tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73880627041405697232024-02-07T02:34:12.226-08:00This Rugged LifeMartinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.comBlogger179125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-74921642941578205282012-06-09T13:02:00.000-07:002012-06-09T13:02:11.944-07:00New Interest - Organic Gardening<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
Over the last few months I have gotten really interested in organic gardening. It started with tomatoes and some peppers, and then, when my girlfriend and I moved in together, I ended up with a lot more space in the backyard. From there, I built four 12 sq. ft. raised beds, and started growing broccoli, carrots, onions, spinach, swiss and rainbow chard, and of course, more tomatoes and peppers. </div>
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I find it fascinating. I had never grown anything from seed before, and it blows me away watching this stuff take root and grow. I have my first tomato plants that I grew from seed now yielding large fruit, and it is somehow deeply satisfying. </div>
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It is educational as well. For a while, I was starting seeds in the window sill or under a UV light, and then when they got a few inches tall, I would put them immediately into the ground. I would watch them immediately wilt and die in the sun. From the failures I learned that they need to be "hardened off" with just a few hours outside a day in the shade, as they get used to the harsher outside environment. In my initial excitement, I would plant dozens of seeds, right next to each other, and then wonder why their growth would be stunted. And of course this made me learn about proper spacing and how to thin out the seedlings as they grew. </div>
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My current dilemma are these goddamn caterpillars who are eating my sugarsnap peas. They eat huge holes in the leaves, and then leer up at me, bloated bellies stuffed full of my future salads. All I can say to those little bastards is that WINTER IS COMING. </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xVytEgSO0wQ" width="560"></iframe>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-15110417170476501202012-03-08T10:38:00.000-08:002012-03-08T10:38:42.961-08:00Bump in the Road<span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” </span></span><br />
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<span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Due to living frugally, saving diligently, finally paying off my debt, and doing my best to learn about managing money, this was supposed to be the year that I bought a house, invested in a side business and continued working towards being financially independent. I just took a major hit to these plans that will put everything on hold and probably end up putting me back to square one before it is resolved.</span></span><br />
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<span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Without going into details, I am looking at up to six months with next to no income. Because of one of the quirks of this particular situation, unemployment insurance is also not an option. </span></span><br />
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<span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It makes no sense to worry about this. I will strive instead for prudence. What can I do myself? What parts of the situation can I control?</span></span><br />
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<span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Step 1 is, of course, damage control. I need to cut my expenses as much as possible in order to weather the storm. That includes cutting out cable TV, something I have been meaning to do anyway. It also means cutting out my membership at the boxing gym, which is a lot more painful. However, I can't justify that kind of expense under current circumstances, so there is no point in whining about it. Rent is my biggest expense, but I have an extra bedroom. I can either find a smaller and cheaper place to live or rent out the extra space. I am leaning towards the latter option since I recently put in what I hope will be a cracking vegetable garden, and I want to see how it turns out. Buying in bulk, cooking in bulk, eating at home for all meals, and going without luxuries are all going to be required as well. If I do these things quickly and consistently, I will make it through the drought season with my tranquility intact, if not my emergency fund.</span></span><br />
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<span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Step 2 is to do my best to minimize the time without money. I am building up a new business and will be working on that full time. Unfortunately, the nature of the business involves a long sales cycle, with a development stage, an adoption stage, a wait for the right season stage, a bulk production stage, and finally, after all of that, a "pay Martin" stage. I will be hitting this hard so that the final stage involves as big a number as possible. </span></span><br />
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<span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">While I have been a bit stressed out the last few days about the news, I am over that, and am ready to focus on the things that I can control. Fortunately, I have very clear action steps that I can take. Since those are fairly involved and require a lot of energy, they do a good job of distracting me from worry. </span></span><br />
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<span class="st"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Other than this, things are fine. The weather is nice, the beard is growing luxuriantly, and I have been diving into the obscure writings of Hayek, Keynes, and Schumacher while sitting on my patio and keeping rabid squirrels from invading my garden. I have also added the neighbor's kids next door in the gardening activities, and they have elaborate plans for safe-guarding our growing vegetables. Plans include pitfalls, electric fences, and something they "want me to find a scientist for." The one is 4 and the other is 6. Makes me worry about what kids are watching on TV these days...</span></span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-3237916400054226582012-02-09T14:54:00.000-08:002012-02-09T14:54:23.161-08:00URL Change<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Hello all -</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">For reasons that I will elaborate on shortly, This Rugged Life will be changed to Siempre Mejorando.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">If you would like to continue getting updates, please change your reader or follower subscription to the below address:</span><br />
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<a href="http://siempre-mejorando.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">http://siempre-mejorando.blogspot.com/</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">This will be effective tomorrow morning. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Thanks,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Martin</span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-37045868378076051362012-02-09T09:01:00.001-08:002012-02-09T09:01:43.715-08:00Quotations #1<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"We took our time, every day, every month, every year. We had our work, did it, and enjoyed it. We had our leisure, used it, and enjoyed that."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Helen & Scott Nearing</span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-42078414451884196932012-02-08T20:08:00.000-08:002012-02-08T20:09:28.549-08:00Milestone Reached<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Today, for the first time in my adult life, I am completely debt-free. And it feels good.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0wIL2dt_q6YYHG5O5S95ub8yXc-ZqFpev7yDO7qpjMdz9CI4pRVKWSVxV0E8FZu1KxX5iRQcQ0SNkQyJSSrfx6kYhlZ2cmG6MC5vTW8NhpVKVuVqNiiZ9kML_HL7RZ0JgPgK7BI6XxY/s1600/P1010713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW0wIL2dt_q6YYHG5O5S95ub8yXc-ZqFpev7yDO7qpjMdz9CI4pRVKWSVxV0E8FZu1KxX5iRQcQ0SNkQyJSSrfx6kYhlZ2cmG6MC5vTW8NhpVKVuVqNiiZ9kML_HL7RZ0JgPgK7BI6XxY/s640/P1010713.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-29794103883946860912012-02-06T15:21:00.001-08:002012-02-06T15:21:25.478-08:00Some Perspective<img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="720" src="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/417679_246105538798711_194650670610865_544697_1551995530_n.jpg" width="592" />Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-81189824479576311052012-01-29T17:00:00.000-08:002012-01-29T17:00:50.516-08:00Stoic Practice<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Partly for posterity, and partly because I have to return this book to the library, I wanted to write a little about some of the tools and practices the Stoic teachers recommended for their students.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Negative Visualization</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The practice of negative visualization was employed by the Stoics for a few reasons. The first reason was to rob the loss of the things we care about of their ability to harm us. Because we care about the things and people that are near to us, the loss of them has the ability to cause us a lot of hardship. "Misfortune weighs most heavily on those who expect nothing but good fortune." By contemplating the eventual loss of the things we own, we prepare ourselves for life afterwards. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The second reason was to counteract the very human tendency towards hedonic adaption. What this means is that we are insatiable. The accumulation of things does nothing to stop the desire for more things. You can see this clearly when someone's lifestyle becomes more expensive to maintain every time they get a raise. Because this would extend into perpetuity, regardless of how much they earned, it is clear that the acquisition of things never stops the desire for more things. Contemplating the loss of our possessions can have the affect of causing us to desire what we already have. This helps prevent us from taking posessions or relationships for granted.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Negative Visualization can be performed formally as a meditation practice, and/or it can be utilized at various times during the day. After a conversation with a family member, it may be helpful to quickly consider their loss and what that would mean to you. A reminder that our friends, family, possessions, and our lives are all temporary and fleeting helps prevent us from taking them for granted.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Understanding and Contemplating the Trichotomy of Control</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">As discussed in previous posts, this goes back to focusing only on those things that we have control over. There are three categories of things that we can consider taking action against. The first subject is made up of those that we have no control over. The second we have some control over, and the third we have complete control over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">We should spend no time worrying about those things we have no control over. This does not prevent us from being prudent. I live in an earthquake-prone area. It is smart to plan ahead and have water and canned food available in case power gets knocked out for an extended periods of time. Aside from preparation, there is no point in worrying about an earthquake happening sometime in the future. It will or won't based on factors completely outside of my control. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The things that are completely within my control is where I focus my attention and energy. I have complete control over what goals I set for myself and the actions that I take to achieve them. For those things that I have some control of, I can change them to be internalized, which of course makes them entirely within my control as well. I cannot control if I will win my next tennis match. I <em>can</em> control that I am properly prepared, that I play as hard as I can, and that I play to the best of my ability. Internalizing goals changes the level of control from "some" to "all." </span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">For example, my goal is not to get a raise, but to do everything I can that would deserve a raise, including asking for one. </span></em><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I recently had an interview with a potential client where we discussed the possibility of my representing their product line. My goal was not to be offered the job, but to honestly and accurately outline my experience and skills, explain to the best of my ability the ways that I thought I could be successful, and to effectively show that I had a history of helping companies like his. Of course, doing these things (of which I have complete control) give me a better chance at being hired as well.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Fatalism</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Stoics believed that, rather than wanting events to confirm to our desires, we should make our desires conform to events. Said another way, we should want things to unfold the way they happen. This should not encourage a form of apathy or resignation, as Stoics were not fatalistic in regards to the future. Rather, they were fatalistic in regards to the past and present. In short, they believed that it was possible for us to act in a way that affects our circumstances in 5 minutes, 10 minutes or a decade from now. However, the past is past, and the actions and events set in motion years ago will have the effect that they will. My failure to look both ways before crossing the street may have led to me getting blind-sided by a car and losing the use of my legs. Bemoaning that past act is, of course, natural, but also a waste of time. Moving forward, my actions can only affect the future. Nothing I do, say or think will take away the accident. In short, the Stoics taught that it was a waste of time to "imagine if" something in the past did or did not happen. Things happened the way they did, and now we are where we are today. Our job is to do the best that we can from our present state.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Self-Denial</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">In addition to merely thinking about the loss of our comforts or luxuries, Stoics actively practiced their loss. This could take many forms, including going shoeless, fasting, wearing light clothing in winter, etc. There were three benefits of this practice:</span><br />
<ol><li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">By undertaking acts of voluntary discomfort, we harden ourselves against misfortunes that could (will) happen in the future.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">By periodically experiencing minor discomfort, a person becomes confident in his ability to withstand major discomfort if necessary.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Finally, going without of course helps us appreciate what we have. Namely, by experiencing discomfort, we will better appreciate whatever comfort we do experience. </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span></ol><strong><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Meditation</span></strong><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The Stoics recommended a bedtime "active meditation" where we review our day. This is quite different than the Buddhist form of meditation, where we attempt to empty our mind. Instead, this was more of a report card based on our actions and emotions. Did we judge things or events in their proper context and importance? Did we allow our tranquility to be damaged by external events? Did we not only experience anger, but allow it residence in our heart for longer than necessary? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">William B. Irvine offers the following checklist:</span><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Reflect on the day's events</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Am I practicing the psychological techniques recommended by the Stoics?</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Did I, for example, engage in negative visualization?</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Did I take the time to distinguish between those things over which I have no control at all, and those things over which we have some but not complete control?</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Was I careful to internalize our goals?</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Did I refrain from dwelling on the past and instead focus my attention on the future?</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Did I consciously practice the art of self-denial?</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Judge my progress as a Stoic</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Have I stopped blaiming, praising or censuring others?</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Do I blame myself instead of external circumstances?</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Am I noticing fewer desires?</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Is my philosophy consisting more of action than of words? (what matters most is not our ability to spout Stoic principles but my ability to live in accordance with them)</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Am I experiencing less negative emotions?</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Am I spending less time than I used to wishing things could be different?</span></li>
</ul>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-3781676011441542282012-01-23T15:42:00.000-08:002012-01-23T15:42:06.372-08:00Book Review - "A Guide to the Good Life"<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Good-Life-Ancient-Stoic/dp/0195374614/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327362102&sr=8-1">“A Guide to the Good Life,” by William B. Irvine</a> is an attempt to take the Stoic philosophy and provide a guide to applying this world-view to modern life.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In doing so, Irvine cautions that some adaption is required.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, few modern people believe in Zeus, but a large part of the Stoic doctrine is based on the idea that we act “in accordance with nature,” as the Gods intended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stoics believed that humans are close to God-like in the sense that we have the ability to reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike plants or animals, we have the ability think and decide what is the proper action for any given situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is both a curse and a blessing, as our “living a good life” is to act in the appropriate way that a man (or woman) should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A dog does not need to think about what it means to live well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He performs a dog’s responsibilities by acting dog-like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not in its nature to be otherwise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Man is not so lucky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because we are able to reason, we can often talk ourselves out of the appropriate actions that befit a human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The ultimate goal for a Stoic is to obtain tranquility.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is achieved by valuing things appropriately and by viewing them with the proper amount of importance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Appropriate actions are taken on things that we have at least some control over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No thought is given to the worrying or fretting of things completely outside of our control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, Irvine’s commentary is particularly valuable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The example he uses is that of an individual setting a goal of winning a tennis match.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter how much the individual practices or trains, the actual victory is outside of his control to a large degree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather than avoiding tennis, the aim is to internalize the goal to something that you can control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here, the goal of “winning the tennis match” could be changed to being as prepared as possible, playing up to his potential, or some other internal goal that shifts the focus from external circumstances to something entirely within his control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It goes without saying that playing up to one’s potential will make the likelihood of winning much greater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, without the potential stress and choking up that may come from setting goals on events outside of one’s direct control, internalizing goals provides a more stress-free approach that will allow an athlete to be loose and confident during their match.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Stoics placed a very low level of importance on many of the things that people care about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They felt that fame was something to be avoided, if possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trying to be famous or working towards being highly-regarded by friends and associates was wrong if taken by itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rather, one should carefully reason out the correct responses, act accordingly, and these friends and associates would form their own opinions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since we cannot control how our actions will be received by others, it is a waste of time to worry about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we are doing the correct thing, that is all that we can control, and that is more than enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fame or good-standing can take care of itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By worrying about how an action will be viewed, we risk filtering or diluting the act that we have reasoned out to be “correct.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Additionally, the Stoics believed that one should not seek wealth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By working for money only, we sacrifice our ability to do the right thing at the right time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An example could be the Enron employees who knew that illegal and unethical practices were taking place, but did not blow the whistle out of the fear of losing their job (salary).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All this aside, the Stoics (most, anyway) were not intentionally ascetic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marcus Aurellius was the Emperor of Rome, the most powerful man in the world, as well as being a Stoic philosopher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One could enjoy wealth and the freedom and comfort it provided so long as it was kept in its proper place, and the individual was not tied to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To ensure that individuals did not cling to their wealth, Stoics encouraged the practice of negative visualization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would contemplate that they had lost everything they cared about, including family members, friends, money, security, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This practice was used in part to prepare themselves for the inevitable hard times that would come, as well as working to reinforce the idea that life would still go on without these things that we care so much about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This practice had the additional benefit of making people value what they had that much more strongly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not taking things for granted was a huge part of Stoic philosophy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The Stoics believed that joy was not dependent on any of the creature comforts that most of us strive for, and in some cases, they would hinder our ability to be happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because of this, Stoics would often practice discomfort and loss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would under-dress in cold weather to remind themselves to be thankful that they have a jacket that they could wear when they chose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some would take on voluntary poverty for a time, or go without rich food or drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is important to note that the goal here was not to inflict a punishment on the individual, but to inspire gratitude.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Stoics strongly believed that no man could be a victim of someone else, as it was always easy to imagine how things could be worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A man who lost an eye could still see out of the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A blind woman may find that her hearing improved because she could no longer depend on her sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In our own lives, we can apply this to remind ourselves that things could be worse, and that we<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>should be focusing on what we have more than what we have lost.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-56136026106361050852012-01-02T12:31:00.000-08:002012-01-02T12:31:35.166-08:002012 Resolutions & Goals<strong><u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Resolutions</span></u></strong><br />
<ol><li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will not buy any more books in 2012</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will write in my journal every day</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will eat breakfast every morning</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will only check investments once a day</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></ol><strong><u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Goals</span></u></strong><br />
<ol><li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will buy an investment (rental) property</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will pay off all non-mortgage debt</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will earn $350 of dividend income</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will run at least one race (and actually take it seriously)</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will compete in at least one Muay Thai or Western Boxing event</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will break a 5 minute mile</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will add one new client every quarter (averaged out is fine)</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will get a 2nd job</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will disconnect the cable TV</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will meditate (any type) 3x a week</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I will write 45 blog posts</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></ol><strong><u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Things that I want to learn about</span></u></strong><br />
<ol><li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Peak Oil & Dwindling Natural Resources</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Permaculture</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Urban Farming</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Stoic & earlier Greek Philosophy</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Mixology (bartending)</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Civil Rights Movement </span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Real Estate</span></li>
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"> </span></ol><strong><u><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">General Activities</span></u></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Drink more water, eat less sugar, eat more fish, eat more veggies, eat less red meat, spend less time online, try new things, paint more, walk or bike everywhere within 5 miles, be less judgemental, disconnect from the 24 hour news cycle, clean as I go, dance, brew beer, make soap, get our of comfort zones, stop being complacent with martial arts training, be more social, check in with Bryan weekly on progress</span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-40455701875051032362011-12-30T14:58:00.000-08:002011-12-30T15:11:09.700-08:002011: A Year in PhotosI'm missing some pictures of the Holidays that my Brother took, so this may get updated depending on what year he forwards them.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcokE_aTO8CNNnbN2SaezDD3Q0YoZdpfDzj4bAUgqWfx41m2vyiaPKksKaTXBJXCPIkJkCJACe1dPkw9vm5HyB1dLH7o9O59WoSA1pul1h9KtbBhHjRvrDGLyND0A-64A9bEe74Tk3z8w/s1600/Arizona+Sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcokE_aTO8CNNnbN2SaezDD3Q0YoZdpfDzj4bAUgqWfx41m2vyiaPKksKaTXBJXCPIkJkCJACe1dPkw9vm5HyB1dLH7o9O59WoSA1pul1h9KtbBhHjRvrDGLyND0A-64A9bEe74Tk3z8w/s640/Arizona+Sunset.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arizona Sunset</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7l51SfE7Zx2G757qtasC8ZxU2inZiT4UjyDopR5BTNGuBNAszJanFmLi0J-2hq82OfCH_G43H2Kyqf75oalM0p1vsiz7oWNjw8D24MezANrcK8sTxggfdvvg54Fgm4R2-l8iUcABEClA/s1600/Banana+Slug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7l51SfE7Zx2G757qtasC8ZxU2inZiT4UjyDopR5BTNGuBNAszJanFmLi0J-2hq82OfCH_G43H2Kyqf75oalM0p1vsiz7oWNjw8D24MezANrcK8sTxggfdvvg54Fgm4R2-l8iUcABEClA/s640/Banana+Slug.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ALIEN!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTyXBFzfuhnUNtQNt8qNABEUMzkh_QaeOO1VWrkILNZpwYRAVxcWXIZ_Ukk-DWXFL0_wJlABQT4RXWUa5c8T7mJ3uKz38aA3L0uZ8uSpU5KmQebOG791P0ZssGSmmQI1CtXHpkS4vJks/s1600/Chess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTyXBFzfuhnUNtQNt8qNABEUMzkh_QaeOO1VWrkILNZpwYRAVxcWXIZ_Ukk-DWXFL0_wJlABQT4RXWUa5c8T7mJ3uKz38aA3L0uZ8uSpU5KmQebOG791P0ZssGSmmQI1CtXHpkS4vJks/s640/Chess.