Hal - Deliberately Basic

Saving the earth from the evils of human consumption and waste is not a new concept. In the seventies we were told that the earth was running out of natural resources, particularly oil. It would be just a matter of a few years and all would be gone. I didn’t believe it then and I don’t believe it now.

The concept is much the same – have we forgotten Earth Day? Earth Day was started before many of the current crop of human wasters were born. The idea of environmental issues was put forth as early as 1962 by Senator Gaylord Nelson. During the sixties there was much talk, and even a massive demonstration took place in 1969. And then, April 22, 1970 the first Earth Day was held.

Earth Day is only one of the many programs and concepts to save the earth. Going Green is the latest approach, and like many of the others, the jury is still out on whether it will go the way of so many other programs. More important, will it actually have an effect on the environment?

Now we are inundated with “Green.” I don’t believe I am alone here, when everywhere I look, is “green” and cynic that I am, I see this as just another “jump on the bandwagon” attempt to be politically correct. For most corporations going green means hauling in as much money as possible.

I am tired of being blamed for the mishaps of the world. I would love to have a car that didn’t require a second mortgage to fuel, and a cheaper way to heat my house. If you do not live in a major city, there is no public transportation, so you drive to work. Carpooling is fine, if you have a car large enough to accommodate it, and you don’t mind the hassle.

I did not make the big SUVs and cars that are inefficient, nor have I bought one. Why, in the last 30 plus years has little progress been made with fuel efficiency? What happened to all those high-milage carburetors, electric cars, and the too-many-to-remember gadgets to make driving reasonable? I don’t know, but it is easy to suspect that big oil may have something to do with the demise of fuel efficiency.

Now we come to recycling. My grandparents knew how to recycle much better than any system I see today. They lived through the Great Depression, and had to reuse things. They used every scrap of paper, every tiny can or container until it was worn out, beyond any doubt of reuse. Even my parents practiced recycling – they didn’t call it that – by using containers for purposes other than the original. For example, jelly and jams used to come in glass containers that could be then used as drinking glasses.

Now, and for the last 30 or so years, we live in a throw-away world. We have more gadgets than we need, and hardly anything is repairable. I am old enough to remember small appliance repairmen. If your toaster went on the blink, you took it in for repair. Now, you pitch it and buy a new one. Gadgets are now made so that the consumer cannot even replace a battery. The latest example I see is the Apple laptop computer, MacBook Air. Is Apple going green? Maybe the MacBook Air is more fuel efficient.

Until the corporate world stops creating markets for gadgets we don’t need, I will remain unsure of the efficacy of any program about the environment. Until big oil allows cars to become effectively fuel efficient, I have doubts about green. And if we are serious about the environment, we need to stop buying non-repairable gadgets. Personally, I’d like to see the return of the jelly glass.

NOTE: To my delight, I discovered a repair shop after this post. I hope to see the day when most consumer products can be repaired instead of tossed. Have a look at Rapid Repair for small electronic devices.

What if you could have a DNA test that could tailor a much more precise diet and exercise program for you than anything currently available? This program would be as individual as DNA testing itself. In fact, you can, but, and this is a huge but (pun intended).

A recent article in Scientific American (December, 2007) addresses this dieting phenomena, pointing out the current state of technology in this field. On of the key points to remember is, this science is not yet advanced far enough to make recommendations.

I did a quick Google search for DNA dieting, and obtained 207,000 hits. Of course this could be narrowed to be much more specific, but illustrates how quickly companies spring up to make a quick buck on current trends.

The U.S. GAO sent in fictitious profiles, along with DNA of customers to an Internet service for testing. The profiles included: A 32 year old male, a 33 old female, and a 59 year old male, all with different heights, weight, etc. The actual samples were from a 48 year old male and an infant girl. All three came back with the same predictions.
Increased risk of:
• Osteoporosis
• High blood pressure
• Type II diabetes
• Heart disease

This is obvious, generic advice, all of which can be found in a trusted health column, either online or in a newspaper. And it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg (Yep, another pun). DNA and diet could be a major breakthrough with weight and health problems. In fact, the perfect diet may have been found at last. On the other hand, don’t hold your breath waiting for you HMO to pay for the testing for some time to come.

I love debunking email “pass it on” messages. This one begs to be taken apart and reconstructed. Long ago I stopped pointing people to snopes.com or other sites to check the facts before accepting anything as truth. We live in a “National Inquirer” world, where yellow journalism and blatant lies are the norm for the written word. Email is fertile soil for anyone to grow the most outrageous lies, and ask that they be passed to everyone in the world as truth.

