Coming Someday (Maybe)

Third Book Coming Soon

Second Book

First Book

600 miles without a single road rage

I drove to Spokane and back over the weekend, in the 90-105 degree weather. The most surprising thing was the abundance of cars on the west side of Washington and the lack on the east side. But, both sides were in good moods. Everyone got along OK as we inched into and out of Seattle. But, getting to the east side, almost wanted to wave at the other cars just for their company.

One of the more interesting things in the land of empty space is cruise control. I set mine to 74, low enough to never interest a cop, and cruised for 200 miles. The only problem were the drivers who set their cruise control to 74.5 and would take 10 miles to pass me. It is wierd watching a car go by one inch at a time. I can't quite do it the other way. If I caught someone going 73.5, I sped up and passed them. Otherwise, they would end up climbing up the tail of some semi waiting for me to finish. Of course the 74.5ers don't that for me. Only I'm not patient enough to wait and instead I speed up and pass, then slow, which means they have to do it all over again. However, it gave us all something to do.

Road Rage - the saga continues

Today was a two parter. I have two lights between my parking space and the freeway. The first is about 4.5 minutes against, 30 seconds for. I was the fifth car back, and the light can run twelve through if everyone cooperates. Well, the fourth position lady was busy multi-tasking on the phone and shuffling stuff and didn't notice the light change for about five seconds, when the driver behind me notified her. So, she threw her stuff down and moved up to the light while it was still green and stopped. The guy behind me is the mayor of honk city, so it is continous. She waits until the light turns yellow, then zips through, followed by me through the slightly orange light, and the guy behind me goes through fire engine red. The second light is about 200 feet from the first, and geared in sync. However she stops at the first blush of yellow, so we all stop. I'm thinking if she is going to sit through the green again, but no, halfway through the red, away she goes. This is very wierd. People in Washington are as guilty as any other place running red lights, but not usually right in the middle. If she is color blind, maybe she could learn top is stop and bottom is go.

So onward to home. I drive through a small town, where the road out actually is cleverly hidden from the casual out of stater. It requires a right turn, left turn, and right turn, all at unmarked intersections (if you want to avoid lights) and down a road that looks like a dead end. I was the second car behind a California driver, who turned right and left, then went, whoa, this doesn't look like a highway (not even a center line stripe). He stops in the middle of the corner and pulls out a map. Now, there is plenty of space to pull off the road, but not an option. The driver in front of me pulls up next to him and rolls down his window. Looks like he is trying to help, because we all know the state/county/city can't afford a road sign. But, the CA driver guns it, taking off about 20,000 miles from his tires and does a CA signature stop at the place for the right, and goes straight. The driver in front of me pumps his fist out the window, yeah right, and we all turn right. The CA guy isn't a complete zero, notices no one is following him and U's just as I turn. However, he has to wait out the rest of the group turning right and gets to join the back of the line. One of the drivers behind me thinks it's Sunday and they disappear from my rear view mirror. I can just see the CA guy fuming for the next ten miles down a two-line road with no place to pass. Cool.

So, the first needs a DWF citation, Driving While Female, and needs to take Remedial Pay Attention class or probably will cause an accident or some more road rage. The mayer of honk city needs a DWM, Driving While Male, and needs to take an Anger Management class or he will be the road rager. The CA driver also needs a DWM citation, Driving While Male, and needs to take a Asking Directions class and a Gas Petel Containment class. Me, I need to take a class on How to Avoid These People. This is now the third time in three weeks I've been between the road rager and the ragee.

Paper Tiger

The separation of man from beast is man's ability to create masses of paper.

I'm a fiscal person, not an engineer. But, my new position has put me in contact with paper. Not from the user end, as in stuffing it in the copier and filing it in cabinets. But trying to figure out "good" paper from "evil" paper. It seems a former governor decided at the last minute (literally) to ban "evil" paper from state government. Evil paper is also called "virgin" paper. Good paper, or former-virgin paper, is called recycled paper. The odd concept is, even though it takes virgin paper to create former-virgin paper, banning virgin paper is a good thing. Maybe the governor depended on enough people to ignore his ban to keep the paper flow going, and look good at the same time, although banning evil paper didn't get him the DC cabinet position he was striving for.

If good paper comes from good recycling companies, then evil paper comes from evil companies, those who cut 5,000 year old virgin timber and strip our land of all life in order to polute our world with the recidual of making the evil paper. Only statistics don't exactly back this up. For example, we have more trees now than we did 100 years ago. Less grasslands, less wetlands, but more trees.

The grasslands and wetlands killers aren't evil paper companies, but developers. But the evil paper makers are nonetheless blamed for the loss of habitat, even when they keep habitat growing, by of all things, planting trees.

I live on one of those developments made from grasslands and wetlands, called a golf course. We have very nice grass and ponds, and Canadian geese. Stupid geese, can't they read? With the only place left to land, they think the golf course is their habitat. So what if it is exactly where they used to land 100 years ago? Don't they know the evil paper companies destroyed it?

Have you ever watched a flock of Canadian geese fly into the evening sky in their perfectly formed Vs? Or land together on a pond, skiing in sync with each other? Or get into honking wars with other geese? Much better than watching golfers duff and cuss, duff and cuss, one group after another.

The golf course people try to scare the geese away with fire crackers and dynamite. It doesn't exactly work because there is no where to scare them to. Better than the Deer Haven condo owners up the street who want to kill the deer.

