Littering

Littering pisses me off. Why is it that many people feel it's ok to just drop their garbage anywhere they feel like it? Actually, that may be an exaggeration ... usually people only drop small items, and only where they feel it'll be picked up. Like, the side of the highway. People clean that up, right? Or, the McDonalds parking lot. Part of their job is upkeep of the property, right? Well, allow me to say it right here ... bullshit.

There was a crew out cleaning the highway near me (I-635) the other day... and there was a horrifying number of trash bags in the 1-mile stretch between where I get on and where I get off for work. Is it possible there are that many inconsiderate assholes out there? Or are there just a few, but they've got a whole lot of trash?

It costs a lot of money to send crews out to clean the side of the highway. And, they could be doing better work. Next time you see a pothole and wonder when the city/county is going to fix it, the answer is "when they finish picking up your fucking garbage." Same goes for McDonalds... tired of waiting for your food? Maybe it's because the key player from the kitchen is currently outside picking up the straw wrapper you dropped on the ground at the drive-thru window last time (that one's universal, it seems).

Another universal that really gets me going is the cigarette butt. Many people who would never toss a spent pack of gum or empty soda can on the ground think nothing of dropping a cigarette butt on the ground, wherever they happen to be. (And many don't even step on them to put them out. Another pet peeve, but I'll save that for another time!) What's the deal, smokers? Somehow that's not littering? That's not making that area you just stood in look a little worse than it did a moment ago? Again... bullshit.

I don't happen to agree with smoking. I think it's a stupid habit, but that's a different rant. In any case, if you're going to smoke, at least have the decency to only do the momentary pollution of the air, and not the longer-lasting pollution of the ground with your butts. The McDonalds guy thanks you.

Local Flavor

When I was out the other day, I picked up a free magazine inside the vestibule of a shop. Usually, these are freebies with a lot of ads for local shops, and a few fluff articles, and they give you a little local flavor. This one was different. It's called "Inform"... tagline: "It shows when you're not informed". On the bottom of the cover, it says "Supplement to the Dallas Morning News", which is a respectable (non-tabloid) local paper, as far as I can tell. More like the Boston Globe than the Herald. Anyway, this magazine was all about appearance ... ads for and articles about cosmetic surgery places, cosmetic dentistry, where to get makeovers, get your face done, your belly lipsuctioned, your boobs done, and your teeth fixed. THEN, you'll be informed, apparently. And, until then, it'll show. Actually, I guess I got my local flavor after all.

Sharks

There's a lot of talk lately about this 8-year-old boy that was attacked by a bull shark in Pensacola Florida this week. It's sad that the kid is hurt, and I don't wish that on anyone, but I sure wish people would shut the fuck up.

There are "experts" and biologists on TV, explaining that bull sharks are vicious animals. There are people talking about solutions to the "shark problem" (which, invariably, will mean violence toward sharks). All of this disturbs me.

Yes, sharks attack people. And, people die. But, let's look at the statistics. Last year marked the highest number of shark attacks since statistics started being compiled... and we had a whopping 79 worldwide. Yes, seventy-nine. Of those, 10 died. I'm not talking about 10 people in Pensacola, or in the US. I'm talking about ten people worldwide dying from shark attacks. That statistic comes from CNN.

Compare 10 deaths worldwide with the following sample of statistics for the United States for 1999, compiled by the CDC. (The document I'm quoting from can be found here [Adobe Acrobat required]. There were a lot more deaths last year than I'm quoting, of course, I've just picked a few causes to show.)

Interesting, huh? Ten people die from shark attack, and we're all up in arms, wanting to kill sharks everywhere, to remove the threat and make the oceans safe. Because they're obviously not nearly as safe as we're accustomed to being in our daily lives, right? (smirk)

If we're so worred about safety, there are a few other things we should take care of. First of all, stop having children! You're 40 times more likely to die from trying to have a child than you are from a shark attack. Oh wait, I'm comparing national numbers to worldwide numbers. My mistake... you're over 40 times more likely to die having a child in the US. You're 146 times more likely to die from a hernia. Stop lifting heavy things, for christ's sake! And, why not stay out of the water altogether? You're 350 times more likely to drown than to die from shark attack. Hell, let's remove shark attack death from the picture... since the attack itself is unpleasant, how much more likely are you to be attacked? Over 44 times more likely to drown than to be attacked by a shark.

I won't even bother with the others ... operating a car, drinking, doing drugs, etc. You can read. The bottom line is this ... leave the damn sharks alone. They're out doing their thing, we're out doing ours. Occasionally, our paths cross, and occasionally it's sad for us. Far more often, it's sad for the shark. It's the same story with all animals that have the ability to kill us... they do so in small numbers, on very rare occasion, and far less often than we kill them. [perspective]

Yes, I'm a shark enthusiast. I also believe I'm sane on this one. For pictures of some of my non-lethal shark encounters (including snorkling with bulls ... on purpose!), check my personal photo gallery for my trips to Walker's Cay. By the way, one of the shark researchers I have been diving with, Dr. Erich Ritter, is the lead researcher on the team investigating this attack on the 8-year-old boy.

Getting a driver's license

Jesus Christ! Want to kill an afternoon? Bring a vehicle from out of state, then try to get it registered and get a driver's license. I killed 4 hours today. It went something like this:

1) Get insured in the state of TX [ok, so I was smart enough to know I needed this first]
2) Get the vehicle inspected at a State Inspection agent. [I just bought the thing in February, so my Mass inspection was pretty damn current!]
3) Go to the state driver's licence agency, and stand in line for 1 hour at the "stop here first!" desk
4) At that desk, I was informed that since I owned a vehicle, I needed to get it registered first. No, you don't have to own a vehicle in order to get a driver's license... but if you do, then it has to be registered before they'll license you to drive. Hanh?
5) Proceed to the County tax assessor's office to get plates. Yes, that's right... it's not a state agency that registered the car, it's a county agency. If it was a state agency, I could have done it at the driver's license agency. There is no consolidated "Motor Vehicles" department.
6) After the vehicle is registered, go back to the driver's license agency again, to get the license. To do this, by the way, in addition to taking my picture and capturing my signature, they captured each of my thumb prints on a reader. Nifty.

Yes, the whole ordeal took 4 hours. One interesting thing of note: At the county office, they filled out the paperwork, not me. It wasn't tough stuff, but apparently, there's enough confusion from the general population that they have just decided to resort to oral exam, while they take dictation.

So... with that done, I guess I'm really a resident now. My MA license, registration, and plates are already on their way back the the Commonwealth.