1/28/2012
Snowbird Wannabee
Someone sent me the link to a youtube video, that graphically sums-up the reasons to fly south in winter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=xkk7DX0l95A&Lid=12
1/27/2012
Distracted Drivers, Pay Attention!
Here in Massachusetts, the solons in the legislature are currently considering a bill to make it unlawful to use a hand-held mobile device while driving.
This is just common sense. These days, whenever you see someone driving badly, nine out of ten of them have some sort of phone pressed to their ear. The distraction of phone usage seems to interfere with a driver's sense of speed and distance. Driver-Callers are either going too fast, passing you on the right, or they are blocking traffic, moping along in the passing lane. They pull out in front of you suddenly, cut you off and steal your parking space, they follow too closely, meander through intersections and generally create a more hazardous situation.
Some critics don't think the proposed measure is enough. They think hands-free phones are also distracting. I'm sure there is scientific proof that any non-driving activity is distracting*.
We carry on conversations with passengers, sing along with golden oldies, sip our drive through coffee, and practice our presentations while speeding down the pike. Most of the time we arrive without a crash. But I must admit to rear-ending a Subaru in Newton one morning while I was writing down the punchline to a joke (which I no longer recall).
The great thing about modern technology is that cell phone transmissions can be tracked by location and time. The only way the law can be enforceable - is to make analysis of cell phone records an integral part of the investigation of any accident.
I would even support a bill that allows an insurance company to add a caveat to its policies that says, we will not pay if you are involved in an accident while using a mobile device (or not wearing seat belts). This would seen to be a great incentive for drivers to self police their own cell phone usage.
*I've witnessed some bizarre behavior at the wheel, most of which should probably be prohibited: Women applying make-up, people noshing on Egg McMuffins, reading paper or book, one guy was practicing scales on his trumpet while waiting at a stoplight on memorial drive. One time, following a small red pickup truck on route 495, I noticed something hitting my windshield making little smudges, so I sped up and passed them, I could see a couple apparently oblivious grooving to the music eating chicken wings and tossing the bones out of the windows.
Isn't it time for the madness to stop?
 |
| photo: jdpower.com |
Some critics don't think the proposed measure is enough. They think hands-free phones are also distracting. I'm sure there is scientific proof that any non-driving activity is distracting*.
We carry on conversations with passengers, sing along with golden oldies, sip our drive through coffee, and practice our presentations while speeding down the pike. Most of the time we arrive without a crash. But I must admit to rear-ending a Subaru in Newton one morning while I was writing down the punchline to a joke (which I no longer recall).
The great thing about modern technology is that cell phone transmissions can be tracked by location and time. The only way the law can be enforceable - is to make analysis of cell phone records an integral part of the investigation of any accident.
I would even support a bill that allows an insurance company to add a caveat to its policies that says, we will not pay if you are involved in an accident while using a mobile device (or not wearing seat belts). This would seen to be a great incentive for drivers to self police their own cell phone usage.
*I've witnessed some bizarre behavior at the wheel, most of which should probably be prohibited: Women applying make-up, people noshing on Egg McMuffins, reading paper or book, one guy was practicing scales on his trumpet while waiting at a stoplight on memorial drive. One time, following a small red pickup truck on route 495, I noticed something hitting my windshield making little smudges, so I sped up and passed them, I could see a couple apparently oblivious grooving to the music eating chicken wings and tossing the bones out of the windows.
Isn't it time for the madness to stop?
1/25/2012
Zombies in your living room
One of Steven King's lessor works was a 2006 novel called "Cell." The premise of the story is that a never-explained source of the worldwide cellphone network creates a mysterious pulse that is broadcast on all operating cell phones. Everyone who is on the phone turns into a zombie. Anyone who is on their phone is immediately turned into lurching living dead. The crazed "phoners" gather in groups to hunt and attack the one who were not afflicted (normals).
Although the novel was published before the current wave of "smart" phones, I cannot help being reminded of it as a metaphor for what actually happens when normal (flip-phone) people get a "smart" phone. Smart means any of the flat phones - iphones, blackberries, droids, etc. with tiny screens and keyboards that connect the device to email and Internet. Oh yeah, they also make phone calls.
