Conformity conflict

So I got in the mail a packet. Before I saw the front addressed to me and the return info, I saw band exercises diagrammed through the envelope, so I thought why am I getting an exercise packet?

Was it from my physical therapist and hand surgeon or from our insurance company? The latter has been known to suggest various programs that seem mildly creepy since no one else in the family gets the courtesy calls(I am neither primary holder nor a minor lacking freewill).

Imagine my surprise to see my employer be the return address. I open and see a bunch of initiatives regarding weight loss and team competition towards rewards. I am not on their insurance plan. I don't work full-time. So the encroachment upon my home life annoyed me enough to post on FB the above pic with a comment about my employer suggesting I need to lose weight.

Last time I saw my doctor, he told me not to lose any more weight. I have enjoyed a lot of cake since that visit, so I could probably drop a tenth of my weight and not get in trouble.

The question is whether I let myself go all in and conform.

The fact that I wanted to start running to use shoes I had bought years ago is a moot point. I didn't have time to run given my rest and parenting schedule conflicts, and I don't have anymore free time now.

First World annoyances are trivial.

May being good thus far

Today was Free Comic Book Day, so K and I were planning to go to Epic Loot to score free comics for a few weeks. We're taking the month off from Y swim lessons, so I got to sleep in since Epic Loot opens an hour before noon on Saturdays. B tagged along on our trip which found us there at 11:30 or so. My receipt said 12:20,  so I think we go there later than 11:30 but not much later. Regardless, we left and went to my mom's since her home is on the way back from Epic Loot.
K and I saw Avengers: Age of Ultron. It was okay. I just wanted to see it so Twitter wouldn't need to be avoided due to spoilers.
Day was nice but I was busy mostly with K to do anything around house or in the yard. I so want to get stuff done or at least have a green yard.

As Baltimore burns: Sleep is important, but not quite a "social justice" issue.

Monday is my day off. When I say "day," I mean night. I work 9pm-2am cleaning a carwash every day except Monday and Tuesday. I get home around 2:30am on nights I work, and generally, I go to bed around 4am. During the school week, I get up at 7:30am when my wife leaves for work to ensure my older kids get ready for school and on the bus by 8:25am. Most mornings, my youngest is dumped on me as my wife is leaving, if I haven't already gotten her before going to/down for bed.
With that said, I was having a typical Monday aside from having an afternoon perio appointment to see why I have loose teeth. My youngest usually naps in the afternoon, so I try to get a catnap in during that time. My nap wasn't available so I pushed through until after dinner when I said I'd rest my eyes around 7:10pm before my show started.
I never got up to watch Gotham. My rest went beyond nap, and I got up around 2am. I wish I had said goodnight to the family. I didn't have my wrist braces on. I didn't brush my teeth.
Regardless, I'm usually hungry at 2am. It's when I usually eat a meal that is like lunch, but I'll take anything that is filling. I like to let my food settle before I go to sleep. At the moment, I can't do much fun stuff like Twitter due to SPOILERS of my show, hence this blog post I started a while ago but never felt much like filing.

how old is Hillary Clinton?

So the most talked about Presidential Candidate seems to be Mrs. Clinton. I only say such because no one mentioned anyone else seen eating with peons at quasi-Mexican restaurants or hanging in a van (down by the river?) with blurred faced supporters.
Americans should feel ill at ease at the thought that the next presidential election is over a year and a half away, or at least those of us living in states like Ohio or Florida that are fickle and swing whichever way, should feel like taking a long hibernation.
Hillary Clinton seems to be like John McCain in that she lost 8 years ago in a primary and waited to go again until after her rival was forced out. I guess that Bob Dole is a better analogy, but he was before my time.
No idea what her platform is, but what difference does it make?

rape prevention as tweeted by Sarah Silverman and general income inequality

A couple weeks ago, men were upset by a "sexist" tweet about only men can prevent rape by resisting the urge to rape, this week Sarah Silverman is championing equal pay.
Both matters are important, but I'm not sure Sarah Silverman is the right person to discuss the matters. Rape isn't funny, but she treated the subject as joke. I was almost tempted to share with her the article of how the US has more men raped than women, due to its prison system.
The equal pay campaign isn't new, I just saw an article in the UK Daily Mail today that talked about her getting $10 a week compared to $60 when she was doing stand-up somewhere. I find the argument flawed based on the fact that anyone getting on stage getting equal $ sounds fair but doesn't go into the quality nor ROI of the performance.
If a guy is getting people to come see him perform and they are buying booze at full price then he merits more take home than a gal rim-shotting to an empty room during happy hour. I'm not sure of what the scenario actually was in Sarah's life experience, but it's not a fair story given her biased memory.
Only one profession I have ever heard where the pay inequality favored women, and it was in the porn industry. I suppose others exist, but they're trivial. I suppose women could form unions and holdout for higher wages, but part of me thinks that having more people competing for same jobs only drives the wages down for those jobs. There are jobs that women are less likely to pursue, while jobs considered to be women's professions don't exactly pay much even when they require education degrees (like librarians and teachers).
Women don't play in the NBA, NFL, MLB or NHL, yet those leagues aren't sued for discrimination. Those jobs pay minimum six-figures and don't require college degrees, I'm just waiting for the day that the leagues are required to play women or at least hold roster spots.

Waiting for Hillary

Martin O'Malley. Have you ever heard of him? I remember when he was mayor of Baltimore, he appeared on various tv shows I had seen. Not a whole lot I can say about him aside from that and his being governor of Maryland.
Anyways, he's out there making a case for being nominated for the democratic party's presidential candidate, or there's people doing it for him.
I'm open minded, but I can't help question the sincerity of the presented argument. Maryland is a tiny state that is the suburbs for all that is DC. Virginia is bigger and has more rugged terrain, thus has poorer parts. Taking credit for coincidental events rubs me wrong.
Regardless, his name is off putting. His initials are MOMish. Mal doesn't translate nicely to hispanic voters. O'Malley has three syllabols and starts with an O like Obama. Who knows how popular Obama will be upon leaving office. Obama's presidency has not been one that was advertised, particularly when it comes to transparency.

Minimum wage should be $35.20/hr.

In 1978-79, average public 4-year in-state college tuition was roughly $688 a year. Assuming that a summer job spans one-fourth of a year, a minimum wage of $2.65/hr generated $1,378, which would cover said tuition amount.
In 2015, the average public 4-year in-state college tuition is roughly $9,139.
If minimum wage increased proportionately with that of college tuition, minimum wage would be $35.20/hr.
An annual salary of $73,218 is much higher than the average entry level salary for a college grad.

Sources consulted:

• http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d06/tables/dt06_319.asp
• http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/chart.htm
• http://college.usatoday.com/2014/11/13/stock-up-on-ramen-average-cost-of-college-rises-again/
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2014/11/19/the-college-degrees-with-the-highest-starting-salaries-in-2015/