I have coined a new term: Laser Beam Survivor, or LBS. These are all the people that would no longer be with us if I could shoot laser beams out of my eyeballs.
First on the list: People who feel the need to cut in front of me and slow down just enough so I miss the next light as I watch them cruise on through.
Who are your laser beam survivors?
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
People in the next lane who purposefully speed up just to close the gap you were trying to move into.
People who stop in the middle of a traffic area to chat (especially at the top or bottom of an escalator), or people who insist on walking side by side with their friends even when that blocks the whole hall or sidewalk.
People who talk during movies.
Posted by MidnightBlue (Member # 6146) on :
People at the airport who sprint to be first onto the escalator and then just stand there. It's fine if you don't want to walk up it, but when there are people in a hurry to catch a flight, you don't push them out of your way just to make them nervous about being late.
Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :
quote:Originally posted by KarlEd: People in the next lane who purposefully speed up just to close the gap you were trying to move into.
Especially when you are trying to pass a car, and, once they have cut you off, they match speeds with the car you were trying to pass.
People who talk during movies don't bother me, however my 11 year old, if left unchecked, will repeat every line and describe each plot point as it happens-- "did you see that? he said 'hasta la vista, baby' and blew the guy away! that was soooo cool!" (he hasn't seen Terminator 2, it just came to mind). 10 minutes of this has me ready to commit filiocide.
Posted by SC Carver (Member # 8173) on :
People who pull out into crossroad and block traffic even thought it has stopped and blocks the intersection so cross traffic can't go through.
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Irratating Dir en grey fans Stupid people.
Posted by Elmer's Glue (Member # 9313) on :
People who say heighth.
Posted by Tstorm (Member # 1871) on :
On the topic of drivers:
You're taking the exit; the lane begins to bank right. Suddenly, someone speeds past you on the left, cutting across the shoulder/median. They swerve dangerously in front of you, just missing the exit sign or guard rail.
One of these days, I'm going to see someone take out the exit sign because of this stupid maneuver...Laser Beams from my eyeballs won't kill them, but their own stupidity surely will. You're driving in the city. Don't get in a hurry.
Posted by Blaise (Member # 9327) on :
people who sing along with songs in the car, espically right after you say "Oh, i love this song!"
Posted by Blaise (Member # 9327) on :
Colorado Springs road developers...
Posted by dantesparadigm (Member # 8756) on :
People who come up to Maine from Massachusetts, and don't bother to learn that our traffic laws are slightly different. Then they don't yield coming into traffic circles despite the signs, causing constant havoc.
Fox, when it decides to kill the series I love, causing me to be afraid to even watch anything new for fear of it dying an untimely death. Although then I'd probably end up laser beaming my TV, which is a bad thing, so scratch that one.
People who get into the 10 items or less line in the grocery store with way more then ten items when the line isn't even that much shorter than the regular lines.
When you see someone you sort of know, and you know they see you, but they refuse to make eye contact because they don't feel like having a conversation. You better believe they'd get lased.
Umm, now that I think about it it's probably for the best I don't have killer laser vision.
Posted by Kristen (Member # 9200) on :
People who just stand in the middle of the sidewalk gaping at the city and hold up everybody. Double laser beam if the weather is being particularly Chicago-esque.
Professors who start class BEFORE its scheduled time, making you feel awkward for slipping in and interrupting him/her even though you are one minute early.
Dante: MA drivers. I'm originally from CT and I swear the minute I cross that border I am defensively driving to protect my life.
Posted by CaySedai (Member # 6459) on :
People who pass me then 1/4 mile later turn off to another road. Why can't they just stay behind me and not make me have to slam on my brakes to avoid running into them.
People who turn onto the road I'm on (at 55 mph) and make me slam on my brakes to avoid hitting them - especially when there's nobody behind me, and especially semis, which take longer to get up to speed.
People that follow me too closely at night with their brights on.
I came up with the idea of mounting a paintball gun to the front of a car so you could shoot paintballs at people who cut you off and so on. Cops could see the bad drivers by the number of paint splashes. Of course, there's nothing that would prevent people from paintballing people that don't deserve it. But, it's less fatal than laser beam eyes.
Posted by calaban (Member # 2516) on :
The people who seem to think that the safe minimum following distance I am keeping between me and the individual in front of me is an invitation to merge in front of me. (Yes, if anyone speeds up to get into that spot I will speed up to prevent it.)
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
When you drive in Boston, here's the rule:
Aim and accelerate.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
Safe minimum driving distances just don't apply during rush hour. If you insisted on maintaining that, you would just keep slowing down until you were at a practical standstill, and everyone else would have to go around you.
Part of good driving is understanding when rules don't apply.
For instance, on I-459 the average speed is usually about 80, despite the fact that the speed limit is 70. If you go 60, you're a positive traffic hazard, as people have to swerve around you and jockey quickly for position behind you as they find themselves approaching you too fast from behind. It's much safer to go 70 or 75 than 60, under those circumstances.
I love watching people drive in Latin American cities, where the rules are totally fluid. I have no idea how they don't have wrecks all the time. Nobody seems to pay any attention to lanes or signals or signs. They just go. And pedestrians do NOT have the right of way.
Posted by MandyM (Member # 8375) on :
I would love to laser beam my assistant principal who told me the other day when I was running a fever and needed to go home that I had to stay until I found someone to take my classes even though it is his job to find a sub so it took me 3 more hours and 2 more degrees of fever before I could get home. Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
Temp bosses who don't tell me before I go home that I no longer have a job so I end up leaving all of my stuff there.
Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
Anyone who stops to wait for someone to pull out of a parking spot BEFORE the parked car is actually backing out. (Like when someone spots another person getting into their car, then sits and waits for the parking spot to be empty) I especially think people who wait for cars leaving parking spots while in the opposite lane of traffic need to be lased. Even more so when they cut across a lane of actual traffic in order to get said parking spot without someone taking it first.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
People who drive down River Road in front of me at 15mph under the speed limit. River Road is two lanes, and passing is generaly out of the question because it's so curvy. And if I'm taking River Road, it's to get somewhere more quickly because the highway is probably at a standstill!
Also, one time, I parked and went into a drugstore...and when I came back out, I saw that the woman who'd parked in the space in front of me had apparently been unable to hit her brake pedal and had run directly into the front of my car. THEN, she didn't even bother to back up to make it look like she hadn't done anything before she went into the store. I stood there staring at the front ends of both cars, but I was too chicken to say anything about it because there was a large man in her car, and she seemed like a pretty hostile human being.
-pH
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
Well, I have a burn mark on the retina of my right eye that came from an argon-ion laser.
I only notice it when I look off into the distance with unfocused vision, mostly when I'm snorkeling in deep water.
So I am a laser beam survivor, but not unscathed. And the laser beam went into my eye, not the other way around.
Has anyone noticed yet that the premise here is backward, as in: Where do they bury the laser beam survivors?
Posted by calaban (Member # 2516) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tatiana: Safe minimum driving distances just don't apply during rush hour. If you insisted on maintaining that, you would just keep slowing down until you were at a practical standstill, and everyone else would have to go around you.
I couldn't agree more, I'm a fast driver. I drive left of slower traffic and drive right for the rare faster vehicle. I am not however the type of driver that will try and pressure someone to go faster by following an individual uncomfortably close. Close being defined by "crazy twenty something bachelor" standards, rather than the much maligned "grandmothers very long three second" standard. Many times people who are following me take this as an invitation to come around me and take “my” position.
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
If you compare the number of cars per hour on a given stretch of road with the speed those cars are travelling (miles per hour), the hours cancel out and you're left with miles per car.
Convert miles to feet and you have a "footprint" which is the space available to each car on the road at that instant.
For example, if a road carries 10,000 cars per hour, at 55 miles per hour, each car has 29.04 feet available to it.
As traffic increases, or the speed slows, eventually you reach a point where the footprint available to each car is smaller than the average length of a car. Or stated another way, at or below that speed, the average car on the road has collided with another car. In order to avoid collisions, the speed of traffic has to be high enough to allow each car adequate following distance to the car in front of it.
Although few people have thought about this mathematically, I think that when you're driving in rush hour traffic, you have an intuitive sense that slowing down actually makes things worse, because there is less room for each car, and speeding up increases absolute following distance.
There is, of course, a point of diminishing returns in that as speed increases, reaction time is reduced, which causes collisions based on driver error, rather than a lack of space.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Todays LBS survivor: The person smoking a cigarette and turning her head to exhale smoke so it won't get in her eyes. Of course, she doesn't care if it gets in my eyes.
Posted by DSH (Member # 741) on :
Glenn- What is the solution for slow-moving rush hour traffic?
I used to live in Kansas City and my interstate commute would always end up going about 40 mph (average, in lots of stop-and-go traffic)
I always wished that everyone would give the guy in front a little more room so that people weren't constantly jamming on their brakes. Maybe that wouldn't speed things up, but it sure would smooth out the flow of traffic. (which is a big deal when you're driving a car w/ a standard transmission!)
