Do you share everything with your significant other? Is it assumed within your circle of friends that if you tell one member of the couple you tell “the couple?” Or, do you keep separate stores of information? To what extent is this true?

For those telling *us* information – please assume that the default behavior is that all information will be shared. That’s not to say that there isn’t an override. You’ve got a reasonably good chance that if you specifically give “don’t share this with anyone including your better half” instructions we’ll obey.

I’m just curious what other people do. This weekend I learned that (and here’s the shocker) not everyone is like me. GASP. Now I’m left wondering how out of the norm I am.

If I’m completely out of the norm, please forgive me; I’ve most likely shared your deepest darkest secrets. In any case, let’s have it. I want all the remaining three readers (apparently people stop coming if you, uh, stop writing – who knew?) to share.

It’s clear that, despite years of political correctness being shoved down my throat, I still have no idea what it really means to be a woman in today’s workforce. I suppose that it’s also possible that years of “everyone is equal” have caused me to lose touch with the reality that that’s not the reality.

So, why do I bring this up?

Well, the other day I broke down and bought myself a little avatar for MSN Messenger. I fashioned the little guy after myself. He’s got my tussled blonde hair. His eyes, like mine, pierce through you with their steely blue gaze. Heck, he’s even got my washboard stomach and bulging pecks. I, hoping to escape the confines of the keyboard, placed my virtual me on a nice sandy beach. All was idyllic, but soon I grew lonely. My wife, the love of my life, wasn’t there on the beach with me.

“I can remedy this,” I thought. “I’ll get her an avatar too.”

I went to work and fashioned a mate. I gave her a little tan. I slapped on a tasteful, yet still alluring, two-piece bikini. I put her in some high-rise flip-flops (she’s always trying to gain a little height). We were good to go. I proceeded to e-mail the digital pal to her.

“I can’t use this here,” she told me.

After thinking about it, I gave in and got her a different avatar. The new avatar is still spunky. Yet, my little guy is still lonely. It’s a little sad that she even has to consider the ramifications of her avatar choice. These, after all, are MSN-partnered cartoons. Sigh…..

This post is for the Seattle dwellers in the audience. If you’re not from Seattle, it’s possible that this post might still apply. However, it doesn’t come with the same “no-money back guarantee.”*

It’s March. That means that summer is coming. That also means that it’s time for you to play a little choose-your-own-adventure game here.

It goes something like this:

Would you like to:

1) Have a hot sticky miserable two months this summer.
2) Live in relative comfort.

If you chose 1, do nothing.

If you chose 2, buy a Fan/Window AC/Central AC/Anything!

It’s March. I’m warning you. You’ll have NO excuses. This summer I don’t want to hear excuses like “It’s really only hot for 7-10 days during the summer.” I don’t want to hear “They were out of fans.” Don’t even come to me with something like “The real-estate agent told me I didn’t need AC.” Lies! Lies! Lies!

I’m here to tell you that “IT WILL GET HOT.” You will need SOMETHING!

Oh sure – this summer you’ll be tempted to post something on *your* blog. You’ll be tempted to be surprised by this “unusually hot summer we’re having.” I WILL call you out on it. I will hunt you down. I’ll be reading blogs like mad looking for people who spread these lies. They must be stopped.

The weekend is coming. If all you think you need is a fan, go buy three. When the time comes, scalp the others. However, if it’s in your means to do more, DO IT. On day 45 of the “7-10 days of hot” you’ll be glad that you did.

That concludes this public service announcement. And please, spread the word.

*I accept no financial responsibility. However, I will allow you to comment here and tell me that I was wrong.

Apparently, according to my sister, once-peaceful nursing babies begin to develop teeth. This, according to my sister, can be the source of pain for many mothers.

While often a mother’s first reaction to her newly-carnivorous creature is to quickly remove the offending mouth from the food source, this isn’t the preferred solution. Much like a hungry fat man in danger of losing his Twinkie, babies quickly react. Lunge and chomp they do.

In an act of pure counter-intuitiveness the preferred solution is to push the baby’s head (specifically the nose) farther into the breast. This, in turn, causes the baby to seek air. Since the nose is covered, said baby unclamps the vice grips and gasps for air. The mother then removes the little biter.

