Mike Lee.org - Weekly Random Rambles, Musings & Writings of Mike Lee

When I first heard the acronym "IE" I thought it meant "Internet Explorer." That's because I am a web geek and IE in the web world means Internet Explorer.

Now I know better. The initials IE can stand for many things. A web browser that has frequently frustrated many a web developer. A Latin abbreviation for "id est," which corresponds to "that is" and not "for example." Or a hot, dry, wasteland of a Californian desert with the occasional pocket of life and delicious food.

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Did you know that the Earth was almost struck by an asteroid this week? Unless you follow science news closely, you may have missed it.

The asteroid, designated 2009 DD45, is less than a third of a football field in diameter (approximately 20-30 yards). After watching movies like Armageddon and Deep Impact, that seems pretty small, doesn't it? It's no Texas-sized Global Killer like in Armageddon.

The impact of 2009 DD45 would still have been disastrous. "The force of multi-megaton nuclear blast," wrote one reporter. Striking a city would have leveled it and killed millions. Striking the ocean would have caused a horrible tsunami that devastated coastlines.

Yikes!
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I was minding my own business when seven words caught my attention:

"And then she went down on him?"

How fortunate. I'm on my laptop right now, trying to come up with something to write. Thank you sweet fate for offering this titillating story to me via eavesdropping.

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"How would you rate this year for you?" my friend asked. "From a scale of one to five: one being the worst, five being the best."

I scratched my chin and cleared my throat. Then I gave my answer.
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You know the Wear Sunscreen Speech, right? If not, where have you been? Under a rock buried in the sand behind an outhouse on an island with dark sunglasses at night? Tsk tsk.

The Wear Sunscreen Speech—sometimes simply known as the "Sunscreen Speech", but originally called "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young"—was written by Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich way back on June 1, 1997 as a fictional commencement speech that she'd like to give if she were ever asked to.

For some reason, a mischievous student decided to send the speech around as a MIT commencement speech given by Kurt Vonnegut. Weird, huh? If you've seen that email, now you know who really wrote that speech—Mary Schmich and not Kurt Vonnegut (though Vonnegut could have certainly written something just as witty & profound).

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Zen is a school of thought, a state of being. A way of thinking. Traditionally, it is a school of Mahayana Buddhism known for emphasizing an acceptance of the present, embracing spontaneous action, and emancipating the self-conscious & judgmental thinking.

For better or worse, its meaning has evolved as other schools of thought have adopted and interpreted it. In the Mike Lee School of Thought, I merely make a contemporary addition to the traditional definition: excising physical belongings and converting them to a non-corporeal form, namely, the digital format. In my geeky way, this is what I call Digital Zen.

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"Why are people always trying to brag about how bad their eyesight is?"

Ken adjusted his glasses and shrugged. "People brag about their eyesight?"

My arms flailed about furiously as I nodded. "Hells yea. People are always saying, 'How bad is your eyesight?' 'Well, mine is worse.' 'Oh yea, I can't even see that sign over there. I'm as blind as a bat.' I'm so sick of that."

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"I look forward to growing old."

"Are you insane?" Lisa gasped. She regarded me like a little puppy that just ate his own poop.

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Dear Adults,

Hi. I am a little boy living in a small town in America. One day, I will grow up and be an adult just like you.

I am writing to ask you something very important to me. Please don't kill our planet.

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"God, grant me the courage to change that which I can, the serenity to accept that which I cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference."
- Serenity Prayer

I find that each new year is usually better than the last. Which runs contrary to the beliefs of the Good Ole' Days. Or that your college years were the best years of your life. Or that childhood was a magically warm and fuzzy time.

Not that I'm saying those beliefs are false. Childhood was definitely warm and fuzzy. I had Puff the Magic Dragon, kids nowadays have Harry Potter. Both were and are totally real to children.

But, for me, I believe the best years are yet to come.

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