Addendum:
I have been spending more time on IWON and learned a few more important things that I want to pass on to those that have read this far.
First, they started a fund raising team play concept. You can join a team of your choice that is usually associated with a national or local charity, then all the play you do will earn coins for you and a matching amount for your team. The team with the most coins at the end of the month wins $10,000 for that charity. There are some team favorites that are way in the lead and if you want to be on a winning team just look for one of those. If you want to play for something you believe in then look for a team that matches your interest.
I chose the Rails to Trails group as I like to ride my mountain bike and the Rails to Trails program has been a great source of trail riding. They convert old railroad tracks and lines to groomed gravel and sometimes paved trail ways. Great idea.
Each team has a page to chart the progress and includes a message board where members can encourage others and provide hints. One of the hints left by ‘moerlien’ has been a great booster to the number of coins I have earned this past month. He reported that you can go to the Diamond Poker game and without even playing a single hand you hit cash out and collect the 1,000 coins that you where spotted to play the game. Hit play again, and cash out again and you just added another 1,000 coins. Repeat as often as you like.
There is a cap on the number of coins you can earn each day. For the casino games that works out to 1,000,000. Then you can go to the other games and earn a max of 200,000 a day. You can also earn up to 20,000 a day for searches. Since you can only have one game open at a time, I have opened up Diamond Deal Poker in one window and have a search window open next to it. I then cycle through the play, cash out, routine while incorporating searches refreshes periodically. It still takes quite a while to max out your coin earnings for the day but at least this way it can be done if you want to.
A quick way to earn coins on the search is to enter something that it cannot find, such as “Farrwestview.blogspot.com”. Since it can’t find it, there isn’t anything to display so it doesn’t take a lot of time throwing up the page. You can then hit the search button immediately as the search box is automatically filled with the last search. Searches are only worth 30 coins but there is the chance of an instant win for searches so it is worth the effort.
There is also a bonus game on Diamond Deal Poker, and because you are going through a new game with each ‘cash out’, you will hit one of these bonus games every now and again. It is a picture of a safe where you scratch off the combination then try it to open the safe. After the game says 'Not this time', right click in the window but not on the flash objects and select refresh for the shortest way back into the game. I have now played many of these bonus games and still have not won anything on it.
In fact with all the extra time spent trying to collect coins I still have not learned any secrets that will allow me to actually win something of value. Remember what I told you about the odds of winning on this site, they are horrible. If you want to get a feel for what the odds are to win a lottery this is a good way to do it. Besides, the latest prize of choice is now a water bottle. Hardly seems worth it.
Of course all the coins you earn can be used to enter the sweepstakes. Since I have learned how to earn mega coins through the poker game, I better understand why my meager entries from before did me little good. There are others that know and use the coin gathering methods of the poker game. But not everyone does. After awhile it does get very boring. In fact, when this month is done and my efforts for the team are through I think I might back off of it all for lack of interest, but till then, go team.
Of the casino games, beware that only a few games will spot you coins. Some of the casino games will you the coins you have earned already from your pot. This may or may not be o.k. depending on how good you are at the games. I prefer to play on their money so only play the games that stake me. Also, the slot games do not let you cash out the stake immediately so you pretty much have to play out the original stake. And although Dog Deal Poker has the cash out function, it seemed to load and recycle slower than Diamond Deal Poker so I stayed with it for efficiency.
If you chose to collect coins this way you will notice that your player ranking on that game will be high and stay high. That is because the game ranking is based on your highest score for the game compared to other players of the game. Don’t worry about it unless you want to personally play that game. What will change and rather quickly to begin with is your overall player coin rankings. It is kind of fun to see where you stack up compared to others as well as set personal goals for advancements. You can see your rankings at anytime by going to your profile page.
That is also where you can compare your scores and rankings with other players. There is a way to make ‘friends’ on the site though I haven’t done anything with that and probably won’t. Not my thing I guess. Most games have a chat function attached and you can have friendly visits with other players that way.
I did discover one new game that is fun and can earn coins quickly and that is Sponge Bob Collapse. Yes that Sponge Bob. It is a tetris style game, fairly fast paced and I enjoyed it.
