Good Brains, Bad Brains

People sometimes make decisions they might think are smart, but really are not. Choices a person makes could improve their lives or really screw it up. Often choices a person makes impacts on society as a whole - often with negative consequences. Some choice examples:

You brag that you are getting thousands back on your taxes - as if you hit some gold mine or something. BAD CHOICE! It was the government that found a gold mine in your interest-free loan to them. The higher your tax refund the less intelligence you demonstrated. FIX: Have your employer take out less taxes from your paycheck.

You see a television commercial for a drug and the people in the commercial are prancing around, sometimes in slo-mo, so happy - maybe standing in a lily field with their heads smiling in the sun, soft music playing. The narrator tells you to ask your doctor for this drug. You feel you should have this drug. BAD CHOICE! Drug companies spent $4.7 billion on drug advertising in 2005 (and you wonder why drugs are expensive?), and they know how to bait the hook. Fix: If you have some condition or situation then just go see a doctor if you feel it is that important (find one that isn't pill-happy). Don't go see a doctor simply to ask for some drug you saw in a commercial. If only you knew what these drugs actually do to your body - especially the liver.

You're overweight and you just heard on the television that it is not your fault - you have some defective gene and so you feel so much better you go have yourself a cheese burger. BAD CHOICE! There is no gene, no disease, no corporate blame for you stuffing your mouth. FIX: Walk, walk, walk - then run, run, run. Pay attention to what you eat and the portions you consume. Be responsible for yourself and stop looking for someone or something else to blame!

You have cable or DSL and on top of that you subscribe to Earthlink or AOL or MSN. BAD CHOICE! Why would you do such a dumb thing? Neither Earthlink or AOL or MSN connects you to the internet if you have broadband - it is your phone company or cable service (or in some areas, a Wi-Fi provider). FIX: You don't need a middle-man, so dump them.

You see a person or people on the corner of a street with a cardboard sign - maybe with some additional panhandler accoutrements like a dog or female or shopping cart (stolen, of course). You roll down your window and hand out some cash. BAD CHOICE! These people are lazy scum that just hang around and continue to panhandle for money without the responsibility of working for a living. FIX: Stop handing out money to them - eventually they will go somewhere else. Suggest to them that California is the place they want to be.

You have multiple phones - cell phones and "land-lines" (traditional phones), and your combined phone bills are higher than you'd like. BAD CHOICE! Traditional phone lines only service you at your home. FIX: Cut back on your cell service options - you probably don't need all those bells and whistles you're paying for. Never have your bank account directly tapped for this or any bills! Terminate your land-line (like I did) and use only a cell phone (it's cheaper).