Author: Paul | Page 25 | Shiny Bits of Life

February 24, 2015September 10, 2022

Slow Down

Writing with a fountain pen on a postcard, copyright Paul Merrill I’ve discovered the joys of using a fountain pen. It gives me a unique sense of pleasure to feel the pen tip moving across the paper. The paper’s texture enters my brain in a way it never could if I was using my super-smooth ball-point pen.

My sister and her family raise chickens. Sure, it takes a lot more work to keep those birds happy compared to simply buying eggs at their local supermarket. I am sure that the eggs taste better – and that their kids are learning responsibility in a way that schoolwork alone could never do.

The book Words Onscreen (by Naomi Baron) advocates moving away from electronic books – and back to the old paper variety. At least one of the reasons is that printed typography can be better. I’m not sure I am willing to ditch my old Kindle, but it’s worth considering.

Walking or riding a bike to get somewhere takes a lot more time. Time is money, so it can be expensive too. But you’ll smell the roses along the way.

Brewing coffee with a French press takes longer than an electric drip machine. But I like the taste better.

I’ve started sending old postcards, by snailmail, to friends. I like using my fountain pen and making that small analog connection with humans. (Who doesn’t like to get something in the mail?) If you’d like to get a free postcard, send an email to me (with your address) at phmerrill at gmail dot com. Apologies, but if you live outside the USA, I can’t afford the postage – about four times more!

The photograph was taken by my daughter Rachel.

February 17, 2015February 17, 2015

Tension

pulling a guitar string Tension can make or break us. Too much tension can ruin a relationship. Too little tension can bring on depression.

We are naturally drawn to seek tension, because it’s healthy. But we are also repelled by situations that cause too much tension.

We all fall in a spectrum of desire too much or too little tension.

Benoît Lecomte plans to swim across the Pacific Ocean. (He has already crossed the Atlantic.) Mr. Lecomte is seeking a huge amount of personal tension. I am not sure why he is seeking such levels of pain. He will either receive the fame that comes with being the first to complete such a feat – or he may lose his life. I appreciate how people like Benoît push the boundaries of humans accomplishment.

At the other end of the tension spectrum is someone I knew who died for lack of tension. They refused to exercise to the point of losing most physical capabilities. They insisted on their own way by refusing healthy choices, some of which resulted in their eventual death. Their driving motivation was to avoid pain.

You most likely fall somewhere in the middle. My struggle is not judging people at either extreme.

Another struggle I face is pushing myself from the complacent end of the spectrum toward the middle. I know that I need more tension, like in the area of exercise. In some areas of life, I need less tension.

Balance is elusive.

February 10, 2015February 8, 2015

Dreams

dreams - z's over a night sky “Dreams” often mean “desires” or “hopes” – or if we are serious with our intentions, “plans.”

Today I’ll refer to “dreams” in terms of what happens when we’re asleep.

I love dreams – at least most of the time. It’s fascinating to see how our brains mash up random bits of our past experiences with what’s going on in our lives.

My wife, daughter and I often ask each other first thing in the morning, “Did you dream anything?” It’s a fun way to start the day.

Lately I’ve been having a lot of dreams related to my job – the projects I’m spending my days working on. Sometimes those dreams are just variations on what is really happening and other times they go in random weird directions. A few weeks back I dreamed that I needed to bake several egg dishes and write down the recipes. (I’ve never been much of a cook.)

My favorite dream of the last several months was one that featured my mom. She passed away more than five years ago. In this dream, she talked with me, and it was very soothing. The part of my brain that was still rooted in reality knew that she was gone, but she came back for just a little while. It was really nice.

Have you had any good dreams lately?

February 3, 2015February 3, 2015

How the other half lives

price upon request description in Wall Street Journal article I love the looney tunes 1% of the upper 1% lifestyle stuff in The Wall Street Journal. You know – articles comparing camel hair coats – the cheapest being $1,195 and the most expensive being $3,550.

I was quite amused recently to see “price upon request.” I know that phrase. It means, “If you don’t know the price range in which this object is priced, you shouldn’t ask.” Or better, “Unless you drove to the store in a new Bentley, don’t ask.”

I know, I know, there are some good people in the top 1% of the upper 1%. And some of them keep the wheels of society moving forward.

But others are making their zillions off the backs of people who can’t afford to stay in a one-bedroom apartment in the worst section of town on what their wages will cover.

My own sister-in-law has been working for a large company that has given her only about 10c more an hour reward for the several years she has faithfully served.

What amused me most about, “price upon request,” was that for some reason, The Wall Street Journal didn’t take the time to request the price.

So why do I write this kind of post about something I can’t change? I may be “full of sound and fury – signifying nothing,” as Shakespeare said in Macbeth. I understand that the top 1% of the upper 1% will never read this. I know that there is very little you or I can do to change the injustice of major corporation CEO salaries.

But I am amused at some aspects of that lifestyle. And you may be amused at some aspects of my lifestyle too.

January 27, 2015January 25, 2015

Yearning for human connection

three plugs entering an electrical outlet I love blogs.

