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Greetings, Quotaholics:
These
days we hear a lot about privacy. With the abundance of surveillance cameras
it seems we are being photographed everywhere we go. Add to that the fact
that nearly everyone has a cell phone with a camera, and you can be almost
certain that there is a camera nearby.
It’s been established by the courts that when someone is in a public place
they have no right to expect privacy in regards to being photographed.
However, I think most of us would be bothered by having someone taking
our picture for no apparent reason. It would be much like someone sitting
down next to you and starting to talk. They have the right, but you probably
wouldn’t like it.
With the advent of the internet though there are now thousands of sites
where amateur photographers can post their pictures. Many of these sites
exist solely to make fun of people. One such site is called "People
of Public Transit".
According to an article in the Chicago
Tribune the site, "…encourages people to send in pictures of
fellow riders on public trains and buses. On the site, (owner 28-year-old
John) Kubera writes that he started People of Public Transit because ‘people
watching is fun and the public bus and subway systems are littered with
amazing photo opportunities.’"
Recently a young lady, Jennifer Fastwolf, was photographed by someone
while riding home from work. She wasn’t aware she had been photographed
until a friend told her her picture was on the People of Public Transit
website.
"Under Fastwolf’s picture was the title ‘Colorful Darkness,’ with
the caption ‘Riding the bus with the Purple Goth Princess.’" Fastwolf,
it turns out, is heavily tattooed and has purple hair.
"Fastwolf said the photo was unflattering, but not particularly offensive."
"Still, she wasn’t happy to see it posted."
"’It was mostly the invasion of privacy,’ she said. ‘Most people
walking around just want to be left alone. That’s the nature of living
in cities. It seems kind of peculiar to hold people up for ridicule.’"
The website says it will remove a picture if requested to do so, and Ms.
Fastwolf sent a request by email. After first receiving a reply stating
that someone had posted a comment claiming to be flattered by the photo
and questioning whether Ms. Fastwolf was actually the one in the photo,
she sent another request.
This time she received a reply stating "’I don’t know, we kinda like
it,’ the e-mail from People of Public Transit said. ‘I’m thinking about
keeping it up for at least a few years. Then we’ll remove it. How does
that sound?’"
Fastwolf then contacted the Tribune who contacted Kubera for her. After
much wrangling, the photo was removed.
"Fastwolf was pleased but she said the incident made her feel like
she had been picked on by the grade-school bully."
"Indeed, her relief was short-lived. On Saturday, after the story
was published online, Kubera retaliated by changing every picture on the
site to the photo of Fastwolf on the bus."
How do you feel about such sites? Do you think people have the right to
publish unflattering photos of people for the sole purpose of making fun
of them? Are you familiar with this website? How about the People
of Walmart website? Do you think people have a right to take such
photos? How would you react to finding out that your photo was on such
a site?
Photogenically,
Comment
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“Success produces success, just as money produces money.” - Dianne Ackerman
“Like what you do, if you don’t like it, do something else.” - Paul
Harvey, American radio broadcaster
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Foul Language
[Thanks Bonnie]
The little boy was
caught swearing by his teacher. “Billy,” she said, “you shouldn’t
use that kind of language. Where did you hear it?” “My daddy said
it,” he responded. “Well, that doesn’t matter,” she explained, “I
don’t want to hear that language in here again.”
After a moment, she whispered aloud, “At least he doesn’t know what
it means.”
“I do, too,” Billy corrected. “It means the car won’t start.”
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“How strangely will the Tools of a Tyrant pervert the plain Meaning
of Words!”
“Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason.”
“The natural liberty of man is to be free from any superior power on
Earth, and not to be under the will or legislative authority of man,
but only to have the law of nature for his rule.” - All by American
revolutionary leader Samuel Adams born on this day in 1722
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Speak right up!
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Abuse
Geocaching has quite an array of types of caches hidden all over the
world. Not only are the type of caches so varied, the terrain
types and the resulting demands on the human body are equally as varied.
