Bad beat/Moaning/Venting thread - It's the end of the world as we know it

[Goodluck2me]

Try promise me you’ll shoot yourself next- just finished great read
top off with Savage Continent- a book that gave me nightmares when I read it on holiday

Sounds really aggressive when I read that out of context

[Raoul Duke III]

hmm. That seems like made up science - testing if someone has used cocaine in their recent past and using that to justify six-month bans on the grounds of presumed harm to others.



Edit: the made-up bit being the catastropic harm likely to be caused to other riders. just seems more like an attempt at moral judgement.

.

If there are laws against driving when coked out of your head, it seems reasonable that you shouldn't be riding racehorses at high speed in the same condition?

[Solksjaer!]

Sounds really aggressive when I read that out of context

Go fk yourself Joe . Was an excellent short-story i read about poker dealers years ago. Fk off would ya . The sequel was guuud too.

[Pat Mustard]

If there are laws against driving when coked out of your head, it seems reasonable that you shouldn't be riding racehorses at high speed in the same condition?

They usually try to have the horse more coked than the jockey

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

If there are laws against driving when coked out of your head, it seems reasonable that you shouldn't be riding racehorses at high speed in the same condition?

It wasn't checking that though. It wasn't checking if he was under the influence of coke, just whether he had recently used coke. Those are two vastly different things.

[DeadParrot]

I had to watch it in 2 parts. Forks might be one of my fav episodes of TV

Forks is outstanding TV

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Bit of a genius move today. I was sitting at the desk thinking to myself - oh dear lord I'm bored out of my tree. So so so bored. Why is this so boring. Why?

Then I went to the shop and got a pack of hard-boiled sweets and spent the afternoon sucking on them like a trooper. Made the afternoon infinitely better - whenever I got bored I just thought; yeah, but now I'm also sucking on sweets.

Was thinking also - as a kid subject to the usual sweet rationing this was exactly how I viewed that adulthood would turn out.

As always, this invaluable life advice, is free.

[Raoul Duke III]

It wasn't checking that though. It wasn't checking if he was under the influence of coke, just whether he had recently used coke. Those are two vastly different things.

I think you should become a lawyer too and go into partnership with the first guy.

Lawyer#1: our client doesn't have a cocaine problem, he has an alcohol problem. And he only snorts coke when he's locked. So that's OK.
Lawyer#2: furthermore, you only tested him for evidence of recent cocaine use. Not whether he was in fact higher than a kite when he was galloping down the straight at 40mph in amongst a crowd of other horses and jockeys. Although admittedly he has been riding every day for the last six months. I er, rest my case.

Judge: FFS. Hang him.

[Micknail]

Bit of a genius move today. I was sitting at the desk thinking to myself - oh dear lord I'm bored out of my tree. So so so bored. Why is this so boring. Why?

Then I went to the shop and got a pack of hard-boiled sweets and spent the afternoon sucking on them like a trooper. Made the afternoon infinitely better - whenever I got bored I just thought; yeah, but now I'm also sucking on sweets.

Was thinking also - as a kid subject to the usual sweet rationing this was exactly how I viewed that adulthood would turn out.

As always, this invaluable life advice, is free.

Cough drops fo lyf.
What varieties did you get?

[Micknail]

Ate half a kilo of spicy Bombay mix.
Feels like molten lava every turn it takes on the way to the exit.
Toilet rolls in the fridge.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Cough drops fo lyf.
What varieties did you get?

Assorted fruit fizzers from M&S. On the grounds that the elderly British clientele of M&S probably know, and demand, a great boiled sweet.

[dinekes]

Watched a YouTube vid earlier of the guy who died in the Nutty Putty cave. Remember hearing about and thinking "oh that's an unfortunate way to go"
Cant think of a more panic inducing activity. I was getting palpable anxiety just watching a representation of his progress through this oppressively tiny corridor with like 12 inches of clearance and awkward undulating bits with absolutely no room to turn around. Awful death.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Looks like road deaths are going to be up 20% on last year, and on 2019 figures. Seemingly driven by a massive tendency for people in big cars and trucks to kill grandparents (by far the biggest category of pedestrians killed on the road this year, then kids). Someone in their 70s killed in Mountmellick tonight, presumably crossing the road in his home village, like my grandparents used to cross the road there.

