Category: post

Beatrix had a sub in history today. The teacher decided to use the time to split the class into teams and have a debate. Topic: The Electoral College, for/against.

Beatrix was placed on the “against” side.

Her side won when she mic dropped the fact that The Electoral College was created so that Southern States could count their slaves as population despite denying their human rights and right to vote and, therefore, should have been abolished with Jim Crow laws (as it was, in function, the very first one).

Needless to say, I’m very proud.

In weight, that is. Also, feeling better than I have in a while health wise.This is a more detailed follow up to the short post I made earlier.

I wan’t to start by saying that this is what is currently working for me, it is relatively new, is based on my own health requirements tailored for me in consultation with my doctor, and is in response to where I am in my diabetes diagnosis over 18 months ago. YMMV…

About a month ago, I had my first physical in 18 months. About 6 months overdue. I had been officially diagnosed as Type 2 Diabetic at my last appointment. The diagnosis was no real surprise. I have a near 100% rate of Type 2 Diabetes on both my Mother’s and Father’s side. I knew it would come upon me one day and about this age. I was prepared.

I was prescribed metformin, met with a dietician to discuss how and in what ways to change in my eating habits, and sent on my way.

I was good for a couple of weeks about all of it and then… Well, I was somewhat good at remembering to take the medication. The diet/eating part was not nearly as good. I really didn’t change much at all.

So, it was no real surprise when at this most recent appointment my A1C and virtually everything else was exactly the same as it had been 18 months ago. Make no changes and you will see no changes. So, my doctor and I had to have a bit of a heart-to-heart about it all.

She urged me to do better. Said where I’m at right now is completely manageable and the changes I make right now will stave off an even more drastic plan later. She had me make an appointment to follow up in 6 months and said if no change by then we’d have to come up with said plan.

So, here’s what we came up with…

Basically, what she is having me doing is essentially not that different from The Tim Ferriss Slow Carb Diet. Minus the “Faturdays”.

For me, it’s mainly lean meats, beans, and green veggies. Typical meals have been grilled shawarma chicken with hummus and tabouli salad or marinated steak with raw spinach and cherry tomatoes.

The idea is as low carb and high protein as possible to really reset my system and reduce the sugar cravings. Strangely enough, when I cut out most if not all sugar after about a month or so I’ve stopped craving it all together. This makes it much easier when the occasional cookie is offered to me or there’s brownies on the counter.

Another part of the plan I’ve been very good about is taking a daily vitamin supplement to account for the things I might be missing from cutting out certain foods like dairy, most fruit, and starchy carbs.

Next, I’m also making sure to do the 30 grams of protein as early as I can in the morning. I often don’t manage to do so in the first 30 minutes after waking up but within the hour for sure. Usually that’s 3 eggs (6-10 grams protein each) with a side of bacon (3 slices is about 7 grams). This jump starts my metabolism for the day and staves off late morning snaky hunger.

Also, I’m drinking a lot of water. Often at least a couple of litters a day.

That said, I’m also in the middle of what I call “Circus Rigging Season” as we are in the middle of rehearsals and shows at Circus Juventas which means for the past three weeks I’ve been essentially doing cross-fit for 30+ hours every week and that will continue for a couple of more.

All of this has me feeling really healthy. Down in weight about 15 pounds and no real bad hunger or low blood sugar crashes I can remember (and I used to have several a week).

I think I’m on the right track and hoping I can keep it up so my doctor doesn’t have to punish me at my next check-up.

Current (and long ongoing) Thought Pattern: Generational wealth and inheritance thereof is not the money, property, etc. one receives. It is the values, morals, and stewardship principles built around these things and passed down through generations. As Seth Godin has written, it is the lesson of, “people like us do things like this.” This is not only the lesson that has the power to echo through the generations but the mindset that sustains whatever money, wealth, power, etc. that will be inherited.

I often think about the fact that if you really want to understand how this plays out in, say, the inhertance of someone like Donald Trump, one need look no further than his father, Fred Trump. All of what Donald inherited is right there in his father’s values, morals, beliefs, and stewardship principles. And, one could easily see the through line from there to Fred Trump’s parents as well. It is a perfect example of the generational wealth of “people like us do things like this.”

