Political Correctness (Bah Humbug!)

Sick of the social mandates of, "always" being POLITICALLY CORRECT? Tired of the hum-drum, and the run of the mill? Salvation is here!  A few of my startup-business (website) ideas...

wvw.MisMatch.con 
e-Dating to expose porn, pervs, and players.
wvw.LinkedOut.con  
Networking where loners and losers get hung out to dry.
wvw.twirper.con
Twirps cause all bird species to quit singing, f-o-r-e-v-e-r.
wvw.Coldmail.con
SPAM e-mail never gets read, as Hell freezes-over, for good.
wvw.arsebook.con
Social site for unfriending the other end, of any face.

And others ...

wvw.eDischord.con
e-Dating, where nothing ever works-out harmoniously.
wvw.Mate3.con
Where a Menage à Trois, is infinitely better than 1.

When there's a $1.00 to be had, there's someone to be had with a dollar? Your ideas (giggle) ?

An E=MC2 Christmas (the Bi-polar Expressed)?

E=MC2 Christmas again?
(AKA: the bi-Polar Express-ed)
    

While pondering the existence of Santa Claus at a very young age, I was guided by the traditional wisdom of: "Those who don't believe, don't receive..."  Indeed, and that is well-along the lines of 'you'd better not shout, you'd better not cry - you'd better not pout, I'm tellin' you why...'.  The combo aligned my childhood loyalties to the Nordic legend. However, as the years passed, I evolved into the mind of a scientist, and I sought to collect sufficient evidence to lead me to postulate a theory of "Christmas Physics". All of which has been designed to explain "Santa Claus" (A.K.A. "Kris Kringle") and his widely-reported, sometimes incredulous, always "Polar", goings-on's.

However, Christmas Physics is a distant cousin of Quantum Theory (and just as stringy), and multi-dimensional. The Christmas phenomenon is expressed in polarized energy units, known as "santas", Those are convertible to standard units to express: energy, time, and space (thank you Herr Albert, part-time violinist). This allows for the the (apparent) impossibility of "flying" reindeer and their annual around-the-world trip (in one night), etc. "Santas" are generated by particles of  "spirited" beings, called "elves". "Elves" exist in nearly all living matter (they are entities capable of doing good deeds or acts of kindness, in a wink). As "santas" are generated, the living beings nearby, feel a sense joy/happiness (jolliness - if you see what I mean?). However, a critical mass of "elves" must be reached to start the energy transformation (the paper-chain reaction). Only certain souls possess an adequately high concentration of "elves", consequentially, only they can generate the huge (truly massive) "santa mass" that is required. Voila! That explains the "Santa Claus" of legend, more or less, Me Thinks.

As these shorter, colder days of winter (and small children) act as a catalyst for this reaction, the catalytic conversion allows beings with average amounts of "elves" (at far less than "santa mass") to transform a limited amount of "santas" (by adding cookies and milk).

  To my way of thinking, anti-santa energy (i.e. "bah-humbug") can (and does) disrupt the local field-effect of the "santa" conversion. The origin of "humbug" is (essentially) unknown, but "relative" (as in "Relativity") as akin to bad-tasting fruit-cake and the inevitable, holiday traffic-jam. The interaction of high-energy "humbug" and large "santa mass" can lead to the "scrooge cascade". The resultant slippery-slide depends on the "quanta" of each - within the interaction (the chain reaction)?

? Of course, this theory is not restricted to Western cultural myth. As most cultures recount similar children's stories, hence, this must be something of a Universal occurrence. Therefore, the "Santa Claus" theory (story) is not so much, a fairy tale, but a mis- understood domain of specialized physics.  After all, how else could Santa Claus (possibly) get so much work done in just one day, or travel as far - with a red-nosed deer lighting and leading the way?  It's as simple as:

E=MC2 that is to say... Elves (do) = Most (of the massive work for Santa) Claus (on) Christmas (eve). But, children everywhere already knew that...

What remains of the child, in you?

Christmas ideals are a reflection of traditions that have withstood the tests of time and which define who and what we honor (serve), as well as - who and what we cherish (value). May your holidays be blessed with much Peace and Peace of Mind. Know wisdom. Teach tolerance. Show patience. And be kind, for... 

(-: The smile you send out, comes back to you! :-)

Ever notice that...

Ever notice that a THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - is best pondered, longer?  Or that COMMON SENSE - is neither a sense, nor especially common?  And that LOVE HURTS - whereas self-indulgence feels good.  Ever notice that we aren't who we THINK and SAY - until we DO? And that THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH - comes in pieces and is anything, but...

How does one identify bullschiest?

