Streetpong [video]

There is a certain perverse nostalgia these days to times before smartphones, before the internet, before the telephone, before technology. Wasn't it great when you were stuck on train without a book, and just had to grin and bear it? Many would argue this builds character. I would argue it's luddite masochism.

The above solution at least allows 2 random people to interact while waiting, which counteracts the isolation tendency IMHO.

Thirty years ago, when I was still a novice at Tu Hieu Pagoda, washing the dishes was hardly a pleasant task. During the Season of Retreat when all the monks returned to the monastery, two novices had to do all the cooking and wash the dishes for sometimes well over one hundred monks. There was no soap. We had only ashes, rice husks, and coconut husks, and that was all. Cleaning such a high stack of bowls was a chore, especially during the winter when the water was freezing cold. Then you had to heat up a big pot of water before you could do any scrubbing. Nowadays one stands in a kitchen equipped with liquid soap, special scrubpads, and even running hot water which makes it all the more agreeable. It is easier to enjoy washing the dishes now. Anyone can wash them in a hurry, then sit down and enjoy a cup of tea afterwards. I can see a machine for washing clothes, although I wash my own things out by hand, but a dishwashing machine is going just a little too far! While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes. At first glance, that might seem a little silly:

Why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that's precisely the point. The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. There's no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves.

http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/G%20-%20TNH/TNH/Fro...

But are you describing a general activity, which you have observed, and which you do not currently possess, in front of you, at the moment? In which case referring to the definite possessive form "they are" is incorrect - who are 'they'? Are you observing this activity immediately?

The correct way to say this sentence: "Germans stop at traffic lights." They're not doing it right now, they're not in front of you - its a general case.

There is a reason to understand and use language properly. I happen to live in a German-speaking country, and this mistake is made often because it is, simply, not taught properly. (I also get my German corrected in the same way, and OFTEN, so lest you feel I'm being curmudgeonly for any reason other than revenge .. ;)

The basic idea regarding vehicle and pedestrian movements is that the system can be entirely pretimed (interval control) or divided up into phases (phase control). The typical idea of operation is that any compatible phases should be able to run concurrently so long as there is time available. During Pedestrian Walk and Clearance time however these phases cannot be forced off or timed out. (Otherwise people could get hit by cars) This limits the amount of time the button can be pressed during a green light and still change the pedestrian signal.