Randomness

Reflections/A McLaughlin

Notes from all over

Whew! 2026 sure is looking like another shit show. May our prayers for calm and action of positive change come true. Meanwhile, I have bits and pieces to throw at you since my brain has turned to jello. I’m still waiting for inspiration but my patience is wearing thin. Read on and maybe you can be inspired.

Inspiration, a poem

I sit in rapt attention-

for the sound of the muse’s footstep in the hall!

I fret for her arrival, the frisson of wonder she always bring.

How bored I am! How tired I am of my stale voice.

Let her come and take me away from the mundane-

To explore new places, to see behind the curtain of ordinary reality,

Where the sound of a new word is a delight or finding

a grand way to say “I love you”.

I await her to introduce a rugged soldier who regales

with his latest adventure over a pint of ale,

Or presents me to the fairy Queen,

impressed with my observations of her court.

The possibilites are –wanting.

But the phone rings and I glance at the clock,

Reminded of the dull drum of every day life.

How I long for the muse, the best company.

Heisenberg was Right 

There is a law in physics called the Heinsenburg Uncertainty Principle. I’ll spare you the math, but it boils down to, you can never be too certain of a phenomenon you are observing because you affect the phenomenon you are observing. I live by this principle because, let’s face it, one can never be too sure anything. Quantum Mechanics, that studies tiny weensy particles and their behavior is weird and unpredictable. Like the asshole motorist in front of you or where the bad fairies took your other sock. Who knows? But here’s another puzzle, how can we be sure of the measurement of a phenomenon if the measurement device is also affected by the phenomenon? Also, how does consciousness influence the measurement?

I don’t get it but human bias can influence the outcome so can we can kiss objectivity goodbye.

Years ago my uncle Din presented my mom (who related it to me) with a new age Zen Koan, where does electricity from a ground wire go once it goes into the ground? I lost sleep over that and now you can.

How Movies and TV Got Dull

Years ago, before there was the internet, a TV executives complained about the short attention of viewers--which was caused by fast paced ads and style of shows at the time. Now that the internet has given everyone the attention span of a gnat, movie producers are making the same complaint. That’s right, the people that caused this are blaming the viewers. As a result I rarely watch TV. I prefer to pick up a book and get lost for a couple of hours.

These cultural morons are creating-and I use the term loosely, “content” that is repetitive drivel because they wouldn’t recognize an original idea -a dirty word in the biz- if it bit them in the ass. The entertainment business is now run by bean counters who play the stock market or trade in venture capitalism and know nothing about creative arts and think AI can write the next blockbuster song, movie script, and maybe even your next prescription. Human artists are passe. We’re doomed.

The Unaware Self

Self awareness in not as obvious as one may think. It can be a disability in itself. After years of observation, I have come to realize that most people are often unaware of their behavior. The assumption is that someone is acting a given manner on purpose-deliberately. Whether it’s talking too fast or loudly, using annoying mannerisms, dominating a conversation or simply acting “childish”.

I’ll use an exaggeration to illustrate. Suppose you’re with a group and someone blurts out “Thar she blows” for some odd reason, some may ignore it, consider it an odd quirk and what the hey. Most likely no one will say anything to the person because -obviously- they are doing it to be a jerk.

Someone who knows them well enough might confront them later and ask what the hell that was all about like a parent scolding a child. They are an adult, surely they know it was inappropriate. To the offenders utter surprise- they had no idea they were doing something weird and are mortified to discover this.

For the disabled who are acutely sensitive to social behavior-like autism, this risk happens on a daily basis. If you think it’s hard work adjusting to the disabled and their peculiar ways, it’s hard for them too. It’s exhausting to adjust to the normal world-especially little or misread cues to inform them to what is “normal”.

Being aware of our behavior is not a given, instead of reacting with frustration or impatience, try to understand we are all struggling and be kind-someone will do the same for you.