Expressing Opinions

I just finished reading articles on Boston.com and Chicagotribune.com about the increase in heart attacks during big games.

What does this say about sports fans? What is the fitness level of a sports fan? If you look at the fans in the stands and sports bars, most do not look like they live a healthy lifestyle. They appear to be spectators instead of participants in life.

Experts said the lesson for Super Bowl Sunday is clear. Spectators with a known heart condition, they warned, should make an extra effort to relax during games and not overindulge in the usual offerings of alcohol and fatty foods, which can quickly increase the risk of heart attack.

Men suffered more game-day events than women, and people with a known history of heart disease were hit especially hard. Those high-risk patients sustained heart attacks on game days at a rate four times higher than usual.

Men suffered more game-day events than women? Could it be more men watch these events than women? And why do they? Maybe it is because the “little” woman is left taking care of the business of running the family while daddy plays with his little friends.

And tell me…. who do you think taught this little guy how to do that? Is he going to be the next heart attack statistic?

It amazes me how many people live their lives vicariously through sports and other forms of entertainment. Look at some of these reality shows. What makes them so popular? Do people need to see another persons misery or dysfunction to feel better about themselves? And what is the impact on society and your children?

As you can tell I am not a fan of television and prefer to live life as a participant and not a spectator. All of this leaves me with more questions than answers.

Thank you for visiting Expressing Opinions.

Recently I wanted to make an online purchase at BestBuy.com and have the item pickup at a store. The item I was wanting to purchase was a digital camera. It is for my son and his wife who are expecting their first child and I wanted to have it available for pickup near where they live so they could start documenting their incredible adventure immediately. They live 2,500 miles away from me, so I thought order it online and have them pick it up. Easy! Right? Wrong!!!

To order online and make an in store pickup you need a drivers license and the credit card you made the purchase with. I am glad I read the fine print. So I decide to go to a local Best Buy store to explain my situation and make the purchase there and have my son pick the camera up at the store near him. Sounds fairly basic and easy. They have me there with my credit card and identification, so there isn’t any fraud taking place. And don’t get me wrong, I do not have a problem with a little extra security in today’s world of online fraud and identity theft.

I go to the customer service desk, explain what I want to do and the girl there tells me she needs to talk to her manager. He is sitting there on a computer and gives her the look of “why are you bothering me” when she asks him. She returns telling me I can order the camera there and have it delivered to their house but I will need to pay shipping or I can purchase a gift card and have my son at the store in his hometown and they can read the number over the phone so he can purchase the camera there. Wait a minute! All I want to do is make the purchase and have my son pick it up! I do not want to plan a military operation with coordinate troop movements and special communication. Needless to say I walked out with a screw you attitude.

This is not the first time I have had an issue with Best Buy. Before Christmas I bought a digital picture frame on a Thursday and it went on sale on Sunday. When I returned to the store on Monday to ask for price matching the customer service rep made me go through the Best Buy circular and show her the price before I could get a refund. She acted like I was lying and trying to rip the company off. She would not look the item up on the computer or do anything to help.

I make few purchases at Best Buy because of crappy customer service and the attitude they have when you are there. These instances only reinforce my attitude of only buying when it is on sale and way cheaper than anyone else. And lets not forget about the Insignia picture frame virus, which I have not heard about or read on any Best Buy produced media. No signs in the store warning you, nothing on the web site, and nothing I have read in paper. Best Buy sucks!

Thank you for visiting Expressing Opinions.

Justin Webb is the BBC’s North America editor and in his blog I read today,

“Many Americans hope that this election will alter worldwide perceptions of their nation - many foreigners, friends of America put off by the Bush years, hope the same thing. “

It is hard to believe there are 31% of the American people out there who still approve of this morally bankrupt and intellectually challenged posterior orifice. Jeez! It only goes to prove the mouth breathers do stick together.

Finally last night was the last State of the Union address or as I call it The Annual I Am Gonna Blow Smoke Up Your Ass speech. I will be glad to see that piece of sh*t Bush gone come next year and it can not happed soon enough. The new president will be left with a daunting task of rebuilding America’s standing in the world. A standing which was undermined and diminished by lying, greed, and total disregard for all of humankind by Bush and his re”thug”lican administration.

Thank you for visiting Expressing Opinions.

A month or so ago I met someone who was attractive, articulate, and fit. Together we have done the normal dating stuff such as coffee, dinner, movies, walks, hiking, and have taken in a club or two. We have the love of the outdoors, eating healthy, being fit, political leanings, and a twisted sense of humor in common. I’d say we were getting along okay.

We are both private people, thus it has been difficult to get passed the superficial stuff and get to know each other. I told her early on I have diabetes and it wasn’t a problem. I have told other people and they decided they didn’t want to see me any more. I guess for some it doesn’t make any difference I am much fitter and healthier than the average person. She did introduce me to her 4 year old daughter and from what I could gather, the “kid thing” has been an issue in the past. I like kids so we hit it off.

But for the most part neither of us has given up much information about ourselves. I did learn from a friend she had a cursory background check done on me, but it showed I was not a felon and not much else. When I mentioned it she was a little surprised I knew and did say something to me about the lack of information, however she did not ask for more. Me on the other hand have just been cruising along enjoying her company and letting things progress at a slower than normal rate, which is fine with me. I assumed she most likely had a few interesting relationships and was simply being cautious. I also know eventually most of the real scary stuff comes out sooner than later.

