Can't make this (stuff) up

[O Really]

I don't think that Jason Dalton shot any of his fares. Riding in an Uber was one of the safest places to be.

Yeah, but that's a small comfort if you're in the car with the guy.

[Vrede too]

Snow in Las Vegas, Joshua Tree and Los Angeles County, in Pictures

I wish I was back there for this. Should be a good Spring for desert flowers.

[neoplacebo]

Silver Shamrock at work on this guy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7-uC0LDllM

With a couple million drivers, some of them are bound to be loons. My personal experience with Uber has been very satisfactory and vastly superior to taking a cab, where there are also some loons. I know it's an intriguing story - as well as entertaining in a macabre way - but in these times of constant and unrelenting fear-mongering, I hate to think of how many people will end up avoiding a very convenient service just in case there's some other deranged killer in the Uber car.

Ah, no experience with Uber but the last time I took a taxi, in Taipei in about 1977 I left a Marlboro cigarette pack with two Thai sticks in it in the cab. It was traumatic for a bit but I chalked it up to foreign relations and forged ahead.

[O Really]

Cab:
stand out in traffic and get one to stop for you and hope he'll (a) give you a chance to get into the car before starting off; (b) speaks at least some fundamental form of English; (c) has a clue as to how to get to your destination; (d) won't totally hose you on the route or fare; and (e) the last rider didn't barf or bleed all over the seat you're in. If you get to your destination, hope you have cash for fare and enough to throw a tip at him.

Uber: open the app on your phone. Click order ride. Check app to see what time car will arrive, name/pic of driver, and make and license number of car. Get in car, demon app gives driver directions. Fare already paid. Give the driver cash if you like or add to fare from your phone.

[Vrede too]

Not that I really care, but:
You can telephone/internet for a cab;
An Uber can be just as filthy;
Cabs use GPS, too;
Cabs take credit/debit cards, not sure about phone payment;
Cabs have better maintenance requirements;
Cabbies are vetted better, but they admittedly don't have ratings systems;
Cabbies have better worker pay and protections.

[O Really]

I guess it depends on where you are. Most of my cab experience is in NYC. Most of my Uber experience has been in other places. Maybe apples/oranges.

[Leo Lyons]

I guess it depends on where you are. Most of my cab experience is in NYC. Most of my Uber experience has been in other places. Maybe apples/oranges.

Definitely apples/oranges. I have used both, but only on rare occasions because I prefer to drive despite traffic nightmares. I've found Uber my best experience as most drivers are clean-cut and polite, whereas the cabbies can be rather rude and impatient.

[Vrede too]

I guess it depends on where you are. Most of my cab experience is in NYC. Most of my Uber experience has been in other places. Maybe apples/oranges.

I stumbled on this from last May:

Uber and the labor market
Uber drivers’ compensation, wages, and the scale of Uber and the gig economy

Interesting and of some relevance to our chat. However, it does not make a direct comparison between Uber driver and taxi driver compensation.

[O Really]

Bureau of Labor Statistics has the median rate for cabbies at about $12.50, not counting tips, which also weren't counted in the Uber article. But I can tell you that while I might make a transportation decision somewhat based on amount of fare if there is a big difference (e.g., I'll take Metro or Marta into town from the airport instead of cab/Uber) I'm not likely to make a decision based on what the driver gets paid.

[Vrede too]

There may also be differences in things like workers' comp coverage.

All else equal I prefer supporting workers just like I prefer supporting local businesses over chains and big boxes, but I'm not an extremist about it. Cost, quality and convenience matter to me, too.

[O Really]

Well, there are limits to which you can compare people's employment choices - or lack thereof. There are always tradeoffs, even within the same industry.

[Vrede too]

Adventurous grandmother visits Iceland, sees throne-shaped ice on beach, "always wanted to be queen" (has that in common with VP Q-tip, nttawwt), sits down, wave comes in and floats her out to sea.



"She was quickly rescued thanks to Randy Lacount, a boat captain from Florida, who happened to be nearby when the ice dislodged."
Oddly, the article doesn't make it clear whether Captain Randy used a boat or not.
https://www.yahoo.com/gma/grandma-says- ... ories.html

Comments:

Before even surfing comments, I was expecting to see at least a half dozen or so mother-in-law jokes. You all didn't disappoint.

So that is how you get rid of that pesky mother-in-law! Have her pose on an ice chunk that is about to float off - brilliant (and a cold move).

“Grandma, it’s perfectly safe. What could possibly go wrong?”

