Our 7 Most Common Lies…

The witness stand (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(by Rob Writer)

Now I’m not into lying…and that’s the truth! No, really, it is. I have a strong spiritually based belief system and that’s that.

Have I lied? Of course. I’m not perfect. Despite how we may work at it, sometimes even the most opposed to such ways will slip. And the number of us who tell a lie, easily or with great angst, is very surprising…

One report on a major news network revealed that over 90 percent of people tell a lie every day! Of course, the main stream news media tells a lot of lies themselves, or so I’ve been told…unless THAT is a lie!

But in looking at this on the “net,” I found some information on “thehuffingtonpost.ca” as to what people most lie about. I figure they are legit enough to be trusted here, and its my call because its my article!

So then, what can we learn from this Huffington Post article? Well, let’s have a look!

These are the top lies we tell on a regular basis:

1. (Smoking)

There is so much “bad press” about the ill effects of smoking on our health, and the health of others who are around smokers. It almost makes us out to be criminals if we confess to having this habit! “But I’m trying to quit” you say…lie number two! You may WANT to quit, but that’s not the same as actually doing it. Take that from an “ex-smoker” himself.

2. (Weight)

Oh the ladies are so much more guilty of this lie than anyone! They say it’s because of “social pressures.” In a survey conducted in 2011, a full 68% of women lied about their weight on their driver’s licenses. They justify it by saying that “withheld” information isn’t lying. Ever hear of “lying by way of omission?” Really, it’s a lie no matter how you slice it!

3. (Age)

Well both sexes are guilty here. When we were younger, we told people we were older. But when we get older, we tell others we are younger! A really crummy problem indeed. We all lie about age, most often at work, on dating profiles, and to that youngster who thinks we are “like, majorly old!” Wait until you really can’t remember how old you are. Then it’s just a “mistake.”

4. (Alcohol Consumption)

Have you ever met anyone who will tell you straight up they’ve had 10 beers and 8 shots? Yes you say? Well, truth is they probably had 12 beers and 12 shots! Most people won’t “fess” up to how much nor how often they drink. Word of caution here: At least be honest with your doctor!

5. (Flossing Teeth)

Wow, this one surprises me. I get the first three, but flossing? Yet this is important enough to many of us that surveys show about 40 percent of us lie about brushing our teeth three times a day, while 25 percent lie about flossing…(really, do most people brush THREE times a day?)

6. (Praying)

Now this makes no sense to me. Even among the religious folks, we don’t pray often enough. And when we do, it’s usually when we are in trouble or want something. Maybe we can throw in a meal time prayer. Yet we want others to believe we pray much more often, so we lie about it. Ironic…we lie about prayer, but we should pray about lying!

7. (Cheating)

OKAY…here we go! I knew something like this would show up eventually. Now who among us is going to admit we cheated until the evidence is overwhelming, or we become wracked with unbearable guilt? However, until one or both of these happens, (baring getting caught in the act), we LIE, LIE, and LIE some more! And for those who believe men are more at fault here, a study finds that not only do women do their share of cheating, but they are better liars about it. Hey, don’t “kill the messenger, its scientific fact…

So were you surprised at these? Shocked? Well, I figured most of them out. But there were a couple of “whammies” in there. Best thing to do is to just tell the truth, then you have nothing to explain or seek forgiveness for later…

Please…Tease My Brain!

Albert Einstein (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(by Rob Writer)

They say such things as brain teasers help keep the mind sharp. I say, keep all sharp objects away from me if I’m trying to solve them!

But I’m always trying to improve myself in any way I can. I know you appreciate it, and I’m sure my mother does!

(Bada Bing!)

Well…it was funny in rehearsal!

Okay, enough of that. In the interest of sharing the trauma of trying to get some of these right, I don’t mind giving you a “swat” at them. And no looking at the answers first. You are on your honor here!

So, with no further delay, let’s go!

> Johnny’s mom had three children. The first was named April, the second May. What was the name of the third child?

> A clerk at a butcher shop is 6′ 3″ tall and wears size 12 shoes. What does he weigh?

> Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?

> How much dirt is in a hole that measures 2 feet by 3 feet by 4 feet?

> What word in the English language is always spelled incorrectly?

> Billie was born on December 28th yet her birthday always falls in the summer. How can that be?

> In British Columbia, you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?

> If you were running a race and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you now be in?

> A farmer has 5 haystacks in one field and 4 in another. How many would he have if he combined them all in one field?

> A rooster lays an egg at the top of an “A” framed roof. What side will it roll down on?

> What word has several letters in it?

> Two women apply for a job. They both have the same mother, father, and birthdate. When asked if they are twins, they answer “no.” How can that be?

> How far can a dog run into a forest?

> Rearrange the words “new door” to make one word.

> “B,C,D,E,G,P.” What would be the next letter in sequence?

Spoiler Alert! (ANSWERS):

1. Johnny.

2. Meat of course!

3. Mt. Everest. It just wasn’t discovered yet.

4. There is no dirt in a hole!

5. “Incorrectly”…unless you spell it incorreckedly!