The other day I encountered another counter-intuitive event. On Thursday my bagel shop’s bagel machine broke down. This left them without bagels. For those of you not aware of the economics of bagel shops, bagels are rather important. That day each patron was greeted with an “I’m sorry – no bagels today.”

When I entered the bagel shop the next day, I was happy to see freshly made bagels. I grabbed my standard and approached the counter to pay. The shop keep’s response was, “It’s on the house.” The previous day he lost a whole day’s sales and his response was (correctly) to lose another day’s sales. In theory, it’s easy to say it’s the right decision. In theory it’s easy to say that “relationships matter.” However, it’s much harder to do it in the real world. I say congrats to him!

So… what bits of counterintuitiveness do you have to offer? Did you punch a shark in the nose? Did you run in zig-zags away from the Alligator? Did you run straight at the bear only to figure out that that was the solution for a different animal?

OK – I swear that I’ll return to non-cell-phone-related posts soon. However, in the meantime I had to post this warning to all potential male SMT owners.

This phone could turn you into a woman.

Oh sure – all the features are quite male. It’s got the Bluetooth. It’s got the GPRS. It lets you sync your mail. It’s a powerful little beast. The problem is that it’s just so darn pretty that I didn’t want to take the plastic protector off of the screen.

For two and a half days I lived as a woman. I walked around with a ratty piece of plastic covering my phone. What’s worse is that I knew that I was doing it. I knew that the plastic was starting to look a little tattered. I knew that only women did this, but I didn’t care. The phone was so filled with testosterone that it forced me to find the estrogen inside of me.

Fear not; it’s off, and I’m making a full recovery. It was close though. I think that I’ll go spit now.

Everyone has been tempted. Perhaps some have even given in to the dark side. Oh, your intentions might have been pure when the process began. However, somewhere in those eight short steps between the cash register and the soda fountain you lost your mind. “I thought that I wanted water, but now Sprite sounds oddly refreshing... It would be such a bother to go back and pay. Oh well… They’ll never know.” And thus a criminal is born.

OK -- I admit it: I’ve done it too. I’ve arrived at the fountain only to realize that the water flowed from the same source as did the Raspberry Iced Tea (I’m allergic to raspberries). Oh sure, I could have returned to the register and bought a soda, but ‘it’s their fault’ I shouldn’t be forced to do that.

As such, I’m willing to overlook a slight gaff here and there. We’re all human. With that said, I watch a woman blatantly flaunt the good will of the world. She went too far.

There are rules dammit! Obviously the first is DON’T STEAL. However, it’s clear that she was willing to break that one. As such, we need to move to the subset of rules located in “Chapter 3. If you must steal…”

OK – so you’ve decided to take a dive into the wonderful world of crime. That’s great, but let’s not forget that even criminals follow a code. Below are the four basic rules for stealing soda with the “water” cup:

- No one between the ages of 40 and 65 should be stealing. You’re old enough to know better and young enough to not be living on SSI.

As I sat there I was amazed to see this middle-aged woman clad in her cheap Costco tennis bracelet and oversized sunglasses breaking each and every one of the rules. “Do you need anything else while I’m up?” She asked her husband before she strolled over to the fountain machine and refilled her Diet Coke. Oh the nerve…..

What is it about the phrase “No offense, but…” that seems to remove the shackles of good taste, polite behavior, and general respect for other people? In my life I’ve never heard the phrase “No offense, but…” followed by anything but, uh, offense.

For instance:

I’ve heard “No offense, but you need to get your ass on a treadmill.” I haven’t heard “No offense, but you look like you’re in great shape.”

People have the attitude that NOB casts this magical spell over the other party whereby the rudest, most offensive comments land like a shower of rose pedals. “Uh shucks… I AM morbidly obese. Thank you for noticing.”

“Really? You think my haircut sucks. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to help me. I don’t know what I would have done with the next eight weeks. I was going to go on with my life but now I have something to concentrate on while it grows out.”

