Don't Make a Fuss

The other day I was walking to the bus stop while it was raining briskly, and observed a series of people making a fuss over getting wet. Some were dressed nicely without umbrellas or rain wear, and as the weather is sometimes unpredictable, I sympathized for them.

But only for a moment.

They continued to complain as they got into their cars and sped away. At that point I got onto the bus, got off at my stop, hopped on my bike, and biked the rest of the way home.

I observed a similar situation this morning as the temperature here in Ann Arbor dropped to the 30s for the first time this season. People making a fuss over it being too cold. They appeared to be middle to upper class students and adults, who were outside momentarily while in transit between two well-heated facilities.

Again, sympathy was felt on the chance that the people were used to warmer climates and were suddenly shocked by Michigan weather. But that sympathy did not last long.

Why make a fuss? You're going to get home, take off the wet clothes, grab a towel, and forget about the whole thing within five minutes. Or you'll get into the warm building, be so warm that you have to take off your winter coat, and soon possibly even complain about how hot it is inside while taking off another layer of clothing.

Why make a fuss? Because you have the luxury to be irritated by such trivial matters?

Why not make a fuss? Because it is indeed trivial, it's not fun for people around you, and likely not fun for you either. This applies to "misery loves company" group fuss as well. And who likes being around people that enjoy making fusses?

Don't make a fuss.

Daylight Saving

I find Daylight Saving time really amusing. In the spring it creates this odd discontinuous gap in time, and in the fall it creates a period of time that is repeated. There are two instances of every moment of time between October 29 1:00am and 1:59am. I hope nobody planned any important meetings during that period of time.

I once woke up and went to school an hour early from overlooking Daylight Saving. Not that I'm assuming that anyone else will forget this, but just in case: On October 29, after 1:59am, the clock should turn back to 1:00am.

Some interesting/funny reads:
Seth Godin's "This time, it's different"
-Discusses some history of Daylight Saving, like how in 1444 the walled city of Basel thwarted a planned attack by changing the town clock.

Webexhibit's Daylight Saving Time
-This one covers some interesting things like how the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is changing when Daylight Saving happens starting 2007, how bars deal with serving alcohol on Daylight Saving days, and how Arizona randomly does not partake in Daylight Saving.

Re: What do you think about taking drugs recreationally?

Original Question:

What do you think about taking drugs recreationally? Do you think it makes sense the way the law distinguishes between legal drugs and illegal drugs or should it be different?

Shorter Answer:
It's up to the user to choose what they prefer to do for recreation. The law simply attempts to enforce rules according to its presumed position of elevated authority on promoting the greater good of the collective.

Longer Answer:
Of course, those rules are often circumventable. Sometimes quite easily, when considering the availability of some illegal drugs. In that case, people whose choices for recreation that involve illegal drugs are not hindered much.

Except of course, if they get caught. And punished. That's when things suddenly become problematic, with an explosion of anger and hate. Though usually it seems, not before such events, as people are simply riding the stories of others.

I do not know of a good way to determine the legality of drugs. Many people make claims about how drug use will increase or decrease upon changes in legality, but those claims tend to be mostly unfounded. The only big example that I think may be worth analyzing and learning from was the prohibition movement, but that was such a unique situation that it may be difficult to apply to present-day drug issues.

What I do know though, is that current laws are inconsistent. I looked up leading causes of death in the United States for the year 2000 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and was pleasantly unsurprised. The leading causes:

1. Tobacco (435,000 deaths; 18.1% of total US deaths)
2. Poor diet and physical inactivity (400,000 deaths; 16.6%)
3. Alcohol consumption (85,000 deaths; 3.5%) - This includes alcohol-related vehicle deaths.

... 9. Illicit use of drugs (17,000 deaths; 0.7%)

Are those figures the good work of the law? Would they be worse or differently distributed if the present set of laws were not in place? Somehow, I am skeptical. I think everyone is. But that is the effect of historical establishment of a drug, and of course big money corporations.

I am very interested in any suggestions anyone might have for a system that will confidently work better than the one currently in place. Please think on this and discuss any worthwhile conclusions.

Source article:

http://www.stopaddiction.com/narconon_alcohol_deaths.html

On Volatility

So many decisions are made on whims. Sometimes very big decisions. Whims that are the result of emotion, and temporary thoughts and beliefs. Mental preferences and investments are often infatuous. When decisions need to be made, how do we account for these things?

