I know I promised to update this blog more often when American Idol finally ended, so of course I haven't posted to this blog since after the finale. Go figure.
For the last few weeks, and for that matter the next few weeks, I have been busy with a number of work related projects that I am not getting paid to do but still need to do anyway, which has kept me from making the promised posts. Two weeks ago I gave a presentation to a group of young engineers. Last week I did one final read-thru of a construction manual that I am the head writer for just before publication, and for the last few days I have been studying for the LEED AP exam that I am taking this week. Then once that is done I need to prepare a presentation for the conference in Peru next month that is the subject of another one of my blogs.
Now that I work in San Francisco I encounter a lot more homeless people during my commute than I did before. Last week was especially true, as there was this gentleman on the commuter train that I was on who was slowly walking through the train car with a hat out begging for money. He was an older gentleman who needed a cane to move around. He was dressed nicer than the homeless people that I see sleeping on the streets in San Francisco but like them he was asking for change. I did my best to avoid eye contact with him as he walked by, something I find myself doing a lot more these days. Most others on the train did the same, as only two people gave this man any money.
I like to think of myself as a caring person, but I cannot seem to bring myself to care about the homeless people that I encounter on an almost daily basis to the extent that I reach into my pocket and give them money. When this gentleman got off the train I started to wonder how I had gotten so cold to the idea of giving this guy money that I went out of my way to avoid eye contact with him, and why I do this to pretty much every homeless person I see with a hat or can out. I supposed some of it is related to my suspicion that these guys will use the money to buy drugs, and while I would be willing to bet most of them would what about the ones that would not? For the life of me I cannot tell the difference, so I end up not giving anyone any money at all.
A couple days earlier there was a woman with her son sitting on the sidewalk in front of the commuter train station with a sign asking for money because they were stranded. I was tempted to take them to the airport and buy them a ticket to wherever home is for them but instead I just walked by, just like the hundreds, perhaps thousands of others who use that same station that same day. We cannot all be callous people, can we?
The last time I gave someone begging me for money some cash was a couple of years ago. While I was sitting in a small park eating lunch a gentleman that appeared younger than me and not strung out on drugs came up and sat on the bench with me and starting telling me his life story about how he was just laid off from his job and he needed some cash for food. He was better spoken than most homeless people so I sat there and listened to him, also because I could not think of a graceful way to get up and move away. When he was done I gave him a $20 bill. He promised that he would pay me back and of course he never did, but at the same time I never saw that guy again. My hope is that the reason why is because he was able to get back on his feet again, but I will never know for sure.
We seem to live in a society where those who beg for money on the streets are treated with suspicion, that giving them money only enables them to continue down the path that put them on the street to begin with. And indeed I would bet that in most cases this is true. But I suspect that there are those who are sincere in getting off the street who are getting lost in the fog of suspicion and thus don't get the help that they need. And whose responsibility is it to help these people? Their families? The government? Us? I know Hillary Clinton claimed that it takes a village, but is it the village's responsibility to give money to everyone who asks?
I wish these folks would find the help that they need, but I am not sure how. It is a good thing that I am not running for mayor. I just don't have the conscience for it. Maybe that is why so many politicians are lawyers.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Mick Jagger & Simon Cowell, Philosophers
One of the things that I have noticed while watching American Idol is the growing trend in American culture towards protecting children from defeat and disappointment. I also saw an HBO report that reinforced my thinking that this trend is morphing into a national obsession. The report featured a school that banned dodge ball because it was too violent and caused the kids who lost to feel bad about themselves. The same report also talked about another school that banned the game of tag because of the stigma that came with being “it.” You may have heard about how some schools, including the University of California Santa Cruz, that got rid of grades because the kids who got bad grades were suffering from reduced self-esteem.
I am not a parent so perhaps this colors my judgment, but I find this to be very distressing and not the way to teach children. I may not have kids but I was one once, and to be honest I was not very good at dodge ball, or any other sport for that matter. And yes, my self-esteem did suffer, but I got over it, as did millions of other kids who went through the same ordeal. I learned about disappointment, I learned what it is like to fail, and I think those lessons were valuable in that I had to learn how to deal with defeat later in life. The fact is that we cannot always get what we want. I was watching the Indy 500 time trials Sunday and there was one driver, Alex Tagliani, who missed qualifying for the race by a mere few hundredths of a second. He was sitting in his car waiting to qualify but ran out of time, and he just sat in his car with tears in his eyes when he realized that he was not going to make the race.
Now imagine if Alex had been taught as a kid that there is no such thing as failure, or that he never had to experience what is like to fail, can you imagine how he would have reacted? He would probably have thrown a temper tantrum, throwing his steering wheel at anybody within range, and demanded that the track make an exception to their 100 year old rule and allow him to qualify after the time to do so had expired. Not very sportsmanlike behavior is it? But that is what I think this generation of kids is being taught. Let’s face it, life sucks sometimes, but if you never had to deal with that until you’re an adult then it’ll be a lot harder for you to accept, which will make it harder for the rest of us to deal with you.
