More Understanding the Mind of God.

More excellent Advice God meme.

Best. NYE. Message. Ever. - "Happy New Year. Stand on the neck of 2010 and throatpunch the future."

Via Official Warren Ellis Compound

Happy New Year from Liberia.

I decided if I'm to be denied the joys of conveyor belt sushi, and additionally unable to view the magnificence of K-1 Dynamite!! live on Japanese TV, the least I/we can do is start a brand new tradition of sushi on New Year's Eve.  Thusly...

 Nice view, yeah?

 Very tasty sliced cucumber with kimchi appetizer.  Awesome.

 Crab cocktail... with crab, mayo, orange slices and ebiko.  Good stuff.

Wooden boat of Sushi & Sashimi [bonus points for presentation - almost Japanese, it is.]  Glorious.  The definition of "hitting the spot."

 Afterwards, a quiet eve at home, prepping the champagne sparkling white wine for midnight.

 At the stroke of midnight...

 Finally, Liberian lizard wishes you all a Happy New Year and great things in 2011.

[These guys are everywhere.]

I can make hummus now, apparently.

Growth!

Hummus with regular pita bread, plus baked pita chips brushed with olive oil and tahini.  Approaching fancy pretentious, I am. 

Egg & bacon muffins.  I love these things.  Awesome high protein, low carb finger food.

Training.

Atlas Lesson 1
Simplefit L1 - 5 rounds for time - 6 bw rows/6 pushups/10 prisoner squats - 6:03
30m Rutten MMA wkout/boxing/2m rounds
Hyperx, neck nods/rotations, band face pulls, band dislocates

Maybe the best thing I've read of late... Charles Munger - "A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom As It Relates To Investment Management & Business."

Lengthy and a bit dense in places - math is not my strong suite - but fascinating.  And not at all only concerned with business, despite the title, but also with organizational structure, bureaucracies, and the parts I liked best - what constitutes the art and science of thinking... Utilizing a latticework of multiple mental models of multiple disciplines of the world to better understand the world and solve problems.  I'm sure it's old hat to some, especially MBA or financial types, I'd imagine, but it's new to me, so here it is.  Really good stuff. Via MungersWorldlyWisdom.

“A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom As It Relates To Investment Management & Business”. - Charles Munger, USC Business School, 1994

'I'm going to play a minor trick on you today ‑ because the subject of my talk is the art of stock picking as a subdivision of the art of worldly wisdom. That enables me to start talking about worldly wisdom ‑ a much broader topic that interests me because I think all too little of it is delivered by modern educational systems, at least in an effective way.

And therefore, the talk is sort of along the lines that some behaviorist psychologists call Grandma's rule after the wisdom of Grandma when she said that you have to eat the carrots before you get the dessert.

The carrot part of this talk is about the general subject of worldly wisdom which is a pretty good way to start. After all, the theory of modern education is that you need a general education before you specialize. And I think to some extent, before you're going to be a great stock picker, you need some general education.

So, emphasizing what I sometimes waggishly call remedial worldly wisdom, I'm going to start by waltzing you through a few basic notions.

What is elementary, worldly wisdom? Well, the first rule is that you can't really know anything if you just remember isolated facts and try and bang 'em back. If the facts don't hang together on a latticework of theory, you don't have them in a usable form.

You've got to have models in your head. And you've got to array your experience ‑ both vicarious and direct ‑ on this latticework of models. You may have noticed students who just try to remember and pound back what is remembered. Well, they fail in school and in life. You've got to hang experience on a latticework of models in your head...

NYTimes conspires to make me miss Japan & kaiten-zushi.

Good article on how conveyor belt sushi thrives and survives during economic difficulties.  I'd kill for some kaiten...  I think a visit to Monrovia's Barracuda Bar Sushi joint for NYEve dinner is in order.  No conveyor belt, but you make do...

