Alcohol, the King of the Party

At the last dinner party, my friends brought me beer, wine, and liqueur. Alcohol is the ubiquitous social drug in our society. It is difficult to avoid, because so many people use it, even the good and the wise. The accessories, such as the bottles and glasses, are appealing and sensual. In recent years, scientists have contributed to the promotion of alcohol, making claims of benefits, such as antioxidants and resveratrol in wine, although numerous other substances besides wine contain antioxidants, and grape skins, peanut skins, and blueberries contain resveratrol.

When I was a young man, alcohol bestowed a pleasant glow, similar to being in love. Around my early thirties, that pleasure diminished. Today, the waste products of fungi don't make me a fun guy. My brain's pleasure center has changed the lock, and alcohol's key no longer fits. Alcohol brings lethargy, irritability, arthritic pain, and stomach discomfort. I have ten bottles of what used to be my favorite beer sitting in my refrigerator, waiting for the next drinking guest. I don't imagine they will be waiting for long. I will be glad to see them go.

In my late thirties, I revisited my old friend, marijuana, which is free of alcohol's physical consequences. Marijuana is not as sociable these days, because people fear the consequences of a urinalysis test that might cost them their career. In the current legal environment, parents can even lose custody of their children over such a small matter. The legal environment has crowned alcohol the king of the party, but he is a corrupt monarch who abuses his subjects. If pot were king, and alcohol the outcast, then the nation would profit from the savings in medical costs alone.

My policy concerning substances has evolved into something like this: workaday sobriety, a single glass of wine at parties, and pot while on vacation. My favorite place to get high is San Francisco, because it is unnecessary to drive, the setting is beautiful, and the laws are lenient. I walk everywhere, and when my companions feel exhausted, we take the trolley. I never feel tired in San Francisco. The city hums with an energetic vibe. I like to spend my money there, because my proverb is, "Spend your money where your heart is, and you can't go far wrong." San Francisco has a good history, which is still unfolding. Other cities would do well to follow in its footsteps. My favorite places to walk are Chinatown, the Wharf, Telegraph Hill, and the Farmer's Market, where I pick up cherries, olives, bananas, fresh bread, and coffee. Sometimes I walk across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. A ferry carries weary travelers back to SF.

The Logical Error

Pop quiz!

Can you identify the logical error in the following sentence?

He stood stock still, arched his back in order to appear taller, puffed out his chest, pointed a finger at me, and with a tone of command, shouted, “Shut-up! Be still!”

Logical errors are more subtle than spelling or grammatical errors and cannot be detected by any word processor on the market today, because they require a higher level of reasoning.

If you believe that the logical error involves the subject standing stock still, then you are correct. Once the subject has been committed to standing stock still, he may think, but should remain otherwise motionless until the next sentence or better yet, the next paragraph. Arching his back after a comma is too soon. Why have the subject stand stock still in the first place? It stands out as a contradictory detail. I made that mistake in this story, slept on it, but then had an uneasy feeling that something was wrong and woke up this morning determined to fix it.

Additional problems in the story involve the matter-of-fact descriptions of the characters, such as "young black female," or "middle-aged man," descriptions that sound like they were made by an observant but unimaginative detective. I haven't gotten around to correcting those problems yet. The goal was to record an idea. Refinement can wait for later. I don't feel enough motivation to bother with much refinement, since I'm tossing these things onto the Net for nothing. But a logical error is a different matter. It sinks the ship. I want my vessels to float. They don't need to be pretty, but they should float. I can apply a paint job later.

The Can of Soup

I remember at the age of nineteen, when I worked as a stocker in a grocery store, a middle-aged man’s adult daughter (more likely his lover) dropped a can of soup on my head. She apologized with a smile that belied the apology, but the man just laughed aloud and said, “Good shot! Two points! Let’s see if you can hit him again!” Incensed, I insulted him. He insulted me and challenged me to a fight. I accepted his challenge, and he arranged to meet me after my shift to decide our differences through combat. I went about my work, resigned to meet my destiny in two more hours.

I should not have been, but I was surprised when the man thought better of fisticuffs with a stock boy. While I was busy bagging groceries at a check-out line, he complained to a police officer in the store. I tried to give my side of the story, but before I had uttered a dozen words, the officer transformed into battle mode. He arched his back in order to appear taller, puffed out his chest, pointed a finger at me, and with a tone of command, shouted, “Shut-up! Be still!” He didn’t say anything else, but waited. It would have been comical if I had not been involved.

