4 hours ago
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Salespeople
This post is fueled by a salesman who over the past two weeks called me at least 5 times. I finally called this guy back today and rather than tell him off about how obnoxious he is I politely just told him that we wouldn't be interested in the near future in using his services but that I will keep him in mind if we change our mind. Reflecting on this situation I am angry for two reasons. First, why in the world does this guy think that calling me practically every day is going to make me happy and want to buy things from him? Salespeople across pretty much all industries are not well liked simply because all they seem to do is badger us until we buy from them. It seems like it used to just be car salesmen and people that go door to door were the ones that everyone hated but we could tolerate it because we really didn't buy cars that often and we could always just not answer the door. But now the problem has become much more wide spread; cell phone people, newspaper, cable tv, telephone service, checkout clerks at most retail outlets, auto repair people, fast food people... etc. Everyone wants to sell us more!!!! Having been a salesman I know why this is the case. Salespeople make money on sales, the quicker they make sales the quicker they make money. Their training frequently becomes the more people you try to sell to the more sales you'll make. They care nothing about each individual person that they interact with, and they care nothing for whether or not the product or service being sold is even useful to the customer. All of their focus is on whether or not they make a sale. Try walking into a sales environment and tell the first person who approaches you that you are absolutely not going to buy anything that day and see what happens. (When I am picking my car up from the service drive at the dealership I like to walk through all the new cars to see how many salesguys will approach me just so I can tell them I'm not here to buy and see their disgusted reaction, one guy was in the middle of a cell phone conversation while he asked me if I needed any help, he wouldn't even get off the phone!).
Now, the reason salespeople are like this is the second reason I am angry about my situation I mentioned. Rather than tell the salesman that I am very annoyed by his approach and that I really don't appreciate being called repeatedly by a person I don't know and that I am so dissappointed in his attempt to get me as a customer I have no intention of ever using him or his company, I simply said I'm not interested. I gave him no feedback to use for how he sells to people except that maybe he needs to be more aggressive to get me to buy! We as consumers need to dictate how the sales process should work. The only reason salespeople treat us the way they do is because it is effective. If we didn't tolerate it they would have no choice but to start treating us better. Here is my advice to the world (though it may not go beyond my small handful of readers) In any sales situation in which you are going to buy something, go into it with the resolve that you are going to be treated with respect and friendliness, you will not be sold anything you don't need, you will not pay for any extras beyond what you intended to purchase, you will not be made to feel guilty or pressured to make a decision on the spot, you will not pay a price you are not completely comfortable with, and any salesperson who makes any of these things happen will not be getting your business and neither will the store that salesperson works for. This will be tough and uncomfortable but if we don't start now this sales situation may never change for hundreds of years!! Think of your children, grandchildren and their children and the sales experiences they will have, save them from the agony I beg you!
Now, the reason salespeople are like this is the second reason I am angry about my situation I mentioned. Rather than tell the salesman that I am very annoyed by his approach and that I really don't appreciate being called repeatedly by a person I don't know and that I am so dissappointed in his attempt to get me as a customer I have no intention of ever using him or his company, I simply said I'm not interested. I gave him no feedback to use for how he sells to people except that maybe he needs to be more aggressive to get me to buy! We as consumers need to dictate how the sales process should work. The only reason salespeople treat us the way they do is because it is effective. If we didn't tolerate it they would have no choice but to start treating us better. Here is my advice to the world (though it may not go beyond my small handful of readers) In any sales situation in which you are going to buy something, go into it with the resolve that you are going to be treated with respect and friendliness, you will not be sold anything you don't need, you will not pay for any extras beyond what you intended to purchase, you will not be made to feel guilty or pressured to make a decision on the spot, you will not pay a price you are not completely comfortable with, and any salesperson who makes any of these things happen will not be getting your business and neither will the store that salesperson works for. This will be tough and uncomfortable but if we don't start now this sales situation may never change for hundreds of years!! Think of your children, grandchildren and their children and the sales experiences they will have, save them from the agony I beg you!
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Investing in Relationships
Amy and I were at our church's "Marriage Getaway" this past weekend down in Irvine. We had a really good time hanging out and meeting new people, but beyond that the things that were talked about by our pastor throughout the weekend were really valuable so I'd like to pass some of it along.
Matt (our pastor) was talking about how we need to basically be more involved with our spouse and by doing so we can increase our intimacy and inloveness. He talked about how common it is for a husband and wife to have interests and hobbies that are their own and they really don't share with their spouse usually because the spouse isn't interested. He urged us to think differently about the things our spouse likes. We should acknowledge that there is obviously something about those things that makes our spouse enjoy them, which means there is something worth liking about it. Our love for our spouse should motivate us to give more consideration to those things and by doing so it is likely that we too will find something we like about it. All this is to say that the more we write off our spouses hobbies or interests as only for them, the more we are creating distance in the marriage.
I feel like even if I am pretty certain that I won't really like something Amy likes, I should still be open to trying it simply because she likes it. This can be anything... Food, activities, people, movies or shows, music. The more we can share the closer we will be.
To a little bit lesser degree I think this lesson can be applied to friendships, for those that are looking to build stronger, closer friendships, this might be a good approach.
Just something to think about if you haven't before.
Matt (our pastor) was talking about how we need to basically be more involved with our spouse and by doing so we can increase our intimacy and inloveness. He talked about how common it is for a husband and wife to have interests and hobbies that are their own and they really don't share with their spouse usually because the spouse isn't interested. He urged us to think differently about the things our spouse likes. We should acknowledge that there is obviously something about those things that makes our spouse enjoy them, which means there is something worth liking about it. Our love for our spouse should motivate us to give more consideration to those things and by doing so it is likely that we too will find something we like about it. All this is to say that the more we write off our spouses hobbies or interests as only for them, the more we are creating distance in the marriage.
I feel like even if I am pretty certain that I won't really like something Amy likes, I should still be open to trying it simply because she likes it. This can be anything... Food, activities, people, movies or shows, music. The more we can share the closer we will be.
To a little bit lesser degree I think this lesson can be applied to friendships, for those that are looking to build stronger, closer friendships, this might be a good approach.
Just something to think about if you haven't before.
