He Parked Like an A-Hole

Guess what I left for this guy? ??? hehehe

He is actually parked over not one, not two, not three – but FOUR parking places.  I took this picture in a parking lot near Cote Vertu Metro.

Traffic Songs

Recently I’ve started listening to my husband’s radio station “CHOM 97.7“, its a classic rock station and is quite a soft and mellow change from my normal listenings to one of CHOM’s sister stations with its barrage of new music, repeative riffs and bass-filled banging tunes. My ears have stopped ringing and I am finally hearing the music.

I spend a lot of time stuck in traffic, so people watching has become an afternoon hobby.

I have discovered over my time of Montreal traffic people watching that there is a secret society, a club if you will, among fellow “stuck in traffic-ers”. This club – similar to the Free Masons – is known, but never spoken of. Perhaps a fight club with out the fighting. (Just don’t tell Edward Norton I’ve broken the first law of fight club, please).

CHOM has shown me the light, and let me enter this secret yet widely visable club.

I’ve often questioned what the heck people are singing to when in the car – and now I know. Its CHOM.

Over the past several weeks, I have been conducting rigerous experiments to confirm these findings.

At every stop light and stop sign. On the 40 past St Jean in the Gridlock, or on Des Anciens Combattants Boulevard in Ste Anne de Bellevue in stopped traffic jams I see them, the members of the secret society belting out tunes, jamming on air guitars, and keeping beat on steering wheel drums.

I thought this station that keeps all armchair (or driver’s seat) disc jockeys in unison was a fable, a story. . .
I see CHOM listeners everywhere. They are many. . . .

I’ve let my hair down, and tuned my air guitar. . . . .I’m in the Spirit to Rock!

And Revisionist history is pretty good, too.

(For those that want to listen to CHOM live on their computers, simply log onto their website, and choose listen now!)

My Hero! “Jimmy Justice”

As many of you know, I have a little tiny teeny-weeny case of Road Rage. Just a little.

I blog about it often. My most recent entry was about a fabulous website I found called www.youparklikeanasshole.com. You can read my entry here.

Anyways, I’ve been hearing about this guy on a few places around the web. . . .

He calls himself “Jimmy Justice” and he’s goal – to catch the people who give traffic violation tickets in NYC BREAKING THE LAWS themselves.

You can read a story about him here. Here is his YouTube profile page, you can see ALL the videos he has posted there.

Seriously, it feels like a little bit of justice. . . .

I’m thinking I should become Jimmy’s Canadian counterpart “Joey Justice”

Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

Parking Ticket!

I have found the most brilliant website EVER. Ever. I mean ever!

As a big time road rager this website gives me a non-violent means of retaliation! Check out this website!

www.youparklikeanasshole.com

 

WHY?? Sick of a car taking up two spaces on the street? How about a car too close to yours? What about the car at the mall parked diagonally? Now you can do something about it. Simply download a notice and place it on the car’s windshield. The owner of the vehicle will be informed of their asshole status as well as the proper tips to improve their poor parking techniques. It’s time to put an end to asshole parking, or at least to make fun of it.

www.youparklikeanasshole.com

I’m stoked! I’ve printed out my tickets! How about you??

www.youparklikeanasshole.com

 

 

Parking in Quebec

This picture was taken from my table at La Belle Province last weekend with Colin, Cheryl and Michael. . . . check out where the cars are to where the lines are.  Let me say this is ‘good’ parking next to some places.

Yet another thing I hate about driving here. . .  .

NYC Yellow Taxis to Go Green by 2012

The New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, plans on having all yellow taxis replaced with hybrid cars by 2012.  He released his plans today, and I must say I’m well impressed and hope other large cities take note.

The plan is to replace 1000 yellow cabs by 2008, with the rest (13 000 in total) being phased out by 2012.  NYC already has over 300 on the streets now, more than any other metropolitian city in the USA. New York City law states that all commerical taxi cabs must be replaced every 5 years at max.

