catbird’s world

The New York Times has an interesting article today about the increase in sports related injuries among kids. Kids are training so hard these days and focusing all their efforts on one sport that many have injusries or surgeries that were previously seen only among older people and pro athletes. At work, I’ve read quite a bit about the competitiveness of college admissions and I bet the sports focus has relation to that situation. So many kids only play one sport and play it year round in different leagues plus summer training camps. It’s a new trend, where previously kids played a different sport each season or played non-organized pick up games — maybe football one day and basketball the next. Playing different sports helps kids avoid wear and tear on one particualr area, like shoulders or knees. There is an up side, though. There’s a whole new market for “injury prevention” specialists to help with training and conditioning kids to “reduce overuse injuries” and “correct muscle imbalances brought on by overtraining in a single sport.”

catbird :: Feb.22.2005 :: mommyhood :: Comments Off

I love Spamusement.
It’s very funny.

catbird :: Feb.11.2005 :: socio-pop, technology :: Comments Off

Why do people steal? I have had possession and money stolen several times. Sure, you could say that it’s my own fault for not protecting my belongings. But is it? Should I have to live in a constant state of defensive living, watching over everything I own obsessively? Or should I expect people to have some sort of respect for each other and the society we live in?

Recently, when I was in bed sick, I was flipping through the channels. I came across one of those oh-so-trendy design shows. I don’t remember the name, and it doesn’t really matter. What pissed me off (so much so that I am actually using that word) was that the “hip” designer made it seem like a cool thing to do to buy things off the back of a truck in NYC. Are you kidding me? Now it’s cool to buy someone’s stolen stuff… and the bonus is that it encourages the theives by giving them a market.

The same situation has completely turned me off of eBay, as well. I can’t help but wonder where all these sellers get their “new in box” merchandise. I’m sure some come upon it legitimately — I’m certainly not saying that all eBay sellers are criminals — but some sellers have way too many brand new pottery barn rugs from the current catalog that they are willing to sell at a fraction of the price.

It all just makes me wonder who bought my stolen stuff off the back of a truck somewhere, thinking “hey what a great deal” instead of thinking that it was stuff that meant something to someone. Hey people who buy stolen crap — next time it could be your crap that’s being stolen and sold. Stop supporting the criminals.

catbird :: Feb.09.2005 :: socio-pop :: Comments Off

According the the ASPCA web site:

[T]he Burns Amendment to the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act opened the door to the slaughter of thousands of our wild horses. The Burns Amendment was inserted in a must-pass appropriations bill last year, and forced the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service to allow individuals and corporations to buy these animals with the clear intention of slaughtering them for profit.

For 33 years they were protected. Now they can be killed and their meat sent to France, Belgium and Japan for human consuption. Do we really need this export?

A new bill, called the Rahall-Whitfield legislation, would restore the bans on commercial sale and slaughter of these beautiful and “historically significant” animals. Find out more and send a letter to your representative by visiting the ASPCA web site.

catbird :: Feb.03.2005 :: socio-pop :: Comments Off