Weekly Observations

The Wogster said:

Mark Hickey said:

Don Boring said:

Also, during the day, a certain contingent, mostly beautiful
young asian women from the nearby community college ALWAYS
ride their bikes AGAINST traffic and act like I am doing something
wrong by riding my bike on the RIGHT side of the street. Pisses
me off. Argh!

Here in Arizona the bike lanes have helpful arrows pointing the
correct direction. I suppose otherwise there are those who'd think
they should ride against traffic, upside down (at which time the
international cyclist symbol would be correctly oriented for them).

But in general - college students are among the most dangerous
"cyclists" out there... I'm not sure if it's ingnorance, stupidity or
"individualism", but an awful lot of 'em will ride on the wrong side
for no apparent reason. I suppose it's actually a good thing, as
they'll likely help purify the gene pool by doing so. ;-)

More and more I see collge students riding wrong-way WHILE talking on
a cell phone. I see massive SUVs in their future.

Funny, I was at the University of Toronto yesterday, and there are bike
lanes along college and St George streets, and both were being used
properly, is that because Canadians are smarter?????

Well always a possibility but Torontonians? Naw, not a chance.
John Kane
Kingston ON

"Dave Vandervies" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
The Wogster <[email hidden]> wrote:

[Canadians are]

Quoted message said:

better educated about things (name
the last three Canadian Prime Ministers -- I can name the last 3 US
Presidents -- Bush, Clinton, Bush). Clue, the latest guy has been in
for a little over a year.....

Is that a trick question? I doubt most of the Canadians I know would
get it right on their first or second try either.

Want to try another trick question? Ask almost any American what the
capital of Canada is and 99% will have no idea. Most say Toronto or
Montreal. Never ceases to amaze me.

Cheto

In article <[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Mark Hickey said:

Zoot Katz said:

Sun, 18 Sep 2005 19:21:31 -0400,
<[email hidden]>, The Wogster
<[email hidden]> wrote:

>>More and more I see collge students riding wrong-way WHILE talking on
>>a cell phone. I see massive SUVs in their future.
>>
>
>Funny, I was at the University of Toronto yesterday, and there are bike
>lanes along college and St George streets, and both were being used
>properly, is that because Canadians are smarter?????

They're just better educated.

Maybe they're just more docile. ;-)

Nope, we are more polite, generally less haried, more law abiding (the
exception seems to be car drivers), better educated about things (name
the last three Canadian Prime Ministers -- I can name the last 3 US
Presidents -- Bush, Clinton, Bush). Clue, the latest guy has been in
for a little over a year.....

Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Thatcher, and I forget the other one.

--
Michael Press

In article <[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Dave Vandervies said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
The Wogster <[email hidden]> wrote:

[Canadians are]

Quoted message said:

better educated about things (name
the last three Canadian Prime Ministers -- I can name the last 3 US
Presidents -- Bush, Clinton, Bush). Clue, the latest guy has been in
for a little over a year.....

Is that a trick question? I doubt most of the Canadians I know would
get it right on their first or second try either.

Okay, we have Paul Martin,

Believe it or not, I completely forgot about him the first time through.

Quoted message said:

Okay, before Martin we had Jean Cretien, before that we had Kim Campbell
(only woman on the list, never elected, served the second shortest term
in history).

Yep. Another one I had to stop and think about for a while, and I
suspect most other people would as well. (I don't have much fact to
base that on, though.)

Quoted message said:

Anyone know who served a shorter term the Kim?????

Comments elsethread suggest it's Joe Turner. Wouldn't've known that on
my own, though.

dave

--
Dave Vandervies [email hidden]
Semantically, this acts as a directive to the C implementation to produce a
diagnostic. To that extent, it is equivalent to any other syntax error or
constraint violation. --Kaz Kylheku in comp.lang.c

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dave Vandervies said:

Comments elsethread suggest it's Joe Turner.

