CommenTerry

Random Rants and Raves #67

Play defense with caution; play offense with reckless abandon.       

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Some people have a special talent for remembering stuff that never happened.

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I 've found myself asking, "Why couldn't I have waited?" a lot more often than I have asked, "Why didn't I act earlier?" Therefore, I have modified my behavior accordingly. Now, whenever I'm in doubt as to whether to jump now or wait, I wait. 

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How people act during setbacks or when things don't go their way speaks volumes about their true character. Pouting, whining, or acting like a sore loser or bad sport creates a very negative impression and most people consider it a major turnoff. 

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Have you ever acted very quickly to avert a potential collision with someone else, only to have them go on their way, totally oblivious to the near miss? I think we all could identify with that situation. It makes me wonder how many times someone (including God) has done similar things for me while I was completely unaware. 

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A man who had owned a house with an in-ground swimming pool once told me following: "The second happiest day of my life was the day I bought a house with a swimming pool; the happiest day of my life was the day I sold it!"

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No one should ever be required to provide an explanation or give an accounting for someone else's (other than one's own minor child) mistake or intentional misconduct.

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When you drop a small item on the floor and your eyes and hands can't find it, your feet eventually will.

American Culture's Conflicting Messages

Very often, American culture sends out conflicting messages. However, many of us probably never notice it. I'd like to very briefly discuss just two of the many instances of these kinds of conflicting messages.

We often hear the popular admonition, "just be yourself." However, at times, we are also told that we should change our ways, improve ourselves, and/or rid ourselves of certain bad habits. If I'm really to "be myself", then I'm going to act just the way God made me - warts, imperfections, character flaws, bad attitudes, and all. If I'm going to change or improve in any way, then I can't be myself.

Pithy sayings like "age is just a number" and "you're only as old as you feel" have been and continue to be repeated over and over again in our culture. However, we are also told that age is a tangible number that matters quite a bit, so therefore we shouldn't wait until we're too old to trying to accomplish certain things. That "stay in school" public service announcement depicting an older lady futilely attempting cheerleader exercises and painfully screaming, "oh! oh! oh!", is a prime example of this. Also, I doubt that most parents would agree to let their 16-year-old daughter date a 30-year-old man, even he told them, "I know I'm 30, but I feel like I'm just 16."

The Serious Is Now Trivial and Vice Versa

We are living in a day and age when the trivial trumps the serious. Moreover, when interest in the trivial has a majority status, at it has today, the trivial seems serious and the serious seems trivial. Sadly, many people have become so immersed in our popular culture that they no longer seem to know the difference.

Our obsession with the trivial is even reflected on the internet. For example, let's say I decided to start two blogs. If I made the topic of one of my blogs, "Terry's Bad Hair Day Chronicles", and the other, "Terry's World News Commentary", for which do you think I would have the easiest time finding an audience? The former, of course. The sad fact is that more people would be interested in reading about someone's bad hair days than would be interested in reading commentary about world events.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that people should be concentrating on serious issues all the time. We all need our share of diversions, levity, laughter, and plain old nonsense. But should we allow those things to take our focus away from the more pressing matters of our day?

Where Is the Violent Offenders Registry?

Like most everyone else, I want to know when a sex offender moves into my neighborhood. However, I think sex offenders have been unfairly singled out. I would also like to know when a murderer moves into my neighborhood or is hired to work in my office. I once worked with a guy who had murdered his brother many years earlier, while in a drug-induced state of mind. I didn't find out about his murderous past until long after he had moved away. I think everyone who has been convicted of a violent felony such as murder, voluntary manslaughter, and felony assault should have to register.

Random Rants and Raves #66

Here's a law every state should have on its books: Anyone convicted of murdering his or her spouse should not be allow to marry again.       

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What's the difference between pro wrestling and a three-ring circus? Answer: Two rings!

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I'm constantly finding new ways to accidentally inflict physical pain on myself.

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Whenever someone tells me something like, ".....that's the way it is in my book", I respond by saying, "I haven't read your book, I'm waiting for the movie!" 

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People who are violently aggressive and intimidating are the lowest of the low. Thieves are a close second. 

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Never type out anything when you can easily cut and paste it. The cut-and-paste method greatly reduces your margin for error and allows you to cheat Murphy's Law as much as possible. 

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Three-quarters of all "big" innings (four or more runs scored) in Major League Baseball involve walks, errors, and/or bad defensive decisions.

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I'm always amazed when I see a car parallel-parked with its front bumper less than a half an inch from the back bumper of the car in front of it. I could never park a car that close to another one without hitting it. Then again, I don't have eyes that can protrude out of their sockets, over the hood of my car, and down my front bumper like some people must have!

Random Rants and Raves #65

Now that Pluto has been eliminated as a planet from our solar system, they need to figure out a way to eliminate Neptune and leave Uranus bringing up the rear!       

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The amount of time between "where did it all come from?" and "where did it all go?" can be quite short.

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Have you heard about Lucy Nation? Never mind, she doesn't really exist. Say her name several times real fast and you'll understand what I mean. :-)

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There is a major difference between a cheapskate and thrifty person. People often get the two confused. A thrifty person will opt for a less expensive item as long as quality is not being sacrificed. A cheapskate will always look for something less expensive, regardless of the quality. 

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I'm now 45 years old and I can't recall ever "getting away" with anything significant. Either I've been caught by someone or the thing I thought I was getting away with came back to haunt or cost me in some way or another. 

