Vans are hazardous to reading

owlrigh · 11-14-2009, 06:22 AM

I've started taking an hour lunch break at work with the express purpose of walking down to the nearest park with my ereader to catch up on reading; half hour breaks were barely long enough to chow down my food, fast, before racing off to work.

This morning I did this, curled up beneath a palm on the edge of someone's property, and only got up with reluctance when it was time to go back.

I walked along, still reading, and only noticed at the last moment that I'm about to walk into the back of a van.

"I waiting to see if you'd notice," said the chap who owned the thing, laughing. "I was going to stop you before you actually hit it. Oh, hey, what's that? Is that one of those digital reader things?"

Now, note that I live in Australia, and I've never seen anybody with one of these things to date. One of the reasons I don't sit in the lunchroom and read is that people will come over every few minutes to ask me what it is that I've got, and this grows quickly annoying.

This chap, however, was most keen, and asked for a demonstration of page turns, menu, and asked questions about capacity, glare, and best lighting conditions.

"The Amazon Kindle just got released in Australia," said I; "this one's a Sony, not available here, but there are a few other types you can get if you're interested."

"Bigger than I thought they would be," he said as got into his car.

So hey! Maybe another convert to the ereaders. I didn't think -- I should have given him info about this site! Was late returning, though, and thought about the managers who'd seen me leave and were likely tapping their watches impatiently...

zelda_pinwheel · 11-14-2009, 06:24 AM

tee hee ! i'm glad you avoided hitting the van. but given the outcome i am not sure that you can really claim vans are hazardous to reading. after all, isn't it thanks to the van that maybe you made a new convert ?

kennyc · 11-14-2009, 07:12 AM

Spread the word, brother! Spread the word.

I almost poked my eye out on tree branch yesterday walking and reading at lunch time.... all is fine though, just a scratch on my cheek.

MickeyC · 11-14-2009, 10:07 AM

It's not your fault! It's the van owner's and the tree's fault. People have a right to wander along, mindlessly reading.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Sparrow · 11-14-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by owlrigh

...I walked along, still reading, and only noticed at the last moment that I'm about to walk into the back of a van.

"I waiting to see if you'd notice," said the chap who owned the thing, laughing. "I was going to stop you before you actually hit it. Oh, hey, what's that? Is that one of those digital reader things?"

Now, note that I live in Australia, and I've never seen anybody with one of these things to date.

Sounds like that chap was in the vanguard of Aussie ereading.

zelda_pinwheel · 11-14-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Sounds like that chap was in the vanguard of Aussie ereading.

:GROOOOOAAAANN:

MerLock · 11-14-2009, 11:50 PM

Perhaps it's readers that are dangerous to vans.

owlrigh · 11-15-2009, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

I almost poked my eye out on tree branch yesterday walking and reading at lunch time.... all is fine though, just a scratch on my cheek.

That was a close thing! The number of times I've tripped on something, stepped into holes, or otherwise hurt myself, because I've been reading as I walked along -- too many to count! The times I've hurt myself on my bicycle almost comes close -- and once I did run into the back of a car with my bike! ... now that was embarrassing. And hurt.

owlrigh · 11-15-2009, 04:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Sounds like that chap was in the vanguard of Aussie ereading.

Oh boy :P

owlrigh · 11-15-2009, 04:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MerLock

Perhaps it's readers that are dangerous to vans.

I'm dangerous to vehicles anyway!

kennyc · 11-15-2009, 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Sounds like that chap was in the vanguard of Aussie ereading.

11-14-2009, 06:22 AM	#1
owlrigh Bibliomanist Posts: 99 Karma: 26 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Australia, somewhere Device: [past:PRS-700, PRS-505, PRS-T2] Now: Kobo Glo HD, Samsung G7 Edge	Vans are hazardous to reading I've started taking an hour lunch break at work with the express purpose of walking down to the nearest park with my ereader to catch up on reading; half hour breaks were barely long enough to chow down my food, fast, before racing off to work. This morning I did this, curled up beneath a palm on the edge of someone's property, and only got up with reluctance when it was time to go back. I walked along, still reading, and only noticed at the last moment that I'm about to walk into the back of a van. "I waiting to see if you'd notice," said the chap who owned the thing, laughing. "I was going to stop you before you actually hit it. Oh, hey, what's that? Is that one of those digital reader things?" Now, note that I live in Australia, and I've never seen anybody with one of these things to date. One of the reasons I don't sit in the lunchroom and read is that people will come over every few minutes to ask me what it is that I've got, and this grows quickly annoying. This chap, however, was most keen, and asked for a demonstration of page turns, menu, and asked questions about capacity, glare, and best lighting conditions. "The Amazon Kindle just got released in Australia," said I; "this one's a Sony, not available here, but there are a few other types you can get if you're interested." "Bigger than I thought they would be," he said as got into his car. So hey! Maybe another convert to the ereaders. I didn't think -- I should have given him info about this site! Was late returning, though, and thought about the managers who'd seen me leave and were likely tapping their watches impatiently... Last edited by owlrigh; 11-14-2009 at 06:34 AM. Reason: Typo

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11-14-2009, 06:24 AM	#2
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	tee hee ! i'm glad you avoided hitting the van. but given the outcome i am not sure that you can really claim vans are hazardous to reading. after all, isn't it thanks to the van that maybe you made a new convert ?

11-14-2009, 07:12 AM	#3
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,901 Karma: 119230421 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	Spread the word, brother! Spread the word. I almost poked my eye out on tree branch yesterday walking and reading at lunch time.... all is fine though, just a scratch on my cheek.

11-14-2009, 10:07 AM	#4
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	It's not your fault! It's the van owner's and the tree's fault. People have a right to wander along, mindlessly reading. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

11-14-2009, 11:50 PM	#7
MerLock Evangelist Posts: 411 Karma: 1034889 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: none	Perhaps it's readers that are dangerous to vans.

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