One step forward, how many steps back?

I noticed driving through downtown that they've started restriping some of the streets with bike lanes. I hope they continue that, because right now those lanes kinda stop and start from one block to the next it would make it hard for those biking guys and gals if they can't have a continuous lane to get where they're going. It would be painful to see those poor folks ride a block, get off the bike, and walk it to the where the next bike lane begins. Or they'd have to have a chase car for those unstriped sections since they might be far apart. Can't we give em a lane to go the whole way? You know, I'd like to see Tampa become more bike friendly, especially with the prices of gas these days. I'm noticing more and more folks at the bus stops too. I guess it won't be too long before we all might have to start thinking about different ways to get around. I'd like to see Tampa become more people friendly because the metal boxes with wheels that we lock ourselves away in for hours a day only go to promote selfishness and discourtesy. If more of us were able to bike or walk or ride the bus, I think we'd all get along a little better. Pedestrians can say good morning as they pass, bikers can ding that little bell thingy. They still have those? Well maybe not, but they'd still have the chance to wave and pass a greeting, or at least an enthusiastic "On the left!" as they go by. Folks riding the bus could form fast friendships or at least talk about the weather. I think if I ever ran for office that I'd make a point to walk around and ride the bus, or train if we get one and get the scoop from street level. Really hear what's on people's minds. I think making Tampa more people friendly starts with making it less car friendly so maybe there's a silver lining to the high prices.

Excuse me, I was here first

I have a lot of respect for workin' men and women. Hell, I'm one of 'em, have been all my life. We all make mistakes, so I understand how things sneak up on you from time to time, but it's still a pisser when this happens. Nothing quite chaps my ass like being bumped out of order because someone wasn't paying attention. Take for instance the other day I went in and sat my fanny in the booth with acknowledgement of at least two watresses. Unfortunately neither of those gals was handling my section. I wait and wait, and then another fella comes in and sits one booth over. The waitress sees him, brings him water, coffee and takes his order before even asking if I wanted a menu or coffee. That really steams me you know. Then she isn't even apologetic, she says I shoulda said something sooner. Hell, like I'm supposed to hunt her down to get a cup of coffee? Jiminy Crickets, how do some of these folks keep a job?

One light, two light, red light blue...nope another red light

Thankfully it never turned into a blue light, but I was starting to wonder the way things were going. Ever have one of those days? You have all the stuff planned out just so and once the first domino topples, the rest of the day is spent playing catch up. But you never do. It's like driving around and hitting every red light, well it's not really like that, part of the trouble is exactly that. Not only can I not find my keys and then the garbage needs to be taken out, then I realize Mrs. Grumpy's car is on the outside and there goes another few minutes. Before I realize it, I'm leaving home 15 minutes late and the cycle starts. I reach the first intersection, a stop sign. Low and behold not just one, but a line of cars are on parade. The clock keeps ticking. First light, oh I think I can make it. Nope. It turns red at the last second, that brick wall of a moment where you know you'll run it if you don't briskly and firmly apply the brakes right now. OK, so I wait. It's not so bad, I gave myself a few extra minutes in preparation. Here goes 2 or 3 of them. The upside is I am first in line. The light turns, I push that pedal and off I go. Now, I don't jackrabbit off the line, but Grumpy's never been one to dally at the green either. That's why I'm always amazed at the folks that think Old Betsy's itchin' for a race. Today is one of those days. Billy Joe Jimbo seems to think this Old Man is lined up for Gator Nationals. Off he goes no problem, no skin off my back, until half a block later the jackass cuts me off and slams on the brakes to make a left. Of course traffic is coming the other direction so its complete stop and wait time. There goes another minute or so. Blood pressure ratchets up a bit too. And so it goes, every light seems to have my number today. Red light. Red light. A City bus stops. Red light. Detour. Red light. Left turning traffic. Red light. Even those intersections with no cross traffic are conspiring. I'm beginning to feel battle-weary. I don't know if I'm going to make it. C'mon Betsy, we can do it old mule. It's not much further. When it's all over I finally arrive at my first destination only 5 minutes late, but aged much more. Lifes a funny little dance because next time I'll leave 5, maybe 10 minutes earlier and the imps will light up all the greens and then I'll get there a half-hour early. Sometimes you just gotta laugh.

