It’s About Making Babies!

Driving home tonight some advice came back to me.

Uncle Everett worked for Northwestern Bell Telephone, back when we called the phone company ‘Ma Bell’. I guess he got this at a safety presentation, Uncle Ev was a lineman for many years, and advanced to manage some of the conversions of mechanical switching stations to electronic. This was probably in the 1960′s. My observation is that we keep producing more new drivers every year, so his advice is as current today as it ever was.

Never enter an intersection the first three seconds after the lights change.

I figure there are two excellent reasons for this. At the time most accidents occurred in the first three seconds after the lights change, so waiting means you won’t be there for such an event. The second reason is that while waiting, you are more likely to be watching for that first-three-second hazard – a late car trying to beat the lights. And watching for a late car makes you more likely to see (notice) a late car – in time to avoid things. At least, you have a better chance of getting through the intersection safely. Three Seconds. You won’t hold up traffic, and may safe repairs, money, or lives.

Uncle Bob was a Warrant Officer in the US Army for many years. And I guess junior ranks before that. In the 1960′s my family took a vacation, and drove to Copperas Cove, TX to visit while Uncle Bob was stationed at Ft. Hood, TX. While riding around the perimeter road, another vehicle came up behind us – closely behind. Tailgating. Uncle Bob described what he was doing as he evaded the danger.

The only thing you can do when someone is tailgating is to slow down.

Presumably the ruthless jerk behind you, violating safe following distance laws and physically threatening you with their vehicle, wants to go faster than you are at present. The problem is that most of the time you can’t go fast enough to please a tail gaiter.

Slowing down accomplishes several things. First, if there is an accident, the slower you are going, the better your chances of surviving. Next, slowing down gives the other driver a better chance to pass – the last thing I want is an irritated driver behind me. Let him or her pass, and their aggressive driving is likely to catch the attention of any patrol cars lurking ahead. In any case, an irritated driver ahead of you is easier to avoid.

Sometimes the driver behind just forgot safe following distance laws, and when you slow down, they back off.

Never slow down aggressively – you could cause an accident, and would be held liable for causing the accident.

Anger on the road most often rides in an ambulance. In the back.

Thanks, Uncle Everett and Uncle Bob. I got home safely, tonight.

I use the Windows Media Player to listen to a bunch of tracks I ripped from the CD’s on my shelf. This morning I noticed that the rotating ‘information’ the player lists on the title bar was ‘Ben Moody (Composer). The song is Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Because of You’.

When playing, the information that rotates around for that song includes ‘Kelly Clarkson’ and ‘Breakaway’ (the CD Title).

Who was the production engineer? The Distributing company? The company that made the CD blanks? Ms. Clarkson’s business manager? The supporting musicians on that track? The copyright holder? The licensing agent?

I am reminded of the story of the parts of the body arguing over precedence. The brain argued that it provides guidance, without the brain the body wouldn’t learn or accomplish anything. The heart argued that without its function the blood wouldn’t move, the lungs wouldn’t exchange oxygen from the air to keep the brain, the muscles, the organs alive. The eyes argued that without their input the brain wouldn’t be able to see at distance and plan; the skin and hands argued about sensing the immediate environment. The rectum, contemptuously, clamped shut solid and waited. Soon all the organs and parts of the body experienced building discomfort and pain, and apologized and pleaded with the rectum to relent.

Which brings me to the writer’s strike, over royalties for subsequent release of movies on the Internet and other media.

A horse shoer gets paid for routine care of the horse. A hairdresser gets paid for grooming. A car mechanic gets paid for routine maintenance and repair on vehicles. The world is full of people that don’t get royalties for how their work is applied (except those that sell to known criminals, but that is another story). The electricians, plumbers, preachers, and teachers in our communities don’t strike, or obstruct others trying to make a living to invent new streams of income.

Should the projection operator at your local movie theater get more pay when a showing sells out? The people selling tickets or popcorn (the work is harder with longer lines and more spills to clean)?

A screenwriter should make whatever contractual arrangements suit the screenwriter and whoever buys their work. Intentionally harming others to invent a new way of doing business, that is, not to redress a harm, seems kind of .. rectum-like.

Maybe suit-sellers should organize, to get royalties from the work done by those that buy their clothes. I could argue that selecting and providing articles of clothing is a creative work. Doesn’t the professional fitter or salesman hold a copyright on the appearance of the customer?

And why wasn’t it important to tell me who the production engineer was on ‘Because of You’?