Here’s one of those stories that should leave you shaking your head and shows you the true nature of the idiots that use public transit (I am not implying that everyone who uses public transit is an idiot, just to be clear on that).
Leaving the Oshawa GO station last night was horrendous. They are doing construction on the only street the station is accessible from and apparently the day had not ended for the work crews so the traffic was more reflective of the traffic on the DVP. It took several minutes longer to get out of the lot than normal much to the dismay of everyone (I was not impressed myself as I had an hour drive ahead and was tight for time as it was). For those who have not been to the Oshawa GO station (I envy you) it is on Bloor St and there is a short street on the east side of the station that mainly serves the lot. The street conveniently has four lanes, a right and left turn lane in each direction. I’m working on a diagram but I doubt I will get it done so just picture it in your head if you can.
The majority of cars that use the side street turn right onto the main road so the smooth flow of the left lane relies on courtesy of other drivers exiting the parking lot at the various exit points. Sometimes the left lane gets blocked and the cars have the option of going around the car. If the driver decides not to go around the offending car, they are usually still able to make their turn on the green light. Usually people are smart enough to realize this and wait patiently for their path to clear. Yesterday was not one of those days.
The car exiting the lot in front of me was unable to merge with the right lane traffic so it blocked the left lane where two cars were waiting. Once the light turned green I edged into the road, stopping well short of the blockage, and waited for the traffic to move. While waiting my eyes met with those of the driver of the first car in the left lane and she started shouting at me through her closed window. WTF! I was just sitting there waiting for traffic to move. I tried to illustrate that I didn’t have a clue what she was saying but that didn’t seem to work as she kept screaming. I tried to calm her down by using hand gestures one would use on a child when they get over excited but all that got me was the finger and a “fuck you”. I showed no indication of cutting in front of her in my attempt to merge into the right lane but after her assault on me I edged my car up some just to make her more irate. I think it worked.
On a side note: while waiting to enter the road a car coming from the main road practically stopped in front of me to pick up her wandering passenger. I really wonder what goes on in some people’s minds.
Anecdotal piece: This morning on the train I was zoning out while looking out the window of the train when we stopped at a station and some lady decides to sit in the four seat section I was sitting. The way she stuck her ass out it appeared she was going to sit in the seat across from me on the outside (I was on the inside) but instead of sitting down there she lead with her ass and wiggled her way into the seat directly opposite me. Now just picture that for a minute. A person sticks their ass out and, as if reaching for the cookie jar that mommy has cleverly put just out of reach, extends themselves backwards towards a distant chair all the while shuffling their feet inch by inch until finally reaching their destination. It was both the oddest thing I witnessed and perhaps the funniest.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Driving Lesson 1 - Correction
This is a follow-up to an earlier post about driving.
I have come to realize it was I who had it all wrong when it came to stopping at stop lights and stop signs. I had fallen victim to the government propaganda of a calm and orderly society where rules are meant to be followed. I now know that stopping at stop signs is optional, done only when traffic is approaching from any direction. Stopping at stop lights is a little more complicated. If one is turning right, they must first stop, or at least slow down before turning regardless of approaching traffic. If one actually comes to a complete stop they must only wait a preset amount of time (based on their specific patience level) before completing the turn.
I apologize to anyone who actually put my earlier post into practice. It was based on information that one can ignore once they get their full license. Checking mirrors before changing lanes, signaling, and driving in the right lane except to pass are also items that one can forget once they get their full license too.
(Can you tell I'm bored at work?)
I have come to realize it was I who had it all wrong when it came to stopping at stop lights and stop signs. I had fallen victim to the government propaganda of a calm and orderly society where rules are meant to be followed. I now know that stopping at stop signs is optional, done only when traffic is approaching from any direction. Stopping at stop lights is a little more complicated. If one is turning right, they must first stop, or at least slow down before turning regardless of approaching traffic. If one actually comes to a complete stop they must only wait a preset amount of time (based on their specific patience level) before completing the turn.
