Brain Blenders

All Medicine Should Taste Like Robitussin

There are many new-fangled cough syrup's available for parents to give their kids that taste good. Products like Jack and Jill's Raspberry, Mucinex Cherry, Triaminic Thin Strips (not technically even a syrup), Triaminic Liquid Bubble Gum, and then there is Fruit Punch Flavor, customizable flavors, and who knows what else.

I have two beliefs when it comes to getting rid of colds and nagging coughs.

1. Sweat it out.
        Get out there and push the illness out of you with a jog, or push-ups, or maybe some bikram yoga. You have to make the sickness want to leave your body through the sheer suffering that you are willing to put yourself under. Sickness wants an easy road, an unaltered path to your couch-potato side, and it is your duty to make that side of you die, and thus force sickness out.

2. Drink Robitussin.
       No, not the new fangled flavors that taste good going down, but the original. This almost completely negates belief number 1 due to the FACT that Robitussin tastes just like liquid death. If one could bottle death it would taste like Robitussin! When you swallow it, you lose a small portion of your life expectancy and therefor make sickness unwelcome in your body. You could try running after this, but you would end up in a white Ford Bronco driving down the interstate with Al Cowlings. Robitussin does unbelievable things to your mind and body making it impossible for sickness to appeal to your common sense (soft side) and tell you that things will rationally get better over time if you just lie down, and pasing out doesn't count here.

I think my point is we need to stop babying ourselves during these periods of physical lamentations and just get right to the point. Sickness sucks, the remedies are worse, and you should dry your hair before you go to bed that way you won't get a cold in the first place. Nothing helps a child learn that life is hard like a good dose of liquid death.

Now that I try to think about it, i wasn't even going to post an article tonight until that swig of 'TUSSIN".

Genius Qualities

Who do you want to be when you grow up?
“I want to be a genius.” the child replied.
A genius huh? Did you know that history has placed that moniker “genius”, on some wildly successful and possibly crazy people?
“Yeah, I want to be like that.”
Successful or crazy?
“Remembered in history.”

The 24 Qualities that Geniuses Have in Common
The world’s greatest geniuses have all had 24 personality characteristics in common and you can develop the same traits yourself, says an expert.

“Most people have the mistaken idea that geniuses are born, not made”, declared clinical psychologist Dr. Alfred Barrious, founder and director of the Self-Programmed Control Center of Los Angeles and author of the book, Towards Greater Freedom and Happiness.

“But if you look at the lives of the worlds greatest geniuses like Edison, Socrates, DaVinci, Shakespeare, Einstein, you will discover they all had 24 personality characteristics in common.
“These are traits that anyone can develop. It makes no difference how old you are, how much education you have, or what you have accomplished to date. Adopting these personality characteristics enables you to operate on a genius level.”
Here are the Characteristics Dr. Barrios lists, which enable geniuses to come up with and develop new and fruitful ideas:
1.    DRIVE. Geniuses have a strong desire to work hard and long. They’re willing to give all they’ve got to a project. Develop your drive by focusing on your future success, and keep going.
2.    COURAGE. It takes courage to do things others consider impossible. Stop worrying about what people will think if you’re different.
3.    DEVOTION TO GOALS. Geniuses know what they want and go after it. Get control of your life and schedule. Have something specific to accomplish each day.
4.    KNOWLEDGE. Geniuses continually accumulate information. Never go to sleep at night without having learned at least one new thing each day. Read. And question people who know.
5.    HONESTY. Geniuses are frank, forthright and honest. Take the responsibility for thins that go wrong. Be willing to admit, ‘I goofed’ and learned from my mistakes.
6.    OPTIMISM. Geniuses never doubt they will succeed. Deliberately focus your mind on something good coming up.
7.    ABILITY TO JUDGE. Try to understand the facts of a situation before you judge. Evaluate things on an opened minded, unprejudiced basis and be willing to change your mind.
8.    ENTHUSIASM. Geniuses are so excited about what they are doing, it encourages others to cooperate with them. Really believe that things will out well. Don’t hold back.
9.    WILLINGNESS TO TAKE CHANCES. Overcome your fear of failure. You won’t be afraid to take chances once you realize you can learn from your mistakes.
10.    DYNAMIC ENERGY. Don’t sit on your butt waiting for something good to happen. Be determined to make it happen.
11.    ENTERPRISE. Geniuses are opportunity seekers. Be willing to take on jobs others won’t touch. Never be afraid to try the unknown.
12.    PERSUASION. Geniuses know how to motivate people to help them get ahead. You’ll find it easy to be persuasive if you believe in what you’re doing.

