Daily Dose of Common Sense

Well, it’s the time of year for top 10 lists. So, why shouldn’t we jump on that bandwagon, too? Here is a list of the top 10 DDOCS posts from 2009 as picked by the number of readers each post received.

Please read, share and enjoy. Here’s to a 2010 filled with more common sense. Happy new year!

DDOCS 2009 Top 10 Posts

• Wait for the Beep…And Keep Waiting
• How to Lose Friends on Facebook
• Is Science on the Ropes?
• Kick Your Butt
• The Danger of Alternative Medicine
• Flim-flam: Magic Massage Bra
• How to Get Girls: Clean and Cook
• The False Safety of Floaties
• Study on Natural Childbirth Classes
• Oasis Criticizes Fans for Taking Up Refund Offer

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I usually don’t just link to other commentary here (as I like to throw in my own .02, too), but there is such a great post on Gizmodo regarding the TSA that everyone should RUN to read.

Joel Johnson wrote a piece called, “President Obama, It’s Time to Fire the TSA.” Here is my favorite paragraph:

It’s been nearly a decade since terrorists used airplanes to attack our country, and last week’s attempt makes it clear that the lack of terrorist attacks have nothing to do with the increasing gauntlet of whirring machines, friskings, and arbitrary bureaucratic provisions, but simply that for the most part, there just aren’t that many terrorists trying to blow up planes. Because god knows if there were, the TSA isn’t capable of stopping them. We’re just one bad burrito away from the TSA forcing passengers to choke back an Imodium and a Xanax before being hogtied to our seats.

No one wants to die in a terrorist attack. However, look at the odds. You are more likely to be killed by a bolt of lightening than a terrorist attack. And, your chances of being killed by lightening are very, very low. (Read more about your “Odds of Airborne Terror” here.)

Think the TSA is responsible for that? From Johnson’s post:

Security expert Bruce Schneier nails the core incompetency: “For years I’ve been saying ‘Only two things have made flying safer [since 9/11]: the reinforcement of cockpit doors, and the fact that passengers know now to resist hijackers.’”

And, yet, we shake down old ladies, business men, mothers, and husbands at the airports like THEY are the criminals. It’s sad, really. And it’s only about to get worse. The last hour of your plane flight, you’ll be confined to your seat. You also won’t be able to have anything in your lap during that last hour.

Feel safer yet?

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Has the world gone mad?

This photo was taken by my friend at the mall. Yes, those are dogs sitting in a stroller, while being pushed around at the mall. I hate seeing dogs carried in purses, but I hate this even more.

This is deranged. I don’t care how much of an animal lover you are. If you’re doing this, GET HELP.

[Thanks to Audrey for the photo!]

Is it me, or has 911 become a self-help line? In recent news, there have been some crazy requests called into the hotline that is supposed to be for EMERGENCIES only. For example:

• In November, a Florida man called 911 looking for sex. He claimed it was the only number that would work since his cell minutes ran out.
• A volunteer firefighter in Colorado was just arrested last week for making 48 phony 911 calls. Depressed and suicidal, the woman seemed most interested in monitoring the law enforcement response to her calls.
• A Texas woman called 911 to report that her husband wouldn’t eat his dinner. She has also called the emergency line to report her dogs missing or that she couldn’t find her clothes.
• Today, a mom in Boston called 911 because her son would not stop playing video games. Police responded and were able to convince the child to go to sleep.

It seems that some people have lost the ability to judge what is an emergency. I was taught that 911 should only be used in a life-threatening situation. Minor injuries, routine medical check-ups, parental assistance, and loneliness don’t count.

This article has a great discussion of the increasing abuse of the 911 system:

If you call 911 because your toilet is overflowing, the fire department will come. Call 911 because you’re lonely, the fire department comes. If you call 911 but call back to say you changed your mind, it’s too late.

The fire department will come.

“We err on the side of responding,” [Lt. Jake Nyhart of St. Petersburg Fire Rescue] said. “That one time you miss a real call and someone dies, you’re liable.”

Some communities have carried out 911-awareness campaigns to educate the public on when it is appropriate (or not appropriate) to contact emergency services. According to the article, these sorts of efforts generally only increase the number of non-emergency calls to 911.

The unfortunate part is that these trips cost money, sometimes three or four hundred dollars a pop. And, since it’s taxpayer money at work, that means you and I are on the hook for it. I think anyone who calls 911 for a non-emergency situation should be issued a bill. They should be expected to pay back their frivolous waste of taxpayer money. Then, perhaps they would think twice about calling the next time a non-emergency occurs.

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Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Just not when I want to travel.

You’ve probably heard about the 2,000 or so folks stuck in the Chunnel for 16 hours on Friday. No heat, no food, no water, no bathrooms. For SIXTEEEN hours. Doesn’t it seem incomprehensible that any person would be forced to endure these conditions in this day and age? After 4 or 5 hours, you think someone would have come up with a solution to get those people out of there. Or, at least found a way to get them food, water, and blankets.

Remember the Jet Blue incident a few years ago where passengers were left sitting on a runway for over 10 hours? They were so close to the terminal but no one was allowed to get off the plane. Again, this was during an intense winter storm.

Delays beyond three hours are rare and occur in extreme circumstances, usually during peak travel days in the winter, when extreme weather can have a huge impact on scheduling.

