Skip to main content

Random Thoughts

I have not written in a while, and I am tired of the political and election stuff - SO, here are some random thoughts. (if this seems disjointed a bit, I did it over two days - sorry) I was thinking about the differences in everyday life today versus when I was a teenager. (yeah, old people reminisce more - it's that rear-view mirror line again) I mentioned in an earlier post about the "tub-o-soda" I get for lunch most days. That is one BIG (pun intended) change. When I was starting out my working career, I was in fast food management - Burger King, McDonald's, Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips, and Hardee's to be precise. Even Hardee's (which was the last and latest), who helped pioneer the "tub" size drinks with 7-11 (Moose cup and Big Gulp respectively) only had a 20 oz drink as a large. At BK, McD, and AT we only had a 16 oz as a large. That is a small now! I understand why (partially due to my training at Whopper College and Hamburger University!), the drink costs less than the cup and the labor for most soft drinks. So, they can sell you twenty more ounces of drink for more money = more profit. But, even though I get these things often, I know they are ridiculous! (don't even get me started on the cup holder vs cup battle that rages in industrial design studios around the world!) But, even though they represent the greatest profit for the seller, they represent the greatest value to us, the consumers. Bring on the "tub-o-soda"! Can I get some wheels with that? Another HUGE change is in communication. Cellphones, text messaging, computers, email, and IMs have revolutionized the interaction and dialogue (or lack thereof) between people. Now, although an improvement from my mother's days where if the person you wanted to talk to did not live in the cave next door or the signal fire wood was wet, you couldn't communicate with them until they came by - we did have phones.....period. They were black rotary dial devices with CORDS (shudder) that we had to be tethered to while we tried to reach another similarly tethered individual at a specific location. No voice mail or even answering machines (WHAT!!), if they were not there you left a message with the evil younger sibling that promptly forgot you called (possibly on purpose if they did not like you); or you had to talk to their Mom for twenty minutes about how school was or how your last doctor visit went. We all had meeting places. That took the place of cellphone/text message communication. If your friend was not home, there were two or three places you had to drive to. In our town it was the Tastee-Freeze first, or the drug store (afternoons). Now, people expect to be able to communicate with anyone they know anywhere, anytime. During the summer when I was young, we would frequently go months without talking to or communicating with a good friend. When you said goodbye on the last day of school, for a lot of those people it was literally goodbye until school cranked up again in the fall. Now, I can be in Denver and take a call someone in Virginia or Florida that has no idea where I am. My daughter sometimes feels offended when she sends a text message to a friend and does not get an answer in twenty seconds! Speaking of communicating - how about the handwritten (or even typed) letter? Even I, in my day, wrote letters to people. Now we do what I am doing - type on a computer and hit "send". I remember getting out paper (we would even buy stationery to write on!) and pen, sitting at my desk and writing people. I cannot remember the last time I wrote a handwritten letter and mailed it. When I need to contact people now I email them or call them (expecting an immediate pickup). Senators, businesses, friends, etc. all get emails now. The post office is reduced to junk mail, periodicals, and bills. (a sub-plot of this one is stamps - no stamp lickum anymore!?!) As I was afraid, I lost my train of thought here on the second sitting. I will return to this subject at a later date. Remember, if you vote for a democrat for a national office this election - you are an idiot! If that offends anyone - at least I hope it makes you research and think about what you are doing. Peace and Love. (used to end letters that way in the day)

Comments

Where on EARTH was the Tastee Freeze???? Next to the supposed movie theatre?

Popular posts from this blog

Thoughts and Ideas for 2024

 If you are truly pressed for time, just read the bold, italicized, and underlined sentences. That won't take you long at all! Another year has passed and if you are reading this, a new one is getting ready to start (or has started) for you. New Year’s celebrations are a time for reflection on what has happened and also a chance to start anew. New Year’s resolutions are a manifestation of this. Weight loss plans, gym proprietors, exercise equipment makers, and others know this. If you have watched any TV, gone online, or read any magazines or newspapers you know that the people that make their living selling and signing people up for those things are hitting it hard. We like new beginnings and the chance to reset and set new goals. Losing weight, stopping smoking, cut back or stopping drinking, and other things a lot of folks see as improvement are at the forefront of our collective thoughts and efforts this time of year. Although not a real advocate of New Year’s resolutions, I

Houston (and Miami, L.A., New York City, Winston-Salem, etc), we have a problem!

People, we have a real problem with our government. I can see a lot of you clicking away - "He's getting political again". BUT WAIT - READ ON. This not specifically a political problem, at least not a political problem specific to one party. We have a systemic and pervasive problem with our elected "representatives" in government. It affects the government at all levels. It is much more of a problem as you get farther away from the voters - ie Washington vs your town hall, but it is a problem everywhere.  It is to the point now that if you are a member of one party, anything a member of the other party comes up with of any significance is said to be wrong. I know this is a bit of an overstatement; but I submit, not much of one. There are still a few important issues that are worked on in a bipartisan manner, but not many and usually not by the "leadership" of the parties. As I said above, this is not a Republican problem nor a Democrat problem. Both

Take two and call the ambulance in the morning

Here we go. I have been working on this one for a long time. I want to start by letting any of you that do not know me (and reminding those that do) - I am NOT a doctor. I have no formal medical training at all. What is listed here is documented reality and my evaluations of those facts.   I have been doing a LOT of studying and reading about what I now believe to be one of the biggest medical hoaxes in human history - the demonization of cholesterol and fats. First, some background. The cholesterol as killer philosophy is relatively new. However, the entire premise is flawed. The thought that cholesterol is bad was taken from the fact that plaque buildup in artery walls contains high amounts of cholesterol. The problem is, cholesterol is there because that is one of it's jobs. Finding cholesterol in arteries (BTW, finding plaque buildups in veins does not happen, more in a bit) and saying it causes the blockages and disease is like noting that every time you see a car wreck