A young black female cashier whispered, “Just do as he says. Don’t say nothing.” She was offering wisdom obtained from experience, and I did just as she instructed, making a mental note to thank her later, because wisdom is in short supply in this world. Nothing more was said, so I resumed bagging groceries. I do not remember what came after, whether the officer spoke with the man or not, but in any event, the officer left without another word to me.

The man, displeased at the lack of justice in the world, then complained to my manager, which resulted in a “write-up” being placed on my personnel file. My manager felt neutral about the whole affair, but was required by company policy to write about the incident, just as I am doing now, because I am rather proud of it.

When I got off work, I bicycled home many miles alone. Expecting ambush, I took shortcuts and routes where cars could not follow. My senses were keen for my enemy. I was ready for anything, but was left in peace to continue on with my existence as a stock boy. As for the “write-up,” nothing came of that either, because I quit soon after. It was not that incident that caused me to quit, but another one a few months later.

An assistant manager put his face right next to mine and called me a blind fool, while flecking droplets of saliva across my face, for not arranging an aisle in the precise manner that he wanted it arranged. He had not told me before how he wanted it arranged, and my mind-reading was not so well-developed at the age of nineteen. Many years after I quit, after I had graduated from college with the highest honors and was employed as a computer programmer earning twice his salary, I entered his store with a friend to purchase toothpaste. He followed me the whole time, watching every move I made in a state of paranoia, but did not approach me. As I checked out my small purchase, he berated the security guard for laziness. The security guard did not understand why he was being berated, but I did. The assistant manager was absolutely convinced that I had gotten away with shoplifting something. It was not my responsibility to disabuse him of that notion, because he had not asked me. I burst out laughing, loud enough for all of the cashiers to hear me. His face turned red, but he said nothing. He did not even turn to look in my direction, but stormed off to his office to review the hidden cameras' video footage.

A Peace Sign

...works better for me than an asterisk.

My blog's template is based upon 565, which I liked better than all the other freebies offered by Blogger. However, the number "565" was strewn all over the template. To everyone except the designer, "565" has no meaning, symbolic or otherwise, except as the number that arrives after 564 and before 566. Also, in the upper left corner, there was an equally random asterisk.

I spent my Sunday afternoon eliminating those annoyances and redesigning the template to be in accord with my design values. "565" is history. The asterisk was replaced by a peace sign. I also reorganized the topics with the goal of simplicity and conciseness. Some topics have been folded into broader topics. "Computers," for instance, encompasses internet browsers, windows, and troubleshooting computer hardware. I also reworded the blog description, which used to be a mouthful: "Everything you ever wanted to know about life, technology and the world around you (but were afraid to ask)," which was borrowed from the 1969 book, "Everything you ever wanted to know about Sex (but were afraid to ask)." "Everything..." was meant as a joke. My new description, "A little bit of this, that and the other," is more concise and better reflects the blog's nature, although it could fit most blogs. For this blog, a description is unnecessary, because the topic list serves as an adequate description all by itself. I may get rid of the description altogether next time I do housecleaning.

Modifying templates is not for the faint of heart. I feel comfortable with HTML, but was unacquainted with Blogger's template language. XML? I have no idea. Trial-and-error was my teacher. Once I got immersed, things became easier, particularly with the assistance of Color Cop and ACDSee. I've tested the blog on the Chrome and Firefox browser, but don't have IE, so I won't bother with that for the time being.

On the Use of Torture to Obtain Information

I just finished watching a documentary called "Torture: America's Dirty Business," created by Channel 4 (UK). The illegal detentions and torture conducted during the Bush/Cheney years were abhorrent.

War is one thing, but torture is another. It is true that war causes more suffering to more people than torture. War is often evil, as well. But in the case of torture, the moral dilemma is clear and striking. In war, some things are necessary, but there is no necessity to torture a prisoner. There are no belligerents in a secure prison. A prisoner is powerless to resist. He cannot harm anyone. During the period of a prisoner's confinement, the State is responsible for his care. It is wicked for the State to inflict pain and suffering upon a helpless prisoner. This is not the way to gain support and influence people. Those who cannot see why torture is evil have a difficulty in grasping the difference between right and wrong.

The powers of the West cannot sink to the level of their enemies. We have a higher standard of conduct than those that we battle. When our enemies commit evil, it marks them for what they are. There is a spiritual cost to committing evil, and the cost is very high indeed. "Winning at any cost" is a bad business, because so many costs are hidden and difficult to appreciate. Torture one person, and a hundred new enemies are made, and some of these enemies might have been our allies, or at the very least remained neutral, if we had kept to the path of righteousness. Without a strict code of ethics, the distinction between who is good and who is evil is diminished. The torturer loses the support of good people by committing torture. It is more valuable to retain the good opinion of good people than to seek short-term gain through underhanded means.

