Blessings Darlings!
This beef recall probably won't affect any of the rest of you. My local Wegman's, which I shopped at yesterday, called to tell me that the ground beef I bought yesterday is being recalled. A part in their meat grinder broke SOMETIME yesterday and there may be metal shards in the ground beef.
Obviously I used my Wegman's membership card when I shopped, so they knew that I had bought ground beef. I don't even really know WHY I use the card there - I KNOW it let them monitor what I buy and isn't usually tied in to any discounts. It's a violation of OPSEC. But this time it paid off. I know to return the meat.
On a Pagan note ... once I got the meat home SOMETHING told me to NOT immediately form it into 1/4 pound patties and individually freeze them. I left the meat in a cooler (my fridge being pretty full) with ice packs instead. That was a good 'something'.
Why "Something" couldn't have told me in the STORE not to buy the stuff, thus saving me a trip back there, is not clear. I'll have to find out why what wonderful whatever I'll get from driving the 6 mile round trip later, I guess.
OH!
Nevermind, now I know. Just after I got home yesterday, FedEx dropped off a check from a client. I need to drive back to that city to deposit it. I refused the Chubby Hubby's request that I do that same afternoon. I said that I was SURE that one of us would be returning to the city in the next few days.
I guess tweaking me was seen by 'SOMETHING' as easier than getting FedEx to drop off the check earlier...
Whatever.
Frondly, Fern
Showing posts with label OPSEC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label OPSEC. Show all posts
Monday, March 19, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Havamal, Part 6
Blessings Darlings!
Welcome to this week's installment of my free-associating to the words of the Havamal. For those new here - the Havamal is from the Prose Edda of the Norse, and is attributed to Odin. I'm not using either the best translation or the best ordered version ... but I was sure this one was public domain. I've found other translations online since then, better, but I'm going to use this one thru' since I started it. The better versions are mentioned in a great comment in, I believe, the first part of the series.
On to the text!
Little a sand-grain, little a dew drop,
Little the minds of men:
A11 men are not equal in wisdom,
The half-wise are everywhere
Well, YEAH. I'm giving up on reading the 'calls to the editor' part of my local paper.
It is best for man to be middle-wise,
Not over cunning and clever:
The fairest life is led by those
Who are deft at all they do.
It is best for man to be middle-wise,
Not over cunning and clever:
No man is able to know his future,
So let him sleep in peace.
It is best for man to be middle-wise,
Not over cunning and clever:
The learned man whose lore is deep
Is seldom happy at heart.
Is my confusion over the difference between 'half-wise' and 'middle wise' a translation problem?
Welcome to this week's installment of my free-associating to the words of the Havamal. For those new here - the Havamal is from the Prose Edda of the Norse, and is attributed to Odin. I'm not using either the best translation or the best ordered version ... but I was sure this one was public domain. I've found other translations online since then, better, but I'm going to use this one thru' since I started it. The better versions are mentioned in a great comment in, I believe, the first part of the series.
On to the text!
Little a sand-grain, little a dew drop,
Little the minds of men:
A11 men are not equal in wisdom,
The half-wise are everywhere
Well, YEAH. I'm giving up on reading the 'calls to the editor' part of my local paper.
It is best for man to be middle-wise,
Not over cunning and clever:
The fairest life is led by those
Who are deft at all they do.
It is best for man to be middle-wise,
Not over cunning and clever:
No man is able to know his future,
So let him sleep in peace.
It is best for man to be middle-wise,
Not over cunning and clever:
The learned man whose lore is deep
Is seldom happy at heart.
Is my confusion over the difference between 'half-wise' and 'middle wise' a translation problem?
I have to admit my personal prejudice is in favor of being of greater not lesser wisdom. And that I see 'cunning and clever' as being different than wisdom. Maybe more like being smart-asses, or con artists. But the "The learned man whose lore is deep Is seldom happy at heart" line makes it clear that even my educational elitism is what's being addressed here.
Then again, I see happiness as a choice, not something conferred or chased away by eduction, brains, wealth, etc.
Brand kindles brand till they burn out,
Flame is quickened by flame:
One man from another is known by his speech
The simpleton by his silence.
