Grand Prix Off-Topic Thread (Closed)

Considering China has over 1 billion people and a much bigger potential market than the U.S. the sales figures don't look too impressive.


GM sales in China jump 24.6%
The ailing U.S. automaker sold 137,004 vehicles in March as China's stimulus package supported demand.

Thanks for the B-day wishes Bob and Tim. I mentioned it because it's a running joke in my family that you don't plan anything outside on my B-day, because the weather always sucks! I'm now 42 (God I got old fast!!!) and I have only had 1 birthday with good weather. Normally, we go from nice weather in the 60's/low 70's to crap/snow/rain/etc... and then right back to nice weather after.

Sounds like here Rich! Today its sort of cooler and rainy. Snow/sleet predicted for tomorrow.

87 today here in WI. says rain in in the mid 50's for the weekend...

It made up 82 Degrees today and tomorrow it is going to be in the mid 70's tomorrow.

I'm glad to see you guys are finally warming up.

It is 70 degrees and waiting for the rain.

I wish we could get some decent rain. We are in a drought. The short monsoon season doesn't start until around July.

I wish we could get some decent rain. We are in a drought. The short monsoon season doesn't start until around July.

My front yard is a duck swimming pool. My dogs likes to chase the ducks. Sunday it is suppose to rain too.

Well here comes the rain under a severe thunderstorm watch. It is getting pretty dark.

OMG it hit 88 degrees today. That broke a record by 4 degrees previously set in 1915. The weatherman said we are experiencing some of the hottest weather in the county right now.Tomorrow it.s supposed to be back in the 60s, then Monday the expected high is supposed to be 89, and then the temps flip flop again. Gotta love this time of year.

You never know what the temperature will be one day it could be in the upper 80's then it could be in the 60's or lower. It almost made it up to 80 before it rained.

Well it is round 2 for the thunderstorms and lighting and heavy rain. I would like to send it down south to you, BNaylor, so that it will help with your drought way down there.

Well it is round 2 for the thunderstorms and lighting and heavy rain. I would like to send it down south to you, BNaylor, so that it will help with your drought way down there.

yeah, had some real bad storms here too friday. was without power for 3 hours.

yeah, had some real bad storms here too friday. was without power for 3 hours.

Must've been part of the same weather system that passed through here last night. We had a terrific lightning show for about 3 to 4 hours and very little rain. This evening the sky got darker like it was going to storm and the wind picked up quite a bit. It rained a little bit more but I think these weather systems are tired out after passing through your areas and dumping all the rain. We just get the remnants :lol:.
Any body like watching the lightning on these warm nights ? I freak my wife out with my "interest" in it. She's afraid I'm going to get hit. It's to the point now I got my 11 year old daughter interested in watching too.

You should see the thunderstorms we get down here during monsoon season. I don't mind watching them but I'm not going to stand in the open to be an inadvertent target of lightning. Not much cover out in the desert. :grinno:

finally got some rain in the central MN. its coming down pretty good. I hope it keeps up. I like cutting grass!

You should see the thunderstorms we get down here during monsoon season. I don't mind watching them but I'm not going to stand in the open to be an inadvertent target of lightning. Not much cover out in the desert. :grinno:

Yeah, I'll watch them on my back porch under cover. We don't get as amny as other areas of the country so they are a little bit "special". (I did joke to my wife Friday night that it was so warm outside I wanted to sit in our metal lawn chairs and watch the lightning. :lol:

finally got some rain in the central MN. its coming down pretty good. I hope it keeps up. I like cutting grass!
It sure beats shoveling snow and freezing , doesn't it ??
I have about 4 acres to mow and there's nothing like mowing on my tractor with my mp3 player going. Mine should be ready to start mowing for the first time this week.

Yeah it does! I hate shoveling and snow! If only people would learn how to drive in the crap and it would stay off the streets and my car. We've only got a push mower. Its quite old and heavy and the self propell quit working, but I dont use it anyways. I just use it as a push mower. It does a good job and mulches everything up. Plus pushing it around in circles on my 1 acre lawn builds muscles and I like getting a tan (well farmers tan). I wish we had a rider mower. We did once, but there are just too many trees in my yard that it makes in unpractical. It does sound like fun mowing 4 acres listening to lynyrd skynyrd and sipping a cool beer!

It is 75 and humid as hell. Look at the doppler radar some places out west last night were getting snow. Looks like it is going to rain later today. I am glad I am not out west, they are getting a mix of rain and ice. They can keep it.:evillol:

Yeah, I'll watch them on my back porch under cover. We don't get as many as other areas of the country so they are a little bit "special". (I did joke to my wife Friday night that it was so warm outside I wanted to sit in our metal lawn chairs and watch the lightning. :lol:

Speaking of extremely high voltage. I had to take my annual safety class at work and we had watch a safety video. Part of this video was the wildest I've seen related to workplace safety. It showed this electrical worker in a special suit which charges up the outer part of his body to equalize the electrical potential so you do not get fried by the high voltage. These guys do work on high voltage tension lines just like acrobats. A helicopter was used to drop them off on the lines and they would do their work. After the job was completed the helicopter would pick them up off the lines. Has anyone ever seen that? It has something to do with one of Faraday's Laws.

Speaking of extremely high voltage. I had to take my annual safety class at work and we had watch a safety video. Part of this video was the wildest I've seen related to workplace safety. It showed this electrical worker in a special suit which charges up the outer part of his body to equalize the electrical potential so you do not get fried by the high voltage. These guys do work on high voltage tension lines just like acrobats. A helicopter was used to drop them off on the lines and they would do their work. After the job was completed the helicopter would pick them up off the lines. Has anyone ever seen that? It has something to do with one of Faraday's Laws.

No, but that video sure sounds a lot better to watch than some of the other safety videos I've had to view over the last 25 years or so. :grinyes:

I've never seen the suit, but I have seen where the Helicopter flies them out and they use some sort of rod that's hooked to the platform their on to keep them from getting zapped. I think I saw it on Discovery/TLC, on one of those "Worlds Most Dangerous Jobs" shows.

Must be a pretty lucritive business.....

Imagine de-energizing that suit, what if its not comepletly de-energized when they take it off? ZAP!

Here is a link to the video on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tzga6qAaBA

Well, since the 3S part of AF has been dead I suppose I will post this here as I know a few of you. Next Saturday I am the best man at my brother's wedding and have to give a speech. Anybody have to do anything like this yet? I am actually an excellent public speak but have never catered to a crowd this big yet so I am a bit nervous, but not too bad. Any tips or advice? :D

Well, since the 3S part of AF has been dead I suppose I will post this here as I know a few of you.

No problem Alex. You are always welcome here. Why is it dead?


Next Saturday I am the best man at my brother's wedding and have to give a speech. Anybody have to do anything like this yet? I am actually an excellent public speak but have never catered to a crowd this big yet so I am a bit nervous, but not too bad. Any tips or advice? :D

I was a best man once but that was a long time ago. You can either keep it short following the KISS rule (keep it simple stupid) or drag it out and put everyone to sleep. :lol: On my wedding I recall my best man roasted me. :frown:

On my wedding I recall my best man roasted me. :frown:

Could've been worst Bob, at least you didn't have Lisa Lampanelli roast you. She does a pretty good job of it on the roasts they have on Comedy Central,(the new version of the old Dean Martin roasts.)
gG2-oMHWlYQ

Alex, what you say depends on the crowd and the bride and groom. If it's a black tie affair, keep is short and sweet. If it's a more casual affair, and the bride and groom are easy going, you can roast him a bit and get some chuckles.

In any case make some notes to stay on topic, but don't read verbatim from a script.

No problem Alex. You are always welcome here. Why is it dead?