The close sibling of NOB is, of course, “I don’t mean to be rude, but…” These people are great. They apparently are so proud of their innate ability to be rude that they must announce to the world, “This comes naturally. I’m not even trying to be rude and look – I am.” I would be much happier if people would say, “The next comment is rude, but…” Another option would be “I’m doing my best to be rude so..here goes..”

Some might call me nosey; I like to think of myself as observant. The bottom line is still the same: if you’re doing it in public, I’m probably watching. I’ll eavesdrop on conversations (sometimes I’ll even join in). I’ll look at what you’re wearing. I’ll watch what you’re buying. I’m not a peeping tom, mind you. I won’t stand at your window and I won’t listen from a hidden location. There is nothing nefarious in my actions. I just don’t buy into the whole "avert your eyes" theory. I refuse to let you shift the burden of your privacy onto me. Yammer away on your cell phone and I’m not going to mentally chant “LA LA LA LA” so that you can have a private conversation in public.

Well… the other day I was at the grocery store buying dinner. The guy behind me came in and placed a huge box of Tampons on the conveyer belt. He then proceeded to look intensely at his shoes. Either he had the most interesting pair of New Balance Cross Trainers on the face of the earth OR he was trying to avoid eye contact with the non-feminine-hygiene-buying population.

For a split-second I was filled with an empathetic embarrassment. Somehow society had brainwashed me into this Pavlovic response. Why exactly is it embarrassing for a man to buy these things? I would think that it would be much more embarrassing for a woman to buy these products. It’s not like I was sitting there thinking, “Poor bastard – it’s time for him to flush out his uterus.”

Women, on the other hand, might not want to announce the current status of their womb -- and god forbid that they deal with an idiot checker and show a little irritation only to hear the under-the-breath mumblings of others, “It’s that time.”

Hoping to relieve his discomfort, I initiated conversation, “Having your period?” Shockingly this did nothing to ameliorate his discomfort. I was greeted with an icy stare and a inaudible response. Oh well... I paid for my food and with a hearty wave I said goodbye, “Until next month!”

There is no greater question than “Why?” Oh sure – there are the big ‘Whys’: why are we here?; why do we love?; etc. However, those questions are too vast in their scope. Far more interesting to me is the mundane version of why (think God vs. god). Why did they put that light switch there? Why is there a blue reflector in the middle of the road? These are the questions that keep my neurons firing.

I always start with the assumption that, contrary to conventional wisdom, decisions are made for a reason. That’s a bold assumption. It is especially bold considering my other long-held belief that most people are idiots. These might on the surface seem like two beliefs that cannot occupy the same space. However, you need to understand that there is very little in this world that is actually new. As such, we are free to say that the idiot doing the work might never know why the decision was made. That’s quite different from saying that it wasn’t made.

Let’s take for an example a contractor hanging an external door at a business.

He hangs the door in such a manner that it swings outwards. He does so because, well, that’s the way it goes. I bet he doesn’t think of the people rushing out of a burning building. I bet he doesn’t think that if it opened inward people could rush the door and create a situation where everyone is trapped. I bet he doesn’t think that the fire would cause the air to heat and, in turn, to expand. He doesn’t think that the pressure could cause the door to get sealed, but someone did. Why? Because doors aren’t new and their design has gone through many iterations. Test out my theory; do the business doors around you all push out to the street?

If we believe that most little decisions are made for a reason, the next step is to observe. Those blue reflectors in the road are there for a reason. Why? Because why else would they be there. Stop and look. Take inventory of the world around you. Observe! Observation is not only free it’s worth its weight in gold (well … if it weighed something). A wise (and VERY successful) man once said to me, “I was a valet for a summer in college. I made twice as much as all the other valets because I thought about how, when, and where I parked the cars.”

I am constantly amazed that more people don’t observe the world. I am even more amazed that people don’t ask “why?.” Perhaps it’s for the best – we don’t want too many people trying to think. After all, people are idiots. Hmmm.

