Posted on Sat, 05/17/2008 - 06:39 — by Feklhr
Amen, Carol. I am usually an extremely tolerant person, but those speakers rattle me down to some internal reptilian part of my brain. Like you, I want to stop the sensation even at the risk of my life. I once walked a block and a half to ask someone to turn down the volume that was rattling my house windows. When he refused, I suggested that perhaps if I started kicking in his door panels, he'd realize I was serious. Maybe there is an officer or police official that could tell us what we could do in the future that is a bit more constructive. Perhaps jotting down license plates? Following them with our cell phone hands free device dialed to the non-emergency police number? Thank you for letting me know I'm not alone in my frustrations.
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Joined: Mar 2008
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I agree wholeheartedly with this article, but . . . "sound decimals"?! Uhm . . . DECIBELS.
//Paging Melvil Dewey. Melvil Dewey to the white courtesy phone, please!
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Is that what it says? Decimals? I can't get the article to open. It keeps asking me for Smokey's password.
Melvil, huh? After all these years I finally learned what Dewey's first name was. Yeah, Melvil Decimal System doesn't really roll off the tongue very well.
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Yep-yep, Bazooka . . . this is the paragraph in which it's contained, close to the bottom of the article:
"I realize that police officers can't be everywhere at the same time, and that there just aren't enough of them to catch everyone. It would make a lot of sense to me, to pass out devices that can register sound decimals to responsible citizens to catch the offenders. I know lots of us that would like to record this information and pass it back to the police departments."
And . . . I hadda Google Dewey's first name, LOL!
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I didn't even know this thread had started when I made a post in the forums titled "NAACP to discuss Section 8 with Antioch" a few minutes ago. This topic has been one of my crusades for years and I hope we can keep it going for a while. Threads on this topic have started in the past and whimpered out due to lack of interest.
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It's the age old argument of who's harrassing who? The one blasting the loud music, or the one complaining about it? Since the voice of the people complaining sound like a whimper compared to the sound of amplified mega base subwoofer systems, the loudest one usually wins in these kinds of "decimal" wars.
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Well, I'm from the era of the radio. But it seems to me someone with technology abilities is missing a great opportunity. We have ability to know if there are police with radar nearby. Why can't someone invent a device that will scramble a loud stereo and make it non-usable. You just aim the device at the offending car and the stereo goes kaput. Aside from that a bazooka(joe) gun might work.
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Oh, I LOVE that suggestion, Smokey! (The scrambler, not the bazooka . . . although I certainly understand the temptation; grrrrrr.)
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I absofreakin'lutely cannot staaaaaaaand hearing that gawdawful boom-boom "music" blasting everybody from blocks away. At least with cars, most of them eventually move out of range (though, granted . . . to continue irritating countless others). If it's coming from a neighbor's house, however, you can't get away from it. Well, ya could, if you left to run errands or something, but that's not an especially convenient solution.
Most people who insist on disturbing the peace this way are *not* amenable to requests to turn it down, hence the need to get the police involved (and what a waste of their resources to have to babysit the offenders). Even that is not a sure-fire solution, since the culprits often turn up the volume again once the cops are out of ear-shot.
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I see a lot of city streets with weeds growing through asphalt cracks. If they are having trouble getting the offenders on exceeded decimal levels, can they get them for damaging property and send them a bill for repaving the streets? Sometimes you can feel the road vibrating below you. Seems if it cracks under the stress of the sound vibrations, it's not the asphalt's phalt. Once the weeds growing through the cracks reach 3 inches, you could get them on blight charges!
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And I truly hate changing the subject...but when is the city going to rid the median on Buchanan of all the weeds growing there. Or is this the new landscaping worthy of our neighborhood down by the ghetto? I doubt they would be there this long if it was in SEAntioch.
Okay I am through ranting--back to the cows.
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Not Cows here. Booming car stereos is the theme! (Stoney you were right, boombox threads do whimper out fast).
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Yeah and when it comes to this topic, I'm afraid my sense of humor fades as well.
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Sorry Stoney, having a senior moment. LOL
Now, back to the loud stereos.
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That's ok Smokey, the background music is probably very distracting.
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I wiki'd Dewey too. It says he shortened his name to Melvil from his birth name Melville. He could have laid claim to having hundreds of small towns across America and one big city in Australia named after him! Dewey, what were you thinking????? Somebody probably tried to tell him one day in the library and Dewey probably shhhh'd him before he could get the words out!
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Ah! I thought "Melvil" was a durn weird spelling . . .
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I agree with the rest of you wholeheartedly about this issue. If the music is so loud that your windows are all rattling, you know the driver in the car can't be in a normal state to be able to tolerate it. Watch them drive sometime. You don't even have to watch for very long for it to become crystal clear that they're impaired in some way. There are laws on the books to deal with this, and I say give APD carte blanche to write the tickets for this. It's one thing most citizens are unreservedly supportive about. Once the stop is done for the noise, there's a lot more to be found. Go for it!
