Daily Dose of Common Sense

Well, folks, for those of you betting we couldn’t do this for a year…you lost. Daily Dose of Common Sense turns ONE on May 1st. It’s been a crazy first year, and if I would have known then how much I was committing to….

So, dear reader (yes, we know there is only one of you), please give us some feedback. Things you like, things you don’t like, what you’d like to see more of, site design, etc. Let ‘er rip!

Seriously. I’d like to hear what you have to say. The only thing you can’t say is to write more than one post a day, ’cause that ain’t happening at this juncture.

All this week we’ll be reposting some of our favorite posts from the past year. So, get ready for a clip show!

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Here is a stairwell sign that was found in the Bronx. While the grammar isn’t much to cheer about, you’ve gotta love the message!

[Thanks to Viveca G. for the photo!]

Would you give up a finger to save your iPad? No, me neither. A man in Denver lost most of one finger because he tried to thwart the theft of his new iPad.

Jordan, 59, said he’d just purchased Apple’s latest must-have item and was near the parking garage when the robber struck.

Jordan had the bag containing the iPad wrapped around his left hand and was “holding on tight,” he told police.

The robber jerked so hard that it stripped the skin on part of Jordan’s pinky down to the bone. Most of the finger had to be amputated.

Here’s how I see it: iPad = replaceable (eventually). Finger = not replaceable (generally). No brainer, in my opinion.

This is similar to a purse snatching, where the advice is always to give the robber what they want. Your life, limbs, or digits aren’t worth losing over whatever is in inside.

[Via the fine folks at Pat's Papers]

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Want a cup of coffee but not the annoying part where you actually have to drink it? Well, lazy caffeine junkies, there’s a product for you called Le Whif. It’s an inhaler of coffee. Here’s how it works:

The canisters spray an edible aerosol shot of the substance directly into your mouth, without your lips even touching a single glass.

It takes 8 whiffs to give the same results from one cup of coffee.

Is this how desperate and lazy we’ve become? We can’t even enjoy a cup of freakin’ coffee? This company also sells another product where you can whiff chocolate. It gives you a burst of chocolate flavor without the calories (or drool-worthy enjoyment) of real chocolate. Maybe this is the direction food science is headed: all science and no actual food?

[Thanks to Kathy D. for the link!]

Have you ever said, “Wow, I love my new DS game!”? Or, “That ride is awesome. I love it!”? Yes, at some time or another, you have expressed love for some inanimate object. But, being a rational person, you knew that didn’t actually mean LOVE love. Well, some folks can’t understand the difference and have actually married an inanimate object.

Here is a slideshow of the weirdest cases of people marrying inanimate objects. A pillow, Nintendo DS game, roller coaster ride, Eiffel Tower…all the levels of craziness are represented.

Being single can be tough. Between bars, online dating, and getting set up through friends, it’s sometimes hard to meet compatible partners. But, if you’re considering marrying an inanimate object, I offer this advice: DON’T! It’s better to be alone than to be with the Berlin Wall, isn’t it? I mean, what kind of companionship and comfort can a rock offer? Can you dance with a rock at weddings? Can the rock get you a snack from the fridge in the middle of the night? Can the rock pick you up from the airport? (And I don’t mean The Rock, Dwayne Johnson, who can obviously do all of those things if you know the right people.)

The plus side with an inanimate object, I guess, is that you don’t have to argue over petty things, like control of the remote or whose turn it is to do the dishes. Seems like a small victory in order to live in Crazytown.

How awesome is this bathroom sign?

I wish all bathrooms had such a direct, to-the-point message. No one wants to see your hair, pee, or WORSE after you’re done doing your business. And, for those of you who think only men’s rooms are disgusting…you are wrong! Women’s bathrooms are gross, gross, gross, too.

Clean up after yourselves!

(Thanks to Dean Cameron for the photo.)

I’m a big fan of going to baseball games. There’s nothing quite like sitting in the warm summer air with a hot dog and some Cracker Jack. Oh, and watching the game, of course. Imagine a dad’s horror when, during a family outing with his daughters to a Philly’s game this week, they were purposely barfed on.

Yes, barfed on. An unruly fan, Matthew Clemmens of South Jersey, put his fingers down his throat and threw up all over the man’s daughter. This was after Clemmens and his friend had been spitting at the girls.

The revolting display followed several innings’ worth of slurred curses, spilled beer and spit that Clemmens and another man directed at Vangelo, his two daughters and one of their friends, said Philadelphia police spokesman Lt. Frank Vanore.

