Author: Marcia

Some people’s children

We had to run to the store for some items, and while we were waiting to check out the line got really long. I am talking there were 11 carts/baskets in line, counting the person at the check out.  That person was splitting the order on 3 tickets.  WIC, foodstamps, and check.  I have no problem with the programs, they are there for people who need them, I only mention them so you know how long it took, because there is paperwork involved.  There was only one cash register open.

Here is the point of this post.  As the lady is making her purchase, the kid with her was looking at the “impulse buy” items.  No big deal, I do it too.  That kid was probably about 15 years old.  The item he seemed to enjoy most was a laser pointer.  He would look around to see if anyone was watching, cover the pointer so people “couldn’t see what it was” and hold it up to his eye and push the button.  He did this a few times and then switched eyes.  Each time he grimaced in pain, then continued.  He ended up walking out of the store holding his eye in pain.

Do people not realize that a laser can be very bad for the eyes?  It even has warnings written on the product and the packaging.

This is not what I first typed!

So I had this good post about my root canal yesterday, but the internet said “no” so this is what you get.


Later:  I found it!  Originally this was titled “My brain is broken” because I was totally scatter-brained.  And this was the content of the post:

Yesterday I had a root canal performed.  I have curved roots on that tooth, so I had the privilage of going to a specialist.  Meaning it cost more money.  But it is nice to have it done.  He took the pain out of my tooth, and he was not hard on the eyes either.  Can I say that?  I am married, but I think he is too.  Any how, I am on my way to a happier mouth (read: healthier).  In the next couple weeks I will get a crown on that tooth, then I can tell people that I have a “royal” mouth!

In seriousness though, it was not that bad.  I had one done in Chile, and had no problems with it, though I think I must have blocked out some of the recovery experiences of it.  This time I want to remember.  It burns a LOT when the anesthisia wears off.  It is a really odd feeling when half of your ear goes numb.  This morning I felt what they were talking about with the whole “you will hurt for a while,” my jaw aches from being held open for an hour (half hour less than was expected!), it aches more on the left than the right, the proceedure was on the left side.  My head and neck ache too.  Other than that, I feel pretty good.

In this world of instant gratification

It has been a while since I posted a quiz.  I am not giving up on them.  I just have been lacking motivations.  So today I am presenting a quiz, though it is of a different sort.

It is a driving quiz.  There are 13 questions/situations.  Feel free to answer, or to describe any other questions that you think ought to be added to this set.  I know there were 2 more, that I had trouble remembering when I was putting this together.

Please select the multiple choice answers in a comment.

(I have edited this so that each question has separate comment spots.  It occurred to me that by having all of it in one post, it makes it harder to answer, especially if you only want to answer some questions, if at all.)

question two

driving02

The protected left (also called the left turn lane, though in this case it is not only a left turn lane) turn is about to not be protected and the eastbound traffic will get a green light in less than a second:

a-the red car turning right from the south side of the intersection should turn now since the eastbound traffic will need to go soon
b-the red car turning right from the south side of the intersection should wait until the eastbound traffic has gone and it is clear to turn with out cutting off any drivers
c-the red car turning right from the south side of the intersection should roll back and forth trying to hit the sensor to turn his light green

question four

driving04

Driving along you come upon an accident with emergency vehicles flashing lights:

a-slow down and drive around the wreckage, sometimes this means taking a detour route
b-speed up and drive in the next lane to get away from the accident faster to be out of the way
c-slow down as much as possible so that your passenger can strain his neck trying to see what happened and if anyone is hurt, possibly getting footage of the scene to sell to the local news

question five

driving05

Car on the south going straight has arrived at the intersection and a left turning car from the north is approaching:

a-north car should some to a complete stop and after the south car comes to a complete stop and then proceeds through the intersection, then the north car should proceed through the clear intersection
b-north car should speed up a bit so that it can roll through the intersection and turn to get out of the way, allowing the south car to come to a full stop
c-north car should wave his hand motioning to the south car to just roll through the intersection so that the north car does not have to come to a complete stop

question six

driving06

Driving on a street with no sidewalks and there are pedestrians walking on the left side of the road as they see it or there is a cyclist riding in the right lane (and properly wearing a helmet is a must on a bike):

a-the car should keep driving and never slow down, driving as close to the bike as they can, it is especially satisfying if the motorist can manage to run the bike off the road or hit it and hope that the bike will never resurface
b-the car should come up behind the bike or up to the walkers as close as they can and then blast the horn to scare them out of the way, or off the road
c-the car should move over and pass the bike or walkers with plenty of space (there is an Illinois law that states a motorist is to give a cyclist 3 feet of clearance at minimum) when the oncoming traffic is clear, slowing down as much as is necessary

question seven

driving07

Blue car on the south at a stop sign and green car eastbound approaching with no stop sign:

a-blue car should get off the cell phone and wait until green car passes though and then proceed when the intersection is clear
b-blue car should go ahead and turn because there is no time like the present
c-blue car should honk the horn and wave hand frantically indicating that the green car is going too slow (by obeying the speed limit)