Aurelius' Razor?

For years, I have been quietly advancing the notion that the world would be a better place if everyone looked out for the common good. But sharing what seems to be an obvious idea has been an unexpectedly bumpy road--mostly because my words lacked the clarity of an ancient philosopher king.

Today, I stumbled upon the words 

I can now only wish I had chosen myself.

Photo by Eric Gaba
Wikimedia Commons user Sting, CC BY-SA 3.0

"Let every action aim solely at the common good."

--Marcus Aurelius

The reason my heart stopped when I read the above quote was that I had been trying to say the same thing for years, but my attempts lacked clarity and punch.

Inspired by Occam's Razor, my first attempt states that, when choosing between two courses of action, pick the one that has the best social outcome. With uncharacteristic hubris. I dubbed this idea Doane's Razor and waited for the royalty checks to come pouring in...

But of course, I never really thought Doane's Razor was sufficient. It's too vague. Actions come down to individual predictions of future outcomes, and under that "razor" nearly anything can be justified.

The next iteration came along with my re-reading of Robert Pirsig's classic, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I read it as a teenaged cyclist and rediscovered it as a motorcyclist, many years and many miles later.

"The place to improve the world is first

in one's own heart and head and hands,

and then work outward from there."  

--Robert M. Pirsig

Somehow when I was 17 I overlooked Pirsig's pearl of wisdom. But with the benefit of experience, the value of the approach became clear. If you desire to make the world a better place, start with examining your personal values. Make plans that are consistent with those values. And then spend time doing the things that will make your values come to life. The things you do and say reflect your thoughts and plans, and ultimately reveal your values.

It's my opinion that Marcus Aurelius captured the meat of this idea more succinctly than I ever did. Using the law of parsimony, I hereby suspend Doane's Razor in favor of a new, superior one which I now dub Aurelius' Razor.

"Let every action aim solely at the common good."

--Marcus Aurelius

Does this make sense to you? Are you willing to give it a try in your personal life? Share thoughts in comments!

We can learn much from the writings of the likes of a Roman soldier, statesman, orator, emperor, and Stoic philosopher named Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (26 April 121 – 17 March 180 AD). Here is a link to a previous post featuring his timeless wisdom.

Enjoy!

A Kinder and Gentler Nation

"Prosperity with a purpose means taking your idealism and making it concrete." 

--George H. W. Bush, in accepting his party's nomination as their candidate for the Presidency, August 18, 1988

On this national day of mourning, I offer a tribute to President George H. W. Bush. With hope for our great county, and inspired by today's solemn Google Doodle, let us search for a kinder, gentler Nation. 

Impossible FreeCell?

Any fans of FreeCell out there? I find FreeCell to be a fun and relaxing mental challenge. I enjoy playing a hand or two on my iPad to unwind. I often listen to a little Pandora or I Heart Radio in the background while I work out the solution to the next random puzzle.




I've played 1620 games of FreeCell on my iPad, and I've won 1590 of them. Once I figured out that every array has at least one solution, I stick with a game until I figure out a way to win. Clearly some starting setups are more difficult than others, but this one (Fig 1) nearly cost me my 1402-game winning streak  In all of that time, I've never seen a more difficult starting setup.

Fig 1. The most difficult starting setup I have seen in over 1,600 games

What makes this setup so hard? How can one tell at a glance that this will be a tough challenge? Look at the face cards. The topmost three rows contain only 3 face cards. That means 9 of 12 are in the lower half of the array. The aces are distributed widely (columns 1, 3, 7, and 8). But more importantly, notice how high they are in the array. Face cards low and aces high spells trouble! Now, look at the fourth column. The red 10s are inaccessible, meaning the black jacks in the bottom row of columns 1 and 3 are going to be anchors for many moves.



Fig 2. The red 10s are in place, but now what?

My initial strategy involved clearing my way to the red 10s, since I assessed that bottleneck to be my worst problem. I came close to a solution here. Look at where the red 10s ended up. However, there are too few remaining moves available. This interim arrangement (Fig 2) does not have a successful outcome--at least not one that I could foresee.

 



Fig 3. Victory is in sight.

Once I got to this point (Fig 3), I knew that victory was soon mine! Can you look at this interim stage and play the remaining moves out in your head? How many moves are left until victory?

