Power is Everything

About halfway through the Ron Howard Film Apollo 13, A NASA technogeek commands the attention of the room when he declares, "Power is everything." It runs the navigation computers, the life support, heats up the parachutes so they'll open. He's right, power is everything.
Power is the potential to shape conditions, events and behaviors. Power is the ability to set the conditions for ones survival. Power can be traansformed and changed. Money is economic power. But with it you can buy motive power in the form of a car and fuel. You can convert water power into electrical power and then use that to run a compessor to give pneumatic tools rotary power (torque) to shape materials into useful things.
Even though John McCain tried to stop it, money can also be converted into political power and political power is wielded to shape behaviors and conditions on a daily basis.
All of us have a certain amount of strength given to us, and a certain amount of will to use it. But those who accumulate power, rent the strength and will of others and sell it at a higher price. They tap off a small portion of from the transaction and they put it use to shape conditions in their favor.

If you aren't getting ahead in life, It's because you consume more power than you and your activities generate.

Oh speaking of power, the tractor is back in service. Able to move heavy things and able to do the work of many men. It is a tool that saves time, and since time is money and money is power, it buys itself.

The Ruprecht Axle

We bought a 1970 Kubota L210 Tractor this week. While we were using the loader to move some dirt around the farm, the front axle broke. Nothing too serious, just need to get the axle to a welding shop. that stress point's been carrying 1000 pounds for 35 years and carries twice that when the loader is full.

So anyway, we had a broken tractor in the front yard. I needed to get it down to the garage so I could get it taken apart and get that axle off. Being the cheapskate, I didn't want to call a wrecker to move it 250 feet. I thought about it overnight and decided to see if I could make a wooden axle that would stabilize the front wheels and allow me to back it down the hill.

To make it short, I made 2 attempts and multiple modifications to each, but when I finally put on every clamp I could find, I got it to hold together. I backed it down into the garage and took it apart. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. I call it the Ruprecht Axle, in honor of the fact that it looked like it was made by Ruprecht the Monkey Boy.
It took longer to design the wooden axle and get the tractor into the garage than it took to block up the tractor, remove the cowling, pull the loader frame, remove the radiator and disconect the tie rods from the axle.

But it's a gentle reminder of what I constantly preach. Ideas are the things that matter. We make strategies and they lead us to success or failure.

An Essay on Decisiveness.

As the frequent reader will remember, I've written often about conflict. Conflict occurs when strategies pursue incompatible futures. Two entities desire to implement incompatible versions of reality.
Some people carry the mindset that conflict is bad. This is pedantic. Conflict is a tool used to pursue objectives. Typically, virtuous cultures use seduction and negotiation first and resort to conflict as a last resort. Less progressive cultures use force first and always.
Is it bad when a cat uses force to protect it's kittens? Is it bad when a free people dethrone a ruthless dictator? Conflict determines the conditions of survival. Freedom or Bondage, Poverty or Plenty. Conflict can contain varying levels of force. Can the war to drive the Japanese from Nanking or the Philipines be compared to the purges under Stalin or the horrors of the Holocaust?

When conflict occurs it does not end until a decision is reached. Like a street fight, the decision can occur in a number of ways.

• Decisive Event, such as a knockout.
  
• Surrender Decision, one belligerent decides to be the loser.
  
• Stand-off, Both belligerents decide to discontinue the immediate tactics and seek a more advantageous strategy.
  
• Interference, a third party with clout decides to intervene.

Certain momentous battles appropriately get labled as decisive. They act somewhat like the knockout blow. They remove the ability to resist. In the days before international agreements decisive battles paved the way for pillage and plunder.

For the last 400 years, decisive battles generally led to surrender decisions. The plunder was less aggressive, often in the form of natural resources or taxes. The guarantee of less brutal outcomes (International Law) made surrender less objectionable than fighting to the death.

It is important to understand that the end of a conflict is a decision that shapes the future in an ever expanding spiral. The failure of the Kaiser to keep Hitler in a cage caused the deaths of millions. Eventually it spurred the creation of a Jewish State (Isreal, not Florida) and that helped fuel Arab victimism and the disgruntled Islamic mindset.

