Perfection and the quest for it
Bowling has one. Baseball has one. Gymnastics, figure skating and diving have them. Perfect scores. As humans we eventually accept the fact that we are fallible, although we would much prefer to continue to think of ourselves as perfect. Deep down inside we know we aren't. There is no harsher judge of our own imperfections than ourselves.
The harsh parents, the critical teachers, the abusive coaches, none of them will ever be more critical than we are as individuals of our own actions. Internally we decry the shortcomings we perceive in ourselves. "I should have known that", "I should have done that", "I should have not done that" and so many more.
What ties most of our self-criticisms together? What we "should" have done. Charles Schulz may have explained it best in one of his Peanuts cartoons.
Some of us carry more potential than others. We're stronger, or smarter, or have whatever gifts we were endowed with (or developed). That just makes the expectations even higher.
This is something I live with every day and I'm working to overcome. I know I can't know the answer to every single question asked in every single category in a game of trivia. At least I know that logically. Emotionally, I want to be able to come up with the answer to all of those questions.
Speaking of the things I live with every day, Sunday has been a challenging day thus far. I had the day all planned out. Breakfast here, go and see the new Woody Allen film, run by the market and then come home and take it easy for the rest of the day. I'd purchased my ticket the night before because showings of this film had been selling out all day Saturday. So much so that the theater had added a late show after 11:00 p.m.
Went to the car and turned the key in the ignition and...it tried but didn't start. It started on the second try so I decided to go to the theater and then deal with it later. Only when I finished parking at the theater I figured I'd better make sure it would start again. It wouldn't. That led to an odyssey that ended with me missing the movie, sitting for more than an hour at Pep Boys and having to pay an ungodly sum for a car battery (they only had one model in stock or so they said, but at that point I didn't care any more). I did my marketing and other errands and came home frustrated.
Normally when stuff like that happens, I have always gotten rid of the negative emotions by eating something not so good for me. If I hadn't been in the hospital in June, I might have done the same today. A quick stop at the McDonald's drive-thru and $12 or $13 worth of greasy fast food later, I'd be feeling okay about what had happened today (there was other stuff), and just focused on the guilt over what I'd just eaten. I can't say that won't happen ever again, but I didn't let it happen today. At least not yet. Since I have already ordered dinner from the kitchen here, it won't. I loathe the idea of spending money on food when I have something already available that I like more than I loathe dealing with the guilt of eating something I might like more but should be choosing not to consume.
So the bad part of the day ends with a moral victory.
* * *
In today's L.A. Times, Michael Hiltzik takes a shot at online learning. The Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) model is fairly new and is not representative of all online learning. Nor does it need to be. Maybe MOOC won't work but it is too soon to just discard it on the waste heap. Not when you examine the success of earlier successes in the field of distance learning.
I may be a bit biased here. When I finally got around to finishing my Bachelor's degree at the relatively old age of 48, I graduated from the very first fully accredited online university. Western Governors University (WGU) was founded in 1997 by a group of governors of western states (big surprise, eh?). It now has 35,000 students in the U.S., and there are five affiliated online universities, WGU Texas, WGU Tennessee, WGU Missouri, WGU Washington and WGU Indiana.
There is much debate about which model for delivering education is "better", the brick and mortar classroom approach, or the online model. There are plusses and minuses to both. My main attraction to attending university online is that when I was working a full-time and a part-time job, I didn't have time to get to classes on a campus a couple of times per week for hours at a time. WGU let me take the courses at my own pace, often late at night or on weekends. I interacted with professors, counselors and my fellow students through email and on-line chats that were held on a regular basis.
WGU's program is different as it is competency based learning, without grades. You take a course and either pass it, or don't pass it. If you fail to demonstrate the competencies involved, you just take the course again (or simply demonstrate the competencies). I didn't get around to completing the requirements for a course I was taking by the end of the semester and was marked incomplete (I finished the requirements a few weeks later). The BA and BS programs require a final course known as the "Capstone" project. Mine was fine except that the evaluator wanted me to flesh out more details on one part of the assignment. Once I did, I was done.
