"This might sound like our story: the story of a hominin species, living in tropical Africa a few million years ago, becoming global. Instead, it is the story of a group of ant species, living in Central and South America a few hundred years ago, who spread across the planet by weaving themselves into European networks of exploration, trade, colonisation and war – some even stowed away on the 16th-century Spanish galleons that carried silver across the Pacific from Acapulco to Manila. During the past four centuries, these animals have globalised their societies alongside our own."
Just finished " Master and Commander" by Patrick O' Brian 1970 it is the first of a long series of sea tales. If you like the 1700's and men of war battle ships you will like this book. Now I have to start the hunt for the next one in the series.
I've been seeing articles on autofocusing glasses and sunglasses for a little while, not sure I want my eye muscles to atrophy though in case I lose my glasses or the battery runs out.
Join us on Zoom vHerf (Meeting # 2619860114 Password vHerf2020 )
@TRayB said:
Starting this tonight, picked it up on my recent visit.
My Dad sent me a copy of this book while I was at a place called Khe Sanh. I read in the rain and the mud while I could until the book got soaked. Reminded me of my predicament.
@TRayB said:
Starting this tonight, picked it up on my recent visit.
My Dad sent me a copy of this book while I was at a place called Khe Sanh. I read in the rain and the mud while I could until the book got soaked. Reminded me of my predicament.
You must have read a different book. This book was only published in 1994.
@First_Warrior said:
I remember the title being the same. A notorious place. Probably more than one book published about it.
I'm sure more than one book about it, yes. The subtitle of this book is The Last Depot
We drove on the paved road around it, and walked around the site a little bit (it was pretty cold the day we were there), but we didn't walk inside the indicated stockade perimeter or deadline. It seemed sacrilegious to set foot on the actual ground of so much suffering.
@First_Warrior said:
I remember the title being the same. A notorious place. Probably more than one book published about it.
Pretty sure you're right, because when I saw it here I thought "Oh yeah, I remember that from High School". That was well before 2022.
WARNING: The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme. Proceed at your own risk.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
@silvermouse said:
People speculate 'world is ending' as AT&T cell phone outage sparks feverish conspiracy theories
We are fragile people living in self-imposed fear. Resiliency is a casualty it seems.
Can you imagine how the ‘younger’ generation will react when it actually does go down for a period of time??
They will absolutely lose their damn minds.
The first of the new images, taken as the lander touched down, shows at least one of its legs had been shattered, with rocks and dust being blown away at high speed by the force of the rocket engine.
Racing to catch a subway train recently, I tripped on the stairs leading to the platform, steadying myself only barely by grabbing the arm of an unsuspecting and rightfully alarmed fellow passenger. I sustained no major damage — a scraped knee, a bruise on my thigh I’d discover a week later. These injuries were, I told myself in the aftermath, well deserved. I’d disregarded one of my precepts for personal happiness, the one that stipulates, “Most misery is caused by rushing.”
My fall was the most basic evidence of this, a frying-pan-over-the-head reminder that running late and reckless from one place to the next puts one at risk of a spill. But there was also all the incidental unhappiness I’d incurred and inflicted in the lead-up: I’d been rushing to get out of the house, which put me in a foul mood. I’d been impatient with everyone I encountered on the way to the subway, adding some measure of unpleasantness to their mornings.
We rush because we’re late. We also rush because we want to move quickly away from discomfort. We rush to come up with solutions to problems that would benefit from more sustained consideration. We rush into obligations or decisions or relationships because we want things settled.
Worrying is a kind of rushing: It’s uncomfortable to sit in a state of uncertainty, so we fast-forward the tape, accelerating our lives past the present moment into fearsome imagined scenarios.
A friend and I remind each other regularly of a radio news segment she heard years ago. The reporter concluded the story, about a mess of delays on the Long Island Rail Road, with the line, “These commuters are ready for this day to be over, once and for all.” Of course the message was the commuters wanted to get home and have dinner and go to bed already. But the finality of “once and for all” made it sound as though the commuters were so fed up that they wanted to end that day and all days. Or, as my friend wrote: “Certainly at one point the day will definitely be over once and for all for each of us. Is that what we’re rushing toward?”
This obsession with being done with things, of living life like an endless to-do list, is ridiculous. I find myself sometimes having a lovely time, out to dinner with friends, say, and I’ll notice an insistent hankering for the dinner to be over. Why? So I can get to the next thing, who cares what the next thing is, just keep going. Keep rushing, even through the good parts.
In Marie Howe’s poem “Hurry,” she describes running errands with a child in tow. “Hurry up honey, I say, hurry,” she urges, as the little one scampers to keep up. Then she wonders: “Where do I want her to hurry to? To her grave? / To mine? Where one day she might stand all grown?”
This is not novel advice, to stop and smell the roses, to be here now, to slow down. But it’s not easily heeded. Our culture, now as ever, rewards hustle. The Silicon Valley maxim “Done is better than perfect” can be constructive when applied to procrastination. But we bring it to bear on situations in which “done” is not necessarily a desirable goal.
Since my subway incident, I’ve been trying to notice when I’m rushing, physically and psychologically. “Where are you going?” I ask myself. “And why are you in such a hurry?” That pause helps put a little space between here and there, and might, with any luck, avert future misery.
Comments
" Rumble Tumble" by Joe R. Lansdale. 1998. Pretty good read about West Texas
"This might sound like our story: the story of a hominin species, living in tropical Africa a few million years ago, becoming global. Instead, it is the story of a group of ant species, living in Central and South America a few hundred years ago, who spread across the planet by weaving themselves into European networks of exploration, trade, colonisation and war – some even stowed away on the 16th-century Spanish galleons that carried silver across the Pacific from Acapulco to Manila. During the past four centuries, these animals have globalised their societies alongside our own."
https://aeon.co/essays/the-strange-and-turbulent-global-world-of-ant-geopoliticsLIST_EMAIL_ID]
https://aeon.co/essays/the-strange-and-turbulent-global-world-of-ant-geopolitics is the link that works
Just finished " Master and Commander" by Patrick O' Brian 1970 it is the first of a long series of sea tales. If you like the 1700's and men of war battle ships you will like this book. Now I have to start the hunt for the next one in the series.
A Century of Growth? A History of Tobacco Production and Marketing in Malawi 1890-2005
This is intriguing, I hope it reaches production
https://www.fastcompany.com/91028178/these-new-spiral-contact-lenses-could-give-you-perfectly-clear-vision-at-any-distance
Is be happy to have good vision at just one distance.
Trapped in the People's Communist Republic of Massachusetts.
I've been seeing articles on autofocusing glasses and sunglasses for a little while, not sure I want my eye muscles to atrophy though in case I lose my glasses or the battery runs out.
Starting this tonight, picked it up on my recent visit.
My Dad sent me a copy of this book while I was at a place called Khe Sanh. I read in the rain and the mud while I could until the book got soaked. Reminded me of my predicament.
" Racing The Light " by Robert Crais 2022
You must have read a different book. This book was only published in 1994.
I remember the title being the same. A notorious place. Probably more than one book published about it.
I'm sure more than one book about it, yes. The subtitle of this book is The Last Depot
We drove on the paved road around it, and walked around the site a little bit (it was pretty cold the day we were there), but we didn't walk inside the indicated stockade perimeter or deadline. It seemed sacrilegious to set foot on the actual ground of so much suffering.
Pretty sure you're right, because when I saw it here I thought "Oh yeah, I remember that from High School". That was well before 2022.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
Got my first edition copy of…A Rumor of War. Philip Caputo
A good cigar and whiskey solve most problems.
Princeton researchers report that a new AI model has solved one of the major roadblocks to generating fusion energy.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3w4am/scientists-claim-ai-breakthrough-to-generate-boundless-clean-fusion-energy?utm_source=email&utm_medium=editorial&utm_content=tech&utm_campaign=240221
They will probably die mysteriously.
Trapped in the People's Communist Republic of Massachusetts.
People speculate 'world is ending' as AT&T cell phone outage sparks feverish conspiracy theories
We are fragile people living in self-imposed fear. Resiliency is a casualty it seems.