Monday, October 8, 2007
The Universe, Space exploration and the Earth
A few guys that I get together with on Sundays and I have decided to go through the book "The Purpose Driven Life" together. While I was reading one of the chapters it occurred to me that in our galaxy we are essentially reaching the conclusion that Earth is the only planet that has life on it. What is interesting to me is that God created our galaxy and only put people on one planet and yet this planet is not the center/focal point of the solar system, nor is it the biggest planet it is simply the one that God decided to make inhabitable. I couldn't help but think this was an intentional move to help drive home the point that each of us individually are not the center of the universe. God created us to be in this universe and has a purpose for us beyond our selfish pursuits. This led me to start thinking a little bit about space travel and exploration. I'm willing to bet it costs billions of dollars everytime we want to send a shuttle with some people on it into space. I understand that people are intrigued by space because it is so big and so unknown and people have a adventuresome spirit. However, I guess I don't really understand what they hope to accomplish with these space flights. They haven't come remotely close to finding another planet that could have people live on it. They really have only found out a little bit about the other planets in our solar system and yet people are probably aspiring to leave our galaxy and see what else there is. Everyone is entitle to their own interests and pursuits, but the fact that our Government is paying our money for this to happen is pretty frustrating to me. Basically space exploration has done nothing for the good of our country. We beat Russia to the moon but I've yet to see the trophy or the cash prize that we got for that accomplishment, oh wait, like all other space flights we probably got nothing for it. Given that we live in a country that deals with issues like poverty, healthcare problems, social security nightmares, war with other parts of the world, corporate corruption, crime and all the other problems we can't figure out a solution for, should we really be pumping billions of dollars into the hobby of a handful of scientists? I am pretty sure that NASA works on other things besides exploring space, they probably have a hand in rocket based weaponry of some sort. If they are contributing in other areas then by all means, fund those other areas. But space travel doesn't seem to have much to offer society as a whole therefore I believe our government should leave it to the private sector to pursue as they so desire.
Besides if we learned everything about space, the whole science fiction genre of movies and books would probably dwindle because their room for implanting there creativity into the gap of the unkown would be eliminated. On that note and in closing, in the 1998 hit movie Armageddon did anyone else find it interesting that a meteor the size of Texas was coming at the Earth, and they were able to blast it into two nicely cut pieces with a nuke simply by digging down 800 feet? The distance East to West of Texas is 773 Miles, and North to South its 801 miles. I really don't think 800 feet of drilling would do the trick but the drama and special effects of the movie helped us ignore the physics of the situation. Credit for this observation goes to my physics and chemistry teacher Preston Q. Boomer (aka P.Q. Le Boom, aka Boom).
Besides if we learned everything about space, the whole science fiction genre of movies and books would probably dwindle because their room for implanting there creativity into the gap of the unkown would be eliminated. On that note and in closing, in the 1998 hit movie Armageddon did anyone else find it interesting that a meteor the size of Texas was coming at the Earth, and they were able to blast it into two nicely cut pieces with a nuke simply by digging down 800 feet? The distance East to West of Texas is 773 Miles, and North to South its 801 miles. I really don't think 800 feet of drilling would do the trick but the drama and special effects of the movie helped us ignore the physics of the situation. Credit for this observation goes to my physics and chemistry teacher Preston Q. Boomer (aka P.Q. Le Boom, aka Boom).
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Commercials
Television commercials are by far one of the most expensive ways for a company to advertise. That being the case it is suprising to me how many company's put out horrible commercials. Here's some examples:
Car commercials show a car driving on an excessively windy road and have some silly tag line to imply that driving that car will some how free you from the restriction of the roads you drive on everyday. Or they show a truck pulling an airplane on a balance beam over a canyon or something ridiculous like that. The only car commercial I can say I like are the VW ones, the ones where they show a car accident were pretty attention grabbing, but they also had a series of humorous ones that ran before those that I enjoyed.
Cell phone commercials are either really horrible or pretty good. They have some funny ones out but there are so many of them that as soon as I realize its a cell phone commercial I tend to tune it out.
Trade schools and various "career colleges" have some of the absolute worse commercials ever, and they are basically lying to people. They will show a girl that is a medical assistant and have her say that she loves her job and she is working her way up. I'm curious as to what a medical assistant works her way up to. It's not like she can just all of a sudden get promoted to a nurse or something.
Financial services, credit cards, and banks advertise frequently but there is always that feeling that they aren't telling you all the details and that if you do business with them you would end up getting screwed somehow. Despite this preconceived feeling they pretty much always advertise the same way.
I primarily like commercials that are funny. So now that its football season I love the coors light beer commercials where they dub some football/coors fans into press conferences with NFL coaches. I also like the Xaiser Permanente commercials because they creatively promote health and wellness. One of my all time favorites is the nextel commercial where they three guys are in an office dancing to the song "push it" by Salt n Pepa and they other guy comes in all frantic only to find out that Nextel has enabled these guys to take care of all their logistics easily, thus they can cue the music again and resume dancing.
I'm sure you all see plenty of commercials, let me know what ones you like and don't like, if you have an idea for a commercial feel free to post that here as well, I promise I won't steal your idea.
Car commercials show a car driving on an excessively windy road and have some silly tag line to imply that driving that car will some how free you from the restriction of the roads you drive on everyday. Or they show a truck pulling an airplane on a balance beam over a canyon or something ridiculous like that. The only car commercial I can say I like are the VW ones, the ones where they show a car accident were pretty attention grabbing, but they also had a series of humorous ones that ran before those that I enjoyed.
Cell phone commercials are either really horrible or pretty good. They have some funny ones out but there are so many of them that as soon as I realize its a cell phone commercial I tend to tune it out.
Trade schools and various "career colleges" have some of the absolute worse commercials ever, and they are basically lying to people. They will show a girl that is a medical assistant and have her say that she loves her job and she is working her way up. I'm curious as to what a medical assistant works her way up to. It's not like she can just all of a sudden get promoted to a nurse or something.
Financial services, credit cards, and banks advertise frequently but there is always that feeling that they aren't telling you all the details and that if you do business with them you would end up getting screwed somehow. Despite this preconceived feeling they pretty much always advertise the same way.
I primarily like commercials that are funny. So now that its football season I love the coors light beer commercials where they dub some football/coors fans into press conferences with NFL coaches. I also like the Xaiser Permanente commercials because they creatively promote health and wellness. One of my all time favorites is the nextel commercial where they three guys are in an office dancing to the song "push it" by Salt n Pepa and they other guy comes in all frantic only to find out that Nextel has enabled these guys to take care of all their logistics easily, thus they can cue the music again and resume dancing.
I'm sure you all see plenty of commercials, let me know what ones you like and don't like, if you have an idea for a commercial feel free to post that here as well, I promise I won't steal your idea.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Mechanics
I can't stand having car trouble and yet it never fails that every couple of months I have it. I thought by buying a newer car I could escape this bad luck with cars but that was not the case. My extensive car troubles have given me the opportunity to be a customer of a lot of different repair shops because I really haven't found one worth returning to for future repairs. Now I know everyone hates mechanic shops because they overcharge, they try to fix things that you didn't ask for, they make you feel guilty because your car has problems, they make you feel like an idiot because you don't know everything there is to know about cars (this one is funny considering the number of times they don't know what's wrong with a car, and the number of times they fix something and yet the original problem still remains), They charge outrageous amounts for labor (the hourly fees probably rival some physicians), their shops are dirty, the workers are dirty, they take forever, and they seem to think telling us the part didn't come in is an adequate excuse for a simple repair taking a week when we know full well that parts can be delivered within 24 hrs just like anything else in the world.
My question is simply why? why are mechanic shops this way? Is it impossible to operate them differently? are all mechanics and mechanic shop managers the exact same so that no matter what the shops they work in will always perform in this manner?
Now I must give you my solution. What follows is a potential business that I believe would be a gold mine for whoever pursues it. I don't particularly want to be in this business so I am ok with you guys stealing my idea, good luck to you if you do.
Open a mechanic shop that has adequate parking, with actual parking spaces, not just open space where cars are smashed whereever they will fit. Have a very visible sign that says your name and that you do "all kinds of repairs on all kinds of cars", none of this foreign only or domestic only junk. Have a clean lobby with plenty of clean and comfortable seating. Have a clean cut person working the front counter that takes all the customer info and is able to accurately quote a wait time to have the vehicle diagnosed. Offer customers a beverage while they wait. When telling the customer the diagnosis explain thoroughly what is wrong, what likely caused it, what will be done to fix it, how much it will cost and how long it will take. Give the customer to option to watch the work being done on their vehicle, and have the mechanics explain to them what they are doing while they work. Ask the customer if they would like to be told other potential problems with their car or other things that the mechanic can do regarding maintenance. If the customer says no, then leave them alone. If they say yes, simply suggest one or two things, don't overwhelm them with $5000 worth of work. Also, if their repairs happen to be and outrageous amount, like over $2000 offer a payment plan, like bill them for half of they amount. Warranty your work, a lot of mechanics do but they don't point it out to the customer, make sure the customer knows to bring the vehicle back if there are any issues, and call the customer after a week or two to make sure the car is running properly. This is the basic format to what I think could be a great business. Customer service has been almost completely lost in the auto repair industry, whoever sets out to bring it back is likely to make millions.
If you have any great mechanic experiences please feel free to share, if you have any horror stories share those as well, I'm sure you'll find plenty of sympathy.
My question is simply why? why are mechanic shops this way? Is it impossible to operate them differently? are all mechanics and mechanic shop managers the exact same so that no matter what the shops they work in will always perform in this manner?
Now I must give you my solution. What follows is a potential business that I believe would be a gold mine for whoever pursues it. I don't particularly want to be in this business so I am ok with you guys stealing my idea, good luck to you if you do.
Open a mechanic shop that has adequate parking, with actual parking spaces, not just open space where cars are smashed whereever they will fit. Have a very visible sign that says your name and that you do "all kinds of repairs on all kinds of cars", none of this foreign only or domestic only junk. Have a clean lobby with plenty of clean and comfortable seating. Have a clean cut person working the front counter that takes all the customer info and is able to accurately quote a wait time to have the vehicle diagnosed. Offer customers a beverage while they wait. When telling the customer the diagnosis explain thoroughly what is wrong, what likely caused it, what will be done to fix it, how much it will cost and how long it will take. Give the customer to option to watch the work being done on their vehicle, and have the mechanics explain to them what they are doing while they work. Ask the customer if they would like to be told other potential problems with their car or other things that the mechanic can do regarding maintenance. If the customer says no, then leave them alone. If they say yes, simply suggest one or two things, don't overwhelm them with $5000 worth of work. Also, if their repairs happen to be and outrageous amount, like over $2000 offer a payment plan, like bill them for half of they amount. Warranty your work, a lot of mechanics do but they don't point it out to the customer, make sure the customer knows to bring the vehicle back if there are any issues, and call the customer after a week or two to make sure the car is running properly. This is the basic format to what I think could be a great business. Customer service has been almost completely lost in the auto repair industry, whoever sets out to bring it back is likely to make millions.
If you have any great mechanic experiences please feel free to share, if you have any horror stories share those as well, I'm sure you'll find plenty of sympathy.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Book Stores
For those of you that don't know I really enjoy book stores. It is one of the very few places I actually enjoy just browsing around with no intent to buy anything. I would like to buy more books if I could be they can get expensive, so I am usually content just seeing what's available. What's weird is I probably would have no interest in like 90% of the books in the store considering I don't really care for mysteries, young people books, romance novels, school type literature, self help books, and most non-fiction and magazines. However, I have come to just really enjoy the environment. I guess the fact that it is a place that exists based on reading and people's enjoyment of reading is refreshing to me. I have to say I enjoy TV and Movies but reading seems like such a healthier form of entertainment. TV and movies are so short and rushed to have a plot and a resolution. Books have more of a luxury, they can be drawn out sometimes even taking 3 or even 15 books to complete a story. The creativity and flow of story telling doesn't have to be cut short like it is in movies and TV because it doesn't have to cater to short attention spans. All this to say I really like book stores and if I ever have the extra couple million dollars lying around I would love to open my own bookstore.
I prefer to read fantasy novels but I am open to other genres I just don't go exploring them unless some one talks me into it. I hope everyone reading this likes to read but I know full well that there are a lot of people that just don't enjoy it. I'm convinced that they don't enjoy it because they just haven't found the right book yet. To those that don't read, if you're open to it I'd love to help you find the right kind of book for you, and I'm pretty certain you won't regret it. To those that do read feel free to comment why you like it and what you like to read.
I prefer to read fantasy novels but I am open to other genres I just don't go exploring them unless some one talks me into it. I hope everyone reading this likes to read but I know full well that there are a lot of people that just don't enjoy it. I'm convinced that they don't enjoy it because they just haven't found the right book yet. To those that don't read, if you're open to it I'd love to help you find the right kind of book for you, and I'm pretty certain you won't regret it. To those that do read feel free to comment why you like it and what you like to read.
Monday, August 13, 2007
New Poll
Hey guys be sure to vote on the new poll and feel free to comment why you chose your answer.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
A more positive note
So I seemed to have struck a chord with things that are a bit obnoxious in the last post. This time I've decided to go for something a little more positive. I'd like to talk about some things that I really enjoy. Not the obvious things, but the smaller things that can really make my day.
I really like soda that comes from a soda fountain, it tastes the best and I really like it when a place has Dr.pepper on tap. On a similar note I like it when a waitress or waiter brings me a refill right before my glass is empty, and when they just bring me one without asking if I want one.
I love the show Seinfield, and I don't think any other sitcom will capture comedy on that level. The Office is really funny but its different, Seinfield is a true gem.
I like when I'm playing basketball and I'm able to shoot a three pointer without thinking about it and it goes in perfectly. It doesn't happen that often but it is encouraging to know that my body can do it, and there's always the chance that I can get better and do it more frequently.
I like it when I am remembered places. Whether its the Doctor's offices I visit for work, or some where else that I frequent regularly. It is a good fealing to be remembered fondly and greeted warmly when you enter a place.
I like seeing people from High School. Even though there are some I don't really like and don't necessarily want to be close friends with, there is something about a brief re-living of the past that is enjoyable.