Posted by Tstorm (Member # 1871) on :
You must've commuted on I-35.
My commute is at opposite hours of the I-35 rush, but I know what you're talking about.
Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Todays LBS survivor: The person smoking a cigarette and turning her head to exhale smoke so it won't get in her eyes. Of course, she doesn't care if it gets in my eyes.
<singing> They, said some day you'll find, All who love are blind, When you heart's on fire, you must realize, Smoke gets in your eyes. </"Always">
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Ah, The Platters...
Posted by Glenn Arnold (Member # 3192) on :
DSH:
Ultimately it's the guy in front that clogs everything up.
From a fluid dynamics standpoint, you've got to reduce the viscosity of the flow, which means you've got to change the way the particles interact with each other.
Traffic rules that allow cars to pass with minimum interaction decrease viscosity. That way slower cars don't impede the progress of faster cars. An example of that is the graduated speed limits found on the Autobahn. Each lane has a higher speed limit as you move toward the left, so cars have to stay in the lane that has a speed limit at about the speed the car is moving. Faster cars can travel unimpeded, because the slower cars have to stay to the right. I've thought for some time that american roads should have a ten mph differential per lane.
Of course, this only works on multi-lane roads. On a single lane road, viscosity is irrelevant. One car in the lead sets the pace for all the traffic flow behind it. The only way you can speed things up is to convince every car to travel faster. But as I said, there's a trade off when the speed gets too fast to negotiate the road with adequate reaction time.
Posted by Hamson (Member # 7808) on :
People that have their cellphones out and texting during the movie, with the incredibly bright light that you see out of the corner of your eye.
Posted by Kristen (Member # 9200) on :
Hamson: That JUST happened to me for the first time yesterday. I was especially perplexed as this texting individual had the seat next to the door.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Girls in Jeeps who cut in front of me when I'm pulling up to the only open gas pump even though I've been waiting there for five minutes, and they just pulled into the parking lot.
-pH
Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :
quote:Originally posted by pH: Girls in Jeeps who cut in front of me when I'm pulling up to the only open gas pump even though I've been waiting there for five minutes, and they just pulled into the parking lot.
I would just like to take this time to say that, absent other annoying factors, girls in Jeeps are Very Good Things.
(my girlfriend is very proud of her Wrangler)
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
All girls in Jeeps are cute.
But not as cute as Eve. Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
I've probably survived many Ocular Laser Beam attacks. I tend to be the anti-tailer. If it's late at night and I'm on a one-lane offramp or something and some guy comes flying up to me and starts tailing me along the ramp, I'll gradually slow down until I'm driving maybe 20-30 mph under the speed limit. Then I'll kind of leisurely steer my car back and forth in the lane, just to let them know I'm doing it on purpose. I'll occassionally treat them to the bird out of the driver's side window too.
God I love being an asshole.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: All girls in Jeeps are cute.
But not as cute as Eve.
Nice attempt at a recovery, Dag. Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
What about Eve in a Jeep? Would that be extra cute?
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Eve has a Jeep. No recovery necessary.
And yes, Eve in a Jeep is extra cute.
It's a good thing I understand that stuff about one infinity being bigger than another, or I wouldn't be able to say that.
Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :
Well played, clerk, well played...
</obscure Kevin Smith reference>
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
People who talk on cell phones in public. People who answer their cell phone when you're talking to them (Obviously whoever is calling is more important than YOU) people who drive while talking on their cell phone. People who make cell phone commercials. People who grab me in the mall and try to sell me a cell phone. People who call me on my cell phone and ask for "Ray" (These days I answer with "This is not Ray's Phone") Automated calls to my cell phone to tell me about "Important event at my child's school." (I don't have a child.)
I have issues with cell phones....
Pix
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Why does it bother you when people talk on cell phones in public? I mean, if you're not going to talk on a cell phone outside of the privacy of your home, why have a cell phone? I can understand if someone is having a really loud, really obnoxious conversation, but otherwise, why not?
-pH
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
Ph: Perhaps I should have said "people who talk loudly on their cell phones in public" =)
(I have a cell phone because work requires it. Otherwise I wouldn't carry one at all.)
Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
The guy who did a right turn on red to pull into my lane where I was going the speedlimit -- 40mph, forcing me to slam on the brakes so I wouldn't rearend him. He could have stayed one lane over...there wasn't anyone coming. I had to swerve into that lane to get around him, because not only did he cut me off, he was also incapable of getting up to speed. As he putted along at 10mph, I swerved around him, sat on my horn and glanced over to see that Cool Dude with the Souped Up Riceburner was on the phone and couldn't be bothered to observe that there are other people on the road. Or that there are traffic laws.
I'm convinced that there should be an extra segment of the driving test, which allows people to get an extra certification on their license: ability to drive safely while distracted. My husband is a very good distracted driver. I'm not, so I rarely eat or talk on the phone while I'm driving. I know I'm not good at it. I don't think it should be outright illegal, but I think people who aren't good at it should be held responsible for being stupid and endangering other people's lives. *grumble*
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
People who drive faster than I do. They are maniacs.
People who drive slower than I do. They are idiots.
People who drive next to me and match my speed. They are wiseguys.
People who drive in front of me. They are in my way.
People who drive behind me. They make me nervous.
Everyone ahead of me in line in the checkout. C'mon people! I've got places to be!
People behind me in line in the checkout who give me the evil eye because I'm holding up the works on a price check. A little patience, people! It's not my fault the item rang up wrong!
And, oh yeah, certain people on certain forums who have higher post counts than I do, yet continue to keep posting. How do you expect me to catch up?
Posted by Jim-Me (Member # 6426) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: People who drive faster than I do. They are maniacs.
People who drive slower than I do. They are idiots.
It's a wonder we ever get anywhere with all these idiots and maniacs running around here!
Posted by Evie3217 (Member # 5426) on :
quote:Originally posted by Primal Curve: I've probably survived many Ocular Laser Beam attacks. I tend to be the anti-tailer. If it's late at night and I'm on a one-lane offramp or something and some guy comes flying up to me and starts tailing me along the ramp, I'll gradually slow down until I'm driving maybe 20-30 mph under the speed limit. Then I'll kind of leisurely steer my car back and forth in the lane, just to let them know I'm doing it on purpose. I'll occassionally treat them to the bird out of the driver's side window too.
God I love being an asshole.
PC, that's awesome. I wish I had the guts to do it, but I always feel like people are going to pass in front of me, pull over, and pull a shotgun on me. That's just my innate fear. But otherwise, I would totally do that.
Being an asshole is fun though, I'll admit that.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:People who feel the need to cut in front of me and slow down just enough so I miss the next light as I watch them cruise on through.
quote:People in the next lane who purposefully speed up just to close the gap you were trying to move into.
It looks like you two might be mutual LBSs of each other.
Posted by KarlEd (Member # 571) on :
So when we get the lasers, they'll cancel each other out leaving more road space for me! Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
quote:Originally posted by Evie3217: PC, that's awesome. I wish I had the guts to do it, but I always feel like people are going to pass in front of me, pull over, and pull a shotgun on me. That's just my innate fear. But otherwise, I would totally do that.
Being an asshole is fun though, I'll admit that.
See, the way I figure it, there's very, very little chance that there will arise a situation that I, driving a car, can be stopped by another vehicle (unless that person is trained on stopping cars or is in a group of cars that can box me in). I'll always have the option of out-driving them or, in the event the person can actually get me to stop, while they were getting out of their car and grabbing weaponry, I could slam on the gas and get the hell out of there. I also remember the fact that a car can be a lethal weapon. If the person is stupid enough to get out of a car while I'm still behind the wheel and they have a gun in their hands, they'll be street pizza. Plain and simple. It's really hard to shoot someone behind the wheel of a car, ask any cop. You're sitting behind saftey glass and a half ton of steel.
I saw videos of a drug dealer trying to run over a SWAT team in a Navigator. The SWAT team unloaded on the car and the driver only got shot in the arm.
But the chances of anyone stopping me are slim to none. I'm a much better driver than most people I know and one car is not going to stop me if I need to get the hell away from it.
Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
The other day I was trying to make it home to feed my desperately ill cat who needs to eat six times a day, and return to work, without missing any of a class I was taking. At one point, the person in front of me didn't go when the light turned green. After about 10 seconds (which is a long time) I briefly tooted the horn, but I'm driving a rental car and its horn isn't one you can easily just tap. So the horn sounded for longer than I would have liked, but it was the shortest I could manage. Then we drove about 150 feet and stopped at another light.
When it turned green, again the driver didn't start right away. He was clearly paying attention to something to his right, and not to the light. This time I only waited about 5 seconds before tooting, and again the horn sounded a bit longer than I would have preferred, but it was the shortest I could manage in this particular car.
Well, the guy then got annoyed at me, and proceeded to go 10-15 miles an hour for the next several miles, on a road with no possibility of passing. I wondered why he had to be such a jerk about it. Like, was he not at all cognizant that he sort of has a responsibility to be watching the light, to notice when it changed? Because he didn't have anywhere he had to be (he was a white-haired dude) ever again for the rest of his life, does that mean there is no legitimate reason for anyone to be in a hurry ever?
