Everything on the Internet is true!

What is it about the internet that makes so many people believe everything they read and fall for some obviously fake hoaxes? I mean, at what point do you read something and think "Gee, I'll bet Microsoft is going to have great success with this email tracking program, and I'll get paid $100 to forward it to 8 friends". Read that out loud and tell me you can do it without sounding like the dumbest airhead you've ever met. When you hear yourself it's apparent that is not normal stupid, like its super model stupid, like you should eat half a crouton after saying it and complain about how much weight you've gained from it. But sadly, a large number if intelligent non-supermodels fall for scams like this all the time.

Just like past generations that would believe everything that they read in the paper or hear on the news we now do it with social media. The number of people who get their news from Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites is rising. How often are you seeing people post news stories on these sites compared to a few years ago. Not a lot of research is required.

The problem is that most people don't question things they read on the internet because it's posted by someone they know and trust. So they're basically applying the faith they have in that person to the article the person is showing them. I submit for your approval "Octopus paxarbolis", the endangered Pacific Northwest tree octopus.

My God man, just look at me, I'm lovable!

There was a study conducted several years ago by the University of Connecticut and the U.S. Department of Education to test students ability to utilize the internet for research on their projects.  The subject of the study was a ficticious animal called the tree octopus which had it's own fake website which was used as a part of the hoax.

They did not make it difficult for the students to catch that it was a fake.  The poor tree dwelling criters we supposedly endangered because of demand from the fashion industry as they were supposedly used as decorations on clothing.  Of course is also the threat of their natural predator the Sasquatch.  Yes, the also very not real Bigfoot is their greatest enemy.  But honestly who could blame him for swatting at a freaking Octopus hanging from a tree? 

Here's where the story gets scary, as if the idea of a freaking Octopus falling out of a tree wasn't scary enough. A majority of the students who took part in the study, completely fell for it. But the really disturbing part is this...not only did the students believe that the tree octopus was real, but when the researchers told them that the creature was fake some of them actually refused to believe them.  They insisted that the creture was real and the researchers were lying. Future conspiracy theorists in training.

This is not something that is typical to only children.  Reporters have been getting duped by similar fake stories as well.  Recently even the government of North Korea fell victim to a fake story by a satirical website called "The Onion" which had proclaimed Kim Jung Un the sexiest man alive.
Sadly, it's supposed to be the job of a reporter to research a subject and present their readers with the truth.  But some have been taking the easy way out and reposting another person's article without researching themselves.  Because of that, several fake stories have recently been published on multiple news web sites.  Once it's posted to social media there's almost no stopping it.

Web sites dedicated to disproving hoaxes and urban legends have actually been having trouble tracking down if a story is true or not, because so many news organizations are publishing the stories as true without doing the research themselves. So, the next time you read on Facebook that Homeland security is going door to door taking our guns, try doing a little research...before you panic and kill the postal worker who was trying to deliver your mail.  I think we'll all be a little better off, but don't take my word for it.

Life from a different angle

I'm not going claim to be a great person, I'm not sure I'd completely qualify as a good person. I don't believe in the entire philosophy of Karma but I feel that the general concept is fairly sound. The belief is that your actions will bring upon yourself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation. I can't profess to know if there is any truth to it, but it certainly stands to reason that if you're a bad person good things are a lot less likely to happen to you...unless you're a Kardashian.

Then you have people like me who are anomalies, people who always try to do good things but have bad things come back to them the way Justin Beiber should. There is certainly no doubt that I have made mistakes that have had negative results on myself an others. But more often than not, bad things happen for no apparent reason than God has a sense of humor and I am a punch line.

This makes me wonder, because I think way to much about things like this, maybe something like Karma is involved. Could Karma be collecting on past debts? Could I have been a horrible person in a past life and this is punishment? Was I a high ranking Nazi or worse, something like a real housewife or a soccer Mom?

While Karma can try to run over my dogma it can't destroy my belief that people weren't sent to this world to suffer. I do think things happen to us to test us. I just feel that I'm getting retested far too often. Could I being failing and not know it or is there a point that I'm not learning from it? Do I belong in a remedial life class?

I only have one weapon in my arsenal to defend myself from these repeated pitfalls in life and it's one fit for the sappiest of Hallmark cards, I can continue to be me. Unless I could be Batman, because I would totally want to be Batman. I can't give my kids all of the things they need or want but I can make them understand that they are loved regardless of their successes or failures. I can't cure my wife, but I can let her know that the sacrifices I have made, and will continue to make to keep our family going, is worth it because I'm lucky to have her in my life.

But do all the people I care about know this too? What about my relatives that I hardly ever have time to talk to but follow on Facebook because I miss them. What about my friends that I love dearly and wouldn't want to go through this life without? This is a huge list of people!

Maybe the lesson I'm not learning is that I'm supposed to appreciate what I do have. Or use what I've learned to understand people around me who go through their own trials. Maybe I can use my humor to make someone laugh or say something thoughtful that makes someone think of something from a different perspective that they hadn't thought of before. I see life from a different angle than most, it's not brilliant but it's my own unique perspective.

There's also the off chance that by reading this and telling someone that you love how you feel about them that maybe, just maybe, you'll help my Karma. I'm in Karmic debt here people, help me out by helping yourselves and the people you love.

Shades of grey

I know with a Blog post title like "Shades of Grey" most readers must be thinking that I have lost my grip on sanity and read 50 Shades of Grey, or as I like to call it, 50 Shades of Inaccurate.  Fear not, I have no interest in reading Twilight with whips.  This post is about something entirely different.

