This is way to close to home. I'm the guy on the rider mower. Enjoy
It's A Dad's Life - Watch more Funny Videos
Monday, August 23, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Mosque in Manhattan
I get why people are angry about a mosque going up near the site of the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
The problem is that we are a culture based on equality for all. Our country was founded on the principal of religous freedom and if we forget this we are likely to forget other fundamental principals of life.
It is easy to get angry at something that sounds wrong but we need to let all people in the US practice their religious beliefs wherever they desire. If we chip away at this right, we all suffer.
We can't make exceptions. We can rationalize away a right this fundamental.
The problem is that we are a culture based on equality for all. Our country was founded on the principal of religous freedom and if we forget this we are likely to forget other fundamental principals of life.
It is easy to get angry at something that sounds wrong but we need to let all people in the US practice their religious beliefs wherever they desire. If we chip away at this right, we all suffer.
We can't make exceptions. We can rationalize away a right this fundamental.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Personal Responsibility 101
8 people were killed this weekend in Southern California when a desert rally truck left the course and plowed into the crowd. The people killed were at the edge of the course, within 4 feet of the trucks competing and there were no barriers.
I have watched with horror for many years the Baja 1000 where the exact same thing occurs. Not that people get killed all the time, but some do, but that spectators stand so close to the trucks traveling over uneven ground at 70 miles an hour.
The talk in the press is that the driver of the truck should be proscecuted for manslaughter. That is rediculous. If you tried to cross the freeway and a truck couldn't stop and hit you, should the driver be proscecuted?
People need to take personal responsibility. They need to know the dangers and take reasonable precautions. This is the same attitude that allowed a couple from the east (the guy was from the UK) to rent a jeep in March in Las Vegas and ride into the Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument with a leather jacket, dress shoes and no concern about the weather.
I have watched with horror for many years the Baja 1000 where the exact same thing occurs. Not that people get killed all the time, but some do, but that spectators stand so close to the trucks traveling over uneven ground at 70 miles an hour.
The talk in the press is that the driver of the truck should be proscecuted for manslaughter. That is rediculous. If you tried to cross the freeway and a truck couldn't stop and hit you, should the driver be proscecuted?
People need to take personal responsibility. They need to know the dangers and take reasonable precautions. This is the same attitude that allowed a couple from the east (the guy was from the UK) to rent a jeep in March in Las Vegas and ride into the Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument with a leather jacket, dress shoes and no concern about the weather.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Help Pakistan Flood Victims
I get why people are angry at Pakistan. We are spending tons of money, lives and political clout to bringdemocracy to a part of the world that many there see the US as the enemy and who want to kill us.
The floods have taken many lives and the aftermath threatens to take more from disease and hunger. We should help those in need. Many innocent people are dying. We should not let politics prevent us from helping our fellow men, women and children.
Others have said Pakistan is corrupt and any aid we send will just be diverted and not get to those who need it. This is a cop-out. Relief organizations know how to get around this.
If for no other reason but to show the Pakistani people we care we need to help. Please consider making a donation to the Pakistani relief effort.
The floods have taken many lives and the aftermath threatens to take more from disease and hunger. We should help those in need. Many innocent people are dying. We should not let politics prevent us from helping our fellow men, women and children.
Others have said Pakistan is corrupt and any aid we send will just be diverted and not get to those who need it. This is a cop-out. Relief organizations know how to get around this.
If for no other reason but to show the Pakistani people we care we need to help. Please consider making a donation to the Pakistani relief effort.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Cornholein'
I was reading a blog from a friend of my brother's who lives in Indiana and he said he was going to a cornhole party. I've been accused of having a dirty mind but I am not the only one who thought this meant something perverse.
I asked a friend from Nebraska what was meant by a "Corn Hole Party". He looked a me sheepishly and said it was a derogatory term for something not spoken of in mixed company. My suspiscions were confirmed.
I still couldn't believe this seemingly updtanding citizen would be so brazen about his perversions. I wracked my brain to think of another explanation but couldn't come up with one. It appears I was stuck in the mud.
I shut my door in my office and hesitantly typed "Corn Hole" into a search engine. I was afraid I would be scarred for life by what would come up. I was supprised and relieved.
The first entry directed me to the American Cornhole Association's website (http://www.playcornhole.org/) and no, you aren't going to go blind if you go to the site. It turns out Cornhole is a bean bag toss game like horseshoes. It's also called Corn Toss or Soft Horseshoes.
I guess I should get my mind out of the gutter.
I asked a friend from Nebraska what was meant by a "Corn Hole Party". He looked a me sheepishly and said it was a derogatory term for something not spoken of in mixed company. My suspiscions were confirmed.
