Flare Sci-Fi Forums: Pedestrians of the world, Beware...

This is topic Pedestrians of the world, Beware... in forum Officers' Lounge at Flare Sci-Fi Forums.

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Posted by Jubilee (Member # 99) on :

I'm finally learning how to drive. So if you live anywhere near me at all *looks at Frank* you'd better start using public transportation, and pray for the best. *grins*

I'm really not that bad, I dont' think... but the curb and I have become close, intimate friends. I've spent most of my time in the parking lot, but my friend is taking me out on the REAL road tomorrow...... *evil laughter*

Just wanted to share with ya..... Wish me luck, and pray for the innocent bystanders in this area... *LOL*

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"Nothing can be altered, there is nothing to decide
No escape, no change of heart, no anyplace to hide
You are all I'll ever want, but this I am denied
Sometimes in my darkest thoughts, I wish I'd never learned
What it is to be in love and have that love returned"

[This message has been edited by Jubilee McGann (edited July 07, 1999).]

Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :

*buys a Hummer*

If that doesn't work I'll go for the tank.

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http://frankg.dgne.com/
"I could never sleep my way to the top, 'cause my alarm clock always wakes me right up." - TMBG

Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :

Shields Up, Weapons to full power!!

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WHO ARE YOU

Posted by RW (Member # 27) on :

Your friend is learning you to drive? Hm. Anyway, I won't even have the guts to go out for driving lessons.. brave soul you are.

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Hey, what a conincidence! I just started learning to drive, too. Sure took me long enough... For those of you who don't know, the legal age to get a learner's permit is 15-and-a-half, and I've been 18 since May. :-)

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"Imagine all the people, living life in peace..."
-John Lennon, "Imagine"

Posted by Siegfried (Member # 29) on :

To quote a phrase from the unofficial student handbook, "There are two types of pedestrians at the University of Houston: the quick and the dead."

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"Some people call me the Space Cowboy. Yeah! Some call me the Gangster of Love. Some people call me Maurice. Whoo hoo! 'Cause I speak of the Pompatus of Love!" - Steve Miller Band's The Joker

Posted by Michael Dracon (Member # 4) on :

*Is upgrading his car*

Let the Carmageddon begin!!!

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"Calm may work for Locutus of the Borg here, but I'm freaked out, and I intend to stay that way!"

- Xander, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :

Evasive manuvers, NOW!!

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WHO ARE YOU

Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :

*sticks tongue out at Jubes*

Ha Ha, can't get me!!!!! Or are you really going to drive up to Toronto just to run me down?

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I can resist anything.......
Except Temptation

Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

In honor of the occasion, might I suggest a new sigline?

"If you don't like the way I drive, Stay off the sidewalk!"

--Baloo

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Christ is coming soon.
Look busy.
www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/8641/

Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :

I'm an excellent driver.

*clasps fingers together, tilts head slightly to right, rocks back and forth*

Yeah, I'm an excellent, excellent driver...
Slow in the driveway on Thursdays...

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"When we turn our back on our principles, we stop being human." -- Janeway, "Equinox"

Posted by Jeff Raven (Member # 20) on :

I don't think of them as pedestrians...I think of them as pre-installd speed bumps!

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"I do whatever the voice of Charles Capps tells me to do."

Posted by Jubilee (Member # 99) on :

*whacks Tahna for sticking his tongue out at her*

You know, THAT can be removed......

And BTW, I'm 20, TSN, so don't feel bad. *L*

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

*takes Baloo's advice and gets a new sig for the occasion*

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"Keep honking: I'm reloading."
-bumber sticker on a friend's truck

Posted by RW (Member # 27) on :

The one reason I'll never go to the USA: 16 year olds driving cars...

Posted by Aethelwer (Member # 36) on :

Like me. :P

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http://frankg.dgne.com/
RB: "'Get a life' is a phrase heard a lot, though I have never known exactly what kind was implied. Seems a lot of shallowness and greed is the rule."
CS: "I guess that it means the kind of life led by the characters of 'Dawson's Creek' or 'The Simpsons'."

Posted by HMS White Star (Member # 174) on :

Well actually in some places in the US there are 15 year old liceased drivers

. Of course then there's my 15 year old brother who decided to borrow the 740i BMW, which was kind of bad since he didn't have a licease, and he was driving, after a curfew, and had beer. He probably won't get a licease until he is 17, and that only want the law will likely do to him. O well at least nothing got damaged and no one got hurt.

