Tag Archives: reading

A New Year

Posted by Tim on

2013I usually don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, but I felt like doing it this year. There are a few simple ways that I know I can better myself, both physically and mentally. A New Year is a good starting point to set some goals, and forget about all of the failures of the past. Its a clean slate. I’ve got larger goals in a few years, (buying a home, for instance) but in the meantime, I might as well focus on some smaller things.

Dieting is easy for me. I can put on weight and lose it at the drop of a hat. I’ve been working out and dieting for years and I know my body well enough where (if I wanted to) I could lose 50 lbs in a few months and put it back on in a few more months. The New Year’s diet really has nothing to do with my weight; I’m comfortable in my body. But I could be healthier; not that I’m noticing any problems.

First things first – no more fast food, no more soda, no more alcohol. Its been a week, and this has already made an impact. I’ve cut out these things before, and I always have more energy when I do. But fast food is convenient, especially since I spend a lot of my time driving. The extra energy helps take the place of soda, which I mainly drink for the caffeine. And alcohol – well. I’m not a big drinker anyway, but I might as well cut that out too. It’ll at least save me some money.

I also plan to read a book a week for the rest of the year. So far, so good. Already read Russell Kirk’s “Edmund Burke: A Genius Reconsidered“. Next up – “America the Beautiful” by Ben Carson. This will be a way to take up some extra time since I won’t be spending it at bars or at restaurants. More time at home reading means less time out spending money that I could be saving.

Unfortunately, this also means that less time will be spent writing on this blog. Don’t worry – I’ll make enough time for the occasional blog post, but updates will come slower than last year. Which reminds me; its been over a year since this blog took off. Over 200 posts and nearly 20,000 views. Thanks everyone! Please feel free to comment on anything I write and share the blog with your friends. Suggestions are always welcome as well. ;-)

Here’s to another year in America; another year in Wisconsin.

Recommended Reading (12/9/12)

Posted by Tim on

end the fedIt’s been a while since I’ve put forth a “Recommended Reading” post, so to make up for that, I’m recommending two books this time. No worries though, they’re both short, easy reads, and they’re actually authored by the same man – Ron Paul. Ah! Right? Not exactly what you may expect from me, being that Ron is more libertarian than I am, and I tend to disagree with him on foreign policy. That being said, Ron Paul was always fun to watch during the debates, and the man’s integrity is unquestionable. He’ll gladly be the only person in Congress to say “No” to a bill that he doesn’t approve of. Ron Paul is a man of principle.

Although he has written a number of great books, I’ve personally only read his more recent titles - The Revolution: A Manifesto, and End the Fed. Both books are less than 200 pages, and are very easy to read. The Revolution talks primarily about Ron’s positions on big issues, be it federal spending, war, or economic liberty. He also introduces readers to the real problems with having a fiat currency, one that isn’t backed by gold, and one that is operated by a single power – the Federal Reserve System.

By the end of the book, I found that I liked Ron Paul more than I thought. Although I don’t agree with everything he said, I at least had to respect him for knowing what he believed and why he believed it. So many other politicians change their views over the years, trying to pander to this group or that group. Not Ron Paul, however. His positions have been the same for decades, and his beliefs never changed because of unpopularity or peer pressure.

End the Fed goes still deeper into the issue of sound money, and I feel that it is essential reading for any conservative/libertarian who wants to gain a basic understanding of America’s money system. When the housing bubble burst, everyone in Washington was pointing fingers, but few people were pointing them where they belonged. It wasn’t “greed’s fault” that there was a bubble – the market doesn’t allow for bad transactions, no matter the motive. The bubble was created because government interfered with the market, and allowed greed to make bad transactions. The market is self-regulating, and government intervention only disturbs and distorts this regulation.

End the Fed also includes a few conversations Ron has had with Fed Chairmen Ben Bernanke and Alan Greenspan. It is fun to read the conversations that must have driven Bernanke and Greenspan nuts. Sometimes Ron Paul was the only person to question the actions of the Fed. He was a constant thorn in their side.

Both of these books give a great taste of just who Ron Paul is and what he believes. You don’t have to agree with everything said in these books, but it is important to learn from people you may disagree with. Ron Paul helped launch the Tea Party movement, helped bring big issues to the forefront of the Republican party, and helped move the party away from moderate wimps towards Constitutional Conservatism.

Recommended Reading (8/5/12)

Posted by Tim on

Competition is the force which drives improvement. In some ways its very obvious – competition in the automobile market pushes manufacturers to provide better products at lower prices. In other ways its not so obvious. If the Russians hadn’t competed with the Americans in the Olympics during the Cold War, they never would have invented steroids, which today are used by countless American athletes – hitting home runs and scoring touchdowns – keeping us entertained all year round. Yes, competition is the key.

