Monday, June 08, 2009

Hmmmm

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

- Robert Heinlein’s character Lazarus Long in Time Enough for Love.

Ok, so how do you do? Well, here's my answers.

Change a diaper - yep.
Plan an invasion - untried but I imagine I could.
Butcher a hog - untried - I'm great at chickens though!
Conn a ship - small boats, yes; ship, maybe.
Design a building - I often wish I'd become an architect - easily!
Write a sonnet - nope - even with a BA in English from a pretty good school.
Balance accounts - yep, minor in accounting
Build a wall - yep - at least in wood; stone I don't know about!
Set a bone - haven't tried but....
Comfort the dying - I hope so; my parents and my wife's are all gone
Take orders - U.S. Army training
Give orders - see above
Cooperate - see above
Act alone - see above
Solve equations - yep, minor in math
Analyze a new problem - BS in Comp. Sci. - 20 years experience
Pitch manure - had a horse when I was a kid; also cows and goats
Program a computer - about that BS in Comp. Sci.
Cook a tasty meal - see yesterday's bbq salmon or I'll send you a recipe
Fight efficiently - U.S. Army training
Die gallantly - haven't gotten there yet; would prefer a quiet death but.....

Be careful it's still dangerous out there!

1 comment:

Wendy said...

Great post. :) I've got the "give orders" part down really good. And the diaper changing. I need to get to work on the rest!