A Special Day

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

The Many Worlds Dilemma

The Many Worlds Dilemma

If

            the "Many Worlds Hypothesis" is true,

Then

            there are many different parallel Universes that are populated

            with many slightly different versions of yourself -- your doppelgangers.

                         In one Universe, you are the King of a Great Country.

                         In another, you are a mystic saint, and in another a hunted criminal.

                         In some Universes you are already dead, or never born.

                                          In others, you are just an ordinary person.

Question:

If so, then how is it that THIS is the Universe you find yourself in?

~

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

Getting Sleepy

(You are getting very sleepy...)

Kava Kava
Melatonin
Big Green Olives (stuffed with little red pimentos)

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

Why be Thankful?

Why be Thankful?

By William Schaeffer

While taking a course on Information Theory the following factoid was presented:  “We tend to remember negative information more than positive information.”  In other words, a negative experience, or mishap, will be remembered much more “importantly” than a positive or neutral experience.   We give more “weight” (or value) to negative information than we give to positive or neutral information.

There are some good reasons for this.  The human mind is designed to perform optimally, not perfectly.  Being limited by space and processing speed, the mind has evolved algorithms of thought and information processing that it will use to perform with best possible results in a variety of conditions.

If we have a dangerous, or life threatening, experience then we will remember it vividly and we will seek to avoid that situation again.  This has profound evolutionary consequences, because it will help prevent us from an early death, or other misfortune.  Unfortunately, the success of this information processing shortcut, can cause other dilemmas.

Optical Illusions are a good example of how this method can fail.  Optical illusions are a result of “visual processing optimizations” that work perfectly in most situations, but in these unique cases, the mind cannot resolve the data.  The optical illusion highlights a “visual processing shortcut” that failed to work properly in a highly specialized situation.

With Information Processing in the mind, it seems that a similar phenomenon is at work.  Negative information is given an inordinate amount of importance.  If we have one bad experience, we tend to avoid the situation where the bad experience occurred.  In relationships, for example, if we have nine neutral interactions and one negative interaction, the relationship will tend to be influenced most strongly by the negative memory.  The result of this is that: over time we just remember the bad things about people and tend to forget the good qualities or memories.  THIS is one reason why office politics are so bitter and neighborhood rivalries are so poisonous.

Over time we grow to hate the people that we are in constant contact with.  We lose our childhood friendships, our family experience becomes bitter, we hate our coworkers and we despise our neighbors.  This is a universal human experience that is a result of the ordinary workings of our memory optimization.  This is a natural process of the ordinary working of the normal human mind.

There is nothing that we can do about this it seems.  This is the way a normal healthy brain operates.

~

However, we can “game the system”  Knowing that the brain tends to forget positive experience and give precedence to negative experiences, we can consciously program positive information into our memory to give ourselves a more accurate vision of our real experience.  We do this by “being thankful.”

The process of consciously recalling positive experiences and positive valuations can help ameliorate the negative consequences of our ordinary mental processing.  By consciously noting and reminding ourselves that these situations, people, relationships, and environments have positive and “good” qualities, gives us a memory that is more balanced with “reality.”   Over time, these thankful thoughts, and realizations, help counteract the natural human tendency to give inordinate precedence to negative information and slowly forget positive qualities.

This universal human cultural tradition of being thankful and remembering to be “thankful for our blessings”  helps refresh our memory and preserves in our mind some of the other equally important qualities of life.

This is one reason why we have “Thanksgiving Festivals”, celebrations, days of remembering, and other established cultural traditions.   These are way of preserving and enhancing positive memories and positive evaluations of the people, environments and situations in our lives.  We need to be thankful, just to stay balanced, and happy.

Copyright©2015

William Schaeffer

Economic Theory

Food 

Shelter

Gasoline

~

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

A Full Head of Hair

I am 57 and still have a pretty full head of hair.  I do not have much of a receding hair line or even much gray hair.

When getting my hair cut and styled for a popular crime show, I was surprised at the amount of abuse my hair sustained, while it was being manipulated by the stylist.  She used a little round styling brush and continually pulled the hair out from my head while twisting the brush.  I could feel the hair stretching and could hear the hair snapping when it broke. Then after an interminable amount of this activity, she sprayed my hair with a strong poisonous smelling hair spray.  I looked great.

~

However, on further reflection, I realize that I rarely abuse my hair this way -- ever.  I wash my hair with baby shampoo and don’t even wash my hair every time I take a shower.  Sometimes I just rinse my hair with water.  I comb my hair once when wet and rarely comb it again.  For many years, I never even combed my hair after washing, and just let it go wild.  I don’t use a hair dryer.  I don’t use a brush.  I don’t use hair coloring.  I don't "perm" or straighten my hair.  I don’t use hair spray.  I don’t use styling gel except very rarely.   I don’t fuss with my hair throughout the day.

