tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78884562024-03-12T16:04:04.399-07:00Delightful ReflectionsComments on issues of the day by "the distinguished Dr. Lars Perner." Emphasis on topics such as marketing, consumer behavior, psychology, education, and the autism spectrum.Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.comBlogger240125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-29281679542537984272017-07-27T20:37:00.002-07:002017-07-27T20:37:58.726-07:00Pluto is good and communism is bad<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 2007, I wrote an "unholiday letter." One of the topics I addressed was the reprehensible movement to demote Pluto from its rightful status as a planet to non-planethood. In the ten years that have passed, it has actually discovered that Pluto has five--rather than three--moons. That is five times as many moons as Earth! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Enjoy!</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang;">Normally, I try
to be tolerant and understanding of opinions and perspectives that differ from
my own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are limits, however, to
how far I am willing to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last summer,
the disgusting psychopaths finally did it!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yes, I am talking about the reprehensible decision to demote Pluto from
its rightful status as a planet to non-planethood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might argue that these bozos—however
incompetent they appear to be—were well intentioned, but as former President
Dwight D. Eisenhower remarked, “Well, if the driver of your school bus runs
into a truck, hits a lamppost, ... You get a new bus driver.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With Pluto being by far the most eccentric of
all the planets, this is a thinly veiled attack on eccentrics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As an eccentric, I am deeply offended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As God puts it in a cartoon that sets the
record straight, “I could have sworn that I made nine planets!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As one of their justifications for their
outrageous act, some of the bozos point out that a larger astronomical body has
now been found orbiting beyond the orbit of Pluto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why be so stingy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I understand
it, neither the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bible</i>, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Koran</i>, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Talmud</i>, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tibetan Book of
the Dead</i>, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bhagavad Gita</i>, or any other source of religious authority decrees
that the number of planets orbiting the sun most be in the single digits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to my calculations, the surface
area of Pluto is a whopping 17.95 times that of the State of Texas?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those who consider this “too puny” to be treated as a “serious” planet
are now messing with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">both</i> Pluto and Texas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the way, Pluto’s surface is also almost twice
that of the entire U.S.!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang;">I am a
reasonable guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think this would
have been a particularly useful idea, but if the bozos and wanted to demote a
pathetic planet such as Mercury—which has no moons—to non-planethood, I could
have lived with that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wouldn’t that make
more sense, especially since, in recent years, it has been determined that
Pluto actually has at least <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">three</i>
moons instead of just the first one discovered a few decades ago, to sacrifice
the more pathetic planet?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang;">If the bozos had
come out the idea that Uranus should be demoted because it spins at an
untraditional angle, their unmitigated bigotry would have been immediately
decried by righteous people around the World.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why have people been more tolerant of prejudice against an eccentric
planet than one that is axially challenged?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Discriminating this way is no more fair than punishing Jupiter for its
red spot—or taunting Saturn for harboring an excessive number of moons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are the psychos trying to punish their
mothers for a bad childhood by forcefully destroying the mnemonic “My very
excellent mother just sent us nine pies?”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7888456#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang;">The one thing I will
say in defense of the psychopaths is that they at least waited until after the
passing of Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Implementing the demotion while he was still
alive would have added injury to the insult that he was never awarded the
Congressional Medal of Honor that he so richly deserved for his discovery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Professor Tombaugh’s wife remarked after the
announcement of the act of travesty that her husband had come to peace with the
situation, philosophically remarking “Whatever it is, it’s out there.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to say that is an exceptionally
generous attitude toward those clowns.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang;">Last year was
not the first time that the lunatic idea came up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it had been, an argument could have been
made that the perpetrators acted hastily on a poorly thought out idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember clearly back to the tremendous
sorrow I experienced when the bozos first embarrassed the profession of
astronomy by proposing to rob Pluto of its birthright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not realize how many righteous individuals
actually shared my perspective and I was deeply touched to hear the righteous
indignation that emanated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought the
psychos had learned their lesson when the idea was abandoned in the face of the
backlash that had resulted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had been
lulled into a false sense of security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
simply could not conceive the evil of which those psychos were capable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang;">The good news, at least, is that <u>the bozos
do not have the power to tyrannically impose their misguided perspective</u> on
those of us who know better</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Batang;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pluto will always be a planet to me, and
presumably to the vast majority of good, decent people around the World.</span></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7888456#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif;"><span><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif;">[1]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Calisto MT",serif;"> Not having gone to elementary school in
an English speaking country, I only learned of this device after the
controversy started.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-50898116276308352152017-04-18T14:42:00.001-07:002017-04-20T15:15:09.640-07:00Three hours in the life of Joe PalabeeJoe recently got divorced. His ex-wife got the vacuum cleaner, so Joe heads to Target to shop for another one. He does not like the colors of the first several ones he sees, but he eventually finds one he likes. He picks up some vacuum bags and then finds a package with six light bulbs, a box of paper clips, shoe polish, and a bag of brown rice. While standing in line to check out, he thinks briefly about whether to buy chewing gum or breath mints. Before leaving, he withdraws $40 from an ATM machine. On the way home, he stops for gas and decides to buy a bottle of cold water. When he arrives home, he checks his mail box and finds several advertisements, one of which is for a sale at a local bicycle shop. Since Joe already has a bicycle and since it will be more than seven months until his twin nieces' birthday, he is not particularly interested. Before doing anything else, Joe goes online and fills out the warranty registration for his vacuum cleaner. He vacuums his office before the living room.<br />
<br />
NOTE: This story is purely fictional and for illustrative purposes only. Any resemblance to existing individuals is purely coincidental.Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-60049139356845773352016-12-14T18:56:00.003-08:002016-12-15T17:43:08.227-08:00Potential plots in the next Gilmore Girls followup<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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For the next follow-up Gilmore Girls series, which of the following
developments would you like most?<br />
<ol>
<li>Headmaster Charleston arranges for Lane to receive a college degree based
on life experience and hires her as the Head Music Teacher at Chilton.</li>
<li>Upon the retirement of Headmaster Charleston, Paris becomes headmaster at
Chilton and shocks the faculty with the admonition that the curriculum must be made "45 percent tougher so that
we can beat those nasty [expletive deleted] at the Oxford Academy."</li>
<li>Taylor persuades a luxury goods factory outlet mall operator to locate a facility in
Stars Hollow. Property values go up dramatically, but the locals start
