The Daily Stoic Week 50

by | Dec 9, 2022 | Advice, LifeSkills, Musings | 164 comments

Glibertarians | Daily Stoic week 49

The Daily Stoic

The Practicing Stoic

Meditations

How to Be a Stoic

If you have anger issues, this one is a great tool (h/t mindyourbusiness)

What I’m currently reading:

How to Think Like a Roman Emperor: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius: Robertson, Donald J.: 9781250196620: Amazon.com: Books

Disclaimer: I’m not your Supervisor. These are my opinions after reading through these books a few times.

 

December 10

“I say, let no one rob me of a single day who isn’t going to make a full return on the loss.”
—SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 1.11b

If I spend my money, I try to get my money’s worth out of the transaction. I am not as careful when it comes to spending time. Maybe it’s because I have a monetary budget and limits on what goes to different expenses. When it comes to time, I don’t have a set limit. I know I am closer to the end; it still feels like that is a long time off. Sometimes I think how fast my 28 years of marriage have gone and realize the next 28 will go even faster.

 

December 11

“As Cicero says, we hate gladiators if they are quick to save their lives by any means; we favor them if they show contempt for their lives.”
—SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 11.4b

I haven’t faced death directly, but I have been in situations where dying was a real possibility. In these situations, I learned that death holds no great fear for me. Not that I am reckless, but I understand that life is fleeting and I am OK with that fact. I was able to keep my voice at a normal pitch when I had to call in the fact my squad had been ambushed or once when my vehicle got hit by an IED. In my fitness report from my combat deployment, my Lieutenant described me as “unflappable in a firefight”.

 

December 12

“Walk the long gallery of the past, of empires and kingdoms succeeding each other without number. And you can also see the future, for surely it will be exactly the same, unable to deviate from the present rhythm. It’s all one whether we’ve experienced forty years or an eon. What more is there to see?”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 7.49

Life follows patterns that seem to repeat. By being aware of the past I see things unfolding that lead to predictable results, yet many people I know act surprised by this. I can live my life the best I can, but the world will go in its own direction. I need to accept this fact and use my knowledge to my advantage.

 

December 13

“You aren’t bothered, are you, because you weigh a certain amount and not twice as much? So why get worked up that you’ve been given a certain lifespan and not more? Just as you are satisfied with your normal weight, so you should be with the time you’ve been given.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 6.49

I need to be satisfied with how things are and not get worried about how I wish they were. I also need to understand that my remaining time is not decided by me. I think if I found out that I had a terminal illness, I could accept that. I would try to concentrate on the fact that I have a good relationship with my wife, and we have had a long time together. Getting upset would not increase my remaining days and would also decrease my quality of life for that time. As I type this, I am reminded of the fact that I do have a terminal illness, the same one all people have. My life will end one day, and I do not know when that will be.

 

December 14

“Soon you will die, and still you aren’t sincere, undisturbed, or free from suspicion that external things can harm you, nor are you gracious to all, knowing that wisdom and acting justly are one and the same.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 4.37

Soon I will die, this is relatively true. I try to be all the things listed, but sometimes fall short. I am definitely not good at being gracious, I expect other people to be better than they are sometimes. I also still battle anger, especially when dealing with my mom. Her memories of our lives are so rose colored and laughably false, but I need to accept that and not argue over things that happened 30 years ago.

 

December 15

“This is the mark of perfection of character—to spend each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, laziness, or any pretending.”

I try to live without drama or pretending. I am still lazier than I should be. Reading this, I know I will probably never have perfect character, but it does give me a goal to aspire to. I will always practice being a Stoic, and just like practicing for a competition, I learn from practice and make mistakes while practicing.

 

December 16

“I tell you, you only have to learn to live like the healthy person does . . . living with complete confidence. What confidence? The only one worth holding, in what is trustworthy, unhindered, and can’t be taken away—your own reasoned choice.”
—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 3.26.23b–24

I know the difference between what I control and what I don’t. I understand that the things outside of my control. Even knowing this, I am currently getting annoyed because lately I get severe heartburn when I’m hungry. The dumbest part is that all I have to do is eat something and it goes away. Still a work in progress on many fronts.

 

Music this week is from Savatage, They don’t have a lot of great songs, but I really like these three.

