Thursday, August 30, 2007

Press: So diverse, yet adverse to reaching out - HC

So diverse, yet adverse to reaching out - Houston Chronicle:

"The most trusting were places like Duluth, Minn., and Fargo, N.D. The least trusting? San Diego, Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix and San Francisco. 'We didn't set out to study diversity and immigration,' says Putnam. 'But you couldn't look at that data and not be struck by it. The places that were diverse ranked lower.'"

Press: 1 in 3 female online daters report first-date sex - HC

1 in 3 female online daters report first-date sex - Houston Chronicle: "Mark Brooks, the editor of onlinepersonalswatch.com, which covers news about the business of online dating Web sites, said people hoping for romantic relationships sometimes project what they're looking for onto virtual mates they may not know much about. He called it the 'halo syndrome.'"

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Email: Fleeing ugly [EH]

Whenever a person flies off the handle, everyone else can see clearly what that person can't see -- having "issues" isn't pretty, and no one wants to stay around ugly. So I've seen people get into bitter, complaint-ridden places and fail to rise back out of them (despite friends advising them repeatedly to climb out of their rut). They let opportunities for newfound friends or love slip by and they risk facing old age alone and not knowing why.

It's unfair to draw unfounded conclusions and then to blast someone for them. It's not a winning strategy either. DO WHAT WORKS. DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY. People become much-loved or else millionaires following those simple rules. If you need to hear them more than once, that is a danger signal.

Why let anyone you don't know (much less anyone you do) push your buttons? You give them power over you if you "let" them make you angry. (Only you, in fact, can allow yourself to become angry.) Perhaps some reading is in order. If we spent as much effort to improve our relationship skills as we do our career skills, the marriage rate would be higher and the divorce rate would be lower.

Think of yourself as looking for a man who is 1 in 1,000. That means you are going to be [passed over] by 999 men first. Get over it, or lower your standards -- to 1 in 100? 1 in 10? (Eww.)

LET GO. LET GOD IN. TRUST IN GOD NOT IN MAN. STOP OBSESSING. STOP MOPING. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS. FOCUS ON YOUR CHARACTER. [Any other] path is a losing proposition!

Quotes: "To achieve great things..." (Bernstein)

"To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time." -- Leonard Bernstein

Email: Netflix Support

Title request: Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991)

Poetry: Constantly Risking Absurdity and Death - Lawrence Ferlinghetti

"For he's the super realist
who must perforce perceive
taut truth
before the taking of each stance or step"