Smart Women

WOMEN WHO KNOW THEIR PLACE

Barbara Walters, of 20/20, did a story on gender roles in Kabul, Afghanistan, several years before the Afghan conflict.

She noted that women customarily walked five paces behind their husbands.

She recently returned to Kabuland observed that women still walk behind their husbands. Despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women now seem happy to maintain the old custom.

Ms Walters approached one of the Afghani women and asked, 'Why do you now seem happy with an old custom that you once tried so desperately to change?'

The woman looked Ms.Walters straight in the eyes, and without hesitation said, 'Land Mines.'

Truth

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers, wider freeways but narrower viewpoints. We spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy is less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences but less time. We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgment; more experts but more problems; more medicine but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We have learned how to make a living but not a life; we've added years to life but not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back but have trouble crossing the street to me the new neighbour. We've conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things but not better things. We've cleaned up the air but polluted the soul. We've split the atom but not our prejudice. We write more but learn less. We plan more but accomplish less. We've learned to rush but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever but have less communication. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; tall men and short character; steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace but domestic warfare; more leisure but less fun; more kinds of food but less nutrition. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, of fancier houses but broken homes. These are the days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet to kill. It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom. (Moorehead, n.d.)

30 Day Shred - Day 1

Jillian thoroughly kicked my ass. Taking a shower after was hard, as my biceps hurt. Not quite as bad as when I first went to the gym, but I work out more now than I did when I first started at the gym. Few of the excersizes hurt while I was doing them, however now that I'm done and  showered I can feel the pain starting to creep into my muscles. There's also a very good chance that I have not been that sweaty in a long time. This could be because I did the workout right after work while the house was hot. I've got to get into the habit of getting up early and doing it first thing in the morning. Then it's cooler in the house, and I'll mostly have time for it.

In other news, I'm going to Fabricland right away to get a pattern for.. something. I found this great website: Modcloth which has all kinds of retro and indie dresses. I'd like to eventually start making those kinds of dresses. But, we'll see how this first stuff goes and reevaluate later. I'm sure my grandmother would be so proud of me if I did. She is a wonderful seamstress, and my mother as wel. Sometimes you just have to follow the family tradition, even if it is initially hoisted upon you by force.

Also, nasty breakups are not fun. A tip to the break-up-ee: Never ask for a commitment from the person who just broke up with you. Also, if they ask for something small, like time and distance, give it to them. It's the only way they won't hate.

The Way I See It #76

The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up, and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.

I retract my previous statement

I had stated on Dec 15, 2007 that I was done with the era of my life that includes school. This is no longer true. On September 9, 2009, or so, I will be back in school. The idea is to complete my degree through the University of Lethbridge, Calgary Campus.  The unfortunate part of it is that it will take from 3 to 5 years to complete the program. I was enjoying my freedom, but in order to get my CHRP (the Canadian Human Resources professional designation) I will need a degree.  And, it would be nice to actually have a graduation which my family can be proud of (my high school graduation was expected, and my college one ignored).

The other aspect is that I'm thinking of a slight change of career direction (potentially permanent, maybe not). This would make my schooling much less relevant, though it is always good to have a degree. Today a co-worker, who is hiring an assistant, talked to me (after I gave her a friends resume) and said that I should apply for said position. Now comes the inevitable internal debate as to if it is better to take the risk and jump, or to remain in a good job. If I fail at the potential job I would be terminated, and in this economy, that's not a fun proposition.

Interesting Concept

Article
So, basically, there's a trigger, you know, when you change the functionality of the site without warning everyone. That's a bad idea, it causes people to not like the site anymore. While us youngins are supposed to be ok with change, the truth is that we get used to things, and when they change without warning, without input, we hate it. We like to know WHY things are being done the way they are, this should not be a surprise for anyone who deals with the under 25 crowd on a regular basis.

After the trigger event, people use the easiest resource available to them to communicate this dislike, be it the forums, or comments or the 'contact us' button. Of course, the more media or photosphere attention is received, the bigger the revolt. The Facebook change to the terms and conditions got onto the news, and it exploded. If the news hadn't reported it, it might not have gotten to be the huge issue that it was.

Now that the company sees the issue, it has to be dealt with quickly, sincerely and in the best way possible. They have to address the issues, or the users will run away like the flighty people they really are. If the problem is fixed well and explained within hours, things will be fine.

Of course, the only way to avoid these issues is to communicate changes before they happen, and to ensure the changes are slow, steady, and based on feedback given by the users. After all, what is a social networking site without its users?

The Proximity Problem

When I'm walking the dog, and she squats to do her business, I reach into my pocket like a good citizen and take out a plastic poop bag. The bags are slippery and hard to open. The only solution is to lick a finger and give myself enough temporary gripping power to pry it open. The problem with this solution is that I'm licking my finger while thinking of dog crap. This never fails to creep me out.

But I topped it yesterday. I was working out at the gym and felt a powerful thirst. The gym provides large paper cups near an ice and water dispenser. I filled my cup, slapped on a plastic lid, and inserted the straw. So far, so good.

As I was happily slurping away, I entered the locker room and the first person I saw was a man in his mid sixties with a towel around his waist, blow drying his hair. Suddenly, to my horror, he put the blow dryer under the towel and started drying his junk. . . while I was sucking on a straw. I was temporarily blinded and I forgot most of my childhood.

- Scott Adams
Link