Vancouver Bans Doorknobs!

Vancouver British Columbia has banned doorknobs and the round water facets. New construction and renovations are to have leavers on doors and facets, with public space progressively switching to levers in the coming years and businesses being encouraged to do so too.

 

My libertarian side decries such legislation as both an unnecessary governmental overreach, and an unnecessary expense forced upon businesses and the public. That’s my reactionary self focused side coming to the fore as in my every day life such ergonomic friendly devices provide me little value to my life, do not give me any greater freedom and mobility. That’s me being centered upon my own life, my current needs and protecting my pocketbook without giving any thought to how such handicap and senior friendly levers provide the elderly and those with physical handicaps with a greater level of mobility and independence.

 

When I think of my parents and mother-in-law, the value of levers becomes increasingly apparent. When I think of the minor touches of arthritis I feel on damp days may well become more serious out twenty years, the levers become more attractive.

 

My short-term self interest and that quieter bent against governmental interference argues that if I need such levers, then I should be free to install them in my home but I should not regulate their installation elsewhere. Then pausing I realize that my argument against such a law is arguing against my future self-interest. While my home could have levers, if they are not commonly found elsewhere then I start to become a prisoner in my own home, for while I could move readily around my own private space, going into the public space to move visit government facilities, medical facilities, churches, businesses and friends would be another matter. If I lacked the muscle dexterity required to turn a doorknob I could not open doors and thereby my mobility and independence is undermined. So functionally places with round knobs would not be places I could readily visit.

 

So when my community minded side pushes to the fore, my less self-centered side, I start to think about the overall value to the community, to my aging parents and for my ultimate self-interest, I view of Vancouver’s law more warmly. When I note that the dexterity and mobility of myself and friends will be far less in two decades, I wish other jurisdictions would take similar steps for our overall collective good. The cost differential between the traditional knob system and a lever system is minimal. Vancouver’s law is not unwarranted government intrusion. Rather it is a proactive law helping the community to become more senior and handicap friendly.           

Drum Corps 2013 Season, Scores

Today DCI's Southeast Regional Championship takes place in Atlanta. As normal, with two more weeks to go in the season, the placements of how 21 of the Corps will finish is playing out more or less as expected. They are falling in line with the predictions that took place prior to the first performances of the season.

The Southwestern Championship again solidifies wha will be the final placements. A few Corps may improve their placement by a placement or two, but for the most part where Corps finish at the Championship will mirror what occurs in Indianapolis three weeks later. Atlanta and Allentown will set up the drama and hint of the drama the judges have in store for the semi-finals and finals.

Baring a surprise in Atlanta the judges set a week ago the twelve finalists. Unlike most years, in 2013 there will not be the normal battle for 12th coming out of the Eastern Championship. The Blue Stars will return to the finals, and likely be in 11th. The placements within the top 15 are set.

The only questions outstanding are,
      - will the judges concede that Blue Devils do not have a championship calibre show as do Carolina Crown and the Cadets. Will the judges allow Crown to win? Expect DCI officiating to use Allentown to hint of the finals night drama. Do not expect BD to be third or even fourth, politically that cannot happen. The DCI script is designed for Crown to overtake BD on finals night to win their first championship, leaving Cadets third and with Vanguards on their heals in 4th.
      - will the judges move the Cavaliers who have their third poor show in a row, allow this G7 Corps to finish below 7th? They should be 9th or 10th but politically a predestined G7 cannot fall that low without is undermining the claims and plans of the powerful G7 to have their special tour and events.
      - will Boston Crusaders or Blue Knights be 9th leaving the 10th to the other.

I'm not enamored by DCI scoring, haven't been for many years. It is too predicable and is therefore suspect. If DCI's scoring was the stock market, the market would more or less be flat every day for a decade. DCI leadership and the top Corps claim that scoring is strictly objective and their objectivity negates subjectivity that creates score fluctuations. Ah, but either explanation overlooks that humans are not machines that do much the same again and again and again. Inconsistency of human behavior is a factor that by its nature creates randomness. The human element does not lead to predictability and provides a significant degree of randomness that is not evidenced in DCI scores.

Sports teams and other musical groups do not perform consistently night to night. Because of the human variable a top team can be beaten by a bottom team. I cannot agree that every Corps is on every night in the same manner as the scores would suggest. One night a stronger Corps could be less focused and another who is a lower very sharp, meaning the one should drop, and the other rise, but this is not evidenced in the scoring. Also, where one judge focuses on a given night will be the same as a judge the next night viewing the same element and Corps.  One will see some mistakes or issues that another does not...again causing a higher or lower evaluation than another judge. As what they noticed varies from judge to judge, and night to night, this would add to some score fluctuations and placements. Lack of such placement fluctuations is highly suspect.

That little placement and scoring fluctuations undermines DCI's claims of impartiality and objectivity. They are arguing against in the real world human experience, where human consistency does not occur in their scoring suggests every year. To put it another way, the predictability of DCI scoring is like watching a pitcher who averages a strike out per inning getting from the umpires exactly that, a strikeout every single inning, and a batter who hits .250, always get a hit every 4 times at bat.

DCI is not unlike the state of world figure skating of the 70s through the 90s, an enjoyable entertaining activity to watch, but as the scoring is too political, to scripted, and has to be ignored.

Review of Collapsable Water Hoses

After 14 years of use, by RV hose was starting to show the burden of years of service. It was relegated to deep storage as a backup as I purchased a set of collapsable water hoses. These are the hoses that when the water is turned off shrink to a fraction of their size. For RVs where storage is limited and folding 25ft stiff hoses can be bothersome, I thought these collapsible hoses are just the thing for RVs to use to connect to city water systems. After my experience using the hose, I cannot recommend them. They are not a good investment.

The hose connected nicely enough. It expanded when filed with water. It collapsed as promised when the water was turned off. It fold up nicely for storage, taking little storage space. The issue is durability. Simply put this hose didn't last long...it is a 100 meter sprinter that does not have the endurance to run even a kilometer.

Our recent RV trip last nine days over three different campgrounds. We deployed the hose in three campgrounds. On the eighth day the hose leaked in multiple places across a three foot section at such a rate the no water was coming out the other end. At most the hose was in service for 152 hours before its lining ruptured.

Utilization in an RV, it does not hold up to the demands. While it may last a little longer in a house deployment where you water the garden and lawn for a few hours at a time several times a week, 200 hours would mean it may last two season, and possibly part of a third.

I'm sticking to the standard rubber and plastic hoses.

Driving a Hybrid

For three weeks I’ve been enjoying driving a Toyota Camry Hybrid that has the right plates. By the right plates I mean, that it has the Virginia’s “Clean Special Plates” which qualify me to drive in the I-66 HOV lanes without the second person. Being able to drive I-66 inside the beltway during the morning and afternoon is commuting my drive to and from the office by a third to a half. The other day it took me 19 minutes to get to the office.

I love how far it stretches a gallon of gas. So far the mileage is just over 38 mpg to just under 40, which gives me a driving range of about 530 miles. One of my goals is to achieve an average of 40.2 mpg over at least 400 miles. By watching the data feedback I suspect that I may well achieve that goal, as well has surpassing the 550 mile driving range.

 

The first thought many people have about a hybrid is that it lacks power. For every day driving I have not lacked the power I’ve needed. The pick-up is a little slower, but not unduly so, particularly when one is already at cruising speed. If the vehicle was well loaded with passengers or heavy boxes and it was going up a steep hill, I could have a different view of its power at that moment. Due to the batteries the trunk is clearly small, but that is not a significant concern for me.

 

With a standard 21^st century vehicle, when we start the car we rarely have our foot on the gas and therefore we do not feel the engine start. But for a hybrid on feels the engine starting as one moves from running on battery alone to gas. As the engine shuts down whenever one comes to a stop, such as at lights, stop signs, in traffic, one frequently feels the engine start and while at times it feels like the engine is hesitating and about to stall, it is not about to stall. For some feeling the engine start could be unnerving, but I do not find it so.

 

Today I learned another little thing about my hybrid, is to make sure that the gas cap is tightly closed. On the last fill I did not turn the cap fully closed. Apparently if it is not tightly closed the pressure in the tank is lost which will impact mileage and the check engine light will glare. Fortunately the Toyota dealer did not charge me for the lesson.

 

Overall, I love driving the hybrid and would buy one.
 

An Underlying Difference Between Portman and Salmon on Gay Marriage

While both Senator Rob Portman and Representative Matt Salmon have a gay son, each takes a different posture on the right of gays to marry. Understanding how each man’s view the issue and their sons differently helps one to understand why they differ.

In listening to his son and observing the son's life, Portman has concluded that his son is not emotionally ill and that the son is not socially dysfunctional or rebellious. He recognizes that as with many out of the closet gays, his son has and will endure ridicule and attacks, be shunned, looked down upon and ostracized, not something an emotionally balanced person one would seek to endure. Hence, he has concluded that his son is gay not by choice but by nature. One can well understand that right of gays to marry is a logical extension for Portman once he concluded that his son is gay by nature, that his son cannot help be attracted to and love with a person of the same gender.  

By contrast Salmon's position is simple and shaped by his religious beliefs. Though he loves his son, he cannot accept or approve of his son having sex with a man. For Solomon, being gay is a deliberate choice. Salmon holds that as God is just and that Scripture views gay sex as evil, a person cannot under any condition be viewed as gay by nature, for it would mean that God unjustly created a person with a nature for which he condemns them. While Salmon loves his son, for him the son’s sexual activity is a chosen yet unacceptable behavior, not part of the son’s nature. Tens of thousands of parents each year are faced with an adult child engaged in unacceptable non-criminal activities, such as, habitual lying, habitual and constant laziness, being irreligious, etc., but they like Salmon continue to love the child without accepting the sin. While not explicitly saying so, one can read between the lines, that for Salmon to embrace his son's lifestyle would be an act of denying what he professes as being his Christian faith.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/04/01/rep-matt-salmon-gay-son-hasnt-changed-my-views-on-gay-marriage/?wprss=rss_homepage