When the idea becomes more

John Corrigan

I read a book called syrup. The book was written by one of my most favorite authors Max Barry. The book like all the Max Barry books I have read so far was satire. Max Barry is a genius with this genre and his books are all fast reads if you are looking for an author to follow on Amazon (I know that you are always looking for an author to follow (really did you know that you can follow authors on Amazon? It’s pretty cool when the new books come out you will know )) the author to follow is Max Barry. In the book syrup there is a line.. “The average person has three million-dollar ideas per year” -Max Barry (Syrup) That is basically how the book starts, explaining that the difference between the average person and the millionaire is that the millionaire acts on their ideas.

In 2004 there was a Jack Black movie called Envy. The movie was good and the protagonist and maybe antagonist was played by Jack Black. Every day Jack Blacks character would get a ride to work with the character played by Ben Stiller. Everyday Jack Blacks character on the way to work would describe an idea to Ben Stiller’s character. Jack Blacks character applied effort to some of his ideas and one of the ideas blossomed into a successful business, of course then the Envy sets in Jack Blacks character is tone deaf and comedy ensues.

Hellen Keller is attributed with many quotes one that is apropos of this post would be “ideas without action are useless” — Hellen Keller.

Hellen Keller is correct in this quote and idea without action is useless. Actions are hard and not for the faint of heart. I know you have some great ideas in you and I know that the world will be better off if you can act on them.

  • Believe in yourself

I know it seems crazy but one reason ideas never manifest into reality is a lack of belief in ones infinite potential, whatever the idea is you can make it happen but it will not be in a vacuum.

  • Seek help and support

No one is self made we are all products of at least one joint effort from our parents. No millionaire has made themselves a millionaire. Behind every success is a team of talented and driven people, find these people treat them like the champions they are and do something awesome together.

  • Keep grinding

Every time I see the word grind I think about coffee (man I love coffee) Its so good! We have to grind coffee beans so that we can make delicious drip coffee and when you are putting your idea into reality you will have to grind away daily and nightly so that you can make the idea happen.

  • Be patient

Good ideas, great products or systems are not built overnight it just seems like it. The team of people that built the product or system worked behind the scenes for years on that thing. Great things are like Icebergs most of the effort is hidden below the surface of the water

I know that whatever your idea is you can do it. I have seen some amazing things in my life done by all kinds of people.

peace

john3c

Eat, feed, and breed

John Corrigan

Its odd yesterday I pet my dog and cooked some bacon and eggs. Yes I washed my hands after petting the dog but I also thought about the action of cooking and eating animals right after petting one.

In 2020 Joaquin Phoenix won a Golden Globe and encouraged the venue to go vegan then thanked the venue when they indeed did go veagan. Later that same year the actor won an Oscar and made an impassioned speech about how he came to the realization that being a vegan was for him a moral choice.

Joaquins’ speech had mixed reviews. Some people took it to heart and others dismissed it. I was tempted to totally dismiss it myself on its face, however I have watched it twice now an I have also had moments like the one I described at the opening of this post.

Earlier this year I heard a venture capitalist in an interview mention that Patrick O. Brown reached out to him and told him that the current world state of agriculture was unsustainable. The venture capitalist asked the founder if he had a plan to make it sustainable he said that he did and then the venture capitalist forked over the money to put that plan into motion. Essentially the most unsustainable thing is the rate and way the the humans on our planet consume other animals on the planet. This is a pretty interesting article that speaks to how and why agriculture in its’ current state is unsustainable.

Sustainability aside I am having a real hard time understanding why I was able to eat a pig and not my dog (same applies for chicken, cow, duck, quail …. man humans eat a lot of animals). Annually in  in Yulin, Guangxi, China there is a dog festival where dogs are the main course. Culture has a lot to do with why dogs are eaten in some places and not in others but living sentient beings should they be eaten at all?

It is feelings that make something sentient. The act of dismissing a cow because we don’t understand their feelings or how they express their feelings is a little bit arrogant and dangerous. Cows are highly social animals and seem to have complex feelings, the same applies to chickens. With knowledge comes power and responsibility.

