Something I’ve Observed: An introduction…
I was so inspired by the Simple Thought series that I had to introduce something similar, but not as informational and news worthy. “Something I’ve Observed” is more of a snapshot of something currently in my head that is either bugging me, bothering me, or enlightening me.
Simple Thoughts are more thought provoking, insightful, and are things that makes you go… Hmmm. Something I’ve Observed is a mere spewing of non headline news but needing to be blogged on.
What a week of news stories!!!
Last week might have been the most news worthy of the year or last couple of years for that matter. Carrot Top is still…well…Carrot Top, the post-election rioting in Iran calmed down a bit, we lost Ed McMahon, Jon and Kate filed divorce papers, it was unveiled that Steve Jobs had a liver transplant, Albert Pujols belted 6 RBI’s against the Royals in one game!, we lost Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett within hours of each other, and just this weekend Billy Mays (the OxiClean guy) is found dead by his wife Sunday morning.
Oh, on the plate for this week, American troops are pulling out of Baghdad, Bernie Madoff gets 150 years in the pokie, and I need to fix one of our garage doors which came off the track.
In Memoriam…a sad week in Hollywood
Daly’s new golf pants must of blinded the tunnel and it didn’t see his bus coming!
My buddy John is in the news again but this doesn’t sound like something he did on purpose or involved a ton of liquor or a casino. What does that leave?
His bus running into a bridge of course!
Love the blue and white checks and the lap band surgery is noticable, would you agree?
Not sure what to think of Jon and Kate
The second and maybe final installment of the Jon and Kate fiasco. I feel bad for the family as a separation and probable divorce is not an easy situation to endure. I feel bad that this once seemingly happy couple (or maybe they weren’t) are now feeling the effects of a reality show covering every aspect of their lives.
My gut tells me that they weren’t a happy couple from the get go. Yeah, the stats are not good for marriages with multiple births, but many of those families don’t document it. Granted, multiple birth families do get press coverage but nothing like this.
TV and over exposure split this family up. America loved how Jon and Kate nipped at each other week to week. She’s the controller, agenda maker…he being the kind of dopey dad getting picked on and laughed at by the kids and viewers.
It was a formula that worked well until cameras and real life caught up to the Gosselins. Obviously, true marital bliss was not present and the stress of a huge litter of kiddos plus pressures of keeping a TV show afloat became the tipping point of this relationship.
The ratings are high and they have made lots of money. I guess now they can enjoy it…separately
Simple thought #5 – Why don’t civilized countries with National health care riot for private insurance
Simple thought # 5
It occurred to me today that it is a little weird that all of these modern and civilized countries with socialized health care are not rioting for privatized medicine. You see, I hear all the time how bad socialized medicine sucks, and how people who have it hate it, so I find it weird that none of them, not a single one, have demanded private hospitals and private care as an option. I do admit that in some of the countries you can choose to pay a doctor or clinic to treat you, if you wish, but if the demand was truly high for these services there would be private hospitals popping up all over the place, and that is clearly not the case. Is it possible that nationalized health care is actually pretty good, and countries who have it, actually do a pretty good job of servicing the needs of the citizens?
Anyway, just a thought.
Simple thought #4 – Creating a North American Union
Simple thought #4
I am curious why we do not eliminate the borders between the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America. I say we give Americans and Canadians, as well as Mexicans full citizenship rights throughout North America. This accomplishes a few things that deserve discussion. First it eliminates the need for border patrol, except for coastal areas and a tiny strip of land in Panama. It would give Canadians and Americans the right to own land in Mexico, for the first time, which would create a huge stimulus event as Americans moved to the coast of Baja, and the Gulf areas. Basically every person living in the Midwest could now afford coastal property in gorgeous coastal Mexico. Third, it would create a balance of labor, as poorer areas would have plenty of work available to them as the growth boomed in coastal areas for the next 10 – 20 years, and there would be a huge supply of homes available in the Heartland as agriculture booms and non-agricultural workers move to the new coastal communities.
Anyway, just a simple thought for you to ponder.
Oh, and did I mention between Canada, Mexico and the United States there are enough natural resources to supply all of our energy consumption needs for the foreseeable future.
North Korea…are you kidding me?
I know this is serious and the prospect of any country making nuclear threats is dangerous. The UN and the US are not dealing easily with North Korea and they shouldn’t. I don’t care how imperialistic the US has become in it’s dealings with other countries, there is no room in our world for a country like North Korea. These statements are not going to make people happy who may be of North Korean origin, simply I don’t give a crap.
This is 2009 and the people of North Korea are trapped in a madman’s grip. Relinquish this country of its governments brainwashing and free these people into the modern world. They are one of the few entirely state run economic systems, which means they are very isolated and restrictive in how they deal with international trade. The country has numerous resources for agriculture, however, their economic growth is small and stagnant due to being a complete totalitarian, government controlled economy.
The Korean War ended in the late 50’s , however, North and South Korea have never officially “not” been at war. Tourism for South Korean and US residents is severely restricted as well. (pretty country but would you want to go now?) Tourists are accompanied by a state provided “chaperone” and there are few areas for tourist to roam free in the country.
A country that stifles its citizens and media the right to protected free speech, even though it’s stated in their constitution. Good news is the only news allowed when referring to the current regime. People starve in what is an ongoing famine, but this is never allowed to be discussed. China and Japan have been providing aid to the country for years.
