Books by my bedside 2017/09/14

2017-09-142017-09-14willo Here's how I see it Tags: Books, College Disrupted, Concord MA, Edge of Evil, Education, Eighty Days, Elizabeth Bisland, fiction, Finding Her Way, foreign language, German, History, Life of Fred, Margaret Fuller, math, Mathematics, Nellie Bly, Nietzsche, Pimsleur, Stanley F. Schmidt, Thoreau, Transcendentalism, Walden 3 Comments

I’ve noticed that I often bring up in conversation one or more of the fascinating books I’ve been reading lately, only to fail utterly at recalling titles or authors’ names. I’ll take this opportunity to at least have a handy reference available for anyone who cares to follow up on something I’ve said.

Just check my blog!

Non-Fiction

History, Politics & Social Science

Anti-Education by Nietzsche, Friedrich

The Art of Worldly Wisdom by Gracián, Baltasar

Churchill & Orwell: The fight for freedom by Ricks, Thomas E.

College Disrupted:The great unbundling of higher education by Craig , Ryan

Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland’s history-making race around the world by Goodman, Matthew

Grand Hotel Abyss: The lives of the Frankfurt School by Jeffries, Stuart

Margaret Fuller: Bluestocking, romantic, revolutionary by Wilson, Ellen

Walden by Thoreau, Henry D.

Language

Pimsleur German I (audio CD)

Pimsleur Spanish I (audio CD)

Mathematics

Life of Fred: Pre-Algebra 0 with Physics by Schmidt, Stanley F.

$Books Math Life of Fred Prealgebra$

books Walden Thoreau YA related story - 1

Fiction

Anecdotes of Destiny by Isak Dinesen

Edge of Evil by Jance, J.A.

Finding Her Way (YA title) by Faigen, Anne

M.C. Higgins the Great by (YA title) by Hamilton, Virginia

The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland (YA title) by Rebekah Crane*

Reading Notes:

I’ve been reading a fair amount for two disparate reasons. Continue reading →

Freedom or equality? Leadership or charlatanism? The True Believer and its relevance today

2017-09-13willo Here's how I see it Tags: Books, equality, Eric Hoffer, freedom, mass movements, philosophy, True Believer 2 Comments

In The True Believer: Thoughts on the nature of mass movements, Eric Hoffer wrote:

29.

Where freedom is real, equality is the passion of the masses. Where equality is real, freedom is the passion of a small minority.

Equality without freedom creates a more stable social pattern than freedom without equality.

This is a thought I spent a lot of time with. It’s one to roll around in your mind for a bit and savor. It isn’t obvious, but it seems likely to be true.

What do we do with this fact if it is accurate? Does it help us create the society we want? Is there anything we can do about it if it doesn’t?

Get the book from Amazon here, or borrow it from your local library like I did.

When I first started my blog, Really Wonderful Things, many months ago, I also started browsing and following many others via the WordPress Reader. One of those blogs led me to The True Believer, though I failed to note the link and can’t find it now.

This is one of the most powerful reads I’ve enjoyed in the past several years. I made note of nine sections in a file I keep for absolutely brilliant thoughts. I noted excerpts from §12, 18, 29 (above), 30, 47, 56, 91, 93, and 98.

As I understand it, Eric Hoffer was a self-taught philosopher employed as a manual laborer. His book became a bestseller after President Eisenhower quoted it in a speech.

I don’t typically read Philosophy for entertainment. I’m simply not drawn to the abstruseness of others, preferring instead to wade through disparate straightforward and concrete facts to construct my own syntheses. It’s how I keep myself entertained as a stay at home mom.

Here is a plainly written collection of observations on the nature of mass movements that, at least in my opinion, still speaks directly to some of the major issues of our time.

I’ll leave you with this thought on political leaders and why they can get away with blatant untruths:

91.

…The quality of ideas seems to play a minor role in mass movement leadership. What counts is the arrogant gesture, the complete disregard of the opinion of others, the singlehanded defiance of the world.

Charlatanism of some degree is indispensable to effective leadership. There can be no mass movements without some deliberate misrepresentation of facts. No solid, tangible advantage can hold a following and make it zealous and loyal unto death.

…

Does it strike you as relevant to current world leaders?

Health care system makes me sick: negotiating bureaucracy through a haze of pain

2017-09-092017-09-09willo Here's how I see it Tags: billing, bureaucracy, cash price, direct primary care, drug prices, hidden costs, insurance, red tape, scheduling 3 Comments

In April, I wrote a post about my doctor’s departure from the American health insurance system.

