Childrens Laughter

So, someone was telling me about PenisLand the other day. Actually, they were telling me about PenIsland, a company that makes custom pens. When they registered their name online, they chose penisland.org (which is odd, because penisland.com is a gay porn site (imagine that), so they might have tried it, saw it was taken, then went for .org anyway). It got me to thinking: ChildrensLaughter. Someone with a Palm tried out ChildrenSlaught.com, and found that someone start the site as a place to help children, because there is nothing more beautiful to the ears than the sound of Childrenslaughter. I guess he never really looked at it that way, which is kind of funny. "You can't spell slaughter without laughter," as mom used to always say.

This also led me to two further ones: ChildsCare and of course for Halloween, ChildrenScream. So, the question I planned on answering with a quick program was: how many words in the the English language begin with S but are also words without that S. That way there could be no end to the fun with Childrens! (or Clowns if one is sensitive about the word children)

Sure, this S thing wouldn't catch Penisland, so I wonder is there a more general list of words, two words that when sandwiched together can be split differently to for two different words, with what I hope are very different meanings. ChildrensLaughter had some of us almost rolling on the floor, so there must be a better one out there! And is there an English word for the combining/spliting concept (like anagram is for randomizing)?

The Edward

Wealth Unlimited

Chatting at work today with the topic of the richest people, and idea was formed. If you had 100 Billion Dollars, how would it change your life? One person claimed he would continue to dress the same, which I find hard to believe. With that kind of wealth, you wouldn't even notice the difference between a $1,000 outfit and a $10,000 outfit, much less a $100 outfit. Your time becomes more valuable than the cost of caring about the price of something.

Most people think of the basics - bigger house, faster car, more pussy, cooler watch, etc. But, what most people with untold wealth do not do is dream big. At least, in this country. Seems that they are building an island in the shape of the world over in one of the Gulf countries. Every continent will be there, and able to support 100,000 people living there. They love to flaunt there wealth in some countries, while here we are supposed to act like "old money." For here, I guess Vegas is the closest thing to Big Dreaming, which is one of the reasons I like it so much - it stands as a testament to what people would do with limitless money: a big, gaudy set of buildings in the middle of nowhere. I can not help but smile to myself every time I go there.

But, those things take time, and though they seem to be made of bigger dreams, can we not go further? Why do you need a watch when you can hire someone to follow you around all day and night, ready to tell you the time at you mirest asking. "What's the time?" "The time will be 11:20 pm at the beep, sir... Beep." You could hire a human to be an alarm clock, in case you wake up in the middle of the night and want to know the time. With your kind of wealth, why stumble round looking for a clock, just ask the human alarm clock. Make sure you put a snooze button on him, in case you want to sleep a little longer in the morning. Or made have a large stick by the bedside to give him a good whack. Or whatever you want.

With $100,000,000,000 you could pretty much do whatever you wanted. Well, at least anything that involved another human. You couldn't really break the laws of physics with money, or go to a different solar system, or read all of the books of the world, etc. All the power of that money solely exists in the minds of you and your fellow humans, so anything you would want would have to be human in nature. Which is why I never wanted that kind of power, only real power for me.

So, think over all that you would want, and ask yourself, isn't it just power over other humans?

The Edward

My Solution to yesterdays E-Mystery

Thanks to everyone who tried, and a special thanks to those who posted their answers.  Let's compare!

It is true that I read the original story, so there is a lot more to it than I posted, as Aravind pointed out.  I tried to turn the real story into a mystery, since it seemed to be a mystery to the person who was living it.  With the facts presented in my version, here is what I would say are some of the solutions to the mysteries.

The WoW dude (let's call him Bob, since that makes it easier, and Bob's your uncle) was upset that no one contacted him after he left the game, so he thought that those bastards weren't really his friends after all.  But Bob's Real World friends were still there for him after he left.  Actually, it is Bob who is the bastard.  See, he snubbed his Real World friends and they waited for him.  But, what did he do to this WoW friends?  He isn't playing the game, so his WoW friends are like he used to be (not talking to people in the Real World), and he is now in the role of his Real World friends.  Did Bob say, "I was addicted to the game, but now I am done with it.  And I will wait for my WoW friends until they can leave the addictive game, as my Real World friends waited for me."?  No, he thought of himself, as he did while in the game.  Bob is just a self-centered bastard who didn't realize what he put his Real World friends through, and once he was in the same situation, he didn't recognize it and instead blamed the addicts for his feelings of abandonment.

