Ignorance Abounds

My good friend Harry recently brought to my attention further proof of the failings of our education system in the form of a pro-WalMart article.

Evidently, no amount of education can substitute for a fraction of wisdom.  The writer of this moronic tribute to the idiocy prevelant around us should be forced to redo his secondary education.  And Harry should be thanked for bringing it to my attention.

The India Pictures

At long last the India pictures got posted.  You can find them on tempusfugate.com/img if you want to check them out.

I'll do the best I can to get this weekends pictures posted with all due speed.

Celery: The Silent Killer

This is not a Veggie Tales post, even though it may have seemed like that.

Today while talking with a friend of mine about some nutritional stuff we were discussion vegetables and the like.  During the discussion the subject of how much fiber is in celery and how it burns more calories chewing it then it provides.  This was summed up in one sentence:

If all you eat is celery...you will die.

Now I know this might seem petty and insignificant to all of you high-brows out there, but I assure you, my world is consistently littered with the necessity to restate reality in such extremist terms.  I am after all, a consultant.

In this case, he was just taking the idea to its conclusion to put the right emphasis on the correct syllable. I found it a very refreshing and humorous way to retain forever in my mind the value of a balanced diet.

Headache in the House

In spending some quiet time to get my head screwed back on after a whirlwind weekend, a quote came to mind from my early catechism training.

God is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, justice, holiness, goodness and truth.

Enduring a headache, trying to let the stress of the world pass into the void around me, I found an odd comfort in these words.  After some reflection it is not hard to see why they would give me (a God-follower) a sense of peace.  Throughout my day, my biggest stresses come from handling the unknown, from relying on the fickleness of those with whom my life is intwined.

When you're a perfectionist, the rough edges and lack of discipline evident in the every day just grates on you from early until late.  Having to actually be dependant on others to deliver something with an ounce of polish becomes an exercise in futility.

Don't get me wrong, I am acutely aware of the foulness of my own aromas.  It is not the flaws that I see and stress about, it is my stark reliance on such obvious imperfections that threaten to make my own performance suffer greater still.  It is exactly the flaws in my own execution that bring angst to my brain when compounded with the haphazard happenstance surrounding me.

At some point, you'd think I'd learn to suffer fools, ignorants, and slothfulness surrounding me.  Today is just not the day.  My headache and 10 miles in the gym attest to that...

Pulling Me Back In

In another life (okay, quite a few years ago) I functioned quite a bit differently than I do now.  The crowd I ran with was different, the skills I utilized where different, my value system was different.  Over the past couple of years I've been laying low, trying to get a handle on things.  Trying to figure out the right balance of things I want in my life, the right way to utilize gifts and contribute.  It seems I've waited long enough and the world has decided my passivity won't stand any longer.

The last several months it's been necessary to step back into shoes I'd long forgotten.  Just when I was really enjoying the quiet anonymity of the worker drone, the world bursts in my solitude in the form of floundering around me.  It seems I have a weakness for imperfection.  (Okay, like we didn't already know about my absolutist tendencies!)

Seeing people I genuinely like struggling to better themselves and perform at a level beyond their current ability always makes me want to jump into the ditch and help.  I just can't seem to pass by an opportunity to support the struggling.

Actually, I've been trying to practice that particular skill for some time now.  The quiet aloofness, the ability to turn a blind-eye to ignorance or incompentence.  Drowning out the obvious cries for help with the excuse that my life is already full enough and I just can't add any value.  I tell myself that they are better off without me because look at the disaster that is me.  Usually if I tell myself that long enough I pretend to believe it.  As least until my faith slaps me silly for my unwillingness to share. I guess I'll just have to chalk my inability to be careless and fancy-free up as yet another failing. ;-)

So now, I'm gradually moving back. Investing in others, being open to responsibility. Allowing my former self to be fully realized from the shadow I've become.  Letting myself fall over the cliff of opportunity (or at least be pushed).

In some ways, it's like living again.  Not the happy, fun, party-time kind of living necessarily.  More of the nitty-gritty, down and dirty, willing to care, I'll-take-responsibility-for-that sort of way.  And frankly, I blame all those darn people I let get to me.  If I wanted to be a functioning member of society again, I wouldn't have spent all this time and energy hiding myself away.  Freakin' friends! They just sneak up on you when you aren't looking.  Before you know it, you care what happens to them.  What a messy way to live...

A Cure for Jet Lag?

Trying to get back on a regular schedule when your body still thinks it's on the other side of the world can be tricky.  I found that exhausting myself at the gym, watching movies, and doing it over again a few times seemed to help.    I'll have some India pics and maybe a video or two in a few days.

By the way, X-Men is a fun ride with some excellent effects and a solid storyline (as far as comics go).

If you don't mind, take the Sententia Vestrum (Your Opinion Poll) when you get a chance you can find it on the right.  I'll change it every couple days or more frequently as good questions arise.  If you have a particular survey you'd like to see, let me know.

Question of the Day

On the way home from Mumbai I was able to finish the Poll service I was working on. You can find it now hosted on Tempus Fugate as the Question of the Day.

It's actually a public interface so theoretically anyone could host poll questions on their site. I need to polish up the administration UI but it's still a pretty tight little service. If you are interested in the details, feel free to drop me a line.