There are numerous and obvious benifits to this plan, but the negatives include cabs that are still not accessible to wheelchair and other handicaped riders and this scheme will also not govern call-for-hire cars (which moreso work in Brooklyn and Queens, opposed to the yellow cabs of Manhatten).

Getting Rear Ended sucks Arse.

We got rear ended this morning.

I was at a stop sign and the lady behind me just kept driving, up my arse.

There is no physical (to the eye) damage to the car, but I’m taking it in to be sure.  If there is damage the lady has been told to expect the bill.

My neck is stiff from being tense, and all I’ve been able smell all morning is “airbag”.

And anyone who has been in an accident of any size or magnitude that the airbag goes off knows you become very senstive to that scent.  I think it triggers fear and cold for me

I’m fine.  No bumps or bruises.  I’m shaken, as is expected.  

April Showers Brings May Flowers ::: Winter Snow Redux

Montreal got hit with another blast of winter.

I had started an entry earlier that I was going to post tonight when I got home about my purple crocuses starting to bloom.  I wanted to get a picture to post, and do a side by side from the earlier lightly snow covered buds I blogged about earlier here.

The drive home was dreadful, its like as soon as it melts (and subsequently comes back) everyone forgets how to drive in the snow.  Tons of accidents, very slow roads.

I’m grumpy tonight.

Here are the pictures of flowers. . . . .flowers make me happier, even if they are covered in snow.
April 6, 2007

April 12 2007 (this picture shows the same flowers as above)

Minou watching the snow

Périodes de Dégel & Potholes GALORE

With the spring thaw, its that time of year in Montreal where the roads are a little more trecherous than usual.  Putting aside the CRAPPY driving (as mentioned here, only last week), the thaw sees large amounts of water on the roads (that occassionaly still re-freezes with colder night time temperatures).  Also this time of year is when all the potholes created over the winter are ‘unearthed’

The quick and often temperature changes causes alot of road shifting, and the potholes here in Montreal are HUGE!

Please be careful when driving, watch out for potholes, and respect the workers in each of the degel areas . . . . .

Transports Quebec

Thaw zones and periods 

The ministère des Transports du Québec reminds heavy vehicle users and shippers that, as each year, authorized load limits are reduced during the spring thaw period in order to take into account the weaker load bearing capacity of the road network during that period.

For the 2007 spring thaw period, the revised dates the load restrictions start and end in each of the thaw zones are as follows

Zone 1

Zone 2

Zone 3

I’ll Pass on Passing Thanks.

I’m getting so sick and tired of the crappy driving here in Quebec.  Its just dreadful and applauling.

I’ve blogged about the driving here quite a bit.  here, here and here as examples.  That doesn’t include the two driving accidents I blogged about either (those were in Ontario).

 I just don’t understand how hard it is to follow some simple rules.  I am no saint when driving but just a few COMMON SENSE things I aways do, like signally and not weaving when driving.

When do people insist on changing lanes and passing in such an unsafe manner.  I bet these are the same people without seat belts on, smoking away as their baby cries in the back.  They turn around, and tell the kid to shut the heck up because they are on the phone.

Geeeesh!

I wish I could have a limo and driver every day. . . .

Kitty on the Keys

Colin and I went on a date night tonight.  We went to Montana’s for some steak for dinner, and off to the movies to see the new Frank Miller movie ’300′.  Totally not my cup of tea, and I’ve made it very clear to Colin he totally owes me a chick flick after sitting through all 2 hours of that movie.

In short the movie is about a war between the Spartans and the Persians. . .  .and thats pretty much it, battle scene after battle scene after battle scene.  I don’t mind the occassional battle scene, but when thats it, well – not my cup of tea.

Before we left the house we just couldn’t find the car keys.  We searched in all the usual places.  Marty and Minou watched in amusement from the front windows, Manny watched us from the front hallway stairs.  We were convinced we just wouldn’t find them, and that date night was a bust.

Then my mischievious little tuxedo thought he should be cute and roll over the stairs with his head cocked upside down, there underneath his 8lb frame were the car keys.