Do we simply need vastly more traffic crossings as a really basic first measure? We've never really had enough of them in Ireland - notably less than any other EU country, presumably as it used to be safe enough to just cross the road wherever. While now it clearly isn't safe enough to rely on courtesy and people paying attention.

Something nice they've started doing all over Dun Laoghaire is removing those awful slip road things as they're manic for kids to manage when crossing the road. There's one near me - beside Park Pointe Tesco - where you have to cross something like six roads to just continue down the main Kill Avenue, all because of slip roads. They're now designing that so theres no slip roads and only one cross needed for pedestrians to go in any direction. Should make a massive difference. But there's still nowhere near enough traffic lights in really obvious places that you would expect them.

[Theresa]

Aussie, Brits and Irish have such disdain for pedestrians. No wonder people are getting smashed.

Pedestrians in Canada almost always have right of way, cars will stop to let you go cross almost any circumstance, I've seen it on motorways, it's like it's bred into them. It does tend to make you a little entitled as a pedestrian though.

[Solksjaer!]

Looks like road deaths are going to be up 20% on last year, and on 2019 figures. Seemingly driven by a massive tendency for people in big cars and trucks to kill grandparents (by far the biggest category of pedestrians killed on the road this year, then kids). Someone in their 70s killed in Mountmellick tonight, presumably crossing the road in his home village, like my grandparents used to cross the road there.

Do we simply need vastly more traffic crossings as a really basic first measure? We've never really had enough of them in Ireland - notably less than any other EU country, presumably as it used to be safe enough to just cross the road wherever. While now it clearly isn't safe enough to rely on courtesy and people paying attention.

Something nice they've started doing all over Dun Laoghaire is removing those awful slip road things as they're manic for kids to manage when crossing the road. There's one near me - beside Park Pointe Tesco - where you have to cross something like six roads to just continue down the main Kill Avenue, all because of slip roads. They're now designing that so theres no slip roads and only one cross needed for pedestrians to go in any direction. Should make a massive difference. But there's still nowhere near enough traffic lights in really obvious places that you would expect them.

People out walking past 5 should be compelled to wear reflective gear.

[Solksjaer!]

Aussie, Brits and Irish have such disdain for pedestrians. No wonder people are getting smashed.

Pedestrians in Canada almost always have right of way, cars will stop to let you go cross almost any circumstance, I've seen it on motorways, it's like it's bred into them. It does tend to make you a little entitled as a pedestrian though.

So the cliche mild mannered Canadian extends to this on motorways. Jiminy Cricket ( vicious Canadian insult)

[Hectorjelly]

There were many things wrong in San Francisco, but the care all the cars took around pedestrians was amazing. If there were a hint of a pedestrian near a road, they would slow down to let them across, and all the pedestrian crossings were religiously obeyed. In Mexico City Pedestrian crosses are merely traps set out by hospitals to increase business.

[Hectorjelly]

I'm writing a short story to submit to the Stinging Fly that's due tomorrow, I'm worried it's going to be a bit violent for their tastes. Its 1/3 ode to Oaxacan food, 1/3 guy complaining about his girlfriend 1/3 horrific violence
edit: just to note, the last two parts are not linked!

[Solksjaer!]

There were many things wrong in San Francisco, but the care all the cars took around pedestrians was amazing. If there were a hint of a pedestrian near a road, they would slow down to let them across, and all the pedestrian crossings were religiously obeyed. In Mexico City Pedestrian crosses are merely traps set out by hospitals to increase business.

Try Naples . The path was as dangerous .

[MysteryGuest]

There were many things wrong in San Francisco, but the care all the cars took around pedestrians was amazing. If there were a hint of a pedestrian near a road, they would slow down to let them across, and all the pedestrian crossings were religiously obeyed. In Mexico City Pedestrian crosses are merely traps set out by hospitals to increase business.

Shame san fran throwing all that care away to hand their roads over to killer robots

[Hectorjelly]

Shame san fran throwing all that care away to hand their roads over to killer robots

The autonomous cars as just as polite, more so in fact when you are cycling

[Wombatman]

Off to Vegas with the GF on Wednesday for a week. Her first time. Wining and Dining, Shows and Shopping with smattering of golf and poker. Hired a car to get around so planning to do a couple of the state parks too. Any must do's or hidden gems we should check out? Absolute avoids welcome too.

