The Off Topic Topic

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Jesus H. Simon & Schuster Christ, I am choking out the next motherfucker that sends me a document who doesn't know the difference between "e.g." and "i.e."

Is that better or worse that the people who abuse "e.g." semi-correctly? Things like starting a sentence with it, writing "for e.g.", or working it midstream in a sentence?

[The Brain]

No judge. No jury. Straight to execution.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

Jesus H. Simon & Schuster Christ, I am choking out the next motherfucker that sends me a document who doesn't know the difference between "e.g." and "i.e."

Is that better or worse that the people who abuse "e.g." semi-correctly? Things like starting a sentence with it, writing "for e.g.", or working it midstream in a sentence?

Here's one that just stuck in my craw:

Even in C you can e.g. use singleton structs to distinguish different semantic types.

[Malthus]

Today I was driving to work on a 4 lane highway, and going the other direction a school bus stopped to pick up like a zillion kids. I gunned it and drove past the bus. Even though the bus was stopped by the time I got to it, the stop sign was still extending as I drove past (it might have gotten extended when I was next to it) - meaning that if I was to only rely on the stop sign there was no way I could have stopped in time. I could of course of noticed a school bus was stopped with a bunch of kids waiting to get on, but i don't think that is the requirement.

A cop pulled me over. I tried to argue my point of view. He didn't give me a ticket, but he spent an incredible amount of time explaining how awful it is to drive past a school bus with a stop sign extended. He said it is an $800 fine, with 6 points on my license, which seems excessive. He kept coming back to "don't argue with me", which I didn't do after the first minute, when he also said he wasn't going to give me a ticket.

$800 seems a bit excessive. Also seems like I'd never win an appeal. But I also don't think I did anything wrong, besides speeding.

Wait, he's letting you off with a lecture and you are complaining? 

If I was him, I'd have given you that ticket, just for being a fool.   

The correct answer in that situation was "I'm sorry officer, now that you have explained it to me I realize what I was doing was foolish and dangerous, and I will never do it again"  Even if you happen to think you were right, do you really want to risk an $800 fine and six points to prove that to some random cop you will never, hopefully, see again?

[lustindarkness]

Should have given you the $800 fine.

[Habbaku]

Dorsey4Entitlement

[alfred russel]

Guys, I didn't argue with him once he said I wasn't getting a ticket. I was polite and respectful, even at first when I started to argue.

Malthus, the problems with admitting fault, after being told I wasn't getting a ticket, are that, a) basically that would be announcing I was lying to him to get out of the ticket, b) while I quit arguing, pride wise I won't fall on my sword like that, and c) it was a 4 lane road, with a turning lane, so basically 5 lanes. I was in the right hand lane on the other side of the street. I have no idea how it is at all dangerous - there were three empty highway lanes between me and the bus. The law is the law and you have to stop, but realistically, there was 0 danger.

[alfred russel]

I'm not really complaining about the amount of the fine, anyway, i didn't get fined, but am I really teh only one that thinks $800 and 6 points on your license is a bit draconian?

[Barrister]

I'm not really complaining about the amount of the fine, anyway, i didn't get fined, but am I really teh only one that thinks $800 and 6 points on your license is a bit draconian?

You are complaining about the amount of the fine, and yes, you are.

The reason why there WAS risk is that it is a school bus.  Kids are known to be impulsive.  They could easily run off the bus and run across the street.

[Jacob]

I'm not really complaining about the amount of the fine, anyway, i didn't get fined, but am I really teh only one that thinks $800 and 6 points on your license is a bit draconian?

For speeding past a stopped school bus?

No, that's not draconian at all.

[mongers]

So as not to pollute a serious thread, I'll post it here:

Damn I'm shallow, viewing the BBC news coverage of the massacre in Nice, I've thought a couple of times, good grief the news anchor has a nice rack, doesn't she. 

[Ed Anger]

So as not to pollute a serious thread, I'll post it here:

Damn I'm shallow, viewing the BBC news coverage of the massacre in Nice, I've thought a couple of times, good grief the news anchor has a nice rack, doesn't she. 

I thought their coverage on the world news channel was moronic. Even a blind dog knows it was an attack, not a 'collision' or 'incident'.

Didn't notice anchor rack. 

[derspiess]

I bet Mennonites are behind it.

[Ed Anger]

I bet Mennonites are behind it.

Royalists from the Vendee.

[DGuller]

I'm not really complaining about the amount of the fine, anyway, i didn't get fined, but am I really teh only one that thinks $800 and 6 points on your license is a bit draconian?

For speeding past a stopped school bus?

No, that's not draconian at all.

If the situation as Dorsey described it was accurate, then if he did hit a child from that school bus, that child should be added to the 100m sprint Olympic team right away, posthumously.  I do see the logic in enforcing such laws with zero tolerance, though, by at least stopping everyone to chew them out, since having drivers determine what's reasonable and what's not can let the situation creep to dangerous levels over time.

On a somewhat related note, on my third driving lesson, I was driving past the schoolbus.  My instructor back then said the words that I would remember forever:  "Keep going, he didn't put the stop sign out, *screech* *trut-trut-trut* *screech* FUCKING IDIOT, WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, FUCKING IDIOT.  Oh, look, now he put the stop sign out, fucking idiot."