Are you referring to me or BigFig? I’m neither a mile (I’m European, so we use the metric system), nor a mole. If you make me choose an animal, I’d like to be an alpaca. And I’d be willing to do a captcha to prove to you that I’m not a bot.
Thanks for spreading the word. We get these complaints every few weeks. More people need to be educated and move away from these instances to make the Threadiverse a better place.
What’s with the Republicans, don’t they like their country and democracy any more?
I’m not sure you fully understand the manuever
Aaaaaah, No, I didn’t understand. I don’t know what I was thinking of, but now I get it… That should be perfectly alright. If you loop all the way around them on a 3-lane road, that’s just silly. But I don’t see any regulation prohibiting it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this happen in the wild, just on YouTube. But there aren’t many 3-lane roads where I live, anyways.
The rules I mentioned all specifically state that someone needs to follow or be impeded (even endangered). In that case you have your own lane and you’re relatively free to do whatever you like. It is mildly wrong, because you’re causing lots of overtakings both from you and the other person and they all have a tiny, but greater than 0 risk associated with them. And you do this because you’re guided by emotions. And you’re not supposed to do that while operating heavy machinery like a car.
But I’d say it’s probably on the same level of ‘dangerous’ like enjoying music while driving or talking to your passenger.
outside lane / inside lane
Oh, you got me confused a bit there. Seems we have different terms for the lanes. In my perspective the inside lane would be the one in the middle of the road, close to the central barrier. And the outside one at the verge where the emergency lane and the embarkment/vegetation is.
The thing with rush hour is you probably wouldn’t get the opportunity to loop around them.
You’re right. We’ve already established that we probably have very different perspectives on driving. Most likely just due to population density. I’m like medium-old now. I drive for like 15-20 years at this point. And I live in the “Ruhrgebiet” which is a somewhat densely populated, metropolitan area. When I was about 20, I had a good amount of fun driving cars. We did lot’s of stupid stuff, including the “all change” game. Or do childish things and blast music and get pulled over by police at 2am. I think it’s only natural that you calm down a bit with age. But also things have changed in the last 15 years. There are lots more cars on the road. I don’t know exact numbers but I think rush hour starts 30-45mins earlier now and also lasts longer. And there’s a good amount of traffic during the day. We have some of the most well used motorways of the country here. And they’re mostly 2 lanes per direction, because there is city on either side and there was never any space to build a wider road. I mean we’ve always had traffic jams at rush hour. And a good amount of them, too. But I think driving has become more annoying within my lifetime.
However, I don’t think people have changed substantially. They still do the same mistakes. Can’t switch lanes properly, don’t do it the right way if there’s a lane blocked by construction (you’re supposed to wait for the last moment and then merge alternating, one car from each lane in turn). Or they’re breaking or overly switching lanes in a traffic jam and cause yet more people to slow down and make it worse. All of this is certainly more pronounced, the more traffic there is. I don’t think this will ever change (unless artificial intelligence takes over). Seems to me like driving isn’t that easy and some people just aren’t up to it, intellectually. It’s certainly a skewed perspective, but it always feels like you meet all of them (stupid people) on the road.
(I think there have been studies and the vast majority of people consider themselves a better-than-average driver. And statistics obviously don’t work like that. Half of the people have to be below-average.)
Enough ranting from me. I also get them on the train. There’s often the situation that the train arrives at 7am at a main station, 400 people are trying to disembark but there is this one granny standing right in front of the door and trying to make her way in right now, against the flood of people. And they also like to use the moving staircase and then take one step off of it, stop and look around if they’re on the correct platform. All whilst the escalator pushes some more 50 commuters into their back. It doesn’t happen every day, but often enough so that it annoys me. Guess it’s better if you live in Japan. But people certainly have their own, individual struggles and annoyances of everyday lives in any society.
I think I’ve somehow accepted that. I’m not a proper stoic. And I won’t push over that old lady in front of the train door. But I might bump into you (mildly) if you’re younger and should know better. I’m certainly not taking care to get around and allow you to do it. In my personal opinion people should sometimes be able to feel when they’re in the wrong. All within reason, of course. I think - generally - the same thing applies to road traffic.
(And there are lots of nice and well-educated people, too. I feel I should mention that. And I always try to be polite and say thanks to them.)
+1 on the “I’ve more or less learned to ignore turn signals”… That was about my second driving lesson. I tried to turn right onto the main street. Someone indicated to turn and I thought I’m now supposed to go. And my driving instructor would always let you make mistakes and then wait for the last moment to brake very abruptly so you really knew you fucked up. In that circumstance, it wasn’t clear if the other driver was turning into the street I came from, or if they wanted to get to the gas station 30m ahead. Since I got my driver’s license, I always wait if other people slow down and really do the thing they signal for.
I agree that driving isn’t always like in the textbook. On the other hand many rules are there for a purpose and some safety regulations really are written in blood. You have to use your brain.
