Stormbringer's Thunder

Sometimes it seems to take forever to learn things. And sometimes, we learn things in a relatively short time but it takes many years to master them. I learned something important from a therapist. (Yeah, I had a therapist for clinical depression. It was good enough for Tony Soprano, so get over it.) This involves expectations, and what "should" be. He was fond of the Albert Ellis school of psychology, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. I don't agree with everything (I think the man's an atheist, for example), but a great deal of it makes sense. Suppose I go into a shop. Normally, I expect professionalism and courtesy. But suppose this guy is having a bad day, and he's rude. He shouldn't be rude, he should treat me right. Isn't that awful? No, it's not. I get angry because I'm expecting something I'm not getting. Instead, I should accept the fact that it's a little thing. The world isn't going to cave in because he treats me like a

Buona Sera, class. Your not-so-humble professor has been under the weather. And irritable. And lethargic. Maybe a remedy would be to write something. And this one is going to irritate some people. Sorry, but I tell the truth as I see it. If you don't like this one, the next posting will probably be quite different. I have a track record of that. Lately, I've been hearing the feminazi propaganda that comes down to "Woman good, man bad". You're heard it: "Girls grow up into women, boys grow into bigger boys"; men are the cause of all the evil in the world, control the wealth, destroy everything good, constantly think about sex, blather, blather, blather. That's why we should have voted for Hillary Clinton. (I had to backspace to remove my expletives just then.) The good news is that not all women feel this way. In fact, women point out that feminists are fakes. Saying that women are better than men is a discrimination in itself! And there'

Buon giorno. How's it going, Cupcake? Actually, I have to pass on the cupcakes. And the Milky Way bars. And the brownies... You see, yours truly has Type 2 Diabetes. Don't run away, you're not going to catch it, especially through a computer screen. They call it a "disease", but it's nothing I caught or can give away. "Condition" is a much better expression. Here's something ironic: the place I work had a bake sale, proceeds to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. Guess what? They weren't selling anything that a diabetic can have! I'm interested in a couple of things. One is to sort of sound a warning so that other people don't develop this condition. The other is to offer some advice. (And I'm more than willing to receive advice as well!) Everything in moderation. "Gosh, Bob, how did you lose twenty pounds in just a few months?" Intelligent question! First off, losing the tonnage is an important part of mana

Frankly, too many people have horse apples for brains. Why do you think that is? To misuse a verse in the book of Proverbs, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he". What are you putting into your head? Crap? Well, plants need fertilizer to grow with, but your mind is not a plant. My father was fond of saying that your mind is a garden. Plant thought seeds, water them and see what grows. If you plant good seeds, you get good results. The opposite is true as well. I tend to think that the mind is more like a computer. Any programmer knows that a computer is only as good as its input, which is GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out. Also, you need to have good programming in the first place, or even the best input will give bad results. Too many software vendors do not test their products thoroughly and rush it to market, and then have to issue patches and revisions. A simple way to show this is when you use a search engine. If you want to know the annual rainfall of Monterosso al Ma

Addendum 11-06-2008: I usually put these addendums at the end, but this one is perfect for what I'm saying. Rush Limbaugh gave away a car to a caller on his show. He did it on a whim. Now, get this. When the people showed up at the lot, they were allowed to have the car before Limbaugh's money had reached them! They knew his word and his reputation! Buona Sera. I'm fine, thanks. Hope you're well. This thing has been burning in me and I can't wait to get it written and posted. What is a reputation? It's how people think of you, especially groups. Companies and things in general have a good reputation. Have you ever filled out a registration card for a product you purchased and seen a box under "what influenced your decision" that says, "Acme Corp. reputation"? The company is confident that the word on the street about them is good enough to make you buy something of theirs. Reputations often come about because of personal exper

Buon Giorno , Class. Yours truly is a bit bothered about something. I don't like the way people beat themselves up. (Now, some people do need a beating, but I know people that will take care of that.) I'm talking about "put-downs", "badmouthing", "talking smack" (do people really say that one?). I'm not saying that everyone is a freaking bit of sliced sunshine in the midst of darkness, but there's no reason to tear down what you do have. One popular expression that I hear is, "Stupid me!" Dreadful. I'm all for admitting when you screwed up; I admit it before other people can point it out to me whenever possible. How about saying, "I messed up", or even, "Oops" instead? There's a difference between the event and the person. "I am stupid" is much different than "I did something stupid". For one thing, you're making an excuse. You're saying, in a way, "Don't expect much

Buon giorno . I'm still worked up about the illegal immigration issue ( Part 1 is here ). E-mails like the ones my brother sent me get me going again. So, this session is a cheat. Not my own work, but it reflects my sentiments and also pulls together things I've read and heard in other places. But I did put some work into the links. Groovy, huh? Even groovier is that an upcoming Weblog will tie into the cheapness of labor issue. Do me a favor, though, willya? I just added some links to document some of the claims (I won't do all your work for you, though. Some of it's simply common sense, and things you can see with your own eyes). When you check out some of the links, open them in a new browser window or tab. That way, it's easier to find your way back here and finish the article. And maybe read its companion piece. OK, as my buddy Duke Nukem says, "Let's rock!" CHEAP LABOR? Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about? Let's be hones