Thursday, October 22, 2009

My Advice to Children: Things to do when you are bored

I hope that the following Things to Do list will be helpful to you when you feel bored:

(1) Pretend you are a fiction writer. Write the first chapter of a novel featuring yourself or a friend or relative of yours as a hero of that novel.

(2) Try switching the channel on your television set to an educational television channel. That might offer you information that is helpful to you.

(3) Do some research to learn the rules of each of your favorite sports. This will help you to resolve any conflicts between yourself and other youths that occur when you play that sport together.

(4)Think of a question you want to ask, and try obtaining the answer to that question through a Google search on the Internet.

(5) Write a diary or personal journal about yourself and your life. You will find that if you do that on a daily or weekly basis, this will give you helpful information about your life that you can review at a later date. That pastime will also help you to reflect on your own life and the persons you are associating with in your life.

(6) Which foreign countries are the nations where your ancestors lived? Try doing some research about each of those foreign countries that have played a major role in your own cultural heritage.

(7) Think of an exercise or game that you can participate in by yourself. Jump-roping, for instance, is an activity that you can do by yourself. Or, you might want to try playing a solitary card game.

(8) Think of an extra-credit project you could pursue for one of your classes in school. You might want to spend some time with that extra credit project.

(9) Ask yourself who is your favorite author. Then do a Google search on the Internet to learn more about the life of that author.

(10) With your parents' permission, you could check out an educational audiotape or educational videotape from a local public library. That audiotape or videotape could enrich your personal education.

(11) Write a personal letter to a favorite friend or relative of yours.

(12) Write a poem, and read it aloud to yourself several times.

(13) Spend some time playing with a favorite pet of yours inside your family's household.

(14) Do factual research to plan a proposed possible mini-trip destination for your family during some future weekend. You can then present that information to your entire family.

(15) Write up a list of skills you would like to learn or hone in the next 12-month period or two-year period. You can then review that list on a regular basis, and it will serve as a year-round inspiration to yourself.

(16) Think of a word that poses a mystery to you. Then consult a dictionary to learn the origins of that word, along with the definition of that word.

(17) Consult an encyclopedia on the subject of boredom. That encyclopedia entry on boredom will offer you factual information about what can cause boredom in human beings. The more you read about boredom and what might cause boredom, you will strengthen your own ability to avoid feeling bored for a prolonged period of time.

(18) Study your own ancestry, such as by pursuing research on the Internet. As part of your research, you could read a biographical account about a famous or prominent ancestor of yours.

(19) Consult an encyclopedia on the subject of solitude. Many human beings have had remarkable accomplishments during long periods in which they were completely alone and without human companionship.

(20) Try to remember stories that a teacher of yours has told you about real-life figures of history. If any of those stories were fascinating to you, you might want to pursue more research about that individual. For example, what were the circumstances in which Sir Walter Raleigh reportedly threw his cape on top of a mud puddle in order to spare Queen Elizabeth I from herself being splashed by mud?

(21) Pursue research on the Internet that will offer you quotations and advice from famous writers and other famous persons about any particular issue that you are experiencing in your own life. If you feel bored, for instance, you will find through a Google search on the Internet that various writers and other thinkers have written interesting observations about how to prevent boredom.

(22) Your boredom may suggest that you are not enjoying your current hobbies and pastimes. Maybe you might enjoy taking up a new hobby or pastime, such as stamp collecting or coin collecting.

(23) Try to find a book or a website on the Internet that will show you what each color and each shade of each and every color looks like.
You are likely to find it very enjoyable and very useful to you to study and memorize what "magenta" looks like, what "turquoise" looks like, what "navy blue" looks like, what "maroon" looks like, what "aqua" (defined in the dictionary as a light bluish green color) looks like, what "royal blue" looks like, what "fuchsia" (defined as a bright bluish red) looks like, what "olive green" looks like, what "scarlet" looks like, what purple looks like, etc.
Throughout your life, you will be asked by others to describe shades of color on the clothing that other human beings wear. You will also be asked by others to describe the shades of color of the exterior of homes that people own or of the motor vehicles that other people own or drive.

(24) You could spend some time creating a "things to do" list for yourself in the unique context of your own life. Writing that list for yourself will be one very practical way to make use of free time that you have when you are inside your family's home.

(25) Jot down a list of each and every subject and topic and career or activity that you currently regard as boring or tedious. Then pursue some research on the Internet to identify at least one admirable person who has found that subject or topic or career to be very, very interesting----even to the point of fascinating. Those additional perspectives from other human beings might convince you that possibly that subject or topic or career or activity can, in fact, be interesting.

(26) Keep a personal journal in which you jot down notes about the television programs and movies and books and magazine or newspaper articles and class textbook readings you pursue that hold your interest throughout. Do your journal observations about movies and television shows, for instance, suggest to you that you are particularly fascinated by a particular genre of entertainment, such as comedies or entertainment productions about high school life or college life?

