...and the land of the free...

Seat belt regulation will lead to fascism.... thats a slippery slope i have trouble buying into.

Not wearing a seat belt does cause harm when it gets you killed in a situation where you could have avoided it simply by reaching over your shoulder and putting it on. The harm is real and the seatbelt has had a substantive statistical impact at reducing traffic fatalities.

Yes, running a red light is illegal. Yes texting while driving impairs your ability to drive a vehicle safely. Why should we care why they ran it? Great logic. Lets start arresting drunk drivers after they make a mistake. If they can get home safely while drunk and not break any laws they are free to go.

tuna55 wrote: You just made my point. Running a red light is already illegal - why should you care why they ran it?

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure... and ten pounds of retribution.

Stupid person does not realize that texting while driving leads to accidents. Rather than letting them discover this by causing an accident (which kills another person) you just tell them not to do the dangerous thing in the first place.

It's exactly the same as DUI laws. Do you let people get sauced and only punish them after they crash the car? Or do you arrest them as soon as they get behind the wheel when drunk?

Salanis wrote:

tuna55 wrote: You just made my point. Running a red light is already illegal - why should you care why they ran it?

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure... and ten pounds of retribution. Stupid person does not realize that texting while driving leads to accidents. Rather than letting them discover this by causing an accident (which kills another person) you just tell them not to do the dangerous thing in the first place. It's exactly the same as DUI laws. Do you let people get sauced and only punish them after they crash the car? Or do you arrest them as soon as they get behind the wheel when drunk?

Drunk driving is easy - doing anything while impaired in public is already illegal. Drunk driving is just an extension.

So why is eating a sandwich and driving legal still?

Regarding set belts, so the government is protecting me from myself now? That's a tough order, and I don't remember reading that in the constitution. Maybe they should just make driving illegal - it's very dangerous. A ban on all smoking?

Salanis wrote: People who think Cali is all smog are probably the same ones who think that we all live within an hour of a beach (which is sunny and warm... LOL!), surf, and smoke pot.

You were doing well until that last one. Best I can tell most if not all Californians do smoke pot.

But not in restaurants, though. My wife and I love eating out in Cali because everywhere is non-smoking. Likewise, we live in an unincorporated area a few miles outside Houston (which has a smoking ban). We used to always eat out in the sticks to avoid the crowds. Now we usually go into Houston to avoid the smoke.

billy3esq wrote:

Salanis wrote: People who think Cali is all smog are probably the same ones who think that we all live within an hour of a beach (which is sunny and warm... LOL!), surf, and smoke pot.

You were doing well until that last one. Best I can tell most if not all Californians do smoke pot. But not in restaurants, though. My wife and I love eating out in Cali because everywhere is non-smoking. Likewise, we live in an unincorporated area a few miles outside Houston (which has a smoking ban). We used to always eat out in the sticks to avoid the crowds. Now we usually go into Houston to avoid the smoke.

i do not smoke pot.... but i do live 5 minutes from the beach and go surfing all the time. And let it be known that its sunny and warm. There are no bugs (in the entire state) or huminidy. Once upon a time there was a single cloud that threatened rain that would have ruined another perfect 72 degree day. The girls wear bikinis and sun dresses year round.

Just dont swap a small block into an Rx7 though. They will crush your car.

I'm basically a libertarian, but I am all for smoking bans in restaurants/bars. It's all about the principle that your right to swing your fist ends where my face begins. Smoky bars/restaurants create dangerous working conditions for their employees, and their rights to not die of lung cancer trump your rights to get your nicotine buzz. As long as you can do whatever it is that you want to do without hurting anyone else, I think you should be free to do it. This ain't one of those cases.

GlennS wrote: i don't smoke pot but i do live 5 minutes from the beach and go surfing all the time. And let it be known that its sunny and warm. There are no bugs (in the entire state) or huminidy. Once upon a time there was a single cloud that threatened rain that would have ruined another perfect 72 degree day. The girls wear bikinis and sun dresses year round. Just dont swap a small block into an Rx7 though. They will crush your car.