I got this message from a friend, and its interesting, but not exactly factual. I don’t know when this was written, or who wrote it, but it appears the baby-boomer generation has been forgotten. Also, consider that even though this fictional man was born before some of these things were in wide spread use, he nevertheless had them around the house as a child.

I am in the same age bracket as “Grandpa” - In fact I am a Grandpa. I remember the 50s and 60s well. I grew up in the era, and although I trusted my memory, I did a little research to see what the real story was behind what Grandpa thought he didn’t have.

How old is Grandpa? Really? And has he lost his memory?

—————The Message———–

Stay with this — the answer is at the end. It will blow you away.

One evening a grandson was talking to his grandfather about current events. The grandson asked his grandfather what he thought about the shootings at schools, the computer age, and things in general. The Grandfather replied, ‘Well, let me think a minute, I was born before:

Television - Facts: First public demonstration 1934. While only 0.5% of U.S. households had a television set in 1946, 55.7% had one in 1954, and 90% by 1962.

Penicillin - Facts: It was developed as a practical antibiotic during the late ’30’s and early ’40’s, becoming available in quantities in time to treat the Allied wounded on D-Day.

Polio shots - Facts: On April 26, 1954, scientists delivered what was called “the shot felt around the world.” In the cafeteria of Franklin Sherman Elementary School in McLean, Va. That was 58 years ago folks.

Frozen foods - Facts: To begin with, take away artificial freezing and you have several months in winter. But that aside, The first to harness the power of freezing foods beyond the winter months were the Chinese, who used ice cellars as early as 1000 B.C. My grandmother had an icebox. In 1930 Clarence Birdseye made frozen foods practical. Still, through the 40s and 50s various products were introduced (fish and orange juice for example) and the TV dinner was a prime catalyst for general acceptance for frozen food. And the TV dinner was a 50s product.

Xerox - Facts: Xerox was founded in 1906 as The Haloid Company, which originally manufactured photographic paper and equipment. The company changed its name to Haloid Xerox in 1958 and then simply “Xerox” in 1961. In 1959 the company became a household name, synonymous with copying. The Xerox 914 was the first one-piece plain paper photocopier, and sold in the thousands.

Contact lenses - Facts: Leonardo da Vinci was the first to describe this idea. Thereafter is a long history. The first known contact lens was produced by German glassblower F.A. Muller in 1887. The first fitting was by two Swiss physicians around this same time. William Feinbloom, a New York optometrist, first used plastic and in 1936 and in 1948 optician Kevin Tuohy manufactured lens made completely of plastic. My father wore contact lens in the early 50s, and most of his adult life.

Frisbees - Wham-O (A toy company) first began production in 1957, then called Pluto Platters. This is the same company that made the Hula-Hoop, Super Ball and Water Wiggle. Grandpa, did you ever hear of the Hula-Hoop? Frisbee ® is a registered trademark. In 1964 the first professional model went on sale. Grandpa was not very old in 1964. In 1967 some high school students in New Jersey invented Ultimate Frisbee, a recognized sport that in 1977 became complete with professional playing courses. The Frisbee, now more than 50 years old, is now owned by Mattel.

The pill - Facts: Another long history that started with Margaret Sanger (Planned Parenthood) as early as 1910. The chemistry of the birth control pill was invented in 1951. It was first tested on women in 1954, submitted to the FDA in 1956, approved in 1960. Many more trials and issues occur, especially from the Catholic church during the 1960s, and by 1967 12.5 million women worldwide were using the pill. A hit song from from Loretta Lynn that bode well with millions of women in 1974 was, “The Pill.”
I’m tearin’ down your brooder house
‘Cause now I’ve got the pill
There is a great timeline for the pill on this PBS site.

———–Message continued——

There were no:

Credit cards - Facts: From The Encyclopedia Britannica, “the use of credit cards originated in the United States during the 1920s…” About 1938 companies started to accept each other’s cards. Skipping forward, In 1950, the Diners Club issued their credit card in the United States. American Express issued their first credit card in 1958 and BankAmericard (now Visa) bank credit card later that same year. Although my family was not in the income bracket to have the luxury of a credit card, as a kid in the 50s, I knew others did.

Laser beams - Facts: Realize that there are many different kinds of lasers. In keeping with a short history, Theodore Maiman invented the ruby laser considered to be the first successful optical or light laser, in 1960. The common CD (using laser technology) was invented in 1965, although not mass produced until 1980. Note the date on this post is 2008. Do the math Gramps, even that was 28 years ago.