(27) Look around you inside the bedroom of your family's home. Which posters or photographs or other wall hangings do you see? Do any of the persons or places or things or activities highlighted by any of those posters, photographs, or other wall hangings suggest to you the need to study a biography or book or magazine article about any of those persons or places or things or activities?

(28) Do research on the Internet to identify what might explain why some children consistently earn very good grades or excellent grades on their schoolwork. If you study what what might help account for those children's success in school, this could also be useful to yourself in your own education.

(29) Keep in mind that all children and all adults get bored on occasion. Look upon boredom as a creative challenge to yourself. How can you make the most of this opportunity to pursue a creative project or achieve progress on a goal you have set for yourself?

(30) If it is a rainy day outside, you get permission from your mother or father to place a rain gauge on the front lawn or back lawn of your family's home. That rain gauge will then measure for you the amount of rainfall that is occurring outdoors at your family's home.

(31) You could count the money you have in your wallet or coin purse, and decide how much of that money you would like to save.

(32) You could pursue factual research about several of the thousands of colleges and universities in this nation. Which of those thousands of colleges and universities of the United States offers what you would like to see in any college or university that you would yourself ever agree to attend as a student?
For example, do you want to eventually attend a college or university that reveres your own Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion legal and Constitutional rights? Do you want to eventually attend a college or university that has a proven record of fully honoring the privacy rights of each of its current and prospective students? Do you want to attend a college or university that fully protects each of its current and prospective students from exposure to injurious noise pollution? Do you want to attend a college or university that strictly enforces rules and strictly opposes the law opposing any participation in anonymous communications or stalking by any student or employee of that college or university. Do you want to attend a college or university that fully protects the full range of legal rights of honest and law-abiding students who do not consume any alcohol or tobacco products or any illicit drug, for that matter.

(33) Draw a sketch or portrait of someone whom you currently admire or like.

(34) Read about the history of bathing and personal hygiene by consulting an encyclopedia or the Internet.

(35) Ask yourself which of the subjects that you study in school is currently your favorite. Then ask yourself which careers relate to that subject area.
For example, if you enjoy studying Spanish in school, what are the various eventual career options that relate to or feature use of the Spanish language? Reviewing the many career options relating to Spanish will help you to "preview" career possibilities in your own future.
For example, many of the American Embassies owned by the U.S. Department of State are situated in countries where Spanish is the official national language. You could pursue a career as a diplomat, or as a staff member at an embassy situated in a Spanish-speaking country.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

My Advice to Young Boys or Young Male Youths

I would like to share with young boys or young male youths some ideas that might be helpful to each of you:

(1) Which subjects and topics and activities do you like or love the most? Have you tried to find children's books about each of those subjects?
FOR EXAMPLE, do you love running? Have you found a book about running as a sport? Have you found a book about great runners of American history?

(2)Do you keep a personal filebox inside your home that contains articles and ideas about each of your favorite subjects or topics or activities? If your parents permit you to do this, you will have a way to store information about your favorite interests. You can then review that information whenever you wish. It can be included in your own personal library inside your home.

(3) You could ask each of your parents to give you a copy of his or her "resume," as he or she may call it. That one-page or two-page fact sheet refers to his or her accomplishments. You can then create your own personal file about each of your parents that you can review on a year-round basis. This will help you to appreciate what each of your parents has achieved as a human being.

(4) Which of the human beings you've read about or heard about do you like or love the most? Can you find a children's book biography about each of those human beings? If so, you could then read each of those children's books with great interest.

(5) Are there any museums, art galleries, nature parks, amusement parks, schools, libraries, restaurants, or stores in your city or town that you would like to visit? You can learn more about the museums, art galleries, libraries, nature parks, amusement parks, restaurants, and stores in your city through research on the Internet.

(6) Are you planning to give a Holiday greeting card to each of your favorite teachers and friends and relatives? If so, this would give you an opportunity to write a brief and friendly note to several of the persons you like or love the most.

(7) What would you like to do when you grow up? If you want to become a lawyer when you grow up, try to find a children's book that describes the life of a person who was a great lawyer. You can then read that book to learn what the life of a lawyer is like.

(8) Is there any famous person you would like to write to? If you write to that famous person and ask for his autograph, he might give that to you. You can then post near your desk in your home that autograph from a famous person you like. This will help to inspire you in your own life.

(9) What foods do you enjoy eating in your home? You could ask your mother or father to help you learn how to prepare that food in your family's kitchen.

(10) When are you the happiest as a young boy or young male youth? Is there anything you can do to increase the number of times when you feel that happiness?

