Random Thoughts vol. 2

I took this picture in a kid's "Discovery Museum" while we were on vacation. The timing perfectly captured the most incredibly disgusted look I think a toddler can muster. So I felt like making it into a meme. And before you say it, I know, I know, my meme is bad and I should feel bad. I can promise you I do.

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Today while feeding my kid dinner we played a game he often likes to play where he says "SMELL!?" from his high chair and points at the spice rack and I dutifully bring down spices one by one for him to sniff. He has taken a liking to regular old black pepper, and will often point to his tray indicating to me that he would like me to pour some out onto his food. As this is fairly normal seasoning practice in the USA, I generally oblige. However, today he made the same request after smelling curry powder whilst eating an apple. I asked him if he was sure he knew what he was requesting, and upon receiving an enthusiastic reply in the affirmative I proceeded to spice the apple he was eating with curry powder. He absolutely devoured the freshly seasoned fruit. I am still a little disturbed by what I saw. But he might be a genius? @letsgetquirky, I would like to submit an entry on behalf of my son: curry on apples.

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Today I also joined what is possibly the polar opposite kind of social network from Steemit. It is called Nextdoor, and it bills itself as a social network for your neighborhood. I guess my thinking was that I could get plugged in to the local goings-on and whatnot. Maybe join a knitting circle or find someone who will unclog my shower drain. Anyway, I quickly discovered that Nextdoor has people posting about the most mundane details of day to day life, and little else. It is very local, and apparently oftentimes hilariously so. There is a Twitter account you can find here which highlights the very best (read: hilarious) posts this site has on offer. This article highlights a few of the best of the best. For my part, here is my day 1 find-which-made-me-smile:

Suspicious, indeed...

Oh, I also like that Nextdoor eschews the "Like" of Facebook or "Love" of Twitter (or "Upvote" of Steemit?) and uses "Thank" instead. How quaint.

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I wrote in a comment the other day on an #introduceyourself post that I felt as if I have had more meaningful exchanges here in one month than in 5 years on Facebook. That is not hyperbole. I chalk this up to several factors. First and foremost, this is a community full of content creators and people who are out to interact with others. Secondly, I only really reach to and comment on relatively minor players (I think the term is dolphins) or fellow newbies (minnow or redfish, I can't decide. Though @yintercept says algae should be the term and I agree). I'm sure if I was trying to grab a whale's attention my comments would end up just like my YouTube comments. Third, the difficulty in setting up and maintaining an account discourages alt accounts or troll accounts, and encourages you to carefully build your reputation and network. Fourth, this is all on the blockchain, forever, allegedly un-deletable, and I think that has to factor just a bit into how people behave. Fifth, I'm a likable and engaging guy, right? Just not on Facebook, apparently. Seriously though, I love you guys and gals. Thank you for engaging right back with me.

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I am currently drinking Smirnoff Sparkling Seltzer (4.5% abv). I purchased these after seeing a billboard advertising them and thinking they looked delicious. I bought this sampler 12 pack which I am drinking from on Father's Day on the way to a cookout. I suppose advertising works. And it turns out I am actually quite satisfied: they do indeed function as advertised. Get rid of the sugar from Smirnoff Ice and voila, 90 calories of tasty intoxication sans diabetes. As I arrived at the gathering, beverages in hand, I commented to the other dads "I figured I would bring the least manly drink I could find to the Father's Day cookout." I am quite proud of my joke, even 3 days later.

That is some Inception level photography right there, by the way.

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Because I am currently in the throes of slow-moving identity crisis, I paid a whopping $80 to take a personality and career assessment test in the hopes that it would help guide me to wherever my calling happens to be. I wonder if you get extra points allocated to attributes like "indecisive", "gullible", and "schmuck" just by virtue of the fact that you paid to take the test in the first place?

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These are supposed to be quick posts but I am ending up spending just as much time on them as others. They are fun though, and my highest payout to date was on my first one. I will continue.

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If this thought-provoking piece made you think you would like to read my first volume of random thoughts, I have thoughtfully placed a link for you here. Thank you for reading all the way to the end. You get a prize!