CELEBRITIES DIE – SOCIETY IS IN SHOCK – WE WANT TO KNOW MORE – AND WE PAY ATTENTION – BUT WHY?

So the latest is that Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson both died on the same day. But neither one was making huge amounts of money before their death. Now that they’re dead, everyone wants to know about them.

Why is it that society cares more about the dead than the living?

I know the way I am writing this, it seems like I’m uncaring or that I have no compassion.

But at some point we have to realize, when you start being interested in someone "after it’s too late" and after they are already dead, then there is really something wrong with that.

The funny thing about Michael Jackson in particular, is that the majority wrote him off as a freak for all his plastic surgeries and for being charged with child molestation.  How many jokes was he the punch line of?

But he really did bring a lot of music to the masses — he was great at what he did.

The famous moon walk came from him — he deserved a lot better than the credit that society gave him.

Now he’s dead, and everyone seems to care more than they ever did.  Michael Jackson went bankrupt, and many people thought it was funny. A celebrity in despair knocks them back down to our level, and yet we’re all a bunch of nobody’s that enjoys it when that happens.

Society isn’t healthy when this kind of mindset seems appropriate and acceptable.

I watched a four hour movie tonight on TV about Michael Jackson and thoroughly enjoyed it. But that’s because he’s dead, and I’m interested before "it’s too late" and I don’t get another chance.  But — the fact that he’s already dead — makes it too late already. Showing interest in his life, after he’s dead, makes me a hypocrite and same with the rest of you who are now interested in knowing his life story after it’s too late.

There are only two times that society idolizes a celebrity — when they are reaching the top — and when they die.

This is plain wrong — but that’s how society works. None of us in our wildest dreams could even imagine being the one to bring music to the masses when Michael Jackson was the top of the charts. Do you realize how hard it was for him?  But every mistake in his life had to become public knowledge.  Everyone had the opportunity to judge him.

Celebrities do not have it easy. Every move they make — every public sentence they say — is out there to be evaluated, re-evaluated, judged, taken apart in pieces and analyzed. Any normal citizen of society could not handle that — but our attitude is that — they’re celebrities, they’re rich, they have to accept what is coming to them.

Listen to me closely.

It’s not celebrities that should be judged.

It’s society..

For we have it ALL wrong.

We’re the ones that need a learning lesson.

Respect celebrities – give them leeway to make mistakes, and stop being so critical judging them. Above all, let’s hate the intrusion they get in their lives — they should be able to live their lives off-screen without us watching their every move. If any of us filled their shoes by gaining success and popularity, we’d want the same thing.

I hope one day, people have a higher respect for celebrities than we do — if that ever happens, it means civilization has evolved.

P.S.

Michael Jackson, rest in peace. You did wonders in your time, and it’s time you rested without any of us judging you anymore.

We recently tried Kentucky Grilled Chicken.  I like how much healthier grilled chicken is for you, and it makes taking home quick meal worthwhile.

However one of the things we noticed is that they also include lots of honey flavored packets. They almost encourage you to put some of the honey ontop of the chicken.  When you do, it really enhances the flavor — but now you’re back to square one again. The honey packets add a lot of calories and it’s akin to putting on a bunch of sugar ontop of your chicken.

I think it’s a simple concept where we just have to "get use to" the new Grilled Chicken flavor, and forget about the honey packets altogether.

Chicken pieces cooked at home, requires you to go to the store, buy it, store it (often the freezer), defrost it. It usually takes a lot of cleanliness to avoid raw chicken from contaminating your kitchen. In addition, it requires your oven to be on at 350 for 45 minutes which eats hydro. Then there is more energy used when you are washing out roasting pans, etc.

Kentucky Grilled Chicken is a nice quick healthy meal, ready when you are — and there is no problem feeding it to your family. Just watch out for the unhealthy sides. The macaroni and cheese side dish is loaded with calories, so is the gravy that inevitably coats the mashed potatoes.  The corn cobs are good and the calories they offer are natural, and a good choice.

I think that KFC is doing something right with their Grilled Chicken, and I encourage you to try it before something happens where they realize it is not a big seller. I don’t know how well their sales are doing – but I hope it remains a part of their permanent menu.

I wish there were more fast food restaurants dealing in healthy alternatives, but at a decent cost.

