Francis 2.0 And Mr. Zip It!

 Zip it!

MICHAEL MATT

When Pope Leo XIV appeared on the loggia at St. Peter's, I made the call. He was Francis 2.0. He would continue the agenda of Bergoglio, the Lavender Mafia, the St. Gallen Boys, the Jesuits, and the post conciliar modernist antichurch. Prevost did not disappoint. He is everything I expected him to be.

One of the professional Catholics that nailed it out the gate was Taylor Marshall who pronounced it a disaster, He has since scrubbed that brutally honest and even prophetic video from the YouTube archive. This is because being right will cost you financially.

Right behind Taylor Marshall was Michael Matt of The Remnant who told the traditionalist recognize and resist crowd to "zip it." This is odd behavior from two guys who openly opposed Bergoglio. Now, I realize that you gotta give a new Pope time to disgrace himself before you call him out. We are past that now. Leo has arrived.

One guy that called it early and never wavered was Timothy Gordon. I will explain why I think Gordon is so bold while Matt and Marshall are so timid. It involves the letters "SSPX." Gordon is opposed to the SSPX while Marshall and Matt are not. Somewhere, the SSPX made a strategic move to not oppose Bergoglio, and they wish to continue this strategy under Prevost. Meanwhile, the non-schismatic trads are taking it on the chin. It's weird how things work like that.

I have come to the conclusion and find myself in agreement with Cardinal Burke that the SSPX are in schism. The modernists are good for the business of the SSPX as confused Catholics leave their parishes for the SSPX chapels. One of the competitors to those SSPX chapels were all of the Latin Masses that blossomed after Summorum Pontificum. Those TLMs are now being torched under Traditiones Custodes.

The SSPX clearly do not like competition. They despise sedevacantists with the same zeal that they have for their former brothers in the FSSP. Their long term aim appears to me to be the exclusive home of the TLM while appearing to still be in communion with Rome. Pope Leo can change this which is why they play nice and zip it.

On the Novus Ordo side of things, you have the controversies at LifeSite that clearly deal with Opus Dei members who must also play nice with Leo to keep their cult running. They want everyone to zip it, too. The bottom line is that both the SSPX and Opus Dei love money.

What do the modernists want? They want everyone who has the faith to leave the Church. They don't care which door you take. My advice to all faithful Catholics is to stay in the boat, recognize and resist, and stay and stink. My hero on this is Bishop Athanasius Schneider who has gotten it exactly right. I only see it now late in the game. He is still recognizing and resisting. God bless that man.

*********

Trad Inc. Crashes Out: What Happened to Taylor Marshall and Michael Matt?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Y4nbkZAF0

Friday Night Ass Itch

I got a hundred dollars smokin' in my billfold

I know I oughta save it, but it's burnin' a hole

Right through my pocket and into my skin

Come Monday morning, I'll be broke again

It's finally Friday, I'm free again

I got my motor running for a wild weekend

It's finally Friday, I'm outta control

Forget the workin' blues and let the good times roll

GEORGE JONES, "Finally Friday"

I have read that Friday afternoon is the most dangerous time to be on the highway. The reason for that is obvious. People get so excited about the weekend to the point that they are about to bust. In their exuberance, they hurt and kill themselves and each other. I call this exuberance the "Friday Night Ass Itch." It is the desire to go to town and show their asses.

I live in absolute dread of the Friday Night Ass Itch. I try to not be on the road during this time. This is before the first drinks are poured from the bottle. The anticipation is more intoxicating than the actual fun. These idiots don't want to waste one precious second of that fun. Nevermind that they waste what is left of their lives in vehicular manslaughter.

By Saturday night, the exuberance has abated. You still have to deal with drunks on the road, but this is later in the evening after the bars close. Most of the pressure and steam has been blown off the night before. The ass itch has been scratched. The worst offenders are already in the county lockup.

I live an intentionally boring life. This normally happens as you get older. My idea of excitement on a Friday night is to watch an old movie with the wife and eat some popcorn. I am not a drinker. By the time the show ends, I am exhausted and go to bed long before any bars in town have closed. At night, I can hear the distant sirens from police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks as they go out to clean up the Friday night mess.

Instead of partying, I sit in the dark and listen to the Red Cup Country Weekend on my vintage Sony Walkman radio. The playlist was created for the party crowd, and I like to listen to the anthems about bonfires, pickup trucks, and Yetis full of good ideas. I have more fun listening to the party on that radio than I ever did in my youth doing the real thing.

My town turns ridiculous on the weekends. Boomers and bikers get on their Harleys and tear down the road making as much noise as possible. The bass boat crowd load up their gear to head to the lake. The off-road crowd bring out their ridiculous Jeeps. Everyone else loads up mountain bikes and kayaks on roof racks that will never touch the trail or the water. But it all looks good. The more sedate crowd goes to the high dollar steak and bourbon place to blow money on expensive food and drink. During the Concussion Ball season, high school, college, and pro games are the top entertainment.

I don't know if these folks are having a good time or just pretending to have a good time. I suspect they are just pretending. Listening to the party is more fun than being at the party. I don't know why that is the case, but it is the case. My life at home is more pleasurable than anything I could do in town on a Friday night. I am pretending to have a good time. I think they are pretending to have a good time, too. The difference is that I don't pay the cost or suffer the consequences.

The 80% Rule

I’ve always thought of myself as an 80 percenter. I like to throw myself passionately into a sport or activity until I reach about an 80 percent proficiency level. To go beyond that requires an obsession and degree of specialization that doesn’t appeal to me. Once I reach that 80 percent level I like to go off and do something totally different; that probably explains the diversity of the Patagonia product line—and why our versatile, multifaceted clothes are the most successful.

YVON CHOUINARD

I do not own anything from Patagonia. I have never purchased a product from Patagonia. I am not into mountain climbing, surfing, or fly fishing like Yvon Chouinard. I am an admirer of Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard because he is someone engaged in intentional living. I always admire this intentionality even if it goes to places where I would not choose to go myself.

Chouinard's quotation above mirrors much of my own intentionality on things especially his 80% rule. Like Chouinard, I tend to be a generalist knowing that expertise requires a discipline and specialization I don't care to do. I aim for competence not expertise. Here is how it looks in practice in my life.

The 0% Rule

Years ago, I put together a "Not To Do" list of things I had some interest in doing, but I knew that doing them was stupid. I owned a guitar and a mountain bike for a season which I decluttered from my life. I realized that they were the detritus of dreams I was never going to fulfill. I have witnessed others spend far more on the same stupidity. This is because buying is easier than doing.

I found that a list of things to not do would save me a lot of time, money, and energy. I still add to that Not To Do list. Now that I am old and damaged in the brain, I find that list to be the smartest thing I've ever created. If I didn't have it to waste before the accident, it is certainly the case after the accident.

The 10% Rule

I define a hobby as the serious pursuit of a worthless activity. Consequently, I do not have hobbies. Either I do worthwhile activities, or I do worthless activities without being serious about them. Those two worthless activities would be playing the kazoo for ten minutes a day and watching birds in the backyard with a cheap monocular from Amazon. A laminated brochure on birds from Tractor Supply completes my birdwatching kit. I don't care to elevate my game in these areas beyond 10%.

The 80% Rule

This rule applies to those areas that I do pursue seriously. My writing is one of those things, but I limit myself to writing blog posts. I don't write short stories, novels, poems, or books. I was never good at that stuff, and I have capitulated to that reality. I have clever ideas in these areas, but I don't have what it takes to pull them off.

Another area is radio communication. This became an interest in relation to prepping. I listen to AM/FM/WX radio bands, but I don't waste my time or money on the hobby known as shortwave listening. I am also not a ham radio operator, and I do not care to ever get my "ham ticket." I stick with CB radio which is cheap and simple and allows me to contact people in my area in case the cellphone network goes down. I do not care for GMRS.

Another area is self-defense. I chose Krav Maga as being the best self defense system for an average Joe like myself. I am not Bruce Lee. Despite rumors to the contrary, Krav Maga is a basic system in comparison to martial arts that take years to master. I just need to know enough to get out of a bad situation.

