__________ is/are overrated.

[GaryV]

When my kids were in the band, the percussion section tried to see how many car alarms they could set off in the march through the parking lot from the school to the football field.

[elsmere241]

When I lived in Italy, almost all cars of significant size had alarms.  It wouldn't take much for one to be set off, only to set off all the others on the block.

[1995hoo]

I used to have a 1997 Honda Accord with an aftermarket alarm–I got the car used when someone who had leased it returned it and the alarm was already installed. That alarm was ridiculously sensitive. Thunderstorms would set it off, which got extremely annoying late at night until I moved into a house with a garage.

When my kids were in the band, the percussion section tried to see how many car alarms they could set off in the march through the parking lot from the school to the football field.

You can find lots of videos on YouTube of car alarms near Heathrow going off when Concorde was departing for New York.

[Otto Yamamoto]

Bagels.

That's because you're not in  NYC.

[JayhawkCO]

Bagels.

That's because you're not in NYC Montreal.

Fixed it for you. 

[MultiMillionMiler]

How about just...NYC

The worst shithole in the world with the most horrible traffic ever, 3x worse than LA and 10x worse than Boston or Chicago. Driving through the city to get to and from Long Island and Jersey/Pennsylvania is torture, and the traffic is starting to jut out deep into Long Island (now the Long Island expressway can be red on googlemaps all the way out to exit 64 thanks to the traffic diffusing from the city). No functional road system whatsoever. Outrageous tolls on even the most inefficient routes you could possibly take.

[JayhawkCO]

How about just...NYC

The worst shithole in the world with the most horrible traffic ever, 3x worse than LA and 10x worse than Boston or Chicago. Driving through the city to get to and from Long Island and Jersey/Pennsylvania is torture, and the traffic is starting to jut out deep into Long Island (now the Long Island expressway can be red on googlemaps all the way out to exit 64 thanks to the traffic diffusing from the city). No functional road system whatsoever. Outrageous tolls on even the most inefficient routes you could possibly take.

Honestly, the last thing I want to do, even as a roadgeek, is drive in NYC. There is so much more amazing stuff to do there that doesn't require getting into a car. Take the LIRR into the city and enjoy.

[paulthemapguy]

How about just...NYC

The worst shithole in the world with the most horrible traffic ever, 3x worse than LA and 10x worse than Boston or Chicago. Driving through the city to get to and from Long Island and Jersey/Pennsylvania is torture, and the traffic is starting to jut out deep into Long Island (now the Long Island expressway can be red on googlemaps all the way out to exit 64 thanks to the traffic diffusing from the city). No functional road system whatsoever. Outrageous tolls on even the most inefficient routes you could possibly take.

Honestly, the last thing I want to do, even as a roadgeek, is drive in NYC. There is so much more amazing stuff to do there that doesn't require getting into a car. Take the LIRR into the city and enjoy.

Agreed.  The mistake is trying to drive a car in NYC.  Being a roadgeek is cool, but don't become so obsessed with roads that you forget every other mode of transportation that exists (too late, every American already has).

[MultiMillionMiler]

You mispelled "LIAR", when it comes to reliable service. Also have fun making whatever half dozen connections you need to get to whatever part of the city that you are going, only to then walk 5-10 blocks after. Even strictly looking at the traffic, look on googlemaps live traffic at 5:30 pm EST and compare it to other major city rush hours in their respective times (8 pm here for LA), you never see that much black-red anywhere else, that extends in all directions up to 40 miles from the city. My personal record for going through the Holland tunnel recently was 1 hr 45 minutes. An interesting challenge is to try and find a road where the green lasts for at least 3 miles within city boundaries. At least enduring the traffic though, I don't have to worry about my subway car getting gassed and shot up by some guy just because it's Wednesday.

[7/8]

Bagels.

That's because you're not in NYC Montreal.

Fixed it for you. 

Nice! My uncle would bring several dozen bags of St. Viateur bagels from Montreal when he visited us in Ontario. Now we found a grocery store in Guelph, ON (only half an hour away) that sells them.

