I mowed the lawn today

Second mowing after a couple of weeks of rain. First mow takes a few days, the hill being the worse. You have to dig your heels in and then doing a squat lower the mower and pull it back up. You do this leaving little mowhawks of grass between. Then you can either weed wack them or squat mow them depending on your remaining strength. I jogged with the Dog this AM as well so I am working on my third set of clothes and my second shower. I love having a big yard. I would love having less grass that needs mowing more. Ah well one thing at a time.

Less packaging less safety?

You buy some drygoods food. Its in a bag inside a box. The contents may have settled during shipping so the box is really 1/2 full. The box has printing on it the ink may or may not be vegetable based. The bag is made out of any number of materials. This box was part of a larger case on an even larger pallet.

This covers the shelfspace, advertising, convenience, longevity of the product.

OR

You have a bin with a lid and a scoop, the product comes in a case size box with a large bag. You may or may not be able to see who the manufacturer is and everyone who lifts that lid may be adding to the contents. Seeing a grubby five year old digging through the beans would give you pause. There may or may not be an indication of how long the product has been there.

Possible inside joke

Fundamental differences

We agree to disagree on some things. Others we entrench ourselves. When an entrenchment occurs there is no longer a reason to discuss that item.



Quite a bit has gone back and forth about Man made Global warming. The sides are entrenched. However, a cleaner world, being more frugal with our resources and looking towards other solutions then the status quo is readily agreed upon.



Abortion is another entrenched issue. Both sides agree that teen pregnancy is bad and a stable environment for a new child is paramount. People want our future generations to be happy and safe.



I see the role of government is increasingly becomming a set of entrenched issues. There are many issues in our country\world that need attention and resolution. You can get agreement across the board for that fact.



respecting someones opinion and realizing that one sided dialog doesn't do anything is a tough thing to see. Agreeing to disagree is a nice thought, I'm not sure its a practical solution in some cases.


I am optimistic that in the long run, people find the truth and do the right thing.

Clinton and Obama

Slow motion train wreck. My friend Joe predicts that Hillary will drop out of the race early next month. I disagree, I think this fight is going to the convention and the super delegates will end up nominating Hillary.

Either way there is a huge advantage for McCain, as he just needs to go about looking presidential and gathering up intel. on both potential candidates. At this point I feel it is his election to loose.

Of course it has been suggested and very possible that the DNC could grab a third candidate and jettison the two they have now. Maybe Cynthia McKinney could be brought back into the fold.

I dunno. POLOTIKS iz funniez.

Happy Birthday time!

Happy Birthday Hon. What a year this has been eh? On kid in collage, one kid on quite a surreal adventure the third progressing and being the stable one. Doesn't seem like much time to even breathe. I wasn't expecting the clock to speed up and now the seasons to fly by. Still, there is no person I would rather spend them with then you. I love you very, very much.

Happy Birthday, maybe next year we can breathe a little more or get a jacuzzi or somethin...

Being Offensive (essay 3)

Comedians and Jerks, wow thin line there, can be offensive in the same manner with very different results. In both cases they are being offensive on purpose. One for triggering laughter the other for a casebook of reasons or non-reasonable reasons.

Delivery and perception really come into play. The comedy of Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Bill Hicks frequently went over that line of offending, and garnering laughs at the same time. It was a way of being dangerous and frequently caught up with them. That is to say, they paid a price.

Jerks (I actually had a different compound word here) on the otherhand are using a knee jerk reaction to a situation, or bullying, worse still a pre-meditated 'pushing-of-buttons' to hurt or shame or elicite some reaction. The bad part is that jerk like behavior comes to us all unbidden at times pre-meditated at other times. Part of being human?

So we have a good possibility of escalation, punitive or vengeful. More and more hurtful with an evil glee associated as each teir is broached. Truely Ugly. Worse is the rationalization that you are doing this to 'teach a lesson', or 'they started it'

Another part of being human is the acceptence of our choice's and repentence for our lesser human reactions. We tend to know when we have been jerks, or that revalation comes after being pointed out. Knowing we are wrong, as a species, and admission of that fact is based upon confidence and character. Forgiveness on the other side comes across easier then admission, not sure why we are built that way, but we are.

