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Robocalls, Snickers and STEM genius drivers

| October 20, 2018 1:00 AM

Yes, this is an opinion column.

It says so right there in nice pretty letters.

And since the boss is willing to let me talk about anything I want, and toss my thoughts to you on this, that and the other …

Why don’t I just dig into the file here and find a few matters I want to address.

Let’s see …

I THINK the next tech gazillionaire will be the person who discovers an algorithm that allows us to block robocalls at will.

Sure, there are apps and gimmicks that claim they’ll prevent all that nuisance ringing, but none of them really work.

I’m sorry if you just spent money on something to give you a little peace. It probably won’t.

NBC just ran a story that opened with this line: “400,000 Americans will be robocalled in the time it takes you to read this article.”

That might be a low estimate near election time.

They can count me 11 times per day.

I THINK Kootenai County is acquitting itself well in the purchasing of Halloween candy.

That national survey claimed that over a six-year period, Idahoans purchased more candy corn than any other sweet for this holiday.

So far, readers seem to disagree.

They’re high on Reese’s peanut butter cups and Snickers (of course).

The only people who mentioned candy corn said they mix it with salted peanuts.

Oh, and I wish we could publish this, but my buddy Don Bradway posted a great cartoon on Facebook.

It shows the Grim Reaper surrounded by trick-or-treat kids at the front door of a kindly old lady, and he says: “I’m not wearing a costume. I’m here to take your sou …”

Then: “Holy sh*t. Full-size Snickers? Never mind, Margaret. We’re good.”

I THINK that massive technology park will be a huge winner for Post Falls.

But here’s a promise …

The intersection of Highway 41 and Prairie Avenue will rival Northwest Boulevard and Seltice Way as the most impossible crossing in North Idaho.

I’m guessing it’ll be a miserable, headache-inducing tie.

Yep, I know the highway will be widened to four lanes by then, but it’s a mess at Prairie now, so imagine a tech center stretching all the way up near the Rathdrum city limits.

And …

Silicon Valley has proven without doubt that STEM geniuses aren’t the best drivers, either.

Yikes!

I THINK gubernatorial candidates Brad Little and Paulette Jordan each did pretty well in their head-to-head debate.

Paulette could speak a bit more slowly, though.

Little remains the bona-fide favorite in deep red Idaho, but I thought it was surprising that he and Jordan were kind of close in their approaches to various issues, except …

health care.

Predictably, they didn’t agree on whether there’s a problem, what to do if there is, what it might cost, and who would pay.

Meanwhile, Jordan was pretty slick while wiggling out of an apparent contradiction from early in her campaign.

She has been accused of calling for a ban on automatic weapons like the AR-15, then defending those same guns at later public forums.

When the subject came up at the debate, she said: “Oh, I’m so glad you asked about that …”

Paulette’s take was that when it “appeared” she had claimed she wanted rid of automatic weapons, she believed the question at the time was about bump stocks.

The lady is learning Politics 101 in a hurry.

I THINK with the World Series close at hand …

You need to be reminded that Willie Mays was the best baseball player who ever lived.

No need to discuss it.

If you even think about submitting another name, you’re wrong.

So there.

“Say Hey!”

•••

Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press.

A Brand New Day appears from Wednesday through Saturday each week.

Steve’s sports column runs on Tuesday.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Facebook: BrandNewDayCDAPress

Twitter: @BrandNewDayCDA