Michael’s Blog

In all honesty, I could have a different title, considering the 91 freeway is a parking lot 90% of every day.

Simply put, I hate driving on the other side of the carpool lanes glorious yellow lines. People are aggressive, vying for that next car length ahead of the next car, just to slam on the brakes. They make lane changes without looking, while talking on their cell phone, driving with their elbow doing their eye make up.

I’m back on 4 wheels going to work and I’m miserable. The clarity of mind that was returning is now a faint hope in the back of my mind. 3 weeks ago the chain on my motorcycle broke. It caused a good amount of damage to other parts of the bike that I’m slowly piecing together. The freedom of getting home in 35 minutes is a dream. I literally feel pressure on my chest at the thought of my commute to and from work. Its a crushing experience.

I would do anything to be back on 2 wheels breezing passed all the incoherent drivers backing up traffic. So much so that I’m trying to figure out how to turn my Lancer Evolution into a motorcycle and a new economy car.

If more people bought motorcycles and learned how to drive them, it would make a significant impact on the traffic problems of Southern California. It would also make a statement to California’s pocket book when you consider the lower cost of fuel, and no smog checks every 2 years, because bikes are exempt.

Thousands of us are stuck on the 91 freeway and various other freeways in Southern California, yet it seems like no one raises their voices in frustration. They take it day after day, little do they know the power they have with numbers. I’ve made my phone calls. I feel they made a difference, but I’ll never know for sure. When I made my first complaints, there were no plans for construction on the 91 freeway until 2009. I made the suggestion to refit the dilapidated sections of the 91 first, so they started on the stretch between Green River and the 241. Hello? Did that get attention because it was outside of Riverside County? It wasn’t as bad as the stretch that goes through Corona. If your ever curious, pull up the 91 freeway in Google Earth. Take note of the changes from concrete to asphalt on the stretch from Green River to Mckinley. Each section is riveted and gaping. Cars don’t glide over the sections, they crash over the uneven sections.

Where is the leadership? Whoever they are, they apparently never have to take Riverside freeways. Must be nice. Maybe they’d appreciate a decrease in pay for the lack of hard work.

In the news this week there were 2 big stories about street racing that went wrong. The media attacked the drivers, which very well deserve the scrutiny for being unsafe drivers on public streets, but I’m upset because they seem to be missing a serious point. There are no road courses in Southern California that people with pent up angst and horsepower to visit on the weekends. Instead, of a safe environment for them to find out what the horsepower in their car does when they mash their right foot down, they do it in your neighborhood and hurt innocent people.

Nobody wants a raceway in their backyard, so it seems they prefer the horsepower crazy people to use the streets in their neighborhood as their test track instead.

I realize there are some alternatives, but they’re not the most realistic. First off, there is California Speedway. They open their drag strip to the public about once a quarter or so. When it is open, they only allow 200 cars into the facility. The line starts outside the raceway around 2:30 am and the track opens at 8. Yes, there are that many cars. What do the other 1,000s of people do? Race on the streets.

Then there is Irwindale, but they only run an 1/8th mile drag strip. Woohoo, 3rd gear and then hit the brakes. Yes, they are open during the weekdays, but as anyone knows in Southern California, getting anywhere you want to be on a weekday during rush hour is impossible. And who wants to do some racing after sitting in traffic for 2 hours? Not I.

And then theres the third issue. Not everyone wants to just go fast in a straight line. This may sound absurd, but there are cars out there that can do more than go straight or turn left. They can even turn Right.

Willow Springs Raceway is 2.5 hours away from everything and is in the middle of nowhere. The track is surrounded by dirt and the pavement needs to be redone as of 10 years ago. Its too much effort to get there and too far away if something breaks.

Realistically Southern Californian’s need a raceway in the Inland Empire. This venue could have many uses. First of all, it could have direct involvement with law enforcement. CHP could be invited to create a driver safety course one day a week, and on a different day of the week, different learning courses could be created to help make the entire community better drivers. On top of that, it would take the races to a track instead of on public streets.

