Four for Friday

(Link at left)

Q1 - Back Seat Driver: When sitting in the back seat of a car, do you have a preference of which side--passenger or driver--you sit on? What if you were the only passenger sitting in the back... would you have a preference then? Related question: As the driver, do you have a preference of which side a lone back seat passenger sits?

Hmmm, I guess I try to sit behind the shortest, thinnest person. I tend to get carsick, so I very rarely actually sit in the back. When I do end up back there, I like to be able to see out the front window. And sitting behind the shortest person also means more legroom. ;-) As a driver...now that my son isn't likely to do anything dangerous in the car, I don't care where he sits, but when he was little, I had him either in the middle (minivan) seat, or just behind the passenger seat so I could see him in the rear view mirror and reach him if necessary.

Q2 - Lawsuits: A member of the Rutgers women's basketball team sued Don Imus and CBS on Tuesday, claiming the radio personality's sexist and racist comments about the team damaged her reputation. Kia Vaughn's lawsuit says Imus and his former co-host Bernard McGuirk, along with CBS Corp. and CBS Radio, are legally responsible for damage done to her character and reputation. Do you agree that Vaughn's character and reputation were damaged by Imus' remarks and that she has legitimate cause for action against the caustic radio host?

I think the university should pay her legal fees. Whatever. What he said was indefensible, one among many stupid things he said. I feel that people in the media should be held accountable for what the opinions they voice; they should make a clear differentiation between 'news' and 'opinion' and they should get smacked down when they say ridiculously inflammatory things. Imus has done the latter for YEARS; for that reason, I certainly hope she has sued the broadcast company as well, seeing as how they made money off his big, stupid mouth.

Q3 - Recall: Toy maker Mattel announced this week that they are voluntarily recalling millions of units of toys because of "impermissible use of lead paint and risks associated with small, high-powered magnets." Have you been affected by Mattel's recall? If not, when was the last time you were directly impacted by a mandatory or voluntary product recall?

1) We are (fortunately) past that stage in our child's life, so this doesn't affect us at all, although I wonder if we have any of their stuff at work.... I should check around tomorrow.
2) How long has management known about this stuff? I see lawsuits galore, akin to the cig. manufacturers' court battles. How many kids were affected before Mattel pulled the plug?
3) Ironically, we got a recall notice for something in my truck this week, the same day the Mattel news hit. Those kinds of recalls (for vehicles) come fairly regularly, but that's about the only ones that we have ever had to deal with. So far.

Q4 - Impressions: If you could get away with it and do it extremely well, whose voice would you impersonate for an entire workday?

Helen Mirren's, as Inspector Jane Tennison. Or Ann Richards'.