human-howTo

cynicism

2006-07-26T00:41:00.000-04:00

typically a cover for ignorance, or the lack of objectivity. Often people who wish they were cool will adopt the cynical point of view in a group discussion in an attempt to take the position of authority. Since it is always easier to tear down an existing idea than to provide a new one.

Refinement

2006-07-25T11:03:00.000-04:00

Often mistaken for progress... or part of the path towards perfection. Processes, raw materials, opinions, medicines, theories, strategies, (the list goes on)... These are all victims of 'refinement'. In rare cases it is the removal of unnecessary components.

However, most often it is the stripping away of "non-essential" components by without a full understanding of the intricate relationships between various components.

Examples include: modern vitamins, pop music, public education.

MySpace

2006-03-26T22:38:00.000-05:00

A full frontal assault on web-design, web-usability and human decency. How can THIS be one of the most popular destinations on the Net.

modern medicine

2006-03-25T10:41:00.000-05:00

While it has saved many people, the process of some medical treatments seems to be "damage the host until the disease can no longer survive, then hope you can revive the host". At the very least it attempts to replace, rather than augment the natural healing process. The other side is a bunch of hippy pill-poppers, that see conspiracies everywhere.

Medicine is RIPE for a revolution. Vive La... vive la... sick people

verbs

2006-03-21T14:56:00.000-05:00

"Dude, did you BlueCoconut that Metallica yet?"

In this modern era there are a new class of nouns. Products that DO something. Google being the most famous. It is perfectly valid to use a NOUN as a VERB when both parties share an understanding of what the product does. For historical perspective see Skateboard and/or blender

banks

2006-03-18T17:35:00.000-05:00

a place where you keep your money so it is harder to spend.

children's programming

2006-03-18T17:20:00.000-05:00

usually falls into 2 categories.

people with an agenda and a desire to serve the deep future . Often misguided but occasionally inspired. This is the category that creates great and sometimes creepy programming.
Examples: sesame street, Blue's clues, Lazy town

people who think kids are like stupid adults and want to serve inattentive parents by WoWing children into submissiveness and fostering (festering) the 'consumer hunger' in children far earlier than they should be exposed to it. Often sacharine sweet, seemingly inoffensive and 'bubbly and colorful'
Examples: most of Disney and Nickelodeon's television programming.

coffee

2006-03-18T11:32:00.000-05:00

A major diuretic (meaning it cause your body to expel water), coffee should not be made "too strong", the same effect can be attained with twice the cups of regular strength coffee and you don't have to sip it through your teeth to keep the grounds out.

Coffee is usually too hot to drink.

High-octane fuel

2006-02-23T02:57:00.000-05:00

High-octane fuel (race gas) is NOT more flammable than regular gas... it is exactly the opposite. In a high performance engine, you don't want the fuel igniting too EARLY, so you use high-octane fuel and a REALLY BIG SPARK AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME to get the most power from the explosion.

water

2006-02-23T02:51:00.000-05:00

The fact that humans exist on Earth is NOT what makes it special. What makes Earth special is that Water exists in all 3 states: solid, liquid and gas.

Though outside of cooling a beverage, I can't think of why having water ice is so darn important. (see "snow")

Memories

2006-02-23T02:49:00.000-05:00

Recent scientific evidence proves that memories are NOT read-only, every time you 'remember' them you change them. Memories also use lossy compression (probably 'medium quality jpeg')

Sleep

2006-02-23T02:46:00.000-05:00

Sleep is necessary, it is when you body can focus on repairing and maintaining your body. It is also the time when your experiences are compressed into memories. Categorized, grouped, related to other similar memories.

Thinking

2006-02-23T02:39:00.000-05:00

Thinking is something to do when there aren't any "actions" that need to be done.

Smell

2006-02-23T02:34:00.000-05:00

Smell is actually "taste", when you "smell" something it means that you have inhaled tiny 'bits' of something. These 'bits' bounce off your nose hair, and land on the moistened surface of your sinus where they dissolve and chemoreceptors are able to judge the contents of the material. Your body is then left with the material to expel or metabolize (depending on the size/makeup of the particulate). There is a good chance that whatever you smell ends up in your blood stream.

Language

2006-02-23T02:22:00.000-05:00

[specifically verbal] is often confused with "communicating" which is nearly impossible. Language is a process whereby thoughts (term used loosely) are converted to exhalations over two thin and flapping membranes (vocal chords). The pitch created by the vibrations are shaped by the throat, tongue and 2 more flapping membranes (lips) and are then released into the immediate environment.

These modified vibrations will occasionally enter the ear canal of a nearby person where they are focused onto a tiny membrane (which doesn't quite "flap"). These vibrations are then sent to the brain where they are translated once again into thoughts.

