I don't think thats a fair assumption. It sounds to me like a 'if all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail' statement -- if you're a philosopher, everything looks like philosophy to you. But I do admit that I like the ring of it. It sounds plausible. I just don't think it is. Maybe its like that old joke about the guy who was surprised, upon going to a college literature course, that he'd been speaking prose all his life and didn't realize it. Maybe the computer guys have been coding philosophy into their AIs without realizing it.
If the foregoing doesn't clue you in: I'm in a bit of a weird mood this morning. Its drizzling out, the temperature is just above freezing. A good day for sitting in front of a roaring fire (tended by the staff, of course), sipping hot cocoa (provided by the staff, too). Big overstuffed chairs, footstools. Nice. Actually, one of the things we occasionally contemplate -- though not for too long -- is replacement of our house's wood-burning fireplace with one that'd use natural gas to augment the combustion. I don't think we'd go so far as to get fake logs (though, if they looked really good, who knows). The idea of a zero-clearance fireplace also appeals to me. I think the single biggest thing blocking me -- other than that I tend to call a zero-clearance fireplace a 'zero-tolerance fireplace' , which I guess would be applicable if we were talking about a whole different kind of smoking -- is that once all this was done, we'd end up with: a fireplace. We'd use it more, I think, but not a lot more. Enough to justify a minor cost -- which I would bet is not what it would actually turn out to be.
I wish I knew why Twirl is suddenly asking for my password, every time I sign on. Strange. I'm sure I did something.
The pastor of our church likes to tell droll stories, which is okay unless they go so long that you begin to wonder if you'll get a credit for listening -- hey, can I leave before Mass is over? This morning, he said that when he said the mass last night, he was rushed, so this morning, he came down early, relaxed and mellow -- he actually made the little 'chill' surfer sign, a gliding palm, face down -- and he was doing fairly well until Bob (?) came up to him and said Hey, its getting cold out, we need to do something about ice. So they went hunting through the storage rooms, looking. Is this it? No, thats bird seed. This? Nope, fertilizer. What about sand? No, too heavy. Finally, they found the salt and got it spread -- but then he had to sprint back in and get suited up for mass. "So if this homily is screwed up", he said " blame Bob."
I'm bummed. I did Santa at the church last year, and I kind of wanted to do it again -- but its just when EDS is having theirs, and they did ask first. I suppose, collectively, its better to do the one at EDS -- more people -- but still: at the church, its buckets of small kids. I liked that. I wish I knew a way to find people who'd like to have me come to their kids' events. I wouldn't mind getting paid, but I'd do it for free. I just like it.
Interesting articles in the paper this morning. Apparently 'layaway' is becoming popular again. Since we don't buy gifts on credit (which is to say: we do, but we pay for it completely when the bill comes due), we never incurred the problem of seeing the bills show up weeks later. People got bagged by that, so now stores are offering the concept of 'give us money now, we'll hold onto the item until you pay it off'. To me, thats still a little silly -- why not just save the money until you have enough? -- but I understand the logic when the thing you want is in limited supply. Its easy for me to say, but I like the idea of enforced 'buy only within your means'. Bet somewhere theres a credit card dealer trying to put a spin on it. In fact, come to think of it, I did hear of one layaway plan that was funded by a recurring charge to your credit card. Oh, that's a bright idea.
I liked going up to my mother in laws house with my daughter. We talked -- nothing serious, usually -- on the way up and back. It was nice.
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