This is My Boomstick

One of the greatest movies of all time, Bruce Campbell vs. The Army of Darkness, and if you don't agree - you have a problem I can't pronounce. Or, maybe you just don't have a sense of humor? Well, now that I think of it, I'm probably not the best OVERALL judge of a "sense of humor". Probably, a better analogy is if you like reading the comics in The New Yorker then stop reading this post now.

As I was saying, the one of the top ten comedies of all time is Army of Darkness starring Bruce Campbell. This video from YouTube is a GREAT line from the movie. Boomstick. There are so many lines in this movie that it makes me think of all the great movie quotes that you could substitute in everyday language and, who knows, one might be able to actually not have an original word all day if you just quoted movie lines.

Which brings me to my initiative, Movie-line Day. Movie-line Day will be a day in which all manner of conversation will occur but, all content must be delivered in movie quotes. It will rock! However, here is a caveat...you can't just quote lines from one movie. Whoever the dillrod is that only quotes Napoleon Dynamite, or Caddy Shack shall be slapped. Yes, you can quote from the movie more than once, but two parties may not substitute meaningful dialog by trading lines back and forth between Fight Club. No, the real trick will be to quote lines from movies, or maybe Rap songs that actually substitute for actual conversation.

If you can't actually pull off an entire day of only quotes from famous movies then you must make several points during the day from movie, rap, or 80's television shows in the following manner:

"The Poet Mike Seaver said....", or "The Poet Ice T has said...", or The Famous Poet Cool Hand Luke once said...".

Take that Churchill chumps.

Some of these things write themselves

On my way to the hotel in Orlando, FL when I notice the cab driver has a cross stitch deal next to his seat. So I asked him how long he had been cross stitching? He says, since I was 8. We started talking about cross stitching and whatnot, because, frankly he did not look like he should be cross stitching (by the way - I have no REASON whatsoever to even begin talking about cross stitching, I'm clueless basically.)

So I asked the fellow, where did he get his patterns, and how long did they normally take, and what was the largest piece he had ever done. He said it was as big as the windshield of the van we were in. Then I asked what it depicted and this is where our connection severed. He said it was some spaceship from a movie. When I say it severed, I mean - he actually said the name of the make-believe space ship and the movie it was from but unfortunately my mind was screaming "same planet, different worlds."

I asked if I could take his picture with it and he said absolutely, and yes I told him it would most likely end up on the internet. I don't understand why people do some of the things they do, and I don't mean that as a knock against them. I used to like to hit firefly's with wiffle ball bats - can't even begin to explain that one. But, gross over generalizations, while funny, don't come close to explaining real people, and real don't even come close to real understanding of what makes us tick.

All in all, it really just goes to show you - you CANNOT judge a book by it's cover.

Mighty Mouse

Have to tell you about the coolest thing I have had in a long time...The Apple Mighty Mouse. Specifically the wireless version, which makes it MORE wonderful. Some coworkers have been utilizing the little wonder for some time, and every chance I get I have been hijacking one of fellows devices with impunity. Instead of outright larceny I finally decided to go get my own, and the hits just keep on coming. The best thing about the mouse is the fast response, the second greatest thing about it is the scroll wheel which works vertically and horizontally. Vertically it obviously scrolls your page up and down and horizontally I have it programmed to go back or forward for my website surfing needs. I spend a lot of time online in the evening, reading the sites, tracking information, and watching clipmarks. The third most wonderful element of the design is how easy it is to travel with. My desk is about 20 different places a week and the MM is always ready to work. Do yourself a favor and check this baby out.