Well, what a damn day, eh.
I woke up very early, looked at my phone and learned the day’s big news. Read for a while, went back to sleep, woke up just plain early, did some work, said goodbye to John and Sam and hit the road for the penultimate leg of this drive, to Lexington. I couldn’t do another 11-hour slog, and bad weather was promised for part of it. I thought doing the first leg, in mere rain, would be a pain in the ass. Michigan would get the snow, and I’ll finish Friday after it’s stopped and been cleared.
Well. The rain was goddamn miserable. Rather, the trucks made it so.
Has something happened to trucking that I missed? Did all the drivers become assholes? Who pilots a vehicle that size at 75 miles an hour in a driving rainstorm? And why do they come up on your ass like the wrath of god? Are they being flogged to finish runs on punishing schedules? Or am I just now 100 years old and incapable of the hardcore freeway action I used to be? Whatever. It was a miserable drive, at least for the last half of it.
But now it’s over and I’m watching CNN and Showtime, switching between Doom in Europe and Bill Cosby’s rape problem. It seems a fitting end to a long, grim kinda day. Time for a photo dump, then:
Democratic neighborhood.
Spring is coming.
Hi back.
This was a pose. “I want a ‘gazing’ one,” she said to her friend.
Michelle.
Shadows.
Camellias, past their prime.
Home tomorrow.
basset said on February 24, 2022 at 8:44 pm
So, tell us: what did you learn? What insights appeared?
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Peter said on February 24, 2022 at 8:51 pm
I have to ask – what did you think about the museum? I’ve never been there but always wanted to go.
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nancy said on February 24, 2022 at 8:55 pm
1) That truckers are assholes. The rest isn’t ready for a wider audience.
2) The building is cool, but we didn’t see it all. J&S said it excels at special events like the Obama portraits, but maybe isn’t well-known for the permanent collection.
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alex said on February 24, 2022 at 9:57 pm
Isn’t well known for its permanent collection. Prolly cuz it got a late start, being burned to the ground during the Civil War while places like Pittsburgh and Cleveland had already amassed faboo treasures bought up by industrialists and went on to grow their collections well into the 20th Century. Bumpkin Atlanta only decided it wanted to be a world-class city since about 1980 and it still has a lot of catching up to do.
But love the Stacy Abrams signs. Obviously Atlanta’s becoming the kind of urban center whose votes are beginning to offset those of the asshats in the rest of the state.
Love the portraits and the candid shots give me a better feel for them than the “professional” ones that appeared in the news media.
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Ann said on February 24, 2022 at 10:46 pm
Truckers are the worst and pretty soon we’re going to let 18 year olds drive them and that won’t make things a bit better.
The photos are lovely. Color. I remember color.
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Hank Stuever said on February 24, 2022 at 11:07 pm
Trucking is the thing I’m ready to hand over to the robot drivers.
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Deborah said on February 25, 2022 at 4:15 am
Is that the High Museum? If so the architect who designed it had a Bill Cosby/Harvey Weinstein problem. He took advantage of young women interns who worked in his office. I like his buildings especially the Getty museum in LA but what a creep.
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Jeff Gill said on February 25, 2022 at 7:16 am
Flogged to complete schedules within “legal” restrictions on driving time is the correct answer.
For all the Formula One fans on the board:
https://twitter.com/F1Media/status/1497179625625055232
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ROGirl said on February 25, 2022 at 8:42 am
The walkways don’t have much actual exhibition space. It kind of reminds me of the Guggenheim, except that its walkways actually do have spaces to exhibit art. And it’s weird to stand in front of a painting on an incline.
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nancy said on February 25, 2022 at 9:15 am
There are no exhibits on the walkways in the High — it’s not set up for it.
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JodiP said on February 25, 2022 at 9:23 am
I am always amazed when we are still in the midst of winter (well hello -8 windchill!) and see other parts of the country in bloom. It will be a good month before I see snowdrops and crocuses. OTOH it’s only a month away!
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jcburns said on February 25, 2022 at 10:22 am
I learned that Nancy never overstays her welcome, and gets annoyed when not permitted to wash dishes. No, wait, I knew all that.
PS, Alex, it’s Stacey Abrams!
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Jeff Borden said on February 25, 2022 at 10:24 am
When I was much younger, the big rig, long haul truckers were called “the knights of the road.” They’d stop to help someone change a tire, help push a car out of a ditch, etc. and we’re generally seen as better drivers because it was their occupation.
No more. Satellite and GPS trackers follow their progress and it’s all about saving time wherever possible. It’s a ruthless business with a high burnout rate.
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Julie Robinson said on February 25, 2022 at 10:26 am
We may have CPAC here but Orlando is warm and sunny, and we can use the pool again. So there are tradeoffs.
I spent yesterday reading about the atrocities of Putin and Florida politicians. Don’t Say Gay is one step closer to law. But it’s much harder to stay down in the sunshine.
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basset said on February 25, 2022 at 11:13 am
More F-1… the Haas team, the only American team on the circuit, has renounced their Russian sponsorship and ran the last day of testing with a plain white car. One of their two drivers is Russian, don’t know how that is gonna work out.
