Red Leopard

“so far as i am concerned, poetry and every other art was and is and forever will be strictly and distinctly a question of individuality…poetry is being, not doing. if you wish to follow, even at a distance, the poet’s calling (and here, as always, i speak from my own totally biased and entirely personal point of view) you’ve got to come out of the measurable doing universe into the immeasurable house of being…nobody else can be alive for you; nor can you be alive for anybody else. toms can be dicks and dicks can be harrys, but none of them can ever be you. there’s the artist’s responsibility; and the most awful responsibility on earth. if you can take it, take it—and be. if you can’t, cheer up and go about other people’s business; and do (or undo) till you drop.”

—ee cummings

I heard this poem read today and it had me stop in my tracks. It put into words what I’ve been feeling of late but unable to articulate. This year has been dominated by frantically doing and undoing. It’s exhausting.

I’m choosing a word for the day, a single word to change the game for the next 11 hours: Breathe.

If you have not
Linked yourself
To true emptiness,
You will never understand
The Art of Peace.

–Morihei Ueshiba

I just added the cluster maps app. It uses ip address lookup to put a pin on the world map. I hadn’t done anything on the blog in a while and thought it might be a fun diversion. :^)

Word of the Day

Schadenfreude
n : delight in another person’s misfortune

We all know someone like this. Maybe we have experienced schadenfreude in our own lives. It happens when a person is deeply invested in the failure of another. It is small, sad and toxic.

You might try this: for the rest of the week, observe the people in your life. Do they show empathy or schadenfreude? To whom do you feel closer?

Over on O’Reilly, Rick Jelliffe took Popular Mechanic’s 25 Skills Every Man Should Know quiz.

I eagerly read through the quiz and I noticed two things. First, I eagerly read through the quiz. Second, I have smirked—on occasion—at women’s magazines that have similar quizzes. It’s all relative to what you believe is important.

How did I do on the quiz? Let’s say simply that I felt rather smug. We all like to score well on tests, right?

25 Skills Every Man Should Know

[✔] 1. Patch a radiator hose

I’ve been driving since 1975 and have owned some really crap cars. Patching a radiator hose was not some esoteric, useless skill. It was a real, honest-to-goodness life skill.

By the way, patching the hose is only temporary. You really must replace it. Right away.

[✔] 2. Protect your computer

The quiz didn’t specifiy but protecting your computer can mean physically, environmentally, electrically and operationally.

Physically, you can lock the computer down.

Environmentally, you can keep the temperature and humidity within range. Running your server in detached garage can press your luck.

Electrically, you can use a power conditioner to protect against spikes.

Operationally, you can be rigorous about ‘no spyware’ and ‘no viruses’.

[½✔] 3. Rescue a boater who has capsized

I’m a sailor. Well, I’m a portsmouth class sailor. That’s a pretentious way of saying dingy sailor.

If you sail a dingy, you will eventually capsize. I’ve helped people who have capsized their dingy. I wouldn’t call it a rescue.

However, I’ve been rescued. Dave and I were sailing in weather beyond our skill in a boat that needed a third crewmember. We capsized and could never get boat “unswamped”. A power boat towed us in.

I’ll give myself half a check as I’ve never had to save someone who was about to die. I believe I could but it hasn’t been tested.

[✔] 4. Frame a wall

yep.

[✔] 5. Retouch digital photos

yep.

[✔] 6. Back up a trailer

yep. Boat trailers, utility trailers, tandom trailers. It really is easier when no one is watching.

[✔] 7. Build a campfire

yep. Cub Scout, Webelo, Boy Scout.

[✔] 8. Fix a dead outlet

yep.

[✔] 9. Navigate with a map and compass

yep. Cub Scout, Webelo, Boy Scout, US Army.

[✔] 10. Use a torque wrench

yep.

[✔] 11. Sharpen a knife

[½✔] 12. Perform CPR

Only half a check. I’ve taken training coursed by the Red Cross and the US Army. I believe I could but it hasn’t been tested.

[✔] 13. Fillet a fish

Growing up on the Gulf Coast gave me a head start.

[✔] 14. Maneuver a car out of a skid

yikes! More often than I care to remember.

[✔] 15. Get a car unstuck

Snow, mud, sand, ice.

[✔] 16. Back up data

Just not as often as I should.

[✔] 17. Paint a room

It’s not my favorite.

[✔] 18. Mix concrete

Read the warnings. Some mixes cause cancer.

[✔] 19. Clean a bolt-action rifle

yep.

[✔] 20. Change oil and filter

yep.

[½✔] 21. Hook up an HDTV

How hard could it be. I have successfully hooked up home theater, cable, vcr, dvd, blah blah blah.

But not actually having an HDTV, this skill hasn’t been tested.

[✔] 22. Bleed brakes

yep. messy.

[✔] 23. Paddle a canoe

yep.

[✔] 24. Fix a bike flat

yep. haven’t done it in years but I just bought a bicycle this year. The company moved the office within 2.5 miles of our house. I sometimes ride to work.

[✔] 25. Extend your wireless network

yep.

So there it is. A score of twenty three and one half.

I think I will have a second cup of smug this morning.

The Art of Peace is medicine for a sick world.

There is evil and disorder in the world because people have forgotten that all things emanate from one source. Return to that source and leave behind all self-centered thoughts, petty desires, and anger.

Those who are possessed by nothing possess everything.

–Morihei Ueshiba