"Atlanta, N. Georgia brace for snow, ice" reads the AJC headline.

Did I get in the car today and go to the grocery story to buy a gallon of milk despite the fact that I have two half gallons in my refrigerator? Yes, yes I did. The store had only three gallons in the case. When I walked away, there were two. Yes, I am part of the problem.

But at least I don't hoard little ducks made from petroleum based products for the dashboard of my Jeep. Nor do I release helium-filled balloons into the wilds or set all of the leaves in my yard on fire on windy days. I'm so much better than those people.

Is this a rationalization to make myself feel better about my irrational life choices? Yes, yes it is. If something is horrible because it does selfish things, and all humans do selfish things, all humans are horrible. If I'm a human being (spoiler alert: I am), I'm just going to have to learn to accept that.

On the bright side, self-loathing tastes better with milk.

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Ethics quiz time!

Setup: I have been playing a video game online with a friend who, to protect his anonymity, we will call Ken. Ken loves the game; I do not. Ken's enthusiasm and proficiency have resulted in much greater experience gain for his character than mine, which has the practical effect of making the game easier (and more fun) for him as it simultaneously, through natural progression of the game levels, becomes more difficult and frustrating for me.

Situation: Without telling me his plan, Ken took the time to play the game solo to perform the monotonous task of gathering resources that can be used to give additional experience to a character. Ken would later say he intended to give the resources to me so that my character would be more powerful and I might enjoy the game more. Instead, he applied those resources to his own character, and as a result, what was previously an 8 level difference between our characters has become an 80 level difference, greatly exacerbating the original problem.

Question: Despite the outcome, does Ken deserve my appreciation for his "good intention" of helping me to level up in a game I do not enjoy playing, even if the practical outcome of his act was ensuring that I will never play that game with him again?

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My Answer: No. My personal philosophy is that intentions do not matter. Therefore, I do not believe Ken deserves any reward (or thanks) for the work he may have put in trying to make the game better. However, I also think it is inappropriate (and rude) to punish someone for a legitimate mistake on their part that resulted in no actual harm.

So no hard feelings, Ken, or whatever your name is.

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The difference between humans and other animals is that we're capable of asking the question "why?". We're just not very good at answering it.

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Maybe you don't need rules to interact with other people. I do. The following are a few rules that govern my interactions with people I don't know. Thirty-six years of experience have demonstrated to me that all of the following rules are true.

1. Everyone believes that everyone else is just like them.
2. Everyone is inclined to believe what they want to hear.
3. Everyone tells you where they are coming from with the first words out of their mouths.

Of course, if I already know and feel comfortable with whomever I'm speaking to, I tend to be a little more... honest. I've discovered that what I call being honest, most others would call being an asshole. So the next time you catch me being an asshole, instead of thinking, "that guy's an asshole," think, "Walter must like me."

Yeah, that's the ticket.

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Poodle Philosophy 101: Part 2

Good girls know that two heads are better than one when it comes to bird watching.

Bird chasing, on the other paw, is every poodle for herself.

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Poodle Philosophy 101: Part 1

Victoria always takes the opportunity to smell the roses. And squirrels.

July bites off only as much as she can chew. In this mouthful.

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This past week my brother chastised me for failing to update the site sooner than this. He told me that I was failing to do my established duty to entertain the half dozen people who visit the site regularly.

In my defense, I've been kind of busy. I've been trying really hard to complete the PS2 game Mercenaries. Determined to collect all of the bounties, I had a great deal of trouble with the 10 of Spades. I accidentally killed number 10 and couldn't recover the body that had fallen halfway down a cliff. That was irritating.

Also, I've been working on a script for a new The Movies movie about time travel. I've just about finished writing dialogue. I'll keep you posted regarding release dates.

And that's all in addition to the fact that I've been trying to finish Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged which I started reading casually on August 2 last year. I've finished two other books in the meanwhile that I've read only while on the toilet. I really love Rand's Objectivist philosophy, but she really takes her time redundantly driving a point home again and again.

Anyway, it's updated now. Are you happy yet, Trey?

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