Skunk Totem

Skunk Visits Skunk Totem's Digs

2011-11-21T16:06:00.000-08:00

This big beautiful boy stopped in for a drink from the water dish set out for the feral cats. The picture quality suffers because it was taken through a storm door. Couldn't open the door or he'd let me have it! More important, he just wanted to quench his thirst and there aren't too many water sources around here. Even the cats respected him, albeit grudgingly.

After getting his drink, he just went about his business.

Life doesn't offer treats like this often enough. Gotta enjoy 'em when we get 'em.

Dispicable Mocking of Special-Needs Student

2011-10-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

I use AOL and its news page displayed the following:

"Jeremy Hollinger, a special education teacher in Mobile, Ala., is facing criticism after allegedly posting material on Facebook mocking special needs students, WALA-TV reports."

This is not going to help me learn to like or accept Facebook.

Kids in special ed are especially vulnerable to the effects of child abuse, no matter who commits it. The very act of segregating such kids, particularly those who have sufficient mental capacity to be aware that they are apart from "normal" pupils, can be hurtful.

I could spend hours writing about this topic. Suffice it to say (for now) that teachers have a substantial influence (good, bad, neutral) on child development. Not only that, but the bad ones sully the entire profession. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that such jerks make up a minority of the profession.

Beware Questionable Package Notices

2011-05-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

Received by a friend today. This "Delivery Notice!" sent up yellow flags because it has no service name (UPS, the Postal Service, etc.), nor does it contain a manufacturer or vendor name. The only packages we are expecting would come either by UPS or USPS and have the sender's name and address on them. It only says to call Dion Lesote at 402-689-8370.

I called the number (after using the "Caller ID" block on my phone to remain anonymous). only to hear a leave-your-name-number-message instruction typical for a home answering machine. I guess that is how they circumvent the problem of callers slamming the phone down upon hearing a recorded sales pitch.

I wonder if anyone knows more about this person.

The Columbus Dispatch had an article on a similar notice circulating in their area, warning consumers not to respond. (The notice Ohio residents got used an 800 number.)

Skunk Totem's Blog: A Twitter-Free, Facebook-Free Zone

2011-04-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

I'm sick of Twitter and Facebook. More accurately, I'm sick of the craze that seems to obligate everyone to use social networking. Fans even dare to assert that shunning Facebook is a kiss of death to your career. It reminds me of the Borg in Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Resistance is futile! You will be assimilated!"

At least the Borg are fiction.

I hope that Twitter and Facebook go the way of CB radio. (CB remains the ideal communications medium for truck drivers and volunteer emergency responders; it just isn't a dictatorial fad like in the late 1970s. So I'm not wishing TW and FB out of existence)

I'm hardly alone. Read this Omaha World-Herald article on the Slow Media Movement. It quotes and journalism professor Jennifer Rauch: "The movement attracts people who feel 'that some sort of boundaries need to be set;' that technologies should be chosen, not embraced blindly; should serve, not be served."

No, I don't drive a '72 Pinto with an 8-track player. I don't have a black-and-white TV. And if I hated the Internet, you wouldn't be reading this. But I am content with my Stupid Phone and a computer that must be plugged in. If I wrote books, I'd have them available on Kindle (but I read the old fashioned kind: no batteries required.) I, Ms. Rauch, and other "Slow Media" advocates bristle that we are Luddites or even "anti-broadband." We just want to take our technology in smaller doses. I love peanut butter, but that doesn't mean I want three pounds of it in one sitting or to put it on everything I eat.

Forget Nostradumbass prophecies: I figure we'll be doomed when the Old Order Amish are on Facebook.

