Irrational Focus

I don't think it is all that hard. I simply expect a government -- any one that thinks it is competent -- to setup and enforce a series of simple, reasonable rules for its people. The act of doing this correctly aught to make a fair and stable society. These rules govern the interaction and protect people from hazards. They allow us to come together as a society for mutual benefits. They are important. So how annoyed should I be when a city can't even afford to cleanup the snow or patch the roads, but has enough money for the counselors to get perks? How disappointed should I be when I see a province suffering from gas shortages? Water shortages? Electricity brown-outs? But instead they want to enforce policies on which types of dogs they like and which type that think are 'nasty'? How frustrated should I be when I see a country that doesn't help its own stuck in foreign prisons? Instead it downloads it expenses on other so it can create 'tax breaks' for pop...

"Ya, I know I should do that, but ..." We get so much advice. TV, radio, newspapers, web pages, strangers, even family is constantly offering up good and tasty tidbits about how we should live our lives. There is financial advice, which you really should follow. Career advice which hugely affects your life. Health advice, the most critical of all. Advice about how to care for the car, house or cottage. Advice to be happier or more productive. Advice about relaxing. Advice about learning and advice about hobbies. We are, it seems downing in an unlimited sea of advice. That might be OK, if underneath it all it was well-meaning, but much of it is not. Lots of the advice we receive is tainted by the fortunes of someone, somewhere. Buying advice helps corporations, lifestyle choices help consultants, charitable advice keeps not-for-profit leaders in BMWs . Living advice is sometimes pegged to political parties or other social agenda. It seems that most advice has that stench of m...

"What do we really know? Hmmm ." I pondered as we walked. I was out with the dog the other night. The quiet tranquil nature of empty suburban streets is a great place for deep thinking. The cold chill of winter keeps one from wandering too far off topic while wandering aimlessly in the streets. Dogs make wonderful intellectual companions for these types of journeys because they don't interrupt with too many questions. They are very good listeners. I was pondering information quality, and I foolishly started to wonder about how much inaccurate information was choking up my memory. Certainly, there are lots of spin, lies, half-truths, deceptions and other stuff built up over the years from less than quality sources like politics, news and TV. Somethings in my memory are just easy simplifications. Somethings are out right fabrications. There is also the changing nature of science, and our non-stop quest for learning. Some of my knowledge is just 'relative', it wouldn...