Month: October 2022

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S4 E24 — Another Spooky Role to Play on the Outside

Who are these people? Milley summarized and scribbled. Big Threat: domestic terrorism. Steve Bannon’s vision coming to life. Bring it all down, blow it up, burn it, and emerge with power.

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

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “You don’t set out on an adventure; you just set out. The harrowing fun starts when expectations are not met, tools fail and plans disintegrate. This is the kind of gift that money can’t buy.” Scorpio

Hi and welcome to Sunday’s 24th Episode in Season 4 of  “Our Disruptively Resilient Year” on this 10th day of April in the spring of 2022.

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

Table of Contents

We concluded the three-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed — during the “normal” pre-pandemic year compared to the pandemic year, and more recently to the paradoxically normal year. 

Season Four continues now within domestic and global chaos.

Previously in Season Four, The Disruptively Resilient Year

S4 E23 — When In Doubt, Follow the Money; S4 E22 — Now, Who Could Argue With That? S4 E21 — Not Since the War of 1812

Related from Season Three, the Paradoxically Normal Year

S3 E24 — Reunion on the Edge of the Pacific Ocean near Legoland? Hell Yeah!; S3 E23 — Free from the Pile of Rubble in Your Brain; S3 E22 — What’s the Experiment Got To Do with the Exodus from Barb’s Bunny Ranch?; S3 E21 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and My Curiosity Whisperer Walking a Yip-Yippy Dog

Related from Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E24 — Working Remote from KnowWhere Atoll; S2 E23 — Gaping Loss No Amount of Mourning Will Heal; S2 E22 —Paranoid Rose Review and Traffic-Copped Check Out Lines; S2 E21 — Cycles of History Rhyming with Endlessly Disruptive Rhythms?

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E24 — Day 24 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E23 — Day 23 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E22 — Day 22 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E21 — Day 21 of My 1-Year Experiment;

Context

Bob Woodward and Robert Costa reported in their book “Peril,” that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Milley, jotted some thoughts, “Who are these people?”

He jotted rapidly: 

    • “6MWE”
    • “Extreme Tea Party” 
    • “QAnon,” he added, taking note of the fully discredited conspiracy theory. 
    • “Patriot Movement,” a far-right militia. 
    • “We the People Movement” 
    • “Nazis” 
    • “Proud Boys” 
    • “The Oath Keepers” 
    • “Newsmax,” the conservative news website, which had been friendly toward Trump for a long time. 
    • “Epoch,” referring to the The Epoch Times, a far-right publication that was critical of the Chinese Communist Party. 

Milley summarized and scribbled. “Big Threat: domestic terrorism. Steve Bannon’s vision coming to life.” 

Bring it all down, blow it up, burn it, and emerge with power.

From the Devil’s Bargain

2016 Bannon’s Vision playing out as a Nationalism Movement

Bannon saw evidence of Western collapse in the influx of Muslim refugees and migrants across Europe and the United States—what he pungently termed “civilizational jihad personified by this migrant crisis.”

Bannon’s response to the rise of modernity was to set populist, right-wing nationalism against it.

He aligned himself with:           

    • Archconservative Catholics such as Raymond Leo Burke,
    • Nigel Farage and UKIP, 
    • Marine Le Pen’s National Front, 
    • Geert Wilders and the Party for Freedom, and 
    • Sarah Palin and the Tea Party.

For all his paranoid alarm, Bannon believes that the rise of nationalist movements across the world, from Europe to Japan to the United States, heralds a return to tradition.

“You have to control three things,” he explained, “Borders, currency, and military and national identity.

The clearest example of Traditionalist political influence today is in Russia.

Vladimir Putin’s chief ideologist, Alexander Dugin—whom Bannon has cited—translated (Julius) Evola’s work into Russian and later developed a Russian-nationalist variant of Traditionalism known as Eurasianism.

By installing Bannon, Conway, and later David Bossie to run his 2016 election campaign, Trump was handing the reins of a half-billion-dollar political enterprise to a seasoned team of professional anti-Clinton operatives.

These three figures from the Republican fringe, and the menagerie of characters they brought with them, were suddenly in charge of running major-party presidential campaign—against an opponent, Hillary Clinton, whom they’d been plotting to tear apart for the better part of twenty-five years.

Campaign to winning the 2016 election transition

Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig wrote that Bannon had previously run the conservative website Breitbart conduit to his indispensable base,

“The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic ‘you name it.’”

Given what transpired since the early days of the Trump administration, it’s bizarre to consider who was being considered for key positions.

Initially, Kushner, Bannon, and others in Trump’s inner circle favored Rudy Giuliani for attorney general.

Trump allowed Bannon, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and daughter Ivanka to operate as independent forces.  

During one version of musical chairs, General John Kelly left his position at Homeland Security to reign in the cats and establish an adult in the administration based on his years of service in the Marines.

As White House Chief of Staff, “I’m here to defend the Constitution and to defend the rule of law,” General John Kelly told the other officials in attendance. “The oath doesn’t say anything in there about being loyal to the president. It doesn’t say anything in there about the GOP being more important than your integrity.”

Don McGahn, Chief Council and Bannon both asked for lawyer Ty Cobb’s help in removing Kushner and Ivanka. Cobb’s view was also partly shaped by a careful reading of the palace intrigue. Bannon might be the next to go instead.

Trump dismissed Bannon, embody the White House’s dysfunction and self-destructive tendencies. The discarding of Bannon underscored the fact that the president wanted all the glory for himself.

Yet, before the final curtain fell, over 140 people were granted clemency with a stroke of Trump’s pen near midnight on January 19, including: 

    • Rapper Lil Wayne, 
    • former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, and 
    • countless other allies in politics and business, and
    • Bannon

It wasn’t the case of gone, but not forgotten, but more like Bannon had another role to play on the outside.

Evidence

Today’s Holiday Theme: 

In short, do not underestimate the danger of disrespectful words. They are like dryer lint — seemingly harmless garbage that is, in fact, highly flammable.

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “You don’t set out on an adventure; you just set out. The harrowing fun starts when expectations are not met, tools fail and plans disintegrate. This is the kind of gift that money can’t buy.” Scorpio

So this is the 4th Season of my adventure — what was intended to last one year living like an artist in a natural experiment.  Then came the pandemic.  And followed by a four-year administration seemingly immune to accountability, and then a different new normal post-pandemic and now one within a global crisis a potential WWIII.  Where is the fun?  Which tools haven’t we used? 

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

“4”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “Whether you choose to hang back and observe or jump in and participate, do it because you want to, not because someone is pressuring you. If you need support in standing up for yourself, here it is.” Aries

Savvy advice for any introvert like me.  Like Raskin, I never envisioned an insurrection.  I naively hoped removal by a fair and square election would put the Putin-like propaganda from the Oval Office out to sea.  Alas …

“4”  Steve Smith, 30, Stevie Nicks, 72: “Emotions warp the space-time continuum. Fear, waiting and discomfort make the seconds go by agonizingly slow. Joy, fascination and fun speed things up.” Gemini

What a brilliant opening line — warping space-time continuum with emotions.  But, the observation that wallowing in FUD stretches the sense to passing time is golden.  As is all those joyful moments that slip by in an instant.

“4”  Steve Aoki, 41; Steven Spielberg, 74: “As playwrights know, people have a very short attention span for exposition. You’ll quickly get to the heart of the story and have the complete attention of your audience.” Sagittarius

What is it that parents always say?  Do as I say, not as I do.  My only hope today is to have the format for today’s episode help me help you get to the heart of the story.  Does it work?

Steve Harvey, 62; Stephan Patis, 53;  Stephen Hawking (1943 – 2018): “New people juice your curiosity. You’ll learn more through friendly playfulness and observation than you could possibly find out by asking direct questions.” Capricorn

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll

    • @KnowLabs suite of 36 digital magazines, according to my analytics, grew from 12559 this week to 12654 organically grown followers.
    • Orange County Beach Towns 172 viewers stopped by the week before.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life

Long-Form

    • “Here, Right Matters: An American Story” by Alexander Vindman. “We’d long been confused by the president’s policy of accommodation and appeasement of Russia, the United States’ most pressing major adversary. Russia’s president Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, seizing the Crimean Peninsula, attacking its industrial heartland, the Donbass, from the capital, Kyiv. By 2019, little had changed, Russian military and security forces and their proxy separatists continued to occupy the Donbass. The biggest change was to Ukraine’s importance as a bulwark against Russian aggression weeks earlier, the White House had abruptly put a hold on nearly four hundred million dollars.” 
    • David Enrich begins his book with a suicide in “Deutsche Bank Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction” and then meticulously details the bank’s Russian money laundering operations. Deutsche’s Russian business surged after revenues had fallen 50% due to the 2008 financial crisis. Putin’s Russia, poured in to Deutsche from deals it did with VTB Bank, linked to the Kremlin’s intelligence apparatus. Deutsche positioned itself as a crucial cog in “The Laundromat” by doing what couldn’t be done — processing cross-border transactions for banks that were too small  and didn’t have offices outside their home countries.
    • “Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy” by Jamie Raskin recalls one tragedy no parent should endure — the suicide of his son — and then a second tragedy at almost the same time — the insurrection on January 6th 2021, that terrified he and his congressional peers who were tasked by the Constitution to routinely oversee the orderly transfer of power from one former president to the duly elected new President. 
    • “A Warning” by Anonymous (Miles Taylor) written prior to the January 6th Insurrection as an insider’s account documenting how frequently the former President’s behavior and rage without any “guard rails” showed just how far he would go to win the next election at any cost while spinning lies and misinformation on top of each other.  
    • “Peril” by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa provides anecdotes, stories and inside reporting documenting the controversial last days of Donald Trump’s presidency, as well as the presidential transition and early presidency of Joe Biden. 
    • “Devil’s Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Nationalist Uprising,” by Joshua Green tracks the money behind the scenes leading up to the 2016 presidential election and the growing influence of Steve Bannon’s network of extreme nationalists.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trip

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S3 E32 — But, Why Should You Care?

