Deep Fried Brains

Deep Fried Brains

It's fair time here in Colorado. I usually add something to my "Go to the Fair" articles. This year I couldn't go, so once again I had to pick a different topic than planned. 

This is something that's been weighing heavy on my heart lately, or at least giving me indigestion.
You need to be aware of a crucial issue that affects everyone on the planet regardless of sex, religion, race, boxers or tighty whiteys.

We live in a time of miracles and wonders. No, I'm not talking about breast implants. You guys never stop do you? I'm talking about the deluge of mass media devices. Not all of the effects are good, some are the opposite (bad).
You are probably asking yourselves "What makes this old codger qualified to talk about this?"
Since you asked, I'll tell you. I do not own a cellphone, I-pod, or video game. I watch one movie a week on a VCR. I talk on my land line ten minutes a week tops. Heck! I still use checks. I would occasionally use these devices if I had them now that I'm stuck here in the house. They're not worth the money to me. I'm pretty much a Luddite. In spite of these handicaps my son has gone to college absolutely free for three years and if he keeps his grades up he will go three more years free. No book fees, and they give him two thousand a year. He does no sports, it's an academic scholarship. He speaks four languages and just turned eighteen. I don't believe he even saw a TV until he was three. He may yet mess up but it will be a choice and not because school was too hard. We relinquished all his choices when he became eighteen last June.

I was checking my mail and standing at my front door yesterday as the high school up the street dismissed. A kid walking by, scared the heck out me. I thought he was having some kind of fit. He appeared to have zero motor control. His arms were flopping around in a spastic manner that looked as if five different kinds of tiny aliens had invaded his body and were vying  for control. 
I assumed it was some kind of heat stroke. I was getting ready to call the ambulance and run out and shove a pencil in his mouth, so he wouldn't swallow his tongue. Then I noticed he was listening to some kind of device via earplugs. What tipped me off was, that I could actually hear the music from about thirty feet away. It made me want to bust an additional move.
I'm sure he couldn't hear a car honk if he was about to be run over. This is proof that evolution can go in reverse.

A little latter, I observed a Teen yelling and throwing gang signs and no one was around him. I wondered if he was having some kind of schizophrenic episode when I noticed he had an ear phone. He stopped when he realized there was a teenage girl watching him from across the street. Some day he will look back on that moment ...and plow into a parked car.

Almost all the kids coming from that school were texting, talking, or listening to a some kind of phone or music. Out of eight cars that went by, only one person wasn't on a cellphone. I think she was eighty.

At work, I notice people walking around texting, watching movies, surfing the web, or playing games. Some of them are like little bumper cars walking into walls and people. I can understand doing it in meetings as they are the greatest waste of time on earth, but doing it when you are talking to customers?

Did you know that one in four accidents happen because of cell phones. twenty one per cent of all fatal accidents are teens ages sixteen through nineteen. Follow me closely here. Death is natures way of telling you to slow down, people. It is an impossibility for the human mind to think of more than one thing at a time. Multi-tasking just means you quickly remember where you were when you got distracted. These type of drivers get yelled at a lot but they only notice it if the people yelling are on their hood. 

I walked into a convenience store the other day during a slow period. The clerk did not hear the door chimes when I came in. He was stocking a shelf while rocking his head up and down to music he was listening to on his I-pod. 

I finished shopping and called to him to come and check me out. Within moments he did not appear. I went over to tap him on the back to let him know I was ready to be checked out. He jumped like I had just stepped on his tail. 
Merchandise went flying like a bake sale in an Oklahoma twister. He started yelling at ME for sneaking up on him. Sounds like post traumatic stress disorder. I'll bet I wasn't the first to do that.

At work I saw a janitor knock on the door to the women's restroom. He opened the door and yelled, "Anyone here?" ... No answer. He started mopping up when a young girl popped out of a stall humming along to a tune she was hearing with her earbuds. Coming around the corner she saw the custodian and screamed. (In her defense he was pretty scary looking.) She started slipping and sliding on the soapy water he had laid down like a cow on ice skates. She sued for workers comp. They test for drugs. Why don't they test for ear buds? Someone saw the wet floor sign in evidence, and heard the janitor knock. I don't know if she won her suit or not.

I often observe people watching TV. They appear to have just been treated with a turkey baster full of Thorazine.

This is because we (TV watchers) are bombarded with flash ads and bite sized info. It is exactly the state of mind the  advertisers want our brains to be in. We are receptive to their ads. This rewires the brain so that young watchers are no longer able to stay focused on one thing at a time. They have shorter attention spans. Insistent noise of any kind interferes with inner speech through which a child learns how to think through problems. There is no need to involve their brains so these kids brains have the same structure as okra. Kids today are subjected to forty seven and one half hours of exposure to some kind of electronic media per week. Their brain cells are dropping like flies. Any propensity to ADD is magnified by ten. Does the inside of your head itch? Newsflash....... It's not allergies. It's creative and non-solicited thought trying to escape.
Today we have face book, you tube, my space and God knows what else. The family only provides financial support. In many cases the parents prefer it that way. I can understand that. That doesn't make it right. Remember, don't forget to water the kids occasionally otherwise you might stunt their growth.


My computer is shot so I was looking up reviews on computers the other day. What populated time and again was revues for computer games. My email provider subjects me to a panoply of games before I can read my mail. Kids whose families throw them to the electronic wolves pick up character traits from these games. 

 They become anti-social and are desensitized to violence and hostility. They find the real world boring. They easily lose patience. We're talking about kids that get bored and go out and get a mini-gun or at least a full auto mac 10. In twenty years these kids will be wondering what wine goes best with Alpo.

The fore finger is being replaced by the thumb as the dominant digit. Speaking of digits and violence. Ladies! I understand many people find long fingernails attractive. Unless you pic.. never mind. If you have long fingernails and need to type, do not sit next to me or I will start typing on your keyboard with a hammer. I'll shake a box of Tic Tacs if I have an urge to hear incessant clicking.

We have cell phones, call waiting, conferencing and even video conferencing. People truly  have a party in their pants.

Some companies today actually are starting to paint their walls with paint that blocks all radio waves. In spite of creating near riots, their production is significantly higher. The employees without phones were about as happy as glass blowers with the hiccups for the first few weeks. They were going through withdrawal. I heard some survived.
 
None of today's devices are a  problem when used with common sense, but they are replacing teenager's and sometimes even human being's lives. Without the constant noise of their devices people feel like their heads will explode. Except for having no head many can make a complete recovery .

Remember: One of these children will grow up and be the brain cell behind America. Scary, huh? I can't even imagine someone my age being president.
Until next time.
Curmudgeon out.
I said Curmudgeon out.
Good bye.
Son how do you turn this damn thing off?