Speaking of Russians and those ultra-competitive Olympics of the Cold War era, much of what they pioneered in weight training we are still using today. The most common training templates used today by America’s top powerlifters were written about decades ago by Soviet trainers. In more recent times, Vladimir M Zatsiorsky has written Science and Practice of Strength Training.

Zatsiorsky worked with the Soviets for 26 years, training literally hundreds of top-level athletes. Currently he teaches kinesiology at Penn State (let’s just avoid the Sandusky conversation, shall we?), but he also holds honorary degrees from universities in Poland and Russia. He’s authored over a dozen books, and his works have been published in English, Russian, Chinese, Italian, Spanish, and other languages.

In Strength Training, Zatsiorsky delivers a complex analysis of the actual science of training. The book is full of charts and graphs, showing the effects of various training intensities, timings, and muscle recruitment. No matter the goal, whether it be strength, size, endurance, or speed, Zatsiorsky and, more importantly, science have the answers. Instead of just giving the reader a mindless training schedule, he gives you the knowledge needed to create your own – the right way. Along with the science, Zatsiorsky gives specific recommendations for certain populations – women, the elderly, and young athletes – and he also includes some tips for injury prevention.

If every trainee, or just every ignorant personal “trainer”, read this book there would be a lot less confusion about how to train for any desired effect. Too often young people go searching the internet forums for an answer to their troubles and all too often they get a bunch of hogwash, and end up just wasting time, if not money as well. Instead of that – buy this book, read it, and apply it. It’ll change the way you look at strength training forever.

On another note, I haven’t had a ton of time to sit down and watch this year’s Olympics, but I did manage to catch some women’s weight lifting last week. A 17 year old girl from Kazakistan weighing 116 lbs lifted 270 lbs over her head like it was nothing. I died a little inside. Really? She’s younger than me, smaller than me, a girl, and she’s way stronger than me. How’d that happen?

Recommended Reading (7/21/12)

Posted by Tim on

The 60s are thought of as an era of progressivism – the hippies, the anti-war crowd,  the civil rights movement. The 80s were of course seen as a decade of strong conservatism. Reagan owned the White House and ran America well; by lowering taxes he raised revenue which he used to build up our military into the most powerful Army on the planet, which hadn’t been the case since a few years after WWII. But if we go back a into the 60s, we see that what Reagan capitalized on was started 20 years earlier.

In 1960, Arizona Senator, Barry Goldwater, wrote his timeless classic, The Conscience of a Conservative. At the time, Goldwater was one of the only true conservatives in the Senate. He gave the guidelines of how to get America back on track. At the time we were a nation weakened tremendously by the days of the New Deal. People were being taxed as high as 90%. Government was growing and spending recklessly. The way back was to embrace the US Constitution and let the free market work.

Goldwater explains the problems with labor unions. He explains problems with the federal government encroaching on state’s rights. He spends considerable time talking about America’s foreign policy towards the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Showing strength and consistency are extremely important, and aiding the allies we have over the enemies we’d like to turn into friends is vital. Above all – our leaders must not be naive when dealing with people who do not intend to be our friends, and are only looking to destroy us.

Goldwater also makes the case for less taxation. People do not work to serve the government, and the government ought to live within its means. Our money is used most wisely when we use it ourselves, not when the federal government spends it for us. Furthermore, the programs that government spends it money on are often destructive – welfare in particular. There is nothing moral about taking by force from X to give to Y. Charity is best left to individuals, private organizations, and churches.

The principles that Goldwater taught – liberty, limited government, constitutionalism, individualism, and the free market – have impacted countless conservative politicians for decades. Goldwater’s book led him to an unsuccessful presidential run in 1964, but 16 years later, Ronald Reagan would apply his teachings and change America forever.

Recommended Reading (7/9/12)

Posted by Tim on

The whole Fast and Furious scandal is a bit of foreshadowing on what is to come should America re-elect Barry Obama. Despite what some may say about Obama neglecting to pursue any major gun control measures, his record is perfectly available to anyone who wishes to learn more. Obama and the 2nd Amendment just do not go together. It is because of this that its important to re-educate ourselves on the gun control issue.

Perhaps it is in our favor then to read a book that was written in the height of Bill Clinton’s anti-gun era in the 90s. Guns, Crime, and Freedom is the book to read. Written by Wayne LaPierre (Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association), this book provides the reader with the know how to argue for freedom and against gun control.

When this book was written America had just passed the “Brady Bill”, which banned certain weapons – especially so-called “assault weapons”. LaPierre lays out the facts in clear English. Assault weapons account for about 2% of crimes. The ban on assault weapons wasn’t designed to lower crime, but to get the proverbial “foot in the door”. Brady Bill II showed exactly what was coming, (an virtual ban of most firearms, thereby eliminating the 2nd Amendment) and luckily it never passed.

LaPierre exposes just about every gun control fallacy, from waiting periods to licensing, concealed carry to children and guns. He then takes on the root of our crime problem in America – our lax justice system. Account after account is brought forth where criminals are placed back into society before they have serve their time, only to murder and rape again. Prisons DO work, and its time we thought about society more than of the criminal’s “feelings”.

Going back and looking at where we came from in the 90s can help us see the signs of another Brady Bill coming in the next four years should Obama be re-elected. The bigger the government, the smaller the citizen. Don’t think that the 2nd Amendment isn’t on their hit list. It is the 2nd Amendment that insures the rest of the Constitution, and you better believe they’re planning on attacking it.

Thoughts on 1 Timothy

Posted by Tim on

I just finished the book of 1 Timothy again. I really like both 1 and 2 Timothy, but I kind of wish it wasn’t so. I feel lame telling people that my favorite book of the Bible is 1 Timothy when my name is Timothy. I guess I was just named correctly. It could be worse; I could be named Amos. I’m sure I’d have to undergo horrible ridicule as a child – “Amos anus” and so forth. Always look on the bright side, right?

Putting aside what could have been, I found it rather comforting to learn what 1 Timothy was all about – Paul giving instructions to a young man who was looking to be a leader of the church. Timothy looked up to Paul, and Paul gave him excellent advice in the two letters he wrote – 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy.

While I’m no Bible thumper, and I’m hardly an expert in theology, I do enjoy reading this stuff and sharing what I learn. Although many people are much smarter than I am when it comes to religion, please bare with me as I share a few great verses I read recently. Maybe this is a repeat for you, maybe you’ve forgot it, or maybe you’ve never read it yourself. Take it or leave it.

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance; Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.“
1 Timothy 1:15

Paul says upfront – this is important. What he’s about to say needs to be taken seriously and literally. Jesus came to the world to save sinners. There are a number of ways to look at this. First, Paul doesn’t specify which sinners Jesus came to save; he just says “sinners”. Isn’t that ALL of us? We’re all sinners, and Jesus came to save everyone, not just people of a certain background or certain heritage.

Secondly, Paul wants Timothy to learn from Jesus. If we look back into Jesus’ time, he wasn’t hanging out with the kings of the land. He wasn’t hanging out with celebrities and rockstars. He was having dinner with the poor, the elderly, the sick. Too often today we think that to be a follower we need to push away people from our lives. Thats not what Jesus did. What we ought to do is reach out to the people who need Jesus most, even if they are seen as horrible people. Jesus had a number of personal conversations with prostitutes, did he not?

“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.“
1 Timothy 4:8

Did Paul seriously just smash the meaning of my life to pieces? I’ve spent so many hours on exercise and diet and all of that stuff – just to have Paul say it isn’t important? Well, no. Paul admits that there is value in training your body; keeping it healthy and so forth. What he’s saying is that we shouldn’t be short sighted and overlook the most important thing – training our hearts. We all die – our bodies will turn to dirt. Our souls, on the other hand, last forever.

“Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”
1 Timothy 5:1

Isn’t this the key to having great relationships? Paul is telling Timothy that if he wants to be a leader he needs to be worthy of respect, and they only way you get respect is by giving it. Treat your elders well, and treat those younger than you as though they were your siblings; look after people. If we are to be leaders we need to look after those in our life the way a shepherd looks after his flock of sheep.

Meh. Just a few things I took away from that book. Its some really great reading, and I encourage everyone to pick up their Bibles soon and read it. Only a few chapters long – a half hour of reading should be enough to get through it, but I recommend more. Its good to sit and think about what is being said, and realize the deeper meaning.

Recommended Reading (4/2/12)

Posted by Tim on

The ideas on political theory today can all be traced back centuries. Before we ever knew who Barack Obama or Mitt Romney were, old guys in Europe were talking about the same things we’re talking about today. Just like today, the differences are stark, but unlike today – they were clear. Nowadays, it can be hard to see any real difference between a Democrat and a Republican. But by taking a step back, and understanding the fundamentals of each argument, the differences are in plain view.

