Hello... Hello... Hello... Hello...
Is anybody there?... there... there... there...
Echo... Echo... Echo... Echo...
Quack
Goodbye... bye... bye... bye...
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Thursday, July 28, 2005
are you lonely?
A while back a flyer with the following text was posted in the kitchen at my office. I wish I could claim authorship for it, but I can't.
Are you lonely?
Do you hate making decisions?
Would you rather talk about it than do it?
Then why not
HOLD A MEETING
Are you lonely?
Do you hate making decisions?
Would you rather talk about it than do it?
Then why not
HOLD A MEETING
You can:All on company time!
- See other people
- Sleep in peace
- Offload decisions
- Learn to write volumes of meaningless notes
- Feel important
- Impress your colleagues
MEETINGS
The Practical Alternative to Work
The Practical Alternative to Work
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
a new version of you
Can you becomeDo you know what the lyrics above mean? I don't. Golden started watching Felicity on WE a few months ago, and now she is hooked. As a result I am guaranteed to hear the Felicity theme at least a couple of times every week.
Can you become
A new version of you
New wallpaper
New shoe leather
A new way home
I don't remember
New version of you
I need a new version of me
New version of you
I need a new version of me
I am not really drawn to the show so that probably taints my view of the theme lyrics. Even so, they simply don't make any sense to me. I also know songs for TV shows aren't always supposed to make sense, but these lyrics sound like they are supposed to make sense and still don't. That just makes the whole thing worse.
I think J.J. Abrams could learn a lot from the theme to another TV show that I enjoyed growing up regarding creativity in relaying the purpose of the show. Let me illustrate.
Isn't that so much better?Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, Batman!
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, Batman!
Batman, Batman, Batman!
Monday, July 25, 2005
as if sarcasm is funny
I was speaking with BB yesterday about my comments on humor from last week and he pointed out that I neglected to mention sarcasm. This is one of the more appreciated versions of humor and so he wondered how I could have forgotten about it. Yeah, like people laugh at sarcasm.
Sarcasm is yet one more form of humor that works best for pessimists because they are used to deflating optimists' and idealists' dreams. All a pessimist has to do is adopt an exaggerated tone of voice and say what he or she is thinking. Like that's so hard.
Both BB and I have been known to use sarcasm for the occasional laugh. When listening to a conversation and nothing more witty comes to mind, a sarcastic remark will usually at least pick up a courtesy laugh (or moan). Yeah, apparently we'll both stoop to just about any level for attention.
I thought about writing a sarcastic post about our conversation, but I was concerned that some people might not pick up on the sarcasm given that I couldn't adopt the exaggerated tone of voice. As if someone is so dense they wouldn't pick up on that.
Sarcasm is yet one more form of humor that works best for pessimists because they are used to deflating optimists' and idealists' dreams. All a pessimist has to do is adopt an exaggerated tone of voice and say what he or she is thinking. Like that's so hard.
Both BB and I have been known to use sarcasm for the occasional laugh. When listening to a conversation and nothing more witty comes to mind, a sarcastic remark will usually at least pick up a courtesy laugh (or moan). Yeah, apparently we'll both stoop to just about any level for attention.
I thought about writing a sarcastic post about our conversation, but I was concerned that some people might not pick up on the sarcasm given that I couldn't adopt the exaggerated tone of voice. As if someone is so dense they wouldn't pick up on that.
Saturday, July 23, 2005
i wish i didn't tell
This past week we have been having a small Texas Hold 'em tournament at my office. I don't have too much experience with the game, but I like to think I can carry my own. We had a practice game on Monday, three preliminary games on Tuesday through Thursday, and the final on Friday. Anyone who won a preliminary game on the Tuesday through Thursday games got a pass into the final round. If you won on Tuesday or Wednesday you could still play in the other rounds as a kind of spoiler. Games were timed out at 50 minutes.
In a strange irony I lead in the games on Monday through Wednesday for the majority of the game, but lost to the exact same person on the very last hand. Things did not seem to be going my way. I was relatively confident in my abilities to win Thursday's game, though, so long as the cards would cooperate.
