Potential

po·ten·tial
adj.

1. Capable of being but not yet in existence; latent: a potential problem.

2. Having possibility, capability, or power.

n.

1. The inherent ability or capacity for growth, development, or coming into being.

2. Something possessing the capacity for growth or development.

3. Physics The work required to move a unit of positive charge, a magnetic pole, or an amount of mass from a reference point to a designated point in a static electric, magnetic, or gravitational field; energy potential .

Let's first talk about energy potential. This is the physicist in me speaking. Energy potential can be increased by simply walking up a flight of stairs. The higher you get, the more you increase your gravitational potential. This means, if you happen to fall down the stairs (which happens to me quite often) you will generate more energy if you fall from the top step than if you trip and fall at ground level.

Eat a bag of chips to increase your internal chemical potential. Eat many bags of chips to further increase your gravitational potential (If you were really keen you could eat chips while walking up stairs, but the exercise may negate the weight gain so walk nice and slow).

You could rub a balloon on your head or eat the magnets off your fridge to increase your electric potential energy (Please note, the latter is not advised).

Economic potential is another category we could talk about. Statistically the income of your parents has a linear relationship with your economic potential. I'm not going to tell you not to strive to be the next CEO of Coca~Cola if you grew up in a trailer park, but it sure helps if you're from the Hamptons.

You could increase your economic potential through education. However, it seems that everyone has jumped onto the "Bachelor" ship and the significance of a four year degree is sinking.

                              

I'd like to note that the graph above isn't based on any data, just my personal estimation. And the "college" degree I'm referring to is <4 years. AND this could be wrong if you get into a trade that is in high demand. In addition, the numbers do not apply if you return to your former job flipping burgers directly after you graduate.

The final potential I'd like you to consider is the potential to do good. It's harder to pin down an exact trend to determine a person's potential to go good.

Logically you would think that the potential to do good increases with your annual net profit. However, this is not always true. There are some people like Angelina Jolie that will go out and adopt a baseball team of undreprivileged ethic children. Some contributions are less visual. People like Bill Gates and Donald Trump will start a charity, or donate millions to others.

Personally I can't expect to do either. Firstly I can't handle young children. Secondly I'm not a billionaire. But maybe we could measure this potential as time. How many years have you worked in a soup kitchen, or how many times have you held a door open? Maybe it's a proportion. How much you give versus how much you have.  I met a man that sold everything, bought an old school bus, and toured USA feeding homeless people. I've also met people that have never said "Gesundheit" to a stranger.

So my dear reader, what is your potential?

I'd also like to wish my father good luck as he ventures to Thailand in hopes to do some good. Soon he will be at Isara, a foundation in Thailand working to improve education, the environment, and generally do good things. Click the link to read more. 

 Here is Josh, the Reader of the Month for February! Thanks for always being yourself.

First World Problems

"First World Problems" is a meme that caught my eye and made me think a little. There are pictures usually depicting a caucasian male or female crying and have text on them such as "McDonald's doesn't deliver" or "I left the remote on the other side of the room".

 For instance:

So this spurred me to think of problems I have in my daily life that really wouldn't be a problem if I wasn't so privledged.


Printing double sided is hard- I always try to print on both sides of the paper to save the environment, but every time I use a printer I spend a few minutes trying to think "this is the front of the paper... so this will have to go face-down..." ect. And almost 50% of the time I still muck it up and have to use more paper than I had originally had anticipated. Damn.

Toilet paper is rolled wrong direction- Yep. It's the silliest pet peeve but I always have to fix it whenever I see this.  (Even if it's not my house) 

 

I read once that you typically use less paper when it's rolled the correct way, and this makes sense to me. To tear it with one hand you generally have to tear it one square further when it's rolled the incorrect way. If you want to challenge me on this, I've prepared a lengthy debate. 

I missed the bus- Yeah this one really sucks. But honestly, the fact that I have good sturdy shoes on my feet and a solid diet should mean that I can withstand a much longer walk than a less equiped human. I guess I'm just a wimp. 

The waiting room at the clinic takes too long. - Wait. Damn. Did I just complain about my free health care? Sorry about that. 

My internet is too slow- The average cell phone has more computing power than the room-sized computers of the 1960's. And I'm complaining that my tiny (by comparison) laptop can't load a youtube video? Man.Perspective is a kick in the pants. 

My class is boring- Sometimes it's really hard to pay attention in class because of the nasaly voice of the professor, the classroom being too warm, or the class being scheduled too late/early in the day. I snap back to reality when I realize how lucky I am to even have a seat in that class. Skipping classes is totally out of the question. 

