Driving With Familiarity; What Does it Really Breed?

Article first published as Driving With Familiarity; What Does it Really Breed?, by Linda Voss, on Technorati.

The saying goes “Familiarity breeds contempt”. Lately I have been wondering if it breeds something else.

There has been a lot of road construction happening on our freeways of late. It has become apparent that we are busting at the seams and need more lanes. While this construction is going on there are a lot of road detours, orange barrels, and wonky lane changes. There are sections of the freeway where you will have narrowed lanes, others where you will make a curve to the far right then a curve back to the left, and times when you will actually be driving on the other side of the freeway.

When the construction first started it was scary driving on these new sections of the freeway. You weren’t exactly sure where you were supposed to be going. The cement barriers that were put up along the sides of the lanes made you feel boxed in and like you were going to crash into them. (Ok, they make me feel that way).

The posted speed limit in these construction zones is 55 mph (miles per hour). In the beginning that speed was all too fast. Now that construction has been going on for several months people are more accustomed to the changes and know to expect the unexpected. Mostly we keep an eye on the traffic ahead of us, watch for speed traps, and slow down when we see a friendly policeman reminding us of the speed limit.

One day I was driving home on a straight section of freeway that wasn’t actively being worked on. I was driving a little faster than the posted limit, 80 mph, when in my rear view mirror I saw a big truck coming closer and gaining on me. I was just about to turn on my blinker to move into the middle lane, because I am a considerate driver like that, when he zoomed into the middle lane, passed me, zoomed back into the left lane and sped off into the horizon.

Remember I mentioned I was going just a little teeny bit over the speed limit? It makes me wonder how fast he was going. This is when I started thinking about the familiarity thing. It bred something in him but I am not quite sure what it was. Apathy, confidence, stupidity, or was it just plain familiarity. At times we get so familiar with things that we become comfortable with them. In that comfort we stop being so careful.

Maybe this is why teenagers text while driving. They are so familiar with one thing that it doesn’t seem like adding it to another will do any harm. That and teenagers tend to feel invincible.

An accident injury law firm cites the following statistics of accidents in highway construction zones: “Crashes in highway work zones have killed at least 4,700 Americans – more than two a day – and injured 200,000 in the last five years alone.About 85% of people killed in work zones are motorists, not workers.”

You would think that this thought process and my knowledge that I am NOT invincible would make me more wary of driving fast. I was on the freeway again yesterday and thought I would stay in the right lane and go slower. That lasted about 15 minutes. I can relate to Sammy Hagar when he sings “I can’t drive 55”. Going 55 mph stinks.

I speak with that bravado now but wait until it snows. Maybe then I will be back in the right lane.

Is what you write free for the taking?

Article first published as Cooks Source Magazine Bagged for Printing Writer Article Without Permission, by Linda Voss, on Technorati.


Writing seems to be a hard knock business. Most people who are writers write for the love of words and writing. To actually get to a place of note and maybe earning a little money takes a lot of time, experience, and possibly luck.

That being said you would think that someone who has been in the business for 30 some odd years would know that taking an article written by someone else and publishing it in your for-profit print magazine, without their permission or even their knowledge, is wrong.

You would think. Enter Judith Griggs, editor of Cooks Source Magazine. This is exactly what she did. The article she printed without permission is a Tale of Two Tarts, Redactions of two English apple pie recipes and a discussion of how they changed over time, by Monica Gaudio.

Monica recounts her experience of learning about this, through a friend who wanted to know how she got published, on her blog


Aside from the whole intellectual property infringement, going against good taste, and doing something that even a high school student would know was wrong, the truly amazing part of this tale is the response Judith gave to Monica’s request of an apology, acknowledgement and a donation to her alma mater.

Judith’s response, which was quite snarky, said in part: “But honestly Monica, the web is considered "public domain" and you should be happy we just didn't "lift" your whole article and put someone else's name on it!” . . . .
“I have a bit of a difficult time with your requests for monetary gain, albeit for such a fine (and very wealthy!) institution. We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me!”

The internet, Facebook, and Twitter is all a buzz about this event. Bloggers are in an uproar. The Cooks Source Facebook page has increased a fan base by over 2000 people since this happened. It isn’t that they are truly fans of this magazine it is so they can post comments and flames on the page.

Judith is responding with the likes of “you children should go to bed” and “you would think people would understand”. Her personal Facebook page says “Why are all these people so mad at me? I was just helping that silly girl, and I get treated like this?!?”

There is also some talk on these same bandwidths that this all may be a big hoax. If it is a hoax it is a doozie. Monica is getting a lot of publicity about her apple pie article and a lot of traffic to her blog. Will the traffic be sustained? I don’t think so.

One thing you can take from this, true or not, is that what is on the internet stays on the internet and travels like wild fire. Take care what you put out there because you can ruin a reputation in the blink of an eye, the turn of a phrase, or the theft of an article.

How much does YOUR dentist charge?

Article first published as Editor Skips Out on $45,000 Dental Bill , by Linda Voss, on Technorati.