Over the 2008-09 winter period, U.S. airlines reported 373 tarmac delays in excess of three hours, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

So, the good news is that the DOT has just mandated that the maximum length passengers can be confined in a plane on the runway is 3 hours. It seems pathetic that we needed the government to get involved in this no-brainer. But, airlines see us as little more than cattle. In fact, they are complaining that a 3-hour cap is going to cause “more cancelled flights and greater passenger inconvenience.”

Yeah, because sitting for 10 hours on a runway isn’t inconvenient for us AT ALL.

I would much rather have my flight cancelled or rescheduled than sit on the runway for a few hours. Wouldn’t you?

Photo: Carl Court / AFP/Getty Images / December 19, 2009

Hard really is better than soft.

While trying to explain to a friend why clicking on untrusted links or attachments is bad, I came up with an analogy. It’s the equivalent of walking down the street and having some stranger hand you an opaque container filled with unknown liquid, and you discarding or ignoring your common sense and swallowing the stuff.

I don’t have a good analogy, however, for this next bit of tech advice, which is common sense for the pocket-protector set, but may seem like an arbitrary edict for anyone without a degree in computer science.

Whenever you buy a new computer, it doesn’t matter what kind it is (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.), ALWAYS connect it to the Internet via a router (which acts as a hardware firewall).

The reason is that even if the computer is equipped with the best software firewall, when the computer is brand new, it hasn’t had a chance to download the latest security updates. Therefore, in those first tens of minutes when you are setting up the PC and getting those updates, the computer is extremely vulnerable.

In case you think I’m exaggerating, you should know that people have done studies that have found the time it takes for an un-patched (missing the latest security updates) system to get infected can be as low as four minutes.

You don’t need a fancy firewall like a corporate office may have, any cheapo home router will do. This is because the function in the router that  allows it to share the Internet connection with multiple computers also means that it blocks any connections originating from the Internet (as opposed to originating from one of the computers connected to the router).

This is not to say that you shouldn’t bother with software firewalls (whether built-in to your operating system or part of 3rd party security software). You should have a software firewall as well. Computer security experts call this kind of layering “defense in depth”. Think of the hardware firewall as the doorman or security guard in an apartment building. You still want to keep your own door locked too.

So, don’t let the hacker grinches out there ruin the experience of setting up a new computer this holiday seasons. And yes, I realize that I did come up with an analogy after all. It’s a Christmas miracle!

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You’re driving down a busy road, looking ahead to your destination. You see it, and–lucky you!–there’s a parking spot on the side of the road. You pull in and then go to get out of your car. Do you:

A) Open your door quickly to get out. You’re in a hurry, after all!
B) Open your door quickly and stick your leg out onto the road. Oncoming traffic will stop, right?
C) Check the traffic flow to make sure that you can exit your car safely. You don’t get out until you’re sure that your car door will not get taken off by an oncoming car.

If you answered C, congratulations! You show enough common sense to procreate. It is AMAZING how many people do either A or B. Besides really stupid and dangerous, it’s also selfish. Why is it my responsibility as a moving vehicle to stop and wait for you to get out of your car?

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We love wacky products, and it seems this is a worthy candidate. A company has created a chastity belt for dogs. Called PABS, the Pet Anti Breeding System, it is a device worn around the dog’s nether regions that prevents breeding.

Once an animal is fixed, there is no possibility of ever breeding them. Many pet owners would like to eventually breed their female dog. Others do not want to fix their pets for health reasons. The PABS – Pet Anti Breeding System will allow dog owners to exercise responsible control over when and if they breed their pet.

How about just spaying and neutering your pets? It’s not just a tag line from Bob Barker, you know. It’s good common sense.

[Thanks, Asylum!]

I just stumbled upon a site called The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks. It’s a crusade against all those quotes you see that are either redundant, ridiculous, bad grammar, or all of the above.

For example, here’s a photo from the site:








































I know most of these misquoters are using the quotes for emphasis. But, it’s still wrong. And annoying. (I guess no one remembers the underline anymore. We should wage a campaign to Bring Back the Underline!) Just for the record, here is when you would correctly use quotation marks:

The primary function of quotation marks is to set off and represent exact language (either spoken or written) that has come from somebody else.

And, don’t even get us started on air quotes.

Here are some of our favorite brief Web stories from this week.

Some people had common sense.

• Coming soon to an airport near you: the ability to safely and comfortably nap while waiting for your flight. There have been days where I would have paid a LOT more than the $30/hour these places charge in order to get a few zzzzz’s.
• For you fast-food haters, it turns out that the quality of meat served in most chains is much better than what’s served to children in school cafeterias. It’s easy to see why: schools don’t have to worry about being sued.



























• AT&T has developed an app called “Mark the Spot,” which will allow users to tell the telecomm giant about service problems. No one knows if this will really help improve service. But, sometimes it just makes you feel better to complain.

And, some did not.

• There was an article about how tattoos aren’t acceptable in Washington, D.C and many must go to great lengths to cover up their body ink. So, not only are our politicians inefficient, they’re repressed. Hooray for America!
• There is now a gizmo sold that allows caregivers to text while pushing a stroller. Who needs to watch for other pedestrians or cars?



• A Starbucks barista was written up for chasing after a tip-jar thief. This gets knocks for many reasons. First, the barista should have known better than to chase after a potentially harmful criminal for a few measly dollars. Second, Starbucks actually reprimands the employee, which seems silly. Third, and most important, WHY do baristas need tips? They should be paid more so that we’re not guilted into giving them more money for DOING THEIR JOBS.

Photos: hgmonster.tumblr.com/, flickr.com/photos/taylar/