Recently in The Truck Category
Goodbye, old truck.
Finally took the plunge and got a new one. The time was right and the deal was right but I’m surely going to miss that old red one. It was my first truck and it is easily the best vehicle I've ever owned. I took delivery of it on August 2, 1990. It was a special order truck and it only had 2 miles on it when I got in it for the first time. It and I went 352,000 miles together and we were pretty good to each other in that time. I didn’t wash it as regularly as some wash theirs but it got the routine maintenance ( Oil changes, tire rotations, etc ) it needed. I surely got my money’s worth. Its next owner will get a very good truck for next to nothing.
Hello, new truck.
The new one is essentially an updated version of the old one. Why change? Had good luck with the last one. This one had 15 miles on it when I got in it for the first time. It’s got way more bells and whistles in it but it’s essentially the same truck. I hope I get half as good service from it.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Don't do it. They love you at LSU, and with a National Championship under your belt you could likely retire in that job. How long will the fish keep you? Only until you have a losing season or two."
Seeing Dan Rather still on TV this morning at 3:45AM is wonderful, just wonderful. I am so tired of this election. Can anyone make it go away? There's five bucks in it for you if you can.
My truck refused to start yesterday morning. I had stopped somewhere on the way home Monday night. When I came out and started my truck, it killed almost immediately. I started it again and drove to the parking lot exit to get onto the highway and it killed again. I started it one more time, kept it revved a bit, and got it home with no incident. That was all the warning I got. I changed the fuel filter yesterday morning and tried to start it again but it refused. I think the fuel pump is out. The fuel pump is attached to the fuel sending unit in the fuel tank on my truck. It was time to call the wrecker and that’s how my morning went. The shop wasn’t able to fix it yesterday but I’m hoping they can get it done today. The fuel sending unit has been broken for a while so I’m having it replaced at the same time. I really didn’t need that expense at this time but they have to remove the tank sending unit to replace the fuel pump. It would be silly not to replace it. The truck is 15 years old, has 350,000 miles on it, and it is still on the original fuel pump and sending unit. Both are known to go out on my make and model. I really can’t complain too much. The house water pump last week and the truck fuel pump this week. I’m not a superstitious person but if these things do come in threes, what’s next?
One of the joys of country living: When we got to the polls last night at 7:30PM or thereabouts, there was absolutely no one in line to vote. We vote at a firehouse that is the polling place for two precincts. Neither precinct had anyone in line. That was a first for us. In previous elections, there was always a line of three or four but the wait was never long. With the much higher voter turnout anticipated last night, we were very concerned that we’d be there a while.
One of the other joys of country living, loss of electricity, is probably about to happen. We have a pretty good thunderstorm going on right outside my window as I type.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “One of the non-joys of medicine is sitting on hold with a pharmacy when you're trying to call in prescriptions. The most painful part of this process is undoubtedly the Muzak they inflict on impatient callers. Once in a while, though, they play something you actually want to hear, and then it becomes even more frustrating..."
Watched Chasing Liberty last night. Perfectly predictable, perfectly harmless movie. I like Jeremy Piven. Always the sidekick or the comic relief, he excels in those roles like only a handful of others. His role in almost everything I’ve seen him in is to do his part and move the film along without upstaging the stars. When the rest of the movie is predictable, that is the only thing worth watching. Piven, Hector Elizondo, Oliver Platt, and James Cromwell can do that. John Travolta, Tom Cruise, and Bruce Willis cannot.
Drove my truck home for the first time in over a month. The place that cleaned it up put Armor-All or something like it all over everything. I don’t mind it too much on the dash board but I don’t like it on the steering wheel and other things I actually have to touch. They’re not completely done with it yet but it was drive-able and I wanted to have it for the weekend so Patsy and I could go our separate ways should the need arise. That bit of convenience was missed while it was gone. It took $44 worth of gas. I’m surprised I made it the 100 yards to the gas station. A new windshield will be installed Monday morning and a new headliner sometime later in the week and it’ll be better than it was before it was stolen.
Once the truck is completely restored, I will go fight the City of New Orleans to get the parking citations expunged from my record. Hopefully, the city will have had enough time to post everything to their computer system before I do that. I’m expecting that task to be unpleasant but I intend to see it through calmly. I’ve dealt with city employees before and I have a few friends that work for the city although not in this department. Sometimes, they’re helpful. Often times, they’re not and you have to fight for every inch even when you’re absolutely right (Especially when you’re absolutely right). Maybe this time will be different. I hope so.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “For as long as I've know him, he has been trying to get the whole family to move onto a large piece of land with multiple houses in, of all places, Arkansas. And not just anywhere in Arkansas, oh no. We're talking Ozark Mountains here."
If you’re going to move to Arkansas, the Ozarks is the way to go. Been there. It’s gorgeous. -Rob
Yesterday, an officer came out to take additional information about my truck for the police item number that was filed when it was stolen. That it was recovered had to be added to the item number. Now, I must go to another agency in person to have the parking tickets and whatever else has accumulated on my license plate while it was stolen expunged from my record. That it could not be handled by the police officer from her police car annoys me. I have no confidence whatsoever that the next step I take in this saga will be the last.
And another thing: The insurance adjuster that was supposed to inspect the truck yesterday was a no show so it looks like I probably won’t be taking it home for the weekend unless the guy shows up today very early. If that happens, I’ll hop one of those flying pigs to lunch this afternoon.
Oh, and dialup internet access sucks big time......
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Oh, how I shall miss our bowling rituals -- the omelets, the fake names, the pins named after prominent annoying Republicans, the strikes in which we knocked them all down (Right-Wing Roundups). And, oh, the balls!"
