Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen

So with riding the BART to and from the day job, I get to watch folks do all kinds of things on their commute. Let's see, there's the women that put on makeup, like the one that put concealer around her lips before applying lipstick. Then there is the one that was plucking her eyebrows on the train....which is just gross.

Mostly though people read on the train, there is the occasional knitter or crocheter, the computer workers with their laptops on their knees, the sleepers, and the ones that just stare into space.

I have been yelled at by some rude woman who thought that she needed an extra seat next to her because it was JUST TOO MUCH for her to collapse her stroller....it was rush hour and there were a ton of folks standing up on the train. I had many folks pat me on the shoulder in sympathy on that day. (for the record, this woman was absolutely vile, nasty and completely rude, and was swearing profusely in front of her 2yo child.....)

But today, someone took the cake. Someone was reading Skeptic magazine next to me, and was reading an article about anthrogenic CO2. Now I have not read the article yet, but was understandably surprised by the idea that folks were still doubting this. I mean, my understanding is that the scientific community is agreed that global warming is happening. They are not agreed on the extent of the damage or which model is the right one. My thinking is that this will remain debatable until the results are done, which is too late.

The thing that keeps coming to mind though is this:

Are you willing to bet the planet that global warming does not exist??

3 comments:

Bezzie said...

Oh man you're bringing back great memories of my teenage years riding the People Mover to work. I remember the guy that used to talk about his schitzu dog and bark all the time. Ahhhh...good times.

Batty said...

Gotta love rude people! Uhhh... Ok, maybe not, but they make for great stories later.

I'm a little divided on the make-up issue... Emily Post says putting on make up in public is rude. I certainly don't appreciate people who pull out their entire bag, start with foundation, then work their way through all the layers until they're done with eyeliner and mascara (on a moving train, for crying out loud! How do they not poke their eyes out?).
On the other hand, I've been known to slap on foundation, some powder and a lipstick to turn myself from client-scaring professional into client-serving professional. And Emily Post never had to ride the 6:54 train.

Dana S. Whitney said...

Sorry about encounters of the close, creepy and vile kind. I hope you'll come to celebrate the reader of Skeptic (http://www.skeptic.com), though. I think the magazine challenges stupid beliefs held by many and provides the reader with ways to explain to the mis-informed the errors of their ways.