The other day I was listening to a lesson and the person speaking used
the word ineffable.
I actually have a look that one up! Ineffable means too great or
extreme to be expressed or described in words, or not to be uttered. As
I read more about the word it's been used for things that are
indescribable and can't be expressed in mere words. Usually it was
associated with talking about God. But other things can be ineffable
also.
Another definition expanded on it saying it caused so much
emotion, especially pleasure, that it cannot be described. Ineffable
joy or beauty beyond description.
And as I read all these definitions and descriptions of things that
are too overwhelming to be expressed I started laughing.
One of the things that I enjoy is a play on words. And I started
thinking about how in today's society if someone used the word
ineffable in a show or a video or a podcast they would probably use it
to mean something that can't be messed up.
Do you get it? We've gotten to a point where it's common to hear the
F bomb and if you don't hear it it seems weird. We've even shortened
it so that in polite company we can say will "that's effed up". And so
for something to be ineffable I could easily imagine somebody thinking
that it can't be screwed up.
For all of its complications I love the English language! Even
when it's effed up like this.
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
Six Flags vs Disney ~
I recently went to the Six Flags Park in the city that I live near.
My wife and I try to go there each year and enjoyed taking our kids
and other people's kids with us when we went to Six Flags. Now that
all of our children are grown she and I go there alone to ride roller
coasters and be together. It's fun!
Six Flags has never been one of those top-ranked experiences where everything is perfect and beautiful. There are always rough edges, the people seem to be regular people and even some not so regular people. And the shiny parts of Six Flags at least for me tend not to overcome the rough edges.
This year I noticed that Six Flags has gone cash less. They have big signs up saying if you expect to buy anything in the park convert your cash to a card here. My wife and I talked about it and that have a feeling that because the higher minimum wage workers to work at Six Flags they had to deal with a lot of fast. Having no cash drawers and all terminals probably reduces that theft a lot as well as reduces the money that they have to spend on securing their own facility from their own people.
Technology has reached the point that the drinks and drink bottles that Six Flags sells have chips in them and instead of having someone staff a drink station and just refill bottles they have automated drink stations and if your bottle doesn't have the chip the drink does not flow. That's a cool use of technology but it does give me pause.
One of the rough edges that I noticed that was really disappointing to me was stickers stapled to the end of boards of wood. They had refurbished one of the wooden roller coasters in the park. And not just the roller coasters but all the surrounding walkways that have wood decking material and such. While I stood waiting for my wife at one point I noticed that about half of the boards that made up the walkway leaving the roller coaster still had the yellow pressure-treated wood label stapled to the end of the board. It made for a very tacky and unpolished feel. And my immediate thought was "Disney would never tolerate that!" I read a couple of books about Disney and have been to Disney a couple of times and the Magic Kingdom has very strict guidelines for the people to help maintain the magic. I read in one of the books that Disney employees are given a test they don't even know they're in where they are walking and if they walk by a piece of trash and do not pick the trash up and throw it away they are fired. I don't know if that's true but it is a wonderful philosophy that I wish more people and not just companies but individuals would take up as a way of life.
Six Flags was fun. I got beat up by the roller coasters and enjoyed way-overpriced junk food and drinks. The best part was being with my wife, who I love dearly. And I love having fun with her!
Six Flags has never been one of those top-ranked experiences where everything is perfect and beautiful. There are always rough edges, the people seem to be regular people and even some not so regular people. And the shiny parts of Six Flags at least for me tend not to overcome the rough edges.
This year I noticed that Six Flags has gone cash less. They have big signs up saying if you expect to buy anything in the park convert your cash to a card here. My wife and I talked about it and that have a feeling that because the higher minimum wage workers to work at Six Flags they had to deal with a lot of fast. Having no cash drawers and all terminals probably reduces that theft a lot as well as reduces the money that they have to spend on securing their own facility from their own people.
Technology has reached the point that the drinks and drink bottles that Six Flags sells have chips in them and instead of having someone staff a drink station and just refill bottles they have automated drink stations and if your bottle doesn't have the chip the drink does not flow. That's a cool use of technology but it does give me pause.
