Professor J,
Electricity was restored eventually and
we survived, but alas, with wicked colds. I'm generally a fan of the
colder months but winter has outstayed his welcome and is free to move
on. Daffodils in the garden are waving goodbye to him as I write. :)
Your
answer was thorough and informative although you were correct in saying
that some of your examples were problematic. Is it your opinion that
after a certain point (you might want to guess at the tipping point)
peaceful political solutions are unlikely or even impossible?
Our Finnish friends continue to set forth a good example.
Watched
an interesting movie the other night, Promised Land. Have you seen it?
Co-written by Matt Damon (who's passionate about the water issue) it is
the fictional story of a small town and what happens when a huge natural
gas company comes to town to buy the land rights from farm owners for
fracking.
I just finished, How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, by Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert
comic strip. I've read lots of self help style books and this one is a
practical easy read that would be perfect for a young person just
starting out. I read it on my Kindle and then ordered my son a copy.
A
couple of his ideas that are a twist on conventional wisdom are having
systems instead of goals and managing your energy instead of your time.
If a person's goal is to lose 20 pounds they often revert to old habits
once they reach it. If your system of eating is a healthy one and
exercise is built into your day you are building a lifetime of good
habits that will have a bigger impact on your overall health. Likewise
most people try to manage their time but he recommends trying to figure
out at what times of the day you have the most energy and planning your
activities accordingly.
Now, I've just done the "what
have I been watching/reading" thing, so I'll follow my own advice and
share what I've been thinking/pondering. :)
For years I
read a variety of books. I remember one day several years ago I was
reading a book by a well known businessman about leadership. My
daughter, about 12 at the time, asked me why I was reading it, as she
didn't see the use I could get out of it as a stay at home mom. I think I
responded along the lines of "you don't ever know what life will throw
your way" or something. Which has turned out to be true. When life has
handed me unexpected things both good and bad, because of the reading on
all those different topics I've had a basic knowledge of lots of things
and when I was thrown real curves I had a deep well of information to
draw from. True stories about people who not only survived tragic and
terrifying circumstances but over came helped me keep perspective and
hope on bad days. On good days I utilized all the reading I'd done about
managing money wisely. On the string of ordinary days that make up the
majority of life all the other reading I'd done gave everything layers
of deeper meaning.
Sometimes I wonder--who would I be if I hadn't read all those books?
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