-I- minivans must die
Aimee E. Lortskell
we had 2 run-ins on the same day.
first, we bought a car. on the way home, jason splits off from me to
get his nicotine fix (i was driving our other car). he took a long time
to come home, and when he did he hadn't even managed to get cigarettes.
he hands me a piece of paper and says, "ok, call the insurance company".
AAARGH! we didn't even get it home from the dealer. some stupid quiff
in a minivan just drove right into him. fortunately, it's driveable, and
we've been lucky to have no problems with her no-name insurance company
(yet). the ensuing dent (edgar wants me to say crater) is going to cost
$1600 to fix. yow.
later that night we're in our other car, and the minivan in front of us
is apparently confused. it ran a stop sign, and after we'd stopped at it
(well, STL stop, but still...) and were trying to turn left it made a
complete u-turn and fucking cut me off. if jason hadn't been in the car,
i would have followed that shit wherever he was going and kicked his
ass. alas, all i did was honk the horn for the 30 seconds i was still
behind him. he could at least have had the decency to look embarassed.
hell, people driving minivans should ALWAYS look embarassed. i say
anyone who attempts to even buy a minivan should be stripped of their
license.
Aimee the Magdalene
Usually they sprinkle a few drops of water on your head;
in my case they held my head under for 13 fucking years.
- Tori Amos
#-----------------------------------------------------------#
agnostic apathetic atheist
don't know, don't care, don't buy it!
Laurie Ratcliff
Aimee E. Lortskell (ai...@isc.umr.edu) wrote:
: later that night we're in our other car, and the minivan in front of us
: (well, STL stop, but still...) and were trying to turn left it made a
: complete u-turn and fucking cut me off. if jason hadn't been in the car,
: i would have followed that shit wherever he was going and kicked his
: ass. alas, all i did was honk the horn for the 30 seconds i was still
: behind him. he could at least have had the decency to look embarassed.
: hell, people driving minivans should ALWAYS look embarassed. i say
: anyone who attempts to even buy a minivan should be stripped of their
: license.
I fucking hate minivans. Whenever some report on how safe minvan
drivers are comes on tv, i'm tempted to blow the television up. Ka-boom!
The only people who are more obnoxious than minivan drivers are young men
in zippy sports care. People think that because they have small children
in their car, you won't try to kill them. I find that the temptation to
run into people with small children is even greater. <evil grin>
-=-laurie
___________________________________________________________________
| I will lash out dancing like a mad man when you're gone, |
| I will spit the blue flame and hurl my glass against the wall. |
| I will hear your name called out from a boom box. |
| I will hear your name called out from passing cars. |
| -=-that would be soul coughing |
___________________________________________________________________
Mike Zeares
Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
[snip minivan stories]
Here in Dallas I don't know who is worse: the minivans, the pick-ups, or
the buses. Pigfuckers, the lot of them. I really miss my old Chrysler
('71 Newport, 2 tons of 'Merkin steel). Minivans can't even see my Geo
Metro. Or hear it, with its anemic little horn.
Mike Zeares
Chris
On Tue, 16 Sep 1997 13:42:27 -0500, Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net>
wrote:
I have a picture of a ford dealership outside of fort worth that says,
"With the Purchase of every pickup, Free Shotgun!" (seriously) I
blew it up and made a room poster out of it.
CR
Mike Zeares
Chris wrote:
>
> I have a picture of a ford dealership outside of fort worth that says,
> "With the Purchase of every pickup, Free Shotgun!" (seriously) I
> blew it up and made a room poster out of it.
>
> CR
Oh, just great. Now Aimee will go on one of her "Texas Sucks" rants. I
forgot to mention dualies. They were really popular a few years back.
Urban cowboys driving these huge extended cab pick-ups with dual rear
axels. I saw one get stuck between the curbs in a McDonald's
drive-through once. By the way, was this shotgun promo a recent thing? I
wonder what European and Japanese tourists think about all these pickups
with guns in the back window.
Mike
Mike Zeares
eva wrote:
>
> Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net> wrote:
>
> > Here in Dallas I don't know who is worse: the minivans, the pick-ups, or
> > the buses. Pigfuckers, the lot of them.
>
> HEY!! my parents drive a minivan, my bf's family owns two pickups, and
> i've been riding buses all my life! :P
>
Sorry, no offense meant. I was referring specifically to Dallas drivers
of the aforementioned vehicles. Actually, the car drivers are pretty
bad, too. They're ALL pigfuckers! Except me, of course. I'm the only
good driver in Dallas. ;-)
--
Mike
fastrada
Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
>
> Mike Zeares (mzea...@airmail.net) wrote:
> : Here in Dallas I don't know who is worse: the minivans, the pick-ups, or
> : ('71 Newport, 2 tons of 'Merkin steel). Minivans can't even see my Geo
> : Metro. Or hear it, with its anemic little horn.
>
hey aimee, you have a geo metro too! cool! although imo the new ones
look a little weird, like a car that small shouldn't look quite that
aerodynamic. but overall, i think my metro is very cute. yours, however,
is not--it's a minivan-avenging instrument of revenge and death, right?
;) i mean, that's a fair fight. 'hi, i drive a big fucking minvan, so
i'm going to mow down one of the smallest cars on the market.' yeah,
that takes guts. can't those minivan drivers pick on some woody wagon or
something??
the horn is
> actually decently loud, but jason thinks it's rude to use it even if
> someone's coming right for you.
i don't think it's necessarily rude, but in the city you've got to be
careful. the guy who cuts you off may have a weapon. a baby got shot on
the expressway a few years back--someone cut someone off, shots flew
and.... actually, i don't remember whether the baby died or not, but i
think so. imo it's not worth it. i just scream obscenities.
fastrada
Puma
eva wrote:
>
> Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net> wrote:
>
> > Here in Dallas I don't know who is worse: the minivans, the pick-ups, or
> > the buses. Pigfuckers, the lot of them.
>
> HEY!! my parents drive a minivan, my bf's family owns two pickups, and
> i've been riding buses all my life! :P
>
>
> --
> * http://www.orst.edu/~piccinie/ *
> * remove "schmen" from my address to reply *
>
> -- rmta homepage: http://members.tripod.com/~nymsa/rmta.html --
Need to combine this thread with the Re: -I- God (little monsters!
We have a 9 year old girl and a 13 year old boy. We have made
some family trips in my in-laws minivan and its great. Put one
in middle seat and the other in rear seat. No, "Her leg is over
the line," coming from the back seat. There have been many trips
in our car that I wished we had a minivan.
The minivan is also the official pace care of the school yard
500. Go by a grade school and count them some time.
If you have never owned a pickup, don't knock them. At least
the small ones.
--
Peace to all...
Puma
|\=/|
/6 6\
=\_Y_/=
^
Former owner of a 1987 Nissan pickup and
current owner of a 1997 Ford Ranger pickup.
Brad Yearwood
>Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net> wrote:
>
>> Here in Dallas I don't know who is worse: the minivans, the pick-ups, or
>> the buses. Pigfuckers, the lot of them.
The latter remark reminds me of a wonderful one seen on alt.{peeves,tasteless}
recently: "Anyone can fuck a pig, but it takes a Marine to fuck a pig to death."
This gives a rough segue toward my story, because Marines suggest machismo,
which suggests pickups and sport utes.
The less said about Dallas driving, the better. There is apparently an
immense bozo field around the (gag) Metroplex, emanating perhaps from that
mess of goofy buildings that bored flatlanders with too much money (or credit)
and ego, and no taste, seem compelled to build. The field reaches into and
sucks dry the judgment center of peoples' brains (such as they may be). Even
I was getting fairly witless by the end of my week there last summer.
First, a word about minivans.
Minivans are disgusting egg and larvae cases for breeder human insects.
They are driven mostly by the same brain-rotted types who would formerly
have bought station wagon hives to infest with their worthless progeny.
I say mostly, because my house painter drives a minivan. It seemed to
do a great job of holding his stuff, helping him in turn to do a great job
on my house. He's a nice guy, and his brain is not rotted.
On a recent day, I was nearly clobbered by no fewer than 3 minivans, with all
incidents deriving from the same cause: entering the roadway from driveways
or side streets without bothering to first look in both directions. In other
words, minivans are frequently driven by people who are bereft of consideration
for their duty to pay attention. The other chronic fault in minivan driving is
tailgating. I think it has something to do with the high (read dominant)
seating position and the short nose, plus zero knowledge of physics, or other
demonstrable vestige of common sense, on the part of the typical dunderhead
driver.
The most recent blows, however, have been dealt to me by trucks. Pickup
trucks and sport utes, and the fuckwits who buy and use them, bother me
a lot. One cannot see around them. One is forced to hear and smell their
clattering sooty Cummins Turbo Diesel engines (very popular around here) and
the roar of their knobby tires. Their increasingly scroto-penile styling is
thrust repeatedly and without invitation in our faces, and the drivers
apparently thrive on this high-dominance image.
In the first episode, a co-worker driving a respectably beat-up Ford pickup,
utterly failed to notice my tiny little humble 9 year-old Accord parked
innocently in a properly marked space well behind said truck, and backed
up with astonishing force into said Accord, causing $2800 in damage. The
inattention might have been explained by the fact that this person had a
PhD. It was, however, the mass and bumper height of, and poor visibility
from the truck, which potentiated the stunning amount of damage.
In the second episode, on a recent very hot day, I stopped at the frozen
yogurt place, and was in my car in the shopping center parking lot finishing
my cone and listening to the radio. A large white sport ute parked in the
adjacent space. The driver (bleached-to-wreckage blond woman with a mean
face) got out, more or less sliding out backwards from the excessively high
seat, slamming the door with great force - twice - into my car door.
I yelled out my open back window: "it's bad enough that you're driving
that ridiculous thing, but you just slammed your door into my car twice,
and hard." Reply: "No, I didn't. If I did, I would have apologized."
Me: "You definitely did." She: "What's ridiculous about this anyway."
Me: "It's immense." She: "So are you." She had some point there with
reference to my admittedly generous endomorphy, but it was clear that there
there was no profit in continuing an argument which proceeded immediately
from a bald lie to an ad hominem insult.
Lesson: I should have been more precise - something like "It's so immense
that you clearly do not know where your door ends and mine begins, and so
unsuitably designed that you cannot even alight from it without being totally
negligent with respect to the minimal public duty of not wreaking havoc upon
your surroundings."
At this point, I noticed that she had a daughter unit in the other side of
the front seat. She got back into the truck. I overheard her say that they
were going to have to move to a different parking spot, because I might
slash her tires. By this point, I had finished my cone, so I started my
car and moved on. On the way out, I gave a finger signal: the ancient and
civil thumb-down one.
What does this have to do with Tori? A tenuous connection can be made. I
might have felt much better afterward had a Tori tape been immediately
available. The Tori tapes, though, were in boxes in the garage, having been
removed from the car before it went to the body shop some months previous, to
absorb its $2800 worth of sub-mediocre metal and paint work.
Brad Yearwood b...@crl.com
Cotati, CA
Aimee E. Lortskell
Puma (Pu...@anti.spam) wrote:
[snip]
: The minivan is also the official pace care of the school yard
: 500. Go by a grade school and count them some time.
exactly. many people dumb enough to reproduce more than once own
minivans [1]. what's a pace care?
: If you have never owned a pickup, don't knock them. At least
: the small ones.
i reserve the right to knock them, whether i've owned one or not. the
drivers are fucking annoying, and often dangerous. not that every single
pickup driver is horrible, but in general they suck shit.
[1] this is mostly a joke, but i have to admit i do mean it at least a
little.
Aimee the Magdalene
###################################################################
# sodomy and explosives, that's what the internet's all about. #
# - samuel johnston #
# if breastfeeding a pig is sickening to you, #
# what are you doing on usenet? - christopher stone #
###################################################################
Aimee E. Lortskell
eva (e...@schmen.teleport.com) wrote:
: Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net> wrote:
: > Here in Dallas I don't know who is worse: the minivans, the pick-ups, or
: > the buses. Pigfuckers, the lot of them.
: i've been riding buses all my life! :P
erm...well, so what? jason's parents have a pickup. i love 'em to
death, but i wouldn't want to be driving behind them. and yes, most of
the pickup drivers around here are almost as bad as minivan drivers. the
buses do ok, except that they're motherfuckingly slow.
Aimee the Magdalene
*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*
\ i've been careless with a delicate man /
/ - fiona apple \
\ killing your professor with sex is a bad thing /
/ - doug gentges \
\ nobody likes a know-it-all who sits around /
/ talking about their genitalia - hank hill \
*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*
Aimee E. Lortskell
Mike Zeares (mzea...@airmail.net) wrote:
: Here in Dallas I don't know who is worse: the minivans, the pick-ups, or
: ('71 Newport, 2 tons of 'Merkin steel). Minivans can't even see my Geo
: Metro. Or hear it, with its anemic little horn.
actually, it was our new geo metro that the minivan hit. the horn is
actually decently loud, but jason thinks it's rude to use it even if
someone's coming right for you. naturally, i use the horn ALL the time.
if i don't let drivers know they're stupid, who will?
