Cows go moo

I have been busy at work lately so haven't posted much. Which I suppose is okay since only a couple of people actually read this, but I really should try to keep it up. I did have some good ideas for posts but they are gone, I was too busy at work to record them and now they have wandered off and gotten lost. I hope they are okay and haven't been killed by cars or are living as crack addicts in some cheap flop house in the inner city. Poor sad lost ideas. I would pray for them if I believed in that sort of thing. I wonder if all prayers go to heaven or if some wander off and get lost. Poor sad lost prayers. I would pray for them if I didn't think it would just perpetuate the cycle.

I cannot believe how hung up people are on looks

It is amazing how many people make important decisions based on looks along. What is even more amazing is that some of them know they are doing it and try to justify their decisions. It is mind boggling.

I have been working in software development for over 30 years and not once has a computer program run incorrectly because of the way I look. And yet people making hiring decisions are influenced by appearance.

I have worked with or spoken to a bunch of men and women who are unhappy with the people in their lives, yet they chose those people primarily on appearance. And when they go to find a new person they also chose by appearance.

Of course not everybody uses appearance as the primary criteria but lots do. It is amazing.

Communication

Communication is one of those problems that I can't seem to solve, and as a dedicated problem solver that really annoys me. I have worked hard to improve my communication skills, yet the ability to communicate clearly keeps eluding me. I know one of my problems is that I don't explain enough and while I recognize the problem I keep making the same mistake over and over. But there are other problems that I just can't identify. It is very frustrating.

Anybody have any solutions?

My thoughts on the ethical treatment of animals

I am a strong believer in the idea that all people are equal. I have never understood the arguments that skin color, sexual orientation, strength, or even genetics makes one person more important or "better" than another. To me it is fairly obvious that people all have different qualities, some good and some bad, but all come out about the same. There are some people (such as rapists) that I feel the world could certainly live without but that doesn't in my mind conflict with the idea of people being equal.

But what about animals? Are we better than them? No, because technically people are animals. We are just a different class of animal. But to make the wording simpler I am going to refer to people and animals instead of people being a type of animal.

I have met people who treat all animals badly, others that treat animals with indifference, and a few that view them as having equal rights as people. Each philosophy has its points but for myself if I had to choose between an animal dying or a person dying it would be a no brainer. I value people more than I value animals. People have a higher intelligence (at least in general).

But just because I value people more than animals doesn't mean I treat animals badly. I eat animals for food but I want the animal killed as painlessly as possible and raised as painlessly as possible. I do not go out of my way to cause pain in animals. I do not have a pet because I am away from home a lot and they would be very bored sitting inside all day.

I am having trouble with the wording of this post, but here are some of my thoughts so I don't lose them:

Wild animals should be left alone where possible. If they are a pest they should be killed as painlessly as possible but we should in no way try to improve their lives. Feeding or trying to help a wild animal always ends up causing more pain in the long run and not less.

Pets should be treated well. If you can't treat them well give them to somebody who can. If there isn't anybody then they should be killed as painlessly as possible. A painless death if better than a life of pain.

Food animals should be raised in decent, clean environments then killed as painlessly as possible. An animal should be given a decent lifespan, not killed when it is very young. A middle ground needs to be sought over giving an animal a decent lifespan and the quality of the meat.

There are good animals and bad animals, the same as there are good and bad people. A dog that attacks a person should be killed outright even if that causes it pain. We need to balance the pain we cause it with the pain it causes others.

Life

Lately the people I interact with online have been dealing with a lot of crisis and loss. A divorce, a fatal accident, etc. People try but there are really no words of comfort for these situations. Eventually time passes and you accept what has happened but when it is happening there isn't much anybody can do to help. The best thing you can do is simply be there to talk to. Profound words don't help, only time and having somebody to talk to do. The absolutely worst thing you can do is avoid them so that you don't have to deal with their pain.

The world is ending. Again.

So the world is ending tomorrow. Big deal. Every couple of years some wacko decides the world is coming to an end. Sometimes (like in this case) it is a repeat wacko. My only question is where do they keep finding gullible people who believe this nonsense? I would think people who have that level of gullibility would have died off from wandering in front of a bus long ago and yes we do keep making more but still....

I find it appalling that our society has so many gullible people in it. People who will time after time believe utter nonsense blathered by some idiot. Clearly our education system has failed us.

Acceptance

I read a lot of science fiction and as a result I have read a number of books that have touched on the subject of mutation, usually after an atomic war. Most authors seem to agree that while there will be an attempt by people to eliminate mutations we ultimately need to accept mutants into society, not ostracize them. Given how hard it is currently for people to accept people of different skin color or sexual orientation it seems we have a long way to go before we accept people with physical mutations.

We have a long way to go as a society if we are ever to accept such a profound change. What will it take for us to reach this point? I have no idea. Better education? Maybe.