The Official Rants and Trolls Thread

gas station

Here's another...
Today, I was behind a Nissan Murano who committed 3 wrongs at a gas station. The last two were the most serious.

- He left his car idling while he was futzing w/his credit card or ATM card at the keypad. Why?
- He started pumping his gas with the engine still running.
- He got back in his car while he was filling up w/engine running.



What's with people? I guess he's never heard of static discharge potentially causing a fire? I guess he's not seen videos like

before. I hope he gets a check engine light for having his engine run w/o a gas cap.

I was looking for a way to get my car out of there, in chance that something went wrong, but a huge SUV pulled up behind me.

Many years ago, I was at a gas station where gas station employee was outside smoking, not that far from the pumps. Grr....

 

Immolation is a small price to pay for convenience.

Tom

 

Re: gas station

This part is OK. The problem stems from failing to ground oneself after getting back out and before approaching the fuel and fumes.

I normally get back in the car to do the bulk of the fuel logbook and gauge resets, so the driver behind doesn't have to sit for an extended period afterwards waiting for that administrative overhead.

 

Re: gas station

Only sort of okay. Grounding yourself will eliminate the static ignition risk, but still doesn't address leaving the filling nozzle while it is in operation. Those hold-open latches should probably be outlawed, as they encourage bad behavior.

Tom

 

Well, besides the grounding oneself after getting out, I've always heard and read that the act of getting back in your car and back out can cause a static buildup. If one doesn't do that...

 

So, we had our first real snow day just before I went to the meditation retreat, and there was some moderate snow all the way there.
Some participants told of a seven (7) hour drive from Seattle to get there. This is normally a 3 hour drive.
Lots of people were driving really slowly, braking on corners (OMG), and being general pains in the rear.

Our Prius had no trouble, of course. :thumb:

 

I saw some lady in the pump accross from me a month or two ago start pumping then get back in the car to wait it out inside out of the wind. As I am putting my cap back on and ready to leave I hear a loud clang sound and the woman is driving away, cell phone glued to her head, with people sceaming and waving her down because she forgot to actually stop and disconnect the pump... She was driving around the plaza, gas pump in the side of her car, and a giant hose flailing about.

I guess she forgot why she was at the gas station during a fillup... People amaze me.

 

I've seen pictures of this at my work (someone parked at work w/the hose still attached) and on the net before.

I've even seen some signs at gas stations basically saying that customer/car owner is responsible for damaged caused by driving off w/the hose still attached. (Duh.)

 

And these people are allowed to drive cars, and worse yet, reproduce.

Tom

 

In New Jersey, there is no such thing as "self-service." The law mandates
that an attendant pump the gas, no matter how much or how little.

Once, when I was getting gas on the NJ Turnpike, the attendant forgot
to remove the nozzle from my fill pipe...
I can say from direct experience that there is a quick release mechanism
in the hose, 6 or 8 ft. up from the nozzle. :rockon:

I can tell this story without a shred of embarrassment or concern.
I never left the driver's seat with the door closed and window down.
My only physical involvement with the fill-up was to pass the attendant
my credit card before the pump started and take it back afterwards.

When I started to leave, the quick release parted with a loud POW!
after only a few feet of movement. I was going quite slowly. I
stopped, hurry-up quick.

In my rearview mirror I could see the attendant, now in the next bay,
looking on with horror. He sheepishly came to retrieve the hose,
mumbling something, I don't think it was in English. Meanwhile, the guy
in the booth was screaming and wavying his arms wildly. If it was
English, it was a very enraged English.

I got out, replaced the cap -- it was my previous car -- closed the gas
door, put my car in gear, and quietly drove off... not my problem.

 

Re: gas station

So Oregon's prohibition of self-service forces bad behavior? The attendants don't stay with each car as it is filled, as the stations don't employ enough of them.

 

Re: gas station

Yes. This is especially troublesome since full service is required by law in Oregon. I suppose one could argue that the attendants are trained professionals, and as such, will keep a watchful eye over all of the filling operations in progress. One could also hope for a lot of other good things.

Michigan law requires a person to stay with the vehicle when refueling, whether done by the driver or an attendant. The wording, however, is classically bad: "...must stay in view of the nozzle." I'm pretty sure nozzles can't view anything, as they lack eyes. Even if a nozzle had an eye, once you shoved it down the filler neck I don't imagine it could see much.

My refueling training is with boats and airplanes, where we don't tolerate any of the sloppiness used in ordinary automotive refueling. The person doing the refueling stays with the nozzle. In the case of aircraft, we also use a grounding lead.

