roads | Piss and Moan

Just figures

I only work from the office two days a week, in most cases. The other three days a week are at home and I really like those days. Because of the holiday this week, I telecommuted yesterday and only have to be in the office today.

It also happens to be a terrible weather day. The temp is not going to get above 35 degrees or so, and it is snowing outside.

The commute this morning started off OK, but the farther I drove south from home towards the office, the worse the roads got. At one point along the commute, it felt like a full on blizzard (it wasn’t, but felt that way). The area around the office wasn’t as bad, but it keeps snowing here off and on which means it likely is still doing it up north.

Just figures, the one day I am in the office this week is the worst commute weather. Because the temp isn’t going to go up much, whatever falls outta the sky will likely be stuck and compacted to the roadway, making the trek home more than an adventure. I am not worried about my driving skills, just the others on the roadway.

Just figures. This “go to the office” stuff…I’m over it.

There and back again

Posted on September 9 by backuphill

Labor Day weekend had me on a long road trip. I left home on Saturday, Sept. 3 @2:30pm, and returned Tuesday, Sept. 6 @8:30pm. That’s 3300 (+/-) miles in four days.

Home to Tucson and back again.

That’s a lot of time in the car to think.

Nevada is mostly boring.

I like my bed.

Found out I can do it.

Trying to catch up on sleep and other stuff.

More next week.

Dark and stormy

Posted on March 14, 2022 by backuphill

Photo by Aleksey Sokolenko on Pexels.com

I was driving home last night across one of our state’s mountain passes – Snoqualmie Pass. The highway is Interstate 90 and I have to say that the pass is one of the worst places to drive at night while it is raining. The roadway is so poorly marked it is near impossible to see where the lanes of travel are and you pretty much have to guess and hope you are maintaining your lane.

Look, I get that it is hard to have reflectors and stripes and other means of marking the roadway on a mountain pass, one that needs to get plowed fairly often during the winter months. I realize that the plow blades rip up nearly everything you put down on the roadway. I get it.

But, seriously, all the technology that’s out there and means available to adjust the way those lane markers could be applied to the surface so they don’t get scraped off each winter hasn’t been found yet?

I don’t get it.

What I do get is that there are portions of the highway that are downright dangerous to drive when it is dark and raining, which is approximately half the day and most of the year.

Maybe it’s just my old eyes. I can’t imagine that there aren’t other people that feel the same way.

So, if you have to travel through WA, stay off the passes at night. They’re all pretty much that way.

You’ve been warned.

Road fees

Posted on September 18, 2020 by backuphill

Governments and their fees.

I realize that being part of a society requires some assent to a certain level of fees for the common good. That’s part of the social contract we make for living in a society.

I don’t mind paying some taxes and fees because I know that it provides for the common good. It makes life better for more people than just me. I’m someone what reasonable.

However, there comes a time when those fees become unnecessary and overbearing. Sound familiar? You might look back to one such fee that helped lead up the the American Revolution. What really gets me is that fees are being charged and collected and the government is rarely held accountable for the way the money is spent or mismanaged. That part irritates me to no end and isn’t part of the social contract. I don’t like waste. Big government wastes money. Big government isn’t accountable. Big government perpetuates bad government and bad spending.

So, to say I was shocked when I got my vehicle registration renewal yesterday might be an understatement. I have had the car for almost 2 years now and suddenly there was a new fee that wasn’t there before – a “hybrid vehicle transportation fee”. That one fee was $75! That one fee doubled the cost of the vehicle registration all by itself!

Ridiculous.

How about we stop using state funds to pay for heroin injections sites? How about we stop using state funds to pay for an idiot governor? How about we stop using state funds for things that don’t benefit the greater good? How about we stop using state funds to pay for unnecessary art in public spaces? Get the idea? There are lots of places where money is spent that it shouldn’t be.

I pay the gas tax every time I fill up. They already collect the “Vehicle Weight” fee to fund the highway on top of all the other fees.

I’ve had it.

I am going to drive on both sides of the road whenever I feel like it. I paid for it, therefore I am going to use as much of it as possible!

Self important?

Posted on January 3, 2020 by backuphill

Photo by Riccardo Bresciani on Pexels.com

I keep seeing these videos on social media and its getting rather irritating because everyone knows they shouldn’t do it, but they do it anyway. What videos am I talking about?

I keep seeing videos of people driving. They are holding their phone (you can tell because the image “floats” and you can see the dashboard) while they drive and showing you the road, road conditions, night sky, etc. There may be music in the background or they are narrating something that happened. Whatever.

In a day and age where it is illegal (at least in my state) to have a phone in your hand while driving, you would think that people would not put themselves or others in danger by holding a phone while they drive.

It leads me to believe that they believe they are more important than everyone else. “I’m going to disregard the law and safe driving habits so that I can post a video of me driving on the road. Because, after all, everyone is interested in what I am doing and they should probably know the road conditions.”

Guess what? You ain’t that important!

I don’t care that you are on an open road, in the middle of the night, with no other traffic around you. I don’t care what the road conditions are. I don’t care that you need to tell your followers something. I don’t care that you have a song you want us all to hear.

I don’t care.

Get over yourself and drive safely. Period.

Two Thursdays

Posted on September 26, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

My regular telecommute days are Wednesday and Thursday. However, that last two Thursdays have had meetings in the office that I have had to attend, so I telecommuted on Tuesday instead.

As such, this is the second Thursday in a row that I have made the hour (+/-) trek to the office. And this is the second Thursday in a row that the traffic has been less that tolerable. More than an hour to work, again.

Seriously, what is with Thursdays?? Why can’t people drive on this day of the week?

I am seriously starting to contemplate calling in sick on Thursdays if I have to go to the office and can’t telecommute. Think they would notice?

Road trip

Posted on August 23, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Nextvoyage on Pexels.com

I’ve got a half day of work today and then I am taking a road trip across the state. It’s for pleasure, but I am starting to wonder why I did this to myself.

This will be the third weekend in a row where I hit the road and cross the mountains to the other side of the state. If you have have been following along, the state of our roads is constant road construction right now…so I just know I am asking for more abuse on the road with traffic and travel time.

Thus, I will try to put on my “patience pants” and not get road rage.

OK, I probably won’t and you’ll be subjected to yet another blog about the perils of travel on the road and the stupidity of Washingtonian drivers.

Sorry, not sorry.

Lane closure

Posted on August 19, 2019 by backuphill

low angle photography of orange excavator under white clouds

Photo by Anamul Rezwan on Pexels.com

I have said it in the past but I am going to say it again. Sorry if it sounds like I am a broken record, but WADOT (Washington State Department of Transportation) seriously has to do a better job – not just them, but the contractors they hire as well.

It was another painful travel weekend. It think it was three weeks ago I mentioned the reduction of lanes on a major interstate highway (it’s actually I-5, a federal highway) and how badly it affected the traffic on a Friday night. Well, this last Friday was no different. Miles and miles and miles of lane closures and not a soul in sight doing any work! While progress may be getting done, it surely doesn’t appear like it and they are in no hurry to get it done. It’s kind of ridiculous really.

So, yesterday (Sunday for those of you keeping track), a major north/south highway had ALL of the northbound lanes closed. That’s right, I-405 was closed with only one lane (a collector/distributor lane) getting by. That means five lanes diverted to one. To top it off, they didn’t close on-ramps that directly affected that one diverted lane, so merging traffic and diverted traffic had to fight for the same space. Ultimately, that mean five lanes got bottle-necked and didn’t have a steady flow. Kind of a CF if you ask me!

Look, I get that construction needs to get done. I am fully aware of the condition of the roadways. But, let’s be honest here. These days, there is never a good time to close highways and there is never a good time to avoid the hassle.

BUT, what doesn’t appear to be happening is that WADOT isn’t requiring construction crews to complete the work in the fastest time possible (overnight work, 24/7, until it is done). Traffic volumes are much lower at night and it affects for fewer people/travelers when work is done then. And, let’s face it, with the technology that is available these days there is no reason work can’t be done at night.

Get it together WADOT! You are costing people money and time.

Delayed

Posted on July 19, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

This post is officially brought to you by road construction delays.

It isn’t a sponsored post, but should be.

Road construction on my commute route that was supposed to completed by 5am this morning wasn’t done at the appointed time. This is on a major North/South interstate highway, mind you. Three lanes reduced to one. When I finally went past the choke point, the newly laid asphalt was still steaming. So, the delay was going to be at least another hour.

So, you know, just by that description, that you are going to get thousands of commuters and travelers who are going to get stuck in that backup. It took me 45 minutes to get through a section of roadway that normally takes less than a minute at highway speed.

I knew about the construction, but figured I would be going through the area almost two hours after the supposed wrap-up. No problem, right? Not so much.

So, my question is…do these construction companies get fined for not getting things done at the appointed and planned times? I mean this delay caused me (and I am sure thousands more) late for work. That’s lost time, lost production. So who pays for that?

Who answers and how for these sorts of things?

Where ya’ll going?

Posted on July 9, 2019 by backuphill

people crossing in pedestrian lane in city during daytime

Photo by Saya Kimura on Pexels.com

It seems more of you, many more than usual, are going somewhere today.

It’s a Tuesday. Where could you possibly be going? I mean, yes, I have gotten to know those of you who take the route daily…I mean, I see you every day but I don’t really know you.

However, today, there were a bunch of people I didn’t know and you were all in the way. Traffic kept moving, which is good, but it was way slower than usual because there were so many of you.

If ya’ll could stay off my roads, especially my commute route, that would be great…