Category: Review

June 16, 2023 – Lord Of the Flies, Chapter 5

June 16, 2023 /

I have to say that I don’t totally get the book. I find that it is a slow moving story that may or may not have deeper context. I guess that I will save my analysis for the final book review, but right now I am having my doubts. It feels like we are stretching a bit to make it something that it is not.

This might say more about me than the book but I am struggling with the significance of the book. For that reason, I am finding myself looking at other people’s analysis of the story. I don’t really like to do that because it influences my opinions and analysis of each chapter.

Most of this chapter is the contents at the required general assembly. Ralph is trying to assert that people are not meeting their commitments. Without order, they run the risk of not being able to be seen and ultimately get rescued. I don’t believe that type of organization and cooperation is really within their level of comprehension. There is also an undercurrent of some unseen beast that is causing panic and fear.

Having read several analysis of this chapter, it seems like there is more and more importance of the beast. Of course, I would know for sure, plus have my own opinion if I had read this before. But let’s say that is true for now and let’s focus this week on the beast. From Merriam-Webster:

  • a four-footed mammal as distinguished from a human being, a lower vertebrate, and an invertebrate
    • a lower animal as distinguished from a human being
    •  an animal as distinguished from a plant
    • an animal under human control
  • a contemptible person
  • something formidably difficult to control or deal with

Do you know how polarizing works? Well it gets into chemistry and physics but for the simplicity of this discussion, lets say polarizing is a form of filtering based on how the device you are looking through is constructed. Have you ever flipped your polarized glasses 90 degrees and couldn’t see a screen? That is the filtering that occurs.

What does polarizing and beasts have in common? Well, it is the filtering of the definitions within the book. So far, we don’t know if there is a beast. But, I think that it is certainly implied that the beast is some kind of scary creature. One of the children even says that it comes from the ocean at night.

It is still early in the story development but from the second definition, I think that the readers are still trying to identify which characters might be the contemptible person. Most people probably feel like Ralph is trying to do the right thing and execute the consensus decisions. Whereas Jack seems to move to his own desires. At least on the surface and from the way the story is going, Jack might be the beast. He is also doing a lot of sneaking around in the bushes ‘hunting’.

As a quick aside here. It is my observation that people often agree to things that they don’t actually have conviction to execute. This is particularly true in a public setting like a meeting or a gathering. Countless times as a group leader I would propose solutions or changes that ostensibly were approved only to have nobody execute.

The third definition is the most interesting and I believe the foreshadowing that all of the online analysis are referring to. Fear is primarily born of ignorance. The kids are in a very unenviable position of being stranded on an island without resources and very few skills. There is also the silent battle between Jack and Ralph that is visible to everyone else. Other themes seem probably too mature but nuclear war going on would be one as well.

Since it is graduation time going on, we attended a graduation party this weekend. It was a partial excuse to get together as a family and spend the night at the beach. We hung out, had a fire, drank too much etc. This was the same family that two years ago, we were explicitly not invited to spend time with if we did not have vaccination cards. Whether I did or didn’t, I told my wife that I was not going to go at that time. My stance is pretty clear on the issue but I didn’t like the implications. My how things have changed.

My point was fear is what drove that behavior. The beast, i.e. Covid was raging and all the children were having nightmares. At the center of it all, they are good people. But, good intent and appropriate response, especially when there is ignorance involved are two different things. Ultimately, I cant blame people for not being able to detect truth and lies. A story for another day but they have been believing lies for the whole thirty years I have known them. In that sense, it is forgivable because they are just not capable of analyzing critical data.

The Beast brought great fear in 2020-2. It brought nightmares and irrational behavior. Even as ridiculous as choosing between doing nothing or something that doesn’t work, brought near hysteria. Except for the fact that some people seem to have PTSD from the situation and still are wearing masks, now that we have been ‘rescued’ that has all been forgotten. If I think about it too long, it drives me crazy.

In no way am I saying that I don’t have bias. I absolutely have strong bias. I like to think that presented all of the facts, I could analyze that data and change my opinion. The problem is that all data also has bias as well. Any proper analysis has to consider the source, the intent and the content as well. Vaccinations weren’t a left/right issue, as both were requiring them. It was a freedom and who stands to gain issue.

End Your Programming Routine: This is the life of a true scientist; the science is never settled. That is why there are very few laws in science. They are endlessly fighting about bias and minutia. Fighting only stops when the other side gives up or there is no way to execute an experiment that proves otherwise. Only when we prove the beast does not exist will we collectively accept it. To do that, we will burn the island down. And even when everything is wasted, some people still don’t believe it.