Another area is gardening. I chose lasagna gardening in raised beds because I don't have the energy for a till method. I only care about food crops and leave the flower gardening to my wife. I have no interest in taking the course and becoming a master gardener.

Another area is fitness. I walk, do bodywork exercises for strength, and perform manual labor for an hour each day except rain days and Sundays. I do not care to run marathons, lift heavy weights, do Crossfit, or compete in the Ironman Triathlon. I just need to keep my parts moving and prevent atrophy. This becomes an important consideration when you don't move much the rest of the time as you destimulate in a dark room.

Versatility

The last thing Chouinard stresses is versatility. Basically, Chouinard produced clothing in accordance with his 80% rule by making products that cover 80% of your needs. For instance, the hiking shorts can also be used for rock climbing, trail running, etc. The key to this versatility is to make or choose things that are basic which lends itself to a universal application. Simplicity is the key to versatility.

In my own life, I find that workwear covers 80% of what I do. The same clothes that I wear for yard work is also my exercise wear for walking and my casual wear. Likewise, I find that a Toyota Tacoma 2WD pickup covers 80% of my transportation needs. I don't care for a gigantic Silverado or a lifted Jeep Wrangler. I don't have needs like that. I never leave the payment, and I don't pull trailers or RV campers. I haven't driven in years, but I am happy knowing my wife has no problems driving my small truck. I will always choose a small truck because it is the most versatile for our needs.

Conclusion

When it comes to Chouinard and intentional living, you just need to choose what you are going to do and not do. Then, you need to decide what level you are going to do the things you choose to do. Finally, the gear you use should be able to be used across those multiple things. This cuts down on a great deal of waste. This amounts to a simple and sustainable lifestyle.

Horological Considerations

A gentleman’s choice of timepiece says as much about him as does his Saville Row suit.

IAN FLEMING

I have worn a watch since elementary school. I received watches as Christmas gifts. One of them was a Mickey Mouse watch or a Snoopy watch. I can't remember which one now. Another one was a Bulova. I may have worn some other watches from Timex, but I don't remember any of them. My first serious watch for me came in college when I bought a Timex Ironman watch because I got into running for fitness. I would wear multiple versions of that watch for the next two decades. I will talk about this more later in this post.

Somewhere, people ditched their watches and started looking at their phones to get the time. I never did this. It is more convenient for me to just look at my wrist. I know because people with phones ask me for the time all the time because they are too lazy to look to their phones for the time. I tell them it is time to buy a watch. This causes them some anger, but I don't care. Get a watch, idiot.

This phone as watch thing is the return of the pocket watch in a digital form. I have never been a fan of the pocket watch. People that don't wear watches count as idiots in my world. It is one of the first things I look for when I meet someone. Do they wear a watch? If you don't wear a watch, I cannot take you seriously as a person.

The other sort of idiot is the person who does wear a watch except it costs as much as an automobile. I will never understand how anyone could wear a Rolex or waste money on such a thing. A Rolex might be a good store of wealth if you put it in a safe. Wearing a Rolex invites the world to beat you to death and walk off with your timepiece. That brazen theft would be more lucrative than robbing liquor stores.

When buying a watch, there are certain considerations to make. Here is a short list of those considerations.

1. Mechanical Vs. Quartz Movement

For generations, a watch was a mechanical affair. Watches required winding. Then, there are those self-winding watches that get wound by body movement, or those spinning affairs you can buy to keep the watches wound up. These mechanical watches suffer from a lack of precision. Things like heat and humidity can affect their performance. You forget to wind them. They need an annual service to maintain that accuracy, and this is not cheap.

One day, they came out with watches that had quartz movement. These watches required batteries as they still do today. You didn't have to wind them, but you did have to replace the batteries every so often. This is the downside. The upside is they are more accurate than a mechanical movement watch.

2. Analog Vs. Digital

All mechanical watches are analog. Many quartz watches are analog. Analog is the watch with a dial on the face and moving hands. The digital watch just shows the digits. My personal preference is for a digital watch. You tend to get more functionality with a digital watch like a stop watch, a timer, an alarm that beeps, etc. The digital watch also makes it easier to tell time. But I can tell time on an analog watch the same way that I can drive a stick shift automobile. I prefer an automatic transmission. To be more precise, my left knee prefers an automatic transmission. Likewise, my damaged brain prefers a digital watch over an analog timepiece.

The downside of a digital watch is the aesthetic. Digital watches look like nerd watches like the ones they wore in Napoleon Dynamite. I love the nerd aesthetic. The Ironman and the G-Shock have done much to rebrand the digital watch for athletes and military types. Ultimately, I don't care. What my digital watch says about me is that I care more about function than fashion.

3. Timex Ironman Vs. Casio G-Shock

As I mentioned earlier, I used to wear the Timex Ironman. I cannot throw shade on the Ironman, and I would recommend it to runners, ultrarunners, and triathletes. I am none of those things. I am a fitness walker who refuses to wear a step tracker. This is why I prefer the Casio G-Shock DW5600 as my fitness watch. It is a no-frills timepiece and is as basic as a G-Shock gets. I like the countdown timer and the stopwatch features. It has the EL backlight, so I can see the time in the dark. There is no split timer or any of that. It is rugged enough to endure the rain and yard work. I love the watch. I wish I had bought the G-Shock originally instead of the Timex Ironman.

Your choice on this matter comes down to activities. I am not an athlete, so I love the simplicity of the G-Shock. If I was an athlete, I would go with the Ironman. I got old and dropped the fantasy self of being an athlete. When I am not in exercise mode, I just wear the Casio F-91W as a beater watch because I find it more comfortable than the chunky G-Shock.

4. Smartwatches

Before the Apple Watch, there was the Fitbit. When Apple came out with their smartwatches, I cringed to discover that they needed recharging. These watches are also ridiculously expensive. The Fitbit was cheap relative to the Apple Watch, but these electronic watches must be recharged. I've heard "horror" stories of people who went out without a full charge.

The one smartwatch that does interest me are the Garmin watches because of the navigation features. We already use a Garmin in the car, so I would love to have one on the trail if I ever got to do that again. The problem is the Garmin watches are expensive. Plus, I haven't been on a trail since before my accident. I will probably never get one, or I will choose a handheld device.

A lot of folks have turned to smartwatches as medical monitoring devices. I don't have any conditions that require monitoring like this, but I know my time is coming. This is when I will end up with a smartwatch on my wrist, but it won't be an Apple watch. I despise Apple.

Conclusion

That's all for my viewpoints on watches. If you could only buy one watch, I would tell you to splurge on a G-Shock. It does it all. If money is tight, a cheap Casio is a very good option. If you want a sharp looking watch, I recommend a Timex analog or a Seiko. When I want to look sharp, I wear my metal Casio like the one Uncle Rico wore in Napoleon Dynamite. It is delightfully tacky like bell bottoms, and I like that sort of thing. I am not a watch snob or James Bond.

The Benevacantist Argument Reconsidered

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.

ARISTOTLE

One of the downsides of my writing and publishing schedule is that it makes me unable to respond to things as they happen or in a quick manner. Most of these posts get written and stored for publication at a later time. I decided that the posts that pleased me most had an evergreen quality about them as opposed to the filler posts that had the shelf life of a ripe banana. There is one upside to this slow roll of blogging. It gives me time to think and reflect without jumping to conclusions or making a fool of myself as new information rolls in.

This post is a response to these two items:

Unpublished Letter from Benedict XVI: "My Resignation Is Fully Valid"

https://www.gloria.tv/share/iPtN3dB34t1u3KEucbLWRST8f

Leaked Benedict XVI Letter Ends the Resignation Debate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1NaneqW4V0

The gist of this news is that a letter from Ratzinger to Bux puts a dagger into the heart of the argument that Benedict XVI invalidly resigned which made Jorge Bergoglio an antipope. I do not know if the Benevacantist argument is dead, but it would appear to be mortally wounded. I have waited for Ann Barnhardt, the biggest defender of Benevacantism, to issue some sort of response on her blog or on her podcast, but no response exists as I write this. Naturally, this deafening silence delights the popesplainer Michael Lofton who is gloating as hard as he can.