The aerosol can of hair spray seems particularly toxic to me.  It smells like strong chemical poison and I cannot believe it is not dangerous.   I wonder if it coats the inside of your lungs like it coats your hair?  I wonder if the use of hair spray over time slowly kills the scalp and hair follicles with poisonous toxicity, until they prematurely turn gray and die.

~

The use of brushing was popular before detergent existed.  Detergent was invented in Germany during World War I.  Prior to that time, people used soap to wash their hair and over time a soap film developed on the hair.  Young women were instructed to brush their hair fifty times a day to remove this soap film and restore the natural sheen to their hair.  Since the use of detergent for washing hair, we do not need to brush our hair as detergent leaves no residue on the hair. 

The use of excessive brushing and combing will snap hair shafts and cause unnecessary mechanical strain on the hair.  This cannot help but shorten the hair life and cause split ends.

Perhaps, my inadvertent tonsorial laziness has resulted in my maintaining a full head of hair?  Maybe my lack of “over concern” about the appearance of my hair, beyond sanitation and conformity, has resulted in me retaining a full head of hair for longer than average?

It is not possible to know, but the thought is amusing to me.  My father always had a full head of hair, so there is probably some genetic component to my good luck.

I shared this concept with my barber and he laughed.  “You might be on to something,” he said.  “Your hair IS pretty good and you do not even have much gray. That is a funny idea. If you are lazy and don't blow dry, or chemically treat your scalp, your hair lasts longer.”

We could even extract a generalized lesson from this analysis:

“Maybe if we left things alone, and let them develop naturally, they would last longer and be healthier."   Then we would enjoy them even more than if we were constantly trying to fix them or make them better.

Funny -- I was going to have someone help proofread this essay before printing it, but on second thought now, maybe I'll just leave it alone…

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

Burning Man boot camp

If you read the "Dune" series by Frank Herbert, you will be familiar with this concept:

"Burning Man is the new age boot camp to help train the unwilling children of the coming Apocalypse and ten thousand year dark age."

I had this idea in 1999 while looking around the camp.   When society falls away and the next "ten thousand year dark age" begins, those who have some camping training and experiment in social organization will be more likely to survive.



Like the story where the Dune planet Arrakis will be returned to a desert and the descendants of the original inhabitants will be forced to relearn their ancient culture; planet Earth will return to it's primordial state in the coming "Apocalypse and ten thousand year dark age."    Humanity will be forced to survive in a tropical jungle and desert wasteland, of a newly hostile planet if they hope to survive.

Dramatic concept and difficult to believe, but interesting nonetheless...

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

Poem #2

Rhinoceros

Guidance Control

Water Pump

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

Poem #1

Elephant

Jet Spray

Handkerchief

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

Success Checklist

"First things first"

~

Copyright(c) 2015

William Schaeffer

All that matters

"All that matters is the performance." - Mr. Atwater

copyright(c) 2015

William Schaeffer

Cybernetic Life

The Cybernetic Life

Dietary Fiber

Antioxidant Vitamin
Only Drink Water

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

R.I.P. Virginia Schaeffer 1934 - 2014

One year ago today, on August 10, 2014 my mother died.  After a long battle with Alzheimer's she finally passed away.  I had not seen her in four years.  I was unemployed since the "Great Recession" and had no money, but I called her three or four times a week on the phone for many years.   I called on the telephone that morning and my brother answered the phone.  He wouldn't let me speak with her because she apparently was in a coma.  Later that day, he called me and informed me that she had died.

This was the same day that Robin Williams died.

I spent the day making art work.  I painted a painting just for my mother called "The Undiscovered Country"   It is acrylic paint and glitter glue on canvas board and is an abstract landscape.   I also made a number of clip art postcards.  In the succeeding days, and months, I have made many new clip art collages and fake cell phone tarot cards.

That same day, I got in a fight with my neighbor Scott.  He had a cute little dachshund named Virgil that I really liked.  I thought we were friends, but he sent me an "unkind" email that same day and we never really spoke again.   He has since moved out, and I miss seeing his little dog Virgil.  Virgil was a friendly little bighearted dog.

I had a hernia at the time and was waiting for surgery.  I could not move or travel much so I missed the funeral.  I waited over six weeks for surgery and finally had surgery on September 11, 2014.

Towards the end of the day, I felt I should tell my other brother about our mother's death.  Since I can't call him on the phone, I sent a postcard informing him of the death and mailed it first thing the next morning.  It must have arrived on time, because I heard that he attended the funeral.