Aimee the Magdalene
: * .. * .. * .. * .. * .. * .. * .. * .. * :
* aimee could hit you with a chainsaw *
: and it'd feel like a kiss. :
* - kestrel the fairly decent dragon *
: are your nipples ever NOT hard? :
* - dave goldberger *
: ow! your ass is like a steel trap! :
* - jason kell *
: * .. * .. * .. * .. * .. * .. * .. * .. * :
Chris
On Tue, 16 Sep 1997 15:23:27 -0500, Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net>
wrote:
>Oh, just great. Now Aimee will go on one of her "Texas Sucks" rants. I
>forgot to mention dualies. They were really popular a few years back.
>Urban cowboys driving these huge extended cab pick-ups with dual rear
>axels. I saw one get stuck between the curbs in a McDonald's
>drive-through once. By the way, was this shotgun promo a recent thing? I
>wonder what European and Japanese tourists think about all these pickups
>with guns in the back window.
>
>Mike
It was Nov. 95 is the picture.
CR
Rich and Nadyne Mielke
Puma <Pu...@anti.spam> had this to say:
[snip]
:If you have never owned a pickup, don't knock them. At least
:the small ones.
A quarter-ton pickup truck is useless. You can't haul much in it.
Since the rear end is so light, it fishtails all over the place if
road conditions aren't exactly perfect. In GA, folks driving pickups
aren't required to wear seatbelts {well, those in the cab don't have
to be restrained, but those in the bed do, I don't get that law}. And
they're ugly anyway.
The only thing I despise more than those little bitty Tinker Toy
pickups are the real pickups with the Tinker Toy pickup bed. Why the
hell get a big-ass cab, and then have 'em put on the little bitty bed?
If you need a pickup, get a real one, don't bother with the little
bitty thing.
/nad
Rich and Nadyne Mielke
b...@XXcrlXX.com (Brad Yearwood) had this to say:
[snip]
:In the second episode, on a recent very hot day, I stopped at the frozen
:yogurt place, and was in my car in the shopping center parking lot finishing
:my cone and listening to the radio. A large white sport ute parked in the
:adjacent space. The driver (bleached-to-wreckage blond woman with a mean
:face) got out, more or less sliding out backwards from the excessively high
:seat, slamming the door with great force - twice - into my car door.
Oh, yes, SUVs. Those are for suburbanites who don't want a minivan,
but still want something to carry their little brats around in.
That's right, mom, you need a big ole SUV to go sit in the mall
parking lot. As if.
A co-worker recently purchased the Eddie Bauer edition of the Ford
Explorer. *roll* She didn't even drive it home from the dealership:
the salesman drove it home, and she drove her old car home. She
didn't drive it for the first week she got it home, she said that she
still wanted to drive her old car. {Then why the hell did you buy a
new car?} When she finally sold her old car, and started driving the
new, she covered the leather seats with old blankets and towels, and
covered the floormats with newspapers. *sigh*
/nad
Mike Zeares
Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
>
> Puma (Pu...@anti.spam) wrote:
> : If you have never owned a pickup, don't knock them. At least
> : the small ones.
>
> drivers are fucking annoying, and often dangerous. not that every single
> pickup driver is horrible, but in general they suck shit.
The worst part is you can't chase them down to yell at them, because
they carry guns in their back windows. Warning to tourists: we have a
concealed [handgun] carry law in Texas. Never flip the bird to a
Texan.[1]
> [1] this is mostly a joke, but i have to admit i do mean it at least a
> little.
>
Same for me.
Mike
[1] I'm joking here. There's only been one incident that I know of
where someone was shot by a person with a concealed weapon permit, and
that was self-defense, which is what the law is for.
Mike Zeares
fastrada wrote:
> hey aimee, you have a geo metro too! cool! although imo the new ones
> look a little weird, like a car that small shouldn't look quite that
> aerodynamic. but overall, i think my metro is very cute. [snip]
New clique! Metro owners of rmt-a, unite!
[snip horn use]
> i don't think it's necessarily rude, but in the city you've got to be
> careful. the guy who cuts you off may have a weapon. a baby got shot on
> the expressway a few years back--someone cut someone off, shots flew
> and.... actually, i don't remember whether the baby died or not, but i
> think so. imo it's not worth it. i just scream obscenities.
>
We've got a serious problem in Dallas with people running red lights.
Our emergency vehicles are required to pause at intersections because
they can no longer count on people stopping for them. I've seen idiots
drive right into an intersection that had cars driving through it.
Instant car sandwich. And what is it with Honda drivers, anyway? It
seems like everytime we have an incident involving an 18-wheeler, it's a
Honda Civic wrapped up under the front wheels of the tractor. Inertia
is just a theory to Texans.[1]
Mike
[1] I should probably put in a disclaimer that I'm half joking with
these blanket statements about drivers. If anyone is offended, chill. :P
Mike Zeares
Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
> actually, it was our new geo metro that the minivan hit. the horn is
> actually decently loud, but jason thinks it's rude to use it even if
> someone's coming right for you. naturally, i use the horn ALL the time.
> if i don't let drivers know they're stupid, who will?
>
Must be a new horn; mine (a '94) kind of goes, "mim." My mother is like
Jason; I've never known her to use a horn. My sister, on the other
hand, drives with one hand on the horn. Anyway, where were you hit? My
Metro was rear-ended two days after I got it. It took it pretty well;
the gas tank is in front of the spare tire well, so it's well protected
from the back. The Metro is rated the safest in its class. And I've
never had any trouble with it in 4 years. Just wish it had better
acceleration. Getting onto Dallas freeways is frightening enough with a
powerful car.
Mike
Mike Zeares
lil'bit wrote:
>
> Mike Zeares wrote:
> >
> > Oh, just great. Now Aimee will go on one of her "Texas Sucks" rants.
>
> are not all that bad.
Hey, I didn't realize you were from Dallas. There are others, too.
Maybe we should put together a Dallas Minicon. Or Texascon; there are
some rmta-ers in Austin, too. Actually, a con in Austin would rock.
But I'm unavailable on weekends, so I couldn't attend anyway. Furrfu!
Mike, who's sick of missing all the fun on weekends.
Mike Zeares
Chris wrote:
>
> You've just never done it :) I've rode in the truck bed of several
> "trucks" and it kicks ass. Sure, you have to hold on, but if the
> driver is fairly safe, it rules.
Au contraire, I've often ridden in the back or pick-ups. The law
prohibits children from doing so. I'm with you; I love it. One time I
was riding in the back of my friend's Dodge with two other guys. We had
a rope across the bed to hang on to. The driver decided it would be
funny to hit this well-know dip in the road at high speed. We in the
back realized what was coming just in time to grab the rope. Our legs
went straight up into the air. This seemed funny at the time (I was
about 19).
>
> Then again, I don't believe in seat belt or helmet laws, and think the
> drinking age/smoking prohibitions shouldn't exist.
I understand the reason for these laws, but agree that they don't do
much good. They're too hard to enforce, when the police have better
things to do. You shouldn't try to legislate away stupidity. It
interferes with natural selection.
Mike
Mike Zeares
Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
>
> erm...well, so what? jason's parents have a pickup. i love 'em to
> death, but i wouldn't want to be driving behind them. and yes, most of
> the pickup drivers around here are almost as bad as minivan drivers. the
> buses do ok, except that they're motherfuckingly slow.
>
You know what really bugs me? People who drive Hummers in the city. I
mean, Why? I could see owning one if you have a ranch with some rough
terrain, but they are probably the least practical vehicles for city
driving. They don't fit into parking spaces, or even in one lane on the
road. Now, if you had a model with the machine gun mount, I could
accept it. Useful for clearing the minivans off the road.
Mike Zeares
Chris
On Wed, 17 Sep 1997 13:36:04 -0500, Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net>
wrote:
>In TX a major cause of death for children has always been being thrown
>from the bed of a pick-up. Several years ago the legislature passed a
>law against letting children (I can't remember the cut-off age) ride in
>the bed, unless a pick-up is a family's only means of transportation.
>There was a huge debate about this. Some people felt it was un-Texan
>not to let the kids ride in the bed. The death statistics really were
>frightening, however. On a related note, our legislature just repealed
>the motorcycle helmet law. I think the bicycle helmet law is still in
>place. Our legislature works in mysterious ways.
>
>Mike
You've just never done it :) I've rode in the truck bed of several
"trucks" and it kicks ass. Sure, you have to hold on, but if the
driver is fairly safe, it rules.
Then again, I don't believe in seat belt or helmet laws, and think the
drinking age/smoking prohibitions shouldn't exist.
CR
Puma
Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
>
> Puma (Pu...@anti.spam) wrote:
> : The minivan is also the official pace care of the school yard
> : 500. Go by a grade school and count them some time.
>
> exactly. many people dumb enough to reproduce more than once own
> minivans [1].
And how many siblings do you have? [1]
>what's a pace care?
Uhhh....Pace is a rate of movement or speed. Care is well, you
know care...to protect or provide for. So bing the pace care means
how fast the soccer mom can drive her minivan and run over Geo Metros
to get to school and provide for her rug rats a way from school.
Or it could be a typo.
>
> : If you have never owned a pickup, don't knock them. At least
> : the small ones.
>
> i reserve the right to knock them, whether i've owned one or not. the
> drivers are fucking annoying, and often dangerous. not that every single
> pickup driver is horrible, but in general they suck shit.
By all means express your opinion, for it is your right. For it is
written,
Opinions are like ass holes - everyone has one. [Bad me. That was not a
nice thing to say, even if Aimee was saying unkind things in general
about
pickup drivers]
Talk about annoying....I have observed that many - but not all - Metro
drivers, or drivers of similarly motorized skateboards, dart in and
out of traffic showing no interest in public safety or rules of the
road.
One use to pass me, and a line of cars, in the emergency lane on the
way to work. It honestly just dawned on me that I have not seen that
car in over a month. I hope the owner got another job or something
positive....
>
> [1] this is mostly a joke, but i have to admit i do mean it at least a
> little.
[1] Your answer to this may indicate something that occured or was
lacking
from your childhood based on having siblings or being an only child.
This is a joke.
>
> Aimee the Magdalene
>
> ###################################################################
> # sodomy and explosives, that's what the internet's all about. #
> # - samuel johnston #
> # if breastfeeding a pig is sickening to you, #
> # what are you doing on usenet? - christopher stone #
> ###################################################################
--
Mike Zeares
Rich and Nadyne Mielke wrote:
> A quarter-ton pickup truck is useless. You can't haul much in it.
> Since the rear end is so light, it fishtails all over the place if
> road conditions aren't exactly perfect. In GA, folks driving pickups
> aren't required to wear seatbelts {well, those in the cab don't have
> to be restrained, but those in the bed do, I don't get that law}. And
> they're ugly anyway.
[snip]
Puma
Rich and Nadyne Mielke wrote:
>
>
> [snip]
>
> :If you have never owned a pickup, don't knock them. At least
> :the small ones.
>
Great for the 'burbs. You can haul mulch, lumber, 4x8 sheets of
plywood,
trees, shrubs, and all sorts of other stuff that won't fit or that you
don't want to put in a car. Throw your gear in the back and go camping.
> Since the rear end is so light, it fishtails all over the place if
> road conditions aren't exactly perfect.
Damn, I don't think I want to be around you if you are driving a
pickup.
Most careful drivers don't have this problem under most conditions. Ice
is one condition I know of that would cause this because of the lack of
weight. But I have seen a lot of cars spinning out in the ice. Driving
too fast on a rain slick road is not a condition problem. Front wheel
drive cars can be made to over-steer in some conditions. Cars
that are real heavy can be made to under-steer in some conditions.
>In GA, folks driving pickups
> aren't required to wear seatbelts {well, those in the cab don't have
> to be restrained, but those in the bed do, I don't get that law}. And
> they're ugly anyway.
Not wearing seatbelts in the cab makes it easier to drag them out and
beat the sh*t out of them for letting people ride in the bed. Just
as bad are the jerks that let their dogs run around in the bed.
>
> The only thing I despise more than those little bitty Tinker Toy
> pickups are the real pickups with the Tinker Toy pickup bed. Why the
> hell get a big-ass cab, and then have 'em put on the little bitty bed?
>
> If you need a pickup, get a real one, don't bother with the little
> bitty thing.
This could be a sign of pickup envy....
>
> /nad
Mike Zeares
Brad Yearwood wrote:
The FPOTW! I printed this for posterity. Random snips and comments
follow.
>
> The less said about Dallas driving, the better. There is apparently an
> immense bozo field around the (gag) Metroplex, emanating perhaps from that
> mess of goofy buildings that bored flatlanders with too much money (or credit)
> and ego, and no taste, seem compelled to build. The field reaches into and
> sucks dry the judgment center of peoples' brains (such as they may be). Even
> I was getting fairly witless by the end of my week there last summer.
It's the Gold Towers on North Central. They scramble radio and tv
signals and brane waves. And I would call it a Megabozo field. Even our
papers have had stories about the architectural obcenities that Dallas
Yuppie types seem compelled to build. Actually, the entire state
projects a Megaboze field. It emanates from the state capitol.
[snip minivans] [how I wish!]
>
> The most recent blows, however, have been dealt to me by trucks. Pickup
> trucks and sport utes, and the fuckwits who buy and use them, bother me
> a lot. One cannot see around them. One is forced to hear and smell their
> clattering sooty Cummins Turbo Diesel engines (very popular around here) and
> the roar of their knobby tires. Their increasingly scroto-penile styling is
> thrust repeatedly and without invitation in our faces, and the drivers
> apparently thrive on this high-dominance image.
Those new Dodge "Ram" (get it?) trucks are rather phallic, aren't they?
A good friend of mine bought a Toyota 4-Runner last year. She is
single. She does not take it off-road or have anything to tow. I love
her to death, though,so I won't say anything bad about her (but really,
dear, wouldn't a nice Accord have been more practical?).
[snip first truck incident. I have a lovely parking lot dent on my
Metro. I'm pretty sure it was a BAV that did it.]
[snip bleached-blonde incident. You mean you don't know that Texas
bleached blondes can do anything they damn well choose? "Cause I'm a
blonde..."
>
> At this point, I noticed that she had a daughter unit in the other side of
> the front seat. She got back into the truck. I overheard her say that they
> were going to have to move to a different parking spot, because I might
> slash her tires. By this point, I had finished my cone, so I started my
> car and moved on. On the way out, I gave a finger signal: the ancient and
> civil thumb-down one.
That could've gotten ugly: "Do you point your thumb at me, sir?"
>
> What does this have to do with Tori? A tenuous connection can be made. I
> might have felt much better afterward had a Tori tape been immediately
> available. The Tori tapes, though, were in boxes in the garage, having been
> removed from the car before it went to the body shop some months previous, to
> absorb its $2800 worth of sub-mediocre metal and paint work.
>
Doesn't Tori drive a SUV? Maybe we should chill out. ;-)
Mike
Kevin D Fox
In article <blah blah blah>Mike Zeares wrote:
>
>Those new Dodge "Ram" (get it?) trucks are rather phallic, aren't they?
>A good friend of mine bought a Toyota 4-Runner last year. She is
>single. She does not take it off-road or have anything to tow. I love
>her to death, though,so I won't say anything bad about her (but really,
>dear, wouldn't a nice Accord have been more practical?).
my parents pulled the same thing last october. they traded in the minivan
for a Grand Cherokee (a sport futility vehicle if i ever saw one), with no
plans to tow and nowhere off-road to go. i finally figured out the logic
(it took a couple spins around the block and a rushed trip into boston to
figure it out though) - when youre in one of these, you feel like youre in
a tank. remember that commercial with the guy in the SUV feeling like he
was miles above the traffic? its the same thing. you could total a miata
and never know what happened. theres a certain feeling of safety that
comes along with owning one of these. of course it can also make you drive
like texan, er, i mean maniac (sorry).
later
k
--
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
*<K Fox> <kd...@hopper.unh.edu> <University of New Hampshire>*
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
*"She said the salt of life, it ain't worth nothing *
* But your sugar, sir, is gold" - Sky Cries Mary *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Mike Zeares
lil'bit wrote:
>
> Mike Zeares wrote:
> >
> > papers have had stories about the architectural obcenities that Dallas
> > Yuppie types seem compelled to build.
>
> and real estate tycoons. Most of the architectural obsenities were built
> during the Real Estate boom before the Bust in the 80's.
And they all live in Lake Highlands and think they're special because
they're in Richardson school district. And they don't tip pizza
drivers. Um, sorry, old demons. ;-)
I actually like Texans, I just hate the way they drive. I've heard
Atlantans are worse. For all the jokes about LA drivers, I found the LA
freeways to be the safest I've ever driven on. They take turns when
merging! And stop for pedestrians! In Texas, pedestrians are fair game,
except in crosswalks, and merging is urban warfare.
Mike
jay and sarah
Puma wrote:
^ ^
snip tete-a-tete about little pickup trucks with Puma and /nad:
>
> Not wearing seatbelts in the cab makes it easier to drag them out and
> beat the sh*t out of them for letting people ride in the bed. Just
> as bad are the jerks that let their dogs run around in the bed.
>
> >
Oh GOD, I hate that...
Sarah the Disneyfish
Mike Zeares
lil'bit wrote:
>
> Mike Zeares wrote:
>
> > some rmta-ers in Austin, too. Actually, a con in Austin would rock.
>
> for a get together. If there were enough of us here in the Metroplex we
> could work around your scedule and get together probably. I was thinking
> I was not going to be able to meet anyone until next August. Oh yeah, is
> Dallas your hometown?
No, I'm from PA, but I've lived here most of my life. I actually like
it, for some strange reason. You have to admit, downtown is pretty at
night (from a distance), and I've always liked White Rock Lake. I'm
afraid my schedule is un-work-around-able. I'm only available Mon-Wed.
I'm planning on using my vacation for the Atlanta con.
> > Mike, who's sick of missing all the fun on weekends.
>
> here is a vacation smae for you Mike. Now you can party, party on the
> weekend.
>
I only wish. I had to take my vacation last year in order to see Tori.
Thanks for the thought, though.
Mike
Mike Zeares
Chris wrote:
[snip]
> I look at it this way: if you are dumb enough to do those things and
> put yourself in that situation, then wah on you; you shouldn't be able
> to sue, or any shit like that.. I saw someone try to sue claiming that
> their brother was killed on a motorbyke for not wearing a helmet, and
> it was because the people who sold them a bike didn't give a helmet.
> Bullshit. He knew going in. If you are dumb enough to put yourself
> in that situation, maybe you deserve to be eliminated from the gene
> pool.
>
Why, you, you, MEANIE!!! I'm reporting you to the Sensitivity Police!!!
It's against the law to say anything that could in any way have even the
merest chance of having the slightest possibility of hurting someone's
feelings! I hope they throw the book at you!
Mike
Mike Zeares
Kevin D Fox wrote:
[snip]
[...] - when youre in one of these, you feel like youre in
> a tank. remember that commercial with the guy in the SUV feeling like he
> was miles above the traffic? its the same thing. you could total a miata
> and never know what happened. [....]
Heh, when I drove tanks, I could have totalled an SUV and not even
notice it. It's a rather pleasant thought for me, as I drive along the
increasingly potholed streets of Dallas, trying to stay out of the blind
spots of SUV's, minivans, buses, and pickups.
Mike
Chris
On Wed, 17 Sep 1997 15:15:20 -0500, Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net>
wrote:
>> Then again, I don't believe in seat belt or helmet laws, and think the
>> drinking age/smoking prohibitions shouldn't exist.
>
>I understand the reason for these laws, but agree that they don't do
>much good. They're too hard to enforce, when the police have better
>things to do. You shouldn't try to legislate away stupidity. It
>interferes with natural selection.
>
>Mike
Well, someone from RJR tobacco finally said something that I thought
was really funny, when asked about teen smoking he responded.. "yes, I
understand that senator. Now, how many of you smoke? How many of you
drink? How many of you have been involved in drinking and driving
accidents?" I find it amusing that we go so far out of the way on
smoking but beer, which pretty much advertises on TV unregulated
(unlike cigarrettes, which can't advertise) has a worse effect then
second hand smoke: drunk driving deaths...
But you never hear about that. I look at things like this: somethings
are a matter of public safety, and I can understand that. But in
general, I disagree with regulating anything. Regulating beer didn't
accomplish shit. Look at prohibition. Regulate cigarrettes? The
threat is if teen smoking doesn't go down by a set %, the companies
get penalized again. So, who runs the statistics when time comes to
see if it dropped?
I look at it this way: if you are dumb enough to do those things and
put yourself in that situation, then wah on you; you shouldn't be able
to sue, or any shit like that.. I saw someone try to sue claiming that
their brother was killed on a motorbyke for not wearing a helmet, and
it was because the people who sold them a bike didn't give a helmet.
Bullshit. He knew going in. If you are dumb enough to put yourself
in that situation, maybe you deserve to be eliminated from the gene
pool.
CR
lil'bit
Mike Zeares wrote:
>
> eva wrote:
> >
> > Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net> wrote:
> >
> > > Here in Dallas I don't know who is worse: the minivans, the pick-ups, or
> > > the buses. Pigfuckers, the lot of them.
> >
> > HEY!! my parents drive a minivan, my bf's family owns two pickups, and
> > i've been riding buses all my life! :P
> >
> of the aforementioned vehicles. Actually, the car drivers are pretty
> bad, too. They're ALL pigfuckers! Except me, of course. I'm the only
> good driver in Dallas. ;-)
Wrong!!!!!!!
>
> --
> Mike
lil'bit
Mike Zeares wrote:
>
> Brad Yearwood wrote:
>
> The FPOTW! I printed this for posterity. Random snips and comments
> follow.
> >
> signals and brane waves.
HeeHee.
> And I would call it a Megabozo field. Even our
> papers have had stories about the architectural obcenities that Dallas
> Yuppie types seem compelled to build.
Actually it was all the stupid ignorant country boys who became rich oil
and real estate tycoons. Most of the architectural obsenities were built
during the Real Estate boom before the Bust in the 80's.
> Actually, the entire state projects a Megaboze field. It emanates from the state
> capitol.
Yep!
-lil'bit
lil'bit
Mike Zeares wrote:
>
> lil'bit wrote:
> >
> Hey, I didn't realize you were from Dallas. There are others, too.
I have not been on the group in a couple weeks, so it is nice to get a
surprise the first day I return to it. Who else is around here.
> Maybe we should put together a Dallas Minicon. Or Texascon; there are
> some rmta-ers in Austin, too. Actually, a con in Austin would rock.
Yea, I agree it would have to be in Austin. Austin is just a better town
for a get together. If there were enough of us here in the Metroplex we
could work around your scedule and get together probably. I was thinking
I was not going to be able to meet anyone until next August. Oh yeah, is
Dallas your hometown?
> But I'm unavailable on weekends, so I couldn't attend anyway. Furrfu!
>
> Mike, who's sick of missing all the fun on weekends.
here is a vacation smae for you Mike. Now you can party, party on the
weekend.
-lil'bit
lil'bit
Mike Zeares wrote:
>
> Oh, just great. Now Aimee will go on one of her "Texas Sucks" rants.
It is nice to see another Dallas person on this list. More proof that we
are not all that bad.
> I forgot to mention dualies. They were really popular a few years
> back. Urban cowboys driving these huge extended cab pick-ups with dual > rear axels. I saw one get stuck between the curbs in a McDonald's > drive-through once. By the way, was this shotgun promo a recent thing?
I remember hearing something about this recently. I think it was
actually a town about 30 or so miles outside of Fort Worth.
Have you ever noticed all the Ford, Chevy and Dodge dealerships here are
70% trucks and 30% cars so the choices always suck.
> I wonder what European and Japanese tourists think about all these
> pickups with guns in the back window.
Fear and sympathy at the ignorance.
-lil'bit
Rich and Nadyne Mielke
Puma <Pu...@anti.spam> had this to say:
:> Puma <Pu...@anti.spam> had this to say:
:> [snip]
:> :If you have never owned a pickup, don't knock them. At least
:> :the small ones.
:> A quarter-ton pickup truck is useless. You can't haul much in it.
:Great for the 'burbs. You can haul mulch, lumber, 4x8 sheets of
:plywood,
:trees, shrubs, and all sorts of other stuff that won't fit or that you
:don't want to put in a car. Throw your gear in the back and go camping.
You don't want to get me started on my suburb rant. ;)
:> Since the rear end is so light, it fishtails all over the place if
:> road conditions aren't exactly perfect.
:Damn, I don't think I want to be around you if you are driving a
:pickup.
*thwap* I'm trained to drive an ambulance and a fire truck. I'm
quite capable of handling most any vehicle tossed my way.
:Most careful drivers don't have this problem under most conditions. Ice
:is one condition I know of that would cause this because of the lack of
:weight. But I have seen a lot of cars spinning out in the ice. Driving
:too fast on a rain slick road is not a condition problem. Front wheel
:drive cars can be made to over-steer in some conditions. Cars
:that are real heavy can be made to under-steer in some conditions.
Ice is exactly the condition I was referring to, 'cause it is a major
problem with the little trucks. {It's a problem, to a much lesser
extent, with smaller station wagons, as well. My mom solved the
problem in her station wagon by putting a steel beam in the back of
her wagon.} Little trucks with not enough weight in their rear ends
fishtail -much easier- on ice than cars or real pickups.
