English Language & Usage: Multi-Layered Discourse Room

HippoSawrUs

20:04

@Cerberus IDK, it was bad too. Like Larry, Barry, and Terry. See, I can't even remember.

It's a snow day, y'all!

Xanne

In LA it’s a fire day.

HippoSawrUs

Less than an inch of snow, maybe 1/2", and surgeries are literally postponed in the South.

Our grandson's surgery postponed

Or go under the knife with a surgeon who just did someone else's surgery for 6 hours

No thanks

@Xanne Still? Wow. That's all that's been on the news; that and Carter's service.

I see news only by accident now. I can't anymore.

Cerberus

@HippoSawrUs Lovely.

Mitch

@Araucaria-Him what happens (with respect to law enforcement) if you cross a street but not at an intersection or cross-walk (zebra crossing)... Do the police just sort of not care, do they sniff disapprovingly ike your aunt, do they yell at you, do they give you a citation/ticket/fine?

Xanne

Still.

HippoSawrUs

20:15

Mudslides and now fires

delicate water balance

Mitch

To be clear, in the US, jaywalking is a municipal affair (and is given to people at the discretion of the police). It is enforced differently in different places...I've heard that in LA they enforce a lot. In all my years of doing it, I've never gotten a citation...but maybe I do it when the police aren't around?

@Xanne didn't you guys just have a small earthquake?

Xanne

@alphabet Jimmy Carter did an interview with Playboy too. Hefner was trying for a broader audience.

Cerberus

@GratefulDisciple Yeah this room has been active since 2010 or so, with us in it.

Mitch

@alphabet So are you saying Galileo made up the myth? or at least stretched things to make his point stand out?

Cerberus

@Mitch Here I think you may legally cross the street anywhere in principle, except close to a traffic-lighted junction; however, if doing so violates other traffic laws or causes dangerous situations, then you may not. Probably unless it is specifically indicated that you may not cross.

I praesume you are not allowed to cross highways in any way.

Mitch

20:21

did that article suggest that the myth was established though since Galileo's time? or do academic philosophers/historians of science know that it's a straw man, but grade school science teachers have been promoting a good story for kids? (or some other asseessment)

Oh no, in the US crossing a highway on foot is guaranteed by a constitutional amendment, the 23rd:

"the right of the people to keep and bear pedestrian transmission on interstate throughfares, shall not be infringed"

Yeah, I know, I don't understand the comma there either.

Cerberus

Interesting quotation.

Mitch

haha it's Friday, I can't help it.

Cerberus

By a highway, I mean a road where they drive 100+ km/h.

You may cross a road where they drive 80 km/h.

Mitch

But yeah for real that's illegal of some kind to cross a highway on foot. Because not only is it dangerous for the crosser, but it can realy cause a bad automotive accident.

Cerberus

Yes.

Mitch

20:29

but I'm guessing that is the motivation for laws about jaywalking (doing it in the city).

GratefulDisciple

@Cerberus It's amazing; you guys are the founders. The 15th year anniversary of your first post is coming up then.

Mitch

Frankly this conversation is weird because I am in total agreement with @Araucaria-Him that it is crazy to have a word for this activity, and I agree with your assessment, pretty much entirely.

Except I know about this 'jaywalking' word and it is some how a bad thing.

HippoSawrUs

I had to j-run in Sacramento for wearing a vintage, like-new Army field jacket in a homeless area, from teenagers chasing and videoing me. It was all I had in the trunk at the airport; decided at the last minute I should bring a jacket, I could've sold for $200.

My mother always wanted to fly to Sacramento, to see her sister; she didn't miss a thing.

GratefulDisciple

@Cerberus I'll keep that in mind when going to Netherlands. According to this lawyer blog article, it's legal in Canada. Yay. But in the USA, i think it must vary, at least by state, if not by county/city, like it's illegal in Texas.

HippoSawrUs

They still have a Jack-in-the-Box; WTF?

Mitch

20:32

I have, on the other hand, been strictly indoctrinated since before I could walk, that you absolutely must look both ways before crossing the street. This admonition came with many (or at least one repeated often enough) anecdotes about my older brother, who was a very good boy, was running in the yard with a bunch of friends...

and then they all ran across the street to another friends house...except my brother who stopped at the street because he was 'not allowed to cross the street'.

Cerberus

@GratefulDisciple I suppose so! We should look that up.

Mitch

I never stopped hearing that story.

Xanne

@alphabet In AmE we’d say “The car needs its oil changed” (not changing).

GratefulDisciple

@Mitch I did. And I found who the main culprits are; this one is precious.

Cerberus

@Mitch Yes, we were taught to look thrice. Left, right, left.

@Mitch !!You should have stopped and looked! And yet you are still alive!

Mitch

20:35

It worked because to this day I will look both ways as I am entering traffic, mostly so that the oncoming truck driver will be looking directly into my eyes as the last thing he sees before hitting me.

HippoSawrUs

So homeless people in Sacramento are just sleeping on random benches under trees and on the steps of the police station.