After my Wednesday game there were whispers that I had a tell. I had something that would make it obvious to others whether I have a strong or weak hand. I tried to think of anything that I could be possibly giving away. It had to be an unconscious tell because I could think of no conscious ones that matched what I knew of my behavior.
After some investigation I found that a lot of unconscious tells have to do with where a person looks after they get their cards. Look too long at the cards that were flopped and that means you have a bad hand. Glance at your chips immediately after the flop and that means you have a good hand. I decided to reverse these and see if I could confuse my foes.
Throughout the game I purposefully threw tells that said I had exactly the opposite of what I actually had, but this was to no avail. No one even looked my way when the tells were supposed to be noticed, and at least one person still could somewhat predict the strength of my hand.
After I went out I asked what my tell was. I hesitate to say in the case that I cannot control it in the future, but when I bluff my eyes apparently dart around quicker than when I have a strong hand. Now that I have given away the secret to anyone who is planning to play cards with me in the future, I will simply need to learn how to defeat it. I figure if I don't force myself to train the tell away I'll always have it, and that won't be good if I want to milk some chips out of you with my full house.
In a strange irony I lead in the games on Monday through Wednesday for the majority of the game, but lost to the exact same person on the very last hand. Things did not seem to be going my way. I was relatively confident in my abilities to win Thursday's game, though, so long as the cards would cooperate.
After my Wednesday game there were whispers that I had a tell. I had something that would make it obvious to others whether I have a strong or weak hand. I tried to think of anything that I could be possibly giving away. It had to be an unconscious tell because I could think of no conscious ones that matched what I knew of my behavior.
After some investigation I found that a lot of unconscious tells have to do with where a person looks after they get their cards. Look too long at the cards that were flopped and that means you have a bad hand. Glance at your chips immediately after the flop and that means you have a good hand. I decided to reverse these and see if I could confuse my foes.
Throughout the game I purposefully threw tells that said I had exactly the opposite of what I actually had, but this was to no avail. No one even looked my way when the tells were supposed to be noticed, and at least one person still could somewhat predict the strength of my hand.
After I went out I asked what my tell was. I hesitate to say in the case that I cannot control it in the future, but when I bluff my eyes apparently dart around quicker than when I have a strong hand. Now that I have given away the secret to anyone who is planning to play cards with me in the future, I will simply need to learn how to defeat it. I figure if I don't force myself to train the tell away I'll always have it, and that won't be good if I want to milk some chips out of you with my full house.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
if you like funny - part 2
This may appear off-topic for anyone who was drawn in by yesterday's post. Anyway, you've been warned.
As I said in part 1, I believe that a humorist must have at least a slightly skewed view of the world. Either that or the humorist must understand what is absurd in the world to present it as funny. I think this points to a certain type of person who has the potential to be funny, but hasn't taken that step yet.
In the formation of my humor I went through a long silly stage that lasted my entire childhood and slowly branched out of silly and into funny in high school and college. In some respects my humor is still silly rather than funny, but for the most part I have matured to funny. There seem to be a lot of people who are still at the silly stage.
Please don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with silly in the same way that there is nothing wrong with PB&J. It is fine once in a while, but it suited my tastes more frequently as a kid.
I think part of the reason that I notice so much silly humor is that I am a Christian and so a large percentage of the worlds I exist in are heavily populated by Christians. While I know plenty of Christians that are at the least much funnier than I, there is still a large percentage of the Christian population who are really lacking a sense of humor, though they excel in the silly.
I am honestly amazed at how well-done much of Christian children's entertainment is and how it contrasts with how lousy a lot of the other stuff is. The reason for that is that children's humor is not funny, but silly. We can handle silliness easier than real humor because it is absurd on a much shallower level. The difference is subtle, but the average adult can pick it up. If you aren't sure that you can, think about the difference between Full House and The Simpsons.
