the [justin.tv] story goes on...and on....and on...

This sort of thing is becoming more and more and more common...totally links with 'the second life', 'my life bits', and all that stuff...it's interesting, but seems to be very 'ed tv' like...doesn't seem that original, but here you go...just one more dot in the pattern emerging. Blending 'reality' with 'what is reality?'

But I think a far more useful approach, would be professional series for career exploration. the "a day in the life of..." series. Where a doctor, firemen, clerk, accountant, legal professional, lumberjack...etc do this 'justin tv' thing and interested students or people wanting to explore a field can view...instead of just entertainment.

to be honest (and i'm rarely this blunt)...justin.tv just seems stupid...

--------------------------------

ON a different note; where do companies come up with these names? Microsoft has been really good at coming up with names that are cheezy but sound edgy...previous ones, such as 'zune', 'urge' (with mtv), and now 'deepfish'...

The departement of defense has a computer program to come up with names for operatons, such as desert storm, or desert shield, or but i bet microsoft just has a bunch of twenty-something nerds sitting around trying to come up with 'cool' names that just end up sounding...silly...

Microsoft did try the concept of naming something for what it was suppose to do. The 'play for sure' label. Only problem with that strategy is your screwed if it doesn't 'play for sure'.

I think it would be great if the military operation names actually described what was going on behind the scenes. For instance, when we invaded Iraq it would be:

Operation: Line Your Pockets

or

Operation: Big Dick Syndrome

or if we invade Iran it's really simple:

Operation: Oh Shit!

In the movie, 'enron: the smartest guys in the room', there are sound bits of the traders coming up with names for different trading strategies. Many were describing how the company was robbing, errr excuse me 'arbitraging' the state of california...good movie if you haven't seen it...

JFK

No matter how we got here, why we are here or where we are going... To me that is the ultimate puzzle. The ultimate 'riddle, wrapped up in a mystery, inside an enigma...'

(I always thought that phrase came from the movie JFK...great flick...)

Anyway, it's so great...the life...

A friend of mine started a blog...so great, about bike riding... I guess his blog reminds me its about finding something you love and doing it...

I love biking. I bike to work everyday. May be the best commute ever! I look forward to climbing onto the bike when i leave work. Whether it's raining or nice out. I love the SF weather...never know what to expect...I like the uncertainty...

But no matter what this life is about, our purpose in it, how much we have to work...finding joy in something is part of the mystery. And I think joy can be found by letting go and letting the 'currents of life guide you...'. Finding something that gives you 'the ride' you are looking for...

I still have a long ways to go before I am in shape enough to ride with my friends, but it's nice to know it's about the fun...it's nice to know, that maybe life is more of a 'joke, wrapped in a limerick, and served on a woody allen line...'

“

I contemplated suicide again - this time by inhaling next to an insurance salesman.

”

sdr

self destructive relationships have a definite place in human relations. the same factors at play in an individual, the accepting of the universal laws that want them to succumb to the forces of entropy and the energy concentrating forces of life, are at play. these two forces threaten to rattle most relationships to pieces. I think understanding the factors at play, put us in a slightly better positions of mastering them.

the nth life part n+1

So why create a 'simulation' of our world? Why bother? Why would a society create a simulated world such as ours?

I think it is inevitable that we will do this. That means, somebody else must have already done so, increasing the likelyhood that our entire universe is basically a 'simulation'. Which, in a funny way changes nothing while at the same time changes everything.

But why create it...To answer questions and to learn. Our universe was created to study how life evolves and how ideas evolve. We were created for the reason of creating ideas. That is the purpose of our society, accoring to 'the nth life' philosophy, is to think and generate ideas. To create.

Basically, any group or society that created our universe is basically God. But when asked why God would create our universe I never have or can come up with an answer that is logical and satisfies me. Why a somebody or group of somebodies (who would basically be God) would create our universe the answer is so simple and incredibly obvious. To learn. To study.

Doesn't that make sense? Or at least doesn't it make great science fiction? I really think this stuff would make a great story or screen play...kind of a bit of a twist on 'the matrix.'

Perhaps i'll start putting some ideas for a story up here...

the unbearable weightiness of ownership

Okay fine! I am going to evaluate going carless. Having a car-free that is a carefree existence. Here is one more option in my bag of tricks.

I mentioned it to my girlfriend and she said, "Sure. Plenty of europeans at work just share one car."

This is a kind of exciting adventure.

Who knew that getting my car towed would be a great experience and lesson. I am looking at it as I paid a 'consulting fee' and the consultant said, well you could save a bundle if you got the car out of your life. But instead of the consultant writing a report and tossing it onto the desk saying, "there you go...".

They went one step further and took my car! (you have to pay extra for that service you know...and not all 'lifestyle consultants' even do it...i got lucky...)

Some may say that such a positive view on subject matter is delusional. I would say, I just prefer to pull out of any situation what supports what I want to accomplish in this life.

So had a great impromptu night last night. Love the impromptu situations...perhaps the best ever...I think I would like to structure my life to maximize 'the impromptu'. How does one do that?

I spoke with one of my good buddies and had tentative plans, but we kind of left it that we would hook up the following week. But then I ended up throwing the frisbee around with our european roomate we have who is leaving to head back to europe soon. the frisbee was great...great cheap game! Even some cheap little kids joined in. one kid asked, "excuse me sir, can we play?" So we tossed him the frisbee...

Following frisbee it was off to a irish pub for two pints of guiness...(made by Diageo by the way, the world's leading producer of spirits and paying a nice 4% dividend) and an evening of good conversation and live band...can you say, "so great"?

oh, we did drive...but i think biking would have been much more fun...especially if we had a frisbee in tow...

going...going...gone?

So I recovered my car. You know...that thing with four wheels that I never use. That thing, that if it sits for more than 3 days is considered 'abandoned' and will be towed. You then have to leave work, go to the police station and get a 'release form' and then go to the tower and pay $145 for the tow, and $45 for each day it sits in the lot. Which could be quite a long time if you never use your car. Thankfully, mine just sat for a little over a day (thanks to my girlfriend asking, "hey, where did you car go?") But no prorating, you get slammed for the whole day, even if it just sat in the lot for an hour over the 24 hr period.

So this is a legitimized scam. You have to pay to get your own stuff back. Great deal!

I think I may put a sign on my car that says, "I will move my car for $10, call this number....". Otherwise it'll move every 2-3 days. I have to look up the law as to how far it has to move. A foot? 2 feet? There's probably some crazy formula that gets worked out...

"If it's an odd model year, then you dived the year by two...after adding three...and then multiply that by .84 and then call this number to find out the current conversion rates for that zip code to find out how far the car actually has to move."

so great...

Actually, it was an interesting experience. Kind of expensive...but interesting...

So I am going to evaluate going carless. I don't need my car for work. Once you are at that stage, getting 'rid of the ride' becomes really doable....

will keep you posted of my carless adventures...

missing something i never use

Okay, I want to continue on 'the nth life' but something just popped up that I have to write about. I, thankfully, never need to use my car. And it's a nice car...a 2001 civic. But since I can bike and use public transportation to get to work, I never need to drive. Which is a great thing! I hate driving on repetitive routes...like to work...

But I walked outside to check on it...

And it was gone!

So my first reaction was it was stolen.

But then i thought, people on the street must get tired of parking around this car that never moves so they called to have it towed. And it was. I am now on the phone with the police dispach to find out what the dealio is...

so funny, i wonder if it's worth keeping the car...

so great...

an nth life

I mentioned second life in previous blog. I have been experimenting with it. I have upgraded my RAM. I can now explore this world...

I didn't know what exactly it was about second life that so interested me. But I think I figured it out.

What if our world is an nth life of another society?

I know this might sound crazy. But just think about it for a second...

It was/is inevitable that we develop another world in cyberspace. It has happened. Now it is a matter of time before we continue to expand this world. What happens when we add 'artificial intelligence' type technology to these worlds. Would the characters in these worlds think they are real?

See where I am going with this?

We used to think that the known world was a small slice of globe. The rest of the world was flat. then we discovered...not true...

Then we thought we were the center of the solar system? Then we realized helio-centric model was right and so was the German-Pole Copernicus.

We then thought our solar system was the center of the universe...

