This is a bonus podcast. I pushed my regular recorded podcast for tomorrow. Since I am out of pocket, I wanted to make sure to let my Carolina brothers know I see you, I hear you, I am praying for you. As preparedness minded as I am, I don’t know how you could ready for a situation like this. Keep up the good fight.
Page 6 of 113
October 4, 2024 – The Art of War, Strategic Military Power
I read a bunch of these chapters in a row when my son was at a doctor’s appointment. A few weeks later I re-read this chapter again and last night I re-read it again. This particular chapter is more abstract then the ones I have reviewed thus far. Truth be told, I didn’t get much out of it by reading multiple times. I was hoping that if I kept banging my head and then letting it rattle around for a while it would come to me.
As a result, I went to the internet to get a hint. It is like those 3D pictures that you stare and stare until you see it. I guess that I would say that I see it, but it is not direct. This chapter is about leadership and it uses some very some very aloof analogies to make the point.
Part of the reason that it is so abstract is because this chapter is riddled with eastern philosophy. I am no expert in that, in fact I can barely recognize it. The two strongest ones were Yin and Yang (I recognized that one) and the order of fives. I had no idea that the Chinese thought that there were five notes, five colors and five flavors (that seems familiar). While I am familiar about some of those ideas, mastering the practice is a life long endeavor.
With that in mind, I am not sure exactly how the technique of go hard/go soft is actually a successful military tactic. I suppose that I could take it as far as tactics are situational. That seems intuitive at least. But, since this chapter is about leadership, I have heard it say that the best leaders know how to motivate people by a mixture of toughness and softness. I won’t say it is common sense because I have come across a lot of bad leaders but at least it feels right.
Without reading the cliff notes, I picked the last section as what I thought was the most impactful section of this chapter. The text talks about logs and rocks as sort of moving as a result of natural consequences. It is the leader that positions the logs and rocks to roll down the hill and stay stationary on a flat surface. Or said another way, the leader is the one to own the battle’s win or loss results. That is something I can get behind.
Many times I think that leaders get too much credit without enough blame. Let us think about the President for a moment. Whether we will have one or the other as president, it generally won’t change the temperature in my pool so to speak. When the economy was on fire in the late 1990s, Clinton didn’t do that. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time. W Bush didn’t cause the financial crisis of 2008, he just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Now, he didn’t do himself any favors by continuing to support money printing under the federal reserve. He also got lucky that financial takeovers stopped the economy from totally failing. But to actions that he did personally as president had little to do with the overall outcome. What I am trying say is that leaders enable the conditions for success or failure. Depending on whether they guess right or not has potential outcomes.
You can bet that if we see a President Harris, that administration will be open to communing with socialists. You can also bet that if we see a President Trump, that administration will be open with Oligarchs. Both will be dreaming about a Fascist future. Because that is our destiny, it will likely be so. Tell me, what would I credit either with? Certainly not a better future based on American ideals. But they won’t do it by themselves, the constituents, the appointees and the people working the system will be the ones doing the work. Only the accountability goes to the leader.
End Your Programming Routine: In the end, I agree that leaders should be accountable. I also agree that there are many things that can be done to influence the results. But ultimately, leaders design the boat, they don’t make it sail. If their design for a sail boat contains no sail, then obviously that is going to fail. Putting the proper boat in the water isn’t going to guarantee that it sails either. There are factors like having wind that we just cannot control.
October 3, 2024 – And… Finally
My vision is finally complete. I won’t deny that it took so long that I wore out my chair but all the cast-offs and things that I wish I had installed (even some luxuries) are there. I have a new chair coming, just another day or two. The one I picked out got nixed by my wife for cost, but if I don’t like my new chair, I will be pushing for an upgrade.
Since the summer time, I have noticed that I have been having some back soreness. I observed that it went away when I spent several days at the hospital. It could be a number of things but I starting with replacing my office chair. I have sat in it a number of hours every day all summer long. And since it was given to me because it hurt the giver’s back, it is my number one suspect.
I was kind of on the fence about the TV and the surround sound. My thought for the TV is that it is a second monitor. It could be helpful in some group call settings, etc. That is a pretty thin reason. The truth is that I wanted it and when I saw one second hand for $12.50, it was a done deal. Once I had the TV, I had to also add the surround sound. I spent the time and expense to wire it up when I was building the space because that was my plan all along.
My piece de resistance is that I found an inexpensive sub-woofer to connect to the sound system. It is the 30 year long fulfillment. In the late 1990s we were denied credit at Montgomery Wards to purchase a full surround sound system. We told my in-laws about it and they immediately purchased it. I was slightly sad every time I looked at it, but the receiver and speakers got moved around and eventually deprecated.
The joke is on Montgomery Wards now, I am doing better than ever financially and they are out of business. I ended up with a much better system anyway. Once I realized that I could buy a subwoofer used at a reasonable price on eBay, it was a matter of the right time and place. Unfortunately, I have been working so much that I haven’t had a chance to really wring it out. The only thing I have done was the Dolby test. But it sounds fantastic with proper rear speaker placement and the subwoofer installed.
The space is truly my happy place. It is where I work (a lot), it is where I record my podcasts and due most of my writing. Now I can turn on football while I am putting in those late nights. It is always the first place I go in the mornings, even on the weekends. I can hide out until people start waking up and then I come upstairs to get the day started officially.
The tapestry on the wall is from my great grandmother. The pillows on the couch were made by my grandmother as part of our wedding quilt (which is now threadbare). The blanket on the couch was actually my wife’s when we first met. The pictures on the wall is my family crest and the other was from my father-in-law’s estate. My coat is an award that I won from a former job for meeting team performance metrics. I am surrounded by heritage, not just cast-offs.
I had visions of promo-ing a movie or reading a book on the couch or beating Need for Speed 2 the second time. That hasn’t come to fruition yet, nor do I think I will spend a lot more time than I already do in there. I would go as far as to say that I already may spend more time in my office than I do in my bed on average.
If I was being honest, I would like to have a little more storage. I would like to have one of those half file cabinets and maybe another under the desk storage drawer. I really don’t think I have any additional room for the file cabinet so that will probably never happen. I could probably add a few more decor items. For the most part, it is done and I am happy.
End Your Programming Routine: Outfitting my office with all of the techno-junk, personal items and do dads has been a pursuit for three years. All of my time building things, research into cables and cards, installing, testing and optimizing has been a lot of fun. In many ways, I am sad to be done but I need to move on. I need to be investing my time and money preparing for my hike next year. I am already feeling behind the gun on my preparedness for this event.
October 2, 2024 – Getting Rich By Acting Poor
Now that is sensational. I also am not claiming to be getting rich but I am using a technique that rich people use. That would be don’t spend excessively on things that don’t matter. Since getting rid of my Mustang four years ago now, my vehicles keep getting older with more and more miles.
We have kind of poked at replacing the Navigator but the price of newer to new cars has become astronomical. We were thinking something around the Explorer size but going from no car payment to $900/mo for six years seams untenable. So we keep kicking the can knowing that the day will come that we need to bite the bullet and replace at least one vehicle.
Having been an owner of cheap cars, I have developed a philosophy that cheap cars are a good thing. Let’s think about it for a minute. If I paid $1000 for a car and it lasted two months, that would be $500/mo or half of what I would pay for an Explorer. This is not paying for things that do not matter. I am paying for transportation, not style points and that is half the cost of something new.
Of course, at some point having to replace a car every couple of months can be a hassle. That being said, at this price point you can afford to be choosy. So, maybe a $2500 car that lasts a year is really $200/mo. This is a far cry from new car prices. Think about it, all time beyond that is a bonus.
One thing my summer in Portland taught me is that a Navigator L (for long) in the city is a hassle. It is hard to find a parking spot and maneuver in tight spots. My tactic is try to get farther away from the door and hopefully find more open spots. Otherwise, it is multiple back-up, pull forward until I inch into a spot with traffic piling up behind me. But, going farther from the door is hard on the patient that can barely sit in the seat for the ride in the first place. However, you go with what you got.