I used to think that the reason that a lot of Christians (and most of Christian entertainment) was not funny was because there was an unwritten standard of decency which could not be breached. I guess it is possible that this is the case, but I have serious doubts. I personally think some offensive humor is funny, but the best humor (and that which Christians do not excel at) is not offensive humor, but wit. The humor I most appreciate is that which most artfully illustrates absurdity. Most offensive humor lacks the art that I long for in comedy and rarely has any true wit involved.
I think the problem here is an extreme reliance on literalism of the world around us that leaves no room for absurdity. Furthermore, I think that some feel that there is a need to put on a good face. In my opinion, that prevents people from embracing the absurdity that they observe in life and become truly funny, and can lead to hypocrisy.
I say embrace the absurdities in your life and others' lives as well. Take note of them. Joke about them. Make your life a little more funny.
As I said in part 1, I believe that a humorist must have at least a slightly skewed view of the world. Either that or the humorist must understand what is absurd in the world to present it as funny. I think this points to a certain type of person who has the potential to be funny, but hasn't taken that step yet.
In the formation of my humor I went through a long silly stage that lasted my entire childhood and slowly branched out of silly and into funny in high school and college. In some respects my humor is still silly rather than funny, but for the most part I have matured to funny. There seem to be a lot of people who are still at the silly stage.
Please don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with silly in the same way that there is nothing wrong with PB&J. It is fine once in a while, but it suited my tastes more frequently as a kid.
I think part of the reason that I notice so much silly humor is that I am a Christian and so a large percentage of the worlds I exist in are heavily populated by Christians. While I know plenty of Christians that are at the least much funnier than I, there is still a large percentage of the Christian population who are really lacking a sense of humor, though they excel in the silly.
I am honestly amazed at how well-done much of Christian children's entertainment is and how it contrasts with how lousy a lot of the other stuff is. The reason for that is that children's humor is not funny, but silly. We can handle silliness easier than real humor because it is absurd on a much shallower level. The difference is subtle, but the average adult can pick it up. If you aren't sure that you can, think about the difference between Full House and The Simpsons.
I used to think that the reason that a lot of Christians (and most of Christian entertainment) was not funny was because there was an unwritten standard of decency which could not be breached. I guess it is possible that this is the case, but I have serious doubts. I personally think some offensive humor is funny, but the best humor (and that which Christians do not excel at) is not offensive humor, but wit. The humor I most appreciate is that which most artfully illustrates absurdity. Most offensive humor lacks the art that I long for in comedy and rarely has any true wit involved.
I think the problem here is an extreme reliance on literalism of the world around us that leaves no room for absurdity. Furthermore, I think that some feel that there is a need to put on a good face. In my opinion, that prevents people from embracing the absurdity that they observe in life and become truly funny, and can lead to hypocrisy.
I say embrace the absurdities in your life and others' lives as well. Take note of them. Joke about them. Make your life a little more funny.
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
if you like funny - part 1
There seem to be as many different types of humor as there are types of people. I like to think that I have some understanding of humor, but truthfully I only really understand what I like. Some people like slapstick, some like satire, some like offensive humor, some like stuffy humor, and some (but not many) like puns.
It has occurred to me (partially because others have pointed it out) that humor happens when something absurd is presented to the brain. Therefore, people who care more about word usage would find puns funnier because the absurdity of the puns would be more acute.
I have a theory that most funny people are slightly disturbed in some way. The reason for this is that a theoretically normal person (no actual "normal" people exist) would not naturally have a point of view that picks out the absurd.
I also think that pessimists tend to be the funniest of people because the absurdity that they recognize is mostly negative. I am not sure why negative things are typically so funny, but they are. Optimists and Idealists can be funny, but they are usually better as the subjects of jokes rather than the creators or tellers of jokes. I don't know how realists play into this.
I have a further theory that you can figure out how a person is disturbed by the type of humor that they are drawn to. Please remember that I count myself among some of the dysfunctional descriptions described below. Please also remember that neither the list nor the descriptions are absolutely definitive.
