Now, it’s your turn to do some thinking… Post your thoughts in the comments and get some link love…

This week’s question: What is a babe?

What qualifies someone as a babe? Most commonly, women are referred to as “babes” or “hot babes,” but can men be “babes” too? (I have heard women using the term in much the same way that men do.)

Is “babeness” defined strictly by looks, or do personality and attitude come into play? Can a nice girl who’s not attractive be a babe? Can an attractive woman with a lousy attitude be considered a babe?

Post your thoughts in the comments. Or, if you prefer, do a blog post on your own blog about it and leave a comment here telling me about it. I’ll do a follow-up post summarizing everyone’s thoughts–maybe even do a fancy graph or something–and link to the respondents.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Popularity: 4% [?]

I just love giving WordPress a challenging (in length) headline. Let’s see how well it does with this one…

Have you ever noticed that items sealed in plastic, especially food items, are getting harder and harder to open? Does it seem that it’s getting more difficult to grab an end, or find the plastic flap that made tearing the packaging open easier? Or, just grabbing a loose section of plastic where you could stick a knife or even try to tear it open with your teeth?

I think the anti-plastic radicals are to blame.

You see, if you search the Internet at all, there are people that dislike excessive plastic packaging. And, while I agree that packaging is sometimes excessive, there are those that take things to extremes, complaining about the slightest bit of “excess” plastic in any kind of packaging.

They write to companies, and complain “I’m not buying your products anymore, waaa!, waaa!, waaa!” and so on. And, I think that perhaps they’ve made enough noise and also that companies are motivated to go “green” these days or at least give the appearance of going “green,” that companies are caving to the anti-plastic radicals.

But, they’re doing so in sneaky ways.

I think they are just heat-shrinking the plastic. That way, it looks like less plastic was used in the packaging process. That shuts up those superficial “excess plastic! excess plastic!” crybabies. Looks like less, so it must be less. The companies get fewer letters and the little crybabies happily start buying their products once again.

But, then the rest of us suffer, because that “excess” plastic is what made the plastic easier to get a hold of and open. Now, we have to stab our food with sharp knives, risking getting bits of plastic in our food, all because of a small percentage of whiny little crybabies.

At least, that’s my theory.

Popularity: 3% [?]

I’m beginning to really dislike those “get organized” and “how much can I get for my stuff?” television programs that seemingly every cable channel has their own version of these days.

They seem to have the mentality of getting rid of stuff, letting go of sentimental attachments to things and such so that you can be a happier, better organized person and buy different stuff!

It’s just so disgusting sometimes. Like the family who sold off some of their grandmother’s furniture and used the proceeds to buy a plasma TV.

Now, I’m not one of these anti-television people. I watch TV. Probably too much. And, a plasma TV probably would be nice. But, I cannot fathom getting rid of family heirlooms to do it.

A desk, a table and so on… These are things that, if well-taken care of, are something that can be passed on to succeeding generations.

That plasma TV will probably be sitting out at the curb in five to ten years, broken or replaced by the next new thing. And, what do you have? Memories of having watched TV shows?

Whereas with that desk or table or whatever, each time you use it, you have that connection to generations past. Plus, if you think about it, you also have a connection to future generations who would use that item after you and your family!

It’s like a part of living history. You can look at old family photos, and see previous generations sitting at the same table you’re now sitting at with your kids. And, maybe one day they’ll show pictures of you and them sitting at that same table to their children, as they gather round the same table!

Maybe I was born in the wrong time or something, because people don’t seem to be that way anymore. They see family heirlooms and they don’t see something to be passed down and shared for generations. Instead, they see dollar signs.

Or, worse yet, they won’t see enough dollar signs, and, if the item doesn’t have enough monetary value, off to the curb it goes. Or a garage sale. Or Ebay.

They get a few bucks and lose generations of memories. But, they don’t care. It’s all to get their “fix.” They’ll swap out family memories for a new TV. Or to redecorate their living room. Something timeless for something timely; something they’ll be replacing again in a few years.