From a practical standpoint (if such a consideration is even worth discussing), torture is an ineffective method of obtaining information. A person undergoing torture will say anything at all that their captor wants to hear. But that fine point pales in comparison to the ethical question.

I am pleased that Obama has reaffirmed America's opposition to human rights abuses. Foreigners should be aware that the majority of Americans disapprove of the abuses that were allowed to occur under the Bush/Cheney Administration. Such abuses proved counter-productive to American interests in every way imaginable.

I Love Marmite

Derived from yeast and loaded with B vitamins, Marmite is a salty black spread that is popular in the UK. I became acquainted with Marmite through a similar product known as Vegemite, which is popular in Australia. Many Americans such as myself were introduced to Vegemite by the 1981 hit song "Down Under" by Men At Work, in which the singer mentions being given a Vegemite sandwich. I don't believe I ever actually tried Vegemite. I started researching it online and soon discovered a competing product named Marmite.

Marmite seems more nutritious than Vegemite, because Marmite has vitamin B-12, which is difficult to obtain in diet except through meat and dairy. I think the "Vege-" in "Vegemite" is meant to boast of its purer vegetable base. Marmite, despite claiming to be 100% vegetarian, may derive its B12 from animal sources, which is all right by me, as I'm an omnivore*. As for the New Zealand version of Marmite, I'm dissuaded by reports that it is sweeter and less flavorful. The more flavor, the better, as far as I'm concerned. Another selling point for me is that the UK version of Marmite is gluten-free. Gluten seems to cause my partner migraine headaches, so I try to avoid purchasing foods that contain it. About .5 to 1 per cent of the U.S. population suffer from a similar wheat allergy.

Both Marmite and Vegemite are difficult to obtain in the U.S., but it is not impossible. I made an order with some friends who were traveling to the city, and they bought three 120g jars of Marmite for me from one of the gourmet stores. Yum and double yum! For a quick snack, nothing's better than a slice of whole grain toast slathered with "black gold." Peanut butter is fine and dandy, but Marmite's the thing if you have a craving for savory food. I suggest buying as big a jar as possible, because the bigger jars have a cheaper per-gram price, and nothing's sadder than reaching the end of a jar of Marmite.

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* Marmite's source of B-12, which is not found in yeast extract, is undisclosed on the packaging. If I were a vegetarian, I wouldn't trust tags like "100% vegetarian."

How to Ace a Test

My recent exam was challenging, though I slew worse dragons in my time. The questions varied in difficulty. Some were easy, but others were ferocious, fire-breathing monsters. I had feared that being out of practice for so long would tell against me, but my old skills are undiminished. I scored in the ninety-ninth percentile. It was a pleasant surprise.

Over the years, I have developed an effective strategy concerning tests. I will share as much as I can here. I will begin with general recommendations and then proceed to specific studying and test-taking skills.

An interest in how things work--the how and why--helps enormously in every aspect of life. Without intellectual curiosity, one would be at a severe disadvantage regardless of occupation. Above all else, be humble. Not knowing something is no reason for shame, but represents an opportunity instead. I respect those who know something I do not, and like them even better if they are willing to share their knowledge with me. Those who are unwilling to share knowledge are like misers. They may lack a certain sense of social responsibility. I have known senior computer programmers who horded their secrets, out of concern for job security. I was a senior computer programmer as well, and I shared my secrets with anyone who asked, because my confidence was based upon my competence, not my knowledge. Knowledge is for sharing, not hording. But some view the workplace in a Darwinian light, rather than a team where cooperation can be of mutual benefit.

A student will face many tests in school and they will determine his success or failure. It is important to use an effective strategy for studying and for test-taking. Here is mine. Make of it what you will. I approach an important test with the utmost gravity, like an upcoming battle where I am the general. I accept implicitly that the test is fair and the professor, teacher or testing organization is fair. Usually, in my experience, they are. All accountability is mine alone. The buck stops here. The possibilities are life (pass) or death (fail). Either alternative lies within my grasp. If I feel like I cannot pass an exam, then I avoid it. A wise general chooses his battles. War is serious business. Never wage war unprepared. Defeat demoralizes. Success invigorates and leads to future success. When necessary, retreat. When prepared, engage.

