Entry tags:
May Prompts - Part 1
I have plenty of things to write about, but I want to keep up with doing these sets of prompts.
1. Is it more or less difficult to be successful in the modern world than it was in the past (10, 50, 100, or 1,000 years ago)? In some ways, yes. In others, no. Just surviving was enough to count as success long ago, and that’s pretty easy now if you live in the developed world. But, on the other hand,there was little class mobility historically.
2. What do you like to do in the spring? Enjoy the weather, which often includes walking.
3. Is teaching a skill that can be taught? I think some aspects of teaching can be taught. However, I had teachers over the years who had little sense of what concepts were difficult for students to master and I am not sure that sort of awareness can be learned.
4. May 4 is "Bike to School Day". Is that something you did when you were in school? Through junior high, I walked to school. In high school, I took a bus. I did ride my bike to my high school once or twice, but not for school itself - just to take a longish ride. (It was about 8 miles each way.)
5. Do you always have to have the latest phone? No. As long as what I have works, I am fine with not spending more money on something new.
6. What is something you are obsessed with? The Grand Unified Theory of Politics, Economics, and the American League East. Also, my effort to learn a folktale from every country in the world.
7. Is there something that a ton of people are obsessed with but you just don't the point of? Celebrity gossip.
8. Would you rather give up all drinks except water, or give up eating anything that was cooked in an oven? I suppose the latter, since I could eat soups or stir fried things all the time, while living without coffee would be torture.
9. What would happen if a maximum income of $500,000 (or equivalent in your currency) was implemented? That would be the death of innovation, since there would be little incentive to develop new products.
10. If extra-terrestrials ever made first contact with us, would you prefer they be robotic or organic? I think organic would be more relatable.
11. When was the last time you worked incredibly hard? I had a work project or two over the years to do a rapid review of the feasibility of some concept and put together a briefing package for senior leadership in just a couple of days.
12. Do you know someone who really reminds you of a character in a TV show, movie or book? Not that I can think of.
13. What is the most annoying thing about the social media platform you use most often? Facebook keeps its algorithms hidden pretty well, so what shows up on my feed is not necessarily what I’d be most interested in.
14. Do you have nicknames for people in your life (not including nicknames or code names that you might use on social media for privacy reasons)? Yes, for a couple of people, but I wouldn’t reveal what they are.
15. What or who has taught you most of the information you use regularly? Probably a combination of elementary school teachers (who taught reading, writing, and basic math) and my parents.
16. What’s more important: doing the right thing or doing things right? Doing the right thing is more important. If you do something right but it is something useless (or even evil) you make the world worse.
17. What do you hope never changes? The rotation and revolution of the planets in our solar system.
18. What’s the best way to start the day? Sleeping late, followed by a nice cup of strong coffee. Fresh fruit, yogurt and an English muffin for breakfast.
19. Can people with vastly different cultural backgrounds live together peacefully? In theory, yes. In practice, it depends on exactly what cultural backgrounds you are talking about.
20. Do you have a "and then it got worse" story? Will you share it? After my mother died, I had a lot of conflict with my brother come to the forefront. Let’s just say that my uncle’s attempts to help, didn’t.
21. Have you ever eaten so much of something you made yourself sick? Not quite sick, but I’ve certainly eaten enough of some things to be uncomfortable.
22. What are some fun and interesting alternatives to war that countries could engage in to settle their differences? Riffing off a long ago cartoon in Mad Magazine, hopscotch. (And, probably, other children’s games.)
23. What's the weirdest or rudest thing a guest has done at your house? I can’t think of anything particularly rude or weird a guest has done.
24. Do you swear? What's your favourite swear word? I swear more than I want to. I like people to know I really mean it when I use cuss words. That said, my suite mates in college and I had this vocabulary building phase where we learned various highfalutin words to use as cuss words. My favorite was “xylophagous troglodyte.” (That means wood-eating cave dweller.)
25. What fictional character is amazing in their book/movie/TV show, but would be insufferable if you had to deal with them in mundane, everyday situations? Hercule Poirot.
26. If you had intro music, what would it be? “Send in the Clowns.”
27. If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your life, what would the finished house be like? A living room large enough to host house concerts. An ultra luxurious bathroom with radiant heated floors and a jetted tub. A huge library. A small, cozy bedroom.
28. What songs have your completely memorized? I think I know large sections of many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and various Broadway musicals.
29. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with? The most frequent is travel tips.
30. What takes up too much of your time? The internet. Also, playing Bejeweled Blitz.
31. What would be your first question after waking up from being cryogenically frozen for 100 years? How are the Red Sox doing?
