The Captain Obvious thought of the day...

"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason."

I was thinking about that, sideways Having so much "choice" as we do now, makes us more rigid.

Think about toilet paper? All the brands, sorts (soft, firm), number in a package, single/double ply, etc. How do you feel buying toilet paper? I don't "choose" each time I go to the store, I get the same thing over and over because all those choices make me anxious; I only want MY one kind and it's hard to find sometimes and, if they're out of it, then what do I do???

How about pizza? Do you try all the kinds and all the topping at all the different stores and frozen food aisles?

Fruit. At the grocery store, do you get the same fruit week after week or do you try different fruits for novelty? Picking oranges can be tough with 2-3 kinds, maybe I'll just get orange juice; have you seen the orange juice choices lately? I don't get either! Love navel oranges, use to love Minute Maid orange juice in a can in the 1950s but it's too much like work and to anxiety producing now, I'll just take a Vitamin C pill, thanks!

You have to pay attention now, since in many brands they have cut the width down, and when you get it home and use it, you discover... well, TMI. Now I look, and buy the Giant brand that is 4.25 inches wide -- just enough. The only screaming comes from me, if it is not wide enough.

If all the choices of toilet paper boggle the mind - take a look at all the mascara's out there. What bothers me even more is the commercials and magazine ads shows women with false eyelashes or computer altered fake lashes - how misleading is that?? I mean how many different concoctions are there to make one mascara. Think of the choices - fibre, washable, waterproof, brush types -30 choices there, flexible wand, ridiculous vibrating brush and dial a wand.

Ahh….yes the old sticky gooey clingy can’t get it out of it’s cardboard container concentrate tubes. I think they must have called it orange juice concentrate because of the amount mental energy required to free the vitamin enriched sludge from it’s chamber. "I know the directions say, to thaw it first Cap."... ‘Can’t believe every thing you read ‘ I would always wind up having a mangled mess in my hands when ever trying to compete with this nefarious contraption. ….How ever did they get that ooze into those containers with out it falling apart in the first place….There are strange powers at work here.
Toilet paper I go for the ones that have been damaged in shipment, not open mind you, just slightly crushed. It gives you that extra treat of trying to get the right amount of sheets off the spindle without it tearing prematurely. ’It’s the simple pleasures really.’ It is also an added bonus if you get rolls that are slightly larger than your dispenser can handle. The friction against the wall or vanity wall adds that little something extra to this everyday occurrence. Then there is the method to which, one uses, this Arbor..esk fabric. Do you employ the grab and wad method, the fold neatly into strange shapes method, or as one person I met described; the wrap your hand like a mummy approach. And are you a sheet counter?
Pizza the ninth wonder of the world. WHITE PIZZA, VEGETARIAN PIZZA, THIN CRUST PIZZA, THICK CRUST PIZZA, STUFFED CRUST PIZZA, SICILIAN PIZZA, PAN PIZZA, NEW YORK STYLE PIZZA, ITALIAN PIZZA, GRILLED PIZZA, GREEK PIZZA, FRENCH BREAD PIZZA, DEEP DISH PIZZA, CHICAGO STYLE PIZZA, BRICK OVEN PIZZA, CALIFORNIA PIZZA….mmmm the run on sentence of pizza’s. You add the toppings to the list and I see your point as I do with the toilet paper so many choices and so little time. Now the cardboard pizza box this is a worthy invention unlike it’s concentrate cousin. Can you imagine what the drooping disk would look like if the pizza delivery person had no such device to contain your delectable edible. How would he or she carry it, especially if it was a N.Y. style pizza? The noble stride of the pizza delivery person would indeed need to be altered. If you like your pizza this way however, the next time you order on the phone ask to speak the delivery personnel directly and ask politely if ,he or she would carry your pizza like a book they may laugh at you at first, but reference their employee hand book reminding them that the customer is always right. (clears throat)
Captains, Serious Side
For some OCD is very ‘real’ and is a point of real stress in daily life. I do not take it lightly. I do believe it can be managed given the right focus. Mind you I am not inferring that you are OCD but some members of the forum may suffer from it. I only feel that it is right to highlight this. I am not insensitive to this condition and try to support all. There it is... The last sentence in the last paragraph, the answer, the customer is ‘Always Right‘. Choices do have a way of bogging some of us down. Routine, rules some of us naturally and having a fall back plan in all areas of life can be beneficial. Something as simple as having 2 or 3 acknowledged back ups can be helpful. If any one has a problem making a choice in a particular moment take a breathe deep reevaluate beyond the face value the problem in front of you, reclassify the purpose in your mind. Walk to another isle in the store if necessary. Take your time.
If you catch your self having an OCD moment don’t be afraid to embrace the humorous side of your self, mixing a little humor with your understanding can work wonders.
Four Steps for Conquering Obsessive Thoughts and Compulsive Urges
Psychiatrist Jeffrey Schwartz, author of Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior, offers the following four steps for dealing with OCD:
1. RELABEL – Recognize that the intrusive obsessive thoughts and urges are the result of OCD.
2. REATTRIBUTE – Realize that the intensity and intrusiveness of the thought or urge is caused by OCD; it is probably related to a biochemical imbalance in the brain.
3. REFOCUS – Work around the OCD thoughts by focusing your attention on something else, at least for a few minutes. Do another behavior.
4. REVALUE – Do not take the OCD thought at face value. It is not significant in itself.

Hope this helps those who need it. I also hope it illustrates my intentions a little better as well.

Captain Obvious a friend to all, and to all a friend…..Excelsior

Very OCD.

Regarding different toilet paper techniques, I'd like to add....' keep grabbing, grabbing, grabbing till half the role is gone and plug the toilet', courtesy of my youngest daughter lol. I laughed at the 'wrap your hand like a mummy' technique.

Great pic!!

Okay, so everyone else gets the quote........it's got something to do with toilet paper???

I don't comprehend Most of General Social threads today.

Hey there Captain---what am I not getting?

I finally posted my mood as a positive adjective; now I don't know anything!Just not my day.

Happy April Fools Day, from one of the biggest fools of them all.


I plan on trying to keep up with this thread daily. I am sure there will be times when I miss occasionally but no one is perfect except for people who lack nothing essential to the whole,...which I do not...which, there.. are not,... perfect people, I mean.

And now our thought...

When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So, what the hell, leap!
-- Cynthia Heimel

I’m glad to see the positive adjective Theodora.
Cap. likes adjectives, especially good ones. Nice head banging action you have there. Think I’ll borrow it. Yes that does feel very refreshing.

Well Theodora - it started out with Captain Obvious feeling compassion for trees and I do too. Then being the silly people we are, it ended up being a paragraph or two about toilet paper (yeah we're bored).

My kids are always bring home newsletters, announcements etc, etc. The most ironic one was yesterday - they had Earth hour last Sunday, where we were all supposed to shut off all electricity in our houses. So yesterday my youngest comes home with a certificate for being an Earth Hour participant - now think of all that paper just to give each kid this certificate and how it negates the point of Earth Hour.

Last year I was totally the April Fool here when Doc John changed the Psychcentral logo to read 50 yrs instead of 15. Of course the ever ready, concerned me took it very seriously and promptly PM'd Doc to let him know of his mistake. The joke was on me and I'm sure a few others lol.

This year I told myself I would be prepared for April Fools Day and I've been on the look out for any pranks....in fact I'm hoping I'll see one and be the first to say "Ha not me this time lol".

If there is no fool like an old fool, I am getting better at all the time.

LOL!! Well said! ((((TheByz)))))