Dogs, Railroads, and Robots

It seems that almost everything nowadays will some way or another end up on the Internet. And a great deal of the info consumed or distributed by the Internet is, if it is a video clip, on the megasite known as YouTube. YouTube, in my opinion, is the bane of some fame-hungry teenagers. These teens will often do stupid incredibly stupid things just to get themselves on the Internet.  Sometimes, they will go to such lengths that they endanger their lives just for fifteen minutes of fame. And, the chances that someone will even see that small clip are about 1 to 100. Is seventy years really worth trading for seventy possible seconds of fame?

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a railhead, and I am utterly fascinated with railroads. Something about a train sparks a kind of delight within me. The roaring engine, the pure power of an iron horse… whatever it is that fascinates me, I don’t know. In fact, there is a quote that I particularly like:

“When I hear the iron horse make the hills echo with his snort like thunder, shaking the earth with his feet, and breathing fire and smoke from his nostrils… it seems like the earth had now got a race worthy to inhabit it.” -Henry David Thoreau.

And, ah!, here’s another one, which may explain my inability to explain my fascination with railroads:

“The curious but intense pleasure that is given to many people by the watching and the study of railway trains, their engines, and the detail of their organization is both an art and a mystery. It is an art because the pleasure to be had is exactly proportionate to the informed enthusiasm one puts into it. It is a mystery because, try as one will, it is impossible to explain to others exactly in what the pleasure consists.” -Roger Lloyd.

I think that sort of sums it up, don’t you?

(Note: The next and final installation of this series is coming in July.)

The Olympics are traditionally a time for countries to lay down their arms against each other and have some fun playing sports. Unfortunately, some countries like to hold grudges. Various small European countries have already boycotted the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, and now the U.S. is considering following suit. But I tell you, no good can come of a boycott. Sure it would mean that China, who isn’t exactly playing nice with its neighboring countries Bhutan and Nepal (do you call a military takeover ‘nice’?), would lose a lot of revenue, but on the minus side…

1.  It would deny our athletes the opportunity to shine in front of the world.
2. It would deny our athletes to do what they do best.
3. China would lose competition, thus giving them reason to say “Look! Our athletes are the best in the world!” However, if our athletes had been there, that wouldn’t happen.
4. The United States would lose positive publicity.

It is pointless to turn a peaceful event into one big fight.

Things to do on St. Patrick’s Day (do these in order):

1. Wear green.
2. Eat green eggs and ham.
3. Pinch someone who isn’t wearing green.
4. Go to Ireland.
5. Find a four leaf clover.
6. Kiss the Blarney Stone.
7. Go to a pub.
8. Boast about how you did some heroic thing (that you really didn’t do).
9. Go home and sleep.

I am currently suffering from writers’ block. So why am I writing? Because I couldn’t think of anything else to write! Most great novels are the result of writer’s block. When a writer suffers from writers’ block, they are provoked to cast about in their minds for the best thing to write about. Then, they just start writing things down, and wala,  out pops a national bestseller from the printing press of some publishing company.  When I tried to think of something to write about on the dreaded TAKS test, I just wrote words down that had something to do with the prompt and hey presto!, commended performance award on the writing portion of the TAKS! Why people hate writers’ block, I don’t know, because it is the greatest tool a writer can possess.

I own a dog, and he is a Red-bone coon hound. Surprisingly, he doesn’t like water and will stay away from our pool at all costs. But the reason I bring my dog up is that he is not a typical hound. As I mentioned, he hates our pool. Any normal hound will adore water. Also, he really doesn’t mind the squirrels. It seems to be a trade: he provides them with access to the yard, and they provide him with buried nuts to dig up and eat.  And that brings me to my main point in this post. Things (dogs as the case in point) are not always as they seem. For example, I read a comic strip in our newspaper, Over the Hedge. It is in a series about the main characters and a pit bull puppy. The dog seems dangerous because of the breed connotation, but he is really a sweet dog.The way I see it, there are no bad breeds of dogs, only bad owners of dogs. If a dog, say, a pit bull or bulldog, is mistreated, then he will be every bit as mean as people think he is. But if one treats their dog right, that dog will most likely be a sweet, lovable dog. If every dog owner were humane and right to their dog, a pit bull’s temperament might well nigh be associated with a bloodhound’s. (Note: The next part in this three-part series is coming in April.)

Starbucks. Oh, yes, it’s doing a grand job, what with its Frappucchinos and Dulche de Leche lattes, but for the first time, the mighty global coffee giant trembles as two competitors rise from the ruins of the marketing battlefield. McDonalds has specifically announced that is there to eat, or rather drink, into the Starbucks market. Dunkin’ Donuts, too, once a little-known coffee and donut mini-chain, has massively expanded to pose a threat to the Starbucks empire. So, how will Starbucks launch its counter-offense? Well, surprisingly, the CEO wants to de-automate most of its coffee making. You see, the Starbucks CEO has felt that all Starbucks is turning into is a coffee Wal-Mart, with no real conviction to its coffee. Starbucks is starting to realize that the more personal effect that the barista has is a positive thing, and that it is losing that personal touch. In fact, last week the Starbucks CEO issued a mass training session, shutting down Starbuckses across the country. Meanwhile, while Starbucks spends on training the troops, both Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonalds are spending heavily on advertisement and automation. Remember, the Coffee War has only just begun. Who will rise victorious remains to be seen.

One thing I’ve never understood is the reason for the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) tests. They aren’t really a benchmark for the progress for the students, but more of a benchmark for the school. List of things that the TAKS is useful for:

• Benchmark for the school’s progress in boring to death the district’s students and teachers.
• A tool to fire, give a raise to, or dock the pay of teachers.

List of things the TAKS is not useful for:

• a benchmark for the student’s progress
• a way to effectively test the student’s knowledge of basic skills and concepts.

So, as you can see, there is no purpose for the TAKS tests. So… why have it?