:>In GA, folks driving pickups
:> aren't required to wear seatbelts {well, those in the cab don't have
:> to be restrained, but those in the bed do, I don't get that law}. And
:> they're ugly anyway.
:Not wearing seatbelts in the cab makes it easier to drag them out and
:beat the sh*t out of them for letting people ride in the bed. Just
:as bad are the jerks that let their dogs run around in the bed.
I don't care about the people {if they're dumb enough to get in the
bed of the pickup with a moron behind the wheel, hey, Darwin at work}.
I don't think kids should be in the bed {unless they're the kind that
throw tomatoes in the grocery store ;) }, nor do I think animals
should be in the bed. A friend lost his dog 'cause it was in the bed
and decided to chase a deer. Too bad the pickup was doing about 70mph
down a dirt road . . . *splat*
/nad
The Watcher
On Wed, 17 Sep 1997 13:43:43 -0500, Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net>
wrote:
>Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
>
>> actually, it was our new geo metro that the minivan hit. the horn is
>> actually decently loud, but jason thinks it's rude to use it even if
>> someone's coming right for you. naturally, i use the horn ALL the time.
>> if i don't let drivers know they're stupid, who will?
>>
>Must be a new horn; mine (a '94) kind of goes, "mim." My mother is like
>Jason; I've never known her to use a horn. My sister, on the other
>hand, drives with one hand on the horn.
I'm with your mother and Jason: I hate the horn. I hate people who
use the horn (present company excepted). I especially hate people who
use the horn for the wrong (as if there are right) reasons. Just
outside my apartment (which has thin outer walls), people are always
stopping right in the middle of the street and leaning on their horns,
waiting for their friends to come out and go driving. If I had a gun,
I'd love to be popping them off like ducks.
My Evil Plan: I'd love to have the time and resources to attach a
small bomb to every car in America. It would be triggered by the
tenth use of the horn ever in the lifetime of the car, immediately
ending the lifetime of the driver.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Why is it that everything today has involved
things either going in or coming out of my ass?!"
-- Cartman (the Fat Kid on South Park)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/////////////John Higdon (The Watcher)\\\\\\\\\\\\\
lil'bit
Mike Zeares wrote:
> I actually like Texans, I just hate the way they drive.
I agree I could not imagine living anywhere else. Dallas does have some
high points - you just have to search.
> I've heard Atlantans are worse.
Nad??? Greg?? Is this true? By the way where is Greg?
> For all the jokes about LA drivers, I found the LA freeways to be the safest
> I've ever driven on. They take turns when merging! And stop for pedestrians!
Yep! I can not say anything about Atlanta but LA is nothing compared to
Dallas. There are all these aggressive drivers that cut you off etc. and
then you get "road rage" and get so mad at the other person you get
aggressive. It is a big circle. It is hard not to react.
> In Texas, pedestrians are fair game, except in crosswalks, and merging is urban > warfare.
Didn't the paper put out an article about the fact that Dallas had the
highest number of fatalities of pedestrians killed or struck by vehicles
of any city in the nation? If it was not the highest I know it was one
of highest.
Now that I have talked everyone on the list out of coming to Dallas. No
one wants to either take a walk anywhere near a road or drive in Dallas
I will shutup.
-Staci
Aimee E. Lortskell
Puma (Pu...@anti.spam) wrote:
: Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
: > minivans [1].
: And how many siblings do you have? [1]
0 full, 1 half, 2 steps. but then, i never said my parents weren't
dumb. my mother would be lucky if she could find her own ass with both
hands and a flashlight. my dad can be pretty smart in some ways, but
he's pretty dumb to be killing himself with alcohol. thankfully, neither
are dumb enough to drive minivans, or i'd *really* be ashamed. ;)
[snip]
: > i reserve the right to knock them, whether i've owned one or not. the
: > drivers are fucking annoying, and often dangerous. not that every single
: > pickup driver is horrible, but in general they suck shit.
: By all means express your opinion, for it is your right. For it is
: written,
: Opinions are like ass holes - everyone has one. [Bad me. That was not a
: nice thing to say, even if Aimee was saying unkind things in general
: about
: pickup drivers]
i did specify that i was knocking drivers, not the vehicles themselves,
and pointed out that i was making gross generalizations which may or may
not apply to you as a pickup driver.
and you call that not nice? that was nothing. you should consider
enrolling in my bitch correspondence school if you want to leanr how to
really be not nice. as it is, i'm aware that opinions are like assholes,
and i'm lucky enough to have not only an asshole, but many, many opinions.
: Talk about annoying....I have observed that many - but not all - Metro
: drivers, or drivers of similarly motorized skateboards, dart in and
: out of traffic showing no interest in public safety or rules of the
: road.
i never said that other drivers couldn't be unsafe. i've seen idiots
driving all sorts of vehicles. but, like the majority of net.wankers
being on AOL and webtv, most driving wankers seem to be in larger vehicles
such as minivans and pickups. and it's actually much more dangerous when
trucks and minivans weave in and out of traffic that way. what's a metro
going to do if it hits your truck? squish itself. we should all drive
small cars for the sake of natural selection.
[snip]
: > [1] this is mostly a joke, but i have to admit i do mean it at least a
: > little.
: [1] Your answer to this may indicate something that occured or was
: lacking
: from your childhood based on having siblings or being an only child.
: This is a joke.
:P"
i'm just glad my childhood wasn't tainted by the presence of minivans. i
had enough problems - a minivan in my life might have driven me over the
edge.
Aimee the Magdalene
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
| I was hoping you wouldn't see them. I was trying to tidy up when |
| bing-bong the door went and I thought, "Shit! The dildos!" |
| - trent reznor |
| I've never had a strange woman reach out and grab me, |
| which just proves I hang out in the wrong places. |
| - angela reid |
\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/
Aimee E. Lortskell
: > actually decently loud, but jason thinks it's rude to use it even if
: > someone's coming right for you. naturally, i use the horn ALL the time.
: > if i don't let drivers know they're stupid, who will?
: Must be a new horn; mine (a '94) kind of goes, "mim."
ours is also a '94.
[snip]
: Anyway, where were you hit?
rear passenger side, right in front of the wheel. it knocked off some
clip that was keeping the brake pad from making thumping noises, too.
[snip]
: And I've
: never had any trouble with it in 4 years. Just wish it had better
: acceleration. Getting onto Dallas freeways is frightening enough with a
: powerful car.
jason says it actually does a lot better than he expected in that respect
- but then he got a stick so it would be more powerful (read: so he'd
feel more powerful by jerking that pseudo hard cock around). the only
thing is that if you accelerate or turn corners too fast the wheels squeal
as if you're peeling out in a camaro. it sounds rather silly.
Aimee the Magdalene
*-Toriphile-BAAWA!-NINnie-*
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
* stuff IS the issue. *
* foreplay, boys! *
* - Tori Amos *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
lil'bit
Gregory Lawrence Smith wrote:
>
> In article <5vrfnm$i...@bgtnsc03.worldnet.att.net>,
> lil'bit <fsad...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> Here I am!!!
>
> I've been a bit of a lurker lately, as I've recently moved > (Hallelulah!)
Me too kinda sorta. Actually I pretty much live at MY NEW SO's house
which I helped him move into 3 weeks ago.
> and got a new computer (Yay!)
Me too. Got it set up yesterday and now when I highlight a post to read
it, it comes up immediatly. Before I had to wait up to a minute for the
computer to download it.
> but it's not quite set up yet, and I don't have a new ISP yet (as G>a TEch doesn't let > graduates stay online for very long), but I seem to be babbling!
That sucks!
>
> As for Atlanta drivers:
>
> They suck. Big Time. They are aggressive (ala New York) but most drivers are highly > unskilled and don't seem to understand things like laws and etiquette. Atlanta is the > only place I know of where someone will cut you off, and then THEY will honk at you [i > guess for the fault of driving where they want to be].
>
I have had this happen to me. It is like they get mad because as soon as
they started to jump into your lane (without blinker) you did not slam
on your brakes and get out of their way.
> People don't use turn signals... unless they signal right to turn left.
> People don't hesitate to move over 3 lanes on the freeway, and might even
> look first! They also love to block intersections just before the light
> changes to red, so that the opposing traffice cannot move when they get
> their green light, causing heavy traffic to elevate to complete gridlock
> in 2 minutes. They consider pedestrians to be targets.
All sounds very familiar.
>
> And everything is increased in annoyance because Atlantans drive more
> miles per person than residents of any other city. even LA.
It is getting that way in Dallas as it is exploding to the North and
South. I work in Downtown and have just started putting 75 to 80 miles a
day on my car in my commute. That includes taking my daughter to daycare
and driving to work and then to daycare and home.
>
> >> In Texas, pedestrians are fair game, except in crosswalks...
>
> Pedestrians in Atlanta are not even safe in crosswalks... both of them.
> ;)
>
> Right now a bridge is being constructed from Galleria (conference
> center/movie theatre/mini-mall) to the mall across the street, because too
> many people were being struck by cars while trying to cross 6 lanes of
> traffic without any crosswalks.
Yikes
>
> Now there's something to attract conventions:
>
> "Hold your convention here. Thin the herd."
>
HeHeHe :)
-lil'bit
Aimee E. Lortskell
eva (e...@schmen.teleport.com) wrote:
[snip]
: dammit, i don't
: care WHERE you have to be monday morning - pick a lane and pick a speed!
: do NOT speed up to 85 to pass and then slow down to 55 as soon as you get
: in front of us, or we WILL crush your puny styrofoam car to the GROUND.
: muahahahha!
actually, that's a standard STL problem, especially in the left lane.
and you know, the left lane is mine, because i'm going faster than them
and i'm going to stay going faster than them. the best place for this
kind of etiquette is canada - people actually drive down the right lane
unless they're passing. it's beautiful. <sniff>
Aimee the Magdalene (who's *always* passing)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ damn the fish, full speed ahead ~
~ - larry hufstedler ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gregory Lawrence Smith
>> I actually like Texans, I just hate the way they drive.
>> I've heard Atlantans are worse.
>
>Nad??? Greg?? Is this true? By the way where is Greg?
Here I am!!!
I've been a bit of a lurker lately, as I've recently moved (Hallelulah!)
and got a new computer (Yay!) but it's not quite set up yet, and I don't
have a new ISP yet (as Ga TEch doesn't let graduates stay online for very
long), but I seem to be babbling!
As for Atlanta drivers:
They suck. Big Time. They are aggressive (ala New York) but most drivers
are highly unskilled and don't seem to understand things like laws and
etiquette. Atlanta is the only place I know of where someone will cut you
off, and then THEY will honk at you [i guess for the fault of driving
where they want to be].
People don't use turn signals... unless they signal right to turn left.
People don't hesitate to move over 3 lanes on the freeway, and might even
look first! They also love to block intersections just before the light
changes to red, so that the opposing traffice cannot move when they get
their green light, causing heavy traffic to elevate to complete gridlock
in 2 minutes. They consider pedestrians to be targets.
And everything is increased in annoyance because Atlantans drive more
miles per person than residents of any other city. even LA.
>> In Texas, pedestrians are fair game, except in crosswalks...
Pedestrians in Atlanta are not even safe in crosswalks... both of them.
;)
Right now a bridge is being constructed from Galleria (conference
center/movie theatre/mini-mall) to the mall across the street, because too
many people were being struck by cars while trying to cross 6 lanes of
traffic without any crosswalks.
Now there's something to attract conventions:
"Hold your convention here. Thin the herd."
-greg
--
gt7...@prism.gatech.edu
Aimee E. Lortskell
Mike Zeares (mzea...@airmail.net) wrote:
[snip]
: There was a huge debate about this. Some people felt it was un-Texan
: not to let the kids ride in the bed. The death statistics really were
: frightening, however. On a related note, our legislature just repealed
: the motorcycle helmet law. I think the bicycle helmet law is still in
: place. Our legislature works in mysterious ways.
perhaps someone finally explained natural selection to them.
Aimee the Magdalene
*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*
\ i've been careless with a delicate man /
/ - fiona apple \
\ killing your professor with sex is a bad thing /
/ - doug gentges \
\ nobody likes a know-it-all who sits around /
/ talking about their genitalia - hank hill \
*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*
Aimee E. Lortskell
fastrada ("fastrada"@ix.netcom.com(removetomail)) wrote:
: Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
: hey aimee, you have a geo metro too! cool! although imo the new ones
: look a little weird, like a car that small shouldn't look quite that
well, ours isn't new new, it's just new to us - it's a '94. but one good
thing came out of this - when we got the car it came with some really
silly detailing work (squiggly blue lines) that the body shop says they may
not be able to match. so they may just cover it up.
: aerodynamic. but overall, i think my metro is very cute. yours, however,
: is not--it's a minivan-avenging instrument of revenge and death, right?
actually, this is for jason to drive, so it will be cowering in fear
around minivans. personally, i'd rather he'd honked at the minivan and
possibly had the driver come to her senses before smashing into him. it
might not have worked (do minivan drivers have senses to come to? ;) ),
but it would have been worth trying.
