quotes from non unicyclists



I usually chuckle and say "Hey, How'r ya'll doin."

Remember, they mostly can't help being Muggles. (Poor b*stards)


--
Memphis Mud - Student of GrandMaster 2T

NAUCC 2006 in Memphis, TN.
Beale Street. Graceland. Blues Music. BBQ. Deep woods MUni. Rolling
Crosscountry. Jump over the Mississippi River (really!).
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yea i know what u mean, i have got'n all of those before.
The one question i always get for some reason is HOW FAR CAN U RIDE THAT
THING? It pisses me off! here iam coming through town riding for miles
(and they can see me coming before they start asking those dumb
questions) and they still ask a stupid thing like that.:confused: And
doesn't anybody know it is a unicycle? Ive had people call it a bike and
tricycle before too!:confused: :mad:


--
musketman
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"unicycle dave" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> HEY I LIKE YOUR TRICYCLE.
>
> THATS A COOL MOTERCYCLE.
>
> HOW CAN YOU RIDE THAT THING
>
> HOW DO YOU ANSWER THESE STUPID PEOPLE:confused:
>
You really must cool it: these people are not experts. If you came upon
say an Irish dancer, or more appropriately in here a Morris Dancer, you
would also not know anything about it, nor would you know the precise names
for all the various items in use. Neither would I. Does that make me
stupid? I suspect not, and I cannot see why it should so easily confuse
you.
The answers you need are:

"Thanks very much, so do I, and it is a unicycle by the way"
"It is a unicycle, but nice of you to say it is cool. I agree with you" and
" Practice, practice practice"

If we get annoyed at trivial questions and comments it is we who are stupid,
not them. Derogatory comments "Oh look at the idiot D.H. on that silly
one wheelie thing" are different, but still best ignored maybe, unless you
have some genuinely witty response and are also at some physical advantage
if things turn nasty..

Live with it: we are doing something most people see as plain daft, ( I
think it pretty daft myself, but enjoyable) and if we get called clowns so
what? You cannot expect others to know we take all this seriously.

Nao
 
The most annoying one I've gotten was when my brother on his MUni and I,
on my trials unicycles, went by a mother and her little kid, the kid
asked the mother: "why is the one riding a bigger wheel then the other
one?" to which the mother immediately replied: "That is because one
“boy” is shorter then the other." My brother and I are both 6' tall,
riding 24" and 19" unicycles. I wonder what she would have said if one
of us was on a Coker? :rolleyes:

Most of the time I enjoy hearing comments, but parents answering their
kid's questions wrongly are annoying to me.


--
UNIquelyCanadian - 157 cm sidehop > ;-)

There are no stupid questions, but there are a LOT of inquisitive
idiots.
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UNIquelyCanadian wrote:
> *Most of the time I enjoy hearing comments, but parents answering
> their kid's questions wrongly are annoying to me. *

Wait until you are a parent and have to think of an answer real fast for
kids' many questions. The answers don't always come out intelligent.


--
Wheel Rider - From the Over 50 Group


** protect the Valle Vidal **

How much more abuse from Man can Earth stand?
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Wheel Rider wrote:
> *Wait until you are a parent and have to think of an answer real fast
> for kids' many questions. The answers don't always come out
> intelligent. *


Point taken.


--
UNIquelyCanadian - 157 cm sidehop > ;-)

There are no stupid questions, but there are a LOT of inquisitive
idiots.
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In article <[email protected]>,
"Naomi" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "unicycle dave" <[email protected]>
> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > HEY I LIKE YOUR TRICYCLE.
> >
> > THATS A COOL MOTERCYCLE.
> >
> > HOW CAN YOU RIDE THAT THING
> >
> > HOW DO YOU ANSWER THESE STUPID PEOPLE:confused:
> >
> You really must cool it: these people are not experts.

heh.

About a month ago, i was told that i was a good ice skater. :)

I think you're right, actually.

For most people, the word "unicycle" gets accessed 1e-3 times less than
something like "rollerblade". Most people's brains index BICYCLES,
rollerblades, ice skates, pogosticks, tricycles ...and unicycles under
some general functional category of, let's say, "transportation device".
The word bike is accessed a lot. Many times a week probably. We are
practiced at saying it.

Then they see a uni. Their lookup algorithm says "That is a
transportation devi-- alert! alert! it is NOT a bicycle! It's a...
um...", and their lookup routine just misaddresses the specific memory
for how to say the word unicycle, and the functional near-match
tricycle, roller blade, etc. is accessed instead. The cognitive
scientist's name for this syndrome is "brain fart".

That's what i thimk.

..max
 
Wheel Rider wrote:
> *Wait until you are a parent and have to think of an answer real fast
> for kids' many questions. *
When they're your own kids (I don't have any) does it suddenly become
imperative to *make stuff up*? What's wrong with "I don't know?" That
might even generate less additional questions from a child at the
billion-questions age.


--
johnfoss - More Moab Fun

John Foss, the Uni-Cyclone
"jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com

"Read the rules!" -- 'IUF Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/iuf/rulebook/) -- 'USA Rulebook'
(http://www.unicycling.org/usa/competition/)
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> HEY I LIKE YOUR TRICYCLE.
>
> THATS A COOL MOTERCYCLE.
>
> HOW CAN YOU RIDE THAT THING
>
> HOW DO YOU ANSWER THESE STUPID PEOPLE:confused:

A friend of mine suggested a response to bicyclists:
"Oh look! Yours still has the training wheel on!".

:)

Mark

>
>
> --
> unicycle dave - ONE WHEEL IS BETTER THAN 2
>
> David Sensenig
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> unicycle dave's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/10416
> View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/43320
 
johnfoss wrote:
> *When they're your own kids (I don't have any) does it suddenly become
> imperative to *make stuff up*? *


Yes, it seems to be. :) It's actually sort of a game many parents play.
I make stuff up even, or espeically, when I know the answer, and my
kids untease the riddle. For example, I like to attribute almost
everything to gorillas.

