Some Interesting Thoughts on the Nature of Work

One of the best bits of advice I’ve come across related to writing is, READ.

So I have read a number of books and articles on character development, plot theory,  and story pacing. I feel these things have been positive time investments because they have given me a structured way of thinking about my craft.

Combine the structure with plenty of fiction and non-fiction in my preferred genres, and my product starts to come together pretty well except for a nagging doubt regarding my expectations for my personal productivity.

Family, work, and the necessities of life really interfere with my desire to sit and write. Eventually, I found a balance between my writing and all of the “stuff” that bleeds off my time, energy, and creativity.

I recently came across an article by Mark Manson that provides some interesting perspective on the nature of creative work. Manson’s notion that the total number of hours invested can have an inverse relationship to the overall quality of the work produced, is food for thought for us creative types.

Fair warning, Mr. Manson’s style includes adult language.

 

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Return of the Haggis! – Texas Scottish Festival & Highland Games 2017

Dallas and Fort Worth have a number of well-publicized cultural events the first weekend of May, but my favorite, hands down, is the Texas Scottish Festival & Highland Games  held the first weekend of May on the campus of the University of Texas in Arlington.

When they say “Highland Games”, they are serious. We arrived in time for the Heavy Hammer Throw, Sheaf Over Bar, and Cabers.

The music of Seamus Stout was blasting, and the Belhaven Stout was flowing.

Please sample some of the artists from this year and years past

For the more discerning patrons, Mead and Whisky tasting was available.

The usual collection of “fair food” was on hand, but we enjoyed a selection of pies from Heritage Meat Pies, easily one of the best food vendors at this event. I highly recommend the Curried Lamb pie. Top that off with Zemer’s Homemade Rootbeer. Zemer’s is one my family’s faves. They sell you a cup with your choice of cold rootbeer, vanilla ice cream float, or a new rootbeer slushie. Make sure you save your cup because refills are only $1.00. (Even the floats are only a buck.)

Vendors of traditional and modern Scottish apparel and knickknacks abound. We have seen an increasing number of Steampunk garments and Cosplay accessories in the last couple of years.

A Clan Village allows attendees to meet and greet members of their extended, sometimes VERY extended, families and compare genealogical notes, or take in dance competitions while melodies from the pipers fill the air. Our guest this year discovered her Scottish heritage leads to Clan Gordon by way of Aberdeenshire County.

Scots are big on kith and kin, and the Texas Scottish Festival is a very family friendly event. Kids can take advantage of a special area and activities just for them.

Be sure to catch the North Texas Caledonian Pipes & Drums

and the Fort Worth Scottish Pipes & Drums.

Both groups participate in the opening parades and wander the festival grounds keeping toes tapping. Feel free to break into a reel when the spirit moves you. They are also available to entertain at private events like weddings and parties.

 

The 1^st Weekend in May is the date to remember.

Just because you wear a kilt don’t mean you can’t cowboy up.

Y’all come out and visit!

Malfunction Clearance with Live Ammo – This Crap Makes Me Crazy

Read an article that should be a wake up for everyone who handles semi-auto firearms, and especially people who train others.

The cause of this is obvious to anyone who shoots tube fed rifles. (Ex: Winchester lever action rifles)

In those guns you have to use flat point bullets to prevent the nose of one round from crushing the primer of the round ahead of it as the gun recoils. (.22Lr guns get around this because the nose of the bullet does not rest on a primer.)

These people were doing malfunction training with LIVE ammo, and 9mm ball has such nice sharp points. When the slide was released to create the malfunction, the nose of the top bullet in the magazine slammed into the primer of the round in the chamber and BANG.

We MUST be careful and thoughtful in our actions people.

Please use dummy rounds when training weapon manipulations, and think about every move you make when handling weapons. EVERY accident and EVERY injury. WILL be used against us by those who would see our civil rights taken away.

 

 

Once again we see the total stupidity of Safe/Gun Free Zones.

The Administration at University of Texas, and their snowflake professors have been some of the most vocal critics of the pending Campus Concealed Carry bill passed in Texas.
Here are three prime examples of why lawful concealed carry is not the problem:

Gun Free Zone – “Safe” Place
“Harrison Brown, a freshman at the university, was one of four people stabbed by the suspect — Kendrex J. White — who “calmly walked around” campus with a “bowie-style” hunting knife and randomly stabbed other students, police and witnesses said.

The three others were injured in the attack.” ~ KTLA.com
CHL Friendly – Safer Place
“Two people are dead, including the suspect, after gunfire erupted at a North Texas sports bar.
The shooting happened shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Zona Caliente sports bar in southern Arlington.

Police Lt. Christopher Cook says the shooter entered the restaurant, got into an argument with an employee and shot and killed the worker. A customer who was armed with a licensed concealed handgun confronted the gunman and shot him dead.” ~ ABC News.go.com

 

The press keeps pushing the narrative that Kendrex White at UT had mental issues.
So what? We’re supposed to stand around an hope he doesn’t come after the rest of us?
My mother didn’t raise a child so stupid as that.

The punk in the bar?
It could have been a personal thing just between him and the bar manager, right?
Maybe he had mental issues too.
Who cares?
How would the bar patrons know?
Were they supposed to cower on the floor like those folks at Luby’s in Killeen did back before Texas had CHL laws?
Then there’s the murder suicide at Northlake College in Irving, Texas.
Another case where a Gun Free Zone failed to stop a horrible crime.
Would a person with a concealed weapon have made a difference? By all witness accounts, no. The murder was done and over with too quickly for anyone to react.

Let’s Try To Be Rational About This…

A person with a concealed weapon is NOT the panacea for every situation.
Concealed weapons give a person options. Sometimes the best option is to run away, or hide, or fight.

Isn’t that the mantra now days? Run – Hide – Fight?

If the best choice in a bad situation is to fight, it is certainly nice to have the tools that give you the best chance of coming out on top.

A “GUN FREE ZONE” SIGN ON A WALL WILL NEVER REPLACE OUR INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR INSURING OUR OWN PERSONAL SAFETY – NEVER.