[snip]
: > the horn is
: > actually decently loud, but jason thinks it's rude to use it even if
: > someone's coming right for you.
: i don't think it's necessarily rude, but in the city you've got to be
: careful. the guy who cuts you off may have a weapon.
so what? he doesn't have the right to use it in that situation. i
refuse to shut up just because someone else is irrational. it's not my
responsibility to coddle psychos.
[snip]
: imo it's not worth it. i just scream obscenities.
but what's the difference? if they're psycho, aren't they just as likely
to shoot you for that as for honking? or shoot you just because you're
there?
Aimee the Magdalene
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
@ new around here? get the newbie pack before i have a chance to tell @
@ you to fuck off. send mail to rmta-...@oak.webville.com, and it @
@ will be sent to you. all will be revealed. @
@-------------------------------------------------------------------------@
@ If you leave AOL, they will send you lots of handy disk shaped coasters @
@ - Larry Hufstedler @
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Aimee E. Lortskell
: >> actually decently loud, but jason thinks it's rude to use it even if
: >> if i don't let drivers know they're stupid, who will?
: use the horn (present company excepted). I especially hate people who
: use the horn for the wrong (as if there are right) reasons.
my feeling is that horns are there for a reason, and there are right
reasons to use it. your horn has to work to pass inspection for a
reason. if someone's doing something unsafe near my vehicle, they're
going to hear from me because that's what my horn is for. i'd feel a
lot better if jason would honk when it's necessary - especially if he
drives the MG a lot of people just don't see him, and a honk might make
them notice. if he gets hit in that car, he's dead. if i'm in it with
him, *i* reach over and honk for him, as much as he hates that. in your
miata, you ought to think of it the same way.
however, john and i discussed this last night, and we decided it's ok to
honk if you first say, "it's coming right for us!"
: My Evil Plan: I'd love to have the time and resources to attach a
: small bomb to every car in America. It would be triggered by the
: tenth use of the horn ever in the lifetime of the car, immediately
: ending the lifetime of the driver.
cool. i can see this now. john's car is in the shop and he borrows
mine. he finds the one situation in which he finds it completely
nmecessary to honk. <<KABLAM>>
Aimee the Magdalene
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
= Asking the readership of rec.music.tori-amos to stay =
= on topic is a bit like asking a swarm of monarch =
= butterflies to maintain a tight diamond formation. =
= It ain't gonna happen. - Ben Waggoner =
= =
= fist me, i'm french! - Pierre Becquey =
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
J of moles
aimee the magdalene wrote:
> you should consider
>enrolling in my bitch correspondence school
where, oh where, is that application? send me one pronto, b/c currently
i'm only a bitch about 13 hours a day. gotta work on the other 11 hours...
higs,
julie
Brad Yearwood
In article <97A8BA5A7CBBD9F5.5BC93285...@library-proxy.airnews.net>,
Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net> wrote:
>Brad Yearwood wrote:
> ... Yuppie types seem compelled to build. Actually, the entire state
>projects a Megaboze field. It emanates from the state capitol.
I, sir, resemble that remark, having myself emanated from said state
capital too many years ago. The emanations from the capitol per se are
of another, smellier, kind, best chronicled by Molly Ivins.
Brad Yearwood bny (at) see are ell dot com
Cotati, CA
Aimee E. Lortskell
lil'bit (fsad...@worldnet.att.net) wrote:
: Mike Zeares wrote:
: > Oh, just great. Now Aimee will go on one of her "Texas Sucks" rants.
: It is nice to see another Dallas person on this list. More proof that we
: are not all that bad.
[snip]
well, i married a texan, so i reserve the right to mess with texas. i
consider it my sacred duty. if y'all didn't egg me on with all that
"don't mess with texas" paraphernalia, maybe i wouldn't need to torment
you do much. :P
tae
Aimee E. Lortskell <ai...@isc.umr.edu> dazzled us in article
<34214...@cheech.primary.net>...
(snip everything but this:)
> jason says it actually does a lot better than he expected in that respect
> - but then he got a stick so it would be more powerful (read: so he'd
> feel more powerful by jerking that pseudo hard cock around).
LOL!!! You've noticed that, too? Every car I've ever been in with a guy
driving a stick, its been that way...Constantly shifting, going really
fast...Its quite funny...The weirdest thing was being in a car with this
female friend of mine and she was doing the same thing...What does that say
about her? Penis envy? ;-)
--
Tae
The Slacker Goddess
One third of "The Goddesses Afraid of Cars"
Faerymouse
ai...@isc.umr.edu (Aimee E. Lortskell) wrote:
[ snipping aimee's intense dislike of minivans ]
oh wow aimee i bet you would LOVE my mom's minivan <eg>. it's fucking
LILAC colored. the thing looks like a car shaped easter egg. my sister and
i pleaded for any color other than that damn lilac. but no. the other thing
i don't understand is how she could ditch the suburban (how i loved driving
that sucker ::sniff::) for a fucking minivav. true, the suburban was a gas
guzzler, and a pain in the ass to park, but we do own 2 horses and are
constantly going to shows, clinics, ect and toting a ton of horse gear
around, so it was justified.
my mom also managed to back the minivan through the CLOSED garage door...i
came home from school one day to find the garage door completely smashed
up. when i asked her what happened, she said "oh i backed out and forgot to
put the garage door up first!" i have no idea how she could do this...help
me, my family is pathetic....
~Siobhan~
* http://members.aol.com/Faerymouse/myworld.html *
Member of the ~ SGC ~
* announcer: "it's so important to make your dreams of happiness come true."
crow: "and remember, when you touch yourself, the saints cry. goodnight!" *
Rich and Nadyne Mielke
gt7...@prism.gatech.edu (Gregory Lawrence Smith) had this to say:
:>> I've heard Atlantans are worse.
:>Nad??? Greg?? Is this true? By the way where is Greg?
:I've been a bit of a lurker lately, as I've recently moved (Hallelulah!)
:and got a new computer (Yay!) but it's not quite set up yet, and I don't
:have a new ISP yet (as Ga TEch doesn't let graduates stay online for very
:long), but I seem to be babbling!
MindSpring! MindSpring! MindSpring!
:As for Atlanta drivers:
[snip]
:And everything is increased in annoyance because Atlantans drive more
:miles per person than residents of any other city. even LA.
Yup. My commute is 5-10 minutes, and I'm an anomoly in my office. My
immediate supervisor {she's the one with the kids in daycare nearly
24/7} has about an hour commute. The VP {well, one of 'em} has an
hour commute. The president just moved up to the north GA mountains,
and his commute is around an hour and a half. {Those times are all
one way, folks.} I just don't understand this.
:>> In Texas, pedestrians are fair game, except in crosswalks...
:Pedestrians in Atlanta are not even safe in crosswalks... both of them.
:;)
There are crosswalks in downtown Decatur. {One of the towns in metro
Atlanta, where Rich works.} I even used them, and was crossing when
the little green man {hey, that's sexist! ;) } was lit. Some guy
decided to ignore his left turn red arrow and make the left. I've
never before touched the front end of a black Ford Explorer before. I
didn't get hurt, he saw me in time to slam on the brakes, but I did
technically get hit {no bruises, I didn't fall, the bumper barely
touched me}, but if he hadn't seen me and just gone through the
intersection as he was obviously planning {illegally}, I'd've been
toast. I've never been so fucking scared in my life.
:Right now a bridge is being constructed from Galleria (conference
:center/movie theatre/mini-mall) to the mall across the street, because too
:many people were being struck by cars while trying to cross 6 lanes of
:traffic without any crosswalks.
:Now there's something to attract conventions:
:"Hold your convention here. Thin the herd."
Heheheheheh. Now y'all know why I -really- wanted to have the
convention here. Don't piss me off until after ToriCon '98, folks. ;)
Actually, though, you missed on my pet peeve about Atlanta drivers.
Yellow lights don't mean "this light is going to turn red in just a
little bit", they mean "quick, let's get another 30 cars through!"
Red lights don't mean "you can't go", they mean "it turned red 30
seconds ago, it's still safe for me to blow it off . . ." I'm so
bloody sick of drivers that think they can fit in just one more car.
Or decide to wait in the intersection 'cause the light is green, but
then end up blocking the intersection 'cause the traffic hasn't moved.
Duuuuuuh. And then they flip you off for trying to get across the
intersection when you have the green.
/nad
Gregory Lawrence Smith
In article <3423e218...@news.mindspring.com>,
Rich and Nadyne Mielke <mie...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>gt7...@prism.gatech.edu (Gregory Lawrence Smith) had this to say:
>:lil'bit <fsad...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>:>Mike Zeares wrote:
>:I've been a bit of a lurker lately, as I've recently moved (Hallelulah!)
>:and got a new computer (Yay!) but it's not quite set up yet, and I don't
>:have a new ISP yet...
>MindSpring! MindSpring! MindSpring!
So, do you have a ISP suggestion for me, nad? ;)
>:As for Atlanta drivers:
>Yup. My commute is 5-10 minutes, and I'm an anomoly in my office. My
>immediate supervisor {she's the one with the kids in daycare nearly
>24/7} has about an hour commute. The VP {well, one of 'em} has an
>hour commute. The president just moved up to the north GA mountains,
>and his commute is around an hour and a half. {Those times are all
>one way, folks.} I just don't understand this.
Me either. Even though I've moved what feels to be way out of the city,
I'm still only 10 miles from work. I can't imagine driving in to midtown
from Alpharetta every day... Actually, I think the average American
commute is about 40 minutes. NO thanks.
>:Pedestrians in Atlanta are not even safe in crosswalks... both of them.
>
>There are crosswalks in downtown Decatur.
Wow, that's a real site! I'm not sure I've seen any others in Atlanta...
[snip nad's near-death story]
Yup, you're not even safe in a crosswalk. Apparently, you're only safe in
a Ford Explorer...
>:"Hold your convention here. Thin the herd."
>
>Heheheheheh. Now y'all know why I -really- wanted to have the
>convention here. Don't piss me off until after ToriCon '98, folks. ;)
Tee-hee! :)
-greg
--
gt7...@prism.gatech.edu
Lady Eorann
On 17 Sep 1997, Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
> : If you have never owned a pickup, don't knock them. At least
> : the small ones.
>
> i reserve the right to knock them, whether i've owned one or not. the
> drivers are fucking annoying, and often dangerous. not that every single
> pickup driver is horrible, but in general they suck shit.
I feel the need to comment on this thread. The other night I'm driving
along in my baby, my Tercel, and this mutherfucker in a pickup the size of
a small country, with windows tinted blacker than midnight on a moonless
night, stops in front of me in the left-turn lane. However, he's
stopped about 100 feet away from the light, and there's no one ahead of
him. I wait for a minute, and he doesn't move, so I move to go around
him. When I try to get around him, he guns his engine and inches up on
me, not allowing me to get in. I try to move, he lurches forward at me.
I'm in a tiny little car. His tire is at my fucking eye level! And this
guy is threatening me! Ugh. I angrily throw the car into reverse and
back out, and signal for him to go the fuck ahead. Then of course, the
asshole doesn't move and begins honking his horn at me. The light turns
green and he stands there, i get in front of him and make my left turn. I
thought that was it, but the jerk starts following me. I slow down to 10
mph, and he got frustrated and left me alone after a while. I suppose my
BF Danny and my guy friend Chris glaring at him worked to my advantage as
well. My question is WHY ARE ASSHOLES LIKE THIS ON THE ROAD?!?!? And it
seems that these guys outnumber us decent drivers by like a thousand to
one, here in Miami. I read recently that Dade county is the most
dangerous place to drive in the US. And it's all because of assholes like
this!
And to make matters worse, a minivan slammed on its brakes yesterday, to
pull over and leave a munchkin in a tutu at a nearby dance studio. The
lady behind him barely had time to stop, and I, being behind that lady,
slammed on my brakes, but my tires slipped ont he rain slicked road and I
slammed into her. Now my baby is ruined. and the fucking minivan driver
gets away without a thought! AARRGGGHHHH!! I agree with the original
tital of this thread: MINIVANS MUST DIE*
Now I am thoroughly frustrated... off to class i go. What better way to
vent than to make a professor's life hell? (eeeevil grin!)
*as must pickups!
Bright Blessings and Lollipops!
LE.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Definitions are limiting. Limitations are deadening.
To limit oneself is a kind of suicide. To limit
another is a kind of murder. To limit poetry is a
Hiroshima of the human spirit." --Tom Robbins
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Zeares
Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
>
> Mike Zeares (mzea...@airmail.net) wrote:
> [snip]
> : There was a huge debate about this. Some people felt it was un-Texan
> : not to let the kids ride in the bed. The death statistics really were
> : frightening, however. On a related note, our legislature just repealed
> : the motorcycle helmet law. I think the bicycle helmet law is still in
> : place. Our legislature works in mysterious ways.