Simple enough: when you begin to smell it, you know you're closeby (but to be especially sure of the facts) if it feels like it, looks like it, and smells like it ...once you've stepped a boot into it, you're there!

He will show himself great...

A human being is only interesting if that individual is in contact with Self. To trust your self, be who you are. Do what you ought to do, the way you need do it. Discover you, what you do, and trust it. If a person doesn't trust themselves, they will never trust anyone else. While you may be deceived if you trust too much, you will live in torment if you do not trust enough. For it is mutual trust - even more than mutual interest, that holds human relationships together. Our friends seldom profit us, but they make us feel safe. Marriage is a scheme to accomplish exactly that same end. To be Loved, and Love well - trust a man of Worth. Trust that man and he will be true to you; Treat him greatly, and He will show himself great. Loving well, depsite...

Got Attorney?

Yes, it's true - I sleep peaceably in my bed, because a rough man stands at the ready in the dark of night, to visit violence on those who would do me harm - allow me to introduce you to my attorney...

Redundancy revisited...

Redundancy is always a, no-no.

Experts on EVERYTHING ??? (red flag)...

Surely I'm not the only one to have noticed the growing trend in advertising - EPERTISE in EVERYTHING!  This old world works in "mysterious ways", me thinks...

Let's examine whether or not any of this makes sense.

Yep, if there's an Almighty Dollar to be had, there's someone out-there who will lay-claim to having "the expertise" that YOU need (according to them) ...and they'll have no qualms telling you so.  It "sounds" self-serving from the get-go, doesn't it?  RED flag!

Their fine print always says, "trained professionals will assist" you.  Okay.  Was their training all of: one hour, or two?  Training makes a person an "expert"?  I see.  RED flag!

That nonsense has become particularly prevalent in the Financial & Mortgage Industry - where all the "players" (fresh-out-of some brand-name prestige-school) seem to (miracle) KNOW what's best for YOU and your MONEY!  Really?  What BULLSHIT!  RED flag!

If true, and those "trained advisors" know SO MUCH of such great value ...how can it be that NONE of them are (already) MILLIONAIRES ...and retired at age 25-30?  RED flag!

I find it to be more than disturbing that so many companies are getting away with this sort of thing.  The whole of it utterly SMACKS of commercial FRAUD (and flagrant incompetence).  Naturally, and once you've read the FINE-PRINT (you did read it, didn't you?), the "disclaimers" defy all Common Sense (and all sound intelligence).  RED flag!

Trust me, those so-called "experts" haven't got a frickin' clue...

Have you also noticed that GOVERNMENT is comprised of similar "EXPERT" leadership - of which a HUGE proportion are former ATTORNEYS?  Former?  Doesn't "former" usually equate to: "failed"?  i.e. "has-beens" and FAILURES who couldn't "make it" out in the "real world"!

Isn't "government by lawyers" a lot like allowing the "weasel into the henhouse"? 

Hence, attorneys are the ones who are writing the legislation, and are ultimately the ones called upon to litigate it, and (to some degree) also to enforce it - à la "Attorney General" (of something or other).  Is it (thus) any wonder that BIG BUSINESS seeks out those "legislators", to "have 'em" in their hip-pocket? 

We all know that there are payoffs (by the pork-barrel full) to be had - oft' coming from cash-rich Lobbyists (and from well "under the table").  Those same "legislators" get huge Federal salaries, free Healthcare, and lifelong Pensions.  We can be certain that every single scum-bag in the country wants to jump (leap) onto that "bandwagon"!

Take mental note (also) of just how many of those so-called "representatives" of the people, "For the People, By the People" ... have a girl-friend in a foriegn country; or on the campaign-trail; spare children (no spouse required); or "boys" being back-door'ed in back-offices. 

Our leaders, one and all - Governors, Senators, Representatives, and even the occational Judge (indicted for taking lucrative bribes).  Sick and sickening stuff.  But it's business as usual.  The business of good-looks, schmooze, lewd sex, and easy money... 

Shall we contact the French?  (Perhaps borrow a guillotine and a head-basket?)

Some things never change.

So, I ask ...what would happen were the "financial advisors" (experts all, with their 1-2 hours of training)... to take-over the whole of the BANKING and MORTGAGE industry "for us"? 

Seems to me, that they already have.  RED flag!  Slice-off heads.  Vote "no", across party lines.

Me Thinks!

P.S.  An anecdote: the etymology of the word "mortgage" has its allures.  MORT (from the French word for dead, n. death).  GAGE (from the French word for engagement, n. contract).  i.e. "contract with death" (seems especially "apropos", these days)...

