Jim's Rules

Purpose:  Rules to aid in the pursuit of a sometimes happy and productive life:

I.  A golden rule type policy involved with treating people in the way that you would like to be treated.  Fairly deep, fairly important.

II.  Engage in violence only when there is an imminent threat to someone you should protect or yourself.

III.  Get plenty of exercise to prolong your life.

IV.  Keep your life organized, neat and efficient.

V.  (The rule to be listed last, if this list is ever completed.)  Be on the lookout for significant rules to accomplish the purpose.

VII.  Maintain a strong social network.

VIII.  Remain close to civilization. and be as civilized as you can be, according to your own standards.  (Note to self:  Create standards)

IX.  Keep writing to sweep away the cobwebs and to practice how to express what your mind is thinking.

X.  Do not take unnecessary risks.

XI.  Steal from the lists of other's rules as needed.  You can't have enough guidelines to be a success to yourself.

XII.  Speed up occasionally.  Slowing down is an inevitable process of aging.  Speed up to stay ahead of this process.

XIII.  Maintain capital in a nearby, safe location.

XIV.  Maintain the ability to earn more capital, if necessary.

XV.  Eat responsibly.  You know what that is.

XVI.  Be faithful to all of your commitments unless they expire or become invalid.

XVII.  Be impeccable with the Word, or word.

XVIII. Do not assume, or be aware when you are assuming.  No auto-assuming.

XIX.  Do not take things personally.  They are rarely meant that way.

XX.  Say please and thank you.  See Rule #VIII.

XXI.  Always do your best.  What are you saving it for, and if it's not worth giving your best, question why you are doing it at all.

Obligatory Observations

For those of us who observe and comment with any amount of education, experience of age, or simply, a small amount of artful articulation, there is an obligation to do so, responsibly, and with a certain amount of frequency.  I have a great deal of professional health-care experience.  There are topics in health-care I am obliged to comment upon them simply because I have that experience and expertise.  Specifically, I know about pharmaceutical supply and medical supply costs and how obscenely profitable these industries are in the U.S. thanks to the insurance industry and the medicare system.

Because of the way both of these institutions have operated in the last forty years, double digit inflation is the standard operating procedure.  Most American just accepted these outrageous increases until the banking crisis and resulting recession in the last three years.  Now we know these kind of cost rises cannot be sustained and should not even be proposed.  Both the medical insurance industry and Medicare/Medicaid will have to accept little or no increases in payments.

Since I know this and can make this observation, it is incumbent upon me to do so for my readers.  Fortunately, at the moment, I don't have any.

If it is blogged, will it be read?

How is it that so many people write and publish on the web, and so many other people read their every commentary? Many people blog professionally. According to a 2009 Wall Street Journal article, over 452, 000 people show blogging as their primary source of income. How does one establish oneself as a professional blogger? Do you have to be easily accessible, or is it necessary to push it on a site like MySpace? Do the topics you write about have to be commonly interesting? Does your language have to be simple, say ninth grade reading level (U.S.)?

What about profundity? Do you have to strive to find original statements, or does stealing the best thoughts get you paid, like Shakespeare? Send me your thoughts, followers.

Reasons for Having a Serious Long Term Relationship

(For my single friends)

• Companionship
• Has ideas you do not and would not have
• Has relatives you can help
• Will help to clean the house, buy clothes, decorate, feed the cat
• Will cook things you would not
• Might help to bring you out of yourself
• Health insurance (maybe)
• Might help you to understand other people
• They will take you to new places
• Will be someone you can help and take care of
• Someone to bounce ideas off of
• Someone to touch and be touched by
• Might help you to keep grounded
• Someone to confirm what you already knew

Outliers exposes the 10,000 hours threshold

In this year's (2009) Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell talks about successful people who are more than just lucky. Regular folks like Bill Gates and the members of the The Beatles have put many hours into honing their particular talent and skills in optimum settings, at just the right time for them to rise to the top of their ouvre. This fairly self-evident observation is eye-opening in the amount of time stated to begin to be an expert, master, or champion. That amount of time is, more or less, 10,000 hours, or well over three solid years to master a skill. Yes, I think that is about the minimum one needs to master a skill such as playing the guitar or computer programming. Come to think of it, it's about the time it takes to get a bachelor's degree. Nevertheless, it's time to get practicing those skills in which one wants to become proficient, . . like writing (Wasn't this sentence awfully awkward?)

Please . . .don't waste my time

While trying to analyze a bureaucratic problem at work, today, it occurred to me the process in place was wasting my time, even if I was working, and technically, it was the company's time. What the process was asking of me had no purpose. At one time, perhaps, it did, but no longer, yet the process was still in place. After deciding, no, I was not going to participate in a purposeless process, it occurred to me how, as a non-believer in afterlife, I should place a very high value on my time because, let's face it, when you're out of time, there are no do-overs. Definitely don't participate in purposeless activities, unless they bring some sort of pleasure to someone. And definitely, do not become part of a mindless process at work or on my own time! Be it resolved.

Now I am examining the idea of continuing at this job at all.

H1N1 is Flu--Pay attention to cars and guns

Now that the H1N1 panic is subsiding, please remember to pay attention when you are driving and also, sell your guns. Your children don't need them unless people decide this is no longer a nation of laws.