Truth Serum: Q & A

September 30, 2014 ~ LINUS FERNANDES

You’ve come into possession of one vial of truth serum. Who would you give it to (with the person’s consent, of course) — and what questions would you ask?

A truth serum have I,

That you might choose to take or not.

(I need your consent.)

But then you’d have to trust,

That what you confess would not be repeated

—Ad nauseam.

Or would you rather

Sign a disclaimer,

That what’s said under the influence,

is practically inadmissible

In court or elsewhere.

The questions I would ask then

Are neither here nor there.

—Linus Fernandes.

Brevity Pulls: Fewer words

September 21, 2014 ~ LINUS FERNANDES

“I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.” — Blaise Pascal.





#171414100 / gettyimages.com

Where do you fall on the brevity/verbosity spectrum?

If I could say what I want to say—in fewer words—,I’d do it in a jiffy.

If I could sketch,I’d provide a picture.

Writing less needs more thought.

Locked and Sealed: Shared Secrets

September 7, 2014 ~ LINUS FERNANDES

The Prisoner’s Dilemma (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Can you keep a secret? Have you ever — intentionally or not — spilled the beans (when you should’ve stayed quiet)?

What’s a secret between friends,

Or enemies?

If the secret’s only in abeyance,

By one party or the other.

It makes no difference,

It’s just another prisoner’s dilemma.

And a case of bad cop, good cop,

Played all over.

For the other party’s at fault is the claim.

And you ask, ‘How else could they have known?”

An ill-kept secret is no mystery at all.

And a confidence that benefits one,

But causes the other immense harm,

Is not a pact,

But a travesty.

—Linus Fernandes

Think Again: False assumptions

August 8, 2014 ~ LINUS FERNANDES

English: The Sloping Sea Assumptions are what you don’t know you’re making. If you orient yourself by the strata in the cliffs at Flamborough Head, you may find yourself reaching odd conclusions! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Tell us about a time you made a false assumption about a person or a place — how did they prove you wrong?

In my opinion, most people may never try to correct your wrong assumptions about them. Why would they? Why should they?

The only reasons they’d want to do that is if those assumptions affect them or someone they love adversely— materially, physically or mentally.

That’s good enough reason to act.

If you are in a position of power or influence, you have to be careful about your assumptions–especially about people—and whom you air them to.

190 Days Later: Predictions and Expectations

July 31, 2014 ~ LINUS FERNANDES





#88621317 / gettyimages.com

New Years Eve 2012 cliché prediction (Photo credit: bijoubaby)

Back on January 21st, we asked you to predict what day #211 would be like. Well, July 30th is that day — how have your predictions held up so far? If you didn’t reply to the prompt at the time, is this year turning out to be as you’d expected?

I have only recently begun posting in response to WordPress’ daily prompts. So the first part of the prompt really doesn’t apply. I made no verbal or written predictions but I would be lying through my teeth if I said I had no expectations of how this year was going to turn out for me.

Has it gone the way I expected?

English: Solar Cycle Prediction (Updated 2011/02/03) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The truthful answer is No, it hasn’t.

Am I disappointed? The answer is Yes.

But then the question arises: What am I going to do about it?

Some might say, “Move on.”

That’s sound advice. But before you do that, there’s a process that needs to be followed because the process of letting go is hard and painful.

But you have to let your feelings hang out; vent, if you may, in a constructive manner. Let your loved ones know how and why you feel the way you feel. This begins the healing and then you should either move on or try again. That is your decision and yours solely though external considerations may have to be factored in—things and events beyond your control.

This is my belief.

What’s yours?





#85406449 / gettyimages.com

Back to Life: Unwinding

July 30, 2014 ~ LINUS FERNANDES

English: Effects of stress on the body. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)





#108226179 / gettyimages.com

I Feel It All (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After an especially long and exhausting drive or flight, a grueling week at work, or a mind-numbing exam period — what’s the one thing you do to feel human again?

What do I do to feel human again?

A variety of things.

Sleep—there’s nothing like slumber land to beat the stress out of anything.

If not too tired, go out for a walk or a run or do some light weights.





#145074034 / gettyimages.com

There’s always the idiot box where one switches off completely and let its inanities take over and mess around with my head. Sitcoms work best.

Music—western classical or dance doesn’t really matter.

Talking to somebody you love and trust is another stress-buster but that’s kind of rare. If you have such a person in your life, you are truly blessed. Unloading helps.