I try to accomodate the needs of other drivers around me. If someone needs to get in my lane, I slow down and let them. If someone needs to pull out in a high traffic area, I hang back and let them. Why was this guy so certain that he was in the right in inching along, obviously to pay me back for having brought his attention to the fact that he was not being attentive to the light-changes? One day he may have some grandchild he's trying to get to the emergency room and someone will pull a similar trick on him. I just thought it was very rude and uncalled for. He obviously thought I was getting my just desserts.
Why do people have to h8?
Posted by Olivet (Member # 1104) on :
I have a fairly high LBT (Laser Beam Tolerance). With mean, jerky drivers, I console myself with imagining what a horrible lifethey must have that they need to find fullfilment by being a jerk.
But I do have a candidate for this thread.
So, going into the grocery store, I pass a guy who has parked his Lexus in the handicapped space, with no tag or temporary parking permit. He is sitting half in, half out of the car door, with the engine running so he can power his laptop which he is fiddling with while talking loudly on his cell phone.
This guy was such a jerk, I wondered if it was his major. O_O If he could have formed his hair into a neon sign reading, "I am such an important person!" I think he would have.
He would have got the laser beams, lemme tell you.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
People who are fatter than I am. The disgusting slobs have no self-control.
People who are thinner than I am. (Although I must admit, this is pure jealousy.)
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I agree, Tante. All people who are thinner than I am should be laser-beamed out of existence.
I would also like to laser beam this asshole in my business ethics class who pretty much looks down on women and feels the need to voice his opinions very loudly.
quote:The laser is able for the first time to heat up fat in the body without harming the overlying skin.
Hey, you starin' at me? . . .
thanks!
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
I would laser beam ...
People who go slow in the fast lane. I don't mind people going slow in the slow lane, or even people going fast in the slow lane, but someone going slow in the fast lane is simply inexcusable.
Also, people who butcher the English language. "I sar it happen" "Not enough money got tooken out of my taxes" "Them hotdogs were good". Gah!
Aaannddd finally I would arbitrarily (sp?) laser random people who look annoying. That is why I am not blessed with the gift of laser beam vision.
Posted by lem (Member # 6914) on :
Do the targets of our hypothetical laser beams we can shoot out of our eyes have to be in our direct line of site?
I can think of a lot of people I would like to reach by shooting my laser beams into my monitor (where it would traverse the internet and make contact with a user on the other side.)
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
OW! Who just lasered me through my monitor?
Hey! I don't need those thick glasses any more! My myopia has been healed!
Thank you, Laser Beam Man!
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Tante and Laser Beam Man: Wuv, twoo wuv.
-pH
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
quote:Well played, clerk, well played...
Yay for Leonardo Leonardo!
[/Geekdom]
LBS: girls with small dogs in handbags. I don't know why.
People who like to get on the bus and strike up a loud conversation with whoever has the misfortune to be sitting nearby.
People who say, "You know, those things will kill you," while I'm smoking. If I'm bothering you, ask me to move, and I'll gladly do so. But don't use that tired-ass line and expect me to fall all over myself exclaiming at your wit.
Anyone who eats noisily during lecture.
Hispanics.
People who don't hold doors open while I'm three feet behind them.
Just kidding about the Hispanics thing, just seeing if you were still paying attention.
Homeless who ask for money but refuse food.
Teenagers. I'm so glad I was never like that. Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
quote:Originally posted by Juxtapose: People who say, "You know, those things will kill you," while I'm smoking. If I'm bothering you, ask me to move, and I'll gladly do so. But don't use that tired-ass line and expect me to fall all over myself exclaiming at your wit.
One of my friends had people tell her that all the time. She generally responded with, "Man, I hope so."
-pH
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by Juxtapose: Hispanics.
Um, I believe that the politically correct term is currently "Latinos". If you are going to be offensive, there is no need to be offensive about it. <-- that's me winking to let you know that I got your joke and that I'm just playing along, so, in case you think I'm sincere or that I upped the ante on offensiveness, you can just look at the winky graemlin and decide not to be offended. Hope it works. Sometimes I think we put too much responsibility on the poor Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Dr Strangelove reminded me about this thread.
I have another car-related LBS: there's a T intersection with no light on my way home from work. The road is fairly busy, but there's adequate gaps in traffic for this to work.
Except that the people in the right lane turning onto the the vertical part of the T, who all have a yield sign, insist on trying to take turns with the people turning left onto that road.
Yes, it might seem fair to take turns. But there are limited times when the left-turners can make it across - probably about 10% of the time. All the rest of the time, the right-turners can turn whenever they want.
This is by design - it's why they put the yield sign there.
(The left-turners who pause to let them do this deserve a light scorching, too.)
Posted by Tara (Member # 10030) on :
People who feel the need to buy gigantic houses in places where woods and farmland used to be.
Posted by Tara (Member # 10030) on :
quote: Homeless who ask for money but refuse food.
Once in NYC I saw a homeless guy with a sign that said "Why lie? I need a beer."
Only in New York.
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
Stupid history professors are the lucky people today (or rather, this week). Though knowing my luck, the replacement teacher would just be worse.
Posted by Swampjedi (Member # 7374) on :
People who try to let others make a left turn across traffic when we're all at a light... except that one lane is stopped and the other lane is still filling up. The unfortunate driver in the moving (usually inner) lane is cruising along nicely, and all of a sudden a SUV turns across the lane ten feet in front of him.
Parents of 12 year old girls who buy "pornstar in training" type clothes for their daughters.
Posted by stihl1 (Member # 1562) on :
quote:Originally posted by Swampjedi: Parents of 12 year old girls who buy "pornstar in training" type clothes for their daughters.
The solution to this: Sew uranium into the clothes so the daughters become sterile and don't reproduce.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tara: Only in New York.
Nope, I've seen that in Denver and Minneapolis, too. It's been around for a long time.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
Hmmm... reading this thread I have a feeling I've been the unwitting survivor of many, many laser beams on the road.
See, I tend to drive very fast. I try to be polite about it, but the fact of the matter is I really enjoy the speed and it's what makes long drives not only survivable, but down right fun. I do signal every time I change lanes, and I drive in the fast lane only to pass people, unless the slow lane is really crowded.
I do tend to laser people who go slow in the fast lane and refuse to pull over into the slow lane to allow people to pass them. The request to pass being when someone roars up on their tails.
See, I do this for people, on the rare occasion I'm in the fast lane and someone appears on my tail I pull over into the slow lane first chance I get. You'd think people would return the courtesy Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: I have coined a new term: Laser Beam Survivor, or LBS. These are all the people that would no longer be with us if I could shoot laser beams out of my eyeballs.
First on the list: People who feel the need to cut in front of me and slow down just enough so I miss the next light as I watch them cruise on through.
See, where I live, the general feeling is that if you would have made the light but for some LBS like that, you're entitled to sail through as well, lights be damned. It was fascinating to see it after having lived in Northern California for a couple of years.
Posted by RunningBear (Member # 8477) on :
Freshmen. High School Freshman.
I don't THINK I was like that.
I hope to god I was not.
If so, I apologize.
Posted by Goldenstar (Member # 6990) on :
quote:Originally posted by Kristen: People who just stand in the middle of the sidewalk gaping at the city and hold up everybody. Double laser beam if the weather is being particularly Chicago-esque.
Professors who start class BEFORE its scheduled time, making you feel awkward for slipping in and interrupting him/her even though you are one minute early.
Dante: MA drivers. I'm originally from CT and I swear the minute I cross that border I am defensively driving to protect my life.
Quoted For Emphasis, I'm a New Englander as well, and you have to be near suicidal to cross the Mass border Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:People who say, "You know, those things will kill you," while I'm smoking. If I'm bothering you, ask me to move, and I'll gladly do so. But don't use that tired-ass line and expect me to fall all over myself exclaiming at your wit.
What about people who say, "Those things will kill ME?"
Which reminds me of a LBS story:
One time I was on the DART Rail and these (underage) teen boys were smoking. (It's also illegal to smoke on the train.) I am asthmatic and cigarette smoke is a severe trigger. I also had a baby with me who I did not want exposed to second-hand smoke. I asked them, politely to stop. They asked why, and I explained, whereupon they proceeded to swear at me and walk over and BLOW SMOKE RIGHT IN MY FACE. I got up and moved cars. They followed me. I did it again, and so did they.
I got off the train even though it wasn't my stop and they followed me off. I looked for a DART cop but there was none to be seen. So I went and stood next to a group of businessmen (the only people around.) The boys followed and continued to insult me. I asked them politely to leave me alone, again, by this time almost crying and, despite having used my inhaler 6 times, wheezing severely. They continued to insult me, whereupon one of the (rather buff) business men told them fairly menacingly to get the heck out of there or he was going to call the cops. (I didn't have a cell phone at the time or I would have done it myself.)
