A little "trash" talk

This year there has been an abnormally high level of disrespect shown to the land and people who live here [Minnesota's North Shore],” he [Bryan Hansel] wrote in a Facebook post last week that has been shared more than 1,600 times. “With so much pain, anger and hate out there right now because of this pandemic, everyone needs to find a piece of joy. And if people continue to show a lack of respect, destroy the land here and act terribly, the little piece of joy that can be found here might disappear. Some North Shore visitors trashing trails, campsites. Star Tribune July 7, 2020

So it's not just my imagination. Our parks and trails are trashier since the pandemic started. The surge in popularity of walking, biking, camping, and just plain being outdoors as acceptable means of alleviating the boredom of self-isolation has also given rise to an increase in thoughtless behaviors regarding trash.

When I come across a candy wrapper, drink container, or cigarette butt on the side of a trail, I curse (mostly under my breath, I hope). First, that some born-in-a-barn idiot actually tossed their garbage on the trail. And secondly that I forgot to bring a garbage bag to help clean it up. (So why do dog owners put their puppy's do-do in a bag and then leave the damn bag on the trail?) Call me a grouchy old fart, but litter sets me off.

But then I read this:

Rarely is damage done with the intent of harm, the most common cause is a lack of awareness of the best practices or knowledge of proper etiquette. Even the most wilderness savvy folks sometimes need a reminder about the Leave No Trace principles. Cook County Blog

Hanlon's Razor reminds us to never ascribe to malice what can be explained by stupidity. (OK, perhaps in this case, ignorance.) The rise in the use of our natural sites comes, logically, from people who have not enjoyed them in the past. And so need educating.

On a Rim to Rim hike of the Grand Canyon several years ago, i noticed that one encountered litter only when within a few hundred yards of the trailheads. Deeper into the canyon, there was no trash whatsoever. Those who descended into the canyon's depths were probably, like my companions and me, fairly experienced hikers who respected the wilderness. But even I got a little lecture when peeing too close to a stream while on the hike by one of the guides.

I've always been grateful to the Boy Scouts for teaching and enforcing the Leave No Trace philosophy, especially the edict to leave a place better than one found it. I am sure other youth organizations and outdoor clubs also help their members become more aware of good outdoor etiquette.

Hoping the pandemic creates a population more educated and willing to leave the woods just a little better than they found it. With experience comes knowledge. I sincerly welcome new outdoor enthusiasts to places I know and love. I hope they will come to love (and respect them) as much as I do.

Image source

BFTP: 12 reasons why e-books are inevitable

A new aid to rapid - almost magical - learning has made its appearance. Indications are that if it catches on all the electronic gadgets will be so much junk. The new device is known as Built-in Orderly Organized Knowledge. The makers generally call it by its initials, BOOK.

Many advantages are claimed over the old-style learning and teaching aids on which most people are brought up nowadays. It has no wires, no electric circuit to break down, no connection is needed to an electricity power point. It is made entirely without mechanical parts to go wrong or need replacement …Heathorn, RJ 1980 Learn with Book.In: Hills, Phillip J., ed. The Future of the Printed Word. Greenwood Press.

The resisters are plentiful. Scattered research on comprehension is worrisome. Pricing and compatibility and copy protection are problematic. But the future of books, textbooks, and other educational resources is digital, especially in schools, and here are a dozen reasons why...

1. E-books* do not get lost or stolen or damaged.
2. E-books can be updated, revised, corrected.
3. E-books can be accessed at any time from any place there is an internet connection.
4. E-books do not require physical storage space or labor for shelving.
5. E-books can have assistive/adaptive features for readers including built-in dictionaries, text-to-speech, translations, font-size adjustments, etc.
6. E-books do not stigmatize readers by having covers that may indicate reading abilities or tastes.
7. E-books are transportable and always on hand if read on tablets, phones, and other devices that people seem to always have with them.
8. E-books can be supplemented with multi-media resources like video and sound and animations that help illustrate and explain concepts.
9. E-books and digital resources can be easily curated and linked to courses and lessons in learning management systems helping differentiate instruction.
10. E-book highlights and notes can be easily created, found, and exported.
11. E-book completion can be tracked, recorded, and analyzed.
12. E-books mean never running out of something to read.

I suspect when the automobile was introduced, horse lovers compiled a good number of reasons why these noisy, slow, unreliable, gas-dependent, road-dependent, and uncomfortable machines would never replace Ned and Nellie. History is on the side of e-books. Get over it.

* Remember that e-books are digital files. E-book readers are the dedicated devices on which they read.

See also:

http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/future-of-books.html

http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/future-of-books-revisited.html

http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/turning-the-page-e-books.html

http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/the-e-book-non-plan.html

http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/managing-digital-resources.html

Original post 4/26/16

BFTP: A guide for new users of men's restrooms

Of all the non-issues that the our state legislature addressed, who pees in what bathroom seems to be one of the all time dumbest. Our roads are crumbling, our schools need funding, and our rivers and lakes are getting greener by the year. Yet our lawmakers are worried that the wrong person might, what, see something he or she ought not to see when using a bathroom? If I wanted this sort of legislative thinking I'd move to Texas or Wisconsin.

People should go wherever they please. Growing up a farm kid, the entire outdoors was pretty much a place to "take a leak." One modestly stood behind a tree or building or at least turned one's back if others were present. I believe my grandsons' potty training was successful in part because they found it more fun to pee outdoors at Grandpa's house on the lake than in their diapers (especially off the deck).

I still have no qualms about using a women's rest room (single use facility only) when some idiot seems to have taken up permanent residence in the men's room. My prostate is now 60+ years old and it sometimes lacks patience. I have been using the all-gender bathrooms at Macalester College when attending meetings there for nearly a year. I don't think doing so has done me any emotional damage.

So for anyone who reads this blog and does not regularly use men's restrooms (and for Minnesota legislators, I guess), let me describe a rigorous etiquette that I and most men follow, just so you commit no faux pas should you decide to use one:

• Never use a urinal directly beside one already in use (See the Urinal Test).
• Always look straight ahead or directly downward when at the urinals.
• Never, under any circumstance, talk to another person while urinating.
• Make as little commotion in the stalls as possible when doing other business.
• Courtesy flush when necessary

You're welcome for the guidance. And as far as I'm concerened, you are welcome to use the men's room. Just don't take up permanent residence in a stall when there's a line.

Oh, I am not aware of similar laws governing the use of women's or unisex bathrooms, other than put the seat back down and aim precisely. Guidance?

An aside: At the local YMCA the men's and women's locker rooms are side-by-side and their entrances look exactly the same except for the small placard indicating the gender to which they have been assigned. I've caught myself on more than one ocassion nearly entering the wrong locker room by accident. This happened to an older woman one winter when she came full bore right into the men's locker room by mistake, where as usual, there were a bunch of us old farts in various states of undress. The woman was horrified and her plight was made even worse when a geezer near the entrance stood up buck naked and turned to her and asked gruffly, "See anything you like, baby?" I'm guessing that the poor woman may still be plagued by nightmares.

Original post 4/17/16