Since it's been awhile I figured I would post something here. I realize I have been remiss.
So, here goes. On FaceBook the other day I got into a rather amusing situation. A potential predator/pedobear was hassling a friend of my nieces who is also on my friends list. So being me, I made a comment. He slowly began to focus his attentions on me and left her alone.
I bring this up however as it struck me that he was trying to pretend he was smarter than he really was. I had made a comment to him that he did not understand at all so I retorted with "Well, to a sadly lacking intellect it would not make sense.". He then attempted to Grammar Nazi me by saying I had used the wrong word in that sentence.
Now, while I enjoy a good debate I had to do nothing more than laugh about this. A simple phrase that even most reasonable people over the age of, say about, six years old would be able to understand. Now, this person claimed to be 18 years old and in college pursuing a medical degree. However he could not understand a simple phrase? What the hell is this world coming too?
These are the people who are going to end up in charge of this world in a few years. These will be the people who we will rely on for everything from A to Z. Which means your medical care will be in the hands of someone who uses "Wll if u wld jst stp beeing tht wy and tink bout sich tings as wht u say". Yeah, scary huh?
Or how about the politician how points to Canada on a map while extolling the troubles in the country of Europe? How's that for a scary thing? And they will not only be in charge of the laws in this country but also our nuclear weapons. How would like you to go to war because "Dat hoe dun dissed me and biatch wld't give no head!"?? Think you will be sleeping now?
Try this on for size. Have any soon to be school age kids? Better teach them how to write as most school no longer teach hand writing and cursive. Remember having to go through that chore so we could "Write like real people do"? Yeah, I hated it too and came to realize most places of business wanted you to print things written documents since they are easier to read that way.
So what are we to do about this? Well, to be honest the only answer I have is to educate our kids against such things. Let them know while there are certain situations that type of thing would be okay (I can't think of one off hand though) but the real world doesn't work that way. Ultimately it falls to us as parents to help with the education of our kids. Remember, we aren't just helping them with this, we are in the long run helping ourselves as well. Keep in mind, these are the people we are going to leave in charge of everything sooner or later.
Assuming we have anything left for them to be in charge of that is. With the way the world is going right now I am not sure what we will be leaving them.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Another slow day
So, because of the slow day what to talk about? Well since this is my forum I suppose I can talk about anything I want really.
I read in the paper today that some home owners in a swanky subdivision are upset about things not being finished. They have a hold/retention pond that they claim is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. And a huge dirt pile that is dangerous because kids play on it. Plenty of vacant lots around as well that are over grown with weeds.
Why does this seem newsworthy? Well I think I can answer that some what. A developer buys a piece of property to develop, which automatically makes the "imagined" value of the property to inflate. Now, I say imagined here as that is what it is. For instance, there is a development near where I live where lots start at 95,000.00. Yes, you read that right, a LOT. No house, no improvements just a vacant lot.
Now, is this worth it? Of course not. That piece of property is worth about 3,500.00 according to assessment. It is simple greed and imagined worth on the part of the developer. But wait, it gets better!
Now, you fork over all this money for a vacant lot what do you do with it? Well you add improvements according to the HOA, which state that "You must build with-in the standard of the community and construction MUST start with-in one year of purchase of your lot.". It then goes into great detail about how high your house can be, what color it can be, how many windows you can have facing the street and which side of the house your garage can be on. And yes, you do have to have a two car garage.
Now what does this mean? It basically means that if you don't do what they want, they can petition to have you "Removed from the area, revoking rights to the property and all contained there in.". WTF????? Yes, it means they can make you not only remove your flag pole, dig up your flower beds, tear down and move your garage, demolish your storage shed, re-paint your house, move or remove you dish, park your car somewhere else as it's "an eyesore" and.....Ready for this one????????Brace your self.......MOVE FROM YOUR HOUSE!!!!!!
Yep, just sunk 250,000.00 into building your home? Tough, you have to go! But before you do, you have to PAY to have the house "corrected" to fit the community guidelines. Matter if you join the HOA? Nope.
Now, you ask "How can this get any worse?" well let me clue you in....YOU PAY FOR THIS MONTHLY EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO JOIN!!!!!!! Yes, you pay a "fee" to the HOA regardless of the fact that you don't join or use any of the property facilities other than YOUR home. So regardless of if your property is paid for or not, you get a bill from the HOA.