My own position has been the 99% position of agreeing with Ann Barnhardt but reserving final judgment to the Church itself. I have taken a lot of flak for this "wish washy" position, but I have a good reason for being this way. I don't know everything. I don't have all of the information. I also listen to both sides of a debate. I have been wrong before on many issues. I am also a Roman Catholic who has sworn allegiance and obedience to the Church and to the Vicar of Christ. I am with Michael Matt that these final and definitive judgments are above my pay grade. All I have are suspicions and private opinions.

If this leaked letter is genuine and not a forgery, this tilts my opinion on the matter far to the other side of believing that the resignation was valid. Even here, I am not 100% in this position for the same reason I was not 100% on board with the Benevacantist argument. How did we get here? Let's recap:

1. Ratzinger kept wearing a white cassock and doing pope things.

2. Ratzinger is on record as entertaining the idea that the papacy could be split.

3. Bergoglio was a material heretic.

Ultimately, the fault for this confusion lies with Ratzinger. My opinion of the man is greatly diminished, and I agree with Raymond Arroyo that the resignation was a disaster. Ratzinger shouldn't have resigned at all. If a pope does resign, he shouldn't do it the way it was done.

What I can say is that this whole fiasco has done great damage to the papacy and to the faithful. If a true pope, Bergoglio has shown just how bad a pope can be. Ironically, it is only slightly worse than his predecessors. I reject the sedevacantist arguments, but I can agree that every pope since Pius XII has been a bad pope. This includes John Paul the "Great."

Many point to Vatican II as being the dumpster fire, but I think we can go back to Vatican I to see where the initial spark began. Neither council promulgated heresy, but the errors come from how they have been interpreted. With papal infallibility, I think the error comes from a wide and loose interpretation of that infallibility. A tight interpretation would be that the Pope is only infallible when he issues a proclamation ex cathedra. These proclamations have been rare and remain so.

The Pope can only put ditto marks on the Magisterium. Bergoglio has shown that a pope can err in this regard if he was truly Pope. But we can also point to others to get that idea even if Bergoglio gets declared to be an antipope at some future date. The problem we have here is papolatry. We are guilty of giving too much authority and reverence to the man sitting in the chair. The fact is that Peter and all his successors have made messes from time to time. Declaring Bergoglio an antipope is a nice way to keep the papolatry alive. Why not let it die?

I am used to bad bosses and bad political leaders. I am used to bad priests and bad bishops. Why not accept that there are bad popes? Why not check their words against what the Church has always taught? Why not declare what we all know? When the Pope errs, he errs. I write this now as Leo is on record denying the miracles of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels. The man gives all indications of being just another bad pope.

I don't know what else will come out concerning the Benevacantist argument. I am just glad that I have the update option. As new information comes in and people respond, I will tag it in future updates to this post. 

Finally, I remain a Roman Catholic and subject to the supreme pontiff. Every so often, we get a good pope, but I am unlikely to live to see one in my lifetime. It doesn't matter to my faith. I will endure the disgrace of it all until it is over. Schism and apostasy are not options for me.

UPDATE #1: Miss Barnhardt published this blog post pertaining to Pope Leo XIV who she declares to be an antipope:

Someone should remind Antipope Prevost that St. Paul explicitly states that the mere TOLERANCE of sodomy is a capital crime. As in, death penalty on the table.

https://www.barnhardt.biz/2025/09/02/someone-should-remind-antipope-prevost-that-st-paul-explicitly-states-that-the-mere-tolerance-of-sodomy-is-a-capital-crime-as-in-death-penalty-on-the-table/ 

I agree with Miss B. on virtually everything in the post except the declaration of Prevost to be an antipope. Now, she made her case for Bergoglio being an antipope on the basis of an invalid resignation. Yet, Ratzinger and Bergoglio were both deceased upon the election of Prevost to the papacy. This leaves Barnhardt and Co. to confect a new argument arguing for a second antipapacy. At some point, I have to ask a question. What makes Ann Barnhardt not a sedevacantist? Even the sedevacantists are asking that question.

I suspect that Ann is heading down the road to schism much like the sedevacantists have done. I believe that popes can be really bad and still be the Pope. Ultimately, we are being picky over who we will accept as a valid pope as opposed to just calling them bad popes. I suspect Prevost of being an active sodomite, but he wouldn't be the first of those to occupy the chair if we believe the rumors concerning Paul VI.

UPDATE #2: Here's another one from Barnhardt:

Keep talkin’, Bobby. Antipope “FtR” Prevost leaves zero room for doubt. “We have to change attitudes before we even think about changing what the Church says about any given question.”

https://www.barnhardt.biz/2025/09/20/keep-talkin-bobby-antipope-ftr-prevost-leaves-zero-room-for-doubt-we-have-to-change-attitudes-before-we-even-think-about-changing-what-the-church-says-about-any/

I am going to make the call. Ann Barnhardt is a sedevacantist. She can mark her papal timeline differently, but she is fundamentally on the same page as the SSPV. I don't dispute the material heresy of Prevost, but this does not make him an antipope. This is because this sort of thing goes back in time before even Vatican II. Prevost's blunder is to give interviews to the press. This was Bergoglio's blunder. Popes should be seen and not heard except for homilies and encyclicals.

When a pope becomes a formal heretic, this is another matter. The problem is that no one is above the Pope except the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why we say that no one can judge the Pope. Basically, a Pope can be in error, but there is no one to make that call except the Pope himself. This is the essence of monarchy. The Roman Catholic Church is a monarchy.

UPDATE #3: Barnhardt has produced another podcast fully explaining why she considers Prevost to be an antipope:

Barnhardt Podcast Episode #235: Prevost is an Antipope. Let’s talk.

https://www.barnhardt.biz/2025/09/23/barnhardt-podcast-episode-235-prevost-is-an-antipope-lets-talk/

Basically, she signs off on the Mazza thesis that a heretic cannot be a Pope. She goes one step further and fundamentally says that anyone who doesn't come to the same conclusion on an antipope is risking eternal damnation. I just have to shake my head on this.

The one guy who gets it right IMHO is Bishop Athanasius Schneider with his "recognize and resist" position which comes from St. Paul's confrontation with Peter. Schneider disagrees with the Benevacantist argument, and I consider him to be a wiser and holier person than Miss Barnhardt. But Schneider doesn't go so far as someone like Michael Matt telling everyone in Traddie Land to "zip it."

The one thing I can say about Prevost is that he has uttered heretical things. We can safely reject those things. This is essentially the recognize and resist position of Bishop Schneider and Saint Paul.

UPDATE #4: Barnhardt answers the question on why she is not a sedevacantist like those other sedevacantists who believe the See to have been vacant since 1958:

Q&A: So why is “FtR” Prevost an Antipope, but John XXIII, Paul VI, JPI, JPII and BXVI were valid popes? In other words, why has the Petrine See been vacant only since 31 December ARSH 2022 and not since ARSH 1958?

https://www.barnhardt.biz/2025/09/26/qa-so-why-is-ftr-prevost-an-antipope-but-john-xxiii-paul-vi-jpi-jpii-and-bxvi-were-valid-popes-in-other-words-why-has-the-petrine-see-been-vacant-only-since-31-december-a/ 

The gist of the argument is that "none of the post-conciliar, pre-Bergoglian popes ever denied an infallibly defined dogma of the faith." I find this argument to be a weak one at best. I am not a sede, but I would have to ask what infallibly defined dogmas of the faith that Leo has denied. Until he issues an encyclical, his errors are on par with his predecessors.