Thinking of generational wealth in this way, one can easily see that what has the most lasting inheritance value is the “people like us do things like this.” of how we live our lives and raise our children and this transcends money/property/power. We all have generational wealth to pass down no matter our station and such things can be as much (and sometimes more) a pre-determinant of future success as any money/property/power can on its own.

“I believe you can speak things into existence.”

— Jay-Z

Let me tell you when I knew George W. Bush had beaten Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential Election.

It wasn’t when The Supreme Court ruled in his favor demanding the recount in Florida to halt and the 61,000 or so votes that the vote tabulation machines had missed not be counted.

It was when, immediately following the election where the initial count gave Bush the win by 1,784 votes, Bush and his team started acting like winners. Bush and his team immediately formed a transition team, started floating the cabinet nominees, and – in general – despite the recounts and court challenges and uncertainty — acted with absolute certainty that they’d won.

Gore and his team did not do that. They wanted to take a wait-and-see approach — citing the sacred value of every citizen vote and the counting there of. They did not want to act in any way that would be perceived as presumptuous of the will of the people.

Bush and his team had no such grounding to stay them — like it or not, right or wrong. In the hardscrabble politics of the modern era, there is no time to wax and wane philosophically. They knew that. Gore did not. That’s when they won.

Today, there is one side that is acting as if their win is assured. They are speaking as if it’s already happened. They are figuring out who will fill the various vacant positions and how they will implement their plan.

The other side is having philosophical arguments over who their candidate should even be despite the primary voters having already decided that and delegates pledged to carry out their decision.

While we are still months away from election day, who do you think has won?

Hey, I get it. You know it’s a pie eating contest and you are stuck at a party you don’t belong to. As much as you’d like to be at the other party, doing your part, eating that pie, it’s just not where you are.

So, you are thinking it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to participate in the contest. You can eat any pie you want. And, as long as you don’t eat the pie at the party you’re stuck at, you’re not helping them with winning the contest so why does it matter. No harm, no foul.

You are likely correct. Because this contest is designed as a winner takes all game, one person deciding not to play does not really affect the ultimate outcome.

But, sometimes we do things for deeper reasons. For instance, because it “doesn’t matter” in the grand scheme of things you’re not forced to have the pie they serve you at either party. You can choose any pie you want. You can pick your own pie. One that you like best. Perhaps picking your own pie is a reason; it’s a message that you are opting out of the entire idea of pie eating contests or even the idea that the contest should be limited to only two parties. Yay you!

But here’s the thing… As nice as it might sound to flip the bird to both of them while eating your delicious pie, the truth is no one cares about it. While you feel satisfied, ultimately those calories are empty and meaningless and do nothing to make either party care what the hell you eat or even what you might want to eat in the future.

You know what the party you’re stuck at does care about? You know what sends a stronger message and lets them know you are there, in protest, flipping them the bird? You know what really gets under their skin? You know what makes the party you’d like to be a know you still give a care about helping them out and, in turn, makes them care about you?

Eat the same flavor of pie from the party you want to be at. Even if it doesn’t help win the contest. Eat the pie while looking at the people from the party you’re at in the eye, smiling at them, enjoying every delicious moment. Make them uncomfortable. Even offer to give some to a couple of people at that party when they pass by. Tell them where they can get more (at the other party in the contest) if they like it (they sure seem to love Infrastructure Pie, even if they don’t believe it when you tell them who made it) . Make that your reason for eating that pie instead.

Isn’t that more satisfying and delicious than living with the knowledge that no one cares what pie you eat?

Democracy, as it exists in America in the year 2024, is like a pie… Let me explain…

Despite no parties existing when it was founded, there are — for any practical purpose you can muster — two parties now. And those parties have to share a pie.

Due to the natural balance that eventually (inevitably?) occur in such circumstances, that pie has been sliced down the middle and each party gets to eat half. It’s a contest. Everyone must finish eating their pie. Whichever party eats the most pie wins.

Let’s say there are an equal number of people at each party. Let’s say that number is ten. Ten people to eat half of a pie. Not a lot to go around for sure. But, let’s make sure everyone gets a slice.

Let’s say that there are some people in your party who are not really into the pie they have. Maybe there are people that don’t like that flavor or the texture is a little bit off. Maybe they want to just check out what the other party has going on and they decide to go join them and take their pie… Now, one party eats more pie. That party wins.

