Sacred rocks Sep 28, 2020
This is really insensitive of me, and it's probably racist or elitist or ignorant:  I'm really not swayed by people claiming some area or rock is culturally significant to them and as such, other people shouldn't be allowed to go there or look at it.  The latest example is Uluru in Australia.  Before that, it was Mauna Kea in Hawaii.  This rock was important to your ancestors?  So?  It's a rock.  It was there before you decided it was culturally significant.  It was probably there before human beings existed, and it'll likely be there well after our species goes extinct. #sociology
Alcohol proof Sep 17, 2020
The fact that there's a word that simply means "two times" another word is completely ridiculous.  "What proof is this?"  86.  "Ah, 43% alcohol.  Nice."
Contrarian followers Sep 8, 2020
I'll never understand people who follow people and groups on social media just to be argumentative and contrarian with every single post and idea that the author presents.  Like, you're from team A, why are you wasting your time with team B?
Mark Amenity Grape Asian Sep 8, 2020
It's 2009, I'm in my blue "Hope & Change" hat, driving my zero-emission vehicle to the nearby stadium for an Obama rally, where we'll chant things like "Socialized medicine!" and "Save the environment!" while we gleefully sing Obama's praises and curse his political opponents.  Nothing weird about that.  Nope. #politics
On life Sep 8, 2020
"The celebrated Parisian doctor Professor Xavier Bichat developed a fully materialist theory of the human body and mind in his lectures Physiological Researches on Life and Death, translated into English in 1816. Bichat defined life bleakly as 'the sum of the functions by which death is resisted'." - Richard Holmes, The Age of Wonder
On learning Sep 8, 2020
I think pretty much anyone can learn pretty much anything.  I don't think people are born to be good at math or science or art.  Most skills can be learned by most people.  But a lot of it depends on things like nature, nurture, personal interests, role models, geography, economics, politics, school systems, teachers, and personal learning style.  Most people can learn most things, but do they want to?  Did they live in an area with a decent school system?  Did their family and friends value education?  There are a lot of variables at play. 

Another thing I've noticed is that learning usually involves a combination of desire, ability, and speed.  I had a friend in school who had the desire and the ability, but not the speed.  He tended to score poorly on tests because he couldn't finish on time.  I had another friend who had the ability and the speed, but not the desire.  Neither friend pursued or succeeded in much education after high school. #education
3062 Sep 6, 2020
I didn't want to be doing it, I didn't enjoy it at the time, and I wouldn't want to do it again:  My quarantine childcare experience
3061 Sep 5, 2020
I think it's ok to look back at your past self and realize you were an idiot.
Lance vs. MJ Jun 5, 2020
I watched that Lance Armstrong documentary on ESPN, and I gotta say, this guy does not come across as a sympathetic character.  I kept waiting for the moment when I would understand him or respect his actions, but he consistently acted cold, unemotional, and unlikable.  Even his apologies didn't really feel like apologies.  If news came out that Lance Armstrong was a brutal serial killer who dismembered his victims and ate their pieces, that would be the least surprising thing ever. 

Contrast that with the recent Michael Jordan documentary, where I sort of already liked the guy but ended up basically falling in love with him.  And even if the content was heavily influenced by Jordan himself, he comes across as a fallible human being, with believable intentions behind some of his less-than-positive actions, and actual human emotions. 

It's hard to dislike Michael Jordan.  Lance Armstrong, on the other hand, might be a sociopath. #sports
3059 May 30, 2020
I think the main reason I don't play guitar anymore is because I want to be alone and unheard when I play.  Guitar has sort of always been a solitary pursuit for me, but it seems like a social instrument so people want to listen and request things of me which I don't feel like supplying.
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