******************************

Why the “Bifurcated-Papacy” Still Matters.

https://www.padreperegrino.org/2025/08/bifurcaterevis/

Was Benedict's Resignation Invalid? Stephen Kokx with Dr. Edmund Mazza

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k28EFhJZOiE

Nicola Bux’s Eleven-Year Deception

https://wherepeteris.com/nicola-buxs-eleven-year-deception/

Barnhardt Podcast #232: Comic Bux

https://www.barnhardt.biz/2025/08/22/barnhardt-podcast-232-comic-bux/

Barnhardt Podcast #233: The Surreptitious Social Life of Ann

https://www.barnhardt.biz/2025/08/30/barnhardt-podcast-233-the-surreptitious-social-life-of-ann/

We now know, unequivocally, that Cardinal Burke and Msgr Bux were informed years ago about the reality and root cause of the Bergoglian Antipapcy

https://nonvenipacem.org/2025/09/01/the-surreptitious-social-life-of-ann-barnhardt-with-commentary/

God's Prophecies For Cardinal Burke...

https://theweltgeist.substack.com/p/gods-prophecies-for-cardinal-burke

“In this supreme moment of need of the Church, the one who should speak will fall silent”

https://nonvenipacem.org/2025/09/03/in-this-supreme-moment-of-need-of-the-church-the-one-who-should-speak-will-fall-silent/ 

Sunday Funday

Six days shalt thou labour, and shalt do all thy works. But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.

EXODUS 20:9-10 DOUAY-RHEIMS

Sunday is my writing day. I am not feeling like writing at the moment. I have ambitious things I can work on, but I don't have the energy for that today. Someone once said that if you are suffering from writer's block then you should write about writer's block. I am going to write about writing. I may write about some other things along the way.

The great mystery of my accident is that God spared my writing ability. He was not so kind to my working ability. I would trade this writing thing for the working thing in a heartbeat. Work puts food on the table. Writing just keeps you from blowing money on frivolous toys, hobbies, and pleasures.

I could write every single day of my life, but it would be the only thing I did with my life. I have to use my energy wisely because I have to keep living and not be a burden on my already overburdened wife. During the week, I do not write except to jot down notes for writing ideas. Before my accident, I would just start writing whenever I had an idea. I tried to do that after the accident and discovered the foolishness of that strategy. Writing is exhausting work, and I have daily chores and errands that need tending. I can barely do those at my present energy levels. A day job is out of the question because I would be wiped out just trying to get to that job.

I hate my life. I can't beat around the bush on that. This is not what I wanted for my life. Work gave me dignity and purpose in my life. Now, the bulk of my day is spent in a dark room with my eyes closed trying to destimulate and build up the energy to do an hour of yard work. I was walking almost daily, but I hurt myself this year because of my poor coordination. Both the walking and the yard work have suffered. I go into screaming fits if I think too much about it.

My priest gave me acceptance as my penance at my last confession. There were no Hail Marys and Our Fathers. He just told me to learn acceptance. My brain damage is my penance in this life. I have to accept it.

I am exhausted now and need to stop writing. I don't know when I will get back to this post. You, Gentle Reader, do not know what is going on behind the scenes. You get a finished product to read with no clue as to what it took to get it written. Many of these posts have taken weeks, months, and even years to complete.

I am now back to this post except I find that I don't have anything to add to what I've already written. I try not to whine about the TBI, but I find that not talking about it leads people to think I am normal or miraculously cured. A few minutes in person with me dispels that pretty quickly. I am exhausted now, and I am abandoning this post where it is now.

Sartorial Considerations

When a man dresses like a boy on the outside, there’s a chance there’s some stunted development on the inside.

BRETT MCKAY

I do not dress like a boy. I used to dress like a boy until I married a woman who dressed like a woman. I said goodbye to the T-shirt, cargo shorts, and sandals. I am proud to say that I have never owned or worn a pair of Crocs.

I do have issues with those who agree with me that men shouldn't dress like boys but should dress with some sort of finery that doesn't fit with the man. The person that comes to mind is a lunatic woman blogger who claims Catholic conversion but dresses like a total Protestant with a loud hat and all the rest. She somehow didn't get the memo about Catholic modesty. The other people that come to mind are the men on YouTube who dress in three piece suits like some latter day English fops.

I am not terribly interested in how other people dress. Clothes are not my thing. I developed my blue collar fashion strategy years ago, and it is still working for me. But I do want to list the sartorial considerations that go into the decision making of what to wear.

1. Comfort

Comfort is the reason so many men dress like boys now. Athletic wear is the prime component of this trend. Senator Fetterneck is the poster boy for taking this too far. But if you saw the guy at Walmart on a Saturday dressed in shorts and a hoodie, do you even care? I know I don't even if I personally refuse to wear this stuff outside of the house. (I have an ancient Carhartt hoodie that I call the "house hoodie" because I never wear it outside except to the mailbox to check the mail hoping the neighbors don't see me.)

The argument is that this comfort wear is too casual for wearing in the general public. I admit that seeing some hood rat wearing socks and slides in the store is off-putting. But are a pair of camo Crocs on a redneck any better? Or, what about the hippie chick wearing her Birkenstocks?

2. Utility

Utility is the reason I dress like a blue collar worker. Workwear allows you to do physical work. Sad to say, many blue collar workers have taken to wearing comfort clothes for work instead of work clothes. That tells you all you need to know about the work ethic and mindset of that guy. I am a fan of the work uniform. It could be hospital scrubs or a chef's outfit. Just because you work for a living doesn't mean you should dress like a bum. You should dress like a worker.

3. Respect

Respect has to do with modesty and reverence. This is why women shouldn't wear Daisy Dukes to church or to the office. People in office occupations and professional jobs should dress the part. I don't expect the president to dress like a janitor.

4. Vanity

Vanity is where people end up dressing in a costume. They might cite other reasons like the ones already listed, but we know better. If you're wearing a leather jacket without a motorcycle, you are wearing a costume. The same goes if you dress up like Tom Wolfe or Roger Stone. And the lady I mentioned earlier is firmly in this category even if she is in denial over it.

I don't know where the line is between respect and vanity. Show up at a funeral in a baby blue tuxedo with the ruffles in front, and you will find that line exists. You should never wear a costume unless it is on the stage, or you are doing singing telegrams. The problem is that these people have no clue that they are wearing costumes.

The costume wearers love to express shock and disgust at the casual wear of virtually everyone else because they want attention and credit for wearing their costumes. This is not modesty. Modesty doesn't seek to be noticed.

For myself, I seek to dress in a way that does not call attention to myself. I tend to blend in with those around me. I don't want to stand out in any way but dress like an age appropriate normie who knows his place as a member of the working class.

***

Men Don’t Dress Like Boys

https://www.artofmanliness.com/style/clothing/men-don-t-dress-like-boys/

Blue Collar Fashion Guide

https://charliebroadway.blogspot.com/2018/09/blue-collar-fashion-guide.html

The Achilles Heel Of Charlie's Grand Unifying Theory

We often miss opportunity because it's dressed in overalls and looks like work.

THOMAS EDISON

To begin, I must restate my Grand Unifying Theory. There is a simple and effective solution for every endeavor. I have spent a lot of blogging on the GUT because it is my overarching thesis in thought and life. The Gentle Reader should have picked up on the idea that the GUT runs through all of my thoughts and writing. I am a man in search of simple and effective solutions. I am not in search of perfect solutions because I do not believe they exist. I can point to the flaw in every one of my strategies. These flaws do not trouble me because I think they are inescapable. There is one flaw that runs through all of my GUT strategies. This is the requirement for work.

I don't have sophisticated solutions for life. I like to refer to my GUT strategies as "blue collar." This begs a question. What does a white collar solution look like? White collar solutions are where a sophisticated type comes up with complicated schemes of working smarter instead of working harder. Virtually all of these schemes amount to sticking the work to someone else while Mr. Sophisticated takes his cut. I could write volumes about these parasites, but I save that for other posts. The most deleterious effect of the white collar solutions is that they beguile the public into thinking that all problems are complex and require complex solutions. This isn't true.

