Riding in the back

Screaming_Emu said:
I know that book says that and I'm sure it was based on a study, but I think it's BS.

When I lived in little rock there was two lanes on one highway that exited left, merged into one lane, then merged I to another highway. It never worked well because everyone who merged when they were supposed to were held up by the a-holes merging at the last minute. Depending on my desire to be shot at that day, I would sometimes pull out into the left lane, but keep pace with my normal spot. Traffic would clear up almost immediately. Every time. The cars ahead of me would no longer have to slow down for people forcing themselves into traffic. Traffic behind me may be 4-5 cars longer, but doing close to the speed limit.

Maybe if everyone stayed in their lane and took turns merging it might be faster (or less slow) but when it's just a few butt plugs doing it, it has been my experience that it slows everything down.
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I agree that the available space theory does not work in real life because of the lack of common driving ability/style on the road. There so many things going on, the average person can't keep up. Most people are already distracted by something and now they have to dig into their mind somewhere and first find the knowledge that is supposed to be there and then decide if what they are seeing is to their liking and then decide how they will react. I've found that a vast majority of people will protect número uno first and THEN try to be a Good Samaritan. All this put together takes WAY TOO LONG to play out. Merge when there's room and use your turn signal to announce what your plan is, not to ask me to slow everyone behind me to let you in. That's how I see it.
 
Boris Badenov said:
That's because you graduated from high school, presumably. Note: I did not say "graduated high school", because that would require that I be killed, too. And I want to live.
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Use of "utilize" instead of "use" is so unbelievably common in higher education. Other offense word choices include "facilitate" (you mean "lead" or "manage"). I would go on but I already have the desire to stab myself, and that's not a happy place.
 
I am looking forward to being "that guy" with the shiny new biz class deadheads. I'll have to get a bluetooth earpiece just for that, along with learning to properly crowd the gate area. If I see one of the pilots, I'll be sure to point at my watch while continuing my loud conversation about nonsense.

It'll be grand.
 
I have a bad feeling this is going to end up on FlyerTalk! Ha!
 
Autothrust Blue said:
Use of "utilize" instead of "use" is so unbelievably common in higher education. Other offense word choices include "facilitate" (you mean "lead" or "manage"). I would go on but I already have the desire to stab myself, and that's not a happy place.
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Well, I think part of the reason this pseudo-vocabulary has gained favor is that it isn't what one would call "overly specific". That is to say that it's a lot easier to say "facilitate" than "lead" or "manage" precisely because it leaves the question of responsability in a bit of a, what, "hazy place" or "grey area"? That's the really pernicious thing about the rape of the English language...not that the words are just wrong, but that they're deliberately and sneakily wrong, and intended to prevent the communication of information, rather than to, uh, facilitate it.
 
Boris Badenov said:
Well, I think part of the reason this pseudo-vocabulary has gained favor is that it isn't what one would call "overly specific". That is to say that it's a lot easier to say "facilitate" than "lead" or "manage" precisely because it leaves the question of responsability in a bit of a, what, "hazy place" or "grey area"? That's the really pernicious thing about the rape of the English language...not that the words are just wrong, but that they're deliberately and sneakily wrong, and intended to prevent the communication of information, rather than to, uh, facilitate it.
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Now I want to kill you.....
 
So turning left on yellow is a problem? I thought that's just how you get through a light when there are 5 billion people coming the opposite way?

Seriously, I don't see the problem with waiting in the middle until the light changes. Otherwise, how do you turn left if there's no arrow in heavy traffic?
 
BobDDuck said:
I used to hate this one too but then read a book about traffic design and ideology (it was about as exciting as it sounds) and discovered that late mergers (it's a technical term) actually help out everybody by using more of the available road surface and cutting down on slowdowns and delays.
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Good to know! Now I can say I have a license (reads Richard Cranium at the top...) to do this!
 
Civil Society doesn't function unless the constiuent parts (that's us) understand and accept that its proper function is dependant upon our having our own sense of civic virtue. If the light is yellow and it's clear that you're going to be blocking traffic, don't pull out in to the intersection. Find another way to go. And vote your conscience when it comes time to elect a mayor who might, say, have some influence over how the lights are timed. That's the thing: This many people on a relatively small planet doesn't work if everyone thinks only and always of themselves. What stuns me is that we're regressing in to barbarism at a time when there are more of us chewing up ever more scarce resources at an alarming rate. I mean, the same thing happened to the Romans, but at least when they went Native, they just lost an Empire. We're at a point where our inherent selfishness and shortsighted stupidity could (and probably will) cause a Holocaust, without even any comic book villains to blame.

