Playing the Game

I was in charge of a paving widening project in a local city. It was a Summer project, right in front of an elementary school, and was anticipated to be complete before school started. Everything was going along as planned, and even though the inspector had a tendency to be a problem on some details that were ridiculous, I felt we would be complete as anticipated. 

We were placing cement stabilized base for under the proposed new concrete paving. Even with an unmarked, and repaired, water line leak that flooded the base, I felt the base was processed as needed, graded, and after the curing time, wanted my inspector to run a density to continue. 

He arrived, ran his density, and proceeded to tell me the density was just shy of the 95 proctor. Knowing the game, and my specifications, I asked if he had placed his gauge probe into the subgrade. He had, and I explained to him the project didn't have a bid item for working the subgrade, but would be glad to stop, request a change order, and when approved, remove the base, process the subgrade, run density on the subgrade, replace the base, and get paid for the entire process. He paused a minute, thought about what I just said, and ran another density in just the base. It passed, and we started setting paving forms. 

I'd been burned in the past by similar things due to my ignorance of specifications. I learned the hard way, and refused to be rolled over by inspectors that didn't have a complete grasp of the entire picture. If I had to go to the engineer, I wouldn't hesitate. While they could beat me up with the spec book, I had the same book, and could swing with the best of them. 

We completed the project in time, it was bought within a short period of time, and after decades, the paving is holding up. 

Never Say "Yes"

I get robo-calls from different supposed local numbers. The newest scam I find is on my voice mails. The recording asks if it is me and continues with "Just say yes". In a perfect world, these scammers would be caned 20 lashes and forbidden any electronic communications under penalty of death. 

Dealing with the Minions

Tomorrow, I will go to the appraisal office, look the minions in the eye, and explain to them...once again...their form of extortion, regardless of how they justify it, is wrong. In spite of what the law allows, a 61% increase of the appraised amount in 7 years is not acceptable. I will observe their vapid expression, know my trip will probably not yield much, but I will...once again...be satisfied I tried. 

I think if their schedule included the appeals of everyone being taxed on their property, they would have a clue they're not being good citizens. Regardless of what you can get away with, wrong is wrong, and extortion is immoral.

**spit**

Local News is Filled With with WTF's

There was an accident on a rural highway last Friday night. It doesn't make a lot of sense, which makes me begin to wonder. News reports state a family of five was riding in a sport utility vehicle, drove out on to the highway, and struck by a commercial vehicle. Four died, one is critical, and the driver of the commercial vehicle was injured. To add insult to injury, a woman plowed into one of the sheriff's vehicles working the accident. All of this happened at around 11:30 at night, which makes me wonder how the commercial vehicle wasn't noticed by the utility vehicle. After all, it was night, this section of highway has a long sight distance, and both drivers should have seen the other. 

A bicyclist was struck by a pickup in the middle of the day. From what I gather from the report, the cyclist veered into the path of the pickup, and was struck by a mirror. The highway, which I am very familiar with, isn't a place to ride a bicycle anytime at all. It's busy, there is no bike lane, people in that area have a tendency to rush to their destination, and even if you're a well behaved cyclist, one blip, while glancing at a phone, can mean a terrible occurrence, when the driver of an automobile isn't paying attention. The cyclist didn't live.

A pickup T-boned another pickup this morning. The driver of the pickup that T-boned the other truck was ejected when their truck flipped on its side. He didn't survive, and the driver that was T-boned only suffered minor injuries. The photos show a truck that suffered more damage than the posted speed limit would allow. The street is filled with businesses, and has a multitude of traffic lights. 

Maybe it's the heat, but all the accidents sure look like they could have been avoided. I'll never know the entire stores, unless a criminal charge is filed. 

Meanwhile, on the local section of Interstate, construction is well underway, traffic is terrible, and a daily accident is almost a guarantee. I stay off the interstate. There are many other ways to travel, and much safer.

So, What's Going On?

My page counts have been more than in the past. Judging by past experience, it appears the counts rise during the work week, which I attribute to spam. The last two days have been much different. Yesterday, over thirty thousand supposedly visited my site. Today, it's not even noon and over fifteen thousands visits have already been logged. Either I've become very popular, or AI is in overdrive looking for places to make some money.