It has occurred to me (partially because others have pointed it out) that humor happens when something absurd is presented to the brain. Therefore, people who care more about word usage would find puns funnier because the absurdity of the puns would be more acute.
I have a theory that most funny people are slightly disturbed in some way. The reason for this is that a theoretically normal person (no actual "normal" people exist) would not naturally have a point of view that picks out the absurd.
I also think that pessimists tend to be the funniest of people because the absurdity that they recognize is mostly negative. I am not sure why negative things are typically so funny, but they are. Optimists and Idealists can be funny, but they are usually better as the subjects of jokes rather than the creators or tellers of jokes. I don't know how realists play into this.
I have a further theory that you can figure out how a person is disturbed by the type of humor that they are drawn to. Please remember that I count myself among some of the dysfunctional descriptions described below. Please also remember that neither the list nor the descriptions are absolutely definitive.
- Slapstick will draw people who on some level enjoy others' discomfort.
- Satire will draw people who have a beef with someone or something and enjoy seeing it portrayed absurdly.
- Offensive humor will draw people who have a beef with someone or something and never mentally matured past the seventh grade.
- Stuffy humor will draw people who want to feel smarter than everyone else because they understand the subtle reference in the New Yorker comic that they just read.
- Puns will draw language nerds that are more concerned with how something is said than what is being said.
Monday, July 18, 2005
the demon tree
We have five trees in our yard. Two are maple, two are elm, and one is out to get me. I don't know what specific type of tree the fifth one is. I do know that it flowers in early May, it looks a lot like a cherry or crabapple tree, and it intentionally takes swipes at me when I am mowing.
Yesterday afternoon I decided it was about time to mow the yard. Never mind that the heat of the day was pretty intense. I just knew that if I didn't do it yesterday I would have to waste one of my weekday evenings on it. When I mow my yard, the easiest section to do is the front yard because it is the smallest patch of grass and there isn't much to get in my way. I always have a small cloud of doom hanging over me, though, due to the fact that I know I will be having to fight the possessed tree in just a few minutes. As all clouds of doom go, it is too small to even provide shade to an overheated person pushing a mower.
In the past when I have attempted to mow under the tree it has taken swings at my arms. I even have a light but visible five-inch scar on my right arm from where it scraped me good about two months ago. If the tree isn't successful in stopping me with it's branches it usually resorts to kicking up dust (not Dust) under its canopy and driving my allergies crazy. Yesterday, I was unusually fortunate until I was almost done mowing under this tree. One or two passes away from freedom and a branch about five and a half feet from the ground whipped around and slapped me in the mouth. I am just happy it didn't leave a mark.
If anyone needs firewood any time soon, I may have some available. That is if the tree doesn't get me first.
Yesterday afternoon I decided it was about time to mow the yard. Never mind that the heat of the day was pretty intense. I just knew that if I didn't do it yesterday I would have to waste one of my weekday evenings on it. When I mow my yard, the easiest section to do is the front yard because it is the smallest patch of grass and there isn't much to get in my way. I always have a small cloud of doom hanging over me, though, due to the fact that I know I will be having to fight the possessed tree in just a few minutes. As all clouds of doom go, it is too small to even provide shade to an overheated person pushing a mower.
In the past when I have attempted to mow under the tree it has taken swings at my arms. I even have a light but visible five-inch scar on my right arm from where it scraped me good about two months ago. If the tree isn't successful in stopping me with it's branches it usually resorts to kicking up dust (not Dust) under its canopy and driving my allergies crazy. Yesterday, I was unusually fortunate until I was almost done mowing under this tree. One or two passes away from freedom and a branch about five and a half feet from the ground whipped around and slapped me in the mouth. I am just happy it didn't leave a mark.
If anyone needs firewood any time soon, I may have some available. That is if the tree doesn't get me first.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
the dead day
What makes a day a good one to post or a bad one to post? I have noticed that there are some days when just about everyone is involved with a post somewhere and several lively discussions are maintained throughout the day. Then there are days like yesterday.
