Hey You Kids, Get Off My Lawn: Yet Another Thing

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Yet Another Thing

I'm keeping a list of things to do when I become King, and I have another item to join the list (see my main page):

Ban battery powered kid size toy vehicles. I'm not talking about little remote control toys, but the ones designed for a kid to sit in and drive ("battery powered ride on cars"). Such toys are certainly not advisable given the volume of news we're seeing on obesity in children. Even the kids that aren't technically obese aren't outside exercising (playing) enough. In addition, the energy these toys consume is completely wasted; more power plant generated electricity that isn't lighting a home or refrigerating food. The 6 or 7 year old kid I just saw driving around the park on the bike/hike path would have been better off on a bike.

Why do parents spend anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to nearly a thousand dollars on these things? No wonder the United States consumes more energy than any other nation on earth and is so addicted to oil.

2 comments:

Chris said...: I totally agree with you about kids needing to get outside more and exercise. Childhood obesity is a blight on society. However, as a wee lad I had a "Bigfoot" Power Wheel. Driving that thing as a child was pretty fantastic. It had more torque than my old Daewoo.
I think parents need to make sure kids get enough exercise, but taking away all the Power Wheels ride ons seems rash.; July 12, 2010 at 2:30 PM
Michael said...: Having more torque than your old Daewoo seems, I dunno, underwhelming? :-)
I'm sure it was fantastic to ride that thing, but I don't think that makes it a good idea. I suspect the bottom line is that a lot of parents don't pay enough attention to what their kids are up to, to ensure exercise, less junk food, etc.; July 12, 2010 at 3:09 PM

Filibuster Votes In The US Senate (see my 7/28/10 blog post)

2014/03/02 Cloture Motion; Veterans Benefits; Expansion of health & education benefits-Agreed (99-0)
2014/02/10 Cloture Motion; Unemployment Benefits Restoration- Rejected (58-40)
2013/11/18 Cloture Motion; Nomination of Cornelia Pillard to US Court of Appeals – Rejected (56-41)
2013/08/05 Cloture Motion; Transportation-Housing and Urban Development Appropriations, Rejected (54-43)
2013/02/19 Cloture Motion; Defense Secretary Nomination, Rejected (58-40)
2012/11/19 Cloture Motion; Sportsmen’s Access to Federal Land, agreed (84-12)(passage of bill expected after Thanksgiving recess)
2012/11/19 Cloture Motion; Cybersecurity Act, failed (51-47)
2012/05/14 Cloture Motion; Student Loan Interest Rates to extend current 3.4% rate for a year (52-45)
2012/04/23 Cloture Motion; Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012 (to raise the tax rate on those earning over $1 Million (51-45)
2011/12/12 Cloture Motion; Nomination of Richard Cordray to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (53-45)
2011/05/23 Cloture Motion; Nomination of Goodwin Liu to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the 9th Circuit (52-43)
2011/05/09 Nomination of James Cole to be Dep. Attorney General (50-40)
2010/12/20 DREAM Act (Immigration) (55-41)
2010/12/13 Defense Authorization Act (w/DADT repeal) (57-40)
2010/11/22 Paycheck Fairness Act (58-41)
2010/09/27 National Defense Authorization Act for 2011 (56-43)
2010/09/27 Democracy Is Strengthened By Casting Light On Spending In Elections Act (59-39)
2010/08/02 Democracy Is Strengthened By Casting Light On Spending In Elections Act (57-41)
2010/07/29 Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010 (58-42)
2010/07/27 Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act (57-41)
2010/06/30 Reid Amendment; American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 (58-38)
2010/06/24 Reid Amendment; American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 (57-41)
2010/06/17 Baucus Substitute Amendment; American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010 (56-40)

Favorite Quotations

We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology -Carl Sagan
In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. - Carl Sagan
'Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires.' -John Steinbeck
"So long, and thanks for all the fish." Message left by dolphins when they departed Planet Earth as described in "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Universe." (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/So_Long,_and_Thanks_for_All_the_Fish )
“Let’s say that she’s 90 percent [recovered]. Well, we’ve had congressmen in Arizona who didn’t even have a brain. So, it’s not like you have to be as talented as she is to be good at it.” Mike McNulty, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' last campaign manager on her viability to run for Sen. Kyl's Senate seat in Arizona (Newsweek, 4/10/11)
Life is what happens while you're planning for the future. John Lennon
You're entitled to your own opinions. You are not entitled to your own facts. Daniel Patrick Moynihan
On behalf of the people of Illinois and New York, I'd like to thank South Carolina for giving us Mark ("I've been unfaithful to my wife") Sanford. Finally, a governor who's weirder than Rod Blagojevich and less responsible than Eliot Spitzer. Really, we're extremely relieved. Gail Collins, New York Times 6/28/09
Not all who wander are lost. J. R. R. Tolkien
It's no sin to be poor... It's no great honor, either. Tevya, the Fiddler on the Roof
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest. Mark Twain
Any smoothly functioning technology will have the appearence of magic. Arthur C. Clarke
I intend to live forever. So far, so good. Steven Wright
I'm not afraid to die, I just don't want to be there when it happens. Woody Allen
I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it. Groucho Marx
If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name at a Swiss bank. Woody Allen
Is it weird in here, or is it just me? Steven Wright
My friend has a baby. I'm writing down all the noises the baby makes so later I can ask him what he meant. Steven Wright
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein