Friday, November 26, 2010

Wondering

Just a hint, if you write something in Russian, как это (like this), Вы получите много взглядов страницы (you will get a lot of page views). I once wrote a phrase or two in Russian in one of my essays and now it has  432 page views. No, those page viewers don't leave comments, and I would love to have Russian comments (и я хотел бы иметь российские комментарии). I have also found if you include the words 'precedents and antecedents' in your post you will find that you will get a lot of accidental hits from word searchers, although I can't figure out why so many would be searching for those two words.

I wonder about such things. It is the day after Thanksgiving and it is a day for wondering.

In fact I am wondering about itching. The last couple of weeks I have been itching -- in strange places. I will start scratching the palms of my hands and the soles of my feet, or sometimes the inside of my forearm or my side. The itching doesn't last long and sometimes will just suddenly switch locations. There is no rash, although the area will turn red from my scratching. It seems obvious that something new has been introduced into my life which I am allergic to, but I just can't figure out what it is. So I turned to Benadryl. This medicine is a histamine hunter and I figure that I have a lot of histamine terrorists scurrying around my body. This notion was confirmed when I got drowsy after taking the medicine. Most of the time Benadryl doesn't effect me. So my thesis is that if I have terror histamines, Benadryl goes to war and I suffer the aftereffects of the battles. So they find the histamines and lock them up (probably somewhere around my spleen mainly because I'm not exactly sure where my spleen is so that would be a good place to put a jail). Then the itching stops for a day. But then the damn histamine terrorist desperadoes make a jail break and I start itching again. This is a problem.

I apologize for getting all medical and scientific about this.  I know. It's boring.

I wonder about computer virusing people. I guess I could understand if one were an international spy and trying to dig out secrets and destroy a missile guidance system or disrupt a country's infrastructure. That is a frightening tool of warfare these days. But I can't figure out the motivation behind trying to screw up your computer. Or my computer. That seems to be the goal and I just don't understand why. What is the reward? If you are a computer virus person, would you explain it to me? Please use small words.

I wonder about people shopping today, the busiest shopping day of the year. Some have said the it is 'a tradition'. Every year on this day they arise bursting with shopping energy at a time not fit for rational beings and willingly plunge themselves into frenzied crowds. I'm sure they do an analysis of the benefits versus the penalty and they conclude the cost savings is worth all the hassle. I am sitting at my computer wondering, "Are you crazy?" I guess my analysis concludes something far different.

I wonder what it would be like to be a TSA Agent. I wouldn't want to feel peoples crotch and breasts and sometimes in the waistband of their underwear even if I knew that there was a possibility of explosives hidden there. I just couldn't be excited about reporting to that job. On top of that, you know that you are the butt of every joke, and ridiculed online and on TV. It is not their fault. They are doing what they are told to do. Whether or not it is a smart policy I figure I am going to be polite, cooperative, and will thank them for what they are doing. I am positive they could use a dose of pleasantness. As far as that scanning device which peeks at every single private part of your body: I don't care -- as long as they don't laugh.

Did you know that between July 4th and September 1st there are no holidays? Also from September 1st to Thanksgiving. Can the President declare a holiday? Or does it have to ratified by Congress? If it has to go to Congress, forget it. I think we need two more holidays carefully positioned betwixt existing holidays, sort of a "We Need An In-Between Holiday Here Holiday". It is always surmised that Business cannot withstand the loss in productivity. But they lose it anyway because everyone is sitting around moping because they are tired of there being no holidays in August and October. I wonder why no one has wondered about this.

Okay, I'm tired of wondering. Maybe now I will start on wishing.

18 comments:

  1. Great post Jerry! Sorry I dont know any russian or I would comment in that language. Probably would need a different keyboard too. Black Friday...what a hoot. I think its just busy because so many people have the day off. Now on the nightly news we will have to listen to someone tell us if it was a successful black friday or if we are doomed due to low sales at some Target store in Indiana. Have a great day!

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  2. I wonder some of the same things, Jerry.

    And Black Friday? Oh please! Any seasoned shopper knows that the deals will still be around and may even get better the closer to Christmas.

