Every kid should learn Respect

There are lots of important lessons and concepts that kids should learn. Unfortunately, not a lot do. Some of these things need to be taught by example. Some (for me at least) will be more of a "do as I say, not as I do" situation. Some things, they may have to learn on their own, in their own time. But parents can still offer advice along the way, and give them the tools they need to build up to the answers.
That being said, what would I teach my kids?

Respect
Why? So we don't end up with a generation of disrespectful, sniveling little brats. Wait... whoops! Too late. *sigh*

Responsibility
See above.
Plus, I don't want my kids to be helpless, irresponsible turds. They should know how to take care of themselves at the very least. Know how to maintain things and handle money. Learn to take their lumps and deal with the consequences of their actions. It's all about responsibility

Etiquette
Even if you don't always follow it. It's good to know. "Better to have and not need...", right?

Values/Morals
Because it's important to have principles. Doesn't matter whether they come from religion or your own conscience or sense of right and wrong or family values that have been passed down. You should have principles. They should serve as a guide.

Work Ethic/Diligence
I'll not have my children being lazy, listless lumps!

Love of Learning
This is one that really needs to be taught by example. Not nearly enough people (kids or adults) get excited about learning anymore. It's such a shame! There's so much out there! So much knowledge. So much world. We should be discovering it, experiencing it!

Logic/Reasoning
There is a surprising lack of basic reasoning skills these days.

Balance
This is one that I'm still struggling with.
Balance work and play.
Balance family and social.
Balance flexibility and integrity.
Balance skepticism and open-mindedness.
Balance humour and seriousness.
Balance optimism and realism.
Balance self-esteem and humility.
Balance forethought and spontaneity.
Balance caution and adventure.
Balance candor and civility/courtesy.
Balance head and heart.
And probably lots of other balances besides. It's an important concept.

'Proportional' sounds so sweet

Proportional
I love the way it sounds. Can't explain it, just do.

Schadenfreud
On a purely superficial level, it sounds kinda cool. Plus, it's a concept that I didn't even realize there was a separate word for until fairly recently.

Vehement
Such a strong word...

Ruminate
I don't use this one enough.

Tirade
I could rant about what a wonderful word this is but, for now, I'll just go with: "Fun. Expressive. Love it!"

Cloy
Just... appropriate sometimes.

Harbinger
Sounds foreboding...

Malediction
Everyone knows "benediction", but how many know his evil twin?

Choler
A throwback to older times, when the four humours still came into the treatment of medicine.

Defenestrate
Learned this word in the third grade and loved it ever since.

Exsanguinate
Right up there with defenestrate.

Hyperbole
A million times more fun to say than "exaggeration"!

Surfeit
"If music be the food of love, play on!"

Replete
Sounds... sophisticated.

Tremulous
I'm pretty sure that I "adopted" this word some weeks back... Haven't been using it near enough if that's the case.

Lachrymose
The wonder of this word brings tears to my eyes!

Countermand
Sounds dignified. Wait... no, I take it back!

Sesquipedalian
Whoever came up with this word had a sense of humour. Bravo!

Malinger
I would write more about this word... but I'm suddenly feeling a little ill.

Fiduciary
Sounds so... foppish.

Antediluvian
I like it. Sounds cool. Even if people do think I'm old-fashioned for using it!

Meticulous
I just like it, okay?

Tutelage
Don't hear this one enough anymore.

Laconic
Because I tend to be far too verbose for my own good.

Mnemonic
Gotta love silent letters!

Chthonic
This is a relatively new word for me...

Knell
"I go, and it is done; the bell invites me."

Supernumerary
Some would argue that this word is superfluous... I would tend to disagree.

Lackadaisical
I'm feeling far too listless to provide any more reason for liking this word than enjoying the way it sounds.

Facetious
I'm sarcastic enough that I should have ample opportunity to use this one, but somehow, I always seem to forget.

Panache
I try to use it with style when I can.

Munificence
"That's my last duchess painted on the wall..."

Tintinnabulation
Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Voiciferous
Just... yes.

Disconcerting
I'd use this one more, except people seem to find it unsettling...

Suffuse
Sounds warm and gentle. Lovely.

Hoary
"An old hare hoar, And an old hare hoar, Is very good meat in lent."

Regale
Shall I regale you with tales Of fishes and whales?

