nodakfan17

I just recently graduated from college and completed my first real job search. Every company that I interviewed for requested a phone interview first. I'm not an HR guy, but I think that's the way that most employers operate these days. I'd stick with the truth and handle each situation as it arises.

I used those in the last apartment that I rented. They came off relatively easily and did leave any marks on the wall.

I am in total agreement. I'd like to see the Bucks trade #s 44 and 47 for a pick in the 31-35 range. I doubt that they will draft 4 players on Thursday.

Wow, bitter much? You will be hard pressed to find ANY officer who will cut you a break for 20 over, clean record or not. Besides, there is no way for the officer who stopped you to know if you had been given 5 warnings prior to your stop. You were doing 20 over the posted limit. In some states (Virginia being one), you would have been physically arrested and taken to jail for reckless driving. Wow, bitter much? Haha, yep. That's just my style. I know for certain that I was not going any faster than 20 mph over. She couldn't have issued me a ticket for 19 mph over so that I could have fallen in the far less severe 11-19 mph range? After all, it was my first (and only) offense. The original poster was given some leniency by the issuing officer as a result of being a first time offender. What sounds more dangerous to you- driving 20 mph over the speed limit with no other cars on the road or driving 16 mph over in a construction zone? Where is the consistency? I am somewhat surprised that a few posters have suggested that the original poster simply pay the fine and slow down. Have they never made a mistake? When I set my cruise control it is usually at 2 mph over the speed limit. However, one day, when I was 20 years-old, I forgot to glance down at my speedometer while I was driving a clear stretch of highway. I was in the wrong. I went to court, owned up to my mistake, and apologized. A reasonable judge and prosecutor agreed to reduce a significant speeding violation to a much less severe offense. I pay a very reasonable car insurance rate as a result of this decision. Again, unless your time costs prevent you from attending your scheduled court appearance, I don't see why you would not show up. As a few other posters have suggested- doing so can only improve your current situation.

If you're keeping a tally of responses in this thread, my vote would be Yes, Attend Your Scheduled Court Appearance. You do not need to "fight it." Explain the context of your situation to the judge and apologize. Say that this one incident is not characteristic of your behavior as a driver and politely ask the prosecutor to consider mitigating the charges. Unless the nature of your work imposes substantial time costs on your appearance, it could be worth your while. I am 24 years old. I have been driving for 8 years. I received one speeding ticket in 2007. This was the first time that I had ever been pulled over (and still is). I was issued a ticket for driving 20 mph over the speed limit (75 mph in a 55 mph zone). I was afraid that traveling at such a gross speed would not only put me at risk for insurance premium increases, but also become cause for losing my automobile insurance coverage all-together. I attended my court appearance in a suit and tie, explained that this one incident was uncharacteristic of my driving behavior, apologized, and politely asked the prosecutor to consider mitigating the charges. He agreed to reduce the offense from 20 mph to 11 mph over the limit based on my previously clean driving record. As a result, I lost 4 points instead of 6 and had my fine reduced by a small amount. In the end, my insurance premiums still increased (yes, increased with a single 11 mph over ticket), but I was thankful to still have coverage after driving so irresponsibly. Obviously, the details of your situation differ from mine (so does the county where your appearance in scheduled), but from my own experience, I can tell you that is was definitely worth my time to attend my scheduled court appearance. Somewhat Humorous Side Note: Even though I pass through the county where I received my speeding ticket at least a dozen times each year, I refuse to spend money there. I will not buy gas there, I will not stop and eat there, and I will not pay to attend any event that is held there. I am still bitter about not receiving a warning for my first offense. Yes, I was in the wrong, but if they want my $200 fine so badly, they can keep it. I will not spend money in their county ever again.

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/laugh.gif

I wish that they made a few of these each year. It's really a neat promotion.

I can understand the situation you're describing, and how an alternate route might be faster. I just disagree with the notion that the driver is at fault. What if they aren't familiar with the neighborhood? Google Maps or an in-dash GPS system is going to say "Turn Left at X street", not "Heavy Traffic between 4 and 6pm - continue on road and loop around at nearest gas station". To call this act selfish (TLB's post) implies that it's pre-meditated, which isn't the case 99% of the time. I had to laugh at the thought of a GPS directing a driver to "continue on road and loop around at nearest gas station." Yeah, I agree with you, KegStand. When a driver is unfamiliar with an area, they have to stick with what they know (even if it holds up the folks behind them). If I were driving in an unfamiliar city, I would do the same thing. However, I live in a city of 60,000 in North Dakota. We don't have a lot of visitors here, especially in the winter. My commute to and from work would be painless if I did not have to deal with an intersection that is in bad need of a four-way stop. To cross the street, I take a right at my first chance, drive a half block, and then cut through an Office Max parking lot. By my own judgement, this gets me through the intersection much faster than waiting for a gap in traffic, but I can't even make the initial right turn if the car in front of me insists on passing through the intersection. Sure, there are going to be visitors that that will need to stick to their directions. I get that and I'm fine with it, but there are many locals who should know better. In retrospect, I should be articulating my thoughts at a city council meeting and not on this message board http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

Yep - glad we're on the same page. It's trivial, I know, but it's what's bugging me.

Makes perfect sense to me - after all, their time is far more valuable than mine. It works both ways. I extend the same courtesy to those behind me. Everyone's neighborhood is different, I guess. Mine is configured in such a way that left turns at certain intersections are nearly impossible from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm. If I can't avoid these intersections, it is often easier to take a right and turn around at the nearest gas station.

Is anyone else having difficulty selecting a "fan's choice" bobblehead?

