I thought people in Arkansas wore boxes as clothing.

Phan Paul wrote:My daughter wanted a Pirate Party for her sixth birthday. Somehow, my wife got the idea to build a Pirate ship out of boxes. If it works, it will be pretty cool, but otherwise, the kids probably would have enjoyed just playing in the boxes themselves without trying to fashing them into a pirate ship.

Let me guess, she went to the Boardman's site, which is a wonderful place to find ideas, especially since I went through about ten themes in ten years. Trash bags make excellent hula skirts AND mermaid tails. Family fun has a better treasure hunt game, although it's a little better suited to kids who can read.

Don't worry, the kids will fashion a pirate ship and tear it apart and play with the boxes.

phatj wrote:When did "aggressive" become a synonym for "unsafe?" I would consider myself an aggressive driver, but I am generally a very attentive driver, and I generally follow the rules of the road (aside from speeding).

Taken by itself, aggressive doesn't mean 'unsafe'. It's only when you pair that word with 'driving' that it defines an unsafe style of driving.

Look at this list....they're all pretty valid (although I would change the 'posted speed limit' thing to just 'too fast for conditions', with conditions being either weather or relative to traffic volume).

I hope you don't find yourself in that description....

EDIT: The test on the bottom of the page is, IMHO, a much better profiling tool than the text at the top. For the record, I scored three 'no' answers....

Bucky wrote:

phatj wrote:When did "aggressive" become a synonym for "unsafe?" I would consider myself an aggressive driver, but I am generally a very attentive driver, and I generally follow the rules of the road (aside from speeding).

Taken by itself, aggressive doesn't mean 'unsafe'. It's only when you pair that word with 'driving' that it defines an unsafe style of driving.

Look at this list....they're all pretty valid (although I would change the 'posted speed limit' thing to just 'too fast for conditions', with conditions being either weather or relative to traffic volume).

I hope you don't find yourself in that description....

EDIT: The test on the bottom of the page is, IMHO, a much better profiling tool than the text at the top. For the record, I scored three 'no' answers....

I want to know if I'm aggressive, dammit!!!! Where's the &%)*(*%&^$ link???!!!

swishnicholson wrote:

Bucky wrote:

phatj wrote:When did "aggressive" become a synonym for "unsafe?" I would consider myself an aggressive driver, but I am generally a very attentive driver, and I generally follow the rules of the road (aside from speeding).

Taken by itself, aggressive doesn't mean 'unsafe'. It's only when you pair that word with 'driving' that it defines an unsafe style of driving.

Look at this list....they're all pretty valid (although I would change the 'posted speed limit' thing to just 'too fast for conditions', with conditions being either weather or relative to traffic volume).

I hope you don't find yourself in that description....

EDIT: The test on the bottom of the page is, IMHO, a much better profiling tool than the text at the top. For the record, I scored three 'no' answers....

I want to know if I'm aggressive, dammit!!!! Where's the &%)*(*%&^$ link???!!!

HA ! You FELL for it!!! You FAIL!!!!

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/outreac ... iving.html

Thank you. I was afraid I was going to have to go out and drive around until I cooled off.

I follow all those guidelines, with occasional lapses (mostly involving driving while drowsy or sometimes using my phone). The only exception is when I overreact to someone else's aggressive driving and respond with the same. Seems pretty stupid in the light of day, and I feel much better when I just let behavior like that roll over me, but I can't say it won't happen again.

That's one of the other hazards of aggressive driving-you never know when it will turn me into a moron too.

swishnicholson wrote:

Phan Paul wrote:My daughter wanted a Pirate Party for her sixth birthday. Somehow, my wife got the idea to build a Pirate ship out of boxes. If it works, it will be pretty cool, but otherwise, the kids probably would have enjoyed just playing in the boxes themselves without trying to fashing them into a pirate ship.

Let me guess, she went to the Boardman's site, which is a wonderful place to find ideas, especially since I went through about ten themes in ten years. Trash bags make excellent hula skirts AND mermaid tails. Family fun has a better treasure hunt game, although it's a little better suited to kids who can read.

Don't worry, the kids will fashion a pirate ship and tear it apart and play with the boxes.

No, she went here: http://www.mrmcgroovys.com/pirate_ship.htm

I think we're just going hid some treasure (near fire ant hills) and let them have at it. We've bought some eyepatches, pirate hats, spy glasses, and someone (over my objections) is making pirate swords out of balloons.

On the aggressive driving thing--the only thing that really bothers me about other drivers is tailgating, because it really is unsafe. I do wish cops would pull people over for it.

People around here say Texans are bad, but your typical Dallas driver would be eaten for lunch at a typical Jersey intersection like 1 and 18. The one thing about back roads in Texas that solves the tailgating issue is that the slow driver is supposed to pull over and allow the faster driver to go by. It really helps you move on a two land like US 79, which goes through E. Texas.

I answered six questions "No," which puts me in the "Good" range. But there are a few questions I object to.

The very first, for instance: "[Do you] overtake other vehicles only on the left?" I only will pass on the right if the car in front of me does not move to the right. I allow what I feel is sufficient time for the other driver to notice me before deciding to pass on the right.

Also, I answered two separate questions "No" for the same reason: using the car phone. I hate using my phone while driving, but I do it on occasion. However, I have a hands-free headset. Do I get a pass for that? At any rate, why two questions about the same thing?

