Some People will NEVER Learn...

Take a look outside tomorrow, and it might look like THIS... We in the Midwest are smack dab in the middle of winter...no doubt about it. We've already had temperatures in the sub-zero range for the past week, and intermittent snowfall, with even MORE on the way this week. And yet, even though SNOW and COLD TEMPERATURES have been around since mankind inhabited such regions, there are those who are laboring under a misconception that they can conduct their lives "as usual". Bears for example tend to hibernate during this time of year, and after viewing some people (and their actions), maybe we'd ALL be better off if THEY took a page from the book the bears are using, and cut US some slack.

The way many drive in winter weather gives me the shivers, and it's NOT from the cold. Call it terror if you will. You would THINK that after all this time, and all these years of having vehicles on our roads, that we'd have a LOT FEWER accidents. Think again. Even with safer vehicles, AND after better snow removal methods, AND after hearing and reading about how WE should practice CAUTION on the roads year after frigging year...we STILL have those that are just going against the grain. There are those who simply will just toss catuion to the wind (chill factors).

Look at the way people dress for winter..totally out of character with the frigid conditions, save for those WORKERS that HAVE to be out in this climate. Sorry, but I like to be comfortable, and if that means being WARM during zero degree conditions....well, that's fine by me. Better yet, I stay indoors unless I have to be outside, and the shorter duration...the better! I've spent my time walking, working AND driving in arctic-like weather with similar crappy conditions we've been experiencing, and on some days, it's not EVEN worth the paycheck!

Then we have the victims of heart attacks from shoveling, or those who suffer from frostbite or hypothermia...both of these can be readily avoided. I know no one in MY neighborhood will EVER suffer a heart attack from shoveling their sidewalks....(they never shovel at all...LOL!) Then there are those that practice anything BUT safety about the house with their "methods" of keeping warm. EVERY year, without exception, we keep hearing stories of that person that put GASOLINE in their KEROSENE heater (with predictable results). Or we hear about people plugging in SEVERAL electric space heaters into ONE outlet. First off, each heater operates at a MINIMIUM of 1500 watts (that's like a hair dryer) , and it has a substantial current draw. The more wattage, the greater the current draw. And since current is measured in AMPERES, anyone with a basic knowledge of electricity knows you can't get 30 AMPS from a 15 AMP circuit without something we like to call HEAT. This isn't a "good" kind of heat...this is the heat that MELTS WIRE INSULATION! The typical result of such inattentiveness to such "details" is a charred pile of rubble where a house once stood! Not the "best" way to keep warm, is it?

Such occurances could be avoided by paying the hell attention TO these details...like READING the directions, or perhaps buying the correct extension cord gauge. But in this world of technology out the arse,and information from every source imaginable, some folks are STILL just not "with it". They're too busy doing whatever (else) it is they're doing, and NOT taking a few minutes to prevent tragedies mentioned above.

There ARE a few cases where the technology (and not the person using it) becomes "at fault", and is readily addresed and corrected. And there is that "random act of God", as I like to call it, where maybe a tree falls on a house, setting it ablaze, or demolishing it beyond repair. But such things are rare by comparion to the sheer numbers of people not following procedures and practicing a modicum of safety. WE used to call that "good judgement". Don't know WHAT they're calling today, though.

Time was when certain technologies were in their infancy, people became gun-shy of this "new-fangled" stuff. Hell, alternating current was poo-pooed initially, because people could DIE from it, and who in their right mind wanted something in their home that could KILL them with the "flick of a switch"? Well, times have changed, but sadly people have not.

It makes me wonder if we'll have to LEGISLATE some sort of mandatory "attention span" or a form of "behavior modification", so people can avail themselves of facts that can quite possibly save their lives, as well as their homes or vehicles.

Be interesting to ponder the "what ifs" regarding having PEOPLE change instead of the TIMES...