Limits

Limits.
I think it's important to have limits.
Restrictions.

Sometimes, those restrictions guide us in our behaviors. Remind us of right and wrong. Something to hold society accountable for. These are good things, for the most part. There are even times when we can use restrictions to force our minds to come up with a solution in a different way. These 'creative restrictions' help to force us out of the norm, the expected. Perhaps I'll write on that one day as well.

Some limits are of a more tenuous nature, those that we set for ourselves. Some are so ingrained into how we think, that we don't see them. Fear can be the seed from which these grow. It's much simpler and far less frightening for us to say "I can't do that.", than it is to take a risk. Risk failure. Truth be told, most people never take the time to find out what they are capable of. Where their true limits are, for certainly there are limits. Pretending, or supposing, to know where they are, can be a mistake. How do you determine if a particular limit is a self imposed limit, or a real limit? With in the bounds of common sense and safety, the only real way to know, it to test.
Challenge a limit.
What are you capable of? Do you know? How hard have you pushed yourself? Most people don't bother. These are the Sheep. Willing to let other people think for them. To busy trying to fit into a mold that the collection of Sheep deem most appropriate. Usually this means blending in with the other Sheep. Moderation in all things, they say. Bah. Rubbish. What does moderation give you? Safety or Boredom? Cage or Freedom? Moderation tells you to sit on the couch and stuff Funions in your face. Don't push yourself too hard, you could get injured. Be safe. Stay home. Don't challenge yourself. It's not worth it. Moderation is at the core of our societies mediocrity!

You don't really want to know what your potential is, do you? “But”, you say, “It's too hard to reach that goal.” Yes, it might very well be. Then again, that goal might be closer than you think. There seems to be a balance in this world (leaning ever so slightly towards entropy, of course), and perhaps you've heard these before:
*Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
*Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. -Theodore Roosevelt
*I believe that one of life's greatest risks is never daring to risk. Oprah Winfrey Are you chasing your goals? Challenging yourself? Growing? Or have you stagnated. Unmoving like brackish pond water, breading disease?
*As I see it every day you do one of two things: build health or produce disease in yourself. -Adelle Davis
Sometimes it just seems so damn hard to get any closer to your goal. Too many obstacles, too many roadblocks. Or are there? Really? Could some of these things be of your own creation? I now that for me, that's more often the case. Fear, that nasty little toad, creeps in a creates a nice big challenge.
A brick wall.
*Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people. -Randy Pausch
Or a door that needs to be overcome with skill, wile, or cunning. (Or perhaps a Magic Key). I like the gate analogy the best of all. Oft times, you can see the goal, right through the bars. It's out of reach though. Most just shrug and give up. Over the last few years, I've taken to pushing myself. Searching for some of my limits. I have been surprised, on almost every occasion that what I had thought was a limit, was simply a gate. A brick wall to keep other people out of where I wanted to go.
One of those limits I tried to find had to do with sleep. Having suffered from insomnia for over 10 years, I wondered about how little sleep one really needs. On August 20th of 2007, I decided to try something called Polyphasic Sleep. The short version is that I was taking 20-30 minutes naps, six times a day. SleepLessBlog For 40 days I averaged 3.7 hours of sleep, sometimes getting as little as an hour and a half in a 24 hour cycle. (Hard to call them days when you don't have a core sleep to break up the day from the night) Most people, if you ask them, “Could you live on six 20 minute naps?”, they would most fervently say “No.” I did. I took up yoga, and wrote more in those 40 days than I had since college! Does that make me some genetic freak? Alien? Or simply an adventurer of life, willing to see what I'm capable of. I leave that as an exercise for the reader.
An ongoing challenge that I seem to be involved with is long distance cycling. “Long Distance” be a relative term, mind you. On May 3rd of 2008, I rode 126.4 miles, by myself. Took me almost 12 hours, including pit stops. To be perfectly honest with you, dear reader, I had serious concerns that this attempt would more than likely end in me calling for a ride. You see, the longest ride I'd done so far in the season had been 54 miles. You really don't know where your limits are until you push. Is 126.4 miles in one day my limit. Hardly. What is my long distance cycling limit? I haven't the foggiest idea. Could I ride 200 miles. I think so. 500 miles? Um, sure. I really don't know, and I certainly don't want to put a limit there that doesn't need to be there. I might find my limit. I might not. But I can tell you that it is something to behold when you walk (or cycle) right past something that seemed like a foreboding and enormous wrought iron gate, only to find that something as simple as doubting it's solidity allowed me to walk right through, as if I held a Magic Key.
*When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
What are your limits.
What is holding you back from what you want?
Challenge it.
I'm handing you a Magic Key that unlocks that gate.
Now, are you a Sheep content with mediocrity, or an adventurer of life willing to take a bit of risk to see what you're truly made of?


Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates: Unknown

There's less magic now..

CNN is one of the participants in the war. I have a fantasy where Ted Turner is elected president but refuses because he doesn't want to give up power.

It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value.
There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum.

New ideas pass through three periods:
- It can't be done.
- It probably can be done, but it's not worth doing.
- I knew it was a good idea all along!

I don't believe in God but I'm very interested in her.

The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion.

Reading computer manuals without the hardware is as frustrating as reading sex manuals without the software.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

- Arthur C. Clarke 12/16/1917-3/19/2008

Factoid: Though most popularly known for this novel turned motion picture "2001: A Space Odyssey", he is also credited with the concept of geostationary orbit, sometimes called Clarke Orbit.

Mr. Clarke, you will be missed.


Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 21' 18.7 W157' 51.5 Elevation: 340ft

Sweet Lovin'

In a break from the mental work that I like to write/think about...



A little tear just rolled down my cheek, that was so beautiful.

Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 21' 18.7 W157' 51.5 Elevation: 340ft

Headshake of the day.

Think if a goal you have.

What is that goal going to give you?
And what is that (the answer from above) going to give you?
Keep repeating the second question until it becomes difficult to answer.

Chances are, you are left with a feeling. That goal breaks down to feeling a certain way. Loved. Proud. Sense of accomplishment. Feeling capable. Feeling in control. Needed or wanted. Admired. Appreciated. Security.
Or simply feeling happy.

But, you knew that didn't you.
Where do emotions.. these feelings come from. Are they simply electrical signals interpreted by the brain? If so, we are determining, by choice, the things that will trigger the feelings we want. What is stopping us from short cutting that process and feeling those feelings now?

Want to be happy?
Feel Happy.

Yes, it really can be that easy.

Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 21' 18.7 W157' 51.5 Elevation: 340ft

Ch-Cha-Cha-Changing...

Few house keeping changes. Hope you like the new look.

Today was an odd day, to be sure.
Couldn't wait for it to be over. Unfortunately, time is a cruel, malicious bitch. The good times fly, and the drudgery and pain linger. Distracted and befuddled, I continue. The idiot box provided a brief distraction as did a nice strap torture session. (That there folks, is about as funny as I can muster ATM)

If you are going through hell, keep going. -Winston Churchill


Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
21 18'44.41N 158 01'04.66W elevation 70ft

Things I like 8222

Links:
Nature will always win.

---

Music of the day:
Am I Evil? Metallica The Complete Garage Days...

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Quote:
No animal ever invented anything as bad as drunkenness - or as good as drink. --G.K. Chesterton
A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her. --Anonymous


Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 18'43.98' W158 01'06.29
Elevation: 12ft
(accurate to within 11ft)

Things I Like 8219

Links:Don't stand between me and my Coffee
Deep Purple (in Japan)
SnowGlobe!
PC Guitar Hero?
Beef Recall

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Quotes:
It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. -Charles Darwin

He who hesitates is a damned fool. - Mae West (1892-1980)


Maarburg the Mad
Current meatspace coordinates:
lat=21.29; long=-157.84

Things I like 8218

Links:
Medium
Morning Math
Attack your neighbors!

