![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
On his Everything Possible - Fred Small in Concert recording, Small attributes to Tom Paxton: "Tom Paxton said it best. Some folks you don't have to satirize; you just quote 'em." (I've asked both Small and Paxton about this quotation. Paxton doesn't recall having said such a thing, nor does Small remember the circumstances.)
But in my experience, some people and positions are very difficult to satirize... or at least very frustrating. Because what I regard as grotesque, ridiculous exaggeration, some of their supporters take to be enthusiastic agreement. And then those supporters take things even farther. My most bizarre imaginings don't — can't — go as far as what some people take to be absolute truth.
And, of course, I don't want to be perceived as being on their side.
But in my experience, some people and positions are very difficult to satirize... or at least very frustrating. Because what I regard as grotesque, ridiculous exaggeration, some of their supporters take to be enthusiastic agreement. And then those supporters take things even farther. My most bizarre imaginings don't — can't — go as far as what some people take to be absolute truth.
And, of course, I don't want to be perceived as being on their side.
Hackward compatibility
Nov. 10th, 2014 07:34 pmI'm slightly surprised that the only references I can find to "hackward compatibility" appear to be due to scanning errors and typos.
It seems to me to be the perfect term to describe the need for or practise of maintaining all of the kludges and work-arounds that have accumulated over several software generations.
It seems to me to be the perfect term to describe the need for or practise of maintaining all of the kludges and work-arounds that have accumulated over several software generations.
Decision-making
Sep. 25th, 2014 01:50 pmWhen you want to go with your gut feeling instead of with the evidence, try to remember that your guts are usually full of sh*t.
Insanity redux
Aug. 27th, 2014 01:14 pmA corollary to the usual definition of insanity... Failing to change behaviour that has previously led to a disastrous outcome, because you don't/won't believe that it can happen again.
I think that everyone suffers from that one, at least a bit.
I think that everyone suffers from that one, at least a bit.
Self-appraisal
Jun. 27th, 2013 08:56 pmInspired by a recent encounter:
Nothing is more effective at eliciting a bout of self-examination than sincere approval by someone I find detestable.
Nothing is more effective at eliciting a bout of self-examination than sincere approval by someone I find detestable.
If you don't like the weather...
Mar. 6th, 2013 12:26 pmIf you don't like the winter weather here in Ottawa... just wait a few years.
I don't mind the mild weather we've been having, these last few winters, but the apparent climate change is disquieting. When I was young, the odds were about 50-50 that we'd have lasting snow on the ground by Hallowe'en, and ditto that there would be some snow left by my birthday in late April. But not lately.
I don't mind the mild weather we've been having, these last few winters, but the apparent climate change is disquieting. When I was young, the odds were about 50-50 that we'd have lasting snow on the ground by Hallowe'en, and ditto that there would be some snow left by my birthday in late April. But not lately.
Working too much
Feb. 16th, 2013 04:07 pmWithout context: When one is doing all that one can, and more than one ought, it is infuriating to be accused of wilfully doing too little.
Damn things
Jan. 13th, 2013 02:10 pmMy plan was to run a load of laundry, then go to see ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mentisiterinvit in the hospital. (I just learned that she's going for an MRI, and may not be back in ICU for a couple of hours.) When I went down to the basement to move the laundry from the washer to the drier, I found the sink/tub full of water and water on the floor. The tub drain is clogged.
To paraphrase an old saying: Time is what lets you have one damn thing after another instead of every damn thing at once.
mentisiterinvit in the hospital. (I just learned that she's going for an MRI, and may not be back in ICU for a couple of hours.) When I went down to the basement to move the laundry from the washer to the drier, I found the sink/tub full of water and water on the floor. The tub drain is clogged.To paraphrase an old saying: Time is what lets you have one damn thing after another instead of every damn thing at once.
Story ideas
Oct. 20th, 2012 04:11 pmPeople who offer story ideas to you "for a small fee" don't understand that they're a bit like kittens on a country farm — it's not that they're unwanted, but they keep showing up without help, and they're not much good until they've grown up and been groomed a bit.
... I have a vague recollection of an epigram along these lines. It has a distinctly Heinleinian tone, but I can't find anything like it attributed to him.
... I have a vague recollection of an epigram along these lines. It has a distinctly Heinleinian tone, but I can't find anything like it attributed to him.
SCA politics
Jul. 10th, 2012 10:03 pmthnidu has graciously corrected my grammar: the phrase I want is "Per coitum ad coronam". Not "Per copula ad corona" as I'd originally coined it. I think my original version flows better and is more clearly playing off the "per ardua ad astra" motto, but it's important to communicate correctly.Point of view
Apr. 15th, 2012 01:10 pmI don't tend to see the glass as half-full or half-empty. I see it as containing a liquid which appears to be water and therefore (if true) possibly useful if one were thirsty or wanting to cook or do other chemical work, but also presenting a hazard by aspiration or slippage (if spilled), and dangerously fragile, and too close to someone's elbow.
Dealing with Stuff
Jul. 22nd, 2011 11:00 amBailing the boat with a teacup is a lot of work and may seem pointless. But if a teacup is all you have, a teacup is what you use; it's better than not bailing at all, and may buy you time to find a bucket. It's important not to get so fixated on having only a teacup that you miss seeing the bucket, or miss sending a message for help. There are rescue ships out there.
Don't forget that one of the main pleasures of childhood is rebellion. If you are too permissive with [your children], you'll force the poor blighters to turn to drugs and abortions in order to rebel.
— David Nobbs, The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin
"In a media-saturated age, you can really start to resent the amount of information you absorb, despite your steadfast disinterest, about certain utterly unworthy subjects. It's like the data equivalent of secondary smoke inhalation."
-- Christopher Brookmyre, Attack of the Unsinkable Rubber Ducks
