TidBits

Food for thought ~ by Griz (aka Steve Stovner) ~

I'm an Engineer: To save time, let's assume that I'm never wrong.

~ author unknown ~

Doing requires a little information and Guts.
Doing gives you Experience.
Experience expands and solidifies Knowledge.
Knowledge breeds Confidence.
Confidence increases probability of Success.
So, GET DOING !!!

~ Griz (adapted from unk. source) ~

Confidence is a powerful thing.
Beware of fictitious confidence (inadequate experience and knowledge),
It can bite you BIG TIME.

~ Griz ~

Only those who go too far, discover how far can be gone.

~ author unknown ~

I can get drunk if I want to. Not the most productive thing to do.
If I'm always pushing others to be productive. How can I justify getting drunk?
How could getting drunk be considered advantageous?
I could say: "I'm on my time" or I could say: "Now defines the future of me"

~ Griz ~

Don't worship idols of any kind.
Not mass media "stars" or anyone that tells you what to be or believe.
Listen to them, learn from them, but don't follow them.
You follow your own path, the path you may never see coming,
the path that leads toward your happiness, fulfilment and pride in your actions (self pride - not pride in the eyes of an idol).
Learnings from the obstacles you will encounter are priceless - treat them as such.
The journey is your life. Your life is a journey of change.
Changing obstacles and changes in the person meeting them.
Always leave room for change in your beliefs.
Believe only what rings true to your very core when viewed from all sides.
Keep an open mind while throwing everything you have into your current goals.

~ Griz ~

In my shop if you pick up a tool or "thing", you must put it down were you got it.
I know where everything is, or at least I know where I was when I last used it.
Not as well as I used to - some jobs I spent most of my time looking for tools.
If I don't know where you put it - it's lost to me.

~ Griz ~

Its your life to shape into who you are (will be).
Parents, friends, advisors, preachers, teachers, government,
are very instrumental in what you believe to be true.
But the final say is on your shoulders - not theirs.

~ Griz ~

Life to me, is being me.
When I can no longer be me, there’s no reason to be.

~ Griz 2020 ~

Everyone has a right to life.
That right is completely fulfilled by your current existence.
No one has an inalienable right to live.
The right to live must be continuously earned.
Your life must benefit mankind (promote species continuance).
If you are a drain on mankind, you relinquish your right to live.
If I am a drain on mankind, I have the responsibility to end my life.

~ Griz ~

I have the right to end my life, for any reason I see fit.
You do not have the right to end my life, for any reason.
I have no responsibility for keeping you alive (that's your job).
You have no responsibility for keeping me alive (that's my job).
We both are responsible for keeping our species alive and healthy.
My species has the right to cull me from the herd (end my life).

~ Griz ~

The fear of death follows the fear of life.
A man who lives life fully is prepared to die at any time

~ Mark Twain or Edward Abby or ? ~

Fear of death shadows fear of life.

A good life prepares you for death.

~ Griz 2020 ~

Sometimes I think like "Einstein".
Sometimes I write like 'Whitman'.
Sometimes I deal like 'Sanford'.
Sometimes I align with 'Murphy'.
Most often I'm just ol' 'Griz'.

~ Griz ~

I'm sometimes a procrastinator,
sometimes I dive-in and make it happen.
I wish I had dove more often.

~ Griz ~

Life is an adventure, a lot of negative things can/will happen,
a lot of obstacles can/will be thrown in your way,
Its' how you deal with them that defines who you are/become.

~ Griz ~

When you find yourself deep in shit, do not strive to be the biggest turd,
rise to the top by smelling the best.

~ Griz ~

"Survival of the fittest" requires non-survival of the unfit.
Survival of all (fit and unfit) threatens survival of the species.

~ Griz ~

"I truely think it's 'Survival of the un-fittest' these days."

~ John Dutton (YellowStone) ~

"The most important factor in survival is neither intelligence nor strength but adaptability."

~ Charles Darwin ~

"Believing you are perfect is an imperfection.
Acknowledging your limitations does not excuse imperfect intentions."

~ Griz ~

"The trick to making your way in life is never thinking you deserve it.
But keep trying anyway."