Early shall he rise who has designs
On anothers land or life:
His prey escapes the prone wolf,
The sleeper is seldom victorious.
Early shall he rise who rules few servants,
And set to work at once:
Much is lost by the late sleeper,
Wealth is won by the swift,
Ah, Procrastination, my old friend! Friend? No, more like a foe I've made strong over the years, fool that I tend to be.
A man should know how many logs
And strips of bark from the birch
To stock in autumn, that he may have enough
Wood for his winter fires.
Preparedness. Yes, I'm there. If anyone reading wants links to the web sites that help you figure out how much of what food you need to stock to have a year supply... let me know. Logs, food, water source - know how to supply and DO supply your own basic needs. Then...
Washed and fed,
one may fare to the Thing:
Though one's clothes be the worse for Wear,
None need be ashamed of his shoes or hose,
Nor of the horse he owns,
Although no thoroughbred.
As the eagle who comes to the ocean shore,
Sniffs and hangs her head,
Dumfounded is he who finds at the Thing
No supporters to plead his case.
Once you've met your own needs yourself, you can go to the AlThing proudly. Still, if you are there asking for something .... you need to also check with others to see if they agree with your view. Never assume the support of others.
It is safe to tell a secret to one,
Risky to tell it to two,
To tell it to three is thoughtless folly,
Everyone else will know.
Often words uttered to another
Have reaped an ill harvest:
Two beat one, the tongue is head's bane,
Pockets of fur hide fists.
You have the right to remain silent. Do you have the ability? Freedom of speech lets you say what you want. It does NOT mean that what you say has no repurcussions.
And, for your preppers --- OPSEC! (operational security, for the rest of you).
Moderate at council should a man be,
Not brutal and over bearing:
Among the bold the bully will find
Others as bold as he.
Again ... don't be a douche.
These things are thought the best:
Fire, the sight of the sun,
Good health with the gift to keep it,
And a life that avoids vice.
Not all sick men are utterly wretched:
Some are blessed with sons,
Some with friends,
some with riches,
Some with worthy works.
The halt can manage a horse,
the handless a flock,
The deaf be a doughty fighter,
To be blind is better than to burn on a pyre:
There is nothing the dead can do.
It is always better to be alive,
The living can keep a cow.
Fire, I saw, warming a wealthy man,
With a cold corpse at his door.
A person can be old. A person can be ill. A person can have physical/mental/emotional disabilities. But being helpless and worthless is not one of them. As I told my mother, a decade ago when she started losing her sight and felt she couldn't help a cousin care for the cousin's grandson .... "You put the bottle in one end and change the other .... and the baby lets you know if you got it wrong!" [and thanks to Melilot for the line, BTW]
A son is a blessing, though born late
To a father no longer alive:
Stones would seldom stand by the highway
If sons did not set them there.
He welcomes the night who has enough provisions
Short are the sails of a ship,
Dangerous the dark in autumn,
The wind may veer within five days,
And many times in a month.
Okay, I don't get why these lines have been put here in the version I'm using. Do they flow better in more normative versions? At any rate - you descendants are likely the only ones who will honor your .... but do all descendant have to be biological? Nah, says I.
And it finishes with prepping. Okay. Fine. Short sails, maybe, allow you to tack, to move where you want to go despite where the wind alone would have you go? Is that it? I dunno.
And so ends Part 6. Tune in next Wotansday for Part 7!
Frondly, Fern
Brand kindles brand till they burn out,
Flame is quickened by flame:
One man from another is known by his speech
The simpleton by his silence.
Early shall he rise who has designs
On anothers land or life:
His prey escapes the prone wolf,
The sleeper is seldom victorious.
Early shall he rise who rules few servants,
And set to work at once:
Much is lost by the late sleeper,
Wealth is won by the swift,
Ah, Procrastination, my old friend! Friend? No, more like a foe I've made strong over the years, fool that I tend to be.
A man should know how many logs
And strips of bark from the birch
To stock in autumn, that he may have enough
Wood for his winter fires.
Preparedness. Yes, I'm there. If anyone reading wants links to the web sites that help you figure out how much of what food you need to stock to have a year supply... let me know. Logs, food, water source - know how to supply and DO supply your own basic needs. Then...