For the second part:  Bob thought that the WoW world was unlike his Real World.  He had achieved much in WoW, but was he happy?  No.  He wanted it to be all fun and games, he wanted the riches without the work that goes along with them.  He didn't make the connection that the Wow world and his Real World are very similar - the WoW world is just a sped up version.  In the Real World, someone can work very hard and rise to the top, like he did in WoW.  But, it is hard work, takes a lot of time to get there, and a lot of time to maintain it.  He just wanted the playboy lifestyle, the cool parts that they show on TV, not all of the actual behind the scenes stuff that goes along with that success.  He seems to think that his life will be more rewarding in the Real World, when there really isn't one.  What are dollars, but other people ideas of wealth?  How can you "own" land in the Real World any more than in a virtual one?  It is all group consensus.  If all of the people vanished from both of the worlds, he would see that they are both the same, WoW mirrors life, because it is populated by Humans and designed by Humans to be a mirror.  If the rules of WoW were very far from Reality, the game wouldn't have sucked him in.  With the advanced pacing in WoW, he was able to experience a rise to the top that would take many, many years in the Real World - and he found it not to his liking.  He is no Bill Gates.

So, how did you do?  Based on my understand of what people posted, I would have to say madpuppy got pretty close to my answer for the second part.  Congratulations!

It is still up in the air whether I will do this again, but I believe I had fun with it.

The Edward

E-Mystery Wednesday

Hello and welcome to what I am calling E-Mystery Wednesday. (It bares no relationship to Slambo's Mini Mystery Monday, though I did get the idea from her, so it is more like a tribute rather than an outright theft.) I thought rather than rant about something, I will make it a mystery and see what comes of it. If this works out, I might make it a regular thing... if.

Today's tale begins with a website story someone sent to me about a person who loved to play World of Warcraft. This is a massive online game, with players from all over the world working together to find virtual items in order to make their virtual character better than everyone else's. There are quite a few people who are addicted to these types of games, playing endless hours to the exclusions of all Real World friends, family, and events. Shocking.

The story on the website was about a person who spent the past year, 30+ hours a week playing the game. He gave it up recently, and decided to share his keen insights on why these types of games are so much worse than the Real World. He stopped talking to his friends in the Real World because he had so many friends in WoW. He said that the game was so addictive that it caused him to abandon everyone who didn't play the game. So, he played and played, until he became the top character in his world. People all over the world envied him. His character had the best virtual items in all of the kingdom. Yet, he was unhappy. :( He realized that with great wealth and power comes great responsibility. He was spending 10+ hours a week just maintaining his position of power, helping out those who allied themselves with his group.

So, he quit playing, for some of the reasons already stated - too much time to maintain, not enough having fun. And he was addicted, so he was breaking this horrible addiction. When he left the game world, he started talking to his Real World friends, and they welcomed him back! Yet, when he logged in to close out his account, no one cared. Three days later, it was like he never existed online. He said that was the final and most painful part, since he spend so much time online helping others, making the game more fun for them, and yet no one thanked him while he was playing and no one missed him. But his Real World friends missed him and now they are all together, living happily ever after.

So, where is the mystery in this story? Actually, there are quite a few, but I'll just pick out two. He is upset with his online friends because they were never really his friends, yet he was wrong, why? He left the game because it took too much time "not playing", so he is in the Real World now, yet there is a mystery about his thinking, what is it?

The Edward

A New Holiday

I got to thinking about Holidays the other day. I was invited over to some friends' house for Thanksgiving. But, it wasn't the normal Thanksgiving, it was the Canadian one. I was surprised, I didn't know that they had taken one of our Holidays. But, it was a lot of fun none the less!

The thing that actually got me thinking was more recent - I was at dinner with a large group of Canadians and they were talking about what they did for Thanksgiving, without the Canadian prefix (they implied it). I realized that even though I did Thanksgiving with these friends, it probably didn't have the same meaning to me as it did to them. To me it was just another dinner with friends (although a really good one). I didn't have the holiday feeling as I would for a real Holiday.