GratefulDisciple

@Mitch Since being hit by a redlight-crosser at a stop light, I even look left and right before proceeding when the light turns green.

HippoSawrUs

And I guess they all have squeaky clean hair for some reason.

It's a weird effin' vibe there

I think they were all robots or medicated

Mitch

@Cerberus I still have time to learn.

HippoSawrUs

IDK

Wish I had chose LA instead

Cerberus

20:38

@GratefulDisciple Correct! I was taught by my father to do this, and I almost always do.

HippoSawrUs

And Maui instead of Oahu

Mitch

@GratefulDisciple First lesson I learned by failing kindergarten: Always look both ways when crossing a one-way street.

Cerberus

"You can never be certain that other traffic will abide by all the laws, so protect yourself and maintain a margin of error for others."

Mitch

@HippoSawrUs People keep saying Maui but it's like a whole extra airplane ride to get to someplace pretty much the same.

GratefulDisciple

@Cerberus In the US highway is the biggest / most important road(s) in a city that still have stop lights, but freeway implies there's no stop lights. Speed varies depending on safety, with some freeways the speed limit can be up to 80 mph (128 km/h).

@Cerberus Sadly, I learned it the hard way. My car was totaled (air bag inflating), but fortunately I can still walk away.

@Cerberus Yes, in the USA the term is "defensive driving". There is even "defensive driving" courses.

HippoSawrUs

20:44

@Mitch They can't be as hateful as Oahu residents

I chose Oahu for the hospital, for my cousin in case of emergency

I would never go there again, not worth the terrible flight

I have enough miles to fly there for free

Simply not worth it

The Ko Olina lagoons are like a natural spa, very clean and relaxing

The rest of the place is crap

Except Killer Tacos

Mitch

how is the pineapple?

I've heard the macadamia nuts are pretty good.

probably overpriced though.

HippoSawrUs

Not any better than Myrtle Beach's pineapple

IDK about the nuts; I gave them to my husband.

Mitch

oh I've never had Myrtle Beach pineapple, at least not knowingly. When I was a kid people used to talk about how great Myrtle Beach was. I've never been there so I can't have my expectations dashed.

HippoSawrUs

I got a t-shirt that named the islands; I always forget some.

Myrtle Beach is usually a hell hole.

Mitch

@HippoSawrUs ooh...I know. Niihau, Lanai, Hawai'i (it's one of the islands)...

HippoSawrUs

20:51

But it had beautiful blue water for some reason that time, so we went.

Mitch

uh that long one, Kahaloowe?

@HippoSawrUs I grew up going to Virginia Beach. The water there was never ever clear.

Ever.

HippoSawrUs

The best part was letting a 10-y/o drive the golf cart and the pineapple-mango drink in a whole pineapple for $15.

Mitch

I get a little nervous if there -is- clear water, like someone intentionally emptied things out and poured distilled water in.

@HippoSawrUs Life is great.

HippoSawrUs

There was no alcohol in it. It was just very good.

Mitch

Were you that ten year old?

As an adult I would never let a 10 year old operate a golf cart. Too much like a bumper car and too tempting.

HippoSawrUs

20:55

@Mitch The water in the Ko Olina lagoons is the clearest I've actually been in.

Could see my feet clear as day in 2 ft of water

The lava rocks clean the water, they say, or something like that.

@Mitch My daughter and her husband were stationed there. I remember salt water taffy from the candy store; that's about it.

at VB

He was a Marine at VB

I like gentle pretty oceans where you don't get eaten or pulled out to sea; that's all.

MetaEd

Strands #313
“They're inseparable”
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I'm stuck on the easiest category in Connections ...

HippoSawrUs

@Mitch No, at ten we were swimming out past the end of the pier, in the Atlantic Ocean "graveyard"

Golf carts are tame

And I did take her out in the ocean for the first time

She did great

But her eyes turned dark and she passed out on the beach

Would've had to call 911 if we weren't sitting beside a nurse

She may not live to 40

Robusto

@HippoSawrUs The Mediterranean off of the Balearic islands is way clearer than I would have imagined.

HippoSawrUs

Who knows

She over does it sometimes

MetaEd

Connections
Puzzle #579
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Cerberus

21:10

@GratefulDisciple OK I never know the terms for different roads in Holland, let alone abroad.

HippoSawrUs

overdoes

Cerberus

@GratefulDisciple That is bad, I am glad you were not badly hurt.

HippoSawrUs

We're just trying to get in some basics, fantastic basics, while we can

Cerberus

@jlliagre You did it! And it all went perfectly except one term that you couldn't find.

Robusto

HippoSawrUs

21:13

These episodes happen all the time; she doesn't know how to take it easy.

Now I know I have to do that for her, slow her down. Live and learn.

@Robusto That is beautiful

Like some hidden coves in HI

Robusto

@HippoSawrUs It's a hidden cove on the southeast side of Mallorca.

