So what if you answer yes? Are you guilty of anything? Is there a law against driving while tired in the police state of New Jersey? Is this just another excuse for the storm troopers State Police in New Jersey to pull someone over so they can search their car? Don't get me wrong, if you are behind the wheel and swerving all over the place because you are falling asleep then the police should pull you over. I have to wonder though just how the New Jersey State Police intend to determine if you were tired while driving giving them enough reason to pull you over. You see, according to this article, that is what they intend to do along with pulling over drunk drivers this Labor Day weekend. They also plane to pull over distracted drivers. So let's see, a police car up ahead pulls over someone, you are driving along and see it, you rubber neck as you drive by and the officer sees you. Does he radio ahead for another officer to pull you over because you were distracted? How about this - an officer is working the midnight shift. He is tired, so he goes to buy a cup of coffee at the local doughnut shop. He also buys a chocolate creme doughnut. He drinks the coffee that he loaded with sugar and eats the sugar slimed ringed morsel. About 20 minutes later he is feeling sleepy as he drives his cruiser down the highway and its only 4AM. His partner realizes that he is sleepy - does he make him pull him over and issue him a citation? A motorist is driving down the road and an officer in a car in the next lane realizes the motorist is talking. There is no one else in the car with said motorist. Should the officer pull him over because he is: a) obviously distracted because he is talking on his hands free cell phone, b) pull him over because the guy is acting loopy from lack of sleep as evidenced by his talking to thin air, c) pull him over because he must be drunk and singing along with his stereo? I hate driving through New Jersey because over the years that I have been a licensed driver I have come to the conclusion they incessantly look for new and absolutely ludicrous reasons to pull someone over for nothing in what mounts to a witch hunt. I have heard tell they have pulled people over for race (racial profiling not racing mind you), length of their hair (guys with long hair and beards must be hippies who have drugs), if you drove over the Washington Bridge into NJ at an early AM hour (must mean you were in Harlem buying drugs), if a guy was in the car with a younger female companion (must mean she was a runaway), if you were driving at the speed limit in the left lane (you must have been impeding traffic) and on and on. Next thing you know they will be reading your mind and pulling you over because you were thinking about speeding. Of course they also pull people over for motor vehicle infractions as they should do - but how about they just stick to pulling people over for actual violations. As for you, if you plan to drive in NJ, or anywhere, be aware you just may get pulled over for being tired while driving - and then what - maybe get a tongue lashing! Folks I just don't know, there was insufficient information in that wee article but you can bet you are going to get hammered by the police if you drive while hammered. So you should be.As for me, yawn! I am going out to take a drive and get the wind in my hair so I can wake up. Now really folks - I do not recommend driving while to tired to drive safely, nor do I recommend driving while distracted (do not try to drive with closed eyes to avoid all the distractions), and I definitely recommend against driving while intoxicated. Be careful, stay sober if driving, use a designated driver if drinking and traveling in a motor vehicle, stay alert and awake, drive safely. Your life and the life of others may depend upon it.All the best,Glenn B
Labor Day – What Did You Do? Here is what I did this weekend:
Well even though Labor Day was initiated as a day off for the working man (in NY City of all places), I did not get off today. Sure I had off from work, but I also had chores around the house and the garden. I’ll admit though, these chores sure beat working for someone else.
I primed and painted a closet this weekend. The first coat was applied Saturday, the rest today. I also did some light gardening, nothing back breaking for sure. I am also supposed to stain the front door, but am not too sure I can get back into the work mode. I’ll know soon after the Paulaner Hefe Weissbier I am about to imbibe. If it is quickly followed by a second, well work around the house is on hold indefinitely, or at least until next week. Of course I may get the front door done regardless, it may just be a good bier I need to get going with it. Staining fiberglass with gel stain is a royal pain in the arse. A wood or steel door will replace the one I have if I live that long. No more fiberglass, unless it gets painted, and even then I would prefer the others.
As for the gardening, I got a bunch of jalapenos and tomatoes today. It looks as if just about the last batch of tomatoes that will ripen on the vine are starting to do so. I have a lot of very green tomatoes left over, and if they do not appear to be getting either red or yellow (dependent on the type) by next week, off the vine with them, and into little paper bags in which they will ripen they will go. All of the hot peppers have been picked, the butternut squash looks about ready for picking – sadly only three fruits this year as all the others rotted for some reason. There is a good batch of spearmint to be picked. The basil also needs picking before it dies off. I don’t think anything else, except for a small Broccoli plant, has anything left worth picking. That has about three mouthfuls of broccoli on it. Oh well, all good things come to an end sort of. The garden has not ended – just this season for it has ended. Soon the plants will be uprooted and put into the compost pile to make fertilizer and earthworms for next season.
Did I forget to mention, yesterday I visited my mom out east on Long Island. Quite the drive going there, it took over 2 hours for about 85 miles. The drive back only took about 90 minutes. We had a nice day together. We went into Sag harbor for a walk – all of about 75 yards round trip from car to dock to car. Halfway through the walk we sat on a dockside bench and my mom got to watch the antics of the boaters, the gulls, and the killie fish. It was a nice breezy warm day with blue skies, so this was picture perfect. Then back to the car, a we took short drive of about a block and a half to a local restaurant/bar, where we had a good meal, and I had a couple of pints of Stella Artois. Then back to my sister’s house (where my mom lives). You maybe wondering why such a short walk for me and my mom – she has had hip replacement twice on one side, knee replacement on the other side, and a wired hip on the same side as the knee only because with the fake knee they could not also put in a fake hip. Add to that the fact she will be 84 in December, and you get the picture I am sure. All in all it was the nicest day I have spent with my mother in decades.
On Saturday we had a barbecue, that is after I primed the closet. My mother-in-law and brothers-in-law came by, as did Celina and Kevin her beau. Brendan and Julia were upstate fishing and having fun. The BBQ was pretty good, just burgers, franks, and Bratwursts (none of those prepackaged television commercial 'brats' for us, we had real Bratwurst made at a really ethnic German butcher, and fresh at that). Washed it all down with Paulaner Weissbier. Hmm, that reminds me, wasn’t I about to have a cold one?
Now, for me anyhow, I am going to go to get that bier – a nice cold one at that. Let me know what you did for your Labor Day weekend.
All the best,
Glenn B
