Gordo's Brain

I had to take the bee-mobile in to the garage this morning: the muffler is gone and driving a small wagon with the sound of a tractor-trailer isn’t any fun. The muffler developed a hole last summer while we were at the cottage, but I managed to silence it with a liberal application of putty and a couple of bandages.

The patch started to let go on Friday as Bridget I were making our way to Kate & Jim’s. It completely let go shortly after leaving their place to come home. Let me tell you: driving for 6 hours in a car with a failed muffler is nobody’s idea of enjoyable.

So, off to the mechanic it goes. Mufflers, as car repairs go, aren’t particularly expensive, but I’m concerned about a bit of the front drivetrain. One of the right-side CV boots is torn. I’m hoping that the joint inside is ok. If not, that will turn a ~$150 repair into a $500+ one. Fingers crossed.

One big benefit of have two vehicles is that having one in the garage isn’t a monster inconvenience. So, I’m driving the van today. Van driving isn’t really supposed to be exciting, but it got too close for comfort after I dropped Bridget at work.

I was in the left lane of a two-lane one-way street when, out of the corner of my eye, I see the car on my right turning. Towards me. He/she was attempting to turn left from the right-most lane of the street. I’ve been in one of those accidents before and I really don’t have any desire to repeat it. How they missed me, I don’t know. But, it would have been far worse than the first time. That car turned in front of the car and we plowed into it between the doors on the driver’s side. If the Volvo had made contact, it would have been in the rear quarter-panel. Done intentionally, it’s called the Pit Maneuver. Police forces use it to take a speeding vehicle out of traffic:

Man, I’m glad they missed. I really don’t want to be pitted on Brock Street. Spinning into a side-walk isn’t my idea of a good way to start the day.

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