When someone gets one of these devices you and their other contacts are suddenly deluged with poorly focused video and snapshots, and text messages (eg, "u nvr guess who is sittng nxt to us." Attached is a blurry photo of someone who looks like Brad Pitt.) You keep getting calls but no one is there. When you dial them back they say, "oh it must have been an ass-dial. Oops i have another call bye now."
Smart phoners turn into mesmerized information crazed zombies. Perhaps you have noticed that people who have acquired a new smart phone begin to exhibit a personality change. Visitors who were previously interesting and polite now display a rude disregard for normal rules of attentiveness and an unabashed preoccupation with something other than your company. They come into a room and place the smart phone on the nearest flat surface so they can watch it in case they get a new tweet or email message. From that moment on, your conversation is punctuated by their incoming calls and text messages which require their immediate reply.
First, you feel embarrassed for them and their dis-social zombie-like transformation. Then, you start to become angry at their apparent disrespect for your companionship. You can't wait for them to leave; and your interest in future socialization melts like a dropped popsicle on a hot summer sidewalk.
They are everywhere: at the pub, at the theater, in museums, restaurants, libraries, stores, even at the pool. I guess they think they are cool. The rest of us think they are annoying.
Although the novel was published before the current wave of "smart" phones, I cannot help being reminded of it as a metaphor for what actually happens when normal (flip-phone) people get a "smart" phone. Smart means any of the flat phones - iphones, blackberries, droids, etc. with tiny screens and keyboards that connect the device to email and Internet. Oh yeah, they also make phone calls.
When someone gets one of these devices you and their other contacts are suddenly deluged with poorly focused video and snapshots, and text messages (eg, "u nvr guess who is sittng nxt to us." Attached is a blurry photo of someone who looks like Brad Pitt.) You keep getting calls but no one is there. When you dial them back they say, "oh it must have been an ass-dial. Oops i have another call bye now."
Smart phoners turn into mesmerized information crazed zombies. Perhaps you have noticed that people who have acquired a new smart phone begin to exhibit a personality change. Visitors who were previously interesting and polite now display a rude disregard for normal rules of attentiveness and an unabashed preoccupation with something other than your company. They come into a room and place the smart phone on the nearest flat surface so they can watch it in case they get a new tweet or email message. From that moment on, your conversation is punctuated by their incoming calls and text messages which require their immediate reply.
First, you feel embarrassed for them and their dis-social zombie-like transformation. Then, you start to become angry at their apparent disrespect for your companionship. You can't wait for them to leave; and your interest in future socialization melts like a dropped popsicle on a hot summer sidewalk.
They are everywhere: at the pub, at the theater, in museums, restaurants, libraries, stores, even at the pool. I guess they think they are cool. The rest of us think they are annoying.
1/24/2012
Solar Flares and Hemorrhoids
If your favorite wireless gadget is acting-up today, it could be because of the solar storm that is pummeling the Earth's atmosphere with cosmic radiation. Scientists (who may actually understand this stuff) warn that some communications may be disturbed - GPS, and other satellite based transmissions will be most vulnerable.
A lot of people are worried about global warming and believe that humans can do something to delay or prevent it. I believe that it is far more likely that civilization as we know it will be destroyed by a disastrous and unforeseen extraterrestrial EMP (electromagnetic pulse) that wipes out all communications, computer memory, and the power grid. Such an event would result in a long period of apocalyptic return to barbarism and chaos for surviving humans. Ok maybe I read too much sci fi during my youth, but I'm not the only one who worries about such things.
Also, I have long held the apparently unscientific belief that the dramatic recent rise in reported cases of personality disorder in humans (especially in children) can be linked to the corresponding increase in the amount of radio waves that are beaming all around and through our collective brain tissue from electromagnetic sources - microwaves, cell phones and other wireless devices, radar, HD transmissions, ifrared remotes, lasers and you-name-it.
If microwaves can cook popcorn, it is completely logical that they can alter the molecules of the human/fetal brain. The correlation calculations are not complete yet but I am confident is stating that extraterrestrial radiation will be proven to be the source of many physical maladies. Perhaps we have solved the mystery of unpredictable flare-ups in skin afflictions like psoriasis and certain nagging itches such as hemorrhoids. The current wave of solar powered high speed cosmic protons are crashing through the Van Allen belt at a speed of 14,000 miles per second. These are heavy duty quantum particles that can seriously plunk your magic twanger, Froggy.
