<strong>It won't go far in American cities likely (we love out big honking Ford Excursions after all). It's too small, too slow, too efficient, too quiet, too dorky. As long as America is rich and "fat," it won't sell here.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I'm going to guess that you don't live in a city. There's a real chance for this to go far in the city. For example here in Chicago the train stations are often many blocks from where people work. If they could come out the train station and Ginger themselves last two miles to work then they'll get it. Also from home to the train station.
Also, this is NOT an environmentally friendly vehicle. Where does the electricity come from? A power tree? No, it comes from polluting power plants around the world!
Also, this is NOT an environmentally friendly vehicle. Where does the electricity come from? A power tree? No, it comes from polluting power plants around the world!</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well in the city you're trying to control smog. So it does help with that. Also at the power plant you have a better chance of controlling pollution.
Also, this is NOT an environmentally friendly vehicle. Where does the electricity come from? A power tree? No, it comes from polluting power plants around the world!</strong><hr></blockquote>
And what would be an environmentally frindly vehicle? A horse? Methane problems there. Contributes to global warming.
I think we all know that the Segway is much more environmentally friendly than any ICE (internal Combustion Engine) and will have a minimal impact on pollution by the power it draws. ($0.05 of electricity is less than you use with your computer likely if you are leaving it on) These things are going to be big. I can hardly wait until I see the first one in person. "Umm sir, I'll give you $20 if you let me try that thing. Here are my car keys as collateral until I get back. "
And what would be an environmentally frindly vehicle? A horse? Methane problems there. Contributes to global warming.
I think we all know that the Segway is much more environmentally friendly than any ICE (internal Combustion Engine) and will have a minimal impact on pollution by the power it draws. ($0.05 of electricity is less than you use with your computer likely if you are leaving it on) These things are going to be big. I can hardly wait until I see the first one in person. "Umm sir, I'll give you $20 if you let me try that thing. Here are my car keys as collateral until I get back. "</strong><hr></blockquote>
And how many BILLIONS of people exist in the world? If only millions use the damn thing, it still constitutes an added strain on existing power plants. Hell, they might even build new ones because of it. We're well aware of THAT degree of environmental friendliness.....
This product is in its infancy, of COURSE it's out of reach. The price WILL come down.
This product ONLY goes 17 MPH. The average human only walks 2-3 miles per hour and jogs/runs 4-5 miles and hour. How many people do you know who can run 5 miles in an hour?
Segway isn't an excuse for lazy people, it's a better solution for lazy people. If my sister had this, she wouldn't be driving three blocks to her friend's house.
Battery life, batteries are getting better and better every day.
5 cents of electricity a day to charge this thing. How can anybody argue this is worse on the environment than merely starting your car and idling for a few seconds?
Segway is damned cool, but I'll let it grow up first. In 5 years, it'll be a mature enough concept for the masses.
I'm of the same opinion as rok and Scott. At first, I thought "big deal" but then a I saw it. It's freakin' cool as hell. Not because it's a revolutionary method of transport, because it's not, but because of the tech behind it. You can't be knocked over. Stated another way: You have permanent balance. Think about the implications of that for a minute... All those movies with people and jet packs on, what's their biggest problem? Controlling the damn things. With a gyroscopic system like this one, that's not a problem. Stick some type of floatation device on this thing and you have travel over water. Make it fly and getting around in the air is not a problem. Now, the only problems we've got is figuring out a way to get ourselves in the air. That's a huge plus. More than half the problem is solved. Just wait, this thing will be huge.
And how many BILLIONS of people exist in the world? If only millions use the damn thing, it still constitutes an added strain on existing power plants. Hell, they might even build new ones because of it. We're well aware of THAT degree of environmental friendliness.....</strong><hr></blockquote>
I am not convinced. Build a new power plant because of this? I really doubt it. At least not until it replaces peoples cars and we all know that is going to be really soon. Just for the sake of argument, even if it does put a greater strain on the power grid, how much greater are we talking? More than you using that computer right now? Enough to outweigh the pollution that comes from your I.C.E.? Enough to cause Rolling Blackouts in California? I doubt any of these is the case.
