:: Ray's Periodic Rantings ::

:: Friday, September 29, 2006 ::

Strange luck

I don't know if I have ever actually seen anybody die, but as of today I have been there twice at the moment it happened, and it wierds me out a bit. Today is the second time in less than a year that I have been aboard a Metra Union Pacific North West Line commuter train that struck and killed a pedestrian who didn't belong on the tracks. It happened a few months ago at Mount Prospect Road on the border of Mount Prospect and Des Plaines. Each of the two police departments responded, and they released the train after about an hour of investigating. Then it happened again today, at about 11am near the Gladstone Park stop, in the city. The Chicago police weren't quite so efficient, and the train, already 15 minutes late, was held up an additional two hours.

In my experience of both incidents, it was obvious right away something had gone wrong. We were at relatively high speed, between stations, when the engineer laid on the horn for several seconds, then put the brakes to emergency and we came to a stop as fast as we could, which for a moving train isn't very fast. The first time it happened, I sort of shrugged it off as quirk of fate. But I almost couldn't believe when I felt the brakes apply today. What are the odds? I don't want to know, but I wonder if I was the only person on both trains.

I have to commend the Metra crews in both cases, who kept us relatively informed without being overly graphic, and I feel terrible for both engineers, who were powerless to prevent the tragedy unfolding in front of their eyes. What for us passengers was primarily an inconvenience was the stuff of nightmares for them. I hope they are both handling it OK.

As for me, I am fine...just a bit shaken and wondering if it means anything.
:: Ray 10:54 PM [+] ::
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Idiots wanted

Earlier this year, I upgraded from my 1995 VW Golf, which was getting a bit long in the tooth, to a somewhat shinier 2001 model. The 2001 is nice, but I miss the '95.

Over the six or seven years that I drove the old Golf, I became accustomed to its behaviors, many of which I liked and expected in the newer one. I was disappointed.

It is little things that I am talking about. The newer Golf automatically engages the power locks once the car reaches 5 mph or so. I hate this. What purpose does it serve? To stop carjackings at high speed? I don't like driving with locked doors. My take is that if I am in a collision, it is one more thing that could potentially jam and prevent me from getting out of the car. But the real annoyance here is that I perenially forget, and have to reopen the front door to unlock the rear ones when I store belongings in the back seat.

The hatch on the old Golf could be set so that it locked and unlocked along with the rest of the car doors. This one works independently, from a latch in the driver's door or with its own external lock. I hate this. I want it to work the way my old Golf did, which was very convenient for me.

As of 2001, VW was still behind in cupholder technology. My Golf has two small holders that pop out of the dashboard, but they are precariously close to the stereo (which had disastrous consequences for the stereo in a friend's Jetta), and on mine they are so gummed up with dried soda that they no longer pop out.

Another favorite feature of mine is a trunk light mounted so low, that if there is virtually anything in the trunk it obscures the light, making it useless.

My annoyance reached new highs a couple of days ago, however, when one of the headlights burned out. I bought a replacement and opened the hood to install it. It wasn't immediately obvious how to open the headlight compartment, so I looked in the manual to see how it is done.What I read stunned me. Essentially, the manual said, "It's technical. Go to the dealer." What kind of dealer-revenue-enhancing bullshit is that? I have changed halogen bulbs before. I know you aren't supposed to touch the glass. It's not rocket science. It wasn't even that hard to figure out without the help of the manual. Give your customers some credit, VW.

Oh, and for the record, I think that changing the Golf moniker back to the old Rabbit name for the 2007 model is stupid. It was affordable Euro-chicness that made VW such a success among the yuppie crowd in the first place. You lost the market with crappy quality, not bad model names. If you really want to sell more cars in the US, stop giving us gas-guzzling pigs, make your diesel models more affordable, and start selling the compact Polo model over here.
:: Ray 11:20 PM [+] ::
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Sox

Tonight Mary and I went to a White Sox game at Comiskey Park, or as they have us call it, US Cellular Field. It rolls off the tongue so eloquently, doesn't it?

The trip was organized by someone at Mary's office, so we sat with several of her coworkers -- fun people, though some of them didn't show because of the tornado warnings and all. We didn't get rained on, but that was the best part of the game itself, which the Sox lost 11-6, showing off some seriously uninspired fielding. Still, it was more respectable than the 9-0 drubbing they received the night before. Repeating their world championship of last year looks pretty unlikely.

The food, beer, and socializing were the best part. We ate mostly crap. Mary had a chicken sandwich which was decent. I had two hot dogs, one of which was horrific, and the other of which was fantastic. Recommendation: if you go to a Sox game, don't get a pre-wrapped dog at one of the big food counters on the outside wall. Instead get a fresh, hot one with grilled onions from one of the carts on the inside wall. You'll know why as soon as you take your first, juicy, bursting-with-flavor bite. The funnel cakes are good, too, even if they are pre-made and only heated up in the deep fryer.

It has been a good 7 years or so since the last time I attended a professional baseball game, and that was too long. Once a year or so is just about right. Go Sox!
:: Ray 11:51 PM [+] ::
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Back to the Default World

Wednesday morning at about 3am, Mary and I pulled into the driveway in our Tahoe, with Mabel the Airstream right behind, bringing to a close another trip to Burning Man. We had departed Friday, August 25 for another glorious week on the dry lake bed in Nevada known as the Black Rock Desert, bracketed by long hard drives across the country and back, 2011 miles each way.

For us, the experience of Burning Man has become as much about Burnstream Court and camping with our Airstream friends from around the country, as it is about art and burning the man. This year was possibly the best one yet, with 23 Airstreams parked in formation, and socializing in camp was so engaging that at times there was little motivation to venture out and see the sights.

We did get around a bit, however, and were rewarded for our efforts with wonder and amusement. For my money, the best fun on the playa was to be had watching Dance Dance Immolation. What is DDI? To quote their web page: "Dance Dance Revolution. With Flamethrowers. Pointed at you." It doesn't get any better than that.

Mary uses a digital camera, but I am still shooting old-fashioned film in my Lomo, so pictures are yet to come. I will announce it here when they are up.

On a final note, we got an unpleasant welcome back to the real world when we arrived home Wednesday morning. A circuit breaker had tripped during the week. One of the things connected to it was our refridgerator, which was no longer a repository for food, but instead a box full of horribly stinky garbage. We spent a good 45 minutes or so emptying and cleaning it before we could climb into bed for some desperately needed sleep. The stench was so bad, it gave me the hiccups. Good times.
:: Ray 1:43 AM [+] ::
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