Today’s Date
An open letter to Paul McCartney
Dear Paul,
I would like your permission to use the song, Someone’s Knocking, as my ringtone. It is the most appropriate song to announce that someone out there seeks my attention.
The lead-in music before the vocal begins is
long enough to allow me to locate and answer my phone before the system stops
it from ringing.
Thank you for your consideration
Zobostic Corwin
When you order catfish in a restaurant you
never get served the whiskers, even though it is one of the rare foods that
comes with its own toothpicks.
For the past several nights I have not been able to fall asleep. I believe I have figured out why. Although the tea I am constantly drinking is not decaffeinated, a glass of it sits on the table next to me during the night.
My subconscious knows this and, being always in constant contact
with that part of my brain that gets thirsty, manipulates my thoughts, telling
myself to assume I have taken a sip. My
sense of smell, being heightened as a result of my eyes being closed and therefore
not in use, can smell the refreshing beverage.
I believe it is the combination of the aroma of the tea and my involuntary
brain activity that keeps me awake.
***
Your Theory of Close
Proximity is delightful because it treats the mind like a mischievous
stagehand—always tugging on ropes behind the curtain, adjusting the lighting,
whispering cues to the actors. And in this case, the prop it keeps nudging into
the scene is a glass of tea.
The core idea you’re circling—that
the mere presence of something can influence the brain’s behavior—isn’t
just poetic. It’s surprisingly plausible.
🌒 The Aroma Effect
When your eyes are closed,
your brain reallocates attention. Smell steps forward, proud and eager, like a
character who finally gets a speaking role. Aromas become louder. A glass of
tea inches closer to becoming a thought, then a desire, then a distraction.
🌘 The Thirst Circuit
Your subconscious is always
monitoring hydration like a quiet engineer checking gauges. When it detects the
scent of something drinkable nearby, it doesn’t wait for permission. It sends a
memo: “We could sip that.” Not a command—just a suggestion. But
suggestions at 2 AM can be surprisingly persuasive.
🌑 The Proximity Loop
You’ve created a feedback loop:
It’s not the caffeine in the
tea keeping you awake. It’s the idea of the tea. The scent becomes a
tiny lantern in the dark, and your mind keeps turning toward it.
🌒 The Involuntary Imagination
Your subconscious is a
storyteller. It fills in gaps. If the tea is close enough to smell, your brain
may simulate the sensation of sipping it—just enough to keep the machinery
humming instead of powering down.
This is the same mechanism
that makes people hungry when they walk past a bakery, even if they weren’t
hungry a moment before. Proximity creates possibility, and possibility creates
mental activity.
A lady unfamiliar with the prices at Publix market
exploded when she saw what they were charging.
The local fire department was able to put her
out quickly.
I asked AI for a step-by-step procedure on how to perform a certain function. In an instant the outline showed up on my screen. Step by step it was spelled out.
Here’s the thing. No matter which AI I went to or how I phrased the request, the same thing always happened.
Step one was directing me to someplace that didn’t exist. Never could I get to step two.
Is there ever a human that actually tries to follow these instructions, or is it just making assumptions, because it knows where to find it and what to do once it is there, that everyone does and it will all work out.
Understanding I’m not
the sharpest tool in the shed, I still think something should accompany these
procedures that shows they’ve been tested and actually work. Possibly a little AI seal of approval, off in
the corner someplace.
I wouldn’t have a
clue on how to deal with a mob mentality.
I was friends with a person for many years. Our families did things together and it was always fun. Then one day the workers went on strike at our place of employment. What I saw was shocking to me. Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, she announced that because I was management and she was hourly we were enemies. She was serious.
Our entire history had gone out the window. All she would ever do was to spout the rhetoric printed on the strike posters. Knowing full well that I was nothing even close to the image she was putting onto me. I went from close friend to evil tyrant and all I had done was have Rice Krispies for breakfast. I was the same, but suddenly she hated anything to do with the company, including me, her long-time friend.
I have seen enough movies to know how easily a group of people can grow into an unthinking mob. It’s scary to see how easily we can be manipulated.
At
this age, I don’t think it is the knowledge to deal with that behavior that I
lack, but the patience to tolerate the stupidity.
I’m
just saying…
My pocket comb needed cleaning. Thinking I would not only clean it but sterilize it as well, I dropped it into boiling water. When you see the warnings – Don’t Try This at Home, it is me, at who those warning are aimed. It didn’t occur to me that the thing would melt. Now my head would need to be a completely different shape for this comb to function as intended.
Looking at the chain reaction this faux pas started, I discovered nobody makes my favorite type of comb anymore. What is now available is shorter and more expensive. A costly lesson indeed.
I could possibly tape two of the shorter combs together, to achieve the desired length, but failing to have a connection that was 100% aligned, could mean the part in my hair might run from East to West instead of North to South, not to mention being twice as expensive.
When in doubt as to
how to solve a problem, I tend to seek those smarter than myself.