When I was 16 years old my father was in an horrific bicycle accident. In this accident he traded an arm and a lung for a lifetime of searing phantom pain and pharmaceuticals. Apparently when you pull an arm back so far that it touches its own shoulder blade, nerves are ripped right out of their sockets. The result is something akin to a live power wire downed in a storm. Sparks fly and pain ensues.

By all accounts he should have died in that accident. However, a combination of luck and modern medicine saved his life. Twelve years later he was diagnosed with a rare form of internal melanoma. He did die from that.

While we were fighting the cancer battle he said something that I found interesting; “In the not-too-distant past nobody would have had to pay for my chemo. The accident would have killed me.” It’s an incredibly powerful statement when you stop and think about it. It’s also a statement that portends economic woes for the medical profession and, quite possibly, society.

There is nothing to thin the herd. Accidents, heart attacks, etc. are being converted into lifetime draws of Methadone, Lipitor, etc. Events that once kept lifetime medical costs down (due to death) are now contributing factors to our impending Medicare disaster. SSN is in trouble, in part, because a) people won’t die and b) people need money for medicines that weren’t available 30 years ago.

Perhaps it’s time to regulate drug costs. As a huge believer in capitalism and a lifetime libertarian I have always been against such regulations. I felt that companies should be able to determine their own R&D costs. Without R&D how can we expect progress? How can we expect better drugs?

Perhaps better drugs are the problem. We need no more drugs whose purpose is to prolong life. Society can’t handle the responsibility of 100 year+ lives. Society is unable to do a cost-benefit analysis. We have this belief that we should spend equal resources on all forms of life. Let’s spend a million dollars to keep a premature birth baby alive so that s/he can live with a lifetime of mental retardation. Does that make sense? I don’t think so.

It would be interesting to track the lifetime dollars consumed on medicine by decade. I would guess that a 70 year old in the fifties would have consumed a tiny fraction of their 2000 counterparts' medical costs. Furthermore, I would venture to guess that this is a trend that is likely to worsen. At what point does this stop?

The only clear solution is to stop innovating.

The other day on the local talk-radio show there was a story of a woman who was contesting her deployment to Iraq. She claimed that she was unable to go because of a) her recent marriage and b) her young child (It should be noted that the child was 2-years old at the time of her enlistment in the National Guard). The discussion slowly morphed into one about women in combat. At this point the woman expressed reservations about serving on the front lines.

This got me to thinking – is there a glass floor? Much has been made about the glass ceiling. However, I rarely hear about a “glass floor.” As I drove back from my morning coffee run, I paid particular attention to the world around me. I watched the street pavers. I watched the garbage men. The most undesirable and taxing jobs were being done by the men. Men are expected to fight in the military. Men handle the sewage. Any job that is dangerous, physically strenuous, and without social status is expected to be done by men.

On the other hand, if society adds status to a job, physical strength and danger no longer become barriers. There are women firefighters. There are women police officers. Is the lack of a glass floor contributing to the glass ceiling? Do men see this inequity and push back?

Just some things to think about…

As the “3-day premiere” of American Idol 3 chugs along, I can’t help but think that we have created a nation with too much self-esteem.

In attempt to foster a “can do” attitude in our children we have discounted the concept of accurate. No longer is having the right answer the end all and be all. We have replaced such absolutes with a sliding scale on which failure does not appear.

One need only look at the shift to a fuzzier math in order to see about what I’m talking.

I’m sure that it started harmlessly enough; “let’s make the kids show their work.” “If they show their work we can see where the mistake was and we can try to prevent it in the future.” This, of course, led to “that was just a simple addition mistake. S/he shouldn’t be penalized too much for that.” This, in turn, led to “… but does s/he understand the concept?” This was only a hop away from “Was s/he able to verbalize his/her thinking?”

At the end of the day we have created a culture where the details aren’t stressed and the concepts aren’t learned but the children certainly do feel good about themselves. Don’t they?

It is with that bravado that contestants face the likes of Simon. “What do you mean ‘This slider has failure on it’?” These “singers” come to the stage with the talent of de-barked beagles who are just learning to howl again and they expect praise?

That’s the problem with this country; people need to judge more. Judgmental needs to be a good word not one reserved for those who have the gall to be “mean.”