Being forgiven prior to begging forgiveness is quite a burden, quite a charity. I can see it as a true divine spark, to another tweek that is inteded to be offensive. What a slippery slope, indeed. The only way to win the 'offensive game'is to not play.

True repentance, true forgiveness. That occurs when we, as humans, are at our best.

Obama .vs. capital gains.

Story Link

Charles Gibson: "You said on CNBC, and I quote, "I certainly would not go above what existed under Bill Clinton, which was 28%." It's now 15%. That's almost a doubling, if you went to 28%. But actually Bill Clinton in 1997 signed legislation that dropped the capital gains tax to 20%. And in each instance, when the rate dropped, revenues from the tax increased. The government took in more money. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28%, the revenues went down. So why raise it at all, especially given the fact that a hundred million people in this country own stock and would be affected?"

Barrak Obama: "I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness. We saw an article today which showed that the top, 50 hedge fund managers made $29 billion last year, $29 billion for 50 individuals. And part of what has happened, is that those who are able to work the stock market and amass huge fortunes on capital gains are paying a lower tax rate than their secretaries. That's not fair."

Charles Gibson: "But history shows that when you drop the capital gains tax, the revenues go up."

Barrak Obama: "Well, that might happen, or it might not. It depends on what's happening on Wall Street and how business is going."

----------------------end transcript------------

So Obama wants less money comming into support whatever government programs there are due to fairness? The secretaries are paid by whom?

Is he really saying: "If you make too much money, we need to take it from you" Gah!!!

Offensive deux.

Just for clarification this series of blogs makes the assumption that no one ever wants to be offensive.

You hear something offensive. You do not want the person to have said the offensive word(s) and you do not want them to say the offense ever again, you want to censor that person.

In general I am offended by: Colorful Metaphors (cussing) in civil society by and around children and young adults (lets use the age of 18 as the line there). Racial slurs and physical observation used to label and demean. Pedophilia.

In particular I am offended by cruel spontaneous criticism towards my family and friends. The assumption of superiority defined by scholastic achievement. Dis-honesty for purpose of deception.

You cannot exclude context. In general my reaction to someone using colorful metaphors on a military base would be different then someone using the same in a kindergarden classroom. Why were you offended? Was everyone around you offended as well? Does the percentage of those offended matter? What is your reaction?

Reactions to being offended can range from denial to death . Given the choice to interact with other people, and knowledge of enevitable offense being given or received, the evaluation and appropriate response is paramount.

Ugly indeed

No matter who you are, or where you are, at some point and some time someone is going to say something that you find offensive.

No matter who you are, or where you are, at some point and some time someone is going to find something you say offensive.

If you say lots of things, then you will offend more people over a given time. If you say less you will offend less people over a given time.

If you attempt to distance yourself from people's conversations then you will be offended very few times.

If you actively seek out people's conversations then you, of course will be offended more of the time.

So to be non-offensive you should avoid people and not talk. To be offensive you should actively seek out other people and engage then in conversation.

Now if everyone followed this all you would have is the offensive people talking to other offensive people and being offended, while the non-offensive people would vanish from your viewpoint.

Now you have this division and what seems to be a proliferation of offensive people...

Liberally thinking

We have a lady running for one of the county commissoners seats here. She used to be in the state senate. Her original platform was 'fiscal responsibility'. While a state senator she backed every tax increase bill that was put forth.

Yesterday at a forum she suggested that in the US, CEO income should be capped at 500,000.00 a year and the remainder be put into programs for the less affluent (read 'poor').

I see this as penalizing success and an attempt to kill the American dream. Needless to say, I have no desire to see her in office ever. (Her portfolio on her website lists the companies she was on the board of, all three of went from viable to closed down, bankrupt, with her on the board.)

I guess that makes her the perfect democrat??

