01. What was your most memorable alarm-clock failure?
I have to set two early alarms to take medication; and then, I set the alarm to get up. One morning, I must have hit a lot of buttons, because I changed the time to about four and a half hours later than it was. When I woke up, I called my doctor's office in a panic to apologize for not showing up. This was when I found out that not only was it not the right time, it wasn't the right day. o_O
02. What item recently in the news do you find most alarming?
The second woman in Frederick County, MD that was hoarding and neglecting cats.
03. Of car alarms, burglar alarms, and smoke alarms, which do you consider most effective or useful?
Smoke alarms. Although, I have had a problem with massively over sensitive smoke alarms (Mine went off whenever I used the toaster -- and I cleaned it obsessively.), they are responsible for saving lives from burning to death (which is near the top on the ways I wouldn't like to die). Car alarms really don't do much other than frustrate all of your neighbors.
Burglar alarms a nice, but they go off accidentally most of the time, and it causes the people monitoring them to become lazy. I had a teacher whose mother died due to this. She was an elderly woman who was home alone. The house caught on fire, and she couldn't get out. She hit the alarm panel on her security system, and all they did was call. For those not aware, the protocol is that if the alarm goes off, the security center will call; and if it is a mistake, you give a security word,; and they let it go. If you do not answer the phone, they are supposed to send emergency services to your home. In that case, they were used to it being a mistake so often that they did nothing when she didn't answer the phone. As a result, she burned to death.
I think, often security systems lull people into a false sense of security, as if they are safe if they have it. Not only do they run the risk of not having emergency care when they need it, they don't put as much effort into other, more simple, security tactics.
One more anecdote (for this question), I am bothered by people that fail to pay attention to basic protocols like not having large foliage outside your door and having proper lighting at your door. I have heard a lot of people say things like, "Oh, I have my keys out; I'm fine" or "I'm a big, strong guy. I'll be fine". Well, in 1991, Henry Rollin was returning home with his best friend Joe Cole. What they didn't know was that two gunman were lying in wait behind some bushes. They ordered the men into the house; but as Rollins was unlocking the door, one of them panicked and shot Cole. Rollins escaped by running out the back door of the house and going for help, while dodging bullets himself.
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| This is Henry Rollins. |
04. If the shoplifting alarm is tripped as you exit a store, what do you do?
I stop and do the hands up thing and wait for an employee.
05. If you owned some kind of personality alarm to warn you upon first meeting someone of likely trouble in the relationship, what would be five qualities you’d set it to detect?
A. Liars
B. Sex offenders
C. People with disgusting habits who refuse to even attempt to change them, even when they know that it disgusts the people around them. For example, when someone coughs or sneezes and doesn't bother to cover their face. I think about the Dane Cook skit. I instantly go from calm to angry and am like, "God bless you... which is God bless you, but it's kind of like cover your fuckin' mouth". -_-
D Must love animals, and if that person can't deal with pets, he doesn't need to be around me.
E Those who lack compassion, especially for those with health problems.
06. What kind of magnets do you have on your fridge?
Right now, I don't have a fridge. I'm borrowing fridge use... When I did (and will again) have a fridge, I had some oooold fruit magnets, one from The Dick van Dyke show, one from Candy Warehouse, and a plastic covered stamp of the Supreme Court building.
07. What’s your preferred type of glue?
I like the stuff that comes in the plastic stick, like roll on deodorant, with the clear, liquid glue.
08. When is it good to feel sticky?
I have to admit that I'm really uncomfortable with this question... Uuuuuh.... when your killing spree is over, and your covered from head to toe in the blood of your enemies? Yeah, I don't know...
09. What was the last thing you wrote upon a Post-It?
I made a research note on the writing project.
10. How much pancake syrup do you put on your pancakes?
Not much, unless I got to IHOP and use their pecan syrup. Then, I just go to town!
11. What were the circumstances surrounding your most embarrassing (physical) stumble?
I had to laugh at this. I have chronic dizziness and vertigo, and I fall all the time. I am very lucky that, for whatever reason, I barely bruise or swell. Also, despite having some osteoporosis, I have never broken a bone. I did compress my chin and my right ulna in ways that should have been very bad, but I don't break things.
Ok, so the fall... That would likely be the most recent fall, about three days ago. I stood up; took a step; lost my balance, stumbled across the room, knocking over everything on the way, before landing face down on the floor with the laundry hamper on top of me. This wasn't a particularly embarrassing fall (I've done worse.), but after I fell, I had a little tantrum. I laid on the floor yelling, "DAMN IT!!" and fighting with the hamper. I wish someone had it on tape. That had to be hilarious.
12. As summer winds down and autumn makes its approach, what are you most looking forward to in the changing of the seasons?
I love everything about autumn and Halloween, so I am set. Also, I love when it is still warm during the day, without the burning heat of summer.
13. What’s something you’ve recently fallen for?
The new bus transit point. I wanted to hate it, but it really is much nicer than the pigeon poo covered benches under the overpass. It even makes me walk through a safer part of the neighborhood. We'll see when winter gets here though. It has no wind breaks, like the underpass did.
14. Of what has there been a shortfall in your life recently?
My medical insurance, my housing, and money.
15. Has there been any kind of windfall in your life in the past few months?
Last month, I thought that I might have to forgo my monthly obligation (going to a movie and the cheap buffet). Then, I found $40. That's the only time that kind of thing has happened to me, and I felt very blessed.
16. When you’re having trouble staying awake, what are some things you do to make sure you don’t drift off to sleep?
Jiggling my legs, I guess. I'm not very good at combating fatigue. Also, I complain. Complaining helps.
17. What’s most likely to cause you a prolonged period of not enough sleep?
Stress is a big factor, but I'll have to go with Bipolar mania.
18. When you’re going through a prolonged period of not enough sleep, what parts of your daily routine are likely to change, and how?
I rarely ate, lost track of days, couldn't focus, , fell more often, had more problems with my vision, and I became addicted to YouTube.
19. Who in your life seems regularly to have not enough sleep?
My mother, her fiance Don, and Bella (my doggy daughter). None of us sleep well.
20. In what ways does your personality change when you go through a prolonged period of not enough sleep?
I am nervous, I lose what little patience I have, and I laugh at inappropriate moments.
