Facebook, the Proverbial Can-O-Worms

I am here today to talk to you about one of the dangers of Facebook. I am not going to say it's from the devil or anything like that, that for you to decide. I am no judge. But one of the pitfalls I find in Facebook is that horrible moment when you get a friend request from someone that you have major reservations about granting that friend request. The requesting "friend" comes in many forms. You have the guy/gal from school that you either don't remember or didn't like, the relative that you don't even know, the stalker from work that decided that you and he are BFF's, and of course the person that you just plain don't like, but they are unaware of this fact.

The dilemma with all of these "friends" is what to do once you get that friend request. For some, like the guy/gal from high school that you don't remember, it's easy to click that deny button. But, your third cousin on your dad's side that you met once when you were 14 and he was 8, and haven't seen since, this is a predicament. Let's say you deny this request, what happens when dad or grandma hears you dissed your own family? But then if you accept the request, what if the "cousin" turns out to be a psychopath and befriends one of your friends and then eats them with some fava beans and a nice Chianti? Yes, this is an extreme case, but I don't know this fictitious cousin from Adam. Really, isn't it just as dangerous to "friend" a cousin you don't know as it would be to "friend" a random person you find on Facebook?

Then what about the person you know but don't like that asks to be your "friend"? I have worked hard to keep the peace and not let on that I can't stand this person. On one hand I could just "friend" this person just to continue to keep the peace. But, I really don't want this obnoxious person saying something stupid on my Facebook page. Plus, I don't want him to access to my thoughts. But if I don't accept his request, he will know that I don't think that much of him. I suppose it would be wise to find some sort of middle ground. But what could that be? Oh, I got it, how about I don't accept the "friend" request, BUT, I also don't deny it. Just leave it in limbo. But, what happens when I see this person and they say, "Hey, did you see my "friend" request on Facebook?" Then what!? Maybe this is one of the reasons why I should consider not getting involved with a "Social Networking" site. It is a slippery slope, a can proverbial can-o-worms. But, hey, do what you want, I'm no judge...sinner.

Save the Planet!

As I have mentioned in a previous blog, I am enamored with the ocean. Though I have only been in contact with it a relatively minimal amount, it is something that brings me great joy. The smell, sound, wild life, and scenery both above and below it's surface is something I feel I would never grow tired of. So, you can probably imagine how the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico makes me feel. Seeing fish and sea turtles wash up on shore already, not only saddens me, it angers me. Sadly, this is just the beginning. The Gulf of Mexico is one of the richest fishing waters in the entire world. It is an incredible ecosystem. This means there are more species of aquatic life, both enormous and microscopic, than can be counted.

I don't really consider myself a "tree hugger" in the purest sense. But, I feel one of my greatest attributes and at the same time one of my biggest faults, is my ability to feel. I have been told by many a person that I wear my heart on my sleeve. Because of this, if I see injustice it cuts me to the bone. To me, things like oil rigs in the ocean, animal poaching in Africa, strip mining, deforestation, etc., these are all things that really get to me. One of my biggest pet peeves is shortsightedness, and oil rigs, poaching, strip mining, and deforestation are all things that look at what can be had now without any regard for what our children, grand children, and great grand children will be able to have. This oil spill was preventable, but shortsighted people chose vast amounts of money over protecting the ocean. As a result, one the most incredible ecosystems in the world is in jeopardy. It's been 21 years since Exxon Valdez ran aground and spilled 11 million barrels of oil into the ocean in Alaska. Today, the ecosystem in that area has yet to fully recover. So, at my age of 37 years old, I will officially be a senior citizen by the time the Gulf Coast gets close to being back to what it is today.

The bright side is the fact that the earth is a pretty amazing place. Try as man might, the earth will never be brought to ruin. Man on the other hand, well that's a different story. We may drive ourselves extinct before we get a chance to kill "Mother Nature". At that point, the earth will be just fine.

I am going scuba diving next week, and if anything, this oil spill is going to make me enjoy my visit to the ocean all the more. It's a shame man has to destroy things before we can all appreciate what the earth has to offer. But this coming week, I am going to look a little closer at the coral and the sea turtles and really appreciate what I get the privilege to see. Hopefully, someday soon, those ruining the earth, will be ruined themselves and the next generation will get to enjoy a much more beautiful world.

Grumpy Old Man

Anger management once again pays off. I was about a gnats eyelash away from pushing some grumpy old fat guy off a ladder this weekend. But, I walked away, counted to ten and then pushed him off the ladder. No, just kidding. I actually regained my composure and just laughed at the guy. I think that may have made him more angry. So, you are probably wondering what lead up to all of this. Well, I was working at an extremely crowded construction sight, where we all had the same common goal, which was to finish. What I was working on was finish carpentry. As usual, I was working on base trim. I had a piece of 12 foot base sitting on the floor and I was going over to grab it when the grumpy old man put his ladder over the top of it so it was impossible to pick up without moving said ladder. I said to him, "Oh, actually I need to grab that piece of piece of trim you just put your ladder over."

The grumpy old man looks at the piece of base, and while stepping on to the ladder he says, "I will be done in just a minute."

Now, let it be known that the guy was done with his task in under 3 minutes. But how long would it have taken for the guy to move the ladder and allow me to get my piece of base out from under his ladder? My guess would be around 15 seconds or so. I am no math wizard, but I am pretty sure it would have made more sense for him to move his ladder, but of course I am quite biased in my stance. Didn't he, by his actions, put the project behind another 2 minutes or so? Of course all of this was frustrating, but this wasn't when I wanted to push him off the ladder. So, let's move on to the next stage of my anger pot wanting to boil over.

A few moments later after he was done screwing around on the ladder, he was coming down, and he had put a piece of ceiling tile against the wall where I was going to install the base molding. I picked up the ceiling tile to move it, and as soon as this old geezers foot hit the floor, he ripped the ceiling tile out of my hand while saying the ever so eloquent and well thought out words, "Gimme that!".

I just shook my head and as he moved his ladder, I picked up my piece of base. For the next several minutes I went about my business and did what I was set there to do, put in base. When I was finishing up my last piece, a person from the safety department came in the room and asked the grumpy old cuss if he was using the scaffolding that was blocking the exterior door that came into the room. The old poop said he would be using it again in a minute. The safety guy said, that it was blocking the entrance, so if he wasn't using it, could he please keep it out of the way. It was at this moment that my anger pot almost runneth over. The old coot said, "If they want it, they can go around and come in another door."

I looked up at him and saw that he was smiling, but after seeing his behavior over the past 15 minutes, I knew he wasn't kidding. It was at that moment that I wanted to just accidentally "bump" into his ladder. But instead, I looked at him and said, "You know, you aren't a very nice person." I then gathered up my tools and walked out of the room. Having reached my anger management capacity, I told my boss man that I had to go home and go to bed. I knew that if I had another encounter with that guy, it wasn't going to be pretty, and I would come out on the short end of the stick.

I like to look at this experience as a triumph of sorts. First of all, no grumpy old men were injured in the making of that building. And I kept my cool under some fairly adverse conditions. I may have turned the corner in my quest to rid my self of the curse of the medulla oblongata.