Posts by Stewart
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Hard News: When "common sense" isn't, in reply to Sacha,
You should have followed the guy* in front of me this morning, in his truck-sized SUV; semi-dark rural roads, so he would have been operating on the assumption that another vehicle's lights would warn him, but he was cutting corners, straddling the centre-line & taking as much of both lanes as he wanted.
(*Assuming throughout that the driver was male but recognising that may not have been the case.)But the rest of your post I entirely agree with - compulsion works only where the person being compelled can see obvious benefits to complying. In the case of hi-viz and cycle-helmets the benefits are less obvious than keeping left and doing up seatbelts.
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Hard News: When "common sense" isn't, in reply to Maz,
Maz, I was only referring to how the authorities should phrase it. 'Recommend' rather than 'Compel' the wearing. People don't like being compelled, and with the debatable results of research into wearing helmets/hi-viz I feel compulsion would be wrong on more than 1 level.
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I figure that most of the problem is compulsion to wear hi-viz. Sure, it should be recommended, but humans, being the cussed bastards that we are, don't like compulsion.
As a long-time motorcyclist, when helmets became compulsory it felt awful not having the wind in my hair any more, so I understand why cyclists might be reluctant to embrace helmets. But trying to compel people to wear hi-viz if they have the temerity to risk life & limb on a sweat-wheel just seems several steps over the line.
I fully endorse previously-mentioned licencing requirement where people have to cycle for a period, then I would have them motorcycle for a period before being allowed to take charge of a car. That way they would learn about courtesy and defensive driving before getting a car licence.
As a rural dweller, the organised groups of cyclists that bunch up around rural roads can be a real pain in the arse, particularly where they are significantly slower than motorised vehicles travelling at (or about) the speed limit. Not sure there's much can be done other than rural drivers having to take more care and just slow down, but there's a real issue there that isn't relevant for urban/commuting riding.
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Apologies - I am an inverterate tone-lowerer. With a filthy mind/sense of humour.
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Is 'jewelery' (sic) a euphemism?
</unwanted mental image of a cupboard full of Brownlee playing with his 'jewelery'>
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There's a strange 'targetting' mindset at play too - schools represent the early authority figures who thwart the rampagers at a young age, focussing resentment against the schools, but they also represent a large number of easily-accessed targets at which to shoot.
These people don't tend to rampage against better-protected groups of 'targets' who are fully capable of shooting back.Also, I was horrorstruck by the pro-gun lobbyist who stated that the gun-control people had these children's blood on their hands, for preventing the school authorities from having guns that could have been used to kill the perpetrator earlier.
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I'm not voting on the basis that a word has achieved any legitimacy or mainstream usage; rather that a word or term has touched me in the timespan.
Zeitgeisty terms will come & go, it is what we, as individuals remember and get resonance with that lasts on a personal basis. -
Once again our economic and sovereign independence is being sold from under us by stealth by the <redacted but uncomplimentary> National Party government.
They are seriously pissing me off.
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For the year, and especially pertaining to PAS : cyber-marae (one of Islander's coinings).
Other nominees:
Notional government;
Omnishambles;
Fustercluck -
Field Theory: The Force will be with…, in reply to BenWilson,
That's quite a sizeable rat, drinking your coffee, Ben.
Not sure what weight the 'average' rat would be, but 1kg is a rat worthy of some respect.