Thinking Out Loud
Oct 7th, 2008 by Don Ray
I am in need of a project. Every now and then I go through one of the phases when I am bored and need something to exercise my mind. I am in one of those periods.
I am bored with the Internet, Normally I can get lost on the Internet searching for something and later finding that I am on the trail of something else, more interesting than my first subject.
I am also bored with TV. The fact that AstroVison has been suffering quality problems for about a week, doesn’t help.
Lately the Internet and TV have been filled with nothing but bad news. I hate it when there is nothing that is upbeat going on. Lets see what has been going on.
- The world is in a financial meltdown. Now who wants to wake up every morning and read about that. What is worse is that everyone wants to point the finger and say that it was someone else’s problem. My dad explained it to me when I was a child. If you spend more than you have, than you are stupid and soon will have nothing at all.
- The US presidential race is consuming too much of the news. Yes, I know it is important, but the pundits are driving me nuts. Each side can give you “facts” as to why their candidate is the best. Personally I wouldn’t give you plug nickel for any of them. People worry that Palin might be a heartbeat from the presidency. Well just think if something happened to Obama and Biden then you would have Pelosi. If that wouldn’t make you fill up your Depends, I don’t know what would.
- Looks like O.J. may finally be going to jail. That is about the most pleasant piece of news I have read or seen lately.
Yesterday, I decided I would search for parts to build a new PC. I went to every PC store in David, almost, and nothing that they carried excited me. If I were in Texas, I would go to Fry’s and have more choices than my mind could handle. I may have to put off the PC build until I make my next trip to the US. I have wanted to put together a weather station for a while. Maybe I need to research that.
I have at least 4 books to read, but I can’t make myself pick them up. Maybe I need start on one and see if it can hook me.
The last time I got on the Wii (two days ago) it nagged me that it had been 24 days since my last visit. Don’t you hate it when your exercise equipment starts to nag.
I could drive somewhere and see something and take some photos, but I can’t think of anywhere I want to go.
Ah, I just remembered something that will brighten up my week. Sofia is coming to visit, on Saturday, for about three days. I feel better already. I guess I need to go out and buy her a little gift of some sort. At least now I have an objective for today. I knew if I thought long enough, I would come up with something.
Nice one Don. You should consider taking over from Andy Rooney on 60 minutes when, and if, he ever retires.
Hello Don!
You´re not alone. Nevertheless, I enjoy gardening and meditation. I realize that each of my plants is like a human being, so unique. I enjoy the very little things of life: a sun ray, a blooming plant, a smile and, of course, the variety of topics in your blog that I visit frequently to check what is happening in this town and farther away! Let´s remember that your blog is for pleasure, and when you don´t feel like writing, simply don´t do it. It´s understandable and none of your readers should complain.
Have a nice day, and get ready for Sofia´s visit with toys, tales, etc.
Me thinks you are starting to feel those Birthday blues. Correct? I hope there will be a turtle release during Sophia’s visit.
Hi Don;
Sorry you are in a bit of a funk.
If you are looking for a place to visit, may I suggest Paradise Gardens–you mentioned you keep meaning to go in one of your posts. Paul is such a knowledgable, nice, committed person (I didn’t meet his wife but understand she is likewise in temperament). The gardens are very pretty but most of all, it is inspiring to see someone take the bull by the horns and lead as a steward of Panamanian wildlife. At the very least, I think you would enjoy seeing the birds and other animals.
Take care and thank you for the work you do on this blog,
Sam
Some good books I just finished…
Devils Middle Finger by Richard Grant. “A foolish brit attempts to travel throughout the Sierra Madres in search of good stories for his travel book, and does he find them.”
Getting Stoned with the Savages by J Maarten Troost. “Wanderlust quits life in D.C. to return to Fijian Islands, to deal with a typhoons, pregnancy, drugs, and adventure”
The internet and computers are a life sucker. Go camping by a river!
Don. Please seek some help. It can get worse! Been there and done it– not much fun. Walt
I found a solution to boredom. I bought an 24′ S-Video out cable for my laptop and hooked it up to the TV and discovered lots of new sites offering online TV Programs and Movies for free. HULU being one of them (not sure it works down there) Also try http://watch-movies.net. Check it out.
Rick
…Don, dont forget you must help me next month…dont miss it
David
O.K. Don, how’s this one? If Mc Cain and Palin go, you still have Pelosi. Such a deal huh?
@Don: Sorry to read about your lack of interest for many of the things you have done so well over these past years. I read your blog daily and find great interest in what you write. I’m sure your slump is only temporary and you will get back to your business as usual.
@Rick in Florida: Went to the site you suggested, watch movies.net, and found it to be most valuable. I enjoyed the movie “Lawrence of Arabia”, my favorite movie of all times. The audio was above average and the video was decent. I immediately linked it to my blog, Lingua Franca. Thanks a lot.
Omar.-
Hello Don,
Can you please update us on super replicas. The guys claim that they make exect replicas of high value cars and I visited their shop. They have three cars in the shop for the past 6 months that they make the videos of and post on their website and on youtube. They want the money prior to delivering the product, but I am not sure if they will deliver. Please advise.
