What a crappy couple of days it's been.

[PKRWUD]

Multi NASCAR team owner Jack Rousch, one of the biggest names in Ford performance, is in an ICU bed in an induced coma after his plane crashed in a body of water in Alabama. Reportedly, the plane was completely submerged under water for 5 minutes before rescuers got him out.

A "100 year" earthquake hits upstate N.Y., causing concerns for bridge and dam safety for hundreds of miles. No serious damage, that I'm aware of, but dozens of families having to repair broken chimneys, foundations and windows isn't great for an area's local economy.

The lead singer for Alice in Chains is found dead in his home, but the body is so decomposed, he had to be identified by an autopsy.

The worst crash in NASCAR history happened at Talladega, and involved 27 cars. So many cars were taken out, that only three finished the race on the lead lap, a record that was previously ten. For a track that's over two and a half miles long, that's unheard of. Fortunately, the only injury was a bit tongue that required a few stitches. If you get the chance to see the crash on the news, pay particular attention to the speed at which the parts fly off of the #2 AC Delco Chevy when it returns to Earth and hits the track. It almost seemed to be floating in mid air, but as soon as it hit the ground, it was obvious that it was travelling at close to 180 mph.

Then this afternoon, about 8 miles from here, a Navy QF-4 Phantom II crashed during an air show, killing both airmen. The video I saw made it look as though one of them ejected out, but his momentum carried him straight into the fireball that erupted when the plane crashed.

What gets me is a story I saw a few days ago that claimed the unusual alignment of the moon and several planets that is occuring in the western sky at sunset this week was supposed to create peaceful, quiet times.

Take care,
-Chris

[Unit 5302]

Crazy crap happening. Sometimes stuff can really seem to add up, but it seems like life is pretty streaky in general. So if this week is really bad, next week might be really good. Who knows?

[Crazy Horse GT]

i hate that about jack roush, the cat in the hat was supposed to have been responsive this morning, man he is ford's best friend in nascar, robert yates is a great engine builder but a wimp when nascar gives chevy & pontiac everything, i missed the race, we went to a cancer benifit thing & then went and watched our youngest grandaughter kick major butt in softball, talk at ya later chris

[joe4speed]

Jerry Cantrell is dead???
wow.. i didn't hear that...
I'm going to hide in my house for a few days to be safe!

[Topless In Texas]

Hey Joe,
Evidently from what I got off the SSOTN forum, it was Lane Staley from Alice In Chains....FYI.....
Hope fully Jack Roush will be okay...dont sound too good though.....I hate this stuff!

[PKRWUD]

I forgot to mention the Amtrak Auto Train, that had more than 20 of it's cars derail, in Florida. 4 passengers died, and most of the 200 automobiles that were also on board were totalled.

Then there was this story in this morning's paper:

Oxnard police dog dies in job-related stabbing

FIRST TO DIE: Rudy, with force for 2 years, chased man sought for traffic violation.

A police dog died after being stabbed by a knife-wielding man who threatened an Oxnard officer, authorities said Saturday.

Rudy, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois who has served with the Oxnard Police Department for nearly two years, was pronounced dead at an emergency veterinary hospital Friday night, Cmdr.. Mike Matlock said.

Rudy was the first Oxnard police dog killed in the line of duty, Cmdr. Scott Whitney said.

Police arrested Timothy Paul Knight, 20, of Oxnard, on suspicion of stabbing a police service dog causing death, brandishing a deadly weapon on a police officer, resisting arrest and a probation violation.

Knight was treated at a hospital for dog bites and was being held in the Ventura County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail.

An officer tried to stop Knight for a traffic violation about 6:30 p.m. in the 1700 block of Tehama Street, Matlock said. Knight ran into his grandmother's house and knocked her to the ground while fleeing from the officer, Matlock said. The grandmother sustained minor injuries and was treated at the scene by paramedics.

About 30 minutes later, officers saw Knight riding in another vehicle. A K-9 officer, J.R. Perez, stopped the car at Ventura Road and Hill Street, and Knight got out with a knife in his hand, Matlock said.

Knight taunted the officer from 10 to 15 feet away with the knife in his hand and then fled, and Perez directed Rudy to pursue him, Matlock said.

