Month: October 2021

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S3 E1 — Preview Day One in Season Three of the New Abnormality

Who knew that near the end of my natural experiment normality would vanish from our lives?  Which got me to wondering how would my fortune play out during abnormal times? And, now into another year beyond pandemic times.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “If there’s one thing you don’t need today, it’s advice. For starters, your intuition is on fire. And furthermore, you’re going to do this thing in a way that’s so unique, no one else has thought of it yet.” Scorpio

Evidence

Hi and welcome to Friday’s first Episode in Season 3 of  “TauBits for the Taking” on this 26th day of February in the winter of 2021 — which is a three-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic year and then in the pandemic year, and now months after.

Three things are ending.  Winter dissolves into spring, February no longer shows up on my calendar after this weekend and a full year has passed since I completed my first 1-year natural experiment.

Now what?

Yes, I fess up to being obsessive to the point of diminishing returns.  Which may not be the only reason I’ve kept this natural experiment going.

While curating local, insider stories about California’s Central Coast, this headline caught my attention this morning at 5:30 am — “One Year from Zero:  COVID-19 in Santa Cruz County by the Numbers.”

And, not knowing how long  this forced work from home restriction would remain in force, I let her roll.  So staying on the safe side while being safe I let the natural experiment continue for another,  second year for comparison purposes, and then another (I hope not that long).

And, maybe I acquired a Holiday addiction. Let’s see what’s coming my way.

This from the Holiday introduction:

Sometimes the theme of the day emerges as we make our way through the hours. Events occur that can be characterized by loose association and upon reflection will fall or be jostled into a more or less fitting category.

Today’s theme is so elusive and vague, which was why scientific critics would argue against opening yourself up to mystical thinking in the first place, but I sense it is at work today.

But, then this happened at 6 pm.

Something interrupted CarPlay as I navigated my CRV down El Toro Road salivating at just the very thought of a Number Two combo plate with a shredded beef taco and chile relleno at Recardo’s.  

Sam Harris’ podcast cut out in the middle of his guest’s response — gently correcting Sam about his take on left- and right-brained research and subjective consciousness and how is it that there may be several types of consciousness functioning at the same time, so that as you leave your logical mind your visual mind flows interrupted — meaning its there all the time even if you don’t realize it.

Then my left brain told me to stop trying to reboot it while driving, But I didn’t listen. 

My car beeped before I drifted into the slower lane while my stupid self focused on the problem at hand, or actually out of hand where my iPhone lost its connection deep in my console.

Rodrigos parking lot was crowded, unlike all these months during the pandemic.  Wow, that’s weird I thought.

“Pick up for Steve,” I announced.  

A guy behind me says, “Sure is a lot of Steves here tonight.” 

 I turned to look while a couple followed a hostess into the socially distant dining area.  I called out, “Yeah great name isn’t it.  

How’s your Tau?”

Being an idea-packaging INTP where “N” represents intuition and not “I” (reserved for introversion) Zahn’s Holiday Tau maxes out the scales for me.

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “If there’s one thing you don’t need today, it’s advice. For starters, your intuition is on fire. And furthermore, you’re going to do this thing in a way that’s so unique, no one else has thought of it yet.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Not only do I sometimes, oh okay, frequently want to change my sign, but I want to steal your birthday’s TauBit too. Take today’s … I did. Bonus money and talent shifts …

Spiritual development elevates your experience. Whether pleasures are many or few, goals are met or not, relationships grind or sail blissfully, your joy, grace, gratitude and compassion flow strong through it all. Professional shifts align brilliantly with your talents. Bonus money allows for fun improvements.

I’ll have to check the rules.  Their Holiday Tau for today really describes my superstitious behavior before stepping into the spotlight over the past 10 years.  So, since I’m running this knowledge laboratory, I’m rating it a “5” for shining and sustaining my talents brilliantly.

“5”  Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “You’ll be bright in two moments: the practice moment that happens in the safety of an empty room and the moment of inhale that pauses the action just long enough for you to insert yourself between opportunity and a grand potential.” Leo

You already know I’m a big fan of Coach Kerr and get a kick out of his TauBits.  I want to believe today’s because I realize I need to follow a way of prioritizing so much on my writing plate.