Why do we now think we are the first to develop another 'world'. Isn't it more likely that we are one of these worlds. Just statisically I mean. To be first in anything you have to be...well...first...you are an outlier. Isn't it more likely you are just a data point in a stream of data points instead of the first...or the last...

spending money to have fun

In trying to save more money I am starting to analyze my spending patterns. Is spending money on just having fun worth it? Perhaps fun comes just in living life? In each moment. In experiencing things.

fed watch

I think the excesses, to use a little 'green speak'...the 'irrational exuberance' of this era, are going to erode little by little. The interesting situation with the sub-prime housing market, regarding which Greenspan is sounding the recession bell very loudly, is one of these 'eroding moments' when our, the american, standard of living will fall more in line with that of the rest of the world's. Once the dollar devalues, the cycle will be near a close. When i say, 'devalues', I do not mean an asian currency crisis of the 90's type situation. It will be a very orderly move towards the exits, with the dollar just going down in value much as an overpriced stock would or will. After all, the dollar and all currencies trade just like any commodity. Until the dollar is more reasonably priced, then expect more turbulence in the markets as this situation works itself out.

I am curious to see what the fed does with the housing situation. I can't remember a time that has been as interesting to watch the fed's moves as it is today. There is so much going on. So many balls in the air.

I personally believe that the fed will let the sub-prime market shake out happen without a bail out. The housing market must come down to fall more in line with other fundamentals. The fed realizes this, I believe. It can do so, while at the same time, protecting the dollar by increasing interest rates or, a more subtle approach by just leaving interest rates unchanged. I think the fed will inch up rates to test the housing waters. The latest inflationary data will be the justification by which they do so. This will also squeeze out some excesses in the stock market.

a new idea?

This blog is trying to find itself. What are the common themes I like to write about? What are the common threads that connect each post. I am not sure, but I am trying to find that out.

One thing the really interests me is ideas and their evolution. It just so happens I was reading the financial times and came across an article on the history of originality and the meaning of originality and innovativeness.

The author writes, "We still labour under a romantic (that is, Romantic) notion of what creativity and originality look like. We picture that lonely figure experiencing a eurka moment and, from nothing, creating something completely and utterly new."

He says, "innovation is a team game, and one in which everyone has much to learn (and copy) from what is going on in the outside world."

He talks about how google is critiqued for profiting off of the ideas of others. I think google exemplifies what defines innovation. Making connections between existing ideas.

Innovation, is not about coming up with something new. But a new view on what already is. A new connection. A connection can be original.

The idea that nothing is original is not very original. But what can be original and innovative is a new process. A new method. A new perspective.

These are great. A nice balance to those annoying 'motivator' posters you see in offices. Check them out at www.despair.com (no i'm not getting paid to say this...I would if i could...wouldn't that be cool...i only wish...can i say anthing more inbetween these parenthesis?)

here to see it...here to feel it...

"If there was a big bang in the universe and no one was there to hear it, would it make a sound?"

I was taking the train home from work (so great, no driving) and enjoying the sun setting and thinking,

"hmmmm, if humans weren't here....if life wasn't here...to experience this, would any of it happen or exist?"

Perhaps that's one reason humans exist, is to give testament that this world exists? don't know...but it's definitely one reason! Because if we didn't see it...who would?

formilab

This is a great site. John Walker was the original developer of Autodesk. He is an amazing genius that has 'checked out' of the system, lives in europe now after living in sausilito for a long time. He has developed a great system for losing weight. Check it out.

He has thrown out a bit of a gauntlet as well. If you want to contact him, he says "you will figure it out."or something like that... essentially the pieces to the puzzle can be found on his website....interesting...

Boby Dylan sings to people outside of the mainstream...people that are 'floating'...or perhaps just rolling like a stone.

lyrics to "Like a Rolling Stone"

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal.

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

pizza my heart

Going with the idle time theme. I was once again at the post office. I had some time to wait again. When i got to the counter to pick up a package the postman let me know,

"wait here, I will be right back..."

S0 I waited.

But my first thought was,

"oh, some idle time. let me grab my phone and text message my friend back..."

But then caught myself.

We, ourselves, are really good barometers for everyone else. Chances are. Your gut reaction or instinctual response as a result of cultural identity will be the same as 99% of the people in your culture. In our cases, western society. So If my initial thought was,

"oh, idle time. I must distract myself and/or be as efficient as possible"

Then, chances are 99% of the american public thinks the same thing.

but going with the thought in my last blog entry. I think we are robbing ourselves of those moments where the brain 'drifts'. And in those drifting moments, kind of like conscious sleep, the brain solves problems. When the brain stops thinking of a problem it has to solve, it often finds a solution...

I guess my point is, don't feel you always have to distract yourself. I'm trying to learn it's okay to let the brain just sit...and idle...

In this case, I just found a great NY pizza place in the south bay so I let my brain drift over the experience again...

I'm a retrenched New Yorker and always looker for a good pie. I finally found one that can compete with the east coast...it was pure chance that I found this place...I have to do a 'resample' to ensure their consistency is there. That's always a fear, find a great pie only to realize it was an outlier. A chance hit. A random shot in the dark that hit its mark...i have a good feeling about this place, however.

So when i go back next time. I hope there is a nice long line. So I can stand in line and wait...doing nothing but being idle....

in other words, "just don't do something, sit there..."

idle time

We often think that idle time is wasted time? Sometimes idle time is the most productive time.

If you are not at your desk, "working" then you are not working...is the common supposition. However, the mind works in mysterious ways. Problems are sometimes best solved when we stop thinking about them.

recession proofed

Greenspan speaketh againeth

I am going to diversify into Linden dollars currency markets...

the possibilities

I am really pondering the potentials of second life.

What if you could run through scenarios in your life and play them out in a "model you" scenario.
The technology is not there yet. But what if second life was a model of your life?

You could run through various situations and see how they play out. I have many questions regarding second life.

Is there a stock market? If so, can one get a seat on the exchange?

Can I mention my blog to people in half life. Get to know their characters and interact with them in 'this world'?

Is that in and of itself crazy? That I need to refer to this world as...well..."this world"?

So this is a whole new realm to explore.

and it makes sense that it would evolve when you think about it.

We discovered the 'new world'. That is north america....it was a whole world to explore and 'develop'. Now the 'new world' is old. Played out and used up and fully exploited...time for something new to evolve...

It makes sense that we would develop real estate, markets, and opportunities in a world that only exists in cyber space...i love it...

"is this really in our world?"

gimme a second

I am very intrigued by second life. I created a character. This world is the future. Whatever you feel about it. Whatever your thoughts. Second life is the future. To be honest, I cannot believe we are witnessing this event unfolding in front of us.

Remember how gradually the internet became a phenomena that became indispensable to your life? This is second life now.

I have big plans for my second life. Big plans. I have ideas with which I want to play with within the second life and I am very interested in the philosophy of second life in our first life.

I got a comment regarding second life as not being the first....second life type game. I am sure that is true, but I also feel this is big...and evolutionary

check it out...

PS Now I may have to upgrade the computer I just got...

amazing people

I really do enjoy talking with people. Getting to know people. Getting to expand my life experience through getting their perspectives. I think the more people the better. Everyone can give you their perspective on the world.

I think of the three blind men in the room with the elephant (get your minds out of the gutter).

Each one gets a different perspective on what an elephant looks like. One man says as he feels the tail, "Ahhh, it's like a snake..."

Another one touching the massive leg and says emphatically, "NO! This animal looks like a tree."

The last one says, "What are you guys blind! Oh...anyway, this animal is more like a spear!" As he feels the smoothness and pointedness of the tusk.

Life is like the elephant. Each of us the blind men. By getting to talk to each blind man, we get a better picture of the whole picture.

My girlfriend and I had our friends over last night. I got reacquainted with their perspective. It's a great perspective! I am really lucky to have friends that I aspire to learn from. I am lucky to have friends that I want to be more alike.

I have really cool friends!

I think we have forgotten, as Americans, that conversation is a source of entertainment. Of bonding with great people and just talking is a wonderful experience. It has been a source of entertainment that has kept us busy for ages. Before TV. Before movies. Before books even.

We had conversation. We had each other....

getting comfortable

We went to an used REI gear sale yesterday. And saw nothing of worth, so I bought nothing. Good.

Went to best buy and bought a new computer...Good?

I think so.