6. Billie lives in the Southern Hemisphere.

7. You can’t take a picture with a wooden leg. You need an Ipad, cell phone, camera, etc.

8. In the same place. You passed a runner but didn’t change the location of the race.

9. Just one. The farmer combined all the haystacks together…

10. Neither. Roosters don’t lay eggs.

11. “Mailbox.”

12. They are triplets.

13. Halfway. After that the dog is running OUT of the forest.

14. “New door” and be rearranged to spell “one word.”

15. “T” because they all rhyme.

Anybody get “100 percent?” Of course you did!

NOT…

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College Degrees…Worth The Money?

NWF State College Graduation (Photo credit: Sean M. Flynn)

(by Rob Writer)

We all heard it for decades. Go get a college degree if you want to make a better living. And, for a long time, that was the undisputed truth…

However, enter the “Great Recession.” All of a sudden, things have changed, at least for the meantime.

New information is out which suggests that college grads are perhaps “over qualified” for many opportunities which are available in the current job markets.

Meagan Pant of the “Denver Post” reports that a significant number of college graduates find themselves in jobs making lower wages and don’t even require a high school diploma!

What’s more, when graduates tack on the rising higher costs of a college education, it becomes even harder to justify going to college at all!

“The economy may be in recovery officially, but there are a lot of people who haven’t recovered yet” says Jonathan Robe. He is one of three researchers involved in a report “Why Are College Graduates Underemployed?” Robe further adds “The problem is sticking around.”

In her article, Pant states that some 48 percent of college alumni, not just recent college grads, were underemployed as of 2010. In a report from the Center for College Affordability and Productive, there were five million college graduates employed in jobs which required less than a high school education.

These facts seem to be even further validated by another post on “cnn.com.” Jon Marcus of the Hechinger Institute @CNNMoney tells us this story.

“Bereven Omer graduated on a Friday in February, (2013), with an associate degree from Nashville State Community College and started work the following Monday as a computer-networking engineer at a local television station, making about $50,000 a year.”

Statistics show that salary is about 15% higher than the average starting salary for college graduates from either two or four-year degree programs. Omer adds “I have a buddy who got a four-year bachelor’s degree who is making $10 dollars an hour. I’m making two and a half times more than he is.”

Marcus goes on to say that a Georgetown University study shows that some 30 percent of Americans with Associates degrees are now making more than those with Bachelor’s degrees. The post goes on to say that in Tennessee for example, the average wage for two-year graduates right out of school is $38,948. That’s between $1000-1300 dollars more than average salaries paid to four-year degree holders.

However, there is one other statistic of interest in all this. Georgetown University also suggests that about 63% of all jobs will require “postsecondary” education by 2018. Currently, the U.S. is on pace to fall short of meeting that need by about 3 million workers.

Be this as it may, the current underemployment trend is leaving college educated workers in jobs which pay so little that they cannot pay off their student loans, or even maintain the costs of health care. Surviving today’s employment shortfalls is hard enough for many, while at the same time, it is making future job requirements seem all the more worrisome…

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The one that I will never foget

Here’s a new blogger with great writing talent! Take a look…

Obama’s Delima…

US President Barack Obama (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(by Rob Writer)

I have never cared much for Mr. Obama as America’s leader. I didn’t vote for him in either of the two Presidential elections. There was just something “tricky” about him, insincere perhaps.

He just didn’t seem to have the experience necessary to back up his promises.

Granted, our country was in bad shape when he first took office in January, 2009.

Unemployment was through the roof. People couldn’t beg, borrow, or steal employment. We were losing our homes. We were weighed down with record-setting national debt. War veterans were forced to live on the streets, and health care was too expensive.

The number of problems we faced as a nation went on and on.

Mr. Obama promised change, sweeping change in fact! He set forth to help fix things. However, with almost every endeavor he attended to, failure resulted. He blamed the Republicans; They pushed back. The outcome was, (and continues to be), a complete shut down of government.

When he campaigned for a second term, he made more promises to anyone and everyone who had money, or who could help him with a special interest vote. Obviously that worked well for the adept politician, Americans re-elected him…

Still, 100 days into his second term, not much has changed. In fact, some things have declined even further. In a report on “foxnews.com,” writer Chris Stirewalt shares some interesting information with us. He reports that the predominately liberal Democratic base is not happy with their President Obama. The article says:

“Despite…the President’s boldly liberal vision and broad promises after his re-election, liberal Democrats are feeling crabby about Obamism these days. A largely unchecked genocide in Syria, an ever-escalating drone warfare program, a botched effort for gun control, fumbling implementation of the new health law, defeats on fiscal policy and the President’s seeming acceptance of business as usual in Washington are causing alarm on the left. What is the use of having a crusading liberal president if he won’t crusade or can’t win when he does?”

What use indeed!

Now we must add to the indictments above the virtually unchanged rate of unemployment, a continued lack of sufficient job growth, a sequester which has failed miserably, and no meaningful headway concerning our nation’s suffocating debt crisis. One could say this government under the “leadership” of Mr. Obama resembles the “blood feud” of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s!

