tnguy

AAA is way too expensive for what you get IMO. Had it, broke down on 24. Only covers the first 10 miles of towing. Towing is about the only thing that might be hard to cover out-of-pocket and it was useless for that (ane even that's not much of an issue these days).   Compare to the RAC or AA in the UK. I got towed 120 miles, no cost to myself.

  Sorry Robert, I have some issues with this. Firstly, the constitution limits powers (though in this case, it would be the state constitution at play). It's not just about mob rule.   Secondly, absolutely if there's something about the constitution we don't like, there's no reason we should want to follow it. We are thinking rational beings. This is why the people who wrote it left open the option to amend it. Blind submission to authority is a terrible, terrible thing.

It's Texas. He should get fair treatment.

At the time I was out there, I had my head stuck in a book. Other times, I have been out there "resting my eyes". In either circumstance, my awareness would have been approximately zero.   I'll likely start tucking the 40 under my thigh if I'm out there. And getting earlier nights too.   For what it's worth though, I've been working in this area for something like 9 years and never heard of this happening before* so I'll not be overly concerned.       (* Though there was that love triangle shooting about 6 years ago but that's another thing entirely).

  I always carry a throwdown bag of M&Ms.

Something doesn't sound right about that. If the car is running, the temperature is unlikely to be rising so it wouldn't make sense to wire it that way. Also, if the car stalled for some reason while running, the accessory position is still likely to be powered which is what such a device is likely to be switched by.   But without more info, its hard to say. I wouldn't necessarily rule out negligence even with all the other stuff you said.

  Cars stall, shit happens. I'm not going to tell anyone how to look after their animals but think ahead a little if you value your pets (and children, come to that).

  Just remembered, the one over the road from me is for sale. :D

What was the make/model of that dashcam? I've been thinking of getting one.

  Knowing my co-workers, those thugs might be in for an unpleasant surprise.   FWIW, this is what the building people sent around this morning, thought it might provoke some discussion. I'm not sure if this is from the police but I think not. Bear in mind that the victim was taking a break in their car. I am not sure how I would have behaved in the circumstance.   (Edit, this appears to have been taken from the web).  

  I apologise if I incorrectly interpreted the words that you wrote.

  Check also Sierra Mist Natural. The Mexican Cokes indeed have sugar, not HFCS. It's not because the Mexicans won't put up with it, it's because corn isn't subsidised to hell and back down there meaning they don't have to find a way to dump the stuff. As far as I know, the US is the only place in the world that goes in for HFCS in a big way. You can buy the Mexican stuff by the crate at Sam's. Also, during passover, there is a yellow-lidded sugar-only coke available. I don't think TN has a huge Jewish population though.   If you want a little more variety, you may also want to check into Soda Stream. Their stuff is either sugar or sugar/sucralose mix.

  It's not Lazarus Long. I forget the name though. Google to the rescue... I believe it was Professor Bernardo de la Paz from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

  Don't get your buttons pushed, work out how to push his. It sounds like he has a whole lot of them available. If you get it right, you should get the blood vessels standing out on his head.

  Maybe because David Sheppard (D) has been state rep for a long time. I'm a rampant libertarian but I know and like him and he seems to be pretty sane about which legislation he supports (even if he couldn't name the three branches of government on TV one time). He opposed the state income tax if I recall correctly.     Because it's related (Dave Sheppard has/had a plane there) and to avoid adding yet another post, I'll just add that Dickson Municipal airport is close by if you ever feel like you'd like to learn to fly.

  There is a pawn shop with guns on 47 close to the fairgrounds and one on 48 about 2-3 miles to Charlotte. There's also Rock solid guns out in White Bluff if you don't mind heading a little east. The fairground also hosts a gun show every couple of months (though I wasn't impressed when I went).

Consider Fairview also. Incredibly handy for 840. A little bit of a commute to Dickson but only about 20 minutes depending where work is. Prices are likely to skyrocket there since they joined up 840 to Franklin earlier this year.

  Ah, yeah. Quite a drug problem if you scratch the surface. The Highland Motel is a particularly notorious place and a mobile meth lab caught fire in the parking lot of the local hospital last year. That said, it's not like it's a big problem but it's definitely there.

Burns is a nice area and handy for 40 and Montgomery Bell. Depends what you're looking for really.   Local government is pretty crappy but the town itself is OK to live in.

If there was any way you could have moved the van over a little, that would have probably been a good thing too. But everything turned out OK so that's all you can hope for. Sometimes you just have to put crap behind you.

I think Robert's definition of freedom is the freedom to do what you're told to.

This is a favorite quote of mine but I think it's important to note that Heinlein was putting these words into the mouth of one of his characters and it shouldn't be attributed to him directly.

I have a short 2' wide strip of land that's difficult to mow that I let get a little long one time and I got a letter from the city govt telling me to tidy it up or they would and charge me. Chapped my ass but if they're going to worry about it, that's the correct way. The letter suggested it was likely to be a home for rats or somesuch nonsense. I'm sure if it had been a hedge, there would have been no issue. (Hmm, now there's an idea).   On the other hand, if things get seriously delinquent, I can see that something would need to be done that's a step above that. I'm all for being able to do what you want with what you own but in some circumstances, you are agreeing to be bound by local standards (the property value thing is bunk though). I could never be in a HOA though. That's just selling your soul.

Kind of worrying. I frequently take breaks in my car in this lot and, in fact, was reading in my car between 1 and 2 on the day this happened over on the other side.   Time to swap the 40 in for the 32 I think and make sure I keep it close-by when taking a break. Also makes me a bit more inclined to get a dashcam.