Smiling Anyway

January 25, 2023

Anger: It takes a great deal of energy, but no effort.

We see people getting angry everywhere. From road rage to social media, to news channels, anger is everywhere.

Perhaps it’s because it takes no effort to be angry. We don’t have to think. So many others are angry, even egging us on the be angry too. It’s very easy to get angry.

Being angry takes no effort.

It does take a lot of our energy, though. It leaves us with little energy for anything else that actually requires effort.

The sad thing about anger is that it seems to provide its own jump start. We don’t need to have the energy to get angry. We can be dead tired, and still, some story manages to infuse us with the energy to start being angry all over again.

It really is like a drug.

And like a drug, anger can consume us. We need it to become energized. We seek it out.

How else can we explain the amount of time we spend watching cable “news” programs?

Cable “news” is like the crack den for anger junkies.

And like drug dealers, the networks know how to hook their users, getting them to come back for another fix.

Being happy requires effort, at first.

Like any new habit, you have to be intentional as you develop happiness.

The first step is perhaps the hardest. Stop engaging with the anger dealers. Turn off cable “news” and block peddlers of anger in social media (or just stop social media altogether.)

Next, find joy in the little things. Seek out music that makes you smile or just feel good. Talk to people who have positive energy. If the sun is out, face the sky and smile. Look for the flowers, or the art, or the laughing child. Find the things that make you smile, even just a little.

Once you start making a habit of looking, you’ll find all sorts of things that can make you smile.

Before long, you just smile more with no extra effort. You may even become the one who helps others to smile.

The habit starts with effort and soon becomes a part of you.

You have the control not to be angry. It just takes a bit of effort to start.

헤아리 맛집

August 4, 2022August 4, 2022

We’re not being tested. We’re being taught.

For years I’ve struggled with the western perspective that we are being judged or given a test by a divine being. A test where passing means heaven and failing means eternal damnation. A test for which we are (all) wholly unprepared.

Indeed, those who adhere to their religions will say that we are taught through the scripture. But, I hope these adherents understand that all of us who have not received the calling through divine inspiration are left wanting. Which scripture is “The Scripture”? Whose interpretation of “The Scripture” is correct (if, indeed, any scripture is correct)?

Imagine a math class taught by half a dozen teachers. Each has a degree in mathematics, though from a different university. And all of them give you different answers to “what is 2 + 2”?

2+2 = 6

2+2 = 25

2+2 = 99,323,233.324224225

2+2 = 33,333

2+2 = 432

2+2 = 948,499

All of these are wrong. But, that doesn’t stop some from proclaiming an answer of such ridiculous precious that only the most delusional among us would accept it.

While the correctness of a math problem is objectively provable, the desire or intent of a divine being is not (I’ll not dive into the question as to whether there is or is not a divine being.)

So, in the absence of absolute certainty in the desire of what God wants, I find it implausible that She would allow our ignorance to be so great as to render our chances of going to heaven or hell simply a matter of which religion we chose to follow, or even worse, to which we were exposed. In other words, She would not allow our entry to heaven to be a crapshoot.

The journey

The feeling that today’s western religions don’t have the answer is just one stop on a lifelong journey to understand why we are here. I wouldn’t aggrandize it to say finding the “meaning of life,” but to try to understand the great disparities in the lives I see. Why am I so privileged, and so many suffer so greatly (I don’t have a clue.)

The answer of “it’s all part of a grand plan” that is commingled with “God is a merciful and compassionate God” just rings hollow. An omnipotent being capable of absolute power and compassion simply wouldn’t allow such a random distribution of benefits.

Not that I don’t think this disparity is part of something bigger, but I don’t think it serves the purpose of a deity. I simply do not understand.

Jumping into the deep end

Sometimes, however frightening it may seem, the best way to learn is by doing, or in our case, living. If we keep our eyes and hearts open, we can see when our words or actions hurt or truly help others. We can learn if we are open to it.

But to learn, we must admit we don’t know everything and become comfortable with our ignorance. Ignorance is not a permanent state of being if you are aware and willing to learn.

Sometimes I feel like we swim in water too deep to touch the bottom. We can learn. We must learn. But as we do, it is scary.

It makes more sense that we are here in the process of learning to swim, not to swim or drown.

The Fallacy of “In the Name of”

What is fascinating is the institutional control over what it means to be a good ______(fill in your blank.) Across patriotism, fanaticism, religion, you name it, there is an organization of people telling you what it means to be a good _________, while insisting that it is a higher being whose ‘word’ they are sharing.

In the world of western religion, we find the interpreter’s role to be acutely controlling. After all, failure to accept their word as the “Word” will result in internal damnation.

Blindly following the dictates of some mortal authority in the name of a deity ensures that we remain in perpetual ignorance. So long as our actions align with their direction, all consequences can be justified, all responsibility removed.

Over millennia, we see unspeaking pain imposed on others being justified in the name of “saving soles” or the “greater good.” It is amazing how ferociously, in the name of the “Prince of Peace,” people have inflicted unimaginable violence and pain.

Today, “developed” nations continue to inflict pain in the name of a higher power. We justify discrimination, sexism, and racism, all of which impose pain on others. We justify it through a faulty interpretation of a faulty text people wrote over a thousand years ago.

Following institutions that wield authority “in the name of” is the surest way to shortcut rational considerations and to justify cruelty.

Where does this leave us?

Is your next word, or action, going to hurt someone now?

Forget everything else. Just answer the question.

Is shunning someone because they are gay going to help them or hurt them?

Is alienating a teenager, struggling with all the normal teenage angst compounded by gender identity questions going to hurt them?

Is your vision of the afterlife so certain that you can justify inflicting pain on someone who does not share your visions or who really needs help?

I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I certainly don’t know what the afterlife holds. But, I do know that, here, now, we have the power to help someone or hurt them.

We should choose help.

August 11, 2021August 11, 2021

Work for yourself, even if you’re in a big company

Google is looking to cut the pay of remote workers.

No, not hire remote workers at lower pay. But, those workers who went remote during COVID and they and their bosses realized they can do the work just as well if not better. The workers who had an agreement with Google about their pay. Yeah, they’re looking at a pay cut.

From NY to Seattle, Google is saying that since you are no longer communicating 2 hours each way, your pay should be based on the town in which you live… the one in which you’ve been living since you started working at Google.

Google places its office in expensive downtown locations. By letting employees work remotely, they can cut office space and save money. However, they are maximizing profits by minimizing costs for employees as well, if they can.

Employees are just assets

Once again we are reminded that employee loyalty to a company is unwarranted, particularly in large companies.

We get sucked into the “my boss is a great person” trap, attributing the attitude of the boss to the company.

Large companies, public companies particularly, are designed to do one thing, make as big a profit as possible. They will quickly and easily let employees go, cut their hours, reduce the benefits, and cut the pay of the can.

This is not a slight on big companies, but an acknowledgment of their reality. It is what they are.

Google can reduce costs by reducing workspace in high-rent markets if they allow employees with long commutes to work at home without a penalty. But, they’ve come up with this BS notion that they will cut pay based on where the employee lives.

The value of the work to the company hasn’t changed. The value of the employee to the company may actually improve. But, the business decision is to seek to reduce costs. That is great for Google and its shareholders. Not so much for employees.

Lesson: Do what you have to do for your good and the good of your family. Google, any large company, will be fine if you have to make changes. The days of the “lifer” are long past.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58171716

January 16, 2021January 16, 2021

Sea lions are suffing giant waves

This is awesome! These sea lions are having a blast surfing the giant wave. Taken off the coast on Santa Barbara Island, California, this is crazy cool footage.

This is part of the Pacific Offshore Expeditions. Watch as these sea lions take the waves, jump out, and dive back in. It’s a rare catch to get this on video.

July 31, 2020July 31, 2020

The Past Month Should Not Have Been Eye-Opening

This is a repost of what I wrote for SMARTMD in June 2020.

What we’ve seen, we’ve been seeing for centuries. With technology evolving over the past decade, we’ve seen it with devastating clarity, but the story is the same.

A person is killed because of the color of their skin. They are targeted because they are black. They are treated harshly because they are black. And, ultimately, they are killed because they are black.

We say “Black Lives Matter”, and we think “of course Black Lives Matter.” But, it’s not that simple.

The foundation of our county was laid and nurtured for centuries at a time when Black Lives were not a consideration aside from their value as chattel. If this makes you uncomfortable, good. It should. It’s your humanity showing.

The issues of race in our country are deep and difficult. With many not even being aware, we have operated within a racist system. One where individuals of good conscience unwittingly perpetuate racist constructs. Think about things like standardized testing, financial redlining, policing techniques, or school financing to name a few. These things can’t be changed overnight. But, they must be changed.

The question many ask: “What can I do?”