That is what it is all about anyway when it comes right down to it. Are you enjoying the play? If not, then there should be some kind of payback as it just became work, and with the odds of winning what they are this is not the kind of occupation you should be looking for. The payback has to be from the fun. So go have some fun.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
Click here to go to IWON Tips Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 6 (SquareBob Spongepants Collapse).
27 November 2008
22 November 2008
Don't take dumb advice.
That may sound like common sense but I am amazed at how much dumb advice is out there. And I have come across some of the dumbest advice yet from AOL sponsored pages.
When we hooked up the new computer to the internet, one of the default home pages was to AOL. It looked innocent enough at the time and so I just haven't taken the time to delete it. Besides any links to new or more or better information is a good thing for an info junkie like me.
The trouble is, they are nothing but fluff vendors. The page is full of teasers of the worst kind, the kind I get sucked into. Not all of them get me but there are enough that do to make me worried as to functioning of my crap detector. It really seems to be falling down on the job lately.
Anyway, the headline reads "Need to make some quick cash?". Well sure who doesn't? But I have seen these lines many times in the form of spam in my e-mail box. What could AOL possible have that might be of value? The following tag line reads "Clever ideas that fill pockets fast". That sounds great, take me there.
The link takes me to the next page that is titled "25 (Unconventional) Ways to make Quick Money". Unconventional huh, well that could be a good thing. After all it is unconventional that makes people stand out and excel. Dave Ramsey says "Live like nobody else now so that you can live like nobody else later". I like that.
Of course this list of things is not a simple list but a slide show of ideas so you have to remain in their pages exposed to their ads for the next 25 slides. O.K. I can live with that if you are going to give me something of value. Lead on.
First up, start your own part-time business from home. No bad but their suggestion is to become a dog walker, errand runner, driver or computer consultant. That is a pretty diverse selection and none that will produce quick money in the near term.
What's next? Take a part time job, again not bad advice, working for a living is always a good thing, but we are looking for unconventional ways to make quick money, not the tried and true methods.
The next item got me. They suggest you seek emergency assistance, in other words charity. There are certain times when things fail that charity can step in and provide a helping hand to get people over a hurdle, but too suggest this as a way to make quick money is pretty pathetic. What is AOL thinking with this one?
A couple of more good suggestions come next, such as 'Make stuff to sell', 'sell stuff on craigslist (which should also work on eBay), 'do odd jobs' (same category as taking a part-time job), 'find an online gig' (not sure what that is but sounds like part-time work through online sources), 'return past purchases', 'hold a yard sale', 'recycle scrap metal', 'become a temp' (another form of part-time work), 'take in a boarder', 'pawn your stuff' (though you will probably get more selling it yourself), and 'go scavenging' (using a metal detector, or collecting aluminum cans).
These are mingled with stupid things like 'rent out your parking space', rob the piggy bank to 'collect your change', 'sign up for medical tests' such as avian flu vaccine, 'tap your life insurance', and 'scalp tickets (legally)'.
But the dumbest suggestions of all are 'get a payday loan' (just visit the local loan shark), 'raid your IRA' (retirement is for old people), 'sell some body parts' (thankfully they limit this to blood and hair, but still), 'bank your sperm', 'sell stuff to motorists' (that's all we need more car to car vendors), and the absolute worst suggestion of all time 'Head to the Casino'.
Some of these ideas you can easily do and should if you are in need of additional funds. Some of the ideas will take some funds to get started, if you don't already own a metal detector you may have to lay out some funds to obtain one. Then you need to compare costs to revenue and decide if it is worth it.
The other ideas are foolhardy if not outright dangerous. If your retirement plans consist of lottery tickets then you are probably a prime target of this AOL article. If not, you will recognize it for what it is, crap. Get your crap detector in gear. The best way to do that is to educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about as much as you can. The more you know the more wisdom will follow. There are plecty of people out there willing to give you advice. With knowledge and wisdom you will quickly be able to discern the difference between the good and the bad. Profit from the good and avoid like the plague the bad.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
When we hooked up the new computer to the internet, one of the default home pages was to AOL. It looked innocent enough at the time and so I just haven't taken the time to delete it. Besides any links to new or more or better information is a good thing for an info junkie like me.
