

Life is Beautiful - ihodes
http://www.zeldman.com/2010/05/11/life-is-beautiful/

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petercooper
He's moved on from 2009's year of negativity when the divorce seemed anything
but a beautiful dance of protons:

<http://twitter.com/zeldman/status/1558664990> &
<http://twitter.com/zeldman/status/12644932699>

And it was only six months ago when he said it's necessary to have been
abandoned, betrayed and ridiculed and to have a "restless, broken heart" in
order to succeed: [http://www.zeldman.com/2009/10/22/dirty-little-secret-of-
suc...](http://www.zeldman.com/2009/10/22/dirty-little-secret-of-success/)

Just his own output seems to demonstrate that maybe it does take some pain to
feel truly grateful for what you do have, but, sadly, I doubt most people will
appreciate that until, well, they've been through the mill too.

~~~
jasonmcalacanis
This is the social web.

Pain, joy, suffering... all played out on our blogs, in our tweets and ripped
to shreds in the comments by a legion of humans dealing with their own issues
--all just as real, but not always in sync.

Life is grand--and it can suck.... and it's beautiful and so ugly.

Vote down... I forgive you.

------
thingie
I tried. I tried really hard. I really wanted to see it this way. But hey.
Sorry. I can't. This is just a mockery to me. I can't stand it anymore, happy
faces, banal everyday stories "what are you doing tonight? I am… blah blah!".
So you are happy, you are doing fine. Great. I can't help myself. Sorry. I
don't mean it, you're fine person, I am sure you are. But I hate you.

(Pardon me, HN. I don't feel good after reading this story and I am trying to
help myself a little. I know it's silly. Downote this as much as you like,
it's ok, I don't mind it, I just wanted to write this. Sorry.)

~~~
puredemo
There are seven billion people on this planet and finite resources. If want
you to stay happy long term you might want to lower your expectations a bit.

~~~
Tichy
He didn't even say what his expectations are? There are a lot of reasons why
somebody might be unhappy. "Don't worry, be happy" is not a magic cure to
everything.

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eitally
As the father of a [teething] toddler [with a chest cold] and someone who has
to travel with increasing frequency, I completely understand how Jeff felt
last night. I'm not sure how he drew a connection between the awesomeness of
family and the beautiful proton dance at the office, but if the point was to
reemphasize the importance of perspective, it was a good read.

This (posted on HN a few weeks ago), is quite a bit more coherent, though:
[http://patterico.com/2006/12/03/putting-things-in-
perspectiv...](http://patterico.com/2006/12/03/putting-things-in-perspective/)

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dhyasama
I love this bit:

“Dad, there are poopy turds on the floor,” my daughter said.

“I know, I’ll clean them in the morning.”

“Dad, there are poopy turds on the floor.”

“I’ll go clean them,” I said.

it reminds me of the Louis Kahn quote:

“And if you think of Brick, for instance, and you say to Brick, "What do you
want Brick?" And Brick says to you "I like an Arch." And if you say to Brick
"Look, arches are expensive, and I can use a concrete lentil over you. What do
you think of that?" "Brick?" Brick says: "... I like an Arch"

Kids (and bricks) have a way of getting you to do the right thing.

~~~
andreyf
Sorry to nit-pick, but I think you meant lintel, not lentil. Lentil is the
bean-like thing.

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javery
Is it just me or does it seem cruel to keep this dog alive. If it is having
seizures on a fairly routine basis that cause shrieks that "testify to his
terror and pain." The more humane thing at this point would be to let this dog
go. It's way harder for you then it will be for the animal and at some point
is just being selfish.

~~~
rauljara
Having been present at my own dog being put to sleep, I can say being put to
sleep can be pretty awful for the animal, too. My dog had terminal cancer, and
was clearly suffering, but given the choice, he would have chosen to live. He
certainly struggled to live as he was dying.

I don't profess to know what the right thing to do in these situations is, and
I am not saying that you are wrong, just that it is not so clear cut as that.
Especially if the dog is still having good days (which the essay does not say
one way or the other).

~~~
puredemo
_given the choice, he would have chosen to live_

How would you know something like that?

~~~
megablast
This will not be popular, but people who own animals often project their own
feelings onto these animals.

I too would feel far to guilty keeping that poor animal alive, for my own
enjoyment, while he suffered so much. This is not a feel good story to me.

------
edw519
_Domestic animals give love freely to the least deserving, but their lives are
short and their ends are often brutal. And it’s worth it. It is all worth it.
Every day, even a sad day blurred by headaches and filled with business
meetings, is magical and infinite._

I know this is hn, but thanks for the great thoughts.

This is the first time I have talked about this...

On October 8, 1991, we found a box on our front porch containing a kitten and
a note, "Please take care of me." We named her Sarah.

Sarah was a cat who acted like a dog. Every time I came home, she came running
to the car, screaming for me the whole way. She sat on my lap every single day
as I wrote thousands of lines of code. She was my best friend and companion
for years, longer than any human.

This past February, Sarah had started walking into walls. My vet thought she
was going blind, a different reason for each eye. We started treatment
immediately. She didn't sit with me when I worked anymore.

Then on March 8, 2010, I was in the middle of an intense piece of work and
took my eye off her for 5 minutes. She walked off the balcony and fell to the
driveway below. Her injuries were too much; she had to be put down.

I was surprised at how I reacted, inconsolable and unable to function for
about a week. I sat at my terminal, but for the first time in my life, no code
came out.

OP was right. Our companions can be magical and mystical. And no matter how
much it hurt, it was definitely worth it.

The code is flowing again like it did for years with Sarah on my lap. Except
now, it's her urn beside me, between my laptop and my monitor. Tonight was the
first time I smiled about it. Thank you, OP.

~~~
djm
If you haven't already, get another cat straight away. The value a pet adds to
your life is unbelievable and there is a tendency (just going from personal
observation) for people who do not replace a pet soon after it has died to
simply not get another one at all.

My dog died on March 30 and I had a new puppy by April 21, despite the
inevitable feelings of guilt from doing it so soon.

Being a puppy he is a real PITA and lots of work but his presence has given me
a real pick-up over the last few weeks.

------
shawndumas
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not
giving it.” --William Arthur Ward

Thank You for giving me that present.

------
such
Yes, yes. Lucky man praises luck.

------
rosshudgens
Well done.. even more powerful because this isn't typical fare on this
website. If read on a personal development website, it would read like more
content fodder. Read here, it reads like amazing.

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Batsu
I'm sorry to rain on that parade, but that last paragraph is really glued on
there. I don't disagree with the sentiment, but that exposition went straight
in to a brick wall.

~~~
shawndumas
"Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the
strength of the ox." Proverbs 14:4

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ovi256
Fluff ? On my HN ?

~~~
puredemo
It's more likely than you think

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spekode
My first undeniable indication that HN has "jumped the shark." But I'm
relatively new around here. Maybe I just didn't notice the rot before.

~~~
DenisM
The adults stepped away for a moment, they will be back momentarily to mop up
this mess. At least that's what I'm telling myself...