5 cents of electricity a day to charge this thing. How can anybody argue this is worse on the environment than merely starting your car and idling for a few seconds?
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I am not arguing that. Please re-read my statements. :cool: Yes, it is significantly more environmentally friendly than cars, but that friendliness is only relative. Some poor fishy will die because of this invention. Then how will you feel I am just kidding. It's a great invention.
This big nasty complicated recharging device is a wall outlet. Oooooh. Perhaps too complicated for you, but most of us will be able to handle plugging it in.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Now, where you got the idea the 'device' was too complicated for me is quite a mystery. In fact, I said I didn't know much about it. Translation: I was not informed as to what the 'device' was. Furthermore, I said I didn't much care. You might try reading a post before you respond to it.
......
My reaction to seeing it demonstrated on TV was much the same as many have said here. It is fascinating technology. I just doubt that in its present form it will be very useful. As to Mr. Kamen's statement about it being primarily for use in conjested downtown areas, you still have to get yourself, and IT downtown. It's not revolutionary in that use, it's another transportation layer on top of an existing one.
Dean Kamen has written a <a href="http://theITquestion.com/news/kamenletter_120301.asp"; target="_blank">letter</a> to the people who frequent(ed) 'the it question' website. It puts some of the "less rational" Ginger fanatics in there place. I never really visited the site, just went there to see if I could find out more info on the Segway.
It's incredible how stupid some of those people are acting. They're disappointed because they expected cold fusion flying hovercrafts and crazy teleportation devices. Seems to me a flying hovercraft would have a lot tougher time gaining acceptance in the legal, insurance and city planning circles than the Segway. You know why? Because hovercrafts already exist and no one *wants* a hovercraft car badly enough to mass market them. They're hard to control (read dangerous), noisy, innefficient, and for personal consumer applications simply don't make a lot of sense relative to a car with tires.
Flying transportation devices! Ha! We already have them, they're called Airplanes and Helicopters. You need training and licenses to operate them though.
What dingbats on those forums. Good letter though. I like that Kamen fella.
You make a good point about our beloved Mayor re: the sidewalks and bikepaths along the lake and such.
I was thinking about the periphery of downtown and some of the more industrial (rather than corporate) areas, as far as pothole-ladden roads and dips in sidewalks go. But I haven't been down there much this year so things could have changed I suppose.
Either way the winters are so hard on the roads here that one should expect the bumps and humps. But that still doesn't mean space would be alloted for these things to run in -- special segway lanes, if you like.
Applenut:
Take your foot out of your mouth.
Groverat:
Why do you feel roller blades are so dangerous / not competitive with something like Segway? If you're of healthy body and pay attention to what you're doing, roller-blading can be just as safe (and faster) than walking -- and on average just as fast as the Segway. Like anything else, you just have to practice a little before you hit the streets and sidewalks.
Skateboards are more of an example in theory, because frankly no one who wants to be taken seriously at their place of business is going to ride in on a Tony Hawk special...
...but I see no reason why a bike or roller-blades would be viewed as more dangerous than a Segway, which frankly is much harder to predict in terms of what the user will do next. The thing backs up, spins around and changes direction so quickly it would be easy as hell to run into one (no matter what your mode of transport is).
One intersting thing I heard was that Ford plans to use them to get their plant supervisors around more efficiently. Now THAT is the type of application I can clearly see benefits for because it's a more or less controlled environment. The chances for chaotic accidents and such are greatly reduced, while the speed at which a super can move from point a to point b is greatly increased. In a controlled environment, these things could be very useful. In an uncontrolled (and crowded) one, they would cause more trouble than they're worth.
Nordstradamus:
Off topic (therapuetic cloning is another thread) and way, WAY off base (just because I disagree with you doesn't make me a luddite or techno-phobe...I think my line of questioning and reasoning in the other thread and this one should indicate I'm not just trying to bad mouth these things for the hell of it. I have genuine concern behind my doubts.