I apologize to anyone who actually put my earlier post into practice. It was based on information that one can ignore once they get their full license. Checking mirrors before changing lanes, signaling, and driving in the right lane except to pass are also items that one can forget once they get their full license too.
(Can you tell I'm bored at work?)
(Picture from The Post Standard off syracuse.com website)
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Where'd They Go?
I saw them here last week but now I can't find them anywhere. Where'd they go? Surely they didn't just get up and walk away. Oh wait a minute. Where did those tacky display boxes come from? What is behind them? I bet those nasty 'ole cigarettes are back there.
If you happened to stop into a corporate run convenience store in Ontario this past weekend, you might know what I am talking about. As of Saturday, the famous, or infamous, wall of cigarettes has been forced under cover as Ontario's new rules on tobacco came into effect preventing the open display of tobacco products. For those smaller stores that cannot afford the ugly and expensive display cases, they are forced to use alternate methods to erase the image of DuMaurier, Peter Jackson and Benson & Hedges, to name a few, from our minds. Some have had to resort to using cardboard to hide the legalized cancer sticks. Very inconspicuous!
Normally I wouldn't care about this type of silly legislation (if that is what it is) as I never really paid attention to the cigarette wall in the first place. I knew it was there and know in most cases it still is there. The curiosity these secret compartments will raise in children will only be intensified when the answers their parents give to their questions are not satisfactory enough to diminish the curiosity. And isn't curiosity one leading factor in children smoking? That's what lead me to lighting my first cigarette and choking back a few drags before figuring them out.
Okay so the above situation may not happen anymore than it already does; it may not happen any less though either but that is not why I'm writing. I recently went to a Macs convenience store to by a froster (and it was quite tasty too), at the time unaware of the implementation date of this display ban. (I had heard something about the ban previously but shook my head and forgot about it). After filling up my cup with the slushy goodness I proceeded to wander towards the front cash wondering if there was something else I needed. Chips, no; gummies, no; chocolate, maybe; mike and ikes, sure why not; beer, nope.
Wait a minute, did I see that right? Beer in a convenience store? When did that happen? I had to check that out again. Lucky for me it was right by the front of the store, in the middle of a candy aisle, in full view of the entrance. Had I not made a b-line straight to the froster machines at the back of the store (i.e. if I was a kid and was trying to decide on the best item(s) to rot my teeth with...and maybe even my gut) I would have seen the display of beer right away. The beer turned out to be dealcoholized beer but at a quick glance it looked like real beer.
At least the cigarettes were hidden.
If you happened to stop into a corporate run convenience store in Ontario this past weekend, you might know what I am talking about. As of Saturday, the famous, or infamous, wall of cigarettes has been forced under cover as Ontario's new rules on tobacco came into effect preventing the open display of tobacco products. For those smaller stores that cannot afford the ugly and expensive display cases, they are forced to use alternate methods to erase the image of DuMaurier, Peter Jackson and Benson & Hedges, to name a few, from our minds. Some have had to resort to using cardboard to hide the legalized cancer sticks. Very inconspicuous!
Normally I wouldn't care about this type of silly legislation (if that is what it is) as I never really paid attention to the cigarette wall in the first place. I knew it was there and know in most cases it still is there. The curiosity these secret compartments will raise in children will only be intensified when the answers their parents give to their questions are not satisfactory enough to diminish the curiosity. And isn't curiosity one leading factor in children smoking? That's what lead me to lighting my first cigarette and choking back a few drags before figuring them out.
Okay so the above situation may not happen anymore than it already does; it may not happen any less though either but that is not why I'm writing. I recently went to a Macs convenience store to by a froster (and it was quite tasty too), at the time unaware of the implementation date of this display ban. (I had heard something about the ban previously but shook my head and forgot about it). After filling up my cup with the slushy goodness I proceeded to wander towards the front cash wondering if there was something else I needed. Chips, no; gummies, no; chocolate, maybe; mike and ikes, sure why not; beer, nope.