Is this what our country has become? Where we’re spitting and vomiting on each other for laughs?

Then, the barfer had the nerve to physically attack the dad, who is a cop. Unbelievably, the dad didn’t fight back because he didn’t want to get arrested or detained anywhere away from his kids. This, of course, is the right, responsible thing to do, but I can’t say I would have been able to restrain myself. If anyone deserves a serious beat-down, it’s someone who spits and barfs on other people.

[Via the fine folks at Pat's Papers]

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If you’ve sat through a 3-hour plus movie recently, you probably took a bathroom break at some point during that time. Then, you came back to your seat and whispered to your friend/date/spouse/creepy neighbor, “What did I miss?” Oh, movie intermission, how we wish you were still around.

The 1982 film Ghandi was the last major release to have an intermission. But, don’t blame the theaters. The movie studios are responsible the damage to your bladder:

With a greater number of popular movies approaching and sometimes exceeding three hours in length (even the lightweight “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” lasted 2 1/2 hours) bringing the intermission back seems logical. Contrary to popular belief, the theater owners I’ve spoken to say they would like to have the option –they could sell more concessions, where they make the real money –but their contracts with the studios prohibit intermissions.

Give us a pee break, studios! Between our bladders, the high ticket prices, loud moviegoers on their cellphones, and outrageous concession prices…is it any wonder why people would rather watch movies at home instead of the theater?

[Via Pat's Papers]

Truth in politics. Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Between scandals, broken promises, spin control, and general sliminess, politicians aren’t known for being trustworthy. And, mainstream news shows just seem to let them get away with it. For example, remember this:

…“Good Morning America,” endured criticism in January when Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, said without being challenged that “we had no domestic attacks under Bush, we’ve had one under Obama.” Mr. Giuliani omitted the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The interviewer, George Stephanopoulos, admitted online later that he had made a mistake in not following up.

It seems like shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report are generally the only places you can hear politicians being called out on their BS.

One web site is trying to make a difference. The St. Petersburg Times has started a site called PolitiFact, where, “Reporters and editors from the Times fact-check statements by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups and rate them on our Truth-O-Meter.”

The Truth-O-Meter ranges from “True” to “False,” to my personal favorite, “Pants on Fire.”

The site won a 2009 Pulitzer Prize, just in case you’re taking notes. And, ABC’s Sunday morning political show “This Week,” is joining up with PolitiFact to check up on the rhetoric of the lawmakers interviewed. You would think more news shows and journalists would do this on their own (it’s common sense, right?), but they just don’t. David Gregory, who hosts NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said, “…people can fact check the program on their own online.” OK, thanks. Put the burden of truth on the viewer.

It’s good to see that at least some people care about the truth.

In the land of the free, it’s always surprising to me that any book would be banned. But, we’ve all heard stories about towns and schools that refuse to lend such books as Huck Finn or “Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret.” (We wouldn’t want young people reading tamer language than they hear on the street every day, or learning about those pesky women’s issues.) There are other books, however, than have been banned at one time or another that may surprise you.

Oh, like, THE DICTIONARY. Various schools have banned it over the years because of definitions that were deemed inappropriate for kids.

But, my favorite banned book story, by far, is of “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?” by Bill Martin, Jr. If you don’t have kids, you may not know this simple children’s book that emphasizes color and animals. According to the Huffington Post:

This beloved children’s book was banned in January 2010 by the Texas Board of Education because the author has the same name as an obscure Marxist theorist, and no one bothered to check if they were actually the same person.

Really, Texas? First, how much of a threat are obscure Marxist theories? I’m guessing not much. Second, no one bothered to look at the book titles that were being banned? Way to go that extra mile for your school children!

NO book should ever be banned. Let them be read, I say! You can’t shield people from ideas, language, and images just because you don’t like them. That’s censorship, and it’s just plain wrong. Not to mention illegal in some circumstances.

The law requires that if a book is to be removed, an inquiry must be made as to the motivation and intention of the party calling for its removal. If the party’s intention is to deny students access to ideas with which the party disagrees, it is a violation of the First Amendment.

Hey school boards and libraries: Let parents, teachers, and students decide what books are appropriate for reading. Restricting access to a book only brings more attention to it anyway. And, if you think the kids aren’t sneaking and passing banned books around behind your back, you’re wrong. Instead of banning it, you’d be better off having a dialogue with your kids after they have read the book about why you disagree with the author.

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