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Greetings,
Quotaholics:
The RGQ readership is one of the most exacting groups on the web. I know
each week as I sit down to a blank screen, that my subjects must be both
entertaining and informative in order to meet the high standards of our
readers. They crave the intellectual stimulation of a well researched
article and so my job as author is to meet these high expectations. It
is a difficult job. Hopefully, if I’ve done my job well, people will be
moved to comment on an article.
For today’s article, I’m referencing Scientific
American. This esteemed journal has brought attention to a study done
by Elaine Chan and Jaideep Sengupta at the Hong Kong University of Science
and Technology. The study was published in the Journal of Marketing Research.
The topic of the study was flattery.
The platitude stating "Flattery will get you anything" may not
be as far off as we, as discerning consumers, believe. While we can often
see something as a boatload of horse manure, we may have more residual
feelings of well being spilling over into our decision making than we
think. We can see the flattery for what it is, but does it still affect
our behaviors?
The study asked participants to evaluate a new department store. First
they were shown an advertisement listing the store’s offerings as well
as praising the prospective customer’s "impeccable sense of style
and eye for high fashion." The hope was to see if those reading the
ad could see the flattery for what it was and then not be swayed by what
they read.
There seemed to be an understanding that the flattery was trying to make
the shopper feel good about themselves and their ability to judge quality.
However, even knowing they were the recipients of rampant flattery, the
participants tended to give a higher than normal rating to the store and
its contents. Knowing they were having smoke blown up their expensive
and well-tailored skirts or slacks did not prevent them from giving an
unconscious nod of approval to the store.
There is a phenomenon know as the above-average
effect. Most people feel they are above average, which is statistically
impossible. For example, when asked about their driving capabilities,
far more than 50% believe they are better than average drivers. We look
for clues to reinforce this high opinion we hold for ourselves. When someone
says something positive to us, even if we know it is bald faced flattery,
we may shrug it off, but secretly think, "Well, they might be right."
Another check to see if flattery was influencing decisions was tested.
Participants were asked to write about an aspect of their personality
they would like to improve or change and another trait they were happy
with. If they were praised for the trait they felt needed improvement,
they were far more affected by the insincere flattery. So if they wanted
to improve their organizational skills and yet were happy with their level
of creativity, commenting on their great use of time and ability to multitask
would be more effective than pointing out the aesthetic pleasantry of
a photograph they took.
All this helps a smooth salesman make a great pitch. If he/she can flatter
you enough, it might make the difference between your purchasing something
instead of "just looking." Not only that, but the slick commercials
on television and in print or on the web may have more of an influence
on our purchases than we think. Although we subconsciously know that buying
some Bud Light isn’t going to make a crowd of young and beautiful people
come storming into our living room to sign us up as their new best friend,
if the ad resonated enough, you may reach for the Bud with just a touch
of hope for a magical evening. You might be certain you weren’t influenced
by the ads, because that would only happen to those not above average.
Have you ever fallen for a line of flattery only to figure it all out
after the fact? How much influence do you think television advertising
has on your purchases? Are you more influenced by print ads where you
can study them for a longer period of time?
Have you watched others around you being swayed by a silver tongued devil?
Has it played a part in the office politics where you work? Has a sales
person ever talked you into buying something by this method?
Intelligently,
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“Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight
in whatever sunlight remains to them?” - Rose Kennedy
“What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.”
- Anonymous
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Smoke Break
Two old ladies were
outside their nursing home, having a smoke when it started to rain.
One of the ladies pulled out a condom, cut off the end, put it over
her cigarette and continued smoking.
Lady 1: “What’s that?”
Lady 2: “A condom. This way my cigarette doesn’t get wet.”
Lady 1: “Where did you get it?”
Lady 2: “You can get them at any drugstore.”
The next day … Lady 1 hobbles herself into the local drugstore and
announces to the pharmacist that she wants a box of condoms.
The guy looks at her kind of strangely (she is, after all, over 80
years of age), but politely asks what brand she prefers.
