Author Archives: bfrhodes99

An Accident

Posted in Safety by

I have had more than my share of accidents. Sometimes, I refer to myself as accident prone. Fortunately, I haven’t caused any big catastrophe…yet. Who knows? If the Lord keeps me alive for another ten or so years…

The short intro serves a little purpose. When I went out in search of a charging station the other day, I noticed the traffic was really bad. I mean, Goodman Road going through Southaven is prone to have heavy traffic but this was unusually bad. Moreover, all the businesses on the north side of the road were closed.

After a while, I found out the cause. It seems that a dump trunk operator forgot to lower the dump bed. Before he realized it, he pulled it through some power lines going across the street. Then, he proceeded pulling down five or six power polls with the wires.

Now, that is an accident. I pity the poor man. He either did work for someone, who immediately fired him or, if self employed, is facing bankruptcy… or worse.

I’m sure the man didn’t do it on purpose and likely everyone knows it. However, it is the sort of thing you don’t just say sorry and walk away from it. My guess is, once he realized what happened, he likely sat in the cab a cried for a while. I would have.

Invariably, the lawyers will get into it. Moreover, someone will have to pay for the repair. My guess is that the man’s liability won’t come close to covering it. He just might have to sell all he owns and he’ll still come up short. Maybe someone who knows how can set up one of those fund me pages. I’d contribute what I can.

I have no idea what the final outcome will be but I’m sure it won’t be good for that driver. It just took a moment to make the mistake and it will likely ruin his life, at least in the short term.

I hate it, but that is the way life is. In moments, things happen that change our lives for the worse and it simply cannot be removed with an eraser. Sometimes we bear the blame. I really do hope things turn out well for that driver. As near as I know, no one was hurt badly. At least he can take some solace in that.

It is one of many reasons I decided to leave the Marines. As I said, I do seem to be accident prone and I didn’t want one of my accidents to bring down an F4 with the crew of two. I went on to work on computers. If I make mistakes there, it can cause problems, but, well, there is just no way that I could have taken out the power for a couple of blocks on one side of the street. Those mistakes I made while working on computers were normally easily recoverable.

Yet we need guys like that driver. We need skilled folks who are willing to take the chance. Can you imagine what it would be like if no one would be willing to take the chance to drive the big trucks, knowing that their lives can be ruined in seconds.

As I sit here typing, I wonder, have we lost a good operator for one little lapse in memory? Is the man ever going to be able to drive again?

I don’t know. It’s really not my place to judge. I am sure there will be an investigation. But I sure hope we won’t lose all our truck drivers the first time the have an accident. It could end up making things bad for the rest of us. Not only that, given the risk, we just might start having a hard time finding men and women who are willing to take that risk for a reasonable wage.

I mean, the reason I left the Marines was because I didn’t want to take the risk. Fortunately, there are others who will and do.

As an aside, I would not have wanted to die for my country, but I would have. I just don’t know if I could stand it if I found out that I caused the death of another marine because of my mistake. I would not have liked that at all.

That truck driver. I’m sure he is having a tough time living through it too.

A Little Curious

Posted in Christian values by
Daily writing prompt
What are you curious about?
View all responses

Over the years I have been curious about many things, about why people do some dumb things, including myself. I have been curious about many things in science. Then of course, there are the things where an engineer designs things a certain way when almost the whole world knows it should be another. A recent thing that has my curiosity is why they seal potato chip bags so well that you can’t open them. I guess in a way, they could call them diet potato chips. If you can’t open them, then you can’t eat them.

However, throughout my life the one thing that has me the most curious, almost sense I first heard about it was just why Eve was not curious. I mean, if I was just standing there looking at a fruit tree and a snake came along and started talking to me, that would have me curious. Yet, as near as we can tell from the text, she does not seem to be surprised.

That spawns a number of more questions. Perhaps I have not even considered them all. Was it common place for the snake and Eve to converse? For that matter, did Adam and Eve converse with other animals as well? They might have talked about the weather with the chimps or with the the birds.

Then again, maybe the communication was not by sound. Maybe they communicated by mind waves. I guess they could have had some form of sign language.

It does say that God punished the snake by drastically changing it. Maybe the snake was very intelligent. Maybe, of all the animals, the serpants were the only ones that could talk.

