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LOOK OUT!!

9/23/2016

I've been thinking that even though we powerful nations learned our lesson after WWI, that it's not wise to cause the suffering of a defeated nation, which then hates the world and will do anything to gain back its self-respect, North Korea today is in that exact same position. The West is insisting on punishing it continuously, decade after decade, with sanctions, which is exactly what we did to Germany, and it is reacting exactly the same: rapidly building up its Armed Forces so it can hit back. If this analogy holds up, and I don't see why it won't, its leader will be the world's next Hitler, and it is not just going to use its nuclear weapons for deterrence.

Hitler's idea was to build his Armed Forces as quickly and as secretly as possible and to use them before the world could mount a defence. Which he did, and it worked. North Korea is doing the same, pouring everything it has into developing atomic weapons that it can deliver as soon as possible and that will kill as many people instantaneously as Hitler did during the entire Second World War.

It is developing its capability under the cover of the West's insistence that the only use nuclear weapons can have is deterrence. Given that, it doesn't need secrecy.

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September 23rd, 2016

9/23/2016

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Out of a harsh thing, something great!

Yesterday I had a run of fatigue that was obviously caused by one of the pills I've just started taking for atrial fibrillation. Then this morning I woke early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I knew that, between the two sources of tiredness, I was in for another rough day, probably worse than yesterday.

Nevertheless, having just woken up, I didn't feel too bad yet, neither tired not anxious, so I quickly decided to do as much of my stress-inducing open mic work as I could, in one fell swoop, and get it over with before the fatigue and the anxiety of doing it caught up with me.

And I did: five things, including one that was tanglingly complicated and one that was major, all in about two hours. By then, even though the stress was noticeable, and the sleepiness was setting in, I felt free of all the bad jobs, and satisfied, and the rest of the day was mine. So obviously I had hit upon something and decided to do it this way in the future--stressful jobs first thing. Then, if nothing else, I would at least get my open mic work done, atrial fibrillation or not.

Another great idea followed from that. A couple weeks before, I had created my latest daily organisation chart, something I do occasionally to try to get myself a little more organised and productive, but which always proves to be a big failure. I just can never seem to get myself to plan my days and then actually follow the plans, doing one little thing at one time and another at another time. My latest chart had me working on 2,5 hours of poetry in the morning and 2,5 hours of novel writing in the afternoon, each preceded by and followed by open mic jobs. But even if my health problem hadn't injected itself, I know I wouldn't have been able to discipline myself enough anyway.

Now, after seeing that I had to do all my stressful jobs in the morning, to make sure I would do them at all, it occurred to me that I could simply assign the rest of the day to one major project, instead of chopping it up into robotic pieces, and tackle that one thing whenever I was up to it and for as long as it felt good. One project a day, no set hours. Wow, why didn't I think of that decades ago? (Well, because until I was retired, my one project had always been work, of course.)

The follow-up question is, won't the medication-induced fatigue prevent work on that one project? I don't think so. I can take naps to revive myself. And/or meditate. Then there's stubbornness and determination. And anyway, creation always seems to produce its own energy out of thin air: So this will be an interesting experiment to see if that energy, which is always so weirdly unexpected, can overcome the fatigue of medication!

I'm already getting energy just from the unexpected creation of these life-changing ideas. I would never have expected that I could squeeze such good stuff out of what should be a big downer, having my first mini-stroke!
Photo: Me at 20. Time keeps doing its thing and I keep doing mine.

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Carol Reid You're onto something!
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 6 September at 19:59

Linda Eva Williams Sweet Stan, you work so hard at understanding. And still retain your sense of humour. By the way, what are you doing in this pic? I keep wanting to see a mic.
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 6 September at 20:53

Stan Burfield I think a relative was over and I was having a conversation. It was Christmas time.
Like · Reply · 6 September at 20:55

Linda Eva Williams You? Conversing??
Like · Reply · 6 September at 21:05

Stan Burfield Bizarre but true. I can even remember who it was with. A cousin from New Zealand.
Like · Reply · 6 September at 21:05

Larry Burfield You sure remind me of your sister in this photo.
Like · Reply · 7 September at 00:34

Stan Burfield Interesting. That never would have occurred to me.
Like · Reply · 7 September at 12:32

Karen Troxler Thanks for sharing, it might help other procrastinators, like moi!
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 7 September at 07:54

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Balcony finished?