The first thing we need to do is get comfortable being uncomfortable. The conversations we need to have are not easy. The realities we need to face can be gut-wrenching. For decades, people have avoided dealing with the issue of race because it is difficult. But, if we care as much as we profess, then the clarity of the story brought to our conscience by modern technology means we can no longer justify our inaction with falsely comforting thoughts like “it’s not that bad,” “it doesn’t happen that often,” or whatever other narratives we’ve clung to. It is that bad. It does happen often. It does happen in my town.

The next step, keep (or start) talking. Getting to know people and their experiences is an important step. Empathy is a powerful motivator. But, you have to be exposed to the realities of others. Conversations are the gateway to understanding and empathy.

By engaging people regularly, each conversation becomes less difficult. Not because the topics get easier, or we become numb. It gets easier because we get to know people better, more deeply, and our motivation, our empathy gets stronger.

These hard conversations, the ones that make you uncomfortable, also make you stronger. They make your connections stronger. They give you the strength and motivation to do what’s next.

When you see something, say something. Inertia is tricky. Little things can lead to big things and this goes in both directions.

Letting things go, whether off-handed comments or plainly racist comments, gives tacit permission to the speaker to continue to speak (and think) in racist terms. It gives others who hear permission as well. It gives other listeners (and yourself) permission to accept the unacceptable.

Addressing things as they happen drives the wave in the other direction. Perhaps the speaker will check not only their words but their thoughts going forward. For those who hear and say nothing out of discomfort or fear, they will see that they are not alone. They will see that we can challenge the thoughtless or outright racist comments.

In numbers, there is comfort and courage. But, someone has to initiate the wave.

Do Something.

This often trips people up. We get tied up because we don’t think there is much we can do. We think the problem is so big, no actions we take will affect anything.

The problem is big. It is ingrained. It is going to require us to overcome inertia to make things happen. So, don’t start trying to move the whole mountain. Use what you have, and start there.

The Vote

We all have the power of the vote. Use it. Be aware of candidates’ positions on policies and institutions and vote for those who align with your beliefs. Policymakers have to be on notice that racial injustice is not an issue that you will let get brushed under the rug.

Once you’ve voted, follow policies locally, state-wide, and nationally. Write letters, send emails, and make calls to encourage representatives to follow up on promises made. Don’t stop with the vote. Hold them to task.

The Workplace

There is no single answer to the workplace.

Some organizations do really well in promoting diversity. If you are fortunate to be employed in such a place, be vocal about it. Share your experience to encourage other companies to follow suit. Spreading the word about your company will show support for the policies and be an example for others.

If your company is lacking, bring up the topic. It doesn’t have to be contentious. Racial diversity, opportunity, and proactive policies are good for companies. Broach the topic with management or human resources. Have specific items that can be addressed, and be prepared to participate in creating the solutions. Don’t just complain, help with positive actions.

Social movements

There are organizations in almost every community that you can join to help publicly promote policies, address social issues, or help disadvantaged groups. The extent of your activity will be based on the organization’s mission and your role. Look for those whose focus aligns with your passion.

Want more ideas? Here are some real-world examples from around the country…

From every level, people are taking action. From pointing out issues to creating programs to directing investments, we are seeing actions all around. These aren’t all monumental steps. But, they are all important steps.

Point out areas that need to be addressed

harvard medschool protest

Medical Students Highlight lack of diversity and mistreatment.

LaShyra Nolen, a first-year student at Harvard Medical School, works to bring mistreatment to the forefront of the administration’s priorities.

2. Create programs for the disadvantaged

Leading the way to bring healthcare, and health education to Houston’s poor communities, Ashley Howard works to end the health outcome disparities in minority communities.

Read…

Standardized testing has a bias against poor & minority communities, making entry into the healthcare profession difficult. Monash University has developed a program to address this by relying more on interviews and personal traits to determine entrance to the program.

3. Directing investments & marketing

We see some civic and company leaders taking a stand. Some are driven by their conscience. Others, by the market (why #1, pointing out issues, is so important). Here are some examples of money talking and leaders directing.

Major companies that have long supported racist brands are finally coming to terms with overdue change. And so is the public that has long accepted them. Though too long in the making, the tide is turning and companies not willing to face the uncomfortable truth will find themselves on the wrong side of history.

Access to capital is a challenge for any business. But, Black-owned businesses have an exceptionally hard time getting loans, and the loans are at a higher interest rate than their white male-owned business counterparts. Civic leaders and local business communities are taking steps to rectify this issue.