I do not believe in work purely for the sake of work. I am not going to dig a hole just to fill it in again. This is madness. Everything I do must have a purpose or a telos. Conversely, I do not believe that you can escape work. When you do nothing, nothing is all you get. The secret is to find the golden mean between doing nothing and doing something that is worthless. My blue collar strategies aim for this mean. The way I achieve it is through doing what is simple and effective.

The aggravation of my life today is the chronic exhaustion that comes with being the survivor of a traumatic brain injury. I have found that the first and most important thing is to take as much off of your plate as you can. This is why I don't pursue various hobbies, interests, and ambitions. I don't have the energy for that anymore. Consequently, I don't do anything except what is absolutely and fundamentally necessary. I am used to saying no to everything.

All of those extraneous things belong to what I call "thrive mode." Thrive mode was my lifelong dream that was always thwarted by the lack of time, money, and energy. The loss of my energy has made me accept that the rest of my days will be lived in "survive mode." I don't know how I feel about that. I have had almost seven years to come to terms with that. I wanted to do big things in my life. I am left with doing small things.

A good illustration is the McMansion. Many women dream of having a big home, so they buy one with a hefty mortgage payment. To make those payments, her husband is tasked with working his tail off to afford and maintain her dream. On her end, she is tasked with trying to keep that McMansion clean. The size of the place is tremendous work, so she concludes she needs to hire outside help for the task. This help is not cheap, and the husband is already maxed out with his job. So, the wife ends up taking a job to pay for the work she doesn't want to do. You can see the absurdity here. Why not choose to live in a smaller and simpler home?

For me, a sudden tornado destroyed the McMansion of my life and left me living in an RV camper on the lot of the destroyed home. The disaster is a curse but also a blessing. It is easier to clean an RV camper than a McMansion. My GUT strategies tell me to not wait for tornadoes to simplify my life but to choose simplicity at the outset. I spend my time thinking of ways to save time, money, and energy in the survive mode of my life. Efficiency is of vital importance.

The RV camper is easier to clean, but it still needs cleaning. You can't go smaller than that unless you like sleeping in a tent on the ground. That creates its own hardships. You can only reduce life so far but no farther.

I find that the biggest waste of energy in life is overthinking. People overthink because they want to avoid necessary work. The belief is that if thinking begets efficiency then you can think yourself out of work altogether. This is stupid. There comes a point where you have to stop thinking and start working.

For me, thinking is as exhausting as working. This is why I save the cerebral portions of my recovery program for the margins of my day and my week after completing chores and errands and doing physical exercise. These blog posts are brain busters which is why I save them for Sundays or rainy days stuck inside. I keep writing as a form of therapy for my damaged brain.

Knowing that work is inescapable, I am left with one question. Is this necessary? Do I need to do this? I ask myself this question because of the energy that it will cost me. When the gas tank is almost empty, you're not going to waste what is left on joyrides around town.

Ultimately, the GUT strategies and solutions are about eliminating overthinking and wasteful activities. When you do something, it has to count for something. Survival is success. I survive one day at a time. You can't get any simpler than that.

Blogging Is Better Than YouTube And Podcasting

Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.

WINSTON CHURCHILL

The vast majority of content creators on the internet make little to nothing from that content creation. This includes podcasters and YouTubers. I could probably make more playing kazoo on the street than I do with this blog. I think people would pay me to quit playing. But I digress. . .

The newsflash for content creators is that you are unlikely to earn enough from your content creation to allow you to quit your day job. It is a lottery with 1% winning the jackpot and 99% taking the bait. YouTube has to pay a few people big money to keep everyone else producing all that free content. It works.

I never took the bait. I am glad to have the opportunity to publish my content. Only a few people read these posts. If 100 people read this post, I consider it a hit. Blogging is better than YouTube and podcasting because it takes less time, equipment, and energy to write a blog post than it does to make a quality video or podcast. My favorite YouTuber, Van Neistat, scripts his videos with a clanky typewriter which is why the videos have a blog like feel to them. Good writing makes good videos. I don't know about podcasts as they tend to be freestyle interviews.

If you're going to be writing, why not publish that writing? Why make the video? I enjoy the videos, and I am glad they get made. But I have to admit that it takes less time to read content than to watch or listen to content. It also takes less time to write and edit written content than to write and edit audio/visual content. A good screenwriter with a bottle of scotch and a pack of smokes can bang out a screenplay in a weekend. That same screenplay will then take years to be made into a film.

The other thing I like about writing is that it is low cost. I just need a notebook and a pencil for writing and a computer with a durable keyboard for blogging. With YouTube and podcasts, you have to buy cameras, microphones, computers, and editing software. Some folks do this on the cheap by not editing but just posting crap from their smartphones. You can tell the difference between sincere effort and that crap.

I thought about becoming the "king of all media" for about 5 minutes once upon a time, and I am glad that I decided against it. Quality podcasts and YouTube videos take too much work and money to be any good. Now, it is all I can do to publish one post per week. I will stick with blogging. I hope that you, Gentle Reader, will stick with reading.

A Letter To My Younger Self And The Perfect Game

Youth is wasted on the young.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW

There is no letter to my younger self. This post began with that idea, and I have to mention it for the rest of the post to make sense. I am sorry if I have disappointed you, Gentle Reader, with this false advertising.

I abandoned the letter to my younger self because it didn't make sense. I was going to tell my younger self not to make certain mistakes as if I could go back in time and create a perfect life. The problem is that I didn't know the mistakes were mistakes until I made them. I won't get into Back To The Future time loop stuff if I actually succeeded in sending the letter. If I succeeded, I wouldn't make the mistakes that made me write the letter in the first place. Life is always lived in the forward gear.

The other point is that correcting yesterday's mistakes would have only allowed me to make new mistakes. The bottom line is that mistakes are inevitable and inescapable. The only advantage of youth is that it makes you able to survive those mistakes. The advantage of age is that you have a body of experience culled from surviving those mistakes. Essentially, you are writing a letter to your future self to not repeat the mistakes of the past.

There is no point in hitting the reset button because there is no such thing as the perfect game. Games are just ways to make mistakes and survive another day. I have learned this from playing checkers. I have gotten better at that game because I have learned from all the games that I lost. I have failed my way into winning a few games at a time. I don't always win, but I always learn. It also helps with my TBI recovery.

I am not a winner in life. I am just a survivor. I take it one day at a time. I am still in the game. I am still learning from my mistakes because I make new ones. I just don't repeat the old mistakes. I also learn from the mistakes of others. Reading about their experiences is akin to living multiple lifetimes. This is why I recommend reading as an activity. Reading makes for a deeper life.

I still make mistakes today. I just make sure they are new mistakes. I know to not make the old mistakes again. There is no perfect game, but you can always get better.

Good Advice From Other People

I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself.

OSCAR WILDE

I listen to other people all the time. Some of the advice has been good. Most of it has been bad. I have decided to chronicle the good advice and share it here.

1. Never buy Apple.

In the nineties, I decided that I needed to buy a computer in order to go on the internet which was a new thing back then. I had my heart set on an Apple Macintosh. My apartment mate at the time had one. I had used one in high school and decided that Apple was the way to go. Two people disabused me of that silly notion. The first was my younger brother who is an engineer who told me to get a PC. The second was my friend Brett from work who was a gamer who told me the same thing. Don't waste your money on an Apple.

Apple computers are popular among liberal arts types, but PCs are what a true nerd wants. I ended up buying a Compaq laptop that I used for mostly liberal arts types stuff, but I was very satisfied with that box. I used it for more than a decade. In that time, the Mac I was going to buy became obsolete. I got more value from my boring PC than I was ever going to get from a sexy Apple product.

Unfortunately, I forgot this lesson when I bought an iPod touch and an iPod nano. Apple bricked those devices for me in hopes of me upgrading. I defected from my brief fling with the Apple cult. I should have listened to that old but excellent advice. I have not made that mistake again.

I still use a flip phone, but I would choose Android over iPhone if I ever had to get a smartphone. We use Chromebooks and a desktop PC running Windows 7. Apple is forbidden in my household. I hate the company with a passion.

