"In a democracy (‘rule by mob’), those who refuse to learn from history will be the majority and will dictate that everyone else suffer for their ignorance."
If you read a book blurb that includes comments like,
“absolutely suspenseful” and “an ending you’ll never see coming!”
. . . just know that the normative translation into words reflecting reality for those phrases is “utterly boring” and “entirely predictable.”
I’ve observed changes* in my driving over the past couple of decades–maybe “few” would be more like–mostly for the better.
For one thing, I’m more conservative in my driving now than in previous decades. Part of that–a large part–is due to conscious changes to my habitual driving behaviors. For example, while I never had my first car (1953 Chevy Bel Air, 6 cylinder, 3 on the column manual transmission) above 110 mph (to my knowledge; the speedometer pegged at 110 😉 ), I did, of olden days *heh*, regularly and habitually travel at whatever speeds I thought I could handle in whatever vehicle I was driving. . . without getting caught. Yeh, I did get a speeding ticket one time, but that’s a long story.
Now, I habitually travel at posted speeds, only exceeding the speed limits for passing, or when keeping to the posted speed would seriously impede traffic, or a few times when I zone out, as it were, and do not maintain conscious control of my lead foot.
And “more conservative”? Yeh, I just noticed this morning that a turn-off on a 55 mph-posted highway that has a 25 mph posted “recommended speed” cautionary sign that I used to take at the posted 55, I now, apparently, have a “new normal” 45 mph turn-off speed. *shrugs* That one seems to have happened all on its own.
Or perhaps it was just an effect of a coffee deficiency. *shrugs* It felt “right” though.
Some old patterns remain, of course, and some older things I was taught when I first started driving are reasserting themselves, or I have decided they are worthwhile patterns to re-engage. For example, I do still have problems with some slowly-moving roadblocks. Oh, I don’t so much mind slowing down for horse-drawn carriages or farm or road maintenance equipment that are occasional “slowly-moving roadblocks,” and especially the school buses on two lane roads and highways here in America’s Third World County™, but folks who cannot even manage a double nickel on roads that were originally designed and built for faster travel, simply because “Hills! Curves! Scary!” or other mental handicaps really irk me.
And it does take some serious self-control, still, to not answer some asshat’s high beams with the same.
But overall, less agressive driving is my new norm. The old “one car length for every 10 mph when following another car” does make passing “slow-moving roadblocks” a bit more challenging when on two-lane highways, but it’s my renewed norm, and, in fact, on some roads here in America’s Third World County™ where I know I can expect some “slowly-moving roadblocks,” I tend to drive even more conservatively than my ancient “Driver’s Ed” instructions dictated.
But more gripes still abound. The aforementioned “slowly-moving roadblocks,” folks who think the ONLY setting for their headlights is high beam, wanderers (“Hey, doofus! Find your lane and stay in it! That double yellow line before that blind hill/corner is there for a reason. I don’t want to have to avoid your head-on collision with someone in oncoming traffic!” *sigh*), people performing a “GHETTO STOP” on two lane highways (in 55 or 60 mph posted speeds) having conversations between their cars blocking the highway, etc., have convinced me that Lovely Daughter’s dream of taking the cars away from 80% of the drivers on the road is a worthy dream. *heh*
Other things: I used to find cruise control to be useful. No longer, not even on Interstate highway driving. I find it a barrier between me and the road. I want to have to think about what I’m doing a bit more than just pointing the car in this direction or that.
All our current vehicles have automatic transmissions. I really miss manual transmission driving. The engagement factor, again. I may address that lack sometime in the coming year. . . or not. Something to think about.
I simply cannot understand folks who apparently drive no further ahead of themselves than their noses. IMO, folks who do not “drive” at least a quarter mile ahead of their own position (while maintaining observation to everything between their position and the distance they drive ahead) should have automatic “dope slap” mechanisms installed in their head rests. Really. Continue reading “A Musing: Driving”
A small war of words between Lord Acton and Frank Herbert:
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” ~Sir John Dalberg-Acton
“All governments suffer a recurring problem: it is not that power corrupts, but that it is magnetic to the corruptible.” ~ Frank Herbert, Dune.
My own take, in brief:
Actually, it is both. Most folks can be corrupted by the ability to exercise power over others. For some, it is after the fact: they seek power because they are corrupt; for others it is a very small step; for still others it is a process that proceeds at snail’s pace, so that the longer they exercise power–even intending that exercise to be for the good of their charges–the more corrupt they become.
A minor example of this is parenthood. A parent exercises just power in raising their children within sensible boundaries so that they can lead (generally) happy, productive, and safe lives (within whatever areas are under their control). That authority/power should phase out as the children achieve maturity. It is when children either eschew the responsibilities of maturity and continue to rely on their parents for support or when parents continue to exert controlling “influence” over their grown children that the process–and the individuals involved–either become corrupt or reveal their corrupt nature.
And so with government: exercising controlling power over a supposedly free people is corrupt and illegitimate. Those who want to be a part of that control are corrupt to begin with. Those who become a part of that process with the goal of ameliorating the effects of such illegitimate power inevitably either become corrupt themselves or are purged by the system.
(Long version: The Revolt of the Masses (Ortega) and Suicide of the West (Burnham), et al)
I read. A lot. But lately, many of the books I’ve been reading have been. . . blah.
