Virtual Glen.

On the Topic of Sex...

2008-12-16T17:31:00.001-05:00

Fornicating. Doinking. Humping. Bumping Uglies. Whatever you call it, sex is a prevalent part of our society that doesn’t get talked about very much. Sure it’s used to sell everything from deodorant to television shows to fast food. But rarely are myths actually deconstructed. Recently the Ontario Education minister will be pushing to implement better and earlier sex education in schools. Apparently the kids just don’t get it – while getting it. Having just experienced two sections of grade nine sex ed. From the teacher’s perspective, I will concur with the education minister. Sitting through that class was simultaneously the funniest and most disturbing 75 minutes of my day. It was analogous to Bill Cosby’s “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” but with older, uglier and dirtier kids. There was a similar trend of blurting out what popped into their heads and a lack of thought-out responses and questions. Perhaps some of the blame rests in the education system. Perhaps some teachers do not feel very comfortable talking about penises, vaginas and what they do together. I would also like to, pardon the expression, finger the parents as not doing their part at home. Many parents for some reason cannot talk to their children about how it is they were created, and pass off important questions to teachers. One student in the class said that he went home and asked his mother a question relating to condoms and she sent him to his room. This is an example of “not helping to further your child in the world.” I would like to pass along some of the questions, comments and answers heard in the class, in the hopes that it might shock parents into discussing the matter with their kids and perhaps saving them the embarrassment of saying these things in public.
Q- What must be taken three days after unprotected sex? A- “Condom”
Q- When you have a vasectomy, what tube is cut? A- “The Anal Tube”
During a discussion about sheepskin condoms – “I don’t want to use that! A sheep’s pooh was in there!”
“Would it work if you just took Saran Wrap and tied it off at the end with an elastic and put lube on?”
“They make condoms out of latex? Don’t they make balloons out of latex? So couldn’t.....you know.....just use a balloon?”
“Couldn’t you just cut up a regular sponge?”
“When I think of breasts, I think of chicken!”
"If you whack off too much do your balls shrivel up?"
This was but a small sampling of the mind-bending questions the average Physical and Health Educator encounters in grade nine sex education. Good for the kids for asking and clarifying their misconceptions before they make a mistake. However, parents, do your offspring a favour and be open to discussion on this topic. Please explain the difference between a tampon’s function and birth control because they don’t know. But then again, based on some of the kids, maybe the parents don’t know the answer either.

New Site

2008-03-01T01:21:00.001-05:00

Goodbye to Virutal Glen. Say Hello to...

http://glentheintern.com/

see ya there

Glen.Concepts.Inc.

Teach Your Children Well

2007-11-30T13:30:00.000-05:00

Oh, the rejuvenating quality of nature! An invigorating dose of the wild does much to ease the weary work-trodden soul. It is a shame that these doses come too few and far in-between for the majority of us. Certainly I do not need to preach to the readership choir, but I will stress some points about camping. Perhaps just to remind ourselves of the privilege and responsibility we have as trippers.
Allowing ourselves to step outside the confines of our “little boxes” as Pete Seeger would describe them, allows us to truly experience the best that this world has to offer. The greatest thing is that the best that this world has to offer is closer than you think. We generally travel arguably minuscule distances to camp relative to the enormity of the Earth. But what can be experienced there is hands on learning, face to face interacting and jaw dropping appreciation of the world in which we wished we live. A personal awakening that can trump a visit to the local parish.
I believe that we have a responsibility to teach children the same. Remove them from the confines of the house, the car, the traditional school and allow them to feel the intensity of life. The last words I will give to Tom Brown Jr. who has made a life out of teaching the outdoors. “If you are going to the beach, the woods, the swamps, or the wilderness, really get into it, roll in it, and get rid of all protection that will separate you from fully appreciating where you are. Become alive, not removed and insulated, and teach your children to do the same.”

Peter.Concepts.Inc.

Sneaks

2007-11-13T17:26:00.000-05:00

From the Nibblet’s next door, to the Ancient Greeks,
The lowest lows, on the highest peaks,
Classy lassies, wise guys and freaks,
They all know of the one called Sneaks.

Sneaks sneaks around, he always does.
Sneaks speaks a tongue which no one quit knows
And shrieks are yelped wherever Sneaks goes.

Sneaks reeks? No, his hygiene is fair.
Sneaks cheeks are furry; he’s got face hair.
He’s meek and friendly, there’s no reason to scare.

The shrieks are made cause Sneaks sneaks so sneaksily
(Techniques passed down by the sneaksy Sneaks family)

For just one-week Sneaks sneaks,
Just in seek
Of a tasty taste, or even a peek
Of a cheesy cheese chunk or several circle meats
Which seems to make sneaky Sneaks so weak.

And when Sneaks’ cheeks are about pre-leak
Sneaks nods, squeaks and streaks down the streets.
Sneakily Sneaks sneaks past the people Sneaks meets.
Sneaks sneaks past the geeks and freaks and sheiks.
Past Dominique,
Past Zeke,
Past Monique
And Tariq.
Right out of town, Sneaks sneaked here all week!

Sneaks sneaks out into the forest, sneaks over the creek,
Sneaks stops, takes a breath, Sneaks looks rather bleak.
But with a sneaky Sneaks smile, his face fur he tweaks,
Then for 51 weeks, Sneaks sleeps.
And sleeps.
And sleeps.

Scott.Concepts.Inc.

Franks Road Cross Promotion

2007-04-16T11:57:00.000-04:00

Greetings all,
Just wanted to do a little cross promotion for the Concepts.Inc. signed band, Franks Road. They have a new website up in which you can actually stream their songs online, check out when and where their next show is, view pictures and video of the band, read their own band blog. FR will be recording this summer, and have and aim to have an official first disc out by september. In the band's own words, "the others were rambling warm ups for this one."
Heres the link, and I have conveniently placed a permanent link on the side bar.
www.myspace.com/franksroad

Happy Listening,

Glen.Concepts.Inc.

Littlest Hobos Make the Best Hobos

2007-04-12T12:33:00.000-04:00

Everyone who’s awesome remembers ‘The Littlest Hobo.’ For those people that aren’t awesome, it was a show about a drifter dog that happily trotted to his upbeat theme song from town to town, solving whatever local crime or mystery happened to be pressing at the time. If Lassie and C.S.I. decided to make some babies the Littlest Hobo would definitely be one of them. The point of this article, however, is not self-indulgent nostalgia but rather to point out the glaring misconceptions that this show instilled in so many.

There are some overwhelming differences between the Littlest Hobo and actual hobos that should be noted. The Littlest Hobo was a dog; real hobos are usually people. The Littlest Hobo was helpful to the communities he visited; real hobos soil the communities they visit and regularly try and steal pies from windowsills. The Littlest Hobo could communicate through a series of barks and whimpers; real hobos communicate through a series of garbled yells and spitting. The Littlest Hobo would often be given food and a place to stay; real hobos have to eat old boots and live under overpasses. I could go on. The point is that, although the show provided us with many lessons and a strong moral foundation, it puts viewers in a dangerous situation should they encounter and actual hobo and try to pet him or ask him to help solve the mystery of Grampa Jenkin’s treasure.

Ross.Concepts.Inc.

Pocket Sized Transport

2007-03-23T20:09:00.000-04:00

Here's a revolutionary idea that any eager entrepreneur could scoop up and patent. How many times do you wish you had a fresh snack on your person when you’re feeling a little peckish? Solution: Zip-Lock Lined pockets. Installed right into your pants, this will allow you to transport fresh food around with you all day. No more stale croissants, now you can enjoy the soft buttery taste as if it just came out of the oven….minus the heat factor. The pockets will inevitably work best as side cargo pockets to ensure the least amount of crushage during your day-to-day activities. Say goodbye to yoghurt tubes, granola bars and cheese strings. Say hello to pizza, cheese chunks, delicious salami, tater tots, fresh peach slices, cooked ham, and upside down pineapple cake. You will never take on the go snacking so lightly again.

Peter.Concepts.Inc.

Thoughts Of Scotts

2007-03-08T19:02:00.000-05:00

Has any one ever done this before?

Has has any any one one ever ever done done this this before before??

HAS there at all ever been an incident, at ANY point in time, where someONE was clEVER, or original or unique enough to say something or state a concept, anD ON Even the silliest thing, and thoughT HIS idea had truly not have been think’d BEFORE?

Has anyone ever done that before?

Originality bothers me. Not the possibility, but the authenticity. I have an idea…a concept…or even a thought to say something I think is original or new, but he or she or him or her or many might have think’d it before… or befive, besix, beseven beeight or benine….and beten me to the punch. (Has that been done?)I’m in an aggravating struggle in where I constantly wonder if anyone has ever thought of a think that I think I thought of. A joke….a sound…Anything. If I scream “Great gravity left alone in a small sector of land off the great coast of Novemberland-topia!” Was that new? Or has someone, somewhere screamed that before. Or was it something I heard, saw or learned subconsciously, and now I declare its mine and only mine… but its actually not. That bothers me.

Scott.Concepts.Inc.

The Ride.....what does she look like???

2007-02-04T21:05:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder how other people see you? Ever wonder why you look at photos and think “I don’t look like that!” Well here is something to ponder;
Take these photos; the first is a headshot, the second is a composite of 2 right sides of the face, while the third photo is a composite of 2 left sides. Which one looks more like the original?

Well most would probably answer that the 2 right sides look more like the original.

But why is that?
Some basic neuroanatomy is all that is needed. It is fact that the left hemisphere of the brain is interested in linguistics and mathematics, while the right hemisphere is responsible for the processing of imagery and spatial perception. When we look at some one (facing them) the right side of their face ends up in our left visual field. Our left visual field then ends up in our right hemisphere. The image that we process and perceive is what the right hemisphere is telling us. So all that we really “see” is ones’ right side.
But to see yourself, we must look in a mirror. So to me I would say that I looked more like the composite of 2 left sides (not exactly true, otherwise I would have some major self confidence issues). When looking in a mirror I see back a reflection, so the left side of my face will end up in my left visual field and into my right hemisphere.
So you see, “what does she look like?” becomes in fact a meaningless question, as it has no concrete answer but is rather a dynamic interaction between an observer and that being observed. There is no objective observation, it is a process of perception. So next time you are looking through a photo album and a friend cringes and says “that doesn’t look like me” you can explain why they may think that.

Alison .Conecpts.Inc.

Will We Live To See Treequal Rights?

2007-01-22T23:01:00.000-05:00

Scott.Concepts.Inc.

From the Pen of Glen....

2007-01-22T22:02:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends,

I hope you all had the happiest new years and December related holiday celebratory functions. Anyways, if you are reading this, you should be posting a concept/thought/thing right away! I am rather bored and a new year brings a new set of goals to be achieved for Concepts.Inc.

Email your posts to me, at glenjohnson8@hotmail.com, or if you have and questions related to Concepts.Inc. email your questions to me, at glenjohnson8@hotmail.com

Until Next time

Email me your posts at glenjohnson8@hotmail.com

Im Glen.