“5” Steve Kerr, 54: “Your sense of focus is on point and you’ve never been so serious about advancing your interests and the interests of those you answer to. Narrow down your task list so the big important things get the best of you.” Libra

This is weird.  Aoki’s Holiday Tau reminds me that Steve Jobs has been MIA for at least 7 days now.  Shouldn’t this be a Jobs’ TauBit? Maybe Aoki is channeling him today to make up for it?

“5”  Steve Aoki, 41: “There is no such thing as failure. If you’re putting things out into the world, trying things, working through fear and limitation, risking your pride, then you’re winning no matter what the outcome.” Sagittarius

What’s Going On?

Shifting Opportunities

Smart Moves 

Long-Form

    • “Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History” by Kurt Andersen Both of us, Emma the Baroness and I, have been processing the acquittal of our ex-President — not really being surprised by the “Big Lie” promoting followers in the Senate, but more disappointed after seeing new video documentation of the insurrection and detailed evidence time lines.  I return to Kurt Andersen’s book “Fantasyland” to help me through the process of filtering the unfolding events.

Progress and Procrastination

    • Procrastination — Lost a full day replacing my 2000 Toyota 4-Runner with a leased Honda CR-V

Working on the Business

    • Today 1,277 Flipboard users follow one or more of my 35 digital magazines.

Inspired by Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

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Related:  S1 E1 – Day One of My 1-Year Experiment

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S1 E96 — Old Rabbits Die Hard

Just like breakthrough ideas that come to you in the shower (take more showers Paradoxy-Morons say) the monotonous hard work of prepping for sod allows your mind to wonder to where it needs to go.

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “This is the ideal day to strategize how you’re going to turn all that you’ve learned into a viable plan.” Scorpio

Evidence

So, at the end of this week, I’ve been “preparing soil” to lay new sod where the blazing hot sun and an infestation of rabbits destroyed our lawn while we holidayed in Norway. 

Happy Birthday Sis!!  Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 96 in Season 1 of my 1-Year Natural Experiment on October 4th in the fall of 2019.

But I managed to squeeze in more research notes from Fantasyland in between shovels full of dirt management.

Points that struck me enough to remember:

Thomas Jefferson when you do your own thing it’s ok, “Unless It Picks My Pocket or Breaks My Leg”, but you can always find new evidence to support your beliefs. And, History does not repeat, but it rhymes.

Then you have the three way breakdown of Squishies, Cynics, and Believers — each among the gatekeepers in academia and media and government and politics is charged with determining what’s factually true and what’s iffy and false.

When I was a millennial and prepared for my first career in psychology — the ‘60s and ‘70s— Woodstock, Hippies, New Age at Big Sur’s Esalen, Thomas Kuhn’s Paradigm Shift, Carlos Castenada and Charles Tart.

And, finally “…shared the fantastic retro vision of a nation covered by brand-new old-timey homesteads and ranches and small towns, and themselves as pioneers redux.” Frank Lloyd Wright and dream of suburbia. Plus “a real estate developer (and eccentric utopian) named Abbot Kinney built an amusement park around an artificial lagoon, with canals and gondoliers, calling it Venice of America.”

Just like breakthrough ideas come to you in the shower (take more showers Paradox-Morons say) the monotonous hard work of prepping for sod allows your mind to wonder to where it needs to go. (Shovel more dirt Zahn’s Holiday Tau should say).

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “This is the ideal day to strategize how you’re going to turn all that you’ve learned into a viable plan.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

I guess as long as I’m shoveling dirt and not shit — bullshit, that is — CC&W’s Holiday Tau complements Zahn, Winkler, Emma the Baroness and my Holiday Tau.

“5”  Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “You don’t need everyone to agree with you to get a successful result.  Focus on serving the people who agree and then move on to those who might be easily tipped your way.” Leo

I’m not buying McQueen’s Holiday Tau.  I’m not even going to steal it.  It just doesn’t fit.