Fig 4. VICTORY! (Finally)



Yes, I finally won this game, but it was a struggle. It took me just under 3 hours over the course of several days. For me, the feeling was similar to catching the biggest marlin I've ever seen.







Calculating the "Effective Temperature"

When does 50 deg F feel like 30? What is the effect on performance for a person with skin exposed to air that feels, for all practical purposes, as if it were cold enough to freeze water? It’s one thing to consider what a given thermometer reading actually “feels like,” and another to examine the actual impact of the effective temperature on a person's skin. Heat loss or gain on the skin can change a person's core temperature enough to affect performance. Untreated, conditions like frostbite and heat exhaustion can lead to permanent damage and even death. 

This post is written with the all-weather motorcyclist in mind, but it will benefit any outdoor enthusiast who wants to understand and prepare for the effects of wind-driven heat or cold on exposed skin. I was motivated to take this project on after seeing many inconsistent charts and graphs online. Not only do the numbers not match, but there seems to be a lack of information around the impacts on performance in extremes. I also felt frustrated over the lack of awareness about the difference between "Feels Like" calculators (windchill, heat index), and effective temperature. 

I intend to create and share an online calculator, where people can type in the two variables (ambient temperature, wind speed) and get a useful response. I’d like the response to include three important pieces of information:

• an effective temperature, in deg F. This value will be higher or lower than the ambient temperature due to the effect of wind.
• a description of the impact of the effective temperature on performance. This value can be expressed in terms of minutes to frostbite on the cold side, or minutes to heat exhaustion on the hot side.
• commentary on how to mitigate the effective temperature's impacts. This can include practical tips for preventing, recognizing, and countering the described effects.

In my ongoing research, I have confirmed the need for this calculator in that nothing quite like it yet exists. This calculator will be useful for people who perform outdoor activities in extreme conditions. The actual demand for the tool remains to be seen but I plan to do some market testing to collect some data and make customer-focused improvements.

Here is how the calculator looks now. It takes the form of an interactive chart. Type in the variables, and one gets a point value for the effective temperature, as well as a description of the likely effects and some guidance about how to mitigate the effects.

Here is a more legible view of the cold (left) end of the chart. The Effective Temperature (ET) formula is given as ET (deg F) = 35.74 + (0.6215 * Temp) - (35.75 * (Wind^0.16)) + (0.4275 * Temp * (Wind^0.16)). 

And here is a closer look at the hot (right) end. The ambient temperature has a 180 def F range. The formula for ET works at the higher temperatures because it measures the effect of wind, not humidity. These results will look different from a heat index chart.

Given a calculated point value for effective temperature, here are additional results obtained: the impacts are placed in a color-coded range, the impacts are described in terms of minutes until the damage can occur, and some strategies are offered.

This is what the data entry fields look like. Type in the ambient temperature (green cell), type in the wind speed (gray cell) and the effective temperature is calculated and color-coded (yellow cell in the illustration). The color code matches the ranges and leads to information about impacts and strategies for that range.

And now you can see how the whole interactive chart works to focus on a rider's sweet spot and the risks associated with performance in areas further from that sweet spot.

There is at least one decent calculator already in existence. You can check it out at this URL. It's accurate but it leaves a lot to be desired.

•Pro

•Uses the NOAA formula

•Works for both Wind Chill and Wind Burn

•Includes conversions for Celsius and Knots

•Con

•Does not use Color Codes to describe Temperature Ranges

•Does not provide Minutes Until Impact (Frostbite or Heat Exhaustion)

•Does not offer Prescription and Mitigation Strategies

The primary objective of this inquiry in into calculating the effective temperature is to understand the impact of ambient air temperature and the wind of motion on exposed skin. Armed with this awareness, the outdoor enthusiast can better assess and manage the environmental and personal risk factors before motorcycling, skiing, running, or boating in extremes.

Thank you for reading. Please leave comments or send me an email with your suggestions. 

What Leonard Cohen Taught Me About Being Human

Leonard Cohen: 1936-2016

Rest In Peace, Leonard Norman Cohen. Today, nearly two years after your death, you taught me all over again what it means to be fully, achingly human.

What's NOT to love? The Set-up

Among many other things, I love poets, philosophers, and musicians. I have a Pinterest board entitled Muses, Madmen, and Minstrels containing snippets about Van Morrison, Walt Whitman, Leonard Cohen, Elvis Costello, Mark Nepo, Robert Pirsig, and many whose keen observations of the human condition stir my soul. 

