Summer? In May?

Well, we had our first 100 degree day yesterday and it looks like we'll be having a few more of them over the next few days. According to one of the online weather sites we're supposed to hit 104 degrees today. I don't think I'll be doing much of anything outside today. I'm sure glad that my landlord got the new air conditioner installed before the heat hit.

Today is the sentencing hearing for Mario Lozano. My brother has said that he will be at the hearing and hopefully we'll hear soon after what the judge has decided. If I remember correctly the hearing is at 3pm this afternoon.

According to the local paper, The Appeal Democrat, there was another accident on one of the 2 lane highways around here. And another fatality. A man in a pickup truck crossed into the oncoming lane and slammed head-on into a Hummer. The man in the pickup died and the woman in the Hummer suffered major injuries. There was a third car, a silver Honda, involved in the accident as well, but the driver of that vehicle only suffered minor injuries. According to the article, they don't know yet why the driver of the pickup crossed into the opposing lane. I'm wondering if the guy in the pickup was another of those idiot drivers in a hurry and was trying to pass the Honda....

Windy Monday.....

I got woke up early this morning by the lovely sound of the venetian blinds slapping against the window sill. We've got a strong north wind blowing today, so now all the windows on the north side of the house are closed. And, naturally, with the north wind, we've got lots of dirt and pollen in the air and my allergies are kicking up. I am tired of sneezing.

At least out here in Meridian we don't have the problems that Marysville has. The Appeal Democrat is reporting in their "Breaking News" that the winds are kicking up a fire on the northern edge of the city of Marysville. PG&E are also reporting numerous power outages around Yuba and Sutter Counties. So far so good out here in Meridian, I haven't seen the power blink yet, but if the winds keep up, I'm sure I will. If it doesn't go out completely that is. One thing that Meridian has to it's advantage though is the presence of a PG&E maintenance facility here in town. We usually get our power back fairly quickly if something goes down/out that affects the whole town.

In trial watching news, as usual, I spent some time this weekend lurking and posting on the In Session Message boards and am amazed at how some folks can come up with off-the-wall theories that have no basis in fact, no evidence, nothing at all that can justify their ideas. Then, this morning when I looked at the icanhazcheezeburger.com website I found this image that perfectly fits some of those folks.



In other words, don't confuse me with facts! Don't tell me how my whodunit idea won't fit the evidence. I CAN'T HEAR YOU, so I'll just continue posting my own ideas and to heck with facts! lol...

Today is Monday the 12th of May... Mario Lozano's sentencing is this Friday, the 16th. Counting today, he has 5 days until he knows how long he gets to stay locked up for murdering Kacie Barron. And 4 months from tomorrow it will be time for Kacie's Ride For Hope to End Domestic Violence.

Impatient Driver Rant

I logged on to the website for my local paper, the Appeal Democrat, this morning and found yet another accident caused by an impatient driver on the front page. An impatient idiot tried to pass an Amtrak bus on Highway 70 and managed to involve himself, the bus, two vans and two other cars in a pile-up. One woman from San Jose was killed in the accident and several others were injured and taken to hospitals. Oh yeah, and the accident caused the highway to close down while the authorities cleaned up the mess, no doubt causing a few other drivers to be "impatient" when they got moving again...

A lot of the rural 2-lane highways are deathtraps because of these idiots who are in such a hurry that they just have to pass a slower vehicle. When I was driving trucks around the country and around this area, I saw way too many of these idiots. And yes, I had to slam my brakes on to avoid hitting someone or something because of them. Yes, trucks go slower. The powers that be have determined that in California the trucks can't go faster than 55 miles per hour, on any road. Other vehicles are allowed to go faster, 60, 65 or 70 miles per hour depending on the road you're on. Ok, so what does passing that slower vehicle get you? Well, if the road isn't heavily traveled like Highway 99, or Highway 70 or even Highway 20, it gets you to where you're going a few minutes faster. Wow. Are those few minutes that important? When you're on a heavily traveled road why risk your life as well as the lives of the folks in all those other vehicles just to gain those "precious" few minutes?

Now the accident that happened yesterday was senseless to the max. If the idiot had waited just a few minutes, he'd have been on a 4-lane section of that highway! Crazy! All because he didn't want to be behind a bus. And buses aren't restricted to the 55 mph rule. They can go the same speeds as the cars! Most likely the bus was going "slower" because of the traffic! So, the 22 year old driver/idiot smashed into the bus, causing it to go off the road, then smashed head on into one of the vans coming the other way and killed the woman driving it. Smart move, idiot. Now you get to pay the price for your stupidity.

I think I'll go pour another cup of coffee. And maybe rip some weeds out of the ground.