Proud of their Prejudice

I had a right pair of ignorant fools on my bus yesterday.

Both were apparently parents, if the kid and shopping-laden push-chairs were anything to go by.

As you can see from the photo, the WHEELCHAIR bay is clearly marked as such. It is not a pram bay, nor a pushchair bay. It is a wheelchair bay.

The signage clearly states that wheelchairs have priority over prams and pushchairs (or "Baby Buggies" as they are apparently called now. Another Twee Americanism hits the English Language. Ho hum.).

So, we get to a stop where a wheelchair user is waiting to board, and I've a fairly crowded bus to begin with anyhow, so I ask the push-chair owners to please fold their pushchairs so that the wheelchair user can board and travel. They feign ignorance of what I'm asking. So I ask again. One of them hauls their push chair into the corridor - not allowed, it's a safety hazard - and states that she'll put it back behind the wheelchair. No, that's not going to work, I tell her: The wheelchair user MUST have room to get herself out again without hindrance and unaided. They start to argue the toss with me. At this point, I'm ready about to leap out the cab and eject both these ignorant cows out of sheer bloody mindedness, when the wheelchair user, who'd been observing, calls to "forget them, I'll get the next one, and thanks anyhow". The "next one" being a different route, which takes twice as long to get to the town centre.

While the young woman in the wheelchair undoubtedly took a pragmatic and long-suffering view to all this, I frankly don't see why she had to, and was thoroughly disgusted at these individuals masquerading as Humans with Children. In my view, they ought to have been thoroughly ashamed of themselves and their outlandishly selfish, prejudiced behaviour, and told them "I hope you're proud of being so damn prejudiced".

Please, let them complain. With the aid of the video evidence (CCTV footage can be sooooo useful sometimes), I'll (verbally) whack 'em back to the basics of human decency and consideration so fast, it'll make the hair on their heads turn prematurely grey and fall out and then some.

 Now, you might think that there aren't proper signs for this. Wrong. Look right.

And, as if THAT sign isn't enough, there's another right beside it...



Frankly, I've just about had it with ignorant, selfish, half-witted, moronic, arrogant twits like this (and that's mild, compared to what I'd REALLY like to be saying about them. Obscenity laws over here being what they are, I'll have to leave it to the above). The good news is that the other passengers were of a more decent nature, and let these two ***** know what they thought of them, which cheered me right up again *insert massive cheesy grin here*

Oh yeah - these two women, both black, were most effectively summed up by a massive black guy: "You're both prejudiced, you know that? You make me ashamed to be black!"

It was such a poignant and effective comment, bellowed at full tilt, that it stuck in the mind. It also shut everyone on the bus right up, just like that. I never had such a peaceful ride into the town centre for ages!

Problem is, there are many more like those two, from all colours of the spectrum.

And they seem to think that they have a right to be that way, as if the disabled don't matter.

Well, we (and, in fact, half the rest of the world) fought a war over a similar issue back in the 1940s. You may remember what it started with: One man, targeting minorities in his own country (the disabled, the immigrants, and a religion, to name but a few) then other countries, until a world war ensued. We call that "Ethnic Cleansing" these days, and it tends to result in War Crimes Trials in The Hague.

This is WHY we have laws to protect and aid the disadvantaged.

And Wheelchair bays on buses.

So, next time you see an ignorant git with a pushchair denying, in a similar manner, a wheelchair user travel, please, lend an oar. Ask them WHY they're so damn prejudiced.

I guarantee, it'll make waves, but we might actually learn how these small-minded selfish and prejudiced gits think - and eventually, who knows, maybe, just maybe, they'll learn to be a bit more considerate to others?

What the ****?!

Simple enough - is he collecting for charity, or Cain Hill's latest inmate-in-waiting?!

Not exactly driving related...

I was chatting to the better half earlier, and the subject of movies and pub quizzes came up. Seems my pub quiz for her to run at the pub the other day was a tad too hard for one of the regulars, who threw a cushion at her in frustration (it was good natured, for all that, so no harm done). I replied that it must have been the references to various movies, and the conversation meandered about a bit until "Pulp Fiction" came up...

... and that's when the two watt bulb over my head illuminated, and I visualised a couple of characters from that movie in a pub setting... think of the scene where John Travolta (playing 'Vincent Vega') and Samuel L. Jackson (playing 'Jules Winnfield') are selecting weapons from the trunk (Boot) of their car. the scene opens as they open the trunk, viewed from inside the trunk, looking up and out, at them... it's a method of filming that apparently become known as the "Tarantino Trunk Shot". So, imagine the Tarantino Trunk Shot applied to the pub business...

In this fake scene, we have Mr. Bitter, played by Tarantino himself, in the persona of the pub landlord...

Mr. Stout is naturally Harvey Kaitel, in the persona of The Cleaner from Pulp Fiction, "Winston 'The Wolf' Wolfe"... let the comedy commence...!

Black screen. Voices fade in from off screen, somewhat muffled, as if by cushions, getting louder.

Bitter
Yeah, we got someone cheap to do the job. Big mistake. Made a hell of a mess.

Stout
No kidding. Coulda toldja that'd happen. Cheap means amateur, after all.

Bitter
I'm not kidding, there was cleaning fluid all over the place!

Picture clears from the bottom, as the lid is lifted off the seat from where we view Bitter and Stout looking down at us, into the seat.

Stout
(pulling a facial expression of abject replusion)

Gagh-! You weren't kidding! That's disgusting!

Bitter
(in a resigned tone of voice, wincing as he reaches into the seat, off-screen over the top of the camera, and lifts out a stack of beer mats literally dripping green coloured thick glutinous cleaning fluid onto the camera)

Yeah. Tell me about it. There ain't a dry beer mat in the joint, and we open in half an hour.

It got my better half laughing, which was the main reason for doing it, so job done, then :-)

Hope you enjoyed it as much as my better half did ;-)

It's Saturday...

Saturday, as any professional driver will tell you, is actually Sunday, in a not too cunning disguise.

How do we know this?

Easy. From the sheer number and quality - or lack thereof - of amateur drivers, pulling incredibly insane and/or stupidly dangerous stunts in close proximity to buses.

Like the muppit behind the wheel of a mid-green Mondeo-sized car, S 578 NKV, who, tired of tailgating my bus, decided to overtake - on the trailing side zigzag lines of a zebra crossing just as the road went under a railway bridge, with narrowing carriageway and parked cars on the left, as well as a concealed road to the right, both smack-dab after the bridge, - *right as the road began to narrow*, causing me to have to brake hard to avoid a wedging style collision, while sounding the horn, and probably yelling something rather strongly profane. Lucky, then, that it was at around seven am, and that there was stuff all else on the road, and that my passenger loading was exceedingly light (maybe five passengers).

Needless to say, Mr. Gormless, of Number zero, Muppet Street, Idiottown, Nobrainshire, ZZ1 2ZZ, sped off down the road, without a backward glance or even acknowledgement that he screwed the pooch something horrid.

If you're reading this, pal, would you care to tell us why you pulled such a bone-headed stunt?

Self-Important Scatologic Crania...

It really is turning into one of *those* days, today. First, we get the punter from hell, who, probably like his idiot parents before him, has no concept of the phrase "timetable", or "Scheduled Service", and seems to believe that the bus, if he yells loudly enough at the driver, will somehow achieve light speed (however impossible that may be).

Further, when he eventually does want to get off the bus at a request stop, he waits until the bus has passed the stop, and blames the driver for missing the stop with much use of profane, insulting, and frankly thoroughly disgusting language that is in no way suitable for the young - or anyone else, come to that - to hear.

I've searched high and low for a suitably Latin definition for folks like these, and finally found it: "Caput stercoris".

I'd do a search for English-Latin online translation, if you want to know exactly what it means ;-)

In any case, one often wonders if they are the product of the low end of the gene pool, or the rejected matter thereof...

Now these are truly strange trains!

A little while ago, Transport for London (TfL), bought into a train franchise. Naturally, as it's within the London area, it's called London Overground. And very swish these trains, and their infrastructure, are. Everything's nice, fresh, clean, and still has the "New from the workshop" feeling for the trains, and "New from the builder" feeling for the stations (where they've completely renovated them, that is).

Up until very recently, I could use the buses, trams, and Tube (London Underground), but since the London Overground hadn't been extended to my area, hadn't used it - the service was only available in north London, or from Clapham Junction in South West London. However, since they extended the service to the south east London area a short time ago (West Croydon being the southern-most point), and I wanted to visit a shop in central London, I decided to use my staff pass and save some money, by using the new service, rather than paying for a train ticket on new Southern region. Makes sense, really, even if the trip winds up being about twice as long. what the hell, it's free, it's new, and I like a mystery tour every so often...