Toyota Highlander Kid Sucks

2011-04-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

I don't think I could write anything new with regard to contempt for the recent advertising for the new Toyota Highlander. (If you haven't seen them, the ads star an eight-year-old boy with messy reddish-blond hair disparaging other vehicles: his message to parents: You don't have to be lame, buy a new Highlander.) In fact, when it comes to Internet "rant" articles on the subject, it's impossible to tell whether the authors have plagiarized one another. This fellow pretty much word for word sums up why the ad is so annoying and presents the wrong message to parents: Ad Rage. It has received widespread condemnation, including online parents' magazines and even Time. It's hardly a favorable message about American culture when one of the world's biggest manufacturers thinks that this ad will boost Highlander sales.

Update: I don't know how I missed this article from AutoTrader.com: "Is Toyota Lame for Calling Parents Lame?" (November 10, 2010). That article quotes a Toyota spokesperson who responded, in part, "Our values as a company have always been to put our customers first and provide them the highest levels of respect and understanding." But just a few sentences downstream (after blathering about "research") he includes, "While we regret that the ads have been misconstrued as insensitive [and] we don’t have any plans at this time to discontinue the campaign (emphasis mine)." So much for providing the highest levels of respect and understanding. C'mon, Toyota, you don't have to give us an apology on the front page of the New York Times, just yank the damn ads! The only car that brat would inspire me to buy is a secondhand Buick Roadmaster station wagon.

Unseen effects of employment discrimination

2010-02-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

This is the third time a window on this vehicle has been hit by vandals in the dark of the night. The owner is a foreclosure refugee. He lives with friends on a block developed before the Model T; the houses have no driveways and residents must park on the street. Apparently window-shooting is a sport among local lowlifes.

A couple years ago, the guy who owns it was a top candidate for a job, but the would-be employer discriminated against him on account of his credit record. With that job, he would have caught up on mortgage payments. That means Wells Fartgo (WF or WTF?) would not have foreclosed on his house (with an attached garage). The employer ass-umed that this applicant's bad credit signaled a thief. Congratulations, dumbasses: Instead of preventing crime, you in effect caused three cases of vandalism and an attempted burglary (foreclosed-on buildings attract trouble).

A Long Overdue Tribute to Ted Andrews

2010-02-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

Noted writer and teacher Ted Andrews passed away last October. I did not learn about it until some time later.

Ted's famous book, Animal Speak, inspired me to choose Skunk Totem as the name of this blog. It made apparent that the skunk is one of my major animal totems. I think if I were an animal, I probably would have ended up being a skunk. This often misunderstood (like me) animal teaches how to give and demand respect, and live peacefully among others. (Despite its reputation, skunks are pacifist animals and only spray in self-defense, usually as a last resort. They typically reciprocate how we treat them--good or bad).

Ted's legacy will live on.

OWLTHENA'S ROOST: Ted Andrews dies

Employee Screening Questions Too Intrusive

2010-01-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

I just filled out an online application for a major retail chain and, after the main application where I submitted my legitimate information, came across the "personality screening" section that included the following:

You have big regrets about your past.
You were absent very few days from high school.
Your stuff is often kind of messy.
You have always had good behavior in school or work.
Your friends and family approve of the things you do.
You have to give up on some things that you start.
You look back and feel bad about things you've done.
You sometimes thought seriously about quitting high school.

The answer choices were "Strongly Agree," "Agree," "Disagree," and "Strongly Disagree." You couldn't weasel your way out with a choice like "Neutral" or "Neither."

Personally, I wish there had been one labeled, "None of your damn business!"

After that one about quitting high school, I stopped worrying about whether they'd like my answers or not. I'm not sure I want to work for a company that weeds people out based on how they click radio buttons on a web form before they actually get to meet me in person or talk to people who actually know me.

Nostradamus? More like Nostradangerous

2009-11-12T08:36:00.000-08:00

"When ancient prophecies and current events begin to intertwine, that's what we call the Nostradamus Effect." That is The History Channel's advertisement for its series The Nostradamus Effect. In it, the writings of Nostradamus as well as creative interpretations of the Mayan calendar hint that the end of the world will be December 21, 2012.

