Heinlein meme

[edschweppe]

As seen in numerous other LJs, including (in alphabetical order) janetmiles, odanu, sailorjim, and ziatrice.

Bold I've done, italic I'm confident I can do, plain text I could manage (more or less):

change a diaper
plan an invasion
butcher a hog
conn a ship
design a building
write a sonnet
balance accounts
build a wall
set a bone
comfort the dying
take orders
give orders
cooperate
act alone
solve equations
analyze a new problem
pitch manure
cook a tasty meal
fight efficiently
die gallantly


Some thoughts about specific items:

• Plan an invasion: Wargames count. Besides, the process of planning is what's valuable; the plans themselves never survive contact with reality. (And, yes, I'm mangling a couple of quotes there.)


• Butcher a hog: Never tried it, and hopefully will never need to. If I ever do attempt it, I suspect "hacking" will be a more accurate term. Certainly, "butchering" in the sense of skilled removal of meat from carcass isn't something I have any experience at. "Butchering" in the sense of making a gawdawful mess, on the other hand, ...


• Set a bone: I've never had to set a bone for real, but we covered it in gruesome detail in the EMT course I took many years back.


• Fight efficiently: Over the last few years, I've come to realize that doing most things efficiently is less important than doing them effectively. Too many folks think of "efficiency" as equaling "cost minimization," and then they go one (mis)step further and assume that minimizing local costs equates to minimizing costs as a whole. Being efficient yet ineffective isn't necessarily a good thing.


• Die gallantly: I'll do it if it becomes necessary, but I'll have to let someone else evaluate the "gallantly" part.

Oh, and one thing that Lazarus Long never really seemed to get: telling the truth unless there is a very specific reason for not doing so. Sure, that means I sometimes have to refuse to comment, or trot out the old "I can neither confirm nor deny" line. But - general morality aside - it saves a boatload of energy compared to having to keep track of who I'm trying to fool into thinking what.