20150304 (J)
Journal: March 4, 2015
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Language                                Science (Origins)                                Self                                Thought Process

Origin of Skycrapers: Bricks or mud patterns may have started as curious, fun doodles with wet clay recognized later after the “art” dried. Then they may have become cairns (markers) that “I have been here” or “Joe and Mary were here”. Then someone stacked a few “bricks” as a more powerful marker, and it’s off to the races and skyscrapers.

Ping pong is my game, it has been since camp Tecumseh at 9 years old. Many other games I played, baseball (10-13 yrs), basketball (14-20), pole vault (13-18) came and went, but ping pong stayed with me. I haven’t played in 10 years, but each 10 year interval it all comes back to me, the “english” especially, my forte, learned from my dad who could always whip me with his “english”.

As all “action” games, there is no time to “think” about moving the paddle, “just so” (fine millisecond corrections, based on a model (prediction) of the future position and velocity of the approaching ball). My skill remains, perhaps because of the quickness and accuracy of the model as much as quickness of the hands. I showed those young bucks in prison a thing or two about ping pong and learned a thing or two from all of them, including do not snitch of fellow prisoners, which I would expand to "do not snitch on fellow humans".

I am not so good a pocket pool, though I can still win an occasional 8-ball game. Pool requires planning and model checking. It is a game of plus or minus less than one degree. The ping-pong table is much larger than a pool pocket and easier to hit. Ping-pong is a game of plus or minus 10 degrees. We always try for greater accuracy, but anywhere within the 20 degree cone will hit the table.

It seems I have always been a plus or minus 10% kind of guy. Perhaps my brain is so wired, perhaps I learned it sitting on my daddy’s lap: a little of both I suspect, the flavor is in the mix.