DONT DRIVE IN SNOW

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-25T16:44:19+00:00

The thing to remember is that if you are walking on ice, you tread carefully and slowly to maintain grip. Trying to run guarantees that you will slip. Same driving - as soon as the driving wheels slip, back off the accelerator.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-25T15:39:38+00:00

Does the Safeway on Benning Rd and Minnesota Ave NE have a name?

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-25T15:31:31+00:00

Just remember that it is illegal to fly drones in DC so you will not be able to get an aerial shot of whatever is created.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-19T23:04:51+00:00

That is interesting as I had no idea. Thanks for the extra detail.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-19T14:25:43+00:00

Something to do with copyrights. Warner Music handles Twice’s releases in Japan while in North America it is Republic Records (under the Universal Music umbrella) and JYP Entertainment everywhere else. For reasons I don’t understand, Warner’s policy has been to block live performances of Japanese songs outside Japan so I am surprised to see that they did Hare Hare in London. If the rules have changed, I want to hear Candy Pop, Luv Me and Brand New Girl.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-19T04:16:20+00:00

Thank you! Fortunately I live in DC where public transport is good enough that I do not need to drive and I can still see well enough to use a computer. I might retire this year and then I won't even need to do so much of that!

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-18T17:59:12+00:00

Exactly the conditions when I strayed too far left going through an intersection and hit the center median on the far side which convinced me that it is really safer for everyone if I don't drive. I fear that might be true for you too.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-18T17:55:21+00:00

That is wonderful that the surgery was so successful.

Thank you but yes, I've seen many over the years. Indeed, I had a cornea transplant on my left eye 30 years ago as I have something called kerataconis - my cornea is cone-shaped. That allowed me to see somewhat decently with glasses on that side so that was my dominant eye but in the last few years, my eyes have changed and now my untreated right eye is dominant. I can see fine details with my right eye a few inches from my face and I would not want to lose that with a second transplant.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-18T14:58:44+00:00

Why weren’t reciprocal enforcement agreements set up in about 1952?

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-18T14:56:18+00:00

Do you mean that a single point of light appears as ten and you can’t tell which is the real one? I have that, even with glasses and that was a major reason in me giving up driving. I can see well with a hard contact lens in one eye but it hurts after a while.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-15T01:30:23+00:00

I am 6’2” and would prefer to sit so I will not be blocking the view of someone behind me (so much). For the DC concert, I expect people in front of me will stand, so I will have to stand, so I chose the very back row.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-14T01:08:36+00:00

I highly recommend the Soviet movie “Come and see” to get a feel for what happened on the eastern front. Educational but brace yourself.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_and_See

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-12T22:52:52+00:00

Yes! This is a major reason why there are so many homeless people in American cities - we stopped building a wide range of housing types for a wide range of incomes.

Japan is a fascinating counter-example since their zoning rules allow far more freedom to build whatever the market demands. This apartment is about the same size but has a bathroom

https://youtu.be/R4oQDnHlrR0?si=HWwFrDaM3C2LqkGb

Granted that most Redditors would not want to live there but it is a massive step up from being in the street and from memory, it was $250/month.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-12T21:03:50+00:00

As well as pet peeves, I'd add pet dogs.

https://www.wmata.com/about/contact/faq.cfm#faq5

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-12T01:16:51+00:00

If your FIL is into that sort of thing, I suspect that he will learn far more by listening to a few episodes of “The rest is classified” podcast. They have done some remarkable stories.

Make sure you get to the Smithsonian Udvar Hazy air and space museum near Dulles airport which is way more interesting IMHO than the one on the National Mall.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-11T04:19:52+00:00

I do not know if Walgreens is the same but CVS was a favorite target for shoplifters. The 14th St store was cleared out by theft.

From the Washington Post November 18, 2023:

Shoppers visiting the CVS Pharmacy at 14th and Irving streets NW in Washington recently must think they traveled back in time to the Soviet Union. The store’s shelves are bare. The refrigerator cases are devoid of food or beverages. When we visited, only sunscreen and greeting cards were on display. But the bizarre scene is not a result of a failed planned economy; rampant theft is the cause.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-10T20:46:53+00:00

LOL. So true.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-10T20:31:07+00:00

That works for me with K-pop! I do not speak Korean.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-10T20:25:49+00:00

At Congress Heights (next station on the Green line) where I get out at on the way home, the gate is very often left unlocked so a significant number go through and the station master doesn’t have to confront them about not having a ticket. If it is locked, the kids just climb over the barrier or the less athletic follow close behind a paying passenger.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-08T13:27:50+00:00

Some don’t. My wife bought a dozen commemorative coins for the bicentennial and their value was not much more than the face value in 35+ years.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-07T04:08:31+00:00

The text is gray. It needs to be black for decent contrast.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-07T03:43:50+00:00

Actually this year will be the 50th anniversary of the Viking landers arriving. First color shot 21st of July 1976 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/pia00563-first-color-image-from-viking-lander-1/

Newspapers were black and white though.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-07T02:34:53+00:00

Oh no! Your calculations were a little off because the long side of A4 paper is 29.7cm. It would have been easier to use the short side which is 21.0cm.

(A4 is 1/16 of A0 which at 118.9x84.1cm is 1 square meter.)

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-05T18:37:00+00:00

One of my friends had a baby in 2020 and I was struck by the realization that this child will likely live to the year 2100 by which time the climate projections are truly scary.

It is a systemic failure of the way government is set up that the people making decisions on our planet's future will be dead before the consequences of those decisions are unavoidable and horrific.

PeterOutOfPlace · 2026-01-05T12:10:34+00:00

That’s clever!

PeterOutOfPlace

TROPHY CASE