Ball-point pens - Facts: First invented in 1888, first mass marketing in 1935 by Gimbels in New York. By 1952 they became accepted and marketed as the “Ballpoint Bic.” Unless Grandpa is way beyond his years, he would have worn out many a ball-point pen in school.

—————And More From Gramps faulty memory.———–

Man had not invented:

Pantyhose - Facts: Allen Gant Senior invented pantyhose. In 1959, Glen Raven Mills of North Carolina introduced pantyhose — underpants and stockings all in one garment. In 1965, Glen Raven Mills developed a seamless pantyhose… From About.com

Air conditioners - Facts: As we know it today, invented in 1902. Widely circulated (no pun intended) in the 1950s. Problems with Freon and the environment, so alternatives have been developed.

Dishwashers - Facts: First invented in 1850, hand-cranked mechanical machines followed. Again, in the 1950s dishwashers caught on and came into general use. Grandpa must have been a dull boy.

Clothes dryers - Facts: Electrical, first appeared about 1915. Tiresome as it is, they became popular in the 1950s.

Man hadn’t yet walked on the moon - Facts: No, but as any school kid knows, he did in 1969. Gramps, you were a very young man then.

Your Grandmother and I got married first, . . . then lived together.
Ever hear about Woodstock Gramps? Enough said about moral issues in the sixties.

Every family had a father and a mother.
True, but they didn’t necessarily live in the same house. Divorce happened, much earlier than 1950. In fact the rate was higher in 1950 than it was in 1965. It appears to have peaked in the 1980s and again began a decline. In 1950 the divorce rate per 1000 was 2.6. See this site for a nice graph.

Until I was 25, I called every man older than me, ‘Sir’. And after I turned 25, I still called policemen and every man with a title, ‘Sir.’
Do not call a cop sir. I nearly got my ass kicked once for that. Cops like to be called Officer. Times change as well. Now that I am getting older, I do not like to be called sir. It makes me feel so…old.

We were before gay-rights, computer-dating, dual careers, daycare centers, and group therapy.
You chose not to see that homosexuals existed, women worked, you hired a baby sitter, and some therapy may have kept you from beating your wife and kids. Computer dating may have put you together with someone more compatible than the woman you hooked up with as a matter of chance. Or not.

Our lives were governed by the Ten Commandments, good judgment, and common sense.
Tell me you never coveted your neighbor’s wife, and I’ll show you a man with no testosterone.

We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions.
Did you pass that on to your kids? Do you take any responsibility for a generation that takes no responsibility? I see a generation of kids who live at home, many in their 30s or 40s. I would be embarrassed to have a kid like that.

Serving your country was a privilege; living in this country was a bigger privilege.
You must mean as in the Vietnam war. Yes, the 58,000 men who died as a result of Vietnam gave up their lives for what? A privilege to serve?

We thought fast food was what people ate during Lent.
White Castle in Wichita, Kansas is credited with being the first fast food restaurant, even though the term “fast food” was not used when the restaurant opened in 1921.

Why is something like this important? As parents and grandparents, we rant about the inferior education our children receive. We blame teachers, the system, the kids, everyone but ourselves. Yet we believe drivel like this, and pass it on the our friends. Imagine a real grandfather teaching his grandson that technology was unheard of and moral values have gone the way of the dinosaur.
“We Have Met The Enemy and He Is Us” — Pogo

The list of things this man believes is straight out of the WWII generation. This might be somewhat believable if he was 90 years old. Every item below can be either proven false, or not generally accepted by this man’s real generation. I have chosen to stop here, and let the rest of this bullshit speak for itself.

• Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins.
• Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started.
• Time-sharing meant time the family spent together in the evenings and weekends-not purchasing condominiums.
• We never heard of FM radios, tape decks, CDs, electric typewriters, yogurt, or guys wearing earrings.
• We listened to the Big Bands, Jack Benny, and the President’s speeches on our radios.
• And I don’t ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey.
• If you saw anything with ‘Made in Japan ‘ on it, it was junk
• The term ‘making out’ referred to how you did on your school exam.
• Pizza Hut, McDonald’s, and instant coffee was unheard of.
• We had 5 &10-cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents.
• Ice-cream cones, phone calls, rides on a streetcar, and a Pepsi were all a nickel
• And if you didn’t want to splurge, you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail 1 letter and 2 postcards.
• You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, . . but who could afford one?
• Too bad, because gas was 11 cents a gallon.