2. A man without a truck is like a man without a you know what.

Men do manly things, and most of those manly things require a pickup truck. I drove a truck in high school and loved it. Somewhere, I got bad advice and started driving cars. Finally, I got a truck again and will never go back to driving a car. Unfortunately, I don't know when I will go back to driving again. But that's another story.

A co-worker said the thing about the you know what, and he was absolutely correct. A man without a truck is close to worthless. Get a truck.

3. You don't need 4WD because you're never leaving the pavement.

This advice came from my friend Brett who told me to get a PC. He drove a small Nissan pickup truck with 2WD. I told him I wanted a pickup truck badly, and he told me to not waste my money on a 4 wheel drive because you're never leaving the pavement. He was right. I have 2WD and have never regretted not having 4WD. I felt this mostly at the gas pump as I got 2 miles more per gallon than I would have with the 4WD.

This advice taught me that you should equip yourself for your most common needs and not your biggest possible need. I know one day that someone will call me in a snowstorm with his Jeep mired in a mudpit upside down and ask to get pulled out. I will tell him to call a wrecker service or one of his Jeep buddies. This option is still cheaper than owning a 4WD vehicle that would just get stuck, too.

4. You look like an idiot in that hat.

This advice came from my wife. I think she said it in a nicer way to spare my feelings, but I don't have any feelings. By the way, she was absolutely correct.

The hat in question was one of those light colored panama hat fedoras that you would see Barney wear in his civilian attire on The Andy Griffith Show. Here is what that looked like:

Barney was probably able to pull it off, but I probably looked more like Otis the Drunk who wore a similar lid but grungier. I was trying to find a hat that wasn't a ball cap that you would wear with a suit. I am not a fedora guy. Instead, I went with a flat cap which is just a nicer version of a ball cap. Personally, I call it a flap jack like the pancake.

5. You can't turn a whore into a housewife.

The bar is a terrible place to find a life partner. Virtually all of the men at the bar told me this nugget of advice, and it is totally true. The best place to find a wife is at church which means that you need to go to church, too. A good wife is a religious wife. If she doesn't go to church, let her go.

6. Wherever you go, there you are.

This advice was like the last piece of advice on whores and housewives I have heard from various friends and co-workers. Moving away from your problems doesn't work because your biggest problem is yourself. I can't recall anyone solving a problem with a move or a relocation. I know I didn't.

7. It's just a big hole in the ground.

I had a chance to go see the Grand Canyon in person. I asked Brett what he thought I should do. Brett had seen the Grand Canyon in person. He said it was just a big hole in the ground. I have never seen the Grand Canyon in person, and I don't even care. This indifference also applies to the Eiffel Tower, the Great Pyramids, Machu Picchu, and other wonders of the world. You get a better view on a screen without the sweat and expense of getting there.

8. Crack an egg in it.

This advice came from Travis, a co-worker and a friend. I was telling him about eating ramen and how it was cheap but not filling. He told me the secret was to crack an egg in it while you were cooking it. The hot soup would poach the egg and give it some filling protein. From that point on, I cracked an egg in my ramen.

When I switched to a plant based diet, I switched from the egg to frozen peas for that protein punch. My wife deserves the credit for that substitution. You can also add tofu and other vegetables. I combine ramen and lentil soup for the same effect.

9. Get that watch.

For decades, I wore the Timex Ironman digital watch. That watch was overkill for me as I rarely used any of the additional features. But it gave me the time, a stopwatch, and a countdown timer that I used. I don't think I ever used the split timer.

My dissatisfaction with the watch came in Maryland in 2016. There was the seasonal time change, and I went to my watch to make the adjustment and could not make it. This was because the plastic button was gummed up with grime from the job. I used my pocket knife to whittle off the outside of that plastic button to get to the metal pusher underneath to change the time. I resolved then and there to find a better watch.

I found that better watch on the wrist of a Marine who was also a co-worker. The watch was the Casio F-91W. He didn't tell me to get it verbally, but its presence on his wrist told me all I needed to know. It was a cheap watch, but I liked that it had those metal pushers instead of the plastic buttons. I did some googling and discovered the value of this watch. (This particular watch is a favorite of military personnel in basic training who buy it on the fly from the exchange. The watch switches from basic time to military time with a push of a button.) I went to Walmart and got one the next day.

Needless to say, that watch changed my life of telling time. I have bought more Casio digital watches, and I am loyal to the brand now. I don't have any animosity towards the Timex Ironman, but I am not an athlete. I like my nerd watches especially the cheap ones.

Casio F-91W

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casio_F-91W

10. Get a Chemex.

This advice came from my brother-in-law who is a coffee snob. The Chemex is a glass jar with a funnel at the top and takes heavy filter paper. He said it made the coffee taste better, and I agree. The Chemex makes better tasting coffee than my old Mister Coffee which I decluttered soon thereafter.

I think coffee machines are disgusting. This would be the Mister Coffee as well as those K-Cup devices. I heard they breed bacteria. The Chemex is not a machine, so there's nothing disgusting about it. It is essentially a glass jar. It takes longer to make a pot with the Chemex, but it is worth the extra time and effort. I don't think I will ever go back to the Mister Coffee.

11. Cut a cigar in half.

I don't smoke, but I knew a coworker who liked to smoke cigarillos from the convenience store. These are small cigars that he would cut in half with a pen knife to make them shorter. He said you should never relight a cigar and smoke it because it ruins the flavor. By cutting the cigarillos in half, he had a better chance of smoking a fresh cigar. He also had the same philosophy on his sandwich which he cut into four pieces and would eat throughout the day.

The lesson for me was to not hesitate to cut things in half. For instance, I will pause a podcast in the middle and finish the rest later. Otherwise, I fall asleep and miss the second half. I also cut my sandwich into four pieces though I usually eat the whole thing. I don't binge watch TV shows or binge read books. I take small bites and spread it out. I find this practice increases the enjoyment.

That's it for good advice from other people. I might have more tips in the future if I ever remember them. I might even get more good advice between now and then. I will pass it along when I remember it or receive it.

The Futility Of Catholic Evangelism

Preach the Gospel at all times; use words when necessary.

ATTRIBUTED TO SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Saint Francis probably never said this. The Franciscan Rule says, "Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds." Regardless of the source, it is good advice. We should practice first and preach second.

Of all the religious orders, I find the Franciscan orders to be the most appealing. This is because of the emphasis on charity and simplicity. Unfortunately, many Franciscans today emphasize socialism and sodomy. It is best to call them Fakeciscans. They practice and preach heresy. Only the Society of Judas outdoes the Fakeciscans. But I am getting ahead of myself here.

I don't do Catholic evangelism. I try to preach by example because you can't go wrong with that. I find words are worthless. Trying to tell anyone anything is just a colossal waste of time and breath. This is especially true when it comes to the Roman Catholic faith.

Sometime after my conversion, I encountered a lady on my job who liked to argue her religion with anyone who would take the bait. She belonged to some Protestant sect that believed in going to church services on Saturday instead of the Lord's Day which is Sunday. I stayed out of it until she asked me what day I went to church. I told her Saturday because I go to the vigil Mass. (My wife is not a morning person, and I don't feel like fighting with her over going on Sunday mornings. Plus, I find the Saturday night Mass to be more peaceful and pleasant.)

I didn't want to lead this woman astray in her errors, so I explained to her why Christians worship on the Lord's Day. She asked me what church I attended, and I told her the Roman Catholic Church. That's when she slapped me in the face with the claim that I went to the church full of child molesting priests. It was a cheap shot and a low blow on her part, but I stopped talking to her at that moment. I never talked about religion with her again. I know I had a look of profound sadness on my face, and I could tell she was stricken in her conscience over the cheap shot. But what could I say? She was absolutely correct.

There is nothing I can say that can overcome that scandal. NOTHING. Some Catholic apologists will point to similar scandals with other churches, little league sports, English boarding schools, and the Boy Scouts as a defense. This amounts to saying that the Catholic Church is no better than anything else in this sick world. It is a ridiculous argument.