Family heirlooms don’t have to be monetarily valuable to be valuable. They just need to be passed on and on.

Not all values can be expressed in monetary terms.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Parent: Having kids is such a rewarding experience. Little Jimmy can go on and on with lots of questions, and you have to stop and think and explain things to him. It is such a rewarding experience to see the world anew again, and to see things through his little eyes. And, he asks a question, then a follow-up and then on and on and on. It’s just so cute.

What Not to Say: Wow. Your kid must really be stupid.

Parent: Little Jimmy is only 14 months old, and he’s already starting potty training.

What Not to Say: My cat started using the litterbox at 4 weeks old.

Your turn…

Popularity: 3% [?]

I’m thinking that perhaps I should have been a weatherman or a politician, because those must be pretty stress-free jobs. After all, you can be wrong with alarming regularity and still keep your job.

In fact, it’s usually the off-work things that cause you to lose your job. Get involved in a scandal of some sort, and you’re probably toast. But, you can wrongly predict the weather day after day, and, apparently so long as you’re able to explain why you were wrong (weather patterns shifted, El Niño, a dozen Super Doppler radar systems spread across the region just aren’t enough, etc.), they’ll keep putting you on-screen day after day after day. Or, you can pass mind-numbingly stupid legislation time after time, and still keep your job just so long as you can argue with a straight face that it was “for the children.”

Odd that incompetence isn’t a reason to lose your job.

And, for a third easy job, how about being a consumer reporter? This has got to be the easiest job in the world. Just subscribe to Consumer Reports magazine, and recycle their reports to create your TV bit. Not enough reports in the magazine to fill your schedule? No problem. Just point out the obvious and hype it up like you’re really rolling up your sleeves and getting out there and investigating this stuff.

Here’s an example from this past week. One of the local consumer reporters had a story on how to save money on your repair bill. His advice? Fix it yourself. Don’t know how? Look it up on Google! Wow! Probably took more time to do the promos than it did to research the story.

If sloth and general incompetence aren’t enough to cause you to lose your job, then your job probably isn’t very important. On the other hand, these jobs typically pay reasonably well, so if an easy day at work is your thing, perhaps you might want to look at a career change into something that’s not so much of a mental challenge.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Have you yourself ever felt stupid because you cannot believe that other people you deal with can’t seem to understand what you’re trying to communicate to them?

Pete, being that you’re also in the graphic arts, maybe you’ve experienced this sort of thing.

Here is the eMail exchange, paraphrased to avoid copyright and identification issues.

Me: I get “Access Denied” when I try to upload to your website, so I am attaching the file to this message. I have attached it in both PDF and EPS versions.

Other Person: You need to go to www… to upload your file. Which of the two files do you want to use?

Me: I went there, and got “Access Denied” when I tried to upload. Both files are the same, but in two different file formats. The EPS file may be the easier one to use.

OP: Which file do you want to use? You sent me two.

At this point, I decided I would just put an end to my headache and pick one myself.

Me: Use the EPS.

OP: You said both were the same so I picked the PDF.

Me: That’s okay. They are both the same.

That was yesterday. I thought everything was resolved. Until today.

OP: I was told both files were the same, so I used the FTP one. If you don’t want a different file, you will have to go to www… and redo the file. But deadline was 4pm. What do you want to do?

That message was sent after 4:00 p.m.

Me: PLEASE TELL ME THE FILE MADE IT IN! THEY ARE BOTH EXACTLY THE SAME! JUST DIFFERENT FILE FORMATS!!!

Okay, I heavily paraphrased my last response. I actually wrote a longer and more detailed response, but such was the underlying theme.

Was I unclear somewhere in my original messages? Please tell me I’m not stupid.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Today is an extra day, no?

Perhaps I should take the day off from blogging. How about you?

Popularity: 5% [?]

Earlier this morning, I was entering the “Etiquette when Nursing Privately” section of chapter one on Practical Points in Nursing. And, I have to wonder, where have our manners gone in today’s society?

