Shakedown Cruise Tomorrow

I'm getting ready to go to Gettysburg, PA tomorrow to visit an old friend. I hadn't anticipated taking a new car on the trip, but life is funny that way--always new surprises and always a new adventure.

Today is laundry, plant maintenance, cleaning out the fridge, taking out the garbage, and throwing clothes in a bag.

I've been reading the owner's manual on my new blue baby, in preparation for the first big trip. The book is mostly taken up with big yellow WARNING! boxes and big grey CAUTION! boxes full of dire predictions on what will happen if you do this...or don't do that. I can only assume that every one of these boxes is the result of a lawsuit somewhere. At the beginning of the book, it explains that yellow means you could hurt yourself and/or die; grey means you could damage the vehicle.

Here's my favorite (yellow) so far:

WARNING! Use a coin or flat blade driver when you remove the roof carrier cover. If you use your fingernail, it may damage your fingernail!

Well, duh! Do we really need to be told this? Does it mean that without this timely warning, I could sue for a broken fingernail?

Oh, please. The Safety Nazis have taken over the universe. Now I have to be protected from a broken nail. If I'm this stupid, should I really be driving a car? Give me a break.