Just made another link to my web page for no apparent reason. It is kinda funny how all the web sites in the world are vying for the same surfing fools. People are supposed to be able to find the information that they want to on the web, but it doesn't always come to them easily. I guess that is why we advertise in any way we can, just in case the search engines don't send people in the right direction. Ah, who wants to read someone's boring journal anyway, eh?
Passed another step in the quest for the CPA yesterday. I got a full 88% right on the exam about governmental accounting and some other odd issues. That is well above the 75% that one supposedly needs to pass the real thing. I would not say that I am out of the clear yet. Although I have done better than 75% on all of the practice exams, I am not sure that I could get the same score on all of those exams taken at one time. No matter how you look at it, sixteen hours in two days is a lot of testing.
Went to a Luau last night. It was put on by the local Hawaiian Club. It was cheap entertainment, but I am not sure how much the luau resembles the real Hawaii. I have to say that I was a little disappointed by the Hawaii that I saw when I was there. Sure there is something to be said for the different people, food, and sights of Hawaii, but a beach is a beach. I would have liked to see some of those lush forests with the big beautiful waterfalls, but that is the stuff of travel brochures, I think. Like the emcee (who was really cheesy) last night said, "A luau is like a party where we get together and get drunk." That is pretty much the gist of the average Japanese party or a party in any other country. So much for interesting cultures.
Went to a couple Millercom Lectures this week. Again I was reminded of my younger days when I kept busy with academic things. That was before I met Brica and went to Japan, bad influences. Anyway, I enjoyed the two talks that I "dropped by" to see. One woman was talking about why women lack creativity. She obviously wasn't talking about any innate physical deficiencies, but social and environmental factors. She is very critical of a lot of things in the States and in her home in Egypt. When asked why she was so pessimistic about world problems, she had this to say: "Some people mistake sincerity for cynicism or pessimism." That is, those people who take an active role in challenge the system might seem to see the glass half empty. However, it is only because others are ignoring the glass altogether. Optimists wish the glass were full, and that is why they criticize the glass. Or something like that...