 

Addendum:

Brian qualified as the Reader of the Month for January! Thanks for getting me hooked on reddit! -_-

Socially Networked

So I made a "tumblr". I had to check three times to tell if I was spelling it correctly.
Basically I threw up some art (drawings, sketches and paintings) that have been stored on my computer and are now free for the viewing public. I figure I might as well put out as much spam into the internet void as I can before the SOPA or ACTA or whatever copyright legislation closes down the internet.

Anyways if you want to follow me on tumblr you can find the site at: http://somethingonceforgotten.tumblr.com/

(I'm real creative eh?)
 

Also it appears that my twitter has been twatting all of my posts to tumblr, so if you haven't already you can follow me on twitter here for posts about the tumblr and the blog.

Friends Forever!

AND for those of you who aren't in the loop with twitter or tumblr there's the good old Facebook page here.

Gosh I'm so into these social networking sites... maybe now I can make some real friends! Not that my old friends aren't great, they just get a little...stuffy.

Hah. Hah. Pardon the pun.

BAM. Meet Reader of the Month for December, Jesse the Tortoise Jockey.

Thanks for tweeting me today!

Avoid Ferris Wheels

I had a weird dream the other night.

I was with my sister, Shelly, looking for a bunch of dice. Now, I need to make a horrible confession. At one point in my life, for only a few months, I played dungeons and dragons. No I'm not proud.

Anyways we were looking for these D+D dice, which are multicoloured, and there are many shapes and sizes. I went out on the back porch of my father's house (which is strange because we tore down that porch about 10 years ago) and found some dice in a ceramic pot half filled with rain water. I showed my sister and she exclaimed that this was only half of the collection and that we needed to find the purple velvet bag filled with dice.


It was distressing. We searched everywhere. Eventually we gave up and went to a theme park by the ocean....mixed with Niagara Falls.

There was a terrifying roller coaster that we went on. It was a log boat ride like the one they have at Wonderland, but it was on Niagara Falls (the actual waterfall). We floated along, barely restrained by one flimsy lap bar, and gradually picked up speed. We were racing by the time we came to the very edge of the falls... and the boat's nose started to tip over the edge....and we heard a loud CLUNK!!!! A chain held us at a specified distance from the dock, which was precisely the distance required to leave us hanging at a 45 degree angle on the edge of the cliff. A motor whirred to life and began cranking us backwards against the current until we arrived safely at the dock again.

After that bone chilling ride we decided to pick a safer one. The ferris wheel looked pretty peaceful, although it was dangerously close to a cliff and looked like it could fall into the ocean with a slight breeze. My sister and I were loaded into the bucket seat and the ferris wheel started turning. When we got to the top of the ride, Shelly suddenly found the velvet bag in her pocket....and dropped it into the ocean.

We watched it sink and we became aware that the ferris wheel wasn't moving anymore. We heard the sound of metal grinding on metal... and then... we were falling. The bucket seat had dropped out from the wheel structure! We plummeted to the ocean at a mind-numbing speed... and just as we were about to hit the foamy waves below I felt a blast of heat and felt the sensation of my back adhering to the backrest.

The bucketseat...was... a rocketship? And we flew off into the sunset...


 Also I haven't named a Reader of the Month for November, so I belatedly nominate Joel, who helped me critique Skyrim for my last post. Thanks Joel!

Chimera

It's been awhile since I blogged on any sort of regular schedule. These days blogging is more of a procrastination from my normal life. 

Anyways, I haven't done a "reader of the week" in ages. 

SO!! The reader of the MONTH is.....

*drum roll*

Laura!

I had a bit of a hard time piecing together what she really looks like from her many Facebook profile pictures, but I think I have captured her pretty well :D

SICK

 I just got home from Nicaragua.

My month long stint was amazing. We worked with kids, teaching them English and learning Spanish in return, and we volunteered at Project Bonafide.

One day in particular was very memorable.

I spent one entire day entirely bed-ridden, sick with some sort of flu.

I woke early in the morning before the sun has risen. My stomach hurt something fierce and it seemed... swollen.

When I pressed on my gut, I suddenly realized.....I need to get to the bathroom ASAP.

Now, in Nicaragua at our homestay in the village of Balgue the word "bathroom" is very loosely used. What you may consider a bathroom would include porcelain facilities, silver faucets and fluffy towels.

This was very much not the case.

The "bathroom" was located outside of the house and consisted of a shabby outhouse containing a rough cube of cement with a hole in which to do your business. The baby goat accompaniment comes complimentary.

I grabbed my flashlight and hurried out to the bathroom, clutching my stomach. 

I tore open the door, sat down, and...well.... I'll spare you the gorey details. 

What I will tell you instead is that I felt like a Mr.Freeze (you know those sweet frozen treats) that someone grabbed around the middle and squeezed until both ends burst simultaneously.