~ Rip Wheeler (YellowStone) ~

I love tools. All my life I've acquired tools.
Even if I have no current or known future need for them.
It's comforting to know that if I do need it - I have it (if I can find it).

~ Griz ~

Foreign languages have never been my thing.
Even heavy accents give me fits no matter how hard I try.
But the hardest to communicate with has been women.
Trish used to say that I spoke "Precise Engineer" and she spoke "Fuzzy Artist".
After 30 years I was just getting the hang of "Fuzzy Artist" when I lost my instructor.

~ Griz ~

We normally think of success in terms of monetary gain, tittle, prestige, etc.
But aren't these just the expected rewards for doing a good job?
Success is in deeds done, not in the resulting rewards - if any.

~ Griz ~

How you attain the money, get the tittle, become boss
or achieve notoriety makes a big difference.
If you complete your goal illegally, unethically, wastefully,
at the expense of others or by raping the planet,
then you are a failure - not a success.

~ Griz ~

Science is absolute, engineering is compromise, craftsmanship is diligence,
and art is the province of the fuzzy.

~ Griz (adapted from unk. source) ~

Grief is love-affirming. Recovery from grief is life-affirming.
The greatest loves contain an unquashable affirmation of life which survives the death of any or all of the principals.

~ Trish I. Wareing ~ 5/5/11 ~

"Don't wait for the perfect moment - make the moment perfect."

~ author unknown ~

"Sharing the world has never been one of humanity's defining attributes."

~ from X-MEN UNITED ~

"Can a man change his destiny? . . . ."
"A man does what he can till his destiny is revealed."

~ The Last Samurai ~

Having the perfect partner, requires being the perfect partner.

~ author unknown ~

Project time management:
30% planning, 30% doing, 40% fixing the planning and doing that didn't work out.

~ author unknown ~

Theoretical speculations, biased interpretations and bogus evaluations
are all eliminated by experimentation.

~ author unknown ~

Think three times, measure twice, cut once, regret never, enjoy for a lifetime.

~ author unknown ~

Cooperation is the key to success at all levels;
individual, family, community, organization, international, interspecies, etc.

~ Griz ~ (adapted from unk source) ~

Cooperation is always a two-way street.

~ Griz ~

Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.

~ Andrew Carnegie ~

Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.

~ Henry Ford ~

Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.

~ Vince Lombardi ~

"Lord grant me the serenity to throw away the things that cannot be repaired,
the skill to repair the things that can, the wisdom to know the difference,
and the time to get them done."

~ author unknown ~

I initially latched onto the above quote because I'm the type that keeps broken tools, toys, equipment, etc. with the intent of either fixing them or cannibalizing them for parts, neither of which happens in most cases. But, on reflection, the prayer is applicable to so much more; designs, plans, goals, systems, processes, ideas, rules, laws, leaders, organizations, beliefs, relationships, etc.

~ Griz ~

Every situation has numerous perspectives, if you only see yours, you lose a lot.

~ author unknown ~

Sometimes you can do everything right and things still go terribly wrong. When that happens, don't look for a bailout (me, government, mankind, etc.). It may not be your fault, but neither is it mine. Just pick yourself up and keep trying.

~ Griz (adapted from unk. source ~

"The needs of the many out weight the needs of the few, or the one."

~ Spock (Stardate 8141.6 in the 23rd century) ~

When is "White Male" history hour?

There isn't one. And there should not be one. Selecting any ethnic subset of our species for special recognition, celebration or degradation is blatant racism. We already have excessive racism - we don't need more. Let's focus on a future without racism - not be obsessed with past mistakes, accomplishments or mindsets.

~ Griz ~

"Man should not do what he can, he should do what he must.
That's what makes us moral"

~ Ben Stone ~

"Don't get so hung up on where you'd rather be, that you forget to make the most of where you are"

~ Aurora (Passengers) ~

Nobility is not a birthright; it's defined by one's actions.

~ Robin of Locksley ~

Everything starts as somebody's daydream.

~ author unknown ~

"If it don't make you cry to see your family ride away,
you probably shouldn't have one."

