2025 Switzerland/Germany: Augusta Raurica II

 One of the things that struck me as both unusual and unique at Augusta Raurica is the fact that the museum is sitting in the middle of a town; imagine growing up with a Roman theater or ruins twenty feet outside your door.

The location of the main forum, now an open field. This would have been a colonnade with an open center, as we saw in the past in Greece and Turkey

Location of the main temple of the forum.  The Latin reads "To the goddess Rome and the defied Caesar Augustus."

Looking from the forum towards the theater.

The location encompasses a fairly large area, so if you want to see everything, you need to go walk.

This is the remains of the old amphitheater, where spectacles were held and gladiators fought.

"Are you not entertained?" - Gladiator

Temple - or what is left it.  As with many structures, the stones were used for other purposes.  At this location, altars to Apollo, Aescupalius, and Hercules have been recovered.

Local inhabitants.  Surprisingly, they gave rather confused directions.

2025 Switzerland/Germany: Augusta Raurica I

Being as it is now in what can be known as "Central Europe", one sometimes forgets that - 2000 years ago - places like Switzerland were actually considered frontiers by the Romans.  Such was the case of Augusta Raurica.

The site was originally founded as Colonia Augusta Rauricum) in 44 B.C. by a Roman (Lucius Munatius Plancus) near a Gallic tribe named the Rauraci - interestingly, although the name stuck, there is little evidence of the colony there, which was then essentially re-founded in 15 B.C. when Octavian Caesar Augusts conquered what is now Switzerland.  The site was successful after that for many years, reaching a population of almost 20,000, serving as trading center exporting things like pork and bacon to the rest of the Roman Empire.  It had baths, an amphitheater, a larger forum and smaller forums, and the largest Roman theater north of the Alps. 

In A.D. 250 the site was seriously damaged by an earthquake, compounded by destruction by a Germanic tribe (The Alemanni) in A.D. 260. The location eventually separated into two towns, August and Kaiseraugust, which are now about 20 km/12 miles from Basel via light rail and bus.  The site itself is essentially an open air museum that covers parts of the city not otherwise built over.

 

Augusta Raurica at its height as a Roman colony:

The excavated and restored Roman theater:

Looking from the top of the theater towards the based of a temple:

As part of the restoration, a grain mill has been restored.  Based on the items there, I suspect it is used for living history demonstrations as well.

Types of grains the Romans would have grown and eaten:

Rather Tired

 

I have to confess I am rather tired.

This weekend was another trip back to The Ranch to do my now-monthly round of check-in. Originally I had elected to try and make this a one day trip, but after thinking of the opportunity to see my Aunt Pat again, it made more sense to try to extend it to today. 

An early flight - up at 0315 on a Saturday, one hour flight to Old Home, then grabbing the truck that my sister had left in the parking garage when she left the night before for the weekend, then breakfast with my cousins, then up to The Ranch and visiting my Aunt and Uncle....and that was all before noon.

(My Aunt has restarted chemotherapy.  That said, she was happy to see me and was definitely involved in the conversation.)

After that, it was time for chores.  Opening up the water lines on the toilets to flush the bowls, realizing that there was no water, going down the hill to bump the pump to get  it started, then waiting for things to fill up.  Checking for any leaks or critters in the house (thankfully still no critters, and only the evidence of the one roof leak which has not leaked since this Winter).  Weed whacking the weeds directly around the house.  Visiting with The Cowboy and The Young Cowboy.  Making a drive down the hill to donate books and get a new battery for the Gator (which is still not work, although it at least turns over - alas, for another visit).  Going through items one more time to see if anything else can be moved to the donate pile.  Dinner with Uisdean Ruadh.

The following morning, rising earlier (because it is light early) and finishing a book in silence.  Breakfast, vacuum, reclean the toilets, talk a walk down the road, and then back to the airport to park the car for my sister (ironically enough, she saw me in line waiting to get on a plane just as she got off and we talked for a bit).  Flying back to New Home 3.0 and inevitably arriving a little late - just late enough that I could not make it to Iaijutsu class for the week.  Then, of course, catching up on the remaining chores at home (grocery shopping, interacting with a grumpy rabbit that was not happy I was gone for 1.5 days).

And, of course, trying to get yogurt started for next week.

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This flow of events is now fairly typical for my once a month visits to The Ranch.  The exhaustion is too; so much so that I have largely booked single day visits for most of the rest of this year in the hopes that I can get the chores I need to get done in half a day, come back home, and give myself a full day to recover (as well as get to Iaijutsu class on a regular basis).  

If anything, this sort of thing makes me glad that things happened at the end of 2023/early 2024 the way that they did: I cannot imagine trying to do this now with my mother still alive and having the bulk of the decluttering ahead of us.  

The ability to go and stay for a week and work remotely while they were alive was always something of the equivalent of a hothouse flower living in an arctic environment:  an artifice which was made possibly by a number of factors including The Plague, work from home, a job that allowed me (twice) to be remote, and a fully stocked house to do it in.  None of the factors exist anymore and even if some of them did, the simple fact is that there is no more Interweb there (not surprising, considering what it cost).

And while I am still grateful I am able to go there at all, it is surprising to me how much a thing changes when it comes to feel more like a chore than a joy.

A Year Of Humility (XIX): Accustom Your Tongue

I do not ask for forgiveness as much as I should.