The overhead and multiple translations so muddles the initial "thought" that [verbal] language is almost never used for important thoughts. However it is excellent for starting fights(see 'fighting' below).

veneration of the elderly

2006-02-19T12:46:00.000-05:00

older people often complain that nobody gives them any respect anymore. Well, it used to say something about you that you had lived that long. Now they'll let anyone get old.

Extra sensory perception

2006-02-17T01:09:00.000-05:00

reading minds is not rocket science, our schemes and motives are rarely difficult to guess.

anger

2006-02-17T01:06:00.000-05:00

most anger is misdirected, and thus creates more injustice and more anger

acrobatics

2006-02-17T01:03:00.000-05:00

The most noble and spiritual thing you can do with your body is MOVE IT

Philanthropy

2006-02-17T01:01:00.000-05:00

one cannot be a philanthropist without any money

Corruption

2006-02-17T00:58:00.000-05:00

"absolute power corrupts absolutely".

That doesn't mean we have to keep giving the power to the corrupt.

celebrity

2006-02-17T00:49:00.000-05:00

'celebrity' is in the eye of the 'adoring' public, the weight of which crushes more people than it elevates. Be cautious who you idealize.

worry

2006-02-17T00:47:00.000-05:00

worrying does not keep planes in the air.

electric cars

2006-02-17T00:44:00.000-05:00

electric cars are not any more environmentally friendly than internal combustion cars, and won't be until we stop burning coal to generate electricity.

recycling

2006-02-17T00:42:00.000-05:00

most of the material we seperate as "recyclable" ends up in land fills because there isn't a market for post-consumer recycled material.

except aluminum

lighting

2006-02-17T00:40:00.000-05:00

incandescent lighting revolutionized the way humans live. So did the plague, it is time to upgrade your bulbs to flourescent.

blenders

2006-02-17T00:38:00.000-05:00

Blenders are so hard to clean they aren't worth using. It is far better to go to the smoothie shop and pay the $6.50

fruit

2006-02-17T00:34:00.000-05:00

Fruits are the bribery to get animals to assist in seed dispersal.
if you don't plant a couple fruits trees once in a while, you aren't keeping up your end of the bargain.

law

2006-02-16T21:14:00.000-05:00

law is not a sufficient substitute for morality.

lies

2006-02-15T23:44:00.000-05:00

The lie is the primary building block of culture. Clothing, language and even politness are all (quite literally) veils to allow complex (mutually beneficial) social structures that wouldn't survive the raw apetites of human animals.

Travel

2006-02-15T23:42:00.000-05:00

You can't go far enough to get away from yourself.

Vacations

2006-02-15T23:35:00.000-05:00

Vacations should be either
(a) long enough to forget your normal routine .
- or -
(b) short enough that you don't wste any of it being BORED

if at all possible, one should always schedule a day or two off, immediately upon returning from a vacation.

teaching

2006-02-14T22:57:00.000-05:00

it is not true that "those who cannot DO, teach" but it is equally true that NOT everyone who teaches can DO.

Whenever one endevours to "teach", regardless of the intended subject, the primary lesson the student learns is that of integrity.

or, regrettably, the lack of it.

snow

2006-02-12T14:03:00.000-05:00

No 2 snowflakes are alike but they are all equally crappy.
snow is white dirt.
if snow has ANY redeeming qualities they are only expressed at ski resorts and in postcards.

perspective

2006-02-11T21:04:00.000-05:00

Everyone has a perspective, ...

However, when the show is on the main stage and your seat is behind a column you shouldn't be afraid to ask others for clarity.

Having a "perspective" is not the same as having an "opinion". Opinions can be subjective, poorly thought out, and are subject to human foibles... Perspectives 'just are'.

News

2006-02-11T20:19:00.000-05:00

there is nothing "new" about the news.

shortcuts

2006-02-11T13:16:00.000-05:00

There are no shortcuts. If another path is legitimately shorter then it is "the right way", not a shortcut. If a way is shorter than "the right way" then there are necessarily compromises (often hidden). If you can accept those compromises then you have redefined your goals and again you have chosen "the right way" not a "shortcut".

microwaves

2006-02-11T13:08:00.000-05:00

microwaves don't cook food, they heat the water that is inside food, thus making it hot.
Heat does not cook food, the combination of HEAT and TIME cooks food

Microwaves are exceedingly good at what they do, and are a fantastic addition to modern life.

fighting

2006-02-11T13:02:00.000-05:00

many people believe that fighting serves no purpose. In fact, fighting serves EXACTLY the purpose of the two participants. Everybody gets hurt.

While it is possible to "win" a fight, it is exceedingly rare. Winning requires that each participant be almost identically capable of inflicting damage, and that each one possesses an honest belief that the fight is a good idea.

Otherwise it is simply 'somebody getting beat up'.

hair

2006-02-10T23:24:00.000-05:00

hair has a purpose, but nobody knows what that purpose is.

invention

2006-02-10T23:23:00.000-05:00

clue: if you didn't have to invent a NAME for it, then you didn't really invent it.

tardiness

2006-02-10T23:21:00.000-05:00

Being EARLY is just as bad as being LATE, only less annoying to the person you are meeting.

