Thursday This n That

I was reading about the Milgram experiment again this morning.  I find psychological stuff fascinating.  One thing I hadn't known about the experiment before was that Milgram had polled both psych students and colleagues beforehand about what they thought the results might be, and few of them guessed the truth.  In retrospect, and knowing what we know now, it's unsurprising to me that a majority of people would follow authority even against their own consciences.  

Just now, I was at a friend's blog talking about POV choices, and it reminded me of a tense-choice I made years ago.  I had originally written Wish in One Hand in third person with a totally different general storyline.  A whole novel, shitcanned in favor of a tense change.  In case you're not a writer, that's a LOT of work in the dumper there.  I think the first draft of that was like 236 pages.  Useless and doomed to sit forever in the labyrinth of my folder system.  

I took yesterday off.  Of like everything.  I watched TV and I ate.  Bacon cheeseburgers with french fries cooked in bacon grease and store-bought cheesecake.  Yum.

Oh, we did make the decision to bite the bullet, raid the savings, and schedule a full brake job on old Cally Cavalier.  In this super-hilly country, it's definitely necessary.  That's set for tomorrow.  I drop the car off in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon.  Time to dust off The Jeepster for a little shuttling work.  Thank goodness for the second vehicle or I'd be stuck sitting at either the shop or the bar down the highway a piece for 5-6 hours.  It's too far out in the middle of nowhere to walk anywhere else.  I could take a book, but sitting for that long on questionable seats would wreck me.

Cross your fingers for me.  This is an untried mechanic for us.  I mean, he came highly recommended by a guy who knows him and knows vehicles (a retired truck mechanic actually), but there's always a concern when dealing with any new [professional, doncha know.

I'll be sitting here tomorrow like a worried mama who's baby is in the hospital.  I've had Cally for 19 years now.  

I joked with Hubs yesterday that I'm going to name the new brakes Rover.  Cuz I could've used that money to get a dog.  We laughed and laughed.  LOL, I kill me.  And he might if I keep joking that way.  Ba dump bump... ting.

And on that note... What's on your this-n-that list today?

The Psychology of Baking

The other day a friend of mine said something about how I must be so motivated to bake as much as I do.  Which got me to thinking.  Baking for me is less about being motivated and more about finding something to do that provides me with the illusion I'm accomplishing something.  That and the end product is a yummy treat with makes me (and Hubs) happy.

Yeah, yeah, I know... there's the whole 'food is not happiness' thing.  =op

Anyway, I tend to think (and overthink) about stuff.  So when my friend said what she said, I started to delve into it.  Why am I baking like a fiend right now?

And that's what I came up with - I'm sublimating the urge to do things I cannot do into something I can do.  I have little control over what's happening in my life, but I can control what I bake.  'Rona madness?  Bake something.  Election chaos?  Bake something.  Can't shop?  Bake something.  Can't write?  Bake something.  

Mental, I know.

But hey, my neuroses aren't debilitating and we have a house full of treats, for which Hubs is eternally grateful.  

To that end, today I really have to do a batch of granola bars.  Hubs ate the last of those a couple days ago.  And I need to make a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving - which we will begin eating as soon as it cools, because cheesecake.  

Does any of this baking really help?  :shrug:  It can't hurt.  Except my waistline and that's been holding steady, so no worries there.

What about you?  Have you baked anything lately?  Does it help?

Thursday This n That

Under the heading of things I did not need to know, I heard on TV the other day that koala poop smells lovely.  Apparently, it's all the eucalyptus they eat.  I would think that would make it smell like cough drops - cue the ewww - but that's me.

In college, I took a class called The Psychology of Sexual Behavior.  It was taught by a woman who looked like she ought to be home baking cookies for the grandkids, which made talking about sexual subjects kind of weird.  Anyway, the only things I remember from the class were the factoids she would drop at the beginning of class - like a sperm whale's penis is twelve feet long and three feet in diameter at the base.  =oO

The hardest part about quitting ice cream is that I have the urge to make chocolate cake but chocolate cake without ice cream is just wrong.  It's been 39 days since I last ate ice cream and I only miss it a little.  Sometimes.  A lot when I'm having a rough day.

Yesterday, I had to run a quick errand and on the drive, I got a sudden craving for chocolate.  Would you believe the dollar store has already changed over to Easter candy?  Those unromantic bastards.  Anyway, I snagged a Russell Stover Maple Cream egg and assorted non-holiday chocolates.  I inhaled the egg when I got home.  So fluffy!  Yum! 

I also picked up a Dr. Pepper, which I hadn't had in years.  I also haven't had a carbonated soda in months.  I might've drank a third of it.  It was interesting.  Definitely burpy.  And I definitely don't miss it.

Okay, I think I've chewed your ears enough today.  What's on your mind?

Psychology Stuff

I was reading an article this morning about The Milgram Experiment.  If you're not familiar with the name - and I wasn't - it's the psychological experiment wherein the subject is asked to shock his supposed fellow subject if said subject gets the answers to a series of questions wrong.  With increasing shocks for each wrong answer.  Up to what is supposed to be a hazardous level of electric shock.  100% of subjects shocked their fellow man up to the second highest setting.  Like 67% went all the way to the top. 

I'd first heard about this experiment probably in HS Psychology class, and if not then, any of my college level courses.  (I was a Psych major for 3 semesters.)

Psychology stuff interests the hell out of me.  Always has.  Studying it, not applying it - which was why I changed majors my Sophomore year.  The thought of actually applying psychology in a doctor/patient setting began to give me the willies.  I did change from Clinical Psych as a major to Behavioral Psych first, but even that step down didn't thrill me.  I ended up moving to Speech/Communications and shifting Psych to a minor (because who wants to lose all those credits?)

I ended up taking the big Psych 101, then Child Psych, Behavioral Psych, the Psychology of Sexual Behavior, and one called 'Causes and Control of Aggression'.  All very interesting stuff.  Well, CCA was interesting but I had a shit for a prof, so it wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be.  Still, I learned stuff. 

And looking back over the past 15 years of writing... Gah, it's been 15 years since I started what would become my first finished novel... a lot of what I learned in those courses has been helpful.  I mean, with my memory problems, I wouldn't be able to pass a test on any of the information I learned back 1988-1992 - like I didn't remember it was called 'The Milgram Experiment' and it was done by Stanley Milgram back in the '60s - but it's all still in there. 

Everything in there can be used to enrich the writing.  Art, Philosophy, Mythology.  It ain't just the English courses that are important.  In fact, my English 101 was pretty much a pat on the head course and did me no damn good.  English 201 kicked my ass and made me a better writer, but it wasn't the most important course to my eventual writing career.  The most important courses were probably the Psych ones. 

Learning about what makes the human mind tick.  Interesting stuff.

What about you?  Ever take a Psych class?  What do you think were the most important subjects for you?