Quote of the Day: "People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost." -- H. Jackson Browne
I usually try to pick a quote that has to do with the day's ramblings, but today is going to be a mishmash so I just chose this quote because it is something I think we should all remember. It's that celebrating the differences thing again. Think how boring the world would be if we were all alike.
If you've been here before, you'll notice the new look. I've said before this is a work in progress. I didn't really like the green. It's not high on my list of favorite colors. Purple is my favorite, but it doesn't go with the whole treetop theme. I don't suppose the blue does either, but I like blue better than green.
And for anyone who's interested the layout uses CSS rather than tables. It's one of the things I love about making webs, the learning process never stops.
Kurmudgeon's Korner - Though I'm off today, it is a Monday and I haven't done one of these in awhile.
I hate trucks. All kinds of trucks actually, but mostly I hate tractor trailer trucks. I guess it is because they are so big, the drivers (not all, but waaay too many) seem to think they own the road and parking lots too. Yes, I know, it's a tough job and someone has to do it. I also know that most truckers work very hard. But that still doesn't excuse them driving like cars don't exist.
It doesn't excuse changing lanes suddenly without signaling. And yes I know cars do it too, but one car is not as likely to wipe out as many other cars as a tractor trailer could.
It doesn't excuse tailgating when you know you need more room to stop. If I'm doing the speed limit (and I'm usually going faster than that, unless the car in front of me is going slower), back off. Riding in my trunk isn't going to make me - or the car in front of me go any faster. (and that goes for car drivers who do the same thing)
Truckers are not careful enough when they back up. They figure that any car behind them should just get out of the way even if that car has nowhere else to go. Yo, truckers - open your window, and turn down the radio when you back up, so you can hear a horn if someone honks at you.
I once was following a truck on a local street - and yes I left plenty of room (at least 2 car lengths) between me and him. And I could see his mirrors. Whether he used them or not is another issue.
He discovered that he had missed his turn, and he just started backing up without so much as a by-your-leave. I couldn't back up any further because there were at least 4 cars right behind me. I leaned on my horn - a very loud air horn - but he just kept coming. He hit my car (and it's a good thing I was driving a Jeep or I'd have been under him) and continued backing up, pushing me toward the cars behind me, who were also scrambling to back up.
He finally cleared the intersection, and began to pull around the corner. Not thinking rationally, I got out of my car and chased after him. I ran alongside the truck shouting and waving my arms. He ignored me, or didn't see nor hear me. Finally I got his attention by whacking at the door with my keys (I carry a lot of keys on a long leather strap). When he stopped, then got out of the truck finally. He said, "What the hell is the matter with you?" I told him that he'd hit me and pushed in the front end of my car. He said, "I didn't feel anything. I couldn't have hit you."
Well, luckily I had a witness. Several in fact - all the cars behind me. I mean - how do you prove that someone backed into you?
But you see that's the problem. How could he not know he had hit something and pushed that something backwards for 10 feet - with that something's brake peddle pushed to the floor?
We need some way to separate cars and trucks. They don't belong on the same roads.
The local roads are the worst. Most of the time, trucks can't make the corners. They often end up knocking down light poles or riding up on sidewalks. Pedestrians don't have a chance.
Where I work, we have trucks coming into the parking lot all the time. They come barreling around a very steep, very tight curve without any consideration that there might be something in the way ... like another car or truck coming from the other direction. They stop, start, back up or turn without letting cars - or other trucks - know what their intentions are. And they don't even bother to look half the time to even see if there is anything in their way. They just assume because they are bigger everything else should get out of the way. It's that I'm bigger than you are, bullying type attitude that really fries my bacon. Like I said, we need to separate cars and trucks somehow. And don't even get me started on buses!
The discussion of what should or should not be in a blog continues. Shelley Powers aka BurningBird asks, "...how much is too much? How much can a person share in their weblog before some line is crossed between a healthy catharsis and sharing of emotions and experiences, and a complete and uncontrolled dump of self. What's your opinion? I really want to know. "
I was going to use Shelley's comments function to answer the question, but my answer would probably be too long. I hate monopolizing, though I often do it. <g> Besides those little boxes in the comments forms always make me feel claustrophobic.
