Humpday Happenings... 
PART 1: This is going to be a "two-parter" today, as Wifey and I are heading out to the repair shop in order to get her buggy "set to rights" again. I'll be following her...or, if I take a different route and miss a few lights, get there BEFORE she does. (warp speed...NOW)! Yeah, it's a "temporal thing"...LOL. The Missus has to get that heater fixed (just in time for the WARM weather - isn't that ALWAYS the way?), her R/R brake squeals like we're running over pigs when we come to a stop (hope the drum or rotor isn't scored), replacing the glass on the passenger side mirror that was "spiderwebbed" when someone left a trashbin in the damn street early in the morning a few weeks back, and lastly, the obligatory OIL CHANGE (and new filter). THAT should pay for a mechanic of two for another week...always LOVE to "help the economy", right? *** Now, there is one thing about cars I've noticed of late...that damn "SMILE" on the front grille! 
Take a look at MOST of the newer cars...they all seem to have this sh*t-eating GRIN on them, like "they" know something WE don't (like HOW MUCH it's going to COST to FIX most of the stuff on board), am I right? I like my cars to NOT "smile" at me (or anyone else)...OR "frown"..or even look like they've been sucking on a damn LEMON! (anyone remember those EDSELS?) 
Cars will have their OWN "personalities"...they shouldn't need any HELP from so-called body "stylists" from anywhere on the planet. 
The Wifeymobile ('96 Caprice Classic) has the basic grille...no smile, no frown...just a egg-crate grille...fine by me. It doesn't divulge it's intent...I like that. 
And MY car...the '83 Firebird...NO grille at ALL to speak of...even BETTER. Just that bird-like beak along the front fascia...like a predator...waiting to strike. Two amber slits for "eyes" (the running lights/turn signals)...the only way you can tell it's on the prowl. Now THAT'S what I'm talking about...you have NO idea what the car is "saying"...perfection on 4 wheels! Like I said, the personality of a car comes when YOU get behind the wheel and drive it. THEN, you know. And believe you me, after 26 YEARS with my car, we are pretty much "one". I tell the Missus that when it comes to a personal vehicle: "You treat her right, and she'll bring 'ya home." My Dad always said that if you take care of a car, it will take care of you. Sound advice, whether it's a vehicle...OR most anything else in life. Well, we'll see 'ya in a little bit on the flip side of this run... **************************** PART 2: 0845 hrs. *** As with ANY mode of transportaion, there MUST come maintenance. (if you care about the damn thing running properly, that is) 
Now you CAN wait until something goes breaks, and THEN decide to FIX it - not the BEST way to keep something running. OR, you can do what is know as PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE. That means at the first sign of something acting, looking, or sounding "hinky", you get it into the shop and get it fixed, because the vehicle is TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING. When something RUNS right...you KNOW it (or you should), and when something OTHER than that occurs, you should know THAT as well. And that way, you don't stop getting busy being a driver and start getting busy becoming a pedestrian (again), right? Now, with this recent SOUTHWEST AIRLINES event with the roof peeling back, it has to make you wonder WTF is going on here? 
Airplanes are NOT cars (or even trucks)...they are called upon to operate in conditions FAR beyond what we encounter on a mere road or highway. And they do it EVERY day (pretty much). STRINGENT repair schedules are in place to avoid failures that would place peoples' lives in danger. And that's a good thing (especially for those FLYING...or looking up). 
Engines are given complete overhauls after so many hours, tires are checked after every landing, control surfaces and the airframes are given "walk-around" checks (visual inspections) before all flights, but even all this is not enough. This article as in today's appear, and shed a bit of light on procedures: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110406/NEWS03/304069937 Now the SWA event took Boeing "by surprise", and I really have to ask "WHY???" Just because the airframes are (only) 15 years old, that doesn't mean they can't suffer what's known as STRUCTURAL FATIGUE. And a good movie from the 1950s that fills in the blanks here is called:
NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY (starring James Stewart). It's a Brit pic with a good cast, but it explains WHY metal used in airliners fails. Hell, The DeHavilland COMET had similar instances and the fleet was removed from service back in the early days of jetliners. Whenever the alloy used in aircraft bodies and frames is exposed to REPEATED pressurization and depressurization, air turbulence, foul weather, extreme temperature shifts (and more) it has the unnique possibility of changing it's MOLECULAR STRUCTURE...and that can happen from one second to the next. 
When that occurs, something catastrophic can't be far behind. The situation with SWA can be just this scenario...or it could EVEN be that the structure of the RIVETS used to hold the panel fatigued. The NTSB will have to conduct a litany of tests before we find out all the facts here. And the movie I mentioned above does a similar test (in England). Boeing says it will conduct EM resonance testing of the airframes, but it WOULD be nice to ALSO include an X-RAY evaluation of the aircraft at those critical points (as well as areas surrounding them)...JUST to be totally sure. The passengers and crew were VERY fortunate that this was a small rupture of the airframe and not anything that reulted in death or disaster, like that ALOHA flight that had well over 15 feet of it's roof blow off, sucking a flight attendant out of the aircraft - the ONLY fatality on board. 
That flight made it back to an airport. It does ALL comes down to maintenance... And if you drive a car, an ounce of that prevention IS worth a LOT more than a pound of cure. (especially in THIS economy) Just something to make you think...and save you some money. Lord knows we can always use a bit more of THAT, eh? Be well, make a difference to someone, and... Stay safe out there, America.
