Daily Dose of Common Sense

We shouldn’t speed, drive drunk, or be aggressive/reckless behind the road. We know it, but sometimes it helps to be reminded–especially in a clever way. Australia has decided to use some off-beat humor in a viral campaign to get a safe driving message across to younger drivers. The tag line: “Don’t be a dickhead.” I must admit that some of these are amusing. You would almost think they’re Saturday Night Live skits.

The ads discuss the possible–yet completely crazy–consequences of unsafe driving. These include: red-headed angels will get their wings, you will live the rest of your life with a giant pole coming out of your stomach, Twitter and Facebook will be turned off, and more.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcIy8-EKW00

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCsPaW3Ghz0

And…wait for it…my favorite:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7CBJr0GReI

It’s great to see a company (in this case, the Victoria, Australia government) doing something out of the ordinary to reach a new audience. Think of how great it would be if someone would roll out the “Don’t litter or you’re a douche bag” campaign. It would make you think twice about littering, wouldn’t it?

All of the ads can be seen here.

[Via AdFreak]

A drunk man in Pennsylvania tried to resuscitate a dead opossum. Yes, the man was seen giving mouth-to-mouth to roadkill.

It is hard to believe that this needs to be said, but here are three quick rules.

First, don’t try to revive animals on the side of the road.

Second, any dead animals on the side of the road should be left alone.

Third, if you are so drunk that if you try to revive roadkill, please check yourself into rehab.

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I’ve always wondered why this doesn’t happen more often.

A Nebraska man test drove a truck, during which he went and had the truck’s keys duplicated. He then came back a few hours later and stole the truck from the dealership. He was caught almost right away when the truck was discovered near his house.

However, it seems like a smarter criminal might have a better chance at getting away with it. The dealers who let folks test drive without a dealership employee along for the ride must know that the only people who would try such a nefarious plot aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer.

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As flying gets increasingly more laborious, expensive (hello, outrageous extra baggage fees!), and just downright miserable, at least one regional airline knows what consumers want–less hassle.

SeaPort Airlines, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, offers regional flights within the Pacific Northwest and also within the Mid-South region. Started in 2008, their goal is simple: Provide quick and easy commuter flights at a reasonable cost.

A quick flight cost comparison with another major airline showed one standard SeaPort fare to be about $200.00 less expensive than its competitor. They also offer free airport parking and suggest you need only arrive 15 minutes before your flight–even with check-in bags.

Best of all? They tout themselves as a “TSA free airline.” Yep, you read that right. Since they are a regional airline and fly into smaller terminals they are exempt from full-scale Transportation Security Administration screening.

Now that’s how I want to fly.

It never fails: A subway car is packed to the gills and some knucklehead still has a giant backpack on. If you commute by anything other than a car, or if you’re frequently around tourist attractions, you have likely had the same unhappy experience at some point.

A lot of backpack wearers never take the pack off. Ever. So, even in a crowd, the big ‘ol backpack is whacking people in the face, back, or chest. The owner usually seems oblivious and continues to barrel on through the crowd.

What is it with you backpackers? Have some consideration for the rest of us!

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If you’re an avid user of social media–specifically FourSquare and Twitter–PleaseRobMe.com is a site you might want to know about. Done with a sense of humanitarianism (as in not for criminals), this site collects all the location data sent to Twitter and FourSquare and publishes it in a running stream.

For example, on PleaseRobMe.com, you’ll see posts like this:

@USERNAME left home and checked in 4 minutes ago:
I’m at The Computer Corner (99-185 Moanalua Road Suite 101, Aiea). http://4sq.com/….

@USERNAME left home and checked in less than a minute ago:
I’m at acclamation bar and grill (James street north and mulberry). http://4sq.com/….

@USERNAME left home and checked in less than a minute ago:
I’m at Costco Kawasaki (3-1-4 Ikegami Shincho, Kawasaki Ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa). http://4sq.com/….

The creators look to raise awareness about internet privacy and how the information we put out there could be used in the wrong hands. When you visit the site, you will see that most of the entries on PleaseRobMe.com are from FourSquare, a social media site that is practically a continual GPS of where you are. Which makes it kind of obvious where you aren’t.