The each decision sets events in motion that cannot be predicted to final outcome. Conflict will follow conflict. Whether the fight is over land, water, food, treasure or ideology, it will eventually be followed by another conflict. It is only a matter of time.

With this knowledge, one can look at conflict as waves. They crest and trough and there is a certainty that with time they end. How much time it takes is variable. But each one has a decision point and someone that understands the waveform nature of conflict can shape strategy to drive the advantageous decision.

The first rule of being the winner is deciding not to lose. The ultimate in decisiveness is deciding to win.

Never give up. Never...Never...Never - Winston Churchill

We lost in Viet-Nam when we lost the will to win. Biographies and histories written by key North Vietnamese Leaders agree that after the failure of the Tet offensive, the North was ready to seek peace and truce...until they saw the cracks in the world famous "American Resolve."

If someone asks you "When will we have peace?" The answer is "when all persons decide to be satisfied with what they have." Because the the end of conflict is a decision that determines the future. Conflict will not end until everyone decides that what they have is good enough. That is another example of conflict ending with a decision.

But until then, The next wave of conflict is starting to swell. Grab your board - Surf's Up!

Praising the Brave, Damning the Hyenas

Theres a overweight man that's walking across the United States. I learned of this by accident as I was spinning up my iPod and tuning the car radio to recieve "Radio Free Ironcross." While I was setting up the iPod I caught a few minutes of FM broadcast. In this brief chatter break there were three Seattle morning show radio entertainers making fun of him. Apparently they found some humor in the courage and resolve of a 375 lb man setting off across the country on foot in order to improve his life.
I gather he took off from San Diego around 10 April and suffered some setbacks due to injury and illness, but in 3 months he's made 500 miles to a place called Seligman somewhere into the heart of Arizona. Here's his website.
Do those shallow comics have a shred of the courage that it takes to set off on a 3000 mile journey on foot? Have they suffered the privations that go with such a commitment?
He was disatisfied with his life so he took action, daring, bold and decisive. And those who do nothing but talk and laugh to earn their daily bread ridicule him. He made only a mile the first day but 25 on the last day of the journal that I checked. Their wagging tongues shame them and they are too far buried in their own useless pop culture to know it. And unknowingly they help spread the word of one who deserves public attention a lot more than they do.

Here's a Hoohah for Steve Vaught

Children - HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?

(1) You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.-- Alan, age 10

(2) No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.-- Kirsten, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

(1) Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then. -- Camille, age 10

(2) No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married. -- Freddie, age 6 (very wise for his age)

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

(1) You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids. -- Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

(1) Both don't want any more kids.-- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

(1) Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough. -- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)

(2) On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
-- Martin, age 10

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?

(1) I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns. -- Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?

(1) When they're rich.-- Pam, age 7

(2) The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that. -- Curt, age 7

(3) The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do. -- Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

(1) I don't know which is better, but I'll tell you one thing. I'm never going to have sex with my wife. I don't want to be all grossed out. -- Theodore, age 8

(2) It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them. -- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

(1) There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there? -- Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favorite is........

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

(1) Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck. -- Ricky, age 10

The Challenge

The only thing to ever improve the human condition is the will to act on an idea.

Did you have an idea recently? Did you act on it? Do you go through the day trying to figure out how to do things smarter?

When through some miracle of chemistry and electricity two of your neurons make a transient connection, do you actually move a muscle to do something about it? Or do you make a living as a socialist parasite sucking the lifeblood out of the thinking-doing, capitalist?

Foot in Mouth Outbreak in Arizona

-----Original Message-----
From: Xxx Xxxxx X XX-XX XXXXX/XXX
Sent: Thursday, July 07, 2005 7:47 AM
To: Xxx Xxxxxxxx X XX-XX XXXXX/XXXX
Subject: FW: F-16 Noise Complaint for Air Force Honoring One of its Fallen

Complaint to the Phoenix newspaper, The Arizona Republic: Quote:

A wake-up call from Luke's jets on Jun. 23, 2005
"Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show?
Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune!
Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns' early-bird special??? Any response would be appreciated."

