Why are humans greedy? The natural inclination is for a person's greed to over take their will, be it for money, pleasure, and power, and usually to their detriment or even demise.

Many of us never think that we are greedy or acting in an immoral way. For the most part, that's because we are never really in a position of accumulating the kind of money, pleasure and power where greed overtakes our will power and begins to consume us.

This is a moral lesson too, cause we know so many cases where excess has lead to many individual's self-destruction. So what does that mean? Not to pursue money, pleasure and power...well that's just not going to happen.

One way of measuring your greed level is to take stock of what you have, and consider the benefits and detriments of continuing to pursue more. This is where it becomes difficult, cause being objective with oneself is quite the art and likely for most of us, a fruitless exercise.

So are we doomed? Unfortunately, my cynical self says yes...cause humans psyche is so frail that even the strongest among us can be corrupted. In rare cases, some of us may realize the doom in our ways, but hell, it feels good doesn't it!

Continuing on the theme of the week of posing more questions than providing answers, a very interesting word came up today. The word was restraint, and the fact that the reasonable and responsible man of today must often practice the art of restraint.

So what does this word mean? Well, let's examine the definition at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/restraining: "to prevent from doing, exhibiting or expressing something." Why do people exercise restraint? It seems to me this is a fundamental requirement for people in a civilized society. But, what are the ramifications of holding back? This will be discussed next time.

What leads an individual to obsess? How do you control the impulses that come from the animal side of your psyche? Is it a sign of the times and result of all the uncertainty created by the global recession? There are more questions than answers at this point.

Postage rates going up in Canada tomorrow (Jan 11th, 2010):

Domestic: .54 to .57
US: .98 to 1.00
Int'l: 1.65 to 1.70

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/748868--postage-rates-increase-monday

Mousaka 2010

If you are ever in need of the ultimate lap dance song, check out this B2K classic tune. Get your wives, gf's etc. going dudes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsL_E3P-9GI

Mousaka 2010

Ran into this poem today. A bit mushy for a man's man, but the sentiment was real sweet.

Whisper you love me - Poem by HellButterfly

Mousaka 2010

So what's trust all about anyways? At what point in life do humans realize the concept of trust? Much of everyday civilization relies on trust to function -- paper dollars in God We Trust.

Does anyone recall whether trust was taught in school.? Recall those team building exercises, probably seen on a show like The Office, where one person catches a person falling backwards. Well this exercise is supposed to engender trust. Oh really you say?

2010 is the year where I've decided to trust few and far between. It's more of a show me or what have you done for me lately type of attitude adjustment.

My Christian, strict Sunday school upbringing of yesteryear told me to love everyone. But I question, who loves me back? I know who you are, and I love you too! Muahahaha!


Mousaka 2010

So who's given up on their new year's resolution already. Don't be shy, there's always next year, right? Anyways, if there's something that you need to change about yourself, get to it, as there's no better time to start than today.

So it's a new year and time to contribute the max to the TFSA account. Last year saw many lost opportunities for profit, but it's a new year and the chase begins again. Anyways, if somebody can figure out what the contribution limit is, leave a comment and you will get an award (TBD).

Here's the CRA link, you figure it out: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/tfsa-celi/ctbtn/menu-eng.html

Today I was reminded of British PM Benjamin Disraeli's famous quotation on statistics:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lies,_damned_lies,_and_statistics

Ciao for now, Mousaka 2010

Daily recommendation: Try Pizzeria Libretto

http://pizzerialibretto.com/.

Atmosphere -- on a Saturday night guys will like the ratio of women to men, cozy layout but tight when full.

Staff -- generally friendly, young and trendy -- hostesses could use sensitivity training as they were rough around the edges.

Food -- Very Good -- pizza made in a wood fired oven and menu is offering in the style of Terroni or Mercatto. Most ingredients are local and made in house. Fresh daily made gelato.

Location: On Ossington, south of Dundas St West (east side), Toronto, ON

Mousaka 2010

Does having regrets mean that you've lived life or haven't lived life? I need to know.

A Sweet Tonite

I am neurotically shy, but I love meeting and connecting with people. Whether it is for a lifetime or a brief moment it doesn't really matter. My only criteria is that the person be interesting. That's the one and only requirement. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be many interesting people out there or put another way; there aren't many people that open up and reveal the many layers that constitute their being.