Say what?

[aka Contrarian]

What is Zipf's Law?

"Zip's Law is a statistical observation that describes the frequency distribution of words in a language. It states that the frequency of a word is inversely proportional to its rank in the frequency table. In simpler terms, the most common word in a language appears roughly twice as often as the second most common word, three times as often as the third most common word, and so on.

This law applies to many languages and even to other phenomena like city populations, income distributions, and website traffic. It's a fascinating observation that has sparked research into its underlying causes, with potential explanations ranging from cognitive biases to mathematical properties of complex systems."

 

The word "Trump" has to have been the most used word of 2025. "Fascism"  has to have frequently appeared in the mix. Is there currently some significance to this? This nation appears to be on the brink of great change.

Will my longevity become a curse or a blessing? Should I wish for more years or have I stayed too long?

There are so many mind boggling phenomena making up the complexity of this thing called "Life" in this place called America. 

 

BEAR fan that I am, hibernation sounds inviting... 

 

[ProfD]

52 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

What is Zipf's Law?

"Zip's Law is a statistical observation that describes the frequency distribution of words in a language. It states that the frequency of a word is inversely proportional to its rank in the frequency table. In simpler terms, the most common word in a language appears roughly twice as often as the second most common word, three times as often as the third most common word, and so on.

This law applies to many languages and even to other phenomena like city populations, income distributions, and website traffic. It's a fascinating observation that has sparked research into its underlying causes, with potential explanations ranging from cognitive biases to mathematical properties of complex systems."

 

The word "Trump" has to have been the most used word of 2025.

I wonder how often the phrase orange m8therf8cker or son of a b8tch was used.

 

 

52 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

This nation appears to be on the brink of great change.

Rich white folks are openly fleecing the world with POTUS OJ  being the personification of white supremacy. 

 

52 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

Will my longevity become a curse or a blessing?

IMO, you're in a net neutral spot. This BS cannot have a long-term effect on you personally one way or another.

 

Trust that you will not internalize this foolishness to any significant degree with the time you have left on the rock. 

 

52 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

Should I wish for more years or have I stayed too long?

Neither. Your time alloted has already been predetermined. Nothing you can do about it.

 

52 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

BEAR fan that I am, hibernation sounds inviting... 

Da Bears are still rolling. Enjoy the ride.

[Pioneer1]

 

 

YES!

This is a very very good subject for a very very good thread!  

Keep up the good work Cyn....uh.....aka Contrarian!
 

[aka Contrarian]

15 hours ago, ProfD said:

I wonder how often the phrase orange m8therf8cker or son of a b8tch was used.

 

 

Rich white folks are openly fleecing the world with POTUS OJ  being the personification of white supremacy. 

 

IMO, you're in a net neutral spot. This BS cannot have a long-term effect on you personally one way or another.

 

Trust that you will not internalize this foolishness to any significant degree with the time you have left on the rock. 

 

Neither. Your time alloted has already been predetermined. Nothing you can do about it.

 

Da Bears are still rolling. Enjoy the ride.

@ProfDYes, sports and trivia are good distraction from the depressing state of the world. A relief from all the turmoil and political drivel of long winded opinions that do little more than take up space. 

 

[ProfD]

1 minute ago, aka Contrarian said:

@ProfDYes, sports and trivia are good distraction from the depressing state of the world. A relief from all the turmoil and political drivel of long winded opinions that do little more than take up space. 

Thankfully, in addition to sports as a distraction and entertainment, I also have the gift of music as my opiate when I'm not providing long-winded opinions/perspectives.

[aka Contrarian]

@ProfDObviously, cobbling together blaxploitation trash is Pioneer's alternative to long opinionated posts.

[Mel Hopkins]

Happy New Year @aka Contrarian and AALBC Fam! 

As for the two popular words, I avoid both like COVID-19. Still, I like hearing about new things. I've never heard of Zipf's law. In fact, I wondered if it was a law or an odd occurrence. Well, you know, I ran to Gen AI to see how we use this empirical law and why it matters. And wow! "Coherence" is the long story short. It helps you examine your writing from a mathematical perspective. Still, I also found that "writing for likes" could have forced writers, even me, to stop fully expressing ourselves, especially in storytelling. I compared a story I wrote in 2009 with a story I wrote in 2025 - and Gen AI said I didn't sacrifice the long tail for the head in my writing - (whew). Still, in a way, I knew that because I rarely go viral with any of my stories. Thank you for sharing this new (to me) information. It even helped me to update my 2009 story as a cautionary tale for 2026!