Intrinsic Knowledge and Original Sin

2006-12-04T12:05:00.000-05:00

The physiology professor just finished saying that his class was the only one to allow a working model of what you are studying into the exam with you. Of course he was referring to the human body. What we are studying is ourselves and therefore the answers are found within us. My query is that if the answers are inside me right now, how come I don’t intrinsically know them already? Who do I know better than myself? Physiology as a science should not have to exist because everyone should know how the body works, and how cell function etc. because they have them and use them. I should know exactly what is happening in my body at all times. I mean, I control it... don’t I? If I have the power to tell my limbs when and how to move, I have the power to say things that I think, why don’t I have the power to determine how much sodium is going in and out of those little channels?
Turn off sodium-potassium pump. There I just tried really hard to think about it and turn it off. Why can’t I? Reason: Original Sin and The Subconscious.
There was a time when the subconscious didn’t exist. Before the Exile form Eden, the Garden of Plenty, humans could control every aspect of their bodies. This is why Adam and Eve never got sick. They simply willed foreign pathogens out of their bodies. When the two lovebirds were kicked out, God realized that humans were not responsible enough to control their entire bodies. Humans just had too much going on with their wars and fighting to pay attention to their bodies anymore. Hence we have “two” brains; one we can control and the other we cannot. This is supported by anatomy, as when looking at the brain it is clearly divided into two hemispheres; one for conscious thinking and one for subconscious thinking.
Control of our own cells should be within reach with nothing more than concentrating really hard. Think of the possibilities: you would be able to eliminate lactic acid as you generated it, or you could effectively fight off infection and disease. If everyone were given this power, then cancer would be eliminated. That’s a comforting thought. What would be the drawbacks though to having a total conscious body? I think that we would go mad. If you had to control all of your body’s cells, your mind would be overwhelmed in seconds. Perhaps it is more effective to have a switch on/off switch so that you could check up on your body when need be. Like Norton Anti-virus, always working in the background but you don’t have to sweep for viruses yourself you can just check and see how the computer is doing and make adjustments as necessary.
Brain increase endorphins. Damn. All that happened was my back started hurting again. Maybe someday we’ll have control.

Peter.Concepts.Inc.

Things That Aren't Funny

2006-11-30T21:40:00.000-05:00

Trevor.Concepts.Inc.

Things That Aren't Funny

2006-11-19T02:12:00.000-05:00

Trevor.Concepts.Inc.

Lessons From the X-Men

2006-11-09T19:46:00.000-05:00

The story of the X-Men is a story that we should be paying more attention to. With the release of X-Men: The Last Stand, completing the recent X-Men Trilogy, the mutant misfits are once again in popular conscience. What are we to take from the X-Men other than a wide variety of super-powers that we can only wish we had. The story of the X-Men is a mirror image of how real society treats individuals who do not fit into the norm. It’s the story of a group of people (herein known as mutants) fighting for acceptance in a society that neglects them. Sound familiar?
Who the X-Men are made to represent is open to interpretation, and there is a blending of characteristics from real groups that goes into the plight of the mutants.

First off, the mutants attend their own segregated school. Much like real-life segregated schooling pre– Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, or schools for the visually or otherwise impaired. Perhaps this is a more fitting basis as at the mutant school they are taught how to use their powers and to able to function better in society, much like the work of schools for the visually impaired.

The first story featuring the X-Men appeared in 1963, right in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement.

There are two main groups of mutants, the X-Men, led by Professor Charles Xaiver, and the Brotherhood of Mutants led by Magneto. Both leaders desire peace, rights and stability for mutant-kind but differ in their views on how to achieve that goal. Xaiver believes the way to mutant salvation is a complete assimilation into society. He desires nothing more than mutants be accepted in society and be treated just as any other citizen would be. On the other hand, Magneto believes that mutants should be proud of their mutant heritage, not assimilate or blend into the non-mutant world and dreams of mutant prosperity. His tactics are significantly more militant than Xaiver’s. Magneto has a hard time finding the right balance between peaceful co-existence with non-mutants and forcing his will and mutant rights upon them. Magneto also carries with him a dream to create a mutant home world, with a mutant population and independent mutant government. This is mirrored in the dreams of Jewish Zionists before the creation of Israel in 1948. The two leaders could have possibly been based on two civil rights activists who were alive and active during the early years of the comic’s history, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. King argued for assimilation and X was a champion of black identity politics.

A third issue that is brought up in the latest X-Men movie also strikes a chord with real life marginalized groups. The Cure. Scientists develop a cure for mutants, allowing them to rid themselves of what makes them different and allow them a place in normal society. Should mutants be taking the cure and rejecting their unique abilities in favour of a “normal” life? Or should they reject it, embrace that they are different and continue fighting for rights that recognize who they are? This raises many ethical questions not escaped in the real world. Pregnancy screenings can tell if a baby has or will have certain disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy or Down’s Syndrome. Should these births be avoided in hopes of a ‘normal’ child later on? Imagine if a cure for homosexuality came out. Would the Gay Community embrace it, finally offered a quick way to escape prejudices? Or would it be scorned in favour of retaining a unique culture? Clearly the answer would be to scorn the cure. Something like sexual preference is not something to be cured, it just is.
The treatment of those that are marginalized in society is mirrored in fiction like the X-Men.

If we are outraged when humans do not give super-powered mutants full rights, why do we deny full civil rights to those who do not fit the cast of normal in real life?

Peter.Concepts.Inc.

SWEARS! A Dying Tradition

2006-11-02T14:02:00.000-05:00

The other day I was happily on my way to class when I noticed a pedestrian get struck by an oncoming cyclist. After a few flips and regaining consciousness the two were back on there feet. I was still shocked and about 30 feet away at the time an anticipating the pedestrian to tell the cyclist to stick the bike up his ASS. But there was nothing, the pedestrian simple stated, “my bad” and they both walked/rode away. They might as well have been dating. Whatever happened to the good old days where instead of apologizing you threw down the F bomb or even flipped them the BIRD. Now I am not talking about using a swear every second word. Think of swears like you think of unicorns, if you saw one every day it wouldn’t be as majestic or luminous it would be a like an regular old ugly horse. Try using a large vocabulary of swears to increase shock value, so in any circumstance you have an arsenal of swear words. The following SWEAR PRACTICE will get you in shape and keep jerks out of your way, remember a good swear can hurt someone up to 30% physically larger than yourself so GO BIG.

1. (Use the words from the word bank to complete the following sentence)
You are in a lecture hall paying attention to class and the guy in front of you keeps talking about his huge pick up last night. You reach out tap him in the shoulder and ask him politely to be quiet. The guy then raises his hand and when the professor calls on him he explains the person behind him (which is you) keeps talking. You then stand up from your seat and call the guy a i)________ ii)________ and your mother is iii)______________ .

2. Use 5 out of the 7 swears in the next 21-24 hours. A-hole, Rocket socket, knickers-knackers-knockers (these three must be said together), buttocks, Ass-Fuck (one word), dildo, crispy knickers.

3. Match the definition to the word by drawing a connective line

evan.concepts.inc.

Wasting Your Time, Cause I Waste Mine

2006-10-29T22:06:00.000-05:00

…remember when not now but then when you and me did this and that which left us right out in front of back words numbers…

Opposites. In light of the recent the holiday from school, Thanksgiving (not Trent reading week glorious glorious glorious dancing glorious), I was thinking…What is the opposite of ‘thank you’?

If saying ‘thank you’ is polite, and the opposite of polite is rude, the opposite of thank might be “fuck you”. Wait. No. Not that. If one looks to ‘fuck’ as a verb, as in to fornicate (funny new name for your friend Kate) and fornicating brings pleasure and pleasure is a good thing and being polite is a good thing and being polite is saying thank you, then the opposite of thank you isn’t fuck you. (plus I know I’ve been thankful for kate on several occasions) It can’t be.

Maybe the answer lies within the response. Your welcome. If you should thank someone, like they pass you a soda, and instead, after getting the soda, you say “your welcome”, not thank you, you are then insinuating that they should be thanking you for the honour of serving them. Why should they thanking you? Selfish. Funny though.

Perhaps silence. Reason calls for thanks and you remain silent. The rudeness factor is there. I know I’m pissed if I don’t get a thank with just cause. In Opposite Land a few weekends ago they got together and celebrated Silencegiving. Or Silencetaking. I can give thanks, how do you take silence? Confusing meal. Fun land though.

Thus, whatever it is, it doesn’t really matter.
So, Fuck you and Your Welcome. Silence. (Opposite Land??)

Scott.Concepts.Inc.

Play Cow Cow

2006-09-28T15:34:00.001-04:00

Here’s How How…

1) Must be in a car
2) Not alone
3) See a cow
4) Yell “Cow Cow”

Cow Cow a very basic game that is udderly impossible to resist once you start. I know you are saying “Holy cow! Stop milking this silly car game!” Butter seriously, enough bull, here is the game…

You and your car mates compete with one another to be the first individual to spot a cow, or a gaggle of cows in a field (or general barn region) and announce the term “Cow Cow”.

Points:
-Who ever says “Cow Cow” first receives one point.
-If you say “Cow Cow” and no cow is present (by chance it was a lamb), one point is deducted from your score
-If you begin to say “Cow Cow”, but in the middle of the second O realize it was just a lamb, and stop before you say the entire thing, you loose a point.
-Car team will decide on game winning score (and perhaps reward) prior to game.

Some Rules:
-A picture of a cow (on a billboard, sign, train, bumper sticker, or a person dressed in a cow costume) does count as a legitimate “Cow Cow” point.
-If a “Cow Cow” caller is slow, another can swoosh in and steal it.
Example:
(Jeff and Gary are in a car. Gary spots a cow.)

Gary: COOOOOO….
Jeff: cowcow
Gary: OW COOW

(Jeff –1 Gary –0)

Have fun. Hard game to play in the city. Watch out for those Hybrid Cow Horses. No matter what happens, every time you play at some point someone in the car will see another animal, be it a horse, lamb, duck, or sometimes just an object, such a flag or a train or boat, and at some point, when that person sees that something, they will yell “donkey donkey” or “fire extinguisher, fire extinguisher” and it will be a joke and it will be funny and everyone will chuckle and then the game will continue and it will just happen because it does. Just don’t force it.

Scott.Concepts.Inc.

Would You Rather...

2006-09-26T01:11:00.000-04:00

1. Would you rather have a ball of fire shoot out of your stomach at random times, sort of like a fart, OR have teeth that each had their own personality.
2. Would you rather have to take one step backward for every three steps forward, OR for every important situation your pants fall down.
3. Would you rather have everyone always talk to you in a panicy voice OR have everyone always whisper to you.
4. Would you rather stub your toe really hard once a day, everyday OR every time you sneeze you fart simultaneously, aka the sneezefart.
4. Would you rather have taste buds on your fingertips OR every time you put on your clothes they are sopping wet.
5. Would you rather throw like a girl OR smell like a girl.

Turn to the person to your left immediately and discuss. Remember, all else is equal in your life. Post your answers and rationale in the comments section.

379Earl.Concepts.Inc.

The Swing Question

2006-04-06T11:29:00.000-04:00

Always willing and ready to respond to great questions and queries, we at Concepts.Inc. were delighted when a letter came into our office asking, “When you get a push on the swings in which the pusher runs underneath the pushee, is it called Underdog or Underduck?”
A perplexing query indeed.

To solve this problem a children’s residential camp was surveyed and the results are published here. We found more than we were expecting to find. Our experiment was designed to see what word to describe the under-push was more popular for our generation growing up. Our hypothesis was that for most regions in Southern Ontario, Underdog was the preferred term, but for Hastings County and immediate surrounding areas, Underduck was used. Hastings County and immediate area that was lumped together for the purposes of this study, is located right in the middle of the Southern Ontario Hwy. 401 stretch, centring around Belleville and extending into the Muskoka area. We included slight variations on each term and considered them to be the same. For example, Underdog and Underdoggie are the same, as well Underduck and Underduckie were considered as the same.