If I am less than completely honest, I would say that it is because I try to speak and act in a way that is does not necessitate that.  But if I were completely honest, I would have to say that is not true a lot of the time.

Why am I so reluctant to ask for forgiveness?  As the Abba notes above, it likely pride. My own pride.  I hate being wrong - but I am willing to "fess up" if is a minor issue.  Major issues, not so much.

So often I am willing to admit I was wrong - with justification, with clarification, with "Yes - but...".  It is humbling to admit you are wrong - without defense, without justification, without anything other than honesty. 

I was wrong.  Forgive me.

Perhaps then, if Pride is the major issue it is no wonder that I am so unwilling to say "Please forgive me".  More than anything else, Pride hates to be humbled.  And in a world that exalts self above all, being willing to ask for forgiveness privately - let alone publicly - asking for forgiveness feels like the kiss of death.

Which it is, in a way - death to pride, death to self.  Which sounds a great deal like "If any man would would after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and Follow Me."

Graduations, Home Goings, And Drives

This past weekend I traveled back to New Home 2.0 to see Nighean Bhan graduate from her Master's program in Clinical Speech Pathology.

There were two ceremonies, one for her specific program (about 30 students) and one for her College within the University (a great deal more than 30 students).  Each ceremony took less than two hours, which is about the amount of time I am willing to sit comfortably for such things.  The specific program graduation was a bit more personal and very well done; the larger college graduation at least moved along quickly and we were spared the spectacle of a Keynote Speaker. Following the graduation, we had a pleasant dinner with her, The Fiancée, The Fiancée's mother, and some friends of Nighean Bhean and The Fiancée. 

She now has an "M.S." after her name, followed by a lot of other letters.

As of this writing, she had at least one and possibly two job interviews.  I suspect she will seamlessly move into the "work world" without incident.

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Returning to New Home 2.0 was about as odd as I thought it would be.

It is odd returning to a house that you lived in for a decade or more and. while still technically yours, has a mixture of your stuff and other stuff.  It is odd driving on roads that you drove on for years and, even in the 5 months since I returned for Christmas, finding buildings (mostly apartments) springing up like wheat.

Seeing people was the usual way it is with these things:  A lunch with former coworkers that was unfortunately canceled due to the sorts of things that happen: unexpected trips, rescheduled appointments, the work conflict that suddenly arises.  We always swear we will get to it "next time"; I have no idea when next time may come. 

On the bright side, I got to spend part of the evening with my friend who is the director of the rabbit shelter I volunteered at.  We had a really nice visit and it was good to see the bunnies.

I have one more trip planned next month for Iai training; after that (and barring incident), I have no idea if I will be back before Thanksgiving or Christmas (or if at all for those two holidays).

Which, I suppose, if fine.  New Home 3.0 is where we live now.

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As you read this, The Ravishing Mrs. TB and Nighean Bhan are on a cross-country trip bringing her car from New Home 2.0 to New Home 3.0.

They are taking a leisurely trip, stopping at some National Parks, making a visit to my Mother-In-Law, picking up Nighean Dhonn on the way, and then heading up here to be here for Memorial Day weekend.  

Getting her car here will be another rather large dot in the relocation - beyond the room we are "renting" in New Home 2.0 and a new storage locker that has some of the things we could not move here, life will be here.

Essentialism (XVIII) Eliminate: How Do We Cut Out The Trivial Many?

 Think of the metaphor of cleaning your closet, suggests McKeown:  We have taken stock of everything that we have (Essence) and we have identified those clothes that matter most to use and/or are our favorites (Explore). Perhaps we have even organized them into "Keep" and "Probably get rid of" piles.

Now comes the difficult part: Getting rid of the "Probably get rid of" pile.

It is this part, he suggests, that is actually the most difficult part for almost everyone.  We tend to value things we own or things we have invested in more than perhaps we should (the "sunk cost" fallacy, where since we have sunk so much time and/or money into something, to stop it would be to "waste" that time and money).  Again, it comes down to hard questions:

1)  "If I didn't already own this, how much would spend to buy it?"

2)  "If I didn't have the opportunity, what would I be willing to do to acquire it?"

It is that second question, says McKeown, that lies at the heart of this part of the Essentialist journey - after all, we can do anything but we cannot do everything.

We have to begin to find the discipline to say "No" to the trivial many.

The question we ask should not be "What, of my competing list of priorities, do I say yes to?"  The better question is "What will I say no to?" - because, as you may recall, if we fail to say no to a nonessential, we are effectively say "yes" by default.

McKeown's proposition is that the more we start to find those things that we way "No" to, the more our priorities emerge and the more clarity we can contribute to our own life to make those contributions which lead to, as he says, "...the game changing breakthroughs in your career, and in your life."

Application:

Interestingly to me, this last section consumes almost half of the book in terms of pages.  That strikes me as instructive:  we as people have far more trouble saying "no" than we do saying "yes".

And we do not always get the choice, of course.  There are a great many things that I cannot say "no" to when my boss asks.  But - to be fair - there also a great many things I say "yes" to as part of my work that, upon reflection, I might not need volunteer for.

Likewise in my own personal life.  I will often say "yes" to things, because like most people I want to and like to be helpful.  But sometimes the "yes" of everything turns into the inability to do the things that I might really need to do in a flurry of activity that accomplishes needs or goals for everyone else but myself.

