Thick heads?

Why does a thick head always translate into a thick middle?

Women driving.

I notice lots of little things about society. Comes from just looking, I suspect - something most people don't actually do. (My spouse and I marvel at the studies some academics get paid for - it usually comes to "all they had to do was ask us! We could have told them!".
For instance:
Many lower-class females drive the males around. They have the drivers' licences, and they own the cars. Why?
Well, it's NOT womens' lib. Fact is, they can, and the males can't. The boys are idiots and have lost their licences, so they rely on the females to drive.

Dance with Grandma?

Dreams can be strange, and I used to spend time analyzing them, including a supposedly-objective consideration of my own.
However, I no longer do that - I just marvel at them.
Case in point:
Two nights ago, I dreamt I was dancing with my grandmother (my mother's mother). Now you must be informed that my grandma has been dead for almost 30 years. Anyway, I started to dance with her to make her feel better/more secure/less fearful. (Fearful of what, I do not know.) She was shaking like a leaf, and I kept telling her to relax, it was ok. And all this while I was wearing a black yarmulke. (My grandma was a United Church member.)
A marvel, I tell you. What does it all mean? Dunno. Don't really care.
The unconscious/subconscious certainly comes up with some doozies.

I want!

The most common words I hear from children in the store - I WANT!
In a low-grade environment, where many of the customers are from the "lower echelons", many of the children are difficult. And why not?
For the most part, the parents are fat, self-indulgent, and self-centred.
They obviously give to themselves first, on an immediate gratification basis. And the children (who aren't as stupid as it may seem) see this and use it as a role-model. In addition, it is a functional behavior. The parents reward it to keep from being overly annoyed (i.e. the parents' self-interest). So I hear "I WANT...".
Endlessly, loudly. And I can tell who the parents are without even looking.

10% lead, others may follow.

Leaders are virtually always in the top 10 percent of the population. OK, no argument there, except maybe as to percentages.
BUT, there are inherent risks in being a leader - leaders take more personal risks, and also are targets for those who are envious. And sometimes they suffer the consequences. (John Kennedy comes to mind immediately.)
But evolution still favored/favors the risk-takers, because they were/are intelligent enough to outwit the consequences (i.e. don't just jump in and do things). After my last job evaluation, I was told that I don't just DO THINGS. Yes, I behave this way. I still think it's a compliment, and hardly a drawback. I need to think first. (Of course then I do it BETTER!)
Plus, there is always the lurking Machiavellian aspect of being smart enough to get others to take the risks (assuming they aren't intelligent enough to recognize the risks).

Reality TV is...

I have come to a not-so-striking conclusion: Reality TV is an absurdity.
The true reality is the meaningless existence of those watching.
Of course, we wouldn't actually want to admit that. It might make them stop watching!

Fun.

"Fun" is actually a substitiute for deep enjoyment; those who do not have a sense of deep enduring joy in their lives need fun to counter their emptiness.

A little reminder...

I rather like this, especially as a reminder to managers everywhere:

" Keep afirm grasp of fundamentals. Leave details to the staff. Go for morale, which is of transcending importance." - Adm. George Anderson, CNO, USN.

Especially in times of cutbacks, cutdowns, and general economic hard times (and other times too), when dollars are in short supply, morale, aka psychic income, can provide the incentive to do the little extra that is needed. I see this most strongly in retailing, where the actual dollar incomes are already low.
It's called leadership.

October already!

Well, the time flies. One thinks, but does not write, and already months have passed. Foo.
So one thought (ok, maybe more an observation):
In Canada, people indulge in three national sports:
1) Talking about themselves. I suppose they have nothing in their lives more interesting anyway. However, I find my life more interesting than theirs.
2) Talking about the weather. Nice and sociable, but not as interesting as number 1 above. And the weather situation should be obvious to anyone awake, I would think.
3) Complaining about the government(s). This was slightly more prevalent recently with the election, but it is a sport played especially intensely by those who are not involved in politics in any way. Interesting, that.

Eyesight - 3 1/2 phooeys

Well, my right eye is now obviously poorer than my left. Not much, but enough that it gnaws at my awareness. Probably not more than 1/2 diopter, but the Fluorescent lighting at work aggravates the problem and tends to give me a headache after more than 5 hours. Aaargh.

Heresy with the Quran.

With all the flap about someone shooting at the Quran...
To venerate a book, or any object, is heresy. The truth is not contained on the printed page, nor should any of the Faithful treat it as a holy object. There are no holy objects. To act otherwise is a violation of the Faith.

Eating my tomato plants. Aargh.

Aaargh. Something is eating my little tomato plants. Too bad we're in town, or I could use one of my boomsticks to eliminate the culprit(s).
In lieu of this drastic measure (which would be certain to attract the neighbours' attention) I must begin to cover them overnight. I wonder how long this will continue?

A Parochial Town Identifier.

Identifier: People in this town talk mostly about themselves. The most common words in any conversation (?) are "I" and "Me". The second most common topic of conversation is other people of common association.
They also look strangely at you when you speak of having curry for lunch; especially so if you make it yourself.

I see'd a LOON.

