionist foreign policy.

10. I bet Governor Nikki Haley regrets that hasty decision to endorse Romney. It sucks to lick the wrong ass.

2012-01-21T06:21:00.000-05:00

Random Thoughts on Various Subjects

2012-01-21T02:00:00.002-05:00

1. SC GOP PRIMARY

The race is getting whittled down as Rick Perry threw in the towel and endorsed Newt Gingrich. We know Mitt is in it to win it, so I have to consider who will drop out next. I think Santorum may give it up next. Meanwhile, Newt is surging. Neither one can make it over the long haul. Then, there is Ron Paul who is simply not going to win. If he were a hawk, he would be sailing high. The reality is that neocon foreign policy is the conventional wisdom across the land, and it is virtually unshakable in the minds of the electorate. When Ron Paul was booed at the debate for suggesting a foreign policy golden rule, that pretty much clinched it in my mind that he will not win. This nation wants war. It will want war until it becomes nauseating and abhorrent once more. This is the legacy of 9/11. The secret and unspoken wish of the American people is to see all Muslims dead.

2. ANDROID

I am really fascinated with the Android vs iOS battle going on. Both are similar but also represent different strategies. Plus, Woz says he likes the Android and finds it does some things better than iOS. What is going on here is Open vs. Closed. I haven't drawn any firm conclusions on this stuff, but they are definitely different ways to go. Which is better? At this point, I can't say. I will come out and say that Linux sucks, MacOS rocks, Android rocks, and Google Chrome is pretty sweet for speed and simplicity. In short, in this debate, there are no clear winners. The debate is important to me because it influences how I pursue my own projects. I will see if I can work up an essay on this.

3. SOPA/PIPA

I'm glad this shit was halted in its tracks. I have to wonder why NDAA didn't spark the same reactions, but people care more about YouTube than civil rights for accused terrorists. I don't believe in IP, so I automatically oppose any law protecting IP. Stephan Kinsella deserves credit for changing my mind on this subject. IP stifles innovation. If you doubt this, consider that SOPA/PIPA would essentially destroy the intellectual property of New Media to protect the intellectual property of Old Media. Basically, it would outlaw lightbulbs for the benefit of candlemakers. Ironically, some pro-IP libertarians think I am a socialist for being anti-IP. When I point out how IP stifles creativity and innovation, they say there is simply a problem in enforcement, but they can't tell us how IP should be enforced.

There is no such thing as IP. Property rights only apply to scarce goods. Ideas are not scarce goods. IP is essentially taking away your rights to property and ceding them to others. If it is firmly within the same realm as mercantilist protectionism, unions, licensing, permitting, regulation, and the like. IP is anti-free market. IP is intellectual theft and aggression.

2012-01-21T01:00:00.002-05:00

FRIDAY

2012-01-20T21:44:00.003-05:00

1. Newt Gingrich is the only guy in the world who can turn adultery and open marriage into a winning hand. Even I am amazed.

2. I have learned one thing in life. Never ever fuck with Anonymous. Multiple sites are down as the cybervigilantes exact revenge for SOPA/PIPA.

3. Embarrassment is a chill wind in a nudist colony.

4. I just clicked on an empty chamber. Out of ammo. Off to bed.

VIDEO-Jackass 3/3.5

2012-01-20T21:14:00.003-05:00

Every so often, a movie comes along that changes your life. It permanently alters the way you see the world. That movie makes you aspire to greater things and believe they are possible. That movie becomes an achievement in itself as it continues to influence succeeding generations with its message. This is not that movie.

Jackass 3 is simply pure gross out slapstick fun brought by Johnny Knoxville and Company who have been doing this shit for a decade. This flick was made for 3D, so this gets lost in the translation to 2D. But you will still laugh out loud at this one. I don't think this installment of the series is as good as the first 2. The Jackass Gang seems as if they are repeating themselves. But the gags still deliver whether it is watching Steve-O being covered in shit inside a port-o-jon attached to bungee cords or simply watching Bam Margera do piss assassinations on unsuspecting Jackasses. This volume also features penis tricks, poo shooting from a guy's ass, and a guy with an amazing ability to suck air into his anus and produce farts on command. From this rough sampling, you can see that Jackass 3 delivers the goods.

Jackass 3.5 is all the shit they couldn't put in the first movie. Some of it is because there was no way they could get an "R" rating. Then, there is Steve-O's trick with fire where he gets burnt. That is something new for Jackass as they have never fucked with fire before. After Steve-O's stunt, I doubt they will again. If you watch 3, then you have to watch 3.5.

Do I recommend these movies? Yes, I do. It isn't sophisticated humor, but that's the point. Sometimes, humor just needs to be absolutely fucking stupid. I love these guys, and I hope they keep making these movies.

2012-01-20T21:13:00.000-05:00

Why It Sucks To Be White Collar

2012-01-20T02:00:00.002-05:00

The inspiration for this post came from an essay by Joshua Fields Millburn. The clincher line of that essay was this one:

I sat down with my boss and told him I wanted to move on with my life. I had worked at the same corporation for twelve years, diligently climbing the corporate ladder one rung at time, but it was time for me to move on. We worked out an exit plan together, and in a few months I was out of there without a definitive plan of how to live.

This bit jumped out at me because I know people like this. I know a lot of people like this. They all work white collar jobs. They hate them. They all have an exit plan or dream of one. Why is it like this?

White collar jobs suck. It isn't the desk or wearing a tie or even the responsibility that make those jobs suck. They just suck for some existential reason. This is virtually universal across the white collar world. People always talk about escaping the 9 to 5. They never talk about escaping the 8 to 4. 8 to 4 is the blue collar world along with 4 to 12 and 12 to 8. 9 to 5 is definitely white collar.

Blue collar jobs don't have an exit strategy. I know some blue collar guys who wish they were country singers or lottery winners. But they never use the term "exit strategy." Only white collar people use that term. "Escape plan" is another one. For Joshua, it was "exit plan." It's all the same thing.

The first time I had ever heard of an exit plan was back in the 90's when I had the only white collar college degree requiring job I have ever had. Some of the other managers were gossiping about one of the upper managers who had amassed a small personal fortune thanks to saving and prudent investing. I estimated the guy was in his mid-50's. They envied him because the guy could now walk away from the bullshit. Work was a lifetime of living hell, and paradise was early retirement. I was horrified. I couldn't imagine spending a lifetime working merely in the hope of getting to a point where you didn't have to work anymore. It struck me as an empty and meaningless existence, and that is exactly what it was.

For Joshua, the exit came at the ripe old age of 30. I don't know if he enjoyed his job or not, but I'm guessing that he didn't from the essay. I know I didn't enjoy my job. I hated it. I hated the job so much that I began saving my money for the day that I would leave to find some other job. This became the famous Go to Hell Fund. I lived like a pauper to save that money, but it was worth it. When I left to go into the unknown, it was sweet relief. Every job I had quit before then had been sadness for me. This quitting was pure pleasure. I hated that job. On bad nights, I have nightmares about being back at that place. The only nightmares I have about my current job are about losing the job. The color of the collar makes a big difference.

The reason white collar jobs suck ties in to the Greek myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was condemned to roll a rock up a hill for eternity as punishment for his deceitfulness and wickedness. When the rock got to the top of the hill, it would roll down again, and Sisyphus would have to repeat his labor. For the Greeks, the greatest punishment was labor with futility. White collar workers know this futility all too well. Everything they do amounts to ceaseless senseless labor. This is seen in the way they despise meetings, emails, and endless fruitless discussions with co-workers, bosses, customers, and subordinates.

I think the punishment of Sisyphus ties in directly to his character. Sisyphus was avaricious and deceitful. He loved power and wanted to rule over others. He would betray people for the sake of his power. He had no principles except the Machiavellian principle that the end justifies the means. It was fitting that he should be condemned to labor with no rational end. Sisyphus is the white collar worker in both character and consequences.

White collar workers are avaricious and deceitful. They are without principle. This is why they are attracted to politics as opposed to labor. This is why they are quick to claim credit for things they did not achieve and equally quick to dodge blame for the things they did. This is a shitty way to live and work, so there has to be some sort of payoff to justify this sacrifice of mind and soul. This is where the exit plan comes into play. If you are going to resort to such atrocious means, there must be a suitable end. But with Sisyphus, that end is a mirage. The same applies to the white collar worker. Hell is a senseless existence.

