Here are 5 things you should know.
1. It’s appropriate to call 911 for large debris in the middle of a freeway or busy road.
It can save a life.
If you are driving and see something dangerous on the freeway, it’s a very valid reason to dial 911.
A lot of people think there needs to be massive bleeding or an immense threat to warrant calling 911. But dangerous debris on a freeway is a deadly situation. Especially with how bad distracted drivers are these days.
Even just a tire/wheel, for example, can cause a vehicle to flip.
Calling it in literally takes about 10-15 seconds:
- “What is your emergency”
- “Debris in the freeway”
- “What is your location”
- “interstate X southbound, just before the XX exit.”
- “what is your name and phone number?”
- “[name] [number]”
- “thank you”
- click
You may be the only one to call it in, and it could save someone else from a terrible wreck. It could save a life.
Also, there is no need to elaborate on any of the information. 911 dispatcher’s time is very valuable. Keeping it simple is easier for the dispatcher.
2. Running bamboo should be in a root barrier or it WILL invade your/your neighbor’s yards.
When buying a home, you should take into consideration if your neighbor has bamboo on the lot line, and you should be very cautious if you plan to plant some yourself.
Running bamboo spreads via “root ropes” call rhizomes about 6-12in deep. Each root rope will shoot up hard sharp knife-like shoots in spring and fall, making your backyard unusable for gardening, walking barefoot, inflatable pools etc.
If you absolutely want bamboo in your yard, you should install a hard plastic root barrier 2-3 feet deep and 6 inches high in a circle enclosing the bamboo, because it will dip or jump a bit when it hits something hard. If you do not, the root ropes can grow 5 feet a year in all directions, and it’s a great way to damage any chance of a good relationship with your neighbors.
3. If you are a person who apologizes as a reflex or profusely, turning apologies into thankful statements will result in more positive interactions.
Because it will make the people who interact with you less uncomfortable accepting many repeated apologies, and make them feel more validated with appreciation, leading to you feeling the need to apologize less as the air of the conversation lightens.
For reference, this is most applicable to interpersonal conversations or perceived slights but can be applied in a lot of cases. As a preface, I am not saying people should not be taking responsibility for the things they do that upset others, nor that people should not apologize at all for hurting others in malicious ways. This is directed mostly at people who feel insecurity or compulsion to apologize for arbitrary occurrences very often.
Example – “Thank you for your patience” instead of “Sorry this is taking so long”. “Thank you for your understanding and your consideration of why I communicated poorly, I will do my best moving forward” as opposed to “I’m sorry that I hurt your feelings, I didn’t mean to”.
You can express the same sentiment for your understanding of someone else’s feelings, and still scratch the itch to NEED to apologize, by simply inverting your language to seem appreciative as opposed to apologetic. “I’m sorry” is referring to your emotional state of guilt. “Thank you” is expressing your understanding that you may have affected someone negatively with your communication or behavior, but that you are centering on their experience and making them feel validated that you understand how it has affected them.
Try it. You will notice that people are much happier to accept thanks for things you may have misinterpreted and don’t actually need to be apologized for – I often hear “What, you don’t have to thank me, that’s so fine, don’t stress!” as opposed to “please stop apologizing, you have literally done nothing wrong”. There isn’t really anywhere to go from an acceptance of an apology, whereas a thank you precipitate a healthy open conversation about the incident that can help it happen less in the future and removes the potential for a further reflexive apology if someone is sick of hearing you apologize.
You will also notice you are unconsciously positively reinforcing yourself, as opposed to repeating phrases that unconsciously frame you within yourself as purely guilty. Gratitude is a positive framing and begets a higher level of self-confidence and esteem in your own behavior and communication, and can help you begin to unlearn apology compulsions.
Again, this is mainly aimed at people who are socially anxious/insecure, and find that apologizing for lots of things while trying to be considerate of others isn’t having the effect they feel it should in interpersonal interactions. Try saying thank you instead, you and your conversational partner will be happier and get along better and in a more coherent way as a result.
If you do malicious things to people you should still definitely apologize for them, and then thank the person you’ve hurt for accepting your apology in good faith.
Good luck!
4. How to use Youtube like a time capsule.
Because it’s the most efficient way to search for videos that came out in a specific time frame. It blocks out all videos of any dates you don’t want to see. Example:
before:2011-01-01 after:2009-12-31 cats
Put that in Youtube’s search and you’ll get all the cat videos that came out in 2010 that haven’t been taken down yet. Change the years and “cats” to whatever you want to see for any specific time.
Google “youtube search operators” for even more ways to refine your Youtube searches.
5. “Flushable” wipes ain’t flushable.
Sewage systems in essentially any area can’t handle them and they eventually cause big problems. The wipes don’t break down in water which causes a risk of clogging your home plumbing or causing damage to sewer infrastructure. The real damage comes when a bunch of them wad together. It’s super lame that these companies get to keep callling them “flushable wipes”.
