I think the root of this and many others in other society is a failure to understand and accept features of human nature. It is our tendency to lie to ourselves in certain situations. One needs to learn to distrust yourself in some ways. To be on the lookout for where you might be inclined to avoid looking at or accepting the truth. To do that your also need to realize that your tendency to do that doesn’t make you a horrible person, it’s just human nature.

Boston baked beans. To my taste, good ones are cooked low and slow so that the beans almost start melting together, and they should be both sweet and tangy.

Unless you are willing to tell your boss to fuck off and go find another job, I don’t think it’s in your interest to tell him that. Someone with the mindset to tell you to study on your own time isn’t going to take it very well.

Either say fuck the certification and promotions and don’t study, or just study on work time surreptitiously, or suck it up and study on your own time to get the certifications to make yourself more valuable to get a job somewhere else where they don’t have that sort of mindset.

One should do good because seeing good done to world, or to others, is itself a source of satisfaction. If it is not, then I don’t know what anyone can tell you.

He’ll still need the superglue to glue picks to the ends of each finger.

Timbre has a very specific meaning, neither mood nor vibe. It is the sound quality, like a flute sound vs a sax sound.

Fun fact: it’s pronounced ‘tamber’.