Posts for: Manning345
Oct 16, 2018 14:28:58 #
When retirement loomed closer, I tried to pick out where I would most like to live, starting with the places I knew. I wrote down my specifications for the ideal retirement area and applied it to all the places I could conceive as candidates, None matched my criteria. Above the Mason-Dixon Line it is too cold, the southern states are much too hot, I do not fancy snow, ice, hurricanes, tornados. earthquakes, tsunamis, mistrals,
or floods.
It turns out, of course, that hardly any location can avoid the ravages of nature, so I gave in to my wife and we returned to Virginia. So far here in Richmond we have had two hurricanes, an earthquake, and ten tornados, none of which caused us any harm, fortunately!
20. Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
Very occasionally, when it seems the signal didn't take, I do.
21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
I would rather be somewhere about or above the mean as Aristotle championed.
22. Why are you, you?
That is how I grew up, worked, played, and attained the status of damned old.
23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
I think so. I have more friends than enemies by far.
24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
A seeming permanent loss is worse and possibly an end.
25. What are you most grateful for?
My faith in God.
26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
With certainty I can relish my important memories, and they are still vivid in my mind. At 88 there is not much to relish going forward.
27. Is it possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
Truth is there to be discovered, and you may want to challenge it to convince yourself of its truth, but many truths are accepted without the need for a challenge.
28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
Not yet.
29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
Vividly! It taught me a very important lesson that has served me well.
30. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
I suppose I was basically a happy child and found much pleasure in many things, not just one memory,
31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
Summer of 1999.
32. If not now, then when?
Tomorrow, if the rain stops and the wind calms down, Today it's too wet to plow and too windy to pick rock.
or floods.
It turns out, of course, that hardly any location can avoid the ravages of nature, so I gave in to my wife and we returned to Virginia. So far here in Richmond we have had two hurricanes, an earthquake, and ten tornados, none of which caused us any harm, fortunately!
20. Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
Very occasionally, when it seems the signal didn't take, I do.
21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
I would rather be somewhere about or above the mean as Aristotle championed.
22. Why are you, you?
That is how I grew up, worked, played, and attained the status of damned old.
23. Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
I think so. I have more friends than enemies by far.
24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
A seeming permanent loss is worse and possibly an end.
25. What are you most grateful for?
My faith in God.
26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
With certainty I can relish my important memories, and they are still vivid in my mind. At 88 there is not much to relish going forward.
27. Is it possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
Truth is there to be discovered, and you may want to challenge it to convince yourself of its truth, but many truths are accepted without the need for a challenge.
28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
Not yet.
29. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
Vividly! It taught me a very important lesson that has served me well.
30. What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
I suppose I was basically a happy child and found much pleasure in many things, not just one memory,
31. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
Summer of 1999.
32. If not now, then when?
Tomorrow, if the rain stops and the wind calms down, Today it's too wet to plow and too windy to pick rock.
Oct 16, 2018 14:27:19 #
pafret wrote:
Questions br br i The responses to these questio... (show quote)
“50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind (or Destroy it)”
by Marc Chernoff
"These questions have no right or wrong answers, because sometimes asking the right questions is the answer.
1. How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
On the last years physically; about 55 mentally.
2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
Failing is the way to learn and grow.
3. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
Life is a continual evolution of likes and dislikes, some temporary and some more permanent.
4. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
Most likely more said as old age sets in, but more done in my career.
5. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
The Godless; the aggressors; the ignorant; the poor and disabled people.
6. If happiness were the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
Problem solving.
7. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
The best answer is yes I believe in what I am doing, considering my age.
8. If the average human life span were 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
I would concentrate more on my health, marry sooner, and go up-tempo with my career.
9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
Well enough on marriage, parenting and career; rather haphazardly in other domains
10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
The simple answer is BOTH. I try to do the right things right. If things go sour, I revert to doing the right thing if I can.
11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
I declare my friendship with her, and that I will not continue in the conversation.
12. If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
Tell the truth. Or, simply Hi!
13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
As a last resort, yes. But circumstances alter cases. If by saving my loved one, many others would be killed, I would be in a dilemma.
14. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
There may be a germ of creativity in madness, but no, I haven't seen it clearly.
15. What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
At this point in time, not much. But in my career I was able to use my quick study capability for complex systems applications to fashion winning solutions and lead large teams to create and price out the solutions, which then made a lot of money for my company at that time, and something for me too!
16. How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
My likes and dislikes do not necessarily coincide with others. For instance, my taste in music most certainly bores my daughters. My favorite things do not resonate with others, either. Winning a hard chess game is very satisfying to me, but not too many others appreciate the achievement.
17. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?
All my life I wanted to be a pilot, but physical problems held me back.
18. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?,
Books, I have a large library of books, most of which I do not read or consult at all.
19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
This has been a silent debate in my mind for years. I have travelled to at least 45 states, lived for more than a year or two in each of about 20 states and DC, and overseas in England and Holland, with lots of business trips and vacations travelling throughout Europe, several weeks in Nigeria and one trip to Kuwait.