(11) Who is the most interesting person you know? Pretend you are a newspaper reporter. Jot down questions you would like to say to that interesting person. Then ask that interesting person if he would be willing to answer those questions that you've come up with for him.

(12) Try to live creatively. If you enjoy playing war games in which you are a soldier, try playing a "peace game" as well. Try playing a game in which you help to protect world peace for all nations.

(12a) Which foreign country do you love the most? Do you like the food of that foreign country?

(13) Pretend you are President of the United States of America. What would you ask Congress to do that would help to improve this country?

(14) Which of the toys that you own is your favorite? What makes it your favorite toy?

(15) Which of the games that you play helps you the most when you read or think hard or attend school?

(16) Ask each of your friends where they were born. You will find that some of your friends were not born in the same U.S. city or U.S. state as yourself. You can then do some research to learn more about each of the cities and U.S. states where your friends were born.

(17) Who do you enjoy talking with the most? Why do you enjoy talking with that person?

(18) When do you smile the most often? Do you find that you smile the most when you are talking with someone you like quite a bit? Do you smile the most when you are facing someone you like or love in person?

(19) What do you know about each of your grandparents? You could write to each of your grandparents and ask them to tell you more about themselves.

(20) Do you have a godparent? If so, you could write to your godparent and ask him to give you more information about himself.

(21) Which television show do you like the most? Why do you like that television show?

(22) What are your favorite places to visit? Why do you like visiting that place or those places?

(23) When you hear the word "love," which persons or things or activities immediately come to mind for you?

(24) What do you love the most about your brother or sister?

(25) What do you love the most about your parent or step-parent?

(26) What do you love the most about your aunt or uncle?

(27) What do you love the most about your grandfather or grandmother?

(28) What was the happiest day of your life so far?

(29) What do you love the most about yourself?

(30) When are you not feeling bored?

(31) When are you the most aware of feeling bored?

(31a) Do you keep a "things to do when I'm bored" list? If so, you could review that list whenever you feel bored.

(32) If someone says the word "fun" to you, what do you think of?

(33) When do you feel calm? Is there some person you know who helps you to feel calm?

(34) When you read, which book makes you want to meet the author? Have you written to the author of any book that you like or love?

(35) When are you the most aware that you feel very ambitious and confident? Is there someone you know who encourages you to feel very ambitious and confident? If so, that person might possibly become a good friend for you.

(36) Which persons whom you know never tell you lies?

(37) Which persons whom you know are always honest with you?

(38) Which persons whom you know never pull pranks on you?

(39) Which persons whom you know follow the rules and obey the law?

(40) Which honest persons whom you know also praise you the most often?

(41) When you hear the word "kind," which persons do you think of?

(42) What is your favorite hobby? Do you know of any subject in school or career that makes use of the skills you use when you pursue that hobby?

(43) Of all the botanical plants and trees you know about, which plant or tree smells the best when it is in bloom? Which plant or tree is the prettiest? Could you yourself raise a plant or tree of your own that smells good when it's in bloom and is pretty?

(44) Which pet of yours do you like or love the most? What makes that pet your all-time favorite?

(45) If you enjoy helping to raise a pet, have you ever spoken with the veterinarian or medical doctor who takes care of your pet when your pet is sick? Would you like to become a veterinarian or doctor yourself when you grow up?

Sunday, October 11, 2009

My Advice to Gentlemen in their 20s

If a gentleman in his 20s were to ask me for personal advice---and I'm almost never given this opportunity, I might add----I would enthusiastically offer that gentleman the following suggestions:

(1) ALWAYS STRIVE TO ACHIEVE EACH OF YOUR GOALS, NO MATTER WHAT THEY MIGHT BE, IN A LAW-ABIDING AND CIVIL MANNER.
That strategy will simplify and enhance all aspects of your entire life. You will also find that (contrary to what many Americans say about morally straight people being "boring") it takes a lot more creativity and is a lot more emotionally fulfilling and interesting to pursue a civil and law-abiding life at all times.

Among the thousands of benefits to you from pursuing a law-abiding and civil life are, of course, the simple fact that you will enjoy a life in which you enjoy full freedom and a full range of options and opportunities, since you yourself have no criminal-conviction record and are honorable. You will also find that if you develop a reputation for being civil and law-abiding at all times, this will enhance your ability to make friends with persons of the opposite sex. Women and girls are much more likely to trust a gentleman or male youth who has a proven record for honesty in communications, civility at all times, and obedience of the law.

(2) STRIVE FOR CONSISTENCY OF TACTFUL AND CONSTRUCTIVE HONESTY, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
If you are consistently honest in statements you make to others, you will find that they are far more likely to trust you as a result. A person who has a reputation for tactful honesty is also likely to benefit in his career-related pursuits and social life. Keep in mind that whoever your prospective friends or mutual-consent romantic dating partner proves to be, they will admire you and like or love you a lot more, and a lot more consistently, if you are dependably honest in your statements and conduct relating to themselves.

