So, the question may come to mind: Why am I disappointed? Or: Why do I rant? Simple. As society progresses we are supposed to learn from mistakes we (as a species) have made in our past. It is the fashion by which real progress is made. I can give you a couple of examples

Doctors used to do surgery without washing thier hands between patients. A lot of people died due to "complications." Now there is a thing called Universal Sterile Procedure. Fewer infections are caused by cross contamination, and more people survive the trauma of surgery. Doctors learned from past mistakes.

Here's a clue: I have friends who pay $200 or $300 a month for cell phone service. These same friends complain that they are paid too little, have no money, and can't seem to "get ahead." Wouldn't it occur to a member of an evolved species that the wasting of money by talking endlessly on a contraption which, it is common knowledge, costs money to operate keeps them from attaining those goals? My question to these people, "Is what you have to say right now worth forty five cents a minute?" I often get a blank stare.

Here's where I started, again. I am disappointed by the lack of effort I see toward some actual progress, and the results keep coming from all directions. I don't just see the result of this lack of initiative in the behavioral patterns of folks with whom I am acquainted, or in the news, but I see it also in people with whom I have closer relationships.

Okay, I'm venting, but there's good stuff in here, because I tend to see things pretty clearly most of the time. For those of you who know me, this is a good time for jokes about eye surgery, however you can fit it in.

The reason for this post hits pretty close to home, for me. This is the jest of the whole situation. I was recently in a long term relationship with Godzilla. Or maybe she was Nessy. Either way, she was controlling, manipulative, mean, overly opinionated, conceated, coniving, backhanded (or underhanded, I'm not sure which applies better here), two faced, and generally difficult to live with. Needles to say, I've got some baggage which makes me a little edgy.

A really big button with me is games. You know, the games people play with one another's emotions to make themselves feel better, or someone else worse. Those really juvenile, backstabbing, stupid games that just hurt people's feelings are the big switch for me. I will not, under any circumstances, put up with games.

Now, understand that I am a technician. I have a technician's brain, and a technician's job, and a technician's outlook on life. As a tachnician, when I identify a problem, I fix it, quickly and permanently. There's no sense in having the same problem hang around, bothering you again and again, interrupting your TV time, harrassing the dogs, you get the idea.

So, I'm dating this girl, or I was, at least. I told her from the start that I do not play games, and I don't put up with games, either. She claimed she didn't play games either, and there was a ray of hope in my shriveled little heart. We dated for a few weeks.

Last week there comes this situation where she asks me a "trick" question.

Alright, listen here, ladies. Let me first tell you that I am sick of the inbred notion that men are stupid. We are, if stupid, equally as stupid as you. Don't get me wrong, I believe that a woman should be treated with respect and kindness. I believe that a man who has found a good woman should thank his maker, and the woman he is with, for the bounty of his luck. A woman in the same situation should make the same efforts, and if she cannot she should be removed from her good fortune. Just a little nudge toward equality, there.

I can't figure out any other place to put this part in here, but one of the things I can't figure out is why ahyone would want to ask a question which would make themselves angry.

Back to the story. She asks me this "trick" question. That was her choice of a word. Now, people play tricks, tricks are a kind of game. This particular trick was used in an effort to make me feel that I had done something wrong.

Let's examine the verbage here. She said "trick."
"Tricks" are "games."
This was a "game" about how I "feel."

I do not play games. I also do not date this particular girl, anymore.

The short morals to the story:
Ladies, when the man you are trying to build a relationship with says, "No games," don't play him. He could be the best thing ever for you. On the other hand, if he isn't so good for you, dump him, and save everyone a lot of trouble.

Men, do the right thing, and stick to your guns. You can't get more respect than if you respect the way you behave and treat others.

People, don't play games. It's like Miagi said about fighting. "Someone always get hurt."

Not that you should believe everything I say.