February 7, 2008

  • Pot hole protector

    Day two of bad storm.  We now have a completely unplowed road in front of the house and all the main roads have sheets of ice and giant pot holes.

    I don't get it.  We can put a man on the moon, people can read my musings from all over the world, technically I could be on a beach in Mexico in less than six hours from now, yet I am driving to work trying to avoid giant holes in the road.

    It's like someone invented paved roads and it stopped there.
     How hard would it be for some chemist to invent something you could pave the roads with that could actually stand the wear and tear of weather?

    In fact I have an ice cream scooper that melts cold things on contact, so that it will scoop better.  Why not make a road like that?  No more salt, no more skidding and no more not even knowing if you are on the road anymore.

    It might be expensive, but much cheaper for everyone in the long run.

    Why is it that I have to be the genius to invent all this stuff?  Why can't someone who actually knows how to get things done and made can't think of it?

    It's like God gave me a half a genius brain.

    It was almost more dangerous than yesterday.  I had a choice, drive into a giant hole in the road, hoping my tires could stand it, or swerve into an oncoming car. 

    Then there was the ice.  Ice that is invisible to the naked eye.  I don't think I have to explain that, unless your from a no ice on road state, in which case, screw you.

    I know I shouldn't be taking it out on the no ice/snow states, but I'm cranky, so I am.

    Now if someone would invent something where the snow/ ice would melt as soon as it touches the road, we wouldn't have these problems.  At the very least they should make them stronger. 

    It's not like snow/ice in February, in Illinois, is a big surprise.

    Plan ahead road makers!

    I can already see the spring ahead.  Main roads closed for months, while they try and fix the damage.

    Or there will be the person holding the sign that lets one direction go at a time ( which by the way has to be a top boring job, as far as boring jobs go.) 

    And then next winter, we will all look like were in a video game, with our swerve and weave driving. 

    Well I guess it's keeping the sign holders employed.  So all you sign holders out there, you can thank God for only giving me half a genius brain, because if I had a full one, you would be out of a job.

Comments (49)

  • I agree!!  You would think by the 21st century we should be flying over those dumb pot holes!!

  • I think you may be on to something.  I ask myself the same questions when faced with major inconveniences.  We don't live where there's snow to contend with--so the reason for my questions are different from yours.

  • Potholes with snow, huh? I guess my commute wasn't so bad....

  • It has got to be so boring to hold a sign for eight hours. At least the ones who work at tax time get to dress in costume (Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam).

  • I have to agree, it was horrible on the roads this morning. I heard that we ran out of salt before this storm.  Its strange you mentioned pot holes, because I swear  on the way home from work, I saw several that weren't there before.  I think the plows are plowing the road instead of the snow.

  • a no ice on road state? yeah, screw them! ... it's still spitting snow, ice & freezing rain here -- though not as bad as you're getting ... had to scrape off the car this morning & will again tomorrow morning ... as if driving isn't bad enough ... sign holders -- what sort of test do you suppose they have to pass to get that job?

  • Sounds like a good idea to me

  • All the blacktopper guys and line painter people would be out of a job too.  The economy would suck. Oh wait, it already does.

  • Dear Laura,

    I just read/watched your blizzard entry. My oh my. You can come and look at my beach photos any time you like. I can truthfully say I've never driven in anything resembling that. I have been in a "California Blizzard", but of course you have to go 4 or 5 thousand feet up in the mountains to get snow in SoCal.

    I can't even think of what snow would do to my convertible. And they have "snow blowers" like leaf blowers? I thought packed snow was heavy, although I don't know for sh*t.

    We have lots of cars out here, and the roads are always bad. Every year, they add another layer of slurry, and every year, the old pot holes reappear, sometimes even bigger. When it rains, which is seldom, but sometimes badly, like a few weeks ago, some streets get potholes the size of Rhode Island.

    Well, you have enough troubles. Sounds like you're in danger of getting "snowed in". I've been thanking my lucky stars I don't live in tornado country recently, but I'm equally thankful that I'm not in blizzard country either.

    Excuse me, but I'm going over to my blog now to look at those beach photos again.

    Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool

  • LOL!  I guess the city planners consider salt the magic snow-melting ingredient, for nothing better has been developed! 

    I'm glad you don't hate me, since I live in a state with plenty of snow and ice!  :-p

    Winter weather sucks!

