Aug 6 People sure seem to like to talk about themselves being ignorant. But just go and call someone ignorant and see what happens.
I’ve heard it said that being called ignorant is tops for bad things to be called. Now whether that is a true statement remains to be seen. Still it makes me wonder. Is the saying true? Is ignorance bliss?
When people talk about ignorance as a blissful state, they are usually talking about the fact that they are unaware of something. Perhaps it’s because they’ve been caught doing something that they’re not supposed to be doing (e.g., breaking the law because they didn’t know the law). Or perhaps it’s because it’s their last resort reasoning for why they aren’t caught up on the facts (e.g., people not up on things like politics).
But it doesn’t seem altogether like I have to buy ignorance as an excuse. Do I really care if someone didn’t know that it was illegal to yield to me at a signal when they’ve just caused an accident? No, frankly ignorance as an excuse is useless. Facts are facts.
So is it bliss? Maybe. But it sure is an extraordinarily weak argument/excuse/cop-out no matter why you’re saying it.
Jul 31 Lots of people drive. Although perhaps we should rethink the way that we do it, what with the amount of money we’re sinking into our traveling. While there is much to think about (least of all are my Tips For Saving Gas), you can also find lessons that aren’t initially obvious. And by you, I mean me.
Driving everyday to work has taught me a few things. One thing that I’ve recently noticed is how it seems to me that I need to just chill when I’m driving. That is, it does no good to constantly switch lanes in order to try to get ahead. While I may get ahead a little bit, just a single wrong choice, and I’ve lost all that I’ve worked so hard to get.
So it is with stocks as well.
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Fairly common advice is that you should buy for the long term. The extra stress, work, and volatility are said to just not be worth it. That is, you could do all of that work and still end up at the same place as someone who just set it and left it. And that definitely happens to people when they’re switching lanes trying to get around all of the other people. It’s perhaps even more noticeable since a good deal of the road that I drive is 2 lanes.
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Don’t be shocked if something abruptly happens to you. If you’re going someplace and you need to be on time, isn’t it always better to be early and prepared rather than cutting it as close as possible? That way, if something happens, you’ll have some leeway to recover. And don’t you dare go putting all over your money into 1 stock. Or even all of your money into stocks!
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Notice patterns. When driving the same route everyday, I start to get a sense of how things are. That is, some lanes are more apt to progress more quickly because of the traffic flow. And I start to notice how lights are set up so I know whether it’s worth it to bust my butt to make the light. Alright so maybe that’s hard to make into some lesson for stocks because the whole deal with the stock market is that people are trying to predict what companies are going to do. And it’s only partially based on past performance. Still, take that past into account when doing your stock-picking thing.
The comparison doesn’t hold up completely, of course. While you don’t have to buy stocks, you do have to pick a lane to drive in. But you know what? I’m not concerning myself with making a perfect comparison.
Jul 23 An easy way to differentiate between people that are young and old are how they deal with relationships. Even more important than their years (after all age is just a number) is the maturity with which they handle things.
So what do people do? They play games. What are games? They are things like:
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Girls saying no when they actually mean yes [caption id=”” align=”alignright” width=”160” caption=”Courtesy of Flickr user Karla”]
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Guys not wanting to express how they actually feel because it’s not “manly”
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Similarly guys pretending to be completely uninterested
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Girls playing hard to get (when they actually do want the pursuer to “catch” them)
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Both reading into all kinds of actions, lack of actions, subtle tones, sly looks, the way they laugh when you’re around, and all manner of intricacies that I do not have knowledge of
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A girl leading a guy (or vice versa) to think that a relationship might happen at some future time
When we play these games, it’s all smoke and mirrors. And if the goal of relationships is marriage, then how is that helpful in accomplishing that goal? It’s not.
Guys need to ask the girl out, straight up. (I had my fun being sarcastic about it On Asking A Girl Out by saying what you should not be doing.) But you need to make it crystal clear to her what you want and what you’re doing. Otherwise you’re just beating around the bush and wasting everyone’s time.
Girls need to act purposefully. You want him? Go with it if he asks you out. You don’t? Tell him the truth, brutal as it might be. Don’t sugarcoat things because that helps nobody.
These things don’t just apply to the chase, do they? I’m not even really sure why they would apply more specifically to guy/girl relationships. All I know is that I see it there more often. However, these thoughts and their ramifications could be generalized to cover any type of relationship with anyone.
Jul 18 xkcd is a webcomic that I know and love. It has all sorts of amusing thoughts on life (with a touch of geekiness).
Anyway, I found today’s post (Imposter) rather amusing, and I thought that I would share:
Bonus: make sure you hover over the picture in order to get the punchline. It’s saved in the “title” portion of the tag.
Jul 16 In these current days of high gas prices (currently around $4.50/gallon where I live), it pays to do as much as possible out of what you have. And while I am not ever going to be a hyper-miler, I can at least do as well as I can. (It’s hard to get superb gas mileage when you drive a truck.)
While I do drive a less than ideal automobile, I am still able to get 20 MPG. And that might not sound too impressive to most people, but for trucks that’s not bad. But besides that, the tips are still good. They’re by no means new, though. But I didn’t just read it on some other site and paste them here. And remember, sometimes it’s just fine to be Coming Up With It Yourself. [caption id=”” align=”alignright” width=”240” caption=”Courtesy of Flickr user Cobalt123”]
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Minimize Braking - This is of the utmost concern. Some of the other tips could also be generalized to this. Why is braking bad? Well every moment of braking is a moment where energy that was expended by gas is being needlessly lost. That is, you get the most use out of your gas when you’re not braking at all because all of the energy from the gas is being used to power the vehicle. And while this is not feasible with the traffic laws that we have, it’s still a true fact.
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Coast Into Red Lights - When you see a red light up ahead, don’t continue with your foot on the accelerator! Why are you in a rush to sit at a red light? Instead, take it easy on the accelerator and ride out your momentum.
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Cruise Control Is Your Friend - For periods of driving that are going to be stop-free, utilize that cruise control. The car will consistently apply gas to continue at the speed that the cruise control is set at. And the car will probably do it better than your attempts at keeping your foot steady.
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Coast Down Hills - Gravity will accelerate your vehicle down the hill. So put your transmission into neutral (this is more normal with a manual transmission) and let gravity work its magic.
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Turn Off The Car - Instead of idling, turn the car off when you know that you’re going to be sitting for awhile. While most modern cars are not built to constantly be turned on and off (like at every red light), it’s probably best to turn it off if you’re waiting for someone to run into the store.
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Proper Maintenance - It’s hard to do your best when your vehicle isn’t up to snuff. So keep up with those oil changes, regularly inflate those tires, and make sure everything is as the manufacturer intended.
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Slow Down - Probably one of the most important, this has numerous benefits besides gas savings including (but not limited to) overall safety.
These seem simple enough. An added bonus for doing all of this is decreased road rage. You’ll care more about what’s going on with you and your vehicle than you will about how that jerk cut you off. Save a headache, save some money.