The opposite of Sisyphus is Prometheus. Like Sisyphus, Prometheus was crafty and deceitful, but he used his craftiness to steal fire from the gods and give it to humanity. Prometheus is considered a hero in Greek mythology because he used his knowledge to better humanity. He is the patron god of humanism and technology. He is the epitome of those who work today to actually produce things that are meaningful and useful to others. These would be blue collar workers, engineers, doctors, and the like. Unlike Sisyphus, Prometheus used his skills to better the world.

Zeus hated Prometheus and condemned Prometheus to be chained to a rock where an eagle would eat his liver daily only to have it grow back again the next day to be devoured once more. Hercules would later rescue Prometheus because you can't let a good guy like that suffer for eternity. The relationship of Zeus to Prometheus is identical to that of management to labor.

One of the tricks that Prometheus pulled on Zeus was to offer two sacrifices. The first sacrifice was beef wrapped in a stomach. This looked awful on the outside but was very pleasing on the inside. The other offering was bones wrapped in glistening fat. This looked great on the outside but was awful on the inside. Naturally, Zeus chose the latter sacrifice.

The two sacrifices are an apt metaphor of blue collar jobs and white collar jobs. Blue collar jobs are the beef offering wrapped in a stomach. They don't look glamorous but are very satisfying. White collar jobs are the bones wrapped in fat. They look awesome and glamorous on the outside, but they yield misery and displeasure.

Joshua says as much in his essay:

Just one year ago, I knew I wasn’t living a healthy life, I knew I wasn’t focused on my relationships like I should be, I knew I wasn’t pursuing my passions, I knew I wasn’t growing as an individual, I knew I wasn’t contributing to people like I should, I knew I wasn’t living a meaningful life.

But according to most people—many of the people around me—I had it “figured out.” I had the safe, impressive corporate job that nobody questioned and everyone could be proud of. I had the luxury cars, the oversized house, the superfluous stuff that was supposed to make me happy but never did. I also had the debt and the discontent that came with those things. I was a consumer, not a creator.

White collar jobs look good on the outside. In fact, you are encouraged to enjoy the "perks" that come with the job. This is merely sugar sprinkled on shit. The belief is that with enough sugar on it, that turd you are going to eat might be enjoyable. It never is.

A job that produces nothing of value or service to others is a worthless job. This is why white collar jobs suck. It isn't the office or the tie. It is the lack of belief in what you are doing. The human mind cannot tolerate this insanity without heaping doses of cognitive dissonance. The only antidote to a bullshit job is to do real work. Real work is anything that produces value or service to other human beings. Spending all day in pointless meetings or playing office politics does not achieve this aim.

It is possible to find meaning in white collar work. This is called "leadership." Leaders actually do serve humanity. The problem is that leaders are quickly cut down by their peers and their avarice. Good leaders don't last long in the world of politics. The ones who do last are very lonely and very rare. They tend to be renegades and mavericks. Most of the time, they get fired. The only thing you need to do to be a maverick in the corporate world is to be honest, virtuous, and consistent. These are the qualities we prize in real workers. Those same qualities make for a short career in the white collar world.

The only advice I can give to the dissatisfied white collar worker is to craft a better exit plan. Find meaningful work. Do whatever it takes. If you think the best part of life comes when you retire, you are a deluded fool living a wasted useless life. If you want your white collar work to be meaningful, become a renegade. They will find an exit plan for you. Or, you might be the next Steve Jobs and change the world. But probably not.

True satisfaction comes from honest work. It can be great or humble. It doesn't matter. What matters is that what you do be meaningful. Once you find that meaning, work ceases to be work. It becomes something else. Prometheus suffered the wrath of Zeus, but it was worth it. Sisyphus would have gladly switched places with Prometheus. This is because it is better to suffer for doing something great than to suffer for doing something meaningless. The only hell that exists is a life without purpose or meaning.