Hmm I wonder if I can trick my ex mother in-law and ex-wife to do this and make sure that there is no boats around to help them?

@Patrick If my ex Patrick had not passed away, I'd think YOU were him making this comment... LMAO

Makes me wonder how her ex, Patrick, passed away.

I'm confused! Did, Randy Lacount, the boat captain from Florida have his boat with him or did he swim out and pulled her back in? If he had his boat, did he sail it from Florida? Why do weird stories like this always have a Florida connection?

Well, she can check off "Do Something Life-Threateningly Dangerous As A Senior Citizen" off her bucket list.

[O Really]

Darwin nominee...

"An Indiana man was hospitalized last week after accidentally shooting himself in the penis with an unlicensed handgun..."

https://www.foxnews.com/us/indiana-man- ... police-say

[Vrede too]

Darwin nominee...

"An Indiana man was hospitalized last week after accidentally shooting himself in the penis with an unlicensed handgun..."

https://www.foxnews.com/us/indiana-man- ... police-say

Do the licensed guns hurt more or less?

Mark Anthony Jones, 46, told authorities he was carrying the gun in his waistband while standing on a walkway near a Girl Scout cabin in Marion last Thursday, the release said.

That part could use some elaboration, including what he was doing there and whether any Girl Scouts provided first aid. I wonder what that merit badge would look like, and was this instant karma for a creep?

[Vrede too]

Man is swept into whale’s mouth and lives to tell the tale (with short video)

Wow.

Comments:

I had a fly buzz straight into my mouth once. The whale was probably as disgusted by this experience as I was with that one. :-)

A story for family gatherings.
“Yeah whatever grandpa”

“I swear he was 12 feet long. But he got away!” -The Whale bragging to his mammalian friends

I know some people who actually live in Wales.

[O Really]

Happy the guy wasn't injured, but seriously - he basically went diving into the whales' lunch pail. Woulda been a different story if it had been a shark.

[Vrede too]

Happy the guy wasn't injured, but seriously - he basically went diving into the whales' lunch pail.

Th video implies that he was just there for the sardine run and didn't know there was a whale present, but it's not 100% clear about it.

Woulda been a different story if it had been a shark.

Like this?

Woman attacked by jaguar while taking selfie at Arizona zoo, suffers non-life threatening injury

... The woman was attempting to take a selfie when the animal reached out and swiped at her, according to the Rural Metro Fire Department.

The zoo said the woman crossed a barrier in an attempt to get the photo....

Did the selfie turn out?

This is the second time in a month the same jaguar has swiped at a guest, Wildlife World Zoo Director Mickey Ollson told Phoenix ABC affiliate KNXV.

Probably makes the jaguar's week.

When oh when will people ever learn to carry a laser pointer and ball of yarn with them at all times?

[O Really]

Happy the guy wasn't injured, but seriously - he basically went diving into the whales' lunch pail.

Th video implies that he was just there for the sardine run and didn't know there was a whale present, but it's not 100% clear about it.

Maybe not, but isn't that like saying you didn't know there's likely to be fat ladies at Wal-Mart?

https://roaring.earth/whale-swallows-sc ... nes-whole/

[Vrede too]

Happy the guy wasn't injured, but seriously - he basically went diving into the whales' lunch pail.

The video implies that he was just there for the sardine run and didn't know there was a whale present, but it's not 100% clear about it.

Woulda been a different story if it had been a shark.

Like this?

Woman attacked by jaguar while taking selfie at Arizona zoo, suffers non-life threatening injury

... The woman was attempting to take a selfie when the animal reached out and swiped at her, according to the Rural Metro Fire Department.

The zoo said the woman crossed a barrier in an attempt to get the photo....

Did the selfie turn out?

This is the second time in a month the same jaguar has swiped at a guest, Wildlife World Zoo Director Mickey Ollson told Phoenix ABC affiliate KNXV.

Probably makes the jaguar's week.

When oh when will people ever learn to carry a laser pointer and ball of yarn with them at all times?

Maybe not, but isn't that like saying you didn't know there's likely to be fat ladies at Wal-Mart?

https://roaring.earth/whale-swallows-sc ... nes-whole/

Idk, we've all seen the videos of whales going after bait balls, but that doesn't tell us how many bait balls there are where a whale never shows up.

"fat ladies", sure, but I don't see a tweaking methhead every time I'm in Walmart.

[O Really]

"fat ladies", sure, but I don't see a tweaking methhead every time I'm in Walmart.

So we're supposed to be impressed that you go to an up-scale Wal-Mart?