June 9, 2023 – Lord of the Flies, Chapter 4

June 9, 2023 /

This might be one of those chapters that if I had pre-read the book or kept reading before writing that I might lump together with another chapter. From the descriptions of clothes, dress and hair the kids have already been on the island for some time. There is no real mark of time, just that things are frazzled and raggedy.

Clearly, the significant event of the chapter is that Jack and hunters finally managed to kill a pig. This action emboldens Jack and company to display a superiority complex over the others. This activity of course comes at a price. The hunters apparently let the signal fire go out and apparently missed a chance to be rescued by a ship on the horizon.

Last chapter I was talking about everybody doing their own thing and how much I actually support that. It would seem that not all the boys share the same goals on the island. For some it is to ultimately get rescued while others it is to survive. For the hunters, it appears that it is the pursuit of the hunt. Even last chapter, Jack said that he would prefer to kill a pig before getting rescued.

Now, I guess that I would call myself a hunter. I try to make a half-hearted attempt every year. I really don’t like the killing part. I remember my first deer, it was really emotional and not the jubilation type. Of course I was happy, but then I was sad too. A more mature person might say that it was reality. Very rarely is an event all one thing.

To me, it is about continuing tradition, getting out in the woods and pretending that I might fit into the hunter category. A good day would be to say that I saw five deer and believing that it was just not my day rather than I didn’t put in the work in the off-season to be continuously successful.

But the truth is, I am not hungry. My freezer has stuff in it and my bank account is not empty. I might feel differently if I was on the edge of hunger or only eating fruits for months on end. My neighbor exclusively eats wild game. They are in the woods a lot and typically get bear, deer and elk in a season.

There are parts of me that admire that but I just don’t have the time in my life to live that way. Plus, I am not a gambler. I don’t want to be in a position that I ‘must’ punch my tag or go without. The safe bet for me is to buy a quarter steer in the spring and appreciate an extra bounty during hunting season if it happens. Plus, I paid less for the beef than they did in fuel by a long way. That’s OK if it is also your primary pastime, I am not judging. I am just saying the economics of the situation are really smarter the way I am going about it.

That was all a long way of saying that I am not anti-hunting (of course). But, getting back to the story it’s not the hunting that is the problem, it is the mindset. It seems that the act of killing gives the hunter’s power. The more perceived power that they gain, the more careless they become with their other activities. This I think is the message in the chapter.

Maybe Golding is an evil genius and I am just a dope? But again, I think that he touches on a subject that is much deeper than the words on the page. If we take the 3rd party analysis at face value then this is a story of the ills of humanity and civilization. I don’t think that he intended to go this deep so hopefully I am not reading too much into it.

To me, the hunters are a metaphor for societies’ elites. They do as they please without consequences. To be honest, I am not sure what kind of punishment could happen within the book with a group of young kids. Nevertheless, they don’t seem to have any concern about being rescued, building shelters or participating in any other way except on their own terms.

This is where the problem lies within the concept of anarchy and this story. In a proper stateless society, individuals would choose to associate based on their beliefs and values. The shelter builders would congregate and the hunters would congregate and the two would stay their separate ways. I really doesn’t work when marooned on an island with nowhere to go.

Even more so, I think that this speaks to the mentality of the elites. There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the way things are if I get to do what I want to do. I am going to wade in the water just a little bit deeper now.

Using an example, when someone like a former software founder gets involved in something like estate taxes, he could be all for the 1970s 90% rules. This is because his personal assets are sheltered in some manner. The reality is that when he dies, the likelihood that everything is going to evaporate into taxes are low. Of course, it wont be zero but it will be much less than my second example.

If someone was a successful, sole-proprietor with assets in the $5 million range were to die under the same tax rules it would essentially leave $500,000 to distribute as a result. Why is that? Because the sole-proprietor is not operating under the same rules as my software tycoon above. It is not that the two couldn’t, not at all but that elites have more resources to create hoops for others to jump through. Why do we need estate taxes at all? I haven’t read in the Constitution that the United States is entitled to any portion of my estate.

Hopefully, I made my point using one silly example that the hunters are becoming societies’ elite. When the elite prosper, there is no reason to petition for new changes unless they are to solidify their position. As long as it is no bother to work around, ignore or rules have no consequences then what does it matter?

End Your Programming Routine: I think that I almost got lost on this one. I was trying to get across the rise of the hunter’s social status and how there behavior is a natural consequence of their self perception. Once established, it also becomes self-fulfilling because what is to stop them?

June 7, 2023 – 32 Yolks

June 7, 2023 /

This book took me a while to get through. It was most definitely too long at about six weeks. It wasn’t that boring, long or hard to read, it was me trying to squeeze it in with everything else going on. It went to a lot of tennis matches, a number of appointments and mostly nights before bed.