Oct 15, 2018 13:35:47 #
(Main)
pafret wrote:
That smugness is pervasive, you find it here on OPP and is especially pronounced in some posters such as PeterS. It is what makes it difficult, if not impossible, to alter their mindset; that absolute certainty that they know without an Iota of logic or evidence to support that certainty.
A number of reasons for adopting the Liberal mantle occur to me, and I hope posters will extend my list or correct it!
1. An intellectual bent early on that tends to set them apart from others of their age.
2. Influence from the father or mother who are themselves liberals, and thus spawn liberals. This can extend to other important figures in their lives.
3. Influence from contemporaries that have been brainwashed earlier.
4. Discovery of literature that convinces them of the rightness of the liberal mantle to help create a society more to their liking while solving some key problems they are concerned about.
5. MSM and Internet screeds (such as OPP) that try to explain the values of liberalism in a convincing manner.
6. Youthful optimism that liberal cures will be good for all, that man can be shaped to fit into their liberal mold, and that some low percentage of people cannot be reached because of their ignorance and stupidity.
7. Frustration with how things are and a desire to fix them as quickly as possible, even with more than a little modicum of coercion.
8. Desire to join up with a winner (in their perception and with the influence of others).
9. A glimmer of what their future might be in the liberal movement, coupled with a desire for power, hence if the liberals win they will be assured of a significant role and career.
10. Imperfect Structuralism and System Building Blindness to the human side of the equation. Second and third order impacts are ignored.
Check out topic: No, the inflation rate wasn't 9% when Biden took office.
Oct 15, 2018 01:31:07 #
(Main)
Another aspect of real concern Resin brings up is that of the various levels of intelligence, awareness, dedication, and knowledge of the American populace. While it may be true that the least of our citizens are not exactly very excited about politics, earning titles like Hicks from the left, a strong majority I believe have life experiences and common sense that can be appealed to if you use the right memes, somewhat as Trump does. telling it like it is, or how many would like it to be. There could be an anti-Liberal movement growing today inspired by Trump's approach (minus all the negatives) that cuts into the liberal camp rather deeply, one voter at a time.
Oct 15, 2018 01:03:35 #
(Main)
On a first read I find much to admire in pafret's posts of an E. Rensin article. For a long time I have observed liberals on the TV talk shows, and have come to realize that most of them, if not all, put on a smug smile of superiority, as if they knew the answers to all questions, and if you give them the time, they will tell them all to you. They seem to believe their own propaganda, because that informs their answers just about every time they speak. Somehow, the party lines and the background arguments for them are disseminated and absorbed as gospel rapidly and thoroughly by even the most junior liberals, and I tend to think they organize teaching sessions for the anointed to ensure the party lines are well known and used.
They are given a worldview and told to live it, and they do! The more intelligent members receive intellectual training in argumentation that permits them to argue effectively for either side of an issue, which is useful when the party line has not yet been fully formed and propagated and they are faced with a debate. Quite the lawyers, they are, and filled to the top with verbal verbosity in Sewell's apt phrase.
This liberal juggernaut is not easily dismantled, although that is exactly what should be done. It will be a lot easier if large numbers of their leadership get seriously mired in the Deep State prosecutions some say is coming.
They are given a worldview and told to live it, and they do! The more intelligent members receive intellectual training in argumentation that permits them to argue effectively for either side of an issue, which is useful when the party line has not yet been fully formed and propagated and they are faced with a debate. Quite the lawyers, they are, and filled to the top with verbal verbosity in Sewell's apt phrase.
This liberal juggernaut is not easily dismantled, although that is exactly what should be done. It will be a lot easier if large numbers of their leadership get seriously mired in the Deep State prosecutions some say is coming.
Oct 14, 2018 09:39:56 #
Oct 14, 2018 09:26:32 #
(Main)
proud republican wrote:
If you are over 12 years old and you live in Chesa... (show quote)
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Richmond allows us to block off the street for a Halloween party, and for each of those years we have had over 5,000 kids, Mothers, Fathers, and teenagers to stream out of busses to walk around. Many dress up in wild costumes to make the rounds getting treats and admiring the decorations and costumes. Some teens are six footers and weigh about 200 lbs., and they can appear intimidating! The City demands that we have a few off-duty policemen, and carry insurance against any untoward events. Some homeowners have a party for the rest of us after the 9 pm closing, and a good time is had by all.
WRVA Ch 6 videos the scene each year, and they may still be available on their web site.
Oct 14, 2018 01:07:44 #
(Main)
no propaganda please wrote:
Take it or leave it was the main course at our house, and the final course was "Do the dishes-NOW"
Wonderful reminiscences! At our table it was: "Clean your plate!" and a frown on Dad's face. You never wanted to see a frown on Dad's face, and when you saw him clinch his jaw you were in for it.
Oct 14, 2018 00:50:41 #
(Main)
lpnmajor wrote:
Not only is that a distorted view of the facts, consider this; a mere 1/3 of Americans voted in 2016, and of those, more than half did NOT vote for Trump. Put another way, only 1/6 of the population voted for Trump...........................so..................who is benefiting from all these awesome promises?
