It's funny how people look at rules...

with two very different viewpoints.  I was having a discussion with one of my fellow residents about the rules of the facility today.  She wanted to have me read the house rules to all of the residents at the first meeting I preside over, or in the alternative, remind the residents that those rules exist and they should read and familiarize themselves with them.

I asked if she thought that would get the people who break the rules she's concerned about (mostly about hygiene, proper attire and pets) to do anything differently from the way they do things now, and she admitted it probably wouldn't.  So I said that means doing this would be a waste of time and I probably wouldn't do it.

Then the topic turned to how they hadn't brought her the right tea on her breakfast tray that morning.  There's a rule on that list of rules that says if you're brought meals in your room for more than three straight days, there's a charge for each additional day this is done.  So I asked, how is it any different for people not wearing the proper clothing to come down to eat, from you not being charged for having your meals brought to your room.  "Well, they haven't been enforcing that rule." "And they haven't been enforcing the other rules either.  How is your rule violation any different from theirs?"  "There's are about cleanliness."  "The dog in the dining room was.  People wearing their pajamas is not."  She quickly changed the subject.

Fascinating that people want to enforce rules that force people to do things they want, but those same sets of rules containing rules they should be forced to comply with might as well not exist.  Either we enforce all of the rules, or enforce some of the rules and take those we aren't going to enforce off of the list.  If you aren't enforcing a rule, it's useless.

Is reality television the end of scripted TV?  No.  Is it the beginning of the end?  No.  Does most of it suck?  Yes.  But there are shows that people will find entertaining.  I was thinking about which ones I enjoy watching.  My favorites are "Pawn Stars", "Storage Wars", "Parking Wars" and to a much lesser extent, the shows about women trying to become professional cheerleaders for pro sports teams.  America's Next Top Model, RuPaul's Drag Race, Real Housewives of wherever, Survivor, Amazing Race and all the others have little appeal to me.  Other shows I find enjoyable are Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Man vs Food and other Adam Richman shows, Food Paradise and Restaurant Impossible.  Of all of these, Parking Wars is my favorite at the moment.

I won't be reading the house rules at next month's meeting.

Fun with Classified Ads:

"Cons:  You are always on call. And although I respect your personal time, you do have to be always available."  For $2,000 a month you want someone to be on call 24/7?

"PLUMBER APPRENTICE NEEDED."  That would have been so much more fun if they'd put "Plumber's Helper needed".

"Minimum wage to start (Independent Contractor only)"  Another employer wanting to rip-off someone by paying them minimum wage and treating them as an independent contractor when they clearly won't be one.

"Exclusive restaurant and lounge in need of waitresses and hostesses. No experience necessary, female applicants only. If you have a great personality and want to make VERY GOOD MONEY, send us an email with a picture and contact information and we will contact you for an interview. Must be 21 years or older and willing to work nights."  So what they mean by exclusive restaruant and lounge would more commonly be referred to as a strip club.

This Date in History:

On this date in 1343, a tsunami devastates Naples, Italy among other places.
On this date in 1667, a massive earthquake hits Shemakha in the Caucasus, killing 80,000.
On this date in 1759, a massive earthquake hits the Mediterranean, destroying Beirut and Damascus.
On this date in 1833, a massive underseas earthquake, estimated to be more than 8.7 in magnitude, strikes near Sumatra, causing a tsunami that hits all along the Indonesian coast.
On this date in 1839, a tropical cyclone hits India and causes a 40 foot storm surge.  The port city of Coringa was destroyed and an estimated 300,000 people died overall due to the storm.
On this date in 1926, the deadliest tornado outbreak in U.S. history strikes on Thanksgiving day, 27 strong tornadoes in all were recorded including one that was an F4.  76 died.
On this date in 1947, the "Hollywood Ten" were blacklisted.
On this date in 1952, Agatha Christie's play "The Mousetrap" opened in London, becoming the longest continuously running play in history.
On this date in 1963, JFK was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetary.
On this date in 1984, 36 top musicians gathered together in a recording studio in Notting Hill to record "Do They Know It's Christmas" to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.
On this date in 1987, Typhoon Nina hits the Philippines, killing over 1,000 people with sustained winds in excess of 165 mph.
On this date in 1996, an ice storm hits the U.S. Midwest, killing 26 people.
On this date in 2008, Cyclone Nisha hits Sri Lanka, killing 15 and displacing 90,000
On this date in 2009, devastating floods his Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 300 cars are swept away and hundreds remain missing.

I sense a theme on this date...not a good day weather/natural disaster wise.