Month: August 2017

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Silly Question

In a paragraph about noticing and recalling details, a writer asked,

“If someone asked you the last time you wore something blue, you’d be hard pressed to give an exact date and time, right?”

Wrong. I usually wear blue jeans. When I wear a suit, I usually wear a blue Oxford shirt with it, or a white Oxford shirt and a tie, almost always with some blue in it, to pick up the blue in the suit (yeh, after years of having a closet full of suits, sport coats, etc., I have pared things down to a couple of sport coats–one of them navy blue–and one suit, mainly just for weddings and funerals). Slacks and shirt? Usually a blue shirt.

This one would be easy-peasy.

Now, the last time I wore yellow. . .

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Normals Seem to Do This a LOT

Here’s an example of Normals mis-hearing and mis-interpreting spoken terms that is particularly humorous to me: “two-trek road.” An amusing lack of thought went into that mis-interpretation, since a “two-track road” is definitive: the two TRACKS are made by wheels on axeled vehicles wearing a path, in much the same way that game trails are made (though game trails are almost always “one-track” trails, of course). “Two-trek” seems to indicate to me that the person who has written the term in this way has never even seen a two-track road, or if he has, has any understanding of how such a thing is made by the TRACKS of two wheels (and more, repeated by another one or two axles).

Understanding what one hears requires thought much more frequently than most Normals seem to be aware of.

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“As Time Goes By. . . “

I realize just what. . . ” normalcy means to me. (And yes, I had a song in my head when I started writing this.)

“Normal” =~= dull, dim, boring, useful only as it presents a “Normal” for experimentation and possible awakening–or even just a minor crack in the wall that bars “Normals” from seeing a perspective on reality that is outside their rut.

Now, while I definitely view “normals” as dim-witted, I admit there are very intelligent, high-functioning “Normals” who can excel in their limited mental worlds. I even admire some high-functioning normals. I also admit that there definitely are some low-functioning “Odds” who also (along with low-functioning “Normals”) probably should not be out and about without a keeper.

But, in general, even high-functioning Normals (see, I’ve dispensed with the quotation marks. You can reason out why) seem. . . dull, interesting mostly as case studies or for hints on how to camouflage oneself as a Normal in order to skate by in their weird (well, weird to me, and as I’ve discovered, to many other Odds), tribal realm.

At times, the shiboleths, totems, superstitions, myths, memes, and taboos of Normals seem other-worldly, almost as if these creatures have been bred from alien stock from some far distant galaxy. How Normals can interbreed with Odds is a genetic mystery for the ages. *heh*

Ah, but they do, and it’s a wonder to behold a family of mixed Normals and Odds.

Nowadays, Odds are generally miscategorized by Normals in one category of the DSM, because we are outside their realm of understanding. They call it a “spectrum” of whatever. Amusing, since the whole of the rest of their p-sych manual of “issues” is devoted to a baffling range of p-sych issues that sweep all of normalcy into one or another p-sychological problem area. They simply can’t seem to come to grasp with the fact that Normalcy itself is their real problem.

72% of the voices in my head approve this post. (Most of the rest just think I should leave the Normals alone in their boxes.)

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Self-Defense Rights; Commonsense “Carry”

When people talk of “open carry,” “concealed carry” and “Constitutional carry,” they almost universally refer to the bearing of FIREarms for self-defense, and yes, firearms can be an important aspect of affirmative self-defense. But this post is limited to a very short take on another self-defense tool that is often neglected: knives.

Within 10 feet (or more; many LEO trainers cite a “21-foot rule” for knives as being the range at which a knife user could close to cause significant damage to someone who has still yet to bring his firearm to bear), a knife can potentially be more effective than a firearm.

Knives are really scary to many people, for one thing. And even folks who have no fear of knives and are skilled in their many, many uses know how devastating a knife wound can be. Seriously.

So, carrying at least one knife may actually be a fairly decent self-defense preparation, provided one learns how to use it for that purpose.1

But knives are so much more useful than that. Anyone who does not regularly carry at least one knife on their person is walking around unprepared for life in general, IMO.

But a knife? One simply Will Not Do. *heh*

Seriously, different knives have different “best uses,” and I find that I use three or four of the knives I regularly carry at least once daily. And then there are my “car and EDC bag knives. . . ”

I do appreciate that State laws in my locale are moderately unobtrusive. For example, open carry of knives (belt knives) is not forbidden, and no length limit on open carry knives exists in statute. Unfortunately, State laws here are not preemptive in the case of knives and firearms, allowing local ordinances to (illegitimately) modify one’s natural rights, AND are actually MORE restrictive concerning “concealed knives” than re: concealed forearms (*shrugs* Makes no sense to me), but fortunately, America’s Third World County™ is very “knife (and firearm) friendly.” The only problems that seem to arise are with in-movers, some of whom are surprised (and even fewer disturbed) by the open carry of knives and firearms.

Of course, some of the more recent in-movers are local “new hire” LEOs, and their learning curve is a bit steep. *sigh* Ah, well, live and learn or don’t live long, as Lazarus Long was wont to say. *heh*

1Here’s a decent start for those who would appreciate an “old school book larnin'” take on self-defense with knives. Instructional videos of widely varying quality abound on the Internet, and classes are available in various locales around the country, too.

Hank Reinhart’s Book of Knives