Truly, I have found nothing in the Bible that explains it. It doesn’t make me doubt it. Just curious. One more thing. It really makes me wonder if this was the serpent’s first conversation with Eve, or Adam for that matter.

By the way, you notice one more thing. Satan talked to Eve through the serpent. It does make me wonder if it was possible for him to speak to Eve without something to speak through. If Satan did not need the snake, why did he use it?

Just curious.

It Has Been Suggested

Posted in Abuse of Power, Being woke, Biden, Border wall, Bribes, Build the Wall!, Communist Takover, Crime, FOC, Uncategorized by

Sorry. Don’t know the man’s name and I should. He is the third in the Republican running for President. Just is that I don’t know how to spell his name and I certainly can’t pronounce it. I guess this disqualifies me to ever become a reporter. Well, I will learn his name, both the spelling and the pronunciation.

Don’t get me wrong. I am still for Trump for president, but I heard the other guy say something I really like. He said that if he were elected president, he would send troops to the border. Now that is an idea I can live with. It should have been done a long time ago. The fact of the matter is that it should be treated as an invasion because an invasion is exactly what it is. They might not be using planes and tanks, but it is just as bad and maybe even more effective. We don’t shoot anyone because, well they aren’t really the enemy are they? They just want a job. Who can fault them for that?

Well, it is time to finish the wall and put some serious soldiers there. We need to arm them and give them authorization to shoot. Then we need to make it well known to one and all that we will no longer permit anyone to cross the border illegally.

No one would need to shoot anyone. The illegal migration would stop immediately.

Then the next step… the deportation. They should be rounded up and deported immediately. If they want to apply for asylum, fine. Let them do it from the south side of the border. It should have been done that way to begin with.

If we had done it right in the first place, there would be no need for the army to do the job. The problem is simple. The dems want more voters and the rinos want more labor. Then too, the criminals want the money they make off the smuggling, slaves, dope and prostitutes. It is why few people running for office will run for control of the border. It is why they like to come up with platitudes like, comprehensive immigration reform.

Report on EV Car

Posted in Electectric vehicles by

It has been a couple of weeks since I purchased the Nissan Ariya. So far, I must admit that it is far more than I expected. Considering the little driving I do, the range is not a problem. With the HHR I generally spent at or around thirty a week for fuel. So far, I’ve spent 30 for two weeks. After a while, I think that will only decrease.

I guess much of the car could be compared to the Rogue and I’d suspect, it was the platform used as a guide. It is, in truth a crossover. The seating, even the back is spacious. Only those more than six feet would feel the need to bow a little back there. There is no tunnel so three children would easily fit back there. By the way, did I mention it has rear air that can be separately controlled. It’s a shame. One of our sons is in Texas and the other in North Carolina. Sure could have used that room when they were younger and playing ball.

The trunk is big. I could easily put three weeks of groceries in it, even back when my kids were trying to eat us out of house and home. Moreover, the rear seats fold down, which just about doubles the space.

I must say, when I need to stomp on it, it never lacks the git-up-and-go. It is odd, however, it is not accompanied by the roar. I’m still getting use to that. Also, the brakes have different feel to them. I like it more but some might need some time to get used to it.

Some of the controls still confuse me. I keep wanting to push forward on the cruise control to engage it. To engage, I need to pull back. Pushing forward only causes it to resume. Naturally, if I just started out, there was no speed to resume so it just ignores me. Other than that, the controls are simple and easy to manage, though, in some cases you might want to pull over to use them or you just might end up in a ditch while trying to figure them out. There were a few times I almost did. When the cruise control is engaged, it will follow the speed of the car in front of you to the point it will completely stop about 5 feet behind it. When the car in front resumes, then I can press resume and it will again start following.

Mostly, the nav system knows the speed limits and displays them for you on the heads up display. The more expensive version can self drive and likely has a better database of speed limits. The one I have does not account for school being in or out of session. It just assumes it is always in session. Better to err that way than the other. The heads up display also displays speed, when the cruse control is on and when it detects a vehicle in front of you.