Simply stated: There are WAY too many of us for the terrestrial system to support. This can be a self-regulating function (eg. Wars, murder, pain, sorrow, etc), or we can use the big domepieces that Evolution has gifted us with and find a way to maintain a sustainable population. The Universe doesn't care at all which route we choose. It's up to us...

This isn't some weird abstraction, it's common sense. How many people do you think this rock can sustain? Ten Billion? A hundred? A thousand? There is a limit, and we're not even talking about it, AFAICS. And why do you imagine that might be?
 
Boris Badenov said:
Civil Society doesn't function unless the constiuent parts (that's us) understand and accept that its proper function is dependant upon our having our own sense of civic virtue. If the light is yellow and it's clear that you're going to be blocking traffic, don't pull out in to the intersection. Find another way to go. And vote your conscience when it comes time to elect a mayor who might, say, have some influence over how the lights are timed. That's the thing: This many people on a relatively small planet doesn't work if everyone thinks only and always of themselves. What stuns me is that we're regressing in to barbarism at a time when there are more of us chewing up ever more scarce resources at an alarming rate. I mean, the same thing happened to the Romans, but at least when they went Native, they just lost an Empire. We're at a point where our inherent selfishness and shortsighted stupidity could (and probably will) cause a Holocaust, without even any comic book villains to blame.

Simply stated: There are WAY too many of us for the terrestrial system to support. This can be a self-regulating function (eg. Wars, murder, pain, sorrow, etc), or we can use the big domepieces that Evolution has gifted us with and find a way to maintain a sustainable population. The Universe doesn't care at all which route we choose. It's up to us...

This isn't some weird abstraction, it's common sense. How many people do you think this rock can sustain? Ten Billion? A hundred? A thousand? There is a limit, and we're not even talking about it, AFAICS. And why do you imagine that might be?
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I think we are already past the limit. AGW is one of the first things to clue us in. Because my wife is a nurse, I hobnob with doctors. The last conversation was enlightening, if not a little disheartening. Not a matter of if, but when some kick ass bug is going to kick our collective ass and re-set the game. Wanna wipe the smile from your face, just google CRE bacteria and start reading. MRSA used to be the scary one, CRE makes that one look like a walk in the park.
 
You'd HOPE it's a super bug that culls the herd, because as Boris points out, if we do it ourselves, there won't be much else left. A super bug would be a comparative neutron bomb of death and destruction, where it would at least leave a planet to live on for the ones that survive.
 
jtrain609 said:
You'd HOPE it's a super bug that culls the herd, because as Boris points out, if we do it ourselves, there won't be much else left. A super bug would be a comparative neutron bomb of death and destruction, where it would at least leave a planet to live on for the ones that survive.
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Bring it. I had the chicken pox for 3 days, and I average 2 days with the flu. I have an immune system created on Mt Olympus. :)
 
PhilosopherPilot said:
So turning left on yellow is a problem? I thought that's just how you get through a light when there are 5 billion people coming the opposite way?

Seriously, I don't see the problem with waiting in the middle until the light changes. Otherwise, how do you turn left if there's no arrow in heavy traffic?
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That is exactly how you get through a light when there's no turn arrow and 5 million cars coming the other way and/or waiting behind you. Nothing more frustrating then sitting as the number two guy witing to turn when the first guy doesn't pull up. I think dragging out of the car and beating of first driver is an appropriate aid, if necessary.
 
Rocketman99 said:
That is exactly how you get through a light when there's no turn arrow and 5 million cars coming the other way and/or waiting behind you. Nothing more frustrating then sitting as the number two guy witing to turn when the first guy doesn't pull up. I think dragging out of the car and beating of first driver is an appropriate aid, if necessary.
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Growing up in Boston myself, the only thing I will give New Yorkers is that they also know how to drive. Gasp, with many other cars on the same road! The rest of the country - not so much.

BTW Ed, I think you need a Turbo Vanagon. Screw the bimmer.
 
Derg said:
"Hey Drunkenbeagle, its 1635 my time, maybe 1935 office time for You. You need to reach out and touch base with your deliverables. We're looking at, wait hold on, they're boarding precious metals now, I think we have some clampetts sitting up in the shiny section, anyway, it's now 1637, 1937 office time and if you look at those projections, yeah, hey Douglas when are we boarding, crap sorry about that some pilot just told me to screw myself but those numbers we looking well north of our deliverables exposure, could you go ahead and have your people talk to my FOR THE LOVE OF GOD THIS IS NOT THE CARAMEL MACCHIATTO I ordered!!! Yes, that's a Tumi, I'm a road warrior, it means I'm elite! Sorry about tha drunkenbeagle, about those numbers..."

This is the ETrade baby target, folks.
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You forgot to remind him to get his TPS reports submitted.
 
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