How do people do it?
How do people drive with a headlight burnt out and NOT use turn signals?I had to take my wife's car to the garage today because it was having all kinds of electrical problems. Starting with the turn signals not working. And the radio and interior lights acting weird. Then when I was driving it this morning, I noticed 1 of the headlights was out.How do people drive with a headlight burnt out and NOT use turn signals?I was constantly paranoid on the drive over to the garage I was going to get in an accident because people didn't know I intended to shift lanes or to turn. And since it was early, I felt like I was driving blind with 1 headlight out. It made driving very uncomfortable this morning. And yet there are plenty of people who don't use turn signals. In fact if they come on in their car it's because the turn signal stalk got bumped...The garage was able to fix the loose ground wire. So my wife's car is up & running properly again.Labels: Cars, Darwin award candidate, inconsiderate people, Random things.., Rant, riddle me this, stupid people, things I don't understand
Chainsaw Therapy
We lost power due to the storms last Thursday night. It took us almost 3 hours to get home after work. We had to take the alternate, alternate, alternate, alternate way home. All the usual ways home were blocked by fallen trees and/or power lines. Fortunately for us, other than no electricity, we didn’t suffer any storm damage
Friday night we decided to go out for dinner instead of trying to grill something at home so we weren’t home when the lights came back on. (We think the electricity was restored around 6:30.) Friday night we went through the fridge & freezer throwing out things we felt were spoiled.
Saturday we went to the Strip District to replenish our supplies. We also decided we should trim/cut trees that were too close to the house to prevent possible storm damage. So HC and I were out with ladders, loppers, hedge trimmer, and chainsaw doing our best lumberjack imitations. We were a sight!! A few times I’m sure I came close to being a Darwin Award candidate/winner. The phrase “It’s falling the wrong way” did get used. Luckily no one was hurt. Chowderheads with chainsaw can be a danger to themselves & others! Anyways, we spent the majority of the day cutting stuff down. And making the big pieces into smaller pieces. I must admit it felt good to get my aggression out with the chainsaw. I’d been stressed and angry about work. And a few hours with the chainsaw was just what the doctor ordered. I felt much better at the end of the day. AND we made a giant pile-o-wood for the chimnea!! We’ve still got a bit of trimming, cutting & splitting that needs to happen but the big work has been done.
Sunday I worked on our new laptop & wireless network. The PC we've been using is 7 years old and has been in desperate need of replacement. It’s been a matter of saving enough money for the laptop and wireless router… So I spent a portion of the day with tech support getting all the pieces parts talking & working with 1 another.
J came over because he has wanted a laptop for a while. (He’s been using his work laptop for Internet access & etc but with the current privacy scare AND it being company equipment he felt better about getting his own laptop.) So we went out and I got to spend someone else’s money for a change!! We brought his laptop back to the house and I configured it for him over drinks & nibbly things.
And the next thing I knew it was 11:00 Sunday night!!!Labels: Darwin award candidate, frustrations, Weekend Update
Weekend update
Friday night we hung out & relaxed.
Saturday we went shopping in the Strip District. We picked up all sorts of groceries for a steal. Going to the Strip always brings back childhood memories for me. I’d always accompany my Grandfather when he went to the Strip. It was always fun watching him interact with the produce people. Amazing how they all got a long, their colorful banter, and the price negotiations. What characters! Wholey’s was always a stop and I got to know a lot of the people there as well.
During a dry spell I took HRH out for a little exercise. He was mostly good. Until he got distracted by a ????? “Fair market value at time of death” What more can be said?!?
Saturday night more errands and dinner at Mad Mex. What? Again?!?! You were there last weekend. Yes. It is one of our favorite casual places to go for food & drinks. And there are a few of them so we’re always in the right part of town to go to Mad Mex.
Sunday was a beautiful day. We cleaned around the house and went furniture shopping.
HC felt the need for a storage solution for all of our summer cushions for the patio furniture & etc. We needed it in the dining room close to the patio so it needed to look nice and be functional. She also needed storage for her painting and arts & craft supplies. Robinson Towne Center seemed like a good place to start. For her work supplies I figured we could get something from IKEA. IKEA cabinets are very customizable, look OK, reasonably priced, and decent to assemble. We ended up with 2 large wardrobes for her supplies. We hit another furniture store and found a nice armoire to store our summer cushions, candles, lighters, etc… AND since we were furniture shopping… We found 2 pieces to replace the old bar/wall unit in the game room. The thing we’re using for a bar is getting on 30 years old. It’s a wall unit I got in junior high. In the intervening years, it’s been used as my desk, entertainment center, hobby table, and bar. It served me long and well. But now it’s time to move onward and upward. Who knew we’d end up buying all this furniture?!?!
This is typical of us when it comes to furniture shopping: We start out looking for 1 thing and end up finding something completely different. Case in point our dining room table and buffet. We were looking for an armoire but I stumbled across the perfect dining room table. I wanted something big & sturdy. Big enough to have at least 8 to 10 people sit around it. Sturdy enough to hold all the food, plates, platters, etc for 8 to 10 people. As a bonus, there was a matching buffet. Oh well, the armoire had to wait.Labels: Darwin award candidate, house, HRH, Weekend Update
What NOT to do
Winter driving can be tricky but here are a few things I can tell you NOT to do:
Speeding. Not to get all scientific but…the faster you’re going, the more momentum you have, the harder it is for you to STOP or maneuver. (A body in motion tends to stay in motion) With limited traction and varying road conditions you’re never quite sure what you’re going to encounter. It doesn’t matter if you have 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive. Once the tires loose adhesion to the road the adventure begins! Speeding is the easiest way to gob up your vehicle in bad weather.
Sudden maneuvers. Going straight isn’t usually the problem. It’s changing directions that’s the challenge! Again physics says a body in motion tends to stay in motion. A body in motion also wants to keep going in the direction it’s going. This isn’t as noticeable on dry roads but when you decrease the friction between the tires and the road (rain, ice, snow) it’ll become obvious.
Driving over the piles of snow/ice the plows have left on the road. Don’t drive over the mounds of snow & ice the plows have created in the process of clearing the road. There’s very little traction to be found, it’s uneven, and you’re never sure about what other debris is in the pile along with the ice & snow.
Where am I going with this?
Last night on the way to a concert I saw a woman break these rules and almost gob her car up really well/kill herself. She was flying along. (I’m all for speeding but NOT when the weather is bad.) She cut across 3 lanes of traffic, over the pile of snow/ice the plows left behind. And then her car began to spin. She did at least a 360 and nearly hit the Jersey barriers on both sides of the exit. She was the luckiest woman in Pittsburgh last night. It was after rush hour so there weren’t as many cars on the road so there was no reason for her to be speeding or to cut over 3 lanes of traffic or to drive over the ice/snow. She was being and idiot and a lucky 1 at that!
I don’t know how she managed not to hit anything. It was amazing. It was like the stunts you see in the movies.
I’m sure an underwear change was required when she got home.Labels: Darwin award candidate, stupid people, stupidity