HippoSawrUs

They call it a "secret beach"

Robusto

I kept thinking: "I'm tempted to move here."

Araucaria - Him

@Mitch Over here? Nothing, because it's not illegal to cross a road even if there's a crossing a couple of metres away. Of course, you can't do dangerous stuff on a road, whatever your mode of transport.

HippoSawrUs

They have no idea what a "long beach" is considered on the Altantic

Cerberus

21:17

@Araucaria-Him Not even forbidden when there is a traffic light?

HippoSawrUs

In HI, I mean

Xanne

@Mitch I see there was a 3.5 this morning. A 3.5 would not be felt, though.

Robusto

@HippoSawrUs The picture, stunning as it is, doesn't really even do it justice.

Araucaria - Him

@Cerberus Nope!

HippoSawrUs

@Robusto I think you have to have been born before 1920 to get a good price on a "beach place" in America.

Maybe you can rent a "tree house" there, meaning a whole house wrapped around a tree.

On VBRO?

Robusto

21:23

@HippoSawrUs Oh yeah. But think of all those rich folks northwest of Santa Monica who could afford those houses. Where are they now?

Cerberus

@Araucaria-Him Hmm I don't actually 100% know the laws here regarding traffic lights, but I know you can get a fine running a red light at least while cycling.

HippoSawrUs

IDK what it is overseas

Mitch

@Xanne Oh no worries then. I think with all the LA things going on, someone said mentioned that an earthquake had happened in the SF area, but maybe they were just worrying that it might happen.

@Cerberus Yeah, I don't 'slide' through an intersection if a cop is there.

HippoSawrUs

I meant VRBO. IDK what the equivalent would be elsewhere.

Mitch

If they're not there I smile and wave if there are other cars coming to a stop.

HippoSawrUs

21:27

@Robusto :-(

IDK, in a safe place now, I hope

Robusto

@Mitch Unless you don't see the cop.

HippoSawrUs

We have to walk on the other side of the ditch if we don't want to get hit

By a high teenager with a new Dodge Charger on Dead Man's Curve

Cerberus

> Dead Man's Curve

What a lovely address to live at.

HippoSawrUs

Yes, we have no sidewalks anywhere in town

"town" used lightly

Cerberus

Lovely place.

HippoSawrUs

21:31

We can just zigzag all day long in hopes of not dying like road kill

Or Challenger?

IDK, the long yellow one with black racing stripes

Robusto

@HippoSawrUs If you're in Houston and you are walking along a highway, you have a very good chance of becoming just that.

HippoSawrUs

WTH?

@Robusto I went through Houston on I-10

Many years ago

Mitch

@HippoSawrUs I jknew a guy once who was the source of the label (for a curve in a street near us).

What's funny/sad, is he did it a second time.

HippoSawrUs

Went the wrong way down a one-way street to stop at a borderline motel/hotel

Robusto

@HippoSawrUs My parents used to live there, and once when we visited there was a news story of a guy whose pickup ran out of gas on 610. He started hoofing it to a gas station with a can in his hand, then he got hit by a car, then by another car, and nobody fucking stopped. Traffic just kept on going.

HippoSawrUs

21:36

They just put one-way streets anywhere in Houston

@Robusto Wow

Cerberus

@Robusto Is it safe to stop there?

Robusto

@Cerberus I wouldn't.

Cerberus

So that explains why cars didn't stop for him?

Robusto

I don't know why nobody stopped. It's Houston. What do you expect from a hick town the size of Ireland?

Giving the citizenry of Houston a limited-access highway system is like giving toddlers guns.

Cerberus

Or you could just not go there.

Problem solved.

Robusto

21:45

In fact, guns are another issue there. Road rage cooking your thermometer to the boiling point? Get out your gun and start shooting.

Cerberus

Close the cupboard and seal it.

Robusto

@Cerberus That was my solution. After my dad died I got my mother out of there. That was my last visit.

HippoSawrUs

The only person I really knew from Houston, or suburb thereof, was my best friend's ex, basically the American twin of Littlefinger, on GOT, but worse. So bad he volunteered for the African water cause for years so he wouldn't go to hell.

Really, if everybody would just do that: 'Hey, I should probably do something besides hate and hurt people now.' The world would be a better place.

With guys just walking around wishing you were dead but making sure you were well hydrated at the same time

Cerberus

@Robusto Such solutions often work in life.

Araucaria - Him

22:01

@Cerberus You can't run. a red light here driving or on a bike! But you can cross the road while the pedestrian light's flashing red. And you can cross not on a crossing right nearby. Of course, if you get run over that will be your own fault!

Cerberus

Right.

Mitch

@Araucaria-Him well, here it is also your own fault, you'd be dead, but the driver of the vehicle you just ruined the bumper of could still be prosecuted legally (something like manslaughter?)

Xanne

23:24

The thing about the LA fires is that if you evacuate and your house doesn’t burn, you have to get back to it ASAP to deal with the looters. Nothing like human nature for inspiration.

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