Comments on: Ohio

By: Rando the Awesome

Rando the Awesome — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:44:02 +0000

If you turn it on its side, it’s Belgium.

By: paws4thot

paws4thot — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:33:23 +0000

Thanks one and all; it makes even less sense now, but you tried!

By: David Patch

David Patch — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:20:30 +0000

Mr. Reynolds is correct. The picture is from Washington, DC.

By: David Patch

David Patch — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:16:44 +0000

This picture was taken in WASHINGTON DC at the Union Station in that city, not Ohio. Ohio doesn’t have any electric railroading of this scale, and the platforms and wire supports clearly identify it as Washington — WHERE DREAMS GO TO DIE.

By: BBREYNOLDS

BBREYNOLDS — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:36:45 +0000

More specifically, that is Washington (DC) Union Station. The square-shaped locomotive is a Diesel switcher pulling a recently arrived electric train (its locomotive is visible on the far end of the train) out of the station and into the coach yard for service.

By: The Best Ohioan Ever

The Best Ohioan Ever — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 02:09:23 +0000

…I live in Ohio… Its true. All my dreams have gone.

By: Gladiator763

Gladiator763 — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 06:05:30 +0000

You do not know how true this is. I speak as somebody who lived in Ohio for seventeen years.

By: CrabOfDoom

CrabOfDoom — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:16:17 +0000

It comes down to perspective, I suppose. I’m from Dayton, Ohio and have been living east of Chattanooga, TN for five years. Holy hell, am I ready to go home.

If times are tough all over, I’d rather be back to having access to Caesar Creek, Kings Island and all the local food that never crosses the state border than stay in this dinky town of nothing but churches, nail salons and check advance offices.

By: I Like Peanut Butter

I Like Peanut Butter — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:43:54 +0000

It’s called UVA Ted…..

By: Aremis

Aremis — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:37:15 +0000

Wisconsin: Where it’s too cold to go outside, but we’re too drunk to care.

By: dissimilitude

dissimilitude — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:51:16 +0000

I've seen faux log cabin mobile homes down here, too.

By: mabsba

mabsba — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:49:21 +0000

I think trailer houses are like regular houses. Most new houses are slapped up so quickly that I think you could level them with a sledgehammer in about five minutes versus old ones that could withstand tornadoes.

Except those new metal frame houses.

By: viking gal

viking gal — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:45:19 +0000

I’m glad your parents went for solid!

By: froofrou the fierce

froofrou the fierce — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:43:30 +0000

My parents live in a double-wide that is older than I am. They were having some settling issues with it a couple of years ago and called in someone to level it. The guy said not only did it not need leveling, it was tied down so tight that a hurricane wouldn’t move it. Mom got to thinking about it and agreed, since that trailer has survived a hurricane (Rita), and more than one tornado touching down in our yard. It doesn’t even shake or sway when high winds blow.

Plus, from the inside, you can’t tell it’s a double wide. It’s teh awsum.

By: Nebton

Nebton — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:43:24 +0000

Don’t forget my current abode – Charlottesville! We’re so blue that we turn our hosting country (Albemarle) blue whether they like it or not! I consider it a little sea of sane blue in a field of demented red…

OK, we also have our share of insanity, as a stroll down the downtown mall will quickly reveal. But it’s a good kind of insanity! (mostly)

By: Captain Wow is Lovin' the Blue View from Number 1!!!

Captain Wow is Lovin' the Blue View from Number 1!!! — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:04:38 +0000

*sings along*
Don’t stop believing! Hold on to that feeling!
*ends with jazzhands*

By: Starrfade

Starrfade — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:52:26 +0000

Gah! I hated that turn when I went to UMass (I grew up on rt 2, and never knew you weren’t supposed to feel the gforce turns until I was a teen ^_^… this brings back so many memories)

By: Aremis

Aremis — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 07:52:37 +0000

Perhaps MA is flat in comparison to New Hampshire, but Illinois is flat in comparison to just about anything. South of Chicago the tallest thing for miles is an overpass. The only state that beats it out, IMHO is Nebraska. There’s a saying that if you walk away from your friend in Nebraska you can still be waving goodbye three days later.

By: Aremis

Aremis — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 07:49:05 +0000

Most of my life and experience has been about an hour north of the WI/IL border or way up in the north woods (like near the UP, unlike what most illinois folks think of the northwoods). Up there the Illinois people are the obnoxious tourists who think they own the place and everyone there exists to serve them and/or sell their land real cheap to developers. In other words it’s a bit more personal than just driving skills.