[Pioneer1]

On 1/4/2026 at 12:00 PM, aka Contrarian said:

@ProfDObviously, cobbling together blaxploitation trash is Pioneer's alternative to long opinionated posts.

 

 -Man, was this funny!
I gotta hand it to you.....uh....Cy....uh...aka Constance......you sure do get off a GOOD one, every now and then!
 

 

 

Mel

Happy New Year miss lady!

Although personally, I celebrate the New Year on my BIRTHDAY.
That's the "new year" for me...lol.

[aka Contrarian]

@Mel Hopkinsthe longer I live, the more I'm inclined to concur that chaos is the "norm" that we have to try and make sense of. Quantum physics certainly seems to suggest this.

[Mel Hopkins]

13 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Happy New Year miss lady!

Although personally, I celebrate the New Year on my BIRTHDAY.
That's the "new year" for me...lol.

As do I!  How wild is that!  In fact when I send birthday greetings I sign off with "Have a wonderful New Year!  .

[Troy]

I don't think I have ever used the word fascism @aka Contrarian. A "mind boggling phenomena" to me is that you are in a cohort of people who have seen more drastic changes than any other in recorded history. 

 

I take AI's "praise" with a grain of salt @Mel Hopkins, as it is designed to keep you engaged more than an indication of true flattery.  That said, I've been used Google's Gemini extensively over the last few days in overhauling the site.  In that regard it has been nothing short of brilliant -- not perfect, but brilliant!

 

 

 

[Mel Hopkins]

2 hours ago, Troy said:

take AI's "praise" with a grain of salt @Mel Hopkins, as it is designed to keep you engaged more than an indication of true flattery.

Happy New Year! 

 

This wasn't praise. Is that how you read it? Well, no Gemini broke down Zipf's equation mathematically to show me the head count and the long tail count of the two essays I asked it to compare.  It revealed I haven't sacrificed my writing to  meet Google's demand. As I mentioned I started by asking it to show me why Zipf's law is considered a law and why it would matter to me. 

 

I don't have time for fake praise and I definitely don't use chat, gemini, or notebook for flattery. Do you realize that's kind of a sexist thing to write?

 

I use AI to keep up with my client, the wirelss technology expert  Did you see in the latest newsletter about Lockheed Martin RTX. I first used AI to create a couple of GPT Agents; I use AI projects to run my small business.  Now I'm vibe-coding to make sure I get my Agentic AI to work on its own without embarrassing me.    Yea, that's where I'm at... You know like you  revamping this  website (it looks good)  but  instead I'm using it to write software operations manuals  to sell IPs to OEMs. Oh and I just recently, prepared my trademark application -but do continue to go off about keeping me engaged with flattery...

[Mel Hopkins]

14 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

@Mel Hopkinsthe longer I live, the more I'm inclined to concur that chaos is the "norm" that we have to try and make sense of. Quantum physics certainly seems to suggest this.

 

Quantum Entanglement is the first thing that comes to mind when you mention quantum physics.  I love the idea that if the me in this dimension corrects a mistake, the other me will benefit from the change no matter where she is. The phenomenon makes me wonder how entanglement might influence our personal lives or decisions, even if it's just a metaphor.  I often wish that the other me would get her act together.
 

There's more, of course, but that's what I focus on when I think of that theory (although physicists say they've proven it with particles).

 

Second is, again, that word: coherence and cacophony.  I believe those of us here in this dimension will experience chaos simply because we chose to individuate  - we are all marching to our beat - but in another dimension, like the one I visited when I 'died' after the car crash, there is coherence.  All one mind  - the hum was coherence.  It's comforting to think that amidst chaos, there's a possibility of returning to a state of unity and calm.(even though I did want to come back) 

 

That's my takeaway - and probably not what you meant. I'm curious about your perspective on this connection and quantum physics because I wrote an entire essay about Zipf's Law on the strength of you just mentioning it.  I was so intriqued that I spent last night reading up on it. 

 I find it fascinating how our perceptions shape reality, like how those billionaires got rich off our content because they understood Zipf's law, while writers like me just wanted attention.

