Author Topic: Overheard in my night class  (Read 12528 times)

StashthatCash

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Overheard in my night class
« on: April 17, 2014, 07:44:41 AM »
I was in my night class the other night hearing people talking about how much they commute just to get to one of the colleges in town.  They asked me if I was sick of driving to classes at night.  I looked at them stunned, you guys drive here?  Haven't you heard of a bike?  There was one girl who lives in the same apartment building as me (10 miles away) and was stunned that I was able to ride my bike while she had to fire up her 1995 F150.  Another girl started complaining about driving 45 minutes and that she could barely afford to keep putting gas into her Hummer.  That's right, this girl is a nurse.... driving a Hummer.  I couldn't help but laugh at her.

LibrarIan

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2014, 08:43:47 AM »
And they think you're the crazy one I'm sure. "Biking is so dangerous!" "I don't own a bike... just a Hummer!" "Are you some hipster or something?"

Hunny156

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2014, 09:53:56 AM »
There's a commercial on TV these days for one of these rip off car loan places for people w/bad credit. One of the "actresses" is riding her bike while exclaiming "Do you think I want to ride a bike everywhere?  I want a car, but I have bad credit!"  I always think of this site when I see that commercial, and shake my head in disgust...

greenmimama

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2014, 12:12:03 PM »
That reminds me about 12 years ago my DH would bike to his night school, he loved the ride, and the traffic was so backed up at 5pm when he was on his way he would normally beat the cars.

greaper007

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2014, 06:24:37 AM »
You bike!?   What, don't you know how to walk?

ScienceSexSavings

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2014, 04:14:38 PM »
I live 1.5km (about a mile) from my lab, specifically so that I can walk. Transit is about $50 a month for students, very crowded at peak times, and I really didn't want to lose that much time, or go through all the hassels of bundling up for outdoors, then being hot and having all my outdoor clothes with me on the train, etc. My colleagues are mindblown that I walk every day, regardless of weather (-40? I'm still out for 30 minutes each way!) and can't believe I live in a neighbourhood with fewer bars and restaurants. They see that as "no culture." I see it as intelligent, since I go out less than 5 times a week, and so it makes more sense for me to travel to "culture" than travel to work. Many of them don't get the student discount either, which means they're spending something like $80/month on transit, and a few own cars even though this is one of North America's worst places to drive!

austin

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2014, 07:26:19 PM »
You bike!?   What, don't you know how to walk?

Just think of all the money the OP is throwing away on tubes, oil, maintenance, etc..

Some people!

CarDude

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2014, 08:22:48 PM »
A half hour walk in -40 weather? That's definitely hardcore.

frugalecon

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2014, 08:39:23 PM »
I live 1.5km (about a mile) from my lab, specifically so that I can walk. Transit is about $50 a month for students, very crowded at peak times, and I really didn't want to lose that much time, or go through all the hassels of bundling up for outdoors, then being hot and having all my outdoor clothes with me on the train, etc. My colleagues are mindblown that I walk every day, regardless of weather (-40? I'm still out for 30 minutes each way!) and can't believe I live in a neighbourhood with fewer bars and restaurants. They see that as "no culture." I see it as intelligent, since I go out less than 5 times a week, and so it makes more sense for me to travel to "culture" than travel to work. Many of them don't get the student discount either, which means they're spending something like $80/month on transit, and a few own cars even though this is one of North America's worst places to drive!

I walk and take the subway to work and around downtown DC. I volunteer in a tutoring program for disadvantaged kids, and my student can't believe I walk 12 blocks to tutoring. His mom had a flat tire, and I suggested that she walk 8 blocks to Walmart so she could get a can of fix-a-flat so she could drive to the service station to get the tire fixed, and she told me that was a nonstarter. Despite being broke, she called a tow truck. It would blow their minds if they knew what my financial situation is, given my lack of car.

Tempe

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2014, 11:50:09 PM »
People couldn't comprehend my bf and I walking to work 3 miles before we got a car. Of course then I didn't spend quite as much time walking because coworkers felt sorry for me and badgered me to give me rides lol. Some of the commutes my bf's classmates make are so far. My coworkers are way too worried when I wait for my bf to pick me up, one even asked me if I wanted to wait in her car while he was on his way. It was a lovely 60 degrees out and I was in front of the office building and a mcdonalds, not a back alley. When I killed the battery in the car this week at work because I left the headlights on, I would have been fine leaving it for the morning and jumping it then ( I was blocked in and couldn't get anyone close to jump it, eventually we rolled it backwards) but my bf needed it to get to his class. He can get to class fine with the bus, but then after the bus doesn't run.
People panic so much over not having a car. My previous roommate paid for 40$ a day parking at the airport, or various cab fees at other times, when if she had rode the bus it would have cost 3$

ScienceSexSavings

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #10 on: April 19, 2014, 10:39:28 AM »
A half hour walk in -40 weather? That's definitely hardcore.

I will admit that it's pretty damn miserable on those days, especially if there's any kind of precipitation blowing on me. If I want to take transit, I still have to do about half the walk though, so it just seems silly to pay for such a short ride.

carloco

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #11 on: April 19, 2014, 02:34:26 PM »
I was recently told that riding my bike to work is extreme. "I mean just how many people do that!"

pipercat

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2014, 04:50:09 PM »
I was recently told that riding my bike to work is extreme. "I mean just how many people do that!"

In Richmond, probably not many! 

HairyUpperLip

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #13 on: April 21, 2014, 09:25:46 AM »
I was recently told that riding my bike to work is extreme. "I mean just how many people do that!"



These people all think you are extreme too. :P

the fixer

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #14 on: April 21, 2014, 12:45:24 PM »
I think my first lesson as an adult was how much it sucks when you're car-dependent and the car breaks. Luckily I learned to fix this problem the right way: don't be car-dependent. It seems like many other Americans get the opposite takeaway from this, to have multiple new cars for redundancy and to rent a car when one is in the shop. I remember discussing this with coworkers and it was the first time I started diverging from their thought processes. It was all uphill from there.

Foggier

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #15 on: June 07, 2014, 09:31:34 PM »
Lol a Hummer. I was driving late one night on I-10 back from the Mohave at a leisurely 65 mph in the slow lane. This is in a barren empty stretch of I-10 where there isn't gas for like 30 miles sometimes. I see these huge frighteningly bright headlights approaching me in the rear view at high speed, but hold my nerve. The thing comes real close and lane changes just in time flying past me at I'm guessing over 90mph. It was a Hummer... I wonder if he could watch his gas gauge slipping down.

odput

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #16 on: June 09, 2014, 08:40:46 AM »
I wonder if he could watch his gas gauge slipping down.

I dunno...32 gallons is an awful lot of gas, even if you're burning it at 8mpg the needle won't move much faster than a normal car.

AlanStache

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #17 on: June 09, 2014, 09:36:23 AM »
Say the 32 gallon tank is represented by a 2inch tall indicator
given:
8 miles per gallon
90 miles per hour

(90miles/hr) * (1gal/8miles) * (2inch/32gal)*(1hr/60min) = 0.012 inch per minute.
for reference one twelfth of an inch is 0.0833, so it would take 7 minutes for the indicator to move 1/12th of an inch.  I would guess that is not normally noticeable.


warfreak2

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #18 on: June 09, 2014, 09:40:00 AM »
it would take 7 minutes for the indicator to move 1/12th of an inch.  I would guess that is not normally noticeable.
For reference, this is how fast the hour hand moves on a clock with a diameter of about 5.5 ~2.7 inches.
« Last Edit: June 09, 2014, 11:46:23 AM by warfreak2 »

odput

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #19 on: June 09, 2014, 10:22:05 AM »
Say the 32 gallon tank is represented by a 2inch tall indicator
given:
8 miles per gallon
90 miles per hour

(90miles/hr) * (1gal/8miles) * (2inch/32gal)*(1hr/60min) = 0.012 inch per minute.
for reference one twelfth of an inch is 0.0833, so it would take 7 minutes for the indicator to move 1/12th of an inch.  I would guess that is not normally noticeable.

it would take 7 minutes for the indicator to move 1/12th of an inch.  I would guess that is not normally noticeable.
For reference, this is how fast the hour hand moves on a clock with a diameter of about 5.5 inches.

