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Snarky, the point is I was watching the road.  I was more concerned about my ENVIRONMENT than my speedometer.  I don't think road safety hinges entirely on what speed you're going, like if you always go the exact speed limit nothing bad can happen.  Driving is inherently dangerous, and it takes more common sense than anything else.  It was an entirely straight road, with no curves or corners and the speed zone was about to change to 45.  (Like I said, I was so close that by the time I pulled over, I was already IN the 45 zone.)

The law specifies that the operator the vehicle is responsible for piloting it in a way that is prudent for current conditions.  There were no hazards on the road that day, such as ice or water.

I don't care about the money, I care about the prinicipal of the situation, that is I am charged with doing something I'm not sure I did.  I want to know what my options are.  Is that so wrong?  Or am I just supposed to throw my hands up and say, "Well, the authorities only have our safety in mind.  How noble of they are. I think I will just do what they tell me to."  Now that's not saying that I'm going to purposely speed and break the law.  In fact, I abhore the stereotype that males my age (19) are all dangerous or bad drivers when I attempt to be the OPPOSITE.

Most street cops (especially in small towns) are NOT concerned with public safety.  Most of them (not all) are corrupt and into drugs, and abuse the system for their own motives.  For instance, we had a sherriff in office for YEARS who was deeply rooted in a drug circle and was practically insane.  (There were other officers with guns ready at his trial, he was so unstable.)  Yet, until his position was threatened, he seemed totally cool and normal.  It took the loss of his position to another candidate to reveal who he really was after all these years in power.

So, to those saying just pay the ticket, don't question, and humor the cop because he maybe HAD A BAD DAY, I say no.  I'm not just gonna say "I must've deserved it" when I really don't know if I did.  I at LEAST wanna know what the radar SAID.  That's WHAT the court is for, so we can figure this stuff out.

If this was a matter of abuse of authority, or an obviously bogus fine, of course you should protect your rights. But given the circumstances, just pay the damn ticket!

Isn't that what the whole judicial process is about?  Getting to the bottom of whether or not this is a bogus ticket?  Even if I KNEW what speed I was going, it still would be a tough fight.  The only thing to do is to question the officer and get the details on the radar to see if I was just inadvertently going 20 mph over the limit, or if he's just going through the motions.

Okay, so I've read my state statutes, and really the only thing I can find is this: 

"A person shall not operate a vehicle at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual hazards than existing." This is called the "basic speed law." 

The conditions were clear that day, with no slick or wet spots, and clear visibility.  Other than that, I can't find any statutes that actually refer to whether or not the speed limit is in effect once you see the sign or after you've passed it.  I want to find out, however. 

I never asked to see a radar readout (didn't even know I had the option at the time.)  I'm not sure whether to try and contact the officer and discuss these issues, or just lay low until the court date.

Hail, o great and wise AGSers, I come to you seeking your council in matters impending before me.

So anyway, I was on my way home from school yesterday and I was pulled over for speeding.  Allegedly, I was going 50 in a 30.  Now, I'm not sure if this is true for a number of reasons.  1, I wasn't looking at my speedometer, I was watching the road.  2, If I WAS going 50 and everybody else was doing 30, I think I would've been tailgating a bunch of people ahead.  I raised that point to the officer, and the first time he ignored it, and the second time he said he was done "explaining."  Hmm, explaning what?  He never answered my question.

So the ticket is $145, and I have the option of either mailing the payment in, or going to the set court date to contest it.  I really feel like the speed was exaggerated, or everybody else was speeding too, and he just picked me. 

I can shrug it off and pay the fine, but I really don't feel like doing that.  I at least want a chance to question the officer.  For one thing, was I going EXACTLY 50 mph, or did he round it up or down? 

Also, and here's a big one, I noticed today that from the spot that he pulled from his parked position onto the road to pull me over, the speed changes from 30 to 45 to the point to where I actually stopped, the speed zone there is actually 45 MPH, not 30.  That means I was so close the change in speed zone that I may be able to argue that it was frivilous/incorrect to fine me for 50 in a 30 when the speed changes visibly, I might add, as the sign is viewable from the road where he was parked.

