Stormbringer's Thunder

Buon giorno. In my last post, I was emphatic that if someone is going to be a Minimalist, that they should do it at their own pace and in their own way. There is no creed or code other than the consensus that you cut back on non-essentials as much as possible so that you have time and money for things that you think are important. I want to expand on the part where I said that Minimalists can make themselves miserable by viewing every move they make through a filter of, "Does this fit with the Minimalist lifestyle?" "Yeah, the buttons on your shirt say you've been expanding again!" Clam up, Nicky. You do want that bonus, don't you? Anyway. If you go around testing and judging yourself, filtering your every action through whether or not it fits your chosen philosophy, you'll make yourself miserable. This is mainly because there is no creed or code. That thought should be liberating, so do not make it into a prison! Here are some ways that I can ima...

One of the things that I like about writing Weblogs is that I can do whatever I want. Part of that comes from pondering things, keeping my eyes and ears open, pondering some more and then being able to write them out. That is why I have done several articles on Minimalist philosophies. Defining "What is the definition of Minimalist, Uncle Bob?" Actually, the term really applies to a minor form of art, and also to a kind of music. People also decided that it was a good term for a philosophy of having fewer possessions. It goes beyond simplifying to get rid of needless clutter, and getting to having and doing the fewest things in order to survive. This sets one free because there are relatively few possessions to cling to so that time and energy can be spent doing things you love, and to focus on people and relationships instead of the pursuit of more stuff. A good definition can be found here . Addendum: An excellent resource is here . Even the basic definition of "...

I have been waiting to write this article because I did not want to upset people. Enough time has passed, I believe, so that I can write it now. The place where Neil works has an Industrial Revolution mindset ("More work! Work harder!") towards its employees, as I have told you before . He told me about one of his co-workers, a manager in a different department than his, that passed away near Christmas. Although he was not close to her, he felt sadness and compassion for the other people who knew and loved her. One of these people told him that she was re-evaluating her approach to her job because of her friend's death. Although it appeared to be strictly a medical difficulty, this woman worked very hard and put in long hours. So does Neil's friend. His friend is thinking that maybe her work habits shortened her life, and she does not want that to happen to herself. It appears that nobody knows if this woman worked herself into poor health, but it is certainly poss...

This one's for the male readers. I've been in some discussions about "nice guys". Some people don't get it, so I'm going to explain as concisely as possible. The way I have it figured, being a nice guy depends on your motivation . Being kindhearted, helpful, considerate and so forth are all admirable qualities and should be cultivated in everyone. And then there's the guy who is being "nice" because he thinks it will get him laid.  I'm going to talk in generalities, because there are always exceptions. The "nice guy" thing that bothers me is Nice Guy Syndrome. (No, not all psychologists accept this, but I believe it anyway.) These fellows often have self-esteem problems and are out of touch with their own masculinity. They do not know what they want, or do not care. What matters most is pleasing others, especially the women. Essentially, they feel that if they are nice and act like Helpy Helperton all the time, women will be attr...

Buona sera. Yours truly is a little bit steamed today. I have heard and written about things that go on where my friend Neil works. He told me some things, and I feel the need to rant. Maybe a manager with some sense will take the advice that I offer and make his or her company a better place. Some teams don't have to fake it with a forced smile. You take care of them, they take care of you, show mutual respect, everyone does what needs to be done and is happy. There are several things wrong with the organization where Neil works: Untrained managers. People will be hired to boss a department that have no knowledge of the job; workers know the job inside out and managers have the skill level needed to be a Wal-Mart greeter. Too many managers. There are managers, CEOs, COOs, Corporate Officers, Team Leads, Managers, Supervisors — plenty of management, but most of them are not leaders. Capice? Managers are off-site. This company is very large, but does not pay to hire manage...

"It takes an awful lot of people, working together at an awful lot of jobs, to keep a civilization running. Smash the installations and kill the top technicians and scientists, and the masses don't know how to rebuild and go back to stone hatchets. Kill off enough of the masses and even if the planet and the know-how is left, there's nobody to do the work. I've seen planets that decivilized both ways." from The Space Viking, by H. Beam Piper Interesting how this comes along while I'm looking at material on simplifying and on minimalism. In this far future story, the survivors of a planet's war devolved into barbarism. This came about because nobody was able to take care of what was needed to keep the technology going. In times of power loss, we realize how dependent we are on technology that is driven by electricity. Once the power is restored, we can watch television, make telephone calls and go online. Some people are only slightly inconvenienced from t...

Buona sera . As you know, I've been examining minimalism. It turns out that there are several sites devoted to discussing the subject. Some writers have made statements that made me uncomfortable. I began to wonder, "Am I getting into something that looks good on the surface, but is a plank in a platform that I cannot sanction?" Not really. The philosophy of minimalism is disparate . One writer seemed to advocate something resembling communism, where everyone shares what they have, and nobody owns anything. Ummmm....yeah.Who regulates? Well, there is no overseer. Oh, I get it: anarchy. That may be your goal, Poindexter, but you're probably alone in that (people are selfish at heart, you see). Another advocates "social change through minimalism". That won't happen, Cupcake. You need some kind of uniform code and many like-minded people. A third writer on minimalism is a Christian. He finds that the philosophy fits in with Christian values. I have sta...