32 Yolks is the May selection of the Left Coast Culinary Book Club. It is a memoir about the early life of Chef Eric Ripert. His name may not be at the front of your brain, but he was a dear friend of Anthony Bourdain and appeared in many episodes of No Reservations. In fact, he was the one who found his body.

I say early life because Ripert has become a world renowned chef at his restaurant called Le Bernadin. This book really only covers his life into the mid 1980s, before he came to the USA. As you can probably guess, there is a lot of life between then and now (almost forty years). While it was published in 2017, I think that it was an attempt to explain the why’s and how’s of his success.

At our meeting, we talked about the book. I was only half way through at that point. One of the members said that compared to other memoirs, this was highly focused on a couple experiences. It was her opinion that by comparison, it was a little single tracked.

I liken this book to one we read about five years ago called Cork Dork (that was pre AltF4.co so I haven’t talked extensively about it). But, becoming a sommelier is a tough experience. It takes a sickening amount of effort (literally) to become an expert in wine. Your personal habits can even effect you senses like your typical diet and scents that you wear.

I personally found it fascinating that the preparation staff would hide ingredients from the chef because the job was so demanding that they could not keep up serving 40 diners a night and working 18 hours a day. The chef demanded that everything be prepared that day and you only got one chance to do it. Some of the employees were suicidal even but they couldn’t resist the opportunity to work for the the absolute best.

I think that you can read this book and understand the real difference between fine dining and everywhere else. There certainly is an element of pretentiousness in fine dining but it is more about precision. It has to look and taste a certain way. I have known this a long time, but it is the main reason that I have a difficult time being satisfied going out to eat. For the most part, the preparation staff does not care or they don’t know what they are doing or they don’t taste the food.

This has happened to me a number of times. Go to a new restaurant, then go back in six months and then go back in two years. The first time is really good and it gets progressively worse each time. Why is that? The owner/creator/chef backs off after things get established and the care about the inspiration or the quality does as well. There is some human nature there, 99% of humans don’t want to kill themselves every day to perform

To be fair, not everything I make is a success either. That is largely because I take risks and I do things once in a while. I also care much less about how things look and I may substitute ingredients which has different effects. But, in my mind there is no excuse to make a bland, breakfast burrito. It’s not that hard especially when the ingredients are so limited.

I enjoyed the book. I say the same things I always say. Read it if you are into cooking, chefs, food and character building experiences. I am not sure that you will learn a lot other than it is hard to be in a Michelin 3-star kitchen but I think that is the part that I found most interesting. Don’t read the book if you are not into those things or you want a light, fairy tale story.

End Your Programming Routine: I think I could read or listen to almost anybody’s story and be entertained if they have something personal to say and tell it in an engaging way. I suppose that this says more about my reviews than anything but I am a interested in humanity. It is the reason why I was a National Geographic subscriber even when I was a college student. People doing what they do fascinates me.

June 2, 2023 – Lord of the Flies, Chapter 3

June 2, 2023 /

I am starting to get my legs under me now. I am reading a couple books concurrently and trying to keep up with everything. It’s hard to do when the sun doesn’t set until 9:30 as I can find all kinds of things to stay occupied every day. Luckily, this is a pretty short book with lots of short chapters.

Most of this chapter is about Ralph and Jack at odds between hunting and shelter building. Ralph laments that people commit to something and put in 30 minutes of labor before running off to do something that they prefer i.e hunting. And, this is the gold in the book that Golding never intended.

So many of the synopsis of the book talk about this being a mirror to mankind. The mention the savagery that is within ourselves and then something comes up about civilization. The reason that I say Golding never intended to write this is because I think it is a true observation of humanity but with a different intent to contrast civility and savageness.

The reason all the kids only work 30 minutes is because they don’t want to. And, they don’t really need to. We invent all kinds of things that we think that we need to do and all the reasons everyone else should do them too. Who built the Egyptian Pyramids or the Roman roads that are still in service? Why slaves of course. No one would do it for the good of mankind. And these are perfect examples of ‘I think that you need to build a road/pyramid’.

Let’s get real here, this is the reason we have 12 grades of compulsory education. There is no doubt that an educated population yields a happier and more successful society. By the same token, there is very little reason why we need to force kids to stay in school until they are 18. To be honest, I think that it is more of a babysitting service since you are not a legal adult until 18. I think that your kids need to be in school so that they are not out messing up my yard.

There are all kinds of stories on YouTube where people quit there jobs and go live in a van. So, do we really need to work until we die or do we live to work? What I am saying is how much of our income goes to things we want, like a house payment versus the things we need like shelter?

