911 woes

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The Real Bev - 28 Jun 2006 02:52 GMT

I was coming back home on the 134 East Sunday night when the truck
stopped. Electric OK, starter OK, I still had 60+ miles of gas left,
but nothing. There I was 3/4 on the shoulder at the bottom of an
on-ramp with cars whizzing by a 60+. As long as nobody did anything
stupid, I was OK.

I called 911, explained my location (I could wee a '134 East' sign 50
feet in front of me and if I turned around I could see the CAHUENGA
BOULEVARD HOLLYWOOD 1-1/4 miles' sign on a bridge). Couldn't see a
callbox. They called AAA for me.

I called again about 20 minutes later. They couldn't find me. They'd
been searching 134+Cahuenga. "Are you sure you aren't on the 101?"
Yeah, I'm sure. I trek on ahead to the next callbox, maybe 1/4 mile
away, and give them the number. I also tell them that a little hurry
might be in order because I am NOT fully out of the traffic and if
somebody does something stupid...

CHP shows up, pushes me off at the next off-ramp and waits with me until
the towtruck gets there. Happy ending -- after uselessly replacing the
fuel pump, pouring in a couple of gallons of gas solved the problem;
apparently some shithead siphoned my tank.

Moral 1: Even if the locking cap is loose, it's better than a tight
non-locking cap.

Moral 2: If your car breaks down on the freeway, forget describing your
location and find out the callbox number even if it requires a walk.
Some jobs are occupied by people who ought to be a lot smarter than they
are, but those people have all got better jobs somewhere else.

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Cheers, Bev
========================================================
"We're so far beyond f.cked we couldn't even catch a bus
back to f.cked." --Scott en Aztlan

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Steve Sobol - 28 Jun 2006 05:48 GMT

> Moral 1: Even if the locking cap is loose, it's better than a tight
> non-locking cap.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Some jobs are occupied by people who ought to be a lot smarter than they
> are, but those people have all got better jobs somewhere else.

Moral 3, closely related to 2: Remember that even though the Federal
Communications Commission has required all phones to be GPS-equipped for a
few years now, many 911 call centers still don't have the equipment required
to use the info. 911 may be able to pinpoint your general area quickly - but
not your exact location. It helps if you have specific info. A Callbox number
is definitely good, as is a mile marker...

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Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows
Apple Valley, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED

It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.

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Scott en Aztlán - 29 Jun 2006 04:35 GMT

>I was coming back home on the 134 East Sunday night when the truck
>stopped. Electric OK, starter OK, I still had 60+ miles of gas left,
>but nothing. There I was 3/4 on the shoulder at the bottom of an
>on-ramp with cars whizzing by a 60+. As long as nobody did anything
>stupid, I was OK.

Good move staying inside your car. You're smarter than the average
bear. :)

>CHP shows up, pushes me off at the next off-ramp and waits with me until
>the towtruck gets there. Happy ending -- after uselessly replacing the
>fuel pump, pouring in a couple of gallons of gas solved the problem;
>apparently some shithead siphoned my tank.

Um, in paragraph one you claimed you had 60+ miles worth of gas left.
HTF did you run out of gas? Is your fuel guage broken?

>Moral 1: Even if the locking cap is loose, it's better than a tight
>non-locking cap.

Depends on the car. Some models REQUIRE a cap that seals tightly; if
you don't have one, or don't seal it properly, the check engine light
will come on and the car may even refuse to run.

>Moral 2: If your car breaks down on the freeway, forget describing your
>location and find out the callbox number even if it requires a walk.

It's dangerous to get out of your car on a freeway. Buy a cheap
GPS/nav system the next time you're at one of your flea markets. If
nothing else, keep it in the glove box along with a cigarette lighter
power cord.

>Some jobs are occupied by people who ought to be a lot smarter than they
>are, but those people have all got better jobs somewhere else.

Actually, those jobs would be occupied by smarter people if the
employers would pay more. However, when all you're willing to pay is
sh.t wages, don't be surprised when your workers have sh.t for brains.

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The Real Bev - 30 Jun 2006 00:35 GMT

>>I was coming back home on the 134 East Sunday night when the truck
>>stopped. Electric OK, starter OK, I still had 60+ miles of gas left,
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Good move staying inside your car. You're smarter than the average
> bear. :)

Not really. I have lap belts. If somebody had hit the back of the
truck at 60 mph I probably would have been either impaled or covered
with gasoline and burned to death. After I got back from the callbox I
moved about 100 feet behind the truck on the theory that a person
standing by the side of the road is more noticeable. I figure there was
less chance of cars hitting me there than my truck a little further on.
CHP arrived within a minute, so I didn't really have a lot of time to
test my theory.

>>CHP shows up, pushes me off at the next off-ramp and waits with me until
>>the towtruck gets there. Happy ending -- after uselessly replacing the
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Um, in paragraph one you claimed you had 60+ miles worth of gas left.
> HTF did you run out of gas? Is your fuel guage broken?

No, the gauge works -- the sending unit is sick. Unfortunately the
thing it's mounted on doesn't want to come unstuck from the gas tank and
I hate the odea of applying too much torque to a sheet-metal thingy.

>>Moral 1: Even if the locking cap is loose, it's better than a tight
>>non-locking cap.
>
> Depends on the car. Some models REQUIRE a cap that seals tightly; if
> you don't have one, or don't seal it properly, the check engine light
> will come on and the car may even refuse to run.

Hrm. New cars. I don't have a check engine light. I even have a
temperature gauge, but I'd rather it was digital.

>>Moral 2: If your car breaks down on the freeway, forget describing your
>>location and find out the callbox number even if it requires a walk.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> nothing else, keep it in the glove box along with a cigarette lighter
> power cord.

Ah. You assume the cigarette lighter is connected... If there was an
embankment or something where I could move significantly away from a
vehicle, I'd rather do that. I figure nobody is going to bother to
chase me down, but they might slam into the truck by accident.

>>Some jobs are occupied by people who ought to be a lot smarter than they
>>are, but those people have all got better jobs somewhere else.
>
> Actually, those jobs would be occupied by smarter people if the
> employers would pay more. However, when all you're willing to pay is
> sh.t wages, don't be surprised when your workers have sh.t for brains.

OTOH, somebody smart enough to do it would probably find the job
miserably dull.

As an aside, I wanted to change a certain setting on my elderly (5
years old?) cell phone. I called Motorola, AT&T Wireless and Callplus.
They all pointed fingers at one another and said it was impossible. A
guy in an appropriate newsgroup gave exact instructions, which worked.

I love the internet.

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Cheers, Bev
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
"The almost universal access to higher education here in the US has
ruined a lot of potentially good manual laborers." -- Bob Hunt

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Scott en Aztlán - 30 Jun 2006 04:20 GMT

>> Um, in paragraph one you claimed you had 60+ miles worth of gas left.
>> HTF did you run out of gas? Is your fuel guage broken?
>
>No, the gauge works -- the sending unit is sick. Unfortunately the
>thing it's mounted on doesn't want to come unstuck from the gas tank and
>I hate the odea of applying too much torque to a sheet-metal thingy.

So replace the entire tank! How much can a junkiyard gas tank cost? :)

>>>Moral 1: Even if the locking cap is loose, it's better than a tight
>>>non-locking cap.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
>Hrm. New cars. I don't have a check engine light.

New cars rule. Their fuel level sending units still work. :)

>> It's dangerous to get out of your car on a freeway. Buy a cheap
>> GPS/nav system the next time you're at one of your flea markets. If
>> nothing else, keep it in the glove box along with a cigarette lighter
>> power cord.
>
>Ah. You assume the cigarette lighter is connected...

Most portable GPS units also run on batteries. :)

>> Actually, those jobs would be occupied by smarter people if the
>> employers would pay more. However, when all you're willing to pay is
>> sh.t wages, don't be surprised when your workers have sh.t for brains.
>
>OTOH, somebody smart enough to do it would probably find the job
>miserably dull.

A really good salary makes a job surprisingly interesting...

>As an aside, I wanted to change a certain setting on my elderly (5
>years old?) cell phone. I called Motorola, AT&T Wireless and Callplus.
> They all pointed fingers at one another and said it was impossible. A
>guy in an appropriate newsgroup gave exact instructions, which worked.
>
>I love the internet.

Cell phone store employees are a perfect example of a job that should
be filled by smarter, better-paid people. :)

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