Edinburgh A-Z (2) : A is for Astronaut, Explorer & Dinosaur., originally uploaded by stonefaction.

Things to do on October 31st:

• Go to work.
• Don’t eat much candy.
• Make plenty of jokes about people dressed as witches. “Did you go as yourself?”
• Don’t eat much candy.
• Avoid running over the children roaming the streets in search of treats and tickery.
• Don’t eat much candy.
• Eventually go home and turn out the lights.
• Don’t eat much candy.
• Go to sleep.

I’m just not a fan.

Caught in the Fence, originally uploaded by thorinside.

I’ve got it.

Ideas are flowing, but nothing is coming out.

A couple of interesting sentences have come to mind. Each beginning the entry with some grand observation. My only problem is they will lead to nothing of any value.

I’ve opened my iTunes and let it randomly shuffle some songs. I often think better with music going. This is a practice I used to do when I was studying for tests in high school and college. However, even the Foo Fighters can’t defeat this blockage.

I pondered for quite a while about posting some tips on overcoming writer’s block. I know, pretty original isn’t it? In the midst of not knowing what to write, hand out advice on what to write. I’m pretty sure that makes no sense.

I’ve even sat here and gone over a few writing exercises. I read a portion of a book. I read a couple of blogs. I read some of my past thoughts in my Moleskine.

I’m still baffled. Today was a fairly mundane day. There was nothing out of the ordinary. There were no outlandish statements that made me think about one thing or another. No one grabbed my attention. I woke up and got ready for work. I passed the emo kid waiting for the bus on the street corner, as I do every morning. His clothing colored in shades of gray and his hair elegantly disheveled. I always wonder what he thinks as I pull up to the stop sign each morning. Maybe one day I’ll ask. I arrived at my place of employment, and I worked. There is nothing spectacular about that. Most of you did some of these same things.

Wait a second? Where did all of this written word come from?

My writer’s block has been defeated…

Get your attention? At the end of the summer of 1835, it got quite a few people’s attention. On August 25th of that year an article in the New York Sun was printed as the 1st of a six part series on supposed discoveries by Sir John Herschel, a world renowned astronomer of the day. The New York Sun was supposedly reprinting them from the Edinburgh Journal of Science.

It described that Herschel had supposedly gone down to South Africa and used one of the most technologically advanced telescopes of the day. Once he viewed the moon he was able to spot conclusive evidence that there was life on the moon. He was able to spot unicorns, two-legged beavers and furry, winged humanoids. These furry, winged humanoids resembled bats. The articles also revealed vivid descriptions of the terrain on the moon. Rushing rivers, massive craters, and lush greenery could be seen. It was a marvelous story.

So marvelous, that many people believed it. The readers ate up the stories, searching them feverishly for the next great discovery. A committee of Yale University scientists even bought the grand tale of the discovery of life on the moon. They showed up at the Sun searching for more details.

Once it was all said and done, the paper eventually printed a story explaining that it was all a grand hoax. It was meant as “satire”, but the satire was missed on most. Many of the readers found the whole thing humorous, but many in the scientific community felt duped. The whole incident was eventually dubbed, the Great Moon Hoax.

Entirely random and useless history lesson.

Junk Food, originally uploaded by 01101001 01100001 01101110.

If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
That strain again! it had a dying fall:
O, it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odour!

~ William Shakespeare

Today, I heard someone say that Linkin Park made some of the best music out there. Linkin Park is the McDonald’s of music. Undeservedly popular, not very good, and bad for your health.

“Michael J. Fox. Now there’s a guy whose life is so much more than yours or mine.”

I heard that exact quote at work today. I don’t talk about work much on here. That is on purpose. I don’t want to be like one of those bloggers out there who constantly talks about their job, for one reason. The other reason, and more importantly, I really don’t want to end up saying something that could get me fired from my job. So I steer clear of work talk if at all possible.

Now that I have qualified this entry, I was sitting at work today and overheard a conversation going on behind me. It intrigued me. Much of it was about opportunity, and the opportunities (or lack thereof) we have in this world. They were discussing the lack of opportunities in this particular area (Joplin, MO). They pointed to California as a land overflowing with opportunity. They wondered what their lives would be like had they lived in California. What they would be (rock star, etc.), the money they would make, the lives they would lead. This got me to thinking about opportunity and what location has to do with our opportunities.

To me, opportunity can have very little to do with location. Especially in today’s world. The Internet, easy travel, and other technologies have in essence brought the world and those opportunities to us. It is then up to us to seek out these opportunities and take advantage of them. Sure there are certain universities, colleges, or locations where we may have to go in order to obtain some goals. However, I see no reason why any of us, if we are determined enough should believe we just don’t have any opportunity. Even in a little Missouri town. Call me an optimist or even crazy, but I truly believe opportunity is created by our ambition in what it is we truly desire. Opportunity comes our way because of our ability and hard work hard at what it is we do. Determination to get our job done, or obtain the goals we set are what create for us more opportunities. I truly believe you should always do a good job in everything that you do, and if you do you will be rewarded somewhere down the line.