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Julie Robinson said on February 25, 2022 at 11:47 am
Russia and Ukraine seem a long way from us, until you read about their people. A friend shared her son-in-law’s post about being the child of a Russian dad and Ukrainian mom, who came to this country in 1980 while pregnant with him. They have friends and family in both countries and are filled with dread as they spend their days and nights checking in on everyone. He has a recording studio named Russian Recording and is already under pressure to change the name.
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Sherri said on February 25, 2022 at 1:36 pm
The Haas Russian driver isn’t just any Russian, he’s the son of a Russian oligarch who’s a close ally of Putin and the sponsor whose branding was dropped. The only reason he’s a driver in F1 is because of his father.
He’s not the only F1 driver whose daddy buys him a seat, but he’s clearly the worst driver in the field.
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Jeff Borden said on February 25, 2022 at 2:26 pm
Tens of thousands of Russians were out in the streets protesting the invasion of Ukraine, despite the severe penalties for protest under the Putin dictatorship and potential incarceration in some of the worst prisons on earth. That’s just a little more courageous than marching against a fucking face mask.
The only good thing about this war is the spotlight shining on the many Putin knob polishers in the QOP and those (ahem, J.D. Vance) who hope to join their ranks.
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David C said on February 25, 2022 at 3:37 pm
I hope if we’re ever going through something like Ukraine, five years ago I would have thought it was impossible now I don’t know, I could be half as brave as the woman who told the Russian soldier to put sunflower seeds in his pockets so when he dies on Ukraine soil he’d grow flowers.
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Jeff Borden said on February 25, 2022 at 4:05 pm
David C.,
I doubt our population would be anywhere near as tough and brave as the Ukrainians. We’re the people who brawl on airplanes over masks, who spit in the faces of waitstaff who ask to see a vaccination card, who whine like colicky infants over any inconvenience. I’m not particularly sure we are the “home of the brave” any more.
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Deborah said on February 25, 2022 at 6:10 pm
The resolve of the the people of Ukraine is amazing. Zelenskyy has been spectacular in dealing with the people in this crisis. I don’t know what he’s like in day to day governmental matters but he’s saying all of the right things now. I realize he was an actor/comedian who played the part of the president in a sitcom before he became president and maybe it’s all an act now, but it sure doesn’t seem like it. Sometimes the right person for the job of the moment comes along and can be a healer, that’s how I felt about Biden when he was running, and won. It was such a relief.
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David C said on February 25, 2022 at 6:13 pm
I think you’re right, Jeff. I include myself. Nobody knows how they’ll react under extreme pressure, of course. Anyone who says they do is insane or a liar. I honestly don’t know if I’d step up or fall back on “I’m just an old man”. I just don’t know and it bothers me.
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tajalli said on February 25, 2022 at 6:31 pm
My brain queued this up on seeing this post’s title
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLQox8e9688
Driver’s in general seem to have either become unhinged and aggressive or stoically cooperative. I hate dealing with insane behavior.
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basset said on February 25, 2022 at 9:29 pm
Sherri@17, he surely is… although the other Haas driver, whose main qualification for the seat seems to be his name, is not a whole lot better. Maybe we can hang on till the Andretti team gets going, assuming there’s still a world to have F1 races in.
Looks like Charlie Kimball, the driver we’ve been following in Indy car for the last few years, has lost his ride… his website says he’s still with Foyt, but the Foyt website doesn’t mention him.
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Dave said on February 26, 2022 at 12:05 am
Subject changer but the retired cop who shot the man in the theater in Pasco County, FL, over cellphone use, has been declared not guilty by a six person jury. This, of course, eight years after the event, during which time the cop has been on home detention.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/25/us/curtis-reeves-murder-trial-jury-deliberations/index.html
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beb said on February 26, 2022 at 1:15 am
“I’m not particularly sure we are the “home of the brave” any more.” Americans have the privilege to be petulant children because we have no existential threats. Placed in the Ukrainian situation I think you would find Americans are brave as them.
Nancy, I did not realize you were taking the trip on your own. For some reason I thought Alan had gone with you.
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Jeff Borden said on February 26, 2022 at 1:01 pm
I hope you’re correct, Beb.
We’re still capable of being larger than ourselves as seen when help arrives after a natural disaster, catastrophic fire, etc. There is much goodness in the world. My concern is more how our population would react to the kind of prolonged hard times the Ukrainians will endure regardless of how this plays out, especially when compared to the wailing and moaning heard over the smallest steps in pandemic mitigation. Many of us cope with hard times by trying to calculate how long those conditions will prevail. If we’re told it will be a year or two of sacrifice, we’re more likely to cope than if it is an open-ended issue with no end in sight.
Again, I profoundly hope you are correct and I am being too cynical.
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Deborah said on February 26, 2022 at 1:27 pm
Our country rallied during WWII, rationing of sugar, gasoline etc. Women putting on boots and working in aircraft factories like my mother did when factory working women were kind of rare. I wonder how many people complained back then? Really, the people of Ukraine are very inspiring, especially their president.