The more time you have to prepare, the better. If the test-giver permits the option of postponing a test, and if you feel like you need more time to prepare, then take advantage of the offer. Never be in a hurry to get the test over with. Failing to make the necessary score is a tactical defeat, which is bad for the morale of your troops.

There is no getting around studying, which consists of memorization and practice. The higher the quality of your studying material, the better. In my case, I had an adequate study guide, not the best, but adequate. I focused upon my weak areas and crammed. Memorization is absolutely required in order to pass the vast majority of tests. I read important passages over and over, day after day, until I knew what they said without reading them, which is the final goal. If you can place your hand over a page, and without looking at it, recite the relevant facts, then and only then have you learned. If you examine the page and discover you missed a few details, focus upon those details until they, too, are mastered.

There is a balancing act involved with studying. Don't overdo it, or you may risk burnout. One reaches a certain point of saturation, after which one encounters the point of diminishing returns. The brain requires a break. Ideally, the break involves a catnap. In sleep, the mind processes the information which has been absorbed during the day. Irrelevant information is discarded, while important facts, like what you are studying, are assimilated. For this reason, you must attach grave importance to the study material, and possess a keen desire to have it inside your mind. The desire is half the battle.

I call the desire to succeed the will to power. "The will to power will overpower" can even be expressed as a formula: will^power (will / power). Some employ this philosophy to improper ends, such as domination over others. The proper end is competence and performance. The idea is to perform to the utmost, not to be a cutthroat. Right-wingers see things differently, with their enthusiasm for social Darwinism.

Give yourself moderate rewards for studying, such as video games or favorite foods, but avoid all inebriating substances. Strict sobriety is my rule, at least while preparing for a test. Exercise relieves stress in an effective manner. Walking is best to stimulate circulation, which feeds the brain, but I like to do push-ups as well.

Good nutrition (in particular, all of the B vitamins--I love Marmite) assists brain functioning. Eat well and often. Never allow hunger or any other discomfort to interfere with studying. In fact, nothing must interfere with studying, not even the social demands of friends. Prior to a test, one should enter monastic mode. Social engagements serve as a distraction. Your focus must remain upon crunching logic and memorizing vast amounts of data. Friends can wait. You will obtain better friends as a successful test-taker than as a failure. Besides, real friends will respect your dedication and discipline in making sacrifices in order to perform well. Those friends who do not understand the necessity are unworthy.

In the week prior to the test, all decisions should be evaluated in light of whether they will help or hinder test performance. Get adequate sleep. If the test begins at 8:00 AM, then in the week prior, wake up by 6 AM every morning, and perform timed practice tests at 8:00 AM. It is crucial to be fully awake, alert and in optimum physical condition the moment the test begins.

A moderate level of caffeine--say, a cup of tea--is all right, but too much will hinder test performance. If you are addicted to caffeine, you had better take your usual dose in order to avoid withdrawal symptoms.

Leave nothing to chance. If #2 pencils are required, bring five, already sharpened and ready to work. Research everything that will be necessary for the test: photo identification, money, or extra layers of clothing (if the test room is cold). Is there any danger of a traffic jam delaying your arrival to the test center? Give yourself plenty of time to arrive. If you get there too early, you can always remain in the car napping. That's right, napping. In the moments just prior to a test, napping is a better option than studying, because stamina is crucial, particularly for a lengthy test. If you spend too much time studying right before a test, your brain is likely to suffer fatigue, leading to careless mistakes. I have taken tests that last many hours, and stamina is important on such tests. Time pressure results in careless mistakes, if your energy levels are low.

The goal of a test-maker is to deceive the test-taker by placing choices on the test that will exploit a test-taker's uncertainty and gullibility. You must accept that the test-maker is a great liar. He is not your friend, but your enemy. He places choices on the test that seem appealing, but are false. You will defeat him for several reasons. First, your studying has prepared you. Second, you are confident, because you have studied, and you know that you know the answers. Third, you hold the test-maker in contempt. Why? Because it is very difficult, if not impossible to deceive you. You have practiced so many times on different practice tests that you have grown wise in the ways of the test-makers.

In cases where you know the answer, make your choice, and then double-check it to make sure that no other choice fits. Sometimes, there is a certain degree of correctness among two answers; one may seem to fit the context of a question, but the other really does fit in every way. After you have double-checked, move on. I am not in favor of double-checking at the end of a section, because the questions are cold by that time. I like to complete a question for good while it is warm and fresh in the mind. I don't like to go back and double-guess. That is a bad habit to get into, because first hunches are more often correct.

