For What It's Worth

Memoir from Hell

Rick — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:49:44 +0000

It took me over five years to discover that the Gates of Hell had no locks on them. All that time I had been holding myself prisoner there when I could have left my bondage at any time. And so I left. I pushed open the gate and walked out, leaving my guilt and shame behind me as I forgave myself for my sins. Whether or not anyone else forgave me didn’t really matter. I was remorseful and I had done my penance. I had repented and felt it was time to put it all behind me, apply what I had learned and move on with my life. Suffering is a choice and I chose not to suffer. The matter is closed, the records are sealed and the topic is not open to discussion.

That’s all I have to say about that. For what it’s worth…

Twitter Detritus (08-10)

Rick — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:37:25 +0000

Another month’s worth of mental flotsam and jetsam in chewable, easy-to-swallow, tweet-sized bites:

01 – Computer parts assembled. Still need to load OS, apps & data. It should keep me busy for a while.
04 – Working on Linux challenges. It would probably be simpler if I didn’t have a network but what fun would that be?
05 – Enjoyed the Kristin Luna Ray "Where Heaven Meets the Earth" concert online. Great show!
06 – How can I feel so listless when I have so many lists? That may be the problem, too many lists. Be in the moment and do what feels right.
06 – Feel much better after Sat Kriya and meditation.
07 – RT @spoiledyogi "Do you buy a birthday present for yourself?" Absolutely!
08 – Successful install of Mint 9 yesterday on the PC I set up for the grandkids. Looks pretty good. Haven’t had a chance to do anything with it.
12 – RT @spoiledyogi: When in doubt, breathe.
14 – RT @yisforyogini: having a sense of humor in life is crucial.
15 – Taking the trash out to the curb, a sure sign the weekend is rapidly drawing to a close. Wait! I didn’t accomplish anything…again
18 – Getting back into my yoga groove. Working on the core, facing the challenge. I will thank myself for it later.
19 – My life is an open book but some of the pages may be missing or stuck together. (Some may still be "classified")
21 – Challenging, sweaty yoga class this morning. It wasn’t hot yoga but my mat needs a good cleaning now.
22 – RT @youngstownnude: Was it difficult for you to try social nudism? Had to work up the nerve but once there, most natural thing in the world.
22 – RT @yogadork: If you don’t know where to start, start with yoga #yogadork
24 – RT @yisforyogini: nothing tastes more like summer than watermelon.
25 – Great hot yoga practice this evening. Pleasantly tired in a good way.
27 – 1st Jim Bennitt workshop was good. Surprised myself esp since I wore jeans & forgot my mat. Very relaxed afterwards. 3 more this weekend.
28 – A full day of yoga with two workshops & a bonus class on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Next, an evening with my grandchildren.
29 – Great yoga weekend with 4 workshops by Jim Bennitt. Lots of good things for my "yoga toolbox." Asana practices left me feeling great.
29 – Enjoying "Awaken" and "Yoga hOMe", Luna’s first two CDs. Great music!
30 – My picture is in The Bulletin (Sept 2010), page 8, Cedar Trails. I’m on the right side, toward the middle, wearing a blue ball cap.
31 – Here I am, on the cusp of September. Where has 2/3 of the year gone?
31 – Received Sharon Gannon’s "Sharanam" CD today. Mantras in an eclectic mix of musical styles. Very upbeat though I like the slower tracks.

For what it’s worth…

Technorati Tags: Linux,nudism,yoga

Friends

Rick — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:28:31 +0000

I have many different kinds of friends. I have friends with whom I’ve shared a common bond of service, friends I’ve known from childhood, friends I’ve worked with and friends with whom I share common interests. Some of these friendships I’ve maintained for decades, some I’ve recently renewed after many years. Some friends are people I have yet to meet in person. Some are related to me, both close and distant relatives, many of whom I only know through online networking and correspondence.

Many of these friends come together in the virtual world of Facebook. They all share the common link of being in my Friends List, even though many do not share mutual friendships. Within Facebook, I have them segregated into different groups base on my relationship to each.

Sometimes it’s interesting to see the reactions and comments I receive to comments I make on my Wall since my comments, which may be meant for a certain group of friends, are generally seen by all. Sometimes I get comments from people outside of the intended group who don’t necessarily share the common bonds I have with the intended recipients.

There are times when I feel that perhaps I should consider how everyone in my list will view or interpret what I say, that I should edit my words beforehand, censor myself as it were. I gave that some serious thought today and I decided that I would not compromise my integrity. My "friends" will have to accept me as I am. To be anything other than who I am or to attempt to appease everyone is wrong.

People will just have to accept that I am a computer geek with Luddite tendencies who practices yoga and naturism, leans slightly towards Buddhism in his religious ideas, tends to be a bit of a Jeffersonian Constitutionalist in his politics and has a variety of interests, opinions and viewpoints that may not be shared by everyone.

Indeed, some of my friends may vehemently disagree with my religious, political and philosophical views and I certainly respect their right to disagree. I would hope that they respect my right to have my ideas and beliefs. I only believe what I myself have tested and judged to be true but I’m open to other possibilities.

For what it’s worth…

Technorati Tags: common bonds,compromise,Facebook,friends

Two Wolves

Rick — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 19:04:13 +0000

A little something I received in an email from a friend the other day:

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

“One is Evil – It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

“The other is Good – It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

That’s a pretty good allegory although I don’t necessarily separate things into Good versus Evil, Black versus White or Red versus Blue. Categorizing things in this way is far too limiting, ignoring the infinite shades of gray in between. It’s the gray areas we need to explore in order to find the real Truth. Still, if you feed the good stuff, life is much better.

For what it’s worth…

Protest and Activism

Rick — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 18:31:16 +0000

The United States was founded on protest and activism. What the founders thought of protest is an interview with historian Joseph J. Ellis about how our founding fathers might look upon today’s activism.

Many of the founding fathers felt that the activism that brought about the American Revolution was justified but they tended to tone it down afterwards, believing that it should be channeled through the ballot box. Some of them, such as Sam Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Ben Franklin would probably understand and appreciate much of today’s protests and activism. Adams might be leading a Tea Party. Jefferson would probably have problems with today’s lobbyists and special interest groups. I think Franklin would probably understand it best and be able to be a voice of reason.

Here are a few points from the interview:

Jefferson believed that a little rebellion now and then was good for the tree of liberty.
For them [George Washington and John Adams], mob action was something that had served a purpose but could now be channeled into organized political activity. They didn’t object to dissent in an organized fashion.
The founders thought groups like political parties or lobby groups were dangerous violators of the principle of public service, that they were narrow and sectarian in their goals. They thought there was no real place for parties in the republic.
Mob actions were very organized in those days. The leading citizens of the community would be pulling the strings and the goal was to make a political statement.
The American commitment abroad would have a lot of critics since we now look like the British Empire. We are the hegemonic power of the day and, theoretically, a republic can’t be an empire. That would give virtually all of founders except Hamilton a great deal of trouble.
The person who would be able to understand us best is Benjamin Franklin. He was the most agile and would have found a way to ingratiate himself with people opposing the banking industry or even American foreign policy. He’s the one who translates into the present with greatest ease.

I tend to be a bit Jeffersonian in my views but I can certainly appreciate the views of the other founding fathers. I agree with Jefferson in his idea that people have the obligation to oppose a government that strays from its true purpose and I honestly believe that the government has strayed and we have the government they warned us against. It’s broken and it needs to be fixed in a methodical, rational way that restores us, as much as possible, to the vision they had for this nation.

However, I’m generally not in favor of public demonstrations and picketing as forms of protest. When I see demonstrations and protests, I usually suspect the credibility of those who organize them and they negate my belief in and my empathy for the cause. Raising awareness and educating people about an issue is are worthy and noble pursuits but there has to be a more effective way to go about it. Perhaps a more subtle approach is needed, making people think without realizing they’re thinking and reaching them without hitting them over the head.

How do you do this? I have no idea. I’m probably living in some Jeffersonian utopia where the government that governs least governs best and individual liberty is prized. But it seems like it would be a good place to live.

For what it’s worth…

The Freedom to be Foolish

Rick — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:17:56 +0000

While most of us may consider it distasteful, and indeed foolish, to wear ones pants so low as to expose the underwear, as the Court stated in O’Gorman, “people can dress as they please, wear anything, so long as they do not offend public order and decency.”… Moreover, “the Constitution still leaves some opportunity for people to be foolish if they so desire.”

Judge Ruben Franco ruling that saggy pants are not, in fact, illegal and do not constitute “Disorderly Conduct.”

I, for one, am not in favor of the fashion of wearing saggy pants but I don’t believe that wearing pants in that manner should be illegal. Just because I find it distasteful, doesn’t mean that I should run to the authorities and demand that something be done to prevent it. That, I think, is one of the biggest challenges to our freedom. No, it’s not some group of terrorists in a cave somewhere in the Middle East, it’s Americans themselves. Every time someone brings in some authority figure (police, the courts, the legislature, etc.), and demand that they do something about petty things that annoy or offend us, we willingly hand over a little piece of our freedom to the government. A little piece here, a little piece there. After a while it adds up and pretty soon, we’ve handed it all over and we find ourselves in a fascist, totalitarian state, wondering who took our freedom away. It was us, stupid. We gave it away of our own free will so that we could be spared being annoyed and offended by inconsequential annoyances like saggy britches and naked people.

