The
Squamidian Report – Oct. 26 / 13
Issue #596
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
The fog that had the Lower Mainland socked in under a dense dark dreary damp blanket for the last couple of weeks has finally broken up a bit. There had been a rash of crashes and collisions as motorists failed miserably at adjusting to the reduced visibility. Fog is normal around and along the coast this time of year if a high pressure system sets up, blocking air movement and creating a thermal inversion. During the whole period when the residents of the Lower Mainland were enduring the fog, we were enjoying bright sunshine and warm temperatures up this way. The fog bank made it up Howe Sound to about Lion’s Bay and occasionally reached as far up as Britannia, only to recede again. Its been quite interesting. Most of the time we were observers, but occasionally we found ourselves to be participants. The ride down the Sound was usually spectacular with the sun reflecting off the water and illuminating the fog bank as it sat almost stationary just south of Anvil Island. At times it would engulf many of the islands in the Sound, leaving their tops well above in the clear air. When heading down toward the city we would become participants about Lion’s Bay but occasionally we’d run into the fog along some of the lower sections of the highway when the bank would drift over. Either way, it was like driving through a door or curtain. Brilliant sunshine and then a very pronounced, definite, brilliant white wall ahead. An instant later is was dark and damp and gloomy. Quite chilly on the bike and not a place to be, given the tendency of most drivers to simply blunder along completely unaware of their surroundings or the driving conditions. So, aside from riding to Horseshoe Bay a few times, we avoided the city.
I remember once, years ago, when Ryan was a kid, we were on a BC ferry either headed to or returning from Nanaimo, can’t remember which. The ferry entered one of these very pronounced fog banks that are so typical of this area. As we watched from the deck, the front simply disappeared. We had a great time running toward the stern as we kept just ahead of the wall. Once we were back as far as we could get, we were engulfed along with the rest of the ship. After that we couldn’t see a thing. The same happens in reverse when the ships exit a bank. Its like going from night to day. While sitting in Horseshoe Bay the other evening with my riding group we watched the ferries immerge from the fog bank as they approached the terminal. Both neat and spooky at the same time.
Something not so neat; there has been a rash of logging truck rollover situations in BC over the last week or so. In most cases no one was seriously hurt but in one of them, a logging truck rolled over and lost it’s load coming through Whistler. There was a motorcycle coming the other way and the logs spilling from the truck crushed the rider who died at the scene. The other cases were simply lucky, no one was in the way when the trucks went over sending their huge load of logs across the highway. The motorcyclist was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was nothing the rider could have done about it. Had it been a car in the same place, the outcome would have been the same. It would have been crushed.
There are several reasons for the logging truck rollovers. The main one is greed. Its all in the name of profit. It turns out that the operation of logging trucks in BC is exempt from many of the laws that govern the rest of the trucking industry. The logging industry wants the biggest loads the trucks can carry. And they want the loads delivered as fast as possible. Where the rest of the trucking industry must follow weight limits and driver hour limits, the logging trucks are free to do as they please. When ever anyone tries to restrict these units, the industry lobbies to keep them exempt from the rules. As long as the trucks lights are mostly working, and the trucks brakes are mostly working and the driver is licensed, they are permitted to carry on. The logging industry has been here since the beginning and any attempt to make changes brings that standard old cry that it will cost JOBS. The only thing it would actually cost is a tiny bit of profit. So, the trucks are flying down the highways at speeds that scare the hell out of everyone, taking sharp corners and bends in the road at speeds that make your hair stand on end. The trucks are loaded incredibly heavy and are very top heavy. They can not stop in a reasonable amount of time or distance and when they go over, logs weight tons are sent spilling all over the road and everything on it.
The only outcome will be that for a short period of time there will be roadside safety checks of ALL trucks, looking for things like lights out and unadjusted brakes. Once the public memory has faded a bit, that will come to an end. Over loaded logging trucks will continue to speed down highways, teetering on the edge of control as they go. Stay clear of them, stay very clear. They are dangerous.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
As you all probably
know by now, we had our first snow fall here in southern Ontario Wednesday
night and through into the next day. I was up early around 5am to take the dog
down for a piddle and noticed the snow on the garage roof when I looked out the
front bedroom window. I was shocked to say the least. The snow began to melt a
little during the early morning but before it was all gone, the clouds opened
up once again with some pretty big flakes! With the temp having risen to 6c the
second batch of snow didn’t accumulate much from midday on. I’m glad to say
it’s early enough yet that we shouldn’t expect the snow to come and stay in any
amount yet. Most years we don’t get anything that stays until late November
through to mid December but … never say never!