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan getting smoked at Chess</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXOr_9MM4OIhDkq2ngyydmObgR9x0zDMwFn6pkZc7Efw9xsEaFOlTCY9vOGbdWuFRBXPaM_RSLRTmgGMlDN1lSRHtKKXn1AspzPSlOs_EeKJvAgXOBoVbxth7dfoka2AfpiACjvMJmx0/s1600/Demon+Squirrel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyXOr_9MM4OIhDkq2ngyydmObgR9x0zDMwFn6pkZc7Efw9xsEaFOlTCY9vOGbdWuFRBXPaM_RSLRTmgGMlDN1lSRHtKKXn1AspzPSlOs_EeKJvAgXOBoVbxth7dfoka2AfpiACjvMJmx0/s640/Demon+Squirrel.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Devil Squirrel</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybUxzMjDLZ0A4ZrB82Ja51dNdI4IwlWU9OPEwSEx8mi14Dh35Y4PF4pZUgNC3khoEEv7ox6PCOkqpmoiLPA2zwKZXO4iMqvv1rwcl3TSe3cOedRLxtTbE9g56PpzQKT0oWeiOLup-V_Q/s1600/Desert+Sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybUxzMjDLZ0A4ZrB82Ja51dNdI4IwlWU9OPEwSEx8mi14Dh35Y4PF4pZUgNC3khoEEv7ox6PCOkqpmoiLPA2zwKZXO4iMqvv1rwcl3TSe3cOedRLxtTbE9g56PpzQKT0oWeiOLup-V_Q/s640/Desert+Sunset.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Desert Sunset</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtalllA4V37LlJKiD_zrPF52X1y0RzMEhnnw4bXft_c_5lCjjepwGBmJ3RbOAADWiuPDy8Q5g2SNhE_5ONXobwIRHGUt8JG1zyP09lxb9z_RebA82JweyjQ6Im2-X2uS_dZHeKXgrbX3s/s1600/Joshua+Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtalllA4V37LlJKiD_zrPF52X1y0RzMEhnnw4bXft_c_5lCjjepwGBmJ3RbOAADWiuPDy8Q5g2SNhE_5ONXobwIRHGUt8JG1zyP09lxb9z_RebA82JweyjQ6Im2-X2uS_dZHeKXgrbX3s/s640/Joshua+Tree.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joshua Tree</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBYXvPd6lb1Wx8sjVPhREZKpSJXCCXify2EKhoKFIkiaaDZ3skBNXpiz7KLp1WmzOzX2Fjg7NunLy_Y4ImLT1mPU0MPeq2J-AzPXnPQ8jd7R06Vk6ao7ZLA6mRNN9S9UWFlbyKja3YN8/s1600/Jump%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikBYXvPd6lb1Wx8sjVPhREZKpSJXCCXify2EKhoKFIkiaaDZ3skBNXpiz7KLp1WmzOzX2Fjg7NunLy_Y4ImLT1mPU0MPeq2J-AzPXnPQ8jd7R06Vk6ao7ZLA6mRNN9S9UWFlbyKja3YN8/s640/Jump%2521.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jump!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelj9q_Jr5Y55Qn_Z_cSydVLbRLACdTfZ67xFBLNbU0-R2peiqcyMv6acOpUcm1ax4LVk7BfqSp55Ur7HCIIAJWBOyatYuS-R_DGZ0iqseBsds0svhr5fidEKi0mf-kMg6jwjIz0l-w9w/s1600/Malibu+Sunset.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelj9q_Jr5Y55Qn_Z_cSydVLbRLACdTfZ67xFBLNbU0-R2peiqcyMv6acOpUcm1ax4LVk7BfqSp55Ur7HCIIAJWBOyatYuS-R_DGZ0iqseBsds0svhr5fidEKi0mf-kMg6jwjIz0l-w9w/s640/Malibu+Sunset.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Malibu</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCONmsb1-r2gsSAFfK9IbFds4O2F-XTryzecweBBQI4cwfzIelxuzP0I5OcZNCxYZd8-bm1mlW-kao8rwCHNvaYzDFy6Ta5WUJWJUixoIrw5gjPgS12-im7kQU2MIaUYl_vQBwSq3l8g/s1600/Moab+Arch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCONmsb1-r2gsSAFfK9IbFds4O2F-XTryzecweBBQI4cwfzIelxuzP0I5OcZNCxYZd8-bm1mlW-kao8rwCHNvaYzDFy6Ta5WUJWJUixoIrw5gjPgS12-im7kQU2MIaUYl_vQBwSq3l8g/s640/Moab+Arch.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moab Arch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIlquQf8fUFKBjBlmOmKALk_6TdcG4xfRRXyAeM2PKnWWd1SdueY18qq-qf4uGTAn5o_eJmdKGbXi8Lq3Xy5SDU0kzKCASd6DJU3kTSuxwZx_Ib2AjP14hRw9Es2328Vv8zesTteR8Bg/s1600/P1000860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCIlquQf8fUFKBjBlmOmKALk_6TdcG4xfRRXyAeM2PKnWWd1SdueY18qq-qf4uGTAn5o_eJmdKGbXi8Lq3Xy5SDU0kzKCASd6DJU3kTSuxwZx_Ib2AjP14hRw9Es2328Vv8zesTteR8Bg/s640/P1000860.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the path</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwe2fSHDTn_AOoPDx16OqLAc3q6Gxr_tsnP6LCUh_BAH7Mzgsr27YqYJUYySvM3UjxX1c1eGTdcHDaHuusWtZOo1et7bQPCzwymKnt9-m2H3u-zbgsgqlepJYlEMQU_dCQ8vnzZFzJF0/s1600/Phallic+Rock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiwe2fSHDTn_AOoPDx16OqLAc3q6Gxr_tsnP6LCUh_BAH7Mzgsr27YqYJUYySvM3UjxX1c1eGTdcHDaHuusWtZOo1et7bQPCzwymKnt9-m2H3u-zbgsgqlepJYlEMQU_dCQ8vnzZFzJF0/s640/Phallic+Rock.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phallic?</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgD6avfGyBf2xmI5xVL17v9jRKzbtHWjTbfS9zxiyim_ccft3otRIOOrjPdAIN7bu5jTAlRC60-oFUG2ZXxZedZ9Jkmg3Caif1NZ1glbLINFUkOB58jKXYyQb7rJASxu2Fb2fsGfAErWY/s1600/Por+Que+Ranch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgD6avfGyBf2xmI5xVL17v9jRKzbtHWjTbfS9zxiyim_ccft3otRIOOrjPdAIN7bu5jTAlRC60-oFUG2ZXxZedZ9Jkmg3Caif1NZ1glbLINFUkOB58jKXYyQb7rJASxu2Fb2fsGfAErWY/s640/Por+Que+Ranch.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Por Que Ranch</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8AIOuNlxk7a5gyXwhNRJGmV__EqqOwp_ABUUGwWKTjlENpUNZIOEl7IbgIHYniWlH1nidGYyQghDaEEUvPPwrRR2dDraB7tkgozdwNdNFRcVvQlFQqofLaD-GGhRHOF3W2F80lzEndoQ/s1600/Russian_River-Coastal-20110730-00090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8AIOuNlxk7a5gyXwhNRJGmV__EqqOwp_ABUUGwWKTjlENpUNZIOEl7IbgIHYniWlH1nidGYyQghDaEEUvPPwrRR2dDraB7tkgozdwNdNFRcVvQlFQqofLaD-GGhRHOF3W2F80lzEndoQ/s640/Russian_River-Coastal-20110730-00090.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man, I don't even drink wine...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Vs0ZkPx_vinfjiKRz6CEvgoboVStamt5Wsp4O5fSVXyK5y9YwUqWvbhpzl6UDz7GQKVVcU1g8N03VrP2gx5lOxV-C2hXd9MTwhZY4JnzM5fZJUENS1N96NPdcMrQ9Ea2srlU2k_1c3A/s1600/Santa+Monica+Sunset+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Vs0ZkPx_vinfjiKRz6CEvgoboVStamt5Wsp4O5fSVXyK5y9YwUqWvbhpzl6UDz7GQKVVcU1g8N03VrP2gx5lOxV-C2hXd9MTwhZY4JnzM5fZJUENS1N96NPdcMrQ9Ea2srlU2k_1c3A/s640/Santa+Monica+Sunset+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey, how about yet another sunset picture...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUggohgnWh_fdanLeYQqJbdSMcpM3cV3CEpkIOHOwSgbQAOpWBcEfKQeSz7Gg97hQH1uQVYt8M3kb9Lv5eYBKutyxH4cSm9oyZLHxLtrI5ulq6eDHDCnQdDBwkbzHqbs51hKbRVjRTv_0/s1600/Shadows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUggohgnWh_fdanLeYQqJbdSMcpM3cV3CEpkIOHOwSgbQAOpWBcEfKQeSz7Gg97hQH1uQVYt8M3kb9Lv5eYBKutyxH4cSm9oyZLHxLtrI5ulq6eDHDCnQdDBwkbzHqbs51hKbRVjRTv_0/s640/Shadows.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How artsy...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5QKpGmpnfNRgjIYycy_DLDUVLDtbdhzGosF203A0LUOVHmHxRinpJlm1yJzUV3hCx9yxzEhyphenhyphenVi9tQaGLoyldOnIVuUyU_W56yjPymaEO7luijrq0zKJ4gTQTueAEAFkM1UmgsNK136g/s1600/Water+Fall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5QKpGmpnfNRgjIYycy_DLDUVLDtbdhzGosF203A0LUOVHmHxRinpJlm1yJzUV3hCx9yxzEhyphenhyphenVi9tQaGLoyldOnIVuUyU_W56yjPymaEO7luijrq0zKJ4gTQTueAEAFkM1UmgsNK136g/s640/Water+Fall.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waterfall - Chantry Flats</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizftC4aIEdFSyCnxHY-73eBluW4GVOAvzR1Dshmk4RqiwioAjrKXdfjmxhoSzheDgnkgBB2ASUoI4MmD9xZhcCZYtmiE5Acf1W6u5gCb_7yVJYrwTBNr9u5abgVYfyCiWamvGF9A3z3ag/s1600/Weeds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizftC4aIEdFSyCnxHY-73eBluW4GVOAvzR1Dshmk4RqiwioAjrKXdfjmxhoSzheDgnkgBB2ASUoI4MmD9xZhcCZYtmiE5Acf1W6u5gCb_7yVJYrwTBNr9u5abgVYfyCiWamvGF9A3z3ag/s640/Weeds.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weeds</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1tLXxsKgOlg1qx9aHi97x90XqOSbaxZao8vVjQZmC5neyjWEnUMCyRWyp5Z3zXpHLDlCy_u38u3p1AneLhnt2-mc89oGj3SxgZHCM7pLLV4RRXDGk3MKonurc8dU7oTeCKzue-6zHVI/s1600/You+go+in+first....jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr1tLXxsKgOlg1qx9aHi97x90XqOSbaxZao8vVjQZmC5neyjWEnUMCyRWyp5Z3zXpHLDlCy_u38u3p1AneLhnt2-mc89oGj3SxgZHCM7pLLV4RRXDGk3MKonurc8dU7oTeCKzue-6zHVI/s640/You+go+in+first....jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You go in first....</td></tr>
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</div>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-42857667353129734762011-12-29T10:46:00.000-08:002011-12-29T10:46:31.113-08:00<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">2011 Wrap-Up</span></u></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This was a lot easier to do last year when I was posting more regularly, and therefore had a historical record of what I did. This year I am going mostly on memory, which is foggy at the best of times.</span></em><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">January</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I spent the first part of the year in Hong Kong, where I signed a contract with the first (read, only) client for my sales consulting business. I wrote a little about the delicious and lively food </span><a href="http://thisruggedlife.blogspot.com/2011/01/caffeine-courage.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">February</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I turned 30. My Mom and I ran a</span><a href="http://thisruggedlife.blogspot.com/2011/02/now-im-old.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> half-marathon</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> in Palm Springs to "celebrate."</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">March</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Apparently I just wrote about stuff in my head in March, so I had to go back to the facebook archives to see what was going on back then. Apparently, I moved into my new place in Pasadena. </span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">April</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">According to facebook, Jasmin and I went to Ciclavia, which is a semi-regular event in Los Angeles, where they close down a big part of the city streets and let everyone ride their bikes through. There are food trucks, art shows, and impromptu concerts. I know that I also did a bunch of trail hiking in the San Gabriel mountains. I found a bunch of lizards there. Bryan and I made a coconut, walnut and coffee soap. Facing a dearth of boxing gyms in my new city, I joined a Muay Thai club and promptly got my nose busted.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">May</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I incorporated my company. Close friends celebrated Ari's birthday with tequila. I think there was food there as well.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">June</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Back to Hong Kong, where I spent almost a month. Had my first experiment with Chinese medicine, where a few needles and bamboo cups healed my kinked neck. Witnessed an amazing thunder and lightning storm from my hotel room across the Hong Kong harbor.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">July</span></strong><br />
<a href="http://www.thefuryofme.com/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hanley</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> and Jen moved down to LA from SF. The alliance was joined. The peasants rejoiced.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jasmin and I spent 4 days in Sonoma County along the Russian River. We went wine-tasting, ate good food, and lounged along the river.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">August</span></strong><br />