I won't say one is better than the other. I will say that online learning offers an alternative approach for those who don't do well, or can't get to the brick and mortar classrooms.
* * *
If there was some kind of meter that could measure the tension in a certain geographic area, this place would have the highest level of tension anywhere in the world. That might change once in a while when something like what's going on right now in Egypt is taking place; but for the most part the Demilitarized Zone on the Korean Peninsula is the tensest place on Earth.
It is a contradiction in terms, since the 160 mile long by 2.5 mile wide area is the most militarized border on the planet. Between the end of the Korean War in 1953 and 1999, over 500 South Korean soldiers and 50 U.S. soldiers died in action along the "Z" as it is commonly referred to.
Is North Korea planning to attack someday? Four tunnels have been discovered by the U.S. and South Korean forces that were obviously built by North Korea for the purpose of invasion. But no new tunnels have been discovered since 1990. Or should I say none where their existence was publicly acknowledged. But with the passage of time, I believe the potential for an incursion by the North continues to lessen.
I've been there. Being there is an amazing experience. If you're ever in South Korea and you have a chance, go.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
Will credit reporting bureaus be more responsive to individuals trying to fix errors in their credit reports now that a jury has awarded $18.4 million in punitive damages against Equifax (probably not)?
Isn't it long past time for Anthony Weiner to fold up his doomed campaign to become mayor of New York City? He couldn't get elected dog catcher at this point.
Also, isn't it time for San Diego mayor Bob Filner to just go away? Not for two weeks of intensive therapy, but to resign and go home to prepare his court defense.
I understand people who collect sports memorabilia paying big bucks for sticks, jerseys and the like from Wayne Gretzky's professional career. But for the hockey stick that he used to score his 1,000 goal when he was 13?? Current bid for it is $11,000 and it is expected to bring more than $20,000 when the auction has ended. I bid $4.95 but I was outbid immediately. :(
Why is it that the federal government can force public schools across the land to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that fits the gender they claim to be, but Smith College can refuse admission to a transgender student? Seems like a disconnect somewhere.
Which is worse? Baseball players who take performance-enhancing drugs, or players who bet on baseball games involving their own team?
This Date In History:
On this date in 1540, Thomas Cromwell is executed for treason by order of King Henry VIII. He marries Catherine Howard the same day.
On this date in 1794, Robespierre is executed by guillotine.
On this date in 1854, the USS Constellation, last all-sail US Navy vessel is commissioned.
On this date in 1868, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is certified.
On this date in 1896, the city of Miami is incorporated.
On this date in 1914, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
On this date in 1935, the first flight of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress takes place.
On this date in 1945, a B-25 bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building. 14 are killed and 26 are injured.
On this date in 1973, a rock festival at Watkins Glen International Raceway draws a crowd of 600,000.
On this date in 1974, Spetsgruppa A, an elite unit of Russian special forces personnel dedicated to counter-terrorism.
On this date in 1993, Andorra joins the United Nations.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Beatrix Potter
Lucy Burns
Barbara La Marr
Rudy Vallee
Carmen Dragon
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Junior Kimbrough
Alberto Fujimori
Bill Bradley
Jim Davis
Sally Struthers
Georgia Engel
Vida Blue
Randall Wallace
Hugo Chavez
Terry Fox
Rachel Sweet
Lori Loughlin
Alexis Arquette
Elizabeth Berkley
Manu Ginobli
Movie quotes today come from "The First Wives Club" as birthday girl Elizabeth Berkley was in it:
[about her ex-husband's date]
Brenda: What's the matter, Morty? Can't you buy her a whole dress?
#2
Brenda: There she is. Princess Pelvis!
#3
Elise: I drink because I am a sensitive and highly strung person.
Brenda: No, that's why your co-stars drink.
#4
Phoebe LaVelle: Hi, I'm Phoebe. I've seen all your movies and I want to be just like you. Only, me!