Even if one has not identified those essentials (and it is clear from last week that I have not), arguably everyone can use techniques and tools to start to eliminate those things that are non-essentials.  Project management types and time management gurus say the same thing:  If it is not for the project or target, find a way to reduce or eliminate it.  The same is true for any individual in the larger scope of their lives.

It can be argued that time and attention are the currency of the modern world and of those two, time is the currency that we can never gain back. Since it is only spent once, it seems sensible to determine that we spend it on the most important things.

Be Who God Meant You To Be

 

I am not sure who God meant you to be - heck, I am not sure who God meant me to be - but go do that and see what happens.

Traveling: The Winding Down Of My Air Travel

 One of the things that struck me as I was headed out to New Home 2.0 last week was simply the amount of time and energy and I have spent on air travel in the past five years.

What turned into regular trips back to visit my parents started in July 2020; since then I have been in the air at least once a month for almost every month since then.  As of this coming July, it that would make almost 60 months of some form of air travel, not counting trips to amazing places like Costa Rica, Greece, Turkey, Japan, and Switzerland/Germany.

I love a good adventure as much as the next person. But adventuring via "Please make sure your tray tables are in the full upright and locked position" does not quite have the luster that it once had.

Fortunately, it seems like this phase may be coming to a more manageable close.  I have one more trip scheduled to New Home 2.0 and after that, an unknown period of time before I will be returning.  And trips to The Ranch to check on things have become much more manageable time trips of an hour or two, the sorts of things that can be managed in a single day if need be.

Learning I have had over these years:

1)  If possible, get a direct flight or as close to a direct flight as you can.  Hopping on and off planes, stalking back and forth between gates, enjoying the overpriced hospitality of airport food - even when pretty good (and there is some pretty good food out there) is just an additional wear and tear on the body and additional travel time.  I am to the point that I will pay a bit more to get a direct.

2)  When making travel plans that may involve transfers, by all means check which airport you are transferring through.  Depending on the location/time of year, it can almost inevitably result in delays (Chicago or Denver in Winter, for example). And other airports - such as Las Vegas - are inevitably crowded and just not really great places to spend time.

3)  While I value the ability to get out of the airport quickly, I think I value the fact of boarding more quickly, to the point that more often than not I will check my bag rather than fly with it.  Part of that is simply that I like to get to my seat as quickly as possible.  The other thing is I do not want to be one of "those people" struggling to get my bag into the overhead, wrestling it in and out of place, holding everyone up.

(As a side note, I will view with interest in the coming months the fact that Southwest will start charging for bags.  I can honestly see a day where all airlines ban anything larger than a backpack simply to make onboarding and offboarding a quicker process.)

4) I has said it before, but most air travel is just not fun anymore.

Once upon a time, air travel was both rare and (frankly) more of an experience.  But over the years that has changed and air travel is now something that is commoditized, much like any other form of transportation.  Domestically anymore, it has little difference with any other form of mass transit (with the exception that it costs more):  lines, close quarters, a victim of schedules beyond our control.

Is it amazing that within 8 hours (more or less) I can travel anywhere in the continental U.S.?  Absolutely - and I have benefited greatly from that over the years, even this weekend when I could get home within 6 hours to see my daughter graduate.  

But it comes at a cost - financial, personal, even stress levels (in no way have I ever arrived at my destination "more relaxed").

Much like many other sorts of "modern" conveniences, it does make me wonder if a sign of status will not be quickly one can get there but rather the amount of time that one can take to get there. Yes, driving can make for long days - but the act of driving in this day and age is a testimonial to the fact that one has the option to take the time and always be "in a hurry".

Will I ever stop truly traveling by plane?  Unlikely, given the location of my family at this point and some of my interests.  But I look forward to the day when travel becomes less of "how quickly can I get there" and more about the place that I am going to.

Travel: The Cost Of A Mile

 (Editor's note:  Due to the weekend/late arrival Sunday night, I have not had the time to complete this week's posting on Switzerland.  Apologies, and look for us to return there next week.)

Sunday night when I arrive back in New Home 3.0 from New Home 2.0, it was rather later than I had anticipated.  The thought of my options for getting home were reviewed in my mind as the plane rolled up to the gate.

The airport in New Home 3.0 lies about 20 miles or so from out apartment. To get there, there are three potential options.

The first - the one I have used probably more than most - is simply driving my car there and parking at a local lot (I say "local lot" - the airport does have a number of public lots, but the fact that for the economy lot the buses only run ever 30 minutes made it a no starter for me; who wants to wait up to 30 minutes for the privilege of riding a bus for some period of time back to your car so you can then get it.).  This is the option I most often use for short trips, such as flying back to The Ranch.

The second option - one that I use if I have the time and it is convenient - is to take the local light rail to the airport.  The convenience is unmatched (literally 100 yards from my door step); the time there is about 90 minutes each way:  great if you have the time, less great if you are leaving super early or getting back rather late.

The third option - almost never used - is a ride app such as Outer.  The advantage is that it is as faster than the light rail option and I do not pay for parking; the less great option is pricing (see below).

The reason this thought came up was the fact that I calculated by the time I got to the baggage claim, got my bags (having missed the previous train), I then had an additional 90 minutes of ride time to look forward to with an early morning call.  Getting home at a reasonable hour might be worth it.