<a href="http://thisruggedlife.blogspot.com/2011/08/mt-baldy.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hiked Mt. Baldy</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> with a good group of friends. I needed it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I saw </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-39vtF0OXA&feature=youtu.be"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Baukaw training at Sityodtong</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. Beast.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">September</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">My brother, Bryan moved out of the house to join his love in Denver. I made Habanero Tequila. Jasmin and I checked out the Huntington Library gardens. They have big cacti.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">October</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">John and I went on a road trip through Utah and Arizona. Utah makes shitty beer. They have awesome canyons though.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I joined an adult kickball league in Hollywood to meet more people. </span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">November</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Did a full-moon hike to Echo Mountain with a meetup.org group. Later found out that the area is haunted. I survived.</span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">December</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hurricane-force winds came through Pasadena, knocking down power lines, my neighbor's upstairs deck, and huge trees. Slept through it, but was without internet for 4-5 days. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Attended the Abner Mares vs. Joseph Agbeko rematch in Anaheim, courtesy of Ari's hook-ups.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Had a great time on a pub-crawl in Venice Beach for a friend's birthday.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Caught up with some friends from College that I hadn't seen in close to a decade.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Had a great Christmas with family and friends in Palm Desert, and then joined my parents in Malibu, where they are spending a few days at the beach. Jumped in the ocean for the annual Polar Bear Club. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Jasmin bought tickets for us to see a performance about Fela Kuti on New Year's.</span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-68722444011175504072011-10-21T18:00:00.000-07:002011-10-21T18:00:28.080-07:00Book Review: "Fools Rush In"<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am woefully behind on book reviews, by which I mean that I haven't done one all year. My general hope to complete a book review for each book read is fading fast. To stop the bleeding, I'll start with one of my all-time favorite books that I revisited a few months ago. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NsMr7PH_eUMuU-8IwJLCSF3OWYilgQqxUnCcIulOW_2v49nIUJCaEGJcXDXJ90zbcNAOjrIb505VoCWpeROY_75aIUNpfFhC2tcgPBludTW3rq2rnXcakFhQsuSdtz64BpfkDXlJRbo/s1600/Fools+Rush+In.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NsMr7PH_eUMuU-8IwJLCSF3OWYilgQqxUnCcIulOW_2v49nIUJCaEGJcXDXJ90zbcNAOjrIb505VoCWpeROY_75aIUNpfFhC2tcgPBludTW3rq2rnXcakFhQsuSdtz64BpfkDXlJRbo/s1600/Fools+Rush+In.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fools-Rush-True-Story-Redemption/dp/0982433298/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319245129&sr=1-3#_">"Fools Rush In"</a> is the story of a city as its main character, much like Baltimore is the true star of HBO's "The Wire." Sarevejo is the majority-muslim city of Bosnia that was under siege during the civil war that engulfed the old Yugoslavia in the '90's. At the time the story takes place, the city has been surrounded by the Serbian army, the UN is in the area "monitoring the situation," and thousands of civilians have been slaughtered. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Bill Carter is a damaged man. Broken and damaged from the death of his fiance, he goes to Bosnia to feel again. It is quickly obvious to him that the UN and other peace-keeping forces are doing little other than counting the growing number of casualties, and he stumbles upon a shoe-string charity group that delivers food beyond the frontlines of the war. The group is made up of other men who came together looking for some kind of purpose. They found it amidst the blood and ruin and genocide of Bosnia-Herzogovina. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">While the rest of the group moves in and out of Sarajevo, often leaving for months to gather food and deliver in other areas, Carter cannot leave. He finds his purpose living amongst a war-ravaged people, sprinting across sniper alley, sharing the dwindling food of the city, living and learning with the patriots, the artists, the families, the hipsters and the poets who loved their city too much to leave when they had the chance. At one point, he realizes why he couldn't leave: </span><br />
<br />
<blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Yet there would be turning back. Not now. Not after meeting the people I had met and seeing what I had seen.<em> It would be like hearing a woman scream rape and going for a drink just to get out of earshot.</em> No, it was too late for people like Graeme and me, suckers who believe that if we give a little more it will turn around for the better. It wasn't that I thought I could save the world. At this point I would have settled for erasing my memory. Once memory gets hardwired into your brain it gets more difficult to erase your sense of responsibility. Why else do we have that cancer called television? Why are we inundated with sound bite news, and infantile politicians making promises they never intend to keep? Low ball, baby. Keep it simple and stupid. Keep the masses doped up on false expectations of lower taxes, second mortgages and entry into the country club, <em>and you've got yourself a happy society ready, willing and able to ignore those cries of rape.</em> No one can hear them - the TV is too loud."</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In short, what has been seen cannot be unseen, and by the time Carter had stumbled into this new world, he could no longer pretend that men, women and children were not being slaughtered by their former neighbors as the world sat on their hands.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Fools Rush In" is a powerful, powerful book, full of passion, terror, and tragedy, but above all, love. I could not recommend it higher.</span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-68417810495502256742011-10-18T16:22:00.000-07:002011-10-18T16:22:14.023-07:00Moab, Utah Roadtrip<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The plan called for 25 hours of driving in 4 days. Nestled in the soft crook of my couch and several beers deep, this seemed completely reasonable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I left home around 5:00am and headed Southwest towards John's place. Arriving exactly at the time we had agreed on, he was, of course, still asleep. Coffee and insults fixed all that, and we headed out to the canyonlands of eastern Utah. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hours passed. After the initial excitement of changing lanes and freeways a few times, we arrived at the I-15 freeway, and settled into the mind-numbing rythymns that accompany all that is completely flat and completely straight. We passed Las Vegas, probably the ugliest city in the world during the daylight hours. As my Dad says, "no one chose to live there, that's just where the horses died."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Some several hundred hours later, we arrived in Moab, the mountain bike capital of the world. There actually happened to be a large mountain bike festival the weekend we were there, and there was spandex, shaved legs, and shiny titanium frames for as far as the eye could see. Sights this disturbing should never be observed sober, so we hit up the local brewery. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Despite some strange Mormom law that allows a maximum alcohol content of 3.2% on beer, the beverages were certainly...well, beer-flavored at least, and they eased the pain of a long-ass drive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hours later, full, tired, and half-drunk, we stumbled off to bed before visiting the Arches National Park the next morning. And it was worth it:</span><br />
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<a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/?action=view&current=7a-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/7a-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/?action=view&current=2a-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/2a-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The next day consisted of waking up early, copious amounts of coffee, political discourse (without anything being resolved), and amazing red-rock scenery throughout Utah and Arizona. We were hauling ass because we were hoping to kayak on Lake Powell in Page, Arizona. Sadly, due to some vindictive god, we arrived too late to make this a reality. Thus, we hit up the internetz to come up with a back-up plan. We found a well-reviewed hike in an area that was described as "adjacent to Page, Arizona." Having looked for apartments on craigslist, I should have known that this was an obvious trap.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">58 miles later, we found the trail-head just as the sun was starting to go down. If we wanted to catch the sunset, we were going to have to charge up this massive rock fortress at breakneck speed. Sadly, you cannot get to the top of any peak without the trail being mostly uphill, and this became drudgery. I still had visions of getting some prize-winning photo, so I pushed ahead of John and headed for the top.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/?action=view&current=1a-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/1a-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">An hour later, completely alone and lost in my own thoughts, I heard rocks come tumbling down somewhere ahead of me, and it brought me to a complete stop. Either there was a rock slide or...there was something else up there. I stayed still. I waited. Another small shower of rocks above and ahead of me. Terrible thoughts of mountain lions and alligators and yeti's came to the forefront of my mind, and I refused to move a muscle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw something big and dark step out of the shadows. MOUNTAIN LION!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Actually...no. Just a mountain goat. Not so awesome as the first mountain alligator ever found, but still cool. We stared at each other, and then went our separate ways.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/?action=view&current=6a-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/6a-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After getting some good pictures of the sun setting over the hills, we headed back in the darkness with our <a href="http://thisruggedlife.blogspot.com/2010/02/all-things-glorious-all-things-headlamp.html">headlamps</a>, and drove back to the campground..</span><br />