(3)KEEP AND REGULARLY UPDATE ON A YEAR-ROUND BASIS A LIST OF YOUR OWN CURRENT HOBBIES AND PASTIMES, ALONG WITH A SEPARATE LIST OF PROSPECTIVE NEW HOBBIES OR PASTIMES THAT YOU MIGHT LIKE TO DEVELOP. IF YOU KEEP THOSE TWO LISTS IN A EASY-TO-CONSULT DRAWER OR CABINET OR FILE IN YOUR RESIDENCE, OR IN A NOTEBOOK THAT YOU CARRY WITH YOU ON A FREQUENT BASIS, THIS WILL HELP YOU TO ENRICH THE QUALITY OF YOUR LEISURETIME HOURS THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE.
AS YOU REFLECT ON POSSIBLE NEW HOBBIES OR PASTIMES FOR YOURSELF, YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: WHICH ACTIVITIES OR PERSONS OR THINGS INSPIRE IN ME THE GREATEST SENSE OF PLATONIC PASSION OR PLATONIC PLEASURE IN MY OWN LIFE?
IF YOU ENJOY DRINKING HOT TEA OR ICED TEA, FOR INSTANCE, YOU MIGHT WELL FIND A TEA-AND-CONVERSATION CIVIC GROUP IN YOUR CITY OR TOWN OR COUNTY THAT APPEALS TO YOU. IF YOU ENJOY READING BIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNTS ABOUT HEROIC PERSONS, YOU MIGHT WANT TO JOIN A CIVIC GROUP THAT REWARDS HEROISM.

(4)PLACE A HEAVY EMPHASIS ON PLATONIC PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR OWN LIFE AT ALL TIMES. NO MATTER WHAT YOUR ROMANTIC WISHES OR ROMANTIC ASPIRATIONS MIGHT BE, YOU WILL FIND THAT HAVING STEADY, CONSISTENT, DEPENDABLY CONGENIAL PERSONAL PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS DURING YOUR LEISURETIME WITH LAW-ABIDING, PRIVACY-RESPECTFUL, CONSTRUCTIVE INDIVIDUALS, WILL PERVASIVELY ENHANCE YOUR OWN LEVEL OF ENJOYMENT OF YOUR LIFE, AS WELL AS YOUR OWN MEDICAL AND EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING.
THIS ADVICE IS BASED ON THE VERY IMPORTANT OBSERVATION, AN OBSERVATION OFTEN OVERLOOKED BY MOST GENTLEMEN WHO ARE IN THEIR 20S, THAT 99 PERCENT TO 100 PERCENT OF ALL OF YOUR OWN HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR 20s AND THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE LIFE---INCLUDING YOUR CAREER-RELATED RELATIONSHIPS, LEISURETIME RELATIONSHIPS YOU HAVE WITH FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS OF YOURS, LEISURETIME RELATIONSHIPS YOU HAVE WITH FRIENDLY STORE CLERKS AND WAITERS AND WAITRESSES, AND MANY YOUR OTHER NON-ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS----ARE, OF COURSE, DEFACTO PLATONIC IN NATURE, SINCE THEY DO NOT INVOLVE ANY SEXUAL OR GENITAL CONTACT OF ANY TYPE.

(5) STRIVE TO USE CLEAN LANGUAGE, AS MUCH AS POSSSIBLE. THIS WILL GREATLY ENHANCE YOUR OWN CREDIBILITY AS YOU STRIVE TO DEVELOP LASTING AND MUTUAL-CONSENT PLATONIC PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT ARE MUTUALLY-BENEFICIAL AND WILL PERVASIVELY BENEFIT YOU AND YOUR PLATONIC-RELATIONSHIP FRIENDS OR PLATONIC PERSONAL ACQUAINTANCES. WHEN YOU HABITUALLY VERBALIZE CLEAN LANGUAGE TO OTHERS, THIS CONVEYS YOUR OWN DEVOTION TO A GENTLEMANLY LIFE FEATURING A STRONG SENSE OF PLATONIC PURPOSE IN YOUR LIFE.

(6)STRIVE TO IDENTIFY MEETING PLACES OR CIVIC GROUPS OR PARTY HOSTS WHO OR THAT DO NOT FEATURE OR SPONSOR OR INVOLVE YOU IN ANY WAY WITH CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL OR TOBACCO OR MARIJUANA OR ANY OTHER ILLICIT DRUG. IN THE LONG RUN, YOU WILL FIND THAT GROUPS AND CIVIC EVENTS OR SOCIAL EVENTS FITTING THIS ALCOHOL-FREE, TOBACCO-FREE, AND ILLICIT-DRUG-FREE DESCRIPTION GIVE YOU GREATER LASTING PLEASURE AS A HUMAN BEING.