Sometimes it's so hard to tell good purchases from bad. In this case I bought the cheapest desktop I could find. $364 for a 1.8 gig. Not bad. With keyboard and mouse. They then gave me a giftcard with 50% of the value of the computer to the tune of about $180 bucks. Which i used to buy a thin monitor that was open boxed so knocked down to $90. Which leaves me with about $70 (after taxes on the monitor) to play with.

Then i bought a $20 computer desk...

So now I have a cheap street command central operation. It's nice, getting comfortable, but also a little scary. I am trying to find the sweet spot of 'stable but flexible'.

a mortgaged house-of-cards

Dodging a recession induced by mortgage industry bad loans is going to be tough especially when you factor in fluffed up overseas markets, an unstable dollar, over leveraged American consumers and tense political pressures around the world that are unfriendly to American interests.

get a life!

Do you know what an avatar is?

Sounds like a middle eastern word to me. Ali Baba and the quest of the avatar...

Virtual worlds are expanding at a rapid rate. One getting a lot press is second life.

This concept really got going with The Sims. Remember them? I don't know why the sims on line isn't out competing second life, but there it is...

Nonetheless, this is great stuff. I think this technology, as it gets better, is going to blur the lines between reality and virtual. In some individuals I am sure the line is blurring already. But the great thing, is maybe the line is meant to be blurred. Maybe society dreamed up the distinction in the first place.

This 'second life stuff' may be a great tool in helping us realize that 'there is no self' except what we project onto the self. Perhaps technology will help us orient ourselves within the spiritual universe much as it did in the physical universe. In both, we are not the center of that universe. The physical or the spiritual...

I wonder how many Christ or Buddha avatars there are in second life? Perhaps I will join second life and do what I always wanted to do...join a Buddhist monastery...

Which would buck the trend. Apparently there are is a lot of 'sex' in the second life. Perhaps it should be called, 'sexond life'. Cheezy I know...couldn't resist. See if I said that in second life you could punch me and not 'pay a price' in the real world.

But, I think your actions in second life (even though I have never experimented with it) will still have an impact upon your well-being. When you think about this 'game', it's very powerful and interesting stuff. I am not sure what it all means, but you can be sure I will be thinking about it...

the flip side to sdb

There is a flip side to self-destructive behavior (SDB). This time from the perspective of international politics...

Sometimes when attempting to act in one's own best interest, one's own best interest is undermined.

For instance, I was just reading in the San Francisco Chronicle that the US as a destination for foreign travelers is dropping and, obviously, so is that share of money that they spent here. We are being hurt as a collective nation (the nation is really a bigger version of one's identity...it's the next level up if you will) as a result of our choices as a nation which were made in what was thought to improve our standing.

I think this result, the fact that foreigners essentially have a distaste for us, is normal. It is the equivalent of an obnoxious individual in a room full of people declaring in a slightly drunken stupor on his own self-glorified success, "I'm going to get first in the buffet line, eat what I want and when I am done all you other pimps can eat what's left over!".

Who would want to sit at this guy's table? You? Me? I'll think i'll pass...

in favor of self-destructive behavior

I was at a party where everyone was smoking but me. As I was driving home I started to think,
"Why do people purposely do things that seem to undermine themselves and their own efforts? When people smoke, spend money frivolously, or even hurt themselves. Or when people just live very unhealthy lives, why?"

We often think, "What idiots!"

But, self destructive behavior (SDB) makes sense...

We know the contradictions involved in just living. SDB is a manifestation of that contradiction. It is the human coming to terms with the non-living part of themselves. The part that has to deal with the universal law that all clocks run down. The part that says, "if i want to let go and accept the laws of the universe, the laws that want to pull the very energy that give me life apart, then I have to accept the strings that hold my life together will sometime come undone..."

SDB is logical on some level...I think there is a better way to embracing the laws of the universe, but SDB is not 'logic'd' out. It just emerges...but why it emerges now makes sense to me...

job impermanence

I still have my job, but I anticipate for the day or time when I don't. I went through not having a job and attempting to be job free. I still think that is a good insurance policy. Developing your own means of self-sufficiency outside of the job market. When one becomes too dependent upon a job, a person gives up too much autonomy and control over their own destiny.

What is it about a job that we want?

A job should be a means to an end. A stepping stone to something greater. If you stop in a job, more mentally (that is get attached to it) than physically, you will either get screwed because you became dependent upon it or (if your job is stable) you will become bored and feel "is this it?". The best strategy is always look at a job as temporary...

not to look at it as a 'permanent' job...

'stable but flexible'. this concept sums up my approach to living now...i think selflessness, positivity, creativity, resourcefulness and flexibility are traits i most admire in others. and keys to a good life, i believe...

I think humans innately like to work. It's not the work part. I think it's the control or actually lack of control we have over our destiny is what causes dissatisfaction in the workplace.

A job can be one of the most dangerous aspects to a person's feeling of contentment and self-worth. I think of the movie, About Schmidt. In the end, what did he have? It's dangerous too look to a job for identity and/or worth. To look to a job and say, "I did this!", is asking to much of the job. But that's what we want to do as humans: create, build, leave a mark and we mistakenly look to the workplace to provide that.

I think that's one reason why people blog. One reason why I do. Even if I am the only person who reads it, that's okay. The ideas are out there. I feel I have imparted something to the universe.

I read a story many years ago. I can't recall the name. I was in Malaysia at the time and talking to a friend. She was really upset about man's destruction of the environment. I told her about this story I had read, even though I flipped it around and cast the message of the short story in a different light to illustrate a different point that what i think the author intended.

The story started with the last few seconds of the life of the last man left alive on the planet. He was dieing just as his society had died. In the last few breaths of his life, he made a mark...the mark of an "X" on a rock. He wanted to leave a mark of his existence. The story goes from there about how his "X" quickly was weathered away, and how eventually all the buildings and great monuments of man crumbled and succumbed to the earth and the universe by storms and earthquakes and geologic activity. How eventually the mark of man and his society, society's own "X', was erased from the face of the planet, and the universe. It was sad when I read the story.

But here, in Malaysia, my friend was upset about man scrubbing out the environment. That we were removing the "X" from that of other species. So I told her the story to illustrate that nature did prevail and survive in the end.

I don't know if it made her feel any better...the story is kind of depressing, isn't it?

It is interesting to think about though.

I visited the twin towers about four months before 11 september 2001. I walked up to the base of one of the towers and placed my hand on it and looked up and it's imposing and gigantic presence and thought in awe,

"Wow, these things will last forever..."

Four months later they were smoldering ruins.

Time and time again, we are reminded of how temporary things are. And yet we think of our jobs as being...

Permanent...

be very scared

Sounds like a very overly melodramatic title doesn't it. Forbes describes how shaky things are right now in this article by that very name.

Remember how life was just 20 years ago. what about 30 years ago in the US. We weren't this opulent.

I think we are on the brink of a global depression. Why would Greenspan say there is a high likely hood of a recession in the US? What would motivate him to say that?

cheap street credo under construction

You have heard this stuff before...

I am not my job.

My self-worth is not connected to my net-worth.

My job is there for me, I am not there for my job.

I will not spend money to meet emotional needs.

Well, I have heard it all before too. But I have never made it my own. That's about to change. I am going to develop my own cheap street credo. End result?

Freedom!

I know freedom is a state of mind, because some days I am closer to it than others, even though very little has changed in my life. Funny thing is I am closest to freedom, when external physical dependencies are the least! IN other words, I have the least stuff in my life...

remember SARS

Remember SARS?

Remember how China tried to cover up that they were even having difficulty dealing with an outbreak?

Now replace SARS with a crack in the economic fortress of China. What if China was an Enron of nations?

I know there are a lot of what if's, but what if it's true?

sauced by apple

okay, my brand new ipod i thought i was getting when i returned my bad apple. well, i suspect it wasn't brand new because it died two weeks later.

I just brought it back to the apple store again and they issue me a 'new' ipod. My girlfriend was really funny. I was at the 'genius bar' already when she came in and she said,

"what are they doing? giving you another dead one?"

really funny...

so we wait and see.

But i realized, apple has it's own secondary market in returned ipods. when you bring your ipod back before the end of the warranty period (1 year from date of purchase) you get a 'recycled' ipod or factory refurbished ipod. aka one that was already brought back. you enter in the secondary ipod market.

i think they make these things with such tight tolerances (i mean they are pretty small) that their failure rate is pretty high. the only way they can keep costs down is to recycle these things.

it's pretty smart...now if only they served beer at the genius bar...

hungup on outsourcing

I was just reading an article in Fortune magazine on a wire hanger manufacturer in Monticello, Wisconsin. The company was founded in 1917 in Peoria, Ill by a guy named Laidlaw. Until recently, it was one of the last companies making metal coat hangers in America. The jobs were unusually good paying for people without a high school degree and included health insurance for a family for $192 per month. It was something...something pretty good...

