Vinceland

Just about one year ago, I drafted and posted this humble piece of verbal pie.

Since then, Vinceland has seen good days and great.

It’s seen controversy, and harmony.

I’ve written really long stuff, and largely ignored stuff.

I’ve been linked to about 15 other blogs and sites that can be found on the list to the right.

According to Google Analytics, the average reader spends 2 minutes and 12 seconds on my site reading 1.73 pages per visit.

27.4% of you get here directly, from bookmarks or by typing in the URL.

21.5% of you still go to Ye Old Vinceland, and click from there to here. Come on, get with it and modernize.

And fully 12% of you get to Vinceland by my #1 fan, Aaron James Draplin, who’s wonderfully updated site is a great source of information, elation and inspiration.

The majority of my posts have fallen in the Life and Society categories, with the most popular covering subjects like “Vermont”, “Portland” and “Snowboarding”. Search for those words in the field up to the right, pretty slick stuff.

Why bother keeping up with this site? Because I get to spill my guts, have some fun and piss some people off.

PS: New Random Photos up at Flickr. Need to do some descriptions and stuff, but you get the idea.

It sounds like science fiction, something out of the Blade Runner days, but imagine if every human’s time could be managed and spent more wisely, globally.

I drive, walk and look around and frequently wonder, as I see people doing less than nothing, “What are your plans today?”, “What do you have going on?”. It sounds harsh, it sounds conceited. But there are times when I really want to ask that question, as a way of waking people up who seem to be in a daze of dis-purpose.

My thought revolves around that fact that lately, every moment of my life is planned for something. From rest, to work, to love, to fishing, I have to plan ahead, make the time and I always seem to be doing things ON PURPOSE. Even recreation time is done on purpose. For example, I spent an hour and a half watching Lost and some other stuff on TV last night, on purpose. And it felt good, that show is pretty good.

Maybe that’s the difference: What are some people out there doing ON PURPOSE and does it have value to humanity? Are you purposely wasting your time, or much, much worse, wasting my time? If so, go away and let someone else with a more useful purpose take your place.

People talk about the value of human life. I’m all down with that. But I believe the true value in a human life is one lived with a purpose. And I don’t mean a lifelong purpose, like becoming a fireman or something. I mean daily, hourly, momentary purposes. The value in a life on earth comes in spending the little segments of time you have here on things that matter, on knowing what the hell is going on around you and playing a useful role.

Consider a plant. A plant sits in dirt all day, barely moving yet performing completely meaningful tasks to both it’s own survival and that of organisms around it, including us. The solitary plant works in harmony with other plants and insects to make it’s world function more smoothly and successfully. A plant creates and facilitates more, and better, life.

There are many people I see around that spend their time on earth accomplishing far less in a human lifetime than a single plant does in it’s short life span. You might ask, Well, sleep really does not matter, nor does fishing or drinking beer. How are those activities meaningful in terms of a benefit to humanity and our world?

I would argue that a life worth living and worth admiring includes the necessary time to enjoy the fruits of it’s labor. So the benefit of the activities of a meaningful life come with the necessary down time to clear the mind, rest the body and then get back to business. As long as it’s all done on purpose.

So the connection from living a life on purpose and the value of time and leading a meaningful existence all makes sense to me. But where is that connection and that simple idea lost on other people that either do things really poorly or don’t do anything at all? At what point in their lives does purpose, the value of time and meaning go out the window? And how?

You really can’t just walk up and ask someone those questions, as amazing as that would be to record and put on YouTube. My answer is to ignore, bypass and slip by the problem to focus on what I need to do, what I want to do, and why I need to do it. Sounds super selfish, eh? Maybe I can set a bit of an example? Maybe that’s not the best philosophy, but it seems to be the one that most people adopt and go forward in life with.

So, like the global computer project that harnesses unused bandwidth of networks all over the world to solve huge computations, I propose a global human time harnessing initiative. The idea would be to take advantage of all of the bits of wasted time throughout the day that everyone experiences, some more than others. Once collected and evaluated for worth, the wasted time could be distributed (or even sold), to those that deserve it most (to the highest bidder?).

Those people who have no wasted time to offer would be first in line to get more time added to their days. And those with the most wasted time each day would be docked time, their worthless lives shortened, in favor of keeping the motivated and purposeful moving along at a more balanced, productive pace. It may not be as good as whirled peas, but it is one solution to making the World a better place, through the even distribution of the immensely undervalued commodity of Time.

