Random thoughts that are pointless and too dumb to say anywhere else thread: 2012

[Funketown]

You guys crack me up.

 

I see what you did here...

[Glennron]

The county put one of those digital radar speed signs about a quarter mile from my house. The speed limit is 55. I passed it at 43, which is about right for that spot.

 

Those things have always seemed very low to me. I passed one on 94 West somewhere around the College Ave. exit, and it said I was going 49, but my speedometer said 59.

 

I know my speedometer might be a little off cause my GPS always has me going a couple MPH slower, but that's still a 7-8 MPH difference from what the digital radar speed sign says.

[Patrick425]

The county put one of those digital radar speed signs about a quarter mile from my house. The speed limit is 55. I passed it at 43, which is about right for that spot.

 

Those things have always seemed very low to me. I passed one on 94 West somewhere around the College Ave. exit, and it said I was going 49, but my speedometer said 59.

 

I know my speedometer might be a little off cause my GPS always has me going a couple MPH slower, but that's still a 7-8 MPH difference from what the digital radar speed sign says.

 

I'll never understand why people slow down by those things. Don't they have speedometers in their cars? Or, do they think there is a cop standing right behind the radar sign that is going to run them down?

[fondybrewfan]

There once was a man named Michael Finnegan....... is stuck in my head

 

There are certain draw backs about having a 2 year old

[Baldkin]

It could be worse....

 

Hey I just met you... and this is crazy...

[1992casey]

In most of these situations, drivers probably slow down because they didn't realize how fast they were going.

 

Actually, people slow down in this particular spot because it's at the top of a dangerous hill. The posted speed limit is irrelevant because drivers should be going quite a bit slower due to simple common sense. That makes me wonder why the county put the thing there to begin with.

 

People definitely go over that hill at 60 MPH or more, but if the idea is to remind people to follow the 55 MPH speed limit, the gadget should go in a spot where 55 is the desirable speed. Had the county put up yellow signs suggesting that drivers approach the hill at a much lower speed, then placing the thing there would have made more sense.

[1992casey]

Oops… I forgot to comment on Glennron's post. My car's speedometer matches up very well to those digital radar thingers. My dad's car was consistently off by 2 MPH (in his favor as far as avoiding tickets). I convinced him to get it checked because you don't want to purposely exceed the speed limit due to the discrepancy and because you don't want to unnecessarily annoy the drivers behind you by going a couple of MPH slower than you have to.

[Patrick425]

Oops… I forgot to comment on Glennron's post. My car's speedometer matches up very well to those digital radar thingers. My dad's car was consistently off by 2 MPH (in his favor as far as avoiding tickets). I convinced him to get it checked because you don't want to purposely exceed the speed limit due to the discrepancy and because you don't want to unnecessarily annoy the drivers behind you by going a couple of MPH slower than you have to.

 

Wow Casey...really? 2mph? I have a feeling you would not be a big fan of the way I drive.

[1992casey]

If you assume the mythical 5 MPH cushion that drivers are supposedly allowed for exceeding the speed limit, 2 MPH eats up 40% of it. I'm not going to tack on 2 MPH because I think the speedometer might be wrong.

 

I have a natural lead foot, and purposely speeding lessens any safety valve I might have. If I purposely exceed the speed limit by 5 MPH, I could very easily turn that into 10 MPH. 10 MPH falls easily into ticket territory.

[Glennron]

Speaking of those digital radars, has anyone seen the ones that will flash the red and blue lights instead of posting a speed? The strange thing is sometimes I'll see two cars who appear to be going the same speed, and it'll quickly go from something like 51 (it's 50 MPH) to the flashing lights, when it seems unlikely one care is going more than a couple MPH faster than the other. Are they saying you'd get pulled over for going 4-5 over the limit?

[1992casey]

In Rosendale, drivers get tickets for going 2 MPH over.

[fondybrewfan]

In Rosendale people get tickets for going .2 MPH over; or if they so much as look at a cop car funny.