(27) Sirens – YouTube

(27) Holocaust – YouTube

(27) Savatage – Hall Of The Mountain King (Official Music Video) [HD] – YouTube

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About The Author

ron73440

ron73440

What I told my wife when she said my steel Baby Eagle .45 was heavy, "Heavy is good, heavy is reliable, if it doesn't work you could always hit him with it."-Boris the Blade MOLON LABE

164 Comments

  1. Tundra

    “This is the mark of perfection of character—to spend each day as if it were your last, without frenzy, laziness, or any pretending.”

    Strike one, strike two and strike three.

    I’ve got room for improvement.

    • UnCivilServant

      If I were to spend each day if it were my last, I would end up screwing over future me, since the criteria regarding decision making is vastly different between “I’ve got to support myself indefinately” and “welp, there’s nothing left to lose.”

      • Mojeaux

        This. There is no way I can live as if I am dying tomorrow. I lived too many uears living as if I would die when I was 50 and I did indeed screw over my future self.

      • Tundra

        I don’t read it that way. Conducting yourself so as to minimize regrets is different than living as if you are going to die tomorrow.

        Nihilism is icky.

      • UnCivilServant

        Minimizing regrets implies today is not your last.

      • Tundra

        I think you are being too literal about the whole last day thing.

      • UnCivilServant

        How are you supposed to read it any other way?

      • MikeS

        How are you supposed to read it any other way?

        …”without frenzy, laziness, or any pretending.”

        By reading his words. He isn’t saying go empty your bank account, or tell your boss to fuck off. He’s saying to have a sense of calm, don’t waste the day laying around, and don’t pretend you are anyone other than yourself.

      • UnCivilServant

        But none of that has any of the attributes of a last day about them.

      • MikeS

        But none of that has any of the attributes of a my last day about them.

        FIFY

    • Gustave Lytton

      Move over brother, me too. Although my fuckups go well beyond that.

      • Tundra

        Preach.

        If we sat down and compared fuckups it would probably be like the scar scene in Jaws!

    • EvilSheldon

      There was something in my old Outward Bound readings book about living each day as if it were my last, versus living each day as if I would never die. I haven’t decided yet which is better.

      • UnCivilServant

        They’re both terrible, since they set you up for failure if you follow them to their logical conclusions.

      • EvilSheldon

        Thus, you have to do both at the same time.

      • juris imprudent

        Life is full of contradictions.

      • juris imprudent

        You’re expecting me to argue with you about that, aren’t you?

      • Grosspatzer

        Your five minutes is over. If you want to continue arguing you will need to pay up.

      • MikeS

        Or not take everything so goddam literal.

    • Nephilium

      Well, one out of three ain’t bad*, right?

      * It’s actually 33%, which is a failing grade in most grading systems.

      /gives up looking for the exact quote from Soul Music

      • Grosspatzer

        33% is superstar level in baseball. Moral: seek out endeavors where failure is success. Or something.

      • Mojeaux

        33% in baseball being a superstar was a revelation to me. I wish I could internalize that.

      • MikeS

        Hell, even 2 out of 3 is usually failing.

  2. Rebel Scum

    Well…bye.

    All my life I’ve tried to use music to bring people together. Yet it saddens me to see how misinformation is now being used to divide our world.

    I’ve decided to no longer use Twitter, given their recent change in policy which will allow misinformation to flourish unchecked.

    • EvilSheldon

      You’ve been on a downward spiral since Crocodile Rock.

    • Sean

      ┌П┐(ಠ_ಠ)

      Elton

    • Penguin

      Yeah, the old system kept all bullshit away. Uh-huh.

      Evil Sheldon – I disagree with you a little – Crocodile Rock was itself a downturn from Saturday Night.

      • EvilSheldon

        True, but it was after Crocodile Rock that the slide really got steep.

      • kinnath

        Elton ended for me with:

        Goodbye Yellow Brick Road {Funeral for a Friend / Love Lies Bleeding, Bennie and the Jets, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road}

        Caribou {Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me}

    • Grosspatzer

      Pay no attention to the madman across the pond.

      • R.J.

        He’ll be back in a few months.

      • R.J.

        What a find!

      • Tundra

        The internet always gives up its dead.

        More malfeasance incoming, I’m guessing.

  3. Mojeaux

    Lots of talk of death today. Brought on by the death of the old year and the nirth of the new one?

    Thought I was going to die youbg because dad’s family history. Didn’t. Ticker is right and tight. No diabeeeedus. Maybe I got more than my looks from my mom, and so glad I didn’t get them from dad. My cardiologist told me to plan for a long life.