Some Catholics will say that the Church is the spotless bride of Christ. I agree with this. But that spotless bride is clothed in the muddy dress of sodomite and perverted priests and bishops that make up the institutional church. The simple fact is that the world can't tell the difference between the wheat and the weeds. The best you can do as a faithful and devout Roman Catholic is to be the wheat. This means closing your mouth and living out your faith.

Talk is cheap, and actions speak louder than words. I don't actually believe that my good actions speak louder than the bad actions of others. When Protestants see that my wife and I are devoted to our faith, that emboldens them to evangelize us because they see us as Baptist evangelicals trapped in a false church of pedophiles.

I do have one "convert" to my credit. He was someone who also slammed me over the sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. But he saw the change in my life when I converted from atheism to Catholicism. He wanted it, too. He entered the Roman Catholic Church, and I was his sponsor. His conversion didn't last long as he had no intention of giving up pornography, masturbation, and fornication. All my efforts did was turn a backsliding Baptist into a nominal fake Catholic. I regret that and wish I could undo that. He head faked me, and he is dead to me now.

Those two stories are why I am out of the Catholic evangelism business. I will always preach by my example whether I like it or not. I have to make sure that example is a good example and not a bad example. As for words, I post them here on the C-Blog. In the real world, I am stone silent on matters of faith. I say absolutely nothing. My wife points out to me that she knows of no one who was argued into the faith, and that includes me. What makes the difference are those good actions. Her sincere Catholic faith made me want to be a Catholic, too.

Every so often, someone will express an interest to me in Catholicism. That's when I tell them to read Catholicism For Dummies, watch EWTN, or surf the Catholic Answers website. Those were the resources I used in my own conversion. Not a single person has taken my suggestions. They were not sincere in their interest. I am glad those resources exist because it saves me from wasting my time. I am not getting punked again by insincere people.

If someone is truly on the path to conversion, no scandal or lack of information will stop them from entering the Church or reverting to the Catholic faith. This is because of prevenient grace. Those with ears to hear let them hear.

We still get conversions even in these wicked and scandalous times. That is the Holy Spirit at work. There is no marketing strategy at work here. There is no clever argument or winning debates. Man speaks to the ear, but God speaks to the heart. I have learned to trust that God will draw those to Him who truly love Him and will obey Him.

I pray for the conversion of all human souls. I don't wish eternal damnation on anyone. But that is not up to me. And I know that there is no excuse for those who refuse to believe. Once you know the truth, you are obligated to respond to that truth. As for me, I will endeavor to preach by my practice of what I believe. That is my strategy for Catholic evangelism.

***

EWTN

https://www.ewtn.com/

Catholic Answers

https://www.catholic.com/

Catholicism For Dummies

https://content.e-bookshelf.de/media/reading/L-17885143-67f1f549ee.pdf

The Power of Modest Ambitions

By faithfully working eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day.

ROBERT FROST

Once upon a time, I had a keen interest in stock picking. I decided that my route to fortune was going to be as an investor. Of course, I didn't have any money at the time, but I figured you had to start somewhere. I started teaching myself everything I could about investing, and I decided to emulate the greatest investor of all time, Warren Buffett. I subscribed to Buffett's value investing philosophy, read his annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters, and learned from Buffett's teacher, Ben Graham. It was a valuable education in finance and business and was not a waste of my time.

What was a waste of my time was being an active individual investor. Without a sizable chunk of capital to manage, you would be better off spending that time working a second job instead of reading SEC filings. I remember my brother who was also interested in trading stocks telling me candidly that he made more money from his day job than he did trading stocks. That was also the story with me. I came to the conclusion that I was better off putting my money into a mutual fund and letting them manage my investments.

There are more mutual funds in existence than there are stocks on the stock market. What I thought would be a labor saver was as laborious as picking stocks. I was tasked with picking winning mutual funds. That's when I discovered the truth that most actively managed funds underperform the S&P 500. The ones that outperform do so almost out of pure luck. This was the thesis of A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel. I did not want to believe it, but the numbers didn't lie.

Needless to say, that book and the Efficient Market Hypothesis sparked a debate that goes on to the present day. Even Warren Buffett has argued against the EMH, but he does recommend investing in index funds for the "know nothing" investors like me. Whether the EMH is real or make believe, the reality is that I am one of those know nothing investors who is better off investing in low cost index funds. I am not Warren Buffett. John Bogle of the Vanguard Group took Buffett's place as my investing guru. Bogle popularized index fund investing, and his legacy lives on with the Bogleheads.

I share this story as an example of ambitions. I began with a great ambition but moved to a modest ambition. This is not the only time this has happened to me, but my investing story gives the outline of how I end up moving from great ambitions to modest ambitions. It always begins with a dream. The dream hits reality. I resist the reality until the moment of capitulation. Then, I accept that reality with a dose of humility and end up better off for it.

For me, the moment of capitulation came when I accepted that I was not Warren Buffett and was never going to be Warren Buffett. I don't know if Buffett is a genius or just a lucky coin flipper. I know that I am not a genius, and I have shit for luck in life. So, I am a humble index fund investor now. I also ask myself a fundamental question. How much money do I really need in life? Buffett is a multibillionaire. Bogle was just a multimillionaire. I could live as a multimillionaire. Those additional zeroes are just for bragging rights.

A recent podcast from Walking Is Fitness reminded me of the power of modest ambitions as Dave tells the story of how he moved from being a runner to becoming a fitness walker. Dave became a runner to get into shape in middle age. He was a runner for five years but always hated it. He had begun walking after the runs to meet a step count goal and discovered that he loved walking way more than running. That first mile of running was the worst for him. It was the worst for me, too.

Dave gave up running for fitness walking and has no regrets. But he did confess that for a brief moment he mourned the loss of the running life that he was putting to sleep. Dave enjoyed the races and the finisher's medals and the sense of community among runners. He was going to be giving that up. That was Dave's moment of capitulation. The reality is that the daily grind of training for those events was awful and miserable. Walking was pleasant and fun. The great ambition of being an athlete gave way to the modest ambition of being healthy and mobile into old age.

I don't want to call Dave a hero, but I consider him a hero for taking the bold move of swallowing his pride and embracing walking as his primary fitness activity. I think this country would be better off following this same path. The reason there are so many marathons and road races is because running needs that motivation to keep runners running. Without it, running is just pure misery.

My last example of replacing great ambitions with modest ambitions was my decision to give up the dream of homesteading and become a humble backyard gardener. My accident and traumatic brain injury necessitated this move on my part. I am failing now to keep my lawn mowed while my wife does the gardening. A homestead would have been a colossal disaster versus the modest disaster of my life right now. If you're going to fail, fail in a small way. It gives you a better chance at a comeback.

You could say that my moment of capitulation came with the TBI, but it comes now as I confess that I would have failed at homesteading without the TBI. The reality is that I am given to workaholism and wanted to glut myself with an endless supply of labor. This is insane. It's sad that it took getting my brains smashed in to remedy this insanity.

It is better to take small wins than huge losses. People who tell you to go big or go home are fools. The other fools are the ones who take on a loser mentality because they chose modest ambitions. This would be the "know nothing investors" who take the market's average return or those suffering from failed runner syndrome because they don't have trophies and finisher's medals. This would be the backyard gardener who is "just" a gardener. The reality is that great ambitions are the folly of vain and stupid people. Modest ambitions allow you to escape the trap of vanity and stupidity. That is the power of modest ambitions. Those modest ambitions and moments of capitulation have turned out to be some of the best decisions I ever made in life.

Mr. No Fun

Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.

H.L. MENCKEN

My wife thinks I still retain some of the traits I had when I was a Calvinist in my twenties. This is because I seem to be against having a good time. I think she is wrong on this one, but I understand why she would draw that conclusion that I am Mr. No Fun. This is because I am against many of the things that people think are fun.