LBS, for sure. Thank heavens for polite strangers. (The same men sat me down, got me a drink of water, made sure I was still breathing, and helped put me back on the right train.) It is very scary, as a rather small woman, to be menaced even by probably fairly harmless teenage boys, especially when you have a baby with you.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
...you know, you could probably get them arrested for harassment, or possibly assault since the blowing smoke in your face was causing you harm. And they'd deserve it.
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
LBS? Anybody who interacts (or even looks like they might just possibly interact) with me before I have had my morning cup of tea.
Oh, and folks who tailgate when I'm out driving the MG - what's your problem - I don't go any faster than 100kph, deal with it.
More tea required Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:Originally posted by Alcon: ...you know, you could probably get them arrested for harassment, or possibly assault since the blowing smoke in your face was causing you harm. And they'd deserve it.
I didn't have a phone. I wasn't going to physically overpower them in order to make them wait 'til a cop got there (as if I could); there were no cops around at the time, and there were three of them to one of me, and I was encumbered with a stroller holding a frightened small child. My entire concern was to act in a way that kept me and especially my baby as safe as possible. But thanks for the empathetic comment. Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
quote:Originally posted by Alcon: Hmmm... reading this thread I have a feeling I've been the unwitting survivor of many, many laser beams on the road.
...
The request to pass being when someone roars up on their tails.
Yeah, you're an LBS of mine. Don't roar up on my tail and tailgate me. If I have no way to get over, then tailgating me is not going to magically open up a spot next to me, especially if I'm going at the speed of most traffic (typically 10-15 mph over the speed limit). In fact, it's more likely to make me slow waaaay down (a la Primal Curve, above).
Another prominent LBS: Students who miss class and then email me with, "Did I miss anything important?"
Nah. I was just teaching for my own edification. Miss as many classes as you like. I'm sure it won't affect your grade at all.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
quote:Yeah, you're an LBS of mine. Don't roar up on my tail and tailgate me. If I have no way to get over, then tailgating me is not going to magically open up a spot next to me, especially if I'm going at the speed of most traffic (typically 10-15 mph over the speed limit). In fact, it's more likely to make me slow waaaay down (a la Primal Curve, above).
Oh I don't tailgate, roar up sure, but if they don't move over, back off. Especially if they don't have room to move over.
quote:I was just teaching for my own edification. Miss as many classes as you like. I'm sure it won't affect your grade at all.
Ok, teachers with that attitude are LBS survivors of mine. You're job is to teach us students, and teach your class. Our job is to learn it. The whole "Did I miss anything important?" is actually "Did I miss anything I couldn't have gleaned from the book?". No you're not teaching for your own edification, you're teaching to help us learn. But we learn in different ways, and sometimes attending every single class is not necessary in order for us to learn. Also sometimes to way you lecture or teach in class doesn't work for some students.
I actually have a specific prof in mind here... who's not you... so don't take that personally. I actually have no idea how you teach, you may be excellent, but the attitude displayed in that quote brought this prof to mind. Anyway realize that there may be more going on when folks miss your class than "Haha, I skipped your class "
quote:LBS? Anybody who interacts (or even looks like they might just possibly interact) with me before I have had my morning cup of tea.
Hear, hear! *raises his morning cup of tea*
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:But we learn in different ways, and sometimes attending every single class is not necessary in order for us to learn. Also sometimes to way you lecture or teach in class doesn't work for some students.
Both points are surely true. And neither makes it the teacher's responsibility to fill you in on what you missed.
Don't get me wrong: I occasionally missed classes when I was in college. In the case of one memorable (and not in a good way) professor, I learned more by attending one class a week (and the discussion section, with my excellent TA) than if I had been at all three.
But I certainly would not have had the NERVE to email (or call) him and ask "So, did I miss anything"?
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
Alcon, my class moves fast. Miss one class, and you are very likely to be behind. I despise have to re-teach material to students who couldn't be bothered to come to class. The phrase "Did I miss anything important?" implies to me that my class is not normally important to this student. This automatically makes me care much less about whether they learn the material. It's also very rude. If you don't care enough to come to class, why on earth should I care whether or not you learn the material? Go ahead, see if you can learn it on your own. I don't use a text; I use a course packet with supplemental material. The bulk of the information comes FROM me IN class. If you can't come to class, don't sign up for it, and sure as heck don't expect me to re-teach you the material in my spare time.
The biggest problem I have is that the people who ask me that question are usually the people FAILING and having absolutely no idea WHY they're failing. It most certainly is not the people who can learn the material on their own. THOSE people are in class every day, know when every homework assignment is due, and are on top of things.
And you know, if my lecture style doesn't work for you, drop the class. Or, continue to skip and learn it on your own, if you're able to, but don't email me with the implication that my teaching style is so flawed you couldn't have actually learned anything while in class. Do not, however, act surprised when you a) fail because you haven't learned the material or b) fail because you don't know when any of the assignments are due because you couldn't be bothered to come to class.
The sense of entitlement displayed by some students drives me absolutely insane. You're right that it's my job to teach, and their job to learn. That's why we have class time, and if that's not enough, I have office hours. I am not, however, going to re-arrange my entire life just because little Johnny was too hungover to come to my class on Tuesday.
Posted by brojack17 (Member # 9189) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tante Shvester: People who are fatter than I am. The disgusting slobs have no self-control.
People who are thinner than I am. (Although I must admit, this is pure jealousy.)
I would laser beam TS, but I can't get my disgusting slobbed ass off the couch to do it.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
quote:I am not, however, going to re-arrange my entire life just because little Johnny was too hungover to come to my class on Tuesday.
With you here.
But many teachers default to that assumption when a student asks if they missed anything. And often it is the wrong assumption. There are many perfectly valid reasons to miss a class, and I know that I at least only ask what I missed of a teacher when I missed class for one of those.
quote:And you know, if my lecture style doesn't work for you, drop the class.
Sorry, not always an option. I dunno about humanities classes, but at least with science and math I need to take the classes I'm taking, in the order I'm taking them. If I drop the class often I can't move on to the next ones, so I'll just have to retake it the next semester, with the same person. And I need to actually learn the stuff in it, I can't just BS my way through it and get good enough to pass. So I've gotten stuck a few times where the teachers style didn't work for me, but I couldn't bug out. And with Physics, which is what I'm taking, it's very very hard to learn from a book. To be honest, this very semester in fact, I've skipped classes in frustration because I knew being there wouldn't help me. I didn't ask the prof what I'd missed after wards of course, cause again, I knew it wouldn't help me. I spent the time I was supposed to be in class bashing my head against the text book... and getting no where fast.
In case you hadn't guessed, a lot of the frustration you're probably reading in my posts spawns from this one class. It's an electronics class, with a prof fresh out of grad school. I can't drop it cause I need to know this stuff to be useful in a research lab and it's only taught once every two years, so my next chance would be senior year probably.
Luckily I'm confrontational and forceful enough, that I talked to the prof a bunch and got him to change his style (it helped that 4/6 people in the class were just as frustrated and lost as I was). But he's still bitter about it I think and is taking snipes at me in class. So... yeah... I have no idea how common this is, I imagine most students are not nearly as aggressive as I am about actually learning the material and would probably drop the class and just give up on it.
Anyway, sorry to open up on you guys about this. I'm sure you're great teachers and are correct in your judgements of your students when they miss.
[ March 19, 2007, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: Alcon ]
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
"I am so sorry. I missed class because (insert valid reason for missing class). Is there any way that I can get the information I missed?"
Likely answerfrom me: "Sure, come by my office..."
"Did I miss anything important?"
Likely answer from me: "Yes."
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
There are many perfectly valid reasons to miss a class, and that's fine. What I was objecting to in my original post was the rude phrasing of the (unfortunately-not-hypothetical-for-me) email. I'm a firm believer in treating people with courtesy and respect, and I think the phrasing of "Did I miss anything important?" falls outside the bounds of both of those. The implication of that phrasing, regardless of why the student in question actually missed the class, is that the class simply wasn't important enough to attend.
Email me and say,
"I couldn't come to class on Tuesday because my piano caught on fire. What did I miss?"
or
"I couldn't come to class on Tuesday because my piano caught on fire. Could you please let me know what we covered in class that day?"
Neither of those bug me in the least. The original phrasing, however, may have been something like this:
"I couldn't come to class on Tuesday because my piano caught on fire. [Implied: your class doesn't normally have anything important about it, but I'll ask anyway:] Did I miss anything important?"
Do you see the difference? The first two are fine; the third one suggests that this student really doesn't care about my class at all. If that's the case, I don't really care to be re-teaching that student anything.
Honestly, I teach college. I don't particularly care why my students miss class, as long as they don't expect me to re-teach a whole class period to them. Then, they better have a good reason for missing class. Above all, though, if they're asking me to do things outside my normal classroom and office hour obligations (which, generally, I am very willing to do), then it behooves them to be courteous.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Kate, you're faculty? Why did I think you were staff?