For instance, if I buy a chicken salad at a restaurant, I’d rather be paying $2.99 than $6.99 — lettuce is not expensive, and the tiny bit of chicken they include doesn’t cost a lot either. I find that a lot of healthy alternatives cost more, without any good reason. They just figure that the demographic that actually buys the healthier choices is use to paying more money – so why not make a higher profit margin on it.

Let’s tax fat, and high calories. Make it that unhealthy eating "costs more" and we’d find a better, more slimmer society that is healthier and more productive. This is how we can make our country’s productivity level increase, simply by having a better diet.

I should not be able to get a double cheeseburger from McDonalds for $1.99 – if I want to have something unhealthy like that, it should cost me $5.99. But if I want a chicken salad with a lite dressing — that should be $1.99 making healthy food more accessible and affordable is all that we need.

Have you tried Kentucky Grilled Chicken? Did you like it either way (with or without) the honey packets?

It was just a few months ago, we were all celebrating New Years Eve — everyone was hoping this year would be better — well frankly it’s very clear — 2009 is about economic survival.

That’s right.

Holding onto your job (if you’re lucky enough to have one) — putting food on the table, having shelter, and keeping that used car running as long as you can, is about all you can hope for to have a successful year.

Everyone is cutting back.

They are ordering food less, and eating in restaurants less..

They are avoiding tourist attractions, and staying local, near home.

They are lowering their cell phone plans. They’re cutting back on Cable and Satellite TV packages.

We’re removing the “extras” in life that we’ve all taken granted.

A dollar saved here — a dollar saved there — and we feel better about our situations.

So what’s the answer? When will this economy improve?

As soon as we all stop saving our money, and we start spending it! Isn’t that ironic?  In order for the economy to improve, we must go back out there and live lavish carefree lives. Buy stocks, go on Vacation, order food in or visit a restaurant 3 or 4 times a week.  Once that happens, and everyone starts spending — guess what? JOBS GET CREATED — not lost!

So…. who wants to be first? Who wants to bankrupt their wallet and then wait and see if it works?

Well not me — and probably not you..

So guess what? The economy will get worse. Hundreds of thousands of jobs will be lost or cut-back.  Unemployment will rise, maybe even double what it is now in the next year or two.

Then that spells the right conditions for an Economic Depression.

About 2 years ago, I remember going through a fastfood restaurant, ordering a Deluxe burger, fries, and a drink. It came out to $8.96 and I couldn’t believe that cost.  Probably 80% of that was profit.

Now the same restaurant, is touting their dollar menu. Their normal meal combo is only $3.99 - Probably 35% of that is still profit for them.

So what does that mean?  Large Corporations who have been making huge profits all along — now are making smaller profits — but they will ride out this Recession which may very well soon be a Depression.

But the little guys – the regular middle class of society, are going to go through life changing experiences. We have to sell that second car or truck. No more boats or ATV’s.  Our channel line up will dwindle. We’ll only use our cell phone minutes in emergencies.  No more travel to remote destinations. Save, save save. Pay bills, and get hounded by credit card companies.

The best thing you can do, is stop watching the news, and talk to your neighbors, friends, and family members. That is where the real story is…

TV media will go on and on all day long about how well things are, how things are short term, and how things will improve.  But that’s selling optimisim to the masses. Luckily we have the internet, YouTube, and blogs to really reinforce what we all see.

I don’t need a TV with scripted news anchors telling me something different than what is actually happening out there.

Be careful, and good luck.

Well if you do a massive amount of Google searches and spend time reading as much as you can, you will find that the majority of the people DO say that the MagicJack works and is well worth the money.

So how do they do it?

Well – I can tell you.  Basically the MagicJack is cheap to manufacture when you buy them in the hundreds of thousands.  The cost of the hardware, wholesale wise, is fairly cheap.

The problem begins with:

a) Marketing

b) Support

c) The network the needs to convert this internet traffic into analog phone line calls, where these calls are placed via the internet and converted over to the regular phone lines..

Now, to be honest, I really do not have any insider information whatsoever. I am approaching this issue from a completely logical standpoint.

If “I” was the MagicJack people (which I am not)… and I wanted to get my device into the hands of many, I’d offer it at a break-even cost… Sell as many of them as I could in Year 1 and Year 2…

Then in Year 3, I’d raise the cost and go into profitability.