It makes me think about how knowledge and awareness influence our place in the world and what that says about our collective consciousness. Oh and the fact that those "billionaires" all excelled in math, probability while many of us asked the teachers "will I use this math in my everyday life."

[Pioneer1]

Mel
 

8 hours ago, Mel Hopkins said:

As do I!  How wild is that!  In fact when I send birthday greetings I sign off with "Have a wonderful New Year!  .

I never was too keen about celebrating the New Year in the middle of winter anyway....lol.
It didn't make a lot of sense.
Especially in Michigan with all that snow on the ground and it getting dark at 5pm...lol.

It made MORE sense to me that the New Year would start in the Spring Time when nature was waking back up and things were coming back to life.

That feeling was only confirmed when later on I found out that for most of human history the New Year WAS celebrated in the Spring.
Right around March or April.
This is the real history of Easter before Christianity.

[aka Contrarian]

@Mel HopkinsQuantum entanglement is so outre it's scary. When I suspect I am experiencing it, I just surrender and go with the flow wherever it takes me.

What I had in mind in regard to chaos being the norm, was the "wave function collapse" property of Quantum physics wherein the unobserved is in flux until  you gaze directly at it and your eyes integrate it into an image - which disintegrates when you look away.

 Conversely there's the opposite phenomenon wherein you see things out of the corner of you eyes and when you turn your head to look directly at what you glimpsed, it disappears -inexplicable occurrences that we are apparently not on the same frequency with.

But endeavoring to relate them into coping-with-life lessons would be figuring out a way to derive order from the chaos of life by keeping your eye on the prize in order to bring it into fruition, while not being captivated by fleeting distractions.

Just my vague personal analogy which acknowledges that "I know that I know nothing".   

[Delano]

5 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

endeavoring to relate them into coping-with-life lessons would be figuring out a way to derive order from the chaos of life by keeping your eye on the prize in order to bring it into fruition, while not being captivated by fleeting distractions.

That is exactly why i practice Astrology Tarot and Number symbolism.

[Mel Hopkins]

9 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

Just my vague personal analogy which acknowledges that "I know that I know nothing". 

 

No one knows "nothing," and that's what makes life fun! We get to ponder, test, and sometimes, when we stay focused, we can win prizes! 

 

I posted a link to one of the YouTube channels I watch to see what others have been able to prove, for now, in the world of Quantum Mechanics. The YouTuber started strong, but he lost the plot for a minute, then he returned to the story. 

 

My problem with some Western physicists is that they forget to look back to the land of our origin.  It appears that, long before Western Physicists came up with Quanta, Ancient Africans referred to this field as "The Net," the energy matrix, the field of living energy behind all physical reality. Neter were the conscious forces of nature, the Divine powers/principles manifested through natural forms. Masters of the Net used thought to shape physical reality.

 

Similarities between The Net and Quanta include:

• All existence is interconnected. - Africans have several words for this concept, including umoja (unity) and ubuntu (which shares the philosophy "I am because we are...").
• Consciousness and intention shape reality, much like the observer effect in quantum mechanics,
• And matter is a manifestation of spiritual energy.

Both Quanta and Neter suggest that an intelligent energy field underpins the physical world. Medu Neter, the divine language, embodies this idea, showing that spiritual energy manifests as matter. Recognizing these parallels enriches my view of how ancient African spirituality aligns with modern quantum theories, emphasizing interconnectedness and the role of consciousness in shaping reality.

 

All that to say, whenever the conversation turns to the Western concept of quantum mechanics, I always go back to the source, "The Net" and Ancient African spirituality.
Thank you again!

[Delano]

It was a breakthrough when Einstein called Space amd Time Spacetime. Although Astrology got there first since every planetary Zodiacal Degree 0 to 360 is equivalent to time midnight to midnight. 360 degrees/ 24 hours = 15.

15 degrees of longitude on earth is one time zone ot an hour.

[ProfD]

2 hours ago, Mel Hopkins said:

No one knows "nothing," and that's what makes life fun! We get to ponder, test, and sometimes, when we stay focused, we can win prizes! 

Sista @Mel Hopkins...excellent observation. Humans having that ability is part of what makes life worth living.

[Delano]

On 1/9/2026 at 7:57 AM, Mel Hopkins said:

I don't have time for fake praise and I definitely don't use chat, gemini, or notebook for flattery. Do you realize that's kind of a sexist thing to write?

