MY FELLOW CONSERVATIVES

I told my wife before the election ever began that the Republicans would pick up 8 seats in the Senate, take a bunch of governor's races, and pick up maybe 10 or more seats in the House. I knew anyone with any sense who was actually honest with themselves about the Democrats and Obama would turn on them. And it looks like that is how it will actually shake out. And good.

I’m glad for the wins and the show of honesty on the part of most Americans.

However I must be honest about this as well.

A lot of modern people think political elections (and far more importantly what comes afterward) are like petty high school popularity contests (oh please like me, please like me best!) or some type of stupid, juvenile sporting event where every so often your teams shows up and ass-whoops the other guy. Until next game of course.

And secondly a lot of modern people believe it is the job of “their Team” to do everything for them. (That’s’ what you elected them for, right?)

Nothing could possibly be farther from the Truth. That’s exactly the way modern liberals think. That politics is a popularity game or a sporting event and that “your team” is supposed to win the game and fix the world for you. Fix you for you.

Now if you’re a Real Conservative, or even just a mildly mature adult, you know instinctively that politics as a popularity game is utter infantile bullshit, and that no one alive is ever going to fix you other than yourself. Unless, of course, in certain extreme situations, God will have to throw in with you if you are extraordinarily stubborn and self-destructive. But no politician is ever gonna be your stupid savior (you are really, really incredibly naïve and stupid if you believe in "political saviors") and no political party is ever gonna fix either you or the world for you. You want a mommy, okay, but you’re an utter imbecile if by now you haven’t figured out that Obama isn’t gonna breast feed you.

Neither is the Democratic party or their stupid liberal ideology. Nor is the Republican party going to fix you or the world for you.

Let those with eyes to see and ears to hear understand me.

You’ve won the election, but the actual Work is now yours my friends. Entirely yours.

It always was. So it will always be. You just forgot that over time.

Don’t forget it again.

Instead of all that get off your asses and fix yourself. Get off your asses and fix the world. Get off your asses and fix your nation. And it will actually start to get fixed.

You see that’s exactly what being a Conservative means. You don’t look to be led, popular, tended-to, or wet-nursed by effeminate "political saviors." Of any stripe, color, or class.

Instead you look to be honest (with yourself and the rest of the world), solve problems, and fix things.

So don’t let me or anyone else stop ya. Not the old Democrats, not your new Republicans.

This is your job sports. So, hit the bricks. And let’s whip this mutha back into some kinda working shape again.

And there ya go. Case closed suckas, case closed!

The Nature of Work and Productivity

Pesharim - The Nature of Work and Productivity


Work is a subject upon which I have spent much time, labor, and effort (pun intended). I have also spent much time studying Work, how it operates, how to improve my own productivity and the productivity of others, what it achieves, what the limitations of work may be, and so forth. Work is also a subject very dear to my heart, for I think Work is an extremely important aspect of human life. One of the fundamental aspects.

That being the case I'll present my own views about Work and productivity, which have changed over time as I've experimented with different work methods and with different means to increase my own productivity. Now I have to first admit, in the interest of fairness, that I do many different kinds of work and that each different kind of work may require a different method of efficiency and action (as regards the particular details). I suspect that is true for everyone, no matter what kind of work they do.

So, that being said, here are my general observations about work, how to be more productive, and the relationship between vacation and occupation.


1. People are supposed to spend far more time working than they are entertaining themselves. Or being entertained. That seems counter-intuitive in modern society, but it is true.

2. Most of the time it is better to work than to be entertained. Work is good for people and part of the expression of their soul, it is not just something you do for cash. If it is something you just do for cash you're in the wrong line of work. (Nothing wrong with money, I'm not saying that, but money is just one kind of motivation for doing good work, it should not be the only motivation for doing good work.)

3. Good work is good for you, bad work is bad for you. Seems self-evident but you'd be surprised the people that never figure this out.