People are starting to figure this out. How many help wanted signs are you seeing? I was calling a locksmith the other day and I got the machine. In the message it said that they don’t have enough help to do their work and that if you were a locksmith looking for a job to leave your information. We didn’t just start losing population with the pandemic, we gave people the opportunity to figure out how survive without a job.

When I listen to the Fine Homebuilding podcast, it is mentioned nearly every episode that the trades are finding it impossible to hire help. The impassioned plea is that a good living can be made at $75,000/year. I am not scoffing at that, but I would also say that my industry is hiring as well. That is a starting salary. I have the ability to do both, which one am I going to choose? The one that is physically easier, working in conditioned space and can perform a lifetime. The salary upside is much greater too.

We are becoming a society of those that work and those that do not. As you know, I am all about freedom and so I am not judging people that can figure out how they want to live without punching a time clock. It should be all of our goals to accumulate enough wealth to unplug from the system as early as possible. That being said, there are an awful lot of people that are getting an income without providing any kind of value or service.

This help wanted situation is the new status quo. These jobs are not going to get filled nominally. There is just not enough people to work all the jobs that are looking to be filled. People are no longer going to accept a marginal wage when the alternative is do nothing and live just as well. The system ranks continue to grow and as it does, it continues to support and grow its existence.

The incentive is too high for people not to continue to seek their fortune. That being said, there is not enough incentive for low wage workers to keep working. It will continue this way until the absolute balance is met. In the meantime, we will see all these low wage positions eventually consolidate or become supplanted by automation of some sort.

I don’t ever see a day where there is no locksmith because the wage situation will self resolve with supply/demand economics. That being said, we are at the day where he has his business as a sole proprietor and storefronts are done. You will be connected by relationship or some sort or an internet aggregator like Home Depot or Angi’s List. The days of a career lackey working in the store while the experienced tradesman is out in the field are done.

End Your Programming Routine: This type of problem is endemic in all sorts of blue collar fields, not just retail. I am hearing this from my current employer as well that they cannot find enough staff to fill a 24/7 schedule. And hence they are running a prioritized schedule of products based on the staff that is available. Inflation and shortages are the result of this trend. This is the new future and it is human nature that has created it because why work if you have something you would rather do?

May 26, 2023 – Lord of the Flies, Chapter 2

May 26, 2023 /

My theme is summer now. While we are still about a month from the technical beginning of summer, we have had two weeks of consistent summerlike weather. That being said, a short book is in order because I find myself with more things to do than time to do them. While I have waffled a bit on whether I should do one chapter a week or more, if I can find enough to write about the book fits my pace of the season.

Some of the older boys decide that they are going to build a signal fire so that they increase their chance of rescue. They manage to start a fire using Piggy’s glasses but soon the fire rages beyond the intended limits and now the forest is on fire. One of the unnamed younger kids is apparently missing and the fear is that he was trapped by the fire that they started.

This book is allegedly a commentary on society and human nature. So while it is a smart move to figure out some sort of signaling fire, the reckless or immature nature of twelve year old kids are at play. Essentially, we have preteens building or rebuilding society in this book. It is interesting because I have observed this behavior firsthand in the last couple of years. Which I will talk about further.

In one example, my older son has been in Boy Scouts since the fifth grade. They cross over into Boy Scouts from Cub Scouts late in the fifth grade year (about this time of year). They are immediately thrust into a youth organization that spans ages from about 12-18. Here is what I have observed.

About a third of the kids never make the transition. Scouts becomes something that is not cool and 6th grade is all about fitting in. I think that it is also intimidating to be a grade schooler with high schoolers. Of those there is a second group.

Of the group that goes, about about fifty percent of those attend through middle school. What I have observed is that if they continue with participation and rank advancement, they will probably go all the way. The ones that don’t make it are ones with spotty attendance to meetings and events. It is pretty rare to see a kid participate all the way into adulthood and not make the Eagle rank.

High school is the typical splitting point. I think that it is competition between sports and school activities and commitment to Boy Scouts. If the individual is not vested in rank advancement and is conflicted with other activities, Boy Scouts usually lose. The other side of that coin is that those that are vested, work Boy Scouts into the other activities. So, they might be ‘out’ for football but come back when they can or when the season is over.

My point with all this is that to observe twelve year old kids in a quasi-survival situation or leadership role is pretty enlightening. It could be that back in the 1950s when this book was written, younger kids were more responsible because they had to be. I don’t know, I wasn’t there. I suspect that what has changed is society.

I am not going to get into another gun control debate here but I think it is a perfect example for what I want to say. The number of accidental deaths with firearms is at record lows. I attribute that to a greater awareness of safety and a changed culture. While I would opine for the days you could have a firearm in the gun rack at school, there is no doubt that the movement to keep them locked up at home has had an impact on safety.