And really, in this "bathroom" there were no such facilities to accommodate both ends of me erupting at the same time.

During my first visit I was able to clamp my hand over my mouth long enough, my cheeks expanded to their maximum with vomit which caused me to want to vomit even more.

I managed to walk back to my bedroom and pass out for an hour or so....

My second visit was not so successful. I attempted the first technique of clamping my mouth shut and instead vomited into my hands. I sat for a full minute with liquid seeping between my fingers until I decided to just drop it on the floor.

This time on my return trip the family had woken up and I had to tearfully explain in broken Spanish and gesturing that I had blown chunks all over their bathroom floor.

I slept for a few more hours, waking in between to swallow some water and gastrolyte...and a few nibbles from a granola bar. I woke with a start around 1:00 and rushed outside again, startling the very fat pig into running away.

During my third excursion I was DETERMINED not to dirty their freshly cleaned floor again.

I firmly welded my hand to my mouth, and managed to vomit forcefully (and painfully) through my nose. It splattered all over the wall, and in my gasp of horror I let loose the rest of my snack.

Now let me tell you for the record, it is absolutely NOT a good idea to vomit through your nose. If you've ever experienced the bad breath that accompanies being violently sick you would not want that smell any closer to your nose (nevermind THROUGH it).

By the end of the day I was able to force down some chicken noodle soup ( my host family made it especially because of my sickness) and I managed to survive to work again the next day.

Safely back in Canada!

AND of course it is FRIDAY. This week's Constant Reader is Chad, who sent me an encouraging message about the blog while I was away.

Thanks so much Chad, I love getting feedback!

Remember y'all that I pick a Constant Reader once a week based on people that comment, LIKE, FOLLOW, or message me about the blog.

Popularity

I get really excited every day to check how many hits my blog has.

My favourite thing to check is this graph. I especially like seeing it peak when I posted something new, which tells me that people are here, (hopefully reading) due to my constant advertising and word-of-mouth. I may be addicted to this little graph.

Also I am super happy to announce that I am finally over the 1000 mark!

Right now I'm probably ankle deep in a Nicaraguan field, thinking about how many hits I've gotten in my absence. I'm guessing by the time I get back it will be roughly 1500, so thanks for visiting and helping me get up there.

I don't think I will ever have enough popularity to actually profit from this blog. There is a way I can put adds on the page, but I only get paid if people actually click them. And really, If you guys are anything like me, it would be a waste of time.

I look up to Allie, author of Hyperbole and a Half. She writes blogs with funny pictures, so you might think I'm copying her.


Okay I might be slightly copying her, but it really merges two things I enjoy so....

So anyways I have decided that my measurement of popularity is having fans that I don't personally know. Therefore, I picked this week's Reader of the Week to be someone entirely new. (See? Equal opportunities!)




The Reader of the Week is Olivia. She is one of the first people to LIKE us on Facebook. Hope you can forgive me for borrowing you profile picture, but hope you will spread the word about my humble blog! :)


Look forward to a brand NEW blog NEXT Friday about my awesome travels!

And please forgive the lack of pictures in this one, I wrote it while packing.

Music

I think I was born into the wrong era. Musically at least.
 
I would give my left nut to go to Woodstock.  Figuratively speaking. (I wouldn't actually give away a testicle for any reason)

I like music that you can hear the instruments, and they take some sort of talent to play.

For instance, drums. Any idiot with an index finger can turn on a beat machine but it takes some real talent to play the drums. They are the least appreciated of the musicians (case and point, Ringo Star) but they keep the beat, set the tone, and are frankly the loudest of the whole band.

Then the guitar. There have been some influential guitarists in my life, and each have their own style. For instance Carlos Santana with his soulful melodies. His song Europa (Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile) brings me to tears without a single word.



I'm not against any sort of music in particular, but I prefer the true form as opposed to the auto-tuned and synthetic music. However, when the mood hits me, I do love dancing to it at the bar. Somehow power ballads just don't have the right beat for grinding.







This week's Reader of the Week is Emily, who started me on this blog and has left the most comments! She also has a great blog of her own here.

Also Happy 20th post!

Movies

 I go to the movies an awful lot.

This is mostly because there is nothing else to do in my one-horse town.I literally see every movie that comes to theaters worth watching, as long as I'm home.

Here's the low down on the last few movies I've seen.

Water For Elephants

The title for this movie is kind of ironic, seeing as the poor elephant drinks more hooch than water.

It's mostly about romance conquering all, peppered with animal rights issues and Robert Pattinson getting his ass kicked (if you're not a Twilight fan, it is worth is just to see these scenes).