complaining about traffic congestion. Taylor valiantly pushes Luke to offer some "at least reasonably sophisticated fare" in the diner so that mall shoppers can be attracted to visit Downtown. When Luke resists, Taylor attempts to enlist Emily to plead his case, but Emily takes Luke's side, telling Taylor that "this kind of supercilious snobbery is deplorable and entirely unbecoming."</li>
<li>In order to escape their obligations to visit, Lorelai and Luke persuade
Emily to run for the U.S. Senate. After Emily serves three years, she is elected
Vice President, and the Governor persuades Lorelai to take over Emily's Senate
seat. After Emily and the President find themselves too exhausted to run for
re-election, Lorelai is elected President on the Republican ticket. She serves for two terms and uses her business sense to promote a strong progressive agenda. Democrats and Republicans all agree that she will go down in history as "a truly great--if not the best--President." Luke feels uncomfortable in the White House, so he sets up a non-profit organization that that sells hamburgers and fries to tourists, with the proceeds going to programs for returning veterans.</li>
<li>When Rory is nominated to be U.S. ambassador to China, it comes up in her
confirmation hearings that she has been serving as an undercover agent for the
CIA since shortly after graduating from Yale.</li>
<li>Miss Patty has an affair with Headmaster Charles, and when they are
exposed, a major scandal erupts. Lorelai brokers an agreement with concerned
parents that Headmaster Charles will take a one year sabbatical for counseling
and "deep and intense soul searching," after which he will be allowed
to return. Tristan is tapped to be Acting Headmaster. Unfortunately, Tristan has a major disagreement with the football coach on strategy, and when the coach has to go on medical leave after being punched out, Tristan hires Kirk as acting coach. Although many of the players and a large number of fans have serious doubts about the acting coach's strategy, the team goes on to have its best ever season.</li>
<li>A famous actress
named Lauren Graham moves to Stars Hollow.</li>
</ol>
Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-33554308786800394612016-10-04T23:02:00.000-07:002016-10-04T23:02:07.843-07:00Moon missions<span data-offset-key="9408j-0-0"><span data-text="true">Wikipedia indicates that <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing#Manned_landings">the manned U.S. flights to the Moon all took place from 1969-1972</a>. First of all, it really is very politically incorrect that we refer to "manned" missions. Even though it happened that all the astronauts who went to the Moon were men, the term "personned" really would have been much more enlightened. I had been under the impression that there were something like 2-3 trips; apparently, there were six. I believed that the Soviets had landed on the Moon several times, but apparently, they never did. It seems a bit perplexing that so many missions were done in such a short time period with none to follow afterward. Wouldn't NASA have wanted to spend more time between missions to make improvements based on what had been learned on previous trips and technological advances that had taken place? Please don't get me wrong--I am not suggesting another personned Moon trip now or in the near future; there probably isn't all that much that could be gained for such an expensive endeavor, but it really seems a bit wasteful to run six missions so close in time.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-offset-key="9408j-0-0"><span data-text="true">In July of 1975, the</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo%E2%80%93Soyuz_Test_Project">Apollo–Soyuz Test Project</a> took place--a trip that involved some cooperation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union with simultaneous space missions. I had thought this was a Moon mission--at the time, when I was something like eleven years old, I probably could not have imagined any other reason for going up into space. I certainly would not have understood the idea of going into orbit of the Earth or any other body. I could not understand why so many people seemed to be so excited about another Moon trip since we had been there before. It all seemed rather routine. And it turned out that they had actually been excited about something even less eventful! How pathetic! In any event, this may be why I thought the Soviets had landed on the Moon.</span><br />
<h1 class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading" lang="en">
</h1>
<h1 class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading" lang="en">
</h1>
<span data-offset-key="9408j-0-0"><span data-text="true">Sadly, this is not the first time my beliefs about astronomy have proven erroneous. At one point, I<a href="http://delightfulreflections.blogspot.com/2007/05/how-could-i-have-been-so-wrong.html"> believed that aside from the Sun, the star closest to the Earth was some twenty-six light years away</a>. The closest one is actually "only" 4.22 light years away. Fortunately, I don't teach astronomy, and I hope my students have not lost too much confidence in me.</span></span>Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-35326921522028280122016-09-27T20:55:00.002-07:002016-09-27T20:55:38.071-07:00Bozozity and delusionIs the bozo completely clueless as to the consequences of his stiffing
of suppliers, tax avoidance, insulting of the disabled and war heroes,
unrepentant philandering, misappropriation of funds, treasonous
encouragement of enemy nations to hack into U.S. computer systems, abuse
of bankruptcy laws, deceptive advertising and misrepresentation,
unmitigated use of profanity, and general lack of any meaningful element
of conscience on the destination to which he will be headed whe<span class="text_exposed_show">n
he passes away? Sadly, I would not be surprised if he has deluded
himself that he will be in the number of that saints when they come
marching in--and that he is owed the privilege of skipping the march and
arriving in an air conditioned limousine. He will probably not be very
happy with the climate control in place where he is headed. If he is
dependent on ice skating for his happiness, he will be in real trouble.</span>Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-28704640356226779512016-09-24T11:30:00.001-07:002016-09-24T12:21:06.517-07:00Would Your Grandma Make The Youth Pastor Spread Rumors About Your Neighbor's Ex-Mother-in-Law If She Did Not Get Paid to Do So? Some Juicy Considerations in Theory of Mind and Social RelationshipsStrictly speaking, this question only involves first order theory of mind: Separate but related questions about one's grandmother's thinking and the questioner's basis for the question. The inquiry might lead one to suspect that the questioner believes that the grandmother in question may be rather greedy and/or that she is mean-spirited. There could, of course, be socially redeeming reasons for bringing about this gossip--if, for example, the mother-in-law in question is engaging in socially destructive behavior in the community and could be driven out by the damage inflicted on her reputation. But that is probably not what would come to mind at first glance.<br />
<br />
Despite the first order nature of the question, however, the question does raise some interesting issues about social relationships:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>The questioner seems to presume some insight into the grandmother's motivations.</li>
<li>The questioner appears to believe that the questionee has the background--based on knowledge of the characters involved--to figure out this rather complicated potential chain of events.</li>
<li>There are assumptions that: (a) the grandmother has some power--whether by way or blackmail or otherwise--over the youth pastor; (b) the youth pastor might be unwilling to spread the rumors on his or her own initiative; (c) the youth pastor would be able to carry out this mission successfully; (d) some unidentified individual may be motivated to pay the grandmother for her efforts; and (e) it is clear from the context or otherwise (i) which youth pastor is implicated, (ii) which neighbor is implicated; and (iii) that either (1) the neighbor in question only has one ex-mother-in-law, (2) the relevant one is clearly implied, or (3) it is not particularly critical which of possible multiple ex-mothers-in-law is targeted--with the possibility that more than one might be targeted, either simultaneously or sequentially. This is really getting complicated!</li>
</ol>
There are some thorny issues left unstated in this question, although the questionee might have some potential insight:<br />
<ol>
<li> What is the motivation of the questioner? Is he or she genuinely looking for information or is he or she possibly trying to embarrass the quetionee about his or her grandmother's potentially flawed character--or perhaps to instill pride either in (a) the greed of the grandmother, (b) her apparent evil nature, or (c) her willingness to "do the right thing"--if this is how the compulsion to spread gossip is seen--without being paid? If the questioner is asking purely for information, is he or she potentially a cheapskate looking to have the rumors spread and wondering if he or she can get away with not paying the grandmother for her potentially valuable services?</li>
<li>Is there any relevance to the fact that the ex-mother-in-law is that of a neighbor, or is that just a way in which she is identified? How would the neighbor feel about the situation? He or she may view the rumor attempts favorably as misfortune that a potentially disliked individual deserves to suffer; or, quite possibly, the neighbor may still have some loyalty to a former in-law and could potentially be the real target of a potential conspiracy to injure. Or it could be that someone is trying to injure both the ex-mother-in-law and the neighbor at the same time. If the attempt is to injure the ex-mother-in-law, does the individual seeking to accomplish this care one way or the other about any possible impact on the neighbor?</li>
