Far East Cynic

I anticipated being out of comms today and tomorrow-doing some interesting things. What follows is a "Letter to myself" back when the blogosphere was a lot more civil and "memes" were all the rage: 

A new meme!

One of the blogs I lurk at, without ever commenting on is Helen’s. She writes her blog like a diary should read, and she writes well, making some very thought provoking posts. This post, got me to do some very serious thinking and I have decided to attempt to turn this into a meme because I think it will reveal some good ideas and writing here in Bloggerville. At least that is my hope, and if you don’t like it go on ahead and link on over to See Lai for something more interesting!

Anyway here goes: List 3-5 things that you would put in a "Back to the Future" type letter from you now, to your younger self you, say 20-21 year old you about to graduate college or any other similar pursuit. There are only two caveats here: 1) you cannot direct your younger self to do anything or violate the principle of free will in decision making and 2) you should not try to reveal specific events in the future since, in theory, if any of your advice is accepted it will already screw up the time line and the events won’t happen at all. This should, however to allow you to give your younger self some advice, and in the process force some introspection into your own existence. It can be as shallow or as revealing as you like, and feel comfortable with.

So here is mine, written to my younger self when he was just starting his junior year at a prestigious military college that both Foggy and I know very well.

"Skippy,

Hello my friend its me, an older, hopefully wiser, somewhat sadder you, looking back at all 117 pounds of you as you enjoy what you are going to come to treasure as "the best years of your life". Sure you don’t recognize it now, because you are immersed in the daily routine of the Corps of Cadets, but stop and think a minute; how proud are you to be wearing those gray nasty’s today?

Oh how I wish I could live those days knowing what I know now! However you will quickly learn that life is not a series of life or death decisions, but rather little seemingly insignificant choices that, without realizing it, rise up and become your life and your fate. My hope for this letter is that some of the advice contained herein will allow you to make the right choices and be able to better enjoy their outcome.

So I’ve got 3 things to pass on ( plus a couple of sidebars….).

First: You are the only one responsible for your happiness. The idea that out there somewhere, is one special woman who will do that for you is sheer nonsense. That is not to say that you cannot, or will not, find someone with whom you can live comfortably and experience much happiness; but the idea of marriage as a be all and end all of existence is poppycock. Take your time with romance. Meet a lot of girls, but also realize that breaking up with one or two or four is not the end of the world. Its actually a good thing. If enroute, you meet one who really rocks your world great, but give it time. If she is the right one for you, she’ll be patient and and together she will figure out if you are the right one for her. There are a lot of women out there and believe me, if that one passe you buy, there are others who will make you just as happy. Marry in haste, and you will feel pain like you cannot even now begin to comprehend. While you are looking, meet, (and sleep with…(but use protection…give it a few years and you will understand why)) as many women as you can. It will give you an edge and allow you to be more discerning about the choice when the time comes. Trust me, this is one area I know about from hard experience.

Second, take time to smell the roses. I’m not telling you not to study, but keep your work life and your real life in balance. The two are not the same and one of the shortcomings of your military education is that it makes you incredibly passionate about being good in your profession. That’s not a bad thing, but when you are tempted to really put aside some of the fun things, only for work, ask your self this question: "How long will I be dead?" Work is with you always, other things are not. You laugh, but in a few years you are going to attend the funerals of friends you laugh with, and drink beer with now. Get out travel, explore, and do more than the same dreary routine.

Finally, when you start making real money, make it a point to save at least 10% , if not 15% of your income. Have it come out of your pay automatically. You will not notice it this way. Invest some in other things besides a savings account. Like Nike will tell you some day, just do it! Having money saved will give you options you will not have if you live paycheck to paycheck. Think about it for minute. Right now you think the old man is pissed at you because you bought that used 1970 Volkswagen. Trust me, he’s not. He’s actually very proud of you for making a big decision on your own. Problem is acting pissed is the only way he knows to make you understand the seriousness of what you have undertaken. Don’t let a wife, a girlfriend, a friend or anyone else, stand between you and getting that money put away. Driving a used car is really not so bad, and as your savings grow you’ll be able to have more options to choose from. Having money in the bank will help you face change, and allow you to be more decisive, because if things go sour, you will still be able to move on and pay your bills in the short term. Please believe me on this.

Miscellaneous things to think about:

The language courses you hate now, you are going to wish you had stuck with later in life.

If you do not get to fly A-7′s its not the end of the world. So long as you end up in Naval Aviation you will enjoy it. They are not lying to you when they say no matter what aircraft you get, you are going to end up enjoying it. Just get to your wings and let the rest take care of itself.

Don’t be afraid to be stationed overseas.

Go back to playing golf. You’ll thank me for it later. Pay for some lessons from someone who knows how to play the game.

Call Mom. Yea its a pain in the ass and she is going to lecture you, but she loves you more than you know. And while you do not realize it now she knows a few things that you do not. That 30 minutes on the phone will make her and you feel better.