Ehrmm, John Turner. Which is an excellent demonstration of this:

Quoted message said:

Wouldn't've known that on
my own, though.

if I can't even remember the name for the time it takes me to read
through a few posts.

dave

--
Dave Vandervies [email hidden]
Semantically, this acts as a directive to the C implementation to produce a
diagnostic. To that extent, it is equivalent to any other syntax error or
constraint violation. --Kaz Kylheku in comp.lang.c

Mon, 19 Sep 2005 22:51:33 -0400,
<[email hidden]>, The Wogster

Quoted message said:

Anyone know who served a shorter term the Kim?????

Yes.
--
zk

Tue, 20 Sep 2005 21:17:45 +0000 (UTC),
<[email hidden]>, [email hidden]

(Dave Vandervies) said:

Quoted message said:

Comments elsethread suggest it's Joe Turner.

Ehrmm, John Turner. Which is an excellent demonstration of this:

Sir WhozitsTupper, served ten days less than John Turner.
--
zk

"Cheto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Want to try another trick question? Ask almost any American what the
capital of Canada is and 99% will have no idea. Most say Toronto or
Montreal. Never ceases to amaze me.

Everybody here knows that the capital of Canada is the letter C.

Zoot Katz said:

Sun, 18 Sep 2005 04:36:30 GMT,
<[email hidden]>, "Sock Puppet"

Quoted message said:

Despite what Katz thinks, most motor vehicle operators really do not want to
run cyclists over.

You've not been paying attention. Scud slobs don't know where they are
lots of the time. They don't see bikes because they aren't looking for
bikes. It they do see one, they aren't trained to judge the speed of
the smaller size object. They often assume it's approaching slower
than it is. "I didn't see you", is thrown up as an excuse/apology
after they clobber you. But it's their admission of guilt.

Speaking as a bicycle commuter (well, former bicycle commuter - now I
work at home and my commute is a very short walk), I can tell you that
when I'm driving, and it's dark, and the bicycle rider is wearing dark
clothes and riding a dark-colored bicycle with no reflector, I may very
well not see him until it's too late. Forget about training to judge
the speed of the smaller-size object - if the object in question is
dark and blends perfectly into the dark background, I won't see it, let
alone judge its speed. I've seen a few such psychos - fortunately, I
was able to see them in time to react appropriately, but what if I
hadn't?

What's the problem with putting a $5 blinking red light on yourself,
anyway? Doesn't take up much room, doesn't weigh much, and makes you
visible from a distance. When I ride at night, I put a reflective
yellow triangle on myself, and a blinking red light - why make it
harder for drivers to see you?

LM

Cheto said:

Want to try another trick question? Ask almost any American what the
capital of Canada is and 99% will have no idea. Most say Toronto or
Montreal.

Hoserville?

20 Sep 2005 21:59:49 -0700,
<[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] wrote of unlit riders:

Quoted message said:

I've seen a few such psychos - fortunately, I
was able to see them in time to react appropriately, but what if I
hadn't?

That's a moot point since you did see them. If you hadn't seen them,
hit them and then stuck around until the cops came to investigate, the
rider would likely have been cited for riding without lights.

Quoted message said:

What's the problem with putting a $5 blinking red light on yourself,
anyway? Doesn't take up much room, doesn't weigh much, and makes you
visible from a distance. When I ride at night, I put a reflective
yellow triangle on myself, and a blinking red light - why make it
harder for drivers to see you?

I've never condoned riding without lights. Hell, I use my headlight
during the day. I can't prove that makes me any safer but it doesn't
leave cagers many excuses for not seeing me.

I hope your blinking red light is affixed to the rear of the bike and
that you're also displaying a white light on the front. A red light on
the front is stupid as well as illegal.
--
zk

"Roger Houston" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Everybody here knows that the capital of Canada is the letter C.

99% don't.

Cheto

"Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hoserville?

I think you're right, eh?

Cheto

Dave Vandervies said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dave Vandervies said:

Comments elsethread suggest it's Joe Turner.

