Have you ever had one of those moments where an idea hits you at the strangest of moments? This happened to me recently when my family and I were enjoying breakfast at one of our favorite breakfast eateries. When our food arrived at the table I asked the waitress for extra napkins, and it hit me.
Does asking the server for more napkins increase the chance that you will need them? Or is it simply being prepared in the event that they are needed? At what point does precaution become self-fulfilling prophecy?
At first, I dismissed the idea as the silly ramblings of a man who hasn’t had his coffee yet, but it stuck with me. I began to wonder if having a safety net would increase the likelihood of risky behavior or carelessness rather than simply provide a level of protection. Does the safety net make the trapeze artist more bold, more careless? Does the seat-belt or airbag act as enablers to the lead foot? What about government spending and the lack of accountability? (more…)
Have you ever heard of the Fair Tax Act? It is a proposed bill which would (with parallel legislation) repeal the 16th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, abolishing the IRS and federal income tax, replacing the system with a national sales tax. I am still reading up on the Fair Tax Act and the organization behind the movement, so it would be irresponsible for me to offer an opinion about either at this time. At first glance, however, it seems like an interesting idea that deserves some attention. (more…)
Michelle Obama recently launched a new campaign to fight childhood obesity and I can’t help but feel frustrated, angry, and a little disgusted.
Yes, I know that childhood obesity is a serious issue which faces the youth of America, but there is a far more serious issue which needs to be addressed NOW. There are millions of people in the United States who do not have enough food. In 2008 the USDA reported that 17 million children lived in households where food was scarce, 1.1 million of them starving. Add the adults into the mix, and we’re talking 49 million people struggling for food. If you consider that the population of the United States in 2008 was just over 300 million people, that means approximately 16.3% of all Americans struggled for food in 2008.
During Barrack Obama’s presidential campaign, he pledged to eliminate hunger among children by 2015. What is being done to bring about the end to childhood hunger in America? So far, the answer has been to throw more money at existing programs (which are not working) and wait for the economy to recover. (more…)
I recently experienced a rather painful injury to my left eye. My 7 month old managed to poke me in the eye while we were playing, and I ended up with a 5mm corneal abrasion. While not an incredibly serious injury, a 5mm corneal abrasion (dead center on the eye, mind you) is very painful and it drastically reduces your ability to see. It hurts to blink, it hurts not to blink. You end up in a constant state of trying to find the least painful direction to look, and the darkest corner of the room in which to do it. Due to the lateness of the hour, I had to wait until morning to see an eye doctor and by the time morning finally came, I was in agony. To put it bluntly, the experience totally sucked.
I must admit that I did find some value in the experience, however. When nearly every aspect of your daily life relies on your ability to see relatively clearly, losing that ability stops you in your tracks. This might sound a bit obvious, but it is difficult to truly understand it without experiencing it first hand. You find yourself relying on your other senses to help you get through the day. Feeling your way around, listening for the dog so you don’t step on the poor thing, hoping you remember where the coffee table is. You end up relying more and more on your other senses to get you through the day, especially the sense of touch.
It was the act of feeling my way down the hall to find the bathroom that gave me the idea behind this article. During our normal day to day lives, many of us simply go about our routines. We have goals that we seek to achieve, and most of us approach our goals with familiar and obvious methodology. This may get the job done, but could we be missing something? I definitely think so. (more…)
I’ve decided it is time to change the look of “The Burnman Experience” yet again. I wasn’t entirely happy with the old design and since I’ve decided to start blogging much more regularly, I figured it was about time to make the switch. So far, I am pleased with the new theme and will be customizing it over the next few days.
What do you think of the new theme?
This morning, CNN reported via Twitter that a suspicious boat was in a river near President Obama with shots fired:
Minutes later, CNN reported that a the United States Coast Guard attempted to prevent a boat from entering a security zone on the Potomac River near the Pentagon, where President Obama was at an event commemorating the 9/11 attacks, and again mentions the police scanner reports of shots fired: (more…)