For what it’s worth…

Twitter Detritus (07-10)

Rick — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 03:48:00 +0000

Another month’s worth of mental flotsam and jetsam in chewable, easy-to-swallow, tweet-sized bites:

01 – 169 lbs today. 46 lbs lost. Need new pants.
02 – saw this actual help desk ticket today at work: “user states that her monitor is not working when her laptop is not docked…”
03 – What part of “1st Saturday of the month” doesn’t the city of Huber Heights understand? It’s their schedule. Don’t they have calendars?
05 – RT @spoiledyogi: Love this! RT @hadleypollet Today, I’m cultivating sacred space in the pigsty — Out with the oinks in with the oms.
08 – Looking forward to fun in the sun on Saturday at Cedar Trails. Should be very relaxing. Bringing plenty of sunscreen.
09 – Made it through 1st yoga class in 2 weeks. No pain, pulled muscle seems to have heeled well. Abi seemed to have balance problems.
10 – 1 of 111 skinnydippers in Cedar Trails’ 20×40 pool this afternoon and there was room for more.
10 – Finished reading the Yoga Sutras. “It is the mind that does all Yoga practice, not the real you.”
11 – Tried my hand at painting nails this afternoon. Apparently, I did a good job, the client was pleased.
13 – Help desk ticket: reporting she has 2 pc’s not working, [pc in] 6536 is giving a “funky error”
14 – 1st hot yoga class since going to the ER. It was a good practice though I did find myself going to Child’s Pose to rest once.
16 – What good is a camera phone if there is no apparent way to get the photo to a device where I can do something with it?
17 – Up late rearranging my network/server stuff. Retired Web server, Will retire W2K servers once I get a Linux server up and configured.
18 – Good yoga class this morning. It felt good.
18 – Began reading “Light on Life” by B.k.S. Iyengar. Looks to be a good read.
19 – Time to get dressed so I can go out and coexist with the repressive society.
19 – Email from the office of Rep John Boehner in my junk mail folder. Should that mean anything?
19 – My foot may never reach the opposite armpit and I’m OK with that. Just the same, I have arm balance envy.
22 – is feeling kind of noncommittal this morning. I guess I’ll go to work and benefit society in some small way.
23 – RT @yisforyogini: the real Guru is within.
23 – better put some clothes on and integrate with “polite” society. The sacrifices one makes to earn a living.
23 – Fixed my laptop. Now have indicator LEDs & all USB ports. 1 screw left over & touch pad not working but I can live with those for now.
24 – Updated pages on the MojoNude Blog, adding a couple of pictures I took this morning and editing some content.
24 – Intermediate yoga kicked my ass, chewed it up and spat it out again. First intermediate class in quite a while.I know what needs to be done.
25 – Made a little private retreat in the backyard. all I need now is a pool.
27 – That extra 30 minutes of sleep is bliss but it comes at a price.
27 – Practicing non-attachment – cleared out a truck load of old computer stuff. Letting go
28 – Donated the truckload of computer stuff to a non-profit recycler. No cost, warm fuzzy and a tax deduction.
30 – My parts should be here today. I’ll be in geek heaven this weekend.

For what it’s worth…

Cars and Freedom

Rick — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:33:27 +0000

I saw a commercial on TV yesterday showing George Washington and his soldiers charging a British firing line while driving muscle cars. The tagline was “Two things we got right — cars and freedom.”

Bullshit! We don’t have either of them right, we are not even close.

Overall, Japanese and European cars are superior to ours and most Europeans enjoy much greater personal freedom than we do. If our cars are so great, then why did the government feel the need to bail out Chrysler and General Motors? American cars are big and haul ass on a straightaway but generally, imports are more fuel efficient, better engineered and better handling.

And if we got freedom right, why is the government regulating damned near every aspect of our lives? Hell, we are constantly asking the government to step in to handle our differences and to protect us from anything that might offend or annoy us. In the world ranking of nations with the most personal freedom, we are not even in the top 20. We talk a lot about freedom but the idea of real freedom scares the shit out of most Americans, particularly those who hold any kind of power over people. The concepts of freedom espoused by our own founding fathers are too radical and frightening to the average American, especially those who hold power.