So when you get to your destination do you sit down, untie, pull of your rollerblades, get your own shoes (from where?) and put them on? Then carry your rollerblades around?
Please.
The Segway you just get off of it. Secure it and you're done. So, for example, my wife could leave it in her office. Also the Segway is good for people who need to make rounds. That is at a warehouse. Just get off and you're on your own feet. In the hospital I work at it would be great for the patient transporters. They need to "fetch" inpatients and bring them back to our clinic. They could Segway there and then just push the patient, in a wheelchair, back to the clinic with the segway in tow. You can't do that on rollerblades and you can't fit a bike in the halls even if they let you.
The Segway makes sense for all those things that require a lot of walking. It fits in just about anywhere people can walk. Bikes and rollerblades can't do that.
<strong>So when you get to your destination do you sit down, untie, pull of your rollerblades, get your own shoes (from where?) and put them on? Then carry your rollerblades around?
Please.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well it would depend on the kind of job you have. Suits aren't any more likely to use roller blades than a skateboard, but business casual and others working or studying in less formal attire certainly could use them effectively.
To answer your question, I would step under the eaves / into the lobby, reach down, undo the latches on my blades, pull them off, slip on a pair of shoes, and stuff the blades in my backpack. Takes 60, maybe 90 seconds.
Clearly a waste of time in this day and age of "ultra-efficiency" and "speed gurus" (same people that have two cells phones and a palm in their bag, but don't realize how much time they actually *waste* by constantly using them)...but either way, not a lot of effort or time is required when using 'blades, to my apparently prehistoric way of thinking.
When did maneuverability become a liability? Sure, the Segway can stop and turn on a dime. So can people. How often do they run into each other?
I know I've wished my bike could stop or turn more quickly in a few, uh, difficult situations. Especially in wet conditions.
I'm waiting for a board-like variant to appear that is just a platform with wheels that you turn by leaning, almost like skiing. That would be cool. Especially once the technology has matured enough that the machine is relatively lightweight. You can just set it down, go, and then pick it up. That would be a hit with younger people, and people whose centers of gravity are considerably lower than mine.
You are a gomer. Aggies are "gomers". It's a relation to two things: 1) The rediculous Aggie dedication to all things military (hence: GOMER Pyle) and 2) "gomer" calls up images of backwoods rednecks, which Aggies are.
Me: "Why did you choose A&M over UT?" Gomer: "Ah couldn't stand all the damn foreigners. And the damn queers, too."
Moogs:
Rollerblading is dangerous in a commuter environment because it makes your normally stable feet highly unstable. There are very few people with the physical ability to handle rollerblades wonderfully. Segway, meanwhile, can be used by those who are able to stand upright and move their muscles.
Skateboards allow you to jump off quickly, it's a quick out. Rollerblades are literally tied to your feet.
Executive types will never use rollerblades and skateboards. Those looking to become executive types won't go flying by the executive types on a skateboard or in a pair of rollerblades.
Do you honestly not see how bikes are more dangerous to pedestrians than a Segway?
- They are unstable at low speeds.
- Their very structure makes them dangerous to other pedestrians were they to fall. Metal pieces jutting out this way and that.
- They are larger than a Segway
- They are a pain in the ass at low speeds. Most people end up just walking beside it.
There are people at my university that drive 10 blocks to campus and park. I know professors that live in neighborhoods well inside the Segways range (8-15 blocks) but drive and congest the University even more with their cars.
Mine is an ideal setting for one of these things, a setting FOR WHICH this thing was designed. It wasn't designed to move people 8 miles to work. You cannot look at it in that context.
It is safer and more efficient than rollerblading, skateboarding and biking in an urban environment. It is faster and as safe as walking.
I could very easily lambast (err, sorry, "express my concerns about") the bicycle for not being able to do 80mph and protect me from the rain but it wouldn't be logical to do so.
You are a gomer. Aggies are "gomers". It's a relation to two things: 1) The rediculous Aggie dedication to all things military (hence: GOMER Pyle) and 2) "gomer" calls up images of backwoods rednecks, which Aggies are.
