Scratches, and Not the Good Kind Either

I noticed before I left BR that my rear driver door has a sizeable scratch on it. I'm sure it wasn't there before I left Tally. I was not happy when I first observed this blemish on my recent paint job. About 5 minutes later I realized that this is exactly the reason (ok, not the only reason) I don't drive a nice new car. If I have a crappy car and something scratches it, no big deal. Nice car + scratch = flip out. Nobody wants that.

I don't think that the aesthetic of my car is ruined by this scratch. I don't think it's going to open up a rust hole there by the end of the year. I don't think it's a big deal...but I did get a little upset when I first saw it. Why? Because it ruined something that was very nice (i.e. my new paint job). Now I don't think I'll care as much about the next scratch. I know that knicks and bumps are inevitable if you put your car in a parking lot. I'm cool with that.

I think this principle applies to a bunch of other aspects of life, but mostly to other posessions. We get too upset when stuff gets hurt a little. I'm talking non-functional damage. I have reason to be upset if my head gasket blows or if I crack my radiator. Scratches don't affect the driveability, so I'm fine with it.

Victim of Profiling, Once Again

On my drive from Baton Rouge back to Tallahassee, I was pulled over on I-10 in Mississippi. I wasn't sure what I'd done that warranted being pulled over. I had my lights on but it wasn't raining, so I didn't think it could be for a light that was out.

The officer came around the passenger side of my car...I guess it's safer with traffic that way. I rolled down the rear passenger window & explained that the front passenger window doesn't work. He asked if the door worked and he opened the shotgun door to talk to me. He didn't come right out and tell me why I was pulled over. He did the license and registration thing first. He asked me if I owned the car, where I was coming from, how long I'd been there, and where I was going. I told him that I was visiting my Aunt in Baton Rouge since last Thursday and he asked what part of the city. I told him not too far from downtown or the school. He replied “so you don't know exactly where you were staying?” Mind you that I'm at least 100 miles from BR at this point, so I didn't think that an intersection would have been useful to him. I gave him a more specific location. He asked if I was from Tallahassee and I told him that I go to FSU. He started asking me all kinds of drug related questions. Do you have “any small amount” of marijuana? I answer in the negative. He counters: “are you sure?” I kind of laughed at him. He said that I seemed kind of nervous. I explained that I've never been pulled over before and didn't really know the drill. He asked if I'd ever been in trouble with the law before. Once again, he couldn't let my denial stand without questioning it again. I think it was at this point that he gave his reason for pulling me over.

He was pulled off to the right side of the road. I was driving in the left lane approaching him. About a half mile back, there was another car off to the side of the road. One blue car in the right lane hugged the left side of the right lane to give more space to that car on the shoulder. That blue car happened to be close to me when I was passing the police officer who was pulled over, so I hugged the left side of my lane in anticipation that the blue car would try to come over. I got pulled over for my tires touching the yellow line. I know that I touched it because in Mississippi, they have “dingers” that vibrate your car when it touches the line (they're farther outside the lane of travel in Florida). I explained why I was on the yellow line but he apparently wasn't satisfied.

He asked if I had any weapons. I told him about my pocket knife. He asked about firearms or EXPLOSIVES! I thought for a minute because I had considered bringing my 9 with me, but left it at home because I didn't check the state laws of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana before leaving. He asked if I was sure again. He said “so if I search this car, I wouldn't find any guns?” HBF. No. He inquired further into drugs. He asked if I had cocaine, meth, heroin, I can't even remember what other drugs he asked about. After each of my responses he asked again if I was sure. He kept pushing the “are you sure you don't have just a small amount of marijuana” line. He asked if I would allow him to search “the interior and exterior” of my car. I don't know the Mississippi law, but in Florida you don't have to let them search. He told me that I didn't have to let him, but I got the feeling that he might pull something if I declined. I asked how long it would take and he inquired if I was in a hurry. I told him that I just wanted to beat the Mobile rush hour traffic. He assured me that I could meet my goal no problem even after a search. I told him that he could for the sake of thoroughness.

