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What's In Your Bay?

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Keith Browning

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Thanks Keith. And Thanks Aaron, I'm gonna try that out. The customer cut up moving blankets and used them as seat covers. We will be waiting for a response on Monday from the rental company as to where to begin with this thing.

 

And even though we have mud up here like this Jim, it doesn't make it right for a customer to beat the shit out of property that isn't their own like that. They almost need to be charged for vandalism in this case. The exhaust system and both skid plates are caved in as well. And who knows what is under all that mud once the excavation will begin?

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Dwayne... do you remember we were talking the other day about people acting like responsible adults? Taking responsibility for their actions? Doing the "right" thing?

 

Now you get to work an a car driven by the people you were defending.... the people who wont do the "right" thing... the people that don't act responsibly.... the people that will not accept the results of their actions.

 

To whom does the air that we breathe belong? Yes - of course... it belongs to our grandchildren... not to us.. and to that end, we should respect other peoples property.

 

With money... this truck can be fixed and nobodies life will ever be in peril...

 

With money, we can fix the air we breathe... and we should do that BEFORE anyones life is in peril...

 

Watching the news - on TV - in the paper - where-ever... we can get a feel for those things that are important... Yes - we need improved waste management facilities... as long as they don't build it near my house... Yes, we need tougher laws - as long as they don't make it tougher for me to "be bad".... Yes - we need better programs - as long as it doesn't cost me any money.

 

Every body wants nirvana.... nobody wants to be part of building it...

 

Welcome to the world modern people are building...

 

And WE allow it to happen.

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Dwayne... do you remember we were talking the other day about people acting like responsible adults? Taking responsibility for their actions? Doing the "right" thing?

 

Now you get to work an a car driven by the people you were defending.... the people who wont do the "right" thing... the people that don't act responsibly.... the people that will not accept the results of their actions.

 

To whom does the air that we breathe belong? Yes - of course... it belongs to our grandchildren... not to us.. and to that end, we should respect other peoples property.

 

With money... this truck can be fixed and nobodies life will ever be in peril...

 

With money, we can fix the air we breathe... and we should do that BEFORE anyones life is in peril...

 

Watching the news - on TV - in the paper - where-ever... we can get a feel for those things that are important... Yes - we need improved waste management facilities... as long as they don't build it near my house... Yes, we need tougher laws - as long as they don't make it tougher for me to "be bad".... Yes - we need better programs - as long as it doesn't cost me any money.

 

Every body wants nirvana.... nobody wants to be part of building it...

 

Welcome to the world modern people are building...

 

And WE allow it to happen.

 

 

 

 

 

That's where you are dead wrong Jim. You obviously misunderstood me. I wasn't defending retards like this at all. I was simply stating that I had absolutely no faith in seeing society become responsible. I believe this because I see nothing but a bunch of fucking morons around us like this all the time. Like I told you, I have simply just given up on a fight that won't be backed by or enforced by responsible people because there just simply isn't anyone out there respsonsible enough who has any authority to do anything about it.

 

 

 

 

 

For those of you who don't know what we are talking about, I will give you an example. Two years back at the last dealership where I worked, The management decided that it was wise to put eight inch lift kits and 37 inch mudders with after market rims on brand new trucks still sitting on the lot for display. I warned the management saying that they would have a low tire pressure warning light coming on and that it is actually a federal ofence here in Canada to eliminate a safety feature such as this. I became looked at as a whiner or an asshole who just bucked the system within the dealership for the sake of bucking the sytem.

 

 

But here is the kicker about our dumb ass law systems here in Canada. The laws have to be enforced by each province individually in their own legal systems. And here in Alberta, we have absolutely no legislation that makes it illegal to eliminate these types of safety features. I even went through the hassle of emailing the department of transport. They replied back and basically said.....Oh well! To put it in better terms, we simply have laws here that have absolutely no back bone or teeth that can enforce these issues. There are trucks wandering all over the road here with Pitman arms ready to fall off and veer into oncoming traffic someday, but there is nothing in our system to have these things yanked off the road when they are deemed unsafe. We were also on the discussion about tire plugs being illegal as a permanent repair. However, they are still legal as temporary repairs. This is where Jim and I got into the theory or political view of it if you will. And as long as these pieces of crap are for sale, there will constantly be irresponsible morons out there such as farmers, rigger, rednecks, and yes even tire repair shop that will continue to use these items iresponssibly. Jim's stand on this is that it up to us as individuals to enforce the laws out selves. My stand on this is simple. Responsible Human beings are almost extinct. Not only that, but there is absolutely no one responsible enough within our government system to actually enforce these laws. We simply don't have a responsible government. And until we do have a responsible government and law enforcement system, there is fuck all Jim or I can do to enforce the whole world to change their ways.