Me: "Why did you choose A&M over UT?" Gomer: "Ah couldn't stand all the damn foreigners. And the damn queers, too."
</strong><hr></blockquote>
that is the most conceded and arrogant thing ive heard in awhile...
are u a complete moron or just acting like it??
why do u treat everyone based on a stereotype, and come off thinking that you are always the only one that can ever be right?? why do u act like an ass to everyone who brings up any point??? why must u disagree w/ everyone and make try to make them look like idiots?? wts wrong w/ u??????????
btw, i dont believe that a&m is anything to do w/ military--the corps is a joke...its a bunch of wannabe military dumasses who couldnt get in any other way than through the corps. and i am not a redneck--far from it actually. im from the city. and before i moved here and enrolled at a&m, i was from california, surrounded by every type of person there is. i was born in east LA, so dont talk to me about what real life is, cause u havent seen it. and dont give me that shit about how yer all high and mighty and go judging me and everyone else. oh, and im a freakin minority u dumbass, so dont say i dont like foreignors cause i am one u jackass.
now back off yer worthless criticizms before u start to piss me off.
think before u attack other people u arrogant ass.
[quote]I could very easily lambast (err, sorry, "express my concerns about") the bicycle for not being able to do 80mph and protect me from the rain but it wouldn't be logical to do so.<hr></blockquote>
I think you're taking my choice of word (concern) out of context a bit. I'm not saying the Segway is a death trap or otherwise useless.
What I *am* saying is that it presents just as much potential for causing accidents and injuries on crowded sidewalks (presumably that is where they would have to be used in most places) as other traditional modes of transport. That goes as much for the person riding the Segway as those walking, blading, biking *near* them.
I am further saying that it will cause a more chaotic situation than we already have on busy city streets and sidewalks, so in order for it (or something like it) to reach its full potential you'd have to designate a specific "path" for them. Segway lanes, walking lanes, call it or envision it as you will...but you can't just drop a few thousand of these puppies on your local city sidewalk and expect everything will go smoothly.
Law suits will abound, as one person aptly pointed out. Yes they may be frivolous law suits in many cases, but law suits nonetheless.
Anyway, suffice it to say we disagree on the scope of viable uses for this thing in its current form, and that one of us was disappointed "IT" wasn't something [more relevant] to everyday life than a new kind of scooter that will cost over $1000 for the forseeable future. I guess I should just be happy I'm not a Gomer....
Comments
<strong>It won't go far in American cities likely (we love out big honking Ford Excursions after all). It's too small, too slow, too efficient, too quiet, too dorky. As long as America is rich and "fat," it won't sell here.</strong><hr></blockquote>
I'm going to guess that you don't live in a city. There's a real chance for this to go far in the city. For example here in Chicago the train stations are often many blocks from where people work. If they could come out the train station and Ginger themselves last two miles to work then they'll get it. Also from home to the train station.
THEY WILL DESIGN CITIES AROUND THEM.
Also, this is NOT an environmentally friendly vehicle. Where does the electricity come from? A power tree? No, it comes from polluting power plants around the world!
<strong>You guys miss the point. Steve Jobs said:
THEY WILL DESIGN CITIES AROUND THEM.
Also, this is NOT an environmentally friendly vehicle. Where does the electricity come from? A power tree? No, it comes from polluting power plants around the world!</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well in the city you're trying to control smog. So it does help with that. Also at the power plant you have a better chance of controlling pollution.
<strong>You're disappointed because you committed yourself to idiotic speculation.
This thing is great.
[ 12-03-2001: Message edited by: groverat ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
Come on boys and girls! Lets get those tummys in motion!!!
<strong>You guys miss the point. Steve Jobs said:
THEY WILL DESIGN CITIES AROUND THEM.
Also, this is NOT an environmentally friendly vehicle. Where does the electricity come from? A power tree? No, it comes from polluting power plants around the world!</strong><hr></blockquote>
And what would be an environmentally frindly vehicle? A horse? Methane problems there. Contributes to global warming.