Updated version: A loyal reader (GWP) has informed me that sonar was incorrectly listed in my list of electromagnetic wave sources. I am pleased to correct this information. Of course sonar is a sound based wave. Sonar transmissions are suspected as links to whale and dolphin strandings by some scientists. So they are potentially of earthshaking importance. (e.g., if the Maker of the Universe sneezes, we could be in for a rocky ride of sonar storms, not to mention celestial germs).
1/20/2012
Metaphors
 photo: thestar.com/news |
How could so many things go wrong? The most compelling questions are yet to be answered. My friend has a 17 foot fisherman's boat and he has a sonar screen that scans the bottom for solid objects, but a cruise ship the size of the Empire State Building has no working sonar? Also, just about everyone who has been interviewed by news reporters has complained about the lack of training and information following the abandon ship order, yet nearly 4,200 passengers and crew got off the ship alive in the dark of night. Isn't the most incredible fact that less than 40 people are still confirmed dead or missing in the bowels of the behemoth?
It boggles the mind to consider that such a disaster could happen in calm seas in well traveled waters.
But it reminds us that the bubble of safety and security that we take for granted can pop at any time.
For some reason, ship disasters always make me think about my working life. Many of the projects I worked on were like cruises to nowhere, plotted by some captain of industry who had an enormous ego, but was navigationally retarded. The Titanic metaphor often seemed apt. We trench denizens would sit around the coffee room musing about management re-arranging the deck chairs when the ship was taking on water, or arguing about what song selections the band should play while passengers took to the lifeboats.
Some of those projects ended-up on the shoals of disaster. As I review my resume, most of my former companies have failed or merged into different organizations. Some cheap-shot commenters will undoubtedly muse that I was the jinx that helped sink those ships. But, as is my wont, I prefer to point the finger at cowardly captains and clueless coworkers.
1/18/2012
No Blackout Here
If you click on a Wikipedia link today you will get a split-second view of your desired search page and then a black out overlay with the query "Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge..."
They are going dark for 24 hours to "raise awareness" that the U.S. Congress "is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet."
As an unabashed opponent of strikes and other stoppages as a means of getting public attention, I am on the side of the so-called capitalists on this issue. I think it is just silly to stage such a mock protest. That's like saying, "Hey everyone. I am going on a 24 hour hunger strike to stop the madness!"
Stopping Piracy is a worthy aim.
I do not know if the current SOPA and PIPA proposals will kill the free Internet - that would require more research than I am in the mood for. But, as an occasional producer of revenue-producing intellectual content, I claim solidarity with my brother/sister artists who have been getting ripped-off by illegal piracy.
On the mostly free Internet, no one seems to be in charge. (This is not universal, some countries closely monitor local access) In general censorship does not exist. You can watch dirty pictures, say virtually anything you want about anyone with impunity. You can learn how to make bomb components just as easily as accessing a Kayak fishing video.
But, some people think it is dangerous to publish certain kinds of information. Ben Franklin is alleged to have said that "citizens who are willing to give up a little liberty in exchange for a little safety deserve neither". Poppycock, I say. Sometimes you need to constrain freedom of speech. We do it all the time, and it makes for a healthier, less course and safer society.
Free = Worthless
Most people tend to have more regard for experiences that have a cost associated with them. Studies have shown that people who wait in long lines for tickets value the performance more than those who got the tickets for free. Kids are notoriously careless with stuff that doting parents have lavished upon them. One parent in my neighborhood recently complained that his son was on his 3rd iPad in twelve months. My generation was raised without the expectation of entitlement. I had to earn the money to buy my first car.
Summary
If you have read this far, you have ascertained that I am - as usual - all over the lot on this topic. I think people ought to be paid for worthwhile expression of their art*, yet I am like you annoyed to have to pay for stuff that used to be free. And is free content covered by free speech?
Blogging is the ultimate free arena. There is zero cost of entry and maintenance. I have often wondered why Google offers the Blogger.com platform for free to anyone regardless of writing skill. Who is paying for all the space and access? And why? As a reader, you pay nothing, and you probably use the Internet more for entertainment than for information. You correctly disregard the brandished wisdom of pedantic bloggers, thinking If you're so smart why aren't you rich?
