Who Wants To Go For A Car Ride?

As per my post "Wile E Coyote Goes For A Ride", it was mentioned that while doing internet research on the incident I found there have been multiple incidents of critters being struck by vehicles but surviving when they became stuck in the grille. I guess it makes total sense that this is a possibility, based on the number of animal strikes per year and the way automobiles are built in this day and age. Take a look at this series of photos to see a crazy array of the beasts that tangled with cars and trucks and lived to tell the tale.

Badger 

Bird

Cat

Cockatiel

Another Coyote

Yet another coyote..as a species they'd better wise up already

How did this person even manage to drive?

Man's best friend may not like cars anymore

Eagle eye

Wascly Wabbit

Koala bear

Hoo...is driving?

Wile E Coyote Goes For A Ride

Still alive and relatively unharmed, but perhaps a bit freaked out

So, we were out for dinner the other night with a friend and heard this story of one of her co-workers who had a little incident in her car while commuting to work. She was quite distraught after hitting a coyote who ran across the road in front of her but carried on, thinking he had died and there was nothing she could have done. While stopped for road construction, one of the site workers flagged her down while pointing at the front of her car. Lo and behold, the coyote had survived the accident but was literally embedded in her car when he hit the bottom portion of her grille and broke through the plastic. He was stuck fast and couldn't escape but the fact he didn't bounce off pretty well saved his life, as he would have been run over by the car had he fallen to the road. 

Needless to say, getting him out was a bit tricky. He was sedated, cut out, then checked over by a vet. A few scrapes and probably some bruises but no broken bones or anything serious. He was placed in a crate and taken out and released back into the wild.

Apparently, this isn't the only time this type of thing has occurred and there are many stories of critters of all kinds being hit by cars but surviving in much the same manner as this fella. Watch for my next post, a photo series on the various animals who have defied the odds and survived car strikes but ended up going for rides against their will.

UBI

UBI sounds like some sort of competitor of a driving service, but it's not a trade name in that regard and actually stands for User Based Insurance. 

User Based Insurance is the premise behind a new form of assessing risk on automobile usage and subsequently a driver's premiums. One may also hear the term 'telematics' used when talking about UBI, since this refers to the electronic device used to monitor a driver's behaviour.

In some cases the electronic device is as simple as an app for a smartphone, but for commercial applications the monitoring is done with an actual device which is hardwired to the vehicle.

The UBI system was originally designed to help parents of teenage drivers keep their insurance premiums lower and has been adopted by a few insurers as the way of the future. One of the companies that BlueCircle represents as a broker is promoting this driving habits monitoring system as a way to help promote better driving behaviour and reduce accidents, therby reducing premiums.

6 Good Reasons To Sign Up For  "My Driving Discount" 

1. A 10% discount just for signing up


2. The monitoring will never cause your insurance rates to increase


3. Only applied if there is a decrease in the premium, so nothing to lose. 


4. Good driving habits are rewarded with as much as a 25% discount 


5. Easy to use app for your phone, turned on before you commence driving.


6. Data use is minimal, less than watching a video or using apps like SnapChat etc

The 3 Driving Habits Which Are Monitored

1. How fast you accelerate ( less than 12 kmph per second)


2. How fast you brake when slowing down or stopping ( less than 12 kmph per second)


3. The time of day you drive ( avoiding the high risk time of 12:00 a.m. - 4:00 a.m.)

Other than these factors, there's nothing more to the program other than the timeline to which the monitoring is done and the minimum number of kilometres required in that time frame, designed to give a more accurate reflection of your driving habits.

BlueCircle represents one of our premiere providers,  Intact Insurance, who call their UBI program "My Driving Discount".  We'd certainly be happy to explain the variety of incentives that would give many drivers good reason to sign up and it's a simple process to get you started on the program that gives you a 10% discount just for signing up!

Strangers

Haha! Saw this photo on some twitter feed and thought it was pretty funny. I like moments of solitude and being in remote places to get away from it all, so to speak, but I am also a people person and enjoy meeting and talking to folks I run into along the way, learning about them and what they do, who they are, particularly if they are different from me. It seems harder and harder to do these days however, as people are always talking, texting or interacting with their immediate friends on their phones. Example...I am in the grocery store, picking out some fruit, when someone walks up and stands beside me. I glance over as they say "hello, how are you", but when I respond, there's a dirty look, like I'm sort of weirdo or pervert and they turn away, no doubt telling their friend to whom they were actually speaking to on the phone that some stranger actually spoke to them. Awkward, to say the least, but no big deal to me if it wasn't so sad too. It is indicative of the way things seem to be these days and makes a person wonder that if you're never willing to take a chance and talk to someone you don't know, how will you ever learn about those who are outside your typical circle of friends. 

Brough Barn Find

I just did a little post on the Brough Superior motorcycle, considered the Rolls Royce of motorcycles back in the day. Check out the post "Brough Superior" to read about these great bikes, the first advertised to break the 100 mph speed mark. While researching more on the bikes I also discovered an interesting article in The MailOnline about a cool "barn find" which involved 8 Brough motorcycles, some of which are extremely rare, and of course quite valuable.

photo courtesy of Bonhams / SWNS.com

photo courtesy of Bonhams / SWNS.com

photo courtesy of Bonhams / SWNS.com

photo courtesy of Bonhams / SWNS.com

As for this last bike, the Brough 750cc BS4, I am really interested in how that dual back tire works and will be doing more research on that piece of engineering, so watch for future posts on Brough.

