Funny...it didn't look so big in the store.

My wife and I have just purchased a new box spring and mattress set. The one she had been sleeping on was so old, it was giving her major grief. We went to the store and tried out several brands and models. Eventually, we decided to splurge on a queen size to replace her double, knowing that the frame could expand to fit.

What I didn't count on was the bed being six inches longer as well. I had to take the frame apart the other way, and wound up snapping the bolts, they had been in so long and so tight. The guys who delivered the set were a little perplexed at the problem at first, until they realized the frame was, indeed, adjustable.

Funny... it didn't look so big in the store.

I don't know why it is that you never think to take a tape measure with you when buying these things. You just a assume that a bed is a bed, it should fit just fine.

Remember, ass-u-me.

It's the same whenever you buy clothes. The colour always looks spectacular in the fitting room. The cut always hides that extra two pounds you put on at the wedding you went to last month. You take the same outfit home, and suddenly that khaki colour is a pea green mud shade. What flattered your stomach and made you look like a cross between Stallone and Shwartzenager now makes you look like Fred Flintstone.

Remind me to never buy a car without taking it to different locations and lighting conditions.

Enough is enough

I suppose it was just a matter of time before I had to weigh in on the whole gas price issue. Like everyone else, I am sick and tired of feeling that I am being mugged every time I have to put gas into the car. The supply of oil hasn't really changed so much in the last two years as to warrant the current price that we are paying.

At this rate, I am either going to have to give up going places, or give up eating. I'm not talking pleasure trips either. We're talking about trips to doctor's appointments, to get groceries or seeing family.

On the other hand, I have taken the price of gas as an excuse to think about the way we drive, and the vehicles that we do it in. In the city, it wouldn't mean so much. A good transit system, such as I had access to in Ottawa pays for itself in a relatively short number of trips. Living in a small town, with the best shopping being some distance away, it is another matter.

Still, I really don't need all of the engine power that our car has. Why does a car need to be able to do twice the legal limit? Also, I don't need all of the space that is wasted in the vehicle we own. As a rule, it is only the two of us in the car. I keep seeing SUVs on the road with just one person! Talk about waste.

The result of all of this thinking, I would so love to design and build my own vehicle.

Think of it as the Smart car designed for North American realities. The Daimler Smart car is fine in Europe, where they don't do such much grocery shopping in one trip as we do. If you were to extend it slightly at the rear, maybe even giving it jump seats for the occasional extra passengers, it would fit the North American market much better.

The ideal car, as I see it, would use electric motor at all four wheels for locomotion. They would be powered by batteries, which would, in turn, get their power from the smallest possible gas generator, or plug in charging, depending on availability. That is my idea of a true hybrid vehicle, using as little fuel as possible.

I once saw a cartoon (of all things), with a great quote. "A problem is just a misunderstood opportunity."

How do I get in touch with General Motors and Ford?

That's right, I'm back.

I realize it's been quite some time since I last added anything at all to this blog. I probably should have shut it down ages ago, but I wanted to keep the option of coming back to it open.

For anyone who was wondering, I've been spending a lot of my time on-line in a world called fan fiction. On that site, I have posted a number of short stories based on, of all things, a Disney cartoon. I found this site, quite by accident, a few month ago. It got me started in something as addictive as crack and as time consuming as a career. Creative writing.

Remember when our teachers told us to write short stories back in grade school? Where was fanfiction.net when I needed it?

Since becoming a regular member of the site, I have been bitten by multiple plot bunnies. These are imaginary creatures that, when they bite you, infect you with story ideas. They are tricky, and breed just as quickly as standard bunnies. One of the writers from the site has been trying to come up with a defense against them, but so far the BE4000 (bunny eradicator) just keeps them under control. Anything you see or hear can become a plot bunny.

My dear wife has been very patient with me, but I must be very trying sometimes. The characters I am writing about are high school seniors, or college students, depending on the story. My vocabulary now includes such words as Boo-yah, sitch, PDP (puppy-dog-pout) and tanks, as in this is so awful, it really tanks. The younger set know exactly what I mean. My wife is still mystified if I use some of them.

Beware the writer's urge, my friends. The characters will whisper in your ear at night, when you are trying to sleep. They will not leave you alone until the story is out. Even then, they just wait until another night to keep you awake with stories to be told.

I will be posting here more often, just to get my mind out of my fiction. There is certainly enough in the news to make notes of. Real life does go on, even if we try to ignore it.