Best distracted driver ever!

[Mark Hickey]

Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:

>agree about beefing up the mailbox structure. Also helps prevent mailbox baseball.

A buddy in rural Indiana had a friend whose mailboxed didn't last more than a month or two between
baseball bat attacks (apparently a favorite sport in that part of the world).

So they fabricated one out of boilerplate and heavy steel tubing.

They were lucky enough to be outside one evening and heard the car accelerating and saw the young
miscreant hanging out of the rear window wielding his Louisville slugger.

He took aim, swung and *kaPING*

The recoil (from the undamaged mailbox) sent the bat backwards, and since the young lad had a good
grip on it, it simply took out the rear window of the car.

I would have paid to see that.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

 

[Lindsay Rowland]

Mark Hickey <[email protected]> wrote:
: Ryan Cousineau <[email protected]> wrote:

:>agree about beefing up the mailbox structure. Also helps prevent mailbox baseball.

: A buddy in rural Indiana had a friend whose mailboxed didn't last more than a month or two between
: baseball bat attacks (apparently a favorite sport in that part of the world).

: So they fabricated one out of boilerplate and heavy steel tubing.

: They were lucky enough to be outside one evening and heard the car accelerating and saw the young
: miscreant hanging out of the rear window wielding his Louisville slugger.

: He took aim, swung and *kaPING*

: The recoil (from the undamaged mailbox) sent the bat backwards, and since the young lad had a good
: grip on it, it simply took out the rear window of the car.

: I would have paid to see that.

Me too!! Best belly laugh in ages. Thanks.

As a student I once lived in a rustic cottage ($10/w but we should have been paid to live there).
Our mailbox sat in the middle of an 'island' at the end of the road along with our various
neighbours.

It was a popular Friday night sport to beat the **** out of the boxes. Gee they must have been
bored! One night I happened to be near an open window as some uncouth youths were having their way
with our mail appliances, a mere 100 yards away. Now, this is rural Australia where guns aren't
common at all, so mentioning them is a bit of a taboo in most circles, but rural properties usually
have some for farm duties(?).

Anyway, I yelled out the window at the top of my deepest bass voice,

'Leave the F$!!ing mailboxes alone you idiots. I've got a gun, so ********!!!'

Not exactly a blood curdling threat, but I've never seen the idle move so quickly, among the chaos
of smoking tyres and revving engines. They never came back after that and as I drive past many
years later the same boxes are showing only the signs of natural aging. Seems I started an urban
legend. Cool!

Cheerz, Lynzz

 

[Archer]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...

...

> A buddy in rural Indiana had a friend whose mailboxed didn't last more than a month or two between
> baseball bat attacks (apparently a favorite sport in that part of the world).
>
> So they fabricated one out of boilerplate and heavy steel tubing.
>
> They were lucky enough to be outside one evening and heard the car accelerating and saw the young
> miscreant hanging out of the rear window wielding his Louisville slugger.

A favorite sport of the adolescent punk crowd all over the midwest! I never did it, but knew a few
kids in high school who did.

> He took aim, swung and *kaPING*
>
> The recoil (from the undamaged mailbox) sent the bat backwards, and since the young lad had a good
> grip on it, it simply took out the rear window of the car.
>
> I would have paid to see that.

Thanks for making my Friday! I would also have loved to see what the parents of the one who was
driving said when he got home!

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

 

[Robin Hubert]

"Ryan Cousineau" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <0%[email protected]>, "Robin Hubert"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > "Thornhill" <[email protected]> wrote
in
> > > message
> > > > That's the way our carrier is -- he floors it between mailboxes,
usually
> > > > hitting one of them with his pickup's side mirror. We complained to
the
> > > > local postmaster about him, but were told he (the carrier) would
only
> > get
> > > > worse if he (the postmaster) said something to him. After we had to
> > > replace
> > > > our roadside mailbox for the third time, we gave up and got a PO
box.
> > >
> > > You gave up too soon. A metal post on the right side of the box would
have
> > > fixed the problem right away. As for his driving habits, a call to the Sheriff will usually
> > > take care of that.
> >
> > That's good advice, but I'd position myself in front of him one day to
stop
> > him from getting away, ane then I'd tell him that, if he continued, he'd start seeing mysterious
> > flying rocks if he didn't change his attitude.
>
> Do you frequently make idle threats to contractors with bad attitudes and access to all of
> your mail?