Wait a minute, did I see that right? Beer in a convenience store? When did that happen? I had to check that out again. Lucky for me it was right by the front of the store, in the middle of a candy aisle, in full view of the entrance. Had I not made a b-line straight to the froster machines at the back of the store (i.e. if I was a kid and was trying to decide on the best item(s) to rot my teeth with...and maybe even my gut) I would have seen the display of beer right away. The beer turned out to be dealcoholized beer but at a quick glance it looked like real beer.
At least the cigarettes were hidden.
Sunday, June 01, 2008
May 2008 Quotes
A person don’t hardly feel right unless he’s looking forward, you ever notice that? - Stephen King (The Stand)
…a completely tame man was no use to himself or anyone else… - Robert Jordan (New Spring)
Teddy and Vern slowly became just two faces in the halls or in three-thirty detention. We nodded and said hi. That was all. It happens. Friends come in and out of your life like bus boys in a restaurant, did you ever notice that? But when I think of that dream, the corpses under the water pulling implacably at my legs, it seems right that it should be that way. Some people drown, that’s all. It’s not fair, but it happens. Some people drown. - Stephen King (The Body)
An ignorant woman who keeps her mouth shut will be thought wise… - Robert Jordan (A Crown of Swords)
A man who can't bear to share his habits is a man who needs to quit them. - Stephen King (The Dark Tower)
... greed in a good cause is still greed. - Stephen King (Wolves of the Calla)
It's not good for a man to be alone
But a women needs someone that she can count on
- Brooks & Dunn (When She's Gone, She's Gone)
Wildfire did not run through dry woods as fast as gossip ran through women. - Robert Jordan (Winter's Heart)
...in order to understand anything, you must impose an order on it so it becomes meaningful to you and so you can interact effectively with it. - William W. West (On Writing By Writers)
Some women don't ask for land, or gold. Just the man.
And the man who would ask her to accept so little would not be worthy of her.
- Robert Jordan (The Eye of the World)
…a man just could not do without a woman to take care of him and keep him out of trouble. - Robert Jordan (The Eye of the World)
Games have a way of turning serious sometimes. - Stephen King (The Stand)
God gives life and then takes it away when He wants. - Stephen King (The Stand)
…I was half-past sober, going on drunk. - Stephen King (Bag of Bones)
There is nothing that is so self-consuming as generosity: the more you practice it, the less you will be able to continue to practice it. You will either become poor and despised or your efforts to avoid poverty will make you rapacious and hated. - Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince)
And when there was no choice, hesitation was ever a fault. - Stephen King (Wizard and Glass)
hope is like a piece of string when you're drowning; it just isn't enough to get you out by itself. - Robert Jordan (The Eye of the World)
The more who speak of a thing, the more will learn of it who should not. - Robert Jordan (Crossroads of Twilight)
The universe…offers a paradox too great for the finite mind to grasp. As the living brain cannot conceive of a nonliving brain-although it may think it can-the finite mind cannot grasp the infinite. - Stephen King (The Gunslinger)
There is no word for failure in the bright lexicon youth - Darryl Brock (If I Never Get Back)
I'm never alone
I'm alone all the time
- Bush (Glycerine)
...one human being can never know everything that is in another human being’s heart - Stephen King (Apt Pupil)
Always plan for the worst child; that way, all your surprises will be pleasant ones. - Robert Jordan (The Dragon Reborn)
Women lied to get a man into bed, and they lied worse once they had him there. - Robert Jordan (Winter's Heart)
For some who swear an oath, whatever is not forbidden is permitted, and whatever is not commanded can be ignored. - Robert Jordan (Crossroads of Twilight)
…a completely tame man was no use to himself or anyone else… - Robert Jordan (New Spring)
Teddy and Vern slowly became just two faces in the halls or in three-thirty detention. We nodded and said hi. That was all. It happens. Friends come in and out of your life like bus boys in a restaurant, did you ever notice that? But when I think of that dream, the corpses under the water pulling implacably at my legs, it seems right that it should be that way. Some people drown, that’s all. It’s not fair, but it happens. Some people drown. - Stephen King (The Body)
An ignorant woman who keeps her mouth shut will be thought wise… - Robert Jordan (A Crown of Swords)
A man who can't bear to share his habits is a man who needs to quit them. - Stephen King (The Dark Tower)
... greed in a good cause is still greed. - Stephen King (Wolves of the Calla)
It's not good for a man to be alone
But a women needs someone that she can count on
- Brooks & Dunn (When She's Gone, She's Gone)
Wildfire did not run through dry woods as fast as gossip ran through women. - Robert Jordan (Winter's Heart)
...in order to understand anything, you must impose an order on it so it becomes meaningful to you and so you can interact effectively with it. - William W. West (On Writing By Writers)
Some women don't ask for land, or gold. Just the man.