Laudable
High praise to the folks who can pick the Latin root out of this word!

Immolate
I've been burning to use this word for a while now.

Glower
Sometimes it's just the right word.

Comestible
Not to be confused with "combustible".

Pugnacious
Nearly started a fight the last time I used this one!

Salubrious
Makes you feel good just saying it, don't it?

Miasma
Well, if "salubrious" made you feel good...

Inveigle
Never had cause to use this one ('though "invigilate" does come up from time to time). It sounds cool though, eh?

Winsome
Hehe, been hearing this one a lot lately...

Ubiquitous
Think I learned this one from an excerpt from A Christmas Carol.

Confluence
Whee!

Maelstrom
I need to find more excuses to use this one!

Garrulous
Goes with pugnacious...

Renumerate
I'd list all the reasons why I like this word... but it would take too long.

Anathema
Another relatively recent addition to my lexicon.

Plethora
I could give you a myriad reasons why I like this word,

But upon closer consideration

That seems absurd.

In the end, justifications, I need but one;

I like it simply

Because it's fun!

Raiment
Sounds snazzy, doesn't it?

Copecetic
My physics teacher used to use this one all the time. Great word! Thank you Mr. Klatt!

Aplomb
Because it's too hard to say things with a peach!

Caterwaul
Goes with "cacophony"...

Extemporaneous
I can never seem to slip this into casual conversation... always feels contrived.

Sagacious
Guaranteed to make you feel smarter just saying it!

Zyzzyva
Last but not least!

Bucket List (Extended)

I know, I know! it's been ages since I posted last. I've just been preoccupied with other things, okay? Anyway, at the moment, I'm just catching up on all the Plinky prompts that I've missed in the last month and a half. (I'm gonna be a while!) While I was poking around on Plinky though, I took a look at some of my old posts. Specifically my answer to the "Bucket List" prompt. It had asked for five things that I'd like to do before I "kick the bucket" so that's what I gave, five. Looking at it though, there's a lot of other stuff that I'd like to do. So, I decided to do an update with a revised list. Here goes...

In case you'd forgotten, my first five items were: Hang glide, visit the Darien, see the Outback and the Great Barrier Reef (okay, so maybe that's technically two...), have a house with a library, and get published. I'd expanded on each of the five at the time, but I'm not going to go back over them now. The post should be floating around somewhere in the month of March if you really want a refresher.

Anyway, what would I add?

Learn/improve languages:
I'd like to improve my French and Spanish to the point where I could be considered fluent, or at least very close to. I've also started learning Tagalog recently. I wouldn't mind being fluent in that as well. At least I have native speakers to help me along with the Spanish and Tagalog.
I'm decent with simple Attic Greek at this point, but I still can't handle anything really advanced. I'd like to improve it to the point where I can pick up and read pretty much anything in that dialect and make a decent guess at other dialects as well.
Sanskrit is a root for so many other languages; I think it would be fascinating to learn.
Of course, Old English makes the list! I want to be able to read Beowulf in the original. I want to know where my language has come from. See what it used to look like. See how it's grown and changed over the centuries. On a related note... I'd also love to learn Frisian or Old Frisian. That's where English has its roots, right? I'd love to take it back to the source.
I wouldn't mind doing a few formal lessons in Portuguese... I'm not necessarily looking to be fluent here. I can already read/understand it decently well. I just want to know enough that I can speak it a little bit... string a few sentences together.
On the "If This Hasn't Taken Up All My Time and Brain Power" list: I think it would be cool to learn Afrikaans, ASL, and Yiddish.
I'm sure other languages will occur to me in time. I'll come across other tongues that capture my interest. But those are the ones that have made the list for now.

Earn my black belt
It would feel good to go back and earn my black belt in Karate (or possibly some other form of martial arts).

Learn fencing
I'd love to learn fencing or some other form of swordplay.

Master archery
I've done a little bit, but it's been a few years now, I never went very far with it in the first place and I've forgotten most of what I did learn/practice.

Take a wilderness survival course

Bookbinding
I'd love to be able to bind my own books. I've got instructions for it. I know the basics of how it's done, but I've never actually tried it. I think it would be a great way to preserve letters and things that you wanted to keep.