COMMENTS submitted from FACEBOOK and via E-mail:

" It's a shell Game that would make P.T. Barnum proud. There IS a sucker born every minute, and Truth is not a requirement, nor wisdom; just parchment. " -DennisD

" The clear message is this: financial advisors make money every time anyone buys or sells (regardless of whether or not - you as the investor, make a dime or lose your shirt). They simply want the would-be SUCKER to sign on the dotted-line (hence the need for parchment), and then they HAVE you! They don't give a "horse's petunia" about whether or not they (cause) you to become involved with crooks! In point of fact, the bigger the crook, the bigger their commission! " -ZoeT (edited by Qmann)

Good and Ideal Husband will be found...

During creation, God promised women that good and ideal husbands would be found in all corners of the world.  And then He made the earth round.

During creation, God left the free will of choice to all men. Men decided that the world is flat; and the center of the universe. Whereas most women are; and believe that they are.

(giggle)

Count UR Blessings: toughest arithmetic to master?

A good and useful memory is one that recollects every blessing of each day, whilst forgetting each tribulation. The toughest arithmetic to master is the common sense to know when or why to start or stop the counting. Prayers go up. Blessings come down. If you have been blessed with great love, value the connection ... and keep it warm.

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” -Acts 20:35

The US-of-A ... I, E, and G...

Ah yes, the US-of-A ...the "Love it or Leave-It" country that can "afford" a MILITARY machine that is LARGER (in budget) than the top 43 "other" richest nations on Earth. We have no qualms about burning-up young lives (and loves) to "protect" our failing oil-based economy - as we toss naïve kids into war-zones (that we created). Unprepared and ignorant, they are mowed-down and returned cerimoniously to the... "Go ARMY", "America's NAVY", "My son is a MARINE" households, for a prompt burial.  (Wives and Mothers get to keep the flag for comfort,  or display. "Semper Fi" in a graveyard, is "forever" indeed!)

We Americans are (almost as blindly) pushing ourselves down the slippery-slopes of an enduring economic oblivion. We're the US-of-I too!  We're a US of, "I don't care" - because our Great Society has a pronounced "me first" orientation. Through all of that, we've stupidly underwritten a "healthcare" system that is (also) ..."all about greed", but not about "Health", and certainly (not about) "Care". To be cared for (genuinely), one must count-on good luck or rely on family, friends, or neighbors...

Yes, We-the-People can "afford" a planetary killing-machine (under the guises of "peace-keeping").  Tell me, how does one "keep" PEACE by "making" WAR? We have the most effective and brutal means to KILL other human-beings ever invented, and yet... We also think of ourselves as Religious, Political, and "Right" - while too many are "right-eous" about both.

How WRONG we are as a people! Is it any wonder that the fundamentalists of other ideologies, political regimes, and religions - want us (the entire "US"), dead?

Meanwhile we "care" for our down-trodden by allowing our legal-social-fiscal-financial system to TAKE everything a person has worked-for - often, simply because they've had the misfortune of falling-ill, or lost a bill-paying job (when some greedy employer "went bust"). Thereafter the credit system "treats" those individuals like losers - the guilty second-rate citizens - that they are not! How many jobs will their be for returning (unemployed) G.I.'s?

We aren't solely the US-of-A, we're also the US-of-E (of Entertainment) - even the ad-media-tized "News" is presented so as to, "make US think about something else" (as we entertain ourselves via mindless TV-programming - while munching butter-soaked microwave-popcorn). We are being trained to avoid doing something worthwhile to help and protect our fellow-man.  Munch. Watch.  Sit.  Don't worry, be happy?  (And was your TV "Made in the USA"?)

We endure a 24 X 7 onslaught of advertising: designed to prompt the sales (and purchases of) tons of "Made in China; Taiwan; Japan; Singapore; Maylasia; Philipinnes; Indonesia " schtuff... which most of us do not need (as MC / VISA / DISCOVER / AMEX lovingly oblige while rubbing their hands-together wryly).

No, the US-of-A is moreover, the US-of-G.  An (us) US, of Greed.

So, don't fall ill. Don't lose your job!  Else, Greed awaits ...you, your freedom, and your free will!

Me Thinks

R-U a fed-up wage-slave? JetBlue 'em!

Do you have a job?  Is yours a SAFE, SANE, and LAWFUL workplace?  If not, have you become a wage-slave inside of dysfunctional employment?  Are you "fed-up"?

Have you lost your "voice"? Perhaps you've never had a "voice"? Does your employer's "Spiel" sound something like this?

‘We hear you; we feel for you; you're right; we’re not going to exploit you; we do our best to treat you with respect.’ 

Unlikely. Yeah, I bet not... 