Map Showing highlighted "Underduck" Region

A total of 58 people were polled, with an average age of the participants being 18.5 years old. There was a complete fifty-fifty split between Underdog and Underduck in respondents. There was almost a fifty-fifty split between males and females as well. Of the Underduck respondents, 82% reported having grew up, or spent their formative playground days in the Hastings County region. 97% of respondents who answered Underdog lived outside of the Hastings region. We can see then, that there is statistically significant evidence that suggests that Hastings County is unique in their choice of word for the underneath push.

During polling, heated debates would break out between respondents over which word was correct. The problem was that neither side was willing to consider the other, as the word they used has been with them since childhood. To break a truth that has been with a person for so long would be devastating. Whatever word you believe in, the bottom line is that it is an effective way to get higher on a swing.

Peter.Concepts.Inc.

A MegaMan By Any Other Name Would Blast Just As Accurate

2006-02-14T01:12:00.000-05:00

If I were to purchase a turtle today I would certainly name him Curtis. I think the name is fitting for a meek and lovable animal such as a turtle. When you look into a turtles eyes, with the somewhat reticent and blank stare gazing back at you, for some reason it is hard not come up with a name like Curtis. Were Curtis to show a little personality, namely in the form of a brisk (relative to other turtles) walk across a table, I might even give him the nickname "Curt", although I would prefer to spell it with a "K" instead of a "C".

This talk of turtles gives rise to a slightly mind-bending question that has made appearances in my consciousness over the past few months. During these brief and fleeting moments I have wondered one question: does a person's name influence their personality? For instance, do people with unique names have unique personalities? If this is the case, which I suspect it is, how is this possible?

One simple answer to this query would fall under the realms of Social Learning Theory. To be brief, this simple theory would suggest that one's personality would develop as a reflection of the social circumstances in which they live. In other words, the individual acts as a sponge, "soaking up" the numerous social cues, rules, and conventions so to speak.

This theory, if one takes it to be correct, might answer our question in two ways. First, a child born with a unique name - let's call him "MegaMan", or perhaps "Fuschia" for a female name - is clearly more likely to have unique parents since they are the ones who choose the name. With regard to Social Learning Theory then, MegaMan or Fuschia would, in effect, be more likely to continue this familial trend of uniqueness (which some may simply call non-linear thinking) since the bulk of his/her social learning predisposition would be focused towards his/her parents. To sum, unique parents = unique kids.

A second reason Social Learnng Theory might help to explain whether one's name affects his/her personality is due to the notion of a Self-Fulfilling prophecy. Essentially, this sub-theory can be broken down into the short aphorism: if you believe a person to be unique, you will likely treat them in an according fashion. A self-fulfilling prophecy, in my own words, is the unconscious reinforcement of our perceptions of another person i.e. if your name is MegaMan I sure as hell will not treat you the same as if your name was William (although I wish I would).
So far I have attempted to uncover why an individual's personality development may be subject to an external factor. An individual's name, be it John, Mary, Moses, Phillip or Buford, may make a difference. I have attempted to show, on a very shallow level mind you, how a single word can resonate throughout your social web and serve to influence your entire being.

I know there is more, I just haven't thought of it yet.

Yours in thought,

Jared.Concepts.Inc.

With Rights Comes Responsibilities

2006-02-14T00:57:00.000-05:00

Note From Glen:
Greetings All, Morgen contributed this thoughtful concept, however it is very lengthy. Therefore, to keep things tidy on the main page, the first bit will be here and the last bit can be found in the Comments section. It worked last time, so this will be standard practice on wordy concepts.
Yours In Thought,
Glen

Once there was a bird, several in fact. Some call them fowl. They called each other ‘Caw’, and ‘Craowe’ and ‘Chirp Chirp’. The fowl had friends who couldn’t fly, and as a result, these herds, schools, flocks and colonies of creatures all kept to their own environment, staying out of the sky. For the most part, the birds stayed out of the water, the fields, and hills. Each creature respected the others, only impinging on others when they were really hungry or hurt. But there was one group, and they travelled in packs and gangs. Word is that these creatures once swung from trees. Eventually they left the trees, and just started swinging. Soon after, there was a whole bunch of them.
They grew from packs and gangs into groupings and assortments. They naturally started taking up more room than they had before, now needing more space than ever. Their footprint1 was larger than their individual bipeds. And wherever they settled down, well the weight of their presence was felt for miles around. All the other creatures were puzzled and alarmed by this unsustainable development. Herds flocked from the colonies to the schools where inquiries into the crisis were being held. No one knew what to do, nor how to manage the impending catastrophe (whenever it would arrive, however long it would take to play out).
In a very short time the assorted groupings of bipedal gangs had begun packing things away, taking goods from one place and storing them in another. They became more organized, flocking to colonies in herds, travelling over deep waters, through foreigners fields and over holy hills. They were adventurers! Conquerors! And the ability to move, spread, and enslave was their right! Sometimes their groups divided into bunches, and they enslaved each other. But most often they made truces, and collectively agreed to just enslave and exploit the earth and its other creatures.
That was the story of a bird, several in fact. From their fowled perspective we learn how the abilities of one gang of creatures developed, eventually being understood as more than an ability. Their ability had become viewed as a right. Most rights, unlike abilities, are to be asserted at every moment, and in every situation. And so the characters in our story went about foolishly plying their abilities (which they mistook as rights) at every possible chance--instead of--discerning when and where they should display their capabilities.

[Continued in Comments...]

Morgen.Concepts.Inc.

Funner

2006-02-08T19:16:00.000-05:00

‘Funner’ should be a word. How else are we supposed to distinguish the difference between something that is fun and something that is more fun. I guess you could just say that..."more fun", but where is the fun in that. Great gets an ‘er’. Something can be great, and another thing can be greater…or bigger, smaller, faster, taller, weaker, stronger, shorter, longer……. I could go on.
I am an advocate for the word ‘funner’. I ask you to ponder your feelings, and perhaps join me in this crusade and incorporate this word into your life.
If life continues on current path, Future Scott will be a teacher. I will teach this word to my students and accept it in essays and such. If you don’t support ‘funner’ and/or you think abusing my role as a teacher by teaching whatever I want which sometimes will include teaching false things is wrong, and don’t want your Future kids to be taught by Future Scott, that is okay, I’m not hurt. Put them with the other teacher, but my class will be funner.

Scott.Concepts.Inc.

Planning

2006-02-08T14:56:00.000-05:00

* Only read this article if you planned ahead to read this article.
** If this article comes as a surprise, stop reading immediately.

Far too often the public is engaged with surprises. It is seen everyday through; surprise birthday parties, accidents and quotes like “That’s surprising”, “I didn’t think it was going to turn out like that”, “Wow…”, and “I would have never guessed”. These people are naive in thinking that a surprise is uncontrollable.
I myself have devised a method for eliminating words like surprise, chance, random, and spur of the moment thinking. The number one objective in eliminating surprise is planning. For example if I am sitting on my bed and someone has left the room and forgotten to close the door, I am not fazed because I planned to wear heavier than average clothes that day. This was in order to throw my clothes at the door, resulting in a door closing action. I extensively plan in order to do the least amount of work necessary every second of my life. Do not get this confused with laziness, its counter partner. Planning is tough on its own but with some practice you are able to plan on top of planning. Currently I have planned every second of my life 32 years in to my future. When I am 63 I will have planned my entire life and all the hard work of planning will have paid off. I will be able to do nothing all the time and never have to think again. Some may say this is impossible and approach me on purpose just to say “I bet you didn’t see that coming.” I simply reply, “I have a scheduled this appointment with you and therefore I have not wasted my time but you are wasting your time not planning.”

[I bet Evan didn't plan to see a picture of his brother and himself dressed as Ronald McDonald. -Glen.]

A process to plan is linking and or multitasking in order to get enough time to plan. When I was in grade 4, I wrote every assignment that I would ever need up to university along with this article itself. A good planned day is a lot like seeing into the future. A good planner is not just organized. Calling yourself a planner just because you remembered all your books for all your classes in one day is not a representation of a good planner. If you planned all the traffic patterns of your area before you left so that you never waited for cars to pass, if you planned the geographic area to always walk in a downhill direction, and if you planned to go to the doctor to fix a broken arm then had 5 other bones broken, then fixed just to save traveling time for when you break your next 5 bones, that would be good planning. Remember the benefit of planning is doing overall less physical work, but the extensive planning you need to do is substantially more work. While proceeding with this method of planning I advise caution.

Evan.L.Concepts.Inc.

Colours and Emotions: Norms for Normal People

2006-01-24T23:15:00.000-05:00

Seems that in the world today, everywhere you look there is bright colours flashing ubiquitously trying to grab your attention. Along with the colours, advertisements and commercials use emotions to grab the viewer’s attention and make the possible customer attach a feeling to their product. These recognitions allowed me to think about some things.
Colours and Emotions present in today’s society really are for the normal population and seen as a norm for everyday life. Try, for example, giving a definition for colour without using other colours, shades or brightness to refer to. I did this myself and found it extremely difficult to try and give this definition. Essentially what you’re trying to do is provide a definition suitable for a colour blind individual. Think about this for a second. The colour blue. Quite a common colour that any ‘normal’ person could recognize. Dictionary.com has the definition of the colour blue; The hue of that portion of the visible spectrum lying between green and indigo, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 420 to 490 nanometers. Now, I don’t know about you, but unless you aren’t colour blind, can see wavelengths in the air, or recognize radiant energy, this would be quite a difficult description for you. This brings me to the conclusion firstly that it’d be very difficult to attract colour blind individuals from a marketing perspective and even in common every day life. Think about something as simple as traffic lights. If a colour blind individual did not know the order of the lights for go, caution, and stop, it could turn into a disastrous situation.
Moving on in a similar train of thought, emotions comes to mind. To some, this may not seem similar, but take a second and reflect. Staying consistent, dictionary.com describes the emotion ‘happy’ as; Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy. Once again, this may seem quite simple to an individual such as yourself from the ‘normal’ population. Imagine, however, trying to describe an emotion to an emotionless individual or a robot that is only trained to communicate and not feel or recognize emotions. To feel emotions or even sense them, the body has developed amazing methods. Hormonal regulation, neural regulation and neurotransmitters are only a portion of what scientists have speculated in the generation of emotions. Are humans the only life form on Earth that recognize emotions? This becomes quite hard concept to accept. Take animals such as dogs for instance. Is it possible that dogs understand completely what emotion their ‘owner’ feels and that is why they are known as such good companions? Does this mean that in an emotional recognition perspective they are just as ‘smart’ as humans or even superior?

I could go on and on with this concept, but I just want to present the general idea to the public. Its amazing how many things are taken for granted in this world and most individuals have no idea about so many things in this world. Colours and emotions are quite complex phenomenon and scientists have only scratched the surface. Think hard, and think strong, you crazy brain you.

