Saturday, July 23, 2016
Friday, July 22, 2016
Training.
7/22 - stretch/foam roll, press/push press, chins, cable curls, pushdowns, plate raise/rear delt fly, speedbag
Right the fuck on, sir. Brandon "Killer Bee" Hodges — Old pics. Same dream.:
Thursday, July 21, 2016
"Make a fucking choice."
LIFT-RUN-BANG: And not a single mountain was ever climbed......: "I read an article a while back, which I cannot seem to find now so I will have to paraphrase, where the author (who is a therapist) was railing on the entire field of therapy because people should not find themselves in therapy for weeks, months, or years. I'm not talking about things like drug addiction or such, I'm talking about getting through normal, yet difficult life situations.
Her stance? Make a fucking choice. That's it. That's all.
And her problem with most of the people working in the field of therapy was that it wasn't their desire to help these people make a choice. Her pet peeve was the common question asked by therapists to their patients. "Well how does that make you feel?" Her retort was basically, "this is fucking stupid. I already know how it makes them feel because they told me. So my question back to them was "and what are you going to do about it?""
Her success rate was pretty high. Her style of counseling was to essentially force people to recognize the root of the problem, rather than worrying about the coping mechanisms, then make a choice to change the actual problem. To get them to actually say what they needed to change, then actually act on it. To understand what their control in life was, and to seize it, and make it work for them. To stop waiting for things to "magically change". To stop trying to put band-aids on the problem by addressing the coping mechanisms and to actually kill those off, by making a choice to change what was causing them...
Amazing that she was smart enough to go to school all those years and arrive at a saying most of us already knew, but have trouble applying. The problem is, most people really do already know the answer, but don't have the courage to break away from their metaphorical or real life in-person captors. People stay shackled to jobs, marriages, friendships, and all sorts of shit in life because of fear, habit, and the development of an ideology that their self preservation is dependent upon these things existing."
Her stance? Make a fucking choice. That's it. That's all.
And her problem with most of the people working in the field of therapy was that it wasn't their desire to help these people make a choice. Her pet peeve was the common question asked by therapists to their patients. "Well how does that make you feel?" Her retort was basically, "this is fucking stupid. I already know how it makes them feel because they told me. So my question back to them was "and what are you going to do about it?""
Her success rate was pretty high. Her style of counseling was to essentially force people to recognize the root of the problem, rather than worrying about the coping mechanisms, then make a choice to change the actual problem. To get them to actually say what they needed to change, then actually act on it. To understand what their control in life was, and to seize it, and make it work for them. To stop waiting for things to "magically change". To stop trying to put band-aids on the problem by addressing the coping mechanisms and to actually kill those off, by making a choice to change what was causing them...
Amazing that she was smart enough to go to school all those years and arrive at a saying most of us already knew, but have trouble applying. The problem is, most people really do already know the answer, but don't have the courage to break away from their metaphorical or real life in-person captors. People stay shackled to jobs, marriages, friendships, and all sorts of shit in life because of fear, habit, and the development of an ideology that their self preservation is dependent upon these things existing."
#FreeMilo
Milo Did Nothing Wrong - Breitbart: "In their email to Yiannopoulos, Twitter said he had been banned for “participating in or inciting targeted abuse of individuals.” And it’s true that Twitter’s terms of service do include a specific ban on abuse and targeted harassment. The question is – did Milo really break the rule?
Keep in mind that Twitter did nothing when Jerome Hudson, a black reporter for Breitbart News, was repeatedly called “coon” by a prominent rapper on the platform. It has also let abusive and racist tweets from Leslie Jones, the Ghostbusters actress who reported Milo to Twitter, stand.
So, either Twitter has a very high bar for what constitutes “abuse and harassment,” or it is simply enforcing its terms of service unevenly, giving some users a pass despite flagrant and shocking rule-breaking. Let’s be generous and assume, for a moment, that it has a high bar. What did Milo do to cross it?
Well, first he committed the mortal sin of criticising Leslie Jones’ comic performance in the new Ghostbusters movie, suggesting she was playing the victim instead of acknowledging criticism. “If at first you don’t succeed (because you’re work is terrible), play the victim. Everyone gets hate mail FFS.” Jones then informed Milo that he had been blocked and reported to Twitter, before going on to call one of his supporters a “racist b*tch” after he accused her of trying to limit free speech. Milo said her tweets were “barely literate.” Milo then jokes – to his followers, not to Jones – that he had been “rejected by yet another black dude” after Jones blocked him on Twitter. His final tweet on the subject included screenshots (later found to be doctored by trolls) of Jones engaging in racist abuse.