[zuutroy]

Where are you staying? The food court at Aria is a decent option for quickish meals where you wont get absolutely gouged. Italian restauarant in Park MGM was pretty good too. Atelier Joel Robuchon in MGM is really good if you're doing a fancy dinner...can also next door to the main restaurant if very fancy! I dont really have any non food-related tips!

[6starpool]

There were many things wrong in San Francisco, but the care all the cars took around pedestrians was amazing. If there were a hint of a pedestrian near a road, they would slow down to let them across, and all the pedestrian crossings were religiously obeyed. In Mexico City Pedestrian crosses are merely traps set out by hospitals to increase business.

San Fran very much an outlier in US terms though for pedestrians, or at least from my experience over there.

[Solksjaer!]

Off to Vegas with the GF on Wednesday for a week. Her first time. Wining and Dining, Shows and Shopping with smattering of golf and poker. Hired a car to get around so planning to do a couple of the state parks too. Any must do's or hidden gems we should check out? Absolute avoids welcome too.

Call me a tourist trap monkey boy but i loved the duelling piano bar in New York NY .

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

People out walking past 5 should be compelled to wear reflective gear.

Or just make sure that roads are well-light. Vastly more traffic lights that stop on command are needed too, and reengineering the roads to bake in safety for vulnerable road users. They're starting to do that now in big leaps in richer areas*, but its still decades behind where it needs to be.




* weirdly not because those areas are richer, but because they are more likely to claim the on-tap government funding for the schemes

[zuutroy]

On the other hand, its within 1/2 of a standard deviation of the previous 10 years, so we can't really draw any conclusions from it.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

On the other hand, its within 1/2 of a standard deviation of the previous 10 years, so we can't really draw any conclusions from it.

The number of pedestrians being killed? I'm not sure thats correct. Previously it was car drivers killing each other, now they are killing your granny out walking in her home town to fetch the milk. Its a different type of killing.

[oleras]

Did i miss the Simpsons episode where they parody Mcgregor as a leader of the country ?

[Raoul Duke III]

The number of pedestrians being killed? I'm not sure thats correct. Previously it was car drivers killing each other, now they are killing your granny out walking in her home town to fetch the milk. Its a different type of killing.

Are there stats as to which are the worst counties for road safety? i.e. deaths per capita

Would imagine Donegal stands apart and Dublin is the safest.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Are there stats as to which are the worst counties for road safety? i.e. deaths per capita

Would imagine Donegal stands apart and Dublin is the safest.

Just overall, I think. I have a suspicion, unverified, that a lot of the death (like yesterday) is mainly caused by us switching over our entire professional transport section to Eastern Europeans over the last two decades, where there is a clear disdain for pedestrians in the driving ethos.

[6starpool]

I'm sure they exist somewhere, but I tried and failed before to find a breakdown on where accidents occurred, whether motorway, in towns, primary/secondary/local routes or whatever. I'd imagine the majority happen on the R/L roads around the country as opposed to M/N or in towns, but presumably most of the pedestrian deaths would be in towns.

[zuutroy]

The number of pedestrians being killed? I'm not sure thats correct. Previously it was car drivers killing each other, now they are killing your granny out walking in her home town to fetch the milk. Its a different type of killing.

No, I was just looking at road deaths in total. 10 year avg for pedestrians is 34.1, SD 7.4 and this year there have been 41, with 43 last year.

[Micknail]

For me I think the move towards automatic transmissions cars, lane assist, adaptive cruise control, large info-tainment screens instead of radios/controls with tactile buttons all contribute to people either taking their eyes off the road to go thru menus for everything in the car, or being so lazy about driving that they now feel comfortable texting or using social media while driving.

[Raoul Duke III]

No, I was just looking at road deaths in total. 10 year avg for pedestrians is 34.1, SD 7.4 and this year there have been 41, with 43 last year.

With a steadily increasing population, or is that factored in?