I still couldn't believe this seemingly updtanding citizen would be so brazen about his perversions. I wracked my brain to think of another explanation but couldn't come up with one. It appears I was stuck in the mud.
I shut my door in my office and hesitantly typed "Corn Hole" into a search engine. I was afraid I would be scarred for life by what would come up. I was supprised and relieved.
The first entry directed me to the American Cornhole Association's website (http://www.playcornhole.org/) and no, you aren't going to go blind if you go to the site. It turns out Cornhole is a bean bag toss game like horseshoes. It's also called Corn Toss or Soft Horseshoes.
I guess I should get my mind out of the gutter.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Lame Discipline
Did you know that in Utah it is OK to stay in the left lane of a multi-lane road and let others pass you on the right? I had no idea.
About 10 years ago I learned to drive in the United Kingdom. I had been driving in the US for over 20 years. I had to learn a lot of things besides just driving on the other side of the road. In the UK it is illegal to pass on the left (the equivalent of our right) on a multi-lane road. The British are very committed to their lane discipline. You are to stay to the left unless you are passing and then you are to return to the left immediately.
I thought the same thing was required here in Utah and that Utah drivers are just without "Lane Discipline". Not so. Here in Utah you can coast along in the the left lane to your heart's content on a multi-lane road unless you see one of those pesky signs saying "Stay Right Except to Pass".
I looked at the Utah Drivers Handbook (you can get it online by going to public safety.utah.gov). There is nothing in the handbook saying you have to stay to the left on a multi-lane road except to pass.
There is one interesting thing in the UDH that seems to encourage this lack of lane discipline. On page 12 it says you can pass on the right on a multi-lane road. "Are you kidding me?" I thought, but, there it is in pictures for all to see. (I can't figure out how to copy the image and put it here or I would).
Doesn't that seem a bit weird? Why should it be OK to stay in the left lane? Shouldn't we have a single direction code of conduct so we all know to stay on the left until passing on the right rather than encourage multi directional passing so we don't know where someone will come from?
How often has someone just put on their blinker and leaped out in front of you without really knowing you were there? I believe not having a standard code about staying left leads to a lax attitude toward driving that leads to people doing what they want without looking in their mirrors first. I know it sounds like a stretch but if we don't teach a strict code in driver's education class we won't have disciplined drivers.
The drivers in the UK have to go through a lot more than we do to get a license. As a consequence they are, on the whole, better drivers. They have a sense of duty and obligation to the road, almost a professionalism, that doesn't exist here, especially in Utah.
As roads get more crowded we will need to adopt this attitude or a lot more people will die. We all are trying to get somewhere and to think you are the only one on the road is ludicrous. Please slow down, look in your mirrors and be courteous. I know that goes for me as well. I promise to try.
About 10 years ago I learned to drive in the United Kingdom. I had been driving in the US for over 20 years. I had to learn a lot of things besides just driving on the other side of the road. In the UK it is illegal to pass on the left (the equivalent of our right) on a multi-lane road. The British are very committed to their lane discipline. You are to stay to the left unless you are passing and then you are to return to the left immediately.
I thought the same thing was required here in Utah and that Utah drivers are just without "Lane Discipline". Not so. Here in Utah you can coast along in the the left lane to your heart's content on a multi-lane road unless you see one of those pesky signs saying "Stay Right Except to Pass".
I looked at the Utah Drivers Handbook (you can get it online by going to public safety.utah.gov). There is nothing in the handbook saying you have to stay to the left on a multi-lane road except to pass.
There is one interesting thing in the UDH that seems to encourage this lack of lane discipline. On page 12 it says you can pass on the right on a multi-lane road. "Are you kidding me?" I thought, but, there it is in pictures for all to see. (I can't figure out how to copy the image and put it here or I would).
Doesn't that seem a bit weird? Why should it be OK to stay in the left lane? Shouldn't we have a single direction code of conduct so we all know to stay on the left until passing on the right rather than encourage multi directional passing so we don't know where someone will come from?
How often has someone just put on their blinker and leaped out in front of you without really knowing you were there? I believe not having a standard code about staying left leads to a lax attitude toward driving that leads to people doing what they want without looking in their mirrors first. I know it sounds like a stretch but if we don't teach a strict code in driver's education class we won't have disciplined drivers.
The drivers in the UK have to go through a lot more than we do to get a license. As a consequence they are, on the whole, better drivers. They have a sense of duty and obligation to the road, almost a professionalism, that doesn't exist here, especially in Utah.
