-->

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Opportunistic Sleeper

My father has great talent at falling asleep in unusual circumstances.
For example, he once fell asleep while standing at attention. One of the men standing next to him was amazed.
Another time, he fell asleep sitting up with a glass in his hand. He didn't even drop the glass. My mother and her friend argued over who was going to take the picture.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Spell-check

One day I was writing a story, and started using the spelling and grammar check feature on the word processing program. Although spell-checking technology has come a long way, I have to say it still has its flaws, as you can see in the screenshot below.


Spelling and grammar check in Microsoft Works- "No no no no no!!!!!" suggested correction "A any any any no!"

Friday, May 15, 2015

The 'Calvin and Hobbes' Dream

In the comic strip series 'Calvin and Hobbes' by Bill Watterson, I have to admit Calvin has a pretty cool life.
For starters, he had a transmogrifier gun, which could change someone's form into both living and non-living things. He traveled through time and saw dinosaurs. He also rode a magic carpet, visited Mars, and met aliens. He was Spaceman Spiff and went on many adventures, he was a superhero known as Stupendous Man, and a carnivorous dinosaur species called the Calvinosaurus. And of course, he had an anthropomorphic tiger named Hobbes as a best friend.
So, is it any wonder that as a child, I often wished that I had some of this cool stuff? I imagine a lot of other readers had similar longings.
Of course, many of us did enjoy adventures like these. We imagined that our toys were living things and also our best friends, we dreamed so hard about being able to transform into an animal that it almost felt true, we became amazing heroes that defeated villains and saved lives, we rode our noble steeds (whether the traditional horse or a fierce dragon) through a fantasy world of our making, we had our dream house and dream life, and nothing was impossible if you believed in daydreams.
Over time, we begin to dream and fantasize less, and start to become more realistic. Some people 'grow up' more than others. Of course, a bit of dreaming is always healthy. Even if your dream is an unrealistic wish to grow wings and touch the clouds, it still grants a bit of fun to think about. And of course, some dreams may come true, like inventing something or having your dream career. Dreams are, in essence, a form of hope for the present and the future. They inspire us to believe in ourselves and others, inspire us to work toward our goals and make our dreams into our realities.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

The Unlucky Jeep

Our friend has recently been having trouble with her Jeep. First it needed a new radiator. Soon after getting it fixed, it started having problems because of malfunctioning computers, and had to be repaired once more.
Then her Jeep broke down again, and she had to call a tow truck to take it for repairs. Later on, she got a call. The towing company was very apologetic. They wouldn't be able to look at her car today, they said. The tow truck that was transporting her Jeep had apparently broke down. When she was driving to a concert in the car she borrowed from us, she saw a tow truck towing another tow truck that was towing her Jeep.
My mother says that our friend's car must be cursed.