But then in da nort woods you can REALLY tell the Illinois people because they drive like idiots, as per usual, but slow down to 5mph at every crossroad or sign looking for their lakefront resort.

Minnesota at least has it’s own north woods so they don’t have to come annoy us in ours.

By: Teaspoon

Teaspoon — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 04:28:45 +0000

In Australia (New South Wales, at least, but I assume the other states are similar) the speed and red light camera tickets come in the mail with a form on the back to name the driver if it wasn’t you. As the owner of a car it’s your responsibility to know if you loaned it to someone else, so you can just say that as far as you know the car was being used by that person. The form counts as a statutory declaration so there are penalties for providing false information on it, but if you simply name the person you loaned the car to and it turns out that they were letting someone else drive it at the time then they just fill out the form and pass it on.

If the car is registered to a business and they either don’t know who was driving or refuse to name them, they face a much bigger penalty (about 10x the fine that the driver would pay) because there’s no way to give the driver the “point penalty” that could result in a suspension of license.

Not sure how the name’n'shame stat-dec system would fly in the US. Sounds suspiciously like bullying innocent people into testifying against family or friends.

By: shortright the ivanist who thinks clothes are overrated

shortright the ivanist who thinks clothes are overrated — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 18:47:02 +0000

i ended up throwing in season one of LIFE on dvd. kept me busy until about 1am. and then i crashed. i managed to avoid the whole haiti “look at me being a good celebrity by singing on a show but not actually donating any money” clusterfvck.

By: Krisee who thinks EWAdams should be slathered in honey and staked over an ant hill

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:09:51 +0000

Don’t forget the M&M’s (Minnesotans in minivans). They are worse than any FIB I’ve ever seen.

By: mabsba

mabsba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:35:09 +0000

Oh, that isn’t right. Here it photographs the driver, and if it isn’t you, then the ticket is voided. I do think it needs to be better still.

The problem with changing the time period as you suggest is that people just adjust. Eg, make the yellow longer and soon they realize that they can squeeze through from that much farther away. People die because some idiot hit the gas at the yellow and didn’t make it.

*sigh* You can’t fix stupid.

By: killerofthesky

killerofthesky — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 05:35:12 +0000

At least we can drive (kinda) in the snow. I can’t even begin to estimate how many Kentucky drivers I saw crashed during the last snow fall in southwest Ohio. Absolutely pitiful…

By: Bitter's Chef

Bitter's Chef — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:12:11 +0000

By: Rando in Archland

Rando in Archland — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:51:55 +0000

@ILPB–Are you ready for this? Are you sitting down? I agree with you. I mean, in theory there are probably ways to do this that would actually be ethical, but I haven’t seen it here. We use security cameras to bust criminals all the time, but we’re trying to prove the criminal in question was actually there. That’s not what these cameras are trying to do. This is more like blackmail to me.

By: Rando in Archland

Rando in Archland — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:46:56 +0000

Well the red light cameras would be fine if they were doing it fairly. I don’t think the way Arnold, MO does it is fair at all. If they cared about prosecuting people who ran red lights, they’d take pictures where you could see who is driving the car. Let’s say my brother borrows my car and runs a red light. It doesn’t matter. The ticket is still in my name. If my brother bails on me and won’t pay the ticket then I’m screwed. So they don’t care about people breaking the law. They care about getting more money out of people. There has been a big uproar about the legality of how Arnold approaches the red light cameras.
I think my city could actually use the cameras, but I also think they need to re-time the stoplights along the main road in town. Cross traffic gets horrendously short lights for relatively heavy traffic volume and people sit at the lights for 3 or 4 turns. This leads to SEVERAL people at each stoplight blatantly going through reds and often getting stuck mid intersection because the next light down is red and traffic is backed up into the middle of another intersection. It’s ridiculous. But there are a number of accidents along that main road at numerous intersections because of bad stoplights and stupid drivers. Maybe the cameras (and a competent MODOT, yeah right) would help alleviate the situation. Okay, rant over.

By: mabsba

mabsba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:55:24 +0000

But we also have most of the courts and back up the INS (slightly busy here) and cover a lot more square miles than most city cops. And remember that that’s the entire police force — not the number of ‘cops on the street.’

By: viking gal

viking gal — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:49:07 +0000

Tornados, Hurricanes…

By: n10bettes

n10bettes — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:47:38 +0000

Wow, so sorry to hear that, sending good thoughts and prayers. I’m sure he is in good hands and will be well soon.

By: I Like Peanut Butter

I Like Peanut Butter — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:46:25 +0000

650 to 1… that’s actually pretty good….