What an employee should NOT do:
a) “Stay silent.”
b) “Do nothing.”

What an employer should NOT do:
a) “Stay silent.”
b) “Do nothing.”

My advice?  Talk!  Talk a lot, but "document" e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g.  Think, say, and do - nothing that could potentially be used against you. Obtain signed affidavits from every and any witness (to objectionable events).  If a witness lives far away, ask that their documents be "notarized" (by a Notary Public).  Create and maintain a chronological journal.  Align yourself with accredited court professionals.  Consult with an Employment Law attorney, and contact the department of Workforce Development people in your State.  Leave a HUGE "paper-trail" ...("pee" on every post)!

Some employers understand ONLY one of two things:
1) Money.
2) Lawsuits.
3) Losing Money.  (Did I say, one of "two"?)

Rude manners and/or abuse in the workplace can become unbearable.  Don't take it.  If all else fails, hire a talented attorney (a Martindale-Hubbell AV-rated legal expert who won the last case). If you find yourself being harangued, harassed, or threatened (even in veiled forms), don't take it - all are ILLEGAL!  Be prepared to sue at moment's notice. If the climate within your workplace becomes UNBEARABLE.  Then, sue!  Sue until cows come home to roost...

After the graces of "fair warning" (when POSITIVE motivational speaking hasn't cut-it), sue for THREE things:
1) Money.
2) More Money. (Did I say, "three"?)

If that action "costs you" your job (know that any form of REPRISAL is ILLEGAL in all 50 States), sue 'em for that as well!  If you've been slandered, sue for that! Stand up for the Truth!  Demand a Safe, Sane, and Lawful workplace!  It's your RIGHT (all three)!  Ask for $Million-dollar money - the "money thingie" WILL definitely be understood - I can promise you that...

As for JetBlue, their core business is in the NooZ ...free Steven Slater! 

In the meantime, boycott JetBlue! Wadda buncha scumbags. 
Me Thinks

P.S. "Whistleblower" laws apply (should you need to effect legally protected complaints to your employer) about: unsafe work conditions (call OSHA); unstable behavior (contact the local police); and/or unlawful activity (advise the FBI). You may do so without fear of your employer - it's the Law (everywhere)...

Bank fined $200 Million (consumers win)...

Wells Fargo was ordered Tuesday to pay more than $200 million to compensate customers who faced higher fees due to the bank's practice of posting transactions so that checks for the highest amounts clear first, often triggering more bounced checks. How many other banking organizations have being doing the same?

Kick ass!

Your RIGHT to the TRUTH!

Whenever you hold the TRUTH, it is RIGHT to persue it...

Cure-Alls & Snake-Oil?

Coca-Colatm is being sued by a non-profit public interest group, on the grounds that the company's vitamin water products make unwarranted health claims. Okay. So how do you suppose that Big Business is defending itself?  In a feat of skewed logic, lawyers for Coketm are defending the company by asserting this thinking: 

 "No consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitamin water was a healthy beverage."

Does that mean that a consumer would have to be "unreasonable" to in order to come to the conclusion that a product named "vitamin water" (products that have been aggressively marketed as a healthy beverage), actually HAVE health benefits?  Snake oil by another name?  

That IS perfect crazy insanity ... Me Thinks!

Old-Young? / Young-Old?

If UR too young to be old, and UR too old to be young, then act your age!

Thoughts on COMEDY & TRAGEDY ...

The words COMEDY and TRAGEDY commonly refer to the ways in which dramatic conflicts are resolved (inside of and outside of theatre)...

Whenever a tragedy occurs, the inherent confusion cannot end until such time as everyone affected has recognized what had taken place ...and has: learned, forgiven, forgotten, and re-established (his or her) identity within a functional social group.  

Whereas a comedy typically ends within a "group celebration" -- e.g. a betrothal or wedding (accompanied by music and dance). The emphasis is on integration inside of the group. It's a recommitment to the sharing of life, together. If there has been a disruptive presence -- a source of anti-social discord, then that person typically has to reform their ways -- else be punished, or banished from all celebration by the group.

Thus, a "comic celebration" is looking forward to a more meaningful communal life, hence the ubiquitous ending for romance novels (romantic comedies) ..."and they lived happily ever after."

Me Thinks

Some people are too darned turbid!

'Tis not my intent to muddy things-up, but some people are so darned turbid, that they don't know their hole from an ass in the ground!



Know wadda mean?


Copyright (c)2010 - Robert C. Kuhmann - All Rights Reserved. (All Wrongs Avenged!)

No more questions...

