A Large Regular

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- How People Think. A Morgan Housel essay from March that's worth a re-read. 

- 20 Tips for a Positive New Year. Also from the archives but good advice is good advice.

- If 2022 was a martial art

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"If you're not seeking approval, they have no power." - Shane Parrish

"The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. And the first to forget is the happiest." - Unknown

"Keep your attention focused entirely on what is your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours." - Epictetus

"We are here on Earth to fart around." - Kurt Vonnegut

Principles for Living: An Operating System for Life. A proper mindset to start the new year.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- You get an A! You get an A! Everybody gets an A! Grade inflation is a big problem at Harvard where the hardest thing is getting in - the grades it seems take care of themselves.

-  Heh Heh

- Related - US Virgin Islands sues JPMorgan for facilitating Epstein abuses. "Human trafficking was the principal business of the accounts Epstein maintained at JPMorgan."

- Robert Kennedy Jr. is very passionate in this video and he's 100% right!

Five tips from Tom Peters.

Solid life advice from the archives.  Most of his advice can be boiled down to, "Excellence is the next five minutes." That in no way belittles the other advice - it is just that that one statement is so powerful if you take it to heart. 

 Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of disciple or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons." - Jim Rohn

"Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion."  - Steve Jobs

"Knowledge is a skyscraper. You can take a shortcut with a fragile foundation of memorization, or building upon the steel frame of understanding." - Naval Ravikant

"Often, the article is so wrong it actually presents the story backwards - reversing cause and effect. I call these the 'wet street cause rain' stories. Paper's full of them." - Michael Crichton

Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn and founder of Image Comics, had a fascinating two part podcast interview with Tim Ferriss.

In Part 1: He discussed growing up and breaking into the comic book industry. He also spoke about his rise at Marvel where he eventually became the top selling author/artist and how he walked away from that to found Image Comics which was a hit from the start because of Spawn.

In Part 2: He discussed his friendship with Stan Lee, making best selling toys, getting into the music video industry, plus some pretty good life advice.

If you have a few hours - these podcasts may be worth your time.

HT Some It's Just as Well

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well." - George Grey

"Success is the product of daily habits - not once-in-a-lifetime transformation." - James Clear

"A happy person isn't someone who's happy all the time. It's someone who effortlessly interprets events in such a way that they don't lose their innate peace." - Naval Ravikant

"Every high civilization decays by forgetting obvious things." - G.K. Chesterton

Alex Berenson with a new post that examines recent studies showing people with 3 mRNA shots/boosters are now more likely to catch Covid. And perhaps now also have weakened autoimmune responses to other diseases as well.

We know by now that the "jabs" don't work and are actually dangerous - why are we not only allowing people to get them but actually advocating people still do so? It's criminal. And when we're talking about children - it's evil!

We have no idea the extent of the damage either. For example how will these foreign spike proteins effect organ transplants? Will it cause many healthy organs to be rejected by the recipient? We have no idea.

Whatever happened to "First do no harm"? 

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

I've decided on my New Year's resolution. Have you? Is it to subscribe to my Substack account? Why thank you!

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The 100 biggest public companies in the world. The US has 9 of the top 10. USA! USA! USA!

-  Xi Jinping starts his third term in China with a very bad year.

- Stanford University walks back plan to eliminate certain triggering words like "American." (Although not sure the word "walks" should be used here as it could be considered "ableist")

- VDH: What will the FBI not do? The corruption is almost fathomless. Like the idea of moving FBI headquarters out of DC and to somewhere like Salt Lake City

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more." - Jonas Salk

 “I saw some Dream Teamers dog it in practice before the Olympics. I looked at them and I knew that was what separated me from them.” - Michael Jordan

“It was then that I realized that your choices come down to either ducking your head and running or stepping up and attacking your obstacles aggressively.” - Mike Leach

"The creation of the United States of America is the greatest of all human adventures." - Paul Johnson

HT Some It's Just as Well

Ike's warning of a "military-industrial complex" is much more famous but given our current state of things - I think the above warning which was also in his Farewell Address may be more apt. 

Dangers from "scientific-technological elite" may be among the top dangers facing this nation. 

