I'm just sitting here wondering why hostage negotiators exist. If the solution to 100% prevention of gun violence is to have more guns on the scene (according to the 45th president), and SWAT already has guns, why do we have hostage negotiators? The lives of a handful of adults at a store or a bank aren't worth more than hundreds of children in a school. Do those people in the midst of committing a crime not know that cops and SWAT have guns? Just knowing it is supposed to prevent the crime. Haven't armored trucks, train cars, and stage coaches had armed guards for hundreds of years now? Has that been a full proof deterrent? Is money worth as much as the lives of children? Castles have traditionally been well armed since the beginning. Has no royal ever lost their life while in their castle surronded by armed guards? Or have many kingdoms been overthrown?
There must be some proof, in all of human history, that increasing weapons prevents crime at an astronomically high rate. Some deterrent must have been full proof, right?
Just pondering.
Random posts from a writer who loves cats and coffee. An American Democratic woman with chronic illness (respiratory) who lives to read, write, and binge watch Netflix or Hulu. Married to a hot foodie who plays lots of video games. I'm not just a broken human, I'm also uniquely maladjusted but fun!
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Coffee is my Theme #AtoZchallenge
I'm doing the A to Z blogging challenge again this year.
I'm going to blather on about one of my favorite subjects:
COFFEE
My taste profile might be different from yours.
I might know something about this tasty beverage that you don't.
Guess we'll find out!
As you were kind enough to stop by today, I'll kick off with this game.
I play Lumosity to keep my mind sharp. Also, it's really fun.
One of my favorite games in the collection is "Trouble Brewing."
As you can see from the screenshots, it's a game where you play as a barista.
(It's a memory game, really.)
But there you are, making coffee.
Lumosity is playable both online and on mobile.
It takes between 8 to 15 minutes a day to complete the training.
(You get 3 games a day as a free member.
5 games a day is the recommended amount for premium,
though you can play as many as your heart desires.)
^ There's your invitation! ^
My April posts will be more about the actual drink.
This just seemed like a fun way to reveal my theme.
Friday, March 16, 2018
Pinterest PSA
My husband and I were sending each other pins from our phones last night. Our Pinterest inboxes were NOT showing them. We had to go into the inbox, hit "new message," write something, hit send, then the messages/pins conversation would show up.
The only reason we found out we had pin messages from each other on our mobile apps was because we were sitting in the same room. How many people have sent me pins that I don't see because there's no notice in the inbox? His inbox only showed two conversations (our friend and his cousin). He obviously had more, mine to say the least.
Our apps and phones are up to date. I'm putting this out there in case others think someone on Pinterest is ignoring you.
The only reason we found out we had pin messages from each other on our mobile apps was because we were sitting in the same room. How many people have sent me pins that I don't see because there's no notice in the inbox? His inbox only showed two conversations (our friend and his cousin). He obviously had more, mine to say the least.
Our apps and phones are up to date. I'm putting this out there in case others think someone on Pinterest is ignoring you.
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
School is for learning NOT for dying
#NationalWalkoutDay
#Enough
As I'm not a student in a school (being an adult), I can only watch and read about the bold taking part today, standing up for themselves and others. I did the one other thing I could think to do -- I asked Congress to pay attention.
Tweet copy
#Enough
As I'm not a student in a school (being an adult), I can only watch and read about the bold taking part today, standing up for themselves and others. I did the one other thing I could think to do -- I asked Congress to pay attention.
Tweet copy
Pi Day
This Pi day image goes well with the name of my blog, don't you think?
It goes even better with my Facebook page.
Sunday, March 4, 2018
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Do Words Have Power
Something that struck me as odd:
My class didn't have the words to the Pledge of Allegiance as vocabulary words until sixth grade. We spent seven years repeating words like parrots, unaware of what we were saying, and certainly not meaning any of it. It's possible the three Jehovah's Witnesses who didn't say it knew more about it than we did. Or they were just following their parents orders, with no actual idea why everyone said the pledge but them. (One would later be sent to a psychiatric facility, twice, for wishing to convert, and then commit murder partly for that religious freedom of choice.)
What does it mean to pledge your allegiance to a flag? An inanimate object which people have strong feelings about because it represents something. To be clear -- there is a CHRISTIAN based group which is known for burning crosses, the symbol of their church. But burn a 🇺🇸 flag, and watch the national news coverage and debate. Symbol= 🕆Symbol= 🇺🇸 And both are most often something you're born into. And the people who come to claim those symbols by choice instead, the people who really grasp the meaning and let it impact their lives in a deeply altering way? They're not "real" enough to matter.