People are living smaller - everywhere. The economy is bleak and it is going to deteriorate. As an optimist, I do not announce such things as idle talk. Still, I am present and a participant - grateful for the joys of life, big and small. The future is definitely going to be a challenging time.  Meanwhile, albiet that (in general) people do not choose whom they love, they may love whom they choose - and there are many ways to do that. How may I help (love) you? 

No more questions (for today)...

Thinkology of LOVE, the inevitable...

Some authors would have you believe that a good romance is the equal of a marriage of the heart and mind... (AKA "chemistry")?

A "thinkologist" however is busy at rehash, preoccupied by a "theory of everything" (on one's mind and sometimes, below one's belt).

For those of us, for whom, "thinking" is both an inevitability and a part of the daily diet... 

Picture this:

If you toss two really bright people into one room (a male, a female), and then leave them there long enough... The fundamentals of today's theory are: that they WILL mate, fall in love, and that a romance will ensue!  Alas, I've spent time in one or two rooms decorated to those precise "House Beautiful" norms. Somehow, the physical coitus never seemed to supplant or offset the, "cogito, ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am) component of the intellectual copula that was ALWAYS well underway, and first. Does such a "union" make thinkers into part-time lovers, or part-time lovers into thinkers? 

When romance reunites people who have been "thus" united, then separated, and then re-united (after a certain time), is their reunion (also), once too often?

I always try to engage my readers with a tone of sarcasm (nobody ever really believes everything I say anyway)...  Am I wrong (rhetorical)?  ;-)

This sort of amusement invites everyone to laugh at the many easy foibles of our lives and our living.  A "thinkologist" makes observations about the most rigorous, purely formulaic alternatives - as well as the unpredictable nature of LOVE.  The objective being ...to make whatever one thinks about LOVE (thereby), a joy to read (and to experience)? 

Romance is a love story told in such a way, that it appeals to men (stiffened) and it appeals to women (swollen). Love's most primitive allures engage both the naive and the jaded - from Algebraic Number Theorists, to Professional Violinists - and (likewise) all those manic enough to harbor phobias towards either endeavor.  Patience comes to the penitent...

If I'm not being funny or clever here (nor original, in a way that pulls, you the reader, "in"), then blame me - for I am the only farcical, hugely entertaining, and equally as modest author of this strangest of stories.

LOVE is a Greek Classic (and oft-times, as lyrical): "boy meets goddess"; "girl meets a god"; "boy or girl loses the other god". Along the way, the two engage in playful eros romps that out-perform the soggiest TV-soap (and) every made-for-Broadway satirical play, ever written.  Pass the hankies, to wipe my wetted eyes... 

Each of those compositions become somewhat more accursed (as entertainment) than the other (...akin to a trash-talk, romance-novel - composed for, and targeting lonely, generally rather unattractive women whom men date once, at best).  In general, men aren't into romance (no, not even the unattractive guys). 

So, as YOU read this, weep with me...

As YOU become an active THINKOLOGIST yourself...

Soon enough, there will be thunderbolts raining down from your own Mount Olympus, as the gods drink themselves into a carefree stupor on cheap sex ...and cheaper wine.

Align yourself to "thinkology".

Save CIVILIZATION as we never knew it! Lock yourself up in an empty room with someone who thinks the way you do. Do it today!  It's the cerebral version of, "getting laid".

There is a spiritual teacher who states, that "if you fight against reality, you suffer". The object is to "come into acceptance".  Small words, big concept.

Difficult at times,
Me Thinks.

P.S. My next entry will be about "missed opportunities" in life...

MeThinksThinker

MeThinksThinker is also my MATCH and FACEBOOK pseudonym.  And since you've gotten this far: here's my website [link] and email [link].

Me Thinks

R-U the Owner of a Broken Heart?

Sometimes it is hard to identify the dividing line - where just-caring ends, where true love begins - and (maybe) also (and exactly) what that difference REALLY is! Some of us think that we allow ourselves to love, some opt to control who not to love. Some of us have been hurt. Some, burned. Some people just seem to open their hearts more than all others. Some maintain their feelings for a lifetime. Some break-up with those they have loved, because each thought that the other, was the wrong person.

But often, we don't end the feelings nor the sense of connection which comes subsequent to our individual investments of "self" (in such dearly beloved, unique persons).

We were very busy. We were even busier. We are probably always as busy. Maybe each felt it is necessary to terminate the connection (the love, the growing friendship), or to put an "us", on hold? Whatever it was, it sometimes doesn't make much sense.

Most earn their "keep" - by becoming life-long friends - such that they're, "kept"? And doesn't love have much to do with being the BEST of friends?

