Daily Report
It's been a couple of days since my last entry, and while there are reasons (maybe excuses) for that, I'm not going to dwell upon them and move on to today's Adams Pond commentary.
The weather here has been a mixture between delightful and just a bit cool. With the advent of summer lurking in the shadowy future, I'll enjoy the cool rather than complain about it. Today, Sandy and Timmy moved the plants from the corner of our living room to the garden. I have a picture Sandy took to demonstrate their transfer has been successful. The garden looks wonderful once more. What do you think? Can you find the frog?
I spent a little time yesterday working with my Linux laptop. I'm running two different distributions (MX-Linux and Linus Mint). Linux Mint is, by far, my favorite. It does everything I need to do, and it does it in a logical and efficient manner. It's probably one of the best distributions for those who are used to using Windows. MX-Linux is currently one of the most popular distributions, and I installed it to see why so many people were attracted to it. The reason comes down to ease of use. I use a wide-screen TV-Monitor for my primary display, so I keep the laptop closed most of the time. With most Linux distributions (and Windows), getting the system to let you do that without automatically going to sleep is not difficult, but there are three or four settings you have to locate and set just right to accomplish it. MX-Linux simply asked me what I wanted to do when I clicked on the Display setting. I was impressed right away. I'll continue exploring it as time passes.
The Importance of Clarity
Words and the meanings of those words are essential to communication. When I was in college, one of the classes I was required to take was "History of the English Language." At the time, I considered it to be one of the most tedious classes I'd ever taken, but in retrospect, I have discovered it to be one of the most insightful. Language changes. Meanings change. An example of this is the word "woke."
When you look the definition up online, you receive the following definition: "alert to and concerned about social injustice and discrimination."
So certain folks are trying to insult people who care about justice and discrimination by calling them "woke." Wow! I'm trembling in my boots (I don't wear boots, but you get the point). I'm reminded of the movie "The American President" in which the President of the United States notes that his primary opponent in the upcoming election is deriding him for being a member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). His opponent views that as a terrible thing, yet the President says the entire purpose of the ACLU is to protect Americal liberties based on the Bill of Rights. He ends by asking his opponent why he considers this to be a bad thing, and why he's not a member himself.
I'd be inclined to say the same argument applies to being woke. If being woke means I'm concerned about social injustice and discrimination, I'm proud to be woke. Where is the insult in caring about how people are treated? I might ask the person hurling this sort of "insult" if they're doing so because they believe social injustice and discrimination are good things? The answer is obvious. They believe it's an insult because they consider social injustice and discrimination to be good things because it protects them from having to care about others (unless they like they are, of course). I'm sorry, guys, you can't insult me by saying I care about things worth caring about. You can't insult me by saying I support things that should never exist in a civilized world, and you certainly can't insult me by telling me I'm right.
So, I am WOKE. If you're not, you're standing on the wrong side of human advancement.
False Facts
Science has put the idea that we only use 10% of our brain to rest. We use it all, folks. That idea is over a hundred years old, and the ability to study the brain, how it works, and how we use it has simply sent that "fact" into the myth category. What's more important as far as I'm concerned, is how we use our brains.
When I first learned to program in BASIC way back in the mid-80s, one of the first things I programmed was:
10 Print "Mike"
20 Goto 10
When I entered the command to run that wonderfully simple program, the screen printed my name over and over until I stopped it manually. It would run in a loop until the power went off if left alone. We do the same sort of thing with our brains. Certain ideas get stuck in them, and we loop those ideas for so long they're no longer ideas. They're facts.
This sort of thing is great when the results are good. Not so great if the results aren't good. The devilish part is once we're convinced we're right, we rarely step back and examine our beliefs. Thus, anyone who challenges our beliefs is wrong, and we get angry. We exhibit that anger by trying to insult them.
That, my friends, explains a lot about the previous section on being "woke."
That's enough for now.
Take care and stay safe.
cma
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