I shall start off with an embarrassing story. I went bowling today — got three of my worst scores in memory — with Timmy. Karen did a no-show. So Timmy goes first and, since there are no practice frames, bowls a lousy five in two balls. I am amused, so I go up slide forward and do a face plant — both knees and my face. I figure I’m a total idiot and on my second ball, I almost do it again. The second frame results in abrupt stops in this once place. At that point we realize, there’s a patch of wood they replaced and there’s something wrong with the surface but due to the location, it can’t be avoided. We move over to lane two, and that problem goes away. I was sore most of the first game, and I barely broke a hundred. The second game was much better, though still inadequate. Sadly, a crew of rugrats and their parents arrived mid-second set and having a lack of bowling courtesy, it wasn’t very fun for us. We finished our third game and called it a day rather than put up with their inconsideration.
Up next is this article. I forgot whose Facebook account I found it on, though. It’s an article on censorship and I rather liked the perspective it offered over what things tend to offend people over time. Banning books is never a solution. If you think it is, you’re definitely part of the problem and not the solution. The article starts “Books should offend you,” a professor told my literature class 30 years ago, when I started college. “They should make you squirm and sweat. They should keep you up at night.” That’s a great opening and he’s right. Huckleberry Finn, a book that offends lots of people for lots of reasons is also a great work of literature, yet it’s banned often. In fact it’s the third most banned book of all time. It’s also one of my favourites.
The author concludes, But I can’t understand why we need to shield our kids from these bad feelings. Why, oh why, must everybody feel good? Literature should make us squirm and sweat, because that’s when we really start to learn about the world, which is a messy and disquieting place.
Amen.
I’ve set up a private message board for members of Team CMOT on the Seti@Home project . To view it you must first register for the board. After you do, you’ll also need the password to access that particular area. The password is available from me and only to members of Team CMOT . Just email me when you register, and I’ll activate your account and provide the password at the same time. We gladly accept all sentient beings as team members. (The team should be cross-platform by the time you read this, so any BOINC project will qualify, not just Seti@Home.)
Dinner: Burgers. No vegetables, no fruit, nothing. No bread, no cheese. Nothing but meat, salt, and garlic powder.