If you know your MBTI type already — one of 16 — as my Executive MBA students do, then you translate it into my Talent Profile System — one of 16 — so can choose the best and worst places to work for you, including growth or decline stages, when new offers come rolling in.

“5”  Steve Aoki, 41: “You will take chances and perform experiments, each risk teaching you, among other things, how to access your intuition in the pursuit of meaningful results.” Sagittarius

Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 32 in Season 3 of  “My Paradoxically Normal Year” on this 22nd day of April in the spring 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.

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

Table of Contents

Previously from Season Three, the Paradoxically Normal Year

S3 E31— Treat It Like a Pawn Ticket to Sketchier Things; S3 E30 — Steal These TauBits, Please. It’s Only Fair!; S3 E29 — Why 83.3% of the Time I Swiped Your Tau

Related from Season Two, The Pandemic Year

S2 E32 — Trapped and Bored? Or Unleashing a Reinvention Wave?; S2 E31 — Getting Charged from Box Automattic-aly; S2 E30 — It’s Crazy. Why does Amazon Prime Work, but Netflix Doesn’t?; S2 E29 — Three Months That Changed the World

Related from Season One, The Normal Year

S1 E32 — Day 32 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E31 — Day 31 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E30 — Day 30 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E29 — Day 29 of My 1-Year Experiment

Context

I’m still working my way through the Conclusions Section of the 1-year Natural Experiment Report.  Not quite awake, I found myself swimming in introversion, thinkers, INTP and idea packaging.

But, mostly intuition, the “N-word” in INTP, not to be confused with the “I-word” meaning introverted.

What I’d been writing about was how well my idea packaging description (113 SPIP) syncs with my Myers-Briggs Temperament, INTP.  

But, why should you care? 

If you know your MBTI type already — one of 16 — as my Executive MBA students do, then you translate it into my Talent Profile system — one of 16 — so can choose the best and worst places to work for you, including growth or decline stages, when new offers come rolling in.

The MBTI is the theory of psychological type originally developed by Carl Jung and “operationalized” by two Americans, a mother and daughter, Katharine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers.

A quick Google search about my psychological type finds:

“The INTP type describes a person who is energized by (spending) time alone (Introverted), who focuses on ideas and concepts rather than facts and details (iNtuitive), who makes decisions based on logic and reason (Thinking) and who prefers to be spontaneous and flexible rather than planned and organized (Perceiving).”

Add to Google a quick Wikipedia inquiry and you find more about “P”.

“Sensing and intuition are the information-gathering (perceiving) functions. Those who prefer intuition tend to trust information that is less dependent upon the senses, that can be associated with other information (either remembered or discovered by seeking a wider context or pattern). They may be more interested in future possibilities. For them, the meaning is in the underlying theory and principles which are manifested in the data.”

For most of my last career, I realized intuition and the process of visualizing something in advisory sessions helped me gain a perspective or framework for offering recommendations and original connections. 

Further, except for the I or the E, the NTP mirrored each other as did the other sets of 8 combinations I identified yesterday. 

According to a dictionary thinkers conceive, imagine, fancy, realize, envisage, envision or mean to form an idea. Somehow an idea enters your mind “… with or without deliberate consideration or reflection.” 

Ideas stimulate or challenge your intellect or mind.  If you’re thinking you have an idea, belief, or thought about something.

But, intuition I believe is more influential.

The two, thinking and intuition, combine for me when I hear enough in a 1-hour advisory session or in a Starbucks conversation over coffee or breakfast (remember those) to trigger a thought-video which frames my response and quickly captures a solution to a problem they bring.  

Or, how in sitting and reflecting on trends and combinations until, like during this rain storm, a picture emerges and triggers an “aha” moment. 

In other circumstances my brain unconsciously keeps chewing on the noise, data, information, knowledge and wisdom I’ve been exposed to — thinking — for a long time until the insight arrives.

Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge from direct access without the need for conscious reasoning, likely from an instinctive feeling. 

You know, like in those detective books, TV shows and the Harry Bosch Amazon Prime series — hunches and assumptions formed on the basis of past experience and cumulative knowledge. 

Intuitive hunches arrive wholly formed and quickly, without conscious awareness of the underlying mental process of information. 

Intuition is the subtle knowing without ever having any idea why you know it, more like a direct perception of truth, fact, who a person really is, how a situation will play out, what the future has in store for us.

Evidence

If all that, then you probably wouldn’t be wrong by stating the obvious I probably can’t say why I select or confirm my early morning choices of Holiday Tau.  Or that I’m disappointed that the TauBit of Wisdom sucked for Zahnny, the Fonz, Emma the Baroness and me today.

Oh well, it’s on to a life of petty larceny.

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Oh, great.  Just great.  Here I lay out my case for a correlation between intuition and TauBits of Wisdom and you two go all counter-intuitive on me.  Haha, now I’m second guessing why I chose your Holiday Tau.  Seriously, though this is restating if you want something done quickly give it to a busy person.

“4”  Steve Smith, 30, Stevie Nicks, 72: “It doesn’t seem like it would be so, but having less time to work on a project will lead to more creative results. The crunch will focus you on what matters and you’ll be smart about how you use your minutes.” Gemini

G&G I have to thank you for your Holiday Tau.  In the last two days I published four articles on my site, Knowledge ATMs, about the first 5 days of my 1-year experiment.  Now if I can juggle everything else, I should be able to pump out one or two a day consistently.

“5”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61: “Your working habits didn’t really need to improve, and yet they will as you make a practice of keeping up a certain pace. You are becoming more confident in your capacity to turn out results in any given timeframe.” Virgo

So coach, this reminds me of one of my clinical psychology professors who told his class about which theory he follows when working with patients — Freud, Jung, B.F. Skinner?  His was a practical answer.  They all work and none of them work, it depends upon the patient.  

“5”  “Steve Kerr, 54: “You’re so productive now because you’re using everything you feel to fuel your endeavors — the good, the bad. There’s nothing that can’t be used here, so just throw it all into the engine.” Libra

And, so there it is.  Thanks Steve for your Holiday Tau.  You’ve rolled everything into one — experiments, intuition and meaningful results.

“5”  Steve Aoki, 41: “You will take chances and perform experiments, each risk teaching you, among other things, how to access your intuition in the pursuit of meaningful results.” Sagittarius

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @KnowLabs suite of digital magazines jumps from 8003 to 8068 organically grown followers

Foresight

Quality-of-Life 

Long-Form

    • “Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge” by E.O. Wilson, an entomologist who studied colonies of ants for their insights.  But didn’t stop there, according to The Wall Street Journal, “A dazzling journey across the sciences and humanities in search of deep laws to unite them.” 
    • “True Believers,” the novel by Kurt Andersen (which seems to precede Fantasyland)? I like how he goes back and forth from now to the ‘60s in which the main character is writing a memoir, but needs “Okays” from her friends who had been hiding a secret for 40+ years that could ruin their careers?  Like, what’s my equivalent?
    • “Disappearing Through the Skylight” by O.B. Hardison, Jr. which proceeded “Consilience” by a decade.  Hardison’s been described as a polymathic renaissance man who wrote, “… Nature has slipped, perhaps finally beyond our field of vision.”  What does it mean for “… science, history, art and architecture, music, language, ultimately, for humanity”? This one provides missing chunks of understanding where we came from and where we’re going.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trips

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S2 E61 — Pink Behind the Reflections

So, if you’re an introvert like me, then you understand how the forced solitude brought on by this Pandemic gives me the wonderful opportunity to work on my neglected manuscript I’ve been calling “Volume Three — a Legacy.”

“4”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “The more honest you are, the better you know yourself. And the better you know yourself, the easier it is to choose your next transformation.” Aries

Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 61 in Season 2 of  “My Pandemic Year Natural Experiment” on this 11th day of June in the summer of 2020.  

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

Table of Contents

Season One and Two are a two-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic and then in this unfolding pandemic year.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E60 — She Began to Weep…; S2 E59 — See What You’ve Been Missing; S2 E58 — Check Back in 18 Months

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E61 — Investment of Time and Effort; S1 E60 — Overlapping Cycles of Life; S1 E59 — Where Did All the Dillon Millennials Go? Eureka!; S1 E58 — Judging a Stroll from the Hotel Santa Barbara to the Lobero Theater

Context

So, if you’re an introvert like me, then you understand how the forced solitude brought on by this Pandemic gives me the wonderful opportunity to work on my neglected manuscript I’ve been calling “Volume Three — a Legacy.”  

Here’s an excerpt from the Chapter One draft.

Shaggy’s eyes began to tear up too, so he changed the subject.

“So, I moved back in after breaking up with Chelsea when we lived in Huntington Beach after vacationing in Australia and Bali and living in Santa Barbara through the wildfires and flooding and then here just before they left on their anniversary trip to Italy.”

“Which anniversary was that?”

“The 40th, I think.” he said.

“Wow.”

“Yeah”

AJ got up and on her way into the kitchen asked, “I’m getting refill, do you want some?”

“No, I’m good for now. Do you like that Cuisinart? I’m pretty sure I bought it for them when we camped out in the dining room tent city after I moved back in from Santa Barbara during the kitchen renovation.”

