Things to Do With Your Hat – Part 1, the Wearing of the Hat

Those who know me, know I’m a diehard galeaphile (hat lover). I’ve always mourned the death of hatwearing.  Up until the 1950s, for a man to go outside without a hat or head-cover of some sort was about as unlikely as him leaving home without pants.  A hat did more than keep the rain and bird crap off your head, it was a statement of style and character, even social class.

I was nine during the Civil War Centennial in 1961 and everyone was getting into the spirit.  The men grew beards and there were all sorts of commemorations and ceremonies.   I got my hands on a cheap replica of a Union kepi and wore it everywhere until I outgrew it.  Throughout much of the ’70s and ’80s I wore a black leather “Tevye” cap I found in Aspen in 1973.  And my old friends from The Atlanta Pipe Band are still carrying the emotional scars left by my unrelenting pith helmet campaign.

Shortly after we moved to St. Louis in 1999, and what with needing to deal with those Midwestern winters again, I purchased a winter hat at a local outdoor recreation store called The Alpine Shop.  The hat met all my criteria; unusual, stylish, black (but with colorful accents), covered the ears, soft, and non-scratchy.  I was happy with both its appearance and feel.  It never entered my mind that there was any question about how it should be worn.

I wear it with the flap toward the back and the brightly-colored vertical panel centered on the forehead (as in the left-hand picture below).  Since I purchased it, I’ve seen two others, and in both instances they were worn with the flap to the front (as in the picture below on the right).

At first glance, it doesn’t appear to matter any more than someone wearing their baseball cap backwards.

But when the wind begins to blow and the ears get cold, the method on the left (mine) has obvious advantages.

a). the ears are covered, and,
b). the likelihood of walking into trees is reduced.

I don’t know who those guys think they are, walking around with their hats on backwards.  I’m going to continue to wear mine as I have been until someone in authoritah informs me that form is required to triumph over function.

- Poppa

Playing With PollDaddy

What have you changed your mind about? Why?

The Edge Annual Question — 2008

From About Edge at edge.org

“The mandate of Edge Foundation is to promote inquiry into and discussion of intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and literary issues, as well as to work for the intellectual and social achievement of society.”

Every year, the Edge Foundation asks its members a question.  This year, the question was, “What have you changed your mind about? Why?”  The responses are an interesting read.  (They start about halfway down the index page.)  There are 166 contributors, so reading them all is not a task you should undertake lightly, but you can skim the subject headings and pass on those that look obscure, such as

“I have changed my mind about cortical neurons and now think that they are far more capable than we ever imagined.” by Terrence Sejnowski, Computational Neuroscientist, Salk Institute, Coauthor, The Computational Brain

and just read those that pique your interest, such as

“Much of what I believed about human nature, and the nature of knowledge, has been upended by the Wikipedia.” by Kevin Kelly, Editor-At-Large, Wired; Author, New Rules for the New Economy

or

“Good Old Stuff Sucks” by Stewart Brand, Founder, Whole Earth Catalog, cofounder; The Well; cofounder, Global Business Network; Author, How Buildings Learn

So I’ve been thinking about this and have come up with two examples of my own.

Religion: Mitigated or Unmitigated Evil?

… and …

The Death Penalty: A Good Idea in Theory, but Difficult to Execute

More later.  Unless I change my mind again.

Oh, and I didn’t used to like oysters, until I discovered Oysters Bienville.

– Poppa

money challenge in September

I suggested a money challenge in September for John and me. Our goals are to pay double the car payment, pay double the mortgage payment, pay double our usual monthly savings. How are we gonna do this? On paper, we can do this if we spend only $400 on fun. When I say it out loud it sounds ridiculous – “only” $400 for fun in the month. And I am sort of cheating, because we already have tickets for some fun in September – Second City performance, Garrison Keillor performance/reading, Brad Garrett performance. But still, this will be a challenge for me to avoid impulse purchases from e-Bay, Amazon, Target, and Macy’s. No recreational shopping for me this month. It will be a challenge for John too.  His impulse spending is at Best Buy and Napster. And we both like to eat at restaurants – frequently.

For September, we’ll be adopting a Little House on the Prairie lifestyle, relatively speaking. Visualize us staying away from stores, restaurants, and online retailers.

–Nan