Karma police

[LoTech]

And for that matter why do they call it a fireplug?

My understanding is that the term "fire plug" dates from old London and the first generation water mains, which were made of wood.

In order to get water from the wooden pipe to fight a fire with, the firemen had to dig up the water main in the street in order to drill a hole in the pipe. Needless to say, by the time that process was completed, the average London house could be totally engulfed in flames. Especially if you didn't know exactly where in the street to start digging.

Until some Smart Cookie came up with the brilliant idea of digging up the water line BEFORE there was a fire, drilling a hole in it ahead of time, and plugging the hole back up with a wooden PLUG long enough to reach the surface of the street, which could then be cut off flush with the surface of cobblestone paving, thereby serving the dual purpose of marking the position of the water main, and allowing the fire fighters to access the water without digging all the way down to the line itself.

TL;DR: the original Fire Plugs were just long wooden plugs in holes in the water lines.

[Crossbow]

Just looked it up, apparently in some states if a person has a restricted license due to a DUI they have to use special license plates. The ones I saw were bright yellow. We could use them here. I also heard that up north (BC) some levels of drivers have to put decals of "L" (I assume that means learning) on their car.

And I also hadn't hear the term "fire plug." I swear I learn all kinds of things here.

Example of a "party plate" from Ohio:


Colors a slightly brighter than reality, but close enough. Used for drivers that are on restricted licenses (most likely for DWI/DUI).

[An Haddock]

My understanding is that the term "fire plug" dates from old London and the first generation water mains, which were made of wood.

TL;DR: the original Fire Plugs were just long wooden plugs in holes in the water lines.

I probably got it from my grandmother (Australian, came to the US after marrying my grandfather after WWII) and my great-grandmother who was the first generation in our family born in the US to English parents. I had picked up a few British/Aussie colloquialisms from being around them when I was kid.

I don't even realize I'm doing it until someone points it out.

[LesserSouthernFroglet]

This one wasn't instant Karma, but slightly delayed.

A good friend of mine was riding his motorcycle to work one day. He t-boned a car that turned in front of him, hitting it square in the pillar area. The car was in the wrong - she should have let him pass before she turned.

Anyway, he goes flying through the air and lands in a crumpled heap - multiple fractures, not good. She, meanwhile, realised what happened, continued her turn into a shopping centre (via the one-way exit), nearly mowing down a group of seven pedestrians, parked her car and then walked back to the scene.

Eventually my buddy is loaded into an ambulance, and nice Mr Policeman gives the car driver a ticket for failing to give way.

Several months later... The car was written off, so the driver decided to take my friend to court for the value of the car, and to get her ticket thrown out. The day in court, he's still on crutches, plastered limbs and a neck brace from the injuries he sustained in the crash. She, of course, is just fine.

Anyway, the whole argument that she had with recovering costs was that 'it wasn't her fault, it was his, because he shouldn't be riding a bike, that all motorcyclists are scumbags and hoons, and shouldn't be allowed on the road, and should be locked up because they're a menace to society and blah blah blah... and he just got what was coming to him.'

The judge, apparently, did not agree with her argument, and totally threw the book at her. She was done for:

• The illegal turn
• Dangerous driving resulting in serious injury
• Wrong way up a one way street
• Leaving the scene of an accident
• 7 counts of reckless driving (for nearly cleaning up the pedestrians)

She lost her licence for 12 months, was fined a massive amount, had her cost recovery case thrown out, and got a hefty suspended sentence.

Turns out His Honour was a member of a certain Old Farts motorcycle club...

[Shalom]

the original Fire Plugs were just long wooden plugs in holes in the water lines.

I grew up calling it a pump. Which is inaccurate, as it doesn't pump anything.

Also I remember from Milt Gross' Yiddish dialect collection Nize Baby, circa 1925, with the various floors in an apartment house communicating via the dumbwaiter shaft, about a society wedding that the local paper reported on:

Yi yi yi ... de crazy t'ings dem sotziety pipple doing...

So vot is ??

Mit a hydrant dey got merried!

A hydrant ??

Yeh, look it's stending here, "De wadding took place mit de pomp..."

[panamared]

It's too bad these people get off with just a slap on the wrist most of the time. I wish we could punish them by pushing them off a 2 storey building; if they land without any injuries we could call it a light punishment and anything else "just desserts"

[protege]

It's too bad these people get off with just a slap on the wrist most of the time.

They might not serve any jail time...but they could get hit with some nasty fines. How do I know this? Several years ago, one of my coworkers got her second DUI. She'd been out with friends, and got pulled over after leaving a bar. From what she told us, she was just over the limit. Just enough to land her ass in jail for the night, get her car impounded, lose her license, and get placed on house arrest. She got that oh-so-fashionable ankle bracelet, and became very familiar with the Port Authority's bus routes. To top it off, she had to deal with several thousand dollars in fines, court costs, and other bills...including one for a breathing-tube type of interlock for her car, when she got her license back.

[eltf177]

They might not serve any jail time...but they could get hit with some nasty fines.

And if someone else gets hurt during their shenanigans the victim(s) can sue the drunk in civil court, and juries tend to not look favorably on drunks...