What spaced my mind, though, was the layout of the rolling stock (the trains). See the photo on the left. Instead of individual carriages, strung together, separated by doors, with rows of forward and rearward facing seats, you've got a completely open-plan train, much like the Croydon Tramlink carriages, but with a single row of bench-seats on either side of the carriages.

Yes, it feels nice and roomy.

Yes, I'm sure they're a dream to clean quickly and easily.

Yes, I'm sure you can fit many more cattle - I mean commuters - in them during the rush hour.

I'm also well aware that these things could save me money in train fares, as I go to visit the better half regularly by Public Transport, than the car (saving me ooodles of cash a month, my staff pass is!)

But, and bear in mind it's a bloke saying this, who's got a fair handle on how to handle himself in a pinch - I'm damned if I'm going to travel in them after dark, given that the route of the trains takes them through some of the most deprived - and violent crime-ridden - areas of London. It'll be far too bloody easy for a gang of steamers to run rabid down the train, mugging all and sundry in sight, as has been done in the past. It'd be bloody asking for trouble. And I've always been taught that the first way to avoid trouble, is to keep away from it, after all.

Now, with that all said and done above, it is, I will admit, a rare event these days, for steaming to happen, in these days of in-your-face CCTV, but crime's still there, and doesn't look like it's going to go away any time soon, dammit.

So, given that I'm liable to be very encumbered with luggage the next few times I use the train, and bearing in mind the advice I was given (avoid trouble where possible) it looks like I'll be spending money on train fares for a while yet.

Dammit.

"We aren't going noplace, guv - me cab's broken down!"

Oops! Just what a taxi driver DOESN'T want - especially when he's stopped on a bus stop!

Quick update...

Jeroen, over at the EDCForums, told me that Flashaholics have apparently taken delivery recently of a lot of Maxpedition kit.

Since I just ordered a Jumbo at a UK store (Flashaholics, if you're curious) when I read your post, I thought it best to check with them concerning availability. According to them, they have no problem at all getting supplies, and they just took delivery of a large shipment of Maxp stuff.

I know you're not planning on getting Maxpedition stuff, so consider this an FYI for other people who may be following this thread :).

Jeroen

So, if you're not bothered by what's been alleged, by all means, nip over there; they carry a few bits and pieces of that gear there.

Update time....

OK, while I'm waiting for my account over at the EDC Forums to be validated/approved/flattened with a rubber stamp (or whatever it is they do over there), I chatted to a retailer (who will remain nameless for the moment - he wasn't exactly plugging his own stock, but he'll get a plug for his advice soon ;)) over here. Seems that getting MaxP stuff over here is currently difficult, at best. Apparently, the wholesaler deal was revoked, and MaxP took back the UK wholesale business... Result: Yet more delays on getting stock in the UK.

We then talked about the various options, and I briefly went over the choices I'm looked at. I was told in no uncertain terms that the BHI bag was the "biggest of the lot". I've still got misgivings over it though: For one thing, there's no method of securing the sides at the top when the lid's closed - things look like they could drop out, which is not ideal in any shape or form. If BHI were to add an under-flap draw-string storm neck closure to their Tactical handbag (as done on the MaxP Jumbo bag), it'd be a great incentive for me to buy one.

I've also looked at the purely civvy man bags out there on the web: I'm none too impressed, to be honest. By my reckoning, I need, including the blister pouches and drink container capacity, about 6 to 7 litres of capacity in whatever bag I get. For the "tacticool" look, thus far, I thought only the Jumbo gave that, but I'm now told the BHI Tactical Handbag (what I will now call the THB) has that. Civvy kit-wise, I'm looking at a blasted messenger - or Pizza - bag, and remembering my earlier comments, that's just a non-starter. Even a laptop bag's out, as it screams "Expensive stealable gear inside!", and one of the ideas here is to try to keep a semi to low profile.

It's a tricky one, to be sure... More thinking and research is indicated here...

