On driving

We spent a lot of time in the car the last two weekends. On the way home I witnessed two risky maneuvers.

Imagine you're in the passing lane going 65+ mph and there are two more lanes to your right. There is a truck in front of you, and you notice the car in front of him is hitting their brakes...and pulling to the shoulder off to the LEFT. I'm thinking, wow, that guy must be having car trouble if he's pulling onto the shoulder near the fast lane. I hope he's okay. Then I notice a break in the divider...you know, where they have those big signs that so "No U turn allowed except for emergency vehicles." This putz wasn't an emergency vehicle, but he was risking accidents on both sides of the highway by using this opening. Not only was he in the shoulder near high-speed traffic, but he pulls back to the right, even CLOSER to the traffic, just so he can get a better angle for his U turn. Man, I wish there had been a cop around. It was a completely insane move.

The next guy was another major putz. He's in a van pulling a boat on a trailer. He's in the right-most lane and there are three cars in a row in the middle lane. The van is coming up to slow traffic in front of him, but there's absolutely no room for him in the middle lane. There's no way he can get in front of the cars in the middle lane, but speeds up in an effort to do so. Once he realizes he can't pass them, he starts pulling into the middle lane anyway. The second car in line does what any sane person would do and slams on his brakes. The van quickly swerves back into its own lane. But now the #2 car has slowed and there is room in front of him, so the van completes his lane change.

I wish there was a way to revoke driver's licenses for crap like that. There could have been a major pile-up from either of those two.


-- C.

Indiana tops the list of states with most security "assets"

The Department of Homeland Security, in an effort to allocate funds to states with the most high-risk targets, asked states to list their assests (aka possible terrorist targets).

Ok, they are trying to be fair. I get that. States with more security concerns should get more money.

But...they let the states themselves decide what an "asset" is?

That's like letting employees write their own reviews and determine their own raises!

Indiana has 8,591 assets, which puts it at the top of the list. That's right -- at the top, above both New York and California, which only have 5000-6000 assets.

Fort Wayne Children's Zoo? Asset!
Little diner downtown? Asset!
Hall's restaraunts? Assets! Each of them!

Times Square in NYC? Mmmmm...nah, not an asset.
Empire State Building? Brooklyn Bridge? Statue of Liberty? Hmmm, no, not assets.

I'm sorry, but I can't help laughing at the fact the Indiana - a land-locked state other than a small corner touching Lake Michigan - with 6 million people over 36 thousand sq mi, beat both New York (19 million people over 54 thousand sq mi) and California (37 million people over 158 thousand sq mi).

And you wonder why we pay our government employees so much. I think we've got the best bullshitters in the country!



-- C.
MSNBC Article on the topic

More on Motels

Our experience at the Motel 6 was not impressive. However, on the way home we stopped in Clarion, PA, at a Comfort Inn and had a wonderful experience. They were getting booked up and had a non-smoking / king-sized bed / whirlpool room or a smoking / two-queen-bed room. Both were more exensive then we had planned for. In an attempt to save money, we asked about the "smoking" room. Did it smell like smoke? The kind man at the counter admitted that sometimes the rooms do retain a smokey smell. He handed us a key and said we could check it out for ourselves, if we wanted. A quick stop-and-snif proved that the room did indeed, stink.

Since we had stayed with friends the entire week in New York, and since we didn't spend much on meals, we decided to splurge a bit and got the deluxe room with the king-sized bed and a whirlpool. Fortunately the kind man also gave us a little discount.

The whirlpool was excellent. There were plenty of towels and wash clothes. And they included soap, shampoo, lotion, conditioner -- the sort of things you've come to expect at a hotel.

Both the Motel 6 and the Comfort Inn rooms only had one bed. The Motel 6 room filled (barely) the area where the second bed would go with a small desk and chair, leaving a lot of empty space. The Comfort Inn had a nice little couch and coffee table.

In the morning, Motel 6 offered us a cup of coffee on our way out. The Comfort Inn had a Continental Breakfast, complete with doughnuts, waffles, toast, bagels, muffins, cereal, milk, juice, cappuccino, and regular coffee.

If we didn't have a whirlpool in our room, I bet the prices would have been pretty similar.

If you're just looking for a quick place to stay, without any amenities, then perhaps Motel 6 will be okay for you. But for about the same price, you can get nicer-looking rooms at Comfort Inn, along with many nice "extras."

We've also had good experiences at AmericInn and Best Western.


-- C.

Did I mention the suspicious-looking dark-red spots we found staining the carpet in our Motel 6 room? >shudder<

New York City!

Ah, where to start? Perhaps at the beginning. Friday night, after I got off work, we packed up and headed to NYC to stay with Paula's friends. They live on Long Island, in Queens. We drove half-way through Ohio before we pulled off to find a hotel (it was getting late and we were concerned about storms).

We saw a Motel 6 and decided to give it a try. As we headed to our room, we noticed they did indeed "keep the light on for us," which was a good thing because we saw into the room and noticed the comforter was on the floor along with a few dirty towels. We didn't even go in, just went back to the office and asked for a new room.

