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Every website has its
critics, and mine is no different -- it comes with the
territory. Here is a small sampling
of some of the critical e-mail and guestbook entries I
get from time to time. I get a real mixed bag
as far as
feedback to this website goes. While most of
the feedback I get is positive, I also get feedback that
ranges
from polite and constructive criticism to outright spite
and hostility. Of course, the latter type
makes for the
most entertaining messages.
The source of a lot of the
complaints I get is, simply put, a lack of reading
comprehension. People continually
get upset at me for saying things I don't say, or for
doing for things I don't do. It's fun, in a
frustrating sort of
way, to watch someone strike down a straw
man. Then there are the
crackpots. You'll see what I mean.
My very first flame
(at 14,700 hits). Woo hoo!
Date: Fri, 03 Apr 1998 11:41:09 -0500
From: donnie reed <S_DTREED@pstcc.cc.tn.us>
Subject: Quite the interesting site...
It seems as if you have quite a distaste for Atlanta
drivers and Atlanta
in general. You could use some advice, and I will be
happy to give it
to you. Instead of focusing on the bad driving that does
in fact exist
in Atlanta, how about focusing on the good aspects of the
city? You
obviously have a problem with yourself, not Atlanta, and
choose to
express your anger on other people. Why don't you try to
just let it
go? I enjoyed your web page thoroughly, except the parts
where you
choose to call Atlantans and North Carolinians
"rednecks." I had the
misfortune of living up north for two years when I was
younger, and I
saw many worse drivers in those states than I ever did in
the South.
The fact is that bad drivers exist everywhere and not
just Atlanta,
North Carolina and the South. Atlantans are actually
quite hospitable,
friendly people. However, if you do not like our city,
like us native
Atlantans say: "A Delta Jet leaves every five
minutes from
Hartsfield." I am quite sure that the people down at
Int'l Airport
would be happy to sell you a plane ticket for an
outrageous price so
that you might return to where ever it is that you came
from. Thanks
for the great web site, and have a great day! ;)
Jason Osborne
Atlanta native
Student in French/World Business and Mechanical
Engineering at the
University of Tennessee
If you would like to write me back, I would appreciate
your comments.
However, I am on a friend's e-mail account, so if you do
so, please
e-mail me at ozzyland@utkux.utcc.utk.edu
Thank You!
Reply/Comments:
Ah, my first
flame! The guy's quite articulate, polite
even. Except I don't recall ever calling
Atlantans or
North Carolinians 'rednecks'! Nor do I claim
that bad driving is exclusive to the South, and I don't
dislike
Atlanta or the South in general. "Hooked
on Phonics" evidently didn't work for
him! Still, he has a way
with words, like at the end of his main paragraph where
he tells me to go back to wherever I came from
and thanks me for a great web site in practically the
same breath! For the record, I've lived in a
few places
in my life thus far, including Montreal, Calgary,
Edmonton, London Ontario, Hong Kong, and Liverpool.
Yes, bad drivers are everywhere. I don't deny
it, and I'm not trying to pick on Atlanta
drivers. I just happen
to live here at the moment, so it's only natural that the
content of my site is Atlanta-oriented.
Read the FAQ!
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 1998 08:31:40 -0700
From: "Jacks, Robert" <RJacks@vegas.cirquedusoleil.com>
Subject: Question
To: tardboy@techstation.com
I guess I just have to wonder how big
of a problem you are since you
drive by looking thru the view finder of a camera? How
many accidents
have you been in ? , Or better yet how many accidents
have you caused
because you're looking thru the view finder?
Robert Jacks
Retired Police Officer (Illinois)
RobtJacks@AOL.com
Reply/Comments:
At the time of the writing
of this message, I was still using a hand-held
camera. However, had the writer
taken the time to read the Frequently Asked Questions section before spouting off, he
would have known
that I never use the view finder! I thought
cops were supposed to be observant!
A self-proclaimed
legal expert who lacks reading comprehension
From: DaraGamble@aol.com
Date: 06 Nov 2000
Subject: Your web-site
To: tardboy@techstation.com
I just looked at your web site and I have a few things to
comment on. First,
posting people's lic. plate numbers and vehicles without
their permission is
against the law. Second, you are an accident waiting to
happen. You are so
busy taking pictures of cars you think are violating
traffic laws you are
liable to cause some serious damage to law abiding
drivers. You should find a
better hobby or better yet move out to a farm where you
and your wife are the
only traffic you have to deal with!
