Fender Bender with 4 cars - everybody unhurt.

Last night we were involved in a four car Fender Bender, it was not my fault we were the victims. As our car sits outside with some pretty big damage I am sure our neighbours are driving by wondering what kind of driving accident I perpetrated. The fact is we were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

At work there were tickets for the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs Baseball game - Yes Jimmy Baseball! I said I would take them in the senario when there were no takers. There were no takers and I got 4 tickets. Quickly call Jill and have here make dinner quicker than usual on a Friday evening. Come home have Jerk Chicken on a stick with Jambalaya rice and get ready to go. The weather was lovely 75/23 degrees and warm. In the game the Ironpigs won handily and it was a great way to start the weekend with fireworks to finish the night...Well not exactly to finish the night.

We had been at a game for the first time 9 days before when it was colder, it was wednesday and the attendance was considerably less. So last night had 9,984 attendance I remember this because I thought with only 16 more people it would 10,000 exactly. Leaving the parking lot was crazy with inching and more inching. We ended up behind some idiot teenagers driving rich Daddys car. They had arms out the window trying to be cool. We watched them accelerate and speed away in the Acura. Dicks!!!

We had been driving for about 5 minutes when the fender bender happened. Traffic slowed to a stop at a red light we came to a stop and with so many cars in a small area I looked in my rear view mirror to ensure the person behind had stopped safely. There must have been a period of 6 or 7 seconds where we were waiting to move again and then we heard it. Screaching of tyres which appeared to be a long way back and then a loud bang. Barely a second later we were hit from behind hard and launched forward into a jeep, Apparently I exclaimed and expletive F***!

Immediately I was thinking I dont want to be involved in this and that whoever did this would drive away. Without any clear idea of what happened I got out and asked the girl who hit into me if she was ok and if she was the one responsible, at that point a guy came from the sidewalk and said it was him. He was extremely nice about it and very apologethic. He had hit the girl behind us and she hit into us and then we got pushed into the jeep in front of us. Waiting for the cop to come file report and after much waiting we were able to drive home and now we have neighbours walking by and looking and thinking I made a mistake as you would think that. When we got home we called our insurance company and the lady was very nice too. So now we wait for the assessor to come and have all this fixed. Its a pain in the arse, but shit happens and everyone was unhurt. I now have a headache.

We are Y members now! u know?

Well over the weekend we joined the YMCA a local place where you go to have a fitter outlook on life. We opted to join for just the three months and then have Palmer Pool do its thing for us through the summer. Its mainly the attraction of the pool in the Y that motivates us to join. For the three of us its 85 for first time to join and 60 each month for the three months. We dont yet know how Marc is going to take to it. Monday evening we go for the first time, For myself I feel like I have infiltrated some exclusive club and the feeling of being fresh meat is very apparent. The parking lot is filled to brimming point and Jill and Marc get out to sort out any remaining member details. I park far away-its the best I could do and walk in...grand everythings set and on we go to the pool and break the aura of new faces. Its like the reverse goldfish bowl and everyone is looking.

tbc

Blogger Shame brings me back from the brink of wintry laziness.

