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Aurora and gun control

The shootings at a theater in Aurora were tragic. A man with untold problems decided to take the lives of many innocent people. My first reaction was that if gun control laws were more restrictive, the killer may not have been able to get the gun he needed to kill so many people.

A very good friend believes the opposite. He would argue that if a sane person in the theater with good marksmanship skills were carrying a concealed weapon, that person could have killed the shooter before all his killings were completed. We argued extensively about gun control a few years back and finally realized we could not convince the other to change his mind. We put the argument behind us and our friendship has grown deeper.

I am not going to argue here about gun control. I will say that with great freedom comes great responsibility. As the parent of two teenagers, I know the feeling of handing over the keys to a car for that first solo run. Anything could happen. As a society that has handed the controls of lethal weapons to nearly anybody, anything can happen.

My son went to a midnight showing – the same movie on the same night, at a different theater 15 miles from the tragic location. My family is not very different from some of the families whose sons and daughters were killed. My son could have been killed. Your daughter could have been killed.

I am thankful for our freedom – but I am sad for the frequent abuses of that freedom. I would be willing to give up a little freedom in exchange for a little more sanity.

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A new form of taxes

Writing on an envelope - showing how I am unhappy - pointing to a postage stamp of an unhappy personI got hit with a red-light camera ticket.

A good thing is that the traffic violation does not go against my insurance record. A bad thing is that I can think of a million other things I could have spent that money on.

I realize that these cameras may prevent a few serious accidents. But truly drunk or impaired people who might run a red light probably aren’t thinking about red light cameras. (They will be when they get their notice in the mail.)

I also understand that local governments are hurting. Like almost everyone else, they are having a hard time making their income match their expenses. And collecting taxes this way is very cost-effective.

Currently, only 21 states and Washington DC have these cameras. I happen to be in one of the states that taxes their residents this way. Have you been taxed this way lately?

The photo, by the way, is of the envelope I mailed the check in to the civil authorities.

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What difference does “imported” make?

Heineken amused me.

Their latest print ad touts how awesome it is that their beer is imported. However, in England, Heineken is not imported. For English consumption, the Dutch beer is brewed in English breweries, under license from the Dutch corporate headquarters.

What’s the big deal about “imported” anyhow? “Chinese-made” used to mean poor quality. Now, nearly everything is made in China, and often with very high quality built in. “American” brands and “German” brands are made all over the world. Even Swiss watches may be assembled elsewhere.

Having said that, I still prefer certain countries of origin for certain products. What’s your favorite imported product and why do you like it better than the alternatives?

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How do you decide?

Polish cerealAlmost every situation where we make a decision involves some compromise.

Breakfast cereal … I love non-standard less-sweet varieties that can’t be found in the Kellogg’s or Post sections of the supermarket. So my search for interesting cereals brought me to Big Lots. (I’m a Big Fan of Big Lots.)

I found a tropical fruits cereal there, from Poland, of all places! Then, I noticed that Big Lots imported it from Poland. There aren’t many tropical fruits in Poland. So the fruits were grown in Africa, flown to Poland, and then the end product was flown to some warehouse in Columbus, Ohio. Then they were transported to Denver. And trucked from the local Big Lots warehouse to my local suburban store.

That’s a lot of carbon footprint.

But how do we avoid that? It’s not easy. Tropical fruits aren’t grown in Denver either. But I like them.

How do you decide which products you buy?

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Vending machines and culture

Umbrella vending machine in Hong KongIn Hong Kong, I saw this umbrella vending machine. In Ghent, Belgium, I saw an entire storefront made of vending machines, selling a huge variety of stuff, including Hoegaarden beer.

Why is it that machines in North America mostly sell food and soft drinks? We could sell a much greater variety of things, making our lives that much more convenient. We wouldn’t have to employ shop keepers to work at 3 am. (Those same shop keepers could drive around the city refilling machines, during normal waking hours.)

What we don’t put in those boxes is reflective of the boxes we put ourselves in.

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Poll about brewing coffee

Hey friends, here’s a fun poll just for something different. You can see what the results are by clicking the “View Results” link at the bottom of the poll. And if you brew your coffee using a different method, let us know by a comment on this post. Thanks!

[polldaddy poll=6310515]

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Found note

found noteI found this card on the parking lot of a Target store.

Observation: The author was older than 50, from the handwriting style.

Questions:

1. Did the author go back to their home and create the card or did they have some in their car, just waiting for such situations?

2. Did the bad parking person pick up the card and bring it with them to Target?

3. Did it fall out of their purse or pocket?

4. Did the bad parking person change their evil ways?

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Way to save

fuel gaugeIf you fill up your fuel tank when it’s only half empty, here are some good reasons to wait till it’s nearly empty:

1. You will cut down the number of your trips to the gas station. That will save you time and money. It will help save you money for two reasons – you will do fewer impulse purchases at the checkout counter (if you pay there) by paying for the fuel fewer times. You will save the fuel that it takes to stop and start your car or driving to the station, if you made a special trip.

2. You will pollute the atmosphere less. If people idle their vehicles behind you when you’re fueling, you’ll prevent some of their emissions from entering the atmosphere.

The only positive reasons I’ve heard to fill up sooner are that there may be sediment in the bottom of your tank that could get stirred up if the fuel level goes too low. But modern engines have sophisticated fuel filtration systems, so that shouldn’t really be a problem.

And yes, you are smart enough to fill up early enough that your tank won’t go empty.

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No small cars

Ford Ka toy carLife just gets to be too much at times.

I was going to do a presentation at Ignite Denver 11 called, “Why You Should Drive a Small Car.” I was really looking forward to presenting. However, I am deep into the first term of a graduate degree program (two courses at once) and am continuing in my responsibilities as a dad to three kids, a husband to one woman and doing a good job for the clients of my business.

So I am hoping that I can do the presentation after the degree is finished. I’ll graduate in December 2013, if all goes as planned.

Thanks to all my friends who kindly gave me “yes” votes to allow me to be one of the Ignite presenters. I hope to call on you again after the grad degree is in the bag.

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Sad passing

Closed storefrontA store in our neighborhood closed. I was really sad. Though I was not a big patron of Jo-Ann Fabrics, it will be missed. I don’t know of any new tenant taking over the space, which was a Safeway supermarket many years ago.

Our kids would ride their bikes or walk over to get some candy. Though there’s a convenience store a block farther, it’s just not the same. I feel bad for the surrounding businesses. They will miss some of the “halo” effect of customers Jo-Ann brought in. I am sad for employees who lost their jobs. A few may be hired at the three other locations in the Denver area. And local fabric enthusiasts will now have to travel further to get their thrills.

What recently closed business do you miss – and why?

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