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Showing posts from February 17, 2019

I Quit Watching Football Because It Harms Players. Can I Still Keep Up With My Team?

I've never been a sports fan, and for the past 30-plus years, fitness-oriented, even getting certified as a personal trainer at one point. On the other hand, I grew up playing, informally as a boy, many sports, and I can still enjoy watching almost anything, even the barbaric. That said, being a fan is not particularly healthy, but if you insist on being a follower and watcher, one could choose something not harmful to its participants, or even better, something that is life-enhancing for the payers, and maybe for yourself, if you decided to be a participant. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/29/magazine/i-quit-watching-football-because-it-harms-players-can-i-still-keep-up-with-my-team.html#commentsContainer&permid=30377551

A Hillbilly and a Survivalist Show the Way Out of Trump Country

#1 I've read Educated by Westover, so one immediately realizes that, of course, institutions saved her, although the people she left behind would strongly disagree. Westover's isolated Mormon parents hated all manner of organization, even the Mormon church itself, not just the government and medicine, and Tara had to leave that backward culture, to embrace education and academia, to finally grow. Nothing has changed. We still see the people of that world as backward, and the only way forward as leaving it behind. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/01/opinion/vance-westover-trump.html?comments#permid=30426296 #2 @Terry McKenna - I can empathize, since I have a similar story, my father died when I was 12, my sister 10, back in 1972, left with a stay-at-home mother with little real-world skill. We received Social Security and VA benefits until we were 21 or so, eventually curtailed by Reagan, but they kept the family middle class - my mother still worked 50+ hours per week, f

The Joy of the Junk Drawer

Acquiring doesn't feel nearly as good as the thinking and planning that goes into deferred purchases. If all your purchasing is short-term, then you will need a continual refresh on your consumption, and even then, it will often be met with a feeling of loss, as people often overestimate how much pleasure they will derive from something. With items like vacations and purchases, the planning and thinking will give you most of the pleasure, without the downside of the quick rush. As for pleasure, enjoying the peace and serenity of space and clean can certainly be greater than the enjoyment of purchases. Also, with purchases, there are the downsides of clutter and regret, for bad purchases. I've never watch Ms. Kond's video, but it is not rocket science; keeping things clean does not take much: - Don't buy what you don't need, and in this case, love. - Generally, upgrade your items with better, rather than accumulating more items - Make regular purges, giving away o

Marie Kondo Helped, but What About the Extra Stuff?

#1 Honestly, the most important aspect is not purchasing bad items in the first place, but eventually, even well thought out purchases need replacement. For decades, I've followed the rule that one person's junk is another's treasure, particularly considering our very unequal world in NYC, at one time using Freecycle to give away items, eventually finding it easier to use Craigslist. For the most part, it has worked out well but depends on the item, but almost always, there are takers. If it is electronics, there are often way too many people, so I follow a triage system. First, the ad, always with a good description and picture, requires specifying they supply a reason they need this item. It is not to be lurid or cruel, but if I am giving away an old computer, I need to know that it is going to a good cause. Yes, I could be fooled, but I try to be discerning, children, poor, disabled, etc. If there is no reason, it gets ignored. If it is simply for selfish reasons -