American Borg

[JDC]

This just in . . .
From Chuck Shepherd's News of the Weird as published in The Oklahoma Gazette (July 21, 2010):

=====
OUR LITIGIOUS SOCIETY
"If Google told you to jump off a cliff, would you?" asked a Fortune magazine columnist, describing the lawsuit filed in May by Lauren Rosenberg, asking for damages of more than $100,000 against Google Maps after she was struck by a car. Rosenberg had queried the map service for a "walking route" between points in Park City, Utah, but a short stretch of the suggested route lacked sidewalks. Rosenberg was hit while walking in the street, although Google "warns" users against it.
=====

What do you suppose they call "The Darwin Awards" on her planet?

[Media Rookie]

Note to Self:
In the Future, remember that, in addition to being bad drivers, people from Atlanta are very sensitive. This is probably a result of the sinking of their ancestral homeland, sometime back in pre-history, and is only aggravated by loading some of Plato's writings on their Kindles and that tune by Donovan on their iPods. Consider nipping this sort of unintentional insult in the bud and text a reminder to yourself to do so. =)

Touche JDC. Atlantans do have a reputation for bad driving and yes our commuter traffic is abysmal. For cryin out loud it takes 20 minutes to drive 4 miles down Peachtree St. But we have been ranked in the past as one of the top 5 friendliest drivers in the country.

[JDC]

" . . . we have been ranked in the past as one of the top 5 friendliest drivers in the country."

Hmmm . . . Is this an example of collectivist, Proto-Borgian thinking?
Nah. Probably not.

Yet, somehow, the "singular/plural" phrasing of that claim reminds me a bit of something that one might hear from a character like "Five of Fifty" on an old Star Trek: The Next Generation rerun . . . =)

[btorocco]

" . . . we have been ranked in the past as one of the top 5 friendliest drivers in the country."

Hmmm . . . Is this an example of collectivist, Proto-Borgian thinking?
Nah. Probably not.Yet, somehow, the "singular/plural" phrasing of that claim reminds me a bit of something that one might hear from a character like "Five of Fifty" on an old Star Trek: The Next Generation rerun . . . =)

Hey, glad to see that MR and Cap (albeit briefly) have joined the thread. So try this one, folks; a 20 something proto-borg pulls into the EZ-PASS lane at the QMT, only he has no EZ PASS. I ask him why he came into this lane and not a CASH lane he says he has no cash either. Then I ask if he happened to observe the HUGE sign a mile and a half back that says LAST EXIT BEFORE TOLL and he says "well the GPS didn't tell me there was a toll here". So I point out to the pathetic jackass that the GPS is not going to 'tell' him that he said, and I quote, "well it should". Need I say more? BTW, the growing popularity of debit cards notwithstanding, when did they make the announcement that the USA is now a cashless society? I must have missed it.

[Cap'n Billy]

Just thought of a minor contribution I can make to this thread. I do a 4 mile fitness walk every morning in a residential neighborhood, and on more than one occasion I've had to dodge a car backing out of its driveway operated by someone with a cell phone to her ear (Yes, it's almost always a female. If that be sexist make the most of it.). Nowadays I make sure that anytime I see a car in a driveway in my path with its backup lights on I wait until it's safely out on the street or the backup lights are off before I walk past, even if the driver motions me on (her foot, clad in high heels, might slip off the brake onto the accellerator). Sometimes makes for a long waiting game with various gestures on both sides!

[JDC]

So I point out to the pathetic jackass that the GPS is not going to 'tell' him that he said, and I quote, "well it should".

At that point, perhaps you could have said, "Here, let me see that (the GPS)" and, when he hands it to you, you say, "That should just about cover your toll. Now move along, or I'll write you up for impeding traffic." You might have to explain what "impeding" means but it's a small price to pay for the pleasure of tossing the device under the wheels of the next car in line as they pull up. (Since I don't actually own a GPS I'm not sure of the feasibility of the "driver" actually "handing it" to you, but that's beside the point.)

Nowadays I make sure that anytime I see a car in a driveway in my path with its backup lights on I wait until it's safely out on the street . . .

Not to nitpick (again), but are you sure that "safely" is the best modifier here?

Sometimes makes for a long waiting game with various gestures on both sides!

Next time, flip [her] the Vulcan "Live Long and Prosper" sign and she if she suffers a meltdown. (Or if she pulls all the way back into the driveway, runs into the house, and tries to contact The Mothership.)

[btorocco]

At that point, perhaps you could have said, "Here, let me see that (the GPS)" and, when he hands it to you, you say, "That should just about cover your toll. Now move along, or I'll write you up for impeding traffic." You might have to explain what "impeding" means but it's a small price to pay for the pleasure of tossing the device under the wheels of the next car in line as they pull up.

