Life On A B-I7

Let’s Talk

If Boomers could find a way to talk to GenX and GenZ then maybe Republicans and Democrats could find a way to talk to one another? I’m an optimist I suppose.

Bad News

I think I’ve had enough bad news for one night. This is happening with greater frequency than ever since, oh, November of ’24… Our country is going insane and the news media is not doing it’s job reporting how tragic all of the decisions coming out of the Administration and the Supreme Court actually are and where all of this is leading us.

The North Rim

I’m sitting on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Well, to be precise, I’m sitting in my overland trailer after a magnificent day and magnificent sunset. It wasn’t easy getting out here. There are three of us. Two well equipped Tacomas and a stock Ram Winnebago (a rental). We were going to go to go a bit further out, but, since our friend in the Winnebago is driving a rental, this is going to have to do. That said, this place if amazing. I mean, it’s hard to describe just how spectacular this is. Where am I going with this? Let me answer by saying: When you are with friends there is no place to remote, too beautiful, to difficult to get to that that does not provide a reward any better than this.

(Update 7/16: The Grand Lodge on the North Rim burned to the ground this last weekend. It was caught in a huge wildfire that unexpectedly grew out of control last Friday. I’m so happy I got to visit the lodge on this trip)

My (New) Favorite Author

I have a new favorite author… Fredrik Backman. He’s wirtten nine fiction titles and one nonfiction title. I plan to read them all.

I read Beartown first. I enjoyed it enough to go for round two. I’m now on My Friends. I’m blown away. I can think of a few authors in my life that have thrilled me. Frank Herbert, Ayn Rand, Douglas Adams, Haruki Murakami, to name a few. What Backman is doing for me is different. He is making me feel emotions. In the book My Friends I feel like I am on a journey with the characters in the book. I don’t know exactly how Backman does it, I think in a large part, it’s his use of dialogue. The narrative is “dialogue heavy,” by that I mean: Through the character’s dialogue, both spoken and internal, he makes me feel like I am experiencing what they are experiencing. He is also very quippy. I normally don’t go in for work that leans on that technique, but Backman integrates this beautifully with his dialogue heavy approach. He uses writing in the third person to help the reader better understand the characters thoughts, what is happening to them and how they are feeling. The way he uses the combination of all three is very enjoyable.

Yes, when you read good fiction you are supposed to feel like you are part of the story. That hasn’t always been the case for me, but Backman is able to make that happen for me.

Separation of Power

A few days ago I wrote about the Department of Justice and the rule of law in America. (You can read that here).

That entry sounded a bit somber, I’ll admit (although I think it is largely spot-on). What I failed to mention on the positive side is the fact that the lower Federal Courts, District Courts in particular, are doing a very good job of upholding the constitutional order. While there are justices on the Supreme Court, one in particular, that think they are the only body that can properly interpret the Constitution they are sadly mistaken. Without the jurisprudence and precedent of cases at the District level, the Constitution would rest on the whims of a small handful of men and women, when in fact it should rest in the hands of many justices with a multitude of backgrounds and viewpoints. It’s called precedent and consensus.

Decisions coming out of our Federal District Courts right now give me great optimism about our eventual return to the rule of law, and in particular respect for the Constitutional powers our founders cherished and worked hard to establish for us, first and foremost, separation of powers.

First Tattoo

There isn’t a whole lot to say. She is the love of my life. That’s a bold statement I know. In addition to the woman I speak of, I also have three beautiful daughters that I love with all my heart… I’m lucky no matter which way you look at it.

Words

When I can no longer put words on paper, it will be a sad day. Don’t let that discourage you. It doesn’t discourage me. Let what is left of this work remain as my testimony to who I loved, what I loved and how I lived. With luck, I have a lot more words left in me.

My Cat

I love my fucking cat. He is bonded to me as closely as a different species can be. Yes, dogs are man’s best friend, but that is because they have an inbred need to please humans. Cats do not. If you have a cat like mine that follows you everywhere, eats when you eat, sleeps when you sleep and begs for attention when you are just hanging-out, you know you have an animal friend that loves you.

Alive

It’s a beautiful 70 degrees at 7pm here in Central Oregon. I took the RE out and I’m cruising. The city is alive tonight. I’m at WRB watching the Mariners and the Astros. The Mariners are playing well…

I miss you Baby. Don’t hold it against me… I can’t wait for you to get back here so I can hold you in my arms and tell you how much I love you.

The nice thing about having a website that no one reads is that you can say nice things and no one is the wiser.

For the next 365 days, I will be presenting here a Stoic Thought of the Day. All of the entries are inspired by the book “The Daily Stoic,” by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman. I can in no way take credit for these thoughts, for that you have to look to these two authors and the Stoics themselves. What I can take credit for (nominally) is the presentation. I have tried to shape each entry in my own words, and with an eye towards that portion of the author’s work the speaks to me personally.

The Shit Must Go

I’m very close to getting rid of everything I own. Simplify…. It might be the best way to find yourself, and as a consequence, rededicate yourself to the things that matter most…

My Journal

This website is not my journal. I can’t let you into my journal because to do so would be to expose myself in a way that would be uncomfortable for both of us. That said, the entries in my journal usually end up here in some shape or form, altered as much as possible to protect the innocent, that includes both of us.

How To Write A Novel?

If I were to ask Google that question, I’m afraid I would come up with an answer that is beyond my skill and ability. The reality is I need to be content with where I am at this very moment, but not loose the vision of where I would like to be. Isn’t that the key to life? Holding onto where we are and looking ahead to where we want to be? I may not possess the skill to be a novelist but that doesn’t mean that someday those skills might not magically appear? That’s a joke… That sort of thing Isn’t magic.

