http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26497660-952,00.html
Cruise control driver runs down his critics
THE driver stuck on cruise control at 100km/h on the Eastern Freeway and EastLink has lashed out at those casting doubt on his story.
"You weren't in the car," Chase Weir said. "If anyone can fake a 000 call and all that screaming, show me how."
Readers swamped the Herald Sun website and talkback radio to also ask why the Ford Explorer driver didn't turn off his engine or shift the gear selector into neutral.
Click here to listen to the dramatic 000 call extract
Mr Weir told police the ignition key would not move and that he could not put the car into neutral.
On trying to brake, he could not slow below 80km/h.
The 22-year-old Queenslander's ordeal began at 12.40pm on Tuesday when he was unable to slow for his Eastern Freeway exit.
It ended just over 30 minutes later on the Moorooduc Highway at Frankston, when he finally managed to stop the vehicle using the handbrake and the brake pedal - on the wrong side of the road.
Police considered radical measures to stop Mr Weir.
But it was Sgt Marnie Goldsmith who in effect rescued him, talking him through his panic after he dialled 000.
Mr Weir thanked her in person.
Sgt Goldsmith said: "He shook my hand and I said 'I can give you a hug'."
Mr Weir said it was only her calm response that allowed him to keep his head.
"She was saying, 'the car won't stop but you're still OK'. I was panicky, but she kept me calm."
She explained: "I just said 'I'll tell you when it's time to panic and we're not there yet'."
Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority operator Jay Kemp, who co-ordinated the response, said: "There is no standard procedure to stop a car stuck on cruise control. It was extraordinary."
The first police unit to reach Mr Weir thought it would all end in tragedy.
Sen-Constable Steve Warr and Constable Stephen Glenk from Doncaster kept other vehicles away from him.
"We knew the traffic would bank up and we wanted to end it prior to Frankston," said Sen-Constable Warr.
"We discussed about 50 different options, from using our van or a truck to stop him, using the guard rail, or running him into a paddock.
"By the time the last 3km came up, it was too late. I thought there were going to be fatals. I said over the air - 'It's going to be bad'."
The Explorer will now be examined by police and Ford. Mr Weir claims six Australians have contacted him on Facebook to claim similar issues with their cars.
National Motoring Editor Paul Gover writes: If you are faced with a jammed accelerator, or a stuck cruise control, do not panic. Firstly, push down very hard on the brake. If it doesn't release the accelerator, don't panic.
If it's a manual, push down on the clutch, which should disengage a cruise control, or knock the lever into neutral. Do the same for an automatic, but go gently on the shifter.
Selecting neutral will disconnect the engine from the gearbox and allow you to brake to a stop.
If you cannot get into neutral, try turning the engine off (do not lock the steering). You should be able to steer and brake to a stop.
In the absolute worst case, do as Mr Weir did to stop.
Back on track. But so hot here today. And windy. And stuffy.
So today is get all the final little bits and pieces I want to add to the pile.
I know it looks like there's a lot of wet ones there but I'll be the one laughing when there's no toilet paper somewhere we go. They they'll all be calling for me.
Muesli bars because Emjay has convinced me I must never eat on a plane for fear of food poisoning. Because then there will only be 2 toilets between hundreds of people. And my wet ones would be in high demand then.
Diarrhoea tablets, because..... well because its starting to sound like I have some fixation with toilets and bowels.
Lots of antiseptic handwash, allergy tabs because I always get itchy and ear wax because my ears get sore in water. I think I only need to add panadol and mylanta.
I'm sure I can buy all this stuff over there for half the price. I should have been a girl guide. Apprently you can get all your prescription meds there with no prescription really cheap.
And I'm cashed up in baht now. I felt like I was carrying a brick around in my handbag. Just enough for us all to get through a few days.
And now I'm off to take up my temple pants. Bought a pair of light white longs in case we go anywhere where they like you to be fully covered.
Which means getting out the trusty old sewing kit. Look, it even has white cotton.
Then its off to my doctor to see what he thinks about what the hospital doctor told me and advised.
Teaching evaluations were released today for us to read. The evaluations consist of questions pertaining to my teaching ability, the benefits of the course being taught, and the importance of the course to the student's overall college experience. Most of it is a rating thing, as in "very much" or "not at all." That stuff is boring to wade through. But the comments the students get to leave...well, those are always interesting.
- She had no kryptonite that I was aware of. So yeah, no weakness.
- Crazy people on sticks. [Editor's Note: What the hell?]
- Natalie is the most crazy hair-brained hay-wired insane teacher I've had in a long time. She was quite pleasant also.
- She's awesome, enough said.
- The fact that she used a Mac was very valuable. Mac's are awesome. Huzzah! Also awesome? Her sarcastic tone.