The loves of one's life tend to remain (live on) in the heart (in the soul). Some loves more than others, some less. As we get older, we might opt to make a habit of telling everyone just how much they mean, and to outline what their contribution has meant to our existence - because (for better for worse) some of us, never seem to stop caring.

Somehow the caring grows more important now. And maybe our mothers (living or gone to the hereafter) would call all of this, "Mushy"? There are an incredible number of lonely hearts out there. What a shame when a LOVE dies.

What a shame.

(An offering to friends, from friends...)

Have a 'good' day at the Office, honey?

These are trying times ...challenging times. As for you and your job - don't let inept company management get you down. Inept management doesn't go away, the badly managed company goes away.  Don't let the riffraff get to you!

Gettin' a Life?

If what others think of you is a constant source of worry, take heart in knowing that they rarely ever do.

Give "pause" to all Importance & teach Humility

"The Place of Mankind within the known Universe"

The Universe comprises everything we perceive to exist physically, the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter and energy.  We live on a blue planet, called Earth.  It is but one of several planets orbiting an average star, our Sun.

Are there extra-solar planets (planets that orbit around other stars)? Yes. As of 19-March-2010, 443 extra-solar planets have been confirmed.

Has life been found on any celestial body other than Earth?
[ Not yet! ]

Mankind is comprised of 6.8 Billion souls who share the blue planet, compared below. We are traveling through Space with trillions upon trillions of other living things.

What is the size of our planet?
The diameter is about 7,926 miles (12,756 KM) at the Equator, see below.

Many stars retain a solar system of orbiting bodies - ranging in size, from dust, to asteroids, to planets.  Almost all the stars in the known Universe have collected or gathered into galaxies.  An average galaxy contains between 10 to the 11th and 10 to the 12th stars.  In other words, galaxies on average, are comprised of between 100 billion and 1 trillion stars.

Astronomers estimate that there are approximately 100 billion to 1 trillion galaxies in the known Universe. So if you multiply those two numbers together, you get between 10 to the 22nd and 10 to the 24th stars in this Universe.

That's 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 lights in our skies. That's more stars than there are grains of sand on every beach and in every desert of Earth.  How many stars?

There are (at least) between 10 sextillion and 1 septillion stars in the known Universe.  That's a large number, yet quite small - compared to Infinity. We live on a speck of dust that orbits but one of those many stars.

Throughout our lives, we are moving (on the Equator) at about 1000 MPH (1620 KMH) due to the rotation of the Earth. The Earth is also moving around the Sun (our star) at about 67,000 MPH (108,500 KMH).  The Sun is rotating within the Milky Way (our Galaxy), at about 486,000 MPH (758,000 KMH).  The Milky Way is moving through Space towards other clusters of Galaxies, at about 667,000 MPH (1,080,500 KMH).

Due to relativity, the speed of the Milky Way varies when compared with different objects in space. The speed of the Milky Way galaxy is actually not one number, its value is relative to the speed of all other objects.

Is the known Universe expanding?

Yes.

Is it expanding at a constant rate?

No, it is accelerating!

How can that be?

No one knows.

And all of this star stuff has been moving and changing ...

For a long, long, LONG time, indeed.

Does everything have a Beginning?

Does everything have an End?

Maybe, yes.  And perhaps, no.

How large is the Universe?

No one really knows.

What is the age of the Universe?

Current scientific thought is that the Universe is 13.73 (+/- 0.21) Billion years old.

How many dimensions are there (height, width, depth, time, and...)?

The scientific community has included 11 dimensions into the attributes of String Theory.

Are we alone?
It is far more likely that we are not alone. Science believes that parallel Universes, exist.

What am I made of?
Star stuff that is as old as the Universe itself.

Why are we here?
No one knows for sure.

What is life?
Self-perpetuating, replicating organisms.

What defines true intelligence?
The ability to inquire.

How much longer will all of this endure?
No one knows.

How large is large?
It's relative.

How small is small?
It's relative.

What it Time?
Answer that question completely to become very (VERY) famous.

Is there life after death?
It is a matter of spiritual beliefs.

And so it is.

-ooOoo-

Copyright ©2010 - Robert C. Kuhmann - All Rights Reserved.

Once in a Generation...

When the 2008 elections came along, political participation became "trendy", some might say, "cool"....

During a few extrordinary months,  the Democratic primary became the must-watch reality-TV show of the year... The general election tossed-up the very real possibility of an Obama Presidency - literally a new face for the body-politic (a young, liberal, charismatic, African-American man who'd started his career as a community organizer). Incredible!

Suddenly, everyone was talking, living, and breathing electoral politics.

