Some Observations and Questions...

... or, "a few things my brain has been working on.”

- Have you ever noticed that in magazine ads for watches, the time is always about 10:10? (Sometimes they make it 10:08 or 10:09, somewhere in that range.) I guess they're intent on giving a balanced appearance. Seems awfully conventional, though, for a product that's often marketed as an expression of one's individual style. There's no such thing as an average citizen, but we all like things tidy. Even the avant-garde fashionista and the rock climbing, yacht racing polar explorer have a sense of feng shui when selecting a timepiece. "I want a watch that lets the world know I'm the fighter pilot type, living on the edge and, especially, following my own path. But when selecting that watch, I want to see the hands, the date window, and the hour markers as clearly as possible."

- How is it that we can put a man on the moon, but we can't make a soda fountain that will not drip on my hand as I pull my cup away?

- Why is a man on the moon always used as the standard of technological achievement? Why not nuclear fission, laser eye surgery, or mapping the human genome? We can put a man on the moon, but we can't seem to think of another accomplishment to reference when making a proverbial claim about human progress.

- I think they should make a movie about Leonardo da Vinci, and cast Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role, just because that would look neat rolling up the screen in the closing credits. I wonder if DiCaprio will go bald and grow a beard in his old age.

- People like to shorten up big words, to make them easier to say. And yet, when talking about a ladies' doctor, they always pronounce each letter of the abbreviation: Oh-Bee-Jee-Why-Enn. Folks, that's five syllables! Why not just  pronounce it Ob-Gyne? That's what I'd do, if I ever had a need to talk about such a person. The rest of you can say the whole thing; it won't bother me. Just don't get upset if I end up with more free time than you.