Dossy's Blog

caias posted on his LJ about people getting angry over not being able to pump their own gas in NJ. As he’s locked his LJ so only those on his friends list can comment (and I’m not on it), I’m blogging my response here:

I wonder if it’s just jealousy, that not only does New Jersey have some of the cheapest gas in the country (!) but we get full-service, too! (Apparently, outside of New Jersey, gas stations charge extra for full-service.)

People who insist on pumping their own gas are fools. The same kind of fools that smoke light cigarettes. Pay the same price as regular cigarettes, but get less nicotine and tar? Idiots. I get my money’s worth, thankyouverymuch.

At what point does the counterintuitiveness of the decision become evident? Such extreme examples as “pay the same price, get only half a cheeseburger?” I’m guessing people would see why that’s a ludicrous decision to make, right? So, why do people feel so strongly about “pay the same price for gas, but pump it yourself” when it’s already cheaper in New Jersey to let someone else pump it than it is to self-serve yourself in other states?

If gas in New Jersey were more expensive than other states, and someone could reasonably argue that the increase is directly due to the state mandated full-service, then I’d agree: it should be optional. But, I’ve seen no such argument …

Tags:
Caias Ward,
New Jersey,
gasoline,
self-serve

As an adult embracing Christian-oriented religion, I think it’s important to reconcile my feelings towards the Bible. I’m sure the more devout readers will see this as sacrilegious: lets not forget that whole “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matthew 7:1), okay? Just read and listen, we both might learn something.

Oversimplifying, the Bible is a collection of stories written by and about people and events. Some folks claim it is the word of God. Others say it was inspired by God. What we should be able to agree on, though, is the oversimplification I just described. But, how trustworthy is the Bible? Let me clarify: how historically accurate is it? God didn’t proofread and correct it. We know that throughout history, there have been reformations of the Bible with Popes acting as editors. How do we know if the stories contained in the Bible aren’t fiction? Archaeology might prove the existance of people, places and things–but how much can forensics tell us about what happened before we found their remains?

My shelf contains a large library of DVDs, mostly fiction–straight out of Hollywood. There are some documentaries and other presumed non-fiction, but even those tell a story from a particular point of view. I would be ashamed of some future archaeologist finding my collection, some 2,000 years later, mislead into thinking that the movies contained on my DVDs accurately tell the story of life in the year 2006, with super-human tales of mystery and heroism, of scandalous treachery, of zany love stories and war. Sure, it might be reflective of the popular culture of the times, but it sure isn’t historically accurate. After all, they’re just stories, most of them fictional, meant to sedate and entertain the masses. But, 2,000 years ago, before the age of movies on DVDs, televisions and even electricity, even before mass-produced books, we had handwriting and oral storytelling.

Don’t get me wrong: the Bible is an awesome story. A super-being giving orders from a pyrotechnical bush, stories of slavery and freedom, of love and life lost, of a man who heals the ill and walks on water, of angry mobs killing the hero, of supernatural phenomena like life-after-death … this is the kind of stuff that blockbusters are made of! But, I can’t lose sight of the fact that it’s more entertainment than historical fact. It contains a lot of wisdom and we should certainly listen for it and learn it and live it, but to take it literally and as accurate just seems foolhardy to me.

Am I totally wrong, here? What am I missing? Share your thoughts with me in the comments below.

Tags:
religion,
Christianity,
bible

del.icio.us/dossy (RSS) links since November 13, 2006 at 09:00 AM:

• Montshire Museum: Welcome to the Montshire!
  The best museum I’ve seen so far–for kids and geeky adults. It’s up in Norwich, VT … about an hour away from Killington, VT.
  Tags: education, science, kids, museum, vermont

I go away on vacation for a week and what news do I come back to? Jon Miller’s no longer CEO of AOL. I don’t want to say too much about this decision (Ted, Jason and Sree say plenty about it), but let me sum up my thoughts: they’re taking someone who proved his immense capability in three years of AOL’s most challenging times with someone who after 31 years only achieved #2 status at NBC. Draw your own conclusions.

Looks like I’m not alone in the “AOL’s recently unemployed” list. Jason Calacanis and Sree Kotay are also on it, now. The next few weeks will be very interesting to see who else is on it.

Update: Holly is also on the list. As of December 1, so will David Habib, apparently. Ryan Block suggests that Tina Sharkey is leaving AOL, too.

Update: December 14th brings more news: Carl Hutzler, Eric O’Laughlen.

Update: On January 13, 2007, C.K. Sample III announces his resignation from AOL, too.

Tags:
AOL,
Jon Miller,
NBC,
Randy Falco,
Ted Leonsis,
Jason Calacanis,
Sree Kotay

del.icio.us/dossy (RSS) links since November 6, 2006 at 09:00 AM:

• Web AIM: Web-based interface to AIM
  Tags: programming, aol, im, aim, web, api