Columnist Susan Snyder: Response has led to vicious cycle

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005 | 8:21 a.m.

I likely will regret this on many levels.

Since I profiled them in Valley Views on Jan. 6, the Freecycle people have been responsible for some of the most thought-provoking e-mail I have ever received.

The latest installment is a 1,000-word missive about the original organization's political hoo-ha, which evidently haunts the psyches and chaps the backsides of those who want to give away stuff for free but not be associated with those people.

And the level of concern illustrated by the sheer volume of Monday's electronic mail from one former Freecycler did raise a few questions:

How many of us can -- or would want to -- write 1,000 words on anything at 10:18 p.m. on a Friday?

What is "powerful Kung Fu," which the author claims to have? (I had some powerful egg foo yong once, but the results aren't something I generally discuss in public.)

Why don't more of us have hobbies and fewer of us have Internet access?

Seeing as how I've begun excavating this hole, I'd like to jump in deeper by posing a few more questions -- the kind of random, wandering thoughts that invade my mind at 10:18 p.m. as my feet battle The Cat for a scrap of space at the end of the bed.

If you have any suspicions or answers, feel free to pass them along. If you have a few questions of your own, shoot them this direction as well. (Answer to one question someone is sure to submit: "Because it's too hard to find someone else who will write this drivel four times a week and also shower.")

Here we go:

How will they stack, pile, burn or otherwise dispose of the mountains of debris left behind by the tsunami?

Why do drive-up ATMs have braille?

Why do Clark County School District officials and parents spend money, time and energy bickering over what color pants a kid wears to school, but never mention requiring pupils to wear helmets when they ride scooters and bikes to school? How many kids suffer head injuries because they aren't wearing khaki?

Who counted Minnesota's lakes?

When?

Why is "Hoosier" used to describe someone born in Indiana? (I'm a Hoosier, and I don't know.)

How is "human error" different from "computer error" when humans are responsible for programming computers?

What led to the first human proposing that animal flesh be held over a fire before being eaten?

How did he know when it was done?

Members of the Ku Klux Klan have an Adopt-A-Highway section in Missouri. What color hoods do they wear when cleaning up?

What is the penalty for hitting a pedestrian who is walking along a highway in Missouri? If said pedestrian is wearing a hood, can he see the motorist's license plate number?

If not, do we care?

Why can't people who send get-rich-working-at-home e-mails afford spell check?

And in response to this week's release of a national safety campaign targeting sport-utility vehicle drivers, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's research president said "a ton" of research shows such campaigns don't change people's behaviors.

So, how come it worked with seat belts?