Health care is free but grossly inadequate due to limitation of funds and outside influence. The mortality rate in this ocuntry is one of the highest in the world. They have been called the “most brutalized people in the world” because of strict government influence and punishment (work camps, capital punishment, etc).
I know there are “more visible” regions in Africa worse than North Korea when it comes to famine and lack of medicinal resources, but North Korea is a self containing government which has great potential to be a productive, thriving country in the modern era. The capacity for great economic, industrial growth, and a thriving agricultural foundation because of vast natural resources. However, military and regime come first.
So…why does this seem like old news and now suddenly it means something to me? Because, on the surface, the tactics of this country are laughable. They play manipulative games of “give me what I want or else” with the world. North Korea in the news didn’t interest me, it was just another reference to a country that meant nothing to me.
What used to be a cat and mouse game is now a regime who seems to have the balls (or foolishness) to bark with the big dogs. I once laugh now I worry. I hear nuclear come up in conversations I start to listen. I now know how bad these people have it and they truly don’t know it, because they know no other way of life.
I am sure someone is thinking “Hell, having Bush as President was just as bad and our country is the most crooked in the world” Well, you go ahead and think that as you sip your latte, browse your blog of the morning in the corner coffee shop, bagging on your chosen politican of the month. Meanwhile, there is a little country out east that wants to blow up the world and doesn’t feed its people.
Dunk that in your hot cocoa next time you think the US is a rotten place to be.
Simple Thought #3 – What makes Pot worse the Alcohol
Seriously, I am just curious why one is considered a gateway, and the other is consider a right of passage? I think people would be much better off with marijuana being legalized, because the only gateway I see, is in order to by marijuana you have to do business with someone who more than likely sells other drugs, so the barrier to entry is reduced.
Just a thought.
Let’s connect through our social network…but I’m only keeping you around for seven years then you’re gone!
Another installment of my rant and raves about all things related to Facebook and the like. 
Interesting (but kind of worthless) studies being done on friendships and social networks. This one does fascinate me simply for the fact that I think it rings pretty dang true. Most of us have long lasting friendships that we cultivated in grade school, junior high, high school, or college and for the most part, those relationships are still in tact. They might be strained by distance, family, or career paths, but they remain solid in some fashion.
The researchers found that most people’s “close” network of friends changes approx every seven years and those people are replaced by new ones. However, let’s not forget that in those social groups still remain the long lasting friendships that never go away, like I mentioned earlier.
I tend to look at this study in the context of social networking sites and the impact they have on our life at that particular moment in time. Most would agree that social networking is dictated by a combination of factors: your past, your location, your interests, your lifestyle, and your job.
What’s the first thing that most people do when they open a Facebook or MySpace account? You immediately attempt to locate all of your “real friends”, either those from the past or those you just met. Instantly a chain reaction is kicked off in which you add everyone to your list.
Next, you analyzed those you work with and determined who met the “cool factor” enough to be added to your friend list as well. I did it and I know you did too. Only a handfull of those “professional based” friends will still be around over the years, some will become good friends, some will become references or your professional “posse” I like to call it. Some you will never see or talk to again…and yet they were a “friend” at one time. Kind of a loose, interpretation of a strong word and it’s thrown around very easily.
Are you necessarily the best of friends with all of these people?, of course not. The same holds true for trusted co-workers, band mates, buddies on your softball team, etc. There is a sense of collective good feeling to reach out to those who you share a past (or a present) with. But, we all know the virtual connection is a fleeting one. You allow this person to penetrate your social network just enough to share a few stories, maybe a referral for a job, make some happy hour plans, or swap old stories of the past until you run out of things to say. 
The act of adding friends in the virtual world is dictated by the context in which we meet those people. Just one year ago, half of the people in my social network (if you call it that) didn’t even exist to me. Take a step back and look at who comprises your social network…are they co-workers?….family?….neighbors?…direct reports?…your current manager?…a friend of a friend of a friend who walked your sister’s dog one night last July?
Your social network is expendible and the members come and go like the wind. You change jobs, you move, your family situation changes, you meet someone new, you part ways with someone. All of these “conditions” dictate the make up of who your friends are at any given moment.
As you’ve guessed by now, I can be a little cynical of social networks and what their real value is. It is not a cyanisim grown out of hatred or despise for the world of social networking, but rather based on experiences or the experiences of other people I know. I have seen people brought to tears by messages left on social sites, I have seen people misinterpret something causing anger. I have seen people say things on a social site of which most people would not have shared with anyone had it not been for the website they were on. I have seen people alienate themselves in jobs based on a purely accidental posting of something better left unsaid.
I have grown to respect the social network because it can serve a purpose, some of which are heeded warnings. Do keep in touch with trusted co-workers even after you leave a job, do keep in touch with people who you share a history with, do keep in touch with people who are real world friends, and do use a social network for the benefit of the common good (a charity, a cause, etc). Don’t use social networking to air your dirty laundry, don’t use social networking to spread hate and scorn for others, don’t use social networking for your own personal or professional gain and not recognize the actual “person” who made it possible (this applies more to LinkedIn), and finally don’t use social networking as a tool to elevate your virtual status among your peers…because frankly you don’t have a status, none of us do.
When I have examined my own Linked In network, my Facebook network, my “real world” friends (some of which also live in the virtual world with me), I come to some conclusions.
My conclusion is a simple one, social networks are 5% useful, 5% virtual voyerurism, and 90% pure, internet based entertainment (as is this rant although I tried to infuse some truths).
The only internet past time that conquers social networking is PORN.
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