OK, it's not "ha ha" funny, but......
A letter to the editor in today's newspaper asks why car makers can't put in some electronic device that blocks cell phone usage while driving. He notes the dangers and inconveniences of cell phone-using drivers: "weaving all over the road at half the speed limit, blocking traffic, sitting at the green light until they finish dialing, or just not paying attention......" Let me add causing fatal and near-fatal accidents. I know, from personal experience. What was it, four months ago, when some cell phone-using fool plowed into the back of my car, while I was at a stop light with cars stopped in front of me, too. She was going full-tilt, maybe at 45 or 50 mph. The limit there is 45 mph, but who goes the speed limit? There was no screech of the brakes, so she was going "full-tilt." My car was totaled, looking like an accordion front and back. (She drove my rear bumper up to the back seat and forced my car into the car ahead of me, smashing the left half of my hood/engine to the windshield.) And that lady fully admitted she was on the phone. She rambled in front of me and the police officer, who kept looking at me out of the corner of his eye, as if to say, "Is she stupid or.....?", "I always tell my kids not to use their cell phones while driving. Maybe I should follow my own advice." Ya think??????
I think this letter writer is a little out of touch. The car makers aren't going to install any such device (which could include a way to make 911 calls). They are far too interested in adding more and more electronic diversions to cars. Yes, there's a lot of money to be made in helping drivers become even more distracted.
A couple of weeks back there was a good article from an automotive writer, a self-admitted "car guy," about this--that is, the added distractions to driving. Note the last paragraph. Government puts ridiculously low blood-alcohol limits (In effect, I might be in big trouble if I have two beers with dinner within a couple of hours and then drive.) on driving, yet mandates all these electronic distractions. Of course, the auto makers are fully on board with the diversions--Hey, man! There's money to be made.
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2015/06/11/peters-distracted-driving-problem/71025082/
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Paradise?
I returned a couple weeks ago (already!) from a 45th class reunion at Amherst. If there is a heaven, this is what it must be like. The campus was, as usual, beautiful and, at least to me, almost mystical in aura. There were all the great classmates. They once again were able to combine just the right amounts of humor, seriousness, and intelligence in conversations. Toss in the wonderful lectures and panel discussions, etc. as a bonus. I am already looking forward to the next one!
I am reading a book of essays about the history of Amherst College. There are a variety of them, including several on Robert Frost (who taught there for a long time), the controversial president Alexander Meiklejohn, and Emily Dickinson (The Belle of Amherst), among others. Not all are about classes or curriculum or teachers/professors. But enough are that I am reminded (although I don't ever really forget) of how great many of my professors were. And the essays demonstrate the greatness of those teachers, past and present. It wasn't just the "facts," but, more relevant and important, the ideas that emanated from them. Granted, as one of my buddies/teammates once later said, "It took about five years before it [our educational fortune/experience] kicked in. I said, 'I get it!'" I didn't appreciate or even know how luck I was. But many of those ideas and, especially, the desire to learn and learn and learn was instilled in me by them. I thank my lucky stars every day.
How about that travesty of the MLB online voting for the All-Star team? Among other stars, Miguel Cabrera is apparently not the leader in voting for first base in the AL. C'mon! He's the best hitter of our generation (of several generations!) and is currently at or near the top of the league in BA, RBIs, etc. But, MLB must think it's cool to be trendy, to allow fans to vote--up to 35 times per computer--online. Who am I to challenge the new God--Technology?
Just coincidentally, today's "Word of the Day" is technophobe. Ha Ha Ha.
I was behind for more than a week with my newspapers, but I finally caught up. How distressing to read, several days in a row, of the murders in Detroit and the area. It seemed there were three or four daily. Where is the outrage, other than the immediate family and friends and only for a few days? If there is any, the media cover it up/ignore it. Where are Al Charlatan and Jesse Jackson and the others of their ilk? If they come, it's not reported and one would think their appearance would have the lapdog media all over it.
How about that woman in Seattle (?) who has tried to pass herself off as black? She is a leader in the area NAACP. People are asking why she'd do such a thing. I don't know, but maybe she has seen how much money there is in the "race industry" and wants a slice of the pie. Maybe she just wants to help people and thinks this would aid in doing that. But maybe she should know a bit about the history of the NAACP. It was founded by mostly white folks; the only black founder was W.E.B. DuBois. People can help others regardless of their race.
More of the "Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics......" Unemployment figures are decreasing, yet, as a recent newspaper article noted, there are fewer people working in Michigan. Hmmm...... That leads to a logical conclusion or two. Fewer people are looking for work; for whatever reasons, they just give up. And people are still leaving the state. I'd guess, too, that whatever "new jobs" there are, they pay a whole lot less than before. That is, for many people, the governor's claims of Michigan as "The Comeback State" is a bunch of hooey.