I'm really not sure Bob. It used to be a very active part of AF but is slowly declining. Honestly, I am seeing a lot of different parts of AF start to get less busy.

Alex, what you say depends on the crowd and the bride and groom. If it's a black tie affair, keep is short and sweet. If it's a more casual affair, and the bride and groom are easy going, you can roast him a bit and get some chuckles.

In any case make some notes to stay on topic, but don't read verbatim from a script.


It will be a mix between the two richtazz. I think I will probably keep it fairly short. I think roasting him may be a little to easy. :lol2: I doubt will carry a note card in order to avoid making it look like a scripted speech. I give speeches better by conjuring up a few topics in my head to talk about before going in and then just talking about them. I just hope I don't pull an Old School best man's speech. :lol: (the movie for those of you living on the moon the last 10 years :D) Who knows, maybe a few beers will take the edge off too...just don't want to go overboard. :runaround:


Edit: On a side note I did get to have some fun with an orange Lamborghini Gallardo on the way to work today. They are some wild sounding cars...just vicious.

Could've been worst Bob, at least you didn't have Lisa Lampanelli roast you. She does a pretty good job of it on the roasts they have on Comedy Central,(the new version of the old Dean Martin roasts.)

Ouch! Yup, they got roasted. :lol:

Here is my favorite one.

ZmoVKswuviE


:rofl:

^^Ouch! :lol: I LOVE those roasts!

I don't know if any of you are familiar with the annual Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffet's company) meeting held in Omaha, but my God is it awsome! Went to the Borsheims party last night with all you can drink of any top shelf booze....made for a VERY long day today though. Luckly, the party is all weekend!

I go to military social gatherings often and they are boring as hell. They toast everything. When they toasted the Commander in Chief President Obama I refused to toast him. And the General who is normally the guest speaker is just as boring. :sleep:

I am attending a few banquets during my son's graduation from West Point next month in New York. The problem is my dress blues don't fit anymore so I will have to use a tuxedo. :uhoh:....:lol:

I hate it when it is pouring down rain and airplanes decide to show up.

I hate it when it is pouring down rain and airplanes decide to show up.

Just curious, how is this relevant to the current topic of conversation?

I posted the following at mod corner, but I figured you guys would get a kick out of it too.

I overheard a conversation while having lunch at a fast food place yesterday. Two teenagers were discussing their lunch. The one pasty, overweight moron was talking some white/thug/ebonic dialect that I could barely understand when I hear him say this.

"I can'ts quite eat all six o dem little burgers mysef, but when when me and my girl come here, we get a six pack and a two pack so we can bouf have 3!"

I almost shot fries out my nose. Then I hear:

" I gots a side job wif my bro doing lawn cleanups, an' he had like 8 jobs lined up fo me fo $60 each. Most got cancelled because the ground is still to wet. That sucks dawg, you know how much money I coulda made? That's like $440." His friend says " learn how to add idiot, that's $460!"

I had to leave before I hurt myself or choked to death!

anyone see the Wings/Ducks game last night? that was complete crap!

I overheard a conversation while having lunch at a fast food place yesterday. Two teenagers were discussing their lunch. The one pasty, overweight moron was talking some white/thug/ebonic dialect that I could barely understand when I hear him say this.

"I can'ts quite eat all six o dem little burgers mysef, but when when me and my girl come here, we get a six pack and a two pack so we can bouf have 3!"

I almost shot fries out my nose. Then I hear:

" I gots a side job wif my bro doing lawn cleanups, an' he had like 8 jobs lined up fo me fo $60 each. Most got cancelled because the ground is still to wet. That sucks dawg, you know how much money I coulda made? That's like $440." His friend says " learn how to add idiot, that's $460!"

I had to leave before I hurt myself or choked to death!

