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We are notorious for the 'tall poppy syndrome' here in Oz, and I think we got a lot of it from the Irish and British working class people who came here from the First Fleet on. As one observer remarked 'Australians are happy to see you get ahead, they just dont want you to get ahead of them ..'.

 

For all that, we persist with the belief that ours is a 'classless' society - talking to an Irish guy recently it was clear that they dont grow up with the same illusion, and his relatives in Boston sound like they are still carrying a lot of that baggage around with them. 'Good Will Hunting' meets 'In the Name of the Father' - naive of me to think that it all went away with the 'Peace'.

 

Same same NZ

 

Though we do still get a lot of Brits walking in like they own the place, I think I lost my last job because the female boss was taken with a smooth talking Brit marketer....

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Anyone who has watched more than 3 eps of 'The Office' will know that Gervais can be very hit-and-miss. As CS said, you cringe at least as often as you laugh. The Brit version had a lot more pathos, I think, than the Steve Carrell depiction of an incompetent trying to bluff his way through the working week.

 

The original "The Office", i.e., the British 'version' was brilliant. The US 'version' is quite the opposite, nothing to laugh at but lots to cringe about. Gervais probably thinks the same but it seems to appeal to an American sense of humour and he'll be getting paid loads for it so probably doesn't care. Gervais was a natural in his role whereas Carrell's depiction is very contrived.

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Taking uninsured cars off the highway...

 

 

Recently, in the City of Dallas, Texas, they passed an ordinance that if you are pulled over by law enforcement and not able to provide proof of insurance, your car will be towed right away.

 

Afterwards, to retrieve your car after being impounded, you must show proof of insurance to have your car released. This has made it easy for the City of Dallas to remove uninsured cars that are typically driven by mostly illegals.

 

Shortly after "No insurance" ordinance was passed, the Dallas impound lots began to fill up quickly and were full after nine days. Most of the impounded cars were driven by illegals.

 

Not only must you provide proof of insurance to have your car released, you have to pay for the cost of the tow, a $350 fine, and charged $20 for every day their car is kept in the lot.

 

I would suggest other cities across the nation to follow what Dallas, Texas is doing. Not only is it getting uninsured drivers off the road, but it is taking away vehicles driven by illegals that have no insurance that might endanger your life.

 

GO Texas !

 

--------------

 

Dallas' Solution?

 

Get them off the road WITHOUT making them show proof of nationality. Wonder how the ACLU or the Justice Department will get around this one.

 

 

 

 

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Worked for a conservancy awhile in Santa Monica and they gave us these ancient beat-up WWII era jeeps to drive around in (Flash, you probably had one of these after you traded in the model-T :) ). These things were death traps, always breaking down on PCH and the 405 and aaaaah!

 

Anyway. I'm driving through Highland Park on a residential st and this dog runs into the road. I JAMMED the brake but they were so lousy I wasn't going to stop in time to avoid the dog. So I veered. Right smack into a parked truck. Clearly there was damage and clearly my fault. The dog just laughed.

 

The owner comes out of an old apartment building all the windows barred and even razor wire along parts of the fence. He looks alarmed. I got my insurance stuff and whip out a phone to call the cops. He starts emphasizing, "NO," "It's OK." I think he wants to squeeze me for cash so I tell him, I work part-time, no money dude. "It's OK." The jeep I drove was so beat-up already I honestly didn't know if there was damage, it was all chipped paint and dinged steel in front, nobody at the conservancy would care. But there was clear damage to his truck. I ask the guy again what he wants -- "nothing, it's OK, don't worry." And he's trying to get me to leave.

 

I had $40 in my pocket and gave it to him, out of guilt.

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Anyone who has watched more than 3 eps of 'The Office' will know that Gervais can be very hit-and-miss. As CS said' date=' you cringe at least as often as you laugh. The Brit version had a lot more pathos, I think, than the Steve Carrell depiction of an incompetent trying to bluff his way through the working week. [/quote']

 

The original "The Office", i.e., the British 'version' was brilliant. The US 'version' is quite the opposite, nothing to laugh at but lots to cringe about. Gervais probably thinks the same but it seems to appeal to an American sense of humour and he'll be getting paid loads for it so probably doesn't care. Gervais was a natural in his role whereas Carrell's depiction is very contrived.

 

Carrell is annoying. I endure the show every now and then to see the one secret weapon the US version has - Rainn Wilson aka Dwight Schrute. I'm truly sorry Munch but it's a wonderful thing. I would dare to postulate he's even superior to his counterpart on the original - Gareth Keenan.

 

In every other way the UK version is better. I

 

Was surprised when I was told 'the office' was based on a UK program. Later tuned it in on BBC (cable) and not only was it based on the UK version, but the first episode was a word-for-word copy. Fucking lame. What was the point of that?

 

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Scientists warn California could be struck by winter ‘superstorm’

 

 

 

A group of more than 100 scientists and experts say in a new report that California faces the risk of a massive "superstorm" that could flood a quarter of the state's homes and cause $300 billion to $400 billion in damage. Researchers point out that the potential scale of destruction in this storm scenario is four or five times the amount of damage that could be wrought by a major earthquake.

 

It sounds like the plot of an apocalyptic action movie, but scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey warned federal and state emergency officials that California's geological history shows such "superstorms" have happened in the past, and should be added to the long list of natural disasters to worry about in the Golden State.

 

The threat of a cataclysmic California storm has been dormant for the past 150 years. Geological Survey director Marcia K. McNutt told the New York Times that a 300-mile stretch of the Central Valley was inundated from 1861-62. The floods were so bad that the state capital had to be moved to San Francisco, and Governor Leland Stanford had to take a rowboat to his own inauguration, the report notes. Even larger storms happened in past centuries, over the dates 212, 440, 603, 1029, 1418, and 1605, according to geological evidence.

 

The risk is gathering momentum now, scientists say, due to rising temperatures in the atmosphere, which has generally made weather patterns more volatile.

 

The scientists built a model that showed a storm could last for more than 40 days and dump 10 feet of water on the state. The storm would be goaded on by an "atmospheric river" that would move water "at the same rate as 50 Mississippis discharging water into the Gulf of Mexico," according to the AP. Winds could reach 125 miles per hour, and landslides could compound the damage, the report notes.

 

Such a superstorm is hypothetical but not improbable, climate researchers warn. "We think this event happens once every 100 or 200 years or so, which puts it in the same category as our big San Andreas earthquakes," Geological Survey scientist Lucy Jones said in a press release.

 

Federal and state emergency management officials convened a conference about emergency preparations for possible superstorms last week.

 

 

 

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