As a world we no know much more about our fellow species on the earth like cows chickens, dogs and horses. Most species survive on earth for about 100,000 years, that’s the pattern formed through studying evolutionary biology. Man has been on earth for 300,000 years. Cows have only been around for about 10,500 years, part of me wonders if humans will survive if we continue to kill other species at the rate that we are killing them now.

Again above all else I kept coming back to the fact that animals have families and friends. I am not trying to be all “Pollyanna: here but I mean I am really almost ready to stop eating other animals.

I often like to try and put myself into another person shoes or this time another animals shoes. I imagine the cows life on a ranch and their interaction with each other before and after they realize their fate…

A cow named Jim: “So Bob is gone?”

An enlightened cow named Frank: “Yep, I heard that the cow with no hair that stands on two legs took Bob to the red building shot him in the head, chopped him up and froze his body parts.”

A cow named Jim(after throwing up in the field): “Holy crap cow! are you serious?”

A cow named Frank: “Yep reputable source told me so.”

A cow named Jim: “Man three years old too. Wait how old are we?”

A cow named Frank: ” 2 and a quarter and we are breaking out of here tonight”

I tried to make it a little funny and light because that is how I roll but there is really nothing funny at all about the way animals are slaughtered and processed. Keep in mind that a cow will live for about 15 years if they are not slaughtered too.

I am not trying to convert everyone I am not even converted myself (yet). I just think that I need to learn more about the animals I decide to murder and eat before I decide to murder and eat them. Knowledge is power and should make me act more responsibly.

Is a person who knows right and wrong more wrong for doing the wrong thing? If we know that animals have feelings, families and lives and we end those so that we can eat are we wrong? These questions have been gnawing at me for quite some time now.

I don’t have an answer. I really don’t know but I do know that Chipotle has a plant based chorizo that I plan on trying tonight for dinner.

peace

john3c

About that watch

John Corrigan

Yesterday I mentioned a new watch if I loose 20 lbs. I am currently rocking an Apple Watch 1st gen. That is right I went out and bought the Apple watch the minute it hit the market. I am a huge Apple fanboy and I feel like wearable technology is certianly our future here on earth and beyond so I have loved this watch since the day I first put it on my wrist however I can no longer get the IOS updates for the watch and any apps I create for it I cannot push to it because it is so old.

Right before the new year I did three things, I priced a new Apple watch, placed it in my cart to buy later, and I stepped on a scale. I enjoy running but I had not ran since November of 2021 and I also ate my way through the holidays and the scale told on me. The number on my scale made me forget all about the contents of my cart in the Apple store.

I had gained way to much weight. My wife helped me make a weight loss journal and I have a goal to get down to my proper weight now I needed some kind of commitment device to help get me there. I know what I have to do, exercise in the morning and afternoon and eat properly knowledge is not the issue. I am unhappy with the current weight so motivation doesn’t seem to be the issue. What is the issue? Honestly sleep is the issue. I enjoy sleeping in and not going to the gym, good food is the issue I enjoy eating a meal that is filling and delicious.

A commitment device is sometimes referred to as a Ulysses Pact or contract. In the book The Odyssey by Homer the protagonist Ulysses has to sail his ship by the sirens. The sirens are beautiful creatures that sing to the sailors as they pass by the island that the sirens live near. The siren song is the most beautiful thing ever heard supposedly however, no sailor who has heard it has lived to tell anyone about it. The siren tempts the sailors with their songs and they sail towards the sirens. Then they crash their ships on the reef and die.

Ulysses wanted to hear the song and live so he made a pact with his sailors and they tied him to the mast and plugged their ears with beeswax and no matter what he did they did not untie him till they sailed past the island.

This pact looked to the future.. Ulysses would be untied when he and the crew were safely beyond the island and the pact dealt with the present he was tied up and the crew had ears full of beeswax.

I decided to use the Ulysses contract or pact to reach my weight loss goals and my new Apple watch is currently inaccessible to me in the Apple store cart. When I reach my target weight the watch will be accessible. If I reach my stretch goal this year 2022 I will also receive a new Mac book! I feel pretty confident so far (January is not even over yet though eek!) I have already shed four lbs. and I haven’t missed a work out day yet.

