Category: Life

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Here are a few additions I would make to the building code for public restrooms:

  1. All restroom doors must open outward. If the restroom is large enough to contain stalls, it must be possible to open the outer door simply by pushing with the toe of one’s foot. Sharply-turning doorless corridors that block sightlines are acceptable.
  2. If it is necessary for a restroom door to lock (as is the case with single-person restrooms), handles are to be used rather than doorknobs. Additionally, attempting to open the door from the inside must automatically disengage the lock.
  3. If a restroom displays a sign asking people to wash their hands before leaving, it must be directed at all users of the restroom, not only at employees.
  4. If the outer door can be opened without the use of one’s hands, choice of paper towels, air dryers, etc. is left to the discretion of management. In the event that opening the door does require hands, drying methods provided must include paper towels.
  5. At least one trash receptacle must be within casual tossing distance of the outer door.

Of course, these are mostly ways to mitigate the fact that a disturbing number of people won’t take an extra 30 seconds to clean up on the way out. A better solution might be a device I saw in The Far Side: an alarm which went off whenever someone left the restroom in a less-than-sanitary state, with a blazing sign proclaiming “Didn’t wash hands!”

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When I was in elementary school, we were given a list of “dead words.” These were words that had been so overused that they had lost their meaning or impact, and we were told to use them as little as possible in our writing.

In that spirit, here is a short list of political terms that have become useless by provoking knee-jerk reactions that prevent any rational discussion:

Liberal
Somehow a lot of people over on the right have decided that liberal = communist. It’s gotten to the point that even liberals don’t like to use the word anymore.
Ultra-conservative
I don’t know what conservatives usually call the types that want to turn America into a theocracy or oligarchy, but one whiff of this phrase and they assume you’re a rabid left-wing nutjob. (I’ve seen this happen on articles about something as unrelated as the origins of Linux.)
Special-Interest Groups
Everyone loves to accuse their opponents of being beholden to special interest groups. The problem is, any group with a political agenda is a special interest group. That includes, for example, both the logging industry and the Sierra Club.
Environment
Some people immediately think of “tree-hugging hippies” instead of an effort to keep the world around us livable. I’ve actually heard people claim that environmentalism is nothing more than a modern interpretation of pagan earth-worship.
Intellectual Property
Are you talking about patents, copyrights, or trademarks? They’re all different concepts, and subject to different laws. Just say what you mean, don’t confuse the issue.
Elitism
I’ve heard this term a lot from conservatives discounting the views of liberals in academia and the entertainment industry. Often, it’s used by conservatives in academia and the entertainment industry.
Christian
Unfortunately, there are a lot of vocal nutjobs who give Christianity a bad name. To some on the left, it’s become associated more with religious intolerance and inflexibility than with the actual religion. (Hmm, kind of like the word “Muslim.”)
Balanced
How often have you heard someone ask for a “more balanced” portrayal of some issue? Are they really looking for something that presents both sides of a controversy equally, or are they generally looking for something that presents their side more favorably?
Comparisons to World War II
OK, this is one I’m tired of hearing. It seems like WW2 has become the template for interpreting every war (or pending war) for the past 60 years, whether or not the situation is actually comparable. While you can certainly find similarities between 1930s Germany and pre-invasion Iraq, post-9/11 USA, your local mall security guards, ancient Sparta, or whatever society or organization you’re concerned about, invoking images of Nazis only distracts from the real issue. (For example: Is so-and-so a threat, and what can we justifiably do about it?) It’s nothing but Godwin’s Law in action in the real world.

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Suing JibJab over using the tune and some lyrics of “This Land is Your Land” is like filing a class-action suit against grade-schoolers for using “The Birthday Song” to sing “You look like a monkey/And you smell like one too.” The contention that the song has been “damaged” by its use as parody is ridiculous. Have these people not been outdoors since 1999? Do they not know how long internet fads actually last? Sure, for some people the cartoon will be the first thing they think of on hearing the song for a while, but that will go away. The only reason Badger Badger Badger and All Your Base are still primarily associated with their source material is that they were either widely unknown before the humor emerged (AYB), or were original creations (BBB). “This Land is Your Land” is, or at least used to be, aggressively marketed as an assembly-appropriate song in elementary schools, and children’s brains are much more receptive than adults’. I don’t even think of the cartoon now on hearing the song, but of the inside of my elementary-school cafeteria, the time they accidentally let the record play all the verses, and, of all things, tissue-paper flowers. (God only knows why, as they weren’t used at the same assemblies.) TRO needs to grow up and let people have their perfectly legal fun. Though it would be fun to see them get a trial date a year from now and try to prove there was any lasting damage.

Thtphphtppthtphttt.

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I’m beginning to think I should recommend convention-going as a good form of exercise. At this size convention, anyway. Not only do you get winded just traveling between panels (which comes standard at just about every con I’ve been to, since they all go overtime and the next one you want is always at the opposite end of the place), but there’s the opportunity for climbing multiple flights of stairs, the walk to and from your car is a great hike, and the food at the convention center is expensive enough to keep your caloric intake down. Also, the dealers’ room is sort of like an Olympic-sized crowd-weaving practice ground. Fun if you’re me, not so fun if you’re trying to follow me.

The other thing about cons that makes me want to exercise is seeing how the medians of the demographics play out. You have the younger contingent, who are mostly good-looking and relatively thin. You have the really old people, who are using hand-carved canes and usually there because they’re connected with actually producing something, and who are generally moving pretty well. Then you have two basic groups of middle-aged fans: the ones who are really skinny and nerdy-looking still, and the ones who put the “middle” in “middle-aged.” It’s wonderful motivation to lose weight when you see a forty-year-old Arwen on a Lark. (Please understand that I’m not trying for a cheap shot. I consider myself lucky that I’m able to lose weight when I want to, and I wish everybody were that fortunate. It’s just kind of heartbreaking in a weird empathetic way.)

So I’ve been on a real veggie kick the last couple of days, and I only just figured out what was up with that this afternoon at Subway. (Found out they’ll give you spinach on your sandwich if you ask nicely. Score!) And all things considered, it could be worse. I could be on a steak kick in the middle of India.

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Congress has passed passed the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, mandating the top 8 food allergens appear on labels in plain English! The voluntary labeling over the past few years has been very helpful. Well, some of it has — the “processed in a facility that also processes XYZ” labels mainly amount to a CYA statement, although I’m sure there are people sensitive enough that it does help.

The NPR story provided some examples of why this matters, including a story of a college student who had a very similar experience to one I had a few years ago: he bought a chocolate chip cookie from a vending machine — a brand he had been eating with no problems for several years — but they had added peanut flour to their mix without labeling the change. He died within 15 minutes. When it happened to me, I had enough medication to stop it. But I don’t eat anything from Famous Amos anymore.

Some other nice provisions include having the FDA do a study on cross-contamination [archive.org], and having the CDC track allergy-related deaths.

Further reading: The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, The Food Allergy Initiative. [Update: The organizations have since merged as FARE.]

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CNN: Lawmakers oppose election delay [archive.org].

Among the outcry is a resolution sponsored by Ohio Senator Bob Ney (a Republican, for the record) stating that “the actions of terrorists will never cause the date of any presidential election to be postponed” and “no single individual or agency should be given the authority to postpone the date of a presidential election.” There are about 60 supporters of the resolution, and another 190 representatives have slapped Homeland Security with a clue stick.

Thank you, Senator Ney.

Postponing elections is not something that should be done in a free society. The essence of democracy is that it is government with the explicit consent of the governed. Take away that consent — as in take away the ability to choose different leaders — and you no longer have democracy.

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