Business Idea
Get a bunch of people to call out directions when you need them. Build a personal relationship based on technology. So like onstar but you get a person and that person has your history and can suggest things, etc.
Oh My
Our weekends are spent running our kids to various events and our weeks are littered with running them to lessons. Daily we harp on practices. I don’t recall this being my parents biorhythm and, determining that we are molly coddling the kids, I spoke to my father to determine if this was revisionist history. He confirmed my belief that he did not run me from event to event – I basically had that task. But then again, when I think of pulling back the cloying safety net, I think of their situation versus my own. In my own, I had very limited entertainments (and my dad had less when he was young). We could watch two or three tv shows in the afternoon on our five channels (only on Saturday did we get a good chunk of time dedicated to cartoons), whereas my kids have access to constant, mindless entertainment. They have every book, every video, 25 hour a day programming directed towards them. They can text each other, do skype. Its so easy and appealing for them to cocoon. There is no motivation for them to meet a friend at the ball court (in the Texas Summer) or sign up for soccer. So we as parents in this day and age, seeing that are kids are growing pasty and fat, hiding in their entertainment closets, we force them to do as we did – play soccer, run track, gymnastics. But there is a sure bit of artifice. When we as kids went out and joined teams to do sports, we did so as they were available - and note, our parents didn’t have organized sports.
Our Leaders
I read how Governor Perry is the next new leader of our great Union. Before anointing him such, theses Kingmakers should examine the weak position our governor in Texas is from a purely civics perspective before turning over the reigns of the big sleigh. He’s been driving a go-kart here and that’s partially why we are in good shape. To claim he is responsible for the growth here – lets see, right to work state, no income tax, low corporate tax, small initial housing bubble – is a misjudgment at the very least. The structure of Texas itself is the embodiment of a weak government which is one of the steps to a stronger Union. Give the boy the new title, that does come with an exasperating amount of power, and he will likely drive slowly into a ditch, unable to control the thing, like a fifteen year old driving a tractor for the first time in the rain…
Good Advice
It appears that the E.coli outbreak in Europe was caused by eating raw vegetable sprouts. An article on the topic notes that its not that surprising because the growing environment for sprouts is favorable to growing bacteria. The article goes on to point out how consumers can protect themselves, citing some suggestions from Foodsafety.gov:
1) “Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and persons with weakened immune systems should avoid eating raw sprouts of any kind (including alfalfa, clover, radish, and mung bean sprouts).”
(so ok, helpful hint 1 is for these groups, don’t eat raw sprouts…)
2) “Cook sprouts thoroughly to reduce the risk of illness. Cooking kills the harmful bacteria.”
(so helpful hint 2 is to cook them, so don’t eat raw sprouts…)
3) ”Request that raw sprouts not be added to your food. If you purchase a sandwich or salad at a restaurant or delicatessen, check to make sure that raw sprouts have not been added.”
(so helpful hint 3 is to not put them on things, so don’t eat raw sprouts…)
Man, such helpful hints! Thank goodness for foodsafety.gov.
A Meaningful Life
I heard about a woman, Kelly James, whose husband died a few years back while climbing Mount Hood, and her recent work bringing water to African children. Or at least that is what I think I caught while I played ‘Angry Birds.’