Since I was under five during the last fuel crisis, the truth is I haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to operating costs. That being said, I won’t deny when you hit the cut-off limit of $125 for fuel it stings a little bit. With only me driving, I typically only had to refuel every two weeks so it was bearable. But, I could do a lot better than 12MPG as well.
About six months ago, my dad called me and said that he was thinking of buying a new car. His reasoning was that he wanted to make sure that he wasn’t stuck with only EV’s as options. He is also 78 so it probably will be his last car. But he asked me if I would be interested in buying his old car. I said sure.
My youngest son is a driver now and so he has taken over my pickup which has been my primary vehicle since I sold the Mustang. My wife just started driving again after stopping at the end of last year. That left us coordinating schedules much more tightly than we have ever done as a couple because we have always had a vehicle per driver. Adding another inexpensive vehicle seems like the right ticket.
It’s not all sunshine and roses because everything has a cost. Just possessing the car has registration, insurance and maintenance costs. So, truly acting poor would be to make due with what we have. I mention this because it should be considered when making this decision. I am still paying something for the privilege of convenience. My hope is that lower operating costs will offset the additional cost of ownership somewhat.
I wont drag out the negotiations and all of that. But, I ended up taking the possession of the vehicle a little over a week ago. I was telling him about my philosophy of cheap cars and he said ‘You agree with Warren Buffet then’. I didn’t know that, but I guess that I do.
End Your Programming Routine: I cant help but throw my opinion in. I think a lot of people are car poor because their image is more important than their budget. I come to this conclusion because I know what cars cost and I also know that our household income is pretty high. I also know that my newest car is 14 years old and has 240,000 miles. Adding an inexpensive car offers more flexibility and will extend the longevity of what we have and no car payment. Me and Warren Buffet agree.
October 1, 2024 – What is a Dupont Connector?
Sometimes it is easier to buy first and then ask questions later. About a year ago, I purchased a wireless network card to add to an old Dell tower that I had. I never even looked to see if there was already a wireless adapter in the computer. I only really noticed when I went to enable the driver only to find out that there was already a wireless device attached to the motherboard.
The card was already installed so I left it until one, I purchased a USB, Bluetooth dongle and two, I opened the case to install one of my numerous upgrades. It was not expensive but it was basically brand new. I don’t use wireless anyway. My thoughts were I would install it in an old computer that the wireless is barely functional, even though I am not going to use it anyway.
Some people I know like to upgrade frequently. I understand the point that typically each generation offers more stability, faster performance and things like that. Like I said above, I just don’t use wireless on some devices. I talked about how to plug in new USB power to your motherboard here. Well unfortunately, to get the wireless card out of the computer, I had to break the Dupont connector. Not a problem until you want to install it again.
I don’t know everything, but I know that most USB ports on the motherboard can accept two inputs. This is because they are basically wired together in the Dupont connector. Many times, if you have never messed with them you have the capability to just plug in the wires into and existing connecter. But, if you want to remove a device then you have to get those wires out of the connector to leave the other ones you want to keep in the computer. That is how I broke the one that was originally on the card.
The reason that I am writing this is the question, how do you find something when you have no idea of the name? I started out searching for USB to motherboard connector. I found a lot of cables, but no straight connectors. I tried USB to motherboard plug, not really. I found items to build your own printer cable, I found items to solder into your own electronics. Finally, I had to read several cable descriptions to get the name.
The next problem is that I only want one or maybe a couple. I would be willing to pay $10 for a couple. I don’t like waste. And buying a kit of all these adapters that I will never, ever use seems like waste to me. But I know me, and as much as I don’t like waste I know that I will never take what I need and throw the rest away. So, now I have a $9 kit that I will never need more that a couple. I guess that is how it goes.
Apparently, Dupont connectors are used in small electronics projects like circuit boards that were assembled in electronics class. It is possible that given my propensity for obscure hobbies and techno-junk that I might some day put this kit into action. But, then again I only wanted one.
End Your Programming Routine: All this carrying on and the point is to install this network card in the computer. I have no idea if a twenty year newer card will work in a 32 bit architecture. It says that it will but then again it is Linux so that is always a crap shoot with me. At least now, I have some spare Dupont connectors if I have to pull this one out and break another again.