>
> perhaps someone finally explained natural selection to them.
>
somewhere that the reason Congress is full of idiots is that we send our
idiots there to get them out of our states. Here in Texas, I guess they
like to keep them for the entertainment value.
Mike Zeares
Jess
On 17 Sep 1997 21:54:35 GMT, eva <e...@schmen.teleport.com> wrote:
snip
>well, around here i've never noticed minivan/truck drivers being much of a
>problem. generally they own 'em cause they need 'em and they're pretty
>practical about driving etiquette. it's all the fuckwads in their teeny,
>zippy hatchbacks that drive me nuts, especially driving south from
>portland on I-5 on a sunday night during the school year. dammit, i don't
>care WHERE you have to be monday morning - pick a lane and pick a speed!
>do NOT speed up to 85 to pass and then slow down to 55 as soon as you get
>in front of us, or we WILL crush your puny styrofoam car to the GROUND.
>muahahahha!
Ummm, and please make it a speed appropriate for the lane you pick.
Driving in the left lane doing 55 in a 70 zone when the traffic around
you is doing 70+ is not OK. Forcing half the world to pass you on the
right because you don't like to change lanes and there might
conceivably be a slower vehicle somewhere ahead of you is not good
karma.
--
Jess
Licking the glue side of the stamp isn't normal, it's just common-
Aimee the Magdalene
Jess
On Thu, 18 Sep 1997 00:12:55 GMT, mie...@mindspring.com (Rich and
Nadyne Mielke) wrote:
snip
>I don't care about the people {if they're dumb enough to get in the
>bed of the pickup with a moron behind the wheel, hey, Darwin at work}.
>I don't think kids should be in the bed {unless they're the kind that
>throw tomatoes in the grocery store ;) }, nor do I think animals
>should be in the bed. A friend lost his dog 'cause it was in the bed
>and decided to chase a deer. Too bad the pickup was doing about 70mph
>down a dirt road . . . *splat*
/nad this was just too funny. Darwin at work indeed.
Yes, the dog story is sad but the way you told it...
Jess
On Wed, 17 Sep 1997 14:16:52 -0500, Puma <Pu...@anti.spam> wrote:
snip
>>what's a pace care?
>
>Uhhh....Pace is a rate of movement or speed. Care is well, you
>know care...to protect or provide for. So bing the pace care means
>how fast the soccer mom can drive her minivan and run over Geo Metros
>to get to school and provide for her rug rats a way from school.
>
>Or it could be a typo.
LOL
>
snip
>By all means express your opinion, for it is your right. For it is
>written,
>Opinions are like ass holes - everyone has one. [Bad me. That was not a
>nice thing to say, even if Aimee was saying unkind things in general
>about
>pickup drivers]
snip
This is not intended as a reference toward anyone but the above line
just triggered some Tori thoughts.
OK-this reminds me of a song Tori has sung a few times-a little ditty
an old lady in england taught her titled assholes are cheap today
Assholes are cheap today
Cheaper than yesterday
Small ones are half a crown
Standing up or sitting down
If you haven't heard it, Tori would sometimes try to teach it to the
audience and it almost sounds llike the responsive singing you might
hear in church.
Well, that's enough Tori content for one day :-)
Ken Tough
Jess <Je...@nospam.concentric.net> wrote:
>Ummm, and please make it a speed appropriate for the lane you pick.
>Driving in the left lane doing 55 in a 70 zone when the traffic around
>you is doing 70+ is not OK. Forcing half the world to pass you on the
>right because you don't like to change lanes and there might
>conceivably be a slower vehicle somewhere ahead of you is not good
>karma.
My favourite is the self-rightous (usually) old people who
drive along the smaller roads here at exactly 43 miles an
hour (60 normally) with a huge line of traffic behind them,
then when they pass through a village (30 limit) they just
continue chugging on through at their glacial 43 mph.
They complain at all the people who get fed up and take
extra risks to try and pass them, and don't realise that
their extra speed in town is far more dangerous than 60mph
on a trunk road.
Ken Tough
Lady Eorann <ype...@umsis.miami.edu> wrote:
>> : If you have never owned a pickup, don't knock them. At least
>> : the small ones.
>> i reserve the right to knock them, whether i've owned one or not. the
>> drivers are fucking annoying, and often dangerous. not that every single
>> pickup driver is horrible, but in general they suck shit.
>I feel the need to comment on this thread. The other night I'm driving
>along in my baby, my Tercel, and this mutherfucker in a pickup the size of
>a small country, with windows tinted blacker than midnight on a moonless
>night, stops in front of me in the left-turn lane.
I'm not all that fond of jacked-up 4x4's since a little experience
I had about 10 yrs+ ago. I had (have?) this little spitfire (MG
size thing with no roof) and arrived at a stop sign behind this huge
jacked-up pickup with about 36 inches clearance. There was a big
line of traffic behind me, and this guy stopped too far into the
traffic to turn right. He sees the traffic approaching and
decides to back up. Seeing as I can't go anywhere, I honk.
I see the two guys up top looking around as if "where the hell
is that damn noise coming from" as his bumper continues on
up my hood towards the windshield. It was pretty funny really,
since he was going so slowly I knew I wouldn't get hurt.
Finally, the axle reached my front bumper and the thing stopped
about 2 feet short of the window. Amazingly, all mine had was
a deep scratch along the two top ridgy-bits of the fender,
and a scatched bumper. (And eventually a new insurance paint-job).
The guys seemed a bit bemused that I wasn't all that pissed off.
It was just so hilarious to see these cowboys, from below,
looking around in confusion.
--
Ken Tough They've paved paradise
k...@objectech.co.uk and put up a parking lot.
fastrada
Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
> : look a little weird, like a car that small shouldn't look quite that
>
> well, ours isn't new new, it's just new to us - it's a '94.
mine too. what color is yours? mine's red.
(snip)
>
> actually, this is for jason to drive, so it will be cowering in fear
> around minivans. personally, i'd rather he'd honked at the minivan and
> possibly had the driver come to her senses before smashing into him. it
> might not have worked (do minivan drivers have senses to come to? ;) )
depends on how may screaming kids they have strapped into the car seats.
;)
,
> but it would have been worth trying.
>
> [snip]
> : > the horn is
> : > actually decently loud, but jason thinks it's rude to use it even if
> : > someone's coming right for you.
> : i don't think it's necessarily rude, but in the city you've got to be
> : careful. the guy who cuts you off may have a weapon.
>
> so what? he doesn't have the right to use it in that situation. i
> refuse to shut up just because someone else is irrational. it's not my
> responsibility to coddle psychos.
well, if you don't mind getting your ass shot at, that's your decision.
;) in general, though, i try not to honk at people. imo there's already
too much hostility on the road. and thre's too muhc negativity in my
life. i'm really, really trying not to react to things with anger
lately, for my own mental health. (yes, aimee, i know that you don't
agree with this.) i tend to overreact to stressful situations and it's
having an adverse effect on me.
you know, in one suburb they just passed some law that people can report
the license plates of people who exhibit 'road rage', e.g. obscene
gestures, honking unnecessarily (i believe they define it as
necessary=honking to keep someone from plowing into you,
unnecessary=honking to say 'fuck you, you just did something stupid.'),
cutting someone off just to prove a point, etc. you call the cops and
give the license number and the person gets a ticket.
fastrada
Rich and Nadyne Mielke
fastrada <"fastrada"@ix.netcom.com(removetomail)> had this to say:
:Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
[snip]
:> actually, this is for jason to drive, so it will be cowering in fear
:> around minivans. personally, i'd rather he'd honked at the minivan and
:> possibly had the driver come to her senses before smashing into him. it
:> might not have worked (do minivan drivers have senses to come to? ;) )
:depends on how may screaming kids they have strapped into the car seats.
:;)
I was driving to work today, and saw a woman driving her minivan with
a carload of kids, all 4-7, and they were running around in the
minivan. {Well, as much as you can run around in one of those damned
things.} *sigh* It's sad when you're driving down the freeway and
keep on seeing different little heads popping up in the windows of the
minivan in front of you. And it really pisses me off that the bloody
moron driving the vehicle couldn't get them to sit down and fasten
their seatbelts.
/nad
Aimee E. Lortskell
Ken Tough (k...@objectech.co.uk) wrote:
: I'm not all that fond of jacked-up 4x4's since a little experience
: size thing with no roof) and arrived at a stop sign behind this huge
: jacked-up pickup with about 36 inches clearance. There was a big
: line of traffic behind me, and this guy stopped too far into the
: traffic to turn right. He sees the traffic approaching and
: decides to back up. Seeing as I can't go anywhere, I honk.
AAAGH! this is my constant nightmare when jason drives the MG.
: I see the two guys up top looking around as if "where the hell
: is that damn noise coming from" as his bumper continues on
: up my hood towards the windshield. It was pretty funny really,
: since he was going so slowly I knew I wouldn't get hurt.
and in the US, they wouldn't likely have gone slowly. they'da smashed
right through our MG midget's windshield, and jason and i would each have
had a muffler shoved down our throats. in the US there's a special rule -
trucks go painfully slowly unless they're about to hit you.
: Finally, the axle reached my front bumper and the thing stopped
: about 2 feet short of the window. Amazingly, all mine had was
: a deep scratch along the two top ridgy-bits of the fender,
: and a scatched bumper. (And eventually a new insurance paint-job).
: The guys seemed a bit bemused that I wasn't all that pissed off.
: It was just so hilarious to see these cowboys, from below,
: looking around in confusion.
you have a better sense of humour than me - i would have been screaming
at the top of my lungs in terror as well as honking.
more traffic irritation: the woman in front of me as i was driving to
john's to see south park last week (we don't have cable, so i heartlessly
use john for his) had a problem with turning right on red. she was
turning right, even had her blinker on (i gave her points for that - not
enough people use blinkers) but just sat there even though there was no
cross-traffic at all. once the light turned and we went, i got in the
other lane from her to avoid further irritation. it was not to be. we
both pulled up to another red - her in the right lane, me in the left -
and she turns right on red. that was bad enough, but then i noticed the
sign: no right on red.
Aimee E. Lortskell
Ken Tough (k...@objectech.co.uk) wrote:
: Jess <Je...@nospam.concentric.net> wrote:
: >Ummm, and please make it a speed appropriate for the lane you pick.
: >Driving in the left lane doing 55 in a 70 zone when the traffic around
: >you is doing 70+ is not OK. Forcing half the world to pass you on the
: >right because you don't like to change lanes and there might
: >conceivably be a slower vehicle somewhere ahead of you is not good
: >karma.
oh, if only i believed in karma. and then there was the truck that
pulled into my lane JUST as i was about to pass, forcing me to slam on
the brakes REALLY FUCKING HARD. my cat was travelling with me, and
happened to be taking a potty break. poor rudy flew right out of the
litter box and thwacked against the back of the passenger seat hard
enough to force the catch to let the seat go forward. there was no
reason for that bastard to get in my lane, anyway, because there was no
one else on the road for him to be passing, and he had to have seen me
coming.
: My favourite is the self-rightous (usually) old people who
: drive along the smaller roads here at exactly 43 miles an
: hour (60 normally) with a huge line of traffic behind them,
: then when they pass through a village (30 limit) they just
: continue chugging on through at their glacial 43 mph.
: They complain at all the people who get fed up and take
: extra risks to try and pass them, and don't realise that
: their extra speed in town is far more dangerous than 60mph
: on a trunk road.
i think if people want to drive that slowly, they should do so on their own
property. just drive up and down the driveway, mildred, the rest of us
have someplace to go.
Aimee the Magdalene
/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\
| I was hoping you wouldn't see them. I was trying to tidy up when |
| bing-bong the door went and I thought, "Shit! The dildos!" |
| - trent reznor |
| I've never had a strange woman reach out and grab me, |
| which just proves I hang out in the wrong places. |
| - angela reid |
\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/
Aimee E. Lortskell
ours is also red...except for the dented part, which has green paint
flecks from the damn minivan. it also has incredibly silly blue detailing.
[snip]
: > so what? he doesn't have the right to use it in that situation. i
: > refuse to shut up just because someone else is irrational. it's not my
: > responsibility to coddle psychos.
: well, if you don't mind getting your ass shot at, that's your decision.
it's not that i don't mind, it's that i figure if they want to shoot me
they will, regardless of what i do or don't do. some people are just
looking for someone to whup up on, and i don't think my behaviour makes
any difference in those situations.
[snip]
: you know, in one suburb they just passed some law that people can report
: the license plates of people who exhibit 'road rage', e.g. obscene
: gestures, honking unnecessarily (i believe they define it as
: necessary=honking to keep someone from plowing into you,
: unnecessary=honking to say 'fuck you, you just did something stupid.'),
: cutting someone off just to prove a point, etc. you call the cops and
: give the license number and the person gets a ticket.
now, if someone does something dangerous, i could understand that. but a
little hollering never hurt anybody, and to me is a big stress-reliever.
if i can shout a few obscenities, i feel better and can get on with my
driving. would it be better if i shut up and let it simmer until i
actually hurt someone? jeez.