I have heard countless stories of ‘I used to hunt on the way home from school’ or ‘I ran a trap line before school’. That was normal, but so were accidents. Now, I don’t mean to say that it was prevalent, but that it was an acceptable fact of life that there were a higher rate of accidents. The culture change of accidents being unacceptable is what has driven the policies and therefore the results.

What I mean to say with all of this is that of course twelve year old’s set the forest on fire. They are not mature enough to think far enough into all of the possible risks and mitigation plans. This is why wisdom is so valuable because it is the experience that teaches us and makes us better. It is also why we as parents need to let our kids fail (safely). Kids will be a lot better served if they start learning as soon as possible and parents that solve all the problems before they occur are doing no favors.

End Your Programming Routine: This is one of the hardest things to do as a parent, letting your kids fail. My son that I referenced earlier got straight As his second semester as a sophomore. His first semester as a Junior, we backed off completely and he got Bs, Cs and an F. It kills me that he is capable but he has to learn it himself. He is one year away from being independent and I just don’t think that he achieve academic success alone at this time. It’s OK that he is not college material, I am not judging that. I just don’t want him to waste his money on something that seems improbable at this point. Yet again, that is something that he will have to decide and learn.

May 19, 2023 – Lord of The Flies, Chapter 1

May 19, 2023 /

We have come to a new book. It also happens to be one that I have never read. It also happens to be a book that shows up on the lists ‘If you like 1984, Atlas Shrugged, etc.’ Given that I have never read it, it is deemed a classic and it fits in this genre, it is my next pick for book review.

This is another reasonably short book. As of right now, I am going to take it a chapter at a time. This means that this review will last into the middle of the summer. Once again, I may change my mind if it seems like chapters go together or are really short. To make that decision, you really have either know the book or have pre-read well ahead. Of course, I have done neither at this point but I reserve the right to change my mind as we go along.

While I haven’t read the book, it is a story line that is familiar in our culture. That being said, there are also several movies on the book that I haven’t seen either. We will see if what I think I know holds up when we get through the book. As I was trying to figure out how to break up the book, I ran across this video which I think fits here.

The reason that this story fits into the dystopian genre is that apparently there is a nuclear war that has begun. For some reason, there are a whole plane load of children that get shot down over a deserted island. As we have it, no adults survived the crash and (so far) there is no mention of the wreckage or any assets related to the airplane. Apparently, most of the kids do not know each other and so this is the beginning of the story.

To me, this chapter speaks to or more aptly against the lone wolf theory. Let me explain. The lone wolf is a predominant idea in preparedness circles. It is one individual stocking up on supplies in the event that something happens. That individual plans on taking on the event solo; not sharing supplies or working with other individuals for survival or rebuilding. This has more to do with the lone wolf being ridiculed or ostracized for their beliefs and habits and so the attitude is anti-social.

Now, of the people that I have met with this mindset, there often is a reason that they become a lone wolf. A lot of people would characterize this as tin-foil hatters. The other reason is that they use poor rhetoric when trying to persuade others to their beliefs and tend to be abrasive or secretive to boot.

I have some of those tendencies as well. I hate social media, I keep people at a distance, I have some semi-radical ideas and I would rather be home than out and about for dinner or other activities. That being said, I understand that humans are social creatures and if there was some sort of rebuilding event, we need each other to successfully do that task.

In the book, the first thing that happens is the primary characters Ralph and Piggy find a conch shell to blow on it and make noise, like a horn. This sound brings all of the survivors to the sound and they immediately begin to organize. Leaders are elected and roles are created.

This of course goes against my anarchist tendencies. That being said, in a critical situation it makes a lot of sense for voluntary association to solve an acute problem. And for that kind of situation, I am all for a temporary association. Said better, they need each other and to take advantage of the strengths that each person can bring to the table for the common goal of survival and getting discovered for rescue.

The problem of course is that these things run their course and then you end up with sociopaths seeking power and attempting to maintain it when the situation does not warrant it. The leads to arbitrary or self-serving rules that enhance power and control. I often find leadership needs change as the situation evolves. The people that immediately get elected/appointed are the charismatic ones, not necessarily the ones that are ultimately the best leaders.

End Your Programming Routine: I have a theory that there are people good at starting things and those people are usually not the best at running them. It is the difference between entrepreneurial and work a job mindset. That being said, it is natural for people to organize in a social setting, especially for crisis situations. The book is already living up to it’s premise, this is a reflection of society.