<li>Does the neighbor have a current non-ex-mother-in-law? How would this potentially affect his or her views about the questions above? </li>
<li>Does the questionee care one way or the other about the fate of the ex-mother-in-law?</li>
<li>Does the questioner care one way or the other? </li>
<li>Although it is assumed above that the grandmother has some power over the youth pastor, is the choice of this individual as the sub-agent based on the appearance that the agent (the grandmother) has an especially high degree of power over this individual or is the assumption that the youth pastor would be a particularly effective sub-agent?</li>
<li>Would spreading rumors be especially objectionable for a person of the cloth? In particular, does the youth pastor's charge to minister to the needs of impressionable youth make spreading these rumors even more objectionable than it would be have been if done by other clerics? Perhaps one might argue that it would have been at least as objectionable for the head pastor to spread the rumors but that the youth pastor's behavior would be more problematic than that of other subordinate ministers.</li>
<li>Could all of the above potentially involve a plot by enemies of the grandmother to find a way to disgrace her, making the ex-mother-in-law merely a potential object of collateral damage?</li>
</ol>
Of course, these questions could become a whole lot more complicated if we added in issues about parking spot assignments. Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-14868735437400320292015-09-03T21:31:00.001-07:002015-09-03T22:07:23.127-07:00Silly laws<div class="MsoNormal">
A society clearly needs to draw a balance between the necessity of maintaining some laws that make an advanced civilization possible and the danger of imposing overly burdensome laws that seriously threaten the liberty of individuals. In particular, I am skeptical of local laws. To some extent, individuals do have a choice as to where they wan to live, and there may be some merit to the idea that individuals can choose a state whose laws best reflects his or her positions. It is much more difficult, however, to defend many laws enacted at the city or county level. To some extent, variations may genuinely represent differences in the values of the residents, but I suspect that a lot of the variation really is the result of the idiosyncrasies of local elected officials rather than overall differences in opinions of local residents. As a business school professor, I see the appalling waste that results variations in local laws and regulations burden businesses without any significant benefit to residents.</div>
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Some clearly outdated laws remain on the books in some locations. It is, of course, highly unlikely that local officials would seek to enforce them, but one wonders that ever motivated local jurisdictions to impose them and to what extent these laws could be abused if selectively enforced. Sometimes, it is possible to see that silly laws could potentially have offered a small to modest benefit to the community based on the values of the time, but one wonders why the specific issue addressed by the law should get such a priority over other issues and why officials created a very specific ordinance rather than making the issue part of a more general law that would better reflect a coherent set of underlying values.</div>
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The Town of Wilbur, Washington, apparently still has on its books a law making it illegal to "ride an ugly horse." Ironically, the Town Council might see this quaint ordinance as a potential boost for tourism and find it potentially economically disadvantageous to repeal it despite the law's obvious <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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obsolescence. What gave rise to this law in the first place? To what extent had the town experienced or anticipated serious repercussions of unsightly horses being ridden? Why confine protective measures of a potentially serious threat to such a narrow scope? Yes, I get the point that few individuals, in practice, would find
occasion to ride mules, rhinoes, donkeys, zebras, and giraffes, but why
not focus more generally on aesthetic threats to the local environment
rather than merely tackling the cases where the threat is brought about by animals of burden?</div>
<br />
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But even under a limited scope, one question is whether the law was intended to as apply as narrowly as it was literally written. Was this measure intended only to prohibit<i> riding</i> such a horse, but not to use it to draw a carriage or otherwise bring it into public view?</div>
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I can think of two potential reasons--albeit not particularly good ones--why the ban might be intended to apply exclusively to riding. One concern could be that having a horse to ride was a privilege only available to the more socially prominent residents. Thus, a rider on an ugly horse could impugn the dignity of the upper class. Another possibility could be that although an ugly horse used as part of a carriage could, to some extent, threaten the public decorum, the horse individually ridden would be so much more visible and thus, in practice, represent a greater felt intrusion.</div>
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<br /></div>
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There could potentially be several reasons for a law that would either selectively ban riding the ugly horse or more generally ban bringing such a horse into public view in the town, whether as part of a carriage or other arrangement:</div>
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<ol>
<li>A general concern about the demoralizing impact of seeing the ugly horse on persons present. Even if people did not experience great distress, the sight could be a bit of a "downer" and slightly depress mood, perhaps to the extent that civic pride could be threatened.</li>
<li>Local merchants, <span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">restaurateurs, and</span> hoteliers could have worried that the presence of such animals could demean the neighborhood, reducing the attractiveness of offerings of local businesses, in return both depressing profits and property values.</li>
<li>The concern might have been specifically about horses that take only an ugly appearance as a result of abuse. Although ugliness is a subjective matter, it could potentially be easier to prove that the horse was "ugly" than that any disfigurements had actually resulted from abuse. In addition, in past centuries, many tended to hold a belief that as man held dominion over animals--who were supposed to serve man--forbidding the owners from abusing animals did not constitute a legitimate governmental objective, thus threatening the validity of a law with such a purpose. (Yes, this reasoning sounds preposterous today, but many people used to believe that garbage.)</li>
<li>One politically individual--or a group of powerful persons--were seeking to disadvantage one specific adversary whose only horse could be deemed ugly. It may have been possible to selectively enforce the law only when the disfavored individual tried to enter town and greet a convoy of exceptionally unsightly horses advancing with impunity into town with complete indifference.</li>
</ol>
When push comes to shove, one wonders how much controversy the ordinance generated in its time. With the advancement of technology, a contemporary ban on the driving of "an ugly truck" would almost certainly engender the wrath of the "hicker" element of society, with emotional and indignant rallies and demonstrations rambunctiously demanding an immediate repeal.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, if this type of law really had merit--for one of the above reasons or for entirely different ones--why did it not gain traction more widely? Would it have helped if local officials, proud of their effective measure to set things right, could have communicated their visions to over local officials over the Internet? Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-15739678019460088092015-08-28T17:06:00.004-07:002015-08-28T17:37:11.333-07:00Describing Family Relationships: Shorthand, Asymmetrical Obligations, and Thorny IssuesWhen an Aspie tries to make systematic sense of potentially complex
family relationships, intriguing questions can emerge. On the one hand,
this may seem a rather esoteric issue; on the other hand, because of
the importance of relationships, the strong emotions associated with
certain relations, and the obligations one may feel both to the family
as a whole, to the central connector between oneself and another, and to
"connectee," I am wondering if these are problems that real people
actually struggle with.<br />
<br />
Ever thought of this one? Suppose that Amy has a mother-in-law named
Alice and a sister named Abby. Alice can refer to "my daughter-in-law's
sister" as a way to specify their relationship, but that is a rather
lengthy description for a relationship that could be rather close in
some situations. In the U.S., many would probably see any strong
relationship between Alice and Abby as being somewhat optional. It's great if they get along well, and their family connection could allow them to bond over a shared interest or perspective. Ironically, for example, although Amy may be on quite favorable terms with Alice, Alice may actually end up spending more time with Abby if the two of them share a passionate interest in digital photography. If Abby is the younger sister and Alice only had sons, she could also emerge as "the daughter I never had."<br />
<br />
In some
cultures, there may be norms requiring the acknowledgement of a rather
explicit relationship, and, as such, a term such as "niece-in-law"
could emerge--both as a shorthand and a as way of acknowledging the
centrality of the relationship. Rather than quickly picking up the nature of the relationship from familiar shorthand, confusion would set in.
