Another shooting; this one in California. Last I read, at least five dead including the gunman. At least ten injured. The weapon of choice, or at least one of the weapons? Semi-automatic rifle. A spraying of bullets hitting whatever they came in contact with, including an elementary school.
When is enough enough to outlaw these combat tools? If we outlaw them, is there anyway to confiscate what's out there? What about responsible gun owners who have already legally purchased these weapons of broad destruction? Should there be an exception made for those individuals? If so, shouldn't there be something like a yearly license renewal with some sort of ongoing vetting? I imagine those type questions have been tossed around in the gun debate.(I read later, on 11/16, that the California gunman built his own weapons of rapid destruction. Still doesn't change my mind that they should be banned.)
Early this morning, around 6:30 AM, I checked Trump's tweets. And I read this: "“May God be with the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas. The FBI and Law Enforcement has arrived.” He tweeted it at 11:34 PM on November 14.
My response was big eyes, a mouth drop, and "oh my god." Followed by, "Why has no one in the White House caught this and had him apologize and correct his mistake?"
I could hear Trump's defenders in my head, "Well, he's tired. He's been on the long tour in Asia and just got back. And he's 70 years old. It was just a simple error."
That's all fine and dandy. But, he never apologized and corrected his error, or at least hasn't as of when I'm writing this blog piece. The tweet was deleted sometime after 6:30ish AM. (I later learned it was deleted around 8:30 AM, nine hours after it was posted.) He has, as of this writing, not tweeted about the California shooting. Crickets.
The other Trump-defender response I hear in my head is the standard or a rendition of, "What about Hillary?" An asinine response, in my opinion. She's a different subject. Trump is responsible for Trump. Hillary is responsible for Hillary. And she ain't the president. She's currently not serving in any political office. That doesn't excuse any wrong doings of her past. If those need to be investigated (some of them, again), so be it. And let the chips land where they will. But that what-about-Hillary type response is a deflection.
Trump has also tweeted about his wonderful trip to Asia (multiple times), the fake news, polls that show his approval rating is going up, and he tweeted this at 10:11 this morning: "Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!" He's referring to this: 3 UCLA basketball players, accused of shoplifting, back home from China
WTF? But it's typical Trump, displaying his full blown ultra-narcissistic, feed me-feed me, disordered mentality.
Would most decent people do that? They do a good deed and then manipulate to get a thank you?
Trump is all about Trump, even when he lends a helping hand.
I have tried to see good in the man. The only thing I have come up with is that he appears to take care of his family.
November 15, 2017
November 14, 2017
Gadget Neanderthals
"Bored."
It's not a word I use regularly.
It was seldom used when I grew up.
It was seldom heard with my children as they grew up.
I did a lot of things wrong in raising my children. How does one measure "a lot?" Maybe it wasn't "a lot." Maybe a better quantity would be "enough" or "plenty." Plenty enough for them to know I am human and make mistakes. Plenty enough for them to learn about family dynamics and the genetics that are in their packages. Plenty enough to learn what not to do and what to do, if they ever decide to rear children.
I've never been a technology buff. Through the 90s and early aughts, I often said, "I'll never have a cell phone." I didn't like the idea of accessible constant contact.
Of course I ate those words. I bought my first cell phone, a flip phone, in 2005. And that only because I was giving a go with a network marketing business, and I needed a cell phone in order to be successful. My children and husband got their first flip cell phones either at that time, or within a year.
I didn't buy a smartphone until 2011. Again, because of work - a pet sitting/dog walking business. I needed to be able to text easily, quickly look up directions between stops, and access email on the go. My children probably got their first smartphones within a year. My daughter would have been 23 and my son 21. My daughter, son, and I upgraded our smart phones twice since our original purchases. Hubby got his first smart phone this past summer, 2017; he upgraded from a flip phone.
We sound like Neanderthals!
When our children were growing up, we had one computer in the home. We all shared that computer. I got my first laptop in 2008. My daughter got her first one around 2008 maybe. My son, I don't know; he may have waited until 2010. Hubby didn't get one until around 2015.
Hubby, Son, and I still have those same laptops. We haven't bought new ones. My daughter may have bought one new one since her original used laptop purchase around 2008ish.
Hubby, Son, nor I own tablets or iPads (are those the same thing?). I'm not sure about my daughter.
When the kids were growing up and we would go on car trips - whether errand running or to the mountains or somewhere farther - as a general rule, I didn't allow them, or their friends, to wear head phones hooked into one of those portable CD or cassette players.
Why would I have that as a rule? Because I had a real problem with the children being cut off from their present surroundings and the "boredom" of the drive.