R.I.P. Virginia Helen (Snyder) Schaeffer 1934-2014

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

Success and Failure

"You are neither a success or a failure until the end of your life." - Mr. Atwater


"Nobody knows what the future will bring." - Mr. Atwater



If you are presently in a difficult position and you are not proud of the behavior and circumstances that brought you to this point -- take heart.  You can still change your behavior in the present and in the future.  You may find a way to compensate all the harm you have done and then create a legacy that you would be proud of.

If you are presently in a comfortable and happy position -- be careful.   That may all be taken from you at any moment; due to your own short comings; or circumstances totally beyond your control.   Either way, it is not certain that your good fortune will last.  Be cautious in your arrogance and careful in your disdain.   You may have been the recipient of temporary good fortune that you do not deserve.   In the end, it may all be taken away from you; and all of history will laugh at your foolishness.


Therefore, don't worry about success or failure, since their appearance is in other's minds and ultimately beyond your control.  Concern yourself with ethics, philosophy, wisdom, and healthy, honest living.   If you are making the wisest, most compassionate and best choices given the data you have -- then even if you fail miserably, you will be confident that you have met the challenge as best as possible (with no second guessing).  You have nothing to worry about.   You will have conducted yourself with honor.


Choose your own behavior with hope for a desired outcome and then, "just relax and enjoy the ride."

Success is relative, but ethical behavior is absolute.

copyright(c) 2015

William Schaeffer

Acting Poem

Infant

Schoolboy

Lover

Soldier

Middle-aged judge

Old man

Ocean

Sunset

Rose

Mountain range

Aeroplane

Actor

Radio

Church

Wayside Inn

Statue

Island

Animal

Boat

Kingdom come

~

(poem derived from a set of acting instructions in the book "Modern Acting: A Manual" by Rosenstein, Haydon, Sparrow, Samuel French 1953)

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

Wisdom of not paying attention

If you walk while carrying a cup of liquid, you are more likely to spill the liquid -- if you watch the surface; than if you just walk and carry the cup without watching the surface of the liquid.

Do an experiment yourself.  Fill a cup with liquid and then try and carry it to a destination that is a good distance away.  First, just walk.   Second return to the starting point and conscientiously watch the surface of the liquid, while you walk.  Don't actually "try" to do anything just walk and constantly monitor the surface of the liquid with your eyesight.

Most likely, you will be unable to carry the liquid without spilling if you watch the liquid surface while you walk.

~

Recently, I found that I can tie a tie more accurately, with better length if I do not look in a mirror while I am tying the tie.   If I just stand there and tie the necktie, and then check it, it is more likely to be the correct length front and back.

Sometimes things work out better when we don't pay as much attention...

~

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer

Greetings from Butte, Montana

Yesterday, after days of personal debate, I finally convinced myself to go to the Good Will Outlet store in Glendale.  At fifty cents a book -- is not possible to buy books at a lower price anywhere else in Los Angeles.  And you CAN find some very good, interesting, or rare books.

The day before, I had left my car lights "on" and the battery was run out.  My car needed a "jump."   I called the five people I knew that owned a car.  They were all busy.   I went back outside and asked a few people on the street with not much success, or interest.   The sun was HOT and it was over 90 degrees.   Then I put up the trunk and the hood and stood back in the shade.   Cars just drove by.  Finally one woman with a van filled with kids slowed down.  I motioned for her to pull over and then I asked for a jump.  Surprisingly she said ok and asked if I had cables.  I did and five minutes later, my car was running and I was disconnecting the cables.  I told her she could have the parking space and she said that she just stopped to help.   I thanked her and she drove away.

Since I needed to drive my car to recharge my car battery, I drove to the Goodwill Outlet store.  The book selection was disappointing, but I found a few selections.

I bought six books for $3. One of those books was "The Tragedy of Man" - an old melodrama script.  Another was "Modern Acting: A Manual" published in 1953.

Later that night, I lay down on the bed and read the book on acting.   Then, I got up to get ready for sleep.  After standing up and turning back around, I found this postcard laying on the bed that must have fallen out of the book.

copyright (c) 2015

William Schaeffer

Eight Days a Week ?

The Ancient Babylonians, who invented and perfected astronomy, had a calendar with a five day week. Presumably, one day a week was taken as a break.  If so, the Babylonians had 73 days off and  worked 292 days a year.

The Babylonians invented the base 60 number system and the practice of having 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour.   They also invented the practice of assigning 360 degrees to a circle.