[JayhawkCO]

You mispelled "LIAR", when it comes to reliable service. Also have fun making whatever half dozen connections you need to get to whatever part of the city that you are going, only to then walk 5-10 blocks after. Even strictly looking at the traffic, look on googlemaps live traffic at 5:30 pm EST and compare it to other major city rush hours in their respective times (8 pm here for LA), you never see that much black-red anywhere else, that extends in all directions up to 40 miles from the city. My personal record for going through the Holland tunnel recently was 1 hr 45 minutes. An interesting challenge is to try and find a road where the green lasts for at least 3 miles within city boundaries. At least enduring the traffic though, I don't have to worry about my subway car getting gassed and shot up by some guy just because it's Wednesday.

Again, I'm never going to look at Google Maps to investigate NYC traffic because I'm never going to be driving in it with a time crunch. When I go to the city, I fly in, take the train into Manhattan (or right across the river in Jersey) and take the train where I need to go. If I need to take a cab somewhere in Manhattan, I give myself 30-45 minutes to get somewhere just because I'm allergic to being late. Part of being in a big city.

[7/8]

One really cruddy thing about the scheduling of holidays is that for many, they're clustered during terrible weather months.

November -- Veterans Day and two days for Thanksgiving (and every four years, presidential election day).

December -- Two days for Christmas, and one day for New Year's (and every four years, gubernatorial inauguration day).

January -- One day for New Year's and MLK Day.

Then you have to wait until late May for Memorial Day, then July for Independence Day, then September for Labor Day, then until November when the Parade of Winter Holidays begins anew.

It would be nicer to have more holidays when the weather is warmer, and not have three-quarters of them concentrated into three months.

Yeah that's a crummy distribution. Ontario's seem to more evenly spread. My main complaint is that government employees get more days off than the private sector. Why shouldn't I get Easter Monday and Remembrance Day off, and the new federal National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Day?

[formulanone]

I used to have a 1997 Honda Accord with an aftermarket alarm–I got the car used when someone who had leased it returned it and the alarm was already installed. That alarm was ridiculously sensitive. Thunderstorms would set it off, which got extremely annoying late at night until I moved into a house with a garage.

When my kids were in the band, the percussion section tried to see how many car alarms they could set off in the march through the parking lot from the school to the football field.

You can find lots of videos on YouTube of car alarms near Heathrow going off when Concorde was departing for New York.

Car Alarm going off in 1989: "someone call the police!"

Car Alarm going off in 1991: "eh, probably just an error"

Car Alarm going off in 1993: "no, that's a mockingbird"

[Rothman]

How about just...NYC

The worst shithole in the world with the most horrible traffic ever, 3x worse than LA and 10x worse than Boston or Chicago. Driving through the city to get to and from Long Island and Jersey/Pennsylvania is torture, and the traffic is starting to jut out deep into Long Island (now the Long Island expressway can be red on googlemaps all the way out to exit 64 thanks to the traffic diffusing from the city). No functional road system whatsoever. Outrageous tolls on even the most inefficient routes you could possibly take.

Honestly, the last thing I want to do, even as a roadgeek, is drive in NYC. There is so much more amazing stuff to do there that doesn't require getting into a car. Take the LIRR into the city and enjoy.

Take the LIRR?  That's a rather limiting way of getting into the City.  Driving to Long Island first?

[JayhawkCO]

How about just...NYC

The worst shithole in the world with the most horrible traffic ever, 3x worse than LA and 10x worse than Boston or Chicago. Driving through the city to get to and from Long Island and Jersey/Pennsylvania is torture, and the traffic is starting to jut out deep into Long Island (now the Long Island expressway can be red on googlemaps all the way out to exit 64 thanks to the traffic diffusing from the city). No functional road system whatsoever. Outrageous tolls on even the most inefficient routes you could possibly take.

Honestly, the last thing I want to do, even as a roadgeek, is drive in NYC. There is so much more amazing stuff to do there that doesn't require getting into a car. Take the LIRR into the city and enjoy.

Take the LIRR?  That's a rather limiting way of getting into the City.  Driving to Long Island first?

Telling our resident MMMBopper what I would do if I were him of course. It did work well for me once when I flew Southwest into Islip.

[skluth]

You mispelled "LIAR", when it comes to reliable service. Also have fun making whatever half dozen connections you need to get to whatever part of the city that you are going, only to then walk 5-10 blocks after. Even strictly looking at the traffic, look on googlemaps live traffic at 5:30 pm EST and compare it to other major city rush hours in their respective times (8 pm here for LA), you never see that much black-red anywhere else, that extends in all directions up to 40 miles from the city. My personal record for going through the Holland tunnel recently was 1 hr 45 minutes. An interesting challenge is to try and find a road where the green lasts for at least 3 miles within city boundaries. At least enduring the traffic though, I don't have to worry about my subway car getting gassed and shot up by some guy just because it's Wednesday.

I sympathize that you have to go through NYC to go anywhere from Long Island. Somewhere in the AARoads Forum is a thread or five about building freeway connections from Long Island to either the NY mainland at the east end of I-287 or somewhere in Connecticut. I think some have even suggested a bridge from Breezy Point to Sandy Hook. I know somewhere I suggested a bridge-tunnel from Sunken Meadow State Park to somewhere near Bridgeport.

I believe for travel to/from Long Island the consensus is to take the Verrazano Narrows Bridge to get to New Jersey or Throngs Neck to get to upstate NY and NE. But any large city is going to be a pain to drive through. NYC may be the toughest, but all older US cities including Boston, Chicago, and SF are especially tough because their cores existed before the automobile. Even car-friendly cities like Los Angeles and Houston are nightmares to drive during the day.

FWIW, you're more likely to be in a car accident in NYC than be shot in the subway regardless of which day it is.

[kphoger]

Also Let There Be Peace On Earth is a year round song about world peace but gets sometimes into the Christmas mix. 

That makes sense, though.  World peace is straight out of the Nativity story.

"And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"

[mgk920]

(Car alarm goes off) "Where's my .50 cal machine cannon when I need it?!"

Mike

[kphoger]

Overnight trains are overrated.  You don't get to see the landscape, and it's hard to stay asleep.

[JayhawkCO]

Overnight trains are overrated.  You don't get to see the landscape, and it's hard to stay asleep.

Sometimes not seeing the landscape is a perk.

[kphoger]

Overnight trains are overrated.  You don't get to see the landscape, and it's hard to stay asleep.

Sometimes not seeing the landscape is a perk.

Not unless I'm driving and the landscape is so mind-numbingly dull that darkness actually keeps me more alert.  Other than that, I'd rather look at the landscape.

[Scott5114]

Also Let There Be Peace On Earth is a year round song about world peace but gets sometimes into the Christmas mix. 

That makes sense, though.  World peace is straight out of the Nativity story.

"And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"

Isn't it ironic, then, that the holiday season is probably the least peaceful time of most adults' lives?

[thenetwork]

I say this remaining as politically neutral as possible -- Senator and Hose Rep Salaries are overrated.

Now they will get paid up to $212,000 a year, which I believe that amount does not include their travel allowances to and from their districts and the boatloads of other perks and benefits.  No wonder why there are career politicians on both sides of the aisles -- yet nothing seems to get done and their collective approval ratings are annually in the tank while the country's in Trillions of dollars in debt.

[jakeroot]

Overnight trains are overrated.  You don't get to see the landscape, and it's hard to stay asleep.

Especially irritating when the lights are kept on. I've rode a couple trains and busses late at night here in Japan, and the lights barely dim. Even the late-night plane I flew, Peach Airlines, they kept the cabin lighting on (flight was from 21:50 to 23:30). At least dim some of the lights.

[Scott5114]

I say this remaining as politically neutral as possible -- Senator and Hose Rep Salaries are overrated.

Now they will get paid up to $212,000 a year, which I believe that amount does not include their travel allowances to and from their districts and the boatloads of other perks and benefits.  No wonder why there are career politicians on both sides of the aisles -- yet nothing seems to get done and their collective approval ratings are annually in the tank while the country's in Trillions of dollars in debt.

In Oklahoma, you can make more money as a casino cashier than as a state legislator. As a result, all of the state legislators are rich people who have a full time job doing something else and don't need the state rep salary. This meant that for a "normal" person like me, pursuing a career in politics was unappealing as it would have meant I would no longer have been able to make ends meet. It also means that because the state reps "don't really need the job", they don't really care whether they're doing a good job, either; losing re-election is embarrassing but it's not like it carries real consequences.

As an example of this mentality, there was an Oklahoma US House representative who got into it with constituents at a town hall over some position of his or another, with one angrily demanding that the House rep actually represent the views of the people that paid his salary. His reply was that it was "bullcrap" that the public paid his salary, because he owned a plumbing business that represented a larger share of his income than his Congressional salary does, and so he didn't particularly care what the constituent wanted. This representative was re-elected to his seat, and only left the House because he was elected to higher office.