Maybe they were using that "new math"? I don't know if you have kids but I've got one in 6th grade and one in 3rd. and both have been having math homework that has left me scratching my head. It's called Everyday Math and it's totally different than the math I grew up with and was taught back in the 70s. The funny thing is when doing the math problems you come up with the same answer as you would using the old method, but the way you go about figuring out the answer is different with more steps :screwy: .

I have 2 sons, 16 and 14, and I have beaten proper American English into the both of them. Nothing irritates me more than lazy talking mumblers and people that can't put a sentence together. I've also had to keep on my oldest son to excel in school. He's bored and gets lazy, so he doesn't turn in his work.

I have 2 sons, 16 and 14, and I have beaten proper American English into the both of them. Nothing irritates me more than lazy talking mumblers and people that can't put a sentence together. I've also had to keep on my oldest son to excel in school. He's bored and gets lazy, so he doesn't turn in his work.

My freaking son is the same way. He does just enough to get by. He knows that it gets my goat. He could be an honor roll student. Now that he has failed several classes he will not graduate this year. I want him to suffer and takes the classes that he has failed in summer school. But the wife says that would be unfair he needs the summer off. I quit arguing with the wife, she is going to do what she wants to. She is also a union steward for the railroad and there is a meeting down in New Orleans and he is getting to go to that in August. So give what he wants even though he does not deserve it or even earned it.

Double cheese burger value meal = 5.96

Strawberry shake = 1.99

Shooting milkshake out your nose because two idiot losers dont know how to do math...... Priceless!

Rich, I hope your sons didnt hear any of the bad grammer and foul language from those losers. I hear it all the time too. Some guys drop the F-bomb and dont even realize they are doing it.

I think I would have looked right at them and go 8 times 60 is 480 IDIOTS!

I overheard a conversation while having lunch at a fast food place yesterday. Two teenagers were discussing their lunch. The one pasty, overweight moron was talking some white/thug/ebonic dialect that I could barely understand when I hear him say this.

"I can'ts quite eat all six o dem little burgers mysef, but when when me and my girl come here, we get a six pack and a two pack so we can bouf have 3!"

I almost shot fries out my nose. Then I hear:

" I gots a side job wif my bro doing lawn cleanups, an' he had like 8 jobs lined up fo me fo $60 each. Most got cancelled because the ground is still to wet. That sucks dawg, you know how much money I coulda made? That's like $440." His friend says " learn how to add idiot, that's $460!"

I had to leave before I hurt myself or choked to death!

Eh, that makes me sick, but not feeling in unfamiliar territory. I am 21, however, there are so many people in my age group (which I consider a give or take of about 7 years) who fail at absolutely everything. I am a grammar Nazi. However, I do not expect everybody to be. On the other side, I would expect that people can actually speak as if they are not complete thugs who can't form a simple math equation. I will admit, I often make mistakes in my own English...however, I in no way go to the extremes that a lot of these parasites do. No worries though Rich. If experience has taught me anything, 90% of these kids talk a big game and then have nothing to show for it when it comes time to follow through with anything. :banghead:

SL3000gt, I'd have never guessed you were that young by the way you present yourself (same goes for Tblake when I first met him on AF) and that's a compliment. I wasn't worried or anything like that, I was just shaking my head thinking how pathetic he was. I've got you double in years, but I can still break open a can of whoop ass if necessary. 10 years ago, I'd of had to say something and probably would have ended up in a confrontation, but now I feel discretion is the better part of valor. If he would have seen me rolling my eyes and said something to me, I'd of put him in his place. Since I was riding the bike that day (and I look the part of the stereotypical biker), I don't think he'd of had the guts to say anything. I was just amused at how stupid and dorky he was, and I just know he thinks he's cool.

Tim, I was on my lunch break at work, so my boys weren't there. they've heard a swear word or two (but not from me....:uhoh:) so they would have been laughing at him too.