By nature, I am primarily a rational, pragmatic person. My artistic side is often well-hidden. Poets, actors, painters, philosophers, singers, and dancers interest and amaze me. That is why I love "muses, madmen, and minstrels" among many other things. 

Scan through the archives of PhilosFX and you will see that Leonard Cohen makes not infrequent appearances. So that explains how it came to pass that, flipping through the TV channels on a Notre Dame football bye weekend (Sat, Oct 20), I found something at the nexus of many things I love, something that made my jaw drop, my heart race, and my mind forget about everything else on my To Do list. Thank goodness I had the presence of mind to hit the Record button on my DVR.

Tower of Song

A Memorial Tribute Documentary

by Jack Bender

This moving documentary tribute to the life and loves of poet, artist, philosopher, monk, and performer Leonard Cohen was showing as a fundraiser on my local Public Broadcasting System (PBS) affiliate, Maryland Public TV (MPT). For those who may not recognize his name, Jack Bender, a producer and director, is known for Alias (2001), Lost (2004), and Game of Thrones (2011).

What's NOT to love? The Scene

I loved all of these aspects of this production:

• Leonard Cohen's autobiographical poems about pain, longing, hope, love, and loss were lovingly resurrected and re-interpreted by the likes of Elvis Costello, Bettye Lavette, and Sting
• I enjoy supporting Public TV and radio. 
• The timing and the location of this event were special. Leonard is Montreal's favorite son, and people from around the world came to see this show almost exactly one year after he passed. 
• The stage and set creatively evoked Cohen's overwatching presence

What's NOT to love? The Songs

These were just a few of the standout performances

• "Bird on the wire," the second of two powerful appearances by Elvis Costello 
• Leonard Cohen's son, Adam, singing "So Long, Marianne" better than his old man ever did, while backup singer Hattie Webb looks at him like she knows a secret. 
• The Lumineers (or, at least, some of them) did a great job on "Democracy." 
• "Suzanne" performed by Ron Sexsmith. Need I say more?
• Peter Gabriel's cameo at 47:43. Perfect!
• And so much more... For 90 minutes, one gut-wrenching moment was followed by another...

I want to circle back to Adam Cohen's twist on "So Long, Marianne," because that performance absolutely floored me. But first, I need to share what was, for me, clearly the most visceral moment of the show.

k. d. lang performing Hallelujah for Tower of Song

Maybe you have heard "Hallelujah" performed a few dozen times. It's a masterpiece. Many artists have covered it. I even wrote a post about the many different versions, concluding that none performed better than Cohen himself. But I must admit, I now must publish a retraction and an update. I had never heard this classic song performed to its soulful perfection until I heard k. d. lang's rendition for "Tower of Song."

I was mesmerized. Reduced to elements. When was the last time you cried? For me, it when k. d. lang reminded me why I love muses, madmen, and minstrels.  But the story does not end here. I mentioned the devastating twist Adam gave to his father's love song to Marianne. Let's look into that more deeply.

Cohen with Marianne Ihlen, his Norwegian muse

What is the story of Leonard and Marianne? 

As a young man in his mid-20s, Leonard Cohen moved to the Greek island of Hydra from Montreal to find his muse. There he met a beautiful woman named Marianne. The two stayed together through the 60s, raising her son and commuting between Hydra, her home in Oslo, his home in Montreal, and a home they made together in New York. Throughout their relationship, Cohen wrote about Marianne and dedicated many songs, poems, and drawings to her. The lyrics to "So Long, Marianne" offer many clues as to why the relationship did not last.

Time rolled along. Fifty-seven years after the two lovers first met, and when he himself was in failing health, Leonard received word that Marianne was on her deathbed. Cohen wrote to her in a letter read to her two days before her death, and again at her funeral, saying:

"Know that I am so close behind you that if you stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine... Goodbye old friend. Endless love, see you down the road." 

Marianne died in hospital in Oslo on 28 July 2016, aged 81. Leonard died three months later, on November 7. Tower of Song, the memorial tribute, was recorded a day shy of a year later, in Montreal, on 6 November 2017.