 

Jim cares allot about our environment and believe it or not Jim, I do to. Jim wants to see his grandchildren have a clean world to live in. Believe me, I do too. But I also want to live long enough to see my grandchildren without having a heart attack or stoke from the stress of taking on a fight that neither Jim or I can win.

 

So I am simply saying Jim. Relax and enjoy the world while you can. Because you alone cannot fix stupid. I used to get all worked up and get heart burn over crap like this. Now I just get another drink. Posted Image Hope that clears up our conversation. Posted Image

 

 

 

Gaaaawwwwd! Now we should be expecting a realllyy really long winded one from ya. Just kiddin around.

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AHEM <tap - tap - tap> .... Is this thing on? Posted Image

 

Let's gather up some perspective and throw it at some of this stuff...

 

First and foremost... we are discussing a machine.. I don't care what anyone may ascribe to this thing... car, SUV, crossover... it is onlyu a machine. By definition.... a machine is a device to perform various tasks... tasks involving strength we don't have, involving repetetive motion... make our lifer simpler... improve our safety and or comfort. We use machines (and even beat them up sometimes) so that we don't beat ourselves up.

 

 

When the machine breaks... we can simply throw some money at it and it will be "cured" (unlike people where we can't just waddle up to a parts counter). If the machine is too far gone... we can euthanize it with no remorse and no emotional trauma... This is the life of a machine...

 

The machine we are diuscussing here belongs to a multi-million dollar multinational company... there is a legal agreement drawn between the guy that leased the machine and the people that own it. When it is time to deal with the machine... these two entities will use the legal document to settle any claims they have between them...

 

Our part, in this whole debacle, is to remain aloof and impartial. The moment we stop being a third, impartial, disinterested party.... we become a possible target. Our only duty is to report what we find.. "Sorry, that wont be covered under the warranty and this is why....".

 

Now... Maybe this car was rented by a young stud... fresh up from Calgary and he got a little carried away playing in the mud.... I would expect that his employer will have some harsh words with him once the purchase orders start rolling in..

 

But.. it is more like (especially considering all the rain, lately) this is a sample of what it takes for someone (someone possibly quite inexperienced with driving in these conditions) to get into his location... Not every budget includes enough money for hiring a helicopter. Would this be vandalism? Or a cost of doing business? Not my place to judge because I haven't heard much of the fucking story...

 

This isn't the "gentlemens oil patch" up here... the county does grade the gravel between the farmers fields and the leases aren't spitting distance off the hard pan. This is the land of winter roads and rain making life miserable (my kids rig hasn't moved for quite a while) and having a D9 with high drives on standby at the lease and renting rig mats for hundreds of dollars a day.

 

This car is an extreme example... but is it really remarkable?

 

If we are to posture in extreme indignation... there are so many targets that are much more appropriate... There has been no crime committed here... and the lessor knows exactly where to go for restitution...

 

FWIW... down at the end of the service road in front of our shop is a public trash receptical. Three mornings a week, on average, that receptical is laying on its side with it's contents strewn across the road... We should be indignant about parents who haven't taught their kids about respect for property....

 

We have many motor vehoicle laws in this great country... The CMVSS (Canadian Motor Vehcile Safety Standards) are very close to those same regulations as published by the NHTSA... the biggest difference being DRLs.... Like the US, our laws have little in the way of teeth...

 

I can fail an Out of Province inspection.. the owner will not be able to register that car in Alberta... until he finds someone that will either turn a blind eye or read a regulation differently. I can fail a commercial vehicle.... he can still work - up until he gets caught...