In cases where you do not know the answer, eliminate as many choices as possible, and then guess from among the remaining choices. If you can narrow down the selection to two choices, then you have a fifty per cent chance of choosing right. Here again, make your choice, double-check it, and move on.

Even where you feel uncertain, a vestige of factual information may exist somewhere in the memory--maybe from many years ago, maybe from a television show you saw when you were a child. In such a case, the brain selects the right answer immediately. You may feel doubt over whether you are right. But something in your gut seems to favor one answer. Go with it. Trust your instinct. Your memories may not be very strong, leading to doubt and confusion. You may feel tempted to second-guess yourself. Don't. Always favor your initial hunch unless you have a powerful reason to believe it was mistaken. You may smell a trap placed there by the test-maker. One of the choices may sound similar to something you have heard or seen before, but upon reflection, you understand it is actually quite different. In that case, avoid it.

Beware of wasting time, especially on the math questions. Take shortcuts. Rather than working out a problem in its entirety, I often guesstimate the correct answer. I may say, "oh, that should result in an amount of about so-and-so." Then I survey the choices. If there is a choice that approximates my estimation, and if the other choices are far from it, then there is no need for me to do anymore work. I make my choice and move on. Much time and energy can be saved this way. Conserve your resources for the really difficult problems, where the choices are too close to permit estimation. Work smarter, not harder. In this way, you are at less risk of running out of time.

Always answer every question. Leave nothing blank. Don't be demoralized by difficult questions, because it is likely that other people will have difficulty with them as well. You do not need to make a perfect score. You only have to do better than a certain percentage of the others. My perfectionist tendency led me to conclude that I had bombed the exam, because some of the questions were extremely challenging. Some of the material had not been covered at all in my study guide. On some questions, I was guessing without the benefit of eliminating any of the answers. Even so, I scored very high, because scores are computed relative to others, not relative to perfection.

It is good to have adrenaline flowing during a test. Some people complain of test anxiety. You should want to have anxiety. Don't fight it. Own it. You should be nervous. If you aren't, then you may not be viewing the test with sufficient respect and seriousness. Nervousness is always good, when engaging in high intensity intellectual competition. Serenity is for later, when you pass the test with flying colors. Remember: it is war. You must prevail.

Adrenaline helps with speed, accuracy, alertness, and general energy levels. However, adrenaline brings with it certain disadvantages. A calmer state is better for tackling complicated math problems. If you have learned to be efficient at test-taking, you will conserve time and energy for the tough problems and breeze past the easy ones. You must be able to slow down, think things through, and be calm and patient with the more difficult problems. Use the extra energy wisely. Don't allow all the energy to lead you into hasty and incorrect decisions.

Sometimes it is possible to take breaks during a long exam. During the test, once the brain is primed and the adrenaline is flowing, my advice is to just go straight through with a minimum of breaks. There is a real danger of fatigue from adrenaline, if the test-taking is prolonged by frequent interruptions. A break should be taken only to use the bathroom or get water or caffeine.

Those are some of the habits I have picked up over the years that have proven beneficial. The main thing is to be focused upon success. Different people may have different opinions about what works for them. But all have one thing in common, a focus upon the final result. Smaller details, such as recreation, relaxation, or socialization, must be held subservient to the overriding imperative, to do well at school.

I have not known many people to succeed who are not willing to study. But studying should not be unpleasant. If it is, then something is wrong. Studying is most efficient if it is approached with a positive attitude. Approach it as a game, a challenge, a contest. Let it be less like work and more like play.

Now I will not argue with anyone over the observation that memorization is less important than creativity, ethics, empathy, and other important traits. But memorization remains important. The ability to absorb vast amounts of facts assists in every profession under the sun. Even a prostitute will benefit from a good memory. Making good decisions requires factual information. Without facts, people rely upon prejudice and whim and are often wrong. Many mental abilities can be cultivated and enhanced through exercise, and studying is excellent exercise. Without exercise, the intellectual faculties decay. The brain fossilizes, which is a sad fate for a human being.

The anxiety and nervousness generated by a test are detrimental and unpleasant feelings, but this is intended. A test measures how well you cope with such negative feelings, giving an indication of how well you will perform when you assume the heavy responsibilities of a real job. School is a cakewalk compared to the work environment, where millions of dollars or even a human life may be at stake. A test sorts out who can cope best with such stress. Tests may seem unfair, because they are unpleasant, but what is a fair measurement of student competence? No better system has been devised to my knowledge. Tests are fair enough, as long as everyone is given a test of similar complexity and permitted adequate time and study materials to prepare.

Huffington Post

Time to add a link to one of my favorite alternative media sites.