For what it’s worth…

Twitter Detritus (06-10)

Rick — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:40:00 +0000

Another month’s worth of mental flotsam and jetsam in chewable, easy-to-swallow, tweet-sized bites:

03 – Should be a fun day. Half the staff is out and I’m getting a root canal. The fun never ends.
03 – Finished reading “Samadhi Pada”. Won’t claim to understand it all but many ideas I held before yoga became more clear and better defined.
05 – Broke a crown this morning whilst eating my toast. May have been the one that just had the root canal. Argh!
06 – Watched Alice in Wonderland last night. Enjoyed it. Yellowbeard and Dogma today. Good movies too.
06 – Some tempus nudus this afternoon. So free, so comfortable, so relaxing.
08 – Pain that has not yet come is avoidable. ~ The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, II.16
10 – Very good hot yoga class with Courtney last night. Good pace and flow, very sweaty but not tiring. Savasana came too soon.
10 – Re: last tweet. I was referring strictly to the yoga practice. Nothing else implied, inferred or intended.
10 – Saw a “NOBAMA” bumpersticker. What’s this guy got against Alabama?
12 – Good yoga class this morning. Substitute teacher which always makes it interesting. Sorry, can’t get my shoulder under my knee yet.
13 – Boring details of my life today: yoga, lunch, haircut, shopping, laundry, history lesson to granddaughter, home, dinner, reading. and so on.
13 – Awaiting Mama’s return. It’s been a long weekend without her.
14 – Seriously considering turning in early tonight, just to see what it’s like to get 6 hours of sleep.
15 – Touchdown Jesus destroyed by an act of God. Oh, the irony! 16,000 lbs of Styrofoam around a 60-ft tall lightning rod. What’d ya expect?
17 – Today’s mystery: All of my clean underwear has disappeared. Underpants gnomes? What will I do if I get in an accident?
18 – Mystery remains unsolved. Found a pair the underpants gnomes missed. (“Take underpants, make profit.”)
18 – Mower has been running great but tonight, no joy. Hoping it’s something as simple as an air filter. With me, it’s never that simple.
19 – Picked up and installed new washer. Ran a couple loads while I read the instructions.
20 – New underpants for Father’s Day! Nothing lacy but still quite functional. Thanks Honeyko.
22 – Another day of wearing pants. Looking forward to Saturday.
24 – So tired this morning. Yoga tonight? It may depend on my hip. Listening to my body and it’s saying, “Ouch!”
25 – Finished Sadhana Pada in the Yoga Sutras. Good stuff.
25 – Looking forward to visiting Dad this weekend as well as side trip to Westfield and SDF. Relaxation, meditation and tempus nudus.
27 – Had a great weekend. Spent some quality time with Dad. Also freehiked Chautauqua Gorge on Saturday – great fun.
30 – Late start this morning, an hour after I should have gotten up. I hate being in a rush.
30 – Pulled muscle is feeling much better today, just the usual aches and pains. Planning on yoga with Abigail tomorrow. I’ve missed my practice.

For what it’s worth…

Morning Radio Wasteland

Rick — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:55:19 +0000

About the only time I listen to the radio is while driving and, on my morning commute, I’m generally unimpressed by what’s coming out of my speakers. I often find it annoying and sometimes downright irritating.

For instance, there’s the The Bob and Tom Show. I used to enjoy listening but some mornings I just can’t tolerate it. It’s the same schtick they’ve been doing for years and it’s getting very stale. Tom Griswold’s rants are getting tiresome. Why do they have to ruin every parody and humorous song with the laugh track? I also can’t stand it when people laugh at their own jokes. If a bit is funny, I’ll know it. I don’t need to be told. If you have to tell people something is funny, then it probably isn’t.

On another station, there’s Bubba the Lovesponge (sounds like a feminine hygiene product). He sounds just like every other talk jock on the radio. I honestly can’t tell them apart either by their voices or their opinions. I’m certain they only exist to piss people off with their ranting and raving about what’s wrong with the world. They got plenty of opinions but no answers. They continually spew their ignorance and bigotry over the airwaves. Anyone who presents an opinion counter to theirs is ridiculed and dismissed as a a commie liberal asshole. If they do any fact checking it’s only for facts that support their biased opinions. I don’t see that talk jocks contribute anything worthwhile to society.

Then there are the commercials. I know advertising is necessary to pay the bills but why do they insist on trying to obtain my patronage by insulting and annoying me?

So many radio and television ads spread the mantra “It’s not your fault.” It’s not your fault you’re fat. It’s not your fault that you’re up to your eyeballs in debt and can’t get a loan. It’s not your fault your life sucks. If it’s not your fault, then who’s fault is it? It’s been my general observation that if your life is totally fucked up, there’s only one person you can blame. Who is that? you ask. If you don’t know, take a look in the mirror.

A lot of ads promise people that they can get the credit, the loan, the car, the computer, etc. that they “deserve.” What kind of bullshit is that? Who told you that you deserved anything? I’ve got some bad news for you. The world doesn’t owe you a fucking thing. If you think the world owes you something then all you deserve is a kick in the ass. If you think you really deserve something, then you need to get off your fat, lazy ass and work for it. It’s a time-honored traditions that has worked for millions of people for thousands of generations. Try it sometime, it may help you appreciate what you do have..

People, it’s time to pull your heads out of your asses and face reality. I don’t mean some kind of contrived television show reality but real life. In the real world, you have to adapt to reality, it doesn’t adapt to you.

For what it’s worth…