Why grown ups act like kids sometimes

There have recently been some startling incidents involving adults acting immature. Let me list a few notable ones:
1. Serena Williams lost a semifinal match at the US open because she threatened to "shove this f**king ball down the (linesperson's) throat" after she was called for a foot fault on her serve.

2. A congressman yelled liar during the president's speech to the congress regarding healthcare which was televised across the US.

3. Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MMVAs and embarassed her by claiming that Beyonce's video was the best of all time.

Now these three cases all involved relatively famous people but immature behaviour in adults happens all the time. Have you ever seen what happens inside parliament especially in Asia? Do your parents ever drive through a yellow light? A red light? How do you think they would do in a road test that we have to take now based on their regular driving patterns.

It seems our society's notion of "grown up" refers more to the physical than to the personality and values. Afterall, humans like to make quick judgments about people and how difficult would it be if you had to judge someone's behaviour before determining if they were "grown up". Sure, parents will say "do as I say and not as I do" or "your generation will be better". Well, how many generations have we gone through now? I don't see much improving going on. Maybe I'm a cynic but the only plausible resolution (in my lifetime) to this problem would be to lower your expectations for "grown up" behaviour. Afterall, we are only human.

A note on driver road tests

I recently got my N which for those not in BC means that I can now drive by myself. To get the N designation, you have to pass a drivers road test where a person tags along on a ride for 45 minutes, asks you to do basic driving maneuvers and then grades you on how well you do these maneuvers. However, having another person (a stranger) beside you while you are driving can be intimidating. This is especially true if you notice the other person marking down notes which almost always means you are that much closer to failing. Is it a coincidence that the time I passed the road test, the female tester hugged the clipboard to her chest and instead looked at her nails for most of the time? Instead of having a person sitting right next to you, I suggest they switch to some sort of automated voice system. At the beginning of the test, a little box would be attached to the passenger side airbag and turned on. It would have a GPS and 360 degree cameras on it and would also be programmed to instruct the testee on their next move i.e. turn left/right or parallel park. A person could then sit back at testing headquarters and moniter the video feeds and data from the automated system. The only problem would be when the testee is in serious danger and needs to be stopped from further endangering him/herself and others. Since I'm done with the road test for a while, it would be fun to see them switch to the Chinese system of road tests where you are tested in a controlled environment called a driving park. The instructor still sits beside you but they are even more intimidating since they will try to trick you into doing illegal behaviours to simulate peer pressure (i.e. yelling stop in an area where it is illegal to do so).

Vending machines are trying to steal all our money

I just moved into residence yesturday. Of course, that mean's I left some important supplies at home including my water bottle. To prevent dehydration, I decided to purchase some bottled water from a vending machine. The first vending machine I came to did not take coins. NO COINS. Only credit card or 5 and 10 dollar bills. Not that I didn't have 5 or 10 dollar bills but aren't vending machines notorious for malfunctioning and not producing change or the chosen product. Perhaps this is a sterotype (I don't want you to think I'm a hater of machines) but why are they suddenly taking larger denomenations. Certainly no drink would ever come to such a ridiculous price (Of course, companies could be preparing for the future when water becomes a scarce commoditiy). Needless to say, I didn't purchase anything from this particular vending machine. The next vending machine I went to did take coins and I happily placed the dollar seventy-five into the slot. I then pressed the numbers 55 only to see a confirmation come up for my choice of beverage 52. Luckily this was still bottled water. When the water came out, it was room temperature although it guaranteed a cold refreshing drink. I might be thinking too much into it but something makes me feel like vending machines don't like me anymore.