Dog On A Root

 

 

 

(Political Party Time, That Is) - jim Young “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member.” - Groucho Marx Recently I received an email from Pierre Poilievre inviting me to join the Conservative Party which would entitle me to vote for Mr. Poilievre as Leader of the Conservative Party in the upcoming Conservative Federal leadership election in September. I am pretty pumped right now. I figure I must've been recommended by one of my Liberal friends because of course all my Liberal friends think I'm a Conservative. Meanwhile, all my Conservative friends think I'm a Liberal. My capitalist friends think I'm a communist while my communist friends will concede that I may be a bit Socialist but not quite a pinko. However, my Socialist friends in turn think I'm a Capitalist. My fascist friends call me a pacifist but my pacifist friends are all too polite to call me anything. In fact they don't even call me. Of course they're all ...

- jim Young “It’s important that you manage your expectations.” - anon It’s the “waiting” that’s getting to me. For the most part, all the “lock-downs” and “stay-at-home” orders have been pretty easy for me to cope with. I’ve pretty much been a loner most of my life anyway. Growing up with five sisters, I had my own room and I spent most of my time there building model airplanes, listening to my music and writing. In the summer months I would be outside, comfortable in the solitude of my tree house or sitting on the edge of Lover’s Creek catching fish and watching the wildlife. I never really needed much companionship other than my dog Punky who would accompany me wherever I went. Punky, as I mentioned, was a dog. But he willingly took on the part of Faithful Companion, Indian Scout, Pirate, Space Traveler or whatever particular character was required for the fantasy and adventure I had chosen for the day. I’ve been able to keep myself amused all my life. I can sit for hours in front o...

 

How much you will enjoy any given food will depend largely on two things: 1) Your appetite at any given moment. 2) Your individual taste. Setting the stage for the first one is easy. The longer you go without eating, the greater your appetite will be and the more you will enjoy your food. But your individual taste is a very complex component in determining how much you will enjoy what you are about to eat. A lot of your individual taste can be affected by your culture and the foods you were introduced to as a youngster. How often you've been introduced to a particular taste can be a factor. Associations with pleasant or not so pleasant memories will play a part. Was it a meal your MOM made just for you? The mood you are in, how tired or stressed you are, are you anxious about something? Happy, sad or angry? Is the smell pleasant or familiar? And just like taste, all the same components also apply to the smell in helping determine how much the food will be enjoyed. I had high expect...