I've gressed. Back to paper.

My quest, if it can be called that, is to find out the truth about paper. Can we eliminate the evil paper companies who cut and replenish our trees and replace them with 100% recycled paper companies, who don't? Can recycled paper make recycled paper forever, with nothing new added? Or are the evil paper companies going to have to stay in business, despite our best efforts, to keep us in the life style of paper we are accustomed to?

Road Rage part two

Driving into an exit ramp behind a bunch of cars, with no one behind me for a half mile, I watch a nice lady in a blue car come flying in the second lane. At first I thought she was just going by, but suddenly she puts her blinker on. Well, there's plenty of room behind me. But, she is going too fast, or more important to her, we are going too slow. She passes me and tries to cut in front of the car in front of me, but it is an old pickup truck and the driver ignores her. Desperate, or something, she slams on her brakes and tries to cut in front of me, but is now going too slow and ends up trying to cut into me. I swerve and speed up a little, and her momentum carries her (gasp) behind me. Now it is honk and flashing lights time. Somehow, cars in the second lane wishing to exit have the right away over cars in the exit lane.

Not much I can do about it, but the pickup driver suddenly forgets where his gas petal is and we coast all the way to the stop sign. He goes right into the right lane, I go right into the left lane, and she goes flying by me on the right, gets right up on the pickup's bumper, flashes her lights and honks at him. Then she cuts in front of me, but since I'm making a left turn, it is a useless gesture. The pickup driver shares his IQ with her, makes a right turn and leaves her in the midde of the street alone, honking at no one.

For some people causing and being in road rage seems to be an addiction. Had she been in the proper lane and willing to wait about five seconds, she would have saved herself and us the wear and tear on our lives, and due to the pickup coasting for about a quarter mile, been actually ahead. The worst part, she probably went to work complaining about being late because of the crapy other drivers, who didn't see her coming and park and bow as she went by. She wasn't in an SUV, just a little blue Toyota, but I can see it coming.

This is the second time in a week I have been between a road rager and a victim. It isn't making my life any happier.

Coming to a Freeway near You

I have heard a bit about road rage, and seen some drivers cutting off others and then getting into a close encounter for a couple of seconds. I've been cut off my share, and have watched cars speed by in pursuit of each other. But, for some fortunate fate, full meal deal road rage hasn't happened to me. Until today.

Merging onto the freeway behind some cars with the right lane empty, things looked fine. Until the Mustang in the left lane flying by suddenly slammed on his brakes and cut in front of me. A Maxima following him did the same thing, only without any room left. I managed to swap lanes without hitting him and passed the second car, as both cars were now going about 40. (No, normal people really don't go 40 on a freeway in Washington.) With the Maxima right on his tail (like about six inches) the Mustang stayed even with me until we caught up to the car who had merged in front of me, also going a bit slow for some reason. Just as I was about the pass him, the Mustang gunned it, cut in front of me, and took off. The Maxima tried to follow suit, but the car in front slowed down more and he didn't have the room. So I passed the very slow car and moved back into the right lane. The Maxima immediately flew by me and I thought things were over. Except the Mustang slammed on his brakes again, almost stopping, and again cut in front of me. The Maxima followed suit. Now we were all going 40, so not knowing what else to do, I passed them again. However, the Mustang kept even with me for the next three miles, speeding up when I did and slowing down. The driver was a elderly Jewish man, complete with flowing beard and cap thing.

When we came upon another car, also going slow, I passed and pulled into the right lane. So instead of being on my right, the Mustang now stayed even with me on my left, the Maxima still about six inches off his tail. We continued along until we came to another intersection where a car pulling out was going slow enough for us to catch him. The Mustang left me and cut in front of the next car.

When the Maxima pulled next to me, I got a long look at the driver, who to my shock was a arab. I pulled out my cell phone and waved it at him, not like a gun, but like I'm now dialing 911, which I did. The Maxima driver, when he saw my cell phone, sped away, at the California freeway speed, of 80 something.

So, I got the state patrol. When I described the situation, they got all exciting, even yelling at me for "endangering" myself by waving the cell phone. Like what else was I supposed to do, pull over and let him attack me with his box cutter? Oops, profiling. Anyway, they were still interested right up until I described the drivers. They got throught the Jewish man, beard, cap, but when I said the second driver was a arab, they hung up on me.

I know it is politically incorrect to think in terms of racist, but it appears this wasn't just road rage, but ethnic road rage. It was a very scary thought.

Anyway, the arab sped away and was out of sight. The Jew settled down and slowly left me. When we came to the next merge, he was about a quarter mile ahead of me. But, then he did a very stupid thing. As the vehicles slowed into the merge with just a few feet left in the right lane, he suddenly passed the car in front of him and cut in front of him. This car had not been involved in anything.

At that point it dawned on me as to what may have happened. The Jew had cut off the arab, and they were battling away when I interrupted them. But, the Jew didn't learn anything from the experience.

If you are going to run around in your beard and cap, and therefore, profile yourself, driving like an idiot doesn't help. For me, not to be blanket prejudice, I wish these two would take their acts somewhere else, like the Middle East, and leave me alone.

But, that isn't going to happen. The Middle East, due to the melting pot this country is always been, has come here. We can't run and we can't hide. And, it doesn't seem we can do anything to solve the road rage between fat red-neck Nothern European decent white guys with no history of hate, mush less than between races who have hated each other for 3,000 years.