Augghh! Monday! Quick, run!!

[altivo]

In spite of which the day was fairly productive. Even so, I think I need to take some vacation time.

Summer reading is over, over, over! Let us all praise whatever gods we choose. It made the day seem amazingly quiet for the most part. I actually got all the new books pulled for the last two months (missed a month due to, you guessed it, summer reading.) These are the books that have been on the "New Books" shelves for six months and need to be transferred to the regular stacks. The only ones left to do are the ones presently checked out.

Sooo tired now, you'd think it was Friday rather than Monday. Sarah is doing well as far as I can tell, but it seems the healing is itchy now. She keeps trying to chew the bandage off and we have to redo it. Fortunately no major harm done yet, but it's a nuisance.

Cooled down enough for us to open windows and shut off the air conditioning. All that did was reveal how noisy the neighbors are now, on both sides. Shouting, pounding, machinery running... Hard to believe how quiet it used to be here ten years ago. Now it's no different from living in the city. I think I need to be in the middle of Wyoming or something, because as I get older, instead of becoming deaf, I seem to be growing more and more acute of hearing.

I have knitting and weaving to do, but I'm afraid of being inattentive and making errors. It's one of those things you can keep doing when you are half asleep, and usually the resulting problems are not nice. At least I'm aware of that, unlike the guy I was following out of Harvard on the way home. At first I couldn't figure out why he was going 30 in a 55 mph zone (see, some people can even be too slow for me!) Then I thought he must be drunk as he was weaving all over the road, onto the shoulder, over the double yellow and back again. Finally I realized that he was on a cell phone. Obviously, one of those people who can't chew gum and walk at the same time. I won't talk on the phone and drive at the same time myself, but I'm sure I could handle it better than that. I wonder if he was getting bad news from his broker or something? Wouldn't be surprised if he mashed his expensive car into a tree or something eventually. I turned off and took another route. Even passing him looked too dangerous to contemplate.

Comments

[avon-deer.livejournal.com]

Apparently it's as dangerous as driving while drunk.

[schnee]

Yeah. Driving and using a cell phone at the same time's actually illegal here, and for a good reason. (It's still allowed if you use a hands-free, probably on the assumption that it's no different from talking to the passenger, but... well, it is.)

[altivo]

A number of jurisdictions have tried passing laws like that here, but I don't think they've been successful in enforcing them. Chicago is notable in that respect. Actually stopping and ticketing violators is nearly impossible when some 50% of drivers have a phone stuck to their ear.

[hrrunka]

It's supposed to be illegal here, too. Not that you'd notice. Apparently some folks even try texting while driving...

[altivo]

Yes, there have been some very high profile incidents here involving not just ordinary drivers, but truck drivers and railroad engineers who got into accidents because they were texting... I find this really unimaginable, but I guess it just proves that people are predictably thoughtless.

[altivo]

Don't try to say that in the US. Someone will run you down for it. ;p

I think you're right, though. In spite of massive lobbying by the cell phone industry and addicted users who can't drive without a phone held to their ear, it's becoming increasingly clear that most drivers are simply too distracted when trying to hold a telephone conversation and drive at the same time.

(Actually, this seems often to be true of those who talk to others in the car, as well.)

Chicago has seen more than one incident of pedestrian death by cell phone, too. I mean where someone was talking on the phone while walking and stepped in front of a moving vehicle.

[moonhare]

Summer reading is over, over, over!

The children here must report by August 7th to be eligible for the awards given on August 11th. Meanwhile, it's less the kids than the damnably rude group of tutors who have swarmed into the building, students and parents in tow, that have the place so congested.

She keeps trying to chew the bandage off and we have to redo it.

Poor pup!

[altivo]

Since you're still besieged, I probably shouldn't tell you that it's suddenly blessedly quiet here. Door counts cut in half this week, even the number of interlibrary loans is way down.