Category: default || By jt3y

So I ran out of windshield-washer fluid for the sleek, gray Mercury, and didn't have time to get to the auto parts store. Well, what's washer fluid but Windex, right? Or so I thought. And I tossed a bottle of Windex (actually, the Austin's equivalent) in the car, and when the windshield became too dirty to see through, I simply spritzed it with the window cleaner and turned on the wipers.

Pretty clever, eh? At least I thought it was, for a day or two.

Except that the leading ingredient in most household window cleaners is ammonia, and eventually, the ammonia ran down into the fresh-air vents under the windshield. Which means every time I turned on the heater, the inside of the car smelled like ... well ... cat whiz.

So, I washed the car today. Also, I went to the hardware store and got some windshield washer fluid.

Now, aren't you glad you bookmarked this site?

I thought not.

In the News, Celanie Polanick writes that Allegheny County is considering the construction of skateboarding areas at Boyce Park in Monroeville and at North and South parks:

The 15,000-square-foot facility in South Park will contain ramps, curbs, bowls and boxes. It is slated to be built near a heavily traveled foot path, picnic shelters, a large paved play area, playgrounds and a parking lot, and will be visible from Corrigan Drive. No major environmental changes are expected to take place when changes are implemented, the plan states.

The two other facilities will be of similar size, and all will be built with space around them for possible expansion if they're successful, Baechle said. Financial backing has already been secured through the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Allegheny County Health Department and the Regional Asset District and capital budget rollovers, but the plans are still in the design phase, and there's a lot of red tape still to cut, Baechle said.

I wish this plan rots of ruck, but some how, I doubt that skateboarders are going to be willing to travel out to South Park to shred.

Celanie writes that small boroughs and townships are often concerned about providing designated skateboarding areas for fear that if someone is injured, the municipality will be held liable. One business owner in Elizabeth Borough is advocating the construction of a skate park there, if the money can be raised.

She quotes the 12-year-old son of borough council, who says he's been "kicked out of some places, but he and his friends try not to trespass."

"I think the skateboarders get a bad rap because they sometimes have long hair and jeans and the defiant attitude of an extreme sport," his father tells the News. "I think 50 to 70 percent of them are misunderstood."

Actually, that's not the reason why. The reason that people are hostile toward skateboarders is that they do cause property damage, particularly to curbs and walls. I noticed that my employer recently installed metal clips every few feet on the edges of all of the outside stairwells, curbs, flower boxes and low walls around several buildings to discourage skateboarders from riding along the edges of them. Skateboard trucks dig into the edges, leaving ugly gashes and scars; I've seen several buildings where marble steps or walls have suffered serious damage.

Having come out against tagging a few months ago, I realize I'm an old fart, but there's nothing here that's "misunderstood." Too many skateboarders --- maybe a minority, but a noticeable number --- cause expensive property damage while riding.

(And by the way, watch for upcoming installments of the Almanac in which I complain about the kids with all their hippity-hop music, Frisbees that land in my yard, and the people of Whoville.)

Again, I wish the county and Elizabeth Borough success, and I hope they do create safe places for people to skateboard.

I just doubt that it's going to cut down on the property damage, or that people are going to use them; as the mayor points out in Polanick's story, Elizabeth did create a skateboarding area in the borough's riverfront park, only to find out that kids weren't using it, "because it didn't afford the kids the opportunity to show off their skills in public."