Aimee the Magdalene
###################################################################
# sodomy and explosives, that's what the internet's all about. #
# - samuel johnston #
# if breastfeeding a pig is sickening to you, #
# what are you doing on usenet? - christopher stone #
###################################################################
Art Loeffler
ne.teleport.com> <3423cb97....@news.pacifier.com>
Distribution:
Michael the Polar Bear (micha...@home.in.the.arctic.com) wrote:
[snip]
: What _I_
: personally love are the drivers (this applies to all vehicle classes
: now) that sit in the left lane (which is illegal, however technical),
: even after being 'brighted' once or twice (usually they slow down when
: this happens. Hey, fuck courtesy, I'll show that other driver!).
Since we're all airing our traffic grievances, the thing I hate above
all others is when a driver responds to the jerk behind them by slowing
down... when the lane is FULL of traffic! That's it - not only does the
jerk behind you get to suffer, the dozen or so drivers behind *that*
person suffer as well. That's why I don't seriously fuck with other
drivers unless we've got a good bit of road to ourselves.
If we do get clear though, it's Art's Court of Road Justice. All
defendants will be found guilty. :-)
[snip]
: <sigh> What is the world coming to? I could go on for days
: about bad drivers. I have to deal with every day as a normal person,
: but had to deal with them every day all day as a UPS driver for a
: solid year. As such, I gained alot more respect for the truck
: drivers, other delivery people, etc. who are on the road all day long
: (unless they are assholes and then they face my wrath).
Large trucks (semis and whathaveyou) I treat with the utmost care, even
the ones that are rude to me. They're big and unwieldy, don't stop very
fast, and tend to build up a lot of kinetic energy[1] once they get
chugging. Fucking around with a semi seems like a great way to get people
killed, so I consider them "off limits".
[1] Or is it potential energy, and they deliver the KE if they hit
something? Oh yeah, Art knows his physics...
--
Art Loeffler (art...@freenet.columbus.oh.us)
Rich and Nadyne Mielke
micha...@home.in.the.arctic.com (Michael the Polar Bear) had this to
say:
[snip snip snip]
:(what _isn't_ superior to a minivan?
Actually, there's a whole list of vehicles that aren't superior to
minivans. The Geo Metro. The Ford Festiva. The [argh, can't
remember the make] Amigo. A Geo Tracker. A Dodge/Plymouth Neon. A
Mitsubishi Eclipse.
Now, I will say that my little moped that I had in HS {'cause I wasn't
old enough to drive until my senior year} was -far- superior to a
minivan. ;)
/nad
Aimee E. Lortskell
Rich and Nadyne Mielke (mie...@mindspring.com) wrote:
: micha...@home.in.the.arctic.com (Michael the Polar Bear) had this to
: say:
: :(what _isn't_ superior to a minivan?
: Actually, there's a whole list of vehicles that aren't superior to
: minivans. The Geo Metro.
don't be silly. if *i* had been driving the metro, the minivan would
have felt my wrath. i can transform any vehicle into a flaming minivan
avenger. hey, everybody needs a special power.
: The Ford Festiva. The [argh, can't
: remember the make] Amigo. A Geo Tracker. A Dodge/Plymouth Neon. A
: Mitsubishi Eclipse.
you forgot the adobe.
: Now, I will say that my little moped that I had in HS {'cause I wasn't
: old enough to drive until my senior year} was -far- superior to a
: minivan. ;)
homer simpson on a tricycle could kick a minivan's ass if he had the guts
for it. no, not the gut, the GUTS. sheesh. ;)
Aimee the Magdalene
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ damn the fish, full speed ahead ~
~ - larry hufstedler ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aimee E. Lortskell
: What _I_
: personally love are the drivers (this applies to all vehicle classes
: now) that sit in the left lane (which is illegal, however technical),
: even after being 'brighted' once or twice (usually they slow down when
: this happens. Hey, fuck courtesy, I'll show that other driver!).
i suspect that in some cases the drivers are confusing the brighting with
flashing, and think you're signalling them to slow down to 10 mph UNDER
the limit because of a cop. now, why people need to suck up to a cop on
the road by slowing down that much is beyond me. i'll slow down to 5 mph
ABOVE, and no lower. unless i have one of these morons blocking me, of
course. the difficult part for me is that my headlights are the popup
kind, so in order to bright people i have to first turn the lights on.
this serves to confuse these kinds of drivers even more.
: Then when you go to pass, they speed up. Hey, just great, not only
: are they a hazard once, they have to try and box you in with whatever
: vehicle is in front of you. Trust me, minivan boy, you are _not_ Enzo
: Ferrari. Please leave the driving to the ones the cops call Mario.
: :)
[snip]
this has usually only happened to me on the interstate, and i have no
problem flooring it and zooming by at 120 or so. driving on a city
highway is different, because people tend to let me pass without a
fight. however, there are generally so many people on the road that all
the lanes are clogged with slow bastards, making it impossibly to pass
anyway. but every once in a while *every single* slow driver is stupid,
and this leaves the right lane open for me to fly down at my chosen
speed. ;)
Aimee the Magdalene
*-Toriphile-BAAWA!-NINnie-*
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
* stuff IS the issue. *
* foreplay, boys! *
* - Tori Amos *
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Aimee E. Lortskell
Art Loeffler (art...@freenet.columbus.oh.us) wrote:
: Since we're all airing our traffic grievances, the thing I hate above
: all others is when a driver responds to the jerk behind them by slowing
: down... when the lane is FULL of traffic!
don't you also hate it when you're in the lead car of an rmta caravan and
the chick behind you is easily bored and starts bumping you when
construction brings traffic to a crawl? sure, SHE thinks it's pretty
amusing. ;)
Debraski
>this has usually only happened to me on the interstate, and i have no
>problem flooring it and zooming by at 120 or so. driving on a city
>highway is different, because people tend to let me pass without a
>fight. however, there are generally so many people on the road that all
>the lanes are clogged with slow bastards, making it impossibly to pass
>anyway. but every once in a while *every single* slow driver is stupid,
>and this leaves the right lane open for me to fly down at my chosen
>speed. ;)
>>Aimee the Magdalene
YES yes yes! That's awesome when the whole right lane is open for like 10
miles, and then of course you wind up behind a really slow double trailer,
but then you can cut off a minivan and zoom on.
Hey, how come when people cut you off they always wind up going slower
thanyou were going in the first place? If they're in so much of a hurry to
cut me off, then why don't the hurry the fuck up after they do it????
Feeling better,
Paul
Aimee E. Lortskell
i like texas drivers more when they're in texas. i've seen 'em drive
down there, and it's preferable to how they do here - the interstate
always has people with texas and arkansas plates driving down the left
lane going 60 in a 70. personally, i think people from texas and
arkansas should be banned from missouri's highways.
Jess
On 24 Sep 97 04:15:42 GMT, ai...@isc.umr.edu (Aimee E. Lortskell)
wrote:
snip
>don't you also hate it when you're in the lead car of an rmta caravan and
>the chick behind you is easily bored and starts bumping you when
>construction brings traffic to a crawl? sure, SHE thinks it's pretty
>amusing. ;)
Hey, I didn't hear this story. So...
Art Loeffler
Aimee E. Lortskell (ai...@isc.umr.edu) wrote:
[snip]
: don't you also hate it when you're in the lead car of an rmta caravan and
: the chick behind you is easily bored and starts bumping you when
: construction brings traffic to a crawl? sure, SHE thinks it's pretty
: amusing. ;)
Nah, I think it's pretty amusing too. The fellow actually driving the
car may not appreciate it so much... what say you, Dave? ;-)
(and when the driver starts swerving back and between the orange
construction cones, that's kinda fun, too.)
--
Art, who's glad his car was in the shop that day.
Aimee E. Lortskell
STL drivers seem to do ok by red lights. it's green ones that are
confusing. always the first person in line to go looks at it in
ignorant bliss, wondering what it might portend. golly, the pretty red
light went off, and a pretty green one came on. hmmmm... this can be a
big problem in intersections with very short left arrows. the person in
front sits there so long musing that only 2 or 3 cars get through, while
the left turn lane is backed up for a quarter mile. once the first
person goes, you just have to try to race as many people through the
yellow as possible.
stop signs are also a problem, and a much larger one. people just don't
seem to understand the concept of a 4 way stop. they either sit there
waiting for the sign to say go, or they don't stop at all and cut off the
person whose turn it was. since STL has the highest number of stop signs
per square mile, this becomes a major traffic headache. i've gotten to
the point where i will stop, but not wait for the other idiots at the
intersection to go. if they don't take their turn when it's their turn,
i'll take it for them. dammit, i'm on the road because i have someplace
to go!
you know, /nad, we could use your traffic engineer up here. i would
proclaim him king of traffic, and he could get rid of all the extra stop
signs (apparently every time someone here asks for one they get it) and
extend 170 down to 55 despite the whinings of people in affton.
Rich and Nadyne Mielke
ai...@isc.umr.edu (Aimee E. Lortskell) had this to say:
[snip]
:you know, /nad, we could use your traffic engineer up here. i would
:proclaim him king of traffic, and he could get rid of all the extra stop
:signs (apparently every time someone here asks for one they get it) and
:extend 170 down to 55 despite the whinings of people in affton.
As a point of reference . . .
1) According to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices {MUTCD},
stop signs cannot be used to control speeding.
2) With the right kind of crescent wrench, stop signs are -very- easy
to take off.
/nad
{y'know, it's frightening how much I know about traffic stuff}
David B. Goldberger
In article <60c15c$b...@login.freenet.columbus.oh.us>,
citation is still here, a little more rusty, a little lighter, the holes
in the doors are a little bigger, but the damn thing refuses to die a
decent death. :) I might have to take it with me to residency!
(I do have a nice shiny new car, but I miss my chevy citation sometimes.
It's great to have a piece-of-shit car that you don't need to worry about)
And I didn't really mind it when she was bumping my tail. I was a bit
flabbergasted, that's all. :)
Dave (who now has a bright warm glow and wants to hig Art and Aimee)
Mike Zeares
Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
>
> Mike Zeares (mzea...@airmail.net) wrote:
> [snip]
> : We've got a serious problem in Dallas with people running red lights.
>
> STL drivers seem to do ok by red lights. it's green ones that are
> confusing. always the first person in line to go looks at it in
> ignorant bliss, wondering what it might portend. golly, the pretty red
> light went off, and a pretty green one came on. hmmmm... this can be a
> big problem in intersections with very short left arrows. the person in
> front sits there so long musing that only 2 or 3 cars get through, while
> the left turn lane is backed up for a quarter mile. once the first
> person goes, you just have to try to race as many people through the
> yellow as possible.
We have the same problem here. In Dallas we have the added confusion of
RIGHT turn arrows. These really throw people. There's only a few of
them, so a lot of people prolly have never seen one.
[snip stop signs]
Call me anal, but I have a real pet peeve about people who have the
right of way and don't take it. Throws the whole system off.
Surprisingly, when one of our traffic lights goes 4-way blinky, people
seem to handle it ok. They just can't handle stop signs.
Mike Zeares
Rich and Nadyne Mielke
Damian <Dami...@concentric.net> had this to say:
:Rich and Nadyne Mielke wrote:
:[snip]
:> 2) With the right kind of crescent wrench, stop signs are -very- easy
:> to take off.
: *laugh* That's just hilarious. =) But I'm sure there's some
:pesky law about doing -that- too....
Yes. IIRC, some kids in GA were sentenced to prison time for removing
a stop sign at a busy intersection. Later that night, 3 people were
killed 'cause they got broadsided by a semi.
In addition, stop signs are the property of the jurisdiction that put
'em up. And cops are rarely nice enough to let you off.
/nad
{who has absolutely no experience in stealing traffic signs, honest}
Mike Zeares
Aimee E. Lortskell wrote:
>
> this has usually only happened to me on the interstate, and i have no
> problem flooring it and zooming by at 120 or so. driving on a city
> highway is different, because people tend to let me pass without a
> fight. however, there are generally so many people on the road that all
> the lanes are clogged with slow bastards, making it impossibly to pass
> anyway. but every once in a while *every single* slow driver is stupid,
> and this leaves the right lane open for me to fly down at my chosen
> speed. ;)
>
freeway at 45 mph when the speed limit is 65. This happens EVERY SINGLE
TIME I TRY TO GET ON THE FREEWAY, GODDAMMIT!
Mike Zeares
Damian
Rich and Nadyne Mielke wrote:
[snip]
> 2) With the right kind of crescent wrench, stop signs are -very- easy
> to take off.
*laugh* That's just hilarious. =) But I'm sure there's some
pesky law about doing -that- too....
Brother Damian will supply.
