What is the world coming to?

What is the world coming to when even Shaolin and other Buddhist monks have MBAs and access the Internet? Doesn't appear to leave them much time to meditate....
One of the monks says that ''they can meditate at lunchtime if they choose''.

Isn't that against the whole ethos of seclusion and other-worldliness? Maybe it is just me but I simply don't get it...

The monks apparently need these skills to help them run a hotel, restaurant and a tea business.

The monks develop computer programs so that you can send virtual offerings to virtual Buddhas.

They outsource all the cleaning now to freeup their time for other work...I'm thinking they should be outsourcing all these other operations in order to focus on humility, etc. that we associate with monks and Buddhism.

Perhaps I am just uncomfortable with the intrusion of capitalism into this arena of spirituality?

I just don't get it.

New TV discoveries

Wow - you have to watch E-Ring on FX (in the UK). Starring Dennis Hopper and Benjamin Pratt (ex-Law & Order, ex-Julia Roberts).
Another brilliant production by Jerry Bruckheimer - he also produced my other favourites: CSI, Without a Trace & Cold Case!

Lots of patriotic soldier stuff but I like it! Full of human drama & suspense. They keep the tension wound tight right till the very last min. Unlike other shows where by 45 mins into the programme you know the ending.

Thanks to Nadine (again) I also caught Numb3rs on ITV3 last week. Makes mathematics rather sexy and shows applications in real world.
Perhaps if it was showing when I was in school, I would have not just learnt my trigonometry, calculas, algebra etc. by rote!

Started watching Medium as well but perhaps it is my Christian upbringing but can't quite seem to get into it.

Name & Shame TV stations

Ever notice that during commercial breaks - the volume gets turned up LOUD?

2 channels that are particularly guilty of this - SKY, E4, Living, FX & Sci-fi.

This really does disrupt my multi-tasking as every 12 mins, I have to grab the remote to turn the vol. down (can't mute or we may miss some action when the programme restarts), then 5 mins later (most ads run for 5 mins except for Bravo channel) reach for the remote again to turn the vol. up again.

Does not foster customer goodwill and feeling towards that provider I can tell you that. It may please the advertisers but the viewer simply feels resentment and annoyance at this devious tactic.

Anyone else gets bugged by this?

Irritating Ads

Most ads are rather benign, in fact most times I just channel surf when they come on, or ignore them altogether whilst plugging away on the laptop.

Must single out 3 TV ads that are really starting to annoy me -

Pipex - Any pipex broadband subscribers, switch users! Your hard earned fees are being used to pay Kris Kristofferson (Knight Rider and lately Baywatch fame/infamy) to tout their products. Very bad ad running almost every commercial break it seems

Most insurance ads - Churchill, Direct Line, Confused.com, etc. Do they have to be so unbearably cheesy and badly done? I mean if they have the dosh to by airtime, surely they can invest in proper ad production.
Only one half bearable - Sheila's Wheels. Although after the 500th time....

Crazy Frog ad - thank goodness that ad campaign has stopped.