I think we all know that the Segway is much more environmentally friendly than any ICE (internal Combustion Engine) and will have a minimal impact on pollution by the power it draws. ($0.05 of electricity is less than you use with your computer likely if you are leaving it on) These things are going to be big. I can hardly wait until I see the first one in person. "Umm sir, I'll give you $20 if you let me try that thing. Here are my car keys as collateral until I get back.
<strong>
And what would be an environmentally frindly vehicle? A horse? Methane problems there. Contributes to global warming.
I think we all know that the Segway is much more environmentally friendly than any ICE (internal Combustion Engine) and will have a minimal impact on pollution by the power it draws. ($0.05 of electricity is less than you use with your computer likely if you are leaving it on) These things are going to be big. I can hardly wait until I see the first one in person. "Umm sir, I'll give you $20 if you let me try that thing. Here are my car keys as collateral until I get back.
And how many BILLIONS of people exist in the world? If only millions use the damn thing, it still constitutes an added strain on existing power plants. Hell, they might even build new ones because of it. We're well aware of THAT degree of environmental friendliness.....
This product is in its infancy, of COURSE it's out of reach. The price WILL come down.
This product ONLY goes 17 MPH. The average human only walks 2-3 miles per hour and jogs/runs 4-5 miles and hour. How many people do you know who can run 5 miles in an hour?
Segway isn't an excuse for lazy people, it's a better solution for lazy people. If my sister had this, she wouldn't be driving three blocks to her friend's house.
Battery life, batteries are getting better and better every day.
5 cents of electricity a day to charge this thing. How can anybody argue this is worse on the environment than merely starting your car and idling for a few seconds?
Segway is damned cool, but I'll let it grow up first. In 5 years, it'll be a mature enough concept for the masses.
<strong>
And how many BILLIONS of people exist in the world? If only millions use the damn thing, it still constitutes an added strain on existing power plants. Hell, they might even build new ones because of it. We're well aware of THAT degree of environmental friendliness.....</strong><hr></blockquote>
I am not convinced. Build a new power plant because of this? I really doubt it. At least not until it replaces peoples cars and we all know that is going to be really soon.
<strong>
5 cents of electricity a day to charge this thing. How can anybody argue this is worse on the environment than merely starting your car and idling for a few seconds?
</strong><hr></blockquote>
I am not arguing that. Please re-read my statements. :cool: Yes, it is significantly more environmentally friendly than cars, but that friendliness is only relative. Some poor fishy will die because of this invention. Then how will you feel
[ 12-04-2001: Message edited by: sjpsu ]</p>
<strong>Gregg:
Read the article.
This big nasty complicated recharging device is a wall outlet. Oooooh. Perhaps too complicated for you, but most of us will be able to handle plugging it in.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Now, where you got the idea the 'device' was too complicated for me is quite a mystery. In fact, I said I didn't know much about it. Translation: I was not informed as to what the 'device' was. Furthermore, I said I didn't much care. You might try reading a post before you respond to it.
......
My reaction to seeing it demonstrated on TV was much the same as many have said here. It is fascinating technology. I just doubt that in its present form it will be very useful. As to Mr. Kamen's statement about it being primarily for use in conjested downtown areas, you still have to get yourself, and IT downtown. It's not revolutionary in that use, it's another transportation layer on top of an existing one.
Gregg
It's incredible how stupid some of those people are acting. They're disappointed because they expected cold fusion flying hovercrafts and crazy teleportation devices. Seems to me a flying hovercraft would have a lot tougher time gaining acceptance in the legal, insurance and city planning circles than the Segway. You know why? Because hovercrafts already exist and no one *wants* a hovercraft car badly enough to mass market them. They're hard to control (read dangerous), noisy, innefficient, and for personal consumer applications simply don't make a lot of sense relative to a car with tires.
Flying transportation devices! Ha! We already have them, they're called Airplanes and Helicopters. You need training and licenses to operate them though.
What dingbats on those forums. Good letter though. I like that Kamen fella.
You make a good point about our beloved Mayor re: the sidewalks and bikepaths along the lake and such.
I was thinking about the periphery of downtown and some of the more industrial (rather than corporate) areas, as far as pothole-ladden roads and dips in sidewalks go. But I haven't been down there much this year so things could have changed I suppose.
Either way the winters are so hard on the roads here that one should expect the bumps and humps. But that still doesn't mean space would be alloted for these things to run in -- special segway lanes, if you like.
Applenut:
Take your foot out of your mouth.
Groverat:
Why do you feel roller blades are so dangerous / not competitive with something like Segway? If you're of healthy body and pay attention to what you're doing, roller-blading can be just as safe (and faster) than walking -- and on average just as fast as the Segway. Like anything else, you just have to practice a little before you hit the streets and sidewalks.
Skateboards are more of an example in theory, because frankly no one who wants to be taken seriously at their place of business is going to ride in on a Tony Hawk special...
...but I see no reason why a bike or roller-blades would be viewed as more dangerous than a Segway, which frankly is much harder to predict in terms of what the user will do next. The thing backs up, spins around and changes direction so quickly it would be easy as hell to run into one (no matter what your mode of transport is).
One intersting thing I heard was that Ford plans to use them to get their plant supervisors around more efficiently. Now THAT is the type of application I can clearly see benefits for because it's a more or less controlled environment. The chances for chaotic accidents and such are greatly reduced, while the speed at which a super can move from point a to point b is greatly increased. In a controlled environment, these things could be very useful. In an uncontrolled (and crowded) one, they would cause more trouble than they're worth.
Nordstradamus:
Off topic (therapuetic cloning is another thread) and way, WAY off base (just because I disagree with you doesn't make me a luddite or techno-phobe...I think my line of questioning and reasoning in the other thread and this one should indicate I'm not just trying to bad mouth these things for the hell of it. I have genuine concern behind my doubts.
[ 12-04-2001: Message edited by: Moogs ? ]</p>
Please.
The Segway you just get off of it. Secure it and you're done. So, for example, my wife could leave it in her office. Also the Segway is good for people who need to make rounds. That is at a warehouse. Just get off and you're on your own feet. In the hospital I work at it would be great for the patient transporters. They need to "fetch" inpatients and bring them back to our clinic. They could Segway there and then just push the patient, in a wheelchair, back to the clinic with the segway in tow. You can't do that on rollerblades and you can't fit a bike in the halls even if they let you.
The Segway makes sense for all those things that require a lot of walking. It fits in just about anywhere people can walk. Bikes and rollerblades can't do that.
<strong>So when you get to your destination do you sit down, untie, pull of your rollerblades, get your own shoes (from where?) and put them on? Then carry your rollerblades around?
Please.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well it would depend on the kind of job you have. Suits aren't any more likely to use roller blades than a skateboard, but business casual and others working or studying in less formal attire certainly could use them effectively.
To answer your question, I would step under the eaves / into the lobby, reach down, undo the latches on my blades, pull them off, slip on a pair of shoes, and stuff the blades in my backpack. Takes 60, maybe 90 seconds.
Clearly a waste of time in this day and age of "ultra-efficiency" and "speed gurus" (same people that have two cells phones and a palm in their bag, but don't realize how much time they actually *waste* by constantly using them)...but either way, not a lot of effort or time is required when using 'blades, to my apparently prehistoric way of thinking.
[ 12-04-2001: Message edited by: Moogs ? ]</p>
I know I've wished my bike could stop or turn more quickly in a few, uh, difficult situations.
I'm waiting for a board-like variant to appear that is just a platform with wheels that you turn by leaning, almost like skiing. That would be cool. Especially once the technology has matured enough that the machine is relatively lightweight. You can just set it down, go, and then pick it up. That would be a hit with younger people, and people whose centers of gravity are considerably lower than mine.
You are a gomer. Aggies are "gomers". It's a relation to two things: 1) The rediculous Aggie dedication to all things military (hence: GOMER Pyle) and 2) "gomer" calls up images of backwoods rednecks, which Aggies are.
