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How Are Your New Year's Resolutions Coming Along?

 20220116 Shep as Author

We're two weeks in now.  Have you been good?

                                                           Here is my resolution report 

First, I resolved to have the books for both of our businesses in Bristol Condition and to have all of our tax filing documents and records to the CPAs on January 31st.  This includes documents and data for my trustor's CPA.  I've made good progress on this one and we'll probably have it done on schedule.

At the start of each recent year, I've made a decision about the writing style I'll use on disqus.  The first year I made myself slog once again through the truly gawd-awful garbage writing in Rules for Radicals.  I made notes that distilled those techniques which could ethically be used on disqus and then I went to town.  Imagine my surprise when the Left did not applaud my adoption of their methods!

The second year I took a more lazy writing path.  That year, when counter-trolling Leftists, I would read a troll's posts and then only use his own methods against him.  Kind of like tying half my brain behind my back, just to keep things interesting.

If a guy were to plot a Venn of my first and second year techniques he would see an amazing amount of overlap.  

These years of adopting Leftist techniques were sort of an intellectual vacation for me.  I need to be serious again in both my on and off disqus writing and thinking.  

This desire leads to my second resolution.  I want to make some movement away from tertiary source material for my news.  It is impossible to be an expert on everything, but there is a lot of secondary, and better still primary source material out there pertaining to things that interest me.  A combination of time restriction and, frankly, being tired of all the political background noise in the news, gave me an excuse to be less informed than I should be.  As much as I can, I'll read from as close to the origin of information as possible.  This might mean reading sections of spending bills. It might mean reading the Neo-Marxists "Agenda XX" type documents.  I haven't done much along these lines since 2013.  With respect to this resolution, I haven't done much more than to think about which narrow subjects for which I'll have time to look at primary and secondary sources.  I'll get on it right after the taxes are done.

My third resolution is to read 12 books for more than fun.  Reading would run my life like an addiction if I didn't limit it.  For several years, excepting some things the kids thought I should read, I've only consumed fun and flashy books--histories written for mass consumption, science fiction, popular biographies, that sort of thing--not the sorts of books where you need to re-read paragraphs or make notes to ensure you understand it sort of stuff.  My thinking is not as crisp as it should be.  Both of our kids are at an age where they take almost evil delight in nailing me on my inconsistencies. 

 I haven't given much thought to which precise titles, but ideally I'll read 4 by objective journalists on serious contemporary topics, four on critical thought, logic, or philosophy, and then four written for people in the publishing or finance business.  Aside from ordering two of the texts I'll be reading for business, no progress has been made here.  This is another item I'll have to start after the taxes are done.

My fourth resolution is to better represent individual liberty in the world.  This can mean peacefully countering ANTIFA/BLM when they seek to intimidate through threats and violence.  It can mean actively expressing Libertarian ideas in my writing.  It can mean kicking the metaphorical legs out from under crypto-Marxist and crypto-Maoists when they advocate permanently trading rights away to solve temporary or imaginary problems.

What were your goals?  Have you made progress?  Feel free to critique mine. Suggestions are welcome.