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Jokes:
What do you call a poodle with no legs?

A sponge.

----

As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his cell phone rang.

Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there''s a car going the wrong way on Route 280. Please be careful!"

"It's not just one car," said Herman, "It's hundreds of them!"

---

Fun:
Going to party an mirroring someone long enough to pace them to 'thinking' they have a serious itch on their nose.
(ok, ok, ok. So I wasn't all the creative. Still was fun)

Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
Lat=21.31, Long= -158.01
Elevation: 52ft

Bennu Too

Funny thing about the Bennu, it's re-emergence tends to take the same form.

That's what we call a cycle.
So.. instead of being the bird.. let's roast that little bastard.
But slowly, so it doesn't turn to ash.

Heading out to the grill.
Check on you cat's later.

Maarburg the Mad
Current meatspace coordinates:
lat=21.29; long=-157.84

Bennu

The Bennu builds it's nest of cinnamon twigs.
The nest ignites and burns, Bennu and all, to ash.
From that ash, a young Bennu emerges.

Emergence.

Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 18'43.98' W158 01'06.29
Elevation: 83ft
(accurate to within 22ft)

Hmmm..

Will I ever get to
to where it is that I am going?
Will I ever follow through with what I,
with what I had planned?
I guess it's possible that I have been a bit distracted
and the directions for me are a lot less in demand.
In demand.
Will I ever get to where I'm going?
If I do, will I know when I'm there?
If the wind blew me in the right direction
Would I even care?
I would.
I take a look around; it's evident the scene has changed.
And there are times when I feel improved,
Improved upon the past.
Then there are times when I can't seem to understand at all
and yes it seems as though I'm going nowhere...
Really fragging fast
Nowhere fast
Will I ever get to where I'm going?
If I do, will I know when I'm there?
If the wind blew me in the right direction
Yeah, would I even care?
I would
I would
Will I ever get to where I am going?
If I do, will I know when I'm there?
If the wind blew me in the right direction
Yeah, would I even care?
I would
I would
I would
I would
I would

Maarburg the Mad

Where are you now?

I met Buddha on a 757 headed for Las Vegas. We chatted for awhile, just outside the tiny bathrooms at the back of the plane. Amazingly, our paths have crossed many many times. She thinks that we've met before, and is, in fact, quite sure of it. She was in Kauai in mid November. She's been to the Mardon Resort, and was in Boulder in July. When I asked her where she'd be after Boulder she smiled, leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.

Maarburg

Flashback

Remember when...
Security meant having someone who could set a rule on a firewall
The security officer was the guy at the desk in the lobby
Browsing was something you did at the mall
Podcasting was throwing peas into the wind
Intrusion prevention was locking your front door
Identity theft was handing in someone else's homework

Those days are gone.

(John Stewart)

Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 18'43.98' W158 01'06.29
Elevation: 12ft
(accurate to within 11ft)

Step off of the wrong path.

Today, October 30th 2007, I will begin a path that I've traveled before. This path is scorned by some and praised by others, and yet others have no opinion. Low Carbohydrate (LC).
If you are among the doubters, you may find your self rethinking your position. On the thin side, this means reduction or removal of unbalanced carbohydrates from the diet. Sugar, and the lie of "fortified" cereal products are gone. People of time past treated cereal foods as starvation food, and yet in the modern American diet, it's King. You can see how this is wrong, can you not?
LC, to me, means a focus on eating an adequate amount of protein and the majority of the remaining food to come from fruits and veggies.

Goal. Drop 40lbs of fat in 13 weeks.
Now, before you get all huffy about that not being healthy... please not that I will be only loosing 13lbs from where I was 12 weeks ago.
In fact, I managed to put on over 18 lbs in 34 days. That is insane.
If I told you I was going to drop 18 lbs in 34 days, you would tell me it's unhealthy. I'm actually expecting to catch some flack from the amount of fat I will be dropping.
Here's the catch. I will not be starving myself. Quite the opposite; I plan on exceeding the RDA on every level.
Today I exceeded the RDA for EVERYTHING by a minimum of 17%.

