The Allure of Being Mean

I was listening to one of my favorite radio shows today when it dawned on me what to write about, the benefits of being mean. No, I'm not mean. At least I don't think I am. I'm thinking about how great mean looks from the outside looking in. This story is exactly my point (From This American Life, Public Radio International). Click the link then skip to 23:16 and listen to the story about the waitress. Basically, she was getting terrible tips because she was too nice, so she gave up, stopped caring and Ta Da! good tips again. What is it about treating people badly that makes them like you so much?

The other day I had someone I work with say "You're the nicest guy I've ever known. Really." I thought that was a nice thing to say but it doesn't really get you anywhere. For some reason nice guys are people you call your friend but you don't actually want to hang out with them.

Another case in point: my friend. He is really bad when it comes to relationships with women. He just doesn't care what they think or what they want. Now I listen to him decide how he is going to handle a situation and I just shake my head in amazement but it always works out. It's uncanny and It's just not right. Dating two girls at once. Fine. Tell one of them you were gone last weekend because you went to visit the other one. No problem. Balance those two and a relationship with a married woman. Couldn't be better.

Perhaps someone can explain to me why this works because I'm seriously considering this strategy. It's certainly less work and it's got a better track record.

Happy Good Friday Everybody!

Hope you got the day off. I did not. In fact, I was blessed with a 27 page paper and 6 hours of work. Maybe I'll have good luck in cards later tonight...

Cell Phones - A situation of life or death!!

Ok so this was a recent conversation I had with my sister on IM. She's trying to convince me having a cell phone can be the difference between life and death in a reasonable circumstance because my parents don't want to replace her broken phone:

Sister: you are driving on the road and your car spins out of control, it is upside down in a ditch and you cant get out without hurting yourself more, no one saw, it was on a back road... so you reach for your cell phone and its NOT THERE!!

Me: was the cell phone in my pocket?

Sister: does it make a diffrence?

Me:would i ask the question if it didnt?

Sister: okay wait.. evermind .. you just dont have a cell phone

Me:hehe ok

Me: that's a good one. gimme a sec

Sister: ok

Me: ok i'll give you that one. if you are driving late at night, the car spins out of control, it lands in a ditch in such a way so that you can't get out and by some twist of fate no one in the universe heard or saw the crash and you still have the function of your arms and legs to actually get to your cell phone, sure it could be a matter of life and death...

Sister: see
Sister: i win

Me: sure
Me: you win

Sister: hehe

Me: with that ridiculously unlikely, yet valid, example

Problems of Personality Paradox

So on the way to work this morning I had a strange epiphany. I realized I was drinking a delicious grande bold coffee from Starbucks while singing along to the Grateful Dead blasting out of my radio. Drinking the epitome of 21st century yuppie beverages while listening to '60s marijuana counter-culture legends was enough to make me laugh out loud.

Health Insurance...lest you think me too conservative

Alright Massachusetts! After years of being Connecticut's bumbling older sister (I'm too polite to mention The Big Dig catastrophe) you've finally come up with something I think I like. No not that, let's not get crazy. I'm talking about universal health care, at least in Massachusetts. I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical of a plan that calls itself universal simply by requiring people to purchase health insurance but thankfully there is more too it than that. It actually includes something I've been saying for some time, we're paying for health care for the people who can't afford it outright so why does everyone get so uptight when we talk about government subsidies? This is central to the proposal.

Here's the plan:
1) Require all MA residents to purchase health insurance and impose fines on individuals and employers with more than 10 employees who do not purchase it. The fines are equal to 50% of what the premium would be. (Don't worry there's more)

2) Individuals making under $29,000 get a pass. No premium, no deductible with tiered subsidies as family incomes increase.

Aside from being humane, it just makes sense. With more people buying into the system and hospitals not getting stuck with the bill, health insurance rates will decrease making health care more affordable for everyone in the long run and decreasing the system's dependence on state subsidies.

Sure some people have some concerns but I think it is an aggressive plan with real potential to change the system fundamentally and get the health care situation under control. So I'm all for it, in fact I'm jealous MA thought of it first, but universal health care is about as liberal an issue as you can get so don't think I favor conservatism too much. Now if we could just get that illegal immigration under control....