Is this legal you ask? Yep. Sure is. Since you are informed of this before buying your property. So what that means if you want something other than the cookie cutter house that everyone else has then you need to look elsewhere to live.
Just another example of someone else wanting to tell someone else how they should live. Personally I would show them what they could do with their HOA contract on the front lawn.
I read in the paper today that some home owners in a swanky subdivision are upset about things not being finished. They have a hold/retention pond that they claim is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. And a huge dirt pile that is dangerous because kids play on it. Plenty of vacant lots around as well that are over grown with weeds.
Why does this seem newsworthy? Well I think I can answer that some what. A developer buys a piece of property to develop, which automatically makes the "imagined" value of the property to inflate. Now, I say imagined here as that is what it is. For instance, there is a development near where I live where lots start at 95,000.00. Yes, you read that right, a LOT. No house, no improvements just a vacant lot.
Now, is this worth it? Of course not. That piece of property is worth about 3,500.00 according to assessment. It is simple greed and imagined worth on the part of the developer. But wait, it gets better!
Now, you fork over all this money for a vacant lot what do you do with it? Well you add improvements according to the HOA, which state that "You must build with-in the standard of the community and construction MUST start with-in one year of purchase of your lot.". It then goes into great detail about how high your house can be, what color it can be, how many windows you can have facing the street and which side of the house your garage can be on. And yes, you do have to have a two car garage.
Now what does this mean? It basically means that if you don't do what they want, they can petition to have you "Removed from the area, revoking rights to the property and all contained there in.". WTF????? Yes, it means they can make you not only remove your flag pole, dig up your flower beds, tear down and move your garage, demolish your storage shed, re-paint your house, move or remove you dish, park your car somewhere else as it's "an eyesore" and.....Ready for this one????????Brace your self.......MOVE FROM YOUR HOUSE!!!!!!
Yep, just sunk 250,000.00 into building your home? Tough, you have to go! But before you do, you have to PAY to have the house "corrected" to fit the community guidelines. Matter if you join the HOA? Nope.
Now, you ask "How can this get any worse?" well let me clue you in....YOU PAY FOR THIS MONTHLY EVEN IF YOU DON'T WANT TO JOIN!!!!!!! Yes, you pay a "fee" to the HOA regardless of the fact that you don't join or use any of the property facilities other than YOUR home. So regardless of if your property is paid for or not, you get a bill from the HOA.
Is this legal you ask? Yep. Sure is. Since you are informed of this before buying your property. So what that means if you want something other than the cookie cutter house that everyone else has then you need to look elsewhere to live.
Just another example of someone else wanting to tell someone else how they should live. Personally I would show them what they could do with their HOA contract on the front lawn.
Friday, July 15, 2011
NetFlix
So, NetFlix is changing it's price. What does that mean exactly? Well it means that if you use their standard option it will increase by 6.00 a month. That plans includes all the streaming video you want per month plus 1 DVD out at a time.
However you get an option now. If you don't use the streaming service you are paying 8.00 a month for it while getting DVD's for 2.00. Now, when I signed back up for NetFlix I did so because I could now stream movies to my X-Box360. I went with the streaming only feature. That means for 7.99 a month I could watch as much as I wanted on either a computer or other streaming device. So I don't pay for at home delivery.
All that is really happening is people are now getting an option to not pay for a part of the service they weren't using, the streaming video. So is this something to get upset over?
Well let's look at that for a moment shall we? Do you have phone service? Most likely in some form. Now, with that phone service what sort of options do you have? For your home, or land line, service you probably what I have. Caller ID, call waiting, voice mail, some sort of long distance plan, and probably three way calling and call forwarding. Now, how many of those do you use? Caller ID, call waiting and voice mail? Perhaps the long distance? What about the rest of the things? Don't use them at all? Don't know how to use them? You are still paying for them.
So, what if you were given a different option? If you were given the choice of not paying for those services would you stop paying for them? Yeah you would. That is all NetFlix has really done. Add on top of that the stories we hear of the perhaps the Postal Service failing and going under what sort of options does that leave?
UPS and FedEx both are more expensive to ship with. Also if you were paying two dollars a month for the DVD service how much profit do you think that makes? Well, let's look at it a moment. If you are like most people you probably go through an average of 4 DVD's a month on the basic service. So, that is .41 cents to ship it to you, plus the cost of the reship envelope plus the .41 cents to return the disk. That cost is .82 cents shipping costs, plus the envelope which we will say costs .20, which brings the total to 1.01. That is the cost of just one DVD. Multiple that by four and you get 4.04 which is 2.04 more than you were paying.
