Mundane Ramblings

I am lucky.

In general I think I have been one of the luckiest people I know.  I have been employed steadily at a job I generally love for the past 16 years without any real interruption, I have the best family and wife I could ever hope for, I’m healthy, I have great friends, the list goes on and on.  I’m sickeningly happy.

I have always felt that this was a direct result of me simply expecting to be that happy and successful.  It makes no real sense, and I had no reason to believe that it would actually work, but it did.  I am one of the more, ah, relaxed people I know, and it’s probably because of that very fact; I expect things to probably be just fine, so I’m not worried about them, and because I’m relaxed they do in fact turn out fine.

Now this has been basically “proven” in a sort of long term study.  The article gives lots of detail, but the main point is: being lucky can be learned.

You can become luckier just by trying, and upon reading the article I understand now that I have been doing this for years without realizing it.

• Lucky people tend to look on the positive side of misfortune
• Lucky people trust their instincts
• Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine.

Way cool.  Saw the article on Lifehacker.

A nice little follow up to my glowing review of They Might Be Giants’ new CD Here Comes Science on Time.com.  It’s cool to see pro-science folks do well by not dumbing things down, contrary to the norm.  Those songs are still favourites around the house, I will often put it on while we are having dinner and the whole family bops along and sings the words.  Actually Cael usually also acts out the words, which has to be seen to be believed.

Anyway, it’s way cool stuff.  Check these guys out.

Special bonus, which I didn’t know is: they did the theme songs for Malcolm in the Middle, and The Daily Show.  Cool.