Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Drive to Detroit

So as I said, I had to drive to Detroit to attend some training seminars for work.  Aside from the crappy situation with the tollway in Illinois and northern Indiana things went pretty smooth.  I actually got pretty good mileage on the drive.  Had I not run into the traffic in Chicago and then again outside of Detroit, I would have made the trip in a little over five and a half hours.  The traffic jam outside of Detroit was because there was a dump truck broken down on the side of the road and there was a big tow truck there trying to hook up to it and get it out of the way, so the three lanes of traffic were funneled into two.  That wasn't too bad, only about a 20-30 minute delay. 

Also, driving in northern Indiana where I-94 goes north into Michigan, the ramp was closed.  Which would have been fine had there been some sort of notice saying that it was closed.  Instead about 1/4 mile before the ramp there were construction signs saying "Ramp Closed" and there were no detour signs.  So I ended up on 94 west back toward Chicago.  I ended up being able to get around the ramp and back on 94 about 5 miles past the construction, no thanks to the Indiana DOT though!

The big thing that ALMOST happened though was an 18-wheeler a couple of cars in front of me swerved almost off the road.  I saw it start drifting to the left, toward the cement dividing wall between the east and westbound lanes of 94 in Michigan.  It got about 3-4 feet from the wall before swerving back onto the road.  At least that was what it looked like from where I was.  I didn't think much about it at the time since I thought I was far enough behind it.  But now that I think about it more, it could have side swiped the wall and caused a major accident.  And even if it didn't, it swerved quite a bit and is probably lucky it didn't jack knife.  Either way would have been pretty bad as going at 70 mph, I don't know how much time I would have had to react.  Luckily I didn't have to worry about it.  I hope the drive back will be a little more uneventful.

Illinois Sucks

Today I was driving to my training classes in Detroit.  When I mapped out the route, I decided I would take the tollway through Illinois since it was the shortest, fastest way.  I tried to look up what the tolls were so that I could have enough change to pay them, and when I saw about how much each toll was (minimum of $1.90) I thought maybe I should get an iPass.  That way I had it, and whenever we needed to go thru Illinois, we wouldn't need to worry about it.  But in order to do it, i would have to either pay online, in which case I would have the transponder sent to me in 2-3 weeks, or I could stop at one of the Oases and get it in person.

I thought I'll just pay for one toll before getting to the Lake Forest and just buy the transponder for the iPass.  Imagine my surprise when I get to the Oasis and THE OFFICE IS CLOSED!!!!  It says in observance of Veteran's Day, all iPass offices will be closed.  What is the deal here?  The Illinois government doesn't even run the tollways anymore, they contract it out.  So now in addition to government offices being closed, contractors get the day off too.  Then again, Illinois unions are so unbelievably corrupt It shouldn't surprise me.

So I ended up stopping and paying cash at all the tolls, a total of almost $14 at 5 toll booths, and I don't get the iPass.  To say I was mad is an understatement.  I guess I can always get one online and have it sent to me.  There is a deal going where I can get one by the end of the year for $20 less than the regular cost, so it's probably worth it just to have in the future.  But I wouldn't have had to worry about it if they wouldn't have been closed.  So in short, screw you Illinois!  You suck!  I am glad the Packers pounded the Bears silly Sunday night.  Suck it!

Thursday, November 6, 2014

It's Mo-Vember

Since November is here, I thought I would get into the spirit of "Movember" this year.  So unless you have been living under a rock, Movember is the male equivalent to the Susan G Komen, pink stuff we have to deal with all October (which basically serves no purpose).  This year I asked Alison if I should grow a mustache for Movember and she said yes.  But Kris wouldn't let me go with just a mustache so Ali had me grow a goatee.  I don't know if I'll be able to make it the whole month.  It has only been a little less than a week and it is already driving me crazy.  Dec. 1st can't come soon enough.

Service Engine Soon

After driving around for a little more than a month, we are finally getting Sarah's car in to get it serviced.  It is at the point where the timing belt is scheduled to be replaced.  We found that out when we got the oil leak fixed back in September.  So as long as it was in getting that fixed, we had the guys check on the service engine soon light that was on. 

The code that comes up is apparently for an oxygen sensor in the exhaust system.  The mechanic explained that it has something to so with the catalytic converter and if we let it go it could allow something in the catalytic converter to melt and cause a blockage.  this would result in the whole catalytic converter needing to be replaced, which would be big bucks to get replaced.  So add that to the list of used car problems.  Man, do I hate used cars!

And while they were getting things ready to have the timing belt and water pump replaced (did I mention the water pump had reached its recommended replacement life too?) the mechanic said he noticed a small coolant leak in the engine.  He thinks it is the thermostat housing, which itself isn't a big deal as far as cost.  But in order to get at it on this engine, they have to take half of it (the engine) apart, which is a half a day job.  All to replace a $70 part.  Yep, those Euros really know how to design an engine.  Argh!  WE are going to just keep an eye on that for now and just monitor the coolant level.  Hopefully it will last thru the winter.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Trick Or Treaters

2013 was the last year for trick or treating for the Hahn children.  Alison had actually wanted to go this year, but none of her friends wanted to go with her, and the friends that did want to go don't live by us.  So she settled for helping me to hand out candy.  I had thought we were going to be close on whether or not we would have enough candy to last the for the whole trick or treating times.  In the past I had gone out and gotten an extra bag, just in case we needed it on my way home from work.  This year I didn't do it.  Partly because the weather was going to be so cold.  But in the end, we were left with nearly an entire cauldron of candy.

I don't know if it was the cold weather (it was 34° with about 20 -25 mph winds) or just that the kids in our neighborhood are getting old, but it sure seems like there haven't been as many trick or treaters the last couple of years.  I remember taking the girls a few years ago, and there were all sorts of kids out trick or treating, running up and down the streets, having fun...  this year the streets just seemed empty.  Which I guess is good for me because then I get the left over candy.  yummmmmmm!  But I also miss taking the girls around.  Ahhh, the good old days.