Rudy was stabbed after he caught Knight, Matlock said.

Even after receiving the fatal wound, Rudy continued to subdue Knight until officers were able to arrest him, Whitney said.

"He had a stab wound and he was still doing his job," Whitney said. "It wasn't until they put the handcuffs on the suspect that the dog lay down."

Maybe you're right, Kell. It's gotta get better than this.

Take care,
-Chris

[srv1]

it reminds me of a thread i posted awhile back about how everything bad starting to happen after Sept. 11th. hmmm....

Yeah the earthquake shook here, but i didnt feel it. i slept through it! i didnt even know until i went to my friends house and they said, "did you feel the earthquake this morning?" i thought they were messin with my head and i started to laugh. i said "good one, your not going to pull a fast one on me!" sure as hell it said on the news! i was like WTF? New York? well just to let you know, Manhattan has about 4 or more fault line running straight through the middle!

as for Nascar, i think in my opinion that these guys are getting way to cocky! they didnt race like that 10 years ago! at least not that i can remember.

What gets me is a story I saw a few days ago that claimed the unusual alignment of the moon and several planets that is occuring in the western sky at sunset this week was supposed to create peaceful, quiet times.

seems like we(humans) take way too much for granted at times. probably was peaceful for other animals on earth....

[Unit 5302]

Too bad the guy will actually have to face some punishment for killing the police dog.

I hate the damn things. The more dead, the merrier. People want to complain about cops beating people up. I'd much rather take a couple smacks with a baton than having my arm ripped off by a psycho killing machine. Dogs have no place in police duty other than tracking. I think an officer who loses control of his dog or releases it to capture an unarmed suspect should be stripped of his badge, arrested, and locked up. As for the dog, euthanize the damn things.

Talk about unnecessary use of force. Sickening.

[Mr 5 0]

Unit:

I have mixed feelings about the use of police dogs for the capture of suspects as I don't care much about what happens to criminals who rob, rape and kill and to my knowledge, very few (if any) unarmed suspects are captured by police dogs.

In the Oxnard case Chris posted, the nut who killed the police dog was armed with a knife, a good equalizer against an attack dog as it turned out, so I can't cheer the death of the dog but I wouldn't approve of using them to attack (and bite) unarmed suspects. The dog simply pinning and holding the suspect is fine, however, as no damage is done and the dog serves a valuable purpose.


Chris:

Yes, it was a bad week in a 'cosmic' sense but I believe that when you look for bad things you can find them. Not that those you listed didn't actually happen but we can always find natural disasters, plane crashes, racing accidents and crime. Illness and death are simply part of the cycle of life, in any week.

I certainly have zero belief in heavenly bodies having much if any effect on human activity, especially crashes, crime and death. Of course, that's just me.

[Extremestang]

Chris,
Adding to the list of bad things happening, Saturday night was really bad. Skyler blew a head gasket on the Saleen and a friend of ours later that night wrecked his Camaro. It was a pretty nasty mess, but thank god he was okay. It was definatly a messed up weekend for things.

[Topless In Texas]

Well, this might sound awfully trivial compared to the truly TRAGIC things ya'll are posting about! But, not only did my side scoops get stolen, but I'm mowing my biga$$ yard now for the first time, and My new lawnmower is a POS!!!!
I allready had to take the first one back yesterday! Then this one I cant make one pass w/out throwing the belt! My ex had to come over and adjust it!!!! While I was putting it together, I pinched my hand in the handle unfolding it, It cut it open and its all swollen too! It hurts like hell...
My YARD IS *******' HUGE!!!!!! I had to come in and take a break before i tackle the backyard..its 3 TIMES THE SIZE AS MY FRONT YARD!!!! UGGGH!!!!!
If I dont surface in a few hours....send the ambulance because I'm face down in the grass!!!!!

Damn Skyler, that sucks. So sorry to hear about your blown h/g! White Snake is still trying to get his put back togther!

Unit: you know what an animal lover I am. I feel sorry for the dogs!!! I think they should euthanize the guy that did it! IMO of corse!

Back to the yard.....wish me luck!
TORMENTED IN TEXAS

[Unit 5302]

Well, my basic feelings about police dogs is that they are time bombs waiting to go off. A friend of mine had most of his arm ripped off in his own yard by an ex police dog that got loose.

