The Answer automotive repair shop is a fairly popular (reputable?) company in Evansville, IN.  I was having some problems with my 02 Dodge Durango, so I had it towed in.  That's where it sat, for over 3 weeks, without one courtesy phone call.  Here's my story.

The problem with the Durango was an intermittent problem, but not so much that it couldn't be replicated.  However, it took me giving THEM a call every few days to check on the status, where I was told they were just working on it.  At which point, I gave them just under 3 weeks and informed them that I would be picking it up, upset at the length of time it was taking them to diagnose.

A few days later I called them again, notifying them that I was picking it up the next day.  The manager informed me they had located an issue with an O2 sensor and could have it fixed.  This was in the morning and I asked if they could have it done today.  The manager informed me that they were busy and might be able to get to it tomorrow.  Come on, over 3 weeks in the shop, and they want to put me off another day?

At this point the manager got short with me, trying to guilt me into letting them do an over priced O2 sensor job.  Well, I had enough and immediately when and picked up my vehicle, only to have it fail on me as I was pulling out of The Answer East side parking lot.

Summary

Terrible Customer Service - No Phone Calls

Too Long To Diagnose - Took over 3 Weeks

Over Priced - They attempt to make up their 'free' diagnostic fee by over pricing simple parts and installation.

I will never recommend to anyone to use The Answer, at least The Answer East.  Find another reputable company in Evansville to do business with for car repair, these guys were worth the $40 it took to have my vehicle towed in.  Why they never called me, even after they found the supposed problem, is beyond me.  Oh well, I hear they are always busy.

Reason For Shooting

Rural King in Evansville, IN last night was the location for gun fire and white trash excitement.  Apparently, the shooting started with an argument over who stole an Apple iPhone.  Apparently the male shooter felt the electronic device was worth more than a dead woman, because 2 shots were fired.  Luckily, no one was killed.

The real eye opener is that nobodies stories match up.  Everyone involved has a conflicting tale of what unfolded in the Rural King parking lot.  They should just throw them all in jail until they get their stories straightend out.  Thankfully, I only shop at Lowes, so I was not privy to any of the events.

Fox News Story

The first Thursday of every month is free admission to the Children's Museum of Evansville.  At the beginning March I took my family there, which includes me, my wife, and 18 month old daughter.  Needless to say, we all had a blast, but be prepared to bump some elbows on free night.

First of all, parking at CMOE is no problem, there is plenty of space down town in the evening to find a place to park close to the museum.  We parked less than a block away and enjoyed walking up to the building, where a Tyrannasaurus Rex is perched showing you the way.  My daughter loved the giant dinosaur sculpture, growling at it the whole way.

Once inside though, be prepared, it is packed on CMOE's free night, which is sponsored by St. Mary's Hospital.  There are children ranging from crawlers to teenagers flooding the rooms and trying to get to the popular exhibits.  Not that there is a shortage of things to do, but there are simply hundreds of kids packed into the museum.

Since my daughter is only 18 months, it was a little limiting on what she would enjoy.  Thankfully they have a 2 year and under only room, which is clearly marked and monitored by Museum volunteers.  One room in particular housed a lot of cushion mats, that could be used to create slides and fun blocks for them to play on, without getting hurt when tumbling over.

Right next door to the padded room(lol) was a noise room, where there were lots of chimes, bells, and a gong for kids to bang on.  My daughter enjoyed beating on the tambarines and drums laying throughout the sound deadened room.  But the best part of the Children's Museum of Evansville was the Wet Room.

There are only a limited number of people allowed into the wet room at any given time.  Once you wait in line and get in, it is a blast for everyone, as long as you don't mind getting splashed a little.  There is a huge water vortex in the middle, with plastic balls and huge rubber duckies spinning around.  The children are encouraged to throw the balls into the water pit, play with the duckies, and watch as they go through an elaborate cleaning machine.

Above the water vortex is a hot air balloon, that rises 2 stories into the air and then lowers.  Once lowered the water vortex is then emptied and all of the balls are sucked into a conveyor which then transports them upstairs where older kids are playing.  To say the least, it was impressive, and a blast!

I would encourage anyone to visit CMOE in Evansville, but especially on free night if you are cash strapped like we are.  My daughter loved it, even as young as she is, and my wife and I had fun just playing with the different exhibits with her.  We plan on going again next month and making it a planned monthly family outing.

Please see the pictures below of the fun we had at the Children's Museum of Evansville.

Berry Plastics

I saw in the Courier that Berry Plastics was planning on the addition of a new assembly line that would add upwards of 400 jobs.  While this isn't enough to cover the lost jobs here in the Tri-State, it is a step in the right direction.  The construction of their new facilities will be on the corner of Morgan and First Avenue.

They had to demolish a building on the corner where they are constructing the new facilities.  This was an extremely dangerous intersection, because the old building blocked view of oncoming traffic, when turning north or south on First Avenue.  Hopefully with the new construction they will place a parking lot closest to First, to not hinder the view of the road.

The Berry Plastics expansion will cost as much as $150 million to develop the 375,000 square foot plant.  They intend to use their thermoform technologies to increase the production of their plastic cups.

Thermoforming is a manufacturing process where plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming temperature, formed to a specific part shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product. The sheet, or "film" when referring to thinner gauges and certain material types, is heated in an oven to a high-enough temperature that it can be stretched into or onto a mold and cooled to a finished shape.

In January 2009 there was a nasty ice storm that hit Evansville, In.  My yard, like others, was covered with up to 6 inches of ice in some places.  Luckily, this never knocked out my power.

It's been a few months, but I'm just now getting around to posting pictures of this ice storm.  These are pics from my front hard and a close up of some of the small trees I had out front.  We were lucky, compared with some people in Kentucky, who I know still don't have power.

Evansville Ice Storm

Evansville Ice Storm