    I will never get all my craft projects done…

  4. Penguin

    Hall of the Mountain King is the most metal classical music ever. I remember learning it prior to any bands coming out with covers. I felt a little sad for Grieg’s heirs not being able to cash in on the now-public-domain music, but then again, I was happy to buy CDs for $2.

    • Nephilium

      I’m partial to Apocalyptica‘s take on it.

    • UnCivilServant

      I felt a little sad for Grieg’s heirs

      I don’t. It’s been almost 150 years since he wrote it, they already got whatever share of the proceeds from that work he opted to leave to them. Now they can support themselves.

    • kinnath

      It outlived the A380

    • Penguin

      Ehhh, she should be fine. They stopped making them. They’ll keep flying them for another 40 years or so.

      • UnCivilServant

        I mean they’ve been coming off the assembly line for how many years now? They’ve gotta have shedloads of spares to keep the current fleet up in the air.

      • Gustave Lytton

        Depends on how much cross compatibility there is. The 747-8 has only been in production for little over a decade.

      • kinnath

        Suppliers commit to providing support for decades after the last ship rolls off the line.

      • Homple

        Wife and I flew Lufthansa to and from Germany on one of the last 747 passenger flights. It is still as stable and comfortable plane as I ever rode in.

      • kinnath

        I flew the 777 from Guangzhou to LA in first class once. That was a nice ride.

      • UnCivilServant

        My trips to the UK were on some mix of 767 and Aribuses, but I couldn’t tell you which leg was on what type of craft.

      • Tundra

        For some reason the only times I was on a 747 was Phoenix to Minneapolis.

      • kinnath

        A300, A3200, A340, A350, DC9/MD80, B727, B737, B757, B767, B747, B777

      • kinnath

        DC10/MD11 as well

      • Tundra

        No DC10?

      • UnCivilServant

        I haven’t been on that many flights let alone that many types of aircraft.

      • juris imprudent

        Couple of Airbus frames, not sure which, and defintely not the widebodies.

        Add 707 and BAE 146.

        Some Glib has to have flown on an Ilyushin or Tupolev.

      • Tundra

        I’m sure Grizzly has.

      • kinnath

        L1011 and F100 too.

        I can’t remember all the RJs and turbo props.

      • kinnath

        BAE 146. Forgot about that one.

      • Shpip

        A320/1, A330, A340
        B707,727,737,747,757,767,777
        DC-8, DC-9 / MD-80, DC-10
        ATR 42

        Longest routes have been Rome – Charlotte (A340), Atlanta – Honolulu (B767), Miami – Buenos Aires (B767), and Paris – Orlando (B777)

      • kinnath

        Longest Route: LA to Singapore. 18 hours. I watched three movies then got a full night’s sleep. Flight still wasn’t fucking over.

      • LCDR_Fish

        LA to Singapore – done that one a bunch of times. HK to Auckland *might* have been longer.

        Airline makes a big deal. I’ve never flown first class (maybe bumped up for free once), but I will always go for something like Singapore airlines if traveling internationally and I have the option.

      • Timeloose

        I flew EWR to Singapore on my first international flight. I thought I was going to kill myself or others. Drunk and sober twice, slept for 8 hours.

        ~19 hours.

      • kinnath

        There aren’t many city pairs longer than LAX to Singapore. But that is one of them.

        There was one in service off and on that was 21 hours. I know EWR was one of the cities, but I don’t recall the other. Probably Sydney.

      • kinnath

        google says EWR to Singapore is the longest.

        So my memory must be failing.

      • Gustave Lytton

        I’ve done JFK-TYO in F on JAL. It still felt like it was dragging on forever and that was only 14.5-15hrs.

      • Tundra

        I would kind of like to see that part of the world but I don’t think I’d survive a flight that long.

        6 hours annoys me now.

      • juris imprudent

        Longest Route: LA to Auckland. Even drugs can’t keep you asleep that long.

      • DEG

        Longest route for me is LAX to SYD/SYD to LAX.

        On the first SYD to LAX trip… I was sick with a cold. That was not fun.

