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1. Spoke to mother, she heard back from her doctor and was informed that it would be better if her niece not come down to visit right now.( Read more... )

2. Coronavirus fears spark 'panic buying' of toilet paper, water, hand sanitizer. Here's why we all need to calm down

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story misidentified the outbreak of coronavirus as a pandemic.

It would probably help if the media didn't feel the need to scare everyone to death.
I think the reports from Wuhan, China are scaring us all.

Keep calm and stop hoarding. The spread of coronavirus in the U.S. won't wipe out our toilet paper supply. Or supplies of hand sanitizer, bottled water and ramen.

That is, unless the frenzied stampedes for hand sanitizer and bottled water continue at their current pace.

Anticipating a potential quarantine, shoppers ran out this weekend to buy food, water and other staples so they could avoid exposing themselves and their families. Others, alarmed by the rising death count and number of confirmed cases in the U.S., went on impulsive buying binges, stripping store shelves of toilet paper and cleaning supplies. Soon, hand sanitizer was nearly impossible to find in some places.

Online stores were hit hard, too, and not just Amazon.com. At the top of the Kroger app Monday was an alert limiting the number of sanitization and cold and flu-related products to five of each per order. The Costco and Target websites listed all kinds of staples including Clorox Disinfecting Wipes and all-purpose cleaner as "out of stock."

Honestly you can't make this stuff up. Or you could and no one would believe you. ( Read more... )

3. Work

I finally get around to washing my tea mug, and the fire alarm goes off. With mug in hand, I go to see what is going on.
( Read more... )

I'm glad I'm taking a four day weekend. My shoulders and hands need a break. My hands are burning from all of the excessive hand washing at work. Of course, will most likely have to do it tomorrow too - because of the chest x-ray.

Writing Philosophy and unrelated...thoughts on "Boredom"

1. Wales texted the following item to me today:

Don't Try - The Philosophy of Charles Bukowski

Me: It makes me want to go home right now, and write.
Wales: I bet. (Pause). Sorry.
ME: No worries.

Bukowski weirdly reminds me of Robert Frost. Also, I never heard of him (not Frost, Bukowski). I don't know what that says about me or Bukowski or writing as a profession.

But it is kind of reassuring. I keep writing. It's the one thing I don't try at it, I just do. It's something I just have to do. Whether people read it or not, isn't the point.

Too many writers write for the wrong reasons. They want to get famous or they want to get rich or they want to get laid by the girls with bluebells in their hair. (Maybe that last ain't a bad idea).

When everything works best it's not because you chose writing but because writing chose you. It's when you're mad with it, it's when it's stuffed in your ears, your nostrils, under your fingernails. It's when there's no hope but that.

( Read more... )

- Letter that Charles Bukwarski wrote to William Packard.

I would agree with that. Writing creatively is something you either do or you don't. It's like singing, playing a instrument, knitting, pottery, running, boxing, climbing, swimming, or roller skating. You do it because you want to. No other reason.

Well, okay, to communicate. But half the time, it feels as if I'm communicating to an inattentive listener who would rather play games on their iphone.

2. Been thinking about the word boredom lately and how I define it. It occurs to me that I do not define it the same as a lot of folks do -- or I wasn't taught it that way? Because if I mention that I'm bored at work - they immediately equate that with not being busy enough. No. That's not it. It's usually feeling apathetic about work and not sure what to do, and this overwhelming feeling of frustration.

Or if I mention it online, someone assumes that I have nothing to do or I can't entertain myself or I'm unself aware. Again not quite it. I can be reading a book that is for some reason or other boring me on the subway. Or I can be watching a television show that I'm bored with. Or I can be doing an assigned task that bores me. Or a song that I'm listening to that is boring. Or in many cases, watching a sporting event can feel boring. Usually boredom for me results in "monkey mind" - ie. negative thoughts inducing depressive or anxious feelings of inadequacy or worry or frustration. Meditation gets me out of that. And meditation is basically just sitting and listening to a nice Australian monk talk every few minutes, while focusing on my breath.

Anyhow here's some interesting and diverse takes on Boredom, what it means, what causes it, and how folks handle it. Also if it is a good thing, and if we should embrace it. Depending on how you define it? The gist is everyone gets boredom, some people just get through it faster than others.

* There are 5 Types of Boredom Which You Are Feeling

( excerpt )

[Apparently they've done studies about it?]

* Why Being Bored Can be a Good Thing

( excerpt #1 - intro )

( Could you put some guardrails on what we mean when we say boredom? )

( excerpt - what do people mean when they say oh, I never get bored )

* 8 Reasons Why We Get Bored

Boredom can be viewed as a crisis of desire.

I like the article above this one better, it's less condemning of the bored.
Psychologists like to judge and label folks, don't they?

Although, I do somewhat identify with these four causes...

( causes of boredom )

I can't read medical journals, my eyes haze over and the words blur. Struggle with academic text as well. My job is tough because I have to read a lot of technical stuff and legal stuff. I have a form of dyslexia -- which makes reading more difficult for me than those without it. Dyslexics tend to get frustrated with reading certain types of texts. I have to go back over sentences. I do it naturally now, without knowing I'm doing it. But I also figure stuff out in context. The more interested or engaged I am in the subject matter - the better the flow, the less likely I'll get bored or lose focus.

If the material isn't engaging to the brain, the brain gets frustrated which equals boredom.

* Make Time for Boredom or The Surprising Benefits of Boredom

[Apparently academics have become fascinated with Boredom and are doing studies on it. This amuses me to no end.]

( excerpt )

[Go to the article to see the endnotes.]

* Ah, I finally found the frigging definition. I was looking for that, and got all the above links instead.

Boredom defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary (if you don't like Merriam Webster? Go find your own definition.)

" the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest "
( definitions, synonyms and entomology or where it came from for the wordsmiths among you...you know who you are )