The urinals in the bathroom here at work have this annoying habit of squirting a bit of water out of the handle when you flush. Even knowing this and, in fact, expecting it to happen, there’s still something about getting a few drops of water on your hand during that particular activity that trips one’s “ewww” factor.
I saw a second-generation Prius yesterday with big ol’ alloy wheels on it. Kinda defeats the purpose of the car itself, a bit.
I heard Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” on the local classic rock station yesterday.
As I left work last night, a green Mercedes came zooming out into the street behind me. As we both pulled up to the light, I glanced over to see… Bill Gates, on his way home from work. (I guess, since his last day is today, he’s finally started slacking off: it was only 6:15pm.) How weird that the now-second richest man in the world drives (among other things) a rather pedestrian 2008 Mercedes S550. (The entry-level S-Class, even.) If you didn’t know who he was, he looked like any other Microsoft executive heading home for the day.
(One of the things I’ve always liked about “BillG” is that he drives himself, and in generally the same kind of car you or I would own. No obvious sign of security goons, either.)
I see this all the time: People (usually women, but not always) driving around with some little dog on their lap, apparently blissfully unconcerned about the explosive device sitting 8 inches in front of them. If you’re ever in an accident—and it doesn’t take much of an impact to set off a driver-side airbag; it can deploy in an impact as slow as 15MPH—you and your lap dog are going to become more intimately acquainted than you’re likely to want.
Airbag documentation is very clear about the importance of having nothing between you and the airbag, and the details behind airbag deployment should make it clear why: In approximately 0.05 seconds it goes from 0 to 220MPH, completing its inflation so that it’s close enough to your head (in the case of a drivers-side airbag) to help prevent (or at least lessen the severity of) injuries caused by impact with the steering column or by “submarining;” i.e., sliding down under the lap belt.
The point of all this is that, should your airbag deploy while little Muffy is sitting on your lap with her head out the window, she’s very rapidly going to get accelerated to triple-digit speeds before she makes a violent impact with YOU.
To the idiot in a second-generation Prius who decided to pull out into my lane from a dead stop, without signaling, probably without looking, and with just enough throttle application to get from 0-15MPH but not the 40-ish that traffic was actually moving: Count yourself very, very lucky that I have quick reactions, phenomenal brakes, and not a lot of vehicle mass to slow down. Your evening would’ve proceeded a lot differently had I been an inattentive driver in a 5500lb SUV, I’ll bet.
Dumbass.
Almost every time I post an ad to eBay or Craigslist, one or more loser low-ballers asks me some variation of “What’s your lowest price?” If this is your idea of negotiation, it really sucks.
Hey! Here’s an idea: Make me an offer and see if I go for it. Hell, even a low-ball offer will get you more respect than actually being dopey enough to ask what my lowest price is.