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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Potatoes, Clinton, Blue Dye, UPC #'s, New Online Selling Venue, Having a Soul, Regrets

Regrets is not the same as Making Mistakes

“Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.” Fulton Oursler

Those of you who know me well, know that I’m not big on regrets. There are a lot of trite (but true) sentiments on the subject… “everything happens for a reason”, “every hard thing is a learning experience”, “when one door closes, another opens”, etc.

For real, though. I think, for many reasons, regret is a wasted emotion.

However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of things I wish I’d done differently. Heh

Some are big, some are small.

One of the smaller ones that ran across my mind recently is that I think sometimes I’m unfair to new vendors. Case in point, back when I was lampworking I ordered glass rods from a few different vendors. One of the orders was received pretty broken up… very frit like. I decided right there and then to never use that vendor again.

I will admit that I felt justified in this decision (and still do to an extent) because the rods of glass had been bundled together with rubber bands (which by the way were stuck to several of the rods of glass) and little more was done to ensure an intact delivery.

I’ve received enough glass since then to know that a LOT of packing material makes all the difference.

But does that really justify my harsh and instant banishment from any future transactions? I mean, do I want my customers to find a fault in any of my works or shipments and just “write me off” or would I prefer they contact me and see what kind of customer service I have?

Definitely the latter.

I will try to not do this in the future. Mind you, this was … three, four years ago? I do hope I’m improving as a human being. Although “improving” could mean different things to different people.


What is the Soul?

As I was walking home tonight, I was thinking about humans.

Some people say the difference between humans and animals is the ability to discern right from wrong. Given my personal feelings about “right and wrong”, I’ll take a pass on that one.

Abstract thinking?

Pondering at all?

BTW, how do we know animals don’t “think”… don’t “wonder, ponder, muse”?

Do animals laugh?

What sets us apart from animals? Should we think of ourselves apart from animals?

Okay, back to what I was thinking as I walked home… If (and that’s a big IF) we do have some sort of reason for thinking the way we do, which does seem different than the way the animal kingdom thinks, what is the purpose?

On the surface, it would seem that at some point maybe we should be judged based on some of the things we end up thinking/feeling based on our years of musing. For example: if a person learns to be kinder, more generous, helpful, more selfless, etc. Doesn’t that seem like the stereotypical kind of thing we’re supposed to do/be?

But what about people who’ve been in accidents and are mentally impaired… or those born that way. Jeez, just look at the wide range of people in the world. There’s no way we can be “judged” based on how/what we think. Okay, so then what’s the point of “thinking”? And… do we get judged on something? If so, what?

If we are different parts, are they physical, mental, emotional, spiritual? What is the purpose of each of these? Does it matter what they do in life?

So many people (the majority, I would think) believe in life after death. What if there isn’t? If there isn’t, it seems kind of odd that we have the ability for such deep musing… or does it? Shrug.

And if there IS life after death, are we supposed to do something in particular during our life to prepare for the afterlife? And… if there’s an afterlife, do we have ONE incarnation or several?

WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF LIFE?

Whew… okay, done for now.


New Online Selling Venue

I hear there’s a new place to sell things. Made It Myself

I wonder if THIS one can be an online selling place for handmade things… without involving supplies and/or vintage. Time will tell.


What Country Was This Made In?

Have you heard that you can tell what country something was made in based on the first number/s of a product’s UPC bar code? Well, that’s not exactly true.

What those first numbers tell you is what country or region that barcode was assigned… not necessarily where that product was manufactured.

Same thing with the EAN number (the European version of the U.S.’s UPC code). The first numbers indicate what country the company is based in, not where their products are made.

As stated on the GS1 page: “GS1 Prefixes do not provide identification of country of origin for a given product. They simply provide number capacity to different countries for assignment from that location to companies who apply. Those companies in turn may manufacture products anywhere in the world.”

If you want to see the list of countries, though, anyway, click here.


Blue M&M’s for Back Injuries

Well, not exactly, but how’s this for an interesting story? Click here to read.

According to new research, the same blue food dye found in M&Ms and Gatorade could be used to reduce damage caused by spine injuries, offering a better chance of recovery.


But the best news of the day is this…

Laura Ling, Euna Lee pardoned, leave country with Bill Clinton

And with that, I bid you goodbye for now… see you tomorrow!

Oh, before I go… “Darisa Potatoes”… Mom wanted me to explain. We had them tonight, as a matter of fact. You cut up about four or five potatoes and stick them in a bowl in the microwave for 5 mins or so until they are semi-cooked. You heat oil in a pan, put the potatoes in and add a package of Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix. Then you put a lid on the pan and leave them for awhile… ten mins or so… flip ‘em (or mix ‘em) once and let them cook until they’re soft on the inside and crunchy, brown on the outside. Mmmmm. BTW, we call them Darisa potatoes because we had them there first… at Darisa’s house.


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