Monday, July 25, 2005
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
A list of things...
...that make me go hmmm.
Movie times. Went to see War of the Worlds the other night, which was officially listed as a 7:50 start time. After ads and previews galore, the words "Feature Presentation" appeared on the screen at 8:28. Thirty-eight frickin' minutes after the "start time". Where else does this happen? Anywhere? Go see a baseball game that starts at 7:05pm, and they do the pregame stuff, such as the anthem(s), earlier than 7:05pm, so that the game can actually start at 7:05pm. An art gallery says it opens at 10am, the doors are open at, gasp, 10am. WTF. I know it's been bad for a while at movies with the previews and ads, but thirty-eight minutes? For more on this, click here, and then check out nomovieads.com.
Cigarette smoke. Went to the Sunshine Diner for breakfast on Saturday, their new location. It was a beautiful morning so when given the option of inside or patio, we didn't hesitate. Pancakes in the sun! Freshly squeezed OJ was delicious, sun was hot, Biscotti looked sexy, all was good. The server brought our orders and just as we started to dig in, I inhaled a lungfull of cigarette smoke. We were blinded by the sun, we didn't think about the smokers using the patio for different reasons. I was back-to-back with one of the smokers and was, unfortunately, downwind. Nothing else could have happened to have ruined the meal more. There were attempts though. The patio being right on Broadway, there was an obnoxious motorcyclist who started up his hog and revved for longer than necessary, before maxing out as he pulled away. It was loud enough that Biscotti had to stop talking mid-sentence until he was gone. One of the smokers then asked the server, "Do they really think that's cool?".
Misunderstandings. I once acknowledged the receipt of a book that was mailed to me by writing, "Arrived the day after yesterday." The sender thought I meant the day before yesterday. But before and after don't mean the same thing. (Reminds me: why do "slim chance" and "fat chance" mean the same thing?)
New Zealand traffic rule. There is a law in NZ that states that drivers wishing to turn left must yield to oncoming drivers who wish to turn right. Seems mundane until you remember that in NZ traffic is opposite from North America; you drive on the left side of the road. So, this law is equivalent to NA drivers, when turning right, yielding to oncoming left-turners. Of course, it wouldn't be practical here. It is in NZ, where roads are often one lane each way, so having this law keeps vehicles moving, instead of being stuck behind a right-turner.
Dog shit. It's not dog shit itself that makes me go hmmm, as that would be stupid. It's the inconsiderate owners of dogs that don't pick up after their dog has crapped, especially in areas of high pedestrian volume, that makes me go hmmm. I took two kids to a neighborhood playground yesterday. Right there in plain view, in very close proximity to the playground structure, was a pile of turds. It was quite clear that this feces de canine was produced by a larger-than-average dog. Dog owners, please pick up after your dogs.
Movie times. Went to see War of the Worlds the other night, which was officially listed as a 7:50 start time. After ads and previews galore, the words "Feature Presentation" appeared on the screen at 8:28. Thirty-eight frickin' minutes after the "start time". Where else does this happen? Anywhere? Go see a baseball game that starts at 7:05pm, and they do the pregame stuff, such as the anthem(s), earlier than 7:05pm, so that the game can actually start at 7:05pm. An art gallery says it opens at 10am, the doors are open at, gasp, 10am. WTF. I know it's been bad for a while at movies with the previews and ads, but thirty-eight minutes? For more on this, click here, and then check out nomovieads.com.
Cigarette smoke. Went to the Sunshine Diner for breakfast on Saturday, their new location. It was a beautiful morning so when given the option of inside or patio, we didn't hesitate. Pancakes in the sun! Freshly squeezed OJ was delicious, sun was hot, Biscotti looked sexy, all was good. The server brought our orders and just as we started to dig in, I inhaled a lungfull of cigarette smoke. We were blinded by the sun, we didn't think about the smokers using the patio for different reasons. I was back-to-back with one of the smokers and was, unfortunately, downwind. Nothing else could have happened to have ruined the meal more. There were attempts though. The patio being right on Broadway, there was an obnoxious motorcyclist who started up his hog and revved for longer than necessary, before maxing out as he pulled away. It was loud enough that Biscotti had to stop talking mid-sentence until he was gone. One of the smokers then asked the server, "Do they really think that's cool?".
Misunderstandings. I once acknowledged the receipt of a book that was mailed to me by writing, "Arrived the day after yesterday." The sender thought I meant the day before yesterday. But before and after don't mean the same thing. (Reminds me: why do "slim chance" and "fat chance" mean the same thing?)
New Zealand traffic rule. There is a law in NZ that states that drivers wishing to turn left must yield to oncoming drivers who wish to turn right. Seems mundane until you remember that in NZ traffic is opposite from North America; you drive on the left side of the road. So, this law is equivalent to NA drivers, when turning right, yielding to oncoming left-turners. Of course, it wouldn't be practical here. It is in NZ, where roads are often one lane each way, so having this law keeps vehicles moving, instead of being stuck behind a right-turner.
Dog shit. It's not dog shit itself that makes me go hmmm, as that would be stupid. It's the inconsiderate owners of dogs that don't pick up after their dog has crapped, especially in areas of high pedestrian volume, that makes me go hmmm. I took two kids to a neighborhood playground yesterday. Right there in plain view, in very close proximity to the playground structure, was a pile of turds. It was quite clear that this feces de canine was produced by a larger-than-average dog. Dog owners, please pick up after your dogs.
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