My goddaughter just turned 20 last month and is goig to college to become a teacher. I am one of her Facebook friends and she posts on it 7 or 8 times a day. Practically every single post she makes has either a misspelled word or some grammatical error. How can one become a teacher and lead by example when they need one themselves to learn better use of the English language :shakehead:( And this isn't "internet lingo" but actually misspelled words.)
Maybe the teachers today don't place enough emphasis on proper spelling and use of grammar like our teachers did 30 years ago. The teachers I had made sure you knew how to spell and construct a sentence properly. I guess they're too busy teaching the state mandated tests and don't have time for anything else. One teacher I spoke to did say that a good portion of their year is teaching content that is found on our state ELA (English Language Arts) tests, and don't have much time to teach other important things. There are also state tests for math that certain grades take during the year , ( not Regents.)

The new education standards are rediculous. Instead of actually teaching kids, they force schools to cheat so they can pass the standardized state exams. That's bullshit! In the last decade or so, they used to just push them through the system and not teach them at all, so I don't reall know which is worse!

Back when I was in school, they didn't worry about the student's "feelings", if they were a slacker, they were held back until they applied themselves and deserved to move on and eventually graduate. Our wonderful "politically corrrect" society is a joke, and no one seems to see it's downward effect on this once great country. All I can do as a parent is buck the trend and try to guide my boys down the right path. I've taught them respect above all else, and so far they're turning out pretty good. They know that they're not just going to sit in a "happy chair" if they step out of line.

I am 21

me too doggg!!

haha, just kidding...but I'm 21 also. gonna be 22 August 5th.

me too doggg!!

haha, just kidding...but I'm 21 also. gonna be 22 August 5th.

We can tell you don't know your "urbanese", it's dawg not doggg, you silly kid, :lol2:

We can tell you don't know your "urbanese", it's dawg not doggg, you silly kid, :lol2:

Well I speak "ruralese" and it's dog. :lol:

The new education standards are ridiculous. Instead of actually teaching kids, they force schools to cheat so they can pass the standardized state exams. That's bullshit! In the last decade or so, they used to just push them through the system and not teach them at all, so I don't really know which is worse!

Back when I was in school, they didn't worry about the student's "feelings", if they were a slacker, they were held back until they applied themselves and deserved to move on and eventually graduate. Our wonderful "politically correct" society is a joke, and no one seems to see it's downward effect on this once great country. All I can do as a parent is buck the trend and try to guide my boys down the right path. I've taught them respect above all else, and so far they're turning out pretty good. They know that they're not just going to sit in a "happy chair" if they step out of line.

I agree with that. The other problem is that some teachers could not pass the grade that they are teaching. I think in order for a teacher to continue to teach, must pass a proficiency test. If the teacher fails they are fired. But with the union that the teachers have that will never happen. It is considered unfair for them to have to take a test like that.

I went to a Catholic grammar school. The ruler was used as the great motivator. The Catholic Nuns were very hard on the kids, and not many stepped out of line. If they did the ruler would be used on the knuckles. It would also be done at the front of the class, and would have to stand in the corner by the chalk board. I turned 50 last February.

I graduated from a public school in 1985, and we couldn't even wear shorts in the summer. Girls couldn't wear skirts more than 2" above the knee (except for cheerleaders in uniform...go figure), nor could they wear anything showing their midriff. I don't know how boys today concentrate on their studies with the clothes these girls wear now. I'd have injured myself stepping on my tongue!

In Catholic school the uniform for the boys, it was long pants, white shirt and a blue tie summer or winter, no shorts. For the girls a white shirt, a skirt that was 2" below the knees and a girls tie. I do not remember what it is called, or what it looks like.

I know what you mean about what the girls wear today at school. It would be very distracting to be in a class room with girls dressed like that.