2012-01-20T01:00:00.001-05:00

THURSDAY

2012-01-19T21:18:00.005-05:00

1. Newt's ex wants some motherfucking revenge, and she deserves it.

2. If you combined Newt's sex life with Romney's political flip floppery, you would have Bill Clinton.

3. Romney-Gingrich 2012. People want a return to the 90's. They had jobs then and no wars.

4. Rick Perry is out of gas. He started the race out of brains. Quitting is the first smart thing he has done.

5. Watching Romney debate is like watching an ice skater deftly weave between the cones and obstacles that are his words and record. Amazing skills, but you really hope he eats it.

6. Nobody wants to endorse Romney. Gingrich is counting on this.

7. This woman is scary.

8. This woman is not.

9. I have to admit that I would probably like Mitt as a person if I ever met him. Those damn Mormons are like that.

10. Finally, some link love. Virtue matters.

2012-01-19T15:47:00.001-05:00

TRUE SHIT-Amyl Nitrite

2012-01-19T02:00:00.001-05:00

Amyl nitrite is a common substance that once inhaled has the side effect of relaxing smooth muscles of the body. This would include the sphincter of the anus. Homosexuals find this effect delightful for obvious reasons. The result is that amyl nitrite and other nitrites are sold under various brand names but are known on the street as "poppers."

Poppers are sold either explicitly as a sexual aid and party drug or more covertly as air freshener or video head cleaner to get around drug laws. The substance opens up blood vessels in addition to anal dilation producing a euphoric high as blood rushes to the head. This makes the poppers very popular in discos and the club scene. Poppers can be found online or in adult bookstores.

Amyl nitrate is a substance used as an additive in diesel fuel to help with ignition. Amyl nitrate is often confused with amyl nitrite, but they are not the same substance.

TRUE SHIT.

2012-01-19T01:00:00.000-05:00

2012-01-18T01:00:00.001-05:00

TUESDAY

2012-01-17T12:38:00.007-05:00

1. The GOP admits it can't win without Ron Paul's supporters. The problem for them is that none of them are going to vote for Romney. Ron Paul doesn't even have to run third party. Paul supporters merely have to stay home.

2. SOPA is on the shelf after Obama let it be known that he is a frequent user of the Pirate Bay. Actually, he just threatened a veto which is meaningless since he did the same thing with NDAA.

3. Keith Olbermann actually referenced the Geneva Conventions over Pissgate. Amazing. If these Marines are court martialed, I want Obama, Bush, and Cheney tried for war crimes for their violations of the Geneva Conventions.

4. Wikipedia goes dark tomorrow along with Reddit to protest SOPA. Google going dark would shutdown the planet. Facebook going dark would improve family life and worker productivity and decrease adultery and fornication and the proliferation of those cheezburger cat pics.

5. This one is a personal favorite:

6. You are either a dog person or a cat person. I am a cat person just like Papa Hemingway. I'm down with the pussy.

7. A cat is like a warm soft furry pillow wrapped in barbed wire.

8. A dog is your best friend who likes to piss and shit all over the house.

9. Those two cat pics would probably put me in violation of SOPA/PIPA if they were law.

10. If you find it on my blog, steal it and share it. I don't believe in IP. UNCOPYRIGHT FOREVER!!!

Pissgate

2012-01-17T10:44:00.004-05:00

Some Marines urinated on dead Taliban soldiers, and the video went viral on the internet. To be honest, I have seen worse things than this. Here's a great example. This should help put this in context.

In isolation, the act is despicable because it is disrespect for the dead. Nevermind that we have zero respect for them while alive. But the reason Pissgate has become such a controversy is because of its symbolism. War is a hallowed thing, and pissing on the corpse of a dead enemy tells us that war is actually hell. War desensitizes people. War takes our young people and trains them to be cold blooded efficient killing machines. This video shocks people because these Marines were not people sent to do a dirty job but are people who clearly enjoy doing that job. If this sickens you, remember, it is our country, our civilian leaders, and our population who desire this. If it had been the body of Osama bin Laden instead of some anonymous Taliban members, we would probably be cheering these men and celebrating their brazen act.