Me: "Why did you choose A&M over UT?" Gomer: "Ah couldn't stand all the damn foreigners. And the damn queers, too."
Moogs:
Rollerblading is dangerous in a commuter environment because it makes your normally stable feet highly unstable. There are very few people with the physical ability to handle rollerblades wonderfully. Segway, meanwhile, can be used by those who are able to stand upright and move their muscles.
Skateboards allow you to jump off quickly, it's a quick out. Rollerblades are literally tied to your feet.
Executive types will never use rollerblades and skateboards. Those looking to become executive types won't go flying by the executive types on a skateboard or in a pair of rollerblades.
Do you honestly not see how bikes are more dangerous to pedestrians than a Segway?
- They are unstable at low speeds.
- Their very structure makes them dangerous to other pedestrians were they to fall. Metal pieces jutting out this way and that.
- They are larger than a Segway
- They are a pain in the ass at low speeds. Most people end up just walking beside it.
There are people at my university that drive 10 blocks to campus and park. I know professors that live in neighborhoods well inside the Segways range (8-15 blocks) but drive and congest the University even more with their cars.
Mine is an ideal setting for one of these things, a setting FOR WHICH this thing was designed. It wasn't designed to move people 8 miles to work. You cannot look at it in that context.
It is safer and more efficient than rollerblading, skateboarding and biking in an urban environment. It is faster and as safe as walking.
I could very easily lambast (err, sorry, "express my concerns about") the bicycle for not being able to do 80mph and protect me from the rain but it wouldn't be logical to do so.
<strong>Alliance:
You are a gomer. Aggies are "gomers". It's a relation to two things: 1) The rediculous Aggie dedication to all things military (hence: GOMER Pyle) and 2) "gomer" calls up images of backwoods rednecks, which Aggies are.
Me: "Why did you choose A&M over UT?" Gomer: "Ah couldn't stand all the damn foreigners. And the damn queers, too."
</strong><hr></blockquote>
that is the most conceded and arrogant thing ive heard in awhile...
are u a complete moron or just acting like it??
why do u treat everyone based on a stereotype, and come off thinking that you are always the only one that can ever be right?? why do u act like an ass to everyone who brings up any point??? why must u disagree w/ everyone and make try to make them look like idiots?? wts wrong w/ u??????????
btw, i dont believe that a&m is anything to do w/ military--the corps is a joke...its a bunch of wannabe military dumasses who couldnt get in any other way than through the corps. and i am not a redneck--far from it actually. im from the city. and before i moved here and enrolled at a&m, i was from california, surrounded by every type of person there is. i was born in east LA, so dont talk to me about what real life is, cause u havent seen it. and dont give me that shit about how yer all high and mighty and go judging me and everyone else. oh, and im a freakin minority u dumbass, so dont say i dont like foreignors cause i am one u jackass.
now back off yer worthless criticizms before u start to piss me off.
think before u attack other people u arrogant ass.
I think you're taking my choice of word (concern) out of context a bit. I'm not saying the Segway is a death trap or otherwise useless.
What I *am* saying is that it presents just as much potential for causing accidents and injuries on crowded sidewalks (presumably that is where they would have to be used in most places) as other traditional modes of transport. That goes as much for the person riding the Segway as those walking, blading, biking *near* them.
I am further saying that it will cause a more chaotic situation than we already have on busy city streets and sidewalks, so in order for it (or something like it) to reach its full potential you'd have to designate a specific "path" for them. Segway lanes, walking lanes, call it or envision it as you will...but you can't just drop a few thousand of these puppies on your local city sidewalk and expect everything will go smoothly.
Law suits will abound, as one person aptly pointed out. Yes they may be frivolous law suits in many cases, but law suits nonetheless.
Anyway, suffice it to say we disagree on the scope of viable uses for this thing in its current form, and that one of us was disappointed "IT" wasn't something [more relevant] to everyday life than a new kind of scooter that will cost over $1000 for the forseeable future. I guess I should just be happy I'm not a Gomer....
<img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />
[ 12-04-2001: Message edited by: Moogs ? ]</p>