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Russ

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #20 on: June 09, 2014, 10:32:31 AM »
it would take 7 minutes for the indicator to move 1/12th of an inch.  I would guess that is not normally noticeable.
For reference, this is how fast the hour hand moves on a clock with a diameter of about 5.5 inches.

and in 17 hours, with the hour hand over a foot away from the rest of the clock, you will be wondering "WTF is wrong with this thing?!"

EricL

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #21 on: June 09, 2014, 10:54:14 AM »
I know MMM and ERE have beaten to death the value of bicycles, but let me give you an illustration of how good they are for you.  When I left the Army after my first enlistment I went into the National Guard.  I couldn't afford a car but my home town is small so I walked and biked everywhere.  My job required a daily 8 mile total ride 5 days a week.  Now the Guard required me to take the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) twice a year.  This is composed of 3 events: Push Ups, Sit Ups, and a 2 Mile run and scored 0-100 on a sliding scale based on age and sex.  The high total score is 300 and failure is failing an event.  Generally if you could do 45 Push Ups, 45 Sit Ups, and run the 2 miler under 15 minutes you'd do good.  I was never a jock and even in the Army I never developed an enthusiasm for Physical Training.  So when I got out I didn't do any except for the aforementioned walking and biking.  Even so, my average score for 6 years running was ~250 and I never failed an event.  I was younger then and experiences may vary but bicycling certainly doesn't hurt you - unless you get hit by a Hummer.

dragoncar

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #22 on: June 09, 2014, 12:20:58 PM »
it would take 7 minutes for the indicator to move 1/12th of an inch.  I would guess that is not normally noticeable.
For reference, this is how fast the hour hand moves on a clock with a diameter of about 5.5 ~2.7 inches.

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edit: here, have some MMM gold -- it gives you access to the MMM lounge and the option to beta test new features.
« Last Edit: June 09, 2014, 12:33:57 PM by dragoncar »

warfreak2

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #23 on: June 09, 2014, 12:29:44 PM »
it would take 7 minutes for the indicator to move 1/12th of an inch.  I would guess that is not normally noticeable.
For reference, this is how fast the hour hand moves on a clock with a diameter of about 5.5 ~2.7 inches.

For reference, you sir, are a nerd!*

*with love
:-D

I spotted the mistake a bit too late - did 7 minutes divided by 24 hours, but a clock hand completes a full rotation in 12 hours, not 24. Probably wouldn't have noticed if the distance wasn't 1/12th of an inch.

SisterX

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #24 on: June 09, 2014, 05:15:43 PM »
A half hour walk in -40 weather? That's definitely hardcore.

I will admit that it's pretty damn miserable on those days, especially if there's any kind of precipitation blowing on me. If I want to take transit, I still have to do about half the walk though, so it just seems silly to pay for such a short ride.

Pffft.  It's not really the temps that suck, it's the moose!

Nords

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Re: Overheard in my night class
« Reply #25 on: June 09, 2014, 05:43:39 PM »
That reminds me about 12 years ago my DH would bike to his night school, he loved the ride, and the traffic was so backed up at 5pm when he was on his way he would normally beat the cars.
When I was commuting to Pearl Harbor from Central Oahu (12 miles each way) I could beat the rush-hour traffic both going downhill to work and going uphill back home.

During three of the five years I was riding this commute, I put more annual miles on my bicycle than on my car.