We would listen, together over the vehicle speakers, to music or stories/books on tape. We'd sometimes sing songs. We would play license plate games or make-up stories (in a round) based on road signs, surroundings, and cities and towns we were passing. We would talk, or just sit quietly watching the scene speed by, daydreaming. And, of course there were arguments, and sometimes my son would pick on my daughter.
But we were present with each other in the moment.
One of my concerns with constant, virtual contact that technology provides, especially when it comes to child development, is the absence of presence. And the absence of "boredom" and daydreaming and imagining. Just a click away with access 24/7, one can escape into a 2-D screen with little to no awareness of their 3-D environment. I have other concerns too.
I asked my self this morning, "If you had young children now, at what point would you buy them a smart phone?" I'm not sure. But I think I'd have them wait until they were at least 12. They could have a flip phone though. I realize they'd probably need a laptop for school before they turned 12. But I'd hold off as long as I could for that too.
At least, that's what I think I'd do. But, I can't say for sure.
And of course we'd have the tech talk, just like the sex talk. Multiple times.
Replacing our electronic devices brings to mind Gadget Mountain. More pollution, as we "upgrade."
~*~
I read about Gadget Mountain a few years ago. I googled it this morning, but couldn't locate the photo or articles from what I read back then. But two articles came up that look interesting. I've only perused them. I'll read them later.
1) From Associated Press, January, 2017: The astonishing 'gadget mountains' of Asia: UN warns of impending health and environmental disaster due to dumped technology
2) From The Atlantic, September, 2016: The Global Cost of Electronic Waste
~*~
It's not a word I use regularly.
It was seldom used when I grew up.
It was seldom heard with my children as they grew up.
I did a lot of things wrong in raising my children. How does one measure "a lot?" Maybe it wasn't "a lot." Maybe a better quantity would be "enough" or "plenty." Plenty enough for them to know I am human and make mistakes. Plenty enough for them to learn about family dynamics and the genetics that are in their packages. Plenty enough to learn what not to do and what to do, if they ever decide to rear children.
I've never been a technology buff. Through the 90s and early aughts, I often said, "I'll never have a cell phone." I didn't like the idea of accessible constant contact.
Of course I ate those words. I bought my first cell phone, a flip phone, in 2005. And that only because I was giving a go with a network marketing business, and I needed a cell phone in order to be successful. My children and husband got their first flip cell phones either at that time, or within a year.
I didn't buy a smartphone until 2011. Again, because of work - a pet sitting/dog walking business. I needed to be able to text easily, quickly look up directions between stops, and access email on the go. My children probably got their first smartphones within a year. My daughter would have been 23 and my son 21. My daughter, son, and I upgraded our smart phones twice since our original purchases. Hubby got his first smart phone this past summer, 2017; he upgraded from a flip phone.
We sound like Neanderthals!
When our children were growing up, we had one computer in the home. We all shared that computer. I got my first laptop in 2008. My daughter got her first one around 2008 maybe. My son, I don't know; he may have waited until 2010. Hubby didn't get one until around 2015.
Hubby, Son, and I still have those same laptops. We haven't bought new ones. My daughter may have bought one new one since her original used laptop purchase around 2008ish.
Hubby, Son, nor I own tablets or iPads (are those the same thing?). I'm not sure about my daughter.
When the kids were growing up and we would go on car trips - whether errand running or to the mountains or somewhere farther - as a general rule, I didn't allow them, or their friends, to wear head phones hooked into one of those portable CD or cassette players.
Why would I have that as a rule? Because I had a real problem with the children being cut off from their present surroundings and the "boredom" of the drive.
We would listen, together over the vehicle speakers, to music or stories/books on tape. We'd sometimes sing songs. We would play license plate games or make-up stories (in a round) based on road signs, surroundings, and cities and towns we were passing. We would talk, or just sit quietly watching the scene speed by, daydreaming. And, of course there were arguments, and sometimes my son would pick on my daughter.
But we were present with each other in the moment.
One of my concerns with constant, virtual contact that technology provides, especially when it comes to child development, is the absence of presence. And the absence of "boredom" and daydreaming and imagining. Just a click away with access 24/7, one can escape into a 2-D screen with little to no awareness of their 3-D environment. I have other concerns too.
I asked my self this morning, "If you had young children now, at what point would you buy them a smart phone?" I'm not sure. But I think I'd have them wait until they were at least 12. They could have a flip phone though. I realize they'd probably need a laptop for school before they turned 12. But I'd hold off as long as I could for that too.
At least, that's what I think I'd do. But, I can't say for sure.
And of course we'd have the tech talk, just like the sex talk. Multiple times.
Replacing our electronic devices brings to mind Gadget Mountain. More pollution, as we "upgrade."
~*~
I read about Gadget Mountain a few years ago. I googled it this morning, but couldn't locate the photo or articles from what I read back then. But two articles came up that look interesting. I've only perused them. I'll read them later.