Someone out there has considered it. Someone has considered selling human time as a commodity to be bought and sold and valued financially. I am not talking about indentured servitude, I am not even talking about something that’s possible. I am just remarking at and considering the meaning of the general waste of human time I witness all too often, and occasionally play host to. I welcome your comments should you care to offer them.

Been a while.
I think it’s time for a good ol’ List.

Awesome: Working on the yard.

Not that rad: Working on the yard.

Awesome: Kittens.

Not that rad: Cat shit.

Awesome: Ongoing work.

Not that rad: Management.

Awesome: Sharing everything.

Not that rad: Compromising everything.

Awesome: Bass spawning season.

Not that rad: My proximity to spawning bass.

Awesome: Email.

Not that rad: Communicating true feelings over email.

Awesome: Sun and warmth.

Not that rad: Heat.

Awesome: Having a large family and friends all over.

Not that rad: Calling back.

Awesome: Lamps.

Not that rad: Overheads.

Awesome: Homes.

Not that rad: Less time.

Awesome: Being in business.

Not that rad: Sticking to your guns.

Awesome: Inspiring people.

Not that rad: Giving back to others.

Awesome: Good food prepared by other people.

Not that rad: Keeping up with Joneses.

Awesome: Memories.

Not that rad: Knowing what’s coming.

Awesome: Technology.

Not that rad: Staying with it.

Awesome: Adulthood.

Not that rad: Chub and Flab.

Awesome: Some roots.

Not that rad: Uncertainty of replanting.

Awesome: Accomplished stuff.

Not that rad: Prioritization.

Awesome: Home appliances.

Not that rad: Doing laundry and dishes.

Awesome: Having the right people working around you.

Not that rad: Finding the right new talent.

Awesome: Rigging a rod, tying on a lure, casting a line.

Not that rad: Making the time.

Awesome: The idea of fatherhood.

Not that rad: The reality of fatherhood?

Awesome: Multi-tools.

Not that rad: Keeping things handy.

Awesome: Thinking things through.

Not that rad: Finding the time.

Awesome: Feeling more settled.

Not that rad: Feeling lazy.

Awesome: Having insurance and savings.

Not that rad: Paying into insurance and savings.

Awesome: Big thoughts, big dreams, big plans.

Not that rad: The execution.

Awesome: Having a feel for the lay of the land.

Not that rad: The unknown.

Awesome: Getting around the town that stays out of your way.

Not that rad: A-holes in cars.

Awesome: Waterfronts.

Not that rad: Little access to boats and the like.

Awesome: Being able to write things.

Not that rad: Insecurity about how well.

Awesome: Loud rock music.

Not that rad: Lack of Ipod connectivity in vehicle.

Awesome: Solid hugs that last a few extra moments.

Not that rad: Realizing people can’t exactly reach around you all the way.

Awesome: Good books around.

Not that rad: My friggin’ ability to finish a book. Been years…and I have 6 started.

Awesome: ‘memberin.

Not that rad: fergettin’ to ‘member.

Awesome: Opportunity.

Not that rad: Sealing the deal.

Awesome: Confidence in your honesty towards others.

Not that rad: Lying to yourself.

Awesome: Man room.

Not that rad: Feeling isolated from my wife down there.

Awesome: Tater tots at St. John’s Pub.

Not that rad: Service at St. John’s Pub.

Awesome: Making the call on the failure of something new.

Not that rad: Watching the ship go down.

Awesome: Noticing stuff around.

Not that rad: Wondering what the hell stuff IS around here.

Awesome: Learning new points of view.

Not that rad: Assimilating new ideas into a cemented head.

Awesome: Looking around and feeling motivated to move forward.

Not that rad: Pulling the trigger.

Been grillin’ and illin’.

Made me realize something about the middle of things, the part that matters, the meat.

Almost everything we eat needs to be opened to get at the meat. From bananas to pork to m+m’s it’s what’s inside that’s desireable. Almost everything we encounter has a shell, skin or package that needs to be opened and removed to find out what’s inside and whether it’s worth being part of.

Generally, the shell of things provides little evidence as to what’s inside, unless it’s damaged. That’s usually a sign you don’t want to be part of it. You might run into a great looking package and think “Damn, I bet you what’s inside there is real good. I mean, it looks good from here.” And you get a hold of it, cut it open and find rotten meat inside.

And there are times when, on the outside, fruit, lives and hot dogs look rough, old and beat up. But after you dig in, they’re better than ever. They’re worth eating, nutritious, delicious-o. The idea being, you never really know what’s inside, and that shell, can or skin can be deceiving.

