Hi, James!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
   AH>  I duplicate the effect as best I can with rolled-up   
   AH>  towels or whatever else comes to hand.  But it all   
   AH>  sounds so simple I wonder why I didn't think of it   
   AH>  earlier....  :-)   
      
   JB>  As long as you've thought about it now.   
      
      
             Better late than never??  Hmm.  While I am slow of thought, word,   
   and and deed that's understandable in view of my preferred reasoning   
   style....  ;-)   
      
      
      
   JB>  Having never met the man that built your desk, I doubt   
   JB>  he was *that* unimaginative. Heck, he raised you to   
   JB>  think outside the box after all.   
      
      
             Yeah... you may have a point there.  Both of my parents did their   
   own thing without regard for what the neighbours were doing, and they were far   
   more interesting than the neighbours AFAIC.  I guess I took it a step   
   further.  :-))   
      
      
      
   JB>  I often check my flights of fancy with some down to earth   
   JB>  "What the .... was I thinking?" and often too late.   
      
      
             Apparently you enjoy giving the right hemisphere of your brain a   
   good workout.  The right hemisphere is where you get your creative ability &   
   spatial relations ability.  I imagine it takes up quite a lot of bandwidth   
   while you're rejuvenating other people's castoffs.  Then the left hemisphere   
   kicks in & does the math.  But you *are* consciously aware of having made this   
   adjustment.  :-)   
      
      
      
   JB>  I *need* to let the imagination step aside for common   
   JB>  sense and *much* earlier so I don't have to waste so   
   JB>  much time, effort and material as I am accustom to.   
      
      
             OTOH, I've often managed to achieve the impossible when I ignored   
   the naysayers!  If you learn best by doing under certain circumstances I think   
   that is legitimate.  In addition to the psychobabble I've already confused you   
   with: I recognize three major learning channels... visual, auditory, and   
   kinetic.  As long as that old motorcycle engine (or whatever else you're   
   currently trying to fix) gets you out in the fresh air keeping your mind &   
   your body active I think the investment is paying off to some degree whether   
   or not you reach your goal. But while the ability to see the potential in   
   things is a useful talent, it can get in the way of practicality at times.  I   
   resemble that remark... [wry grin].   
      
             You buy these things at auctions... I buy clothing at rummage sales   
   & whatnot.  In such cases, we both know the previous owner may have discarded   
   the item in question because there is something wrong with it.  If the   
   manufacturer used non-standard sizing or if Junior dribbled egg yolk on his   
   togs & Mom can't figure out how to get it off or if there's a button missing   
   but the spare is on an inside seam (right where I'd expect it to be) or if a   
   garment is last year's model, I can easily see that.  For you the challenge   
   may be greater because you can't be sure what's wrong with an engine, for   
   example, until you've dismantled it.  Then you have to find somewhere to put   
   the pieces... which now occupy much more space than they did earlier.  If you   
   need time to ponder the situation you can't just leave it & do something   
   different for awhile, as I often do when I'm composing a message in my writing   
   area or waiting for stubborn stains to finish soaking in the bathtub, because   
   your working space is already filled & you have to remember how to put all the   
   pieces back in the correct order.  I can't offer any solutions... but I *can*   
   assure you that it's human nature to bite off more than we can chew   
   occasionally & add my own perceptions re learning styles.  :-)   
      
      
      
   AH>  When somebody wants Dallas to play computer guru, we   
   AH>  offer them Nora's chair... but SJ's don't like to cause   
   AH>  any trouble & they think they know better.   
      
   JB>  Oh, *those* kind.   
      
      
             I figured you'd know the type I was referring to.  But I don't   
   expect the individual I mentioned earlier to be driving Dallas & me crazy a   
   few months from now.  He just informed us he's decided to relocate in   
   Calgary... [GD&RFC].   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)