May 9, 2008
FOUR FOR FRIDAY
Q1 - Junior: The most common name suffixes are "senior" (Sr.) and "junior" (Jr.), and are far more frequently applied to men than to women. What do you think it says about a person (or a couple) who chooses to name a child after himself or herself?
Q2- Parking Meters: In the state of California, automobile drivers with handicap parking permits are allowed to park anywhere except in private lots and in designated no-parking zones. In addition, drivers with handicap permits do not have to put anything into that device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. In other words, people with handicap permits get to park for free, even in metered spots. How do you feel about this?
Q3 - Language: How do you feel when you're surrounded by people, all of whom speak a language you do not understand (e.g., in a nail salon, a restaurant, beauty supply store, someone's home, etc.), and there's no one there to translate?
Q4 - Seatbelt: Edward J. Hock invented the seatbelt first used by the Ford Motor Company as standard equipment, while he was on active duty with the military as a flight instructor. In 1955 the U.S. Navy accepted his idea, and Hock was awarded $20.50 for his invention. The original schematic and blueprints shows he utilized scrap parachute strapping to implement his idea. He was never awarded anything other than the $20.50, a letter of recognition, a picture with military brass, and a newspaper article to his credit. When you're driving a car, do you start the car first and then fasten your seatbelt or do you do it other way around?
Posted by Mikal at May 9, 2008 7:22 AM
| TrackBack
1- To each his own.
2- To each his own.
3- I don't mind. If people have something to say about me, they can go ahead and say it...I don't care what language it is in. It's probably better that I can't understand what they are saying about me...because I don't like to cry in front of other people.
4- What's a seatbelt? They don't have them on Harley Davidsons.
1- I had a couple buddies in high school; Hans Peter L'Orange IV, Grover Cleveland Holmes IV, and Filo Farnsworth IV. I think those kinds of traditions are cool, and would continue them if they were in my family. In my family, me and my brothers all have at least one of our names from our 'elders' and I think I like that better than being 'reassigned' someone else's identity.
2- I'm cool with handicapped parking having all the best access, but they should have to pay in all the same placed I have to.
3- I the kind of person that likes to listen in and pretend like I know what they're talking about... just kinda put a smug look on my face like I know what they're saying and I'm above it.
4- I generally start the car first and then buckle up.
1 - George Foreman loves his name. He has like 8 kids named George Foreman. I have no idea what that says about a person. It's a little strange in my opinion.
2 - California has more traffic laws then they know what to do with. I'm guessing that law helps a lot of handicapped folks, but there's probably just as many that are abusing the rule. When California falls off the edge of America, will America be a better place?
3 - I get a little weirded out. Especially when you know a few words here and there. I know spanish swear words and a few other words here and there and it's always disconcerting to pick those up in someone's conversation but not know if they are talking about you.
4 - Start the car, start moving and put on the seat belt as I shift into 1st. Or, like Jake said I hop on my motorcycle and pray I don't fall off.
Q1 - Junior: Hmm.. never thought about it. Honestly, I would have named one of my kids after myself had I remembered that I wanted to, which brings to why I would have: I have a horrible memory and am afraid I'll forget my kids' names. As for Jr's naming their kid the third (III) or thirds naming their kid the fourth (IV) I can totally understand that as a way to honor their father, who gave them the same name.
Q2- Parking Meters: At the risk of coming across as ignorant (being that I don't experience what handicap drivers do) I have to say it's a crock of malarchy. For all the talk about wanting to be treated the same, this is doing the opposite. It's one thing to treat a person "unequally" by putting in a wheelchair ramp, something else entirely to not hold them to the same rules as the rest of us. However, if I were given handicap parking privileges, you can bet I wouldn't be complaining.
Q3 - Language: If I'm surrounded, then I would feel fine. It's the majority language being spoken wherever I am, and shame on me for walking in without knowing the language. But when it's just a couple people in a public place, it's generally considered rude. While I personally don't care, being that it's proper etiquette to speak the local language when in public I think people who do that (who otherwise are able to speak the local language) are essentially sticking their noses up in the air at everybody around them. They might not be intending to, but they are.
Q4 - Seatbelt: I used to start the car then put on the seatbelt. But then I foolishly bought a car that has an incredibly annoying beep if you turn the car on without having your seatbelt on. So now, just to avoid the vicious beeps of my car, I have completely adjusted my lifestyle to suit my car.
But now that I know about the seatbelt's history I will hereforth put on the seatbelt, give a silent homage to Mr. Hock, then start the car and drive like a madman. $20.50 in 1955? Isn't that like a million dollars in today's money?
Edward J. Hock invented the seatbelt first used by the Ford Motor Company as standard equipment, while he was on active duty with the military as a flight instructor. In 1955 the U.S. Navy accepted his idea, and Hock was awarded $20.50 for his invention. The original schematic and blueprints shows he utilized scrap parachute strapping to implement his idea. He was never awarded anything other than the $20.50, a letter of recognition, a picture with military brass, and a newspaper article to his credit. When you're driving a car, do you start the car first and then fasten your seatbelt or do you do it other way around?