I like being able to provide a good music playlist for people when they come and hang out at my apartment. I like to try and anticipate songs they will like or songs that they will remember from back in the day. It may not always be noticed or appreciated but I like doing it regardless, because I always appreciate it.
These are just a few of the simpler things that I like. I would encourage you to think about some of the things that may not seem that significant but are enjoyable to you in your life. Please post them in your comments if you have the time, I look forward to reading them.
Check out the new poll as well and post your response. The last one was interesting, I am shocked that people actually selected that they would fall into the bottom of an outhouse and stay there, I really don't think I can think of anything more disgusting than that but i'll try.
I really like soda that comes from a soda fountain, it tastes the best and I really like it when a place has Dr.pepper on tap. On a similar note I like it when a waitress or waiter brings me a refill right before my glass is empty, and when they just bring me one without asking if I want one.
I love the show Seinfield, and I don't think any other sitcom will capture comedy on that level. The Office is really funny but its different, Seinfield is a true gem.
I like when I'm playing basketball and I'm able to shoot a three pointer without thinking about it and it goes in perfectly. It doesn't happen that often but it is encouraging to know that my body can do it, and there's always the chance that I can get better and do it more frequently.
I like it when I am remembered places. Whether its the Doctor's offices I visit for work, or some where else that I frequent regularly. It is a good fealing to be remembered fondly and greeted warmly when you enter a place.
I like seeing people from High School. Even though there are some I don't really like and don't necessarily want to be close friends with, there is something about a brief re-living of the past that is enjoyable.
I like being able to provide a good music playlist for people when they come and hang out at my apartment. I like to try and anticipate songs they will like or songs that they will remember from back in the day. It may not always be noticed or appreciated but I like doing it regardless, because I always appreciate it.
These are just a few of the simpler things that I like. I would encourage you to think about some of the things that may not seem that significant but are enjoyable to you in your life. Please post them in your comments if you have the time, I look forward to reading them.
Check out the new poll as well and post your response. The last one was interesting, I am shocked that people actually selected that they would fall into the bottom of an outhouse and stay there, I really don't think I can think of anything more disgusting than that but i'll try.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Courtesy Corner
The lack of common courtesy that I witness and experience on a daily basis is astounding. I think its safe to say that the majority of the general public has a complete lack of othersmindedness (this probably isn't really a word but you know what I mean by it). Allow me to choose the simple topic of courtesy out and about on the roadways. When driving on the freeway it is not necessary to be in the far left lane if you are driving the same speed as the cars in the middle or the right lane. My understanding is that the left lane is for faster traffic, if you are going the same speed as the car next to you, you are not faster traffic and therefore should not be in the left lane. I've heard it said that if you are going the speed limit or even slightly over it which is common practice, you should not feel compelled to move out of the way of vehicles that want to go faster than you. My response to this is that basically this argument breaks down to something like "I should be able to drive as fast as i'm comfortable with and if other people don't like it they can go around me" and yet by having that attitude and driving that way you are making a case against that argument because you won't allow others to adopt the same practice. They would like to drive as fast as they are comfortable with and are being prevented by your stubbornness. It's just rude, I say if some one wants to drive faster than you, let them go by, changing lanes to get out of their path is really not that big of a deal.
Next, I would like to target semi-trucks, dump trucks, junky vehicles that can't go fast, and people who for some strange reason are afraid to get remotely close to the speed limit. We are all taught that the right lane is for slower traffic, but I am going to make a revolutionary statement here and say that slow people should drive in the middle lane. Here's why. Traffic is primarily caused by people merging on and off of the freeway therefore anything that potentially slows down the merging process is going to cause traffic. In Riverside particularly a lot of the onramp's don't give you much time to merge onto the 91 freeway. This being the case a large truck or something that is going 50-60mph rather than 65-80 can seriously get in the way when attempting to merge. If these slow moving vehicles had any sort of dexterity that would enable them to move quickly to accomodate cars merging in then things would be fine, but they of course don't. Therefore, if these vehicles were in the middle lane they would be completely out of the way of the cars that are getting on and off the freeway. If you happen to be responsible for a slow moving vehicle I recommend you try using the middle lane, also try speeding it up a little bit, just try it. I promise you won't die and hey, you may even like it, you may even get to where you are going on time!
Lastly I would like to point out a lack of courtesy in pedestrians. I understand full well the purpose of crosswalks but it seems to be that pedestrians using them seem to lose their understanding of why the intersection at which they are crossing has a crosswalk to begin with. Allow me to remind them, the crosswalk is needed because at that particular place a lot of cars want to go in all directions thus it is necessary to stop them in order for any pedestrians to get across the street. That's fine and dandy but when a pedestrian presses the button, waits a little bit, then steps off the curb when told to walk they seem to instantaneously develop a mentality that is telling them the whole world has just been paused so that they can perform an extraordinary show of walking across the street. Due to most people's desire to have their 15 minutes of fame, they really don't want to squander this spotlight they've been given, thus they draw out this time as long as possible. What they fail to realize is that some cars are allowed to go as soon as the pedestrians are out of the way which means, as the performance of walking is going on, others must sit waiting with whatever patience they can muster. Let me wrap it up with this, if you use a walker to get around or are blind by all means take the full time all the way up until the hand becomes solid red to cross the street. Everyone else, haul your butt across there at the double quick because we all have somewhere we need to be and a performance of you walking across the street is not worth the admission to the show. Remember people, we live in California, this is a fast paced place and it's never gonna change, if you can hack it, I hear there are cheap houses in South Dakota.
Next, I would like to target semi-trucks, dump trucks, junky vehicles that can't go fast, and people who for some strange reason are afraid to get remotely close to the speed limit. We are all taught that the right lane is for slower traffic, but I am going to make a revolutionary statement here and say that slow people should drive in the middle lane. Here's why. Traffic is primarily caused by people merging on and off of the freeway therefore anything that potentially slows down the merging process is going to cause traffic. In Riverside particularly a lot of the onramp's don't give you much time to merge onto the 91 freeway. This being the case a large truck or something that is going 50-60mph rather than 65-80 can seriously get in the way when attempting to merge. If these slow moving vehicles had any sort of dexterity that would enable them to move quickly to accomodate cars merging in then things would be fine, but they of course don't. Therefore, if these vehicles were in the middle lane they would be completely out of the way of the cars that are getting on and off the freeway. If you happen to be responsible for a slow moving vehicle I recommend you try using the middle lane, also try speeding it up a little bit, just try it. I promise you won't die and hey, you may even like it, you may even get to where you are going on time!
