In Plain Sight

I saw a story on the TV last week that was addressing the issue of how important it is to have a mailbox that has your information on it that is easy to read, especially at night. It seems that there are a good amount of mailboxes that are preventing the police, ambulance and fire fighters from getting to where they need to be in an emergency situation. This could be a life or death situation that could be prevented if more people made sure that their mail boxes were set up with easily read information.

I know that in the city that I grew up in the city had the street addresses painted on the curbs to help with this type of issue, but I imagine that with all of the budget cut backs most places can’t afford to take on the cost of something like that. So it is up to the individual resident to make sure that they properly display the numbers, and for their own good.

I think it is more widespread than previously imagined

A few years ago a good friend of mine died of some form of cancer. At the time no one told me exactly what the cancer was, but I’m beginning to think it was Malignant Mesothelioma because he ran a cement company. I’m thinking that because I just found out that there is asbestos in insulation, roof shingles, cement, brake linings, flooring products, and textiles. The “textiles” part really worries me – because “textiles” generally refers to fabrics. Does that mean carpets and fabrics?

I really didn’t realize that asbestos was in so many products that we come into contact with on a daily basis! And I just found out that the symptoms often don’t surface until as many as 30 to 50 years after the exposure to the asbestos! With that in mind, I think that there is going to be a growing need for many blue collar workers to hire a Mesothelioma Lawyer in the not too distant future!

With the baby boomers were born, there was a massive housing explosion that created a lot of these products to be put into the general population. I think that the repercussions are yet to be fully seen. Yup, I think that I’m going to be knowing a lot of people who are going to be needing a find and hire a Mesothelioma Attorney in the next decade or so!

Vanity plates

One of the things I really enjoy doing when I’m driving around is reading other people’s private number plateson their cars. For example, the pictured plate in this post reads “Idiot.”  When I see something like that I have to laugh because most of the vanity plates that I see are a comment about the driver of the car!  So for this particular plate, I am thinking that the driver is an idiot!  Although I suspect the person who bought the plate meant to imply that the OTHER drivers out on the road are idiots, I think that it back-lashed.

I think that one of the funniest plates that I’ve ever seen was in Maine, the plate read “PB4UGO”  – something that my mother always used to tell us kids right before we left the house to go anywhere!  Another good one was “IOIO”, which made me think of the Seven dwarfs going off to work.

Not as clever, but still memorable are plates that are on company vehicles that have some reference to the business – such as a plumber’s truck having the plate “PIPES” or “FLUSH.”  Or a home decorating business have a plate that says “DKR8.”  Yes, I do enjoy trying to figure out a lot of the weird plates out there – makes sitting at a traffic light or traffic jam a little more entertaining!

When you are on the road

One of the things I always try to do before going on a road trip with any of my vehicles is to give it a good “once over” to make sure that everything is in good working order before we leave.  One thing is for sure, having a vehicle break down while on vacation can put a real damper on the fun!  One of the problems is finding out where to take the vehicle for service when you are in an area you are not familiar with!

That’s why the repairpal.com website is a valuable resource to people who take their cars to their trips.  The website helps the users to local reputable auto repair shops around the country.  So if a traveller were to be driving his Chevrolet Silverado on a Dallas vacation and suddenly realized he needs a brake job he could go to the repairpal website and type in the search engine for a Dallas auto repair vendor and what kind of vehicle he is driving and what service is needed.  The website will provide an estimated cost of repair and  trustworthy service locations to take the vehicle.  I think that’s a great resource to know about, don’t you agree?

Who you gonna call?

One of the most difficult things about moving into a new area is learning who to call for the best repair services.  I can remember when we first moved into this house, it was only a matter of weeks before our water pump broke and we had no water.  It’s never a convenient time for something like that to happen, but thank goodness it was after the showers of the day and the daily dishes were done and we were getting ready for bed.  The next day we were lucky enough to find a great local company (thanks to our new neighbor’s recommendation)  that came right out and replaced the pump for us so we were without water for less than a day!

Since then we have learned that sometimes the neighbor doesn’t give such great advice when it comes to repair services!  Especially when it comes to needing to help our niece Sarah in need who lives in Chicago!  So sometimes we turn to the Internet to find and research services such as Chicago auto repair when Sarah’s Toyota Camry started making funny noises.  She called me and asked me to tell her what was wrong with it.  She told me that it was making a funny chirping noise like a bird.  I told her that she needed to take it to the shop because it was probably a belt that needed to be replaced.  I told her to use the repairpal.com website to help her find a local repair shop that would treat her fairly.

Having fun in an RV

I’ve always wanted to go camping in an RV as an adult.  I used to go with my family when we were younger, and I’d like to see that type of activity through the eyes of an adult.  I can remember as a young boy my parents took us in their tow-along RV to a gettysburg camping park.  It happened to be a very cold time of year, but I don’t remember exactly when it was.  I do remember though that the poor little RV had a really tough time keeping us all warm through the cold snap!

I think if I were to go pa rv camping again as an adult, I’d make sure to go during warm weather months!  And I’d make sure that the RV’s air conditioner and heater were in great shape, just in case the weather got extreme.  And I’d make sure that I’d review the different pennsylvania RV Parks carefully to make sure that the amenities were more than a simple trailer hook-up with water, sewer and electric.  Or at least be close to some attractions that would be fun to go see!  Just sitting around the RV can get boring after a while!

Intermittent problems drive me crazy

Don’t you just hate it when your car develops an intermittent problem? One of our cars has developed an intermittent problem with the tail and brake lights. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t! I’ve “fixed” them several times, only to have them stop working again, then working again, then not, repeatedly. I know that if I take it to the repair shop they will charge me at least $40 to tell me that they can’t fix an intermittent problem because it works fine when they test it. It’s enough to drive me crazy!