On the plus side, I saw a civvy-style bag that made me chuckle a bit (the Police line tape), which, capacity and features-wise, came close... It's a nice bag to be sure, definitely has the right amount of storage capacity, but, and these are big buts, first off, it's a Pizza Bag style of bag, and it's got no external pouch for drinks (meaning you have to open up the massive messenger flap at the front to get at the stuff inside); in addition, it's a non-rigid bag, meaning that fragile items - such as one's very expensive smartphone - could get broken if the bag bounces off a lamp post, corner, or other hard object by accident. So, while it may be nice for some of you (hence the Amazon link to the right), it's not, regrettably for me. The search goes on, anyhow :)

hmm... always happens...

well, no sooner do I post my preferred choice of man bag, than I come across this thread over on the EDC forums...

http://edcforums.com/showthread.php/54279-Maxpedition

Not very good reading for Maxpedition. Granted, it's two years old, but there's apparently no apology apparent, no resolution apparent for the offence, and thus no apparent closure to the sorry tale.

The really chilling post in the thread is this one, where the forum owner was apparently threatened merely for asking questions. I'm therefore holding off on any purchase, until I've revisited what possible choices I have that exclude a manufacturer whose management exhibits such apparent and blatant bully-boy tactics. I've suffered such behaviour from a previous employer many years ago, and wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Time for a decent capacity man Bag...!

Well... having finally managed to coax a fresh locker key from the deputy guv'nor at my depot, to replace the one that was nicked with me cash tray when I was on nights a fair few months back (um... 12 months plus, if I recall correctly!), so I should soon be able to stop lugging around a damn daysack all the time!

So... what do I carry when I'm at work?

Quite a hell of a lot, actually. Surprised the hell out of me when I listed it a while back...

1. Current daysack, and it's starting to get a hole in the bottom!
2. SPITKIT (DNA swab kit in case we have to collect the muck from someone spitting at us at work. Now I've got access to my locker again, this is held at the depot.)
3. A small Personal First Aid kit
   (If I don't carry it, I'll damn well need it. Sod's law and all that!)
4. Cash Tray
   (Now I've got access to my locker again, this is held at the depot).
5. MEDALERT sheet in plastic zip-lock wallet with spare repeat prescription order sheets
6. Rite-in-the-Rain spiral notepad
7. High-Visibility vest
   (Now I've got access to my locker again, this is held at the depot).
8. Glasses case with spare glasses and lens cloths
9. Big Red Book
   (a reference manual for all London Bus Drivers. Mine's a bit tatty these days. Gotta ask for a fresh one!)
10. Moleskin notebook
11. Portable phone re-charger
    (battery-like device with a separate mains recharger unit as well)
12. A5 clipboard
    (for use with daily Duty card, Vehicle Report Card, and Log card. Makes it easier to do the paperwork on the job. Now I've got access to my locker again, this is held at the depot.)
13. Mini-maglite torch
    (doing the mandatory walk around a bus when taking it over from the previous driver in the dark is much easier with a torch, after all)
14. Pens and pencils
15. Shoe and boot laces.
    (You never know when you'll need the damn things!)
16. Dextrose (Glucose) tablets. Getting tired is NOT an option!
17. Emergency piezoelectric squeeze light, TfL (Transport For London) supply item.
18. Gloves
19. Card and pass wallet
20. Lens cleaning solution pump spray bottle
21. Spare batteries for the torch and camera
    (4 x AA size)
22. Wallet
23. HTC Touch Pro 2 Smartphone
    (yep, still on Vodafone, in case you were wondering!)
24. Tee Key
    (a drop-forged "T"-shaped key about the size of a pair of smallish pliers, used to gain access to various lockers, doors, and hatches on a bus that the general public shouldn't mess with!)
25. Bus ignition key, locker key, and self-retracting key cord clip
26. Business card wallet

NOT Shown:

• Headphones/mike for the phone
  (wired, not bluetooth)
• Home keys
• My daily prescription meds
  (enough for two days)
• Gerber Multi-Tool
  (always handy to tighten someones nuts - I mean a loose bolt on a bus!)
• Digital camera
  (Blog and incidents for the use of)
• Pocket tissues
  (You would not believe how dusty it is on the roads over here)
• Customer Service Pad
  (A yellow and white chit book, distressed/non-paying punters for the use of)
• Water bottle
  (VERY essential what with the hot weather over here of late)

So, less the cash tray, high-vis vest, SPITKIT, "special items", and clipboard, almost all the rest of it goes with me wherever I go, either in the ruck, or more normally in a very big bum bag that's a right royal pain.