What do you mean by "idle"? I don't think you know me very well.

I know alot of USPS employees aren't the brightest stars, but most of them aren't that stupid. That
idle threat doesn't sound like much of a gamble to
me.

>
> agree about beefing up the mailbox structure. Also helps prevent mailbox baseball.

I agree.

 

[Jasper Janssen]

On Fri, 20 Jun 2003 14:22:23 GMT, "Robin Hubert" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I know alot of USPS employees aren't the brightest stars, but most of them aren't that stupid. That
>idle threat doesn't sound like much of a gamble to
>me.

And you're going to prove that the reason your mail keeps getting lost/trampled is the
end-of-the-line mailman... how?

Jasper

 

[Raymo853]

"archer" <ns_archer1960@ns_hotmail.com> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says... I would say a true
> majority of the residential delivery in my area is done this way. Very few of them have
> right-hand-drive vehicles, and they drive sitting on the right side, reaching over to the
> left side.
>
And they are all risking people's lives doing this.

 

[Sojourner]

Alexander Gilchrist wrote:
>
> archer wrote:
>
>
>>I would say a true majority of the residential delivery in my area is done this way. Very few of
>>them have right-hand-drive vehicles, and they drive sitting on the right side, reaching over to
>>the left side.
>
>
> All of the residential delivery mail trucks, plus all of the regular (non-contract) mail delivery
> trucks in the rural areas in this area have right-hand drive and have had for some years now.
> Where in the world (US) do you live?

Personally, I live in the Ozarks, and NONE of the rural mail delivery personel that I know or know
of (and that includes delivery routes - RURAL delivery routes, now, not urban/suburban - across the
country) are run by USPS e.g. government employees, nor have been for years. They are ALL contracted
out. In fact, in my part of the country, even most of the city delivery routes are contracted out.
Every single one of these people drive "regular" cars, either sliding across the seat with the mail
or (more likely and more frequently) driving down the WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD while delivering mail.
No lights. No signs. Nothing. Just pray you are not on the road when they are coming, usually at an
excessively high speed ...

Sojourner

 

[Sojourner]

Buck wrote:
> "Thornhill" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>
>>That's the way our carrier is -- he floors it between mailboxes, usually hitting one of them with
>>his pickup's side mirror. We complained to the local postmaster about him, but were told he (the
>>carrier) would only get worse if he (the postmaster) said something to him. After we had to
>
> replace
>
>>our roadside mailbox for the third time, we gave up and got a PO box.
>
>
> You gave up too soon. A metal post on the right side of the box would have fixed the problem right
> away. As for his driving habits, a call to the Sheriff will usually take care of that.

Another good one is to enclose your mailbox inside another mailbox, filling the space between the
inner and outer mailboxes with concrete... Doesn't help with the lost mail, though.

> I love the rural life. If only it had broadband access.....

BROADBAND? I'd settle for something over 33k... I've only been getting THAT for a few weeks, and
even then I have to redial up to 8 to ten times before getting something that "fast"....

Sojourner

 

[Sojourner]

Robin Hubert wrote:

> What do you mean by "idle"? I don't think you know me very well.
>

> I know alot of USPS employees aren't the brightest stars, but most of them aren't that stupid.
> That idle threat doesn't sound like much of a gamble to
> me.

Prove it. I don't think you live rural. If you do, you apparently aren't much in touch with reality.
I routinely lose mail and can do NOT A DAMN THING ABOUT IT. I get my phone bill so infrequently that
being able to pay it online is the only way I can keep it from getting shut off. My phone company
changed TWICE before I ever found out about it, because I simply did not get a bill from ANY phone
company for over a year.

I've been to the PO. THEY claim my mail is properly delivered. I can't prove that it is not -
absence of mail is not proof of non-delivery. I can't prove the stuff I'm not getting was ever
mailed, or that I didn't "lose" it after delivery.