Now you know the backstory about the namesake for Cohen's song, "So long, Marianne." One day short of a year after Leonard's passing, Adam Cohen performed his father's song. He looked just like his father, and accompanying vocalist Hattie Webb looked remarkably similar to Marianne Ihlen. These resemblances took my breath away, and I couldn't help but notice glances between the two. And then the kicker: the music softens, as do the lights, and Adam recites portions of his father's letter to Marianne. I lost it! You have got to see this! Total tear-jerker.

+++++++

There are too many other highlights to recount in this soulful summation of Cohen's life and loves. His was a complicated journey, one which has touched me deeply.

Hineni, Hineni

Here I am Lord

I'm with you, my Lord

"I don't consider myself a pessimist. I think of a pessimist as someone who is waiting for it to rain. And I feel soaked to the skin." --LNC

Here is a link to a video of the program. You will want to watch the whole thing. Of course, I also encourage you to purchase the two-DVD set, either directly, or via a donation to Public Broadcasting. Watch this tribute and connect with what it means to inhabit this mortal coil if only briefly. 

Additional Information

If you would like to read more about Leonard Cohen, his life and loves, or the Tower of Song tribute, please have a look at these links.

The Leonard Cohen homepage

The Webb Sisters homepage

Billboard article about the Tower of Song Tribute Concert

Leonard Cohen Files: Marianne Ihlen

Marianne Ihlen

Ring the Bells that Still Can Ring

The Year in Rock: 1971

Though I might have been a tad young to appreciate it in real time,

1971 was a great year in rock music! 

Offered herewith is a seven-song sample to give credence to the claim. This set of songs was played on "The Sunken Roadhouse," a weekly two-hour broadcast of music curated by DJ John on radio station KPUP 100.5 FM out of Patagonia, AZ. 

L.A. Woman by The Doors. https://www.shazam.com/track/225562/la-woman

Wild Night by Van Morrison. https://www.shazam.com/track/3176784/wild-night

Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones. https://www.shazam.com/track/5183110/wild-horses

One Of These Days by Pink Floyd. https://www.shazam.com/track/283246/one-of-these-days 

It's So Hard by John Lennon. https://www.shazam.com/track/230127/its-so-hard

Yesterday's Numbers by Flamin' Groovies. https://www.shazam.com/track/3077759/yesterdays-numbers

The Song Is Over by The Who. https://www.shazam.com/track/251551/the-song-is-over

As each of these classic tunes played, I used my Shazam app and captured a link with additional details about the song. Follow each link, and you might see album covers, music videos, related tracks, lyrics, liner notes, band member bios, and more. 

Shazam can identify the music, movie, TV show,
or advertisement from a short snippet of sound

Do you agree that 1971 was a great year in rock? Was it perhaps the greatest year? In the comments, cast your ballot! 

You can listen to all of KPUP's community programming 24/7 online at http://kpup.info/. Tune in Friday nights at 7 PM* for The Sunken Roadhouse. If you enjoy the show, ask John for a playlist--he'll email it right out to you. Simply respond to the email address he provides over the air. Check out KPUP, John's show, and these great songs, and share your reactions in the comments!

1971 was a great year in rock music. One influential music journalist, David Hepworth, claims it was the greatest year in rock music. Here are some links to articles or radio programs about Hepworth, his book, Never a Dull Moment, and the evidence he cites to bolster his claim.


Enjoy!


Loudersound: 71 reasons why 1971 is rock's greatest-ever year

NPR: why 1971 was the greatest year for rock music ever

Spectator: was-1971-really-the-best-ever-year-for-music?

The Guardian: 1971 Never a Dull Moment Rock's Golden Year

Telegraph: was-1971-the-greatest-year-in-pop-history?

Visit Patagonia

*That's 7 PM Arizona time, folks--and remember, Arizona don't play that Daylight Saving Time nonsense!  

Let Light Shine Out of Darkness

Everyone in the whole world is not always as small, 

thoughtless, impatient, ungrateful, or petty

as the worst of us can be. 

And even the worst of us can be cheerful, 

kind, helpful, generous, or brave. 

So how then to live? 

Focus on the positive. Seek it out. Nurture it. 

Exemplify and exude positivity.  

Only light can dispel the darkness

Getty Royalty Free Image

Read more:

David Suzuki writes about how to live in dark and troubling times (with nice references to Leonard Cohen and William Butler Yeats).

Light is used to symbolize God, faith, or holiness throughout the Bible. Here are 21 Bible verses about light. Read these to gain a better understanding of light as the symbol of positivity.