Well, that's the lot. That's my every day carry, as some call it, and what a load it is too. This fits into belt pouches, pockets, and a rucksack. Since I can trim down the major bulk items now, it's time to rationalise what I carry to and from work and home... so, having had me birthday a couple of days back, it's time to treat myself :)

Time, in other words, for a decent-sized Man Bag :)

Over the last few months, I've concluded that a messenger bag, while being fine and dandy for messenger and student types, just didn't cut the mustard for me (I tried one. What a disaster: I couldn't find a damn thing I wanted, it all kept falling down the bottom of the bag!). The daysack I currently use is getting there, but is heavy with the mass of crud I carry (see the list above), and it's not wearing too well - the bottom's getting well worn :(

The Specifications and Main Contenders...

So, whatever bag I get will be subjected to a fair bit of hard use, so it's gonna have to be a bag designed for that kind of use. There should be external pouches - blister pouches - that make it easy to get at regular use items easily, but which keep those items reasonably securely. Internal pockets should have dedicated spaces for such things as keys, pens, notebooks, and so on, and all should be secured reasonably safely and effectively. in addition, the bag should offer a measure of mild impact protection to its' contents, and that means robust materials should be used in its construction - 1000 denier thickness ballistic nylon as a minimum. Unfortunately, that means the specifications will have to be militarily robust, and that realistically means expensive kit. It also limits the available manufacturers a fair bit - British manufacturers would be preferred, but they don't do civvy - or military come to that - kit to that specifications requirement. The yanks, on the other hand, do. Which leaves the list as follows:

• Maxpedition Jumbo S-Type
  (I prefer carrying this stuff on my left. Don't ask why, I just do: MaxP do a version of their Jumbo versipack in southpaw carry (i.e., carry it on the left hip, not the right), hence S-Type).
  
  
• Royal Robbins 5.11 PUSH pack
  
  Forget the gun butt in the photo. It's an American thing. The most lethal thing I'm likely to carry around is a rather poor attitude to the weather ;-)
  
• Blackhawk "Tactical Handbag"
  
  

There may be others, but these are the ones that stood out as meeting my general requirements for the capacity I need, the mode of carry I prefer (cross-shoulder-strap hip carry), and materials used in their construction.

MaxP...

The one that stands head and shoulders above the others is the MaxP Jumbo S-Type, not just because it meets my southpaw carry preference, but it's features are also far and above those offered by the other two, what with the way the pouches are places and the way in which they are accessed, but in the thought that has gone into making the bag so user-friendly - also, note the storm cover on the main section -0 that's right, it's got draw string closure - which will help keep loose items IN the bag, not slipping out of it. Nice touch. MaxP have a history of good robust design, and they've supplied both civilian and military alike for many years now, gaining consistent respect and high praise for their equipment.

5.11...

Royal Robbins made their name selling hard-use tactical clothing to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation - their "tactical pants" are apparently basic issue kit at the FBI Acadamy at Quantico, and they're well-respected by both civilian and military agencies across the globe. I've already got one of their tactical load bags, which I use for a weekend bag, and what an excellent bit of kit it is too.

So, the 5.11 PUSH Pack was a definite contender based on previous experience, until I saw what they offered for the drinks pouch and blister (external) pouches. The one on the MaxP Jumbo is much better than the one on the 5.11 PUSH pack, and the BHI Tactical Handbag doesn't even have that, merely an after-thought mesh pocket on the side that's well exposed. The main problem with the drinks pouch on the PUSH pack is that it's designed to be collapsible into a zip-up pouch; getting caught on a sharp corner or snag on a bus, and that's a pouch ripped off. More to the point, continued zipping and unzipping would weaken the construction through the stresses and strains of extended usage, eventually rendering the pouch useless: It's happened to me before with military issue kit, and with other civvy kit I've bought in the past. That's my view, not anyone else's, by the way, and please note that I'm going by the photos, not physical examination - there are very few places over here that I can actually get to see this kind of stuff in the flesh, and then, not all together at once to compare them side-by-side, so I may be well off target in my assessment; never the less, it's what I can see that I have to base my judgement on, so that's that.

BHI...

I've also used BHI gear in the past: It's reasonably robust, and does what it says on the tin. At first however, the BHI offering also looks to be a slightly modified design of ALICE Webbing Butt pack, to be brutally honest, and that wasn't a good start - things tend to bounce around in those writ large, there being no dedicated slots or internal pouches in the ALICE Butt Pack.