Just the other day I
was talking with Adam about having my TORO snow blower serviced by a pro for
the first time since I bought it and figured I still had some time before I’d
need it’s services. Well, wouldn’t you know, I probably jinxed us by saying
that! I’ll be sure to phone the small engine shop in Waterloo tomorrow and take
the blower up to them before the weekend. I think they have a standard service
plan that includes a tune up and oil change as well as full adjustments of all
the levers and belts etc for less than $100.00. Since the only adjustments it’s
ever had were done by the kid who assembled it at Home Depot in Waterloo where
I bought it, I’m sure I’ll see a difference in performance after having a pro
service done for the first time ever! Maybe now I’ll have two speeds in reverse
like it’s supposed to and also it will go forward in first gear rather than
stuttering like it has the hiccups. These quirks never bothered me before
because I only used full reverse or the faster gears while blowing snow but
it’s time to get it in proper running and performing order. Maybe once it’s
serviced properly I’ll be able to blow the snow right onto the sidewalk across
the street from our house. I’d enjoy this because the idiot that lives there
gave me shit a couple of weeks ago for blowing my leaves against his curb. He’s
such a jerk I’d like to give him something to bitch about for real come winter.
In the 15 years we’ve lived here he hasn’t said more than a dozen words to me
and most of them were the curse words that came out of his big mouth when he
yelled at me for blowing my leaves his way. I said to him after he called me an
asshole that if he’d just asked politely, I might have complied with his wishes
that I keep my leaves on my side of the street but since he showed how ignorant
he truly is I’ll have to keep blowing my leaves onto whatever side of the
“Public” street I feel like!
I just turned away
and left him standing on “his” boulevard fuming! I haven’t had occasion to blow
any more leaves his way since that day but I intend to send a load of snow his
way once it gets here! SO, one more reason to make sure my TORO is performing
to its peak come snow time!
Don’t you just hate
ignorant neighbours?
Well, I had another
adventure this week and it had to do with my precious Jeep. I had received a
“Recall Notice” last November 2012 and it had to do with the air bags on the
2002 and 2003 Jeep Liberty deploying without warning! Chrysler said that they
would be sending me another notice in January 2013 telling me when and where to
take my Jeep to have the problem fixed for free by one of their dealers. Well,
I waited patiently for many months and finally a second notice arrived in the
mail last week. I had almost given up hope that Chrysler keep their word and
fix the problem. The notice said to call the dealer of my choice and make an
appointment to have the work done. So I called Bustard Chrysler in Waterloo
where I bought the Jeep in the spring of 2003. They had to order the part and
called me two days later to make the appointment time. I finally got the Jeep
in to their service dept last Monday at 9am. I had been putting up with the
“Air Bag” idiot light on for over a year and figured it would be nice not to
have to look at it’s bright red light any more. They told me that they had to
replace the wiring harness that ran from the dash through the console to all
air bag points in the vehicle and it would take an hour at least. Well, after I
sat in their “lounge” for over an hour they informed me that they’d need
another couple of hours because it turned out to be more work than they
figured. I had Adam with me so he drove me home and offered to take me back to
Waterloo when the called to say it was fixed. I finally called Bustard’s after
lunch and they said the Jeep was ready and there was no charge. Adam took me
back up to Waterloo and waited until I checked out the Jeep to be sure
everything was ok. I drove out of their lot and half a block later I turned
around and went right back to their service desk. None of the gauges on the
dash were working! I said they must have shorted something out while working on
the air bag system. They checked it all out while I spent another two hours in
their lounge. They finally concluded that the computer in the gauge module was
caput! I said it was working fine when I brought the Jeep in the morning and
all they could say was “It must just be coincidence because the gauge cluster
has nothing to do with the air bag wiring and they had checked the new wiring
harness they installed and it checked out OK! They said all they could do was
replace the dash gauge module. They could get me a rebuilt one for $1200.00 or
a used one from the wreckers for $398.00 installed including taxes. After all
the checking and rechecking there was nothing I could do but decide which one I
wanted to do. They assured me that they would make sure the one from the
wreckers was working fine before installing it so I said to go ahead with that
one. They located one that could be in their hands the next morning and I’d
have the Jeep back by noon. I agreed to leave the Jeep with them for the night
and they called the next day at noon to say it was all done and ready!
Once again Adam
drove me up to pick it up. I paid for the work and drove home. It was nice to
have a working dash in the car once again. I didn’t drive the Jeep at night
until Wednesday night and it was then that I noticed that half of the lights
that illuminate the tachometer and speedometer were not working. So I couldn’t
tell how fast I was driving until I hit the 60km/h mark. Also the tach was unreadable after 2000 rpms.
I called the dealer today to complain and was told that as far as the mechanic
could tell the lights were all working and he had even replaced two of them
before installing the used gauge cluster. I said that I wasn’t satisfied and
that I wanted them to make it right! The service manager called me back an hour
later and told me that they would locate another used dash and make sure this
time that it was totally working and they would split the $200.00 labour fee with me this time. I said, “Get the new “used”
gauge cluster in and give me a call when you’re sure it’s working and we’ll
talk!” I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay anything to correct their mistake! So
when and if they call tomorrow we’ll be having another discussion about who is
responsible for the problem and who’s going to pay for the installation. I hope
they agree to do it for nothing and also that they get it right this time!
That’s it for this
week folks!
Thanks for tuning in
and I’ll be looking forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now … Greg
PS: Something To
Think About>
He Said/She Said
He Said: “I don’t
know why you wear a bra, you’ve got nothing to put in it!”
She Said: “You wear
pants don’t you?”
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Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.