“2”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “The wise move doesn’t always bring more money to hand immediately, but it will today.” Aries

Huh?  Maybe shoveling dirt made me too tired to suss this one out.

“2”  Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69; Stephen Colbert, 56: “If you’re not looking forward to anything, then put something on the books.  You’ll live a little happier each day leading up to it.” Taurus

Smith’s Holiday Tau rings true for me.  What’s that, that my dear old mother would say, “We shall see, dear.”

“3”  Steve Smith, 30: “You genuinely want what’s best for the others, and they will feel this in your attitude.  Your intention will move you toward the best actions.” Gemini

Great, now you tell me.  I’m past a point of no return and I’ve already gotten my hands dirty.

“2”  Steve Howey, 42: “Be careful not to mistake being busy for importance.  Being overly busy can be a distraction from problems, too.” Cancer

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

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S1 E95 — No Back to Work Days or Hump Days Allowed

So when I say,  “Day 95 of My 1-Year Natural Experiment” for instance, I’m repeating my original design for consistency and repeatability purposes.

Today, then is really the 95th day of Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, which excludes Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Make sense?

“5”  Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “Why settle for merely being different when you have the chance to do something that’s much better than what others are doing?” Leo

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

Evidence

Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 95 in the first season of ” My 1-Year Natural Experiment” on this 3rd day of October in the fall of 2019.

What the heck?  Zahn, Winkler, Emma the Baroness and I haven’t received a Holiday Tau since way back in S1 E86 — Day 86 of My 1-Year Natural Experiment.  

That seems like a long, long time when it comes to the dolling out of TauBits of Wisdom, but it brings up another issue to make this work.  It has more to do about this natural experiment unfolding over the course of a year.  

You may recall I didn’t intend it would be everyday for 365 days, right?  

Since, originally the Leo da V inspired idea hatched by mistake while I read the Comics section in print edition of the Los Angeles Times.  

We, being Emma the Baroness and I, are such cheapskates that we subscribe for the extended weekend — on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  

Here’s the problem for which I’ll have to account. 

Missing extended weekend days during our Norwegian vacation messed the the count up.  You’ll just have to take the Head Researcher Investigator’s word for it because it is so complicated that he had to recalculate two or three more times than he wanted to.

So, when I’m complaining that waiting for over a month (10/3/19 minus 8/31/19) isn’t exactly as it sounds.

Don’t worry, I know it seems like an unnecessary complication, but as the Head Research Investigator, I’ll make a note for later decision.

That monologue is a long way of saying, except for musing about a fictitious interview with Marc Maron’s WTF and noting more highlights from Fantasyland, I walked around our local lake for about 3 miles while listening and noting songs — titles and lyrics — which could work into this “The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book” experiment. 

But, I mostly did some hard labor replacing our scorched grass with new sod.

“3”  Steve Zahn, 51: “You have nothing to be afraid of.  So take a risk.  Even if you lose, you’ll win.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Well, let’s hope so.  I’ll enjoy stealing the Holiday Tau for Carell, Martin and the Woz.

“5”  Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “Why settle for merely being different when you have the chance to do something that’s much better than what others are doing?” Leo

Yeah, I do have to say I turned laying sod into a major project that had to meet my landscaping standards.

“4”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “When you measure your work against a standard that means something to you, what matters is that you meet your standard.” Aries

I’m always dealing with the Holiday Tau meant for Smith.  Sometimes asking “What would Leo da V do?” puts me in my creative temptations path — procrastination.  More often than not I hope it mirrors what I know about da Vinci’s genius revealed in his note book sketches.

“3”  Steve Smith, 30: “Here comes a parade of short-term temptations you’re expected to forgo in favor of long-term goals.  Get out of temptation’s way.” Gemini

Kinda get and kinda not.

“2”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61: “Take the win for today.  Who said it had to make sense? Accept the bounty.” Libra

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

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S1 E94 — Wasn’t There a Movie about the Tau of Steve?

Would having to own up to your wife, the gorgeous Emma the Baroness, and shell out thousands of dollars for a new garage door installation count?