I don’t know how highway’s work where you live. There are countries/states that allow you to drive on arbitrary lanes. Or allow overtaking people on their right. Usually, doing what other drivers expect you to do, isn’t the worst idea 😉
Maybe by a strict reading of the rules, but it would certainly be hard to prove that one loop around someone would be illegal. There’s plenty of legitimate reasons to pull in and slow down after travelling at speeds, even if you’ve just overtaken someone.
StVO § 3 Absatz 2 says you’re not allowed to drive slower than necessary if it impedes traffic.
StVO § 4 Absatz 1 says you’re not allowed to thwart (is that the right word?) someone unless you’re forced to do. (And you got to keep your distance.)
It’s an immediate 20€ fine, or 30€ if it caused an accident. (Bußgeldkatalog: “Tatbestand: Sie bremsten als Vorausfahrender ab, ohne dass dafür ein Grund bestand. Es kam zu einer Gefährdung des nachfolgenden Verkehrsteilnehmers.” – Fine: 20€, caused an accident: 30€)
Next step after the 20€ fine is they treat it as coercion and that’s not a fun accusation any more.
You’re right. The police rarely is around if you need them. And things like that happen every day. And nothing will happen in 99 point something percent this happens. And it’s difficult to prove. But they will prosecute people for that, on the occasion that they become aware and have the time to deal with that.
I challenge you to explain how this is more dangerous than […]
a) You needlessly get less distance between the both of you. Now there isn’t enough space to respond to other things without crashing into you or doing dangerous maneuvers. b) The other driver could drive shittily because of a reason. Maybe they can’t drive. Or are 95 years old. Or are playing with their phone or paying attention to their GPS and that’s why they’re hogging the middle lane and doing stupid stuff. They’ll crash into you because they literally won’t see you in front of them. Or they look up from their phone, catch sight in the last second, get startled and start swerving around. This has happened and happens from time to time. c) You do this to a truck/lorry and the emergency brake system will get activated. Spilling the driver’s coffee and causing yet more trouble for the traffic behind them.
You don’t want to be the cause for an accident on the motorway (or anywhere). And if you do that in traffic, you’re going to annoy a few ten thousans of people who are now going to be late at work or waste their time.
And I don’t think you should compare risks without also talking about the circumstances. Overtaking is a necessary maneuver. Brake-checking someone isn’t. Even if it were the same amount of risk. It could be avoided and generally, risk should be minimized. (And overtaking someone is not allowed unless you drive significantly faster than them. So that scenario would be illegal, too. (StVO §5 (2)))
I’ve only ever done the loop thing when I’m driving in a very relaxed way, […] it’s the inefficiency of the move that bothers me.
That’s also what bothers me. You either are in a hurry and want to drive fast. Or you have all the time to lecture people and do loops. I’m always fascinated by people who combine both. They want everyone out of their way, but then suddenly muster up lots of time to do things like that. I usually honk at people or flash the lights and then I put ‘the pedal to the metal’ and get on with my day.
If it helps, there may be some merit to this. But that hasn’t been what I’ve experienced. People will just get annoyed and either defiance kicks in and they shut down, or their belief that they’re right and everyone else is wrong solidifies even more. And most people don’t respond well to tit for tat, anyways. (Slowing them down after they slowed you down.) Honking at them is in my oppinion a better way to make them aware. (This of course has limitations, too. I’ve seen people drive without lights at night, flashed my lights at them for like a minutes straight. And they either didn’t notice or thought I’m the idiot. I had to pull up next to them at the next traffic light and tell them… Some drivers are just weird…)
I think this is skewed by your experiences driving in Germany. The standard of driving there is so much better than many other countries, particularly the UK
Yeah. I believe so, too. I’ve yet to visit the UK. Somehow I never got around to do so. Germany regularly gets praised for it’s standard of driving. And our perspective and what kind of things we have to deal with is probably very different. However, I think the percentage of idiots in the population should be around the same. And I’m basing a good amount of what I’m saying on rush hour, because sadly that’s often when you have to commute or get somewhere. And I live in the city, so that’s another thing. I usually take the train, so I’m dealing with other issues on a daily basis.
Frankly, I think driving licenses should be subject to mandatory re-training every 5 years. Not like a pass/fail test, but a compulsory course.
That would upset many people and be very unpopular in politics. But I think it’d be a good idea. And everyone would benefit from a safer environment. They could also force people to do a first-aid course every now and then. I’ve witnessed 2 bicycle accidents this year and for some people the last time they heard about first-aid was 30 years ago when they got their drivers license. Just my oppinion.
[Edit: Sorry you get down-voted so much. Maybe I don’t agree with some things. But I don’t find it offensive or outrageous what you’re saying. Just be careful on the street and do things with sanity and reason.]