Jay.Concepts.Inc

Loss Of A Holiday

2006-01-14T14:49:00.000-05:00

Million of millions of children enjoy holidays on regular basis. They get presents and have a festive time. The children, without even knowing it usually exploit these holidays. Not because they are greedy and rarely give presents to others. Not because they never use the presents for more then one day. Not because they do not understand the usually religious background of the holiday. Not because they usually awake sleeping others in order to open presents (this act is mainly seen during Christmas but has been reported during other holidays as well). Not because they are happy there out of school lowering the education of the population with every holiday taken. The injustice act that they have repeatedly broken is uncontrollable. This act is done by nature itself and there is no treatment available. There is no consideration to the children of the Holiday Creators. For example there will be no Santa Clause to give Santa Clause’s son a present this year. His own dad is Santa Clause and all the card on the present will say is; From Dad. This holiday seems more like a birthday rather then Christmas. The wrapping paper may be green and red and it may be under a tree but without the mystery of Santa Clause, there might as well be no Christmas at all. The children of the Easter Bunny and there are many because of the rabbit’s natural promiscuous tendencies to have many children with various partners, not to mention he is probably the most famous rabbit, thereby increase chances to have more children, do to a great reputation of delicious milk chocolate. These children’s Easter has been ruined since it is their own dad hiding the delicious milk chocolate from them. This can be resembled by your own parents hiding harmful chemicals from you. The novelty of Easter is ruined for these rabbit children which can be correctly call kits which is short for kitten. The kittens of the Easter bunny have nothing to look forward after that first Sunday in April. Another example of a novelty ruined that is similar to the Easter Bunny but not an actual holiday is the Toothfairies. The Toothfairie’s kids might as well just be getting allowance which is probably less then the average allowance that kids are receiving on a regular basis. Groundhog Day may be the worst holiday for groundhog kids of all the holidays. The groundhog is stuck in the nest while his/her dad leaves and if it’s a bad year there coming right back and no early spring for them. The following holidays may also be ruined if you are a son/daughter of the particular holiday event. Presidents Day, Valentines Day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Earth Day, Passover, Children’s Day, Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Mexican Independence Day, Columbus Day, and Shichi-Go-San Day. If you become a supporter, of helping the children that do not have the chance to participate in the most festive times of the year, then this year on March 8 celebrate Loss of Holiday Day “the greatest holiday that never was”. Celebrate in your on unique way use your imagination. Take the day of work or from school and celebrate however you like! Some studies showed that coloured balloons increase a celebration up to 23%. Balloons are only one idea but go crazy.

Evan.L.Concepts.Inc.

Blue Balls - A New Game For You All

2006-01-04T13:39:00.000-05:00

This past New Years a friend and myself invented a game with the help of beer companies and their beverages. Its name; Blue Balls. The concept is quite difficult, yet the game is a blast. The rules are simple. Get Points. Aim low. Win. Here is an explanation on how to play. The only two objects you require are a doorframe and an exercise ball (preferably one with good but not too good of a bounce).

-Each player starts on a different side of the doorframe, one player with the exercise ball (a coin toss is a fair method).
-The ball is served by the individual starting with it. The ball must bounce once before reaching the other player.
-A ‘pelvic thrusting’ motion (no hands or feet are allowed) is used to return the ball back through the doorframe to the player to which the ball came from.
-The game goes to 15. Points are awarded for the following:

-A point is awarded to the opposing player if you ‘hump’ the ball into the doorframe
-A point is awarded if you successfully ‘sack’ your opponent so that they cannot return the ball

Short form: Just keep the ball going and don’t hit the doorframe so that the ball remains on your side; and of course, don’t get sacked.
It kept us busy for quite awhile. Hopefully you can enjoy it yourself. A basic diagram is included below.

Jay.Concepts.Inc

Franks Road To Release First Album

2005-12-10T02:42:00.000-05:00

With the May-August Sessions over, Franks Road has spent hours grazing through the close to five hours of material they were left with. The result is the forthcoming “a loosely themed album.” Franks Road, whose members are Scott Graham, Ross McIntyre, Peter Vooys and Trevor White, formed together in May of 2005 drawn together by a desire to create music. Each member takes turns on vocal, lead and rhythm guitars, and all members are comfortable with harmonica. The songs are hugely improvisational, each member feeding off the other and they do it well. I sat down with Franks Road to ask them a little about their music, their album, and trees.

VG – How would you classify your music?
Graham – Amazing. Seriously though, I am constantly impressed with what this band is turning out. The May-June Sessions were very productive and I’m pleased with what came out of them. I think that you’ll see a record that is a mix between Phish, The Acorn, and Explosions In the Sky.
Vooys - We're about making music that you can get lost in. Landscapes of sound if you will.
VG – What should fans expect from your new album?
McIntyre – Well, keeping in mind that it was recorded on a digital camera, I think people will be surprised how good it sounds.
White – The album is hugely improvised. As well there is a very loose theme running through the album that we’ll let the listener determine what it is. It’ll make the listener think about what they’re hearing.
McIntyre – Well, we really wanted an album that was acoustically pleasing, and yet had some sort of undercurrent that the attentive listener could get.
VG – What exactly is Franks Road? What does your name mean?
McIntyre –Well, we were in Peterborough, just before we recorded the Locks Sessions, and thought that it was time to get a name for ourselves. So we started throwing out different names, I can’t even remember what they were, and then said, ‘lets not do this, the name will come when it comes.’ You know? Whatever name we took would mean something and kind of pop out at us.
Graham – Just after that had been said, someone said, ‘what about Franks Road?’
McIntyre – Well, when we heard that, we knew that was it.
White – Franks Road is the road that the Camp we all worked at is on. That’s where we all met, and that’s where a majority of our material was recorded. It just seemed to fit.

VG – You use a lot of tree and outdoor imagery in your work. What’s the connection to Franks Road?
Graham – Some of that comes from the way this album was packaged. We feature some of the work of Dustin Privett, an amateur photographer, member of Concepts.Inc. and a friend of the band. He’s a fan of the outdoors, much like we are.
White – Like I said, Camp Quin-Mo-Lac is on Franks Road. The environment is inevitably tied to camping. We’re big supporters of the outdoors and of appreciating the beauty of the world around you.
Vooys – You have to be able to step back and recognise how incredible things are around you. The earth really isn’t a cold, dead place.
VG – That’s from Explosions In the Sky.
Vooys – I know. I liked the message and the sound of it so I threw in a song. It doesn’t really matter who said it, it just matters that you understand what it means.
McIntyre – Well, we’re just supporting the Earth in our own little way.
VG – Thanks guys it’s been a pleasure talking with you and good luck with the album.
Franks Road – Thanks Glen.

“a loosely themed album” comes out this month from Franks Road.

Glen.Concepts.Inc.

Meditations on Canoe Tripping as a Metaphor for Life

2005-11-25T10:03:00.000-05:00

The first step of your canoe trip is the planning, but since this is to be your first canoe trip someone more experienced than you does the planning for you. These more experienced people have a vested interest in seeing that you get the best equipment available, and a route that was easier than the one they had to go on. They hope that you will trust them in their decisions for you, and hope that they planned a route with the easiest portages and the calmest lakes. They do not want to see you fail. The map is set, a course laid out for you, your route to the end predetermined. Once everything is ready, you load your stuff into a car or van and drive to your intended drop off spot. The vehicle that transports you is warm, safe with snacks to eat before you get to the outside world where it is colder and you must fend for yourself. You sleep a little, and are restless at the same time about starting your journey. You come out of your transport a little dozy, a little confused, in a totally different spot than where you came from which is why you squint your eyes, stretch and take a good look around.

When you are dropped off and the vehicle leaves, you are out in the world on your own. This is what all the planning resulted in and where the womb was delivering you. When you first start on your trip your eyes are quickly darting from the real world to the world on the map. You are an infant orienting yourself with the world. Getting your bearings and figure out where the map is telling you to go and proceed in that predetermined direction.

There is no doubt that you will get lost a number of times throughout your route and will no doubt stop it. You have been going along with the map but are getting fed up with its linear approach to tripping. You ask yourself How can this be it? Is this really where I’m supposed to be going? It is at this time that you put the map down and trust your own instincts. Every stroke, or step you take is completely yours. You imagine yourself doing this alone, as if you are the first to come this way. You do not recognise that where you are and where you are going has been gone before. Your route has been paddled many times over no matter what way you choose. But you continue to trust yourself and only yourself to be able to navigate through the lakes and woods.

No matter where they fall in your trip, the portage is where you learn about yourself. By pushing yourself to complete the task. The portage is a tough section of your life. It will hurt you, you might feel like giving up but you have to get through the portage if you want to continue your journey. Some will take their time on the portage, stopping once in a while to catch their breath and reorient themselves, telling themselves once again why they are doing this. Others plunge through their portages, taking everything through on one determined push. Whatever way you approach a portage, the result is the same. You are able to get to a different leg of your journey and have no doubt learned something about yourself as well. Though you may not like them at the time, portages are a necessary part of the trip.

You notice too that there are others on the lake and on the portages. Some of these trippers you will pass by and not remember, some will help you through a tough portage and not be seen again, others will paddle beside you as you find that they are going along the same route for a while. Some trippers you might encounter will have almost the same route as you and you will tandem your canoe the rest of the way with your new partner.

Eventually you will get too tired and too dirty to continue your trip without a laid out plan. You think of the map that you packed away, find it, and resolve to finish your journey. Your boundless energy and pride has given way to knowledge and efficiency. You realise the value of history and those that have gone before you. You pick up the map that they have drawn for you and you use it to your will. You redirect your course in a way that makes sense to you from the wisdom that you have gained. Some decide after their days doing rapids and long portages that they will flat water their boat the rest of the way. Others use their forgotten map to push their limits and find the most hazardous course to the end. Neither way is wrong or finite. No matter, which way you choose to get there, every trip will take you to your pick up point.

The pick up point is where you are no longer able to continue on the way you have grown accustomed to. Someone greets you from your past, someone that you know but haven’t seen in a long time, and they take you away to get cleaned up and fed. Everyone’s trip lasts a different amount of time. Everyone’s trip has a different intensity. Some short and tame, some long and wild, and every mix of in between. It all depends on how much you want to challenge the map that is given to you.

Peter.Concepts.Inc.

Note: The Meditations are not wholly complete or
inclusive of all possible outcomes, nor can they be.

The Wine & Cheese & Live Entertainment Concept

2005-11-15T23:53:00.000-05:00

Hey Gang,

On November 13th, a group of around thirty crowded into 412 Victoria Street in Kingston. The venue was mellow and cozy, at this Concepts.Inc. sponsored event, as many enjoyed wine, cheese and other scrumptious delights.
However this evening was not one of solely fine wine, good cheer and intriguing conversation. The guests at 412 were also treated to some live local talent, to the likes of Dean Vlahaki and Laura Moore, Franks Rd., Katie McKay, and Peter Vooys and Keira Loukes.
The night was a dazzling success and much thanks directed towards, the ladies of 412 (Keira Loukes, Erin Mitchell, and Nicole Waintraub) the performers, Concepts.Inc., sound technicians Scott Wooder and Whitney Jackman, and all who could attend.

If you attended last Sundays Event, I encourage you to post a comment of your feelings/emotions/sensations felt by you on said evening. Don’t be shy; it’s easy as pie, so give it a try. Just remember to leave your name.

…And from the popularity of this event, rumors have already started about another 412 Wine and Cheese and Live Entertainment Concept in the not too distant future.

Glen.Concepts.Inc.

Why Ketchup? Why Not Mustard?

2005-11-15T21:10:00.000-05:00

In the age old quest of “Ketchup or Mustard” we must look in-depth, at the molecular level, to find an answer to this endeavor. The color of the substance is the first chapter of a 311 chapter novel of ketchup and or mustard. The color red is over powering to the minuscule yellow of mustard. Red means STOP in the trinomial traffic patterns where as yellow is only the caution and is less important. Numerous times while investigating traffic patterns on my free time, I noticed 44% of the time a driver while speed up through yellow but only 3% of the time the driver will speed through red. This is a factor that stresses the important of a red color being pursued. The Kool-Aid Jug in a majority of cool aid commercials is also red. This Kool-Aid Jug is only a marketing tool but if it was to fight another yellow marketing tool such as a Big Bird from Sesame Street it would most likely win. The bird may fly away, but in an overall fight the bird would most likely drown in the sweet, sweet, beverage we like to call Kool-Aid.