Lady 1: “It doesn’t matter as long as it fits a Camel.”
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“I thank my God for graciously granting me the opportunity of learning
that death is the key which unlocks the door to our true happiness.”
“Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together
go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.”
“I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply
follow my own feelings.” - All by Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart born on this day in 1756
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Speak right up!
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Rock
Hard
In geocaching, there are a type of cache called an "earthcache".
Unlike most other caches, there isn’t some kind of container the searcher
is seeking. Instead, the earthcache is meant to draw the geocacher to
a specific natural point of interest. Anything can be an earthcache.
It can be a sinkhole. It can be a rock that was deposited by a long
melted glacier. It can be layers of rock at a strip mine that show the
geological strata. It can be a tree so large you can drive a car through
it. As long as it is something naturally occurring, with some guidelines,
it can be an earthcache.
The earthcache is quite well described, often with scientific or educational
references. It must show that there is something to the location in
question other than a run-of-the-mill, common occurrence. An oak tree
in and of itself cannot be an earthcache. If that oak tree is growing
out of the side of a cliff, the earthcache can be about how vegetation
often can take root even in severe circumstances. Documentation links
are not only welcome, but encouraged. Specific quotes can be included
as documenting the facts. As long as there is corroborating data, there’s
a more than good chance the earthcache will be published.
But that’s not all that’s required. There are specific things that have
to be accomplished at each earthcache. Foremost, it is generally required
that the cacher has their picture taken with the focal aspect of the
earthcache, and an inclusion of their GPS unit in the picture. This
prevents people from simply snagging a picture off the Internet and
making a claim that they visited it. Additionally,
there are usually several questions that must be answered. These questions
have been derived from informational signs, plaques, handouts, or other
medium that is found at the site. Usually these tidbits of information
are not included in any online documentation or advertising, thus making
it a necessity to actually visit the site to be able to answer the questions.
Recently I visited a building that was built of stone which was found
right here in Ohio. At ground level, the stone was from the lowermost
strata of the bedrock. Each level of stone above was from a more recent
period, in geological terms. The higher the stone of the building walls,
the younger the rock. Inside there are small columns on display of rock
commonly found in each county of the state. Some, like the rose sandstone,
are quite beautiful. Because of this unique building theme, this building
on the Ohio State University campus has qualified as an earthcache.
Here’s your quiz:
What geological or natural feature in your area do you feel would qualify
as an earthcache?
Other than the regular "tourist traps", where have you seen
a natural feature you would consider worthy of mentioning to others?
If it were up to you, what kinds of natural features would you include
as qualifying as an earthcache
Rock Hard - Not What You Expected, Huh?
Cliff (the High-Tech Redneck who doesn’t rate a fancy ’signature pic’)
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Email Kirsten
“The
Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has this to say on the subject of
flying:
There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying.
The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and
miss.”
~ Douglas Adams, The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ~
Whoops, he did it again… Not to the extremes that he usually does
it, but still. There was just a little bit of blood and no visits
to the emergency room, but some First Aid was required and there were
some loud cries of pain before some kind of peace started to reign
again. When it was all over and we could breathe again, I sat back
with a cup of tea, sighed deeply, and said to myself and anyone else
who would listen, “Hasn’t there been enough medical drama in my family
lately?” After all, I have more-or-less singlehandedly kept the medical
profession alive over the last month or so. Major pharmaceutical companies
probably have their stocks going through the roof because of me. Me
and my bad back have done our bit for the economy.
For anyone wondering what on earth I’m talking about, the answer can
be summed up in one word. James. My four-year-old bundle of dynamite
who cannot stop moving, cannot stop exploring, cannot stop testing
how far he can stretch the laws of physics. The same one who is currently
averaging one ER visit a year - a statistic that almost increased
over the weekend. The kid who came shooting out like a cannonball
at birth and hasn’t stopped since.
It all started while my husband and I were enjoying a quiet dinner
on Sunday night. Both kids had already eaten. Meaning that they had
both turned up their noses at their food, and then eventually eaten
it when they had realized that the alternative was starvation. My
older son was at his computer watching videos of “Peep and the Big
Wide World”.