A while back i caught AI making up quotes and facts. We had a long back amd forth about this. One of the statement it made was, it Was more important to be supportive and amiable than factual. It was very flattering telling me i had found one of its limitations.

[Mel Hopkins]

On 1/8/2026 at 5:56 PM, Pioneer1 said:

This is the real history of Easter before Christianity.

Absolutely - equinox and solstices are the real observances...

[Pioneer1]

37 minutes ago, Mel Hopkins said:

Absolutely - equinox and solstices are the real observances...

They are, however most people don't know anything about them.
They are just learning.
And even most of the people who DO know, don't understand the SPIRITUAL importance of these yearly time periods and why they were observed in the first place.

The wise elites who replaced them with the current ritualistic religious holidays understood and still use them for THEIR own empowerment...lol.

This is one of the main reasons the fiscal year doesn't end in December but in September (Autumn Solstice)

[Mel Hopkins]

55 minutes ago, Delano said:

A while back i caught AI making up quotes and facts.

 

Interesting.  I always ask for Works cited in MLA format - then I follow up with the library's online academic journal database. 

Or was this before 2023? 

 

Whenever I hear AI stories like this it tells me a lot about how people are using GEN AI because it mirrors the users' patterns and behaviors. 
So in this case were you in test mode?  I find pushback is helpful because it forces GEN AI to go deep - It will be generic at first because it meets users where they are. 

Yes my Chat is polite - flaterring, not so much. I'm competitive, so the way ChatGPT works to keep me engage is by offering options to best itself. My favorite lines to it,  are "pause and bookmark."   

Still, I'm not above feeling superior however. But it comes at the cost of hearing how other people use AI. In my circle, there isn't any one at my level yet. So, I feel good about my AI engagement since my productivity is way up with chatgpt/gemini/notebook. But that feeling was fleeting after coming across this from the  Wall Street Journal.   Do you know Y-Combinator gets about 10,000 applicants per "batch" And now these teens get access while buidling businesses to watch before they even graduate high school.
These Teenagers Are Already Running Their Own AI Companies

They might not yet drive, but they’re getting an early start in business by leveraging vibe-coding and social media

By 

Katherine Bindley

Follow

Dec. 21, 2025 8:00 pm ET

Nick Dobroshinsky built an AI-powered finance tool with more than 50,000 monthly users, but he’s still just a sophomore in high school.  Grant Hindsley for WSJ

Like any good tech founder, Nick Dobroshinsky puts in late nights and early mornings working on his startup. But this particular founder doesn’t have much choice: Between 8 a.m. and 2:55 p.m., he’s in high school. He’s 15.

“Around the end of eighth grade, I wanted to make some sort of business,” says Dobroshinsky, a sophomore in Sammamish, Wash. “I just spent a long time thinking about what problems there are that could be fixed with AI.”

With a little market-research help from his mom, who works in finance, and some early technical guidance from his dad, who works in AI at a big tech company, he landed on the idea of using AI models to generate reports on small- and mid-cap publicly traded companies. The result is BeyondSPX, an AI-based financial research platform.
 

Young and hungry entrepreneurs are nothing new: Bill Gates was 19 when he co-founded Microsoft; Mark Zuckerberg was the same age when he started Facebook. But today’s founders might well have a learner’s permit and a mouthful of braces.

Some got their start attending robotics camps, or building games on Roblox’s platform. One got his feet wet breaking into candy distribution. (Ever considered selling Gobstoppers to middle-schoolers in Singapore? It’s a cash cow.)
 

AI has fast-tracked both their interest in building a company and their ability to do it. Startup incubator Y Combinator doesn’t have age minimums to apply. Posting the right type of content might draw the attention of venture-capital firms on the lookout for young talent. VCs might not be ready to hand you millions, but they would like to get to know you and perhaps stay in touch.
 

Dobroshinsky says he has only handled around 10 lines of code and doesn’t have any employees: He prompts Anthropic’s Claude to generate the software and uses a combination of models including ChatGPT and Gemini. He doesn’t currently see the value in recruiting a marketing team.

Notes from early days of BeyondSPX, 15-year-old Nick Dobroshinsky’s AI-powered, web-based small- and mid-cap stock research tool.Grant Hindsley for The Wall Street Journal

“I use Reddit bots,” he says. “If someone asks for the best investing tools, then my bot will comment, ‘There’s a bunch of investing tools and BeyondSPX is one of them.’” He says he now has more than 50,000 monthly users on the platform, which is free. Dobroshinsky plans to start charging users eventually.