However, having seen the photo of the Tactical handbag (God, what a horrendous name for it! With all the imagination they've had in the past in naming their gear, they couldn't come up with a more cool-sounding name than "Tactical handbag"?!) over at "8th Regiment Armoury", I was a little more impressed, but the lack of available blister pouches and stowage spaces in this pack was unfortunately limited, so it was also a 'no go' on the BHI pack, which is a shame, as I generally quite like their kit.

Army Surplus...

This brings me to another point that was suggested by a few mates of mine - old military kit. Yep, in principle, that's a damn good idea. The main problem is that those bits of gear don't have the features I want, tend to be camouflaged, so are no good for work or casual wear, and so we're back to the Jumbo S-Type and the PUSH pack. The PUSH pack, while having the capacity, was edged out on the features side, even though it was cheaper. However, remember that if you compromise on cost, you loose out on what you want, and this is a pack that I'm going to be using on a daily basis, so don't want to worry about it not meeting my very picky and stubborn needs, so the specification requirements stand.

The final selection...

So, by a paper sift process of elimination, it's the MaxP Jumbo S-Type that I'll be going for.

And that's where the problems started.

Uh-Oh... here we go again...

I LIKE the instant gratification you get when you buy something in person. However, that tends to be pricey for specialised kit like the above, so realistically, I'm looking at the internet to buy this thing.

I found them over on Amazon.com, but for some bloody weird reason that I frankly cannot see the common sense in, they won't ship this kit to the UK, and while the normal version of the Jumbo pack is available through Amazon.co.uk, the S-Type is not, dammit. Which means that I have to pay the bloody stupidly expensive prices UK retailers stick on - which more often than not results in the dollar sign being swapped for a pound sign.

I'm still looking at retailers, on both sides of the pond, anyhow. I'll post an update when I eventually get the bag ordered.

It's official: TomTom - Third party POI Alerts R Not Us

Well, here's a great big honking surprise. Not.

Having just read the article over at Pocket GPS World (click for article in a new window), I can't really say I'm too surprised. It's about TomTom, after all.

TomTom's ability to accept 3rd party POI lists that you could tailor an alert to, was a major selling point - indeed, it was why the first satnav package that I ever bought for my smartphone a few years back was made by TomTom.

Then their customer services went over a cliff, plunging groundwards as if propelled by rockets.

First, they failed to reply to enquiries; then, they failed to update mapping - even if a fee was required. Then they failed - nay, refused - to update the software, with the "read between the lines" comments being that software piracy was obviously to blame for a loss of sales - what utter and complete rot. It was their failure to maintain and update the software for smartphones that was the cause of the loss of sales: Common sense would have told them that, had they paid attention.

Then, when a major manufacturer (HTC) released a brand new smartphone, they up and generated a bundled version for the German Market release of that phone only, tied to one network.

The release was then widened to a couple more models of phone (still a bundled release), and eventually,and grudgingly, released to retail: It was still a generation behind their stand alone Personal Navigation Device (PND) releases, however.

Now, yet again, TomTom's institutional arrogance seems to have no limits. Having captured a significant proportion of the market with their support for 3rd party POI warning-capable lists with easily adjustable warning features (distance to warning, sound used, and so on) - NOT just speed cameras, but such things as supermarket, petrol stations, banks, Cash machines, and Post Office locations, which many folks find exceedingly useful on a daily basis, TomTom have apparently decided that we cannot be trusted to use such a feature responsibly. They said:

TomTom has stopped supporting 3rd party POI proximity warning sounds in speed camera products

For a DUTCH company to make a read-between-the-lines comment like this is gob-smackingly astounding - The Netherlands are supposed to be a haven for liberal views and thinking. Not for TomTom any more, it seems. Well, OK, they have a right to form their own opinions: It's a relatively free world, after all.

But for TomTom to have the arrogance of then removing a previously free feature that helped to sell their products, by a read-between-the-lines comment that we cannot be trusted to use this feature responsibly, is totally unacceptable. The era of Nanny-Life-Management is over, TomTom. Wake up: We're adults, not children.

It's more likely, frankly, that in developing new versions of the package, they want to simplify the software, thus reducing the development costs. I can follow that line of thinking a damn sight more understandably. We're in the midst of a depression, after all.

In short though, it's yet another damn good reason to tell TomTom go take a long hike off a short pier.

I'm sure their own POI lists will warn them in time that they're going to have to brake hard to avoid going off the pier, after all...