Random Friday #26 (Half of a Deck of Cards)

Legislative Inefficiencies
We have inefficiencies in a lot of our systems. When many spending bills are passed, there is a certain amount of "pork" attached to it. And senior legislatures think of this as the cost of doing business. I mean, you can see senators and congressmen attaching amendments to bills to fund the building of a road, the additional of a program, whatever. Even in local media, people talk about government grants (based on the passing of some of these bills) as if it were free money. Someone has to pay the bills, or at least print the money.

Healthcare Inefficiencies
We all want health insurance. But if you look at it on the whole, the insurance industry costs us a lot of money. I mean, if you go to the ER, the bill is more than $200 to be seen. Even if the answer is, "Looks like you are not going to die. Schedule an appointment with your PCM to get drugs." I don't know the answer, but I expect when the Chili's waitperson asks me to pay the bill with a Celebrex pen, I am seeing some of the cost of healthcare.

Numerology
I am a big believer that numerology is a bunch of crap, but then I look at how I make decisions. If I go on an elevator, I don't like taking elevator 1 or 4 (if there are many elevators). Completely irrational. When looking at bathroom stalls, I pick an even number from the end, all else being equal. When leaving a tip, I always pay in whole dollars, so a 23.11 becomes 27.11. Why not $27.00 even? Anyway, it seems that so many little decisions are based on completely irrational things, why shouldn't I believe in numerology. I mean, I am half-way there right now.

Being Polite
I have a friend who always says "How are you" as a greeting. The other day, she said this while passing someone. I was with her, and the person did not respond. She said, under her breath but loud enough for me and the offender to hear, "Bitch." If you act polite and then are rude, does that make you a rude person who appears polite on the outside? I think it does.

Boob Jobs
I have known three women at work (over the years) that have had boob jobs. Well, two I knew, and one I suspected. Both women that had them wanted me to feel their boobs. I mean, when I complimented them (more out of social obligation than anything else), both said, "Go ahead, touch them." After an awkward pause, I touched them (more out of social obligation than anything else). I avoided both women for the rest of the day. The third woman – who took a week off for an "elective procedure" I suspected just did not want for us to feel her boobs. Actually, when she came back, my first reaction was to look at her face – I mean, I thought she was having some other work done. After writing this, I think I have revealed too much.

US Post Office
If it will save a bunch of money, I would be okay with having mail delivered 4 days per week: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I mean, they are off so many Mondays anyway, and I suspect that they skip a day anyway. I would even endorse them switching it up, the days they deliver, around time zones, if that helps. I mean, when I mail a package, I know there is a 30% chance that it will be lost or damaged anyway, if mailed through the US Post Office. True story: I overnighted something (at the cost of $30 or so), and the US Post Office delivered it one month later. It was a flat envelope that looked like it got caught in some gears or something. It was something like a contract – and when it did not arrive in a day, I had to re-notarize the stuff and re-mail. Not only did I have to pay another $30, but when I found out that the original was delivered a month late, they would not refund the money. Something about them not guaranteeing their service. So now I am a fan of UPS or Fed Ex. Both work so much better.

Market Forces
I am a big believer in market forces. If you make something illegal (drugs), you drive up the price to the point where some will still meet the needs of the people who want illegal drugs. [I am not saying that drugs are good or bad with this example; personally I think most illegal drugs probably do harm to the body.] Anyway, I sort of like The Mentalist. I don't love the show, but I like it. What I did not like was that CBS stopped streaming the show. So then you find sites pop up, just looking for a show or two. I wish CBS would come to its senses and stream the video. In an environment where everyone is scrambling for viewership, this makes little sense.

Being Objectified, or Chickipedia
While looking for an image for a recent post on news and Gnooze, I found a site called Chickipedia. I did not use the pic on the Gnooze blog entry because the pic was a bit too sexy for my blog. I don't buy into objectifying women. Well, I did not until I saw this site. The site boasts near 8,000 women (called chicks), more than 100 thousand images, a bunch of videos and three articles. Okay, there are probably a bunch of articles as well, but they are not featured on the site. Whenever you see an image that lists their approximate bust, waist and hip measurements and then will link to similar chicks, I am thinking "objectifying." And then I think – um, guys, come back to my post. Really. Guys. Please finish my post first.

Caroline Smailes Interview
I just read on SSC's blog where she interviewed Caroline Smailes. I am a tad bit jealous, because I know meeting an author can be a wonderful experience. She even has a contest for a signed book on her site. Not that I want any competition, but I suggest you go over to her site and check out the interview and the contest.