SciFi lesson and attitude

     When I was younger, I read voraciously. For a variety of reasons, I didn't like hanging out with people too much, so I spent most of my time curled up in any available nook or cranny with a book. My mother encouraged us to read The Classics, to which I attribute a number of British spelling tendencies and odd sayings , but what really caught my attention was scifi and fantasy. I was constantly being warned that I would rot my brain out by reading "useless stuff," and that it was just an escape from the real world, but I feel like I learned a lot from reading such novels.

     One of the most important lessons I learned from books, I feel, was how to treat others. The Classics were very big on honor, nobility and ethics, something that would come in handy when I started working, but was a bit out of touch for modern-day kid/ early teen interactions. One day, as I was reading my way through the Xanth series by Piers Anthony, I came across a version of the Iterated Prisoners' Dilemma, and a simplified answer for it (since the book was aimed at young teens, after all.) Here is a brief summary:

     Two men are arrested, but the police do not have enough information for a conviction. The police separate the two men, and offer both the same deal: if one testifies against his partner (defects/betrays), and the other remains silent (cooperates with/assists his partner), the betrayer goes free and the one that remains silent gets a one-year sentence. If both remain silent, both are sentenced to only one month in jail on a minor charge. If each 'rats out' the other, each receives a three-month sentence. Each prisoner must choose either to betray or remain silent; the decision of each is kept secret from his partner. What should they do?

FTP 27 - Pity party

     Every now and then, when things seem to just pile up and you can't quite see the light at the end of the tunnel, it's okay to sit down and feel sorry for yourself. Really. Even highly accomplished people do it...

     ...just don't forget to pick yourself up and keep going once you're done.

Cleaning house

     This week is housecleaning week, which has come to also include cleaning up the computer! As such, here is a collection of random things that have caught my attention, and which I no longer feel it necessary to keep around.

A sign at a college football game:

Apparently someone had brought a marshmallow gun to a game once, and was shooting stale marshmallows at people. One managed to injure a guest so of course, rather than outlaw things like projectiles or weapon simulations, they went for marshmallows. Logical.

FTP 26 - Darkest before dawn

     Yes, it's always darkest before the dawn. Yes, it usually gets worse before it gets better. But who's to say that the point you're at isn't the darkest or the worst, and things are about to turn around?

     What's even better is that often, you can be the rooster that makes the sun rise, all you have to do is believe, have faith in yourself, and crow. 

Keeping busy

     Step 1: Identify the problem.

     Step 2: Identify what, if anything, you can do about it.
                     -If you can do something, go to step 3.
                     -If you truly, honestly, absolutely cannot do anything at all... really... go to step 4.