What does this mean for the consumer? They’re getting a great deal in the ramp up stage.

What could this mean for MagicJack if I am right?  Well they are building a very nice little consumer empire, which could result in lots of future profits…

So who is behind the MagicJack, where is it going, and why is it so cheap?

Well Dan Borislow is named the inventor of MagicJack.  He’s not new to the Telephony business. However, he is a Thoroughbred RACE horse owner and breeder, which means he’s got a gambling streak to him.   So he must be betting the odds that MagicJack will make it to the finish line, and be a winner.

Now I found a good article about MagicJack’s Network that explains the behind-the-scenes technology that has to exist to make MagicJack work. It also mentions that $17 MILLION DOLLARS has been invested in MagicJack.

So Today’s cheap offering, and service quality is great for consumers.

BUT! Expect the near future (next year, or the following year) to yield some surprises.

So while its cheap, go get a MagicJack and enjoy.

Just get ready for new announcements coming your way, once the user base hits the numbers they are anticipating.

Not every great deal lasts forever.

Actually they are referred to as being called the “new enhanced drivers licenses“.

What I do like about them, is that they will all be standardized now, so having a fake ID for young kids trying to obtain alcohol will be that much more difficult.

However, I don’t know much about RFID in identification. For instance, can retailers read this RFID chip so that I will no longer need to carry a loyalty card? I can just swipe my drivers license at the cashier to get my bonus points when I make a purchase?

RFID technology is quite exciting in many ways. I love the new benefits of it.

However, I am also worried about the unknowns out there – what happens if RFID technology is used the wrong way? For instance, say that I owe a large Corporation money on my department store credit card, which is linked to my drivers license RFID chip?

… and then I walk into any chain of that department store to make a cash purchase, and upon entering the the store, their internal security gets alerted and I’m told that I am not welcome to shop unless I pay my outstanding bill.

Or what about unfair discounts – where some lucky RFID people get discounts, and others do not, based on a single swipe of their new drivers license at the checkout? Could this lead to new types of fraud by internal staff and white collar crime?

Could we do away with Debit and Credit Cards if we have an RFID chip on our drivers license? Does this mean that the 32 plastic cards I keep in my wallet can be reduced down to one?

If yes, I see the benefit in that..

But what if these large retailers start creating treaty alliances with one another, and start sharing customer information? Or is that happening already?  I suppose it is on one level with credit bureau agencies - but what if new RFID agencies pop up, and sell consumer information in a similar way?

I guess we’ll all find out soon enough. RFID is no longer a choice when the Government demands you have an RFID chip to drive an automobile, cross a country border, etc.

By law, you must be “RFID” enabled — so hopefully we all have common sense and keep this a nice thing for the people, and nothing worse comes out of it.

The way our lives are now, we’re basically RFID in paper form, which is coverted to computers. Everytime you’ve filled out an application, given your name, your birthdate, or your mailing address — it’s on a computer somewhere, for some purpose.

The only difference now, is that when you walk into a store, or a government building, based on the RFID chip you are carrying, they will be instantly notified you are there.

From what I hear, these RFID chips can be detected from as far as 50 feet. Which means as soon as you park your car, the front entrance of the building could know you’re on your way in..

Pretty neat technology. So many uses.

Surely they must have government law and legistlation that regulates the use of RFID right? If so, I haven’t heard anything about it.  I know that disclosing my Social Security Number is optional to me in many circumstances. But what about unauthorized reading of my RFID chip without my consent?

I’m interested in hearing your comments. Anything related to the new enhanced drivers licenses, or new passports, or the RFID technology in general.

I gave this contest entry a thumbs up… Must have been hard to get the dog to do the stunts.

Then there is the stevia plant. A natural herb, quite similar to sugar cane, again, with very little calories, totally natural, but it’s not readily available.

So which do you prefer?

An engineered, scientifically produced chemical named aspartame as a sweetener that is widely accepted?

OR

A natural herb, that hasn’t received the merit from the government yet, but beats everything hands down, as a low calorie sugar substitute?

The choice seems pretty obvious to me.

The question is… “why is there a choice?”

Ok, YES, YES, and YES….

