Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Of Pens and Pencils

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I am now using Google Reader to stay in connection with the various blogs I am subscribed too. So much for trying to stay away from Google. They have the advantage because everything is Google and everything Google creates is right there, easy and convenient.

Have you ever noticed how normal it is to know something is not quite right but to not bother doing anything about it? We like convenience and we don’t like change. I procrastinate on a daily basis and the effect is me, all stressed out, needing to go to anger management class. If anyone comes up with an easy solution on breaking bad habits, I’m sold. However, it will probably be a while before I can apply the method. Beyond procrastination, to each his own.

There is a psychology term “functional fixedness.” It’s an interesting concept and I just read an example that I am going to share with you. NASA decided its boys needed a space pen so they could write upside down and not deal with those “no ink” problems. Lots of dollars later, they figured it out! The Russians wanted the same thing for their space boys. Without spending money they settled on using a pencil. You can’t say American’s don’t persevere.

I hope I read this wrong or perhaps it was mis-written or something. Apparently Grand Ayatollah Nasser Makarem Shirazi, one of Iran’s cleric said the WW2 Holocaust was a myth and people should accept that. Yes, indeed. An atrocity like that is best forgotten. According to George Santayana “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We like to be ignorant though. It’s easier to be happy that way.

Next time you deliver a pizza pack a gun. That might be the only way to make sure nothing hooky goes on. Richel Nova was delivering dominoes pizza and was stabbed to death. And that’s probably right after he rang the doorbell. What I find interesting is how young the suspects are. I wonder if the video games and movies we have today desensitize people to the point that killing someone is no big deal. I’ve never been into the horror movies genre but I have seen a few. Some I’d like to forget. I think if everyone walked around with machine guns, we would think twice before stabbing someone for the thrill of it.

And that's Emily reporting to you live from Sk- Washington.

9 comments:

  1. I love the pen story! The Russians are smart cookies. :) It must've taken a brilliant mind to come up with the pencil idea.

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  2. I have heard from several places that many extreme Islamics don't believe that what happened in WW2 is a holocaust. I wonder if they view it that way cause they believe it was right and therefore not an atrocity but was right and justifiable therefore not deserving of the term "holocaust". Is trying to break habits a habit itself? :P

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  3. i heard about that nasa story during college :)


    that was so funny. i forgot what was the point of my teacher. its like... i think the answer is there.. and we people make it so complicated.


    have you had those days? lol the answer is right in front of us and we just keep on making it complicated! lol

    anyway googlereader was a life saver. lol it helps me organized the blogs that i follow too! :)

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  4. Oh Aaron, if that's true, that's terrible!! It wouldn't surprise me, I suppose. But still! I'll have to do some research on that. :( hahaha- and if what you say is true... is the habit of trying to break a habit a good or bad habit? ;)

    @Hotcakes: mmmm, gotta love psychology! I have a perfectionist complex and it causes me to make everything more complicated than it has to be. :P :P
    I'm totally loving Google Reader!! :D

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  5. Lol i loved the pen/pencil story! Bet NASA were sickened after spending all that money

    Hazel xxx

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  6. Facebook makes me procrastinate, it's like this demon saying to me "why do that when you can come chat with your mates?"

    “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Such a true saying, we will never learn though.

    Hahah at the NASA pen!

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  7. Me too, Alice!! I've discovered it's never a good idea to work on school AND Facebook at the same time. We all know which one wins... :P

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