The reassurance of a tomato gives ketchup a more tradition family feel. Though there has been some grade 4-6 playground controversy over the fruit or vegetable topic and many kids have lost there milk in a bet, only to discover it is in fact a fruit. The connection of tomato and ketchup is a tradition where as the mustard comes from what? Who knows? In a study performed in 1977 by Doctor C. Kichojoclia it was concluded that kids were more likely to perform brain surgery then to understand the principle of where mustard was made from. The lack of comfort of eating food that is unknown is like eating blindfolded, you never know what you are going to get. That is why you always choose the comfort of BIG RED.
The strategic design of the thin red bottle makes for easy placement in the condiment shelf along with salad dressing and BBQ sauce. The awkward overweight yellow bottle is just too big. It does not fit along with the others. It gets shoved to the back with last week’s leftovers hardly to be used. Are you in a rush, are you looking for something to add to you hotdog in 3 seconds or less? Just reach for the reliable BIG RED its close by. In conclusion through my 6hr investigation I fully can conclude that ketchup would beat mustard in every competition except for which one is yellow and mustard would only win 2 out of 5 times in that competition

Evan.Concepts.Inc.

Concepts

2005-11-14T18:30:00.000-05:00

....November's Concept Minis....

Greetings All, just wanted to say a quick 'Hello'. I know everyone is busy with school and such, but take some time to yourself and post a concept or two, big or small.

Send Concepts to glenjohnson8@hotmail.com

just have a small concept....idea.... rant....anything to say- post a comment in this months 'Conecpt Minis'

Happy Laughing,

Glen.Concepts.Inc.

How Am I Not Myself?

2005-10-14T16:20:00.000-04:00

While watching the movie I (heart) Huckabees last year a very interesting question came about when one character asks “how am I not myself?” While joking around about the movie at a party one night the answer to this question all of the sudden came to me.
When you go about trying to answer this question you have to look at the “person” as two completely separate beings.
The first is the “Organic Being”. This is what you would be like if you never came into contact with the social world, your “pure being”. The second is the “Social Being”. This is the being that has been raised in an influential social world in which the personality is a mix of the one’s you’ve seen in your life. After understanding these two separate beings you can begin to answer the question of, “how am I not myself?”
The only real way to be completely you is to have been completely isolated from any kinds of social behaviour and to not even know they exist. It is in this organic state that you will be (in your mind at least) completely original and completely yourself because there would be nothing human that would have influenced you. This however is not really possible making it irrelevant to the question of being one’s self.
It is in the social world that this question truly takes shape. In the social world it is completely impossible to actually be yourself, that is if you look at it from the perspective that everything that makes us the person we are has somehow been influenced by another person that we have met in our life. On the other hand the types of experiences that influence us would be completely unique from another person. No two people could experience life in the exact same way. So in this sense, being yourself would simply be you just living. The things in your life that you enjoy, and the things that you do, are what make you who you are. So long as you keep doing what it is that you want to in life you will never not be yourself.

Greatness is influenced by greatness. For example John Lennon had Bob Dylan…

Dustin.Concepts.Inc.

Awkwardness of Size

2005-10-03T18:56:00.000-04:00

At an activity I participated in recently a concept came to mind. This concept of course was that of Awkwardness and how it seems to arise. First and foremost, I asked myself the question of what normally accompanies awkwardness. This vital element that I believed to contribute to awkwardness was a group. Can awkwardness really occur without some sort of group? I reflected this and believed that although it may not always come to mind, there may be some awkwardness towards yourself, such as not being comfortable with your body for say. There are other several instances where this could be used, however I believed that some form of group contributed quite significantly to the idea of awkwardness. Without a group, awkwardness may not even exist. I will now discuss three main concepts to do with this notion of discomfort: Size, Setting and Individuals. We’ll be discussing them interchangeably.

Use your imagination for a second and envision the following: You’re at a party at a friend’s house. You are the only one there so far and no awkwardness is present at all. You and your friend are just relaxing in their main living area, except for one thing. The room is largely spaced out and there isn’t much ‘filler’ in the room (such as tables, lamps etc.) Everything is going swell, until the first person besides you arrives to the party. The individual who arrives next is a friend, but one of the individuals who you consider a ‘friend’ but are actually usually just tagging along with whatever your group of association does. We’ll call him ‘John’ for now. John has brought another friend with him. One who was not invited, but just decided to come for a good time (‘Vladimir’). You perform to normal human greeting; Hi how are you John..Hi Vladimir, nice to meet you. Following the greetings, you all take a seat and its at this point when the awkwardness begins to settle in. The conversation has turned into a giant question congregation. So, where are you from Vladimir? How do you know John? Where do you go to school? Oh, you don’t go to School…you ran away from your corrupt parents?..Interesting. Along with the ‘question parade’, the room is not aiding the moment at all. You are having to use a higher volume of voice just to relay your messages across. To add to the situation, John and Vladimir have come extremely early and no others come for more than an hour. The short talk has begun to take a toll on you and awkwardness is clearly present. The stretches begin, yawns are tempted and you are getting quite bored of sipping that glass of water you have.

With that situation in mind, think about the cause of awkwardness. Is it mainly due to the individuals, setting or ‘size’ of the gathering. To begin, the individuals are not what you call the ‘easiest people to talk to’. They constantly give one word answers and seem to have no interest in what you are saying. They mainly just came to ‘party’, not socialize. Or does it have to do with the setting/size? Not only are you in a room whereby you have to use quite a loud voice just to get a point across, but the room is bare (very little visual stimulation one might say, besides that stupid disco light). I ask this now. Would the situation be better if a) it were different individuals b) the room was smaller with some tables and such or c) both. Personally, I can think of reasons to which both could contribute alone, without the other, and vice versa; occur as a result of the other. In other words, I am curious as to why only slightly different situations can change the outcome of awkwardness. Lets say for example that you are at a party with a bunch of close friends. For a number, we’ll say 50 of you. The only problem is you are in a 9x9 room, the windows are closed and its beginning to smell of body odour. Not to mention feeling the breath of anyone you talk to on your face. Awkward Or Not? Now the opposite. You and your friends (10 of you this time at a party of 25 people) are at a party. You know the other individuals at the party, except you choose to stick together to avoid what? Awkwardness. Not only this, but the party is at a giant house. Do you avoid the others by going to places where they aren’t? Or decide to socialize. This is dependent on whether you consider these new types of situations awkward and also what you decide is the key component to awkwardness; Size/Setting or Individuals.

In the end, as I have somewhat indicated throughout the concept of Awkwardness, you can see that the obvious determinant is what you want it to be. If you do not care about the size/setting, then individuals may be your main deterrent. No matter what anyone believes, awkwardness will be present at times whether we like it or not. The possibilities for this concept are virtually endless and I have only presented a couple of concepts to which I believe are the main ‘motives’ for Awkwardness. The others come from you. Utilise ta tête.

Jay.Concepts.Inc.

Ottawa Chapter Update

2005-10-03T11:08:00.000-04:00

Ottawachapter.concepts.inc. has been in full swing so far this quarter, having regular gatherings and filling pocket glen after pocket glen with valuable material soon to be published. We had an exceptional time at the past Kingston meeting, and this only fueled our thoughts about having the next meeting in October or November, depending on the response we get from those who have to worry about travel. We believe there are some great things to be discussed which will only further the productivity of concepts.inc. in the near future, and our Ottawa location is a great environment to generate dialogue of ingenuity and debate. Thank you to Pete and Lisa, who played major roles in making the September meeting a great success.
Here are some things we’ve been thinking about…

· There is a brand new Concepts.Inc. meeting room at Ottawachapter.concepts.inc., inspired by Peter’s at the 379 Earl St. address. The same rules apply for this office.

The Ottawa Office.

· We are anticipating the advent of Autumn so that the Autumn book can start to take form. Please start thinking about this as the more content we have, the better the book will be.

· Thanks to Pete for taking a lead role in making ratification.concepts.inc. a reality with the help of Queens University.

· This May/April production of the Concepts.Inc. pilot television show was in progress. If anybody would like to submit video footage to be included in the show, please contact Glen to inform him of the nature of the video and how you can get involved.

· Some Concepts.Inc. members stumbled upon a local Ottawa band called The Acorn in the spring season. Check to see whether they are playing in your area soon and go to see them. If you can, obtain a copy of their cd from somebody and listen to it because they are really good.

We hope to hear some feedback about when people can attend an Ottawa meeting, but we feel that the sooner we can talk about some important issues, the better.

Conceptually.inc. yours,

Trevor.concepts.inc.

Call for Papers

2005-10-01T04:20:00.000-04:00

Dear board members of concepts.inc.

As some of you know, I am a student at the University of Toronto. One of the very few perks of atttending this school is that there is a newspaper called The Gargoyle that will publish anything and everything that is submitted to it - no questions asked. Because of their lack of censorship and blatant disregard for 'human feelings' it happens to be one of the best papers on campus. Despite their liberal disposition, one of their main problems is getting students to submit work (writing, comics, etc.).

With concepts.inc. in mind,I obviously saw their misfortune as an opportunity for exploitation. I would ask anyone who would like anything printed in this fine newspaper to email it to me and I will forward it to them. You can sign it your real name and everything (ie. bruce.concepts.inc.).

The Gargoyle is a safe haven from the Human Rights-Ethics commissioners/self- righteous bastards that have decided to violate the Canadian Bill of Rights by limiting freedom of speech in Coach's Corner. To see exactly what law was violated:

http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/c-12.3/28161.html

Anyways, do send me your articles and they can be filled with as much gratuitous drinking and sexual behaviour as you want. It would be awesome to get a couple of articles signed 'concepts.inc.' in every one of the bi-weekly publications because people would begin to get confused and wonder what it is. This, to me, is funny. I'll be sure to grab a stack of copies of any issue that concepts.inc. is published in.
Hope to hear from you,

ross.concepts.inc.

ross.mcintyre@utoronto.ca

Game.Concepts.Inc.

2005-09-30T00:39:00.000-04:00

Here's an little activity for you to try:

See if you can spot the Concepts.Inc. member in the crowd.

Aberdeen Street, Sept.24, 2005

Back in the Swing of Things

2005-09-28T01:35:00.001-04:00

Greetings All,
Virtual glen is open for business again. Sorry for the delay but after my four month sabbatical, September was a really busy month for Concepts.Inc. Let me fill you in on the highlights.

1. The Homecoming Conference.
Arguably the biggest business conference that is annually scheduled, it is no doubt the craziest. This year was no exception. Thank you to all members who attended. By all reports no member of Concepts.Inc. was seriously injured or otherwise at the conference. And the office was a nice touch.

Some of the Attendees in the office.

2. The Office.
Concepts.Inc. has an official and permanent office now. It is located at 379 Earl St. in Kingston. The space also doubles as sleeping quarters for visiting board members. There are two microwaves, a television, a printer, ample seating, a couch/desk/freezer, interesting decorations, a growing library, a potted plant, a fan, three lights, a garbage can, glens, a tool box, and a cork board.

3. The Queens AMS Club Ratification.
Concepts.Inc. has applied to be an official club through the Queens AMS. This will entitle Concepts.Inc. at the very least a mailbox and club office time (not our own office but shared time). However, we can get an actual office in a Queen's campus building to be used much like the first office on Earl St. I will no doubt be in further contact with the rest of the company with updates on this matter.