 Rio

This is a typical kids movie, brought to you by the makers of Ice Age. Personally I'm a die hard fan of Scrat, and much to my enjoyment they added a quick clip involving Scrat and Pangea. Ahhh <3

So it's about a flightless bird, brought to Rio to "save the species". Much about actual genetics is ignored and the fact that when a species gets down to two individuals the bottleneck effect due to inbreeding results in extinction anyways....... but something with a nice happy (dumbed down) ending.  

Scream 4 (SCRE4M?)

 Word to the wise: If you're going to see a sequel, see at LEAST the most recent movie before this. I've only seen the first Scream movie in the trilogy (now a guadrology?). The first movie came out in 1996. No. I didn't see it because I was a toddler! The only way I actually knew anything about Scream was from the parody in Scary Movie.

But really, it's been eleven years since the last Scream movie. They were already marketing it as a boxed set "trilogy". They knew that horse was dead, and yet they still propped it up and dressed it like a whore.

Not really a "horror" movie, but some awful gory scenes. The worst part was knowing that everyone was going to die, you just didn't know when.

HANNA

Spoiler alert! It begins and ends with this tacky red screen with annoying font. It reminds me of when my dad taught me an optical illusion. It you were to draw this out, then put your chin on the paper and squint, the letters would appear normal, instead of thin and elongated.

The movie was good, the ending was.... well I'm still not entirely sure it ended. In a way they HAD to flash that bright red screen to show you that the movie was over and you could leave your seats. For the quality of the movie (and it was GOOD) the ending was weak. Of all of the movies, I would recommend this one the most.         

This week's Reader of the Week is Jenna, who drunkenly confessed to REALLY REALLY wanting to be the reader of the week.

Also I saw one two these movies with her, any guesses which ones?

Nicaragua

So I'm leaving tomorrow morning bright and early to go for orientation.

We fly to Miami on Monday at 6am, and then catch a connecting flight to Managua. We'll be on the island of Ometepe, then a week in Granada, and another week in Leon. It's a total of four weeks long.

SO as you might guess, I won't be able to post for awhile. I also won't have Facebook, a cell phone, or internet access. This is hopefully going to be a life changing experience to open my eyes about volunteering in a new country.


HOWEVER! I have made a reader of the week posting for the next four weeks (May 6, 13, 20 and 27th) . There will be a new posting every Friday so make sure to check back!

I will return to Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule starting June 3rd. 

This week's Reader of the Week is Michael, who has hopefully recovered from his awful cold.

Bad Luck

Some days I have colossally bad luck.

Today was no exception. 

I went out to the farm today, and stopped in at my fav fast food joint after about an hour of driving. 

And who do I run into? The guy that's broken my heart ohhh.... let's say.... a billion times. And I wish I could tell you he came in looking something like this.

But no. With my luck he waltzes in with his brand new uniform, looking polished, professional.... and damn.... I think I've mentioned my thing for uniforms....(here)

He tried to hug me, I shoved him off......annnnddd cried silently in the car for the rest of the drive.

So I get to the farm, ready to test drive the new horse (an ex race horse now to be used for breeding). I brush her down, and she's really sweet. She even let my clean her hooves and waited patiently to be tacked up.

 

Then we got the saddle on her....

 

But after a few rounds on the lunge line she settled down and was just peachy.

 

I mounted up and rode her down the corn field, and we came to a small ditch, only an inch or two wide. 

 She stopped.

She snorted.

She sniffed.

She tried to turn around.


I held her in place.

Then, it's almost like she suddenly realized her donkey lineage.... or she decided to be an ass. 

 And then.....

 I held on for dear life, deeply regretting not bringing my helmet. I calmed her down and walked back to the barn.

 She was fine. I continued to ride her for an hour, even moving up to a trot with no negative consequences. So I moved it up a notch.

Cantering.

She went fine on a short stretch of lane leading away from the barn. But when I turned her around to show off.....

Turns out she snapped her bridle, and pulling on the bit had become futile. She charged to the barn like the racehorse she was bred to be. 

I managed to get her cornered and she came to a dead halt. We fixed up the bridle, and, still shaking, I took her for a cool-down walk. Down the corn field. Back to the ditch.

This time I held her there, gently urging her forward, quietly calming her.

It was a repeat of the first time, except my reins snapped. 

She tried to bolt to the barn again, and I held on doggedly to the remaining rein, turning her in a tight circle.

When she calmed down enough to halt, I threaded the broken leather strap through the bit then quietly slipped out of the saddle.

"We are WALKING home" I said to her. 

Can't wait to ride her again though.

If I can still walk tomorrow, that is.

AND the reader of the week is Len, who read Internet this week and totally helped me solve my computer problems! Thanks Len! :D