*Note - I think the setting of a fixed price for entertainment needs to be abolished. I am developing a new paradigm, where tickets are paid-for after the performance. The price is set by the perceived value as determined by the purchaser. (If Meatloaf shows-up sober, remembers the lyrics and gives a good show, he makes a lot more money than if everyone was disappointed. If the Patriots suck and lose the playoff game, they are docked and the price of a ticket is reduced accordingly.) This concept might work for Wall Street too!
They are going dark for 24 hours to "raise awareness" that the U.S. Congress "is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet."
 |
| Attention Getting Gimmick? |
Stopping Piracy is a worthy aim.
I do not know if the current SOPA and PIPA proposals will kill the free Internet - that would require more research than I am in the mood for. But, as an occasional producer of revenue-producing intellectual content, I claim solidarity with my brother/sister artists who have been getting ripped-off by illegal piracy.
On the mostly free Internet, no one seems to be in charge. (This is not universal, some countries closely monitor local access) In general censorship does not exist. You can watch dirty pictures, say virtually anything you want about anyone with impunity. You can learn how to make bomb components just as easily as accessing a Kayak fishing video.
But, some people think it is dangerous to publish certain kinds of information. Ben Franklin is alleged to have said that "citizens who are willing to give up a little liberty in exchange for a little safety deserve neither". Poppycock, I say. Sometimes you need to constrain freedom of speech. We do it all the time, and it makes for a healthier, less course and safer society.
Free = Worthless
Most people tend to have more regard for experiences that have a cost associated with them. Studies have shown that people who wait in long lines for tickets value the performance more than those who got the tickets for free. Kids are notoriously careless with stuff that doting parents have lavished upon them. One parent in my neighborhood recently complained that his son was on his 3rd iPad in twelve months. My generation was raised without the expectation of entitlement. I had to earn the money to buy my first car.
Summary
If you have read this far, you have ascertained that I am - as usual - all over the lot on this topic. I think people ought to be paid for worthwhile expression of their art*, yet I am like you annoyed to have to pay for stuff that used to be free. And is free content covered by free speech?
Blogging is the ultimate free arena. There is zero cost of entry and maintenance. I have often wondered why Google offers the Blogger.com platform for free to anyone regardless of writing skill. Who is paying for all the space and access? And why? As a reader, you pay nothing, and you probably use the Internet more for entertainment than for information. You correctly disregard the brandished wisdom of pedantic bloggers, thinking If you're so smart why aren't you rich?
*Note - I think the setting of a fixed price for entertainment needs to be abolished. I am developing a new paradigm, where tickets are paid-for after the performance. The price is set by the perceived value as determined by the purchaser. (If Meatloaf shows-up sober, remembers the lyrics and gives a good show, he makes a lot more money than if everyone was disappointed. If the Patriots suck and lose the playoff game, they are docked and the price of a ticket is reduced accordingly.) This concept might work for Wall Street too!
1/12/2012
Pardon Me
Pardon me, but I am more offended by the Mississippi governor Haley Barbour's pardoning hundreds of bad guys who were convicted in a court of justice than I am over the US Marines who pissed on the bodies of the enemy who were trying to kill them a few minutes earlier.
What is wrong with me?
What is wrong with me?
1/11/2012
Malquoting the other guy
Mitt Romney found himself being quoted out of context the other day. He was speaking about healthcare insurance and the benefits of having options. In a regrettable choice of words he said "I like being able to fire people." Clearly Meaning it is desireable to have the ability to switch companies that are deficient in providing the best level of service. The quote in context can be viewed here.
In an unseemly display of low road politics, opponents and partisan pundits jumped on the quote, happy to take it out of context and twist it to show what an evil job destroyer the Mittster is.
In a pretty meanspirited act, Gingrich even had the quote converted to a cell phone ringtone .
Well Mitt you deserved it. You got the same thing you did when you intentionally malquoted Obama, attributing him to a statement which was 100% opposite of his stand (he was actually quoting a McCain staffer at the time).
Karma Baby! Suck on it.
In an unseemly display of low road politics, opponents and partisan pundits jumped on the quote, happy to take it out of context and twist it to show what an evil job destroyer the Mittster is.
In a pretty meanspirited act, Gingrich even had the quote converted to a cell phone ringtone .
