Pet Peeves

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

heffalumps I've met. What is a woozle? Enquiring minds, etc.

[Shapley]

And what, exactly, is wrong with Jagwire?

Merriam-Webster has it as Jagwar or Jag-u-ar. I believe the commerical for the car company pronounced it zhag-u-ar, which I thought sounded rather pretentous. They've been Jagwires for as long as I can remember, I see no reason to change them now. Personally, I don't think they'll answer no matter what you call them...

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

And what, exactly, is wrong with Jagwire?

Merriam-Webster has it as Jagwar or Jag-u-ar. I believe the commerical for the car company pronounced it zhag-u-ar, which I thought sounded rather pretentous. They've been Jagwires for as long as I can remember, I see no reason to change them now. Personally, I don't think they'll answer no matter what you call them...

Jagwire. Well, the midwest twang will do that to a perfectly respectable jagwahr. British accents do a slightly different thing to the name of the car, which I guess they have a right to do seeing as how they make the car.

The jagwire in the zoo; him you don't want to answer no matter what you call him. He might be hungry. :worry:

[piqaboo]

Jag u ar. thank you very much.


Tigger tells Pooh that heffalumps and woozles like honey. Pooh says, do you mean elephants and weasles? Tigger replies :thats what I said!
Pooh then patrols his home against the threat, falls asleep and dreams.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLnADKgurvc

[BigJon@Work]

Pretty sure the Pooh dream segment is a strong indication of LSD use on the part of the animators.

[analog]

"Jagwire" will get you escorted to the door. Mon pere owns a 1956 convertable. Its been his baby longer than I have been.

Well please post a photo, even if has to go under projects...

[Schmeelkie]

Pretty sure the Pooh dream segment is a strong indication of LSD use on the part of the animators.

Had to explain to Pumpkin that it's a dream - I remember being vaguely freaked out by that as a kid.

On topic - people who don't thoroughly clean the snow off their cars. A few weeks ago I was unable to see for several seconds after a large chunk of snow flew off the top of an SUV onto my windsheild as the highway increased speed. Arg!!! Needless to say I slowed so there was a larger distance between us - many more chunks came off in the next 5 min or so. I have a minivan and am only 5'2" and I clear as much snow as possible off the top - I know I can cause a mini-snowstorm behind me if I don't. Can't understand people who don't bother to at least clear all windows and lights. Your headlights don't work too well if they have an inch or two of snow on them. Sheesh. I could understand this if we hardly got snow, but in a town where we average 100 inches a season, people should know better.

[Serenity]

Now that gasoline is pretty steep, I've seen more people take to bicycles to get around than ever before. But, it's annoying to have to drive around cyclists.....you have to give them that extra "falling room" while your passing them. Oh and how I hate those over-cautious drivers who won't pass them by quickly and, instead, will drive behind them at their cycling-pace just waiting for a "safe" chance to drive by...........

I wish they had their own designated bike trails and I hope I never see one of those bikers laying on the road like bloated roadkill (In the name of the father, son and holy spirit!....)

I've seen plenty of bikes in Mexico loaded with merchandise in baskets on top of the back wheel weaving between cars in heavy traffic.....but the bikes here are driven by yuppies who think they are on the Tour de France!

And there must be some sort of "Murphy's Law" that details why there is no oncoming traffic until I come up to someone on a bike and the timing is such that I have to drive exactly in between the bike and the car on the other side of the road.

[jamiebk]

Serenity,

I often ride my bike as a way to keep in shape. I usually try to obey the traffic laws, although just as when I am driving a car will admit to exceeding the speed limit or creeping through a red light now and then. Cycling will play an increasingly larger role in transportation as fuel price continues to rise. Here in NorCal, many of the Latino/Mexican workers use bikes as a chief mode of transport to and from work. We have many, many dedicated bike lanes in the area and a system of bike paths etc. Usually these are restricted to 15 MPH or less. This is pretty slow for a hobby cyclist (as opposed to someone using a bike for commuting). It is a great joy to takes one's bike out on the roads through the wine country, or some other area and enjoy a ride. Usually the roads are wide enough to accommodate cars and bikes but admittedly, some are quite narrow. Bikes still have a place there and safety, traffic laws and common courtesy should dictate.

Unfortunately, I have been the victim of many, many rude drivers. I have been "swooped at" (where they purposely drive the car dangerously close and fast to you), spit at, had things thrown at me from cars, pissed on (yep...some guy actually pee-d out the window on me, and had horns blasted from the rear, and screamed at. These things are upsetting/scary and can cause a death or accident. Seems like pick-up drivers are the worst. Ironically, I find that the Latino community is the most courteous.

Cyclists are extremely vulnerable and even the blast of air from a fast-passing truck can knock them off their bike or distract them to the point of causing an accident. People have been killed…and it isn’t the person in the car.

You may ask why cyclists don’t ride further over on the shoulder…and I usually ride just to the right of the white line. Well, it’s simple. There is so much debris on the shoulder that it almost guarantees a flat tire within a mile if you do so. Cars drive by so fast that you can’t see it, but the shoulder has gravel, broken glass, metal, wood debris, (sometimes puddles). It’s very hard to maintain control over there. The area near the white line is cleaner and usually has better asphalt/concrete because of the traffic running over it.

So, next time you see a cyclist, try to put yourself in his place and think how it feels. It’s true that there are some bonehead cyclists out there. I see them all the time in San Francisco running lights and stop signs or riding in the opposite direction of traffic or running an intersection. Most of the road-riders I see though are intent on getting in a good fast, long and trouble free ride. Give ‘em a break (brake).