4. A certain percentage of your work time should be spent in a relaxed and casual mode, this helps you to problem solve, and then again a certain percentage of your time should be spent in a very serious even stressful mode - this helps you to focus and concentrate on the task. Percentages of work-mode activity will probably vary by individual.

5. Socializing all of the time at work makes you less productive and lazy. Socializing efficiently, or a certain percentage of the time, probably makes you more, not less, efficient. No man is an island, but no man should be nothing more than a social butterfly either. If you want to be a social butterfly, be that on your own time. At work socialize efficiently and casually, not obsessively and constantly.

6. Vacations are vital to help you recover from the stress of long or extended work periods. Take them, in moderation. I think a lot about work when on vacation, then again for some of my work, like writing and inventing, vacations are perfect times to get new ideas and to take notes. This doesn't bother me at all, and makes my vacations far more enjoyable to me. But if you don't wanna think about work at all on vacation, then don't. But take vacations when you can. They are good for you. They help you recuperate and regain your energy and focus. They generate new ideas. They allow you to travel. They are beneficial. In moderation. Like wine is good for you in moderation. But drink all the time and you're a lush and a drunk. Vacation constantly and you do nothing more than avoid work constantly. You're slothful.

7. The same is true for entertainment. There is nothing wrong with entertainment. Enjoying yourself is very good for you. But there is something very, very wrong with the modern idea that you must be entertained at all moments of the day and night, even at work. Let a certain part of each day be reserved for entertainment. Otherwise do your work. And work before entertainment, certainly not the other way around. That's laziness and lack of ambition.

8. Relaxation is good for you. A certain percentage of your time should be devoted to relaxation, to hobbies, personal enjoyments. Relaxation is like a mini-vacation you can take each day or week. In moderation of course, but nevertheless such time periods are very good for you. And they are good for the people around you, and they are excellent times to associate and socialize with others freely and without restriction. Your main socializing times should be during periods of relaxation, vacation, and entertainment. Not during work cycles.

9. The proper amounts of rest, sleep, entertainment, relaxation, vacation, exercise and sex will all improve your productivity. Suppression of these things tends to make you less efficient, less effective, and less productive. A good diet will also certainly improve your overall efficiency. A bad diet will make you stupid, slow, inefficient and unproductive. Improper amounts, and improper kinds, of anything decrease or suppress productivity. Proper amounts, and the proper kinds of most things, make you far more productive. Proper and improper amounts probably vary by individual. And by period. At least in some matters. (I.e. Everyone needs necessary levels of water and air to live, not everyone needs the same levels of exercise, sleep, or sex.)

10. Self-disciple is more important to high levels of productivity than is discipline inflicted by outside forces. Self-discipline is the one virtue without which no-one can ever be truly efficient or highly productive. So cultivate it as an operating principle in your own life. If you desire to work well or do important work.

11. Everyone should experiment with different methods and techniques for improving their own productivity and work capabilities. Adopt those principles which work best, discard inefficient and ineffective techniques and methods. I'd say the same is true in every area of your life. Too much of life is spent wasted pursuing ineffective and bad techniques for work, in relationships, even in entertainment. Experiment, and if something is a failure discard it, if something works then adopt it, and if something works modestly then improve it.

12. Seek out work which makes you happy and which is of benefit and profit not only to yourself but to the rest of the world. You'll be glad you did, and so will others.

13. You're not wedded to the same work or job for your whole life. If you're dissatisfied with your work then improve your current work, find another occupation, make your own work, or start your own business. That might be nearly impossible in some parts of the world, but probably not for you. What prevents you from being satisfied with your work is you. Plain and simple. Everything else is just excuse making. You might not find or make satisfactory and enjoyable work overnight (that rarely happens), but you sure as hell won't find it sitting on your furry and flea-bitten tail howling at the moon about it. Risk scouts the way, complaint kills the day.

14. Variety is very important to satisfaction in work involving constant change and new challenges. Consistency is very important as regards repetitive work. The quality and productivity of your work will be determined to a large extent by your individual nature. If your nature naturally seeks variety, seek out work involving constant change. If you have a nature that desires stability and consistency, seek out work that does not change much. Fit your work to your nature, and your nature to your work. As much as possible. Levels of variation between stability and change will fluctuate over time.