This whole line business - whether it be drawing them or crossing them - fascinates me. I just don't know the answer - can't find the answer no matter how hard I look for it. It's an eternal question in my world - where do you draw the line. When can you cross a line drawn?
Mostly I've come up with - that depends on the circumstances. I don't think you can make rules that cover all situations. I see rules as a guideline or a measuring stick - never as an absolute. Circumstances can change a rule or make it null.
A few years ago, I worked for a company that was considering using an "honesty test" to screen job applicants. They gave a copy of it to those of us who were managers to get our opinions. I looked through the multiple choice questions and found a big problem - at least from my point of view (from the treetop, of course!). My answer to every question was, "depends on the circumstances," but that wasn't one of the choices.
We had a meeting on the test, and much discussion ensued. The representatives of the company that would be administering the test told us that any score over 85 would indicate that the testee was fairly honest. I asked, "what happens if someone scores 100?"
The rep assured me, that although it was unlikely that someone would score that high, if they did, the testee would be a very desirable candidate, indeed.
I said, "I don't think so. I wouldn't hire someone who got a perfect score, because that would mean that not only were they smart enough to figure out how the test worked, they were most likely dishonest as well." I also added that someone that smart and that dishonest could probably figure out a way to steal the company blind and not get caught.
I stumped them. No one had asked that question before and they hadn't even considered the possibility. They quickly changed the subject without addressing my concerns.
Using that test to screen candidates in my opinion, required drawing lines that couldn't be drawn so simply. Drawing lines is a most complex of processes. Where do my rights end, and yours begin? I don't think there is an answer to that question without examining the individual circumstances. The rich man who manipulates a stock so that he makes money while others lose, and the poor man who steals a loaf of bread to feed his children are both thieves in the eye of the law. But who is more culpable? Who can more easily be forgiven?
The value of a weblog's content lies, like beauty or art - in the eye of the beholder. It's very subjective. Who is qualified to judge such value? Not I, that's for sure.
I'm a maverick. I'm not a square peg in a round peg world, I'm more of an octogon shaped peg in a world of round and square pegs. I learned awhile back that I don't generally think the way most people do. I find my logic perfectly clear and well ... logical, but I get a lot of funny looks.
When I was young that bothered me. I wanted to fit in and I sacrificed a lot of myself in the process. Now that I'm old enough to "wear purple" (note: to self - put the poem somewhere others can read it, easily), I don't worry as much about what other people think of me. They will either like me, or not. Such is life. The most important lesson I've learned is that if I change myself so that others will like me, I am no longer me, so who they like is someone other than me - if that makes any sense. So what you see is what you get. This is me - take it or move along. I'm through with compromising who I am.
I'm still not absolutely sure of who I am. I'm still on a journey of discovery, but that too is who I am. Discovery of new things and exploration is what keeps me going.
I'm also a Gemini, so you can't possibly expect me to be consistent - unless it's consistently changing.
I'm not guaranteeing anything here with my blog - except that it will change. Like all good mavericks, I'm not following the herd, but sometimes I'll run with the herd as long as it suits me. Often I've found the herd or part of it following me. I'm not leading, nor am I following - we're just headed in the same direction for a time.
So I can't really answer Shelley's question for anyone other than me. I do what I feel is right for me, and if I make a connection with someone else - fantastic! I love it! If I don't, oh well, better luck next time for both of us. It's never time wasted because it's an experience, and how else can we learn except by trying, by taking a chance.
Wayne Gretsky said, "You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take." (speaking of ice hockey - way to go Team USA - we are now beating Belarus 4-1! Big time ice hockey fan here.)
So I'm here, taking a chance. Sticking my neck out, reaching for the best fruit at the end of the branch.
If you're up here in the tree with me, welcome! Pull up a branch and set a-spell. If what you see here is not to your liking, I wish you well on your journey and hope you find a better fit some place.
Oh - one last thing before I go ... there was some discussion in BB's comments about whether a blog has comments or not. I'm not about to make a judgement about whether someone else should or should not have comments. I figure that's their perogative.
I would have comments, if I could figure out how to do it. I'm working on it - it's a learning thing <g>. But until I figure it out, anyone who feels like making a comment on any content here, can always e-mail me - topkat@cyber-kat.com. If you give me permission, I may even post them as well.
Posted by Cyberkat at February 18, 2002 2:45 PM | TrackBack