Well campers, we've managed to make it through the first week of the new year without taking any major hits on mission critical parts. (Beans, that's a GOOD thing, in case you were wondering.) One of the highlights was to finally put the first "Done" on my checklist of things I have to accomplish as the Administrator of my sister's estate. I signed the title to her car over to her former roommate (who paid in cash BTW).
Wahoo! Only a quadrillion other things left to do.
Why did this take so long to finalize the sale of her car, juvat? Well, when I did the initial rummage through her things to find the important stuff, I thought I had seen the title to it. When I got around to selling it, I went through her files again to get the Title. No Joy! (Fighter Pilot-ese for "I don't see it".)
So, I rummaged through a few more times to see if I'd overlooked it. On the original look through, I took any document I thought would be needed/useful and put them in a manila envelope on my desk. I then added to it every time I found something new. So...I was pretty positive it either didn't exist or was still in the house.
In any case, I finally gave up and went to the county court house to get a new title. Gained a new respect for bureaucrats. They said it would take a "couple of weeks" to issue a new one. This was pre-Thanksgiving. A couple of weeks go by. Nada. A couple more. Nada squared. Christmas passes, Nope. Nothing the last week of the year. January 2nd, I stop by the County Clerk's office to see Whisky Tango Fox was going on.
"Do you have the license plate #?" She had a fairly snarky look about her as she said that. I'm sure she thought she'd get me shuffled off to someone else and she wouldn't have to handle this one.
You know, Cell Phones are a marvelous invention, not only can I talk to my Son in Honk Honk at a moment's notice (just tested that theory about an hour ago, I had a question about some IT work he'd done at one of our guest houses), but they also have a camera and no need for film.
5 seconds after she asked, she was typing the info into the computer. I'm feeling good about now.
"The title was issued on the 23rd." I was to learn that issued does not mean "ISSUED" it means printed and signed to be sent at a later date. So I asked when I should expect to actually have the title in my possession.
"Well, since we're in the Holiday Season, it probably hasn't been mailed yet and it typically takes two weeks from mailing til it's delivered."
Thank you very much for your service, Ma'am!
But, lo and behold, Saturday's mail had a letter for me from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles and I signed it over to the new owner Sunday morning after church.
I'm elated, I get to mark something off the list.
Bureaucrats tend to rank high on my TTTTPMO list.
Speaking of things that rank high on my TTTTPMO. So, Mrs. J and I are driving into town for the 0730 Mass. It's a little after 0700 and the sun hasn't risen yet. Temp on my highly accurate truck thermometer says 29. I've had to scrape ice off the windshield, did a pretty good job, not great. I make it out to the highway without hitting anything. Turn on and begin accelerating.
Along comes another truck from the opposite direction. He's got those fricking LED headlights. I'm pretty sure just one of those headlights could light up Kyle field on a moonless overcast night. He had 4 of them. There was just enough ice left at the top of the windscreen to catch that light and reflect it every which way. Night vision, Nah! Who needs that?
When I get to be president of the universe, LED light bulbs will be limited to high beam only. Regular light bulbs will be required for normal driving circumstances (e.g. another car coming your way or in front of you.) Your being able to see better should not come at the cost of blinding every other driver in your vicinity.
And...Just Because...an example. This guy is showing how much better the driver can see. Nothing whatsoever about the effect on other drivers.
Have to agree with you on the LED lights juvat, really hate to see an oncoming vehicle with those, reminds me of searchlights used against the Brit night raids in WWII. Now about that hat, if it came in gray......well........:)
ReplyDeleteNylon,
DeleteHadn't thought of that, but you're right. Did a lot of night flying in Okinawa out over the ocean. Night vision got to be pretty good until you flew back over the island and every light in the world seemed to be on. Fortunately, the Eagle was a forgiving airplane and landing it was easy, depth perception wasn't as critical as in other airplanes. Just hold a pitch angle and let the jet land itself.
I'm sure it comes in Gray and many other colors also.
juvat
Blinded by the (other guy's) light.... There hasn't been a rash of head-ons because of them so I guess it's being worked around...
