My Ramblings

True Facts!

jfinsel@finsel.com — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:53:50 GMT

Fact of Life:

After Monday and Tuesday...
even the calendar says
W T F.

The Best Laid Schemes o' Mice and Men

jfinsel@finsel.com — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:43:00 GMT

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley
Robert Burns

This was to be a relaxing and enjoyable weekend, but, as Wee Robbie Burns says, things gang aft agley (go often askew) and this weekend was no exception.

Friday, Nae had a doctor's appointment that she had to reschedule because she got caught in a traffic jam behind an accident. So....

More...

Testing Google Buzz

jfinsel@finsel.com — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:49:06 GMT

Let's see... This should show up on GBuzz

Thoughts on Dreams and MetaDreams

jfinsel@finsel.com — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:46:22 GMT

First, a quick aside about Meta:

Meta- (from Greek: μετά = "after", "beyond", "with", "adjacent", "self"), is a prefix used in English (and other Greek-owing languages) to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter.
In epistemology, the prefix meta is used to mean about (its own category). For example, metadata are data about data (who has produced them, when, what format the data are in and so on). Similarly, metamemory in psychology means an individual's knowledge about whether or not they would remember something if they concentrated on recalling it. Furthermore, metaemotion in psychology means an individual's emotion about his/her own basic emotion, "or somebody else's basic emotion."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meta

Now, on to dreams and what we know about a dream that isn't really a part of the dream.

I recently awoke from a dream that really was only about one movie scene long. I was in a car with several other folks. I knew we were a band and we were on our way to a gig. I also knew that the driver of the car was not a normal part of our band. As we were driving along, I knew that our regular bassist had been badly injured in a wreck and this was his temporary replacement. All of this happened within a couple of seconds of the dream starting.

The car then pulled into an abandoned mall, the driver was taking a short cut and we ended up in the back, behind the stores, in a large empty lot. Then the driver got out and started to run away. The rest of us found our seat belts were locked, pinning us in place, doors locked too. Fortunately, I had a tool for surviving water crashes, something like this one. I cut my belt and broke the window, handing the tool to one of the other band members while I got out to chase the driver. I didn't get far before the car exploded, knocking me to the ground and ending the dream.

But not, it should be noted, the knowledge of the dream. And here is where Meta comes in.

The first part of the Meta-data about this dream is somewhat understandable. I know that, in this dream, I had a day job and that day job was an analyst for a government agency. Not a spy, but someone who collated and synthesized information for a spy agency. Not James Bond, not even Q, just someone who works in the bowels of a cubicle farm. Of course, this information would be available to the character in the dream regardless because it was a priori knowledge. No, the more interesting meta-data came after I woke up when I suddenly understood why the scene I had dreamed had happened.

Our band, while not good enough to give up the day job for, was a fairly well-established band with a steady set of gigs. One of our upcoming gigs, not the one we were on our way to but the next week's, was going to have some guests at it that were targets of some group. The group could have been international terrorists or business terrorists ala Die Hard but that I didn't know. What I did know was that our bass player's "accident" was actually nothing less than a means to get the new bass player in place to eliminate our band so that another band could take our place.

And that's really interesting information. It's almost as if I had read a synopsis on IMDB of a movie that I had caught a single scene of. All of the information in that last paragraph is a posteriori information, that would only be gained after that scene in watching the rest of the movie play out. And it could have been an interesting read/movie. The character would have needed to discover (and probably foil) the plot. Odds are good that he would have had to pretend to be dead and use resources outside of anything available in his job.

But where did the information come from? I don't know, but it's a fascinating question.

LiveJournal Tags: Dreams,plots,movies

A Vignette From My Mind

jfinsel@finsel.com — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:04:29 GMT

This came to mind last night, the dialogue really seemed to be of the David Tennant Dr. Who's style, though I'm not sure that Dr. Who would be discussing the subject of Astral Walks but hear that style for the teacher.

Student: So, when you walk through the Astral plane, you should have some sort of guardian, right?

Teacher (distractedly): Oh, yes, that's essential.

Student: Like a dog or a cat?

Teacher(distractedly): Never, pets like that are rubbish. The dog will be too focused on attempting to go with you and the cat can't be bothered to worry about you. No, that'd never do.

Student: What should you have then?

Teacher (suddenly animated): A Guinea Pig! Oh yes, you may think that sounds crazy but Cavia porcellus is the best type of guardian. They're very alert to what's going on around them, both in the normal and the astral plane. And have you ever been bitten by one? *shakes head* Sharp little teeth. They can both fight off whatever might come attack you and wake you up out of the deepest astral trance. Yes sir, for my money, it's a Guinea Pig over a cat or dog any day of the week.

Technorati Tags: Humor,Vignette,Guinea Pig,Cavy,Astral Plane

What do you believe?

jfinsel@finsel.com — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:11:20 GMT

Today is a good day to ask yourself what you believe. Or, perhaps more appropriately, how strongly you believe what you believe.

We all have things we believe in. But what would you do for those beliefs?

It's one thing to talk about what you believe within the safe comfort of like-minded friends.

But it's riskier to talk to folks where you haven't determined whether they believe what you believe or not. Will you be ridiculed? Scorned? Is your ego strong enough to endure that for something you believe in? If it is, then your belief is stronger than your ego.