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I've talked to Chief Hyde about this a couple of times as well as Captain Cantando and a few other members of the police force. I've written to a few council members about it. Captain Cantando says he loves writing citations for loud stereos and the officers do have the go ahead to do likewise but It's tough to enforce and as we all know, there are more serious issues for the police to contend with. There actually was a change to the noise ordinance in the works to make it stricter but with the fiasco that followed the boat/RV thing, I'm guessing the city got a bit gun shy about any more ordinance changes.
I think the only solution to this is going to be near to impossible, and that's to get these kinds of sound systems outlawed. I'm not an attorney but I'm guessing that that's a pipe dream. Unfortunately it will probably take some serious confrontations with people ending up injured or worse before the authorities start taking this more seriously. I know I've come close to probably falling into that situation. We all have different tolerance levels for different things. I read a study a few years ago about how different noises affect different people. Some of us are just wired in a way that this loud low frequency THUMP THUMP literally drives us crazy. Our blood pressure goes up and even those who don't think it bothers them are being affected subconsciously. It's a health issue and shouldn't be laughed off.
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It has been determined, both by researchers here and in Britain, that people who drive cars with ego speakers are 20 TIMES more likely to engage in other anti-social offenses. My point: they're announcing themselves and their location. Target them, cite them, search their cars and cite them for what they find... and then confiscate the cars.
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The California Vehicle Code section:
27007. No driver of a vehicle shall operate, or permit the operation of, any sound amplification system which can be heard outside the vehicle from 50 or more feet when the vehicle is being operated upon a highway, unless that system is being operated to request assistance or warn of a hazardous situation. This section does not apply to authorized emergency vehicles or vehicles operated by gas, electric, communications, or water utilities. This section does not apply to the sound systems of vehicles used for advertising, or in parades, political or other special events, except that the use of sound systems on those vehicles may be prohibited by a local authority by ordinance or resolution.
FYI, The City of Antioch does have a Muni Code that also addresses this issue.
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You are quite right. Now try getting this law enforced. We're not having much luck... please let this forum know if you have better luck.
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That's the CVC Code... ask them if they enforce it.
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East County. Boom Box Central. I boom out my Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto I in response to the Boom Boxers. It's freedom of speech ergo, I can be part of the conversation. The Boom Boxers' reactions vary...
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Tchaikovsky is an excellent choice, Alphagran. I been known to try Igor (It’s pronounced EYE-GOR, stoney4) Stravinsky. What I really want to find is a CD entitled “Greatest Hits of the Theremin”. I think that would really have a high annoyance factor to the people who play their music too loud. Unfortunately, my husband and I have to put our money into things other than a sound system, so we usually lose the noise wars.
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Bagpipes, Polka, yodeling, Barry Manilow's greatest hits, "Loving You" by Minnie Riperton, "Guitarzan" by Ray Stevens. The possibilities are endless.
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You're putting Barry Manilow in the same class as bagpipes, polka, and yodeling?
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Not just any old Manilow, his greatest hits. You know, the Platinum Collection.
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Yeah, but who wants to drive around all day listening to Bagpipes, Polka, Yodeling, Manilow, Ripperton, or Guitarzan - whatever the hell that is? Who in their right mind would blast that just so you can irritate other people? Doesn't that make you one of the guys you are complaining about? The difference too, is the other guys like the loud music they are playing. I'm not going to drive around all day listening to Roll Out The Barrel! You can, but I'm not! You might as well get a job pushing an ice cream cart and listen to Pop Goes the Weasel and Turkey in the Straw. At least you might make some money as you go around irritating people.
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Don't they have car stereos that just blast the sound outward into other vehicles and homes to piss people off, and you can play something more tolerable on the inside speakers for yourself? Sometimes it seems that way.
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Posts: 1974
I guess you could mount the speakers on the outside of your car, but what if the guys you are trying to piss off think they sound good. Won't they just steal them? Then someday they might use them against you or somebody else. I don't think fighting fire with fire is a good idea. It never works. I'd rather just do what I always do, cringe and bear it.
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Something like this that you could place up there temporarily and be sure to broadcast your intended "message" (whether it be bagpipes, polka or Manilow) to all who are in earshot. If you had some nice music playing inside, you could possibly still enjoy yourself. Stoney has been cringing and bearing it enough.
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Posts: 1974
Yeah, those are nice. Probably wouldn't get stolen either because they're not as fashionable as the newer slimline flush mounted speakers they've been installing in cars built after 1957. Those might actually go good with Stoney's VW bus. So what if the wind resistance means you won't get as good gas mileage? Gas is cheap enough.
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Ok, they might be a little old. But you could always drive around and announce: "Emergency, Emergency, Everybody To Get From Street!"
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ROTFLMAO! Ha, Ha, how'd you remember that line? That was a while ago. "The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!" was such a great movie!
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Posts: 494
A man was throwing bricks at cars on Country Hills last night. Think maybe he snapped and said, "I'm not going to take it anymore!"
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Posts: 1974
Bricks? Where did he get bricks to throw? I got pelted with rocks once so I know how awful that is when you have to go through the inconvenience of fixing your car. Did they catch him?