And the man who would ask her to accept so little would not be worthy of her.
- Robert Jordan (The Eye of the World)
…a man just could not do without a woman to take care of him and keep him out of trouble. - Robert Jordan (The Eye of the World)
Games have a way of turning serious sometimes. - Stephen King (The Stand)
God gives life and then takes it away when He wants. - Stephen King (The Stand)
…I was half-past sober, going on drunk. - Stephen King (Bag of Bones)
There is nothing that is so self-consuming as generosity: the more you practice it, the less you will be able to continue to practice it. You will either become poor and despised or your efforts to avoid poverty will make you rapacious and hated. - Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince)
And when there was no choice, hesitation was ever a fault. - Stephen King (Wizard and Glass)
hope is like a piece of string when you're drowning; it just isn't enough to get you out by itself. - Robert Jordan (The Eye of the World)
The more who speak of a thing, the more will learn of it who should not. - Robert Jordan (Crossroads of Twilight)
The universe…offers a paradox too great for the finite mind to grasp. As the living brain cannot conceive of a nonliving brain-although it may think it can-the finite mind cannot grasp the infinite. - Stephen King (The Gunslinger)
There is no word for failure in the bright lexicon youth - Darryl Brock (If I Never Get Back)
I'm never alone
I'm alone all the time
- Bush (Glycerine)
...one human being can never know everything that is in another human being’s heart - Stephen King (Apt Pupil)
Always plan for the worst child; that way, all your surprises will be pleasant ones. - Robert Jordan (The Dragon Reborn)
Women lied to get a man into bed, and they lied worse once they had him there. - Robert Jordan (Winter's Heart)
For some who swear an oath, whatever is not forbidden is permitted, and whatever is not commanded can be ignored. - Robert Jordan (Crossroads of Twilight)
Friday, May 30, 2008
Get Over It!
Gas prices are increasing. It's a fact. Get over it. Why do the media outlets insist on shoving the high price of petrol down our throats? Even the dumbest of the dumb have to realize the gas prices are extremely high right now and chances are, they will continue to get higher and higher. We don't need a daily account of the price of the black gold or the same recycled bit of how analysts are still forecasting a long period of increased prices. No matter how much whining is done about this topic, the fact remains the price of gas is high. Why not complain about the price of bread? A loaf of enriched white used to cost me $0.79, now the price is more than triple that; gas has not even doubled in that same time frame (almost but not quite). Deal with it.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Today’s My Day!
No one has named an international day after me, nor have they named a national day after me, or even a municipal day but today is still my day. It all started this morning when two good looking people came to my desk, okay she was hovering just above the average mark and he could be described as being on the cute side of nerdy, but the appearance of the two of them signaled the beginning of my day.Having a job where I don’t do any real work, i.e. work that adds any value to the company, I don’t get a lot of visitors so I was a little leery of the two at first. Once I opened up to them, they informed me I was getting an upgrade to my email. Let me tell you, it was like winning the lottery. I am one of only a few with this upgraded version, or so they told me. It sure did add some excitement to my otherwise dull morning. And the newer version is a lot softer on the eyes (the hard edges of the windows are now soft rounded edges and the colour is, well, let’s just say there is some colour now) and a lot more user friendly (i.e. idiot proof).
