Four for FridaySaturday

(Link at left)
Q1 - I'm Telling!: In many parts of the U.S., drought conditions are so bad that homeowners are banned from watering their lawns. If you lived in a town that temporarily banned outside watering and you noticed a neighbor breaking the rule, would you go out of your way to report them to the local water authority? Would your answer change if the neighbor were someone you absolutely despise or consider a good friend?

I grew up with water rationing in Denver. I don't have the manic attraction to a perfect carpet of ultra-green grass that is the suburban brass ring. I'm actually allergic to some grasses--I'm sure that comes as a giant shock, doesn't it?--so I'd be more than happy with a Zen rock garden.

Would I report a neighbor who was watering? If it was someone I knew, I'd probably try to find out why they were doing it, especially if it were a sudden development. Otherwise, yeah, I'd probably report it. OK, I might ask them first if they knew about the bans/metering. I'd probably let it go for awhile, but I have to think that if their lawn stayed suspciously healthy while all the other lawns in the neighborhood turned spotty-brown, the water authority would figure it out pretty quick. It's not really something you can cheat on for long. On the other hand, around here, watering our yards is not really all that necessary. God waters 'em for us, most times.

Q2 - Now That's Funny!: An unlikely new candidate entered the Presidential race this week, adding his name to an already deep field of candidates: comedian Stephen Colbert. The host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" announced this week that he would enter the primary in his home state of South Carolina. Seriously folks, would you vote for a comedian or another non-traditional candidate, (i.e., someone who is not either a successful business person, legislator, politician, or community leader) for President of the United States?

In the primary, maybe. We have to declare a party at the primary election here. If he was on the "other party's" ticket, I'd DEFINITELY vote for him!!
Would I vote for him in November? No.

Q3 - Cafeteria Trays: When you eat at a self-serve or walk-up-and-order and carry-it-to-your-table-yourself style of restaurant, do you use your cafeteria-style tray while you eat or do you immediately remove your food from the tray and turn in all directions to see just how quickly you can get rid of the thing?

I usually keep the tray, or not. Depends on who is eating with me. If they dump the tray, I do too. Beast is definitely more the "unload and dump the tray" type. I wonder if this has anything to do with having worked at a restaurant? Keeping the tray means the table stays WAY cleaner! In fact, I think kids should HAVE to keep trays until they are at least 7! ;-)

Q4 - Media Ownership: The head of the Federal Communications Commission has circulated a plan to relax decades-old media ownership rules, including repealing a rule that forbids a company to own both a newspaper and a television or radio station in the same city. Kevin Martin, chairman of the FCC, wants to repeal the rule in the next two months -- a plan that, if successful, would be a big victory for Samuel Zell, the Chicago investor who is seeking to complete a buyout of the Tribune Company, and Rupert Murdoch, who has lobbied against the rule for years so that he can continue controlling both The New York Post and a Fox television station in New York. Do you think media conglomerates like the ones Martin seeks to exist are okay, or, like church and state, should local newspapers and television and radio stations remain separate entities?

For the two gentlemen (so-called) cited alone, the rule should stay in place. I'm convinced Rupert Murdoch is the devil himself, and anything that gives anyone more clout in Chicago is to be avoided at all costs! In the real world, however, I recognize that there is already a lot of incest in the journalism community, so it's kind of hypocritical to try to whitewash it. I'm reminded that one of the major radio stations and a network TV station in a city in which I used to live (and visited yesterday) uses as its call letters 'W' followed by the first letters of the name of the (only) local newspaper. I think something very similar was true in Denver when I was a child.