No recent book spells out the differences better than Mark Levin’s most recent book, Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America. In the follow-up to Mark’s last best selling book, Liberty and Tyranny, he dives deeper into the history and philosophy of the left – who he refers to as Utopians. The magical dream world where equality is places above all else, and where wise men make rules for everyone else’s life. Its the dream of the modern day leftist, but also the dream of Plato, Thomas Hobbes, Thomas More, and Karl Marx. In each of their writings they create their own utopia, complete with an all powerful centralized government.

Conversely, Mark also brings to light the philosophers behind the founding of America – Charles de Montesquieu, and John Locke. John Locke gave our founders the idea of inalienable rights given to us by our creator – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Locke also brought us property rights. Montesquieu gave us the gift of our republicanism. A federal government that has certain powers, but most powers and duties are left to the states. Separation of powers, limited government, liberty, property rights – these are the principles of America.

But today, as Mark sees it, (and I tend to agree with him) we are no longer living in a constitutional republic. The government controls more of our lives than ever, and the outlook is grim. Only by returning to the principles which this nation was built on can we escape the wrath of the left’s utopia. We are no longer living in America, but “Ameritopia”.

This book is a great introduction to political theory. It discusses the real differences between the right and left in history and today. Just like Levin’s last book, Ameritopia is a huge hit – debuting as the #1 New York Times best seller, and remaining on the best seller list for weeks. This is a must read for anyone who wants to learn a bit about political theory, the principles of the Constitution and Declaration, and gain a perspective for where we are headed in the future if drastic changes are not made.

Rambling Autodidact

Posted by Tim on
Leonardo da Vinci - The Most Famous Autodidact

Leonardo da Vinci - The Most Famous Autodidact

Darn it. I got another ego boost the other day. Although a compliment can make me feel good, I also really try to be humble. I take pride in being that way. (I take pride in being humble? Huh?) But it happened. I’ll try to keep my ego in check, but the compliment inspired me to write this.

“Do you think about things before you say them?” She asked. “Like, do you think them out or, did you go to school for this? Cause you seem to know what you’re talking about.”
“No. I’m not in college.” I responded. “I’m what you’d call a nerd. I just get interested in something and then I learn everything I possibly can about it.”

Being an autodidact is fun, and kind of unusual, it seems. Its a new word for me – “autodidact”. It means someone who is self taught. Someone who has become knowledgable without having a formal education. Hey, that’s me. I have a fancy high school diploma, but that can hardly be described as “education”, much less “formal”. No, most of what I know I’ve learned by myself. I read a lot, I listen a lot, I watch a lot.

When I say “by myself” I don’t mean that I just sit alone at the library and read. I actually don’t go to the library, but I do sit alone and read a lot. But I also gather information from the people around me. I ask questions. I pick people’s brains. If I were to completely cut myself off from everyone I know, forget about my social life, and retreat to being a hermit, I might be able to read more, but I’m not sure I’d learn more. When I argue with people I learn. You can’t argue with a book. (Well, you can, but its kind of pointless.)

The older I get, the more I disagree with people. I’m not disagreeable. I’m not a jerk (at least I don’t think I am). But as we get older, and gain more and more ideas and beliefs we tend to become more separated from other people’s beliefs. No one’s influences are exactly the same, therefore we can’t expect to all have the same beliefs about everything. Someone who reads Noam Chomsky books isn’t going to have the same perspective as someone who reads Thomas Sowell. Someone who follows Joe Weider bodybuilding methods probably isn’t going to “get” someone who is into Mike Mentzer.

The more influences we have, the better we can make decisions about reality. Ironically, the more influences we have, the more original we become, and therefore our decisions will also be more original. Our lives will become more different from each other as we continue to learn and grow. Eh… I’m just rambling. Every once in a while we need a good “rambling post”.

The Gift of Reading

Posted by Tim on

“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
- Mark Twain

I was reminded of this saying today. I was reading a book at work, trying to pass the long stretches of time between customers. A coworker asked what I was reading and I mentioned political theory, Montesquieu, and John Locke. He seemed interested and then told me of his grim circumstances. Being so burdened by school work and reading assignments, he has very little time to read for fun.

Luckily though, he’s been able to pick up Tim Tebow’s new book and begin reading it. We both admire Tebow, as many people do. We admire him for the reasons that so many others hate him. He’s a Christian who isn’t afraid to talk about it. Some may see Tebow as self-righteous, but once people get past their anger and jealousy, they’ll see that he’s a genuine guy who loves God. He’s a great role model in a time when there aren’t many out there. He’s also dyslexic.

