I will have no man in my boat,” said Starbuck, “who is not afraid of a whale.” By this, he seemed to mean, not only that the most reliable and useful courage was that which arises from the fair estimation of the encountered peril, but that an utterly fearless man is a far more dangerous comrade than a coward.
Chapter 26, Knights and Squires – Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The doorway is passable, but few are ready yet to cross the threshold and enter the hallway beyond.
It is an important and popular fact that things are not always what they seem.
For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much – the wheel, New York, wars, and so on – whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time.
But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man – for precisely the same reasons.
So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish by Douglas Adams (1999)
I’ve had my Zero FX electric motorcycle for a few months now. The word to describe the experience is “space-age” – I’m over the moon!
View of SpaceX rocket launch from Vandenberg AFB, 235 miles away.
Fifteen satellites were carried to low-Earth orbit during last night’s mission.
There is also a band.
Seven older gentlemen of various political persuasions gather in the courtyard under the squawking birds to politely discuss and examine, in regulated heartbeat, the current issues and events of the week.
They also like to talk about their high-school classmates, both living & dead, unknown to others outside of Los Gatos. It’s an exclusive club.
As Americans, we have much to be grateful for. We have freedom, and freedom is everything.
Pete Campbell, San Jose
Go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart, because it is now that God favors your works. Enjoy life with the wife you love, all the days of the vain life granted you under the sun. This is your lot in life for the toil of your labors under the sun.
Anything you can turn your hand to, do with what power you have; for there will be no work, no planning, no knowledge, no wisdom in Sheol where you are going.
Ecclesiastes 9:7-10