Lastly I would like to point out a lack of courtesy in pedestrians. I understand full well the purpose of crosswalks but it seems to be that pedestrians using them seem to lose their understanding of why the intersection at which they are crossing has a crosswalk to begin with. Allow me to remind them, the crosswalk is needed because at that particular place a lot of cars want to go in all directions thus it is necessary to stop them in order for any pedestrians to get across the street. That's fine and dandy but when a pedestrian presses the button, waits a little bit, then steps off the curb when told to walk they seem to instantaneously develop a mentality that is telling them the whole world has just been paused so that they can perform an extraordinary show of walking across the street. Due to most people's desire to have their 15 minutes of fame, they really don't want to squander this spotlight they've been given, thus they draw out this time as long as possible. What they fail to realize is that some cars are allowed to go as soon as the pedestrians are out of the way which means, as the performance of walking is going on, others must sit waiting with whatever patience they can muster. Let me wrap it up with this, if you use a walker to get around or are blind by all means take the full time all the way up until the hand becomes solid red to cross the street. Everyone else, haul your butt across there at the double quick because we all have somewhere we need to be and a performance of you walking across the street is not worth the admission to the show. Remember people, we live in California, this is a fast paced place and it's never gonna change, if you can hack it, I hear there are cheap houses in South Dakota.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
He's Back and has some new plans!
Hey Everyone, sorry for the delay between posts. I am now committing myself to blogging regularly so I should post on here at least once a week if not more from now on.
So here's my new plan. For a long long time I've considered the possibility of writing my own book. I really enjoy reading, especially books that fall into the fantasy genre. The reason I like to read these types of books is because they level of imagination and creativity that goes into them really impresses me. Not only that but I tend to be very imaginative so I get really sucked into the stories and the characters of these books. That being said I think my creative juices flow regularly enough that I could come up with a pretty good story line of my own. Since I am off school until september I've decided to get a notebook and spend a little bit of time each day brainstorming ideas for my book. I'm in no hurry to get this done but I think if I can turn out a decent book or series of books whether it gets published or not I would be very proud of myself for the accomplishment. Who knows I could turn out to be an amazing author, we'll see!
So here's my new plan. For a long long time I've considered the possibility of writing my own book. I really enjoy reading, especially books that fall into the fantasy genre. The reason I like to read these types of books is because they level of imagination and creativity that goes into them really impresses me. Not only that but I tend to be very imaginative so I get really sucked into the stories and the characters of these books. That being said I think my creative juices flow regularly enough that I could come up with a pretty good story line of my own. Since I am off school until september I've decided to get a notebook and spend a little bit of time each day brainstorming ideas for my book. I'm in no hurry to get this done but I think if I can turn out a decent book or series of books whether it gets published or not I would be very proud of myself for the accomplishment. Who knows I could turn out to be an amazing author, we'll see!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Back Again
So things have been hectic because I'm finishing up this quarter at school. Not much has been going on besides work, school, hanging out with friends, playing soccer and basketball, playing halo and warcraft... pretty much everything I usually do.
One thing that is new though is an effort I am making to increase my patience levels. It may sound odd but in Bible study we've been talking about the fruit of the spirit and patience is part of that. I could probably use work on most of them but I've identified this one as one of the biggest issues for me. I have a tendency to let my impatience drive me to unacceptable levels of anger and frustration. Whether its playing sports, going to school, work, or driving on the roads I tend to get impatience with myself and others fairly easily. So at first I thought I should avoid the things that push my patience but then it occurred to me that I have an inner issue and avoiding things that draw it out does not repair that issue. So my intent is to acknowledge the things that typically push me over the edge and prepare myself to handle those situations. This means doing things like praying before certain activities, asking my friends to keep an eye on me, and when I do lose my patience I need to be aware of it and make ammends when necessary.
Not only do I think this will help me to live a life more like Christ, I think it will help me in other areas like being more joyful and showing more kindness to people. This doesn't mean that I need everyone to get on my back all the time but I would invite you guys to help me with prayer and keeping me accountable.
You might all want to take some time and read what the fruit of the spirit is and see if there are some aspects that you should work on. It definitely feels good to take a proactive approach to being more Christlike and I am sure it makes God happy as well.
See ya!
One thing that is new though is an effort I am making to increase my patience levels. It may sound odd but in Bible study we've been talking about the fruit of the spirit and patience is part of that. I could probably use work on most of them but I've identified this one as one of the biggest issues for me. I have a tendency to let my impatience drive me to unacceptable levels of anger and frustration. Whether its playing sports, going to school, work, or driving on the roads I tend to get impatience with myself and others fairly easily. So at first I thought I should avoid the things that push my patience but then it occurred to me that I have an inner issue and avoiding things that draw it out does not repair that issue. So my intent is to acknowledge the things that typically push me over the edge and prepare myself to handle those situations. This means doing things like praying before certain activities, asking my friends to keep an eye on me, and when I do lose my patience I need to be aware of it and make ammends when necessary.
Not only do I think this will help me to live a life more like Christ, I think it will help me in other areas like being more joyful and showing more kindness to people. This doesn't mean that I need everyone to get on my back all the time but I would invite you guys to help me with prayer and keeping me accountable.
You might all want to take some time and read what the fruit of the spirit is and see if there are some aspects that you should work on. It definitely feels good to take a proactive approach to being more Christlike and I am sure it makes God happy as well.
See ya!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Small Town Kid
I was at a conference on Monday put on by Harvard Business school, and the Tech Coast Angels (an investment company that as invested like 100 million dollars in new business startups). Some of the content was really interesting and I got to watch a business pitch competition where potential businesses pitch their plans to the investors in an effort to get money.
At times during this conference I really felt out of my element, not so much that I didn't belong, but moreso that I didn't want to be involved with the people there and the type of business they were all in. Ultimately these people are looking to start or fund businesses that are going to operate on a national level and generally the criteria is that within 5 years the business will be reporting like 25 million dollars in revenue. Basically I felt like I really couldn't envision myself pitching my business ideas to these people and operating a business on that scale.
I started thinking about why and I basically concluded that I am a small town person. I grew up in Boulder Creek California and lived there for 18 years. Boulder Creek has maybe 5,000 people living there but you'd never see half of them because their houses are hidden off in the forest. There is one main road that runs through town and there is not a single stoplight there (we had one once but everyone complained so they took it down). There's one elementary school, no high school, the only fast food place is an old old Foster's Freeze. The grocery store is a little place called Johnny's Super. All this to say that I am from a tiny town that is surrounded by other tiny town's, outside the tiny city of Santa Cruz. When I moved to Riverside I felt like I was moving to a huge city, but when I tell people that they all seem to think I'm a little bit crazy, (LA and San Diego are big cities, Riverside is apparently a small city by comparison).
All this to say it is really quite reasonable that I would be used to a small town feel which doesn't breed thoughts of doing business all over the country and even around the world.
This would explain my firm set beliefs in customer service and personalized service in business. I come from a place where you know people that live in your town and where small service oriented businesses are all there is. While being rooted in this may effect my ability to be wealthy I would rather be in a business I enjoy and am proud of than in one that gets me 5 million dollars in private funding from the Tech Coast Angels.