You probably know what you want and how to get it but you may find yourself a victim of procrastination, sleeping in, watching tv or some really fun awesome time waster. I have nothing against sleeping in, watching tv, playing golf and wasting time however when you have a long term goal sometimes those really cool things can get in the way and a commitment device is exactly what you need to get focused and on the right track.

The device doesn’t need to be a reward it could be an actual commitment. If you find someone who also wants to accomplish the goals you do and make a commitment to them that you will be there every day to workout or attend classes chances are high you will be there. The device can also be a reward/punishment scenario. Imagine that you cannot wake up on time and you need to wake up on time. What if you placed a 100 dollar bill in an alarm clock. If you do not wake up and stop the clock the bill is shredded. I imagine that the problem of not waking up would end quickly.

Whatever you choose to do I wish you luck and I would remind you that it will always (even with a commitment device) take some discipline and trust. The sailors had to ensure that they did not take out the beeswax. I am sure they wanted to hear that song as well but they were disciplined and trusted Ulysses. You have to be disciplined and trust yourself. Make the commitment device as real as you can so that you are not lying to yourself. If it is a reward purchase the reward and then give it to someone to give to you only when you reach your goal. If it is a commitment to another person make sure that person can be a a$# when you do not honor your commitment.

Good luck with whatever your goals are (I know you don’t need luck). and peace

john3c

How to make others

John Corrigan

My wife bought and has started using a halo (she has always had one since I’ve known her) actually, it is called the Amazon Halo Band. The Amazon Halo Band will track sleep fitness and over all health as long as you wear it. Full disclosure here, I am an Apple fanboy. I am still rocking the 1st generation Apple watch. Why am I rocking the 1st gen watch? Well it still works and I love it however, at the beginning of this year I made a new years resolution to loose some weight and if.. no no WHEN I loose 20 lbs I plan on rewarding myself with a brand new shiny Apple watch.

Last night my wife was showing me her new fitness band and one feature that she loved. The band will analysis the tone of your voice and tell you how based on your tone others are perceiving you. I thought this feature was incredible! She turned on the feature and as she and I spoke the words happy, confident and amused floated across her I phones screen (the band works with I phones). I was blown away by the technology and the geek and me wanted to know how it worked what was the algorithm used for making these calls? How do you analysis tone? Is timbre involved?

The human/husband/bestfriend was kind of pleased with the words that floated across the phones screen as she spoke. It is very important in a relationship to build up the other person. You will be at your best when the other person is also at their best. I loved that my wife felt all those things while she and I were speaking. Don’t get me wrong my wife is fun, kind, smart, confident woman. I did nothing to make her that way either but I never want to be the reason that she feels bummed out, unhappy, dumb, mean or shamed.

I will admit I have been angry with some people and I have treated them in a way that would (if they paid any attention to my words) make them feel bad and that is not great. I think that we should always use our words to make others feel at the very least safe. When it comes to loved ones we should certainly use our words to make them feel like they are the most important people on the planet!

According to this Linkedin in post, an average of 7000 words leave your mouth per day. At the very least I hope that a majority of the words are perceived as uplifting and complimentary. Sometimes it can be hard to build. It always seems harder to build than it does to tear down but its builders that make a difference.

Humanity has been on this earth for 300000 years and accomplished some amazing and some truly horrific feats. Lets work together with our words to make the majority of humanities feats going forward truly amazing and good.

peace

john3c

Everyone should matter to you

John Corrigan

I just finished reading an article on the Inc. website. The article gave some advice to managers on, how one should avoid being friends with any of their employees and exactly how to treat all their employees.

The article used the advice that a 5th grade teacher gave to her students on how to treat everyone.

I think this advice should apply for everyone and should be used throughout our entire lives.

Every person matters and if they do not matter to you then they should and they will if you learn about them. When everyone matters you will notice them, you may not find it easy to be friendly to all of them ( some real a@$$ hats out there), you may also have trouble making room for them, however if you are rooting for them and if you can empathize with them then you maybe able to be more friendly and make some

Of course we will all have special places in our lives and our heart for our family, friends and loved ones however, when we realize how special the act of living is I think then we can find ourselves in a position that will allow us to head the fifth grade teachers advice to her students.