In other words, Milo has been permanently banned for little more than criticism, mild insults, and mockery. Meanwhile, Jerome Hudson’s abuser, who repeatedly called the black reporter a “coon,” is still on the platform. So is Leslie Jones, who, according to Twitter searches, has repeatedly engaged in racist rhetoric herself — as well the plain old abuse of calling her critics “b*tches,” “a**holes” and a range of other expletives."
Keep in mind that Twitter did nothing when Jerome Hudson, a black reporter for Breitbart News, was repeatedly called “coon” by a prominent rapper on the platform. It has also let abusive and racist tweets from Leslie Jones, the Ghostbusters actress who reported Milo to Twitter, stand.
So, either Twitter has a very high bar for what constitutes “abuse and harassment,” or it is simply enforcing its terms of service unevenly, giving some users a pass despite flagrant and shocking rule-breaking. Let’s be generous and assume, for a moment, that it has a high bar. What did Milo do to cross it?
Well, first he committed the mortal sin of criticising Leslie Jones’ comic performance in the new Ghostbusters movie, suggesting she was playing the victim instead of acknowledging criticism. “If at first you don’t succeed (because you’re work is terrible), play the victim. Everyone gets hate mail FFS.” Jones then informed Milo that he had been blocked and reported to Twitter, before going on to call one of his supporters a “racist b*tch” after he accused her of trying to limit free speech. Milo said her tweets were “barely literate.” Milo then jokes – to his followers, not to Jones – that he had been “rejected by yet another black dude” after Jones blocked him on Twitter. His final tweet on the subject included screenshots (later found to be doctored by trolls) of Jones engaging in racist abuse.
In other words, Milo has been permanently banned for little more than criticism, mild insults, and mockery. Meanwhile, Jerome Hudson’s abuser, who repeatedly called the black reporter a “coon,” is still on the platform. So is Leslie Jones, who, according to Twitter searches, has repeatedly engaged in racist rhetoric herself — as well the plain old abuse of calling her critics “b*tches,” “a**holes” and a range of other expletives."
WATCH: Leslie Jones Admits To Violating Twitter's Rules On Targeted Abuse - Breitbart: "...whilst the narrative currently being spun across many mainstream media outlets is that Jones is an innocent victim of racist online trolls, more evidence has arisen that suggests that Jones is in fact an aggressor who deliberately orders her followers to attack her “critics” on Twitter. Ironically, directing a targeted harassment campaign and ordering followers to attack another user is a violation of Twitter’s terms of service, and exactly what Yiannopoulos was accused of by Jones.
This was what Twitter eventually used as an excuse to ban Milo, even though there was no evidence whatsoever that Yiannopoulos ordered his followers to attack the actress. No major news organisation has yet picked up on Jones’ racist tweets about white people, or the fact that she was hitting back at “trolls” before Yiannopoulos ever got involved.
Appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers back in May, Meyers noted that Jones made the decision to “engage with critics” on the social media platform.” Jones responded by triumphantly declaring that she is “not no robot [sic] that sits behind a Twitter thing and tweets out, I’m a real person. I’ve got a Twitter account and yes if you call me a name I’m going to call you a name back.” In a not so subtle boast, Jones continued, saying that she didn’t “care how famous I am or how popular I am – if you call me a gorilla I’m going to call your mama one too.” More importantly, the Ghostbusters actress pointed out that she would “blow [anyone] up” who tweeted at her that she didn’t agree with, retweeting it “so all of my followers can see it and get on your punk…” Jones then trailed off before finishing her sentence."
This was what Twitter eventually used as an excuse to ban Milo, even though there was no evidence whatsoever that Yiannopoulos ordered his followers to attack the actress. No major news organisation has yet picked up on Jones’ racist tweets about white people, or the fact that she was hitting back at “trolls” before Yiannopoulos ever got involved.
Appearing on Late Night with Seth Meyers back in May, Meyers noted that Jones made the decision to “engage with critics” on the social media platform.” Jones responded by triumphantly declaring that she is “not no robot [sic] that sits behind a Twitter thing and tweets out, I’m a real person. I’ve got a Twitter account and yes if you call me a name I’m going to call you a name back.” In a not so subtle boast, Jones continued, saying that she didn’t “care how famous I am or how popular I am – if you call me a gorilla I’m going to call your mama one too.” More importantly, the Ghostbusters actress pointed out that she would “blow [anyone] up” who tweeted at her that she didn’t agree with, retweeting it “so all of my followers can see it and get on your punk…” Jones then trailed off before finishing her sentence."
"All Models Are Wrong, Some Are Useful."