4. Being a thought leader/voice

There are people who have only their voices, but they are powerful voices. You don’t have to be a celebrity or national figure. Local voices initiate change that can become national. Little things lead to big things.

Dan Dunlop speaks up on the health outcomes disparity that is based on race and calls on us to change. His white paper is an example of the growing chorus calling for change.

Marcus Whitney, a Nashville based healthcare entrepreneur, calls on other healthcare leaders to lift up Blacks among the ranks of senior executives and investors. As a leading Black investor, his voice is sought out and heard.

Final thoughts

Racism has lived long in our country. It has done so because too many people have been too afraid to speak out, to have conversations, and to speak their hearts. We can be better than we are. We can be what our hearts and souls know we should be.

Perhaps the past month has been eye-opening in some way. We have seen more courage from quarters that would have been silent just a decade ago. We have seen a force that challenges the inertia of systemic racism in new, and profound ways.

Our streets are filled with people of color and white people in the same group, not on opposing sides. Though not enough, we did see areas where law enforcement put down the shields and weapons and joined demonstrators in the streets. We are seeing companies take a stand with the people. We are having large, public conversations, and small intimate conversations about race and our responsibilities in correcting the wrongs.

The tide of racism is still on the move. But, many have joined the opposing movement. Though small at the moment, we have glimpsed it’s power to make change. We have seen that we can stand against the racism ingrained in our systems, and even instilled in our own thoughts.

As we continue the conversations, the small steps, and perhaps even some big steps, we will see the number of people joining the movement against racism grow. It will lend courage for others to follow. Solutions will not come swiftly, but they will come.

October 31, 2019

Paths that come together

Your happiness depends on no other; the responsibility is yours alone.

But recognize when your path to happiness joins the path of another, that is when the magic happens.

The highs are much higher and the lows are much softer.

Where these paths join together is where love happens.

June 11, 2019June 11, 2019

AMA Argues Against A Single Payer System

Medicare For All is a hot topic. To be clear, this is not a health care provider debate. It’s how health care is paid for, a single-payer system. These are two different (though related) things.

The AMA is against Medicare For All. The primary reasons for their opposition as they stated are:

Lack of choice for patients

Higher costs (taxes)

Choice.

The vast majority of us do not have choice in the current system. Our insurance companies dictate to us who we can see, what they can do, and how much we pay. In many places, we do not even have a choice of insurance companies. For our family, the only company in our area is BC/BS. That’s it.

We don’t really have a choice of services. When my doctor said I needed a brain MRI and a neurologist, I had to wait for a week before the insurance company to evaluate and give permission, then I could schedule the MRI. Think about that. Even our doctors’ choice in the course of diagnosis and treatment is subordinate to an insurance company’s dictates.

Cost

Taxes will go up. They’d go up as a replacement for our premiums. For our family, our premiums have just about doubled over 3 years, and we cover one less person. The argument against Medicare for All based on the idea that a single-payer system will cause an increase in costs assumes that costs have been steady with insurance companies. For most people, they haven’t. And for many that have, stable costs are the result of their company increasing the support, not stable prices.

In addition to skyrocketing premiums and higher deductibles, surprise medical bills are appearing all over the place. Some small, some huge.

Costs have been going up for decades. Since the ACA, insurance companies have had a stranglehold on our medical payment (and decision) process

If the AMA doesn’t want a single payer system, that’s fine. Their organization, their policy. But to argue that we’d “give up choice” when we don’t have any choice, or that costs will increase when they’ve been increasing dramatically under the current system rings hollow.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-american-medical-association-medicare-for-all-20190610-story.html

April 11, 2019April 11, 2019

Brexit – the empty bucket

Brexit

A bunch of guys (politicians looking for an edge) got together and decided to convince the British populous that all their problems could be blamed on someone else… the “them.” And, if they simply pushed “them” out of their lives, everything would be great.

But, along the way, they forgot to mention all the things the “them” were doing for the populous.

And, another but, they didn’t actually have a plan to replace the “them” once they were kicked out.

The populous, moved forward by stump speeches, catchy slogans, and empty promises of a universally better life, agreed. They told the “them” to go screw off.

What did the bunch of guys do?

They sh!t their collective pants. “We won? The populous bought this crap? What do we do now?”

What they did was quit. Figuratively and literally, they, to a last, just quit.

Theresa May was left holding the bucket of emptiness trying to fill it with stuff that just doesn’t exist.

