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Kevin Pezzi, MD

I developed technology to instantly
stop school shooters and other criminals,
such as rapists, robbers, home invaders,
and shoplifters. I also created ways to block
airborne germ transmission. Read more >

Iconoclastic views on economics, politics, technology, science, and life.

Disagree with something I wrote? So do I! Read more

“To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.”

— Elbert Hubbard, American editor, publisher, and writer (1856–1915)

Trivia: He and his wife, Alice Moore Hubbard, the noted feminist and writer, died aboard the RMS Lusitania, which was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915, when they were heading to Europe to cover the war and interview Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany.

If you disagree with something I wrote, feel free to challenge it. Some of my viewpoints are the antithesis (exact opposite) of what they once were. That isn't flip-flopping; that is changing opinions with scant evidence to support them into convictions with a firmer foundation of facts.

My political philosophy is an amalgamation of libertarian, conservative, and liberal principles. My opinions have changed so significantly that my conservative friends might be horrified by how I strongly believe that liberals are correct on certain issues. I've previously written about some of them, but to make this more fun, I will present others as challenges in which I offer $100,000 to the first person who can refute the logic I used in forming that opinion. Please note that due to my limited time and difficulty using my hands after I broke my neck, I cannot quickly update my previously published opinions. However, now that I am balancing the promptings of head and heart, I strongly disagree with many opinions I expressed in my writings.

I like finding people who make me think, not necessarily those who agree with me. Genius Robert Heinlein said, “I never learned from a man who agreed with me.” If you can educate me, I'm all ears.

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social environment. Most people are even incapable of forming such opinions.”
— Albert Einstein

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
— Albert Einstein

“What I would like to see more often in this nation is an open and intelligent conversation, not people just casting aspersions at each other … it's unbelievable to me the way people act like third graders. And if somebody doesn't agree with them, they're this and they're that … it comes from both sides. And it's just so infantile.”
— Dr. Ben Carson, neurosurgeon

“The ultimate ignorance is the rejection of something you know nothing about and refuse to investigate.”
— Dr. Wayne Dyer

“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.”
— General George Patton

“Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.”
— Oliver Wendell Holmes

“A lot of people risk their lives in a brief act of heroism, which is kind of cool, but Jill has what I call slow heroism. She is risking her professional life on something that her own calculations show may not work for a thousand years—may not ever. So I like to support people that are risking their lives.”
— ex-Microsoft billionaire brainiac Nathan Myhrvold speaking about Jill Tarter, who inspired the character played by Jodie Foster in the movie Contact. It takes a brilliant person to see that others who go against the grain of conventional wisdom may be sages although lesser minds often ridicule their ideas.

“I am not young enough to know everything.”
— Oscar Wilde

“You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
— Winston Churchill

“Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.”
— Euripides, Greek tragic dramatist (484 BC - 406 BC)

“It is socially unacceptable to be right too early.”
— Robert Heinlein

“I'd rather stand alone on the truth than with millions on a lie.”

“The most distinctive mark of a cultured mind is the ability to take another's point of view; to put one's self in another's place, and see life and its problems from a point of view different from one's own. To be willing to test a new idea; to be able to live on the edge of difference in all matters intellectually; to examine without heat the burning question of the day; to have imaginative sympathy, openness and flexibility of mind, steadiness and poise of feeling, cool calmness of judgment, is to have culture.”
— Arthur H. R. Fairchild

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
— Theodore Roosevelt

“It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.”
— Abraham Lincoln

This reminds me of something stressed by one of my psychology professors, who said that society imposes rigid boundaries for what behavior is acceptable, and applies tremendous pressure trying to force people to conform to the behavioral expectations. Some of the most brilliant and productive outside-the-box thinkers led unconventional lives. One of the side effects of forcing people to think inside the box is that by lopping off outside-the-box behavior, potentially great outside-the-box ideas are lost, too.

“We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.”
— Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (1908-1965)

“You will not do incredible things without an incredible dream.”
— John Eliot

Free firewood: from me to your fireplace or wood stove

I am giving away free firewood to anyone with a wood stove or fireplace who needs help heating their home this winter. I'll give first preference to elderly folks, single women, and disabled men. I will gladly cut the logs to a specified length if desired and load them as you sip on a cup of coffee or tea (also free) and possibly munch on a tasty treat I made, if I've recently baked something yummy.

The price for firewood is shockingly high: sometimes $400 per cord. Yikes! Back in the days when I walked a mile to my school bus stop (yes, really :-), I helped my stepfather sell apple firewood for $40 per cord. My, how times have changed! Burning apple wood emits a heavenly scent, so it commanded a higher price than other hardwoods.

My firewood isn't apple, but it is otherwise premium hardwood. I use STIHL^® BioPlus™ bar and chain oil for my chainsaw, which is made with vegetable oil. That's pricey but better for the environment—and you! In the process of cutting firewood, some bar and chain oil is transferred to the ends of logs, and eventually goes up in smoke along with the rest of the log when burned. Burning vegetable oil is less hazardous than burning petroleum-based oil. Vegetable oil isn't benign but it is certainly safer, which likely explains why employees of fast food restaurants don't drop like flies. :-)

My firewood also does not (to the best of my knowledge) contain any bullets or shotgun pellets, which can be invisibly embedded in logs. Lead is a potent neurotoxin that can adversely affect IQ and cause other health problems.

