Global Warming

We finally got some snow last night... Not a lot. People are talking about global warming - I don't think this is global warming.

I do think we're in danger of global warming, but people have short short memories. Two and three years ago, we had some of the worst winters on record. I think there's some disturbing trends worldwide that indicate problems, but for global warming to responsible for such a giant leap in temperatures in one year is just plain silly.

I find it alarming how crazy people get without having the facts. It's easier to just pick someone or something and put your trust in them, rather than sift through all the nasty facts and truly think for yourself. (I know people who are sure global warming will destroy us all. I also know people who are sure it is all bunk.) It's also impossible to devote the time necessary to think for yourself all of the time.

To be a good citizen, you have to do the best you can at being a constant thinker, and have a willingness to change your mind about a topic. To me, the wisest people are the wishy-washiest. You have to try everything before you know something, and before you can get to everything, the world changes and you have to start over again. Those people have a zest for life, stay young at heart, and probably die happy. As soon as you have a firm belief in something, anything, you are lost, old, and die as a miserable old fart.

Sorry for the philosophy... The most annoying thing in the world is people thinking they are right, and I'm sure I sound like it often enough. Well, maybe not. ;)

Stop picking at it

I got a cut on my ankle when I was hiking with Tiff and Zoe last week, and of course, I keep picking at the scab. It hurts when I do it, but otherwise it'd be no big deal.

Why is it when people hurt themselves, they pick and pick at the wound, even though they know better?

Dollar coins

The dollar coin is such a stupid example of how our country resists change these days instead of embracing it like we used to. We refuse to ditch the dollar bill because of inertia. Even worse, we keep the coin, so we have both floating around.

The dollar bill costs more.

The dollar bill is slower to pay with.

What would be awesome is if an influential money handler decided to round all prices to the nearest nickel and replace pennies in their cash registers with dollar coins. (Ahem... Wal-Mart...) Except, my bet is the vast majority of curmudgeonly people in this country shop at Wal-Mart, so this would probably serve to alienate their customer base. (Note - I'm not saying most Wal-Mart shoppers are curmudgeonly, but I will say that most curmudgeonly people are frequent Wal-Mart shoppers.)

This would have the effect of letting the market drive the shape of money, instead of big government artificially subsidizing wood pulp manufacturers and the curmudgeonly people of America.

And, yes, I may be the youngest curmudgeon on the face of the planet for posting this.