The end of another week and just another Weekend:
Cold temperatures, water, car and explosive Gas Pipeline fire....


Temperatures dropped again Friday. No ice this time just clear skies and below freezing temperatues around 27 degrees F, and that meant pipes were bound to burst somewhere.
This was the sprinkler system next to our house.

Water ran for several hours until someone came around to fix the pipe.

Jon and I went to look at where the Jeep Liberty was wrecked.

Seems that the person who was driving the car must have turned off the main road at speed, lost control of the car, drove the car up onto the grass verge, through a sign post that was flattened under the car and then into the tree where the car came to a stop.

Did anyone explain to the girl, that the brakes fitted to the car can do the same job at a lot less cost and inconvenience

That explains the pole mark in the front bumper (fender) and the extensive damage to the right side of the car.

The sign post mark in the fender as it was flattened. They were lucky that the direct hit was against a flimsy pole or the airbags would have deployed. (additional costs would have been $ 4000 more).

The new sign should read ..'Drive on the road please this is a quiet neighbourhood'.

Once the initial damage was done estimated at around $3000+, the girl switched drivers with the other person in the car and he then drove the car back to his house.

At this point an additional $2000 of damage was done.

When you drive a mile or so on a wheel rim with a flat tyre then expect damage to the rim. There were extensive missing bits to the tyre rim and a very shredded tyre.

I guess they don't teach those things at school so how else would anyone realise that. Common sense seems to be lacking in some people.

The insurance company will handle everything . That includes sueing the girl and her father as she was not insured and did not have her temporary license at the time.

As for Jon he did not know the girl was uninsured and is as a result of the accident, is carless currently, lesson, never let others use your car. We did get a rental car now on insurance.

Saturday evening as the sun was setting I was driving back from having my hair cut when I noticed a sudden rumbling and then an enormous fireball suddenly went shooting 100's of feet into the sky.

I didn't think clearly at the time as I pulled to the side of the road to watch what was happening only a few miles away. I could have used my cell phone camera but did not think at the time.

I opened my car window and the noise was intense like the engines of a rocket running at full speed.

I could also feel the heat. The sky was bright as the sun set and the fireball lit the sky making it brighter, yellow and orange. Great balls of intense flame and fireballs exploded up again and again into the sky, with smoke trails looping around and around as they shot up into the sky.

I drove home, and as I did so hundreds of cars were driving out of the side streets and up the road towards the explosion. Aparently they caused gridlock as people went to see the gas pipeline explosion. I guess with nothing worth watching in the TV anything will attract peoples interest.

The fireball could still be seen clearly seen from the back upstairs bedroom in our house. When it happened I was next to the dark building in the center of the picture. That is the Berry Stadium off Barker Cypress. The field behind is where the pipeline exploded.

. . After several hours they began to get things under control. The TV showed grass fires burning long after the fireball was put out. Seemed the cause was some contruction digger cutting into a gas pipeline in the middle of a field.

Consequences:

Shit happens. however you want to look upon it:

Tim tells me I have not blogged enought recently. Well I've been working , ill and travelling to Raleigh where I have been doing more work.

Here is the only thing I can think of Blogging this week so far.

Everything is connected to everything else and one thing leads to another.

The latest occurrances worthy of blog entry.

Combine a non thinking thoughless individual , lets say even brain dead moron, certainly someone without any common sense. Add a Car, a Tree, a Sign Post....

All starts from one individual who is really not taking care of something entrusted to him letting car keys out of his sight, even entrusting them to someone else. Was a big mistake.

I guess if you dont appreciate what you have and the necessity of such a vehicle that is needed for school and work, what do we get? Well the picture tells part of the story.

I'm not going to go into the real details, because if I start, I have too many opinions on this particular sequence of events, but in general, if you hand over keys to a less experienced driver than yourself there are likely to be consequences, and things are going to happen.

This is the second accident in this car and both times they were not the fault of Jonathan's driving. He is a very careful driver, just a little less careful with his keys. The first acident he was rear ended by a 17 year old in a very large Truck who had forgotten to wear his glasses and also was blinded by the setting sun in his eyes.

This latest event was the result of avoidable stupidiy, one person not listening to advice given and others not using brains they supposedly but questionably have, and not respecting the property of others.

If advice is given to NOT under ANY circumstances let other people drive the valuable car you have been entrusted with and that is ignored, does it give me the right to say 'I told you so?'

Not a very helpful comment, maybe, but the pictures speak for themselves.

Needless to say Jonathan is now without car because he handed over keys and another inexperienced driver without his permission used the car, giving them to someone else who drove off to get some cigarettes from the shop around the corner.

The individuals driving supposedly then hit a tree, then a sign post and then drove off with resultant damage of over $5800. $2000 of which could have been avoided by not driving away after the accident.

One has to ask how and what were they thinking. I still can't reconcile that in my mind.

Thankfully all costs are being paid by the father of of the person driving who when in my polite moments am going to refer to as the 'brain dead' individual who drove the vehicle, when they shouldn't have been even sitting in the car.

Why , just why does a 'brain dead' individual drive someone elses car and manage to hit an inanemate object at the side of the road and then drive off. In Texas that, and hitting the sign post is looked upon as a hit and run. Yes you can be locked up.

Did they think they could pretend it did not happen?

I guess I answered my own question earlier, they were without brain.

Other Example occurred recently in the UK to Mums house.

So this is Mums house with a very large fir tree just to the right.

It blocks out the evening sun, creates moss and green algie on the garage and drops fir pine leaves all over her car and drive, making the driveway slippery.

'The tree needed to be taken down in Mums view..

How could this be the result of consequences where something could have been avoided.

Strong winds dry summer heavy rain and a previous neighbour not listening to Mum saying one day that tree is going to come crashing down if it is not cut back.

The ramblings of an 'old woman'?, or a visionary? Well during some recent winter storms the tree fell and this is a picture of it happening as taken by a neighbour across the road through their window.

Timothy has his own view of events. Well aware that Mum wanted that tree down . he believes she has powers that he does not want to experience the wroth of himself.

Anyway all costs amounting to several thousand British Pounds to be covered by the neighbours insurance and some home improvements undertaken as a result.