One of the rough edges that I noticed that was really disappointing to me was stickers stapled to the end of boards of wood. They had refurbished one of the wooden roller coasters in the park. And not just the roller coasters but all the surrounding walkways that have wood decking material and such. While I stood waiting for my wife at one point I noticed that about half of the boards that made up the walkway leaving the roller coaster still had the yellow pressure-treated wood label stapled to the end of the board. It made for a very tacky and unpolished feel. And my immediate thought was "Disney would never tolerate that!" I read a couple of books about Disney and have been to Disney a couple of times and the Magic Kingdom has very strict guidelines for the people to help maintain the magic. I read in one of the books that Disney employees are given a test they don't even know they're in where they are walking and if they walk by a piece of trash and do not pick the trash up and throw it away they are fired. I don't know if that's true but it is a wonderful philosophy that I wish more people and not just companies but individuals would take up as a way of life.
Six Flags was fun. I got beat up by the roller coasters and enjoyed way-overpriced junk food and drinks. The best part was being with my wife, who I love dearly. And I love having fun with her!
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Still spinning ~
Holy David Post
When I was in training as an Air Traffic Control Specialist the training was mentally draining. We were learning things about air traffic control and the rules that we had to use to keep airplanes separated from each other. Under many many different situations.
I remember being nervous as I thought through the daily puzzles that were presented to me. I understood that if I didn't figure it out and pass them I would lose my job. And so I was pretty motivated to figure things out.
The nervousness came out in different ways though. I got quiet. I studied a lot. Although I didn't really understand what I was studying I still studied the rules and made index cards with identifiers and flipped through them. Beat myself up for not knowing things faster.
I remember being in the non-radar lab and doing a puzzle. Old retired controllers were usually the trainers. And so all these older guys that came up in the 1950s and 1960s were in there teaching us non-radar rules of separating aircraft. As I puzzled through each problem part of the challenge was to do strip marking correctly. Each aircraft has a flight strip with an identifier, the type of aircraft that it is with its airspeed and ground speed, which are different, altitude, fix posting along his route to tell me where we were thinking about where he was, his route of flight, and other information. As we controlled airplanes we were supposed to mark on the strips that we had communication with the pilot, when he had passed certain points in the sky, and write down the clearance that we had given him and whether he had reached it or not. Especially altitude.
My nervousness in the lab would come out with the pencil that we had to use. We used double-ended pencils - one end was black and one end was red. Black was used for things that actually had happened and were real, red were things that were planned or warnings or things that we had not done yet.
Once I started figuring things out I would sit there during the problem and fidget. I didn't know what to do because there was time in the problem before the disasters that were presented to us as puzzles came up. So I would review my flight plans and make sure that I had done all the things that I need to do. And as I reviewed this information and puzzle through things I would hold my double-ended pencil in my right hand and spin it around inside my fingers. Not like you see in Top Gun where Iceman is making his pen go through his fingers like a magician with a coin. I would make a hoop with my fingers and thumb and and hold the pencil there in the circle and spin it around like it was inside a hoop.
One instructor just thought that was hilarious! He would laugh and say "I can tell that you're thinking too hard because you're spinning your pencil." And then he would laugh and joke with the other instructors that he had never seen anybody else in his life do something like that with their pencil or pen.
What I find interesting is over 30 years later I still do that. If I have a pen or a pen shaped device in my hand and I am not actively using it I will catch myself spinning it around in my fingers and thumb while I think and ponder.
I guess that means I'm consistent! Pretty funny...
When I was in training as an Air Traffic Control Specialist the training was mentally draining. We were learning things about air traffic control and the rules that we had to use to keep airplanes separated from each other. Under many many different situations.
I remember being nervous as I thought through the daily puzzles that were presented to me. I understood that if I didn't figure it out and pass them I would lose my job. And so I was pretty motivated to figure things out.
The nervousness came out in different ways though. I got quiet. I studied a lot. Although I didn't really understand what I was studying I still studied the rules and made index cards with identifiers and flipped through them. Beat myself up for not knowing things faster.
I remember being in the non-radar lab and doing a puzzle. Old retired controllers were usually the trainers. And so all these older guys that came up in the 1950s and 1960s were in there teaching us non-radar rules of separating aircraft. As I puzzled through each problem part of the challenge was to do strip marking correctly. Each aircraft has a flight strip with an identifier, the type of aircraft that it is with its airspeed and ground speed, which are different, altitude, fix posting along his route to tell me where we were thinking about where he was, his route of flight, and other information. As we controlled airplanes we were supposed to mark on the strips that we had communication with the pilot, when he had passed certain points in the sky, and write down the clearance that we had given him and whether he had reached it or not. Especially altitude.
My nervousness in the lab would come out with the pencil that we had to use. We used double-ended pencils - one end was black and one end was red. Black was used for things that actually had happened and were real, red were things that were planned or warnings or things that we had not done yet.
Once I started figuring things out I would sit there during the problem and fidget. I didn't know what to do because there was time in the problem before the disasters that were presented to us as puzzles came up. So I would review my flight plans and make sure that I had done all the things that I need to do. And as I reviewed this information and puzzle through things I would hold my double-ended pencil in my right hand and spin it around inside my fingers. Not like you see in Top Gun where Iceman is making his pen go through his fingers like a magician with a coin. I would make a hoop with my fingers and thumb and and hold the pencil there in the circle and spin it around like it was inside a hoop.
One instructor just thought that was hilarious! He would laugh and say "I can tell that you're thinking too hard because you're spinning your pencil." And then he would laugh and joke with the other instructors that he had never seen anybody else in his life do something like that with their pencil or pen.
What I find interesting is over 30 years later I still do that. If I have a pen or a pen shaped device in my hand and I am not actively using it I will catch myself spinning it around in my fingers and thumb while I think and ponder.
I guess that means I'm consistent! Pretty funny...
Friday, August 26, 2022
Digging cactus ~
Another good memory I have of being a kid in central Florida was digging cactus.
My brother and I wanted to earn money to buy some toys and comic books
but there wasn't a lot of opportunity were we lived. We lived 5 miles
away from the nearest Jiffy store and the road was such that our
parents would not let us ride all the way there and all the way back
on our own.
We lived next door to our grandparents. And they own the big field
that had a lake in it. My dad mentioned our desire to earn some money
to my grandfather and he said that he needed cactus dug up in the
field and put us to work digging prickly pear cactus for three dollars
a bucket.
My brother and I thought we were going to be rich! We were so excited
to be able to go out in the field and do this. But we know it was
going to be hard work!
We suited up with the our silly looking bucket hats. They were light
blue and were supposed to protect us from the sun. They did, just not
anything except the top of our heads.
We would go over to grandma and grandpa's house and get our buckets
and our hoes and head out into the field. We didn't go out early
because there was so much dew and the grass was so tall that we didn't
want to be soaked. But then we didn't want to be out there in the
middle of the day and get baked by the sun. So we went around 10
o'clock and worked until 12:30pm or when we got thirsty we would go
back to the house and get something to drink. I had my transistor
radio tuned to some music station. I remember hearing the song Baker
Street over and over and over! And then the news would come on and I
would try to change the radio to a different station to get some
music.
We dug the prickly pair cactus up with the hoes. I got more needles
in my hands and legs than I ever want to get again in my life. We saw
gopher turtles and snakes. We saw birds and bugs. We got chiggers.
When we were done digging for the day we had to go back to the house
and get grandpa to come out and inspect our buckets. He made sure we
were filling them up and not trying to cheat him out of three dollars.
And then he would pour the prickly pear cactus on the sheet of tin so
that they would die in the sun
I wish I had counted how many buckets of prickly pear cactus we dug
but I didn't. I was too focused on the payoff. I only remember doing
that for one summer, maybe two. I remember my brother sweating
profusely and me being concerned that he was getting too hot. He is
six years younger than me so I was responsible for him even though he
was usually doing something that would get me into trouble.
But we never got in trouble digging cactus. And then later we got
accused of planting cactus out there, but that's a whole different
story. Every time I hear the song Baker Street I think about being
out in the field in the of summer digging of prickly pear cactus.
Good stuff!
Dead Sea experience ~
My wife and I went with a group to Israel. It was a wonderful
experience but as with any great endeavor there are always a few spots
that are not quite as wonderful.
I loved being in the Galilee, I loved Jerusalem, I enjoyed the food and hearing the languages and seeing the people and all of the rich history from the Bible and more.
