Dysfunctional Parking Is To The Left

While enjoying our ice cream at Brusters this evening we amused ourselves by making fun of the people already there and the new ones as they pulled up. All in good fun really.

The most fun is watching folks pull in and park, scary. A full size Ford pick up truck pulled into the lot and it looked like he didn’t even try to get in between the lines. Parked at a 60 degree angle to the end of the spots he parked across. The lot wasn’t crowded, so it is not like he was depriving any one of a place to put the car, but what kind of statement was he making? Early to mid 20s couple get out and saunter over to get in line. (Don’t even get me started on the line and the service we received.)

Next in was a Nissan Maxima. Pulled into the side of the lot in front of us and paused. Started to back up and I thought it was to get more centered in the spot. This is like a 5-foot wide car and it was “in” a 10′ wide spot. In is in quotes because the left tires were mostly on the line with the outside of them in the other parking spot. Instead of straightening out, this car backs up across the aisle, where the canted pickup truck is, and stops in the middle of two parking spots. At least she is perpendicular to the lines. Two youngish (late teens?) couples get out and walk across to get some ice-cream.

Brusters in same lot as a Publix grocery store where Donna and I walk over to after eating dessert. We need dish soap as all our silverware is dirty and even though I offered to eat breakfast with my fingers, Donna insisted on buying some Sunlight. It is 9:30 on a Friday night and the store lot is nearly empty. So as not to tire themselves out by having to walk the extra 20 feet to the door another young couple pull right up front of the store, park and get out. At least he was perfectly parallel to the curb (could have been a little closer though.) The guy must have been raised by his mommy and hasn’t got car guy friends, because if he did, they would certainly have told him by now that the loud squealing coming from his brakes, that goes away when they are applied, is telling him he needs new pads.

Redline Arrives

I got my Redline synthetic oils for the tranny and diff today. Probably have been sitting on my desk since Monday, but they came home today. Now I just have to get together with John (who has the tools) to do the actual changing. Maybe next weekend.

Picked up the second batch of photos for the Drive By Photo Contest another couple of possibles, but we narrowed it down to one from this roll and one from the first. Monday when I get back to work I’ll scan a couple of the more interesting ones. There is a page up that has a half dozen of the entries so far, I don’t think I have a chance. Then again it will all depend on who the judges are and what they are looking for.

Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $1733.37
Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 243

Bugs

We were going to leave early morning Thursday and head home, but decided mid-afternoon to just leave around sundown and ride home with the top down in the darkness. Excellent plan. It was a great night for the 2-1/2 hour drive, the sky went from blue to orange to dark blue to black. We even needed our coats after the sun went down. The only fly in the ointment, was literally just that, bugs were coming at us so thick that 2 stops to clean the windshield were required to make a safe trip…At times while driving it looked just like the stock Windows screensaver, Starfield Simulation.

Purchased Today: $6.25 in gas
Money spent since 03/03/03: $1733.37
Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 241

Horsman Island

Horsman IslandOur friend Jerry Horsman, who we rented the condo from, wanted to take us out on his “boat.” The word boat is in quotes because it is kind of a personal watercraft. What ever you classify it as, it is fast. It is a Sea-Doo Speedster, 220 HP attached to a 16′ fiberglass hull, that really flies (top speed is 55MPH.) We had a lot of fun zipping around the inlets, rivers and shorelines of Hilton Head Island.

We got an unscheduled tour of Horsman Island #2 when Jerry forgot about the fast approaching low tide. We spent a pleasant 2 hours watching the crabs, seagulls and pelicans until the water got up to about 2 feet deep and we could get back underway. It is called Horsman Island #2 because just two weeks ago he pulled the same stunt with his wife in the boat in another location.

Excuse Me, That’s My Book

I brought a partially finished paperback with me from home, The Arraignment by Steve Martini. I never read at home any more, the only time I do read is when we are away (and away from a computer.) When I do read, I read mostly crime fiction stuff, tough talking P.I.s, lawyers put in positions they should never be in or get out of, but do, underdog homicide cops, etc. Before this 5 days of relaxing is up I will finish nearly one book a day. Here is the rest of the list:
The Jury by Steve Martini
The Crush by Sandra Brown
Dust To Dust by Tami Hoag

Went grocery shopping and because it was going to be a rainy day today I bought a paperback book to read. As we were checking out a nice young man was bagging our groceries for us. The book was The Crush by Sandra Brown and when he picked it up instead of plopping into the bag he started reading the back cover. Maybe it was the picture of the author on the back that caught his eye or something, but I found it very unsettling that this kid was “reading” my book.

Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $1727.12
Started up, went down, went up, back down, back up, down again, up again, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 240

Pizza

We had breakfast on the balcony overlooking the ocean. Followed it up by a walk along the beach. Lunch was a trip to a place we read about, but it was so crowded we walked across the shopping center lot and ate somewhere else. Dinner consisted of pork chops and baked potato that we had brought with us and was followed by another walk on the beach.

Purchased Today: $0
Money spent since 03/03/03: $1727.12
Started up, went down, back up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/03: 234

Bone Collectors

On our morning walk on the beach we encountered an awful lot of folks bent at the waist digging in and/or poking around the sand. They were picking up shells, gathering the exoskeletons of deceased mollusks. Bone collecting.

Another random beach walking thought: Is it just me or after seeing Jurassic Park III do all pelicans in flight look like pterodactyls or what?