Quote of the Day: 31 December 2021 #QotD

“I sympathise. I know just how it feels To think of the right thing to say too late.” -Robert Frost
[And that feels like a fitting conclusion to this year's collection of quotes.]

Quote of the Day: 30 December 2021 #QotD

“[D]umb is okay so long as they’re not stupid[.]” -Moist Von Lipwig, Going Postal
[I've met too many who were stupid and very evidently not dumb. I lament my exposure to such individuals.]

Quote of the Day: 29 December 2021 #QotD

“[T]hose who have not swords can still die upon them.” -Éowyn, The Return of the King
[Death will come for you. Some time, and some way, and you can't fully control it. But you can improve your chances in any particular situation through preparation.]

Quote of the Day: 28 December 2021 #QotD

“If y’all can wominquire we should be able to manswer.” -@MattsIdeaShop
[This is probably the best response to exasperation at 'mansplaining' that I have yet encountered.]

Quote of the Day: 27 December 2021 #QotD

“You never want to be indistinguishable from something that's mocking you.” -Noam Blum
[If you've become so predictable that someone can imitate you so thoroughly, are you even still living?]

Quote of the Day: 26 December 2021 #QotD

“When you know and understand how completely you are loved as a child of God, it changes everything.” -Susan H. Porter

Quote of the Day: 25 December 2021 #QotD

“Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted _me_?” -Jacob Marley, A Christmas Carol
[Merry Christmas! And a reminder of what the season can mean for us if we let it.]

Quote of the Day: 24 December 2021

“To listen well is to figure out what’s on someone’s mind and demonstrate that you care enough to want to know.” -Kate Murphy
[A skill I am still working to develop further.]

Quote of the Day: 23 December 2021 #QotD

“Remembering that time is money is, among other things, a defense against political rhetoric, as well as an important economic principle in itself.” -Thomas Sowell
[Spend your temporal capital carefully. You're not getting any of it back again.]

Quote of the Day: 22 December 2021 #QotD

“If our Christianity has ceased to be serious about discipleship, if we have watered down the gospel into emotional uplift which makes no costly demands and which fails to distinguish between natural and Christian existence, then we cannot help regarding the cross as an ordinary everyday calamity, as one of the trials and tribulations of life.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer
[Truly living the gospel requires something of us. And it is not something we can just put on to make us feel good. Living the gospel is not always comfortable, but it will ultimately lead us into the best of all good things.]

Quote of the Day: 21 December 2021 #QotD

“Some days returning to bed is the best option.” -Pig, Pearls Before Swine
[I don't encounter these often, but it happens.]

Quote of the Day: 20 December 2021 #QotD

“We fail the minute we let someone else define success for us.” -Brené Brown
[If you aren't clear what success is for you, someone else is standing ready to fill that void for you. And that lack of clarity will leave you confused about how to accomplish what you want. You are also prone to frequent changes of direction causing you to make little progress toward any particular outcome.]

Quote of the Day: 19 December 2021 #QotD

“As we act in faith, the Lord guides and directs us.” -Ciro Schmeil

Quote of the Day: 18 December 2021 #QotD

“Don’t feel guilty for existing. And never feel like you owe ‘the state’ or ‘society’ or whatever anything.” -Sarah Hoyt
[Someone else's expectations of you have no power over you unless you let them.]

Quote of the Day: 17 December 2021 #QotD

“Men’s opinions, accordingly, on what is laudable or blamable, are affected by all the multifarious causes which influence their wishes in regard to the conduct of others, and which are as numerous as those which determine their wishes on any other subject.” -John Stuart Mill
[You are human. You are subject to the frailties of mortality. You experience cognitive biases. Yes, you. Stop thinking you don't.]

Quote of the Day: 16 December 2021 #QotD

“[W]hatever it is you are going to do next, do it as you. Good or bad, do it as you. Too many lies and there’s no truth to go back to.” -Sgt. Jackrum, Monstrous Regiment
[Don't be false to fit in with others. You are who you are, and you can hide that, but you can't change it without going through a thorough process of change.]

Quote of the Day: 15 December 2021 #QotD

“If you’re not careful about cues, you can cause the very behavior you want to stop.” -James Clear
[Whether that is within yourself, or in others. And it is super annoying.]

Quote of the Day: 14 December 2021 #QotD

“It is so much in the nature of law to support justice that in the minds of the masses they are one and the same.” -Frédéric Bastiat
[A little thought will reveal that they are not. So, how do you approach interactions with people who have given it little to no thought, and a blithely happy in their ignorance?]

Quote of the Day: 13 December 2021 #QotD

“Playing cat and mouse is generally only fun for the cat.” -Harry Dresden, Small Favor
[Quite true. If you find yourself in the position of the mouse, you can either accept it, or find a way to change the calculus.]

Quote of the Day: 12 December 2021 #QotD

“Attendance and activity in a church help us become better people and better influences on the lives of others.” -Dallin H. Oaks

Quote of the Day: 11 December 2021 #QotD

“Probably the silliest work in which a human being can engage is construction of a tomb for himself.” -Ambrose Bierce
[Or a memorial.]

