What Not to Do for Love

August 29, 2018

It’s Back-to-School Time. That means it’s Potential Dating Time, with all the pitfalls that entails. Here’s some good advice that I didn’t think of, but am passing on.

In Faking It, Jennifer Crusie gives an excellent synopsis of why hiding your light under a bushel in order to catch or keep a guy is a very bad idea.

A middle-school girl asks her uncle if she should give up softball, which she likes and is good at, in order to attract the boy she likes. Her friend has warned her that boys feel threatened by girls being better at something than they are.

Her uncle says that boys will come and go, but softball is a big part of her, and will be forever. He gives her some tips on how to make inroads with the guy; but he says she should never give up softball just to make a guy feel better. If a guy were to ask her to do that, he’d be a loser. (She keeps up with softball, and the kid likes her just fine.)

In short: Find a guy who respects you and your abilities. You don’t need a guy who is scared off by what you can do.

OK, this part is from me: You also don’t need a guy who thinks that what you can do doesn’t matter (eg. “I’m in engineering; she’s just an English major.”). Anybody who refers to you as “just” anything should be kicked to the curb without further ado.

The REAL Deadly Sins

August 29, 2018

There’s a nice list of deadly sins in Christian tradition: Envy, Gluttony, Avarice, Lust, Sloth, Pride and Wrath.

I am not personally opposed to gluttony and sloth, but I suppose the listers meant that, taken to extremes, they can do some serious damage to body and soul.

If I were listing deadly sins, Illogic and Inefficiency would pretty much be at the top of the list. Illogic leads to racism, sexism, religious persecution, Mean-Girl cliques, bullying, and all kinds of other ills.

Inefficiency is just downright annoying.

You Do What You Can

August 27, 2018

Well, it’s that dangerous time of year—the “Improve the Nest” time. In my head I’m ripping up carpet and replacing it with wood floors, and painting some of the rooms. 

In reality I settled for oiling the wooden handles of my kitchen knives. Much less work.

Beating those Sugar Cravings

July 18, 2018

You know that a study indicated that sugar was more addictive than cocaine, right?

Well, the solution may be as simple as: Garlic.

I noticed that when I make my garlic bread with fresh garlic, I stop craving sugar.

I could get a multi-million-dollar government grant to study the issue; or somebody else could try it and get back to me on whether it works for them.

Promoting World Peace Through Tourism

July 24, 2018

Our computer keeps getting pictures sent to us by Google. They are beautiful views of countries that I’ve never even considered as being scenic, because they made the news for having wars—places like Croatia, for example.

What a great way to introduce people to how much beauty there is in the world! What a great way to promote tourism.

Maybe world leaders will say to themselves, “Huh, if we stop fighting over ideological differences, and stop destroying the country, we can get tourism dollars. Let’s think about that.”

If that’s Google’s strategy, I’m all for it.

The Money You Save Goes for Toner

August 12, 2018

I keep getting e-mails from stores saying, “Print this e-mail for 30% off.” And some of them are 3 pages, and with full-color photos!

I only print the page with the bar code, and only in black; but if people just hit the print button without paying attention, that could add up to some serious toner use! I wonder if the ad makers have stock in toner companies.

Biblical Interpretation

August 11, 2018

This week’s religion column in the Post-Dispatch was by a pastor who said that the reason people asked Jesus to leave town after He rid a man of demons was that they would rather have looked at the guy’s demons than face the fact that they weren’t perfect themselves.

I always thought that it was because He sent the demons into the pigs, which then rushed over the cliff and drowned; and the townspeople were afraid that if He stuck around, they’d go broke!

Let's ID the Real Problem

August 6, 2018

According to the Post Dispatch, Missouri will probably receive yet another extension on developing a driver’s license that will comply with the Federal REAL ID act.

How much developing do they need to do? Other states have already developed driver’s licenses that are compliant. Are we reinventing the wheel?

If I were the Feds I might say, “Time’s up. Come up with something or else.”

But they probably won’t. And that’s probably a good thing.

But I wish we didn’t even have to have the discussion.

The Heat of the Moment

August 3, 2018

As schools start practicing for their sports seasons, I was thinking:

The NFL has a rule that says adult, professional athletes can’t play the Superbowl in cold conditions.

Yet, as far as I know, there’s no regulation protecting our student athletes from practicing or playing in dangerously hot conditions, or in un-air-conditioned gyms during heat waves.

Now that we’ve stopped telling athletes to “tough it out” after they get concussions, maybe we can turn our attention to eliminating heat-related illnesses and deaths.

Remember, coaches and parents, before you tell your kids to tough it out:

They’ll be choosing your nursing home someday.