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Jeff Borden said on February 26, 2022 at 3:29 pm
Ukrainians are defending their capital. Our “patriots” attacked ours.
BTW, now Putin is threatening Finland and Sweden if they seek to join NATO. He’s gone cray-cray.
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Brandon said on February 26, 2022 at 3:33 pm
Who pilots a vehicle that size at 75 miles an hour in a driving rainstorm? … Are they being flogged to finish runs on punishing schedules?
“US truckers speeding less, but those who do go faster.”
“Heavy truck speed limits are inconsistent.” Georgia’s is 70 mph.
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susan said on February 26, 2022 at 4:19 pm
Did PootyPoot have COVID? His breathing seems labored and he gasps a lot. If so, maybe COVID made him even more cray-cray.
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Mark P said on February 26, 2022 at 4:37 pm
Finland handed the Soviets their ass when they first attacked in 1939. They eventually overwhelmed the Fins, but the Fins remember, and they are prepared. They might well embarrass the Russians again.
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Jeff Borden said on February 26, 2022 at 5:23 pm
My neighbor across the street is Finnish. His wife is Polish. They have some strong opinions on Russia. Ironically, another neighbor is Russian –born in St. Petersburg– but his family moved to St. Louis before the fall of the USSR, so I’m not sure where he’d stand on all this.
It’s obviously very early, but it appears Putin may have pulled off one of the greatest instances of unintended consequences in recent memory.
The Russian military has been exposed as something less than a world-class force. Seen the tanks along the road that are out of fuel? Notice Ukraine’s Air Force is still flying? Command and control is intact? All this after an overwhelming force started a march on a badly outmanned and out equipped nation. U.S. intelligence says the Russians lack the gear to fight at night and have received terrible intelligence reports, meaning they’ve launched sorties and artillery barrages at empty places.
Russia’s economy was already weak –it’s smaller than Italy’s– but it is going to take a terrible pounding through the sanctions and efforts to curtail banking. It’s going to be impossible for Russian industries to get funding and materials. And all the gas and oil in the world isn’t going to make up for it when Europeans find other sources, an effort Biden has been leading. The Russian people are going to take it right on the nose.
Putin hates NATO and the EU. He has sought for years to destabilize both and had a willing accomplice in the Orange King and the America First morons. Now, Finland and Sweden are talking about joining NATO and some allies are suggesting a “fast track” for Ukraine to get in. The often splintered EU is acting as one. Sheesh, even Germany has changed its post – WWII rules against giving arms to nations at war.
Tens of thousands of Russian citizens are risking arrest and prison to protest Putin’s war. Scores of top Russian officials have resigned. Music and film artists are calling for an end to the fighting and refusing to perform. Large athletic events scheduled for Russia are being canceled left and right.
So, the effort by a weak punk to look strong by pushing around a neighboring nation just because he can is revealing exactly how weak and fearful he is. No nation with so many nukes and led by a man whose capacity for cruelty is well known can be sloughed off, but it sure looks like ol’ Vlad made a terrible miscalculation. Let’s hope it is fatal for him and his autocracy.
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David C said on February 26, 2022 at 5:35 pm
Fatal for him, his autocracy, and our budding autocracy. Now that the Rs are seeing this go so wrong many are doing the “Putin, who’s Putin?” thing. We can’t let them forget.
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Joe Kobiela said on February 27, 2022 at 9:57 am
Reading some of your comments wondering if the U.S would fight back like the Ukrainians are doing?
What would I fight back with? You want to confiscate my guns.
Pilot Joe
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ROGirl said on February 27, 2022 at 10:09 am
I, for one, don’t want your guns.
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alex said on February 27, 2022 at 10:20 am
Why would you fight back, Joe? Surely you must adore Putin as much as your favorite President does.
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David C said on February 27, 2022 at 11:13 am
You keep the guns in an armory, you know, like a well regulated militia would. You let them out when there’s a national emergency, not when some asshole is pissed because someone isn’t driving fast enough for them.
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Joe Kobiela said on February 27, 2022 at 11:28 am
David,
What do you do when the government is the one you need to fight against and they have the lock and key?
Pilot Joe
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David C said on February 27, 2022 at 11:36 am
You elect governments who respect democracy and the rule of law, unlike your side does.
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Jeff Borden said on February 27, 2022 at 11:38 am
Ohio senatorial fauxbilly candidate J.D. Vance doubled down on his casual dismissal of the Ukraine invasion at the CPAC circle jerk in Orlando yesterday. He instead attacked Biden for not securing the Southern border, which he said poses much more danger to his mama than anything happening in Eastern Europe. (I was unaware armies of brown people in trucks and tanks were flowing across the border after using bombings, shellings and missile fire in advance, but then, I don’t watch Fucks News.)
The stupidity of the entire America First movement is unfathomable to me. How can anyone honestly believe that in the 21st century you can just shut yourself off from the world? What, you wanna be North Korea?
Vote against every Republican at every level of government from township on up. Nice guy? Too bad. If there’s an R next to the name, they don’t deserve your vote. The QOP is no longer a political party. It’s a menace to democracy and the American way of life.
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