T.I.L.T. Things I've Learned Thursday XXI

And now the story of a contemplative blogger, and the things he's learned, which he shares on a Thursday. It's Things I've Learned Thursday:

* It's never good to knee-jerk react. A woman listening to a commercial for the Opie and Anthony show heard something she thought was offensive to the gay community, and fired off an angry letter to their bosses. Each day, the advertising department at KRock will take a snippet from the morning's show and play it to pique listener's interest, to get them to tune in. And so, what the woman heard was out of context, and she did no further research. The guys had referenced, unbeknownst to her, an actual event in which people would “call in gay”, skipping work in a unified protest. They posited a hypothetical situation in which a dude legitimately calls in sick, having the bad timing of being out on this day, only to be “out” as a result when he came in the next day. The woman called in, and after having this all explained to her quite rationally, could not apologize for jumping the gun and writing the letter, blaming the station for taking a clip out of context so she thought they were encouraging people to mock gays around the water cooler. She remained skeptical until they directed her to a web site that backed their story, and even then remained stubborn. She admitted that she never listened to their show which she was judging as offensive based on one spot, but that she used to listen to Howard Stern who never offended her because he was “funny”. Finally they gave up and tried to direct her to an infamous shocking animated gif, but unfortunately she couldn't get the page to load because everyone else who was listening probably tried to hit the same address. It's definitely important to do research and understand something before you complain about it, or you'll be on some shaky ground down the road.

* Don't answer your work phone after 4:30. It's probably the blood bank asking for your super healing blood. Again.

* You can work out and watch what you eat, and after a few months you'll look and feel slightly better. You can miss going to the gym for merely two weeks, and regress to a Willendorf Venus with hair. I've only been back to the gym for two days, and I'm realizing it will take months to repair the damage done by those two weeks away.

* You should have gone before we left. Don't make me turn this blog around!

* When a dad asks you to hang some lights the next time you get an intermission, he means as soon as possible. One clue includes the rattle of said lights against glass as the arthritic old man with a medical vacuum attached to an open shoulder wound struggles to do it himself two minutes after asking, despite the fact that it is not yet intermission and you're struggling to hear the complex dialogue of Pushing Daisies. Your best bet is to just get up and hang the lights yourself, since you'll miss far less show.

* When it seems like everyone in your office has the flu, particularly a stomach flu, be extra vigilant in washing your hands and handling objects they've handled. Even if you're just getting over a cold yourself, why risk a new and nastier infection? I was about to borrow a camera from a friend who'd been sick when he stopped, got out a disinfectant wipe, and cleaned the buttons. That was good looking out.

* $2.03 a gallon is currently a great price for gasoline. In 1997 on my way home from Boston, I filled up for 99 CENTS. Those good old days are gone.

* Life gives you lemons.

* Battlestar Galactica starts webisodes next week that lead in to the final episodes of the series.

* Always finish what you