First time pulling a windshield. It went great, got it out in one piece with no cracks! Honestly it was much easier than I expected. I think I'd built it up in my head.
First time pulling a windshield. It went great, got it out in one piece with no cracks! Honestly it was much easier than I expected. I think I'd built it up in my head.
We got approval from her dad to buy a house!!!
There are stipulations, one of which I have a bit of a problem with, but still, we got approval from him. That makes things worlds easier on our end with regards to financing options.
So officially house hunting now!!
FedEx just dropped off the plasma cutter. Bucket list tool. And i go see trans Siberian saturday, a bucket list show.
Its a good week so far.
Did my taxes today. I owe the Feds a C-note and I'm getting $3 back from the state.
Finally had some downtime and decided fixing the Hyundai was a priority. Made the claim, dropped it off at the body shop and Enterprise shuttled me over to their location to do the paperwork in an almost new F-150 Lariat.
The ride I had been allotted was a newish Altima that looked pretty thrashed, and I jokingly asked if I was allowed to take the Ford instead. The rep looked at me like I had just offered to do HIM a favor, and happily tossed me the keys to the pickup.
This thing is NICE. I like pickup trucks, but with commuting long distances and rarely needing to haul things, I think one would be wasteful for my situation.
I'm looking forward to getting my car back, but I feel like the truck is going to add another data point the next time I start car shopping.
DD#1 stepped up to be Autocross Chair at our Brandywine Motorsport Club meeting last night, freeing me up to be President.
Of course I'll be helping her, but if I spend half my time helping her and the other half being President, I'll still be doing more than the old President ever did. He's a very nice guy and I consider him a friend, but a leader he is not.
Should be an interesting year. I still wish somebody else had taken over the AX program so I could let it go completely, but we'll see how it goes.
I put in for an entry level position in a completely different career field, and was pretty surprised how quickly I got a request for a phone interview.
It sounds pretty interesting, there's a company car, career advancement, and a pretty big territory for a few people so I get to be kind of a road warrior and have a lot more independence and less oversight than my current gig.
I think the interview went ok, but I suppose I won't know for sure until next week. I'm REALLY excited about this though.
BoxheadTim said:Minor win - started the online application for my Green Card renewal online. Took me about 20 minutes to complete and pay the fee. Pretty good for a government website.
Also, can't believe it's been almost ten years since I moved to the US.
Next step, application for US citizenship once I get the OK from the German government for dual citizenship. That's going to take a while, though.
Minor win - biometrics appointment for the new Green Card is next week, yay. That was much quicker than expected.
Minor rant - total processing time for the replacement Green Card is between 7.5 and 11 months, but you're not allowed to apply for a replacement card until yours is six months from expiry. And if I have to travel abroad while the new Green Card is processed, I need some extra forms just to be able get back into the country. Oh well.
Is it a win or a rant if the Mini throws the same rough running and non-specific error message a month after the dealer's attempted fix and 334 miles/17 days before the warranty expires? This is the fourth episode in 2-3 years, the most recent three since February of this year. Always cold-ish, on or immediately after a downhill, not long after starting driving for the day. First episode the tank was low, today it was full. The only time they looked at it they found a plug with a crack, so that was the theory.
Xmas eve would mean the code reader, the searches, and/or the taking it to an independent shop. This is the household appliance, AKA the car I don't touch (in theory).
Just bought a console record player. 1979 Magnavox. Yes, it's not as cool as a mid-century tube, but it was 2 miles from my house. And only $35. And all the original paperwork. And I'm the 3rd owner.
Someday, I'll pony up for a Blaupunkt, Grundig, or Telefunken, but I'm pretty pleased.
I took SWMBO and the Spawns out to eat for SWMBO's birthday. We went to a local Indian place- and they had the dinner buffet going on.
We didn't save any money overall, but we all got to try a bunch of different dishes and wound up eating more than we probably should have.
Went to the junkyard today and it turned out to be a 50% off sale. And I stumbled upon this 84 Crown Vic with mint interior, so this bench seat came home with me, as well as two 17" Mustang wheels painted purple and a non-rusted exhaust for my mom's Impala. I think it'll make a great couch.