My firewood is cut from trees on my property that has soil with exceptionally low lead levels. All soil contains some lead. When trees grow, they absorb the nutrients they want along with some of the toxins in the soil, including lead, which ends up in firewood logs. Clearly, it is better to have logs from trees harvested from low-lead areas, such as mine.

In an effort to economize, some people put used motor oil in their chainsaws to lubricate the bar and chain. That's very bad for the environment and anyone who burns logs cut with it. Why? Used motor oil contains many harmful chemicals, often including lead, arsenic, and cadmium. I'm probably the only firewood supplier who graduated from medical school, so I know what such toxins can do to you.

In summary, my logs are better for your body and brain, and they're free! To get them, contact me. Please note: I do not sell any firewood, so I reserve the right to decide who shall receive my free logs.

If you want to thank me for the logs, please consider donating to help Liz Larios and her husband. I'm selling my Sea-doo, Ski-doo, and shed to raise money to help them return to Traverse City.

OK, what's the catch?

There is none. I simply believe in being generous. Many years ago, I was the recipient of unexpected generosity that warmed my heart, thereby teaching me a valuable lesson.

Model (not the woman who fed me) cooking in a kitchen

In one case, during my college days, I was mowing the lawn of a wealthy oral and maxillofacial surgeon when his neighbor approached me and invited me into her lavish home on a beautiful lake. She led me into the most exquisite kitchen I'd ever seen and told me, dirty from mowing, to sit at her table as she gave me delicious food that included things I couldn't afford, such as fresh berries mixed with yogurt. Neither she nor her husband, who sat across from me, were eating at the time, but they seemed to enjoy watching me get full—something I rarely did during lean years in which most of my money went toward tuition, books, and basic living expenses.

In another case, also during college, my duplex neighbors were a Professor from Saudi Arabia and his family. One of their children asked me to assemble a pool they purchased, saying her father was very intelligent but mechanically inept. The day after I assembled the pool they showered me with several plates full of food that was unbelievably tasty! This came at a time when successfully scrimping on meals was one of my main sources of pleasure; a 25-cent meal was good, and a 7-cent meal made my day. Eating lots of five-star food for days was a pleasant respite from the hunger I often felt, so I greatly appreciated their gift.

Stay warm this winter!

UPDATE: The demand for valuable free things (like my firewood) is predictably high and usually exceeds the ability of the producer to produce them. I reinjured my neck while cutting firewood this fall, which further limited my ability to supply an almost unlimited demand. While recuperating, I stumbled upon this quote:

“Chop your own wood, and it will warm you twice.”
— Henry Ford

That made me realize that it is better to limit my free firewood to people who are elderly or disabled. If you are physically able to cut wood, you can do that on my property (after signing a release) or state land, which accumulates dead trees and brush that contributes to the fire hazard. By performing this useful public service, you would be warmed three times, with the additional warmth coming from the warmth in your heart.

Notes:

Matching Gardeners to Pantries Brings A Harvest of Caring
Comment: Good idea, but I've done that for decades with food, firewood, and many other things. Hence what intrigues me about that article is why an old idea is suddenly newsworthy — but who gets traction in the news isn't a meritocracy.
Nearly 50% of Retail Firewood Infested With Insects, Study Finds
Heart-Warming Memories: Nostalgia Can Make You Feel Warmer
Excerpt: “Research from the University of Southampton has shown that feeling nostalgic can make us feel warmer.”

The views expressed on this page may or may not reflect my current opinions, nor do they necessarily represent my past ones. After reading a slice of what I wrote in my various websites and books, you may conclude that I am a liberal Democrat or a conservative Republican. Wrong; there is a better alternative. Just as the primary benefit from debate classes results when students present and defend opinions contrary to their own, I use a similar strategy as a creative writing tool to expand my brainpower—and yours. Mystified? Stay tuned for an explanation. PS: The wheels in your head are already turning a bit faster, aren't they?

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.”
— F. Scott Fitzgerald

Reference: Imagining dialogue can boost critical thinking: Excerpt: “Examining an issue as a debate or dialogue between two sides helps people apply deeper, more sophisticated reasoning …”

Comments (2)

Nice People

It is heartwarming to see there are still nice people in the world. I'm looking for help for my Dad. He can't cut wood any more (age 79) and he heats his home with wood. I know you can't help but I still wanted to praise you for being nice!

REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: Thank you for your kind words. I wish I could help him, too, but as you know firewood is (obviously) not practical to ship because of its weight, size, and potential to spread diseases and pests, such as the emerald ash borer.

Your comment reminded me of a man I saw a year ago picking up a few logs by the side of the road left there after the local electric power company trimmed trees. I told him I had lots more cut firewood on my land, so he and his wife came over with a truck and trailer several times over the next few months to collect wood to heat his home.

Comment #227 by Ben • Website: http//benjamintreecare.com
August 3 2012 08:32:33 PM

Quote

I love the quote about firewood. I do tree care and firewood. But I wanted to leave a comment saying right on, concerning ways to avoid criticism.

REPLY FROM KEVIN PEZZI: Regarding criticism: Elbert Hubbard, an American editor, publisher, and writer who died aboard the RMS Lusitania after it was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine, had great advice for avoiding criticism: “To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing.”