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The things in my head go ’round and ’round

This is my life. You can’t have it.

Archive for the ‘driving’


Doing the Ipod Shuffle

Published September 15th, 2008 in Music, Princess, driving, friends, technology, the truck | No Comments »

I finally did it. I think that I was the last hold out not to be an Ipod. I purchased an Ipod shuffle today for use in my truck going back and forth to where the heck ever it is that I am going.

Earlier this year I had purchased a really nice cd player for The Red Beast so that I would have music other than the crap played on local radio stations. The idea was to burn a billion cd’s and live happily ever after.

That idea crapped out when our computer absolutely refused to burn cd’s. Even though it is supposed to be able to do that. I could have reached out to my friends and begged, and bribed them with Dodd Family Legacy Beers, but that didn’t work out either. So today The Princess and I, yeah she is home from school again after going to the Dr. this morning, went out and did the good consumer thing and spent some cash. Cash that I got from dividends on an insurance policy that I have on myself, and the girls. Sounds like a Monopoly game, doesn’t it?

Moving on.

Now I have this piece of plastic that holds 1 gig of music. I have 145 songs on it now. That is the equivilent of 14 cd’s. Awesome! Of course this means that I am going to be spending time setting up folders with fav songs in them so that I can download them whenever I want to.

Great. Something else to waste time on.

Namaste.

Fun, Fun, Fun on the Autobahn

Published August 12th, 2008 in Commuting, driving, the truck | No Comments »

So, there I was driving home from work.

Sunday evening was pretty nice here in Pennsylvania. The sun was shining, not too hot. Somewhere around 80 degrees with little humidity. Almost like an Indian Summer day. Not like what we usually have around this time in August.

Matter of fact, as I am typing this I have a cool wind blowing through the window. Feels like brewing weather.

But I digress. The route that I take home is a two lane country road. Up and down hills, past pastures of cows and horses, corn and soy beans. Past farms and the houses of folks who just don’t want to live close to other people. It is very bucolic.

The posted speed limit is 45 mph, and I try to stay as close to that as possible. It doesn’t always happen, but most times it does. I was smoking a new cigar that had been recommended to me by a friend, listening to…hell I don’t even remember what I was listening to on the CD. All I do remember is thinking that the steering was getting a little mushy.

And coming around a gentle curve it happened. A loud bang, and then the sound of scraping metal on the road. Dust, and stone flying past the window. Tossed the cigar out the window, and tried to steer to the side of the road, stopped the truck and turned it off.

And in the silence following the storm wondered what the hell had just happened.

I got out of the truck and walked to the front. The tire on the drivers side was facing parallel to the rest of the vehicle. The steering assembly on the drivers side had collapsed. Simply, the ball joint assembly had broken.

Poop.

Thankfully this was one day that I remembered to bring my cell phone. Called AAA, called MLW to let her know that I was going to be late and then leaned against the truck to listen to the locusts. You forget how quiet the country is when you are racing back and forth from one city to the next. I grew up in the country, and it is amazing to me how far removed I am from it now.

But that is all I really wanted to tell you. If I could extract the pics from my cell phone I would post a couple to show you what it looks like. But unfortunately, that won’t be happening any time soon.

Take care out on those mean streets, folks.

Namaste.

The Motor Car Mambo

Published July 27th, 2008 in driving, vacation | 1 Comment »

I am not having a fun time with the “being back at home” stuff. I like being back at home, but along with the part of being back at home comes the part of going back to that soul sucking, waste of brain cells that is called a job.

We left North Carolina yesterday early for a couple of reasons. One was to get The Princess back for a television show she wanted to watch, and the other was to make sure that we could get through the madness that is I-95 heading into the Washington, DC area.

For those of you who have made that trek, you know that it is usually smooth sailing up until you get on the North side of Richmond, Virginia. At the point 295, which is the bypass around Richmond, dumps into I-95 and makes one hell of a mess. Traffic becomes stop and go,with people jockeying for position. Zipping from one lane to another. Doing the Motor Car Mambo. The Truck Tango. And it can be pretty amusing to watch. Or it can just send you right over the edge. It all depends on how well adjusted you are.

Me? It makes me crazy watching people mess up traffic by trying to leap frog their way through. MLW, and The Princess got to sleep through the mess. And it really was not that bad this year. I don’t know if there weren’t the same amount of people on the road because of gas prices, or what. But we made it home in record time. Safe and sound.

Now all I have to do is go back to that soul sucking, brain cell wasting job.

Crap.

These are the things in my head

Published July 15th, 2008 in Family, Music, North Carolina, Princess, driving, technology, vacation | No Comments »

For Tuesday.

