Captain Picard sings the alphabet
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The most ridiculous Facebook group ever
15,000,000 for lower gas prices
I don’t have anything against petitions (it’s constitutional), but I think stupid petitions like this one should be illegal. Let me explain:
Ways to lower gas prices (the most popular):
- Invade Iran and Saudi Arabia and take their oil
- Have the government cover a majority of the prices
- Use the Federal Reserve system to artificially change the prices
Let me explain why this group is completely moronic. First, invading Iran and Saudi Arabia obviously won’t work (unless we take all of our military strength). Second, how will the government cover most of the prices? Well, through taxes,which just means you’ll still be paying for it. Tax money is the people’s money. I know! Why don’t we just tax the hard working CEOs, doctors, and hard working families that make twice as much as I do! They may have a whole corporation and God knows how many jobs on their shoulders, but they can spare a few thousand dollars! We the people deserve that money, anyway! Who cares about lawyers and surgeons, anyway?
Neither of those will work. The second will lower gas prices, but you’ll be paying the taxes; you’ll just be paying two bills, which doesn’t make any sense. In fact, it’ll actually raise the prices, simply because filing an entire country’s taxes probably costs more than oil. Why pay for oil and the expenses it takes to tax?
The last one will definitely not work. To tell that market to shut its mouth is probably the most destructive thing to do. This means that when the market says prices should go up, they go down; when the market says the prices go down, they go up. It’s all mathematical: lowering prices now will cause the companies that provide those services to operate under the breaking point (when the profits equal the expenses), and that’ll just eat at their savings, and then they’ll be forced to either: file bankruptcy or raise prices.
Price: $500 -> Artificial price (lowered price): $400 -> Profits down by 100x -> Sales increase -> Profits go down (more sales than predicted) -> Supply goes down -> Company’s savings down -> Prices go up -> Sales go down -> Demand goes down -> Prices go up (not by much, since supply & demand helps is rather stabilized) -> etc.
x = number of sales
Pretty much what’s going on in this country right now. In fact, step #3 could be considered an expense: their profits are to supposed to be 500x, but instead it’s 400x (500x - 100x).
Last change: increase drilling. It is true that North America has lots of oil, and that the US government is stopping people from drilling (all to “help” the environment). Of course, I don’t know anything about that, so if you have any info, please share. ^^
They haven’t stated *how* they’ll accomplish this, but these are the three things that I assume people will do. Damn Liberals and Neocons (Neo-convict).
EDIT: Fixed the title… lol ^^
Tips about speaking
Danny Choo has many tips for speaking. I’ve done many speeches and presentations, so here’s a few more tips for those who are interested:
1. Avoid interjections. These are “uh,” “um,” “ano,” “eto,” etc. Not only are they highly distracting, they show a lack of control. And, as it is common in the Western world (especially in America), if you can’t show control, then that shows a lack of confidence, and some might even question your competence. It’s fine if you say it [an interjection] a couple times, but saying it every sentence, or even every other sentence, can be very distracting.
The cause of interjections is that our mouths move faster than our mind’s ability to organize under pressure. If you are in a situation where you can’t find something to say, don’t resort to interjections; just don’t say anything. Hand gestures are helpful in this situation; if you’re hand suddenly stops, and you try and word what you’re trying to say (without saying anything), then the audience will understand that it’s a fairly complex subject to grasp (whether it’s because you can’t find the correct wording or because you can’t find an easy way to explain it).
2. Have good posture. Standing up straight shows confidence and courage (”I am not afraid to show myself to you”), both of which are very important in the West (most likely the East as well, or anywhere really). Just don’t overdo it by having your chest hovering in the air! (Standing like your being pulled into the air by some invisible force or hand).
3. Body language is the most important part of speaking. Albert Mehrabian, a body linguist (people who study body language), claims that your body language conveys around 55% of your message, while your voice only conveys 7% (the remaining is tone, which is 38%). You can read more by clicking here. Over half of your message can be interpreted through body language. And… that’s really important! Add appropriate gestures (hands, etc.), but also be weary of unnecessary gestures (tapping your foot, etc.)! These can be distracting, and depending on what your doing, make you look stupid! Most of these unnecessary gestures are done out of habit - they are done subconsciously. You might be tapping your foot and not even know you’re doing it! Also, be very cautious of your face - make sure your facial expression matches what you’re saying!!
Some body linguists, as do I, consider former President Bill Clinton as the master of body language. Be sure to research some of his speeches and debates.
4. Find a balance between formality and informality. Formal English is very precise, and in most cases uses a lot of Latin vocabulary. Informal English is more general and uses more the orthodox Englisc-based words, and is more open to interpretation. Formal English sentences are more objective (unbiased) and unpassionate, sometimes harder to interpret, although the audience is more likely to get the message through only your words. However, informal English is more subjective and passionate, but sometimes more vague. You certainly don’t want people making assumptions or jumping to conclusions, now do you? Also, informal English uses slang, which is something you definitely should NOT use in a presentation. Find a balance between formal and informal. Sound like you know how to speak English, but also show your passion, which is very important in the free market (not important in Communist states, unless you’re passionately against Capitalism).
5. Danny Choo mentioned pausing to let the audience absorb and consume your message. While I don’t disagree with this, the video he provided wasn’t a very good example.
In this video, Steve Jobs pauses constantly (deliberately or not, I cannot say), and I don’t know about you, the reader, but I find this [constant pausing] to be very distracting. Take Danny’s advice, but don’t pause like Jobs does. It’ll most likely have a negative effect. ‘Course, I cannot make any guarantees, because only I found the pauses distracting (how a person interprets a presentation is based on his perception of reality, and we all have different perceptions).
6. There are several reasons why you should know what you’re talking about. Even if you do get through the presentation, the Q&A (Questions and Answers) will most likely destroy you. If there is one, of course. However, even if there is no Q&A, actually knowing what you’re talking about during the presentation makes it all the more rewarding (almost for me, anyway ^^). Also, if you know what you’re talking about, you won’t be obligated to look down on your notes constantly, which is very distracting for the audience (imagine listening to a guy that keeps looking down on his notes every sentence in order to know what to say).
7. Eye contact is important. I don’t really have anything to back up this claim, but just understand that eye contact is important.
Retarded policeman - Chad Vader
Darth Chad Vader getting pulled over by the retarded policeman? The retarded policeman is… well, retarded.
The Butterfly song
I’ve been playing this song so much on my DDR! …Oh, yeah! I almost forgot: I got DDR a few days ago, and have been playing everyday since then. I prefer the faster songs; the slow songs are… too slow. Which do you prefer, the slow or the fast songs?