A steamroller, lying, and a fear of public speaking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a humorous LinkedIn post by Sue Keogh about British public speaking coach (and former stand-up comic) Jon Torrens where he claims:

 

“78% of people would rather be run over by a steamroller than be forced to do public speaking, and the other 22% are lying. Or so it says here, in a survey I’ve just made up.”

Where did he get that combination of three items? The 1988 comedy film A Fish Called Wanda has a Steamroller Showdown Scene between stutterer Ken Pile (Michael Palin) and Otto West (Kevin Kline).

 

And Mark Abrahams has repeatedly talked about how 85% of people fear public speaking and the other 15% are lying. See my September 29, 2020 blog post titled A quantified version of a discredited Mark Twain quotation about fear of public speaking.

 

The steamroller image came from here at Wikimedia Commons.

   

 

Speak Up! is a 2020 book by Adora Svitak with a collection of forty-five speeches by young people to empower and inspire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a 176-page book from 2020 by Adora Svitak titled Speak Up!: Speeches by young people to empower & inspire. It contains a collection of forty-five brief ones, including one each by Joan of Arc and Greta Thunberg. They are listed in the Table of Contents, which can be found in a Google Books preview.

 

An image of a girl speaking was adapted from Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Bob Neugebauer does not know how to count to twelve

 

 

 

 

Bob ‘Nugie’ Neugebauer, publisher of the Gem State Patriot News blog, is a poor editor and researcher. On September 7, 2023 I blogged about A bad article at the Gem State Patriot News – inspired by notorious quack Dr. Joseph Mercola. And on July 29, 2025 I also blogged about Disinformation from the Gem State Patriot News.

 

His September 27, 2026 issue has a post (an article) titled No One Likes High Energy Prices whose fifth sentence in its first paragraph says:

 

“Yes I’m speaking of leaders like Obama and Biden who for a total of 16 years sucked the life out of our country with their Climate change policies and ridiculous regulations.”

 

But, as shown above, in order to get that total of sixteen years you have to include Trump’s first term. Those two Democrats were only responsible for twelve years. So, you should not trust the list of fifteen accomplishments from Trump’s second-term he ends with.

 

 

Donald Trump wants to add snipers and drones to his proposed Triumphal Arch in Washington, D.C.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An article by Seung Min Kim at the Associated Press on September 20, 2026 is titled Trump says his planned arch would become a ‘military complex‘ able to host drones and snipers. The Donald’s Truth Social post claimed:

 

“At the strong request of the United States Military, and for National Security purposes, I have agreed to convert the magnificent Triumphal Arch, planned since the Civil War Era many years ago, at the Receptive Circle adjoining the Arlington Memorial Bridge, into a top grade Military Complex/Triumphal Arch, to house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large numbers of drones, plus Snipers, on both the roof and plaza areas, and additionally have and hold large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage. There will be no facility like this anywhere in the World. Out of the 59 top cities and Capitals, Washington, D.C., IS THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD THAT DOES NOT HAVE A TRIUMPHAL ARCH, but it will now and, by far, the greatest of them all! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP”

 

He didn’t say who in the military had made that request. I suspect instead he just made it up to sound defense related. I have added eight snipers to an image of the proposed 150-foot high arch, as shown above.

 

But Trump is mistaken about there not already being a triumphal arch in D.C. The World War II Memorial already has a pair of arches, described in a Wikipedia page:

 

“The memorial consists of 56 granite pillars, each 17 feet (5.2 m) tall, arranged in a semicircle around a plaza with two 43-foot (13 m) triumphal arches on opposite sides.”

 

Another article by Mike Glenn at The Washington Times on September 21, 2026 is titled ‘Obviously idiotic: Trump’s plan for drones, snipers at the ‘Triumphal Arch’ gets a cold reception. And in still another article on September 21, 2026 by Mia McCarthy at Politico titled Senior GOP appropriator pours cold water on funding Trump’s arch, our Idaho congressional representative Mike Simpson said if it was his choice, he would not put any military funding into that arch.  And yet another article by Ellen Mitchell at The Hill on September 25, 2026 is titled ‘Gonzo bonkers’: Trump’s plan to militarize triumphal arch sparks pushback.

