Now and then

Our generation can do the do-it-yourselfer things.  Our fathers could fix anything and did all but the most difficult house improvements, and our grandfathers and before them could improvise and make stuff.  Our sons have and will have their little Black and Decker drills and some screwdrivers, and might use a paintbrush now and then but that's it. 

Our mothers knew how to cook, and our grandmothers and before them knew how to cook and create from scratch.  Our daughters need and will need detailed recipes and just the right ingredients, but more commonly will heat and serve.

On the other hand, I remember that my grandfather, who had a doctorate in genetics, seemed never to be able to master the nuances of a microwave.  I'm pretty certain he could master this machine, but saw no reason to clutter his life with unnecessary technology.  And that is the conundrum for older folks.  It's hard enough to learn something new, but does that new thing perform better enough to justify the additional learning? 

For young folks, growing up in the age of technology, the learning curve is not so steep.  So as they lose the ability to make and build, they are becoming masters of technology.  The trick is knowing when the technology is needed, and what is lost when using technology. Do we really need a calculator function on a computer?

Tastes like chicken

I remember being in a restaurant once where oysters were sold according to the bay in which they were harvested.  Like I would or could ever tell the difference.  It's like selling vodka at dramatically different price points based on perceptions of taste.  Vodka is tasteless.  Yet we profess to be able to discriminate qualitative differences in all manners of food, yet taste test after taste test demonstrate that this is not the case.

I've tested groups in their ability to discriminate quality or brand between beers, and while there is a very small group of "aficionados," the vast majority cannot tell the difference between brands, premium and economy, regular and light, etc.  Similarly, it is well documented that wine ratings are little more than whimsy with virtually no consensus among so-called experts, yet these ratings dramatically drive sales of brands and entire vintages.  Tests also show that when blindfolded, people usually cannot tell the difference between most fruits and vegetables.  It seems that a good deal of taste is vision.  And memory, and mind, and feel, and all manner of things beyond what the sensory receptors for taste and smell are telling us.  It used to be so simple.  Is it sugary, is it familiar, does it look good?  

But then one day we started to put mustard instead of ketchup on hot dogs, and the world changed.

A stitch in time...

I can't tell you how many women I've known that "want to lose just 5 more pounds."  Apparently no matter what they weigh, it's 5 pounds too much.  Yet I don't recall ever hearing a man express that sentiment.  Rather, a man will let himself go to the point that his belt is down around his hips holding up that 50 pound beer keg where his stomach used to be.

Yet now I find myself 3 to 5 pounds heavier than the weight I've been since college.  Sure, our metabolisms slow after 40, and we start to thicken and lose muscle mass at 50 (can't wait for 60...), but I never worry if I go a couple of pounds over, as I figure I'll eventually get sick and lose two or three pounds and be back to normal.  But this winter I've had the misfortune of good health, and now that we've gotten past the Easter gorge, it's time to go to plan B.  Losing weight is easy, as long as you don't have too much to lose, I imagine.  It's not complicated:  it's calories in vs. calories out.  Besides, it would be too expensive to buy new clothes, and since my wife's clothes take up 80% of the walk-in closet, I don't have room for multiple sets of wardrobes for different weights.  

And of clothes, it just isn't fair that clothes cost the same no matter the size.  How can an XXXL cost the same as a Small?  That's just not right.

Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink

I remember riding with an acquaintance a long while back to play some roundball when someone tapped the back of his bumper.  The first words out of his mouth were, "Do you think we can get some money out of this?"  That's the last time I played basketball with that guy, but I've witnessed that behavior countless times in people since.  There should be a special place in hell for those "working the system."  These are people whose only sense of morality is "help me good, hurt me bad," and manage to rationalize their self-centered greed with all sorts of twisted justifications. 

While there's a million examples of this behavior, and one doesn't have to look too far to find it at tax time, I'm thinking about FEMA right now, as we've recently gone through some flooding in this area (the picture is of four nearby fields at which my son sometimes plays soccer and baseball).  We've all read about all those opportunistic scoundrels who took advantage of the New Orleans disaster to get tons of money undeservedly or spent it in improper ways, scamming the government or the well-intentioned for their own evil profit.  I even know someone who used FEMA money in California (of course) to pay for a boob job.  I don't think that P.T. Barnum actually said anything about suckers, but the quote, "There's a sucker born every minute, and two to take him," comes to mind in pondering all the people trying to take advantage of individuals and governments in times of crisis.  I guess it's the same reason that we have to lock our doors at night and when we're away, and even then it's not enough.