Now I am all alone! *weep*
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
No. I am staff. I was being hypothetical. Or nostalgic for when I did teach (parochial school librarian - you can just imagine, can't you?).
You are not alone.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
phew!
So not only are you also staff, you're also staff that used to teach pre-higher ed.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
quote:Did I miss anything important?
You're reading the wrong implication into that I think. It's not implying that normally your class doesn't have anything important in it, it's asking if there was anything particularly important that the student missed that they really need to know. It's basically saying "I don't want to take up your time and ask you to reteach the whole period, just give me the stuff I really need to know in short form please." Least ways that's the way I, as a student, read it.
Posted by TomDavidson (Member # 124) on :
Hey, I'm college staff, too! Or does being college IT staff disqualify me? Posted by Katarain (Member # 6659) on :
Is there a college staff community here that I didn't know about?? Because I'm staff, too. The faculty/staff distinction can get to me sometimes, especially when I feel we're underappreciated.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
Why don't people in the US understand escalator etiquette? EVERYONE can get through the escalator if you just observe two easy rules,
1: Stand on the right 2: Pass on the left
I should probably be dead from Laser Beams as in my delinquent days I once decided it would be hilarious to reach the top of the "Ocean Park" escalator and hit the emergency stop button.
Problem is the Ocean Park escalator is the longest in the entire world, 224 m (745ft). I am positive that if somebody had done that to me I would be ready to burst into flames with my rage.
KQ: I am SOOOO sorry you had to endure that, were the other passengers on the train non existent or just apathetic? I am rather surprised those hooligans carried their aggression out so far.
But today's LBS survivor is the lady on her cellphone perpendicular to the left of me. She pulled up to the 4 way stop at the same time I did and then proceeded to almost ram me as I tried to clear the intersection before her. It's doubly irritating because she can't even apologize since she was on her cell phone, she has to just pretend nothing happened and continue her call because God knows slighting me is OK but not her caller!
Posted by Telperion the Silver (Member # 6074) on :
People who chew with their mouths open...
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
When I visited London, the student group I was with was told in no uncertain terms that we were to stand on the right and pass on the left while using the escalators in Tube stations. Failure to do this would probably result in irate Londoners running one of us over
To me, "Did I miss anything important?" means "Was there a quiz or some announcement that I need to know about?" But then, I generally ask that question of other students, not the professor. If I miss material, I either just read the textbook, get the online notes, or ask a classmate.
I don't have an LBS for today, but if I could laser inanimate objects, I believe I would burn all the pollen out of the sky. I hate plant sperm.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:were the other passengers on the train non existent or just apathetic?
We were the only ones on the train, for several cars, at least.
quote:I am rather surprised those hooligans carried their aggression out so far.
I cry easy. It made me a target in elementary school, and I guess to these kids too. I will add that those jerks were the exception rather than the rule in Dallas, from my experience. Almost all the young men and teenage boys I came into contact with were much more polite to me than I am accustomed to living in L.A., just by virtue of me being a woman and their mamas raising them to respect their elders and women. Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
I would laser beam people who take up extra seats on crowded public transportation. Or healthy young, people who don't give up their seats for the old or infirm.
Didn't their parents teach them anything!
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Too many people get yelled at for offering their seat to someone else now. I still do it, but I understand why some people have given up doing so.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
quote:You're reading the wrong implication into that I think. It's not implying that normally your class doesn't have anything important in it, it's asking if there was anything particularly important that the student missed that they really need to know. It's basically saying "I don't want to take up your time and ask you to reteach the whole period, just give me the stuff I really need to know in short form please." Least ways that's the way I, as a student, read it.
Well, I'm a student and I read it exactly the way Megan stated. *shrug* See, I would never, never consider emailing a professor and asking if I missed anything. I would email a student in the class and ask them. The first thing I do every day of a new class is either find someone I know from a previous class, or make a new friend and exchange email addys.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Too many people get yelled at for offering their seat to someone else now. I still do it, but I understand why some people have given up doing so.
Yelled at? Really? o_0
I've never seen that. I've seen people offer a seat and be politely refused, but never seen anyone get yelled at for offering-- and rarely see the offer refused, especially when the person s/he is offering a seat to is a woman with small children or an older person.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
quote:Originally posted by kmbboots: I would laser beam people who take up extra seats on crowded public transportation. Or healthy young, people who don't give up their seats for the old or infirm.
Didn't their parents teach them anything!
On that note, some LBSes:
Women who get on the bus and give me an expectant look, waiting for me to surrender my seat, then glare at me when I ignore them, and/or smile at them. If a woman (or a man) has an immediately apparent need for a seat (disabled, elderly, pregnant, carrying lots of stuff/kids), I'll readily offer. But women who expect me to surrender my seat by virtue of their being female and my being male make me want to punch them in the face on behalf of feminists everywhere.
People who believe "customer service" means "I will bend over backwards and allow you to verbally abuse me, lie about me, and make false accusations without reprecussion." What "customer service" really means is that I will sit there and take it, then find ways to screw you over without hurting our business.
Seattle drivers.
Faux-indie people in Seattle.
Rabid democrats.
People who don't understand the flow of foot traffic. STAY ON THE RIGHT.
People whose entire conversational repetoire consists of "let's get drunk," then "so far I've had (drink list)," and finally "I was so drunk last night!"
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:What "customer service" really means is that I will sit there and take it, then find ways to screw you over without hurting our business.
Come, now. I see customer service as a contract-- I do my best to be respectful, polite, and pay fully and promptly for what I have bought. In return, I expect to be treated respectfully and politely by helpful people whose aim is to see that I am treated fairly and that I recieve the full value of what I paid for.
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Too many people get yelled at for offering their seat to someone else now. I still do it, but I understand why some people have given up doing so.
If possible, I generally just stand up to empty the seat when they get close enough to take it. I am officially middle-aged, so it is usually just to people clearly older than I. Men will sometimes decline, but no one has ever taken it unkindly.
Posted by erosomniac (Member # 6834) on :
quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen:
quote:What "customer service" really means is that I will sit there and take it, then find ways to screw you over without hurting our business.
Come, now. I see customer service as a contract-- I do my best to be respectful, polite, and pay fully and promptly for what I have bought. In return, I expect to be treated respectfully and politely by helpful people whose aim is to see that I am treated fairly and that I recieve the full value of what I paid for.
Absolutely. The heart of customer service is give and take: we give to you because doing so entices you giving back to us. What I object to is the BS belief that you can be rude to CSRs without reprecussion. That's not their job.
Which brings up another LBS: people who think that "good customer service" means "bending the rules, just for you," and obeying guidelines determined by the company is "bad customer service."
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:What I object to is the BS belief that you can be rude to CSRs without reprecussion. That's not their job.
Absolutely. They have broken the contract and it no longer applies. But that doesn't mean that that's what "customer service" means.
I will add that I don't just contact customer service to complain-- when I have an excellent experience with a product or company, I make a point to write or call them and let them know. Posted by SC Carver (Member # 8173) on :
KQ
I am very sorry about your experience on the train, it sounds truly horrible.
If it is any comfort people who distress asthmatic women with babies get box seats in hell for at least one week. I think it's in Jeremiah somewhere.
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Wow. What a lot of misplaced aggression in this thread.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
Well, it is a thread for releasing aggression... you know, being about folks you would have laser beamed if you could have and all Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: Hey, I'm college staff, too! Or does being college IT staff disqualify me?
Pfft. Of COURSE it disqualifies you!
quote:Originally posted by Katarain: Is there a college staff community here that I didn't know about?? Because I'm staff, too. The faculty/staff distinction can get to me sometimes, especially when I feel we're underappreciated.
And I knew that, too! Clearly, my memory is going even faster than I thought.
We're small enough that I rarely feel unappreciated. Just overworked!
Posted by TheGrimace (Member # 9178) on :
well, much of the general populus should be glad that I don't have laser eyes, but at the moment:
people who put "this page intentionally left blank" on every second page in documents...
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
.
This post intentionally left blank.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
rivka, you might want to install some lenses in front of your computer screen to redirect any lasers coming through cyberspace away from your face Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
If I weren't laserbeam proof, I woulda been a goner long ago. Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Just think! If we had some fiber optic cables and laser vision, we wouldn't need computers. We could have the internet just by blinking into a tube!
Posted by Storm Saxon (Member # 3101) on :
quote: Women who get on the bus and give me an expectant look, waiting for me to surrender my seat, then glare at me when I ignore them, and/or smile at them. If a woman (or a man) has an immediately apparent need for a seat (disabled, elderly, pregnant, carrying lots of stuff/kids), I'll readily offer. But women who expect me to surrender my seat by virtue of their being female and my being male make me want to punch them in the face on behalf of feminists everywhere.
Word.
<------ Kicking it old school.
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
*blink* *blink*
I mean, if we could all understand binary at the speed computers do... and translate said binary into images in our heads... and blink really really really fast..
No, no I don't think that'd work Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Rivka, if you had laser vision, would you have to refrain from using it on Saturdays?