Which If the Following...

I've been taking practice tests all week. In the "Reading Comprehension" section, a brief article on aromatherapy was given, followed by several questions to test reading comprehension, such as this lovely little jewel:

"Which if the following is a likely reason why some people choose aromatherapy as a type of treatment?"

If, indeed. If only test-takers could grade test-makers. And remember: 60 divided by 12 is 50%. And there are a thousand centimeters in a meter. I've been learning all kinds of wonderful things.

Vitamins

For a long time I have been in favor of vitamins, because I have imagined that they cause an increase in energy levels. But I want a moderate dose, not a mega-dose. My geology professor in college used to chew a tablet with 1500% the U.S. RDA of Vitamin C every day in order to bolster his immune system, until his dentist observed that the enamel of his molars was wearing away at an unanticipated rate for his age. In the case of vitamin A, too much of it is known to be toxic. Would you like to experience problems urinating? Too much calcium causes kidney stones. Too much iron causes problems as well, and the list goes on and on. For now, I purchase kids' vitamins, because their lower dosages offer less risk of toxicity. Besides, kids' vitamins taste better. Each morning, I take a chewable lion, tiger, bear, or elephant, a capsule of fish oil with omega-3 fatty acids, and prepare a quick breakfast of oatmeal.

Sometimes I forget to take my vitamin, and I don't notice any difference in the way I feel. Perhaps the vitamin fad is a bunch of nonsense after all. It may even be a harmful fad. Are we poisoning ourselves with toxic doses of vitamins and minerals? A great experiment has been unleashed upon an unsuspecting society by hucksters looking to make a profit.

Misprints

While grading a self-test today, I discovered the following errors in the answers.

1. Express 60/12 as a percentage.

(A) 0.5%
(B) 5%
(C) 50%
(D) 500%

The answer key said (C).

2. How many centimeters are in 56 meters?

(A) 56
(B) 560
(C) 5,600
(D) 56,000

The answer key said (D).

I am not sure what sort of boneheads are working as proofreaders at the publishing company these days, but factual information is difficult to come by even in mainstream newspapers, TV shows and magazines. A recent news article in "The Week" claimed that 60% of Americans feel like Sarah Palin is misrepresented by the media. That sounded odd, and I wondered whether it might be so until I saw the byline: Fox News.

Freedom Is...

Freedom is when you can tell Mrs. Grundy to go fly a kite.

I believe that's a quote from R.A. Heinlein, from the Notebooks of Lazarus Long.

The African

I was checking out at Trader Joe's today, when I saw the cashier had left an open box of cookies for customers. I seldom pass up freebies. They were black chocolate cookies in the shape of stars, encrusted with tiny white sugar balls and simply delicious.

The cashier was a big black man with an accent that I couldn't place--either Carribean or African. He was most pleasant, the kind of person you would want to get to know better. After I paid for my groceries, I praised the cookies and asked how much they were. He said he'd find out. They were only $4 for a pound, so I bought a box, even though I don't usually make impulse purchases. As he rang me up, he spoke in a manner that was like a song. "There will be stars in your future, stars in your life tonight..." I interpreted that as a kind of mystic blessing. It was worth $4 just to hear his rich and melodious voice again. I suspect he could sell just about anything to anyone. I wonder whether there was a hidden joke--or even a hidden spell--in the particular choice of product.

The cookies are great. I'm having a second helping now. I love Trader Joe's. Always a good time. Always good prices and good food.

List of Gay Films

Wikipedia offers a great big list of gay-themed films here.

I find the list useful when searching for something new to watch, although I've begun to prefer shows that retain the same cast of characters. Recommended TV shows are Noah's Arc, Beautiful People, Queer as Folk (British and American version), Little Britain, Little Britain USA, and the first two seasons of Torchwood (the show went south in the third season, R.I.P.) Also worth a try is anything with Kathy Griffin and the Graham Norton Show. Peep Show occasionally works a gay theme into the plot as well, although none of the characters are gay.

Fiscal Conservatism Awakens

When the wars began, the Wall Street Journal rolled over in its sleep. Hundreds of billions of dollars flew away. The final cost we may never know. When Obama tried to pass health care reform, the Wall Street Journal transformed overnight into an advocate of fiscal conservatism. The idea of poor people receiving medical care from the government must be quite alarming to their constituency.

I'm Still Amazed

In 1976, California's sodomy law was repealed. Imagine. It used to be illegal for two males to be together. It was considered a prerogative of law enforcement to interpose itself in the bedroom of two consenting adults.

