If I’ve learned anything in life it’s that I make mistakes. Albert Einstein counseled people to make them as part of a method which makes life richer, deeper, and opens doors otherwise invisible. I was pondering this idea while trying to ease my frustration at line of little mistakes and misjudgments that are maddening. Ordering the wrong parts, staying up half the night instead of sleeping, neglecting new ATM cards until the bank decides to cancel everything.
My own magical thinking leads me to believe that things will just work out.
Junior is oblivious to the fairy ring he’s laying in. I asked him to pose for this picture, a momentary break from our repetitive exercise of hurling and retrieving tennis balls. Come spring there fairy rings, elf rings to some, will burst forth as a line of mushrooms. The biology is more complicated than I want to go into. Being able to see them is a gift of my wife Kim and her naturalist ways slowly rubbing off on me.
Junior reminds me of mistakes, especially in timing related to inadequate sleep. The less sleep I have the less time there is for the two of us to run wild.
Junior reflects my own laziness and sloth of late. And I’m sure it’s fueled some of the mistakes I’ve been making, especially in regard to installing the heated grips on the Vespa. It’s still in the garage in pieces and at the rate I’m going it will fall in line between printing my daughter’s prom pictures and finishing the darkroom sink.
I’ve been waiting for over a week for some Posi-Tap connectors only to discover I ordered the wrong size. With my patience exhausted I just grabbed the quick splice connectors I had on hand and started the electrical work. It wouldn’t be as “perfect” as I imagined but would likely work just fine.
Success. Switched power to the grips and all the lights are on. So the power is wired correctly. Was working a bit on the grips. Have to do a bit more sanding before I can push them onto the bars. Ran out of energy, heard the whisper of the easy chair.
One step at a time I’lll get the project finished and i’ll probably continue to make mistakes…
So who was in bed or?
And who took the wistful view of Junior?
Which is so very full of expressive feeling!
As to crop circles, how did you get Junior to stay in the circle?
Kim was in bed and Junior was enjoying one if his favorite pastimes which is to drape himself over someone and snooze. It can be kind of nice on a cold day.
Junior is pretty well trained when it comes to photography. Just point where you want him and tell him to stand, sit, or down.
I asked him to “post” for this picture, -(S/B pose)
The biology is more complicated “that” I want to go into-(S/B than)
I wouldn’t even mention it except the Post was about mistakes. I catch these AFTER I publish my blog online all the time. Even worse is when my wife catches them. She’s a Reading Teacher. I feel like I’m being graded.
Now you’re wondering if I made those mistakes on purpose right? I didn’t — they’re the result of my one pass, no editing style of blogging. I’m surprised I don’t have more mistakes and typos. Thanks for pointing them out though — fixed now.
My wife is a professional writer and editor and has edited a lot of my professional work. A good reader and editor can transform you from a bumbling idiot into an elegant, insightful, intelligent agent of the world!
“Years ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say, “In this world, Elwood, you must be” – she always called me Elwood – “In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.” Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.” Elwood P. Dowd
“Don’t confront me with my failures / I had not forgotten them,” Jackson Browne
These make up my Credo. Regarding the second, I have found, just incase I try there is always someone willing to help me remember. Steve, I’m glad I am not the only one guilty of these foibales.
Good quotes to remind of the ways we can look at things in life. A good foundation credo.
Thanks for sharing them.
It’s that time of year when a cup of coffee, a good book, and a fireplace chair beckon on a regular basis, so I can relate. As for the mistakes? Well, as Oscar Wilde is reported to have said, “Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” So let’s just agree that you’ve gained experience. I know I have. Lots.
I definitely have lots of experience. I try not to have regrets but some of the mistakes are stellar and hard to forget.
The cold seems to glue me to my chair. The Vespa is still in pieces. I would like to ride but can’t get my butt into the freezing garage to put it back together.
Given time and inclination, I tend to solder electric wires together….more often than not, just clamp on connectors are used, sometimes to my dismay later on.
I don’t want to hear that but know it’s probably true. Maybe I’ll be lucky and will get a new scooter before the connections go bad.
Hi Steve ,
Hope your well !
i must admit this is the most wonderful time of the year for the odd mistake ….its cold out and warm in so its more easy than ever to be a little sloppy with things.
i really like the picture with junior in the circle…..he obviously has no idea but there are things hes see that we are sometimes oblivious to also.
have a lovely Christmas , hope its full of family happiness .
regards
len
Thank you for the kind Christmas wishes Len. I’m grasping for the holiday magic I so thoroughly enjoyed as a kid. Work is winding down and I’m thinking of sugarplums!
Merry Christmas!
I was wondering how the heated grip project was progressing.
I like idea of the Posi-Tap connectors but don’t think that they are much better than the cheap quick-spice connectors. Especially if you squirt a bit of dielectric grease into them before inserting the wire. That minimizes oxidation at the splice.
I would agree that everyone needs to have the freedom to make mistakes as long as they are willing to learn from them. That is what training is all about.
Dielectric grease. More to do now. Oh, oh how I hate to work on this stuff. I keep trying to turn the work into some sort of cosmic learning experience but it remains one massive pain in the ass. Like paying bills or picking up dog logs in the yard.
The only thing I’ve learned is I made a mistake installing the heated grips…
Only through our mistakes do we learn … and after that doing nothing for a bit is called rejuvenation.
But I’ve been doing nothing for weeks. I’ve not posted or ridden in a long time now.
Hang in there Steve. Your persistence will be rewarded.
Over the holidays I’ll be revisiting my grip wiring. I think I’ll remove the quick connect splices I used amd solder the whole bunch of connections.
With a little luck that will address the asymmetry I’m having with more heat to the left grip.
Now, if I could come close to your photography skills, that would be something.
d.
Rewards. I need a reward. But I guess I need to show some persistence first.
The big action in my scooter world of late was hooking up my daughter’s Yamaha Vino to the Battery Tender last night.