Kura Focuses on Efficiency, and Profits - NYTimes.com:

"The Kura “revolving sushi” restaurant chain has no Michelin stars, but it has succeeded where many of Japan’s more celebrated eateries fall short: turning a profit in a punishing economy..."

Afghanistan still a huge clusterfuck.

Much more at the link - [the other nine myths, obviously] - including disproving such claims as the "The Afghans want the US and NATO to stay in their country" and the mother of all deceptions - that we're there fighting Al-Qaeda.

Top Ten Myths about Afghanistan, 2010 | Informed Comment:

"10. “There has been significant progress in tamping down the insurgency in Afghanistan.”

Fact: A recent National Intelligence Estimate by 16 intelligence agencies found no progress. It warned that large swathes of the country were at risk of falling to the Taliban and that they still had safe havens in Pakistan, with the Pakistani government complicit. The UN says there were over 6000 civilian casualties of war in Afghanistan in the first 10 months of 2010, a 20% increase over the same period in 2009. Also, 701 US and NATO troops have been killed this year, compared to 521 last year, a 25% increase. There were typically over 1000 insurgent attacks per month in Afghanistan this year, often twice as many per month as in 2009, recalling the guerrilla war in Iraq in 2005."

Understanding God.

Advice God meme FTW.

"Interesting things come to you, if you wait." - Tony Ling

Training.

Atlas Lesson 1
Simplefit L1 - 3 bw rows/2 pushups/3 prisoner squats - max rounds/20m - 27 rounds
30m Rutten MMA wkout/boxing/2m rounds
Band shoulder dislocates, hyperextensions, neck nods/rotations, hip thrusts

New desktop.  If I can look at this every day and not workout, I deserve whatever I get.

Inspiring transformation over at Ignoring the Naysayers | Mark's Daily Apple:

"...Primal blew me away. When I started counting calories my goals was to get down to a size 4 (from an 8), 155 lbs (from 185), and to be a size medium. I remained a size 8, got to 175, and remained a large on this method.

Since being Primal I am now a size 0 (which is loosening by the day), I weigh 135 (a full 20 lbs lower than I could have ever imagined), and I am a small or extra small in all of my clothing. My skin has cleared up and I have so much more energy now. So much so that I actually feel the urge to exercise and I find exercise fun..."

Robert Downey, Jr. - is there nothing you can't do?

Training.

Atlas Lesson 1
50m meditation/relaxation work
For time - 10 chins/21 pushups/21 prisoner squats - 5:00
20m light shadowboxing
Band shoulder dislocates

Brainwash yourself or be brainwashed by others.

Scott Adams Blog: Self Talk 08/04/2009:

"We know that the brain is bidirectional. If it's happy, it can make you smile. But if you force yourself to smile when you are not happy, it can make you happier. - http://web.psych.ualberta.ca/~varn/bc/Kleinke.htm

When I was in college, which was my first social experience outside the tiny town where I grew up, I noticed that a lot of people were asking me the same question: How are you? So I decided that my answer to that question, regardless of the truth, would be always be something along the lines of great, spectacular, excellent or sensational. It's the one situation in which there is no social penalty for saying out loud that you are incredible.

How are you?

I'm fantastic.

My reasoning was that over time I might program myself through repetition to become better than I was. I have no idea if it works, but I know I enjoy telling people I'm fabulous."

This - "...our perceptions are interpretations of a reality that is too complex for a human brain to process."

I wouldn't use "believe" - mostly because I'm being pedantic - but this makes as much sense to me, more even, than anything else.

Scott Adams Blog: Dilbert 2.0 10/13/2008:

"For the record, I don't believe in ESP or magic. But I do believe our perceptions are interpretations of a reality that is too complex for a human brain to process. And so sometimes when your brain tries to incorporate an inconsistency into its interpretation, the result can look like magic. And if you tell me that isn't just as good as actual magic, we could have a long discussion. It's like the difference between thinking you are happy versus being happy. I call that a tie."

Asia is fun.

Portugal's Drug Peace through Decriminalization.

No, let's just keep doing the stupid things we're doing, as if there has ever been a society anywhere, ever, that didn't use drugs to alter mindstate.

Portugal's Drug Peace - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine:

"- There were small increases in... drug use among adults, but decreases for adolescents and problem users, such as drug addicts and prisoners.

- Drug-related court cases dropped 66 percent.

- Drug-related HIV cases dropped 75 percent. In 2002, 49 percent of people with AIDS were addicts; by 2008 that number fell to 28 percent.

- The number of regular users held steady at less than 3 percent of the population for marijuana and less than 0.3 percent for heroin and cocaine - figures which show decriminalization brought no surge in drug use.

- The number of people treated for drug addiction rose 20 percent from 2001 to 2008."

This - "You can always make news with doomsday predictions, but you can usually make money betting against them."

Via Oil Prices: Cornucopian Whomps Malthusian Once Again - Hit & Run : Reason Magazine

"Suddenly I See... This is What I Wanna Be..."

Played last night on an ep of Sandy's new Gavin & Stacey DVDs... now it's stuck in my head and I've been replaying it all AM.  It's just so damn catchy and postive...

"

"People Who Get Paid to Touch Your Junk" Venn Diagram.

Via People Who Touch Your Junk Venn - Chart Porn

Hope Springs Eternal.

Training.

Atlas Lesson 1 + Chins
35m meditation/relaxation
5 rounds for time - 2 chins/6 pushups/10 prisoner squats - 7:25
30m Rutten MMA Wkout/Boxing/2m rounds
Shoulder dislocates

Training.

Max rounds/20m - BW Rows x2/Pushups x2/Air Squats x3 - 29 rounds
15m footwork/shadowboxing
Neck nods/rotations, hyperx, abs

I feel for kids these days...

"20 Million Kids & Adolescents are labeled with "mental disorders" that are based solely on a checklist of behaviors. There are no brain scans, x-rays, genetic or blood tests that can prove they are "mentally ill", yet these children are stigmatized for life with psychiatric disorders, and prescribed dangerous,life-threatening psychiatric drugs. Child drugging is a $4.8 billion-a-year industry. Get the facts about this multi-billion dollar industry that is labeling and drugging kids for profit."

--

"In the animal kingdom, the rule is, eat or be eaten; in the human kingdom, define or be defined... No further evidence is needed to show that 'mental illness' is not the name of a biological condition whose nature awaits to be elucidated, but is the name of a concept whose purpose is to obscure the obvious." - Thomas Szasz

Via

Christmas in Liberia.

First up, ripping open the presents.  

 Confusing the Mrs with my eclectic movie gift selection.

 Quite the haul.  Thank the heavens for modern capitalism, consumerism and the expression of affection via purchasing power.

 The Mrs shows off all her new bling.

 Strike a pose.  [Or two.]  Vogue.

 Obligatory Xmas day viewing of A Christmas Story.  You will, actually, shoot your eye out.

Little known fact, when the wife went into government work, the world lost one of its finest turkey wrestlers.

 We did the math, and this is actually the first turkey we've cooked up in a full size Western style oven in 11 years.  Living in Japan and visits home to the parents when in the US...  crazy long time since we've done this.  Who'd have figured Liberia?

 How awesome does this look, I ask you?

The full spread.  

 Glorious.

 The chef and her good works.

 Manly carving is manly.

 The place of eating is prepared.

 Obligatory annual watching of While You Were Sleeping.

 C'mon, you know that looks awesome.

  We call this "sense of accomplishment."

 Sandy loves her some pumpkin pie.

 Leftover Aftermath.  See you next year.

You know Santa Claus was a magic mushroom, right?

Well, not technically. As 'magic mushrooms' are psilocybin, whereas what we're talking about here is the history of the shamanic and psychedelic usage of the mushroom Amanita Muscaria. Sure explains 'flying' reindeer and why Santa always has the munchies. And why he's so jolly and sees little elves all over the place.

