The latest Cat and Girl comic panel is achingly sad.
General
19
Oct 04
Selections from the Hagakure:
This is a nice passage:
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“To hate injustice and stand on righteousness is a difficult thing. Furthermore, to think that being righteous is the best one can do and to do one’s utmost to be righteous will, on the contrary, brig many mistakes. The Way is in a higher place then righteousness. This is very difficult to discover, but it is the highest wisdom. When seen from this standpoint, things like righteousness are rather shallow. If one does not understand this on his own, it cannot be known. There is a method of getting to this Way, however, even if one cannot discover it by himself. This is found in consultation with others. Even a person who has not attained this Way sees others front the side. It is like the saying from the game of go: “He who sees from the side has eight eyes.” The saying, “Thought by thought we see our own mistakes,” also means that the highest Way is in discussion with others. Listening to the old stories and reading books are for the purpose of sloughing off one’s own discrimination and attaching oneself to that of the ancients.”
16
Oct 04
Now for something a little out of the ordinary
I was reading the Austin Chronicle this afternoon while having lunch at Burger Tex and there was an item in News of the Weird about a German device which admonishes men who urinate standing up.
The WC ghost, a £6 voice-alarm, reprimands men for standing at the lavatory pan. It is triggered when the seat is lifted. The battery-operated devices are attached to the seats and deliver stern warnings to those who attempt to stand and urinate (known as “Stehpinkeln”).
It goes on to say that “that a slang word for “wimp” (sitzpinkler) is, literally, a man who sits to urinate.” This idea has come up in conversation a few times throughout my life and it is surprising to discover that a number of men urinate while sitting. The numbers seem to be around one in seven to one in four. We seem to take it for granted that men just do it standing up. I assumed this was one of the conveniences of being born a male. In other words, unless you’re there for other business why sit when you can stand? As a boy, free-standing urination becomes one of your earliest amusements. I could provide many anecdotal experiences but you’ll have to trust me on this one. There are many questions on the subject and in doing a little research there seems to be a fair amount of discussion on the issue. The most interesting thing I discovered is that many muslim men are taught to urinate while sitting. Here are a couple of things I’d like to know from men who urinate while sitting:
- Does your father or do other men in your family sit to urinate?
- Were you potty trained to urinate while sitting?
- If you decided to sit later in life, what were your reasons?
From what I have gathered from researching, the sitting argument seems to go as follows:
- It is more sanitary since you do not have as much splashing. Many women who support the sit-down seem annoyed with the cleanup.
- It makes less noise than standing.
- It is more comfortable than standing.
- You can always leave the seat down, especially good for the female members of the household.
On face value, these are good arguments although a tad neurotic. My notion is that you should use whichever mode you like the most and are the most comfortable with. Here is a rebuttal of these arguments, also a result of some small amount of research:
- Urine is not that unsanitary. “In the first fifteen minutes after leaving the body, urine is absolutely sterile for the producer’s own body. Only after this period do the germs begin their work.” Most bacteria and viruses are filtered out by the body. While potentially containing toxins leeched from the body like undigested alcohol or even arsenic, it is relatively safe to drink. As for being easier to clean up, there are two points. Either practice a better aim, or women need to be less concerned with their men sitting and more concerned with their men pitching in to do their share of the chores.
- On the subject of sitting being more quiet than standing, well, I think that’s plainly neurotic. Urination is necessary to every one of the six billion people on earth. Where’s the shame? If you’re pee-shy you could always toss a wad of TP in the bowl before wind up.
- “Sitting is more comfortable than standing.” I can accept this argument. Fair enough. However, it seems easier to undo your fly than to drop trou. That’s just my opinion.
- Leaving the seat down. Again, men AND women can handle the toilet seat. I’ve never understood why this has become the primary responsibility of men, not that I mind. It doesn’t take the strength of Hercules to put it in either position. I’m more than willing to put the seat back down, as a courtesy, however this is a simple task for either party in question. Do women really back into the toilet without looking? What if there were a snake in the toilet or something crazy?
I’d like to hear what people think. Little discussions like this are so interesting.