But, there was no denial of using hallucinogens.

oldsaw wrote: But, there was no denial of using hallucinogens.

Well i didnt think it needed to be said that if you live in Cali. and dont smoke weed its because you're saving your money to skip straight to the good stuff.

GlennS wrote: i do not smoke pot.... but i do live 5 minutes from the beach and go surfing all the time. And let it be known that its sunny and warm. There are no bugs (in the entire state) or huminidy. Once upon a time there was a single cloud that threatened rain that would have ruined another perfect 72 degree day. The girls wear bikinis and sun dresses year round. Just dont swap a small block into an Rx7 though. They will crush your car.

Oh hell no, the price is too steep

GlennS wrote: There are no bugs (in the entire state) or huminidy.

Was that humanity or humidity? I suspect the former, because I've mostly been to the Bay Area and seen plenty of fog in San Francisco.

GlennS wrote: i do not smoke pot.... but i do live 5 minutes from the beach and go surfing all the time. And let it be known that its sunny and warm. There are no bugs (in the entire state) or huminidy. Once upon a time there was a single cloud that threatened rain that would have ruined another perfect 72 degree day. The girls wear bikinis and sun dresses year round. Just dont swap a small block into an Rx7 though. They will crush your car.

No pot smoking here either. I wasn't so much referring to the weather as not warm... but the ocean. The Pacific ocean is not warm around here.

Salanis: Ocean temps down here are a survivable 55 to 58 down here right now. If the sun is out and there is no wind you can "survive" in the water for a while. A wet suite and maybe booties are a good idea though.

Billy: lol

GlennS wrote: Salanis: Ocean temps down here are a survivable 55 to 58 down here right now. If the sun is out and there is no wind you can "survive" in the water for a while. A wet suite and maybe booties are a good idea though. Billy: lol

This is a wet suite:

This is a wet suit:

One is not like the other.

GlennS wrote: Salanis: Ocean temps down here are a survivable 55 to 58 down here right now. If the sun is out and there is no wind you can "survive" in the water for a while. A wet suite and maybe booties are a good idea though. Billy: lol

I have a few acquaintances who surf off of Newport, RI year-round. Some hardcore surfers in RI.

gamby wrote: I have a few acquaintances who surf off of Newport, RI year-round. Some hardcore surfers in RI.

The Atlantic Ocean is warmer than the Pacific (in the U.S.). Ocean currents in the northern hemisphere circulate clockwise, which means the the people on the Atlantic ocean get warm water out of the tropics (which also means lots of heat energy for storms and hurricanes). The pacific brings really cold water down from the arctic... which also brings lots of micro nutrients for abundant and tasty sea life.

GlennS wrote:

billy3esq wrote:

Salanis wrote: People who think Cali is all smog are probably the same ones who think that we all live within an hour of a beach (which is sunny and warm... LOL!), surf, and smoke pot.

You were doing well until that last one. Best I can tell most if not all Californians do smoke pot. But not in restaurants, though. My wife and I love eating out in Cali because everywhere is non-smoking. Likewise, we live in an unincorporated area a few miles outside Houston (which has a smoking ban). We used to always eat out in the sticks to avoid the crowds. Now we usually go into Houston to avoid the smoke.

i do not smoke pot.... but i do live 5 minutes from the beach and go surfing all the time. And let it be known that its sunny and warm. There are no bugs (in the entire state) or huminidy. Once upon a time there was a single cloud that threatened rain that would have ruined another perfect 72 degree day. The girls wear bikinis and sun dresses year round. Just dont swap a small block into an Rx7 though. They will crush your car.

To GlennS

Dude shut up, I would like to be able to afford a house here some day.

To the rest of you:

We have lots of earthquakes and taxes, the state goverment is socialist, and there are hippies here...