      • CatchTheCarp

        When I as a young’un my Mom worked for an airline so our family used to fly and travel a lot. We flew standby/non-revenue. More often than not we sat in first class as those seats were usually available. I remember my Mom saying our tickets cost $8 a piece round trip. This was back in the 70’s. Some of the aircraft I remember flying on:

        DC3 DC8 FH227 (turbo prop) DC9 DC10 L1011 B707 B727 B737 B747 B767

        DC8 was a comfortable jet to fly on, B747 was by far the quietest and most comfortable. Once we flew first class on flight from LA to Hawaii on a 747, I played cards with Chuck Conners (The Rifleman) on that flight in the lounge. The lounge was accessed by way of fancy spiral staircase. I remember thinking how cool it was to fly on a jet with a stair case. We were not rich, my Mom worked in Marketing and her job had a few perks in the way of free stays/discounts at hotels along with cheap air fare.

      • grrizzly

        IL-86, Tu-154, Yak-42 and some smaller ones.

        The longest flight was BOS-HKG. First class on Cathay Pacific. After 16.5 hours I wished we could stay in the air even longer.

      • Timeloose

        Coach blows for long flights. The seats are just getting worse.

        If you are ever flying United to EU always try to get a flight share with Lufthansa. The Lufthansa planes, seats, and food are much better.

      • Grosspatzer

        Not much of a flier here, longest trip was LGA to Burbank in June 1962, on some sort of turboprop with a layover in Chicago. About 12 hours total. Nine year old me decided to inhale a burger in Chicago; said burger was exhaled on the trip from Burbank Airport to Northridge where my aunt and uncle had recently taken up residence. The cousins were highly amused, aunt and uncle not so much.

  5. Fourscore

    Yesterday I was reminiscing to myself, about the earliest memories I have. Things have changed a lot in life and in my life, as well they should. As a kindergarten kid or first/second grader and walking a mile to school, come home for lunch in the nice weather, carry a bag lunch in the cold or snow times. We never thought about it. Our mothers got us all put together in the morning and away we went, ’cause Mom said GO. It was our job. Junior high was a 1/2 mile farther but we bagged it every day, we never had money for the cafeteria.

    We had to get home fast, to play ’til supper or listen to the afternoon serials on the 5 tube Arvin.

    Now I’m watching the weather every day, even though my schedule is totally flexible. Death is still in the future but the future will not be long, chronologically speaking, for some of us. I’m trying to give away ‘stuff’ that used to be important or necessary but now is neither. I worry about my wife being alone but I know she is quite capable of managing things by herself. I only hope she isn’t worrying about me (too much).

    • Fourscore

      And thanks, Ron, for reminding us that we are transients. We muddle through life as best we can. It’s what irritates me about politicians, thinking we need them. They are muddlers, same as we are.

      • Tundra

        Well said, Fourscore.

      • juris imprudent

        Very well said indeed. Transients dreaming of transcendence. I’m not well connected to my presumably innate need there. I’m pondering that.

    • UnCivilServant

      Memory is a funny thing. My earliest memories are the facade of a green house and a sink in that house. My earliest cohesive sequence of events memories were of moving into the house I grew up in. If we did indeed live there for sixteen years as I believe, I would have been two at the time. The porch was only just assembled and hadn’t been painted yet, and the contractors were finishing the last few details. My little child brain found it notable that the workmen were black guys. At that point I doubt I’d interacted with too many people outside my immediate family. I couldn’t have been much older, since the Challenger blew up while we were in that house, and I keep debating with myself whether I really remember the event or if my mind inserted memories of watching the TV coverage on the day after the fact.

      I can tell you the first name of our next door neighbor, though we always referred to her by her last name, which I can’t remember, and never used the first name. A lot of little things like that from those days, most of all, an ignorance of the fact we were poor.

      • UnCivilServant

        Apparently, my memory is faulty and we weren’t in that house that early.

        🤷‍♂️

  6. The Late P Brooks

    If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself.

    haha, no I wouldn’t

  7. Rebel Scum

    Fire them all.

    Fox News interviewed a bunch of New York Times employees on strike and it’s just as ridiculous as you will imagine:

    “We find it ridiculous that the company is maintaining its position that is has a unilateral right to call us back into the office 5 days a week.”

    • UnCivilServant

      Unless you have a contract with minimum telecommuting requirement or some other contractually specific schedule, yes, they can make you come into the office all week.

    • Sean

      It’s worse than slavery.

    • UnCivilServant

      You are, didn’t you get the memo?

    • juris imprudent

      Bout never committed a crime in U.S. territory yet the U.S. was able to get him seized by getting him to Thailand where we legally kidnapped him. I fucking know who the bad guys are. I just can’t figure out who the good guys are supposed to be.