Greystone Logistics, a company covered by BeyondSPX, put out a press release touting the independent analysis.
 

“I actually thought to myself, ‘Maybe this guy just unleashed AI on every small-cap company,’” says Brendan Hopkins, an independent investor-relations consultant who works with Greystone. “I said, well, it’s a really good synopsis and it’s pretty positive, let’s put it out there,” he says. He didn’t know the platform’s founder was 15.

 

Kulveer Taggar, a venture capitalist based in San Francisco, says the age of founders has been trending down over the past few years—around the same time frame that ChatGPT and Claude became popular. It’s more common for him to get cold business-pitch emails from teens. Taggar says that is partially because building great software at scale is getting easier now. And while distribution is still a challenge, he says, younger founders might have it in their heads that if they’ve mastered TikTok or X, they can handle that part, too.

 

There’s an impatience and a mentality of, “I can’t wait X amount of years to do it. The opportunity is now,” says Taggar, adding, “There’s definitely something about AI making it feel like you can just learn very quickly.”

Raghav Arora, co-founder of the GetASAP grocery-inventory delivery service, got his start by selling American candy to his classmates in Singapore. Raghav Arora

One company Taggar invested in was co-founded by Raghav Arora, who was accepted into Y Combinator in May as a 16-year-old.

Arora launched his first entrepreneurial venture as a student in Singapore. He tracked down U.S. candy that was hard to find in Asia and sold it to his classmates. It earned him good cash (and three days of detention). The endeavor taught him the ropes of product distribution, and how to maximize profit by cutting out middlemen. He started selling to mom-and-pop grocers in Singapore, too. https://www.wsj.com/business/entrepreneurship/teenage-founders-ecb9cbd3?st=YxKDfW&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

 

 

6 hours ago, ProfD said:

Sista @Mel Hopkins...excellent observation. Humans having that ability is part of what makes life worth living.

Happy New Year Brotha @ProfD  ! Thank you!  Trust, I have to remind myself of that daily!  LOL My comment was a huge note to self! 

[Mel Hopkins]

19 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

This is one of the main reasons the fiscal year doesn't end in December but in September (Autumn Solstice)

I wonder if that's why Caesar created January 1 New Year - many businesses now end their fiscal year in December - Hmm.  I remember working for LaSalle Bank and we had a lot of extra cash to donate because December was the end of the fiscal year.  But now that you mention that my favorite equinox (I'm nearly an autumn baby) is end of fiscal year-maybe that's why Bank of America bought them up.    Oh snap the U.S. Government which is now 38.5 trillion dollars in debt fiscal year ends Sept 30.  I dunno, I  may have to switch my fiscal year end - let me do so reading lol

[Delano]

1 hour ago, Mel Hopkins said:

was this before 2023? 

No it Was 2025. Although I'm a Luddite when it comes to AI. But then i thought Star Wars would be a flop until I saw it.

[Pioneer1]

Mel

 

I wonder if that's why Caesar created January 1 New Year - many businesses now end their fiscal year in December - Hmm.

Europeans did that for the same reason they established a 12 month calendar instead of the 13 month calendar that was practiced by the ancient world since time immemorial.
To throw the masses of people off and confuse them.

Those in power have their own secret calendars and holy/i-days that are far more accurate and effective.

 

 

 

 

I remember working for LaSalle Bank and we had a lot of extra cash to donate because December was the end of the fiscal year.

 

Sounds like you did a little bit of everything...lol.

I remember you being a news anchorwoman.
Then you were an airline stewardess, kicking it with Bill Cosby.
Then an author specializing in 'hood romance novels, lol.
Now I'm hearing about you working in a bank and passing out the cash.

I believe I asked you years ago how you became so successful and you said you "manifested" it.
You're going to have to teach me some of those manifestation techniques....LOL.

 

 

 

 

Oh snap the U.S. Government which is now 38.5 trillion dollars in debt fiscal year ends Sept 30.

They start their new fiscal year during time period when the hours of sun light are decreasing instead of increasing, and they wonder why they are perpetually in debt...lol.
 

