24 Random Thoughts In May

“Well, Brian, you’ve lost your bet. I, or rather my alter ego, Zac Sawyer, am currently the most popular boy at James Woods High.” – Family Guy

Pugsley wants to dress as COVID this Halloween, but I told him that doesn’t scare anyone anymore.

It’s a Friday in May, so why not some random thoughts?

1. Nothing worthwhile happens without discomfort. The things that I have found to be the best for me, personally, started with things that were at first glance tragedy.  When times are dark, look for the lessons.  They’re there.  Be grateful for the difficulty – it’s how we grow.  I believe it was either Jon Bon Jovi or Norman Vincent Peale that described the process of birth – I paraphrase:  “You’re warm, comfortable, and life is great.  Then there’s pressure.    For the first time you have to use your lungs.  Bright lights.  For the first time in your life, you’re cold.”  When it sucks, remember that something is being born.  You get to determine what it is.
2. I like James Woods in Vampire$.
3. A great day at work is when you’ve been given worthwhile challenges that are just at the edge of your ability to solve, and that consumes your entire being, focus, and skill in doing them. The day ends, and it seems like mere minutes have passed.  Men need challenges – they need the great game.  Without that, a little bit of our soul dies.  Play a game worthy of being played.
4. I like James Woods in Videodrome.

The Mrs. was watching TV last weekend and screamed, “Don’t go in the church, it’s a trap!”  Pugsley asked me if she was watching a horror movie.  “No, just our wedding video.”

5. Almost all of the time something makes me mad, it’s not personal. Most people don’t care about me at all.  People are like cats and generally act in their own self-interest, and don’t really care who gets hurt.
6. I think my cat would eat me before my dog did, if it came to that. Unless I was covered in gravy, in which case the dog would be all in.
7. The biggest fights are over the smallest things.
8. Never get into a heated fight with your chiropractor. Then you’ll have to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder.

What’s the difference between an IRS agent and Styrofoam®?  Burning Styrofoam© is bad for the environment.

9. I’ve done almost everything in my life that I’ve really wanted to do. The main reason I could was because I decided I would do them.  Henry Ford said, “If you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”  Henry Ford is dead, so I guess he didn’t think he could live forever.  But he was right.  And it’s (probably) not too late to do something amazing and important.
10. One thing Henry Ford didn’t succeed at was being a brothel owner – it was filled with Ford Escorts.
11. People only understand money within a certain range of orders of magnitude. For most people, $100 million is essentially the same as $100 billion or $10 trillion.  These aren’t the same thing.  But everyone understands what $7,354 is.  This is more important than you might think.
12. I’m ashamed to admit I donated to the Taliban. I paid taxes.

I got banned from the airport the other day – apparently calling “shotgun!” when you get on the plane is bad form.

13. The most important economic unit is the family. Why?  The family is a unit based on trust, and should be nearly independent of government oversight.  That’s why the Left wants to do anything it can to distort and destroy the family.  One of the first things the Left did when they took over Spain before the Spanish Civil War was to abolish marriage.  This is not a new goal.
14. Postmen on vacation in Spain should visit Parcelona.
15. Passion for life and passion for a mission in life is crucial. Otherwise?  It’s just one step away from being a Non-Player Character.
16. Would a video game where you went back in time to kill Adam be a first-person-shooter?

How does bigfoot keep in shape?  Sasquats.

17. One of the biggest gifts is time to focus. The distractions of everyday life (including the great work in 3. above) sometimes pull away from the bigger picture.  Take time to take stock.
18. I tried to set up a retreat for adults to give them time to focus. Perhaps “Concentration Camp” wasn’t the best name to use.
19. I have lived through the most prosperous period in the history of mankind. The one conclusion I can reach from that experience is prosperity alone doesn’t make people happy, and might make them a little crazy.
20. A crazed murderer might try to offer corpses for free, but I call that a dead giveaway.

Jokes about murderers aren’t funny unless they’re properly executed.

21. A study I read once said that most people, regardless of their wage, wanted to make about 10% more and they’d be happy. 10% more is a dream.  Happiness, once you can pay your bills, comes from inside – I was once in debt (outside of my mortgage) by the amount of money I made in a year.  I was very, very happy.
22. When I was in debt with a negative net worth, I told Pa Wilder that I felt worthless. He responded:  “Son, don’t worry.  You’re less than worthless.”
23. The best decisions are made in the daytime.
24. Maybe James Woods should only star in horror movies from directors with a last name starting with the letter ‘C’ and starting with the letter ‘V’?