For example: “It is a mark of respect for the nurse to rise when the physician enters the room, and to remain standing unless asked to be seated; she should hand him her report, answer all questions, then quietly leave the room.”

Some today may view that as sexist or outdated, but, as detailed in the post, it served a purpose. For one, it was a mark of respect for the physician’s position. Notwithstanding that most doctors were men and nurses were women, it was the position and not the sex of the physician that earned that level of respect.

For another thing, it would give the patient an opportunity to speak to the doctor privately. Maybe the patient had a complaint about the nurse or just didn’t want to discuss certain things with the nurse present.

But, those kinds of things are not what you see in our day and age. And, it’s not just in the medical field that I’m referring, but other areas as well. Removing hats when going indoors, for example. I’m sure there are many things that were considered good manners that, not only do we not do but also we don’t even remember them!

There was a time, for example, when there was respect for the President, because he was the President. Even if you didn’t particularly like the man, you still showed him consideration out of respect for the office he held. We don’t have that anymore.

People cry “free speech” to excuse their actions, but free speech doesn’t have to mean throwing all sense of decency out the window. Take protests at funerals, for example. Neither conservatives nor liberals can claim the moral high ground here. Leftist loonies protested at Ronald Reagan’s funeral, while right-wing nuts protested at Heath Ledger’s funeral. Free speech? Okay, but come on! How about at least showing some consideration for the families who had lost their loved ones? Do the dance of joy in the privacy of your own home if you want, but show some regard for the families.

On the one hand, it’s sad that many of our past manners have fallen into disuse.

On the other hand, I do like things a little more informal. We have lots of social customs that are just nutty. And, I don’t necessarily believe that going through the motions is necessarily a sign of respect. People will do the proper things and all, but, inside, they’re still muttering nasty things about you. People say “Yes, sir” and “No, sir” but they don’t really mean it. They’re saying the words, but that doesn’t mean they are respecting you.

Treating someone kindly shows a heck of a lot more respect than meaningless titles, like “sir” or “ma’am.” And calling a parent “Mom” or “Dad” rather than “Mother” or “Father” or even “ma’am” and “sir” displays a level of closeness that goes beyond respect, and certainly beyond titles. When I was growing up, I knew kids that would show their parents respect with their words, but not their actions. Of the two, I believe the latter is the more important.

On top of that, I don’t necessarily believe that someone automatically earns respect by holding a certain position. There are a lot of stupid and undeserving people who hold positions of authority, and treating such people with respect out of formality strikes me as dishonesty. Again, it goes back to the “Yes, sir” and “No, sir.” You say the words, but you don’t really respect the person because he’s a moron.

Surely, somewhere, there is room for compromise between the (sometimes!) more friendly, personal and informal ways of today and the more respectful and mannerful ways of days long gone.

Popularity: 4% [?]

“I have no doubt that in reality the future will be vastly more surprising than anything I can imagine. Now my own suspicion is that the Universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose.”
~J. B. S. Haldane

In his blog post yesterday, Jon wrote: “I am a man of faith and reason. I do not believe the two to be mutually exclusive….” That brought to mind the modern idea that religion and science are mutually exclusive.

The foremost example is perhaps the theory of evolution. On the one hand, you have those that believe that evolution is fact. One must remember, however, that it is the theory of evolution, not the law of evolution. Perhaps one day, there will be a law of evolution. Perhaps not. What is true is that it is the most plausible scientific explanation we have for the origins of the various species of life on Earth. One cannot rule out that it may one day be dismissed in favor of another theory, which itself could one day be elevated to the status of a law.

On the other hand, you have those who dismiss evolution entirely, in favor of creationism. Some even go so far as to try to wrap religious faith in science and call it “intelligent design.”

That is, in and of itself, somewhat of a misnomer, as who is to say that evolution is not “intelligent design” at work?

I do not regard science and religion as mutually exclusive. Is it outside the realm of possibility that God created the universe, not with a lot of hands-on work forming man out of clay, but by setting into motion a master plan that resulted in the universe and life on Earth as we know it today? Each time we make new discoveries about the universe around us only adds to the wonder that it is. The argument can even be made that something as seemingly mundane as mathematics can have a beauty all its own.