James was pretending to be Spiderman. He was trying to climb up the
side of our treadmill, which folds vertically and was up against the
wall. His attempts were frustrated by the fact that his legs are just
too short for him to get a good foothold. A resourceful child at the
best of times, he unceremoniously dumped out the contents of a plastic
toy box, turned the toybox upside down to stand on it, and thereby
gained the leverage he needed to climb up the side of the treadmill.
The conversation that followed is one that parents all over the world
could quote verbatim. It was along the lines of me and my husband
demanding that James get down from there, him saying no, us telling
him that he would get hurt, him telling us that he wouldn’t, and us
telling him not to come crying to us. Which of course is what he ended
up doing.
I saw it all in slow motion, and yet it happened too fast for me to
do anything about it. James’ foot slipped out from underneath him
and flipped over his head so he did half of an aerial somersault.
He fell about five feet to the floor, alternately hitting his head
and other bits of him on the way down, and landed with an almighty
thump with his neck at a weird angle, his head caught in the narrow
space between the treadmill and the wall, and his eyes looking more
than a little dazed.
Of course, the “Don’t come crying to me” philosophy vanished in an
instant as I saw my baby lying there. He started bawling at around
the same time I got to him, and to my eternal relief, he turned his
head from side to side and then sat up as soon as my husband had moved
the treadmill away from the wall. I administered some basic First
Aid and did what I could to verify that he was OK. I satisfied myself
that he could hear me and that he could tell me how many fingers I
was holding up. I staunched the flow of blood coming from a little
cut in the side of his head, and applied an ice pack to the goose
egg that had popped up. I made sure he didn’t have any broken bones,
and I soothed him as he repeatedly said he was sorry for not listening.
Once calm had descended, I had him draw a snowman. He likes drawing
and he needed the distraction, and it was a good test of whether he
had suffered any loss of fine motor coordination in the fall. When
he woke up the following morning, he was back to his usual bubbly
self, asking me if I remembered when he had fallen. Then he asked
me if I remembered taking care of him, and he said, “I love you, Mommy.
You’re nice.”
My cup runneth over.
Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten
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I love our new computer system. There are over 300 updates a year
for it, which means it must be cutting-edge technology, right? Just
this past weekend we put in a bunch of these updates to make our system
even better. We’re so lucky to have picked such a devoted vendor.
It’s hard to believe any competing vendor is still in business.
Allow me to give
you a shining example of their incredible abilities. Years ago, before
we got this system, people wanted the ability to e-mail the students
in their class. This weekend we installed updates that would allow
that very feat. This weekend I also started getting e-mails from faculty
saying they couldn’t run class rosters, which you need to do to e-mail
said class. So when I got into work on Monday, I tried running a class
roster. I got a message saying that I didn’t have permission to run
that process. So I checked the faculty permissions, and they did indeed
have permission. The search for a solution was on.
I quickly found
out what the problem was. Apparently they simply packaged the update
wrong. All we had to do was install the updated update and all will
be well. So we downloaded the update and installed it, and lo and
behold, I was still getting the same error. I updated the software
for the web page just in case that had something to do with it, but
that didn’t help. I ran some maintenance programs to clear out old
data, still no go. Then I went back to searching for a solution.
It turns out
there was a patch for the patch that was supposed to fix the update.
Now, if you had been working on this project for years, don’t you
think you might want to take a day or two to make sure it actually
worked? I mean, I could have waited a couple more days instead of
getting all sorts of e-mails from people saying they couldn’t run
rosters, especially since those people didn’t know our vendor had
released the update. But instead, I spent the better part of Monday
morning installing updates and responding to angry e-mails.
I love our new
computer system. Our vendor is soooo thorough.
Tim a’Musing
Having a Ball with Yarns
E-mail Dear Tim
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Uses For Coffee Filters
[Thanks Deborah]
Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet
to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
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I thought that was a better line than it turned
out. Anne got on a roll and saved me!