So, game on.
Daily progress report.


Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 18'43.98' W158 01'06.29
Elevation: 32ft
(accurate to within 144ft)

Thought of the day.

Every now and then go away and have a little relaxation. To remain constantly at work will diminish your judgment.
Go some distance away, because work will be in perspective and a lack of harmony is more readily seen. - Leonardo DaVinci

Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 18'43.98' W158 01'06.29
Elevation: 12ft
(accurate to within 11ft)

12 and 12

I've decided, that as a result of the emerging global economy, and the shrinking word base, that I need to learn some key phrases in many languages.

So, I propose to you.. my friends, family, and strangers:
What Phrases (looking for 12 total), and
What Languages (again, looking for 12 total):

Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 21' 18.7 W157' 51.5
Elevation: 340ft
(accurate to within 17ft)

When independent thought fails.. .. steal.

Facing it, always facing it, that's the way to get through. Face it. -Joseph Conrad

How are you going to respond when the Clock-Radio of Challenge emits the Irritating Buzz of Opportunity? Are you going to roll over and hit the Snooze Button of Complacency? Or are you going to wake up and, after performing the Bodily Functions of Preparedness, boldly grasp the Toothbrush of Tomorrow? Dave Barry

I am not in this world to live up to other people's expectations, nor do I feel that the world must live up to mine. Fritz Perls

I think the mistake a lot of us make is thinking the state-appointed shrink is our friend.

I'm tired of being worried every day. Seems there's detour signs keeping good things away. JUKE BOY BONNER I'm Getting Tired

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment. -Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

It's not denial. I'm just very selective about what I accept as reality. -- Calvin

Large doses of coffee can be lethal. Ten grams, or 100 cups over 4 hours, can kill the average human. [hmm.. there goes my idea of filling the hot tub with coffee.]

Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge. Paul Gauguin (1848 - 1903)

One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important.-- Bertrand Russell

Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim - Be patient and tough; some day this pain will be useful to you. (Ovid)

Some things...arrive on their own mysterious hour, on their own terms and not yours, to be seized or relinquished forever. --Gail Godwin

The highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts. Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882)

The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind. -Maya Angelou

Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things, which escape those who dream only by night.Edgar Allan Poe

WARNING! Never attempt to directly fax anyone an image of your naked buttocks. Always photocopy your buttocks and fax the photocopy.
Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 18'43.98' W158 01'06.29
Elevation: 12ft
(accurate to within 11ft)

Needing of some jovality...

And I found the following:

http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20070907

http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20050330

Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 18'43.98' W158 01'06.29
Elevation: 12ft
(accurate to within 110ft)

Pet Peeve #7

How fsking hard can it be?
Kindergarten, IIRC.. That's when I learned the concept.

Inside the lines.

And don't go making excuses that because you have a SUV that you should have a little leeway.
If you can't drive it... DON'T DRIVE IT!

I'm going to put a razor in my trunk (because I can't get IN to my car) just for you. Chances are, I'll be nice and only fix that nasty little SUV problem you have via two tires. Chance, being a fickle mistress might cause me to, after I've crawled into my car from the opposite side, reverse my car out and fix the remaining two tires. Do you feel lucky?

In retrospect.. I was in a rent-a-car.. why did I try to limit the contact of my door edge and your pretty little, I can pee farther than you, statement? I should have...made a little more room. I'm sure your door panel would have given a few inches with the proper coaxing.

Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 18'43.98' W158 01'06.29
Elevation: 12ft
(accurate to within 11ft)

PolyPhasic?

Hey wasn't there a bunch of stuff here about me trying some crazy ass Polyphasic Sleep thing?


Yup..

Moved it to it's own blog.
Not Enough Time

Maarburg
Current meatspace coordinates:
N21 18'43.98' W158 01'06.29
Elevation: 12ft
(accurate to within 11ft)