Some will argue that it is all evidence of God’s handiwork. Others will argue that it is by pure chance.

Who is to say that it isn’t a little of both?

A student in Kentucky has attempted to show, scientifically, that light could have been formed by sound, such that when God said “Let there be light,” the sound created light.

Recently, planets have been found to be forming around old stars. Previously, it was thought that planets formed when the solar system was originally formed (or a stray object was caught by a star’s gravitational pull). The late formation of planets suggests that, perhaps, planet-forming is something very natural in the universe. By design, perhaps?

We are still discovering the mysteries of the universe and the odds are great that we have only touched the very tip of the iceberg. Just consider what we’ve discovered so far. Consider mathematics and physics, especially quantum physics which can sometimes be mind-boggling as to the “weirdness” that sometimes seems inherent in it.

Is it inconceivable that a deity could have done the equivalent of writing a few lines of computer code, which self-replicated and self-modified itself to create that deity’s end goal? We use computers every day to simplify our tasks. Game programmers write games that create entire universes for us to play in. Can we really be so sure that God didn’t do the same?

Can we really be certain that evolution wasn’t God’s method of creation?

“When science discovers the center of the universe a lot of people will be disappointed to find they are not it.”
~Bernard Baily

Some people of faith will regard the cosmos as unimportant, seeing only winning converts to their faith as being importance. Some people of science will look to the universe to point out the insignificance of man.

Both views are short-sighted. Consider the vastness of the universe. Although some may think it an illusion (and there are those who believe the moon landings were faked), it’s a really big place. Why would God create all of that if not for us to go forth, explore, and multiply? Should we think we should limit our “be fruitful and multiply” only to the confines of the Earth? Why grant us a curiosity about the world around us, and then hope we don’t act upon it?

On the other hand, if there is no God, there will be no miracle to save us. There is no guiding hand, no invisible force in the cosmos that leads us away from self-destruction. In the vastness of space, all there is of us is but a tiny and fragile speck in the universe. We’re just one wandering black hole, one blast of gamma radiation, one solar disaster away from annihilation. We need to expand beyond the confines of our planet in order for the long term survival of mankind.

Some may adopt a pessimistic view of humanity, regarding nothing we have created as being of value. But, I see wonderful things all around us that ought to be preserved for perpetuity. Books. There are lots and lots of wonderful books. How about paintings and sculpture? What about entertainment too? Or of toys and machines? We are surrounded by greatness, but we are apt to overlook it.

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, sayin’ “how do you do?”
They’re really sayin’ “I love you”
~”What a Wonderful World”
Lyrics by Bob Thiele (using the pseudonym George Douglas) and George David Weiss

Civilization is both our blessing and our curse.

On the better hand, civilization allows us to progress and grow. It allows us to spread ideas far and wide. It allows us more free time to express ourselves, to create new inventions, to think more and watch over our shoulder less.

On the lesser hand, civilization makes us more prone to laziness and sloth. We fail to learn the lessons of history. We become prone to letting despots take more control over our lives, just so long as we are kept fat and happy with food, wealth or entertainment.

We forget that there are people out there who, like some species of animals, seek dominance and control over others. Civilization separates us from the need to look over our shoulder as we hunt for food. We don’t generally need to worry about a predator sneaking up on us at the grocery store and carrying us away as their dinner. We ignore or lose that little bit of paranoia that tells us some one is hunting us for food or to achieve dominance. Thus, we disregard the tiny despots that live among us, deluding ourselves that such and such a thing “will never happen!”

Until it’s too late, of course. Then we ask why no one warned us, why no one tried to stop our new overlords (including those we ourselves may have elected!), all the while passing the blame onto others and not accepting that it was our own reasoning that led us to distrust our own internal warnings.

Science and religion are not mutually exclusive, nor are reason and faith.

Sometimes we need to follow our instincts. Other times, we need to listen to reason.

Wisdom is knowing which one to trust.

Popularity: 7% [?]