      • Tundra

        Me.

        UCS is incorrect.

    • Rebel Scum

      I’m not Russian to conclusions.

  8. Shpip

    Poor Brazil. Now it’ll be another four years before anyone remembers they exist again.

    • Penguin

      Wow. I did not see that coming.

      • juris imprudent

        I admit, I thought it was over when Brazil finally scored. Credit to Croatia, they didn’t.

      • Shpip

        #metoo

        I glanced up at my TV, saw Brazil had finally scored, and thought “Hmmph. Took ’em long enough. But they’re through to the semis.”

        When that last PK hit the post, all I could think was “Damn… that’s one way to get the entire country to know your name.”

      • juris imprudent

        When the Croatia keeper saved the first PK, every Brazilian sphincter seized up.

      • LCDR_Fish

        Couldn’t believe Croatia held “the best team in the world” to zero/zero till extra time. Good game.

  9. The Late P Brooks

    “We find it ridiculous that the company is maintaining its position that is has a unilateral right to call us back into the office 5 days a week.”

    You tell ’em, sister!

    • R.J.

      For chrissakes, just go find another job that is WFH. I don’t blame her for grouching. Office commutes can really suck and waste time and resources. But the company that pays your salary makes the rules. There is no right to work from home, unless you negotiate that and get it in writing.

      • Grosspatzer

        There is no right to work from home, unless you negotiate that and get it in writing.

        *checks saved email thread from 2020*

        WFH FTW IYKWIMAITYD (for Pat)

    • juris imprudent

      Next they’ll be demanding that you actually do something useful!

  10. Timeloose

    “As Cicero says, we hate gladiators if they are quick to save their lives by any means; we favor them if they show contempt for their lives.”
    —SENECA, ON TRANQUILITY OF MIND, 11.4b

    I see this quote in several different ways.

    I could view this as “people hate those who strive to be efficient and quietly effective in what they do, but love those who loudly take unnecessary risks in their lives. This works well if we are talking about entertainment, which is the point of a gladiator (football, MMA, Boxing, Charlie Sheen). But entertainment is not real life even though it is life or death in the case of the gladiator.

    If I view this as a guidance for life, I could see it as it is healthy for one to take risks.

  11. The Late P Brooks

    Lip service

    Big Oil companies have engaged in a “long-running greenwashing campaign” while raking in “record profits at the expense of American consumers,” the Democratic-led House Oversight Committee has found after a year-long investigation into climate disinformation from the fossil fuel industry.

    The committee found the fossil fuel industry is “posturing on climate issues while avoiding real commitments” to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Lawmakers said it has sought to portray itself as part of the climate solution, even as internal industry documents reveal how companies have avoided making real commitments.

    “Today’s documents reveal that the industry has no real plans to clean up its act and is barreling ahead with plans to pump more dirty fuels for decades to come,” House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney told CNN in a statement.

    ——-

    The committee said documents uncovered also showed the fossil fuel industry has presented natural gas as a so-called “bridge fuel” to transition to cleaner sources of energy, all while doubling down on its long-term reliance on fossil fuels with no clear plan of action to full transition to clean energy.

    A strategy slide presented to the Chevron Board of Directors from CEO Mike Wirth and obtained by the committee states that while Chevron sees “traditional energy business competitors retreating” from oil and gas, “Chevron’s strategy” is to “continue to invest” in fossil fuels to take advantage of consolidation in the industry.

    Anything less than utter slavish obedience to the eco-cultists’ every pronouncement is heresy and lies.

    Santa Claus is real. Now go to bed.

    • Nephilium

      Local news is upset that the Ohio state senate voted to define natural gas as green energy.

      • UnCivilServant

        If burned properly its outputs are carbon dioxide and water. It is Plant Food!

      • juris imprudent

        My son was very interested in developing biofuels from algae using exactly those two ‘waste’ products.

  12. LCDR_Fish

    Thanks for the posts Ron – these are always worth reading/thinking about.

    Not sure if you saw my note earlier this week/last weekend (late night), but I’ll be in Norfolk again next week. Not sure if you’ll be on that side of the bridge/tunnel – but if you want to meet up for lunch, Friday should work.

    Planning on getting some Gourmeltz tomorrow for lunch – craving some Southern Cookout Tot’chos.

  13. The Late P Brooks

    If I view this as a guidance for life, I could see it as it is healthy for one to take risks.