Yesterday was the 800 anniversary of the Magna Carta. My guess is that most Americans have no idea what that is. It is one of the foundations of Western Civilization, including the US system of government and jurisprudence. Where to start with it? The rule of law. No taxation without representation. Trial by jury. No double jeopardy (except on television!). A host of other rights guaranteed in the Constitution/Bill of Rights. Evidence that our Founding Fathers read and knew history.
On the drive home from class yesterday, the radio stations were playing lousy music, as usual. Before just shutting off the radio and riding in the quiet (as I often do), I switched to AM. I don't remember what show/host noted that the 20 top hedge fund managers made more money last year than all the kindergarten (or was it first grade) teachers in the US combined......combined! I don't blame the hedge funders, not at all; who wouldn't take the money? But isn't that yet another sign of how perverted we have become? Where are our priorities? And, remember, I am a critic of many teachers. Still, this seems absolutely insane to me. (I hated just writing/typing "absolutely" and "insane." Each of these words has been so overused as to have become trite, losing the unique emphasis each can bring--or could have brought.
I am reading a book of essays about the history of Amherst College. There are a variety of them, including several on Robert Frost (who taught there for a long time), the controversial president Alexander Meiklejohn, and Emily Dickinson (The Belle of Amherst), among others. Not all are about classes or curriculum or teachers/professors. But enough are that I am reminded (although I don't ever really forget) of how great many of my professors were. And the essays demonstrate the greatness of those teachers, past and present. It wasn't just the "facts," but, more relevant and important, the ideas that emanated from them. Granted, as one of my buddies/teammates once later said, "It took about five years before it [our educational fortune/experience] kicked in. I said, 'I get it!'" I didn't appreciate or even know how luck I was. But many of those ideas and, especially, the desire to learn and learn and learn was instilled in me by them. I thank my lucky stars every day.
How about that travesty of the MLB online voting for the All-Star team? Among other stars, Miguel Cabrera is apparently not the leader in voting for first base in the AL. C'mon! He's the best hitter of our generation (of several generations!) and is currently at or near the top of the league in BA, RBIs, etc. But, MLB must think it's cool to be trendy, to allow fans to vote--up to 35 times per computer--online. Who am I to challenge the new God--Technology?
Just coincidentally, today's "Word of the Day" is technophobe. Ha Ha Ha.
I was behind for more than a week with my newspapers, but I finally caught up. How distressing to read, several days in a row, of the murders in Detroit and the area. It seemed there were three or four daily. Where is the outrage, other than the immediate family and friends and only for a few days? If there is any, the media cover it up/ignore it. Where are Al Charlatan and Jesse Jackson and the others of their ilk? If they come, it's not reported and one would think their appearance would have the lapdog media all over it.
How about that woman in Seattle (?) who has tried to pass herself off as black? She is a leader in the area NAACP. People are asking why she'd do such a thing. I don't know, but maybe she has seen how much money there is in the "race industry" and wants a slice of the pie. Maybe she just wants to help people and thinks this would aid in doing that. But maybe she should know a bit about the history of the NAACP. It was founded by mostly white folks; the only black founder was W.E.B. DuBois. People can help others regardless of their race.
More of the "Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics......" Unemployment figures are decreasing, yet, as a recent newspaper article noted, there are fewer people working in Michigan. Hmmm...... That leads to a logical conclusion or two. Fewer people are looking for work; for whatever reasons, they just give up. And people are still leaving the state. I'd guess, too, that whatever "new jobs" there are, they pay a whole lot less than before. That is, for many people, the governor's claims of Michigan as "The Comeback State" is a bunch of hooey.
Yesterday was the 800 anniversary of the Magna Carta. My guess is that most Americans have no idea what that is. It is one of the foundations of Western Civilization, including the US system of government and jurisprudence. Where to start with it? The rule of law. No taxation without representation. Trial by jury. No double jeopardy (except on television!). A host of other rights guaranteed in the Constitution/Bill of Rights. Evidence that our Founding Fathers read and knew history.
On the drive home from class yesterday, the radio stations were playing lousy music, as usual. Before just shutting off the radio and riding in the quiet (as I often do), I switched to AM. I don't remember what show/host noted that the 20 top hedge fund managers made more money last year than all the kindergarten (or was it first grade) teachers in the US combined......combined! I don't blame the hedge funders, not at all; who wouldn't take the money? But isn't that yet another sign of how perverted we have become? Where are our priorities? And, remember, I am a critic of many teachers. Still, this seems absolutely insane to me. (I hated just writing/typing "absolutely" and "insane." Each of these words has been so overused as to have become trite, losing the unique emphasis each can bring--or could have brought.
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