1. Wow, that's a loaded question--answer wrong and I could easily offend some Juniors I know. I think it depends on the person. Sometimes it could be because they value tradition or in other cases perhaps that person was named after someone else and they were honored by that and want to bestow the same honor on their child. In other cases I think it might just be people with big egos, or perhaps they're just not very creative. Maybe they got sick of arguing over names with their spouse. Bottom line: I shouldn't judge them because I'm a horrible person and tend to assume the worst.
2. My knee-jerk reaction is that it doesn't seem very fair, but upon further reflection, I wouldn't trade my health for free parking. I say let 'em park for free and give them the closest spots whenever possible. I'll walk two blocks from my car to where ever I'm going and be grateful that I can.
Exception: People who know someone who is handicapped or have someone in their family who is handicapped and use their sticker or pass to get better parking spots when they're not driving with said handicapped individual should go to hell--That's right Wes. This means you! :)
3. It used to bother me a lot, but after living in a foreign country, I got used to...although if they're pointing at me and laughing or something like that, it would still make me uncomfortable.
4. I think I usually start the care first then fasten seatbelt... or sometimes I start the car first, start driving, get the annoying beeping from my car reminding me I forgot to fasten my seatbelt, and then I fasten it.
See what I mean about memory? I totally forgot to delete your last question at the end of my post. Doh!
Exception to my exception: Wes if you share your pass with me sometimes you can avoid the fires of hell. Charity can redeem you.
1. I'm sure it could say one of several things about the person. It could say, "My ego is way too big to have my name attached just to me." It may also say, "Since my dad and my dad's dad all the way back to Adam have been named Adam, I'd probably better name my kid Adam." Then again, it may say something like, "I love my name. John. Heck, I just like to SAY John. John, John, John. I'll bet if I name my kid John, I'll get to say John at least 100 times a day. Sweet!"
2. First of all, I'm sure that few people despise being labeled as different more than the handicapped. They spend their whole lives trying to live as "normal" people do. Giving them an unnecessary freebie just because they're "special" digs them deeper into their little "different" hole. It's just one more small way to draw attention to the fact that they're different. Second of all, I'm all for making the world more accessible for the handicapped. I appreciate wheelchair ramps, chirping crossing walk signs, and braille just as much as the next guy. But for heaven's sake: What on earth does not feeding the meter have to do with making the world more accessible? Are there really that many handicapped people in the world who are physically/mentally unable to stick a few coins in a slot that they have to give a free ride to ALL handicapped people? Chances are, if they're so deeply handicapped that they can't handle THAT task, they're probably going to be WITH someone who CAN feed the meter. Sheesh.
3. Having spent a couple of years in a country where I didn't fully understand most of the languages (South Africa) and several more years in a country where Spanish is the most common language (the United States), I'd have to say that I'm ambivalent. Sometimes I'm frustrated that I can't understand what's going on, especially when I know that the language is being used to keep me in the dark. Sometimes I don't mind because I know that the conversation has nothing to do with me. Other times I wish that the people speaking the language would make more effort to learn mine, especially when those people refuse to learn my language because they hate my culture. And other times I love it because I'm fascinated with the phonetics and the culture behind that language.
4. I start the car first, but I ALWAYS wear my seat belt. There's too many bad drivers out there, including myself :).
Q1: I don't know what it says about them, but for practical purposes, I wouldn't do it. I grew up in a family with my dad (John) and an older brother (John). When someone called the house asking for "John," we either assumed we knew which one (and got it right about 65% of the time) or asked whether the person wanted to speak to my dad or my brother.
Q2: I'm all for it, although I think they should be a little more selective in determining who's really handicapped.
Q3: Very uncomfortable, but I think that part of my discomfort is due to the fact that I never really applied myself when I had the opportunity to learn a new language.
Q4: I usually fasten first and then start the car. Honestly, though, if it weren't against the law, I'd probably never strap myself in.
Q1 - Junior: No big deal really in my book.
Q2- Parking Meters: Well, my step-dad has MS and is deemed handicapped, and I've seen him limp along from a distant parking spot when there was no place to park, so I actually think it is OK that Cali is offering such exceptions to people diagnosed with serious enough challenges that they are deemed handicapped by the State.
Q3 - Language: I wish I had taken the time to learn more languages.
Q4 - Seatbelt: Just depends on the day!
Q1 - Junior: They lack in creativity.
Q2- Parking Meters: I think it is fair. My sister is handicap and she certainly can use any financial break. Especially since handicap people tend to make less $.
Q3 - Language: I don?t like it. I spend the whole time trying to figure out what they are saying. I have not returned to a nail salon because of it. A little comment is one thing but during my whole appointment they carried on a full blown conversation. Can you say headache?
Q4 - Seatbelt: Start car,drive until alarm goes off to remind me to put my seatbelt on- sorry Ed.
Post a Comment:
|
