Lawn care goes hi-tech

[hibb]

I blow my nose at you. I fart in your general direction.

[hibb]

The same thing with Spanish. I use to have a cd of the band "Los Lobos". At the time we were host family for a couple of minor league baseball players from Venezuela. Some of the Los Lobos songs lyrics were in Spanish so I played one of those songs for one of the Venezuelan kids and asked him what the song was about. He said "I don't know. I don't speak that language."

David

[hibb]

If you look in the dictionary, you will find that the definition of Hillbilly is a Michigan farmer.

This Kentucky Hillbilly came up to Michigan because I got a job, before I moved, at the Gibson Guitar factory that used to be in Kalamazoo.

David

[JimT]

[JimT]

I think "The War on Drugs" has been the largest contributor to the increase in statistics of non-violent crimes. I wonder what the 3rd chart would look like if marijuana was legal?

I'd like to see the red line just below the blue line. Only incarcerate the hard-core drug dealers. IMHO it's obvious we're doing something wrong.

[Ed Pawlowski]

"hibb" wrote

Spanish is the official language, but Italian and Portuguese are very common, as are a few indigenous languages.

[Ed Pawlowski]

"hibb" wrote

Yes, that is about what they do. It is fun when you have an Ontario based Canadian and a Quebec driver. The animosity can be quite thick at times.

[hibb]

This kind of thing also gives the state one more excuse to stop people to check them for other violations that the state can make money on by issuing fines. Just like the other day when I was pulled over for not using my turn signal. The cop even told me he was just trying to make it look like he is keeping busy so he just took my driver's license back to his car for about 5 minutes and let me go on my way with just a verbal warning. I'm sure he stopped me hoping to find something else I could be charged for.

David

[Doug Miller]

Apparently you have a reading comprehension problem. What part of "the majority of the road signs in the U.S. consist of English text only" are you having trouble understanding?

Sure, nearly everyone will understand the pictorial sign shown in your link. But that's not what I said. What of a sign that says "No Left Turn"? Not one with a picture. One with English text. What do you suppose a person who can't read English is going to make of that?

Perhaps if you paid more attention to what I have to say, you might learn something.

Or maybe not. You seem to be one of those fellows who thinks he already knows everything, and is therefore incapable of learning anything.

Too bad. But it's your loss, not mine, so I don't really care.

[The Daring Dufas]

I've noticed over the years that a number of wanted criminals were captured after being stopped for refusing to dim their headlights. I do believe that those of a criminal bent generally have a screw you attitude when it comes to simple things like being considerate of others. I wonder how many are caught because they light up in a no smoking area?

TDD

[HeyBub]

Interesting graph - but it represents national averages, not Texas. California, for example, the cost is a bit over $47,000 per inmate per year compared to Texas' $18,000. (Others I've found: Massachusetts - $46,000; Michigan - $30,500; National Average - $23,000)

There are several reasons the cost here is lower: As I mentioned, prisoners grow their own food. We don't have an all-powerful prison guard union in Texas. And unless the bone is sticking out, prisoners don't get much medical care.

Further, the cost of corrections is like the cost of termite protection. It costs more today than it did ten years ago, true, but the cost is still much less than allowing the insects to run loose.

Bottom line: Even at California or Massachusetts rates, locking 'em up is still a bargain for the community. A bargain in preventing loss, a bargain in insurance rates, and a bargain in emotional trauma.

[HeyBub]

Could be. But prisoners don't work outside the prison. For example, the Little Rabbit School District sends a school bus to Texas Correctional Industries (TCI) to be refurbished. TCI puts in a new engine, rebuilds the cab, straightens the frame, and so on, then sends the bus back. The school district is charged the cost of refurbishment.

Some inmates buy craft materials and produce things from pot holders to hand-crafted boots which are sold at the prison store to visitors. The money goes into the prisoner's account (there may be a small commission).

I don't think prison labor is hired out. And even if it were, the prisoners would much rather be winnowing someone's wheat than sitting in a cell all day.

[HeyBub]

He should see some UK "roundabouts." Particularily this one:

[HeyBub]

Um, yeah. A Writ of Mandamus is a command by a court for a public official to perform his statutory duty.

The sanction, of course, is contempt of court and the official will be placed in a jail until he complies with the order of the court.

Most criminal laws state that an official will do "such and such" but there is no penalty should the official decline to perform his duty. That's where the mandamus business latches in.

The difference in the new Arizona law is that failure to follow the law is itself a violation of law and the chap who neglects to follow the law can be arrested.

[Oren]

If the guy is on a hunger strike, let him go a week or ten days and let him dictate his immediate future. 2100 calories daily will keep him alive. When in medical danger - force feed him with medical approval and check his weight. BTDT

Like the old saying: "If you don't grow it, you don't eat it."

[HeyBub]

Even in upright jurisdictions, a patrol officer is expected to make "x" "citizen contacts" per shift (citation, warning ticket, DL check, etc.). If the norm is, say, ten and an officer is hovering around the five mark, his sergeant knows the officer is goofing off.

It's not so much a quota as a method of measuring proper activity.

[JimT]

I tried to find your stats but I ran across this:

Doesn't appear to back you up.

"2008 Corrections Percentage of Total State Government Expenditures Taxpayers paid 1% higher than than the national average in 2008."

????

Wow...TX has the highest % in jail. Yet the crime rate is still higher than the nat. avg.

[hibb]

Yeah, I had a hard time finding my way to a church for a wedding in Boston a few years ago because I kept taking the wrong exit off of a roundabout. I did get out of Boston without anybody cussing me out because of my driving. I did see a couple of other folks get somebody totally pissed off tho.

[Oren]

In ' 71 Germany:

Army deuce-n-half. Mission was deliver two jeeps and trade the truck in for an new five ton truck, They loaded one jeep in the bed and I pulled the other jeep vehicle.

On the Autobahn, they blew horns at 100 MPH, passing me> The one jeep lost a wheel.

I enjoy that memory. Both trucks had governors :-/

I never found that lost wheel......

[The Daring Dufas]

The site made me remember a news story about the folks running the prison system complaining about costs because inmates were refusing parole. It seems that the inmates wanted to do their time and be done with it so they wouldn't have to be supervised when released from prison.

TDD