HMS White Star

Posted by RW (Member # 27) on :

Justice! BTW Of course, for me it is easier to go about without a car. But if you live somewhere in the outback of nevada...

Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

RW: Imagine there's 160 KM of farmland between your town and the nearest other town it's size. The only businesses betwixt your town and the next are hotels, gas stations, and convenience stores.

You might consider that having a car would be a pretty good transportation option, especially when you consider that the nearest train station is in the next sizable town, and the bus stations are staffed by people who would rather not deal with you any more than necessary, generally dirty, and frequently occupied by winos and tubercular old men.

Something like 50% of the population of the U.S. lives within 50 miles of the ocean. Look at a map. The rest of us have to drive a long ways to reach the next outposts of civilization.

--Baloo

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Christ is coming soon.
Look busy.
www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/8641/

Posted by Jubilee (Member # 99) on :

Well I went out on the Turnpike for the first time today and managed not to kill, hurt, or maim anything or anyone... and my mother sat in the backseat, and DIDN'T scream, so I guess i'm doing pretty well for my 4th day driving.

Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :

Well done. I am willing to bet it is a busy road, as most turnpikes tend to be. I hate busy roads.

My nearest 7/11 is a half hour walk. But I only live ten miles from the State Capitol.

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WHO ARE YOU

Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :

So that's the Connecticut vehicle that hit me?

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Doctor: "Run along. I'll reattach any severed limbs. Just don't misplace them." (Voyager: "The Killing Game")

Posted by RW (Member # 27) on :

Baloo, that was exactly what I meant. Dutchmen don't need cars, most Americans do. You say it as if I meant the opposite. But that could be me. I'm not sure anymore.

Posted by Coddman (Member # 10) on :

YAY JUBILEE!!!!!!
Driving RULES!!!!!!!!! Just out of curiousity, what vehicle are you driving? And is it Standard or automatic?

And by the way, Jubilee, "Join the club" of people who are risks to the road. Hehehe.... I've been driving since I was 11 on dirt roads illegally, but now, I have my learner's permit and only about 7 hours of highway driving practice to my name - so if any of you see a white 1988 Chevrolet Cavalier with a little red "L" sign on the back, give some extra attention to the road. BWAHAHAHA. I can drive without killing anyone, but I'm not too sure about maiming anyone yet.

DANGER TIME RANGE:
July 20th - August 30

DANGER GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:
British Columbia, Canada
Alberta, Canada

*Snickers*

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Pleh.

[This message has been edited by Coddman (edited July 15, 1999).]

Posted by Jubilee (Member # 99) on :

Right now I'm driving my friends brand new Hundai (sp?) Elantra.. Dark green ........ and currently a bit scraped. Just a BIT scraped...... *whistles innocently*

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I try, in that moment, to see through your soul
when all that is driving my heard forward
is you, thoughts of you, hopes for you,
and a fading dream with a Mona Lisa smile
that whispers "are you thinking of me too?"
- Leanna Allen

Posted by Deep6 on :

It's Hyundai-trust me, I'm forced to drive one.

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"The brocolli must die!"

-Stewie, The Family Guy

Posted by RW (Member # 27) on :

And it's Lantra. That, or the US sales branch thought Elantra was a more evocative name. And they look like they're made of plastic. The cars that is.

Posted by HMS White Star (Member # 174) on :

Well you haven't had any fun until you get your first ticket (Don't look at me I only gotten 1 in 3 years, and it wasn't even for speeding, stupid rolling stop on a stop sign, it was on a right hand turn). Actually I haven't had my car hit anything however every once in a while I run over a curb

P.S. Wait a minute I actually did run into a curb once, but it wasn't my fault, it was the stupid ice (which is highly unusual in Memphis, TN). And there was that I time I hydroplaned about 150 feet (which is not fun in any way ), but lucky I was the only car on that road .

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HMS White Star (your local friendly agent of Chaos:-) )

Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

It's Hyundae Elantra.

RW: I wasn't getting pedantic, but agreeing with you.

When I was stationed in Europe, I was jealous of the nice, CLEAN trains, buses, etc. Your public transport isn't the hardship it is here. Our buses and trains are generally old, poorly maintained, and/or generally abused and run-down.

Some folks think our public transportation network would be bright, efficient, and shiny like in Europe if we subsidized it, but the volume of traffic simply would not justify the amounts of money we would have to throw at it.

Too bad. I like trains.

--Baloo

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"Someday your ship will come in...and you'll be at the airport "
www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/8641/

[This message has been edited by Baloo (edited July 16, 1999).]

