A couple of apples
There was an article in the Oregonian about speeding today. Although to be honest, I didn't read it. I did, however, read the headline. That's pretty much all the news we need to know anyway. The headline pretty much tells us what the story is going to be about. The rest of it, is much more entertaining if we can make up our own details. Look at the recent death of the pope. (should pope be Capitalized? maybe, but it's just a blog nobody but my child reads, so it makes little difference.(I guess my wife reads it as well, I do not read it. Well sometimes I do, but only after using google to translate it into a different language, and then translate it back, just to see how odd it becomes. my favorite translations are mostly Korean. I am not sure I understand why, but there you are)) Headlines roared all over the place about the death of a pontiff. well, what do you know, not only did I spell pontiff corectly, but it was also the correct word I wanted. You have to love dictionaries. That's why Mirriam webster (http://www.m-w.com) is one of my favorite websites. Especially the word of the day section. I really enjoy words, especially ones I do not know. well that is somewhat erronius. I mean, how can I know if I like a word if i have not learned it yet? There are words I can imagine, and even if they do exist, I am at a loss for the definition. for example cherioplasm. That seems like a fun word, but I could not say that I actually know it is a real word, and if so what it might mean. So, I guess I could just say that
I enjoy learning new words. So far I am reasonably certain that I have appreciated each and every word I have learned. Although, I am a little uncertain as to whether or not I appreciated them all when we first met. To be perfectly frank, I have difficulties remembering learning most of the words I know. I believe I have a reasonable vocabulary, but I have no idea where it came from. There are a few specific words that I remember the details of learning. My favorite word Defenestration I learned from a Calvin and Hobbes anthology. Another favorite Risible I learned from on online dictionary. Actually I believe it was from the worthless word of the day website. (http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/) which is quite a fun website. It is also handy for picking passwords. My employment requires a changing of passwords every few weeks. (I am uncertain as to the exact length, but it is roughly a month or so.) Everybody I work with has their own tricks for passwords, but I use my passwords as a learning tool. Every time it is up for renewal, I try to pick a word I am unfamiliar with. (although in a pinch, I will just pick one that I enjoy) that way I have a whole month of typing it on an almost daily basis to get used to it, and try to figure out ways to add it to my repertoire. I did not know until I looked up the spelling that there was an R in the middle of that word. I do not believe I have ever pronounced it. See, words can always teach you something. It may not be worth knowing, or interesting, but it can teach you.
Having got that little distraction out of my system. I am somewhat easily distracted. I liken myself to a raccoon, show me a shiny object, and I will lose interest in whatever shiny object I was interested in before. I do, however, eventually find my way back to whatever the original object at hand was, in this instance the pope. who had died, and the headlines all said screamed that (figuratively anyway) at me. Now if I were one to follow the news and read all the articles leading up to, and about his death, I would be well informed of the circumstances. But, and I mean no disrespect at all, but if I were to just read the headlines, then I could take them anywhere. Perhaps he died while waterskiing in the antarctic. Perhaps, he was on a mission in el salvador. There are so many imaginative ways to take the story. But, and again I mean no disrespect. The pope was another distraction. I started talking about the article in the Oregonian about speeding that I did not read. What I did do, is listen to the story on the morning news while I was driving into work. I must say that it was very, interesting. Well to me anyway. The gist of the story is that in the past 5 years in the state of Oregon, police have given 500 citations for driving in excess of 100mph. The most recent example was a couple of weeks back a youngster was clocked at 140mph. When I heard that I glanced down at my speedometer. It only goes up to 120mph. That was depressing. The guy was driving faster than my car will admit it can go. Not that I necessarily trust my car. I think it downplays itself in order for me to lower my expectations. That way it can get a free ride while driving me around. I mean, if I don't expect much of it, and still give it gas, and oil, and the occasionaly every other year cleansing, and it doesn't even have to admit being able to go a measly 145mph, why should it try. My car is a slacker. Oh, if I insist, it will perform at high enough levels. but I truly think it attempts to lull my suspicions to make life easier on itself. One of these days, we are going to have to have a chat about that, but the time is not right yet. I have learned in my life to pick my battles.
The other thing about that article that bothers me is why? I can understand speed for the thrill of it, sure who could not understand wanting a thrill? The problem is 500 tickets in 5 years. That's 100 tickets a year. What could that many people be in such a hurry for? Maybe it's the pizza delivery guys trying to stick to the half hour delivery time. I kind of doubt it. I will concede that there is not a whole bunch of scenery on some strectches of the freeways in Oregon. But I cannot imagine that 100 people a year could be in that big a hurry to get past it. There were over 1000 tickets for going over 90mph. Again, I am not trying to be a grumpy old man about this. I just think it's ridiculous to be in that much of a hurry, especially since almost everybody I know is late most of the time anyway. the lesson is that speeding doesn't help near as much as leaving earlier.