I am so sick of all this talk about America being fat. I agree that we are fat, but there is no mystery to it all. There is no reason to drone on and on about it. There is no reason to run special after special about it. There is one very simple reason we are fat. We don’t cook!

If you’re overweight and want to lose some lbs, stop buying products and start buying ingredients. It’s that simple.

I am willing to bet that a person who follows that simple rule will lose weight. Of course there are some ancillary rules. Among these rules are: limit butter/oil use and don’t fry.

I’m not saying that you can’t defeat this system, but if you follow it, you will be healthier.

Once again:

Don’t buy products. Only buy ingredients.

The Aiken’s diet is just a fancy way of limiting your intake of products. The South Beach diet does the same thing. It stops you from drinking the Cokes. It doesn’t let you eat the 6 pounds of French fries that restaurants use to fill the plate. Candy bars and other snack foods are out of the question.

Of course, I understand that this won't happen. It's just too much work for most people.

I've never taken a class on it. However, I'm pretty sure that I am doing it right. It's really not that hard; you stick it in the hole, and, if you press all the right buttons, liquid squirts out. When you're done, you carefully extricate the shaft. You do your darndest not to spill the remaining drips all over the place. Voila. You're done.

Like I said -- I've done this thousands of times. I'm pretty good at it (at least that's what I've been told). Yet, Oregon won't let me pump my own gas. I wish somebody could tell me why it's unsafe to pump gas in Oregon while the rest of the world seems to manage just fine.

I suppose that I wouldn't mind it if I lived there. However, to me, Oregon is just a state that one drives through. As such, whenever I find myself at a gas station I need to use the restroom. Ergo, this "safety feature/convenience" does nothing for me.

It's good to know that in these tough economic times the government is there to help us out. Well, maybe not.

I wish that I could say that I was shocked when I heard what Bethesda, Md was doing to help "keep us safe." Alas, I wasn't. It's just another example of bad government.

I'm sure that it was well intentioned when it started. Bigwigs probably sat around a big table and began brainstorming. VPs threw out catch phrases like "establishing a relationship with our customers."

In my mind the following conversation took place:

"We need to establish a relationship with our customers. We need something to differentiate us from the other mega-stores."

"That's great! We will use the information from their club cards to personally thank them when they checkout."

Two thousand memos and thirty handbook revisions later, I can't walk out of my local Safeway without the checker thoroughly butchering my name and really pissing me off in the process.

Does ANYONE actually like this? It doesn't make me feel special. They are just reading the receipt.

In psychology there is a phrase "correlation doesn't mean causation." It isn't the fact that you SAID my name, it is that you KNEW my name.

* While it is spelled Speicher, it is pronounced Spiker.

In a trend that I find disturbing, Coke has released an 8.4-ounce can of Coke that costs twice as much as a standard 12-ounce can of Coke. That's right; Coke took 8.4 of the same drink: put it in a Red Bull-type can, chic'ed it up, and then charged nearly $1 per can for it.

For the love of god, please send a message and don't buy this product. I love nice looking things, but for Christ's sake it is a soda. If you have time to appreciate the beauty of your soda can, you have WAY too much time on your hands.

I was forced to recognize that I am out of touch with today's youth.

As I sit at the computer, I often have the TV going in the background. It provides a little white noise and helps cover the deafening silence that working alone can sometimes bring.

In the background today was MTV's countdown of the top video stars of all time. It was a ranking of the stars that really used videos to shine. "Michael Jackson will clearly be number one," I thought. One can't help but see MJ's feet dancing over the sidewalk as the blocks light up in Billie Jean.

"Thriller" -- a 20 minute video with Vincent Price in it. Martin Scorsese directed "Bad." Throw in "Beat It" and "Black and White" and you can't miss. Imagine my shock when he placed 7th. 7th! The artists in front of him?

6) Guns and Roses
5) No Doubt
4) Brittany Spears
3) Janet Jackson
2) Eminem
1) Madonna

What the *^*&. Madonna I can kind of see, but I am wayyyyy out of touch.

