Stupid is as Stupid Does

 

Stupid

Those who know me well know I’m dangerous pulling trailers but even I wouldn’t pull this stunt.

Back in the day I managed to dent two new Kias while turning a corner pulling a 40’ gooseneck flatbed trailer. The store owner angrily told me I was paying the deductible, twice, because two cars were involved. $1,000 gone in the wind. That same month a lender kicked back a deal on a used truck where I made an $820 commission. That was in 2002 and the memory is still clear.

Israel fighting Hamas

TBN Israel YouTube Channel is my go to source for real information. They might not cover the ‘Big Picture’ but real from the ground information not controlled by Media Maggots.

Blogging is sparse as the muse is mainly AWOL.

As always, YMMV

Dumb, Dumber,Dumbest

Came upon a collision Saturday that was a jowl shaker in the northbound lanes of E-470. Vehicle #1, a sub compact with the rear end smashed all the way to the front seats off the right side of the road pointing North. Two fire trucks at the scene with jaws of life at work. Vehicle #2 an old school bus with the name of a private school straddling the inside lane, facing North. Vehicle #3 a pickup pulling some kind of trailer pointed South with the demolished trailer in front of it.

Clear day, about 1450, dry road, straight but coming into a slight left turn and uphill. Speed limit 70 mph. No on ramps there but one ½ mile before the accident scene.

There were three emergency vehicles on scene with more arriving. I joined a queue of about fifteen vehicles. We went to the breakdown lane right, past debris, then around the fire trucks to the left breakdown lane, and then on our way.

I’m sure E-470 Northbound was closed soon after.

Just a note. Upper left of the Google Earth screen shot is the principal Denver landfill. Lower right the end of one of DIA’s runways.

What excuse is there for three vehicles colliding in perfect weather on one of the safest, if not THE safest, highways in the Denver area? Being an expensive toll road, E-470 isn’t heavily traveled and rarely bumper to bumper. Makes no sense to me.

People who ride with me can’t believe I won’t use a cell phone while driving. I will pull over and stop to make or take a call. Bluetooth be damned, I have voice mail, and a phone app that announced who the caller or text if from as it comes in. Texting, receiving or sending? Not only no, but hell no!

YMMV

A Minor Rant

Numerous past poor financial decisions mean I am still working for wages into my seventh decade.

Three days a week I drive through the valley of frustration (and potential death) called Sugar Valley, US 26 from Gurnsey, WY to North Platte, NE. Luckily I can turn South at Scottsbluff and head South on Highway 71.

The drivers who live in Goshen County, WY and Scottsbluff County, NE are horrible. Either they are bumbling along below the speed limit or are following you two car lengths back.

Blinker fluid must command a premium these tight asses won’t pay. Pulling out on the highway with no regard for the speed of oncoming traffic may be a birthright.  Slowing way down a mile from where you will turn off is necessary so you can adequately view neighbor’s crops and livestock.

Going South on Highway 71 is easier. Little traffic and four lanes help. By the time I reach the Kimball County line (where people know how to drive) my blood pressure drops out of the stroke range.

My advice? Note the county prefixes on the header pictures. If, anywhere in these United State you see one, go on high alert!

Colorado Drivers Rant

Monsoon season along the Colorado Front Range is producing a lot of rain. Colorado drivers who blithely drive ten over the limit on snow covered black ice, confronted with a bit of rain, start acting like Mississippi drivers in a blizzard. Aarg!

The rain is welcome, especially in the Southeast corner, and the areas with active range fires in Northwest Colorado.

UP 4014 plus 700

Drove up to Wyoming today to see the UP 4014 “Big Boy” pass by on the way to Cheyenne. We had planned to be at a certain spot, but muddy roads and closed gates dictated a different location.

41◦    4’   55.17”  N

105•  29’   6.37”  W

But first we needed to get there. Ah, springtime in the Rockies. I think I may treat myself to a new windshield before Officer Friendly gives me written instructions, ya think?

The Flip camera was started and left alone while I got closer to the tracks with a camera. Sorry about the quality of the video. Not sure if all the snow is real snow or static, but it was snowing. h/t to Bloviating Zeppelin for the tip on the Flip Camera). However, I don't seem to be able to upload the %##%^& video.

The UP didn’t shut down for any one train. Here is a mixed freight grinding up Sherman Hill. Those locomotives are running flat out. Again, technical/operator problem.

Going home we saw more proof that a SUV on a wet road still needs a somewhat skilled driver.

This marks the 700^th blog posting on WSF. I can’t believe I still find things to write about.

When I figure out the video issue, I’ll post them.

Bad Drivers Rant

Police officers going ballistic should be excused when drivers with their head up their asses are involved. This morning, for instance.

Intersection of North Washington and 132nd Ave, Thornton, CO. has four lanes in all directions. First Thornton police car, emergency lights on, spotlights on, high beams on, and siren on turns West on 132nd from Northbound Washington. The light was green for Washington.  Second police car, same configuration as the first, come to the intersection with a green for 132nd. He stopped, and several Eastbound on 132nd vehicles pass in front of him/her. These fools had just been passed by the first police car going West. Yah thunk they might have got a clue? Finally, cars stopped.  Soon after, a third police car came Northbound on Washington. By this time I had cleared the intersection so didn’t see what happened.

Somehow, I don’t think they were rolling to do a backup on a Wal-Mart shoplifter.

Damn drivers lost in their little world, sound systems, and cell phones, focused three car lengths ahead, are dangerous.

Were I the officer in car #2, I would be looking at my video for license plates, and then hunt the miserable  s.o.b.’s down.

Setting a Good Example

Murphy’s Law has a post, “Why can’t the whole world drive like I do?”

http://lagniappeslair.blogspot.com/2012/04/why-cant-whole-world-just-drive-like-i.html

Brought back a fond memory. Some background.

The infamous S curves on I-405 through Renton, WA has a Southbound on ramp that is tough to use as, unlike California, folks in the Pacific Northwest won’t let you merge. You will, by God, fall in behind them even when traffic is stop and go.  Those who use this on ramp know that after two or three stop and go’s, the way opens up and you get up to speed.

At the time I was driving an old ex Hanford Nuclear Plant Dodge D-150 with thick steel plate bumpers. It was a beauty, with not a single panel without a dent, paint coming off in patches, and assorted scrapes. I never bothered to register it, the plates on it were never issued to it, and the tabs were to yet another plate. If stopped, I would give the officer my business card, explain the vehicle was a trade in (not a lie, it had been traded in two years ago) that I was driving as a demo. Since I always had my personal insurance, I was more or less legal, being in the car business.

One day I was merging on I-405. There was a shiny Green Buick with Oregon plates (home of the worse asshat drivers anywhere) who wasn’t going to let me get in front of him. I continued to merge. Finally, he realized I didn’t give a shit if we collided and he backed off. For the next quarter mile he had his window down giving me the Hawaiian peace and love signal and laying on his horn. Timing the stop and go sequence, I waited for the last one, shifted into reverse, and modified the front of his Buick. Accelerating down the now open road, saw him in my mirror limping to the shoulder with coolant gushing out of his now flattened front end.

If more drivers drove like I do, we would have many more polite drivers sharing the road, don’t you think?

Damn, I loved that truck. My employer absolutely forbid me parking it in the “Reserved for the Salesman of the Month” parking spot. I didn’t want the new demo, not at a income rate of 1 ½% of the M.S.R.P. added to my taxable income.