cynicism

typically a cover for ignorance, or the lack of objectivity. Often people who wish they were cool will adopt the cynical point of view in a group discussion in an attempt to take the position of authority. Since it is always easier to tear down an existing idea than to provide a new one.

Refinement

Often mistaken for progress... or part of the path towards perfection. Processes, raw materials, opinions, medicines, theories, strategies, (the list goes on)... These are all victims of 'refinement'. In rare cases it is the removal of unnecessary components.

However, most often it is the stripping away of "non-essential" components by without a full understanding of the intricate relationships between various components.

Examples include: modern vitamins, pop music, public education.

MySpace

A full frontal assault on web-design, web-usability and human decency. How can THIS be one of the most popular destinations on the Net.

modern medicine

While it has saved many people, the process of some medical treatments seems to be "damage the host until the disease can no longer survive, then hope you can revive the host". At the very least it attempts to replace, rather than augment the natural healing process. The other side is a bunch of hippy pill-poppers, that see conspiracies everywhere.

Medicine is RIPE for a revolution. Vive La... vive la... sick people

verbs

"Dude, did you BlueCoconut that Metallica yet?"

In this modern era there are a new class of nouns. Products that DO something. Google being the most famous. It is perfectly valid to use a NOUN as a VERB when both parties share an understanding of what the product does. For historical perspective see Skateboard and/or blender

banks

a place where you keep your money so it is harder to spend.

children's programming

usually falls into 2 categories.

people with an agenda and a desire to serve the deep future . Often misguided but occasionally inspired. This is the category that creates great and sometimes creepy programming.
Examples: sesame street, Blue's clues, Lazy town

people who think kids are like stupid adults and want to serve inattentive parents by WoWing children into submissiveness and fostering (festering) the 'consumer hunger' in children far earlier than they should be exposed to it. Often sacharine sweet, seemingly inoffensive and 'bubbly and colorful'
Examples: most of Disney and Nickelodeon's television programming.

coffee

A major diuretic (meaning it cause your body to expel water), coffee should not be made "too strong", the same effect can be attained with twice the cups of regular strength coffee and you don't have to sip it through your teeth to keep the grounds out.

Coffee is usually too hot to drink.

High-octane fuel

High-octane fuel (race gas) is NOT more flammable than regular gas... it is exactly the opposite. In a high performance engine, you don't want the fuel igniting too EARLY, so you use high-octane fuel and a REALLY BIG SPARK AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME to get the most power from the explosion.

water

The fact that humans exist on Earth is NOT what makes it special. What makes Earth special is that Water exists in all 3 states: solid, liquid and gas.

Though outside of cooling a beverage, I can't think of why having water ice is so darn important. (see "snow")

Memories

Recent scientific evidence proves that memories are NOT read-only, every time you 'remember' them you change them. Memories also use lossy compression (probably 'medium quality jpeg')

Sleep

Sleep is necessary, it is when you body can focus on repairing and maintaining your body. It is also the time when your experiences are compressed into memories. Categorized, grouped, related to other similar memories.

Thinking

Thinking is something to do when there aren't any "actions" that need to be done.

Smell

Smell is actually "taste", when you "smell" something it means that you have inhaled tiny 'bits' of something. These 'bits' bounce off your nose hair, and land on the moistened surface of your sinus where they dissolve and chemoreceptors are able to judge the contents of the material. Your body is then left with the material to expel or metabolize (depending on the size/makeup of the particulate). There is a good chance that whatever you smell ends up in your blood stream.

Language

[specifically verbal] is often confused with "communicating" which is nearly impossible. Language is a process whereby thoughts (term used loosely) are converted to exhalations over two thin and flapping membranes (vocal chords). The pitch created by the vibrations are shaped by the throat, tongue and 2 more flapping membranes (lips) and are then released into the immediate environment.

These modified vibrations will occasionally enter the ear canal of a nearby person where they are focused onto a tiny membrane (which doesn't quite "flap"). These vibrations are then sent to the brain where they are translated once again into thoughts.

The overhead and multiple translations so muddles the initial "thought" that [verbal] language is almost never used for important thoughts. However it is excellent for starting fights(see 'fighting' below).