The trouble is, they are nothing but fluff vendors. The page is full of teasers of the worst kind, the kind I get sucked into. Not all of them get me but there are enough that do to make me worried as to functioning of my crap detector. It really seems to be falling down on the job lately.
Anyway, the headline reads "Need to make some quick cash?". Well sure who doesn't? But I have seen these lines many times in the form of spam in my e-mail box. What could AOL possible have that might be of value? The following tag line reads "Clever ideas that fill pockets fast". That sounds great, take me there.
The link takes me to the next page that is titled "25 (Unconventional) Ways to make Quick Money". Unconventional huh, well that could be a good thing. After all it is unconventional that makes people stand out and excel. Dave Ramsey says "Live like nobody else now so that you can live like nobody else later". I like that.
Of course this list of things is not a simple list but a slide show of ideas so you have to remain in their pages exposed to their ads for the next 25 slides. O.K. I can live with that if you are going to give me something of value. Lead on.
First up, start your own part-time business from home. No bad but their suggestion is to become a dog walker, errand runner, driver or computer consultant. That is a pretty diverse selection and none that will produce quick money in the near term.
What's next? Take a part time job, again not bad advice, working for a living is always a good thing, but we are looking for unconventional ways to make quick money, not the tried and true methods.
The next item got me. They suggest you seek emergency assistance, in other words charity. There are certain times when things fail that charity can step in and provide a helping hand to get people over a hurdle, but too suggest this as a way to make quick money is pretty pathetic. What is AOL thinking with this one?
A couple of more good suggestions come next, such as 'Make stuff to sell', 'sell stuff on craigslist (which should also work on eBay), 'do odd jobs' (same category as taking a part-time job), 'find an online gig' (not sure what that is but sounds like part-time work through online sources), 'return past purchases', 'hold a yard sale', 'recycle scrap metal', 'become a temp' (another form of part-time work), 'take in a boarder', 'pawn your stuff' (though you will probably get more selling it yourself), and 'go scavenging' (using a metal detector, or collecting aluminum cans).
These are mingled with stupid things like 'rent out your parking space', rob the piggy bank to 'collect your change', 'sign up for medical tests' such as avian flu vaccine, 'tap your life insurance', and 'scalp tickets (legally)'.
But the dumbest suggestions of all are 'get a payday loan' (just visit the local loan shark), 'raid your IRA' (retirement is for old people), 'sell some body parts' (thankfully they limit this to blood and hair, but still), 'bank your sperm', 'sell stuff to motorists' (that's all we need more car to car vendors), and the absolute worst suggestion of all time 'Head to the Casino'.
Some of these ideas you can easily do and should if you are in need of additional funds. Some of the ideas will take some funds to get started, if you don't already own a metal detector you may have to lay out some funds to obtain one. Then you need to compare costs to revenue and decide if it is worth it.
The other ideas are foolhardy if not outright dangerous. If your retirement plans consist of lottery tickets then you are probably a prime target of this AOL article. If not, you will recognize it for what it is, crap. Get your crap detector in gear. The best way to do that is to educate yourself. Learn as much as you can about as much as you can. The more you know the more wisdom will follow. There are plecty of people out there willing to give you advice. With knowledge and wisdom you will quickly be able to discern the difference between the good and the bad. Profit from the good and avoid like the plague the bad.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
18 November 2008
strange couple of weeks
So I take a few days off and the whole world goes nuts. It seems like that some days.
We elected a new president or is he really new? Thankfully there was no huge outbreak of rioting and discontent and that is a good thing. I wonder what would have happened had the election gone the other way. Would the losers have been as understanding if McCain had won the election or would there be rioting and calls of an illegal election and the attempt to overturn the election in the courts?
There is the one accusation of an illegal candidate that has yet to be played out but it looks like it will be buried rather quickly, and that question may remain with us long term, “Is Obama an American born citizen, or was he just a few days late on arrival?” What will the reactions be if he is or if he isn’t? Some things can be interesting to ask and watch and learn as long as the implications aren’t too personally costly.
