mixed signals

He was just doing his job, so I can’t fault him for that…

However, his choice of words was interesting given the circumstances:

“I’m just here looking out for your safety.”

Really, then why were you hiding?  It seems like if you were truly interested in my safety, and the safety of the other drivers on the road, then you’d be out in plain sight using your presence as a reminder to slow down and drive safely.

Backing into a position off the side of the road, so that you are hidden from view until the cars come alongside you sure doesn’t seem like you are there for our safety.  That  makes it seem like you are more interested in handing out tickets to those unlucky enough to pass you when you are ready to spring your trap than actually worried about the safety of everyone on the road.

That’s just my theory, anyway.

And, as I said, you were just doing your job.

Though, I have to wonder when your job became more about revenue generation and law enforcement than keeping the peace…  And how you knew that your radar didn’t get distorted by the foliage you were hidden behind…  Has that been tested?  And how you targeted me, rather than any of the other cars I was among that were all going the same speed?  Especially when you couldn’t see any of us from behind those same bushes…

Yes, I have lots of questions, but I’ll be a good resident of California and pay this tax like I pay the rest.  It’s not like I have a family to feed, or a mortgage to pay, or the future to be saving for, or, oh wait, I do.

The Unparalled Merits of College

(This challenge isn’t all that difficult for me as I will often argue both sides of any argument depending on which one needs the most support.  What follows is the point of view of a friend from the last “disagreement” I had with them regarding the need for everyone to have a college education.)

College is for everyone.

We, as a society, benefit every bit as much as the individual benefits from that advanced knowledge and experience attained by those who attend college and seek a degree.  A more educated populace means more demand for higher paying jobs, which means more taxes being collected, which means those unable to work have better resources at their disposal, which means health care costs go down for everyone, which means more money in the pockets of everyone, which means more people are willing to spend money, which means more jobs at all levels are needed…   This creates a self replicating cycle, because more highly educated people will be needed to fill those jobs, and we start again.

While you may argue that not every job requires the skills and experiences attained from a 2 or 4 year degree, I believe that perhaps if someone with a higher education took up one of those careers they would see a way to improve it, to reduce cots, to increase output, to benefit the company they work for and the society as a whole.

While you may argue that the sheer cost of college will become a detriment to those who are unable to find a high paying position despite their advanced education and thus create a burden on society rather than a bonus, I believe that the overwhelming majority of people will be able to find work.  That majority will easily cover the cost of those unable to pay back their college debt.  Besides, to make college a goal for us all to realistically achieve we will have to greatly reduce tuition anyway.

What other arguments do you have?  What flaws do you see in this plan?

on the clock

Today’s daily prompt tells us to set a timer for 10 minutes, hit start on the timer, write, and when the buzzer goes off to hit Publish, just like that, just that easy.

Ready, set, go:

Oh me, oh my, only ten minutes to come up with something to write about, flesh it out, make sure it is coherent and then hit publish… and how much time did I waste writing that out?  Because it’s not like I had a pause button and could stop it while I’m setting up this post, adding a tittle and some tags, etc…  Whatever, we do, time keeps on ticking into the future (*sing song*).

We all know that adage: nothing is certain in life except death and taxes.  Well, certainly we should add time to that as well.  It keeps on moving as the world keeps on spinning regardless of any of our pursuits or exploits.  Two minutes have passed now since I started writing and there was nothing I could have done about that passage.  It was set.  It was certain.

So, what does that mean for us?  Do we fear time as we might fear death and taxes?  Do we fight against it, try to prolong it, argue against it?  That would all be futile, just as futile as engaging in that same behavior for death and taxes, right?  Times passes, we pay taxes, and death comes to us all. 

And as I write this I’m stopping to add new tags to the growing list as I come up with additional key words, additional triggers that relate to this post, to time, and to life in general….

Which is just wasting more of my time.  5 minutes gone now.

Since there is no point in fighting this constant movement, this constant passage of time, what are we to do about it?  Honor it?  Worry about it?  Spend more of it thinking about it?  That’s exactly what we are doing right now: spending time pondering time.  And two more minutes have ticked away and I’m left with only three to get my point across.

Or, maybe I have already gotten my point across.  It can’t be stopped so we just have to ride along with it and therefore it is a precious commodity and should not be wasted.  No time for spell check or grammar proof reading.  No time to go back and make sure you’ve been coherent from start to finish.  No time to worry if people will understand what you are trying to get across.  Because if you do, you may run out of time… and that would be a trajedy.