Dear Abby encouraging bad behavior, as usual...

I just stumbled across Dear Abby encouraging bad behavior, again. I'll give you her words first, then, I'll give you my rant....

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WOMAN QUESTIONS BELIEF THAT THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

By Abigail Van Buren Abigail Van Buren Tue Feb 17, 2:17 am ET

DEAR ABBY: Is it possible -- or normal -- for someone to lack the desire to travel? I am a 23-year-old female college graduate with a good job. I am involved in a serious relationship and still live with my parents because of financial constraints. I like to think my life is pretty normal.

When my friends graduated from college, they all backpacked through Europe before starting their jobs. I was content to stay home, relax and readjust to life off-campus. Now that my friends are accruing vacation time, they are planning all sorts of trips -- cruises, vacations, road trips to visit old roommates, etc. None of this appeals to me.

I am a nervous traveler and tend to feel uncomfortable when I'm outside my "comfort zone." I'm not afraid to admit that I can be uptight, and I don't "roll with the punches" very well.

Last summer my boyfriend and I spent several weekends in a beach town about two hours away. I had a great time, although I was just as happy to go home at the end. I am not depressed or aloof. Give me an afternoon at the local mall or a movie rather than a weekend in Las Vegas. Am I weird? -- HOMEBODY IN MASSACHUSETTS

DEAR HOMEBODY: Weird? No. However, because of your reluctance to step out of your "comfort zone," you are missing an opportunity to learn firsthand that this country -- and the world around you -- is filled with wonderful people who would be worth knowing if you could only broaden your horizons. If this didn't bother you on some level, you would not have written me. A therapist who specializes in anxiety disorders could help you do that. I wish you good luck -- and maybe even "bon voyage."

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Okay, now in the first part of the post, the writer indicates that she is a recent college graduate, and that she is living with her parents due to financial constraints. I would presume that a large component of these financial constraints is probably some hefty student loan debt. As most students are walking out of college with massive debt, I do not believe that assuming that this is at least a part of her burden is an unreasonable assumption on my part.

If she is a typical, debt ridden graduate, her reluctance to spend money that she does not have should not be viewed as a pathology that needs professional intervention to fix her! She is showing a rare maturity, in not being comfortable playing until her obligations are met. After surely being indoctrinated with the entitlement culture drivel that the Baby-Boomers have been spewing for decades now, it is a shock, and a relief to see someone with good sense. In her grandparents', or possibly great grandparents' era, a frugal woman like her would be seen as an asset, not someone suffering from a horrible malady.

Is she supposed to spend tons of money broadening her horizons, only to burden her parents by living with them until she is 50? I'd like to have her parents' input as to whether they would rather her act mature, and responsible, in order to be able to leave their home before they die!

I find Dear Abby's routine encouraging women to be high maintenance revolting! It is this entitlement attitude, with its inerrant lack of delayed gratification sickening. Can't people see that it is exactly this entitlement culture that has led people to carry massive debt, that they cannot repay, and is leading to the collapse of our financial market, and our country? (And not doing the rest of the world many favors either...)

What is wrong with someone who is content with what she has? Put the girl up as a role model, not as a misfit!

CFL's, Sears, polyester and bad hair dye. (a rant)

People keep saying that the compact fluorescent bulbs, CFL's, aren't like they used to be. I kept hearing that they are different now. I kept hearing that they are fine now. So, I decided to gamble some money, and tried them again.

I put them in and let them stay on for a few hours before I went back to that room to reassess them. They don't flash as much as they used to. They don't buzz as much as they used to. But, whoever said that these things are ready for market didn't say WHAT market they are ready for.

I suppose that the would be suitable for use by the completely blind, provided that they are also totally deaf, so as not to hear the buzzing sound that CFL's still put off. For this market, they can remain the forever bulb, as they never need to be removed from their packages, thus, saving even more energy.

Medical studies that have indicated that in many migraine susceptible people, CFL's induced migraines. But, those who want to push their environmental agenda on others don't care about the medical side effects of their strong armed policies. We made you sick? Get over it.

The problem with these things goes beyond the simple flashing and buzzing. The color of light that these things put off is truly horrendous! With these lights on, everything gets that surreal, funky pinky-orange glow that was previously only seen in two scenarios. The first place that this phenomenon can be witnessed is a Sears fitting room. The funky lighting that Sears used in their fitting rooms for years explains why no one who ever bothers to try on their clothing would ever buy clothing in a Sears store. In their lighting, everything takes on a shade that is not achievable with anything in the natural world. In their lighting, normal cotton takes on a previously only achievable in polyester shade!

To be fair, I don't know that if you did LSD or magic mushrooms, whether you MAY be able to see that color in something natural. I'll have to ask around to find out.

The only other scenario that can expose your eyes to such a visual assault is a unique shade of red hair dye that also takes on that same only achievable in polyester color. I have never seen this shade on anyone younger than 55, and I am being charitable with that number. You might recognize the shade. It is bright orange hair, befitting of a clown, but it has a bright purple light that reflects off of it. I am assuming that this has to be a reaction between some medication and hair dye, as I've seen many people play with red dye, and only older women can reach this shade, and some of these older women previously had gorgeous red hair, so, I can only assume that dichotomy of color is a drug side effect.

Back to trying the new and improved bulbs. With my newly purchased CFL's, they still flash. They still buzz. They still cost too much. They still put off the most hideous color of light imaginable. I'm not ready yet.

I suppose that since WE are all supposed to change over to CFL's, whether we like it or not, that I need to go order a few skids of incandescent light bulbs now! After I run out, they had better have L.E.D. (Light Emitting Diode) bulb technology perfected, or I'll be down to candles and kerosene lamps!