What is the newest installment of 'Random Thoughts' on Physics Forums?

[Psinter]

Well, to be fair, I got their services for free by exploiting their hope that I would fall for their bait.

Meh. I suppose. I sometimes find credit cards to be a shady deal.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Another silly question to think about. Similar to the ice falling on the floor:

If you are taking a bath and the soap bar falls on the floor, does the soap bar gets dirty, or does the floor gets clean?

 

[Borg]

You know that saying "If you see something, say something"? I was going to contact the HOA where I live to report a moped parked between two parking spots in front of my home yesterday to have it removed. But I thought it was strange that someone would be so cavelier about their property. So, I called the police first to see if it was stolen - it was. Somebody is going to get their bike back today without a bunch of towing fees added on.

 

[zoobyshoe]

My contribution to your reading entertainment is that I got "detained" by the cops again last night.

I was sitting in the vicinity of a Starbucks which is in a little mall when a cruiser pulled up and stopped. The cop got out and asked me how I was (?) and I said fine. Then he said they'd gotten a call about a guy wearing a tan jacket (which I was) who had been running around the little mall there, raging at people and acting threatening. He handcuffed me and started going through my pockets, and asking me all kind a questions.

Then these two people came over and said to the cop, "That's not the guy. He's over there at the other end of the parking lot. He's got a brown sweater."

He uncuffed me, and said to his partner, "Let's go check over where they pointed." I said, "You're looking for a brown sweater, not a tan jacket." He says, "Well, people don't always know what they saw."

I suppose that's true, but if you assume right off they don't know what they saw you could prolly detain just about anyone of any description, I'd say.

 

[Borg]

My contribution to your reading entertainment is that I got "detained" by the cops again last night.

Again?

What's up with your police force when they immeadiately handcuff you for no valid reason?

 

[zoobyshoe]

Again?

What's up with your police force when they immeadiately handcuff you for no valid reason?

I'm assuming they did it because the person complained about might have been violent? I have no idea if it was legal or not.

 

[Borg]

I'm assuming they did it because the person complained about might have been violent? I have no idea if it was legal or not.

Seems a bit excessive if you're cooperating with them. Glad that they let you go quickly when the other person showed up.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Seems a bit excessive if you're cooperating with them. Glad that they let you go quickly when the other person showed up.

Yeah. I actually suspect they picked me because I looked easy to detain and close enough to "brown sweater," so they could waste time shaking me down hoping the real crazy would go home and they wouldn't have to confront an authentic danger. In fact, I think that's what happened, because I saw them leave a mere ten minutes later with no one in the back. Like, the real perp had seen their flashing lights and taken a powder.

 

[jim hardy]

Put yourself in their shoes. Guy in a tan jacket, loitering in vicinity of reported guy in a tan jacket acting violent?
Good thing you were co-operative.
They doubtless sized you up as an okay guy during the search, which from your description was not without grounds.
Good thing you were polite else you mighta wound up like that Harvard Professor Gates who was dumb enough to smart off to the officers responding to a 911 call about him breaking into a house at midnight. I'd expect better from an educated and presumably intelligent man.
That was no time to get huffy, time instead to defuse the situation with some humor and thank them for keeping an eye on his house.

old jim

 

[jim hardy]

Yeah. I actually suspect they picked me because I looked easy to detain and close enough to "brown sweater," so they could waste time shaking me down hoping the real crazy would go home and they wouldn't have to confront an authentic danger.

Why do you presume the worst ?

 

[dkotschessaa]

You know that saying "If you see something, say something"? I was going to contact the HOA where I live to report a moped parked between two parking spots in front of my home yesterday to have it removed. But I thought it was strange that someone would be so cavelier about their property. So, I called the police first to see if it was stolen - it was. Somebody is going to get their bike back today without a bunch of towing fees added on.

Nice!

 

[dkotschessaa]

My contribution to your reading entertainment is that I got "detained" by the cops again last night.

I was sitting in the vicinity of a Starbucks which is in a little mall when a cruiser pulled up and stopped. The cop got out and asked me how I was (?) and I said fine. Then he said they'd gotten a call about a guy wearing a tan jacket (which I was) who had been running around the little mall there, raging at people and acting threatening. He handcuffed me and started going through my pockets, and asking me all kind a questions.

Then these two people came over and said to the cop, "That's not the guy. He's over there at the other end of the parking lot. He's got a brown sweater."

He uncuffed me, and said to his partner, "Let's go check over where they pointed." I said, "You're looking for a brown sweater, not a tan jacket." He says, "Well, people don't always know what they saw."

I suppose that's true, but if you assume right off they don't know what they saw you could prolly detain just about anyone of any description, I'd say.

OMG. Twice in as many weeks almost?

It's *almost* funny, at least given my admittedly filtered-through-the-internet perception of you as, well, mostly harmless...

-Dave K

 

[dkotschessaa]

Little Dylan completed his eye surgery (correction for strabismus) yesterday and doesn't even care. He's playing and crawling around like normal.

If it was me, I'd be on the couch watching movies all day, asking for food to be brought to me, and crying about my poor bleeding eyes.

My baby makes me feel like such a damn baby sometimes.

-Dave K

 

[zoobyshoe]

Why do you presume the worst ?

Because they spent so little time looking for the other guy after they released me. There's about ten businesses in that mall, most of them restaurants that were open (it was about 7:30 PM). Ten minutes isn't enough time for a canvass and drive search of the streets you can get to from the other side of the parking lot where he was last seen.

Also, when he said "people don't always know what they saw," he was admitting that the description had actually been "brown sweater," all along and he had modified it in talking to me to justify detaining me. Otherwise he would have said, "They told 911 'tan jacket'. They've changed their story."

And, it stands to reason, cops don't actually like dealing with volatile people. "Crazy guy yelling at random people in a mall," is obviously a situation that could escalate to them having to draw their weapons. Better to make a show of detaining a compliant looking person in the hope the crazy guy sees the cops and takes off.

OMG. Twice in as many weeks almost?

It's *almost* funny, at least given my admittedly filtered-through-the-internet perception of you as, well, mostly harmless...

To be fair, the first time was justified: my license plate illumination bulb was, in fact, burned out. What got me was all the peripheral questions they ask before they got to the point.

I'm pretty sure no one mistakes me for some kind of bad-ass. People mostly tell me I look like a math teacher, though some say English teacher.

 

[WWGD]

One of the phrases you read here often, without apparent irony is " smell gas, act fast", together with a phone number ( which is not 1-800-FART, BTW) . Yes, it is about gas leaks.

 

[WWGD]

A straight couple I am friends with, sent me a nice Valentine's day card ( actually left it by my door; we both live in the same building). I don't know what to make of it, nor how to reciprocate.

 

[fresh_42]

A straight couple I am friends with, sent me a nice Valentine's day card ( actually left it by my door; we both live in the same building). I don't know what to make of it, nor how to reciprocate.

The fact you emphasized "straight" makes me ask: how open minded are you?

 

[WWGD]

The fact you emphasized "straight" makes me ask: how open minded are you?

No, I mean, I just wanted to leave out the possibility that they are hitting on me -- they don't look nor come off as swingers..

 

[Evo]

A straight couple I am friends with, sent me a nice Valentine's day card ( actually left it by my door; we both live in the same building). I don't know what to make of it, nor how to reciprocate.

What did it say?

 

[jim hardy]

I don't know what to make of it, nor how to reciprocate.

hmmmmm... Strike up the grill and invite them over for burgers?

 

[zoobyshoe]

And this other PBS show I'm really starting to like is Endeavor. What's interesting is that young detective Morse always seems to slowly, methodically put together a scenario that turns out to be all wrong but which he's firmly convinced is the true explanation. He runs with it for a while until, all of a sudden, it falls apart, and he's completely embarrassed. Once that happens, the true chain of events suddenly pops into his head, and this time, he's always right.

It's different. Most detective fiction doesn't involve the protagonist falling flat on his face.

 

[Borg]

Just a random thought that press conferences should begin with the following song...

 

[Ibix]

And this other PBS show I'm really starting to like is Endeavor. What's interesting is that young detective Morse always seems to slowly, methodically put together a scenario that turns out to be all wrong but which he's firmly convinced is the true explanation. He runs with it for a while until, all of a sudden, it falls apart, and he's completely embarrassed. Once that happens, the true chain of events suddenly pops into his head, and this time, he's always right.

Interesting that the moral of that is "trust your instincts, not your intellect". My mum's a fan, so I sometimes watch when she's around. The handling of the undercurrent of brutality and general police misbehaviour is interesting. Everyone seems to be a bit furtive about it, like they know it's not right, but nobody protests - either because they're doing it or because they know a protest would be a waste of time.

Lewis is good, too.

 

[WWGD]

hmmmmm... Strike up the grill and invite them over for burgers?

Remember I am up in NYC, Jim, that would be frostburgers * , or burger-cicles. But good idea, though, given I have FINALLY cleaned up my apt.

* Probably someone's lastname, what's up with all the something- burger last names?

 

[WWGD]

Just a random thought that press conferences should begin with the following song...

Every _meeting_ between people should start with it. Or at least some other Ozzy Song. For some people it should be better to have Diary of a Madman.

 

[WWGD]

What did it say?

It was a card with two pages, first one just said " Happy Valentine's Day" , second page had their names. I run into them from time to time, will just thank them for it .

 

[fresh_42]

Remember I am up in NYC, Jim, that would be frostburgers * , or burger-cicles. But good idea, though, given I have FINALLY cleaned up my apt.

* Probably someone's lastname, what's up with all the something- burger last names?

"Burg" is the German word for "castle". I suspect a connection. Or it might have to do with "Bürger", which means "citizen", originally "burgāri" for "defender of the castle". How ever you turn it, you end up in a castle.

 

[WWGD]

"Burg" is the German word for "castle". I suspect a connection. Or it might have to do with "Bürger", which means "citizen", originally "burgāri" for "defender of the castle". How ever you turn it, you end up in a castle.

Since it is a burger, it is most likely White Castle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Castle_(restaurant) :)

 

[fresh_42]

Since it is a burger, it is most likely White Castle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Castle_(restaurant) :)

The alternative isn't better: imagine you'd have to BBQ Hamborouhgs. But I have a strong feeling, that -borough (or the American ending -burg) is of the same origin. As I said: You cannot escape the castle!

 

[WWGD]

"Burg" is the German word for "castle". I suspect a connection. Or it might have to do with "Bürger", which means "citizen", originally "burgāri" for "defender of the castle". How ever you turn it, you end up in a castle.

How much would I need to pay in Germany for the lastnames BaconBurger and/or Bacon-Cheese Burger?

 

[jim hardy]

Remember I am up in NYC, Jim, that would be frostburgers * , or burger-cicles. But good idea, though, given I have FINALLY cleaned up my apt.

Well then I'd do lobster tails under the oven broiler. I was intimidated at first but they're real easy just use plenty of genuine butter and some fresh lime, Key Lime if you can get it . Surely you can in NYC if i was able to in Idaho. Kroger/Fred-Meyer had frozen tails but one had to ask the nice lady at seafood counter.

Ahhhh NYC What a delightful place! Fair Anne's mom lived just off Delancey, on Avenue A at foot of the bridge. Short walk to the Canal Street junkshops. Memories...

old jim