Wildcats Basketball

Oh yeah.

Two Dollar Bill

Here's a funny story my dad forwarded to me:

The $2 Bill. Everyone should start carrying them! I am STILL laughing!! I think we need to quit saving our $2 bills and bring them out in public. The younger generation doesn't know they exist.

STORY: On my way home from work, I stopped at Taco Bell for a quick bite to eat. In my billfold are a $50 bill and a $2 bill. I figure that with a $2 bill, I can get something to eat and not have to worry about anyone getting irritated at me for trying to break a $50 bill.
Me: "Hi, I'd like one seven-layer burrito please, to go"
Server: "That'll be $1.04. Eat in?"
Me: "No, it's to go."
At this point, I open my billfold and hand him the $2 bill. He looks at it kind of funny.
Server: "Uh, hang on a sec, I'll be right back."
He goes to talk to his manager, who is still within my earshot. The following conversation occurs between the two of them:
Server: "Hey, you ever see a $2 bill?"
Manager: "No. A what?"
Server: "A $2 bill. This guy just gave it to me."
Manager: "Ask for something else. There's no such thing as a $2 bill."
Server: "Yeah, thought so."
He comes back to me and says, "We don't take these. Do you have anything else?"
Me: "Just this fifty. You don't take $2 bills? Why?"
Server: "I don't know."
Me: "See here where it says legal tender?"
Server: "Yeah."
Me: "So, why won't you take it?"
Server: "Well, hang on a sec."
He goes back to his manager, who has been watching me like I'm a shoplifter, and says to him, "He says I have to take it."
Manager: "Doesn't he have anything else?"
Server: "Yeah, a fifty. I'll get it and you can open the safe and get change"
Manager: "I'm not opening the safe with him in here."
Server: "What should I do?"
Manager: "Tell him to come back later when he has real money."
Server: "I can't tell him that! You tell him."
Manager: "Just tell him."
Server: "No way! This is weird. I'm going in back."
The manager approaches me and says, "I'm sorry, but we don't take big bills this time of night."
Me: "It's only seven o'clock! Well then, here's a two dollar bill."
Manager: "We don't take those, either."
Me: "Why not?"
Manager: "I think you know why."
Me: "No, really, tell me why."
Manager: "Please leave before I call mall security."
Me: "Excuse me?"
Manager: "Please leave before I call mall security."
Me: "What on earth for?"
Manager: "Please, sir."
Me: "Uh, go ahead, call them."
Manager: "Would you please just leave?"
Me: "No."
Manager: "Fine -- have it your way then."
Me: "Hey, that's Burger King, isn't it?"
At this point, he backs away from me and calls mall security on the phone around the corner. I have two people staring at me from the dining area, and I begin laughing out loud, just for effect. A few minutes later this 45-year-oldish guy comes in.
Guard: "Yeah, Mike, what's up?"
Manager (whispering): "This guy is trying to give me some (pause) funny money."
Guard: "No kidding! What?"
Manager: "Get this... A two dollar bill."
Guard (incredulous): "Why would a guy fake a two dollar bill?"
Manager: "I don't know. He's kinda weird. He says the only other thing he has is a fifty."
Guard: "Oh, so the fifty's fake!"
Manager: "No, the two dollar bill is."
Guard: "Why would he fake a two dollar bill?"
Manager:"I don't know! Can you talk to him, and get him out of here?"
Guard: "Yeah."
Security Guard walks over to me and......
Guard: "Mike here tells me you have some fake bills you're trying to use."
Me: "Uh, no."
Guard: "Lemme see 'em."
Me: "Why?"
Guard: "Do you want me to get the cops in here?"
At this point I am ready to say, "Sure, please!" but I want to eat, so I say, "I'm just trying to buy a burrito and pay for it with this two dollar bill. I put the bill up near his face, and he flinches like I'm taking a swing at him. He takes the bill, turns it over a few times in his hands, and says, "Hey, Mike, what's wrong with thisbill?"
Manager: "It's fake."
Guard: "It doesn't look fake to me."
Manager: "But it's a two dollar bill."
Guard: "Yeah?"
Manager: "Well, there's no such thing, is there?"
The security guard and I both look at him like he's an idiot, and it dawns on the guy that he has no clue. So, it turns out that my burrito was free, and he threw in a small drink and some of those cinnamon thingies, too. Made me want to get a whole stack of two dollar bills just to see what happens when I try to buy stuff. If I got the right group of people, I could probably end up in jail. You get free food there, too. Just think...those two will be voting soon....

Poetry???....

Oh there once was a pirate pegleg,
and this swab loved to drink from his keg;
well he smelled like a whale
and he drank lots of ale,
then he gave his wood leg the name greg....

