Sales & Such...

So, is everything simply ‘sales driven’ nowadays? Certainly politics seems to have moved even more strongly in that direction. Truth isn’t even an afterthought anymore, either… not just among politicians, but also with the so-called news media. All 'visionary'campaign proposals along with published and broadcasted opinion commentary, and that is clearly what has replaced fact-based reporting, appears geared towards shaping public perceptions, virtue signaling, and supporting ‘our side’… in order to thereby ‘influence and/or purchase votes’.

Accurately informing people to facilitate sound decision-making appears to have become a casualty in the ideological wars presently gripping the attention of our so-called leaders and pundits… retail politics pure and simple. We also find all of that present in other areas of our very commercial world, too; and, I suppose, that is to be expected…

After all, we do live in a society and culture that has embraced ‘free market’ principles as our mode of economic vision and direction. I find no fault with that, but I do have to constantly remind myself to temper my reactions and thoughts about all that is presented to me… just like I would with any other system of governance or economic structure…

What we have is neither good nor bad, per se, it is simply different from alternatives; therefore, it carries with it different motivations and usages… and it, therefore, produces the need for different interpretations and relevance ratings. For what it’s worth, I prefer this set-up to any other, as I understand them all to be.

Now, take the business of ‘TV weather’, for instance… All-weather stations rely upon the selling of advertising to fund their enterprise… to pay the bills: Employees expect to be paid and utility companies don’t provide their services for free, for example…Advertisers rely upon their messages being widely disseminated and/or viewed in order to maximize future sales… ergo, revenue, profit, and overall, long-term‘success’. Weather stations are motivated to expand viewership as much as possible, because advertising rates, ergo their own profit and ‘success’, are determined by that metric more than any other.

What ‘sells’? Drama, of course! What sells is related to consumer choice and demand, however, and it is not ‘driven’ solely by supplier imposition. If we didn’t ‘want’ that, providers would seek to discover what would enhance viewership, and that would be provided. Although we do tend to blame the messenger for what we are seemingly being force-feed, in the end, we really determine that ourselves through our own choices…

No biggie here, just some observations… and perhaps an explanation of how difficult choices sometimes are for this simple gypsy biker. Riders prefer riding in good weather, of course! Rain is unpleasant and includes an obvious increased danger risk, while frozen precip is a showstopper for most of us… No news flash here either, right? Well, reliable forecasts indicating what might lie just ahead for us become rather important to assist us in avoiding as many of the unpleasantries as possible… And, therein lies the rub…

Weather stations produce good information, but they do so with an eye towards maximizing viewership, and not simply to inform individual biker dudes/dudettes having a vested interest in and a strong desire to know about their immediate area… Often I find myself having to watch seemingly endless descriptions of fires in Australia, California, where ever, followed by videos of flooding or blizzard conditions in areas far distant from my own location…

If Jim Cantore isn’t in the neighborhood, chances are we won’t get much local information… precisely what we need! What little we do receive is usually 'amplified' and/or exaggerated a bit to heighten interest. Local stations usually have better, more relevant and useful stuff, but those broadcasts only occur at certain limited times… as a result they’re easy to miss! Again, no fault found, just an observation… I do find myself becoming increasingly dependent upon my smart phone APP and online weather forecast sources such as 'Ventusky'.

I awoke in Cordelle, GA, and pondered my next move… I was keeping my eye upon a developing story west of there, that carried with it the prospect of some actual drama! Certainly a period of several days of rain was the main feature of interest to this prospective cruiser in that direction, although, dire indications of possible tornados, thunderstorms, lightning, etc., did pique my interest, as well! Let me back up a bit here…

I’d ridden over to Troutdude’s place in Louisiana for some much-needed repairs to our girl. I’d hoped to make that the first leg of a trek out west for some extended riding in that part of our country more amenable to that sort of undertaking this time of year. That potential weather drama forecast had seemed to offer a narrow but manageable window of opportunity to slip through… if things worked out timewise. They did! However, other factors came into play, so I made a call to just head back towards my base of operations… the opposite direction from my desired route…

While in Cordelle, I had a phone conversation with my landlady, as usually happens while on the road. I was informed we should just proceed on west, as there was no real need for me to hang around down there in central Florida after all… everything was fine. Sounded really good to this naturally inclined guy to ponder, worry some, and try to do the right thing. I left that conversation with a lifted spirit and a big ol’ goober grin plastered all over my face! I then re-checked the weather forecast for an update… and that smile got turned upside down!

Yep, what had been a narrow but still doable window had by then slammed shut! Dang! I’ve spent countless days in motel rooms all over the place hunkered down allowing nasty weather to pass by. It happens, and that is just part of the extended riding lifestyle I’ve adopted. To continue on this time, though, we’d need to get as far west as we could in one day, then hole-up for three or four days before moving on. Or, we could simply do a one-day ride and return to base to ride it out there… That is what we did…

That two-day eastward trek following the repair visit had taken the westward option off the table for a little while… Not a huge deal, actually, but… This was our first outing this year and also the first in approaching three months! My mood was that special feeling that cannot be paused then regained… Sure, it can and will be approximated, and the ride out will surely be special when we do get after it… More than anything, though, I admit I just didn’t want to inject this lay-over interlude and alter the moment… Oh well, stuff happens; or, as they say in ‘polite circles’: "Feces Occurs!"

DDT