Not only are we all benefiting, the list is one of accomplishments not merely promises. And, there is more to come!
Oct 14, 2018 00:20:48 #
(Main)
old marine wrote:
Finally a voice of reason and truth comes forward with a torch of truth to shine a light upon the darkness.
Amen brother amen. A great post.
Amen brother amen. A great post.
I thank you for your complement, Old Marine!
Be Well!
Oct 13, 2018 12:29:47 #
(Main)
Kevyn wrote:
Sadly in my couple of years on OPP I have seen man... (show quote)
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Earlier commenters have covered most of what I might write, but I had to put forward my own reactions to this post, since it is so far off base as to be offensive.
We live in a nation whose ideals are to treat everyone with respect and recognition of their rights as individuals, regardless of their sex, color, race, age, or origin of birth. Christian morality demands even more of us: to love our neighbors, for instance. That is the set of standards many of us were raised to comply with, while hate itself was relegated to oblivion.
Further, to hate a whole nation of people is ridiculous, even if we are at war with some of them. What we abhor are the evil policies, directions and actual steps or actions some people take that threaten us, our way of life, and our well-being and most of those involved are the leaders and their adherents not the commoners that must follow as ordered. Most of us abhor evil in any of its disguises, and we have learned from experience that we must face evil down wherever it is found, else it will metastasize to all our sorrow.
So the real issue is to recognize evil and cope with it appropriately wherever found if we can. The fight between good and evil has a long history in the literature and there have been quite a few attempts to define them both properly , plus to tease out the differences in the definitions of what is good and what is evil in societies around the world, to minimize their impact on us and on our friends where possible, and then to stand for and encourage changes to evil practices in some evil-ridden societies.
Hate itself is, of course, evil.
Check out topic: The Biden Reelection Strategy-
Oct 10, 2018 13:10:00 #
(Main)
no propaganda please wrote:
You are absolutely correct. The left is wedded to the lies and the disinformation, and not likely to change.
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My late friend Larry Auster made many posts on this subject, and after a number of leftwing responses came to the conclusion that to get rid of Muslims, we first have to get rid of Liberals, a well nigh impossible task.
He predicted that with their birthrate being so high and ours so low, and immigration rates so high, we are only a few generations from Muslims reaching the explosive population size here in the US of 10% to 12%, and their penetration into high places sufficiently high that we could be threatened with an Islamic takeover. Classifying Islam as a religion protects them in the meanwhile.
If my memory serves, Auster predicted 2065 as a critical date if other factors remained constant. Trump's blockage of some travel/immigration to the US by Muslim-based nationals puts a small crimp into this, I suppose.
This is a long-term critical problem for the US that has no consensus in the public arena, and damn little action to cope with it.
Oct 10, 2018 10:06:21 #
(Main)
oldroy wrote:
I have listened to that bit--h say that over and over and all I hear is that the Dems want to destroy anything we want and have done and that if they don't get control of either or both Houses they will continue to be as uncivil as they can.
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I want a cookie, I want a cookie; stamp my feet, roll on the floor, yell for my cookie, and if I don't get one, I will keep on having fits, yelling, and stamping my feet, and calling you an ungrateful dumb, obstinate, obstructionist Mom!
Ah! Those mentally 3, 4, and 5 year olds! They do want it their way!
Oct 10, 2018 09:51:39 #
(Main)
no propaganda please wrote:
Jihad Watch br br Exposing the role that Islamic ... (show quote)
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One clear purpose of Islamic organizations in the US is to propagate the Big Lie that Islam is a peaceful religion; a lie refuted by Spencer using their holiest of holies the Qur'an, which contains the infallible words of Muhammad, the Messenger of God. All one has to do is read international media sources daily to trace the atrocities of Muslims around the world and the many sects of Islam. Another useful source is to Google "Jihad" to obtain quotes from Islam about the so-called "Little Jihad" to conquer the world for Islam. Reading the Qur'an without understanding that the peaceful parts have been abrogated by Muhammad himself is a fatal mistake.
Oct 9, 2018 15:48:20 #
(Main)
nwtk2007 wrote:
That was a conservation and farming techniques issue; misuse of water, etc. A far cry from climate changes at the hands of CO2 emissions. Even the "consensus" of scientists in this latest study say we probably can't change the pattern of warming. That's not because they think we are actually beyond a point of no return, but rather, because they don't actually think it is caused by man.
OK, we are talking about two quite different issues, but with one central climate point. We will not be able to stop climate changes, but we can prepare for some of the predicted effects of climate change. So what climate effects are we to try to mitigate?
The focus has been on rising temps causing flooding, thus we may have water rises to cope with, the problem being how much of a sea wall to build, one foot, two feet, ten feet, or what, and also where? The higher the anticipated rise the further inland the penetration, hence the longer the sea walls. DO WE ASSUME THAT TEMP RISE IS THE ONLY PROBLEM?
But suppose we are going into a temp drop period instead, what then? As the continent becomes covered with 30 to 100 feet of ice, just what do we do? Move South? Tens of Millions of people displaced to Florida, Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico?
How do we know far enough in advance to take any reasonable. cost-effective steps either way at all?