I listen to a lot of satellite radio; mostly the old time radio of the 1930s-50s. Unlike most of the music channels, since this station is not one of the big money earners, it actually has a bunch of commercials. Most of them are extremely annoying, but I do learn things from them now and again.
One thing I have learned recently validates something I heard on public radio this week = there is always a need for long haul truck drivers. From the number of trucks I see on the roadways, you would not think that this would be the case, but apparently it is. Probably 1/3 of the commercials on XM/Sirius channel 82 have something to do with the trucking industry.
Another 1/3 of the advertisements involve people trying to sell you gold. There are all sorts of thinly veiled apocolyptic warnings about how the financial system is about to collapse. My favorite one is a slam against Quantitative Easing which includes a phrase something like, "You can print more money but you cannot create more gold!" That statement bothers me on SO MANY levels. First of all, you can mine for more gold, but I realize that the supply is finite on this planet. Secondly, you can also buy something that is more valuable than gold; why are we all so fixated on the shiny gold stuff? I much prefer platinum or silver. Thirdly, and most of all, they are playing on people's fears to get them to convert their IRA into gold, buy some gold that they otherwise might put into some other investment, etc.
I understand fear. I see a great example of it every day when I go down into the basement.
We have two yellow bellied slider cousins of this wild fellow shown above, who warm themselves under the heat lamps during the day. The male turtle, Nacho, tends to clamber off the sunning platform very quickly and dive into the water when he first hears someone come down the stairs into the basement. He swims at full speed for about 5 seconds until he smashes his nose into the end of the aquarium.
I am pretty sure that he thinks we are a predator, and wants to get as far away as possible, post haste. His female companion Libre is not quite as smart, but much more food/heat motivated. She won't get off the nice warm/dry platform until she is pretty sure it is feeding time.
I realize that a certain amount of fear is necessary to keep one safe and dry and fed, but I object to the type of advertising that appeals to that very base emotion. It can be very negative and misleading, and while I feel bad about getting poor Nacho's heart rate up every morning/evening that I venture down to the basement, I still need to get the laundry done!
One thing I have learned recently validates something I heard on public radio this week = there is always a need for long haul truck drivers. From the number of trucks I see on the roadways, you would not think that this would be the case, but apparently it is. Probably 1/3 of the commercials on XM/Sirius channel 82 have something to do with the trucking industry.
Another 1/3 of the advertisements involve people trying to sell you gold. There are all sorts of thinly veiled apocolyptic warnings about how the financial system is about to collapse. My favorite one is a slam against Quantitative Easing which includes a phrase something like, "You can print more money but you cannot create more gold!" That statement bothers me on SO MANY levels. First of all, you can mine for more gold, but I realize that the supply is finite on this planet. Secondly, you can also buy something that is more valuable than gold; why are we all so fixated on the shiny gold stuff? I much prefer platinum or silver. Thirdly, and most of all, they are playing on people's fears to get them to convert their IRA into gold, buy some gold that they otherwise might put into some other investment, etc.
I understand fear. I see a great example of it every day when I go down into the basement.
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| borrowed from http://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/turtles/yellow-bellied-slider/yellow-bellied_slider.htm |
We have two yellow bellied slider cousins of this wild fellow shown above, who warm themselves under the heat lamps during the day. The male turtle, Nacho, tends to clamber off the sunning platform very quickly and dive into the water when he first hears someone come down the stairs into the basement. He swims at full speed for about 5 seconds until he smashes his nose into the end of the aquarium.
I am pretty sure that he thinks we are a predator, and wants to get as far away as possible, post haste. His female companion Libre is not quite as smart, but much more food/heat motivated. She won't get off the nice warm/dry platform until she is pretty sure it is feeding time.
I realize that a certain amount of fear is necessary to keep one safe and dry and fed, but I object to the type of advertising that appeals to that very base emotion. It can be very negative and misleading, and while I feel bad about getting poor Nacho's heart rate up every morning/evening that I venture down to the basement, I still need to get the laundry done!
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