The superhydrophobic leaf hopper
https://entomologytoday.org/2024/02/22/leafhopper-brochosomes-water-repellent-nanoparticles-inspiring-future-materials/
Very cool…but why do they think it is afraid of water?
Can you imagine how the ‘younger’ generation will react when it actually does go down for a period of time??
They will absolutely lose their damn minds.
A good cigar and whiskey solve most problems.
We have all become very dependent on electronics. Imagine what an emp would do.
Probably afraid of looking like a fly fishing lure 😜
A good cigar and whiskey solve most problems.
Fuentes factory pictures
https://www.cigaraficionado.com/article/a-walking-tour-of-the-fantastic-fuente-factory
Has anyone read
D DAY Through German Eyes: Book One and Book Two
Holger Eckhertz
A good cigar and whiskey solve most problems.
" Florida Firefight " By Randy Wayne White writing as Carl Ramm 1984. Early work by White as he was learning the ropes and becoming an author.
The first of the new images, taken as the lander touched down, shows at least one of its legs had been shattered, with rocks and dust being blown away at high speed by the force of the rocket engine.
Hurry up and wait
By Melissa Kirsch, NYT
Racing to catch a subway train recently, I tripped on the stairs leading to the platform, steadying myself only barely by grabbing the arm of an unsuspecting and rightfully alarmed fellow passenger. I sustained no major damage — a scraped knee, a bruise on my thigh I’d discover a week later. These injuries were, I told myself in the aftermath, well deserved. I’d disregarded one of my precepts for personal happiness, the one that stipulates, “Most misery is caused by rushing.”
My fall was the most basic evidence of this, a frying-pan-over-the-head reminder that running late and reckless from one place to the next puts one at risk of a spill. But there was also all the incidental unhappiness I’d incurred and inflicted in the lead-up: I’d been rushing to get out of the house, which put me in a foul mood. I’d been impatient with everyone I encountered on the way to the subway, adding some measure of unpleasantness to their mornings.
We rush because we’re late. We also rush because we want to move quickly away from discomfort. We rush to come up with solutions to problems that would benefit from more sustained consideration. We rush into obligations or decisions or relationships because we want things settled.
Worrying is a kind of rushing: It’s uncomfortable to sit in a state of uncertainty, so we fast-forward the tape, accelerating our lives past the present moment into fearsome imagined scenarios.
A friend and I remind each other regularly of a radio news segment she heard years ago. The reporter concluded the story, about a mess of delays on the Long Island Rail Road, with the line, “These commuters are ready for this day to be over, once and for all.” Of course the message was the commuters wanted to get home and have dinner and go to bed already. But the finality of “once and for all” made it sound as though the commuters were so fed up that they wanted to end that day and all days. Or, as my friend wrote: “Certainly at one point the day will definitely be over once and for all for each of us. Is that what we’re rushing toward?”
This obsession with being done with things, of living life like an endless to-do list, is ridiculous. I find myself sometimes having a lovely time, out to dinner with friends, say, and I’ll notice an insistent hankering for the dinner to be over. Why? So I can get to the next thing, who cares what the next thing is, just keep going. Keep rushing, even through the good parts.
In Marie Howe’s poem “Hurry,” she describes running errands with a child in tow. “Hurry up honey, I say, hurry,” she urges, as the little one scampers to keep up. Then she wonders: “Where do I want her to hurry to? To her grave? / To mine? Where one day she might stand all grown?”
This is not novel advice, to stop and smell the roses, to be here now, to slow down. But it’s not easily heeded. Our culture, now as ever, rewards hustle. The Silicon Valley maxim “Done is better than perfect” can be constructive when applied to procrastination. But we bring it to bear on situations in which “done” is not necessarily a desirable goal.
Since my subway incident, I’ve been trying to notice when I’m rushing, physically and psychologically. “Where are you going?” I ask myself. “And why are you in such a hurry?” That pause helps put a little space between here and there, and might, with any luck, avert future misery.
" The Midnight Line" by Lee Child 2017. Found this in a paperback at a small church based thrift store. Good read as always with a Jack Reacher tale.