Hearing someone express this rather bizarre term could be seen as an
attempt to be innovative, philosophical or as an attempt at humor. Yet, if the
relationship comes up repeatedly in conversations, "my daughter-in-law's
sister" really does become rather cumbersome.<br />
<br />
Alice, faced with being a
mother-in-law for the first time, may wonder if the if there is a concise way she way for her to refer to a relation likely to be important to her daughter-in-law. But, as a means of expediency, if Alice finds herself repeatedly referring to Abby, how much freedom does she have to innovate around the long and cumbersome relationship description? Could she light heartedly refer to her "nice-in-law" with her friends until that term becomes understood? Could she legitimately attempt to establish Abby as a person in her own right--with a concise name of her own--or would this be an egregious evasion of a relationship that exists and should be acknowledged? Would thinking of the individual Abby rather than the family member
either make Alice feel guilty for favoring expediency over deeper
meaning, or could it make her feel more enlightened? And is any violation against Abby, her sister, Amy's husband, or the family as a whole?<br />
<br />
Does Alice have a
greater obligation to ponder her relationship to Abby than vice versa,
either because of the role as elder person in the hierarchical relationship between
mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, or perhaps because Amy only has one
mother-in-law but could potentially have several sisters, possibly
diluting the importance that any one sister of one's daughter-in-law
might have? Or, does Abby have an obligation to defer to Alice? Do the
two of them try to sort out this issue between themselves, perhaps
reducing tension by laughing as they muse at the complications of life? Knowing the
kinds of complications that Amy has thrust on these two women as a
result of her marriage, what kind of responsibility does Amy have for
helping these two people--each important for her--figure out their
relationship to each other?<br />
<br />
For men--who do not face quite as
much pressure to understand and consider relationships--is the issue of
the meaning of "my son-in-law's brother" less significant? And what
happens when things get complicated as a man refers to "my
daughter-in-law's brother?"<br />
<br />
Once we have resolved this issue, we can ponder the nature of the "aunt-in-law" relationship.Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-64549203228296261662014-05-23T13:14:00.001-07:002014-05-23T13:14:14.537-07:00The End of an EraOn Tuesday night, after I had turned in my grades for the semester, I walked through the University Village across the street from campus. The Village is slated for redevelopment over the next one and a half decades. This is expected to be one of the largest--if not the largest--development projects in the Los Angeles area for much of this time.<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br />
The increasingly deserted state of the Village probably should not have come as a surprise to me. Sometime ago, it had been announced that all but a few of the merchants were now on month-to-month leases. Last week, I received a letter from Bank of America indicating that my branch--located in the Village--would be moved. Yet, I had not realized that the exodus would happen so suddenly.<br />
<br />
A year or two ago, we got a new Radio Shack in the Smart & Final shopping center across from campus on the West. It had not occurred to me that this would not be a new "bonus" location that might have other items on sale and closeout than the one in the Village. Now, however, I noticed a sign announcing the impending closure of the Village location. The sign reminded customers that things could still be bought online.<br />
<br />
Since returning to USC in 2006, I have periodically made strategic stops at the 99 cent store in the Village. Over the years, I have bought a number of plastic envelopes to store student in-class assignment materials. When visiting, I would always check if they had received new ones with new colors that could be distinguished from the ones I already had. There were other neat things that could be bought at low prices. I am not really very good at matching socks (or at least I am not very conscientious in tackling this burden), so it was often tempting to find eight to ten identical pairs of socks that would postpone a shortage of clean, matched socks for a while. But the 99 cent was no more. It had been closed without anyone asking for my opinion--let alone consent--in the matter. I had been there just a few weeks ago with no sign of the impending implosion. One would have hoped that the owners would at least have tried to invite regular customers to a spectacular closeout. But no; maybe they found a new location. Yes, there are other 99 cent stores around, but none located as conveniently.<br />
<br />
I thought I would check out the supermarket named (not very accurately) Superior. If you could stand the smell, you could often get very good deals there. They had a bakery, so this is where I would usually pick up cakes for celebrations. Even in recent times, you could often get very good deals on fruit. Back in the old days when I was a doctoral student, the place was called Notrica's and one could get truly exceptional deals on produce. This had not been as much the case in their more recent incarnation, but I still wonder where I will now find low priced Italian prunes in the neighborhood. Yes, I knew that Superior would eventually close, but I did not realize it would happen so soon. And I do worry about where many locals will shop. The place used to be rather busy, and it does not seem that there are any other supermarkets nearby. Hopefully, funds set aside by the University as part of the project to mitigate such community impacts will help bring about a reasonably priced replacement.<br />
<br />
The nutritional supplement store had been closed for more than a year. I would occasionally shop there when I needed things like echinacea and golden seal. The store was owned by a very philosophically inclined gentleman who was likely from the West Indies. Such a store had probably proven difficult to sustain when many of his specialty items can today be procured online. The Village--way back when I was a doctoral student in the 1990s--had also had a record store, but that had disappeared years ago.<br />
<br />
I do not remember if the theater was still in business. In all my years of USC, I had actually only been there once--when Michael Crichton's <i>Congo</i> had was released in film.<br />
<br />
<br />
Ironically, the photo developing show had been around until recently. They still offered the printing of large photos and occasional film processing, years ago, they had seen the writing on the wall and had started a sideline of computer and cell phone repair that had eventually become their main focus.<br />
<br />
On the outer periphery, Starbucks, Denny's, and Baskin-Robbins were still up and operating, and at Starbucks, the line was long despite the fact that many of the students had left for the summer. But overall, the Village seemed deserted.<br />
<br />
As much as I am tempted, I know I can't fairly blame the Communists--or even the Bruins--for the current state of affairs. This is, after all, a stage in the redevelopment efforts that will help revitalize the neighborhood. But coming right upon the realization that I would not get to give another exam until sometime in October, the experience did make me very nostalgic.Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-81441665053834613552013-11-12T21:01:00.000-08:002013-11-12T21:01:07.768-08:00Seven ramdom pieces of info about me...<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A Facebook friend assigned to provide seven random pieces of information
about myself. Here we go:</span></span></span></div>
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</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">1. One of the ways I learned English was to listen to
shortwave radio before coming to the U.S. and speaking on the CB radio once
here.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">2. I have never been to Alabama, Omaha, Burkina Faso, or
Egypt.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">3. There was no yellow submarine--at least that I am aware
of--in the town where I was born.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">4. I believe that the World would be better off without
communists, alcohol, and adulterers.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">5. I like to listen to Supreme Court oral arguments.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">6. I used to be somewhat judgmental.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">7. The last two times I rented a car were in 2000 and 2005.