May 12, 2023 – Animal Farm, Conclusion

May 12, 2023 /

I said it a couple weeks ago, the spiders are creating more cobwebs. I have been done with the book over a month ago. Sometimes, I write ahead and queue up posts at the time. Not this time, life has been way too busy. But, no worries I took some notes about what I wanted to say.

From my research on the book, it is pretty clear that Orwell wrote this book as an observation on Communism, particularly the Soviet style. In that vein, China hadn’t even had their revolution before Orwell was dead. So what other examples did he really have? The funny thing is, Orwell was also an advocate for Socialism. That is what I would call Communism’s softer, more attractive brother.

It’s hard to blame Orwell. He really died as Communism was budding. But, he also didn’t live to see that Socialism follows the exact same path as Communism, it just takes a lot longer to materialize. That is my take on it anyway. And I should add that my perspective is coming from an American point of view. I am not talking about countries that have a history of being subjects. To them, socialism represents some boundaries to absolute power (I speculate)

The point that I am trying to get across is that whatever you call it, it is not freedom to me. Even though this was a story warning of the ills of the Soviet Union, you just have a look and see if these things aren’t happening here.

Point One: Rally the people to a common cause. If you were an adult like I was during 9/11 or the most recent pandemic it is so much easier to manipulate people when they are united. It is the unity that enables fundamental changes such as the Patriot Act. Once that is enacted, it is never going away. That leads directly to Point Two.

Point Two: A successful revolution can only happen once in a generation. Incrementalism is the name of the game. I will ask, how many people are looking to repeal the Health Care mandate now? None, its over and it is never going away. People have accepted it for what it is. No matter how radical a change is, someday it will be the way it has always been.

Point Three: When the rules don’t suit, change the rules. This was abundantly spelled out in the book. Some examples below.

  • All animals are equal. Some more than others.
  • Animals shall never drink alcohol to excess.
  • Four legs good, two legs better.

This is actually a complicated strategy. The rules are really used as a division point between the ruling and the ruled. Remember my diversion into the iron law of bureaucracy last week. The rules are to be adhered and respected by those who’s belief is the mission. It is the rulers setting the rules.

Point Four: The tools of propaganda are repetition and misdirection. If you say something enough times in the right way, it is believable. For instance, how many people think that there is a gun violence epidemic in this country? Read this quote.

More Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2021 than in any other year on record, according to the latest available statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That included record numbers of both gun murders and gun suicides. Despite the increase in such fatalities, the rate of gun deaths – a statistic that accounts for the nation’s growing population – remained below the levels of earlier decades.

Now, read it without full of context. More Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2021 than in any other year on record, according to the latest available statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

If you read further into the article, you will find this quote. Though they tend to get less public attention than gun-related murders, suicides have long accounted for the majority of U.S. gun deaths. In 2021, 54% of all gun-related deaths in the U.S. were suicides (26,328), while 43% were murders (20,958), according to the CDC. The remaining gun deaths that year were accidental (549), involved law enforcement (537) or had undetermined circumstances (458).

I am going to end this line of here. But, how many times have we heard about gun violence this year? I am not saying that there isn’t room for significant improvement. What I am saying is that be careful with the interpretation of meaning. It is true that there was an increase in deaths. Facts are facts, they are neither good nor bad.

I don’t know Orwell’s mindset here. From what I read about him and the book it seemed like this was a persuasion piece in the category of ‘for Socialism’ by contrasting how bad Communism was. It is my speculation that the story was easily transferred from the pages to the reader. Meaning, they got it intuitively.

End Your Programming Routine: If you believe my premise, then I think I made my case. America has jumped the shark on freedom. Socialism is now the name of the game. It is a matter what flavor do you want. Regardless, those tactics in Animal Farm are the same ones that we have here in real life.

May 5, 2023 – Animal Farm, Chapter 10

May 5, 2023 /

We made it. Both Friday and to the end of the book. Next week, I will have a wrap on the whole book, but this week I will stick to just the last chapter. Now that we have fastidiously evaluated each chapter, was the pace too slow? Maybe. I am ready to move on, but I have appreciated the relief as the rest of my life has gone crazy.

This is that time lapse part of the story. Years go by and life before is forgotten. The spirit of the revolution had dimmed and life is what it is. I referenced the Earnest Hemmingway quote in my podcast earlier in the week “gradually, then suddenly”. This book is the perfect illustration of that. Each chapter there were small changes then you look back and nothing is what it was.

Of course, that phrase wouldn’t have any impact without going through the rest of it. That is the clarity of perspective. Of the original rules, I think nearly every single one of them was modified. And dare I say that not for the better. But lets save the overall analysis for next week.

