It is 5:32 AM on Saturday October 22nd, 2016.
Today is a double dose of karate class for me. In the past I would watch the kid’s class then participate in the adults class but Senpai Taka-san asked me to join in the kid’s class and help out. Happy to help and this means that on Saturdays I get a nice two hour workout.
I never really expected how much of a workout karate class would be. Before starting something such as a sport, or activity we have an image of what it will be like and often times those images are a bit off. Karate class reminds me of wrestling in that it is hard, I cannot just stop in the middle of practice and go home, and I cannot think too much about it because my mind would make it seem harder than it actually is. Speaking of wrestling I wonder if my old wrestling shoes are tucked away at my parents house. Those were the most comfortable things and might make a good house shoe in addition to my Crocks.
Mars:
President Obama has announced that we’ll be on Mars by the 2030s. I remember President Bush saying the exact same thing back in 2004 and wondered why Presidents make these grand statements? Perhaps it is their effort to chart a course and give some guidance to NASA? So I went back and checked to see if Bush’s vision had actually been done. He said that we would be back on the Moon by 2020 in preparation to explore worlds beyond; the next step was to be on Mars by 2030. It looks like Congress cancelled the Moon portion of the plan and we were just going to explore some asteroids by 2025. But with Obama’s statements about manned missions to Mars then Bush’s original and final goal has been revived?
So why do Presidents say these things? It is just to create a spike in their approval numbers, or perhaps get the population excited about the nation doing something grand? I’d like to make a prediction and that prediction is there won’t be a human on Mars until at least 2050. The Europeans just had their ExoMars Schiaparelli lander explode trying to reach the surface and getting humans to land safely is incredibly more difficult. Also, missions take years of planning and one small mistake creates years more of delay.
I’ve got my name on the microchip aboard the Mars InSight mission which was supposed to launch earlier this year but cancelled due to a leak and so it is delayed until 2018. Then it looks like a few more rovers will be sent in 2020. So, I’m placing my bets on 2050 which gives plenty of time for a manned mission to actually happen. Besides, wouldn’t a bit more infrastructure be needed between Earth and Mars to support those astronauts who do reach the Red Planet? It takes over six months to reach Mars from Earth and that seems like it would be a bit too long unless there were a number or supply ships running between the two planets on a regular schedule.
Fancy Cars:
After driving in the Bay Area for about 10 years exactly, I’ve come to the conclusion that people who drive BMWs, Lexuses and Mercedes are the worst drivers in regards to being rude and feeling entitled on the road. I always watch to see if people will waive when I let them in during heavy traffic and people in these three cars have NEVER waived, not even once in ten years when I let them in. It is incredible really that over ten years, there wasn’t one ‘thank you,’ from these drivers when I do them a favor.
I’ve found that the percentage of those that speed and do not use their turn signals is also disproportionately high when compared to drivers in all other makes. I honestly think that they feel that the road belongs more to them because they have the fancier car.
Why do people buy these cars in the first place? I feel that they buy them because they want to show status, that they have money. Like a peacock that extends its plumage for all to see, so do the fancy car drivers with the symbol that they are paying a very dear premium for. Most will say they are paying for a better car but if they were honest with themselves they would admit they are paying for that symbol so others can see they have some money. After all, how many drivers of these cars actually know anything about motors, transmissions, or what actually makes a car move? I’d venture to say only 3% of all fancy car drivers actually know or could describe how their cars are built better than any other make.
In addition, I’ve found that drivers of these cars are downright rude. The percentage of fancy car drivers that would actually let me in during heavy traffic is close to zero. I haven’t actually been keeping a mental note on those that let me in because it doesn’t make me as upset as when I’m polite, let someone in and they don’t waive.
Finally, the younger drivers of these cars are much more likely to be spoiled brats and thus drive as such. I hate to admit it but I let out a little chuckle when it rains around here and I see these fancy cars in one car accidents. It doesn’t rain very much here in the Bay Area and the roads become built up with oil and other substances that turn slick when it rains. Well, the fancy car drivers still like to speed even when it rains and so I’ve found that there is a 50-50 chance the one car wrecks will be a BMW, Lexus or Mercedes, usually driven by a younger person.
The idea that drivers of these vehicles have a much bigger likelihood of being assholes is also quite common. Just Google it and you see there have been a number of studies that actually and scientifically show this.
So, right or wrong, my first impression of someone in these types of cars is that they will be unfriendly, insincere, entitled, jerks who I really do not want to talk to. Of course there will be those that are kind and wonderful people but at least here in the Bay Area it is absolutely true that the majority of them are not nice people. Money does strange things to people and often turns them cold. The drivers of these cars have money and so we can turn this into a scientific proof!
- Too much wealth makes people cold and unfriendly
- Fancy cars can only be bought with too much wealth
- Drivers of fancy cars are therefore cold and unfriendly
SCIENCE!!!!