EXCELLENT!! Too bad you don't work at the QMT. We could have a blast, you and I. Yes an explanation of 'impeding' would most assuredly be required so I saved myself the trouble by writing him for disobeying a sign. Most of the time they think it's just a nominal BS fine but I would pay to see the looks on their faces when they discover it's $150 and a moving violation (2 pts.). We often hear (as with the stop sign runners also) the old standby excuse "well I'm not from around here" so my next question always is 'where are you from', then I explain to them that they are still required to obey the road signs in NY State, just as I am required to obey the road signs in their state, and yes, that still applies even if you're 'lost'. You really ought to see the looks on their faces as they try to comprehend what's just been explained to them. Hey, maybe there's an app for that!

[btorocco]

... and on more than one occasion I've had to dodge a car backing out of its driveway operated by someone with a cell phone to her ear (Yes, it's almost always a female. If that be sexist make the most of it.).

Cap all I have to do is walk outside my apartment any day, any time and I can guarantee you that no less than 99% of the females (young, old or in-between) in sight will be on the phone. As you mentioned some may call it sexist but the truth is the truth. I don't know what it is that they have to be talking to someone every second of the day. They do everything with one hand because the phone is in the other. The absolute worst is when I see a young mother pushing a baby carriage or stroller across the street, against the light and not even bothering to look in either direction while yapping on the phone. While JDC and I are having fun with it in this thread, it has become a dangerous disease nonetheless.

[Cap'n Billy]

Not to nitpick (again), but are you sure that "safely" is the best modifier here?

HaHa. Probably not, but I was referring to my safety vis-à-vis our relative positions. Whether she or other hapless cars or pedestrians are safe while she's operating the motor vehicle with that device to her ear is another matter. Probably a good candidate for a Darwin Award.

While JDC and I are having fun with it in this thread, it has become a dangerous disease nonetheless.

I got my first cell phone when they were still a novelty, around 1985 or so, but I have never become addicted to it the way so many people have nowadays. It is a tremendously useful tool, but like other tools it can get you in trouble if used improperly. Tim's story about the lady who had an accident while preoccupied with hers is a good example.

[JDC]

So . . . I'm easing through the parking lot at the local Buy For Less a.k.a. Land of the Freak and Home of the Borg.
(Oops, sorry, I confused Buy For Less with Walmart for a moment there. Nevermind. My bad.)

Anyways . . . I'm "easing" through the lot for the same reason that The Cap'n practices Sidewalk Safety on his health walks. I am going west, slowly, approaching the area where I usually park.

A woman (yes, another woman =) pushing a full shopping cart--with a cell phone pressed to her head--exits the store.
She comes down the little ramp-like affair from the concrete entry area to the parking lot and makes a hard left after she gets past the car, parked adjacent to the door, in one of the "Handicapped" spots..

She is probably fifteen yards in front of me, right in the center of what would be a traffic lane and she is on a direct, head-on collision-course with my truck. She is jabbering away on the phone, completely oblivious to where she is, what she is doing or the danger that exists directly in front of her.

I slow down . . . and then come to a complete stop.
The thought of honking crosses my mind, but I restrain myself.
A collision is avoided by mere feet when she finally snaps back onto this plane of reality and realizes she is about to crash into me.
She frowns, swerves to the left, then continues on her babbling way toward wherever she was parked.
(Which, if you think about it, is the scariest part of the whole story.)

Had a collision actually occurred here, I wonder how that would get written up on an insurance claim . . .

Another thing I wonder is if she would qualify for a "Handicapped Sticker" so she could park closer to the building and be less of a parking lot traffic hazard.

[JDC]

This just in (via email). It has, I think, an indirect--or direct--connection with the theme of this thread.

"Some people have the vocabulary to sum up things in a way you can understand them. This quote came from the Czech Republic . Someone over there has it figured out. We have a lot of work to do."

"The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."

BTW: If you type "American Borg" into the Google search box, you will find that this thread is Number Two On The Hit Parade with a bullet. (Or with whatever is that the Borg use instead of bullets.)

[Cap'n Billy]

"Some people have the vocabulary to sum up things in a way you can understand them. This quote came from the Czech Republic . Someone over there has it figured out. We have a lot of work to do."

I've done a fairly diligent search, JD, and I can't find an attribution for that quote. The earliest reference I saw to it was in January of this year on a Christian web site that listed it as "author unknown." It has also been attributed on another site to Lech Walesa, but I'm pretty sure that's false. Bottom line, I can't find any credible evidence of its origin.

Nevertheless the sentiments themselves pretty much sum up what I think about the 52.6% of our fellow Americans who share culpability for subjecting us to the rule of these thugs. When I look back upon the 12 years I spent in defense of this country in two wars and numerous national emergencies, in sometimes extreme danger and hardship, I wonder if I'd do it again, although it provided me with the background for my subsequent career about which I have no complaints. I doubt very much if my comrades who lost their lives in service to this country would think the current population was worth those risks, and I damn sure wouldn't. You all had better hope that those currently serving don't come to that conclusion.

[JDC]

I had no clue that the tiny snippet of (unsolicited) Truth--that appeared in my email (just this morning)--has been floating and drifting around in CyberSpace since at least January. Dang.

The thing about Truth is, if something is really True--it is True regardless of time or space or circumstances (or continuums or what quadrant of the Galaxy one happens to be occupying at "the moment" =).