So then I started calculating cost.

For the sake of argument, let us assume that fuel spent is 2 gallons, with a price of around $8.  Had I parked at a local lot this time, there would have been an additional cost of $60 ($15 x 4 days) for a total cost of $68, plus tip - so call it $72 or so. Time to get back to/from  the parking lot is from the airport is about 10 minutes.  Add to that the time to and from the airport and it would likely be 105 minutes.

The second option - light rail - involves neither fuel nor parking; I pay $3.00 each way or $6.00 for the full trip - but 180 minutes for a round trip.

The third option - the one that tempted me at 2130 at night with a 90 minute train ride -was Outer.  I looked up the price:  about $60 for a one-way trip plus tip, which would have been in the $70 range. Time for the one way portion of the trip would likely have been around 40 minutes.

Now, I look forward to my bed after a long trip as much as the next person.  But doing the math in my mind was an awakening thing:

At a 40 mile trip back, the math was as follows:

Option 1 (had I driven):  $72.00/40 miles = $1.80 a mile

Option 2 (light rail):  $6/40 miles = $0.15 a mile

Option 3 (Outer, or other ride share service):  $70/20 miles (I was only using it one way) = $3.50 a mile.

As you might imagine, I enjoyed my late night train ride in peace.

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Truly, I was shocked when I actually sat down (metaphorically of course; I was waiting for my luggage) and thought the pricing through:  $3.50 or more a mile for effectively convenience?  And that was not at rush hour; I have no idea what the cost might have been then (I am half tempted to look tomorrow at rush hour just to see).  And yet, how easily tempted I almost was to pay a great deal more; in fact, I would have paid the equivalent of an entire drive there and back (Option 1) for half the distance and no parking.

That business model works of course - as long as people can afford it.  But I cannot see it being sustainable if they are looking for the next rung down the ladder - people like me for whom it might be a nice to have on a later night, but not so much that I can afford to pay 25 times the rate I could pay.

I do not begrudge the drivers trying to make a living - good heaves, I suspect a taxi would have cost me more (they have in the past).  But if they are looking to tempt people into using their cars less and using other peoples' cars more, that does not seem to be the way to be going about it.

Back And Again To New Home 2.0

Friends - Apologies for this relatively lack-of-content post.  This past weekend I have been back in New Home 2.0 (for the first time in 5 months, believe it or not) to attend Nighean Bhan's graduation from graduate school and, as it turns out, celebrate Mother's Day with four of the five of us together.  In lieu of more serious fare, please enjoy these pictures. 

Also of note, I finally (five years later) finished the Lego Easter Rabbit kit I received as a gift.

A Year Of Humility (XVIII): Stumbling

 There is little more humbling in the life of a believer than to stumble up against one's old sins.

There are a few things that one does learn over the years, like not acting on every impulse or saying every thing that comes into one's mind or being able to let a thing go instead of making an issue out of it.  But even with all of that outwards facing control, one - I, let us be frank - can confound myself by the lack of progress that I have made in some areas.

One thing that has been made apparent to me is that it is mostly in the company of others that this stumbling and lack of progress is most easily seen - partially I suspect because of reactions others have which we can visibly see, partially because we fool ourselves far too easily on how far we have come.

The particular details of this incident are transitory; the subtle reaction on faces and the sudden realization of the failure were immediate.

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One of the things I have struggle with all my life is the deeper applications of the Sermon on the Mount in Chapter 5 where Christ talks about the intent of the Law, not just the outward actions:  anger as murder, lust as adultery, swearing of oaths as if we had real power over our lives, etc.  The trouble that the Pharisees had - that of the outward appearance - is the same that bedevils me. I can manage my anger - outwardly.  Inwardly I can still seethe in rage and hold entire arguments in my mind where I emerge triumphant from the argument.

With, as Christ points out, the metaphorical equivalent of a bloody knife in my hand.

Yes, I completely understand and acknowledge that Christ never meant that the two were equivalent, that somehow imagination or emotion in the mind were the equivalent of the action.  But it is equally clear that, in God's eyes, sin of the mind is as grievous against His law as the sin of action.

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There are two things that one can do in such a moment.

The first is to ignore the pang that comes at the moment of realization, to think "Well, that is really not as bad as my mind is making it" or something like that and move on undazed and unfazed. The second is take the matter deeply - and humbly - to heart.

And having taken the matter humbly to heart, resolve with God's help to do it takes to more fully exorcise the sin from one's life.  After all, only the proud think they have arrived.

Essentialism (XVII): The Uncomfortable Act Of (Not) Choosing: Addendum

 After writing yesterday's post on Essentialism, I had opportunity to speak with my friend Rainbow.

For context, Rainbow has been a friend for just over twenty years now (something like six jobs ago), and as a friend of that long with a friendship that expanded beyond the acquaintances of work that we have so often, she has seen and knows enough about my life and my personality that she has both context and background for the discussions that we have.  As a result, she is a wonderful sounding board for my thoughts and ideas (some of which, to be fair, are indeed harebrained).

During our conversation, I brought up the fact that I was going through this Essentialism project (as that is what is seems to have become), I mentioned yesterday's revelation to myself that I was simply still at the point that while I could identify "Essential" things pretty clearly, I had pulled back from identifying something as a foremost Essential.  And that it bothered me for a reason I could not define.