9/23/2016

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I think Linda is finally approaching finished on the balcony. She made the bench from an old bed frame that someone threw out. The mirror was her bedroom mirror. She built the railing from Home Depot wood. The couch cover is an original old vintage chenille bed spread. The plants are Mandevilla.

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Cambridge N Calvin Keenan I love Linda's Magical touch 💜
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 5 September at 14:47

Linda Eva Williams How incredibly cozy and inviting-looking.
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 5 September at 15:15

Meredith Moeckel Really beautiful! She could make a lot of money just suggesting/consulting to others. And won't the Mandevilles turn into a vine? Please tell Linda BRAVO from me! You're a lucky guy! :)
Like · Reply · 5 September at 15:48

Stan Burfield I will. And I think a vine growing all over everything with those beautiful flowers is what she has in mind.
Like · Reply · 1 · 5 September at 16:05
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Sue McMaster Beautiful!
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 5 September at 16:03

Tina Pickard Lovely..
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 5 September at 16:24

Sharon Berg That is truly lovely... and inviting. She has enriched your surroundings!
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 5 September at 17:51

Karen Troxler I 💘 that she built these things herself! Talented lady!
Like · Reply · 1 · 5 September at 22:04

Stan Burfield She struggles at it. She's not a natural carpenter by any means, but she's getting the hang of it slowly.
Like · Reply · 2 · 5 September at 22:15
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Peggy Roffey Really lovely!
Like · Reply · 6 September at 12:40

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Linda relaxing after having completed a very strenuous task, something to do with her toes.

9/23/2016

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From Facebook, likes: 11: Alana P. Cook, Koral Scott and 9 others
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Debbie-David Currie Oh how I would love to be doing that right now! You deserve it Linda!
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 30 August at 16:39

Cambridge N Calvin Keenan Loving your honey haven Linda , have. A great evening 🌹
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 30 August at 18:47

Meredith Moeckel Good for Linda! And this is a different view from the usual pics you post from your serenely decorated balcony! :)
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 30 August at 20:43

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Mr. Moon comes rolling in.

9/17/2016

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When we lived on Gabriola Island, I went wandering down the road one fine Harvest-Moon night, enjoying the moonlit landscape under that deep purple sky, the banks of trees and a farmer's field that was not too far from our half acre.

At some point, a pretty girl who was also out wandering by herself saw the light glancing off my eyes as I looked up at the huge moon and said, "Nice, isn't it?" Girls on Gabriola, especially the hippy girls, of which Gabriola has a large population, tend not to be too afraid of old guys they bump into out on a dark country road at night.

I said, "Yeah, it's a harvest moon tonight."

She looked at me quizzically, like we had known each other for years, and said, "What exactly is a harvest moon?"

"Well," I said, as if I were an older relative of hers, "it's nothing special really, just the full moon that happens to be the closest to the autumn equinox, which is September 22nd, I think."

"Oh!" She looked up at it again. Then she cocked her head with that same quizzical look and said, "Why do you know all this about it?"

We were both warming to our little conversation out there in that eerily-bright light and cool evening scent of fall. So I told her the whole story. "My father grew up on a homestead out on the prairie in Alberta. All they had was grain crops and a little hay. At harvest time, somebody who owned a big threshing machine would move it onto each farm, one after the other, as soon as the grain was ready to harvest. All the guys from all the farms would come in with their wagons and teams of horses and work as late into the night as they possibly could, throwing all the sheaves of grain onto their wagons and then line them up at the threshing machine and toss them in, to separate the seeds from the straw, and then they would head back out to bring more in, and keep at it into the night until they either fell asleep standing up or that farm was all done. Then they would move the threshing machine to the next farm, and so on, and try to get all the farms done before it rained. They would do it all day and then into the night during the harvest moon and during as many nights as they could see well enough on each side of the harvest moon to get it all done as quickly as possible."

She listened intently, then said, "Wow. So now I know." And she gave me a big smile and walked off down the road into the night.

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LOOK OUT!!

September 23rd, 2016

Out of a harsh thing, something great!

Balcony finished?

Linda relaxing after having completed a very strenuous task, something to do with her toes.

Mr. Moon comes rolling in.

Stan Burfield's Blog

Categories

LOOK OUT!!

September 23rd, 2016

​Out of a harsh thing, something great!

Balcony finished?

Linda relaxing after having completed a very strenuous task, something to do with her toes.

Mr. Moon comes rolling in.

Stan Burfield's Blog

Categories

Out of a harsh thing, something great!