The wind sucked but it was fun, I need more practice. Judah schooled us on one hill, Sean schooled us on another, I got schooled two times over 
I was made to think about how I think. I thought about some of the things I have read, stared at the obvious, and its always those things on the outside that interest me. It happens sometimes when I am talking to someone, or reading, it happens most when I am listening to the words coming out of my own head. I may not be interested in what is said or written as I am interested in the inspiration gained from the words. The spark that gives the kick which puts life into motion.
Once that is done it too becomes the obvious and may then be reinvented into something else. Its how the web of thought is made. Maybe you think the same way, but probably I am just thinking too much. I see it as my undoing. Ominous? I rather be overtaken by dance than paralysis, by joy than sadness, by love than hate, by thought than emptiness. The latter is the opposite that balances my life.
I want to do more riding this year and so far buddy Sean and I are off to a good start. We were able to jam out after work and do a little riding, I took a few pictures this time.
I bought another Plato book to replace the one I lost, this one was half the cost and way better.
Introduction
This introduction was a lot more informative than the other book. Filled with facts about Plato and others, it was worth the time it took to read.
Apology
This dialog takes place in an Athens court room at the hearing of Socrates. Its the only one I have read so far that has a reference to Plato, he is in the court room observing the proceedings. Socrates tells his story/defense, it involves speaking to the gods through an oracle, Pythian Prophetess, of Delphi. They say he is the wisest man. He didn’t think it was true, and began a quest to find a man who is wiser so that he may logically refute what was said. In the process he makes enemies with politicians, poets, and artisans. He calls out those who claim to be wise and are not. He sees this to be the reason he has ended up in court. He then proceeds to say that wisdom is knowing that your wisdom is worthless and only god is wise. I am disappointed in the words, maybe I am not reading them the way I should, but its the message I see. (more…)
I received this book from a friend. In short it is about a young man, Christopher McCandless, who wants to live his life traveling but in the end his travels take him to an early demise. Unless maybe you believe in fate, then he died just when he was supposed too.
The book offered a view as to why different people may do some of the things McCandless did. Particularly interesting was the authors own account of climbing the Devil’s Thumb, a peak east of Petersberg Alaska. He does this climb alone and writes about how going solo brings higher highs and lower lows. Its easy to realate too, when in the company of others many things end up muffled.
At one point in the book McCandless encourages a friend to leave his sedentary life and live on the road. I began to think about how many people in this world I will never meet. Based on a few facts (income, residence, etc.) you could create a pretty good idea of who those people are and the places you may never go, how predictably sad. I need a shirt that I could wear on travel, something that says “Odds of Seeing Me Today: 1 in a Million” 
my way of making everyone else feel special. Of course I see myself every day. I need to sell the shirts so I can feel the good vibes.
I have never taken a class in Philosophy, nor read a book about the subject. I have my own ideas on how to live life and when it ends, but mashing those together with ideas from 2,500 years ago seems as though it would entertaining.
The book is not what I expected. I thought it would be like a text book, stating believed fact one after the other. Plato’s writings are in a format similar to a play, in that you read dialog between actors, and each dialog is short like an act.
Introduction
The book starts off with the editors introduction, which I found boring and as soon as the author suggest to stop reading the introduction and begin reading the dialogs I do so.
Protagoras
I begin with the first dialog which is named after one of the principal ‘actors’, Protagoras. It begins slow but then Socrates gets a groove on and weaves a logical net of relationships between virtues, emotions, and similar concepts. My head starts thinking about how it would be cool to map/model this into software for the purpose of viewing these relations and poking at them in a simulated environment. I will have to do that at a later time though. (more…)
People are left to make what they will with the pains put upon them.
Pain is rather interesting to think about, because its not always bad and its opposite, pleasure, is not always good. Maybe they are not opposites but more like vectors representing the same stimulus in different directions, where the direction is influenced by your mind. For example a pleasure can wear out its welcome, become annoying, and then suddenly your mind has turned a pleasure into a pain. So if its all in your head why wouldn’t you turn every pain into a pleasure?
Makes me wonder about what drives people, is it to embrace pleasure or to avoid pain? Why do you act the way you do? Am I writing this for the pleasure of exploring thought or am I filling time to evade a pain? I can say both enter my mind so I must be influenced by them both as well.
A friend of mine told me about her run over the weekend, it was great for her but it was great for me too! Who can’t help but be excited when the people around you are feeling good for all the right reasons. That could be a whole other post unto itself.
I bought some running shoes a couple of months ago and used them once. I think they maybe the first white shoes I have owned in my life, the color makes my 10 1/2 sized shoe (shameless gift idea) seems so big and move so fast. My first run went as expected, half walking, half running, lots of heavy breathing. Since then I have been wanting to go again and time myself to get a reading on what I can run a mile in. I ended up with time to myself tonight, so on went my shoes and to the track I drove, a half mile away from my house (haha). I stretched, started my stopwatch, took off running, and 7 minutes 32 seconds later I completed a mile!
It felt Great! 
Thanks!
Yesterday I asked a question and received an answer.
The inside me hurt.
The outside me played along.
Can it be a lie if everyone believes?
Today I asked a question and received an answer.
The inside me saw hope in reason.
The outside me smiled.
If no one sees anything wrong, then how can anyone say its wrong.
Now I ask a question of myself
The inside me wrestles with itself, tears at itself, feeds on itself.
The outside me comes out of a stare with that realization.
I’m self fed.
I watched the movie 300 tonight. I thought the first half of the movie was sexy, casual flesh everywhere, the King and Queen getting down to business, and the out of control red haired oracle, I felt a little weak. The second half was action packed, I figured after the first wave of slaughtered Persians the King still had over 200 muscles he had not flexed yet, Leonidas was pretty much set for @ least a few more waves of Persians. Overall it was good, and I say that because I enjoyed myself while watching it, but if I didn’t have anyone to make the occasional comment too I don’t think it would have been so much so.
When leaving the theater I took a different road, which then had a detour, that I ignored and went another way. My way of injecting something random in my life. Any more its not even a thought, I just start doing the things I wouldn’t normally do. If something different happens maybe I’ll see something new, or as with the music, find something old. I began to think about how this road would get me home, maybe not as fast as another road but eventually I would get there. What about being Pope? Maybe my life isn’t on the most direct path to that either, but I am white and probably will be old one day, so I’ve a got shot.
When the absurd falls short of being humorous what does it become?
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