I was beginning to think the day couldn’t get any better when my dad told me that we will be getting a puck after game one of the Memorial Cup tonight. Getting giveaways at sporting events is always good. I bet you all are thinking this is too good to be true but there is more. Just a couple hours ago I learned that there is a big meeting at work and my bosses will be out of the office all afternoon, on a Friday of a long weekend.
Despite that amazing fact, there is still more and I think of this as the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae. I went for greek for lunch today and instead of getting a mere two olives on the salad I got three! That is almost unheard of. Every greek restaurant I’ve been to, which is only two so I guess my sample size is insufficient to yield accurate results, there have always only been two olives on my salad. Now that my friends is hitting the greek paydirt.
Life couldn’t get any better………
Thursday, May 01, 2008
April 2008 Quotes
…humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things which are worst for them. - J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone)
And when a man talks from his heart, in his moment of truth, he speaks poetry. - Ray Bradbury (How to Keep and Feed a Muse)
But exclusion is itself a form of inclusion. - John Updike (A Sense of Shelter)
…men and women are motivated, more than anything else, to seek happiness.
Happiness is something we feel in the middle of the active, successful pursuit of something we want. - Bob Cullen (Why Golf?)
Our lives are like these [card towers] I build. Sometimes they fall down for a reason, sometimes they fall down for no reason at all. - Stephen King (The Drawing of the Three)
Your body is only clothing. Your flesh will wither, but you are your heart and mind, and they do not change except to grow stronger. - Robert Jordan (Winter's Heart)
His eyes widened, and for a moment he looked as if he and dumb had never even met, let alone got up together every morning and lain down together every night. - Stephen King (The Stand)
Knowledge is better than ignorance, even if that knowledge produces no further results. - Gilbert Highet (Man's Unconquerable Mind)
…in this Galaxy rationality does not always triumph. - Isaac Asimov (Prelude to Foundation)
…people live and die by nonsense. It's not what is so much as what people think is. - Issac Asimov (Forward the Foundation)
…all human action should aim at creating, maintaining, and increasing the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. - John Stuart Mill (On Liberty)
Waking to the truth when it’s too late is a terrible thing. - Stephen King (Wizard and Glass)
Taking responsibility drained all the joy out of life and dried a man to dust. - Robert Jordan (Crossroads of Twilight)
…love is what moves the world, I’ve always thought…it is the only thing which allows men and women to stand in a world where gravity always seems to want to pull them down… - Stephen King (The Stand)
We are not intended only to diagnose and calculate, but also to wonder; to admire; to expect the unexpected. - Gilbert Highet (Man's Unconquerable Mind)
The place where you made your stand never mattered. Only that you were there…and still on your feet. - Stephen King (The Stand)
...sometimes there is absolutely no difference at all between salvation and damnation. - Stephen King (The Green Mile)
There is no more desire to live past one's time than to die before it. - Isaac Asimov (Foundation's Edge)
All is bad that is imposed from without. - Isaac Asimov (Foundation and Earth)
It is our choices,…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. - J.K Rowling (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
The world turns, that’s all. You can hold on and turn with it, or stand up to protest and be spun right off. - Stephen King (The Stand)
I can't believe the news today
Oh, I can't close my eyes and make it go away
How long...
How long must we sing this song?
- U2 (Sunday Bloody Sunday)
A body’s life went by so fast…how was it a body could get tired of living? - Stephen King (The Stand)
The idea of dying, of no longer being, began to fascinate me. Not to exist any longer. Not to feel the horrible pains in my foot. Not to feel anything, neither weariness, nor cold, nor anything. - Elie Wiesel (Night)
For men almost always follow in the footsteps of others, imitation being a leading principle of human behaviour. - Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince)
The Creator made women to please the eye and trouble the mind - Robert Jordan (The Fires of Heaven)
He told me that, in Japan, they don’t believe that people don’t die of old age or a natural death. They believe that they just get tired of a livin’. - Claude Brown (Manchild in the Promised Land)
We are so small and new and confused, we human beings. - Whitley Strieber (Transformation: The Breakthrough)
And when a man talks from his heart, in his moment of truth, he speaks poetry. - Ray Bradbury (How to Keep and Feed a Muse)
But exclusion is itself a form of inclusion. - John Updike (A Sense of Shelter)
…men and women are motivated, more than anything else, to seek happiness.
