The Wireless Yogini: New law -- hands free cell phone use during driving

The Wireless Yogini: New law -- hands free cell phone use during driving

www.cardosystems.com/pop

New law -- hands free cell phone use during driving

Starting next Tuesday, it will be illegal (secondary offense) to use your cell phone while driving if you don't use a headset or hands-free device in the State of Washington.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008018039_cellphone26m.html

Before you start complaining about infringement of your rights, consider a study done recently, comparing cellphone use while driving to drinking and driving at the limit of 0.08. The study found that 40 adults tested showed the same amount of impairment for drinking as for using a cell phone. Hands free or not, talking on a cell phone is a distraction, and delays your reactions on the road. Those tested, by the way, got to drink shots of vodka and orange juice. I wonder if they got paid. 

I know lots of people who use their commute time to conduct business, catch up with family and friends, and pass the time. Until February 2007, I was one of them. The long commute several times a week between West Seattle and Everett seemed an instant solution to catching up on missed calls and keeping in touch. I always used a headset or Jabber so both hands could be on the wheel for the kind of defensive driving we have to do on Seattle highways. But when I put my commute to rest by relocating my business to my home, the headset collects dust most of the time. Instead, I'm walking around my house on speakerfone. 

But before I started using a headset, I was singing show tunes. I kid you not. How else am I "nightclubsinger" on Ebay? I memorized over 500 tunes, including all the words to Lily Allen's "Smile" album, a few songs in other languages (I have no clue what I'm singing), and the standards of Billy Holiday and Frank Sinatra. For a good movie with a singing scene to die for, Netflix "P.S. I love You" starring Hillary Swank, belting out a real tear-jerker. 

Maybe it's time for us to return to pre-tech ideas for the commute. Please submit your safe idea for the world to see. For all, I hope you'll consider limiting your cell phone use - even hands-free use -- in favor of making the roads safe for all. 

BTW, my man informed me about the commercial with the four cell phones and popcorn popping because the calls emitting radio frequency. He said it was completely fabricated, of course, but T-mobile received calls from concerned people after viewing this commercial without explanation on YouTube.com. My feeling: people really need to stop believing what they see. In the data manipulation and image processing age, nothing is for real. And BTW, if you're still unconvinced and feel you are nuking your head, why not use a wired earpiece? 

Taxpayer money for bottled water? No more.

Our nation's mayors signed a bill to stop using taxpayer money for bottled water, and instead have settled for tap water in an effort to decrease their impact on the environment. 

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008013930_water24m.html

Most of us could go one step farther by remembering to bring a covered plastic mug to meetings, conferences, etc., and use the water fountain or water pitchers provided. We can reduce that mountain of plastic water bottles one can imagine is produced daily simply because of convenience. Of course, now we have to watch out for BCP's in the plastic. REI is now selling a BCP-free Nalgene style water bottle. And everyone should take care to never put hot liquids in thin plastic containers, as the plastic elements melt into your food and drink. That's just common sense. Same with microwaveable containers. Better to place your food on a microwave-safe dish. If there is a lot of food and you don't want a mess, cover the top with a large dish or bowl -- no need to use another piece of plastic. 

Interestingly enough, bottled water became popular when the soda industry was trying to provide a healthy alternative to sugary soft drinks. Diet sodas, with their synthetic sugars, are not so healthy: the acidic content can harm the stomach lining as well as tooth enamel, and the sugars are actually sweeter than real sugar and trigger sugar cravings and hunger cravings that make it difficult for people to manage caloric intake overall. Somehow, we missed the thought that tap water and filtered water fountains might just provide what we need. 

I don't think we need to boo-hoo over the $15 billion the soda industry will lose over this. If I understand food and drink industry correctly, they will simply create another item, and try to convince us that we need it. 

EDD - is it real?

Check out this well-written account from a woman who claims to have EDD, Empathy Deficit Disorder:

http://www.cnn.cm/2008/living/personal/06/18/0.empathy/index.html

I don't believe this is an official DSM (diagnost statistical manual) IV-R, and even if it is, one should carefully consider what it means to look at wellness and states of being through a DSM lens. This is not to say that I disagree that this woman hasn't stumbled on a deep-seeded problem stemming from childhood and the failure of attunement and attachment in early childhood. I can say that putting a label on it and applying a code for the hope of creating a viable billing code for health insurance is questionable. Otherwise, I know a bunch of women who might like to say that their husbands need to see a therapist for EDD as well.

Of course, I'm sure insurance companies will know, most DSM disorders are being labeled on predominantly females, i.e. women are more likely to be diagnosed Borderline than men, especially if they come across as manipulative or angry. Maybe they'll have to come up with a diagnosis of EDD that is more male friendly.