Road Rage.

[BigJon@Work]

Originally posted by Serenity:
GRIDLOCK! Average speed leaving Boston is 10mph!

Just keep saying your name over and over . . .

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

We got half-an-inch of rain!!! And there was a light drizzle on the freeways this morning.

Unfortunately, a light drizzle causes Sandy Eggans to lose control of their vehicles. From the evidence, the Escalade on I-8 hit one of those yellow sand barrels twice as it spun its way through an off ramp. The Kia Sedona left loopy tread marks on its way to a bellyup pose in the iceplant. A nice selection of less memorable vehicles were also here and there, crunched, with an assortment of attendant emergency vehicles and tow trucks.

It's going to be a very profitable day for the tow trucks.

[BigJon@Work]

Originally posted by Selma in Sandy Eggo:
We got half-an-inch of rain!!! And there was a light drizzle on the freeways this morning.

Unfortunately, a light drizzle causes Sandy Eggans to lose control of their vehicles.

Haa, haa! N00bs!

[treebeau]

If it takes a Kia Sedona to eliminate iceplant, maybe we know what the Tenor's next vehicle will be.

Regards,
Tim B.

[OperaTenor]

Actually, the tow truck better hurry and get the Sedona out of there before the ice plant swallows it whole.......

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Question just occurred to me: what would happen if you planted iceplant, blackberry canes, and kudzu all on the same patch of ground? What would you end up with.

Heck, throw in some bougainvillea for good measure.

[Shapley]

Selma,

RE:Question just occurred to me: what would happen if you planted iceplant, blackberry canes, and kudzu all on the same patch of ground? What would you end up with.

a fast growing vine that produces frozen blackberries?

[dai bread]

If you want to be really nasty, try prickly pear. It has massive thorns on its old parts, and very small, fine needles on its new parts. The needles are motor-driven. They will penetrate almost anything that isn't solid, and they are very hard to remove.

It also has a pretty flower, so it's quite decorative, and it grows to be a big plant.

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Prickly pear?! It's not nasty! It's a native plant, locally, and is quite good, peeled and lightly poached or fried. When it's in the grocery store, they call the leaves nopales; the sliced up prepared vegetable is called nopalitos. The fruit makes excellent jelly.

You're right, db, the spines are impressive. Makes a fine security fence.

[piqaboo]

Nopalitos are slimy. I dont like them. They make okra slime look non-existent.
The fruit does make a nice jelly. Make it extra thick and serve with cream cheese as dessert or tapas.
Wear leather gloves to harvest!

As a plant, its unruly, and spreads fast.

[DavidS]

Question: Is the prickly pear cactus really of Mexican origin?
It seems to be considered endemic in many parts of the Middle East (called "sabra" in Arabic & "tsabar" in Hebrew).
The fruit is really tasty and apparently very healthy, usually eaten raw - of course you must get rid of the needles first.
I hear a thorn-free strain has been developed.

Eucalyptus trees have also spread around the Mediterranean area - said to have been brought by the British from Australia...

[Selma in Sandy Eggo]

Originally posted by piqaboo:
Wear leather gloves to harvest!

As a plant, its unruly, and spreads fast.

I prefer sending in macho dudes, with a machete or two, and tongs. Yes, the stuff spreads fast. It's all over California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma. Hard freezes seem to discourage it. I don't think anything else does.

I presume it's all over Mexico, too, but I haven't checked.

[Shapley]

My property has been overrun with honey locust, aptly named after the greek mythological being Loci, who could not be destroyed as long as he was in contact with the earth.

Locust spreads by sprouting from the roots, which spread for long distances from the trees. The seed pods are filled with a sweet syrup, which are eaten by wildlife, primarily deer, who in turn drop the seeds everywhere. They have spikes all over them that grow to several inches long, which protect the trunks from being eaten by wildlife. I've ruined many a tractor tyre trying to get shed of the darn things.

I had the whole field bulldozed last summer, then plowed and seeded it with fescue. If I can keep it mowed regularly for the next two or three years, most of the honey locust roots should rot and die out. If they are allowed to propogate, they'll take the field back in a year or two. I'll probably ruin another set of tractor tyres in the meantime. Thank goodness for that fix-a-flat stuff that you spray into the tyres, or I'd go broke having tyres repaired.

I had them cut down once before, but didn't bulldoze the stumps. I ruined a couple dozen mower blades on those darn stumps, and new trees sprouted all around them. I had dragged all the cut trees into a big pile and burned them. A year later I had a massive clump of locust trees where the burn pile stood.

The Russian Olive bushes are a little better, but they do serve some useful purpose.

V/R
Shapley

[barfle]

Sounds like that damned bamboo (I think that's the botanical name for the weed) that my parents' neighbors planted next to our fence when I was in high school.

You can take a lot of it out, but I believe it is immortal.

[BigJon@Work]

Originally posted by Shapley:
tractor tyre

V/R

Aren't you taking this Victoria/Regina thing a little too far?

[Shapley]

Barfle,

We have bamboo, or cane as we call it, but it tends to stay in clusters, and is good for wildlife (although the snakes also tend to make a home there).

BigJon,

Not at all. I started trying to use the Queens English on another bulletin board, which was heavily populated by British folks. I still do it, mostly just for kicks. You can set your spell check to the English-UK setting, and it helps to make sure you spell things like Aluminium and colour correctly.

V/R
Shapley

[treebeau]

All this reminds me of "The Bear Necessities".

When you pick a paw paw or a prickly pear,
and you prick a raw paw, well next time Beware!
Don't pick the prickly pear with the paw
When you pick a pear try to use the claw.
But you don't need to use the claw
When you pick a pair of the BIG paw paw.


Regards,
Tim "Baloo" B.

[Serenity]

Talk about Road Rage! Last Friday, a tanker full of liquified methane tipped over at the intersection of 2 large interstate highways west of Boston, creating a 20 mile parking lot for about 10 hours.

According to Hagerty Insurance, here are the Top 10 pet peeves of the Road in order of their "irritation index":

1. Motor Mouths - distracted drivers talking on cell phones
2. Turtle Racers - slow drivers in the fast lane
3. Piggybackers - pushy drivers who tailgate
4. Wacky Weavers - drivers who weave through traffice to gain one or two car lengths
5. Gap Snatchers - obnoxious drivers who speed up to keep you from changing lanes
6. Space Invaders - hasty drivers who change lanes without signalling
7. Road Ragers, Finger Flippers and Honk-a-holics
8. Speed Racers - motorcyclists who race between cars
9. Driving Divas - women who apply makeup and men shaving
10. Morse Coders - driving for miles with the turn signal

[bignaf]

lol, good one!

[Serenity]

Thanks, there are more at hagertydotcom; bottom right of the screen