Yesterday there was an event in Louisville, Kentucky. It was,
from my perspective, a very enjoyable event. Let me describe it
to you as best I can, as I know there simply aren’t enough or the proper
words to give it justice.
Starting off with a hardy breakfast provided by the event organizers,
we left to take a 6-mile hike down the riverbed of the Ohio river just
downstream from one of the flood control dams on the river. We
hiked down the riverbank, across the muddy flats, then across the spillway
of the sluice gates to the bedrock of the river itself.
The water levels are very low due to a drought the region has experienced
this summer. This was a very good thing. As it was, we had
to navigate several areas of knee to waist deep flowing waters across
very uneven and treacherous riverbed. Due to the mechanics of
the river flow, "potholes" exist everywhere, some of which
were almost 6 feet seep. Obviously, we avoided them by having
our trusty walking staffs with us and probing the cloudy water.
We finally reached the riverbank of an island in the river. We
walked the length of the island, across varying heights of rubble, and
crossing small streamlets. All along this trek we were finding
caches. Since this area is very prone to flooding, and is under
water more than being exposed as it was yesterday, most of the geocaches
are earthcaches where there is not a physical container. However,
there were a few traditional ones along the way in areas higher in elevation
and safe from rising waters.
We had to go up and over, then wade, then back up and over, and did
this more times than I could count. Luckily we had the perfect
weather for it. But, once we got to the end where the navigational
locks met with the southern part of the island, we had to turn around
and go back roughly the same way we came. And "roughly"
is the operative word.
But it was an extremely exhilarating experience. I saw so much
in the process and marveled at what Nature can do in such a relatively
small space. We got to be "first to find" a new cache
that was placed on the island, and there had been a new earthcache created,
so we got to be "first to find" on that as well. Considering
we had traveled over 130 miles one way, that was somewhat remarkable.
This little jaunt tested every muscle in my body. Climbing over
things, wading through fast moving waters, trudging up and down various
levels of terrain changes, plus the self-imposed challenges that always
occur, I was well spent by the time we got back to where we started.
It was an ideal experience.
Here’s your quiz:
Do you take on projects or activities knowing it will tax your abilities
to the max?
Are you a physical person who enjoys "taking it to the max"?
Do you have a higher pain tolerance level?
Abuse - Often Self Inflicted
Cliff (the High-Tech Redneck who doesn’t rate a fancy ’signature pic’)
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Email Kirsten
“We
run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy
it and cannot help ourselves…The more restricted our society and
work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for
this craving for freedom. No one can say, ‘You must not run faster
than this, or jump higher than that.’ The human spirit is indomitable.”
~ Sir Roger Bannister, first runner to run a sub-4 minute mile ~
I have to set the scene for this article, and I ask you to close your
eyes and use your imaginations. Actually, scratch that. If your eyes
are closed, you can’t read this. Duh. OK, so keep your eyes open and
use your imaginations. Here’s the scene. You are watching a home video.
The opening frame of the video shows the back of one of those imposing
leather office chairs. The chair rotates dramatically, and you see
me sitting in it. I am looking directly into the camera wearing a
solemn expression, and I start to speak. I say, “If you’re watching
this, I’m already dead. Or at least, I am feeling like I am. I am
lying immobile on the couch with the TV stuck on the Weather Network,
because I cannot even move enough to press buttons on the remote.
My legs are screaming at me, I am hungry and dehydrated to kingdom
come because I cannot get up to get water or food. My grunts and grimaces
of pain are mistaken by my family as appreciation for the riveting
events on the Weather Network.”
OK, I admit it. I’m being a drama queen again. I’m sure I won’t feel
*that* bad. I will be in pain, though. By the time you read this,
I will have run my half-marathon - the one I’ve been training for
all year long. As I write this, though, the race is still two days
away. Well, it’s one day, eleven hours, and thirty three minutes away.
Not that I’m counting down or anything. At this moment, I feel as
if I am about to go mental. For the last two weeks I have been tapering,
which means that there have been no long runs and only one speed training
session. My runs have been shorter and easier than I am accustomed
to. I have truckloads of pent-up energy, and I have not been able
to expend it in the way I usually would.