September 30, 2024 – The Case For Good Design
I like to take a wandering path. I talk about cars to establish the point with homes. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart and given the choice, I will take design over specifications any day of the week. Join me today to see if you agree.
U-Drags Leaderboard
September 27, 2024 – The Art of War, Military Disposition
I think that I read this chapter at least five times. One, it is very short at two pages and two, I was really trying to get the significance of this chapter. I have to say that I very well may need to reach as whatever was conveyed was very subtle. I feel like this chapter is grabbing at things already mentioned.
The list below are the key things that I took out of this chapter.
- first make yourself unconquerable, then you can conquer.
- If you can defend yourself then you can be victorious.
- first measurement, second estimation, third calculation, fourth weighing, fifth victory.
At first read, I thought the last bullet was the significant one. It is intended to be a progression. Measure what you can, then estimate the totality from the measurement, then calculate what that means in terms of strength, weigh your odds against your estimation and then you will be victorious. I was thinking about how I would write about this and the significance and I decided to read again.
I think bullets one and two are variations on each other. With more thought, I think that this is the significant message of the chapter. I am going to explain what I mean using an analogy that is not military related.
There is a lot of things that I am not. I am not a military man and I am also not a football man. That being said, I have watched the game for most of my life. So, while I don’t have first hand knowledge, I have heard many times how coaches hate the procedural penalties. Those would be offsides, false start, improper lineup and those sorts of things.
To the layman, it would seem like five yards is no big deal most of the the time. You don’t lose the down and it is half of the more severe penalties like 10 yards for holding. I feel that way anyway. But these are what the announcers always pronounce as adding up to beating yourself. Using Sun Tsu’s philosophy, you are much more likely to win if you don’t beat yourself.
I could be wrong, but I believe that Sun Tsu speaks in generalities. He has to be because using football again some teams still consistently win despite having too many penalties. The fact remains that when you look at the perennial champions they often rank in the lowest tiers for penalties. So, while it is not a guarantee that you will lose, the data says that it is statistically more likely. I have to believe that the same is true with war.
End Your Programming Routine: Whether it is playing football or investing for retirement, we cannot expect to consistently do well if we continue to beat ourselves. It may seem like common sense, at least it does to me but that may not have been the case 3000 years ago. We are fortunate to have most of the tools and information readily available so there really is no excuse to beat yourself in what you are pursuing.
September 24, 2024 – Things to Sell…
I find it much easier to buy things then to get rid of them. Much of the time I decide that I am ready to move on, I am willing to give stuff away. We usually have a garage sale every couple of years and I have a propensity to price to sell. Typically, after the garage sale, everything leftover goes to donation. These days, even the donation receipt is worthless because of the new tax deduction rules.
But, every now and then I end up with something that I know has value and would very much like to get better value or trade. The easiest trade is for cash, for sure. But I have some certain items that I would like to move. I have been pretty lazy on getting started but I am starting to feel the urge to get moving.
First of all, these chairs pictured above. After we sold everything to move back from South Carolina, these were the first pieces of furniture that we purchased here. Twenty years ago, we paid $800 each. I looked recently to see if the company was still and business, they are selling for $1500 per chair.
I am under no illusion to get my money back or make a profit. But at those prices, these have to be worth some money. I like the pictured chairs much better then the $150 chairs that replaced them but they didn’t fit in with the ‘décor’. To me, this is a poor way get rich, replace durable goods with lessor ones because they are not in fashion. But, less friction in my marriage is much better than being rich.
I have a rifle case that I bought in college. I have never used it because it is for a 46″ rifle and now I know that mine are 42″. It means that it is extremely floppy and oversized. What did I know that cases come in different lengths. I literally paid $10 for it; I suppose it could be garage sale fodder. After thirty years, I am sure that I will never use it but I would happily to trade it for a similar value shotgun case. With everyone in the family possibly shooting sporting clays, it would be nice to have enough cases.