Goodbye $11 Million

This may be starting to sound like a broken record but yet another establishment, and one that you might think would have better sense, has fallen victim to a cyber crime.

MacEwan University in Edmonton was duped by a phishing scam and was defrauded of over $11 million! And not to be harsh with the part about having better sense, just that I want to make a point about how even well educated and smart people can be tricked by fraudsters into handing over money without question.

To revisit, check out my previous posts, "Ripped Off: Social Engineering" and  "Social Engineering Yet Again", where you can get more information on how criminals use social media and technology to manipulate unsuspecting businesses and divert funds. To recap, these fraudsters used social media, university and outside contractor websites, and official looking letterheads and invoices to notify changes in banking information and redirect payments to what was the accounts of the fraudsters.
This process went on, unnoticed, until the contractor made contact with the university regarding lack of payment, at which time the deceit was discovered.

Fortunately, the accounts to which the money was deposited have been frozen until legal measures can be taken to sort it out but not all the money is there and there will be losses.

Once again, this cyber crime takes advantage of a business or establishment that does not have proper financial controls in place and improperly trained people in positions that handle money and payments, so now is the time to take steps to ensure your company establishes proper procedures to prevent a loss.

High Salt Content

In the office of one our the BlueCircle Tower tenants.

So, you've likely seen a  few of these things around, maybe in an office, store, or someone's home. Himalayan Salt lamps are purported to do everything from clean and de-odourize the air in a room to increase a person's energy levels, with other various other effects and subsequent benefits claimed as well.
Basically, from my readings the theory revolves around the fact that electrons escaping from a given object leave behind a positively charged ion which then, through the laws of nature, takes an electron from another molecule, since certain materials give up electrons more easily. Since the salt crystals are naturally hygroscopic ( they absorb water molecules from the air.) the heat created by the bulb in the salt lamp keeps the salt dry and releases negative ions into the air, making it more healthy. I have to assume this will be such a minimal amount, which is why I am skeptical and say that there is no substitute for proper sleep, nutrition and exercise. But hey, that's just me talking and if a salt lamp makes you feel better, even if it's just the nice warm glow, then what else can be said.

This one is designed to do a detox extraction from your feet

My lamp came from Secret Santa and has the added bonus of pyramid power to go with the Himalayan salt

Angela is getting her share of positive ions!

Plummers Road Map

So, a fellow rider recently asked me about the route we took on one of our BlueCircle "Ride Of The Month" adventures.  This rider loved the route and wanted to get back out and enjoy it again but forgot just how to get there exactly. Yes, it's a series of pretty little back country roads, with several instances of coming over a rise and seeing a beautiful panorama of the mountains and valley below. Some nice twistys in there too, and the fact that we ended up at Big Sky BBQ in Okotoks didn't hurt either!! haha. 
The main part of the ride is on what is called Plummers Road and if the map above isn't detailed enough, just click on the link and it will take you to a more detailed version.

Brough Superior

The term 'ton-up' is an old British motorcycle slang term for achieving speeds over 100 mph on a bike and, interestingly, the first bike manufacturer to advertise that their motorcycles could achieve this speed was Brough Superior, way back in 1924.

Dubbed the 'Rolls Royce Of Motorcycles', founder George Brough made beautiful and innovative bikes even by today's standards. They were the first motorcycles to have 1000 c.c. v-twins, plus many other minor features like prop stands, twin headlights, crash bars and interconnected mufflers. Brough motorcycles were built twice, once to fit the parts, then disassembled to allow for paint, then reassembled to ride. 

Rarely were two bikes the same, as they were built to spec for each individual customer. Every bike was road tested too, so they could certify that it would, indeed, achieve 100 mph for the SS100 (80 mph for the SS80) . Evidently, speed laws had yet to come in to affect. haha. 

Apparently, George Brough once said his motorcycles were "atmosphere disturbers"! Without a doubt!!

Talk about old school, with these dapper looking dudes about to ride

Of course, this whole process made them a pricey purchase and a Brough could cost a buyer anywhere from £100 to £185. The average annual wage at the time was only about £200, so pretty much a wealthy man's motorcycle. 

I guess that's why someone like T.E. Lawrence, a.k.a. "Lawrence Of Arabia", would be one to purchase and ride one of these motorcycles, ultimately dying on his when he was involved in an accident. 

Brough motorcycles basically went under during the Second World War, when the factory was taken over by Rolls Royce to produce aero engines and there were no parts nor time for motorcycles. However, Brough motorcycles are back, albeit a modern looking version of the old cafe racer. 

More on that later, with some future posts about recent barn finds that include a rare Brough bike or two. 

Time for the road test

Looking warm in his woolies

T.E. Lawrence loved his SS100, but ultimately died on this machine

Just in case you didn't know that T.E. Lawrence was also known as Lawrence Of Arabia

Think the new version looks as good as the vintage?

Seems tiny to me, but maybe just a big rider. 

Check out some other posts about U.K. motorcycles and things like the ton-up boys and groups like the Rockers.