As roads get more crowded we will need to adopt this attitude or a lot more people will die. We all are trying to get somewhere and to think you are the only one on the road is ludicrous. Please slow down, look in your mirrors and be courteous. I know that goes for me as well. I promise to try.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Fastest Thing on Earth
This past Sunday I went to the Southern California Timing Association's annual National event at the Bonneville Salt Flats known as Speedweek.
I've lived in Utah for almost 40 years and have never been out to Bonneville Speedweek. I guess it's like living in New York and never going to the Empire State Building. Lots of people aren't tourists in their hometown.
The cool thing about this event is that it isn't one event, it is hundreds of events. Each minute detail for a vehicle can garner its own land speed record. There are classifications for production cars, motorcycles, trucks and other vehicles. Within each vehicle classification there is a motor designation and production designation. You can challenge the world speed record in any of these categories or sub categories, such as a vintage (1949 to 1981) American made production car with a 300 to 350 c.i. engine without modifications or something as obscure as a pre 1960s 175 cc motorcycle of Japanese origin.
Each vehicle has to go through the tech people. They are very thorough and are looking for safety issues as well as differences that would give one racer an unfair advantage over another. We were there for only about an hour all together and we saw a discussion over whether it is safe for a 230 lb guy who just barely fit into a dragster, to a guy who's motorcycle was disqualified because he build an oil cooler with fins and his classification didn't allow any alterations that would provide him this aerodynamic advantage.
It was tech overload. We walked up and down the pits and were able to stand right next to cars that went 400 mph. We also saw lots of 1930s roadsters cut down to resemble (or actually were) 1950s hot rods. Everybody was riding everything. It was a sensual trip to wander and take in the sites.
The people who built these machines were very approachable. They wanted to talk about their vehicles and each time we stopped we spent a half an hour talking about their classification, how they did and what they wanted to achieve this year. Everything from getting into the 200 mph club (going at least 250 mph or breaking a 200 mph+ record) to breaking the record for a pre-WWII motorbike of 66 mph.
We then wandered to the start line. Where else in a major sport could you stand 5 feet from a competitor as they started off without knowing the President? It was exhilarating, scary and interesting to watch them prepare and go through their routine. Another sensory assault that made this a wonderful experience.
All in all I don't know why I didn't do this before. I like cars, trucks and motorcycles and this is a world class event in my own back yard. All I can say is it was way too long a wait for this. I was like a kid in a candy store. So much to see so little time to see it all. Next year I'm going out for the weekend.
I've lived in Utah for almost 40 years and have never been out to Bonneville Speedweek. I guess it's like living in New York and never going to the Empire State Building. Lots of people aren't tourists in their hometown.
The cool thing about this event is that it isn't one event, it is hundreds of events. Each minute detail for a vehicle can garner its own land speed record. There are classifications for production cars, motorcycles, trucks and other vehicles. Within each vehicle classification there is a motor designation and production designation. You can challenge the world speed record in any of these categories or sub categories, such as a vintage (1949 to 1981) American made production car with a 300 to 350 c.i. engine without modifications or something as obscure as a pre 1960s 175 cc motorcycle of Japanese origin.
Each vehicle has to go through the tech people. They are very thorough and are looking for safety issues as well as differences that would give one racer an unfair advantage over another. We were there for only about an hour all together and we saw a discussion over whether it is safe for a 230 lb guy who just barely fit into a dragster, to a guy who's motorcycle was disqualified because he build an oil cooler with fins and his classification didn't allow any alterations that would provide him this aerodynamic advantage.
It was tech overload. We walked up and down the pits and were able to stand right next to cars that went 400 mph. We also saw lots of 1930s roadsters cut down to resemble (or actually were) 1950s hot rods. Everybody was riding everything. It was a sensual trip to wander and take in the sites.
The people who built these machines were very approachable. They wanted to talk about their vehicles and each time we stopped we spent a half an hour talking about their classification, how they did and what they wanted to achieve this year. Everything from getting into the 200 mph club (going at least 250 mph or breaking a 200 mph+ record) to breaking the record for a pre-WWII motorbike of 66 mph.
We then wandered to the start line. Where else in a major sport could you stand 5 feet from a competitor as they started off without knowing the President? It was exhilarating, scary and interesting to watch them prepare and go through their routine. Another sensory assault that made this a wonderful experience.
All in all I don't know why I didn't do this before. I like cars, trucks and motorcycles and this is a world class event in my own back yard. All I can say is it was way too long a wait for this. I was like a kid in a candy store. So much to see so little time to see it all. Next year I'm going out for the weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)