Friday's Odds And Ends

Another week just whizzed by. It's amazing how that happens, and every Friday I look back to see what I accomplished in the week. Some weeks are better than others, but I am sure that is true for most of us.

On Monday I tied up some admin things for the drama camp - doing reports and thank you notes - and I even managed to get some writing done on the new book I started the first of June. Friends from Omaha, NE came for a short visit on Tuesday and left yesterday morning, and it was so nice to see them. It had been about 13 years since we had seen each other. What fun we had catching up on everything, and again I was reminded of how friendships that root so deeply never wither.

Image courtesy of Deviant Art

 I didn't watch the news most of the week, so I have no idea what is going on in the world, which might be for the best. But I did catch a bit of a story last night before I turned the TV off. The story was about how people no longer join groups and organizations because they do their social interacting online. Part of the story was about a community-service organization closing after almost 50 years of organizing events for a Texas city, and a spokesman for the organization said they had to close because they no longer had enough people joining to have the personnel to put on the events.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, volunteering is also down:

The volunteer rate declined by 1.1 percentage points to 25.4 percent for the year ending in September 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. About 62.6 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2012 and September 2013. The volunteer rate in 2013 was the lowest it has been since the supplement was first administered in 2002.

It's kind of sad to see that we are getting more and more isolated because of advances in technology. I remember when more homes got television sets and less people sat out on front porches in the evening and less children played stick-ball in the streets. My grandfather said that television would be the ruination of our society.

I wouldn't go that far, but I do think we need to find a balance between our use of devices and our enjoyment of people and places in real time, not virtual time.

Now to end with a joke, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

      A man answered the phone. "Yes, Mother," he sighed. "Listen, I've had a long day. Jane has been in one of her awkward moods . . . Yes, I know I should be firmer with her, but it's not easy. You know what she's like . . . Yes, I remember you warned me . . . Yes, I remember you told me she was a vile creature who would make my life a misery . . . Yes, I remember you begged me not to marry her. You were right, OK? You want to speak to her? I"ll put her on."
     
      He put down the phone and called to his wife in the next room: "Jane, your mother wants to talk to you."

Friday's Odds and Ends

Did you watch the beginning of the Olympic coverage last night on prime time? Did you find it odd that the coverage began before the opening ceremonies?

I did, so I decided to try to find out why. Sadly, it is primarily about the money. According to an article by Chris Chase in USA Today, Thursday's are the most popular night of television viewing and the networks covering the Olympics need to get the most bang for their buck. Because 12 new medal events were added to the competition schedule since 2010, scheduling is a challenge, so one more day of competition and coverage was added.

Image courtesy of College-Social.com

Traditionally the biggest draws for television audiences are the skating events and the networks did not want to compress the figure skating schedule. That would have put the women’s free skate, which takes place in two weeks on another night; not a good move for television ratings or sponsors. The women's free skate attracts thousands and thousands of fans and networks want the biggest night of skating to air on the biggest night of television.

While some consideration was given to allowing time between events for athletes to rest and for courses to be cleared for other events, the driving force behind the decision was money. As Chris Chase put it:

Scheduling and television are big reasons for the early start, but money is the thing that ties them all together. It’s the universal answer for sports queries like this. “Why did the NFL start playing games on Thursdays?” “Why do the NBA playoffs last longer than many celebrity marriages?” “Why is snowboard racing an Olympic event?” It all comes back to the green."

Sad. 

Now it's time for a joke. A lady went to a doctor’s office, and a few minutes into the examination, screeching could be heard from the exam room. Then the lady burst out of the room as if running for her life.

After much effort, a nurse finally managed to calm the woman down enough to find out what happened. The nurse then barged into the doctor's office and shouted at him, “Shame on you. Mrs. Smith is 82 years old, and you told her she’s pregnant?”

The Doctor continued writing on the chart and said, “Does she still have the hiccups?”

Image courtesy of Teluguone.com Comedy where there is another doctor joke.

 That's it for me today, folks. We are still having record cold temperatures here in Texas and it is cold in my office. My hands are freezing and it is very hard to type with gloves on. Have a great weekend. Stay warm. Stay safe. Be happy.