When Automated Advertisements Go Wrong

I was browsing through some old screenshots that I saved and rediscovered this:

Re: Do you consider yourself "grown up"? For you, what does that term encompass?

Shorter Answer:
Yes, with "grown up" meaning being mentally mature.

Longer Answer:
I haven't really thought about the term, "grown up" since high school where it was often used by teachers and parents, who considered themselves grown up, to encourage or patronize others that they did not place in that category. In that context, likely aligning with the general consensus definition, being grown up incorporates some level of responsibility, accountability, maturity, and possibly even the shedding of what might be considered childlike behavior.

At this point in time I would define the term as simply "mentally mature." This means having a level of understanding of oneself and the relevant environment around oneself to be able to think and make decisions competently. To be able to reason out for oneself what one feels is good, is right, and what qualifies for belief. I would not incorporate in the definition, change from an earlier age. In this way, I would consider myself grown up.

Where's the Passion Nowadays?

I mean, when was the last time you looked like this:













Or this:













Or this:
















Note: Images will be a bit grainy having been captured from VODs.

Re: Greatest lesson learned working at a homeless shelter?

I was only a volunteer so I didn't get to do very interesting work during my time at the homeless shelter. While I made a lot of interesting observations, I wouldn't say that I learned many great lessons. Perhaps one of them regarded the nature of social justice. First, the term "homeless" connotes inaccuracies among general opinion. The clients at the sheltor are all literally homeless, but not much else could be fairly assumed about them. Many dressed in suits and appeared unlike images that might come to mind when discussing the homeless. Most clients were resourceful and diligent, and were only homeless as the result of difficult circumstances, some unpredictable, some out of their control.

People not in the homeless group often treated and related to the homeless, however ambiguously or unconsciously, without knowledge of these things. But rather unfounded assumptions of the opposite. I was among them when I first began volunteering. Sometimes the condescension or relative comparitive self-elevation was detected, and incited reactive open discomfort and irritation from the client. Sometimes it was detected but only drew resigned communication. But it was always detected, and always negatively affected the relationship and communication between outsider and client from the start.

As opinions of others affect the onset and development of relationships so drastically, there is a serious problem in a society that nourishes so many negative opinions between different groups of people.

Re: Why is acting first more important than thinking first?

Shorter answer:
It usually isn't.

Longer answer:
Depending on what you mean exactly in the terms "acting" and "thinking," thinking should always come before acting. I am assuming that we are not interested in discussing actions resulting from instinct and emotions that bypass conscious thought. Thought always has the potential to increase efficiency and benefit of following actions. Proper thought eliminates negative mental consequences of actions, like regret.

The only situation that I can think of where actions may be more effective when taken before thought, is in being recognized and convincing to people that you wish to affect. Though even in these cases, communication of ideas could be just as powerful as display of action. All the "actions speak louder than words," and "you must see it to believe it," and "you need to experience it to really know" ways of thinking discredit and undervalue the power of thought and ideas. Ideas are as real as anything that can be detected with our primary senses. Communicating them effectively is where the difficulty lies. When successful, it should have the power to convert thoughts into beliefs.

Re: How should we live?

Shorter answer:
Lightly, but passionately. Introspectively and thoughtfully, to grow, learn, and evolve. With openness to change, new ideas, and experiences. Seeking knowledge and wisdom. With eagerness and energy. Feeling and being.

Re: What's your take on relationships? Romantic or otherwise.

This is a such a huge topic that I am unsure where to begin. I will start with what comes to mind first.

Shorter Answer:
It is complicated, and depends on the needs and desires of each person. (Lame/Boring). I think relationships are one of the few things that hold universal value and benefit to all people, at any point in time, ever. People are always better off with secure relationships, and care should be taken to maintain valuable relationships.

Longer Answer:
Relationships are the lubricant of daily life. Romantic relationships are the K-Y Jelly of lubricants. Happiness and quality of life depend more on relationships than any single other thing. Many like to say "humans are by nature, social beings." But I don't think that we need to make that sort of textual simplification here. Rather, feel it, using your memory and thoughts. Think about your life, greatest joys from the past, and sources of happiness and positive emotions for your present self. People and relationships likely inhabit areas very near many of those feelings. One should always be open to new relationships, and take care of existing relationships.