By the present time, 2009, the electorate has progressed so far as to be willing to debate the idea of enshrining gay marriage into law. I never expected such a possibility to arise. Even though gay marriage has suffered many defeats at the voting booth, the margin of defeat in many cases is not all that bad.

A long road has been traveled in a political and ideological sense. I can remember when newspapers printed lies about us with impunity. I used to wonder how journalists and newspaper editors could be so ignorant after graduating from college. Apparently they were all just afraid to write anything different from what had been written before. Fear of change seems to be universal. Demonstrating that change is not always bad--that's half the battle. I think the visibility of gay people was essential in overcoming prejudices.

It is reassuring to observe so many steps made in the direction of understanding. Society remains concerned with ethics and efficiency. No human lives are considered insignificant. Society expects each member to perform to their maximum potential and shows an interest in integrating each member to the best of his or her abilities. This is a better scenario than gay males growing up assuming that they are already social rejects, candidates for drug addiction, crime, prostitution or suicide. Rather than such unpleasant outcomes, a brighter future is suggested. Most of the gay men I have known have had professional careers and many have had monogamous partners. I would call this a step in the right direction, toward stability and happiness.

For society as a whole, increased overall efficiency is the significance of gay rights. Instead of a certain percentage of individuals growing up thinking that they are worthless or inferior, they can grow up with a better semblance of normality. Such a development serves to turn back the hands of the Doomsday Clock.

A Tale of Two Clinics

In my town, there were once two clinics. One was devoted to counseling poor pregnant women in the hopes that they put their offspring up for adoption instead of having an abortion. It is in a nice section of town in a quaint old house and is staffed by three or four counselors.

Another clinic was devoted to distributing medicine and medical advice to people infected with the HIV virus. It was located on a remote stretch of highway in a trailer and served by one nurse.

Guess which one shut down due to lack of funding?

The AIDS clinic was really a life-saver. I know, because I used to drive an AIDS patient to the clinic to pick up his meds. It was ill-funded even while operational. Sometimes the meds were unavailable due to lack of supply. The nurse on staff (there was only one nurse) had no recourse. Many HIV patients go on unscheduled vacations from their medicine due to lack of funding. All the price breaks announced by Big Pharma are only for the benefit of people in Africa, not for Americans.

By the way, the building that once housed the AIDS clinic has been transformed into a headquarters for the local Republican party.

My Favorite Living Celebrity

There is at least one living celebrity that I would like to know, assuming I had a magic wish granted to me by a genii: Ian McKellen, the actor who played Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings. I don't really know much about the Shakespearean actor, other than he is one of the few out gay men in Hollywood and has had a great career. That he played Macbeth implies depth and profundity, which no doubt came in useful during his LOTR gig.

Gandalf is one of my favorite characters of all time. I can't but think of him as a role model for what I would like to become, if I could. The magic helps, naturally, but he is always saying wise things that speak to the heart.

Tolkien was a great writer. I don't know why literary critics put him down, but perhaps it is because they come from an academic environment, where the analytical faculties are favored to the exclusion of all else. They judge literature using left-brain criteria. Such critics miss the point of art. They would be better off as proofreaders. Being a good critic means knowing the human animal--what he is and what he can be. There must be a bias favoring writers that really get it, whether or not their prose conforms in every respect to established conventions. An analyst concerns himself with details, but the details of the parts are inferior to the sum of the whole. Critics need to get off their high horse once in a while. Just because something is wildly popular does not make it bad.

Water on the Moon

This is the best news I've read all year. Scientists have discovered water on the Moon. The Moon is better equipped to support life than it at first appeared.

If we ruin this planet, a handful of us may find a second chance on a smaller satellite orbiting around the Sun. There may be enough water to sustain a small village.

Why Blog?

The blog receives few comments, which sometimes concerns me. Does my writing do me any credit? Am I making any sense at all? Such doubts may occur to other bloggers as well. But if a blog only receives ten hits per day, with most of these being click-and-go, then one can't expect much feedback.

Why should someone bother reading an unpublished amateur, when there are best-selling luminaries online, offering their thoughts in many cases for free? I don't know. If the quest for readership were all that mattered, then no one would bother blogging. There are heavy hitters servicing just about every conceivable niche. When I visit Border's, I'm overwhelmed by the many different books and writers that I've never even heard of before. I haven't enough remaining time in my life to read all the books, even if the inventory never changed. This is the golden age of literature. Books are plentiful, cheap, well-constructed, proofread until nearly perfect, and can even be ordered online without ever leaving one's home.

