Distraction

So, I've got this problem that I've never been able to find a solution for. I have a job that takes all of my body (eyes, ears, hands, feet, and basic body position) but only about 10 percent of my brain. One other complicating factor is that if I get bored, I fall asleep regardless of how rested I may be.

If it took none of my brain, it would be easy. I'd let my mind wander off to wherever it wanted to go and keep at the job. If it took more of my brain, it would be fine. I'd be able to concentrate on the job and just get it done. If it took less of my body, I could find other ways to occupy my mind, such as listening to music, or watching TV, or working while on a treadmill, or petting my dog, or something.

But as it is, I alternate between trying to concentrate on my job and falling asleep and trying to distract my mind and getting too distracted and not working.

Since I get paid only for the work I get done, this isn't a horrible problem (I won't lose my job over it), but it does mean that I spend MANY more hours working than I ought to be and don't complete enough work to have the money our family needs. Also, I'm working from home, so I have a GREAT deal of flexibility in how I can do this work.

I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas that may solve my problem. The job that I'm doing is transcription, sitting at a computer operating a foot pedal, listening to the audio and typing it into either Word or Word Perfect (depending on the contract).

Jury Nullification

Have you ever heard of jury nullification? Chances are if you're not a part of the liberty movement in the United States, you haven't. However, it was the method the framers of the Constitution provided to set up the last "check and balance" to the system.

Basically, jury nullification states that even if the jury is completely convinced that the defendant is guilty of breaking the law, if they do not believe the law to be a good law, they can still find the defendant innocent.

In this manner, stupid laws that everyone knows are stupid could NOT get enforced. However, not only is this not explained to most jurists, in many jurisdictions the Judge makes it a point to say that the jurists have to merely apply the law, as the Judge has explained it, to the facts of the case as the jury finds it.

Now, any decent attorney would probably find reason to throw me off of a jury long before I became impaneled (I tend to distrust those with power -- especially police officers -- and will NOT enforce a victimless crime even with a "smoking gun"), but if I were to ever make it to a jury, it would be my duty as I see it to ensure that all members of the jury were aware of their legal power to nullify the law if they believe it to be a bad one.

Meanwhile, I do what I can to explain the concept to people if the topic happens to come up. The more of the populace aware of the idea of jury nullification, the better off we're likely to be as a country. Jury nullification alone will probably not get us where we need to go, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

Society for Creative Anachronism

I'll likely never get into the habit of posting/writing regularly. I've had this problem with all of my past attempts to document my life. Either nothing is going on, so I have time but nothing to write about, or everything is happening rapidly giving me lots to write about, but no time.

But that all aside, I recently (in the past two months or so) re-discovered the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). I had run into the group originally when I was a teen in Germany (dad was stationed there with the Army). I expressed interest. Mom, Dad, and I had one meeting with one person. After the meeting they took one look at me said, "You'll get obsessed. You can't do it." and that was that.

So, 10 years or so later, I finally started putting out feelers to my local SCA groups. I live almost exactly between two groups and I started doing things with the more active group. Everything has been off and running since then.

Okay, so maybe you don't know anything about the SCA. Let's start with the fact that it is more or less a medieval reenactment group and then work from there. It isn't TRULY reenactment. It's more of a way to explore various interests in the medieval time frame (600 to 1600) surrounded by others doing the same.

There is a wide variety of people in the SCA for a wide variety of reasons. Some are very particular about pursuing their interest in as historically accurate a way as possible. Others are merely there to socialize and make only the broadest of attempts at being historically accurate. And of course, there's everything in between these two mind sets.

If you attend major events, you are asked to make an attempt at period clothing (no blue jeans and polo shirts). But there are many local activities that are done in "street clothes" or "mundane clothes". Some people focus primarily on the combat (which is governed by many safety requirements) and others focus on garb (clothing from the period). Some focus on cooking, some on the bardic arts (poetry and singing), others on "arts and sciences" (metalworking or spinning or weaving or the like). The group allows a wide variety of interests to fall into the same basic interest (medieval life) and seems to be quite popular.

Also, you can participate in the SCA very inexpensively (if you mainly borrow or make items) or very expensively (if you buy or commission the manufacture of items). It can be time consuming (if you attend all the events of an active barony) or take virtually no time at all (if you attend only select events or participate with a fairly inactive shire).

Anyway, it's been an interesting diversion to get me, my husband, and my son hooked up in this group. We're still working on determining our level of participation and interests and such. But we're finding Marinus to be a very happy home away from home.