I’ve been remiss in making Achievable New Year’s Resolutions the last few years. As I’ve explained in the past, it’s my custom to celebrate a high self-esteem holiday by setting achievable goals for myself during the upcoming swing around the sun.
So here are my Achievable Resolutions for 2011:
I will not learn to speak Classical Korean.
I will not make a solo voyage across the Atlantic.
I will not ask my congressman (Keith Ellison) to recommend me for a place at West Point.
I will not go into the Organic Foods business, either wholesale or retail.
I will not throw a wooden shoe into a steam loom.
I will not go on an all-escargot diet.
I will not attempt to give a ninja a wedgie (I’ve learned my lesson on that one).
I will not sign a non-aggression pact with Germany.
I will not pursue the legendary White Buffalo.
I will not paint an armadillo blue.
I will not steal a manhole cover.
I will not play hard to get with Gabrielle Anwar.
And a happy New Year to you, too!
So, just by chance someone wanted to “throw a wooden shoe into a steam loom,” what could one expect to happen? In face, what is a steam loom?
A steam loom is a loom run by steam power. Throwing a wooden shoe into it would wreck it (and the shoe). This is, in fact, that source of the word “sabotage,” from French workers who threw their wooden shoes (sabots) into steam-powered machinery because they feared they’d lose their jobs to industrialization.
I knew about the origins of the word “sabotage” even before I ever saw Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Yes, I am a word geek.
Well, let me just say that I would like to say this. I have looked up “sabotage” in three etymology resources, and all of them say there is no evidence to support the wooden shoe in the loom story. There are similar stories which are also unsupported. The word became popular (or something close to that) in WWII from the French word “saboter.” (I should add that the sources I checked didn’t have a firm story. They said we don’t know how a word for “wooden shoe” evolved into a word for deliberate destruction.)
Don’t shoot the messenger.
And where did the word “saboter” come from? Huh?
ah, here is the other wooden shoe into the loom.
Our church encourages men to set attainable goals each Jan. These are, ahem, POSITIVE, attainable goals. Such as; I’ll take my wife on a date at least once a week. I’ll read X # of pages from a good Christian book. I’ll read the Bible each day; per the, “Read the Bible in a Year Book”, or a guide our church gets that allows us to read 1 chapter of Psalms/day, one chapter of Proverbs/day and part of the Old and New Test. each day in or out of chronological order. I’ll finish building my deck next summer. Etc…
I usually have 30 to 35 per year. Our pastor has one for each year of his life; he’s up to 62 now.
His includes running 4 marathons, climbing Mt. Adams, bicycling to someplace in Alaska from Oregon….. and not requiring medical services along the way at any time or point.
ETC….
Now, the part that the women aren’t doing this.
The pastor told us that he used to have women make goals too… They usually ended up writing goals for their husbands… and fighting about them….. true story… so the pastor just have men to them now and if any women wish to do so, they can write them also…as long as they are ONLY for themselves.
So, this is not that funny.. I liked Lars’ much better…. but, here I am… I just gotta do what I gotta do……..