Planning routes is easy and versatile. You give the address of where you want to go and it will give two or maybe three choices. One for distance, one for time, and one alternate. Following the navigation is simple too. There is even a mode that puts route right next to the speedometer where it is easy to see. If you prefer, you can follow the route on the large display about midway between driver and passenger. For those with passengers, it might resolve the question, “Are we almost there?”

The only noise in the car of any consequence is the air from the vents. Turn the AC off, turn the radio off, and you just might find the silence eerie, especially after driving some kind of hot rod. Yes, there is some noise. I guess some comes from the gears, quite a bit from the air rushing by, but you just won’t notice it. You will want the radio just so you will have some noise.

The key-less entry is the best I’ve seen. If I am in possession of the FOB, as for instance in my pocket, I put my finger on the right place on the door knob and it unlocks. Press again and it locks. I just can’t see it getting easier than that. If the FOB stays in your pocket, it is far less likely that you will lock yourself out. Also, the locks can be controlled from a smart phone as well as the air conditioning. It allows you to cool or warm your car while you remain in your home or office. You need not be close to the car to do it.

It does pose the question to me. Is this better for those who live in the deserts or the snowy peaks. I don’t know.

For me, there is just one serious problem. It just won’t go without being charged. As near as I can tell, most charging stations are for Teslas. With a converter, which I now have, I can use the Tesla chargers, but we’re talking a five hour charge time instead of 30 or 40 minutes with the CCAs. I would hope that there will be more charging stations in the near future. In the mean time, if I have to I can go to one of the many Tesla chargers nearby. I guess I can work on the book while waiting on the charging.

By the way, even wit the fortune I paid, if I had it to do over, I’d definitely do it again. It is not that it’s electric. It’s just that much more of a pleasure to drive.

Another Comparison

Posted in Biden, Bribes, President Trump by

When it was President Trump, he did all he could to benefit the country and the American people. He did not need the job of president. He already had 4 billion dollars.

Old Joe, all he wants is what benefits Old Joe, his family and the dems. If Joe doesn’t win the next election, he and many of his family might end up in prison for true criminal activity. Many of the appointed folks in US government just might be looking for a job, while many of them just might be looking out through prison bars, the ones who committed the real crimes. Moreover, without his kingship, he will not be able to make money off the bribes.

Old Joe and the greyhound dogs just might have something in common. He just might be running for his life. (Figuratively for Joe. For real for the dogs. I don’t like dog racing, not even a little.)

Comparisons

Posted in AARP, Abuse of Power, AOC, Being woke, Biden, Bribes, Christian values, Drug Abuse, Uncategorized by

The dems just love making comparisons. Well, here are a few things to think about. To keep things straight forward, let’s use 2020 for it all.

364 by rifle. Too many to be sure but it is one of the lowest. More people were killed by hand, fist and feet that year.

1476 were killed by knife. My guess is that if we were to outlaw guns, this number would rise very fast, like at least double.

6365 killed by hand gun. I didn’t know that. In light of that, I really wonder why they want to outlaw the AR15. The AR15 is intended for distance. It loses it’s effectiveness in close.

Approximately, 71,000 are killed by drunk drivers. I’m not real great with math but that looks to me like more than all the above weapons combined. Maybe we should do more to keep the drunk drivers off the road. It would certainly save more lives than outlawing all rifles combined.

91,000 were killed by overdose, many of which were opiates. Many of those opiates came from China. Why do we let them do that? Why do we let criminals smuggle them over the border. Why do we let the drug aider in chief remain in office.

Note, every time there is a shooting, there is an uproar. Where is the uproar over the drugs that Old Joe intentionally allows across the border.

By the way, whether you want to admit or not, drunk driving is also drug abuse. So, really about 160 thousand are killed in one way or the other from drug abuse. That does not include the murders that are relative to drug abuse. There is no telling how many that would add to it. I would guess 20 thousand would be a conservative estimate.

Comparisons

Posted in Abuse of Power, Cancel Culture, Communism, Uncategorized by

Every time I look up, the dems are comparing another conservative to Hitler. I find two problems with that. First, Hitler was a socialist, nowhere near a capitalist. He was one of those who believed everything should be run by the government, though the truth be known, he just wanted the power. His idealism served only the purpose of gaining power. On the other hand, president trump believed in decentralization of power. Gaining power was neither his goal nor his desire. He was actually more powerful before his presidency.