Why the difference? If I had invited people over to celebrate a Holiday that they we unaware of, they would enjoy themselves, but it would feel like they were not part of the Holiday Spirit. Was it all of the build up in the mind? Someone else who was non-Canadian asked if there was a story to their Thanksgiving, in-which I believe the answer lies: it is the fable of a Holiday that makes it special to people.

We have Thanksgiving, where we have the fable of the starving Pilgrims and the friendly Indians helping them out. For Christmas we have snowmen, Santa Claus, mangers with baby lords, etc. For birthdays we have cake and candles and tales of aging. So, to create a new holiday, one needs a really good story, one that is told about that day, something that will make that day seem special to those that know about it. Which is why I want to tell you about October 22th, the day John's son saved the world.

Ever wonder about the story of his son and why we wear glow-in-the-dark condoms on this day in his Honor? Well, I will have to save that story for another day... maybe on the Day of John's son...

The Edward

Over analysis

As much as I live in my own mind now, it used to be more (though, I guess...). I used to think that everyone analyzed every detail of every aspect of life. I thought people picked up on subtle word usage to determine hidden meanings. I thought humour derived from subtle meaning shifts in words. I lived in a Monty Python world and thought that the world was the same as my view of it.

But, I now know that to be wrong. People are all trapped in their own little worlds, never having time to really explore others. I used to think people were staring at me, watching me, waiting for me to trip up or something. But, through a strange sequence of events, I came to know the truth - everyone else is doing the same thing. People think others are waiting for them to trip up, so they are watching others to see if anyone notices, etc.

I used to think that the popular kids in school were unapproachable, because they were better in some way. Then one day, I saw through them, and knew that they were just like everyone else - afraid. After that I could talk to anyone of them without the fear of them others had, because I knew they existed solely in the minds of others.

How does that lead to the actual topic? Well, I tell you. Actually, I already have, and that is another aspect to this Realization - people do not spend time looking for hidden meanings, like I do. As I've said more than once, I pepper my writing and speaking with what I really want to say, and I believe that others not only do this themselves but are actively looking for it in others. I think I am being clear in my intentions, but others see it differently. I remember back in school, I wouldn't finish my sentences, because I assumed that once all of the relevant information was out there, the ending was obvious - it took me years to correct this "problem." Now, I believe I over explain. But, do I? I guess if I am still not getting the point across, I must not be, but it seems that I use too many words, doesn't it? Or do I...

The Edward

Superman vs Kill Bill

I hated the Kill Bill movies - over the top action and story, but not in an interesting way for me. After sitting through parts 1 and 2, and feeling the life being sucked out of me the entire time, especially during the climax where all was revealed < shudder >, there was a nugget there. Something I could sink my teeth into. An interesting idea, one that had never occurred to me before.

Bill tells the audience that Superman was who Superman was - Clark Kent was who Superman thought humans were. Other super-heroes were normal people, with normal lives, but who gain super powers some way, then go off and develop an alter-ego that is super. But, Superman was always super and to fit in he had to hide who he really was. So, he created a persona that he thought wouldn't draw any attention to himself. Therefore, Clark Kent was what Superman thought of humans - bumbling, dimwitted, never get the girl, kind of a nebbish.

I was stunned by this idea. Why had this never occurred to me, considering...? I liked this idea, and kept it as my own little secret idea for a few years. I would bring it out anytime I wanted to feel good about myself, and lord it over the Humans around me. Then I stated this blog thing a few months ago, and I started actually analyzing my thoughts through the lenses of philosophies that I used to believe in (General Semantics, etc). The next time I brought out my little pet thought, I realized that like the rest of Kill Bill, it was crap. So, I cast it aside without a so much as a tear.

Clark Kent is not Superman's indictment against humanity, but rather Superman's view of what he thinks humans really are. It is a subtle difference, but a major one. Superman didn't really know what it means to be human, so when he had to create a human persona, he wouldn't be sure how far to go to hide who he was. He had to determine how fast, or strong, or smart he wanted others to believe he was. And since he couldn't get into their minds, he tried his best. Clark Kent is his view of his beliefs, and really says nothing about Humans as a whole, just Superman. Basically, it was a very inaccurate model, since he was biased by his own model.

To summarize: Kill Bill was utter crap to me. Superman was really a jerk who under valued humans. And I need a new pet idea.

The Edward