Bambi's Observation
Sam Aurelius Milam III

Eat, sleep, defecate, procreate.  That's all they [the insects] do.  That's all we do, but at least insects don't kid themselves that it's anything more than that. —Dr. Bambi Barenbaum on The X-Files

Many people believe that animals lack intelligence.  Even people who'll admit to some limited intelligence in some animals will insist that there isn't any intelligence at all among such things as arthropods.
If the various arthropods lack intelligence, then some of them at least provide some very interesting imitations.  Several years ago, I saw a spider do something that sure looked smart.  My linoleum is mostly white, with a square array of little black diamonds, on 4 1/2 inch centers.  As I was walking across the room one day, I observed a spider that was doing the same thing.  I don't know if the spider was aware of me or not, but it appeared to be.  It would stop for several seconds on one of the black diamonds and then run for the next one, on which it would stop again.  It appeared to be intentionally running from one bit of cover to the next.  It seemed to be aware that it was visible against the white surface but not visible against the black surface.  I don't want my place to be infested with intelligent spiders so I stomped on it.  I haven't seen any more of them since then so either that was the only one or the others are smart enough to wait on the black diamonds until I'm gone.
Most people will probably claim that the spider's behavior was motivated entirely by instinct.  There are several different ways to reply to such a claim.  Here's one of them.  The only way to arrive at that conclusion is to assert that spiders lack intelligence and that instinct is the only other possible motivation for such behavior.  So, consider us.  It's difficult to point to a rational justification for some of our behavior.  For example, why would men take such risks, and expend such resources, in the pursuit of women?  The perceived benefits of such behavior are transient and, rationally considered, it might even be argued that they're not worth the trouble.  So, our pursuit of women isn't motivated by a rational evaluation of the benefits, risks, costs, and consequences.  We engage in the behavior without even trying to justify it rationally.  By what, then, is it motivated?  We do it just because we want to, and for no other particular reason.  Very few of us would be willing to cease and desist.  The only rational benefit is to perpetuate the species, which isn't why most of us do it.  That benefit, however, sounds like a pretty good argument in favor of the idea that the behavior is motivated by the same thing that motivated the spider's behavior.  That is, the behavior isn't driven by rational consideration but by instinct.
Anybody who doubts the power of our physical drives over our conscious thoughts ought to consider how difficult it is to resist our inner desires, to stay on a diet, to confront a bully, to stay awake when we're sleepy, to avoid taking things that we want, to go against the customs of our group, and so forth.  Maybe pleasure and satisfaction are nothing more than the positive feedback that we get from behaving according to our instincts.  Love, marriage, motherhood, apple pie, and the flag notwithstanding, maybe after all we're not so very differently motivated than the bugs.

The Diary of Cyber Sleuth:  Day One
Fiction by Sam Aurelius Milam III
I decided to start a dairy, no, a diary.  I could correct that but why bother?  Nobody but me will ever read this.
I'm not going to put my name in this.  If nobody but me will ever read it then why not?  I don't know.  Just seems like a bad idea to put my name in it.  Anyway, I'll call myself Cyber Sleuth.  Probably not very original.  Probably lots of guys go by Cyber Sleuth.  Don't care.  I'm Cyber Sleuth.
One thing.  I won't write in this diary every day, just when I feel like it.  Day Two won't be tomorrow.  It'll be whenever I feel like writing in the diary again.  Might be next week.  Might be a year from now.  No way to tell.
Gotta go.

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one.  If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed. If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat.  If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone. If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation.  A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him. If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels.  Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down. If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church.  A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and Jesus silenced. If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it.  A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

If a liberal is heterosexual, then he'll accept or at least ignore homosexuality in others.  If a conservative is heterosexual, then he'll beat up homosexuals in an alley somewhere or maybe drag them from the bumper of his pickup truck. If a liberal is a believer, then he'll go to church.  If a conservative is a believer, then he'll try to force everybody who enters the court house to read the Ten Commandments. If a liberal doesn't like a book, then he'll recycle it.  If a conservative doesn't like a book, then he'll try to have all copies of it burned and maybe beat up the author in a alley somewhere, or shoot him on a sidewalk. If a liberal doesn't like your attitude, then he'll try to change it.  If a conservative doesn't like your attitude, then he'll wave a flag in your face, bleat "Amurka, luv it er leave it!", and maybe beat you up in an alley somewhere.

Old Timers' Lore
Overheard by Sam Aurelius Milam III

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If a woman says no then she means maybe.  If she says maybe then she means yes.

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If a woman wants to be equal to a man, then all that she has to do is to die and come back as one.

I didn't make them up.  I just overheard them somewhere.

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Friends help you move.  Real friends help you move bodies.