Did you know Motel 6 doesn't provide shampoo in the rooms? I found that very odd; all hotels always do that. Normally it isn't a problem. Normally we take shampoo with us. But we were going to stay with friends, who are excellent hosts and always provide a gift basket with the necessities. So we didn't pack shampoo. Fortunately (ahem) Motel 6 does provide it in a vending machine...for $2 for two small packets. The room itself wasn't very nice either. And it was a $60 room; not nearly as cheap as I thought a Motel 6 would be. It was comfortable enough, and got us through the night.

Saturday we drove the remaining 8 hours through Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and finally New York. Paula wasn't feeling well and I was getting tired at one point, so we took an exit, found an empty spot at the back of a truck stop, and took a little nap. The rest of the trip was uneventful.

First stop: Celveland, OH. Think twice before staying at a Motel 6.


Oh, and Pennsylvania is a beautiful state. Here's a pic of the Delaware Water Gap:



Funny signs along the way:

"Buckle Up Next Million Miles"

Sunday and Monday turned out to be very hots days, reaching the high 90's which felt more like the low 100's. We didn't venure into the city, but had a very relaxing visit with our god-daughter Kaitlyn:


Tuesday afternoon was cooler. We all piled into the truck and went to Jones Beach. It was pretty busy, expecially since it was in the middle of the week. We walked about 1.5 miles down the boardwalk and back.





Stopping to give us a chance to feed the wee one:


Wednesday we took the "Long Island Rail Road" (LIRR) into Penn Station then walked down to Greenwich Village looking for a wine shop "BuyWine.com" that a friend told us about, and also to find Murray's Cheese Shop which is right around the corner. Both are great stores with friendly staff. We also stopped in Chelsea to try to look up a friend who works for the Food Network.

The total walking distance was probably around 5 miles.

Oh, and just to prove New Yorkers have a sense of humor:


Thursday Paula and I were on our own. We took the LIRR into Penn Station again, but took the subway down near the World Trade Center. We were there about a year and a half ago and I was curious to see what how much progress they've made.

It's a sobering site. I wasn't there before the attack, but it is humbling to stand there in front of the gaping whole where two skyscapers should still be standing.





Here is a cross section of beams that remained after the buildings fell, resembling a cross. They've left it untouched:


We continued on to Battery Park, where "The Sphere" is on display.


It stood in the lobby of one of the towers untill they fell.

We took a boat tour of the harbor which lasted just under an hour. Our tour guide was excellent and knew a lot about the city's history. You could hear the pride in his voice as he pointed out various landmarks.

"Liberty Enlightening the World" (its proper name)


A pic as we passed under the Brooklyn Bridge:


For you movie fans, does this look familiar?


Think, "Men in Black."

After the tour we walked back to the subway station for a trip north to FAO Schwartz, near Central Park, but only after stopping at an "Amish Market." It was a great food store, but 99.9% of the products had nothing to do with the Amish.

After leaving the subway, we started walking. Again.

Let me give you a hint. When in New York, if someone tells you your destination is "just around the corner" be prepared for another mile of walking. Yeesh. We probably put in another couple miles of walking during this trip to the city.

That should be enough for now; this post is already way too long. I have many more pictures on flickr, and many I've yet to upload. And many more stories to tell. I think I've hit the highlights though.

If you haven't been to NYC, you really should make the effort to go there. I highly recommend stopping by "Ground Zero." We didn't have any plans this trip, but I made note of several place to visit for our next trip.

I'm sure I'll have more to write later.
-- C.

House pics

Front:


Back:


Back yard:



-- C.

I've died and gone to heaven...

Ok, yeah, we just bought a house. That's nice and all, BUT! I just found out that the complete series of Brisco County, Jr. will be released on DVD on July 18th! Man, that's awesome! I recorded most of them way back when on VHS, but I'd love to have them on DVD instead. Maybe someone else will actually watch them with me now.

Granted, not all episodes were absolute gems, but there were enough funny bits spread around to make the show worth watching. At least, that's how I remember it. I hope I don't think otherwise when I watch them again.


Oh, thank-you-thank-you-thank-you WB!
-- C.

Now, where are the Danger Mouse DVDs?

[EDIT: Oooh! There *are* Danger Mouse DVDs out there. At least 6 seasons worth. Time to start saving money.]

House FOUND!

As you may know, Paula and I have been looking at houses for the last couple months. We were approved for a loan, so we knew our price range. Paula really wanted a basement (for protection during those infamous mid-west storms and tornados) and I really wanted a two-car attached garage (so we don't get drenched during those same-said storms).

We finally found a house that met that criteria, and more. It's listed as 1 and 1/2 storey (there are only two rooms upstairs). It has the garage, plus a big driveway, and it has the basement, which is finished. The thing we liked the most, though, is the big back yard! The lot is just over 1/3 acre, and it's fenced in. It only has one bathroom though. We really wanted at least another half-bath, but we might be able to find room to add one. (If nothing else, there is that big, empty back yard we could use.)

We have an inspection scheduled for Thursday. I'll be sure to take pictures and post them here, giving a virtual tour so you'll know your way around when you come to visit.

I thought making decisions about chosing a house were tough, but now come more decisions. We've already been out picking up paint samples. We have to figure out what goes where, what color each room should be, what window treatments we want up, what new shrubs and trees to plant, and where to put the litterbox.

It'll be fun though.

Or so I've been told.


-- C.
PS: Anyone have a riding lawn mower they want to sell for cheap?