August 15, 2017

I read Law 36 Disdain things that you cannot have because ignoring them is the best revenge.
Ignoring things may or may not help one psychologically but it will do no good realistically.

August 10, 2017

Today I read Law 33 from the book titled The 48 Laws of Power.  Law 33 tells one to find a person's "thumbscrew" in order to better manipulate them.  The chapter was replete with anecdotes from German and French royalty from over one hundred years ago.  It is yet another chapter that seems to have little relevance to the average person.  At least part of the reason that these laws seem inapplicable to modern life is that power today is much more diffuse than it was one hundred years ago.  Even the few dictators that remain are unable to exercise absolute power.  All of the advice in this book may serve to make one more powerful in one's workplace and social circles but may very well prove counter productive where it comes to making friends and establishing intimate relationships.

Aug 5, 2017

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene is a very entertaining book but not very instructive.  The examples used in the book include anecdotes of kings, queens, ministers, presidents and secretaries of state but no examples or anecdotes that involve the butchers, bakers and candle-stick makers of the world.  Another flaw of the book is its lack of ethics, its immorality.  The book promotes a pragmatic might-makes-right the-ends-justify-the-means kind of attitude.  In other words socialism.  Socialism and socialists are fascinated with power.  Capitalism on the other hand is interested in right and wrong because right and wrong goes with the rule of law and the rule of law allows contract formation and enforcement. The relationship between individuals is not about power (force) but about cooperation (negotiation).

July 2nd 2017

I read Law 15 of the 48 Laws of Power on Sunday.  The Law was instructing us to crush our enemies completely. There were lots of examples from Chinese history including Mao Tse Tung who drove Chiang Kye Shek off of mainland China and into exile on Taiwan. The chapter is repleat with advise from various philosophers to be merciless and ruthless.  I realized something as I was reading this chapter...that throughout the book the individuals that are used as examples both winning and losing are people I wouldn't want to associate with much less emulate. The book is very entertaining but serves more as a warning than a model or blueprint or instruction manual. A warning to always subordinate might to right.

July 1, 2017

I read Law 14 of the 48 Laws of Power.  I corrected the audio artifacts (popping and clicking) that plagued last week's show.  Law 14 is about subterfuge.  Acting like a friend and being a spy.  The chapter included anecdotes from a successful art dealer and a French foreign minister.  This is another "law" that I can see having no validity for the average person.  If one is already powerful (art dealer, foreign minister) the law may have some use.  But for the rest of us "butchers, bakers and candlestick makers", the law is impotent.

June 27, 2017

I've got a new microphone for my LG V20.  I had been using the microphone that came with the cellphone but it picked up a lot of ambient sound.  So, I bought this uni-directional mic to improve the quality of the broadcasts.  I noticed that the background noise is kept to a minimum but there are some popping and clicking noises present.  I think it may be that the mic is not making good contact when I move the cellphone around.  Either that or I need a pop-filter.  In any case the latest episode of Story Time was the law that instructs one to appeal to another person's self-interest when asking for help.  The theory is that everyone will be more motivated to help if they can see how it is in their best interests to do so.  I had a personal experience that illustrates this idea well.  I was parked in a parking lot and a man asked me to move my car to a different spot because he was expecting a moving truck to arrive and was concerned that my car would be in the way.  I didn't see the need to move my car because the lot was rather large and I told him so.  He responded by offering me $20.00 to move my car...guess what?

Chapters 2 and 3 of "The 48 Laws of Power"

All about obfuscation and keeping people off balance.  Use smoke screens to hide your intentions.  Use "red herrings" to lead people astray.  Examples are given using Louis XIV, yellow kid Weil, Henry Kissinger and Chinese emperors. The examples and stories used to illustrate this book are irrelevant to the average individual.  How many of you have been an emperor? A king? A secretary of state?  Me neither. How many of us are looking to create awe and fear in other people?  None.  All of us want respect.  Enough respect to raise our children and lead our employees.  The examples and stories should have come from the perspective of the average person.  The parent, the supervisor, the teacher, the soccer coach.