Rhonda brought me a book on dieting, first printing middle of last century. It is remarkably clear, and has the same criticisms of fad, crash and specialty diets. It predicts the rise of the yo-yo diet and has an excellent section on how to order food in a restaurant today, though back in 1950 they would have thought you were bonkers. The recipes are astounding at how little has changed, including peoples tastes. I don’t know, maybe nobody in the world has discovered a new spice in the last hundred years. We got to talking, and I pose the question – is there anyone besides me who read the entire dictionary cover to cover before they were in high school? I did, in fact that is how I pieced together the facts of life. It was an impressive feat of cross-referencing, folks. But by the time I reached puberty, I was the only one of my peers that knew exactly how not to get anyone pregnant.
I also read the encyclopedia. Not researched topics, but actually read the topics recreationally, as if it was a very long series of chapters. There wasn’t a hell of a lot else to ready, one did not dare bring any schoolbooks home (they would get “lost” and it would be your fault for not protecting them, although if you did protect them, you got into even more trouble). It had two long-term effects. One is that you quickly learn that knowledge cannot be taken away from you. Two, you learn to grasp concepts in non-logical order, noting patterns not there in an ordinary classroom.
The more I read about Abe Lincoln, the less I believe all that history about what a great leader he was. He was also called the “original gorilla”, and “wise as a serpent”. He apparently spent an awful lot of time minding other people’s business. He was a typical lawyer, constantly making one point out of another usually unrelated point. Example, the South’s decision to leave the union was an attempt to destroy “his” government when in reality they didn’t give much of a damn about it. As time goes by, he seems less and less of a good choice during a time desperate for heroes.
I’m tempted to buy a CD player. Remember, I am usually the last guy to buy any technology that is read only. Artists should make the majority of their money performing live, under the strict rules of supply and demand. To me, the problem is not the artist, it’s the upset of the market by the huge distributors. Notice nothing happens until they start hurting instead of just the artist? I want a small CD player for the office, and I would like to find out what the big deal is with that Bose wave radio, like why is it still so expensive? Why is it still advertised after all these years as a breakthrough?
Something else. I’ve noticed a comeback in mechanical Swiss watches in the $300 range.