Dara Gamble
Lilburn, GA.
Reply/Comments:
Evidently you are in the habit of making judgments
prior to ascertaining the
facts. Had you taken a moment to read my Frequently Asked Questions
section, you would have found this:
"I am now using a video camera which I mount on a
tripod that is fixed in a
stationary position inside my vehicle (in the rear
passenger area). I just
let the camera record continuously as I drive, then
extract still photos
from the tape using a video capture device on my
computer. This is
obviously much safer, as I no longer need to manually
operate anything
(besides the car) while driving."
Posting people's license plate numbers is not against the
law. I challenge
you to provide me with either a statute or case law to
support your
assertion.
Reading comprehension obviously isn't your strong point.
Here is Ms.
Gamble's retort:
As a College Educated/Graduate I take
offense to you assuming that reading
comprehension is not my strong suit. In fact your
web-site offended me so
much that I didn't take the time to finish looking at it
therefore I didn't
read the FAQ section. And as for the challenge, I except!
Dara Gamble
And mine:
You except???? Don't you mean
you accept? Evidently, spelling isn't your
strong suit either! LOL!
Keep trying.
Three months
later:
I'm still waiting for Ms. Gamble to
substantiate her claim that what I'm doing is
illegal. After waiting three
months, I sent her a note to find out where she was on
this. After all, she "excepted" my
challenge. Her
response was that she forgot because she works and has
kids and a husband. Then she insinuated that
I'm
on welfare and have nothing better to do with my time
than drive around filming drivers all day. Boo hoo!
Excuses, excuses, excuses. I work too, at
least 50 hours a week. So much for her
pre-packaged, cliché,
white trash suggestion that I'm on
welfare. She just doesn't have the guts or the
integrity to admit that
she's full of crap. The funny thing is, she
has threatened to report me to AOL if I don't stop
harrassing
her. I find that really, really funny,
considering that (a) I'm not a user of AOL, and (b) she's
the one who
flamed me to begin with! Talk about the pot
calling the kettle black! Don't start something if
you can't finish
it, Dara! And a note about the legality of
publishing pictures of people's vehicles without their
permission.
If it's illegal, then I guess the media is in real big
trouble, seeing how they routinely film their reporters
standing
on the sidewalk with cars passing by in the
background. And what about accident scene
footage and shots
of cars during the traffic reports?
Strike that straw
man! Whack it real good!
Entry from Guestbook
Date: Thurs, 06 Aug 1998 20:03:54 -0500
From: Grace <lsem@ibw.com.ni>
You're really judgemental, couldn't you find a better way
to correct the driving public?
Reply/Comments:
A classic example of
striking down a straw man. I have never said
that I am trying to correct the driving
public. Indeed, why would I want to do
that? I'd have no more material for this site
if that happened! The
fun didn't stop here, actually. After finding
out that I published her note on this page, the writer
sent me
another note, upset that I wasn't honoring the
"confidentiality policy" on my
Guestbook. Get a clue, lady!
There is no such policy anywhere on my
Guestbook. Don't create some fictional policy
in your own head
and then expect others to abide by it. Indeed,
such a policy would make no sense. The
Guestbook is
viewable to the public, so when you sign it, you're
automatically publishing your remarks for anyone to see!
This
is what I get for saying that I like Charlotte
From: "white heat" <onedynamicboy@hotmail.com>
To: tardboy@techstation.com
Subject:
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 11:00:35 PST
I should have known that some cocky Atlantan would not be
able to resist
poking a little fun at our city. You people DO NOT.... I
repeat... DO
NOT have the biggest city in the world down there!! Maybe
you need to
read your own citys newspaper article comparing Atlanta
with Los
Angeles (A real city). L.A. is 6 times larger than
Atlanta! Make no
mistake, Charlotte is booming right now...Companies such
as Microsoft,
ESRI, Coca-Cola, and CNN have opened operations here! And
the booming
populatiion is another factor. Charlotte's pop. grew at
25.5% in the
1980's. Atlanta's declined by 7.3% also Charlottes metro
are pop. has
risen from 900,000 in 1980 to 1,445,000 in 2000. And , in
addition, the
Charlotte urban region's population has risen from
1,300,000 in 1980 to
1,800,000 in 1998. Its one of the fastest growing areas
in the country
(but educated people already knows that) And just because
your city has
a few more skyscrapers DOESN'T mean A THING to normal
people! And
anyways the tallest apartment in the south is being
planned to be built
(along with mid-rise apartments currently under
construction). Also 2
new office towers under construction as we speak.
