A Good Knife

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I’m not Oprah to give stuff away but I can still give my opinion for free:

Every so often these days someone is actually over at my place and on this rare occasion I was cutting up some sourdough bread into thin slices to toast on the stove. This person asked about the knife I was using as it didn’t look like a standard bread knife. Considering how often I use it, I thought I’d share it for anyone that is interested in upgrading their knives. And this would be the #1 choice I would recommend for general use.

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Bee under my cap

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I don’t know why it’s been bothering me so much but the inequity in the three sets vs five sets of the women’s and men’s tennis of the majors just annoys me and on multiple levels.

I get that there should be equal pay and that’s not primary issue. But it should be equal pay for equal play. There are aspects I don’t know what the consequences are. The men have to play at least three sets. The women two sets. That’s a plus and minus. There are times, albeit rare, that a man can be down two sets and come back to win the next three. Women don’t get that chance to make a comeback. Or the flip side would be that if you can win in two, why keep playing more? You’ve dominated the short game. Or maybe that the longer game shows more fitness and commitment? Lots of variables and inconsistent between the two genders.

I would like to see someone run the statistics to know how many men’s matches would have gone differently if there were only two sets. We can run anything on the women’s since if you’re down two sets, you’re out.

Other issues and concerns I have are that women at most have to play three and men five sets. What are the average time differences in three vs five sets? As well, do men have more long term body damage than women? Any correlation of that to playing five sets vs three sets? What about career length? Are there differences between the genders and any correlation to injury which might have a correlation to set play length? The men aren’t being paid extra to compensate for the extra potential damage to their bodies from longer play and possible shorter careers. And it is longer regardless since they always have to go at least 3 sets.

There are women’s matches where I’ve watched the losing playing start to come back in the second set but it’s too late at that point. If they had the same chance as a man, maybe they could have rallied and made a comeback.

I advocate each year for equality now that there is equal pay. My personal view on a fix that will benefit the players new and older as well as the audience, is to have faster play and as well as the tournament to give more buffer to weather issues or other delays. There should be best of three sets until the quarters. Then starting the quarters they go best of five. And that’s for both genders. The field is much narrowed at the quarters and good matches want to be seen. The audience also wants their money’s worth for the extra cost of those later matches. A very fast two set women’s match is not worth the same as a long three set men’s match and I see that more often than a fast three set men’s match.

So instead of men having to slog through long five sets after five sets from the very beginning, they can conserve a little until the quarters. And now women would have figure out a longer game. The fitness and conditioning might need to change for them to better prepare for longer durations of managing a four or five set stretch. The consequence of dropping a set means you’re at minimum four now. But the consequence of dropping a set means now you’ve also got another chance to at a comeback set.

One day I can hope someone at a major chooses to step up against tradition and make things more equal. The idea of tradition can’t be used since the choice was made to equal the pay and that was a break from tradition. If there are good reasons, I’d like to read them.

The men could make a stand if they truly wanted to. They could play just like the women. If a man wins two sets, the other player just withdraws. The same if it goes three sets. The loser withdraws. Yes it would cause controversy but is there anything in the rules against it? Not that I am aware of.

There would be a resetting of stats for the new new era. Maybe if someone beats federer’s records but that’s not really a good reason to wait.

-SFA

Sunday funday

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Sunday could be considered a day of learning for some, so let us try and spread some learning in a different way.

I want you to spread some knowledge. Even if it’s seemingly small to you, it could mean something to someone else. It doesn’t have to be big learning. It can just be a nugget.

For instance, while others may already know this, earlier in 2019 I found it fascinating that I had not really made this connection before in my life. I was cutting my fingernails and noticed that the side of the cutter that my nail was on was the side the nail comes out of. Why do I care or why should I care? Why did this make such an impact on me? Most the time I just cut my nails outside letting the cuttings fall to earth however they may, but in those times I am using a trash can, I would see the nail just flying every which way. Or at least I thought they were it. With this new profound knowledge, I can more effectively cut my nails over a trashcan. Let the world tremble at my knowledge. Let the shedding of nails be done properly and without making a mess.

What great knowledge do you wish to share with others that may seem trivial to you because you made the connection yet to someone else they might find it profound?

-SFA

Carbs

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Let’s see if trying to put out a haiku a month will help me get back into the writing that I miss. I present below, “Carbs”.

Trying fewer carbs.

I want a grilled cheese sandwich.

Cheese burns in the pan.

-SFA

To infinity and beyond!

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Living in reality doesn’t mean you are giving up on dreams and visions.

Being grounded can give you the perspective to recognize and remember where your foundation is so that you can point in the direction you want to go when you strain to stretch your arm and hand out into the void. Not knowing where you are heading does not mean you are directionless.

Today I had a revelation about my life and while it is difficult to hold onto the thoughts of that moment, the feeling is still there.

May I hold onto the feeling with one hand while my other leads me forth.

Upwards and onwards!

-SFA-

Words and Thoughts

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CAUTION: Snowflakes might get triggered. Find a safe space if you want to attempt reading or just don’t bother reading and find something else.

How much does the choice of a word affect one’s thinking? We say that the clothes make the man. Why can’t the words make the thought?

Man up! Pussy! Ballsy! Douche bag! Manliness! Bitch! Player! Whore!

We associate these words with a gender because the words actually are associated with a gender. That’s where they come from. But do we subconsciously associate and accept the beliefs that come with the choice of the word?

Does the gender of the word as well as the person lead one to subconsciously, and possibly consciously, perceive the other gender differently because of the word choice and how and when they are used as well as the associated value of the word that society has given to it.

Is a woman more powerful or does she feel more powerful if she is told that she’s got balls?

Is a man demasculinated or feel less of a person if called a pussy or told that has no balls?

When someone does something that others may fear, we saw they had balls of steel. I’ve never heard of a cunt of courage or vagina of valour.

In the above paragraphs, what does it mean if the woman does feel more powerful? Has she bought into the hype that men are at a different level, a higher level that needs to continue to try and reach. A glass ceiling but one so high that it will take a Herculean effort to surpass. Maybe I should write an Amazonia effort but I’m not sure that others would understand that novel use of a phrase.

Gender roles are nothing new. In dating profiles and how we approach relationships there are discussions about traditional gender roles and how they apply and want to be applied in today’s society. If a woman can’t cook, it is considered a negative trait. I’m happy if the personal I’m with can cut up vegetables or doesn’t mind cleaning the dishes after I’ve cooked. I very much dislike cleaning dishes for some reason.

There aren’t many options that I can think of for addressing this. People want equality but men and women ARE different, for the forseeable future at least. Not acknowledging that there are differences is part of the problem. There are places where there can be equality. I agree that the right to equal pay is important. But if I’m hiring and I have a limited budget and I want to save money, why wouldn’t I try and pay someone enough to show their worth but as little as possible. I’m not saying I would pay women and men differently based on gender but I would based on their skills to negotiate. People take their smoke breaks, so no problems with breastfeeding or formula breaks. Take a nap if you need it. It should be about equal persecution of both genders instead of discriminating against one.

Just get your work done. Oops. Soapbox rant.

That’s a good enough prompt to wrap things up.

Watch your words and how they affect how to think about them and subsequently how to you think about others. The longer the words stay out there without people knowing what they mean, the easier it will be to make them crude but at least gender neutral.

Power to you if you feel sexier in that slinky black dress or more confident in that power suit but they both have the same thing in common. They all come from within and your own thoughts. Think about that. Do you grok?

-SFA