Tuesday, January 15, 2008

WTF?

Bill proposes cellphone restrictions in cars
House to debate hand-devices ban

The Boston Globe
By Matt Viser and Erin Ailworth
January 14, 2008

Txt to: Brandy
Txt fr: Mindy
“OMG! My bff beth jus tol me tj’s in luuuuuuv w/you!!
<333
U go gurl!!!!!!”

If you can interpret the above message, then you know that Mindy wants Brandy to know that Mindy’s best friend forever, Beth, has conveyed the message to Mindy that some (presumably) boy named T.J. is in love with Brandy.

This might be good news. Brandy might have been pursuing T.J. for some time, or there might have been flirtation going on between T.J. and Brandy that T.J. has finally articulated. Brandy might be in love with Bobby and this pursuit by T.J. might be just the thing to get Bobby to wake up. Brandy and T.J. might have been in a relationship previously and Brandy is bummed about the breakup. Or this might not be such good news. Maybe Brandy hates T.J. and does not want him pursuing her and Mindy is just a bitch rubbing it in.

Whatever the story might be, is there anyone who thinks that it is absolutely imperative that Brandy have this information right now? If Mindy is just sitting around her house doing unimportant things like homework or something equally tedious, I have no problem with her texting Brandy. But if Mindy is driving around in her car, I have big problems with her operating her text phone.

If you’re not familiar with text messaging, let me tell you about it. You use the number buttons on your cell phone to spell out your message. For example, if you want to type “cat,” you have to hit the “2” button three times for “c” then hit the “2” button one time for “a” then hit the “8” button one time for “t.” In other words, it’s exactly the type of thing you should not be doing while you’re driving.

Now, the Massachusetts legislature is considering a bill that would ban text messaging while driving. A few other states have already passes such measures. This seems absurd to me. This is not something that should be legislated. This is something that should be IRRELEVANT. There should be no problems with people text messaging while driving. It shouldn’t even hit the legislature’s radar screen.

But there it is. Why can’t people evaluate these kinds of situations for themselves and realize that what they are doing, or want to do, is critically dangerous? How is it that people don’t realize that when you’re driving, your primary activity should be driving?

I define “primary activity” as the situation that, at any given moment, is utilizing the largest percentage of your intellect and senses. When I am driving, I am touching the steering wheel, pedal, and brake; I am listening to the sounds that my vehicle and the vehicles around me are making; and I am watching the car in front of me, the car in front of that one, etc., the landscape in front of me, and each of my mirrors. That’s 3/5 of my senses that I am using. And while I might be thinking about the appointment I’m going to, the work I have to do at the office, or the chores I left behind, my basic brain function is devoted to the successful completion of my trip and the thousands of details that go into driving my vehicle from one point to another.

Therefore, when I’m driving, driving is my primary activity. When I’m sitting at my desk, work is my primary activity. When I’m in a theater, the show that I’m watching is my primary activity. When I’m operating the snow blower, that is my primary activity. There isn’t always a primary activity going on, but when there is, it is important that you be primarily focused on it, especially when people’s lives are involved.

When you are text messaging, not only your hand, but also your eyes, need to be focused on your cell phone screen, and therefore not positioned on the steering wheel and focused on the road. Talking on a cell phone while driving is a different matter. Some people can handle it, many more can’t. Every time now someone cuts me off, or stops short, or veers into another lane, or is driving unusually and unnecessarily slowly, or is driving stupidly in any way, you can bet that the driver is on a cell phone. At least, that has been my experience for quite awhile now.

I don’t get the whole need that some people have to be on their cell phones while driving. I rarely answer the phone while I’m driving; the only time I do is if I’m sitting at a red light or stuck in traffic, or if I’m on a long trip and on a relatively quiet stretch of highway. If I have to make a call, I wait until I’ve arrived at my destination to do so. There is no conversation that I have to have that is so important that it can’t wait. And I can’t imagine what all these people driving around are talking about. There is nothing that can’t wait a little while until you’re able to put all your attention to your conversation, unless maybe you’re a neurosurgeon and you have to talk through a procedure with someone who’s like stuck in the woods with someone who is going to die if the person doesn’t perform the procedure right there and then. But even if that was the case, don’t you think that would be a very good reason to pull the car over, stop driving for awhile, and concentrate on talking the person through it? Okay, maybe the surgeon is en route to another emergency where someone is going to die. I’ll admit that there are very limited cases in which it is critical for someone to be talking on the phone and driving at the same time.

The rest of us, though, should let common sense, and not legislation, be our guide. Wait to text message til you stop driving, and only talk to someone on the phone if it is absolutely critical. I know I’m asking a lot.

