Prattlings – Page 5 – Random Thoughts

The Future of Motor Vehicles and Travel

This, supposedly humorous, picture has been making the rounds on Facebook. I imagine we’ve all spaced out behind the wheel of our motor vehicles once or twice. What is frightening is that this post has collected dozens of comments from people who say they’ve done it. Many say it’s happened several times. Some say it happens to them frequently. That is worrisome, and the biggest reason I can think of to push for the development of self-driving cars.

My Twin-Brother-By-Another-Mother and I have discussed this a few times, and the following is a melding of our ideas.

Self driving motor vehicles will be a novelty that catches on slowly. People described above will be the primary customers: people who, for whatever reason, cannot manage to pay attention to their driving will see self driving cars as a great convenience. As the vehicles on the road become primarily self-driving, society will be ready for the next step. Continue reading “The Future of Motor Vehicles and Travel”

Adventures in Dentistry

Another article from my moldy-oldies file, but when originally published folks did find it entertaining, so I’ll pop in in here.

Yesterday I renewed a relationship that has for many (many) years been neglected. No, not neglected: avoided; stringently and purposefully avoided. I made a trip to a dentist.

You see when I was a wee lad, long (long) ago, my parents would take me to the dentist every year for a check-up. And it seems he would always find a cavity or two to drill out and fill. Early on they used Novocain and I don’t remember it as being particularly torturous – not fun by any means, but not like being stripped naked, covered with honey and tossed into a fire ant hill. Continue reading “Adventures in Dentistry”

For a Peek Inside

This tale was written years ago, filed, lost, found, lost again, recovered again, and now posted here. For friends and relatives who often jump to conclusions, this is ancient history:
I am not sick.

medical emergency, doctor, hospital, testing, cost The small pick-up truck hurled along the winding, bumpy mountain highway, the tighter turns and bumpiest spots elicited increased groaning from him. The driver looked away from the road just long enough to glance at him and ask, “Are you alright?”

He was curled up in the passenger seat clutching his belly. He reached over and gently patted her arm, “Just ignore the screaming and wailing from this side and get us there as quickly – and safely – as you can.”

Eyes back on the road she steered through another curve and retorted, “If it gets too bad, I’ll just turn up the radio to drown you out.”

“Good girl.” Continue reading “For a Peek Inside”

Reasons to Skip Thanksgiving

I heard an interesting program on the radio yesterday. It started by citing a poll which asked people, “If you were offered a thousand dollars to forgo the traditional Thanksgiving celebration, would you do it?” The majority of those asked stated they would pass on the money because their traditional celebration with family is too important to them.

That’s a good answer: family should be more important than money. But in many cases Thanksgiving seems to have gone the way of most “traditional” holidays: especially this year.

With social and political issues causing deep rifts in families and social groups, can your gathering be kept civil and respectful of one another? Can you be thankful for their presence in your life and at your table?

Every year I hear more people moaning about the amount of work and expense they had to put into preparing The Feast and cleaning up after. If these are things you dread as it approaches and complain about afterward, can you be truly thankful for any of it?

Has this holiday lost its meaning? Do you spend more than 23 seconds just before you eat being thankful for anything, or is it all about a long weekend, gluttony, football, and a big party?

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving, make it about being thankful. If you cannot be thankful for what you have, where you are in life, and for your family and friends; you might as well skip the whole thing, or tell the gang, “We’re going out for dinner – and it’s Dutch treat.”

Smoke Makes for a Rude Awakening

4:30 AM: we are awakened by the shrill, asynchronous, electronic screams of our smoke alarms calling for us to “Get out! Get out! Get out!”

I hop out of bed, wind my way through the herd of large dogs dashing about in confusion over the painful assault on their ears. I check the house. It’s a small house: it does not take long to find that there is no fire, no smoldering appliance, indeed, no visible smoke. I grab a magazine off the kitchen island and wave it at the alarm nearest the kitchen. It’s all I can think of to do at the moment: fanning the hallway alarm silences them when I’ve been making toast. I’m not good at toast.

Amazingly (or perhaps coincidentally) that works: the alarms fall silent.

Blondie and Tinker stride to the door, “We’re outta here, that’s just RUDE.” I don’t blame them and wonder what set the alarms off. Continue reading “Smoke Makes for a Rude Awakening”

Smoke on the Mountain

The sunlight slanting in through the window is casting the red beams of a gorgeous sunset on the floor — except it’s 1:00 in the afternoon.

The sun is a deep orange ball high in the sky that appears only slightly brighter than a full moon. The online weather station says our skies are clear and sunny, no cloud cover. What we see up there is all smoke. Continue reading “Smoke on the Mountain”

Movie Review: Alien Fury, Countdown To Invasion

I find it interesting how many of the conspiracy channels are running video “expose’s” insisting top government officials have leaked classified information to them that aliens will invade Earth in late 2016 or early 2017. I guess they’re hoping their followers didn’t see Anonymous and WikiLeaks pieces on the Beneson Strategy Group advice to the Clinton Foundation on the (potential) plan to use Project FireSign (a.k.a. Blue Beam) to institute martial law because of an apparent alien incursion.

Speaking of lies, deception, and twisting everything: I watched a movie the other day called Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion.

This is the story of a government agency (S.T.R.A.W.) that discovers spacecraft massing on the Moon and tries to warn the military about an impending invasion. Of course the military thinks they’re wacky – until a spy satellite sent to take their own photos is shot down, after they glimpse alien ships, then they prepare to nuke the alien base … and things start to get really weird. Continue reading “Movie Review: Alien Fury, Countdown To Invasion”

The Visitor

I am not fond of snakes. Snakes are, at best, creepy and, at worst, deadly. So I avoid them. This, however, has not always been my opinion.

As a youngster I found grass snakes and garter snakes fascinating and often made (temporary) pets of them. Much to my mother’s chagrin.

In one elementary school science class it was a special privilege afforded only to the top students to “wear” the class boa constrictor for a portion of each class period. I kept my grades up more for this badge of honor than for academics sake.

Snakes were fascinating. Continue reading “The Visitor”

This Was My Locky Day

Today I took Mom to a doctor’s appointment in the Big City. This building has 2 handicapped parking spaces just outside the main door to the parking lot – which is nice. But they are not sized like handicapped spots: they’re just regular parking places with the blue and white wheelchair emblem painted on. The one next to the curb was occupied, the other one was available. I nosed in but stopped where I could get Mom’s door open and her wheelchair in place to get her out, then I’d pull in, shut it off, and lock it up.

As she was lifting herself from car to wheelchair the window slid down (power windows) and she mentioned it in case I’m blind or something (hey, it happens). I raised the window and closed the door.

I rolled her up onto the patio outside the entryway and went to pull the car the rest of the way into the parking slot — but I found the doors locked. And the keys are inside. And the engine is running. And I’m sort of blocking the driveway. Oh Bother!

Continue reading “This Was My Locky Day”

Trails of Travel

How many people, I wonder, have passed through the skies above us this morning? Where were they headed, what were their stories? How little thought we give to the tens of thousands of people who hurtle through the atmosphere every day … until something unfortunate happens. Then, for a moment, we think of the travelers, fear air travel, decry the industry.

For a moment.

Then the moment passes and we go back to being comfortably oblivious.Save

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