One of the things that I was most looking forward to was floating in the Dead Sea. I had heard about it and read about it. I had heard people talk about how cool it was and how hard it was to stand and how wonderful the sensation was. So I planned for that experience.
Part of my plan was to pack my things needed for a beach. I had an extra large baggie from the steering wheel cover that I had purchased. I stuffed that baggie full of my bathing suit, a longsleeved shirt to protect my arms and body from the sun, sandals, and a beach towel. And I packed all those things two weeks before our trip to Israel and kept it in a safe place so that I would remember to pack it in my suitcase.
I packed that baggie in my suitcase and put everything else around it. It made it to Israel just fine and I made sure that it was ready for that one day deep in the trip.
The day came. I grabbed the big baggie of Dead Sea things and put it in my day pack. We went through the whole day and everything was like every other day, rush rush rush to see and learn as much as we could throughout the day. Of course with so many things packed in the day and traffic and everything the Dead Sea float was at the end of the day just before dinner. So when we got to the Dead Sea we had already been hearing "hurry hurry hurry" for most of the afternoon.
The guide told us where the changing rooms were and said we needed to meet up at a certain time. The time he mentioned was not very long after we got off the bus. The people in our group all rushed to go and change into their bathing suits. Being considerate and having been considerate to the others in my group of the rest of the trip I was considerate again and lagged behind as I tend to do. The men were in the restrooms for quite a long time. I went from the restroom that was full of people not of our group as well as the men from our group and went to find one of the changing stalls near the water. Of course that was full also and I was patiently waiting outside of one. When the person that was in there came out one of the people in my group went in even though I was standing right there waiting to go in to change my clothes. So I went to the bathroom again to see if the stalls were empty and I could change into my bathing clothes and of course the stalls were full of other people now. And as our limited amount of time at the Dead Sea dwindled I began to get upset
I stopped myself and let the last couple of guys that were in our group go ahead of me. And then I did something that was a luxury on this trip, I went in after everybody was done and I got to sit on the toilet for a few minutes. I played a little game on my phone and enjoyed the rest while using the toilet and then cleaned up and wash my hands and went out and sat on a bench with my baggie full of Dead Sea bathing clothes that I had carried with me to Israel.
I was stunned and angry and hurt and upset. I really wanted to shout and cuss and make a scene. But I did not.
And I watched people walk by. I listened to the people in the water and watched them all rush out to change back into their regular clothes. The guide was busy telling everybody to "hurry hurry hurry" because the next stop was dinner and we needed to get there so that we could get our dinner before the restaurant closed. And I started to feel very peaceful about my choice.
In situations like this I can begin to blame people and things for me not getting what I wanted. Too many people were in my way. Too many people took advantage of my consideration. I got cut off.
But this time I came up with a phrase that helped me accept what had happened. I had made lots of plans and had everything lined up for my Dead Sea float to be a wonderful experience that I'd be able to tell people about for years.
My plans didn't work out
That phrase has started to save me a lot of pain and suffering. When I tell myself that "my plans didn't work out" I'm not blaming anybody and I'm not angry. I can look at it objectively and see where I could have planned better and maybe done something a little bit different. Or sometimes there's just no way that the long-term plans that were laid out worked and it just didn't happen.
So I feel more healthy now. I feel like I have a strategy that can help me not only deal with not getting the float in the Dead Sea during our trip to Israel but can help me deal with many other things that happen along the way that are not in line with my.
For someone who plans a lot and predicts and forecasts and adjusts to make things happen according to the plan it's very difficult to say "my plans didn't work out". But it helps me accept the reality of what happens.
I loved being in the Galilee, I loved Jerusalem, I enjoyed the food and hearing the languages and seeing the people and all of the rich history from the Bible and more.
One of the things that I was most looking forward to was floating in the Dead Sea. I had heard about it and read about it. I had heard people talk about how cool it was and how hard it was to stand and how wonderful the sensation was. So I planned for that experience.
Part of my plan was to pack my things needed for a beach. I had an extra large baggie from the steering wheel cover that I had purchased. I stuffed that baggie full of my bathing suit, a longsleeved shirt to protect my arms and body from the sun, sandals, and a beach towel. And I packed all those things two weeks before our trip to Israel and kept it in a safe place so that I would remember to pack it in my suitcase.
