The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

Pyxis

chris_m wrote: »

Option 5 - get nicked for speeding enough times that you can no longer provide a taxi service

Option 6) SAY you've lost your licence even though you haven't!

I know, I know, lying to kids isn't good, but these are desperate times! Plus it will test their ingenuity! If they really, really want to do those activities, they will find a way!

Meanwhile, Dad can put his feet up!


I know, 'genius' isn't a good enough word! :rotfl:

PasturesNew

michaels wrote: »

Help!

Blimey.

Have you tried feigning a complete mental breakdown, that comes with absolute amnesia? If you sit and dribble in the corner and flick your lip and just repeatedly say "wibble... wibble... wibble" you might get some nights off

silvercar

It'd also save more cyclists from having doors opened on them if they were front and back and compulsory!

We are now meant to open car doors using the dutch reach. Basically, you use the hand furthest from the door to open it, forcing your neck to swivel round, so you see any cyclists coming at you.

chris_m

PasturesNew wrote: »

Blimey.

Have you tried feigning a complete mental breakdown, that comes with absolute amnesia? If you sit and dribble in the corner and flick your lip and just repeatedly say "wibble... wibble... wibble" you might get some nights off

It works even better if you stick a pair of underpants on your head and a couple of pencils up your nose as well as saying "wibble" - unless you're Blackadder trying to get out of the trenches.
:rotfl:

chris_m

silvercar wrote: »

We are now meant to open car doors using the dutch reach. Basically, you use the hand furthest from the door to open it, forcing your neck to swivel round, so you see any cyclists coming at you.

Strangely enough, I already do - without having been taught to so do.
I also have a really good look in my mirror (moving my head around to get a view right into the corners) and glance over my shoulder if I'm still not sure.

PasturesNew wrote: »

Yeah, like that'll ever happen. When they made seatbelts compulsory it must've been nigh on 10 years before I got round to doing it automatically

I was learning when the law was due to take effect and my instructor drummed me into it.
Doing so was so automatic that I once had a brainstorm when I was working at Sainsbury's - we were very shortstaffed one day so they had to puill me off doing something important to operate a checkout during the lunch period.
I went over, did the handover with the previous operator, sat down, adjusted the seat and sat down again - then reached over my shoulder for the seat belt :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

michaels

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've been frustrated by the fact they aren't compulsory.

They are so great when you approach your car laden with shopping you can slide up between your car and the one next door and open it with a few fingertips ... and simply plonk the shopping in the car. Effortless.

It'd also save more cyclists from having doors opened on them if they were front and back and compulsory!

My ideal next car is identical to my current one, but dinkier - and I've been looking at every dinky/similar car parked in streets etc and dinkier ones all have proper doors.

Best thing I ever did was get sliding doors. LOVE THEM.

I often give a quiet smug grin when I approach my car and load my stuff in, when somebody close by is struggling with their shopping and proper doors.

They're also better if you're "just parked up, having a drink/sandwich" at, say, a car park where you've pulled over for a break, or a beauty spot where you're there to look at the view as you can sit on the seat without the door being "open".

Peugeot 1008?

Thanks for all the suggestions. I reached the sitting in the corner drooling stage a few years ago tbh. I have to say autonomous cars would be very popular in our house. Last night I thought I had acheived a win by arranging a lift share so I did not need to be at ballet, cubs and football all at the same moment but then realised I had commited to a football pick up at the same time as a cubs pick up on opposite sides of town....

SingleSue

It was amazing how much more family time and how that enriched the boys when I had to cancel the majority of the out of school activities post divorce.

We had so much more time to actually talk to each other, sort out issues, do homework or just chill as a family. James kept up with cubs and then scouts but that was pretty much it. The other two kept going to swimming club for a little while but it got too expensive and Joe got too frustrated at having to wait for Josh to move up a group before he could move on as he was a better swimmer (they wouldn't have the both of them in the same group because of their needs).

silvercar

SingleSue wrote: »

It was amazing how much more family time and how that enriched the boys when I had to cancel the majority of the out of school activities post divorce.

We had so much more time to actually talk to each other, sort out issues, do homework or just chill as a family. James kept up with cubs and then scouts but that was pretty much it. The other two kept going to swimming club for a little while but it got too expensive and Joe got too frustrated at having to wait for Josh to move up a group before he could move on as he was a better swimmer (they wouldn't have the both of them in the same group because of their needs).

I agree. Mine both did cubs, but lost interest after about a year. DS2 went to Judo for a short while. He also learnt the violin in yr 7 as it was compulsory to learn an instrument in his school. He did art club after school. They both played football at the weekend. DS1 had some religious lessons when he was 12/13. Think that was it. They both take a keen interest in politics/ current affairs, that was partly because they were home during the evenings rather than rushing around.

Pyxis

Pastures, though I'm not particularly short, I find seat belts uncomfortable, but I bought a padded thing which you Velcro around the belt, and then you can move it up or down depending on which bit of you needs the padding. I have it near my neck.

I really notice it's not there when I'm a passenger in someone else's car, or on a coach, etc.


There's a pair here, but there are different ones available..........

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/interior-car-accessories/halfords-black-essential-seat-belt-pad

silvercar wrote: »

We are now meant to open car doors using the dutch reach. Basically, you use the hand furthest from the door to open it, forcing your neck to swivel round, so you see any cyclists coming at you.

Because I rode a motorbike years before I had a car, it's second nature to look over my shoulder either way, both before changing direction when driving or opening the car door.


Sort of talking of which, I was quite amused the other day. I had been following a car that had obviously left its left indicator on. I didn't do anything for ages, then thought that perhaps I should let the driver know; we were going up a shopping street with lots of side road junctions and pedestrians and I thought someone might think she's turning left.
So when I came up behind her at some lights, I started flashing. I could see her in her rear view mirror and was trying to flash when I thought she might be glancing in the mirror. Flash, flash, flash, flaaaaaaaaaash, flaaaaaaaaash. Nothing happened. Off we go again. If there were no cars coming the other way, I would flash, flash flash, and at the next lights, lots of flashes. Short flashes, long flashes.
Nothing.
Off we went again, me flashing when the other carriageway was clear.
Nothing.
More red lights.
Flaaaaaaaaaash, flaaaaaaaaaash, flash flash flash.
Pedestrians noticed me but she didn't :rotfl:
Off we went again. Then another car pulled out in front of me so I couldn't flash any more.
Still her indicator was going.
it must have been a good mile by now.

Then I had to turn off, so I won't ever know when she finally realised her indicator was still on.

If anyone wants to know the record for driving without ever looking in your rear view mirror in a built-up area, this must be it! :rotfl:

LydiaJ

Pyxis wrote: »

Pastures, though I'm not particularly short, I find seat belts uncomfortable, but I bought a padded thing which you Velcro around the belt, and then you can move it up or down depending on which bit of you needs the padding. I have it near my neck.

I really notice it's not there when I'm a passenger in someone else's car, or on a coach, etc.

There's a pair here, but there are different ones available..........

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-accessories/interior-car-accessories/halfords-black-essential-seat-belt-pad

I have one of those. I'm not particularly short and don't really need it in the winter when I'm all covered up with coats and the kind of clothes that have collars, but in the summer if I'm wearing a T-shirt (or even worse, a top with a scooped neckline) and no jacket, I hate having the seat belt touching bare skin, but the pad makes it much more comfortable.

In other news, the weather is being kind to me today. It has been raining on and off, and on and off, etc, all day, but it managed to stop both for my cycle journey into work this morning and for coming home. (Part-time hours had me in work this morning but not this afternoon.)