Some people are so very enthusiastic and positive the entire atmosphere around them changes for the better, no matter the circumstances. I had the most pleasant opportunity to speak with just such a person yesterday. A veteran of a war, a cancer survivor, and now going through rehab due to injuries resulting from a hit and run accident. In other words, life hasn't always dealing him the best hand. I've known him for decades. He looks for the good in whatever he is faced with. I'm a pretty happy guy myself but I've also been known to have a down day from time to time although not very often. I have not experienced him having a down day in all the time I've known him. Even when I visited him in the hospital or anywhere for that matter. Yesterday this Aura of happiness he possesses just seemed to shine in a way I couldn't avoid commenting on it. He was bending and twisting and moving himself around to complete his physical rehab for the day. No doubt it was painful yet he often smiled during the whole program and made a few jokes along the way to boot. When he was done, we sat for a while and enjoyed some light blush wine until he was rested. I asked him to what did he owe his happiness? He answered immediately: "It's not that difficult to be happy! If something makes you unhappy, change it right away and get on with life. Change jobs, change friends, change where you live, stop drinking, start drinking, eat different food, whatever. But if anything keeps you from being happy, most of all I think that most of us should change our expectations. It's not that hard to be happy!"
So, there you are, the wisdom of a happy guy. I hope it helps you enjoy St. Valentine's Day. Which, by the way was started by letter writing from jail. Yeah, it was. Be happy!..................Joe
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
State of The Union evaluation
I feel it is important to listen to our distinguished president on matters concerning the future direction of this great country. Much of what is said, both now and in the past by other presidents is pure politics and rhetoric but some stuff is relevant to our situation. This time the theme was overtly populist in my opinion. Appealing to what voters want to hear instead of what our actual needs are but, truthfully I expected that anyway. There's always some of that but usually from a first term president, not one who has nothing to gain. Interesting and enlightening regarding what our leader hopes to achieve whatever his motives may be. I trust he is earnest and hopefully wants what is best for all of us. We'll see won't we?
I do have one comment regarding his choice of words. And I am paraphrasing here because I can't remember exactly but the idea is actual. 'The answer lies not in big government but in a smaller, frugal, less intrusive and more efficient government.' A little later he said, 'we are going to spend even more money on government jobs programs (read that, a bigger government) And we are going to raise taxes. (Read that, more debt, we get less money in our pockets after a hard days work.) That sounds to me like the same policy of taxing and borrowing and making more people more dependant (and obligated) upon the government. Haven't we been doing that for the past 5 years already? Has it worked to get us out of the recession or has it lengthened it? I'm not a good economic or political analyst so I am only speculating. But, it sure made me think about it. Funny how that is all I came away with.
I do have one comment regarding his choice of words. And I am paraphrasing here because I can't remember exactly but the idea is actual. 'The answer lies not in big government but in a smaller, frugal, less intrusive and more efficient government.' A little later he said, 'we are going to spend even more money on government jobs programs (read that, a bigger government) And we are going to raise taxes. (Read that, more debt, we get less money in our pockets after a hard days work.) That sounds to me like the same policy of taxing and borrowing and making more people more dependant (and obligated) upon the government. Haven't we been doing that for the past 5 years already? Has it worked to get us out of the recession or has it lengthened it? I'm not a good economic or political analyst so I am only speculating. But, it sure made me think about it. Funny how that is all I came away with.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Pet peeves in the middle of the night
What ever happened to visiting a library or grocery store to meet someone of the opposite sex? Right now there are so many dating sights on the Internet the advertisements overwhelm the average mind. No, I'm not on the dating scene. That's not the issue. It's the torrent of those advertisements and the claims they make that are a real pain in my book/backside. Some sights are brazenly racist while others appeal to a person's faith life or heaven knows what. One of those places goes so far as to speak for God! Hey folks, pay us money and find out who God wants you to be with. Huh? Who made them spokespeople for God? I guess I missed that part in the bible.
Who decides how many pieces or pounds or ounces of a certain product get put into a container?: Six donuts, Ten hot dogs, Eight hot dog buns, (that one really gets me.) Fifteen and a half ounces of peaches in a can, .05 ounces of seeds, and then the ever decreasing size of what once was a three pound can of coffee, now?: 869g, in other words 1lb, 14.6 ounces. Yup! That's how higher prices sneak up on us. Rolls of toilet tissue are made over an inch narrower than only a few short years ago. Truthfully I don't get that one, people are getting heavier with each generation whilst TP is getting smaller.
There is an attack being formed to eliminate cordless microphones and turn the airwaves spectrum over to telephones or TV or radio. I guess it'll be back to those megaphone things. Nah, not really. We will simply return to the days of yards upon yards of lines leading to microphones in churches, auditoriums and the sidelines of football fields. American Idol will have to have those people audition wrapped in wire and the TV news reporters will have thick wires hanging down their back. We did it all before, we'll deal with it again I guess.