One of those interesting things to watch has been the vote on Proposition 8 in California, the defining of marriage as being between a man and a woman. It isn’t often that churches will come out and actively take a stand on an issue; they usually just let their doctrine stand on its own merit. If you have faith in the doctrines that your church proclaims then you generally know what your position will be on any given issue. You either accept it as your own or you don’t. Many people did just that.
But there were several churches that thought that this issue was important enough to take a public stand in protecting a moral position as well as a sacred and respected institution, that of marriage. It brought together several churches that would normally be at odds for their varying points of doctrine but were united in their efforts to protect the sanctity of marriage.
That is right, I said protect. These churches were in a defensive position. They were defending the very nature of marriage and that which makes it holy and sacred, a gift from God. It was they who were in danger of losing something precious. They are the ones who were under attack. And the tactics the homosexual community used were most definitely attacks, vicious, cruel and hateful.
And now because Proposition 8 passed by the voters of California and marriage is once again defined as it should be, the churches and their followers are under attack again. Vandalism, graffiti, protest and violence are all coming from the homosexual community and all under their banner of love. So where is their tolerance for people different than them? Where is there acceptance of people that are heterosexual? Where is their respect for people that have faith and believe in God? Where was the media in pointing out these travesties of fairness? Who was there to point out the hypocrisy?
I am unaware of any arguments for Proposition 8 that banned any homosexual from continuing to practice their beliefs. In fact, they didn’t try to change anyone in the homosexual community at all. In a world that is continually injecting the homosexual lifestyle into everything around us, be it music, book, or screen, proponents of Prop 8 managed to leave at least one institution intact. At least for now.
The world of finance however is a whole other world all together. On one side you have the downtrodden millionaire and on the other the taxpayer. Guess who is going to win this contest?
On the other hand, everyone is sticking their hand out, waiting for a handout. I am still thinking that this whole bailout thing is one of the worst knee jerk reactions America has made in a long time. It wasn’t well thought out, it isn’t equitable, and it doesn’t play well to the ideals of capitalism that this world was designed around. If a merchant has bad inventory, he marks it down real low, moves it out and then replaces it with good inventory, and moves on. Most items can be either bought or sold if the price is right. It is just a matter of getting the price to be right.
Same goes for the producer of goods. If you provide for your customer what he wants at a price that he wants and you do it at least as good as the next guy, you will have a business. But if you are unable to deliver on any of those points you customer will go elsewhere, especially if there is an elsewhere to go too. Why is that so hard to understand? And why do we think it is necessary to assist through a bailout those that don’t understand it? We are not doing anyone any favors here. Especially not the taxpayer.
But it is more than just the taxpayer that is harmed by these bailouts. What are the messages that we are sending out? Is it really all right to fail? Are there really any risks if all my mistakes are taken care of by Uncle Sam? Are there really different standards for the elite versus the common man? Will I be looked after as well as the next guy, and if so do I no longer have a responsibility to make wise decisions concerning my welfare? Or that of those around me? Can I take credit for (or will I even get credit for) all this generosity even though it did not come directly from me? Has our quiet acceptance been considered a vote of approval for our leaders to continue doing what they have been doing? Will we ever be granted the status of individuals and adults again?
I believe it is possible to be counted as a grown up and as an individual. It won’t be easy, in fact it is going to get a whole lot harder be your own person, but I am willing to make that effort. I believe it is worth it. I believe I am worth it, and I believe my family is worth it. Freedom does not come from group think but rather from a group of individuals that think. That is where I want my voice. I wish for you to be as I would wish you to let me be.
Does that mean we stand alone? No, far from it, for it means we stand together. We do not stand over, nor are we stood upon. And that makes all the difference. For none should be more equal than others. No, not one. To have it any other way destroys equality.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
We elected a new president or is he really new? Thankfully there was no huge outbreak of rioting and discontent and that is a good thing. I wonder what would have happened had the election gone the other way. Would the losers have been as understanding if McCain had won the election or would there be rioting and calls of an illegal election and the attempt to overturn the election in the courts?
There is the one accusation of an illegal candidate that has yet to be played out but it looks like it will be buried rather quickly, and that question may remain with us long term, “Is Obama an American born citizen, or was he just a few days late on arrival?” What will the reactions be if he is or if he isn’t? Some things can be interesting to ask and watch and learn as long as the implications aren’t too personally costly.
One of those interesting things to watch has been the vote on Proposition 8 in California, the defining of marriage as being between a man and a woman. It isn’t often that churches will come out and actively take a stand on an issue; they usually just let their doctrine stand on its own merit. If you have faith in the doctrines that your church proclaims then you generally know what your position will be on any given issue. You either accept it as your own or you don’t. Many people did just that.
But there were several churches that thought that this issue was important enough to take a public stand in protecting a moral position as well as a sacred and respected institution, that of marriage. It brought together several churches that would normally be at odds for their varying points of doctrine but were united in their efforts to protect the sanctity of marriage.
That is right, I said protect. These churches were in a defensive position. They were defending the very nature of marriage and that which makes it holy and sacred, a gift from God. It was they who were in danger of losing something precious. They are the ones who were under attack. And the tactics the homosexual community used were most definitely attacks, vicious, cruel and hateful.
And now because Proposition 8 passed by the voters of California and marriage is once again defined as it should be, the churches and their followers are under attack again. Vandalism, graffiti, protest and violence are all coming from the homosexual community and all under their banner of love. So where is their tolerance for people different than them? Where is there acceptance of people that are heterosexual? Where is their respect for people that have faith and believe in God? Where was the media in pointing out these travesties of fairness? Who was there to point out the hypocrisy?
I am unaware of any arguments for Proposition 8 that banned any homosexual from continuing to practice their beliefs. In fact, they didn’t try to change anyone in the homosexual community at all. In a world that is continually injecting the homosexual lifestyle into everything around us, be it music, book, or screen, proponents of Prop 8 managed to leave at least one institution intact. At least for now.
The world of finance however is a whole other world all together. On one side you have the downtrodden millionaire and on the other the taxpayer. Guess who is going to win this contest?
On the other hand, everyone is sticking their hand out, waiting for a handout. I am still thinking that this whole bailout thing is one of the worst knee jerk reactions America has made in a long time. It wasn’t well thought out, it isn’t equitable, and it doesn’t play well to the ideals of capitalism that this world was designed around. If a merchant has bad inventory, he marks it down real low, moves it out and then replaces it with good inventory, and moves on. Most items can be either bought or sold if the price is right. It is just a matter of getting the price to be right.
Same goes for the producer of goods. If you provide for your customer what he wants at a price that he wants and you do it at least as good as the next guy, you will have a business. But if you are unable to deliver on any of those points you customer will go elsewhere, especially if there is an elsewhere to go too. Why is that so hard to understand? And why do we think it is necessary to assist through a bailout those that don’t understand it? We are not doing anyone any favors here. Especially not the taxpayer.
But it is more than just the taxpayer that is harmed by these bailouts. What are the messages that we are sending out? Is it really all right to fail? Are there really any risks if all my mistakes are taken care of by Uncle Sam? Are there really different standards for the elite versus the common man? Will I be looked after as well as the next guy, and if so do I no longer have a responsibility to make wise decisions concerning my welfare? Or that of those around me? Can I take credit for (or will I even get credit for) all this generosity even though it did not come directly from me? Has our quiet acceptance been considered a vote of approval for our leaders to continue doing what they have been doing? Will we ever be granted the status of individuals and adults again?
I believe it is possible to be counted as a grown up and as an individual. It won’t be easy, in fact it is going to get a whole lot harder be your own person, but I am willing to make that effort. I believe it is worth it. I believe I am worth it, and I believe my family is worth it. Freedom does not come from group think but rather from a group of individuals that think. That is where I want my voice. I wish for you to be as I would wish you to let me be.
Does that mean we stand alone? No, far from it, for it means we stand together. We do not stand over, nor are we stood upon. And that makes all the difference. For none should be more equal than others. No, not one. To have it any other way destroys equality.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
01 November 2008
Why did that light go red?
I do believe I was abducted by aliens and that they implanted in my nose (near my sinuses since I keep getting sinus headaches) a transmitting device that automatically changes the traffic lights to red as I approach them.