Come to think of it, we haven't heard from Stoney this morning.
Getting back to the Dewey Decibel connection. Some other music the noise ordinance offenders would find irritating that the country music old timers might appreciate would be this song by Dewey:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IV5VqTofj3w&feature=related
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Since everyone got up relatively early this morning I cranked up the stereo and was listening to Pink Floyd's "The Wall".
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maybe the guy on Country Hills was listening to that on his iPod.
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Posts: 1974
Maybe it was an accident caused by the heat? Coincidentally, I needed to hit something today but didn't have a sledgehammer handy, so I picked up a brick that happened to be laying there on the ground. It kind of stung a little, but I was so determined to just finish the job I was doing, I didn't think too much about it. Later, when I was waiting for my order at WingStop, my fingertips were all tingly and I noticed water blisters on the pads of my fingers. Those suckers get hot when they sit in the sun.
Hey Kids! Leave them bricks alone!
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Posts: 327
Yes, they do, and they're being sold and used as we speak. So, just to make sure we're clear, these people are mounting sound emitting devices on their cars not to listen to their music any longer, but to disturb others... and the police won't do anything about it. Hmmm.
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 205
Oh, gak! Don't even get me started on the dayum ice cream trucks blasting music, LOL! (And worse, the stoopid, insistant, vaguely biotchy "HELLO?!" that they bellow out every now and then.)
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Yeah, is that supposed to be a friendly "Hello" or more like when Biff knocks on George McFly's head in "Back to the Future" ?
( *knock* *knock* ) "helOOo"
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Based on my experience it works very well, some nimwits embarrassed others roll up their windows. Right back at em works wonders granny. As far as freedom of speech that does not apply to blasting music and distrubing the peace, not sure where your going with that ?? Ergo sarcasm aside, all opinions are welcome at the CC blogs. Even though an outsider when reading the posts would think its a high school forum :} :} Ergo maturity level...
"Oh what a tangled web they weave, when they set out to deceive.
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3
I wanted to say a few things to those of you who have left comments about blasting car stereos. First off, my husband is a fan off blasting his music and having the loudest stereo system possible. At times I admit that I do get very irritated by it since I myself am not a fan of that loud boom boom music. However, I am disgusted by some of the comments I have read today. Just because someone is doing something that you do not like does not give you the right to cause harm to them. The Bay Area is so consumed with individuals that turn to violence to prove a point that it is pathetic. Women are losing their husbands, mothers are losing their sons, because of people like you who promote road rage and violence. I could not imagine how my two children and my enormous loving family would feel if my husband was killed while driving on Buchanan Road because someone didn't like how loud is music was. You all should be ashamed of yourselves for thinking about causing harm or death to someone for that reason much less allow it to come out of your mouth and broadcast it on the web. This is why the killings in the Bay Area have escalated over the years. As if we don't have enough to worry about, now we have to make sure our radio isn't too loud because someone might kill us over it!!!
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LadyT - You misunderstood me. When I was talking about violence, I was referring to the reaction I and others have gotten back when we've asked people to turn the music down. I backed off because I didn't think it was worth getting into a fight over. But it's going to be a long hot summer when tempers are short. I'm just saying that you can't predict how people are going to deal with their frustrations. A little courtesy by the people who blast this music would eliminate this possible source of violence. That's all I'm saying. Why should the rest of us have to put up with it. They're breaking the law or don't you believe they need to obey the law?
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1974
Hey wait, nobody here is advocating the use of violence or road rage. When Stoney uses the phrases "gun shy" and "It's a health issue" please don't take him literally. It's bothered him for some time now, so I think we already would have known if he was prone to snap.
Stoney wrote, "Captain Cantando says he loves writing citations for loud stereos" If he's writing tickets for stereos, it's gotta be loud, because I thought he had a 3rd floor desk job! (He must be pretty fast too!) You'd think people would have the sense to turn it down when they drive past the police station. I turn mine down and I'm listening to the Best of Bread. LOL
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Posts: 327
Well, we're getting there. A man died in Modesto just last week over this very thing. Are we getting there? Yes. Will your police, city or town help you? No. Do you have to take matters into your own hands? Yes. Will it be painful and will people be hurt? It always does when you have an issue and no one in power to do so will address it. That's called resolution through conflict. We've been bullied by boomers for too long. As far as my neighbors and I are concerned, if you are stupid enough to play it that loud, you've got a target on your back. Don't be surprised when something goes bad.
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Posts: 494
As one who is just a couple houses off Buchanan. I am sick and tired of being roused from sleep all hours by someone with a boom box so loud it rattles my house. So if thats your husband then tell him to turn it down, or are you afraid of him, hmm? Maybe if you could control your family you wouldn't have to worry about them so much.
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Posts: 7
I can't hear you ?
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 327
Um, get used to it. That's what your "husband" is asking us to do. He's saying: "Screw you all, I'll play my stuff as loud as I want to... " We're saying, "Oh, yeah?" A man died in Modesto a week ago in a fight over this stuff and it's only just starting. The solution? Get an IPod and turn it up to 12. Leave the rest of us alone...