It could be that Dash and T were gone on a vacation day. It could be that Forrest only has a half day at work on Fridays and so doesn't take as much time on blogs on those days. It could be that yesterday was BB's anniversary and so he was too busy to post. I don't know. I must not know if I think BB may have an impact on how much posting is going on. What I do know is that what just a day or two earlier seemed like a bustling world of discussions, observations, and joking became a rarely interrupted dead planet of sorts.
The reason I am working through this is that I want to figure out what that sweet spot is for the best times to post specific types of posts. Some are just filler (like this post) meant to keep me in the running on Dash's tally and some are important enough to me that I like to post them at a time when I know I will get the most traffic.
Maybe I can just keep posting the more important ones over and over. That will serve a dual purpose. I can get what I want to say in front of everyone and I will pass T in Dash's compilation.
It could be that Dash and T were gone on a vacation day. It could be that Forrest only has a half day at work on Fridays and so doesn't take as much time on blogs on those days. It could be that yesterday was BB's anniversary and so he was too busy to post. I don't know. I must not know if I think BB may have an impact on how much posting is going on. What I do know is that what just a day or two earlier seemed like a bustling world of discussions, observations, and joking became a rarely interrupted dead planet of sorts.
The reason I am working through this is that I want to figure out what that sweet spot is for the best times to post specific types of posts. Some are just filler (like this post) meant to keep me in the running on Dash's tally and some are important enough to me that I like to post them at a time when I know I will get the most traffic.
Maybe I can just keep posting the more important ones over and over. That will serve a dual purpose. I can get what I want to say in front of everyone and I will pass T in Dash's compilation.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
stupid alarm
I just finished reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Valley of Fear. Due to this fact and the fact that I had a particularly bad morning, I thought this post, which I wrote a while back but didn't put on the site, would be appropriate.
Some day in the very distant future I would like to try my hand at writing a book. I was considering two different styles of writing. Let me know which you prefer.
Style 1:
Some day in the very distant future I would like to try my hand at writing a book. I was considering two different styles of writing. Let me know which you prefer.
Style 1:
Dust awoke to his alarm. Was it 7:40 already? Had he hit his snooze button that many times? He silently chided himself on his irresponsibility as he quickly prepared for work.Style 2:
Beep, Beep! Beep, Beep!
"Won't that stupid alarm clock shut up!" Dust moaned in disgust as he slapped the snooze button again. He did not even bother to open his eyes to check the dimly lit numbers on the clock. It was too difficult to see them against the sun rays that shot through the venetian blinds and reflected against the clock's shiny plastic surface.
Dust stretched and rolled over to Mrs Dust's side of the bed. She had already awaken and he could tell from the sound of the hair dryer in the next room that she was busy getting ready for the day.
It was only at this moment that he glanced at his wife's clock. 7:41! His stomach sank and a slight pain shot through his arms as adrenalin began to flow. How was that possible? He did not remember hitting the snooze button on his alarm that many times, but here was all the evidence he needed.
As Dust threw the blankets aside he stood up and began forward. At that moment he found the shoe he had carelessly thrown off the previous evening with his foot and tripped into the bedroom wall. "That figures," Dust thought, "if one thing goes wrong everything else might as well."
As he prepared for work all Dust could do was continually lie to himself, "I'll never do this again. I won't make this mistake more than once." This scene was an unfortunately common one for Dust.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
honk, honk, honk, honk
Very little annoys me more than when poor design negatively impacts me. When I stand in a long line at a store because only one or two people are trained to run the register that is poor process design. When I hit five straight red lights that is poor transportation system design. When I set off my car alarm and cannot figure out how to turn it off that is poor product design.
As a few of you are aware, I experienced the last of these design problems at the drive-in on Friday. After the movie was over (thank goodness) I was carrying a few things to the trunk. It was dark and so I guessed on which button on the car key ring opened the trunk. I guessed poorly.
At that moment, I heard that wonderful sound as everyone I could see (and I am sure many more I couldn't) turned to stare at me.
