Nothing seems to change

With what I have seen lately with the way the younger generation is acting, along with the seeming callous ways that people in general seem to treat each other, I was not surprised to come across this passage in Dennis Smith's seminal work on firefighting, Report from Engine Co. 82:

"I used to believe that the fundamental problems were housing and education, and that people would stop throwing rocks if they had a decent place to live and were given equal educational opportunities.  But I don't believe that anymore.  That, to me, is prescribing for symptoms.  The disease is more seriously latent, more pernicious than uncaring landlords, or bureaucratic, apathetic school officials.  The malignancy lies in the guts of humankind at all levels.  We have unlearned the value of a human life."

This book was published in 1972, and in some ways, still offers a look at what happens in the lower reaches of society.  The force of that statement still rings true to this day, and I wonder if we as human beings will really be able to change our society for the better.  I would like to believe so (I'm a hopeless optimist in that regard), but sometimes I really do wonder.

Makes you wonder about people and common sense, and the absence of the latter as a desirable quality

So went out to pick up some antifreeze for my lady's vehicle and mine.  On the way back stopped at a convenience store for a soda refill.
I had a 7-Eleven cup with me, and this store was a totally different place.  The clerk called out as I walked in 'you need to tell us when you bring your cup in!'.
Having thought that she was talking to another person in the store, I proceeded to get my refill and came back to pay.  She then repeated the statement, even though it was clearly not their cup, and I did point that out to her.  The lady then stated that it doesn't matter.

Now, I can totally understand this reasoning if you were bringing in one of the store's cups to do a refill, so that you don't pay full price.

But a cup from another store?

*sighs*

I would have said something else back, but was trying to be polite.  Deep breath, paid, and left without further ado.

I really wonder sometimes about the increasing lack of common sense that some folks have these days.  Then again, it's not really anything new, but it seems more widespread somehow.

A blast from the past (okay, recent past)

I came across this while poking around YouTube.  This is an aircheck from a DJ at one of the local Vegas radio stations from over 20 years ago, before all the megacorps took the stations over and made them very homogenized and (IMHO) soulless copies of each other.



To Terry Peterson (the weekend DJ that provided this), thanks for helping us remind ourselves how broadcast radio has changed so much these past years.