When I think of going to the dentist I plan on a bill that is maybe $100 - $200. My braces cost me a bit over $3000. If I were hit with a $45,000 (you read that right, 45 thousand) dental bill I don’t know what I would do. Those would have to be some pretty amazing teeth for a bill like that. I would be expecting a little “bling” for that price.

Lyss Stern

This is the bill that the editor of the New York Observer’s Playground magazine, Lyss Stern, received and didn’t pay. In lieu of paying the bill she offered to publish a positive review, in a three to four page article, about her dentist and his being at the forefront of cosmetic dentistry.

Why do we know about this? Lyss didn’t publish the article as promised and the Manhattan dentist, Lowenberg & Lituchy DDS, filed suit against Stern.

Why do we care about this? People are questioning her journalistic integrity and posing questions about a similar trade-off involved in another issue. What? We can’t trust what we read? If it’s in print it must be true. It may be true but it may be biased. Marketing rules the world and may be running into journalism.

The question I ask is what kind of work was she having done for $45,000. That is more than a good majority of American’s earn in a year. I can’t imagine why, given the opportunity to write an article in exchange for paying that bill, she didn’t just write the article. I bet if you went up to any person on the street and told them you would waive $45,000 of their debt, in exchange for writing a glowing recommendation piece for publication, they would do it in a heartbeat. Granted, we would have some really crummy articles out there, but they would jump at the chance!

Something I find even more puzzling is that after the story ran on Monday the lawyer for the dentist, Michael Laufer, said they would no longer be suing Stern. No reason was given for the suit being withdrawn. I wonder if we will be seeing a glowing recommendation after all.

All I can say is I am glad I don’t go to her dentist.

How Deep Does Your Beauty Go?

Article first published as How Deep Does Your Beauty Go? , by Linda Voss, on Technorati.


You know the old saying that beauty is skin deep. My dad used to take it one step further and say "beauty is skin deep but ugly goes to the bone". That saying is referring to the inner beauty of a person's character but have you ever wondered how deep your physical beauty goes? Could it be that what is underneath the skin and deeper into the body factors into the beauty we see on the surface?

As women we are bombarded with images of the “perfect” woman. With everyone being professionally made up, lighted, touched up and air-brushed it is understandable why there is such a distorted view of beauty today. Since we don’t all have those services at our fingertips what can we do to give ol' Mother Nature a little help?

There is an article in the The Sun Times, by Janice Norris, quoting two doctors who touch on this very topic.

Dr. Thomas Spies, at an annual meeting of the American Medical Association, said “As tissues become damaged, and they lack the chemicals of good nutrition, they tend to become old. They lack what I call ‘tissue integrity.’ If we can help the tissues repair themselves by correcting nutritional deficiencies, we can make old age wait.”

Dr. Oz says that sugar and hydrogenated fats (basically processed foods) are the two things that age us fastest.

Both quotes give very timely and relevant information. Would you believe, however, that Dr. Spies said this in 1957? If he was concerned about nutritional deficiencies then just imagine what he would be saying 50 years later.

We all know that diet and exercise is the best way to keep our body healthy and fight the signs of aging. Still, I struggle with this. Some days I just don’t feel like getting on the tread mill and, dang it, I want a brownie. That being said there are small changes we can make that will impact our health and therefore our beauty.

Eating at home more frequently and cooking some of our meals. This cuts out many of the processed foods that Dr. Oz talks about. Eat more whole grains. Instead of buying Wonder Bread try heartier whole grain breads, or, learn to make whole wheat bread yourself. Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables will also make a big impact in giving you vital nutrients such as vitamins and minerals that processed foods are lacking.

It won’t happen overnight but it can help. Go for a short walk and have an apple. The fresh air will do you good and it’s a start in a positive direction.

Wild Kingdom. On a Wall Near You.

When I started college I wanted to be an interior designer. I ended up getting married, going to work, and not continuing my studies. Now my interest is more along the lines of English and art.

That being said I still consider myself to have a good sense of style. It would be an excellent sense of style if I had someone else's unlimited fundage to shop with, but that's another story.

There is a fairly recent trend of decor that baffles me: animal heads on your walls. I understand the whole "I am hunter hear me roar! I caught this animal. It is now a trophy on my wall" mentality. I don't like it, I think it is kind of creepy to have a dead animal head looking at you, but I understand it.

What I don't understand is taking it to another level: porcelain animal heads. This is an "I went to the pottery store. I am an urban hunter. I fired you in the kiln. You are now a trophy on my wall" type of mindset. What baffles me even more is the kind of money one has to spend to get said urban trophy on the wall.

I found this in the Ballard Designs catalogue. Priced at $119 and $249.

 

 There is a different option for the more cost conscious. Sea Grass animal heads. Priced at $49 and $99.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I do need to go back to school to appreciate decor such as this. I don't think so.

Article was first published as "Wild Kingdom.  On a Wall Near You (But Not Me) by Linda Voss on Technorati.com