Day Three - Why?

Event of the Day
Unfortunately, me brain tends to be more stubborn than my gut. This morning, as I was grabbing my various lunch items and putting them into my lunch sack, my gut gave a gallant effort to avoid disaster. When I was about to place a can of Shasta soda in to my sack, I hesitated. This is how the internal conversation basically went.

Gut: I wouldn't do that
Brain: huh?
Gut: Don't put the soda in, something is not right
Brain: huh?
Gut: Honestly...
Brain: No, I like soda...a lot
Gut: Okay, never mind

I'm sad to say this story does not end well. After I finished my basketball class, I opened up my backpack, where I keep my lunch and my street clothes. I pulled out one of my favorite shirts. It was wet. Did I place it on a wet spot on the bench? No, the truth was much, much worse. Discovering that the entire interior of my backpack was sticky and wet, the truth sailed down like a lightning bolt from Zeus - my soda was leaking. So, not only am I currently wearing a lemon lime-flavored shirt, I am also hungry, because my sandwiches got doused and consequently dumped.

Mundane Genius
Today, I saw a large group of students huddled around a table. Apparently, my college is hosting a contest to win a PS3. To win, you simply have to hold onto the table the longest. I shrugged off the obvious questions - "Why?" and "Aren't they encouraging skipping class?" - and instead listened to the people crowded around the table. I was rewarded by this brief exchange between two contest hopefuls.

First Guy: I don't know, should I do it?
Second Guy: (with an incredulous stare) Duh, its a PS3!
First Guy: Well, I'll probably get fired if I don't go to work.
Second Guy: So?

Obviously, in today's technology and entertainment-based society, traditional forms of motivation ( torture, blackmail, gold stars) are outdated. The PS3 is now the ultimate motivational tool. If you get a 4.0, you get a PS3 as well. If you perform well at work, your Sega Genesis is promoted to a PS3. If you clean up ten pieces of trash, bam! a PS3. If you refuse to give up your country's deepest military secrets, no PS3 for you. The possibility of mass societal change is too hard to ignore.

That Other Gender
Rating systems are like the Constitution. They are often referred to, full of ambiguity, and everyone thinks that their interpretation of the rating system is correct. (Man, I wanted to include "often ignored by those in power" to that list, but I couldn't see what it had to do with rating systems.) Most people insist on using a 1-10 system. So your friend tells you about the girl that's a 7 in his biology class that said "hi" to him. What does that mean to you? On a normal scale of 1-10, a 7 would put you in the top third of the group, which is fairly prestigious. However, I think a 7 would not sound that amazing to most guys. The problem is, many guys accidentally change the rating system. They set the bar at 6 or 7 (depending on how picky they are) then call everything else a "one" - which basically means "not worth bragging about." Thus, they cut the scale by more than half. If you only talk about 7's or higher, than a 7 is the lowest possible number. Moving the scale to 1-20 would do wonders, but mankind is too deeply rooted in base ten thinking. My personal favorite is categorizing. This clears up a lot of confusion, and a number can even be attached at the end for nostalgia's sake. "She is dateable" is a reasonable, balanced statement for a girl in the 6-7 range. "She's a sweet spirit" eupemises that ghastly "one" rating. "She is a drop-dead gorgeous, not-even-afraid-to-stare-at-her-cause-she's-so-hot babe" is a marvelous substitute for 10 in category rating system. I wonder if girls have a similar problem when rating us?