Random Thoughts

Here's one, one that's happened for years.  Whenever I type "random," initially I almost always type "randome," with the unwanted "e."  Another is "numerical," which initially is "numberical."  (Don't ask why anyone would be typing "numerical," please.)  Hmmm, I wonder why.  I suppose the psychologists would have an answer.  I wonder if it's interesting.

On the theme of a previous post, on this AM's run, to beat the rain, four deer, in descending order of size, ran right in front of me out on one of the trails of the state park.  It was pretty cool.  Again, "You can take the boy out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the boy."  Yep, I remember playing in Devil's Woods as a kid and all of us guys getting excited to see a rabbit, just one.  There weren't many wildlife creatures in "the city."

Cell phones......  One of my friends doesn't understand my aversion to cell phones.  Oh, I've tried to explain to her, but apparently not very convincingly.  I was reminded twice in recent days why I don't like them.  At dinner with three others, two of their cell phones rang ("ring tones?") at the same time, both answering.  I'm probably the only one in the US who still thinks so, but I found that to be impolite.  Maybe I'm just an old fogey.  One of my running buddies runs on the side of the road.  I mean the side of the road, not the shoulder.  Rarely, very rarely, does he move over for cars.  I don't like that habit and, when I see cars, I immediately jump to the shoulder, often to the far left of it (running facing traffic).  Now, this isn't my blind buddy, with whom I run about once a week!!!!!!  This AM, when I left my running buddy for my last few miles back home, a car came down the road and, with his head down (dialing?  texting?), the driver dropped off on the edge of the shoulder, right next to me.  See??????

And in today's newspaper are the results of a survey (I don't know whose) that reveals a number of "workplace productivity killers."  No doubt technology has improved productivity; I don't argue that it doesn't.  But the leading "killer" of productivity is the use of cell phones, for personal calling and for texting.  Two other similar disruptions that are hurting productivity, in the top four, are "Internet surfing" and the use of "social media."  Also listed among the top seven were personal e-mailing.  One might argue that workers shouldn't be doing things like these on company time.  Of course they shouldn't.  But how might they be stopped?  The survey also revealed that "25% of all employers prohibit cell phones and personal calls."  They, about 22%, also "try" to monitor Internet usage and e-mails.  I wonder how effective those moves are.  Hmmm......  Of course technology has helped productivity.  I wonder how much it has harmed it.  In the same vein, cell phones have likely saved many lives in emergencies.  I wonder how many they have helped to take, i.e., through auto accidents.

Two op-ed pieces today focused on the recent headline stories of beatings and murders of Detroiters as "results of our rage."  I find nothing to disagree about with either article.  We have learned to become too "upset" and too "angry," to cite words of explanation in each piece.  But they both stopped short of another reason I think needs to be explored.  I wonder if either author has even considered it.  Today, in fact over the past few decades, it's all about me--"I, Me, Mine."  I've written about this before.  What has led people to think just because a sports official has ejected a player that player can assault and murder the official?  OK, the player didn't mean to kill the soccer referee, but he did anyway, so......  And so on.  What goes into the thinking of such attacks, assaults, etc. that often lead to murders, even of 2-year old girls innocently playing out in her yard?  Have we taught people that if they are disrespected ("dissed?", if something they want (such as playing time), etc., they have the right to kill someone over it?  If we can't have our way we can attack others we deem responsible for that?  Again, think of what our schools have taught over the past thirty or forty years.  Everyone's opinion is as valid as everyone else's opinion.  Your opinion can't be wrong.  Or, like the tee shirt read, "God don't make no junk."  You get the idea.  Of course, that's all hokum, complete nonsense.  Everyone is certainly entitled to his or her opinion, even if it's wrong.  This is America (although it seems more and more the federal government is counterposing that!).  Wrong?  Sure, who in his right mind would say that the opinion of the guy who walked up to the 2-year old and shot her point-blank in the head was right?  After all, his opinion was he had the right to make the 2-year old's father suffer by watching it--because of some earlier incident.  Would anyone argue that the opinions held by Nazis are right?  What about the Taliban's (and other traditional Muslims) views of the role of women?  Are those right?  I cringe at the thought of a local high school that instituted a course called "Respect and Acceptance," whose them was that "all people and all cultures are deserving of respect and acceptance." What foolhardiness!?!?!?  Yes, I spoke out strongly against it, but to no avail with those who obviously know a lot more than I do.  Still, when did many people get the notion that when someone has done something to them, whether right or wrong, they have the right to kill them??????  Why don't I see any of our so-called societal leaders addressing this, something that leads to hundreds and thousands of murders and even more assaults annually?  Can it be because they are not really leaders, but charlatans taking advantage of others?

Last, but not least, I have been reading the newspaper endorsements of candidates for the August primary.  I'm startled, but not surprised.  As critical of the newspapers have been of the politicans--laws, policies, etc.--the majority, the vast majority of endorsements are for incumbents or politicians jumping from one elected seat to another.  It seems a bit incongruous to me, but that's my my opinions are lonely.