(Charlotte's skyline
is still evolving dumbass) So why dont you keep yourself
and your
opinions down there in that run-down, slum-infested
hell-hole that you
call a "big city" and leave us alone?? Just
stand back and let us show
what it takes to make a city.
Email me back IF you got the balls to
Reply/Comments:
First of all, anyone who
sends flame mail from a Hotmail address with an alias
instead of his real name
is a coward -- that's just my opinion. But
more importantly, I have never made any claims regarding
Atlanta's size or population in comparison with
Charlotte's (or that of any other city)! So
quite frankly,
I fail to see the relevance of this moron's ranting about
7.3% this and 900,000 that. This site is about
crappy driving. It's not some 'Atlanta versus
Charlotte' site. Also, when I point out that
Charlotte isn't as
big as some would like to imagine, it is not meant as an
insult. I like Charlotte, and I like it
precisely
because it isn't too big (it reminds me of
Calgary). In my opinion, this is a strength;
growing to be as big
as Atlanta (or bigger) will only bring with it the
nightmare traffic, pollution, and congestion that Atlanta
and
other "large" cities endure -- not to mention
the idiot and lunatic drivers that are the very subject
of this
website! If I'm taking a jab at anyone, it's
at the lemmings who think that bigger is always
better. Perhaps
that is the very nerve that I hit with this guy.
Atlanta sucks, and I
need to get a life.
From: "Gary Van Wert" <vanwertg@hotmail.com>
To: tardboy@techstation.com
Subject: Your website and your city
Date: Mon, 03 Jan 2000 23:16:21 CST
It seems like you have nothing better to do than take
pictures of the morons
that appear on Atlanta's roads. My advice to you is
to engage in something
productive that will take your mind off of this idiotic
website you call
humorous. It makes me sick to discover how some
people spend quality time.
I bet you're one of the many idiotic drivers on the
highways of Atlanta
considering you take camera shots while driving.
Get a life.
Your city is the biggest trailer park trash there
is. Thank god I don't
live in a city with no diversity and sophistication
whatsoever. I'll have
you know that I'm from New York City. Ever heard of
"The Big Apple?" If
not, let me tell you it is 10X the city that Atlanta will
ever be. New York
is all about fame, globalization, culture, diversity,
sophistication,
entertainment, and Broadway. Can you honestly tell
me that Atlanta has any
of the aforementioned qualities?? I don't think so.
I can keep on going but
I'll save you the humiliation of living in
Hicklanta. In other words, New
York is everything that Atlanta lacks. Atlanta has
and will always be
nothing but a hick town in the South with no character
nor appeal. Us
Yankees have had bad experiences when visiting the South
and we know better
than to move or much less visit the run-down tobacco
infested areas that you
people call home.
Reply back if you have the pride and guts to stand up for
the city you live
in.
Reply/Comments:
I think this one falls
under the "spite and hostility"
category. Again, we have someone rushing to
judgment
before reading the Frequently Asked Questions section, exemplified by his
assertion that I'm "one of the
many idiotic drivers on the highways of Atlanta
considering [I] take camera shots while driving." But
the
really funny part is this: "It makes me sick to
discover how some people spend quality time. . .Get a
life." The
writer then proceeds to hurl insults at the City of
Atlanta and its residents, including the choice
statement: "Your city is the biggest trailer
park trash there is." Yeah, send
hate messages cutting people
down for simply living somewhere. Way to spend that
quality time there, buddy. And he thinks I
need to
get a life?
I'm
a pinhead.
From: Anonymous Guestbook Entry (i.e., coward)
Date: Fri, 28 Mar 2000 21:41:29 EST
I saw your video clip and listened to you whine about the
police officer cutting you off. My question is,
"why weren't you pulling off to the right and
stopping when you saw the flashing lights?" He needs
to cut
off pinheads like you who do not pull out of the way.