I guess what I really want to say is something I have forgotten. I know that speeding has become a standard for society. I see it every day on my commute. It works out fairly decently because most people wind up driving at fairly close to the same speed. It might not be the safest speed available, but if everyone is doing it, at least we will all die together. (actually I tend not to exceed the speed limit, but that is a personal choice, and I hope it will not tarnish my reputation.) I just see a huge difference between driving 70mph in a 65mph zone, and driving 140mph in the same zone. On the other hand, the rush would be incredible. The scenery flashing by, the wind whipping past the antenna. Forty birds singing "Michael Row your boat ashore" in tribute to your wild ways. Yeah it would be a good life. but by the same token, a good defenestration can give almost the same rush.
I should say something about apples since they were in my title. but they give me a stomach ache, so I will pass up the opportunity.
I enjoy learning new words. So far I am reasonably certain that I have appreciated each and every word I have learned. Although, I am a little uncertain as to whether or not I appreciated them all when we first met. To be perfectly frank, I have difficulties remembering learning most of the words I know. I believe I have a reasonable vocabulary, but I have no idea where it came from. There are a few specific words that I remember the details of learning. My favorite word Defenestration I learned from a Calvin and Hobbes anthology. Another favorite Risible I learned from on online dictionary. Actually I believe it was from the worthless word of the day website. (http://home.mn.rr.com/wwftd/) which is quite a fun website. It is also handy for picking passwords. My employment requires a changing of passwords every few weeks. (I am uncertain as to the exact length, but it is roughly a month or so.) Everybody I work with has their own tricks for passwords, but I use my passwords as a learning tool. Every time it is up for renewal, I try to pick a word I am unfamiliar with. (although in a pinch, I will just pick one that I enjoy) that way I have a whole month of typing it on an almost daily basis to get used to it, and try to figure out ways to add it to my repertoire. I did not know until I looked up the spelling that there was an R in the middle of that word. I do not believe I have ever pronounced it. See, words can always teach you something. It may not be worth knowing, or interesting, but it can teach you.
Having got that little distraction out of my system. I am somewhat easily distracted. I liken myself to a raccoon, show me a shiny object, and I will lose interest in whatever shiny object I was interested in before. I do, however, eventually find my way back to whatever the original object at hand was, in this instance the pope. who had died, and the headlines all said screamed that (figuratively anyway) at me. Now if I were one to follow the news and read all the articles leading up to, and about his death, I would be well informed of the circumstances. But, and I mean no disrespect at all, but if I were to just read the headlines, then I could take them anywhere. Perhaps he died while waterskiing in the antarctic. Perhaps, he was on a mission in el salvador. There are so many imaginative ways to take the story. But, and again I mean no disrespect. The pope was another distraction. I started talking about the article in the Oregonian about speeding that I did not read. What I did do, is listen to the story on the morning news while I was driving into work. I must say that it was very, interesting. Well to me anyway. The gist of the story is that in the past 5 years in the state of Oregon, police have given 500 citations for driving in excess of 100mph. The most recent example was a couple of weeks back a youngster was clocked at 140mph. When I heard that I glanced down at my speedometer. It only goes up to 120mph. That was depressing. The guy was driving faster than my car will admit it can go. Not that I necessarily trust my car. I think it downplays itself in order for me to lower my expectations. That way it can get a free ride while driving me around. I mean, if I don't expect much of it, and still give it gas, and oil, and the occasionaly every other year cleansing, and it doesn't even have to admit being able to go a measly 145mph, why should it try. My car is a slacker. Oh, if I insist, it will perform at high enough levels. but I truly think it attempts to lull my suspicions to make life easier on itself. One of these days, we are going to have to have a chat about that, but the time is not right yet. I have learned in my life to pick my battles.
The other thing about that article that bothers me is why? I can understand speed for the thrill of it, sure who could not understand wanting a thrill? The problem is 500 tickets in 5 years. That's 100 tickets a year. What could that many people be in such a hurry for? Maybe it's the pizza delivery guys trying to stick to the half hour delivery time. I kind of doubt it. I will concede that there is not a whole bunch of scenery on some strectches of the freeways in Oregon. But I cannot imagine that 100 people a year could be in that big a hurry to get past it. There were over 1000 tickets for going over 90mph. Again, I am not trying to be a grumpy old man about this. I just think it's ridiculous to be in that much of a hurry, especially since almost everybody I know is late most of the time anyway. the lesson is that speeding doesn't help near as much as leaving earlier.
I guess what I really want to say is something I have forgotten. I know that speeding has become a standard for society. I see it every day on my commute. It works out fairly decently because most people wind up driving at fairly close to the same speed. It might not be the safest speed available, but if everyone is doing it, at least we will all die together. (actually I tend not to exceed the speed limit, but that is a personal choice, and I hope it will not tarnish my reputation.) I just see a huge difference between driving 70mph in a 65mph zone, and driving 140mph in the same zone. On the other hand, the rush would be incredible. The scenery flashing by, the wind whipping past the antenna. Forty birds singing "Michael Row your boat ashore" in tribute to your wild ways. Yeah it would be a good life. but by the same token, a good defenestration can give almost the same rush.
I should say something about apples since they were in my title. but they give me a stomach ache, so I will pass up the opportunity.
posted by Pher at 21:54
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