Happiness is something we feel in the middle of the active, successful pursuit of something we want. - Bob Cullen (Why Golf?)
Our lives are like these [card towers] I build. Sometimes they fall down for a reason, sometimes they fall down for no reason at all. - Stephen King (The Drawing of the Three)
Your body is only clothing. Your flesh will wither, but you are your heart and mind, and they do not change except to grow stronger. - Robert Jordan (Winter's Heart)
His eyes widened, and for a moment he looked as if he and dumb had never even met, let alone got up together every morning and lain down together every night. - Stephen King (The Stand)
Knowledge is better than ignorance, even if that knowledge produces no further results. - Gilbert Highet (Man's Unconquerable Mind)
…in this Galaxy rationality does not always triumph. - Isaac Asimov (Prelude to Foundation)
…people live and die by nonsense. It's not what is so much as what people think is. - Issac Asimov (Forward the Foundation)
…all human action should aim at creating, maintaining, and increasing the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. - John Stuart Mill (On Liberty)
Waking to the truth when it’s too late is a terrible thing. - Stephen King (Wizard and Glass)
Taking responsibility drained all the joy out of life and dried a man to dust. - Robert Jordan (Crossroads of Twilight)
…love is what moves the world, I’ve always thought…it is the only thing which allows men and women to stand in a world where gravity always seems to want to pull them down… - Stephen King (The Stand)
We are not intended only to diagnose and calculate, but also to wonder; to admire; to expect the unexpected. - Gilbert Highet (Man's Unconquerable Mind)
The place where you made your stand never mattered. Only that you were there…and still on your feet. - Stephen King (The Stand)
...sometimes there is absolutely no difference at all between salvation and damnation. - Stephen King (The Green Mile)
There is no more desire to live past one's time than to die before it. - Isaac Asimov (Foundation's Edge)
All is bad that is imposed from without. - Isaac Asimov (Foundation and Earth)
It is our choices,…that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. - J.K Rowling (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
The world turns, that’s all. You can hold on and turn with it, or stand up to protest and be spun right off. - Stephen King (The Stand)
I can't believe the news today
Oh, I can't close my eyes and make it go away
How long...
How long must we sing this song?
- U2 (Sunday Bloody Sunday)
A body’s life went by so fast…how was it a body could get tired of living? - Stephen King (The Stand)
The idea of dying, of no longer being, began to fascinate me. Not to exist any longer. Not to feel the horrible pains in my foot. Not to feel anything, neither weariness, nor cold, nor anything. - Elie Wiesel (Night)
For men almost always follow in the footsteps of others, imitation being a leading principle of human behaviour. - Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince)
The Creator made women to please the eye and trouble the mind - Robert Jordan (The Fires of Heaven)
He told me that, in Japan, they don’t believe that people don’t die of old age or a natural death. They believe that they just get tired of a livin’. - Claude Brown (Manchild in the Promised Land)
We are so small and new and confused, we human beings. - Whitley Strieber (Transformation: The Breakthrough)
Friday, April 25, 2008
The World Needs A Hero!
This is a continuation of my previous post as I felt it was becoming too long. So here is my second story. This one is not humourous like the first one but rather it illustrates the degradation of society. Again it takes place as I was walking to work, only a dozen or so yards metres from the first incident.
I was on the right most side of a group of weary-eyed morning commuters when some yahoo cut in front of all of us on an angle. The group was avoiding a puddle so I followed suit and was a couple steps away from a barricade on the right when this guy went by me. The space he tried to get through was apparently not big enough for him to go through and we bumped shoulders. No big deal, it happens all the time, especially in crowds. I continued on forgetting the entire incident when I felt a smack to the back of my head. It was the yahoo who bumped into me.