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “Priorities have a way of shuffling to accommodate some kind of secret order that you yourself may not even be aware of until the results come in.” Leo

Evidence

Welcome to  Sunday’s Episode 94 in the first season of ” My 1-Year Natural Experiment” on this 29th day of September in the fall of 2019.

What’s going on?  Both Emma the Baroness and I have returned to our normal waking and sleeping routines in Southern California — which is fall, but feels and awful much like summer.

Sunday starts a new week for me.  This is put up or shut up week.  Take care of chores around the house left undone since we returned from our vacation.

And, more than anything Sunday is the kind of day when I start out by  asking “What would Leo da V do?” And, then this just dropped out.

Marc: Wasn’t there a movie about the Tao of Steve?  

Steve: Yes, but if you read closely you’ll notice the title of the book is “The Tau of Steves.”

Marc: To avoid any copyright or legal issues?

Steve: No, originally it was a typo.  I misspelled “Tao” and didn’t catch it for a long time. But, the movie’s plot centered on romancing women by the main character, Dex I believe.  He wasn’t a Steve.

Marc:  He based his philosophy for picking up women on two fictional “Steve” TV characters and a Hollywood actor, right?

Steve:  Yes, Steve Austin (not Stone Cold Steve Austin), but the Million Dollar Man and Steve McGarrett the original Hawaii Five O cop.  And Steve McQueen (no not that one), the one who starred in “Bullet” and the original “Thomas Crown Affair” with Faye Dunaway.  

Marc:  So you wrote this book about “Steves” with a typo in the title.  Why?  Why is it important?

Steve:  Yes, at first and it’s not important.

Marc: But it is to you, so why write it?

Steve: I couldn’t sleep and there was a Norwegian in my bed.

Again, don’t wake Emma the Baroness.  She’ll be disappointed that we missed out on the Holiday Tau delivery.  But, no matter.

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Are you suggesting that the Holiday Tau that Emma the Baroness and I didn’t receive, but so deserve went to two comedians and a company founder instead?  We’ll take it. I’m leaving it up to Leo.

“5”  Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “Priorities have a way of shuffling to accommodate some kind of secret order that you yourself may not even be aware of until the results come in.” Leo

Would having to own up to your wife, the gorgeous Emma the Baroness, and shell out thousands of dollars for a new garage door installation count?

“4”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61; Stephen King, 72: “Because you are willing and able to deal with the negative experiences in your life, you are able to handle and let go of adversity.” Virgo

I’ll take that as a compliment, given Zahn, Winkler, Emma the Baroness and I are way overdue for our Holiday Tau.

“4”  Steve Aoki, 41: “You’re so used to dealing with your own world that you don’t see what you do daily as anything particularly remarkable, but it is.” Sagittarius

Are you sure?  I’d love to, but duty calls today.

“3”  Steve Harvey, 62: “Agreeing to an adventure is the right thing to do, especially if you’re not sure what else to do.” Capricorn

Maybe, like Brian Eno said once, Nash’s Holiday Tau points in the same direction.  Keep trying different approaches and keep creating different passion projects.  If one comes to a brick wall at the end of a blind ally, jump to the next project on the other side.

“5”  Steve Nash, 45: “You try something that doesn’t work, and then you try something else.  Keep trying until something clicks.  This is the way of progress.” Aquarius

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

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S2 E2 — New Season Preview: Rippling Effects, Implications and Consequences We Didn’t See Coming

You’re supposed to buy on the story — how promising a stock looks into the future at today’s price.  And, sell on the news — the best may be over for the next quarter so you take money off the table and squirrel away your profits

“5”  Steve Harvey, 62: “The correct next move might be no move at all. To stand there until the world shifts is a real test of patience that will pay off.”  Capricorn

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

Evidence

Hi and welcome to Friday’s Episode 2 in Season 2 of the Pandemic extension of my Natural Experiment on February 28th in the last day of winter of 2020.

This being a closing day for the stock market week leads to guessing over the weekend where the market will open, it’s not quite surprising that investors would be spooked.  