1) From Associated Press, January, 2017: The astonishing 'gadget mountains' of Asia: UN warns of impending health and environmental disaster due to dumped technology
2) From The Atlantic, September, 2016: The Global Cost of Electronic Waste
~*~
November 13, 2017
Meandering...
Salem Creek Greenway is the approach to Salem Lake Trail. It is asphalt, wide enough for a pick up truck to drive. But the only motorized vehicles allowed are service vehicles. That's true for all Greenways, everywhere in the USA.
I am a Greenway lover. Tax dollars well spent for the health and wellness of the community. Nestled in nature in the middle of the city. A respite from a florescent, gadgeted life. An environmental buffer to help insects, plants, birds and critters flourish in the midst of urban America.
The first Greenway I ever experienced was when I lived in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1982-83. Seems it stretched for over 100 miles out into the county and back into the city. But that probably included some off trail connectors via regular roadways.
When our family lived in Charlotte in 1997, my escape was McAlpine Park located about a mile from our home. McApline was a few hundred acres big with enough Greenway and trails and space to get away from the city while in the city.
I didn't like living in Charlotte. I'd say it's the least favorite big city I've lived in. I've lived in three: Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Charlotte.
Charlotte felt stuffy, kind of conceited. But I did like my part-time job there. I worked at Discovery Place as an educational presenter in the rain forest and marine areas. I handled reptiles, hissing cock roaches, and sea critters.
I also hosted birthday parties. One of the main party features was Checkers, the corn snake, who would wrap himself around my arm and sometimes put his head in my pocket.
After we moved from Charlotte to Greensboro in 1998, I continued working at Discovery Place, but in a different position. The drive was almost two hours so I wasn't going to drive that far to work a few hours. Instead, I was offered a position as an on-site Camp-in director. In that position, I worked an 18-to-20-hour shift, which included sleep - as well as one can sleep on the floor of a museum with up to 400 other people. I'd drive in on Friday afternoon and work through Saturday late morning, and sometimes through Sunday late morning. So I could get up to 40-hours work over a weekend. It was worth the drive.
It was a fun job. Never a dull moment. We had a skeleton staff so stayed busy, and we were tight. Such a great crew it was. My daughter accompanied me on many occasions. She worked as a volunteer Sci-teen. We knew every nook and cranny of that museum. Well, except for the projector room in the IMAX.
Camp-ins were eliminated in 2001(?). I can't remember the exact date, and I don't know why the program got axed. I guess it was money.
Well, I hadn't planned to write about that. I was gonna write about Salem Creek Greenway and add some pics. Later, maybe.
I am a Greenway lover. Tax dollars well spent for the health and wellness of the community. Nestled in nature in the middle of the city. A respite from a florescent, gadgeted life. An environmental buffer to help insects, plants, birds and critters flourish in the midst of urban America.
The first Greenway I ever experienced was when I lived in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1982-83. Seems it stretched for over 100 miles out into the county and back into the city. But that probably included some off trail connectors via regular roadways.
When our family lived in Charlotte in 1997, my escape was McAlpine Park located about a mile from our home. McApline was a few hundred acres big with enough Greenway and trails and space to get away from the city while in the city.
I didn't like living in Charlotte. I'd say it's the least favorite big city I've lived in. I've lived in three: Milwaukee, Cleveland, and Charlotte.
Charlotte felt stuffy, kind of conceited. But I did like my part-time job there. I worked at Discovery Place as an educational presenter in the rain forest and marine areas. I handled reptiles, hissing cock roaches, and sea critters.
I also hosted birthday parties. One of the main party features was Checkers, the corn snake, who would wrap himself around my arm and sometimes put his head in my pocket.
After we moved from Charlotte to Greensboro in 1998, I continued working at Discovery Place, but in a different position. The drive was almost two hours so I wasn't going to drive that far to work a few hours. Instead, I was offered a position as an on-site Camp-in director. In that position, I worked an 18-to-20-hour shift, which included sleep - as well as one can sleep on the floor of a museum with up to 400 other people. I'd drive in on Friday afternoon and work through Saturday late morning, and sometimes through Sunday late morning. So I could get up to 40-hours work over a weekend. It was worth the drive.
It was a fun job. Never a dull moment. We had a skeleton staff so stayed busy, and we were tight. Such a great crew it was. My daughter accompanied me on many occasions. She worked as a volunteer Sci-teen. We knew every nook and cranny of that museum. Well, except for the projector room in the IMAX.
Camp-ins were eliminated in 2001(?). I can't remember the exact date, and I don't know why the program got axed. I guess it was money.
Well, I hadn't planned to write about that. I was gonna write about Salem Creek Greenway and add some pics. Later, maybe.