(no subject)
Mood: calm
Posted on 2006-08-15 10:01:00
Tags: pictures rant terrorism
Words: 206

Pictures from this weekend are up. There are some good ones of the nephews :-)

No! Liquids!

I have a great link at home that I don't have in front of me about how the goal of terrorism is to terrorize. If we get worried and upset and scared and stop flying every time a terrorist plot is revealed, isn't that what they want? If this is really a "war on terror" (yeah, yeah, I know), we can't be surprised when plots are revealead and so forth.

Other things that make me mad: people who have no concept of risk. In 2004, 42636 people died in car accidents. Right now you're 10-200 times safer (depending on what metric you use) flying than driving. And yet people will get panicy about flying (to be fair, it can be a little scary) but then speed in their car, not pay attention to the road, drive while buzzed/drunk, etc. Really, this is even worse because you could hurt/kill not only yourself but others if you're in a car crash.

So I guess my point is - drive safely! (and I mean this as a directive, not a "hope nothing happens"-type statement) Don't talk on your cell phone too much, etc., etc.

13 comments

Comment from onefishclappin:
2006-08-15T10:33:07+00:00
It's odd, we usually have much less fear of something when we think "It couldn't happen to me", but how many people know someone who was killed/hurt in a car accident & how many know someone who was killed/hurt in a terrorist attack or plane accident? You would think we would worry more about the known danger rather than the unknown.

Contra-wise, plane accidents tend to be more "spectacular" - >100 people dying in one event as opposed to 1 or 2 in a car accident every day, in every major city. In Austin, you are lucky if you get a 2 paragraph story in the metro section if you die in a car accident (unless there is a "hook" which they think will sell).

Comment from cifarelli:
2006-08-15T11:48:53+00:00
I was just poking at your pictures over on Greg's site, and saw you had a couple up from your visit here last month. Did the pic you took of Andrew playing with Matthew not come out? Just curious, 'cause I'd like to see it if it was at all decent. :)

Comment from onefishclappin:
2006-08-15T11:52:46+00:00
IRRC, it came out a little blurry, so I didn't bother putting it up there. I'll take a look when I get home and if it was "ok, but not great" rather than "what is that blurry blob?" I'll put it up there and let you know. (In general I try and stay <20 pictures/month because I know no one besides myself wants to look at 500 pictures of my kiddo.)

Comment from gregstoll:
2006-08-15T12:46:25+00:00
That is interesting. Like you said, the whole "spectacular" thing applies, as well as the fact that you're in control when you're in your car. (of course you can be hit by someone that isn't your fault...)

Also, I think the whole terrorism of intentionally making people die is a lot scarier than people dying in "accidents".

Comment from djedi:
2006-08-15T13:03:35+00:00
I always wonder how much of it is really all about the fact that you're high high up in the air. I mean, peopel don't get quite the same fear about riding in a car with someone else driving (even though you're out of control AND in a much more dangerous situation than flying) or riding in a bus or train. Being miles about ground is a rather untenable, unnatural position for a human being.

Comment from gregstoll:
2006-08-15T13:05:37+00:00
Ah, yeah, that's a good point.

Comment from onefishclappin:
2006-08-15T13:19:39+00:00
Agreed - people (in general) have an unnatural fear of flying. I wonder if this theory could be extended to boats or swimming & how young & how often they are introduced to an activity...

Comment from djedi:
2006-08-15T11:19:20+00:00
Nice pics. Brody appears to be another Jonathan. He looks pretty different in pics than in real life. The camera totally doesn't capture his mischievous, charming spirit.

Comment from fairydust1:
2006-08-15T13:30:00+00:00
aww David looks so cute in his birthday crown! :) Glad to hear you all had a good weekend visiting family!

Comment from abstractseaweed:
2006-08-15T19:00:56+00:00
I love that phase diagram! Makes me nostalgic for CENG classes.

Comment from brittongregory:
2006-08-15T22:44:56+00:00
I think it comes from the fact that most people don't fly as often as they drive. By several orders of magnitude. I remember the first time I drove, I nearly got creamed by a sixteen wheeler, and that made me a *lot* more afraid of driving than flying.

Oh, and this got linked by the angry fellow, and is worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5blbv4WFriM&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbinarybonsai%2Ecom%2Farchives%2F2006%2F07%2F31%2Fdarth%2Dsmartass%2F

Comment from onefishclappin:
2006-08-16T11:13:39+00:00
I can imagine it had problems with control, as it was missing 2 wheels...

Comment from anonymous:
2006-08-16T13:05:02+00:00
Ah, sorry. Once I get past "ten", it all kind of jumbles together. Now that I wear sandals more, I should learn to count on my toes.

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