Basically, the reason that I consider myself an aggressive driver is that I like to accelerate and drive quickly, even in my bland sedan. I tend to take advantage of opportunities in traffic that others might consider marginal. And I frequently will use the "rolling stop" at stop signs where there is clear visibility leading up to the intersection. Also, I have little patience for other drivers who drive in an inconsiderate manner.

Phan Paul wrote:No, she went here: http://www.mrmcgroovys.com/pirate_ship.htm

I think we're just going hid some treasure (near fire ant hills) and let them have at it. We've bought some eyepatches, pirate hats, spy glasses, and someone (over my objections) is making pirate swords out of balloons.

Seems like a hard way to sell rivets. But the utility knives look like great goody bag prizes!

While I was looking for the family fun site, I came across the rantings of a totally insane woman who went way too far in planning a party for three year olds. But she did have one idea that I wish I had stumbled on years ago, since we almost always had a pinata.

Rather than putting loose candy in the pinata, she puts small bags, with each one having the name of the child. She also fills it with glitter or other decorations so not just the bags come out when it is burst open. This way you don't have to deal with younger or less aggressive kids getting trampled or ending up with almost no loot, but I imagine it would be just as fun for the kids to go scrounging through the bags to see which one was his or her own.

phatj wrote:I answered six questions "No," which puts me in the "Good" range. But there are a few questions I object to.

The very first, for instance: "[Do you] overtake other vehicles only on the left?" I only will pass on the right if the car in front of me does not move to the right. I allow what I feel is sufficient time for the other driver to notice me before deciding to pass on the right.

Also, I answered two separate questions "No" for the same reason: using the car phone. I hate using my phone while driving, but I do it on occasion. However, I have a hands-free headset. Do I get a pass for that? At any rate, why two questions about the same thing?

Basically, the reason that I consider myself an aggressive driver is that I like to accelerate and drive quickly, even in my bland sedan. I tend to take advantage of opportunities in traffic that others might consider marginal. And I frequently will use the "rolling stop" at stop signs where there is clear visibility leading up to the intersection. Also, I have little patience for other drivers who drive in an inconsiderate manner.

Me personally? I give you a pass for all but the highlighted sentence. It's a little vague, but if it means what I think it means, I would peg you as an aggressive driver, more likely to be in a crash than a driver who is not.

swishnicholson wrote:

Phan Paul wrote:No, she went here: http://www.mrmcgroovys.com/pirate_ship.htm

I think we're just going hid some treasure (near fire ant hills) and let them have at it. We've bought some eyepatches, pirate hats, spy glasses, and someone (over my objections) is making pirate swords out of balloons.

Seems like a hard way to sell rivets. But the utility knives look like great goody bag prizes!

While I was looking for the family fun site, I came across the rantings of a totally insane woman who went way too far in planning a party for three year olds. But she did have one idea that I wish I had stumbled on years ago, since we almost always had a pinata.

Rather than putting loose candy in the pinata, she puts small bags, with each one having the name of the child. She also fills it with glitter or other decorations so not just the bags come out when it is burst open. This way you don't have to deal with younger or less aggressive kids getting trampled or ending up with almost no loot, but I imagine it would be just as fun for the kids to go scrounging through the bags to see which one was his or her own.

But then you'd miss the toddler rugby scrum, and its assorted tears and triumphs. What we did do with our Dora pinata was get one where the kids pulled strings, and one of the strings let lose thther mother load. Except for one or two pieces, which fell out several months later. Yum.

Bucky wrote:Me personally? I give you a pass for all but the highlighted sentence. It's a little vague, but if it means what I think it means, I would peg you as an aggressive driver, more likely to be in a crash than a driver who is not.

I guess that's fair. It would be hard to describe the sorts of things I mean by that phrase, so unless you could observe my driving personally, I don't see how you could think otherwise.

Avoid stopping in the road to talk with a pedestrian or other driver

This is another one that drives me nuts. It's very common around here. [/quote]

Phan Paul wrote:
But then you'd miss the toddler rugby scrum, and its assorted tears and triumphs. What we did do with our Dora pinata was get one where the kids pulled strings, and one of the strings let lose thther mother load. Except for one or two pieces, which fell out several months later. Yum.

Yeah, the string pulling models seem like a good idea. But then you miss the REAL excitement when the stick whistles by the forehead of an encroaching partygoer and visions of blood, visits to the ER and umcomfortable calls to parents flash before your eyes.

Phan Paul wrote:

Avoid stopping in the road to talk with a pedestrian or other driver

This is another one that drives me nuts. It's very common around here.

[/quote]

Where could you be going in such a hurry, Phan Paul, that you don't have time to chat for a while, or allow others to? You must be from up north.

a qdoba opened by my place and i'm positively excited to go there this weekend.

This is my last moving day for a while. I hate moving.

z ipper wrote:a qdoba opened by my place and i'm positively excited to go there this weekend.

Are you talking about the one on Baltimore Pike in Springfield? If so, I wonder if that will hurt the nearby Baja Fresh's business. I don't think so. Competition is healthy.

TheDude24 wrote:

z ipper wrote:a qdoba opened by my place and i'm positively excited to go there this weekend.

Are you talking about the one on Baltimore Pike in Springfield? If so, I wonder if that will hurt the nearby Baja Fresh's business. I don't think so. Competition is healthy.

Competition may be healthy, but it will almost certainly hurt business at Baja Fresh.