Her response was "Maybe that is because it no longer serves the same purpose".

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Over the course of my life, I have started and stopped a great many things.  Oftentimes that stoppage simply seems to happen:  one day I am just "done" with a thing.  In that case, the paraphernalia often disappears soon after (once or twice too quickly).  Why, I asked myself (and Rainbow) does this happen?

One reason can simply be that I have nothing else that is interesting to me in the subject or hobby or task; that I have done what I am likely to do.  The second, somewhere more concerning, is that there is more I could do - but it requires an element of effort and dedication that I will not commit to.  Viewed in this light, the question becomes "Why am I giving these things up?"

That "Why" becomes the operative interrogative - and to be fair, something that I have seldom asked of myself when I have discontinued a thing.

The second question, of course, is the purpose that any thing serves.

I tend to be a person that pours more meaning into subjects or tasks than they may merit.  Part of that is still due to the eight year old inside of me that believes that being novel and pleasing people is incredible important - and often in the past my activities have all had that aspect of "Wow, you know/do that?", because as an introvert and nerd and socially awkward child and teenager, this is how you find your way with people.  Part of it can be that I am looking for some deeper meaning out of something that is not designed to provide it. And in some cases, I simply do things because I have done them for a long time.

Moving, of course, upset that last parameter.

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For the things you "identified", asked Rainbow, will they serve the purpose they have?  Or do you need to look at re-examine them?

I gave the matter some thought with her verbally on the phone.  In every instance, I still believed that I had things to learn or do in them, even if it required effort beyond what I tend to dedicate to such things.  

That is fine, she suggested.  But maybe there is no need to commit in such a way to any thing like that yet.  Just continue doing what you are doing, but do it with a sense of being open to things changing or morphing in importance or even something new presenting itself.

That is why friends such as Rainbow are so valuable. They help me to see things that I would not have otherwise seen.

Essentialism (XVI): The Uncomfortable Act Of (Not) Choosing

  For the last three months, we have been walking through Greg McKeown's initial proposal and thought processes around this idea that his proposes as Essentialism:

- That the Essentialist is looking to find the convergence of three questions:  "What am I passionate about?', "What am I good at"; and "What fills a significant need in the world?";

- That Essentialism incorporates the principles of Less but Better, Pursing Less, and Living a Life that really matters;

 - That Essentialists understand they have both the power and responsibility to choose (or other people and the world will choose for us) but that within that power lies the fact that while they can choose anything they cannot choose everything and that everything they choose is a trade off for something they did not choose;

- That Essentialists take the time and energy to consider those choices wisely through carving out the time to explore, exploring thoroughly and with the abandon of a child and looking not just beneath the surface of their lives as they engage in these matters, and ensuring they have their minds "right" through needed rest.

And then, of course, they have to Select, or make a choice.

It seems only fair, as I am recording my thoughts about all of this, that I, too, should engage in the process as well.

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I am, and have always been, at best an awkward chooser.  Some of that stems from the fact that I just have a wide variety of interests (and I do not think that McKeown argues per se against wide interests, just about the investment of time in them).  Some of that stems - as long time readers know - from the fact that I am often more concerned about what I will miss than what I will gain, a sort of early Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) before such a term was coined.

And yet, if I am going to be intellectually consistent about this, I have to make a choice as well.

As you might imagine, there has been a lot of writing and thinking going on in the background as I have gone through this process.  Part of that is simply my nature; part of that is trying, at least, to take what I am writing about seriously.

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The final list came down into two large buckets:  Iai, with accompanying emphasis on physical training and the Japanese Language, and a bucket which might be called "Study of the Classicat to Byzantine world (and Anglo-Saxon England)" for lack of a more catchy phrase.  There are a couple of one-offs there as well - writing (of course), and the various small scale food preparation I do, and some form of art (in my case, harp). 

I thought earlier this week I had come to a decision.  "Thought", of course, being the operative phrase.

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And then, of course, I was reminded of a verse, a verse I have written this very year: "If any man would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me."  That sounds a whole heck of a lot like "Maybe you do not make that ultimate decision".

As a result, this original post has been re-written.

Am I any closer to any kind of decision on Essentials?  I am - as demonstrated in the list above.  I know the areas that I am considering, or at least that are within my power to consider in that I am in some form or fashion good at them and I enjoy them.  The most significant contribution to the world?

That lies a bit beyond my sight or grasp at the moment, leaving me only the options to pray, watch, and continue forward.

The Collapse CXCI: The Peloponnesian War

06 November 20XX+1

My Dear Lucilius,

This morning, at our now regular breakfast consisting of ½ a cup of grains, a handful of dried berries, and some kind of herbal tea which I cannot identify by taste, Pompeia Paulina asked me about civil wars.

It was an unexpected and odd question coming from my wife. Yes, she is well read and we share some (but not all) subjects of reading together, but she has never before asked about that specific subject or genre.

I knew a bit, I replied. Followed by “But most of my knowledge is about civil wars long ago”.

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Modern civil wars never interested me, even back in the day when we could see them on our screens nightly if we so desired. Part of it was the fact that it was not just an entertaining five minute action sequence in a movie; it was reality. The other was the fact that depending on one’s opinions, even a not-so-recent event such as the American Civil War could result in a re-fighting of the entire campaign by people whose great grandparents were not alive at the time.