Reply/Comments:
The video clip being
referred to here is titled "Cut-off by Cop." I've received
enough hostile e-mail about this
clip that I should take the time to explain the
circumstances of this incident. The assumption
being made
is that this cop came up behind me with his lights and
siren on and I didn't get out of his
way. However, that
is not at all what happened. I pulled up to an
intersection into the left-hand turn
lane. There was a truck at
the light, a cop behind him, and then me behind the
cop. The light turned green and the three of
us went
and made our left turns, which put us on a two lane road
(each direction) called Satellite Blvd. The
truck went
over to the right lane, as did I, and the cop stayed in
the left lane. I was driving a little faster
than the cop, but
was within the speed limit. Well, I'm guessing
the cop was running a check on the truck's license plate
or
something because all of sudden, he cuts into my lane,
and seconds later he turns on his lights to pull the
truck over. Fair enough, maybe the driver of
the truck had outstanding warrants or
something. The problem
is that the officer didn't bother to check his blind spot
before changing lanes, and I had to jab my brakes to
avoid a collision. (Remember that I was going
slightly faster than him so my car was next to his by
this time,
and not behind it.) If you watch the video
clip closely, you will see that his lights are not
flashing when he
cuts in front of me; they come on after
he has cut over. So it simply isn't the case
that this cop came up
behind me with his lights flashing and I failed to
yield. Indeed, this cop was never, not at any
point in time,
behind me -- I came up behind him. Now, please
don't get me wrong. I have nothing against the
police.
They have a tough job and deserve the public's
support. However, I do get somewhat annoyed
when I see
them doing things that they would pull John Q. Public
over for doing. Changing lanes without
checking your
blindspot is a prime example. Tailgating is
another thing I see many police officers do. I
mean, is it any
wonder that the driving experience has gone downhill in
this country when even some cops are driving like
careless idiots?
Um...NO
From: LutzErian@aol.com
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 23:09:39 EST
Subject: slow traffic in atlanta
To: tardboy@techstation.com
Excuse me people, but from what I saw on your page I
figuered that you are
obviously considering driving at a speed of 80 mph as
some kind of threat to
the national safety or similar. What I am asking myself
is how can you be in
full control of your car when you are taking pictures
while driving and how
can you write about people going too slow in the left
lane when you jerks
have nothing better to do than to slow down too (in the
middle lane, also
blocating someone) just to find out the other drivers
speed? I'm sorry, but
that seems to be a little incosequent to me...
(Also you guys talking about how bad it is to honk at
people standing while
the light is allready green and on the other hand howl
about going too slow
on the interstate, I don't know...)
I dont exactly know what your problem is because where I
live at (Germany(and
no, I'm not a Nazi)) we are cutting in and
overtaking people even on the
right lane at a speed of far more than 80 mph and there's
no such things as
pull-overs or something and if, that's no problem anyway
because they don't
really mind.
Anyway, nice website, but watch out and don't whine too
much about traffic,
because there's no use for this and otherwise you might
die too early by a
heart collapse caused by too much stress... (I heard all
of you got big cars
with big wooden steering wheels and wooden panels and
huge living room type
leather seats, so just sit back and relax (and always
remember that there's
people driving small italian cars at high speed always
ready to cut in right
in front of you never using any flashing lights or even
seatbelts and always
playing their stereo way loud, man)
sincerely, L.E.
Reply/Comments:
Okay, where do we
begin? I don't think 80 mph is too
fast. Trust me on this one. I don't
think it's too fast.
Once again, we have some dunce who hasn't bothered to
read the FAQ
criticizing me for driving while taking
pictures with a camera. And I have no clue
where he got the idea that I slow down in order to
ascertain the
speed of another vehicle. Of course, he heard
that we all have big cars with wooden steering wheels and
wood panelling with sofas for car seats, so we should
probably take what this guy says with a grain of salt.
Why are you asking
me? And what a stupid question!
From: Jdtails@aol.com
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 1999 23:27:23 EDT
Subject: URL
To: tardboy@techstation.com
How do I get my free yahoo 10 mb web space, I would like
to put on pictures.
Thanks, Jim D.
Reply/Comments:
I don't know why he
decided that I'd be a good person to ask this
question. Nonetheless, I try to be nice and
answered his e-mail. My answer? Try
www.yahoo.com -- Duh!
A bold political
statement...NOT!
Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 17:01:07 -0600
From: rebel <twebster@coosavalley.net>
To: tardboy@techstation.com
Subject: (no subject)
sex is cool.... sucking dick is cool
Reply/Comments:
I believe this one fits
under the "Crackpot" category.
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I need to get a life
again
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000
From: Mike Krupicka <KrupickaM@kfrc.cbs.com>
To: tardboy@techstation.com
Subject: Ya
You have about 2 funny photo's and the rest are lame.
I wish you'd put more effort into that then trying to be
an anal-retentive
self proclaimed driving expert (nice picture of your own
accident!) Your
little anecdotes are making you look like as much as a
joke as the ones you
make fun of. Most of this stuff is just plain
either not funny or require
a real stretch to really care about what apparently
nobody you know cares to
hear you rant and rave about. My suggestion:
get a life or at least more
funny photo's.
Mike
Reply/Comments:
Check out this guy's email
address. This guy is sitting around at work
using his employer's resources
to surf the net and send people flame mail -- in other
words, stealing from his employer -- and he thinks
I need to get a life? Yeah,
that's rich. At least I do this site on my own
time and not my employer's.
Oh and "get a life"? That's so
original, cliché boy. And what's with the
punctuation of "photo's"? Don't
you know how to use an apostrophe? You need to
go back to grade school, moron. You
don't even
have enough brains to send people flame mail from your
own private email address. Then again, maybe
brains has nothing to do with it. Maybe you
just don't have the balls.
I'm politically
incorrect
Date: Fri, 09 Dec 2000
From: David Raeker-Jordan <rkrjrdn@epix.net>
To: tardboy@techstation.com
Subject: Use of 'TARD
I am just writing to ask whether you are aware that
using "'TARD" as short for "retard"
(in your "'Tard
of the Month" segment) is incredibly offensive to
many people (with or without mental retardation) and
their families. It seems that you are merely trying
to poke fun at people on the roadways, but in the
process you also end up insulting and being quite hateful
to a whole group of people in our society and
their families. I doubt you are trying to do the
latter, and so I just wanted to call this to your
attention,
for what it is worth. (Finally and more simply,
most of us outgrew using that word sometime in grade
school.)
Reply/Comments:
Yes, I am aware that the
term "'Tard" is offensive to some people --
ANAL RETENTIVE people. Would you
like some cheese with that whine? But
seriously, out of over 500,000 visitors, I have received
only five
complaints about my use of the term
"'Tard." So at the risk of sounding
insensitive -- I don't care! If you
want to read my expanded comments on this, please read
the FAQ, where this question is also
addressed.
I should just shove it!
The following comments were submitted on Tuesday, September 9, 2003
at 19:35:55
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name: Jean West
E-mail: jean.west@straubdistributing.com
Comment(s): The option to get the free 14 day trial for your RealG
Player is bullshit.
I will not give a credit card (nor will Anheuser-Busch) for a "Free"
trial period.
Take your videos and shove it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply/Comments:
Wow! I didn't realize that I'm the
owner of Real.com! I must be
rich and not even know it! Seriously though,
my videos are coded in RealVideo format, and I provide a link to
Real.com's download page so that people
can download the player if they don't already have it (almost all new
computers already have it pre-loaded
nowadays). Evidently, Real.com is now asking people to leave their
credit card numbers. Personally, I think
that sucks. They didn't use to do that either. I guess
they're getting greedy, or smart, depending on how
you want to look at it. In any case, if you have a bone to pick
with Real.com, pick it with them! What this
ignorant moron expects me to do about the policies of a company that I
don't own or have any affiliation
with is a mystery to me. Mind you, if you look at her e-mail
address and go to her company's website
(www.straubdistributing.com)
it might explain a thing or two. She needs to stop consuming her
company's
product while surfing the net at work.
In response to these and other messages
I've received, I'd like to clarify a few points.
- This is a humor
site!!! Lighten up! I'm not
trying to debate a social issue here.
- Bad drivers exist
everywhere, not just Atlanta.
- I'm not trying to pick on
Atlanta. I take pictures elsewhere too
when I get the chance.
- I actually think that
Atlanta has fairly good drivers compared to other
places I've lived.
- This is not some
"Atlanta Rules, we're so Great"
site. I like other cities too.
- If you think that sucking
dick is cool, good for you. No need to
e-mail me about it!
- Last, but not least, if
you want to criticize, fine. But read the
@#&%! FAQ first!!!
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