An unfortunate aspect of school is being forced to learn things for less than compelling reasons. Since the reasons aren’t hugely inspiring, and since being “forced” to do just about anything stirs rebellious urges, it’s easy to dismiss the thing itself as unimportant. Maybe good to know for a stellar grade, but little else. This is an understandable conclusion. It’s also sometimes terribly incorrect, like in the case of vocabulary. You seem to already understand this. Congratulations! So absorb this book not for better grades, not for a tilting of college admission probabilities, not even so you can seem (and be) intelligent, but because language mastery is foundational to understanding and communicating. Possession of these intertwining skills provides a rightful confidence boost to connect with anyone, anywhere. And human connection, I dare say, is the apotheosis of compelling reasons.
to what you most enjoy blaming people for: it’s probably an area where you enjoy giving yourself credit. For if something is not blameworthy, doing its opposite is not creditworthy.
less an indication of lacking skills than it is the simple indication that you care about whatever is to follow.
known as an employee who takes notes, you probably are filling time trying to do something valuable, you probably aren’t, and you probably should be fired/your job shouldn’t exist.
to always let another car in. Even if you are late. Even if you are tired.
There are places to get mad at others. This is not one of those places. By being selfish you save yourself, what, 10 seconds all while capitulating to unreasonable anger. Instead, show reasonable mental equanimity and train yourself to care about what actually matters.
All men are terrible.
All women are manipulative.
There are no good guys out there.
Women don’t know what they want.
Etc.
It’s easier to be angry than sad.
- T produced by Leydig cells in the testes
- T decline = hypogonadism. Causes:
- Leydig cells impaired or
- Control glands in the brain are not informing Leydig cells to produce enough T
- For #1:
- LH & FSH: hormones that exert influence over sex glands
- When these levels are high, the pituitary is correctly trying to get T up, but it’s not happening, hence leydig failure. You would see low T and high FSH/LH in this situation
- For #2:
- T is low AND LH/FSH are low. The message to produce more T isn’t being sent. (CG is something to do in this scenario)
- Aromatase converts T to estrogen and goes up w/ age. Too much estrogen can reduce production of T
- Free T is 2-3% of total T
- Estrogen high = SHBG high
- T high = SHBG low
- SHBG binds to T and limits free T
- Can run into issues where injections spike T, but a disproportionate share is converted to estrogen, so the T to E ratio actually worsens even though total T is high
- Patches/pellets may be superior because they don’t cause spikes
- Rust on rocker panels
- Did they already start the car before you showed up? A bit suspicious
- Check the date on the tires. Four digits. Week and year of manufacture
- Use penny for Lincoln head tire test
- Oil leaks under car
- And then open car and see if there is oil splattered around the engine
- Are all the panels the same color? If not, maybe an accident.
- Check oil: not burnt or low
- Check transmission fluid (yellow pull): not burnt or low
- Low brake oil may mean the brakes are worn (but they could just top it off)
- Antifreeze: should be green or pink NOT oily
- Stitching coming off on soft top?
- Check trunk rust underneath cover panel
- Check windows
- Check stereo
- Check ac/heat
How did you arrive at this number?
It sounds like there’s no movement?
You’ve been very generous. It sounds like there’s nothing more you can do.
- Find out what you can do w/ assessed value for taxes. Is assessed value less than purchase price? If so, can you just fill $0 in for purchase price and pay the assessed value?
- Be careful with license plates. Probably won’t forget this lesson. It’s fine to leave them on, but make sure you 100% know what is required to transfer plates.
and be most frustrated when something that’s obvious to us is not obvious to another.
This is how we will spend disproportionate time on certain matters compared to their real-world effects. Someone will notice this disconnect and decry “too much focus” on something “not that important.” This someone won’t be technically wrong, but he also misses that everyone tends to agree on the most important things – like, you don’t have to convince someone the nuclear proliferation is dangerous – and so urgent rhetorical battles involve pushing for consensus in the still consequential areas where disagreement amazingly occurs. Though dropping the “consequential” moniker probably wouldn’t change much since the urge to stamp out absurdity (i.e., the person who misses the obvious) is so strong that even otherwise taciturn individuals can’t themselves.
At a moment when idiotic ideas about masculinity pass as wise, when pathologizing half the population is cheered, I see no good reason why I can’t offer my own definition into such a soft market. So here we go: to be a real man, you must be in touch with the part of yourself that connects with Metallica. Does this mean that dear xxxxxxxxx may not be a man? Indeed it does. Which is why I’m trying to prevent the same mistake from occurring in young xxxxxxxxx. I know his birthday isn’t until July, but we can’t wait that long, especially since he’s already showing some warning signs with his affection for pretty-boy-not-a-real-man Roger Federer.
P.S. One reason parents may fail to support the masculinity I’ve espoused here is a laziness to read Metallica’s lyrics. They see skeletons and songs about death and figure it’s best to shelter kids from “brain rotting” content. But no, the song featured on xxxxxxxxx’s shirt – “Ride the Lightning”- is a treatise against the death penalty.
P.P.S. If you think this whole idea is dumb (it is), no worries. Someone gave me this too small shirt (because she knows I’m a real man but forgot how tall I am), and I needed to find a more suitable home. xxxxxxxxx was my first thought. I get that you can’t force a kid to do anything. I get that what seems cool to an adult is often not cool to a kid.
P.P.P.S. As jokey as all this is, I’m dead serious that if a day comes when I don’t feel something after listening to only the first two tracks of “Master of Puppets,” life is no longer worth living.