1) In Poker you can legally bluff
2) In Poker you can get lucky

Here’s the thing… No one likes to play against people who have very little knowledge of the game. People who use little strategy, or skill. People who work on the premise “my wallet is larger than my poker skill” and then flood these online poker rooms..

It completely takes the fun out of the game.

It is akin to a Dart Tourney for money, where some idiot walks in, pays the entry fee, and covers his eyes and throws darts and accidentally constantly hits triple 20, or the bullseye. It’s an insult to the skilled players of the game, if someone who has more money than brains, wins by sheer luck.

Let’s say we train an ape to say “call, check, raise and fold” and follow the appropriate chip guestures. Meanwhile the ape has no knowledge of what the CARDS mean.

The ape ends up winning the WPT (World Poker Tournament) by sheer luck.  Do we salute the ape, and have a new respect for poker because an ape happened to get the right cards at the right time?

Let me give you an example of a poker hand I experienced tonight “online” for REAL MONEY:

The fish or donkey has 2, 3 suited of spades. 

Blind is $1/$2

He’s first to act, and calls $1

It goes all the way around, someone raises to $2, he calls…

It goes all the way around, 5 players in the pot.

Flop comes out, 10 hearts, 9 diamonds, 5 spades

Ok, this donkey no longer has a flush draw…

He also has no straight draw…

He also has not made a pair of any sort…

The pot is at $10, first person bets $6.00, second person folds, third person folds…

It eventually gets to him with 3 players in the pot, he CALLS with nothing at $6

This isn’t even a good bluff, because, he has absolutely no “outs”.

Fine, the moron calls, a 2 comes up on the turn.  Pot is huge now, like $28

The aggressive player bets $25.00, second person folds, the moron calls $25.00

Pot is massive now, its $53.00

River is a 3… the moron makes 2 pair… the aggressive player checks, the moron checks…

The aggressive player had 10’s…

The moron made 2 pair on the turn & river, but sat through the heavy betting with calls & checks.

That’s not bluffing… since there was no raising by the idiot.

He rode out the cards to the river with complete “junk” with a 3% chance of winning the entire way.

So  what fun or skill does this person bring to money games? NONE…

People would say “hey, we love donkeys and poker fish like this… eventually they break and we get their money”

True..

But the odd night you don’t — and it’s those nights that are hard to handle. Its very frustrating to play Texas Holdem Poker with people who do not understand the game, and win by sheer luck on a constant basis.

It’s this concept that turns away many good players from seeing the game through and making the game what it really should be…

I lost money tonight, on three different tables “online” with idiots and morons like this…

I makes me not to want to go back, which means that unless your playing for high stakes online.. there isn’t any point to playing for less than $100 buy-ins. Which ruins the fun that online gambling could be..

So I’m just going to have to hit in-person tournaments I suppose.

I am just having a hard time dealing with my frustration.

The benefits are obvious… health and cost…

So how hard is it to quit smoking? It all depends on what angle you are looking at..

Is it possible to do it without “quitting aids”.. like nicotine gum, patches, etc, etc..?

Sure.

The best way to quit smoking is to have ONE SIMPLE CARDINAL RULE:

“Stop smoking 100%”

Sounds simplistic, but I really mean it..

1. No “can I have just a puff?”

2. No “I had a real bad argument, I just need one cigarette today.. only one”

3. No “Well if I cut back to only 1/2 a pack, its better than I was before”…

4. No “Ok, I’ll let myself have up to 4 cigarettes a day, after meals, that sort of thing, it’s better than where I was before”

5. No “I’ll only smoke when I drink. Or.. I’ll only smoke among friends”

6. No “I won’t buy my own, but if someone gives me one for free… well.. that’s a control in itself isn’t it?”

SEE.. the brain addicted to nicotine will play with your thoughts. I will rationalize a 100 ways from Friday why it is perfectly ok to have just that one puff, that one drag, that one cigarette.

Infact, your emotions will become so sensitive, and you’ll argue with people around you to the point your body cries out “just have a smoke. Look how bad things are right now. You have every right to have a cigarette at this particular point eventhough you quit”

Life is full of drama. But when you are detoxing from cigarettes and nicotene Your mind WILL play tricks on you. Your emotions WILL run wild…

Everytime I’ve managed to quit smoking, it has always been “cold turkey”, which simply means, no aids of any sort. I simply stopped putting a cigarette to my lips and inhaling.