ReplyDeleteIt wouldn't cause heeadons, but rear enderes, struck objects, run off the road on a corner, and such. The idjit that zorched your eyeballs goes on his merry way.
DeleteRob,
DeleteAs a data guy, I wonder a bit about your assertion of not a "Rash of head-ons because of" LED headlights. A significant number of head on collisions result in deaths of some or all the persons involved. So the reason for the collision is probably not attributed to the headlights. Additionally, it might not have caused a head on, rather some other situation caused by a loss of night vision. I'm fine with LED High Beams when you're not behind of coming at someone. An automatic turn off of high beams lowering lights to the halogen low beams until the circumstances return for High Beams would be my recommendation.
juvat
Joe,
DeleteAgreed.
juvat
Cell phones are incredible. A person in a isolated corn field can call another person in a crowded city and get picked up within 3 rings. How does that signal find itself so quickly around the planet ?
ReplyDeleteAnon,
DeleteGotta be magic, no other explanation seems to work.
;-)
juvat
I know the feeling about your Sister's estate. My Sister passed before Thanksgiving 2022. I just got her things taken care of and now I have to be named Executor of her Husband's estate.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
DeleteI feel your pain, my Friend. God Bless You.
juvat
This humble one begs for enlightenment, oh Great Juvat...what is "TTTTPMO?"
ReplyDeleteJoe
DeleteWell, a clue. The four T's are "Thing That Tend To..." and there's a Me in it also.
juvat
I added that to the Acronym Page.
DeleteI made the acronym page? Made my Day! ;-)
Deletejuvat
Wow, I figured it out before getting to the comments section. Yay me!
DeleteBeans, either great minds think alike or I sent it to you telepathically. My story and I'm sticking to it.
Deletejuvat
Thank you. It was the 3rd and 4th T that threw me.
DeleteJoe, Yes, well, I try to be very explicit in my acronyms meanings. Which might make them a little bit more difficult to transcribe. I apologize.
Deletejuvat
At first I thought Twenty Two things that... Glad it's not that bad.
DeleteTuna, twenty two gripes would’ve exceeded Sarge’ brevity rules. Don’t want to turn the blog into an early twentieth Russian novel, now do we?
Deletejuvat
Need to push for adaptive headlight technology, it works. Your visibility is better and the other drivers aren't being blinded. (And dammit people, get your headlights aligned!)
ReplyDeleteSarge,
DeleteThat was kinda my thought the rest of the drive into town. Headlight alignment should be part of the annual safety instpection, if it isn't already..
juvat
I was gonna mention the alignment thingy.
DeleteWith the Safari, I could pull up the driveway even with the shed and the lines on the garage door gave me clues as to if my headlights needed adjusting.
With the Promaster City, and those plug in thingymabobs, I have no clue how to adjust, but I also check on the front of the apartment. I am also one of those people that just drive with lowbeams all the time as it seems people see me better (white vans tend to disappear in lots of lighting conditions...) and the insurance company loves me for it.
Beans,
DeleteYes, but you're what used to be referred to as a "responsible adult" who takes care of his equipment and abides by the law (generally). Now, that mindset is thought to be a sign of an insurrectionist. Lord, Help us, Please!
juvat
Automatic high-beam dipping should be a non-optional thing. Maybe there is too much being controlled by that one stalk.
ReplyDeleteHTom,
DeleteAgreed,
juvat
Or everyone could attend drivers education taught by coaches and have themselves thoroughly thrashed for not using turn signals, switching off high beams and turning the radio up past audible-in-the-car.
DeleteBeans,
DeleteThe Coaches you describe are no longer available, They drive wheel chairs now. The new line of Driver Ed instructors love the radio up loud and teach that Turn Signals are a technique to keep minorities on the farm.
juvat
The world would be a better class if "Do me two laps, now!" was still an option. Had a chemistry teacher who was also a coach and, yep, act up in his class and you'd end up running laps in PE.
DeleteBeans,
DeleteCan't disagree, looking back. Didn't much care for it at the time. But...The lesson WAS learned.
juvat
My wife's car does that automatically, not that we ever have the chance to drive anywhere in busy SoCal with high beams, even for a moment. However, today's lights, even on low beams, are brighter than high beams of my earlier years it seems.