(7)STRIVE TO MINIMIZE YOUR OWN INVOLVEMENT WITH PERSONS WHO HABITUALLY TELL YOU LIES OR KNOWINGLY FALSE STATEMENTS, OR WITH PERSONS WHO EXHIBIT A DEFIANCE OF, OR LACK OF FULL RESPECT FOR, YOUR OWN FREEDOM OF SPEECH RIGHTS, YOUR OWN FREEDOM OF RELIGION RIGHTS, YOUR OWN FREEDOM OF MUTUAL-CONSENT-AND-FREELY-CHOSEN ASSOCIATION RIGHTS, OR YOUR OWN PRIVACY RIGHTS.
IT WOULD BE VERY HARMFUL AND INJURIOUS TO YOU TO ASSOCIATE WITH DISHONEST PERSONS. IT WOULD ALSO BE VERY HARMFUL TO YOU TO ASSOCIATE WITH ANYONE WHO SEEKS TO CENSOR YOU, OR WHO EXHIBITS INTOLERANCE TOWARD YOUR OWN LEGAL AND HUMAN RIGHT TO REFLECT YOUR OWN BELIEFS IN A LAW-ABIDING MANNER THROUGH YOUR OWN LIFESTYLE AND, IF POSSIBLE, THROUGH YOUR CAREER AS WELL.

(8) STRIVE TO MINIMIZE YOUR OWN INVOLVEMENT WITH PERSONS WHO FREQUENTLY VERBALIZE DELIBERATELY CRUEL OR NASTY OR MEAN or SARCASTIC COMMENTS TO YOURSELF, OR WHO PUBLICLY MAKE SLANDEROUS OR LIBELOUS STATEMENTS ABOUT YOURSELF.
Persons fitting that description can pervasively harm your own psyche and self-esteem as a human being. They can also subject you to actions, including illegal conduct, that are permanently injurious to yourself and your career-related and personal reputation.


(9) STRIVE TO AVOID PARTICIPATION IN PRANKS, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
Pulling a prank on someone can be permanently injurious to that individual, and the possible harmful repercussions for the "victim" of what you yourself regarded as an "innocent prank" are often impossible to predict in advance. An example of this were the youths in Ohio who, perched at an overpass above a highway, tossed a huge rock onto the windshield of a motor vehicle being driven by a clergyman. That clergyman was permanently and severely handicapped by that injury.

(10) KEEP AND REGULARLY UPDATE A LIST FOR YOURSELF OF EACH OF THE PERSONS YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS WHOM YOU ENJOYED SPEAKING WITH IN PERSON. YOU WILL FIND THAT IF YOU ENJOY THE IN-PERSON CONVERSATIONAL COMPANIONSHIP OF ANOTHER HUMAN BEING WHO HAS A PLEASANT IN-PERSON PRESENCE AND FRIENDLY AS WELL AS CALMING BODY LANGUAGE TO HIMSELF OR HERSELF, THAT COULD BE THE BASIS FOR YOUR CHOOSING TO BECOME A PERSONAL FRIEND OF THAT PERSON OR A FRIENDLY ACQUAINTANCE OF THAT PERSON ON A MULTI-YEAR BASIS OR LIFELONG BASIS.
The value of keeping this list lies in the simple fact that we tend to often overlook mutually-congenial or mutually-genial new acquaintances who are patient and personable and pleasant on an in-person basis. And many of the most promising prospective friends or prospective professional associates for yourself may well prove to be polite persons whom you have met before, but you somehow lost contact with them.

(11) PRETEND YOU WERE A LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, AND ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTION ABOUT YOURSELF AS A PROSPECTIVE POLICY-HOLDING CUSTOMER OR CLIENT OF THAT LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY:
WHICH OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT I CURRENTLY PURSUE IN MY OWN LIFE COULD BE FATALLY INJURIOUS TO ME OR UNDERMINE MY MEDICAL LONGEVITY OR CREATIVE LIFESPAN?