I get annoyed at a lot of things on the road, but I don't think this is one of them. However, I'm not sure I'm understanding the issue. How narrow is the road? There is no room to go around the car? Yes. This is the situation that bothers me the most- when there is only one lane of traffic going in each direction, there is no legal right turn lane, and someone insists on making a left turn at a stop sign while a line of people behind that person want to make a quick right. What I hate worse is becoming one of those dufuses because there's unlikely to be time to do a lane change to be able to turn right into the business I want to access just beyond said intersection. Agreed. That's often unavoidable if you need to make a quick right after the intersection. I hate being in that situation. I just pray for a quick green.

When driving, I hate waiting behind someone who insists on making a left turn at a stop sign when a row of people behind that person all want to turn right. I purposely avoid unprotected left turns during high traffic times, because I don't want to hold other people up. Is this just me?

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" I'm only on the 3rd habit, but so far, "search the web for sports information every morning" is not one of them.

I would pay $1 for a JaMarcus Russell jersey. Then I could go as the Hindenburg for Halloween.

I'm beginning to become a little frustrated with the Bulls and their 10-game losing streak. On the one hand, their recent slide has definitely improved the Bucks' chances of making the playoffs (no complaints there). However, they're sitting in that prime 11th spot from the bottom where the Bucks could swap picks with them, assuming that they hold their position in the lottery. The Clippers are the next closest team to catching the Bulls in terms of total wins with 26 to the Bulls' 31 (with approximately 15 games left to play for each team).

Please vote for Conan to become the next morning radio show sidekick on Y-94 in Fargo, North Dakota! http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/insider/2010/01/18/whats-next-for-coco/

I do not watch any late night show with great regularity, but I do enjoy a number of them when I find myself awake past 10:00 pm (CST). Since my father was a Tonight Show man, I tend to gravitate towards NBC. Here are some of my observations: On Leno: He is "every man's" comic. His comedy is geared towards putting others down. His style is okay with me. At the end of the day, I don't want to think too hard about jokes. That's why "Headlines" works so beautifuly for me! Before the Jay Leno Show, the amount of NBC primetime programming that I watched in that time slot hovered above zero. Now, I watch the Jay Leno Show once a week. It's a shame that the 9:00 pm (CST) slot did not work out for him, because I still think that the Jay Leno Show is better than 90% of all television programs. That doesn't mean that it is a high-quality program, but it's better than most broadcast alternatives. On Conan: He is the smartest comic on television. I would watch his show more often if he was not so easily amused by his own jokes! Conan haters (and fans) - you know what I mean. He spends too much times giggling to himself after he delivers a joke. He also acknowledges outcries from the audience far too often. Even though I like his brand of comedy, I get tired of these tangents. When he's on his game, there is no one funnier, but I can't stick with him for a full hour. That being said, I think that he is getting the short end of the stick. On Fallon: I had very low expectations for his show. To his credit, he has met those expectations (and exceeded them in rare instances).

I'm curious as to how your who situation will play out. I'm planning on moving in May and will have to make some cable and internet decisions. My cable bill went up by $3/month this summer and it almost put me over the edge. I thought about switching to DirectTV, but I live in a first floor corner apartment and feared that some drunk punk would walk right up to my patio and smash the dish. My girlfriend and I have been trying to weigh all of our options before our move. I think that I could get by with internet, Tivo, Nextflix, etc, but there are some days that I come home from work and just want to watch 20 minutes of television without messing around (I just want to press "power"). I almost value that convenience enough to stick with cable.

I work part time at a department store. When people come in to buy gifts for newborns, they usually try to find the "cutest outfits" that we sell. Most parents wind up with way too many outfits and very few basic items like onesies, socks, and burp cloths. Babies grow fast. The child may only get to wear the outfit once or twice (if at all). A gift card would probably be the most practical gift. If you feel that it is too impersonal, ask a store clerk for help with picking out some basics for a newborn. Here is a checklist that I found online that lists a lot of these basic items: http://baby-checklists.yeahbaby.com/article.php?page=62

Our Walden Books in Grand Forks is going out of business. I stopped by yesterday and every remaining book was 50%-70% off. The Book of Basketball was only $15. Paperback John Grisham novels were $3.50 each. I also picked up a half a dozen books to give out as gifts in the next year. In total, I think I paid $60 for 10 books (mostly new and mostly hardcover). Now I have plenty of material to get me through the new year.

Congrats on the series win, Badger fans. It was a huge disappointment for me to see UND fall flat like that. At least you have other sports to look forward to when your hockey team isn't playing well. Hockey is all we have in Grand Forks.

That was hard to swallow. I did not turn on Sports Center this morning because I knew that ESPN would just be gushing over Kobe's performance. Where is the outrage in the media? Still, I'm a Bucks optimist. I take some comfort in knowing that we can hang tough with the World Champs.

I'm not much of a soda drinker, but I am a huge fan of the Mountain Dew Throwback. If anyone is on the fence about it, give it a try. It has just the right amount of sweetness - not too crisp, not to syrupy.

It still bothers me that the Wausau Woodchucks were renamed the Wisconsin Woodchucks a few years ago. Most of the teams in the Northwoods League are in Wisconsin...what makes Wausau the "Wisconsin" team? I would agree, the name does not seem appropriate. At the time when the Wausua Woodchucks became the "Wisconsin Woodchucks," they were the only Wisconsin team in the Northwoods League. The Kenosha and Manitowoc franchises had folded and the current slate of Wisconsin NWL teams did not yet exist. I guess the Woodchucks saw the name change as an opportunity to reach out to a larger fan base.