Candid Coffee Capers

Coffee, it's my lifeblood. More often than I'd like to admit I find myself at the communal coffee trough at 7-11. Now there's a sight, a bunch of us bellying up trying to tweak the brew just so. Problem is, the positioning of all the fixin's just ain't conducive to efficiency or manners. An elbow here, a dirty sleeve draped across your cup there. I tell you what, a camera trained on the coffee counter might just make a profitable reality show, or at least a website. Tonight on Candid Coffee Capers, see Joe sweet-talk the clerk for some more creamer, while Mary uses her diminished height to sneak in under the competition for the first cup of that freshly brewed black gold.

Of testicles and the excessively horny

Now, I'm gonna bet that this here ain't exactly gonna be the sort of article that you might expect from the title. I thought a little titillation might be just the thing the get folks paying attention. It works for that Paris Hilton gal, so maybe a racy headline will get the blood going this morning. Sorry to disappoint you, but it's another gripe of mine around these parts. I just wonder what feller was sitting around one day saying to himself, now, you know what would make my truck just that much cooler, a pair of balls dangling down. Not sure where the memo was lost along the way, but in my day, all them there vehicles were female, like boats, and airplanes. Not sure why that is, but that's just how it was. I just don't get it, but then again, maybe I ain't supposed to. Maybe it's a sort of compensatin' for something they're lacking. Speaking of compensatin' what about those train horns they're sticking on cars and trucks these days. Now thats got to be nothing but attempting to make up for being short in the undershorts. Hey look at me, I got this big obnoxious horn. I'm a stud! Listen to me. Don't honk if you're horny. Please. In fact don't honk at all horny little man.

A waste of time might be the best thing to happen all day

When you've been around awhile, you start to sense there's a lot wrong with the world, and the future looks kind of bleak. For whatever reason, people have stopped just getting along with one another because we share the same world. It's like we think every mistake or momentary lapse of reason is directed right at us. That guy that just cut you off, he did it just to piss you off right? Not likely, he's probably just a dumbass. That person that cut you in line, she and her high and mighty self just thought that she was too important to wait like the rest of us. Actually she was probably just in her own little bubble of self-importance and thought she was lucky. It's doubtful any malice was intended, but she did lack the decency to consider her surroundings. Problem is common courtesy just isn't there anymore. Everyone is just too damned self-centered and think their time is more important than anyone elses. Don't stop for the red light, that minute or two you'll wait will make all the difference in your day. Don't hold the door for the guy right behind you, those precious seconds add up. Arrive at a parking spot at the same time, nose your Escalade in there because you might have to drive around another lap to find a spot. I have all sorts of theories, but it seems to filter down to two basic things. Lack of situational awareness, and witnessed reward of agression. Folks are lacking situational awareness so those that are so self-absorbed just don't take note of their surroundings, and as a result are rude, pushy, and seem agressive without even realizing it. Also, I think we've all seen too many examples of agressive behavior being rewarded in what I call squeaky wheel syndrome. In driving, we see the guy running all the way up the entrance ramp to beat out a few more cars get let in, so as time passes now you have two guys and so on. It's like those folks that lined up for Playstations or to see the Star Wars movies back in the day. People will just start getting there earlier and earlier. People will complain sooner and for less cause because they saw the other guy get something for nothing. I have a brother that got so bad that I stopped going out to dinner with him because he was always asking for the manager for some minor detail or other. Just because they brought you fries instead of tater tots isn't cause for a free meal if they brought out the tater tots as soon as it was brought to their attention. Give us a break Fred. Anyhow, do you get what I'm saying, life ain't a competition. Leaving adequate stopping distance between you and the car in front isn't an invitation to play the Freeway equivalent of the college phone booth gag. Let's see how many cars we cans stuff into this lane. It's also not Nascar, I personally don't care if you're jockeying for pole or taking two seconds off your lap time on Tuesday's commute, I just want to get there alive. It's like this, we're all allotted a certain number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds on this here rock. We're gonna waste way more of them doing stupid things than we'll ever make up trying to beat the system or our fellow man. So, try to make it more about quality instead of quantity. That 3 minute red light might let you hear your favorite song, or dodge a crappy task, or even save your life, who knows. Also, just take more note of your surroundings, it's not hard and you might be surprised at the stuff you're missing. That smile or thank you, or bit of conversation might just make the rest of your day, even if cost you a minute, you're richer by so much more.