I suspect that lady was probably playing a concept game with her kids. I
do it all the time. They ask a question. I give an absurd answer. My
kids then give me the elongated "Daaaaad!" with the rolling eyes. Then
they critically evaluate my response, their question, and come to the
right answer on their own.

A growing mind is a great experiment to watch.


--
munipsycho - Sometimes I fall down.

=====================
'Munipsycho.com' (http://munipsycho.com//)
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Heheh, I like your point about people's "lookup" time being rather longer
when identifying a unicycle. People generally seem to have trouble putting
a name to it. I don't think I ever did, even before I started - guess it
was fate.

On a couple of occasions I've had people obviously struggling to think of
the word, who then come out with "monocycle". This strikes me as slightly
weird - I guess people are reconstructing the word from its components
instead of remembering. Ironically they're coming up with the name of an
even less common object ;-)

When my parents tell their friends I'm learn to unicycle, the inverse lookup
procedure occurs, followed by "What? Like clowns ride?" :-D

Mark

Brave Sir Stupid wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> "Naomi" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> "unicycle dave" <[email protected]>
>> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> >
>> > HEY I LIKE YOUR TRICYCLE.
>> >
>> > THATS A COOL MOTERCYCLE.
>> >
>> > HOW CAN YOU RIDE THAT THING
>> >
>> > HOW DO YOU ANSWER THESE STUPID PEOPLE:confused:
>> >
>> You really must cool it: these people are not experts.
>
> heh.
>
> About a month ago, i was told that i was a good ice skater. :)
>
> I think you're right, actually.
>
> For most people, the word "unicycle" gets accessed 1e-3 times less than
> something like "rollerblade". Most people's brains index BICYCLES,
> rollerblades, ice skates, pogosticks, tricycles ...and unicycles under
> some general functional category of, let's say, "transportation device".
> The word bike is accessed a lot. Many times a week probably. We are
> practiced at saying it.
>
> Then they see a uni. Their lookup algorithm says "That is a
> transportation devi-- alert! alert! it is NOT a bicycle! It's a...
> um...", and their lookup routine just misaddresses the specific memory
> for how to say the word unicycle, and the functional near-match
> tricycle, roller blade, etc. is accessed instead. The cognitive
> scientist's name for this syndrome is "brain fart".
>
> That's what i thimk.
>
> .max
 
From a teen-aged girl, she didn't say anything, she took my picture with
her cell phone.

While riding in my neighborhood, a father and young son watched me from
their yard. There was silence until I got past them then I heard the boy
say, "Dad, look at his shoes!". I wear Vans when I ride. I guess old
guys aren't supposed to wear Vans.


--
Wheel Rider - From the Over 50 Group


** protect the Valle Vidal **

How much more abuse from Man can Earth stand?
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munipsycho wrote:
> *Yes, it seems to be. :) It's actually sort of a game many parents
> play. I make stuff up even, or espeically, when I know the answer,
> and my kids untease the riddle. For example, I like to attribute
> almost everything to gorillas.
>
> I suspect that lady was probably playing a concept game with her kids.
> I do it all the time. They ask a question. I give an absurd answer.
> My kids then give me the elongated "Daaaaad!" with the rolling eyes.
> Then they critically evaluate my response, their question, and come to
> the right answer on their own.
>
> A growing mind is a great experiment to watch. *


Spot on, Munipsycho. However, I also like to extend this game to the
"shrinking" mind of teenagers, and other adults :D


--
munidobs - Level - probably not !

Don't go out without your sundried bananas !
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Old habits die hard... on occasion, I too have been known to utter the
b-word in reference to my uni :$ (Ducks thrown bottles and kittens)


--
evil-nick - Unicyclist, Linux Geek, & swell guy

Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total
obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and
through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see
its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will
remain.

* Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear.

I'm late for checkers with the Dalai Lama!

My gallery:
http://evil.linuxfreak.ca/uni.html
Our Club:
http://cs.ubishops.ca/~buuc/
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johnfoss wrote:
> *When they're your own kids (I don't have any) does it suddenly become
> imperative to *make stuff up*? What's wrong with "I don't know?" That
> might even generate less additional questions from a child at the
> billion-questions age.
> *

People have been *making stuff up* ever since they had the mental
capacity to do so, e.g. stories, religions, scientific theories. Kids
spontaneously make stuff up from an early age. The drive to create
meaning from seemingly random stuff has always been there - unicycling
is no different to cosmological theory in this respect.

If all else fails, answer a question with an even dafter question ;)

Chris


--
munidobs - Level - probably not !

Don't go out without your sundried bananas !
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You know, I like it when you're riding along towards someone and they
haven't seen you, they look up briefly and glance at you and look away.
Then you can almost hear thier brains go "that wasn't the bike I was
expecting it to be" and they look back up again and either look
impressed or amazed or shocked or whatever.

Cathy


--
cathwood - Lunicyclist

A thought is just a thought.

http://www.chuckingandtwirling.co.uk
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munidobs wrote:
> *People have been *making stuff up* ever since they had the mental
> capacity to do soChris *


Reminds me of the Calvin and Hobbes comic where, after seeing a weight
limit sign by a bridge, Calvin asks his dad how they know the weight.
His dad matter of factly says that they drive heavier and heavier trucks
over the bridge until it collapses. Then they rebuild the bridge and
weigh the truck. I wonder, Is that how UDC lawyers get the "wheel
rated to 6 loud sneezes for riders weighing 90 lbs or less"?


--
BirdFrenzy - animal kingdoms fastest wheelwalker

PUni rider
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