Patrick James

Don’t try this at home… no really! A man has been severely injured after attempting to loosen a stiff wheel-nut on his car by blasting it with a shotgun. The 66-year-old American shot the wheel from arm’s length with a 12-gauge shotgun and was peppered with ricocheting buckshot and debris.

According to a sheriff’s office report, he was taken to Tacoma General Hospital with severe but not life threatening injuries.

His legs, feet and abdomen were worst affected, but some injuries went as high as his chin.

The man had been repairing a Lincoln Continental for about two weeks at his home near Southworth in Washington state, about ten miles from Seattle.

He had successfully removed all but one wheel-nut on the right rear wheel and resorted to firepower out of sheer frustration on Saturday afternoon. REPORTS the TELEGRAPH.CO.UK

[Source: Telegraph, BBC]

Scrapyards are just somewhere cars go to die… they can be very useful, if you can put up with the trekking around to find the replacement part you need. I have to confess… I could spend all day in the junkers’ yard finding little treasures but The Irish Times has made a worrying report recently:

Local authorities have been urged by the Office of Environmental Enforcement to use innovative means – including the hiring of helicopters – to seek out unauthorised vehicle scrappers, who can face fines of up to €15 million as well as jail sentences of up to 10 years.

The move follows a successful operation undertaken by Cork County Council. The local authority used a helicopter to identify 60 unauthorised car scrapyards, many of which were not visible from local roads and which were subsequently inspected and served with warning notices by the council.

Following the Cork County Council initiative, some 15 closed down, nine are in the process of closing down, and nine have applied or are in the process of regularising their situation.

Details of the crackdown were provided at a conference of the State’s environmental agencies, including local authorities, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of Environmental Enforcement and gardaí, which took place in Wexford last week.

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by Patrick James

I’ve had that strange “Wonderful Feeling” all day so I decided to share this story, even though it’s not exactly(!) car related… but I thought it was interesting nonetheless! If anyone ever built model aircrafts it will be of particular interest… NewCarNet is reporting on an unusual restoration story:

A recently restored Vulcan bomber from Britain’s Cold War nuclear strike force took to the skies again last week.

And Subaru (UK) Limited is supporting the project to keep Avro Vulcan XH558 in flight-worthy condition.

The plane, the only Vulcan still in working condition, had a successful maiden-flight at Bruntingthorpe Proving Grounds.

With funding from the government lottery commission, and many of the companies who produced the original components being reformed, the restoration was the culmination of a massive team effort by Dr Robert Pleming, David Walton and generations of dedicated engineers.

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by Patrick James.

Last night, as I returned home from work, I took my usual route which takes me onto the Ballymun Road, towards the M50… nothing new there! What was different though, was the direct result of the ongoing road works being done… or should I say “overdone”! For the last while the road has been done and redone but the latest additions come in the form of extreme speed-ramps. Up until the installations of the ramps, the Ballymun Road had been a speedway and the deterrents were both welcome and successful in slowing the would be racers. Now though, the ramps have been redone and are incredibly high, making it impossible for any car to get over them comfortably other than 4X4s… even at a snail’s pace. Going up onto the speed ramps was like the wall of the death and as I negotiated them, I hated to think what damage they were doing to my car and its dampers (and my suspension is standard) and as for the drop to the other side… it was like going into a ditch! If anyone has any ideas on what the heck is going on, let me know! Maybe if you’re someone who’s working on the road you can let me know if the ramps are a “work-in-progress” or if that’s what we can expect from now on?

by Patrick James.

A new car… what a beautiful smell. I love the smell of a fresh, unspoiled car interior, so you can imagine my disguist when a friend turned up to show off his new car with an air-freshener hanging from the mirror. It was one of the pine-tree types and I just thought “come back furry dice, all is forgiven”. It has to be one of my pet-hates. Car fresheners are terrible, as it doesn’t matter how long it’s gone out of the car, the smell still lingers… and as for the stick-on ones, what the heck do they use for glue as you never get all the sticky off the dash. I guess that’s one more I won’t be buying. I’m very curious to know are there any other people out there who feel as I do about car air fresheners?…

by Patrick James.

I’m not the most computerised person in the world and two months ago I knew nothing about blogs (true!) but I do love all things “car” and have a background in writing, having published three books. Blogs were this great big thing like Moby Dick, of which I didn’t really grasp the concept, until a friend Brendan Phelan, suggested I do a motoring blog. Straight away I liked the idea and got in contact with Michael Flanagan (check him out, he’s very cool!) and he set about getting me set up with blogging. It took a bit of explaining it to me (not sure I have all the nuances quite right yet) but he’s an excellent mentor and here I am, writing my 100th post… and really enjoying it!

What amazes me most, though, is how many great bloggers there are on the net. I have got lots of inspiration from fantastic bloggers like Michael, Stephen Errity , NiallO’K and the excellent Damien Mulley but to name a small few (but check my hotlinks for a taster!). There are just so many amazing blogs out there… I love it! I don’t know if it’s the thing to do in Blogland, but I just wanted to take a moment, to say thank you to the many bloggers out there for the inspiration and thank you also, to everyone who has visited my blog… It’s been wonderful learning and writing the blog… and more to come!

Regards,

Patrick James.

Close the blinds, bar the doors and huddle together for safety. It?s Halloween: the night for ghouls and ghosts to run free — not to mention hooligans who?ll see your brand new Lexus GS430 as the ultimate target for their ?tricks.” A few eggs, some toilet paper and maybe a few cans of shaving cream are all the ingredients required for a good old-fashioned car trashing. AskMen.com are offering some very interesting and useful tips to help if your car gets vandalised.In case your memories are a little foggy (from all the sugar highs that night), use the tips below to help save your car from permanent damage.

Eggs
What to expect in the morning:
It?s a morning not unlike any other. You shower, dress and get ready for work — then you step outside to the horror of all horrors: your baby smattered with eggs from nose to tail. Scrambled immediately comes to mind and the whiff of cooked eggs may make you nauseous for years to come? but don?t panic. Walk back inside, pick up the phone and call work — you?ll need a day off for this one.

READ ARTICLE: Shaving Foam, Mini-Pumpkins, Wet Toilet Paper, Silly String,

Found this at PopuPlace.com…Thought it was very good for the Hallowe’en! Obviously a victim of one too many… should have left the broom at home! There’s a message in there somewhere… and it really has nothing to do with brooms! Happy Hallowe’en!

by Patrick James.