Come Sunday morning, I will be tempted to blast out of the starting
blocks like an overexcited puppy. I will have to practice restraint;
I will have to remember how to pace myself. I will have to force myself
to start slow so I can finish strong. By the time I’ve run 21km, I
will have to just hope that the grimace of pain on my face can be
mistaken for a smile in my official finish line photo.
I took the day off work today. By the time it was 9:00 this morning,
I was seriously questioning the wisdom of this. Was it really such
a good thing to give myself an entire day without distraction, with
my current state of agitated energy? On the other hand, I knew that
I’d be too skittish to be of much use at work, and that I would just
drive my co-workers insane. Besides, I wanted to go to the Runners
Expo without being rushed.
Not that I was planning to spend a lot of time at the Runners Expo.
My plan was to pick up my race kit, have a quick browse through the
exhibitor booths, and then flee and spend the afternoon watching meaningless
TV. As it turned out, though, I arrived at the Expo shortly after
11:00, and didn’t leave until almost 3:00 this afternoon. I picked
up the race kit and had my quick browse through the stalls, and then
got sidetracked by a speech that was being given about the history
of the marathon, and whether the story about the dude in Greece was
actually true (it was, although there are several versions of it and
history does not accurately reflect which one is closest to the truth).
The talk was interesting, and more talks were promised, so I could
not possibly leave.
So I had a more leisurely stroll through the booths, subscribed to
a running magazine (another one), bought a new winter running jacket,
and then listened to more speeches. In an odd case of coincidence,
I met someone I “know” from an online runners forum, and we spent
some time chatting about the upcoming race.
The day went by surprisingly quickly. Spending it in a place full
of other runners all in the same boat as me turned out to be a very
good thing. It allowed me to be focused and distracted all at the
same time. I will definitely do this next year. I have found my way
of dealing with taper madness!
Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten
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September has been a lousy month. It started with my mom’s 90th birthday
party. That was one of those events that sounds like loads of fun until
you start planning for them. Then ..
My niece called to ask if she and her husband could stay at our house
because they couldn’t afford a hotel. Of course, they were more than
welcome. No, they wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor. They could have
my room, and I would bunk in with Mom.
LU: "Guess what! Katie and Jason are coming to your party!"
Mom: "Wonderful. Where are they going to stay?"
LU: "I invited them to use my room to save money. You know, with
Katie being pregnant, they have to be careful."
Mom: "Great! I can’t wait to see them. . Now we’ll have to …
Paint your room, replace the blinds, clean out your closet, buy new
sheets and bed spread, paint the rest of the house, fix the fence, clean
up the yard and gardens, clean the car port steam the rugs, and —."
LU: (very timidly) "Maybe it would be easier to rent a hotel room
for them?"
Mom: "Then Christen and her husband can sleep upstairs. Of course,
we’ll have to replace the blinds, and hire someone to steam the carpets
there, too. Maybe we should get some new towels for up there."
LU: "Christen is only going to be here one night."
Mom: "And, of course, we’ll have to plan food. What should we feed
everyone … "
The party was a big success. It only took us a week to catch up on our
sleep. But, shortly after Mom blew out her candles …
LU: "My web site doesn’t appear to be coming up, Mr. Host."
Mr H: "That’s because my servers both crashed and I had to get
new ones."
LU: "You can put my stuff back up, right?"
Host: "I think I still have your first draft, let me look."
Then …
LU: "I’m in pain and am having chills and fever."
Dr. "That’s because you have a nasty infection in your colon. Here’s
some antibiotics."
LU: (2 weeks later) "I’m not a lot better, Doc … "
Dr. "Drink this 20 ounces of berry flavored chalk and we’ll give
you a cat scan tomorrow."
This month hasn’t been a complete loss. I learned how to spell "diverticulitis".
But, I still feel like I swallowed a porcupine.
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Misc. Tips
[Thanks Herm]
Burn your tongue? Put sugar on it!
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Not many today but I got some "extra credit"
ones to fill in.
