Just Saying -- the soapbox thread

[cajone5]

Seems like a disproportionate representation of grad degree holders on this forum. I like it.

[alanp]

Something weird I've noticed is that some people drive around with their headlights on.

In the middle of the day. When it isn't grey and stormy with crap visibility.

I've heard of flashing your headlights to let oncoming traffic know that a speed camera is around the corner behind you. But not leaving them on all the time!

[somnif]

Something weird I've noticed is that some people drive around with their headlights on.

In the middle of the day. When it isn't grey and stormy with crap visibility.

I've heard of flashing your headlights to let oncoming traffic know that a speed camera is around the corner behind you. But not leaving them on all the time!

Its automatic on most cars these days. I literally cannot turn off my front headlamps if my car is in gear.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytime_running_lamp

[nzCdog]

Hear this comment often.  I usually drive with headlights on, even in the day. But I never need lights to see where I'm  going, even at night... I live in the city and there's always street lighting!  The Lights are so people are more likely to see me, and therefore less likely to be stoopid... It's risk mitigation through increased visibility.

Years ago I did an advanced driver course at a racetrack for work... its where I learnt this. Now  I always keep my tyres well inflated too, at least 36-38psi.  Nothing quite as eye opening as watching first-hand how much an underinflated tyre compresses under emergency braking!  I saw the rims dip within a couple cm of the road surface... if that rim kisses road you can blow out. That tyre was 29psi!  So anyways, the lights on thing is quite deliberate, at least for me. 

[EBK]

I always drive with my lights on in the daytime, even in an older car where I have to turn them on manually.  It helps other drivers and pedestrians see you better. 

[Leevibe]

I used to drive tractor/trailer and that made me a pretty conscientious driver. Visibility is so important. I always drive with my headlights on. Like nzCdog said, it dramatically increases your visibility to other drivers. When I had my motorcycle I wore a white helmet for the same reason. It stands out in traffic. The headlights on thing also functions for me as a handy habit. Because I always turn them on, I'm in the habit of always turning them off, so I don't accidentally leave them on. I'm forgetful enough to do that even when my car dings at me about it.

[Govmnt_Lacky]

UPS Mail Innovations (that program where UPS carries the package to your local USPS office and then they do the actual delivery) is no "innovation at all! Had a package shipped this way. The package arrived at local UPS warehouse (40 miles away) at 2AM on Friday morning. It has sat there until this (Monday) day when apparently it was transferred to the USPS. Delivery isn't going to be until Wednesday!!!

This is why I strictly mail with USPS. If I would have had the choice to ship strictly USPS, I probably would have had this package last Thursday 

[alanp]

Between shows like Pimp My Ride, and video showing cars like that (and I don't mean the German-Italian car)...

I'm pretty certain by now that there is absolutely no warrant of fitness process for cars on American roads. Going by what I see hot rodders driving on public roads, as long as you aren't speeding, traffic cops don't give a shit.

And they really should have hired a Diablo, not an Adventador. The Diablo is probably closer to what would turn them on -- it was the last Lambo, IIRC, before all the electric wizardry was splooged into the guts of them. I noticed that they complained about getting into the Lambo, but were also very careful not to talk about the actual comfort of the driving, compared to the other car (where he was joking about driving along with one foot sitting on the bloody dashboard!)

[thesmokingman]

it depends on the state and age of the vehicle regarding the safety requirements. if you can acquire an original frame and metal chassis, you can get away with a lot regarding safety requirements. generally speaking, antique automobiles were grandfathered in to vehicle safety requirements so if the car didn't originally have that particular safety or emissions feature, there's no requirement for it to have it now. states like California require you to maintain any emissions features a car might have had, including any of the seriously power robbing features of the early to mid 1970s. for instance, a lot of companies offer aftermarket exhaust manifolds with smog pump fittings on them because the originals had them and California requires them.

[Frag Magnet]

I recently had this discussion with my wife with regards to exactly this whole notion of insisting on being called doctor ... if you've earned your doctorate, you've earned the right to be a dick about being called doctor.

Excuse me, I'm going to need everyone to address me as Former Sergeant Frag Magnet; I didn't spend six years finger-banging things which were supposed to blow up (but didn't) to be addressed like the rest of you mere plebs.

I'll say here what I said in the Twitter discussion (apparently criticism = "trolling" now):

If one's in a professional and/or academic environment and the title is pertinent to the given situation, it's absolutely appropriate to insist on the use of a title. It's a matter of professional (or academic) courtesy and respect.

However, if you're outside of that context in a mass of other people all of whom have things to do, STFU. It's not about you. You're not special and odds are you're only interested in making blue collar/service workers with enough on their plate already address you as their social superior.

...mansplained to about their own work (I dislike that phrase, but it's accurate here)...

mansplain : patronize :: yolo! : carpe diem

[nzCdog]

 

[alanp]

I need to get some more storage containers and seriously tidy up.

I know that there's a half-populated Moodring PCB kicking around here somewhere. I just can't find it. I did find some valve VCA pcbs I got given in a trade, some old Doppelganger prototype PCBs, some overdrives and fuzzes I never got around to boxing, the half-populated Tides PCB from the run with no silkscreen I did... no moodring.

Annoyingly, the Belton Brick I picked up for the project, I had in two seconds.

[alanp]

Fun bit of trivia -- the phrase "balls out" comes from the governor in old steam engines. When the engine is roaring along at full trot, the two spherical weights on the governor are extended completely out.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centrifugal_governor

The phrase "balls to the wall" comes from aviation -- if the pilot wanted full engine power, he'd slam the throttles (usually with balls on the tips for easier grabbing than just a stick) all the wall forward against the firewall.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/balls_to_the_wall

[zombie_rock123]

I love the origins of phrases, another balls one is "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" or I think just "brass". Comes from the cannon on ships era when the balls were kept on brass trays called monkeys and when it was cold the metal.. contracted (?) and the balls would fall off.

[alanp]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brass_monkey_(colloquialism)

I've heard the brass monkey story before, but it has been discredited.

Look up "etymology" sometime