The hardest part about doing this blog is actually resisting the temptation to write. As hard as it can be to come up with ideas at times, the difficulty isn't from lack of things I could write about, it is more along the lines of not writing about things that shouldn't be.
After a quick read this morning of the S-T and Neighborhood News, there were a few things that have be doing a "push-me-pull-you" exercise.
Anyway, read the papers yourself. I am sure there will be a few heads shaking this morning. It took me awhile for the temptation to pass, so on to the stuff worth noting.
The piece in the Neighborhood News on the Board of Health hearing is worth your time, along with the info posted related to the same. Good run down on the study.
Also a key phrase you should pick up on. "Human Annoyance".
Don't belittle it. Don't dismiss it, and don't forget it.
It is not the standard by which noise is judged directly, but it is a significant reason why there are in fact noise standards. Depending on the study results, you have an inkling into the next level in the debate.
Think your own home, your children, your childhood.
"Turn that music down, it is too loud. No it isn't. Yes it is."
New sounds affect people in different ways. It doesn't make them crazy. Because you aren't bothered by it, doesn't mean others are not bothered by it.
But the simple fact that a new noise can be annoying doesn't mean it is to be prohibited.
Dealing solely with the audible factor, whether or not the level is above the standard, human annoyance is in fact dealt with by the study.
Like it or not, it would seem the law imposes a standard for annoyance which you must live with, and that which you must not.
The internet cafe story in the S-T is extremely enlightening. Forfeiture of $750,000 in profits. I understand this encompasses several sites and operations. But think about it. These places were not up and running all that long, and are small potatoes compared to a licensed gaming establishment. Might not be all profit in the figure, but I am guessing profits make up a significant chunk of the amount.
A definite wow factor in that figure, with a whole lot more wow when you consider what is going to pour through the casinos.
Another wow for the Town of Mashpee and its residents. Seems the Governor, and the legislature have seen fit to include a little clause in the compact that seems to open the door to re-open the agreement between the Town and the Tribe on the land issue in Mashpee.
Wonder if anyone bothered to disclose that little tidbit to anyone in the Town before hand.
And a personal wow. I look back at the past three presidential elections and just say wow. I look at the upcoming presidential election and just say Wow. I read the stuff being posted by individuals and say WOW.
Just at what point in time did sanity leave the building?
I am going to go in vote come that first Tuesday in November. I tell you right now I don't like my choices. This will be the fourth one running were I haven't. Sorry, but the Obama presidency reminds me to much of Jimmy Carter's stab at the White House, and the prospect of a Romney presidency just doesn't instill and confidence in me either.
The key to change in this country, at least in the immediate future is going to rest solidly in the out come of the congressional races. The sad part about that, gridlock is the clear front runner right now.
Yet there is a clear front runner for the wow factor in that aspect. I look at the money being spent for the Massachusetts Senate race and say WOW. Three months to go and $47,000,000 collected to date. Top amount in the country to date, for a seat in the U.S. Senate.
And it is a U.S. Senate seat, it is not the "Kennedy Seat". I swear if I hear one more time from someone that I have to vote democrat to protect the Kennedy legacy I am going to really lose it.
I am going to vote for the person I feel is best suited to meet the demands of the job, and my beliefs. I am not going to cast a ballot based on who use to sit there.
But I digress.
I just keep shaking my head and saying wow.
Funny you mention the human annoyance phrase from Monday night's Board of Health. I overheard someone mentioning "blasting the radio" to mitigate the turbine noise--and all I could think of was, "Great, so your neighbors now have to hear your noise on top of everything else". It reminds me of the insanity I nearly undergo in a restaurant when someone at another table talks loudly enough for everyone to hear and in order to hear the conversation at my own table, I raise my voice, with the result that the first loud person TALKS EVEN LOUDER--it's almost like dogs peeing everywhere to establish territory, only we do it with sound.
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