Ehrmm, John Turner. Which is an excellent demonstration of this:

Quoted message said:

Wouldn't've known that on
my own, though.

if I can't even remember the name for the time it takes me to read
through a few posts.

Actually there is one shorter then John Turner by 10 days, I had
forgotten about Johnny though, Charles Tupper who's claim to fame was
serving from 1896.05.01 to 1896.07.08 (69 days) Turner was 79 days
(1984.06.30 to 1984.09.16) and Kimmie was therefore third place at at
131 days. All three were under the same circumstances, they took over
from an elected PM, called an election right away and blew it.

W

Michael Press said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Mark Hickey said:

Zoot Katz <[email hidden]> wrote:

>Sun, 18 Sep 2005 19:21:31 -0400,
><[email hidden]>, The Wogster
><[email hidden]> wrote:
>
>
>
>>>More and more I see collge students riding wrong-way WHILE talking on
>>>a cell phone. I see massive SUVs in their future.
>>>
>>
>>Funny, I was at the University of Toronto yesterday, and there are bike
>>lanes along college and St George streets, and both were being used
>>properly, is that because Canadians are smarter?????
>
>They're just better educated.

Maybe they're just more docile. ;-)

Nope, we are more polite, generally less haried, more law abiding (the
exception seems to be car drivers), better educated about things (name
the last three Canadian Prime Ministers -- I can name the last 3 US
Presidents -- Bush, Clinton, Bush). Clue, the latest guy has been in
for a little over a year.....

Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Thatcher, and I forget the other one.

Not even close, Thatcher was British, Trudeau was earlier, and other
one, never served.

Correct Answer Paul Martin(present), Jean Chretien and Kim Campbell lets
go further, Brian Mulroney, John Turner, Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark,
Pierre Trudeau (again), Lester B Pearson, John Diefenbaker, Louis
St-Laurent. That's 10, in order newest to oldest serving (I only
counted Trudeau once, even though he served twice).

I will admit I needed to look up the spelling on Chretien.

Which Prime Minister served, got booted, served again, got booted, and
served again. Clue, his picture is on the $50 bill.

W

Can you name the last 10 US Presidents, in order?

20 Sep 2005 21:59:49 -0700,
<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ee one, they aren't trained to judge the speed of
the smaller size object. They often assume it's approaching slower
than it is. "I didn't see you", is thrown up as an excuse/apology
after they clobber you. But it's their admission of guilt.

Speaking as a bicycle commuter (well, former bicycle commuter - now I
work at home and my commute is a very short walk), I can tell you that
when I'm driving, and it's dark, and the bicycle rider is wearing dark
clothes and riding a dark-colored bicycle with no reflector, I may very
well not see him until it's too late. Forget about training to judge
the speed of the smaller-size object - if the object in question is
dark and blends perfectly into the dark background, I won't see it, let
alone judge its speed.

I should have specified that I was speaking about daylight riding.
Night riding on unlit roads, using good lights and lots of reflecting
surfaces, a rider can be more visible than in the day. In bright
lighted city streets, a "be seen" type front light can be seen, (when
its batteries are up) but a driver should then also be able to see the
rider's body. Even the weak lights are visible from an adequate
distance on the slower and less well lit residential streets.

Quoted message said:

I've seen a few such psychos - fortunately, I
was able to see them in time to react appropriately, but what if I
hadn't?

Unless you were obviously impaired and there was no evidence or
witnesses to some grevious driving, the collision will appear in the
statistics as the being bicyclist's fault.

There probably won't be any questions about whether you were using
over-the-counter medications, whether you were sleep deprived and
possibly micro-sleeping behind the wheel. Maybe messing with the
phone, looking for a CD or reading a map at the time? No problemo.
You're wide awake now and not likely to volunteer such information.
"I didn't see him, he came out of nowhere" is usually sufficient to
get you a free pass.
--
zk

In article
<[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Nope, we are more polite, generally less haried, more law abiding (the
exception seems to be car drivers), better educated about things (name
the last three Canadian Prime Ministers -- I can name the last 3 US
Presidents -- Bush, Clinton, Bush). Clue, the latest guy has been in
for a little over a year.....

Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Thatcher, and I forget the other one.

Not even close, Thatcher was British,

Are you sure?

Quoted message said:

Trudeau was earlier, and other
one, never served.

Correct Answer Paul Martin(present), Jean Chretien and Kim Campbell lets
go further, Brian Mulroney, John Turner, Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark,
Pierre Trudeau (again), Lester B Pearson, John Diefenbaker, Louis
St-Laurent. That's 10, in order newest to oldest serving (I only
counted Trudeau once, even though he served twice).

I will admit I needed to look up the spelling on Chretien.

Which Prime Minister served, got booted, served again, got booted, and
served again. Clue, his picture is on the $50 bill.

Quoted message said:

Can you name the last 10 US Presidents, in order?

Piece-a-cake. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford,
Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt,
Hoover, Coolidge, Harding, Wilson, Taft, Roosevelt,
McKinley, ...

Gets vague here. Polk, Garfield, Harrison, Grant.

--
Michael Press

Michael Press said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Quoted message said:

>Nope, we are more polite, generally less haried, more law abiding (the
>exception seems to be car drivers), better educated about things (name
>the last three Canadian Prime Ministers -- I can name the last 3 US
>Presidents -- Bush, Clinton, Bush). Clue, the latest guy has been in
>for a little over a year.....

Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Thatcher, and I forget the other one.

Not even close, Thatcher was British,

Are you sure?

Yup, see http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108099.html
Third from the bottom.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Trudeau was earlier, and other
one, never served.

Correct Answer Paul Martin(present), Jean Chretien and Kim Campbell lets
go further, Brian Mulroney, John Turner, Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark,
Pierre Trudeau (again), Lester B Pearson, John Diefenbaker, Louis
St-Laurent. That's 10, in order newest to oldest serving (I only
counted Trudeau once, even though he served twice).

I will admit I needed to look up the spelling on Chretien.

Which Prime Minister served, got booted, served again, got booted, and
served again. Clue, his picture is on the $50 bill.

Quoted message said:

Can you name the last 10 US Presidents, in order?

Piece-a-cake. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford,
Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt,
Hoover, Coolidge, Harding, Wilson, Taft, Roosevelt,
McKinley, ...

Gets vague here. Polk, Garfield, Harrison, Grant.

You could have stopped at Truman, but that's okay, you missed a question
though, who's picture is on the Canadian $50 bill, clue the Bank Of
Canada website has this info. One thing you will notice if you go
there, bills are colour coded, the latest series looks more European
then the US bills, with their diareah green tinting (even new US bills
look dirty).

W

In article
<[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Michael Press said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

>>Nope, we are more polite, generally less haried, more law abiding (the
>>exception seems to be car drivers), better educated about things (name
>>the last three Canadian Prime Ministers -- I can name the last 3 US
>>Presidents -- Bush, Clinton, Bush). Clue, the latest guy has been in
>>for a little over a year.....
>
>
>Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Thatcher, and I forget the other one.
>

Not even close, Thatcher was British,

Are you sure?

Yup, see http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108099.html
Third from the bottom.

Hey, I was just funnin' aboot Thatcher.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Trudeau was earlier, and other
one, never served.

Correct Answer Paul Martin(present), Jean Chretien and Kim Campbell lets
go further, Brian Mulroney, John Turner, Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark,
Pierre Trudeau (again), Lester B Pearson, John Diefenbaker, Louis
St-Laurent. That's 10, in order newest to oldest serving (I only
counted Trudeau once, even though he served twice).

I will admit I needed to look up the spelling on Chretien.

Which Prime Minister served, got booted, served again, got booted, and
served again. Clue, his picture is on the $50 bill.

