Is anyone else finding the Google Adwords interesting? I mention the word b* a _ n * k in previous posts and suddenly all the ads are to do with b * a _ n * k _ i * n _ g and l _ i * f _e a * s _ s * u _ r * a _ n * c _ e. Of course I’m getting geolocated because they are UK-centric ads. So I’m wondering what kind of ads everyone else is seeing?
Random stuff to confuse Adwords: television, celebrity photos, auction, back pain, coreography, medicine, voiceover, haberdashery.
So apparently there’s this archaeological project in the works over in Greece where archaeologists are trying to locate the island used for the setting of Ithaca (Homer’s Odyssey).
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Okay. That’s cool. I enjoyed the book even though I was forced to read it by my tenth grade teacher who took all of her sexual frustrations out on the class (which I think says a lot about the book). But it gets better (or worse, depending on your outlook on life):
A Dutch geological engineering company has agreed to help.
Thompson said the company would sink sensors into bore holes, and likely follow up with sonar analysis of the seabed, as well as using material detectors that dangle from a helicopter and undersea sensors dragged through the water by ship.
Sensors? Sonar? Helicopters? Oh my. Sounds expensive. I wonder who’s paying for all of this?
Okay. So I know it’s totally inappropriate (not to mention ignorant) for me to assume any other country is run in the same fashion as America, but aren’t these things usually paid for by grants? The government? The government that is funded by the people of the country?
I’m willing to accept the fact that I may be completely wrong in this assumption because, really, I don’t know.
Regardless of who’s paying for it, it’s an effing book. You don’t see anyone running out to find Hogwarts and that stupid little train they ride to get there that I can’t remember the name of.
What’s going to happen when they do find it?
“People of the world, we have a most glorious announcement! After countless years and lots of wasted money, we’ve found the island that Homer based Ithaca off of!”
“Huh. Cool beans, guys.” Then everyone goes back to watching television and talking on their cell phones.
Read the full article here.
What is it about the supermarket parking lot that brings out the true nature in people? What am I talking about you ask?
Did you ever notice that in the supermarket parking lot, the rules of decency no longer apply? Examples of annoying behavior but are not limited to the following:
Although there are places that are clearly marked for returning your cart, people tend to leave them in the most convenient place for them…never mind that the stupid cart is rolling down the hill toward an oncoming car or person.
Crosswalks no longer apply to pedestrians or to drivers. Pathways although defined are avoided by shoppers seeking the most direct route to the door. Drivers seem to be blind to the brightly covered walkway insisting on the right of way.
The rules of being civil, allowing others to merge into traffic, pass and generally being nice also don’t apply, not to mention that the parking spaces are not necessary for the supermarket “VIPs”. They park in the fire lanes, to avoid having to walk to and from the parking lot. They get in your way as you try to leave the store and require you circumnavigate around them to get to your destination.
I believe in the rules of Karma and take comfort in knowing that for the incosiderates, their just desserts will be served.
Advice and criticism are like peas in a pod. One is usually perceived as positive while the other usually perceived as negative yet they both really say the same thing…”you could be doing things better, and this is what you should be doing. If I were you…”. So while there is nothing inherently wrong with giving advice or criticism, what is interesting is that it is hard for people to follow their own affirmations about life. Talk is cheap. Action takes effort. Motives are never really known.
I give advice often and probably criticize just as much, never with malice in mind of course, but I guess it’s just one of those things I do. I question nature and purpose of advice and criticism and how they manifest and become part of our daily lives. Aside from being able to get on my soap box and get my ego stoked what purpose do I have if any when flapping my lips and speaking my mind?
When asking advice, people generally seek the answers they already know. Why do it then? Does it speak to lack of self-confidence and direction. Is it indicative of the fact that 99 percent of people want to be lead by the other 1 percent of the population? or do they just want confirmation of what they know and what they believe. When I criticize is it my lack of control or input to a situation that motivates me?
I have no particular point to this post other than exploring the nature of things and their relation to me. What do you think?
You’re running late for an appointment, meeting, orgy, etc. and the only opportune time to pick up a small snack at the grocery store is on your way to your scheduled whathaveyou.
You rush into your local grocer’s and skillfully navigate your way through the mobs of clueless people standing around with their thumbs up their butts trying to decide what to cook for dinner.
You’re quite frankly impressed with your agility as you whiz past consumers to find the shortest line available. Eureka! You come across a line that has a man buying nothing but a value-sized bottle of gin and a few edibles, and it’s not even a “15 items or less” line. As you skid into the line hoping to head off anyone else who may have spotted this gem in the middle of madness, you wonder why everyone else is standing in lines behind people buying food for, what looks like, everyone who’s hungry in China.