Sojourner

 

[Robin Hubert]

"Jasper Janssen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Fri, 20 Jun 2003 14:22:23 GMT, "Robin Hubert" <[email protected]> wrote:
>

penalties.
> >I know alot of USPS employees aren't the brightest stars, but most of
them
> >aren't that stupid. That idle threat doesn't sound like much of a gamble
to
> >me.
>
> And you're going to prove that the reason your mail keeps getting lost/trampled is the
> end-of-the-line mailman... how?
>

I'm not actually sure but the threat of it at least ought to keep most people reasonably honest
enough to not commit that kind of offense, and motivate me.

If he's a kook then I'm positive that a little reporting might do the trick. Have you ever
heard of video?

Then there's always the rock throwing.

--
Robin Hubert <[email protected]

 

[Robin Hubert]

"Sojourner" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Robin Hubert wrote:
>
> > What do you mean by "idle"? I don't think you know me very well.
> >

penalties.
> > I know alot of USPS employees aren't the brightest stars, but most of
them
> > aren't that stupid. That idle threat doesn't sound like much of a
gamble to
> > me.
>
> Prove it. I don't think you live rural. If you do, you apparently aren't much in touch with
> reality. I routinely lose mail and can do NOT A DAMN THING ABOUT IT. I get my phone bill so
> infrequently that being able to pay it online is the only way I can keep it from getting shut off.
> My phone company changed TWICE before I ever found out about it, because I simply did not get a
> bill from ANY phone company for over a
year.
>
> I've been to the PO. THEY claim my mail is properly delivered. I can't prove that it is not -
> absence of mail is not proof of non-delivery. I can't prove the stuff I'm not getting was ever
> mailed, or that I didn't "lose" it after delivery.
>
>

It must surely suck to live where there. I've never had a problem like this in my life.

Ever think of moving to civilization?

--
Robin Hubert <[email protected]

 

[David Kerber]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> Buck wrote:
> > "Thornhill" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >
> >>That's the way our carrier is -- he floors it between mailboxes, usually hitting one of them
> >>with his pickup's side mirror. We complained to the local postmaster about him, but were told he
> >>(the carrier) would only get worse if he (the postmaster) said something to him. After we had to
> >
> > replace
> >
> >>our roadside mailbox for the third time, we gave up and got a PO box.
> >
> >
> > You gave up too soon. A metal post on the right side of the box would have fixed the problem
> > right away. As for his driving habits, a call to the Sheriff will usually take care of that.
>
> Another good one is to enclose your mailbox inside another mailbox, filling the space between the
> inner and outer mailboxes with concrete... Doesn't help with the lost mail, though.
>
> > I love the rural life. If only it had broadband access.....
>
> BROADBAND? I'd settle for something over 33k... I've only been getting THAT for a few weeks, and
> even then I have to redial up to 8 to ten times before getting something that "fast"....

Satellite is the answer for rural broadband access.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

[Buck]

"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message > In article

> Satellite is the answer for rural broadband access.

Have you ever tried it? You get decent download speeds, but upload is still at the same old 56k max.
I have also see that they will throttle back your connection if they perceive that you are
downloading too much data. And if you are into online gaming at all, satellite blows.

But if all you do is surf the web, I suppose it would be adequate.

-Buc

 

[Jasper Janssen]

On Sun, 22 Jun 2003 13:51:34 GMT, "Robin Hubert" <[email protected]> wrote:
>"Jasper Janssen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...

>> And you're going to prove that the reason your mail keeps getting lost/trampled is the
>> end-of-the-line mailman... how?

>If he's a kook then I'm positive that a little reporting might do the trick. Have you ever heard
>of video?

Yes, cause he's going to let you install a video camera in his van so you can see him crumpling up
your mail marked "fragile - Do not fold". There's no reason on earth he'd do it within sight of your
house, and plenty of reasons not to.