Quote of the Day: 10 December 2021 #QotD

“Understanding is the goal of listening, and it takes effort.” -Kate Murphy
[A lot of effort.]

Quote of the Day: 9 December 2021 #QotD

“[U]nless a change is made and a new policy adopted, the cause of education will break down. It will either become a trade for those little fitted for it or be abandoned altogether, instead of remaining the noblest profession, which it has been and ought to be.” -Calvin Coolidge
[It has become a trade for those little suited for it. Those seeking to indoctrinate, rather than educate. And that is largely a result of the perversion of the colleges of education. While not everyone is suited to teaching, and some instruction is necessary to develop skills of instruction, a degree in education is largely useless.]

Quote of the Day: 8 December 2021 #QotD

“Good leaders seize crises to remake organizational habits.” -Charles Duhigg
[I take it that Mr. Duhigg uses good here to mean effective leaders, but it could be that he means morally good leaders. The problem is that effective leaders who also happen to be evil will also make use of crises to remake organizations.]

Quote of the Day: 7 December 2021 #QotD

“Half my waking hours would be spent shopping for gifts if I hadn’t reduced the process to a science: I let my wife buy all the presents.” -Patrick F. McManus
[This is not what happens in our home, but it's not much more complicated.]

Quote of the Day: 6 December 2021 #QotD

“For whatever reasons, some societies have been receptive to other cultures, while other societies have been very resistant—a difference that has had major consequences for both kinds of societies.” -Thomas Sowell
[I would posit that selective receptivity would also have major consequences.]

Quote of the Day: 5 December 2021 #QotD

“In the Lord’s timing, it is not where we start but where we are headed that matters most.” -Clark G. Gilbert

Quote of the Day: 4 December 2021 #QotD

“Asking for help is a power move. It’s a sign of strength to ask and a sign of strength to fight off judgment when other people raise their hands.” -Brené Brown

[Something I need to work on myself.]

Quote of the Day: 3 December 2021 #QotD

“[N]othing ever happened on this globe, for good, at which some people did not have their fill of laughter in the outset[.]” -Charles Dickens
[There are critics for everything. Some of them justified, but most of them not.]

Quote of the Day: 2 December 2021 #QotD

“The trouble is, you can shut your eyes but you can’t shut your mind.” -Terry Pratchett
[That hasn't stopped some people from trying though.]

Quote of the Day: 1 December 2021 #QotD

“Prices perform three functions in organizing economic activity: first, they transmit information; second, they provide an incentive to adopt those methods of production that are least costly and thereby use available resources for the most highly valued purposes; third, they determine who gets how much of the product[.]” -Milton Friedman
[There seems to be q lot of confusion around prices by people who want the world to conform to their idealized views of things rather than conforming their thinking to observations about reality. I thought I'd share Mr. Friedman's words on prices to help inform them of their ignorance.]

Quote of the Day: 30 November 2021 #QotD

“I suggest you sit and write out what you want of life. No goals, no growth. No clarity, no change.” -Brenden Burchard
[Just in case you're already preparing to set some resolutions for the coming year.]

Quote of the Day: 29 November 2021 #QotD

“Body or mind, heart or soul, we’re all human, and we’re supposed to feel pain. You cut yourself off from it at your own risk.” -Harry Dresden, Small Favor
[Don't sever yourself from your humanity. You'll eventually come to regret it, and you will be horrified by the things you were willing to do to your fellow man.]

Quote of the Day: 28 November 2021 #QotD

“We need not hesitate to call upon God, even when we feel unworthy.” -D. Todd Christofferson

Quote of the Day: 27 November 2021 #QotD

“Family is absolutely everything. Politics will never love you back.” -Karol Markowicz
[That doesn't mean you shouldn't discuss politics, just that you shouldn't let it destory your happiness and relationships.]

Quote of the Day: 26 November 2021 #QotD

“You don’t need to act like you are paying attention if you are, in fact, paying attention.” -Kate Murphy
[This seems like something that shouldn't need to be said. Nevertheless, I have observed people attempting to seem as though they were paying attention when they weren't but really wanted to be. Probably had something to do with insufficient practice.]

Quote of the Day: 25 November 2021 #QotD

“Gracias, danke, merci—whatever language is spoken, ‘thank you’ frequently expressed will cheer your spirit, broaden your friendships, and lift your lives to a higher pathway as you journey toward perfection.” -Thomas S. Monson
[Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you enjoy your revelries.]

Quote of the Day: 24 November 2021 #QotD

“[W]hen the law, through the medium of its necessary agent—force—imposes a form of labor, a method or a subject of instruction, a creed, or a worship, it is no longer negative; it acts positively upon men. It substitutes the will of the legislator for their own will, the initiative of the legislator for their own initiative.” -Frédéric Bastiat
[A good reminder of something that should be obvious, but which too few seem to be aware.]

Quote of the Day: 23 November 2021 #QotD

“Play in the dirt; it’s cool, the dirt is awesome.” -David the Good
[And you learn things that you can learn in no other way. I have yet to find anyone with whom I agree completely, even my wife, but I am glad to glean knowledge from anyone. And David has plenty to impart.]