Obviously, all of this is assuming we actually have some accomplishments along the way. So what does all of this have to do with Michael J. Fox? Well, that was just where their conversation veered. Toward his biography, his life, and what was perceived as his life being so much better than yours or mine. In Back To The Future, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) repeats numerous times, “If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.” Maybe we could all learn a lesson from McFly.

If you get anything valuable out of this, remember this: Opportunity is worthless to us if we are never willing to go out there and obtain it through a little hard work and determination.

Since I’m apparently feeling motivational I’ll leave you with some quotes and interesting little known history along these same lines.

• “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” Walt Disney
• “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Thomas Edison
• “There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity.” Gen. Douglas MacArthur

The Perfect Place to Take a Book
Originally uploaded by ception

“I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air.” ~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” ~ Albert Camus

I enjoy autumn. The bearable temperatures, colors of the leaves, and even the rain make it easy to enjoy. That is, if it weren’t for the fact that it is a precursor to winter. If my hometown becomes a frozen tundra once again this year, I suspect I will be tempted to move very far away forever. In the meantime, let’s enjoy autumn and maybe even a book.

Walk Out To Winter
Originally uploaded by Rod Monkey

Physical benefits aside, going for a walk or a stroll can be a very beneficial for many different reasons. Here are just a few, in no particular order:

1. Thinking. Some of the best times to think about life, your goals, or whatever it is you think about from time to time is while taking a leisurely stroll.
2. Time to yourself. Along the same lines as thinking about things, but a little different. Walking alone can give you some needed alone time.
3. Improving observational skills. I notice more when I walk. I can drive past a house or portion of the street time and again and never think one thing about it. However, when I’m walking by at a much slower pace I find I notice more details. It’s good to have a wider perspective of things sometimes.
4. Finding things. I went for two walks today, since it was such a nice autumn day. The first time I didn’t see anything of value. But, on the second trip I discovered a baseball. Not anywhere near any home or yard, I picked it up and moved right along.
5. Enjoying the outdoors. I’m not an outdoors person. I’m not into nature, animals, or the countryside. I’m a city person through and through. That said, I do enjoy the outdoors while strolling through it. It can be very refreshing if the weather is very nice. That said, even strolls in bad weather isn’t even that bad.
6. Feeling good. Everyone knows that if you exercise you often feel much better afterwards. Just taking a short walk can have the same effect. Even if you didn’t really exert yourself that much.
7. Increased creativity. I find I come up with some of my best ideas for things as I walk around. In fact, many a blog post has been written down in my head as I strolled down the street. That includes this one.
8. Photo opportunities. Often I try to bring a camera with me while walking. Many times I find some great things to take pictures of.
9. Musical discoveries. I have many different albums or many different artists on my iPod, and I must confess that as a result I haven’t always heard all of the songs on it. Often I put it on shuffle and let the discoveries happen. Enjoying music is always nice while walking about.
10. Meeting people. Yes, I said meeting people. I know it’s probably hard to meet someone if you are walking while jamming to some tunes on the iPod. However, if by chance you end up without one there’s a chance you could run into some interesting folks. When I lived close to the local Main Street, I used to always meet some great characters.
11. Irritating dogs. Alright, for dog lovers this isn’t much of a benefit. Since I’m not a dog lover, and not everyone is, I sometimes find a little self satisfaction is strolling by some crazed dog caged behind a fence in someone’s yard. I don’t speed up or run, I barely even acknowledge the existence of the barking dog just feet from me. It just bewilders me why the thing thinks it has to go nuts as I walk by, and in some small way entertains me.

So get out there and go for a walk on the street where you live!!

Imus
Originally uploaded by Fred911

1. “The debate is over. The science is settled.” announced Al Gore. That’s debatable.
2. Supposedly Don Imus is returning from his forced hiatus. I really don’t care. I just stumbled across this cool little drawing of him banished into the corner. I was looking for an excuse to use it, then lo and behold he got himself a job. Thank you, Don.
3. Perspective is a good thing to have in your life. It keeps you from overreacting in some instances, and aids you in always prioritizing the most important things in life. Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez made the following statement in reference to the possibility of the Sox being eliminated from the playoffs, “If it doesn’t happen, who cares. There’s always next year. It’s not like it’s the end of the world.” Fans and some sportscasters are going nuts, accusing him of not caring. I disagree. He has perspective. He’s acknowledging the fact that his life, and no one else’s life should revolve around a sports team’s fortunes. Manny actually said something intelligent.
4. Along the same line, the next time you’re in line at the grocery store or at a fast food joint try not to become so irritable. Having worked retail in years gone by, I have witnessed so many people nearly have heart attacks because they were inconvenienced in some way. Next time you start to feel yourself becoming impatient think of something positive. Is it a nice day today? Have you been having a good day so far? What exciting and good things are going on in your life in general? Is your life really so horrible that you have to rail about these meaningless moments in life? Just something to think about.
5. On this day in history, in 1867, the United States officially took possession of Alaska. For a mere $7.2 million dollars, we purchased the Alaska Territory from Russia. At the time most people believed it to be a waste of America’s money and resources. People referred to it as “Seward’s Folly”. However the discovery of gold, oil, and its scenic beauty soon turned that “folly” into a steal. I wonder what the Russian’s used that money on.
6. Thank you for allowing me to waste some of your precious minutes. Good night.