I say, when Christians forget Christ's warning about false prophets (Mt 7:15-20), that "you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet (Mt 24:6)," and "but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only (Mt 24:36)," and instead turn to "prophets" whose ambiguous writings can be molded to have "predicted" numerous calamities, and ignoring artifacts that don't fit the doom-and-gloom (some Mayan artifacts indicate the world will still be around in 4772), that is what I call the Nostradangerous Effect.

Following Nostradamus may indeed be dangerous: How many people have committed suicide, ignored health problems, let their houses fall apart, pour money into smart phones, self-navigating cars and other here-and-now luxuries they can't afford instead of saving for the future, because they believe there is no future? Could this be adding fuel to the fire of the consumer credit problem? How many marriages and other relationships between believers and nonbelievers have broken up? I shudder to think.

Liberal Christians, take heart

2009-10-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

Michael Moore recently identified himself as Catholic. Some people might be amazed. I am not.

I am an alumnus of Regis University and Creighton University—Jesuit institutions. As a student, I was exposed to organizations like Pax Christi and others providing outreach to American Indian nations, the poor and oppressed both in the U.S. and abroad. Whether one participates in these or not, the message was clear, at least to me: Catholicism (and Christianity in general) is about reaching out to others, to social and economic justice for everyone.

My significant other often laments, “Lord save me from ‘good Christians.’ ” The term “good Christians” has to be in quotes because she means those who wear the mask of religious righteousness and push their values on others. Quick to pass judgment on everyone, they conveniently forget Jesus’s admonition that “as you judge others, you too will be judged…” And of course, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

I can appreciate those who feel alienated by organized religion because of the churchgoing hypocrites who infest our society. A lawyer working for credit-card companies slapped a lien on my house is a fellow Creighton alum. Despite that, he decided that it’d be better for me to be homeless now than find a way for me to meet my debt obligation in a way that benefited both me and the creditor. I’m sure he rationalized that I deserved it.

The Christian quote that has run through my mind a lot lately is, “The love of money is the root of all evils.” Lots of people seem to have forgotten that one. Not just the aforementioned lawyer. Vise Grip tools now made in China while DeWitt, Neb., the former factory site, languishes in unemployment. Corporate executives like to blame liberal politicians and “big government” for “forcing” them to make these decisions. Rubbish. Without regulations, they’d still fatten their own wallets at the expense of the masses—and the environment.

This has been going on a long time. The Lakota Sioux got screwed out of the Black Hills after gold was discovered in their homeland. I assume that the perpetrators, being white guys, considered themselves Christian. But their spiritual leader’s admonition about the love of money was a little too inconvenient to remember.

Some people might think Mr. Moore should be excommunicated if for nothing else but for speaking up for reproductive rights and gay rights. No. I’m probably not the only one to see these as issues of personal, religious and medical ethics, out of the scope of law enforcement.

I say to Michael, “You go! Rock on!”

Ruling could undo thousands of foreclosures

2009-10-16T09:33:00.001-07:00

Ruling could undo thousands of foreclosures

Shared via AddThis

Cheers to Massachusetts! Victims of Wells Fartgo have a chance to get their houses back! I hope this spreads nationwide! Maybe the new word of the coming months/year/decade will be forereopening!

Spray Bill O'Reilly: Watch Sean Penn Movies

2009-03-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

FUX News announcer Bill O'Reilly has decided to boycott Sean Penn movies because the actor's political activities offend him.

As a moderate liberal, I'm routinely offended by this anchor whom MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann refers to as "Billo the Clown." I was a captive audience to Billo's radio broadcast while riding in the back seat of an SUV with a pair of relatives. I can imagine an Enterprise Rent-a-Car commercial showing the guy in this kind of situation bailing out at a stop light, ringing Enterprise on his cell phone, and getting into his rented, made-in-USA Chevy as the voiceover says, "We'll pick you up!"

I'm not a Sean Penn fan but generally don't support boycotts. They don't work. But I'm inclined to hunt down a Penn movie that wouldn't constitute cutting off my nose to spite my face, just to give Billo some skunk spray.

