I am always telling everybody how much “I hate people,” but usually my reasoning is because “people are stupid.” It came to my attention that this is not really the best logic, so I took notes over the last few weeks why I hate people and came up with five reasons to hate people.

1. People don’t listen. I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve interacted with or worked with people that wouldn’t listen to me or my suggestions. I certainly have a tendency to get off topic in conversation, but often times when I have an idea or suggestion, nobody will listen to me. At multiple jobs, I have made suggestions directly relating to my duties and I was completely ignored by my supervisors. When I’m the one doing MY duties, wouldn’t I would be the one to observe how my job should be done better or how the firm can compete more efficiently in the field that I specialize in? Note: I would mention the companies and specific examples, but I do not want to ruin future opportunities for myself. Yet again, why would I want to work for someone that doesn’t listen to me?

2. People don’t tell you like it is. People really need to cut the bullshit. I don’t want fluff; tell me the way it is, whether it is good or bad. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people make up stories and excuses to get out of meetings and/or tests. People just think it’s acceptable to lie through their teeth. One day it is going to bite them in the ass.

I once had a group project with one student, who told the group that he “was too busy” and wouldn’t be able to make the group meeting whenever we scheduled it. That was complete bullshit. The kid wouldn’t make time for the group project because he was too busy doing other things. If you don’t care about something, say so. If you have a problem with something, don’t sit on your ass and do nothing. Get up and do something about it.

3. People are not reliable. When I say I am going to do something, I actually plan on doing it. Not only do I plan on doing it, but I plan on making sure that “it” is done to the highest standards. This is not often the case with other people, as few actually follow through. People say they are going to do something and then they either never actually do it or they just half-ass it. It’s called integrity, people! I have seen students blow off meetings, events and projects after ensuring they were going to participate. In a world of corrupt, lying politicians and unethical business people, I would be willing to pay a premium to work with people that follow through with what comes out of their mouth. If I honor my promises, why can’t everybody else?

4. People waste time. As a college student, my time is my most valuable asset. I can spend my time working and making money or I can spend it studying and getting good grades. My time is valuable! Sure I’m not making hundreds of dollars an hour, but I am creating the potential to do so in the future. I once had somebody Facebook message me and ask me if I was interested in making money. If so, she wanted my phone number so her boss could call me, as she was in training. I asked her what company it was for; she wouldn’t tell me. I did not give her my number. Had I actually given her my number, I am sure my time would have been wasted by a phone call from a student working for Cutco.

5. People do not accept change. In a changing economic landscape, the workplace and classroom are changing at a rate never seen before. There are new policies and technologies being implemented everywhere. In other words everything is changing. I understand that it is human’s first nature to resist change, but in a technologically infused service economy, one must embrace change or they will be left in the dust. I have heard people claim that “technology is not my thing.” The problem with that claim is that if innovative technology is at the forefront of education and the economy and you don’t follow or at least keep up to date with the innovative technology, people are going to buy other people’s services, not yours. Change is inevitable and if you don’t embrace it, you will probably not go much further career-wise. In fact, your potential will decrease if you continue with your antiquated ways.

Along with my list, here is my favorite list people should abide by, both in and out of the work place.

Edit: I don’t actually hate people. In fact, I love people. I have high expectations for people I interact with and more often than not, they disappoint me. I have high standards and I will never lower them.

So I’ve had a Google voice number for a few months now. At first I thought, wow, this is an interesting concept, but where am I actually going to use it? I played with it here and there, but nothing too major. I noted that there was one huge feature that was missing, “forward texts to email.”

After a few months, I just started really getting into Google voice today. That got me thinking, so I sent an email to one of my more technically inclined friends. No wonder why Apple and their partner in crime, AT&T, blocked Google voice from the iPhone; it really is that big of a market disruption. But writing about those criminals is a post for another time.

Edit #2: After playing with google voice for a while, I noticed that it would be awesome if the web interface updated live, like gmail does. MMS support would also be nice. I wouldn’t care if the MMS storage space came out of my allotted Gmail space.

I currently use an e-book for my microeconomic theory class. It is an e-book pilot; the publisher gave us an email address if we have any comments, suggestions or concerns. I wrote them an email with my observations after using the book for about three weeks: