Sunrise at Smith Point

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We call this one "Sunrise at Smith Point" - I got up at 5 AM to go metal detecting down on the south shore beach. By the time I put my metal detector in the car, found something to sift through the sand with, and drove all the way down there, the sun was about to come over the horizon. It was beautiful down there, with nobody around and no lines to get into the park. (In fact, the parking attendents weren't there yet and no one charged me to get into the parking lot.)

Atlas Shotputted

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So I'm re-reading Atlas Shrugged. You might be asking yourself, "Why would anyone read a book that size more than once?"

Lately, I've been reminded of one of the central themes of the book - Rand's assertion that collectivism sucks. If you read the book, you'll remember the following quote:

I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.

Lately, I see quite a few things going on in my life, both personal and professional, that I'm doing that benefit other folks more than they benefit me. In short, I've found myself in more than one situation where I'm living for the sake of another. Worse still, I'm getting next to nothing out of these situations myself.

To get things on the right track, I need to remedy these situations so I can concentrate on my own happiness. And since I'm already making sweeping changes to my lifestyle, now is the time. So I'm re-reading Atlas Shrugged for inspiration.

Metal Junk

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Went very early this morning to the beach in Wading River to try out the metal detector my family got me for my birthday. Today's swag: Two bottlecaps, a lid from a can of Sterno, an old metal tube of Desitin and an ancient brass doorknob. ;-)

Maybe this weekend I'll take an early-morning trip to Smith Point and see what I can find out there.