The harsh parents, the critical teachers, the abusive coaches, none of them will ever be more critical than we are as individuals of our own actions. Internally we decry the shortcomings we perceive in ourselves. "I should have known that", "I should have done that", "I should have not done that" and so many more.
What ties most of our self-criticisms together? What we "should" have done. Charles Schulz may have explained it best in one of his Peanuts cartoons.
We are filled with expectations. Expectations about what others will do. Which team will win a ball game. How bad or good traffic will be at a particular time. But we hold the highest expectations of ourselves. We don't realize it consciously but there is a part of us (okay, most of us) who seek to be "perfect", even though it is impossible to be perfect throughout one's life.Some of us carry more potential than others. We're stronger, or smarter, or have whatever gifts we were endowed with (or developed). That just makes the expectations even higher.
This is something I live with every day and I'm working to overcome. I know I can't know the answer to every single question asked in every single category in a game of trivia. At least I know that logically. Emotionally, I want to be able to come up with the answer to all of those questions.
Speaking of the things I live with every day, Sunday has been a challenging day thus far. I had the day all planned out. Breakfast here, go and see the new Woody Allen film, run by the market and then come home and take it easy for the rest of the day. I'd purchased my ticket the night before because showings of this film had been selling out all day Saturday. So much so that the theater had added a late show after 11:00 p.m.
Went to the car and turned the key in the ignition and...it tried but didn't start. It started on the second try so I decided to go to the theater and then deal with it later. Only when I finished parking at the theater I figured I'd better make sure it would start again. It wouldn't. That led to an odyssey that ended with me missing the movie, sitting for more than an hour at Pep Boys and having to pay an ungodly sum for a car battery (they only had one model in stock or so they said, but at that point I didn't care any more). I did my marketing and other errands and came home frustrated.
Normally when stuff like that happens, I have always gotten rid of the negative emotions by eating something not so good for me. If I hadn't been in the hospital in June, I might have done the same today. A quick stop at the McDonald's drive-thru and $12 or $13 worth of greasy fast food later, I'd be feeling okay about what had happened today (there was other stuff), and just focused on the guilt over what I'd just eaten. I can't say that won't happen ever again, but I didn't let it happen today. At least not yet. Since I have already ordered dinner from the kitchen here, it won't. I loathe the idea of spending money on food when I have something already available that I like more than I loathe dealing with the guilt of eating something I might like more but should be choosing not to consume.
So the bad part of the day ends with a moral victory.
* * *
In today's L.A. Times, Michael Hiltzik takes a shot at online learning. The Massive Online Open Course (MOOC) model is fairly new and is not representative of all online learning. Nor does it need to be. Maybe MOOC won't work but it is too soon to just discard it on the waste heap. Not when you examine the success of earlier successes in the field of distance learning.
I may be a bit biased here. When I finally got around to finishing my Bachelor's degree at the relatively old age of 48, I graduated from the very first fully accredited online university. Western Governors University (WGU) was founded in 1997 by a group of governors of western states (big surprise, eh?). It now has 35,000 students in the U.S., and there are five affiliated online universities, WGU Texas, WGU Tennessee, WGU Missouri, WGU Washington and WGU Indiana.
There is much debate about which model for delivering education is "better", the brick and mortar classroom approach, or the online model. There are plusses and minuses to both. My main attraction to attending university online is that when I was working a full-time and a part-time job, I didn't have time to get to classes on a campus a couple of times per week for hours at a time. WGU let me take the courses at my own pace, often late at night or on weekends. I interacted with professors, counselors and my fellow students through email and on-line chats that were held on a regular basis.
WGU's program is different as it is competency based learning, without grades. You take a course and either pass it, or don't pass it. If you fail to demonstrate the competencies involved, you just take the course again (or simply demonstrate the competencies). I didn't get around to completing the requirements for a course I was taking by the end of the semester and was marked incomplete (I finished the requirements a few weeks later). The BA and BS programs require a final course known as the "Capstone" project. Mine was fine except that the evaluator wanted me to flesh out more details on one part of the assignment. Once I did, I was done.