~

Later the Egyptians developed a solar calendar that had six day weeks.  The Egyptian year had twelve months of thirty days.   Each month had five six day weeks.   At the end of the year, five (or six) days were added to make the calendar match the movement of the sun.  These days were considered unlucky.

If the Egyptians also took a day off each week to rest, they would have fewer days off during the year than the Babylonians, because their work week had one more day in it.  The Egyptians would be working for 12 more days every year than the Babylonians, even though they both got a break of one day a week.  The Babylonians have 73 days off and the Egyptians have 61.
 

~

Later, it was a common belief that held that God created the world in seven days, so we had a seven day calendar week.   Since he rested on the seventh day, we now are commended to do so also.  However, when we now take one day off a week, we have even fewer days off in a year than either the Babylonians OR the Egyptians, because our work week is even longer with seven days.  We have 52 days off, which is 9 fewer days off every year than the Egyptians and 21 fewer days off than the Babylonians. We are compelled to work 313 total days every year; which is more than either of Babylonians OR the Egyptians.  And they call this progress?

~

In the 1960's the popular singing group The Beatles wrote a song called "Eight Days a Week" and we thought they were kidding.  If past trends continue, this might be the new calendar feature of the future.  If our calendar HAD eight days a week, we would get even fewer days off each year than we do now.   However, with an eight day week, it would be much easier to schedule shifts, and easier to make work assignments, than with the present seven day week.  Eight day weeks correspond to computer data better, with the number eight being two cubed, or 2 x 2 x 2.  Both of these features must be attractive to accountants, investors, managers, and data base programming teams of the future.

Don't be surprised if you hear of people seriously proposing eight day weeks for the worker of the future.  We already have Four Day Tire store and other "Four Day only" businesses.   If so, we will then only get 46 days a year off and be compelled to work 319 total days every year.

~

During the French Revolution, decimal measurements were adopted that unified the measuring standards of Continental Europe and eventually the world (except for the United States).  During that event, this new Metric System was adopted for the measurement of volume, distance, weight, but not time.  The revolutionaries wanted to establish a decimal time also; with 100 second minutes and 100 minute hours and ten hour days and ten day weeks, but they were stopped by The Church.  "There could NOT be ten day weeks, because God created the world in seven days," it was reasoned.  The argument was irrefutable and the traditional method of measuring time persisted, even though all other measurements became decimal measurements in the Metric System.

Maybe French bankers were behind this idea, because if Ten Day Weeks were adopted, the worker would only get 36 days a year off of work; half the time off of his Babylonian counterpart.

~

One of the Mayan Calendars has weeks of thirteen days.   This Calendar is their spiritual calendar and has 20 months (or weeks) of thirteen days each.  The total length of this "year" is 260 days.  The Mayans also use a Secular Calendar of 365 days in their traditional calendar dating system.  Presumably, since this is a spiritual calendar, there are no weekends.

~ 

In the Bahai Faith, there is a calendar with 19 day weeks.  Every 19 days there is a ceremony and a dinner.  There are 19 months (or weeks) of 19 days and this makes a year of 361 days plus four (or five) intercalculary days.

~

  

The ancient Romans had no concept of a "week" in their original calendar.   They only had months and certain feast days.   Their months were alternately 29 or 31 days long because they held the "even number" to be unlucky.  Curiously, the fifteenth and seventeenth of the month were held to be unlucky days and little business was conducted then.   

When Julius Caesar was Ruler, he standardized the Roman calendar and adopted the Egyptian system of months.  Since the Romans held that "even numbers" were unlucky, they added days to certain months to make these months more auspicious by having an "odd number" of days.

~

So we can see that in the course of Human history, there have been many popular ways to organize the days into weeks and months.  It is difficult to say which system is best, but the variety is amusing to think about.   Unfortunately, it seems that the only end result is that we all inevitably work longer hours for less money while someone else tells us things are continually getting better.  I am not sure what the answer is, but I do know that if we are lucky enough to get a day off, we had better figure out how to enjoy it!

~

This is a Universal Calendar overlay that I created for fame and fortune.   To tell your fortune, simply overlay this graphic on the calendar month of your choice.  The associated symbol is representative of your fortune for that day.  It is amazing how enlightening and inspiring this practice can be.

Universal Calendar

copyright(c) 2015

William Schaeffer

Coffee Facts

Drinking coffee reduces the risk of Alzheimers

Coffee contains anti-oxidents 

Coffee is the most popular beverage on earth

Coffee contains Vitamins B2, B3, B5

Caffeine improves athletic performance

Drinking coffee helps prevent liver damage

Drinking coffee improves mood

There are two types of coffee bean: Aribica and Robusta

A coffee plant can live up to 200 years

copyright(c)2015

William Schaeffer