World Economic Forum cancels Twitter, directs followers to Chinese social media app.  

The WEF may as well be a branch of the CCP at this point. Another reason why TikTok and WeChat should be illegal in the US. 

Will be interesting to see if Bill "37 trips to Epstein Island" Gates also deletes his Twitter account. Which would amount to an admission of guilt.

Twitter suppressed true information from doctors and public-health experts that was at odds with US government policy.

Elon Musk says, "Much more to The Twitter Files: Covid Edition than this introductory thread."

Admire the strategy of The Twitter Files. First they showed how Twitter was putting their thumbs on the scales of public debate for one side of the political aisle. Then they showed that in many cases they were doing so at the request on the government (in clear violation of the First Amendment). And now they are showing how the government was censoring any information (no matter how true or scientifically sound) that was at odds with the official government position when it came to Covid. And Elon is saying even more is coming out about how the science was suppressed at a time when people needed good information to make life-changing decisions.

It wasn't just the Biden Administration - it was the Trump White House as well. It wasn't just Twitter either - it was also Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and others as well.

When the Biden administration took over, its agenda for the American people can be summed up as: Be very afraid of Covid and do exactly what we say to stay safe.

This agenda included asking Twitter to ban certain voices such as Big Pharma and Covid vaccine skeptic Alex Berenson. Thank goodness for the Joe Rogan podcast. Seriously. Rogan gave Berenson a platform so people could hear what he had to say, which was reasonable, informed, and as it turns out true! And thank goodness for Elon Musk who reinstated Berenson as one of his first acts as new owner of Twitter

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Comparison, a great teacher once told me, is the cardinal sin of modern life. It traps us in a game that we can't win. Once we define ourselves in terms of others, we lose the freedom to shape our own lives." - James Collins 

"If you diet, invest, and think according to what the 'news' advocates, you'll end up nutritionally, financially, and morally bankrupt." - Naval Ravikant

"Hey! It's Enrico Palazzo!" - Anonymous Fan 

"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth." - John F. Kennedy

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Regrets of the dying. Something to keep in mind when making your New Year's resolutions. 

- The libraries, studies, and writing rooms of 15 famous people. So jealous.

- Real World Assets poised to be DeFi growth engine. Despite the FTX scandal crypto and companies like Coinbase may have a big 2023.

- Why alcohol is the secret to humanity's success

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

In England today is a holiday called Boxing Day. Always thought in America the day after either Saint Patrick's Day or the Super Bowl should also be a holiday. We'd call it Hangover Day. If anything made you smile or think please Subscriber, hit the Like button, or share with others.

 Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Secret back channel between FTX and White House closed day after FTX declared bankruptcy. When they warned crypto would be used for illegals activities - this is what they meant. The corruption is just blatant at this point. 

- No science at all involved in recommended alcohol intake limits. Don't trust any government recommendations when it comes to diet anymore.

- Twitter Files: Twitter and Other Government Agencies. All the three letter agencies were using Twitter for their own purposes.

- Time to take down the tree. (One book at a time.)

- This brought a tear to my eye.

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder." - Kinky Friedman

"I don't get my news from CNN for the same reason I don't eat out of the toilet." - Roger Stone

"When setting out on a journey, do not seek advice from those who have never left home." - Rumi

"Rugby is a hooligan sport, but played by 15 gentlemen." - Winston Churchill

Safe travels to anyone on the road today. (Photo via) Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Douglas Murray and Uncancelled History. Looking forward to listening to these podcasts.

- Worcester struggles under Polar Park debt. Covid really put a crimp into the plans and not mentioned is parking around the stadium. Once the parking stadium garage is completed things should improve.

- Christmas Eve to remember - 1944 in the Ardennes Today's must read.

- The epilogue to the story

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

 "At the end of the game, the king and the pawn go back in the same box." - Italian Proverb

"Events are in the saddle, and ride mankind." - George Ball

"The science of today is the technology of tomorrow." - Edward Teller

"Unlike the past, there are now two kinds of people in the world; those who own and run the networks, and those who merely use them." - Niall Ferguson

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Dr. Peter McCullough on why separating vaccinated vs unvaccinated blood donations is impossible. Having said that I'm guessing there will be a market for unvaccinated blood.