[zuutroy]

They're just raw numbers so per capita might be going down. Would also need to factor in whether people are driving less though. Some of the bigger tanks like the X5 and the Range Rovers with their ever increasing front grill size must be contributing to some extent though.

[Wombatman]

Where are you staying? The food court at Aria is a decent option for quickish meals where you wont get absolutely gouged. Italian restauarant in Park MGM was pretty good too. Atelier Joel Robuchon in MGM is really good if you're doing a fancy dinner...can also next door to the main restaurant if very fancy! I dont really have any non food-related tips!

Thanks. Staying at Club Wyndham Grand Desert. Like a condo with a full kitchen for breakfast.

[pokerhand]

Off to Vegas with the GF on Wednesday for a week. Her first time. Wining and Dining, Shows and Shopping with smattering of golf and poker. Hired a car to get around so planning to do a couple of the state parks too. Any must do's or hidden gems we should check out? Absolute avoids welcome too.

From a shows perspective, Micheal Jackson's One is very good and highly recommended.

Parks - Zion national park is about two hours drive and have great hiking trails. Watch out for the snakes though.

Absolute avoids - poker

[zuutroy]

Thanks. Staying at Club Wyndham Grand Desert. Like a condo with a full kitchen for breakfast.

Handy walk to all of the above so. The texmex place in Planet Hollywood is also pretty good value.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

With a steadily increasing population, or is that factored in?

Ideally we wouldn't be targeting a death rate in line with an increased population. Like, its not a quota we have to meet or it will reflect badly on us in our annual performance appraisal in Grand Theft Auto HQ.

[Raoul Duke III]

Ideally we wouldn't be targeting a death rate in line with an increased population. Like, its not a quota we have to meet or it will reflect badly on us in our annual performance appraisal in Grand Theft Auto HQ.

Well duh.

[balfejohn]

Off to Vegas with the GF on Wednesday for a week. Her first time. Wining and Dining, Shows and Shopping with smattering of golf and poker. Hired a car to get around so planning to do a couple of the state parks too. Any must do's or hidden gems we should check out? Absolute avoids welcome too.

Try Fremont St for the downtown vibe
avoid brewdog for food, decent drink selection
Cosmopolitan is good craic with pool tables and good atmosphere
piano bar in harrahs is good craic as well

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

I also have a slight lull in the afternoon where I would be willing to hear the full story of how wombat went from temporary-pause-in-marriage to the-type-of-girl-you-can-go-to-vegas-with rebound. That seems like a six out of five wombats wombat-situation.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

the man is reinventing the wombat scale, is the key point (as is his right)

[Solksjaer!]

I wonder the effect the aging population will have on the sale of boiled sweets

[DeadParrot]

From a shows perspective, Micheal Jackson's One is very good and highly recommended.

Parks - Zion national park is about two hours drive and have great hiking trails. Watch out for the snakes though.

Absolute avoids - poker

I REALLY enjoyed Absinthe. Fantastic show altogether

[Opr]

Nice Christmas advert, made by a local bar In Enniskillen.

[Strewelpeter]

Road deaths can be more or less eliminated if we want to. Currently we choose to kill a couple of hundred people per year in order to allow people dominate town and country driving whatever sort of car or truck that choose to. Important to know that this is a small fraction of the numbers per mile driven in previous decades.

All speeding and dangerous driving could be eliminated in the morning if we used universally available technology.

A simple change that would prevent most pedestrian deaths would be too remove all pedestrian crossing points and instead change the law to giving full priority to pedestrians,second to bikes etc. and lowest priority to cars in all populated areas. I.e. of you are driving in a town and you got a pedestrian then it is your fault and if you were going fast enough or driving something nasty enough to fit severe damage you should be punished accordingly... Killing people with a car should be on a par with manslaughter.

[Wombatman]

I also have a slight lull in the afternoon where I would be willing to hear the full story of how wombat went from temporary-pause-in-marriage to the-type-of-girl-you-can-go-to-vegas-with rebound. That seems like a six out of five wombats wombat-situation.