The company will or has packed up its machinery for shipment to China. The company was employee-owned but decided to outsource. The article goes on to say:

"Why Laidlaw's American employee-owners would think wise to invest $2.8 million to shift production overseas is not clear, but it get even weirder. In 2002 some of Laidlaw's domestic competitors petitioned the US government to impose a tariff on Chinese imports. Laidlaw wrote checks to lobbyists totally $441,000 to try to block it. President Bush killed the measure. Whatever your feeling about free trade, it's hard to escape the conclusion that Laidlaw's employee-owners became agents of their own demise."

I feel bad for the employees. It just seems sad...

It seems the surge of resistance against outsourcing has passed. But the trend is continuing.

I suppose we have accepted there is no use in swimming against these currents in the changing swells of global economics. You just get tired. Putting up resistance to forces that are bound and determined to make change is fruitless.

Trying to stop the tides is a good analogy. You can't stop the tides, but then again why would you want to? To continue with the analogy, if your house is built too close to the shoreline, move your house. Better yet, make your house float. Stay flexible. Be resourceful. Enjoy the challenge. Look ahead. Your house doesn't have to float forever, just long enough for the tides to change or for you to find a new house...

Outsourcing isn't going to last forever. Rather than fight it, make it work for you. On both ends. ON the outgoing economic tide that is pulling capital and labor away from American shores...and when the time comes...the incoming tide that will return many of the efforts we are now sending to China...

Outsource what you can of your own during the out tide. For a while, before joining peace corps, I was joking about outsourcing my family. It was a great rebuke to the republican/free market support for outsources, while at the same time promoting and standing behind good old fashioned American family values. Find a nice Indian woman to make a nice mom to my kids and raise my kids in India. Mail money over. Everyone wins. I import my American family experience via pictures, emails and cell calls. I joked but, to a certain extent you can outsource aspects of your life...

For instance, try and land a contracting position here in the states. Something which requires intellectual capital. But that needs a American to tap into the funding spigot. You act as the conduit. The eyes and the ears. The data gatherer. Send the 'data' for processing overseas.

Next time you speak with an Indian customer service rep, give him your own sales pitch. You already know he can speak English. Ask him or her,

"Hey, i have a personal business. What's your email. I'll send you some 'test' data and see how you analyze it."

Start a consulting business and find your own Indian outsourcing partner. It's combining globalism and 'localism'. You and an Indian working side-by-side. Both benefiting and cutting out the middleman. The middle man in this case is the multi-national corporation. Make life work for you. Make outsourcing work for you!

Eventually, during the incoming tide. Many jobs and resources that left the country will return. When cheap Chinese labor dries up. When Chinese standards of living rise dramatically, be open to opportunities that reemerge domestically.

Additionally, think of how you spend your money. Think of how multi-national corporations think. Apply the same logic to your own life. If consumers employed the same tactics as corporations, we would be a force with which to be reckoned. If we employed the same cost saving efficiency protocols a company such as Toyota employed, think of how much money you could save.

Right now, business has a singular focus. To efficiently tap the consumer, you and me, for all that it can. It mounts an all out assault for our resources. Business benefits from our inefficiencies because we are distracted by things like...say...living a life...

I think it is jut a matter of time before the 'efficient consumer' movement emerges. There is and has been no organizational, all-encompassing push for consumer efficiency.

One could make the argument that consumers just naturally are efficient. Always looking for the best deal. Which is true. But that is like saying companies just naturally are always looking to make a profit and do it naturally. However, look at the changes that has happened in the last 50 years in the business world. Business has gotten smart. Implemented technology. And new organizational models. The consumer has sat still. To use another analogy, business is utilizing modern weapons while we, the consumer, are still fighting a war of attrition. Witness the evolution of the MBA.

Perhaps, consumer efficiency and tactics will evolve. Perhaps their will be an MBA for consumer efficiency. A Masters in Consumer Efficiency, an MCE, which will combine an MBA and consumer advocacy non-profit interests?

Until then, the ability to look for opportunities and for empowerment rests with you. It is sad that the employees of the hanger company seemed to sink their own ship. I do not understand what happened to them or their intentions completely, but it is nice to think that maybe we can learn from their fate and maybe...well, maybe...outsource some lifeboat construction.

yesterday's measure of a man

The traits and qualities we, as a society, will value in people tomorrow will be drastically different that what we value today...sort of. The qualities we will want in ourselves and our children are changing...

Thousands of years ago, the measure of a man was vastly different than it is today. However, I am sure the ability to relate to others, a sense of humor and a general resourceful were as respected then as they are today.

Today's man is most identified with what trait? Intelligence? Smarts? Genius?

Is that the defining mark of a successful man?

People that are smart often like to point out that they are smart. Often by the ability to recall facts. Know things about stuff (that sounds smart, don't it?), and be able to understand concepts quickly.

These traits will be useless in tomorrow's world. Think about it. These traits will be as useful as the ability to spell is today...

Gordon Bell, a researcher at Microsoft that is based in the bay area (I didn't even know the company had a research center here..show's how smart I am...), is showing us what the not too distant future will mean for human intelligence. The man, for the past 30 years or so, has had his memory outsourced to a computer, called the mylifebits project. (Fast Company November 2006) It's brilliant. Every email, saved. Every vision, photographed. Every document, scanned. Every conversation, recorded. All of it archived and accessible via computer. He can free us his mind for creative problem solving.

The true mark of success in the future?

The ability to think creatively is what will be one of the most desired traits of the future. The artists will decide our fates. Those that can socially network. The people that are least like machines...

Mr. Bell (a great character in The Paper Chase..."You're all a bunch of PIMPS!"...great line)...anyway...getting back to Mr. Bell, it will be a matter of time where your life experiences are stored on your home server. All memories. Nothing will be forgotten. Draw up any photo. Any memory. Any thought that was recorded. You will have access to all the information that has ever been thought, written or conceived.

How does one survive in such a world? How does one compete?

a change in direction

If I am not 'anti-system' what am i?

What is 'droppinng out'?

Can I love my job and still question the greater purpose?

Can I be anti-system and enjoy what I do as a 'productive' member of society?

Well in terms of this blog, loving your job can be detrimental to your readership. While I enjoy 'connecting' with other people in a new way (this blog), and i hope people find something of interestert here; I, in the end, write this blog for no other reason than just to write it.

So with my new spin on employment, I feel some of the pizazz some readers found in the blog is gone. The bottle of coke is a little flat.

Funny thing is I did not choose this and it is quite a surprise to me as well. I really think we just live out our lives, and respond to situations as they are presented to us fully letting go to enjoy the experience that is presented to us. That is how I am living my life more and more each day.

I am letting go of preconceived ideas of how my life (or blog) should turn out or become. Maybe that is ultimately the most system living you can undertake. To determine before hand what you want your life to be and then 'become that', without 'letting go' to discover what the intersection of life and your soul create.

When you do so, when you let go, there is no fear. There is no fear because there is nothing to fear. You have no end point to achieve, therefore no sense of fear of loss or failure.

I compare it to when you are sitting in a room. For no apparent reason you get up out of your chair. The second you get up out of the chair, a ton of roofing tiles lands on the chair, crushing it. You would have been dead, had you thought, for a fraction of a second, whether you should move. I suppose I believe in intuition. Follow it...

Even if it is just getting up out of a chair...

I know that makes me a bit of a contradiction. I obviously love to analyze. But I am also very intuitive. I like to analyze and philosophize as a leisure time activity, for fun. But when it comes to living my life I am trying not to analyze. I am trying and learning just to live, intuitively.

can't believe this...

I can't believe I am going to write this...

I love my job...