Quote of the Day: 22 November 2021 #QotD

“Having power and deciding not to use it can be what determines if someone with power is good.” -Austin Petersen
[Having power and without the compulsion to use it is a manifestation of the virtue of meekness. Or of caprice, or possibly some other reason. But whatever it is, it is preferable to having power and deciding to use it maliciously.]

Quote of the Day: 21 November 2021 #QotD

“Unlike you and me, Christ is capable of clearly seeing all facets of a given situation.” -Ulisses Soares

Quote of the Day: 20 November 2021 #QotD

“No matter how justified a killing, if it makes good news it will be broadcast and draw comments. If it excites more people to portray you as the villain then that is the way you will be portrayed.” -Rory Miller
[By 'good news' here, Mr. Miller means coverage that draws high ratings. That was the main factor in how decisions about portraying people involved in the news were made. I don't know that it remains the most important metric in this politically charged climate.]

Quote of the Day: 19 November 2021 #QotD

“Where neither the honesty of the general population nor the integrity of the legal system can be relied upon, economic activities are inhibited, if not stifled.” -Thomas Sowell
[I would argue that it is not only the economic activity that is affected but the entirety of human existence. And not for the better in any case.]

Quote of the Day: 18 November 2021 #QotD

“Sooner or later, every curse is a prayer.” -Anoia, Wintersmith
[Even if the utterer doesn't realize it.]

Quote of the Day: 17 November 2021 #QotD

“It is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing.” -Frodo, The Return of the King
[No reason for picking this. No reason at all.

No really, please believe me.]

Quote of the Day: 16 November 2021 #QotD

“We have the opportunity to nudge the change in opinion toward greater reliance on individual initiative and voluntary cooperation, rather than toward the other extreme of total collectivism.” -Milton Friedman
[Mr. Friedman passed from this life on this day fifteen years ago. He lived a long and productive life, and helped spread the message of individual liberty. Sadly, the importance of the message was less persuasive than the desire for safety and security.]

Quote of the Day: 15 November 2021 #QotD

“To introduce into philosophical discussions a sneer at a creed’s antiquity is like introducing a sneer at a lady’s age. It is caddish because it is irrelevant.” -G. K. Chesterton
[I've seen similar dismissals of arguments, or points of view for irrelevant reasons before, and I don't understand them. Somehow, the person thinks they have addressed the substance while merely faffing about with trivialities.]

Quote of the Day: 14 November 2021 #QotD

“The Lord wants us to be made over—but in His image, not in the image of the world, by receiving His image in our countenances.” -Susan W. Tanner

Quote of the Day: 13 November 2021 #QotD

“I made a sandwich out of things. I’m an American. We can eat anything as long as it’s between two pieces of bread.” -Harry Dresden, Small Favor
[I don't know that it is true of all Americans (myself, for one) but I've seen some people choke down some truly vile things in the form of a sandwich.]

Quote of the Day: 12 November 2021 #QotD

“Information is only as useful as how it’s collected and interpreted.” -Kate Murphy
[And you'd better be able to convey that interpretation to others, or it will have no use to them even if it does to you.
This seemed apropos considering the 'information' that has been presented in a certain legal proceeding.]

Quote of the Day: 11 November 2021 #QotD

“And this was, O so long ago! How they come back to me—dimly and brokenly, but with what a magic spell—those years of youth when I was soldiering!” -Ambrose Bierce
[It is Veterans Day here in the United States. Mr. Bierce was a soldier in the Army, but I expect that his reminiscing is as familiar to seamen, marines, airmen, and guardsmen as well. My thanks to all those who have served for their time spent in service to the nation, and have kept faith with their oath since then.] 

Quote of the Day: 10 November 2021 #QotD

“O'Brien, holding up 4 fingers & demanding Winston see 5, has nothing on our current media.” -Robb Allen
[Why do they continue to insist on following 1984 as though it were an instructional manual rather than as the warning it was intended to be? I really don't want to live in a dystopia. Or even someone else's view of what Utopia would be. Even that would be a tyranny for me.]

Quote of the Day: 9 November 2021 #QotD

“Tacos are for everyone.” -Owen Z. Pitt, Monster Hunter Bloodlines
[Tacos! Who doesn't love them? (Yeah, there's probably someone, but do they really matter if they don't like tacos?)]

Quote of the Day: 8 November 2021 #QotD

“Reckless conduct does not become less reckless simply because it's common.” -Andrew Branca
[A general truth stated specifically about the negligent shooting on the set of Rust. It is wise to remember in all circumstances, though.]

Quote of the Day: 7 November 2021 #QotD

“Contrary to the doubts of some, there really is such a thing as right and wrong. There really is absolute truth—eternal truth. One of the plagues of our day is that too few people know where to turn for truth.” -Russell M. Nelson

Quote of the Day: 6 November 2021 #QotD

“Often, the journey to greatness begins the moment our preferences for comfort and certainty are overruled by a greater purpose that requires challenge and contribution.” -Brenden Burchard
[In order to achieve greatness, you must reach for it. It doesn't happen by accident. We'll discuss later whether this is a sufficient condition, or if it is a necessary precursor that requires other elements to achieve realization.]