-  The word "amateur"

- George Orwell: Shooting an Elephant. Had read this essay years ago and recommend it as Orwell is a fantastic essayist.

- Really want a secret Narnia room behind a wardrobe too 

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Social media made y'all way too comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it." - Mike Tyson

 "A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears." - Montaigne

"You are the only person who cares about your excuses." - Shane Parrish

"One day, you will wake up and there won't be any more time to do the one thing you've always wanted. Do it now." - Paulo Coelho

Excellent look at the myth of Chinese "debt trap diplomacy."

No fan of China and have long held that the strength of their economy has been overblown but for me the truth of Chinese "debt trap diplomacy" when it comes to the Belt and Road Initiative never passed the smell test,

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Wow - Jeannie Buss and Jay Mohr are engaged. And today many are combing through Mohr's past comments to see if he ever made any jokes about Lebron James.

- Heh Heh - so true!

- Steven Pressfield - Wilderness = Resistance

- Why the "Swamp GOP" is working with Democrats instead of Republicans. Passing a $1.7 trillion budget is unconscionable. 

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Remember  - including today you still have two days to finish your Christmas shopping. In the words of Douglas Adams, "Don't panic!" Please Subscribe, hit the Like button or share with others.

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"The only problem with capitalism is that it works so well that people think they don't need it." - Dan Held

"An infected mind is a far more dangerous pestilence than any plague - one only threatens your life, the other destroys your character." - Marcus Aurelius

"You'll have to pass it to find out what's in it." - Nancy Pelosi

"Time is the substance I am made of. Time is a river which sweeps me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger which destroys me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire which consumes me, but I am the fire." - Jorge Luis Borges

Interesting post about Lyndon Baines Johnson and how he may have been the model for political corruption today. 

When Johnson entered Congress, he was dirt poor and obsessed with money. He remained an elected federal official until his term as President ended in 1969 - an unbroken string spanning more than three decades - and yet managed to retire with a fortune that would be valued well in excess of $100 million today.

You could replace the name "Johnson" with the name "Pelosi" and the statement would be equally true today.

Normalization of behavior like Johnson's has led to a continuing debasement of US politics to the point where scandals that would have previously ended careers are now routinely blown off as standard operating procedure.

Well maybe depending on which party the offending elected officials belongs to. You can even sleep with Chinese spies or employ a Chinese spy as your personal driver for years if you're a Democrat.

As the cancer of corruption grows , so too does the government's need to corral the outrage and the activities of ordinary citizens.

That's where the censorship of social media, the drive for a government controlled digital currency and other means of government control comes in. I hope Americans don't stand for it.

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Reminder Marc Andreessen and Jack Dorsey are not friends. I'm on Andreessen's side on this.  

- Google / YouTube likely new home for NFL's Sunday Ticket. 

- Don't Trust the Science Part 3: Statins. Bought and paid for. No matter how good your doctor is they can't keep up on what to hold fast to if all the new studies are recommending this drug or that drug.

- From the archives but still relevant: Democrats insist that true vaccines haven't been tried yet!

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto them that be heavy of hearts. Let them drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more." - Book of Proverbs

"It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the establishment authorities are wrong." - Voltaire

"If you're always trying stuff, something's going to work. It doesn't matter what field you're in." - Kevin Plank founder Under Armor

"Most people aren't going to believe this, but opportunity trumps money. It's true, and I'll say that until I'm blue in the face." - Mike Leach

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

With all the bad news and revelations of government corruption, it seems harder than ever to get one's self into the Christmas spirit this year. Going to try re-reading the ending of A Christmas Carol a couple of times today to see if that does the trick. Please Subscribe (it's FREE), hit the Like button, and share with others. Don't be a humbug. 

If you read or watch any corporate media outlet and they don't cover this story - you should seriously stop giving that media outlet any more of your time and attention.

Mill Valley Public Library in the Bay area. (Photo via) Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit.

