HETTY

Tag: Wisdom

  • Ooo, Me, Me!

    What’s a thing you were completely obsessed with as a kid?

    Hey, I’ll answer. Since it turns out that I have an autistic spectrum disorder, yes I developed obsessions, especially as a kid.

    I grew up in 1980s, with it’s several classic science fiction movies that are now a part of pop culture, I developed an obsession with robots and future tech. It got to the point where I wanted to work in the robotics field, most likely as a technician.

    The bad news is that I never worked in that field, although I do have an IT related degree. The good news is I have a robotics hobby, and I sometimes come up with interesting designs.

    I became obsessed with Leonardo Da Vinci as a kid. I know quite a bit about his life, art, and his dabbling in architecture and engineering. That’s something I mostly kept to myself over the years, but I was able to visit the Leonardo Da Vinci Science and Technology Museum in Milan recently.

    I liked some of the 80s music, and even some of the current music I listen to has that 80s influence, or samples music from the 1980s. Michael Jackson, Prince, The Gap Band, Alexander O’Neal, and so on.

    I had a healthy obsession (maybe unhealthy, since it affected my grades) with video games in the 1980s, I had video game consoles over the years, and I would argue that playing video games helped me survive a rough childhood. I since cooled down from playing video games, at least until a Holodeck technology becomes real.

    I had numerous Transformers toys (again robots), and I was obsessed with the supernatural and paranormal. Yes, I read about aliens and UFOs, ghosts, the cryptids like the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. I later became a skeptic and atheist. Funny how that turned out.

    On the bad side, I had an obsession with infectious diseases like Rabies and then HIV. I had a phase where I was washing my hands several times a day because of anxiety of getting sick. I outgrown that phase though.

    I’m happy to say that I don’t have either disease, as far as I know. I suppose I got more educated about viruses because I was afraid of getting sick with such diseases. I never got COVID, and in fact helped in a small way in the creation of the mRNA vaccines.

    So obsessions can be a good thing, if channeled properly.

  • Free from pain and fear, money no obstacle

    If you had to describe your ideal life, what would it look like?

    I think the title is self explantory, but I will elaborate. I wish that I could have an easier life than I do now. I still worry about making ends meet month to month, although I’m more comfortable than I have been before. And I live with a fair amount of anxiety and fear, especially about my health and the future. My ideal life would be to be able to do whatever I wanted (within reason), and I wouldn’t be afraid of the consequences. Like loss, harm, or failure.

    Like before I started my HETTY blog, I had an idea for a certain style of cookbook. It was gonna be postmodern, but I’m afraid of saying more than that vague description. But I have no connections in the publishing industry, there’s already a lot of cookbooks published, and maybe the specific style I wanted to write the cookbook in wouldn’t land with the public, and it would later end up in the bargain bin. So after some thought, early efforts, and worry, I didn’t write anything substantial.

    If I was more secure financially and socially, I would have probably written the cookbook, without the fear of failure. I would be willing to take more risks.

    There’s also been times where I have been too timid to ask certain women out on dates throughout my life. Again, the fear of failure and possibly of harm. Also times where I was afraid of speaking up when it could be required. Cuz I’m sometimes afraid of saying the wrong thing at inappropriate moments. So I clam up more often than not.

    So that ideal life remains a fantasy so far. I still have ideas and aspirations, so maybe I can luck out someday and get to a place where I can take more reasonable risks. But I would like to be free from pain, fear, and be more financially comfortable.

  • HL Mencken: 14 Great Quotes

    HL Mencken: 14 Great Quotes

    Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) was one of the greatest journalists, essayists, and cultural cititics of the 20th Century. Here are some of the best quotes by H.L. Mencken, along with their sources:

    1. **”For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.”***Source:* Often attributed to Mencken; appears in various writings but exact origin is uncertain.

    2. **”The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself.”***Source:* *The American Mercury*, 1926.

    3. **”Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.”***Source:* *Notes on Democracy*, 1926.

    4. **”Puritanism: The haunting fear that someone, somewhere, may be happy.”***Source:* Attributed in various works; exact source uncertain but reflects Mencken’s critiques of morality.

    5. **”No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.”***Source:* *The American Mercury*, 1920s.

    6. **”Nobody ever lost a dollar by underestimating the taste of the American public.”***Source:* Similar in theme to above; from Mencken’s critiques of popular culture.

    7. **”The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”***Source:* *In Defense of Women*, 1918.

    8. **”On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”***Source:* *The American Mercury*, 1920.

    9. **”The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule it.”***Source:* From Mencken’s commentary on social movements, particularly in *The American Mercury*.

    10. **”In every man under thirty there is a lawless anarchist, and in every man over thirty there is a conformist coward.”***Source:* From Mencken’s *A Mencken Chrestomathy* (1949).

