A comment probably no one will see

I read on an article about government funding the author's favored ventures, to which I highly disagreed, of course.  I posted a comment to the article, but due to the fact that the author gets to decide which comments appear and don't appear, I doubt my comment will get published, so I'll put it up here for the world to read:

Of course government investment will have some successes: they have a monopoly on the resource known as tax dollars, and through sheer determination some of the boondoggles engaged in by bureaucrats will have some measure of success, but these are not what matter.  What matters is first and foremost the fact that the government has to forcibly take those tax dollars from unwilling investors in these firms.  What matters next is what those tax dollars would have been spent on instead: things people actually want from producers who have a financial stake in getting things right, which the government has no incentive, since it can always come back to you and stick its hand in your wallet for more tax dollars.  What matters thirdly is the dead weight cost of all of the failures and even the lesser successes that would never have even been tried by those gambling their own money.  The government gambles your money without fear of losing it, so it tries many more ventures that have much less chance of succeeding.  Finally, what matters still is the amount of graft and corruption in a system of publicly financed spending.  Even the legitimate successes that occurred most likely came with the additional price tag of bureaucracy and corruption.

A snippet of a conversation with Ron

whether it be pleasure, truth, goals, success, sex, wealth, or whatever?

don't you think that you've discovered at least some reality that should be shared?

whether that is passed on through genes, or sex, or knowledge

I feel like I need to pass on what I know

and love seems to be a route for that for me

to find a woman who shares what I know

and to create a reality that we share

that is a goal of mine

that is why when my heart is broken it hurts so

because I thought I found a woman who I could create our shared reality with

and she let me know I was wrong

I've seen a lot

met a lot of people

I know what it is to treat people right

and to know what the goals of life should be

I thought she was the one who lined up with my own goals

still think that, to be honest

but she denied me

so the search goes on

Where are we?

Take off your shoes.  Your socks, too.  You're barefoot?  Good.  Take a walk outside.  Walk to your front door, or back door, and open it.  Without shoes, walk outside.  Go into your front yard.  Your backyard.  Your patio.  Your backyard.  Just get outside.

You're out there now?  Good.  Look up.  What do you see?   If you're lucky, you may see a few leaves.  I love trees.  Seeing trees above me let's me know I'm in a decent place, a place of reality.  No trees?  No worries.  We all get out own blessings.

Beyond the trees (or a disappointing lack thereof) you should see our glorious sky.  Our ever present painting above reveals itself in many ways.  Of course, if it's daytime, we get a bright sky.   Sometimes it's blue, royal blue, as far as the eye can see.  An amazing blue that reminds you of the most palatable gulp of spring water you've ever been fortunate enough to gulp.  Sometimes, the unvierse paints the sky all Bob Ross style, full of the happiest, brightest clouds you've ever been fortunate enough to drink in.  They are fluffy, and handsome, and carry with them a pure happiness of just being, of jsut existing, of just being able to share their existence with the world.

Not every day is pleasant, though, and to fully appreciate life, you have to consume every day as if it were the most fulfilling moment of your being.  When the dark, grey blue clouds, full of omniscience and forboreding, swarm overhead, when they threaten rain and misery, I recommend you soak up their energy.   Accept their part in the flows of life and know, that once they've deposited their moments of moisture and depression, a life springs a new.  Water brings the rebirth, sometimes now, sometimes later.

Those are the moments of true beauty, between the brilliant flashes when melancholy turns to joy, when elation slips into depression, when happiness and sadness do a dance, and switch places, and when they make you, one again, take stock of your life.  Chock up these wins, or losses, or at the very least, moments of reality, as victories, as successes, accepting the defeats as chances to learn about yourself and life, and continue to strive to make the most of what you can in this world of limited opportunities and chances.

Grow yourself, and the bees that appreciate the true beauty of the world will swarm and feast on your nectar, and spread your pollen far and wide.

Golf Joke

Assuming you are the one keeping score, after finishing a hole where you got a 7 and your friend gets a 5, as you walk to the cart, you say "Nice 4".  If your friend says nothing, you write down a 4 for him and a 5 for you.  That is how government works.