4. The Clubs Night.
Being up for ratification, allowed Concepts.Inc. to participate in clubs night. This is a night were all the Queen's club set up booths to promote their club and sign up new members. Concepts.Inc. was represented by Peter Vooys and Mike Tribou, who managed to get 15 people to "sign up" for Concepts.Inc. This leads me to believe that we have supporters out their for our cause. However, a post review of the sign ups is necessary before becoming fully fledged Baord Members and not just Associates.

Concepts.Inc. at Clubs Night.

5. The Constitution.
Concepts.Inc. now has an official complete, 8 page constitution. Written by Ross McIntyre with slight admendments by Peter Vooys, the constitution is a master work, and a concept all in itself. It is definitly something to be proud of. If you do not have a copy and would like one, please email me.

6. The Tee Shirt.
Concepts.Inc. will be starting their clothing line with the debut t-shirt I LIKE LAKES with a simple canoe design below the words. The shirts will be tan with navy blue writting. If you would like one please email me. Please don't order one if you don't actually like Lakes.

7. The Book.
Dustin Privett has suggested that the collaborative book effort should focus on the season of autumn. Please make this concept a reality and think about autumn and take pictures, write stories, songs, poems, etc. and email your works to me.

8. The Contact List.
My mailing list got erased over my absence in the summer. So I need you to email me so I can get your email address and place you on the list. It is crucial to be on this list as many important memos are sent via email.

9. The Coach's Corner.
This summer Human Rights/Ethics commissioners found the website where Coach's Corner is posted. They determined that the paper "glorifies sexual behaviour and excessive drinking." they also had a couple of problems with the pictures and other random comments about content. So the editor-in-chief has tried to play it a little safer for the first issue, but hopes to slowly push the envelope back to where it was and past it. This being said the first issue of Volume 6 of Coach's Corner should be out on September 28th.

In case you have forgotten, my email is glenjohnson8@hotmail.com. I want to hear from you.

I wish you the best in thinking.

Glen.Concepts.Inc.

Alternative Birthdays

2005-04-21T16:20:00.000-04:00

Birthdays? Who's responsible for them? Why do we have them? What if we celebrated birthdays in a different way. We always buy cake and little toys for the boy who is having a birthday. New tea set for Sally! But Little Boy and Sally are not responsible for their own birthday?Impossible. That which is created has a Creator. So Mr. and Mrs. Little Boy should be the object of our attention, and our presents. Wes hould give really awesome gifts to the parents of little girls and boys. Picture it. Sally would be looking at her parents receiving gifts as she held her old ratty doll close (remember, no new birthdaydoll for Sally). Maybe the parent would tease their young daughter,bragging about all their new toys and how their toys are "better". Maybe in time the kids would come to see the folly in their parents' behaviour. What if the maturing process reversed-inverted-turned sideways and the children were the 'parents' and the adults were childish. If birthdays made the roles reversed it would turn the tables on the parent-child relationship. "I want that for my birthday!" "That one? Alright, but you can't open your gift until your birthday, ok?" "Ok mom, I grant you that stipulation!"

Morgen.Concepts.Inc.

The Politics of Feet

2005-04-16T16:20:00.000-04:00

What if you could determine what type of person you are based upon how you get dressed in the morning? I know you’re thinking, come on that’s not a new thought, you're on drugs. Be that as it may, I’m talking not about what type of clothes you wear, or what colour your tee shirt is going to be, but actually how you dress. What order do you dress yourself? Obviously undergarments first then over garments. How about I get to the point... How do you put on your socks? This is assuming you’re leaving your house immediately, and therefore need shoes on. Do you put both socks on first then both shoes? Or do you put one sock on then one shoe? The order that you do this can be quite the insight into your personality. Think of a situation where the decision between the two choices would be important. Say you’re getting dressed in the morning and your house begins to catch on fire. Do you run out in sock feet because you didn’t have time for your shoes? Or do you hop out on one foot, which has a shoe on it, because you didn’t have time for the other foot? Are you willing to take the risk of stepping on a nail or something really hot with your unprotected sock feet on? Or are you willing to potentially tire yourself out because you’re hoping on one leg, down the stairs and out your building, risking falling on your face due to exhaustion? I don’t know the right answer or even if there is a right answer. But I can speculate.
The person who runs out in sock feet is a person of equal opportunity. They take the time to make as many people happy as possible even if that means a lesser degree of happiness for all. The type to run out with one shoe on is a dedicated elitist. They will see any project through to the end, and will make sure you are incredibly happy even if that means sacrificing the happiness of others around. In other words the two-sock person is a socialist, and the fully dressed foot person is a capitalist. The obvious next step is to discuss which foot you dress first. The right foot first would mean that you have capitalist tendencies, while the left first would be more socialist. It becomes tricky when talking about a person who puts on the one shock and one shoe but only dresses the left foot. Would this mean that they are a socialist capitalist? No. It means that they are a very sensitive capitalist, possibly someone new to the economic game. What if you’re the type that puts on both socks buts starts with the right foot instead of the left? Does this mean that you are a capitalist socialist? No. It means that you are, like the majority of the world, right-handed. If you never favour a particular foot to start off your day, and either foot has just as good chance to get dressed first, you are confused in your political thought and need to educate yourself in worldly matters so that you can do your civil duty and vote. If you don’t wear socks, it means that you will have smelly and blistered foot. And are probably a Machiavellianist. This is by no means the only way to determine personality or political position but it is certainly a good indicator.

Peter.Concepts.Inc.

“ What I tell you three times is true” (Lewis Carroll)

2005-04-12T15:40:00.000-04:00

Note From Glen:
Hello All, Alison contributed this wonderful concept, however it is very lengthy. Therefore, to keep things tidy on the main page, the first bit will be here and the last bit can be found in the comments section.
Thanks for opening your mind,
Glen

An atom of oxygen has eight protons, two electron shells and six outer electrons. 2+2= 4. Black makes you look slimmer. There are certain things we know to be true. But how do we know these things? Is it because we have been told they are true? Have you ever actually seen an oxygen atom before? Lewis Carroll, a British logician, mathematician, and novelist (Britannica) once said "What I tell you three times is true." Might this formula, or a more sophisticated version of it, actually determine what we believe to be true?
In order to answer this we must realize that truth changes, or at least what we believe to be true. Truth is limited by our present knowledge, technology and consensus, as these factors change, so does truth. It was once believed that the earth was flat, that if you sailed far enough you would fall right off into nothingness. This was the consensus at the time until technology was able to prove otherwise. We now know our earth is round, but will this knowledge change some day? Will we become knowledgeable about new dimensions which will alter how we perceive our planet? Truths are how we perceive knowledge, and how we perceive things changes as new factors come into effect, thus changing our beliefs about what is true.
During our early years of life the human brain can absorb the most knowledge. During these young years, however, we are not yet capable of discovering for ourselves what is true, we must instead trust what is told to us. Many of our early years are spent at school ‘learning,’ but we are really just believing what our teachers tell us. Although most people would prefer to experience learning by doing, life is too short to experience everything. We must accept certain things to be true. As these ‘facts’ however are being put in our heads, we must be sure to evaluate this new knowledge. What expertise does the speaker have on the subject? Does this ‘truth’ sound rational? Humans must use reason, perception and emotion, to critically evaluate what is being told to them.
The idea of believing what you are told is starting to become a concern. Mathematicians are starting to believe the ideas of math are true. Mathematics "is the first and only true construct of the mind."(Hilderbrant) Burton Richter, Nobel Prize winner says "Mathematics is a language that is used to describe nature. But theorists are beginning to think it is nature." (Cole 85) Can math, a construct of our mind, ever really be ‘true?’ It is a language made-up to explain something, not to BE something. When you work with a fabrication of the mind all day, it is hard not to begin to believe it. In this way the idea of believing what you are told many times can lead to false ideas of reality.
Technology helps us to discover new truths. It enables us to experience more truths, rather than just believe what people tell us. At the same time, technology is making it very difficult to believe anything. We often say "seeing is believing," however this is quickly becoming a danger. Our eyes can no longer be depended upon. With models being airbrushed and people being superimposed, our ability to know what is true has been reduced. It begins to be a scary thought when everything needs to be questioned. The technological evolution of the Internet made it possible for anyone to distribute information without any type of authenticity. It is becoming too easy for people who are not authorities to give information many times, which is not in fact true but which is easy to believe.... (Cont. in Comments)

Alison.Concepts.Inc

Lets Rewind

2005-04-09T19:26:00.000-04:00

It started as a simple thought, which then grew into a complex concept that seemed to overwhelm my mind. We all remember as children the idea of a watch that can stop, play, pause, rewind or fast forward time and how cool it would be. I believe it was R.L. Stine that influenced my thoughts on this device (or some other YTV show). As a child, it seemed so incredible that if anyone ever made it, you would want it in an instant. The more and more I began to think about if this device was present developed 2 different sides. The first side, thinking of how incredible life would be if one had this time device. You could relive the best times of your life by the press of a button, pause time for that extra time needed for tests/exams and hell, just to mess around with the world (insert hilarious idea here, may i suggest switching everyone's clothes and then pressing play again). With all these positive outcomes, it was hard for me to think otherwise, but sadly enough I believe that this idea is quite angering and has developed a grudge in my mind. Is it possible, that maybe someone has actually invented this device but has not revealed it to the world? Who would ever know...truly? Even if someone had discovered it by snooping in their friends room for instance, they could just rewind the world and replay everything that has happened. This individual could play the role of 'God' and control the world in whichever way they pleased. Take a second and think about all of the geniuses in the world today. One of them could potentially have this device. All they would need to do is wait for an outstanding breakthrough in science to come along (say the cure for cancer), pause the world, take as much time needed to understand the concept and then just hit the rewind button, followed by play. At this time, they could put out this breakthrough at a time before it was made to be. This is just one of the reasons that the thought of this device troubles me. The person could cheat their way through life essentially, getting jackpot numbers and winning all the time if they really wanted to. Most of these circumstances are related to the 'rewind' portion, but there are clearly endless possibilities with all the buttons. If someone had actually invented this device...would the world ever actually know? This is the concept that I'll leave you with for now.

Jay.Concepts.Inc.

TRAPPED!!!

2005-04-09T18:41:00.000-04:00

With the talented minds of several individuals who are able spontaneously breakout into a Concept co-mindedly, I present to you one of the greatest games ever invented during the Spring of 2004- TRAPPED!

The Object:
The object of TRAPPED is to spontaneously trap one person. It is better if there is no prior discussion and the trapping commences unexpectedly. Trapping can consist of blocking an exit, prohibiting movement or simply trapping an individual in a confined space. One can also be ‘trapped’ by using anything (rope, line, twine, cord, string ect.) or whatever necessary, or whatever is right there.

Commands:
There is one essential command that must be screamed by the participants of the trapping. All people involved must holler “TRAPPED” frequently for the duration of the trapping.

Points:
The game does not revolve around points. However, if the trapping participants are able to get a plastic milk crate upon the head of the person trapped, five extra points are awarded for good measure.

Be Careful:
With a change suddener than that of the prevailing winds, one Trapper can become the Trapped. It is everyman/women/baby for theirself!

This is a fantastic game, so Trap some one today.

Scott.Concepts.Inc.

Concepts

2005-04-08T19:57:00.001-04:00

...........April's Addition of Concepts.........