Wow, thats a very large and pretentious title, but I am a big believer of blogging spontaneously. I have at last awakened from my slumber that covers the period over Christmas and New Years. There is so much to say, as one could imagine over the period of time that I have been sabatical a lot has happened. As a group we have successfully negotiated the Christmas period in which I was back in Ireland with Jill and Marc back home and me arriving back just before the new years. I am now a year older but still not evidently any wiser and we still have the cold weather and surprisingly for the time of year to date we have already had too much snow. Its only the end of January and the winter doesn't move into full throtle until the next month or March.
This morning we awake to as forecast 3 inches (Easily!) of the white stuff. Grand...now I can have a good reason for justifying buying a Subaru. We have biscuits or scones as they may be known in Europe for breakfast. Very nice but take some time to butter and jam them, each time Marc waiting for his next one-pressure. Then out into the quiet white landscape. The one thing I love about snow now that I can finally call myself an adult, is the tranquility and silence of the landscape covered in snow. If you could hear a pin dropping on snow you would and it would be loud. The world seems to slow down when it snows everything moves at a snails pace and you get this crazy feeling that you are the only person in the world at this time. Cleaning the car off if a chore but a nice one again with the tranquility. Back in to brush my teeth chose my clothing for the day and kiss the wife goodbye for the day and like a good dwarf its hi-ho hi-ho and off to work I go.
Jump in the car and start the 40 minute drive that it is usually, today it will be a longer commute thats for sure. Theres 4 inches of white snow and the car handles it well, this is quite fun! down the road and a quick turn right lets take it a bit faster and let her slide a bit (with obvious control though) that was fun. Out of the developement or housing estate and onto the main road and its light brown slush and sleet. Here its a little more precarious and those seconds of fun give way to now lets be careful and not bank a new 20k car on the side of the road having to call family members for help which my brother in law had to do this morning at 4am with a flat tire. Now I am more worried about the so called other drivers those who leave late and take "chances" to get past people and those who are just not good drivers. Witness a near jack-knifed truck and later a car that did actually beach itself - said bad driver on straight piece of road - without knowing the full circumstance I just think to myself you deserve what you are going through right now for obvious disregard to the driving conditions. Somebody is helping you but you deserve to learn a lesson. Doubtless one of those people who drive too fast and you predict that one day those traits will get them into some small trouble. Timed it just right its close to 8am and arrive into work first with no other cars in sight, one does come but most are later than me and they live most of them close by.
Roll on the good weather. Wintry laziness be gone.

Refu's car fleet changes.

History Making first T.V. HOLOGRAM Interview.

Star Wars meets ballot counting, I was amazed to see this tonight about 7.20pm a tv interview conducted with a hologram of a reporter beamed into the studios to talk to the anchor.

Jill and I were just talking about why there has not been any kind of new advanced virtual reality coming in and how I could maybe talk with my friends and family back in Ireland almost face to face and tonight I saw a glimpse into the future of what may be a new communications world. Star Wars was a movie well in advance of all other movies and now it seems in advance of reality. Here you can see the princess leia like hologram and imagine where this will lead to in the future.

The hologram is created using 30 plus cameras shooting simultaneously to create a unique 3-D which is beamed back to the studios.

Also click on Ray's link and give mea hit.

Thank you.

My car window got blown out by a BEBE gun.

It happened in the early wee hours of monday morning. (more info soon.)

Sunday at Ocean City New Jersey.

A day at the Beach.

Waking up this morning I was able to watch the two main games today, Liverpool having a nice win and Arsenal also obliging in great style 4-0, and as about the most easy game they should face this season.
Then on out to the hotel pool for a while before we went out onto the beach less than a 3 minute walk away. Marc has had a touch of some kind of bug and had to take it easy for the day. Then about 4.30pm we returned back to the pool for another dip and then got showered and now we are about ready to go out to get something to eat. Looks like its going to be Jays Crab Shack.Some seafood is possibly the order of the day.

UPDATE
We decided to walk along the boardwalk to check out whats on it. There are surprisingly many more shops for eating and shopping than the Maryland equivalent. There were many arcades and pizza places, we turned at 9th street and walked about 4 blocks looking for Jays. Finally we found it, well Jill did as I walked right past it. Jays is quite a small place in terms of shop front space and thats why I walked right by it. We went in and I must confess I thought it was a bigger place and I became slightly worried that I had picked a bad location for our seafood fix. I consoled myself with the reviews of so many people online. We selected our drinks and when they came in plastic containers my worries continued. Jill and Marc ordered the crabcake sandwich while Jack and I chose the twin crabcakes. Everything would come with old bay season fries and coleslaw made on the premises. When the food did come in a basket and it was tasted,everything was fine. These were crabcakes with no filler, lovely lumps of crabmeat. Very tasty and very satisfying.
We walked back along the boardwalk again and played a round of miniature golf, quite fun and an easy straight line course. Marc, Jack and myself all played and each of us had 2 holes in one. Then off to bed to be ready for a hot day tomorrow 90 fahrenheit about 30 celsius. Also there will be an aerobatic vintage plane display.
Until tomorrow my friends.