In Defense of Anonymity

2008-10-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

My friend, SW Iowa Guy, frequently takes U.S. Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa) to task for various offensive stances. The right-wing, homophobic, racist King provides plenty of source material and SW Iowa Guy pulls no punches. On this post, some readers posted comments lambasting Iowa Guy for his King-bashing anonymously.
Iowa Guy's posts are often biting and contain quite a few swear words (As if I never do that...yeah right). True, some people speak strongly, even brashly, under their real names - Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are examples. Keith Olbermann on MSNBC is a left-wing counterpart. Gloria Steinem or Molly Yard, anyone?
Critics often slap the coward label on those who speak strongly while hiding behind anonymity. But in many cases it's necessary: Putting out your name on truthful but highly controversial material can be dangerous. The last thing SW Iowa Guy needs to do is help his enemies find him. (He can't afford bodyguards or a high-tech security system - I assume that Fux News takes care of O'Reilly.)
SW and his partner have always been gay, long before his blog and when the word "website" evoked only images of spiders. I've been in their home; they've been in mine. (Yes, I have been alone with them. They're safe.) Their home is...dare I say, ordinary? Inside, nothing unusual about the furnishings or decor; nothing creepy goes on there. They have the same needs, fears and dreams as we who prefer the opposite sex. Despite all that, some anti-gay extremists would kill them if given a chance. Among gay bashers are devoutly religious folks who conveniently forget that "Thou shall not kill" makes no exception for gents who prefer gents or ladies who prefer ladies, and that Jesus said, "all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them (Matthew 7:12)." Non-homicidal homophobes might vandalize their home, vehicles—or do something to their beloved animal companions.
Bloodthirsty bigots aren't the only reason to use a nom de plume. How many sites and newspaper columnists warn about how indiscreet blogging can jeopardize your preset or future job? Can those steamy musings about your now-ex-girlfriend/boyfriend come back to haunt you? Your Web-savvy auto mechanic hates ferrets or your company’s computer tech supports Steve King—and suddenly a wheel falls off your car or your office PC never works right again? You get the idea. But why refrain from your First Amendment rights because of that?
Iowa's insult to Stephen King the novelist needs to have his sins aired—especially before Election Day. (Crap, I'm on the wrong side of the Missouri River.) SW Iowa Guy, more power to you!

Skunk Totem joins ACLU

2008-09-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

I have just joined the American Civil Liberties Union. Like why didn't I do this long ago. Some of the ACLU's key points are some that I take personally: especially privacy and rights of the poor. This thing called the Patriot Act scares the crap out of me (would you believe 1 million people on the terrorism watch list? (Source: ACLU website). And you don't have to be an explicit threat to get on it. Meanwhile, an employer denied me a job because they labeled me a potential thief because of my credit record! Never mind that the 100% legal and moral income would have squelched my money problems; and the employer's high security would mean trying to steal would most likely make me a jailbird who'd get lampooned on Star 104.5's "Crooks are Stupid" feature.

Prohibition of gay marriage also hits a nerve. While I am heterosexual, two of my best friends, one of whom writes as SW Iowa Guy are a gay couple that of course don't have their marriage officially recognized. These are good people and the bigotry against them hurts. At the same time, I know some opposite-sex couples who are married by law only and I'm not even sure that God endorses their pairing.

OK, enough said.

Homeowner kills herself after bank foreclosed on her.

2008-09-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

A tragic story about Carlene Balderrama, a foreclosed homeowner who committed suicide. While the bank can't bear all the blame, I can't help but wonder if they could have done more to work out a payment arrangement. How big was the mortgage debt compared to the bank's profits? It's hard to believe a spouse and parent would take oneself away from his or her loved ones unless one absolutely couldn't see another way out.

Sadly, this probably isn't the last time that a foreclosure turns lethal. I've written before on how our society could do a lot better at handling depressed and suicidal people. These deaths are preventable - but not by giving the person the message that there is something wrong with the way he or she feels.

