Food for thought

**trax** · 12-16-2009, 10:03 PM

Well, yep, I'd say that qualified as a rant, Ken.

**Pal334** · 12-16-2009, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by trax

Um, yeah, that wouldn't help. Free Traxistan doesn't exactly have diplomatic relations with...uh well with anyone. (Rick, see if you can rustle us up some ambassador types,we should look into this.) But as long as you stand by the "no quarter for smart a**es here" comment, you certainly qualify for citizenship, Pal.

Well,now things are looking up!!!

Especially the part about not currently having any ambasador types . I shall endeavor to continue to live up the "no quarter for smart a**es here" position and the occassional charging of windmills

**Ken** · 12-16-2009, 10:05 PM

Originally Posted by trax

Well, yep, I'd say that qualified as a rant, Ken.

Thank you, trax.

**trax** · 12-16-2009, 10:07 PM

Originally Posted by Pal334

Well,now things are looking up!!!

.....the occassional charging of windmills

by golly we may have just established a national sport as well. I can see it now, a silhouette of Don Quixote on the Traxistanian's jerseys....I like it.

**Pal334** · 12-16-2009, 10:08 PM

Ken,, now don't you feel better getting that out in the open. It is like a breathe of fresh air isn't it ?

**Pal334** · 12-16-2009, 10:10 PM

How does this work for you?

**trax** · 12-16-2009, 10:12 PM

@Pal: Perfect
@2dumb: yes, Ken has 10 friends, if you can't comprehend that,take off your socks count all your toes and subtract two.

**Ken** · 12-16-2009, 10:29 PM

Originally Posted by Pal334

Ken,, now don't you feel better getting that out in the open. It is like a breathe of fresh air isn't it ?

True story. 20 years ago, I stopped to prevent an attempted suicide on an interstate highway bridge that crosses over a bay in my community. The local police showed up quickly, as did the ambulance. I was speaking with an officer when a state trooper arrived. He got out of his cruiser and screamed "Who owns this BMW?" I stated that it was my vehicle, and he responded, "well move that ****ing think before I tag it and tow it!"

As I glared at him, the local sergeant ran up and said, "Trooper, have you met Police Commissioner (my last name)?" The trooper started babbling and said, "Sorry, I thought you were a civilian."

THAT'S when I ruined his day.

**Ken** · 12-16-2009, 10:38 PM

Okay, I'm on a roll.............

If tasers were intended only as an alternative to lethal force, why does a police department that recently (pre-taser) went a couple of years without a single officer firing a weapon now fire tasers two or three times each week?

**trax** · 12-16-2009, 10:42 PM

Originally Posted by Ken

Okay, I'm on a roll.............

If tasers were intended only as an alternative to lethal force, why does a police department that recently (pre-taser) went a couple of years without a single officer firing a weapon now fire tasers two or three times each week?

Uh yeah, 40+ taser related deaths kinda puts paid to that "alternative" to lethal force notion doesn't it?

**Ken** · 12-16-2009, 10:50 PM

Originally Posted by trax

Uh yeah, 40+ taser related deaths kinda puts paid to that "alternative" to lethal force notion doesn't it?

"puts paid" - I just learned the meaning of a new idiom!

Meaning

To deal with effectively; to finish something off.

Origin
'Put paid to' probably derives from the practice of book-keepers of writing or stamping "Paid" on bills when the paperwork for a sale was completed. The term isn't especially old and I can't find any examples of it in print prior to the 20th century. An early citation comes from the Winnipeg newspaper The Manitoba Morning Free Press, October 1905. This appeared in a listing of English football results, which were presumably printed in a Canadian paper for the benefit of the many English immigrants:

"Wolverhampton Wanderers put paid to Bolton's account, the scores being: 2-0"
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/293200.html