Posted by Deep6 on :

No, you spelled Hyundai wrong too....

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"The brocolli must die!"

-Stewie, The Family Guy

Posted by RW (Member # 27) on :

So in the US, it's Elantra instead of Lantra? Um, what's the reason for something as futile as that?
What's the original Korean name anyway, with or without the e?

And yes, I think West European public transport is much better. But beware of the Prague subway trains (1960s? 1950s?)

Posted by Deep6 on :

All I know is that the little chrome thing on the back of my car says Hyundai.

[This message has been edited by Deep6 (edited July 16, 1999).]

Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :

There once was a VW sold here as the "Rabbit" and sold in the rest of the world under another name, which I can't recall right now. I just remember thinking the other name was better.

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WHO ARE YOU?

Posted by RW (Member # 27) on :

? You mean the golf? Kind of like the fiat strada in the UK..

Posted by LOA (Member # 49) on :

I'd just like to say that I LOVE driving Jubes, and I'm glad to hear that you're learning how... i'd ALSO like to say that 16 year old drivers aren't always bad... I drive a minimum of several hundred miles a week here around town, and I have since I was 16, and not ONCE have I gotten in an accident that way my fault. I had one car totalled while it was parked innocently in a parking lot, but THAT wasn't my fault, seeing how I wasn't even there, and then I got rear ended a few weeks ago while sitting at a stop sign. Other than that, NO problems.... and my friends all say that I'm the best driver they know.... I'll admit that a lot of being a good driver involves experience, but I still truly feel that I'm a better and more EXPERIENCED driver than a lot of people that I know that are several YEARS older than me...

But that's just my opinion... anyway, as I said, I love driving, so you know... gotta go now.... my car is calling! *grin*

~LOA

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"Show us the lost and dying world
Remove the scales from our eyes
And as we go through all the earth
May our hearts weep for our lives..." FOM '99

Posted by RW (Member # 27) on :

What's the average American gasoline price in dollars, per gallon? I have the impression it's dirt cheap over there, whereas here it's rather expensive.

Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :

It seems high to us, but I know it's a lot cheaper then overseas. Summer time average in this state, about $1.25 - $1.30 per gallon. It's usually higher here then in other places. They call it transport cost because they have to cross mountains, but the truth is that all of the Gasoline (Petro) for this area comes from less then 100 miles(160.9344K) form here, and the road is one of the flatest roads coming into the area. In the winter, when there is less travel, the price drops to around $1.00 a gallon.

Accoding to my coverter, one US gallon=3.785412 Litre or 0.8326738 UK gallon. I understand it's 3 to 5 dollars a gallon over there.

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WHO ARE YOU?

Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :

Kosh's figures sound right.

It hovers near CAN$0.60 per litre around here.

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Elim Garak: "Oh, it's just Garak. Plain, simple Garak. Now, good day to you, Doctor. I'm so glad to have made such an... interesting new friend today." (DS9: "Past Prologue")

Posted by RW (Member # 27) on :

Hm. That's 3.97 dollars per US gallon, last time I checked (that is - last time we passed the petrol station in the neighbourhood)

Another fun question:

Does any scandinavian member know what a litre of milk costs over there? Last time I was in Denmark..um..1991, everything just seemed like a ripoff. Sometimes even three times as expensive as here..

Lastly, I won't ask you what a litre of vla costs in the states, cos that would be rather pointless.

Oh, one US dollar is 428 thousand Turkey lira. Don't they reckon it's time for a new currency?

[This message has been edited by RW (edited July 22, 1999).]

Posted by First of Two (Member # 16) on :

Gasoline was down to $0.93 a gallon in my town this spring, thanks to the mild winter, but now it's back up to $1.15, thanks to... um, greed or something.

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"When we turn our back on our principles, we stop being human." -- Janeway, "Equinox"

Posted by Saiyanman Benjita (Member # 122) on :

Ya, it just jumped up again. Now it's hovering near $1.30 which is almost how much I paid in Connecticut, where gas prices are always 20 cents higher than anywhere else.

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Nurse: Can I help you?
Stan: We're here to commit our friend, Kyle.
Nurse: Reason?
Kyle: I'm a clinically depressed fecalpheliac on Prozac.
Nurse: JACKET!!

Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

In the military, you travel a lot. If it isn't for official business, it's to visit relatives on the other side of the continent. I'll tell you some day about driving 3,000 miles each way in a 1986 Chevy Sprint (Suzuki Swift) four-door, but not now.