Then the Pledge mentions the Republic. Most Americans think we live in a Democracy, not a Republic. They'll fight you on this point of fact. Yeah, that's after pleading their ALLEGIANCE to the Republic for 13 years. Loyalty and commitment, but not remembering which one we have. That's worth considering.
Do words have meaning, have power, when recited without understanding or thought? (Outside of spells, maybe.)
Some people have been mocking my friend behind her back. She just found out today. Not only does she not mock them but, until today, she didn't even think about them. These people barely know her. Her step kids know their kids (bio, step, adopted, whatever). But these people, who have had next to no interaction with her in person, are obsessed with her weight. Apparently they devote an inordinate amount of time thinking about it, talking about it, and coming up with ways to mock it amongst each other. In a world full of problems, they're obsessed with the appearance of parent of a friend of a friend of their kid. Still, now that she knows, the words hurt her. (And no, she's not especially heavy. She is incredibly attractive.)
Have those people used words of negativity enough times to equal the time they spent pledging allegiance? It takes about 10 seconds to say they pledge. 180 days in a school year. 1,800 seconds saying the pledge in school a year for 13 years is 23,400 seconds. 6.5 hours.
Is it JUST (as in justice) to mock someone without knowing the cause of what you're mocking? Some people look certain ways by choice, and some due to medical issues they're spending thousands of dollars trying to rectify but medicine hasn't caught up yet.
Liberty and Justice for all.
If you're going to spend 6.5 hours saying it (for no other reason than to not argue with teachers and administrators), maybe take a minute to think about what it means.
Or just don't be a dick. Your words might have the power to ruin someone's day, and that might make a total stranger hate you.
My class didn't have the words to the Pledge of Allegiance as vocabulary words until sixth grade. We spent seven years repeating words like parrots, unaware of what we were saying, and certainly not meaning any of it. It's possible the three Jehovah's Witnesses who didn't say it knew more about it than we did. Or they were just following their parents orders, with no actual idea why everyone said the pledge but them. (One would later be sent to a psychiatric facility, twice, for wishing to convert, and then commit murder partly for that religious freedom of choice.)
What does it mean to pledge your allegiance to a flag? An inanimate object which people have strong feelings about because it represents something. To be clear -- there is a CHRISTIAN based group which is known for burning crosses, the symbol of their church. But burn a 🇺🇸 flag, and watch the national news coverage and debate. Symbol= 🕆Symbol= 🇺🇸 And both are most often something you're born into. And the people who come to claim those symbols by choice instead, the people who really grasp the meaning and let it impact their lives in a deeply altering way? They're not "real" enough to matter.
Then the Pledge mentions the Republic. Most Americans think we live in a Democracy, not a Republic. They'll fight you on this point of fact. Yeah, that's after pleading their ALLEGIANCE to the Republic for 13 years. Loyalty and commitment, but not remembering which one we have. That's worth considering.
Do words have meaning, have power, when recited without understanding or thought? (Outside of spells, maybe.)
Some people have been mocking my friend behind her back. She just found out today. Not only does she not mock them but, until today, she didn't even think about them. These people barely know her. Her step kids know their kids (bio, step, adopted, whatever). But these people, who have had next to no interaction with her in person, are obsessed with her weight. Apparently they devote an inordinate amount of time thinking about it, talking about it, and coming up with ways to mock it amongst each other. In a world full of problems, they're obsessed with the appearance of parent of a friend of a friend of their kid. Still, now that she knows, the words hurt her. (And no, she's not especially heavy. She is incredibly attractive.)
Have those people used words of negativity enough times to equal the time they spent pledging allegiance? It takes about 10 seconds to say they pledge. 180 days in a school year. 1,800 seconds saying the pledge in school a year for 13 years is 23,400 seconds. 6.5 hours.
Is it JUST (as in justice) to mock someone without knowing the cause of what you're mocking? Some people look certain ways by choice, and some due to medical issues they're spending thousands of dollars trying to rectify but medicine hasn't caught up yet.
Liberty and Justice for all.
If you're going to spend 6.5 hours saying it (for no other reason than to not argue with teachers and administrators), maybe take a minute to think about what it means.
Or just don't be a dick. Your words might have the power to ruin someone's day, and that might make a total stranger hate you.
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