KodyMyers.NET

That’s right! They actually created a holiday for the more sinister people of society.

On a whim, I started Googling around for “left handedness.” One of the more interesting things I turned up was a store that sells everyday products redesigned for left-handed use. I even found that there is an international holiday for left-handedness, celebrated on August 13th since 1976.

I can’t say that I’ve ever found left-handedness to be so debilitative that it hindered my ability to complete any given task. I’ve always been able to adapt by either finding a way to use right-handed tools with my left hand or just using my right hand the best I can. What’s most interesting to me is that I don’t ever realize that I’m adapting – I just pick up a pair of scissors and use them. I certainly can’t justify spending $30 on a pair of left-handed scissors or $75 on a left-handed keyboard.

Approximately 15% of the world’s population is left-handed. To quote from one left-hander’s website:

Being left-handed… gives me a razor-thin view of what it’s like to be a minority. As a left-hander, I’m discriminated against all the time. Not for serious things: I am not denied housing, medical care, a job, a seat on the bus. But I experience anti-lefty bias in the form of school desks that are unusable, carrot peelers that are useless, power tools (such as skill saws) that are dangerous or even life-threatening, pens that smear and make my writing illegible, computer mice that cause hand cramps.

It’s absolutely astounding how many of our modern-day tools are designed for right-handed people. Most of them don’t expressly discourage use by left-handers, but they are ergonomically optimized for right-handers.

At least I can always fall back on the old aphorism: Only left-handed people are in their right minds.

I used to think that having bad credit was a bad thing. Since I got my first credit card at age 18, I’ve always done my best to make timely payments and not exceed my limit. At times I even purposefully purchased things on credit just to build up my rating. It wasn’t long until I noticed that the frequency of credit card offers I was receiving began to increase at a frightening pace.

I adapted by learning to handle unsolicited credit card offers with extreme prejuduice, usually ripping the envelopes apart without even opening them. I could spot junk mail from 20 feet and eventually caught on to their tactics of not printing anything on the outside of the envelopes so that unsuspecting recipients were forced to open them in case they might for some reason be important.

One day, though, while ripping through the day’s waste of virgin rainforest, I happened upon an envelope that contained a very special surprise. What’s this? A fake card? That’s right, they had sent a cardboard replica of their card in hopes of getting me excited enough to want the real thing. Endless possibilities were forming in my twisted mind until I flipped it over and saw the big, bold print: “This is not a valid credit card.” Crap, what a way to burst a man’s bubble. Ah well, I kept the card anyway. How little I knew what I had set in motion.

Not even a week later, I get the same offer in the mail again with yet another spiffy card! Then other companies followed suit, fueling my collection of little fake credit cards. I began to wish for more. That’s right, I wanted more credit card offers. It was like a sickness.

Perhaps it is some strange way of coping. It’s difficult to describe how tempted I am to place those “Business Reply” envelopes back in the mailbox empty. As funny as it would be to make them pay even more postage for their garbage, I harbor a certain amount of paranoia that several men in black suits would eventually find their way to my house, throw me into a black helicopter, and fly me out someplace where they can lock me away and pretend I never existed.

My stack continues to grow steadily, each new card adding to the absurdity of the whole notion. I can’t help but think how much money and resources are wasted on this stuff. I’m not exactly sailing around with Greenpeace every chance I get, but I sometimes find myself wanting bad credit just so I can help out the environment a little.

Of course then I can starting getting a whole new kind of paper treatment: Reams of paper touting, “Bad credit? We can help!”

I’m trying out a new weblog script called WordPress. Instead of using flat files like Blogger (which I was using), it indexes everything into a MySQL database. This makes publishing new entries faster and also allows for searching. So far it looks very solid.

Now I just have to find a theme I can stick with.

So much in the news lately! Saddam got captured, the economy is booming, one of the two DC snipers got life without parole, Michael Jackson got charged with seven counts of child molestation, a 6.5 quake in Cali, a flu epidemic, and at least one REALLY mad cow! Gads.

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season. I’m certain most of you have already finished your Christmas shopping, but I, falling victim to my personal long-standing tradition, have once again procrastinated most of my gift purchases until the very last minute. When will I ever learn?

Anyway, I was really just writing the above to give me an excuse to put up some links I thought a few of you out there might enjoy:

• homestarrunner.com
  This is a ridiculously funny website that has become an endless source of quotes on public web forums and at work (since one of the guys there got us all hooked on it). Originally a children’s book character, Home Star Runner is a guy… or… umm… thing who isn’t very bright, but everyone loves him anyway since he’s always so nice. Don’t forget to click “First Time Here” from the main menu so you’ll know why this entry has such a stupid title. Everything here is written in Flash, so if your browser tells you that you need to install the Macromedia Flash Player Plug-In, just click yes – it’ll be good for you. It’s a short download and the Flash player is quite unobtrusive anyway.

• digitalblasphemy.com
  If you need some nice wallpaper for your computer desktop, I highly recommend you check this link out. Digital Blasphemy is a website ran by one artist who has an assortment of wallpapers you can download for free, as well as a huge collection available in a members’ section you can subscribe to. Right now he has a gallery of free, holiday-themed wallpapers available for download, though you’ll probably need to snag them soon since he will most likely take it down shortly. I’ve had a DB wallpaper displayed on my computer every day for nearly three years now. Beautiful stuff.

• reallifecomics.com
  I’m beginning to develop quite an addiction to web comics. This is one of my staples. It’s a series inspired by the real life of the cartoonist and his friends (who all happen to be avid gamers and computer junkies). Some of the situations are just WAY too familiar.