On Mon, 08 Feb 2016 11:48:38 +0000, Tim Streater
wrote:

In article , T i m
wrote:

On Mon, 8 Feb 2016 10:07:17 -0000, "NY" wrote:

snip

When I use a satnav I always first glance at the intended route and the
distance/time estimates to make sure that they are sensible. Whether it's a
long journey or a fairly local one, I would never just set off; I'm often
curious about "I wonder which way it will take me". In other words, I have a
fairly good idea of how to get to my destination but use the satnav to make
sure I don't miss any crucial junctions and as a time/distance countdown
("ah, I'm now 10 miles / 10 minutes from journey's end").

Yup and I think the old fashioned term for all of that is 'Having your
wits about you'. ;-)

Well quite.

I also have the feeling that many people these days have no sense of
danger. So they wade into the 3ft deep swollen stream and get swept
away.

I wonder how much of this is down to kids not being exposed to smaller
risks as they used to? You only had to fall out of a tree to realise
you probably wouldn't survive when drunk on some scaffolding or
faffing about on your hotel balcony. Or (as you say later) wading in a
stream or brook and possibly being washed onto your ass (not to your
death) taught most of us a good lesson? Getting a shock of an HT lead
taught us we probably didn't want one off a mains cable. Coming off a
cycle or moped taught us we probably didn't want to do so on anything
bigger.

My SiL on a trip to a glacier near Chamonix, reachable by
mountain train and then cable car (this was 35 years ago or so). Steps
out on the ice and goes arse over. Then says people shouldn't be
allowed on it. Er hello - ice is slippery!

Maybe they should have put a sign out to that effect, they seem to do
so for everything else these days?

'Caution, this coffee may be hot'

Cheers, T i m