"HONK, HONK, HONK, HONK, HONK..."
My heart sank as I remembered that I had not seen any specific button on the key ring that was obviously designed to turn off the alarm. After frantically hitting every button what seemed like a hundred times, the alarm finally turned off. To this day I don't know what I pushed to turn it off.
What annoys me is that I don't know how to figure out which button it is. I generally learn this sort of thing by trial and error, but I am not willing to set off the alarm to try to figure it out for fear that I won't figure it out.
Truth be told, I don't even care to have an alarm on my car. No one ever assumes that when a car alarm goes off that a car is actually being stolen, so I don't feel that what security is provided is even worth the stress of false alarms.
If I must have an alarm, it would be a lot easier if there was a button on the key ring that had a picture of a horn crossed out. That would be good design.
As a few of you are aware, I experienced the last of these design problems at the drive-in on Friday. After the movie was over (thank goodness) I was carrying a few things to the trunk. It was dark and so I guessed on which button on the car key ring opened the trunk. I guessed poorly.
At that moment, I heard that wonderful sound as everyone I could see (and I am sure many more I couldn't) turned to stare at me.
"HONK, HONK, HONK, HONK, HONK..."
My heart sank as I remembered that I had not seen any specific button on the key ring that was obviously designed to turn off the alarm. After frantically hitting every button what seemed like a hundred times, the alarm finally turned off. To this day I don't know what I pushed to turn it off.
What annoys me is that I don't know how to figure out which button it is. I generally learn this sort of thing by trial and error, but I am not willing to set off the alarm to try to figure it out for fear that I won't figure it out.
Truth be told, I don't even care to have an alarm on my car. No one ever assumes that when a car alarm goes off that a car is actually being stolen, so I don't feel that what security is provided is even worth the stress of false alarms.
If I must have an alarm, it would be a lot easier if there was a button on the key ring that had a picture of a horn crossed out. That would be good design.
Monday, July 11, 2005
a case of the mondays
I have never really been a fan of Sunday nights. A large reason for that is that Monday morning is around the corner. I generally have a difficult time going to sleep on Sunday night due to my thoughts of what I will need to do in the upcoming week, then on Monday morning it can be difficult to get up and face the things I have to do in the upcoming week. I am apparently not really a fan of Monday mornings, either.
I just had a conversation with a coworker where we both confirmed we agree on this matter and that our feelings probably have little to do with how we like our jobs. Work can never compare to even an abnormally lousy weekend. However, a more stressful job is harder to face at the beginning of the week.
In a funny twist this morning Mrs Dust got to face Monday morning an hour early today. Her alarm clock got set an hour fast somehow (we aren't sure how at this point), and her alarm went off a little after 6 instead of 7. She started to wake me up at what she thought was the normal time for me then realized what time it really was. When we talked about it this morning she didn't sound too upset about it, which I find odd. I would have been very upset to lose an hour's sleep on a Monday morning. So long as the hour is at 6AM and not 12AM I would be upset, that is.
I just had a conversation with a coworker where we both confirmed we agree on this matter and that our feelings probably have little to do with how we like our jobs. Work can never compare to even an abnormally lousy weekend. However, a more stressful job is harder to face at the beginning of the week.
In a funny twist this morning Mrs Dust got to face Monday morning an hour early today. Her alarm clock got set an hour fast somehow (we aren't sure how at this point), and her alarm went off a little after 6 instead of 7. She started to wake me up at what she thought was the normal time for me then realized what time it really was. When we talked about it this morning she didn't sound too upset about it, which I find odd. I would have been very upset to lose an hour's sleep on a Monday morning. So long as the hour is at 6AM and not 12AM I would be upset, that is.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
reach out and link to someone
When I started my blog it was essentially to keep up with Forrest, Dash, and Dar who had created blogs of their own already (thus the name). None of the girls had started theirs yet.
Once Golden started the girls off with her blog the list of people with blogs continually grew, as did a new problem. Do I link to just the guys? Are we going to keep the worlds separate?