Voter participation sky-rocketed: first the numbers of those "emotionally invested" in the election, mushroomed - then the number of campaign volunteers soared into the stratosphere. And finally (on election day), the numbers of young people and poor people (who stood in line to vote – the very individuals who had "sat it out" in the past), hit levels not seen for generations!

Opinion poll numbers showed large spikes in confidence - indicating that government could "do the right thing by" ordinary Americans.

And yet (now, 15 months after Obama's election), 62% of the US population is convinced that the country is on the wrong track, and most Americans seem to believe that the government isn't looking out for their best interests afterall...

The growing suspicion is perhaps, this: that 2008 wasn't quite the clean break many thought it to be... Would such a notion explain just why so many Obama voters sat-out the recent "special election" (in Massachusetts)? And also - why so many others voted for Scott Brown – and yet bizarrely also, why so many told pollsters that they wanted Brown (a Republican) to "work with" Democrats (to implement some version of healthcare reform)?

The polls of early 2009 indicated that a majority of voters were willing to give Barack Obama "years" (to turn the "broken economy" around). Now, those polls have been updated, and most reveal that increasing numbers of Americans are deeply impatient with, and resentful of, the still-sluggish pace of economic recovery.

Obama's great dilemma is that he used the language of "hope and change" to set the "bar" almost impossibly "high" for his Presidency.

His rhetoric was skillfully used to energize his audience (one that exhibited more enthusiasm than stamina, one that WANTS change to be both: instantaneous and easy). It has proven to be anything but. After all, a President can set the tone, but when it comes to domestic policy reforms - only Congress can pass Bills - not the sitting President!

The compromises made with various Senators (to secure their support on healthcare), has smacked of a political, "business as usual" climate. And the Public reacted accordingly – growing increasingly angry at the "Washington, DC mentality". Some have responded by jumping from Obama's vision of "change" to that indignities of their "Tea Parties". Others reacted by reverting to historical "apathy" and (once more), by removing themselves from the political process altogether.

Now, robbed of a "filibuster-proof" majority in the Senate, healthcare reformers can only watch - as their "moment for change" slips through their fingers....

The combined effect has made the overall political climate all the more unpleasant. Example: the recent Supreme Court ruling eviscerated spending-limits that Corporations can hand-out (to influence elections). That alone means there's going to be a strong likelihood that politics will become even uglier, messier, and more "beholding" to special interests - than it has been in the past.

All of which prompts an observation: commentators told the once-apathetic that they had "no right" to complain (if they weren't going to participate). And so (in 2008), they finally participated. They helped elect a progressive President, and gave the Democratic party the biggest Congressional majority seen, in decades. They put in place a foundation for the sort of across-the-board change - not seen since the "Great Society" years, or perhaps even, since "The New Deal".

And the result?

We're a year into a new administration's rule. We've got political stalemate. Instead, of leadership, we've disoriented Congressional would-be leaders. Moreover, there is no clear leader (especially when it comes to fighting for healthcare reform, some version of which a clear majority of Americans, want). There is a growing sense that the plutocrats -- the bankers, the great corporations, the holders of vast fortunes – will always win, that the political system is fundamentally "fixed", to be stacked-against the "little guy".

That's a dangerous caldron of hot soup...

Too many of the ingredients of the moment in in the mix: anger, rage, frustration, fear of economic calamity (loss of home, loss of job), and in particular ...a sense of hopes betrayed and promises broken, of having been sold a bill of goods! People are bitter, and embittered politics tend to generate two things: apathy and/or authoritarianism.

One can only hope that the Democrats will find their sea-legs soon, and that Congress can follow-through with "genuine promise" (for the transformations that were embodied by Obama's candidacy in 2008). If they don't; if they duck and weave; and hope that small-bore changes will suffice to meet the towering needs of the moment - then politics will likely take some particularly "ugly turns" in the years ahead.

In the election campaign, Obama repeatedly talked of "the urgency of now."

That urgency is still there, as are the transformative ambitions and instincts of President Obama. In 2010, Congressional Democrats need to find a way to harness the "urgency", and to implement "big-picture" reforms akin to those that the Obama election promised to usher-in.

If they can't, or don't - they will have lost a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity.
Me Thinks

That hopey, changey thing...

NPR's "Weekend Edition" (interview aired, Sunday 07-Feb-2010):  a year after the Innauguration of President Obama, Sarah Palin said, "I gotta ask the supporters of all that...", "How's that hopey, changey thing working out for ya?" 