[1992casey]

If I ever have the occasion to drive through Rosendale, methinks I'd attempt to go 5 MPH under. Of course, if I do that, I'd probably risk a ticket for obstructing traffic. It's tough to know what to do in a town where merchants sell t-shirts saying "Rosendale—Just The Ticket."

[fondybrewfan]

Rosendale has to generate more tickets per capita than just about any place in the country. I grew up in the area and it is rather ridiculous. The locals are smart enough to stay at or below the speed limit; but there are always people passing through that don't know any better.

[milwaukeesportsfan]

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/san-diego-fireworks-fail-big-bay-boom-bust-143439365.html

 

Did anybody else see this? San Diego launched all their fireworks off at the same time. What was supposed to be a 20 minute show was over in 15 seconds.

[Nottso]

Some people find it a little odd that I talk to my motorcycle. I find it utterly preposterous that they don't talk to theirs.

[Nottso]

Having seen the movie "Dolphin Tale", I've decided that I would very much like to have a Pelican.

 

http://www.tampabay.com/multimedia/archive/00226/pin_nayrufus061712_226889c.jpg

[pretendastronaut]

I'll never understand why people slow down by those things. Don't they have speedometers in their cars? Or, do they think there is a cop standing right behind the radar sign that is going to run them down?

 

This is an interesting article about the mental feedback loops that drive these things;

 

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/06/ff_feedbackloop/

[1992casey]

Great article, pretendastronaut. Quoth the article:

 

The true power of feedback loops is not to control people but to give them control. It’s like the difference between a speed trap and a speed feedback sign—one is a game of gotcha, the other is a gentle reminder of the rules of the road. The ideal feedback loop gives us an emotional connection to a rational goal.

I suppose the idea is that people don't generally intend to speed on purpose, and if they see they're doing it, they're happy to correct their behavior.

 

I'm glad the county is using the speed feedback sign on my road; too many people drive entirely too fast. However, the implementation could be better. People are being reminded to go 55 in a spot when the safe speed is quite a bit below that. There should be yellow 40 MPH "suggestion" signs as drivers approach the hill, with the same yellow 40 MPH sign attached to the feedback sign.

 

In other spots on the road, 55 is more or less fine. 45 would be better on the two mile stretch where my house is. My neighbor and I discussed asking the county to consider a lower speed limit, but we concluded that the people living on this stretch would be the ones getting tickets.

[milwaukeesportsfan]

One of my favorite episodes of the office is when they put up a speed reminder sign in front of the office, and all the employees had time trials to see who could run the fastest. Great scene.

[stoops17]

Speaking of those digital radars, has anyone seen the ones that will flash the red and blue lights instead of posting a speed? The strange thing is sometimes I'll see two cars who appear to be going the same speed, and it'll quickly go from something like 51 (it's 50 MPH) to the flashing lights, when it seems unlikely one care is going more than a couple MPH faster than the other. Are they saying you'd get pulled over for going 4-5 over the limit?

 

those make me sad, then I can't see my high score, I mean verify my motorbike's speedometer, the one in the Mitchell interchange is like that

[Thurston Fluff]

Is it legal to hate summer?

[homer]

This song makes me want to go to the restaurant and have a burrito:

 

http://star-ole.com/4401.html

[trwi7]

Is it legal to hate summer?

 

Absolutely. Worst season ever.

[bullox]

I've been watching too many space documentaries.

 

What if our perceived big bang was the internal explosion of a supernova resulting in a black hole? Meaning, everything inside that particular black hole was our universe. We can't see outside it because light doesn't escape. Astronomers are able to look back in time pretty close to the big bang, but they unable to see what happened immediately following the big bang because it's just a mass of white hot plasma. Could this be matter from a different universe being crushed and recycled, which later cooled and became our universe?

 

I'm sure there's a simple explanation of, "No, because ______." I don't know enough to prove or disprove it.

 

Random thought...