Which is why “What If That, Then This” logic should include second and third order implications.  

    • Like what is emerging just below the surface that might negatively impact the coronavirus virus efforts and stock market correction and recession fears. 
    • How can you account for the surprising ripple effects cascading in different directions like dominoes tipped over?

How seriously should we take falling dominoes?

Turning to our Holiday Tau — for Zahn, Winkler, Emma the Baroness and me — what’s the meaning of these ripple effects? 

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “Your pie wins the contest, and your special sauce garners worldwide intrigue. This is the stuff of fantasies and diary entries, so be sure to put the day’s events and potential events into both.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Is there a sense of panic I can buy into?  Haha, just kidding.  I’ve learned my lesson as a rookie 401K and IRA investor.  I never experienced a time when I lost so much money — well actually the value of shares in a mutual fund not the actual money unless you sell the shares — for such a long time in the last Great Recession.  This time around we learned our lesson, Emma the Baroness and me.  

“5”  Steve Harvey, 62: “The correct next move might be no move at all. To stand there until the world shifts is a real test of patience that will pay off.”  Capricorn

So, coach Kerr again you’ve laid my soul open.  An SPIP, like me feels too constrained operating in a talent culture that won’t encourage independent idea packaging even if the organization is packed with systematic professionals.  It’s why I build the whole Executive MBA Career Curriculum from scratch and chafed at the pressure to conform over the last two years. 

“5”  Steve Kerr, 54: “You’re an original.  Saying the lines others have said gets old fast.  It’s invigorating to express your uniqueness.” Libra

I have Emma the Baroness, the love of my life, to remind me of this when I get too busy with my manuscripts and Patreon platform machinations, oh and your Holiday Tau, Steve.

“4”  Steve Aoki, 41: “The sparkling parts of life are the in-between moments when you have nothing to gain or lose.  What’s valuable is unquantifiable.” Sagittarius

As I type this I’ve wrapped my left knee in an ice pack having returned from walking three miles around our lake.  This TauBit you’re sharing, Steve, feels painful and counter intuitive physically. 

“4”  Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “Though it sounds counterintuitive, moving the parts that don’t want to move will keep you pain-free.  Use this as a metaphor for another part of your life.” Pisces

What’s Going On …

Shifting Opportunities

Smart Moves

Long-Form

    • “Is ‘The Ones We’ve Been Waiting For,’ with its scenes of youthful triumph and predictions of a savvier political class, too optimistic? I’d say not, because the coming tribe really does bring hope of breaking the gerontocracy — time is on their side, of course. Is it a book only for young people, as opposed to “oldsters” (to quote Alter)? I would say the book needed to be written by someone her age, but it holds lessons for everyone. Along with the compelling personal narratives, there is historical context and acknowledgment — much of it from the subjects themselves — that every innovator stands on the shoulders of those who came before. The report includes 
    • Began reading and taking notes on “The Introvert Advantage: How Quiet People Can Thrive in an Extrovert World” by Marti Olsen Laney — All human beings have 99.9 percent of  the same genetic prescription. Our individual differences come from the 0.1 percent of our genetic material that is just us — derived primarily from our neurochemistry,  a private reserve of about 150 different brain chemicals and recipes to formulate our neurotransmitters — guide messages from cell to cell, directing all brain functions.
    • A SURVEY OF 222 LEADING SCIENTISTS FROM 52 COUNTRIES who identified five global risks: failure of climate change mitigation and adaptation; extreme weather events; major biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse; food crises and water crises

Progress and Procrastination

    • Procrastination — Lost a full day replacing my 2000 Toyota 4-Runner with a leased Honda CR-V 
    • Progress —Early feedback from Finnmark:  Interesting concept. I think your opening salvos should be free so people can get a sense of what their Patreon membership will provide. Also, blogs are not going to reach a young audience if that’s what you want. Youtube is far more effective for that age group. 
    • Progress — My Response: Wow, I’m impressed.  Thanks for taking the time to give me great feedback.  Yes you’re probably right.  Nobody reads anymore, so we’re an endangered species.  You’ve given some ideas, I should reach younger people.  I saw videos of your grand niece on the gondola, but I wonder how to reach her.  Oh, wait.  I know. I’m following her on her twitter feed.