There are no simple answers to happiness or a better life. Most certainly the answer is not “them”.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/11/brexit-delayed-but-theresa-mays-leadership-is-out-of-time.html

April 5, 2019April 5, 2019

Pork industry safety to be more self-regulated

The current administration is shifting the responsibility in the pork industry for food safety from the regulators to the companies.

The Obama administration made a similar move with poultry.

There is an interesting difference between the American perspective and the European perspective.

In the US, policies tend to be a “wait and see” if the industry will do “it”, whatever “it” is (be safe in this case).

In Europe, policies assume companies won’t “do it,” and enforce more regulations, or take action.

In Europe, before drugs or new foods are approved, they have to be proven safe. This is a burden on the companies.

In the US, drugs or new foods are more likely to be approved with lower/no safety standard and then pulled once proven to be dangerous. In other words, people have to get sick or die before the burden shifts to the company.

As a general mindset, the recent events with the Boeing 737 Max are a good example. The rest of the World grounded the plane immediately (nearly) until it could be proven safe (still hasn’t). The US waited as long as it could, until pressure was too much, to ground the plane.

As a priority, the US wanted to lessen the burden on the company where Europe wanted to protect the people.

In the US, we assume:
1) That companies have the same rights as people
2) That companies operate with a conscience and they won’t hurt people (perhaps because they are run by people?)
3) That business growth is the most important thing

With this as a premise, it is easier to accept a loose regulatory environment.

Unfortunately, history shows that companies are willing to literally kill people to expand profit. From the dawn of the industrial age to today, this holds true.

– Slaughterhouses in Chicago ca 1900
– Railroads importing and abusing immigrants 1850-1900
– Mills in the Northeast and East.
– Mines throughout the Southeast, even today
– Superfund sites across the country (residential areas too polluted and now abandoned). 1950-1970s
– Koch bothers pipelines blowing up and killing people
– Firestone 1996-2001, hiding defective tire issue (270 dead)
– Enron shutting down access to electricity in CA to drive up prices.
– Mortgage companies knowingly writing fraudulent loans and literally initiating a worldwide economic meltdown.
– Epipen hiking the price of life-saving drug 5x with no cost-basis, just profit.
– Pharma increases the price of insulin for greater profit.
– Boeing wanting to keep planes in the air despite knowing there was a lethal problem, even after a crash and many reports of problems.

These are just a few that I am aware of. Some were cases of people deliberately planning or covering up. Others were done in the name of profit over people.

Perhaps the pork & poultry industries will do a fine job self-regulating the quality and balancing profits w/ safety. Unfortunately, we won’t know until people get sick or die. Our own history shows us that we’re likely heading for trouble.

March 27, 2019March 27, 2019

Europe passes online copyright rules, benefiting large publishers (they think)

Venture Beat published this article about the liability of linking to publisher content (or anyone’s really).

Two issues with the law

According to the new EU rules, which must be adopted by EU countries by 2021, sites must pay publishers to publish excerpts of their content.

Okay… not sure how much constitutes an excerpt. But, I get the notion. These are their words, creative property. If you can’t come up with your own words, then you shouldn’t take someone else’s (? even if you attribute it?).

But, here is the real kicker…

No Linking Without Payment

They have to pay them to even LINK TO THE CONTENT.

Under the copyright rules, as explained in the article, this very post that you are reading violates the new EU rules even if I don’t have images and the article title included, the very hyperlink above makes it a violation.

If this same content appears on Facebook, I am not to be held liable. Facebook (or any other platform) holds the liability.

Neutering the Internet

Google’s search platform is rendered as one huge copyright violation, as are virtually every social media platform or other search engines.

This law is akin to removing all the highways from the continent, disabling GPS, illegalizing printed maps, and then telling people to find their way to… anywhere.

Left as is, this law essentially means you will only find content that you already know exists and where it is. It kills the sharing of ideas in any broad sense.

The Beneficiaries

One of the proponents says this says the rules modernize the internet. I am not sure how that conclusion fits. This ruling effectively negates the very core function of the internet and does so in the name of large publishers who simply could not keep up with the changing times.

I also wonder how shortsighted this is. Do the proponents/publishers believe Google or Bing users will simply come directly to their sites to find content? If they dismiss the traffic driven by social media and search platforms as trivial, then why is the rule even necessary?

If this rule is not overturned, the biggest proponents will likely be the biggest sufferers in the short term.