I'm not sure if all this makes sense, I was kind of rambling but hopefully a point about me was conveyed.
At times during this conference I really felt out of my element, not so much that I didn't belong, but moreso that I didn't want to be involved with the people there and the type of business they were all in. Ultimately these people are looking to start or fund businesses that are going to operate on a national level and generally the criteria is that within 5 years the business will be reporting like 25 million dollars in revenue. Basically I felt like I really couldn't envision myself pitching my business ideas to these people and operating a business on that scale.
I started thinking about why and I basically concluded that I am a small town person. I grew up in Boulder Creek California and lived there for 18 years. Boulder Creek has maybe 5,000 people living there but you'd never see half of them because their houses are hidden off in the forest. There is one main road that runs through town and there is not a single stoplight there (we had one once but everyone complained so they took it down). There's one elementary school, no high school, the only fast food place is an old old Foster's Freeze. The grocery store is a little place called Johnny's Super. All this to say that I am from a tiny town that is surrounded by other tiny town's, outside the tiny city of Santa Cruz. When I moved to Riverside I felt like I was moving to a huge city, but when I tell people that they all seem to think I'm a little bit crazy, (LA and San Diego are big cities, Riverside is apparently a small city by comparison).
All this to say it is really quite reasonable that I would be used to a small town feel which doesn't breed thoughts of doing business all over the country and even around the world.
This would explain my firm set beliefs in customer service and personalized service in business. I come from a place where you know people that live in your town and where small service oriented businesses are all there is. While being rooted in this may effect my ability to be wealthy I would rather be in a business I enjoy and am proud of than in one that gets me 5 million dollars in private funding from the Tech Coast Angels.
I'm not sure if all this makes sense, I was kind of rambling but hopefully a point about me was conveyed.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
I forgot the Jesus Part
Ok so here's the part about Jesus and customer service. Jesus's life was based on doing something out of love for people. He had no other motive than a love for us to come to earth and die on the cross. Similarly the way he treated people was rooted in a love for them. Even in dealing with people he probably got frustrated with like the pharisees (angry customers) he didn't lash out and kill them all, he was firm and truthful with them and sometimes he had to tell it how it was, but he loved them all the time. So I like to think that if Jesus were running a business he would treat all of his customers with love regardless of how much money they were spending or if they were spending any money at all. He said that the second greatest command is to love our neighbor as our self. If that were the basis for customer service things would be significantly different. Doing business with people would be a chance to not only supply them with products and services they need or want, but it would also be an opportunity to show them that you care about them how Jesus wants you to. Unfortunately this is basically a Christian principle so it is hard to expect it of a non-christian business world. But I am still convinced that serving customers out of love is the absolute best way to run a business.
Hope everyone's doing well, I'll probably have another post up by the end of the week, I've had something on my mind that I'd like to share with everyone.
Hope everyone's doing well, I'll probably have another post up by the end of the week, I've had something on my mind that I'd like to share with everyone.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Customer Service Follow up
Amy touched on what I had in mind in her comment to the first post. Basically I think that customer service is rooted in the wrong pursuits. People need to be treated well because they are cared about, not because they can potentially spend more money. Lets use an example: Lets say I am going to Verizon because I want a new cell phone (this was my situation about a week ago). If the customer service there were based on the employees wanting me to have the phone and service plan that is going to work best for my needs, at a price I'm comfortable with my experience would go something like this: I walk in and am greeted by a sales rep whom I tell I need a new phone and I need to sign a new contract to continue my service. At this point the rep could ask if I want anything particular in a phone, does it need certain capabilities, in what ways do I use a phone, and do I have a price range in mind. Based on what I tell him/her I would then be shown a few options with the features I had asked for and within my price range, he/she would then tell me to take a few minutes to play around with each phone and see if they seem right for me. When I was ready I could then make my selection and buy it, or I could ask to be shown some more options. Once I had made a decision the rep could then ask me if I would like to make any changes to my plan before I sign a new contract or am I happy with how it is. Being content with it I could sign for another 2 years, get the new phone activated, pay, and leave happy with the experience.
Customer service at Verizon however, is rooted in the fact that if you are too rude the customer won't buy anything so you have to be nice in order to make money off the people that walk in the store. When I went in I told the rep my needs and he looked up how much of a credit I had toward a phone, then proceeded to walk me over to the most popular and most expensive phones that would be a good upgrade from what I was using. He pointed out the features such as being able to download and play music from my phone, the easy text message capabilities, Internet exploring and what not. At this point I told him I don't need to listen to music on my phone and that I don't text message or intend to use the phone for the Internet. This is where he looked at me like I was an idiot, as if to say "who in their right mind wouldn't use all these cool capabilities, everyone should be texting and playing music on their phones, this guy must be like 30 years older than he looks or something." Then he walked me over to basically the "old" phones and said I might be looking for one of these, rather than show me any features or try to sell me on these phones he said tell me if you have questions and walked away. So I started looking at all the phones he didn't show me to compare capabilities and prices and he asked my 3 times if I had any questions. I finally picked one and then he tried to sell me on adding text messaging to my phone plan after I had just told him I don't use texting. Finally I got my plan signed and got out of the store, and my feelings were ones of "did I get the right phone" "did he screw up my plan at all" "am I going to see a big bill or something", rather than feeling good about the transaction.
All of this to say, I don't think businesses can expect to provide good customer service unless it is based on them caring about the people they are servicing. Profits will likely come as a result of that service, but those profits cannot be the motivator or truly good customer service will not be what is delivered.
I would encourage you to think about the service you receive and take mental notes on why you think it is the way it is. I believe the overall level of service in our country can improve, I just don't think its going to.
Customer service at Verizon however, is rooted in the fact that if you are too rude the customer won't buy anything so you have to be nice in order to make money off the people that walk in the store. When I went in I told the rep my needs and he looked up how much of a credit I had toward a phone, then proceeded to walk me over to the most popular and most expensive phones that would be a good upgrade from what I was using. He pointed out the features such as being able to download and play music from my phone, the easy text message capabilities, Internet exploring and what not. At this point I told him I don't need to listen to music on my phone and that I don't text message or intend to use the phone for the Internet. This is where he looked at me like I was an idiot, as if to say "who in their right mind wouldn't use all these cool capabilities, everyone should be texting and playing music on their phones, this guy must be like 30 years older than he looks or something." Then he walked me over to basically the "old" phones and said I might be looking for one of these, rather than show me any features or try to sell me on these phones he said tell me if you have questions and walked away. So I started looking at all the phones he didn't show me to compare capabilities and prices and he asked my 3 times if I had any questions. I finally picked one and then he tried to sell me on adding text messaging to my phone plan after I had just told him I don't use texting. Finally I got my plan signed and got out of the store, and my feelings were ones of "did I get the right phone" "did he screw up my plan at all" "am I going to see a big bill or something", rather than feeling good about the transaction.
