A preemptive thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. This picture is from 4 years ago, when I was forced into the role of superhero and shenanigans. Other than not hitting buildings while you’re flying, it’s very important to hydrate.
Why Not?
Category Archives: Humor
Pretend
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
Vonnegut’s warning about adapting and conforming to roles and behaviors is as true today as it was 65 years ago.
It runs in the back of my mind all the time as I watch people sacrifice agency and personality.
If you dehumanize people, convinced you’re doing it for profit, eventually you are not separate from the organization that financially motivates you to do it.
If you spout ideology, whether for entertainment purposes or views, at some point you become your words.
The positive aspect of this is that of course you can become kinder by using habit to constantly reinforce the behavior you want from yourself.
The main focus that runs through my mind is that people are maintaining appearances and adopting personalities that serve them to make a living. Paradoxically, however, they often find themselves becoming what initially was a facade.
One of my favorite wood panels that I’ve made. I made it as a reminder of youth. And to never be the one on the sideline watching other people find a way to get the crayons and stick them out of their nostrils. I’ve not done well with this lately.
A 1,000 Years Ago
On this day 42 years ago, a few miscreants had to serve detention at Shermer High School.
AI At Work
I was really excited when work announced we would be getting a revolutionary AI to streamline inventory.
We need to stop getting IT techs from Family Dollar.
Eye For I
I sat at the eye doctor with my eyes dilated to the maximum. Waiting was an excuse to be creative. The attendant at first couldn’t believe I could see well enough to draw. He asked me what I was drawing. “An alien who accidentally took the wrong kind of laxative” was my off-the-cuff answer.
“Can I have it?”
I thought he was pranking me, but I could see by the look on his face that he was serious.
I handed him the card.
“This gives me an idea for a story,” he said.
I laughed and then realized I probably should explain my reaction.
“I’m not used to running into people like me.”
“People are generally tedious, aren’t they?”
He slipped the card in the front pocket of his scrubs.
You never know.
Eclipse and Thoughts
I had better pictures of the eclipse this morning. But I like this one better because it cost me a little bit of my sanity trying to hold my camera still for 30 seconds to get it.
Evidently, saying “I’m gas-powered!” when you experience flatulence doesn’t pardon the act like you think it would. No more than always keeping a taller friend around to protect yourself from lightning is an acceptable safety measure. (Although it is effective.)
As for worry and regret, remember if you had done something truly catastrophic, a time traveler would have come back in time to stop you.
As for perversion, people in the medical field will tell you that you should never do anything that you might have to explain to a paramedic.
Most of us are just one insight away from being capable of profound change. The problem is that we’re too busy looking at our phones to experience life, followed by the silence that opens the door for new thoughts.
For those who have to endure meetings, jump up and shout, “Oh my God! I forgot!” And then run out of the room. No one will question you and you’ll have enough time to figure out an excuse by the time you come back.
Big Arch Madness
If you’ve not seen the McDonald’s CEO eating a Big Arch burger, you’re missing out. It comes across exactly like Zuckerberg’s reptilian testimony a few years ago.
As I see people mock the McDonald’s CEO, it fascinates me. A lot of people aren’t aware of the critical defect in most larger organizations: hierarchal insulation.
People do not want to share bad news or criticism. The people with authority seldom get exposed to those on the ground doing the work. It’s filtered by successive layers of containment, each motivated by their own objectives.
Additionally, if you’re not familiar with The Abilene Paradox, you should look it up. Summed up, it explains why a group of people can end up deciding to go eat somewhere that no one really wants to go to. It results in Jessica being as pissed as everyone else.
That’s how you end up with a strange marketing video with the CEO coming across as alien and off-putting. The majority of people watching the video immediately recognize that something’s off. There’s no question multiple people at McDonald’s wanted to speak up. But they don’t have an institutional means of being heard.
Who in the McDonald’s corporation would dare question all the departments and people involved in the result? Much less the CEO.
The insulating factor of organizations is everywhere once you recognize it. Products that defy customer wants. Logos that look like someone dropped pixie sticks on the floor. (Studiously NOT mentioning Springdale’s from a few years ago.)
Our laws, which often ignore what most people want because committees have to come to an agreement, and often only because someone needs to pee really badly – or realize that no one’s going to get what they want. That’s how we ended up with the platypus, by the way.
If you haven’t seen the Big Arch commercial, I highly recommend it. It is the embodiment of what happens when a vocal cross-section of other people aren’t involved.
“The people who know have no say. And the people who have the say quite often don’t know.” – X
.
Questionable Advice
Really good but questionable advice:
1) If you don’t want to fight, but simultaneously need to make the other guy look like a weakling, demand that any fight must be undertaken with both participants naked.
1a) If you are about to take off your shirt to start, take your pants off instead. It is a game-changer.
1b) If they insist when you’re not ready, ask them if they would like you to remove your hidden weapons.
2) You can diffuse a robbery, a challenge, or any personal confrontation simply by asking, “Are we about to kiss?”
The last one is particularly effective during meetings.
X
.
American
I’m so proud of President Trump. When he heard the inner voice calling him, he didn’t just lean into it, he gave himself head trauma and dived in. Not content with being a bad president, he chose instead to be the worst. That takes guts, at least 76 extra pounds of it. When your goal is to become synonymous with half the negative words in a thesaurus, you must be willing to surround yourself with like-minded people. Our president tirelessly turned over every rock to find the kind of people he wanted. You can’t surpass the dubious achievements of Mr. Mustache unless you’re willing to go the extra mile to beat up the homeless guy on the corner. I wish people would stop complaining about Trump. Even though he dodged military service, he’s adopted the old army slogan: Be All You Can Be. If you’re born an ass, it’s your obligation to be the best worst ass possible. As I hear the news each day, I nod with pride, knowing that he is proof that literally anyone can become president. No matter what your criminal record, whether you’ve abused people, or used an entire political apparatus to make yourself and your friends wealthy, you can aspire to be president.
Either way, you still have to go to work, and still pretend that we’re not being governed by the least qualified and most hateful president in our history. We didn’t choose bad. We chose the worst. And that’s the best testament to our broken democracy I can think of. He wants to return our country to the ideals of the Constitution as originally written. Stop complaining that you will have no rights or that you’re counted as a fraction of a person. It’s what the people who stole this country wanted. Trump proves everyday that he’s the man for the job.
X
.
PS That is my wood panel hybrid picture of Zach Galifianakis/Jesus. It reminds me that no matter how hard we work to improve things, there’s always going to be an idiot intent on perverting our goals. And a lot of people who should know better standing behind him while he does it.
.
Campbell’s Soup
The Campbell soup controversy is both fascinating and amusing.
I had a can of Campbell’s tortilla soup last night, with a can of Mexican tomatoes, sliced potatoes, and a ton of hot savory spice added. It was delicious.
I’ve worked in food facilities. Y’all are out there eating all sorts of things you don’t want to know about. If they are 3D printing chicken or beef, that’s fine with me. If they throw a horse leg in there, I don’t care about that either if I don’t know. Doubly so if it’s treated so that I won’t get sick.
I survived my childhood. My dad forced me to eat things that were featured in the Temu edition of National Geographic. Other than some observable brain damage, I survived. These symptoms allow me to either be the Secretary of Health and Human Services or the President.
The amusing part of it all is that an executive got caught with his pants down, spouting what we already know. I’d rather be eating oysters right now than working in the Campbell marketing department. (And oysters are just repackaged mucus.)
X
.
P.S. Parenthetically Speaking 