"Just As I Thought .... Stones."

This beautifully dug hole is part of a forensic study.

We have boffins, who steal what is dug up. They take it way to do various secret tests.

It's bloody hard digging, they used good road metal, those old timers.

We have gone through the Pre Beatles, and well into the Marmite in glass jars era.

A mugshot is taken & a bit of prodding done.

Now I'll fill it in again, and do the same a bit further down the road.

It's all terribly scientific ...

"Fire Brigade Please"

Click Pic for Bigness

I'm heading home, and a 4x4 is parked at the side of the road, smoking gently.

As I trundle past, I realise that this is more than an overheating problem, but a fire.


I don't carry a fire extinguisher, so I sacrifice a thermos of coffee, then help the homeward bound fisherman to unload his gear and unhitch his boat. (Note coffee stains)

By the time I get my camera, the 4x4 is well alight.

It is diesel, and so the risk of explosion is small, though the front tire explodes with a very loud bang.

Oblivious, to the unfolding drama, a traffic controller sticks staunchly to her lollypop in the background.


The fire brigade deal with it in short order,


and as more flashing lights arrive, and the heavens open, I slide off home...


For a coffee ...

Over The Rainbow ...Way Up High ...

Some day I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.



Where troubles melt like lemondrops...




Away above the chimney tops..





That's where you'll find me...

Clean Your Windscreen Sir ?

A quick Fuel Stop ...

Reminds me of the NZ Cricket Team...

Anzac Day

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives.....
You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.
Therefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours...
You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.
After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well." -

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Anzac Day

Snapper

Carrying a camera can be really useful.

It may be difficult to describe how big a slip is, or even it's location, but a quick photo keeps everybody happy.

A problem uncovered when digging up the road can be recorded, in case something needs to be done then, or later.

Also of course accidents. We record the where, what, & when. But you can't beat a photo.

Of course there is always the possibility of a zillion dollar paparazi shot, the Pope chasing a nude Britney Spears down the road would do nicely, but a member of the Royal Family face down in the mud would do at a pinch.

I now have a pretty vast collection of "run of the road" shots, boring to most, but often valuable to us.

It also gives me an easy diary record.

Find the photo and I know when it was taken.

I've won a beer or two this way ....

Over time, I've noticed more cameras being used by the Company.

I better get a longer lens ....

Tagging

I've been tagging.

This means hours of going back over old stuff, so you lazy buggers can then click on a tag and pull up everything on that topic.

I hate doing this stuff.

It's too much like office work.

So it may take a while ....

A Night Out

Click pic for bigness

So Friday is looking good.

In time honoured Kiwi tradition we try and rip through our work so we can knock off early.

I planned to visit the fleshpots of Piopio, there to sup ale.

The driver of this truck put paid to that idea...

An hour after I arrived home I was off again, to Awakino.


The container truck had come to grief near Pay Cart Corner.

(In the old days the roadworkers from miles around, met the paymaster here, and got their brown paper pay envelopes. The pub is handy too ...)

Once again the cranes took up most of the road, which we had to close for 1/2 hour periods, while we lifted the various sections of the truck and load out of the way.


There are no detours around this area, we just have to try and get a lane cleared as fast as we safely can.


At night the scene cane be quite surreal, and very difficult to photograph as you can see.


The driver was shaken (& stirred) but is OK.

The local pub sent out some fish and chips, (and delicious they were too) ... so at least I had a chance to dine out.

Not quite what I planned though ...

News Story (short term link)
(Note this spot is a long way from the Awakino Gorge!)

Bugger!

Looks like blogger images are doing strange things, surprise, surprise...

Either that, or I've screwed up the internet again...

I'll see if they reappear on the post below, and try again in a few hours.

Used Cars

click pic to biggify

Last night, this car transporter left the road, just south of Piopio.

Obligingly, he ended up well off the road, and so I slept the frosty night through in my warm bed.

Today we had to recover it, and there was no option but to close the road, and put a lengthy detour in place.

You can see why.

The crane takes up the whole road, and Murphy's Law states that there must always be at least a 11kv power line in the way.


The job went pretty smoothly, but it takes a while, even if things go well.

