Women on Poles

Posted on by Red (aka:DDJ)

2013_Daytona_500_logo

Well, now that I have your attention.  Today marks the 55th running of NASCAR’s Daytona 500.  This is a first with a Woman Pole sitter in Danica Patrick.  I suppose I am confused about the hoopla.  Women have been around poles for YEARS.  😉 

 But I digress.   This is about the foolishness of those who do not watch but claim not to like NASCAR for … wait for it … because it’s “just left turns”, “cars going in circles”.  2 things:  It’s NOT just about those left turns, and they are usually OVALS, dammit!

 The components involved in the making of a great driver include the owner, crew chief, pit crew and driver.  Any one of these components to have a glitch during the race, (sans owner), can end that race in a second.  It’s tactics, mechanics, accuracy, skill and a little luck.   

 And you can’t forget the importance of the little things: When to pit, tires, no tires, how many tires, fuel or no fuel, change to the chassis, how to reserve what fuel you have?   I am sure I have lost some of you by now.  So to simplify it, try going 190 mph for a mile or 2 for fun… easy enough?  Now do it with 42 other cars at a feathers distance from you. 

Yes, I am a BIG fan.  And that took some doing.  I was a most reluctant New Yorker, but had a great friend walk me through it.  And once I learned, understood, and saw the type of athletes these men, (and now women), are I was hooked. 

 This is a sport I not only love, but respect. I sense the respect for its fans is mutual. 

 Maybe you will think I am the fool.  But I know better.  Watch a race with someone who loves the sport.  I think it can be contagious.  Perhaps you will love it too.  And to those who do… ENJOY the 2013 season.  I know I will. 

It came with directions

Posted on by Red (aka:DDJ)

blinker

What do you call them?  Are they directionals, turn signals, those blinky lights that tell you when a 4000 pound automobile is about to make a move?  I call them TOO COMPLICATED for the average driver.  On a short drive this morning—with no blinking lights in sight—I was cut off, forced to slam on my brakes, and followed a car that may or may not have been turning in the next millennium.

It’s not a new invention. These handy pieces of safety have been in cars in the U.S., either standard or optional, since the early 40’s! So what, they are still too new for people to grasp? Is flicking the signal such a burden even when that tiny bit of wrist action is for your own and the safety of others?  And by the way, more importantly, here in the fabulous state of New York, it is THE LAW!

That’s right, a little something you can find on their website,(http://www.safeny.ny.gov), though should have learned, gee, I don’t know…. BEFORE YOU TOOK YOUR DRIVING TEST, is that the use of the aforementioned  directionals is in the drivers ed book, rule book and law book.

A small refresher course courtesy of NYS: The Vehicle & Traffic Law
requires you use turn signals continuously during not less than the
last 100 feet traveled by the vehicle before turning.
A driver may not slow down or stop in traffic without providing an
appropriate signal for the benefit of following drivers.  This is
usually done by the car’s brake lights.
Directional signals must be used to indicate an intention to turn,
change lanes or leave a parking space.
←     →
As someone who puts on her seat belt immediately upon getting in her car, puts on the headlights when using windshield wipers, (another law), and actually uses her turn signals, I feel compelled to call out everyone who doesn’t.  It’s one thing to be lazy, selfish and break the law.  It’s an entirely different thing when it makes the roads—and me—unsafe.  Now run along… be a dear… and spend a minute finding the turn signal in your car…. I can guarantee it’s in there.

NO DRINKING ON SUPERBOWL SUNDAY?

Posted on by Red (aka:DDJ)

alcohol

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee would like to ban hard liquor for the Superbowl.

Oh the FOOLISHNESS

Really.

Answering the Mayor’s drastic call for sobriety, Tucker Carlson, on Fox News, answered. “It’s possible that your team can play in the super bowl AND you can have a drink without setting fire to anything.”  Mind blowing!

 I am not particularly sure how in today’s economy tying the hands of business owners on, of all days, Super Bowl Sunday, is the most prudent way to handle the nuts who feel setting fires and flipping cars is the appropriate response to your team Winning.  (Although I admire The Mayor’s presumption of such.)   I admit, as a Jets fan I do not have a lot of experience with this, winning. But I would like to believe that a predisposed ounce of sanity along with a fear of large uncontrolled fires and a bad back would provide some hiccups to a championship celebration run amok.  It helps that I am most certainly not a certifiable nut, hell bent on destruction of property.