Travel:
There are all sorts of things I want to see and do. For now, I'm just going to list the countries and the first few things that I think of that make me want to visit them.
Costa Rica - Arinole volcano, rain/cloud forests, wildlife
Argentina - culture (music, dance, food, etc.), Iguazu Falls, penguins
Brazil - Amazon River, Amazon rainforest, wildlife
Chile - Andes
Peru - Machu Picchu, history, culture, wildlife
Ecuador - Galapagos (wildlife!)
South Africa - wildlife, pre-history
Madagascar - lemurs!
Egypt - history, Giza pyramid complex, history, Nile
Kenya - wildlife, volunteerism
Iceland - volcanoes, geothermal energy, history, language, glaciers
Romania - culture, scenery/landscape, history (want to get there before the country changes too much. Might already be too late :( )
Czech Republic - Prague, architecture, history
Greece - history, culture, history!, language, scenery/landscape
Italy - architecture, art, Venice, Florence, Rome, history
Russia - language, architecture, scenery/landscape, culture
China - culture, history
Mongolia - culture, history
Thailand - culture, history, religion, beauty (landscape/scenery)
India - wildlife, language, culture
Nepal - beauty (landscape/scenery), culture, language, history, Kathmandu
Philippines - Xen, language, culture, scenery/landscape
Australia - wildlife!, Outback, Great Barrier Reef, wildlife, landscape/scenery, Sydney, Adelaide, Uluru (Ayer's Rock), wombats, kangaroos, platypus, echidna, camel, emu, koala, bush baby...
New Zealand - hang gliding, rafting, culture, landscape/scenery
Vietnam - beauty (landscape/scenery)
Malta - culture, language
Hungary - history, culture, language
Cambodia - Angkor Wat, history, beauty (landscape/scenery)

Read all the books on my "to-read" list

Become proficient in:
C++, C#, D, Ada, Lisp, Scheme, Haskell, Ruby on Rails, Perl, PHP, SQL...

Pay off my debt
You know? That big, honking debt I'm gonna have once I finish school? Yeah, wanna get rid of that as quickly as possible.

Athens Classic Marathon
I think it would be cool to try... just once. Regular marathons in other places don't really hold any appeal for me. If I wanna walk or run somewhere, I can do that, I don't need to sign up to some big, ol' special event for it. But the historic connection of the Athens Marathon appeals to me. I'd do that. I'm in no shape to attempt it right now, that's for sure! But someday, if I'm ever in Greece, I'd like to try it.

Drive through a redwood tree

Ride a bull
Or at least try to... Alright... maybe just a steer then.
Don't know if I'd manage the full eight seconds. (Haha, that's when you know a sport is hard, when "winning" counts as being able to do it for eight seconds in a row.)

Learn metalsmithing
So freakin' cool!

Attend the Calgary Stampede

Play the cello
I don't mean just draw the bow across the strings. I want to be able to play it well. Get a decent sound out of it. Now that doesn't mean that I have to be expert. But adequate, passing well, would be nice. Cellos have such a lovely, deep sound, so beautiful, I'd love to be able to produce that.

See a Cirque de Soleil show
Just once

Learn belly dancing
Come on! Tell me that wouldn't be fun!

Ride a train across Canada

Learn ballroom dancing
Part of any proper Renaissance education...
Gotta be well-read, elegant, educated, refined...
Should be able to speak two or more languages. Should know how to ride a horse and play at least one instrument. Should know how to fight (with honour). Should know and practice proper etiquette. And... should know how to dance.

Donate blood

Visit all 10 Canadian provinces, all three territories, and all 50 US states

Try some unusual/interesting foods:
fugu (pufferfish), roadkill (just once, just because), moose, cat, dog, kaolin (edible clay), phaal (a very spicy Indian dish), Rocky Mountain/Prairie Oysters (bull testicles), chicken feet, boar, pigeon, quail, haggis (ground lungs, liver, and heart of a sheep mixed with oatmeal and spices and stuffed and cooked inside its own stomach), squirrel, fried twinkie, insects (fried grasshoppers, chocolate covered ants... something like that), sea urchin, sweetbreads (thymus and pancreas of a sheep, breaded and fried), crocodile (curry), absinthe (the real stuff, with wormwood), steak tartare (chopped, raw steak mixed with raw egg, black pepper, and onion), mahi mahi (dolphin-fish != dolphin), polenta (boiled cornmeal dish), soft pretzel, blood orange...