Yesterday we spent the good part of the day together, enjoying the sunshine and cold weather with a mix of indoor and outdoor activities. We definitely had fun. As our day was coming to an end we were sitting in a Starbucks not far from where she lives ( I have not been to her home yet.) and a place we both frequent, when a guy walks in along with her daughter. I recognized her daughter as she came through the door, but did not know the guy. I guess I could have said something, but my little voice was telling me to let it play out.

I could tell the guy did not recognize me, but he definitely recognized her even though she was not facing him. He walked up said, “Excuse me!” and started asking her when was she going to come home? He walked off leaving the daughter with us. She explained she was going through a divorce, but still they lived together. I ask how long until it is final and she stated they did not file yet, but were working on it and living together to save money.

Well excuse me! I may be a single guy, but I am not a man whore most of the time and I do have a few values. One is I do not date women who are married or seeing someone else. Needless to say I will not be seeing her again.

Dating can sometimes be a real pain in the ass!

Thank you for visiting Expressing Opinions.

I took the death test today to see how much more time I have on this earth. You to can see how long you have and what is going to kill you by clicking on the graphic below and taking the Death Test. Of course I messed with code a little to make it more interesting, but I am sure the true results are all very scientific.

DEAD AT 94

too much fun!

Thank you visiting Expressing Opinions.

If know you are polluting the environment by driving your car does not motivate you to do something, then how about money?

I like math and seeing how the numbers impact my world and the world around me. Everyone thinks the EPA estimate on the window of that new car means something. So let me introduced you to the Miles Per Dollar calculator, where you can calculate how many miles you can drive for each dollar of gasoline you consume. Better yet calculate in how much money you will by not driving to work and instead using alternative transportation.

Now after doing the math you will literally know how far your dollar is taking you.

Thank you for visiting Expressing Opinions.

This is a funny piece on marriage. Or at least it is funny from a guy’s perspective.

Thank you for visiting Expressing Opinions.

Yesterday there was a story in the news where the talking heads said President Bush lied 936 times leading up to the war. The story didn’t last more than 30 seconds and very little details were explained. So what were the lies he was telling?

Washington Post columnist Dan Froomkin ran a story about 935 Iraq Falsehoods on Wednesday, January 23. Dan stated in his story,

“A nonprofit group pursuing old-fashioned accountability journalism is out with a new report and database documenting 935 false statements by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other top administration officials hyping the threat posed by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the two years after Sept. 11, 2001. “

This nonprofit group is The Center for Public Integrity reports,

“exhaustive examination of the record shows that the statements were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.”

The Center for Public Integrity is a site worth investigating to learn more about what is going on behind the scenes in our government. How is influence pedaling and big money shaping our future and the future of our children.

This administration is profiting from a war for profit. Young Americans are giving their lives so the oil companies can make billions of dollars on our oil consumption as most Americans haul their lazy fat asses around in gas guzzling vehicles. All the while most Americans go around assuming someone else will do what it takes to ensure our planet will be livable for our children’s children. If you are waiting for your government leaders to this, I hate to inform you but that will never happen.

And what about health care and the economy? Do you think the economy got to the situation it is in solely on the stupidity of the American public? I don’t think so! Big money has been raping us for profit for so long that we are now feeling and seeing the signs of this abuse. So put the remote and bag of chips down and get off your fat butt. Start doing something about it.

Thank you for visiting Expressing Opinions.

Here is a follow up on yesterday’s posting about the politicians of both parties lying, which I located on the Onion.

Here is a quote from the Onion.

For a majority of likely voters, meaningless bullsh*t will be the most important factor in deciding who they will vote for in 2008.

And the “news” video.

Poll: Bullsh*t Is Most Important Issue For 2008 Voters

In another news piece on the Onion, there is a piece about how the candidates are trying to get the vote of fat people.

Presidential candidates are reaching out to fat voters on the campaign trail by eating large amounts of food.

As Obese Population Rises, More Candidates Courting The Fat Vote

Thank you for visiting Expressing Opinions.

Today I was doing some online reading and came across Push Polling in South Carolina — Who’s It Really Helping? on Wired News. It was interesting to read about some of some of the dirty tricks the Republican party is engage in to corrupt the election process, such as hiring an actor with the voice of an angry black man to intimidate white people. Talk about playing the race card and bigotry.

In “How to Rig an Election,” Raymond recounts how Dick Zimmer, a former Republican congressman from New Jersey, hired political consultants to help him with a bid to unseat incumbent Democrat Rush Holt.
One tactic was to “get a Green Party candidate named Carl Mayer on the ballot to suck single-issue voters away from Holt.” The other was to hire an actor with the voice of “an angry black man,” record a pro-Holt message and target those calls to Eastern European white voters living in New Jersey. Raymond wrote: “The message was, ‘I’m a ghetto black guy calling you, racist Ukrainian guy, and scaring the crap out of you because you probably think that if you don’t vote for the Democrat I’m going to come to your house and take care of some business.’”

“We wanted the message heard only by those people whose reaction would be ‘I’m not voting for Holt because he uses scary black men to call my house,” the passage concluded. And that was just one version of the race-baiting tactic they used, in one demographic.

I know these are examples of Republican dirty deeds and I am sure the Democrats do their share too. It makes my stomach turn when I hear the politicians say voter turn out is important, when it appears they should be saying only come out to vote if you are voting for me or for someone who will divide the votes of my opponent so I can win.

I know it sounds naive, but it would be nice when I meet a politician I don’t feel like I am meeting a used car salesman. Because I can always tell when both are lying, their lips are moving.

Thank you for visiting Expressing Opinions.