So, by splitting the programs and offering you an option is actually a more practical and honest option for you. You aren't paying for a service you aren't going to use and your cost can stay the same by simply switching services.
What's that you say? You use both services each month? Okay. I can understand your gripe. So let's look at other options. If you cancel the service what are you left with? Well there is always Hulu but that programming is not very vast and they now have a pay service as well. For 8.00 a month you can stream their non commercial programming and have more options. Not 23,000 but more. So what about DVD's? Redbox of course an option for you. However think of this, gas spent driving there to get it and to return it. Plus the 1.00 a day rental. So if you go with 4 movies a month, return them the next day that comes to 4.00. Now, factor in the gas you are using to use that service. I will be nice and let you say it costs you a gallon of gas. 3.48 here for 87 octane. So, 4.00 + 3.48 = 7.48 per month assuming you are never late in getting them back. So, is it worth canceling your Netflix over? .52 a month means you can buy one extra stamp a month. Big savings huh?
However you get an option now. If you don't use the streaming service you are paying 8.00 a month for it while getting DVD's for 2.00. Now, when I signed back up for NetFlix I did so because I could now stream movies to my X-Box360. I went with the streaming only feature. That means for 7.99 a month I could watch as much as I wanted on either a computer or other streaming device. So I don't pay for at home delivery.
All that is really happening is people are now getting an option to not pay for a part of the service they weren't using, the streaming video. So is this something to get upset over?
Well let's look at that for a moment shall we? Do you have phone service? Most likely in some form. Now, with that phone service what sort of options do you have? For your home, or land line, service you probably what I have. Caller ID, call waiting, voice mail, some sort of long distance plan, and probably three way calling and call forwarding. Now, how many of those do you use? Caller ID, call waiting and voice mail? Perhaps the long distance? What about the rest of the things? Don't use them at all? Don't know how to use them? You are still paying for them.
So, what if you were given a different option? If you were given the choice of not paying for those services would you stop paying for them? Yeah you would. That is all NetFlix has really done. Add on top of that the stories we hear of the perhaps the Postal Service failing and going under what sort of options does that leave?
UPS and FedEx both are more expensive to ship with. Also if you were paying two dollars a month for the DVD service how much profit do you think that makes? Well, let's look at it a moment. If you are like most people you probably go through an average of 4 DVD's a month on the basic service. So, that is .41 cents to ship it to you, plus the cost of the reship envelope plus the .41 cents to return the disk. That cost is .82 cents shipping costs, plus the envelope which we will say costs .20, which brings the total to 1.01. That is the cost of just one DVD. Multiple that by four and you get 4.04 which is 2.04 more than you were paying.
So, by splitting the programs and offering you an option is actually a more practical and honest option for you. You aren't paying for a service you aren't going to use and your cost can stay the same by simply switching services.
What's that you say? You use both services each month? Okay. I can understand your gripe. So let's look at other options. If you cancel the service what are you left with? Well there is always Hulu but that programming is not very vast and they now have a pay service as well. For 8.00 a month you can stream their non commercial programming and have more options. Not 23,000 but more. So what about DVD's? Redbox of course an option for you. However think of this, gas spent driving there to get it and to return it. Plus the 1.00 a day rental. So if you go with 4 movies a month, return them the next day that comes to 4.00. Now, factor in the gas you are using to use that service. I will be nice and let you say it costs you a gallon of gas. 3.48 here for 87 octane. So, 4.00 + 3.48 = 7.48 per month assuming you are never late in getting them back. So, is it worth canceling your Netflix over? .52 a month means you can buy one extra stamp a month. Big savings huh?
So yeah
Why is it when you ask someone a point blank question they don't always give a straight to the point answer?
I bring this up as I asked someone a question in the hopes of getting some more insight into something that intrigues me. Now, I realize that not everyone has the time to go in depth with an explanation for some things. I do the same thing myself when people ask me questions about things. We all do it. Sometimes we don't have time to make the detailed explanation the person asking the question may want. We even refer them to other people or writings.
Now, often times this is not a big deal. Sometimes it is. I suppose the situation would depend on who is asking and why. If for instance you asked your parents about something the understanding is that they will answer it for you. We count on our parents for learning lessons.Same thing with teachers. We actually pay them for information and understanding.