Sometimes, the meat gets infected, by not work of it’s own, and there’s little you can do to reverse the effect. There are times when we’re in control of the meat, and times when we’re at the mercy of the meat. This past week I was at the mercy of meat.

Not only had I a large Barbecue/ Birthday party (My perfect wife’s 35th) to plan and cook for on Saturday, but I also played host to a nasty bacterial infection in my leg meat. It kinda screwed me over a few days and forced a trip to the emergency room and forced a number of days working home with me leg propped.

But by the weekend, I had good meat in my leg and even better meat on the grill. I purchased far too much meat, and ended up saving some for the party after the party, but none the less, a big-ass steak was eaten, as well as many other meat products.

As for the leg, the thing is healing, infection is going, swelling is reducing. As for the party, I think peeps were stoked. I’ll post some evidence of such stoked-ness here and we’ll be sure to plan more such events for more such people. Seems like this past weekend was a good primer for 07.04.07, which looks to be even bigger and more destructive than ever.

I know our crew freaked out a few neighbors up here, I am just glad I am not hosting the July 4th celebration this year. Maybe the after-party…

PS: Decent delay between posts here due to injury, party planning and travel. Shan’t happen again, but if’n it does, don’t worry about it.

Been reading a lot about (and not really comprehending) the (non)existence of free will and determinism. Before I begin, feel free to read this: Dilbert Blog.

In it, Scott Adams quotes from a Time magazine article about Albert Einstein’s views on Faith. I had read this a few weeks ago, when it was first published. The quote Scott uses is by Schopenhauer: “A man can do as he wills, but not will as he wills.”

This means that although you can control what you DO, you have no control over what you WANT to do. For most of us, that may still feel like free will, or we can fool ourselves into believing we have total control over our actions.

The reason we have no control over what we want to do is because of the vast amount of outside influence the past and future has over us. For example, there are many reasons I turned out the way I did: standard hair cut, beard, standard wardrobe, average grades. And I made many of the decisions that led me here. But I didn’t make all of them, nor did I have exclusive influence over every decision and every action and every outcome of my life. It would be impossible, there are too many outside influencers over which we have no control. Weather is a biggie. Time being the best one. And, well, the Laws of Nature get in the way too.

Imagine driving down the highway, in light traffic. There are a few cars on the right, and a few on the left as you travel down the middle lane. Some cars are moving faster than you, and some slower. Somehow, you’ve landed in the middle lane, you’re not sure why, but you find yourself there. You’d like to believe you put yourself there on your own, right? That you guided your vehicle down the path to righteousness? You’d like to think you can switch lanes whenever you want, weave in and out of traffic, move at your own pace. Feels good to be in control, eh?

Well, you’re still out of control, because you can’t drive freely, there are painted lines designed to keep you moving in a certain direction. And you can’t travel at the speed of light, because your vehicle is not capable. And you gotta check the mirrors before you change lanes or there’s a good chance you’ll die. You don’t live in a vacuum. You live in a world that is designed to control you. You have no choice, you stay in the lane and you drive somewhere between 56-78 mph.

Such is life. You’re managing a life the same way we manage web projects. Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

• Planning = Various degrees of schooling. K-12 perhaps.
• Design = College, Grad, MD.
• Production = Your new Job and Taxes.
• Testing and Launch = Marriage and a Family.
• Maintenance Plan = 401k.
• Time for a Redesign = Retirement.

You’re on a road that’s been mapped out for years ahead of time. You’re not original at all, there are thousands just like you.

Now, here’s the jacked part: If we have no control over what we want, then how can we prosecute criminals? Their guilt is based on the ability to willingly choose to do wrong. The only way they can get off is by proving mental defect… unless we have no free will.

If we have no free will, and cannot control the reasons behind our actions, then everyone is innocent of everything. This is called Determinism, and it kinda rules! Kinda…

Determinism points to the place you are today, and says: “You are here because of every single thing that’s happened up to now, not because you chose to be here.” Other events, in an unbroken chain since the beginning of time, led to you arriving here, now, today. So feel free to believe you put yourself here, but there are thousands of years, lives, sunsets and thunderstorms that say otherwise. Have a happy.

It’s kinda odd to feel out of control, to realize we’re all living in each other’s vacuums, instead of within our own. But if this idea sunk in a bit, and people became used to the fact that we’re all connected by a common history of everyday events since the beginning, we might stop bombing, shooting, yelling and hitting so much. It’s too simple a concept, almost, to fully comprehend. Which is why it may never work.