The things in my head:

I need to get a digital camera for myself. MLW has hers. The Princess has hers. I need one of my own. There. I said it, and I mean it.

Now if only I had the money to buy it.

Sigh.

We are leaving for North Carolina this coming Saturday. We should be leaving early Saturday morning, but due to circumstances beyond my understanding, I have have to work for part of the day on Saturday. That being said, MLW and The Princess along with her sidekick will be picking my up from work and we will be jetting down the freeway at warp speed.

If you are heading south on 95 this weekend, just get out of the way. It will be fine.

Which leads me to “The things that WILL NOT be in my head”. Namely music. I have been rhapsodizing about Ipods and the such lately, but in truth I have none. Again, MLW has hers, and The Princess has hers, but me? Nada. Zilch.

To be upfront, MLW did offer to purchase one for me not long ago and I demurred. I have my CD player for my truck, I figured that I didn’t need something to pour sweet music directly into my head.

I was wrong. I need something for this drive as I won’t be able to play the vehicles CD player without keeping everyone awake and bitching at me to TURN IT DOWN!!

I tend to listen to my music loudly.

So I have a couple of things to work on the next few days. Along with:

Tearing out the rest of the carpet in the living room.

Cleaning out all of the cupboards, and under the sink in the kitchen.

Cleaning out and moving the refrigerator from the kitchen.

Moving as much of the furniture out of the living room as possible.

Because while we are down in NC, gnomes are coming into our house and demo’ing our kitchen, and putting down wood flooring in our living room.

This is going to be interesting.

Namaste.

The Things in My Head - Thursday

Published May 22nd, 2008 in Commuting, Life, Music, cigars, driving, questions | No Comments »

The things in my head:

I have to wonder if my kids really understand that their Father…is a whack job.

Wouldn’t it just piss some people off if by some quirk, Hillary ended up getting the Demcratic nomination?

I mean, wayyyy too many folks are already talking that Obama is the one.

It makes me crazy when you try to play mind games with me. You have no idea how ignorant that makes you look, when I turn them back on your. Every time. And it is because you just are not as smart as I am. And take your check list with you.

Why is it that when I am at the edge looking over and planning that last step over, James Taylor can always bring me back. And that is disturbing due to the fact that I was listening to Linkin Park just before.

Uppmann camaroons are a relaxant on the drive home. Wonder what kind Tony Soprano smokes?

Namaste.

I am not Bossy

Published May 9th, 2008 in Bitterness, Blogging, driving, writing | No Comments »

Opinionated. Argumentative. Bull-headed. Yes.

But I am not Bossy.

Georgia Getz IS Bossy.

And I am jealous. Not of her being Bossy. I am jealous because she worker her ass off and got this gig with Saturn cars where she drove various cars around the country, and met with various bloggers.

She called it “Bossy’s Excellent Roadtrip“. Don’t know who paid for the gas, but what the hell. I would like to drive around the US in various new cars meeting new people. What wouldn’t be cool about that?

Go read about it. Lots of neat folks out there to meet.

I am jealous.

But I am not Bossy.

namaste.

The Perfect Car

Published May 6th, 2008 in Family, Michigan, driving, kids, the truck | No Comments »

Pierce, the youngest son, is always talking to me about cars. He has not had the best of luck with vehicles. His first was a Ford Ranger. That promptly broke down and cost him a bunch of cash. His next vehicle was a geo priszm. Also known in our family as “The Car That Won’t Die”. It is a 1992 or 1993 geo that has been in MLW’s family since that time. And it won’t die. The engine in it is as strong as the one in my Tacoma.

Now the boy owns a Tiberon. Loves it. But I called him the other day to tell him that I had found the perfect car for him.

A 1979 Checker Motors Company Marathon. Yeah, that’s right. An old Checker cab. It is perfect as the boy lives outside of Detroit. The car is built like a tank, runs off of a small block V-8, and has a huge back seat for all of the kids he is always hanging out with. He can also charge fares from all of his free-loading friends.

I like this idea.

Him? Not so much. Kids just don’t have the vision that their parents do.

Namaste.

Jammin’ to The Jayhawks

Published May 5th, 2008 in Commuting, cigars, driving | No Comments »

Some nights it is just right for turning up the cd player, jammin’ to The Jayhawks. Firing up a nice, smooth cigar. Yep. I like to smoke a stogie on my hour drive home from work. But only on the nights I work. I don’t smoke driving home when I come home at 5pm.

One of my friends got me smoking cigars awhile ago. He is a maven. I am more of an occaisional smoker. I am working my way through the Jrcigars catalog right now. I am working my way through some camaroons that I bought the other day.

Don’t hate be because I like a good cigar. There is nothing more relaxing on my ride home.

With The Jayhawks.

Namaste.