“Oh my gosh that must have been fun, right?”

“Yeah, I had to store my furniture and shit because Fernando needed to stage the cabinets in the garage during the installation.  I was already working remote.  So I’d shut the door to the office and make my calls and log in to my work.”

“You guys lived here while the remodeling was going on?  Darin, Maggie and I moved out just before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, but we had major reconstruction.”

“Yeah, Mom was getting nervous about the deadline. You know how that goes.  It was butting up against their departure date for Italy.”

“Well, it came out beautiful.”

“Yeah.”

“Funny what you remember. Say wasn’t that wall a pinkish red color behind the mirrors?” AJ asked returning to the second couch.

“Yeah, we have pictures somewhere — used to be on the refrigerator with magnets — showing the four boy cousins sitting there through the years.”

“Oh, look up here on the shelf.  There’s the one of you, me, Jazzy, Topher and Mom in front of the tree on the grass in the back yard.” AJ said. “And one of us three on the living room floor in the condo.  You, me and Topher.  Do you remember living at Finisterra On The Lake?”

“Not too much.  Probably my memories are really just from photos.  Look how big Topher was looked compared to us.”

“Well, he was in high school when Jazzy was born. And that’s when he came out to live with you guys after he graduated, right.  Where did he sleep?”

“Downstairs. Before it was converted into an office, Mom says.”

“Oh …”

“Are you ready?”

“No not yet, it’s too sad right now …”

Evidence

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

“4”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “The more honest you are, the better you know yourself. And the better you know yourself, the easier it is to choose your next transformation.” Aries  

I downgraded this to “4” only because the advice I’m following for writing a memoir is to be  honest.  But, today I figure won’t be when my transformation occurs.  It’s more likely to emerge nearer the end of the tale.

“5”  Steve Smith, 30: “Love is a superpower you were born with and you use without thinking about, just like you use your sense of touch or smell. The time you’re most aware of your natural gift to love is when something is standing in the way of it.” Gemini

Who can argue with this TauBit of Wisdom.  Certainly not Emma the Baroness nor I, because truth be told our love story is the central ingredient in this manuscript, if I have my way.  

“4”  Steve Howey, 42: “Looking for signs to point you to your next move? They will be ever-present. In fact, you will find them wherever your eyes land. Of course, it’s the interpretation that matters. Trust your inner knowing.” Cancer

Look, I have enough of a problem staying focused over the long haul required for writing a manuscript.  What you’re suggesting is I switch to my other passion project my other work in progress I’m calling “Volume Two Manuscript” which addresses next career moves by finding which organization type and growth stage attract people like you.  Hmm.  Maybe, this manuscript will yield complimentary stories and illustrations.  I’ll just have to trust my inner knowing, you know?

“5”  Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “It is possible to busy oneself with a million tasks and still have a million left. For just a moment, slip into the sublime state in which there is nothing to do and no one to be. When you come back, ask: What is necessary here?” Pisces

So just in blocking out how my work in progress named “Volume Three Manuscript” as a place holder I have to admit the tasks do pile up.  At first you have no clue how the story will infold.  So coming up with a workable idea starts the ball rolling.  And then one thing leads to another and you’ve got a million tasks to consider doing.  It does become overwhelming.

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @knowlabs followers of one or more of my 35 digital magazines organically grew from 3634 to 3808.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life 

Long-Form

    • Saw the movie, didn’t realize that one of my favorite authors, Michael Connelly — his detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch book series and Amazon Prime series — also wrote, “The Lincoln Lawyer” which I just finished. Gotta tell you I can’t not see his lead character (Mickey Haller, Bosch’s half brother) as anyone else but Matthew McConaughey. 

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trip

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S2 E60 — She Began to Weep…

Curiosity drives discoveries in science and innovation.  It pushes knowledge forward.  But, predictability and certainty favor the status quo and our homeostasis because without them our mind grinds to a halt. So what can you do?

“5”  Steve Howey, 42: “When the solution eludes you, tackle it backward, inside out or upside down — any other way than the usual. What’s needed is a fresh approach.” Cancer

Hi and welcome to Sunday’s Episode 60 in Season 2 of  “My Pandemic Year Natural Experiment” on this 7th day of June in the summer of 2020.  

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

Table of Contents

Season One and Two are a two-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic and then in this unfolding pandemic year.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E59 — See What You’ve Been Missing; S2 E58 — Check Back in 18 Months; S2 E57 — Science and Medicine or Politically-Motivated Misinformation? 

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E60 — Overlapping Cycles of Life; S1 E59 — Where Did All the Dillon Millennials Go? Eureka!; S1 E58 — Judging a Stroll from the Hotel Santa Barbara to the Lobero Theater; S1 E57 — More or Less in the Know

Context

So, if you’re an introvert like me, then you understand how the forced solitude brought on by this Pandemic gives me the wonderful opportunity to work on my neglected manuscript I’ve been calling “Volume Three — a Legacy.”

Here’s an excerpt from the first draft or Chapter One .

AJ noticed him heading her way. “How’d you sleep?” she asked sitting in the kitchen as the sun rose in the East chasing the last moments of gray away.  Except for the gray she felt in her chest.

“OK, I guess, well no not really.  It’s just so weird sleeping in my old room.” Shaggy replied as he walked on the still shiny dark brown laminated wooden floor from the living room and past the long teak table in the dining room where all the family gatherings took place — Thanksgiving, especially Christmas Eve and Christmas Day — into the glaring California illuminated morning light.

“Coffee’s ready,” she said.

“Oh, OK, great.” Shaggy mumbled. He rubbed his tired eyes and turned left into the white u-shaped kitchen with white cabinets surrounding stainless steel dishwasher, stove, microwave and refrigerator.

Following his nose sniffing out the early morning fragrance just past the refrigerator on his right he mumbled something that AJ couldn’t hear as she sat in “his seat” with her back to the ever brightening morning streaming in through the sliding glass door.

“You wanna sit here?”

He opened the only unattached white cabinet on the opposite wall which hung above the light gray backsplash next to the white bay window behind the sink and next to the kitchen table.  He grabbed a dark blue mug, spun and headed back to the coffee maker.

“No, thanks.  I’m gonna just sit on the couch for a minute or two and sip this Folgers.”

Timing was off.

AJ landed at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California from her home with Darin in Winter Park, Florida in Orange County where it is normally three hours later on any day of the week, especially on this one.  

The one she hadn’t been looking forward to.

Which is why she was up first.  Why she had tossed and turned in the other guest bedroom at the top of the stairs. Why she laid awake with a deeply sad feeling beginning three hours earlier at 3:30 am PST.

Shaggy walked past the blonde oblong wooden kitchen table to AJ’s left to the first of two matching couches that separated the kitchen from the family room in one big room.  

He could see himself in the mirror display on the opposite wall as he padded the few steps deeper into the room and stopped turned left and found his spot on the first couch facing the second butted up to the light gray painted wall and the mirror displays.

The smaller mirrors distorted his image.  

And being 6’ 4” and under these circumstances this morning the distorted reflection mirrored his internal morning fog.

AJ rose from the kitchen table deciding to join him instead of talking to his back.  She slid down the small space between Shaggy’s couch and the fireplace next to the patio door walked 6 or 7 steps on gray tile hearth into the family room and maneuvered herself carefully around the round dark wood coffee table that now separated her and Shaggy.

Her view back into the kitchen would be the money shot if she and Shaggy decided to put the place on the market.  To her left the original white cabinet doors along the floor hid blankets for winter viewing of the big black screen TV from each couch when the California temperature dropped into the 50s.  Brrr. Except for anybody else not living in Florida or California.

They hid board games from childhood and all kinds of things that would eventually require sorting and boxing, not something she was prepared to entertain at this moment.

And the original bookshelves displayed pictures of the two blond brothers, Shaggy and Jazzy, AJ’s photoshoot near high school graduation.  And, books and plates and CDs, and a wine rack and more pictures and photo albums and ….

“Remember when Jazzy was a baby and you could hold him in the crook of your arm between you hand and elbow?” she asked out of the blue.

“No, not really. I was only four when he was born at Hoag Hospital, but I do remember you visiting every summer,” Shaggy said. 

To AJ’s right on the end table next to the wicker basket on the floor for collecting “The Los Angeles Times” newspaper Jazzy loved to use for starting a fire was a photo showing AJ in a white wedding gown smiling and a slice of a backdrop from the Outer Banks hotel where she and Darin tied the knot and Shaggy celebrated with a canoe filled with beer followed by his gigantic migraine dwarfing hangover the next morning — actually afternoon.

“I remember the back yard before they changed it.  It didn’t have the tan slope stone walls, but I think the black wrought iron railing stretched across the back from side to side.  And there used to be giant ficus trees in corners and a small round cement patio surrounded in grass,” she told Shaggy.

“Yeah,” he said.

That’s where they tossed a whiffle ball and played catch until probably Shaggy began hitting the ball with the big red plastic bat over the fence and down into the slope on purpose.  

“Somewhere there’s a picture of all of us in front of the tree on the grass around here I bet,” she said. “And probably that one where we four kids posed in front of the then white front door on the red brick entrance.”

“I remember when our parents threw that karaoke party when Jazzy graduated high school and I graduated college and you and Darin flew out for the Mexican foot catering affair.”

“That’s the one where Darin tipped over the container of margarita salt on the grass which killed it in no short order, right?  Dad never let him forget.  He once wrote on a birthday card that to commemorate the occasion they had a brass metal plate made up engraved with the date and his name and …” she began to weep.

