indulgence

It's here. In my garage. The 2006 Lexus IS350 with Sport Package. In Tungsten Pearl. It's totally pimped out with HID, DVD, NAV, 18 inch wheels. It has a Mark Levinson stereo system with 14 speakers. Aluminum pedals, paddle shifters, sport suspension. This car appeals to every sense. We spent an hour just admiring it from every possible angle when we got it home.



It's been a long day, wheeling and dealing at the dealership, and I'm tired. And yet I don't know if I can sleep a wink tonight!

mortality

My wife Victoria thoughtfully bought me a pair of Bettas (Siamese Fighting Fish) for Valentine's Day. I used to raise tropical fish and goldfish with my family and my dad still has a big 55-gallon tank. When he was going to move out of the Bay Area he asked me if I wanted the tank. I really did want it but Victoria said she didn't want such a big tank in the house. What's up with that? I think a large fish tank is impressive and I really like to watch fish swim around. However since I was a little kid my parents learned not to let me overfeed the goldfish, which I am known to do. What can I say, I'm a really generous guy.


Anyways Victoria thought it would be nice to surprise me with a small fish tank and a pair of colorful Bettas. One was reddish and the other was bluish in color, and the tank was specifically designed to host two Bettas with a plastic partition in the middle to keep them separated. Well she brought them home on Tuesday and said if I took good care of them she would let me get a bigger tank and some more fish.

I have to say these were the most boring fish I've ever seen. The fish were generally lethargic and often either sat on the bottom of the tank or floating at the top, completely immobile. Every so often they'd move a little and then settle back into a statute imitation. They never seemed to eat any of the few sprinkles of food I left for them. One of them had a puffy eye and both had ragged-looking fins. Victoria said she got them at Wal-mart and that there were only 3 left so she picked the two healthiest looking ones. Well you can see where this is going.

By Friday night the red one was belly up at the bottom of the tank. There's playing dead, and then there's straight-up dead. This guy was straight dead. As I had done so many times before in my childhood, I held a little funeral toilet-side and gave him the Big Flush. "Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust" somehow always makes it into my eulogy, even though fish funerals have pretty much nothing to do with either ashes or dust.

We pulled the blue guy out of the tank, removed the partition to make it one big tank, replaced about 2/3 of the water, and put him back in. He seemed ok with the newly refurbished condo, and we hoped for the best. I gave him a few more specks of fish food but he still didn't seem too hungry.

By Saturday night his ticket was punched. Belly up, just like his red homie. I tipped a 40 in his honor and gave him the royal sendoff at the porcelain throne.


Don't buy fish at Wal-Mart. It just doesn't seem like a wise venue to find a longlasting pet.
A little late, but I came across this article on picking a fish at the store:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art35928.asp

endurance

One of my favorite songs from The Smiths goes, "there is a light, and it never goes out..."

Well apparently there is a such a light, and it has been burning solidly since 1901. It's located in a firehouse in Livermore, CA and holds the record with Guiness Book of World Records as the oldest known working lightbulb. Their website even has a "bulbcam" so you can keep an eye on it, you never know when that thing is going to finally give out and dim to a sad darkness.

http://www.centennialbulb.org/

humility

Ostentation is a common phenomenon in the United States. Everywhere you go you see excess and magnanimity. It's the land of bling and pretentiousness. Everyone is so concerned about image, there is little to no value placed on talent, ability, performance. It's not about practicality, or the right tool for the right job, it's about showing off to the whole world (or at least all those immediately around you who can gaze at you in awe, curse their own miserable lives and wish they were you). It's the only place in the world where SUVs like the Hummer, H2 and H3 could thrive. Not to mention the Escalade or the Navigator. Hey, I'm driving an oversize $60,000 truck, not because I really need to drive offroad or haul huge loads of cargo or many people, but just because I feel the need to look awesome.


If I were the devil (and who is to say that I am not?), I'd have a particularly hot little spot in hell reserved for the people who are posers. Those guys who put crazy body kits or a big wing on their Honda Accord. The guys who spent $10,000 on a stereo upgrade or a flashy purple and green paintjob, on a $5000 car. Ok maybe I just feel bad for people who have to do such crazy and illogical things to try and attract someone's attention.




Fortunately, there is another path to choose. One of humility, subtlety, and modesty. Focus your energy on purpose and achievement, not on showmanship or image. This unassuming characteristic appeals to me in a dark way. Staying in the shadows, not attracting any attention to yourself, concealing your strength or power, until the moment when that strength or power is needed. The look of surprise, the shock and awe of someone who has underestimated you and discovered the truth the hard way, that is priceless. It is the concept of stealth. And it is also a growing phenomenon in America, although not nearly as prevalent as the bling. But I cherish it, and enjoy seeing the drama unfold when it happens.

Consider for instance this video, a race between a Camaro and a station wagon:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6133912955628716829

So who did you think was going to win that race? The verbal reaction of the female spectator sums it all up I think. True substance concealed by unostentatiousness. Now that's what I'm talking about.