Category: A Day in the Life (Page 2 of 10)

I wrote this back in October (I think it was actually a response on someone’s Facebook post) and copied it here to post later. But, of course, I never did. However, I came across it today and, it’s still relevant. I know the idea that the fighting and name-calling and unceasing selfishness may never end, but I have to believe that we are better than this. Remember: there are more of US than there are of THEM. And the only THEM we should ever acknowledge as OTHER are those in power forcing us to fight each other so that they can get rich and do whatever they want.

∞∞∞

For a poll to be effective, it has to use a large enough sample size, randomly selected. It’s the same methodology that stores use when they ask you for your zip code or address. They’re trying to determine where their shoppers are coming from to determine if they need to open another store closer to their base.

It’s also how drug testing works. Test on a large enough sample and you can get an idea as to the effectiveness and severity of side effects.

Just because you’ve never been polled doesn’t mean anything. Most people don’t answer surveys by phone or mail because they don’t want to be bothered.

That said, polls can be manipulated just like any statistic. On the flip side, just because a poll disagrees with your (the royal “your”, not any specific “your”) viewpoint and you don’t know anyone else that was polled (again, royal “you”), doesn’t mean the poll is incorrect. It’s natural to be in the minority on a particular subject and still feel like the majority because we tend to surround ourselves with people that think like we do.

It’s why herd mentality and groupthink are so effectively dangerous. We’re too busy fighting against “the other team” to figure out what we have in common and work toward that. It’s how our political system has divided us for decades to allow corporate interests to supersede personal interests. Our country has always been a democracy fighting against its own innate nature to transition to an oligarchy. But most people are too stupid or too easily distracted to fight those pulling the strings. They’d rather righteously declare themselves “correct” than admit that the side they’ve chosen doesn’t care about them at all.

I just blinked my eyes and my baby was all grown up.

I can’t believe that 18 years ago today my cousin and I ran around a campground with toy guns and made our very first movie together. A lot has happened since then (most notably, the lack of becoming famous). But I still look back fondly on those days. Though filmmaking never became a part of my daily routine, it’s responsible for a large portion of how I view things creatively. I still write with a cinematic mindset and I even develop scenes as a dungeon master as though my players are experiencing them both onscreen and as the audience.

So, as a tribute to the impact that the first Ripcord had on me as an adult, I present it to you all without shame or fear of judgment.

Okay, maybe just a little fear of judgment. Be nice to me. I was a child.

My wife and I were watching Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime. There’s a scene near the end of the series where Jack and another character are heading to a meeting on [critical plot point]:

Me: “His girlfriend’s gonna be in that meeting.”

Wife (after a brief pause): “His ‘bodily playmate’.”

Once I managed to stop laughing, I said.

Me: “I’m going to change your nickname in my phone to ‘bodily playmate’.”

She is so quick-witted she slays me.

Tonight, we were watching Avengers: Infinity War, and when Rubberband Man started to play, my 9-year-old turned to his sister and said, “Do you recognize what this is?”

It’s important to note, my son has never heard this song. But he now associates all music from the ’70s with the Guardians of the Galaxy. As such, as soon as that sweet, soul music started to play, he knew what characters were about to make an appearance.

Well done, Marvel.

If you’re in the market for a Mac app for editing PDFs, but don’t need (or want) Acrobat Pro, PDF Expert is half off to celebrate their 11th birthday. At $30, it’s a steal.

It’s phenomenal, and I have clients that use it as an alternative to Acrobat Reader. You can get a free trial to check it out before purchasing, to make sure it will do the things you need to do (since it’s obviously not as feature-rich as Acrobat). The iOS version of the app is NOT on sale, but it’s also a fantastic app that I’ve been using for years. Definitely give it a look, as well.

My wife and I have been posting a secret message to social media for the last several weeks, but to make it easier for everyone to get the message, and for the sake of having one place to point to when people ask if it’s true, here you go:

If that’s not obvious for you, then click here.

If you’re too lazy to translate, though, then I suppose you can just keep reading.

Keep scrolling, it’s further down.

It spells “pregnant”.

As in, we are. Well, Autumn is. But I’m the one that has to do all the work for the next six months, so I’m going to double-down on that “we”. She just has to grow a baby. I have to feed her and bring her things and bathe her and all that.

Well, maybe not bathe.

Maybe.

Anyway, that’s our news. It’s a thing. If you care about that sort of thing, you can wish her congratulations. I am accepting donations for my therapy bill. Whiskey in lieu of cash is doubly appreciated.

When I was a child, I remember listening to my father’s music and thinking that my dad must be so old to listen to music that was written so long ago: before I was even born. Now, I am 37 years old. My senior year of high school is just over half my life away. When I listen to the songs my youth, I wonder if my kids must feel the same way. I’m fortunate that my teenage son actually thinks I have good taste in music. Even if he’d mostly rather listen to the stuff that’s new to his generation, I still take pride in knowing that he knows who the Smashing Pumpkins are, has heard Nirvana’s Nevermind, and was excited to attend a Green Day concert.

I’m so grateful that I got to enjoy Dad’s music. It heavily informed what I would grow to love as a teenager, a young adult, and then later, a father.