Daily Dose: I wonder if the camel made it through

Well now, I've always been something of a religious fellow, but not necessarily the church-going type. The "good" reverend has said his last sermon. What I got to wonder is where the man's heart was. He was full of hate more than love, but he was a great recruiter. Did he think he could buy his way in, tipping Peter and Gabriel like a bouncer at the club: "Here's a coupon for all those souls I brought in boss, and think of all the bibles and literature those millions I collected will buy." I'm afraid he might have gotten it wrong. I picture a mafioso type: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Jerry Jerry, we caught you skimmin' a little off the top. Your payments have been light for some time now. I'm afraid we can't let you in. Da boss is gonna want to talk to you out back tho'. Wait right here."
Since I'm already going with the mob theme, I'm going to borrow a quote from The Godfather. Vito said "A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns." I think a dishonest preacher with a bible can steal more than a hundred lawyers with briefcases. No man can judge another's soul, but Falwell's own words and actions spoke volumes about the kind of bigotry he professed. He might have brought a lot of folks to the fold, but was that enough? I think God will judge a man by more than recruitment. Falwell died a rich man, and we know what they say about that. May God have mercy upon your soul, Mr. Falwell.

Daily Dose: Why not wait your damn turn like the rest of us?

One of my biggest pet peeves is something that Luckytop mentioned below. When a store has folks backing up due to understaffed registers and add a cashier, take a moment and figure out who's been waiting the longest. Where in life's little rule book does it mention that it's ok, if by chancea register opens as you just walk up, you can just take pole position, when there are several people who've been waiting an the adjacent register? The wingnut that does this often basks as though they were just crowned Mr/Mrs. Home Depot. They love me! They really love me! Guess what, no, you just happened to be the selfish ass that ignored the fact that you just bumped a bunch of us who've been biding our time. Next time you've won the checkout lane lottery, pause for a moment and see if there's someone who's been waiting longer and take your turn accordingly.

Daily dose of Grumpy

I have noticed a few folks that come to the site nearly every day and I feel a bit guilty that I ain't been giving y'all new material anywhere near that often. I'm gonna try to come up with something a bit more regular. Pass me the bloggin fiber, or maybe something to put the meta in metamucil. Not even sure what meta means, but I know it's something computin' related. Well now, back to topic, I didn't want to be too redundant because many times the things that tick me off, are the same kinds of things day in and day out, but maybe a bit of Grumpy in your glass might help everyone.

Well, for the first installment I wanted to mention a bit of misplaced grumpiness. The underlying cause is still there because its a matter of mismanagement, but the folks that got my hackles up weren't really to blame. Went to get a cup of coffee. First off, we tried to use the drive-up window. We waited and we waited, no answer so we went in and the folks behind the counter took the Missus and my order. Then the gal just disappeared. Seems she was having a conversation with someone in the back so the other gal came up with one of our drinks, but didn't know about the other. We had now been at this for near about 15 minutes and I was startin' to get peeved. Well the first gal came back and finished up the order and we then found out the problem. Seems they were the opening crew and this was now about 4:00 in the afternoon. The relief crew didn't show up and they'd been there all day and to top it off, the drive-through was broken and store policy didn't allow them to put a sign to announce it either. I felt a little guilty that I was gettin' hot under the collar at those gals who were having a much worse day than I was. So maybe next time people seem to be goofin off or screwing up, maybe it ain't that at all. Even an old codger like me learned a little something yesterday.

The problem with bloggers

I've mentioned my loss of faith in the mainstream media earlier and in that article I also alluded to the power and place of blogging. I'm afraid I might not have made too clear what was really on my mind. Part of the argument that I've heard about the conglomerating of media outlets is that local news is somewhat provided by community bloggers anyways so why should the big boys spend much time or money on it. Now, maybe I'm wrong in my interpretin' but if that's the case who's watching the bloggers besides other bloggers? I mentioned in an earlier post how taking a few comments on a blog and making news out of it is pretty haphazard. Relying on bloggers as correspondents is navigatin' a minefield with only half a map. It gets you part of the way, but still leaves a lot of room for Kaboom! So, if we don't have some commitment by professional journalists with a code of conduct, folks with something to lose other than their online reputation, (by the way, I'm disillusioned that we even have that now, but for arguments sake let's say we do for the most part) how can we put our faith in any news source where the publishers are often seen to pick fights with one another out of pure ego. Anyhow, bloggers do have their place, but it is in no way a replacement for a professional news organization. They're just a welcome supplement. There's also still a lot of work to be done restoring the integrity of our professional journalists and the faith of us average Joes.