Finally, remember that you are a great guy. It does not matter what anyone else says, or what kind of evaluations you get or how much money you have or even what your future wife thinks about you. Just be comfortable with yourself. You know your boundaries. Don’t let others define them for you and things will be all right.

I’m cheering for you,

Skippy-san

Been busy with work. More posts to follow.

This country has turned to petroleum processing and refining and has transformed itself into an international banking center. Its also very hot, people drive like crazy especially on Thursday and Friday.

Maurice and Cy-kick win the first quiz. Typed that post passing through the Admirals Club in DFW.

But today I went across the sea.

Guess where?

It’s London- a place I’d like to live.

Can you answer all these questions about the place?

This city  lies in a large prairie running through the center of the United States. It is fairly flat and is one of the largest cities in the world not located on a navigable river. The city was founded in the 1840s as a frontier trading post and has been fostering entrepreneurs ever since. The weather here is painfully hot in July and August with high temperatures in the upper 90s (37 C.) to over 105 degrees (40 C.), but the rest of the year is quite nice. Winter may see temperatures below 10 degrees (-12 C.), but it usually warms back up quickly. Annual precipitation is 33.7 inches (86.4 cm) per year.

Talk too long together.

What do Sarah Palin and Muramar Khadafi have in common?

THEY BOTH KNOW HOW TO TALK TOO LONG!

From our man on the scene in Hong Kong:

What they got was 90 minutes of boredom which had half the audience fiddling endlessly with their Blackberries. Ninety percent of her speech could have been – and probably was – written for a domestic US audience receptive to her "mom and pop" populism. Indeed the only newsworthy aspect of the speech was why her remarks had to be kept private despite their predictability

Just like her soulmate:

Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi took advantage of his biggest stage yet, his first-ever address to the United Nations General Assembly, and delivered a diatribe six times longer than his 15-minute time limit. In the speech, Qaddafi praised Barack Obama as "a son of Africa" who provided a "glimpse in the darkness after four or eight years." Indeed, "We are content and happy if Obama can stay forever as president of the United States," Qaddafi said, perhaps mistaking the U.S. electoral system for Libya’s dictatorship. Aside from wooing Obama, however, the dictator had few kind words. He proposed renaming the U.N Security Council the "Terror Council" because it concentrates power among its five permanent members and called for investigations to all major wars since the founding of the United Nations. Qaddafi also suggested that the H1N1 swine flu virus may have stemmed from a military bioweapons project gone awry, according to the New York Times.

So does that make him a birther?

Both are boring, both are useless, and both have long out lived their fifteen minutes of fame.

And both of them inspire stupid people to violence.

I’m leaving tomorrow for business trip. Its my first trip overseas in almost a year. I’m excited. Even if it is going to the wrong region of the world……..

However I may be in and out of communication from time to time over the next week-so when I think that would be happening, I’ve preset to “replay” some of my better posts for your enjoyment.

Otherwise, I’ll try to provide a travelogue and allow you to play , “Where’s Waldo”.

It’s a once in a blue moon thing though. I still am not able to fulfill my dream to be like this guy:

Hemlock may be no more.

WTF?

Spike, passed this along:

Geocities, the evil multinational conglomerate that produces its shoddy and environmentally> destructive Internet services in Dickensian sweatshops in its ruthless quest for profit, saw fit – as part of its imminent closure – to bar me, wild American friend Odell, the Big Boss and delectable Administrative Officer Winky Ip from our very own home from the middle of last week.  They have let me back in briefly in order to retrieve a few essentials, but otherwise this is it.   Cast out into the wilderness with maximum prejudice aforethought. Souvenir hunters, the nostalgic, and the terminally bored are welcome to poke around here – the lights go out permanently at Geocities around the end of October. I will be heartily recommending what I suspect will be a rather common-looking ‘blog’ written by my acquaintance D.  The link will appear in the next few days, I am assured.  He is not the most interesting of people, but there is a possibility – I’d give it a 30-40% chance – that some of his scribblings will be worth reading.  To quote Steve Earle, “I remember when we was both out on the boulevard, talkin’ revolution and singin’ the blues.  Nowadays it’s letters to the editor and cheatin’ on our taxes – it’s the best that we can do.”

 There is no link to "D" yet. What the hell is going on?

Because what point would it serve? When the world is full of SO MANY STUPID CONCLUSIONS, you just don’t know where to begin refuting them.

Give me some time-I’ll work up a good head of steam.

But for the record, its probably a good thing FDR did not have to be President with the current generation of conservative losers, who don’t think that art should be used to send a message.

And its not a tax to get people to do what they should be doing.

Thankfully, at least, some people are recognizing just how really stupid the average conservative voter really is.

P.S. the idea about de-linking people that you have linked to faithfully for years-even though you disagreed with them-may be an idea whose time has come.  If they have the common indecency to drop their links to you, that is.

 It is worth pointing out Godwin’s law though:

A well-known rule of Internet discourse is Godwin’s law, which states that, as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches inevitability.

