People love music...

[Arkay]

Or, maybe people should mind their own business and stop trying to tell others how to run their lives. ....
... because they believe their thinking is superior and feel the need to force others into their view of how to live their life.

dew.

Yes, I agree completely! :yes: It galls the hell out of me every time a smoker believes their thinking is superior and that they feel the need to force me into their view of how to live their life, by forcing me to breathe their godd*mned f*ck*ng secondhand smoke.

Don't the other creatures of this planet, including their fellow human beings, have some right to breathe natural air, without it being befouled with such noxious, toxic crud? The air surrounds all of us equally, and we all need it for life. So what gives someone the right, just because they were stupid enough as a kid to addict themselves, to dirty it up with noxious, horrible, stinky, carcinogenic and health-robbing CRAP, right at head level where others around them will breathe it in?

And most of all, what gives them the right to do it in places like public parks, where most people go, at least in part, to enjoy the "fresh air"? Cities now zone for parks, in part, to act as "lungs" and keep the air cleaner, so why should anyone let these pathetic addicts offset that by selfishly pouring out more pollutants into not only other peoples' lungs, but the common lungs of the city as a whole? Yep, I agree.

These "lifestyle Nazi" stinkheads who think all of us should just put up with this nonsense, just because they choose a stupid, self-destructive lifestyle, should be stuffed in cubicles and forced to breathe their own noxious crap until they either stop trying to inflict it on others, or just eliminate themselves.

Perhaps a bit harshly worded, but I think you get the idea. There is more than one way to look at things! We should all be endowed with certain unalienable rights, and besides life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the right to breathe normal air should definitely be one of them! Not to mention being burdened, collectively and individually, with all the indirect costs to society that arise from smoking (medical costs, lost productivity, insurance rates, etc...).

That's all I'll say on this topic for now. I just felt that there should be some balance brought back into the force, after such an opinionated and unfair post. So I balanced it with a counter-post.

 

[Sam Cogley]

Top of the monument is a little too far of a climb for me, even if they were offering free sex at the top...

It IS quite phallic... :lmao:

 

[tshoejohn]

Cool!
I wonder if anyone has actually played a tune on it?

 

[similost]

Hey Arkay.. I won't smoke in your air space if you don't fart in mine... deal?

 

[Arkay]

What if many mundane things in life were made fun and interactive? They say it's the little things in life, right? Maybe our quality of life would go up a bit. I guess this is why I like getting into the outdoors; all kinds of cool stuff going on at every turn.

Michael

I completely agree. [This time, I REALLY DO agree! ] I like it when someone adds some pretty flowers somewhere, or makes a game out of a chore, or does any other creative thing to make people's lives just a little better. When life CAN be more fun, more pleasant, why shouldn't it be?

I think it's a creative way of thinking outside of the box. No one is forced to take the stairs, but making it fun opens up people's perspectives and perhaps now they look at the stairs and instead of thinking "ugh" they may think "hey!". Nothing wrong with that!

...clutz that I am, I would probably break my neck trying to "step lively" to some hip tune

I was thinking the same thing... The sad part of it is that all it will take is for one litigious person to hurt themselves, perhaps twist their ankle trying to play "Flight of the Bumblebee" or something, and the city or transport service or whoever made that "piano stairway" will probably be slapped with a lawsuit!

But I do think it is a great idea. No one is being forced to take those stairs, and while I imagine if you had to stay there long, you'd get fed up with the "noise pollution" of all the random notes, most people will only be there for a short time, and enjoying the "creating" of "music" while they are there. I think the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, by a long shot. There are MANY similar ways that routine activities could be made more fun and interesting, if you think about it. Perhaps over time, more of these will become realities.

 

[krowmagnum]

When someone else's health care bills cause my insurance rates to rise (or if they're indigent end up being paid out of my taxes), then you're damned right their personal behavior is my problem.

That is such a small part of your taxes and health care costs it's not even worth mentioning. The reason your costs go up has to do with greed by the health care industry. You do know about the astronomical profits they make right ?

 

[tentoze]

Moderator Note:

Off Topic Forum- about the only one here where sugar can be turned to **** in less than a page. Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) can keep their soapbox preaching to themselves, or this thread will evaporate.

 

[Sam Cogley]

That is such a small part of your taxes and health care costs it's not even worth mentioning. The reason your costs go up has to do with greed by the health care industry. You do know about the astronomical profits they make right ?

Yes, but I don't feel like writing a dissertation. :thmbsp:

 

[krowmagnum]

Yes, I agree completely! :yes: It galls the hell out of me every time a smoker believes their thinking is superior and that they feel the need to force me into their view of how to live their life, by forcing me to breathe their godd*mned f*ck*ng secondhand smoke.