After three months, I feel pretty comfortable in assuming that instead of having a smaller guys' world and girls' world that this is one larger combined world. This has been more or less confirmed by the fact that Dash has included everyone on his links. As such, I don't see any reason not to link to the sites where I comment regularly. I have updated Golden's links as well.
At the very least this should make it easier for me to keep my site open and just click down the list of blogs to be sure I am up to date on the posts. At the very least.
Once Golden started the girls off with her blog the list of people with blogs continually grew, as did a new problem. Do I link to just the guys? Are we going to keep the worlds separate?
After three months, I feel pretty comfortable in assuming that instead of having a smaller guys' world and girls' world that this is one larger combined world. This has been more or less confirmed by the fact that Dash has included everyone on his links. As such, I don't see any reason not to link to the sites where I comment regularly. I have updated Golden's links as well.
At the very least this should make it easier for me to keep my site open and just click down the list of blogs to be sure I am up to date on the posts. At the very least.
Friday, July 08, 2005
clothesed for business
Among the myriad of conversations that came up in my office yesterday about religion, politics, and the bombs in London, a more benign topic was raised later in the day. There was something of a debate among several of the guys I work with as to whether it is better to buy clothes yourself or let your wife do it.
Most wives apparently prefer to control that aspect of the household (though not all, I have learned). The question was for those of us guys whose wives prefer to do the clothes shopping. Should we want them to?
The pros mentioned were:
We have discussed this arrangement some at home, and she usually indicates that she likes it. I think sometimes that I too happily drop the responsibility for clothes on her, though. Maybe I can make it up by picking out clothes for her. I think a cadmium yellow top looks great with a electric blue capris and dead grass brown shoes. Don't you?
Most wives apparently prefer to control that aspect of the household (though not all, I have learned). The question was for those of us guys whose wives prefer to do the clothes shopping. Should we want them to?
The pros mentioned were:
- Most guys view this as a chore and most wives don't
- When the wife is away (at the mall) the man will play (Xbox)
- Wives typically consider the husband's taste before picking a set of clothes (notice I didn't call it an outfit)
- She might pick something too formal
- She might pick something too casual
- I have no control over what she picks out
We have discussed this arrangement some at home, and she usually indicates that she likes it. I think sometimes that I too happily drop the responsibility for clothes on her, though. Maybe I can make it up by picking out clothes for her. I think a cadmium yellow top looks great with a electric blue capris and dead grass brown shoes. Don't you?
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
mr fixit
When we lived in an apartment, things were actually kind of good. We had our share of problems, from the A/C kicking out in the heat of July to a toilet that occasionally required some encouragement to flush. The great thing was, though, that no matter how bad the issue it wasn't my responsibility.
Now we are in a house. Granted, I am thankful for the equity and tax deductions that a house affords, but I am not a Mr Fixit. Now every sound I hear in the house makes me nervous and every time something doesn't work quite right I know that I will somehow be responsible for it. If I can't figure out a way to resolve the issue, I'll have to hire, beg, or bribe someone else to do it.
What is really annoying is that very little of the work is complicated, I am just concerned that I will do more damage than good. A few examples.
- Our gutters do not currently abut against the house, thus we still get some water in our basement during storms and I get soaked if I walk out the front door after a rain. This should not be too complicated, but I can't figure out what tool I can use to work the gutter under the drip-edge again. Plus, all the neighbors can see me if I screw that one up.
- Our front door no longer closes properly and really should be replaced. Easy job, but if I get stuck in the middle of it and figure out that I cannot complete the task Mrs Dust probably won't be happy that she no longer has a front door.
- Our fridge has a water and ice dispenser but piping needs to be run to hook it up. With plumbing I am convinced a small mistake will mean that we are showering at the church and will experience a four digit repair expense.
If I grew up a few decades ago I might consider this challenging to my manhood. As it is, I guess I am just a pretty face. I hope Mrs Dust wasn't expecting to marry a handyman.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
masquerade
I hate putting on a show to make myself appear or sound different than I really am. I hate making people think I believe something that I don't. I hate having to do anything that is less than honest.