Quoted message said:

Can you name the last 10 US Presidents, in order?

Piece-a-cake. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford,
Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt,
Hoover, Coolidge, Harding, Wilson, Taft, Roosevelt,
McKinley, ...

Gets vague here. Polk, Garfield, Harrison, Grant.

You could have stopped at Truman, but that's okay, you missed a question
though, who's picture is on the Canadian $50 bill, clue the Bank Of
Canada website has this info. One thing you will notice if you go
there, bills are colour coded, the latest series looks more European
then the US bills, with their diareah green tinting (even new US bills
look dirty).

I looked it up.

William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada's longest-serving
prime minister. He held power for almost 22 years, from
1921 to 1926, from 1926 to 1930, and from 1935 to 1948.
Under King's administration, the Government of Canada
introduced unemployment insurance in 1940 and the family
allowance in 1944. Mackenzie King is also remembered for
his support of the Famous Five in their historic appeal
to the British Privy Council, then Canada's highest court
of appeal, and for appointing the first woman, Cairine
Wilson, to the Senate in 1930.

Extra credit trivia. Give the surnames shared by more than
one President of the USA. Who was heavier Taft or
Cleveland?

--
Michael Press

Michael Press said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,

The Wogster said:

Michael Press said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,
The Wogster <[email hidden]> wrote:

>>>Nope, we are more polite, generally less haried, more law abiding (the
>>>exception seems to be car drivers), better educated about things (name
>>>the last three Canadian Prime Ministers -- I can name the last 3 US
>>>Presidents -- Bush, Clinton, Bush). Clue, the latest guy has been in
>>>for a little over a year.....
>>
>>
>>Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Thatcher, and I forget the other one.
>>
>
>Not even close, Thatcher was British,

Are you sure?

Yup, see http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108099.html
Third from the bottom.

Hey, I was just funnin' aboot Thatcher.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>Trudeau was earlier, and other
>one, never served.
>
>Correct Answer Paul Martin(present), Jean Chretien and Kim Campbell lets
>go further, Brian Mulroney, John Turner, Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark,
>Pierre Trudeau (again), Lester B Pearson, John Diefenbaker, Louis
>St-Laurent. That's 10, in order newest to oldest serving (I only
>counted Trudeau once, even though he served twice).
>
>I will admit I needed to look up the spelling on Chretien.
>
>
>Which Prime Minister served, got booted, served again, got booted, and
>served again. Clue, his picture is on the $50 bill.

>Can you name the last 10 US Presidents, in order?

Piece-a-cake. Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford,
Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy, Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt,
Hoover, Coolidge, Harding, Wilson, Taft, Roosevelt,
McKinley, ...

Gets vague here. Polk, Garfield, Harrison, Grant.

You could have stopped at Truman, but that's okay, you missed a question
though, who's picture is on the Canadian $50 bill, clue the Bank Of
Canada website has this info. One thing you will notice if you go
there, bills are colour coded, the latest series looks more European
then the US bills, with their diareah green tinting (even new US bills
look dirty).

I looked it up.

William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada's longest-serving
prime minister. He held power for almost 22 years, from
1921 to 1926, from 1926 to 1930, and from 1935 to 1948.
Under King's administration, the Government of Canada
introduced unemployment insurance in 1940 and the family
allowance in 1944. Mackenzie King is also remembered for
his support of the Famous Five in their historic appeal
to the British Privy Council, then Canada's highest court
of appeal, and for appointing the first woman, Cairine
Wilson, to the Senate in 1930.

Extra credit trivia. Give the surnames shared by more than
one President of the USA. Who was heavier Taft or
Cleveland?

More then one strangely enough Adams (both named John, strangely
enough), Bush, Johnson, Harrison, Roosevelt.

Taft or Cleveland, couldn't find a weight rating on line, but pictures
show them as both having a severe lack of bike time......

More extra credit trivia, why is the White House white?

W