I won't say one is better than the other. I will say that online learning offers an alternative approach for those who don't do well, or can't get to the brick and mortar classrooms.
* * *
If there was some kind of meter that could measure the tension in a certain geographic area, this place would have the highest level of tension anywhere in the world. That might change once in a while when something like what's going on right now in Egypt is taking place; but for the most part the Demilitarized Zone on the Korean Peninsula is the tensest place on Earth.
It is a contradiction in terms, since the 160 mile long by 2.5 mile wide area is the most militarized border on the planet. Between the end of the Korean War in 1953 and 1999, over 500 South Korean soldiers and 50 U.S. soldiers died in action along the "Z" as it is commonly referred to.
Is North Korea planning to attack someday? Four tunnels have been discovered by the U.S. and South Korean forces that were obviously built by North Korea for the purpose of invasion. But no new tunnels have been discovered since 1990. Or should I say none where their existence was publicly acknowledged. But with the passage of time, I believe the potential for an incursion by the North continues to lessen.
I've been there. Being there is an amazing experience. If you're ever in South Korea and you have a chance, go.
* * *
Random Ponderings:
Will credit reporting bureaus be more responsive to individuals trying to fix errors in their credit reports now that a jury has awarded $18.4 million in punitive damages against Equifax (probably not)?
Isn't it long past time for Anthony Weiner to fold up his doomed campaign to become mayor of New York City? He couldn't get elected dog catcher at this point.
Also, isn't it time for San Diego mayor Bob Filner to just go away? Not for two weeks of intensive therapy, but to resign and go home to prepare his court defense.
I understand people who collect sports memorabilia paying big bucks for sticks, jerseys and the like from Wayne Gretzky's professional career. But for the hockey stick that he used to score his 1,000 goal when he was 13?? Current bid for it is $11,000 and it is expected to bring more than $20,000 when the auction has ended. I bid $4.95 but I was outbid immediately. :(
Why is it that the federal government can force public schools across the land to allow transgender students to use the bathroom that fits the gender they claim to be, but Smith College can refuse admission to a transgender student? Seems like a disconnect somewhere.
Which is worse? Baseball players who take performance-enhancing drugs, or players who bet on baseball games involving their own team?
This Date In History:
On this date in 1540, Thomas Cromwell is executed for treason by order of King Henry VIII. He marries Catherine Howard the same day.
On this date in 1794, Robespierre is executed by guillotine.
On this date in 1854, the USS Constellation, last all-sail US Navy vessel is commissioned.
On this date in 1868, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is certified.
On this date in 1896, the city of Miami is incorporated.
On this date in 1914, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
On this date in 1935, the first flight of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress takes place.
On this date in 1945, a B-25 bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building. 14 are killed and 26 are injured.
On this date in 1973, a rock festival at Watkins Glen International Raceway draws a crowd of 600,000.
On this date in 1974, Spetsgruppa A, an elite unit of Russian special forces personnel dedicated to counter-terrorism.
On this date in 1993, Andorra joins the United Nations.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Beatrix Potter
Lucy Burns
Barbara La Marr
Rudy Vallee
Carmen Dragon
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Junior Kimbrough
Alberto Fujimori
Bill Bradley
Jim Davis
Sally Struthers
Georgia Engel
Vida Blue
Randall Wallace
Hugo Chavez
Terry Fox
Rachel Sweet
Lori Loughlin
Alexis Arquette
Elizabeth Berkley
Manu Ginobli
Movie quotes today come from "The First Wives Club" as birthday girl Elizabeth Berkley was in it:
[about her ex-husband's date]
Brenda: What's the matter, Morty? Can't you buy her a whole dress?
#2
Brenda: There she is. Princess Pelvis!
#3
Elise: I drink because I am a sensitive and highly strung person.
Brenda: No, that's why your co-stars drink.
#4
Phoebe LaVelle: Hi, I'm Phoebe. I've seen all your movies and I want to be just like you. Only, me!
posted by me at 6:04 PM
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