DOS games will go in my time capsule

This is a more difficult question than I would've thought. If the capsule were to be opened up in 100 years, I might put in items that reflect our culture and technology. If it were to be opened up in 500 years, I might put in items to help deal with the apocalypse, anarchy, and/or the decline of civilization. And if it were to be opened in 1000 years, I'd probably just include a tombstone or some sort of memorial. Forty years is tough though. That's, presumably, still in my lifetime. People will still remember what life was like in 2009, I don't need to remind them. And as much as I think we're headed in an inescapable, downward spiral... As much as I think we've doomed ourselves... I don't think we'll meet our end in the next couple of decades. I think we've got at least another one to two hundred years in us, depending on how we play things.



Anyway, like I said, tough question. Here's what I came up with...

DOS and vintage games
All of my favourites. King's Quest I through VI. Forget VII and Mask of Eternity or whatever it was, not worth it.

Zork I, II, III, and Zero.

Planetfall.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy text adventure.

Lands of Lore. Just the original Throne of Chaos, the sequels were crap.

Kyrandia. Again, just the original game. Hand of Fate could've been great... if the story hadn't been terrible. "Mr. Hand"? Come on, guys! WTF?! I know Markus was supposed to be in there for comic relief, and he was. I didn't have a problem with him. But the villain should be scary. Like Malcom was. He was creepy and slightly terrifying. You were afraid to face him. Mr. Hand was just hokey. And you never did find any more about the evil wizard he was supposedly a part of. The game had potential, but the story was decidedly lacking. The first game was fantastic though! Anyway... I digress...

SimLife. I still maintain that this was the best of the "Sim" series. Absolutely brilliant. It didn't get nearly the praise and attention it deserved.

EcoQuest, both of them. These games were fantastic. I've played them about a dozen times each, and I'd still go back and play them again.

Adventure... where it all began. The very first text adventure.

I'd probably throw Planescape: Torment in there too. Face it, that was a good game!



These games need to be included because they're friggin' fantastic and people need to start playing them again. Maybe if they found them in an awesome time capsule they'd pay attention and take note.

Documentation
Of course, along with all these games, I'd include any maps, guides, hints, or other documentation that would've accompanied them. Whatever will enhance the experience and allow people to get the most enjoyment out of these classics.

An old DOS/Windows PC
And/or a copy of Dosbox. 'Cause you need to have something to run these games on and I'm thinking that Vista or Windows 7 or Linux or OSX or whatever operating system is around in forty years might confuse these poor old pieces of software a bit.

Pens, pencils, and paper
'Cause sometimes you have to take notes, or make a map yourself.

A few of my favourite books
Crime and Punishment, the Tempest, Stranger in a Strange Land, Chocky, The Midwich Cuckoos, Flesh and Spirit, Breath and Bone, A Brief History of Time, Macbeth, Catch-22, The Once and Future King, The Adventure of English, Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynmann, Fear of Physics, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Satyrica, His Dark Materials...



(Hmm... This is shaping up to be a rather hefty time capsule, isn't it?)



Again, these are good books that people should read.

Uncontaminated elm seeds and leaves
Maybe, in forty years, they'll have found a cure for Dutch Elm Disease. The best thing we seem to be able to manage at the moment is injections to prolong the life of the tree. That and quarantines. I'd like to see DED eradicated. Or at the very least, effectively controlled.

Heirloom seeds
Less commonly cultivated varieties of various vegetables. We tend to pick one or two varieties and cultivate them to death, literally. We have beefsteak tomatoes, or cherry or grape if you want something smaller. We have only two or three types of corn. A couple types of peas... You get the picture. With no variety, we're just asking for a disease to sweep through and wipe out all our crops.

My time capsule would have some less than common strains of popular fruits and vegetables. Unless disaster has already struck by the time the capsule is opened, I doubt people will pay my seeds any mind. But it's worth a shot.

530 BC, here I come!

If I could time travel, there are a few eras and places I'd like to visit. I'd go to Greece in 530 BC. I wouldn't stay for long, but I'd love to see it. Even if just for a few days. I'd have to be careful about how I dressed and what I said. I don't speak ancient Greek too well, and only that Attic dialect at that. That's why an extended stay would probably be unwise.