I swear I could see a little grin of satifaction on this face.

little bugger.

Date night was saved.

Fracas’ Pay it Forward

Yesterday on Fracas, she encouraged her readers to go out and do something nice for someone else.

Similar to a chain letter email, I dismissed the idea, and carried on.  Really, why bother. 

Last night when Colin and I drove home from the West Island the Rue Ancients Combattants in Saint Anne De Bellevue was covered in a thin invisable layer of ice, the degel has started and its still cold enough at night to refreeze.

Those that are familar with that hair pin turn from the 40 onto the Rue de Ancients Combattants know how often the guard rail is mangeled because people take it too fast.

That coupled with black ice is a combination for disaster.  And it was.

When we got to the corner the accident has already occured, litteratly seconds before.  The smoke was rising out from the front of the black Jetta and the thick dusty and grainy contents of the airbag hovered over the car.

If you have ever been in a car that has had the airbag deploy (like myself) you are very sensitive to that smell.  It makes me ill thinking about.  The pain, discomfort and the fear I associate with that smell.

 We got our car past the accident and pulled over.  Other cars still streaming past, often almost losing control like the broken Jetta in front of us.

Colin helped the driver get the car over to the side of the road.  Unfortuntaly we were on the highway overpass, and there wasn’t a shoulder to put the car on.  He wanted to get back into his car and wait.

We made him get out, and wait on the other side of the median with us, and no sooner than we had jumped the guardrail another jackass comes barrelling around the corner and loses control of his car.  He was able to get it back in check, but he narrowly missed the back corner of the Jetta.

We waited until help came.

Damn you Groundhog! Damn You!

 Montreal Weather Conditions 

We have a darn snow fall warning here in Montreal.  We had over 10cm overnight and another 30cm is expected before dinner tonight.

My normal daily commute is about 25-30 minutes, today it was 1.5 hours! The tinest flicker of snow and half the driving population forgets how to drive, so its a horribly stressful**

I guess its true what they say “March comes in like a Lion”.   I think litte Wiarton Willy is in his snug litte burrow laughing his furry butt off at us right now.  Darn rodent!!

**Definition of Stressful that came into my email inbox today:

Stress:

The confusion created when one’s mind overrides the body’s basic desire to choke the living shit out of some asshole who desperately needs it!

And Then Someone You Know Does Something Stupid

Source : The Milton Canadian Champion Newspaper

Man faces numerous charges in fatal Steeles Ave. crash

Feb 27, 2007
A local man faces numerous charges including drunk driving after being involved in a fatal crash Friday morning that claimed the life of one of his passengers and seriously injuring the other.Halton Regional Police say preliminary information from the crash site, which happened shortly before 3 a.m., suggests that a car carrying three Miltonians was travelling east on Steeles Avenue when it struck the rear of a stopped transport float trailer commonly used to move heavy equipment.

A Milton man in the backseat of the car died at the scene, while the Milton woman in the front was seriously injured and rushed by air ambulance to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She remains in serious but stable condition, according to police.

At press time, the names of the two victims and their relationship to the driver aren’t being released, but police indicated they’re both in their early 30s.

The driver of the car, 31-year-old Dylan Palmer, has been charged with impaired driving causing death, impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing death, dangerous driving causing bodily harm and driving with more than the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.

He appeared in Milton Court late yesterday for a bail hearing.

Police are continuing to investigate the collision. Steeles Avenue from James Snow Parkway to Sixth Line and Fifth Line, from Steeles Avenue to Main Street, were closed Friday for almost 12 hours.

Source: The Milton Canadian Champion

Man killed in crash was 33-year-old Hornby man
Mar 02, 2007

Police have released the name of a man killed last Friday in a Steeles Avenue collision.

Jason Wood, a 33-year-old Hornby-area resident, died at the scene of the accident after the car he was traveling in struck a stopped transport trailer at Fifth Line.

A funeral for Wood, a father of one, was held Wednesday.