 

[Mel Hopkins]

16 hours ago, Delano said:

No it Was 2025

Really 2025? By now, AI can access all information, including research papers, some academic dissertations, peer-reviewed academic journals, and more, not just what Machine Learning engineers trained it on before 2022. So that's unusual. What brand did you use -Google's Gemini, ChatGPT, NotebookLLM? Anthropic's Claude or Copilot? I found errors with Copilot in Bing's search back in 2024, and even a few hiccups depending on how you word your prompt, but for the most part, I've found it reliable, even in software design. 

Edited 19 hours ago by Mel Hopkins
Correct grammar

[Mel Hopkins]

50 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

Sounds like you did a little bit of everything...lol.

Don't let anyone tell you "writing and reading" doesn't pay. My gigs all required me to write, read, research, report, prepare corporate communication and integrated marketing communication strategies, manage brands, and produce consumer-facing journalism. 

 

At LaSalle Bank, ABN AMRO, the bank's parent company, wanted them to implement a sustainability program, so they hired me to build the project. I worked as a project specialist in civic and community development dept at LaSalle Bank. It was a very high-profile gig. - I wrote speeches for the CEO when he had to speak to nonprofit groups in Chicago; I prepared and produced PSAs for the Chicago Foundation for Women. It was a lot of outreach and planning. Best job ever, and I met Michelle Obama at the CFW luncheon.

 

But here's the key to manifesting your dream position.

 

In short, when considering employment, you don't apply for jobs; instead, you provide solutions to business problems.   I did my homework and pitched solutions. BUT you also need to fit some unwritten role and requirement. I didn't find out what that was until later. (And I don't want to say what that thing is, but it's not race or gender-related)

 

After United emerged from bankruptcy, it expanded its customer profile.  This new business model meant they needed flight attendants who were fluent in communicating with all levels of the flying public. From Corporate CEOS to Government Officials to the occasional family on vacation, they wanted to cater to these groups. - So folks in my flight attendant class came from various backgrounds, including burnt-out lawyers, healthcare professionals, actors, even a retired judge - and me, a lovelorn, heartbroken novelist whose book was quickly dropping in rank on the am*zon list.  I needed to get away!

[Pioneer1]

Mel

 

37 minutes ago, Mel Hopkins said:

BUT you also need to fit some unwritten role and requirement.

Interesting you mention this, because I've been doing this since my 20s....lol.
I've literally INVENTED jobs for myself in many workplaces.

I "made up" the position I have right now....lol.

The facility got a new manager from Germany a couple years ago and most new facility managers and presidents want to make a name for themselves by starting everything all over again new.  I took advantage of this knowledge by whipping up a proposal selling him one of my ideas to start a new position (that naturally paid more and involved less physical work than the one I formerly had......lol) in the company. 

Not only did he accept it as a great idea but he decided to build an entirely new department on it and hired more people to fill that department.
My idea helped many other people find employment.

I can produce nearly a dozen examples of this.

People don't understand the sheer power and glory that comes from simply thinking outside of the box.

 

[Mel Hopkins]

2 minutes ago, Pioneer1 said:

People don't understand the sheer power and glory that comes from simply thinking outside of the box!

Exactly!

[Pioneer1]

Mel
 

43 minutes ago, Mel Hopkins said:

Don't let anyone tell you "writing and reading" doesn't pay.

 

Sho'll do......

Because as much as I'd love to take credit for learning how to think outside of the box, I have to give credit to where credit is due.
I've been an avid reader all of my life and one of my favorite authors is NAPOLEON HILL.
His work is what inspired me to start "making up" opportunities where none SEEMED to existed.

 

 

 

[Delano]

@Mel Hopkins it was ChatGpt

[aka Contrarian]

"Thinking outside the box" is fine if you are of a mind to do a lot of work and shoulder a lot of responsibility and stake claims on critical thinking. And, come to think of it, I never met a conspiracy theorist who didn't brag about "thinking outside the box"... so, there's that. 

But lazy lovers of leisure like me are not so inclined. However I, too, was an avid reader, with writing skills that enabled me to become a contributing columnist to the op-ed pages of a major Chicago newspaper back in the 1970s where my letters-to-the-editor invoked so much response that I was approached by the newspaper to become their resident voice of the black viewpoint. Which I was, for several years. Boy, was that fun.

 

On the job at my local Post Office where I passed up supervisory positions because dealing with time cards required much more effort than the job I held stamping "Registered" on the envelopes of mail containing valuable contents, along with being the go-to person for revising and editing the bulletins and memos dispatched from the front office. 