The danger is publicly telling people where you are. This is because it leaves one place you’re definitely not… home. So here we are; on one end we’re leaving lights on when we’re going on a holiday, and on the other we’re telling everybody on the internet we’re not home. It gets even worse if you have “friends” who want to colonize your house. That means they have to enter your address, to tell everyone where they are. Your address.. on the internet.

We did learn this week that 30% of Americans are not online either at work or at home. So, there is a small percentage of people not iFollowing your movements. But, do you want the other 70% to know your precise location?

[Via The Consumerist]

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

Some people had common sense.

• The city of Boston dismissed thousands of tickets and tow fines for people who were issued violations while preparing for a storm that never came. The city had declared a snow emergency in expectation of the big storm cutting up the eastern seaboard. Stay classy, Boston.
• A 5-year old girl in Indiana called 911 when her dad experienced chest pains. She remained calm and stayed on the line for nearly ten minutes. She is now credited with saving her dad’s life.

And, some did not.

• Southwest Airlines kicked Kevin Smith off a flight for being too fat. Smith claims he fits between the two arm rests, which is the test of whether a person is too large for their seat. Huge PR nightmare for Southwest Airlines because Smith is a celebrity. I ask why the airlines even let him board in the first place, instead of kicking him off once on the plane?
• New toy: Fisher Price’s Bigfoot the Monster. It’s cute in a Muppet-gone-bad kind of way, but do we really want to encourage children to believe in this nonsense?

Are you more worried about looking good behind the wheel, or being able to see the road?

Most of us don’t think about how our sunglasses will affect our driving performance. But, we should. Scott Marshall is Director of Training for Young Drivers of Canada and has a blog all about driving safely. Recently, he discussed driving and the trend of large eyewear. Why would big, chunky, expensive sunglasses pose a problem?

The current problem is the framing of many of the glasses is thick enough that it blocks part of their vision. The driver has a difficult time seeing off to their side in their peripheral vision. Other drivers can sneak up beside them without the driver knowing. It also stops the driver from seeing clearly at intersections for pedestrians or cyclists. These stylish sunglasses narrow the driver’s view too much and make driving more difficult.

Makes sense, right? But, you don’t want to skip sunglasses altogether. They reduce glare and brightness, which can be a potential hazard to drivers.

According to insurance statistics there are 18,000 car accidents in this country every day with as many as 6,000 of those accidents directly attributable to over- brightness and glare. Drivers are particularly vulnerable to the hazard of blinding glare.

Polarized sunglasses are best for reducing glare and brightness; so, in addition to the correct frames, also make sure you buy the right kind of glass.

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

Some people had common sense.

• Time Magazine did a profile on They Might Be Giants‘ kids album called Here Comes Science. Glad to see a great band getting some props. Kids need smart music!
• Too broke to fly home for Uncle George’s funeral? No problem. Some funeral homes now begin to stream funerals live on the Web.
• A Texas family cut their grocery bill in half by planning their meals a year in advance. A lot of work, I’m sure, but knowing what you need to buy down the road allows you to wait until it goes on sale, etc.

And, some did not.

• A TSA agent planted fake drugs on a traveler as a gag. Nice, huh? Agent no longer employed by TSA.
• A New Hampshire man called the cops to complain that he paid for sex and did not receive it. Clearly not a student of the law. He and the woman were both arrested (shocker!).
• Detroit shoplifters ran over and killed the Kmart employee trying to stop them. Now they face armed robbery and homicide charges. The shoplifters were making off with $400 of CDs. That’s worth going to jail for, don’t you think?

Proving that you really can pay someone to do anything, Holiday Inn Hotels in England are now offering human bed warmers. If you hate cold sheets (and, who doesn’t?), the staff will send someone up to your room to lie in your bed for you. This opens up a chasm of questions for me, some of which the hotel chain has already anticipated:

Holiday Inn said the warmer would be fully dressed and leave the bed before the guest occupied it. They could not confirm if the warmer would shower first, but said hair would be covered.

How do they know the bed warmer won’t fall asleep on the job? Can you request the gender of your bed warmer? And, what’s wrong with an electric blanket?

In a hotel, the last thing you want to think about is all the other people who have slept in your bed. Knowing someone has just hopped out of it doesn’t make for a restful night’s sleep.

[Via TwitterMoms]

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