Ronalfy.com

When Does Getting Credit Matter?

I have noticed throughout my day job and the blogosphere that there are many people wanting various forms of credit. Credit for starting a trend, credit for an idea, or credit just because.

There are many small trivial things I do that some people find really helpful. However, it irks me when someone comes up to me and says, “Hey, do this for me and I’ll give you credit for it.” Is credit really justification for doing a particular task or thing? I’d much rather do something because I want to rather than what rewards I hope to gain from doing the task.

Sometimes when people tell me they’ll give me credit for a task, it’s because:

• The task isn’t really that great.
• The person isn’t likable and wants to get things done.
• The person wants the perception that he/she is helping you out.

As much as I despise the credit game, there are some points when I think it matters. Continue Reading…

Weekend Survey - Infamy and the Muslim Religion

Does the Muslim religion deserve the reputation that it is getting due to all of the attempted and actual terror attacks on innocent civilians? Please explain your reasoning.

Can You Delay the Inevitable?

I usually end all of my e-mails with a quote: you can only delay the inevitable. My quotation is simply saying that the inevitable will occur, but one can postpone it.

One of my friends has constantly debated me on the issue. He said that if you could delay what was inevitable, then the inevitability mentioned wasn’t really inevitable.

Definition of Inevitable

According to dictionary.com, the inevitable is something that cannot be avoided, evaded, or escaped. It is also something that will happen and is unalterable.

In context, the inevitable is what one could consider an “end.” How someone gets to that end is another issue.

Delay the Inevitable?

If the inevitable is unavoidable, can’t one at least delay or postpone it? If the inevitable is death, couldn’t someone try to live their life so that their life was prolonged, thus delaying death?

Ah, that might be the case unless a bus broadsides you at high speed destroying your plan.

My friend would argue that the inevitable is something that you have no control over, so how can one delay what he has no control over? Continue Reading…

Is Ignorance Really Bliss?

The definition of ignorance from dictionary.com is:

The condition of being uneducated, unaware, or uninformed.

From the above definition, there are three traits to discuss regarding being ignorant. The three traits are:

• Being uneducated
• Being unaware
• Being uninformed

So I ask, is being uneducated bliss? Is being unaware bliss? Is being uninformed bliss? This post will go into each of those three questions and hopefully answer them. Continue Reading…

Peeve Week - Contribute, Win Some Cash

For Peeve Week, I will be giving out two $25 dollar Amazon.com gift certificates to two contributors. The winners will be chosen by you, the readers, via poll. I will post more details of this closer to the June 8th deadline.

Besides a cash incentive, here are other reasons to contribute to Peeve Week:

• A new audience reading your stuff.
• A few links back to your site.
• Being able to read what everyone else wrote (this is what makes Peeve Week fun).
• Have a customized by-line at the end of every post you contribute.

Please head over to the Peeve Week post, pick a topic and a time-slot when you’d like your entry to appear on my site, and get your post to me by June 8th at 11:59pm EST.

Thank you for reading.

The Choice for R-Rated Movies

When I lived in Phoenix, Arizona, I heard about that the Star Wars Episode II was going to be showing on the local IMAX. I was very excited because I was (and still am) a HUGE Star Wars fan. Our church planned to go see the movie as a group. I was very new to the church and only knew a couple of members, so this outing was a chance for me to meet the other members of the church.

When I arrived in the church parking lot (where we chose to meet beforehand), I learned that we would not be going to see the movie. The reason? One of the members had sworn off all movies with a greater rating than G.

I was slightly perturbed, not really fully understanding the logic behind such a decision. During a Bible study this weekend, I finally somewhat understood the reasoning behind such a choice when it comes to Christian decisions. Continue Reading…

Weekend Survey - Mission Impossible

This post will self-destruct in thirty seconds. What do you do?

When Doing Three Tasks at Once Isn’t a Good Idea

As I was checking my mail, I noticed something that would have made a corporate manager smile: a woman attempting to accomplish three tasks at once.

The tasks this woman was attempting to do were:

• Take care of the baby.
• Take two dogs for a walk.
• Check the mail.

The execution of said tasks, however, wasn’t exactly efficient. Continue Reading…

It’s Peeve Week 2 Time!

You have all voted on the topics, and now the time has come for the official topics for Peeve Week 2.

Here are the Peeve Week 2 topics for the week of June 11th through the 15th.

• Monday June 11th - Culture/Relationships.

  Have a cultural or relationship peeve? Let us know all about it.

• Tuesday June 12th - Misconceptions.

  Are you misunderstood? Are you confused by others’ behavior? Do you think people just have it all wrong? Then this category is for you.

• Wednesday June 13th - Work.

  A category that is sure to get us all fired. Talk about cubical farms, speakerphones, nail clipping, and other workplace annoyances.

• Thursday June 14th -Internet.

  Have an Internet rant? Hate MySpace? Talk about anything Internet related here.

• Friday June 15th - Stereotypes.

  Did you hear about the blonde who wrote for Peeve Week?