~ Monica Dutton (YellowStone) ~

Believing does not make it happen.
But not believing will most likely make it not happen.

~ author unknown ~

The key to immortality is living a life worth remembering.

~ author unknown ~

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.”

~ Corrie Ten Boom ~

“A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.”

~ Lao Tzu ~

War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

~ Nancy M. ~

Knowleage is knowing tomato is a fruit - Wisdom is not putting it in fruit salad.

~ Nancy M. ~

The problem with focusing on the past is, when you are looking back - You can't see what's coming.

~ author unknown ~

And you can't see a different (better) future.

~ Griz ~

The problem with not looking back is,
you lose sight of the past and its lessons.
The past contains the building blocks (and pitfalls) of the future.

~ Griz ~

Happiness is a choice that you make

~ author unknown ~

The luck of the draw - Live with it - Die with it.

~ author unknown ~

In 50 years (since I was 10) I have NEVER failed to fetch a hardware item found abandoned on the street. Sometimes I have been in a hurry and haven't had time to retrieve a penny or a nickel, but there is always time to stoop for a lock washer, etc.
Is there a name for this pathology? Is it treatable? Can I find a support group?

~ Ivan ~

It's called connectorophilia. I thought that I was the index case, but since you are a little older, you must be. The degree of illness is indicated by how you have your fasteners organized in labeled bins, etc. in your shop.

~ Larry Bailey ~

Othello said he loved Desdemona because she loved him.
Sounds shallow, but embodies a lot of complexity.
Knowing that someone is committed to your happiness,
enhances your commitment to theirs.

~ author unknown ~

"The opposite of love is not hate; it's indifference."

~ Elie Wiesel ~

Inside every older person is a younger person wondering WTF happened.

~ author unknown ~

Inside every older person should be immense pride in who he is, how he transitioned from his younger form and his contributions to mankind.

~ Griz ~

"The character of a man (woman) is forged on the anvil of adversity.
The more one is hammered, the stronger and more pure the spirit.
You either meet the challenges and become *hardened*, or turn to dust.
Adversity separates the wheat from the chaff."

~ author unknown ~

"If theres something you wish to do - DO IT. At least be actively prepareing to do it. Wishing is futile without action."

~ Griz ~

"Limit your desires to things that are good for you, your community, the environment and your species."

~ Griz ~

"I do not worship the unknown.
I respect it. I think about it. I try to know it. I marvel at the seemingly infinite complexity and foreverness of the multiverse.
But I do not worship it."

~ Griz ~

Crime is not the problem. Criminals are the problem. To eliminate crime, we must eliminate the criminals.

~ Griz ~

"There are no perfect men in this world - only perfect intentions."

~ Azeem (Robin's Moorish sidekick) ~

The only path to perfection is via perfect intentions. Striving for perfection will get you closer to it. Compromised intention will always produce more and greater imperfections.

~ Griz ~

A certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect.

~ Haruki Murakami ~

"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."

~ Albert Einstein ~

When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."

~ author unknown ~

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience - laughter is the cure for grief - love is stronger than death”

~ Robert Fulghum ~

“Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life

~ Yogi Berra ~

Don't ask kids what they want to be when they grow up. Ask them what problems they want to solve. This changes the conversation from who do i want to work for, to what do i need to learn to be able to do that.

~ Jaime Casap ~

If you want others to respect your right to believe as you do, then you must respect their right to believe as they do.

~ Griz ~

As the bonfires of knowledge grow brighter, the more the darkness is revealed to our startled eyes.

~ Dennis and Terrence McKenna ~

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.

~ Plato ~

All of Physics is either impossible or trivial. it is impossible until you understand it and then it becomes trivial.

~ Emest Rutherford ~

If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run - and often in the short one - the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative.

~ Arthur C. Clarke ~

I must go down to the seas again,
To the lonely sea and the sky,
All I ask is a tall ship,
And a star to steer her by.

~ John Masefield ~

A SUPERIOR SAILER is best defined as one who uses his SUPERIOR JUDGEMENT to keep out of situations requiring the use of his SUPERIOR SKILLS.

~ author unknown ~

More to Come

~ Griz ~