------------------------
The reply is classic, and a testament to the professionalism and heroism of our US Air Force. The response is here: Quote:

Flyby honored fallen comrade

Jun. 28, 2005 12:00 AM
Regarding "A wake-up call from Luke's jets" (Letters, Thursday): On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt Jeremy Fresques. Capt. Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.
At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the president of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured.

A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, "Whom do we thank for the morning air show?"
The 56th Fighter Wing will call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Lt Col Scott Pleus
Luke Air Force Base
The writer is commander of the 63rd Fighter Squadron.

Hearts and Minds Strategy

We are having difficulty winning the hearts and minds of the radical extremist muslim world. Seems to be a difficult task when two cultures are so incompatible.
I work in a "Hearts and Minds" focused organization. We consistently aim for the hearts and minds of the poor downtrodden disgruntled Arab fanatic.
The way into a fanatics heart and mind is through the ribcage and skull.. one bullet each.

Hoohah!

Natural Selection

My brother tells me that the Age of America is past. Our trade deficit pumps 1/2 of one percent of our total net wealth overseas every year. With environmental restrictions, Trade Unions and socialist employment regulations jacking up the price of production, we produce less and less. We still invent a lot in the way of leading edge technology and biochemistry, but it gets franchised out for production and the jobs go elsewhere.

We have more tanning salons and acrylic nail boutiques than you can shake a stick at. But when someone wants to build a steel plant or a refinery here, the commies, wackos, and environmentalists line up with their lawyers.

History tells us that dynasties and nations rise and fall. Cultures emerge into the spotlight and then fade into obscurity. But it's painful to watch when it's your country and culture.

We also learned in school about how the wolves keep the caribou herd strong. Taking the weakest caribou from the herd keeps the gene pool viable. The brutality of nature eradicates weak gene sets.

Socialism gives weak gene sets equal footing with strong gene sets. If you want to watch a culture, nation or species fail, take action to eliminate natural selection. Keep the strong from producing and allow the parasites to survive and propagate.

Pampered animals lose the killer instinct and the will to survive. While we serve each other fast food and video rentals, the Asians are building heavy industries and duplicating every successful thing we ever did. The Chinese saw us declaw the Soviet Union with economic might. They are duplicating our strategy against us. Their appetite for energy is driving the cost of oil to record levels.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world....

The Islamic Fundamentalists hate our culture for it's permissiveness. They are lean, mean, hungry and fueled by that hate. Their culture considers cruelty a tool of justice. The Ayatollahs, Imams and Mullahs claim the right to impose Islamic rule on all nations, kindred, people and tongues. They don't care what you think. They don't respect science and they don't care about quality of life. The church controls the death penalty. If that doesn't scare the hell out of Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, it should.

If you ain't the predator, you're the prey.

What can you do? Vote for capitalists and vote for candidates that support constructionist judges. Buy guns and learn to be self-sufficient. Have a real relationship with God. Develop some independent energy plan. Presumably, it will be a while before things get bad. but once they do, the pampered animals will panic as they are slaughtered and it will be bloody chaos. Maybe it never will get that bad, but history teaches us that it will. Maybe 15 years, maybe 150 years. Who Knows?

I have a hard time imagining America in a secondary role in the world. I hope I don't live to see it, but if I do, I plan to make the best of it. Fortune favors the prepared.

The Advantage of Perspective

The elderly American gentleman arrived in Paris by plane. At French customs, he fumbled for his passport. "You 'ave been to France before, monsieur?" the customs officer asked sarcastically. The old gent admitted that he had been to France previously. "Zen, you should know enough to 'ave your passport ready for inspection." The American said the last time I was here, I didn't have to show it! Impossible. You Americans always "ave to show your passports on arrival in France!" The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained "Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44, I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it to."

Things are not as they have been. The fourth dimension gives us perspective that the other three cannot.

Celebrate Independence from Kings, despots, socialists and other forms of tyranny. And be grateful for the brave souls that redeem your freedom at such great cost.