Scofflaw citizen Ed Bonderenka was apprehended by police on his way to work, Saturday.

Police clocked him at an amazing 72 mph in a 60 mph construction zone.

Amazingly enough, he was only awarded a ticket for 5 over, which normally fined at $100, was doubled due to being in a construction zone. On a Saturday, with no crews present, and with cars passing him.

When questioned by the apprehending officer: "Do you know how fast you were going?", he calmly replied: "65 to 70" without adding "like everyone else". The officer then informed him that he had indeed been clocked at an amazing 72mph! The driver then informed the officer that he was carrying a loaded gun in the car! This however, was not perceived as a threat by the officer, who merely asked where it was, and that it remain there. He then offered that complaints had been made that enforcement was lax in that area.
The officer informed the offender that he should write a letter to the judge about the matter, and how to do it.

OK, I saw him start to turn his vehicle as I approached him. I slowed down to 60 and he pulled behind me. I don't know how I knew it was me, but I did not wait for the lights, and pulled to the shoulder on a diagonal to afford him some protection from the other vehicles whizzing by at 70. He surprised me by coming up to the passenger window and asking only for my license, which I handed over with my CPL. He asked where the gun was and smiled as he said we were fine as long as it stayed there. He came back and said I had a clean record (I knew) and was almost apologetic about giving me the ticket, that there had been complaints, saying it wouldn't carry points at only 5 over. Before He was done, he coached me in how to try and get out of it by writing the judge a letter and what to put in it.

I can't argue with him or his professionalism, but wonder why I didn't get a warning only.

So I went in to work, and found that the work I had come in to do had been contracted out to an outside automation firm the night before. The manager of that department is not a team player, and was covering his butt, because the devices I was to wire and program weren't completed due to his lack of communication and cooperation with my boss. When I came in Monday, the devices still didn't work, and I got called over to see what was wrong. The outside guys had left wires unconnected. If I had been left to finish the job, Monday would have been a smooth start-up. And my effort to cooperate cost me $200 in fines, $12 in gas and a Saturday of my life. The company would have saved roughly $1000.  I vented to my boss (good guy) on Monday.

Today I do yardwork and home repairs BECAUSE ONCE AGAIN, IT'S NOT A GOOD DAY TO GO OUT ON THE BOAT! I'm glad I'm not making payments on that thing.

Thanks for listening.

I'm a blessed man.

Spent all day Saturday (mostly) rewriting a vision project for work.

Spent most of Sunday after church, cleaning the boat.

Went out on the lake Monday, when Scherie noticed the bilge pump wasn't working.
Actually, she asked me if the pump was working.
It wasn't a rhetorical question. It was prompted by the back of the boats floorboards getting wet.
I tend to get upset at times like that.
Insects had nested in the discharge hose and plugged it. I know that because when I huffed and I puffed and I blew the hose out, they went in the lake.

That evening, we met some friends for dinner. On the way I was hoping we wouldn't run out of things to talk about. Silly me. Norma's been a mother, wife and businesswoman as well as a Republican precinct delegate. Nate graduated college in the depression and joijned the Navy in time to be at Pearl Harbor. Then get out and run a business for over fifty years. I was entranced listening to him and honored when he asked my opinion.

Tuesday I drove Scherie's car to work, because there was a small puddle under my truck. I overheated in Toledo when I stopped at a light. No clue before that.  Blown head gasket.
Got it towed back from Toledo to my brother’s last night. I’ll get it back Saturday. Water pump blades eroded away.
Had a new radiator put in the Ranger today.
Driving a rental. All this being late for work stuff and a deadline of 9 am on a major work project tomorrow calls for late hours.

Good night.

Happy Fourth, Barry!

Eleven score and 14 years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure.
November will tell the tale...

On a personal note, I spent most of yesterday working on a project for work so I could get caught up. On Friday we became convinced that we were sold the wrong lenses for the vision project that I'm working on. I thought so a while back but the vendor insisted they were correct. They also sold us eight systems with varying software revisions causing crashes as I migrate the project. Glad I figured it out. The vendor now acknowledges the problem. This means I get to do a lot of work all over again, but demonstrates to my boss that it's not that I'm slow, that I'm behind.

I had gone out to the boat to clean it (reclaim it from the insects) but it was so hot I gave up.

Did the job today, hope to go out this evening.

May God protect our land from enemies both foreign and domestic in the years to come.

Have a Happy Fourth! (and don't blow a finger off)