In the 1999 Science Fiction movie, The Matrix, the plot revolves around the fact that almost all of the human race are living in an artificial reality, not realizing that their bodies are being used as a heat source for energy generation for the machines who took over the world many hundreds (or perhaps thousands) of years before. A few humans have broken out of the false reality that is known as the matrix. They are seeking for the one that will lead all humans in a revolt against the machines. The best candidate for this is Neo and he is still trapped in the Matrix. Their mission is to find him and explain that he is trapped, even if he cannot see the bars of the cage that he is within, and help him take the steps to leave the Matrix.

In a classic scene from the movie Morpheus, a leader among the free humans, meets with Neo to make him an offer. Neo already suspects the existence of the Matrix, so Morpheus offers him the choice of two pills. If he takes the blue pill he will wake up in his bed with no recollection of their meeting and never know the full truth of the world around him. If he takes the red pill, he will be shown the truth. Naturally, Neo selects the red pill and for the rest of the movie we have the nature and scope of the Matrix revealed to us.

Growing up as a child in a military family, I was quite used to hearing time expressed in twenty four hour or military time. Some of the times even gained nicknames. Midnight was "Oh Oh Cocoa". Likely named for the tendency of those pulling night watch to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate at midnight. Six thirty in the morning was "Oh Dark Thirty". Again, this makes sense because six o'clock in the morning is often dark. These nicknames for times are fairly well known. When I moved from England to the United States I found these terms in use on both sides of the pond.

What I have never found anywhere else, even after much Internet searching, is our family nickname for 22:22, or twenty two minutes after ten in the evening. In my parent's house this time was always referred to as "Four Little Ducks". The reason for this has it's root in the electric clock that my parents owned. It was, naturally for the era, a delightful Olive Green and had flip down numbers because LED and LCD displays were still far too expensive for most consumer electronic products. The clock displayed the time in 24 hour format and the numerals were nicely printed with graceful curves instead of just straight lines. My parents fancied to compare the digit two's to graceful ducks, so at 22:22, it looked like four little ducks gently gliding to the left.

The reason that the phrase four little ducks not only sticks in my memory, but is my favorite one of all the childhood phrases that I remember, is that for a time as a teenager, that was my bedtime. Even now, with my teenage years far behind me, I still try really hard to be tucked up and lights out by four little ducks.

There was a conversation on the "forum that shall not be named" recently about bullying. I was subjected to bullying when I was younger (pre-teens into early teens), so I have some experience of this and wanted to offer my thoughts.

I have no idea why anyone wanted to bully me. At that age I was rapidly closing in on being six foot tall. I wasn't super hunky yet, but I certainly wasn't a wimp, being on the rugby team in my first year of senior school (that's middle school for my American readers). Yet I was bullied. And because I wasn't small and didn't immediately give in, I was bullied by anywhere from four to six bad guys at a time.

The normal advice given to people concerning bullies is to stand up to them and fight back. This is good advice, when followed in the manner that I explained recently, but not for the reason that most people think. Not understanding the principle behind the advice means that when fighting back doesn't seem to work, they are confused and don't know what to do.

Truth!

"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried."

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965)

A Facebook friend of mine posted a picture recently of defense moves that a woman could use if attacked by a man. It was sincerely intentioned, but I felt strongly that I should reply. This post is based upon the response I gave him.

I hate to be a spoil sport, but as a former Judo instructor, I do have some insight into self-defense and full contact fighting and I always worry that people think moves like these are practical for untrained people, let alone a untrained smaller woman facing down a larger male adversary.

Most people, not just women, will freeze when attacked. This is unfortunately why most attacks succeed. This is because everyone reverts to training under extreme stress and most people have no training so they do nothing.