Noggin Thought

All I wanted to say today is K7ZYCZVTM9Z8. You’re probably wondering what that is or what it means. Well, I wish I could tell you but I don’t have a clue. But Technorati does, because it told me to put it in a post. So I felt that I could at least make the post interesting. Technorati will now believe that this site is mine. I would have tried to come up with something interesting instead of K7ZYCZVTM9Z8; maybe something like BOOYAKA, WAHILLAMAGILLA, or even ZIMZIMZALLABIM.

I like BOOYAKA. So here it is:

BOOYAKA!!

I went to Disneyland again this past weekend. You see, I’m an annual passport holder. Which is different from a pass holder. The annual passport allows me to travel to another land: a land of Disney. Whereas an annual pass…what does that do? I got to see my neice and nephew enjoying all that is Disney; that was cool. I used to dislike Disney and it’s land, because as I grew up I felt that it didn’t grow with me. Once I became a pre-teen and then a teen, it was all about Magic Mountain, sports, and girls (not in that particular order). That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t watch Disney movies. On any given day I could easily watch Mary Poppins or Sword in the Stone…still can. It wasn’t until after I graduated from college and then had an internship at Disney that I started to appreciate it again. Disney is more effective than I realized at reaching all ages. For me it’s not just those 2 movies; a better example is Pirates of the Caribbean.

As a kid, Pirates of the Caribbean was my favorite Disneyland ride and I think it still is, but now it’s due more to nostalgia then anything else. Anytime I go to Disneyland I still want to go on that ride. Don’t really know why. It’s boring, not thrilling, and has decent scenery. But I got hooked when I was young. In 2003 they started releasing the pirate movies…I enjoyed every one. I almost watched all three of them on Saturday before going to the park but ran out of time.

Now I have the memories of my Disney experiences and of course I’m going to want my kids to experience all the wonder that is Disneyland. If I do a good job, my kids will have their own memorable experiences and want to do the same thing. The cycle never ends.

Do you see what Disney has done here? It has created this brand that is continually sold by it’s consumers. Not only that, the consumers pay to experience and market the brand. So, we are all employing Disney and then doing its marketing to the most important people, our children. It’s the best business model. Yeah, yeah, it sounds like every other company that sells something. But is every other company as successful as Disney at selling an experience?

So, I left for a time, but now I’m back. I accept Disney for the behemoth that it is and I applaud their ability to effectively implement the basic business model. I’m sure I’ll be returning to the park again sometime soon.

I think I may be disconnected from the interesting stuff on the internets (you know there’s more than one). I just came across a site called My Life Is Average (http://mylifeisaverage.com). It’s a great site where people can post examples of why their lives are average. If I’m bored for a few minutes I wander over there (more like type the address in and go straight to it). What should be a few minutes of reading can turn into half an hour. I read through the posts which are all fairly interesting, and I think, these people aren’t average, they’re interesting; these things are cool! I don’t have stories like these. But my next thought is, I don’t have any stories, and these people are supposed to be average, so I’m not even average!…Yeah, that lasts for maybe a minute. I am so average it’s not even funny! (it really isn’t funny). I go to work, I workout, I come home, I play video games, I watch TV. My life defines average.

Ooh and I had a discussion last night about Christmas, gift giving, and the holidays…I know we’re gonna deal with this every year. She likes the holiday season…I do not. This is a time of year that should bring out the best in people. It’s supposed to be a time of giving, and good will, and god bless everyone, etc. But I don’t think it is.

The majority of people do not give because they want to. People give due to obligation, guilt, and insecurity.

1) Obligation
It’s Christmas, we’re supposed to give gifts at this time of year…well, they got us something last year, so we should get them something this year. More examples won’t prove my point any better. I usually hear these statements from people that spent (what they felt was) too much last year on gifts. But after the words leave their lips, they already start preparing to spend the same amount or more this year because “it’s just what you do at Christmas time.” (or any other holiday time. Christmas is what I grew up with, so dammit that’s what I write about)

2) Guilt
I have to get her something because I know she’s gonna get me something…that was so nice, but I can’t except that, I don’t have anything for you (meanwhile in her head: I feel bad; must remember to get her something this week). So what if you got me something, that was your choice. I don’t have to get you shit, and I’m not gonna feel bad about it. I wasn’t planning to write that but I think guilt is the one that pisses me off.