Next opening line…
Last night I had the strangest dream…
Hints:
Here’s a great new rhyming/composition tool. http://www.writerhymes.com/
There’s also a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm
Submit
Opening Line
Submit
Limerick
There
was a young fellow named Fisk
Who was always taking a risk
One day he arose
Stumbled and broke all his toes
Then fell down and slipped a disk. - Bonnie |
There
was a young fellow named Fisk
who always used Wisk
He had a ring around his collar
bought detergent for a dollar
it wasn’t his usual but he took the risk - dEE |
There was
a young fellow named Fisk—
who liked to take way too much risk—
did colors with whites
the results weren’t nice
especially when using Wisk. -
Cassandra in New York |
The philanthropic
org, no doubt,
Funds my research with a big payout
I study the strata
Of the San Andrea . . .
Might say they’re generous to a fault. - Anne Onimous |
Joe’s death
made me delirious
His humor left us in hysterias
Not one joke got booed.
Joe was such a fun dude -
Glad he died of nothing serious. - Anne Onimous |
Two bowling
pins were in such a snit
Things looked bad for them I must admit
So to be concise
They got marriage advice
To see what could be done about their split. - Anne Onimous |
I think
that most people are simple -
As in no brains in their temple
I’m told without ending
That I’m condescending.
That means I talk down to people. - E. Cole Aye |
Maybe my
years have made me jaded
Many crooks by me have paraded
It seems that, I’ll expound,
Not as Magellan found
The world isn’t round (it’s crooked). - E. Cole Aye |
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Re: Scary Animals
Mike: I suppose you will
hear from a lot of people on this one. Steve Irwin was killed by the
bone barb in a Stingray’s tail, not a Manta Ray. The caption says
that the manta does not have the stinging tail. bob in maryland
Steve Irwin was
killed by a Sting Ray, not a Manta Ray. I guess that the scariest
critters to me are those who use the words of logic as a rhetorical
style, but can’t be affected by the real thing. - Bob of the North
First, Steve Irwin was killed
by a sting ray. Manta rays have no tail with a barb with which to
sting. Manta rays are some of the most docile animals in the ocean.
Sting rays have a whip-like tail and, most are much smaller than a
manta ray. Because of their smaller size, sting rays are often misjudged
as being safe. This can be a deadly misjudgment.
I
am not afraid of any animal. I know that sounds unlikely. I respect
the abilities of various animals to do me harm, so I keep my distance.
I had wanted to be a veterinarian when I was younger. I had wanted
to specialize in the more exotic breeds.
Don’t
get me wrong. If I see a rattlesnake on a trail, I will not reach
down to pet it. And, spotting an unknown variety of slithering thing
near my foot will cause a bit of adrenaline release into my bloodstream.
I won’t scream, run, or wet my pants though.
I
have been known to handle all sorts of non-human critter. Heck, I’ve
taken in all sorts of strange animals to care for them or to keep
as a pet. I guess the most dangerous was an alligator. In retrospect,
I’d say taking a bath with an alligator isn’t a good thing. Too many
body parts look a lot like food, but both you and the alligator smell
better after a good bath. - Cliff
[It
appears I’m one of the few people here who don’t know much about Rays!
I’ll blame it on never having been in or near the ocean (except for
flying over it). Thanks for setting me straight.]
Hmm, living in
GA, I would have to say the ones I react to the most are spiders and
cockroaches, mostly for health reasons. What I would be scared of
is anything that is rabid. Carol T
I’ll have to write a column
about Radar’s relationship with spiders. I like them because they
eat things I don’t like, like flies. She hates them because they’re
ugly. - Lucille
Re: Hyperspace
I’m fine with free
time because I clean house and have it so I have nothing to do but
sit back.But my husband is like you and must have something to do
or invent something,We have the best kept yard and lawn on the street,We
have an empty lot next door that belongs to the city,He has been known
to mow part of it. - dEE
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Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to be
accurately attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly
attributed, or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time
to time. I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out incorrect
quotes, and will print a retraction as soon as I become aware of any errors.
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If you run across something really outstanding when perusing the archives,
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