Secondly, no one ever compares anyone to Stalin, a far worse man. I mean, if you really want to make a person sound bad, why not say he is like Stalin instead of Hitler. The only reason I can think of is that Stalin is one of the heroes of the communist movement. I mean, you will never find a true dem disparaging Stalin or Lenin, now will you? Have you ever heard anyone saying that so and so is just as bad as Stalin? Do you ever hear a dem say that he or she is as bad as Lenin? Of course not. That would be disparaging one of their idols.

Which brings the question to mind. What if I started using the phrase that so and so is no better than Lenin. I wonder just how long it would take for someone to jump on my case, one of the dems. No doubt that he will say I’m like Hitler. And by the way, I am not a socialist, as Hitler was.

A Word About Social Media

Posted in Abuse of Power, Adam Schiff, Being woke, Biden, Cancel Culture, Climate Change, Communist Takover, Coronavirus, Deceit, Dummycrats, Face Masks, Fauci, gun control, law enforcement, Lawyers and Representation, Medical/Dental, Memories, Uncategorized by

It is why I will never get on Ticktock or Facebook or anything similar. Perhaps I could be more well known if I did, but those folks have a serious problem. They publish lies without hesitation. The truth they disallow, while calling it a lie. That which aids and abets our enemy is welcome while that which encourages patriotism is verboten. They have permitted the rewriting of history, especially American history.

Well, let’s see what I mean. What about the virus. Much of what they would not permit from good ethical doctors could not be published. That damaging, which the dems wanted, was published and encouraged. Perhaps millions died because of that. It kept at least three effective meds from being used while allowing meds that had no effect. It caused two-year-olds to have to wear masks when they knew they had no effect. It obliterated the restaurant industry, especially in NY, NY and It just almost brought the American economy to an absolute halt. And then, as if that was not enough, they caused the US to go into a debt that we might never crawl out of, at least for another 100 years. Finally, they helped the dems outright steal an election right in front of our eyes. (Don’t tell me different. I saw what I saw. Others did too, but it is inconvenient for them to remember.)

People ask me why I won’t get on a social media. Now, you know why. I would appreciate it very much if you would let others know.

Incidentally, has anyone noticed the big increase in crime these last few years, especially shootings? Most of us don’t like it. The dems love it. It gives them a reason… well it just gives them reasons. That’s what they want.

Serious About Sirius

Posted in CEO Princeple, Customer no Service by

I guess just about every new car is equipped with Sirius these days and they come with a three month trial. Not only that, I have received a number of e-mails and now snail mail trying to get me to extend the trial. I really wished they would provide me with a simple check box, No thank you! Don’t need; don’t want; have no desire to have your services. Turned it down before. I will turn it down every time it is offered.

The hitch is that all communication is one way, unless I accept. They allow a yes but never a way of saying no. There is no way to reply to the e-mail and when I bought the car, there was no option to turn it down.

First, they have nothing to offer me. They have at least three jazz channels. They have but one easy listening channel, which is about one forth jazz. As far as I was concerned, none of the rest of the music was worth a hoot either. Did I mention I don’t like but about 5 pieces of jazz ever written. Not at all fond of it. Hence the question, if I don’t like it, why should I pay for it? For what reason would I listen to it?

Second, I wouldn’t take it if it were free. I have a selection of the music I like and I listen to that. I do not need or want anyone selecting my music for me. Moreover, I really get upset with organizations that establish one way communications. I’ve already had enough of that. I have signed up for a few things and then I can’t talk to anyone about it. The only way I can stop the service is to stop payment through the bank. In at least one case, I changed banks. They did, eventually stop bothering me, though I never got to send one message to them.

There is a person I used to listen to on the radio who had the perfect expression for such… “Customer NO Service. when I have a small problem easily resolved, and I try to speak to someone, I can’t. When I can’t speak to anyone, I get angry and terminate my business with them.

Now let me see. Let me consider the reasons I need Sirius? None! And I am dead serious about that. No need to ask me again. I have already made up my mind. There is no chance I will ever, ever change my mind for any reason. The only thing I ask from them is stop sending me the trash mail, of all kinds. Now. If I could ever figure out a way to get that message to them.