Epiphanies
Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is absurd. – Voltaire
No epiphanies today, but instead I have a goal set and hard work will get me where I’m going! If only I had a little more sleep…
Links
We have standards
I’m always looking for new things to help my day along, especially because most methods seem to stop helping me after they lose their novelty. This is kind of cute, though it seems to still require a lot of will power. It’s more an organizational tool than a motivational one for sure. I’m going to try it next week; my standards are above. Give it a whirl đ
Great advice I needed
Really quick post, just wanted to share what I’m totally going to do from now on.
“You could call it my own version of “The Price is Right”. If I see something I want to impulse purchase, I think of a price I would be happy to pay for it. If I check the actual price and it’s lower, I buy it. If the price is higher, I walk away.”
I AM GOING TO SAVE SO MUCH MONEY.
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Since I don’t wear rings…
When I get married, I want this. I’m not all that into sparkles at all so diamonds just don’t hold appeal for me. On the other hand, The Box is all of the metaphor and symbolism and emotion-triggering that I would want in a sentimental gift from someone I would want to be with forever. Every scent would be a reminder of a moment we had or would have together. Plus, with so many scents, I likely won’t run out of them before I can pass it to my child and explain to them mommy’s weird obsession with smelly things!
This isn’t the only collection that would make me happy. There are so many awesome fragrance blends and single accords out there that any small collection would likely get me excited. Smell is one of the slowest-processing memories we make, it lasts longer. Any scent that makes an emotional impact sticks with you. I don’t think that many people can say the same about a sparkle.
Unfortunately for me, and the guy whom I may marry one day, it’s really expensive. More expensive than a lot of rings for sure. If it was a wedding present from my parents or a bunch of friends pooled together for it, that would be alright too, heh đ *winknudge*
(Also, you can totally get me gift certificates in the meantime :D…)
Do me a favor
That’s so interesting! Definitely a tactic I’ll try to use from now on. It sounds counter-intuitive but it makes sense when you break it down. A person is more likely to do a favor for someone they like after all; this is just application in reverse. Ben Franklin, once again, proven awesome.
However, I’m wondering if it has the same effect if there’s a power disparity. I like my boss, but if I didn’t and she asked me to do her a favor, I would do it anyway, and probably come out of it feeling the same way towards her. I used to do quite a few favors for people in fast food/restaurant/take-out situations because much of the time, the situation seemed to really call for me to say “yes”, and not all of them increased my affinity towards them. In fact, if they caught me in a poor mood, it would likely degrade my relationship with the asker if we started off neutral, or if I felt I was being handed an unjust responsibility.
Anyway, Ben Franklin Effect!
How to Fail
Forbes used a different title, but I like the one in the URL better.
Perhaps this article covers more than just trust in work and school and things we’re assigned to do. The author uses an anecdote of desert survival practice in the military. I don’t think it’s only the military that needs to be told they can still fail as a whole even when one of their guys comes out on top.
This is a video they included in the article. I’m at work right now, but I’m sure they included it for a reason. Be sure to check it out like i will later!
How we all miss the point on school shootings
How we all miss the point on school shootings
But this âwitch huntâ we go through every time a school shooting happens is a total ruse. Elliot Rodger didnât become a killer because he was a misogynist; he became a misogynist because he was a killer. Just like Eric Harris didnât become a killer because he loved violent video games; he loved violent video games because he was a killer. Just like Adam Lanza didnât become a killer because he loved guns; he loved guns because he was a killer.
Not going to lie, while I enjoyed this editorial and I resonate with many of its ideas, the solution he proposes is so, so much easier said than done. Most of us have grown up shutting out those in pain because there were just so many of those in pain that it would put us in suffering to even acknowledge all of them. Or at the very least, that’s what we were told by those guiding us through life. That you can’t help everybody. That you can’t touch everyone. If someone shoots up a school, goes on a stabbing, commits suicide, then ultimately, that was on them.
I’m reminded of “Riley Rewind”, which was a webseries written and directed by Ray William Johnson and Anna Akana.
Greek mythology helps veterans fight PTSD
Greek mythology helps veterans fight PTSD
PTSD and all of the polarizing emotions of going into and coming out of war is a struggle not recognized enough.
I am heartened by this sharing of stories and communication between those who understand. I think it’s a great step towards openly talking about mental illness and the effects of trauma. In all aspects of mental illness, I think the emphasis on being open, aware, and understanding is one of the best ways to help someone towards recovery.
Our veterans are routinely silenced, either by their own fear of disappointment, or by the well-meaning who believe it isn’t good to dwell on bad things. And just to reiterate:
- “57,849 veterans are homeless on any given night.”
- 12% of the homeless adult population are veterans
- 20% of the male homeless population are veterans
- 68% reside in principal cities
- 32% reside in suburban/rural areas
- 51% of individual homeless veterans have disabilities
- 50% have serious mental illness
- 70% have substance abuse problems
- 51% are white males, compared to 38% of non-veterans
- 50% are age 51 or older, compared to 19% non-veterans
- “In addition to the complex set of factors influencing all homelessness â extreme shortage of affordable housing, livable income and access to health care â a large number of displaced and at-risk veterans live with lingering effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse, which are compounded by a lack of family and social support networks. Additionally, military occupations and training are not always transferable to the civilian workforce, placing some veterans at a disadvantage when competing for employment.”
- “The most effective programs for homeless and at-risk veterans are community-based, nonprofit, âveterans helping veteransâ groups. Programs that seem to work best feature transitional housing with the camaraderie of living in structured, substance-free environments with fellow veterans who are succeeding at bettering themselves.”
Net Neutrality in the Library
“One of the big questions that gets left unasked in the debate between Silicon Valley and the big ISPs is the bigger issue about how this affects the public interest and public institutions. This has not been addressed in the debate on net neutrality through the years: What are the costs to public libraries, to state colleges, to K-12 schools, to local governments and other not-for-profit organizations that provide significant public services?”
I’ve always had computer and internet connection (perks of having parents who do computers for a living) but the number or my peers and kids both older and younger than me over the years using the computers in the library and at school to succeed in my fairly wealthy school district would probably be surprising if I weren’t so used to it. Not everyone has a computer; not everyone can afford one. As the article mentions, letting corporations essentially privatize internet service means it’s that much more difficult for public institutions to serve their public on a passable level.
Now, one large argument against what’s covered in the article is “Well obviously they’re going to exclude public orgs..”
Okay. And so what happens when the public catches on that it’s easier to go on the internet at their school or their library? Overcrowding. These places will have to either suffer or have to find the money somehow to expand their servers. Eventually everyone, unless they pay a premium, will have to get used to subpar service or else not use one of the greatest informational pools ever created. Not to mention that there are a ton of different ways to break or get around proxy servers and staff can’t catch all of them right now as it is.
Children and Lying
I like the picture Slate used :3
My favorite parts of this article are the fact that they say not to ask your kid if you know for sure they did a misdeed so as to not let them choose to lie, but instead immediately confront them with the appropriate punishment on hand. I absolutely agree that the misdeed and the lying have to be treated as two separate things. They even touched upon tact and the difference between honesty and obnoxiousness; something some “older kids” need to learn đ
Pomelo girl thoughts 