Despite what you might think by reading my posts, I don’t consider myself confrontational. I don’t attack people when they do stupid things but rather I just ignore them and curse to my friends or write a post about it. This time I was not going to let it go. I turned around and confronted this yahoo but he backed away and headed to where he dropped his bag. When I reached him he wasn’t as tough as when my back was to him so nothing further happened.
Who does that though? Who goes on the attack for a mere shoulder bump? I guess this just shows where this world is heading. Our first reaction is turning towards aggression not compassion or benevolence. I don’t really see why we’re trying to save humanity because in all honesty, there isn’t much humanity left in this world.
I was on the right most side of a group of weary-eyed morning commuters when some yahoo cut in front of all of us on an angle. The group was avoiding a puddle so I followed suit and was a couple steps away from a barricade on the right when this guy went by me. The space he tried to get through was apparently not big enough for him to go through and we bumped shoulders. No big deal, it happens all the time, especially in crowds. I continued on forgetting the entire incident when I felt a smack to the back of my head. It was the yahoo who bumped into me.
Despite what you might think by reading my posts, I don’t consider myself confrontational. I don’t attack people when they do stupid things but rather I just ignore them and curse to my friends or write a post about it. This time I was not going to let it go. I turned around and confronted this yahoo but he backed away and headed to where he dropped his bag. When I reached him he wasn’t as tough as when my back was to him so nothing further happened.
Who does that though? Who goes on the attack for a mere shoulder bump? I guess this just shows where this world is heading. Our first reaction is turning towards aggression not compassion or benevolence. I don’t really see why we’re trying to save humanity because in all honesty, there isn’t much humanity left in this world.
Stupid Is As Stupid Does!
Well, I am sitting at work, practically bored to tears again so I thought I should write something to occupy my time. I re-thought my driving lessons series and decided to cancel them after the pilot episode. I didn’t find them very effective since last night some idiot decided a red light was not really meant for him and continued to turn his truck and the 80 foot flatbed trailer he was hauling behind him while I was going straight through an intersection on a very green light. Anyhow, I digress. Today I am going to write about some recent incidents that happened to me while walking from the train station to work, just to illustrate the degradation of society.
The first episode is perhaps the funniest and truly illustrates how stupid people are. (It would have fit in with my second driving lesson had I continued that poorly written series). Everything this day was as it usually is. I was disturbed from a dream by my alarm way to early in the morning, heck the birds weren’t even up yet; I spent an hour on the train having my sleep disrupted by elbows in my side every five minutes (the length of time it took the idiot beside my to look at the pictures in the paper); and I fought through a crowd of people way too eager to get to work just to get out of the station. Once I survived that, I was on my way to the office, walking as slow as I possibly could of course. A little jaywalking here, some alley hopping there, a jaunt through a parking lot or two and I’m at work. Seems pretty basic but on the day in question the unwritten rules of walking seemed too much for one unlucky individual and she ended up with a story to tell her colleagues.
I was approaching an intersection, walking on the right hand side of the sidewalk, (which, unless I missed a memo somewhere, is the appropriate side to be walking on, just like driving in North America) and noticed two women walking towards me. I stayed my line making it quite clear I was not going to move as I was walking where I should have been. The lady on my right noticed me and stepped further to my right and out of my path creating a gap for me to walk through. With that gap I had no need to take evasive actions and thought I would slip right through with no worries. Would you not think the same? It happens that way all the time and in fact, Hollywood makes fun of that type of occurrence a lot. The second women noticed me, thanks to her friends warning, and instead of walking straight or even taking a step to my left to ensure avoidance, this yahoo took a step to my right and ended up directly in my path. We met as she stepped onto the curb so the resulting collision knocked her backwards off the curb, arms flailing everywhere.