Wow, Don Ray, so many comments. Right off, Mike Owen beat me to it: working on your curmudgeon credentials. Walt: doesn’t seem like Don Ray is really approaching a problem; Sharon may have it right.
Very good point, Freddh. However, I’ve always been interested in these reactions to Pelosi. Just what is the problem with her? Could it be that she is a powerful woman and somehow that rubs people the wrong way?
Certainly her liberalism may bother many people, but I’ve never noticed that she is anything but a pragmatic politician. She wouldn’t be where she is otherwise.
And, Don Ray, as Sacha says, too much computer is not good for you. Might not need to go camping, but going in any manner is good. Sam seems to have a pleasant idea, and I’m sure we would enjoy the photos.
On Don’s behalf I take offence at Tom’s use of words. Specifically “curmudgeon”. I do not consider Don to be a cantankerous old fart. Old, may be…….. Mind you, I did have to look the word up in “The Oxford English Dictionary”………..
Is that an exact quote from “The Oxford English Dictionary???” In any case, I fully agree that Don Ray is not cantankerous.
A much better defiinition:
A curmudgeon’s reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They’re neither warped nor evil at heart. They don’t hate mankind, just mankind’s absurdities. They’re just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy. They ease the pain by turning hurt into humor. . . . . . They attack maudlinism because it devalues genuine sentiment. . . . . . Nature, having failed to equip them with a servicable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute perception and sly wit.
Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom rather than a disease. They can’t compromise their standards and can’t manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their awareness is a curse.
Perhaps curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the messenger is blamed for the message: They have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth unsettle us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with humor.
- JON WINOKUR
Tom you have been watching too much Bill O’Riley to come up with a name like that.
Pelosi is the anti-christ.
Don Ray, how about helping me find a good book on Panamanian history or, better yet, on agriculture in Panamá? One of the classes I’m taking (international agriculture development) has a term paper coming up. I’d like to find some good source on Panamá, but haven’t had much luck so far. Maybe I should stick to bananas? Or maybe I just am bananas. (?!)
Don,
A useful suggestion: Get out of the city and buy yourself a small farm. Plant a large vegetable garden. Fence the sucker off and raise a few cows for milk and maybe a few for beef. 2 pigs a year will keep you in pork. I don’t have too much luck with chickens but they’re fun to watch now & then and people love eggs.
Also, a few good dogs and maybe a cat could round out the crew.
Even if you cannot perform all the duties necessary to keep the place humming at peak, it’s EZ to find a few helpful locals to work for a day or 2 here & there at very reasonable rates.
This way you’ll get plenty of exercise, fresh air, fresh food & tradable commodities you can use to barter with other enterprising campesinos/others who may need stuff you have grown. It’s fun to give the fruits of your labor away too! You’ll find that neighbors start showing up with sometimes strange gifts for you as well!
I’ll tell you; when I’m feeling listless (we have no TV & only dial up “internet service”) I get on the boots and start swinging that machete or fixing a fence or weed wackin’ a bunch of grass. Within a few hours I forget about all the prospects for an unfamiliar future. Keep your head down, your legs pumping & your pores open. It helps!!
Anyhow, hope this helps..Also, to help ease one’s mind in these turbulent times, some are suggesting putting up 3-4 months of expense money in cash & stocking up on some of the essentials you’d like to have around as a little safety net in these uncertain times. Just a thought!!
Hi Don,
For those of us stuck here in the States, drowning in the financial crises (and the reporting thereof), your bout with boredom sounds delightful. The political bull**** is mind-numbing. The biggest problem is that now it never ends. Come election day they will begin yapping about the mid-term elections two years away, and so on, and so on….
And yes, Nancy Pelosi is the pefect example of the worst kind of politician. Say anything, do anything to stay in power - constituents be dammed. I’d rather have Noriega as my Senator. (By the way, she has a twin sister named Barbara Boxer).
Hope you feel better soon. Try a Balboa or two.
Dan
I couldn’t help myself in this response to the very sobering thought that if the Pres and VP were unable to continue, that PELOSI
would take over…. Pelosi is the perfect example of THE PETER PRINCIPLE.
THE PETER PRINCIPLE as described below was taken from an internet source (unknown) a long time ago ….
“Peter Principle Management is the concept that in bureaucratic organizations, new employees generally start off in the bottom ranks of the company, such as the mailroom. As the workers prove their competence in the the lower level ranks, they are then promoted up the ladder, generally management. The process of working one’s way up the hierarchy can continue ad nauseum, until the worker attains a position at which point they cease to be competent. Once there, the promotion process generally stops, as the bureaucratic system and policies make it very difficult to reduce someone’s rank, once so attained, even if that person would be a much better fit and happier in a non-management role. The end impact of this principle is that most of the management positions within a bureaucracy are filled by those who are incompetent, who attained that superior positions by being rather good at very different work (and frequently easier) than the tasks currently expected of them.”
True enough, John. Not the anti-Christ, however. In fact, my original comment was not to praise the good lady, but rather to ask why people have such a visceral reaction to her.
As for the Peter Principle, I’m reminded of some advice about buying stock in a company: “You should always buy a company that will do well even if it is run by an idiot, because you can be sure that someday it will be.”