Many of you are aware of my alter-ego, the costumed vigilante known as The Placebo. (He fights crime because you expect that he will!) Tonight, I'm proud to welcome a youthful new face into the fight against evil. It brings me great pleasure to introduce a guy who never knows when he's beaten: Kid Obtuse! Welcome to the team, buddy.

By request, here's today's totally uplifting Thought of the Day:

Do you crave meaning? Then go get some! Life has no intrinsic meaning. If you find that depressing, you aren't considering how liberating that is, and how amazingly customizable that makes our lives. You get to give *your life* whatever meaning *you* think best. Choosing to spend it searching for the perfect cherry blossom--yay, samurai movies!--is just as valid as choosing to spend it working your butt off to build a multinational charity. There is no grand arbitrator to say that your chosen meaning is unworthy, though some people will think they hold that title, and yes, some paths have more value to your society than others. If those things matter to you, bear them in mind. However, you have permission to take meaning where you find it. Not all paths will yield the same results, of course, but that's freedom for you.

My Thought for the Day, inspired by correspondence with a special someone: 

You can't stand next to someone who just keeps shooting themselves in the foot with a shotgun, without getting your own feet hit now and again. I mean, you could keep telling yourself they didn't mean it, and you could grab ear protection, or maybe put on some heavier boots, so it wouldn't be as bad, but really, you need to take a step back. Or maybe walk away.

There are probably people in your life who are not happy to see you happy. They see you beaming and think of it as an injustice, because you are a lousy person, and deserve to be punished. Limit your contact with those whom you can't cut out entirely, and let the others go. These people are not your friends. They do not love you. Do not reward them for that with your loyalty.

I am upset about a thing. I have no knowledge, and I mean none, about this subject, but rather than this being a mitigating factor, I'm allowing that to give me a black & white perspective on this topic. Won't you join me in being impotently pissy, and feeling morally superior to those who are not likewise upset about this? Also: Wake up, people!

In my dream world, Google Doodles will conclude by reminding you what you were going to search for before they distracted you.

Thought for the Day:

Settling is insidious. Sometimes you don't know you're doing it, because you fail to see the opportunities you're passing on.