A Thought That Goes Bump...

...with many presumed notions.  Take a moment and relive an important period in Civilization.

Were the Middle Ages Dark? -- Prager University

What's George Reading Now?

A hard back, a paperback, and a kindle - good reading on them all. 

The Savior Generals: How Five Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lost - From Ancient Greece to Iraq by Victor Davis Hanson

Visiting again the awesome scholarship and perspective of  Victor Davis Hanson.  The attraction this time is his take on five moments in history where a leader, stepping up or dropped into, a failing situation leads a dramatic turn-about with historical implications.  Specifically, Themistocles at Salamis, Flavius Belisarius in Byzantium, Sherman's capture of Atlanta and march to the sea, Matthew Ridgway's one-hundred days in Korea turning a rout into an enduring face-off, and David Petraeus and the Iraq surge.  Despite the epoch, there was much in common on the field and in the character of these pivotal leaders.

The Last Battle: When U.S. and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe  by Stephen Harding.

This is my introduction to historian and widely written Stephen Harding.  No one wanted to be the last man killed in WWII.  Sane minds on all sides didn't relish rogue Gestapo units murdering the last of Hitler's prisoners.  Thus a wild but true tale of how a rag-tag alliance sought to rescue notable French leaders and personages imprisoned in an Austrian fortress.  Harding introduces each player, setting up how he/she came to be in a certain place at a certain time, follows the rescue effort, and the fates of each following the war.  I especially enjoyed the general attitudes and perspectives of the French, Austrian, Germans, Americans and East Europeans.

Darkship Thieves by Sarah A. Hoyt.

Reading this one now.  My foray into the science fiction realm of blogger Sarah Hoyt.   Curiously, although I've written what would be categorized science fiction, I generally don't read it (obviously I'm more of a history and non-fiction reader) but after bumping into references to her books time and time again while enjoying her editorials, I decided, well, why not?  Good move, George!  I'm having a rollicking good time with this way into the future tale of humans, mules (you'd have to read the book) and hide and seek.  Hoyt can hold a finicky attention like yours truly.

UPDATE:  Okay, confession:  Sarah held the attention and inspired me to get the sequel, Darkship Renegades, on my kindle.

Red Sprite

What is it?

Musing about a Must, Got to, Can’t, Should and Ought

I must lose weight!  I’ve got to cut down on (fill in the blank.) I can’t continue doing (something you like!)  I ought to spend more time (doing this or that.)  I should (fill in the blank.)   Or, some version of “breaking or beating old habits.”  How do you feel having such thoughts (intentions?)

If someone comes up to you and says “You’ve got to do this!” what’s the first thing that goes through your mind?  Your immediate reaction?  “The heck I do!” you think.  You didn’t have to work at it.  As soon as those dreadful words “got to” were hurled, you immediately, instinctively, resisted them.  A bit of anger flared at the same instant, didn’t it?  You were prepared to defend your freedom and identity.  That’s part of what makes us human.  Now, where it gets dicey is when this instinctive reaction is directed not at some external threat, but at yourself.

You react to your own thinking in the same way you react to the words spoken by another.  If you think the words on the title list, then you  risk resist yourself.   That resistance becomes your point of attention rather than what you desire.  In a fight against yourself, you lose.

So what to do?  First, practice thinking and speaking to yourself as you would want others to speak to you.  Second, speak and think about what your desire, what you want, rather than what you lack or what your fear.

You ain't the boss of me!

This is a good time to practice what you want.  Re-consider your intentions.  For example – “I must get up earlier each morning,” or “I must go to bed earlier each night.”  The issue is time.  How about:  “I desire to have all the time I need to do what I choose to do.”

“I can’t eat my treats, I must lose weight.”  The issue – comfort with self.  How about:  “I enjoy everything I eat and everything I eat nourishes my healthy body.”

And, a big one:  “I can’t worry so much.”  The issue – worry makes me feel badly about something I can’t control.  How about:  “Life is Good.  There is Good for all.  I enjoy thinking about Goodness.”

The bottom line is that you select the words you use to speak with yourself.  Are you clearly communicating what you desire?  Or, the tricky part, are you giving more attention to what you don’t want?  Law of Attraction means “ask and you will receive.”  Whatever you’re giving attention is how you ask.

After all, who's boss?

Fire in Space

Or, a flame in free-fall.  Regardless, earlier (see post below) Commander Chris Hadfield answered the perplexing problem what happens when you wring a wet rag in space?  In that post I mused that I recalled seeing an experiment years ago of a flame in space.  Who knew?  Hadfield shows the curious action:

In Space, a Candle Burns

The results of a Burning and Suppression of Solids (BASS) experiment demonstrates that in zero-gravity—where heat doesn't rise—a flame burns in a uniform oval.  More amazing Hadfield photos at Popular Mechanics.

Super Cell over Montana

Sean Heavey captured an awesome sight:

Yeah, such things do exist

Thanks and thanks.