Think Outside the Clock

November 6, 2021

 

 

Many people say that they want Daylight Saving Time to last all year so that they can get more light in the evenings.

 

I say, “Think outside the clock.”

 

With changes in work habits, lots more people have flexible schedules. As far as I’m concerned, they are welcome to leave work an hour earlier, eat dinner an hour earlier, and do whatever else they do an hour earlier. Almost nobody is tied to a network TV schedule, so you don’t have to worry about missing your shows. And maybe someday, school activity times will catch up with the trend. (And I get to keep my morning light, when it would ordinarily be available.)

 

In the meantime, look at it like this: In order to counteract the early darkness, lots of cultures have some form of Festival of Lights, and also the bustle of holidays in the winter to help people get through the dark times. So, take advantage of the wisdom of the ancients (and thank them), and just enjoy the show.

 

After the solstice, the days start getting longer, so you’ll be back up to par in no time (unless you live really far north).

 

And remember: Use those newly-flexible schedules to get your daylight in.

 

 

Think outside the clock.

The Wheels on the Trolley Can Still Go 'Round and 'Round

November 7, 2021

People keep yammering on about the failed Loop Trolley. One person has even gone so far as to suggest that the route be extended, to make it more useful. That, of course, would entail tearing up even more streets to find or lay rails, and being even more disruptive to traffic while the work is carried out.

 

Here’s a thought (and not a new one for me): Buy a trolley car with tires!!! That way, it can go anywhere, people can ride on it and feel old-fashioned, and no more tearing up streets and disrupting businesses.

 

Just sayin’.

 

 

  

Giving Josh Hawley His Due

November 7, 2021

 

Kevin McDermott, a columnist for the Post-Dispatch, on recent remarks made by Josh Hawley:

“Hawley’s comments have gotten national buzz from commentators who act like they’ve never heard anything so crazy. On that, I have to come to Hawley’s defense: This is nowhere near the craziest thing he’s ever said.”

 

If you’re curious about the context, read the column in today’s Post-Dispatch, or on their website. The whole column is worth reading.

 

The Apple Wasn’t Eaten in a Day—Or Something Like That

November 1, 2021

 

When I read about progressives scuttling helpful bills because they don’t cure all of society’s ills, I want to hold out an apple and say, “Eat this.”

If they started to eat it a bite at a time, I’d say, “Nope. Gotta eat it all in one gulp.”

If they protested that it was impossible, I’d say, “And that’s how fixing society works. You have to do it a bit at a time.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, and you’re not going to fix everything with one bill. So fix it a bit at a time. Eat the apple a bite at a time.

 

“Otherwise, everyone’s going to starve.”

Suit-Happy

November 4, 2021

 

If people in Texas can sue total strangers who’ve participated in an abortion, even if it had no effect on the person suing,

Can people sue the drivers who caused the crashes that made them late for work, or for appointments, or for picking up their kids; or who just aggravated the foo out of them by making them sit (again!) in traffic?

Can people sue co-workers who come in to work and make other people sick, causing them to miss work and lose pay?

Can people sue politicians whose antics raise a person’s blood pressure to dangerous levels, causing or exacerbating health issues?

 

I’m kinda digging this line of thought. Either people would start behaving better, or we’d all be rich.

 

 

Strategic Planning

November 1, 2021

 

It has escaped the attention of almost no one that the Teacher In-Service/Planning Day was scheduled for November 1st this year.

 

 

The real planning was in having the students stay home the day after Halloween, when they’re feeling the effects of eating all that candy.

Selective Psychosis?

October 30, 2021

 

A woman who claimed that postpartum psychosis (worse than postpartum depression) caused her to kill her two infant daughters was released from prison after 32 years. She was apparently a model prisoner (no major violations) and all-around good citizen. She feels remorse, shame and responsibility for her acts, according to her lawyer.

 

What puzzled me, though, was that her psychosis didn’t lead her to kill her son, born in the years between the births of the two girls.