Evidence

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Today’s Holiday Birthday:  

You’ll be called on to do something you haven’t done before. You’ll be both inspired and inspirational. A group will form around your leadership as you apply past experience to figure things out. Results beyond your expectations will come at the start of the new year. Your family grows in March 2021.

OK, let’s check back in 9 months!

“5”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “It only takes one connection to make your personal life go from being a stale routine to an inspired journey. You’ll make that connection today and a transformation will occur in the weeks to come.” Aries  

So you’re saying this connection is an antidote for pandemic cabin fever?  That transformation … will it come from a person kind of connection or from a answer that has eluded my pursuit?

“4”  Steve Smith, 30: “You’ll be gifted with an emotion that is one click beyond passion and desire: rage. Rage doesn’t have to be angry or negative, but it’s always powerful, and best focused on what’s important to you.” Gemini

OK, this TauBit of Wisdom scares me and intrigues me.  How do you focus it without doing irreparable damage?

“5”  Steve Howey, 42: “When the solution eludes you, tackle it backward, inside out or upside down — any other way than the usual. What’s needed is a fresh approach.” Cancer

Thanks for breaking the log jam.  I just couldn’t figure out how to start this manuscript.

“4”  Steve Carrell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “Whomever you align yourself with, you grow to be more like. It isn’t necessary for you to have a personal relationship with your role models. You get to choose them from the whole wide world.” Leo

There’s such a long list, but one of the most influential is Toffler (see immediately below) and more recently Kurt Andersen who wrote “Fantasyland” which is both an update and a framework in which to view Future Shock.

“4”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61; Stephen King, 72: “Your famous adaptability will kick in. From the outside, your behavior may look illogical, but there’s definitely a method to your madness. When an unusual situation crops up, an unusual reaction is warranted.” Virgo

Should this be true about me, I feel the need to honor Alvin Toffler who alerted me to disruption and how to adapt or accommodate changes on the horizon.

“4”  Steve Aoki, 41: “Passions build slowly. At first, you don’t even realize what you want. When leanings turn to yearnings and become undeniable in their message, it’s a blessing that doesn’t feel like one.” Sagittarius

Who can resist such a phrase, “learnings turn to yearnings”?  But the point of the message mystifies me, why doesn’t the blessing feel like one?  It’s still early in the day, so maybe it will be revealed in the evening or late afternoon.

“5”  Steve Nash, 45: “Emotional skill and intelligence can be earned through both negative and positive experiences. Today will bring scenarios you will use as examples of what to do and what not to do.”  Aquarius

Well, of course I’d rate this TauBit of Wisdom a “5” given what it looks like we’re being trapped in for the foreseeable future. So take some time to review the Deloitte and Salesforce sponsored scenarios. 

“3”  Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “The possessions that you get the most value out of are the ones you use every week and maybe every day. As for the others, the more you can let go of, the lighter you’ll feel.” Pisces

So that would be describing the 500 pieces jigsaw puzzle sitting for days now on our dining room table?

Holiday Forecast for the Week Ahead:  

Curiosity is a slightly uncomfortable state of mind, as it relies on the tension between knowing and not knowing. The tension is resolved with an answer. So tenacious is our need for answers that our brains will just fill in the blanks with anything that enables us to push forward. 

The human brain craves certainty. 

Without it, we are paralyzed. Certainty facilitates action, commitment and movement. Where there is no certainty (and reality offers very little of it) humans do the next best thing; we make a good guess and come up with a theory that will allow us to go onward. If to assume is human, then not to assume is superhuman. Anyone can say, “I’m right,” and live to defend that. But it takes humility, higher thinking and a willingness to be uncomfortable inside the tension of curiosity to go to the next cognitive level — to question, wonder, revel in mystery and leave the loop open to possibility.

Whether or not today’s forecast gains currency over the next 7 days, I believe the insights ring true for me — curiosity drives discoveries in science and innovation.  It pushes knowledge forward.  But, predictability and certainty favor the status quo and our homeostasis because without them our mind grinds to a halt.  Without answers we jump to guesses and theories and conspiracy theories, unless you are the rare person who focuses the unresolved tension onto the next higher cognitive level.  

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @knowlabs followers of one or more of my 35 digital magazines organically grew from 3634 to 3806.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life 

Long-Form

    • Saw the movie, didn’t realize that one of my favorite authors, Michael Connelly — his detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch book series and Amazon Prime series — also wrote, “The Lincoln Lawyer” which I just finished. Gotta tell you I can’t not see his lead character (Mickey Haller, Bosch’s half brother) as anyone else but Matthew McConaughey. 

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trip

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S2 E59 — See What You’ve Been Missing

“You know the sensation you get when you look back on old photos? Be happy now. Cast worry aside. Trust time. It will handle so much for you.”

“5”  Steve Aoki, 41: “Eventually, you’ll be able to handle more and move faster. But this is still the early stages. You’re still learning, and you won’t regret taking the time to learn it right.” Sagittarius

Hi and welcome to Saturday’s Episode 59 in Season 2 of  “My Pandemic Year Natural Experiment” on this 6th day of June in the summer of 2020.  

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

Table of Contents

Season One and Two are a two-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic and then in this unfolding pandemic year.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E58 — Check Back in 18 Months; S2 E57 — Science and Medicine or Politically-Motivated Misinformation?; S2 E56 — What Iffing 

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E59 — Where Did All the Dillon Millennials Go? Eureka!; S1 E58 — Judging a Stroll from the Hotel Santa Barbara to the Lobero Theater; S1 E57 — More or Less in the Know; S1 E56 — It’s Frickin’ Summer and So Are You

Context

When will we be able to travel?  When will we be safe?  Enjoy this week’s episode:

Feeling Frustrated and Exhausted? 39 New Photo-ready Memories for Summer

Aren’t we all yearning for those special summer moments? Beach vacations. Back country adventures. Family road trips. Fishing and floating trips.

Practice the art of anticipation.  Sometimes looking forward to fun and sun is almost as good as the experience itself.

Remember, while we’re getting closer to re-openings we here on the Atoll don’t expect or encourage you to go check them out immediately.

The Tau: Week Ending 6/6/20

Tags: Beaches, Canyons, Climbing, Deserts, Festivals, Forests, Hiking, Islands, Lakes, Mountains, Parks, Regions, Resorts, Rivers, Road Trips, Seas, Trails

Instead we hope our articles inspire your bucket list ideas for future memories!

But, today there’s no reason not to join our growing group of 3783 followers …. 

See what you’ve been missing.

Check out this week’s headlines pulled from our daily “Top 30 Digest” delivered, “Fresh from the Labs. Literally bottled and set adrift from KnowWhere Atoll.“

Where … ?

Mountains, Rivers and Lakes

          • ”The Natural Swimming Hole At Emerald Pools In Northern California Will Take You Back To The Good Ole Days”
          • ”The Best Kayaks for Fishing and Floating”
          • “Back To The Great Outdoors: Climbing Tahoe’s Via Ferrata”
          • ”The Best Things To Do In Mammoth Lakes During The Summer”
          • ”Is South Lake Tahoe open for visitors? The city won’t fine you, but the state might“
          • ”What A-Basin Looked Like on Day One of Its Reopening”

Pristine Treks

          • ”These Bay Area parks and beaches just reopened their parking lots””
          • Parking lots at 144 California state parks reopen”
          • ”Backcountry Must-Do: Liberty Cap”
          • ”Quintessential Nearby Adventures”
          • ”The Redwood Canopy Trail At Trees Of Mystery Is Northern California’s Newest Aerial Adventure”
          • ”Bald eagles return to nest in Orange County neighborhood”
          • ”With fire season ahead, Eldorado National Forest enacts campfire restrictions”
          • ”The Grand Canyon will reopen this summer. Here’s how it will go”

Deserts, Slopes and Ranges

          • “Echo at Rancho Mirage by Studio AR&D”
          • ”Sanitas Brewing Co. Reopens This Weekend After Shutting Down Roving Beer Truck”
          • ”George R.R. Martin Joins Investor Group To Buy & Restore Sante Fe Southern Railroad”
          • ”Terrific Time Capsule! Designer Arthur Elrod’s ’60s Vision Still Pristine in Palm Springs”
          • ”Where To Find Colorado Restaurants Open for Dine-In Service” 

PCH Regions

          • ”Weigh In on Santa Barbara’s Wildfire Protection Plan”
          • ”Magical Field of Light in Paso Robles”
          • ”Rams employees help with cleanup effort in Santa Monica”
          • ”Image of Santa Cruz police chief, mayor kneeling packs a punch”
          • ”‘It is heartening’ Long Beach overwhelmed by volunteers helping clean up after looting”
          • ”The Best Beaches in Southern California”
          • ”Ventura County to extend stay-at-home order while continuing to ease restrictions”
          • ”Coronavirus concerns: Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival canceled for 2020”
          • ”Face Masks Are a Simple Gesture of Shared Respect”
          • ”How To Spend A Perfect Weekend In Quaint Ojai, California”
          • ”America, unmasked: The public health nightmare I witnessed on Santa Monica beaches this week”

Islands and Currents

          • ”Sea, sand and social distancing: Caribbean reopens to tourism”
          • ”Dogged pragmatism’ needed to save Ocean: UN Special Envoy”
          • ”With Tourism Halted, Hawaii’s Housing Market Takes a Big Hit. Can It Bounce Back?”
          • ”The Art Of Anticipation: Hawai’i Is Still Here For All Of Us”
          • ”Hawaii is effectively closed to visitors, but here’s how to support it from afar”
          • ”10 Reasons Why Hawaii Offers A Safer Vacation In A Coronavirus World”
          • ”Between two storms: Caribbean braces for hurricanes in coronavirus era”
          • ”The Perfect Weekend Getaway: Catalina Island From Los Angeles”
          • ”Caribbean flights: When can you fly to Caribbean? Rules for Jamaica, Barbados and more”

The Tau 12 Months Ago 

“If you don’t take the opportunities that come, you’ll regret it.  If you do take them, and they wind up being foolish, that’s still better than having no story to tell.”

Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.

Evidence

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

“4” Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “The urge to complain is a natural reaction to frustrating circumstances, though the mature response is to move past words and into solutions and action.” Aries

Let’s hope these quality-of-life destinations inspire you to plan, rather than add one more thing to how frustrating and angry you may feel during this extraordinary disruptive time.  Is the end in sight?

“3”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61; Stephen King, 72: “Mistakes are not only opportunities for growth and mastery; they are the best relationship glue there is. Nothing will go wrong without producing an obvious upside.” Virgo

Not feeling this one today, although who can argue with the sentiment if you are a glass half full person?

“4”  Steve Kerr, 54: “The requirements of the day are pretty awesome. You don’t have to solve problems or answer questions. You don’t even have to ‘just be you.’ All you have to do is relax.” Libra

Sure, it’s exactly what summers and Saturdays are for.  

“5”  Steve Aoki, 41: “Eventually, you’ll be able to handle more and move faster. But this is still the early stages. You’re still learning, and you won’t regret taking the time to learn it right.” Sagittarius

It’s all about the burden of the unexpected when normal expectations just aren’t met.

“4”  Steve Harvey, 62: “You’ll bring together the best of all worlds — a spiritual person with a practical point of view. Your open mind will lead you to test theories and run with what works.” Capricorn 

Who can fill those shoes?  I’d be flattered if someone thought it would be me.  But, overall if there is an underlying theme to Season Two and a reason for me to continue my natural experiment into a second year, it would be exactly that combination — wisdom and practicality.  Or what Benjamin Franklin supposedly pursued — practical knowledge.

“3”  Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “To accept differences and tolerate others is only level one. The next level is a celebration of diversity. A world where we honor not only our own traditions but everyone’s could be heaven on earth.” Pisces

Who politicizes mask wearing as preventative medicine during a pandemic.  Which of the four scenarios we are tracking will describe our path forward?

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @knowlabs followers of one or more of my 35 digital magazines organically grew from 3188 to 3634.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life 

Long-Form

    • Saw the movie, didn’t realize that one of my favorite authors, Michael Connelly — his detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch book series and Amazon Prime series — also wrote, “The Lincoln Lawyer” which I just finished. Gotta tell you I can’t not see his lead character (Mickey Haller, Bosch’s half brother) as anyone else but Matthew McConaughey. 

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trip

Posted on

S2 E58 — Check Back in 18 Months

What if the COVID-19 pandemic is severe and unfolds inconsistently across the world? And, the ability of China, Taiwan, and South Korea to contain the outbreak through strong, centralized government response becomes the “gold standard?”

“5”  Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “Sometimes it seems that your idealistic imagination is at war with the reality of a situation. Not today, which brings a brilliant blend of the practical and the sublime.” Pisces

Hi and welcome to Friday’s Episode 58 in Season 2 of  “My Pandemic Year Natural Experiment” on this 5th day of June in the summer of 2020.  

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

Table of Contents

Season One and Two are a two-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic and then in this unfolding pandemic year.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E57 — Science and Medicine or Politically-Motivated Misinformation?; S2 E56 — What Iffing; S2 E55 — Dreaming of 30 Tempting Getaways

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E58 — Judging a Stroll from the Hotel Santa Barbara to the Lobero Theater; S1 E57 — More or Less in the Know; S1 E56 — It’s Frickin’ Summer and So Are You; S1 E55 — All Roads Lead to the Future

Context

How will our pandemic lives play out?  Back to our continuing series drawing upon the report from Deloitte and Salesforce’s “The world remade by COVID-19 Scenarios for resilient leaders | 3-5 years.”

Scenario 1: “Passing Storm” for which the scenario story tellers assume governments communicate the severity of the pandemic and gets us citizens to take the crisis seriously and go along with the quarantine program.  

Scenario 2: “The Good Company” embraces their corporate responsibility by focusing on their long-term enlightened self-interest with investments in their employees and in the communities where they life and work.

“Scenario 3  Sunrise in the east”

The COVID-19 pandemic is severe and unfolds inconsistently across the world. 

China and other East Asian countries manage the disease more effectively, whereas Western nations struggle with deep and lasting impacts—human, social, and economic—driven by slower and inconsistent responses. 

The global center of power shifts decisively east as China and other East Asian nations take the reins as primary powers on the world stage and lead global coordination of the health system and other multilateral institutions. 

The ability of China, Taiwan, and South Korea to contain the outbreak through strong, centralized government response becomes the “gold standard.”

This scenario turns out to be a golden moment for East Asian countries, because they emerge from the recovery period with less economic impact. 

As an example of a good global citizen, but with self-interest firmly in mind, China significantly ramps up foreign direct investment efforts, bolstering its global reputation. 

Because so much is at stake people accept greater surveillance mechanisms as part of the public good. And as a result, economic recovery begins late 2021, with notably quicker and more robust recovery in the East.

Evidence

“4” Steve Zahn, 51: “In addition to fun, your prospect has love, resources and inspiration to offer you. Would you believe this is only the start of it? There’s much more to be explored here.” Scorpio

This only makes sense given we’re still in our extended Anniversary celebration.

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

“3”  Steve Smith, 30: “It’s a day of bright ideas. You will energize different areas of your life with vitalizing agents such as useful tools, surprisingly efficient methods, beauty, humor and creativity.” Gemini

I say not so much.  A better description might be I’m frustrated with tools and inefficient methods far outweighing my high energy, bright ideas.  Where can I find those useful tools and way more inefficient methods?

“4”  Steve Kerr, 54: “People will want to know about you. Though you see the value in keeping mystery alive. If knowledge is power, then you’ll be more powerful as you hold back some of the information.” Libra

Okay, now that energizes me.  Let’s hope knowledge is power, because ignorance is definitely not bliss during this second season.

“3”  Steve Aoki, 41: “This is your day. You’ll hit the green lights, get in the right grocery store line, find the prime parking space. The little things that go right are signs that big things will go right, too.” Sagittarius

Sure, I get how this might brighten my day — given all of those little things have been upended.

“3”  Steve Nash, 45: “There’s no end to a circle. To be included in one can feel wonderfully secure or like entrapment. With circles, you have to break in and break out.” Aquarius

And, doesn’t it seem like we’re choosing off on the basis of “us” vs. “them” circles?

“5”  Steve Jobs, (1955 – 2011): “Sometimes it seems that your idealistic imagination is at war with the reality of a situation. Not today, which brings a brilliant blend of the practical and the sublime.” Pisces

Unless you shift the frame and follow those eight scenario steps which give you ample time to employ divergent and convergent thinking to prepare you to better anticipate uncertain futures.

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @knowlabs followers of one or more of my 35 digital magazines organically grew from 3188 to 3698.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life 

Long-Form

    • Saw the movie, didn’t realize that one of my favorite authors, Michael Connelly — his detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch book series and Amazon Prime series — also wrote, “The Lincoln Lawyer” which I just finished. Gotta tell you I can’t not see his lead character (Mickey Haller, Bosch’s half brother) as anyone else but Matthew McConaughey. 

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trip

Posted on

S4 E23 — When In Doubt, Follow the Money

Rebekah Mercer, who gained a fast reputation for aggressively involving herself in the campaigns of politicians she backed, made clear that as a condition of her financial support, she expected that campaigns would hire Cambridge Analytica to do their data work.

“5”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61; Stephen King, 72: “What is best for everyone? Considering the many opinions expressed, picking the right one seems complex… until you realize most people are speaking out of self-interest. Who really has the group’s best interests at heart?” Virgo

Hi and welcome to Saturday’s 23rd Episode in Season 4 of  “Our Disruptively Resilient Year” on this 9th day of April in the spring of 2022.

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

Table of Contents

We concluded the three-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed — during the “normal” pre-pandemic year compared to the pandemic year, and more recently to the paradoxically normal year. 

Season Four continues now within domestic and global chaos.

Previously in Season Four, The Disruptively Resilient Year

S4 E22 — Now, Who Could Argue With That?; S4 E21 — Not Since the War of 1812; S4 E20 — Resiliently Living Through Domestic and Global Chaos

Related from Season Three, the Paradoxically Normal Year

S3 E23 — Free from the Pile of Rubble in Your Brain; S3 E22 — What’s the Experiment Got To Do with the Exodus from Barb’s Bunny Ranch?; S3 E21 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and My Curiosity Whisperer Walking a Yip-Yippy Dog;  S3 E20 —Celebrate the Anniversary of When Things Seemed So Normal 

Related from Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E23 — Gaping Loss No Amount of Mourning Will Heal; S2 E22 —Paranoid Rose Review and Traffic-Copped Check Out Lines; S2 E21 — Cycles of History Rhyming with Endlessly Disruptive Rhythms?; S2 E20 — Panic, Fertilizer and Least Expected Meaningful Moments;

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E23 — Day 23 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E22 — Day 22 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E21 — Day 21 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E20 — Day 20 of My 1-Year Experiment;

Context

Follow the money.  

Joshua Green, in “Devil’s Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Nationalist Uprising” reminds us that in the 2016 campaign for president Trump was not the candidate whom the Mercers initially backed in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. Ted Cruz was their first choice.

Kellyanne Conway

The Mercers gave $11 million to a Super PAC they established to support Cruz’s candidacy, hiring Kellyanne Conway to run it. I always wondered where she came from and how she made it into Trump’s administration.