Wild Birds Unlimited: When did Reindeer Learn to Fly?:

"Also ancient hymns written between 1500 - 500 BCE talk about the reindeer that could fly after eating magic mushrooms. Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric is a red fungus with white dots that has always been a popular icon for the Midwinter and Christmas festivities in central Europe. The Amanita muscaria mushrooms grow only under certain types of trees, mostly firs and evergreens.

The semi-nomadic ancient peoples, including the Lapps of modern-day Finland, and the Koyak tribes of the central Russian steppes considered the reindeer sacred. Local tradition talks about how shaman wearing a red and white fur-trimmed coats and long black boots gathered the red and white mushrooms in a bag and then came down the smokehole in the top of the yurt. He passed out the mushrooms for the people to string up in front of the fire to dry. Then the people used the mushrooms to draw the reindeer near. Under the influence, the reindeer would prance and fly around until they became exhausted..."

And The psychedelic secrets of Santa Claus | Cannabis Culture Magazine:

"Although most people see Christmas as a Christian holiday, most of the symbols and icons we associate with Christmas celebrations are actually derived from the shamanistic traditions of the tribal peoples of pre-Christian Northern Europe.

The sacred mushroom of these people was the red and white amanita muscaria mushroom, also known as "fly agaric." These mushrooms are now commonly seen in books of fairy tales, and are usually associated with magic and fairies. This is because they contain potent hallucinogenic compounds, and were used by ancient peoples for insight and transcendental experiences.

...Reindeer were the sacred animals of these semi-nomadic people, as the reindeer provided food, shelter, clothing and other necessities. Reindeer are also fond of eating the amanita mushrooms; they will seek them out, then prance about while under their influence. Often the urine of tripped-out reindeer would be consumed for its psychedelic effects.'"

But leave it to Joe Rogan to best sum up - Santa Claus was a mushroom. « The Joe Rogan Experience:

"Santa Claus is bright red and white. The amanita muscaria is also bright red and white.

Santa Claus lives in the North Pole, and he has flying reindeer pulling his sleigh through the air.

Reindeer are native to Siberia, and the shamanic use of this mushroom in Siberia is well documented. Now, I know Siberia isn’t the North Pole exactly, but it’s pretty close, and the earth’s magnetic pole is actually shifting away from North America and towards Siberia.

Also, the animal most connected with the amanita muscaria mushroom is the reindeer. It’s their favorite food, and although I’ve never talked to a reindeer, I’ve got to think eating that shit all day must get them high as FUCK.

Like, “flying” high.

Christmas trees are pine trees.

Pine trees are the trees that the amanita muscaria grows under...

Their shiny red and white caps blooming under the tree looks very much like the tradition of placing shiny wrapped boxes under there.

When people would pick the mushrooms they would place them on the leaves of the tree to dry them in the sun.

That would look an awful lot like when people decorate their trees with shiny ornaments.

People place red and white socks over the fireplace.

OK, first off, why red and white socks? Because again, that’s the color of the mushroom. And why do they hang it in front of the fireplace? Because that was another one of their techniques to dry the mushrooms out for storage.

Santa doesn’t come in through the front door, he hops down through the chimney, on the sneak tip, with a fat bag of goodies.

Well, when Shamanic rituals were forbidden by the rulers of the day, (which they ALWAYS eventually were, because rulers throughout history have realized over and over again that the use of psychedelic substances by their people only serves to make it more difficult to feed them bullshit, and keep them scared and stupid) the rituals didn’t immediately stop, they continued in secret, like secretly sneaking into the house through the roof with a fat bag of ‘shrooms.

Santa lived in a magical place where he was surrounded by elves.

Sounds like a tripper to me..."

The traditional "opening one gift on Xmas eve" experience.

When they say "like a kid on Christmas" this is the look they're talking about.

We call this look "Sachiko Face."  [Hi Mom!]

How adorable is my wife?  Seriously?  [Also, I'm a great shopper.]

Whereas the wife is helping me eliminate excuses from getting my sorry self back into shape.