a space for my thoughts

So I just read that they are going to produce a silver dollar with Braille on it for the first time.  On the heads side of the coin there is a picture of Braille, the man, and on the back there is a picture of a boy reading Braille with the Braille letters for Braille on it (actually BRL).  Am I the only one that thinks this is retarted?  That’s like making a sign that says “WORD.”  Why don’t they put the Braille for “ONE DOLLAR” on the coin?  Wouldn’t that make more sense?  They could even do it on the outside edge of the coin where we have lines on the quarter.

I was also just reminded of WTF.  Last week I read that the Maryland (I think) DMV is stopping distribution of license plates that begin WTF- because somebody’s grandkid told them what it means and they told the DMV.  Apparently nobody at the DMV knew what it meant.  People who have been distributed the plates can come in and get non-WTF license plates for free.

If you’re like me, you like to take chances with your food.
You know what I mean: eating the chicken that’s a little pink near the bone, cutting the moldy part off of the jalapeño and eating the rest, rinsing off fruit that has fallen into the sink when I can’t remember when the last time it was cleaned.  But after a recent bout of lectin poisoning, I’ve decided to research food safety.  It’s not the first time I’ve read some of these articles, mind you, but I looked them up again.  Below I have posted links for you.

Anisakis - Why it’s good to eat sashimi that was previously frozen!

Trichinosis - I like to eat undercooked pork (and wild game!) when presented with the chance.

Mold- I have been known to scrape the mold off of the sides of the sour cream tub and use the rest.  Is that wrong?

Thanks, Mark, for telling me not to eat the moldy strawberries!
I have never actually gotten sick off of anything I have prepared until recently, and it was something I didn’t even know you could get sick from (see lectin poisoning)!  Good thing is, I survived.

Every day I read the news and just about every day it pisses me off.  Or makes me laugh.

When I read the articles I can’t help but feel as though they are trying to instill certain feelings in me or get a particular reaction out of me.  And I think the timing of the articles is very intentional.  I like to think that, for the most part, I am resistant to being affected the way they want me to be.

Today I read about all this crap going on in Basra- militants murdering people - and then it goes on to talk about how things the US Army have done have helped the situation.  I can’t help but see this article as bullshit.  I think the article was written and released to try to make Americans think we’re doing some good over there.  I think the Republicans want us to believe that we are helping them (the Iraqis).  I don’t know if we’re helping them or not, but since they took the time to do this story it makes me think they’re trying to prove themselves.  Normally you only try to prove you’re doing something good when you’re doing something bad.

I also see all these stories about all the people dying all over the world because of natural disasters and drought and not enough food.  Well guess what, that’s how the world works! There isn’t enough food for everyone, period.  There isn’t enough land for everyone, period.  People have to die.

 Every day there are new articles about how crappy we’re doing.  Gas prices are through the roof. Lettuce costs $1.89. Some woman in California is living in her car because she bought a house she can’t afford, lost her job and couldn’t make payments.  Everyone is trying to live beyond their means and they’re making stupid choices on important things (like home loans) and now they want everyone to pity them for being forced to live in their cars.  I think they want all of us to fear that it could happen to us too.  You too could lose your job! You too could have your house foreclosed on! You too could have to stop eating out and figure out how to cook a meal at home! Chisos christ, people, didn’t you see it was getting bad before it got that bad?  Why didn’t you start making adjustments to your lifestyle so you could make your house payment instead of buying a new computer? I don’t get it.

Back to the topic: I also notice how every day or two an encouraging, hopeful story will pop up in the news.  Just when you were sure you had nothing to live for and were about to slit your wrists there it is: wait! Someone with no legs climbed a mountain! Geo Metros get 40+ mpg! You could lose all that extra flab like Lynda did if you stopped drinking sodas and started walking to work! Whew, that’s a relief.