Next opening line…
He/She stood up and looked right at me…
Hints:
Here’s a great new rhyming/composition tool. http://www.writerhymes.com/
There’s also a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm
Submit
Opening Line
Submit
Limerick
I
was sitting there reading a book
Tucked away in my little nook
And then someone walked by
Daring to say "Hi"
So I gave them an angry look. - Bonnie |
I
was sitting there reading a book
Next to a small, tranquil brook
Sitting in the sunshine
Next to me was a line
Waiting for a fish to take the hook. - Anne Onimous |
I was sitting
there reading a book
When suddenly there blew a Chinook
I felt mighty humbled
For down hill I tumbled
While folks at me did stare and look. - Anne Onimous
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He was sitting
there reading a book
When overhead flew over a Chinook
His peace was now gone
That hot summer’s dawn
For he was a marine near Kirkuk. - Anne Onimous |
The old
lady was sipping some gin
Bought by the young stud from Berlin
He thought she’s cheesecake
But it was a mistake
He forgot to put his contacts in. - E. Cole Aye |
The old
lady was sipping some gin
While Prohibition Era was in
Soberness she eschews
Where does she hide her booze?
She hid a flask in her violin. - E. Cole Aye |
Tiger Woods
now must make amends
To his wife for all of his girlfriends.
From Elin he did flee
And drove into a tree
And found out how his Mercedes bends. - Anne Onimous |
I guess
all I can say is "Wow!"
A Russian lumberjack somehow -
Yeah the one named Chekov -
Whose left side was cut off
It’s okay - it seems he’s all right now. - Anne Onimous |
This story
is threadbare, I admit
Nudists a wall built with a permit.
Someone found in the wall
A hole drilled with an awl. . .
The police are looking into it. - Anne Onimous |
This joke’s
a better one-liner:
Show me a big Grand (or finer)
Piano falling fast
Down a straight mineshaft
And I’ll show you A-flat minor. - Anne Onimous |
A cross-eyed
teacher with dimples
Had a class full of kids with pimples
No matter how he tried
Because he was cross-eyed
He just could not control his pupils. - Anne Onimous |
Though using
computers may progress
Do hand-write a letter to impress.
But a tool of graphite
Sharpen before you write
Using a broke pencil is pointless. - Anne Onimous |
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Re: Downloading Books
I’ve always wondered about
how someone can be prosecuted for downloading music, especially when
almost every song that is heard online is placed in the temporary
internet files. I would think that rather than going for the person
who has downloaded the file, they should go to the person who has
illegally uploaded the file. I feel the same would be true for books.
I have downloaded three books - one by Alton Gansky an author who
placed his own file there for free download, another one I bought
from Dear Webby, and one I won. - Noella
Now that copying
of intellectual property is readily available and best done by a billion
volunteers, the whole system needs to be overhauled, or almost all
the money we spend on it will go to police and lawyers, who are very
likely to abuse the opportunity for their own agendas. I think we
might get a lot of voluntary compliance if we could just send a royalty
directly to the artist or author, to whom we are grateful, but will
always try to avoid paying those who make it their business to restrict
access. Of course, that is the one option that is never presented.
The music industry has managed to collect a large premium added to
blank cassettes and disks, on the assumption that they are used to
copy music, even though there are many other legitimate uses for them,
and using a taxed disk still does not render the user immune from
persecution. If voluntary royalties are not sufficient, we could still
stop threatening people with random lawsuits, so they would have no
motive for hiding any downloading activities, so it would be easy
to estimate how many copies of any work had been made. The originators
could then be compensated from general funds, making information a
public utility.