I feel for Mrs. Balderrama and her family.

Thought for the Day - Aug. 5, 2008

2008-08-05T16:04:00.000-07:00

It's easier to say "you misunderstood/are overreacting" than "I'm sorry."

Iowa Guy 2.0: Commemorating the Legacy of Dubya

2008-07-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

If you pardon the pun, this post is a crapload of fun to read!
Iowa Guy 2.0: Commemorating the Legacy of....#links

Storm claims several homes

2008-06-29T09:57:00.000-07:00

Friday's extreme thunderstorm with its 80-mph winds spared my home. A neighbor wasn't so fortunate. Three uprooted 100-ft cottonwood trees hammered his property; one of them landed square on his house and the pickup truck in his driveway.

City crews swept in the next day and cleared much of the debris amid onlookers that came after media publicity turned my street into a twisted tourist attraction. (About half the city population was without electricity; the other half whose TVs still worked took turns driving by.)

It looks like only 1/4 of the house was destroyed; it is unknown whether it's repairable or if hidden structural damage has rendered the building beyond repair. The pickup truck looks as if a locomotive plowed into it.

My neighbor, R., is a good fellow who goes out of his way to help others and has kept his property well and provided assistance to others on the block (including myself) with our groundskeeping. Meanwhile, a nearby public nuisance and alleged "drug house" that collects graffiti and trash (the vehicular and human kind as well as what overfills the Dumpster) was untouched. The unfairness digs at me.

But the most important things were unscathed: R. and his beloved dog. Their survival puts a perspective on the whole disater.

Father's Day: In Memory of Dad

2008-06-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

My father passed away this year following a losing battle with an antibiotic-resistant pneumonia. I literally heard him take his last breath when I was alone in his bedroom.

He had been in the hospital after an accidental fall and subsequent severe confusion that the doctors suspect was some kind of stress reaction, with symptoms like those included on this list from a CDC bulletin aimed at emergency workers. For unknown reasons, Dad's swallowing reflex disappeared, and despite attempts at special therapy, kept aspirating fluid into his lungs leading to the pneumonia.

After a fractured hip a few years back left my father (at least temporarily) unable to live on his own and take care of Mom (who had her own disabilities), both my parents spent the rest of their lives living in the in-law apartment in my brother's home. That meant dealing with a son and daughter-in-law who run a tight ship and pull no punches when it comes to criticism. (Brother: if you are reading this, if your inclination to speak harshly were inversely proportional to your material generosity and willingness to help those in need, you'd be the best damn brother anyone could hope to have.) Chronic criticism, even when given with good intentions, can form a black hole engulfing positive interactions and memories.

Mom passed away a year after the relocation and Dad lost his lifestyle piece by piece, including his driver's license. I think the fall triggered flashbacks of conflicts past and aggravated hopeless visions of the future.

Dad and I shared a lot in common: a love of animals (horses were to him what ferrets and skunks are to me), a talent for art and "handyman" work, a yen for motorhome travel, an eccentric sense of humor, a live-and-let-live philosophy. Why Dad instead of any of various people who have inflicted misery and/or death on others?

Dad, you were loved my many, and our memories of you will remain in our hearts. We miss you.

Why "Skunk Totem?"

2008-02-14T07:57:00.000-08:00

In Native American traditions, animals were seen has having mystic powers and/or symbolism. Skunk teaches us how to give respect and demand it in return. I can relate to the skunk, a gentle animal that raises a stink only when threatened or pissed off. They are often disliked by people who don't understand them, but cherished by people who know them well, especially people who tend to accept others as they are, appreciating them rather than trying to change them.

For more on animal totems, read Animal Speak and other books by Ted Andrews.

To learn what skunks are really like, especially as pets, visit http://www.skunkhaven.net/

Run, Al, Run

2007-10-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

Iowa Guy 2.0: So Will He Run? (Al Gore after winning the Nobel Peace Prize). What he lacks in charisma, he makes up for in brain. Whether or not he runs, global warming is nothing to take lightly. Nor is humanity's general impact on the environment.