By: n10bettes

n10bettes — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:44:41 +0000

…and THAT is why the rums gone.

By: mabsba

mabsba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:44:18 +0000

We have about 1000 cops for 650,000 people, plus we’re included in the county sheriff’s jurisdiction, sort of.

By: I Like Peanut Butter

I Like Peanut Butter — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:36:40 +0000

$hit in DC we have the Metropolitan Police, Navy Yard Police, DC Capitol Police, National Parks Police, Federal Protective Service, Secret Service, Federal Housing Police, Metro Transit Police and FBI. All with some sort of authority in DC, MOST with some sort of ticket authority as well.

NoVA has VA State Police, Arlington County Police, Farifax County Police, City of Alexandria Police, Alexandria Sheriff, Arlington Sheriff, Arlington Auxiliary Police, Metro Transit Police, Federal Prison Marshals, US MArshals (All within the Beltway).

I wish we could send you some.

By: mabsba

mabsba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:32:37 +0000

Okay, never mind. It looks as if the match will just be a practice session for Federer. Looks like I’m watching Family Guy with the kid.

By: mabsba

mabsba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:30:10 +0000

Oh, poor ILPB. *pats on head* Okay, I will concede that there is a lot of validity in some of the arguments against using cameras instead of cops. Feel better now? But since you’re not sending any cops our way….

By: I Like Peanut Butter

I Like Peanut Butter — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:28:12 +0000

Need to go up to Vermont. They have a Log Cabin Trailer maker. Really neat…..

By: mabsba

mabsba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:27:53 +0000

My husband (raised in Texas) calls them ‘tornado magnets.’

By: mabsba

mabsba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:27:06 +0000

In all fairness, I do think there can be rich rednecks…. (Jeff Foxworthy ring a bell? ) But, yes, the ones I’ve seen (not here, obviously, lack of water = lack of houseboats) were mostly VERY nice. Most places I’ve seen them it costs more in docking fees than my mortgage.

By: viking gal

viking gal — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:27:00 +0000

I’ve seen some gorgeous trailers, on foundations. Made me take a new opinion of them…except that mother nature still doesn’t like them, of course.

By: I Like Peanut Butter

I Like Peanut Butter — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:25:54 +0000

Oh sure cut off my argument before I get into it….. **mumble** typical woman/ liberal/ American/ PK pundit/ woman…..

By: mabsba

mabsba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:23:52 +0000

I believe it was a panic response by Congress and unnecessary. But I’m not going to debate it. Just like the cameras — been there, done that, nothing more to say.

By: oopsie

oopsie — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:23:05 +0000

i thought we were considered “white trash”… yeah i live in a trailer…

By: I Like Peanut Butter

I Like Peanut Butter — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:21:20 +0000

Mabs: What were your thoughts on the Patriot Act?

By: mabsba

mabsba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:20:00 +0000

Sorry, but the city won’t hire more cops with the idea that the new cops could write tickets and pay for themselves. There’s also the problem that we barely manage to find enough applicants for each academy class already.

I think the way the cameras are operated may be flawed. I don’t think the idea is, given the alternatives.

By: I Like Peanut Butter

I Like Peanut Butter — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:15:44 +0000

Mabs: I understand the need to control speed, HOWEVER if you write enough tickets you pay for the Police Force. HELL DC got $10.2M in parking tickets last year, another $2.2M from the red light cameras, and $1.3 from Sped light cameras. However it’s cheaper to break the constitution (I shouldn’t have to go to court to prove my innocence, but they need to prove I was driving the car). The “skirt” it by saying, “Well since it doesn’t go on your permanent record, it’s really a ticket b/c your registered car is not being used appropriately.” Yeah sorry my boot up your ass slipped on all the BS your spewing…… It’s a scam, and the know it. And y’all wonder why I don’t trust the government (not to mention the ebil commipanies who have contracts for said cameras).

By: mabsba

mabsba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:12:08 +0000

That’s the way it was here before the cameras. You WOULD get rear ended if you had the temerity to actually obey the law and stop at a yellow light. It’s improved, but it’s slow.

By: I Like Peanut Butter

I Like Peanut Butter — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:11:18 +0000

Hey go to History International…. they’re talking about the anti-christ (and NO I’m talking about Obama to all the idiot conservatrolls)

By: mabsba

mabsba — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:10:17 +0000

Federer.

By: viking gal

viking gal — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:09:59 +0000

We need something in Massachusetts–yellow means squeeze as many more cars through the intersection as you possibly can. Red? Sometimes stop, sometimes go through at full speed. I’ve learned to look both ways before proceeding when the light turns to green.