So Oblivious

It's a wonder that we don't kill about twenty percent of the world population every year with motorized vehicles. Too many people are completely oblivious to the world around them at all times. Today I encountered four instances within an hour and a half and it doesn't leave me to hopeful for the survival of humanity.

As I was walking home from work a car accelerated away from a red light and nearly hit me while I crossed the street. Yes, the car was stopped at a light, and accelerated into the intersection. Now to their credit, they realized that they were not supposed to be moving and stopped before they got to the crosswalk but if they had been paying attention, no quick response would have been required.

Less than five minutes later, as I walked past a grocery store, another driver nearly hit me. There is an entrance/exit to the parking lot that crosses the sidewalk and the driver was only watching the vehicle traffic as he rolled up to the sidewalk. He never saw me or the other two pedestrians he nearly hit.

The other two incidents happened inside a grocery store as I bought my food for the week. There was no threat to my personal safety but the complete oblivion to the world around them shows these people are in the category to be watched.

I was in the juice/dairy isle, going to pick up milk. There was a woman using a cart stopped in the isle while another woman with a cart was more concerned if her daughter wanted pineapple juice than anyone around her. She stopped her cart right next to the first woman's cart to completely block the entire lane. There was no way for me or one other shopper to get through. She could have easily stopped her cart to allow people to quickly pass as the isle was not crowded but she was so self absorbed that she had no clue her actions were affecting others.

Then, I was in the checkout line. I had done my usual scan to see which line should move quickly. There was a line where a woman was paying, behind her was a woman with a couple of kids but her purchases didn't even fill half the belt. Jackpot! This will be a breeze. The children were very well behaved. Double Jackpot! The woman had no idea what was going on around her. I knew it had to be too good to be true. She had the kids in front of he cart but was so far back in the lane that I couldn't start putting my groceries on the belt until half her items had been rung through. Keep in mind, all her items took up less than half the belt. She was also too cheap to buy bags. It would have taken 3 plastic bags for a total of 15 cents or she could have bought a couple of the reusable bags, or she could have brought bags from home but she had her two kids put all the food back into the cart. The kids did really well until there was about 4 items to go then they stalled out a bit. They wanted their mom to put the last item, a cucumber into the cart. For two kids no older than about eight, I thought this was pretty good but instead of just picking up the cucumber she tried to talk her kids through it. In the meantime, the cashier was wisely waiting for all her items to be gathered up so my stuff and her stuff didn't get mixed up. This delayed me a bit longer but I got my stuff and carried on.

In aviation they call it situational awareness. There are a few definitions floating about but they all boil down to being aware of the current state of the world around you and making appropriate decisions with that information. Today, within an hour and a half I encountered four people in routine tasks that were oblivious enough of the world around them to impact my day. Albeit, today was an extreme example but it makes the point. We need to find a way to make people more aware of the world around them.

However, not all hope is lost. While grocery shopping I also noticed a woman stop at the fresh meat service counter, to look at some meat, she immediately noticed that between her and another shopper, the isle was effectively blocked. She immediately moved her cart sideways to make room for others. We need more people to be aware and thoughtful, just like that.

Being aware and courteous is a habit that needs to be formed. It also improves your safety and the safety of the people around you. It's important to know how your decisions and actions will impact the people around you. You can make their lives safer and more pleasant or you can ruin their day. I hope everyone chooses the former.

The Deadliest Catch

Yes, I'm going to talk about a TV show. I love this show. It's entertaining unto itself. The man versus nature in pursuit of a fortune story is always exciting.

I also like the show because it makes me appreciate my work environment. Keeping in mind part of my job involves tying two aircraft together and flying them my workplace is infinitely safer than on the deck of a crab boat.

It's a dangerous workplace because the employers choose to operate a dangerous workplace. The hours are ridiculous and fatigue must be commonplace. They almost never stop pulling or launching crab pots no matter how bad the weather is. The training is minimal and new crew members, referred to as greenhorns, are left to fend for themselves. The faster they go the more money they make because they burn less fuel. All in all it is how not to run an organization.

There is inherent risk to crab fishing. It is conducted in some of the coldest water in the world. It is conducted during a cold time of year that doesn't have a lot sunlight. It doesn't have to be conducted with substandard equipment, a lack of SOPs and with the prevailing attitude you need to work yourself to near death or you will be fired.

All that being said it does make for compelling television and I will start watching the new season tonight.

Can You Eat That?

So I picked up some grocery store sushi for supper tonight. I did have the thought that I really hope whoever made this did it properly but at the end of the day I ate it. I couldn't identify every ingredient but it didn't matter, I'm not allergic to any foods. There are foods I dislike, such as peas, and I will do nearly anything I can to avoid them but if I eat a pea it's not going to kill me.

There are a lot of people who live with food allergies. I can't imagine what my life would be like if I had to deal with a food allergy. I know millions of people have to and must take it seriously to survive but it can sure put a kink in a person's adventurous side.

It seems that food allergies are becoming more prevalent. I'm not sure if we are more aware or are more protective or are really seeing an increase in the cases of food borne allergens. Maybe science and medicine can help us with a lot of these cases. I realize it is not cancer or heart disease but it can be deadly and can limit opportunities.

I don't know how to make it better. I don't know if we need to. I would like to see everyone have the opportunity to try an entree if they so chose and not be in fear that someone in some plant they never met didn't have a bad day and just contaminate your lunch because he forgot to change gloves. As I said in the beginning I can't imagine living like that.

When Good Intensions Don't Quite Work

While I was driving to work today, an ambulance was coming the other way. I was stopped at a light and had no influence in the the situation. I was only an observer to this.

Here is what I saw.

There was a vehicle in the left turning lane. He saw the ambulance coming down the street in his rear view mirror. He decided to get out of the way, and move to the right. This is the law. The street we were waiting to cross was a busy street, at a busy time. His idea was to get into the flow of traffic and get out of there.

It was a great idea.

Moving across the other lane, he managed to block the entire lane for a brief time. He left as soon as he could. He also managed to delay the progress of the ambulance.

The vehicle in question managed to block the entire street. I know he was trying to do the right thing, but this time doing nothing would have worked out better. The driver didn't know at the time, and wouldn't have any info that would have helped him know at the time. I am not here to criticize the decision. He followed the rule. it just didn't work out this time.

Always do what is right, but also look around and do what is best.