boredom, revisited

For those readers who are not terribly familiar with either myself or my counterpart in Washington, DC, we are known for 'creative banter.' For better or worse, it has become something of a tradition, like gathering around the fire to hear Grandpa read The Night Before Christmas. In light of this, loyal readers of The Recipe should expect the odd debate between Cook and myself, buried beneath what already is becoming a pile of nonsensical philosophizing.

In the entry entitled "WebEx," Dr Cook proposed the question of whether it is right to resign oneself to a mundane existence. Without drawing on specifics, he is obviously referring to the activities (or lack thereof) in his position within the corporate hierarchy of the Beltway. His answer to this question is Yes. He then attempts to justify this answer by telling the reader that boredom (the result of his so-called mundane existence) provides intellectual clarity, which gets translated into this blog, of which the reader is the obvious recipient.

I must ask, however, why Dr Cook is so willing to resign himself to boredom. It is a simple question of arithmetic. The day is 24 hours long. Assuming he works for 8 and sleeps for 8, he is left with 8 hours remaining to make his life as interesting, stimulating or purposeful as he chooses. The fact that he spends his free time (8 hours a day remind you - not including the extra time on weekends) watching children play baseball or reliving the past glories of Maryland basketball, isn't my problem. I suggest a hobby. Perhaps he try orienteering.

Furthermore, it is quite obvious that Dr Cook does not resign himself to boredom. In fact, he fights against it. The obvious example is this bog, created with the sole purpose of warding off the constant boredom of his cubicle. That Dr Cook would miss this obvious fault in his logic proves that, while he might be a master of MS office, as a philopsopher, he is rather sophmoric.