Gators on the Highway

It seems like there are an awful lot of these on the interstate these days. I am not talking about the members of Gator Nation, easily recognizable by the Gator stickers on their vehicles either. I’m talking tire tread pieces from blown tractor trailer tires. My husband ran one over coming north on 95 at night and it tore up the undercarriage of his car. I had my son check my tires for air before making my own trip south down 95 in that same car because the mechanism that warns of low tires was permanently damaged by the road gator. One tire was low so it was a good thing he checked and we got to talking about running over gators. Seems he had the same problem on his way into work one early, crack of dawn morning. After he ran the gator over he pulled over and got out of his truck to make sure it was ok. It didn’t seem fazed as it proceeded to finish crossing the on ramp. That’s when I realized we weren't talking about the same kind of gators. Guess there are more gators on the highway to watch out for than I figured. 

The Napkin Lawsuit

A guy is suing McD’s because he only got one napkin with his meal. When he asked for more he was denied and things escalated from there. I thought the hot coffee lawsuit was rather frivolous but it really changed the way they put the lids on the coffee at McD’s now. They have a tool they use to make sure the coffee lid is pressed on tight. So this makes me wonder if the napkin lawsuit will be thrown out as frivolous. A couple of hundred blog posts back I wrote about nabbing napkins from all the places I ate at and how even my grandkids became my accomplices in keeping the napkin basket on my table at home full. So I guess my advice to the guy who only got one napkin from McD’s  would be for next time to try 5 Guys, the burgers and napkins are better there and you get free peanuts. The napkins are just like the cheap ones you buy at the store and they are stacked (in an easy access dispenser) at the end of the counter where you pick up your food so you can help yourself to as many as you need, and if you’re me, a few more.

A Chain of Random Acts of Kindness Started by a Young (19yrs old) Navy Wife

 Mr. Sandy's Selfie (with me)

A young Navy wife sees an elderly man leaning driving his cart through the frozen dinner section in Wal Mart, notices that it appears the only kind of food in his cart is frozen lean cuisine and strikes up a conversation. I’m ad libbing this part because it occurred before I came into the story. She discovers that he is living pretty much on microwave meals and decides to bring him a home cooked meal. Random act of kindness right there because maybe he reminds her of her grandpa or she just has a giving spirit. And let’s consider the elderly man, aging in place is hard to do (and a little scary-he still drives). His son sets up his meds and lives nearby but is employed by the neighboring town’s fire department so consequently works a cycle of overnights and days, and can’t be a full time care giver. He does pretty well but I can say from experience caring for an elderly parent can be exhausting and even more so when you have a regular job too. You need to be a master at time management. So the young Navy wife turns to social media to get others involved and the response was amazing. What a wonderful opportunity to give others a chance to participate with random acts of kindness, 140 meals worth so far largely organized on line on a site called Take Them a Meal. But sadly the chain has begun to disintegrate with the South East Community Church and a very few volunteers left bringing a meal. Something as simple as a grilled cheese sandwich and a cup of soup and few minutes to drop it off is all it takes to make a difference in one oldie’s life. He can be crotchety but he is always humble and grateful. He suffers from gout and I have seen him during a couple of particularly ugly flare ups so he has been advised to stay away from most meat and seafood. If you would like to be a link in this kindness chain here is where to sign up. You can send a meal even if you aren't local. Just go to this link and sign up. http://www.takethemameal.com/meals.php?t=GXXV4018&welcome=1  

Uptalk or Vocal Fry, Just Say It

First uptalk, this is, an irritating to some, way of speaking where every sentence ends up like a question, even statements that aren't questions at all. Uptalk is mostly used by girls and women. Men do use uptalk occasionally when addressing women (this is the part that grinds on me because my brother always spoke to me with uptalk) when they are being condescending or correcting women. Uptalk may be an indicator of uncertainty and maybe a little self-deprecation. Women just need to ditch this language pattern and men even more so, though the uptalk way of talking has been around for a long time.

Vocal fry is a language affectation used by women and it makes our voices gravelly. Men have lower voice registers so they tend not to use vocal fry. The voice everyone points to as the prime example of vocal fry is Kim Kardashian’s. Maybe that is why it has become trendy among young college aged women. Vocal fry is often most noticeable at the ends of phrases or sentences. Speaking with vocal fry just seems like too much work to me. 

Wearable Generators

Yep, there’s a new kind of generator, a nanogenerator that converts movement from walking into electricity to keep your gadgets going, and it all fits in a 4 pound backpack so you can wear it. In tests it was able to generate 1 watt of power while the person wearing it was walking, enough electricity to run 40 LEDs. There are some other backpack generators out there already but they weigh much more (40 pounds) so these new ones are the way to go if you want to keep the power on for your phone or wearable computer or other electronic device. We have so many of these devices these days and some come with Velcro arm bands to keep them attached or the computer is in the glasses, like Google Glass. What an interesting way to keep things charged and be less sedentary. With one of these wearable generators I could even walk away from my walking desk. I would love to dictate my blog to my wearable computer someday while outdoors enjoying a walk on a lovely spring day.

Nature versus Nurture

Nature trumps nurture when it comes to a child’s educational fate according to a recent study of 5474 pairs of twins, 2008 of them identical. This study, while considered pretty controversial, claims to prove that the genes we inherit have a bigger impact on exam success than schooling or parenting. As a teacher in my previous life I always knew that kids came with different potentials, and despite those differences everybody can learn. This study doesn't disagree and if anything emphasizes how important it is to provide more resources for kids who need the most. No genes for intelligence have been identified but a one size fits all style of educational approach isn't the best either. That was one more thing I discovered in my previous life as a teacher. So I guess if you can read that bumper sticker you can still thank your teacher, but keep in mind you can thank your parents too.

March First

I have always admired this date because it seems like such a commanding day.

March first because rebellion without truth is like spring in a bleak, arid desert.-Khalil Gibran

March first because behold, my friends, the spring is come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love.-Sitting Bull

March first because for every person who has ever lived there has come at last, a spring he will never see. Glory then in the springs that are yours,-Pam Brown

So March first and if not you can always March second tomorrow.