What does this have to do with American Idol? Glad you asked. I have always wondered why some people who clearly have no musical talent still try out for the show and still react as if they have been shot when they are rejected. How in the world can these kids think that they are good enough singers to qualify to compete on this show? Well, when you have been told all of your life that you are a great singer by parents who should know better but instead want to keep their kids happy, and then of course they are going to react angrily when some ornery guy from England and his loopy counterparts say they can’t sing.
Then there is the current saga of contestant Kris Allen, who is in the final 2 even though his singing voice is weaker than at least half of the final 13 contestants this season. The main reason he is in the finale is because there are millions of pre-teen girls out there who think Kris is absolutely adorable and are voting for him hundreds, perhaps even thousands of times each. Now keep in mind that each one of those votes costs money, 10 cents a vote I think, and last week there were 88 million total votes, which means that somebody will have to pay $8.8 million in phone bills. I think it is safe to say that it won’t be the pre-teen girls that are doing all of this voting. But how many parents out there will take these girls’ cell phones away when that $300 phone bill shows up? So far, not many, and that may explain why Kris is still in the competition.
What we need here is more parents who act like parents and less parents who act like their kid's friend. I'm not talking about deliberately subjecting kids to defeat and misery, I'm talking about just being parents. My parents did it, my brother and sister-in-law are doing it, I have friends who are doing it, why can't the rest of America?
I am not a parent so perhaps this colors my judgment, but I find this to be very distressing and not the way to teach children. I may not have kids but I was one once, and to be honest I was not very good at dodge ball, or any other sport for that matter. And yes, my self-esteem did suffer, but I got over it, as did millions of other kids who went through the same ordeal. I learned about disappointment, I learned what it is like to fail, and I think those lessons were valuable in that I had to learn how to deal with defeat later in life. The fact is that we cannot always get what we want. I was watching the Indy 500 time trials Sunday and there was one driver, Alex Tagliani, who missed qualifying for the race by a mere few hundredths of a second. He was sitting in his car waiting to qualify but ran out of time, and he just sat in his car with tears in his eyes when he realized that he was not going to make the race.
Now imagine if Alex had been taught as a kid that there is no such thing as failure, or that he never had to experience what is like to fail, can you imagine how he would have reacted? He would probably have thrown a temper tantrum, throwing his steering wheel at anybody within range, and demanded that the track make an exception to their 100 year old rule and allow him to qualify after the time to do so had expired. Not very sportsmanlike behavior is it? But that is what I think this generation of kids is being taught. Let’s face it, life sucks sometimes, but if you never had to deal with that until you’re an adult then it’ll be a lot harder for you to accept, which will make it harder for the rest of us to deal with you.
What does this have to do with American Idol? Glad you asked. I have always wondered why some people who clearly have no musical talent still try out for the show and still react as if they have been shot when they are rejected. How in the world can these kids think that they are good enough singers to qualify to compete on this show? Well, when you have been told all of your life that you are a great singer by parents who should know better but instead want to keep their kids happy, and then of course they are going to react angrily when some ornery guy from England and his loopy counterparts say they can’t sing.
Then there is the current saga of contestant Kris Allen, who is in the final 2 even though his singing voice is weaker than at least half of the final 13 contestants this season. The main reason he is in the finale is because there are millions of pre-teen girls out there who think Kris is absolutely adorable and are voting for him hundreds, perhaps even thousands of times each. Now keep in mind that each one of those votes costs money, 10 cents a vote I think, and last week there were 88 million total votes, which means that somebody will have to pay $8.8 million in phone bills. I think it is safe to say that it won’t be the pre-teen girls that are doing all of this voting. But how many parents out there will take these girls’ cell phones away when that $300 phone bill shows up? So far, not many, and that may explain why Kris is still in the competition.
What we need here is more parents who act like parents and less parents who act like their kid's friend. I'm not talking about deliberately subjecting kids to defeat and misery, I'm talking about just being parents. My parents did it, my brother and sister-in-law are doing it, I have friends who are doing it, why can't the rest of America?
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
I Find It Interesting That I Am Still Here
You didn't think I would leave without saying goodbye did you?
Actually, the conference in Peru was postponed until July because of the swine flu "pandemic". Yes, I know there is no swine flu in Peru, but one of the moderators of the conference is in Mexico City and, well you know what happened in Mexico City. So I have been spending the last couple of days revising my travel arrangements, getting the post office to continue to deliver my mail, getting my newspaper to continue to deliver my news, and otherwise undoing all of the arrangements that I made in preparation for the trip. This includes restocking my fridge and cupboards, which are now bare since I only bought enough food at my last trip to the supermercado to last me until today.
A few things in the news that I find interesting:
I find it interesting that the same people who are panicking about Homeland Security issuing advisories about "right wing extremists" are the same people who defended Bush's domestic surveillance program. Like you said guys, you have nothing to fear if you did nothing wrong, right?
I find it interesting that the same people who defended the Bush administration's use of torture on "enemy combatants" in Cuba are objecting to Obama talking to the Cubans because the Castros torture political prisoners. One man's enemy combatant is another man's political prisoner.
I find it interesting that the above two groups are essentially the same people.
I find it interesting that the world's navies began cracking down on the Somali pirates only after the US Navy did first. See, we really are the world's only superpower.
I find it interesting that the city of Vallejo, California is still hosting a Pirate Festival next month even with the Somali pirates in the news all the time. I also find it interesting that Vallejo used to be home to a large Navy base that my Grandpa was once stationed at.
I find it interesting that there really is a Swine Festival. It's in Basille, Louisiana the first weekend in November. Make your reservations now and don't forget to bring your face masks.
And yes, there is a Somali festival too, but you have to go all the way to London for that one. I wonder if the attendees would find it interesting if someone showed up wearing a pirate costume.
I find it interesting that the press is treating Obama and Biden's visit to a burger joint yesterday as some kind of a big deal, as if the President of the United States is too high and mighty to go to a burger joint. Did not Clinton plan his jogging routes around McDonald's locations?
I find it interesting that I still have a follower even though I only post on this blog about once a month. I will promise, though, that I will post more here after the American Idol season is over in 3 weeks time, at least until I go to Peru and post to that blog.
I find it interesting that my water board mandated that we all conserve water or else face big fines, and then they raise my water rates because people are not using enough water.
I find it interesting that suddenly Fiat is the world's most powerful car company though nobody outside of Italy drives their cars. It may explain why Italian cars cost so much.
I find it interesting that so few people have left my former firm after they were bought out by a much larger out-of-town firm. I only mention this in case any of my former co-workers are still reading this blog.
I find it interesting that the phrase "shark tank" still has a double meaning in San Jose. I find it depressing too.
I find it interesting that only now, when her American Idol contract is up for renewal, does Paula Abdul admit that she was addicted to pain killers. She has been acting suspiciously sober on the show as of late.
I find it interesting that when I activate Blogger's spell checker it recognizes "Obama" but not "Biden" or "Blogger's".
I find it interesting that I dedicated about an hour writing this entry when I could have been doing something more productive, like going to the supermarket or reading a newspaper.
Actually, the conference in Peru was postponed until July because of the swine flu "pandemic". Yes, I know there is no swine flu in Peru, but one of the moderators of the conference is in Mexico City and, well you know what happened in Mexico City. So I have been spending the last couple of days revising my travel arrangements, getting the post office to continue to deliver my mail, getting my newspaper to continue to deliver my news, and otherwise undoing all of the arrangements that I made in preparation for the trip. This includes restocking my fridge and cupboards, which are now bare since I only bought enough food at my last trip to the supermercado to last me until today.
A few things in the news that I find interesting:
I find it interesting that the same people who are panicking about Homeland Security issuing advisories about "right wing extremists" are the same people who defended Bush's domestic surveillance program. Like you said guys, you have nothing to fear if you did nothing wrong, right?
I find it interesting that the same people who defended the Bush administration's use of torture on "enemy combatants" in Cuba are objecting to Obama talking to the Cubans because the Castros torture political prisoners. One man's enemy combatant is another man's political prisoner.
I find it interesting that the above two groups are essentially the same people.
I find it interesting that the world's navies began cracking down on the Somali pirates only after the US Navy did first. See, we really are the world's only superpower.
I find it interesting that the city of Vallejo, California is still hosting a Pirate Festival next month even with the Somali pirates in the news all the time. I also find it interesting that Vallejo used to be home to a large Navy base that my Grandpa was once stationed at.
I find it interesting that there really is a Swine Festival. It's in Basille, Louisiana the first weekend in November. Make your reservations now and don't forget to bring your face masks.
And yes, there is a Somali festival too, but you have to go all the way to London for that one. I wonder if the attendees would find it interesting if someone showed up wearing a pirate costume.
I find it interesting that the press is treating Obama and Biden's visit to a burger joint yesterday as some kind of a big deal, as if the President of the United States is too high and mighty to go to a burger joint. Did not Clinton plan his jogging routes around McDonald's locations?
I find it interesting that I still have a follower even though I only post on this blog about once a month. I will promise, though, that I will post more here after the American Idol season is over in 3 weeks time, at least until I go to Peru and post to that blog.
I find it interesting that my water board mandated that we all conserve water or else face big fines, and then they raise my water rates because people are not using enough water.
I find it interesting that suddenly Fiat is the world's most powerful car company though nobody outside of Italy drives their cars. It may explain why Italian cars cost so much.
I find it interesting that so few people have left my former firm after they were bought out by a much larger out-of-town firm. I only mention this in case any of my former co-workers are still reading this blog.
I find it interesting that the phrase "shark tank" still has a double meaning in San Jose. I find it depressing too.
I find it interesting that only now, when her American Idol contract is up for renewal, does Paula Abdul admit that she was addicted to pain killers. She has been acting suspiciously sober on the show as of late.
I find it interesting that when I activate Blogger's spell checker it recognizes "Obama" but not "Biden" or "Blogger's".
I find it interesting that I dedicated about an hour writing this entry when I could have been doing something more productive, like going to the supermarket or reading a newspaper.
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