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There is now a big internet-organized suicide kick going on among Japanese teenagers. It has happened in other places as well, but it is particularly widespread in Japan. Japan has a long history of holding death in high honor. It's no wonder the Japanese lost World War II. 

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Some people fault Martha Stewart for being impenitent. However, I don't see why she needs to apologize to anyone for anything.

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I'm not an expert on geology. I guess that's why the U.S. Geological Survey has never called and asked for my opinion!

Random Rants and Raves #64

Some things we are taught in Sunday school aren't necessarily so. For example, children are often taught that God needs them because their hands are the only hands God has and their feet are the only feet God has. That's complete baloney and, theologically, it doesn't make any sense. God wants all of us to obey Him, but He doesn't need any of us. If God had any needs or disabilities, He would not be God.       

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Tip O'Neill is credited for the saying, "All politics is local." I'd like to add a corollary: The more local the politics is, the more political it is.

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Never sneeze immediately after eating something chocolate. (Hint: it can get very messy).

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Now that Martha Stewart has been out of prison for a while, I hope she will become more successful than ever. It would be quite delicious to see all of the folks who hate her so much crying in their beer. 

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Many people don't realize that the stuff sold by fast food restaurants is actually hospital food. Yeah, if you eat enough of it on a regular basis, it'll send you to the hospital! 

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In my opinion, Oprah Winfrey is not a good role model. Any woman who is apparently living with a man she is not married to does not qualify in my book, regardless of her other achievements.

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Could anything be more inane than the stuff that currently passes for entertainment on daytime television?

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My local government just figured out a way to get more personal property tax money out of me. If I did that to someone, they'd call it extortion and send me to jail. Governments can do it with impunity.

Stupid Highway Logic

A gentleman recently wrote a letter to the editor of my local newspaper, complaining about the fact that the police usually do not ticket slower drivers who do not stay in the right-most lane on highways. He said that these drivers created hazards and caused accidents. However, he didn't seem to have a problem with speeders. He even stated that they were not particularly problematic and should not be ticketed unless they were speeding excessively (i.e., going 20 or more MPH over the speed limit).

With this attitude, he likely believes (though he did not specifically state it) that those who do the speed limit, but do no exceed it, are to be considered "slower" drivers and should remain in the right-most lane. Hmmm. So let me get this straight - those who drive in the left lane but refuse to break the law by exceeding the speed limit are breaking the law and should be ticketed? Those who break the law by speeding, but drive in the left lane, have a right to be there and are therefore not breaking the law and should not be ticketed? It sounds to me like someone's been on the road a little too long!

Random Rants and Raves #63

Just before most labor disputes are settled, both sides will declare that they've reached an impasse in the negotiations and that they seem to have irreconcilable differences.       

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I have found that people who don't think of themselves as being "cool" are much more approachable than those who do think of themselves in that way.

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The way I see it, employers should pay waiters/waitresses and other service-oriented personnel a fair and living wage instead having them depend on tips to make a living. Too many of their clients make a habit of stiffing them. I wouldn't mind paying extra for meals, etc. to see this change take place. Tips should then be reserved for those who provide extraordinary, or at least above average service.

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Anytime one uses a big or fancy word just for the sake of using it, that fact is usually quite apparent to everyone who is listening (or reading). 

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Most of us subconsciously emulate those whom we admire. 

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I have simple tastes when it comes to cars, homes, furniture, etc. If it's low-maintenance, it suits my taste! 

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The main reason most guys don't like to go to the doctor is because it is what I call an "ego-nipper." I define an ego-nipper as any experience that makes a guy feel weak, humiliated, and/or not in control. We don't like that kind of stuff. In fact, I'd rather eat a pound of "fertilizer" than to endure an ego-nipper.

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When you vote for the lesser of two evils, you're still voting for an evil.

Random Rants and Raves #62

Knowing some people are rooting against you is almost as much motivation for success as knowing people are rooting for you.       

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I've often heard people say that, if they knew they only had a short time to live, they would go out and live it up during their remaining time on earth. However, I wonder how many people would actually do this. I bet many of them would become so paralyzed by fear and depression that they wouldn't be able to do anything, even the things that they had been doing.

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Those who are pushing for more funding for HIV/AIDS prevention want to have things both ways. They claim that the only ways to contract HIV are through unprotected sex, intravenous drug use, and blood transfusions. However, they are now asking that everyone be tested annually for HIV. Why should everyone be tested if only a subset of the population is at risk?

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I once had a college government professor who had a bad habit of spitting when he pronounced words that began with the letter "c". No one wanted to sit on the first or second rows when he was lecturing on civil rights and civil liberties. :-) 

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I don't understand why local TV news crews feel the need to shove a microphone in someone's face right after one of their relatives has been murdered or has died in a tragic accident. Other than grief and/or anger, what kind of a reaction are they possibly expecting from that person? 

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Cop shows and courtroom dramas continue to thrive on prime time TV despite the fact that every possible plot line of those genres has probably already been exhausted. I'm amazed that people continue to watch them anyway.

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If you still do your taxes the old fashioned way like I do, always remember to wait until you have completed your form to your satisfaction before affixing the label. You wouldn't want to have to try to remove the label from a form that you have fouled up.

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The performance of any investment method will always be much better during "back testing" or "paper trading" than during actual practice.