On the light side in languages a few translated

2007-10-09T15:20:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried one of those online translation utilities, only to discover that the English "translation" is at best laughable or incomprehensible? As humanity continues to get more global, more people who speak different languages interact...and, well, I suspect human translators will have job security for years to come. A computer can only go so far (with current technology) and because each language is unique in its syntax, grammar, phonics (or no phonics at all) that automated translation may never be perfected.

I haven't written much in a while and haven't had time to tend to the blog, so this is something to amuse readers (all three of you) while awaiting some deeper prose. This text, using AltaVista BabelFish, translated to various languages, and the result back-translated to English.

To Chinese-simplified and back:
You once tried these on-line to translate the non-profit organization middle, only some discoveries, English "translated" was best is laughable or cannot understand? When the humanity continues to obtain the global character, speaks the different language interactive... more people and, is very good, I suspected will translate the personnel to have the job security for several years. The computer possibly so far only goes (by current technology) and because each language is unique in its syntax, the grammar, automated translation phonics (or basic does not have phonics) to be allowed never to consummate.

I have not written have period of time and do not have the time trend to blog, therefore this is something (all causes the reader three to laugh you) when waits for some more profound prose. This text, uses AltaVista BabelFish, has translated to various language, and the result has translated to English.

To Spanish and back:
You have always tried one of those utilities in line of the translation, to only discover that the "English translation" is in the best one of the cases ridiculous or incomprehensible? As the humanity continues obtaining more global, more people than speak diverse interactive languages... and, well, I we suspected that the human translators will have security in the use by the years to come. A computer can only go until now (with present technology) and because each language is unique in its syntax, grammar, phonics (or none phonics in all) that the translation automated can never be perfected.

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To Russian and back:
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And one more: To German and back:
Do you have at all one of that on-line translation of utility programs, only it tries, in order to discover that the English "translation" at best laughable is incomprehensible or? While humanity continues, to keep more global, those assume more people the different interacting languages... speak and well I that human translators have job security, so that years come. A computer can go only up to now (with present technology) and because each language in its syntax, grammar, Phonik is singular (or no Phonik at all) the translation automated, can be never perfected.

I much not in when wrote and does not have time had to be inclined to blog therefore this something is, reader (all three of you) too maintained when expecting somewhat deeper Prosa. This text with AltaVista BabelFish, translated to the different languages, and the result back-translated to English.

Yes, the above is inviting admonitions to "get a life," (Obtains the life, Obtain a life, You will obtain the life, Receive a life).

The Case Against Saying "Don't Let it Get to You"

2007-09-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

"College Junior's Suicide Leaves Friends, Family Asking, 'Why?' " How often have we encountered headlines like this—with the media admonishing to avoid becoming the next statistic by talking to someone when overwhelmed with hopelessness? Though I would never encourage anyone to take one's own life, I'm rarely surprised that the person in question kept quiet.

Despite lip service to the contrary, our get-over-it culture is not very good at answering a despairing soul's pleas for help. We're told to talk it out with someone, but when we do, too often we get platitudes that defeat their speaker's intention of helping us feel better. Appropriate distress at hearing that one is a danger to self or others can lead to "why would you" questions, denial, or admonition ("Don't think like that!"). If I were suicidal, even anticipating such reactions would silence me. Likewise for preaching that suicide is the wrong choice.

"Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem." Never say that. Despite the altruistic intention to convince the person that the situation has nonlethal solutions, the despondent person perceives it as pooh-poohing her ordeal: "What makes you think my problem is temporary? Do you know how it will be resolved? No? Then stop pretending to know more about my life than I do!"

