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I just read a blog comment on someone else's blog that just screams "show this to others". Enjoy!
I love to cook for my best friend but she went and decided my most difficult recipe is her fave so sometimes I have to make it. Today I decided to make it for her since we haven't eaten this since August, but then I decided that maybe it's time she learned to make it so I suggested she could make it and I could supervise. She didn't like the idea so I told her I think the Bible says that if you give a man a fish he eats for a day but if you teach him how to fish he eats for life. Something like that. Then we started bickering and when I left to go to the store my friend was yelling after me "I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO FISH!" I pointed out how we were recently talking about how disgusting the holy rollers are when they pick and choose things from the Bible to interpret literally. So I called her a literalist and she told me that she is not a literalist because this particular recipe doesn't even have fish in it. Is she right? I say she's a literalist.
I find numbers and their relationships to be intriguing. I use numbers every day in my work (not accounting, thank goodness!) but the numbers thrown around in the news every day are mind boggling. My mind tends to wander at times and I start thinking about some random fact. Automatically, I start relating numbers.
Take the numbers thrown around for the uninsured in the US. It runs around 45 million people. This was before the current recession/depression. Now, the unemployment rate is roughly 10% nationally. Would that mean 35 million more are uninsured now? Has there been an overlap in these numbers? I would venture to guess that some of the 45 million uninsured are that way due to unemployment.
How about the healthcare cost number being tossed around? I think the current 10 year cost of the proposed healthcare bill is around $900 billion. That roughly breaks down to $3000 per person per year (unless I counted zeros erroneously). A family of four would be $12000. I can already buy insurance cheaper than that!
Global warming is another area where big numbers live. The argument over whether the earth is warming or cooling rages on. Scientists are measuring the "warmest year on record" or the "coldest year on record". Records started being kept in the 1880's. About 130 years ago! According to this website, the earth is about 4.5 billion years old. Basing any assumption of global warming or cooling on 130 years of measuring is like watching the Dow for one second and deciding what the yearly performance is!
On an ending note, I think we should devalue numbers. They are getting too big and they don't fit most calculators. When I get an answer like 2.8888888888888888888888888888889e-8, I don't know what the hell it is!
I read today that folks are getting screwed by the use of imported Chinese drywall. I guess the building boom a few years ago created a shortage of drywall so building materials suppliers imported as much as 500 million pounds from China. From what I understand, there are sulfur compounds and organic stuff that make it stink and corrode plumbing. Some people are claiming it makes them sick, although these are probably the same ones that got sick from the formaldehyde a few years back. The bad thing is that these folks are filing claims on their homeowners insurance (which wouldn't cover it anyway) and the insurance company is dropping them altogether. That is typical of insurance companies. Any loophole to get out of paying a claim! Now, anyone with Chinese drywall in their houses runs the risk of losing their coverage even if they didn't know they had it. They can't even sue the manufacturers because they are in China. I'm sure that there is something that can be done to hold the manufacturers liable considering the amount of products imported from there.
This is just one example of how the Chinese don't give a crap about the quality of their products, even the ones they make for themselves. It's scary to think that they are considering importing cars from there. I know we have standards to adhere to but obviously that doesn't necessarily happen. I know a Chinese guy who owns a few restaurants and some real estate. All of my dealings with him on various construction projects have involved me trying to get him to not cut corners. I will not eat at his restaurants either. You know, most Chinese food looks like leftovers thrown in with some noodles and cooked in a wok. Put soy sauce and ginger on anything and it taste better! It's kind of like seafood. Roll it in Zatarain's and deep fry it. Even a boot tastes good!
I read about some Somali pirates trying to hijack what they thought was a cargo ship. Turns out it was a French navy vessel. You gotta wonder what they thought the instant they realized their mistake. It reminds me of some documentary I saw on Discovery last week about some natives in the rain forests of Brazil. This naked guy climbed up a tree so he could poke a stick in a beehive in an adjacent tree to get the honey out. What is he going to do when bees come after him 30' up a tree? Luckily, there were no bees. Unfortunately, there was no honey either.
Oh, by the way, I didn't realize that there is a waiter/patron privilege similar to the doctor/patient one. It's bad when you can't bitch about tips anymore.
My "Mean Aunt Judy" passed away yesterday. While we are all sad to see this happen, it gave me the opportunity to reflect on my memories of her. Since I am 50, the really young stuff is completely gone, and the more recent gets fuzzier every day. Besides chatting with her on the phone occasionally, there are two things that stick in my mind. One was the time I was in Atlanta on business. I went out to eat with her and Doug at a place I think was called the Savoy. They knew everyone there and it apparently was a dance club they frequented. We had a blast. The other times I remember were when all of the Bubb sisters would get together at Callaway for a weekend retreat. Since I would usually ride Mom up there to drop her off, I had time to visit. I don't know how many people have aunts that you can hang out with and drink beer, but if you don't, you're missing out on the fun. We miss you, Mean Aunt Judy, and will always love you.
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