Yup. Fair enough. Update due alright. The trial separation which started in June 2020 turned into a full separation. In mediation now trying to agree a fair split. The Arab-Israelis have more of a chance of agreeing an accord right now. After a year and a half of living alone I decided to hit the dating apps as the marriage clearly done at that point. Let the ex know beforehand. The loneliness was beginning to fry my head. After a few weird assignations I met somebody in Feb 2023 that I clicked with and we have been going great guns ever since. Putting up with long term unhappiness is never a good solution. Life too short and all that. Don't think anybody has been majorly discombobulated by my change in direction which is looking more and more like the correct decision.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Lovely!!

[Raoul Duke III]

Tell us some 'weird assignations' stories Wombat.

[Opr]

Dating app stories reminds me that this is absolutely gold. Its about 47 minutes in if the timestamp isn't correct, Melissa from the Only Friend's Poker podcast telling a story of a recent tinder date!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVIZTCZ4eY0&t=2814s

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Presumably we'll be getting a lot more of this going forward - mega-cancer-testing: https://www.galleri.com/

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

...

For all the talk about electric cars, says The Conversation, it’s electric bikes and mopeds that are really making a difference to climate change. Thanks to their rapid uptake in China and other countries where mopeds are a common form of transport, there were 280 million of these zippy two- and three-wheelers on the world’s roads last year, compared to around 20 million electric cars. Their use has cut demand for oil by around a million barrels a day – four times more than Teslas and the like.

[Opr]

Presumably we'll be getting a lot more of this going forward - mega-cancer-testing: https://www.galleri.com/

Yeah i kinda wondered when these would start popping up. I am not sure of the regulatory stuff but in theory anyone can now buy an MRI machine, charge a fraction of the price and probably give results on par with the medical industry.

Can we BBV fund an MRI machine, 'Scans or GTFO' ?

Edit - Forgot the link.

[dinekes]

Great word that ...discombobulated
Must try and fit it in tomorrow somewhere

[dobby]

Wombatman if you've not done it before, the helicopter ride into Grand Canyon is worth it. Its pretty expensive but its also very cool.

We used a company called Papillon. They do pick up from various hotels on the strip and take you to the starting point. Fly out over tye Colorado River, Hoover Dam and land in the canyon for champagne and sandwiches.

Spent plenty of time in the air and in the Canyon and got some great photos.

We did enjoy whiling a few hours away in vDara when we were there. No casino or anything in there so it was nice to sit and have some food and drinks in what felt like a slower pace. Cosmo next door too seemed popular with female visitors. Even for my Mrs who doesn't gamble or play cards.

We saw One, a Michael Jackson show in Mandalay Bay and wanted to go again a few nights later it was so good. Dinner in Peppermill, its nothing fancy but have eaten there a few times over 2 trips and will go again when I go back.

Gondola ride is a must in Venetian surely with a new GF? I thought it'd be a load of balls but Mrs still talks about it so was worth it from that point of view. Your gondolier will sing to you too which was actually kinda cool.

Enjoy, I'm not jealous at all

[Theresa]

I think you are right about him not getting back in, but picking from the chasing pack is quite difficult. Vivek will get the Trump crowd, DeSantis is a spent force unfortunately imo, Haley seems to be gaining some traction.

A good bellweather for the state of the right vote is r/conservative. Previously very Trump orientated, its been more and more diluted. You'll feel like an idiot reading it though.

The Kochs have backed Haley for Republican nomination. Not insignificant.

[Hitchhiker's Guide To...]

Going into the National Emergency Coordination Centre today to present on GenAI to all manner of gov information officers. Feel very under-prepared. But mainly what is destroying me is that the wife's birthday is on Sunday and I haven't yet started looking for something. Its normally the only time we give presents to each other, so it tends to be a substantial mix of actual presents and experiences. I got some Pixel Pros, which is something, but rather underwhelming. Somebody please help me so i don't end up having to go to Vegas with a hot new chick.

[Solksjaer!]

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Going into the National Emergency Coordination Centre today to present on GenAI to all manner of gov information officers. Feel very under-prepared. But mainly what is destroying me is that the wife's birthday is on Sunday and I haven't yet started looking for something. Its normally the only time we give presents to each other, so it tends to be a substantial mix of actual presents and experiences. I got some Pixel Pros, which is something, but rather underwhelming. Somebody please help me so i don't end up having to go to Vegas with a hot new chick.

Hope this helps .