15. Schedule yourself and generally speaking you will be more productive. Allow a certain level of flexibility in your schedule, but stone by stone lain rightly builds the mighty coliseum. Better to do a little well every day, than to attempt to drink up the ocean overnight. You will have to make both sacrifices and efforts for work. The disciplining of time is the disciplining of actual achievement. Fail to discipline your time and time escapes you. And time escaped cannot be recaptured.

16. Failure is the best method of learning what won't work. Yet you'd be surprised at the people who either stubbornly won't learn that lesson, or never bother to notice it. Yet it directly affects your real productivity.

17. Be yourself, and your work will flourish. Be what you are not, and your work will fail.

18. Your work is important. If it isn't something is definitely wrong with either your work, with you, or with both.

19. Work should be a natural part of your life and soul. So look first at your life and soul and this will help you determine what work is best for you to pursue. When your work is an extension of your own soul, you will love your work. When your work suppresses your soul, that is totally unnatural and counter-productive. I do not consider my work as being separate from my family, my friends, my community, state, nation, the world, or God. Rather my work integrates with all of these either things. As it should. That is the good way. It should not be the uncommon way.

20. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Whatever your Sabbath, keep one day devoted to being vacated from work, and to pursuing other things that are just as important (if not more-so) as work, such as family, home, your soul, and God. Working at your own soul will not only make you far more productive, it will make you a far better person. Work is supposed to make the world better, working at your own soul will make you better.

To me these are the most important general principles of work and productivity.

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What's Happening?

Pesharim - What's Happening?

I'd like to apologize to my readers for not posting and contributing much to the Missal lately.
I've had an awful lot of things going on and an awful lot to do lately.

My tax structure has changed what with the house and estate and me owning more land now. So doing the taxes was no easy chore and required quite a bit of research, not only by me, but also by the people helping do my taxes. But that's all straightened out now and the taxes are all done and tucked away. Thank God, and I'm in no way being facetious.

Other than that there has been a lot of work with training and growing the puppies to kill my spare time, I've had several consulting projects keeping me hopping, I've been trying to sketch a little and also work on drawing some of the renovation plans for the house, there have been financial matters to attend to, and negotiations which will hopefully bring me some new clients and projects. I've been getting very little sleep so that has slowed me down some in addition to the extra work.

I've also got that murder case where the boy was killed by a round to the neck. I'm working some angles but so far nothing. Still I'm trying to see if I can't flush something, or somebody, out.

My wife is getting ready to go on a Mission trip for several days meaning I've also had to get things prepared for that, as it is on the week in which my oldest daughter competes at the Guild to play Beethoven's Fifth. I've been trying to make arrangements for everything from someone to house sit and to watch the puppies, to helping out with the wife's transportation and stay during her trip, and for travel to and from the competition. So it's been a real series of distractions.

I'm also getting a story about one of my cases ready to present to a Carnival this weekend (I'll be working on that tonight, and more about that later - the story will be posted to the Grapharium - I'll let you know when) and by the end of next week I plan on making my very first submission ever for one of my fictional stories. If all goes well then maybe in a few months I'll be a published fiction author. I still have a few mixed feelings about this but I'm finally ready to publish some of my fiction, and I feel pretty good about it.

I've even tried to squeeze in a little time to compose, but not on my opera or any of my symphonic works, just smaller pieces and light stuff mostly. But overall I've got both my drafting board and my work desk stacked with work, both old and new, to keep me on the slow plow and tied down. Hopefully though by this weekend I will have everything arranged and organized and some of it completed. Then by the end of February I hope to have out the latest copy of Dante's Ninth, and by mid to late March the latest copies of both The Difference Engine and Opus Magnus on-line.

And by next week I plan to get back to bogging on a regular basis.
At that time I'll be making some more improvements to the Missal and hopefully can also get out a satire piece or two.

Till then,

See ya.




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