Our (colloquial language) reply, "for ya": FACTUALLY (subsequent to 1-year in office - 25% of his 4-year term thingie): 

• President O has kept, compromised, or has "in the works": 399 (of his 503 announced "promises") - i.e. 79.3% are underway or completed!
• President O broke (might not be the suitable label) his "word", 15 times (2.9%).
• President O has 87 items "stalled" (due primarily to bi-partisan, politically-motivated squables within the House and Senate - "bought" by the lobbyists who represent Big Money).
• President O is a man for The People, by The People?

History will tell the tale...  The political facts? [click on this link]

N.B. It is suitable to mention that the (above) Florida-based website, has [historically speaking] some (very) clear-cut right-wing, Conservative leanings...

And so it is, Ms. Sarah (whacha thinkin'...)?
Me Thinks

TOYOTA "Seppuku" (the historical way?)

TOYOTA Motors chief executive, Akio Toyoda apologized (today) for the company's massive vehicle quality problems, but did not announce another "recall".

Apparently, the days of "falling on one's sword" are in the past...

Dōmo arigatō! (doh-moh ah-ree-GAH-toh)

Me Thinks

Unscrupulous Souls

American business was once riding a euphoric high, but with good times come the bad. Many unscrupulous souls are out there. They prey upon unwitting consumers and are looking for easy "openings" to bilk, swindle, and entrap ...YOU!  Save more, spend less and avoid rip-offs!

Need a source of good advice and great ideas? [link]
 

INCOMPETENCE: In the Workplace?

Do you spend portions of YOUR time, compensating for the INCOMPETENCE of others? 

Ever heard of the "Peter Principle"? It's a theory originated by Dr. Lawrence Peter which states that employees within a hierarchical organization advance to their highest level of competence, are then promoted to a level where they are incompetent (and then stay in that position).  It is now 40 years since Dr. Peter introduced that idea...

When viewed from the inside (of almost any organization), there's ALWAYS a weak link. Inevitably, s-o-m-e-o-n-e who makes life more difficult for everyone else.  That someone has influence that holds-back the rest of the group. It's a simple fact:  not everyone can do the job. 

"Incompetence" is defined by mistakes. Everyone makes the occasional error or bad decision or lapse in judgment. Most go unnoticed. But at some point, FAILURE becomes the norm, and (more often than not), even that person's defining "deficiency".
 
Are workers more incompetent today than in the past?
 
In general, probably yes.  Let us consider the "ruler" (measurement) of education. The USA has "lowered the bar" with respect to international standards for College/University acceptance. A disconcerting reality: there are more Honor Students in China, than the USA has, as students. Still, there is no reason to think that people today are fundamentally less capable than in the past, but more is demanded of workers - less in terms of the sheer amount of work, than of different types of highly-qualified work.  Relatively speaking, the workforce is less qualified.  Even the most essential skills of: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic are painfully in decline.  How many of your colleagues: can't write; can't spell; don't know grammar; utilize a colloquial dialect of the English language; or chronically plagerize from the works of others?  If the politics of your workplace fall within the mainstream, the answer to that question is staunchly (and frankly), appalling.

The working-world is increasingly complex. Many of us are required to take-on more responsibility, and more difficult roles. That's an inevitable result of accrued technological expansion, and of specialization.  For example, the proliferation of powerful types of software on computers, and the inherent organizational de-layering of the modus operandi of traditional bussiness management.  Projects have ever-broader scopes and grander mandates, but fewer "warm bodies" to complete the tasks.   That means ...every time there's a new project or initiative, the prerequisite commitment of time and energy gets added to someone's already-long, "to-do" list. Everyone is expected to do a bit of everything.  Furthermore, there is the issue of "multitasking", which can turn almost anyone into a forgetful fool (or worse).  Failures soon ensue...
 
It's not solely the modern workplace that creates INCOMPETENCE - the "Principle" holds that the hierarchy itself, through promotions - tends to transform capable workers into incompetent bosses.  Alas, INCOMPETENCE begets INCOMPETENCE: Managers with poor judgment hand-out assignments to the wrong people; delegate tasks to those who can't handle them; and force others outside of their realm of competency. 

Companies put the wrong people in charge. At some point, every boss was promoted to a position of responsibility, and too often - straight into INCOMPETENCE - ad infinitum.
 
Incompetence in the workplace has always existed.  Make certain that hires are apt to be competent to perform their assigned duties.  Failure to apply a suitable ruler (to cull-out the "losers" beforehand), is always the first mistake!  Which is (in and of itself), a form of INCOMPETENCE!
 
Me Thinks!

Another day older, and deeper in Debt?

If you need a nice break from reality - don't look at yourself in the mirror.

Me Thinks!

Washington Politics (as usual)...

The White House proposes.
The Congress disposes.

Don't be where you're not!

Welcome, but not wanted.
Here, a Good person is both.
I won't be where I'm not.