The first thing I don't do is drink alcoholic beverages. I have had a few drinks in my life until I developed gout in my forties. The pain of that condition forced me to give up having a cold beer. Later, I became a traumatic brain injury survivor that gave me another reason to be a teetotaller. Brain damage and alcohol don't mix. I don't care to keep other people from drinking. I'm just no fun at parties now.

The second thing I am against are big boy toys. I live in a place where working class men love to buy fun things on credit like boats, RV campers, Jeeps, motorcycles, ATVs, and on and on. These things see action for a season until they end up collecting rust and dust somewhere from disuse. Sometimes, they get repossessed because these idiots lose their jobs and the ability to make those monthly payments.

I am also against the REI types as opposed to the Bass Pro Shop types who spend less on their toys but also less time with them because they require human power. This would be mountain bikes and kayaks and hiking gear. They buy gear that never touches the water or the trail, but they will strap it all to the roofs of their Subaru Outbacks to parade around town each weekend. It amounts to a toy parade.

The third thing is my plant based diet. I do not eat meat, dairy, or eggs which is an even bigger reason why I am no fun at parties, dinners, and other social events. I do not care to change my diet to be more social because I think destroying the bathroom on a meathead diet would not be a good thing.

The fourth thing is my disdain for professional sports. You have steroids, concussions, rigged games, gambling influences, anthem kneelers, and criminal athletes that belong in prison. Consequently, I can't make the Superbowl party.

The fifth thing is my loss of love for travel. My wife probably hates it more than me because she is the principal driver now. She floats the idea of going on a cruise, and I remind her of diarrhea and vomit soaked adventures because one of the passengers boarded with the norovirus. I don't care to do this.

I am definitely not fun. I was going to defend myself pointing to fun things I do now, but it amounts to listening to the radio in the dark with my eyes closed as I destimulate my damaged brain. When I feel silly, I play my kazoo for ten minutes or until my wife shuts me down.

What I can say is that my lack of fun is not because of lingering Calvinism or Puritanism. I am Mr. No Fun because I got old. Then, I got busted up. I have already had my fun in life. I am laying low now until the Lord calls me home.

Annoying Things 3

The only thing worse than being annoyed is not being able to express it.

LEO MARTIN

Gentle Reader, it is time once again to share my irritations. This may be irritating to you. If so, I apologize. Actually, I don't care. I know you will read every bit of this post.

1. Button up shirts with the sleeves cut out

I am not a fan of the Larry the Cable Guy trick where a perfectly good shirt gets mutilated for the sake of ventilating one's pits. I keep my sleeves on my shirts. I think the sleeveless thing is totally trashy.

2. 1111 guy on 38lsb

There is a guy who gets on CB channel 38 lower side band, keys the mic, and plays "1-1-1-1" repeatedly on the air which effectively jams the channel. He is the biggest jerk on the CB today. Even the back to the bench guy on 19 is not as annoying as this guy.

Why 38 Lower Sideband sucks lately... where's the FCC ???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJZK1K2eLvI

3. The Luminous Mysteries

The Luminous Mysteries is one of those JP2 innovations that the Polish pope felt was needed because our Lady did an oopsie when she gave the Rosary to Saint Dominic and left out these mysteries. Personally, I stick with the traditional rosary like my old priest did. He never said anything against JP2, but he knew this wasn't right.

4. "Invincible" people

I run into people all the time who think injury, illness, and death happen to other people. It is never going to happen to them. The worst are the ableists who don't understand my TBI. It must be sweet living in that state of delusion. It will be sweet to watch that change dramatically for these idiots when their time comes.

5. Singers who talk too much

I can't stand when a folk singer or country singer will preface the song they are going to sing with a story that is longer than the song. Just shut up and sing.

6. Nose rings

There was a lovely young lady at the grocery store who mutilated her face with a gigantic nose ring. I couldn't believe she got hired. Why do this to yourself?

7. People who say 50 is the new 30

50 is not the new 30. 50 is the same old 50 even if you still look 30. Old age is not fun.

8. Content creators trying to get paid

I was listening to a YouTube video when the creator stopped at the halfway point to tell me that I would have to pay for the last half. Needless to say, I did not pay. Breaking the treat in half might fool the dog, but it doesn't fool me. I am cool with advertising and donations. Beyond that, I am not paying. I don't do that with my content here which is still FREE. Just pray for me and my intentions. Thanks for reading.

9. Drink responsibly

I hear this or read this on various alcoholic beverage advertisements that encourage you to drink irresponsibly. This little tagline at the end is just a CYA move on the part of the beverage makers. No one is fooled by this.

10. Radio on Sunday mornings

Protestants in my area buy up the bulk of the airtime on the radio to broadcast their church services. I am Catholic and go to the vigil Mass on Saturday nights. On Sunday morning, I want some classic country music. I can't get that music because of those church services.

11. Protestant Zionists

This would be evangelicals like Ted Cruz who believe we should fight and die for a nation that is 90% atheist because they are God's chosen people. Catholics know better. I knew better even when I was a Protestant. It would behoove these zionists to read the New Testament to get the full story.

12. Avant garde classical music

Once in awhile, I will be punked into listening to what I think is music that ends up being noise. It takes about 20 seconds. It sounds like a classical piece because it uses classical instruments. Then, the piece derails from there, and I am changing the station. This is why I collect real classical music on CDs now. I can't count on public broadcasting to keep this music alive.

13. Echoes

Echoes is a "soundscape" program on NPR stations that pretends to be music but isn't. I had my Brian Eno phase once upon a time, but I am very much over that now. I do use an ambient CD for purposes of sleep, but that's as far as it goes for me. At the end of the day, I want music instead of pleasant noise.

14. Jews who say the New Testament is antisemitic

The responsibility for the death of Christ falls upon the entire human race. God forgives. Because Jews do not accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah, they also wish to deny their role in killing him. I don't really care if they think this way, but I draw the line at censoring or banning the New Testament.

15. Bono from U2

Bono raises a lot of money for his charity which he guilt trips the rest of the world into funding. How much of those funds actually go to help people? You will be sickened when you find out. Bono is the epitome of narcissism, hypocrisy, and self-delusion.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=h_&q=bono+hypocrite&ia=web

16. Musical overproduction

This is a criticism of Rick Beato over today's music. Because of modern technology, the music recordings are perfect which makes the songs sound sterile. People actually want good but imperfect. I don't know why, but I agree. Record it live in the studio or in a concert.

17. Gender confirmation surgery

This is what they call it on NPR news. This is why I don't listen to NPR news. Mutilation is mutilation no matter what it is called.

18. People who complain about renting and people who complain about owning.

What people want is a home they own but don't have to maintain. Such a thing does not exist. At the end of the day, you maintain the property or pay someone else to do it for you like the landlord. Stop wishing for what can never be.

19. Pet owners who spare no expense for their pets.

This would be chemotherapy for your cat with cancer. Who pays for this?!

20. FM on CB radio.

The FCC allowed FM on CB radio. Radio makers could legally sell their European radios into the American market. This was convenient. No one in America uses FM on CB radio. You might as well put airplane wings on a Jeep. It's never going to fly.

21. When rich people go begging.

A certain former televangelist told his audience that if he didn't get a million dollars he was going to be on the street. I've never had a million dollars, but I seem to be able to stay off the street.

22. Sig owners.

I remember when everyone eschewed the boring Glock in favor of the Sig. Now, the Sig is being dumped for being the first handgun that doesn't need a trigger pull to go off. But it does look sexy in comparison to the Glock.

23. Ranked choice voting.

I don't know how this scheme works, but it works badly.

24. Stephen Colbert.

It's OK to not be funny. It's not OK to lose $40 million a year with your failure to make people laugh. Now, they are laughing at him.

25. Berets.

I'm not a fan of this style of hat. I was miffed when the Knights of Columbus made the switch. I admire the Marines Corp for eschewing berets claiming they were for sissies.

Thus ends the third edition of annoying things. I am certain to return with more irritation. Thank you, Gentle Reader, for not being annoyed with me.