esrosedotblog

BAILOUT?

No one has asked me yet but when they do, I will have an opinion.

It is dissimilar to Kevin Drum's.

Bailing Out GM

I think it is probably moot because the Republicans (they have regained their upper case "R" since they lost the election) will not support it.

So weird. The Republicans used to be the pro-business guys.

I think the answer is CH. 11 with the government doing the DIP (Debtor in Posession) financing.

Chapter 7 requires total liquidation. Not good.

It is a tough question.

If we bailed them out, I am first in line to tell you that they are totally fucked up.

I used to train in GM and it was the worst. Sinecures. Entitlement. Resistance to change of any kind.

They are the people who brought you global warming. The ones who paid to rip up the trolley tracks in LA and so on.

Right bastards, GM.

And the unions. My loved one tells me that the reason they have to build big cars is that the cost of labor is so high it is the only way that they can get the incremental value up to ask a high price. High enough to pay the unions.

The list is endless.

Now I have to admit that I have never, ever been a GM man.

I have had one Ford (a 1952 sedan) and, today, we have all Chrysler products.

But mostly I have bought German (Volkswagen and Audi) and Swedish (SAAB).

When we moved here there was no SAAB dealer (I write it the old way) and so we got a Jeep. And then a 1984 LeBaron which we still have. Both. And finally a Sebring because we like Chrysler service here and we always rented the car. It looks and feels as close to the SAAB convertible as we could get.

I am wandering.

Well, not really.

I don't want to bail out Ford or Chrysler either.

They are bloated and over the hill.

I think a Chapter 11 would be cleansing. Purifying.

It would give the government a chance to help out and make some demands. Obama's economic plan for building new 100 mpg cars. And so on.

So let 'em go.

No one is going to be buying a car in the next few years anyway.

And take all the unbought Hummers and put them in a gigantic pile at GM headquarters as a monument to stupidity and greed. A symbol of the total mismanagement of the auto industry if there ever was one.

Labels: Administration Obama, auto accidents, automobiles, business

CAN OPENER

There is a great picture in this story.

Inches Too Tall for Tunnel, Rig Plies It Anyway

They used to do this on the Boston Storrow Drive tunnels every so often.

Those clearances were even lower.

I remember running along the Charles River one day and hearing a loud bang. As I turned to look, there was a cloud of white paper flying up in the air. It was a windy.

It was a plume of envelopes from a truck that had just tried to put its big nose into the tiny tunnel.

When we went to look, the truck was stuck in the hole but enough of the back had peeled off to let the snowstorm of paper out.

Labels: auto accidents, nostalgia

CATCH UP

Just for starters. If there is catsup and ketchup why can't there be catchup?

That said, I realize that I have hit one of those dry spells in the blog.

This is not because there is nothing to write about.

It is more a matter of ambition.

Since the party I have been 'sleepy' a lot. Perhaps depressed some?

I lack focus and energy. I fall asleep during my interenet reading. I nod over books.

Last night I went to bed an hour early and woke up a little later than usual.

Just now, I am typing well but there is a sandy feel to my eyes. I am about to nod. oooooooooohhhhhh. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Hey!

So.

There has been a lot going on.

We had the Jeep in for some work.

I didn't tell you (or, for awhile, anybody) that I had an auto accident a couple of weeks ago.

It was dark. I was turning from a right to a left middle lane prepping for a turn. There was a car in the lane.

We touched.

The bumper of the other car hit my left rear wheel.

Skinned the bumper and left a mild dink in my wheel.

Yes, it involved insurance.

Yes, I had to be found at fault because I was.

This is not the first time I have been at fault for a minor accident. But it is the first time we had to make it official.

Only with the insurance company. The other driver and I both have AAA.

So, I will have to lose my safe driver discount on my insurance bill I guess. No one will tell me how much that is worth.

I can wait.

Anyway, the adjuster suggested that I get a new wheel for the Jeep as the ding could cause trouble with a sudden blowout. Is that redundant?

I have been working with the photos from the party.

I want to send prints to everyone who has a reasonably good shot in the 210 or so that he culled out as the best.

It has been fun to go through and copy them out to the disc.

Reliving the party.

Today, I will go and leave them for reproduction; 4x6. Then I will send them off.

The camera here is a Brownie Hawkeye. It is the first real camera that I owned.

It had a flash with bulbs! The blue bulb is for color film.

It did a great job.

I am doing pretty well here.

I have given myself a smart slap on the back to get my blog breathing going again.

Or, in this case, a good thump on the chest to get my heart pumpin'.

I have conveyed some news--even a deep secret.

I would say that I am probably back in the swing of the thing.

It never fails.

When I am down in the dumps, the best way out is to start walking.

Watch all the metaphors fly around!

Labels: auto accidents, condiments, health, me me me