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
That is an excellent question. I'd guess it would partly depend on whether it were organic or not, and to what degree it was voluntary. Among other possible factors.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
I would love to see the look on your rabbi's face were you to ask him that question.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Actually, the one I usually ask questions loves questions like that.
Posted by Hank (Member # 8916) on :
KQ, next time you should threaten to call the police. Those kids don't *know* you don't have a cell phone, and those (dumb, stupid, lame) teenage boys were probably just doing it out of boredom (and lack of empathy or respect for humanity).
Ahh, teenage boys: the armpit of society.
Posted by Happy Camper (Member # 5076) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Too many people get yelled at for offering their seat to someone else now. I still do it, but I understand why some people have given up doing so.
I'll usually just vacate my seat when it looks like it might be used by someone else (in my area, it's rare for there not to be enough seats, unless there's a large group, usually containing many children). I leave it up to them whether or not to take the seat. I realize this may open the door to someone unintended taking the seat, but most people on public transportation are considerate enough to allow the intended to sit there.
Posted by Reshpeckobiggle (Member # 8947) on :
quote:Originally posted by Primal Curve:
See, the way I figure it, there's very, very little chance that there will arise a situation that I, driving a car, can be stopped by another vehicle (unless that person is trained on stopping cars or is in a group of cars that can box me in). I'll always have the option of out-driving them or, in the event the person can actually get me to stop, while they were getting out of their car and grabbing weaponry, I could slam on the gas and get the hell out of there. I also remember the fact that a car can be a lethal weapon. If the person is stupid enough to get out of a car while I'm still behind the wheel and they have a gun in their hands, they'll be street pizza. Plain and simple. It's really hard to shoot someone behind the wheel of a car, ask any cop. You're sitting behind saftey glass and a half ton of steel.
I saw videos of a drug dealer trying to run over a SWAT team in a Navigator. The SWAT team unloaded on the car and the driver only got shot in the arm.
But the chances of anyone stopping me are slim to none. I'm a much better driver than most people I know and one car is not going to stop me if I need to get the hell away from it.
I don't need to stop the car to arm myself. I keep a .45 Glock in a holster wedged between my seat and the center console. I once had someone set his ire on me around 11 p.m. on a Saturday night. I figure he was drunk. I guess he didn't like that I passed his obnoxious ass after dealing with him doing most of the things mentioned above. So he turned on his brights and folloed a few inches behind me up to over 90 miles per hour as I tried to get away from him. Eventually I just held up my gun and made a big show of chambering a round. He turned off his brights and slowed down. I tell this story because I want to make the point about how badass it is to live in Colorado where they have lax gun laws and easy-to-get consealed carry permits.
quote:Originally posted by Blaise: Colorado Springs road developers...
Oh, yeah, Blaise, the traffic lights heading south on Nevada just past between I-25 and Cheyenne? Why would they time them so that each one turns green just in time for you to catch the next one turning red? All 6 of them?!? LBS the entire area! The trick is to be the guy at the very front of the line and then gun it a second before you get green. Then you have to speed about 15 over the limit. If you catch the next intersection just as it turns yellow, you can breeze through the rest of them. I love when that happens and I see all the poor saps in my rear view mirror braking behind me.
Posted by Tara (Member # 10030) on :
People who laugh politely when you tell bad jokes. If someone tells a bad joke, say "Wow, that was a bad joke," and then laugh about THAT! That way, not awkward for anyone.
People who tell bad jokes.
People who are afraid of being different in any way.
Posted by GaalDornick (Member # 8880) on :
People who's only form of debating consists of insulting the person they're debating with (you're stupid, you're an idiot, you don't know what you're talking about...) and getting all their friends to back them up and tell them how right they are.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:Originally posted by Hank: KQ, next time you should threaten to call the police. Those kids don't *know* you don't have a cell phone, and those (dumb, stupid, lame) teenage boys were probably just doing it out of boredom (and lack of empathy or respect for humanity).
Ahh, teenage boys: the armpit of society.
I did threaten to call the police. They eyed me up, saw that I did not have a phone in my hand, and said, "So do it, then, b****. F***ing do it, then!"
That's when I decided I needed to get off the train.
And I sincerely hope I am NEVER in that situation again.
Posted by Hitoshi (Member # 8218) on :
Politicians.
Posted by Reshpeckobiggle (Member # 8947) on :
quote:Originally posted by Storm Saxon:
quote: Women who get on the bus and give me an expectant look, waiting for me to surrender my seat, then glare at me when I ignore them, and/or smile at them. If a woman (or a man) has an immediately apparent need for a seat (disabled, elderly, pregnant, carrying lots of stuff/kids), I'll readily offer. But women who expect me to surrender my seat by virtue of their being female and my being male make me want to punch them in the face on behalf of feminists everywhere.
Word.
<------ Kicking it old school.
Women who refuse the seat when I stand and offer it to them. In some cultures, refusing to accept someones kindness is a severe insult.
Oh yeah, and threads that are really old and I respond to someone's comment from about a decade ago (see above).
[ March 21, 2007, 02:47 AM: Message edited by: Reshpeckobiggle ]
Posted by Mr.Funny (Member # 4467) on :
LBS: People who automatically assume that teenagers are horrible people.
LBS: Teenagers who help to lend weight to that assumption.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
No kidding.
LBS: Little brothers who yell at a high pitch over the phone. Posted by Mr.Funny (Member # 4467) on :
LBS: Big sisters who complain about their little brothers and... um... make up false stories about them! Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
LBS: Revered religious figures who live near the second harbor. You know, Latter Bay Saints. LBS: Outdated units of measurement. (And yes, I would laser the English system of units were it something tangible that could be lasered).
Posted by Alcon (Member # 6645) on :
quote:LBS: Outdated units of measurement. (And yes, I would laser the English system of units were it something tangible that could be lasered).
Hear hear!
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
It always makes me grin to hear the Lbs/inches called the "English" system, when the UK went metric in the seventies. Beer is still sold in pints though, as God commanded.
Is the US the only place on Earth still using feet and inches?
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
quote:the UK went metric in the seventies. Beer is still sold in pints though, as God commanded.
And my British friends still sometimes tell me their weight in "stones" instead of "kilos."
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
It's a throwback thing. My Dad still quotes prices in pounds, shillings and pence although the UK currency changed in 1971.
Also, 14st sound better than 90kg.... Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:I tell this story because I want to make the point about how badass it is to live in Colorado where they have lax gun laws and easy-to-get consealed carry permits.
Even in Colorado you still committed a crime by doing what you did.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
quote:Originally posted by anti_maven: Is the US the only place on Earth still using feet and inches?
And the plural of "stone" is "stone" -- not "stones."
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by rivka: And the plural of "stone" is "stone" -- not "stones."
This woman speaks the truth!
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
She tries, anyway. Posted by Reshpeckobiggle (Member # 8947) on :
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee:
quote:I tell this story because I want to make the point about how badass it is to live in Colorado where they have lax gun laws and easy-to-get consealed carry permits.
Even in Colorado you still committed a crime by doing what you did.
This is perhaps technically true, but practically unenforcible, and I think I could make that case that I was engaging in self defense as the guy literally inches behind me at 90mph was endanging my life. It's the only time I've ever felt the need to do something like that, and I feel perfectly justified.
Posted by El JT de Spang (Member # 7742) on :
quote:Ok, teachers with that attitude are LBS survivors of mine. You're job is to teach us students, and teach your class. Our job is to learn it. The whole "Did I miss anything important?" is actually "Did I miss anything I couldn't have gleaned from the book?". No you're not teaching for your own edification, you're teaching to help us learn. But we learn in different ways, and sometimes attending every single class is not necessary in order for us to learn. Also sometimes to way you lecture or teach in class doesn't work for some students.
As has been mentioned, none of what you said changes the fact that the particular phrasing mentioned is extremely rude.
I feel certain I was in the 90th percentile for missed classes all through college. I sometimes asked the professors what material they'd covered, so I could go read it on my own. I oftentimes asked friends of mine in the class what we went over, and/or borrowed their notes.
But I never did, and never would ask as rudely as that person did.
Posted by kmbboots (Member # 8576) on :
quote:Originally posted by anti_maven: Beer is still sold in pints though, as God commanded.
But the pints are not 16oz.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
LBS: Professors who apparently think it's my fault that I have two classes on the same night at the same time.
Yes, that means that occasionally, I must miss your class for this other class, a class in which the professor has graciously agreed to pretty much bend over backwards and allowed me to do 95% of the work outside of class so that I'm not stuck here for an extra semester. But sometimes, I do have to show up for his class. I didn't make the spring class schedule, people. Both of your classes are required. Go complain to the director or something. Seriously.
-pH
Posted by anti_maven (Member # 9789) on :
quote:Originally posted by kmbboots:
quote:Originally posted by anti_maven: Beer is still sold in pints though, as God commanded.
But the pints are not 16oz.
Nope - 16oz = 454ml, a UK pint is 568ml or 19.21oz
More Beer! Hoorah!