FOR EXAMPLE:
DO I CLIMB ROCKS ON A FREQUENT BASIS? DO I JUMP FROM AIRPLANES WITH A PARACHUTE AND ATTEMPT TO SKY-DIVE ON A FREQUENT BASIS? DO I FLY A PLANE ON MY OWN ON A FREQUENT BASIS? DO I PARTICIPATE IN THE "SPORT" OF BOXING ON A FREQUENT BASIS? DO I HABITUALLY RUN UP ENTIRE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS WITHOUT HOLDING THE RAIL OF THAT STAIRWAY THE ENTIRE TIME? DO I EVER CONSUME ALCOHOL AND THEN DRIVE A MOTOR VEHICLE? DO I EVER DRIVE THROUGH STREET INTERSECTIONS WHEN THE STREET LIGHT IS RED? DO I DRAG-RACE AGAINST OTHER HUMAN BEINGS? WHEN WALKING ACROSS A STREET, DO I HABITUALLY FAIL TO WALK IN THE DESIGNATED CROSSWALK? WHEN WALKING ACROSS A STREET, DO I FAIL TO PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO ANY AND ALL VEHICLES AND BICYCLES AND MOTORCYCLES AND JOGGERS TRAVELING TOWARD ME FROM EITHER DIRECTION? DO I LEAD A BAR-CENTERED LIFESTYLE? DO I CONSUME ANY ILLICIT DRUG? AM I ADDICTED TO ANY LICIT DRUG? DO I SMOKE TOBACCO CIGARETTES? DO I CONSUME PIPE TOBACCO OR SNUFF TOBACCO? DO I ENGAGE IN FREQUENT AND INDISCRIMINATE SEX WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF SEX PARTNERS ON A YEAR-ROUND BASIS? DO I EVER AGREE TO HAVE SEX WITH ANY MARRIED PERSON WHOM I KNOW AT THE TIME TO BE THE LAWFUL MUTUAL-CONSENT SPOUSE OF ANOTHER HUMAN BEING? DO I ENGAGE IN SADOMASOCHISTIC SEXUAL PRACTICES INVOLVING THE ACTUAL BEATING OR THE ACTUAL WHIPPING OF A SEX PARTNER OR ROMANTIC PARTNER, OR OF MYSELF, FOR THAT MATTER? DO I PURSUE ANY CONDUCT THAT I KNOW TO BE IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW? AM I ADDICTED TO MYSELF PULLING PRANKS ON OTHER HUMAN BEINGS? DO I HABITUALLY TELL FLAGRANT LIES TO OTHER HUMAN BEINGS? DO I CHALLENGE OTHER HUMAN BEINGS TO FIST-FIGHTS ON A FREQUENT OR HABITUAL BASIS? DO I VERBALIZE DEATH THREATS TO OTHERS ON ANY OCCASION? DO I PERMIT OTHERS TO SUBJECT ME TO DEATH THREATS WITHOUT MY CONTACTING A LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AND FILING CRIMINAL-LAW CHARGES AGAINST THAT OFFENSIVE PERSON?