I see my job as something that let's me do something that I wouldn't normally be able to do, give me new experiences and do something positive. It's great...

hmmmm....i guess everything has a cost. If i like what i am doing on the job (although I get frustrated from time to time and i will probably vent here), i think the cost is not have creative juices flowing about the positives of the alternative lifestyles to work. so i've struck a balance...

i'm going to live like a 'floater', that happens to have a job...should the job evaporate (which tends to happen from time to time) i want to remain nimble and responsive enough to take that as an opportunity to try something new. explore. venture out...

this way "heads i win, tails i win"...can't lose...

so great...

it's the "stable but flexible" strategy...

one phat muffin

So I took a break today from work and walked outside to a scone/coffee cafe. It's a really little place. Just enough room for two tables. Really small tables. She, the owner, actually had muffin tops for sale. Just as in the seinfeld episode. I couldn't get over it. I thought it was very funny. She, on the other hand, very matter of factly thought i was a buffoon for being amused by something so ordinary as muffin tops. I was asking questions, and she seemed annoyed that I was asking, so I stopped. (they actually make muffin top pans...just so you know...and in australia it means something completely different)

Anyway, I asked her,

"How's it going"

She said,

"It could be better"
(implied here, was...."Better now that you stopped asking about those F*%#ing muffin tops!"

So I said,

"Yeah, it seems it can always be about...10% better..."

Which got me thinking as I left the matter-of-fact muffin maker..."maybe better is just from where we sit in the center of our own universe?"

Just as in our 'real' universe, from wherever you sit, it appears to be the center. I think it has something to do with everything moving away from you (but i think it call all be explained through the magic of the muffin top).

But maybe the same idea applies to 'better' for our lives. There is always a better out there. Just out of reach. And we are always grasping for it. We thought just having muffin tops would get us there...it hasn't...maybe a better car will do it...nope....more money?

"If only I won the lottery....think of all the muffin tops..."

senior stinky and almundo

To get a little more goofy than normal, I was thinking about a kids book. It would be fun to write.

The adventures of Senior Stinky and his sidekick the cactus, Almundo (instead of El Mundo).

They would go around the world helping kids and their family's deal with economic injustices, imbalances and just 'falling through the cracks in today's global marketplace. After all, the world is a pretty big place and so the cracks can get pretty gigantic!' Through their adventures, kids learn about world finance, global economics, differing standards of living, environmental impacts of economic activity, poverty, wealth, stocks, markets...and basically money and life and a balance between the two.

Of course there would be funny antics (always has to be antics), such as Almundo 'popping a balloon with his thorns' type humor...almost self mocking...

Senior stinky's background is not known and the audience learns a little more about him in each adventure? Is he educated in economics? Why is he doing this? How did a cactus become his sidekick? Was peyote involved?

Anyway, just a side project that will never get done because there are so many to do...but it would be fun...(that's something I love about the blog. Instead of the idea occurring and wisping away, it's fun to at least write down a smattering of ideas...)

and then say adios...

one bad apple

I have...had an iPod. And it gave me the sad, pathetic icon you see here. So I went to an apple store, signed in on the concierge desk (located on any apple in the apple store or you access it from your home computer) to get an appointment time. I did get an appointment for an hour later at the "genius bar".

Apple really has created a cultural identity. Whereas with most things corporate, people are really put off. But Apple has swung that the other way. They have identified themselves as anti-corporate. Anti-system if you will. Remember, the 'revolution' ad? Very smart.

But no matter how cool the company is, the stores are and the industrially-designed slickness of the computers (they are now Apple Corporation, by the way, in case you missed the latest in apple news), I still had a pathetic iPod face, an hour wait and wait a second...is that it? Sometimes we can make seemingly simple annoyances which result from a comfortable life seem like a crisis. I'm waiting to get an iPod fixed...let's not make this out to be more than it is...I was lucky just to have one. Even a broken iPod...with a sad face...I could me in Venezuela now...wondering "how things are going to turn out..." (and my life there would be fine as well...)

I have it easy. And I know it...and not just because I have an iPod (the iPod is a bit of a means test however, if you have an iPod, chances are most of your basic needs are being met...)

That said, I have gone through moments of pain, loneliness and isolation. I came back to California for a temporary job some months back. I thought I would get a cheap room in the city, enjoy the city and enjoy life. So I got a room, checked in and realized I was wandering lost in the mire of life and looking around for a friendly face. I had a girlfriend in the area that I enjoyed spending time with (who I am happily spending time with today), but wanted to stand on my own. Not depend on her. But one night in the room, waking up early and being asked, "are you cool?" as I made my way to the train through the streets...at first thinking, "hmmm, what a cool guy he's wondering if I'm okay". Then being asked again,

"You okay man?"

I realized..."OH! These guys are drug dealers. They want to know if i want drugs...hugh..."

I felt empowered just to have this realization (pathetic I know), and at the same time it made me a little nervous...and feel a little more lost...

Anyway, what does this have to do with a broken iPod?

There was a song I was listening to at that time that reminds me of that time called, "hate me", on my iPod as I sat on the train staring out the window. Thinking,

"Where am I going.
What am I going to do?"

Then that song comforted me. The song made me realize other people feel this way as well...isolated from time to time...

Now the song reminds me of the feelings I was having then.

The feelings of isolation.
The feelings of being alone.

And, the funny thing is, it feels good. That's the strange thing about those moments in life. After they pass I am happy I had them. They made me look inward, and 'get dirty' with my feelings...they connect you with other people that go through the same thing. And we all do...

But many of us do have it very easy and very good. A very high quality of life.

So now, I was waiting to find the fate of my iPod. To find out what apple does with rotten iPods. Do they have a little memorial service? An Apple 'iPod grieve consultant' meets with you and works through what's on your mind? I did not know what to expect. But I was having fun...

But, expectantly, after a long wait, pondering all of the moments I had gone through with my iPod, I was called to the 'genius bar', by a guy that really did look like...a genius in a pierced nose, pierced ear and 'punk'd' out sort of way (that's how genius' look today...don't they?) and he started asking me some questions in a really cool, apple sort of way...

Before I knew it, he was handing me a new iPod. A fresh, organically manufactured and blemish free, brand new black iPod...

and I listen to it now (some great guitar by John Williams, the magic box)...pondering all the silliness that I ponder...and having fun...

buddha or bust...just another modern book with a schnazy title and a catchy subtitle?

I just finished reading Buddha or Bust . It is a book which stemmed from a National Geographic article the author wrote about the world-wide historical spread of Buddhism.

This book and modern popular writing is a lot like blog writing...like '...this here ole blog.' Essentially the idea is formulated and then written down. I think his writing style is a response to the manner in which people want to read. In most non-fiction today there is little or no art to the writing. Even fiction, in my opinion such as The Da Vinci code, is sometimes hard to read. What would the real Leonardo think about the book? Especially in contrast to something like Oryx and Crake. Which just flows...beautifully...

That said, I did enjoy a lot of Perry Garfinkel's book. The parts in the book I enjoyed the most dealt directly with his life story. Well...I suppose...the most 'bloggy' parts. He had some ideas, which he finished with, that gave me pause to think. He wrote about why we do not question when we are in the moment.

"Often, so caught up in my own head, I drive by similar scenes here and take no note of them. But through my new door of perception, the ordinary took on extraordinary significance. We were perfectly content, with nowhere to go, nothing to do, no one to be. Questions come from dissatisfaction, from doubt and uncertainty, from thinking there is more to the picture than what you see in front of you. But to be fully in the moment, in such an altered state of satisfaction, is quite enough. Even the journalist, "stripped of his questions," can let go of his identity. Until that moment passes. As it did that day."

I like that passage. To me the idea is ironic though, because I feel one of man's defining characteristics; one of humanity's most endearing and lofty traits is the ability and act of questioning. Without it, without the desire to grow, we are less than human. Questioning comes from a desire to be something greater. To reach a higher level of being. There's the rub. The contradiction. That in order to reach enlightenment, to be free of desire, one must desire to be free. There must be hope and a dream of something better.

It seems we are all in prison. But a man with a dream and a desire and a plan on getting out of prison, is a free man indeed. And that man has a purpose...and hopefully a rock hammer...

But in order to do so, one must question.

Garfinkel talks about enjoying the moment. About not questioning, about just being. But that appreciation of the moment, can only come when one knows and understands that the moment is going to pass. When one has questioned the impermanence of things.

great stuff

For a reinstatement that there are alternatives to the normal workaholic American strategy for making a living, check out the simple living network link to the right.

In particular, review:

un-jobbing: the adult liberation handbook.

and Affluenza...this is a program that question the american dream and its values. Produced by PBS!

This is great stuff guys...