For the second time, my driver’s side windshield wiper transmission broke free of the wiper motor in a driving rainstorm on the Causeway. What that means to the non-automotive person is I had no windshield wiper on the driver’s side. I drove the last 13 or 14 miles across that bridge leaning to the right and trying to look out my windshield where the passenger wiper arm was wiping. It was not a fun ride home. This exact same thing happened to me about a year ago at about the same spot on the bridge. I will try to get that fixed tomorrow. In the meantime, I am hoping for no more rain.
The second week of the NFL season just got underway. I hope the Saints put in a better game this week against the Texans. An 0-2 start would be pretty bad. There is already a lot of grumbling in New Orleans over last week’s pitiful and heartless performance. Ernie Conwell, in the great new tradition of Saints tight ends, dropped a pass on the Saints first possession but Deuce McAllister, the best player on this team, just ran for a 24yd TD to put the Saints up, 7-0.
There is a new and disappointing policy this year as regards to local NFL telecasts. They are no longer available to me on my DSS. I still can’t get local channels on my satellite. That means I have to switch back and forth between satellite and antenna if I want to watch a game that is being shown in my local area. Major pain in the arse.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Today I Am Officially Old
I asked my son to open a jar that I couldn't open and he did. "
I took delivery of my truck 13 years ago today. It was a Friday evening. It was brand new and had 7 miles on it. To say it has been good to me would be a bit of an understatement. The first 6 years of its life were spent in suburbia. It has been the commuter ever since. I currently have about 315,000 miles on it.
I’m now on the 2nd engine, 2nd clutch (Nearly ready for a 3rd), 3rd water pump, 4th windshield, 7th battery (All were 5, 6, or 7 year batteries. The math escapes me), and 8th set of tires (One shouldn’t count because I swapped the set of tires that came with the truck the day after I took delivery but we do full disclosure here).
Our Fantasy NASCAR season is now over. Our team, Red Ryders, finished 2nd.
It is now 33 days until football season, 22 days until the CFFL Draft, and 27 days until Ya Boys Auction..........
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “I think I just saw a mouse. Aren't I supposed to be having good luck this month?"
PS - Thanks, Susan
It’s Friday. About time!
Neat picture here. Wish I could do that. Done with a digital camera. {Soapbox time} Prices on digital cameras are comparable in price and quality to 35mm cameras now but there is no film to buy, drop off, waste, overexpose, or develop and no time lost doing any of that. There are no additional expenses to your purchase whatsoever unless you want to buy Photoshop or some other software package or a fancy image printer but even those expenses would not match the $10-15 per roll to purchase and develop film. If you take pictures, I can’t think of a single, good reason not to have one. {Soapbox removed}
Bad luck continues on the truck front. Had to replace the battery last night. This must be the last thing I need for it for the foreseeable future. Some good luck better come my way soon.
Red Ryders are experiencing bad luck, too.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: “Some of you may remember my bad experience with a New York comic named Warren Holstein in an entry I called Feelin' Really Old Now.... I had long gotten over it but seems Warren googled himself and found the entry at the top of Google’s list. Thought you might enjoy our reparté. You’d think he’d know better than to immortalize himself in this way where any talent scout could google him for info and find it!"
I disagree with her. From my seat on the sidelines here, it looks like Warren won the exchange. She has a button as big as all outdoors. He pushed it. After all of the silly exchanges between them are over, she essentially has ended up with a sign on her back that says “kick me”. In some places, a thin skin like that is like waving a red flag at a bull. The thing to do was shake it off.
Her site rates a link, though. Check it out.
The truck made it home last night. The best thing about that is I can leave for work about 45 minutes later this morning. The rebuilt engine is running pretty good although it makes some noises I am concerned about. Could be just breaking-in noises. Just give me three more years.......
Broke my coffee carafe last night while cleaning it. Coffee-less mornings are no fun here. Will be at the store today or tonight.
Jana has some nice pictures. Love the view.
Kind of guilty pleasure: I’m reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and I’ve read the other four.
And only 71 days until football season......
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Sorry, work's still been kicking my ass lately. I even worked my first Saturday since I started (I shouldn't complain for having to work A Saturday, but this is my blog and I'll cry if I want to).”
Even going to bed early Sunday morning did not prevent me from waking up yesterday just after the alarm would have sounded on a work day. It’s a curse. Got some things done yesterday so it wasn’t a total waste but would like to have caught some extra ZZZZZZZZ’s.
Shorter blog this morning because this will be a longer work day than usual today. Hopefully, I can get caught up with whatever I missed Friday. Have a ride coming for me early this morning. Will drive home the truck with its newly installed engine this evening. The cell phone is fully charged just in case.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Apparently, Belgium felt sufficiently threatened by the idea of having NATO's headquarters moved from Brussels to someplace sane... Belgium has modified the "genocide law" that would have allowed all sorts of left-wing nutjobs to bring war crimes charges against Americans."
Spent the better part of this Saturday morning doing one of my favorite (not!!!) things, auto repair. This one coulda, shoulda, woulda been done Thursday along with that other expensive repair. Spilt milk, I suppose. I'm glad its over but one of the many reasons I hate doing my own auto repair besides the fact that I'm not very good at it is that now I have to dispose of the hazardous waste that was a by-product of the repair.
The mirliton project is going better than expected. The spot chosen in the yard appears to favor them. They are growing like gangbusters. They get full sun most of the day and seem to like it.
We're just about to head out for some errands and an anniversary lunch.
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "Note to Iranian mullahs: you're utterly pathetic. You are neither feared, nor respected for your piety. You're just a joke, in the eyes of the world and, these days, your own people."
