Fluctuating price of gas Dec 8, 2008
I'm not all that pleased with the fluctuating price of gas.  I'm actually not happy that it's so low right now, simply because it means it'll eventually rise again.  It's currently at the price it was about 4 or 5 years ago, before anybody cared about the price of gas.  And while I think the all-time high of somewhere around $4.50 a gallon was ridiculous, I also think this new low of around $1.50 is equally ridiculous.  Why can't they just pick a price and stick with it?  Oh right, because the production of crude oil is controlled by the OPEC cartel, an evil organization of some of the world's most corrupt nations, existing solely to control the volume and thus the price of oil.  Right.  I forgot about that.  Well, that's fine.  I'll just choose an alternative fuel -- oh right, there aren't any.  At least none that I can use. 

Gas is probably the only thing that can triple in price for a few months, then magically decrease in value so that it costs less than it did before the increase.  People say the price of milk has gone up.  But has it tripled in price in 4 months?  I don't think so.  It's followed a steady increase, which is really what all things should do, aside from technology (computers always come down in price as components become cheaper to make and/or obsolete).  Everything should increase in price over time, as salaries and inflation and operating expenses all increase as well.  That's what doesn't make sense about the cost of gas.  It stayed the same for like 20 years.  I say this a lot, but I remember (eight years ago) when the price of a gallon of gas was less than one dollar.  If gas simply increased in price gradually, it wouldn't make much of a dent in people's wallets.  And instead of shooting up 300% overnight, the gradual increase would take care of huge fluctuations by spreading them out over time.  I wouldn't mind paying $2 per gallon right now.  Then maybe $2.05 the next year.  I just don't enjoy having to reorganize my entire life simply because some group of fanatics feels like stirring things up. #business
Injuries causing injuries (3) Dec 8, 2008
I feel like injuries are often caused by other injuries and in turn cause more injuries.  It's an endless cycle.  For example, let's say I stub my big toe.  The first thing I'll start doing is walking on the outside of my foot to minimize impact to my toe.  But that'll eventually put undue stress on my outer ankle.  If my ankle ends up hurting more than my toe, I'll tend to walk on the inside of my foot, which will stress my arch and likely make my inner knee ligaments sore.  The knee bone's connected to the hip bone (sorta), so a stressed knee ligament will in turn stress a hip flexor.  Eventually my back will start to feel it because I'll be walking kind of crooked, and if I happen to be carrying a bag or backpack, my shoulder will feel the extra weight and respond accordingly.  Shoulders are magically connected to the neck, which will probably give me a headache.  And all that because of a stubbed toe. #health
Trusting bathroom scales Dec 8, 2008
It's almost funny how much faith we put in bathroom scales, considering the fact that they're cheap, simple, relatively inaccurate, and certainly not precise measuring devices.  The mechanism inside a scale is likely either a spring or a strain gauge, both of which are affected by repeated use, temperature, and likely humidity.  Plus, it's a standard and necessary practice in industry to calibrate measuring devices at least daily, if not more often.  A digital scale that simply zeroes itself doesn't mean it's calibrated.  Nonetheless, I gained two pounds this weekend according to my bathroom scale. #science
Let me upgrade you (2) Dec 8, 2008
There's a commercial for DirecTV that comes on mostly during football games, featuring the singer Beyonce performing a wonderful rendition of a song called "Let Me Upgrade You," where the main idea is that by upgrading to DirecTV, you can have the privilege of holding large pieces of gold jewelry in your mouth while simultaneously lounging on piles of money.  But I'm a purist; I'll never receive my cable from a magical spaceship in the sky.  So instead of allowing Beyonce to upgrade me, here are some alternatives I'd be willing to discuss: 
  1. Let me force-feed you raw oysters stuffed with jalapenos.
  2. Let me punch you repeatedly in the kidneys.
  3. Let me push you off a cliff where you'll be impaled on sharp rocks.
  4. Let me give you a root canal without an anesthetic.
  5. Let me chase you on Route 80 with my Hummer.
  6. Let me wax your arms and legs ... with duct tape.
  7. Let me play my music for you.
(If it's not clear, I'll never be a customer of DirecTV, simply because of this commercial.) #entertainment