Posts Tagged ‘rant’

Sorry, no fat people allowed

Feb 1, 2008 Health

In Mississippi, there is a bill on the table before the state legislature that would make forbid restaurants from serving obese people. Seriously. From House Bill 282:

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FROM SERVING FOOD TO ANY PERSON WHO IS OBESE, BASED ON CRITERIA PRESCRIBED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT TO PREPARE WRITTEN MATERIALS THAT DESCRIBE AND EXPLAIN THE CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING WHETHER A PERSON IS OBESE AND TO PROVIDE THOSE MATERIALS TO THE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS; TO DIRECT THE DEPARTMENT TO MONITOR THE FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

Wow. I really do not think something like this would pass, but the fact that it is even being considered is a little sad. Here is an idea. Serve healthier food so that anyone that is obese will have a chance to do something about it in your restaurant. What is this world coming to?

Read (via PhotoPhobic and Junkfood Science)

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I’m Frustrated With Digg

Jan 30, 2008 Internet, Thoughts

I love going to Digg. It is what I do at work all day at work, and it is becoming where I get my news. I love how those in charge are responsive to the cries of the community and actually implement changes we want to see. You don’t get that anywhere else. But in being a user for over 2 years now, I have become frustrated at a few things.

1. Using Firefox in Windows (at work), opening even one page of comments crashes the browser. I don’t mean multiple tabs, but one tab of the comment section of a story crashes the browser 90% of the time. Since I use Firefox at home on my mac, and I sync my bookmarks, I want to be able to use FF to bookmark certain stories I cannot access from work (proxy). IE doesn’t crash, but it also doesn’t remember my login info, so that is pretty much useless if I want to actually digg stories. So I use Safari to browse Digg, which is such an unnecessary step for browsing the freaking web. As far as syncing the bookmarks, I am out of luck. Why does the supposed most-stable browser crash with ONE PAGE OPEN? Digg is the only site that crashes it.

2. I have submitted 103 stories as of this typing, and only 4 have seen the front page. I know that I have submitted some real crap, but the majority of it is 10x better than some of the crap I see that hits the front page. Maybe it is the algorithm, maybe it is my timing in submitting stories, or maybe my taste in what is good is skewed. But when you can have 10 stories about the same ting hit the front page on the same day, it just feels like something is wrong. And yes, I do submit my own content. It is perfectly acceptable according to Digg’s TOS (as long as it is something worth sharing). And I certainly do not submit everything I post, just what I feel others might like.

3. When someone submits a video, they submit the link to their own page with the video embedded. Now let’s be honest. Do you really want to share the video with everyone, or do you want us to come click your AdSense links. Submit the dang Youtube page, capiche?

4. What used to be a site about technology and related things has become what seems like a harbor for hate. What I mean by that is that in any given day, you are bound to find stories about the following:

  • Apple fanboys bashing microsoft
  • Microsoft fanboys bashing apple
  • Atheists bashing Religion
  • The Left bashing the Right

You get the idea. No matter what side you are on, it seems like someone posts something that adds fuel to the fire, and the superficial argument goes on. It just seems so unnecessary. No one will ever say something to change someone’s mind in what the believe about whatever. So maybe that stuff is popular because it makes us feel better. I really don’t know.

There was a front page story a few days ago that was on backing a car out of a moving airplane. I saw that headline, and I just smiled. That is the kind of stuff that I would not even think of looking up, but the fact that it was presented to me was great. That is what Digg needs more of!

Yeah, I know I am whining about this stuff. Anyone else experience these frustrations?

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I’m not a fan of religion (part 1)

Jan 27, 2008 Spirituality, Thoughts

I don’t mean Christianity.

What I am referring to in the title is the empty religious things we do for no reason whatsoever besides the fact that a long time ago, someone sat down and decided we should do them. And also maybe to hide ourselves. Some examples:

1. In church today, we had to “stand for the reading of God’s Word”. I am all for giving respect where respect is due, but does that mean that when I am at home reading Scripture, that I should stand all the time? Why on Sunday in church and not any other time?

2. It has been said in my church that if you are in a leadership position at the church, then you need to make sure you dress up on Sunday. For that matter, a lot of people think they have to dress up on Sunday just to go to church. Why is that? When God sees me, he sees a naked, sinful man. That is how he sees all of us since that is our nature. “Dressing up” for God seems so superficial since he sees through our feeble attempts to look nice. Would wearing pajamas or flip-flops be offensive to Him? It’s closer to how I really look.

3. I sometimes feel like people I see on Sundays in church are there to check the “God thing” off of the list. Everyone smiles, no one has any problems. Life is perfect with the 2.5 kids,white picket fence, and the safe neighborhood. The reality is that many families or individuals have a great deal of problems they struggle with constantly, but we, and I do include myself here at times, do our best to hide our sin and struggles.

I think Casting Crowns said it best:

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they’ll soon discover
That I don’t belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who’s been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who’s traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

Religion is what causes an unbelieving world to be just that.  They see us as acting “religious” and perfect, only to blatantly go against it later on.   I guess what I am getting at here is that a lot of us try to hide behind religion and religious things a lot so we don’t have to confront the very sin that we are living in. What would happen if we invited Jesus in to break through the superficiality of our lives? Would it set us free? I think so.

Relationship, not religion.  That’s what I say.

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