To be fair to Mr Grey and his hapless lover/victim I would normally encourage any type of softcore porn that somehow finds itself acceptable amongst the housewives of this sexually repressed country. I also find it fascinating how many women are interested in the subject matter even though they would never admit it in polite conversation.

My advice to any man who's wife has read the book, read it yourself. If she found it interesting, you should know what it's all about.  But understand that this only means she is intrigued by the idea or fantasy and doesn't necessarily interested in acting upon it.  This is vital information to know before you surprise her wearing leather chaps, holding a riding crop with a ball gag in your mouth  If nothing else it will lead to some interesting stories for dinner parties.  But I digress...

I'm talking about how things are almost never really black or white in the real world.  It's often a grey area. Unless you consider the complete works of Nicki Minaj, which is all bad.

When I was growing up it was easy, we had cowboys and Indians, the Allies versus the Nazis and super friends battling some evil league of villains (who never seemed to plan things out properly). As we get older most of us realise that it's not that simple, both sides typically consider themselves to be the good guys. Were the American revolutionaries freedom fighters battling an oppressive British government or insurgents?

Often the winners are the good guys simply because they get to write the history books.

Is this such a bad thing?  Why not take a few minutes to consider the other side?  How often do we bother looking at why the other side feels the way they do, what if they have valid opinions too?  Are people that concerned that their beliefs can be so easily derailed by listening to someone else's perspective?  Is compromise such a bad idea?

By it's very nature, the human race will not agree in what is right and what is wrong.  If we all did there would be no wars, political parties or reality shows. Maybe it's time we all grow up and realised it's not all black and white.

Out of the mouths of babes

It's always been amazing to me that children have such a beautiful and unbiased view of what's going on around them.  I've always had a liking to the expression "out of the mouths of babes" because it really hits the mark.  It's actually a misquote of "Out of the mouths of babes (oft times come gems)."

Ok, to please any random grammar police that stumbles by my Blog, it's actually an idiom, so there, I hope your craving to correct me has been satiated.

Time after time, as my children were growing, I would be pleased to no end to hear their unique perspective on events in life that we often overlook.  Children have a very pure and honest view of their surroundings until their parents inject their own opinions and cloud the child's perspective. A child is not born with prejudice and phobias, that is something they are taught.

This is not always a bad thing, we're not ruining our children with our own fears and prejudices.  They need to understand that some people are bad and they can't just jump in a strangers van because he's offered them candy.  Or even worse, purchase a water treatment system because some nice stranger did an at home water test for them.

But I digress, I was discussing the things children say.  When my son was around three years old we went to a friends house for a birthday party.  I could see he was getting upset about something as I was talking to my friends.  So I pulled him to the side and asked what he was upset about.  He said he was angry because all those people were calling me Ken when my name was Daddy.

I was completely thrown as I never had that situation come up before. The girls seemed to have figured it out or they had heard my name before, he had not.  Rather than laugh it off, I explained that he was one of only three people in the entire world that are allowed to call me Dad, everyone else has to call me Ken.

I guess the point is that children are not short little adults and we tend to forget that. Not that there's anything wrong with short little adults either, I mean Tyrion Lannister is about as close to a spirit guide as I can get without peyote and a sweat lodge experience. The point is that we would do well to remember that a child's brain is developing and they don't think the way we do. They need to learn from us, and with an open mind maybe we can learn from them too.

Being sick and making the best of it

Well, the dreaded summer cold has claimed another victim.  I hate getting sick as much as I hate few other things. I don't mean paltry dislikable things like waiting in line or those idiots who type posts on Facebook in shorthand like they're texting each other. LOL.

I'm referring to the truly hated things like Nazis, the IRS, and soccer Moms. Not all soccer Moms mind you, just the haughty superior ones who always look at you like they're better because they have nothing else to do all day but dote over their children. They always seem to have Xanax on hand but I'm sure that's just a coincidence. [after rereading this post, I admit that I may have some unresolved issues with Soccer Mom's but my feelings on the IRS and Nazis are justified]

I had to admit that today I was too sick to go into work, and that's not an easy call for me to make. I have an unhealthy work ethic acquired from years of working in an industry where deadlines can not be missed and you better not call in unless you're bleeding from the ears. And even then they'll try to guilt you in to showing up with cotton balls in your ears to stop the bleeding. It's nice to work there besides awkwardly overhearing the occasional coworker crying in a cubicle near you.

I have different stages of sick.  Typically, the first stage is the "scratchy throat, nasal congested, good lord I hope that's allergies" stage.  Followed the same day by the "nope, it's not allergies" stage.  The third stage is the delusional feverish stage. 

Sadly, people never seem to appreciate the advantage to the deep thoughts we often come across while in the feverish stages of a cold.  You never know what little gems you might come across while cuddled up on the sofa watching old movies and daytime TV.  I've listed a few:

- I wonder why the kids in E.T. keep pedaling the whole time they're on the flying bikes. Is it "Just in case"?

- How funny would it be to work in a restaurant on Valentine's Day and hide fake diamond rings in all the girls' glasses and then just watch all the men's expressions.

- I'll bet the first person who discovered how to make popcorn must have been like "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

- What exactly was the  guy whp discovered that we can drink cows milk doing anyway?  I mean were people so excited about it that they never bothered to ask what he was up to?

Fever philosophy, I could be on to something big here.