I appreciate technology. For instance, this blog lets me stay in touch with some of my favorite people, and I get to talk with, see frequent movies and photos of my grandsons who live far away. But if I was actually with YOU why in the world would I need to be checking a phone, computer… ??
I agree. Technology is not the problem – it is the way technology is used can be the problem.
But – like everything else in life – there are two sides to every coin.
My husband (God love em’) is a gadget guy and he just loves a new gadget toy with new buttons to push.
My husband tends to go overboard when he is texting our adult, married kids.
My son’s pet peeve is this: he loves his Dad and wants to hear from him. But after the 3rd or 4th text – just pick up the damn phone and talk to the person.
I text whenever I know the kids cannot pick up their phone to talk – such as when they are working, traveling on the road, etc.
This way – my text is there to let them know to call me when they can – and I am not having to bother them while they are busy at work or driving on the road. I don’t like to be around drivers who are constantly on their cell phones – texting or talking – it does not make any difference to me because I think drivers are too distracted either way.
Technology is good when used appropriately – but isn’t it rather a shame when the person next to you in the room is texting you?
I suspect our society is addicted to instanteous gratification.
Some folks get some sense of power and control when they push their phone buttons and they are instantly rewarded with what pops up on their screen.
But not only social interaction is affected by technology……there have been articles written about the way people cannot spell or use correct grammar.
Is it because everyday use of our grammar and spelling does not matter because we tend to abbreviate words – sometimes even down to one letter such as the word ‘you’ is U in our text messages.
I do not Twitter – but isn’t that a limited field of characters to fit into one message?
We have developed an entirely new language just from the everyday use of our technology.
A few months ago hubby and I were waiting in a packed restaurant. There were two girls around 13ish nearby and they were texting one another. One of the adults with them commented on how they were standing within a foot of one another… One of the girls told her yes, they were also that close to a bunch of other people they didn’t want to hear their conversation. It was the only time I can remember having some understanding of texting someone in the same room. đŸ™‚
My youngest is 33 yrs old and he thinks his generation was the one that went off the rails – and he blames Ronald Reagan….
But…..we are not a family that worships Reagan….so St. Ronnie gets alot of the blame around our house – LOL
But, I do think Reagan ushered in a sense of consumerism at all cost. For being such a morally superior person – Reagan encouraged these corporations to do whatever they wanted – and with taxpayer dollars to pay their way – to make as much money as possible – and with no rules or regard for the consequences.
I think my kids’ generation grew up without the expectation that things will get better for the average working person.
Many living wage jobs disappeared and these were the kids that were brainwashed into thinking they had to bow down to the corporate masters for even a crumb off their tables.
And to be GRATEFUL for that crumb – by God.
That mindset is still quite evident in the Republican Party today – isn’t it?
Although Reagan belonged to a union and even used collective bargaining to get health care benefits for his fellow actors while he was the president of the Union.
Reagan must have been following that old Puritan mantra –
All for Me and None for Thee…
But….when you read this linked article – the Tennessee elected officials threatened to withhold tax breaks if the workers voted for the union?
Can you imagine the outrage from the Republicans if Democrats had threatened to withhold tax breaks from their certain ‘right’ corporations?
All Holy Hell would break loose…
Again – it must be that damn Puritan mantra –
It’s okay if I do it – but don’t you DARE try it..
Also note – the German corporation was fine with a union coming in.
In fact, the German management are even proposing forming a Workers Council in order for management and workers to come together for the good of the company.
I wonder….will these small government and no government interference Republicans also threaten to withhold those tax breaks if the German owners actually form that Workers Council?
After all – that is giving workers a voice at the table….and Republicans just HATE it when working folks have a voice in anything…..
If you’re a young black man in Florida how threatened must you feel? Michael Dunn has been found guilty of attempted second degree murder for shooting at other teens in the car and one count of firing a gun into a car but the jury just couldn’t decide on the charge for the ACTUAL MURDER of Jordan Davis. The judge was forced to declare a mistrial on the murder charge … the jury can figure out that Dunn shot a gun into a car. They can figure out that Dunn was guilty of attempted second degree murder for shooting at other teens in the car. But for some damn reason they just cannot decide that Michael Dunn is GUILTY of actually killing an unarmed kid because he did not like their loud music. They could not reach agreement on the guilt of a man who shot round after round into a vehicle because he was “in fear for his life” then calmly drove off, ordered a pizza and spent the evening with his girlfriend. They just couldn’t come to a decision.