    11. “An idealist is a person who helps other people to be prosperous.”— Source: From Mencken’s writings on social criticism and human nature.

    12. **”It is the dull man who is always sure, and the sure man who is always dull.”***Source:* From *The American Mercury*, December 1925.

    13. **”The education of a man is never completed until he dies.”***Source:* Paraphrased from Mencken’s writings on education and lifelong learning.

    14. **”Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.”***Source:* From *The American Mercury*, 1925.

    These quotes showcase Mencken’s sharp wit and often cynical view of politics, society, and human nature. For full context, many are found in his essays and articles published primarily in *The American Mercury* magazine during the 1920s.

  • The World Needs Misfits

    What advice would you give to your teenage self?

    Oh, I would have to make a list of the things I would tell my younger self. But I’ll start with changing the mindset about loneliness. Being alone can be an advantage in some ways , and I developed in such a way that I can tolerate isolation better than others. Maybe not try so hard to make friends and date. It will happen in time with less pressure.

    Save money as much as possible. I fell for the materialistic creed, and thought that I would always be fairly comfortable financially. There were definitely lean times in my life, and there may be more in the future. So try to be more frugal.

    Study engineering in university. I wouldn’t say that I have a talent in engineering, more like a general interest that could have developed further with formal schooling. Maybe I could have worked as in robotics, materials science, or even in artificial intelligence. There’s more opportunities for engineers than the other fields I studied.

    Don’t smoke or toke, no matter how stressed or upset you get. I developed bad habits in my late teens and twenties, mainly cuz I don’t cope with stress well. I didn’t know that those habits would cause more stress and difficulty over time, plus I would be able to save money if I didn’t develop those habits. I didn’t fully understand how a mind could be addicted to substances.

    Read more science and philosophy. I read a lot, but the stuff I was reading as a teenager is different than what I read now. I would recommend Bertrand Russell, Arthur Schopenhaur, Albert Camus, and maybe some other ones, since their works would help me understand the world better, and help me cope with problems I would have throughout my life. I could have developed a different mentality.

    Walk more, and be more creative. I still love music, but I can barely play. I could have developed my music skill more, maybe using studio software. And walking and biking seem to exercise that I can tolerate. Paint, draw, and write, maybe some opportunities would come up.

  • The Observer

    If there were a biography about you, what would the title be?

    I had to think about this prompt question for awhile, but The Observer is probably the best title for a biography I could come up with. Maybe if I’m ever worthy of someone writing my biography, the author can think of a better one. But it’s a safe yet honest title.

    I’m not famous or infamous (yet), and as much as I’d like to be remarkable somehow, I’m likely unremarkable in every way. I have a certain skill set that’s probably outdated in the 21st century, but what I do best no matter what is observe.

    I’m an introvert, although I sometimes wish that I wasn’t. I can be quiet, and passive to a fault. And I’m alone most of the time, although I do attempt to be social. However, I observe people and see mostly mundane behavior, although there were moments where I saw violent or unusual behavior from a distance.

    I observe animals, wild or domesticated, doing their own things, I observe the daily life of cities and towns, cars passing, people walking, sometimes with pets, children, or companions. I detect stimuli through whatever functional senses I have left. I see debris and garbage around, and I’ll pick it up and dump it if I’m in the mood. And I observe whatever scenery I’m around when I’m outside. I’ll observe nature do its thing, but I have been in various environments and climates. Deserts, temperate forests, mountainous regions, larger cities, beaches, tropical areas, and green fields.

    Oh, I’ve been on the outskirts of historical events or situations at times, but not as any of the main “actors”. Again, just observing the good, bad, and neutral among people, places and things.

    Sometimes I’ll write about it or photo/video record it. So far, it hasn’t led to anything special or lucrative. And based on prior evidence, I doubt that it lead to anything special in the future. I could be wrong though. Here’s hoping!

  • 17 Bertrand Russell Quotes

    17 Bertrand Russell Quotes

    Here are some of the best and most thought-provoking quotes by the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell:

    1. “The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.”

    2. “To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.”

    3. “The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.”

    4. “Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.”

    5. “War does not determine who is right — only who is left.”

    6. “The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.”

    7. “Science is what you know, philosophy is what you don’t know.”

    9. “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”

    10. “The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”

    11. “Men are born ignorant, not stupid; they are made stupid by education.”

    12. “The secret to happiness is to face the fact that the world is horrible.”

    13. “No one gossips about other people’s secret virtues.”

    14. “The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.”

    15. “To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”

    16. “Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines.”

    17. “One is often told that it is a very wrong thing to attack religion, because religion makes men virtuous. So I am told; I have not noticed it.”