3) Insecurity
What would they think if we don’t give them gifts this year? Who cares!? If their feelings about you are based on the things you give them…Fuck ‘Em!! Avoid those people from now on because that’s petty and materialistic. This one saddens me more than anything else. We should not let people’s perceptions dictate how we operate.

As you can see I wasn’t able to give truly unique examples of each topic, insecurity is similar to guilt and guilt is similar to obligation and, “fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to…suffering” (Couldn’t resist a Star Wars quote). Which also means there are no unique solutions to each topic. I say give, within your means, because…; and for no other reason.

Update: 20somethingfinance has a great post on holiday gift giving.

Last night I finally got to experience what I had been awaiting for months. I thought about it during work and at CrossFit after work (I think it helped me push through the workout). That’s when I realized I was still in the easy waiting period; the time when you can only wait. For months, days, and then this final day I had no other option but to wait.

I get home and it’s there. It’s not visible, because Ooh thought it would be funny to hide it and act like it never arrived. It was not funny. Yes, Modern Warfare 2 had arrived, and it was waiting for me. Therein lied my next challenge: the hard wait. The hard wait is the time when the only obstacle is you. Everything is in place, but your personal guidelines or rules will not let you begin. I usually don’t start gaming until after 2200. There are some days when I start around 2100, but I try not to do that. I like to limit myself to 2 hours or less of gaming per night during the week. You could say, well what’s one extra hour; that’s exactly what it is, 1 extra hour. It’s also 33.33% longer every time I game during the week. That can really add up. If I play 5 nights, that’s 5 hours of no productivity. But, I digress (which I’m surprised doesn’t happen more often). I couldn’t do the hard wait for very long…I started just after 2105.

The game so far is better than all the hype. It’s like playing in a movie. The production value is on par with recent films I’ve seen. The campaign pacing works well. The controls are tight and precise. The visual effect and sound work very well in immersing you into the game world so much so that I was tired after playing; and if it wasn’t a cool night I probably would’ve been sweating.

The game is just awesome.

So now it’s the next day and I feel good. I’m very happy about what happened last night. It was definitely not a one night affair. I see this going somewhere that I want to be.

I recently read an article about a new safety feature to be included on the 2011 Volvo S60. It’s called “Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake and Pedestrian Safety.” While this is a great advance in motor vehicle safety, especially for the unlucky pedestrian who is targeted by the oblivious, texting, teenage ‘tard that just received a brand new SUV for her 16th birthday; I think we’re coddling people way too much.

Let’s start with the teenage ‘tard in the new SUV. Granted it’s not a Volvo S60, but it illustrates my point much better. Why are we trying to do so many things while driving? I don’t mean we can’t change radio stations or CD tracks. I mean texting, talking on the phone, putting on makeup, reading a novel (yes, I’ve seen this), etc. Driving should not be part of multitasking, it IS multitasking. It’s not just steering wheel, gas, brake, and turn signal (which is enough already); it’s watching the traffic on all sides, watching for pedestrians (they can be stupid also), and ultimately getting to your destination and back. Add to this a manual transmission and look how much we already do when we drive.

When we are driving, we should be DRIVING.

This is just the latest in safety innovations in our cars. There is the parking assist feature, should be called “We Park Your Car For You”. Why shouldn’t we learn how to park our cars?…We bought ‘em. Most of the cars that have parking assist will only be used by valet attendants anyway…how nice for them. Parking used to be the enemy of the young driving test taker. And then there is the lane departure warning system. “Don’t worry about staying in your lane, we’ll let you know when you screw up.” Isn’t it odd that these things that would potentially fail a driving test are now handled by the cars.

My last issue is with pedestrians (did you think I would give them a pass?). Some pedestrians need to be hit. Now, I would never do it (I don’t think…), but the dumbass that runs (not walks) out into a non-signaled crosswalk without looking is asking to be hit. When I was young  my parents, grandparents, and teachers taught me to look both ways, then look again, then cross the street. And while I’m crossing, pay attention because you never know when the teenage ‘tard in the new SUV might hit you!

We need to hold ourselves accountable for the common sense we all supposedly have. The more we allow ourselves to be careless, the more careless we will become.