A Penny's Worth of Thoughts: Nostalgia

 With my ten year highschool reunion, I've found myself revisiting a perspective I haven't seen in some time, an old practice ground if you will.  The observer in the crowd.

It may soumd strange at first; have I not been an observer with each post I've made before.  The difference?  This time I'm a silent member of the crowd, rather than the observer outside of it.  I call it a practice groumd because I feel I can honestly say that school is where I developed my observation and perspective abilities, though I doubt they even suspected.  They might not even have realized it last night even.

And, it's an interesting perspective to talk over: one of missing information more often than not, as I kept jumping between and different points at various times.  Could I tell you why there was excitement over bloodtypes O and A?  No.  What of the outcome of a misadventure involving a gas line?  No, though if I heard correctly that one may still in progress.  And what of the spouses, who come from classes of 200+, being explained why this is a big deal for our class of sub-100?  I detected some confusion lingering, but that one I feel is more on the difference of perspective between the two.

The thing is, sometimes having all the information is unecessary, or perhaps even detrimental.  I know enough to know that some of the jabs at each other were just callbacks to years past, if not always received that way.  Enough to know some of the small, bickering asides are likely to reach their conclusion either later in the night or perhaps this morning, when one or both sides are more sober than they were.  And don't ask me how the conversation moved from Call of Duty to Donkey Kong 64, but by golly, I knew Chunky Kong was the name they were searching for about the coconut bazooka.

It's something I think people misunderstand, living in an age where knowledge is at our fingertips.  It's the pox of curiosity that we ask more questions simply be receiving an answer.  Some are satisfied with just that, others have to delve down the rabbit hole, sometimes a decent way.  But, a surprisingly common truth: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Also, in the off chance they read this or it gets shared on the reunion page, the cupcake was absolutely delicious.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for those nostalgic for the old days.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts: Solitude

Seems a strange topic, doesn't it?  Solitude can mean different things to different people, just like anything else, sure.  For some, it's something to yearn for, somewhere to escape from day to day troubles.  Others may choose to define it more as a punishment of choices, an ending effect that causes loneliness.  But then, why speak of solitude where I usually talk of bringing people together?  Contradictory in a sense, but I feel like there's more to it than the first impressions.

My impression of solitude was always less of the where and, in some cases, the who.  The what is what peaks my interest.  The peace or the chaos, depending on who you ask.  And, perhaps, that the ones who feel dread are simply misplacing where their "true" solitude lies.  That it doesn't have to mean alone.

Have you ever had those certain someones that just being around eases you? Perhaps a group of them?  Who's to say that that, in itself, isn't a form of solitude?  Or even a particular activity or focus, perhaps even location?  I'd be willing to bet answering those questions has you seeing the grey, whether your own or someone else's.

The question then becomes what to do with the knowledge.  Do you help a buddy break through an invisible wall, or do you decide that, maybe, just maybe, aligning with dragons doesn't seem so bad?  One-size fits all is always a little big or small for someone, after all.

It's a bit like playing a board game.  Everyone is looking for the same goal, but may have to take a different path to get to it.  Some find it easier through competition, others cooperation.  But it's always the same goal.

Sometimes you just have to realize that some of us are playing a different game.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for those comfortable enough to read them.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts: The Value of Another

I know what some of you are thinking, especially after reading that subtitle, either from the camp of "Yea, we got another one" or "Oh boy, here we go again".  But, here's the thing, in keeping with the neutrality that is "A Penny's Worth of Thoughts", anyone who has read before knows that that's not what I'm going for.  In fact, if I had to say my impressions, it's the extremes on both sides causing the polarity.  In this case, there's actually a bunch of grey area in the middle, just that calling it out will often just put one in the crossfire.

So, why then?  Why paint that target, when I clearly know it will happen?  Because, as I've stated before in a number of my other posts, the neutral ground is a path to resolution, and I know, even as I read that myself, even that statement can cause problems.  Doesn't make it more or less true, however, despite the extremes either way.

I've often been asked, sometimes even criticized for, why I do so much with video games.  The answer surprisingly fits here as well: outside of the extremes, the rules of games are clearly defined in what is and is not possible.  You can start up a game, so long as it is neither already broken or with intention to break, and understand how to play, if with some tutorials.  Plus, the rules of the games, in their own worlds, often make sense, if with that stretch of the so called "game logic".

This similarity is why I write today.  Just as with games, the rules are defined until you get to the extremes, and it is the blurriness of the extremes that we see spun everywhere today.  Yes, there are peaceful protests.  Yes, there are violent officials.  But, to both, there are also the violent riots and the officers who simply want to make it home at the end of the day.  This is why I feel like my neutral ground is so important, a haven, if you will, for those getting painted, whether rightly or wrongly, as being one side or the other.