Well Mitt you deserved it. You got the same thing you did when you intentionally malquoted Obama, attributing him to a statement which was 100% opposite of his stand (he was actually quoting a McCain staffer at the time).
1/09/2012
The Grass is Always Greener
My wife thinks I am crazy because I keep looking at part time job postings on Craigslist.
"Why do you want to go back to some hellhole?" she wonders. Good question.
The simple answer is: I don't know. The more complicated and (potentially fictitious) reason is that I am looking to find my place in the cosmos. One thing seems clear. I am restless with my status as "Retiree".
Being retired from the world of work is wonderful in many respects. You can sleep as late as you want in the morning. You have time to read the print versions of 2 papers, and have an unhurried breakfast. You can pretty much plan your day - take a walk, have lunch with friends, go to a movie.
Theoretically, you can golf and fish and wander around to your heart's content.
You don't have some crazed boss demanding a status report, or wondering
aloud at the staff meeting why your numbers aren't better. You don't waste two
hours a day sitting in traffic. For once in your life, you finally have enough time
for those extended trips to exotic places that you always talked about.
On the other hand, there are some drawbacks. You can't just sit around reading for hours on end and communing with nature every day, or napping like the cats. Anything gets boring if you do it day-in day-out. Traveling can become both a distraction and a delight, but it does not fulfill you - unless you consider checking-off your bucket list as fulfillment. And, there is the little matter of money.
If you are retired and rich, it makes things much easier. But if you retired, collecting social security and have less than
mega-millions in your IRA, you are forced to make some trade-offs. You cannot afford to travel all the time, and
you cannot shop for trendy clothes or afford $40 haircuts anymore.
When I was younger, I was fulfilled by spending time in the garden and maintaining the grounds. I never thought of working in the yard as work because I enjoyed it thoroughly. Work is what someone else makes you do.
When I was younger, I was fulfilled by spending time in the garden and maintaining the grounds. I never thought of working in the yard as work because I enjoyed it thoroughly. Work is what someone else makes you do.
Nowadays, I don't anticipate Spring the same
old way. The optimistic joy of gardening has gradually
given way to reality-based discouragement, the groaning of stiff knees, achy
backs and wildly unpredictable weather.
I have become pessimistic about climate and cynical about politics and skeptical towards anyone who claims to know the truth, has a cure for psoriasis, knows the secret to riches, wants to manage my money.
Parkinsons Law states that work fills the time allotted to it. There is a corollary to free time. If you only have one thing to do today, it will take all day to do it. We retirees are always complaining how busy we are.
Working people envy retired people. Buy after you have read two papers end-to end and checked the status of the markets, and taken a brisk walk, met friends for lunch, and so on, there is still a vague sense that something is missing. It's that old feeling that you occasionally felt on the job that you were accomplishing something bigger than just staying busy.
Some mornings on my walk, I find myself looking at young people driving by, dressed for work with a tinge of envy. I know that odds are good that they are probably on their way to some hellhole where the boss is overwrought asshole and the coworkers are backbiting shits.
But I can't help wondering if just maybe someone is actually going to a place where the work is interesting and rewarding and their workmates are bright and positive with good sense of humor. To me, that would seem to be a pretty good way to spend one's day.
I have become pessimistic about climate and cynical about politics and skeptical towards anyone who claims to know the truth, has a cure for psoriasis, knows the secret to riches, wants to manage my money.
Parkinsons Law states that work fills the time allotted to it. There is a corollary to free time. If you only have one thing to do today, it will take all day to do it. We retirees are always complaining how busy we are.
Working people envy retired people. Buy after you have read two papers end-to end and checked the status of the markets, and taken a brisk walk, met friends for lunch, and so on, there is still a vague sense that something is missing. It's that old feeling that you occasionally felt on the job that you were accomplishing something bigger than just staying busy.
Some mornings on my walk, I find myself looking at young people driving by, dressed for work with a tinge of envy. I know that odds are good that they are probably on their way to some hellhole where the boss is overwrought asshole and the coworkers are backbiting shits.
But I can't help wondering if just maybe someone is actually going to a place where the work is interesting and rewarding and their workmates are bright and positive with good sense of humor. To me, that would seem to be a pretty good way to spend one's day.
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