It’s true. It seems like there is an overwhelming majority of traffic lights that change to red as I am coming near, whether there are any other cars on the road or not. A recent trip to the local Wal-Mart this early morning, and trust me, 6:30 on a Saturday morning is pretty close to the same as the middle of the night, just reinforced the theory of an implant.
As I approached at least four of the intersections with traffic lights, the light changed to red making me lose cruising speed, even having to use brakes and then sit idle as my turn eventually came around again. Each time the light changed you would think that there was someone else waiting their turn or at least approaching from the other direction but not at this time of the morning. At this time of the morning there were very few cars on the road and none were on the alternate direction route. In fact, at one light that made me stop, it gave a green to traffic (that wasn’t there) to the right of me for a full cycle, and then it gave a green light to the traffic (that also wasn’t there) to the left of me.
Now that it has me really ready to go, it makes me wait one more turn as it gives a green light to the turn lane coming from the other way. There was one car in the turn lane and he had only just barely arrived when the light turned green for him. It was just an optional turn light that he didn’t even need to make the turn with, but the traffic system seemed to think he needed it above me anyway.
This kind of behavior on the part of an inanimate object such as a traffic light is not just isolated incidents. It happens to me all the time. In fact, when I finally do get an unexpected green light or better yet a string of green lights (3 or 4 at least), I almost get giddy. I thank the heavens for this grand and marvelous gift.
My wife thinks that I am just focusing on the negative and that the traffic lights do that to everyone. She may be right. In fact, I have started to notice that this phenomenon is not just happening to me but is catching a few others as well.
Sometimes I will be sitting at a light with not another soul to be seen, waiting for it to turn green, when I notice another car approaching on the line that has the green light, and secretly I hope that they also have the implant so that their approach will change their green light to red giving my light the chance to go green again. This is sad to admit, because I really don’t want this to happen to anyone else, but I am secretly happy that it does because it finally gives me a chance to go again.
These intersections are not the old tech type that would auto cycle at the same rate all the time throughout the day. These aren’t even the old type that had sensors in the road that I always had a hard time setting off when I was riding my bicycle and sometimes couldn’t even set off with my motorcycle. These intersections have all had the new camera sensors put on them that are supposed to time the lights in a more efficient manner. These high priced units were paid for with all important taxpayer dollars and should be serving those taxpayers in a more appreciative manner. So why are they so cruel?
If my wife is correct, and there is no implant that triggers these lights against me, then someone somewhere is programming these lights to do this on purpose. Why oh why would anyone do this to another individual? Is this a control issue? Is there an effort to enforce a behavior? Are we being conditioned to being controlled? I would certainly hope not but it makes me wonder.
I mean in the olden days of the original gas crunch, creating synchronized traffic lights was a priority. There were some sections where you could travel for miles without even having to lightly lifting throttle to make the light.
One town I know of with the main street sporting 8 traffic light intersections per mile was still able to synchronize the lights to allow nonstop travel at 22.5 mph. This was only hard on those drivers that didn’t know the secret and would speed up then slow down then speed up then stop then speed up and so on for each light. This secret speed must have been too much of a good thing because they came along and messed it all up by changing the sync. They were able to take a 10 minute cross town drive and extend it to 25. I would still like to ring the neck of whoever was responsible for that one. Ogden, Utah you disappoint me. Last time I was there they were reducing the lane count from three to two and installing islands in the most congested part of town. Does no one understand productivity and efficiency anymore?
In fact, that is what this really comes down to, making life easier by making us more productive. When we are able to do more with less, we can get more done with what we have. Seems simple enough but for some reason most government agencies don’t get it. The Departments of Transportation for most states are seldom there to make things easier, and by their actions they prove that they are apt to try to control our efforts than expand our abilities.
So if there is no implant, and this is a deliberate effort for control on our government, then let us remind them that they are there to serve us. This is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people and they should be doing everything in their power to make our lives less encumbered. This means taking down obstacles and impediments, not finding new ways of adding speed bumps or doing things that bring us to a screeching halt. We need progress, not interference.