[Shapley]

A cyclist has the same rights on the road as a motor vehicle (except on expressways, where they are forbidden), and the same responsibilities. We bicylcle ride near our home, along the back roads. I've not seen the type of rudeness Jamie has mentioned, but we don't have the population density that California has, and the majority of the motorists on the rural roads are locals, who know my wife or me. I often see bicyclists on the highways and country roads around here. A new bridge was built across the Mississippi here, with walkway/bikeway access, which was lacking on the old road. This has increased bicylce traffic in our region. There are backraods that allow the cyclists to bypass the highway for most of the route, but some of those are flooded this year, and the water is only recently beginning to recede. This has resulted in most of the cyclists taking the highway.

The main East-West route is pleny wide for most of its' length (up to the point where the aforementioned backroads interstect) so they bicyclists are in little danger, and present no obstruction to traffic. Beyond that area, and along the North-South highway (IL-3), there is no paved shoulder, so they have to ride in the traffic lane. I generally slow down prior to passing, as a courtesy (as Jamie points out, the wind from a passing car can be hazardous, not to mention debris stirred up by the vehicle), and pull over in the other lane if no oncoming traffic is present. This is the same courtesy I show to pedestrians who occasionally are seen walking that route.

While I've not experienced the rudeness, I've frequently seen people who make no effort to pull over, even in the absense of oncoming traffic, to pass cyclists. I've also been passed by motorists who seem annoyed that I've slowed down to accomodate the cyclist. I've never understood why they are in such a hurry. Surely the 10-15 mile per hour reduction in speed, for the 15-30 seconds that it takes to pass the cyclist, can't cost them that much of their precious time. But then, these are probably the same motorists that pass dangerously in two-way traffic, only to be stuck at the same traffic light when we reach town as those of who obeyed the speed limit and took our time.....

[GreatCarouser]

In my part of California there are many 'bike lanes' especially on the larger thoroughfares. This seems to have some effect on the driving. As far as the bad passing situations I'm reminded of my truck driving days. Particularly along US 30 in OH and parts of PA where the Shakers, Mennonites, Quakers etc. still travel in horse drawn carriages. One gets used to it. They are much more difficult to pass safely on a 2lane highway than a bicyclist.

[Serenity]

My pet peeve is not really targeting cyclists; though a couple of them have made my heart skip a beat as I go by them. Cyclists are extremely vulnerable; no contest versus a vehicle. I guess I am bemoaning the situation as I perceive it to exist. I wish we could have a network of dedicated bike trails for all types of bike enthusiasts. I thought California would be a biker-friendly state but I am appalled by some of the behavior you describe of motorists. Being on the east side of the map, the cities are older and the trails weren't really planned for our current state of travel.

I usually commute to work via state highways that cut through state parks instead of the highways full of truck debris, road-rage-speeders, tailgaters, etc. There is usually one lane coming and going and the shoulder varies from room for one pedestrian to room for one car. I frequently see teams of cyclists in the same color uniforms timing their runs at intervals from a designated town center; they start this practice roughly during rush hour ("after work"). Most of them stick to the designated bike shoulder but, as you point out, there are holes, weeds, rocks alongside the road and they have to quickly lean toward the driving lane. Very few of them use hand signals because they come up against road obstructions too quickly to signal in advance what they plan to do, so they just do it. I usually survey the terrain ahead of them and always pass them by pulling as far away from them as I can get without trying to surprise them in the process. Although, like I said, there must be a "Murphy's-type Law" as to the fact there always seems to be a car coming in the opposite direction when you plan to pass a cyclist. Sometimes, i get stuck behind a line of 5-10 cars going 10 to 15 mph (instead of the posted 40mph) because there is no room for the driver behind the cyclist to pass safely (cars from the opposite direction, lanes are too narrow, bike path is reduced, etc.). Many motorists cut it too close for comfort and I am surprised how the cyclists can keep there cool and not flinch but these motorists also stress me out. What I thought would be a relaxing commute through a beautiful state park listening to classical music often becomes as stressful as driving the highway. Well, at least I know they don't ride when it's raining; their rule of thumb is to avoid cycling when the probability of rain is above 50%.

[Serenity]

Here is another annoying thing: Mortgage windows with dancing people.

[jamiebk]

I am surprised how the cyclists can keep there cool and not flinch but these motorists also stress me out.

I can tell you the sometimes it takes nerves of steel to go out there with the vehicular traffic. I try very hard to "act like a car" in all respects. I try to project how they "see" me.

[BigJon@Work]

Bicyclists who ride two and three abreast and won't yield to traffic behind them . . .

[Serenity]

The station is advertising the Timeshare commercial..........now there's another pet peeve....Timeshares! What a waste of time and money!

[Serenity]

Popcorn stuck in your teeth!

[jamiebk]

wife not turning off the lights when not in the room

[Serenity]

Actually...the whole family keeps up the bad habit of leaving the lights on in unoccupied rooms. The 4-year-old wants the bathroom light on when he goes to bed so he feels safe and secure. If you turn the light off, he'll wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning screeching that the light is not on The bathroom light is about as bright as a light tower beacon! I've got it down to where half the bulbs are out now and then I plan to switch to nightlights until he can sleep through the night without any issues. He falls asleep fairly quickly but tends to stay upAY SPAST

[jamiebk]

Actually...the whole family keeps up the bad habit of leaving the lights on in unoccupied rooms. The 4-year-old wants the bathroom light on when he goes to bed so he feels safe and secure. If you turn the light off, he'll wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning screeching that the light is not on The bathroom light is about as bright as a light tower beacon! I've got it down to where half the bulbs are out now and then I plan to switch to nightlights until he can sleep through the night without any issues. He falls asleep fairly quickly but tends to stay upAY SPAST

you could try CFL's. At least they save about 80-85% of the energy of standad bulbs