And so my interests and knowledge lay safely in the past, insulated by centuries and lack of passions by the modern world.

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Of the books here, she asked, did I have any worth reading on the subject? I know you will be surprised to hear that I had one or two. The best, I told her, was The Peloponnesian War by Thucydides the son of Olorus.

I have others of course – the works of Diodorus Siculus and Xenophon’s Hellenica which cover the same period, and Appian’s The Civil Wars and Caesar’s The Civil Wars and half a dozen Roman authors that covered the same ground. But Thucydides’ work remains the best.

Why, she asked.

Thucydides was not precisely “The Father of History”; that title falls to Herodotus but perhaps only because he wrote a bit sooner – in my opinion Thucydides was the better writer. And it was because of that better writing – that actual attempt to gather facts and get the gist of speeches correct, let alone his personal experience in the War itself that made him more engaging.

It is a simple story I told her, as old as time: two entities that once were close but over time drifted apart to the point that they began encroaching on one another’s perceived strategic interests; in some ways no different than human relationships. One argument leads to another, which leads to action, which leads to a point (it is quite clear in the text) where the fork in the road for peace or war is clearly seen, and war is chosen.

Like most wars, I said, both sides assumed that it would be over after a season or even a few years, as most wars of the age were. No-one predicted it would go on for 27 years and result in the effective destruction of the Classical Greek world: the Athenian Empire would find itself shorn of its greatness and its empire and became one among many Greek City-States, the Spartan state (now the Spartan Hegemony) essentially becoming everything the Spartan state never intended to be and collapsing a mere 30 years later into a backwater rump state with a proud history but denuded of territory and manpower and everything that had made Sparta Spartan.

It was, I said, a very clear discussion of the folly of humans and ability to destroy everything they valued in pursuit of a goal they thought they wanted. Over 27 years, the old Classical Greek polity was destroyed as war went from the traditional short struggles of hoplite warfare to total war, where cities were destroyed, populations slain or enslaved, and horrors perpetuated.

All in pursuit of a power which would, a little over 60 years later, slip forever from their grasp with the rise of their neighbor Macedon to the North.

My favorite quote, I told her, was from early in the work, Book I, where Archidamas, Eurypontid King of the Spartans, tells the Spartan assembly “If you take something on before you are ready for it, hurry at the beginning will mean delay at the end….’Slow’ and ‘cautious’ can equally well be ‘wise’ and ‘sensible’”.

She laughed at that. It sounds a lot like you, she said.

Maybe it does sound like me, Lucilius. But it troubles me that even in thinking about that work, the parallels lay everywhere around me.

Your Obedient Servant, Seneca

2025 Switzerland/Germany: Basel From Above

The city of Basel in Switzerland sits directly on the Rhine River . It finds itself in a position where, although in Switzerland, it is very close to both the French and German borders (in fact, the airport which serves Basel is technically located in France).  

The view, if you can find it, is glorious.

Looking east, back towards Switzerland:

Looking North, towards Germany:

Looking West, towards France:

2025 Switzerland/Germany: Flying High

 On my trip to Switzerland and Germany this February, a thing happened which has not happened for a long time:  I could fly business class (mostly because it was more than four hours long).  The last time this happened was around 2002, when I was flying back and forth to Europe monthly for business.

I know what you are thinking:  "Ah TB, what a sacrifice."  I am here to stand in that gap for my readers.

Seat upon arrival:

Fancy plug and "essentials" kit:

Entertainment screen.  For these long flights, I find tend to catch up on "movies I have not seen in the past year".

Dinner Menu:

White wine. Real glass:

Nifty reading lights:

Hot towel for hand and face wiping.  These seem almost ubiquitous now, where before they were only on Japanese flights.

The "lay flat" seating arrangement.  This is an amazing thing - for one of the first times ever, I got actual hours of sleep (instead of short minutes):

Pre-dinner snack:

Dinner:

Dessert, which was a cheese plate.  I wish cheese plates would catch on more.  They are delicious.

Breakfast:

Reading Entire Books

 

Sometime within the last month, I read a link concerning the fact that modern high school and college students were struggling with the concept of reading an entire book during the course of a semester (it was probably FOTB (Friend Of This Blog) Eaton Rapids Joe; he tends to find such things).  The concept of reading an entire book, as I recall it, was genuinely stressful to the student in question:  how, they wondered, could they be expected to read an entire book (instead of excerpts).

I would like to say I was shocked by the article.  I was perhaps, surprised, but not shocked.

The decline of the ability to concentrate is neither new nor novel; likely it has been decried even long before I was born.  But our societal lurch towards electronic media of all types, combined with a declining expectations, has accelerated the issues.

I suppose to be fair, I have always been a reader and so reading entire books has never been a problem. And I understand that there are people that struggle mightly in this area due to dyslexia.  But I suspect that this is not the population that we are talking about.  It is about people that genuinely feel they cannot - and should not - have to read an entire book.

After all, our information all comes in easy to digest bits and bytes:  Short electronic communications.  Animated videos that explain things in colours and pictures.  Excerpts of a paragraph in length, followed immediately by an explanation.

Gone are the days of having to struggle through gaining information simply by reading or working out problems, where the text contained within it all the information needed to answer the question - but one needed to get out that information from the text, not just have it presented without the effort of finding it.