Jasper

 

[David Kerber]

In article <[email protected]>, "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o
r p . c o m> says...
> "David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message > In article
>
> > Satellite is the answer for rural broadband access.
>
> Have you ever tried it? You get decent download speeds, but upload is still at the same old 56k
> max. I have also see that they will throttle back your

I believe that 56k only applies to the old-style satellite, where the satellite link was only in the
download direction, and the upload was via dialup. There are two-way satellite services now with
(IIRC) 400k down and 128k up (though it might be 256k up).

....

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

[Sojourner]

Buck wrote:

> But if all you do is surf the web, I suppose it would be adequate.

Who's got the money? It's MONDO spensive!

 

[Buck]

> "David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message
> > > Satellite is the answer for rural broadband access.

> "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m> says...
> > Have you ever tried it? You get decent download speeds, but upload is
still
> > at the same old 56k max. I have also see that they will throttle back
your

>"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message I believe that 56k only applies to the
>old-style satellite, where the satellite link was only in the download direction, and the upload
>was via dialup. There are two-way satellite services now with (IIRC) 400k down and 128k up (though
>it might be 256k up).

Ah, I wasn't aware of any two-way satellite systems. While most seem to be in Europe and Asia, I did
find a couple in the U.S. Prices seem to be two to three times DSL and Cable, depending on whether
your purchase or rent equipment.

I think the future of rural access would be wireless:
http://www.techtv.com/news/internet/story/0,24195,3389078,00.html

Maybe when this hits the market I will be able to get out of the big city and back to the trails and
rural roads that are so much more pleasant to ride.

-Buck

 

[Buck]

"Sojourner" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Buck wrote:
>
> > But if all you do is surf the web, I suppose it would be adequate.
>
> Who's got the money? It's MONDO spensive!

It's all relative. I am fortunate that much of my work can be done at home, but it requires the
transfer speeds that broadband offers. If you have the need, your employer can pay for it or it can
be a good tax deduction as a work-related expense.

I find your story very interesting. My mom and I lived in a travel-trailer (a big 38 footer) for
several years. It was the price we paid to get some land and move away from the city. I grew up
riding BMX bikes around our land and a 10 speed to school on two-lane country roads. It was only
five miles, but the first was the worst - all loose gravel. Little did I know that the move to the
country would set the stage for a lifetime of cycling.....

-Buck

 

[Archer]

In article <[email protected]>, "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o
r p . c o m> says...
> > "David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message
> > > > Satellite is the answer for rural broadband access.
>
> > "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m> says...
> > > Have you ever tried it? You get decent download speeds, but upload is
> still
> > > at the same old 56k max. I have also see that they will throttle back
> your
>
> >"David Kerber" <ns_dkerber@ns_ids.net> wrote in message I believe that 56k only applies to the
> >old-style satellite, where the satellite link was only in the download direction, and the upload
> >was via dialup. There are two-way satellite services now with (IIRC) 400k down and 128k up
> >(though it might be 256k up).
>
> Ah, I wasn't aware of any two-way satellite systems. While most seem to be in Europe and Asia, I
> did find a couple in the U.S. Prices seem to be two to three times DSL and Cable, depending on
> whether your purchase or rent equipment.

I haven't looked in a while, but that jibes with what I remember from when I was researching them
last year.

Good luck!

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.

 

[Jasper Janssen]

On Mon, 23 Jun 2003 14:47:17 GMT, "Buck" <j u n k m a i l @ g a l a x y c o r p . c o m> wrote:

>I think the future of rural access would be wireless:
>http://www.techtv.com/news/internet/story/0,24195,3389078,00.html

I rather doubt it. The FCC will come down on them like a ton of bricks if they put that into
largescale commercial operation. There's just no way to get even 1 Mbit out of 802.11b at 50 miles
without pushing over emissions requirements, either by using more transmitting power than allowed
or by focusing it directionally until it's far bigger than allowed in a particular direction
(which is what they're doing). Also, the range gotten from their antenna automatically means
*highly* directionally sensitive antennas. Probably more so than a satellite dish. It also means
line of sight only and point-to-point only, which in turn means the local acces point building
needs to be on top of a tower somewhere and literally bristling with antennas if there's any kinf
of commercial success.

Jasper