    Quit your job at the New York Times and be a freelance writer. It’ll be fine.

    • LCDR_Fish

      I thought we celebrated birthdays when I was stationed there – don’t recall Jan 1 being a specific thing.

  14. UnCivilServant

    I don’t generally participate in the music arguments, since there is a wide field of preferences on this site. I just like a lot more of Savatage’s songs apparently. Thank you for reminding me, since I hadn’t listened to them in years. Though I’m sure that wasn’t want you intended

    • UnCivilServant

      I forgot just how long Morphine Child was.

    • PutridMeat

      If we’re going “Dead Winter Dead” – That album in the middle from “Mozart and Madness”, “Memory”, “DWD”, “One Child”, “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)” is a great block. Hell, I even like some of the “Streets” stuff; even the potentially schlocky “Believe”. “When the Crowds are Gone”, “Gutter Ballet” – lots of great tunes from those guys. Quite a few stinkers too, but I’m fond of em.

  15. The Late P Brooks

    Democratic lawmakers said the oil and gas industry obstructed their investigation throughout the more than year-long process. Many of their requests for internal documents were heavily redacted by the companies, which did not specify reasons for withholding the information.

    In other cases, documents were heavily redacted because companies like Exxon said the information was “proprietary and confidential,” though the lawmakers noted that is not a valid reason to withhold information in a committee subpoena.

    “These companies know their climate pledges are inadequate but are prioritizing Big Oil’s record profits over the human costs of climate change,” Maloney said. “It’s time for the fossil fuel industry to stop lying to the American people and finally take serious steps to reduce emissions and address the global climate crisis they helped create.”

    We will make your proprietary information and trade secrets public, because we have a show trial to put on.

    • Tundra

      Still watching the Porsche? Closing in on 100K with some furious bidding!

      • Tundra

        Went over $100K, but didn’t hit the reserve.

        What a car!

  16. MikeS

    /rant on (not aimed at any one person)

    Instead of combing through these passages every week looking for something to nitpick and disagree with, it could prove very helpful to attempt to understand the deeper meaning of these and try to apply them to your life. As Ron and many other Stoic practitioners and teachers say over and over, becoming a master of Stoicism is not going to happen for the vast majority who try. It’s about the journey, and about making an honest effort to make a positive change in your life.

    /rant off

    • MikeS

      Thank you very much for doing these, Ron. I look forward to whatever this column looks like in 2023. Something new, repeat them all, whatever. I appreciate the work you put into them. It’s good stuff.

      • Tundra

        I second this. I’ve been reading a lot of different philosophy lately and it is so interesting to read the themes that cross eons.

        Good stuff!

      • juris imprudent

        I just finished Bloom’s Closing of the American Mind, and that inspired me to dig into Thus Spoke Zarathustra (which had been in the stack of books to be read someday). I’m going to have a harder time with Bloom’s other favored critic of the Enlightenment, Rousseau.

      • mindyourbusiness

        Mike, I’ll second your hope that Ron continues. There’re a load of good works on Stoicism out there.
        You’re right about there being very few honest-to-doG sages around.
        Maybe the best approach is to think of yourself as a student; willing to learn, trying to understand and honestly question, and realizing that it’ll be a lifelong process. And happy with that.

      • MikeS

        Sage! I couldn’t come up with that word when I was ranting.

    • UnCivilServant

      I mostly nitpick the comments to the article.

  17. DEG

    My life will end one day, and I do not know when that will be.

    “Life-Line”.

    • Tundra
    • MikeS
  18. Penguin

    Just curious – does anyone out there prefer Hunt’s ketchup to Heinz? I got some of the blandest frozen fries not too long ago and realized I was out of ketchup. I didn’t want to drive all the way back to the grocery store, so I stopped in at the Quik-E-Mart right next to my place. They only had Hunt’s. It’s not terrible, but it was a bit of a letdown. I stoically ate it*, despite my disappointment.

    * (To be fair, if this is the worst thing that happens to me for the rest of 2022, the rest of 2022 will be much better than how it began).

    • UnCivilServant

      I can’t remember the last time I had that brand.

    • Timeloose

      Heinz has the ketchup formula down. The right level of vinegar and sweet. Hunts is weird tasting as are most generic brands. Wegmans house brand is close to Heinz.

    • Mojeaux

      Husband refuses to buy anything but Heinz. He’ll go without first.