 What happened to the days of popping a bottle of champagne, cheering loudly for your team as they parade around in their new, made-a-week-ago, championship caps, and celebrating with a pile of wings and chips? And why can’t I be trusted with a real drink?

 It sounds as if the mayor has some impractical, if not delusional, advisors.  Banning “hard liquor” is not going to stop your average football fan from consuming enough beer to both set fires and flip cars, if that is what they really want to do.  I imagine his fear of the same headline craziness we’ve been reading after so many championship games in so many cities for so many sports is at the root of his desire for a sober Superbowl.  Yes Mayor, we also remember “The San Francisco Giants Riot”. Still, I admit I really don’t get it.

 The San Francisco Giants World Series win debacle ended with 36 people arrested during post game “celebrations.” 23 of those were deemed felonies.   So, according to Lee, I shouldn’t be able to have a glass of Patron on the rocks because 36 people in his city – the second most densely populated, major city in the United States after New York City – went nuts?

At my last look, Mayor Ed Lee had the following suggestion. “I suggest that they serve something (other) than heavy alcohol during the times of celebration cause that inebriation sometimes doesn’t help with people who might go beyond the bounds of acceptability in their celebration.”

 (YES, he said “cause”)

He says his concern is for the small businesses that got HURT during the baseball celebration.  So, of course, the answer is to punish all businesses that serve alcohol – along with all responsible adults.

 This seems to be a common theme these days. Punish the majority because of a small minority of law-breakers.

 But you have to love the American Beverage Institute for putting their 2 cents in.  In a statement on Monday, they asked the city “to avoid demonizing a perfectly legal product.”  Good point. But it leads to the question of why would the Mayor want to “demonize” and punish only “hard liquor” drinkers? I consider myself a pretty tame Tequila drinker, but I have known my fair share of well…let’s just call them rambunctious beer drinkers.  I do find it interesting that NO one seems to think WINE drinkers watch football… (Just an afterthought.)

 Well, I am pretty darn sure the Mayor’s idea is a foolish, unenforceable concept.  And, who knows…. Maybe the Ravens will win.  Or, perhaps the biggest fight will just be between the Harbaugh brothers.

red@dealingwithfools.com

Weight loss “miracle” drugs

Posted on by Red (aka:DDJ)

diet-pill-2

Results May Vary

Not Typical

Paid Actor

Use with healthy diet and exercise

 Who are the people who believe these claims?  Are they just foolish, desperate, drunk? No, I think mostly foolish, because we all know the old adage, if it sounds too good to be true, it most certainly is. I see these commercials incessantly in the late night and early morning of television.  And my guess is during daytime television, which I am thankfully not exposed to.  If not for my DVR and the ability to back up and pause, these little tidbits of information go vastly unseen as they disappear faster than a hotdog at a hotdog eating contest.  Of course there is the OTHER disclaimer, “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease”.  All of which I suppose is comforting in the world of legitimate medications for diseases that are advertised on TV that VERBALLY explain that they all “could cause death”.  And those have been evaluated by the FDA.   At least they are up front about it.

So where does this leave you?  Well, life is a crapshoot.  Diet pills don’t work, (the part about diet and exercise does), and sometimes real, prescribed by a physician, medication kills.  I haven’t worked out the odds yet. It seems a daunting process.

In the interim… I am wary of everything I read and hear. And in the end I roll the dice.  So far, not dead.

“DESTRUCTIVE STEREOTYPES” – OR MAYBE JUST THE FACTS

Posted on by Zoetic

american_idol_logo11

Nine black former “American Idol” contestants have gotten together to SUE the show … claiming they were all forced off of the show as part of a racist plot to get higher ratings.

Corey Clark (Season 2), Jaered Andrews(Season 2), Donnie Williams (Season 3), TerrellBrittenum (Season 5), Derrell Brittenum (Season 5), ThomasDaniels (Season 6), AkronWatson (Season 6), Ju’Not Joyner (Season 8) and ChrisGolightly (Season 9).

The former contestants claim that Idol has only publicly disqualified 9 show since it first hit the air … and they all happened to be black.

Their attorney now alleges that “Idol” has been conducting a “cruel and inhumane” scheme to exploit and humiliate black contestants for ratings. Continue reading “DESTRUCTIVE STEREOTYPES” – OR MAYBE JUST THE FACTS