Don't the other creatures of this planet, including their fellow human beings, have some right to breathe natural air, without it being befouled with such noxious, toxic crud? The air surrounds all of us equally, and we all need it for life. So what gives someone the right, just because they were stupid enough as a kid to addict themselves, to dirty it up with noxious, horrible, stinky, carcinogenic and health-robbing CRAP, right at head level where others around them will breathe it in?

And most of all, what gives them the right to do it in places like public parks, where most people go, at least in part, to enjoy the "fresh air"? Cities now zone for parks, in part, to act as "lungs" and keep the air cleaner, so why should anyone let these pathetic addicts offset that by selfishly pouring out more pollutants into not only other peoples' lungs, but the common lungs of the city as a whole? Yep, I agree.

These "lifestyle Nazi" stinkheads who think all of us should just put up with this nonsense, just because they choose a stupid, self-destructive lifestyle, should be stuffed in cubicles and forced to breathe their own noxious crap until they either stop trying to inflict it on others, or just eliminate themselves.

Perhaps a bit harshly worded, but I think you get the idea. There is more than one way to look at things! We should all be endowed with certain unalienable rights, and besides life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the right to breathe normal air should definitely be one of them! Not to mention being burdened, collectively and individually, with all the indirect costs to society that arise from smoking (medical costs, lost productivity, insurance rates, etc...).

That's all I'll say on this topic for now. I just felt that there should be some balance brought back into the force, after such an opinionated and unfair post. So I balanced it with a counter-post.

You gotta be kidding right ? Smoking in a public park ? You think there is fresh air in a city park ? C'mon... really ? If you live in a city there is NO fresh air anywhere.

You should be more concerned about what industry pumps into the water and air than what a few people exhale from their lungs in a open public space like a park. If you don't like it move away from the smokers... Like it or not, they have the same right to be there as you do.

 

[buddhadas]

I love the idea of turning the steps into a keyboard, regardless of perceived reasoning. These folks figured out a way to make peoples days a bit brighter, wish there was more of them.

Peace,

Jim

 

[Ohighway]

The only downside I can see is that eventually the novelty will wear off and people will return to the escalator. My kids sure would have a blast on it....

 

[Sam Cogley]

You gotta be kidding right ? Smoking in a public park ? You think there is fresh air in a city park ? C'mon... really ? If you live in a city there is NO fresh air anywhere.

You should be more concerned about what industry pumps into the water and air than what a few people exhale from their lungs in a open public space like a park. If you don't like it move away from the smokers... Like it or not, they have the same right to be there as you do.

It might be easier to get a pass on this one if your fellow smokers didn't throw butts EVERYWHERE. Use an ashtray, people - I don't want to pick your butt out of my radiator.

 

[usedto]

I just felt that there should be some balance brought back into the force, after such an opinionated and unfair post. So I balanced it with a counter-post.

As an ex-smoker of some 40 years I can understand your position. I have found that in my 4+ years of abstinence from puffing, I prefer a smoke-free environment myself. However it only seems fair to look at the big picture.

Our extra-curricular activities probably cause as much or more pollution than what is required to keep us alive every day. Every time you plug in one of your "finds" that give you pleasure, it adds to the pollution problem by requiring more electricity. If you buy a new set of speakers and have to "try them out", you do it again. You recently journeyed to Washington if I'm not mistaken. Did you row yourself over here in a boat, or did you use one of the high-polluting alternate methods to get here? If you flew, I am more than likely breathing the smog created by the plane.

The county I live in regulates which days you can use your fireplace. Luckily (?) for me I don't have natural gas available so I'm exempt from the regulations, but I would really like to know what pollutes more - my fireplace, or the manufacture of a pellet stove, the packaging and transport of same, the manufacture and transport of the pellets, etc. etc., as well as the ultimate disposal of the wood that I would have otherwise burned.

Smoking is an obvious culprit because other that a few isolated exceptions, it is totally elective, and quite obvious when it occurs. But all of us, no matter how "green" we think we are, are part of the problem.

That's all I'll say on this topic for now.

I noticed you have added the "for now".:thmbsp:

 

[buddhadas]

Very well put, concise and honest without being aggressive.
Thank You.

 

[chillwolf]

- I don't want to pick your butt out of my radiator.

Were you being mooned when this happened?

 

[dew042]

I'm glad I could help in making this thread interesting

The view I was taking is that the project focuses on changing behavior and its not a stretch to build this up to all kinds of controls being put in place, for our own good. Lots of things start with good intentions.

Freedom to choose and live with my choices, however bad, is something I hold dear. By extension, I don't expect others to live their lives like I do, nor would I want to force them to by coercion.

It seems to me that American culture is starting to believe that bad choices should not be be punished and good behavior should not be rewarded. A lot of busy-bodies think they need to 'fix' everything so that no one suffers, whether by an iron fist, or with a carrot on a stick.

That's why this music project conflicts me.

dew.