Fakin' it Apr 28, 2005
[I realize now that I should've written more while I was in school.  I keep writing after I come back from my 1 class because it's the only time that I have to sit around and do nothing but listen to some dude talk.  Since I don't learn anything in class, I let my mind wander].  I realized another thing about myself:  I've pretty successfully faked my way through life, which has consisted mostly of school up to this point.  At some point in the future, I'll be able to say that I faked my way through school, not all of life.  But at this point, I've been in school for about 19 of 23 years in my life, so I consider my life to have consisted primarily of school.  But I digress.  I've realized this concept before.  As I was sitting in class listening to how much other people actually understand (which is a lot at times), I realized how very little I understand.  Even the questions that people ask when they don't understand something have more knowledge of the subject than I do.  Yet somehow, by the grace of God, I manage to get by.  And not only that, I do pretty well, praise God.  My secret is this:  don't try to learn everything.  Or anything.  Just figure out the pattern.  All classes are based on a pattern.  Different teachers have different ways of giving tests and different ways of grading, but they all follow a pattern.  You don't need to master a subject to pass a class.  You need to pass the tests to pass a class.  Note to younger readers (if there are any, ever):  don't listen to me; do your best, learn all you can, because you don't want to waste all the time you've spent in school.  I would like to take my own advice, but I guess I just have a little trouble basing my life on my career in school.  It means nothing.  It's just a way for me to get a job and make some money so I can do the things I really wanna do, like drive to Vermont for the weekend to go snowboarding.  Or go to Disney World with my wife.  I have a skewed perspective. #education
Insurance Apr 28, 2005
What's the deal with insurance?  Who thought of it?  Honestly.  What lunatic thought, "Hey I know.  Let's collect money from people before accidents happen so that when they happen, we'll pay for them."  Why don't we just pay for stuff as it happens.  Wouldn't that be cheaper?  You say, "No Dave.  Look at your medical bills.  It would cost several thousand just for a routine cleaning at a dentist."  Here's my objection:  It wouldn't be several thousand if insurance wasn't involved.  The only reason medical expenses are so high is because insurance companies can pay for them.  And it's not like it's hurting insurance companies.  What business in its right mind would overpay for services for its members?  None!  The billions of dollars they collect from us gets paid out in hundreds or thousands to dentists and doctors and autobody shops.  If people couldn't afford medical care, doctors would be forced to charge less (this argument probably isn't valid because rich people can always afford things...supply and demand doesn't really apply).  But I think that things wouldn't be so expensive if people just paid for things as they happened, instead of unnecessarily pooling their money into health insurance and auto insurance companies, only to [maybe] use it later [or maybe not]. #money