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
My sister and I each ordered a pint in a pub when visiting the UK. Imagine our surprise when we probably could've split one between us and been fine! Posted by BlueWizard (Member # 9389) on :
pH said -
"LBS: Professors who apparently think it's my fault that I have two classes on the same night at the same time."
Excuse me, but...isn't it?
Isn't it YOUR job to arrange your class schedule, and not theirs?
Steve/BlueWizard
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
quote:Originally posted by BlueWizard: pH said -
"LBS: Professors who apparently think it's my fault that I have two classes on the same night at the same time."
Excuse me, but...isn't it?
Isn't it YOUR job to arrange your class schedule, and not theirs?
Steve/BlueWizard
Read the rest of the post. Both classes are required. Both are ONLY offered in the spring semester. Both are at the same time. This is an issue to take up with the people responsible for deciding class times, not me. There's only one section of each class (as is true of all my classes).
-pH
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
That happens, pH, but usually students are expected to take the classes in different semesters. Regardless, it most certainly is not the professor's fault. I know you said you're trying to graduate, and I feel for you, but many a person has had to stay in college an extra semester because of scheduling issues. It's nothing new, and again - not the professor's fault. You're considered adult enough to be able to make your own schedule and accomodate the class offerings.
We have one professor that teaches linguistics. One. And two linguistics classes are required for every English major. He's going on sabbatical. If you need those two classes to graduate you're going to have to wait until he comes back, if you haven't taken them already. It's certainly not fun for the people who may have to wait a semester, but then again...there's no guarantee the university will always offer the class you need when you want it. You just have to adapt and deal. Every college student does. complain to the department chair....but your professor can't do anything about it and if he expects you to be in class, then be in class or deal with the consequences of not being in class.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Amen.
I hate teachers who change their rules half way though class because I have an A in it, even though I rarely show up. If I know the damn material, and you have a lax attendance policy, deal with it...or change the policy AFTER the semester is done, not half way through the semester after you have already given the policies to the students.
It happened twice in one semester. Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
I didn't say it was the teacher's fault. Man, you guys.
-pH
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
The tenants across the building who saw fit to break into the thermostat box and reset it to ten degrees tonight.
I tried, believe me. I tried. They are SO lucky.
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
Ten degree's? As in ... 10? Not like, 10 degrees lower than it was? If so, that's ridiculous.
As for me, I'd have to go with girls who flirt with me when they really aren't supposed to.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Why are they really not supposed to?
-pH
Posted by Dr Strangelove (Member # 8331) on :
Talk to me on AIM about it. I promise, I'll actually be there one of these days. But I'm going to bed right now.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
10 degrees. Celcius, though, so it could be worse I guess.
Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
Today's LBS:
The bitchy woman at Smoothie King who changed her order eight times all the while blabbing on her cell phone who then proceeded to dispute the total at the register while I was standing behind her with the color draining from my face because I was about to pass out from low blood sugar.
Lady, you lucked out. When I get my death ray vision...
-pH
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
People who use my reluctance (fading) to commit vehicular homicide in order to jaywalk. At least refrain from waiting to cross IN the street, lady.
Posted by Launchywiggin (Member # 9116) on :
Drivers who don't stop at crosswalks.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Pedestrians who cross against the light.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
The skinny kid that ran into me on his bike while I was walking, fell off his bike, got up, jumped on his bike, and sped away without apologizing.
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
That kid, I'd lay a bet, probably would have lasered himself out of existence at that moment.
People who insist on framing the discussion at the start of a business meeting and miss the mark so completely that you have to spend the first 10 minutes of the meeting chasing down all the generated confusion (the confusion sprouts in all directions like the tentacles of some alien super-organism taking over your spaceship). You should know by now how unlikely you are to be right, so keep quiet.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
The woman ambling along down the sidewalk with her arms spread wide for no apparent reason, making it impossible to get around her.
Posted by Steve_G (Member # 10101) on :
quote:Originally posted by calaban: The people who seem to think that the safe minimum following distance I am keeping between me and the individual in front of me is an invitation to merge in front of me. (Yes, if anyone speeds up to get into that spot I will speed up to prevent it.)
thereby removing your safe distance AND pissing off the drivers around you. Simply allowing the other driver in still allows you to tap the breaks and resume your safe distance without increasing the amount of road rage your likely to see. If the weather conditions are bad though, I'd forgive you for not letting the other driver in. aggressive drivers in weather should be lased on site.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:Originally posted by Launchywiggin: Drivers who don't stop at crosswalks.
quote:Originally posted by Dagonee: Pedestrians who cross against the light.
While I agree that both are irritating, I also know which one is the most dangerous. How often is a driver killed by a pedestrian who crosses against the light?
Posted by Reshpeckobiggle (Member # 8947) on :
Pedestrians who don't seem to understand that if they are at the curb and there are white stripes across the road right in front of them, I am legally required to wait for them to cross the road. I know you are afraid that my Honda Accord can kill you from the top speed I can achieve from my standing position 20 feet away from you, but myself and everyone else at the intersection are waiting for you to cross the street.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:While I agree that both are irritating, I also know which one is the most dangerous. How often is a driver killed by a pedestrian who crosses against the light?
How often is a pedestrian who crosses against the light killed?
Just because it's less dangerous to the one inconvenienced doesn't mean it's not laser beam worthy.
Moreover, it can lead to very dangerous situations, such as a car swerving into another lane. One such situation is what prompted my earlier post.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:How often is a pedestrian who crosses against the light killed?
There is a fundamental ethical difference between doing something that endangers your own life and doing something that endangers someone else's life.
Between 1998-2001 there were ~18,000 pedestrians killed in single vehicle collisions reported to the US Fatalaty Analysis Reporting System (FARS). Of those, drivers were found in violation of the law 48% of the time. In 0.2% of the collisions, a driver or car passenger was also killed. Even if we assume that 100% of the driver deaths occurred when the driver was not at fault (a really bad assumption since in most of these cases the driver was under the influence of alcohol), we would conclude that car drivers are 200 times more dangerous to pedestrians than pedestrians are to car drivers.
I've been both a pedestrian and a car driver. I've been nearly hit numerous times by drivers who failed to yield right of way. At an intersection near my home, I was nearly hit many times by cars making turns while I was in the crosswalk crossing with the light. My husband came home one night shaking after he said he was nearly killed by a car. When he took off his close, he had bruises all down his side from where the car had side swiped him. If he hadn't leapt at out the way, he would have been killed or seriously injured. After that, I started crossing the street mid block where there was no crosswalk but at least I only had to watch for cars coming from 2 directions instead of 4.
As a pedestrian I've been glared at for jay walking. As a car driver, I've been glared at for failing to yield right of way to a pedestrian in a cross walk. I know I was in the wrong both times but I also know that failing to yield to a pedestrian was a much much more serious error.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:There is a fundamental ethical difference between doing something that endangers your own life and doing something that endangers someone else's life.
You continue to think I'm equating the two. I'm not. In fact, I acknowledged the distinction you mention here ("Just because it's less dangerous to the one inconvenienced...") already.
All your stories aside, I'm not going to stop complaining about the pedestrians who cross against the light.
Posted by Flaming Toad on a Stick (Member # 9302) on :
I have to say, I'm probably an LBS many times removed.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
Dag,
When your response to someone complaining about "Drivers who don't stop at crosswalks" is to complain about "Pedestrians who cross against the light", most people would understand you to be equating the two.
When your response to "How often is a driver killed by a pedestrian who crosses against the light?" is "How often is a pedestrian who crosses against the light killed?", most people would understand your comment to be equating the two.
Context is important. If you go to visit a friend in the hospital who has just suffered severe multiple broken bones and your response to his suffering it to complain about a recent paper cut, whether you intended it our not -- your complaints would appear to equate the two.
If you did not intend to equate pedestrians who inconvenience you to car drivers who endanger pedestrians lives, what did you intend with your response?
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
quote:When your response to the statement to someone complaining about "Drivers who don't stop at crosswalks" is to complain about "Pedestrians who cross against the light", most people would understand you to be equating the two.
I don't think that's true. Certainly, most people would think that I consider the subjects related.
More importantly, any doubt you might have had on the subject should now be removed. I've said I wasn't equating the two. I don't believe an honest reading of my second post on the subject would allow you to continue to think that I was equating the two, but there should be no doubt after my third post on the subject.
There should absolutely be no doubt after this, my fourth post on the subject.
quote:When your response to "How often is a driver killed by a pedestrian who crosses against the light?" is "How often is a pedestrian who crosses against the light killed?", most people would understand your comment to be equating the two.
I was answering an irrelevancy with another irrelevancy.
quote:Context is important. If you go to visit a friend in the hospital who has just suffered severe multiple broken bones and your response to his suffering it to complain about a recent paper cut, whether you intended it our not -- your complaints would appear to equate the two.
