Misuse of cell phones

Cell phones are awesome. I cannot even remember what it was like to not be connected with people so easily. They do have some down sides, though. People can connect with you easily. You are always just one text/call away from everyone.

People complain about constant texting. Students at school are constantly doing it, making some institutions ban them from classes for fear of cheating, or just communicating on them instead of focusing on what is going on in the classroom. There is a whole new language that has come about to ease the thumbs and first fingers from having to type out whole words. Even sites to help you translate and understand wtf ppl r sAyn.

And there is the danger of distractions while in the car. Studies have shown that people who drive while talking on the phone and texting are basically similar to those who drive under the influence of alcohol. Crazy, huh?

Now, I guess the same can be said for those who walk while walking.

London is always a city ahead of the game in many ways. Now they are trying out something to help those who can't seem to multi-task without getting injured.

I really wonder about people. Can you really be so absorbed in your message that you can't see a huge pole in front of you? What happened to peripheral vision? The study in the article says that 1 in 10 people have been injured while texting. Come on now. Get it together.

Imagine how ugly this city is going to look with padded lampposts. And even uglier with if they follow people's suggestions and add lines to the ground to help people follow those since they can't simply lift their eyes to see where they are going.

But, I guess it could save 68,000 people from getting injured next year.

I'm sure the city could save money if people could just text while standing still or sitting down. But that would be too easy. Or, I guess too difficult. After all, why would you want to enjoy your surroundings, talk to people actually in your presence, and watch where you are going when you could engross yourself in little words on a screen or try to find the music and pictures you have on your phone?

Spk 2 u l8r.

Don't die in France

Help me understand how you can punish someone for dying.

In a small village in southern France the mayor has "threatened residents with severe punishment if they die."

What could the punishment possibly be? Maybe he was listening to that old Chris Rock song where he talks about "you gonna die, twice."

She loves me, but it means nothing

My mom called in to excuse me from the rest of the day.

The attendance secretary busted out laughing. Emailed me. I said it wasn't a joke. She then said that my mother would have to come in to sign me out in person. Unfortunately she is at work all day and cannot do that. She then said that even if she did come in, she didn't think the administration would allow me to leave early.

Students are upset. Faculty is unable to be productive due to the high absences. But we have to strive on in order to have a certain number of school days this year.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much. Some people have to go to work regardless of the weather. And I guess it is better to be here now than have to add day to the end of the year.

My frozen, snow filled glass is half full, instead of half empty.

May I have your attention, please?

The school police officer came down from the middle school and said that the radio announced that only one school is open today despite the bad weather.

Please give a shout out to us for being that lone school dedicated to focusing on the number of days we are here in attendance rather than the little things like student and faculty safety when leaving the various school buildings later today.

The sky and horizon are completely white. It is actually really pretty.

Truly, truly, truly outrageous

I think that the shoe prints on my windshield were just a sign of what was to come. I don't feel as though the world is walking all over me - taking advantage of me. More like the world has put on its shit-kickers and is confusing me for its target.

Details, perhaps another time.

One thing, though, that can always, at least momentarily, cheer me up -- this video. Me and Kid Sis #1 used to have some star earrings that we would wear and "contact" Synergy. And be so angry with the Misfits.

Again, I apologize for being a dork. But, please, enjoy the other videos on the side bar from YouTube. It's like the best-of. Only it is all so cheesy. Perhaps you can watch "Who Is He Kissing?", or "Click Clash." Wow!!

But I know I am not alone in my childhood love for Jem and the Holograms.

Car stomping, behind bars

I was driving last night and noticed a smudge on my windshield. I examined it at the stop light and realized that it was a shoe print. Freaked me out. My mind starts rushing to who at school could have done this. Which teachers were not paying attention to the middle school students as they marched to lunch through the parking lot?

We got to our destination and I looked at the front of the car. There was a print on the hood. Two of them. Then I looked on the ceiling - two more prints. And one on the trunk, as well.

What the hell. Who walks along someone's car?

Leo said he knew a kid when he was younger who did just that. The kid said that when a car was in the way, that's what they did in California. They just walk over the car.

Strange.

In other news, yesterday on two stations, I heard some astounding news. Here's how they said it on Democracy Now!

Record 1-in-100 Americans Behind Bars

A new report has found that a record 1-in-100 American adults are behind bars. According to the Pew Center, the prison population has grown by 25,000, even though the rate of violent crimes has decreased. 1-in-100 black women are jailed, compared to 1-in-350 white women. 1-in-36 Hispanic men and 1-in-15 black men are in jail or prison. The US has the highest rate of prisoners in the world, with more than 2.3 million people behind bars.

I don't even really know how to address this issue. It has been known for the longest that there are a ton of black men in prison. But when you see that it is 1/15!!! That is truly enraging.

Why are the candidates not addressing this issue? Why do they not talk about what can be done to fix this nation's prison and judicial systems? There has got to be something inherently wrong when the minorities make up the extreme majority in the prison system.

We have 2.3 million people in prison. That is more than the population of a lot of countries.

Think about that.