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"You get paid linearly for analyzing and solving problems and non-linearly for spotting and seizing opportunities." - Shane Parrish

"I'm not afraid of the media. Why should anyone listen to the media? Who are these people? What makes them experts? What have they accomplished?" - Dana White

"There's one thing worse than change and that's the status quo." - John Le Carre

"You have to lower your ideals of freedom if you want to suck on the warm teat of China." - South Park

   Scrooge hung his head to hear his own words quoted by the Spirit, and was overcome with penitence and grief. - Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol

Bill Gates is much worse than Scrooge. Gates too wishes to decrease the surplus population but unlike Scrooge I don't think Gates is capable of penitence or grief. Also Scrooge never racked up frequent flyer miles going to Epstein's Pedo Island multiple times. 

Interesting article that reminds us to live a real life. Social media and fake news are cancers on our souls.

Reminded of the Roger Stone quote, "I don't watch CNN for the same reason I don't eat out of the toilet." Also reminded that processed food comes in plastic bags or boxes and that you throw away your garbage in plastic bags or boxes. Similar because they are the same - garbage.

Get out in nature; read a book; and eat real food. Your physical and mental health will thank you for it.

Matt Taibbi has a supplemental to his Twitter File about the FBI and election interference. Basically Twitter was telling the FBI and the IC (intelligence Community) that Twitter wasn't finding much of any foreign propaganda or influence in the upcoming 2020 lection. The FBI basically told Twitter to find some!

Michael Schellenberger has Twitter Files 7 where he documents a coordinated effort by the FBI to suppress any news about Hunter Biden's laptop (which we now know the FBI knew was genuine). This was the very propaganda and election influence the FBI was pressuring Twitter to find. 

Disgraceful. The FBI was much more trustworthy when they only hired Mormons and Catholics from Boston College.  

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Democrats like Adam Schiff are scrambling to save censorship. Schiff is a villain straight out of an Ayn Rand novel. 

- How old was I yesterday?

- Often on the other side of most political issues with Tim Robbins but agree with him 100% on this. Good to see Hollywood types breaking free of the hive mind.

- Heh Heh - Elon to stay as Twitter CEO after counting mail-in votes

Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"When immigration is done by single individuals, it is immigration. When done by groups, it is invasion." - Nassim Taleb

"But test and prove all things until you can recognize what is good; to that hold fast." - 1 Thessalonians 5:21

"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." - Arthur Schopenhauer

"There is one phrase in the Bible repeated 365 times. 365 is no coincidence. Be not afraid." - Richard Grenell

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Starting my annual re-ready of Dicken's A Christmas Carol tonight. One of my Christmas traditions. If you're wondering what to get me for Christmas - subscribing to my Substack, hitting the Like button, or sharing with others would do nicely. They're all free and guaranteed not be be returned or re-gifted. 

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Heh Heh. 

- Reflections on the meaning of time.

- Heh Heh - Local carpenter continues to spread disinformation deemed harmful by religious experts

- Oh the passion of sport - congrats to Argentina on their World Cup victory

A winter wonderland. (Via) Headline stolen borrowed from Execupundit,

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Disagreement is not oppression. Argument is not assault. Words - even provocative or repugnant ones - are not violence. The answer to speech we do not like is more speech." - Douglas Murray

"A great man is hard on himself; a small man is hard on others." - Confucius

"The more the Internet exposes people to new points of view, the angrier people get that different views exist." - Benedict Evans

"It was then that I realized that your choices come down to either ducking your head and running or stepping up and attacking your obstacles aggressively." - Mike Leach

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- The Twitter Files - The FBI Connection. "Twitter's contact with the FBI was constant and pervasive, as if they were a subsidiary."

- Fathers and sons.

- Don't think Biden would ever push back on Xi like this

- Facebook is also shadow banning.

"The common denominator of success - secret of success of every individual who has ever been successful - lies in the fact that he or she formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do.

It's just as true as it sounds and it's just as simple as it seems."

Long read but worth it. Lot's of truth and good practical advice such as, "Every single qualification for success is acquired through habit. People form habits and habits form futures."

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Leonardo da Vinci

"Actually we're better when we're sober... But it's not as much fun... So we get drunk." - Shane MacGowan

"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." - Marie Curie

"Wokeness doesn't exist above a certain IQ level." - Scott Adams

Harsh but deservedly so. (Via)

 Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

John Wayne once said that every young man needs to let the badger loose every once and a while. With NFL games today and tomorrow - this young man will be letting the badger loose this weekend. As always - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. 