However, I have to concede one point. Our President is one heck of a joke teller! He was ON FIRE at the Correspondent’s dinner the other night…

The Funny Pages…

Silly Putty, Eileen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(by Rob Writer)

Remember “Silly Putty?” My generation, (a bit over 30, 40,…), used to be entertained for hours with it.

Well it was the comics section from the Sunday newspaper that gave me the most fun. Pressing the silly putty over an image and then stretching and pulling it into contorted images. Great fun. Aw, it was just a simpler time then.

Anyway, here are some “haha’s” to help you crack a smile today. Enjoy!

1. “He who smiles in a crisis has found someone to blame.”

2. “Laugh at your problems, everybody else does.”

3. “A clear conscience is usually a sign of a bad memory.”

4. “Why do we choose from two people for President, but 50 ladies for Miss America?”

5. “You don’t need a parachute to skydive. You only need one if you want to do it again.”

6. “We have enough gun control. What we need is idiot control.”

7. “Hospitality: Making people feel at home when you wish they really were.”

8. “When in doubt, mumble.”

9. “My opinions may change, but the fact that I’m always right does not.”

10. “Funny, I scream the same whether I see a shark or a piece of seaweed touches my foot.”

11. “Men hit harder, but women hit lower.”

12. “Worrying works! 90% of the things I worry about never happen.”

13. “Good thing the world sucks. If it didn’t we’d all fall off.”

14. “Don’t hit somebody with glasses…use a baseball bat instead.”

15. “Work just fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.”

16. “Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.”

17. “We may be born free, but we’re taxed to death.”

18. “Parachute for sale. Used just once, never opened.”

19. “Which one if faster, hot or cold? Hot of course, because you can catch a cold.”

20. “When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.”

Many thanks! Have a great day…

~Rob

LONGING

More great poetry to read…

Giggle Time Pics

Fantastic and oh so funny!

dreamshadow59

I thought these were HILARIOUS!!!

 

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WHISPER

Complex idea, simple words…

6 Reasons To “Call It Quits”…

Unhappy woman (Photo credit: SalFalko)

I don’t know of anyone who has not faced this situation in their life…

 The breakup of a marriage or dating relationship is usually miserable no matter which part you play; the “breaker” or the “breakee!” Even if a person can’t wait to get away from someone, there can be some moments of sorrow, either for yourself or for the feelings of the other person.

Oddly enough, some couples can’t (or don’t want to) see that things are over between them. There can be various reasons for this, but we won’t go into them here.

What we will be looking at, however, are some of the signs that a relationship is either dead, or well on its way to dying. I’ve enlisted the help of “livenlearn87.hubpages.com” to give us some indicators that a love has pretty much “flat-lined.” Let’s take a look:

1. You Fight More Than Ever. 

Remember when things were “light and delightful” between you? Nice, huh. However, there can come a day when all of those feelings have vanished, and in their place is a lot of garbage, stress, and angry words. Sometimes a couple may decide to talk it out or seek counseling. It may or may not help, but usually if arguing is the “rule of the day,” you might just consider moving on.

2. One Or Both People Won’t Compromise.

No relationship works without some flexibility on the part of both people. If things have gotten to the point where compromise isn’t in your “couples dictionary,” and discussions lead nowhere, it may be time to get out. Who needs the stress?

3. You Wish You Could Change The Other Person.

A loving, workable relationship usually results in a growing appreciation of who your partner is and what qualities they possess. When you spend more time looking on the shortcomings and faults of your mate, the red flags are up for sure! Even if the two of you were once compatible, sadly people grow apart. However, when they do, that is usually the result of neglect along the way. This sign says it’s time to “repair or replace.” 

4. You Don’t Feel Respected or Appreciated Anymore.

This one really stings. Other than the hurt of cheating, feeling “worthless” in the sight of your partner gnaws at your very self-esteem. What’s more, the longer this feeling is allowed to go on, the worse it can become. Only you can decide how much more to take in a case like this. But if you can’t see things changing for the better, you deserve to free yourself from serious potential damage.

5. Your Lover Has Been Unfaithful.

As we mentioned in #4, this act is usually in the top two or three worst things one person can do to another. In most cases, when someone seeks out a person other than you for attention or affection, it’s a sure sign that something has gone way wrong in your relationship. Sometimes, people try to repair this kind of injury and are successful. More often, however, even if the two of you work through it, the incident will always loom somewhere in the background. 

6. You Have Been Abused.

No matter the kind of abuse, (i.e. physical, verbal, etc.), this is a most concerning and dangerous matter to contend with! Yet the offended person may stay in the relationship for one reason or another! However, understand this much: The chances of further abuse are just around the corner. According to “Wikianswers.com,” it is likely that even if an abuser stops one kind of assault, they find another form of revile to take its place. It is probably best to get away from this relationship altogether!

Of course, even if you find one or more of these things in your relationship, you can always decide to try to work through problems. But unless there was an overall quality in the union at some point, successful reconciliation is not likely. The chance of any kind of lasting “fix” may already be gone according to the experts.

Only you can decide what to do. But the experts state with a good bit of certainty that any or all of the above conditions signal that the end of a relationship has already arrived. Just be honest with yourself when assessing your romantic circumstances…

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