Robert Mercer

Robert Mercer was co-CEO of the fabled quantitative hedge fund Renaissance Technologies.           

He collected machine guns and owned the gas-operated AR-18 assault rifle that Arnold Schwarzenegger wielded in The Terminator.          

He loved to dress up in costumes. Each year, Mercer and his family threw an elaborate, themed Christmas party at Owl’s Nest, his opulent waterfront mansion on Long Island’s North Shore.               

Mercer, who was then sixty-nine, had recently developed another late-in-life interest: politics.              

It might have been something to do with reading an Ayn Rand novel.

Green said, “He’s a guy with his own ideas, and very developed ideas.”              

Mercer wanted to bring back the gold standard and abolish the fractional-reserve banking system upon which the modern economy is built.                

He became eager to mount legal challenges to environmental laws, claiming they were part of a United Nations, which was bad, right?             

He started to become active just as the Supreme Court was getting ready to hand down its decision in the 2010 Citizens United case—opening the floodgates for wealthy individuals to take a larger and more active role in electoral politics.

By 2012 he contributed $25 million to the dark-money network of wealthy conservative donors organized by Charles and David Koch, and he gave millions more to Karl Rove’s Super PAC, American Crossroads.

Rebekah Mercer

But it was Rebekah Mercer his middle daughter who became even more actively involved in the family’s political giving.

Rebekah with Steve Bannon established “Glittering Steel” to make movies and political advertisements.

They focused on a dual mission — not only to influence politics but also to become a commercially successful producer of Christian-themed movies which tapped into one of Rebekah’s passions, because she home-schooled her four children.

Chuck Colson

She fell in with the evangelical group chaired by the reformed Watergate felon Chuck Colson—whose mission was to “shape culture from a biblical perspective.”

The network included the actor and director Mel Gibson, whose 2004 film The Passion of the Christ had been an unexpected hit.

Glittering Steel

But, Glittering Steel didn’t turn out any commercially successful films.

It did, however, produce the movie version of “Clinton Cash” that appeared in 2016, just as the general election race was kicking off. 

The film debuted during the Cannes Film Festival, on the French Riviera, where Rebekah Mercer entertained guests, including Bannon, aboard the family’s 203-foot luxury super yacht.

A list of active political Mercer-funded enterprises leading up to the 2016 election:

    1. Super PAC they established to support Cruz
    2. Glittering Steel to make movies and political advertisements.
    3. Karl Rove’s Super PAC, American Crossroads
    4. Cambridge Analytica — U.S. offshoot of a British data analytics company, Strategic Communication Laboratories,
    5. Government Accountability Institute a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research organization
    6. Breitbart News’ long-planned relaunch

Cambridge Analytica

The fourth Mercer-funded outfit was a business after Robert Mercer’s own heart, given how he made his fortune. 

He invested in the US offshoot of a British data analytics company, Strategic Communication Laboratories.                

They advised foreign governments and militaries on influencing elections and public opinion using the tools of psychological warfare.

Steve Bannon

Robert and Bannon became owners of the American affiliate of SCL  christened Cambridge Analytica. 

In addition to his ownership stake Bannon took seat on the company’s board, according to Green.              

It was perfect for Bannon as a messaging and strategy that would be independent of the institutional Republican Party.

Bannon and Mercer weren’t the first.  

Fellow billionaires, David and Charles Koch also spent tens of millions of dollars building an alternative party structure, so disillusioned were they by the ineptitude of the GOP.

But the newer twist came from Robert’s daughter in the form of the deals she brokered.               

Rebekah Mercer, who gained a fast reputation for aggressively involving herself in the campaigns of politicians she backed, made clear that as a condition of her financial support, she expected that campaigns would hire Cambridge Analytica to do their data work.

Breitbart News

Here’s what the Clinton brain trust missed and were blindsided by, based on their assumptions about the presidential race.

Trump was still considered a carnival sideshow, Breitbart News a site for trolls and crazies, and Bannon a fringe figure who wouldn’t possibly factor into something as large and important as a presidential race. These were all assumptions the Clinton brain trust would come to bitterly regret.

Bannon’s genius took form when he insisted on facts that independents and media would believe as a way of discrediting the democratic nominee.

Bannon thought, conservatives needed to build a political case based on documented facts that would discredit Clinton in the eyes of the people whose support she would need to win the election—not just voters, but the media as well.

Hillary Clinton

Through Bannon and his interlocking groups, Mercers bankrolled the effort to discredit Trump’s eventual opponent, Hillary Clinton, 

To turn his strategy into action he deployed the fifth enterprise.           

That’s where the Government Accountability Institute came into play. Although it was funded by Mercer family money, GAI was, under the letter of the law, a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research organization whose work, if it had merit, could safely be taken up by reporters and producers at nonpartisan media outlets without exposing them to charges of political bias.

Green fills in some steps on the path to a Bannon partnership when Mercer’s interest in “right-wing politics began to blossom, they led him to charismatic, peripheral figures with dramatic, world-changing ideas—people such as Andrew Breitbart.” 

And how Mercer became convinced he should throw some money at the 6th on the list of his investments.

    • Robert Mercer met Breitbart in 2011 at a conference held by the conservative group Club for Growth.  And they led him to Steve Bannon,
    • Through Bannon, the Mercers agreed to invest $10 million to help finance Breitbart News’ long-planned relaunch.

Evidence

Today’s Holiday Birthday:

You’ll like how the world molds to your vision. Somehow you find a way to dominate the factors that once seemed so out of your control and elevate your entire scene. You’re expected to play a role; you’ll do it in a way that pleases and fulfills you. Though you’re unconcerned with approval, life goes easier for you because of the applause.

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

“4”  Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “You know how to spot a bad situation and avoid it. Some situations are, however, unavoidable. The best you can do is to keep moving forward with as much grace as possible.” Aries

Are you only talking about today, of about all the long-form research I’ve been backfilling to make sense of what happened, why it happened and what might happen in the 2022 and 2024 elections?

“3”  Steve Winwood, 71; Stevie Wonder, 69; Stephen Colbert, 56: “When you like people, you’ll go out of your way to see them smile, alleviate their stress or make them feel comfortable. Doing this for someone you don’t know or dislike… that’s nobility.” Taurus

Yeah, sure but I’m not feeling like a noble guy today.

 “5”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61; Stephen King, 72: “What is best for everyone? Considering the many opinions expressed, picking the right one seems complex… until you realize most people are speaking out of self-interest. Who really has the group’s best interests at heart?” Virgo

Isn’t this the bedrock upon which our democracy and constitution operate?  Why has self-interest been weaponized and politicalized?  What’s the answer?

“4”  Steve Kerr, 54: “Education can be extremely expensive or completely free. A library or the internet provide access to the greatest minds in history. Taking advantage of this today is extremely advantageous.” Libra

Oh yeah, the Internet that’s what you want to do to use your critical thinking.  Am I right? No. The Twitters and Meta Facebooks of the world expose us to the least greatest minds.  Heaven help us.

“4”  Steve Nash, 45: “To believe everything serves a purpose will relax you. Whether this is true matters very little. From the relaxed place you will recognize your next good move and keep going forward.” Aquarius

I almost believed that this was about believing everything as in what a fool believes he sees.  But, then I reread it and felt I couldn’t believe how well it forecast my afternoon.  Totally unbelievable!

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll

    • @KnowLabs suite of 36 digital magazines, according to my analytics, grew from 12458 this week to 12559 organically grown followers.
    • Orange County Beach Towns 212 viewers stopped by the week before.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life

Long-Form

    • “Here, Right Matters: An American Story” by Alexander Vindman. “We’d long been confused by the president’s policy of accommodation and appeasement of Russia, the United States’ most pressing major adversary. Russia’s president Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, seizing the Crimean Peninsula, attacking its industrial heartland, the Donbass, from the capital, Kyiv. By 2019, little had changed, Russian military and security forces and their proxy separatists continued to occupy the Donbass. The biggest change was to Ukraine’s importance as a bulwark against Russian aggression weeks earlier, the White House had abruptly put a hold on nearly four hundred million dollars.” 
    • David Enrich begins his book with a suicide in “Deutsche Bank Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and an Epic Trail of Destruction” and then meticulously details the bank’s Russian money laundering operations. Deutsche’s Russian business surged after revenues had fallen 50% due to the 2008 financial crisis. Putin’s Russia, poured in to Deutsche from deals it did with VTB Bank, linked to the Kremlin’s intelligence apparatus. Deutsche positioned itself as a crucial cog in “The Laundromat” by doing what couldn’t be done — processing cross-border transactions for banks that were too small  and didn’t have offices outside their home countries.
    • “Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy” by Jamie Raskin recalls one tragedy no parent should endure — the suicide of his son — and then a second tragedy at almost the same time — the insurrection on January 6th 2021, that terrified he and his congressional peers who were tasked by the Constitution to routinely oversee the orderly transfer of power from one former president to the duly elected new President. 
    • “A Warning” by Anonymous (Miles Taylor) written prior to the January 6th Insurrection as an insider’s account documenting how frequently the former President’s behavior and rage without any “guard rails” showed just how far he would go to win the next election at any cost while spinning lies and misinformation on top of each other.  
    • “Peril” by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa provides anecdotes, stories and inside reporting documenting the controversial last days of Donald Trump’s presidency, as well as the presidential transition and early presidency of Joe Biden. 

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trip

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S3 E31 —Treat It Like a Pawn Ticket to Sketchier Things

Yesterday was all about me — what and why my Holiday Tau fit me the most.  Today is filled with a disappointing gaggle of Holiday Taus for Steves.  

