MadMup.com

I got a call the other day from a number I didn’t recognize (so, of course, I didn’t answer it), and after the voicemail notification sounded off, I checked the message. It was the lady who has cut my hair for about two years, if I’m counting correctly. She was calling to let me know that she was going to be working at a different haircutting place (“salon” sounds so hoity-toity) once January 29th rolled around. She didn’t actually say “so you should start going to that place,” but it was pretty clear that’s what she meant. She even mentioned that it was going to be $4 cheaper.

My initial response was panic. I’m not such a fan of change, as many of you know, and I’d gone through this changing haircuttists before. So, panic.

But then I thought it was nice that she called me to let me know that she was going elsewhere. I realize her motivation wasn’t necessarily motivated by altruism, but it was still nice for me since my last regular person sorta just up and left with no advance warning.

Then, after that, I started thinking about how I’d been going to the same place for 4+ years – it seemed weird to think about abandoning the place. This put me back in a quandary: do I stick with the place, or stick with the person?

What would you do?

It might not seem like much to you, but polls like my last one are quite intriguing to me. As of this writing, the results sit at 43% set radio favorites the way I do, 46% set stations in numerical order of preference, 4% don’t set favorites, and 7% don’t listen to the radio.

While I realize the poll has a margin of error and also cannot be used to determine the preferences of the nation or world at large, it’s still a good reminder to me.

See, while it’s logical to think “Not everyone thinks the same way I do,” I don’t tend to act on that assumption. I tend to think my way is the only way (or the right way) and when I’m faced with a different outlook, it boggles my mind. Even a silly little poll about how people set their radio favorites can help me remember that kind of thing. If I’m reminded enough, I might eventually take it to heart and start operating under that ruleset.

The sooner the better, right?

I was riding in the car with a coworker the other day and I found out something that blew my mind.

On most car radios, there are six buttons that you can program to automatically go to your favorite radio stations. Some have more than that, but six is a sorta-standard. The FM band on radios goes from 87.8 to 108.0 here in the US, from left to right like you’d normally read ascending numbers.

Logically, then, if you’ve got six favorite stations, it makes complete sense to put them from left to right on your favorite buttons, lowest number on the far left, highest number on the far right. Right?

Apparently not to everyone. My coworker said, “Nuh uh. Your favorite station goes on the first button because it’s #1! Also, it’s closer to you [as the driver], so it’s easier to push.”

I could never bring myself to function in that way, but it got me wondering how many other people think like him. You know what that means… Poll time!

Please answer honestly, as this seemingly-simple poll could be the basis of someone’s life’s work on how people think.