"Suicide is stupid/selfish." If I had one reason to consider stupid a swearword, this would be it. I remember an otherwise decent person whose condemnation of suicidal people bit like a blast of Midwestern winter wind. I acknowledge that suicide hurts those left behind. But many who kill themselves were beset by a depressive medical disorder. Snapping out of it is more than a matter of will. Some people think they're being anything but stupid or selfish: twenty years ago, I was beset with episodes of feeling that I should spare scores of innocents the unpleasantness of being around me in the future. Positive interactions with people ended these thoughts. Being criticized for my feelings accomplished nothing.

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself!" This is another disincentive to voice not only despair but letdowns such as not getting that raise or your car breaking down or…whatever. English is replete with phrases like "don't let it get to you" and "times like this make us stronger." How many folks grew up without hearing about starving children in [your parents' favorite locale] or being told, "Sticks and stones may break your bones but words can't hurt you"? Pessimism brings admonishment to think positive. But even sharing an ambition or dream invites another kind of wisdom: "I hate to burst your bubble, but...," or "Why would you want that?" The urge to help people in this fashion isn't confined to English-speaking countries. After I took offense at a coworker's taunts, another coworker—from Asia—told me, "You take things too serious [sic]." Such statements imply that if you are hurt by another's incivility, it's your fault. Baloney. But objecting yields more clichés: "I'm trying to help you." (Maybe so, but it isn't working.)

Some of these zingers are illogical. Suppose I really am oversensitive. Would telling me so really make me realize I need to toughen up? Or just lead me to beat myself up or brand the critic as an insensitive a-hole? Someone taking umbrage at rude store clerks or aggressive drivers often gets told, "Don't take it personally," That isn't necessarily the case: they're offended because the incivility is wrong. Retaliation is inexcusable, but I get tired of counselors and wellness "experts" implying that if someone else offends you, it's your fault.

We're taught as children about table manners, please-and-thank-you, et cetera. But schooling on how to comfort people and guide them out of a problem seems inadequate, as evidenced by all the "You shoulds/shouldn'ts" and even cookie-cutter uplifters like "You can do anything you set your mind to." They roll off the tongue as if by automation. I can't get mad at someone saying them because they're heart's in the right place. On the other hand, it doesn't sound like they're really listening and if I anticipate such a response, I'm inclined to keep my feelings inside. Not that that does any good.

About 29,000 Americans kill themselves per year, presumably after feeling either that their tunnel would never end or the light up ahead turned out to be an oncoming train. And whenever I hear of a suicide, I can't help wonder if the last thing he heard was "don't let it get to you."

Stop the iTrain! I wanna get off!

2007-09-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

An article in switched.com (it's also in today's AOL News) details a new car stereo by the Blaupunkt company that, according to the text, may render the CD player extinct. Basically it plays music off SD or MMC memory cards (iPod users use a universal input jack).

And how long will it be before this thing's obsolete? I wouldn't be surprised if it's decades before the unit itself wears out.

I'm very techno-ignorant. To me, SD means either South Dakota or standard deviation (a statistical term from my scientist days), while MMC is the Roman numeral version of 2100. This new stereo would sure beat my 1990 Oldsmobile's factory radio/cassette player, which doesn't work at all after getting a tape stuck in its craw. I'm using an even more archaic boombox behind the front seat for a radio (its cassette deck bit the dust, too). But electronic technology has become a runaway train that seems to be gaining speed with no end in sight.

My old Win95 computer works fine but no new software is available for it. New versions software comes out faster than you can learn the old ones. And it seems I heard somewhere that television sets won't work unless they're HDTV. And am I going to have to going to switch to Blu-Ray before I've even amassed more than a half-dozen DVDs?

C'mon, world, slow down. We've got more important things to do than trying to stay ahead of this race.

Breaking Résumé Rules and Getting Away With It

2007-09-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

As a lot of us have seen, "rules" (or perhaps guidelines is a better word) appear in books aplenty on how to compose a résumé, what to include, and what not to include. The most common mistakes include:

Putting "résumé" (or curriculum vitae (CV), if you're in academia) at the top (it's obvious what the document is).
Including personal information such as your birth date/place, marital status, spouse's, children's, pets' names, etc.
Including hobbies, especially the mundane, e.g., reading, being with family, or worse potentially controversial, e.g., religious or political activities, etc.