(14) ASK YOURSELF WITH FULL HONESTY WHETHER YOU ARE CURRENTLY AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO ANY ACTIVITY THAT COULD BE MEDICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY AND FINANCIALLY HARMFUL TO YOU, AND COULD PUT YOU AT INCREASED RISK OF COMMITTING A CRIME OR FACING A LAWSUIT AGAINST YOURSELF IN A COURT OF LAW?
FOR EXAMPLE:
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO GAMBLING?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO DEFYING DEATH ON A FREQUENT BASIS, SUCH AS MIGHT OCCUR IF YOU WERE TO YOURSELF FREQUENTLY RIDE A MOTORCYCLE OR IF YOU YOURSELF WERE TO AGREE TO BE AFFILIATED WITH OR ASSOCIATE WITH OR PATRONIZE THE MAFIA OR COSA NOSTRA OR SOME ILLICIT YOUTH GANG, OR WITH ONE OR MORE ILLICIT DRUG DEALERS?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF YOUR DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO VIDEOTAPING OR PHOTOGRAPHING ANYONE WITHOUT THAT PERSON'S PRIOR EXPRESS CONSENT AND EXPRESS CONSENT AND FULL PRIOR KNOWLEDGE AT THAT TIME AS WELL?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO PROFANE SPEECH OR OBSCENE SPEECH IN YOUR VERBALIZED COMMUNICATIONS WITH OTHERS?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO SEEKING "REVENGE" ON AND SEEKING TO HARM ANY PERSON WHOSE POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS AND PHILOSOPHICAL AND PERSONAL BELIEFS OR VIGILANTLY LAW-ABIDING LIFESTYLE IS PERCEIVED BY YOU AS A THREAT TO YOU AND YOUR OWN LIFESTYLE VALUES?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO SEEKING TO PERSECUTE OR HOUND OR HARASS OR STALK OR LYNCH OR FINANCIALLY INJURE ANY PERSON WHOSE POLITICAL OR RELIGIOUS OR PERSONAL BELIEFS OR RACIAL OR ETHNIC OR RELIGIOUS OR PERSONAL IDENTITY YOU YOURSELF HAVE ANTIPATHY TOWARD OR AN AVERSION TOWARD?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO LABELING ANYONE WHOM YOU DISLIKE AS BEING 'THE ANTI-CHRIST,' WITH YOURSELF USING THAT CITED LABEL OF YOURS AS A RATIONALIZATION FOR YOUR ILLEGALY SEEKING TO HARM OR INJURE OR ATTEMPT TO SECRETLY AND COVERTLY AND SURREPTITOUSLY AND IN A SHOCKING CONTEXT COMPRISING A FELONY CRIME ON YOUR PART, YOURSELF ILLEGALLY SUBJECT THAT TARGETED INDIVIDUAL TO INVOLUNTARY OR UNWITTING INGESTION OF ANY FORM OF POISON OR CONTAMINATION OF HIS FOOD OR BEVERAGE THAT HE DEFINITELY DID NOT REQUEST OR AUTHORIZE OR WANT OR KNOW ABOUT?
--ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO INFLICTING NOISE POLLUTION ON OTHERS ON A NON-STOP AND CONTINUOUS BASIS, EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE AWARE THAT THAT NOISE POLLUTION MIGHT BE VIOLATIVE OF THEIR OWN PRIVACY RIGHTS AS WELL AS MEDICALLY INJURIOUS TO THEIR OWN HEARING CAPACITY AND MEDICAL HEALTH AND PERSONAL SAFETY?
---ARE YOU HABITUALLY DRIVING IN EXCESS OF THE SPEED LIMIT? IF SO, YOU MIGHT BE DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO RECKLESS AND INJURIOUS MOTOR-VEHICLE DRIVING PRACTICES THAT JEOPARDIZE THE PERSONAL SAFETY OF YOURSELF AND YOUR PASSENGERS, OTHER MOTORISTS, AND PEDESTRIANS.
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO STALKING PERSONS OR HARASSING PERSONS AFTER THOSE INDIVIDUALS VERBALIZE TO YOURSELF A REJECTION OF YOURSELF?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO PURCHASING VERY EXPENSIVE CARS, VERY EXPENSIVE CLOTHES, AND OTHER VERY EXPENSIVE MATERIAL GOODS, EVEN IF YOUR CURRENT INCOME LEVEL PUTS YOU HEAVILY IN DEBT SHOULD YOU MAKE THOSE PURCHASES?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF TELLING LIES AND INVENTING "FICTIONAL STORIES" OF PSEUDO-EXPLANATION THAT YOU PRESENT AS "FACTUAL INFORMATION" WHENEVER YOU ENCOUNTER A CIRCUMSTANCE IN WHICH ANOTHER PERSON CRITICIZES YOUR OWN CONDUCT OR ACCUSES YOU OF HAVING WRONGED THAT INDIVIDUAL?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO THE METAPHORICAL OUTLOOK THAT YOUR OWN AND OTHERS' LIVES ARE "MERELY A GAME," SO THAT THE PURSUIT OF "FUN" OR THE PURSUIT OF "WINNING AT THIS GAME" OR "THE COLLECTION OF HUMAN TOYS I SEEK TO OWN" ARE YOUR PRIMARY CITED "VALUES" AS A HUMAN BEING.
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES, SO MUCH SO THAT YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU CANNOT ENJOY YOUR DAY UNLESS YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED WHAT YOU REGARD AS THE "THRILL OF VICARIOUS PARTICIPATION IN VIOLENCE" THROUGH YOUR VIDEO-GAME INVOLVEMENTS?
----ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO BESTIALITY AFTER YOU YOURSELF RECENTLY HAD ILLICIT PHYSICAL AND GENITAL CONTACT WITH A FARM ANIMAL OR RANCH ANIMAL?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO TORTURING OR ENSLAVING OR PHYSICALLY ABUSING OTHER HUMAN BEINGS, AN ADDICTION THAT YOU POSSIBLY DEVELOPED AFTER HAVING READ THE FICTIONAL WRITINGS OF MARQUIS DE SADE THAT FEATURED HOSTAGE-TAKINGS AND DISEMBOWELMENT OF FEMALE VICTIMS AND OTHER FORMS OF VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIVIDUALS REGARDED AS BEING "SLAVES" OF 19TH CENTURY FRENCH ARISTOCRATS.