What about talking to folks that you know are antithetical to your beliefs? It's one thing to say you believe that all men are created equal, it's another to say that to a racist who may actually take a swing at you to correct your beliefs. Are you willing to put your beliefs above your body? To risk a fight with someone over what you believe to be right?

But the question doesn't end there. Indeed, bruises will heal and broken bones mend, but do you believe strongly enough to willingly give your life to further those beliefs?

Many men and women around the world have risked their lives in exchange for their beliefs. Many have paid the ultimate price for their beliefs.

And today, on the anniversary of the 11th second of the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we salute those who served and fought for what they believed in, both those who made the ultimate sacrifice and those who were willing to.

I only hope that the future will prove their sacrifice worthwhile.

Peace, gentle readers, and find a veteran or active service member and thank them, if you can.

A Sesame Street Celebration

jfinsel@finsel.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:14:55 GMT

(Sung to the tune of Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)

Well it was 40 years ago today,
Jim Henson taught us all to play,
And learn as we've been playing too,
And it's guaranteed to raise a smile,
So may I intorduce to you,
The street you've known for all these years,
All our friends from Sesame Street!

We're Big Bird, Oscar, Fred and Ernie too, we hope you will enjoy the show,
We're Gordon, Susan, and a cast and crew, we educate and entertain!
We have our happy days, we chase our cares away,
On the street you know and love.

It wonderful to be here,
its certanly a thrill,
40 years have come and gone and show no signs of stopping yet we're really going strong!

I don't really wanna stop the show,
But I thought you might like to know,
That there's breaking news to share,
From reporter extraordinaire,
So may I introduce to you,
Reporter Kermit the Frog,
And Sesame Street Cast And Crew!

LiveJournal Tags: Sesame Street,Parody,Lyrics

Life Lessons

jfinsel@finsel.com — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:38:00 GMT

I sent Nae a list of life lessons someone had put together for their kids. And she responded:

Here are a few additions that i hope my children remember long into their lives: Some of these ideas aren't original or mine....but I have adopted them and they're mine now.

1. Keep your credit good....it's like a GPA...you work hard to get the score high, but one or two bad grades can really impact it and it takes twice as long to get it restored.

2. Life is short.....knit. (fill in the blank)....do what you love to do.

3. Eat more chocolate. (see above explanation).

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If I Had My Life...

jfinsel@finsel.com — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:13:19 GMT

An Old Erma Bombeck column:

Someone asked me the other day if I had my life to live over would I change anything. My answer was no, but then I thought about it and changed my mind.

If I had my life to live over again I would have waxed less and listened more.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy and complaining about the shadow over my feet, I'd have cherished every minute of it and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was to be my only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten popcorn in the "good" living room and worried less about the dirt when you lit the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would have burnt the pink candle that was sculptured like a rose before it melted while being stored.
I would have sat cross-legged on the lawn with my children and never worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television ... and more while watching real life.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband which I took for granted.
I would have eaten less cottage cheese and more ice cream.
I would have gone to bed when I was sick, instead of pretending the Earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for a day.
I would never have bought ANYTHING just because it was practical/wouldn't show soil/ guaranteed to last a lifetime.
When my child kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now, go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more I love yous ... more I'm sorrys ... more I'm listenings ... but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute of it ... look at it and really see it ... try it on ... live it ... exhaust it ... and never give that minute back until there was nothing left of it.

Waitin' on a Freight Train

jfinsel@finsel.com — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:04:54 GMT

This morning I took the back roads in to work, to avoid the freeway traffic jam, and I encountered a train. Which, for some reason, brought a tune to mind written by the late John Denver. So, with apologies to Mr. Denver and to Peter, Paul and Mary, the trio that introduced the song for him, here's my version of Waitin' on a Freight Train.

Waitin' on a Freight Train
(Sung to the tune of John Denver's Leavin' on a Jet Plane)

It's seven o'clock
I'm heading to work
Spilled coffee, had to change my shirt
I know I have to be to work on time.
Cause the boss explained
My tardiness
Is adding up
I'll get fired
If I am even 30 seconds late....

So being warned I was running fast
To make it in so I'm not asked
To turn around and never come again
But I'm waitin, on a freight train
Don't know how many cars it has
Oh dear, I really have to go

I tried to text my boss but I have no bars
So I'm stuck here, counting cars,
Wondering when this train will pass.
Every flashing light, every ringing bell
Drives home I'm in my private hell,
I wonder if this train will ever end.

So being warned I was running fast
To make it in so I'm not asked
To turn around and never come again
But I'm waitin, on a freight train
Don't know how many cars it has
Oh dear, I really have to go

Now the train has slowed to a crawl
It seems it hardly moves at all
When finally
I see the final car
The gates go up.
I put my car in gear
Prepare to leave
When I hear a horn out of the east
And the rising gates they start to fall again...

So being warned I was running fast
To make it in so I'm not asked
To turn around and never come again
But I'm waitin, on another freight train
Don't know how many cars it has

Oh dear, I really have to go
But I'm waitin, on another freight train
Don't know how many cars it has
Oh dear, I really have to go

LiveJournal Tags: Parody,John Denver,Freight Trains,Work,Lyrics