2017 Fall October 30 Monday

2017 Fall October 30 Monday

53 degrees this morning, walk 35:01 minutes

Good walk this morning.  Relatively cool, nice walk.  Actually my watch said it was 60 degrees and the weather app said it was 53 degrees which is quite a difference.  Based on my walk, I think closer to 60 degrees is right, but I can’t really tell.  

Pace was 2 seconds faster than my goal.

Listening to the “Great Course” course on “Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature”.  I have found when I know almost nothing about something, it doesn’t take much to learn something!  

Right at the first the instructor mentions that “to be happy, you have to take advantage of someone or someone has be be suffering so you know you are happy” or words to that effect.  It concerns a society where everyone is happy but they all know their happiness depends on the suffering of a child.  

While I was somewhat familiar with some of he literature on  Utopias’, but it has been interesting thus far.

I find it rather disturbing to think that to be happy someone has to suffer, so I’ll just say i strongly disagree with the concept and let it go at that.  

I guess you would have to say that is true in sports, for one person or team to win and “be happy”  another had to lose etc.   

Of course in a perfect world, the losing team would be happy for the winning team, but I don’t think that happens often.    

Speaking of books to listen to while I walk, I am going to start a biography on Grant after this book.  The book is about 54 hours long, so it isn’t just listening to a book, it is a major commitment of  time to listen to it

Grant is an interesting character and I wanted to read more about him. I had never realized his impact on our history until I read “Team of Rivals” about Abraham Lincoln.  

In fact I would say that book had an impact on my thinking, since the problem Lincoln had with his Generals emphasized the importance of “doing something”, even it is is eventually the wrong action.  

I had seen a lot of General McCellan’s in my career, people who had great plans and never took action, always waiting for something or someone, never able to actually any action and complaining and back-stabbing their way through life.

On the other hand, I probably saw a lot more General Grant’s, people who did their  job and were committed to doing the best they could.  

That’s it for now, Monday, October 30, 3017.