We don't value what is free

That is just horseshit. Another favorite that I get from idiots is, "You get what you paid for." There are so many brainwashed dumb asses out who have bought into the marketing speaks. Is everything free bad? Do people truly don't value what is free?!

We don't have to look far away or to imagine something hypothetical. The two most influential persons in our lives, they gave us advice for free, they might even have fed us, and raised us to be who we are today. For most of us, these two individuals might have even biologically conceived us and gave us life. Guess what, they did all that for free. Are they useless? Do we NOT value their advice?!

There are always exceptions. But in a world that is flooded with marketing bullshit and everyone seems to be brainwashed to believe that free is bad and we don't value "stuff" unless we have paid for them. I'm sure I'm not the first, but I'll have to call bullshit on it.

Although I don't have experience with prostitutes/escorts, but from what I gathered, the best sex that people can have is still free... not necessarily with your typical Spitzer girl. So, stop drinking the Kool-Aid, and wake the fuck up!

Seriously, next time I hear someone promulgate that bullshit, I will send that dumbass to meet Ayn Rand. Another parasite on society that I wouldn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole, even when she was alive. That woman has done more harm to this world than Microsoft. She created a generation of secret admirers who are destroying our countries today. Before anyone label me a pinko-communist, seriously examine the miserable existence of Ayn Rand and tell me we can learn from her. Furthermore, I have yet to meet a decent human being who admires her. If you have or think you are a decent human being who also admires her, step up and prove me wrong...

"Oh, I met this great girl last night, you should meet her!"

"Oh yeah? Is she crazy?" That should be the default answer. If there's one symptom that we can ascribe to being creepy, i.e. being needy or falling for every bait someone throws out. Another good response is, "Is she hot?"

Quite often, I see people fall for every little breadcrumb that someone else dropped. Instead of being at the mercy of what someone else does, people would appear much less needy, hence, less likely to come across as creepy, if they stand back a little bit, and start from the evaluator frame. We should have some standards and not be subjected to the whims of others.

Girls who are used to being chased or guys who have choices with women tend drop hints and bait others into these traps. The world would be a simpler and nicer (but a boring) place if people don't play games. The reality is that people enjoy the whole cat-and-mouse game of chasing and getting chased... it's what normal people call flirting in the dating scene, people in business call negotiation, and what your parents call arguing. But of course, if gurus didn't have a name for these behaviors, e.g. "banter" "negging" "push-pull", they wouldn't be able to sell their workshops. In fact, give something a name, brand it, and then you too can market it.

Lawl!

This is laugh-out-loud funny!

Stuff people like

When people get together, they want to be reinforced and be validated for their characters and their beliefs. That's how I pissed off some readers here because I blogged about "stuff" that contradicts or challenges their whole world view. Case in point, the whole American dream idea, that anybody can be somebody if they work hard enough and all they need is more self-improvement. Or worst yet, they can learn to smooth talk and hustle people if they can just acquire the skills, be that through books, seminars, workshops, bootcamps, or some silly monthly subscription. The reality is that there are very few smart people in this world, only a few will emerge as leaders, and even rarer are those who can hustle, i.e. bypassing the traditional routes to success; the majority of the world is filled with your average joe's and followers, i.e. losers.

Instead of keep beating people's heads about those depressive subjects and trying to convince them to see reality objectively, this blog and its companion book are great in giving us a glimpse of one particular ethnic group in America likes and talks about! It has been an endless source of discussion for myself, friends, and more times than I can count, strangers. If only people are less predictable, then I don't feel as though I can mess with them like a kid could with his pet hamsters.

Let's compile ethnic profiles for different groups in America: white people, blacks, urban, asians, hispanics, catholics, gays,...

Self delusion and the Secret

Someone sent this to me and I started seeing the similarity between it and the Secret.

Briefly, the article says that conservatives tend to be happier because they find ways to rationalize for the way things are rather than start with the premise of things are wrong and they must be improved. In many ways, I see this as "The Secret." The secret is really about reframing one's perception and thus, changing our interpretation of what we observe. Instead of seeing reality, say you accidentally lose a leg, which happens quite a bit to many children (and adults) around the world in many war-torn countries. Oh, I didn't lose a leg, I lost some weight! Actually, for those religious conservatives, they would see this as god's will. What's more, they interpret this as god's way of testing their faith, and so they have to step up to meet that challenge!

Is this a good way to view life? Or is it our duty to correct their self-delusion? I personally don't see a problem with it, diversity in opinion is a good thing and if this is how some people find peace and comfort in order to accept their station in life, why not?!

Hunger and lack of sleep

Due to some recent changes in my life, I am working more than usual, which isn't that much! I notice that in sleeping less, I've been eating more. Sometimes I wonder if what I read / learn also affect how I am.

There's a growing corpus of literature that shows that appetite inducing hormone, ghrelin, is not only fluctuating throughout a 24h period, but it also increased due to lack of sleep. This was reported awhile back and my recent lack of sleep has also increased my appetite. Is this real or am I buying into the hype?

Another line of evidence that shows the importance of ghrelin is in patients who have undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Not only do these patients have decrease ghrelin, but they also have increased release of GLP-1. Although not a direct antagonist to ghrelin, GLP-1 increases insulin secretion and thus, lowering blood sugar while suppressing appetite. Intriguing eh?!

The malaise

I didn't realize how bad things are out there until I went out to spend my economic stimulus check like any (mindless) patriotic American should be doing. That's when I discover that fashion is so blah and entertainment sucks. Seriously, think back, what was the last good movie you saw in the theater? Juno?! And fashion, it looks like we have finally ran out of ways to put stripes together for collar shirts. I suspect the war we are fighting is draining our creative energy.

We should be grateful for the war, for sending young Americans to die for nothing. That's right, we are fighting over there, so we can pay more for gas here. I'll go back to pursuing my American dream... knock me out and let me dream.