Field of Science

How does you know if you're winning?

The great state of Lincolnland has banned smoking in public buildings, and as a result all the addicts retreat to the out of doors, just barely, to feed their habit, thus creating a smoky corridor for all to pass.  Sometimes air intakes, doors, and windows pull the smoke back inside.  New signs have appeared at our buildings' doors: "NO SMOKING WITH IN 15 FEET OF DOORS, WINDOWS, OR AIR INTAKES". OK, but rather tricky around some of the entrances where a combination of all three exist, in multiples, unless assisted by someone with a tape measure and marker pens inscribing arcs to show smokers the nearest OK to smoke area is.  And another pet peeve: litter; all the filters flicked into the gardens and landscaping. 
Smoke free restaurants and bars are such a blessing.  The Phactors had given up on bar/nightclub entertainment because of the smoke, and nothing ruins good food more than someone else's second hand smoke.  And you don't really realize how good you have it until you go elsewhere without such bans on smoking, and then you remember how bad it was.  In other news the state is considering lifting the smoking ban in casinos based on flimsy evidence.  Guess what? Revenues have been down the last couple of years!  Can anyone think of a reason?  Yeah, it must be the smoking ban, not hard economic times.  The state may also allow local governments to relax smoking bans in bars whose revenues are not down, although they all said the ban would kill their business.  Guys, you make your money selling another addictive substance.  Lifting the smoking ban may not matter to gamblers given that they like to gamble, so smoking will just add to the risk, the thrill.  One in three odds people, and there's only one bet, your life.  So, one small step forward, and one giant step back in the offing.  Hard to know when you're making any progress. 

2 comments:

Eric said...

Something's wrong with the no-smoking graphic. Or perhaps, too right. It is covering up some of your deathless prose, at least in my Firefox 9.0 rendering of it. Also in IE8, which I open only with great reluctance in times like these. I was curious enough I went to page source to read the text so my morning fix has been taken care of. But pity the other readers who did not take that step. Regardless, thanks, as always, for adding some clear-eyed perspective to the day.

The Phytophactor said...

Thanks Eric. Hmm, can't see it from this end, but cut it and re-embedded it. Wonder if it had something to do with resizing? Weird.