On the latter occasion, the AM band did not work on the car radio, but when I
got within the reach of an FM station, I heard for the first time in the news
about the nomination of John Roberts to replace Sandra Day O'Connor (which was
subsequently changed to the nomination to replace William Rehnquist as Chief
Justice after his passing)</span></span></span></div>
</h5>
Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-89935281482925922672013-11-06T13:20:00.006-08:002013-11-06T13:21:41.995-08:00How, exactly, does the Earth's tilt cause the seasons?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Different
individuals on the autism spectrum are impacted in different ways. The one area
in which I am <i>severely</i> impaired is spatial perception. I do not have good
intuition in this area and I have real difficulty reasoning myself through
spatial transformations. People will give me directions to a destination and
say "You can't miss it!" Unfortunately, my response is going to be
"Oh yes, I can!" Ever since I first learned about the Earth's tilt in
elementary school, I have been aware that Earth's seasons are somehow related
to the tilt of the Earth. Yet, until today, I have never been able to
understand how, in reality, the tilt brings about the change in seasons as the
Earth rotates around the sun. I have never doubted the truth of this
explanation and never suspected that there was some conspiracy going on to
mislead the population. I just didn't understand what was going on. I have
tried to read a number of descriptions and observed numerous animations. Until
today, I still ended up walking away without understanding the explanation.
However, after watching this lecture, I finally understand (sort of, at least):
<a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/earth-history-topic/earth-title-topic/v/how-earth-s-tilt-causes-seasons">https://www.khanacademy.org/science/cosmology-and-astronomy/earth-history-topic/earth-title-topic/v/how-earth-s-tilt-causes-seasons</a>
.</span></div>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span>Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-26422262381743408222013-09-27T18:39:00.000-07:002013-09-27T18:39:30.596-07:00Is authentic cool?Many well meaning people will often praise an ethnic restaurant as being "authentic"--i.e., true to the actual cuisine of a particular country or region. Somehow, "authentic" offerings are seen as being of higher quality and more desirable than the ones that have somehow "sold out" or "caved" to the tastes of the masses. <br />
<br />
Authentic may be politically correct, but does it actually taste better? Granted, in some cases, authentic restaurants may go through more elaborate preparations that restaurants that seek to reduce costs opt to skip. Perhaps they would not have been able to get away with this "back home." I am not in favor of mediocrity. I just refuse to be against innovation and improvement as a matter of principle. The dinosaurs died out for a reason. So will many cultures that refuse to learn from the American way. (And our culture could, too, if we are not open to innovations from the outside).<br />
<br />
Certain individuals maintain an adamant sense of superiority that they can "hack" the "real thing" rather than having to resort to something that has been "watered down" to meet sissier Western tastes. I am the first to agree the reducing the spice on Indian food is a pathetic accommodation to those who can't handle truly hot food. Other adaptations clearly make more sense, however.<br />
<br />
There are large variations in taste around the World. Tastes are to some extent acquired; we "learn" to like certain foods that we have grown up eating. (There is also an evolutionary predisposition toward a preference for sweet and fatty foods, a remnant from times when it was in the interest of survival to maximize caloric intake while food was available). To the extent that changes have been made to dishes at "inauthentic" restaurants, these may, in fact, better accommodate the tastes of the vast majority of consumers in the "target" country. Yes, it looks like American foods are being messed up in other countries when they add all sorts of yucky ingredients to the real thing, but it unfair to expect people who have grown up to like yucky stuff to appreciate unyucky alternatives. There really is no reason why the Japanese should eat American foods sweeter than they prefer just to stay true to the American origin of the fare. Neither should Americans be subjected to a limited assortment of toppings for a food item just because people in country of origin didn't feel as much of a need to satisfy a desire for choice and individual differences in taste.<br />
<br />
Some purists may feel that fusion cuisine is heretical and somehow uncultured. I have no problem if they want to stick with the "authentic" thing, but I am not impressed by their commitment to principle and their snide insinuations that they are more enlightened. Innovation and adaptation are cool!Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-4817066526112714852013-05-23T14:48:00.001-07:002013-05-23T14:48:44.987-07:00Everyday [was] a savings day for Thrifty people!Call me nostalgic, but I'm still not over the demise of the Thrifty chain. Yes, the takeover by RiteAid was in 1996, but what can I say? I am slow to accept change. It's not that I am dissatisfied with RiteAid--they often have great sales--but it's just sad when all that is left of the old Thrifty is the name of the store ice cream brand.<br />
<br />
It used to sound so reassuring to hear the old jingle "Everyday's a savings day for thrifty people!"<br />
<br />
They also had a rather memorable advertisement back in the days of old fashioned film. An older woman calls her son to talk about some pictures he sent. For those born fewer than thirty years ago, yes, old fashioned print photos sent by snail mail. Although the woman recognizes her daughter-in-law and the grandchildren, she does not recognize one of the characters in the photos. The man explains that he grew a beard. The mother then announces that she is sending the photos back. "You're sending the photos back because I grew a beard?" the man asks incredulously. "No, for your album," the mother explains. The man then happily tells his mother that she can keep the photos because Thrifty offers double prints. The woman is perplexed. "Trifty?" she asks in a polish accent, clearly unaware of the giant chain. At end of the call, the man expresses his love in Polish.<br />
<br />
Am I being to sentimental? Probably, but I am also disappointed that the Bank of A. Levy was taken over many years ago by First Interstate. They had great commercials where they represented themselves as "the boring bank." In one, a man called up making a case for how boring he was, hoping that he would be eligible to set up an account. They told him to relax, that he did not have to prove that he was boring. They were the boring bank because they took care of the boring stuff for their customers.Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-17096731434962087262012-09-02T23:35:00.000-07:002012-09-02T23:35:31.523-07:00DogsOver the years, my family had a number of dogs.<br />
<br />
Our first dog had a bit of a temper. It went into a rage any time visitors came by. You could see that the paint was bitten off the window frames in the living room as he faced the frustration of not being able to get at the intruders.<br />
<br />
Let me first tell this story the way I thought it went and then make the correction that my mother brought up when I related the story many years later. The dog, named Attacker, liked to bite at my sister's dress. One day, my sister came to report this problem to my father: "Attacker bite Nettie!" My father, deeply absorbed in his newspaper, distractedly replied back "Nettie bite Attacker!" A moment later, we heard a scream from the other room, and my sister Anette came back spitting hair out of her mouth.<br />
<br />