When my oldest son started shooting trap, I bought a traditional length shotgun barrel that had screw-in chokes. It was cheap because it was an after market maker. What I found with it was that it was not the same quality as OEM (hence why it was cheap). It is not just ammunition finicky, but I have observed many, many misfires on all brands of ammunition. I would like to have an OEM barrel that I feel would be much more reliable. I know that I will never use this barrel again based on my testing.
I can list multiple other items that I think have value and/or would rather have something else. It is just so much easier to not do anything and find a place to stash forever. This is something that I think I want to change. I don’t want my kids to have to figure out what to do with and I don’t really want valuable things just thrown away because nobody wants to put out the effort to clean up after me.
As a result, I am thinking of doing something on eBay. There are better platforms for each specific item, even locally. But, if I had some sort of online account, it could be considered play money. When I sell this, I will do that. I haven’t fully decided yet on a platform but the most important thing is to have stuff that is used and not be owned by stuff.
I hesitate to write about something I am going to do. There is some history about saying something without a lot of follow through from me. But, I am feeling the urge to purge. Part of my ruse was for me to take pictures for this post while at the same time getting the pictures to list. I am crossing my fingers that this is win/win.
End Your Programming Routine: I heard a podcast recently that hoarders start by buying things and then just never doing something with it. Then they buy more and more and it becomes overwhelming. I am not a hoarder by any means but I certainly have things that are in my way or at least are sitting around with little chance of being used. When I have a list a mile long of things that I would like to do, like upgrading my hiking/camping equipment for my trip next year, it makes sense to me to try and wring the value out of things that I no longer want.
September 20, 2024 – The Art of War, Planning Offensives
I am just guessing that part of the continuity of the book is lost in translation. This chapter is kind of disjointed as a collection tidbits about strategy. I am not saying that it is not valuable, it is just hard to get in the flow of things when it is just a collection of facts. I have taken the luxury of summarizing all of what I consider the important things below.
The following are the things that I gleaned from this chapter.
- It is better to save the capitol. Saving the army is better than destroying the army. Subjugation is the superior strategy.
- The order of strategy should be as the following. Attack the plans, then the allies, then the army, then finally the fortifications.
- Recommendations for troop strength.
- 10x surround them
- 5x attack them
- 2X split your army
- 1x hold the line.
- Leadership principles
- Those who know when to fight will win.
- Those who know how to employ appropriate sized forces will win.
- Leaders who have aligned their ranks will win
- The prepared will be victorious
- Leaders that are not interfered with by politicians will win.
I have never been a general nor even in the army. So, what I read seems reasonable. It also seems to be colloquial wisdom: if your troops are aligned, if you know when to attack, if you are prepared, it goes on and on as you can read then your chances of winning are better.
How is this helpful to something other than military operations? Or said another way, how can we use this as wisdom for business or life? If I use the thinnest of attempts to make this relevant to something other than the context I could probably come up with some similar allegories. Something like storm/norm/perform.
I think that successful sports teams align up and down the divisions. I observe that the most consistent high school teams have funnels up to their programs. They run the similar play books so that they are already into the system by the time that they get there. This is an example of aligning up and down the ranks.
That isn’t exactly the best storming example. In those cases you are either agreeing to the terms or you are not participating. But, the fact remains that the coaches are getting players to buy into the system or executing a principle of Sun Tsu. They are vertically integrating the entire age range of a sport to be the most successful at the highest level.
Its hard to rationalize a military concept in a non-military setting. For instance, playing a potentially deadly maneuvers, attacking strategy rather than risking life and limb seems like a better way to run an army. Only risk physical injury when it is necessary. That being said, we do have examples sometimes you do have to fight to win.
Going back to the US Civil War, the Army of the Potomac went through general after general. McClellan, Burnside, Hooker and Meade were all not prepared to engage in battle preferring to march and posture. The Confederate generals were not only successful but also employing Sun Tsu’s tactics of cutting off supply lines and knowing when to fight.
End Your Programming Routine: Getting back in the swing of things, much of this was written weeks ago. I may have lost a little bit of luster as a result, but I don’t want to write ten pages on something that is only three pages long, especially when my work is not really militarily oriented. I think that we can leave it where it is. Do the right tactical things and it will increase your likelihood of winning.
Recent Comments