And the classic, Your Money or Your Life, which struck a chord with me when I first hear of it. My freshman year in college when the authors were on Oprah. Go figure, Oprah, spreading a word that is counter-culture. I also really enjoyed reading, "How to survive without a salary" by Charles Long.

The movement away from The American Dream is and has always been there. There have always been a group of people discontented with the value system of the majority. That would be me, us and people who actually enjoy reading this stuff.

The thing is...what we are seeing now with such movies as 'an inconvenient truth'...is that the values of desire and the majority have been and are putting our lives and our planet at risk. It's just not a matter of survival, but of quality of life of that survival...time for a change...

screwEDD

I went to the post office yesterday to mail my appeal of my appeal for my unemployment benefits. It seems I mailed one of my claim forms, a form you have to mail every 2 weeks in order to claim benefits, from NYC. Apparently EDD, Employment Development Department, AKA the welfare office, has somebody employed (a good way to keep the economy going along during those slow times) to inspect post marks. This person or persons did a great job! They caught my claim form mailed from NYC and I did not report in to EDD telling them I would be in the NYC area. This triggered a 'phone interview'. (did I just warp back to middle school..."where's your hall pass..")

So I had nothing but problems trying to justify to the EDD people that I was actually unemployed and looking for work. The hardest work I have ever done was trying to get money for not working. Their mission, however, became clear. Their purpose, their mission is not to provide a safety net for you or me in case we lose our jobs. No. Not in the leastest.

It's to ensure we stay controlled, socialized and of prepped for the work world. We stay fit for work, which essentially means being a system tool.

Which is fine. I accept I have to play this game for a while. It just took me a while to learn the rules. Now I am trying to 'win' my back pay by making a strong and convincing case. Which really is...actually...fun...

That's really how I see working, and making money now. It's a game of immersion into the world of capitalism and work. The game is being played, why not see it for what it is...a game....get in it, and have some fun?

I think just being aware is the first step towards winning it.

Anyway, I was at the post office and the LINE JUST WASN'T moving! I was very surprised at myself for getting antsy and annoyed. I thought, "wow, must be work. I have much less time now, because I am working. I still have to get a bow tie, and my girlfriends brother is coming to town...Why won't this Damn Line Move!"

I was shocked. I thought I had the Zen Line Thing covered.

So I used the game strategy. I thought, "hmmmm, well let me see if i can turn this around and just be Zen about this situation..."

Low and behold, everthing got better. I relaxed and my external world seemed to get better. I just enjoyed the line. The people around me. I enjoyed the fact that I had to be there. That I had the opportunity to relax and do nothing. Then, would you believe it? The line started moving...rolling....pushing forward. Before I knew it, I was at the front of the line, thinking,

"oh man, i'm gonna miss standing here and doing nothing..."

breeding cubicle monkies

So we are selecting for people that do not question. For people that do not mind the status quo. We are, our society, is selecting for people that will 'buy the party line'.

Think about it.

The people that don't want little kiddies are not going to put their wrists out and say,

"shackle me with another pair of golden handcuffs please!"

That said, the people that don't mind slaving away for the lexus RX wage-slave machine are the one cranking out the little rug rats.

Perhaps I am taking the easy way out. I could camp out in the woods, raise a little farm of my own puppies and tell them to:

"go forth and question everything."

But that's a little impractical.

Therefore, I am back to my original argument, there will be no need for social control in the future, because the social control will be build right in.

Just like, how everybody eventually sits in the same seats, in the same rows after the first day of a college class. Without "designated seating"...

free cigarettes

What does this mean to you? That is if you are not a tobacco industry executive.

We are amazing. We humans. We are struggling against our bodily and physical limitations to no end. We are even attacking those very things inside of us, that are a part of us, that keep us locked into this physical world of yearning, craving and desiring.

We are working to free ourselves and our spirits.

One of the questions that comes to my mind, however, is this. If we free ourselves of many of the physical restraints that keep us controlled, then what will keep us controlled? Is our society's goals actually in alignment with those of the individual's spirit?

If those that desire power and control of the world, knew that many of the issues society is working on today will free us from control, would things be different?

the middle way manager

So I am getting ideas. I just don't have the time and sense of order and routine to write them down. I will have to do that.

When I was deciding to join Peace Corps, I was also thinking of just traveling around the world. I wanted to go and study Buddhism somewhere. I decided to go with Peace Corps. My thinking was I have always wanted to do PC and they pay for my trip. That was the deciding factor. That costs were covered.

I am glad I went, learned and discovered things.

But I still have a strong desire to learn more about Buddhism concepts. I still want to take time and go on a retreat. I was thinking about doing a 10 day retreat and one cannot help but start adding up vacation time, thinking about work, thinking about your obligations that commit you that prohibit you from following your desires. In this case, my desire to to study buddhism to learn to control my desires.

But this got me thinking. Why cannot my work day be a surrogate for a day at a monastary? The monk's day is highly regimented. So too is mine. His day is focussed upon self-discovery. As is mine. His on mindfulness. Why can't mine?

To a certain extent a monk is fleeing the negatives of modern society and seeking sanctity in the halls of the monastery. In the words of my girlfriend in reference to the Buddha and Dalai Lama, "It's easy to be liberated when you have someone cooking your meals and taking care of you." And she's right in one way or another. When one is free from external responsibilities, perhaps it is easier to focus on forgetting the self.

In life I am trying to turn a potential negative into a positive. Into a strength. That is what I want to do here. If I bring this concept into the forefront of my mind, then it becomes a real factor in my life.

Now I am no longer wanting to run to a monastery to pursue an elusive concept of what I think I might find, but bring it into my everyday life.

Buddha put forth the idea of The Middle Way. Is this not the most middle of the ways in today's modern world?

institutionalized purpose

I know I want freedom. Free Time. Free thoughts. Freedom to travel. Freedom in my relationships...I know how I would spend that time. I know I would have purpose in my day. Even if that day was spent lying about pondering lying about and what lying about means. I find purpose in my thoughts alone.

And there's freedom in that...

Have you heard people say things such as:

"Sure it's nice to lay around for a week. But then I start getting bored and I can't wait to go back to work."

I find this thought so interesting.

Work, in my mind, is a means to an end. A way to generate the resources to not have to work. To explore your soul.

To many people it has become a defining purpose for their lives. In this case, and in my opinion, work has become counterproductive to the individual.

Most people want a job they can lose themselves in. A job that captivates and interests them such that the day 'flies by' and they have no recollection that they just spend eight hours of their day doing a specified task for money. Or it so challenges them that they spend another four hours past quitting time working on that case or finishing up that brief. But in the end, if work is a distraction, when work ends...what do they have? Have they grown?

I prefer to actually realize I am working. To say to myself, "This is not bad. I realize what I am doing. I acknowledge what I am giving up. What I am gaining. And, if I am lucky, that my efforts are contributing to a 'right livelihood'"

In short, I want my work to feel like work. I am seeing it with my eyes open and saying, "I accept this fate. And I am growing my purpose and exploring my soul through it."

"now you don't wanna out live your money...do you?"

I found a new financial planner. Here's his strategy. You tell him how much money you have, how much you want to spend per year and then he gives you a lifestyle to ensure you don't out live your money.

"okay, you have $100k, want to live off of $20k per year so you only have 5 years to live. I am going to put you on a 3 pack a day smoking habit, bacon and eggs for breakfast, you're going to start hang gliding as a hobby, and you're going to start 'rail walking'. That gives you a 99.9% probability you will be dead in 5 years. And you get a nice pay off from that term life policy I set you up with to take care of your loved ones."

He's capitalizing on the extreme life planer. The person who can leave nothing to chance and wants to be able to plan for everything.

the 80/20 relationship

This is a post I had written in November but just never posted it out of fear my girlfriend would see it. But 'living in a vans...' recent post reminded me of this...(and I just showed my girlfriend...bomb defused...)

Many human endeavors and pursuits are motivated by the opposite sex for sex and approval from that sex (just thinking about sex makes me....can't...think...must...get...sex...)

Okay...sorry...back on track...

Most of our motivations for system behavior are by one of our most basic desires. Sex. From bombing a foreign land, to making lots of money, to working out...Sex. It's very powerful. And not just the act of sex. But the approval that comes from women. That motivates men. That's what motivates male leaders of companies and countries to 'strut their stuff...'

