I cannot refuse Majikthise

Majikthise has invited me (and a few others) to participate in a blog meme, as she has done. I usually decline these blog memes, with the exception of the Friday random top ten, but how can I resist someone as charming as she, particularly when she takes her name from a character from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?

The meme states:

Behold, the Caesar’s Bath meme! List five things that people in your circle of friends or peer group are wild about, but you can’t really understand the fuss over. To use the words of Caesar (from History of the World Part I), “Nice. Nice. Not thrilling . . . but nice.”

I obey, O Majikthise! Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Techno-thrillers of the Tom Clancy variety. They can be mildly entertaining and fun to read, but I'm not addicted to them, as some of my friends are.
2. Lost. I'm sorry, but I just don't understand what everyone thinks is so great about this show. From the few episodes I've seen, it's kind of like The X-Files meets Gilligan's Island. I wasn't a big fan of The X-Files, either (although I was a big fan of Gilligan's Island when I was a kid). It's just OK (or, as we sometimes say, it doesn't suck). But I can't see myself getting addicted to Lost, the way I'm addicted to the exploits of Jack Bauer on 24. Oddly enough, I feel the same way about the other big hit Desperate Housewives. (Oh, wait, I just did a two-for-one on the meme, didn't I?)
   
3. George W. Bush. As a center-right conservative myself (of the deficit hawk, somewhat more libertarian-leaning variety), I can't understand why so a fair number of my conservative friends and acquaintances are still so crazy over GW, who has turned out to be a very un-conservative President. He passed massive tax cuts, failed utterly to control government spending, and now, as the deficit balloons out of control, wants to privatize Social Security in a way that will balloon the deficit even more. I don't actually hate G.W., as as a fair number of people appear to (although I most definitely do not support him any more), but I sure don't see him as some sort of conservative savior, either.
   
4. Skiing. A fair number of my coworkers and friends love to ski. I just don't see the attraction of sliding down a steep hill or mountain slope at high speeds on two thin wooden sticks in freezing weather, with the possibility of broken limbs as a reward. Get me back to the lodge for some Bailey's by the fire.
   
5. Low carb diets. At the risk of directing derision my way, I'll admit that I'm very fortunate that I've never had to diet in my life to stay thin. (When I did put on a few pounds a few months back, giving up my nightly glass of beer and cutting back from potato chips and other snacks for a few weeks got me almost back to fighting weight.) But if I ever did, I don't understand the attraction of this one. It's worked for one friend of mine. But I like bread and pasta too much.
   

Of course, if you ask me another day, I might give different answers.

I now must pass this on to three more people. I therefore choose St. Nate, The Socratic Gadfly (who did a fine job of hosting the Sixth Edition of the Skeptics' Circle), and Bioethics Dude.