My own opinion of this act is actually quite mild. This is because I don't see it in isolation. I know about all of the other things that go on over there. This comes from the fine reporting of Wikileaks, Antiwar.com, and the first hand accounts of my co-workers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The rest of the American public is utterly clueless and in the dark as to what is actually going on over there. They don't know, and they don't want to know. I can't understand how Americans can virtually ignore the collateral murder video but suddenly be all concerned about urination and desecration of people already dead.

The United States bombs places. It sends predator drones to do surgical strikes that are not surgical at all. There are people rotting in Gitmo who are probably innocent but will never see the inside of a courtroom. Others have been waterboarded or sent to secret prisons overseas to endure worse. So, why can we waterboard a living person, but we can't piss on a dead guy? The answer is simple. Waterboardining is done in secret. Pissgate hit YouTube. It was done in public view. As such, it became political, and the politicians are the ones who are going to crucify those Marines.

This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened. The events at Abu Ghraib follow a similar pattern with soldiers making sport of Iraqi prisoners. Pictures of this went out on the internet, and the people involved were court martialed and punished. The irony is that their actions which amounted to fraternity pranks happened in between torture sessions. While these soldiers were being crucified, the public was not yet aware that waterboarding and "enhanced interrogation" were being used with the full knowledge of Dick Cheney and George W. Bush.

Nothing has ever happened regarding real torture, real war crimes, or the fucked up decision making of civilian leaders who love nothing more than a good war. How are they able to do this? That is simple. They control the message. This is why Americans don't get mad. They either don't know, don't understand, or are subjected to spin. Except for kooky old Ron Paul, the average American citizen is a clueless fucking shithead. The Pissgate video went viral not for political reasons but for the same reason people enjoy videos of skate punks taking it in the nuts on a failed trick or watching horny little dogs fuck stuffed animals. The reality is that many soldiers and Marines do far worse such as cutting off fingers and ears for trophies. There are drop weapons left when some innocent accidentally catches a bullet. Then, there are rapes, murder, and the like that actually are discovered and prosecuted. No one cares about this. Then, this silly video goes viral, and the world goes nuts. It blows the mind.

Those Marines did the one thing certain to get your ass locked up in a stockade or bring somewhere. They allowed their actions to enter the political sphere. That's it. This was not their intention. They probably had no idea the video would cause such a backlash. But there it is. Once your actions have political consequence versus just mere human consequence, then it matters. In short, these Marines embarrassed Big Daddy Barack Fucking Obama and that worthless warmongering cunt bitch Hillary Clinton. Yes, this is extreme vitriol and hatred on my part, but this is because I recognize these worthless fuckers for what they are. They are the connivers and the parasites and the spineless gutless people we call "leaders" who neither take responsibility for their own decisions and actions but are quick to employ the CYA principle and crucify any who make them look bad. This should show to our service people exactly what civilian leadership thinks of them. Soldiers and Marines are mere fodder. Do your job. We don't care how you do it. Just don't embarrass us, or we will ruin your pathetic life.

This is why I hate and despise politicians. They have no qualms about sending people to do a job they would never do themselves. Their only real concern is not justice, security, or freedom but the maintenance and advancement of their petty political careers. It has come to light that the remains of US service personnel wound up in a fucking landfill. Do you think these Washginton fucks care about this? Fuck no. But this video has caused even the mighty Secretary of State herself to publicly address the matter and issue an apology. This is the same women married to a man who authorized cruise missile strikes to try and divert public attention away from his Oval Office blow jobs.

It is staggering how people can strain this gnat while swallowing a camel of real atrocity. I'm not in favor of pissing on the dead, but the real crime here is how politicians and the public can allow media attention to warp their sensibilities in this way. If this pisses you off, why doesn't the killing of these men piss you off as much as their being pissed on? Why don't murder and senseless war shock us more than pissing on a dead body? It only speaks to how stupid the American public and our politicians are. Good luck, Marines. The lesson here is that you can do anything you like. Just don't take pictures or upload it to YouTube. You could be spending the rest of your days in Leavenworth.

Q & A

2012-01-17T02:00:00.001-05:00

Q: Why do you date the women that you do?

A: I get this response repeatedly usually from women. Hell, let's be honest. Women are the only ones that ask this as no man has ever asked me this question.

My disastrous relationships with women have made for great material here at the C-blog for a variety of posts on the "love is bullshit" theme. I have done an informal survey amongst my male peers, and it turns out that I have had more relationships than any of them. This is because many of them have gotten married while I have been dating serially my entire adult life. The result of all these relationships is that I have been able to acquire a better sample of the population which paints a better picture of what women want. Unlike Stephen Hawking, I do understand women.

Women want two men. The first guy is the one that fucks them like an animal and treats them like complete shit. This is because it turns them on. Such behavior indicates to them a certain level of testosterone and virility. They want to fuck this guy in a really bad way because their biology wants them to reproduce with this fuckwad. Read a few romance novels or watch a chick flick, and you will see this urge over and over. Women want the bad boy.

The second man women want is the cuckold or the "cuck" as I like to call it. This is the nice guy who will support them and take care of them and all that. This is also biological as women are vulnerable especially when bearing and rearing children. This is the "sensitive" man that women want to have, but they never quite fall in love with them. This is because they don't actually want to fuck this guy. They just want him to support them and pay their bills. But they are bored with this man and will fuck other men on the side that are more to their liking.

These two urges put women in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction. This is a consequence of biology which doesn't give a damn for your personal happiness. The goal is not satisfaction but reproduction. The fulfillment such things promise never materializes, but it is motivating. As long as a baby is made, this is all that matters to biology.

The conventional wisdom on the part of women is that I make lousy choices in women to date. The assumption is that not all women are alike, and I seem to be a magnet for a few bad apples. This is simply bullshit. This isn't bad luck on my part but self-delusion on their part. This is because all women think they are unique and special. In certain respects, this is true. But when it comes to sex, they are all the same. They want a fucker to make the baby, and they want a sucker to take care of the baby. These urges are encoded in their DNA.

I don't care to be either the bastard or the cuck. Women are not hard to understand at all. The difficulty comes from trying to reconcile these competing urges they have to achieve satisfaction. This can't be done anymore than oil and water can be mixed. As I said, nature doesn't give a shit about your satisfaction. Dissatisfaction is nature's number one tool for promoting survival. Even in an age of birth control, abortion, and family planning, the human race still breeds at an astounding rate. Infidelity is the norm and not the exception. Monogamy is unnatural.

Men are easily satisfied. If they can drain their balls daily, that's all they really need. The problem for them is social as they are now expected to actually father the offspring they help create or at least pay child support. Their frustration comes when they find themselves with a woman who wants their money while simultaneously not putting out. The rub is when this same woman who takes their money while not putting out has no problem putting out for some other guy. That is the biology working there exactly as programmed. Men follow their programming and engage in affairs. For them, they just want the satisfaction of sexual relief. For women, the fear is that their cuck may leave them without resources when it turns out that he is really a bastard. Since most men cheat, it becomes obvious that all monogamous arrangements are merely a fiction created by two liars in mutual deception.

I have to laugh when women say that it is my own fault for making lousy choices in dating. But there is no choice. What I have shared here is the norm. This is how it really is. I am not the deluded one. The people who disagree with my description of this state of affairs are the deluded ones. The statistics and the science are firmly on my side. My personal experience merely validates what the biologists already know. The human race is not a monogamous species.

2012-01-17T01:00:00.001-05:00

MLK DAY

2012-01-16T23:00:00.003-05:00

1. Bought a new Timex Ironman Triathlon watch to replace the one that got busted up sparring. Yes, I know it is an Ironman branded product, but the shit is only 30 bucks and WORKS. Triathletes are still douchebags.

2. I didn't watch the debate. I usually catch the Ron Paul highlights on YouTube. Life is too short to waste on listening to those other fucktards make promises they are never going to keep.

3. Ron Paul is catching flak for taking pricey plane trips. Granted, he could have taken coach. But considering he is forfeiting his Congressional retirement, I would cut the man some slack. First class is sweet, and I recommend it to anyone who can get it.

4. If your last name isn't Romney or Paul, go home.

5. Jay-Z says that he will lay off using "bitch" in his lyrics now that he has a daughter. I suppose this means he has 100 problems now.

6. Elton John and Madonna are having a bitch fight because Elton didn't win a Golden Globe he thought belonged to him. It went to the Material Girl instead. I must also add that Madonna's outfit was way better than Elton's as well. Plus, she doesn't need fake hair.