I spent the greater portion of my life as a software developer, not an unrewarding career in terms of personal satisfaction, but where would I be today if I had understood who I was in my twenties as well as I understand who I am today… I say that without regret, rather with amazement.

Love

The thing I love more in life than my partner is writing… and my cat… and my children… and my friend’s children… and my truck… and skiing…

You get the idea. That’s not an all inclusive list, but I’ve tried to prioritize prudently… I should mention along with all of those things… I love life.

Good Writing

Good writing and good speaking require three elements.

Ethos: Establish a foundation with your reader by showing them that you have good character. (Don’t be a selfish asshole.)

Logos: Use logic. Make arguments and back them up with facts. Don’t make outrageous statements and imply to your audience that they should accept what you say just because you are saying it. (Don’t be a selfish asshole.)

Pathos: Provide emotion when you argue you point. Don’t just say what you think. Describe how that makes you feel and why your reader or listener might want to feel that too. (Don’t be a selfish asshole.)

Next time you are listening to some person telling you what you should be thinking, ask yourself if they are using ethos, logos, and pathos. (If they aren’t following these rules they are probable a selfish asshole.)

News

I can’t watch the news any more. I can’t understand how we have strayed from our values as a nation. I’m not talking about DEI, I’m taking about the denial of basic human rights and caring for those that are the least among us.

Selfishly, I was hoping for a peaceful retirement, now I look out and feel stress every day. Our country is in such turmoil, I feel that I need to do something to put us back on a democratic course where everyone respects one-another and listens to each other’s views. I just don’t know how to do that.

I shouldn’t have majored in Political Science when our nation still had a solid grip on basic values.

Writing

One of the things I admire most in life is beautiful writing. To sit with a page of text in front of you and be inspired, to feel in touch with the person speaking to you through pulp and ink, that is a marvel and a revelation.

My Baby

My baby has been gone for a while. I miss her. I doubt there is any way she could know how much I love her. That is the mystery of love. Real love is so very hard to express. There’s music, and of course there is poetry (neither of which I am able to create). Nothing is really able to show someone the connection they have made to your soul beyond saying, “I love you” and holding them as close as you can in your arms. That’s all we can do, so do it with all our heart.

Aging

The good thing about being in your 70’s and having a beautiful partner that fulfills your every romantic desire as well as fulfills your social needs…. Is that you don’t have to worry about meeting her parents…

Best Whiskeys For Your Dollar

1. Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 7 Year
2. Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel
3. Wild Turkey Rare Breed
4. Russel’s Reserve 10 Year
5. Old Grand-Dad 114

The first thing you have to know is that all of these lean in the toasted direction. If that’s your thing (it is for me) you can’t go wrong with any of them. Out of these five, The Russel’s Reserve 10 Year is my favorite… (Today.)

The DOJ

Thomas Paine once said America is different from England because “in America, the law is the king.”

If you consider the long history of legal actions since our founding and

asked, what made America different from England, that statment has always carried a ring of truth. America has not always upheld that ideal, but, taking the long view, it has made great progress toward that principle. In recent decades, the Department of Justice has become the institutional embodiment of this aspiration. We see today that institution being subverted for political convenience. The Supreme Court has laid the groundwork for an Authoritarian form of government in the United States. The Conservative Justices, John Roberts in particular because of his pivotal role, will go down in history as the architects of the decline of the rule of law in America. I hope to live long enough to see myself proven wrong.

Wake Up America

Wake up America, Donald Trump is trolling You. What he says he is doing for you is completely different than what he is doing for himself. He wants power and money and his desire to make America great again ends there.

Shakespeare and Eliot Cohen say it much better than I can:

“The underlying motives of Kings (and Presidents) are selfish and crass, the populous are routinely used in service of their leaders’ ambition and errors.”

Area 51

This from Wikipedia:

Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport or Groom Lake. Details of its operations are not made public, but the USAF says that it is an open training range, and it is commonly thought to support the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems. The USAF and CIA acquired the site in 1955, primarily for flight testing the Lockheed U-2 aircraft. The intense secrecy surrounding the base has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component of unidentified flying object folklore. It has never been declared a secret base, but all research and occurrences in Area 51 are Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information.

Of course, boomers like me believe it’s where the U.S. stores and studies the ETs captured or crashed on earth…

I remember when I took my dad to Area 51. It was a father son bonding experience. We hiked about a mile to reach the perimeter fence. I remember how freaked out he was when I went up to the guard house and knocked on the window. The windows were one-way glass. Pretty sure no one was there but who really knows? The best part was the look on my dad’s face. My personal opinion is that surviving ET’s have been pressed into service as guards… since you can’t see inside the guard houses.

Cat in the Wild

I was recently boon-docking 12 miles south of Fredonia. The cat was off-leash and doing fine. He was exploring his surroundings. He’s a good boy, he comes when I call him. (That’s good for a cat, but, I’m pretty sure he knows who feeds him.) I have to admit, sleeping with him in my OffGrid is about as good as it gets, unless my other best friend were here with us… Don’t worry baby, the cat can’t replace you…

Overlanding

People stop me in parking lots and complement me on my overland build. It feels good. I haven’t gotten a lot of recognition in my life. That’s okay. These encounters make it alright and worth every penny!

I’ve got everything I need to stay out indefinitely if I want to, there’s only one problem, I forgot the whiskey glasses. That means I’m forced to sip High West Double Rye from a measuring cup. I’ll never make that mistake again.

True Confession

“It might sound funny but it ain’t no joke, it takes a whole lot a money for me to stay broke.” Not my words, but no truer words spoken.

I’m a slave to my passions. Take my advice, the trick in life is to find a passion that doesn’t cost a lot of money.