Liberals treat dogs like people, Conservatives treat people like dogs

Friday, January 6

The yutes of America

last fall this cute little kid came to my door. He said he had a dog business and would pick up our dog poop (we have two large dogs) for $5 a week. I thought it was the greatest thing. Heck, I would have given the kid $5 just for taking the initiative to knock on doors and present himself. See, when I was his age (late single digits) I used to mow lawns and do yardwork for cash. Anyhow, it was a deal and he came around every weekend and picked up the dog business. Problem was, he didn't have a pooper scooper. We have a nice one, so we leant it to him. No big problem.

Over time, he came less often. It came to a boiling point today though. He came by and 'took care of the business'. I gave him a five spot, and asked if he would be sure to drop the business in the garbage bin on the side of the yard. His reply was 'I'll need a bag, then'.

It took me a moment to grasp the insanity of this plea. "I'll need a bag then". I then asked him what had he done with the dog doo. He said he put it in a pile in the yard. This means I would have to go out and scoop the crap into a bag myself, and drag it to the garbage myself. So what service is he providing? He comes over, uses MY pooper scooper, uses MY bags, then leaves the shit in the yard. This kid has future union leader written all over him!

Wednesday, January 4

Friday Sevens

Today we have a special guest questioner asking person thingy, the Rev Ed. Last week's question got Ed thinkin' about Karma. He posed some specifics to us, and we will tackle them right here and now. That being said, let's roll!

1. If you perform a good act, but with bad intentions (i.e., you're angry or hateful about doing it), does it still count as good karma?

It does not benefit your personal karmic account, no. Accidentally doing good simply doesn't cut it. God knows the difference, and so do I.

2. If there's an accidental good outcome to something you did, can you count it in your karma column?

Nice try, but this is a retread of question 1. The answer remains no.

3. What about white lies? Is it bad karma to say something you don't mean--knowing that it's nicer than what you were thinking?

I don't believe lies generate much karmic force one way or the other. White lies, like 'gee, that was a terrific dinner' do not generate negative karma... for their intentions are genuine (if a bit shallow). Frankly, I am giving you permission to white lie your little heart out. You will be judged by your actions and intent, so go volunteer for a charity and you wouldn't have these dilemmas.

4. Is a bad intention at all on the same level as a bad act? (For example, is thinking "I'd like to see him killed," on the the same degree as 'pulling an MJ?') Christianity, and some criminal statutes seem to think so, but I don't happen to agree.

no. Many times a day I want to hurt someone out of frustration. Thinking these things is natural. How you seperate yourself from the animals is whether or not you act on them. For example, quite often I'd like to see someone nekkid. That is natural, it is how the species survives. How I take the high road is by not playing grab ass, since I am married and all. There is an old saying 'there is no such thing as a selfless act'. Now that is a heavy one we can address later. One last thing, Christianity is total horseshit. If you want to follow a path, I strongly encourage Buddhism.

5. Is there truly such a thing as an accident?

yes, not everything is fate or destiny. Einstein and Hawking differ on this one, actually. Albert Einstein said 'god does not play dice with the universe'. Steven Hawking said 'god does indeed play dice with the universe'. Not sure what that means, cause I can't really read. However, I think it means the crippled guy like craps and possibly has a gambling problem.

6. Is it good/bad to stick up for yourself, knowing that doing so will inflict harm on others?

It is imperative for you to defend yourself, especially if you believe you are defending right action. For details on this, reference the 'eightfold path'... a buddhist teaching that encourages only actions which are not destructive. That being said, how will defending yourself inflict harm on others? Are we talking straight self defense? Frankly, you are clearly holding back. Without all of the details I can't give you much more info. Know this, you know what is right... do that. Integrity is what you do when no one is looking.

7. What obligation, if any, do we all have to look out for each other?

I bear that obligation very strongly. That is why I am a democrat, and that is why I volunteer for the Red Cross.

aw crap, I was right again

Apparently, the music touring industry is suffering because of higher ticket prices. Yup, the average ticket price keeps rising and it is driving away concert goers. Here is what they say:
But even with fewer tickets sold, the box office saw a more than 10 percent increase in gross receipts over 2004's total of $2.8 billion, thanks to a rare perfect storm of several major acts hitting the road at once, not to mention the continually creeping average ticket price for the top 100 tours, which rose to a record $57 last year, a nearly $5 increase over 2004. Either way, the declining sales and increased average ticket price were bad news for the industry — and consumers. "We've been seeing that trend for a number of years now and it's not good," said Bongiovanni. "It's great to shout about how much we grossed this year, but when you're doing it with less people, that doesn't bode well for the industry."
Hhmmm, it seems this issue has been escalating considerably since 2004. If only someone had the forsight back then to tell these greedheads they would be way more successful if they charged less. Oh wait, I did. Click here for my article from summer of 2004. Personlly, I stopped going to concerts for the most part.

Oh, you will see that there were some 'record sales' this year also. That is because U2 and Rolling Stones sold out every show with an average ticket price of $97 (and that is before ticketmaster fees... that $97 ticket was probably $140 after fees). Don't you even get me started on the whole ticketmaster thing, either. My mama taught me well. She said "Lono, if you can't say something nice about someone... then you must be talking about Ticketmaster."