Ex Cathedra

He just called from USC to say he successfully defended his dissertation.  He’s now Patrick Douglas Crispen EdD!

My grandfather was the first in our family to work in an office.  He was a timekeeper for the Union Railroad.

My father was the first to have a Bachelor’s degree. He was Comptroller of a company that ran a chain of variety stores.

I was the first to skateboard around Dead Man’s Curve.

Now Patrick is the first in our family to get a Doctorate.

I’m telling my younger son, “Your turn!”

What does it mean to have done a thing? To have acted while we existed in the real world.

As opposed to during our long nonexistence, or our existence in the life of the mind or in the imaginary world that may be or may have been. As further opposed to the other times in the real world when we were being acted on or did not act.

Failing to act means that we intended. Intending means even less than our action or nonaction in the real world or the imaginary world while we were in it or not in it.

Acting so as to achieve this or that intention is equally a phantom. We acted or did not, in the real world.

Then why regret?

I’m back from the brain doctor (what the hell would I go there for?, but actually just a checkup ) But now I’ve got a scalp full of EEG glue so my hair looks like hell and I figure I need a hat. So maybe you folks can help me pick.

You can click on an image to get a bigger view.

P.s., when you open your eyes and the lights are on, the EEG really goes mad. What would have happened if only I’d thought to stare at the EEG at the time?

Christ!

I only thought I’d configured it right.

I managed to break it.

It’s fixed again.

The blogroll, articles, comments, smilies, and user accounts will be reinstalled in the fullness of time. Fortunately the backups appear to be good.

I’m working on the blogroll first. It looks easiest.

I still don’t know the difference between tags and categories. I will soon, I promise.

I’m stuck in this “Visual” editor which at least doesn’t generate <i> and <b> tags, but my cool additions to the tags need to be reinstalled. I still keep making typos all over the place, and the nice new mouse Robert got me keeps falling off the chair arm.
I long for death.

Actually, I long for Robert to come downstairs so we can play the Grand Prix of Bahrain that we just tivoed.