[geeks] Mac definitions

[Shannon]

On 15-Jul-2011 18:05, Phil Stracchino wrote:

>> Of course remember that the law is not written for you and I: it is
>> written for the slobbering morons out there. A lot of people would no
>> doubt do really stupid things if they could install their own or "upgrade".
> 
> True.  I often think that we go too far in efforts to protect the stupid
> from their own stupidity, when all of the rest of us would be better off
> were more of the stupid allowed to select themselves out of the gene pool.

Sort of like being ticketed for running a light that is stuck and won't
cycle.

New law that just recently passed: They finally are allowing motorcycle
riders to run a red light as long as the sensor is not picking up their
bike and they wait two minutes.

How's that for singling out one group among many who can be affected and
having impossible to know or enforce criteria?

My car also fails to trigger the sensors sometimes, and my old Toyota
truck was even worse. Why can a biker go but I can't, when the same
thing happens to each of us? I am just as stuck as they are, and its
probably safer for me to run the light in any case.

The "must wait two minutes"... how will an officer or rider either one
make a case for that?

I know its just in there as a guideline, but the fact is they did put
hard criteria in the law and its just silly.

Also interesting of course is that if a traffic light camera catches you
when a sensor is stuck, it still mails you a ticket, even though you are
complying with the new law.

Lawyers... they are so funny...

> Well, not that I much like government mandates ... but one dead-simple
> approach would be to require that all auto manufacturers who sell new
> cars in the US provide a five-point-harness option, which must be
> available either as a factory order in a new car or as an after-purchase
> option installable by the dealer or by a manufacturer-certified installer.

Probably it wouldn't even be all that big a deal for them to do it,
though obviously some extra costs.

Nothing new though: a lot of cars have traction control but its just
disabled if you didn't buy the option.

My Mazda 3 was ordered without it, but all the parts are actually
present if I could talk them into installing the computer module and the
wiring.

Its probably just cheaper for Mazda to use a single braking system and
just skip the computer module and testing if the option was not ordered.

> My understanding is that the laws are written as they are because it's
> simpler to just mandate the use of the factory installed seat belts, and
> the mandated seat belts are three-point inertia reel because they don't
> believe they can persuade enough people to use a harness that requires
> more effort.  They have a hard time persuading everyone even just to use
> a single-buckle three-point belt.  Which brings us back to protecting
> people from the consequences of their own willful stupidity.

Ya well... I'm off to take a shower.

I better read the label on my hair dryer so I don't forget and turn it
on while the water is running...