The new health care system is a point of contention for a lot of people these days. Something that people have always aspired to get as a part of a good employment package or earn enough to afford is health insurance. Not everyone has health insurance and that is the issue being dealt with politically right now. Realistically what is being done, be it right or wrong is: some health care is being taken away from those that have it and given to those that do not have it. It's such a hot topic not because any of us want anyone to go without health care, it's because we really don't want any of the health care we worked so hard and sacrificed so long to obtain to be taken away. It's not that something shouldn't be done, it's how it's being done by people that aren't being affected by it.
Products being made in China are a source of contention to a huge number of folks that blame our high unemployment figures on imports. Not so long ago Chinese products were called junk and sold in novelty stores. The same with other imports. There was a time when Japanese cars were the laughing stock of the world of transportation. The manufacturers around the world felt no competition or need to be concerned. Today a Japanese car manufacturer sells more cars than any other manufacturer anywhere. And, the loyalty of it's customers is incredible. Thanks to the work and ethical standards of the Japanese they have an excellent standard of living. The Chinese are attempting the same climb to the top. Other countries are making stuff we want for cheap to get the money to make stuff we want that is higher quality than we make here. Is the answer to stop buying from them or is it to make some stuff they want cheap and sell it to them and use the money to make even better stuff and get even more money and everyone winds up happy. Is that possible? Besides, who is left around here that needs to do the manual labor when they are given for free what the people in most Asian countries have to work for? In India they make a new car that will sell for around $2000. Now that is something to think about. At one time the Americans were the innovators.
This pet peeve thing is what goes through a person's mind when he can't sleep I think. During daylight hours there are so many other distractions and input of information that one's innermost thoughts are suppressed to the point of boiling over into the night. That's where I'm at now. Not that any of this stuff is really any more important than anything you can think of. We all have our own perspective and opinions. All equally valid. It's just that at this particular moment everyone else is sleeping and I get a chance to express myself and air out my mind to make room for other stuff. It won't be long and the pressures of the day will take the place of anything as trivial as a pet peeve. Actually it'll be seven minutes from now. That's a whole nother story, er peeve of mine. Later.....Joe
Who decides how many pieces or pounds or ounces of a certain product get put into a container?: Six donuts, Ten hot dogs, Eight hot dog buns, (that one really gets me.) Fifteen and a half ounces of peaches in a can, .05 ounces of seeds, and then the ever decreasing size of what once was a three pound can of coffee, now?: 869g, in other words 1lb, 14.6 ounces. Yup! That's how higher prices sneak up on us. Rolls of toilet tissue are made over an inch narrower than only a few short years ago. Truthfully I don't get that one, people are getting heavier with each generation whilst TP is getting smaller.
There is an attack being formed to eliminate cordless microphones and turn the airwaves spectrum over to telephones or TV or radio. I guess it'll be back to those megaphone things. Nah, not really. We will simply return to the days of yards upon yards of lines leading to microphones in churches, auditoriums and the sidelines of football fields. American Idol will have to have those people audition wrapped in wire and the TV news reporters will have thick wires hanging down their back. We did it all before, we'll deal with it again I guess.
The new health care system is a point of contention for a lot of people these days. Something that people have always aspired to get as a part of a good employment package or earn enough to afford is health insurance. Not everyone has health insurance and that is the issue being dealt with politically right now. Realistically what is being done, be it right or wrong is: some health care is being taken away from those that have it and given to those that do not have it. It's such a hot topic not because any of us want anyone to go without health care, it's because we really don't want any of the health care we worked so hard and sacrificed so long to obtain to be taken away. It's not that something shouldn't be done, it's how it's being done by people that aren't being affected by it.
Products being made in China are a source of contention to a huge number of folks that blame our high unemployment figures on imports. Not so long ago Chinese products were called junk and sold in novelty stores. The same with other imports. There was a time when Japanese cars were the laughing stock of the world of transportation. The manufacturers around the world felt no competition or need to be concerned. Today a Japanese car manufacturer sells more cars than any other manufacturer anywhere. And, the loyalty of it's customers is incredible. Thanks to the work and ethical standards of the Japanese they have an excellent standard of living. The Chinese are attempting the same climb to the top. Other countries are making stuff we want for cheap to get the money to make stuff we want that is higher quality than we make here. Is the answer to stop buying from them or is it to make some stuff they want cheap and sell it to them and use the money to make even better stuff and get even more money and everyone winds up happy. Is that possible? Besides, who is left around here that needs to do the manual labor when they are given for free what the people in most Asian countries have to work for? In India they make a new car that will sell for around $2000. Now that is something to think about. At one time the Americans were the innovators.
This pet peeve thing is what goes through a person's mind when he can't sleep I think. During daylight hours there are so many other distractions and input of information that one's innermost thoughts are suppressed to the point of boiling over into the night. That's where I'm at now. Not that any of this stuff is really any more important than anything you can think of. We all have our own perspective and opinions. All equally valid. It's just that at this particular moment everyone else is sleeping and I get a chance to express myself and air out my mind to make room for other stuff. It won't be long and the pressures of the day will take the place of anything as trivial as a pet peeve. Actually it'll be seven minutes from now. That's a whole nother story, er peeve of mine. Later.....Joe
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