Natural

2006-02-10T23:14:00.000-05:00

human being are a part of "nature", just like cheetas, clouds, and sleep. Nothing human beings DO can be considered anything other than "natural". This includes killing, infidelity, societal stratification, pollution, deception, hording, self-destruction, and wasting of natural resources. Even politics!

None of which are unique to the human animal.

paper

2006-02-10T23:12:00.000-05:00

paper used to be what the internet is now.

paper is over. Saying that a digital display "isn't quite the same as paper" doesn't make the trees any less dead. Get over yourself and buy a better display.

commercials

2006-02-10T23:08:00.000-05:00

Americans are CONSUMERS, which means we buy stuff. Without commercials how would we know what to buy. Content creators insist that they must punish us with commercials when most people prefer commercial to art to the point of going to movies (or watching tv, or videos) and treating them as commercials. Buying whatever crappy sunglasses or tires happens to be featured.

even in the blogosphere... as evident in the moleskine trend...

copyright

2006-02-10T16:53:00.000-05:00

the purpose of copyright is to reward AND FOSTER innovation. NOT to promote "squatting". If you had a good idea... you ought to be able to come up with another.

copy "right"....

not "copy wrong"

in other times and places we call it standing on the shoulders of giants. Be a giant and let your IP go... if it was ever truly yours it will come back

Science

2006-02-10T16:42:00.000-05:00

Science is not "technology". Science does not validate good ideas, it a process by which bad ideas are discarded.

Science in no way negates the existence of a God...

children

2006-02-10T16:38:00.000-05:00

children are NOT little grown-ups. They are not "people with limited abilities". They are not "apprentice adults". They are fully formed beings that are just plain different.

Children have a deep understanding of the Human Condition; as equally valid as any adult. They don't need adults to help them become Human beings (they already are). They need adults to show them how to be Societal beings.

discipline

2006-02-10T16:37:00.000-05:00

discipline is over-rated, except when it is necesary.

in parenting: discipline is not the with-holding of love, it is the APPLICATION of love.

cupcakes

2006-02-10T16:36:00.000-05:00

you cannot "borrow" a cupcake.

music

2006-02-10T03:02:00.000-05:00

Music is the practice is artistically creating sounds to convey meaning (with varying degrees of abstraction)

Music is not a job.

war

2006-02-10T02:56:00.000-05:00

war is the abstraction of inherent human violence into something that can be scheduled so as not to interfere with rich people's social events.

War is only necesary when Football and wrestling no longer provide adequate distraction.

War has always existed, and can't be abolished. But soon giant robots will handle all the actual fighting.

television

2006-02-10T02:51:00.000-05:00

television doesn't make people stupid, but a lot of stupid people make television.

watching public television doesn't make you smart, but it might make you a communist.

stealing cable is only bad if you don't give it back when you're done.

technology

2006-02-10T02:47:00.000-05:00

technology is NOT about new-fangled gadgets. A Treo650 is no more "technological" than a loom, or an atl-atl. Technology is the use and modification of materials to facilitate some process.

College

2006-02-10T02:43:00.000-05:00

The purpose of college is to see if you can commit to something in the face of distractions over an extended period. That is why employers pay more to people with a degree. Not becuase of what they learned (or didn't learn)

learning

2006-02-10T02:39:00.000-05:00

the best way to learn something is to TEACH... but that doesn't mean you should TEACH what you don't know.

money

2006-02-10T02:31:00.000-05:00

contrary to popular opinion, money DOES NOT create financial stability... For every problem it solves it creates 2. That doesn't mean that money is the "root" of all evil, but it is one of the "branches".

however if you like "stuff" then you will probably need money

violence

2006-02-10T02:28:00.000-05:00

while violence is unpleasant, it is hardly avoidable during the course of one's life span. Better to try to limit it than to avoid it.

love

2006-02-10T02:21:00.000-05:00

nobody knows what love is... but most people THINK it is when two junior-high, rich kids commit suicide because their folks didn't want them hanging out. (Romeo & Juliette)

End of the world

2006-02-10T02:17:00.000-05:00

At the dawn of man, the 2nd idea communicated via complex vocalizations (the same day language was invented) was an alarmist Armageddon prophecy. The 1st was a pick-up line.

guns

2006-02-10T02:11:00.000-05:00

guns don't kill people, ideas kill people... but guns do most of the grunt work

Lending money

2006-02-10T02:07:00.000-05:00

Loan money only when you don't mind NOT getting it back,

Doing God's work

2006-02-10T02:05:00.000-05:00

While you may very well NEED God... God doesn't NEED you. So if you find that someone claiming to speak for God (or claiming to BE God) is issuing commands that only YOU can fulfill. It is time to seek the aid of a professional psychologist (preferably at a secure institution).