I’ve been thinking about this minimum wage thing. People are demanding that it be higher. OMG, who do they think they are, those poor? Well, fifteen (yes, fifteen) years ago, I had a job that paid 7.50 an hour. I could not live on that. Me, single, no children at home, could not live on 7.50 an hour. Are the costs of living the same as they were fifteen years ago? I don’t think so. Why are we so reluctant to treat our fellow humans with the respect and dignity we demand for ourselves? Why is it so hard to give ALL of us a living wage, and decent health care? Someone said that the true measure of a society is how it treats its least fortunate members. How do you think we do, United States of America?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the way things are going in the world today. So much hate and bigotry and homophobia and persecution and bullying and all the other horrible things I read about every day. I think people are scared. Back in the 70’s there was a book called ‘Future Shock’ in which the author theorizes that technological change will come so quickly that people will not be able to adapt. I think that is what is happening. Not just technological change, but that makes every thing seem more immediate and brings it right into your face, but societal change. Populations are moving to new countries, changing the balance of culture mores, things that were previously seen as unacceptable are becoming the norm, the belief in a particular religion and its High Priests has been seen to be ill-informed, as those very Priests are seen to be not so much in touch with their god as they are flawed and imperfect mere men. And it’s always men. How many female High Priests have YOU come across? Religion teaches you not to think for yourself, but to blindly follow what someone else has told you to follow and believe. Live according to someone else’s perception of the world. It’s kind of like ‘my country, right or wrong’ thinking. If my country is Nazi Germany, should I still follow that line of thinking?

Anyway, the world is changing, and that scares people, and what do humans do when they are scared? They lash out, they look for scapegoats (read your history), they persecute those they see as threats to their comfort zone and way of life, who they see as ‘different than’ their own insulated ideas of what the world should be, they use all the coping mechanisms that scared, uninformed, uneducated people use to attempt to keep their world as they know it. This scares me. Any ideas of how to fix the world would be extremely helpful, dear readers.

The obsession with eating and drinking everything out of jars. Is there something wrong with plates, bowls, and glasses? Have I missed something? Should I toss my dishes and buy a load of Mason jars? What?

People. Some of them, anyway. A Fox News news reader tweeted a link to a clothes-hanger page in response to abortion protests. He has not been fired, to my knowledge, anyway. I am stunned by all of this. And not in a good way.

The focus on the Prism whistle-blower instead of on what he revealed about our government spying on us and abusing our rights and the constitution. Deflect, deflect, deflect.

Fox news in general, even the local version. I almost never have the tv on in the morning, but was trying to get the weather without firing up the internet the other morning (I was here, the computer was over there, and it was one of those days), and the local Fox channel was the only one with news on at that particular time. They did eventually have about two minutes of weather, but first I endured almost 30 minutes of the most shallow,intelligence-insulting, inane, putrid, (oh, why can’t I think of more good words here) drivel and dreck I have ever been unfortunate enough to witness in all my years of news watching. If they had any integrity at all, they should have been cringing in shame. I get that people don’t want to hear about the ills of the world at 9am, but ‘news’ implies a certain content, doesn’t it. Not whether or not people are up in arms over something Justin Beiber may or may not have done. Why is ANYthing Justin Beiber does or does not do worthy of any attention? It’s Paris Hilton all over again. Again, deflect, deflect, deflect. Entertain???? us with the most shallow bits of society you can come up with, so we fail to notice what is being done to us in secrecy. I despair, people. I despair. Srsly.

Why was I forcing myself to endure Fox in the morning? I wanted to know if I was ever going to be able to turn off the a/c and open the windows again. Global warming or not, after the most gorgeous spring I can remember here in New England, this summer is horrendous. Living in a sauna is not my idea of a good time. Not!

Enough ranting for today? I think so. 🙂

>
I cannot remember to tag things. Duh! Here’s a couple of links I came across while eating breakfast:

Some good information here:

http://www.prohealth.com/library/showarticle.cfm?libid=15838

This one. It’s great to spew hate and incite people to violence, but when they follow through…well, that’s another story. I cannot understand Republicans, or why they are so full of hate and venom. Here’s the link:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/10/934892/-Palin-aide-claims-crosshairs-werent-gunsights

Sure they weren’t. I believe it. Thousands wouldn’t. These people creep me out. Some of them have even said something similar should happen to our President. Shouldn’t they be arrested for that? I mean I understand free speech and all, but aren’t there issues of treason and such? America, I am so disillusioned with you. Here’s something I’ve said before:

‘ “there’s a huge contrast in the media. Listen to Rachel Maddow or Keith Olbermann, and you’ll hear a lot of caustic remarks and mockery aimed at Republicans, [not] jokes about shooting government officials or beheading a journalist . . . Listen to Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly, and you will.” Krugman

(nytimes.com)’

EDIT: Okay, so it’s three things or mucho posts as I sit here. Not using my newfound energy. Anyway, I use and love Dropbox. Came across this, which is without a doubt the best answer EVER:

“Why is Dropbox more popular than other tools with similar functionality? E.g. Windows Live Sync, etc, which are free.

Well, let’s take a step back and think about the sync problem and what the ideal solution for it would do:

* There would be a folder.
* You’d put your stuff in it.
* It would sync.

They built that.”

You could just stop there for the perfect answer, but it goes on:

“Why didn’t anyone else build that? I have no idea.

“But,” you may ask, “so much more you could do! What about task management, calendaring, customized dashboards, virtual white boarding. More than just folders and files!”

No, shut up. People don’t use that crap. They just want a folder. A folder that syncs.

“But,” you may say, “this is valuable data…certainly users will feel more comfortable tying their data to Windows Live, Apple Mobile Me, or a name they already know.

No, shut up. Not a single person on Earth wakes up in the morning worried about deriving more value from their Windows Live login. People already trust folders. And Dropbox looks just like a folder. One that syncs.

“But,” you may say, “folders are so 1995. why not leverage the full power of the web? With HTML 5 you can drag and drop files, you can build intergalactic dashboards of stats showing how much storage you are using, you can publish your files as RSS feeds and tweets, and you can add your company logo!

No, shut up. Most of the world doesn’t sit in front of their browser all day. If they do, it is IE 6 at work that they are not allowed to upgrade. Browsers suck for these kinds of things. Their stuff is already in folders. They just want a folder. That syncs.

That is what it does.”

It’s from here: http://www.quora.com/Dropbox/Why-is-Dropbox-more-popular-than-other-tools-with-similar-functionality

Okay, this post is officially done. Srsly. I’m getting up now to vacuum the kitchen. Honest. Really. Srsly, I am.