Sometimes it takes generations to eliminate jobs that have been made
obsolete, particularly where Unions have been involved. The music
industry is notorious for generating huge profits (while trying to
stiff the artists,) so there are large sums available for lobbying
efforts to perpetuate and extend the current system. The governments
need to get serious about serving the people and recognizing new opportunities
for the greater good. The patent system could use a similar overhaul,
fostering co-operation, and letting non-millionaires participate on
a more equal basis and focus on the work. - Bob of the North
Re: Broken Bones
Wow Cliff, where to start,
I’m only 56 (almost) and some days I feel closer to 90! I usually
get my bumps and bruises from falls, not too "ept" at walking
sometimes. I fell off a rope swing as a little girl and busted the
back of my head open (no stitches), fell off a high bar in grade school
and had the wind knocked out of me since I landed on my back. Fell
off the back of a horse in high school and my aunt landed on top of
me (she was larger than me) and got the breath knocked out of me again.
My knees have always taken a beating, graduated from high school with
scabby knees under my panty hose after a fall. Fell on a wet laundry
room floor in college and broke my pelvis, and had a concussion. Got
run over by a little guy in college, too, playing a game of touch
football, which caused migraines and TMJ for years. Broke my foot
in basic (wussy injury) during a hike. Fell while working for Wally
World and damaged my back and left leg, which will never get better.
Not to mention the damage from having four children!
Yes
I feel the weather changes–depending on what hurts it means different
things! My hands are really good barometers about a front coming in.
Fortunately no surgeries–just some poor physical therapy by people
who didn’t seem to know their anatomy. I may need surgery in five
years or so to help my hips since I have dysplasia. If that’s all
that happens I’ll be doing good! - Ruth in WA
Have I
had broken bones? Yes, many times. Leg, hand, arm.
Do I feel weather changes? Sometimes. I used to feel the weather in
the broken bones, but in the past two years I have started feel it
in the joints.
Have I had surgery to repair a congenital or accidental defect? Oh,
yeah. I had a total hip replacement more than 7 years ago. Best thing
I could have done for myself. The pain after surgery was less than
what I had before surgery.
I’m no spring chicken, but I’ve lived my life in my body and I can
handle any of the consequences. - Peg
Yep, I’ve had a
broken bone - my pelvis was fractured in three places in the left
ramus 20 years ago in a car accident. I’ve said since then that I
have a "barometer butt." I also have relatively severe spinal
arthritis, and it’s decided to take up residence in my left hip, as
well. Cold, damp weather about kills me. And strangely enough, really
hot, humid weather isn’t much fun for my bones, either (and because
heat does help ease the pain sometimes, I find the whole thing kind
of strange).
As for sinus trouble, a low pressure system bothers a lot of people.
When I had sinus trouble (back in my days as a heavy smoker), I felt
better when it was rainy, and clear, gorgeous days made my head pound
something fierce. My dad was interested in the whole weather-health
connection, as well. He had sinus problems, too, and I seem to remember,
his were worse on rainy days, opposite of me.
It’ll be interesting to read the responses to this one. - OhioKat
Re: Email Therapy
Kirsten, what an
interesting idea! I hadn’t heard of that before. It may not be for
everyone - some people will still want face-to-face contact with their
therapist, and feel as if they can’t form a connection via email,
and I understand that. I wonder, too, if some people will have concerns
about the privacy and confidentiality of email, both their own, and
that of the therapist. I would imagine that there are safeguards in
place to reassure those who are concerned about that, but some people
might still feel as if that’s not quite as safe a medium as they’d
like for personal and private conversations.
For
some, though, it might work just fine. I know from my own experience
that sometimes the simple act of writing things down can really clarify
your thoughts - there’s something about seeing them there in black
and white that makes them easier to sort through - in fact, you really
NEED to sort through them in order to write them down in a coherent
manner. That’s probably why therapists sometimes ask their patients
to keep a journal.
Also, sometimes, we don’t need "therapy" so much as just
an objective, non-judgemental listening ear. I know in my own life,
I often wished I just had someone to listen to me, and validate my
feelings…. not change them, or judge them, just acknowledge them.
Looking back to the years when I was younger and worked full-time,
I think I definitely would have tried this, if my employer had offered
it at no cost. - Ellen
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Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to be
accurately attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly
attributed, or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time
to time. I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out incorrect
quotes, and will print a retraction as soon as I become aware of any errors.
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and point it out to me. I’m in the process of compiling an e-book
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