Rules were made to be kept (Prompt #4)

Rules keep a society functioning smoothly. Yet a familiar adage states, "Rules were made to be broken." Some, like the late Martin Luther King, Jr., have applied this addage to laws: "An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust...is in reality expressingthe highest respect for the law.

What is your opinion of the claim that breaking the rules is sometimes necessary? In an essay, support your position by discussing an example (or examples) from literature, the arts, science and technology, history, current events, or your own experience or observation.


There is a common expression that says "Rules were made to be broken." But if that's true, what's the point of having the rules? If rules are set in place and ignored, how does that help anyone?

Rules were created for the benefit of the people and for the stability of the kingdom. They establish a concrete foundation of what is wrong (not allowed) and what is right (allowed) in a certain area. This brings up a question, can morality change with the terrain? The answer is no. Morality is the same all over the planet, but the perception and protection of morality differs.

Rules do all these things, most of the time. The effectiveness of the rule or law is based on how many people actually pay attention to it. A country could have the greatest laws ever and it wouldn't help at all if no-one obeyed them.

Laws should be broken, but only in certain conditions, etc. In the Bible, David and his men ate the holy bread from the temple because they were starving. It was against the law to do this, but it is clear that God approved.

In conclusion, yes, it is necessary to break some laws, but only in dire need, when the law is foolish, or when it goes against your religious convictions. Rules were made to be kept.



Stupid time restraint.

Illegal copies (Prompt #3)

Full prompt: When it comes to downloading music off the internet, P. Diddy claims "when you make an illegal copy, you're stealing from an artist." U2's Bono states that "bootlegs are fine if you're making a few of them for your friends."

Assignment: Are the notions of copyright and intellectual property relevant in today's file-sharing environment? Is it right or wrong to download music off the web?



P. Diddy says "When you make an illegal copy, you're stealing from an artist." Is that true? Is it stealing to just to copy one or two petty little songs? How bad can it be?

Well, it can get pretty bad pretty quickly, especially in the online world of music downloads. Sure, there are those who just download one or two of their favorite songs, but there are many out there who download thousands of songs, not looking for the music but for the profit. So, is it ok to get a couple of songs off of the internet? The answer is no. Even if they're only for your own personal use, it is still illegal. Allowing some people and not allowing means that a court of law would have to judge someone's motive, something they are not capable of doing.

There are those who have no money, no friends, no CDs; they want music. What do they do? They get copies. After all, it's a win-win situation, right? The band becomes more popular and the person gets their music. However, popularity won't help a band at all if no one pays money to listen to their songs.

The fact is, illegal downloading is exactly what it says, illegal. It does take money away from musical artists, and we can't know how much revenue they need; we can't judge ourselves, saying, "it's not that bad, they'll survive." We can't make excuses, we can't make compromises.

In the end, it really doesn't matter if we think it's right or wrong, the government has made laws about it and we are to submit to those laws.

50th post...

That last post was my.... 50th post!!!!!!!! Hoorayyyy!
And now back to reality.

Mondays

Well, it seems that if I was a cat, I would be Garfield. I love eating and sleeping... and I hate Mondays.

You can't take it with you(Prompt #2)

Ideas about money have been on the minds of great thinkers for centuries. Henry Fielding said, "Make money your God and it will plague you like the devil." Ken Hakuta once said, "Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is an obstacle."

Maybe money is, after all, NOT The key ingredient to providing some of life's most sought-after answers?

Assignment: How do you feel about the idea that there are more important things in life than money?



Henry Fielding once said "Make money your God and it will plague you like the devil." This statement is entirely true, but it is not because money is inherently evil. Idolizing money, however, is a sin.

Despite the dangers that money brings with it, it is a very useful medium through which people can carry out business transactions and do many other things. Without money, in the present day united states, one could not buy or rent a house or apartment, could not eat, could not get clothes or other extremely useful items. Very quickly would come a transformation into what we call a "homeless person".

There are dangers though; the two primary reasons that anyone would idolize money are power and comfort. In our modern culture, comfort is everything. Money buys our comfortable beds and other furniture; it buys our tasty food; it buys our air-conditioned cars; it buys cable TV. Money facilitates easy access to our favorite sins: sloth, gluttony, addictions (alcohol, drugs, immorality)

There are many things which are much more important than money to have and care for. First and foremost is our soul. For what gain is it for a man to gain the whole world if he loses his soul? No matter what television or radio or culture or anyone else says, money isn't everything. There is at least one thing money can't buy. Money can't buy heaven.

So rather than storing up treasures on earth that decay and get stolen, gather up spiritual treasures, because if there's one thing that's true, it's this. You can't take it with you when you go.