7. I don't consider myself to be a homphobe, but I have to admit that I find gay men highly annoying. They act like complete pissy little bitches.

8. I think Madonna could take Elton in a cage match. That bitch is on steroids.

9. They serve Maker's Mark in first class. Sure beats the soda and peanuts back in coach.

10. Newt says he's going negative. I doubt Newt reads my blog, but if he does, GO FOR THE MAGIC UNDERWEAR. That shit would be fucking awesome. You'll lose the Mormon vote, but you don't have it anyway. Ridicule that fucker's drawers!!

Dreams and Nightmares

2012-01-16T03:00:00.001-05:00

It has become an annual tradition for me to discuss race relations on MLK Day. This year I need to discuss Obama. For many black Americans, there is a certain bit of pride in having a black president. The problem is that Obama absolutely sucks as a president. It is a shame that it is like this, but there it is. From his failure to close Guantanamo Bay to the mockery of giving him a Peace Prize to agreeing to corporate bailouts to presiding over the worst economy since the Great Depression, Obama gets a total F except in killing Osama bin Laden. Barack gets an A on that one.

When I share these criticisms, I can see black fans of Obama wince. I don't know what to do about this because I can't give the guy a pass merely because he's black. FWIW, Obama gets the same bile from me that Bush got. Romney will also get it when he wins it all. But many black people simply can't make the distinction. It is not enough to be black. You also need to be good. Obama is not good. The fucker is evil.

Obama signed into law the NDAA bill. That alone puts him in the pantheon of evil stupid fuckers. That bill is up there with Dred Scott. When I point this out to my black friends, they are simply and utterly clueless as to what I am talking about. This new law will almost certainly smite blacks at some point in the future. Perhaps then, they will care. But for right now, they are still basking in the glow of having a black president. Obama could be spearing babies with a pitchfork, and they wouldn't give a shit.

The sad reality of blacks in America is they vote as an almost virtual monolithic bloc. Even MLK did not enjoy the virtual unanimity that Obama has among blacks today. Even when Obama is swept from office in disgrace, he is certain to be revered and honored by these people long after the rest of the country has opted to forget the mistake it made in electing the lying fucker.

The question I ask myself is this. If MLK were alive today, what would he make of Barack Obama? The answer to that is simple. King would be Obama's harshest critic much as Cornel West and Tavis Smiley are also harsh critics of the president. For King, the wars would put him at odds with Obama since King was an outspoken opponent of the war in Vietnam. Cornel West sums it up in this video:

I am a libertarian, so I don't subscribe to the left wing social justice crap. But when it comes to wars and human rights, I like what West is laying down. I have to give credit to that man for being principled and sincere and also having the courage to take an unpopular stance against the President.

Let's face facts. Beyond being elected, what has Obama done for black Americans? How has he improved their lot? What has he done to promote peace and human rights? The answer is nothing. Obama has worked to diminish peace and human rights and deserves to be included with Bush and Cheney as one of the Bastards of the Early 21st Century.

The black community in America needs one thing above all others. It needs a diversity of viewpoints, leaders, and opinions. No other ethnic group is as homogenized as the African-American community. The fact that this community gives carte blanche to Obama to do as he pleases shows that they are more about symbolism than actual progress. In short, blacks need to vote for a guy for something other than the fact that he is black. Perhaps when there are two black guys running for that high office that this will happen.

For the rest of the country, the novelty has worn off. They know and realize Obama was a mistake. I think many Democrats wish Hillary had won. The problem is that they will simply elect a really bad Republican to make up for that really bad Democrat. Obama had a chance to make a real difference in the area of peace. He blew it. The only thing I can tell my black friends is that Obama is just like all those other white dudes that held the office--a disgrace.

[SOC]

2012-01-16T02:00:00.003-05:00

It is Saturday morning as I write this. I like writing these posts during this time because it is a good warm up for the writing binge that will follow. It is cold which means the sweat pants and long sleeved shirt. Winter in SC doesn't really hit until January. This is when we start getting freezing rain, snow, and those piercing knife winds that cut right through you. I tell people that SC weather is the worst of both worlds. We get both hot and cold.