So, a changeup (the “something new”)
Re-read old favs
Great Books of the Western World. I have a nearly worn out set, and another, in “library binding,” that I’ve read in very little. So, re-read the set over the next year or so.
A different Bible reading plan: chronological. Yeh, read the books/passages in a close approximation of when they were written, with an eye to also reconciling chronology of events, when possible (“chronology of events” hardly applies to the books of poetry. . . for the most part. . . sorta). That’s an approach I’ve not taken before. It’ll work well with re-reading the GBWW.
Something new: I have a couple of different versions/formats of The Harvard Classics in ebook formats now. I can read that set, too, reading around the books included in the GBWW–or even reading some of those in ebook format, if that proves to be more convenient.
Slack off on buying new books. Just buy the “must-haves,” and let the rest go. I’ve spent more time writing reviews of books that fall into the category of “A note to the writer: JUST STOP! Quit writing until you’ve at least passed a remedial English course, AND are willing to pay competent, literate sopy and line editors to fix your crap, mmmK?”
All in all, I think the reading goals outline above will make for a much better experience over the next few months/year.
Whenever I see “based on a true story” hitched to any sort of media presentation, I understand that the “based” part simply means, “Something happened. One or more elements of what happened may appear in the following presentation. . . or may not.”
Of course, this makes such media presentations “truer” than a typical “news” story, so there’s that. . .
Olde Pharte tomcat crawled up in my lap, complaining about [whatever]. Said to him, “OK, I’ll comfort you in your dottage.” He responded with an archtypical “Olde Pharte” *grumph*
Pleased. Finally worked my head through the right combo of tools to remove the locking wheel bolts on my Wonder Woman’s Jetta (bought used, no key for the locking wheel bolts). Have one off and replaced with a normal wheel bolt, and the process well-defined, now. It was a wee tad more irritating, because these locking wheel bolts are “spinners,” needing the “spinner ring” removed before dealing with the actual bolt. Now, I just have to get the “spinner” out of the socket I used to remove it. *heh*
Hmmm, perhaps I should rethink my method of removing the “spinner” for the other three wheels. . . I’ll give that some thought before I do the next one.
About that failed TV. . .
All diagnostics suggested by the company support said dead power supply or similar. Did everything by the book. No power on.
“Tech” call today with replacement TV.
“What’s it doing?”
“Well, I’ll show you.” *reaches to the TV’s power button and presses*
TV powers on.
Dafuq?!? Earlier TODAY, it did not power on.
“Tech”: *does not unbox new TV. Does not test anything* “It could be the UPS you have it plugged into.”
*sigh* “No, because I tested it plugged directly into the wall, as well as switching outlets [etc.].” (Oh, and the other two things plugged into the UPS both work, and have shown no interruption in service. Only two things*–neither the TV–is plugged into battery backup.
Me: *signs docs attesting to TV’s current functionality; hopes not calling again in a week*
Still, unless I open things up and test things myself, this will just have to be a mystery. and I have no desire to void the warranty.
Oh, well.
*On battery backup: a NAS and gigabit switch. Switch is, of course, for the NAS. . . and the TV, since I have not/will not enable the WiFi on the TV.
It seems some folks are unclear on the differences between capitalism and the big business-government crony system we currently have. The two could not be farther apart. When there is corrupt behavior in a capitalist system, competition and civil courts can deal with that. The corruptocratic institutional system we now have has as its purpose the filling of politicians’ pockets and “bureaucraps'” rice bowls. From the consumer’s POV, it’s the worst of both capitalism unrestrained by market forces and the typical socialist model: politicians and their cronies are massively favored, enriched, and protected.
Of course, the 19th Century system that evolved into our current regulatory state was almost as corrupt. The monopolies and cartels “feddle gummint” regulations against monopolies and cartels were designed to deal with were either created or enabled by government intervention in the market. A good example of the regulatory state: create or exacerbate a problem in order to expand the scope of government, allowing perpetuation of the problem at a rate regulated only by the amount of graft.
And so it goes. Meanwhile, the sheeple never wise up, looking to the creators of the problems to solve them, against those creators’ perceived best interests. Suckers.
FarceBook is. . . interesting, but primarily in the “that’s an interesting train wreck” way. I find myself drawn back to watch and even react to the various inanities, stupidities, and rare–more and more extremely rare–status updates that have any usefulness (apart from just observing “The Weird”). Heck, I’m not even all that interested in my “family” FarceBook account, since the only family I’m really interested in staying up with are my wife, kids and Mother, and I have face-to-face (or in Mother’s case, phone-to-phone) contacts for that.
But. . . “The Weird” draws me back.
And then it repulses me again.
The Stupid is also very powerful on FarceBook, and its practitioners are immune to mocking (Dunning-Kruger and a “safe places” mentality). Besides, mocking self-made morons–not born that way; self-enstupiated–isn’t really good for me in the long run. It feels soooooo good, but is sooooo wrong. . . or is it? Is NOT mocking self-made morons, just ignoring their obstinate stupidities, just enabling their destructive behavior?
I dunno, and more and more I care less and less about them.
But they are fascinating. Ah! I think I have it now! FarceBook is a 21st Century freak show! Small doses may be interesting, even amusing, but a steady diet of fake interactions with family, stupid “posts” and comments by self-made morons, so-called “memes,” and suchlike is just not productive.
Methinks a weekly check-in to see how things are going in the nuthouse might be OK, but a steady diet of the Freak Show would rot my brain.