LEAVE IT TO PEEVER
A dollar
here, a dollar there. Pretty soon....
-Bumper
sticker of the week: Ask your doctor if medical advice from a television
commercial is right for you.
-Quotes of
the week: “WE build our computer systems the way we build our cities: over,
time, without a plan, on top of ruins.”
Ellen Ullman
“The law of
unintended consequences governs all technological revolutions.” Joel Swerdlow
“Technology
evolves so much faster than wisdom.”
Jennifer Stone
-According
to Forbes “cost of living extremely well index,” the price of luxuries like
caviar and yachts jumped 12% in 2008. Darn.
-The AIG
fiasco: This whole AIG thing is just crazy. It’s runaway capitalism at its
worst. It is making money, not out of necessity, or hard work, or even a sense
of honesty and responsibility, but making money for moneys sake. How much money
can we make? No thought of tomorrow, what might happen by being so reckless and
irresponsible. And now bonuses. Millions and millions. One has to ask, now that
we are partners, how much exactly are these people worth? I’m sure we could all
do what they are doing with 4-5 weeks of intensive training. Money. Money. And
more money. Is a baseball player worth $20 million a year? A college football
couch $2 million? A CEO $63 million? A funny thing happened on the way to the
bank-we lost sight of what life is really about, that money can’t buy you
happiness. Oh, sure, money can make life easier. But don’t think for a minute
that the people at AIG are going to get any happiness out of using our money to
live “the good life.” They won’t. It is interesting to see congress so riled
up. As though they don’t do the same. Let he that casts the first stone....
-Only 37%
of unemployed Americans currently collect jobless benefits, making our
unemployment count ridiculously low. (Another Reganomics trick).
-Ways to
waste time while you’re waiting for:
* At the doctors
office, I waste time waiting for the doctor by e-mailing my congressman and
senators, urging them to pass a universal heath-care bill.
* When waiting for my
car to get fixed, I pretend I’m interested in buying a new one, mainly to see
what kind of deal I can make. If it’s not a car dealership, I just drink coffee
and read the 3 year old magazines that are available.
* In Galesburg, you
have to get used to waiting on trains. This is a fun pastime, and occurs just
about every time you try to drive across town. I try to guess what might be in
some of the cars. So far I”ve come up with 1,254 things, all toxic.
* I hate to wait in
line. I think this is a genetic defect in humans. We hate to wait, even though
we are not in any big hurry. I jump from line to line, looking for the fastest.
This strategy never works. The line I jump into invariably has a problem. Usually
it’s the idiot in front of me, or the clerk, who I’m sure must have graduated
from grade school
* I’ve been waiting
for spring since Dec. 20. Finally.
* They say waiting is
good practice for developing patience. I say waiting is a good reason to not
pass a gun carrying law.
-In Wall
Street lingo, making a buck means making $1 million.