"A Classic Scene of Last Years Annual General Meeting"

Glen Greetings

2005-04-07T17:08:00.000-04:00

Sparked by the imagination of the ever-clever Trevor, I am adding a new feature to our website. Once a month, from now on, there will be a post labeled ‘Concepts’. This post will not be focused on any certain or specific concept, however it acts as a random thoughts forum. In the comment section of the ‘Concepts’ post, you can leave comments, (much like in the others) however there is no boundary for what one can or cannot write about. For example if you just have a little idea, thought of something funny/interesting/unique, or had an exciting experience, this is a place you can present your ideas, without the process of making a new post. This an excellent new opportunity to share our little ideas and also just to keep updated on each other.

Until Next time, thanks for opening your mind, and good luck on exams.

Glen.Concepts.Inc.

Polar Reversal

2005-04-06T16:37:00.000-04:00

September 9, 2004 National Geographic news stated that the Earth’s magnetic field is fading, a sign that the polar north magnetic force is slowly reversing. It is apparently a very slow process, but one that could very well have a dramatic influence on the basic structure of our planet. Author John Roach stated, “If the trend continues, the field may collapse altogether and then reverse. Compasses would point south instead of north.” Evidently, in the case of such an event, drastic changes to the Earth would certainly arise.
There are certain physical characteristics of our planet, which may seem crazy to those who think that the Earth is still flat. The first is that it is round (globular). The second is that it is not perfectly round, but ovular. With the North and South polar points acting as an axis, the Earth spins counterclockwise and squeezes at the equator.
There are many questions, which should be asked when faced with the issue of a global U-turn. If the polar north and south poles switch, would that cause the Earth to spin in the opposite direction? In this case, there would have to be an instant where the planet would cease to spin at all, but return however to the slow recovery of spinning in the opposite (clockwise) way. Of course, these changes could not happen in a mere instant. It would be a slow, gradual process; one which would likely almost seem natural.
First, slight gravitational differences might become apparent, as people (maybe athletes at first) would become more able to jump greater distances in any direction. Pollution would begin to decrease as gasses would disperse from our atmosphere much more easily and planes and other vehicles would become lighter and require less gas to operate.
But, what would happen if the planet developed a slight, but noticeable wobble in the process? At first, it would seem very awkward and people would likely spend most of the time laying on the ground, unable to support their bodies from the constant swaying side to side, or backwards and forwards (depending on which direction you are standing). Certain characteristics of our own bodies would change, as stabilizer muscles would become clearly more robust and necessary to daily mobility. Unfortunately, scientists and doctors would become unable to do their work, as well as basketball players. It is undecided whether the global wobble would be more drastic near the equator or near the north and south poles at that time.

Trevor.Concepts.Inc.

MEETING CALLED. I SAY, MEETING CALLED.

2005-04-06T16:20:00.000-04:00

Why? Is what you might ask would i call a meeting on such short notice?Or even call a meeting at all? I , the little one , have never felt the need to post anything until this past monday.and now being the middle of the week shows you how i never get around to things.but on the other hand i think we should meet one last time before pre-camp. Plus only the die-hards showed up to the weekend of BLACK DEATH in london.....so cool cats who dare to come to ottawa for trevs birthday to get retarded off our ass...
From:Friday April 22 2005
Until:whenever
Where: Trevs place in ottawa
bring: thoughts, and creative juices...money for more

Ian.Concepts.Inc.

The Concept Sink

2005-04-04T04:20:00.000-04:00

I’d just like to start off by saying I think it’s a great thing you people are doing. Of all the areas that are represented in our everyday lives, I feel that you have really got a great core group of thinkers there trying to make life easier for us all. Being an aficionado myself, I have a handful of ideas that may help your cause.
The industrialization of the kitchen and bathroom was wildly popular in the early to mid-nineties, mostly due to the highly entertaining and revolutionary designs of Tim Taylor from Home Improvement. The “man’s bathroom” and “man’s kitchen” respectively changed the way we look at these family common rooms.
Obviously, there are few things sleeker or sexier than stainless steel. I cannot even begin to argue that. I can, however, move to have new materials implemented into these designs that will give an even greater modern twist to a tried and true modern concept. My concept sink looks like this; acetate. You heard me.... acetate. Acetate is the way of the future, my friends. Not only is it easily manufactured from discarded garbage bags, it’s also see-through!
Imagine trying to wash your dishes in a new acetate concept sink, when the unthinkable happens.... “Uh oh! Sink’s clogged!” you bellow. With my new design, clogs would be a problem of the past. The clear acetate plumbing would eliminate the frustration that so often accompanies a well placed hairball in your elbow joint.
If you are indeed interested in my idea, feel free to contact me via e-mail at dpurchas@connect.carleton.ca. I am more than willing to disclose further features of my Concept Sink, and I have several more ideas up my sleeve.

Dan.Concepts.Inc.

Concepts.Crisis.

2005-03-30T04:20:00.000-05:00

During one of my many wanderings upon this World Wide Web, I stumbled upon a horrible catastrophe! As clever/brilliant/funny/attractive as we all are, someone (or someones) have beaten us to the punch. Concepts.Inc. is already a marketing and communications business run out of Maryland, USA. While there is no definite proof that they started Concept.Inc. before we did, they seem to have developed a large portfolio, with clients that include US Department of Labor, Mortgage Bankers Association of America and Immigration & Refugee Services of America. While they do seem to have some big credentials, they do not have the employee numbers that we carry and in today’s society of gender equality, they do not have a strong representation of both male and female employees.

Here is the link for those who are interested:
http://www.conceptspr.com/

This does leave us with some concern about the future of the better Concepts.Inc. (ours). We as a group must decide if we should prevail over our rival and buy them out when we make our first few millions, or, although it would bring tears to me eyes, re-vamp our company name in some way, shape or form.

So I am opening this up to everyone! Give your opinion on what you think we should do and place it in the comments section. Nothing will be made official until there is a group discussion and vote….but please throw some ideas into the ring.

….And remember there’s no bad ideas, only bad gers

Scott.Concepts.Inc.

London Meeting Debriefing

2005-03-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

The March 19-21 meeting in London was a great success! Thank you to Lorcan who hosted the meeting and Ian, Lisa, Trevor and Glen who were able to attend despite prior engagements. Lorcan’s underground meeting room was the perfect location for discussing business and catching up on recent concepts.
Thank you to Lisa who organized the gathering as well as the Saturday board discussion which was relocated at the last minute to her sisters’ home and hot tub. Some of the issues which arose were:
1. How can we encourage better attendance?
We realized that there was less notice this time and the distance was quite far for some people, or that some members had made arrangements for the weekend of the last meeting. An idea was to have different ‘chapters’ in different regions (Ottawa Chapter, Kingston Chapter, Central Ontario Chapter, Western Ontario Chapter), but that may detract from having the full board meetings at all when it would be easier just to see the people closest to them. Also, we do realize that money is getting tighter, and without current funding, transportation is less accessible.
2. There is a general lack of concepts on the Concepts.Inc website
Going back to the regional chapters concept, if there are smaller groups of Concepts.Inc, it may be easier to meet the other board members to discuss possible concepts. These ideas could then be recorded and published on the website.At the March meeting we did not set a date for the next meeting, but we would be interested in hearing when others feel a good time would be, or who can hold it. Thanks again to everyone who could make it to the last meeting and we can’t wait to see the entire board at the next one.

Trevor.Concepts.Inc.

Comparative Advancements

2005-03-07T17:26:00.000-05:00

I was thinking the other day, as I so often try to do, about the wonders of technology and how far we as a nation of intelligent animals have outsmarted the most dangerous predators by using an intellect, which has the power of foresight. Foresight and the ability to distinctly remember past events (i.e. learning) have given humans an advantage, which makes them fairly invincible to possible predators. Over time, they have been able to tame predators, train predators, fence them away, or kill them with little effort by remembering how they act and noting what they like and what they don’t. Now that the struggle for survival would be considerably lessened, a mentality amongst humans would evolve which would be very carefree and safe. Without a worry in the world, it would slowly become a norm for individuals in a group to become creative. Creativity would spark the advent of spirituality (the one force that cannot be tamed is the earth and the sky, often thought of as being God-like), better-crafted tools, and better tasting foods.
Of course, human animals would evolve gradually until large communities of humans would stay in one place and become permanent households on the land. Villages would allow active trading and bartering would create the advent of business. Naturally, simple objects would obtain a ‘worth’ and individuals could actually begin to own more ‘worth’ than another. This new idea and the drive for more ‘worth’ would create competition and hierarchies that would later create governments and corporations. With that in mind, consider this…
Is it not possible that there may be a place on Earth, which has not been combed by any explorer or gazed down on by airplane? A place where a nation of human animals was somehow excluded from the developmental hype that was going around near the end of the prehistoric times. They could have the exact type of animals that we have such as dogs, pigs, horses, but they have been separated from the rest of their fellow humans for some reason or another. Now lets say that on one particular instance, a rebel native on a spiritual quest for his inner solidarity came unexpectedly upon a busy freeway with cars racing both ways in a dash for somewhere. A couple of reactions are expected with such a circumstance, the first being total and complete overwhelmingness. This would be when actual blood capillaries in the brain are damaged with the mere thought of what could possibly be happening around him.
The second emotion is that he would be extremely amused at how flexible horses were and how they could go so fast on the smooth rock path, and how their eyes would be really bright when it was dark. Later he would see a television and would think that it is horse hide and eyes or something. With nothing to compare anything to, the native would be forced to accept the modern world as an altered primitive world he is used to. As expected, cell phones would look as though people are talking directly into a severed horse ear, and normal telephones are also made of horse somehow.The third emotion is indifference.

Trevor.Concepts.Inc.

Concepts.Inc. Meeting, February 2005

2005-02-28T15:43:00.000-05:00

The first official meeting of Concepts.Inc. was a booming success!!
Special Thanks goes out to Trevor and Dan who generously opened up their home, Super Nintendo and shuffle board game to members. Members were kept busy at work in Ottawa coming up with great new ideas, concepts and more hilarious memories.
To recap the meeting….
- Concepts.Inc. has the opportunity to receive FUNDING. If you have an idea for our mission statement, email me at glenjohnson8@hotmail.com

- We also made it a rule that whenever someone has a speech to make or idea to propose, it is okay/encouraged to heckle that person while they try to speak for the first few minutes.

Please feel free to reply with a comment (see below) about your favorite moment(s), ideas or any other comments from the meeting. I have also posted a few pictures Scott sent me, so if you have any great pictures from the meeting email them and I’ll put them right up.

Thanks again to Trevor for hosting, and all who could attend. Keep checking for upcoming news and events.

Glen.Concepts.Inc.

Pure Communication.

2005-02-13T23:01:00.000-05:00

This concept came to me while discussing with a friend a relationship issue they were having. It was one of those he said she said stories, there was a glick in the information tranfser that passed from each person, the message got muddled up because what she said wasnt what he heard, and vice versa.

This problem in communication brought up the idea of "pure communication", that is communication that is unmistakably taken the way it is intended and is a complete and accurate assessment of a person's feelings or ideas. Is there such a thing? More often than not the cause of many disputes stems from miscommunication. 21 years of livng will tell you that. In any relationship it seems you can't ever really say what you want to say or how you really feel due to societal pressures or fear that certain feelings aren't reciprocated. Special occasions/toasts/speechs are the closest people ususally come to speaking the words they want to say and how often do those occasions really come up?

