Good morning, Monday movers and shakers! Your drive today is fraught with nothing, with dangers lurking nowhere. Hazardous conditions exist only in distant memories, and the weather is terrible, but only if your definition of “terrible” is clear, dry, fogless and without wind.
Okay… there is a remote possibility of ice on the road. I couldn’t find anything slippery, even on the wet spots. However, just prior to launch this morning, I noticed that my windshield was a little dirty. I gave it a shot of wiper fluid, but after the first swipe of the wipers, I realized that freezing temps had just created an ice sheet across the big window. I had to get out and scrape the ice, since I’m a fan of visibility while driving. My point: yes, it’s just cold enough today to create ice under certain conditions, so be aware that it COULD be on the road somewhere.
I read about some obscure supercar the other day. The automotive writer described the front of the car as being “polygonal shaped.” As opposed to… not shaped?
Recently, I discovered that when you buy eggs, at least in the traditional 12 or 18 packs, the carton dutifully includes a list of ingredients. Look for yourself, it’s true. The list is not long, it reads only, “eggs.” Very helpful, I suppose, for those who wish to avidly avoid certain ovoids.
So, this is random, odd, and pointless (unlike the other critical intel that you’ve come to expect from this column). The other day, I had a bunch of things to purchase from AutoZone, including a pair of windshield wipers for Mrs. Kdog’s car. Only, I purchased the wrong type. Well, I returned to the store the other day, with the intent of returning the wrong wipers for a refund, and applying that towards the purchase of a correct set.
Before I entered the store, I looked at my receipt. I mostly wanted to be able to point immediately to line on the fairly long receipt that showed where the wipers were. But, I couldn’t find that line. As it turns out, unbeknownst to me, I had not even been charged for the wipers in the first place!
So, no refund to apply towards the new ones… and with the “wrong” ones, I just walked into the store, put the “wrong ones” on the shelf, and never even bothered with mentioning it. It was almost like reverse shoplifting, what with slipping in there to give back stuff that I was NOT getting a refund for. I then paid (full price) for the CORRECT pair, and was on my way.
Man… school scandal. Bribery. Rich and famous folks using money to get things underserved. Who would have ever imagined that THAT was going on? I was amused by a Ben Stiller interview a couple of days ago… he said that he was proud to announce that his 16-year-old daughter had just been accepted to UCLA on a full football scholarship (Full disclosure: He was joking… he is a comedian, and he only made that up. He is probably not going to jail).
Say… do you know what happens when the smog clears from Los Angeles? UCLA!
Today is National Medal of Honor Day. This is a day set aside to remember the handful (fewer than 3,600 since its inception in 1861) of United States military members, from all branches, who have received this very high award for service above and beyond the call of duty. Some of these honors have been awarded posthumously. If you know a recipient, you can be absolutely certain that you know a person whose bravery and patriotism and love for fellow man, is of the very highest caliber. The Medal of Honor is no joke, no “freebie.” It is only earned by demonstrating extreme valor on behalf of others.
Last week, the Lake Elsinore area experienced a crisis: hordes of tourists arrived to view the blooming of the poppies. Only, residents had to contend with people parking in front to driveways, interrupting traffic, pedestrianing all over the highways, to include CHILDREN pedestrianing those same highways, immense amounts of trash left behind at the end of each day, and trespassers strolling through peoples’ yards.
It seems to me that there’s very little difference between the complaints of Lake Elsinore folks and mountain folks, other than the possible exception of THEIR trash piles probably containing fewer broken sleds. Oh, I’m sure that at least SOME of their tourists did some sledding on the poppies, but that probably wasn’t the MAIN activity.
My message to our Lake Elsinore brothers and sisters: Our snow melts, and most of the chaotic problems melt away proportionately. Soon, your flowers will fade… and your own chaos will fade proportionately. In any case, we feel your pain.
Enjoy your Monday… the end of today will mark 20% of your work week completed. I’ll be back tomorrow, as we strive to reach that 40% milestone.