interrobang (‽)

And I thought that getting my car fixed would be the end of it….
As I mentioned in a previous post, the guy who hit my car was given a citation by the police. This is basically a ticket, and he has the choice of paying a fine, or (because this is the free world) he can contest it. Obviously, because his father is an Attorney, he decided to contest it. Generally, if you’re guilty and don’t have a chance of getting away with it, you contest it, because if the arresting officer or any of the witnesses don’t turn up […]

So, further to my last missive, this car accident I was involved in turned into as much fun and games as I thought it would be.
Because it was clearly the fault of the other guy - one Taylor Osborne - my insurance company (Geico) bounced it to the other driver’s insurance company (Farmers). Farmers then spent a good month trying to, in their words, “establish coverage”. Which means that they weren’t entirely convinced that the guy was insured at all. As I suspected, he was actually claiming insurance under his father’s policy. The way it works over here is that […]

I guess it had to happen sooner or later, but I was finally involved in a car accident on the I-10. And no, it wasn’t my fault. I was driving home after a particularly stressful day at work (where I had to berate one of my direct reports for falling asleep at his desk - and I’m not really one for confrontation, so that was really tough for me), pootling along in the fast lane at just around the speed limit, when my car got hit from behind.
I pulled over onto the shoulder (thankfully they have one on the outside […]

…It’s the Three not-so-Little Pigs!
I’m on a bit of a fitness kick at the moment, owing to our renewed membership of the area swimming pool and a complete unwillingness to change my diet.  I’ve been out jogging a couple of times, and I’m trying to get back into cycling.  So when I needed to pick up a prescription from the pharmacy round the corner, I decided I’d cycle.  I took Finn with me, as I thought he’d benefit from some exercise, too.  It’s only a mile away, so to make it worthwhile we took a detour on the way back and […]

So last week, coming back from the Black Angels gig, I got pulled over by the police.  I shouldn’t be surprised - I seem to average one ticket a year, and I’d made it to December (actually, November 30th) without getting a ticket so it was about time.  What was a surprise is that this wasn’t for speeding!  (That radar detector I have is turning out to be money well spent.)  This ticket was for “failure to signal” when I turned a corner.  That’s right.  It was for not using my indicators.  At half past midnight, at an almost deserted intersection.  […]

This commute is killing me.  A couple of nights ago it took me an hour and 40 minutes to get home from work.  For a 20-mile journey, on a single stretch of motorway - the infamous I-10 (a.k.a. the Katy Freeway).  That’s an average of 12 mph - which just shows that the police are taking the piss by putting up “65-mph” speed limit signs.
And 12mph is an average.  For the last 5 miles of the journey I was hurtling along at closer to 80mph.  Yes, that’s over the limit, but I dare the bastards to pull me over and risk […]

My car sprang a fairly serious oil leak (to the point where it was getting through oil faster than petrol, and I was leaving a trail all down the road).  I’d noticed the oil light flashing on and off when I drove into work on Friday morning.  So I topped it up with a gallon of Esso Superlube (company man to the last!) before I left work, but the oil light was flashing again before I was halfway home.  I was just wondering where I’d find a garage open on a Saturday (this is Belgium, after all…), when the police […]

Nowadays, a car is pretty much a necessity.  And just about everyone here in Belgium has one.  So why do the Belgians make getting a car on the road such a difficult, lengthy, and truly exasperating process?  Here’s what I had to go through…
When you buy a car (even a second hand one - and even from a private sale) in Belgium you don’t get the number plates with it.  These are actually issued by the local authorities (it’s another way of getting tax).   We bought a couple of cars from a dealership, paid the money, and asked for the […]