And in this time of economic uncertainty we need it more than ever.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
It’s true. It seems like there is an overwhelming majority of traffic lights that change to red as I am coming near, whether there are any other cars on the road or not. A recent trip to the local Wal-Mart this early morning, and trust me, 6:30 on a Saturday morning is pretty close to the same as the middle of the night, just reinforced the theory of an implant.
As I approached at least four of the intersections with traffic lights, the light changed to red making me lose cruising speed, even having to use brakes and then sit idle as my turn eventually came around again. Each time the light changed you would think that there was someone else waiting their turn or at least approaching from the other direction but not at this time of the morning. At this time of the morning there were very few cars on the road and none were on the alternate direction route. In fact, at one light that made me stop, it gave a green to traffic (that wasn’t there) to the right of me for a full cycle, and then it gave a green light to the traffic (that also wasn’t there) to the left of me.
Now that it has me really ready to go, it makes me wait one more turn as it gives a green light to the turn lane coming from the other way. There was one car in the turn lane and he had only just barely arrived when the light turned green for him. It was just an optional turn light that he didn’t even need to make the turn with, but the traffic system seemed to think he needed it above me anyway.
This kind of behavior on the part of an inanimate object such as a traffic light is not just isolated incidents. It happens to me all the time. In fact, when I finally do get an unexpected green light or better yet a string of green lights (3 or 4 at least), I almost get giddy. I thank the heavens for this grand and marvelous gift.
My wife thinks that I am just focusing on the negative and that the traffic lights do that to everyone. She may be right. In fact, I have started to notice that this phenomenon is not just happening to me but is catching a few others as well.
Sometimes I will be sitting at a light with not another soul to be seen, waiting for it to turn green, when I notice another car approaching on the line that has the green light, and secretly I hope that they also have the implant so that their approach will change their green light to red giving my light the chance to go green again. This is sad to admit, because I really don’t want this to happen to anyone else, but I am secretly happy that it does because it finally gives me a chance to go again.
These intersections are not the old tech type that would auto cycle at the same rate all the time throughout the day. These aren’t even the old type that had sensors in the road that I always had a hard time setting off when I was riding my bicycle and sometimes couldn’t even set off with my motorcycle. These intersections have all had the new camera sensors put on them that are supposed to time the lights in a more efficient manner. These high priced units were paid for with all important taxpayer dollars and should be serving those taxpayers in a more appreciative manner. So why are they so cruel?
If my wife is correct, and there is no implant that triggers these lights against me, then someone somewhere is programming these lights to do this on purpose. Why oh why would anyone do this to another individual? Is this a control issue? Is there an effort to enforce a behavior? Are we being conditioned to being controlled? I would certainly hope not but it makes me wonder.
I mean in the olden days of the original gas crunch, creating synchronized traffic lights was a priority. There were some sections where you could travel for miles without even having to lightly lifting throttle to make the light.
One town I know of with the main street sporting 8 traffic light intersections per mile was still able to synchronize the lights to allow nonstop travel at 22.5 mph. This was only hard on those drivers that didn’t know the secret and would speed up then slow down then speed up then stop then speed up and so on for each light. This secret speed must have been too much of a good thing because they came along and messed it all up by changing the sync. They were able to take a 10 minute cross town drive and extend it to 25. I would still like to ring the neck of whoever was responsible for that one. Ogden, Utah you disappoint me. Last time I was there they were reducing the lane count from three to two and installing islands in the most congested part of town. Does no one understand productivity and efficiency anymore?
In fact, that is what this really comes down to, making life easier by making us more productive. When we are able to do more with less, we can get more done with what we have. Seems simple enough but for some reason most government agencies don’t get it. The Departments of Transportation for most states are seldom there to make things easier, and by their actions they prove that they are apt to try to control our efforts than expand our abilities.
So if there is no implant, and this is a deliberate effort for control on our government, then let us remind them that they are there to serve us. This is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people and they should be doing everything in their power to make our lives less encumbered. This means taking down obstacles and impediments, not finding new ways of adding speed bumps or doing things that bring us to a screeching halt. We need progress, not interference.
And in this time of economic uncertainty we need it more than ever.
This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.
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