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<a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/?action=view&current=3a-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/3a-1.jpg" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After conquering mountains and their monsters, we felt the need to get drunk. Thankfully, we were outside the clutches of the Church of Latter Day Saints, and we were able to get all of the hard alcohol and non near-beer that we wanted at some bourgeousie hotel bar back in town. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Celebrations are great, but they make a 10 hour drive back home the next day even more painful than is probably necessary. Great trip.</span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-88658321644480434532011-10-16T12:35:00.000-07:002011-10-16T12:35:36.096-07:00Occupy Los Angeles<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlZmlfHa0A8idGIbzylNrxwXV0ET_1cTjti3dLQmzoU3y8xSM00hI2R_YagW1Vw6vg5KNcle9ZKgIYQLg-CIbQzRAfXPTx63oUNkL_DsB2hkQn5yMvOO6cfieglHC7SBTzw0pmlxx74Q/s1600/Occupy_LA_Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMlZmlfHa0A8idGIbzylNrxwXV0ET_1cTjti3dLQmzoU3y8xSM00hI2R_YagW1Vw6vg5KNcle9ZKgIYQLg-CIbQzRAfXPTx63oUNkL_DsB2hkQn5yMvOO6cfieglHC7SBTzw0pmlxx74Q/s320/Occupy_LA_Banner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This is the third time that I have tried to write this post. The difficulty is that the Occupy movements are too complicated to simply label as “good” or “bad.” </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On the one hand, people are getting absolutely fucked over, and there are legitimate and righteous reasons to protest the lack of lubrication. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">On the other, all the stereotypes that opponents of the movement use to label the protesters are there. There are anarchists and aging hippies and full-time radicals, all of whom don’t want to fix the system, but to smash it. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I don’t think I really need to make the case that people are rightfully angry. The middle-class is being dismantled. The wealth of the country is dramatically being accumulated exclusively in the hands of a few. Corporate personhood has made politicians entirely dependent on the large-money donations that business, labor and ideological groups can provide. When politicians require the support and donations of these groups above the support of the common man, then any mutterings they make about their affinity for the middle-class are simply platitudes. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">While I agree with the majority of the complaints that the protesters are making, I am not yet convinced that these groups are capable of creating any kind of actual change. Last night I watched a two hour debate on whether or not Occupy Los Angeles should become a non-profit corporation. The benefits of creating a corporation were that it would allow greater financial transparency, limit the liability of the individuals involved, allow for checks to be written from the movement itself rather than from individuals, and dramatically reduce the inherent risks involved with having a few individuals be entirely responsible for the spending & receiving of the donation dollars. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Unfortunately, “corporation” is such a dirty word that the proposal eventually had to be tabled after hours of debate. This is where radicals in the movement allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. As much as I would love to believe that a leftist utopia is possible, the fact is that it is not. No one speaks for the whole of the movement, least of all me, but I think that the more radical agendas are hindering the possibility of actual changes that can be made in our country. The majority of the country does not want to end the Federal Reserve or try to form a Marxist-style Commune or go back to a gold standard. As I see it, focusing on impossibilities are neither productive nor desirable. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The movement is still quite new, so perhaps it can be forgiven for a lack of a coherent message, but it should happen soon. The current lack of direction allows for opponents of the movement to characterize it as a group of social misfits and crackpots who are just trying to cause trouble. If the legitimate complaints of working and middle-class people are ignored because of the fringe elements of the movement, that would be a real tragedy.</span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-91441975824387290202011-09-20T20:54:00.000-07:002011-09-20T20:54:38.868-07:00No Time to Waste<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The house is quiet now that Bryan is gone. There were times that we annoyed each other, and he never did clean the charcoal out of the garden, where he dumped it thinking it was going to make the plants grow faster, but we got to know each other again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">For the first time since my early twenties, my brother and I lived together. We had gotten closer since those days, but it was from a distance. I would say that it grew out of a greater respect and understanding of each others struggles and actions, as well as a mutual effort to keep in touch by phone. There were the camping and travel adventures as often as time allowed as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After a summer of seeing each other day in and day out though, we know each other better, and the bond is stronger for the knowledge. Rather than the idealized version of someone that can grow out of a physical distance, the real version is something less, but also more. We both would be irritable at times, annoyed by work or friends or girlfriends or the goddamned Republicans or the completely pussified Democrats or the death of the American novel, but all of that makes a whole person. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It wasn't until the end of the summer, when Bryan was about to take off for his new home in Colorado that we realized that we each could have been more of a catalyst to the inspiration of the other. We were both distracted these last few months, more than we should have been, but life is like that. You get busy. We could have pushed each other to be more consistent with our boxing and Muay Thai training. We could have reinforced the strength in both of us, encouraged each other more, and been more focused overall in all the things that we are trying to do. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Upon realizing this, we sat down and spit-balled ideas. We both had gotten in the habit of waking up and immediately starting to work before eating or showering or thinking or reading. When waiting on an important email from his editor or my customer, we would refresh the webpage over and over again, as if in that few seconds the message would have come through. Sometime around noon we would step away from the computer, distracted and half-stupid. We changed this. Before we could start working, we had to eat breakfast, go for a run or a walk or do <em>something</em> physical, and basically get our minds right for the day. This led to a much more prepared mind, and we were able to go through the day acting in accordance with our values instead of being pushed and pulled from one thing to the next without control. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We should have been doing that from the beginning, but there are no do-overs. You don't get to hit the reset button, and you don't know how much time you will get. That's why you have to do it right starting now. </span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-56886775340688556152011-08-30T12:10:00.000-07:002011-08-30T12:10:46.735-07:00Mt. Baldy<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Too much indoor, sit-on-my-ass living is cramping my style. Too much attention focused on economic and political disasters is disturbing my chi. Too much needless worrying about things outside of my control is fucking with my sense of humor and joie de vivre. And that’s not even getting into the stale air and stale ideas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I need some excitement, adventure, and fear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hiking Mt. Baldy did not completely flush out my system, but it certainly helped. Joined by my brother and other like-minded individuals, we played hooky last Friday to get a little mountain air and hard, physical exertion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Mt. Baldy is the 3rd highest peak in Southern California, although that really isn’t saying much. It does offer some waterfall and LA valley views, lots of lizards, and a chance to ascend 4,000 vertical feet in the first 4-5 miles. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Hiking is not exciting. At least, not in the way I need it to be these days. That being said, it is still enjoyable and everything involved with it still feels fresh compared to city life. On the last scramble over a rocky outcropping, I pulled myself up and over to catch a view that made my head swim. Baldy’s face is a bit like an inverted bowl, and it swept away thousands of feet below me over boulders and shale. Having nearly face-planted in that direction, I felt one good, solid rush of adrenaline as my blood pumped through my system. That is what I am missing these days. Consider this a reset.</span><br />