Monday, January 7, 2008

2008 So Far

Geaux Tigers!
I hope everyone’s having a good new year. Mine’s going well, and it’s gotten even better now that LSU has won the national championship against Ohio State!!

The New Years story—Friday
Like I said, we went to Ohio to visit Dev for New Year’s and that was a lot of fun. Bill and I bought each other a GPS for Christmas and nobody around here was up for planning anything, and Dev was all for it, so we just said “why not?” We left Friday night, drove halfway and spent the night in Mifflinville, Pennsylvania. Well, not really the night. Bill drove until he got tired and we stopped around 2 in the morning, then got up at 7 to hit the road again at 8. We got to Dev’s around 1:00 on Saturday afternoon.

The New Years story—Saturday
Dev announced that he was going to the Youngstown Steelhounds hockey game that night, and normally, Bill and I would have been right along there with him. But that happened to be the same night the Patriots were playing the Giants to go undefeated for the season so no way were we missing that one! We went to eat at Tokyo House, a great little Japanese restaurant where Dev knows the owner/chef, Ken.

The Tokyo House is great, although Bill’s not too wild about it. Ken talks a lot while he’s cooking the food in front of you. The first time I went was one time with Dev when Bill wasn’t with us. When Ken found out I was from New Orleans, he told me a heartbreaking story about several members of his family that were victims of a vicious crime at their restaurant on Bullard, the Kim Anh. As he was telling the story, I remembered the story. It was the Murdering Cop Bitch Antoinette Frank who shot her partner, who was working a detail at the restaurant, and two of the four siblings who were working at the restaurant that night. Everyone who was living in New Orleans in 1995 has to remember this; it was all over the news and shocked even murder capital New Orleans that a cop could shoot her own partner, Ronald Williams. Anyhow, the Vu family owned and ran the restaurant, and Ha and Cuong Vu were murdered along with Williams. The Vu’s are Ken’s extended family. That conversation definitely brought back memories of the news reports. I actually met Ronald Williams’ widow a couple of years after the murders. She was a pleasant person but you could tell still very troubled. I hope she and the Vu family have found peace. Ms. Frank is on death row in Louisiana. I hope she rots in hell.

The New Years story—Sunday
So we went there for dinner then dropped Dev off at the game because he could get a ride back home. Bill and I went back to Dev’s and watched the heart-stopping game that gave the Patriots the first 16-0 record in NFL history. Then the next day we went shopping for Jessi’s birthday present but couldn’t find the kind of shoes she wanted so we ended up giving her money to buy them with lol! I got totally screwed trying to watch the Saints game on the computer through the DirecTV thing. Since the account is located in Stoneham, and the Saints game was the game being broadcast on local TV in Stoneham, I couldn’t watch the game on my laptop in Boardman, Ohio! Unfortunately, the broadcast game in Boardman, Ohio was the Browns-49ers game. Yeah, like that game even mattered. But, the Saints lost anyway so I ended up not being too upset.

We went to a barbecue place called Smokey Bones near Dev’s house for dinner Sunday night. It was good. Dev and Bill both got the full racks of ribs with the brown sugar sauce and I got a combo pulled pork and ½ rack of ribs with the regular sauce. I loved the pulled pork and didn’t think too much of the ribs, although Dev and Bill both praised the brown sugar ribs. I should have gotten that, or gotten a full plate of the pulled pork and not even done ribs.

The New Years story—Monday
Monday, Bill & I slept in while Dev went to work. He came home mid-day and we went to Bob Evans for lunch. Bill’s a big fan of the turkey dinner at Bob Evans. It is a good place, and we only get to go there in Ohio since there are none in Massachusetts. After lunch we farted around for awhile and then took off around 7 to pick up Kathy and head to Steamer’s Stonewall Tavern, a great little restaurant where Kathy knows the owners. We’ve been there a few times with them and they had a new year’s eve party with a DJ and all. We had 8:00 dinner reservations and then we just kept our table for the rest of the night. We ate, we danced, we drank, we celebrated. We met a lady named Ro and danced with her and Kathy for awhile. Ro was a big kick. Even Dev was in a good mood!

Bill got some pictures so I’ll post them as soon as I can get the camera from him and upload them.

The New Years story—Tuesday
Tuesday we drove home. 10 hours. It’s a nice drive through the mountains in Pennsylvania, but jeez!

Groan
Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.
A dyslexic man walks into a bra.

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Happy New Year!


I hope everyone had a good one. We were in Ohio visiting Dev and had a great time at Steamer's.
Let's make 2008 the best ever!