C'est la vie, c'est la mort.
Carpe diem!

If some part of him stands out as if a superior representation of his nature,
he will not surrender the rest of his nature to it.
- Lao Tzu (#2, trans. Bahm)

"Spurning all honours for himself, Faraday disparaged inventors with mercenary aims, declaring that the pursuit of truth should be a reward in itself."
- Patricia Fara, Entertainment for Angels: Electricity in the Enlightenment

It seems to me that the open source community is filled with Faraday romantics.

An Entertainment for Angels: Electricity in the Enlightenment by Patricia Fara

acrimonious bitter in manner or temper
American Philosophical Society http://www.amphilsoc.org/ founded by Benjamin Franklin
consonant consistent; in agreement or harmony
contravene infringe (a law or code of conduct)
contrivance
  1. something contrived, esp. a mechanical device or a plan
  2. an act of contriving, esp. deceitfully
  3. inventive capacity
corpuscle a minute body or cell in an organism, esp. the red or white cells in the blood of vertebrates
hagiography the writing of the lives of saints
inculcate urge or impress (a fact, habit, or idea) persistently
Leyden jar an early form of capacitor consisting of a glass jar with layers of metal foil on the outside and inside
The London Electric Dispensary WikiPedia doesn't have an article on this place. Someone should write it. The name alone makes me want to write stories, and re-watch Return to Oz.
mastoid a conical prominence on the bone behind the ear to which muscles are attached
mezzotint a method of printing or engraving in which the surface of a plate is roughened by scraping so that it produces tones and halftones
phlogiston a substance formerly supposed to exist in all combustible bodies, and to be released in combustion
polemic
  1. a controversial discussion
  2. a verbal or written attack, esp. on a political opponent
rationcinate go through logical processes of reasoning, esp. using syllogisms
    syllogism a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is drawn from two given or assumed propositions (premises)
sophistry the use of sophism
    sophism a false argument, esp. one intended to deceive
tetanus a bacterial disease affecting the nervous system and marked by tonic spasm of the voluntary muscles
    tonic anything serving to invigorate
torpor torpidity
    torpid sluggish; inactive; dull; apathetic; numb; dormant
torsion twisting, esp. of one end of a body while the other is held fixed
valetudinarian a person of poor health or unduly anxious about health
vitreous of, or of the nature of, glass
The Young Gentlemen's and Ladies Philosophy p. 12 "In each chapter, the knowledgeable Cleonicus patronisingly explains the rudiments of a different branch of natural philosophy, the study of nature. By using terms so simple that even [his sister, Euphrosyne] can be expected to understand them, this artificial dialogue implicitly advertises that natural philosophy can be understood by everyone."

© 1998 DK Illustrated Oxford Dictionary

Can you give me an example of a syllogism? I'm not sure I understand that one yet.

A good friend of mine of faith posted this. Thank you, S!

Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.”
- Mary Anne Radmacher

( Building the Word List )

The City & The City by China Miéville
Dreams of Terror and Death: The Dream Cycle of H. P. Lovecraft

© 1998 DK Illustrated Oxford Dictionary

I wanna run away
Never say goodbye
I wanna know the truth
Instead of wondering why
I wanna know the answers
No more lies
I wanna shut the door
And open up my mind
- "Runaway", Linkin Park

I wish to assert that whoever wrote these lyrics values Information.

(Jake's Core Values for Pondering the Motivations of People in Interpersonal Relationships: Information, Time, Comfort, Assets/Money, Power/Status)

These lyrics resonate with me. To me, what's implicit in it is that I would never run away and not say goodbye, because whether or not these people I need to walk away from value information, I do. It's a cruelty, by my standards, to not tell people why if they want to know. That desire to shut the door, open my mind is, to me, the desire to not need to know why, to be Zen. I rarely attain that state.

This gets me into an awful lot of trouble on occasion.

I experience lack of information as emotional and even sometimes physical pain.

And now, I need to go re-engage in my life and live it, instead of just thinking about how I do it. Analysis paralysis begone.

Information
Time
Comfort
Assets/Money
Power/Status

Which do you value the most?

The sun shines half a day,
The moon dominates the rest.
Even contemplation should have its proper duration.
- Deng Ming-Dao

I came to anger late in life. I'm behind the curve.

What do you do when you're really, really angry?

Teach me what you've learned.

With small anger, I go for long walks or take a hot bath, and wait for it to settle.

Big anger is a lot more difficult. I don't really have any good coping mechanisms for it, and I always feel an overwhelming urgency to stop feeling that way, and that combined with my generally useful carpe diem philosophy ... great anger is a sizable risk for me, as you might imagine.

Thankfully, I don't feel it very often.

Unfortunately, that also means I rarely have to deal with it, so I come up short.

I would very much like to learn from your experiences, so please do share if you are willing to do so.

I think my cousin also recommended an Anger Mgmt book to me awhile back, and maybe that would give me some good tools too. Hmm.

Anyone who has a continuous smile on his face conceals a toughness that is almost frightening.
- Greta Garbo

( Background. )

---

I sit alone and watch the stars die out
Before the creeping dawn comes up the sky,
Like some old priest whose faith has turned to doubt
When gods no longer heed his wailing cry.

The dark trees etch themselves against the dawn,
Like memories of old that bring regret,
Or little formless fears the night has drawn
Against the sky in sharp-lined silhouette.

The moon is fading now, the skies grow gray -
The turning tide of life is at its ebb,
And mists along the valley float away
Like silvery dew upon a spider's web.

This world is dying now; there is no more -
A dawn will come more hopeless than the night,
Our rhymes are run, our hopes no longer soar,
We bow beneath a barren beauty's blight.

The ashes of our altar fires are cold,
And prophets wail the times they cannot mend -
Facing the future with hearts grown old
We only know ... a world can end.

"Decadence" - Louis L'Amour

A co-worker took this photo in Poulsbo and I'm in love with it:



Her Photo Gallery, Best of May.

Grace brings trust, appreciation, love and prosperity.
- Yogi tea quote

---

In your own words, what is grace?

And what does grace bring?