Now, what should the boundaries be for someone you don't really know? Well, I suppose depending on the situation it can vary greatly. If you are calling customer service about something relating directly to you then of course you should get all the information available to you. If you are asking someone you don't know I think any time they give for your question is up to them. If they take at least a token effort to answer it that should be enough, right? Of course it is.
Now my reason for this particular line is this, I sent a series of questions to a scientific doctor, of some renown I might add, for some information. He did in fact take time from his day and work to answer them. Now, part of his answers were to refer me to some other people's work to gain a greater insight into my line of questioning. Did those referrals help with the insight I wanted? Actually yes they did.
Now while I admit I was hoping for a more direct answer I realize that was being selfish. I was hoping to monopolize this man's time. Kind of egotistical of me huh? Yeah it was, you can admit it, I did. What does that say about, not only me, but us a whole? I have no idea.
I do know that I appreciate this man's time and his willingness to share even a few moments of that time with me. So thank you doctor for your time and the information you provided. I will certainly go through it and hopefully get some of the answers I am hunting for.
I bring this up as I asked someone a question in the hopes of getting some more insight into something that intrigues me. Now, I realize that not everyone has the time to go in depth with an explanation for some things. I do the same thing myself when people ask me questions about things. We all do it. Sometimes we don't have time to make the detailed explanation the person asking the question may want. We even refer them to other people or writings.
Now, often times this is not a big deal. Sometimes it is. I suppose the situation would depend on who is asking and why. If for instance you asked your parents about something the understanding is that they will answer it for you. We count on our parents for learning lessons.Same thing with teachers. We actually pay them for information and understanding.
Now, what should the boundaries be for someone you don't really know? Well, I suppose depending on the situation it can vary greatly. If you are calling customer service about something relating directly to you then of course you should get all the information available to you. If you are asking someone you don't know I think any time they give for your question is up to them. If they take at least a token effort to answer it that should be enough, right? Of course it is.
Now my reason for this particular line is this, I sent a series of questions to a scientific doctor, of some renown I might add, for some information. He did in fact take time from his day and work to answer them. Now, part of his answers were to refer me to some other people's work to gain a greater insight into my line of questioning. Did those referrals help with the insight I wanted? Actually yes they did.
Now while I admit I was hoping for a more direct answer I realize that was being selfish. I was hoping to monopolize this man's time. Kind of egotistical of me huh? Yeah it was, you can admit it, I did. What does that say about, not only me, but us a whole? I have no idea.
I do know that I appreciate this man's time and his willingness to share even a few moments of that time with me. So thank you doctor for your time and the information you provided. I will certainly go through it and hopefully get some of the answers I am hunting for.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Ramble of the day
So, not much really going on today. More Casey Anthony bullshit. Some jerk off is offering her a million bucks for an interview. What a crock. I am so sick of hearing about her. I am glad that group in Texas that helped search for Caylee is suing her ass off as well as that lady with the name Casey said kidnapped Caylee.
Ah, I am sick of it all. Nothing but bad stuff in the news lately. One exception is this new HIV medication they are testing. Supposedly it lowers your chances significantly of catching this horrible disease. Also kinda funny they are testing it in the birthplace of AIDS, Africa.
It is funny to me though that people are still up in arms over same sex marriage. When are people going to wake up and realize that people are just people? Everyone is and should be, entitled to the same things anyone else is entitled too. If a man wants to marry another man what does it hurt? Simple answer is NOT A THING! He has found happiness in a solid relationship and wants to take it another step. Does that mean your property values will go down? Nope.
The thing of it is they are settling down. Most same sex people who want to get married have been in their relationships for a long time. They are monogamous and highly committed in their relationship. In fact they are usually more committed than most straight people I know.
So why not let them be and live their lives? Zealotry. Simple huh? The bible says it's wrong! Well the word homosexual was not even around when the bible was written. Also the word "Gay" was not used to mean homosexual until really in the late 1800's. It used to mean Happy for shits sake!
Life goes on though and things are changing. As I told a friend of mine who is gay "Change takes time but it does happen. It may not be over night, today or tomorrow but it will happen". And it is happening. Just means we are moving closer to all being equal in this world. Which, if you happen to ask me, is not a bad thing at all really. Does that mean I believe in peace on Earth? Nope, never happen as long there is more than one person on Earth. Anymore than that and there will disagreements and probably conflict.
On a side note, I heard Rodney King was arrested again. For what you ask? Yep, DUI! Some folks never learn. Drinking and driving do not mix. If you want to booze up, stay home!