All of this to say, I don't think businesses can expect to provide good customer service unless it is based on them caring about the people they are servicing. Profits will likely come as a result of that service, but those profits cannot be the motivator or truly good customer service will not be what is delivered.
I would encourage you to think about the service you receive and take mental notes on why you think it is the way it is. I believe the overall level of service in our country can improve, I just don't think its going to.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Jesus and Customer Service
I think Jesus is a big fan of customer service. I frequently take note of horrible customer service at places where I choose to spend my money, it is sort a habit of mine, and I think that Jesus would be equally dissappointed with today's general level of customer service. I think the problem is rooted in the primary motivator for being in business. The places I most frequently spend my money are, grocery stores, restaurants, golf courses, video rental stores, and a bunch of other places I guess but those are all I can think of right now. Anyway, these businesses pretty much all exist to make money. Therefore, their only reason to even consider offering good service is that it might make them more money. I would say that it has been determined that money is not the best motivator, though it often seems like it, I really think there are about 5 or 6 other things that motivate people more than money but thats a different topic. My point here is that because people think the only thing they stand to gain from good customer service is money they aren't that motivated to give it their best shot. I intend to follow this post up with more of my thoughts on customer service but based on what I've said so far I'd be interested to see if you have any thoughts or responses. Ultimately in order for great customer service, or even good customer service to exist in an establishment there needs to be a better motivator than the money that it can generate. I'll get more into the Jesus aspect of this train of thought in my next post.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
One more thing on politics
It is interesting to me that anyone can just pick to be a candidate for a political office. Then we are given the list of people who want to hold that position and we have to pick one. In most other areas of life people are put in leadership positions because the people around them want to follow them, not because they were the best of the 3 options available. For example in large companies people don't campaign to be CEO or CFO, the board of directors finds the person they think will be best at the job and offers it to them. Similarly on sports teams a team captain is generally chosen by the team and the person chosen will either be one of the best players, or a guy with other qualities that the team values in some one who is supposed to lead them. Yet for some reason our political system is more like a talent show, anyone can sign up and whoever gets the biggest applause wins and gets to have a hand in ruling the most powerful country in the world. I'm not sure where we got off track, but my understanding of the first presidency is George Washington was asked to serve as president because everyone felt he would be the best man for the job, not because he did the most commercials. Let me know what you think, is our system effective for putting the best person in office, or are the greatest presidents and other political officials never being elected because no one ever asked them to serve?
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Back to Politics
When Amy and I were up visiting my parents for Easter we saw a little press conference for republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Amy kind of liked the guy because he seemed nice and friendly. Don't worry, I warned her that it is all an act and that the entire press conference was probably scripted out. Anyway, when Amy's parents picked us up from the airport we were talking about the candidate and they told us that he was a Mormon. It made me start to think if I would factor a person's religious beliefs into whether or not I wanted them as president. The whole separation of church and state would tend to imply that it shouldn't matter. However, I feel that one's religious beliefs are, or at least should be a part of everything they do and all the decisions they make. I would probably prefer that my president be of the same religious background as me but that is not always going to happen, so now I am trying to decide if I would rather have some one who flat out is not religious, or some one who is of another religion like a Muslim or a Jewish person. Its hard to say, I'd be interested to hear all your thoughts on this so feel free to post at will. I'm leaning towards any religious person would be better than no religion at all simply because most religions push for similar value systems that I agree with, but what if it was some crazy religion and all of a sudden our coins said "In the sun god we trust"? Let me know your thoughts.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
I'm Back
Ok so I haven't posted for a while, but I was pretty bogged down with school stuff. I finished the winter quarter so now I get a short break before I start up again. One of the things that has bothered me in my classes is that I feel like there is no room to disagree with my professors. Sometimes I think they are flat out wrong, or they are expressing one of their personal viewpoints that I don't agree with. My problem is that I don't think it is safe for me to say anything.
Example: my professor for Organizational Theory and Behavior doesn't seem to like big companies like Walmart or McDonald's because of some of the problems they can cause people, Like put people out of business, force people out of jobs etc. I acknowledge that stuff happens but I am not totally soured on big corporations, I just think some slight management changes are needed. But in the class it felt like we had to listen to 2 hours of coporation bashing each night. What is weird is that it is a management class yet it is basically discouraging us from trying to work for a big corporation. So my gut instinct is to speak up when I don't agree, but I felt like saying anything would be opposing him in a way that he would take it personally.
I'm open to thoughts on this situation. While I realize that a professor can't always disconnect to a point where their personal beliefs don't bleed into the course content, however I have frequently gotten the distinct impression that if I confront them too much it will affect my grade in the class, and some of these professors I have to have more than once.
Example: my professor for Organizational Theory and Behavior doesn't seem to like big companies like Walmart or McDonald's because of some of the problems they can cause people, Like put people out of business, force people out of jobs etc. I acknowledge that stuff happens but I am not totally soured on big corporations, I just think some slight management changes are needed. But in the class it felt like we had to listen to 2 hours of coporation bashing each night. What is weird is that it is a management class yet it is basically discouraging us from trying to work for a big corporation. So my gut instinct is to speak up when I don't agree, but I felt like saying anything would be opposing him in a way that he would take it personally.
I'm open to thoughts on this situation. While I realize that a professor can't always disconnect to a point where their personal beliefs don't bleed into the course content, however I have frequently gotten the distinct impression that if I confront them too much it will affect my grade in the class, and some of these professors I have to have more than once.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
What happened to my friends?
I was thinking today about the guys I grew up hanging out with. When I was in elementary and Jr. High school I spent most of my free time outside in the neighborhood hanging out with the other guys that lived on my street. There was myself and 7 other guys that basically hung out everyday after school. Our crazy variety of activities included the following: football, baseball, ball tag, gastopo (not sure how that's spelled but it implies the german people who arrested jewish people), anything you could possibly do with bikes, playing war in the forest, building forts, video games, computer games, board games, role playing games, shooting bee bee guns, trying to make money however we could, trading baseball cards, plum wars, water wars, making rope swings, river running, wrestling, fighting, joking together, pondering life's mysteries, cutting each others hair, going to movies, paintball, padded sword fighting, sleeping over, camping outside, disc races (you'll have to ask me for an explanation), playing sardines, hiking and most importantly getting in trouble at each others houses. I'm sure we did other things too but those memories have unfortunately faded. What is interesting is that of those 7 guys I really only have contact with one of them now. Two of them I have a general idea of what they are up to but the rest of them I have absolutely no clue where they are or what they're doing. What's weird is that there was never any sort of falling out, and no one really moved away. In high school some guys just stopped coming around to hang out, the group dwindled to 3 of us with an occassional 4th and once I finally left for college I really only talked to one of the guys.