    Kathi

  • Once again, you are a plethera of brilliance! I love the idea of a road surface that melts the snow/ice. DUH! You really need to start patenting some of these ideas... before you read in the paper that someone else became a millionaire from them.

  • That half a genius brain thing is really funny.  Really funny.

    Okay, back to eating my chocolate chip cookies hot from the oven.

  • I completely agree with you.  My daughter's gym driveway and parking lot is FULL of potholes.  I was hitting every one last night.

    What should we do about it, Laura?  I think we should call in the National Guard.  Or put the juveis and prisoners to work.  Or, with our half genius brains all put together, I think we should invent something that attaches to the fronts of cars, with pot hole filler in it, and a red button inside that we could press, and it would ZAP those potholes when we see them ahead - just press the button, and PRESTO, it squirts permanent, fast-hardening pothole filler (quick-dry foam? Or better yet, floam?) into the pothole before our wheels touch it.  What do you think?  If we used FLOAM, the colors would be really bright and other people could easily see the filled-in potholes.

  • Know what?  Since you thought a couple of years back, that the snowplowman wasn't in the right occupation, maybe you could contact him and re-train him and the two of you figure out how to fix the roads.   You have me giggling again.  I KNOW it's serious.  I KNOW it ruins tires and causes us to have to re-alighn  our cars.  How do you make all this serious stuff sound so  @#$%$#@ funny!!!???  My lane is going to pot too.  It was frozen, thawed, frozen again, snowed on DEEP, rained on, melted, and now Dale's tearing the heck out of it with the semi, hauling grain.  Yup....Winter's TERRIBLE for roads.

  • From what I understand the technology for those kinds of roads is available.  But then they wouldn't have to be replaced as often and then where would all those people work?

    That's my theory.

  • Here In Michigan we're kind of notorious for having ridiculously bad roads.  Twice a week I have to drive a half hour to get to my internship at an elementary school and I swear to you there are pot holes the size of my poor car!  I agree that ppl need to get their sh*t together, I've decided that we need to have heated roads like the sidewalks here on campus.  I've got it all planned out, solar power to heat the water and then pipe it under the roads to warm them and prevent ice.  Maybe I have the other half of your genius brain!

  • @LifeNeedsProtection - 

    Yes, flying over them, that would be fun

    @hilaw - 

    Since your a thinker too I won't hate on you

    @kamomlisa - 

    probably not

    @PrincessFiveandDime - 

    that's true a little less boring

    @nicumom - 

    Hey did you see Teri Witt. on the channel  five news?   Well a picture she sent in?  I guess a plow got stuck in her neighborhood and another one had to get it out.

    @lalunebleue - 

    Yeah, right on, hate on the hot states ha ha

    @tx_christian - 

    thanks

    @LonaMay - 

    your funny

    @baldmike2004 - 

    Maybe I will come look at your beach pictures and be jealous  or maybe I'll think about your hurricanes

    @Still_groovy - 

    well  city planners should have bought more magic salt then, cause were running out.  Besides that's what makes the holes

    @madamzephyrus - 

    Thanks , you always make me feel good  about my ideas, but yeah that's what I'm saying the patent thing and the work... I just want to have the idea and make mega  bucks

    @evagarringer - 

    Yum.  Bitch you know I can't eat those.  Just kidding, I'm all good with people eating foods I can no longer have.  Skinny bitch  : cough:  I mean  how sweet you made cookies

    @musicmom60 - 

    yeah I should make those sleeping Juvies in our room go fill the holes and change expunges tire since he had a  blow out

    @GrannyHummingbird - 

    No way snow plow man would  make them bigger on  my roads only.  The man still hates me, he needs to get over himself.  You can laugh here anytime you want, in fact it's a rule

    @nevragn - 

    well if it's available bring it on.  Who cares  about the non workers, they can  go build tornado proof houses or something

    @elena9986 - 

    we need to get together girl and put our collective brains together,  You do all the work and we split the profit, sounds good huh?

  • I think we just depend on your genius.  You will guide us with the great ideas.

  • The ice cream idea is definitely genius.... the scooper only cost me like $1... so it shouldn't be THAT expensive... lol.

  • I guess it's time to tell you ... about how you've made me a multi-millionaire.

    I WANTED to tell you but my lawyer insisted I don't. But you now need rescue Laura, and here I conme. :)

    I've been absent from xanga for awhile, but I remember a time that you didn't want Jenny going wherever she was going. So tell me what it'll cost to "change" her mind, and get her back to America full-time, and I'll wire the money to her. OR TO THE MERCENARIES THAT WILL SECURE HER RETURN!  Same with Matt. Whatever he wants, he gets. And then YOU of course... well, private blog for that! ;) ..... OK, HOW MUCH! 

    I have been tagged "Genius 23", even though I'll be 25 in June, so I'm  I'm not that confident  in the "namers". But YOUR ideas have been good for me, my friends, my family, anybody who was in a bar when I was drinking, etc., etc.

    You really are a genius, and I am a rich man before his time!

    My Nicaraguan "banker"  will be contacting you to settle up...  we may need a deposit from you to make it all legal. 

    Sc..   .

  • We've got potholes galore over here too. Grrr.

  • I think you need to start formulating your plan for pothole free pavement! 

    You've got to wonder where the tax money we pay goes when they can't even patch a road.  Just wait until someone wrecks their car in one of those. 

    I actually did ruin my tire in a pothole a few years  ago. 

  • @TheTheologiansCafe - 

    Well you know Dan, I try

    @bubblysox - 

    really?  I think my scooper was expensive

    @mybaddy - Hey I trusted you!!!!!  Pay up bitch or is it bastard?

    @soul_survivor -  yeah grr

    @Get_Real_64 - 

    After i wrote this, Expunge came home, he had blown out a tire from a you guessed it, pot hole.

  • I feel guilty laughing at your plight, but that's your fault, because you made me laugh on purpose.  Just trying to say, great blog as usual, and I hope somebody comes along to complement your half-genious brain with the other half and you come up with a solution people will put into practice.

  • @twoberry - 

    I wasn't trying to be funny, jerk!  No, I'm only kidding of course.  Thanks for coming by and thanks for laughing, making people happy always feels good.  Off to work, yikes.

  • This really is a serious issue! What the hell are they thinking?? You are so right. I am shocked and dismayed at the size of these craters all over our streets here in N. Indiana. They are down right scary. As if trying to deal with idiot drivers isn't enough stress out there! Jeez!

  • You're right, with all the technology we have today, you'd think that they could find a solution to the pothole problem!

  • Did you know about the time last summer that I was in a bad mood, went out for a rollerblade to cool off, wasn't paying attention and skated into a pothole? Face-planted, and scraped up my shoulder and knee too. Naturally, I noticed as I was driving by it a week later that it had been filled.

  • AMEN!  I'm having the same problem!  But I love reading about it through your wit and laughing through my tears!!!  BTW ~ those people holding signs probably make more than you and me combined!!  LOL Have a GREAT weekend!  Lucky me...my kids have Monday and Tuesday off!  Hope YOU are as lucky!

  • You know, I was stopped in the front of a line (because the road ahead was, of course, being repaired in the spring for all the damage from the winter) and happened to strike up a conversation with the flagholder guy because we had gone to the same high school   HE GOT PAID ALMOST $20 AN HOUR TO STAND THERE AND HOLD THAT STUPID SIGN.

    Wow.  I mean, it's not exactly a highly-skilled position.  You have to wonder how many people drudging away at McDonald's just don't know about these equally pointless jobs they could be doing instead (for a lot less work and a lot more money).

  • Yeah, Old man winter can just suck it. I'm so sick of the ice and snow and bad roads to drive on.

  • @NewCreation311 - 

    I am so timely.  The Chicago Tribune had an article about the pot whole problem

    @ok123LetsGO - It's annoying

    @sexytexan45 - 

    No I didn't  know that, but ouch

    @cherflip - 

    trust me I know ( about the money) since I make poverty salary , that would not be shocking to me

    @TheWoobDog - 

    I did hear they got paid a lot, but can you imagine in 90 degree weather, and all day, I'm not sure I could do it

    @ThatsMrsMayor2U - 

    Boo old man winter.

  • You wrote: "...unless your from a no ice on road state, in which case, screw you!"  Now, let me get this straight.  You're saying that ice actually forms ON the surface of the road, and then people try to drive on it?  You're saying this combination somehow damages the pavement?  How very odd.

  • @MixedUpMale - 

    I know right, and hey how have you been?????

  • i was raised in western, ny..... south of buffalo.  on the news in buffalo they called where i'm from "snow country." 

    When the city of buffalo is calling where you live "snow country"....you know there's a problem.  lol.

    anyway... point is, i feel your pain when it comes to the potholes.  You'd think the quality of the roads would be better or there would be a better system.  They re-pave every summer.  it's annoying and expensive.

    Also, I don't know about where you're at, but back home we have a lot of heated sidewalks to make up for the badass weather.  This at least keeps something clear.  I love love love the heated sidewalks.... much cleaner.  too bad they can't do that w/ the street.

    ....then again.... we'd probably have some serious slush problems....

  • ROFLMAO!

    Ok...I'm from a pretty near No ice/snow state...and I can only relate to the ice/snow from when I lived in Iowa and Maryland a LOOOOOOOONG time ago. The snow and ice we get here is negligible...but I like to bit@# about the idiot California drivers who are afraid to leave their driveways after a dog pees let alone when there is actual ice on the roads!

    Hope your weather clears up for you soon!

  • Oooh, I'm with you.  We had a big storm, the streets didn't get "done", and weeks later, we still have these deep tracks to drive in.  Turning corners is a mess, and sometimes the ice scrapes the bottom of the van...and the van doesn't really sit that low to the ground.

  • I lived in Illinois for nearly two years (little town called Hanover) so I know where you're coming from.  Here in NC we get just about everything you get, except not as much of it, maybe.

    Florida?  California?  Hurricanes.  Brush fires.  Gators.  Mudslides.  Rattlesnakes.  Earthquakes.  Santa Ana winds.  I could go on.

    RYC:  Thanks.  Hope you enjoy the book.

  • I was so excited that you visited me at my "place."

    Ok........i need a life.

  • btw: I think your "half genius brain" theory is even more genius than your thoughts on the pot holes.

    And I always thought you lived in a busy city type setting. Not the rural-ness I observed on the video of you driving home.

  • If only we could harness the power of your half genius brain! Dang it!

  • From the looks of your last blog & this one, your superintendent sucks.
    Kind of like my whole school board. They're idiots. A school about 15 min.'s from here gets out for Martin Luther King day & I know for a fact they do not have one African American kid in their school system. My school on the other hand, has quite a few & we don't get out for it so they all end up skipping that day. I say more power to them.
    & on top of that we don't get out during a snow storm either- but the other schools do.

    You should go world-wide with a protest against schools being dumb since we have so many of those.

  • When you're rich and famous after inventing the road meltie thingie.....remember, I'm your new best friend

  • "It's like God gave me a half a genius brain."

    Hahahaha!  This sentence really made me laugh-  On the other hand, I've known a few geniuses who seemed to have only half a brain. . .

    Sounds like our road system here in PA.  There's that old joke about the four seasons in my state:  winter, winter, winter, and road construction.

  • Love that header-I just got tulips last week!!  I agree, with all of the technology out there, you'd think roads would be better taken care of!  Here in MN  we have 2 seasons--road construction and winter...

  • @jessp505again - I hear they have heated sidewalks now in chicago.  i'm in the suburbs so we don't have any.  I have not been downtown in awhile, so I have never seen them

    @flaminredhead - Bitch away, even though we get really bad weather, people still freak out over one flake.  I say stay home if you have that many issues

    @gwennieg - Wow, that's bad.

    @dsullivan - true, but I'm in snow so that's what I bitch about

    @Berlyblake67 - i'll come by again soon

    @azcason - wow, what a sweet thiing to say : )

    @DiscordInTheGarden - yep

    @Sonworshiper - okay you got it

    @queenoscots - good one

    @soonaquitter - thank you, I'll probably change it soon but for now it's fun

  • You are awesome.
    1. I want an ice cream scoop like that, where can I get one? :)
    2. I totally agree! I think the road idea is a great idea, or I've always thought they should develop some kind of laser snow plow "blade." I'm sure it would be complicated, but melting and/or evaporating the snow/ice would be so much better than shoving it around.
    3. Yay for 1/2 genius brains. :)

  • @danlang - Thank you.  I got the ice cream scoop from a company that sells knives.  Vesper?  I don't remember.  One of the kids friends sells them and that was one of the cheapest items.  It's actually really cool.  No pun intended.

  • @momofjenmatt - Lol, awesome. I'll have to look for it. Thanks for the info. :)

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