So what WOULD you do?  Go to court and plead the case and question to officer?  Or just mail in the fine (with money I really can't afford at the moment) 

If I WAS speeding, I would be inclined to just mail the payment in, but I didn't know I was speeding, or WHAT speed I was doing.

m0ds, after a brief but non-thorough scan through my previous posts, I don't see where I indicated watching for thirty minutes.  The first one was exciting because I didn't really know what it was I was looking at until a little later. 

The second one was less exciting because it was characteristic of a blinking strobe light atop a cell tower, not unusual.  (Which, btw, it IS a new cell tower.)

However, I was interested (obviously) in them when I first saw them because they I hadn't seen a military jet manuevering at night nor was I aware of a new tower to the west of here.

My statement was, "For those who don't know, I'm not taking my "encounters" seriously.  I just thought this would be a fun thread, what with the Roswell thread and all."  Meaning, "For those who don't know, I'm not saying that I've actually seen alien space craft, because there is a reasonable conclusion to both my stories, but feel free to share any interesting stories about UFOs you've seen." 

you pee-pee head!!!!!    

Sylpher, I've actually seen the movie on Travis Walton, "Fire in the Sky."  It was a pretty good movie, if not a tad cheesy occasionally.  (I just think the script needed a little more clean-up/refining/whatever.)

Typically, I would write off Walton's experience as just another crazy UFO abductee making stuff up, but he had witnesses who all had the same story and who all passed polygraph tests, some of them more than once.  I don't know what to think.  Do they actually know the exact spot in the woods where it happened? 

Whee, I saw another strange thing tonight.  Strangely enough, in the same place.  It was a white, flashing light over the hills.  Now, it really looked like the strobe at the top of a cell tower or something.  There wasn't a tower there yesterday, however.  I had a hard time telling if it was moving or not, seeing as it was seemingly so far away.  So I thought, what the heck, I'm bored and I'm already in the car, so I started driving down an old gravel road leading back into these woodsy, hilled areas. 

As I made my way along the road, I would catch glimpses of it, and it seemed to be at a different elevation than before.  At first, it was visible above the tallest hill visible from my house.  And now, it almost looked like it was flashing through the trees in the field behind them.  Then winding further on down the road, it seemed to be ABOVE the hills again. 

Eventually I got bored with my little pursuit and turned around and came home. 

What was it?  Very probable that it's a new cell tower that's gone up.  I'll look tomorrow morning and see if I can see it.  Otherwise, I really dunno what it was.  Not a fixed-wing airplane because it was too stationary, but perhaps a helicopter.

Anyway, just wanted to relate my newest "adventure" while I eat and before I get a shower and go to sleep or play computer games or something. 

P.S.

For those who don't know, I'm not taking my "encounters" seriously.  I just thought this would be a fun thread, what with the Roswell thread and all.   

Bravo!  Very entertaining and spot-on!  Two thumbs up!

I started writing a little something like this a couple of weeks ago.  It's something I've been working on as the ideas come to me, called "Art in America."  Basically, it's me pointing out that art has been replaced with entertainment, and says most of what you've said about the 90's and 2000's.

I agree, the movie industry is in trouble, largely because it IS an industry.  Money is more important than art.  Studio execs and producers tell the artists how to make their movies according to temporarily passing fads and whatever else will make more money.

I think there is hope, though.  Independent films are becoming a force to be reckoned with, as far as the quality.  Some of my favorite movies are independents.  I think that this is a natural part of the life cycle of the movies industry.  But I don't think it will die forever.  I think it will be reincarnated.  Seems lots of people are complaining about the movies nowadays, and maybe Hollywood will take a page from their independent counterparts and start putting more emphasis on art and quality.

So tonight I was on my way home from work.  I live outside of town in the quiet country side, and so it was the perfect setting for my little experience here.  As I was turning into my lane, I saw a little, orangish light in the western horizon.  At first I thought it was a star, and wondered which one it might be.  Then as I kept watching it, I noticed it was fading in and out.  It wasn't a strobe like is seen on a helicopter or an airliner (which was what I thought it was for a moment, until I realized it was not flashing.) 

I wasn't quite sure WHAT I was looking at, so I had a UFO on my hands.  And what does a space nerd do when he or she spots a flying object that is not readily indentifiable?  Hit the gas and speed up to house as closely as possible, run inside, grab your binoculars and tear back outside into the front yard, of course.  I found the object in my binoculars very quickly and focused in on it. 

Ordinarily, I wouldn't have thought anything about this had it not been for the rythmically fading light and its unusual and slow movements.  The light moved east a little ways, and then would seem to just stop and sit.  Then it might move a little west, and seem to stop.  After a moment, it started moving right towards ME.  At this point, I became a bit unnerved.  It kept getting a little closer and a little closer, and I momentarily thought about Travis Walton.   

I kept reasoning that it was SO not aliens from another planet, but whatever it might be was coming in my direction, and having spent the earlier part of the afternoon reading up on black holes, worm holes, and general outer space stuff, the mindset was just right for me to get a little spooked. 

It got closer (yet still looked just like a little star) and then it started moving to the east/north east.  By this time I had ran back in and dragged out my 10" scope.  It was time for some serious observation!  I could follow it in the little finder scope, but I only caught one or two glimpses of it through the actual main view, and sadly, it was out of focus.  It seemed orangish/white almost when it DID move through my main view, very quickly. 

Shortly after this, it moved far enough east that it was behind the tree tops and I couldn't see it any longer.  So it wasn't a total loss, I took a peek at Mars and then the Moon, and hauled all my stuff back in the house.

What was it?  Probably a fighter jet out doing manuevers and the orange light was it's main engine burn.  There IS an airbase to the south quite a ways.  The reason it seemed to move so slowly was probably because he was REALLY high up, also accounting for why it looked like a star and there were no other apparent details other than the light.  But it was technically a UFO to me for a little while, and it was a fun ending to a rather dull work shift.

So, tell us about YOUR UFO experiences!  Have you ever seen a mysterious flying object you couldn't identify?  Did they suck you up into the ship?  Did they tell you they were here to stop humans from creating the Solarnite bomb?   Do tell.

I'm glad that true AGSers still have a place to express their beliefs and celebrate their god without all these liberal atheists trying to take the Chris Jones out of Chrisjonesmass.

you guys need to learn to live like we live in the caribbean. soooo laid back.

I was initially offended by this statement, but now I'm just a bit confused...  Do you mean we're uptight for worrying about friends in the hospital, or so uptight we worry ourselves INTO the hospital?

I found out today that my friend is in the ICU, but is stable and conscious.  The doctors said that they suspect that it could've actually been a type of seizure and not a clot or aneurysm, but aren't going to rule anything out.

So I am glad to hear that he's stable, and I did call the hospital to try and speak with him (too soon for visitors,) but they don't have a phone in the room, so the nurse will give him a message from me.

Thanks for listening guys

I just found out a little while ago that one of my teacher's from highschool (and a close personal friend of mine,) is in the hospital now because he had either a stroke or an aneurysm.  I'm not sure they know exactly what happened.  It apparently occured this morning, and he was life-flighted to a larger hospital.  What makes it even more sad is that he's only in his thirties, and he his wife had twins earlier this year, in addition to two children they already have.

Just the other day I thought to myself that I ought to give him a call or email him or something, just to say hi.  It's been a while since we got together or talked, simply because things get so busy.

I don't have all the details yet, so I'm trying to keep things in perspective until I know exactly what's going on and how bad it is (or isn't.)

Anyway, just wanted to ramble a little bit.

I agree, this craze of EVERYBODY wanting you to register with them to do ANYTHING online anymore is waaaay out of hand.  It's gotten to the point with me that as soon as I see a site that requires registration, I just leave and go look for alternatives.

Here's my favorite scenario:

You find interesting site with resources you want to access.

Your enthusiasm is severly dampened by finding out you are required to register to use that site and its resources.  Sign up now!  It's FREE!