One major issue is cost. Attending a track day is never affordable. Deep down I have the feeling that “if you build it, they will come”. If enough people were to come to the track, prices could be affordable enough for drivers of all ages to attend.

I suppose this subject is neither here nor there. Land large enough to accommodate such a venue would cost 10 million dollars, and it would probably be another 2 million to construct the facilities and race track.

If it were up to me, it would be an atmosphere that invited the whole family. It wouldn’t be dirt roads with portapoties and cracked asphalt pits. It would be a respectable place people could go to have a good, it would be clean and modern. The complex would be a two story building and have large glass windows that opened to the track so spectators could watch in the comfort of A/C. The laps could be broadcast on LCD screens so viewers could have a more inside look at the action down on the tarmac. The roads into and out of the raceway would be smooth and clean. Roads nice enough that true high performance sports cars could drive on before getting to the track. Roads I would be willing to drive my own car on. It could be the next step in automotive entertainment in the Inland Empire.

South Corona would be the ideal place. Lots of land, its off the 15 freeway which is a main artery to and from many of the Southern California’s counties. It could also put Corona back on the map as a place for people to come and spend their money. Corona was founded around a race track, why can’t it be recognized as such a place today?

All in all, such a venue would be a significant contribution to the surrounding communities, and it would promote safer driving on our public roads since many would be racers could actually find out what true speed is without endangering the lives of others.

Drivers of White pick up trucks take the cake when it comes to aggressive idiot drivers. Its been my experience and that of my friends, that you can typically count on a white truck, lifted, lowered or stock, to cut you off, not let you in, or do something else that endangers the lives of others around them.

Take last night for example. I was trying to merge onto the 15 South from the 91. There was a modified, lowered white truck to my right. I was signaling and his lane turned into 2 lanes, placing him in the far right lane and opening up a lane for me to get into. Seeing my signal he speeds up. As the lane splits and opens he merges into the open lane to block me.

I dropped it into 4th and hit the gas. As my lane disappeared into the split between 15N and 15S I merged between him and the car in front of him. It was a perfect fit. He wanted to make life hard one me, so he got to see my tail lights, freakin’ jerk. Then I merged around the small car and left him boxed in by the traffic coming up on his right. Serves him right. And I did that with 100 horsepower, not the 300 I have on tap in the evo.

So just be aware, White Trucks, Mercedes and BMWs will drive like they have special privileges. Make sure to politely let them know they’re wrong. I’m speaking Generally as usual. I know some good drivers who own Mercedes and BMWs.

Nearly everyday I see a new car or truck pulled over by CHP on the toll roads. Some may wonder why, did they do something wrong? Most likely, no. They’re pulled over because they have paper plates.

The first question the officer will ask is why you have no plates. Because its a new car apparently isn’t the answer. Next he’ll write you up for Toll evasion. Did you bring your transponder? If not, you get 23302.5(a) Vehicular crossing or toll highway: evading toll charge. Not a cheap ticket. If you did, was it displayed? Because thats the next thing he’ll write you up for. No Transponder Displayed. 23302(b) Failure to display transponder at specified vehicular crossing or toll highway. Also not a cheap fine.

If you have your transponder, fight the ticket. Don’t assume you have to waste hours in a court room losing money from missing work etc. Use a Trial By Declaration, pay the bail and write your defense down on paper. Sure you’ll have to front the bail, but thats cheaper than missing a days worth or income and paying bail right?

If you brought your transponder, it was most likely charged. Attach the statement to the TBD (Trial by Declaration) and show that you lawfully paid the toll. When you win, you’ll be out $10 for the processing fee, but thats less than nearly $200 in fines when all you were trying to do was get to work in the first place.

Here is the path to the California Trial by Declaration form:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/forms/fillable/tr205.pdf

Fill it out and send it in before the court date and then wait to get your winning results and your money back.