I sort of felt bad at first but as I got to thinking about it, I decided it was her own fault. She was the one who stepped into my path while her friend was smart enough to move. If I am walking on the wrong side of the road and see someone almost twice my size coming towards me with not indication they are going to deviate from their path, I make sure to give them a wide berth. I try not to get into that position in the first place but sometimes it’s unavoidable. By the time I crossed the other corner I was fighting back a bout of laughter.
The first episode is perhaps the funniest and truly illustrates how stupid people are. (It would have fit in with my second driving lesson had I continued that poorly written series). Everything this day was as it usually is. I was disturbed from a dream by my alarm way to early in the morning, heck the birds weren’t even up yet; I spent an hour on the train having my sleep disrupted by elbows in my side every five minutes (the length of time it took the idiot beside my to look at the pictures in the paper); and I fought through a crowd of people way too eager to get to work just to get out of the station. Once I survived that, I was on my way to the office, walking as slow as I possibly could of course. A little jaywalking here, some alley hopping there, a jaunt through a parking lot or two and I’m at work. Seems pretty basic but on the day in question the unwritten rules of walking seemed too much for one unlucky individual and she ended up with a story to tell her colleagues.
I was approaching an intersection, walking on the right hand side of the sidewalk, (which, unless I missed a memo somewhere, is the appropriate side to be walking on, just like driving in North America) and noticed two women walking towards me. I stayed my line making it quite clear I was not going to move as I was walking where I should have been. The lady on my right noticed me and stepped further to my right and out of my path creating a gap for me to walk through. With that gap I had no need to take evasive actions and thought I would slip right through with no worries. Would you not think the same? It happens that way all the time and in fact, Hollywood makes fun of that type of occurrence a lot. The second women noticed me, thanks to her friends warning, and instead of walking straight or even taking a step to my left to ensure avoidance, this yahoo took a step to my right and ended up directly in my path. We met as she stepped onto the curb so the resulting collision knocked her backwards off the curb, arms flailing everywhere.
I sort of felt bad at first but as I got to thinking about it, I decided it was her own fault. She was the one who stepped into my path while her friend was smart enough to move. If I am walking on the wrong side of the road and see someone almost twice my size coming towards me with not indication they are going to deviate from their path, I make sure to give them a wide berth. I try not to get into that position in the first place but sometimes it’s unavoidable. By the time I crossed the other corner I was fighting back a bout of laughter.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Driving Lesson 1 - Approaching Intersections
It has become apparent as I drive the short distance from my house to the GO train station that people have forgotten what to do when approaching intersections. I'd like to share my knowledge and enilighten the ignorant.
Stop Lights:
When approaching an intersection one may come across a set of indicator lights. A red light at an intersection means stop. It's really that simple. For those who want to turn right on a red light, they may do so only when there are no cars approaching the intersection. This is really not rocket science, after all, they let 16 year olds get behind the wheel of vehicles.
Stop Signs:
When one approaches a stop sign they are to come to a complete stop (I believe the drivers handbook even says that one is required to wait three seconds after stopping before resuming). There is no such thing as a stoptional stop sign; drivers are required to stop at all stop signs.
There are various other little nuances with respect to stop signs but I don't want to cofuse anyone so I'll let this sink in before adding anything too complicated. This is the end of driving lesson 1, lesson 2 will be on multi-lane driving.
Stop Lights:
When approaching an intersection one may come across a set of indicator lights. A red light at an intersection means stop. It's really that simple. For those who want to turn right on a red light, they may do so only when there are no cars approaching the intersection. This is really not rocket science, after all, they let 16 year olds get behind the wheel of vehicles.
Stop Signs:
When one approaches a stop sign they are to come to a complete stop (I believe the drivers handbook even says that one is required to wait three seconds after stopping before resuming). There is no such thing as a stoptional stop sign; drivers are required to stop at all stop signs.
There are various other little nuances with respect to stop signs but I don't want to cofuse anyone so I'll let this sink in before adding anything too complicated. This is the end of driving lesson 1, lesson 2 will be on multi-lane driving.
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