Sure. Maybe I was a bit dramatic when I typed the reply. I know how annoying some other drivers are and how they make it worse for everyone. I wouldn’t even be mad at you if lost your cool. And I’m not against using indicators or flashing your lights at people. That’s kind of why we have them in the first place. Only thing I’d have a problem with is brake-checking people or intentinally getting too close. Flashing or honking to signal them to get out of the way is pretty alright in my eyes.
I think you summed it up pretty well. It’s a bit easier said then done to let go of your rage… But in my experience it’s exactly like you said. I’ve kinda accepted that like 40% of people just can’t drive. Any you just got to stay away from them and decide if you want to care. You can’t change anything about it and the next a*hole or bad driver is already waiting for you anyways…
it’s perfectly legitimate to do
Yeah, it’s illegal here in Germany. It’s likely considered a form of coercion and two wrongs don’t make a right. And it’s dangerous.
Same thing to get super close to other cars on the left lane, flash your lights and have your indicators signalling to the left constantly. It’s kind of a dick move. And bad accidents have happened because of this. But it happens every day on the streets.
I don’t participate in that behaviour. I can’t be angry at the world the whole time. And there are soo many bad drivers out there. It’ll take you ten minutes and the next person pulls to the left lane without having a look into the mirrors. Or can’t drive straight and on the right lane like they’re supposed to do. And I don’t think it does anything to lecture those middle-lane hoggers. In my experience they’re mostly way past learning anything.
Yeah. And that’s why fitting arbitrary bulbs in your car isn’t allowed in some countries. You have to use something that is certified for use in your specific car. It’s the same thing with the normal headlights. You’ll annoy and blind oncoming traffic if you manage to get the wrong bulbs in. At least in some cases.
You’re kind of an a*hole for doing the latter. But I get it. Middle lane hoggers are amongst the worst. And I have no good solution to offer.
Fair enough. Yeah I see you’re getting lots of good advice here. I think you’re pretty well set. Wish you the best, and hope the switch works out smoothly and you’ll have some fun.
(And you’re right. Tweaking LibreOffice and things like that is more work than a fun activity. I too would take every shortcut available and focus on more interesting things. And your experience won’t be annoying at all if you already use the same free/libre office suite and other stuff. And already had a look at everything…)
I’m not so sure if taking screenshots of exact settings is the correct mindset. Sometimes you have a different selection of software available and you might for example want to change your email-client or learn a new video editor because some other software works better on linux or is tied into the system better. You also need to adapt a few workflows to be maximally effective. Because some things just work differently on Linux.
I think your approach is quite good. All I want to say is: I’ve seen people get very disappointed with Linux. Especially if they try to recreate their Windows-experience closely. Be prepared to let go of your now perfectly configured software and start fresh with more things than you currently anticipate.
But Linux is awesome. I think the most important thing is to do a backup first. In case something goes wrong and you accidentally wipe your harddrive or you need to go back.
Hehe. Sometimes it’s just the way it is. We all have boundaries and our personal limits. 😆
Greetings from my wife. She wanted me to send you this picture:
Which country are we talking about? I mean European countries and the USA have a very different approach to this.
I think it’s mainly unwillingness and not an issue with the concept itself. And it’s kind of unpopular so politics doesn’t push for this. The US for example doesn’t even have a healthcare system by European standards. Something that would be hugely beneficial both to society and economy. I mean if people could afford their insulin and it were not for Mr. Beast to cure their blindness, they would be able to keep working and contribute to society. Something everyone would benefit from.
Honestly, I’m a bit bored by all the news articles. I’d love to hear about other people’s personal projects, lifestyle, qualitative information, stories and perspectives.
I’m subscribed to several communities about my hobbies. Microcontrollers, Linux, Programming and other non-computer stuff. But you’re right. We’re mainly posting the news here. And sometimes it feels more like a regular’s table discussing politics than anything of substance that would touch me.
If it were to me, I think I’d rather read about what keeps you up at night or makes you happy, than discussing the n-th news article about world politics and which country is right and who is wrong. Same for tech-news. We can have both (and I think we should). But I think we could balance it a bit with more intimate and personal perspectives. Even if it’s not professionally written or a completed project.
Edit: I forgot memes
It should (at least) be:
git commit -a -m "🚨🔥🚨"
git push --force
Better, create a new branch and push it to origin(?).
To get me educated a bit, too…
Wanting robux and things like that are probably unavoidable due to peer pressure and exposure to videos and game-mechanics telling them they want this. It’s probably been like this forever, you always needed the same merchandise your friends had.
I’m curious: Do you know what he (at his age) thinks about your perspective on things?
Does he have other hobbies and still wants some immaterial in-game items / currency? Does a kid at that age grasp the value / alternatives? I suppose this all depends on how much time someone spends in a virtual world. Sure you need/want some goods there if this is a major part of your life.
If you’re interested in finding out, why don’t you buy one and try for yourself? They’re not that expensive (at least the non-electronic ones)… I hear some people like it. And I mean if you’re not fond of the current situation, you should switch up things and try something different anyways.