Ah, I am sick of it all. Nothing but bad stuff in the news lately. One exception is this new HIV medication they are testing. Supposedly it lowers your chances significantly of catching this horrible disease. Also kinda funny they are testing it in the birthplace of AIDS, Africa.
It is funny to me though that people are still up in arms over same sex marriage. When are people going to wake up and realize that people are just people? Everyone is and should be, entitled to the same things anyone else is entitled too. If a man wants to marry another man what does it hurt? Simple answer is NOT A THING! He has found happiness in a solid relationship and wants to take it another step. Does that mean your property values will go down? Nope.
The thing of it is they are settling down. Most same sex people who want to get married have been in their relationships for a long time. They are monogamous and highly committed in their relationship. In fact they are usually more committed than most straight people I know.
So why not let them be and live their lives? Zealotry. Simple huh? The bible says it's wrong! Well the word homosexual was not even around when the bible was written. Also the word "Gay" was not used to mean homosexual until really in the late 1800's. It used to mean Happy for shits sake!
Life goes on though and things are changing. As I told a friend of mine who is gay "Change takes time but it does happen. It may not be over night, today or tomorrow but it will happen". And it is happening. Just means we are moving closer to all being equal in this world. Which, if you happen to ask me, is not a bad thing at all really. Does that mean I believe in peace on Earth? Nope, never happen as long there is more than one person on Earth. Anymore than that and there will disagreements and probably conflict.
On a side note, I heard Rodney King was arrested again. For what you ask? Yep, DUI! Some folks never learn. Drinking and driving do not mix. If you want to booze up, stay home!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Well it had to happen sooner or later.
So, they are again defacing a classic. Yep, that's right. They are re-writing the Bible! Yes, you did in fact read that right.
Now, they are doing this not to change the meaning or stories of the Bible but to change the language of it. So now Genesis will read "When God began to create the heavens and the earth." instead of "In the beginning.". Jesus will also now be known as "the Human One" instead of "the Son of Man".
Also it says to be more respectful of aliens and immigrants as "Don't mistreat or oppress an immigrant, because you were once immigrants in the land of Egypt."
Does anyone still buy that anymore? That mankind started life in Egypt? Well I suppose some do yes.
I bring this up simply as the thought of making something that so many people believe so strongly in "more readability and broader appeal" is CRAZY! People don't believe in the Bible because it's easy to read, they believe in because they have been taught too.
Now, as many of you know I am not the most religious person you will encounter on the street but I have read the bible. A couple different translations of it and even the forbidden books of the bible. Yes, there are books to the bible that you won't find in the book in the back of the pew. Why weren't they included you ask? Well suffice to say that it would certainly paint your faith in a bit different a picture. Yeah I also read the Mormon book also.
So what does this mean to folks? It means that writings of men, written in a language that was not spoken for hundreds of years when it was translated, is once again being re-written. No, it was not written by God it was in fact written by men. Sorry to burst that bubble. Personally I can't wait to see what some of the mainstream hardcore religious people out there have to say about it. Should make for some interesting reading and a few laughs as well!
Now, they are doing this not to change the meaning or stories of the Bible but to change the language of it. So now Genesis will read "When God began to create the heavens and the earth." instead of "In the beginning.". Jesus will also now be known as "the Human One" instead of "the Son of Man".
Also it says to be more respectful of aliens and immigrants as "Don't mistreat or oppress an immigrant, because you were once immigrants in the land of Egypt."
Does anyone still buy that anymore? That mankind started life in Egypt? Well I suppose some do yes.
I bring this up simply as the thought of making something that so many people believe so strongly in "more readability and broader appeal" is CRAZY! People don't believe in the Bible because it's easy to read, they believe in because they have been taught too.
Now, as many of you know I am not the most religious person you will encounter on the street but I have read the bible. A couple different translations of it and even the forbidden books of the bible. Yes, there are books to the bible that you won't find in the book in the back of the pew. Why weren't they included you ask? Well suffice to say that it would certainly paint your faith in a bit different a picture. Yeah I also read the Mormon book also.
So what does this mean to folks? It means that writings of men, written in a language that was not spoken for hundreds of years when it was translated, is once again being re-written. No, it was not written by God it was in fact written by men. Sorry to burst that bubble. Personally I can't wait to see what some of the mainstream hardcore religious people out there have to say about it. Should make for some interesting reading and a few laughs as well!
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