I wouldn't mind visiting year 0, 33 AD, etc. Just to see how much Christ was hyped and how much was legit. First of all, did he even exist? (I suspect that the stories are based on an actual person, but you never know.) I'd like to see some of what he actually did? What was he like? (I'm fairly certain that tales of his exploits have been exaggerated and embellished over the years. I mean, look what happens in a game of "Telephone"... The message is usually horribly distorted after only a few minutes and a couple dozen people. Imagine what could happen over millions of people and thousands of years! I believe that the stories we hear today still have a basis in truth, I just want to know how much.)



After that trip, I'd probably head to England, 1370. See what Chaucer's England was like.



From there, I'd just set the dial forward a bit and head to the early 1600s. Very early 1600s. Like 1601 maybe. I'd seek out Shakespeare and the globe. Maybe go see a play or two. I'd like to at least see a tragedy and a comedy. The Tempest would've just been written, I think. I'd also want to explore some other cultural aspects of the era, 'though, again, I wouldn't stay too long. This time for fear of disease.



Once I'd done all that, then I might poke around more modern times. Sure, I'd take a look at 1885. See what life what like, what's changed in the past hundred and twenty odd years. I don't think I'd fit in very well in the 19th century. I think I'd have to make up some tale about being raised in a far-off land or something, just to explain my seeming oddities.



Other things I might like to see: the roarin' twenties, the dirty thirties, and the psychedelic sixties.



As you can see, my time machine would mostly have me concerned with the past. There are all sorts of times and places I'd like to visit. Maybe I'd poke around the fifth and sixth century, see if I could pin good King Arthur down. Settle the debate as to his existence once and for all. Or visit the New World, before the arrival of Europeans. The possibilities are just about endless!



That being said... I might eventually decide to take a peek at the future. Just to see how badly we screw things up. Or if we actually manage to salvage the situation. At this point I think the best thing we could do is die out quietly. Try not to screw up the environment any more than we already have. Try not to kill of any more critters or do too much more damage. Maybe once we're gone nature can start re-balancing herself.



With that in mind, I'd probably go ahead and visit year 2500. See where we're at in 500 years. See if we've managed to eradicate ourselves yet. Maybe I'll get a shock and find out that we discovered a way to fix things. That'd be nice.



(By the way, I'm assuming that, for some unexplained reason, I don't have to worry about the usual paradoxes here. I'm assuming that, although I can talk to the people I meet and interact with them to an extent, I will have a net zero effect on events. I can't give people ideas, convince them to do or not do something, change their opinions. And I definitely can't maim or kill people (thinking of the "kill your own grandmother paradox here"). Much as there are things in history that I'd love to change, I shouldn't be the one to do it. Who knows what could happen as a result?! There are just too many variables. As much as I would have good intentions, I could end up creating a much worse situation in the end. So for my own safety and piece of mind, and for the integrity of the time line, I will "leave no footprints".)

I like to relax with big book

I don't get stressed and depressed nearly as much as I used to. That being said, it still does happen a fair bit. Luckily I've found a few things that help ease the tension and get me to relax a bit.

the biggest book in Second Life?

Reading and writing are the big ones. Depends on exactly what's stressing me out. If I just need to "get away" for a while, I'll probably jump into a good book. Something light and easy to read. A fiction (probably fantasy or sci-fi, though it varies). Something that I can dive into and be immersed in another world. Forget my worries.



On the other hand, if I feel like I need to talk things out, I'll probably write. It gives me a chance to think things over and work stuff out. Sometimes issues seem clearer once they've been captured on paper.



Hanging out with friends is also a good bet. I don't always get troubles resolved this way, but at the very least they will help me to relax and take my mind off of whatever's bothering me. And advice, when given, is always appreciated (if not always followed).

'Tis better to have loved and lost

I think that this answer could be different for different people. However, for me personally, I think it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. As painful as the loss can be... As much as it can shatter your confidence, shake your resolve, and just generally mess with your head... I still wouldn't change my answer. The problem with never falling in love in the first place, as far as I'm concerned, is then I'd always wonder. I'd wonder what it's like, if I could've been happy with someone else, what I'm missing out on. I just always wonder. And I would feel that I'd missed out. I would feel that there was just something I didn't "get". This way I know. It doesn't negate any of the pain of the loss, knowing. It doesn't make it any easier to deal with. And it doesn't mean that I won't look for love again. But it does satisfy that question. And if I don't find love again, well, I won't feel quite so bad, 'cause at least I know that I had it once.