Psychic Dustbunnies

Israeli forces mass near Gaza

I saw that headline on yahoo and couldn't figure out why in the world Isreal would be "forcing mass" - are they trying to get in good with the Catholics, are they trying to only have mass near Gaza and not elsewhere?  Finally realized what it was saying...

Later I saw the headline was changed to "Isreal masses forces near Gaza"

Winter (Olympics?)

So I have the misfortune of turning on the TV to watch the news and am confronted with "Ice Dancing" - how is this still an Olympic sport?  Bad dancing, bizarre costums combined with announcers who are entirely too enthusiastic.  It feels like watching an SNL skit, but it's not.  I have nothing against them ice dancing, just stop it as an olympic sport.  Seems like someone would be on to them by now "Ahh, you've fooled us for so long but now we realize it's just been an elaborate hoax, you got us." 

If they are going to continue on with this in the Olympics I think they should put 6 pairs on the ice at once and make it a cage match - then you've got something!

And while we're on the subject - CURLING???? HUH?  It looks like it might even be fun to participate in, like horshoes, but again how is this an Olympic sport?  Sliding and sweeping, hmmm.

And since this is about Winter Olympics I'm not even gonna get started on the ribbon twirling, ball catching summer olympic 'sports.'

Work Life Improvement

While providing the Amish Robot with highly useful suggestions for improving his work ergonomics like the following:

• ergonomic keyboard
• raise the monitor to prevent shoulder, neck and eye strain
• wear lederhosen to prevent varicose veins
• get issued a cup to guard against office hijinx

I also felt I should explain to him my plan to make the whole work experience more interesting and engaging. I'd have folks dressed from all part of the world, leiderhosen, kilts, saris, ancient inca garb, people dressed like gnomes - imagine the pagentry of it all, and the improved work force satisfaction as well. It would be like a dream world really.

In The Middle

Robert Frost:

You're searching, Joe, for things that don't exist; I mean beginnings. Ends and beginnings -- there are no such things. There are only middles.

My New Mortgage & Refinancing Info Blog

So I've also been working on a new blog focusing on mortgages and refinancing information. I've gathered a lot of content and information that helps answer questions about mortgages, home equity loans / home equity lines of credit, interest rates, as well as a glossary of common loan terms.

You can check it out at my typepad subdirectory mortgages_refinancing

man drives for help with shark attached to leg

Another one in my list of favorite headlines & stories:
A swimmer attacked by a small shark in Australia was forced to drive for help with the persistent animal still gnawing his leg....Lifesavers removed the shark by hosing it with fresh water and Tresoglavic had only a small cut and a dose of antibiotics to show for his encounter.

Read the whole article here.

Santa Monica Homeless Fun

Pam & I went to 3rd Street in Santa Monica on Friday. Got the usual amounts of homeless and 'stranded' people hitting us up for money. At one point I told Pam that what they fail to understand is that I worked there for a couple years and am now completely immune to it. When you get hit up by the same guys day after day, 5+ on the way to lunch and 5+ on the way back from lunch pretty soon you just don't care.

Over and over I saw the same students traveling the world, stranded, who just needed $2 working the street for weeks at a time. Saw the same guys who just needed 25 cents for bus ticket because their car broke down or their kid needed medicine. Saw people who just needed some money for food who turned down food when it was offered, etc., etc. It's too bad because there are certainly people in those conditions that could really use some help but when you know there are so many scamming you just to make their money at some point you tune it out. (Plus the guys using the car park as their personal bathroom didn't help!)

I recommend donating your time and/or money to good organizations who spend time helping out (shelters, soup kitchens, etc.), rather than money to individuals on the street.

Japanese troops still fighting

These may be the only Japanese troops fighting in a long time:

A TEAM of negotiators and former soldiers from Tokyo has been sent to the jungles of the Philippines to try to bring home soldiers of Japans Imperial Army who are still fighting the Second World War.

The team is to investigate reports of former soldiers living in the mountains and jungles of Luzon nearly 60 years after the war ended.

Contempt of Consumers

Just read an article in Fast Company by Seth Godin that I think is exactly right:

Some will tell you that treating people with respect is just an old-fashioned notion. Business ethics may be an oxymoron -- is respectful marketing the same? Don't we need to call people at home during dinner or trick them with fine print in order to make a profit?

I try to politely tell the telemarkters I'm not interested, they go on, I say it again politely, they go on, I get fed up and hang up on them -- I finally gave up the polite and say "not interested" and hang up. I have to wade through over 400 spam emails a day because they are mixed in with legit emails that get labeled as spam (customer orders and questions). Hey, I'm a marketer too -- I understand trying to create sales, I understand the telemarketers trying to make a living in the call centers. But I also understand that there is not a chance they will win me over by annoying and inconveniencing me. Let's hope people wise up and stop responding - seems unlikely, but can we at least hope.....

Godin concludes:

But when a business spams, it has made its lack of respect clear. When an airline puts the "gotcha" into the fine print of a full-page ad, it's disrespecting consumers' intelligence. Running a business that can survive only by deception and disrespect is not our right -- our right is to realize our dead-end path and pick a better, more respectful business.

I believe that it's all about to come crashing down on slash-and-burn marketers. Consumers (especially the business-to-business buyers) are getting ever smarter, cagier, and more sophisticated. They won't sit quietly as marketers steal their time and attention and money.

Let's hope he's right

Enriched Uranium-Diplomats

Reading the headlines on MyYahoo and see "Iran Samples Show Enriched Uranium-Diplomats"
I immediately think, "how often is it that you find enriched uranium diplomats, and are they better than regular diplomats?"
It's amazing how many headlines are chopped and edited until they are actually unclear. Of course you've also got the headlines with great wordplay -- I think the best of those are often in the sports section. Here's some from bbc sport: Back Page Headlines (scroll down to the "Headlines" in the black box)