I packed that baggie in my suitcase and put everything else around it. It made it to Israel just fine and I made sure that it was ready for that one day deep in the trip.
The day came. I grabbed the big baggie of Dead Sea things and put it in my day pack. We went through the whole day and everything was like every other day, rush rush rush to see and learn as much as we could throughout the day. Of course with so many things packed in the day and traffic and everything the Dead Sea float was at the end of the day just before dinner. So when we got to the Dead Sea we had already been hearing "hurry hurry hurry" for most of the afternoon.
The guide told us where the changing rooms were and said we needed to meet up at a certain time. The time he mentioned was not very long after we got off the bus. The people in our group all rushed to go and change into their bathing suits. Being considerate and having been considerate to the others in my group of the rest of the trip I was considerate again and lagged behind as I tend to do. The men were in the restrooms for quite a long time. I went from the restroom that was full of people not of our group as well as the men from our group and went to find one of the changing stalls near the water. Of course that was full also and I was patiently waiting outside of one. When the person that was in there came out one of the people in my group went in even though I was standing right there waiting to go in to change my clothes. So I went to the bathroom again to see if the stalls were empty and I could change into my bathing clothes and of course the stalls were full of other people now. And as our limited amount of time at the Dead Sea dwindled I began to get upset
I stopped myself and let the last couple of guys that were in our group go ahead of me. And then I did something that was a luxury on this trip, I went in after everybody was done and I got to sit on the toilet for a few minutes. I played a little game on my phone and enjoyed the rest while using the toilet and then cleaned up and wash my hands and went out and sat on a bench with my baggie full of Dead Sea bathing clothes that I had carried with me to Israel.
I was stunned and angry and hurt and upset. I really wanted to shout and cuss and make a scene. But I did not.
And I watched people walk by. I listened to the people in the water and watched them all rush out to change back into their regular clothes. The guide was busy telling everybody to "hurry hurry hurry" because the next stop was dinner and we needed to get there so that we could get our dinner before the restaurant closed. And I started to feel very peaceful about my choice.
In situations like this I can begin to blame people and things for me not getting what I wanted. Too many people were in my way. Too many people took advantage of my consideration. I got cut off.
But this time I came up with a phrase that helped me accept what had happened. I had made lots of plans and had everything lined up for my Dead Sea float to be a wonderful experience that I'd be able to tell people about for years.
My plans didn't work out
That phrase has started to save me a lot of pain and suffering. When I tell myself that "my plans didn't work out" I'm not blaming anybody and I'm not angry. I can look at it objectively and see where I could have planned better and maybe done something a little bit different. Or sometimes there's just no way that the long-term plans that were laid out worked and it just didn't happen.
So I feel more healthy now. I feel like I have a strategy that can help me not only deal with not getting the float in the Dead Sea during our trip to Israel but can help me deal with many other things that happen along the way that are not in line with my.
For someone who plans a lot and predicts and forecasts and adjusts to make things happen according to the plan it's very difficult to say "my plans didn't work out". But it helps me accept the reality of what happens.
Saturday, August 20, 2022
Being less judgemental ~
One of the fascinating aspects of being in community with others is a search for something to be offended about. So many people walk into a room or go to a place of business or entertainment and see things through judgment: and they look for things that are considered wrong by them that they should be upset about or even offended about.
I get that way sometimes. I want things a certain way. I even joked that I get along with everybody as long as we do things my way. But I don't know that I'd go in looking to be offended by something.
If I did it would be very easy. As a Christian the entertainment industry majority seems to have it out for me and my God. They make me and my fellow believers out to be evildoers that just want to control everybody else. A limp noodle people that are easily swayed and controlled by others. Which is kind of funny because they portray Christians as both extremes which one is it?
But even having been involved in scouting and raising three Eagle Scouts I could easily be offended. The Boy Scout motto is be prepared. But in the movie the Lion King the people driving that story and bringing that entertainment to the market threw a song in there where the bad guy was telling all his henchmen "be prepared" for when I overthrow the king. And they repeated it over and over-be prepared, be prepared.
Even after all these years of seeing that movie I still think of that and think how that could so easily undermine the great message that scouting has.
