Spring Break

The oldest wanted to go to Washington DC to see the museums and have his picture The oldest wanted to go to Washington DC to see the museums and have his picture taken with the Einstein statue so that's where we went instead of the beach and it's probably just as well.

It was a nightmare getting there.

There was a time we weren't certain we would be able to make it because of the infection in Diane's knee. We still weren't certain until the Friday before the Saturday that we left. She had to go back to the doctor and get the "ok" to leave because she'd developed a black spot in the incision. Once we got the go ahead, we left and it was hectic and last minute.



This trip has been one nightmare after another. I think we're about to get it all worked out though. We had a blowout in Jackson TN. When the tread separated it broke the tailpipe so 5 hours later and $750 later with a new tailpipe and 3 new tires, we were back on the road. We ended up spending the night in a Super 8 motel parking lot in a storm. We rocked and rolled all night.

The next day, we start running hot and develop a whistle that I describe as a small tea kettle. Turns out I was right. We had a small hole in the radiator. But, before we had that diagnosed, we pulled into a Shell station in tiny Linden VA to get gas. This is when the starter and alternator burned up. We couldn't get towed all the way into the park we're staying because the tow truck couldn't take all of us so we ended up sending the night in the beautiful Shell station parking lot until early the next morning. We rented a car the next morning and got towed to our spot. There's a great mobile mechanic that's put a new radiator, alternator, starter and fixed a transmission leak for us. The tow truck driver dropped the drive shaft then when we got here said he couldn't put it back on. The mechanic said he'd do that for us.



We were a day late getting here which meant we had to cram getting our marriage license into one day which took almost 5 hours to complete. That blew a day. Then we spent almost a full day with the mechanic at the RV park. Nothing that we had planned went as planned.

We did manage to see a couple of monuments and Max's hero, Einstein. Today we spent almost all day getting to and from the Rabbi that did our very tiny ceremony. This evening, we took the RV out and guess what? It ran hot again. The mechanic is coming tomorrow at 8 AM to look at it. He said don't worry because he thinks (and so do we) that it's a faulty gauge. So, we left and had only one moment of problems. The float stuck in the carb so I had to get out, take the breather cover off and bang on the carb to unstick the float. Didn't do it again. Let me tell you, thick clouds of black smoke from your tailpipe is an eye-opener.


We stopped in a state park just outside of Knoxville for the night. Booger Holler ladies and gentlemen. The park is beautiful and sits on a huge lake. I'd love to go back but being surrounded by Nascar folks after the wonderful RV park in DC was jarring.


We plan to come back when we can just relax and enjoy the trip. We did learn something....this family doesn't get upset with each other when things like this go wrong. We pull together and enjoy each other's company. I love that.

Can you imagine the possibilities??

Related Sections: Art & Design  Galleries  Household

Digitally printed tiles make magnificent murals

Once you've dressed up your garage door like an airplane hangar, your next trick is to make your shower look like it's sitting at the bottom of a gigantic waterfall. That's easy with these Okhyo tiles, ceramic squares that bring extra-sharp digitally printed photos into unexpected places.

Not happy with the selection? Choose your own photo and have it printed on these tiles that look great in a bathroom, kitchen, or anywhere else tiles would go. Only problem is, we might get tired of the same picture all the time. Remind us to create tiles like this out of OLED video screens. Someday.

Okhyo, via Trendir

It's Thursday

Thursday suffers from identity crisis.  It falls after Hump Day Wednesday so it feels inferior because everybody is dancing that it's Wednesday.  It falls before Friday.  Everybody is overlooking Thursday in order to see Friday.

Poor Thursday.

I'm reprinting this from its original page. I hope they don't mind.

Because it needs to be talked about.  What's wrong with some people?

Published on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 by Facing South

Senators Who Voted Against Extending Jobless Benefits Hail From States Devastated by Recession

by Chris Kromm

Late yesterday, Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning relented on a multi-day filibuster that was holding up passage of a bill including a 30-day extension on unemployment benefits.

Bunning's retreat allowed the bill to reach the Senate floor, where it quickly passed 78-19 and was signed into law by President Obama last night (the House had passed a similar measure last week).

The Kentucky senator's intransigence may turn out to be a political blunder, just at a time when the GOP was gaining political momentum. Fellow Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine criticized Bunning's move, saying over 500 jobless would lose benefits in the next week in her home state.

It's also unlikely to endear Bunning and Republicans in states hard-hit by the recession and facing high unemployment.

Of the 19 Senators who voted against the package including jobless benefits after the filibuster ended, eight of them come from states that face jobless rates higher than the national average -- all but one of them (Sen. Ensign of Nevada) from the South.

 As the chart shows, Republicans in the South who voted against the bill are especially vulnerable to charges that they're putting politics ahead of the interests of their own recession-rocked constituents.

These are the kind of votes that could prove costly for Republicans where they face challengers in 2010, including North Carolina, Kentucky and New Hampshire.

It could even be an issue in states like Texas, where -- despite having an unemployment rate below the national average -- over a quarter million residents lost jobs in 2009. But ironically, the vote was cast by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who on the same day lost in her primary bid defend her senate seat.

© Copyright 2010 by the Institute for Southern Studies

What an ass!

What an ass! He buys Anderton's then lets it sit and rot after a storm. He bulldozes the beautiful facade and now this. The fucker had no intentions of trying to save the building.

We Got Some Snow Yesterday

It was beautiful for a while. Unfortunately, I had to drive to work.

Mercy

Busy month.  And I've noticed that Facebook has cut down on my blogging because it's so immediate.  Such a nation of instant gratification.  We want it done NOW.  How many of us have called tech support or a help line on the weekend only to get the recording that says, "Our regular business hours are Monday through Friday from hour to hour."  And have wanted to spit across the room because we wanted whatever was broken fixed RIGHT NOW.

I'm feeling that way about life right now.  My SO is probably going to have to have her knee replacement replaced because of an infection.  She'll have to go through PT ALLLL over and that's painful and a pain in the ass for her.  I want that fixed NOW.  It ain't happenin'.  I want my exterior doors replaced NOW.  I want my house painted and insulation blown in the attic NOW.  I want peace in the house, in this city, in this county, in this state, in the country and on the planet NOW.  Not only ain't that happenin', likely will never happen in this lifetime for me.

How this is related, I have no idea but feel the need to tell it.  We were coming home from a teen gathering last night and saw an injured raccoon on a street near our house.  We turned around and went back to see what we could do.  It was just sort of curled up on the street probably in shock.  It just looked at us rather calmly, I'd have to say and had clearly been hit by a car.  There was some blood coming from it's ear and it couldn't move or put weight on its back leg.  We were trying to figure out how to pick it up and take it to the emergency vet to at least have it euthanized but we had nothing in the car to do that with and keep us from being bitten or clawed.  It finally moved and tried to walk over to a storm drain opening dragging its back leg.

My heart hurt for it.  Still does.  I ease that hurt with the belief that it will find its nest and stay there until it heals....or that it will go peacefully in its sleep.

How does someone hit an animal with their car and keep driving?  How do they hit it in the first place unless you're speeding down the road.  Raccoons aren't that fast.  The driver had to see it coming unless they weren't paying attention or tried to hit it on purpose.  Don't scoff, I've seen that happen, a driver swerve to HIT a cat or squirrel or other animal.  I've seen it.  Was a good thing I didn't have my sidearm with me at the time.

Anyway, what happened with the raccoon feels significant to me somehow.  I'll figure it out.  I want that raccoon fixed NOW.  Dammit.