Weird Ponderings

It often surprises me when I hear people commenting on a friend or colleague who has "The Midas Touch." They mean it as a compliment. In fact, the car shop, Midas Muffler, is actually based on them having "The Midas Touch" apparently intimating that your car is in good hands. I can't help wonder if these people have ever read the story! The whole idea of King Midas is that his excessive greed and insatiable desires led to his downfall, as he destroyed anything he touched. Turning things to gold would be a great talent to have, no doubt, but only if you had the power to turn it on and off at will. Having your food, your wine...even your own daughter turn to gold is not an enviable trait...it's the kiss of death. Someone ought to let these people know.

When I was a wee lad, TV commercials were a nuisance, sure. But my father explained to me that television is free, and in return, we must put up with the occasional promotional spot, which pays for what we are watching. Okay. Fair enough. But now, decades later, we are paying for streaming services, and what do I see? Yes! Commercials! Hey! We are paying for these services. This is an example of a double whammy if I ever saw one! Look, I am a business man. I have nothing against someone making an honest buck.... however, you need to choose.... charge for the service, or give free service with commercials. You can't have your cake and eat it, too.

Why is it that wait staff at restaurants insist on increasing the percentage they're owed for tips? Some 'suggested' amounts on bills are as high as 25 or 30%! Don't they know, their pay increases as the price of menu items increase?.... there's no need for the percentage to increase. Besides, how much more work does it take a waiter to deliver a filet mignon then it does a side dish of cheese sticks?

I know this is a bit 'after the fact,' but why didn't the passengers on the Titanic without a life raft just take a door off the hinges, throw it in the water, and then lower themselves down on it before the ship sank? All you need to do is keep most of your body out of water and you could likely live for a few days. Instead, they chose to unnecessarily sink with the unsinkable, with only their shoes and fine china left behind to remind us of their existence.