I have observed something which makes no logical sense to me:

The price of gas seems to have no relation to the cost of transporting it to the point of sale from the refinery.

The price does seem to fluctuate as a function of demand and ability to pay. You will never find cheap gas in beverly hills.

Here in New Mexico, right in the heart (or upper spleen, at least) of Oil Country, the price of fuel tends to go up in the summer when we want to travel a lot, and down in the winter when the weather's so bad you don't drive unless you are required to by law or (in my case) regulation. The seasonal fluctuation is expected.

Regional price variation seems to be tied in to the general cost-of-living.

(Prices shown below are for unleaded regular. Add 10-25 cents for mid-grade unleaded or 25-40 cents for premium.)

When I was stationed in South Carolina, the price of gas dropped from where it had been (about what I pay today, just over a dollar) to around 65 cents. That was as low as I had seen it in 10 years.

Later, I was stationed in California, and the price in Sacramento was about 1.15/G. In San Francisco, the price was about 1.35/G. I hear in L.A., the cost is around 1.75-1.85/G.

The reason American gasoline is so cheap, compared to European fuel prices, is simple:

They don't produce much there.

Most (probably all, since I don't hear about how cheap the gas is in Slobbovia) European countries have a stiff tax on petroleum products (including fuels). This has the effect of artificially reducing demand so the balance of trade doesn't resemble a severed golden artery, spurting precious monetary value out of the country faster than other trade can bring it in.

It also encourages efficient vehicles and ones that use alternative (made there or cheaper anyway) fuels. The advantage is that if a large percentage of oil-producing nations got together and decided to fix the price of crude at an absurdly high value, the European nations could just tighten their belts and say "Sorry, but we can do without quite as much as we had before".

Japan is in a slightly more precarious predicament. If I am not mistaken, japan imports virtually all of it's fossil fuels. This makes Japan particularly careful not to disturb the tranquility of its fuel-providers. It also makes Japan particularly keen on technology (such as nuclear power, wind power, and wave power) that lessens this dependance. They like it very little, thank you.

I don't blame them.

--Baloo

P.S.: I got side-tracked from the original topic. Did I make sense anyway?

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I'm not uncouth.
I'm differently mannered.
www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/8641/

Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :

Well, Baloo, where I live, the oil refinery is just a few minutes away and prices are higher than distant places.

Go figure.

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Elim Garak: "Oh, it's just Garak. Plain, simple Garak. Now, good day to you, Doctor. I'm so glad to have made such an... interesting new friend today." (DS9: "Past Prologue")

Posted by RW (Member # 27) on :

Interesting points Baloo, now I wonder if methane gas is cheaper over here than in non-methane producing countries. But:

1: I have no idea how much a cubic meter of methane costs here..

2: I don't know how to find out what it costs in other countries..

The first one who asks me if tulips are, therefore, more expensive outside of The Netherlands gets his ass kicked because of national stereotyping :]

Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

Er, is it okay if I ask that about threelips?

[ducks!]

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I'm not uncouth.
I'm differently mannered.
www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/8641/

Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :

Oh, who cares about tulips? The real question is about the windmills... *runs away*

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"Merde!"
-commander of Napoleon's army, upon learning that the Duke of Wellington's forces had received assistance and were requesting his surrender

Posted by RW (Member # 27) on :

no no, not too-lips, it's tyoo-lips you yank! *wide grin*

Posted by Baloo (Member # 5) on :

Okay, okay!

(Sheesh!)

ThrYeelips, then.

(Picky, picky!)

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I'm not uncouth.
I'm differently mannered.
www.geocities.com/Area51/Shire/8641/

Posted by Saiyanman Benjita (Member # 122) on :

Elim: I think it's because of the tax on luxury items. Americans tax it a little, whereas in Canada, they tax all sorts of luxury items (And at an ungodly high rate, too.) Your gas rate might reflect how much of a luxury your country thinks gas is.

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Nurse: Can I help you?
Stan: We're here to commit our friend, Kyle.
Nurse: Reason?
Kyle: I'm a clinically depressed fecalpheliac on Prozac.
Nurse: JACKET!!

Posted by Elim Garak (Member # 14) on :

*LOL* Well, sort of, but I mean... If you go just two hours North, gas is still much cheaper... and it's coming from just a few minutes (less than twenty) away!

I'd prefer to live in Canada than in the U.S., though...

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Elim Garak: "Oh, it's just Garak. Plain, simple Garak. Now, good day to you, Doctor. I'm so glad to have made such an... interesting new friend today." (DS9: "Past Prologue")