There is a scandal of sorts that is going on right now that’s being covered in the media which I have some inside information on.  Apparently they are putting out any headline they can think of (which normally turns out to be a rumor one person said) and never using the corrected statements as headlines.  They are presenting only one side of the story and not even bothering to mention what the whole point is!  They are using any fantastic possibility they can come up with to make it obvious who’s in the wrong.  The injustices that are going on are being widely ignored by the media, and, as far as I can tell, by the general public.  I think it’s fair to call this a media circus. Is nobody else asking themselves what’s going on? 
**If you want to know what I am talking about look at the other posts in this category.

I know I’m babbling and I know I didn’t explain myself properly.  But I do feel like the news we get is created for us and presented to us very purposefully to keep us brainwashed into thinking we need them and we should all stick together and not think for ourselves.  I know they’ve written fictional books about it but I think it’s real life.

When I was in college I worked nights at a hotel.  It was really boring and after all my homework was done I would play Jai Alai, Mahjong and find crosswords to do.  I also found this great website www.bored.com which has since been dis- and re-mantled.  There was this randomized haiku robot dispenser: one part of the website allowed you to read and post haikus, but there was also an option that would spit out  randomized haikus with each line coming from a different haiku.  It was pretty cool.  I submitted some but always enjoyed reading them.

They also had this game I would play which I have just located here: http://www.smalltime.com/Dictator

You should play it cause I can’t.

***

So you could have:

(1)

Ice Cream is Icy

It melts on my tongue and hand

My stomach is sick

(2)

Why are dreams not real?

I wake in absence of self.

I am really dead.

(3)

Mom took Pat away.

Said I could not bite her tail.

Fur still in my teeth.

Haiku Randomizer!:

Ice Cream is Icy

I wake in absence of self.
Fur still in my teeth.

Are you bored at work today?  Here’s something for you to read:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:random

It’ll give you something different every time.

Read this and tell me your first thought:

1999 Honda Civic, EX 4 Door, 5 Speed, VTEC 1.6L 4 Cyl Gas Saver, 35 MPG! Sunroof, PW, PL, tilt, cruise, CD, ABS Brakes, Keyless Entry, New Tires, Non Smoker, Lady Owned. Extra clean! 118 K Miles. For Only, $4,949, A K Autoplex 918 850-0770 Collinsville

***************

Any thoughts?

How about the Lady Owned?  What does that indicate to you?  I’m not sure what they are implying here, but obviously it was worth mentioning.
Just curious. 
 

With the recent influx of State Troopers, does anyone wonder what they’re here for?  I mean, I understand they are here for training, or as part of a mobile task force or whatever, but what is their goal?  I was under the assumption that they are employed by the Texas Department of Public Safety, so why is it that they are not concerned about our safety? 

I travel quite a bit and I have seen a high presence of state troopers.  I have also seen a deer in the middle of the road for 4 days until it was so mangled that it no longer posed a safety hazard.  I have seen large scraps of tires which certainly pose a risk when unsuspecting drivers suddenly swerve to avoid them.  Or what if they were to get caught in the wheel-well or undercarriage of a passing car?  I had even been on the side of the road with my hood up and none of the passing troopers stop.  Shouldn’t they be keeping the roadways safe by moving obstacles out of the way?  Shouldn’t they stop to make sure I am okay?

No.  They are here to hassle people driving 2-3 miles over the speed limit.  I have witnessed up to 5 state troopers a day on the same path all ignoring these road hazards but I have also witnessed them pulling over people just barely exceeding the speed limit.  I am bothered that it does not seem they actually care about our safety, but only enforcing speed limits.  Can we rename them the Texas Department of Preventing Speeding?  Because that’s all they’re doing.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

noun
1.  a widely used search engine that uses text-matching techniques to find web pages that are important and relevant to a user’s search   

verb
1.  search the internet (for information) using the Google search engine; “He googled the woman he had met at the party”; “My children are googling all day”   

I Googled the title phrase and found this blog, which I think is describing the author’s life, but I could be wrong.  It’s pretty funny.

http://www.holyjuan.com/2006/10/how-to-ruin-your-life.html

Yes, I’m bored.
I’ve already looked through pictures of airline food on JAL online, whichI plan to add my own to when I have the chance.