Want to Contribute? (Ron begging earnestly)

The last Peeve Week was a tremendous success because people like you wrote in their own peeves. The diversity of the writing and peeves is what made the week so awesome. My goal is to have twenty guest-contributed entries. It is a very ambitious goal, but with your help, it is achievable. If you are interested, please keep on reading. Continue Reading…

Dying of Thirst

As I was out on my three mile run today in approximately 90 degree heat, I couldn’t help but notice how drained I got as the sun pelted down its rays on me. I wished for shade and wind as the sweat beads desperately formed on my forehead and neck. But the wind was not forthcoming and the shade was sparse.

I carried with me a 16oz water bottle that I sipped on about once every half mile. I wasn’t thirsty, but my body was growing weary. I was about one mile in when I told myself, “Stop.”

I’ve told myself that before when I was running. You have to ignore those messages. Running is almost all mental. Ignore what your body wants and keep on going.

After about my two-mile mark, I took another sip of water. I couldn’t help but think of a story I read on Foxnews a few weeks ago about a man who died of thirst in a Utah desert. This man was two days in on a 28 day journey run by the Boulder Outdoor Survival School. One hundred yards from water, Dave Buschow collapsed dead onto the ground from dehydration. All attempts to revive him failed.

I knew I was about ten minutes or so away from finishing my run. I knew a cold shower and air-conditioning awaited me. So when I told myself “Stop”, I could easily go on for just a little bit more.

As I finished my run, I took my cold shower. I basked in the coolness of my tower fan and air conditioning. I laid my head down for a quick nap.

A three mile run had knocked me out. Would I myself have gone through what Mr. Buschow went through? I wonder what might have happened if Mr. Buschow had actually made it to that water. I ponder this as I sit in my comfortable computer chair sipping on a Diet Coke.

Is it True That no Good Deed Goes Unpunished?

Lately I have been hearing the same quote over and over again: “No good deed goes unpunished.”

At work, this quote seems to be the norm. People warn me against volunteering because you’ll be “re-volunteered” in the future. Don’t do a good job on a project, because you’ll get more work. Don’t help people, because they’ll just want more help in the future. Don’t be nice, because then people will walk all over you.

Have you ever heard that nice guys finish last? In a way, it ties into the above quote.

Here are some examples that support that I have been punished for some of my good deeds.

Helping a Stranded Motorist

A week or so ago, a guy’s front-left tire had fallen completely off of his vehicle. His car was blocking one lane of traffic and people were dangerously attempting to pass the vehicle.

I parked my vehicle on the side of the road and asked if I could help move the vehicle. The guy scoffed at my attempt at helping.

“Hello? There’s no freakin’ tire on the car. How the heck am I supposed to move it?”

What I wanted to tell him is that a car will still move without a tire, just not easily. He was waiting for help so I can imagine them putting a new tire on the car in the middle of the roadway.

I offered the guy some water, and he just told me to go away. Continue Reading…

Blogging and My Inspiration

When I started this blog just a little over a year ago, I didn’t really have any firm goals in mind. I simply had an opinion and a keyboard. I wrote blindly (still do sometimes for fun) with no particular goal in mind for my blog.

There were many, many times I just wanted to quit. I jokingly told The Reasoner that I think about quitting at least once a day. However, I find that the more I blog, the more drawn I am into it and the likelihood of me quitting diminishes. What’s the reason I keep at it? You. Continue Reading…

I Have Changed Hosts From Media Temple

The honeymoon is over. After changing to what I thought would be a reliable and fast host, I have decided that Media Temple is simply not right for me. For now, I am trying out a host called A Small Orange.

The support at Media Temple was stellar. Unfortunately, their up-time was not. I was sick of my readers e-mailing me telling me they were unable to comment and that the site was down. I was sick of seeing messages such as these (which ironically occured as I was changing hosts):

If you could, please let me know how you like the speed and reliability of this new host. Thank you.

Weekend Survey - Trip to Mars?

You are selected for a trip to Mars at the last minute. What is your first thought?

Sixteen Lessons to Be Learned From Others

This post is a listing of the group project participants for “What I learned from …”

Sixteen bloggers (including myself) have learned some valuable lessons. This post will summarize some of my favorite lessons out of the group. Continue Reading…

Five Political Issues That Must Be Solved Now

There are many issues being debated by the United States and its Congress. This post will go over the five political issues that I think should be solved immediately.

Minimum Wage

The fight to raise minimum wage is in full swing. The democrats have already been able to pass a minimum wage increase, but the bill has yet to be signed into law since there is some debate over tax breaks in the Senate.

The democrats tried to sneak in a minimum wage agreement into the bill to fund the Iraq war, but President Bush vetoed the bill. I am personally against minimum wage, but for the people that “need” it, this issue needs to be solved. Continue Reading…

Weekend Survey - Who Will Win American Idol?

Who deserves to win American Idol this year?

If you don’t watch American Idol, what programs do you watch instead? If you don’t watch any TV (such as me), what do you think of such “Idol hysteria”?

What I Learned From the Mt. Pinatubo Eruption

Way back in 2001, I wrote an essay for school that compared the volcanic eruptions of Mt. Pinatubo to Mt. St. Helens. Mt. Pinatubo is considered one of the more powerful eruptions of the 20th century. When I was living in Angeles City, Philippines, the volcano wasn’t too far away. The main eruption happened on June 15, 1991.

This post will go over three lessons I learned as a result of the volcanic eruption. Continue Reading…