I have long been a believer that the media has missed the true nature of the "digital divide." While most talk about the divide being one of access to information and technology, I contend that the true danger comes in the "digital divide" framed in the context of thought processes.

That is to say that technology has created a world where there are two types of thinkers: those who think in a way necessary to interface with a computer and those who don't.

For instance, over the past two decades I, like many others, have seen my ability to write with pen and paper deteriorate. Why? Because I have come to think in a very non-linear way. I will write two sentences and I will delete one. I will cut and paste paragraphs and sentences around. I do this because word processors allow me to. This has become my standard practice and it has become so because mine is a world of computers. On the flip side, my parents find themselves less and less equipped to deal with the world. Give me a gadget and I know how to use it within 2 minutes. They, on the other hand, could take hours to do the same task. This is not because I am fundamentally more intelligent than they (they are brilliant too ;) ). It is because I think differently.

Ask any programmer -- learning another language is fairly easy once you are proficient in one. The same principles apply.

Every morning I walk out the door and step over the newly-delivered newspaper. Every evening I pick up newspaper. I remove the rubber band, and I carefully place the paper in the recycling bin. Do I feel bad about this? Not at all.I feel that it is my duty.

As a college-educated person I consider the newspaper to be akin to a tax. I might not read it. However, I feel that it is important to support alternative news sources*. Besides, I don't want to be the kind of person who doesn't even get the newspaper.

* I know it is sad state of affairs when TV is the main source and newspapers are the alternative source.

"When you start, you have very little experience and a lot of luck. The key is to gain enough experience before your luck runs out."

It had been years since I had heard that phrase and it wasn't until I narrowly escaped three accidents in the Uwajimaya parking lot that it magically popped into the foreground of my mind.

After the third near miss, I turned to my wife and proclaimed, "Uwajimaya -- the world's most dangerous parking lot."

"But why?," I thought. I refuse to believe that Asians are genetically skewed towards bad driving. That is ridiculous. As a man of science you would be hard-pressed to convince me of this. Besides, many of friends are both Asian and perfect drivers.

Yet there is also no doubt in my mind that Chinatown is not the place to drive your new Bentley.

Here is what I decided -- the level of dangerous driving rises exponentially with the concentration of Asians. This, however, has everything to do with the type of Asians. Asian markets are generally frequented by those who immigrated and not those who were born here. What does this have to do with the price of tea in China? (I couldn't resist)

In general, this means that they learned to drive at a later age. I don't know about you, but the only reason I survived the stupidity of being a sixteen-year old driver is by having the reflexes and luck of a sixteen-year old.

As I gained more experience I learned to avoid many situations. In short, I became a better driver. However, there were countless accidents that were avoided simply because my reflexes were sharp. Those who learn as adults don't have this luxury. As such, it is reasonable to think that they either a) get into more accidents or b) are tentative (to the point of danger) drivers.

Of course this same line of thought extends to any tightly knit group of foreigners who were car-less (rather than careless) through their adolescence. I just happen to find myself in the company of my Asian brethren more often than other groups.

It seems like a feasible explanation, but, as always, you are free to let me know that I am full of it.

For that brief moment Marc was a deer, the gym was a country road, and I was an eighteen-wheeler barreling down on him at 70 mph.

It was amazing. The look on his face was one part fear, two parts thought, and 20 parts paralysis.

What did I do to cause this? I said "Hi." Yup, that's all. The problem is that Marc is, at best, an acquaintance, and the gym was out of context. Needless to say, he didn't know who the heck I was.

As I watched his eyes, they soared right past "Shit. What's his name?" and landed somewhere between "Where do I know him from?" and "Who the hell is this guy? And, why does he know my name?"

A quick rescue was in order. "Steve," I said right before he hit my windshield.

This is one reason why I try to learn people's names. I never want to have that look in my eyes.

Every morning I go the gym and nearly every morning I see this one particular person. I have never met this guy, and yet I don't like him.

There is no good reason for me to dislike him; heck, there isn't even a bad reason. He has never done anything to raise my ire. I have never heard him say anything nasty to anyone. In fact, I have never even heard his voice.

Still -- I have this unnatural hatred of him. I take that back; hatred isn't the right word, but he does bug me.

