Puppy Mills
The Humane Society, as well as other animal rights organizations and numerous pet-loving individuals, have helped spread the word about how terrible puppy mills are. They encourage you to go to adopt a pet from an animal shelter, instead of supporting the puppy mills by buying a dog from a other retail pet stores.* I've been to a few pet stores in my day, and I've also visited a few Humane Society locations. In my...
Adaptability
I was in Barnes & Noble the other day, coming slowly around a corner at the end of an isle, and I almost collided with another patron who was walking quickly to wherever they were headed. We would have run into one another, but I stopped moving and let them pass. They saw me when they came around the corner, but they didn't break their gait. This happens all the time when I'm out in...
A Question Is Worth a Thousand Ideas
More than that, I think, actually. Because questions are more compelling, more engaging, more thought-provoking. It's much easier to build an audience by asking the right questions. And given a big enough audience, the right question just might generate over a thousand worthwhile ideas.
Wouldn't you agree?
Silly, That
I'm not sure what was going through the heads of the first people who decided to take the green beans from the coffee plant, burn them, drip hot water through them, and then drink the resulting liquid. That's not exactly how it happened, but you get the idea. Getting from green beans to the final coffee beverage that all of us drink today is not logical at all. I imagine that the process of getting...
Parental Guidance Suggested
As soon as a new avenue of media opens up, there's inevitably a bunch of critics that want to get rid of it or control it in some way. Usually, the debate heats up over time, and as more pressure is applied, a compromised is reached. Cinema emerged in the 1920s, and about 40 years later, the MPAA established its ratings system of G, PG, PG-13, and so forth, so that viewers could know beforehand...
The Fine Print of Bad Ideas
If you're driving around and you see a bunch of patio furniture that you like on the deck of someone's house, here's how you can steal it (hear me out on this one): go on Craigslist, and preview (preview, don't post) a listing under the "Free" section on behalf of that person, saying "I live at this address, and have these items sitting on my deck that I want to get rid of. Please, someone...
Spreading the Music
There's a lady who plays the harp on the street in the town where I live. She's really quite good. She uses an amplifier to make the sound of the instrument carry quite a distance; you can hear her playing almost a full city block away. She's really quite good; people stop to listen to her play. In her repertoire she has a lot of cover songs; it's interesting to hear pop music played via...
Adults Are Big Kids
That goes triple in Vegas. And you know what kids like? Dinosaurs. I wonder, then: why isn't there a big house of mechanical dinosaurs that people can visit in Las Vegas? Why isn't there a dinosaur-themed casino, with jungle exhibits and big fire-breathing robots and slot machines with T-Rexes plastered all over them? Why isn't there a Cirque du Dinosaur show people can go see when they're wasted? You might say that dinosaurs lack the...
Performance Art Creation
Dale Chihuly is a world-renowned glassblower. What's interesting about Dale is that he's doesn't just make money by creating great glass artwork and then selling the pieces, but he also draws a crowd that watches him work. People are interested in the performance part of him creating his art, as well as the art itself. That's interesting. There are a lot of wineries around Santa Barbara, where I live. Some of them distinguish themselves by...
Start Right Now
Whatever you aspire to do with your life, get started right now. This very moment. You might be at work, so maybe you can't produce anything, but start thinking about it. Starting brainstorming the ideas in your head; write them down if you can. Start that blog, post a post that you think will inspire people, share a business idea with a friend, project a monthly budget for the next year. There's nothing separating you...