We can tell you don't know your "urbanese", it's dawg not doggg, you silly kid, :lol2:

oh shoot...sorry Rich what was i thinking!? :banghead: haha

Don't get me started on what kids wear to school nowadays :eek: . my daughter is in 6th grade and was telling me what isn't allowed in school, yet how many times the girls in her school disregard that and wear what they want. Where are the parents in all of this? Rich nailed it right on the head with his quote:I don't know how boys today concentrate on their studies with the clothes these girls wear now. That was the exact sentence one boy used last year in an article in our local newspaper which touched (pun intended) on that subject.
And another thing, water bottles are now banned in our school district for the higher grades as some students have taken it upon themselves to add alcohol to whatever is in the bottle to consume in school :shakehead: .
With all the freedoms these kids have today (they can drive themselves to school, cell phones, water bottles, a relaxed dress code, etc,) you'd think that, that would be enough. But no, they want more, and aren't satisfied.

Don't get me started on what kids wear to school nowadays :eek: . my daughter is in 6th grade and was telling me what isn't allowed in school, yet how many times the girls in her school disregard that and wear what they want. Where are the parents in all of this? Rich nailed it right on the head with his quote: That was the exact sentence one boy used last year in an article in our local newspaper which touched (pun intended) on that subject.
And another thing, water bottles are now banned in our school district for the higher grades as some students have taken it upon themselves to add alcohol to whatever is in the bottle to consume in school :shakehead: .
With all the freedoms these kids have today (they can drive themselves to school, cell phones, water bottles, a relaxed dress code, etc,) you'd think that, that would be enough. But no, they want more, and aren't satisfied.

i can completely understand where you are coming from and what you are saying, however i would have to disagree on a few things. i graduated in 2005, and personally i think that when there are video camera's every 10 feet in the hallways it gets to be a little too much.

the few "bad" kids take it all away for the good ones. the year after i graduated they took away off campus lunch because of the 10 to 20 teens that were going around the corner and smoking cigs, and joints.

yes, you get to drive to school...however as soon as you park your car there are random searches. My Junior year of highschool, i was kicked out of school for 30 days for having a fishing tackle box with a little knife in there. thats just crazy...granted i should have removed it from my car and i understand that, however obviously i wasnt going to go on a killing spree! haha

as far as the cell phones...in my highschool you wernt allowed to have cell phones. if a teacher saw a cell phone in your possession, they would take it away and your parents had to come in and get it for you.

now i do agree with you that today's society as a little screwed up in the head...and that today's kids are getting out of hand however there still are the good kids. IMO its up to the parents as far as how their children act, and what kind of person they turn out to be in the future.

i can completely understand where you are coming from and what you are saying, however i would have to disagree on a few things. i graduated in 2005, and personally i think that when there are video camera's every 10 feet in the hallways it gets to be a little too much.
There are many reasons for this . I agree it can be too much and I don't blame the kids only, some adults are also to blame. It's a whole new world out there that IMO started before 9/11, however it accelerated to where it is now after this. With instances like Columbine and Virginia Tech fresh in people's minds it is their reaction to do something like added security. The world today moves much faster with the help of media and the Web. Information is spread much faster and we are exposed to it more. In my children's schools they have recently instituted some new security features such as all doors are locked during the day, limiting access to one door. You have to sign in and wear a sticky ID tag, and recently they received monies to install cameras throughout the whole school. Some teachers I talked to think it.s ridiculous, ( and this is the elementary school.)