What does this lead to?  Beyond just a population that cannot function without things been presented in a simple (or simplistic form), it leads to a population that cannot keep its attention focused long enough to accomplish much of anything.  And anything worth accomplishing takes time and effort.

Add to that the idea that the excerpting of books and information reinforces the general sense of being in a hurry and rushing (two things I had never thought of, but certainly true), and it becomes even more critical that we encourage people to read books.  Not just for themselves, but for the very nature of a functional society.

I cannot say it better than the original meme:  Be countercultural.  Read an entire book.

A Year Of Humility (XVII): Self-Praise

 

Of the many struggles I have had over the years with people I have followed, those that praise themselves is not one of them.

Were you to quiz me on this, I fear I could not come up with a really logical answer as to why that is.  It certainly was never a conscious decision on my part.  It is not as if I have not know people that were that way - even in the times before social media, there were plenty of them.  And while I am a fully socially functioning introvert, even I have been aware that I have to "interact" with people.

And yet, self-praisers are not something that have ever attracted me.  In fact, it is something I have found rather repellent.

Again, I cannot fully express to you why this is.  Perhaps it is just the self-centered nature that such conversations seem to become:  all things are bent back around the the individual and what they have done like light vainly trying to escape a black hole.  Perhaps it is the fact that those that often or always praise themselves often seem to have a pretty skewed view as to what their "contributions" have actually been.  Perhaps it is simply that one-sided conversations about one's self are not dialogues but rather monologues - and most of those not nearly as well written as one by Shakespeare.

And yet, I am conscious - oh, so very conscious - that I have the same tendency as well.

The sign that this is usually taking hold in my own life is that I spend the time someone else is speaking to formulate my own answer.  I do not "hear" them, other than as a foil to my own next response.  Another sign is in the subtle physical signs that indicate that someone has started to check out of the conversation.

Another, of course, is simply that I listen to myself and all I hear coming out of my own mouth, to quote a country song, is "What about me?  What about I?"

God cannot flow where the pipes are stuck up with the blockage of my own pride.

C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity said it perhaps most elegantly:

"Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble person he will be what most people call 'humble' nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody.  Probably all you will think of him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him.  If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily.  He will not be thinking about humility; he will not be thinking about himself at all."

Breaking The Media And Social Media Habit

 One of the outcomes of my greater and greater isolation from the mainstream of news and social media is more time alone to think.

This is not a bad development of course; almost anything worth doing is worth thinking about doing before doing it and when I am able to do so, I seem to make some reasonable progress in things.

But the media and social media habit is a hard one to break.

---

If you were to ask me when this probably started being issue, I think I can pinpoint two dates. The first in is the early 2000's, when media made significant enough of a jump to the InterWeb that I could start to follow it - and, perhaps equally importantly, I could find groups that discussed it.  The second is January of 2009, when I started a Book of Face account.

Like most habits, they start innocuously enough:  a check here, a log-in there.  Sure enough one begins posting a little bit, then a little bit more - and before you know it, you are spending huge swaths of time starting into a screen large - or small; the advent of the Computer in the Pocket did nothing but heighten that trend.  Suddenly, one did not have to log in to keep up with things:  one could simply reach into one's pocket and instantly "catch up".

One might point out - at least for bloggers - that we were already spending a lot of time online.  That is true, of course.  The difference is that in blogging, one is engaged in creative activities:  writing, thinking about writing, editing, responding to comments.  In the following of media and social media, one is much more a passive agent, engaging not in the creation of things but the consumption of them.

(Yes, I suppose posting on social media is a form of creation - but given that it is perhaps a few pictures and a short written stage, it is not really the same.)

---

So what is it like, trying to withdraw from a media addiction?

A lot harder than you might think.

The actual separation from most forms of media was not difficult at all:  I have not watched television news in at least 20 years and have not driven anywhere far enough in many years that following a radio station has been a thing.  The physical use of a computer was not as difficult as I had anticipated, as one has to be a) at home; and b) turn the computer on, to use it.  As a result I can limit my time pretty well to the round of blogs and the occasional site that I follow.  If I have a challenge there, it is simply walking away from the computer after I have done those things instead of constantly looking for something else.

The real challenge had been the Computer in my Pocket.

Why is it so challenging?  Mostly a combination of Fear Of Missing Out and convenience.

The Fear Of Missing Out (otherwise known as the dreaded FOMO) is something that was ground into me by two events:  9/11 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 9/11, of course, because it was so shocking and life changing in so many ways; Hurricane Katrina because (as The Firm was in the process of failing at that time), I watched the whole thing in real time. 

As a result of these things, I have rather addicted to the fact that I needed to know what was happening almost as soon as it happened - not that I could influence any of the outcome of course, just that I needed to know. Because somehow "knowing" something happened a country away made me more able to impact it (strangely enough, not true at all).

And the convenience - the convenience of just reaching into my pocket and being able to instantly find out that information or, with social media, how many response I had gotten to something I had posted.  One could argue it was either a lack of self control or somehow showing that I could "choose" to take an action.  Either way, it became a habit.

Habits are pretty hard to break.

---

My "struggle" now, if it could be dignified with such a term, is simply learning to not use the Computer in my Pocket during the day.

