I'm sitting in our room at the Harbor House hotel in Galveston. We picked up Lynne's parents in Houston earlier today, then drove to the island. We have a cruise leaving on Thursday. Till then, there's time to kill.
So for dinner we ate at Willie G's next door. We'd stopped in early for drinks, but were impressed by the place so we returned for dinner. Willie G's is a seafood place right on the water (just like the hotel). The food is really good. And our server, Joe, was top notch. If you're in Galveston, Willie G's is highly recommend -
http://www.williegs.com/
HOV stupidity is increasing.
So the new HOV lanes along I-635 have been open for awhile. And I've noticed that there are quite a few wrecks in the HOV lane. In fact, my last five commutes have been affected by fender benders in the HOV lane. And I have one question..
HOW FUCKING STUPID DO YOU HAVE TO BE TO REAR-END ANOTHER CAR IN THE HOV LANE??!?!?!?!
Let's face it. It's not like there are two lanes and someone merged or cut-in on another car. It's single lane, follow-the-leader easy. And there's a whole lot less traffic in the HOV than the main lanes. It's pathetically easy to maintain a safe following distance since no one can cut it (or at least that's the theory). Yet these morons keep having 2, 3 and more car pile-ups because they're too stupid. The problem arises that these stupid HOV drivers are impacting the rest of the road when
TXDOT and the police show up to clear the mess.
Why?
Because the idiots at
TXDOT were TOO FUCKING STUPID TO MAKE THE HOV LANES WITH A SHOULDER TO ALLOW GETTING AROUND A WRECK! So now the police have to block one of the main lanes to let all the other Stupid HOV drivers around the wreck.
But no... One lane is not usually enough. Two lanes is more like it. One lane for the emergency responders and one lane for the Stupid HOV drivers.
And of course, our fine officers in Law Enforcement have to get all the details. So a very minor accident that should have been moved to the shoulder after the first few minutes ends up taking an hour or more to clear out of the HOV lane.
Sheesh....
There's a law in this state. If the vehicles are running and there are no injuries, those involved in an accident are supposed to move their vehicles off of the road. It's the law. Period. I wish someone would start enforcing it. Because none of these five wrecks I've seen this week was any more than a minor fender bender. No fluids leaking, no cars sideways, no broken glass, no flat tires.
MOVE THEM OFF THE FUCKING ROAD!!!!! Even dumbass HOV users should be able to figure it out... But apparently not.
Labels: Dumb HOV lane users
Government Smart Asses
So I'm flying to South Dakota for my mother's 70th birthday at the end of April. And one of the things that I want to take with me the soda can pop-tops I've been collecting for her. Mom gives them to some charity that turns them into money. Not sure how it works nor really care. She asked, I collect.
But I've got a bunch of them. Enough to fill a gallon pickle jar about 1/2 way. Now it's a short trip so I had planned on carrying my luggage on. Then I started thinking about some of the bizarre stories coming out of airports around the country... You know the kind... Where the TSA has failed the common sense test.
Now I'm not really expecting a lot of help, but the TSA does have a website. After a few minutes of surfing, I figure the answer isn't there. But there is an email address. Yeah... You know where this is going...
The exchange follows. I am not making up their last reply (or lack of such) to me.
=== begin message ===
Date: Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:16:04 -0400
From: "TSA-ContactCenter6"
Subject: Re: Question about an item for carry on. <<#184018-260662#>>
To: xxxxxxxxx@verizon.net
--- Original Message ---From: "Brian Cxxxxxxxxx" xxxxxxxxx@verizon.netReceived: 4/2/2008 3:49:39 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 4:00 )To: "TSA Contact Center" TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.govSubject: Re: Question about an item for carry on.
Wow... That was a total non-answer. Why do you guys even have an email address? Never mind. Don't non-answer that.----- Original Message -----
From: TSA-ContactCenter2
To: xxxxxxxxx@verizon.net
Sent: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 10:23 AM
Subject: Re: Question about an item for carry on.
Thank you for your e-mail.
The Transportation Security Administration's current security screening procedures require all carry-on luggage and accessible property be screened before passengers take them onboard an aircraft. Regardless of whether an item is on the prohibited or permitted items list, the Transportation Security Officers (TSO's) have discretion to prohibit an individual from carrying an item through the screening checkpoint or onboard an aircraft if the item poses a security threat.
Therefore, TSA security screening personnel make the final decision on whether to permit items like this into the sterile area of the airport. Should you need additional assistance, feel free to contact us at toll free 866-289-9673.
Please visit our website at www.tsa.gov for additional information about TSA. We continue to add new information and encourage you to check the website frequently for updated information.
We hope this information is helpful.
TSA Contact Center
--- Original Message ---From: "Brian Cxxxxxxxxx" xxxxxxxxx@verizon.netReceived: 3/31/2008 10:35:27 AM Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 4:00 )To: "TSA Contact Center" TSA-ContactCenter@dhs.govSubject: Question about an item for carry on.
Good morning,
This may seem like a strange question.
My mother collects soda can pop-tops for a charity she is involved with. So I save pop-tops for her. I'm flying to see her in early May and have quite a few of these pop-tops for her. It's a short trip, so I had planned to just carry a small bag onto the flight.
Will the TSA security screeners have a problem with about a 1/2 gallon volume worth of these pop-tops in my luggage?
Thanks, Brian Cxxxxxxxxx ------ TCC Control Number: ------------ TCC Control Number: ----I guess they did do what I told them to do... Not answer. And care to guess what happened when I called the phone number?
I guess I'll just check my luggage so that I don't have to mess with it. But now I wonder if I'm going to make the news when I head through security at month's end.
Labels: government arrogance, TSA stupidity