As Richard Herman and Linda Sutherland so aptly put in their book: The 110 Biggest Mistakes Job Hunters Make (And How to Avoid Them), "don't use as 'filler' something that is potentially dynamite [explosive, that is, not awesome/rad/phat]."

So it was to my dismay that, while temping in an HR office recently, I ran across dozens of CVs of doctors and others that have enough information to delight a stalker or identity thief and make HR staff say, "whatever." But these folks got good jobs with these papers. My résumé has been praised by my alumni career counselor (after seeking a variety of counsel). I occasionally get interviews but no further.

Perhaps the discrepancy is best explained by that conventional wisdom that seems mercilessly true: "It's not what you know, it's who you know."

Why are you working here...

2007-09-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

...when you have a Ph.D.?" If I had a dollar for each time I've been asked this, well, money wouldn't be so tight. I can't hold it against someone to have such natural curiosity, but I've grown tired of 'splaining myself over and over and over...

Becoming a Ph.D. scientist was what Dr. Donald Clifton and Paula Nelson called a "misyearning" in their book, Soar with Your Strengths. Among the things that give rise to misyearnings are listening to others'"helpful" advice and ignoring your own heart and talent, or "going for the money" instead of answering your calling. In my case, I found a graduate fellowship that would pay me just enough to live on and give me an excuse to move out of my parent's house (Five-hundred mile
commutes (each way) just aren't doable). Moreover, I enjoyed my undergraduate years that led to a biology/chemistry degree and the pharmacology Ph.D. seemed a logical sequel.

I spent six years with a graduate advisor who is a very good scientist but not so adept at recognizing a misyearning. Instead, I got a lot of chiding about how I needed to develop initiative. The real problem was my heart wasn't really in it: I like my science the way it's presented in consumer drug books, Popular Science or on PBS. Through the 1990s, molecular biology and the Human Genome Project muscled their way into health science, and try as I might, I never quite "got" that field. Comprehending passages like, "In many black African populations, the capacity for CYP2D6-dependent drug metabolism is generally reduced. A specific variant of the CYP2D6 gene (CYP2D6*17) that carries three functional mutations (T107I, R296C, and S486T) ... (Oscarson et al, Molecular Pharmacology, Vol. 52, No. 6, 1034-1040, 1997)," was a hopeless ambition. I'm not disparaging this article or its authors. This is their area of strength, while my strengths lie elsewhere. Not to mention that the world of research can be a rat race wherein you're scrambling not to get "scooped."

Some people pooh-poohed my feelings as college stress. I didn't help myself by believing that as well. After a lot of soul-searching I concluded that I would rather be an architect (a childhood goal that faded to the background during undergrad school. But by that time, I was too close to the end to walk away without the degree.

The biggest mistake I made was to have no plan "B:" after a two-year postdoctoral stint near Washington, DC, I bailed out without having something else to get in to, and ended up working clerical jobs through a temp agency. It was hard enough to pay bills, to say nothing of spending money on AutoCAD training.

Yet, my education and experience provided plenty of skills that don't necessitate working at the bench. And designing buildings isn't the only thing that stirs my blood. When my first paper made it into a professional journal, I remember the rush I felt at the realization that "I'm an internationally published author." Nothing to make me famous, but just being in print was enough. Had I given it more thought
back then, I would have looked into freelance and other writing opportunities before my finances went down the toilet. That is the direction I'm looking at now.

The message to the reader is to look at what you enjoy doing now and can do well without having to go back to school. Don't just say, "I hate this and I want to be a ____." Above all be patient; I wasn't. Had I been willing to take a longer time to make the transition or come up with alternatives that would be partially satisfying, I probably would have been better off. The old cliché is right: hindsight is 20/20.