When I related this story, my mother told me that although the Danish name of the dog indeed sounded like Attacker, it actually meant Furball. But the story would not have been as interesting told that way.<br />
<br />
Next, we got two Golden Retrievers--Nuser and Vaks. Nuser some behavioral problems--I no longer remember the details--and we ended up giving him to one of the ranch hands. One time, we kept one of Vaks' puppies. Because of her large spot, we named her the Danish equivalent of Spottie. Then we got a Swiss Mountain Dog named Carla (minus the brandy flask on the collar). We brought these three dogs with us when we moved to California in 1978.<br />
<br />
Vaks and Spottie enjoyed roaming around. They would often be gone for twenty-four hours or more. Our house was up on a hill, below which on the one side was the barn. Although the dogs liked to run on long trips, they did not feel like walking back up the hill to the house afterward, so they would wait for my mother to drive down to pick them up. My mother sensed Vaks' resentment when she did not come quickly enough.<br />
<br />
My mother had promised my youngest sister, Pernille, a poodle after we moved to California. Unfortunately, the poodle passed away a few days after we got it. For some reason, Pernille ended up choosing a wire haired Fox Terrier--the dog that Tin Tin had--as the replacement. Change, however, has never been my strong suit, so I continued to refer to the new dog--Snoopy--as "the poodle." Other members of the family corrected me for years, but my I persisted. Finally, one day when I told Snoopy that "You're a bad poodle!" my mother finally relented, saying, "No, she's a good poodle!"<br />
<br />
Vaks and Carla eventually passed away while we lived in Paso Robles. Spottie lasted for a number of additional years. One year, we exhibited the horses at the California State Fair and had a booth. Spottie had just had puppies, and we brought them all along. A little girl walked by our booth and was overtaken with disgust. "Eew! Those a pigs! I bet they smell!" she cried out with indignation.<br />
<br />
One night, my mother had a dream that we acquired a new "poodle" or Fox Terrier. I got to name her and chose the name Profit. Several years later, some missionaries came by. Profit ran out when Pernille opened the door. "That's a beautiful name!" exclaimed the missionaries as Pernille called her back. Pernille did not have the heart to tell them about the spelling of the name.<br />
<br />
As she grew older, Spottie spent most of the day sleeping. My mother said that she was not looking forward to having to call me when she passed away. She actually got out of that obligation as she was just about to leave on a trip as it happened and delegated the task.<br />
<br />
As the other dogs passed away, Profit became the lone surviving dog. When my mother was eating, Profit would approach. She was so confident that my mother would slip her a treat that she started wagging her tail <i>before</i> my mother delivered.<br />
<br />
Profit was rather energetic. Unfortunately, she tried to jump out of a car with an open window and, being on a leash, ended up strangling herself.<br />
<br />
My mother then acquired a Welsh Corgi. We named him buck. My mother said that she had deliberately chosen the humblest member of the litter, but he was the humblest only by default. He never realized that my mother was the one who fed him and that he had probably better stay on her good side. It turned out that my mother never cut his food rations no matter his non-compliance, so he may have gotten the last laugh.<br />
<br />
A corgi is supposed to have a life expectancy of some ten years. About five years ago, my mother started to prepare me that Buck might not be with us much longer, but I saw no sign of decline and expressed my doubts. Eventually, he started to cut down his activity level significantly, but he lasted until age fifteen.Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-81512537141931911602012-04-11T13:30:00.001-07:002012-04-11T13:32:55.277-07:00Insincerity and deceitWhen we were about 5-10 years old, my late grandmother repeatedly told my sister and me that she loved us more than our cousins. To avoid hurt feelings, however, she swore us to secrecy.<br />
<br />
Apparently, she told the same thing to my two uncles' children. Unfortunately, one of my cousins was not able to keep the secret and gleefully told my sister and me of our grandmother's pronounced favoritism.Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-34561582826736385802012-04-10T10:37:00.000-07:002012-04-10T10:37:24.462-07:00An exchange ahead of its timeOne might say that I and a friend of mine anticipated text messaging by many years.<br />
<br />
Back in 1991 when I started the Ph.D. program, I got access to e-mail for the first time. A friend of mine at another institution and I often exchanged messages. My friend, being burdened by having both a wife and two children, was often too busy to send much of a message, but to show that he had not forgotten me, he would send brief messages.<br />
<br />
One day, he sent me a message asking, "How are you doing?"<br />
<br />
I then sent him an e-mail with the subject header "How I am doing." The body of the message was "OK."<br />
<br />
"Good!" my friend replied back.Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-18071901088555832362012-04-08T17:06:00.000-07:002012-04-08T17:06:01.266-07:00A misdeedDuring the first years I spent in the doctoral program, I lived in University housing. One day, in the dark of night when nobody was watching, I put a "No Hunting or Fishing" sign on the gate into the apartment complex. I doubt that many wild animals made their way into the complex. Although there was a pool, it was left empty while I lived there, so opportunities for fishing would likely also have been rather minimal. Still, one had better be safe!<br />
<br />
The night day, I was rather frustrated when it looked like a custodian was about to remove the sign. Much to my relief, however, it turned out that he was only straightening up the sign and making sure that it was securely attached.Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-30241943292032321852012-04-06T18:43:00.002-07:002012-04-06T18:43:55.039-07:00A stupd Christmas carolAs Easter approaches, I am reminded of a rather stupid Danish Christmas carol. The main words of the song go roughly as follows:<br />
<br />
Now it's Christmas again<br />
Now it's Christmas again<br />
And Christmas lasts all the way until Easter<br />
No, that is not true!<br />
No, that is not true!<br />
Since in between comes the fast<br />
<br />
Why would anyone write such garbage? Why are people stupid enough to keep singing something so stupid? Things may have changed over the last thirty years, but back when I grew up in Denmark, it seemed to be one of the more popular songs.Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-81441230638694179912012-04-05T17:52:00.001-07:002012-04-05T17:52:15.245-07:00Ice creamMy first elementary school was in Elsinore, the setting of <i>Hamlet</i>. Elsinore had been the capital of Denmark at an earlier period in time due to the city's strategic location. It was only a few miles across the ocean to Sweden--a distance much shorter than what you would have to sail if you started in Copenhagen--so this was a great place for a Naval stronghold where fees could be exported from those who wanted to pass through. (The Danish Vikings were rather aggressive. During parts of the 11th Century, they had the audacity to invade and occupy Britain, a country with some ten times the population of Denmark. The British had to pay a steady tribute to avoid further incursions.)<br />
<br />
In Elsinore, there was an ice cream parlor that we would sometimes visit after school. One another occasion, my late grandmother brought my sister and me there for an ice cream cone. She reflected on an ice cream parlor that she had patronized in her youth and commented on how much more expensive the ice cream had become. I no longer remember the exact figure, but she probably said that an ice cream cone cost something in the neighborhood of 5-10 cents when she was growing up.<br />
