Some people really shouldn't procreate.

I think it should be a prerequisite for anyone that chooses to argue with a stranger, to understand the basic requirements of logic. (As an aside, it would also be of use to know the proper use of simile and metaphor).

I say this because a woman listened to a phone conversation that I had with my wife. I realize that I am on the train and so this conversation is not completely "private." So I will forgive her that she decided to start a conversation with me based on that. The topic was: "I want to get a dog."

She asked what kind of dog that I wanted. I told her a Rottweiler. Easy, right? unfortunately not. She told me that they are really stupid dogs. I responded, that wasn't my impression - after all, they use them for service dogs, guard dogs, rescue, police and military - they can't be that stupid. She says, "no, they don't use them for those things." I again, confirm that they do indeed. "no, they don't! I have never seen one!" (please remember that bold line, it will explain much of my irritation later). I can't help it, I pull up a picture on my phone of the German Military using them, to which she says, "Well they don't use them in the US." I was amazed... what ignorance is couched in a statement such as that? Is it that they don't exist in the US? Or just that anything that is done outside of US borders irrelevant?

*grrrr* my irritation is showing on my face.

She notices and somehow makes this HUGE leap... "I bet you are one of those religious nuts, aren't you? I can tell that you are annoyed, because I keep proving you wrong." I am so irate at that statement/assumption/question that I don't know which to address first. Did she anywhere "prove me wrong" and even if she had somehow done that, how would she determine if I were religious? Are all people that dislike being "proven wrong" religious? I decide to go with a bit of tact (or maybe not...).

"So, you prove religious people wrong? How so?"

"Oh! It is easy!" she practically squealed with delight. "I just ask if they have ever seen God, of course they haven't, so... they have to admit that God doesn't exist."

Wow... if only all arguments were solved so easily.

Palm Tree are tougher than they look

On windy days I can see palm trees swaying back and forth. They look so thin and flexible, I just have a hard time thinking they are strong. I mean I can walk up and push on the trunk and it will move back and forth. I know that they are designed that way by nature to protect from topical storms, etc. I also know that there are multiple ways to define strength. But they seem really weak to me.

Until... I saw a Toyota Corolla get completely pwned by a palm that was only about 6" thick on the 55 freeway, this morning. Yeah, the tree was still there doing fine. That car got completely jacked (driver seemed to be ok).

I really wish I had a picture...

I was sat on... again.

Today I decided that I am not going to miss riding the bus/train when I leave this job. I was sat on again. This woman had the common decency to be embarrassed and apologize, but I really don't like it. Apology or not, she wiggled her butt to fit better in the seat. That is very uncomfortable.

I remember why I take the train.

I often talk about the strange people/things/events that happen on my train ride into work. If you ever wondered why I take the train instead of driving, wonder no more! I decided to drive in to work today.

Here are the facts:

1. The train takes 50 minutes + 10 minutes on each side of that trip = 70 minutes
2. I left earlier than I leave to catch the train, to "beat the traffic" and still spent 120 minutes sitting in traffic, being cut off, honked at when there is roughly 5 million cars in front of me, etc.
3. It takes 1/4 of a tank of gas for a round trip.
   
4. 120 - 70 = 50 minutes of awesomeness.

I can honestly say that I fully understand how a person can develop road rage (I am not condoning that behavior) here in Southern California. If I had been driving this commute for the last few years, I am sure my mental state would be in question.

So, I don't think I will drive again.

How can we help people apply this?

I was speaking with a colleague about the current economic conditions. We were discussing Greece and their predicament, and why that could (and frankly should) happen in the United States. By all measurements, especially Debt/GDP we are in worse shape than Greece. Why haven't we started to fix this I asked?

He expressed a good point: the common people don't really know how this is going to effect them. College professors, politicians, etc. can talk about GDP, National Debt, Keynesian theory - but until someone says "if this happens, no one has a job" people will continue to argue for Government spending.

So in that spirit, here is my attempt at making this simple.

The United States Dollar is the reserve currency of the world. This means that EVERY country will pretty much accept your US dollar. Our CURRENT debt estimate for the next ten years ($107 Trillion) is so high that we are UNABLE to service our debt. We have been effectively servicing our debt by rolling it to a new borrower, much like shifting the balance of my Visa to my MasterCard. In the end, they BOTH want to be paid, but we just CAN'T pay right now. We can not increase taxes enough to cover this debt. We can't even really inflate our way out of this debt. The only way to take care of this is CUT spending. Period. The Supreme Court has the authority to FORCE Congress to uphold their oaths. They can follow the Constitution and eliminate all other government spending that is not dictated in that document. This means Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, etc. (this alone could possibly fix it) and even Defense (which is dictated) could be cut in half, because we DON'T have to police the world.

Now, how does that effect you? If the government defaults or inflates the dollar supply ALL of your money becomes useless. You will NOT be able to purchase food, housing, etc. with it. It will be as useful as toilet paper.

What do we do to fix it? We have to elect Representatives that will make the tough choices. That will ACTUALLY cut spending. And then we need to NOT PUNISH them for doing what needs to be done. What do you all say?

PS - If you are interested this article explains this concept fairly well.