What Brown Can’t Do For You: Deliver a package on-time!

Once again, I’ve been reminded why United Parcel Service are a bunch of complete morons.

If you recall, they once decided my house was “too rural” for Saturday delivery, despite the fact that we’re 4 miles from a sizable town and perhaps a mile from a major state highway. This compounded by what was likely my worst ever customer service experience ever, has basically lost me forever as a customer. I will never willingly use their services.

So what happened recently to bring this all back?

Every year my mother arranges to send us a christmas wreath for our home. It is something of a family tradition. She used to source them from a family-run business in the unpronounceable-to-all-but-Washingtonians town of Puyallup. Unfortunately, like our neighborhood tree-farm they closed up shop a few years ago. Since then my mom has sourced her wreaths from various commercial outfits. This year however, no wreath ever arrived. I thought that perhaps she had forgotten.

Until yesterday, January 2nd, 2009, when I came home from work I found our 2008 Christmas Wreath sitting in a box on the front porch! Thank you UPS. Once again, you have dazzled me with your incompetence.

But of course I’d neglected to take down the wreath from the year before… though it is looking a bit… dead.

My favorite Car photo of 2008.

While not as dramatic as some of my past work, this image is my favorite one from the past year. Once again, as in 2007 the chance to make it was afforded to me by Dr. Philippe Reyns. This photo was snapped from the passenger seat of his pre-war SS100 Jaguar as we ambled toward Libby, Montana on the 2008 Going To The Sun Rally.

Merci Philippe!

As I’m considering my plans for 2009 I think I’ll have to skip the GTTSR this year. All of my potential co-drivers have not been able to commit. Perhaps this year instead I’ll grab one (or both) of my boys and just go for a father/son road trip… follow our noses somewhere. I’ve done this before and I think it is time to do it again.

OK, enough already!

This is what awaited me outside as I left for work. MORE snow. As you can see the 3+ feet that had fallen before christmas has melted away to a few inches, but still remains everywhere around our home. Last night brought another half inch or so. (Oddly I left the Valentine1 on, and it kept the area above it clear of snow.)

This is 17 straight days with snow covered ground, which I’m fairly certain is the longest we’ve ever endured that condition here in my 20-some years in the Pacific Northwest. Mind you the lowlands have been snow-free for a while, but I think I’ve had enough. Can we have our rain back please?

Next week I’ll be in California though so there’s hope. (who knows, maybe I’ll bring the snow with me!)

The answer to America’s fuel economy needs: Diesel.


Top gear – Basel To Blackpool

Worth the wait to watch it all. Remember that a UK Gallon is 1.2 US Gallons, so the VW’s 70 MPG is really more like 60 MPG US. Still, name any car available in the USA that gets 60 MPG on average?

No gasoline powered stock vehicle available in the USA could have made this trip… but even the hulking Jaguar, driven with a lead foot pulled it off…. on Diesel.