Some random thoughts

It has been awhile since I have posted. Fall isn't my favorite time of year, the days are getting shorter and I just want to sleep. So here is a fairly incoherent post.

I find it rather sad that every product has to carry warnings of the obvious. Coffee is hot, birth control pills won't prevent HIV, you shouldn't put plastic bags over your head. I guess I wouldn't mind it if the warnings were for children, but these warnings are for adults. The warnings have all arisen from lawsuits where people refuse to take responsibility for their own actions. The lawsuit of the man who cut off his fingers trying to use his lawnmower to trim the bushes is the perfect example. He sued and won because the lawnmower didn't have a warning label saying there was a sharp spinning blade inside the housing. Everybody with half a brain knows that, and if they don't it isn't the fault of the lawnmower company. It isn't like the lawnmower company tried to hide the fact that lawnmowers have a sharp spinning blade, nor was their product different than most other lawnmowers. I fear our legal system is teaching people that there is no consequence for their actions, something my parents taught me when I was young.

Speaking of our legal system, a recent post on a paintball forum I follow was discussing what bad shots most police officers are. My position is that we should double the salary of police officers and triple the standards they must adhere to. By doubling the salary we could attract some better qualified people and by tripling the standards they must me (which are pretty low now) we can ensure that only the qualified ones keep the job.

I have spent some time on a database forum recently and am struck by two things. The ignorance of the people asking the questions and the arrogance of the people answering them. The ignorance appears to be because many companies feel that anybody can design a database and often give the task to a programmer who is totally unqualified. The arrogance seems to be just more of the internet bullying that I see on many forums. I do not understand what it is about the internet that makes people act like jerks.