This was of great importance to my coworker, because he is dyslexic as well. Now, I’d heard of dyslexia, but I didn’t really know what it was. In a show of ignorance I asked, “Like you read words backwords?” Ha. No, not really. Sounds like it’s a reading disorder that makes it difficult to read, especially at the speed that everyone else does. The way it was described to me was this: When a normal reads the word “tree”, they can immediately think of a tree, and what it looks like. When someone with dyslexia reads the word “tree” they first read the word, think of how to say the word, make sure they read the word right, then imagine the tree, then move on to the next word.

It’s because of all this that it takes people with dyslexia so long to read. Imagine instead of reading a sentence as a complete sentence, you read it as individual words. You’d lose your place, have to re-read, and in the end, you’d be lucky if you had any idea what the last chapter was about. Sounds like it must suck. Now, my coworker is a really smart guy. He’s in college at the moment, preparing for a career as a music instructor. He’s managed to overcome his reading disorder.

There are a lot of people out there with dyslexia. There are also a lot more people who can’t even read at all – just because they’re illiterate. For instance, according to UNICEF, in Kenya, males between the ages of 15-24 have a 92% illiteracy rate. Females are just a bit worse – 94%. Sounds awful right? The vast majority of Kenyan’s cannot read. But hey, that’s not a problem in America, right? Wrong. In 2011 a shocking report came out of Detroit, claiming that 47% of adults were functionally illiterate. That’s better than Kenya, but still REALLY bad.

Now, we could go into everything we could do to fix the problem. Better schools, more funding for adults education programs, more foreign aid for countries like Kenya. We could also train teachers to look out for symptoms of dyslexia, and teach them how to work with it in the classroom. I have no doubt that there are tons of great ideas out there. But that’s not the point.

The point is that there are people in this world who either have a lot of trouble reading, or cannot read at all. Those of us who can pick up a book and read it like nothing, enjoy it, learn from it; we shouldn’t take that for granted. Furthermore, if we can read, we should. Sometimes we don’t see all of our blessings, but reading truly is one of them. If you can read – read. Some people would love to have what you have.

The End of the Library

Posted by Tim on

I touched on this earlier – the fact that I personally don’t go to the library, and neither do any of my friends. I read. I read a lot. But I don’t spend any time at the library, and while I have my reasons which may be very valid, I’m still a little troubled by the lack of use of our nation’s public libraries.

Now, there are two issues at hand. The first is just the absolute stupidity of the majority of the youth in America. I’ve written on this before, but let me reiterate. The numbers of kids who read books is dropping. The numbers of kids who sit in front of a screen for half their day is rising. They’re screen time isn’t spent typing on a blog, by the way – it’s used on Facebook, usually. I wonder how many high school seniors have been to their local public library in the last four years of their education. I imagine it’s pretty few, and the ones who did go to the library did so for a single school project, not for fun.

No, the library is just not as fun as it used to be. Other forms of media have grabbed people’s attention, and since there are only 24 hours in a day, that means less attention goes to books, reading,  and learning. The radio, the TV, the personal computer, and now the cell phone. There are plenty of devices begging for our time, and books aren’t one of them. Libraries have noticed this. That’s why they’ve been trying to “change with the times.” Most libraries now offer CDs for rent, DVDs for rent, free internet and rows of computers to use, and often free WiFi. Some libraries even have little coffee bars.

It sounds like a good plan to get more people into the ever more unpopular reading facility. But last time I was in a library I was one of a handful of people actually looking for a book. Most people were sitting at a desk doing some “social networking”. (Which, by the way, ISN’T “social networking” if you’re just talking to the same people you talk to in real life.) This was over a year ago, and I doubt things have gotten any better. There are probably more computers, and more homeless people checking out 15 year old girls’ internet pages. This is what the library has turned into. A free internet cafe for homeless people.

The reading of books has shifted to bookstores, and that’s part of the problem for libraries. There was a time when giant megastores like Barnes and Noble didn’t exist, and your only chance of finding a book was going to the library. All that has changed with huge warehouses, huge inventories, and huge warehouse-style stores with huge inventories. The internet has changed everything too. Rarely do you need to pay full price for a book anymore. Amazon has used books for a couple dollars. If that’s the case, why bother going to the library to rent the book, when you could just buy it for the price of gas to get to the library? Megastores, the internet, and abundance of material has cost libraries their customers.

But these people were never really “customers”. They never bought anything. Even when the library was in it’s heyday the only revenue it saw was from late fees. But our government is becoming stingier and stingier. Wait – no it’s not. But it is becoming dumber. Some programs need to be cut, no doubt, but our government seems to have a pattern of cutting the wrong types of things. I really fear that libraries across America will soon be on the chopping block. The argument can be made that no one is using them, that the costs are too high, and that their contribution to society is minute in modern times. Are we set to see our libraries disappear?