Yes, context is important. The context described in your hypothetical is nothing like the context described here. This is a thread to complain about the little things that drive us crazy. Everyone is meant to be complaining about the things that upset them. That's clearly not the case in your hypothetical.
quote:If you did not intend to equate them, what did you intend with your response?
I've already answered that question: "Moreover, it can lead to very dangerous situations, such as a car swerving into another lane. One such situation is what prompted my earlier post." It happened on the same day someone bumped the thread. I wouldn't have look for it to bump. Even had it been bumped, I might not have posted had not the post about crosswalks not reminded me of it.
It's a strange sort of reasoning that leads someone to think that a comment on an obviously related topic means one is equating the two.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I'd lazerbeam the cop who *didn't* give a ticket to the girl who hit my brother while he was walking across the street a couple weeks ago.
It was on the UCSB campus. He had the little green man and everything, and saw this BMW SUV coming, and had the presence of mind to think "she's got a red light, she's not going to stop."
Anyway, yep she rolled right through the red, he had the choice whether to jump and roll up her hood, or go under. He decided jumping was the better option. About the time he hit the windshield she realized she'd hit a pedestrian, slammed on her breaks, and he repeated the roll process in the other direction, ending up on the asphalt in the middle of the intersection.
Fortunately all he ended up with was bruises and road rash, and he refused the ambulance treatment. Every single witness had an identical story, much to the surpise of the cop. The girl even admitted she rolled right through the red light... said she always does that at that intersection. AND THE COP DIDN'T GIVE HER A TICKET!
(I understanding rewarding someone for their honesty but my goodness!)
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
Unfortunately that response is very typical. Its very unusual for cops to cite drivers who hit pedestrians and cyclists. I have numerous first hand and second hand experience with this.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
That's horrible.
In some states, they sometimes wait a few weeks to issue tickets in accidents. This just happened to my brother in law. Maybe that's the case here. But, unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised if it was not.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Rabbit: Unfortunately that response is very typical. Its very unusual for cops to cite drivers who hit pedestrians and cyclists. I have numerous first hand and second hand experience with this.
Just a guess, but are you usually a cyclist when these scenarios occur? BTW what did you do with that cute scooter you had?
As for my own LBS of today.
People who have worked at your place of employement for 20+ years, clearly are not talented enough for management and since the company must give them token rewards for loyalty make them "assistant managers." To them I say,
"Look it's wonderful that you care about your job and take pride in your work. I'm sorry that you do not have any REAL additional duties or pay raises related to your position and that you and I actually do an identical job. I am not seeking your position I PROMISE. So you can just stop trying to abuse your oversight authority that nobody really cares if you use or not to harass me and make me look bad in a stupid effort to get me kicked out of a race I am not running in. I work just as hard as you do, and were somebody to as enthusiastically look at your performance you would find it's just as spotty as everyone else in this office, it's called being human. I'm sorry you are in your mid 40s and that you never married, I can only imagine how hard that is. I'm sure you hate the fact that you put in 10 hours at the office everyday as you don't have friends or a family member that would warrant the excuse to put in only 8. No doubt you hate coming home to that empty house every freaking day and since you do not care for the internet or TV, or any other hobbies for that matter you just experience loneliness in a way most people experience blinking or breathing. Thank you for at least having the decency to hide your contempt for me and many of the other employees while at the office, I'm sure you have voodoo dolls of us all at home and you make liberal use of them. I wish you understood that many of us NEED our jobs and that we barely make it paycheck to paycheck. You might get some sort of sick temporary satisfaction out of getting me fired, but trust me though I am biased it's not worth the constant stress you put on my shoulders daily. Be thankful that I am not tempted with the power to simply vaporize you out of my life. From a utilitarian stand point, far more people would miss me than you, and I admit it is probably just that as I have an emotional bias in this matter I cannot act as judge. I promise the moment I have my bachelors degree, which will hopefully be in just a few more months, I will go get a job at another place and we can both get what we want. Until then, can we at least agree to just leave each other alone. I'm already doing my part of this bargain so you don't even have to wait for me to put my gun down. If you choose not to, I can't really do much about it, you've been at the company for 25 LONG years, and they'd feel guilty firing you and it's not as if I am the first employee you have declared a blood oath against. At least if you stop attacking me now, when it comes time for God to do the accounting for your entire life I promise I won't agree to witness for the prosecution. Both of our lives are hard enough without either of us wasting any of our mental faculties plotting the destruction of the other. Look I've gone and wasted 30 minutes of my time typing this up and hence risked doing well this semester and graduating, I apologize and will promptly get back to work. Thank you for considering what I have said, may God love us both enough not to grant one of us eye lasers. Barring radical change one of us must die so that the other may live."
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
quote:Just a guess, but are you usually a cyclist when these scenarios occur?
I lead a charmed life. I've never actually been hit as either a cyclist or a pedestrian despite numerous close calls. I've also never hit a cyclist or a pedestrian. My husband, on the other hand has been hit by cars 6 or 7 times. In my first hand experiences I've been present on the scene of the accident but was neither the driver nor the person hit. In one case the person hit was a stranger, in two others it was my husband. I've also had several friends who were hit by cars and seriously injured. The most serious penalty given to any car driver in any case with which I've been associated was a $60 fine. In that case the driver ran a red light and the cyclist who was hit has permanent disabilities.
quote:BTW what did you do with that cute scooter you had?
Right now, its lost at sea with all my other valued possessions.
Posted by SoaPiNuReYe (Member # 9144) on :
The little kid who killed Omar on The Wire.
Posted by C3PO the Dragon Slayer (Member # 10416) on :
It occurs to me that most of these laser beam survivors are those who interfere with haste.
I'm guilty of that too. I remember in middle school, there were these gangs of five or so girls that walked side by side, just the right length apart from each other to both block the entire hallway wall-to-wall, and keep me, thin as I was, from slipping between them. If only I had those laser beams...
Or better yet, Force powers. Or, if I want to keep God from biting my head off on judgment day, simple harmless teleportation powers.
Posted by The Genuine (Member # 11446) on :
Be like water, yet drive like a champion, my friend.
Posted by Tstorm (Member # 1871) on :
People who have job responsibilities they cannot perform, who then offload the work onto me. It's even more aggravating when they persist in having zero clue about how technology works...
Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
Part of my job is explaining mortgage escrow issues to customers with mortgages, over the phone. I often transfer them to other departments for semi-related issues. A couple of days ago a woman of low intelligence with poor English skills, the tendency to interrupt, and little understanding of escrow called me to get into her online banking account. I transferred her to online banking. I sat on the line while they talked, occasionally jumping into the conversation when the customer misunderstood something, to help clarify. 5 minutes in, she starts asking about her tax bill. These issues aren't simple even if you have a good brain and know about tax escrow issues. After 5 minutes of her interrupting me while I'm telling her the exact same thing 6 different times/ways (to call her county to get the expected yearly tax amount, since I can't use her assessment amount, which was all she had on hand, since I don't know her county's tax rate), yeah, I was steamed. I was so angry, my co-workers called my supervisor to get me to calm down. It really irritated me that she was so willing to waste the online banking rep's time. That was mainly why I got so worked up. Dumb, interrupting, can't speak the language, and thoughtless...these customers are going to give me a heart attack.
[ April 24, 2008, 01:50 PM: Message edited by: steven ]
Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
You gotta be detached to survive in a call center, I think.
Some of my laser beam survivors are call center fellow employees who mute their phones and interject vile insults for the customers they are working with. It's extraordinarily jarring to overhear someone say "just follow the directions on that page _you stupid ****ing ****_" and not realize at first that the customer only hears the first part. Not to mention it's a stupid risk...what if you miss the mute button without realizing it, or the phone malfunctions? They could have used a little more detached coolness. Or actually, I could have benefited from them having it. Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
"Some of my laser beam survivors are call center fellow employees who mute their phones and interject vile insults for the customers they are working with."
This is me to a "T", but I try to keep the dirty words under my breath. This allows my fellow employees to imagine which swears I've used.
It is a little risky, though. I know of at least 2 different people who have been fired for what they've said on mute. One got fired because he was overheard by a manager, the other was heard on his cubemate's monitoring session calling someone a bitch. I was warned at least 5 or 6 times at another call center job for doing it. They canned me eventually, but not for that. Posted by scifibum (Member # 7625) on :
Well, at least you keep it down. I might only shoot you with a kilowatt laser, crisp you up a little.
Posted by steven (Member # 8099) on :
Im on ur phonez
cussin ur customerz
OK sorry. I've been reading icanhascheezburger.com.
Posted by The Rabbit (Member # 671) on :
The people at Global Ocean Freight who assured me repeatedly last friday that my they would released before it arrived in port on Sunday. Its now thursday and its still not released.
I'm leaving the country next Wednesday for 2 weeks, the shipment is already of 3 weeks late. If it isn't released, cleared through customs and delivered to me by Tuesday, it will cost me $50/day in demurrage charges.
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MA drivers. I'm originally from CT and I swear the minute I cross that border I am defensively driving to protect my life.
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And pedestrians do NOT have the right of way.
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Only in New York.
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