Jess
>ai...@isc.umr.edu (Aimee E. Lortskell) had this to say:
>
>[snip]
>
>:you know, /nad, we could use your traffic engineer up here. i would
>:proclaim him king of traffic, and he could get rid of all the extra stop
>:signs (apparently every time someone here asks for one they get it) and
>:extend 170 down to 55 despite the whinings of people in affton.
>
>As a point of reference . . .
>
>1) According to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices {MUTCD},
>stop signs cannot be used to control speeding.
>
>2) With the right kind of crescent wrench, stop signs are -very- easy
>to take off.
RE: 1) True, but they seem to be the answer for some localities. I
remember a big arguement in Lockport, NY when I lived there. It seems
that a neighborhood wanted the city to install 4 way stop signs to
control speeding (and cut-throughs Hi Rich :-) The city fathers
finally gave in to the pressure and let the State say hell, no.
RE: 2) Not that anyone is advocating doing that in light of the
recent murder proscecution for stop sign removal.
Rich and Nadyne Mielke
Je...@nospam.concentric.net (Jess) had this to say:
[stop signs as traffic calming measures]
:RE: 1) True, but they seem to be the answer for some localities. I
:remember a big arguement in Lockport, NY when I lived there. It seems
:that a neighborhood wanted the city to install 4 way stop signs to
:control speeding (and cut-throughs Hi Rich :-) The city fathers
:finally gave in to the pressure and let the State say hell, no.
The city fathers are morons, then. :P Stop signs aren't effective for
slowing folks down. The fastest 5% of folks can get back up to 25mph
or more in 100ft. The average is 250ft. That ain't a whole hell of a
lot, only for the first two or three houses. {And I am -not- going to
live on a street with a stop sign in front of every other house!}
Secondly, putting up stop signs in unexpected places can cause
accidents. You're not looking for it, there's no bloody reason for
it, and you crash into someone else. Ooops. In fact, converting a
normal stop situation to a multi-way stop situation either keeps the
accident level the same or actually raises it
Plus there are the twin factors of air and noise pollution. A car
that has to stop and accelerate again will emit far more pollution
than a car going at a constant speed. Noise pollution is produced by
the car deceleterating and accelerating {and the little boys with
their little penises in their sports cars who just -have- to squeal
out of there}.
There are several subdivisions in the county that Rich works that
actually do have stop signs at every other corner {due to political
pressure by the morons}. These people have now realised that the stop
signs don't control the speed and are rather vehement about getting
measures that -do- work {speed humps [1]} ASAP.
:RE: 2) Not that anyone is advocating doing that in light of the
:recent murder proscecution for stop sign removal.
Eh?
/nad
[1] Speed humps are -not- the same as speed bumps. Speed bumps are
those bloody annoying things you find in parking lots, and any moron
with a cement truck can put one down {and often does so incorrectly --
how many times have you bottomed out when going over one at less than
10mph?}. Speed humps, on the other hand, have two six-foot slopes up
and a 10 foot section in the middle. They're only four inches tall.
{Well, there are variations on speed humps, but those are the specs
that are the most prevalent.} It may not -sound- like they work, but
they do. According to my test-drives, you can take 'em at 20mph
comfortably. 25mph jolts you. You bottom out -hard- at 30mph, and I
care about my car way too much to try anything higher than that.
Dani Dorresteyn
In article <34215...@cheech.primary.net>,>: >> actually, it was our new geo metro that the minivan hit. the horn is
>: >> actually decently loud, but jason thinks it's rude to use it even if
>: >> if i don't let drivers know they're stupid, who will?
>: I'm with your mother and Jason: I hate the horn. I hate people who
>: use the horn (present company excepted). I especially hate people who
>: use the horn for the wrong (as if there are right) reasons.
>[snip]
>
>my feeling is that horns are there for a reason, and there are right
>reasons to use it. your horn has to work to pass inspection for a
>reason. if someone's doing something unsafe near my vehicle, they're
>going to hear from me because that's what my horn is for. i'd feel a
>lot better if jason would honk when it's necessary - especially if he
>drives the MG a lot of people just don't see him, and a honk might make
>them notice. if he gets hit in that car, he's dead. if i'm in it with
>him, *i* reach over and honk for him, as much as he hates that. in your
>miata, you ought to think of it the same way.
>
>however, john and i discussed this last night, and we decided it's ok to
>honk if you first say, "it's coming right for us!"
<grin> I ride a motorcycle. Sometimes I don't have time to say, "It's coming
right for us!" and the after-market air horns on my motorcycle have saved my
butt more than once. I agree that beeping at just anything is kinda useless--
I save my horns for that fool that decides I'm not really there and tries to
occupy the same space I'm already occupying! Around here, that seems to
happen a lot-- I call it Stupid Driver Syndrome. When I'm in my car, I hardly
ever use the horn. I just do my best NOT to fall into the Stupid Driver
Syndrome when I'm in my car!!
--Dani
MSJ311
Does anyone listen to the Tom Leykus show? He made a statement that any
man who buys a minivan should just cut off his balls because he won't be
needing them anymore!
Debraski
>Something that really bugs me is when people try to merge onto the
>freeway at 45 mph when the speed limit is 65. This happens EVERY >SINGLE
>TIME I TRY TO GET ON THE FREEWAY, GODDAMMIT!
Oh that's you? I'm really sorry about that! I'll speed up a bit next
time. Promise!
Paul
Chuck
On 19 Sep 1997 09:24:02 -0400, gt7...@prism.gatech.edu (Gregory
Lawrence Smith) wrote:
>In article <3423e218...@news.mindspring.com>,
>Rich and Nadyne Mielke <mie...@mindspring.com> wrote:
snip
>
>Yup, you're not even safe in a crosswalk. Apparently, you're only safe in
>a Ford Explorer...
hmm....just ask Mr. Jones?
>>:"Hold your convention here. Thin the herd."
when you say thin the herd, does that mean we'd have to kill 'em or
put em on diets?
snip
sorry, couldnt help myself, trying to stop being a lurker....
Thanks,
Chuck Ball
"People on the internet are like archaeologists,
constantly digging for information" ---Tori Amos
Jess
>Je...@nospam.concentric.net (Jess) had this to say:
>
>[stop signs as traffic calming measures]
>
>:RE: 1) True, but they seem to be the answer for some localities. I
>:remember a big arguement in Lockport, NY when I lived there. It seems
>:that a neighborhood wanted the city to install 4 way stop signs to
>:control speeding (and cut-throughs Hi Rich :-) The city fathers
>:finally gave in to the pressure and let the State say hell, no.
>
>The city fathers are morons, then. :P
I'm not sure that is news.
>There are several subdivisions in the county that Rich works that
>actually do have stop signs at every other corner {due to political
>pressure by the morons}. These people have now realised that the stop
>signs don't control the speed and are rather vehement about getting
>measures that -do- work {speed humps [1]} ASAP.
>
Seems the moron disease is spreading among the population :-)
>:RE: 2) Not that anyone is advocating doing that in light of the
>:recent murder proscecution for stop sign removal.
>
>Eh?
There was a recent proscecution of some teen-agers for removing stop
signs from an intersection. A car later went through the
intersection, didn't stop as there was no stop sign, and had a fatal
accident with cross traffic. They tried the stop sign removers for
murder (2nd degree I think) for their act. That's why I threw in the
disclaimer so that when the legion of /nad fans go and do what you
suggest, you have something for Johnnie Cockran to work with :-)
>[1] Speed humps are -not- the same as speed bumps. Speed bumps are
>those bloody annoying things you find in parking lots, and any moron
>with a cement truck can put one down {and often does so incorrectly --
>how many times have you bottomed out when going over one at less than
>10mph?}. Speed humps, on the other hand, have two six-foot slopes up
>and a 10 foot section in the middle. They're only four inches tall.
>{Well, there are variations on speed humps, but those are the specs
>that are the most prevalent.} It may not -sound- like they work, but
>they do. According to my test-drives, you can take 'em at 20mph
>comfortably. 25mph jolts you. You bottom out -hard- at 30mph, and I
>care about my car way too much to try anything higher than that.
If you go fast enough, you should become airborne and avoid bottoming
out. Sounds like a good Con activity-wonder what the required speed
is for various rental cars. (No, Hertz, I wouldn't do it, not me,
honest)
Jess
On Thu, 25 Sep 1997 16:23:55 -0500, Mike Zeares <mzea...@airmail.net>
wrote:
snip
>
>Call me anal, but I have a real pet peeve about people who have the
>right of way and don't take it. Throws the whole system off.
>Surprisingly, when one of our traffic lights goes 4-way blinky, people
>seem to handle it ok. They just can't handle stop signs.
>
I once had an aquaintance tell me as we sat at a light waiting to make
a right turn, the law says right turn permitted on red, not required.
And you'd be proud of me, he's still alive.
fastrada
Rich and Nadyne Mielke wrote:
>
> say:
>
> [snip snip snip]
>
> :(what _isn't_ superior to a minivan?
>
> Actually, there's a whole list of vehicles that aren't superior to
> minivans. The Geo Metro.
hey, man, don't you go saying my little cute geo metro isn't superior to
a minivan! sure, it's a little teeny tiny death machine that willbe the
loser in most traffic altercations with other vehicles. sure, it's
pick-up sucks. but i can wedge it into parking spaces that wouldn't hold
one-third of a minivan. comes in quite handy in the city. :)
oh yeah, and it gets close to 40 miles to the gallon. so there,
gas-eating minivans. :P someone parked one in my apartment complex that
still had the dealer window sticker on it, and it said it only got 19
miles to the gallon. heh heh heh.
fastrada
Aimee E. Lortskell
AAAARGH! dani, you emailed this as well as posted, without indicating
that. can you imagine the clutter in my mail (and ridiculous time
responding to it as mail, then trying to recapture my response again in
the ng) if this happened every time someone responded to my posts?
BAD. <thwak>
Dani Dorresteyn (da...@livenet.net) wrote:
: ai...@isc.umr.edu (Aimee E. Lortskell) wrote:
: >my feeling is that horns are there for a reason, and there are right
: >reasons to use it. your horn has to work to pass inspection for a
: >reason. if someone's doing something unsafe near my vehicle, they're
: >going to hear from me because that's what my horn is for.
[snip]
: <grin> I ride a motorcycle. Sometimes I don't have time to say, "It's coming
: right for us!" and the after-market air horns on my motorcycle have saved my
: butt more than once. I agree that beeping at just anything is kinda useless--
: I save my horns for that fool that decides I'm not really there and tries to
: occupy the same space I'm already occupying! Around here, that seems to
: happen a lot-- I call it Stupid Driver Syndrome. When I'm in my car, I hardly
: ever use the horn. I just do my best NOT to fall into the Stupid Driver
: Syndrome when I'm in my car!!
this is one of the biggest problems for motorcycles. people just don't
look closely enough for something that small. people like to claim that
motorcycles are dangerous, but a lot of the danger comes from the
aforementioned Stupid Drivers.
Aimee the Magdalene
*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*
\ i've been careless with a delicate man /
/ - fiona apple \
\ killing your professor with sex is a bad thing /
/ - doug gentges \
\ nobody likes a know-it-all who sits around /
/ talking about their genitalia - hank hill \
*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*\/*
Jess
On Fri, 26 Sep 97 01:25:10 GMT, da...@livenet.net (Dani Dorresteyn)
wrote:
snip
><grin> I ride a motorcycle. Sometimes I don't have time to say, "It's coming
>right for us!" and the after-market air horns on my motorcycle have saved my
>butt more than once. I agree that beeping at just anything is kinda useless--
>I save my horns for that fool that decides I'm not really there and tries to
>occupy the same space I'm already occupying! Around here, that seems to
>happen a lot-- I call it Stupid Driver Syndrome. When I'm in my car, I hardly
>ever use the horn. I just do my best NOT to fall into the Stupid Driver
>Syndrome when I'm in my car!!
Greeting fellow biker. And then the car person says, "But officer, I
didn't see the motorcycle." Yes it's the painful voice of experience
speaking. Air horns on a bike are a good thing. Ride in pleasure.
Aimee E. Lortskell
: They don't have the collective brain power to comprehend it. I read
: somewhere that the reason Congress is full of idiots is that we send our
: idiots there to get them out of our states. Here in Texas, I guess they
: like to keep them for the entertainment value.
i'd speculate that the reason congress is full of idiots is purely
statistical. most people in their home states are just as dumb.
Aimee the Magdalene
--------------------------------------------------------------
| whores are great...we like whores |
| - Tori Amos |
| whore code 2.0: |
| Wh P4Lb1 LJShO(Br+)w+b66/74 B4E>NZ- a25-sF4+P6 |
| K8cpk5BdsAbeGhImOprTWxX QbCdEKLMRv76soCLSsG X6#9w6T!r7Is |
| E++p7f8v7#g6s9C D6msx6|c*|!#a Hho+>O+p4usMO3>7 |
--------------------------------------------------------------