Don't Take My Anthem

I think the "Star Spangled Banner" gets a bad rap.  Yes, it is vocally challenging.  Yes, it has words that require some thought.  But, it's not like we want it to sound like a Eurovision song contest entry.  Also, the people who tend to have the most trouble, are often people who had months to prepare.  (And who's jobs involve, you know, memorizing things.)
However, I came across Christine Lavin a few years ago when searching for something for a character soundtrack and adore her.  (Seriously, go check out "Happydance".) So, combine the Post's Mr. Weingarten and Ms. Lavin in making the Bill of Rights (which, by the way, "It's Academic" kids, was not written by King John) into a catchy little tune, well, I must say, I am intrigued.
"Here's to us, let's not screw it up."

H/T to ALOTT5MA for the link.

Blocking the Box

As someone who received my first (and second - out of a running total of three I feel I should add) speeding ticket from a temporary camera, I have since tried to pay attention to camera placement. (Oh right, and to not speed, of course.) Intriguingly both DC and Montgomery County provide lists of such things, although not the temporary ones, since they roam.  Red light cameras I worry less about, since I work hard not to run red lights, although certainly in stop and go traffic sometimes one ends up sort of trapped (which yes, you should also avoid, but sometimes the folks in front stop a little sooner than expected) in the box. 
So, I was intrigued to learn in this breakdown of the results from one red light camera that you can both trigger the camera and receive a ticket simply by having part of one's car over the crosswalk line.  And yes, I remember from driver's ed, and from being a pedestrian that one should not block the intersection or the crosswalk, but I wasn't aware that the cameras measured such things.  I guess I assumed the sensors were placed farther into the intersection.  So, just a heads up there.

Why Are We Here?

Oh, don't worry, not getting terribly existential here.  I just meant here, on the internet.  Possibly even here, you know, right here.  Personally, I like being entertained, and I think the internet is good at that.  I like being informed and the internet is good at that.  (Yes, you have to sometimes be careful, but really, that's true wherever you get your information.)
As more and more people come to check out this newfangled internet thing, some of them seem confused.  (In fairness, there have been confused people all along, there are just more of them now.)  Some people think if I follow them on Twitter, what I really meant was not entertain me with your various tweets, but send me a message reminding me that you have a [insert product here] and that I should GO BUY it RIGHT NOW. (They use the caps, okay, not me.)  Or that they should whine because they said or did this thing and now they have less followers.  (I swear, every time someone posts that, I am tempted to unfollow them right then.) 
And some people seem to think that because there is Facebook and My Space and Twitter and Tumblr and [all the other things] they should get on every single one.  But then, it's really hard to some up with twelve really cool things to tell people, so instead they will tell people the exact same thing in all twelve places.  Those people I do unfollow, or unfriend, or what have you, I don't need the message twelve times.  If that's how you choose to use your social media, I probably don't need to socialize with you too much.  (I may, if the message itself is interesting, need it once.  However if the message was just, "Buy my things!", well, I'm good.)
So, I really appreciate seeing people talk about better ways to do it, even if it is to say that I'm pretty sure that doing X or Y, is bad, what would you people suggest.  So, we have Jennifer Crusie here, talking about the difference between buzz and hype. (And asking people stuff.) And Maureen Johnson with her Manifesto of not being a brand. And Alison Kent talking about how social media is, you know, social.

Change Resistance

Dear Cell Phone Store Employees,
I apologize in advance, since I fiddled with my mother's cell phone and pointed out that since she could access the internet, and download apps, she could probably access her email on her existing (if relatively old flip) phone.  She did already make one trip to find out about her choices, but the sales person tried to fit her with a Cadillac smart phone with a ginormous data plan and she walked right out the store and continued on with her flip phone.  Hopefully, you'll be able to talk her into something mid-range now.  Best of luck to you.
Sincerely,
The Daughter She So Rarely Listens to, but Now That I've Suggested This, Well, Sorry Again.

Two Problems, One Nutty Solution

My apartment overlooks a parking lot and a side street that has nicer parking restrictions than the main road, which means I hear car alarms not infrequently. (It seems like it is getting better, but it is possible that just like my friend who's parents lived on a flight path, I have grown more accustomed.)
I understand that the DC metro area has a high rate of car crime and that while a determined thief will always win (because they will tow your car, etc) that small things like a club can reduce your risk, particularly when there are better targets to be had. 
However, I am not entirely convinced that car alarms fall into this category.  After all I was once sitting innocently in my brother's car while he ran into the store when the alarm went off. He had taken the keys with him, which, on his car, apparently triggered the alarm after a certain period if the car could detect the presence of another person.  I checked and saw that my brother had taken the keys, tried jiggling the steering wheel and triggering the locks, and when that didn't work I just sat there until he got back.  A few people looked at me, mostly in annoyance.  No one asked me what I was doing in that car.  No one alerted my brother - or the other customers in the store - that the alarm was going off.  My brother finished his business, walked back out, and went, "Oh, it was you."
So, had I had nefarious purposes, I suspect people would have thought I had accidentally triggered it and let me make off with the car.
Therefore, my unscientific conclusion is that car alarms are really only of interest to the car owner.  But in cities where people might be parked a few blocks away or have loud neighbors, they may not hear it (unless they set it off themselves).
My suggestion, then, is car alarms that screech to your bluetooth headset.  This is the second problem (although really it's more of a pet peeve, but it's my blog and therefore my peeves are problems).  People (often guys) seem to like wearing their bluetooth headsets.  I have a theory that it is people who secretly wish for more accessories in their lives, but really, it would make far more sense to wear that headset to the bathroom and to school plays and such if you could tell people it was in case the car alarm went off.
This would also assist in scenarios where people's car alarms might be set a touch to sensitive, because I feel certain that if people knew that their car alarm went off every time a truck rumbled by, they would wish to address that.