<br />
My grandmother then told us that the ice cream she bought in a similar ice cream parlor during her childhood "tasted like cardboard."<br />
<br />
I was curious why she had bought the ice cream given the seemingly unappealing taste.<br />
<br />
"Oh, I wasn't all that finicky," my grandmother replied in a very defiant and self-righteous voice.Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-89976076118330236542012-02-15T11:30:00.000-08:002012-02-15T11:49:57.459-08:00Sister CindyBack when I was in college, a traveling evangelist named Jed Smock would often come by colleges preaching. An article in <i>Wikipedia</i> describes his style as "confrontational evangelism." Although he readily confesses to his own misspent youth and his conversion, he was viewed skeptically by many. During one of "Brother Jed's" visits, exasperated members of one campus evangelical organization put up banners saying that "There is sanity in Christianity!"<br />
<br />
One at least one occasion, Jed brought along his wife, "Sister Cindy," who described herself as "a former disco queen" who had reformed. My sister indignantly reported to the rest of the family that Sister Cindy had admonished the women in the crowd that, before they accepted a marriage proposal, to ask their potential future husband, "Will you make me obey you?"<br />
<br />
Without missing a beat, my mother remarked, "It might be more appropriate to ask, '<i>Can </i>you make me obey you?'"Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-37549927909270849402011-11-14T14:10:00.000-08:002011-11-14T14:15:08.285-08:00Delighful Reflections: Quips, Conjectures, and Pontifications is now availableMy new book <a href="http://eccenterrific.com/"><i>Delightful Reflections: Quips, Conjectures, and Pontifications</i></a> (ISBN-13: 9780615561981) is now available from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Delightful-Reflections-Quips-Conjectures-Pontifications/dp/0615561985/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321298494&sr=1-1">Amazon.com</a> and <a href="https://www.createspace.com/3714772">CreateSpace.com</a> .<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kV7ND_9L1jBPpepPgCGlroPxpzEARoizY5FxIHfNQVDDdJflt7MW3GP-fJTQ-ozBT4easwa3tQNWja1CKtYF4VDYeV2NudetBR0o8uTqwh42gFetOh6T7wOnicL1kspfLOSb/s1600/Delightful_Reflections.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kV7ND_9L1jBPpepPgCGlroPxpzEARoizY5FxIHfNQVDDdJflt7MW3GP-fJTQ-ozBT4easwa3tQNWja1CKtYF4VDYeV2NudetBR0o8uTqwh42gFetOh6T7wOnicL1kspfLOSb/s320/Delightful_Reflections.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6CLL2ObHKYGSNaj7mmrQptj7xLwcRfmp3GKAR6zaYpoQCXr6NrlNPxVC-T0HCJzzfKl6nKDGcBciezNFiZPHo2wl350qZEKyGukVn9yvRENhkGad2i1MYNLxbKKDEcjDhAzLK/s1600/Delightful_Reflections--cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><br />
<br />
The following are a few "samplers:"<br />
<br />
<ul><li>Any residents of Washington, B.C. were most likely Native Americans.</li>
<li>Proof found outside the pudding is likely to be much less messy.</li>
<li>A minister suffering from laryngitis is in a poor condition to preach to the choir.</li>
<li>The right to use bullet points may be guaranteed by both the First and Second amendments.</li>
<li>Someone singing "Do Cry for Me, Argentina" is likely rather self-centered.</li>
<li>Granting a child's Christmas wish for a hippopotamus would, under most circumstances, be somewhat unkind to his or her parents.</li>
<li>Morally marginal individuals ought to be aware that what happens in Vegas may stay on Facebook and Youtube for a long time!</li>
<li>One would hope that a piece of textile with the message that "Dog food is delicious" is a dog coat.</li>
<li>It is mean for parents not to allow their children to clean their rooms.</li>
<li>It is really sad to hear one elementary school student bragging to another that "My funeral is going to be bigger than your funeral!"</li>
<li>Authors who are afraid of the dark should refrain from hiring ghostwriters.</li>
<li>One rarely ever hears any objection being expressed to the comparison of pears and grapefruits.</li>
<li>If Lynn Anderson suddenly has a memory of this, the decent thing to do is to record "I DID Promise You a Rose Garden."</li>
<li>If it does not look like a Dachshund, does not walk like a Dachshund, and does not bark like a</li>
<li>Dachshund, it might be considered deceptive to list it on Craigslist as a Dachshund without disclosing these material facts.</li>
<li>A nun who wakes up the whole neighborhood while beating up a fellow nun for disturbing the peace needs a serious talk by the mother superior about goal displacement and constructive ways to deal with problem co-workers.</li>
<li>There does not appear to be any support in respected, peer reviewed journals for the hypothesis that a pear a day keeps the dentist away.</li>
<li>Cain may have been the first communist.</li>
<li>To minimize the risk of injury, it might be helpful to move one's tongue before turning the other cheek.</li>
<li>When in Rome, one should try to make a profit on the Romans.</li>
<li>It would have been nice if Carly could have clarified whether, if attending a party on a yacht, one should walk aboard as if walking into a party or as if walking onto a yacht.</li>
<li>Few people seen to question the authenticity of Bruce Springsteen's birth certificate.</li>
<li>If it quacks, but not like a duck, one might well be confused.</li>
</ul><br />
<ul></ul>Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-25373660601571727702011-10-09T11:43:00.000-07:002011-10-09T11:43:56.279-07:00Hypothesis about the possible origin of the specific wording of the First Amendment<div class="MsoNormal">It is possible that the wording of the First Amendment was adapted from an off-handed remark by one individual that "You know, Congress really should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Such laws would be way uncool!"</div><h6 class="uiStreamMessage" data-ft="{"type":1}"><span class="messageBody translationEligibleUserMessage" data-ft="{"type":3}"><br />
</span></h6>Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-40098439907844044782011-04-27T10:53:00.000-07:002011-04-27T14:07:34.801-07:00A Mother of All Conspiracy Theories<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp/> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables/> 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mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="Arial","sans-serif"font-size:100%;" >The so-called "birthers" have long maintained that Barack Obama was born outside the U.S. What is really ironic is that they don't know the half of it.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="Arial","sans-serif"font-size:100%;" >"Birthers" likely suspect that the President was likely born either in Kenya--the home of his father--or Indonesia, where records seem to confirm he spent some time. Imagine what a field day they would have if they actually learned the entire truth, or just 25% of it for that matter!</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="Arial","sans-serif"font-size:100%;" >Barack Obama was not born in 1961 as is commonly believed. He was actually born in 1949 or 1950 in what was then the Soviet Union. The records relating to this are heavily guarded, so we have to rely on third party accounts which differ a bit in the details. When he was twelve or thirteen, he conspired with the Soviets, Lee Harvey Oswald, and aliens from outer space to assassinate President Kennedy. This accounts for the difficulty in reconciling the evidence at the scene with a lone shooter. Why weren't the bullets found? The aliens and strong and sophisticated magnetic retrieval systems that could selectively remove the bullets fired by Obama.