1. Is it more or less difficult to be successful in the modern world than it was in the past (10, 50, 100, or 1,000 years ago)? In some ways, yes. In others, no. Just surviving was enough to count as success long ago, and that’s pretty easy now if you live in the developed world. But, on the other hand,there was little class mobility historically.
2. What do you like to do in the spring? Enjoy the weather, which often includes walking.
3. Is teaching a skill that can be taught? I think some aspects of teaching can be taught. However, I had teachers over the years who had little sense of what concepts were difficult for students to master and I am not sure that sort of awareness can be learned.
4. May 4 is "Bike to School Day". Is that something you did when you were in school? Through junior high, I walked to school. In high school, I took a bus. I did ride my bike to my high school once or twice, but not for school itself - just to take a longish ride. (It was about 8 miles each way.)
5. Do you always have to have the latest phone? No. As long as what I have works, I am fine with not spending more money on something new.
6. What is something you are obsessed with? The Grand Unified Theory of Politics, Economics, and the American League East. Also, my effort to learn a folktale from every country in the world.
7. Is there something that a ton of people are obsessed with but you just don't the point of? Celebrity gossip.
8. Would you rather give up all drinks except water, or give up eating anything that was cooked in an oven? I suppose the latter, since I could eat soups or stir fried things all the time, while living without coffee would be torture.
9. What would happen if a maximum income of $500,000 (or equivalent in your currency) was implemented? That would be the death of innovation, since there would be little incentive to develop new products.
10. If extra-terrestrials ever made first contact with us, would you prefer they be robotic or organic? I think organic would be more relatable.
11. When was the last time you worked incredibly hard? I had a work project or two over the years to do a rapid review of the feasibility of some concept and put together a briefing package for senior leadership in just a couple of days.
12. Do you know someone who really reminds you of a character in a TV show, movie or book? Not that I can think of.
13. What is the most annoying thing about the social media platform you use most often? Facebook keeps its algorithms hidden pretty well, so what shows up on my feed is not necessarily what I’d be most interested in.
14. Do you have nicknames for people in your life (not including nicknames or code names that you might use on social media for privacy reasons)? Yes, for a couple of people, but I wouldn’t reveal what they are.
15. What or who has taught you most of the information you use regularly? Probably a combination of elementary school teachers (who taught reading, writing, and basic math) and my parents.
16. What’s more important: doing the right thing or doing things right? Doing the right thing is more important. If you do something right but it is something useless (or even evil) you make the world worse.
17. What do you hope never changes? The rotation and revolution of the planets in our solar system.
18. What’s the best way to start the day? Sleeping late, followed by a nice cup of strong coffee. Fresh fruit, yogurt and an English muffin for breakfast.
19. Can people with vastly different cultural backgrounds live together peacefully? In theory, yes. In practice, it depends on exactly what cultural backgrounds you are talking about.
20. Do you have a "and then it got worse" story? Will you share it? After my mother died, I had a lot of conflict with my brother come to the forefront. Let’s just say that my uncle’s attempts to help, didn’t.
21. Have you ever eaten so much of something you made yourself sick? Not quite sick, but I’ve certainly eaten enough of some things to be uncomfortable.
22. What are some fun and interesting alternatives to war that countries could engage in to settle their differences? Riffing off a long ago cartoon in Mad Magazine, hopscotch. (And, probably, other children’s games.)
23. What's the weirdest or rudest thing a guest has done at your house? I can’t think of anything particularly rude or weird a guest has done.
24. Do you swear? What's your favourite swear word? I swear more than I want to. I like people to know I really mean it when I use cuss words. That said, my suite mates in college and I had this vocabulary building phase where we learned various highfalutin words to use as cuss words. My favorite was “xylophagous troglodyte.” (That means wood-eating cave dweller.)
25. What fictional character is amazing in their book/movie/TV show, but would be insufferable if you had to deal with them in mundane, everyday situations? Hercule Poirot.
26. If you had intro music, what would it be? “Send in the Clowns.”
27. If you had unlimited funds to build a house that you would live in for the rest of your life, what would the finished house be like? A living room large enough to host house concerts. An ultra luxurious bathroom with radiant heated floors and a jetted tub. A huge library. A small, cozy bedroom.
28. What songs have your completely memorized? I think I know large sections of many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and various Broadway musicals.
29. When people come to you for help, what do they usually want help with? The most frequent is travel tips.
30. What takes up too much of your time? The internet. Also, playing Bejeweled Blitz.
31. What would be your first question after waking up from being cryogenically frozen for 100 years? How are the Red Sox doing?