I love it when a thread comes together
The steam rising from manhole covers does not heat buildings. Buildings are heated by oil, mostly. The steam rising from manhole covers reflects a vast array of underground networks for pipes, wires, sewage, etc. The steam that rises (almost always in winter) is the equivalent of a person exhaling and seeing his or her breath. There's a lot going on underground that generates heat.
Although it's true that this is largely a "car" society, New York is a walking town. People rarely take their cars for short hops, assuming they've got cars. And, so far as I know, in this neck of the woods, EVERYONE locks the car door. EVERYONE. And NO ONE keeps the key in a convenient location in the car. If this is what's depicted on TV, it's ludicrous.
I've been to the top of the Empire State Building a few times. On a clear day you can see very far, but I doubt that you can see 100 miles. Fifty might be a bit more reasonable. BTW, my grandfather was one of the construction workers on the ESB.
In NYC, poor people don't own their own homes. They live in tenements or housing projects or homeless shelters.
I have to add that my perspective as a New Yorker is different from that of the rest of the country. It's very different here.
Oh Roberta, a lot of what you say about NYC is also true of London. The cars & housing. I like NYC, I like what you say about it being a walking town. I've walked thru much of South Manhatan, from Central Park down thru Greenwich village and on to Battery Park. Isn't that where the Staten Island ferry goes from. I didn't have time to get over there. I just like big big cities
Well, i was born in Nuevo York, but i've managed a fairly complete recovery.
Setanta wrote:Well, i was born in Nuevo York, but i've managed a fairly complete recovery.
Heh, and why don't you show up that here, too, boss?
Grand Duke wrote:
The medical thing seems a bit harsh though. I had the impression that they checked you had insurance before giving any treatment, but I'm pleased I was wrong! Anyone living in the UK can (and most do) get treatment at a National Health Service GP/dentist/hospital (state funded). That even includes foreigners! There is an established private health sector, with much shorter waiting lists (but at a large cost, obviously).
This is actually a big problem in the medical community. We have a lot of illegal immigrants in America, and they can get treatment at the hospital for free - because they cannot be tracked down once they get treated. It is good for the immigrants, but deleterious to the hospitals - it is expensive giving patients medicine and operations.
I personally would like to see the day that we don't have to have health insurance - not because I want state-mandated health insurance, but because I dislike the dishonest health unsurance agencies.
If New York stays on its side of the USA, then I'll stay on mine and we'll all be happy.
It's a horrible place. I visited there for a month or so. I was traumatised, and I've only now gotten over it.
Walter Hinteler wrote:Setanta wrote:Well, i was born in Nuevo York, but i've managed a fairly complete recovery.
Heh, and why don't you show up that here, too, boss?
This is where i get to be naughty, Walter, please don't spoil my fun . . .
I lived in New York when I was eight years old, a kind of paradise for me, looking back, and visited for one day in 1969, way too short and troubled as I was accompanying my mother who was disappearing into Alzheimer's, and recently in 2003, when I even met Roberta. Diane of a2k friendship and I walked the town together. Actually I walked it first, something like 110 blocks the first day, or was it more, before she got there. Egads that woman can walk fast. I am viewed as a fast walker, but had trouble keeping up. We did also use some buses, but covered lots of miles on foot. Ah, we both loved it. Especially the stops at the Plaza candy shop and the art galleries in Soho and Chelsea....
I, like OAK, am a big city aficionado...er, aficionada...
4) It's very easy to buy a gun in the US, and a scary amount of people have one in their house.
No it's not really hard to buy a gun here, but the permits required to carry one on your person take some time, money and a background check.
5) The police have to halt their pursuit of a criminal when it crosses the county/state line, leaving the perps to escape
No not really. When a pursuit looks like it is going to spill into another county or state dispatch will call ahead and notify the other county/states police and they will be waiting st the border to halt or pursue the suspect. Most neighboring counties/states have an agreement to partner up and help each other. As long as the police who are in charge of the actual arrest are the ones that patrol the area then all is good.
6) There is no equivalent in American English to the British expression 'taking the piss' - making fun of someone's deficiencies, appearance etc. (in either a malicious or friendly way, depending on who you're doing it to).
I think everyone else has already cleared this one up.
Almost everyone locks their car. He is an example of why. My parents had their car parked in their driveway. Their was another car parked behind them and in front of them. The driveway is very narrow, but some how somebody managed to steal their car at night and leave the space between the other two cars where their car had been parked. And no tire tracks on the lawn. Was it aliens that beamed it up? Still can't figure that one.
As far as walking. Have you been to Boston? Everyone walks in Boston.
In the certain sections of the country houses are wooden, whereas other places are made in different materials depending on what is more plentiful in the area.
Its too scary to drive in Boston is why
And too confusing to drive in Boston, unless you know all the one way streets, a non-seasoned Boston driver becomes hopelessly lost. Boston is also small in area so walking is very easy and in most cases quicker than walking.
quinn ------- you say Boston is to scary to drive in. Are there roundabouts or gyratory circles on American roads ?
We have the magic roundabout, that is 1 large inner one and 5 small ones
on the outside. Tests your equilibriam
Like these these UK ones below ?
http://home.san.rr.com/roundabout/english.htm
http://www.swindonweb.com/life/lifemagi0.htm
Boston has "The Big Dig," you'll never top that . . . plus a high proportion of idiots on the Mass Turnpike . . .
I've done that big multi stack interchange in LA. I was looking for the San Diego road and finished up in Tokyo
oldand knew - I had a great time driving in Britian! First off we rented a standard since the price difference is huge between that and an automatic, then driving on the left side of the road and add to that the roundabouts that you speak of - it was quite challeging. I did not drive in London itself though, we returned the rental before arriving in London and opted for the the tube for transportation.
We have rotarys--does that count?
Yeah, theres the Dig but, you know--in some ways it has helped...odd as that may seem now.
funny little tidbits I found here:
http://www.schlichtman.org/mahighways/
Quote:Thickly Settled. "A 'Thickly Settled' district is an area where houses or other buildings are located, on average, less than 200 feet apart." If you find a "Thickly Settled" sign in Massachusetts, don't think of it as a quaint sign. Consider it as a 30 mile an hour speed trap because the law states that speeds over 30 mph in a "Thickly Settled" or business district are not considered reasonable and proper.
Trolleys. "If you come to a trolley letting passengers on or off, you must NOT drive any closer than within 8 feet of the trolley passenger step." Memorize this, as it always appears on the written test.
Rotaries. According to the driver manual, "When you approach a rotary (traffic circle), you must yield the right-of-way to any vehicles already in the rotary. If traffic is heavy in the circle, stop at the edge of the rotary and wait until you can safely enter. Only a few states in the U.S. have traffic rotaries, and as a result, many drivers are not familiar with the right-of-way rules. Be especially careful and generous when extending the right-of-way to other drivers." In practice, older cars in worse condition than yours, and other drivers who fail to make eye contact, always have the right of way in a rotary.
Hi Lincat -------- yeah driving in the UK is a bit different to the USA. A case of size & space being the key.
Automatic shifts aren't that popular here, tho they are getting more buyers. But I've driven an automatic for about 12 years now. Much more sense
I don't blame you not driving in London, if not used to the place. It's crazytown. I learnt to drive and past my test in London but that was some years ago. It's also a matter of horses for courses.
Hope you enjoyed your visit to our little island
OAK, I visited London many years ago. I loved it. I mean I LOVED it. It's a city I'd consider living in if I wasn't a Noo Yawker down to my DNA.
BTW, buying a gun is easy in some places and less easy in others. Buying a gun in NYC is not easy at all.