I did offer a couple of hundred bucks for the Range Rover Vogue and was willing to toss in a few kilo's of onions from last weeks roll over on State Highway 4.



I think they are still considering my generous offer ....

Water Sports

 

Erstaz, who keeps poking around some of the more obscure corners of the Interweb, has found an amazing underwater action video.

Check it out ....

Meanwhile here the mud is slowly drying out.

There could be lots of overtime for the sealing crews tomorrow.

While this probably doesn't do much to float your boat, there will be lot's of happy roadworkers if it stays fine for a couple of days ....

Paddling

 

Never piss the digger operator off, especially on a Friday ....

And a 20 ton paddle.

Thanks Ersatz...

Lizzie

This venerable Gentleman, and his 1924 Model T arrived at the Testing Station while my truck was being checked over for it's 6 monthly Certificate Of Fitness.

He caused a little consternation, and there was a general flurry of rule books.

"No point in checking the front brake efficiency, .... Hasn't got any...."

He beat me through, and chugged triumphantly off, with a brand new Warrant Of Fitness

"See You Later"

This stretch has been sealed for a couple of hours and has already collected it's first victim.

Despite 30 K speed restrictions and plenty of warning signs, the traffic was barrelling into this corner, it was rather tense recovering the car.

That fine chip is very slippery and should be treated like ice.

We have also sweated over this bit of road, and fast traffic will tear up the tender new soft surface.

As the Towie said,

"I'll see you later, ....probably right here.... "

Blow The Wind Southerly ...

  
We have been having a Southerly cold spell.

It's not pleasant out there at all.

This morning I rounded a corner to find the boss helping the local towie recover a bent SUV in a torrential rain squall.

I bravely backed up a bit and fired up the flashing lights.

And turned the heater up.

Meanwhile our work sites are like soup.

Warm in that office is it?

Mud, Dirt & Dust

  
It's all go on our stretch of the highway at the moment.

Driving an 80 kilometre stretch the other day, I went through 7 Stop/Go's.

Some works are major, new passing lanes & realigning corners, some minor, but the race against the weather is now on.

Some of the Truckies are getting a bit frustrated.

They moan about the state of the road, and then moan when you fix it.

I did feel for a lovely group of old Austin Healy sports cars that went through today.

Lovingly polished, they will look as if they have crossed the Gobi Desert by now.

You can see drivers flinch when they see mud or dust.

But, Hey, We have to work in it ...

Working Environments

  

I'm a big softy really.

I lashed out on a wheelbarrow last winter after watching the girls struggling with the firewood.

I even oil the axle now and then.

An extra piece of fish, and TWO tomato sauce sachets with the wedding anniversary fish and chips.

I've taped up the split on the handle of the axe.

I take a safe working environment seriously.

But for some obscure reason, my domestic arrangements are a little dangerous at the moment.

Very puzzling ....

Watching Cars Go By ...

  
The holiday traffic seems well behaved.

It has been steadily streaming past all day.

No drama on our stretch anyway.

In fact, I'm ahead of the play.

I fixed the letter box that got taken out last long weekend, and have been gnawing away at the fallen trees from the last storm.

Fine weather, and all is well with the world...

Thoughtfulness...

Mrs Fart and I have been married 19 years today.

We romantically got the firewood in.

Now we are both knackered.

Still I might take her to the fish & chip shop tomorrow.

She deserves a treat ....

Hypersonic Compaction

 
I had better draw the Plant Manager's attention to this roller.

Ersatz found it.

It could push the job along a bit ....




The newer rollers are quite cruisy to drive.

They have air conditioning, a stereo, and a comfortable seat.

Unfortunately they are bloody noisy.

Still you can cruise smugly by a fellow workmate on an open top old model, as he sweats or freezes, perched on a sack full of old rags in an attempt to protect his nether regions...

Does My Bum look Big In This?

Titivation

The weather seems to conspiring against our "Titivation for Easter" scheme.

We had hoped to have a lot of sealing completed.

Oh well, whats a bit of car washing anyway...

Ever tried to clean a truck?

Oh Woe!

Every bloody year about this time, I get the 'flu.

Last year I missed Easter.

It must be the planets,

or maybe the drains ....