A Curious Statistical Anomaly

Today just flew by. Medical Appointments. Post Office visit. Drop off the recycling at the center. Return books to the library and get some more out (why do I do that? I review books for heaven sakes, why do I need even more? My life makes no sense.) Stop for coffee. Stop at Home Depot for hummingbird feeder (they are coming soon) and check for oil for the lawn mower and other yard equipment. Finally, home again, home again…jiggety jig.

Busy day and nothing to show for it, except achy muscles and a lot of To Do items off my list.

I’d been putting off giving in but last night I had to admit that I had a cold — maybe flu but it feels more like a cold. This morning with a temp in the 100/101 range, I stayed in bed read, napped, and did the alka selzer thing along with orange juice.

I feel a bit better tonight. Throat is sore — feels like I’m swallowing broken glass. Cough drops help numb it a bit. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be on the mend.

That could be my optimistic-persona trying to take over control. I hope that part of me is right. I’ve got too much to do to be sick right now. Yuck.

Time. It sort of slips away without warning. One minute it’s morning, the next it’s last evening and then midnight. I know I was conscious for all that time — but, what happened to it?

I think I have a black hole in the house that sucks up time and takes it away before I can actually use it to do the things I want to do.

Can time bank itself? Maybe the minutes and seconds are saving themselves up for when I really, really need them. I swear my days are getting shorter the older I get.

Remember when you were a child and summer vacation lasted so long that it seemed forever. Now those same three months past by as quickly as if they were days rather than months. In twenty more years will they pass in the blink of an eye?

Does the age of the observer change the way we perceive time? I don’t know, it’s just something I think about when I’m wishing for more time.

I’d planned to do a post on wind energy today so I’ll either do it much later to tomorrow. The reason? Well, some days when you’re on the ‘net you run into things that just… well they make you smile or laugh out loud. Today I found this wonderful video and it tickled my funny bone and I thought I’d share.

Who knew? But since so many people have made fun of his name both first and last, I thought it was about time someone got it right.

A recent study, announced in BBC News, says that scientists have evidence that happiness is infectious. I don’t think that’s particularly new news, especially if you’re the type of person who studies the people around them.

I’m a writer, so I love to people watch. I noticed many times that people may be grumpy, but if someone is particularly nice to them, they often turn away with a smile. The obverse is also true a seemingly happy person who is given a hard time by a sales person quickly becomes a grumpy person. This being the season to be jolly — you can watch this glum-happy-glum transitions in most fast food places, stores, any place where people deal with people.

This study showed that if people around someone were happy that someone tended to be happy themselves. So, after some thought, I remembers that old adage by George Burns (I think, if you know the attributions let me know):

“Sincerity is everything. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”

Sincerity is what makes whatever you do seem real. But happiness is sort of a state of mind. If you can convince yourself to act as if you are happy, then the people close to you are likely to feel better about themselves and be happier also. Then, the happiness you’re faking slowly becomes real because the people around your are happier in a spreading spiral of happiness.

Before we get in a “it’s a small world after all” frame of mind, we all fake happiness at times. The big smile when faced with having to entertain or be with people when you’d like nothing better than to be alone with a cup of tea and a good book. But haven’t you noticed that after the first few minutes of pretending to be pleased about something, and going with the fact that you have to be there, that it sort of becomes fun. And not much longer after that, you are actually having a good time being with friends and talking.

Last year around Christmas time, the buzz was to “pay it forward”. Well it seems that here is a way to pay things forward that don’t cost us a cent. Get up and tell yourself that today you’ll have a great day and be happy. Smile at people, acknowledge that they exist in your world. I’ve found that even the street people appreciate a smile and a hello — even if it’s accompanied by a “sorry, but I’ve donated my quota for today”. (That’s sort of a story for another time — short version, I have a set amount I’ll give out when in the city and after that it’s just a sorry.)

Tell yourself that you’ll make an effort to not let your mood affect other people; that you’ll smile and be relaxed and at ease with friends, family, relatives, and salespersons no matter how much you hate lines, waiting, or how rude they’re being to you. It’s time to try that turn the other cheek thing — just be pleasant. I’m not saying you need to be a comedian or entertain everyone you bump into — just maintain the common courtesies of life — or what used to be the common courtesies before most people forgot the words please, thank you, and have a wonderful day.

I think an effort to pretend to be happier than we are, especially now during the stress of the holidays and the economic downturn, could actually make those around us feel better and help ourselves. And, other studies have shown that happy people handle stress better and make better decisions. So, be selfish and help yourself by being pleasant to those around you.