People who don’t smoke, don’t understand. There are 3 types of people in this world:

1. Non-smokers. They have never smoked, have no desire to smoke, and secretly are disgusted and despise people who smoke. They don’t understand them, think it is a filthy habit, and “how could you”

2. Ex-smokers. These are a very specialized group of people that totally demand the upmost respect. They were non-smokers at one point. They also became totally addicted smokers. They understand both sides of the social coin that dictates that smoking is no longer socially or ethically acceptable.  Do they crave cigarettes to this day? YES THEY DO.. ALL OF THEM. There are records of people who have smoked for 10 years straight, then abstained and quit for 20 years, and then one day, out of the blue, something major in their lives has put them back to smoking again.

Ex-smokers, deserve respect.  They are fighting a day-to-day battle. Albeit, some of them are hurting more than others.. But any ex-smoker could be a smoker again tomorrow, given the right chance, opportunity, situation, and want.

Ex-smokers have it the worst of all 3 types.

Now the next type….

3. SMOKERS. These are people who are still smoking everyday. There are varying degrees of smokers. Some are up to a pack a day… some are only smoking on the weekends, or while drinking. Nonetheless, these are people who need to smoke cigarettes as part of their normal lives. The nicotine levels in their bodies dictate how often they smoke, and how much they crave to smoke.

Some of these people have quit before.. the majority have not – they have smoked all their lives, and it is the one daily routine that they have that they depend on..

Smokers who have tried to quit, and failed numerous times, have it the worst. They have not proven to themselves that they have the willpower to stop the addiction. They may admit to you, “yes, I want to, need to, and will do whatever it takes to… QUIT SMOKING”.

But some of these smokers just can’t. They’ve tried cold turkey, they’ve tried nicotine gum, they’ve tried the nicotine patch, and they’ve tried all kinds of aids.. nothing works.

———————

Unless you’ve been a smoker, successfully quit, and remain a non-smoker to this day, please don’t volunteer or suggest anything to these groups of people.

Tobacco, nicotine, tar, and 3,000 other chemicals (including formaldehyde) are prevalent in cigarettes today. It is a very ugly and terrible addiction, but the surprising part is that it is taxed and made legal by our government to this very day.

To understand who is writing this blog post. I will let you know that I had successfully quit smoking for 8 years. That’s a very long time. At some point I went on vacation where everyone smoked around me. After 8 years of abstaining I figured I had the strength and drive to be able to smoke with them, and stop when I returned home.

Guess what?
Nicotine back into my blood stream… the addiction came back just like I was a smoker yesterday.

After returning home from my “vacation” where I thought I could smoke and flirt with cigarette death and stop at my own will power.. I proceeded to keep my “high” going for another few months, to another couple years, buying cartons of cigarettes upon cartons of cigarettes.. until one day I realized “I thought I could stop it anytime, but everyday I wake up, I find myself saying “not yet”.. maybe tomorrow”.

Cigarettes, tobacco, and nictotine, are sister families to cocaine, heroine, and alcohol.

Don’t be fooled…

Cigarettes are legal

Cigarettes are $10 a pack or less, affordable in most families

Cigarettes will eventually kill or maim you

Cigarettes are a drug

Cigarettes are extremely difficult to quit

Cigarettes haunt ex-smokers everyday, and should eventually be contra-band.

The addictive nature of cigarettes is enough for people to realise that they do not smoke “because they want to”.. but instead, their bodies indirectly crave and tell them “you need another smoke”.

So what is left to be said?

It’s New Years Eve, and you want to make a New Years Resolution infront of family & friends. “I’m going to quit smoking” you say.

Well compare it to some other socially acceptable things, and see how hard, and stupid your statement sounds…

“As my New Years Resolution, I will only watch TV programs for 12 minutes and then change the channel”

DUMB? YES! HARD TO FOLLOW PERMANENTLY? YES

“As my New Years Resolution, I will only take 2 bites into any hamburger I encounter, and throw the rest in the garbage”

DUMB? YES! HARD TO FOLLOW PERMANENTLY? YES

“As my New Years Resolution, I will only sleep 3 hours every night, and eventhough I am still tired and sleepy, I will wake up and stay awake for the remaining 21 hours everyday”

DUMB? YES! HARD TO FOLLOW PERMANENTLY? YES

“As my New Years Resoluttion, I will no longer smoke cigarettes. The pleasure, relaxation and history I have smoking cigarettes as party of my daily life will now stop, like a train hitting the side of a mountain. My whole daily life will change, on a dime without any friction or problem.”

