RANDOM THOUGHTS BEFORE LAP NUMBER 65

So here it is, I am about to embark on my 65^th lap around the Sun. As hard as I might find that to imagine, it is a fact, and I have heard that facts are notoriously stubborn things. 

Just some random thoughts that have been rattling around in my brain lately, in no particular order…

In July of this year, my dog Maverick went to his reward. I really miss that furry reprobate. Enough sadness...

Saw a great t-shirt recently.  It said, “Please cancel my subscription to you opinion.”

 I have been taking an online Psychology course recently, taught by Paul Bloom from Yale.  (If I had profs like Dr. Bloom when I was an undergrad, I might have gone for an advanced degree in Psychology, and I might be the one teaching a class on line.)  One of the things he talks about is a phenomenon called “cognitive dissonance.”   Simply put, it states that we are reluctant to entertain any idea or fact that does not comport with our preconceived ideas.  So, with that in mind, while I might listen politely to your opinion on any given issue, you will not change my mind. Then, with that fact in mind, don’t get angry with me if I think you are wrong, and refuse to think as you want me to think. I won’t be angry with you if we disagree.  I promise…

Now that I think of it, if news organizations are made up of human beings, and human beings experience cognitive dissonance, how can ANY  news organization or reporter claim to be objective?  

Social media is a detriment to civilized society.  There is little good or useful about it.  People will say that it allows them to stay in touch with family or friends, but these are nothing that you can’t do better with a phone call or even a visit.   Hell, write a letter! A stamp is about 50 cents!

   

Just think, guys like Mark Zuckerberg make millions of dollars off your use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.   The phone company only makes a couple bucks off a lengthy long distance call, the oil companies a few bucks more off your travels to see a friend or relative. Better still, those companies don’t store your conversations forever so that they can come back and bite you in the butt decades later, or sell data about what you say or do to advertisers.  There will never be Congressional hearings about your phone call or visit.

I am NOT, by the way, an advocate of government regulation of social media.  I just think that people should exercise a little judgement when they use it.  Which brings me back to not subscribing to your opinion…

Why is it that people accused Walmart of crushing small businesses and exploiting their employees, but the same accusations don’t ever seem to apply to Amazon?  It’s a rhetorical question.

Speaking of Amazon, I do hope that its founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, had a prenuptial agreement with his soon to be ex. If not, there is (are?) a school of barracuda divorce lawyers circling for the kill, I am sure. Probably one there in either case. I wish him well. 

It seems to be fashionable among the political elite to publicly ignore laws that they don’t like.  Now, when any elected official takes office, he or she takes a solemn oath, generally with their hand on a Bible, Quran, etc., to protect, defend and uphold the US Constitution, and state or local laws.  Then, they do the opposite.  This begs the question, if we cannot trust them to be faithful to a solemn oath, why in the world would we trust them to do anything? 

  

More to the point, if you were an employer, would you continue to pay an employee who disregarded the rules and did what they wanted? Be honest…

I don’t agree with a lot of what the current occupant of the White House does or says, and I don’t always disagree either. However, I have to give him credit for manipulating the media.  All he has to do is “tweet” something off the cuff at 3 AM, and he dictates the programming and content for news outlets, not to mention late night television, for the next few days. His tweet will be dissected ad nauseum by “experts” whose only real talent is the ability to waste your time and fill up the 24 hour news cycle. And he knows it.

That’s enough.  I am hereby cancelling your subscription to my opinion 😉