Let’s say that 2 of the ten people at the party hate pie. They detest it. They decide they are not eating the pie… Then, the other party wins.

Let’s say one person in one party is able to convince two people in the other party that the pie is rotten and they shouldn’t eat it and get them to throw it out. Then, the one person’s party will eat more pie and will win.

See how this works?

I would love to live in a world where everyone can eat or not eat or give away or have more pie and walk away feeling that is the way it should work.

It doesn’t. It’s a pie eating contest and if you decide not to eat the pie your party host serves, you then are putting the potential of winning that pie eating contest in jeopardy for everyone at your party. No matter how fair that is, that’s the way it works.

So, I guess what I’m trying to do is to get everyone to understand that they should eat their pie.

I had a tabletop a that I wanted to use for extra work surface in our office loft but I needed some legs for it. I didn’t want anything permanent just yet, mainly something quick and dirty to try it on for size. I knew that sawhorses would be the best solution for that but , due to the size of the worktop, would leave no room in front to pull up my chair and have my legs under. Then, thanks to the YouTube algorithmic overlords, a solution presented itself to me…

Make sawhorses with three legs. With about $20 of construction grade 2x4s, a mitre saw, impact driver, course thread screws, and an hour and a half of time the problem was solved.

Beyond the advantage of leaving room for my chair and legs underneath, a three legged sawhorse (or stool, or any built thing really) is that it will always find its own center of gravity on uneven surfaces. Get the measurements slightly off on a four legged horse and it will be wobbly. A three legged horse does not have that issue (though, I did measure twice, cut once, and use a level throughout so that fact is irrelevant here).

Increasingly, as I see some popular meme spreading like wildfire through the social media forest I’m suspicious of its intent…

• Is that random person asking if women would rather be stranded in the woods with a man or a bear really interested in provoking a mass thought exercise in gender politics or is it the Chinese government using TikTok to fervent discord to further divide us into Team Man and Team Bear?

• Is that thread asking me to reply with a picture of myself at 18 (or 21, or from 1977, or…) really just for fun or am I training an AI for facial recognition to ultimately be used against me?

• Is the movement to write in “uncommitted” on the ballot really a progressive grassroots effort about sending a message regarding my country’s response to a war or is it an attempt to influence a major election?

My point being is that we should all be asking such questions in today’s day and age. We have copious examples from our last two (at least) major US elections that similar tactics were used and the results were impressive/devastating. We’ve obviously learned nothing about being suspicious of the things we see, especially on social media, and not immediately calling into question the source and the intent.

This is why I generally refuse to participate in such things online. Perhaps doing the same is worth your consideration. At the very least, think through the “what if” when you do.

I’ve long been fascinated with Planned Communities. Especially those with strong architectural and/or environmental goals. Here’s a few examples that continue to hold my interest:

• The Sea Ranch, CA

• Celebration, FL

• Tauxemont, VA

• Jackson Meadow, WI

I’ve received a few wonderful short reviews of For You so far. I’ll update this post as I see more come in…

Patrick’s book is a remarkable collection of seemingly simple platitudes that pack a gut-punch of life-changing truth. I’ll do whatever I can to encourage Chloe and Candela to read it. (I’d assign it to my “First Year Experience” students but we don’t assign extra readings in that class; college freshmen are overwhelmed enough as it is.) To those of us a few decades older who need a verbal hug or a hand reaching down to pull you up from where you find yourself now… this is it. Buy it. The Kindle version is cheaper than a beer; you’ve got no excuse.

— Eric Larson (on Facebook)

Patrick’s specificity on how to bring about life with our speech is more needed than ever in an age of misinformation, creation without citation, and when the false confidence of appearing to be right carries no shame when proven wrong. When advice is packaged in the way he has written this book, it has great potential for positive internal change and for the ripple effect that has within a community.

— Jacoby, A mini-review of For You by Patrick Rhone | xxxx

A beautiful collection of essays and wisdoms of a man whose writing has been a constant inspiration for me… This one stuck with me: “You are not a story. Stories are the things we tell by the things we say and do. You create the story.”

— Manuel forestweekender on Micro.blog

Such a great book and as the title suggests it really is For You, now granted Patrick wrote it for a very specific You in mind but the words and wisdom in this book can be shared and internally reflected on by anyone.

— Eric Walker For You by Patrick Rhone | Eric Walker