I take solace in the fact that I have developed some new friendships that I really enjoy and intend to do everything in my power to maintain regardless of things like distance between us. But it is really interesting how sometimes we will just let things that were such a huge part of our life fade without ever noticing until they are long gone.
I take solace in the fact that I have developed some new friendships that I really enjoy and intend to do everything in my power to maintain regardless of things like distance between us. But it is really interesting how sometimes we will just let things that were such a huge part of our life fade without ever noticing until they are long gone.
Monday, March 5, 2007
People are getting crazier!
Here are a few things I've noticed recently that would demonstrate the craziness of people in our world.
Al Gore got an academy award for pointing out that there is a problem in the world, way to go Mr. Brilliant, problems are a dime a dozen, its solutions that we should give awards for.
I have recently been watching morning shows while I eat my breakfast and I'd say a good 90% of the "news" is about what celebrities are doing. Why is it important if Brittany Spears shaves her head? Amazingly this is considered pertinant information that needs to be given a 7 minute segment on the show, while things like the medical care our troops are receiving, or the state of our economy and the stock market get like 30 second snippets or less. It seems like if people wanted to know about the personal lives of other people they would be interested in people like their brain surgeon or maybe their accountant, they do a lot more for us than any celebrity ever has.
I recently read a case study for school detailing how PETA (people against unethical treatment of animals) was going after KFC for how chickens are treated before they are killed. While I don't think that animals should be kept in torturous conditions I think PETA is a ridiculous organization. Their ultimate goal is to eliminate the meat industry because they feel that animals do not exist for us to eat, wear or be entertained by. Anyone who thinks the USA would stop eating meat is absolutely crazy. Furthermore I think they know their aims are crazy because they don't require their members to be vegans, if they did they would probably see their membership of 750,000 drop to something like 5,000.
More to come on the craziness of people.
Al Gore got an academy award for pointing out that there is a problem in the world, way to go Mr. Brilliant, problems are a dime a dozen, its solutions that we should give awards for.
I have recently been watching morning shows while I eat my breakfast and I'd say a good 90% of the "news" is about what celebrities are doing. Why is it important if Brittany Spears shaves her head? Amazingly this is considered pertinant information that needs to be given a 7 minute segment on the show, while things like the medical care our troops are receiving, or the state of our economy and the stock market get like 30 second snippets or less. It seems like if people wanted to know about the personal lives of other people they would be interested in people like their brain surgeon or maybe their accountant, they do a lot more for us than any celebrity ever has.
I recently read a case study for school detailing how PETA (people against unethical treatment of animals) was going after KFC for how chickens are treated before they are killed. While I don't think that animals should be kept in torturous conditions I think PETA is a ridiculous organization. Their ultimate goal is to eliminate the meat industry because they feel that animals do not exist for us to eat, wear or be entertained by. Anyone who thinks the USA would stop eating meat is absolutely crazy. Furthermore I think they know their aims are crazy because they don't require their members to be vegans, if they did they would probably see their membership of 750,000 drop to something like 5,000.
More to come on the craziness of people.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Politics in the USA
As far as I know the next presidential election is still a good year and three fourths away and yet it seems the time to start campaigning is now. It is always interesting to me that politicians can now stop doing their job and start trying to make people like them again. Barack O'Bama recently had a speaking event in Los Angeles to try and rummage up support for himself in the Democratic primary race. I believe he's a senator presently but not for the state of California, so it seems like his constituants should be a bit frustrated that he is not working for and representing them right now.
My other frustration with politics is this: O'Bama, along with most other politicians I've ever heard speak take on this crowd pleaser act of saying only things that sound good. Like "Our schools need to be improved, our public education systems is a mess and we can't cripple our children like this." or maybe "Our healthcare system is out of control, quality care is not readily available to all citizens, prescription costs are through the roof, and 35% of our citizens do not have adequate coverage" (I made this stuff up but it sounds like maybe I could pass as a politician.) So the natural response would be "hey O'bama, thanks for telling us how crappy our country is but what are you going to do to fix it? and if you say you're going to look it over, get all the information and come up with a plan then point me to some one with a plan so I can vote for him/her." However, that is not the response that comes. Instead people applaud and cheer and put bumper stickers on their car because for some reason they aren't able to remember the last time they heard a politician speak and say the exact same things. Its absolutely ridiculous!!!!!
Everytime I think about possibly getting into politics I have to stop and remind myself that I would never make it because I don't have it in me to tell people exactly what makes them feel warm and fuzzy all the time. Honesty and action seem to have very little place in our political system, but we only have ourselves to blame, we're the ones that elect these dorks.
My other frustration with politics is this: O'Bama, along with most other politicians I've ever heard speak take on this crowd pleaser act of saying only things that sound good. Like "Our schools need to be improved, our public education systems is a mess and we can't cripple our children like this." or maybe "Our healthcare system is out of control, quality care is not readily available to all citizens, prescription costs are through the roof, and 35% of our citizens do not have adequate coverage" (I made this stuff up but it sounds like maybe I could pass as a politician.) So the natural response would be "hey O'bama, thanks for telling us how crappy our country is but what are you going to do to fix it? and if you say you're going to look it over, get all the information and come up with a plan then point me to some one with a plan so I can vote for him/her." However, that is not the response that comes. Instead people applaud and cheer and put bumper stickers on their car because for some reason they aren't able to remember the last time they heard a politician speak and say the exact same things. Its absolutely ridiculous!!!!!
Everytime I think about possibly getting into politics I have to stop and remind myself that I would never make it because I don't have it in me to tell people exactly what makes them feel warm and fuzzy all the time. Honesty and action seem to have very little place in our political system, but we only have ourselves to blame, we're the ones that elect these dorks.
Posting Comments on my Blog
Hey everyone, if you post a comment on my blog I would appreciate it if you would type your name at the end so I know who it is that's talking to me.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
It has begun
The time is finally here when Jonathan Miller has seen fit to begin posting his revolutionary thoughts on the web. What could he possibly have to share with the world you're wondering. The answer to that is probably nothing. However, the fact that my mind is constantly churning out ideas, opinions, arguments and witty remarks leads me to believe that one of these days it just might produce something that everyone should know. So in an effort not to miss that if it ever happens I will take up the trendy practice of blogging.
That being said please enjoy reading what I have to say, I'll try to keep it as entertaining as possible and I'll try to post often so check back frequently. I would also be thrilled to have your feedback whether it is praising me or arguing with me it is all welcome, however I must warn you that I enjoy arguing and am not known for backing down when challenged, so if you disagree with me I recommend that you be very convincing or well prepared for a battle.
That being said please enjoy reading what I have to say, I'll try to keep it as entertaining as possible and I'll try to post often so check back frequently. I would also be thrilled to have your feedback whether it is praising me or arguing with me it is all welcome, however I must warn you that I enjoy arguing and am not known for backing down when challenged, so if you disagree with me I recommend that you be very convincing or well prepared for a battle.
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