Personally, I must admit that I immediately accepted its origin as an unknown individual somewhere in what used to be CzechkoslovakiaYugoSlovenialTitoburgRepublicReallyCommieTypePlaceBeforeReaganandtheFallo'theWall. Or it could have been Thomas Paine reincarnated in India and wondering if it would be Common Sense to even put the tip of his finger in The Ganges.

I'd have a minor bit of difficulty attributing it to a guy from Poland . . . because . . . well, you know . . . (not that there's anything "wrong" with that) . . .

At (the trite and overused) "end o' the day" . . . it just goes to show what a sorry example of Proto-Borg I am. Mea Culpa vis-a-vis Non-Techno-Mentis Errata Etc. (and so forth).

Still . . .

I think the following clip offers an interesting opportunity for discussion.
(Again . . . Probably "old news" from the CyberSphere that I somehow missed)
Here are a few questions to have in mind listening to this:

1) Is this guy really a British Comedian? (And is he "funnier" than Benny Hill? (Or even Benny Hinn?)
2) How long do the Brits who listen to him have to wait to laugh?
3) Shouldn't he be allowed immediate US Citizenship and be immediately appointed Secretary of State?*
4) Is he a Borg in disguise attempting to mislead us somehow into Right Thinking?

*(Sorry . . . Just watched the PBS deal on George Schultz . . . The one with a lot of Reagan in it. And that whole sorta-goofy SDI bluff that the Rooskies fell for.=)

In any case . . .
A Brit Borg Impersonator?
Or Anti-Borg Truthteller?
You Be The Judge (or risk assimilation)

http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/pat-condell-on-ground-zero-mosque-is-it-possible-to-be-astonished-but-not-surprised.html

[btorocco]

I had no clue that the tiny snippet of (unsolicited) Truth--that appeared in my email (just this morning)--has been floating and drifting around in CyberSpace since at least January. Dang.The thing about Truth is, if something is really True--it is True regardless of time or space or circumstances (or continuums or what quadrant of the Galaxy one happens to be occupying at "the moment" =).Personally, I must admit that I immediately accepted its origin as an unknown individual somewhere in what used to be CzechkoslovakiaYugoSlovenialTitoburgRepublicReallyCommieTypePlaceBeforeReaganandtheFallo'theWall. Or it could have been Thomas Paine reincarnated in India and wondering if it would be Common Sense to even put the tip of his finger in The Ganges.
I'd have a minor bit of difficulty attributing it to a guy from Poland . . . because . . . well, you know . . . (not that there's anything "wrong" with that) . . . At (the trite and overused) "end o' the day" . . . it just goes to show what a sorry example of Proto-Borg I am. Mea Culpa vis-a-vis Non-Techno-Mentis Errata Etc. (and so forth).Still . . .I think the following clip offers an interesting opportunity for discussion.
(Again . . . Probably "old news" from the CyberSphere that I somehow missed)
Here are a few questions to have in mind listening to this:
1) Is this guy really a British Comedian? (And is he "funnier" than Benny Hill? (Or even Benny Hinn?)
2) How long do the Brits who listen to him have to wait to laugh?
3) Shouldn't he be allowed immediate US Citizenship and be immediately appointed Secretary of State?*
4) Is he a Borg in disguise attempting to mislead us somehow into Right Thinking?
*(Sorry . . . Just watched the PBS deal on George Schultz . . . The one with a lot of Reagan in it. And that whole sorta-goofy SDI bluff that the Rooskies fell for.=)
In any case . . .
A Brit Borg Impersonator?
Or Anti-Borg Truthteller?
You Be The Judge (or risk assimilation)
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/pat-condell-on-ground-zero-mosque-is-it-possible-to-be-astonished-but-not-surprised.html

That guy Condell is a Bush and FNC hater, but he does get it right on Islam. So a couple months ago I write this guy for having illegal tint on his windshield, he says he'd already gotten a warning for it so I ask why the tint is still there. He says he can't afford the $150 the guy wants to charge him. Being that he was driving one of those brand new Dodge Ram pick-ups with the 2 billion cu. in. hemi engine, I smell BS and write him. Yestereday the case was in court. He shows up with a lawyer and still loses, so now he's gotta pay the lawyer plus the $150 fine and still remove the tint (or not, in which case maybe we can do the whole thing again someday).

[JDC]

American Borg sightings were few and far between during the recent trip up The Spine of The Heartland (I-35N) (maybe because of The Attack of The Traffic Coneheads) but once we arrived in Minnesota . . .

Be sure to click the "Disgruntled Shopper Video Link" after reading the article.
It pretty much sums it up. ("Weepy Minnesota Nice")

Target already has some of the gayest ads ever on TV. (Not that there's anything "wrong" with that) . . .
Don't these BoycottPeople's GPS's or cellphones tell them how many "Rainbow People" will be negatively affected by a boycott? Apparently not.

http://www.examiner.com/x-20225-SF-LGBT-Issues-Examiner~y2010m7d30-Target-CEO-defends-donating-to-antigay-gubernatorial-candidate--Boycott-gains-momentum