The odds of you me and every person alive being born is 1 in 400 trillion. Some more information here on that math. Basically the odds of you being born are almost zero! Once you let that sink in you should be able to find it in your heart to root for everyone even the a@! hats out there.

The odds were against them even showing up on the third rock from the sun and so after overcoming those odds one has to believe that these folks can and will change right? With some empathy kindness and friends maybe…

The other thing about empathy and friendship is that it beats the alternative. Which is apathy and meanness. when we loose hope in humanity and meanness is a slippery slope. Almost every religious text warns us about being mean. In the King James bible we are warned in provides that a mean person will be paid back with meanness (it really is a vicious circle). With all that in mind there is also nothing wrong with being a friend to yourself first and then others (remember we cannot put the oxygen mask on the kid if we are not wearing our own). It is easy to overlook self care and we should not do that. T

Today lets take care of ourselves, loved ones and everyone.

peace

john3c

No such thing (get interested)

John Corrigan

There is a podcast that I am a huge fan of, it is called People I mostly admire. On the podcast I think it is episode 4 the host Steven Levitt interviews Ken Jennings. Ken Jennings of course talks about his jeopardy success and also his love for trivia, games and learning. One thing that jumped out at me was when Ken Jennings said the the secret to learning and knowing so much was interest.

“Like the people you see on Jeopardy tonight don’t have photographic memories. That’s not a real thing. They’re just interested in like ten times the things you are. And so more facts stick.” — Ken Jennings

It is easy to say that people know more than me because of this photographic memory but see Ken was right. According to the Scientific American there is no evidence for a photographic memory. Sorry it is not that easy if you want to know and learn something you will need to find a way to do it, no shortcuts.

I was often asked in school what I was interested in. What do you want to major in? What will your focus be? Do you like science more than math or are you a fan of the arts? Problem for me was that I loved all of it. I love history, art, science, math, and social studies. Life was and still is for me very very interesting.

When I was young me and my sisters told my mom that we were bored and my mom told us that there was no such thing as being bored only boring people. Man I hated that. How dare she call me and my sisters bored. I hated that comment but, it made me really start to look around and find ways not to be bored and learn as much as I could about everything. As a kid I learned how and why microwaves worked, why bullets moved the way they did when fired, what makes a rocket move, what are different types of art and when they were popular. my grandmother would buy me encyclopedias (yes I am that old) and I would devour them. Here I could see pictures and words describing places I’ve never been before, science I’ve never heard of. It took me forever to understand what my mom meant when she told me and my sister that there was no such thing as being bored, then I saw this skit from Louis CK. I understand that the comedian was canceled and i in no way would support what he did to get canceled but this skit in his show really hits the nail on the head with regards to the impossibility of being bored.

The world and you yourself is truly endless and interesting. Instead of being bored be an explorer look inward outward and appreciate the vastness, beauty and ugly of everything.

peace

john3c

Wait what and huh???

John Corrigan

Last year the date was January 6 2021, I was at work in the factory and my watch and phone started blowing up with news and Facebook alerts. The news alerts read like; “Protests unfolding at the U.S. capital” and my Facebook alerts were like; “Republicans should be ashamed of themselves” and “Who says walls will keep people out (this one had a Getty image of protesters turned insurrectionists / terrorists climbing the United States Capital wall)” and “It’s our house (this one on Facebook had an AP image with the protester / insurrectionists / terrorists marching through the halls of the capital damaging public property looking for blood)”. I was knee deep in a work project so the alerts went noticed but un read, about an hour later while on break I sifted through the alerts and thought it was a joke. After I realized this was actually happening and I was basically seeing it unfold in Realtime I felt some of the same feelings I felt on September 11, 2001. I was at work on that day as well and I got the alerts then too. I was stopped by a fellow coworker and told to go to the break room and watch tv with them. On September 11, 2001 I watched the events in Realtime on the breakroom tv with coworkers, on January 6, 2021 almost 20 years later I watched the events on my break from my phone alone. The feelings on September 11, 2001 were that the country was being attacked, the feeling from January 6, 2021 was also that the country was being attacked. My country was attacked my capital was attacked. The difference was that, on September 11, 2001 my country was attacked from an “outsider or groups of outsiders” and my fellow citizens were there with me in the breakroom, on January 6, 2021 my country and capital were attacked from fellow citizens, there was no fellowship or comradery on January 6, 2021 there was only terror and the feeling of being alone.

