Word of Advice

There are some rules that should just be followed. ALWAYS.

Instagram and the decline of western civilization

View from my bedroom window.

Blogs have taken a back seat lately, there have been days that my laptop hasn't even been turned on.  GASP!  That's unheard of!  It would be great to say I've been off on some wonderful vacation or brokering world peace or something, but the truth is - I've been geeking out on Instagram.  I know.  I'm late to ALL the parties.

Yes I follow all kinds of cat people, shabby chic people, and pretty photos people.  There are a sprinkling of celebrities, and yes my own gallery is chock full of kitty pictures too.  But what gives me pause is when some young girl likes one of my pictures so I look at her photos

You can't SEE me!

to see if there is anything to like in return.

It's appalling to see how many young girls (high school, probably) post suggestive pictures of themselves on the Internet and social media.  Oh yes they have clothes on, and no they aren't usually outright lewd.  But these girls seem to have the objective of looking attractive -- by looking as sexy as they can online.  What happened to innocence?  Self respect?  The sad thing is - my view would be considered totally out of step, un-hip and out of touch.  Because so much of that behavior has become the norm.  The young boys?  Picture after picture of them holding their phones while they take pictures of their baby 6-packs in the mirror.  It's all about the physical.

I remember being in high school, I remember being young.  I remember wanting people to stop being so uptight about things and thinking - anything goes - as long as you

Another cat in a box

aren't hurting anyone else.

But then I grew up.

Now I know that as a society we do need rules.  Not about whether or not we can eat trans-fats or drink uber large cups of sugary pop.  We need to bring back a conscience.  Not a conscience that says we should tolerate everything and everyone but a conscience that makes us have some basic sense of right and wrong, good and bad, and for God's sake there should be some boundaries for behavior where not every single thing is acceptable because we don't want to judge someone else.

Apple blossoms from my back yard.

Hyper-tolerance and political correctness have made it very difficult for ordinary folks to look at something and say - I don't agree with that.  I think that's wrong.  Even when they do feel that way.  There is no balance anymore and we are sliding so far in one direction that I wonder if we can ever get back to center again.

And no, when I see those young girls who like a picture of one of my cats, I cannot bring myself to like one of their photos in return.  Somehow that would be tacit approval of how they are presenting themselves.

Can't do it.  Won't do it.  And what those girls represent makes me incredibly sad.

Fingers in my ears (alternatively titled La la la la la la!!)

There are many things wrong with my writing.  I have no clue about sentence structure, grammar, punctuation and more.  But there is one thing I didn't realize was a dead give away that I am just freaking OLD.  We receive emails at work sometimes aimed at improving our communication skills, verbal as well as written.  Little venomous snippets of rules I never knew (or cared) existed.  Who gets to decide this stuff anyway??? 

Space between Sentences

One space, not two, follows any mark of punctuation that ends a sentence, whether a period, a colon, a question mark, and exclamation point, or closing quotation marks.

Editor’s note: Entering two spaces after terminal punctuation is an out-dated standard, used (and taught by) people who typed on typewriters. Typewriters did not have the ability to use proportional fonts, such as Arial, Times New Roman, and most other computer fonts. They used Courier, which is not proportional, meaning that all of the letters are the same width. Inserting two spaces after a sentence written in a proportional font produces a large gap in the flow of the text, making it harder to read smoothly. Pick up any professionally published magazine or book and you will never see two spaces. Two spaces make your writing look amateurish. Don’t do it. [OK, I’m off my soapbox now…]

 

Source: Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition, Space between sentences (section 6.11)

The one thing I thought I was doing right, if you notice my paragraph at the top .. 2 spaces after the punctuation at the end of each sentence.  SO?!!??  Who IS this Chicago Manual of Style anyway?  Obviously someone who wants to separate the seasoned and experienced from the fresh and hip.  Or something like that.

Excuse me, I'm going to go not care now. 

Cause I said so. Just sayin'.

*
My rules.

If you want to drive in front of me you have to at least drive the speed limit. A bit faster would be nice.

If you want to drive in front of me do not tap your breaks every 50 feet just to see .. something. You must be trying to see something but I don't think like you so I have no idea what you're checking out.

If you want to sell me a purse online you must show me all of it. That means the front, the back, how it looks with a person holding or wearing it. And you must show me THE INSIDE! I need to see if it is a cavernous open space, if it is an organized divided space, if there are zipper pockets and or pen holders. I want to see it all. You want me to buy it? Show me.

If you want to live in my house and continue to be fed - don't poop on my shoes! (or my bed, closet floor, or any other place you know you should not poop.)

If you want to drive behind me make sure you are far enough back that I can at least see your headlights in my rearview mirror. If you are so close I cannot even see your lights you run the strong risk of my starting to drive ve-e-r-r-y-y s-l-o-o-o-w-l-y-y - which I may accomplish with a very quick deceleration of speed. Think fast!

If you go through the drive thru at the pharmacy, be dropping off or picking up, not both. Do not go through the drive thru to get your new insurance card put into their computers or to argue about whether or not you have another refill. Drive thrus are meant to be fast. Other people who are just dropping off or picking up may be waiting behind you.

If you want to shop in the grocery store when I am there, keep your kids somewhere within the same zip code and for goodness sakes drive your cart on the right side of the aisle! Pretend it's a road and there is a side that belongs to you and a side that belongs to the other guy. And please, do not stop abruptly.

Oh and one more thing. If you have cookies to sell, political views to push, a vaccum cleaner to delight my eyes with - if you do not know me personally, do not step foot on my driveway unless it is to go down, toward, and across the street. And for the sake of all that's good in this world - do not step foot on my porch or even think about ringing my doorbell.

Thank you for listening.