Are you ready ?

This man would be only 59 years old.

Could this be a typo, and he is really 89 years old? That must be the problem. As Gilda Radner, who played Rosanne Rosanna Danna on SNL, used to say,

“Never mind.”

I intend to live forever. So far, so good. ~Steven Wright

If there are any taboos left in the world, smoking must rank near the top of the heap, just below using the N word. Before you faint and fall to the floor at the mere suggestion that you would ever think about smoking a cigarette, at least consider why not.

There is no need to go into the health issues of smoking. If you don’t know that smoking is bad for your health, you have a more serious problem than a cigarette could ever cause. Even before the onslaught of attacks against tobacco companies, children were admonished (read, got their ass whipped) for smoking.As a child, I was warned of the dangers of smoking, especially in school. Smoking will stunt your growth, turn your skin yellow, and make you into a stinking undesirable, antisocial turd. And, it is generally bad for your health.

Nevertheless, in the 50s and 60s most adults and many teens smoked. I started when I was 16. At that time most people didn’t think of it as something that might kill you. Then again, most people didn’t worry about diet, exercise, carcinogens in water and air, seat-belts, growth hormones in livestock, erectile dysfunction, STDs, lead in paint, UV radiation from the sun, asbestos, mercury in fish, electromagnetic radiation, or Atherosclerosis from a Big Mac. Worry causes stress, and stress has been found by experts to be the root cause of all health problems. What conclusion can we draw from this? Medical experts and contradictions abound concerning health issues, and are synonymous in this industry.

Hitler against smoking. Thanks to Prison Planet
Beginning in the early 1930’s, as part of the Nazi agenda for racial purity, Hitler spearheaded a national campaign to ban smoking in all public buildings, and denounced the practice as a betrayal of the fascist drive for bodily purity.”Brother national socialist, do you know that our Führer is against smoking and think that every German is responsible to the whole people for all his deeds and emissions, and does not have the right to damage his body with drugs?” stated one magazine.

What is most important, your rights as a citizen, or government control of what you do? The Nazi regime did not care about the health of German citizens. Taking away personal rights is a way to control people, and that has been the essence of the anti-smoking campaign for the last 40 years.

If you are an ex-smoker, did you enjoy smoking? For a moment, forget about the health issues consistent with smoking, and consider this hypothetical situation. Was smoking a pleasurable thing to do? It was for me. I loved lighting up a pipe, an occasional cigar or a cigarette. It was a great way to relieve stress, or make a stressful situation more bearable.

I have not smoked anything for more than 30 years, and I will never smoke again. But not because of all the bullshit propaganda that has been perpetrated on me by those with ulterior motives. There was a time when I realized that smoking was making me sick, and as a personal choice, I gave up smoking. Never did it enter my mind to quit because someone else, especially the government, told me it was in my best interest to quit.

I once knew a woman (Call her Betty) who worked in the human resource department of a major hospital. The Godfather guy who was chief administrator, decided to enlighten ALL employees on the evils of smoking. He set about instituting a program which required everyone to tour the morgue. The idea was to show human lungs from smokers versus non-smokers. Of course the lungs of smokers were black, while the lungs of non-smokers were pink. Betty was a smoker, and had no desire to view human remains as an object lesson. Nevertheless, she was forced to go, or lose her job. On returning to the office after her tour, she was asked what she thought. She said, “They were all dead, were they not?”

I do not advocate smoking. I have no agenda, no reason to advertise that anyone smoke. In fact, I find that having to breath second hand smoke no longer agrees with me at the physical level. Do I care if someone else, a friend smokes? Not at all. That is his business, not mine. And please, don’t argue that I am helping to shorten his life by not harassing him. I have no right to tell him how to live his life, even if he chooses to dive off a cliff.

I can think of nothing more annoying than a self-righteous ex-smoker.If I could smoke with no ill effects, or health problems, I would would be pulling on a cigarette before finishing this article. I would again experience that pleasure of lighting up with friends, settle back with a good scotch, and relax. Later we might have a T-bone, rippled with enough fat to give it flavor, a potato and salad with lots of creamy fat dressing.

Maybe it’s the rebel in me; telling me I can’t do something has always made me want to do it just to piss off the establishment, murder and felonies excepted in most cases. I was fortunate to have wonderful teachers in school, and above all else I was encouraged to think for myself. Make a choice based on informed and critical thinking. Never allow platitudes, slogans, a mob, or anyone with an agenda influence your thinking. You always have a choice.