After the January 6, 2021 attack on the capital, the alone feeling persisted. There was even a debate on who attacked the capital many claimed it was a “false flag” operation and not as bad as people in the media made it out to be. It has been one year since the attack on the United States capital, one year since the vice president was hunted for in the halls of the capital and there is still debate as to who was responsible for the leadership of the terrorists at the capital and why it all happened.

We are living in strange times, today some people who were involved in the attack on the capital are running for public office. I try really hard to post uplifting things here and I have turned this attack on January 6, 2021 every which way to look for some positive spin but I cannot do it. The people who attacked the capital weren’t hungry or living in a country without direct elections like the people in Kazakhstan. The people who attacked the capital were not being shot by police officers or kept out of schools work public places or lynched because of the color of their skin. The people who attacked the protest were upset that their leader did not get re elected, that was the reason the capital was attacked and the vice president was hunted after! See? nothing positive there… So if there is nothing good to say about January 6, 2021 why even mention it at all? Well, I wanted to mention it because there is an investigation into how and why this happened, how is pretty much answered but the why is going to take a long time. The why is very important. Why did a group of people who are not in the aggregate hungry, poor, under represented feel the need to attack the government that works to make sure they are taken care of. I am not sure why but I think that perception is a big part of it. The protestors that became insurrectionists and terrorists’ thought that they were not being represented, and they thought they were poor. The mob forgot that they were part of a nation and failed to see their neighbors and family and friends. In a fit the mob allowed a rally to turn into a terroristic attack.

I think that the why to the attack lies in the fact that no one in that mob cared about their neighbors. I think the positive we can take from the attack is a life lesson. When we fail to consider our neighbor chaos ensues and we get the anarchy of Jan 6 and Sept 11. If either of those groups would have considered their neighbors I am positive they would have acted differently. We should all take a page from the book of the great Fred Rogers.

Even the bible and almost all religious texts demand that we treat our neighbors kindly. Tragedy like the attack on the capital is memorialized best through actions and I think a great action today tomorrow and forever is to be kind to our neighbors and when you think about it everyone is our neighbor.

peace

John3c

We can do it

John Corrigan

I was on the phone yesterday with my oldest. me and the boy talked about a movie that we had both watched on Netflix. The movie was don’t Look Up, it’s a dark comedy starring, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Strep, and Jonah Hill. In Don’t look up astronomers discover that an asteroid that is known as a planet killer is headed towards earth. The astronomers alert the president and dark comedy ensues. Yes the movie is very western centric in that the whole world is viewed through the lenses of someone who lives in the United States however, it is still funny and a little (emphasis on little) thought provoking. The movie was written and directed by Adam McKay and according to my oldest it was inspired by the climate change crisis we are all currently living in.

Me and the oldest discussed how despite many people denying the science all it takes is a little bit of effort from some people to make a difference. My oldest brought up the progress made on the hole in the earths ozone layer.

I grew up in the eighties so I heard a lot about the hole in the ozone layer. How big it was what damage it had done and was doing and the changes that were being made to fix it. in 1989 the Montreal Protocol was put into practice and since 1990 on the hole in the ozone has been getting smaller (sort of). Essentially the Montreal Protocol phased out the production of ozone depleting gasses (like CFCS).

The climate change crisis still rages on and it can sometimes seem bleak however with some work I know that change is possible, like my oldest said in our phone call we have a case study in the hole in the ozone proving that change is possible. Change happens through education, knowledge and application of the knowledge (some call the application of the knowledge wisdom).