the few "bad" kids take it all away for the good ones. the year after i graduated they took away off campus lunch because of the 10 to 20 teens that were going around the corner and smoking cigs, and joints.
That's what happened in the senior high. Last year the seniors had a water fight with their water bottles and made a mess. Some teachers were hit with the bottles and a dangerous scene was created when the floor got wet and slippery. It was the action of the few students who chose to do this and get others involved that ultimately led to the banning of the water bottles, (plus the fear of alcohol being smuggled in the bottles and consumed in class.) On a side note we never had water bottles in school and the fountain was our main source of hydration. I'm not trying to come off as being a "hard ass" but I just find it funny that people "need" to have a water bottle today when we did fine for many generation before that without them.
yes, you get to drive to school...however as soon as you park your car there are random searches. My Junior year of highschool, i was kicked out of school for 30 days for having a fishing tackle box with a little knife in there. thats just crazy...granted i should have removed it from my car and i understand that, however obviously i wasnt going to go on a killing spree! haha
On the subject of driving to school, that is a "privilege" that has gotten out of hand. Back 25+ years ago very few drove to school and it was mainly seniors who were allowed. Now anybody with a license and a car is allowed. Some students have taken it for granted. the parents pay the taxes to support busing the students , yet they choose to drive.
On the subject of the knife, you can blame the heightened fear of the past decade with the school incidences, some I previously stated. You can't tell anymore who is likely to go off the deep end and cause trouble as some of those involved were quiet and considered the least likely to commit something like that. I shared a gym locker with another guy back in junior high in the late '70s. Apparently he had a small-medium sized pocket knife in his pants which just happened to fall out when he opened his locker, and the gym teacher was nearby. He got detention for it and I also got one detention after school just because I shared the locker with him. So administration doesn't fool around when it comes to weapons, no matter when it occurred. It.s just that everybody is more sensitive to it now.

as far as the cell phones...in my highschool you wernt allowed to have cell phones. if a teacher saw a cell phone in your possession, they would take it away and your parents had to come in and get it for you.
Looking at the world today I can't figure how anybody got along without a cell phone not too long ago. Especially today with cell phones having more capabilities such as texting, and internet access, cell phone usage in schools needs to be restricted as it can be used in ways that aren't fair to others, ( cheating, etc). If a parent needs to get ahold of their child they can call the school and leave a message,( that's exactly what I did the other day for my daughter.)

now i do agree with you that today's society as a little screwed up in the head...and that today's kids are getting out of hand however there still are the good kids. IMO its up to the parents as far as how their children act, and what kind of person they turn out to be in the future.
:iagree: that.s the major problem with today's families. Either everybody's so busy with their schedules, or there's no father present among other factors that parenting has gone out the window. Some of the standards from the past need to be reintroduced such as there are consequences for your actions. I could go on about this last part, but I think we are in agreement about today's issues and some of their causes.

In finishing up I'd like to post this little ditty I received from a friend which kind of says a lot about yesterday versus today:

Those
Born
1930-1979

TO ALL THE
KIDS WHO
SURVIVED the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!!

They
took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing,
tuna from a can, and didn't get
tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep
on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based
paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine
bottles, doors or cabinets
and when we rode our bikes, we had no
helmets,
not to mention, the risks we took
hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in
cars with
no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air
bags.


Riding in
the back of a pick up on a warm
day was always a special
treat.

We drank water from the garden
hose and
NOT from a bottle

We shared one soft drink with four
friends,
from one bottle and NO ONE actually died
from this.

We ate cupcakes, white
bread and real butter

and drank
Kool-aid made with sugar,
but we weren't overweight because,
WE
WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE
PLAYING!

We
would leave home in the morning and play all day,
as long as we were
back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us
all day.
And we were OK.

We would spend hours building our go-carts
out of scraps
and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot
the brakes.
After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to
solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's,
X-boxes, no video games at all,
no 150 channels on cable, no video
movies or DVD's,
no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones,
no
personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms........
WE HAD FRIENDS

and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got
cut, broke bones and teeth
and there were no lawsuits from these
accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from
dirt,
and the worms did not live in us forever.

We were given BB guns for our
10th birthdays,
made up games with sticks and tennis balls
and,
although we were told it would happen,
we did not put out very
many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house
and
knocked on the door or rang the bell,
or just walked in and
talked to them!


Little
League had tryouts and not everyone made the team.
Those who didn't had
to learn to deal with disappointment.
Imagine that!!