DUMB? YES! HARD TO FOLLOW PERMANENTLY? YES

Please understand what smokers who try to quit, go through. Their salvation and pain is only a toke or puff a smoke away. When your body cries out for a dose of nicotine, and it plays with your mind why “it should be ok, just this once” realize those that quit smoking cigarettes as a result of a  New Years Resolution are heroes to themselves.

Is quittting smoking important? SURE

Can everyone do it? DEFINATELY NOT

What is the problem? Unless you’ve been a regular smoker and quit for many years, there is no point in talking to you?

Are you saying that nicotine addiction is like cocaine addiction?

YES, YES, AND MORE YES!

Any addiction is exactly that — an addiction.

Stopping a cocaine, crack, or heroine addict is the EXACT SAME THING as stopping a nicotine addict. But it is never presented to people that way…  Illegal drugs seem so wrong, and the addictions that go with them make people seem like outcasts of society. But since tobacco and nicotine are legal, it is perfectly ok, for a daily smoker to have trouble quitting — thats’ our norm.

The crap they put in cigarettes — the prices they charge — the socially unacceptable situations — smokers that need to quit, want to quit, and want to do it cold turkey…

Find someone that is quitting cold turkey, pat them on the back, smile at them, and say…

“I really DO understand what you are going through”

That’s plenty it itself.

A New Years Resolution to quit smoking sounds noble and special.

But people who actually follow through, quit cold turkey, never smoke a cigarette ever again, and fight the daily thought of “maybe if I could just have one, I wouldn’t want another”

……….all of us would have a better understanding of one another……..

Smoking is more than an addiction. Smoking is more than a legal privilege. Smoking is more than an anti-social activity, and smoking is more than a health risk.

Smoking is an epidemic, and the victims of it should NEVER be shamed. The tobacco companies who profited from it, and had early research on it, should be shamed.

If you walk down a local street tomorrow — see someone puffing on a cigarette. PLEASE DO NOT hold contempt for that person, but the exact opposite. Have a feeling that you want to help. You are sorry that they are addicted, and you know how hard it is to break the habit of quitting smoking.

To be honest, New Years Resolutions sound prim and proper, but deep down inside.. all they are, are common day issues that people find a time and date to deal with them.

If anyone who has read this blog, from top to bottom, who is addicted to nicotine, who feels that they have someone out there understanding them.. who can quit cold-turkey without aids..

Can register, respond, and leave a comment..

I am totally interested in hearing from you. Typing all of this, feeling all of this, and saying it all, will not seem like a waste of time if I can reach that one person out there.

Are you that person?

What is a decoration thief thinking?

To put up holiday decorations, you are trying to give back to your community. So when someone with an evil spirit stomps on your lawn, rips out your decorations, and brings them home…

..and then puts them up on display on their home.. what are they thinking?

Here’s a pseudo interview with a decoration thief:

Interviewer: “So you walk around late at night and steal Christmas decorations?”

Thief: “Yup”

Interviewer: “why?”

Thief: “Cuz decorations are expensive, and they are cheaper to steal”

Interviewer: “why do you want these decorations?”

Thief: “So I can display them and feel good about myself”

Interviewer: “Can’t you feel good about  yourself knowing they are already being displayed on the owner’s house.. where everyone can see them?”

Thief: “I never spent much time thinking about that.. but I want to be the one that people think favorably about..”

Interviewer: “So what you are saying is, it is OK to rip off the community, steal and take, display what you’ve stolen, and when that happens, you feel good about yourself?”

Thief: “All I know is, they can afford the decorations, I can’t. I have the Christmas spirit too… So those that can afford it, can replace whatever I take..”

Interviewer: “How do you know they can afford to replace what you’ve taken?”

Thief: “Well I assume. Well I don’t know.. Actually well I am just guessing they can..”

Interviewer: “Isn’t the spirit of Christmas about giving? About sharing? About joy? In what way are you a part of that when you steal from someone on the street and fabricate your own display knowing you’ve caused disheartment to someone else?”