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  3. People who create computer virus's draw that motivation from the same part of the brain that vandals with spray cans do graffiti. They think they are clever, and it panders to some maliciousness in their psyche that makes up for them not having a real life. They do it because they can. It is juvenile, arrested development; but let's face it, there are sad little people out there.

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  4. I have wondered about the holidays as well, Jerry. I also wonder who can declare the awareness days, and why, sometimes, there are so many in one month. and who decides breast cancer gets an entire month when mental illness only gets a few days, when mental illness effects way more people than breast cancer?

    black friday? that day is the only day I will NOT shop ... and I love to shop

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  5. You're doing a lot of thinking for the day after Thanksgiving! I'm just kind of vegetating, brain not really functioning, so I'm visiting blogs and hopefully not saying anything too stupid in my comments.

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  6. You've just reminded me of my favorite person. Andy Rooney! I love that guy and I loved your post!!

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  7. When I saw that photo on my sidebar where I have your blog listed I was wondering if you'd done a story about my brother-in-law. As I look closer, I believe it's his older brother.

    And since you wrote about itching, which is not good, I've been sitting here itching. I wonder if I have itch by Munchausen.

    Or maybe all this wondering is a Munchausen thing . . .

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  8. First off, thanks for making me itch! I've NEVER gone shopping on this day and never will. I'm have no intention of getting out of my pj's today! Hope you had a good Thanksgiving!

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  9. I gotta stand next to the bed when I need to take Benadryl.... out like a light I go, however since I am allergic to nearly everything it is the only way.

    And where ARE you finding the Russian letters to type?! Even if I can't read it they are so darned complicated and intriging to stare at :}

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  10. Many interesting contemplations, Jerry. How interesting about the keyword searches and what attracts higher traffic.. now you know why my next post title will contain both "precendents" and "antecedents" despite relevancy. As always, great writing! Hope you're well and thanks so much for stopping my my blog!

    Regards
    Val

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  11. You have stirred up a lot of thought, far too much for a still food fogged mind. You must have had salad for Thanksgiving.
    Gee, I hope you get a Russian response. Those characters are no where on my key board.
    As for the body scans, I don't care if they laugh, I just don't want to hear them. Wonder how many people are carrying hidden metal so they can be groped?
    Thanks for making me think, I think.

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  12. Great post.;))I better brush up on my Russian, I used to be fluent as a child.;)
    We do not celebrate Thanksgiving here and no shopping was done on my part, as we are in the middle of a major snowstorm and i am snowed in, but I hope your Thanksgiving weekend is lovely,
    xoxo

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  13. Now I am wondering where I can get a Russian keyboard just to see if I can get more visitors who wont comment in russian.

    I agree with the virus writers being nothing more than sad little people who just do it because they can, nothing more gained than spraying paint on a wall.

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  14. Wow. You've identified all that's wrong with the world today: Between the poorly-placed holidays to the TSA's groping the public...to crazy people shopping at 4am to strange, unidentified allergies that leave you itching for Benedryl. I believe we should make you the official Ruler of the World...provided you fix everything you've mentioned. I'd also appreciate if you could throw in unlimited Oreos (with no weight gain) and maybe some unlimited...cable?

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  15. Mrs 4444's blog has been describing her itching problem lately too. You been visiting her? Shopping does not interest me at all, never has. That made me feel "different" with my various women friends throughout my life. Every one of them loved to shop.
    My hubby and I talked about TSA agents lately and we too would not be able to do the job as it is being done now. No way would I be able to search so fully. Uh uh. Your post is one of the few pieces of writing that I have read recently that reminds people that the TSA agents are just doing their job as they are instructed to do it. They must really really need a job.

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  16. It's dry winter skin and too much hot showering. Unless it's the kind where you scratch your butt real hard and it travels to your ankles. That's bedbugs.

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  17. Come to the UK. You get a whole Bank Holiday Monday on the last Monday in August. Then nip back home for the September one in the US. In fact, come over for the next Royal Wedding and you can get 29th April off too. It's one long holiday here.

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