Working on the Business

    • Today 1,277 Flipboard users follow one or more of my 35 digital magazines.

Inspired by Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Previous: S2 E1 — Sneak Preview Asking “How Toxic is Your Work Life?”

Related: S1 E2 — Day 2 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E1 – Day One of My 1-Year Experiment 

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S1 E93 — Why is it easier to Hate than to Love the other Half?

Here’s the problem.  Sleep disturbance. Between digging into our 500-year history detailed in “Fantasyland” in which Kurt Andersen explains why 50% of us hate the other 50%, and then binging on the whistleblowing impeachment inquiry where it all unfolds, I’m dead tired at 4:30 am.

Evidence 

“5”  Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “Note the problem, and then determine if a solution is even possible.  If so, the next step is a brainstorm.  And if not, you don’t have a problem so much as a reality to accept.” Leo

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

Yay! It’s Saturday again and welcome to Episode 93 in the first season of ”My 1-Year Natural Experiment” on this 28th day of September in the fall of 2019.  

And, of course, returning from a three-week vacation forces time zone reckoning that lingers and lingers.

In the days following  vacation, reestablishing a schedule is always a challenge when you’re exhausted.

So I ignored the challenge and followed my intuition instead.

I surfaced a thread I want to pull on in Kurt Andersen’s work — heroes like Daniel Boone who left Tennessee for Missouri just like my great, great, great grandfather did — and Buffalo Bill Cody who turned a short stint in the Pony Express delivering mail from Independence, Missouri to stops on the way intended for California residents.  

Cody figured out how to mix real — Sitting Bull, with fantasy shows to bridge the coming industrial age. And a little later on that string if you pull hard enough you surface PT Barnum, the Donald Trump of his time.

And, then there’s another thread connecting the KKK, beyond the Confederacy to include Baptists, and so much more.

I feel I’m about ready to circle back and close loose ends across many of my open passion projects.

But, instead I asked myself, “What would Leo da V do?” There’s just no accounting what he’ll whisper at 4:30 am when I could sleep no longer. 

    • Flashes about launching a Patreon campaign with a dream-like Marc Marin-style interview of me as a typical Steve. 
    • The LA Times interviewed Zack Galiflianakis in kinda that way.  I guess I’m after the kinds of humorous questions to ask which would draw in supporters of the whimsy project and prompt them to recommend Steves to be considered for email interviews. 
    • Maybe answering just one question at a time is more inviting than filling out a survey of questions. 
    • Kinda like the when the Writers Cooperative announces a monthly topic for all writers to address. Should that be a MailChimp campaign-like thing?  
    • A new Steve signs in and gets question one to respond too, while others who have been around get their 10th or 11th, depending upon where they are in the time sequence of signing in.  
    • Each week, then they’d get a new question to answer and hopefully look forward to, and want to share, and see in Patreon — behind the wall, of course, unless they’re already a member.

I couldn’t let Leo da V off the hook, or maybe it was the other way round.  In an “If that, then this …” spirit I continued:

    • So I need to write a Maron dream and answer my first of 10 weekly questions as a Steve would. 
    • I have to set up MailChimp or a campaign like that to send out the questions with a deadline (?) for a response, before they can receive their next question.  
    • Maybe, write invitations to women who have Steves in their lives to recommend them as new members.  
    • Play off of what’s in a name? Again, the first-time parents considering names and what they mean.  What they represent, right?  
    • Maybe directed to mothers of Steves soliciting why they named their sons Steve. 

Shh, Emma the Baroness is still sleeping.  So, no need to wake her about our lack of Holiday Tau — again.  How many day in a row has it been? Never mind. 

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Sometimes, turning to Leo da V helps me avoid what needs to be done. Other times it’s my super power. But this Holiday Tau for CC&W reminds me of a workable approach to most things in life, especially when it comes to launching a new venture.

