Ned Hardy

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Nick Lee

Photo of the Day

Albert Henry Woolson

The last Civil War veteran (Union), Albert Henry Woolson, died in 1956

Picture it: 1956. The world is in the grips of the Cold War, Elvis is shaking things up on stage, and in a hospital bed in Duluth, Minnesota, the last living link to the American Civil War takes his final breath.

Albert Henry Woolson, the last surviving veteran of the Union Army, closes his eyes on a world utterly transformed from the one he knew as a young man. Now, I want you to really try to wrap your mind around the scale of change this man witnessed in his lifetime.

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25 People Reveal the Worst Financial Decision They’ve Seen Someone Make

worst financial decision

1. I knew someone who got a loan for their wedding, but decided to blow it all at a casino. Now they have a loan for 20k to pay off and nothing to show for it.

2. A coworker I used to have worked every second of overtime he could for several years to save up for a house. When he applied for the house loan, he based his mortgage payment on all of the overtime he had been working. I tried to tell him that wasn’t a good idea but he didn’t want to hear it. He ended up divorced a few years later because his wife got tired of him always working.

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Reading Between the Lines – ‘1984’

1984

“The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness and for the great bulk of mankind, happiness is better.”

This quote from George Orwell’s “1984” delves into the profound human desire for genuine connection and understanding.

In the novel, the protagonist, Winston Smith, lives in a society where the Party dictates every aspect of life, leaving little room for authentic relationships or personal expression. The oppressive regime forces people to conform and suppress their true selves, making it nearly impossible to forge real connections with others.

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Photo of the Day

salon_1910s

Saloon, 1910

Picture this: It’s the turn of the century in the burgeoning American West, a time of extraordinary change and raw opportunity. Amidst the dust-choked streets and the clamor of progress, there stands a defining institution of frontier life—the saloon.

These establishments were far more than mere watering holes; they were the beating heart of social, political, and economic life in an era where the Wild West was a living, breathing entity.

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11 People Who Gave Up On Their Dreams Reveal Whether Or Not They Regret Their Decision

giving up on your dreams

1. Honestly turned out great. I realised my band wasn’t going to get a record deal after a few years and then after playing for other peoples bands for a while it starred to become less fun.

I got a ‘proper’ job, started working on my career and used my new spare time to start playing rugby again. Now I’ve got a really good job in a sector I enjoy working in, married, kids, nice house all that stuff and I still play rugby on Saturdays (pre pandemic) to keep things a little different as well as keeping in shape.

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Reading Between the Lines – ‘Tao Te Ching’

Tao Te Ching

“A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live.”

The quote is often attributed to Lao Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher and writer, considered the founder of Taoism. However, the authenticity of this attribution is debated, as it doesn’t appear directly in his main work, the Tao Te Ching. Regardless, the quote is rich in meaning and aligns well with Taoist philosophy.

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Photo of the Day

rough_riders

Colonel Roosevelt and the Rough Riders in July 1898

In the blistering heat of a Cuban July in 1898, Colonel Theodore Roosevelt found himself in his element, leading his Rough Riders up the slopes of San Juan Hill. The man who had once been a scrawny, asthmatic Harvard student was now the very picture of martial vigor, his spectacles glinting in the Caribbean sun as he urged his men forward.

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