Luckily it didn't! I continue to be prepared for so many different things. My mother jokes about my backpack and how after raising our kids I still can be asked hey do you have this and I can reach into my bag of wonders and usually pull something out that's very close to what somebody's looking for. I don't want to get caught flat-footed.
But I do. And when I do I handle it and move on. And then I added to my bag of tricks.
I wish the entertainment industry moguls would just produce fun entertainment and leave the messaging happy and easy. Happy and easy is different for everybody and mine may not match up with their happy and easy. Such is life!
I get that way sometimes. I want things a certain way. I even joked that I get along with everybody as long as we do things my way. But I don't know that I'd go in looking to be offended by something.
If I did it would be very easy. As a Christian the entertainment industry majority seems to have it out for me and my God. They make me and my fellow believers out to be evildoers that just want to control everybody else. A limp noodle people that are easily swayed and controlled by others. Which is kind of funny because they portray Christians as both extremes which one is it?
But even having been involved in scouting and raising three Eagle Scouts I could easily be offended. The Boy Scout motto is be prepared. But in the movie the Lion King the people driving that story and bringing that entertainment to the market threw a song in there where the bad guy was telling all his henchmen "be prepared" for when I overthrow the king. And they repeated it over and over-be prepared, be prepared.
Even after all these years of seeing that movie I still think of that and think how that could so easily undermine the great message that scouting has.
Luckily it didn't! I continue to be prepared for so many different things. My mother jokes about my backpack and how after raising our kids I still can be asked hey do you have this and I can reach into my bag of wonders and usually pull something out that's very close to what somebody's looking for. I don't want to get caught flat-footed.
But I do. And when I do I handle it and move on. And then I added to my bag of tricks.
I wish the entertainment industry moguls would just produce fun entertainment and leave the messaging happy and easy. Happy and easy is different for everybody and mine may not match up with their happy and easy. Such is life!
Sunday, August 14, 2022
Adapting to no change ~
I was recently in New York City with my wife. We were celebrating an
anniversary and having a good time!
We rode around the city in one of the double-decker open top buses, which was a lot of fun!
One day when we were riding around the city we decided to hop off of the bus and walk for a little while. Which was fine, even though it was a hot day.
We saw the food cart on a corner and we stopped to get some water. Of course the water was way more than it should've been, but in the city and it was a hot day and we needed water we paid the price. Four dollars each for two bottles of water came to e-books so I gave the guy to fives.
The guy who was not a native English speaker look through his money in the cart and told me that he didn't have any change and asked if I wanted something else. I was puzzled but instead of getting worked up I just went with it and asked him how much or what I could get for two dollars. It took us about a minute to understand each other but he finally got it and he dug in the back of the cold space in his heart and came up with a ginger ale that was ice cold. He said to dollar and I said okay and my wife and I enjoyed in ice cold ginger ale as we walked down the streets of Manhattan. And then we drink our water to.
I thought that was really adaptive of the guy. And I was kind of glad I just went with it which is something I tend to do more and more now. If I run into something that I really don't want to do I just don't do it. Which is a big change from the way I used to be.
I love progress! And I love adapting to the situation. Period.
We rode around the city in one of the double-decker open top buses, which was a lot of fun!
One day when we were riding around the city we decided to hop off of the bus and walk for a little while. Which was fine, even though it was a hot day.
We saw the food cart on a corner and we stopped to get some water. Of course the water was way more than it should've been, but in the city and it was a hot day and we needed water we paid the price. Four dollars each for two bottles of water came to e-books so I gave the guy to fives.
The guy who was not a native English speaker look through his money in the cart and told me that he didn't have any change and asked if I wanted something else. I was puzzled but instead of getting worked up I just went with it and asked him how much or what I could get for two dollars. It took us about a minute to understand each other but he finally got it and he dug in the back of the cold space in his heart and came up with a ginger ale that was ice cold. He said to dollar and I said okay and my wife and I enjoyed in ice cold ginger ale as we walked down the streets of Manhattan. And then we drink our water to.
I thought that was really adaptive of the guy. And I was kind of glad I just went with it which is something I tend to do more and more now. If I run into something that I really don't want to do I just don't do it. Which is a big change from the way I used to be.
I love progress! And I love adapting to the situation. Period.
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