- Natalie is a wonderful person although a little crazy.
- This class was my favorite this semester (and I am not an English person, I am a math person).
- Taught well. Smoking hot.
- Natalie's weakness is that she doesnt teach ALL of my classes (Math, Science, etc.)
- She kicks ass.
- The best English instructor I've ever had. Hands Down.
It's been freezing cold, I went running at the Lake today and it's already covered in ice. Lovely, though. Downed conifer limbs, blue jays singing.
Now I'm drinking my third hot beverage (hot chocolate) and hoping to hear back from employers. Oh, did I mention, the school hasn't sent me my diploma yet? But the Registrar confirmed that I'm officially graduated. I'm not celebrating until I get the diploma in hand.
We've been consuming good movies and hot cider for Solstice. No fancy celebrations this year, til we get to my sister's. SyFy channel has 2 great holiday specials. One is a remake of Alice in Wonderland. We haven't seen it yet. The other is a really dark, modern remake of Wizard of Oz.
The second one is called Tin Man and I never thought I'd say this, but Alan Cumming is adorable as the Scarecrow. The plot is completely different and you wouldn't even recognize the characters from the original. I love, love love creative remakes, or just simple, creative films. They're in low supply these days.
Another fun plug is the new Sony Ericsson "eco phones", Hazel and Elm. (Cute, right)? They look nice and I used to love my old Ericsson before the *ahem* screen ribbon broke.
Does anyone have other fun film ideas for Solstice? I don't especially like fantasy unless it's mixed with a good plot. Harry Potter is pretty fun for this time of year. I thought the sci fi was a stretch but as long as it's not overly dramatic vampire movies or something, it's an okay medium.
Brain in a jar would be handy.
This is so adorable, I wish I had seen this a month ago! These are alternative Christmas trees from Treehugger. The photo at the end of this post is a ladder. No extra purchases, no tree cut down. Someone remind me of this a year from now.
We have a norfolk pine. I like the idea of a living holiday tree - but after Solstice we can't plant it because it's an invasive species. I'm not crazy about tree farms because it creates a monoculture where a diverse forest could otherwise be. Then there's all the energy used to mulch them (again monoculture). These Treehugger ideas are genius. Oh well, I did a few things right this holiday. Hmm, let's see....(tries to alleviate guilt)...
1. I'm using newspapers and paper bags for gift wrapping. Decor on top includes ribbons from last year's gifts, dried leaves, stamps and beads. I'll post photos.
2. Saved glass milk jugs to fill with candy, instead of elaborate, plastic wrapped truffle boxes
3. Used rechargeable candles instead of wax ones (I suppose the ecological benefit of this is debatable, but at least our house won't burn down)!
4. Collected fallen branch pines for wreaths, instead of buying material (at my Lake I saw many people doing the same, dragging huge branches behind them and one woman even had an armful of toxic berries - how fun)!
5. Shopped locally and all in one town so we didn't have to drive far.
It's a decent start, anyway! Feel free to share your ideas for the holiday too. And check out this Christmas tree!
DOMINO? YOU MEAN DOMI-YES
dominorecordco.com
You know, I honestly don't know how Ryan does it, keeping up with the various 'tweets'. I personally think twitter become absolutely useless if you have more than 50 friends. There's also so much spam on twitter!
So, I mostly just have it filtered to reading our own twitter to discover new freebies. So below was sent out a few days ago:
weheartmusicWe♥Music
Check out the @DominoRecordCo Xmas Sampler - http://bit.ly/53Thv0 - Final Fantasy, Wild Beasts, The Kills, Franz Ferdinand & King Creosote.
11:49 AM Dec 14th from web
I also really dig Joker's Daughter (for non-comic book nerds, yes the Joker had a daughter - I think she mostly fought the 70s Teen Titans). I love "classic" pop girl-group sound, and this band has the vocals and melodies. Although the subject of Gremlins and "Bouncing Liquorish Bears" may be on the weirder side.
OF DOVES AND FISH
harveysidfisher.com
Dovecote Records gathered three of their recording artists to do a mini-tribute to Harvey Sid Fisher. While I don't know much about Fisher, based on hearing the three covers by Mason Proper, Tim Williams, and Trevor Giuliani, I have concluded that Fisher was a bit of a strange songwriter and has a bit of an interesting "older" man's vocals... each of the modern artists do try and emulate the singing style.
My personal favorite is Tim Williams' rendition. Nice backup vocals and the repetitive "hit another wall" refrain.
If you want to hear these songs for yourself - head over to dovecoterecords.com and click on the "Download Now" link. There's no catch either, none of that "give us your email" thing. Just a nice little free EP.