Let me propose Nyhan’s corollary: As a foreign policy debate with conservatives grows longer, the probability of a comparison with the appeasement of Nazis or Hitler approaches inevitability.

You kick the living stuffing out of LDP.

You sweep in a new government in Japan.

You have frizzy hair.

And one of the first things you do after becoming Prime Minister of Japan, is to pay a call on the suckiest team in baseball? My hapless Pirates!

All I can think of is the Cheech and Chong routine: Are you out of your f*cking mind!

Masumi Kuwata, a 41-year-old retired Japanese baseball player who was a pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates, visited Hatoyama at his invitation and the two played catch.Hatoyama plans to pitch at an opening ceremony of a Major League game, possibly in Pittsburgh, Japanese media said. Yea, Yea, I know the G-20 is going to be in Pittsburgh-but still, lets not forget the Buccos are 28 games back and dead last in the National League.

Go to Primanti Brothers instead. Have a sandwhich and an Iron.

Don”t drink two beers after going out for a run and then coming in hot and sweaty to watch the Steelers.

Otherwise you get really pissed off when they miss a field goal that cost them the game!

If you want to ride the ride.

 Slate magazine has a pretty good review of condom advertising.

Phibian has a pretty good rundown on what happens if you fail to use one.

And won’t feel like blogging when I get back.

Because its Friday-which meant there was only one thing to think about walking out to the parking lot today:

So think about this:

And maybe spend some time with this:

Yumi Sugimoto!

And speaking of being attracted to Asia women-which I am- I think it can now be said that I am a trend setter:

Rupert Murdoch has one. So do financiers Vivi Nevo and Bruce Wasserstein. Why are the West’s most powerful men coupling up with younger Asian women?

Call it the Woody Allen Effect. When the venerable director scandalously left Mia Farrow for her adopted daughter, South Korean-born Soon-Yi Previn — 35 years his junior — he may as well have sent out a press release: Asian-girl fantasy trumps that of Hollywood royalty! Not two years after they tied the knot, media baron Rupert Murdoch walked down the aisle with fresh-faced Wendi Deng — 17 days after finalizing his divorce from his second wife. Then, CBS head Leslie Moonves wed TV news anchor Julie Chen; Oscar winner Nicolas Cage married half-his-age third wife Alice Kim; billionaire George Soros coupled up with violinist Jennifer Chun; and producer Brian Grazer courted concert pianist Chau-Giang Thi Nguyen. Add the nuptials of investment magnate Bruce Wasserstein to fourth wife Angela Chao and the pending vows between venture capitalist Vivi Nevo and Chinese actress Ziyi Zhang, and we’ve got a curious cultural ripple

Full article here.

No wonder he turned down the Green Hornet movie. He’s got a nice little thing for himself already. Besides-I think its pretty clear he passes the wallet biopsy…………………………………………..

I won’t have a lot to say-because I like getting paid. But suffice it to say I agree with the SECDEF: 

Anticipating that reaction, Gates said that "those who say we are scrapping missile defense in Europe are either misinformed or misrepresenting the reality of what we are doing. … I believe this new approach provides a better missile defense capability for our forces in Europe, for our European allies and eventually for our homeland than the program I recommended almost three years ago. It is more adapted to the threat we see developing and takes advantage of new technical capabilities available to us today."

When one looks at the facts-all the facts-there was no other conclusion. Unless you like literally pouring money into a hole in the ground.

More info here, here, and here.

That won’t stop the sniping of course-can’t let the facts get in the way of quality tea bagging.

That the days are slipping by all too quickly.

So many bloggers disparage us baby boomers. I’m a baby boomer and damn proud of it. One reason was because of all the good music I got hear growing up.

Which is why I was very sad to hear of the death of Mary Travers tonight.

The band’s publicist, Heather Lylis, says Travers died at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut on Wednesday. She was 72 and had battled leukemia for several years. Travers joined forces with Peter Yarrow and Noel Paul Stookey in the early 1960s. The trio mingled their music with liberal politics, both onstage and off. Their version of "If I Had a Hammer" became an anthem for racial equality. Other hits included "Lemon Tree," "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "Puff (The Magic Dragon.)" They were early champions of Bob Dylan and performed his "Blowin’ in the Wind" at the August 1963 March on Washington. And they were vehement in their opposition to the Vietnam War, managing to stay true to their liberal beliefs while creating music that resonated in the American mainstream. The group collected five Grammy Awards for their three-part harmony on enduring songs like "Leaving on a Jet Plane," "Puff (The Magic Dragon)" and "Blowin’ in the Wind." At one point in 1963, three of their albums were in the top six Billboard best-selling LPs as they became the biggest stars of the folk revival movement.

Damn.

I used to love taking the train to Narita. I hated being tied to the bus schedule-although when I first met the S.O., I would stay at her apartment over in Chiba and then catch the bus the next day when I had to make a business trip. It only took 25 minutes instead of the usual 2.0 hours.

Now there is a New Narita Express!

If you are really in a hurry-there is another option.