From: oldernow@dev.null   
      
   On 2024-02-24, D  wrote:   
      
   > As for peace of mind, I achieve high levels during fishing   
   > season.  Either in a boat, gently rocking on a lake, the   
   > world collapsing into the point of only the float existing.   
      
   Something went wrong for me with fishing as a kid such that I never   
   became enamoured of it. But I don't remember what it was. Probably   
   getting yelled at for doing it wrong.... :-)   
      
   > Or on the shore, on a rock, with the same general   
   > meditative effect.  Although on shore there is always the   
   > risk of getting disturbed by a passing human being walking   
   > his dog.   
      
   2024 Satre revision: "Hell is other people and their dogs".   
      
   > Once an otter surprised me! It was close to dark, and out   
   > of nowhere this hueg thing crawled up from the water. For   
   > a split second I was scared out of my mind before realizing   
   > what it was!   
      
   LOL!   
      
   I'm pretty sure that could be tweaked into a good "the dregs of   
   'action' available at bar time" analogy.   
      
   > > At this point my time for reading is dominated by stuff   
   > > I've come to consider the cream of what humanity has   
   > > presented in word, and so it generally doesn't take more   
   > > than a few sentences to know whether an offering is "up   
   > > my.. alley".   
   >   
   > Ahh, I see. What is the cream?   
      
   Whatever proves/reinforces whatever I already believe. ;-)   
      
   Kidding. To me the cream is verbiage that can trigger a turning   
   of awareness back upon itself. One might be tempted to refer to   
   that as an experience, but when it's "right" it's actually more   
   the absence of experience.   
      
   > Your wife dismisses you into the bathroom at night? ;)   
   > Jokes aside, many have been the late nights in the bathroom   
   > of a hotel when my wife wants to sleep and I get to go to   
   > the bathroom for reading. ;)   
      
   And yet you *still* don't believe there's a God in heaven? ;-)   
      
   > You're good! If memory serves, the first time I went to   
   > Vegas I earned 200 USD on poker, second time break even,   
   > and third time I think I was down 50 or so.   
   >   
   > The key was to be conservative and find the most drunk   
   > table! ;)   
      
   In my experience in Jacks or Better, you're either getting   
   three-of-a-kind's what feels like above average times, or you're   
   going to lose.   
      
   But - and I imagine you already know this - it's absolutely vital   
   to read up on others' research on which way to go on hands that   
   could go more than one way, and commit as much of that to memory   
   as possible. It matters, and one needs all the mattering advantage   
   possible given house payouts versus true odds.   
      
   > And on the grave as well! Here lies a man who no longer   
   > pays tax! ;)   
      
   Unless his wife is lying next to him, of course.... ;-)   
      
   --   
   oldernow   
   xyz001 at nym.hush.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)