———————————————-
TALLAHASSEE – Florida Gov. RIck Scott said tonight that the time had come for Floridians to do “some serious soul-searching about the problem of loud music that is plaguing our cities and suburbs.” He said that he would urge legislators to consider “strict volume-control measures” that would prohibit car stereos from being played at a setting of 5 or louder. “It’s time to stop the madness,” he said.
Query, fnord: Would you feel the same if one or more jurors (up to and including 11 of them) felt the prosecution had not proved one or more of the essential elements of the crime of first degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt? That, btw, is the cause of a mistrial more often than not; the prosecution’s failure to prove a required element of the offense. Now, I don’t know if this is what occurred, or even what the elements of first degree murder are in Florida (I would think the elements would include the specific intent to unlawfully kill the specific individual named), but I raise this for thought.
I couldn’t go against the instructions so the answer would be: IF I MYSELF, not a number of other jurors, felt the evidence hadn’t been presented I would be unable to use any info outside the evidence to come to a decision. It was my understanding the jury was allowed to find lessor than First Degree, all the way down to Manslaughter.
It is difficult to understand (from the outside looking in) how he could be guilty of firing into an occupied vehicle and guilty of three counts of attempted murder from the same actions but no crime of any severity was committed when it came to the one dead person in the same car.
I’ll just add one more opinion — our criminal justice system doesn’t seem deserving of the word “justice” as I understand it. And, fairness, is further from what I see happening in that system. It sucks BIG TIME and is like everything else — all about the money.
But…..the prosecution had a very high bar to meet for conviction – didn’t they?
Reasonable doubt – even if only one juror had it – is enough reason for the mistrial.
Ami I correct in this assumption?
It only takes one person to say…..they were not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt.
But…it does rather odd that attempted murder was proven for those the shooter missed and no agreement on guilt or innocence of the murder charge for the one that had the misfortune to die that day?
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
That day has already arrived….IMO
And what has driven the idiocy even further is the fact there is one political party that fully worships the dumb and dumber…….
Rick Santorum said it best when he said the Republican Party will never get the smart people to join them
On second thought – I used the wrong word when I said – worships
More appropriately – the Republicans NEED the dumb and dumber
I appreciate technology. For instance, this blog lets me stay in touch with some of my favorite people, and I get to talk with, see frequent movies and photos of my grandsons who live far away. But if I was actually with YOU why in the world would I need to be checking a phone, computer… ??
I agree. Technology is not the problem – it is the way technology is used can be the problem.
But – like everything else in life – there are two sides to every coin.
My husband (God love em’) is a gadget guy and he just loves a new gadget toy with new buttons to push.
My husband tends to go overboard when he is texting our adult, married kids.
My son’s pet peeve is this: he loves his Dad and wants to hear from him. But after the 3rd or 4th text – just pick up the damn phone and talk to the person.
I text whenever I know the kids cannot pick up their phone to talk – such as when they are working, traveling on the road, etc.
This way – my text is there to let them know to call me when they can – and I am not having to bother them while they are busy at work or driving on the road. I don’t like to be around drivers who are constantly on their cell phones – texting or talking – it does not make any difference to me because I think drivers are too distracted either way.
Technology is good when used appropriately – but isn’t it rather a shame when the person next to you in the room is texting you?
I suspect our society is addicted to instanteous gratification.
Some folks get some sense of power and control when they push their phone buttons and they are instantly rewarded with what pops up on their screen.
But not only social interaction is affected by technology……there have been articles written about the way people cannot spell or use correct grammar.
Is it because everyday use of our grammar and spelling does not matter because we tend to abbreviate words – sometimes even down to one letter such as the word ‘you’ is U in our text messages.
I do not Twitter – but isn’t that a limited field of characters to fit into one message?
We have developed an entirely new language just from the everyday use of our technology.
A few months ago hubby and I were waiting in a packed restaurant. There were two girls around 13ish nearby and they were texting one another. One of the adults with them commented on how they were standing within a foot of one another… One of the girls told her yes, they were also that close to a bunch of other people they didn’t want to hear their conversation. It was the only time I can remember having some understanding of texting someone in the same room. đŸ™‚
I never thought of it that way…fnord.
Thanks for sharing.
This old dog learned something new today…
Yes, I agree that it seems “that day” has arrived. And can someone tell me, “when did it happen”?
I’m not sure Bob.
My youngest is 33 yrs old and he thinks his generation was the one that went off the rails – and he blames Ronald Reagan….