In short, he now operates his practice as “direct primary medical care.” You sign up for his service, pay a set monthly cost, and come in, call, email, or text when you have a health issue. It’s so simple, and yet the experience feels revolutionary.

Urgent need? He’ll respond to your text right away.

Wondering if a symptoms requires an office visit (and time off work, fighting traffic across town, etc.)? You can spend as much time as you need explaining your concerns on the phone. There’s no push to make every question an office visit, unlike with providers who are only reimbursed by insurance for in person consultations that correspond to specific codes.

There’s also no bureaucracy, and no paperwork. Unless you have labs, there’s no need to take out your wallet. Remember, you’ve paid up front for whatever care you need. You pay cash for lab work done in the office, but, without insurance markups, these costs are reasonable—perhaps a few dollars.

I almost forget how wasteful, time consuming, and inefficient it is to get care elsewhere. I forget, that is, until I’m not feeling well, and I visit a specialist’s office or a local hospital. That’s what I did the other day, and it all came rushing back to me. Continue reading →

Welcome back to school; I miss you while you’re there!

2017-09-05willo Here's how I see it Tags: AoPS, back to school, Books, Education, family, home education, homeschooling, Language Arts, learning, Level 5, Level V, Life of Fred, lunchbox, Magic Lens, math, Mathematics, MCT, Michael Clay Thompson, routine, schedule, school 2 Comments

I dislike sending my little guy back to school on the day after Labor Day. In direct contradiction to the nonsense spouted in television commercials, not all parents cheer to have their kids out of the house.

If I were selfish, I would educate both of my children at home, to suit my personality and my interests. I send the younger one to school instead because it suits his.

I miss our long, quiet summer mornings. There’s time for us, then, to sit down together over breakfast. I miss saying yes to late night stargazing and other adventures because there’s no need to worry about a busy schedule.

I miss DS₂‘s good company around the house during the day. He’s blessed with great wit and a loving temperament. He’s generous with his hugs.

I am excited to begin the new school session with DS₁ here at home. He studies year ’round, but our schedule changes to a different pattern every September, December, January, and June. This choice is energizing, and keeps subjects feeling fresh.

DS₁ is a pleasure to keep at home with me. We’re both fairly introverted, so we often work quietly, side by side. Quietly, that is, until one of us gets excited about a project or idea. Continue reading →

Brace yourself! Comparing options by Futuro, Mueller and Wellgate for slim(ish) wrists in need of support

2017-08-262017-08-25willo Here's how I see it Tags: Amazon.com, autoimmune disease, brace, carpal tunnel, CVS, flare, Futuro, health, medium, Mueller, pins and needles, RA, slim, support, tingling, Velcro, Wellgate, woman, wrist 5 Comments

This post is for a very specific audience: those who have carpal tunnel or other symptoms that require wrist braces to reduce tingling and prevent damage to delicate nerves.

No one wants to buy a medical device. When you need one, you’re often dropping by the drugstore on your way home from a ten minute visit with a harried doctor. S/he told you to buy an “X”; there is only one “X” for sale at CVS. You pay retail and head for home, praying that “X” will provide you with the relief you deserve.

Futuro (Night) Brace: unisex & ambidextrous

That’s how I ended up with my first wrist brace, anyway. It’s a Futuro model. With tax, it cost $33.46. Of course, I couldn’t use my Flexible Spending Account at the cash register because it’s an over the counter (OTC) item.

Futuro $33.46 with tax bought locally

Futuro bottom view

Futuro side view

I have grave doubts that there is any recreational use of a wrist brace, but I’m sure the half hour of my time necessary to submit this receipt for reimbursement is providing valuable fraud protection. Ahem.

The unisex Futuro Wrist Brace (Night) has one feature that (sort of) makes it stand out from others in a positive way: it can be used on either the left or right wrist. I did alternate nights with either wrist in the splint when I first got it, and it is capable of alleviating the majority of my pins and needles sensations for both hands.

The rather obvious downside of an ambidextrous wrist brace is that the fit is generic. This is the bulkiest brace I’ve worn. I don’t enjoy sporting any of them, but this one is the least comfortable, also offering somewhat less relief from the pins and needles sensation that warns me that a nerve is being compressed.

I think the Futuro Wrist Brace (Night) is just too big for a medium sized woman like me. It can’t hug my wrist sufficiently to prevent all of the inadvertent bending that triggers my symptoms. Continue reading →

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