Today what caught my eye was an article about the Maldives. It seems they can see the writing on the wall, so to speak, and are going to be saving a percentage of the islands’ tourist income towards buying themselves a new homeland.

The problem is global warming. You see most of the islands are only 1.5 meters (a little less than 5 ft) above sea level. So even a small rise in sea surface levels will have a big impact on these people. It’s a small group of islands and they can’t do anything about global climate change. It’s being caused by the major industrialized nations treating the earth as an infinite resource. What they can do is not wait to the last minute to do something for themselves. They don’t want to be refugees living on the kindness of others when the rising sea takes their homes. So, they, unlike many others, are planing ahead for the future.

This brings up the problem that no one is really talking about: the relocation of many people when the seas rise. A rise in sea level is not just vertical, it is also horizontal. A small rise in the sea level coupled with a storm surge can do much more damage to area that ordinarily wouldn’t be touched by a storm.

Where we live we’re 200 feet above sea level.  We’re also quite a ways inland, but we’re not too far from several rivers. If the sea was to rise about 3 feet vertically, we’d probably find ourselves on an island because of the dips and rises in the land about us. Right now all dry but rising sea levels mean rising river levels and that spill over is going to fill the low lying areas creating new topography for many areas near the ocean or on rivers connected to the ocean.

Not as much of a problem as just a few inches will cause for the people of the Maldives but what will the nations of the earth do for the people who can no longer live in their homes because it’s now underwater or under it most of the time. Here in the US, we haven’t done very well helping people out from the hurricanes that struck New Orleans and parts of Texas. People are still recovering. What if they couldn’t ever go back home? What would have happened then?

Contingency plans may be in the works in many government departments, but I tend to doubt that they are — at least not any plans that have a close relationship to reality either before, during, or after a disaster. I think we’ve seen that clearly just watching the news after natural disasters strike.

We need to plan and to think about what global warming means in the short and long term. Things are going to change and we need to adapt and accept that change is going to happen — how can we make it less stressful and more positive for all — even those facing a rising sea?

This morning I came across this article about Honda’s Wearable Walking Device. To use it you sit in the seat, put your feet in the shoes and turn it on.

They seem to be marketing it toward factory workers who have to crouch, stand, crouch, over and over. It helps support the wearer and reduces stress on the knees. It assists in going up and down stairs, helps with standing in lines, making deliveries. Actually, it seems like for people who use their legs and knees all day it would be a great help to reduce the stress and strain.

I began to think when they mentioned stairs that it would be a real boon to those with arthritis who are using canes and can’t do stairs, not because of their knees don’t bend, but because of the stress on the joints. Maybe this device would give enough assistance to give them back their mobility.

Then I realized how vain most people are and looked at the photo again. Until it gets smaller and less obvious, I just can’t see any personal use happening. So, I guess factory workers will get the benefit of the device before people with medical problems — thought maybe if your life is restricted enough a bit of embarrassment over these leggy things sticking out wouldn’t matter. On the other hand, if they were to come in cool colors and finishes…make them cool and use might take off.

This is just another step in developing exoskeletons to help those people relegated to wheel chairs walk unassisted except by their brains and their exoskeleton. Giving people back mobility is a giant step that is slowly, by tiny steps, becoming a reality.

I really hope I’m wrong about the embarrassment factor for individuals for using this device, but I doubt it. Nonetheless, way to go Honda.

Today is one of those grey, blustery day with occasionally spatters of rain. Mostly it’s wind. I went out to check if we’d gotten any packages because I thought I heard a truck. It wasn’t anywhere near as cold out as I thought from the sound of the wind.

Does anyone else associate sounds with weather? For example, living in Maine, I learned that if I woke in the middle of the night and everything was silent as if the world was wrapped in cotton batten or felted wool — that it was probably snowing. Somehow, when it snowed, even the house didn’t make the usually settling creaks and groans during the night.  It was truly a silent night.

I associate strong wind with cold. I know intellectually that it’s not true because the winds was horrendous during the hurricanes here but it was a warm wind even if it was strong enough to knock down trees and push you over. But, never the less, when I’m sitting here typing and I hear the wind howling outside, I hunch up from the cold. I make tea and sit wrapped in an afghan and read (or I would if I wasn’t so busy).

Also, I get migraines when the barometric pressure changes and I’ve had a constant headache for three days now. So, the sounds of the weather outside are louder because I’m sensitive to sound. Tea is doubly good because it helps with the nausea from the headache.

If I could think straight, I’d probably have some pithy statement about the combination of sound, wind, pain, and tea — but for now I just wonder if other people hear the sounds of weather and make assumptions about what’s happening outside.