OLD WAVE MIXTAPE
nouvellesvagues.com
Cover lover band of approval, Nouvelle Vague, made a 10-track free mixtape at whenyouawake.com.
Most of the tracks are by American artists, some classic from Roy Orbison ("You Got It"), Louis Armstrong ("We Have All The Time In The World"), Johnny Cash ("Ring Of Fire"), etc. There are a few weird ones (weird as in didn't fit in) like Sufjan Stevens and Rolling Stones... however, I will admit tapping my feet when I heard the intro to "Let's Spend The Night Together". There is the token French artist Serge Gainsbourg on the mixtape for good measure.
While I'm not entirely sure about the legality of this free download, I think it's good promotions for the bands mentioned on the tape. Plus, it's a nice boost of ego, you know?
daffodilpublicity.com confirms these are their forth-coming North American tour dates:
|
Friday, Jan. 22, Philadelphia, PA, World Café Saturday, Jan. 23, New York, NY, Webster Hall Sunday, Jan. 24, Boston, MA, Somerset Tuesday, Jan. 25, Montreal, PQ, Metropolis Wednesday, Jan. 27, Toronto, ONT, Opera House Thursday, Jan. 28, Detroit, MI, Crofoot Ballroom Friday, Jan. 29, Chicago, IL, Logan Square Monday, Feb. 1, Denver, CO, Bluebird Tuesday, Feb. 2, Salt Lake City, UT, Urban Lounge Thursday, Feb. 4, Seattle, WA, King Cat |
Friday, Feb. 5, Vancouver, BC, Venue Sunday, Feb. 7, San Francisco, CA, Regency Monday, Feb. 8, Sant Cruz, CA, Rio Theater Tuesday, Feb. 9, Los Angeles, CA, Henry Fonda Friday, Feb. 12, Dallas, TX, Granada Saturday, Feb. 13, Austin, TX, Mohawk Sunday, Feb. 14, New Orleans, LA, Republic Tuesday, Feb. 16, Miami, FL, Revolution Wednesday, Feb. 17, Orlando, FL, Firestone Thursday, Feb. 18, Atlanta, GA, Loft Saturday, Feb. 20, Washington DC, 9:30 Club |
YOU HAVE TO SPEND MONEY TO SAVE MONEY
I don't work for Best Buy, but I wanted to pass along this deal, since it is almost a crime to not buy it. It is $140 for HANNspree 23" HD LCD 16:9 Widescreen Monitor. That's cheap, considering the same monitor would've cost at least $700 a few years ago.
I did buy it and setup was very plug-and-play easy. It came with a disc for a Windows Vista driver, but if you just have XP, it would just recognize the monitor. Hooking it up on the PS3 using the HDMI cable (not included) was also easy - however I did not like the long pauses as PS3 auto adjust when it plays bluray discs (I suspect this has to do with determining that it's a compliant display since HDMI is notorious for anti-piracy junk).
Compare to the old CRT monster monitors, this 23" is superlight - even Mr Burns can easily move the monitor around. The product page lists 9.9lbs, but it feels like it's only one or two pounds.
The monitor does have built-in speakers, but it sounds tinny. Not exactly awesome audio, but for $140, that's just a bonus. I recommend buying monitor headphones and plugging it in the monitor for clearer audio. And speaking of audio, since this is marketed as purely a monitor - there is also no remote control access. If you need to turn down the audio, you have to adjust it on the monitor itself.
Despite my complaint, this is one of best image display I've own. It's native 1920x1080 is pretty sweet when I'm playing Dragon Age (since now I can have more items in the "quick" slots at the bottom).
* practically free
12/16/2009 11:25:14 ♥ vu (
) ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com
What are you hoping to find under the tree this year?
big, beautiful, strong, deeper and wiser roots that will carry the tree through the upcoming year in grace, health, wisdom, and peace.
If you write a poem about love …
the love is a bird,
If you write a poem about death …
the death is a terrible fire,
the poem is an offering of paper cutout flames
you feed to the fire.
We can see, in these, the space between
our gestures and the power they address
—an insufficiency. And yet a kind of beauty,
a distinctly human beauty. When a winter storm
from out of nowhere hit New York one night
in 1892, the crew at a theater was caught
unloading props: a box
of paper snow for the Christmas scene got dropped
and broken open, and that flash of white
confetti was lost
inside what it was a praise of.
Links from my Friends
Someone Still Loves You Bor...
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
We Were Promised Jetpacks A...
Formed in Edinburgh in 2003, We Were Promised Jetpacks ta...
george-perez.com celebrates...
Thanks to Ilke for reminding me that today (December 9th)...
I saw this announcement and was very intrigued by it. Bil...
Free download: These New Pu...
Free download: These New Puritans - http://bit.ly/82mmZQ ...
