mdlbear: TANSTAAFL

Mandelbear (

mdlbear) wrote,
@ 2008-05-07 13:56:00

Current mood:	annoyed
Entry tags:	food, tanstaafl, work

TANSTAAFL

Went out for a business lunch at the Bombay Oven -- tasty, inexpensive Indian buffet. Unfortunately the company isn't paying for the parking ticket...

The really stupid part is that I saw the sign, it just didn't register that today was the first Wednesday of the month, and therefore one of the two days when I couldn't park on that side of the street.

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kayshapero
2008-05-07 09:10 pm UTC (link)

I went to visit a friend in a hospital last year, read the complex signs on the street, and thought it was OK to park, only to come out and find a ticket. Figuring this for an error, I photographed the sign as evidence, read it over three times and only then found the problem - what looked like a short am to pm term was actually a wraparound pm to pm. My current rule is "if there are more than two details on the sign, treat it as a no-parking zone." :(

(Reply to this)

	flower_cat 2008-05-07 09:35 pm UTC (link)
	Dumb bear... :-p (Reply to this)(Thread)

	mdlbear 2008-05-07 10:11 pm UTC (link)
	Yup. (Reply to this)(Parent)

Silicon Valley Parking

idea_fairy
2008-05-07 10:02 pm UTC (link)

Do you think there would be a market for some kind of wireless computer network thingie in those parking-restriction signs that would tell your car's computer that the car will get a ticket if it parks there?

It should also be smart enough to figure out situations like when it's OK to park there now but you'll need to move by such-and-such a time.

Besides giving a readout of the details, it could also blink at some varying rate or show colors or something to give a rough non-verbal indication of how soon you'll need to move. That should reduce the chances of the information not registering because you have your mind on something else.

Yes, it may cut the revenue cities get from parking tickets. But where the goal really is to keep streets clear and traffic moving safely (rather than just a sneaky way of raising revenue) it would be a good thing to have.

And it may not be that much of a money-loser if it's also smart enough to notify the cops when there's a vehicle parked there illegally. That would improve the ratio of tickets written to man-hours spent patrolling parking, so it could be a winner even if fewer tickets are written.

(Reply to this)

	mrgoodwraith 2008-05-07 10:58 pm UTC (link)
	Sigh. Done that, been ticketed, even got towed once. Cue Ariel (Abby) Cinii's parking lament "Alternate Side" (title? can't seem to find it on Google). :-P (Reply to this)(Thread)

	hms42 2008-05-08 02:13 am UTC (link)
	Paging Abby for you... (Reply to this)(Parent)

sodyera
2008-05-08 03:30 pm UTC (link)

The Alternate Side
©1997, 2008 Ariel Cinii (9704.04)
to the tune of “The Patriot Game”

Oh, I’m a New Yorker, and I own a car,
To help with my travels, both near and afar.
But with regulations I’m bound and I’m tied,
So I must seek parking on the alternate side.

These streets, they are dirty, and they need to be swept.
From trash I’ve encountered I’ve openly wept.
Four mornings on weekdays, I start up my ride.
And I move my car to the alternate side.

Oh, I’m a New Yorker, and want to park free.
My monthly rent payments are something to see.
I need a safe place for my car’s room and board,
But paying for parking I just can’t afford.

The cops have their quotas, their books full of blanks.
Their object’s to drain all the cash from our banks,
For those who aren’t careful to search through the sky,
For signs that say MON-THURS, or Tuesday and Fri.

It’s skill more than gamble as we hunt for space.
With hundreds of others, I seek out a place,
From 8 till 11 or 11 till 2.
It’s what wise New Yorkers learn quickly to do.

The morning is cold and from daylight I smart.
My powerful engine’s reluctant to start.
But I’m in a game now from which I can’t hide.
So it’s time to start looking to the alternate side.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	mdlbear 2008-05-08 03:35 pm UTC (link)
	grin Thank you. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	mrgoodwraith 2008-05-08 03:37 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks, Ariel! I come to appreciate the deep cosmic truth of that song more and more as the years go by... :-D (Reply to this)(Parent)

	OT: Book you might be interested in.... johno 2008-05-07 11:11 pm UTC (link)
	Do you collect old CS books? A friend recieved a chunk of her Dad's book collection and going through it and found: "Anyone out there collect really weird computer stuff? I've got the third printing of the British Computer Society's Code of Good Conduct (circa 1975) looking for a home. Why my dad held on to that, I don't know. Sentiment, I suppose." (Reply to this)(Thread)

	Re: OT: Book you might be interested in.... mdlbear 2008-05-08 02:06 am UTC (link)
	I've been known to, but it would be better to donate it to the Computer History Museum. I'm trying to cut down on clutter. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	jilara 2008-05-08 01:27 am UTC (link)
	Been there, done that. Including the naive assumption of "Oh, it's less than 5 minutes before it switches to unrestricted parking." Those guys must lie in wait for people at 4 minutes to 6 pm... (Reply to this)(Thread)

	mdlbear 2008-05-08 02:07 am UTC (link)
	I was ticketed at something like 1:06. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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