Then it hits you. Everyone else has learned from their past mistakes that the shortest line always, and I mean always, contains the one idiot in the store who can’t get his shit together long enough to get in and get out. It’s the only man in the store who is going to have a problem with everything. “I wanted these items rung up separately. My credit card’s not working. What’s a Safeway Club Card? Did you need the manager’s key card because of me?”
Egads, man! You’re lucky you’re probably retarded or I would cut you. Now go home and drink your cheap gin in its gigantic plastic bottle and cry yourself to sleep because you just pissed off everyone in line behind you.
As I mentioned in passing in a post about banking, many UK bank customers are completely fed up with the banks charging for ‘unarranged borrowing’ - i.e., overdraft/overdrawing charges. I myself have been lucky to escape this, apparently, with that ‘international student bank account’ thing. Anyway, numerous customers are demanding refunds, and getting them, because the banks are apparently aware that they don’t have any legal legs to stand on.
The charging is apparently being investigated by the regulatory bodies (Office of Financial Trading, Financial Services Authority). A revealing article has appeared on the BBC News website which I think gives a good indication of how angry customers are getting.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6422961.stm
Later edit …
This link explains why the bank charging is effectively illegal, namely, the banks are overcharging for ‘administrative costs,’ therefore when customers threaten to sue, the banks back down and refund the money.
The study covered 62 patients aged under 65 who were admitted to hospital with blood clots.
Beasley said a surprise finding of the study was that “people are working for so long. We had people not uncommonly working up to 12-14 hours a day and being seated for that time.”
I have to agree with Professor Richard Beasley here; it’s quite shocking how much people work. If it’s not overtime at one job, it’s working two or even three jobs just so you’re not living paycheck to paycheck.
This particular type of blood clot (deep-vein thrombosis) had been more associated with those who spent most of their time travelling long distances (usually in planes), but now the percentage of office workers admitted to the hospital with blood clots is much higher.
When the hell did we allow work to completely consume our lives? I think it’s time for a revolution; this system bores me.
Read the full article here.
Jesus H. Christ, people. Open your damn eyes.
BAGHDAD - The U.S. military spokesman in Iraq said Wednesday that all indications showed that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr remained in Iran.
The anti-American religious leader, who heads the Mahdi Army militia, was first reported by the Americans to be absent from Iraq on Feb. 13, when the latest U.S.-Iraq security drive opened in Baghdad.
Now I’m not going to pretend I know who this Muqtada al-Sadr character is, but I get the feeling he’s our latest “major terrorist threat,” which leads me to believe we will soon have more of a whack excuse to invade Iran. Gotta squeeze in one more invasion before this presidential term is up!
I’m also a little disappointed about the fact that what you see quoted above was the entire pathetic article. See for yourself
It’s interesting and yet not surprising that Bush’s Latin American visit has not been well received. What is even more interesting is that it not only is causing political upheaval but religious unrest as well.
Mayans in Guatemala have vowed to cleanse sacred sites of evil spirits that Bush may bring with him on his visit. It’s amazing that even in the far reaches of the world bush causes so much hatred. While he may be a failure in providing leadership for our country, he does wonders provoking hatred and unifying people in other countries.
CNN Article on Bush Mayan Controversy
Maybe he should just leave it alone instead of proving that he is right just like he always does. If no one wants him there, what’s the point? As a general rule, if you are a guest in someone’s “house” and they don’t want you there, shouldn’t you leave? Diplomacy should be left up to someone or people that truly represent(s) this country and not only their own agenda.
Social and psychological value of money
- Money is universally valued; so much so, that we take its value as self-evident and in need of no explanation. Money today is valued for the products and services for which it can be exchanged, the security it provides against unexpected needs, the economic power it generates, the political influence it exerts, the social status it offers to those who possess it, the self-confidence and sense of accomplishment it fosters in those who earn it.
- Theories abound to explain the economic value of money in terms of purchasing power. But in order to fully understand the value of money, economic theory is not sufficient. Money has acquired the all-pervasive value that it possesses today by a slow evolutionary process that can be most easily understood by tracing its social and psychological origins from ancient times. Money has to be viewed in a wider context as a social institution based on the consent of the population and as a psychological symbol based on the consent of the of the population and as a psychological symbol based on the consent of the -Wikipedia
Same ole story. Money. Why is it so darn relevent? It is just a dirty, stinky piece of paper. It disgusts me, but it also excites me. I hate how it is so thin that when I throw a $5 in my purse, it gets lost among my semi-acknowledgeable receipts and gum rappers. I do, however, like how it makes me feel every other Friday. Knowing that money is hibernating in my account adds a bounce to my step. We choose our jobs by it, money determines where we live and sometimes what we eat. It also gets a headcount when we choose our mate.
I wish we could go back to the barter system when we had to determine what we really needed and what we would sacrifice to get it. That would make us think. Wouldn’t it?
What do you think??
