Philosophizing

I've been out of the Philosophy world for awhile now so I decided I needed to do a little philosophical muscle stretching. Included here are a few of my philosophies on ordinary things:

Stop signs in America - I was at a Stop sign today and for about 30 seconds no one, at any of the fou

r roads into the intersection, would go. It was clearly NOT my turn, so I wasn't going to go, but no one else seemed to either. It seemed completely un-American. We are not a country that encourages pauses, especially when there seems to be some advantage to be gained by going first! We're always pushing to get ahead, working harder than the next person, getting further faster. I mean think about the phrase "keeping up with the Jones'"! We're all about getting ahead...and yet these four cars sat and waited and wouldn't take their opportunity. It was so strange, and even stranger that I thought it was so strange. I wonder if a European, or even a Canadian, would even have noticed.

Lawyers - I don't really think you need lawyers to read through every legal document you sign to check for catches or terms that were sneaked in...what you really need them to do is catch what's NOT written in the documents. Lawyers have the ability to think of every possible bad outcome that is not specifically addressed, with a great attention to crazy details that you might think no one in their right mind would even notice, even ones you think might just be covered by common sense. Also, it is nice to have people around whose job it is to read through those boring documents all day so you don't have to! In a nutshell - lawyers are serious pessimists who make long, boring documents longer and more boring, but thankfully they keep us from having to deal with the longness and and the boringness!

Fast food - I know it's unhealthy and lazy and all sorts of other bad things, but honestly, I don't think it tastes as bad as everyone says. Would I rather eat at McDonalds than a nice steak house? Most of the time, no. BUT, fast food does fill a niche. Sometimes a Taco Bell burrito hits the spot, doesn't mean it's in the same category as a Cafe Rio burrito, or a homemade burrito, but you don't go to Taco Bell expecting a burrito like Cafe Rio or one from home. Fast food has it's place, and I say appreciate it for what it is! That said....there is some food that is just not meant to be fast - macaroni and cheese for example. That is a food that cannot be translated into fast food and still maintain and acceptable level of palatability. 

100 Posts!

I just discovered the stats information for my blog, not sure why I never bothered to check it before as it is kind of fascinating. I am well-liked in the United States and also apparently have a decent following in Eastern Europe. I suppose I'll have to keep my audience in mind more now that I know this, maybe I'll write about hockey or communism or something.

But, the most important thing I discovered is that my last post was my 100th, seems like a milestone worth mentioning. In fact, what I decided to do was go back and re-read some of the original 100, and at the risk of seeming self-indulgent and conceited, I have selected my top ten posts and listed them here. I don't expect you to read them, it's just a nice self-reflective exercise for me, and that's what this blog is really about anyway. That's right, I'll be honest, this blog isn't about you, it's about me. Blogs are inherently arrogant, to assume that details of our lives are worth sharing with the world, and even more arrogant that we think the world might really enjoy everything we have to say. I won't deny that I secretly hope people enjoy what I write, but having read back over my first 100 posts, I realize I don't care so much if other people are entertained, because I am completely delighted that I have these random thoughts captured so I can go back and remember things I never would have remembered if I hadn't had a blog to fill. I enjoyed the first 100, and I'm not sure how the next 100 can quite live up to the originals, but apparently a lot can happen in five years...

http://jenwest.blogspot.com/2008/10/byu-top-ten.html

http://jenwest.blogspot.com/2008/11/cave-person-day-at-palace-golf-club-and.html

http://jenwest.blogspot.com/2009/03/doctor-dread.html

http://jenwest.blogspot.com/2009/02/facebook-friends.html

http://jenwest.blogspot.com/2009/06/subjects-not-to-discuss-until-age-7.html

http://jenwest.blogspot.com/2009/07/paragliding-in-switzerland.html

http://jenwest.blogspot.com/2010/03/parker-deficiency.html

http://jenwest.blogspot.com/2010/05/hot-tub.html

http://jenwest.blogspot.com/2011/01/business-professionl-or-not.html

http://jenwest.blogspot.com/2011/12/wards-that-must-not-be-named.html