 

But for joe average... you - me.... once the car has been registered in Alberta and as long as it is registered every year.... we are under the influence of laws that have no teeth.

 

Back in the late 60s, Alberta tried provincial safety inspections... Poorly conceived, poorly executed, poorly managed.... I recall they lasted less that two years. Seems to me that this youngster (oh, yes... I was there once upon a time) and his 1961 Falcon only ever got inspected once.

 

Without some kind of compliance inspection, there can be no enforcement... And we can both agree that Stelmach is spending way too much money to even consider enacting an inspection program.

 

All the same... we should be indignant about those that flout safety laws... about those that flout emissions controls efforts. But no.... Like a bunch of pussies we will overlook that... "If I don't put in that lift kit/EGR delete kit/some-dorky-thing kit, the guy down the road will... ".

 

And the funny thing is that we still consider those guys as honest and responsible citizens.

 

As far as liability for any modifications.... we are dependant on the engineers of some far away performance company. Those same engineers will throw us under the bus the first time their product is called to task... Some day - somewhere - there will be a suit... there will be a test case and I pray like hell it ain't going to be one of us....

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What? Posted Image

 

Well, then maybe should have rented a boat instead of trying to float an Expedition. Who's sticking up for who Now? Posted ImagePosted Image

 

That vehicle being up here in this neck of the woods alone is a total crime. That alone should be illegal.

 

 

 

I still see absolutely no common sense in this whole situation.

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Sometimes there isn't much common sense in this neck of the oil patch... The weather is brutal... the roads (if you want to call some of them that) are brutal.... the conditions are brutal....

 

When mother nature sticks her nose into the equation.... you lose!!!!

 

I'm unsure why the remark about the helicopter didn't ellicit a comment... Helicopters in this part of the patch are common.

 

I'm not sticking up for anyone... I just thought you already appreciated how bad the conditions in this area can be..... Or did you think that these guys buy new trucks every three years because they like claiming depreciation and net captal losses????

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Uhhhhh no. They are still complete Morons for taking an SUV into a place where it has absolutely no business belonging. A smashed dinted exhaust sytem, Bent cross member, caved in skid platesn torn CV boots and torns hoses and wires takes nothing more than a complete moron to do domething like that.

 

 

Yes, it has been raining up here lately. But that is absolutely no excuse for complete Idiocy. And it's still Vandalism when you destroy property that is not your own!

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While it may come as a surprise for some, it's not uncommon in our little portion of hell...

 

I guess where I'm missing the boat is that you folks are in portions of the world that are a bit more "civilized" or "urbanized" than what we have here... This is still relatively untamed wilderness... and it can overwhelm some peoples sensibilities or sensitivities... And I don't have the words to convey the concept.... it's almost like trying to explain a sunset to a blindman.

 

The oil patch.... you don't have a choice of where you get sent... you don't have a choice of how you get there... Sometimes, you are lucky enough to "go in on the frost"... sometimes, all that does is get you in further before you break through... This isn't a place for the faint of heart, the rabidly politically correct or those that think nature can be subdued.

 

 

Often, depending on the weather, this can be a common sight as trucks, service rigs, equipment and supervisors in Expeditions try to get to a lease or other location... After this many years, I guess you get a little jaded....

 

Posted Image

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The truly scary part is that both you AND my kid are members of that group...and all I can wonder is if you guys took pictures or had your picture taken.

 

Something I bet a lot of these guys haven't seen is something like this...... Posted Image

 

I'm not an expert on drilling rigs but I know enough to be considered dangerous.... In this pic, they are skidding the motor shack off the back of a sow onto the sub... Holding up the front end of the sow is another sow with the gin poles rigged.... These trucks are actually rigged for what is considered as "light oilfield hauling". A truck better suited for "heavy" work would have planetary drive rear hubs. Yes, this is still a common operation but truck mounted cranes are becoming more commonplace.

 

The oil patch can be a wierd and wonderful place... full of challenges that can have some unique solutions....

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This is the latest adventure to hit here!

 

Posted Image

 

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Anybody else seeing lots of these types of 6.4 failures? This is number 5 in the past 3 months for us--it had approx 30 qts of oil/fuel in it and 2 qts in the CAC!

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