no questions, just answers

it's been a busy week to say the least. after reinventing the pencil sharpener last week (i did get one person to take me up on the $5 bet that they can't hurt themself), i spent the beginning of this week reinventing the flashlight. you'd think I worked for Xerox for all the copying we do....damn, that was bad. my humblest apologies. but this flashlight was total kickass. i had to put my most-amazing skills to use to rewire the $1.79 flashlight to use 4 AA batteries instead of 2 D cells, change a 2.4 volt light bulb with a 6 volt bulb, then add 10 pin lights and a bunch of fiber optics, all mildly contained within a big star. a big star, you say? yup. i spent 2 days creating a prototype for the most kickass Disney magic fairy wand you'll ever see. don't even begin to compare it to that picture. if that wand were an ant, my wand would be a friggin huge magnifying glass. it's that kickass, and it's going to New York for the big toy fair in a couple weeks. i wish i were going instead, but i'm not. i get to make more fun stuff. turns out we might not be making the pencil sharpener thing i created, but a juiced up coffee warmer. and when i say coffee warmer, i mean the niftiest hot plate this side of the factory that makes all those weird elvis plates. or these.


i took a personality test the other day, cuz i'm a sucker for learning about what i'm "supposed" to be like (hence my inner enjoyment for anything astrological). anyway, the explanation is in bold and my comments look like this (non bold). easy enough? great. let's begin....


Rationals, are the problem solving temperament, particularly if the problem has to do with the many complex systems that make up the world around us. i always did enjoy getting into things that were over my head. Rationals might tackle problems in organic systems such as plants and animals, or in mechanical systems such as railroads and computers, or in social systems such as families and companies and governments. i always hated political science or business or social sciences and learning about cultures in classrooms. i'd much rather experience them. but i digress. first i want to be a trauma surgeon who gets to cut people open and be drenched in blood, and then i stick with engineering, and now i make everyday, ordinary, pedestrian pencil sharpeners and flashlights into the most kickass toys ever. so far they've got me pegged. except for that political/government crap. but two out of three ain't bad. But whatever systems fire their curiosity, Rationals will analyze them to understand how they work, so they can figure out how to make them work better. i got a fortune cookie once that said "a truly happy man does not seek more out of life than what he is given." what kind of crap is that? do we live in some weird caste system that says you don't have potential to be more than you are? you're cool, here's a gray shirt. go build me a rocketship. you suck, here's a green shirt. go fix my toilet. honestly....

In working with problems, Rationals try to find solutions that have application in the real world, but they are even more interested in the abstract concepts involved, the fundamental principles or natural laws that underlie the particular case. when i was younger my mom always used the analogy that if someone were to ask me what time it was, i'd tell them how the watch was made. And they are completely pragmatic about their ways and means of achieving their ends. for all the fancy words i know, i can't say i readily use pragmatic in my everyday vocabulary, but i think it (the statement, not the word) means i'm practical about the way i get things done. i'm not like Sam from The Apprentice selling one glass of lemonade for a thousand bucks. maybe it just means i'm willing to put in the effort it takes to get things done. i really hope it's not calculated effort. i'd really hate that. calculating and planning are not my favorite things to do. Rationals don't care about being politically correct. you're friggin right i don't care about being politically correct. did you ever see PCU? watch it. again and again. the speech at the end about...hold on i'll find it. damn. can't find it. but here's another one that's almost as good: "Now it's true the majority of people on campus these days are so cravenly PC they wouldn't know a good time if it was sitting on their face but there's one thing that will always unite us and them. They're young! They may not realize it yet they have the same raging hormones the same self-destructive desire to get boldly trashed and wildly out of control look out that window! That's not a protest! That is a cry for help! They're begging us! PLEASE have a party! Feed us drinks! GET US LAID! AAHHHHHH!" They are interested in the most efficient solutions possible, and will listen to anyone who has something useful to teach them, while disregarding any authority or customary procedure that wastes time and resources. now i'm not like the guy from the Frugal Gourmet when it comes finding solutions, but i get what needs to be done done. and i'm a self-professed eternal student. if you have something interesting to say that i didn't know before that'll be of some good to me eventually, i'm all ears. and i hate red tape. and protocol. it sucks. it's a waste of time. i can call the guy for the approval on the phone. i'm not gonna fill out a form and wait three days for the guy to say yes.

Rationals have an insatiable hunger to accomplish their goals and will work tirelessly on any project they have set their mind to. i've stayed late at work finishing projects last friday til 930 and last night til 1030. the latest i've stayed is 1230. i'm not proud of it. sometimes you just get so wrapped up in what you're doing, you don't pay attention to the clock. They are rigorously logical and fiercely independent in their thinking--are indeed skeptical of all ideas, even their own--and they believe they can overcome any obstacle with their will power. logical? yes. independent? i'd like to think so. skeptical of all ideas? a little proof doesn't hurt. overcoming any obstacle with their will power? well, i haven't been able to stop biting my fingernails for the past 23.969863013 days, so i'm thinking they might be wrong on this one. but i bet i could find a way to do it if it really mattered. Often they are seen as cold and distant, but this is really the absorbed concentration they give to whatever problem they're working on. hmmm. at first glance i'm actually very outgoing. when you get to know me better, you'll realize i'm a guy who likes his space sometimes. if you're in a relationship with me, you might find yourself on the short end of the stick unexpectedly a few times. it's not intentional. as far as work goes, though, i'll gladly stop whatever i'm doing to doing something else. i think i have self-diagnosed selective ADD. or not. Whether designing a skyscraper or an experiment, developing a theory or a prototype technology, building an aircraft, a corporation, or a strategic alliance, Rationals value intelligence, in themselves and others, and they pride themselves on the ingenuity they bring to their problem solving. i think intelligence is hugely important. i can't stand ignorant people. i would so rather be the dumbest person than the smartest person in a group. and i bet when i get married, she'll either have been an english major or a history major and could kick my ass at those questions in Trivial Pursuit. i hope so at least. smart chicks are hot. and i totally like to think i'm uniquely creative when it comes to figuring out a solution to a problem. i think engineers are crafted that way. maybe we're not creative, but we can think of a helluva lot of ways to do the most simple tasks.

Rationals are very scarce, comprising as little as 5 to 10 percent of the population. good. who wants to be surrounded by a bunch of cold, distant recluses who are workaholics and think they're smarter than everyone else? But because of their drive to unlock the secrets of nature, and to develop new technologies, they have done much to shape our world. i bet it says something like this at the end of every personality type. "everyone does something good for themselves and the world around them." where's the Bum personality? "mooches off of society and is a drain on not only local and state, but the national economy as well."


- posted by yeah...about that... @ 9:52 PM