As the sad life moves on, the story closes with the pigs interacting with humans. It appears that pigs and people have become peers. There is no more animosity between the two species. The last sentence ends with pig looks like man, man looks like pig, neither distinguishable (paraphrased).

There is a theory that if you continue to do things a certain way, you start to assume the principles and traits of that way. I suppose the simple way of thinking about this is when you are a teenager and start hanging out with the a goth crowd. You may not make the whole transition of dress and makeup but it is pretty likely that you are going to adopt at least some of the identifiers, even as simple as dressing in all black.

Before I get out of my league with goth association, what I am saying is your mother’s sentiment of your friends are a reflection of you. Teenagers (read naïve) fight so hard to present the neutral point that they have not changed or are not influenced by association and that is just not true. The difference between a teenager and myself is that I can see and recognize the effect. I choose to continue association rather than it happening without my cognizance.

I have written about my passive personality. There aren’t a lot of things that get me real juiced up. When it is hunting/gardening/fishing/camping season, I always think that I am going to do this and that next year and get more into it. The more distance that is put between the season, the less motivated I get and then I start over the next year. To me, that isn’t real passion that is an interest. You could call it semantics, but to me passion is something that is done hell or high water.

I do find joy and interest when others are passionate about what they do or are talking about. For instance, I listen to some podcasts about permaculture. It is not my particular jam but because the host is passionate about it, I find myself adopting and becoming interested in it. It could be categorized that I have been persuaded to look at things from a different perspective.

Permaculture is the combination of two words Permanent and Culture. There is a heavy component of self sufficiency in growing your own food and self reliance in living outside of normal systems. That is how we get to the culture part of it. And that’s the part of it attracts a lot of the touchy-feely, granola crowd. In years past, I would have scoffed at that and wouldn’t be found ten miles away. But, I have to come to the understanding that we both want the same things, just with a different approach to how to get there. As a result, I have come to empathize with that perspective to no small degree.

To quickly summarize, a group of individuals agree to live together with an established set of permaculture ethics.

  1. Care for the Earth
  2. Care for the People
  3. Fair Share (Return of Surplus)

Number three is the most controversial and has two interpretations. The interpretation that attracts the hippie crowd is a strong socialist leaning: I should get my fair share from you. From my outside observation, this kind of thinking eventually leads to the breakdown of ethic number two. I think the more enlightened crowd interpret fair share as I take as much as I need and return the rest to the earth or the people, whatever is more appropriate.

Permaculture also has rules. I am not going to go into them at this point. What I am trying to say that if a homeowners association had ethics there would be no difference between living that way and living in a camp in the woods. Too many people sign up for rules that they don’t agree with and then get into battles with their neighbors.

Animal farm also had rules, but they didn’t have ethics. Rules without ethics become arbitrary and subject the whim of the rulers. Rules get changed because they don’t adhere or support a principle, they simple augment the power of an organization. They are used for punitive effect or justification. The pigs and humans began to assume traits of each other because of their proximity and habits. The deeper question is why in the first place? I think that I will explore that next week

End Your Programming Routine: I was struggling to get something going this morning and then all of the sudden permaculture came into the picture. I sense a podcast in here now that I see the connection between ethics and rules. The programming here is don’t let your associations define you. It is natural to want to look and act the part when associating, but we need to have our own ethics sorted out before we start adhering to the rules.

April 28, 2023 – Animal Farm, Chapter 9

April 28, 2023 /

We are getting close to the end of the book. There is one more chapter to go. I will tell you a secret, not only have I read this book before but I also finished this weeks ago. The book is so short that you can probably read it in a long evening. But that is OK, I am taking it slow to dissect and enjoy it. I have to clear the cobwebs a bit. Now that I have scanned through the chapter again, I am ready. So, let’s go.

Boxer worked himself to death. After the windmill was blown up and they had to start over, it was Boxer that did the heavy work. In the process he got old, injured and used up. Boxer’s last appearance in the book had him taken away to the glue factory while the pigs were saying he was going to the hospital.

I have been Boxer in my life. I have ignored problems thinking that I can solve them by working harder. This was a huge lesson in my life. In some ways, this is the inspiration for this AltF4.co endeavor. It came across in a different time and a different manor, but I now know what it means.

I was in my twenties and I was running the laboratory. Every plant task that failed to work properly, I would assume as my own. Pretty soon, I was running formulating, wastewater, quality, IT and automation. I had a mentor and he told me as I was leaving that the company would always let me take more work. It was up to me to stop it.

I think more than I was trying to do it all, I was not getting anywhere other than convincing myself that I could do it better. What I was ignoring was the system of accountability for the people not doing a proper job and the consequences for not doing so. I was so vested in the outcome that I couldn’t see my effort was self-harmful as as much as helpful. I didn’t leave as a result of that (story for another day), but I left wiser as a result.