And if your driving the toll roads without plates, make sure you have that transponder with you, or you go through the paid gates. If you don’t, you’ll be experiencing the joy that so many of us have gone through.

Our 1971 Chevelle was towed on the 13th of August for being dirty and having expired tags. That I could deal with, wife and I were both busy and forgot to register it.

We go down to the tow yard in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road.

We approach a bent gate with barbed wire and a bell on top of it. The gate was chained shut so I shook it to make the bell ring. An employee of this place comes out and asks which car we’ve come for and to provide registration and a valid ID. We hand over the information and wait in the road. She returns and puts a waiver form through the fence. I declined signing it until I saw the car. She asked for the keys so she could move it out of the impound.

She got in the car and began trying to maneuver it around a Suburban that was perpendicular to the chevelle and blocking its exit line by about a foot. She backed right into the Suburban. After making impact, she put it into drive. I heard the engine roar and the car went forward into a dumpster. The impact moved the dumpster about 3 feet toward their trailer.

The woman driving the car jumped out yelling “this car has no brakes, this car has no brakes” when just 2 minutes earlier she was moving forward and backward to make a 1000 point turn to get the chevelle out.

She called the owner and he showed up about 20 minutes later. Its almost 100 degrees outside in Riverside.

I called the Colton Sheriff while waiting and they would not come out to take a report or be mediators to these hostile people because the damage happened on private property.

The owner finally arrives, gets in the chevelle, backs it out, gets out leaving it running and “surveys” the damage.

Instantly he’s defensive and aggressive with us after we witnessed his employee demolition derby our car into 2 inanimate objects. He points at the bumper and says “that was like that when we towed it”. “A chevelle wouldn’t take this much damage from hitting a dumpster”. The bumper was bent upward into the grill and the hood was damaged. After yelling more he said, “get this car out of here” and I told him I want his insurance information.

After moving the car out of the impound I parked outside of the chained gate and waited for the woman who wrecked our car to return with the insurance information. When she presented the card I thanked her. All the while I didn’t swear at these people.

Just as we were about to leave my wife remembered we had not received any receipt or written documentation from them. So I rattled the gate again and she came out. I told the woman we didn’t receive the paperwork and she came down to the gate and put the same damage sheet through the opening. I asked if she had added the new damage she caused and she said no. I took the clipboard by the base to review the paperwork but she wouldn’t let go of it.

That made me curious so I flipped the pages over to see if there was anything else, and below the yellow copy were two square pieces of “paper” that I immediately recognized as polaroid photographs. I flipped one of them up and discovered it was a rear shot of the chevelle taken before they towed the car. As soon as I touched the picture she tried to pull the clipboard back through the gate. So I pulled it back harder out of her hands and examined the other photo. It was a front shot of the car showing the bumper and grill undamaged prior to them taking custody of the car.

She yelled at me to give it back to her and I told her “you have pictures of our car without damage right here!”. And she turned and ran yelling “he took the clipboard and the photos” over and over again. I told my wife to get back to our other car. Then the owner came out yelling “give me that clipboard and those photos”. He was very aggressive, but he was locked in by his own gate. He yelled it one more time and then yelled “open the gate, open the gate!” followed by “you won’t be able to use those photos with the insurance!” “Give me those f’in photos!” with his arm extended angrily through the opening in the gate.

I moved into the chevelle and told him “I have evidence that the car wasn’t damaged before you towed it” hit the gas and left him in a cloud of dust.

My wife said he was standing on the steps outside of that “classy trailer” waiving his fist at me as the cloud of dust settled around him.

Now we have to deal with the insurance.

I’d just like to add a definition for the online gaming community that a friend of mine and myself have come up with to describe other teammates who apparently have no clue what they’re doing when it comes to first person shooters and the like.

Definition:

A “Teambait” is a teammate that lacks the ability to work together, attracts the attention of the opposing team without any strategy and gets us killed in the process.

