By admin
At what point does recycling go beyond being a good eco-friendly habit and become a bad all-consuming obsession? We all know how important it is in this age of dwindling natural resources and problematic landfill engineering. But can you take it too far? Is there such a thing as too much recycling? I say yes. If you live in an area where recycling is really easy, yet you go to lengths that inconvenience yourself in order to do it well, I think you have gone too far. Not to mention the fact that you are probably some kind of crazy, tree-hugging, save-the-world, bleeding-heart kook if you do that.
Have you ever seen that episode of The Simpsons where Lisa likes some environmentalist nut boy? She tries to impress him by mentioning how she mulches at home and he responds, Just at home? You mean you don’t pocket mulch? …and pulls a stinking mulch pile out of his pocket to show her.
Mama Riah goes a little overboard herself. We have city-issued trash cans where we live and the blue one is for recycling. When the city first went to this system earlier this year they sent helpful flyers out telling you what to put in the recycling bins. One of the helpful hints was that they didn’t want food-contaminated containers, whatever that means. So my wife dutifully rinses out the cat food cans before tossing them in there. I mean these things are sparkling clean before we let them go.
Me? I just tossed an empty tomato-juice jug in there. The clear plastic was still as red as a tropical sunset from the inside. I suppose I could have spent ten minutes scrubbing it out first, perhaps soaking it in some eco-friendly cleaning chemicals first. Yeah right. Like all my neighbors (and all the other city residents) are doing that.
I kind of miss the good old days. The refuse company used to sort the trash out themselves and separate anything recyclable. Now what was wrong with that program? I can’t help but wonder if they still do that with the regular trash now, or how many people lost their jobs with the new system. One thing is for sure, the city sure was proud to roll out the new trash cans. They occupied a prominent place in our annual 4th of July parade.
So now we have to separate the trash ourselves. Which means you need like two little trash cans in all the rooms of your house if you want to do it right. Somehow I don’t think all my neighbors are carefully sorting every item they throw away. I must admit however that there is something inside me which makes me feel just a bit satisfied for doing a good job at it. That’s probably a delusion.
Papa Riah
Technorati Tags: environment, recycling
By admin
Boston is a very historic American city. Every year millions of tourists, some from international locations, visit this famous venue. Unfortunately, some of them end up getting more than they bargained for. If visits to the emergency room are not part of your itinerary while visiting the east coast, then you should plan accordingly. You can’t just walk around Boston (like you can everywhere else in the world) and expect to be treated with common courtesy. As a matter of fact, mingling with the natives puts you in serious danger of physical harm here.
It probably sounds like I am exaggerating. I mean, Boston is a popular tourist destination. You got the Maine lobster, the clam chowder, the green monster, and all that American Revolution history. If it were dangerous, certainly you would know about it by now. Right?
Not necessarily. Boston is actually a dangerous place for normal human beings. Why haven’t you been warned about this? Perhaps it’s because those of us who have experienced first-hand just how dangerous of a place it really is are a bit embarrassed to admit it. Getting punched in the face is not something you normally brag about when recounting your vacation details to your friends. But that is exactly what is going to happen if you visit Boston and attempt to mingle with the locals.
You see, Boston is populated by people of Irish decent. This particular heritage involves a lot of foolish pride. Most of that pride can only be validated by fighting. Irish folk love to fist-fight, and that stereotype is not exaggerated when you see television shows full of Irish folk beating each other half to death. The doctors in Boston love it.
If you avoid the locals when in Boston you will probably be OK. This means going directly to your hotel room after dinner. Do not stay out late. Do not engage local residents in any kind of conversation whatsoever. If you do, they will see it as a wonderful opportunity to put a fist into your mouth, removing a few important teeth in the process. Don’t think this can’t happen. Boston residents are just looking for the opportunity to do that to you.
If you do decide to risk visiting a sports bar, act like a Red Sox fan. Try to dress like one as well. If somebody asks you if you like the Yankees, be ready to profess your internal burning hate for that organization. If you are not believable, you risk a very dangerous physical assault.
The final tip I want to give you has to do with driving in Boston. Merging doesn’t work here like it does in other places. The first people to clue you in on this will be the nice folks at the rent-a-car counter. They will tell you to basically commit to wrecking their car, otherwise you will never be able to merge into another lane. The drivers in this city can smell fear, and courtesy is not in their vocabulary. You have to stick you nose in between the two cars and force your way in. That’s the only way they will think you are a local and allow you to merge.
If you must visit this city, please take my above advice seriously.
Papa Riah
Technorati Tags: boston, travel
By admin
Walking around in public places should be a fairly simple process, don’t you think? It would seem like people walking to and fro could all blend into a harmonious flow like some kind of synchronized swimming exhibition. At least that’s my fantasy. Unfortunately, it is far from reality. The problem seems to come from select individuals who apparently have the idea that they are royalty and everyone else should be getting out of their way.
I wish these select individuals were few, but the truth is they are everywhere out there. Just as too many cooks spoil the pot, too many self-appointed kings create major jams on the sidewalks of busy city streets. As bad as they are, they are only part of the problem. Throw in the huge segment of society that are evidently living their lives in an oblivious fog and you really have some serious negotiating to do anytime there are people between you and your destination.
It blows my mind. Either I am in somebody’s way or they are in my way. I don’t know what the self-appointed kings do when they encounter an oblivious human obstacle, as they always seem ready to execute me - and I am courteously trying to yield to them! Most of the time, that is. Once in a while you run across someone who is so arrogant you just have to get in their way on purpose to try and bring them down to earth a little.
Mama Riah and I were on a cruise recently and took some excursions which involved bus tours. Now everyone in America knows how to properly exit a plane, right? You know the people in the row in front of you also need to exit so you wait your turn and exit after them. Apparently this common etiquette doesn’t extend to tour busses. The people in the rows behind us jammed the isles and forced us to sit there until they had all passed, as if the protocol is last row exits first or something. It was like driving in Boston.
With that in mind, here are some pedestrian merging tips:
• Walking in a crowd is like driving - you don’t just stop on a whim as people behind you will run into you.
• Remember that you are not the center of the universe.
• Traffic flows on the right in America. This goes for walking as well as driving.
• The sidewalk was not invented just for you, we all are supposed to get to use it.
• People in front of you might turn right or left at any moment.
• When everyone needs to go to the same place, going in the current order that you are arranged makes the most sense.
• You really are not more important than everybody else.
• To receive courtesy you might want to try extending it once in a while.
Papa Riah
Technorati Tags: idiots, pedestrians, traffic
At what point does recycling go beyond being a good eco-friendly habit and become a bad all-consuming obsession? We all know how important it is in this age of dwindling natural resources and problematic landfill engineering. But can you take it too far? Is there such a thing as too much recycling? I say yes. If you live in an area where recycling is really easy, yet you go to lengths that inconvenience yourself in order to do it well, I think you have gone too far. Not to mention the fact that you are probably some kind of crazy, tree-hugging, save-the-world, bleeding-heart kook if you do that.