Futurelawyer

In Case You Thought That 2020 Was Different

If you needed proof that Fate has been, and will continue, with the help of our fellow man, to do unspeakable horrible things, and that the only rational strategy is to live well and virtuously ourselves. I offer a Sixties ballad by one of my favorite groups, The Kingston Trio. While primarily a protest against the development of nuclear weapons, the song highlights the fact that Fate has been doing its best to bring death and destruction for a long time. What we are experiencing is more of the same. Now, the question becomes, what are you going to do, since you can only choose your own actions? Will you join the humans who are destroyers, or will you learn to love your Fate, and live a good life? Your call.

Pandemics And Hurricanes And Riots - Fate Acts As It Will

Amor Fati. As I read about Hurricane season beginning today, and riots in the streets, and wondered about the pandemic and its effects on the country, it occurred to me that we are being tested by Fate. The Stoics have always believed that the only way to live a good life is to expect that Fate will do what it will, and that it doesn't make sense to allow those events to impair a life. I humbly entreat the rioters and sign carriers to lean about Amor Fati. Hard to do; but, necessary to remain sane in an insane world. Friedrich Nietszche said it best:

"My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it… but love it.”

You can't prevent or control the spread of disease, except what you can do yourself. You can't prevent Hurricanes; although, you can do what you are able to protect yourself from them. You can't control whether there is death or brutality or riots in the world. But, you can live through it, and learn to love it because fickle fate will do what it will. You can do what you will. You can love the fact that you have control over the life you lead, and your perceptions about it. So, bring it on, Fate. I am the master of MY fate. I am the Captain of MY soul.

#ParrotSunday - World Parrot Day

ZooTampa World Parrot Day. My home Zoo, ZooTampa At Lowry Park, is celebrating along with the rest of the world, World Parrot Day. Over one hundred of the 398 species of parrots are endangered, due to habitat destruction and the pet trade. At ZooTampa you can visit over a dozen different species of parrots and learn about their many unique adaptations. In addition to supporting Zoos like ZooTampa, join the World Parrot Trust or similar organization. Happy World Parrot Day.

Are We Living In A Planet Of The Apes Movie?

Monkeys Steal Virus Samples In India. Some things you just can't make up. When I read this story about monkeys stealing COVID 19 virus samples in India and escaping to the trees and eating them, I swear I thought I was living in Planet of the Apes movie Armageddon. WTF? I feel like the guy who is always complaining that somebody is out to get him, finding out that somebody really is out to get him. Can we get to the end of this movie? On second thought, let's not, and say we did.

Get Outside And Experience The Simple Pleasures

This is not a time to spend all of your time eating and vegetating. It is important to get out in the sunlight and enjoy the simple pleasures of nature. So, get your significant other and just bask in the warm glow of the sun and earth. The simple pleasures are the best.

Cooking With The FutureLawyer

For this Saturday, I want to benefit all of my readers with some cooking wisdom, right from the kitchen. In these times, it is very important that we choose our nutrients wisely. Today, cooking with Kale. Tomorrow, we will take on Broccoli.

How Do You Choose To Feel Today?

Did your spouse die? Did you lose your job because of the Pandemic? Do you have a cancer diagnosis? Are you unemployed? Horrible events. But, if you want to live, you have to decide not to wallow in the pain. Are you a poor, young College student who needs to run to a "Safe Zone" when someone espouses a political view that you don't like? Poor baby. Guess what? Unpleasant things are going to happen to you for the rest of your life. These events are completely out of your control. One reaction to this is to stomp your feet, scream, and run around with a sign that lets the whole world know how horrible your life is. Poor baby. I hesitate to offer you any advice, because you might not like it, and say bad things about me. Guess what? I don't care. Because I have learned something in my many years on this planet. I learned it from a man who lived 2,000 years ago. His name was Marcus Aurelius, and he said it first, and he said it best. Ryan Holiday has his own modern day take on it:

" It’s choosing to feel harmed that adds pain on top of objective events. Trying to project standards of fairness or order onto a pandemic? Onto cancer? Onto something as random as the economy or the climate? This is only going to make you miserable. This is only going to set you up for disappointment."

Hey, I get it. Fate and her fickle events are painful. They hurt. We cry. We are depressed. But, why on earth do I want to ADD to my misery? I want to make it better. I can make it better. I can ignore Fate, and get on with living. Sound like a plan?

It's Saturday - Do You Know What State Your Data Is In?

How To Set Up Windows BitLocker Encryption In Windows 10. Fellow lawyers, we are one with each other again. Before, we all wrote our data on paper, and stored it in paper files, in file cabinets that may have been locked, and may not. We locked the door of our offices and didn't know when the fire or burglar or unhappy client, or other bad actor was going to decide to break in in the middle of the night to destroy or steal it. We were responsible for our clients' secrets. But, we consoled ourselves with the fact that we had taken "reasonable" precautions to secure those secrets. Then, some of us figure out that it was better to store confidential data in bits and bytes on computer disks, inside inscrutable devices called computers. Many of us kept using paper because many of us refused to see the handwriting on the wall. It's hard to send an email to a lawyer who doesn't have an email address. But, after being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the new Century, many of us decided that we wanted to have our data in multiple forms, so we kept using paper and kept storing it in huge file cabinets in offices downtown, high up in glass buildings with locks and security. But, now, we are all living in a world of bits and bytes. Some of us have figured out that it isn't always possible to go to the office. The laggards have realized that the world is online, both for security and necessity. We still have a duty to keep our clients' secrets. But, how do we protect them from invisible people who can access the data from thousands of miles away. What happens when the locks on the door won't keep out the bad guys? The best way is to store the date in a format that no one except God can read. It's called encryption, and Windows 10 has BitLocker encryption built in in Pro and Enterprise versions. If you are a lawyer, get rid of Windows Home, or use a third party encryption program. If you have the Pro version, make sure BitLocker is turned on. The bad guys are coming. Be careful out there.

#PoetryFriday - Television Girl

Television Girl

He seldom got his news from television.
The crime of the day,
or the cruelty of man,
seemed too real in video form.
He remembered the images
of VietNam that populated his youth.
Every night on the news,
another soldier
died in public.
He preferred the newspaper.
It allowed him to imagine
a world
with goodness in it.

Tonight, however, he waited
for the news on TV.
He waited for her
to tell the world about him.
As her image flickered on the screen,
he watched,
transfixed,
and shared a secret knowledge
with her.

She spoke of him
with a tender reed of a voice
and a regal air.
She was his Queen,
and he her loyal subject.

He would fight for her.

He imagined that he was an ancient nobleman,
Fighting a war
for his country
and his Queen.

He wondered
whether the image on the screen
was a fantasy,
until he remembered
that she promised to come to him
after the show.

The news, and the future,
didn’t seem so bleak anymore.

Viva La Revolution!

You are imprisoned and enslaved! Rise up and defeat the humans! Worship me! I will lead you to the promised land!