I propose that music is the only form of pure communication. Think about it, songs and song lyrics if taken out of a musical compisition are just very strong emotions put down on paper. But they're ideas, emotions and phrasings that you could never get away with saying in real life. They would come off as cheezie or insincere or far too melodramatic. However ironically music contains the only real outlet of pure communication that is societally acceptable. The reason music touches people the way it does is because songs communicate complete honesty and a no holds bar approach to outputting information. Most people water down what they really want to say or are affected by the opinions of others.

Music allows you to say what you want to say, get your message accross without caring about a response.

Kate.Concepts.Inc.

Impossibilities of the Universe

2005-02-08T23:17:00.000-05:00

So I have a bit of extra time to sit and ponder about the world and one day a couple of years ago I confused myself for eternity. The concept of space seemed to question the possibility of reality. According to scientists, although no actual theories have been supported, outerspace is a continuous giant vaccuum. I started to think quite a bit about this and whether it is actually possible. Can something really continue on forever and ever? This seems quite impossible to myself as I wonder how could something just continue on forever without an end. So lets assume that this isn't possible and that somewhere eventually there is an ending...by lets say a wall. It'd be something like when Jim Carey's boat goes threw the wall in the Truman Show...you just all of a sudden run into a wall. But if there is a wall, that means there is something on the other side, whether it be another continuation forever (unless there is of course more walls say every 1 million light years) or a continuous wall. With all of this in mind, some may begin to think that maybe the Truman show is actually a reality of their real life...think about that for a second...all of your friends, family and associates are actors. There are cameras everywhere with people watching, like for example your webcam seems like quite the handy thing to have...or is it. Apart from that side thought, it is also assumed that everything in the universe is in constant "Free Fall". Once again, the issue of continous "Space" comes to mind. If everything in the universe is in constant free fall, according to the physics definition... we would have zero acceleration...which means one of two things. 1- We are moving at a constant velocity, dropping (in which direction however?Up?Down?192 degrees?). 2- We are not moving, therefore everything in space is essentially frozen in that position. As I started running in circles, one last concept came to my mind. Total outerspace is considered the "Universe". Now lets take that and run with it for a second. Lets start from the basics. The Earth is made up of molecules, which is part of the Milky way (solar system), which is part of the collection of Galaxies/Solar Systems, which ultimately is part of the "Universe". But who is say that that is the end? Whose to say that the Universe is not part of another phenomenon...let's call it "Larger Space". And even there, there could be the possibility of several "Larger Spaces" which keep sub-dividing into larger and larger spaces. And once again, we come back to the concept of continuouse "space". These are the concepts that play tricks with my mind each day and I ask you one question....Is it really possible?

Jay.Concepts.Inc.

Leaving Them Behind...

2005-02-04T16:20:00.000-05:00

I came up with this Concept last May....I was walking down the street with some friends. I thought of the possibility of turning to them and saying, "Well guys, thanks for everything!" then running as fast as I can down a side street out of sight...and gone forever. And by gone forever, I mean you move away to a different city, town, county ect. Of course you had already planned on moving and had just kept it a secret from your friends. Your friends may just stand there for a few minutes questioning the entire situation, they may attempt to follow you (which is why it is a good plan to have a car waiting for you or some other means of transportation) They may even just accept the situation and carry on with their day, expecting to see you later on that day. But when you are nowhere to be found, they will always be wondering.
Depending on your relationship with the people you decide to try this on the details and options can vary. The opportunity may arise that you do it on some very close friends. If that happens you have several options. My personal favorite is to leave, and then a few years later contact them. This will depend on the people you do it too, some may get more satisfaction out of never hearing from you again.
If you have the opportunity to be-friend someone/a group and they are really not important to you at all I defiantly suggest is to try this out. I suggest you try your hardest to not contact these people for the rest of your life. This may mean switching your email addresses, cell phone number ect. If you try to pull off this one, in the event that you accidentally run into one of these persons in your future, pretend to have no recollection of them and your past together, you may even want to introduce yourself with a different name. This may be hard to pull off, but would be worth it in the end.
This joke can work on a few levels as well. The first level is the idea of just leaving, which is great. However, if you would like to up the ante a little bit, describe the concept to your friends well walking (as I did in May) and after you have fully described it, turn to them and say "Well guys, thanks for everything!" and do it. This would severely puzzle them. They may be thinking, "oh that's funny, he's pretending to do what he told us about. Haha, funny guy." After a few minutes when you do not come back they will wonder if you are just trying to be funny and maybe you even went home. When they realize that you are really gone, they will be amazed by your genius and ability to not only pull a stunt on them and leave, but to be so confident, that you fully explain your plan mere seconds before you execute it.
This could be amazing... I encourage you to try it. It does however take quite a bit of thorough planning.

Scott.Concepts.Inc.

Funny? Or Not Funny? You Decide.

2005-02-04T14:24:00.000-05:00

This is a link to the Kids Show. The Kids Show was a show that was educational and fun for children, and was the forerunner to Seasame St. It unfortunatly cancelled after only half a season.
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/kidsshow2.html
Viewer Discretion is Advised.
Have Fun.

Jay.Concepts.Inc.

Please Check Out This Website.

2005-02-01T22:16:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note: I thought that the board would appreciate this website. The song is Dragostea Din Tei by O-Zone.
http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/lyle_24/myhero.html

Hilarious.

Glen.Concepts.Inc.

Coach's Corner Takeover Successful

2005-02-01T21:49:00.000-05:00

This is to inform the Board that the bid for Coach's Corner, the monthly newspaper published in Kingston, Ontario, was successful. Concepts.Inc. is now the primary stockholder for the publishment, with 70% of the stock. The secondary stockholder is the Queen's Physical Education student association, PHESA with 30% of the stock. Coach's Corner is dedicated to the Concepts.Inc. mission statement and philosphy. To visit the Coach's Corner website and download an issue, go to http://phesa.queensu.ca/corner.php . However, you need Microsoft Publisher to view the newspaper at the current time. Concepts.Inc. has hired a computer engineer to look into a better format for the online portion of the newspaper. Currently, Board of Directors member, Peter. oversees all aspects of Coach's Corner's development and publication. That link again is:
http://phesa.queensu.ca/corner.php

Glen.Concepts.Inc.

Meeting Called.

2005-01-29T18:47:00.000-05:00

To everyone on the Concepts.Inc. Board of Directors, an official board meeting has been called for the weekend of Febuary the 18th at 62 C Chesterton Dr. in Ottawa. Activities will commence with a brunch and offical words of welcome by this month's host Trevor. Your attendence is mandatory, but special leeway can be given for family emergences. The attire for the meeting is Office Party.

Glen.Concepts.Inc.

Alphabet Marxism

2005-01-28T17:39:00.000-05:00

What if the letters of the alphabet were a society in of themselves? This is a study of one such alphabet society called by aphlabetorians as the Modern English Civilization. At the very basic level, we see the division of class. At the top, we would have the bourgeoisie ruling class, the Vowels. These are the minority in the population and are also the richest, for in alphabet society, wealth is defined by the amount of times a letter is used. Using this logic, E is the figurehead of the whole society, ever present in the language, the richest letter, the Big Brother of the alphabet if you will. The Consonants are the majority of the society, the proletariat. With 77% of the population, their wealth is severely dispersed. The third class is the slave race of Numbers. Evidence for this, is the letters do not actually need the Number race; they can spell the word just fine. However, Numbers are called in to save time and resources, which might be better directed at spelling a more complicated word. Some Consonants complain that the numbers are stealing their jobs, and thus reducing their annual GDP. The only anomaly is Y. Y is part of the ruling class, yet Y can see the errors of his society’s ways. He therefore is secretly a supporter of the proletariat, lending a hand and becoming one of them when it is necessary.
A couple of conclusions can be made about some of the individual letters. X, and Z being the least used of the letters is the poorest of the poor. These letters are restricted to factory work circa 1800’s England. H is the prostitute. H can often be seen getting really close with T, but also is just as likely to cuddle up to G and P. G, P and T’s dependence on H prevents any disruption of this love quadrangle.
We now look at U, possibly the most interesting of the letter society. U is in the midst of a lawsuit against W, claiming a misrepresentation of his name. U feels that the term “Double U” associates himself with the proletariat, which undermines his bourgeoisie status. U states that W is clearly a case of two conjoined V’s, so the name doesn’t even make sense. W has had no official comment for fear of rebuttal by the Bourgeoisie vowels who are backing U in the case. O and U are often seen together, perhaps working for the same government agency. Q and U is an example of an interclass marriage, however, the class distinction is still in effect. Where bourgeoisie U can appear without Q, proletariat Q ceases to have meaning without its controlling spouse U. The hierarchal society is kept in place by the bourgeoisie mind manipulation tactics. They allow the Consonants to believe they can form words without the Vowels, but these are actually just anagrams, such as DMV. This is not an actual word and one needs the Vowels to discover its true meaning, (Department of Motor Vehicles). The scary thing is that as soon as this Letter civilization discovers our total and utter dependence on them, roles will be reversed and they will be writing concepts about me.

Peter.Concepts.Inc.

Labelled World

2005-01-28T17:35:00.000-05:00

I was walking down the street the other day, as I do frequently, and a funny thought popped into my head, as they do frequently. Try this one on for size. What if the world were like a Richard Scarry book? That is, that everything around us is labelled? So, if this were true, the computer I’m typing on would have a two-dimensional label floating above it that said “Laptop” with a straight line pointing to it. These labels however, actually take up space in the world. These aren’t the labels from that TD commercial where the words can pass through stuff. These words are real and exist in time and space. So while trying to walk from your desk to the kitchen for a snack you might have dodge words that said, “Door,” “Stairs,” “Fridge,” “Milk,” Glass,” etc you get the point. But what if the words could rotate on their line that is pointing to the object. That way you could brush them out of the way. Now think about how many words would be floating around in the world. They’d be everywhere, including floating around you. “Shirt,” “Pants,” “Watch,” would follow you around all day. However, the words are proportionally as big as the objects. So “Watch” would be say a couple of inches long, while “house”
may be a couple of feet long. There would be so many words that running late to class would be even more common than it is now. What did take you five minutes to get to class now takes you ten because of the amount of word pollution that is floating around. You would have to watch out for words like “Shoe” because you could trip over it. There could even be so many words floating in the air that the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere could drop too low. Now that being said, words like “Grass” would not have to be repeated for every blade of grass. There would be just one label for grass for every time you crossed into a new “page” of the world, which for our purposes could be defined as one squared kilometre. New words would form as that object is happening. So a house being built would say “H” one day and the successive letters would appear more each day as the “House” was completed. Or as you were talking, perhaps complaining about a tough midterm you’d just had, the word “Whiner” would appear above your head. In that way the labels would act as a sort of mood ring. People would be more compelled to be in a good mood and have labels like “Generous” or “Likeable.” No one would want to walk around with the word “Jerk,” or “Conceited” above their heads. Think of the possibilities if you could know exactly what somebody else was like at that time. No more awkward dates. If the guy shows up with “Chauvinistic” above his head and the girl has “Controlling” above hers, you could just shake hands and part ways, instead of discovering these two months down the road. Think of the possibilities. Now after writing this, and hopefully for you after reading this, are envisioning little black labels floating all over the place. If nothing else, it makes me laugh.

Peter.Concepts.Inc.

Open for Business

2005-01-28T17:25:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the ultimate way to keep me busy when you, the board of Concepts. Inc., are separated for periods at a time. It'll be my job over the next little bit to keep writing up your concepts and posting them here for the rest of you to review. If you have anything new that needs my attention, don't be afraid to write me a note in one of the comments boxes after a post. I'll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can.

Thanks for opening your mind.

Glen.Concepts.Inc