“5”  Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “Note the problem, and then determine if a solution is even possible.  If so, the next step is a brainstorm.  And if not, you don’t have a problem so much as a reality to accept.” Leo

Yeah, I guess so, especially for us introverts in an extrovert world.  But I’m not feeling your Holiday Tau today, specifically after beating the sun up at 4:30 am.

“3”  Steve Howey, 42: “If you find that you’re not the master of the way you think, feel and behave, it means you’ve given your power away and need to get it back.” Cancer

Well, I’ve filled my days with stuff I love to do, but at what cost?  I’ve got other passion projects at various stages of completion and they aren’t on my list of things to accomplish yet,

“3”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61; Stephen King, 72: “You manage your emotions well now, partly because you’ve made it a priority to fill your days with the things that make you feel good.” Virgo

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

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S1 E92 — Shh … Secrets Husbands Try to Keep to Ourselves

Bam!! We rushed around in panic.  The deadline crashed into us before we were ready.  If we didn’t leave now we’d risk everything …

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve Howey, 42: “You’re feeling pulled in different directions at once internally, and this makes it more challenging to decide how to spend your hours.” Cancer

Evidence 

Yea! It’s Friday again and welcome to Episode 92 in the first season of ”My 1-Year Natural Experiment” on this 27th day of September in the fall of 2019.  

We were down to minutes left before we had to hit the 405 and catch our flight to Norway, factoring in what could go wrong according to Murphy’s law.

There’s TSA security and traffic and customs delays, if any, at LAX international terminal.

I backed my 4 Runner up close to our garage to load it up.

A little too close.  OK way too close! Major damage close.

I dented at least two of the white horizontal panels.  

It still opened ok, so as any husband would do I kept that information to myself and hoped Emma the Baroness wouldn’t notice since she had at least five or six things on her last minute mind about Norway.

Ah, a wonderful relaxing vacation.  

And then, like any good husband would do when driving back into our driveway I confessed.  So, this was the week when we discovered we had to replace the entire door — after considering AAA’s suggestion to claim it would raise our homeowner’s premium.

Gulp.

I know honey, but wasn’t it a wonderful vacation?  Wouldn’t you’ve worried about the cost, if you knew about it before I left?  I was only thinking about your happiness.

But, enough about me.  How about Donald J. Trump?  

Did it work? 

Can I remind you about 5 months of impeachment inquiry and the Mueller investigation and more recently a whistle blower complaint?  

I’m having a hard time wrapping my vacation re-entry mind around just what the hell is going on.

How can you put it all into perspective?

One article I read, pointed my pitiful brain to the slight-of-hand employed by magicians and how a bigly number of  people are so gullible.  

I didn’t want to be one of them, so I continued with 17 hours  of note-taking on what Kurt Andersen had written in “Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History.”

What about any Holiday Tau for Zahn, Winkler, Emma the Baroness and me?  Sorry.  Moving on then.

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

No way.  WW&C’s Holiday Tau nailed it, right?

“5”  Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69; Stephen Colbert, 56: “Your possessions take up a lot of your time today because you understand that ownership always comes with the responsibility of maintenance.” Taurus

So, here’s my proposal, I feel synchronicity if I combine the Holiday Tau for Aoki, Howey and McQueen as a strategy package.  Hearing no objections, make it so.

I’m researching Fantasyland to frame my picture of current events.

“5”  Steve Aoki, 41: “You can’t control the entire picture of life, but you do get to control how you frame your part of it.” Sagittarius

Ditto.  While I feel the urgent pull of competing passion projects, I really need to crystalize the frame.  So I’m spending a ton of hours on Fantasyland. Can you spell P-R-O-C-R-A-S-T-I-N-A-T-I-O-N?

“5”  Steve Howey, 42: “You’re feeling pulled in different directions at once internally, and this makes it more challenging to decide how to spend your hours.” Cancer

And, as I’m want to do, I’ll leave my Fantasyland obsession emotionally and physically depleted and step away to meditate to allow my intuition to take over.