But…..we are not a family that worships Reagan….so St. Ronnie gets alot of the blame around our house – LOL
But, I do think Reagan ushered in a sense of consumerism at all cost. For being such a morally superior person – Reagan encouraged these corporations to do whatever they wanted – and with taxpayer dollars to pay their way – to make as much money as possible – and with no rules or regard for the consequences.
I think my kids’ generation grew up without the expectation that things will get better for the average working person.
Many living wage jobs disappeared and these were the kids that were brainwashed into thinking they had to bow down to the corporate masters for even a crumb off their tables.
And to be GRATEFUL for that crumb – by God.
That mindset is still quite evident in the Republican Party today – isn’t it?
http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/12/news/companies/vw-uaw-vote/index.html
——-
Here was something else Reagan is responsible for – busting up the unions
Although Reagan belonged to a union and even used collective bargaining to get health care benefits for his fellow actors while he was the president of the Union.
Reagan must have been following that old Puritan mantra –
All for Me and None for Thee…
But….when you read this linked article – the Tennessee elected officials threatened to withhold tax breaks if the workers voted for the union?
Can you imagine the outrage from the Republicans if Democrats had threatened to withhold tax breaks from their certain ‘right’ corporations?
All Holy Hell would break loose…
Again – it must be that damn Puritan mantra –
It’s okay if I do it – but don’t you DARE try it..
Also note – the German corporation was fine with a union coming in.
In fact, the German management are even proposing forming a Workers Council in order for management and workers to come together for the good of the company.
I wonder….will these small government and no government interference Republicans also threaten to withhold those tax breaks if the German owners actually form that Workers Council?
After all – that is giving workers a voice at the table….and Republicans just HATE it when working folks have a voice in anything…..
Giggles and grins!
If you’re a young black man in Florida how threatened must you feel? Michael Dunn has been found guilty of attempted second degree murder for shooting at other teens in the car and one count of firing a gun into a car but the jury just couldn’t decide on the charge for the ACTUAL MURDER of Jordan Davis. The judge was forced to declare a mistrial on the murder charge … the jury can figure out that Dunn shot a gun into a car. They can figure out that Dunn was guilty of attempted second degree murder for shooting at other teens in the car. But for some damn reason they just cannot decide that Michael Dunn is GUILTY of actually killing an unarmed kid because he did not like their loud music. They could not reach agreement on the guilt of a man who shot round after round into a vehicle because he was “in fear for his life” then calmly drove off, ordered a pizza and spent the evening with his girlfriend. They just couldn’t come to a decision.
———————————————-
TALLAHASSEE – Florida Gov. RIck Scott said tonight that the time had come for Floridians to do “some serious soul-searching about the problem of loud music that is plaguing our cities and suburbs.” He said that he would urge legislators to consider “strict volume-control measures” that would prohibit car stereos from being played at a setting of 5 or louder. “It’s time to stop the madness,” he said.
Andy Borowitz
Query, fnord: Would you feel the same if one or more jurors (up to and including 11 of them) felt the prosecution had not proved one or more of the essential elements of the crime of first degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt? That, btw, is the cause of a mistrial more often than not; the prosecution’s failure to prove a required element of the offense. Now, I don’t know if this is what occurred, or even what the elements of first degree murder are in Florida (I would think the elements would include the specific intent to unlawfully kill the specific individual named), but I raise this for thought.
I couldn’t go against the instructions so the answer would be: IF I MYSELF, not a number of other jurors, felt the evidence hadn’t been presented I would be unable to use any info outside the evidence to come to a decision. It was my understanding the jury was allowed to find lessor than First Degree, all the way down to Manslaughter.
It is difficult to understand (from the outside looking in) how he could be guilty of firing into an occupied vehicle and guilty of three counts of attempted murder from the same actions but no crime of any severity was committed when it came to the one dead person in the same car.
It seems I’m not the only person who wonders.
I’ll just add one more opinion — our criminal justice system doesn’t seem deserving of the word “justice” as I understand it. And, fairness, is further from what I see happening in that system. It sucks BIG TIME and is like everything else — all about the money.
But…..the prosecution had a very high bar to meet for conviction – didn’t they?
Reasonable doubt – even if only one juror had it – is enough reason for the mistrial.
Ami I correct in this assumption?
It only takes one person to say…..they were not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt.
But…it does rather odd that attempted murder was proven for those the shooter missed and no agreement on guilt or innocence of the murder charge for the one that had the misfortune to die that day?
You are correct. And, not odd at all, indy.