 

 

A book about how everyday things can be designed thoughtlessly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the Boise Public Library I got and have been reading a 2021 book by Karl Wiegers titled The Thoughtless Design of Everyday Things. There is a 3-page pdf Design Lessons Summary.

 

One example he discusses is a bathtub spout, which diverts water up to a showerhead. Normally this happens when you pull upward, as is shown above. His alternative thoughtless example on page 38 (as seen in a Google Books preview) instead has the control on the bottom of the spout. You perversely have to pull downward to divert the water upward­.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

On page 61 cutlery is another thoughtless example.

 

“I’ve tried to eat meals in restaurants with cutlery that had smooth cylindrical handles, like the items shown in Figure 4.2. [See above for my image with comparisons]. You can’t get a solid grip on a handle like that. The knife rolls in your hand as you try to cut a piece of meat or spread butter on bread. Watch out for cereal or soup landing in your lap if you’re using the spoon. Our fingers grip flattened or textured cutlery far more securely than smooth cylinders. Why would someone design these common implements so as to be barely usable for their intended purpose? They are pleasing to the eye but clumsy to the hand.”

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

How about remote controls? I like the simple one for my ROKU TV, shown above. On page 119 of the book Karl describes a thoughtless remote his optometrist encountered which had a full keyboard on its back (also described here on pdf page 49 in a sample) which could cause pocket dialing:

 

“The remote control for my new visual acuity chart has buttons on both sides, which is ridiculously difficult to get used to. If I don’t hold it carefully on the outer edges, I end up pushing front and back buttons at the same time and scrambling the programming.”

 

I thought that must be unusual, but at Amazon I saw a remote for a Visio TV with a full keyboard on its back.

 

The bathtub spout image was cropped from one at Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

Pearls Before Swine cartoon about a bar with a confusing name

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Pearls Before Swine cartoon strip for September 24, 2026 by Stephan Pastis has the following dialogue:

 

“Goat: I heard you’re opening a new bar. What’s the name of it?

Rat:      It’s ‘Totally Escaping Me.’

 

Goat:   You don’t know the name of your own bar?

Rat:      I do.

 

Goat:    So what is it?

Rat:       You can’t remember what I said?

 

Goat:    The name is ‘Totally Escaping Me?’

Rat:       Shouldn’t be. I just told you.” 

 

That confusing name likely was inspired by an Abbott and Costello comedy routine about baseball players with Who’s on first? There is an eight-minute video of it. A similar idea with three rock and roll groups where Who is on first, then Guess Who, then Yes is in a four-minute video.

 

The sign was photoshopped from one at Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

A free e-book from 2020 all about Sustainable Networking for Scientists and Engineers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a detailed 218-page book from 2020 by Christina C. C. Willis titled Sustainable Networking for Scientists and Engineers. It was published by the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) and can be downloaded as a free e-book at a web page of theirs. Chapter titles and starting pages are:

 

Chapter 1: Sustainable Networking and Why You Should Do It - 1

 

Chapter 2: Networking and Strategy - 13

 

Chapter 3: Self-Awareness, Social Anxiety, and Communication - 31

 

Chapter 4: Conversational Principles - 51

 

Chapter 5: Conversational Skills and Applications - 71

 

Chapter 6: The Strength and Challenge of Diversity - 91

 

Chapter 7: Networking Activities for Anywhere - 115

 

Chapter 8: Networking Locally - 131

 

Chapter 9: Networking at Conferences - 141

 

Chapter 10: How to Network Digitally and Online - 161

 

Chapter 11: Networking Platforms - 179

 

Chapter 12: Networking the Job Hunt - 199

 

The networking cartoon was adapted from here at OpenClipArt.