Example:

We’re running in a staggered formation. We spot an opponent across the map, or on a walkway above us. The teambait fires off a shot, or throws a grenade that misses horribly. Instead of a well timed surprise attack, we’re now the prey as the 3 other members of that persons team are alerted that he is under fire and ambush us.

Our strategy:

1. Use them as human shields. If they’re going to be stupid, let them take the shots and we can take the kill they can’t get.

2. Go the other way. They go one direction, we go the other. I only cover EmpoweredAxis. He is the only overtly offensive player I trust enough to follow.

In closing, if teammates are offering friendly advice like, “stay in this area and draw them in” or, “stop rushing into them, your giving away our lead” your being a teambait and eventually, you’ll be used as such. No one will like you and no one will want to play with you.

If you ever have doubt, follow this creedo, “Never leave your wingman”

This weekend was pretty fun. I spent Saturday evening playing Halo 2 with one of my good friends. Together I’d say we can inflict some pain on other online gamers playing Halo.

I have to admit, there is no greater compliment from the opposing team after a match than hearing them yell “Banshee Bitch!!!!” into the mic. They’re so aggravated and its so gratifying. The Banshee is a hovering plane of sorts that shoots laser blasts. Ascension is a level that lets EmpoweredAxis and I take advantage of the Banshee and the potential mayhem it will cause in our hands. From the skies of the level we can call out the location of the opposing team members and hit them from all angles distracting them from our teammates on the ground gunning them down. The rain of lasers acts like tracer rounds painting our target for our teammates.

The energy weapons on the Banshee disable shields rather quickly and a gunshot to the head seals the coffin and reinforces aggravation.

Considering EmpoweredAxis and I get “teambaits” as we affectionately call them 80% of the time, putting the smack down with Banshee tactics every 100 matches or so is really really gratifying.

I heard from a friend today about an article written in the Los Angeles Times about Lane Splitting.

“They startle you — it might prompt somebody to slam on their brakes and cause a bigger accident.” Taken from:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lanesplit4aug04,1,7371221.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

“Loud noises!” is a reason to hit the brakes? Who taught these people how to drive? If people watched their mirrors they wouldn’t be startled. Of all people, California drivers should be aware that a motorcycle is coming at some point, especially between the number 1 lane and a carpool lane thats backed up. And not just other commuters, but CHP splits the lanes as well. In fact, on many occasions I’ve allowed a CHP to pass me because I was going much slower than he was willing to. I received a wave and followed suit as his wake was pretty comfortable to ride in.

Drivers that are startled aren’t paying attention. They’re on their phones, starring at the sun visor in their car, digging for something near the radio or just simply zoning out and not staying between the lines of their lane. If a motorcycle revvs at a car, its probably because the car is hogging that center line blocking the motorcyclist intentionally or not.

Check out the attached photos. Boxes of Ultimate Bumblebee. One sellers name was Vault Regulator. Work at Target maybe? I saw another stack of Ultimate Bumblebees with Target Receipts taped to them. Maybe that guy works at Target. How nice it must be to have Christmas everyday getting paid $10/hr to ransack rare toys before they go on shelves. $10/hr turns into $100 an hour x5 or x10, however many these guys get their greedy little hands on.

With the new release of the Transformers movie there have been a plethora of new toy releases and the shelves are left empty every time they’re restocked.

A new Target opened on the 29th, today is the 30th. I took a short trip over there hoping to find the Deluxe Concept Camaro Bumblebee. In a way, I did, but it was Ultimate Bumblebee. A Transformer that is not scheduled to hit stores until September 15. A Transformer that is no longer available for pre-order on Walmart.com, and is not schedule to ship until October 2nd or 3rd from Target.com. I think my heart skipped a beat. $80 dollars. Will my wife kill me? Do we have the funds for this kind of purchase? Do any of these questions really matter, Ultimate Bumblebee is staring me in the face?!

So, I did what any rational adult male would do. I reached forward, held him to my bosom with a smile from ear to ear and walked to a register duh!

My next boggle is, do I resell him on ebay or open him?!