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<a href="http://s213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/?action=view&current=Baldy-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc110/mschatz03/Baldy-1.jpg" /></a>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-64144661248167242612011-08-12T16:00:00.000-07:002011-08-12T16:05:03.198-07:00Jaded<blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Beware the skeptic, the world-weary guy who's seen it all, knows all the angles, the cat who's way too cool to be caught being enthused. This stance is demoralizing in jaded, crusty old men. But it's tragic in the millions of young men who wear cynicism like a suit of armor, lest they be thought, God help them, naive." </span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Somehow over the last several months I have become bitter and jaded, a trap that I tend to fall into when not paying enough attention. I obsess, and allow things that I have no control over to control my life and attitude. I also have a tendency to become hermetic, and I can convince myself that I am "taking valuable me-time" when I spend a lot of time reading and thinking. The 24-hour news cycle plays to this tendency of mine, as I can always find more material to further convince me that the sky is falling. When I fall into these patterns it is hard for me to see the good in people. I have a hard time trusting people's motives. I start thinking that everything must have a catch. My sense of humor falls to shit, and the only jokes I make are cynical and sarcastic.</span><br />
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<blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"We didn't ride into town yesterday. A goodly measure of skepticism means a man's been paying attention. But guess what. It's a mortal sin to let an appropriate wariness of the world inhibit the hope, the buoyancy at which we are so skilled. Pity the man who who's so savvy he stops believing that, every now and then, hearts are true, that people do things for high-minded reasons, that the new idea might just work."</span></blockquote><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">At it's best, this blog is a tribute to the things that I value in life; honesty, courage, a steadiness under fire, loyalty, and humor. I can usually tell my general attitude in life by how often I am posting. I was talking about this with my friend, Aaron a while back, and I mentioned that writing is important to me because it reminds me what it is that I care about. What do I want in life, what do I value, what do I want to accomplish? It is a way to further surround myself with this mission to improve and to live the kind of life that I can be proud of. If I read about what I value, talk to people that I value and respect, and above all, DO the things that I see value in, then I can't help but be actively engaged, present, productive and happy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I'll be writing more.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;">* Quotes are taken directly from a article that I pulled out of Men's Health years ago by Hugh O'neill </span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-17151585820248904582011-08-03T14:18:00.000-07:002011-08-03T14:18:28.978-07:00Sometimes<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Sometimes"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">By Thomas S. Jones, Jr.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Across the fields of yesterday</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">He sometimes comes to me,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">A little lad just back from play–</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The lad I used to be.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">And yet he smiles so wistfully</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Once he has crept within,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I wonder if he hopes to see</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The man I might have been.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">via </span><a href="http://artofmanliness.com/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The Art of Manliness</span></a>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-2744542528355223282011-07-07T21:12:00.000-07:002011-07-07T21:12:46.330-07:00Today's Inspiration<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">“I would rather my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot. “The function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them. I shall use my time!”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">- Jack London</span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-21324498522604933662011-07-04T08:45:00.000-07:002011-07-04T08:45:14.715-07:00Greatness, Part 1<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0mtOFKgM_0&feature=related"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HTdqV8XkYNo" width="560"></iframe></a>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-53839181889249679282011-06-12T17:28:00.000-07:002011-06-12T17:28:31.411-07:00On Death<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> <blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nid55rcV6i9qwmUjOUaLVtcPKEsWRQGiY4S5EOFiZRWMuw6EXGOYJVJtwvs0B7Zsc0lR9IPquBv_HCXvBp4A0cFk9YJXUnIDVg2PTaqoKcWxWmxXrKZFZVUmh1L9oM0L_U4VJI78wVw/s1600/Samurai+Sepuuku.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nid55rcV6i9qwmUjOUaLVtcPKEsWRQGiY4S5EOFiZRWMuw6EXGOYJVJtwvs0B7Zsc0lR9IPquBv_HCXvBp4A0cFk9YJXUnIDVg2PTaqoKcWxWmxXrKZFZVUmh1L9oM0L_U4VJI78wVw/s320/Samurai+Sepuuku.jpg" t8="true" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Someone looking at death without its associated images will conclude then that it is nothing more than a function of nature...and death is not only a function of nature, but also to her benefit." (1)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Death is as much a part of our lives as our individual births. Death as an act of nature is undoubtedly to the good, and that is why all living things will experience it. The world is constantly renewed and refreshed through the system of replacing the old with the new. The materials that made up our bodies are eventually broken down to assist in building up that which comes after us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">If we ackowledge that our good acts are those that are in accordance with our individual character and nature as a whole, then it is impossible to view death as something "bad." It serves the same nature that we aspire to, so it can only be considered both necessary and to the good.</span><br />
<blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Men are not disturbed by things, but by the views which they take of things. Thus, death is nothing terrible...the terror consists in our notion of death, and that is terrible." (2)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Death as a concept cannot be objectively feared. What is that we really fear?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Do we fear pain then?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">It is true that pain could be part of our dying, but the act of death itself is separate from that of the pain. There is no reason to believe that the state of being dead is any different than the state we experienced (or didn't) before we were born, which is to say, none. Men can brace themselves against pain, act with honor in its presence, and acknowledge its potential. And in the unfortunate circumstances that extreme pain is a prequel to our dying, the death itself is a release from pain, and not a continuation of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Perhaps we fear that we have not yet done our duty then. We have not yet begun or completed our work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">We do not own the past, and the future is never assured. Nothing more than the present instant can be considered "ours," and therefore is the only thing that can be taken away from us. Whether we live twenty years or a hundred, it is still only the present that can be taken, and so both individuals can only lose the same amount of life. Relatively speaking, the oldest living human is still nothing more than a minor blink of time, less than a blip on the screen, that all of us, the youngest and the oldest live in rounded form for the same amount of time. Our passing through nature is neither noticed nor remembered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"In a short while I am dead and all things are gone. What more do I want, if this present work is that of an intelligent and social being?" (1)</span></blockquote><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">If we can only "own" the current second, then begin your work now. If you act in accordance with your nature now, and in the next now, and in the next, then you have done your duty, regardless of whether an outsider would have considered it "complete" at any one of those stages. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">This article should not be considered "negative" or "pessimistic." It is not morbid to think on death as a natural and necessary act, and to resolve to die as well as possible, whenever our inevitable time comes. </span><br />
<blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"The person without previous resolution to inevitable death makes certain that his death will be in bad form. But if one is resolved to death beforehand, in what way can he be despicable? One should be especially diligent in this concern." (3)</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">By thinking and resolving how we should die, we can also teach ourselves to live. Followers of both the Stoic philosophy in Greece and the Samurai in Japan would meditate on both their own death and the death of their loved ones. They would enter a deep level of mindfulness and then visualize the worst pain and suffering on themselves. They would endeavor to think so deeply on this that they could "feel" the wounds. This taught them to value the time that they did have. It taught them to value their family, their neighbors and their society. People who experience a near-death experience may come out with a greater understanding and appreciation for what they nearly lost, and that was the goal of the Stoics and the Samurai.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">If this conditioning takes hold, we can train ourselves to do our duty even if death is the result.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">(1) Marcus Aurelius - "Meditations"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">(2) Epictetus - "The Discourses"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">(3) Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai - "Yamamoto Tsunetomo"</span><br />
</span></span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-52785005157429667302011-06-06T12:31:00.000-07:002011-06-06T12:31:58.056-07:00On Pain (Quotation)<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"...and, twenty-five years later, I still remembered how to negotiate the long, horrible process of physical collapse. It starts with pain of course, but the pain is what I thought of as the edge of a deep, dark valley. At the bottom of the valley is true incapacitation, but it might take hours to get down there, working your way through strata of misery and dissociation until your muscles simply stop obeying and your mind can't even be trusted to give commands that make sense. The most valuable thing that I [learned] was that when you start hurting you're not even <em>close</em> to the bottom of the valley, and that if you don't panic at the first agonies there's much, much more of yourself to give."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">- Sebastian Junger</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">"War" </span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-31901434832406244852011-05-11T14:22:00.000-07:002011-07-04T09:05:35.962-07:00Battles Which We Must Win<blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"Everyone is improved and preserved by corresponding acts: the carpenter by acts of carpentry, the grammarian by the acts of good grammar. But if a man accustoms himself to write ungrammatically, of necessity his art will be corrupted and destroyed. Thus modest actions preserve the modest man, and immodest actions destroy him. Actions of fidelity preserve the faithful man, and the contrary actions destroy him." <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(1)</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">In short, "we are what we repeatedly do."<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> (2)</span> It is common to consider philosophy in all its forms to be merely a system of thinking. Often neglected is the fact that philosophy is designed to let us live better. Through study and practice, we develop a system of thinking that governs correct action. The physical practice part is the easiest to neglect. When one thinks of spiritual or philosophical practice, they probably think of such acts as meditation or study. These are certainly good and useful examples, but they do not take into account that the conclusions that we come to mentally must be acted on in the day-to-day process of our lives. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">I am transitioning from western boxing to Muay Thai kickboxing. While both are stand-up combat sports, there are quite a few differences, and many of the habits that I have learned to be "good" in boxing are resulting in my taking a lot of beatings in Muay Thai. Also, having developed some degree of competency in boxing over the years, it has been quite a while since I took much of a beating. For the first time in a long time I am finding myself on the bottom of the totem pole. I have solid defense from a boxing perspective, but that did not keep me from getting my nose damn near broken in the first two weeks of Muay Thai. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Wednesdays are the main sparring days at the new gym. I was supposed to miss the session this week because I had an appointment in Los Angeles during the class time. Last minute, my appointment got rescheduled and now I find myself available. Because I had mentally "checked out" for the day, the realization that I no longer had an excuse not to go hit me like a bucket of cold water. For a while, I considered other options. I could go for a run, which I told myself would be almost as good, and would work on my conditioning. I could use a day off, as I was already beaten up from the last couple of days. After all, the rest time would "do me good." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">When we have this conversation with ourself, it is simply because we want to avoid doing the thing that needs to be done. It is a battle with ourself, and these battles must be won. "It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men." <span style="font-size: xx-small;">(3) </span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">As I endeavor to be a faithful, persistent and disciplined man, I recognize that it is only through consistent acts of fidelity, persistence and discipline that it can be achieved. So this afternoon I will ignore that fact that today was supposed to be a day off and I will do the thing that should be done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-small;"><em>Quotes from today's posts attributed to Epictetus, Aristotle, Vince Lombardi.</em></span>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-55184589924037432042011-05-06T14:33:00.000-07:002011-05-11T14:29:51.229-07:00A Strong Mind Conquers a Strong Body<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">David Goggins is one tough, tough man. He is a Navy Seal who has served in Afghanistan. After hearing that several of his friends had died there, he dedicated himself to raising money for the </span><a href="http://www.specialops.org/?page=MissionStatement"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Special Operations Warrior Foundation</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">, a charity that raises money to fully pay for the college education for the children of fallen soldiers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">"He dedicated himself." You hear that kind of thing often. For most of us, it means about as much as most of the rest of the things that we do; you know, half-assed and half-cocked. For Goggins, he chose to go a different route than having a bake sale or car wash. After running an internet search for the "10 hardest events in the world," Goggins decided on the </span><a href="http://www.badwater.com/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Badwater Ultra Marathon</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">. This course is an absolutely grueling and debilitating 135 miles in the desert heat of Death Valley. Temperatures rise to 130 degrees in the summer, which is when of course the race is held.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After getting in touch with the race promoter, Goggins, who then weighed 280 pounds and had never even ran a regular marathon, was told that he would have to qualify. Goggins accepted this and signed up for a 100 mile race 4 days later. At mile 70, Goggins stopped for a break and found that he was pissing blood from kidney failure. He started walking at what he estimated to be a 40 minute mile pace. As he had to finish the 100 miles in less than 24 hours, he knew that he would not qualify based on that current speed, so somehow, despite his kidney's failing and despite the fact that he had broken all of the small bones in his feet, Goggins started running again. He finished in just over 19 hours, qualifying for Badwater. After losing 30% of his bodyweight in the next 3 months, Goggins came out of nowhere to finish 5th in his first Badwater Ultra Marathon. He has since gone on to win the race.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">David Goggins hates to run. He absolutely hates it. Not in the way that a lot of runners "hate it but like the runner's high" type of attitude, but honestly and truly detests every part of it. For Goggins, doing the thing he hated to do was his way to grow as a person and to strengthen his soul. He does not take days off. He sleeps a little less than 4 hours a night, waking at 3:30am to run 15-20 miles <em>before</em> his full-time duties in the military begin. As my friend </span><a href="http://gaijinass.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Eric </span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">likes to say, "he embraces the suck." This is one baaaaddd man.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">His now-defunct blog is called "</span><a href="http://davidgoggins.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Show No Weakness</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">." I would highly recommend a thorough dive into the archives. This is one intense dude, and his attitude and beliefs are not for everyone. Hell, they are barely for anyone, as you can see in the comment section of many of his posts. People ask him why do something he hates, why deal with so much pain and discomfort, and why not just stop and smell the roses now and again. Goggins stops and smells the roses differently than other people. For him, he is living by doing, by challenging, by persevering, and by constantly winning the personal battle against himself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">None of us will come close to matching his will, his discipline or his determination, but we can all take something away from his example. Our limits are far, far beyond whatever we have fooled ourselves into believing, and if we let it, our mind will carry our body when our limbs are too weak.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">If nothing else, watch this video:</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5hSNtyYZlFU" width="560"></iframe>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7388062704140569723.post-64770646317901369572011-04-07T12:31:00.001-07:002011-04-07T12:31:48.167-07:00You vs. You<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Tl_1wh1obyM" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe>Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17889644016097395102noreply@blogger.com0