I have done what I can to limit myself:  listed a set of sites that I can go to (which, all being blogs, scarcely get updated more than once a day) and contrarywise not allowing myself to go to other sites, convincing myself that no matter how much I check my e-mail nothing else will be there, even going to the point of not carrying the phone with me to avoid the temptation of just "reaching out" and checking in.

It is a hard habit to break - but day by day, I am getting slightly better.

---

Is there an ideal state?  I am not sure that I know that.  Never checking media or social media seems a bit too Luddite even for my taste, and given that I live in the world there are occasional things I should know, either about the world and its events or family and friends who using social media as the equivalent of a check in letter.

But even in that - carefully monitored state - there is still a habit that has to be carefully prevented from taking root again:  the habit of being so in the otherwhere of media and social media and the lives of others that one completely missing the here of one's own life and the things that one can influence directly.

Essentialism (XVI): Essence Of The Essentialist: Explore: Select

 "No More Yes.  It's either H^LL  YEAH! Or No."  This quote at the beginning of this chapter delivered by Derek Silvers at a TED talk, delivers what is the heart of this element of the Essentialist.  Said (and quoted) a bit more politely, "If the answer isn't a definite yes, then it should be a no."

Thought of in a different way by McKeown, it is The 90% rule:  

"You can think of this as the 90 Percent Rule, ant it's one you can apply to just about every situation or dilemma.  As you evaluate an option, think about the single most important criterion for that decision, and then simply give the option a score between 0 and 100.  If you rate anything lower than 90 percent, then automatically change the rating to 0 and simply reject it."

He notes that this skill, more than any other, emphasizes the reality of trades offs - meaning sometimes we will have to turn down a good option and have faith that the perfect one will come.  The perfect one may not come, but the very action of making applying selective criteria means that we - and not others - are making the decisions for ourselves. 

Fail to apply this sort of logic, McKeown states will lead to decisions that are too broad and commitments that are too many.  And by using a numerical values means that we are applying such decisions in a conscious, logical, and rational manner - instead of emotionally or impulsively.  

By defining high criteria, we remove those things that are not quite as high but drain just as much energy and time.  And by using criteria that are both selective and explicit, we have in our possession a systemic tool for discerning that which is essential and those things that are not.

He suggests applying to this to those questions that get at the root of Essentialism:  What am I passionate about?  What taps my talent?  What fills a significant need in the world?:  "We are not looking for a plethora of good things.  We are looking for the one where can make our absolutely highest point of contribution."

---

Application:

This, to my ears is harsh language.  It is exactly two of the things I hate doing:  Applying a rating scale and being willing to walk away from things.  And yet, if I look back on my life, I have to ask the rational question "What would that look like?"

I get to ask the question because I am in the process of doing a form of this right now.

In my case, it is the sorting of books.  The question I am starting to ask is "Will I likely ever pick this up or use this again?"  While the answer is not "No" all the time, in certain genres - such as foreign languages - the answer is "yes":  Yes, I will likely never have the time to pick up that line of study again.

I am trying to apply it to new interests and projects as well.  Once I get past the initial blush of interest, is this something that - to quote McKeown above - is a 90% item for me?  If not - if there is not a logical reason to undergird my emotional reaction - I quietly put it to the side.

Am I perfect at it?  No, not yet - and maybe never.  But can I use it to give myself a reason to walk away from a thing without feeling like I am giving up on it? Absolutely.

Even the smallest application of this principle has lead to forward motion in my life.  Certainly something I need to apply more.

The Collapse CLXC: Snow And Thoughts

 04 November 20XX+1

My Dear Lucilius:

The snow has simply refused to stop.

Off and on these past two days, we have continued to see it drift down in fits and spurts and long periods. We are up to over 2.5 feet at the current count.

My time, when not staying warm, has been spent shoveling out a path to the greenhouse and outhouse and beehives – the beehives, obviously, to remove the snow if it gets to be too much or starts to melt and risks getting water into the hive.

I was never overly fond of this time of year and this sort of thing is a great reminder why that was true.

The other part of my time has been spent making plans.

Pompeia Paulina has gently suggested that perhaps I am spending a little too much time and energy worrying about a great many people that are not directly my responsibility. And to some extent, I am forced to confess that she is correct – after all, beyond her and Young Xerxes and Stateira, I certainly have no other family here (and who knows if I have any remaining out in the real world).

And yet, those people asked. Whether or not it is correct, that makes me responsible.

The other fact that goes through my mind is simply the fact that not everyone in this small geographic area sees each other in the same way.

This snow is a blessing in disguise, Lucilius. It is forcing people to stay inside where at least the only people they have to confront is the people in their house. But I would be a naive fool to not think that these things will not boil over in the near future.

Food is likely the number one factor in that: with the onset of Winter, any harvesting not in a greenhouse is over. And not everyone has a green house. And it is fair to estimate that there is a range of preparations and food, from well supplied to “might not make it through the Winter”.

I have no idea where those fault lines lie, only that they are somewhere. And like most faults, they will – sooner or later – rise to the surface.

I have started writing down “What if?” and “How about?” scenarios – not that they improve with me writing them down of course, just that they help to get my thoughts onto paper for consideration.

If we are incredibly lucky, we get through this Winter into Spring with a minimum of those faults appearing.

That said, Lucilius, my luck in everything else is seldom enough to convince me that it is worth giving any consideration to.

Your Obedient Servant, Seneca