And tho I wasn’t thinking outside the box, - I did sing outside the building, because one of my favorite things to do on my job many mornings was to tag along with the maintenance man when he performed his flag-raising duty. While he ran ol glory up the flag pole in front of the building, I would stand by and sing the national anthem.

To me, this was a joke but being a veteran, the janitor took his duties very seriously and always saluted when he was done. God bless America.

And of course after I retired  back in the 90s, I got caught up in the self-publishing craze and churned out 3 books which I lost interest in when time came to promote them; too much trouble.

Having 5 kids would have to serve as my accomplishments in life,  what I achieved - between the sheets. ‍

So the role of a dilettante and wanna-be Renaissance person has been the "this above all" to which mine ownself "has been true". 

Have at it all you innovative go-getters. Somebody has to take up my slack. 

But keep in mind, being lazy may have something to do with my longevity. 

 

 

                  zzzzzzzzzzzz

 

Being a CHICAGO BEAR fan may just become my undoing. I might slit my wrists if they lose to those damned cheese head Green BayPackers tonight!

 

                      GO BEARS!

 

[Pioneer1]

32 minutes ago, aka Contrarian said:

"Thinking outside the box" is fine if you are of a mind to do a lot of work and shoulder a lot of responsibility and stake claims on crtical thinking. And, come to think of it, I never met a conspiracy theorist who didn't brag about "thinking outside the box"... so, there's that. 

But lazy lovers of leisure like me are not so inclined. However I, too, was an avid reader, with writing skills that enabled me to become a contributing columnist to the op-ed pages of a major Chicago newspaper back in the 1970s where my letters-to-the-editor invoked so much response that I was approached by the newspaper to become their resident voice of the black viewpoint. Which I was, for several years. Boy, was that fun.

 

On the job at my local Post Office where I passed up supervisory positions because dealing with time cards required much more effort than the job I held stamping "Registered" on the envelopes of mail containing valuable contents, along with being the go-to person for revising and editing the bulletins and memos dispatched from the front office. 

And tho I wasn’t thinking outside the box, - I did sing outside the building, because one of my favorite things to do on my job many mornings was to tag along with the maintenance man when he performed his flag-raising duty. While he ran ol glory up the flag pole in front of the building, I would stand by and sing the national anthem.

To me, this was a joke but being a veteran, the janitor took his duties very seriously and always saluted when he was done. God bless America.

And of course after I retired  back in the 90s, I got caught up in the self-publishing craze and churned out 3 books which I lost interest in when time came to promote them; too much trouble.

Having 5 kids would have to serve as my accomplishments in life,  what I achieved - between the sheets. ‍

So the role of a dilettante and wanna-be Renaissance person has been the "this above all" to which mine ownself "has been true". 

Have at it all you innovative go-getters. Somebody has to take up my slack. 

But keep in mind, being lazy may have something to do with my longevity. 

 

 

                  zzzzzzzzzzzz

 

Being a CHICAGO BEAR fan may just become my undoing. I might slit my wrists if they lose to those damnd cheese head Green BayPackers tonight!

 

                      GO BEARS!

 

 

Cynique

"Thinking outside the box" is fine if you are of a mind to do a lot of work and shoulder a lot of responsibility and stake claims on crtical thinking. And, come to think of it, I never met a conspiracy theorist who didn't brag about "thinking outside the box"... so, there's that.

 

And thanks FOR that 

I KNEW you were paying attention to our exchange.
You always do...lol.
But your little commentary and the mini-autobiography of your writing and singing career was a bonus.

Thank you again for it.....I mean it. 
 

[aka Contrarian]

 @Pioneer1 What 's wrong with you?? Why wouldn't I check out what appears on a post I started? And I always pay attention to Mel because she always has interesting things to say. 

But, of course, you have to draw all kinds of implications to reinforce what you imagine.

And why thank me for posting?? I'm just doing what all the other regulars who come to this forum do. Sheeze!

[ProfD]

5 hours ago, aka Contrarian said:

Being a CHICAGO BEAR fan may just become my undoing. I might slit my wrists if they lose to those damned cheese head Green BayPackers tonight!

 

                      GO BEARS!

 

Another come from behind win for da Bears. QB Caleb Williams is writing his own story up there.