Telling Simmons What I Think

A few months ago, I received a survey in the mail.  

It came from  the Simmons National Consumer Survey folks, and it came with a five dollar bill inside the envelope.  I took their survey, mailed it in and they sent me an additional payment for my trouble.

At some point, they asked if I would be willing to participate in other surveys, and I must have checked the Yes box, because we got Three additional surveys in the mail - one for me, one for the household, and one for Honey.  Honey and I each got $15 up front with the promise of an additional $40 when the completed surveys were received.

That may sound like a good deal, but that $55 comes out to less than $10 an hour if you actually try to conscientiously answer all their questions.  

Honey threatened my life if I ever offer to participate again.

The surveys were in the mail box, ready to go back to Simmons yesterday, when I mentioned a question about no fat sour cream.  Honey was sure that she had not had that question, and agonized over the possibility that she had skipped a page.  

I was of the opinion that she should forget it, but she could not.  She retrieved her survey from the mail box and we confirmed that the huge survey she had completed did not include that question.  It was apparently in the smaller Household survey that was only addressed to me.

All the surveys are now back in the mail box, and we are officially and permanently out of the survey taking business. 

Name Game

I have mentioned before - and expressed my disgust over - the Houston Independent School District's decision to rename several schools named after leaders of the Confederacy.  The changes will cost a lot of money - one estimate was  over two million dollars - and that doesn't include defending lawsuits now being filed by alumni and others who oppose the changes.

Now, the South Texas College of Law has decided to change its name to the Houston College of Law for no particular reason.  

It didn't take long for the University of Houston, which has its own Law School, to file suit in federal court.  The U of H suit says, in part, that the change constitutes "intentional and willful infringement of UH's intellectual property and unfair competition," which results in "confusion in the marketplace and damage" to the university and its brand.

Educators in Houston apparently never learned the truth of the old saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Viewpoint

Fair Warning

Ouroboros

A molting python in an Australian zoo started eating its skin the other day, and got itself caught inside for several hours, creating a perfect Ouroboros.  

The Ouroboros, the circular figure of a snake eating itself, first appeared in ancient Egypt, was big in Greek mythology, alchemy, and Jungian psychology.  Obviously having multiple meanings depending on who was using the symbol.

I can see several Ouroboros symbols in current affairs - the Brexit vote, the American presidential race, etc.

The Time May Have Come

I've mentioned several times over the years that we have three acres that are woods, basically untouched in the 40-plus years we've owned it.  

We try to keep the other approximately two of our five acres looking like a lawn, but it's getting to be more of a challenge with each passing year.

This morning, Honey brought up an ad she'd seen on Facebook - a young man in our area trying to get a lawn care business going - she thinks it's time to consider getting some help.  I can keep the place mowed, and more-or-less keep up with the weed eating, but doing that plus cleaning flower beds and all the other little chores is getting to be too much.

No decision yet - I'll keep you informed.

Eye, Ay Ay

Just back from the mall where Honey was fitted for a new pair of glasses. 
We spent most of the trip home discussing the fact that glasses are a scam - that selling glasses must be a great way to get filthy rich.
I know there are ads on TV for places that offer two pair of glasses for $69, but would you trust them?  Honey's glasses cost well over $500 - just the frames were almost $200, and frames at the ophthalmologist started at $300 and went up sharply from there. 
If you actually need them to see - any price is a bargain.