Right now in short carbon being burnt and released into the atmosphere primarily through the use of fossil fuels is causing global warming and climate change. The warming and climate change is unsustainable for human life on earth. It is highly likely that if we burn fossil fuels at the same rate we will cause our own extinction. The good news is that most of the fossil fuel we burn is for transportation reasons and the experts in transportation predict that the United States of America will be a totally electric powered transportation nation by 2035. I know that this is one nation but others should follow or as in the case of the UK, whose electric car sales outnumbered diesel car sales last year, some nations will beat the United States to the finish line.

Every problem has a cause and a solution and requires action to fix it. The move to catalytic converters, unleaded gasoline and now electric cars took years of research debate activism and hard work but it happened and is happening.

Along the way progress has been stymied and people have attempted to stop it, I encourage you to educate yourself and do your best not to stand in the way of progress and the future. I cannot help but think of Blockbuster video when I think about standing in the way of progress. In September of 2000 the CEO of Blockbuster Video had the chance to buy Netflix for 20 million dollars thinking it was a joke the CEO laughed it off and the rest is like Blockbuster history.

Let us work hard to educate ourselves because society will progress and move on and survive and we for sure want to be on the side that makes it.

Peace

John3c

Why the Resolutions

John Corrigan

Today is January 4 2022 C.E. That is a fact. I started my work day with my daily list and on the opposite page of that list I wrote down 6 new year resolutions. I have a friend (yes only one (ha ha )), he does not seem to like resolutions. My friends reasons for the disdain of resolutions is the same as the others. Let’s see… no one keeps them, it is just an arbitrary thing, they are stupid, they set you up for failure and so on and so on. I have always liked resolutions and starting over. Ever since I was a child.

I was the kid who would build a city out of legos destroy it and rebuild it. I love the act of rebuilding doing something over and over again with just small changes and for me that is what a new years resolutions is like. I know, I know that we don’t get to reset our lives I realize that we do things that build over the years and time and the things can bring us good or bad results and that is why I try my best to make good new years resolutions and not bad ones. I choose resolutions like read 10 books instead of read 0 books (reading is so good for us!(it really is )).

My wife was speaking with my step daughter about doing something she was scared of and my wife told her that she has regretted things she did not try more than anything she has tried. I know that many of my new years resolutions may not get accomplished however I am a Cleveland Browns fan so I am totally ok with failure as long as I gave it my best shot.

I refuse to let the idea that I will not keep a resolution stop me from making and trying to keep one.

Time is an odd thing. When you think about time is about as abstract a concept as you can come up with and it is almost impossible to measure. Ask any scientist worth their weight and they will tell you the same. Many scientist will tell you that time doesn’t really exist at all. Every scientist will tell you that time is relative at best. I think that there have been some pretty famous papers written on the relativity of time and yet, you should never make it a practice to arrive late for appointments. Arriving late is a good way to upset friends family and get fired. Despite the wibbily wobbily nature of time (wink to all the Dr. Who fans), we all agree on time and try our best to arrive on time and mark time in our own ways. I refuse to let the nature of time to stop me from making a resolution.

Take some time today to create a list of things you want to get done this year and write this list down. 2022 is going to feel long and tiresome when it does look at your list and see where you are at. You may get to scratch something off the list. Oh man I get such an endorphin rush when I do this. I make a list every day of things I want to get done just so I can scratch them off. The year will feel long but it will be over before you know it when it ends and you are staring in the face of 2023 pull out the list and see all that you have done this will also feel amazing

Happy New Year and peace to all!!

Content

John Corrigan

When I was young I learned about Hellen Keller. Hellen Keller lost both her sight and hearing when she was just a baby. Anne Sullivan taught Hellen how to communicate through reading writing and even speech.

Hellen Keller became an author activist and lecturer. She graduated from Radcliffe college with an BA. she learned to speak and became a regular lecturer. Hellen Keller inspired others and still does to this day.

“Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content.” Hellen Keller

As I grow older I become more accustomed to the creature comforts. I like to prop my feet up and enjoy ice water, however this is not always possible and that is ok too. I don’t know the secret to happiness but it seems that happy people are content gracious and aware people.

Contentment seems to come when we can wonder and learn. Learning is growth and it’s that growth that will bring us contentment or joy or make us happy. Never stop seeing the wonder learning and growing.