“5”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “To tune into your intuition, you need your busy mind to hush down to library-level quiet.” Aries

Thanks, but today wasn’t the right time for mischief.  Just saying …

“2”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61; Stephen King, 72: “You’ve an unrelenting positive attitude, and yet you feel the need to mix in a little mischief just to keep it interesting.” Virgo

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

 

Posted on

S1 E91 — If that, then this … ? The daily double?

Like how did Americans over the last 500 years evolve into the Hatfields and McCoys — critical thinking and reason vs. magical thinking and conspiracy theories?

“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”

“5”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “Stress eases when you accept the state of things and work within them instead of wasting energy believing they should be different.” Aries

Evidence

Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 91 in the first season of ” My 1-Year Experiment” on this 26th day of September in the fall of 2019.

I’m needing to complete a once over light editing of my Kindle highlights for my research document “Fantasyland Kurt Anderson”.

Why? 

I view it as a backbone of my “Volume Three Manuscript” — filling in what was going on in the decades I cover — together with “Homo Deus” and perhaps “21 Lessons for the 21st Century”. 

The introduction and the last chapters are the ones for summarizing the key points.  

Like how did Americans over the last 500 years evolve into the Hatfields and McCoys — critical thinking and reason vs. magical thinking and conspiracy theories? 

Speaking of magical thinking …

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

While there was no Holiday Tau worthy enough for Zahn, Winkler, Emma the Baroness or me, look at what I just noticed:

Today’s Holiday Birthday:  “Lao Tzu said, ‘Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.’  Apply this Zen saying and the clarity it brings will allow you to make the contribution that only you can, and to attract with great specificity what you most need to feel vitally alive. Relationships sparkle with purpose, affection and fun”

If today was my birthday, which it’s not, I’d feel I hit the daily double with McQueen’s Holiday Tau pulling TauBits of Wisdom from Lao Tzu.

“5”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “Stress eases when you accept the state of things and work within them instead of wasting energy believing they should be different.” Aries

So, Mr. Aoki I really need to swipe your Holiday Tau for its wisdom and insight into the stages of life and the key to keeping a love affair kindled and rekindled like mine with Emma the Baroness!

“5”  Steve Aoki, 41: “Part of loving a person is tracking changes and adjusting as you try to find new points of intersection and overlap.” Sagittarius

I’m twisting this to mean, continue with the Yin and Yang — my Fantasyland quest for understanding, but without giving up on Lau Tzu. And, maybe this is at the heart of the “why” of this 1-year experiment.

“5” Steve Harvey, 62: “What you are looking for will be found within.  You need the flashlight of objectivity to light the way.” Capricorn

I’m guessing WW&C’s Holiday Tau aligns more with my external research and understanding than my Zen health.

“5”  Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69; Stephen Colbert, 56: “Never give up until you have completed the full process of what you needed to learn.  But if you’re not on the optimal path, it’s OK to change routines.” Taurus

OMG, Nash really? What’s going on?  Is this my profound day’s worth of Holiday Tau? When I’m writing I’m in the flow of creativity.

“5” Steve Nash, 45: “The biggest challenge is to do what you’re doing.  Stay in the moment; that’s where life is.” Aquarius

At this moment in time, I wish I had written “Fantasyland” so I’d love to meet Kurt Andersen I suppose.  

“4”  Steve Smith, 30: “When you think about who you’d like to know and what you’d like to spend time doing, it doesn’t always match up logically to your current options.  Lean in the direction of your wishes anyway.” Gemini

This vacation reentry transition filled with picking up the details and rekindling momentum requires discipline.  So, let’s hope Howey’s Holiday Tau in tandem with McQueen’s and today’s birthday kicks in today.

“5”  Steve Howey, 42: “There will be a chance to stand back, clear your mind, shift your priorities and aim your energy at a different focal point.” Cancer

Isn’t this the sign of concentration and self-knowledge, at least for introverts like me?

“4”  Steve Carell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “If you can’t be with someone without feeling enmeshed in that person’s world and drama, then give only a limited amount of your time.” Leo

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

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