Flashing lights, fireballs, and self-aware weirdos

I have several posts in the draft stage that are very slowly progressing towards being published. So slowly in fact, that I’m going to throw some random, unformed thoughts and observations out here just to say that I’ve posted recently.

In no particular order:

• Why do gas pumps all have stickers on them which proclaim “FOR USE AS A MOTOR FUEL ONLY”? Are there other common uses for which people might purchase gasoline but for which the stuff from the pumps would be unsafe? Or are the stickers there just for those who might put the gas to use in Molotov Cocktails and the like? Will the warning stop those people?
• There’s an Infinity G35 in the parking lot at work with a piece of paper taped in the rear window which reads,
  

  FIRST and LAST Infiniti! Too many defects! Going back to General Motors!

  Is it wrong of me to be baffled by this? I have a sneaking suspicion the driver was was prejudiced against Japanese brands, was talked into buying the Infiniti and was looking for an excuse to hate the car. Otherwise the note would read Too many defects! Buying a Toyota next time!

• I need to figure out a coherent plan for my personal e-mail addresses. I have two Gmail accounts which I regularly use, one of which being Ickster and the other being erikgranse. (I’d prefer erik.granse, but it already exists — I think I created it and forgot the password. I’ve tried to get into it several times, all to no avail.) I also have ickster and erik.granse at the domain here, and would actually prefer to use those. I actually access them all from the same Gmail account, so managing clients isn’t an issue. I’d just like to consistently use the same address, but sending out a mass e-mail asking everyone to change would be pretty stupid. (Don’t ask me why it’s important to be consistent; I have no idea myself. It’s my brain’s foolish idea.)
• I liked Christopher Walken better when he wasn’t being a parody of himself. I’ve liked many of his movies and roles, but lately he’s been constantly showing up in little cameo roles where the entire gag is that he’s Christopher Walken, and he’s being creepy and unbalanced as only Christopher Walken can be! Doing the self-aware joke is funny once, but after the twentieth time it’s just kind of pathetic. Doesn’t he get offered any serious roles anymore?
• What ever happened to the magnetic flashing lights that used to be ubiquitous in police movies and TV shows from the sixties through the eighties? It used to be so common to see the detective get the call, turn the flashing light on (while still holding it in the car) and then reach out to stick it on the roof. Whenever that happened, you knew it was getting serious. For some reason, that never happens anymore. If a cop’s in a unmarked car and needs to get somewhere in a hurry, he just takes off and blows through traffic. (Oddly, when watching a movie or TV show as an adult, I never think twice about a cop driving like a bat-out-of-hell without that magnetic light, but when I was a kid it really bothered me that when they were using that light they still didn’t have a siren. I never thought the light alone was sufficient. Why that bothered me when having neither light nor siren doesn’t bother me now is an unsolved mystery.)

So there you have it. As I said, just random tidbits, and absolutely nothing important. Have a great day!