Tuesday

My new phone is a big improvement, I think.  No butt calls made to date.  That I know about. 

My pal Pete and I did the early ride today.  My new flashing tail-light made it's first appearance on the road.  Funny, the extra weight of the light didn't even hold my speed down.  Beautiful sunrise.  The reverse red-rubber-ball effect of those Summer sunsets.

I spent a lot of time on the ride this morning trying to decide if the tail-light was an element of insurance or simply a safety device.  Then, I got to wondering about the practical differences between insurance and safety devices, and the comparative examples of each.  (Yes, it was a pretty boring ride!)

So we have the typical insurance policies: Life on a person; Property on goods and facilities; Errors and Omissions for professional folks; Health, Disability and the like for injuries and sickness; Umbrella policies for catch-all purposes.  For the most part, these are contracts with an insurance company that agrees to pay money for an eventuality if you pay a periodic premium.  And the insurance companies have actuaries who come up with probabilities that set premiums so that the insurer will make a profit when all is said and done (on a long term basis).

Safety measures are usually physical devices or procedures that are fabricated or followed to prevent injury or misfortune.  Safety belts.  Surge protectors.  Steel-toed boots.  Pre-flight check-lists.  Hand rails.  Auto-shut-down.  Tape back-ups.  The list is almost endless.  (Those instructions on the back of the weed-kill label are there for a reason.)

But as I was not-so-powering up the Wells Ferry hill this morning, I was thinking about things that I do that I consider insurance steps that are a little outside the standard definitions of insurance and/or safety.  Such as:

1.  Putting the extra set of keys in another carry-on bag on an auto trip.
2.  Putting my phone in a plastic baggie when out on a bike ride.
3.  Carrying two extra tubes in my bike bag rather than one.
4.  Packing my camera battery charger for a weekend trip after charging the batteries the night before.
5.  Packing the mini digi when taking the primary digi for the same trip.
6.  Do jumper cables in the trunk count?  Naah.
7.  Watering outdoor plants when rain is needed and is in the forecast.
8.  Buying an extra can of whatever when I can't remember how much of it is in the closet.
9.  Carrying a bungee cord in Margret.
10. Including at least 3 gray t-shirts, two wine openers and two bars of soap in my carry-on.

Actually, after spending some time here, I realize that you could use this list as a spring-board to other meaningless lists like; Strange Things I do, How to Get Under Another's Skin, or Nobody Knows This S**t.

More later.

BCOT