You give in and click the register button and start filling out the fields, enter your username and email, and hit "Submit."   ....Error.... that username already exists!  Go back.  Repeat signup process with new username.  ....Error....  That email address is already in use! (Either you've signed up before and forgot about it, or you've got things REALLY screwed up, like I've done before.)  Go back.  Repeat signup process using the same username and new password with alternate email.  ....Error....  That username already exists!  That password is already in use!  Go back.  Repeat sign up process with new username and password along the lines of "fuckthisstupidsite."  Thanks for registering!  Go check your email and activate your new account.  Wait for email.  Follow link.  Go back to site and.... Sorry, this feature is available to PREMIUM members only!  Sign up now using PayPal!  Curse profusely and shut computer off.

I dunno, I've never thought it was hilarious.  If nothing else it might because you're sitting there thinking what a MASSIVE loser you are for having virtual sex in virtual reality.

Uh, FYI I just made another thread for this so the hijacking doesn't continue.

That's good, because I want to continue both of these conversations.

On topic:  Sites like YouTube ARE an important part of free speech.  You can turn on your webcam and rant to the world about issues that you care about.  Like all technology, it gets abused.  But Guybrush offers an interesting perspective:  Does free speech include a freedom to make personal jabs at somebody and mock them before the world?

I tend to agree with Becky and the others, the AMOUNT of force was too much.  Now it's true we didn't see the events before the camera was turned on, but the kids weren't being violent towards the officer. 

The important question to me is what did they do before the camera was rolling.  If all they were doing was skateboarding, then I don't think that merits the kind of treatment he gave them, even if they did run.

Some cops are pigs. Let's face it.

Well, the skaters just got what they obviously came for. Nacho said it already. They were playing on the policeman's nerves. Provoking. Nothing more. Some of you guys (Becky) say,  that they are criminals, but the amount of force is a bit exagerrated. Shouldn't be every criminal treated like a criminal ? I mean, on one side you say that he they are criminals, on the other that they should be treated better. I say, criminal is a criminal, and treat him like a criminal. If I said to you: "hey, I saw 4 people skateboarding and trying to run from arrest when the cop said -STOP-, and he used force against them." you wouldnt probably say anything like "oh, they should be treated better" if you did not know that they were all 13.

Well, not every criminal is guilty of the same crime.  There are different levels of crime.  If they were murderers, then I'd say the level of force used was appropriate (regardless of age,) because of the potential threat.  What we have here is kids skateboarding on the sidewalk, and a cop getting a little too into it. 

[Edit]

No you're absolutely right ... being a smartass know-it-all 13 year old should give you the right to break the law.

I call strawman on this. I'm all for people being of different opinions, but GOD DAMN, at least use proper arguments...

Edit
And I wish to apologize to Raggit for my tangent.

Not at all, Darth, I think this is an interesting talk in and of itself.

I tend to agree with Becky and the others, the AMOUNT of force was too much.  Now it's true we didn't see the events before the camera was turned on, but the kids weren't being violent towards the officer. 

The important question to me is what did they do before the camera was rolling.  If all they were doing was skateboarding, then I don't think that merits the kind of treatment he gave them, even if they did run.

Some cops are pigs. Let's face it.

Well, maybe there's a bug with Audacity and your soundcard and drivers.  Maybe you could try uninstalling and reinstalling it?

But if you're looking for a new program, I highly recommend REAPER.  It's free to try (last time I checked) and it's very powerful.

Also, if you're REALLY looking for a new program, and if you have cash to burn, you'd probably have a lot of fun with ProTools.  I use it at college, and it's pretty nice, I guess.  Takes a lot of system power, but can do all kinds of cool stuff.  Beware, it's fussy with anything other than a Mac though.

Thanks for mentioning Reaper, downloaded it, and it works fine, no troubles, so I think something is wrong with Audacity, not my computer. Although Reaper is better for recording, I can still use Audacity to clean up songs and add some effects without it totally screwing up, so it works for me.

Thanks!

Cool, glad you like it.  And check out all those color themes!!1