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="Arial","sans-serif"font-size:100%;" >Why did Obama and the Soviets want to do away with Kennedy? Had JFK lived another week, he would have renounced his liberal policies and would have announced his switch to the Republican Party. And that's just the beginning. Apparently, the Soviets had learned of other changes that Kennedy meant to implement. These changes were so dramatic that only the top echelon of the Politburo knew about them. The spies who bugged Kennedy's office were deliberately selected from individuals who did not speak English. The Soviets were so shocked at what they heard that the erased the recording immediately after hearing it. All notes made during the meeting were destroyed.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="Arial","sans-serif"font-size:100%;" >What about the birth certificate that supposedly exists in the records of the State of Hawaii? Can't that be carbon dated to establish that it was written more than fifty years ago? Probably, but it would be stupid to underestimate the resources of the conspirators. The Soviets certainly had highly placed moles within the State of Hawaii who could have placed the certificate back in 1961. If that strategy had failed, the aliens would almost certainly be capable of time travel, allowing them to go back in time to plant the certificate. We are not dealing with amateurs here!</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="Arial","sans-serif"font-size:100%;" >Does Obama know that he is a Soviet mole and what he did in 1963? Of course note! He genuinely believes that he was born in 1961 and has no idea that he ever shot anything. Since birth, he has been under a powerful hypnotic trance. It would be much too dangerous for everyone if he knew about the plan. Then he might accidentally slip up at some point. His health care plan, however, makes it abundantly obvious that he is under Communist control. It is doubtful that even someone as liberal as Ted Kennedy would have supported such U.N. Shadow Government sponsored government control. Yes, it is true that Kennedy publicly supported the plan, but that was because the aliens had threatened harm to his family if he did not.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Skeptics will object that there is absolutely no evidence for this theory. Such cynicism is completely unwarranted. This merely shows how proficient the conspirators were in covering it up. However, any halfway competent psychic can confirm these facts. Also, without this conspiracy, how would you explain any of the following?</span></p><ul><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The Supreme Court's 1966 <span style="font-style: italic;">Miranda</span> ruling</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The election of Jimmy Carter in 1978</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The development of nuclear capability by Pakistan</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Increasing crude oil prices</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The refusal of NASA to release any documents and photos establishing visits to earth by space aliens</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The growth in California sales tax rates during the last twenty years</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Declining birth rates in Japan and Europe</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Teaching of evolution in the public schools</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The appointment of Hillary Clinton as U.S. Secretary of State</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The creation of the U.S. Department of Education</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Increasing freeway congestion in many areas of the U.S.</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Flouridation of the water supply in many U.S. communities</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Requirements that vehicles sold in the U.S. contain air bags</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >High rates of influenza and insomnia across the U.S. and Europe</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >Tyrannical gun control measures</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;" ><span style=";font-size:100%;" >China's increasing trade surplus with the U.S.</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" >The formation of the European Union</span></li><li><span style=" ;font-family:";" ><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Increasing salaries of librarians (the profession of Karl Marx)</span><br /></span></span></li></ul><p class="MsoNormal"></p>Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-74233348282724592672011-01-25T10:30:00.000-08:002011-01-25T10:35:36.193-08:00Two truths and a lieLast week-end, I attended a strategic planning meeting for the Autism Society, and a group of us went to dinner after Saturday's sessions. We played a game where each person would tell two truths and one lie about himself or herself. The others were asked to identify the lie. My three assertions:<br /><ol><li>One time, I yelled at Lucky Reagan--the late President and Mrs. Reagan's dog--to "Shut up!" when it was barking.</li><li>Due to a volcanic eruption that grounded all incoming and outgoing flights, I had to stay an extra six days in Iceland.</li><li>When trying to join a tall club, I failed the measure-in.</li></ol>Any guesses as to which one is false? Nobody got it right at the dinner!Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7888456.post-78475937785331161792010-12-18T17:16:00.000-08:002010-12-18T17:34:36.286-08:00Strange dreamsOver the last two nights, I have had some rather strange dreams.<br /><br />Last night, I dreamed that I was in Indonesia (I am not sure why) and that what was represented as a <span style="font-style: italic;">tsunami</span> arrived. Oddly, it was not one huge wave, but a number of smaller, gentler ones--very much unlike the real thing. I and others did not seem particularly worried or concerned--we just stood in front of a house as though its walls would somehow shield us. There was no panic. I don't even recall being bothered by the sea water that splashed in and would, presumably, have made us wet and hit our heads, splashing into eyes and nose. This was clearly <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> a real life <span style="font-style: italic;">tsunami</span>. One probably cannot be held responsible for what one dreams, but I feel rather guilty about having had this vision of what, in truth, is a devastating and terrifying event that actually kills people and imposes a severe hardship in its aftermath. It was almost a bit of a "reverse nightmare" where the bad things that, under the circumstances, would have happened in real life did not.<br /><br />The night before last, it was clear in my dream that both my grandparents had passed away--as they have in real life with my grandmother passing away nearly two years ago and my grandfather, perhaps symbolically, passing away on December 31, 1999. What was strange, however, was they had somehow--toward the later years of their lives--moved to an apartment that I had never seen. I--and possibly other members of my family--went there for some reason that I do not recall. I do not have the impression that the apartment had been sold, and I have no idea why they would have moved there.<br /><br />This latter dream parallels a number of dreams I have had about moving. Often, I dream that I never checked out and moved my things from the apartment that I rented back in college. There have also been dreams about moving away from the farm where my family lived in Denmark in the early to mid-1970s. One time, we somehow skipped the one we moved to before coming to the U.S., having already moved to the U.S.without vacating the Danish property.<br /><br />Dreams about complications and delays in moves might clearly be related to my discomfort with change. Any alternative interpretation or interpretation of last night's dream?Lars Perner, Ph.D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02375433776061602462noreply@blogger.com2