James Clear: "In 1976, a British statistician named George Box wrote the famous line, “All models are wrong, some are useful.” His point was that we should focus more on whether something can be applied to everyday life in a useful manner rather than debating endlessly if an answer is correct in all cases. As historian Yuval Noah Harari puts it, “Scientists generally agree that no theory is 100 percent correct. Thus, the real test of knowledge is not truth, but utility. Science gives us power. The more useful that power, the better the science.”"
What steps can we take to make better decisions, given that no single way of looking at the world is accurate in all situations? One approach is to develop a broad collection of frameworks for thinking about the world. Some experts refer to each framework as a “mental model.” Each mental model is a way of thinking about the world. The more mental models you have, the more tools you have in your thinking toolbox.
For example, here are three ways of thinking about productivity:
The 2-Minute Rule: If something takes less than two minutes, do it now. The goal of this rule is to help you stop procrastinating and take action.
The Ivy Lee Method: Create a to-do list by writing down the six most important things you need to accomplish tomorrow, prioritizing those items, and working on them in order. The goal of this method is to help you work on the most important things first.
The Seinfeld Strategy: Pick a new habit and draw an X on the calendar for each day you stick with the behavior. The goal of this method is to help you maintain consistency and keep your streak of good behavior alive.
Are any of these models perfect? Of course not. But if you combine them, then you have a strategy that can help you take action right now (The 2-Minute Rule), a strategy that can help you plan your day more effectively (The Ivy Lee Method), and a strategy that can help you maintain consistency in the long-run (The Seinfeld Strategy). You need a collection of mental models because no single framework can work in every situation...
Accepting that all models are wrong in certain instances is not a license to ignore the facts. As a society, we should search for better answers, look for evidence, and strive to increase the accuracy of our knowledge. At the same time, there is a common peril on the other end of the spectrum. Too many people waste time debating if something is perfectly correct, when they should be focusing on if it is practically useful. We live in a world filled with uncertainty, but we still need to get things done. It is our responsibility to develop a way of thinking about the world that generally fits the facts we have, but to not get so gummed up thinking about things that we never actually do anything. As Harvard professor Daniel Gilbert puts it, “The world doesn’t have the luxury of waiting for complete answers before it takes action.”"
"It adds credibility to the government, at least in our minds, and that’s all that matters."
Scott Adams' Blog: "I stay unaligned. It reduces my confirmation bias. But I’m a freak. Don’t be like me. You should vote.
Why?
Voting makes citizens feel like part of the system. It adds credibility to the government, at least in our minds, and that’s all that matters. So you should definitely vote. It feels especially good if you maintain your illusion that you understand complex socio-economic issues well enough to have an informed opinion.
Also, remember how much you hate the candidate for president that is not on your side. You need to vote against that person. You hate that person.
So vote. It’ll feel good, and it will reduce the likelihood that the United States will devolve into a warlord situation."
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
"This is not a grand battle against institutionalized injustice, this is an addiction to indignation."
"University ought to be, first and foremost, a place where reason determines outcomes..."
"Learning is "the antithesis of comfort.'"
"The main thing they want is conformity. Just fall into line. Where some things cannot be said. Some ideas cannot be spoken."
"Weaponizing victimhood to stifle debate."
Data and statistics are systemic oppression. FFS.
"...the heart of the political sickness—the need to tell others how to live."
Ignoring Politicians - Reason.com: "...after years of reporting, I've concluded that most politicians have little to say that's interesting, and many are craven opportunists, desperate to rule over others.
A few stand out, like former Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY). Like many politicians, he's never held a real job. He's run for office or worked for politicians all his life.
Weiner married one of Hillary Clinton's closest advisers, passionately pushed leftists' bad ideas and was a member of Congress.
Then a photo of an anonymous man's bulging underwear was tweeted from his account. He ended up having to resign from Congress.
That embarrassment alone would send most mortals into hiding, but not Weiner.
He decided to campaign for mayor of New York City, and New York's Democrats even forgave him. Polls showed he was the front-runner.
Then came more sleazy stuff. He sent out naked pictures under the name "Carlos Danger."
A new documentary, Weiner, chronicles these events.
"This really is a great movie," says Reason.com's Anthony Fisher. It illustrates "how sick this drive for elective office can be."
In the movie, NBC's Lawrence O'Donnell asks Weiner, "What's wrong with you?" Weiner doesn't even understand the question. O'Donnell elaborates, "you cannot seem to imagine a life without elective office?" Weiner still doesn't get it.
Maybe one needs to be sick to run for office. Weiner is a disciple of New York senator Chuck Schumer.