Washed and fed,
one may fare to the Thing:
Though one's clothes be the worse for Wear,
None need be ashamed of his shoes or hose,
Nor of the horse he owns,
Although no thoroughbred.
As the eagle who comes to the ocean shore,
Sniffs and hangs her head,
Dumfounded is he who finds at the Thing
No supporters to plead his case.
Once you've met your own needs yourself, you can go to the AlThing proudly. Still, if you are there asking for something .... you need to also check with others to see if they agree with your view. Never assume the support of others.
It is safe to tell a secret to one,
Risky to tell it to two,
To tell it to three is thoughtless folly,
Everyone else will know.
Often words uttered to another
Have reaped an ill harvest:
Two beat one, the tongue is head's bane,
Pockets of fur hide fists.
You have the right to remain silent. Do you have the ability? Freedom of speech lets you say what you want. It does NOT mean that what you say has no repurcussions.
And, for your preppers --- OPSEC! (operational security, for the rest of you).
Moderate at council should a man be,
Not brutal and over bearing:
Among the bold the bully will find
Others as bold as he.
Again ... don't be a douche.
These things are thought the best:
Fire, the sight of the sun,
Good health with the gift to keep it,
And a life that avoids vice.
Not all sick men are utterly wretched:
Some are blessed with sons,
Some with friends,
some with riches,
Some with worthy works.
The halt can manage a horse,
the handless a flock,
The deaf be a doughty fighter,
To be blind is better than to burn on a pyre:
There is nothing the dead can do.
It is always better to be alive,
The living can keep a cow.
Fire, I saw, warming a wealthy man,
With a cold corpse at his door.
A person can be old. A person can be ill. A person can have physical/mental/emotional disabilities. But being helpless and worthless is not one of them. As I told my mother, a decade ago when she started losing her sight and felt she couldn't help a cousin care for the cousin's grandson .... "You put the bottle in one end and change the other .... and the baby lets you know if you got it wrong!" [and thanks to Melilot for the line, BTW]
A son is a blessing, though born late
To a father no longer alive:
Stones would seldom stand by the highway
If sons did not set them there.
He welcomes the night who has enough provisions
Short are the sails of a ship,
Dangerous the dark in autumn,
The wind may veer within five days,
And many times in a month.
Okay, I don't get why these lines have been put here in the version I'm using. Do they flow better in more normative versions? At any rate - you descendants are likely the only ones who will honor your .... but do all descendant have to be biological? Nah, says I.
And it finishes with prepping. Okay. Fine. Short sails, maybe, allow you to tack, to move where you want to go despite where the wind alone would have you go? Is that it? I dunno.
And so ends Part 6. Tune in next Wotansday for Part 7!
Frondly, Fern
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Havamal, Part 3
Blessings Darlings!
So, we've gone over some of the rights and responsibilities of host/guest, or neighbors, or business interactions, or politics (for all of them are social situations, thus fundamentally the same). Now the Havamal moves on to more situational awareness and survival, then 'thrival', strategy.
Who travels widely needs his wits about him,
The stupid should stay at home,
The ignorant man is often laughed at
When he sits at meat with the sage.
Of his knowledge a man should never boast,
Rather be sparing of speech
When to his house a wiser comes:
Seldom do those who are silent
Make mistakes; mother wit
Is ever a faithful friend.
A guest should be courteous
When he comes to the table
And sit in wary silence,
His ears attentive, his eyes alert:
So he protects himself.
I consider the above verses wisdom on situational awareness, especially when on the road/in a business situation/in ANY social situation. It's less succinct and ... cutesy than "you have two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak".
They speak about a really basic truth - anyone who is clearly trying to impress others DOES tend to impress them ... negatively. If you're so hot, those around you won't need you to tell them. And if you're talking smack about how rich your family is, all that you're going to do is set them up to be raided, especially if you're explaining exactly where your defenses are at the same time!
And if you keep YOUR mouth running, you can't evaluate those around you. You need to know who is sensible, who bullshits, who sees everything negatively, who sees everything too positively, who talks behind others' backs, etc.
