Monday, March 18, 2024

Ben Franklin's Daily Routine

Some Memes You May Enjoy

Many a truth is said in jest.

- Still waiting for that story about a person trying to siphon gas from the wrong tank on an RV.

- A little left over St. Paddy's Day humor

- Believable

- Laugh every time

Education of a Wandering Man

Started Louis L'Amour's memoir Education of a Wandering Man the other day and was pleasantly surprised to find the introduction to the 1939 book by Daniel J. Boorstin who himself was both an author and the Librarian of Congress. To say Boorstin knew a thing or two about books and authors would be an understatement. He wrote, "We are often told that we are what we eat. In our world since the printing press it may be more accurate to say we are what we read." 

L'Amour read everything and though he was a "lone reader but somehow never felt lonely in the company of a book."

Louis L'Amour showed many of the traits of both a wise and happy man to Boorstin:

  • "Louis was a modest man, slow to reveal what he really knew."
  • "He kept his own values undented."
  • "Jealous of any time not spent writing, he luxuriated within the walls of his books."
  • "Louis was a good listener, as eager to learn from the spoken as from the printed word."
  • "Louis gives us a lesson - too seldom offered by academic or professional critics - in open-mindfulness and literary charity.
Louis L'Amour is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

Monday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observation post up on Substack.

Happy day after Saint Patrick's Day. Or as those who celebrate call it - Hangover Day! As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks in advance!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Reminder

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Adopt these 10 Things and You'll Go Far

Rick Rubin

Saint Patrick's Day Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! The one day a year the world revels in Ireland's boiled cuisine! Enjoy that corned beef sandwich but stay away from the cabbage unless you want to sleep alone on the couch. As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link, Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Saturday, March 16, 2024

Saint Patrick's Day Music

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Here are my Top 5 Songs for celebrating Saint Patrick's Day (because Oh Danny Boy is shite).

1. Rocky Road to Dublin

2. If I Should Fall From Grace with God - The Pogues

3. Four Green Fields - Makem & Clancy

4. The Foggy Dew - Sinead O'Connor and the Chieftains

5. I'm Shipping Up to Boston - Dropkick Murphy's

Good Life Advice

Via

Blog Anniversary

Just another day to me but I know some people celebrate these anniversaries - especially as they get up there in years. Today is the date that my blog turns 20-years old. Hard to digest that I'm been doing this for so long.

A brief story on the number 20. A longtime goal of mine has been to drive Route 20 from Fenway Park to the Kingdom in Seattle. Route 20 is, I believe, the longest route in the country with the only break in its cross-country trek briefly in Yellowstone Park. Always wanted to do that drive. Closest I've come is once on a nice fall Sunday I drove a rented convertible from Auburn, MA to Auburn, NY all on Route 20. That was fun!

Saturday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Got off to a late start this morning. Was making rather merry last night. Had nothing to do with Saint Patrick's Day and everything with doing well in cards. As always please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Some Memes You May Enjoy

Many a truth is said in jest.

- Reminder

- Still funny!

- Analysis true!

- Many a truth is said in jest.

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Friday, March 15, 2024

Behind Blue Eyes - Roger Daltrey and The Chieftains

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Naval Ravikant's Life Formulas. Great life advice!

- From the archives: Peter Attia on Matriomania

- Jonathan Turley on Rachael Rollins disbarment. It's a start.

- Mostly forgotten piece of history: The War of Jenkin's Ear

Kurt Vonnegut

Some Memes You May Enjoy

Many a truth is said in jest.

- Programming vs demon summoning

- Analysis true!

- I'm an awful person for laughing at this.

- A little math humor

Friday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Still don't know what to think about Congress voting to ban TikTok. This would be a time when having Grok AI read the bill to let me know what it really says would be extremely useful. As always please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks!

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Farnam Street Knowledge


How not to be stupid.

In all things - first try not to be stupid should be your primary rule.

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Warren Buffett's Checklist

Via

Thursday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Today is March 14th aka Pi Day to those who celebrate. Happy Pi Day!! As always please Subscribe, hit the Like button, or share the Link. Thanks in advance!

Troubled by Rob Henderson

 A memoir of foster care, family, and social class.

Have a new book review of a book I highly recommend up on Substack.

Thanks to Bob for the copy!

Steinbeck on Journalism

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope you may enjoy.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Albert Einstein

Today is Albert Einstein's birthday. Just a reminder that even though E=MC2 is perhaps the most famous scientific equation in history - Einstein never received the Nobel Prize for coming up with it. The reasons for this slight were mostly because Einstein was Jewish. The committee eventually gave Einstein the Nobel Prize in 1921 for his 1905 explanation of the photoelectric effect but that was really too little too late.

As smart as Einstein was it makes me chuckle to remember that when Einstein graduated from our equivalent of high school - he finished second in his class. The name of the person who was valedictorian is lost to history but I couldn't help but think of someone back then saying something like, "Yeah Einstein was pretty smart in high school but you should have seen this other guy!"

Also when Albert Einstein first visited the US in 1921 - the US Senate saw fit to debate the validity of the Theory of Relativity - seriously. Random Albert Einstein trivia; when Einstein lived in Princeton he had a small 17-foot sailboat he named Tinef which is Yiddish for "piece of junk". I find that endearing.

Finally - 10 Myths about Albert Einstein debunked.

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Kashmir - Led Zeppelin

Top 5 - Movies that Would Be "Cancelled" Today

Here's a list of my top 5 movies that are too politically incorrect to be made today:

1. Tropic Thunder - Take your pick of character. No way that could be made today not even to mention Tom Cruise's cameo.

2. Dune: Part 2 - Keep wondering how a movie so overtly about Muhammad and Islam can be made without a fatwa against Timothy Chalamet or Dennis Villeneuve.

3. Dodge Ball - Watch it some time. Funny but sometimes you feel bad for laughing.

4. 10 - Rewatched it about a year ago and it it so cringe worthy.

5. A new all-girls Ghostbusters - the Hollywood equivalent of a double-negative. The all-girls remake was so woke to be unwatchable and now who would touch bankrolling a new version with a ten-foot pole.

Farnam Street Knowledge



Wednesday Flotsam and Jetsam

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observation post up on Substack.

Each year, for I forget how many, my goal is to get better at golf by playing one round and hitting at least a bucket of balls each week. I never keep my vow but today is the first day I break out the sticks to try once again! As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, and share the Link. Thanks! 

Quotes for Today

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

Have a new Quotes for Today up on my Substack. As I've mentioned doing this as a way to thank those who have Subscribed. If you are a Subscriber - you should have received an email. Thanks!

Reminder