The police dog is trained to basically shred the suspect to bits as long as he is moving. Let me think.... If I was in agony and there was a viscious beast attacking me, would I move? I can't tell you how many COPS episodes I've seen where they have to basically tear the beast off somebody, armed or not.

Police dogs are fine for tracking, and they are fine for apprehending suspects that are dangerous to armed police officers. Like when they are hold up in an area where police cannot see them. They are not acceptable pets, and they are trained to use excessive force.

[1BAD89]

The lead singer for Alice in Chains is found dead in his home, but the body is so decomposed, he had to be identified by an autopsy.

Yup gotta feel bad for those hardcore Heroin addicts! I could sit here, and list off 10,000 bad things that have occured, but all that would do is put people in a bad mood. Kinda like the news, I'm so sick of it.

[VorteX]

Hey Topless In Texas,
If you want, I can let you borrow my Lawnmower.
It's a Craftsman "Five Point O"

(5.0 horsepower to be exact )

[1BAD89]

I wasn't trying to say the car related ones were irrelevant, since this is a car site and all. But to list earthquakes, train wrecks, dog killings, etc... I think is going a little extreme, if you really wanted to list a bunch of bad things that have happend around the world recently, then you could easily mention 1000's and 1000's of people dying in car wrecks, murders, suicides, drug over-doses, fires, drownings, shark attacks, you could go on and on, but why would you want to?

[PKRWUD]

Originally posted by 1BAD89
[B]I wasn't trying to say the car related ones were irrelevant, since this is a car site and all. But to list earthquakes, train wrecks, dog killings, etc... I think is going a little extreme

I'm not crying that the sky is falling, but the dog is a big deal around here. I guess they train them better here than they do in Minn. and in Kell's episodes of Cops. It was the first K-9 in Ventura County killed in the line of duty. That was an afterthought, though. Kinda the icing on the cake, I guess. The QF-4 Phantom jet that crashed was a huge deal around here. You could see the smoke from my balcony. I worked in NASCAR, and am very concerned about both Jack Rousch nearly dying and the fact that in two days, in two accidents, 51 cars were wrecked at Talladega. It's also a bit of a bummer when a musician who I enjoy, dies.

These things all happened within 48 hours of each other. The fact that there was also a 5.5 earthquake, referred to as a "100 year quake", 200 miles from where I grew up as a kid, or the fact that there was such a large train derailment within an hours drive from my Moms house, also all occuring within that same 48 hours, just made it a really crappy couple of days for me. I didn't even know about Sky's gasket, or the 4 threads in here regarding theft, or James blowing up his engine, or Christine's rip roaring time.

I'm thrilled that your world hasn't been affected by any of these things, but mine has.

if you really wanted to list a bunch of bad things that have happend around the world recently, then you could easily mention 1000's and 1000's of people dying in car wrecks, murders, suicides, drug over-doses, fires, drownings, shark attacks, you could go on and on, but why would you want to?

That was never my intention, and I'm sorry you saw it that way. These were each pretty meaningful to me. If I had anything other than genuine feelings about these events, and the amazingly short period of time in which they all happened, I would have come up with a more threatening title for this thread. I'll just keep it to myself next time.

Take care,
-Chris

[Five0]

You read about my motor pkrwud but I did not even tell you about my convertable mustang I just bought (92) 4cyl.

The other day I was coming out of work to go get some lunch and when I get out to my car my back window is laying all over my back seat. The rear view mirror is hanging by the power wire also. I fell off the window. It was really hot and I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not but I don't know what else could have happened. Nothing in the car was missing and I did not find anything in the car either (like a brick maybe).

The train happened kind of close to home.

[PKRWUD]

Probably the heat. The mirror in my F-150 fell off the windshield a few months ago. It was kinda funny. I didn't notice right away that the mirror was gone, but I couldn't get over what a great view I had out the windshield! I quickly realized why, and bought some of that rear-view mirror epoxy, and it's been great since. Still sucks, though.

Hey, look at things this way: This Wednesday is Professional Secrataries Day, so that must mean this week will be filled with nothing but luck and good fortune!

Take care,
-Chris