I mean, look at a picture of Joy Bryant. She's sexy...playful...wow....

or this one

and how can you not want to go system? Once again desire. If you can tame the desire you can look, admire and appreciate beautiful woman. When you just look at woman that you don't know you can appreciate her physical beauty. Just as you can appreciate a work of art. All women are beautiful! True...

The joy of beautiful things can be separate from the possession of beautful things. I think of how dictators have pillaged the great musuems of the world as Hitler did. Possession can be a dangerous thing...I think back to the post on 'the Zen System'.

Anyway...for a man...all woman are potential mates. (A friend mentioned this to me a while back...most excellent point). All woman have that special ability to satisfy 80% of a man's needs. Just a woman being a woman is a wondrous thing. The only thing a man is tinkering with in his selection is that remaining 20%. Granted, that 20% can have a profound effect upon your happiness and well-being. But just accepting a woman as herself meets most of a man's needs. He will stop searching, be satisfied and realize the true beauty of the woman in his life...once you see that beauty, there will be no need for any other...and that's the true Joy! (sorry, I love these cheesy little 'wrapups' to my posts...)

That said, (this is the update to the post) the modern man/woman relationship has changed. The social thread is definitely evolving and we are experiencing it now. I have noticed in my previous and current relationship that women resist compromise. They are resisting firmly today the traditional puritanical role that they played in American culture. That is good. I think woman have been oppressed in modern society. In a primal society they had different means of exerting leverage. We are now seeing that play out in today's relationships and why 50% of marriages fail. They fail because that model is not working. If the current approach to relationships was what we 'were supposed to do' then would we have a 50% failure rate? If something didn't work half the time (isn't that equivalent to flipping a coin) wouldn't you redesign your process? And of the 50% that stay together, how happy are they? Modern society has provided us with an oversimplified and compartmentalized version of what a our roles are supposed to be. The male/female relationship is no different.

we are so screwed!

This is worrisome. Grab your bars of gold boys and girls...

Our entire economic system is balancing on the head of a pin. And the pin resides directly upon this issue.

"May you live in interesting times..."

primal needs, modern man

So I think our society and communities need, should and eventually will be structured according to primitive tribal standards. What people need to lessen the feeling of alienation and aloneness we feel today is a sense of community that is lacking. Today friendships are based mostly upon entertainment. As friends we entertain each other. Entertainment is fun, but essentially hollow and empty. The human animal needs more and the structure of most communities today fail to deliver.

We are so busy trying to insulate ourselves from the business of living that we have forgotten how to live. This is not a solution one person can solve. There is not a solution that one person can implement based upon lifestyle. The overall problem that our society has focussed on is predictability, stability and control. None of which really meets the basic, primal human needs we have, such as community, sense of purpose and fun.

a knocked over post

Sorry for the lack of posts. I am sure I have missed writing them more than you have missed reading them.

I have undertaken a new project.

A job.

Thus, no time to post. AT least until I equilibrate. And so I have removed comments. A casualty of lack of time. One less thing to deal with..

As I have said, I have missed posting much more than you have missed reading I am sure.

So I have taken a job for the reasons most people take jobs. What would those be?

Hmmmmm.... let me see. Well...money. That would be one. And let me see...what else...to contribute to the betterment of society and the propel the human race forward. Yes...yes, indeed.

So I have taken the job for the obvious reasons. But I have my own reasons as well. To continue this idea. To continue delving into my soul. To continue my self discovery. The job is one more tool to do that. That is the hypothesis I am testing...and...at the same time...make some money while I am at it...I am curious what aspects of my life will change and how. Social, health, creativity...views on money...will I be happier?

2007 money owner's manual

Happy New Year!

What are you going to use money for in this new year?

I am going to focus on using money for self-discovery in agreement with my values. As well as exploring my values to a greater extent. In terms of both the earning and making of money. And the spending of it as well. I think most people can see the potential 'soul-searching' aspect of making and earning money. But spending it? Money is usually spent to comfort and entertain. But how often is it spent to discover? or rediscover what has been lost?

Or is the purpose of money to distance us from the discomforts of life? If those discomforts distract the individual from his or her greater purpose, then a good use of the money. If the comforts themselves become a distraction, then maybe the point was lost...

What does money mean to you? Freedom?

What if you woke up and were penniless and jobless? What would you do? What would matter? You would be afraid, but of what? Being homeless? Powerless? Loss of status? Loss of security? A 'real' security or just perceived?

Maybe this loss would actually set you free? If so, free to do what?

I guess that is what I am asking myself this New Year. What does money mean to me? How do I want to use this powerful tool...

I think this is a question we have to frequently remind ourselves of...otherwise we forget the answer.

P.S. This year I need to read the "money owner's manual". We are taught so little about money. As kids we are taught nothing about it. When we get older we are just taught to make it. Love it. Feed it and make it grow. But we are never taught, what it is really for...to what purpose to put it. I think as a society we often make the accumulation of money a purpose in its own rite. And money was never intended to be an end point in and of itself...that's asking too much of it...

pain is good

Following a holiday feast, a day of wallowing in comfort, I have to remind myself that pain and discomfort are a valuable part of a balanced life. Pain is a reminder to me that I am on the right path in life.

During training for a marathon, feeling pain and discomfort were milestones that I was on the right path. I felt that when i was running around the ten mile mark. When I hit twenty miles, the pain fell away. I was closer to the finish line, so to speak.

Now, after a year of living 'the party life', it is time to embrace pain and discomfort again and return to a more balanced life. Now I run twenty minutes and I feel the pain, following such a lifestyle for so long. I look forward to getting into shape and rebuilding.

A great book that hits on this stuff is called, Toughness Training for Life.

Discomfort can come by choice or from an external event. In terms of an individual's lifestyle, for example, change and discomfort may be forced upon an individual as a result of a bad diet leading to diabetes. Personally, I would rather choose a healthier alternative, a lifestyle change, rather than it be forced upon me.

Jack Trace talks about this in his latest post regarding oil consumption, climate change and our society's lifestyle, rather an the individuals lifestyle. But what is our society's lifestyle, but a collection of all its individuals' lifestyles? Very interesting post and worth a read.

Enjoy the discomfort today may bring...

A Thousand Roads

One of the best museums I have ever been to is the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC.

From the design of the building, to the theater, to the cafe. Everything was done to illustrate and communicate some ideas of indigenous peoples to the modern thinking visitor. The entire experience was touching.

I have always had a profound and unexplained interest in Native Americans as a child. These feelings I have always had returned to me. I had forgotten my interest.

The indigenous peoples of this country are a national treasure and we as a nation can learn a tremendous amount from them. We can learn to appreciate the human place in this world. From the perspective of the environment and how we relate to and support each other. The truth in what we are lacking in terms of community and a sense of place were apparent to me, both in the message from a film and the museum as a whole.

I watched a very well done movie entitled, “A Thousand Roads”. It discussed the lives of several modern day Native Americans from various nations and the trials they faced in our society. The story talked about how we have to help each other through this life. It mentioned how “we lose ourselves from time to time, only to find ourselves again.” It mentioned many things that we don't mention. It seems to me that a spiritual sense of being, of having a place, of having a connection with the earth, of having a purpose was fundamental to the native peoples.

I think the museum's message summarized where we have come as a country and where we may need to go. We still have much to learn from the indigenous people of this land. An ongoing story...

This is where I want to play my part. By consciously spending money to support the things I value. It's really hard I think, to resist that which you desire. That which our system is based, marketing to meet the consumer's desire.

But to have something to work to support, is more valuable to me than not having to work to not support anything. An idea is a reason for being...

For a time I saw little reason in making or accumulating money. My thinking was, “Why? So I can buy a BMW someday?” I just did not see the worth in it. Now I see a reason to make money. To affect change. To improve peoples lives. To possibly make the world a better place.

Money's Gravitational Pull

I have often compared money to energy. But I am thinking it also behaves a lot like matter as well.

When you keep that in mind and read something such as this...you cannot help but observe money's gravitational pull.

It's almost contradictory. The people with the least money get charged the highest interest rates.

These 'money rules' make for a hording and 'mine' mentality. Cooperation is of less importance. I wonder if this could be compared to the 'nash equilibrium', I call it the 'so great' situation...better to work together.

Is it possible our country has gotten too rich for its own good?

[I reposted a previous post that seems relevant to this issue...the 'screw your neighbor Elmo doll' post...]