References and related:
13
Oct 04
Comic Gold
Clientcopia has humorous anecdotes about experiences with clients and designers. I wish I could say I had a lot of funny moments like these, but most of my clients are great. You will have your odd requests and confusion, but usually these can be discussed and smoothed out. Via CreativeBits.
13
Oct 04
los dos raccoons
Coming back home last night I spotted two raccoons trying to pilfer Sarah’s cat food. I ran in to get my pellet gun and got a shot off before they split. The emboldened bandits came back a bit later and peered around the corner to see if I was still planted in the driveway. While I pumped the pellet gun, they stood up on their hind legs to see what I was doing. Zing! I got another shot off and they beat a hasty retreat. I waited a little while to see if they’d come back but I think they just postponed their visit till a little bit later. I did see them again before I got ready for bed, but by then I had tossed the rest of Sarah’s food since they were going to eat it anyway. I usually feed Sarah in the morning, but she always leaves enough in her bowl to attract the raccoons.
They’re such smart creatures and they really make me laugh. Sometimes if you sit outside late at night you can hear them chattering to each other as they make their rounds from house to house following trails that go behind bushes and under backyard fences. Between the graffitti artists and the raccoons, I’ve been having a lot of fun.
Here’s a pic Breen got of them last year.
12
Oct 04
Pirate Radio
Here’s a good tutorial on how to convert your iPod into a pirate radio station.
12
Oct 04
Je suis malade complètement malade
I have the flu, lagrippe, influenza. No one calls it the grippe anymore, which got me to thinking about other diseases that now go by different names.
- Mormal = Gangrene
- Morphew = Scurvy blisters on the body
- Ague = Any intermittent fever characterised by periods of chills, fevers and sweats.
- Bad blood = Syphilis
- Croup = Any obstructive condition of the larynx or trachea, characterised by a hoarse, barking cough and difficult breathing. It occurs chiefly in infants and children. Laryngitis, diphtheria, or strep throat.
- Dropsy = Abnormal swelling of the body or part of the body due to the build-up of clear watery fluid. Edema (swelling), often caused by kidney or heart disease.
- Pleurisy = Inflammation of the pleura, the membranous sac lining the chest cavity. Symptoms are chills, fever, dry cough, and pain in the affected side. Any pain in the chest area with each breath.
- St Vitus Dance = Chorea. Ceaseless occurrence of rapid complex jerking movements performed involuntary.
- Trench mouth = Painful ulcers found along gum line, Caused by poor nutrition and poor hygiene.
I feel better already.
08
Oct 04
The semi-noteworthy
- Last night we went to the grand opening reception for Sab’s salon, Primp, which coincided with First Thursday. It was nice. He hired a little group to play jazz standards and a nice crowd assembled outside to partake. The requisite cheese and wine was there, which one tallish hippie-dude with smelly hair was particularly enjoying. He would walk up to where Phillip and I were talking and impale three to four cubes of cheese, refill his wine glass and stand there making small talk. His usual response to anything was ‘right on, right on’. All told, he probably ate a pound of cheese cubes. He had to be there for the free booze and music since his personal style seemed to refute any notion of things like cutting hair or shampoo. Why would you go to a reception for something you have no interest in?
- Today, during a 5-6 mile walk we spotted an enormous snapping turtle paddling in the clear water beneath the pedestrian bridge in Zilker Park. It looked positively prehistoric.
- Some neighborhood kids (I assume they’re kids) tagged the SBC box in front of our house again. This is the third time in a couple months. The first time I called SBC and had them come and spray paint over it. That took a few days. The last time I just got pissed and went to buy a can of spray paint to do it myself. That was last weekend. When I went outside today it was tagged again and this time the writing was much larger. I spray painted over it again. Let’s see if we can go for number four. I may set up my webcam to take a snapshot everytime there is movement outside in that direction. We’ll see. It pisses me off. I hope I can catch someone doing it. I’d like to talk to them.
07
Oct 04
Contagion
There is a nasty little germ floating around here at work. People are dropping like flies. I’m usually the last to get sick if I get sick at all, but it is strange. Maybe I don’t get sick due to my general aloofness from social gatherings or just a hardy immune system. I do wonder how much your immune system depends on your outlook since I feel sicker when I start thinking about everyone else getting sick.