Presuming You’re Not A Busybody With Your Acquaintances, Of Course

Given the option, I prefer to be perfectly on point with just the “right” levels of protectiveness and curiosity.  When that’s not an option (and it frequently isn’t), I’ve decided I’d rather be slightly (emphasis on slightly) overprotective and overcurious than the alternatives.  The tricky part is determining where the lines are, but there are some handy rules of thumb.

For instance, I figure that if you would ask the same question if a casual acquaintance told you their late night ended around eight in the morning that you would if a family member told you the same thing, you’re probably doing okay.

A Little Knowledge Can Be A Ridiculous Thing

George Washington invented instant coffee.  It’s a fact!

(It really is, but it’s also a potentially deceptive one depending on framing and how credulous you are.)

– With thanks and due credit to theoatmeal.com.

Pretty Slick There, Son

“I . . . am going to have oatmeal, but I haven’t had it yet.”

– My six-year-old son’s response to his mother asking him what he had for breakfast right after I had (unbeknownst to him) told her that his first meal of the day had been potato chips.  (Let the record reflect that he did indeed have oatmeal not long after this.)

Lead Into Gold Is Easy By Comparison

The transformative power of love is truly an incredible thing.  For instance, this morning it transformed my thought of “If you don’t stop with the imaginary trumpet noises, I’m going to imagine folding it into sharp corners and shoving it somewhere the sun don’t shine,” into the words, “Good morning to you too, son.”

Something I Began To Suspect Thirty Minutes Before The Movie Ended

“Just watch the first ten minutes of this movie, and if you don’t like it, we can watch something else,” Lala said last night.

This sounded reasonable to me, so I watched the first ten minutes and did indeed enjoy it, so I watched the rest of the movie.

Now if only she had suggested I watch the last ten minutes of the movie, I’d have known not to waste my time . . .

This May Be Too Obscure (And Tacky) To Actually Be Funny, But It’s What I’ve Got For Today

Today I found a dead crumpet stuffed into the back of my refrigerator.  Fortunately for me, it was just a piece of bread because I am neither British nor a comic book character.

Still Weird After All These Years

This bit of news just made me smile:

Experts who exhumed the body of Salvador Dalí to collect samples for use in a paternity claim have revealed that the enigmatic artist’s trademark moustache still graces his face almost three decades after he died.

The Case Just Keeps Getting Stronger

After yesterday’s post about “outrage fetishes,” the word “Hybristophilia” was pointed out to me.  As I told the person who did the pointing out, strictly speaking I was talking about a fetish for outrage itself, not a partner who has committed an outrage, but otherwise . . . yeah, something like that.

Somehow it doesn’t surprise me there’s a term for it.

Maybe It Is

Today I realized that many people’s behavior becomes easily explainable if one presumes that “outrage fetish” is an actual thing . . .

Um . . . Phrasing!

Pokémon Go continues to be a thing around here, so occasionally I find myself being roped into Pokémon hunts.  I’m still okay with this, but some hunts go better than others, of course.

Recently a special Pikachu, one wearing Ash‘s hat, showed up on sightings while we were out, and off we went in search.  The hunt . . . did not go well at first, and both L. and his mother were getting frustrated, until finally L’s Mother exclaimed, “Where is that Ash hat Pikachu?!”