Tom

 

If this is a real problem, it will also apply to passengers exiting or reentering the vehicle during refueling.

So far I've seen warnings only for the person near the fuel nozzle, fuel door, or portable containers. Of course, lack of warning messages doesn't mean lack of a hazard.

 

Re: Windows 7

I saw white spots on the sidewalls, at about the right spacing to be a bit of snow accumulated on the crosslinks.

It is also possibly just my imagination, primed by several days notice that these buses would be chained and running snow routes instead of regular routes. And the very day before, a ski companion with many years of bus driving experience for this same transit agency was telling us many stories about buses in winter. Chained-up 40 footers can be lots of fun, but there is very good reason why the longer articulated hybrid buses get parked.

 

hotel security worries

Ok, maybe some Europeans, esp. Brits can chime in.

I'm on vacation in Europe now and will be going on a Contiki tour soon. The tour starts in London and I decided to stay some extra nights before the start of the tour to see London and in the event I hit weather delays flying in. I went w/one of the two choices that Contiki could put me at (Imperial Hotel), prior to the start of my trip and it's hotel used for people not choosing to stay extra nights.

I don't like the security situation at the Imperial Hotel in London (near Russell Square). The room key they give you is (well) attached to a foot long metal pole that you're supposed to drop off at the porter's desk on the way out and pick up on the way in. To retrieve your key, you're supposed to show a receipt that has your room #, name, hotel name, etc. on it. That sucks. That's even less secure that giving out unmarked keys (or at least ones w/o the hotel name), esp. card key. They don't check your ID so if you accidentally lose it and someone picks it up, they can get your key and get into your room. Is this the norm for British hotels?

There's no safe in the room (I want to lock my laptop). There are safe deposit boxes available for rent, but for some stupid and unknown reason, the access hours to the boxes are only 9 am to 6:30 pm. Why?!?! The same front desk employees just move over to the other side of the lobby to man the boxes. As such, I can't drop off my laptop before or pick it up after those hours.

That combined Robbed at the Imperial Hotel !! - Review of Imperial Hotel, London, United Kingdom - TripAdvisor and the "Worst Experience Ever!!! DO NOT STAY HERE!!!" review at Good accommodation - Review of Imperial Hotel, London, United Kingdom - TripAdvisor have made me rather paranoid and thus I've ended up lugging around my laptop all day, while sightseeing.

Other annoyance, the travel books I've read on London being expensive are right. Everything (to an American) is expensive here.

 

Re: hotel security worries

Don't worry so much. If you are paranoid then rent a locker at a tube station. Why stay there with all the negative reviews?

As for it being expensive, the simple solution is to not use americans funds. It's not hard to open bank accounts with non-american currency backing. Transfer funds when the exchange rate is in your favour. I have USD, CDN, and EURO accounts and definately make use of them when traveling. Or you could just not be american.

 

Re: hotel security worries

When I originally skimmed the reviews, I didn't see that many negative reviews. I had to book the tour awhile ago and picked the tour company's better of the 2 hotel choices for the extra nights before I booked. I didn't know about the crappy leave the key w/the porter, show a slip to the porter, no safe and (lame) limited access hours of safe deposit boxes.

Hmm, didn't notice lockers at the tube stations. I got straight onto a tour bus this morning from another hotel within walking distance (and served by the same tube station as where I'm staying).

In general at Contiki Trip Forums - Powered by Social Strata, for European tours, I get the general sense that leaving any laptops in European hotels (at least in the ones that end up being booked for you) is a bad idea. Some have said things like "never let the hotel staff see your laptop" (not specifically about the UK) and there's been more than one story of meeting another tour group where group members' rooms were all burglarized, so all of those folks lost their laptops (seems like an inside job).

I've stayed in dozens of hotels both in the US and a few countries outside the US and either they had a safe, free safe deposit box or in the absence of such, never had an issue or real paranoia of laptop theft, until now.

Hahha... err. Boy, I don't think that's worth the trouble given this is my first trip to Europe and I have no clue if/when I'll return.

Besides everyday things being somewhat steep in price, I was floored to see that to get into Westminster Abbey is 15.5 pounds. At the crap rates that exchange places are giving, that's almost $25 USD to get in. I'm not religious as at all but do appreciate architecture. I'm not sure if it's worth me spending that much $. It looks like London Eye tickets are 17.95 pounds or so, which mean ~$30 USD. That much for a 30 minute ride?

 

Not saying He was resurrected (as the story goes), but if He was resurrected, He couldn't be rolling over in His grave. :madgrin: