GM Execs, line up to be kicked in the balls.
Last night, I had an occasion to hurry.
Not the normal "I'm running late getting to work" hurry, but a "Lisa's having cramps reminiscent of the night before we lost Taylor and her doc wants her at the hospital" kind of hurry.
The kind of hurry where I stop at a red light at 3am, look both ways, see no cross traffic, and ignore the red light kind of hurry.
The kind of hurry that says, "If I pass a cop, he can follow me to the hospital and write me a ticket there".
The kind of hurry that says, "I need to get my wife to the hospital right the fuck NOW, and this truck can step on out and move, because at 3am, on a four-lane highway with about a car every mile, I'm going to go as fast as is controllable in this truck".
Except for one thing... on an empty stretch of four-lane highway, straight, level, and no traffic, when I stepped on the gas and gave the truck it's head... at about 96 or 97 mph, it quit.
GM decided "We Know Best", and programmed the ECM to quit firing the spark plugs at that speed. So even though I was at less than 1/2 of the engine's redline, and probably less than 3/4 throttle, the pickup would go NO FASTER.
Time for a new computer chip.
And for those of you wondering, Lisa and Baby are fine; it was a false alarm. Just one of those things where we need to be very watchful, and if there's ANY question, get it answered properly.
Lisa laughed tonight when thinking about last night... a nurse checked her cervix, declared it fine, and said she could go home; I don't remember exactly what I said in response, but Lisa described my face as "You fuckwit, we're not leaving until one of the high-risk pregnancy docs on staff says she can go home". Basically, (and I was polite), I said, "No thanks, we'll wait until the doctor can see her"
Between being pissed off at my truck's speed limiter, and dealing with nurses who didn't seem to take potential problems seriously, and being REALLY short on sleep, I'm honestly kind of impressed with my ability to remain civil. I credit it mostly to the knowlege that if I'm an ass, the nurses can't do anything to me, other than keeping me from dozing off in the chair, but they could make Lisa miserable.
Yeah, for the time being, at least, gotta keep a short leash on my temper. But I WILL be replacing that #$%&^%$ ECU chip with one that will let me use all the engine's power.
I'm not sure whether to be amused or disturbed that I could get Lisa to the hospital much faster than the ambulance that came when Taylor started being born.
Oh, and for those of you who will say, "Going that fast is too dangerous!"... FOAD.
Any person who is familiar with how his/her vehicle handles at speed, and is paying attention, and has maintained their vehicle properly, is more than safe at speeds in excess of 100 mph, assuming they're not tied up in slow traffic, which I wasn't at 3am.
Our interstate highway system was built for 80+mph with 1950s technology. Crappy suspension, drum brakes, and bias-ply tires. With modern suspension, disc (and anti-lock!) brakes, and radial tires, our interstate highway system is golden for 150mph+, except when there's slow idiots on it. And at 3am, the slow idiots are few and far enough between that it's safe for 100+mph, assuming the driver is sober, in a well-maintained vehicle, and paying attention. That means, among other things, not screwing around with a cellphone, not playing with the radio, and focused on driving rather than discussing this week's American Idol bullshit with a passenger.
Anybody wanting to whine about people hurrying on empty interstates can just go buy some cheese to go with it :)
Not the normal "I'm running late getting to work" hurry, but a "Lisa's having cramps reminiscent of the night before we lost Taylor and her doc wants her at the hospital" kind of hurry.
The kind of hurry where I stop at a red light at 3am, look both ways, see no cross traffic, and ignore the red light kind of hurry.
The kind of hurry that says, "If I pass a cop, he can follow me to the hospital and write me a ticket there".
The kind of hurry that says, "I need to get my wife to the hospital right the fuck NOW, and this truck can step on out and move, because at 3am, on a four-lane highway with about a car every mile, I'm going to go as fast as is controllable in this truck".
Except for one thing... on an empty stretch of four-lane highway, straight, level, and no traffic, when I stepped on the gas and gave the truck it's head... at about 96 or 97 mph, it quit.
GM decided "We Know Best", and programmed the ECM to quit firing the spark plugs at that speed. So even though I was at less than 1/2 of the engine's redline, and probably less than 3/4 throttle, the pickup would go NO FASTER.
Time for a new computer chip.
And for those of you wondering, Lisa and Baby are fine; it was a false alarm. Just one of those things where we need to be very watchful, and if there's ANY question, get it answered properly.
Lisa laughed tonight when thinking about last night... a nurse checked her cervix, declared it fine, and said she could go home; I don't remember exactly what I said in response, but Lisa described my face as "You fuckwit, we're not leaving until one of the high-risk pregnancy docs on staff says she can go home". Basically, (and I was polite), I said, "No thanks, we'll wait until the doctor can see her"
Between being pissed off at my truck's speed limiter, and dealing with nurses who didn't seem to take potential problems seriously, and being REALLY short on sleep, I'm honestly kind of impressed with my ability to remain civil. I credit it mostly to the knowlege that if I'm an ass, the nurses can't do anything to me, other than keeping me from dozing off in the chair, but they could make Lisa miserable.
Yeah, for the time being, at least, gotta keep a short leash on my temper. But I WILL be replacing that #$%&^%$ ECU chip with one that will let me use all the engine's power.
I'm not sure whether to be amused or disturbed that I could get Lisa to the hospital much faster than the ambulance that came when Taylor started being born.
Oh, and for those of you who will say, "Going that fast is too dangerous!"... FOAD.
Any person who is familiar with how his/her vehicle handles at speed, and is paying attention, and has maintained their vehicle properly, is more than safe at speeds in excess of 100 mph, assuming they're not tied up in slow traffic, which I wasn't at 3am.
Our interstate highway system was built for 80+mph with 1950s technology. Crappy suspension, drum brakes, and bias-ply tires. With modern suspension, disc (and anti-lock!) brakes, and radial tires, our interstate highway system is golden for 150mph+, except when there's slow idiots on it. And at 3am, the slow idiots are few and far enough between that it's safe for 100+mph, assuming the driver is sober, in a well-maintained vehicle, and paying attention. That means, among other things, not screwing around with a cellphone, not playing with the radio, and focused on driving rather than discussing this week's American Idol bullshit with a passenger.
Anybody wanting to whine about people hurrying on empty interstates can just go buy some cheese to go with it :)
posted by Aaron Neal at 8:51 PM
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