I waste energy on this. When I see him, I invent thoughts and place them in his head. "These people are all below me," he thinks as he surveys the room. "How dare he," my mind retaliates, "Who does he think he is?"

I pondered my odd reaction to this person. What I finally decided is that his face, while in repose, sits with a negative expression. I don't think there is anything that he can do about it. Sure, he could probably make an effort to smile all the time, but that is hardly fair. Some people just have those types of faces.

It got me to thinking; is this a chicken-egg sort of thing? Do people just assume that these people are nasty because of their faces? In turn, do they just become nasty? Or are some people just so nasty that their faces are forced to adjust to their inner being?

I have given this guy a raw deal. I should walk up to him and introduce myself tomorrow. Watch -- he decks me and says "piss off."

I never considered myself a cheap person. I tend to leave 20ish% at restaurants. I give the skycaps and bellmen a buck or two a bag. But if this is the test, I have to ask "What ever happened to a job well done?" If someone out there follows ALL these rules, please let me know. I will take the time to add a paypal link to the sight and start a new rule that proper etiquette dictates tipping webloggers.

I think that lipliner should be banned. Too many people just don't know how to use it. If you insist on using it, here is the test: Go up to a random person and ask, "Am I wearing lipliner?" If they say yes, you aren't using it correctly. Chances are you look stupid. Lipliner should only be processed by the viewer's subconcious.

The StinkyFeet Diaries

I've never seen anything like this. This is a must read. When you get there be sure to read the diaries.

The Seattle Times: Local News: Bridge won't resign Supreme Court seat

Word on the street is that Judge Bridge is pleading 'Not Guilty' because alcholism is a disease. This got me thinking -- elected officials are required to disclose health information. In her past elections (she is now on the Supreme Court) did she disclose this information? Is this common practice? Should it be?

I noticed a funny thing the other day. Apparently the Internet is breaking down the barriers society worked hard to put in place. Between usenet, forums, and weblogging I have started to feel like I have the right to comment on just about anything. What was once limited to computer interaction has begun to spread to the real world. Random people everywhere are now entitled to hear my opinions.

Sitting at a restaurant, I find myself "helping" people choose their entrees. "That dish is quite salty," I exclaim as if I were asked. Whatever you do don't talk about whether or not you liked a movie -- I will likely join right in. Child rearing, cars, politics, computers, I have an opinion on everything and I can't stop giving it to people.

I wonder; am I alone? Are others cursed like I am?

If you ever questioned that game theory will remain theoretical, spend some time in a parking structure.

In an effort to spend as little time as possible looking for a parking spot, the lead car slowly weaves through the structure. A line of cars starts to form. If there is even the hint of a spot opening up, the whole line screeches to a halt. Meanwhile, everyone knows that there is always space on the upper levels.

I would suggest that people speed to the upper levels. If there happens to be a spot open along the way, take it. Otherwise keep moving. Don't back up. Don't pass go. Don't collect $200. Just keep moving.

Unlike the typical prisoner's dilemma, there doesn't seem to be a payoff for screwing everyone else. Keep moving!

The other day I found myself thinking like a Luddite. As my motto has always been "If you're not burning fossil fuel, you're not having fun", this was a very odd position to find myself in.

I have come to the conclusion that technology is making the vast majority of the population dumber. While there is no doubt that on a macro level everyone benefits from advances, only a few have the opportunity to enhance themselves on a micro level. Those not in that group are robbed of using their minds. There was a day when even the most basic of jobs involved mental stimulation.

Let's look at the grocery store cashier. In the 50's this was a job that involved counting back change, remembering thousands of prices, etc. Technology has reduced this job to something a monkey could do.

It would be easy to think that this phenomenon is limited to the basic jobs. However, finance jobs used to involve running numbers by hand. Spreadsheets were a mentally challenging exercise. Today, these jobs are often just data entry. Yes -- one person with a computer can replace 10 people but at what cost does this happen. Is society better?

The real question is when does the accumulation of micro negatives introduced by technology outweigh the macro positive? Can a society be better if the intellect of its members is atrophying?