The idea of a
parent bailing us out
if we broke the law was unheard of.
They
actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some
of
the best risk-takers, problem solvers and
inventors
ever!

The
past 50 years have been an explosion
of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility,
and we learned
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

If YOU are one of them.
CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who
have
had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers
and the
government regulated so much of our lives
for our own good.

While
you are at it, forward it to your kids so they
will know how brave (and
lucky) their parents were.

Kind of makes you want
to run
through the house with scissors, doesn't
it?!

Sorry about the length of that last post :lol: ^^^

The suburban mother who ordered her bickering daughters out of her car and drove off without them said Thursday that she made a mistake. A charge against her is likely to be dismissed.

This was in the news lately. If this happened when we were kids. It would not be in the news. The police would not be involved or pressing charges against the mother. The mother would not have to admit that is was a mistake to leave her kids at the curb.

The kids these day know that They have it mad. The kids also know that their parents can't spank them. They will tell their parents that they will call child protective services or the police if they get spanked. This was a while ago I was in I think in Walmart and some kids were not behaving and the mother told the kid to behave or get spanked. The one boy said he would call the police and tell them his mother hit him. So kids today have no respect for their elders of parents. If I said something like that, the belt would be coming out and my ass would bright red. But I would have learned that it was the wrong thing to say.

On the subject of driving to school, that is a "privilege" that has gotten out of hand. Back 25+ years ago very few drove to school and it was mainly seniors who were allowed. Now anybody with a license and a car is allowed. Some students have taken it for granted. the parents pay the taxes to support busing the students , yet they choose to drive.

yes, i agree with this statement. in our school not "everyone" could drive. you had to purchase a parking permit for $65...yes...$65, and only Juniors and Seniors were able to purchase them. and there were a limited amt of permits...so not even ALL Juniors and Seniors were able to drive.


On the subject of the knife, you can blame the heightened fear of the past decade with the school incidences, some I previously stated. You can't tell anymore who is likely to go off the deep end and cause trouble as some of those involved were quiet and considered the least likely to commit something like that.

i can completely understand this statement and 100% agree with you. i just think its crazy that as soon as you park in the school parking lot, they concider the car "their" property.


Looking at the world today I can't figure how anybody got along without a cell phone not too long ago. Especially today with cell phones having more capabilities such as texting, and internet access, cell phone usage in schools needs to be restricted as it can be used in ways that aren't fair to others, ( cheating, etc). If a parent needs to get ahold of their child they can call the school and leave a message,( that's exactly what I did the other day for my daughter.)

i was one of the kids bringing my cell phone to school. yes, i could "live" without my cell phone and yes i was caught texting a few times. only real reason i carried my cell phone with me was in case of emergencies. we had alot of bomb threats at my school...so i had to call my mother and let her know i was ok. i was also a "good kid" so after school if i was going somewhere i would call my mommy and let her know where i was going so that she wasnt worrying:biggrin:

One thing I wanted to mention in my long post above. Two days ago a school about an hour from me went into lockdown after a student committed suicide in the bathroom. He apparently went to his car in the parking lot and brought in a sawed off gun in a pair of jeans. He then went to the bathroom where he discharged it killing himself. Later, authorities found two molotov cocktails and 30 rounds of ammunition in his locker. They don't know what he was planning with those items. Now this was an honors student who never had any trouble in school and was "just an everyday student" as described by his classmates.
Incidents like this is what is making schools scared, and implementing all of these new security features and keeping the fear of another Columbine fresh in the memories.
My kids tell me their schools practice lockdowns every so often, and I guess they are as common as the old fire drills we used to practice when we went to school.

One of the high schools that is near me has metal detectors at all doors that lead into the school. They were install way before Columbine even happened. It was an all out riot and race war. The school had 5 different police departments and state and county in full riot gear.

Back to the topic of gas prices for a moment. Has the gas prices in your area suddenly jump ten cents this week? Our went from $2.17 to $2.27 /gal.