I view my blog as a public journal for recording my thoughts, ideas and opinions. It is safer than a word processor, because if my computer ever dies, the articles remain secure in the cloud. In my day, I have seen many a hard drive crash and be irrecoverable. Besides, my thoughts may be useful or at least amusing to others. Who am I to assume otherwise? In the case of a certain cult classic game, there are obvious reasons for players to read igor's little insights. I can't imagine playing that game without my trusty regen.bat, which protects against sudden death.

The blog is more for me than anyone else. I like reading my own material, because I tend to agree with myself. No big surprise there. My blog is my favorite blog of all. I'd rather write on it or read it than watch my favorite show. Since February, the blog has really cut into my television watching. I have a massive backlog of shows I have been meaning to watch. This is the golden age of television, as well, although not television news.

Writing is both therapeutic and an effective exercise of the mental faculties, which slide toward decay in a world of canned entertainment. Whenever someone feels troubled over an issue, they should write about it. Reviewing one's own writing can be instructive, like looking into a mirror. I am aware of at least some of my faults, if not all. I also see some good qualities, which is why I continue.

However, when writing, exercise caution concerning negative events or emotions. For instance, many political writers indulge their spleen to excess. Their hatred is tribal in nature and does not seem grounded in reality. For instance, Limbaugh and Coulter are forever going on about liberals. They do not know what they are talking about. Theirs is non-productive writing. Perhaps they make a great deal of money through their writing. Money is not as important as ethics. I would not trade places with either of them for all the money in the world.

Be careful with the digging up of old bones, such as conflicts, infatuations, or traumas of the past. Sometimes it is best to leave old bones undisturbed in their grave, particularly if one has moved on. By thinking about a subject, one gives it energy. Monsters can rise from their slumber to haunt us once again. Deny them your power. Rather than brood, focus instead upon the present.

However, some of us are reflective by nature and seem to have no choice but to analyze events in the past in the hopes of arriving at a better understanding. There may be instances when one chooses to travel into subterranean caverns in search of self-knowledge. It is a dangerous journey, with fell creatures lurking in the shadows. Here there be dragons. But such an expedition can prove cathartic. Old memories can serve as an instruction, maybe even a useful one, for myself and others. I will only be around for so long. After I am gone from this earth, the only record I leave behind may be stories. They needed to be birthed. I carried them to term and placed them in a nest somewhere out in the world. Then I returned to the sea.

By writing a story, I transcend it. The beast is dissected, with every part labeled. It is pinned down, framed and hung upon a wall. Thereafter, its power over me diminishes. If this is the attitude that a writer takes, then excavations of old bones can be constructive rather than destructive.

Avoid alcohol, the bane of all writers, because in the long run it inspires melancholy thoughts. For an inhibited, reserved writer, booze may seem like just the thing. A friend of mind refers to it as mental lubrication. I have not found it to be helpful at all. As for marijuana, it relaxes the analytical faculties, reducing the quality of prose. Reading, in particular, becomes far more challenging. I doubt marijuana would be of much use to a writer, unless he suffers from writer's block. If therapy is the main goal, rather than prose quality, then marijuana may be of benefit.

For my part, I prefer sobriety when writing or reading. The only drug that I have found useful for intellectual work of any kind is caffeine in the form of coffee, chocolate, or tea. Some writers swear by nicotine, which is supposed to improve concentration, although I have never observed any such benefit. However, if nicotine seems beneficial, then I would suggest absorbing it through a patch, rather than smoking, or else using a vaporizer on unprocessed, cured tobacco. The tobacco in most cigarettes has harmful additives, and combustion renders tobacco more carcinogenic. The goal would be to maximize the benefit and minimize the harm. However, you could easily become addicted to nicotine, which is one of the most addictive substances known to man. This is the main reason that I avoid it.

Sharing one's thoughts with others is not a bad idea, because there is a slim possibility that your output may be of benefit to others. However, I must add with reluctance a warning. On today's Internet, everything is traceable, archives are kept forever, lawsuits are becoming more common, and government oversight of private power is insufficient. A private individual of modest means should consider the many benefits of remaining as anonymous as possible. Of course, there is no such thing as total anonymity, but there is such a thing as "good enough" anonymity. Even at the cost of clarity, it may be prudent to refrain from mentioning keywords such as names and places, at least until such things are rendered irrelevant by the inexorable march of time. There are exceptions, such as a wealthy writer with a lawyer on retainer. It is all right to be the knight in shining armor, if you can afford the suit and horse. Otherwise, remain in the forest among the trees, dressed in green.