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

 "Me and my wife were happy for 20 years. Then we met." - Rodney Dangerfield

"When it comes to medicine and nutrition, subtract before you add." - Naval Ravikant 

"You have power over your mind not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." - Marcus Aurelius

"We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather that the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions." - Ronald Reagan

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- These sudden deaths have nothing to do with climate change (Chart via)

- Twitter broke its own rules to ban Trump

- Pac-Man in its heyday was a multi-billion industry whose income came in one quarter at a time.

- New study shows almost 50% remission of Type 2 Diabetes using just fasting. Too bad Big Pharma can't monetize fasting.

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"For it happens that books are the only article in which I am richer than my neighbors." - Thomas De Quincey

"Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst. Expect nothing. Savor everything." - Mark Manson

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on." - Robert Frost

"Death twitches my ear; 'Live,' he says... 'I'm coming.'" - Virgil

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Attack of the archaeologists (a defense of Graham Hancock)

- Honest advice for people in their 20's from Zuby. Honestly the advice is great for people of any age. 

- Bari Weiss on how she got to work on the Twitter Files and why

- The supply chain that keeps tech flowing into Russia despite sanctions. Business finds a way.

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

 Think "2-liters of Booze!" could be the Box 'O Wine for the soccer mom set. If anything I wrote made you smile or think - please Subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. 

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- DOJ arrests SBF for running out of bribe money

-  Deep Fake is getting good - too good

- Healthcare is a captured industry Part 2 - must read thread.

- Great Mike Leach story

 Some quotes that I hope may resonate with you.

"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes." - Jonathan Swift

"Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance." - Eckhart Tolle

"The bully is the man who acts on the assumption that he will not have to fight." - GK Chesterton

"I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up all alone, it's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people that make you feel all alone." - Robin Williams

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Sometimes life comes at you pretty fast

- Quick Thoughts on AI. Agree that ChatGPT will probably replace Google. Very useful tool.

- Crony Beliefs. Longer read but worth the time.

- Rudolph changes name to Rolanda, dominates female Reindeer Games

In 1998, the payments app was created to empower individuals. Today, it's a cornerstone of our emerging social-credit system.

Why people still use PayPal is beyond me. Why use an app which can block access to your own funds just because they don't agree with your political views? Remember that Elon Musk and Peter Thiel were both founders of PayPal. They could easily come up with a new payment app and seamlessly add it into the fabric of Twitter. Surely their non-compete agreements must be up by now.

Wouldn't be surprised if a payment app isn't already in the works over at Twitter.

Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"He whose life has a why can bear almost any how." - Friedrich Nietzsche

 "The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." - Mark Twain

"Who does not know beer, does not know what is good. Beer makes the home pleasant." - Sumerian proverb

"Dance first, think later... Its the natural order." - Samuel Beckett

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Back to the Blue Books. Agree 100%. 

- Before Musk, Twitter was the worst run tech company in the world.

- Healthcare is a captured industry where you cannot trust the science. Must read thread!

- The media's silence on the Twitter Files is shameful. Shameful but not surprising.

Very sad news that coach Mike Leach has passed away after suffering a massive heart attack. He was one of a kind. We will not see his like again. He was just 61-years old. 

EDIT: Dan Wetzel has a nice appreciation of coach Leach.

Have a new miscellaneous thoughts and observations post up on Substack.

Back in the day it seemed everyone had a friend named "Speed." Whatever happened to the nickname Speed? Please subscribe, hit the Like button, and share with others. Greatly appreciated.

 Some quotes I hope may resonate with you.

"I don't want to believe. I want to know." - Carl Sagan

"The press is our chief ideological weapon." - Nikita Khrushchev

"Never regret anything that made you smile." - Mark Twain

"The dead outnumber the living 14-1, and we ignore the accumulated experience of such a huge majority of mankind at our peril." - Niall Ferguson

At this point Boston fans are basically waiting for Red Sox owner John Henry to tie the 2004 World Series trophy to the bumper of his car and drag it around Faneuil Hall. (Photo via)