Problems that arise between people with relationships should be easily resolvable if all parties are honest enough to a point where everyone involved understands the stakes, each person's value of the relationship. I'm tempted to say that most relationship problems are trivial to a point that they can be easily prevented(or later resolved) with full communication and honesty. Any problem that that cannot be dealt with in this way either requires genuine forgiveness, or is too severe for the relationship to continue.

A few weeks ago I heard a Go master say, "You don't kill groups. You let them die." Deliberate actions should not be made to end a relationship. At worst the relationship should be ignored, and if left that way it can end on its own. But the option should be left for the relationship to be healed by time or other means.

Some interesting articles about how relationships increase productivity and bearability of work:
The Guardian - Friendly Advice
Bostonworks - Pals make work more tolerable

Re: Why the live-by-a-shoestring route?

Original question:

Ted, word on the street says after school you're thinking about moving to a random country so you can live paycheck to paycheck in a job that doesn't align with your skillset.

Sounds like a fun idea, one that I've considered myself a few times - but I've never considered the benefits to outweigh the costs so I'm curious. Why the live-by-a-shoestring route?

Note: Word spreads with alterations. My initial expressed idea intended to involve someplace in the country, where language would not be an issue. Also, the hope would be that the job would align with my skillset, but I would be ready to take up any job that would help me get by.

Shorter Answer:
Because it will be exciting and fun.

Longer Answer:
Several things contributed to the idea: I have never lived outside of Ann Arbor. I have been a student my entire life. I enjoy adventure. Each of these items also imply additional relevant details. Because I have never lived outside of Ann Arbor, not only do I have no experience living in different locations, city sizes and accompanying cultures&societies, I also have no experience living away from family, familiar and comfortable friends, people, and places. Someplace new may prove to be interesting and exciting in ways that I cannot predict from my current set of experiences.

Having always been a student, my greatest responsibilities rarely extended beyond the academy. I've never worked to pay for rent, food, and all other bills. I would like to take up those responsibilities and be more independent, and thus have greater flexibility in taking my life wherever I would like to. I always like trying new things. Starting anew in an unfamiliar location will surely be adventurous and require resourcefulness, a skill that I love developing and applying. Also, given my educational focus and degree, finding a solid high-paying job that I can shape my life around is unlikely.

Making New Words

I love making new words. Usually they're words that don't exist in the English language, but sound like they should. Sometimes they're some combination of letters or parts of words that already exist. For example, combining "girl" and "exploitation" yields a new compound word, "girlsploitation." A practical use of the new word: Asian girlsploitation:

Re: Why should I post questions here?

Why not? You have nothing to lose, and (depending on your beliefs) some chance of something to gain. At least give it a shot. If you don't like my response, the discussion among the posters of this blog, or anything else, you can ignore it and never bother returning. It is my hope that valuable discussion will result among all posters for every question posed. It is my hope that interesting topics will arise and that people will have fun talking about them. Let's try to make this a place where that is not only possible, but frequent and enjoyable.

Re: Who are you?

My name is Ted Miin, I am 20 years old, and I am currently a psychology major at the University of Michigan. I like to think about things. All of the time. I am almost always in a state of observation and awareness, contemplation and analysis. Many say that I "think too much" and that I "overanalyze things." They are probably correct, in the context of what they consider is valuable or practical. To me, I think and analyze just enough, or maybe still not quite enough. Either way a lot of thinking is done, and as a result I have a flood of ideas, questions, problems, and realizations. Some of these things may be useless, impractical, or stupid. But some may also be valuable and interesting. This is why I decided to start a blog- to discuss things that I think about, and to hopefully find out what other people are thinking about.

Questions Thread

Please post any and all (but only) questions as comments to this post. I will then start a new post that will include the response to and discussion of the question. I think this method of organization will be efficient and convenient for viewing all questions ever posed in one simple post. Responses from me should be expected within 24 hours of the initial posting of the question in this thread.

I'll post a couple of questions myself, for starters.

Update (4-15-07): I will now be posting comments in this thread that link to my responses to each question. This will make it easier to access the specific threads for each question, while adding minimal clutter to the Questions Thread.

Welcome

I have a lot of things to say about almost everything, and would like to express my thoughts and ideas in this weblog. It is my hope that anyone that has anything to say about my posts will respond and that we can discuss anything worth discussing.

I would also like to try to maintain an all-purpose advice column, where anyone can ask questions about anything. Give it a shot; maybe I can offer something of value.