What's bugging you? (2012)

[MJLiverock]

Driving home last night from work I noticed three different people walking alone along the side of the road on the back side of my office park in dark clothes, no reflectors, no lights. There aren't any street lights, nor sidewalks and at 5-5:30 the road is pretty busy with cars going 40+ mph through this stretch with just fields or woods along the road. Are these people trying to get killed? My car has the extremely bright headlights that get me flashed from drivers thinking my brights are on and I barely saw them walking until I was right on top of them. There was even one bicyclist in dark clothes and no reflectors, just a dim headlight that I couldn't see until I was already past him. If these people do this very often I guarantee there will be tragic story in the paper about a pedestrian being killed and some poor driver is going to get blamed and have to live with it.

[1992casey]

Wait...What!? Link please. If this is true, then my days with TWC may be coming to a close. It has been one of the biggest arguments for sticking with TWC. We have two boxes, but we also have TVs in the kitchen, basement, and 3 bedrooms without boxes.

Time Warner was at my dad's house yesterday replacing his DVR and adding an amplifier. The news came from the service person who did the work.

 

She said that smaller boxes with a lower rental fee and less capability than the standard box will be offered and that they'll cost $18 apiece to install. She also said that installation was touchy and difficult, meaning that installing these things yourself might not be a good option (if it's an option at all).

 

My dad's in the same situation you are. He has five older sets that are plugged directly into the wall. Because they're not HD, the picture quality is fine. And because they're not the main set, the limited number of channels is OK. Two of those five sets are used frequently; the others get occasional use.

[GAME05]

My mother treating me like I'm still a child even though I'm 32.

 

there could be a whole thread for this topic, i'd imagine. i'm 35 and just worked on a house with the father this week. he showed me how to use a screwdriver, speaks for me even if i'm standing right there, and multiple times said "If you're thirsty, you should get a drink." the contractor even told him to quit calling me "honey."

[fondybrewfan]

Some people are real sick. Shooting an entire kindegarten class who are completely defenseless. Sometimes I like to think there is some kind of Super Hell reserved for people like that. Ordinary Hell just isn't bad enough.

 

As a father of young children the episode that happened today just scares the crap out of me.

[pitchleague]

as a teacher of young children the episode that happened today just scares the crap out of me.

[JimH5]

as a teacher of young children the episode that happened today just scares the crap out of me.

 

I'm a dad of a 3rd grader and this incident hit me especially hard. Those poor kids and teachers and their families didn't deserve this.

 

It's hard to think about anything else.

[pitchleague]

as a teacher of young children the episode that happened today just scares the crap out of me.

 

I'm a dad of a 3rd grader and this incident hit me especially hard. Those poor kids and teachers and their families didn't deserve this.

 

It's hard to think about anything else.

 

JimH5, my post wasn't meant to be self-centered or anything. I felt terrible for most of the afternoon after I found out about it at lunch break today. To be a teacher today is no easy task. And as an elementary teacher, this hit incredibly close to home. You're absolutely right that these families and teachers do not deserve this at all. And, really, nobody that suffers something senseless like this deserves it. Ever.

 

I couldn't imagine what it must be like for these people. And, more so, for the kids that survived the incident. I'd have to venture a guess that most of the kids would not want to EVER go back to that school. At least for a little while.

 

My final comment will have to be posted on the political BF site.

[JimH5]

I didn't read any self-centeredness into your post, pitch. I'm sure you meant none.

 

And cheers to you for the important work that you do.

 

I don't think we could ever know why this guy targeted the school.

 

I was just adding to the thread and expressing grief as it hit me, the parent of an elementary schooler.

[1992casey]

Driving an automatic transmission car with the shift lever on the floor. I almost never do that. I was driving one tonight, and every time I backed up and subsequently wanted to start going forward, I'd try to move the gearshift up and over. Of course, the only place it would go was up, and that would put me in park.

[hawing]

So, this day-after-the-blizzard, the UW-Madison campus and state agencies are open, but Metro buses are not running. I usually bus to work and walk home, so while it was a minor drag to walk in this morning, I did it and it only took about 10 minutes longer than usual. I sent an email to my co-workers first saying I'd be on foot and might not arrive by 8:00. (I got here by 8:15 - 45 minute walk instead of 35.)

 

One of my student employees replied to that very message (the one saying I'll be walking and will get there as soon as I can), asking if she could stay home today because it's very cold and the buses aren't running and she would have to walk. She lives closer to campus than I do.

 

There are so few people here that she's really not needed today. But she clearly didn't see the irony in replying to my "walking in" message to say she doesn't want to walk in. That's aggravating. Sending a separate message would have aggravated me less.

[Baldkin]

There are so few people here that she's really not needed today. But she clearly didn't see the irony in replying to my "walking in" message to say she doesn't want to walk in. That's aggravating. Sending a separate message would have aggravated me less.

 

It always amazed me how many students at Madison would wait for 15 minutes for a bus and take it 5 blocks.

[RightFieldCoder]

It always amazed me how many students at Madison would wait for 15 minutes for a bus and take it 5 blocks.

I have a great reply for this, but fear it might be against our political rules.

[hawing]

There are so few people here that she's really not needed today. But she clearly didn't see the irony in replying to my "walking in" message to say she doesn't want to walk in. That's aggravating. Sending a separate message would have aggravated me less.

 

It always amazed me how many students at Madison would wait for 15 minutes for a bus and take it 5 blocks.

I'm frankly split on the value of the UW-Madison bus system being so free and easy. Does it get students in the "public transportation is OK" mindset (which could serve them well, depending on where they go after college), or does it merely discourage exercise? Speaking as one who had to scale Bascom Hill multiple times a day in the 1980s, I acknowledge that hill isn't fun; but there is a degree of irony, if not hilarity, to see someone running from University Avenue to the Union to catch the 80 to Social Science.

 

Update on employee who thought yesterday was too cold to walk: she sent a second message later acknowledging that she felt like a cad "knowing that you walked." But she just hates the cold. I think she wanted another snow day without wanting to come out and say so. We'll probably chat about that next week.

[Point Beer Is Best]

Driving an automatic transmission car with the shift lever on the floor. I almost never do that. I was driving one tonight, and every time I backed up and subsequently wanted to start going forward, I'd try to move the gearshift up and over. Of course, the only place it would go was up, and that would put me in park.

 

We used an early 60's Ford Bronco as our snowplow vehicle on the farm, which was manual transmission, but had a column shifter and the gear indicator in the dash like an automatic would. I was pretty confused the first time that I was on plow duty, wondering why I had three foot pedals.

[1992casey]

Three on the tree was pretty common in vehicles of that era. I think it all but disappeared by the early 1970s when manufacturers started making automatic transmission standard on a lot of vehicles.

 

A really strange vehicle to drive was the Volkswagen Beetle with an "automatic stick shift." Three on the floor with no clutch.

 

Driving a vehicle that requires double clutching is different, too. I did that for a day once. Actually, the ten speeds and double clutching didn't bother me half as much as chasing back and forth across the metro area and backing up into tight spots.

 

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