Still More Rantings

I am starting to become disillusioned. I'm not very old, just slower and more thoughtful. And I am beginning to think that insight is not a virtue. Please, please spare me any more of it. I see things I don't want to see. I don't see dead people, but I do see the core of individuals in ways far more accurately than I once did; an occupational hazard. I really wish I could see the good in everyone and not see their faults. But I am entrusted by them to do just that and to help them deal with it.

I know this will likely sound crazy or perhaps narcissistic to some, but here goes: I can actually sit for a very short time, paying close attention to face and body and a bit of what they say and I can tell a ton about them. I mean even down to very personal stuff they have yet to reveal and may never. I have tested myself on this. It's a bit scary. I think this is what is done by "mindreaders." It's really just observational interpersonal hypersensitivity (I made that term up).

The question for me is: what should I do about what I know?

Least Favorite Questions Asked By Students

In order of increasing dislike, these are the questions I loathe the most, followed by what I would say if I didn't actually care about hurting their feelings:

"Is this stuff gonna be on the test?" (Of course not. I rarely talk about anything that might be on a test!)

"Is this course hard?" (No! I only teach easy courses so you won't be required to read or study anything!)

"Are we done learning all the big words?" (Yes, thankfully, because I really hate pronouncing all those big suckers.)

"Did I miss anything important?" (Of course not, I never say anything important! We were waiting for you to return to start the important stuff!)

Do Me A Favor, Please

If you are visiting this blog, leave a trace: a comment, a button on the bottom of each blog entry, something. Best would be if you became a follower. I ask this because I just want to know who you guys are from all over the world who are reading this drivel. Thanks.

Mild Observations

Most of what we do in the world is distraction from considering our mortality. Damn that neocortex!

There is nothing in this world except to have fun (after you work a bit) and not hurt anybody; the rest is just dressing. Italian and French, no doubt.

After this world? I can't know, and neither can you. But make up your mind if you can; agnostics are the heaviest drinkers.

It's going to rain. I can feel the humidity and stillness that comes before it. The storm is playing possum, hoping we'll forget he's coming.

Got a new bird cage for our two Parakeets. It's a bit larger. They can fly around a bit now. Shouldn't I get a room-sized cage?

Do they have a dreary life, caged, dependent on us for food and water? Do they wish to fly beyond their cage? Maybe they really don't. Maybe they are extraordinarily content. How can you tell the difference with Parakeets? They are fluttering behind me. But I can hear their wings on occasion making contact with the bars.

I had Chinese leftovers tonight. And the night before. They were better than last night when they were a day fresher. I can't figure out why. Maybe last night I was consumed by anticipation of basketball games and missed the taste.

Why do we keep thinking socialism is "evil." We have a hybrid system already: the Postal Service, the military, Medicaid, Medicare, Welfare, Social Security and a host of other programs are all socialist constructions. I am willing to bet that the folks who think socialism is evil are either wealthy or completely uniformed. The worst form of ignorance is the rejection of something about which you know nothing.

What did we do before toilet paper? Well, in the late 19h and early 20th centuries, we often used the ubiquitous Sears and Roebuck catalogue pages, affectionately called "Rears and Sorebutts." In other countries even today, the left hand, sans any covering, is applied. I find this hard to swallow. If true, watch out for their fast food restaurants.

Ideas for the Foolish

1.   Spin off for yet another TV reality show for hoarders: "Don't Mess with My Mess"

2.   Create a writer's software program that includes a dictionary with synonyms and antonyms, usage, grammar, rhyming dictionary, encyclopedia and history links, word and phrase etiologies, and so forth, all in one program. Synthesize it with a word processing program and put all this stuff on the tool bar or have these come up when you highlight a word or phrase or sentence?

3.   Give me thirty minutes alone with every presidential candidate and allow me to ask any questions I want. Then read my impressions before you vote.

4.   Require doctors and dentists to take a course - a full semester - in social skills training. I am getting very sick of doctors who: 1. don't listen, 2. run in and out the door without so much as a whisper of understanding of their patients, 3. try to make you feel stupid, 4. have the goal in mind without knowing all the facts, and 5. act as if you are blessed by their presence. They work for us, and we pay them well, so who's in charge?

5.   Reward teachers! Plaques, certificates, assemblies in our honor, yes, but money speaks in the highest volume.

6.   On all radios put in a repeat button/dial, maybe at 15 second intervals per punch or a dial that allows you to go back as far as you want. That way you can listen to the song you just heard or the news flash you just missed again. Can't be that tough.

7.   Of course we are headed this way: a single device that does it all. We are close, but what we would need to get rid of all else would be a built in projector to show movies/TV on a wall, and a virtual keyboard. But, no music would ever be heard at the full dynamic range or quality. Maybe peripherals could be plugged in until those technologies could be developed.

8.   Why is it so hard to find blueberry Hostess fruit pies? We need instantaneous global access.

9.   Holographic three dimensional setups for rooms with character delete modes so that you could put yourself into the scene. Great training for actors. I think this is still 10-15 years out.

10. All mail delivered on Saturdays only. Private mail companies could deliver at other times. Money savings, yes, but I am thinking it would make Saturdays an even more special day.