Thief: “I never paid attention to any of that. I want decorations, I see people that have decorations. I can’t afford decorations, and they are easy to steal. Will you please stop appealing to my sense of right and wrong, and STOP asking these questions?”

Interviewer: “Does it bother you when I ask you to account for  your actions?”

Thief: “Yes. I saw an opportunity, it seemed right at the time. I don’t want to think about my behavior like that…”

Interviewer: “Do you realize you’re hurting people, cheating your self, and acting like a moron who doesn’t know the difference?”

Thief: “I have nothing more to say, other than.. ok, FINE. 5 minutes of thinking about this, I won’t do it anymore..”

..and there you have it…

When a thief steals your holiday decorations, there is no thought in it. They see decorations, those that they can’t afford.. they think the victim must be able to afford it, and stealing is perfectly fine. But when you drill down the concept to the thief, they buckle quickly and realize their mistake.

This is the world we live in.. stupid criminals stealing and taking without realizing what they are doing..

Do you find it tastes better? It could be anything, a peanut butter sandwich, a grilled cheese, or a steak. Food prepared with “love” in mind, seems to taste better. Why is that?

Simply put, when someone that cares about you cooks, and prepares a meal for you.. there is more care taken to the dish. You won’t get burnt toast. You won’t get burnt food. You’ll get carefully seasoned and prepared food, because the person cares…

When you cook with love, you are actually going that extra mile to prepare it right.

Now, we’ve all eaten in grease pits before. Where they slop the sandwich or burger together, with “time” (instead of love) being their momentum.

Rushed food never tastes the same as food make with love.

(Similarily, frozen food NEVER tastes the same as fresh neither).

So at this point, you might be asking, or wondering.. What is my point? Why are we talking about food prepared with love… ?

Quite simply: someone has to talk about it. It happens everyday, and no one seems to recognize it as being something special.

A grilled cheese is two pieces of bread, butter/margarine and cheddar cheese fried in a pan…

BUT NOT when it is made with love…

Then it is, two pieces of carefully selected bread. butter/margarine spread thinly, and to the corners… Cheddar cheese that is freshly sliced, or even if it is processed, it is placed on the bread in such a fashion that it completely covers the bread slice. The sandwich while it cooks is watched like a hawk. If the pan gets too hot, it is flipped over. When you make grilled cheese with love, there is NEVER any burning. When it is ready, you cut it carefully and perfectly, and you serve it right away.

…and then there is the psychological effect by the “eater”…

When someone you love walks toward you, with something they cooked or created for you… Smiles and says here you go “hunnie”….

It’s that magical angel dust in the air, that turns a sandwich into something spectacular. Someone spent the time and effort into cooking for you… with love… How could you not appreciate it?

Now some of you may think I’ve beaten this topic to death.. and to those of you that say that, I have one thing to say…

“Food prepared with love” isn’t something I came up with.. we’ve all heard it before. Perhaps I’m the first one to analyze and talk about it openly and publically?

Last night was John Beck’s program on how to buy houses worth 180,000 for as little as $300

While I’m watching, they are flashing nice looking homes on the screen, and coming up with numbers and testimonials. “I bought this house for $427.65!”

They go on and on… Now while it all sounds amazing.. at some point, a logical person has to go..

WHAT IS THE CATCH? Surely if homes worth $180,000 can be bought for $300 and THESE INFOMERCIAL people know that..

What the heck are they doing advertising how to do it? Surely they would be running around buying as many of these homes by themselves and turning profits.

Well think about that … think about it again.. and then again…

Why would anyone pick up a phone and order the program without some advanced research? I can tell you why. People watching the program late at night are overtired, some have been drinking, people’s minds don’t work right and they just go “ah, what do I have to lose”

Well today, I did some research, and YUP, there is a RipOffReport about this:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/177/RipOff0177451.htm

So people, if you are reading this blog right now.. It means YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET.

..and if you do have access to the internet — whenever an infomercial advertises something you might be interested in, DO SOME RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET BEFORE ORDERING!

Simple concept. Yet millions of people don’t think. They pickup the telephone and grab their credit card without doing any research whatsoever. The excitement of watching something on TV that you want to be part of, confuses the logical part of your brain.

Have you ever been taken advantage of by an infomercial? If so, let’s hear your story. Be honest — many of us can learn by hearing about any misfortunes you might have experienced.

Now we all know how commercialized Christmas has become, but isn’t there any reasonable etiquette on how early is TOO early to start playing holiday music in stores?

I know some people like to do their holiday gift buying early. That’s fine. But atleast get Remembrance Day and Thanksgiving Holidays out of the way first.  How are we suppose to remember our fallen war heroes while Jingle Bells and Silent Night are playing over the mall’s speakers?

I mean, why not start advertising Easter now? Perhaps easter  bunny chocolate should hit the shelves in November?

To be honest, the over commercialization of the Christmas holiday season is what ruins the holidays for many of us. By the corporations pushing the season down our throats, they are taking the true fun and spirit out of it.

By over advertising, over marketing, and over promoting — it’s caused a lot of us to turn into holiday scrooges who end up turning our backs on the whole concept.  The “specialness” of hearing Christmas music at that time of year has worn off of me.

If I hear Jingle Bells while snow is falling, a week before Christmas, I’m joyeous and happy.

If I hear Jingle Bells a few days before Remembrance Day in November, I’m pissed off, annoyed and upset.

How do you feel?

So.. For the extra bucks, what are we all expecting?

First of all, we expect that our dinner will be cooked to perfection. Someone trained and qualified to cook our food the way it should be, without burning it. Someone who knows how to season the food correctly, and for the ingredients to be fresh.

Secondly, when our beverages start to run dry, whether it is coffee, tea, soda pop, or even just plain water. Never should we spend almost $20 a person to go “out” and eat, and sit there stupidly parched during our meal.

When you go out and dine, which most of us only do only once or twice a week… You want it to be a favorable experience. After all, you are expected to pay triple the amount of what it would have cost you to prepare the meal yourself. Plus you have taxes added… not only that, but you are expected to tip your server.

What can ruin the whole night, is to have a lazy waiter or waitress, who lets your water glass run dry. Who serves you your meal and then doesn’t come back 5 minutes later, to ask you if there is anything else you need, or if everything is OK.

Today that happened. Four of us went out to a golf & country club, for an “elite” breakfast brunch buffet. Each plate cost $25. The food was great. The atmosphere was great. The service “sucked” which basically ruined the whole meal.

There is nothing worse than enjoying a cup of fresh coffee with your meal, and then finding yourself looking all over the place for your waitress — trying to make some eye contact which basically says “hey! I’d like a refill of coffee please.. is there any chance you can pay attention to the customers in your section?”

So now we get to the concept of the ultimate gratuity or tip that the staff is expecting.

But if my coffee cup has to go empty, and I have to search around like a scavenger for a coffee refill.. What does that say about how well the waiters & waitresses performed?

Keeping your dining customers happy is quite simple. Insure that their beverages are filled. Insure that their food is digestable and is fine.. and best of all..

Wear a smile and be attentive, whether or not it is in your job description.

When people are dining out and spending hard earned cash to enjoy a meal at an expensive restaurant… They don’t want much. They just want to be noticed and treated as if they “matter”.

Out of 10 times I’ve dined out, I can safely say, its is only about 50% of the time, do I have a good experience, whether it is food quality, freshness, and taste — or simply service by the wait staff. That is a very bad ratio.

If the food service industry did its job, 90% of the time, people would be totally content with dining out, and only 10% of the time would anyone ever have any complaints.

Let me know about your dining out experiences..

What about pinball? Any of you remember that? The big shiny stainless steel ball that rolls around the lit table, and you slap it with the flippers, one on each side?

Or is this something only 35+ year old people remember?

Tonight while picking up a pizza, I saw two pinball machines. That use to be the standard fare before. Visit a pizza joint, play pinball while you wait.

It’s actually a lot of fun.

Pinball is something that seems to have been lost in this day and age. The thought of playing something mechanical, yet electronic, based on skill seems to have been lost.

Today I had about 15 straight minutes of fun, for less than a dollar.

Even bowling costs more..

Maybe it is time to re-introduce pinball into our daily lives. Its a fun game, it just has been shunned over last 10 or so years, because so many new things seem to have replaced it.

But guess what? Nothing compares to pinball, we just need to stop forgetting about it.