DeleteTuna, what kind of car does she drive?
Deletejuvat
Juvat - Grateful that the car is finally sewn up. I do wonder sometimes the mentality that inhabits the personalities of some (but not all) bureaucratic types; I do wonder if in some cases a great many minor dictators end up there. That said, I have also had a lot of helpful ones as well.
ReplyDeleteHeadlights: When I attended college in Ireland in the fall of 1990, we had a roommate from Brittany that had brought his car with him. His high beams were amber; it was the law in France. I also struggle through being blinded by oncoming traffic as well (although interestingly enough it seems to be a city phenomena; here in the more rural country of The Ranch, it is not so much of a thing).
Statistics on accidents would be helpful, although I do wonder about how many people might remember the high beams just before something happened; and how insurance companies would react. Likely as the offending car is often long gone, it would be difficult to find the culprit - although if enough data suggested is was a significant cause (and thus costly), something might finally be done. Insurance companies hate losing money.
THBB,
ReplyDeleteThanks, one down, a bunch left to go.
As to city vs rural. I'm not sure I agree. My eyes tend to become accustomed to the lights of the city and so a high beam doesn't seem as bright. Driving into town, little traffic, very little man made lights, so my eyes dilate to the max. The bright high beams really screw up night vision for a situationally long time.
Yeah, I'm not sure how it can be solved short of an auto-dimming feature.
juvat
It's a monkey-brain issue. People should be aware of their vehicles and the laws and all the functions and be able to flip the headlights down, adjust basic things, pay attention to the damn road and such.
DeleteI mean, back when I was young and stupid I could do all that while reading a book. I did say young and stupid. Got over that. At least the young part...
Beans,
DeleteYep. And...There's one key word in your comment, "should". Unfortunately...
LED headlights. As annoying as they are, worse are the short tackle yahoos who lift their trucks and SUVs but never seem to re-aim their headlights. I haven't heard of any LEOs ticketing someone for headlight violations.
ReplyDeleteWSF,
DeleteAgreed, However given the border circumstances lately, I don't think I could blame them for being a bit over careful. I'm sure the folks in the pulled over car are upstanding citizens, although of another country, and wouldn't think of causing a problem over here.
RRRRIIIIIIIIIIIGGGGHHHHTT!
juvat
@ juvat
Deletecan always find me at verygross@holsterd.com
Thanks, boron.
Deletearen't we yet at that R&D point where we can fabricate an adjustable/automatic glass (front windshield) to eliminate/reduce such problems as oncoming LED headlight blinding?
ReplyDeleteBoron,
DeleteI suspect that's possible, however, from what I understand they block a lot more light than just what's blinding the driver. I would think there's three variables in the problem. 1) the vehicle with the lights is approaching, so that angle is changing. 2) the vehicle being blinded is moving so that also changes the angle. 2) the person driving may be moving his head somewhat, which also changes the angle. Since the angle is constantly changing, either the computer has to be very fast in positioning the light amelioration area or making it big enough to cover all the possible area. Which may negatively impact the driver's vision.
But, that idea if solved, might be worth quite a bit.
juvat
I believe long ago in the 30s or 40s, polarized headlights and windshields were proposed. The headlight and windshield had polarizers at the same 45 deg angle which would pass most the reflected light. Headlights from an oncoming car with the same polarization scheme would be effectively cancelled out by the windshield. There must have been some problems, because it never was adopted.
DeleteInteresting, back in the days when engineers actually COULD build things!
Deletejuvat
@ Anonymous
DeleteCompounds, organic in the plastic layer or inorganic fused in the glass layer, that will "bend"/refract only a portion/degree of the incoming light at the angle(s) where it's strongest (not "black" it out): there are (at least) three layers in windhield glass. I may have to dig (literally) throough my old chem library and Beilstein to find what I'm looking for.
Boron,
DeleteLooks like a research project. That'll give me something to do.
Thanks
juvat
It's always those 'small' steps that mark progress. Glad 'one' item is off your list!
ReplyDeleteAs am I. Looking forward to the day the last one gets scratched though!
Deletejuvat