As a result of what I hate, I have butted heads with my parents some in the past. Even though I agree on a lot with them, they are a little more traditional than I am and I haven't hidden many of the conflicting positions I have from them. I am appreciative that they always respect what I have to say, but there have been times when I still kept some feelings quiet.
When I was growing up, there were a TV shows that were off limits. One of these TV shows was The Simpsons, which I believe was condemned early because Bart had a bad attitude. I have a problem now. Since leaving home I have determined that The Simpsons ranks as one of the greatest shows ever created in its satirical portrayal of just about everything including Christianity.
This weekend, I got a chance to speak with my parents about a lot of things. We talked about family and friends and we also discussed things like formality in church and grace. A few hours before we left, though, the subject of comedic TV shows came up with my Mom. I conceded my enjoyment of The Simpsons, and she pointed out that she had heard positive things lately about how the show portrays Christianity. I am just happy that I don't have to keep up a facade.
As a result of what I hate, I have butted heads with my parents some in the past. Even though I agree on a lot with them, they are a little more traditional than I am and I haven't hidden many of the conflicting positions I have from them. I am appreciative that they always respect what I have to say, but there have been times when I still kept some feelings quiet.
When I was growing up, there were a TV shows that were off limits. One of these TV shows was The Simpsons, which I believe was condemned early because Bart had a bad attitude. I have a problem now. Since leaving home I have determined that The Simpsons ranks as one of the greatest shows ever created in its satirical portrayal of just about everything including Christianity.
This weekend, I got a chance to speak with my parents about a lot of things. We talked about family and friends and we also discussed things like formality in church and grace. A few hours before we left, though, the subject of comedic TV shows came up with my Mom. I conceded my enjoyment of The Simpsons, and she pointed out that she had heard positive things lately about how the show portrays Christianity. I am just happy that I don't have to keep up a facade.
Friday, July 01, 2005
cruciverbalist
I am a cruciverbalist. Any time I go on a trip of any length I bring along a book of crossword puzzles that Mrs Dust bought for me a couple of Christmas's ago and work through them when I have (five letters, a fifth tire) time. As I am going on a short trip to see (six letters, a class) this weekend, so will my crossword puzzle book.
Thing is, I am not a crossword puzzle purist. If I can't (six letters, "______ eight") out a section of the puzzle, I am more than willing to look up the answer to a clue in the answer to move things along. This is because I don't think it is relaxing fun to stare at a page for twenty minutes to try to determine the spelling for some (six letters, to cut green beans into strips before cooking) town. As a result, I don't like doing the newspaper crosswords that come with the text, "Answers Next Week," or something to that effect. Mrs Dust thinks I am cheating, but I disagree.
If nothing else, doing crosswords has added to my (ten letters, Tarzan had a small one) several four and five letter words containing a lot of (six letters, they can be bought from Sajak). Now I can construct meaningful sentences such as, "I will elide your idea as I puree the oleo on the dais."
Oh yeah, and I had every intention of posting this even before Jadee posted the cruciverbalist description on her site.
Thing is, I am not a crossword puzzle purist. If I can't (six letters, "______ eight") out a section of the puzzle, I am more than willing to look up the answer to a clue in the answer to move things along. This is because I don't think it is relaxing fun to stare at a page for twenty minutes to try to determine the spelling for some (six letters, to cut green beans into strips before cooking) town. As a result, I don't like doing the newspaper crosswords that come with the text, "Answers Next Week," or something to that effect. Mrs Dust thinks I am cheating, but I disagree.
If nothing else, doing crosswords has added to my (ten letters, Tarzan had a small one) several four and five letter words containing a lot of (six letters, they can be bought from Sajak). Now I can construct meaningful sentences such as, "I will elide your idea as I puree the oleo on the dais."
Oh yeah, and I had every intention of posting this even before Jadee posted the cruciverbalist description on her site.
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