PS I'm experimenting with more of a focus, instead of just throwing up random thoughts...(although this thought is pretty random...and self referencing as well.)

fairchild and chihuly

This was really a really cool experience. Artist Dale Chihuly has returned to Fairchild Tropical Garden for a second showing. Paying for and viewing art is always worth the money to me. How do art and money fit together? Is a rich artist out of touch with inspiring experiences or does having money free the artist to focus on what matters...art?

What I loved about the Chichuly exhibit in this garden format, was it brings together a manmade creation and the natural world. In harmony. One complementing the other. To me it represents what we want to do as a society. Perhaps our presence on this planet should enhance it. Embellish it.

One way we can do that is by appreciating such instances when it is done with elegance, grace and beauty. Chihuly pulled it off...

wanted: forward looking primativists

Is it possible that primativists are actually futurists...they might just not know it?

Primativists think about the basic, animal part of the human existance in its more primal state of being. That of being a top predator. A basic, but very valid and rewarding existence. An existence for an individual that transcends a cubicle, a computer screen and 50 minutes to eat a microwaved lunch...

The primativist wants more from life than health insurance premiums and worring about retirement planning.

How could anyone find fault with the primativist's desire? The unhappy cubicle office worker finds just as much dissatisfaction with their life and the way they are spending it, but they are willing to put up with it. They give credence to the 'deferred gratification' argument while the primativist does not.

The same forces are at work, however, in each player, the primativist and the cubicle dweller. Our privative desires of possession, stability, security and a longing for pretty things got us here in the first place. Our primative desires, linked with evovling technological know-how are putting our existence, quality of life and planet at risk.

Today, basic desires are what propel most individuals within society. Whether the desire 10,000 years ago was for a better axe, or today for a new Imac...desire remains the same. Are not all desires of equal weight?

Good desire and bad desire?

What I think the primativist wants for the direction of society requires a movement forward in human thinking. An evolution of our ideas, our thinking and finally our way of life. If we went back to the primative societies from which we came, we would have to travel the same path as we are on now.

Perhaps the primativist needs to look forward, not backwards. They need to think of what can be, and not what has been.

Our society is evolving, but the question is...are we?

the tip jar

There are no bagels like Miami bagels. I'd even put the NY bagel from NY against a Miamian Bagel.

Never mind the Cubano food, Miami is the place for bagels. I'm even going to bet I can find a top notch New York Pizza place as well...

So I just got back from getting some bagels and couldn't help but notice the tip jar. It is ubiquitous. These things are everywhere.

Have they always been?

When did the tip jars start emerging from the primordial soup of capitalism and start evolving?

There really hasn't been any evolution of the tip jar come to think of it. You would think it would have. Maybe that would make a great coffee book...a drive across the country taking pictures of unique tip jars...

I believe the tip jar and just tipping rates in general are directly proportional to the excesses sloshing around in the economy. How much the 'average system joe' 'Ieconomy' is delivering above his needs. (Nothing against tipping or the servers who need them for a living. All I am saying is the tip jar represents something greater.)

Are tip jars in other countries? Or maybe they are tip pots? Made out of clay? tip urns...Tip barrels in the OPEC countries...and countries with excess hyper-inflation...

During the depression era, how well did the tip jar perform?

I am nominating the tip jar as a leading economic indicator. Are you reading Bernanke?

Wouldn't it be great if system players like Ben Bernanke, the Fed chairman, starting putting out a tip jar on their desks. For a good economic prognosis and to do a better job, his tip jar would have to be stuffed with dollar bills and loose change (which equates to millions of dollars and stock options when it's run through a highly complex economic algorithm that takes into account all the econometric principles that are beyond you and me...

"Well the tip jar on the fed chairman's desk must make sense, the economic indicators tell us so!"

"The guy name george who is trying to act as a president" would need his as well. His would be the patriotic tip jar covered with American flags and symbols of Americana, like the Haliburton Corporate logo.

The Pope would have his holy tip jar (jewel encrusted with some reproductions of Davinci code painting)...

Dan 'Charlie' Brown, for that matter, would have one. With Dan Brown's, he'd actually have to learn to write in order to get tips however....

Perhaps a cheap street times tip jar? Mine would be a negative tip jar. I encourage you to take something and leave something else. It would be more of a geocache tip jar...

Actually, I have been pondering an 'artistic' way to express some of my ideas. Since I have no traditionally accepted artistic talents (such as painting, writing, sculpting or animal husbandry) perhaps i will take the tip jar thing one step further and actually design them for different people around the world...might be fun...

entropy lawn care service

The cat got me up this morning. This cat is getting too comfortable around me now...it got me up to the:

“meow meow meow....meow...” cat tune....

I thought, “wow this must be important...major cat issue...maybe a cat burglar is trying to get in.” I mean you can't count on a dog to catch a cat burglar...right? It takes a guard cat, trained to kill...amped up on cat nip!

No cat burglar but I open the door for the cat and...

“wheeeeeeeee.....wheeeeeee”

I set off the alarm for the damn house...I paste post-its to the door i normally open but the cat wanted out a different door...

“stupid cat!”

I ran one way, the cat the other and the dog just sat there...peeing on the floor i think...

Welcome to the world of house-sittiing...where just letting the cat out is an adventure!

The current house sit gig I am on is in Florida. So I've gone from California to Florida. I'm now on the west coast of Florida and going to Miami for another house sit and a temporary cash flow situation. Which will be very useful to rebuild some of the cash cache...

Which is very nice now that I have been motivated (by lack of 'dough flow') to move further down the road to voluntary frugality and self-sufficiency...(free lessons from life..so great...)
Then a return trip to California...

The house i am in now requires a hundred dollar a month lawn care service paid for by the homeowner. (That doesn't include picking up the dog crap...in case you were wondering...)

What does an individual actually get out of lawn care? Does a well manicured lawn really make one's life better? I think the lawn represents entropy. A well kept lawn indicates you are keeping entropy at bay, and therefore a worthy system member.

“Social security number 123-45-6789, move to the head of your system class. Your lawn looks impeccable!”

Just about everything that people see is an entropy indicator.

Your car.
Your clothes.
Your hair cut.
How young you look.

We as humans have a tendency to respect the 'entropy tamers' out there. The business man dressed to the hilt, driving a brand new 'beama' without a speck of dirt on it. There is something primal of our respect for order. We just can't help it. No matter how anti-system you are, a part of you says,

“that guy looks sharp!”

We all want to be anti-entropy.

Thing is...maybe that doesn't jive anymore.

I think desire is connected with an anti-entropy concept.

Primitive man has not a choice in the manner...He has to think, “my life is so on the brink of blinking out. I need to desire to survive. The more I have, the more buffered I am from the ups and downs of this crazy world. The more safe I am.”

We have outlived the usefulness of desire. It's an outdated function of your survival mechanism, much like the appendix, or primitive, violent aspects of your brain. Just like the gill slits and tail that exhibit themselves in your development as a fetus, these traits exhibit themselves in the development of your spirit. The fetus of your spirit...these traits too dissipate much like the gill slits and tail...reabsorbed and redeployed in a more sensible manner as we grow.

Looking 'anti entropy' today just means looking 'system'. Your life can look well ordered, like you have everything together, but your 'real life'. The 'real you' could be a alcohol drinking, Prozac popping, 'shrink' visiting....wreck. The need to keep up anti-entropy appearances, can tear us apart...

When you think about it, the system is one big, anti-entropy aiming machine. That's really what it wants. Order on a mega-scale...

The purpose in your life is coming to terms with the contradiction that is this life. Wanting and needing order and yet accepting that the universe is moving towards chaos. And as a modern man or woman, we have an additional challenge, accepting that the system wants us to be part of its machine like, anti-entropy ways without concern for our personal development.

We are to find meaning and some fun in that mission. I put the emphasis on fun...and keep an eye on the damn cat!

One footnote...

Funny, the 'TruGreen ChemLawn' guy just came to the house to spray. It is amazing how whole industries have evolved to keep your lawn green! Very nice guy...just a guy doing his job...

The TruGreen ChemLawn division of ServiceMaster had over $1 billion dollars of revenue for 2005. A billion dollars spraying lawns! That's just one company and just the lawns they spray. Think about how insane that is...

ServiceMaster has other divisions that specialize in these niche markets. They will spray your lawn, fix you plugged drain, and spray for termites. Maintaining a house is a very expensive undertaking, emotionally and financially...

There's aslo the alarm service industry that I experienced this morning...