Is it ever worth playing with fire?

I heard a small child call a fire hydrant on my street a "water machine". This isn't surprising at all. I suspect it's never been used to put out a fire. It just sprays water out onto the street for about 8 hours a day. I don't know who turns it on, but the Environmental Protection Department come around in the evenings to turn it off. Yes it's hot here, but I don't think fire hydrants are effective as street coolers. I think it's a terrible waste of fresh water and electricity (to power the pumps for the pressure).

It's so hot that salt patches have formed on some of the clothes I've worn recently. I'm assuming it's salt from my sweat. I haven't actually tasted it.

See the animal in it's cage that you built
Are you sure what side you're on
Better not look him too closely in the eye
Are you sure what side of the glass you are on
See the safety of the life you have built
Everything where it belongs
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart
And it's all
Right where it belongs

What if everything around you
Isn't quite as it seems
What if all the world you think you know
Is an elaborate dream
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you wanted to be?
What if you could look right through the cracks
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?

What if all the world's inside of your heart
Just creations of your own
Your devils and your gods
All the living and the dead
And you really are alone
You can live in this illusion
You can choose to believe
You keep looking but you can't find the words
Are you hiding in the dreams?


- from "Right Where It Belongs" by Nine Inch Nails

How did baggy pants get to be a fashion item? They emerged in the 90s as a result of the hip hop and/or skateboard industry. I learned that in prisons inmates aren't allowed to wear belts so their pants tend to sag. So were people copying prison chic?

Actually, baggy pants aren't a relatively new thing. They are part of traditional Japanese clothing - they're called hakama. Hakama are quite practical as footwork and stances of martial artists are disguised. I'm sure people of other cultures also routinely wear baggy pants.

The beast who loses its fangs has to die. Or does it?

Many people are terrified of being attacked by a shark. Worldwide, they kill about 6 people annually. What about people's fear of being pulled out to sea by rip currents? Over 100 drown from them annually - and that's just in the United States.

How to survive? Relax and try to swim parallel to the beach to get out of the current. If that doesn't work just wait till it stops dragging you out and swim back. Hopefully it won't drag you too far out. Wouldn't it suck if you were attacked by a shark then?! What are the chances of that?

Maybe one day I'll write about how I evaded a shark attack.

I'm a junkie for things that are gloriously futile.

Why is it said that good things come to those who wait? Is there truth in that?

Lincoln said, "Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle."

Should I hustle or be patient? The answer is both, isn't it?

What is indulgence for you? Do you satisfy your whims or cravings? Do you buy expensive things or engage in irresponsible or outrageous behavior? It's interesting, and often sad, how one person's indulgence can be another's staple.

Someone gave birth on the train I was riding tonight. I wonder if the baby will be called "86th Street"...

I need to stop myself from pointing at buildings. People may get the wrong idea.

"Why is your remote covered in plastic?"
"I think it's an Indian thing."

I must have engaged in this dialogue at least five times.

I have a bottle of deodorant that was unconsciously named "Russel Crowe"... For some reason whenever I look at it or use it I think of his name. I don't know why or how it started. Most likely it is because they are both from Australia.