The collision occurred just before 3 a.m. Wood was traveling in the back of the eastbound vehicle when it struck the rear of the truck.

A Milton woman who was in the front passenger seat remains in stable condition in hospital.

The driver of the car, 31-year-old Dylan Palmer from Milton, faces numerous drunk driving charges including impaired driving causing death. He was released on bail under strict conditions after a hearing Monday at the Milton courthouse. He’ll make his next court appearance Monday.

——————————————————-

I was talking to a friend from my home town yesterday and she was telling me about a car accident on Friday. I was all to aware of this particular car accident, because it blocked the access roads leading to the Graham’s house. With frantic trips to the spas, salons and of course WalMart for last minute wedding things it was quite a pain to have to drive all the way over to Highway 25 and back around to the WalMart.

The first time I got to the blockade and asked the police what happened I was simply told to “move along” – this was at 8:30 in the morning, so only hours after the accident itself. The second time Colin was with me, and the police this time at least gave us an answer. “Fatal”.

We couldn’t see anything up on Steeles to indicate what type of accident it was. Be honest, if you were as close as we were you’d look. There were a row a school buses, and the usual construction trucks and gadgets. We assumed for the length of time the road was closed that it was either a child getting on a school bus, or a construction accident – both which would be heavily investigated.

Needless to say when I found out the circumstances, and the driver, it makes me sad to know him. His sister was hero of mine when I was younger. You hear about impaired driving accidents everyday, and its not until one touches you do you sit back and think about your own life and choices.

I thankfully have never driven my car drunk, or gotten into a car with someone under the influence. Neither has Colin.

Has drunk driving affected you. . . . .

A Walk in the (Battery) Park

On Friday Night the weather was very very crappy.  There was snow, rain and freezing rain. 

When I got out to my car after work there was a thick cover of ice over all the windows.  I let my car warm up for about 20 minutes as I scapped off the ice.

The rain was still very very heavy as I left work.  There are a few conditions in which I don’t like driving.  Dark/Night time driving, driving in the rain/snow, icey road conditions and heavy traffic.  Friday checked all my concerns, I had planned with Colin to pick him up at (http://www.stm.info/English/metro/a-m52.htm)   Namur.  I went to Walmart and picked up some snacks for our trip back to Ontario.  We were going to go across the road to EB Games and buy Guitar Hero (http://www.guitarherogame.com/) 

I drove the car from the parking lot infront of Walmart to the Burger King parking lot and sat in the car with the radio going and the internal light so I could read a magazine.

The street lights weren’t working and alot of the local stores didn’t have lights.  The Burger King was completed closed!  I saw Colin walking up, and I went to turn the car on.

Wouldn’t start!  Crap!  Colin got to the car and called Scott, Scott came to boost our car, with his visiting dad in tow.  We bought jumper cables, so at least we have a pair of those now.  Thanks a MILLION Scott for coming out to rescue us!

The car started great in the morning of our long drive back to Ontario (we were worried it wouldn’t – but feared the wrath of Aunt Margaret more – we must have willed the car to start) The car seemed fine, although a tad more sluggy than usual.

On Sunday Colin and his dad took the car to Canadian Tire,  Mr Graham felt that we should just change the battery.  They brought the battery in to have the charge tested, and the meathead kid at the desk says to Mr Graham

“Yeah, like you need to replace it.  Battery is dead.”

Mr Graham said “Is that what the read out says?”

the meathead said “No.  Well I just hook the battery up, and the machine tells me if its a good battery or not.  the machine says your is not”

“Is it a scale?  How ‘dead’ is the battery” Asks Mr Graham.

“Dunno” said the meathead.

 The Gentlemen Graham decide to get a new battery for the car.  Mr Graham asks the Cashier how much money he would get off for exchanging the battery and the woman says “five dollars for the battery, sir”.  Mr Graham says to her “Nah then, we’ll keep it, my Tractor might need a boost one day”

 

And thats the story about how the battery got replaced in our car this weekend. . . .