With time, I am becoming convinced that altruism is bullshit. Not only do a number of friends and family owe me thousands of dollars in loans I made to help them out over the years, I also allow advantage to be taken of my generous nature in many other material and nonmaterial ways. No more.

Let nature take its course, and when the electric company is going to cut you off or your kid wants to sell magazines for a fundraiser or you need a place to park your junk car or whatever it is, NO. That's my answer. NO. When I need money, do any of these deadbeats run over here and help me out? NO. So from now on, anytime you need a little help, go down to the bus station and turn tricks or something. Don't come to me, because I will say NO.

Inconsiderate

Home Depot, Wall Mart, Target, Lowe's and a lot of other places have their employees use walkie talkies to communicate with each other. Rather than having the volume adjusted so that the incoming voice is at a normal level, they always seem to have the things turned up to the highest possible volume. So high that the speaker distorts and the dumbasses ask the people on the other end to repeat themselves. Why do you need a device set at three times the volume necessary? Why does the in-store PA system volume have to be  so loud to nearly cause the buckling of knees  and the loss of bladder control when they announce a special in the seafood department? Hell, I have some hearing loss myself, but I have to cover my ears when this happens.

Game of Thrones

So after seeing three seasons of Game of Thrones I just now picked up the first book. This is backwards from what I normally do, which is to read the book before I see the movie. So far after the first few chapters, I can tell this is going to be a wonderful read.

Making Stuff

I think it's great that you can make vinegar, sauerkraut, soda, beer, cheese and bread by just letting microbes fall right out of the air and start fermenting.

The Curse of Being Sensitive

Whether it is longing and loneliness being away from the woman I love, or feeling terrible that I had to put down an elderly pet, or being unable to tolerate cruelty or rudeness in any form - I suffer from all of these and more. In my youth I was always called the "sensitive one" in the family for being musical and artistic and literary. I was known to punch another kid in the face for stepping on a bug. I once told an adult neighbor he was a "worthless coward" for killing a harmless pair of beautiful gopher snakes that made the mistake of crawling into his back yard. And this killing of snakes really bothered me deeply for a long time. I was incensed to know that a "normal" adult could act so stupidly. Even an 8 year old kid like me was smarter than the asshole who took a 2X4 to a mated pair of six foot harmless reptiles who do nothing but help rid us of rats and mice. I knew then that knowledge is power. And it's OK to be sensitive, because the opposite would be a misery.

Pig Butt Watermelon Update

Apparently there is something in pig shit that is magical, because this watermelon vine looks like it has super-powers. The vine has grown a foot per day and started flowering almost immediately. There is already a 4-inch watermelon on it that seems to grow an inch per day - and there are 4 or 5 other small melons coming on it as well. I have praised Agnes the Pig for her magical butt hole and given her extra treats as a reward.

Couldn't Have Said This Any Better

Pat Condell, Irish born atheist and comedian, said what I am not eloquent enough to say, but hit it exactly on the head:

"This is a quick video for those, mainly Christians and Muslims who keep telling me for reasons that I can never quite fathom that I have no right to insult their religion. I don't know who made up that rule when nobody was looking, but apparently somebody did, so let me give you my perspective on it now, if I may. I give your religion as much respect as your religion gives me. There's nothing complicated about it. And I have every right to insult a religion that goes out of its way to insult, to judge, and to condemn me as an inadequate human being, which your religion does with self-righteous gusto. When it comes to insults, your religion started this, not me. If your religion kept its big mouth shut, so would I. But, given that it doesn't, and given the enormous harm that your religion has done in this world, I'd say that I have not only a right, but a duty to insult it, as does every rational thinking person on this planet. In fact, I think it should be compulsory for everyone to insult your religion every day. No, not every day - five times every day. Oh what the hell, ten times - one for each commandment. And even that wouldn't be enough because the moment your religion claims any kind of jurisdiction over my experience you insult me on a level you can't even begin to comprehend. Even if your beliefs had substance, the arrogance of that would be insult enough, but the fact that they have no substance, and are merely a transparent raft of delusions and lies, magnifies the insult enormously. And for this reason, not only do I have a perfect right to insult your religion, I have a right to insult you personally the moment I have to hear about your poxy religion. The moment you offer me any kind of scripture-based opinion about what I should believe, or the values I should hold, or especially the morals I should exhibit, then you can expect to be graphically and comprehensively insulted for your trouble. And I sincerely hope it hurts your feelings, harms your emotional well-being, and damages your self-image to the extent that you have to go and lie down for ten minutes before you can even pray. If I'm not allowed to express my sincerely held belief that your religion is a crock of dangerous evil dehumanising superstitious garbage, then it seems to me that I don't have religious freedom, but you do, because I can assure you that I hold that view with a passion and a solemn intensity that can match anything you've got to offer. It is, for me, a core defining belief and a pillar of my whole reality; an absolutely unshakable fundamental conviction that resonates to every fibre of my being that your religion is, in fact, a crock of dangerous evil dehumanising superstitious garbage that pollutes and degrades the world I have to live in. And I'm not happy about it. And I feel morally obliged, nay compelled, to make this known loudly and often, regardless of who claims to be offended, because not to do so would violate everything I am and everything I believe in. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I'd feel like a liar and a coward, and, well, something of a moral cockroach, and that would weigh very heavily on my conscience. I'm sure you understand. Peace"