Good news, recession over

You shouldnt expect to hear this from MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC. The Times did publish it.

“Lehman demonstrated that not only could they raise the capital at a reasonable cost, but that the Fed really had succeeded at stabilizing the financial system,” said Ed Yardeni, the investment strategist. “Lehman was an important test of that.”

Yet, I was reading last week how we are entering the great depression and only a democrat could pull us out of. By creating jobs on the Federal government pays for... umkay

If I am working for a company that makes something and sells it, I am generating some new revenue. If the government pays someone to do something, its from my taxes and is a leech on the economy.

Unfortunate.

Dont you hate it when someone seems incapable of understanding your viewpoint, thinks its something totally different, goes off on his own 'holier then thou' soapbox which is total bunk to begin with.


**sigh** Just wake up bud.

You know what you did, you apologized. Get over it move on.

Improv everywhere

This is an interesting group of Performance Artists.

The Device Has Been Modified

WeGame.com - WoW Videos

Is the English Language difficult?

The bandage was wound around the wound.
The farm was used to produce produce.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
We must polish the Polish furniture.
He could lead if he would get the lead out.
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
I did not object to the object.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
They were too close to the door to close it.
The buck does funny things when the does are present.
A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
After a number of injections my jaw got number.
Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

Streaming

Lets say you have high speed internet but no television service. Lets further say that you would like to see some of the shows you hear people talking about.

http://www.fox.com/fod/ I went back to watch all of the Kitchen Nightmare episodes but they have so much more.

http://www.cwtv.com/cw-video/ Lets say you want to watch Reaper or Smallville.

Or you have numerous shows you want to catch up on or sample.

http://www.seabreezecomputers.com/tips/tv.htm

Finally, lets say there is a movie out there. http://www.66stage.com/ Although only the Veoh movies are any good.

My last three days

So I get the news on tuesday that my kid needs to get a Physical, Bloodwork, Drug Screening, EGK and Echocardiogram. The results needed to be in before the end of the week.

So trying to get all this set up and done has taken quite a bit of effort and convincing.

Well, we got all but the echocardiogram done and thats scheduled for Thursday 8:00 am.

So mission accomplished.

The best of intentions.

Today I would like to discuss the phrase "The best of intentions". It's meaning is based upon its context. In my pondering of the phrase I figured out the only way it should ever be used is as a warning.

Example: Are your intentions honorable? This is a civil way of warning someone that you have your eye on them.

If someone uses this phrase during an apology it nullifies the apology. An apology is you feeling remorse for your actions and saying so in a direct humble manner.

So if you apologize and then add anything to it, you nullify the apology.
Example: I'm sorry I killed your family, but they really pissed me off.

So, "I'm sorry I killed your family, but I had the best of intentions." Kinda rings false.

Intentions after the fact are meaningless. If anyone tells you different... They are selling something....

Why I might be so happy.

Originating missive

I'm a pretty happy guy. I love my town, love my family. I think we are living in some of the greatest times ever. I mean all in all life is good.

This little study by academics Daniel Kahneman, Alan Krueger, David Schkade, Norbert Schwarz and Arthur Stone. Show that if you turn off the TV your happier.

I'm pretty sure this revolves mostly around watching TV news. It's very destructive.

Please abstain.

Humor

Lets try the same idea two different ways. See which is funny which isnt.
First one:

Wouldnt it be great to start drowning about 100 people to death in the ocean?

Second one:

What do you call 100 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...

Obviously the second one is funny the first one is puzzling. So its the wording and the term Lawyers that add to the mirth.

What do you call 100 republicans at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 environmentalists at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 puppies at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 (insert ethnic or religious group here) at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 policemen at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 terrorists at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...
What do you call 100 Sandinista Freedom fighters at the bottom of the ocean? A good start...

Can some of the above be not funny to someone? yes, depending upon your association with the above groups. I would point out the for example.

The more personal 'cruel' humor is the easier it is to find someone offended.

Being able to laugh at yourself is a virtue to be sure. Not taking yourself too seriously in this life because you are not getting out alive...