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO INTELLECTUAL OR PLUTOCRATIC ELITISM, SO MUCH SO THAT YOU LOOK UPON ANYONE WHOM YOU REGARD AS BEING "OF LESSER INTELLECT" OR ANYONE "OF A LOWER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS," IN YOUR VIEW, AS BEING A MERE THING THAT YOU CAN MANIPULATE AND SUBJUGATE AND TOY WITH AS A CITED "POSSESSION" OF YOURS?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO HAVING ILLEGAL SEX WITH SOMEONE DURING THAT INDIVIDUAL'S SLEEP, WITH YOURSELF POSSIBLY RATIONALIZING IT AS "A SILENT 'YES' FROM THAT SOMNOLENT SEX PARTNER, SINCE THEIR BEING ASLEEP AT THE TIME MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO SAY 'NO' TO MY SEXUAL PROPOSITION OF THEMSELVES; AND THEREFORE NO ACTUAL RAPE OF MY SLEEPING SEX PARTNER ACTUALLY OCCURRED."
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO FORCING YOURSELF UPON ANOTHER PERSON AND FORCING THAT PERSON TO HAVE SEX WITH YOU IN ANY OTHER CONTEXT?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO COMPELLED OR PRESSURED OR BRIBERY-RELATED INTERGENERATIONAL SEX WITH ADULT PERSONS SIGNIFICANTLY YOUNGER IN AGE THAN YOURSELF, SO MUCH SO THAT YOU FAIL TO FULLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE LEGAL RIGHT OF ANY PERSON YOUNGER THAN YOURSELF TO REJECT YOU AND ENJOY FULL AND LIFELONG FREEDOM FROM YOU.
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO ILLEGALLY BLACKMAILING OTHERS WHENEVER YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE PRIVY TO "SCANDALOUS PRIVATE FACTS" ABOUT ANOTHER PERSON?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF SEEKING TO HAVE SEX WITH ANONYMOUS SEX PARTNERS ON A YEAR-ROUND BASIS, YOUR APPARENT THINKING BEING THAT YOUR ANONYMOUS-SEX-CENTERED LIFESTYLE WILL SPARE YOU FROM HAVING TO PURCHASE A VALENTINE'S CARD FOR ANYONE ON VALENTINE'S DAY?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO YOUR HAVING ILLICIT SEX WITH SEXUAL PROSTITUTES IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR PAYING THEM MONEY, WITH YOURSELF HAVING RECENTLY CONCLUDED TO YOURSELF THAT "I SAVE A LOT OF TIME BY BYPASSING HAVING TO TREAT THEM TO A MEAL AND CONVERSATION AND BY ELIMINATING ANY PRETENSE OF MY HAVING PERSONAL INTEREST IN THEM OR PERSONAL AFFECTION FOR THEM AS HUMAN BEINGS."
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO LEADING A 'LATE-NIGHT HOURS LIFESTYLE,' BASED ON YOUR POSSIBLE VIEW THAT 'EVERYTHING IS MORE EXCITING AFTER MIDNIGHT'?
---ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO HURLING ANONYMOUS VERBALIZED COMMUNICATIONS AT OTHERS, SUCH AS MIGHT OCCUR IF YOU MADE ANONYMOUS PHONE CALLS TO OTHERS AND HUNG UP ON THEM WITHOUT IDENTIFYING YOURSELF BY NAME.
---AT YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO ATTEMPING TO BRAINWASH OR "DEPROGRAM" ANOTHER PERSON, EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE FAILED TO OBTAIN LEGAL PERMISSION IN A COURT OF LAW FOR ATTEMPTING TO BRAINWASH OR "DEPROGRAM" THAT PERSON?
--ARE YOU AT RISK OF DEVELOPING AN ADDICTION TO VIGILANTEISM IN ANY ASPECT OF YOUR OWN CONDUCT, WITH YOURSELF THEREBY FAILING TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAW AND PUNISHMENT OF ANY AND ALL ACTUAL OFFENDERS IS A LEGAL AUTHORITY HELD BY LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND BY JUDGES AND JURIES, NOT BY YOURSELF OR BY ANY CIVIC GROUP OF YOURS OR ANY "RELIGIOUS" GROUP OR "POLITICAL" GROUP OF YOURS OR BY ANY "BUSINESS" ENTITY OF YOURS OR LABOR UNION OR NON-PROFIT GROUP OF YOURS.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Urgent Need for Sociology Studies on Recycling in USA

There is an urgent need for a wide array of sociological and social psychology studies relating to participation in recycling of plastic goods and other items that might otherwise have been tossed into the trash.

I am very hopeful that various non-profit foundations in the United States will generously help to fund social science research that seeks to identify:

---which subcultures or subpopulations of Americans are the least likely to participate in recycling at present.

---which residents of the United States are situated the farthest geographically from any public recyclables drop-off facility or public recyclables bin into which those private citizens could place recyclable items from their own household.

---which age groups are currently the least likely to participate in recycling, and what might explain the low level of participation by those age groups.

---which industries of the United States are currently participating in recycling at a very minimal rate, and what might explain that very low level of participation in recycling by most or many businesses in each of those cited industries.

---which cities or counties or states or geographical regions of the USA currently have the lowest levels of participation in recycling of recyclable items such as plastic items, aluminum products, glass items, paper products, etc.

---which types of proposed possible incentives from the government, including financial incentives, might spark an increase in the percentage of all businesses and of all private citizens in the USA who or that participate in recycling on a year-round basis.