“2”  Steve Zahn, 51: “It’s happened before that you got what you wanted and then were somehow vaguely unsatisfied. This time, you’ll question your wants and get to the bottom of why you want it, which helps your chances of a fortifying outcome.” Scorpio

Hi and welcome to Saturday’s Episode 30 in Season 3 of  “My Paradoxically Normal Year” on this 18th day of April in the spring 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.

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

Table of Contents

Previously from Season Three, the Paradoxically Normal Year

S3 E30 — Steal These TauBits, Please. It’s Only Fair!; S3 E29 — Why 83.3% of the Time I Swiped Your Tau; S3 E28 — Why I Stole Your Daily Horoscope for a Year

Related from Season Two, The Pandemic Year

S2 E31 — Getting Charged from Box Automattic-aly; S2 E30 — It’s Crazy. Why does Amazon Prime Work, but Netflix Doesn’t?; S2 E29 — Three Months That Changed the World; S2 E28 — Hosting Norwegian Zooms While Trump Eliminated the Virus in April

Related from Season One, The Normal Year

S1 E31 — Day 31 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E30 — Day 30 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E29 — Day 29 of My 1-Year Experiment; S1 E28 — Day 28 of My 1-Year Experiment 

Context

I’d been working on the Findings Section of the report describing how for a year I lived life like an art form in a natural experiment.

The “Conclusions Section” grabbed my attention because the Holiday Tau for Zahnny, the Fonze, Emma the Baroness and me illustrates what critics level against astrology, palm reading, fortune telling and taking horoscopes too seriously. 

How could you not follow Nancy’s lead?  Not “Do It,” or, “Just Say No.” 

But first, here’s a quick and dirty 30-day summary, “Why I Stole Your Sign and the Mysteries of Your Life”.  Treat it like a pawn ticket to sketchy things I’ve learned from stealing your sign without doing the time. I feel so guilty about it that I’m willing to sell it back to you.  

When Ronald Regan sat in the oval office, his First Lady consulted with an astrologer for scheduling his important meetings.  Was this time optimum for the President?  Or was tomorrow better?  

“Mrs. Reagan’s spokesperson said of the astrologer,  ‘Air Force One didn’t take off without permission. [Nancy] set the time for summit meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev, presidential debates with Carter and Mondale…the timing of all the President’s trips abroad, of his press conferences, his State of the Union addresses.’”

I can only assume it included leading up to his speech, “Mr. Gorbachev, take down that wall.” 

After all, they were both in the acting business as celebrities before he became California’s governor and later President.

Let’s not forget what a fellow Californian and Los Angeles Lakers legend wrote:

“Intelligent imagination is vital to this sort of deduction! However improbable a hypothesis, it cannot be discarded”

— “Mycroft and Sherlock” by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

However comma in the Conclusions Section is the time to confirm or deny your hypothesis.  Can I get an “Amen”?  

The reason why astrology may seem like it works is because our brains are wired to look for patterns, even when none exists.  For me as a writer I found it easy to conduct “discussions” with Steves about their horoscope.  

And, that made it easy for me to bring small parts of what I’m actually thinking about, working through, or experiencing in the world like they are. 

I embarked on this experiment, and I make no apologies for it, hoping I’d find a significant inspiration or insight to solve a vexing problem, master a complicated first time challenge or just make how my day flowed a little easier.

But you can’t ignore the role of bias conspiring against reliable results: selection bias on the front end and confirmation bias on the back end. 

Self-selection bias boils down to the very human tendency to look for interpretations or confirmations for what we already hope to be true. 

To mitigate undue bias effects, I summarized what was happening behind the scenes first and then “scored” the Holiday Tau curated for that day.

Since the brain is not looking for exact matches, it can pick up some characteristics of a match and assume it fits. Astrology is no more than a test of chance and it is not a reliable way to predict personality, scientists and critics say.

Another phenomenon I noticed over the year is one astrologer’s prediction for a horoscope is typically and completely unrelated to the prediction of another astrologer for the identical horoscope. 

Oops.  

So for purposes of this natural experiment I chose consistency and stuck with Holiday Mathis throughout the year.  Your mileage may vary.

But, I had to ask and am left with, how similar is my long-term attraction to trends and predictions I research to better decide a significant course of action with the appeal of the shorter-term astrological forecasts? 

I’m attracted for entertainment purposes, yes, but, as for guidance, not much at all.  To which you can rightly point out you’ve continued this obsession into your third year! 

Guilty as charged. On top of stealing your birthday more often than not.

And, that takes us to an example of what a Wikipedia “expert” had to say about how some people become truer believers than others:

“However, many people still believe their horoscope perfectly aligns with the events in their lives. There are some possible explanations for this. Horoscopes have vague wording and are based on typical everyday activities.”

Evidence

Cases in point.

“2”  Steve Zahn, 51: “It’s happened before that you got what you wanted and then were somehow vaguely unsatisfied. This time, you’ll question your wants and get to the bottom of why you want it, which helps your chances of a fortifying outcome.” Scorpio

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

And for some reason the rest of the Holiday Tau doesn’t get much better!

“3”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61: “When they come to you with questions you can answer, it feels good to be able to help. When they come to you with questions you can’t answer, it gives you ideas about what to learn next.” Virgo

“3”  Steve Kerr, 54: “You’re just following your curiosity and doing your job, but you end up growing your expertise in the process, and your influence naturally expands. With increasing power comes increasing responsibility.” Libra

“4”  Steve Aoki, 41: “Intentionally focus on what there is to be happy about. To appreciate and enjoy where you’re at is more than just a good practice; it’s a tool that keeps you connected to the best parts of your humanity.” Sagittarius

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @KnowLabs suite of digital magazines jumps from 7981 to 8003 organically grown followers

Foresight

Quality-of-Life 

Long-Form

    • “Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge” by E.O. Wilson, an entomologist who studied colonies of ants for their insights.  But didn’t stop there, according to The Wall Street Journal, “A dazzling journey across the sciences and humanities in search of deep laws to unite them.” 
    • “True Believers,” the novel by Kurt Andersen (which seems to precede Fantasyland)? I like how he goes back and forth from now to the ‘60s in which the main character is writing a memoir, but needs “Okays” from her friends who had been hiding a secret for 40+ years that could ruin their careers?  Like, what’s my equivalent
    • “Disappearing Through the Skylight” by O.B. Hardison, Jr. which proceeded “Consilience” by a decade.  Hardison’s been described as a polymathic renaissance man who wrote, “… Nature has slipped, perhaps finally beyond our field of vision.”  What does it mean for “… science, history, art and architecture, music, language, ultimately, for humanity”? This one provides missing chunks of understanding where we came from and where we’re going.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trips

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S2 E57 — Science and Medicine or Politically-Motivated Misinformation?

The Good Company embraces their corporate responsibility by focusing on their long-term enlightened self-interest with investments in their employees and in the communities where they live and work.

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “You know the sensation you get when you look back on old photos and realize that a lot of your concerns back then were needless? Be happy now. Cast worry aside. Trust time. It will handle so much for you.” Scorpio

Hi and welcome to Thursday’s Episode 57 in Season 2 of  “My Pandemic Year Natural Experiment” on this 4th day of June in the summer of 2020.  

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

Table of Contents

Season One and Two are a two-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic and then in this unfolding pandemic year.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E56 — What Iffing; S2 E55 — Dreaming of 30 Tempting Getaways; S2 E54 — 90 Days to Future-Proof Your Career Trajectory and Lifetime Investments 

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E57 — 12 Hidden Secrets and Stolen Wisdom – Month Two; S1 E56 — It’s Frickin’ Summer and So Are You; S1 E55 — All Roads Lead to the Future; S1 E54 — A Version That’s a TauBit Grander

Context

How will our pandemic lives play out?  Back to our continuing my series drawing upon the report from Deloitte and Salesforce’s “The world remade by COVID-19 Scenarios for resilient leaders | 3-5 years.” 

We’re at step four. Assemble the alternatives for each force into internally consistent stories.

Previously we revealed the summary of “The Passing Storm” for which the scenario story tellers assume governments communicate the severity of the pandemic and gets us citizens to take the crisis seriously and go along with the quarantine program.  

The good news in this scenario is that the virus’s spread is contained.  

    • No second wave materializes. 
    • Immunization works leading to prevention.  
    • The economy, while taking a hit initially rebounds near the end of 2020 and builds once we consumers feel more confident sometime after July 2021.

Today, before visiting each of the four alternatives in greater detail, we profile Scenario Two.

“Good Company”

The COVID-19 pandemic persists past initial projections, placing a growing burden on governments around the world that struggle to handle the crisis alone. 

A surge of public-private sector partnerships emerges as companies step up as part of the global solution. 

New “pop-up ecosystems” arise as companies across industries partner to respond to critical needs and drive much-needed innovation. 

Social media companies, platform companies, and tech giants gain new prestige. 

Ultimately, companies shift further toward “stakeholder capitalism,” with a more empathetic stance on to how they can best serve their customers, shareholders, and employees to rebuild after the crisis.

In another positive alternative, we’ll witness the initiative taken by those companies to supply healthcare expertise especially with software and tools.  

The Good Company embraces their corporate responsibility by focusing on their long-term enlightened self-interest with investments in their employees and in the communities where they live and work. 

Best estimate for the economic cycles? 

Recovery begins near the end of the year in 2021, but slows during the first 6 months of 2022, before accelerating in the second half.

Evidence

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “You know the sensation you get when you look back on old photos and realize that a lot of your concerns back then were needless? Be happy now. Cast worry aside. Trust time. It will handle so much for you.” Scorpio

So, you’re saying they same holds true for Emma the Baroness and me in, say 2022 or 2024?  I can verify I have experienced the sensations even more recently looking back on old photos in-between searching for missing jigsaw pieces and binge watching Netflix.

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

Today’s Holiday Birthday:  

“This year turns up your vitality; lifestyle changes and exciting projects figure in. People you admire find their way into your world. You already have what others need, and you’ll find the niche that allows you to feel a deep sense of contribution and belonging, not to mention the chance to get exactly what you want.

So, clearly this ain’t my birthday, but if it is yours please feel free to soak up the optimism.  And, let’s celebrate you by fervently wishing that key elements of “The Passing Storm” and “The Good Company” influence our futures together.

“4”  Steve Carrell, 57; Steve Martin, 74; Steve Wozniak, 69: “You’ll revel in your freedom. Being left alone to live as you like without being nagged, judged or subjected to the whims of authority is the perk of adulthood you cherish.” Leo

Haha.  Welcome relief for an introvert. Solitude.  Ah yes.  Even more so now with no one to see and nowhere to go. 

“4”  Steve Kerr, 54: “You become like the people around you and this is why you’re pretty choosy about whom you allow to the inner circle, or, for that matter, any concentric circle of which you are the center.” Libra

It’s pretty easy for Emma the Baroness and me.  Are you a believer in science and medicine or politically-motivated misinformation?

“3”  Steve Aoki, 41: “Your cosmic gift of the day is a clear demarcation on the point of diminishing returns. This prevents you from unnecessary work and frees you to focus on what matters most to you.” Sagittarius

I picked this TauBit maybe out of wishful thinking more than anything else — I mean, c’mon, my cosmic gift?  Most excellent.

“4”  Steve Harvey, 62: “Judges get paid to judge. Why should those who aren’t judges do this for free? You refuse to concern yourself with matters that do not directly concern you. It takes less energy to live and let live.” Capricorn 

Yeah, sure.  But I see it in even more simple terms — introverts need to budget their energy.  We take longer to recharge.  Which, in turn, takes away from more imaginative work and creativity.

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @knowlabs followers of one or more of my 35 digital magazines organically grew from 3188 to 3698.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life 

Long-Form

    • Saw the movie, didn’t realize that one of my favorite authors, Michael Connelly — his detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch book series and Amazon Prime series — also wrote, “The Lincoln Lawyer” which I just finished. Gotta tell you I can’t not see his lead character (Mickey Haller, Bosch’s half brother) as anyone else but Matthew McConaughey. 

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trip

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S2 E55 — Dreaming of 30 Tempting Getaways

Looking for that Perfect Weekend Getaway?  30 Tempting Escapes to Consider Now! Shifting from trends, opportunities and foresight this episode focuses on the quality-of-life adventures for planning when the pandemic abates.

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “Working hard and solving many problems doesn’t always tire you out. In fact, now you’ll find it invigorating due to the fair amount of adrenaline coursing through your day.” Scorpio

Hi and welcome to Saturday’s Episode 55 in Season 2 of  “My Pandemic Year Natural Experiment” on this 30th day of May in the spring of 2020.  

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

Table of Contents

Season One and Two are a two-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic and then in this unfolding pandemic year.

Previously in Season Two, the Pandemic Year

S2 E54 — 90 Days to Future-Proof Your Career Trajectory and Lifetime Investments; S2 E53 — The Fourth Step’s Passing Storm Botched Beyond Belief; S2 E52 — What’s So Wrong with Conventional Wisdom Unless … 

Related from Season One, the Normal Year

S1 E55 — All Roads Lead to the Future; S1 E54 — A Version That’s a TauBit Grander; S1 E53 — High 5’s for Tau Secrets Revealed; S1 E52 — Missing Chapters and Paths Not Taken

Context

Shifting from trends, opportunities and foresight this episode focuses on the quality-of-life adventures available.

“Telling yourself to change without changing the environment, too, rarely works. But if all you change is the environment, chances are good that what’s inside will follow suit.”

Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.

The Tau: Week Ending 5/30/20

Tags: Beaches, Camping, Deserts, Islands, Lakes, Mountains, Regions, Resorts, Road Trips, Seas, Trails  

Precious insights could come from anywhere. Try new environments for fun and for changing your routines in the best possible way. Choose from any of these 30 habit-shifting getaways. 

Remember while we’re getting closer, we here on the Atoll don’t expect or encourage you to go check them out immediately. Instead we hope our articles inspire your future adventures!

But, today there’s no reason not to join our growing group of 3484 followers …. 

See what you’ve been missing.

Check out this week’s headlines pulled from our daily “Top 30 Digest” delivered, “Fresh from the Labs. Literally bottled and set adrift from KnowWhere Atoll.“

Where … ?

Mountains, Rivers and Lakes

            • ”The Perfect Weekend Getaway: Mammoth Lakes and Mono Lake From Los Angeles or San Francisco”
            • ”The Perfect Weekend Getaway: Lake Tahoe from San Francisco”
            • ”David Coverdale Lowers Price For His Lake Tahoe ‘Paradise’ Home”
            • ”Montanans Will Never Forget Their First Time Visiting Saint Mary Lake”
            • ”Tough lesson: Bear breaks into Bay Area family’s car in Lake Tahoe, forages for food”
            • ”Big Bear Lake to stop communicating or enforcing state’s coronavirus stay-at-home order”
            • ”Planning to visit South Lake Tahoe for Memorial Day weekend? Expect to pay $1,000 fine”

Pristine Treks

            • ”10 Orange County Hikes to Take You From Sea to Summit”
            • ”Explore Over 8 Miles Of Hiking Trails At City Of Rocks State Park in New Mexico”
            • ”Evergreen Artist Julie Leidel Will Donate 50 Percent of Her May Sales to the Red Cross”
            • ”SoCal campgrounds start to slowly reopen, some in time for Memorial Day”

Deserts, Slopes and Ranges

            • “Top 10 Best Luxury Hotels In Napa Valley”
            • ”Colorado Restaurants Can Reopen for Dine-In Service On May 27”
            • ”Heat wave will bring excessive heat warnings to Southern California desert areas”
            • ”Santa Fe To Gallup: A New Mexico Road Trip Steeped In History And Culture”
            • ”Inside Sylvester Stallone $3.3M Palm Springs getaway mansion featuring fire pit, hot tub and stunning mountain views” 

PCH Regions

            • ”The Perfect Weekend Getaway: San Diego From Los Angeles”
            • ”Coronavirus economy: Silicon Valley wields tech shield against layoffs”
            • ”Here’s how the Golden Gate Bridge was actually built”
            • ”’Long Beach-based Virgin Orbit set to test orbital launch system today“
            • ”Homebuying is an adventure’: Bigfoot found sheltering in place at million dollar Santa Cruz house for sale”
            • ”Opening Half Moon Bay beach lots proves hard”
            • ”San Diego, Ventura and Santa Barbara can reopen restaurants for dine-in service”
            • ”As California reopens, shops will see if customers feel confident or cautious”

Islands and Currents

            • ”Craving Caribbean sunshine? Saint Lucia planning phased reopening on 4 June”
            • ”Hurricane season 2020: When is hurricane season in US and Caribbean?”
            • ”COVID-19 Has Turned Paradise Into a Privacy Nightmare”
            • ”Wish you were here: Caribbean tourism reels from coronavirus”
            • ”Can Hawaii open up to tourists without letting in the coronavirus?”
            • ”These Caribbean countries are reopening for tourists next month”
            • ”COVID-19 Update: It’s Still Not Time To Travel To Hawaii”
            • ”Hawaii is enforcing 14-day self-quarantines with single-use hotel keys” 

Tau 12 Months Ago 

“If wisdom were a needle in a haystack, you’d find it.  Precious insights could come from anywhere.”

Holiday Mathis, Creators Syndicate Inc.

Evidence

“5”  Steve Zahn, 51: “Working hard and solving many problems doesn’t always tire you out. In fact, now you’ll find it invigorating due to the fair amount of adrenaline coursing through your day.” Scorpio

Truth be told, I may unconsciously overcomplicate challenges and problems to experience that adrenaline coursing through my veins.

Random ones that make me want change my sign.

“4”  Steve Greene, 34; Steve Guttenberg, 61; Stephen King, 72: “When you plan, deliberate and make big efforts you create your life. When you wing it, you create your life. When you do nothing, or just whatever, you create your life. You’ll come up with a brilliant mix of modalities.” Virgo

So where’s the lesson here?  Do nothing, plan everything, wing it too?  Or something else?

“4”  Steve Kerr, 54: “You’re melded to another and are so incredibly close that you sometimes wonder if you have the qualities necessary to withstand such an intense synthesis. Stop overthinking. Believe that collectively, you’re stronger.” Libra

I kinda look at it this way.  Until you meld, you cultivate your Remembering Self which you refine over and over again.  When you meld you become one Remembering Self together out of two separate Selves.  Emma-the-Baroness-Steve is a thing.  

What’s Going On …

Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll 

    • @knowlabs followers of one or more of my 35 digital magazines organically grew from 2839 to 3188.

Foresight

Quality-of-Life 

Long-Form

    • Saw the movie, didn’t realize that one of my favorite authors, Michael Connelly — his detective Hieronymus (Harry) Bosch book series and Amazon Prime series — also wrote, “The Lincoln Lawyer” which I just finished. Gotta tell you I can’t not see his lead character (Mickey Haller, Bosch’s half brother) as anyone else but Matthew McConaughey. 

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate

CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION

The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trip

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