Observations on the world and its inhabitants
It has been rather interesting thinking about this. What is it to be ‘me’? How do I pay for that? What I mean is that each one of us (extrapolating from myself) has a fairly good idea about our likes and dislikes. So we gravitate to certain things, and we avoid certain other things. We ...
I was motivated to write this having reflected on my interactions with the human species recently. They pride themselves as being several notches above other animals. They have built very large and complicated structures. Their intelligence has allowed them the privilege of creating weapons that could destroy the whole planet they live on. They have ...
Recently I was on the way into a supermarket. Nothing special about that you might think. But as I was about to enter I spotted a former work colleague – one of my own batch of professionals, who I trained with. I hadn’t seen her for about a year. It was a Sunday – about ...
The dictionary will tell you that ‘patzer’ means ‘amateur chess player’. However in this piece of reflection, I’ll extend it to mean all idiots and the not so intelligent – outside of the game of chess. I’ve been observing a phenomenon, where in general, the amateur finds some degree of camaraderie with a group of ...
Yes after years of careful research into the human condition I’ve now come up with the ‘Definitive Idiot’s Guide‘ to causing yourself stress! Well, they say every little helps. I’ve been motivated to write this because I see so many people trying so hard to cause themselves stress, that I decided I needed to provide ...
Like huh? Well, one can never be 100% sure what others think of you (i.e. me). People basically don’t tell (by words) all of what they think – for umpteen reasons. So I’ve been asking myself what do others really think of me. I cannot be 100% correct either because I can never truly know ...
I recently wrote about Disrespect for my Right to Privacy. So a couple days ago I received yet another email. But this one did not disrespect my privacy. Instead it contained the emails of 122 other individuals. [I deviate to explain to the technologically challenged that I did not count each email address. I simply ...
Kurumba pavillion
I’ve been fighting a battle with people I know, some who would feel slighted if I did not consider them friends – for the past 7 years. This is what it is about: I inform all who know me not to send my email (or other contact details) out to ‘third parties’ without my express ...
Recently I discovered ‘White Lies’ – the group. Well when I heard ‘To lose my life’ a few days ago, I thought to myself “Hey, Bowie is back!”. So it wasn’t David Bowie, but so what? These guys are just brilliant. I mean I can’t get their songs outta my head! Like I’m having a ...
Recently I was in the company of a colleague who is a psychiatrist (aka shrink). We were walking into a large supermarket. He’s saying hello to the chap who’s greeting customers. The conversation goes as follows: Chappy: So what if you don’t mind I ask do you do? Shrink: I’m a forensic psychiatrist – which ...
This is an amazing story! STOP EVERYTHING: Don’t go to the toilet..don’t walk that dog…don’t go to the grocery…don’t phone that friend! This is a tragic tale of how a judge of international repute ends up in jail – for attempting to tell a little fib. "Marcus Einfeld, the judge in question, was certainly of ...
Well tonight I had an interesting experience. I go into the local supermarket around 20:45. There’s a worker in uniform at the entrance offering me free bread. It comes with a coupon that I use at the cashier to get it for FREE. So I say thank you very much and with some glee take ...
No – this ain’t a recipe for it. This is about the service surrounding it. It’s a long one. I’ve taken several weeks drafting this (working on average a few minutes each week). It is such a difficult story that I could not put it down all at once. I really had to do it ...
This is an exploration of how people interact with rules and regulations. It is largely based on personal observations. Therefore it is subject to all the biases and weaknesses that go with personal observations of the world. What kinds of rules are there? Law (Primary, secondary, delegated legislation, legal regulations). Quasi-legal regulations (i.e. codes of ...
If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you But make allowance for their doubting too, If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being ...
It has been a bit of a mystery to me, up until a few days ago. I used to wonder why talking about the weather was such an easy icebreaker in England. It suddenly dawned on me – and the answer was pretty simple. Here goes. In England we all share the weather. It is ...
Peace at 23,000 feet: And at ground zero:
This question came up in discussion with someone who believed they knew me 28 years ago, for a period of about two years – and now claims to know me still. The other asserted that in our recent discussions over the last few months in live chat, that ‘Your personality is the same’ as back ...
Yeah..we know this very well don’t we, that ‘money isn’t every thing’? The phrase sickens me. Why pray tell, you must be thinking. Let me try a few substitutions for the word ‘money’ in there: ‘Air’ isn’t everything ‘Sex’ isn’t everything ‘Banana’ isn’t everything ‘Food’ isn’t everything ‘A house’ isn’t everything. Well yes, I hope ...
Amazingly (about 20:00 2008-09-07), I’m contacted by email, by a colleague I had not seen or heard from for 28 years. In the first two emails. I’m told that I’ve abused some child in some forum, by cussing the child. Naturally when you get this kind of thing you think to yourself “What the heck!” ...
There are times of course when I cannot punish idiots. On occasion an idiot may punish himself – and not even know it. It is not as good as actually dishing out the punishment, but sometimes you settle for second best. Case in question? Sure. Person calls a mobile phone from overseas weekly for about ...
It is an amazing phenomenon that makes me wonder how the human race has survived this long – yeah ‘answering off the point’. WTF does that mean? It means like when you ask somebody a simple question you get an answer that does not address your enquiry. Or you ask a question of someone and ...
The unconscious has been explored by Freud and many other psychoanalysts. What this ‘thing’ is, is largely unknown – simply because we cannot hold down the unconscious and look at it. After all it is that which is beyond conscious scrutiny. Yes there are loads of theories on the goings on in the unconscious but ...
Not often am I inspired by goodness in the human condition. Saturday 20th September 2008 was different. I bought the book "The Book of Lies" by Brad Meltzer and came across the site: Book of Lies Soundtrack. Then I came across http://www.ordinarypeoplechangetheworld.com/ which then took be to songs by ‘Five for Fighting’. And then I ...
Friend o’ mine called up yesterday and asked me something about ‘how you manage or deal with grief’. Yeah grief. Well, it is one of those things you have to laugh about – and we did – in retrospect. I had an initial thought, but did not say much as he explained. This is the ...
Man, I just got off the phone to some mega-idiot! Trust me there is such a thing. I really wonder why I go on the phone at all to utility companies. Every bloody time I call one of these call-queuing things, my blood pressure goes up! Yesterday I wasted bloody 52 minutes of my time. ...
It’s a question that’s been on my mind for quite some time. People go “I have many friends…or I only keep a few close friends“. Of course, defining what a friend is, is central to the question. However, friendship is the core issue and someone who maintains a real friendship is by definition a true ...