Because for as much as people say this either is or isn't about color, both of the extremes seem to be seeing an awful lot of red.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, lost in the chaos.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts: Difference of Meaning

You hear so much these days of arguments over two interpretations of words.  Some being twisted to suit a certain perspective, others in ignorance or confusion of what the meaning actually is.  Yet, you can still find that both of those meanings can be correct, even in a general sense.

Take, for example, allergies.  If you ask most people what allergies are, the responses will typically be one of two: either they are a seasonal or context based annoyance to a person, usually of the nasal variety, or they will be potentially life threatening if not caught early enough, usually through consumption.  Does that make the seasonal sufferers pity the severe ones, or in the reverse, the severe sufferers wish they could trade off their allergens for the less threatening variety?  It's possible, though it tends to vary person to person.

The point here is that, although the word itself has multiple meanings, each meaning is held at it's equivalent value, usually after the person either specifies or explains their severity.  Why is it, then, that it is more difficult for people to agree on other such variable words?  My thought: because the meaning each side agrees with is based on their perspective of the subject, where it can be more difficult to explain why that is it's meaning due to what I would call an experience gap.  That the meaning that we understand is based more on what we are familiar with, and it is the context, or lack thereof, that throws us off.

I've had some of my own experience on this as of late, from seeing people put quotes around the word essential, as if to demean it to either themselves or to others, to me almost mentally doing it to a phrase, wait time, as I sat on the phone to a DES line seeking answers on an unemployment question, usually after a few minute average extends into hours.  In fact, some of you may have even expected me to do it just then, despite it being grammatically correct either way, if with some word change.

The sad part is, the only way I could see resolving this particular puzzle is to suggest being more open minded to the alternatives, which for many is not an easy task.  I find it perhaps even more of a puzzle to find a middle ground otherwise, as it is an issue that, outside of certain groups potentially, is rarely seen, even rarer discussed.  But it can be done.

Just ask any number of leaders you can come across in Guild Wars 2 why they use the shorthand for crowd control, or CC, as a way of requesting more damage per second, or DPS, on a single boss enemy when in squads or groups.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for those who can see the meaning of it.

A Penny's Worth of Thoughts: Crazy World

Things have gotten out of hand here recently, haven't they?  This pandemic has definitely shown how critically opposite point of views can get, even in regards toward attaining the same goal.  There are areas where hearing one of the approaches can have you thinking "Yeah, that could work" while the other can bring out the "Wait, what?" out of you.  There are even varying degrees of each: me, personally, align with the self-isolation, partly because it's an easy thing on my part, usually playing games online with my buddies and all, and partly because, knowing my condition is classified as an auto-immune disorder, it may be the wisest idea for me.  That being said, there is a difference between preparing for the storm and personally emptying shelves of supplies that I may need for a yet uncertain amount of time.

The flipside of that, however, which I think is becoming more prevalent as time goes on is the cabin fever effect showing it's potency, though not without it's own reasons.  Many of those individuals are in positions that know that things will stack against waiting it out over time.  Goods and services are still in use, perhaps even more so now than before, and they have a fear of the reserve supply of each also running it's course.  On this side, I also agree.  I'm eager to return to work, if for nothing more than extra stability.  And so, once again, I find myself standing neutral in a field of polar opposites.

There are arguments to be made for each, as always.  Arguments that you can see or hear through news outlets or social media.  Arguments searching for a one-size-fits-all solution, despite the fact that there has rarely ever been one.  Certain people are better suited for some than others, and the, I would say almost off-hand, parts for the others aren't always the best of options either, as there are just some things that can't be handled from home, just as there are things that can be surprising or overlooked, even with an excess of caution.

In a way, it kind of reminds me of any one of a collection of collectable card games.  The deckbuilding being representative of our knowledge of what to expect, usually with minor additions or a side board for our cautionary stance.  But one thing remains the same, we never truly know what will be on the other side of the table, sometimes not even when enough cards have been played for a reasonable prediction, as there could always be trade outs or tweaks made to what we assume it to be.  But, you can always tell an opponent's familiarity with the game, usually by either their lack of or over-preparedness.  Still, even when we think we know what will happen, one surprise turn can completely turn it around, and that is something I know many think about, with the generally held stance being that there's only so much preparation you can do before the game begins.  The rest you have to do as it plays out.

Otherwise, in attempt to make sure we have all the pieces, all we succeed in doing is running our deck dry.

Just a penny's worth of thoughts, for those willing to draw on it.