When I lived in Florida, it didn't get cold. The only time I needed long pants would be in January riding my bike at midnight. Otherwise, you virtually never got freezing temperatures down there. This is a sweet deal during the winter, but you paid for it dearly in the summer. Florida is hot and sticky.

I must be pretty desperate to be writing about climate and weather. This is another sign that I am getting old. I am already working on what I call "Old Man Crust." If you want to get the flavor of this, look no further than Jeff Bridges playing Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. The Crust is what develops as you get some living under your belt. It isn't grumpiness so much as selective apathy. As you get older, you learn to not give a fuck about certain things anymore. Though I look young for my age, mentally, I have always been about ten years older than my peers. The result is that I look 30 but think 50. This comes from reading a lot of philosophy.

I am also amused at some of the latest comments on the tri-bash posts I did from a year ago. I try to think of some other sport where I could write something that would provoke the same level of vitriol, but nothing comes close. I remember pissing off the ultrarunner crowd slightly when I suggested that running until kidney failure might be a bit extreme. I'm still of the same opinion on the kidney failure thing, but I have grown in my admiration and appreciation for ultrarunners largely because of the example of Anton Krupicka who is the antithesis of a triathlete. I think if you participate in a sport mostly for the purpose of buying a bunch of a gear then something is wrong with you. I admit it. I have an anti-gear bias.

I am struggling with this cold/flu thing I have. I can't tell you the difference between a cold and the flu. The symptoms overlap, and since there is no cure, a proper diagnosis is not needed. I simply have what I prefer to call the "Crud." Basically, you get muscle soreness, fatique, a strong desire to sleep, and mucus. It is quite lovely though I do not recommend it to anyone.

My preferred treatment for the Crud is what I call a "Speedball." Kids, don't try this at home. This is where I drink a huge gulp from a bottle of DayQuil, follow with three Vitamin I tablets (ibuprofen), and as much strong black coffee as I can hold in my gut. The effect of these three things working together is damn near narcotic. There may be some liver damage from this. I don't know. I just know that it makes me feel great despite being sick and has gotten me through many days at work. Plus, this shit is legal though I may cause it to become illegal by writing about it. This will happen when a C-blog reader has a DayQuil overdose.

2012-01-16T01:00:00.002-05:00

Quotable Quotes

2012-01-15T22:42:00.002-05:00

Running is just you, the work you put in, and the clock. You can’t cheat yourself. If you don’t put in the miles, you can’t go to the starting line thinking you’re going to pull a miracle out of nowhere. You get out exactly as much as you put in.
DESIREE DAVILA

To keep from decaying, to be a winner, the athlete must accept pain--not only accept it, but look for it, live with it, learn not to fear it.
GEORGE SHEEHAN

The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.
JUMA IKANGAA

When it's pouring rain and you're bowling along through the wet, there's satisfaction in knowing you're out there and the others aren't.
PETER SNELL

Methinks that the moment my legs began to move, my thoughts began to flow.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU

2012-01-15T20:53:00.000-05:00

MALNIC, Love Your Enemy

[U.] Eminence Front

2012-01-15T02:00:00.002-05:00

BITCHES!!!!!!!!! give it UP! props to you know who. the one. the only. U-DADDY SUPREME. this is not a PUT ON.

the illuminati is FUCKING with you. katt williams knows. learn the SIGNS:

high tech world police state coming. they know EVERYTHING. watch and listen:

super k coast to coast on PLANET X. listen and learn fools:

truther girl with flu k for your brain:

more k on vitamin C! watch and learn:

triple dose of TRUTH:

straight shit (and fresh!) on barry obama:

can it get any better? randy gage delivers the CHEDDAR:

stack yo cheese BITCHES!!

the u-man has dropped his k bomb delivery and drained his balls. NUT AND CUT. pssst, one last thing. . .SHIT ON THE HATERS. peace to the posse. you know who you are. gimme some amens and let a brother know you out there. we out this motherfucker. DON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN!!!

P.S.-VOTE FOR RON PAUL.

2012-01-15T01:00:00.000-05:00

2012-01-14T21:12:00.001-05:00