He had me pop the trunk then get out of the car while he inspected. The first thing he picked up was a funnel wrapped in plastic bags on top of my spare tire. I explained that it's an older car and sometimes needs fluids. He pilfered through other stuff then set his sights on my backpack. He asked was was in the bag. I told him teaching materials, among other things. He seemed surprised that I teach. I told him I'm teaching second half of summer at FSU. He asked what class. I really don't know why every detail was so important. He looked in a few of the pockets. He saw my bag of dirty laundry. I invited him to search the pockets of my soiled pants. He decided that would be unnecessary. He took my license back to the SUV-cruiser and did who knows what with it. I know he copied my plate. He came back with my license and I asked if I needed to sign something. He said that this was just a warning and to drive safely and have a nice day.

A couple miles down the road, I realized that I might have been pulled over for an entirely different reason. I was wondering why he was pushing the drug thing. Maybe it was because of my car. I drive a not-so-new Grand Marquis with tinted windows and a Florida plate. I know that a lot of drugs run from Florida to the west on I-10. I guess that any excuse to pull over a ghetto-mobile with a high likelihood of carrying drugs could be beneficial. I realize that he didn't pat me down to search for “any small amount” of drugs on my person. I guess he realized halfway through the questioning that I was not in the business of breaking the law but he had to keep up the show.

Internet Dependence

I live in a world where I need the internet. It keeps me connected with people who are not close enough to me to have my phone number. You know, stuff for school's on there. I might not have the recipe for something I want to make for dinner. I have an online to do list. Email is a huge one. Facebook's taken on a more dominant role in my internet activity in the past couple months. Without the internet, how can I keep up on information with minimal effort?

Anyway, all this summer travelling might leave me without access to the internet for days at a time. So, blog posts may be thin until the end of June. Picks of the week should be taken care of.

I think that to fix this issue of needing internet, I am going to make my next phone one of those smart phones that all the cool people have. I'll have access to everything on my phone. Respond to emails even when away from my computer. Watch youtube videos wherever I am. Sweet. It will be a big upgrade from my current phone, but I think I'm ready for that technological leap.

Pick #128

Gypsy Kings - "Bamboleo"

Rain Garden

Before Andrew left, he helped me plant a rain garden. Admittedly, it's a work in progress. Since I got my back yard re-graded, a lot more water flows around the south side of my house. I planted a few ferns and lilies on the slope outside my fence. From there, the water flows down to the road. Andrew and I picked a spot that was fairly level and made a roughly 8' x 4' depression in the soil. The rain garden area is about 3" lower than the surrounding ground. It has some irises, lilies, and ferns right now. Andrew had the brilliant idea to put rocks at the front (uphill) part of the garden to slow the flow of water so that it doesn't trample the plants.

I went outside during a storm earlier this week and water had flooded the rain garden and was rushing over the backstop. Turns out that it eroded part of the backstop. I put a couple rocks where the dirt used to be. I guess that the rain garden doesn't get to filter a high percentage of the runoff water during a torrential downpour. However, I think that it might service a very high proportion of the water that falls in a light shower.

One of the irises is already shooting off another set of leaves via underground runners. Hopefully the plants in there will reproduce and fill up the area to make better filtration. I would like to plant more stuff in there some time. Like I said, it's a work in progress. In order to improve it, I might go to Esposito or some other garden store. Apparently Tallahassee has a program where they'll reimburse you up to $150 for materials used to make a rain garden. The city sure does have a community consciousness.

Wolfram Alpha

Go to http://www.wolframalpha.com/ and check out the awesome search capabilities. Stephen Wolfram has an awesome introduction to the site. It actually blew my mind.

It's not fully operational yet, but you can see its potential.

Summer Travels

Man, I've got a lot of places to go & things to do this summer. The first week of summer took me to Panama City Beach to do my first half ironman race: Gulf Coast Triathlon. After that, I went to St. George Island for a day to visit Bailey before returning to Tallahassee. Last week was the Snyder wedding in Gainesville. This week I'm going to Baton Rouge to see my aunt & grandmother. We will probably make a side trip to New Orleans. After that, back to Tally for a day to rendezvous with my immediate family to carpool up to Virginia to meet up with extended family. I'm trying to find a plane ticket to Prague for around $600 so I can spend a week there with Carmen. If I can get said ticket, then I'll be spending a day or two before & after at Leah's place in Atlanta. After that, I'm stuck in Tally teaching for summer C session. After teaching ends, I'm going to the Keys with my family to catch lobsters. And it's a possibility that I might go camping in the Keys with some friends after the family vacation is over. Sweet.