Untitled 1

Untitled 1

Unplanned Plain Bread

The bread maker is mixing the dough. Just set a loaf of bread down to bake an hour ago. On a whim. Just 6 ingredients - bread flour, water, butter, sugar, salt and yeast - all extremes on their own but when together fills an empty stomach and restores some good spirits. Wanted to make bread with herbs and sundried tomatoes actually, but the fridge is filled up. There is no way I'm going to fit that huge bottle of sundried tomatoes in olive oil into the fridge without getting a earful from my mum. So, it's plain bread. Was tempted to throw in some coffee powder for coffee bread but realised I either have not put enough sugar (to balance the bitterness of the coffee) or have put in too much salt (I can't figure how a savoury coffee bread would taste) or both. So, I'll only have a plain loaf. Boring, but still better than nothing.

The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth

Someone asked me to write a testimonial because this someone is leaving the current job for a new one. I've already got the $250 draft in my head. I reckon that's what you pay others to write some sweet little lies for you, if you so need it. I'm now wondering if I should upgrade the draft to something closer to $1000 or downgrade it to something closer to $50. It's always a dilemma writing testimonials. Tell the truth and you put your friendship on the line. Tell a lie and you put your reputation on the line and disadvantage other people. It's always a delicate job to please both sides. You've got to be objective. It must be written to highlight the good yet not forget to remind that the person under review is not without flaws. Furthermore, it must be balanced yet not condemning to the point that all shortcomings are fatal. Got to start drafting the testimonial soon. Does not take me long but it often weighs on my conscience for a while, especially when I write a testimonial that I think has been overly generous. I've never been known to be anything short of generous in my written praises but these praises must carry weight. Otherwise, my testimonials would just be pieces of useless paper carrying my worthless signature.

Money Money Money

Am put in charge of my organisation's website. I've got to conceive, labour and deliver the baby and then keep it alive. And I'm next to computer illiterate (OK, I exaggerate. But I know next to nuts about website design, programming languages, hosting, scripting, web interface standards, yah dah yah dah yah dah...). Now you know my misery. Anyway, I'm just asking for money to solve my problem. Let's hope everything works out.

Polygraph machine

Definition: A polygraph or lie detector is a device which measures and records several physiological variables such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and skin conductivity while a series of questions is being asked, in an attempt to detect lies. A polygraph test is also known as a psychophysiological detection of deception (PDD) examination. Saw how one worked today at a briefing. Quite amazing.

Sex-o-graph Machine?

Now, I can't wait to see a machine that can verify Sigmund Freud's theories on psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud was the first psychoanalyst. Many of his insights into the human mind, which seemed so revolutionary at the turn of the century, are now widely accepted by most schools of psychological thought. Although others before and during his time had begun to recognize the role of unconscious mental activity, Freud was the preeminent pioneer in understanding its importance. Through his extensive work with patients and through his theory building, he showed that factors which influence thought and action exist outside of awareness, that unconscious conflict plays a part in determining both normal and abnormal behavior, and that the past shapes the present. Although his ideas met with antagonism and resistance, Freud believed deeply in the value of his discoveries and rarely simplified or exaggerated them for the sake of popular acceptance. He saw that those who sought to change themselves or others must face realistic difficulties. But he also showed us that, while the dark and blind forces in human nature sometimes seem overwhelming, psychological understanding, by enlarging the realm of reason and responsibility, can make a substantial difference to troubled individuals and even to civilization as a whole.

Building on such ideas and ideals, psychoanalysis has continued to grow and develop as a general theory of human mental functioning, while always maintaining a profound respect for the uniqueness of each individual life. Ferment, change, and new ideas have enriched the field, and psychoanalytic practice has adapted and expanded. But psychoanalysts today still appreciate the persistent power of the irrational in shaping or limiting human lives, and they therefore remain skeptical of the quick cure, the deceptively easy answer, the trendy or sensationalistic. Like Freud, they believe that psychoanalysis is the strongest and most sophisticated tool for obtaining further knowledge of the mind, and that by using this knowledge for greater self-awareness, patients free themselves from incapacitating suffering, and improve and deepen human relationships.

Actually, to cut the long story short, I just hope to see a machine that can prove that everything is driven by SEX.

Election 2005

Met the representatives from the Elections Department today. Yes, the elections are on. Confirm. Surely surely on. Definitely on. Without a doubt on. Take the bets, it's on. And it'll be before 1 Sept 05. Guaranteed on. I can bet you my life, my car, my entire savings that it's on.

It has to be on.

The Presidential Elections are due by 1 Sept 05. Definitely will have an election.

Duh...