What's In A Name

I'll be perfectly honest with you. I never actually wanted a blog (which explains the lack of posts). However, all of my friends were doing it, so I decided to sign up for one on the off chance that I would someday have a need. Eventually I ended up trying to use it for the sole purpose of using it, which didn't work either and just made random posts with no purpose themselves. So let's now try and create a post with purpose.

During the application process for a blog, there's a little text box that requires you to give your blog a name. I never liked that, mostly because when they forced you to come up with a name was the one time you couldn't come up with one. I wanted something original, but not flashy nor show-offy. Eventually I came up with Inmate of the Asylum.

I play a game called RuneScape which is a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), and as such, people tend to form clans. One that I joined in July of 2008 has the nickname of The Asylum, and I quickly became known (with my comedic and talkative personality) as one of the crazier nuts in The Asylum. Thus, when I reached out for a name that was original and meaningful to me, I chose the name I currently have.

In the future, I've decided, that I will use this blog to talk about my views. None specifically, just about whatever is on my mind. This should function as a release, because I don't tend to speak my mind, ever. It's not that I'm scared of what people might say, and there are times I do speak my mind, but that is few and far between. The quietness of opinion that I have is more seated in the fact that I respect other peoples opinions so strongly, I do not wish to inadvertently offend them with something I may say. I've noticed that when people feel offended or that their opinions are falling on deaf ears, they tend to withhold their opinions, and I don't want someone to withhold something from me because they think I'll judge them (because I'm probably one of the least judgemental people you're likely to meet). This creates a sort of prison, if you will, inside me. The desire to express, but the will to withhold. In short, my mind is my asylum, and I'm stuck in it. An Inmate.

So as of this post, the name of my blog will come to symbolize who I am. A person who feels ensnared (but not imprisoned) inside himself because of a tapered social interaction mechanic. And here, in this blog, talking to no one and yet everyone, I shall be myself.

Chirality

Left-handed scissors, left-handed batting, left-handed comments. We live in a right-handed world, but just how much of one is usually only noticed by left-handed people, such as me. The scissors are the big one. I can remember being in first grade, during our art segment of the day. The teacher passed out scissors and asked who was left-handed. Naturally, I raised my hand.

Now let me give you a little background information. My parents claim that I'm smart, so I learned how to use right-handed scissors at home since I was the only one left-handed. Normally, your thumb knuckle pushes down on the one side and your fingers pull up on the other side. This happens naturally and scissors are made to take advantage of this. The screw that binds each scissor blade acts as a fulcrum and your thumb and fingers push-pull action forces the blades closer together, cutting whatever it is more easily. When the scissors are used in the left hand however, the push-pull action causes the blades to move in the other direction, and with crappy school scissors, the blades slide past each other without cutting the object.

I found a way around this by pulling with my thumb and pushing with my fingers, thus allowing me to use right-handed scissors with my left hand. After years of doing this it became natural, and so when I used left handed scissors, they didn't cut, even though they were in my left hand. The teachers and other students marveled at my weirdness.

Think that's odd that someone would dissect (no pun intended) the mechanisms behind scissors like that? Who else to notice but a left-hander, someone who notices instantly when an everyday item is meant for a right-hander. Take for example, a measuring cup with a spout. Odds are the spout is 90° clockwise from the handle, so when held in the right hand, it will pour into a container that is right in front of you. If poured from the left hand, the spout faces away from you entirely. Some measuring cups have spouts on both sides to accommodate for the lefties.

This is all well and good, you say. Of course objects with handles are going to be different for either hand. However here is something you may not have EVER notices, righties and lefties alike. Drawing utensils are engineered to be used in the right hand. What are you talking about! It's a crayon! It's cylindrical! How the HELL is it meant for one hand over the other? Well I'll tell you. See figure 3-1

Fig. 3-1 - A marker held in the right hand.

Looks pretty normal right? Now I beget you a picture (Figure 3-2) that shows how the same object looks in the left hand. Notice anything different? I'll tell you what's different but you should already know.

Fig. 3-2 - A marker held in the left hand.

The text on the marker is now upside-down and backwards. This happens on any and all objects used for writing, when they have text on it. The text is written so that the majority of people, or righties, can read the text with ease.

Even when taking the pictures with my phone, I noticed it was tailored to right-handed people. Taking the left hand shot with my right hand was fine, but when I took the picture of my right hand with my left hand holding the phone, the image was upside down because the phone was rotated 180°. Also, I have a slide phone. If I hold the phone in my right hand, use my thumb to slide out the keyboard and grab the top with my left hand the keyboard rests below the phone where it should. Repeat the process with the phone starting in my left hand and the whole phone is upside down.

It's amazing what there is to the world that goes unnoticed every day. All one has to do is look, and then you will see just how many interesting things are hidden in plain sight.

New Post

In retrospect, oh glorious retrospect, my first post was rather frompy. In the 16 months I've had to reflect on it, and not necessarily spending all that time doing so, I came to realize that, while being interspersed with personality, it lacked something. What it lacked was feeling. I didn't speak from the heart, which I shall attempt to do this time.

I aspire to be a writer, and while my ideas are plentiful, my motivation is lacking. That drive that gets you to put things down on paper just isn't there. So my New Year's resolution (and yes, I only made it now) is to write a blog post at least once a week. I hope to get into the habit of writing whatever is on my mind, so that it may become easier to transpose my thoughts into print.

I find that typing to my followers, all two of them at this point, is somewhat odd. What will they think? Will they even read a whole post? Will I get any feedback? These questions rattle around in my head like a ferret on speed, and I realize that anyone who gets far in life just expresses themselves as they are. Lets see how far I can go!

Finally, the name of this post was inspired by the "New Post" button that I clicked to, naturally, get to writing a new post. I enjoy symbolism, far more now than when I should have back in English class. So from here on out, if I can come up with a symbolic title for each post that captures the essence of the passages within, that may just be the hardest part. And I never was good at ending things, which becomes problematic when you're writing a single post, so perhaps ending it abruptly would be the best for all the pe

Postus Epicus

Considering this is my first post on my blog that I've had for almost two years, and done nothing with, I wanted it to be meaningful. By the way, this is all coming off the top of my head, just like my hair, so if you find the writing style a tad risque, deal with it.

What should go into someone's blog? Especially a first post nonetheless. Who knows....It could be about mutated morphing cow-cats that, well, in all honesty would never get dehydrated. Now i'm thinking they could be used for an army, but that's another story. Back on track, hopefully. A blog, is something someone writes stuff in, which by definition I'm doing pretty well.

Contents of a blog must have meaning, even when a blog has no purpose, it's purpose is to have no purpose, and yes, I'm confusing you on purpose. So that makes it a purposeful purpose. Unless you are a type of marine animal, then it's just a porpoise. I really have no idea what to type about but any suggestions are welcome, don't know if I'll ever read them, but if you would like to leave one to make your conscience feel better then by all means, DO IT!

Four paragraphs is nice, I think that's more than most people write for their blogs, and considering this is my first post, it's not too shabby! Maybe my next one will have some meaning to it. I will not tell you what I'm going to write about as the suspense is what I desire to have people keep coming back and reading this incoherent babble! Ciao!