Fortunate is he who is favored in his lifetime
With praise and words of wisdom;
Evil counsel is often given
By those of evil heart.
Blessed is he who in his own lifetime
Is awarded praise and wit,
For ill counsel is often given
By mortal men to each other
Evil counsel and ill counsel are only different in what motivates them. Their effect, if you follow the counsel, is the same for you. You'll be sorry. Always consider the source when folks give you advice, and their motivation.
BTW - you ARE evaluating my words here that way, too, aren't you? What are my motives in posting this, and in my amplifications?
Better gear than good sense
A traveler cannot carry,
Better than riches for a wretched man,
Far from his own home.
Better gear than good sense
A traveler cannot carry,
A more tedious burden than too much drink
A traveler cannot carry.
Less good than belief would have it
Is mead for the sons of men:
A man knows less the more he drinks,
Becomes a befuddled fool.
Yes, drinking can cause problems. I suppose that this advice comes from the time before everyone drank because the water was fouled by human contamination? It's a bit of a wonder, tho', since in all the Eddas and Sagas you don't hear about people being served fresh cold water to drink, or even herbal teas, and the only time I recall milk being mentioned was when it was poured down a well to drive out poison. For that matter, the only time I recall Thor drinking water was when he was enchanted and thought he was drinking ale from a big horn .... the other end of the horn was the ocean! So just what WAS one expected to drink if not mead and ale?
On that note, I'm off to make myself another cup of tea.
Frondly, Fern
So, we've gone over some of the rights and responsibilities of host/guest, or neighbors, or business interactions, or politics (for all of them are social situations, thus fundamentally the same). Now the Havamal moves on to more situational awareness and survival, then 'thrival', strategy.
Who travels widely needs his wits about him,
The stupid should stay at home,
The ignorant man is often laughed at
When he sits at meat with the sage.
Of his knowledge a man should never boast,
Rather be sparing of speech
When to his house a wiser comes:
Seldom do those who are silent
Make mistakes; mother wit
Is ever a faithful friend.
A guest should be courteous
When he comes to the table
And sit in wary silence,
His ears attentive, his eyes alert:
So he protects himself.
I consider the above verses wisdom on situational awareness, especially when on the road/in a business situation/in ANY social situation. It's less succinct and ... cutesy than "you have two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak".
They speak about a really basic truth - anyone who is clearly trying to impress others DOES tend to impress them ... negatively. If you're so hot, those around you won't need you to tell them. And if you're talking smack about how rich your family is, all that you're going to do is set them up to be raided, especially if you're explaining exactly where your defenses are at the same time!
And if you keep YOUR mouth running, you can't evaluate those around you. You need to know who is sensible, who bullshits, who sees everything negatively, who sees everything too positively, who talks behind others' backs, etc.
Fortunate is he who is favored in his lifetime
With praise and words of wisdom;
Evil counsel is often given
By those of evil heart.
Blessed is he who in his own lifetime
Is awarded praise and wit,
For ill counsel is often given
By mortal men to each other
Evil counsel and ill counsel are only different in what motivates them. Their effect, if you follow the counsel, is the same for you. You'll be sorry. Always consider the source when folks give you advice, and their motivation.
BTW - you ARE evaluating my words here that way, too, aren't you? What are my motives in posting this, and in my amplifications?
Better gear than good sense
A traveler cannot carry,
Better than riches for a wretched man,
Far from his own home.
Better gear than good sense
A traveler cannot carry,
A more tedious burden than too much drink
A traveler cannot carry.
Less good than belief would have it
Is mead for the sons of men:
A man knows less the more he drinks,
Becomes a befuddled fool.
Yes, drinking can cause problems. I suppose that this advice comes from the time before everyone drank because the water was fouled by human contamination? It's a bit of a wonder, tho', since in all the Eddas and Sagas you don't hear about people being served fresh cold water to drink, or even herbal teas, and the only time I recall milk being mentioned was when it was poured down a well to drive out poison. For that matter, the only time I recall Thor drinking water was when he was enchanted and thought he was drinking ale from a big horn .... the other end of the horn was the ocean! So just what WAS one expected to drink if not mead and ale?
On that note, I'm off to make myself another cup of tea.
Frondly, Fern
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