      • juris imprudent

        Yep, out of a bottle Heinz; but something hand-crafted is better in my experience.

    • Penguin

      I can’t remember the last time I had that brand.

      That would have been my statement had I just not gotten some.

      Hunts is weird tasting as are most generic brands.

      I just find it overly sweet. As you say, Heinz has a much better flavor profile.

      Husband refuses to buy anything but Heinz. He’ll go without first.

      Okay, now that’s hardcore. Personally, I have to get some vinegar on bland potatoes.

      Thanks, guys.

    • Tres Cool

      Ketchup is gross.
      The only appropriate toppings are mayo or mustard. Ideally both.

  19. DEG

    Someone just drove past my house in a Cobra.

    • UnCivilServant

      I hope it was in good condition and didn’t rattle.

      • DEG

        I heard it before it drove past, but that was engine rumble, not rattle.

      • UnCivilServant

        I was going for the snakey puns, but you slithered out of that one.

      • MikeS

        Don’t make an asp of yourself.

      • DEG

        🙂

      • Gender Traitor

        The Cobra owner had better be careful when he checks under the hood… 😳

    • Tundra

      Neat!

      Not an original, surely.

      • DEG

        No idea… I didn’t get a good look.

      • Tundra

        There are some incredible replicas available. Such a cool car!

    • Certified Public Asshat

      You gotta post her tweet:

      Reason commenters make up a very small percentage of our readership, and are largely people who hate everyone on staff and all of our work, on any subject. They’re in now way representative of “libertarian audiences” overall pic.twitter.com/FgpY9Dn2dQ— Elizabeth Nolan Brown (@ENBrown) December 9, 2022

      Oh yeah, that’s the stuff.

      • RBS

        She’s not wrong…

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Dave was talking about youtube comments, she brought up how she hates her own readers on her own (we can debate how representative the comments section is at Reason).

        Also give us some credit, we largely hate them too.

      • Nephilium

        There’s still Reason commenters?

      • Certified Public Asshat

        Freedom is when everyone is required to pretend they think whores aren't gross— Warty Hugeman (@wartyhugeman) December 9, 2022

      • Fatty Bolger

        We have readers who agree with us! Lots of them! They just don’t like to comment, OK? Plus they go to another school, you wouldn’t know them.

      • Sensei

        Reason still has commenters?

    • MikeS

      Popehat
      @Popehat
      Replying to
      @ENBrown
      I always assumed your commenters were some sort of punishment of you

      @ENBrown
      Replying to
      @Popehat
      They hate us so much it would be hilarious if it didn’t freak out newcomers to the site so much. I get a lot of “wait is this really what libertarians think?!?” from people who’ve read our comments 😞

  20. Drake

    Unreal. Angela Merkel is now saying that she was lying to the Russians during the negotiations of Minsk Agreements. One of the reasons this war happened and is now about to get much worse as the Russians prepare a winter offensive, is that they no longer trust anyone in the West. And they are right not to. All our leaders are lying scumbags,
    https://sonar21.com/untrustworthy-by-helmholtz-smith/

    • Fatty Bolger

      Yeah! She should have just told the Russians to go ahead and roll the tanks in while they still had the upper hand. like they had done not long before in Georgia! Geez, what a bitch!

    • Rebel Scum

      All our leaders are lying scumbags

      Word.

    • Sean

      His cilantro lime sauce is good.

      • Grosspatzer

        Lime scented soap is nice, but not good to eat.

      • Sean

        Hater.

      • Tundra

        I’m sorry the Gods did this to you.

    • MikeS

      So true:

      And like all other totalitarians who came before them, they fully understand that freedom of speech is to them what sunlight or a Christian cross is to Dracula. That is why they are all now hellbent on destroying Elon Musk, a man who is attempting to add a tiny smidgen of free speech to the stifling, statist political correctness of American society. Their treatment of Musk will eventually make their treatment of Donald Trump seem like a love fest in comparison.

      I wonder what it’ll be? Rape, kiddie porn, tax evasion…? They will take him down somehow.

      • Sean

        Rape & kiddie porn are Democrat party planks these days.

    • hayeksplosives

      Good article. 👍

      I shared it with a former colleague whom I’ve converted from self described liberal to solid libertarian and anti-leftist.

  21. Michael Malaise

    If I am the Netherlands coach, I am going to be fined for talking about the officiating in this match when it’s over.

  22. Michael Malaise

    Wow. 2 banger matches today so far.