Take a look at MOST of the newer cars...they all seem to have this sh*t-eating GRIN on them, like "they" know something WE don't (like HOW MUCH it's going to COST to FIX most of the stuff on board), am I right? I like my cars to NOT "smile" at me (or anyone else)...OR "frown"..or even look like they've been sucking on a damn LEMON! (anyone remember those EDSELS?) 
Cars will have their OWN "personalities"...they shouldn't need any HELP from so-called body "stylists" from anywhere on the planet. 
The Wifeymobile ('96 Caprice Classic) has the basic grille...no smile, no frown...just a egg-crate grille...fine by me. It doesn't divulge it's intent...I like that. 
And MY car...the '83 Firebird...NO grille at ALL to speak of...even BETTER. Just that bird-like beak along the front fascia...like a predator...waiting to strike. Two amber slits for "eyes" (the running lights/turn signals)...the only way you can tell it's on the prowl. Now THAT'S what I'm talking about...you have NO idea what the car is "saying"...perfection on 4 wheels! Like I said, the personality of a car comes when YOU get behind the wheel and drive it. THEN, you know. And believe you me, after 26 YEARS with my car, we are pretty much "one". I tell the Missus that when it comes to a personal vehicle: "You treat her right, and she'll bring 'ya home." My Dad always said that if you take care of a car, it will take care of you. Sound advice, whether it's a vehicle...OR most anything else in life. Well, we'll see 'ya in a little bit on the flip side of this run... **************************** PART 2: 0845 hrs. *** As with ANY mode of transportaion, there MUST come maintenance. (if you care about the damn thing running properly, that is) 
Now you CAN wait until something goes breaks, and THEN decide to FIX it - not the BEST way to keep something running. OR, you can do what is know as PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE. That means at the first sign of something acting, looking, or sounding "hinky", you get it into the shop and get it fixed, because the vehicle is TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING. When something RUNS right...you KNOW it (or you should), and when something OTHER than that occurs, you should know THAT as well. And that way, you don't stop getting busy being a driver and start getting busy becoming a pedestrian (again), right? Now, with this recent SOUTHWEST AIRLINES event with the roof peeling back, it has to make you wonder WTF is going on here? 
Airplanes are NOT cars (or even trucks)...they are called upon to operate in conditions FAR beyond what we encounter on a mere road or highway. And they do it EVERY day (pretty much). STRINGENT repair schedules are in place to avoid failures that would place peoples' lives in danger. And that's a good thing (especially for those FLYING...or looking up). 
Engines are given complete overhauls after so many hours, tires are checked after every landing, control surfaces and the airframes are given "walk-around" checks (visual inspections) before all flights, but even all this is not enough. This article as in today's appear, and shed a bit of light on procedures: http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110406/NEWS03/304069937 Now the SWA event took Boeing "by surprise", and I really have to ask "WHY???" Just because the airframes are (only) 15 years old, that doesn't mean they can't suffer what's known as STRUCTURAL FATIGUE. And a good movie from the 1950s that fills in the blanks here is called:
NO HIGHWAY IN THE SKY (starring James Stewart). It's a Brit pic with a good cast, but it explains WHY metal used in airliners fails. Hell, The DeHavilland COMET had similar instances and the fleet was removed from service back in the early days of jetliners. Whenever the alloy used in aircraft bodies and frames is exposed to REPEATED pressurization and depressurization, air turbulence, foul weather, extreme temperature shifts (and more) it has the unnique possibility of changing it's MOLECULAR STRUCTURE...and that can happen from one second to the next. 
When that occurs, something catastrophic can't be far behind. The situation with SWA can be just this scenario...or it could EVEN be that the structure of the RIVETS used to hold the panel fatigued. The NTSB will have to conduct a litany of tests before we find out all the facts here. And the movie I mentioned above does a similar test (in England). Boeing says it will conduct EM resonance testing of the airframes, but it WOULD be nice to ALSO include an X-RAY evaluation of the aircraft at those critical points (as well as areas surrounding them)...JUST to be totally sure. The passengers and crew were VERY fortunate that this was a small rupture of the airframe and not anything that reulted in death or disaster, like that ALOHA flight that had well over 15 feet of it's roof blow off, sucking a flight attendant out of the aircraft - the ONLY fatality on board. 
That flight made it back to an airport. It does ALL comes down to maintenance... And if you drive a car, an ounce of that prevention IS worth a LOT more than a pound of cure. (especially in THIS economy) Just something to make you think...and save you some money. Lord knows we can always use a bit more of THAT, eh? Be well, make a difference to someone, and... Stay safe out there, America.
2 comments:
Oh my. Your take on the new car smiles had me rolling. Very good observation, Bob. G. LOL
Stay safe.
Momma Fargo:
And THAT is why you NEVER see a PATROL CRUISER that "smiles"...LOL.
Crown Vic?
...NO smiley face there.
Impala?
...more like a very slight smirk.
Charger?
...no smile at all.
It's usually the OFFICER(s) DRIVING the cruiser that is wearing that big cheesy grin (while transporting the perp) INSTEAD...right?
Thanks for rolling on up today and commenting.
Stay safe out there.
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