Anecdotelian Tales

I was on my way to work on either Monday or Tuesday night and saw something truly sad.

I saw a brand new Ford Freestyle, fresh off the lot, still having the dealer’s plastic plate inserts, driving downt he interstate with an Obama campaign sticker in the top middle of the rear window.

This person is such a drone that she (it was a she) kept an Obama sticker for an extra four months just so that she could put it on her new car and show the world what a faithful follower of the Obamessiah she is.

Again, sad.

On another note, my employer has taken delivery of approximately half of the 106 CNG powered collection trucks we will need to fulfill our Super-Muni contract that begins April 1st.

I must say that they are a bit creepy to be around. Imagine that part of your job is to get drivers on the road in the morning which can and usually involves being out in the truck yard taking care of something or other and that the yard contains over 100 diesel trucks all running at once.

Quite noisy.

Not so with the CNG trucks. I only have to raise my voice if I’m in the middle of the yard. If I’m near one of the edges I can talk at an indoor volume. They do begin to make noise once they’re in motion, but that is mostly non-engine drivetrain noise (transmission/driveshaft/axle) and hydraulic noise.

The next time you’re waiting at a light next to a semi-tractor or a dump truck, roll down the window on that side and listen. Then imagine only hearing a whirring noise that talk radio can blot out. See, creepy.

One of our Oakland facilities has a hybrid collection truck. 0-30mph is electric drive recharged during braking, with above 30mph running on either diesel or CNG. Word is we’ll get a few of those when the last of our diesels gives up the ghost. I was talking with the guy who certifies the drivers on fueling the CNG trucks (who is based out of Oakland) about it and told him about the large number of accidents that have taken place in Seattle with Prius Vs. Blind People and he was shocked, to say the least.

I explained how the blind cannot hear the hybrid cars coming so they step out into the crosswalk and that the Prius drivers cannot see the blind people because they drive around with their noses so high in the air they can’t people in the crosswalks.

Being a former Euro, he didn’t get the joke.
Awkward.