And no, I don't mean one with two legs and two lips. I mean an honest-to-goodness loon. The aquatic avian variety. Diving for whatever, and reappearing after a bit, only to repeat the process. Mercy me.
Not a sound to be heard though. Too bad. My morning would have been totally Canadian!

Foxy Loxy

It seems we have a resident in the area - not exactly sure where it/they call home, though.
Three times now, I have seen a red fox. Once crossing the road, on its way down the train tracks, once in a field down by the bay, and once immediately beside the train tracks, right next to the main street in town. Gorgeous creatures, those. And it seems fairly fearless; last time it sat in the pile of concrete blocks looking at me from a distance of about 15 feet.
Hmm. I hope no-one bothers it. Live and let live (so long as there's no rabies issue).

Satanic Verses?

Well, I just finished reading the Salman Rushdie book. A fine writer, and his command of the language, both "proper and vernacular" is admirable.
And I can understand why those of narrowminds would find it objectionable.
But a fatwa? Hardly. Unless of course you subscribe to the concept that no-one is entitled to the truth except yourself. And therefore YOU are the one to decide.
That is, I believe, the essence of a sociopathic personality.
Besides, it is wrong: I alone have the real truth. I alone decide.

Take a Train - Take a Tim's!

Talk about how addictive Tim Horton's coffee can be!
It's one thing to see someone go out of their way to grab a Timmy's when driving a car; but a train?
Here in town the other evening, I actually saw a freight train stop across from the Tim's. Several seconds later, the fireman/brakeman (what are they called now?) run across the road and disappear into the shop. After about a minute, he re-appeared with a tray and two large coffees, and ran back across the road. He then vanished into the front of the deisel, and the train was immediately on its way again.
Now that's brand loyalty!

Geese!

I go on a lot of small walks, mostly to get away from people - see far too many of them at work, often several thousand a day. (Get tired of smiling - it can actually hurt after a while.)
So a few weeks back, I saw the longest line of Canada Geese I have ever witnessed. A line, not a Vee formation (an oblique line, of course) flying East.
It was more than 2 blocks long. Here, that means the formation/line was about a half-mile in length. Unbelievable. I actually stood and watched so I could estimate the length properly.

More interesting than people, at least at a distance.

Fah Down Go Boom!

So my daughter got me a new bike for my B'day. okeedokee.
Of course I have some minor (sometimes) balance issues (thanks Mr. Asperger) which rarely if ever become a problem. But the other day, in the evening, coming home from work, I hit a sandy patch and had to turn somewhat sharply. And I was told that the tires weren't great.
BOOM.
On my side in the traffic. Ouch. Scramble. Ouch. Stand up.
Nothing broken or bent, either on me or on the bike. Good. But sore for quite a few hours. So I biked the rest of the way home. Opened the side door.
And then taking the bike down the stairs to the basement.
BOOM.
Geez. This is getting to be a habit. And very hard on the decorum/composure coefficient.
But nothing damaging really done, and one advantage is that after checking the bike the next day, I discovered how the brake-springs work to regulate the release. A positive, after all.
So my question of the day is:
Are balance issues common in Asperger's, and what coping strategies do you use?
Personally, I have discovered that I rely heavily on visual orientation for balance.
Sigh. That just means when I buy my next motorcycle, it better havce a sidecar!

So I spoke to my mother...

Well, yeah, sort-of...
Actually I had a dream (I think I was asleep, anyway). She just stood there sort of forlorn; very worn and old. Nothing said, but some things communicated. She was apologizing for my father. He wasn't the man she married. He had changed a lot over the years, especially early on (maybe that's one reason she was filing for a divorce when he died). So she was sorry. She din't say, I just knew that's what she was here for. It hadn't worked out for me the way she wanted, or imagined.
So I said "I forgive you."
And she disappeard.
Very vivid, very sad, very bizarre. She died in 1991.

Nicknames.

A little trivia (personal):
When I was very small (I have been told I was once) an acquaintance of the family (Harry Schram, a bass player of sorts) used to call me Bo. As a nickname. I don't actually remember this, but I was told by others.
An interesting choice....daughter Seph will understand the irony.

Yaktrax

Snow Bad, Yaktrax good.
More snow VERY BAD. Yaktrax VERY GOOD.
Thanks EP2.

Driving in 1967.

It occurred to me, up here in Beevil on day, that I had been here before...
Ok, no deja blue thing, just reality intruding. In a very strange way.
In the summer of 1967, my friend Paul and I drove from home to Expo 67, the major international exhibition held in Montreal that year to celebrate the centennial of Canada.
And we drove in the moderately good condition 2CV, taking all the back roads (with a top speed of 42mph, a necessity) for three days. And it suddenly hit me yesterday - on the second day, probably mid-afternoon, we drove right by where I am now. Not fifty feet away. And my later-to-be-my-spouse was quite possibly home with her mother at the time. Waiting to meet me, in a different place and time. Ah the irony. The fan-shaped fate-ness of it. Had I only known.

Bridges of Toko-Ri

Ok, it's not what you think. But for my SO, I feel I should say this - and she doesn't know this, but...
In 1954, when it came out, I saw the movie. I still remember it to this day, even though I was very young (and I've never seen it since). And at that time, I thought to myself "that's my idea of my life-mate, my companion."
And I can say that one of my life-long wishes actually came true.