I’ve been blogging since 2005. (You can visit my first month of blogging if you like.) I still put up a blog post almost every week. And I enjoy reading blogs by other people. But there are few real blogs left. By “real,” I mean where someone shares what’s on their heart.

One friend who used to blog about life rarely blogs that way anymore. His blog has evolved into thoughtful reflections in his area of work.

Several friends just stopped altogether. Other friends only blog occasionally.

Don’t think I’m saying I am a “from the heart” blogger – most of my posts are just reflections on shiny bits of life. But I do like reading posts where people bare their souls – even if I don’t often write such posts.

Are there any blogs that you still enjoy visiting regularly? Share them with me and other Shiny Bits readers in the comments. Thanks.

January 20, 2015January 10, 2015

Change is not always better

mac interface screenshot, showing new typeface I very much love Apple products. One of the thorns in my side is spending my 8-to-5 on a Windows 7-based laptop. It works fine, but I very much miss using a Mac. (And changing back to a Mac at home messes with my head.)

Like every forward-facing company, Apple is always changing things. The latest computer operating system, Yosemite, has some significant improvements. But the new system-wide typeface is harder for my non-assisted eyes to read. The Helvetica-like “6” looks too much like an “8.”

If we could pick and choose what gets changed in our lives, that would make us God. But we can’t, so I’m hoping the not-fun-changes will make us stronger.

Footnotes:

There are some ways Windows is better. One good aspect is having both a delete key and a backspace key.
If you have a minute, in the comments, share a change you experienced that provided both good and bad results.
My Mac starts up much faster with Yosemite. (Your results may vary.)

January 13, 2015January 10, 2015

Emperor’s new clothes

Spark - © Graham, Creative Commons licensed, via Lfickr Marketing these days seems to be in a rut. I am amazed at the ideas some companies use to represent their goods and services.

Lexus, for example, has a new crossover vehicle that they are trying to sell with the slogan, “Go Beyond Utility.”

Meh.

The closing line of their ad says, “”Once you go beyond utility, there’s no going back.”

What does that even mean?

Lest you think I am saying that I’m a creative genius, I don’t have a quick and easy suggestion for a better campaign to sell the new Lexus NX crossover. And I understand that true creativity is an art more than a science. Great ideas don’t come always quickly to even the most creative person.

Footnotes:

The Emperor’s New Clothes is a wonderful story from 1837 that illustrates how the ruler of a large land is swindled into believing nothing is the best something ever.
The sparks photo is courtesy of Graham on Flikr, and is used through a Creative Commons license.
The new NX is a repackaged Toyota RAV. Car and Driver magazine gives it 3 out of 5 stars. Maybe that’s why the creatives had a hard time coming up with a good idea to sell the car.

January 6, 2015December 27, 2014

Love me, love my dog

Sparky dog My dad used to say that. (He’s gone now, so I haven’t heard him say it for many years.)

“Love me, love my dog,” simply means we have to put up with things we may not appreciate about some of the people we know. This is such a fundamental idea that I too often forget.

We all expect perfection from others, at some level. The closer the person to us, the more we expect from them. (The opposite holds true too – we expect a lot from our governmental leaders, and we will probably never meet them.)

Annoying habits or choices can be huge roadblocks in any relationship. The sooner we get over being fixated on those things, the sooner we can enjoy that relationship.

And yes, that’s our little dog Sparky. She’s pretty easy to love, as she is very loving in return. But she loves to bark at squirrels and ghosts we can’t see. I hope you get to meet her someday.

December 23, 2014December 21, 2014

What would you do with a million dollars?

a million dollars in nairobi We had a million dollars. We lived in an alternate universe for five years, where we had a million dollars compared to some of our neighbors.

Nairobi, Kenya, is a huge city in East Africa. The distance between the rich and the poor is huge. As a result, crime is more common than in most parts of North America and Europe. There are more razor wire fences, alarm systems, security guards and carjackings.

I know it’s nice to focus on the positive aspects of other cultures, but that’s not my mission today. Instead, I want to tell you what it’s like to be rich.

Generally, it’s not fun. Simply eating at a restaurant caused a lot of guilt. We knew the price of one not-even-fancy meal could have fed a hungry family for days. Was the brief pleasure of eating out worth it? We thought so, as dining out was one of our ways to survive.

And we gave. We invested in people who were naturally part of our lives. We quickly learned that just giving money was not the answer.

Providing training allowed a young man to have a better-paying job that made a difference that lasted a lifetime. But it was a lot of blood, sweat and tears to make that path actually work, on his part and ours.

Paying for dental work for a lady we knew allowed her to eat with no pain, for years afterward.

So how do you deal with the guilt in your life? I would encourage you to not sit on it or suppress it. Do something.

Epilogue: We have been back in the land of Target and Prada for more than seven years. We are not directly involved in the lives of those we helped back then. And the guilt of having so much relative wealth decreases as time washes our memories away. But we’re still trying to make a difference in situations that are in front of us now. We fail a lot – and still eat at restaurants. But we are doing something.