Random Thoughts
Welcome to my musings about Life the Universe and Everything. I may find things interesting and post them here.
**Right up front -- these posts IN NO WAY reflect the opinions or policies of my employer in ANY WAY. They're mine. They're random, and may or may not reflect a mood or opinion. Seriously, this content is for entertainment and informational purposes only.**

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- Written by: ianglang
- Category: Random Thoughts
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The overhead hatches are typically only checked as to whether they pop open and closed to the locked positions, due to training methods in various companies. At the past three companies I've worked for, they only use them as a peekaboo to see whether the strobe light on the top of the bus is working correctly.
What's supposed to happen, since they're actually full-on emergency exits, is that they require signage, open 90 degrees and have an alarm sound.
Read more: How to Use and Check a School Bus Overhead Hatch - Pretrips

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- Written by: ianglang
- Category: Random Thoughts
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I play 5e Dungeons and Dragons. I create adventures and settigns. I do fantasy cartography for it. My new thing I guess, is that I'm also going to make Virtual Tabletop maps.
Along with the core books for 1e, 3.5e, 4e, and thanks to my brother, D&D Next rules, I also have Rifts, Car Wars, Star Trek, and a couple of other RPGS as well. That includes Basic and Expert editions too. I don't have the original dice anymore though. (sadface)

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- Written by: ianglang
- Category: Random Thoughts
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As a Blogging platform, Joomla makes a great choice for security and peace of mind. It might not be the world's most popular platform, but if you're looking to not get hacked as much, this is the way to go. You can handle user management well if you have guest bloggers and the whole thing just works.
With this site, Pretty much the only plugin I'm running is an upgraded editor, which adds significant features to my editing of documents (here with Joomla, they're called Articles). Add Grammarly or some similar service, and your posts will totally rock.

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- Written by: ianglang
- Category: Random Thoughts
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Thanks to an observant trainer and a professional associate driver for correcting an unintentional misunderstanding for me today. With the amount of confusion Googling the information, I felt I should put this in a blog post for anyone who needs it for reference.
The situation was that I mistakenly understood that when a School Bus is on one side of a clearly divided roadway with their red lights engaged, that on the other side of the divide, it was ok to proceed with caution. In other provinces, this is an acceptable practice, however, that it's not permitted, specifically in Nova Scotia.
**To those of you coming into the province from other ones, this is a VERY important change in your driving habits that might fly under the radar.
Read more: School Bus - Red Lights and When/Where to Stop (in NS, Canada)

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- Written by: ianglang
- Category: Random Thoughts
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I operate like this.
- I take care of myself (mental and physical health) first, over all else. This sometimes causes delays, but it makes for a better product in the end.
- I make sure I do it right the first time, to the best of my ability with followup and follow through. If I don't make time to do it right the first time, I won't have time the second time around either.
- I'd rather my clients learned from what I do for them and attempt it on their own first. I'm always available to help if they get stuck.
- I'm not a mind reader, but I try to make things as attuned to the person/business as possible.
- I accept all responsibility and will go above and beyond if I make a mistake.
- I still believe in a handshake, but also understand that if it's not in writing, it doesn't exist.

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- Written by: ianglang
- Category: Random Thoughts
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I just found this post, buried deep within the archives here and I think it dates back to the early 2000's when I was commuting 2.5 hours each way to work and home through 16 lanes of 401 traffic during rush hour... in a standard diesel. I found it to be a funny look at how I used to be and the mental immaturity that I displayed at that time. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then.
Hey A%$#hole driver..
You probably think I'm the moron. *WRONG!* You must be special because I don't give everyone the finger. Well, let me explain why I gave you the finger or otherwise pissed you off.