Pulled my kids sled out today and it had no spark. Quick diagnosis pointed to the coil being bad. Best price I could find was $196. Mentioned it to my neighbour, whom we bought it from a few years ago, and he thought he may have a spare. Turns out he had a new coil still in the box. Refused to take any money for it. I owe him one but I’m good with that.
In reply to Wayslow :
I feel like I'm missing something here. Why would a sled have spark plugs?
In reply to dculberson :
"Sled" is what you'd call a snowmobile.
Kind of like how ATVs are "bikes".
Don't question it, just roll with it.
Brett_Murphy said:I took SWMBO and the Spawns out to eat
dude, that's a great name for a surf punk band!
First King Of The Heap event of the season was Saturday. My crew did respectably with a 6th place finish of 28 teams. Our 1995 BMW 318Ti has 211,000 miles on it and seems likely the suspension is all original (squishy and blown shocks, one broken spring, destroyed bushings). The ABS doesn't work and our only concession to performance was to bleed the brakes and gut the interior. 8 drag passes, 10 autocross runs, and 24 laps of NCM east and it didn't run hot or use any oil.
Bonus win, I'm a VR6 fanboi and one team showed up with a Passat sedan with the big boy 3.6 mill. It was substantially the fastest accelerating thing out there and the best sounding to boot. Flat destroying the only V8 in the field (a crown vic).
I believe 7 cars (I could be off on this number) didn't survive the flogging. One exploded so aggressively the track crew had to collect engine pieces in a 5 gallon bucket (Toyota reliability!) So it was a fun time all around.
GRM onesie has been ordered. Thanks David Wallens for the tip
In reply to MazdaFace :
Congratulations!!!
YouTube FINALLY let's me listen to "talking alien abduction blues". For years it's said it wasn't available in my country due to copyright, because why should I be allowed to listen to an American folk artist in America?
I make lists. Helps me visualize progress, especially on big projects.
Just made the "remaining tasks" list for the enormous undertaking my wife and I have been working hard on for the last 18 months.
The list fits on a 5x7 ruled page. We've been able to see the finish line for awhile now, but holy crap its RIGHT THERE.
Work for this last week has been pretty hectic- I've had three different projects I'm juggling including one that is pretty high-visibility and importance, so I've barely had time to read GRM or do much of anything at the office except work.
Yes, this belongs in the 'minor wins' thread, because honestly this is the way I prefer work to be... I'd rather have a lot of things to do and no time to slack off than to be sitting around twiddling my thumbs trying to find things to do and charge to. It's of course possible to have TOO much to do- but for now it's just the right balance and I'm enjoying it. Pity it's not likely to last...
I was absolutely dreading the plug change in the Big Ugly Truck for Towing. But I dragged my BUTT into the shop this morning to just get it done because I suspected a plug was about to let loose. Under two hours and that time including making a pot of coffee, dealing with a quick work conversation, moving some stuff around, and untangling the air hose. Plus, I could never do this in my garage at home:
(Not pictured: the gas furnace that kept me toasty while it is about 30 degrees outside!)
Found a place that has the gas tank my mom's car needs, for $30. They actually have a whole bunch of 'em. (Much cheaper than the $200 a local shop was going to charge just for the tank, plus labor.) Sweet! So this must be what it's like to own a car with good parts availability... *grumbles something about stupid rare 90s Ford parts*
Second minor win, related to the first: When I bought the BUTT the previous GRM owner told me that the truck had started ticking a little when cold and he suspected the oil weight was the problem and I wasn't too worried about it. I tried different oil and Motorcraft filters with good anti-drainback valves, but the problem continued and got a little more frequent. The other potential candidates for the noise that were in my head were HLAs or the timing chain banging around. Turns out, it was just getting ready to spit a spark plug. After putting 10 new plugs in, the old girl purrs like a kitten! Well, maybe not purrs, but it doesn't tick at all, so that's the win!
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