I won’t say that I completely got this lesson, it probably took another 15 years but now I have it. If you work for someone else, you do not own the output. It doesn’t matter if there is profit sharing or employee ownership, you still do not own the output. I think of it this way, any form of revenue sharing is actually a trap to provide the illusion of effort equals results.

The ones that set the rules are limiting the distribution pool. Then there are others that do not deserve to be rewarded. Decisions are made with no input and rules are made to prevent risk or innovation. For all of these reasons, I have realized that for me to be happy with my career and output, I need to be in control of it. Ultimately, this is what drove me to leave my job and it is a strong driving factor in Altf4.co.

Those concepts are the reason that socialism will ultimately have it’s detractors. I didn’t work like a madman because I wanted to get rewarded. I did it because I believed it needed to be done. That being said, when it comes to compensation, I saw that I did all this and this is all there is. Oh and to top it off, things aren’t really better.

Getting back to the book, this chapter is the perfect illustration of the iron law of bureaucracy. There are those committed to the mission (Boxer) and those committed to the organization (pigs). I think that it goes without saying that whichever side you pick, you are all in. How would it look if your star performer actually worked himself to death. That was a situation that had to be dealt with for PR purposes.

It seems completely logical that the pigs would lie about Boxer’s disposition to make everything seem normal. After all, a revolution would be pretty dangerous to the organization. That is really the moral of the story. You can trust the when a choice between the organization and the constituents has to be made, those that are on the other side of the iron law are going to make the choice for the organization.

End Your Programming Routine: Of course, charity is a tenant of Christianity. That being said, charity is not collectivism. And speaking of morality, thou shall not steal. If you are not doing your fair share, then that is stealing which is a sin. Collectivism actually fosters inequality. Reading this is a warning, if you work yourself to death then you have to know that it is your choice, not because there is personal profit.

April 21, 2023 – Animal Farm, Chapter 7 and 8

April 21, 2023 /

This week I am combining chapters seven and eight. The reason is that I feel like they are continuations of the same themes. I had to sort of scratch to see if there was actually something new in these chapters. The truth is, I don’t feel like there actually was, but I looked a little deeper to see if there was anything else.

Starting out, the move to the boogeyman has become absurd. Chapter seven is where I think Orwell jumps from generally foretelling to the protest against totalitarianism. For some unexplainable reason many animals admit to conspiring with Snowball and against the Animal Farm. This of course has fatal consequences.

Knowing that they will be killed, the animals knowingly fabricate false and ongoing relationships with Snowball. Ultimately, they are punished for their crimes. I don’t know if this is because things are so bad that death is better than innocence? Or maybe it is this impending sense of fatality that whatever is going to happen regardless of what they say?

I was doing some reading, and this book was published in 1945. There is a thought that this is a direct corollary of the relationship between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. It very well could be that Farmer Fredrickson is Hitler personified and that Hitler betrayed Stalin with attacks on the Eastern Front.

In the book, Fredrickson buys the stack of lumber from Animal Farm. It turns out that the cash that was used was counterfeit. To make matters worse, this was immediately followed by the farmer’s attack and the sabotage of the windmill project. The animals fought back at a very high cost, just like Stalin.

I suppose what I am struggling with a little bit is that if Orwell is protesting totalitarianism in his writings, why then would he personify Stalin/Napoleon as a hero? It very well could be that Orwell is justifying Napoleon’s behavior by the sequencing of events. Or even possibly, this is just an interpretation of the facts and how they translated into history. I guess that we will have to wait until the book is finished to see.

I suppose that it is also possible that when the book was written, the opinion of Orwell of Stalin is not colored by the full force of his actions. Said another way, Stalin’s career was far from over in the mid 1940s. So, what may have looked like a hero in 1944 may not be so shiny in 2023. Again, I will form an overall opinion at the end of the book.

Finally, the cabal between the opinion of friend and foe and it’s daily change be it Snowball, Fredrickson and Pilkington is representative of politics. Hussein was a friend in the Iran/Iraq war and bin Laden was a friend against the Soviets but a foe in the war in terror. The time frame was different in real life but the concept is the same. It doesn’t matter what is said or who is the target, it only matters that everyone is focused how bad everything is at the moment.

End Your Programming Routine: Propaganda is programming. I think like I said last week that the Iron Law of Bureaucracy applies and that the minute a person starts blindly following a person versus an idea, they are fraught with the potential to be mislead. This is particularly true when that person is more into advancing the organization than the objective because it could be that the person is more misinterpreting the idea or that they know that they don’t have to justify their actions.