Schumer famously said, "I was born to legislate." This goes to the heart of the political sickness—the need to tell others how to live. As economist Walter Williams puts it, "I respect ordinary thieves more than I respect politicians. Ordinary thieves take my money without pretense. (They don't) insult my intelligence by proclaiming that they'll use the money that they steal from me to make my life better.""
"Everybody today is relating Melania to the first lady. They did this on purpose."
Milo: Melania Did It On Purpose - Breitbart: "Breitbart Tech editor Milo Yiannopoulos has told the Hollywood Reporter his belief that Melania Trump’s apparent plagiarisation of a speech given by Michelle Obama was done deliberately.
“Nobody understands how smart Trump is. Everybody today is relating Melania to the first lady. They did this on purpose,” said Milo.
“Real people don’t care about plagiarism, only journalists do,” he said. “What is everybody talking about? How hot Melania looked and that silly little speech. It’s genius.”
“Everyone thinks the Trump campaign is a chaotic mess, but this stuff doesn’t happen by accident. They didn’t get here by being stupid,” he continued."
"I checked my privilege today, it's in fine working order and looking swell."
"Whitey McPrivilege" is a top level trolling name, at the very least.
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Training.
7/19 - bench, seated rows, speedbag, stretch/foam roll
7/18 - foam roll/stretch
cool down - rhythm & timing - work in progress
The Real Reason Everyone's Fat | T Nation: "Do these things play a role in obesity? Indirectly, maybe. But the buck stops with you and your response to them... Is it really any wonder the world is becoming fatter? We're also becoming less capable of taking responsibility. It's a virtue that's going out of style. This sucks because the better you get at taking responsibility, the more likely you are to look for opportunity to fix your circumstances instead of becoming a victim of them. And if you haven't noticed, cry-baby victimhood is today's hottest trend. This is how mental weakness turns into physical weakness. Weak people are quick to point the finger at outside sources instead of finding opportunities to overcome their personal challenges...
Granted, the things they blame can be legitimate challenges. There are physiological and psychological factors that make fat loss and muscle gain seem impossible. But NOBODY gets a free pass. That means fit people often have just as many (or more) personal disadvantages to fight against as fat people... Everybody who's in shape fights for it in some way. It's not given to us. We all have personal disadvantages and challenges to overcome. So unless you're among the very few genetically gifted and environmentally blessed, you can't get lean without a struggle. You can't build muscle without a struggle. And you certainly won't maintain either without struggling in some way...
You know that people who are out of shape could be making the best choices within their circumstances, no matter how unfortunate those circumstances are. And you know that "body acceptance" is a sham because their lives would be much easier if their frail frames and feeble joints weren't hauling around extra weight. You know they'd feel better about themselves, have more energy, move more freely, take fewer meds, sleep better, get out more, have fewer doctors' appointments, deal with less pain, have better sex, and (ironically) enjoy their food a lot more than they do now. There's a way to be both compassionate and honest. But by playing the sycophant you're encouraging people to be the victims rather than the masters of their circumstances. And I hope that people who are out of shape make the choices that prove you wrong. Because you see, if they can CHOOSE to get in better shape today, then they could've CHOSEN better behaviors in the first place that would have kept them from getting where they are now. There is a choice. Your patronizing pity is more insulting than the brutal honesty of someone who says, "You're fat and here's what you can do about it."
...Temptation is inescapable and everyone faces it. If you're still blaming your spouse for sabotaging you with tempting food, don't count on changing. We're all tempted by about the same shit; your challenges aren't special. And even if you're injured or ill, there's still a way to choose the best options within your given set of circumstances. Can't get support at home? Find it elsewhere, then be a role model for your family. It'll be a struggle, but it's supposed to be. Everyone experiences that. If you're not struggling, then you're probably not making progress. The struggle is what keeps you from getting weaker, fatter, less mobile, and more incompetent as the owner of your body."
Monday, July 18, 2016
"I seek righteousness."
"But I'll take revenge."
A remake potentially as good as the original. I live in hope.
“It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.'"
"As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so fucking what."" - Stephen Fry
Generation Snowflake.
College Students Don’t Want to Learn: They Want to Teach You About Identity Politics - Hit & Run : Reason.com: "Adams and her ilk reject the notion that the purpose of college is self-transformation. They haven't come to campus to be changed—they see themselves as the only agents of change matter.
This has dire consequences for higher education. If a small but influential group of students on campus are there with the explicit goal of drowning out and shutting down other perspectives—often with the help of the administration—it's going to make life miserable for students who do wish to learn, and professors who still think their job is to challenge young minds."
