When the tiger is being friendly, let's all work hard to keep her that way.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Getting Orientated
Today, at my first day on the new job, part of the orientation session was a scavenger hunt for a short list of things that are pretty common purchases. I think the whole thing was pretty clever... Get the new hires out, talking to their coworkers, finding the common stuff so they know where to send customers, and learning their way around the store. Slick!
Friday, February 15, 2013
Civic Minding Day 1
Finally got the resources pooled together to start fixing my old Honda, which is a relief. Watching the net forces of entropy chip away at it while it sat in the driveway unused was chipping away at me, too. It feels good to be crawling in/around it and mending things. And boy howdy does it need a lot fixed. The short list of major stuff includes changing the oil, changing the coolant, replacing all four tires (one has a knot and I'm pretty certain all four are chopped), changing both CV axles, front brake rotars, and the brakes themselves.
To be honest, I had done some work on it previously over the past few weeks, here and there, but that mainly involved getting it cleaned out and detailed (I like my cars to be clean). Today was the first day of actual honest to god repairs.
That being said, I didn't really do much today other than buy parts and figure out how to get things done and in the process of doing that, figure out exactly what tools I'll need to work on the harder tasks. Going to need a breaker bar and a floor jack, for sure, but also a good ratcheting socket wrench and a few socket heads couldn't hurt. However! My dad's extended me an open invitation to raid his tool shed for tools I might need on this project, so I'll check what he has first before making my purchases.
Today I changed the air filter and windshield wipers, polished the oxidation off of the headlights (I can see!), and figured out I'm woefully ill-equipped to remove the two bolts that hold the muffler in place. Ugh. Those are rusted in place, so that might be something a mechanic's shop gets to do for me. We'll see after I get better tools. The main problem is getting the leverage right, which I might get with several larger wrenches.
To be honest, I had done some work on it previously over the past few weeks, here and there, but that mainly involved getting it cleaned out and detailed (I like my cars to be clean). Today was the first day of actual honest to god repairs.
That being said, I didn't really do much today other than buy parts and figure out how to get things done and in the process of doing that, figure out exactly what tools I'll need to work on the harder tasks. Going to need a breaker bar and a floor jack, for sure, but also a good ratcheting socket wrench and a few socket heads couldn't hurt. However! My dad's extended me an open invitation to raid his tool shed for tools I might need on this project, so I'll check what he has first before making my purchases.
Today I changed the air filter and windshield wipers, polished the oxidation off of the headlights (I can see!), and figured out I'm woefully ill-equipped to remove the two bolts that hold the muffler in place. Ugh. Those are rusted in place, so that might be something a mechanic's shop gets to do for me. We'll see after I get better tools. The main problem is getting the leverage right, which I might get with several larger wrenches.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Book Review; As You Do
I ought to feel ashamed, since I actually finished reading this book several weeks ago, but to be honest I just haven't felt like updating the blog. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the book; I enjoyed Richard Hammond's "As You Do" immensely. I guess I've just been lazy.
Still, my better half is snoozing and I feel like being mildly productive. That, and I'm patient enough to write this review entirely on my phone, so it's lazy streak over and away we go!
"As You Do", by Richard Hammond is one of those books that drew me in immediately, just from reading the description that would be included on the jacket (in this case, it would be the Amazon product description). I mean, come on! He writes about the race to the north pole, the trip across Africa in a tiny little car, and meeting Evel! How cool is that!? Hammond has a particularly conversational writing style, and since he's on Top Gear it's pretty easy to hear his voice while reading the book. Since this book is a behind the scenes sort of affair, that writing style is well served. I could see how that style could be grating in other literary formats, though.
I loved the humor in the book, I don't think I've laughed that much while reading since the last time I read Bill Bryson's "A Walk In The Woods". Completely different types of humor, mind, since Hammond derives his humor from interactions from others while Bryson's humor is more internally driven. Still, giggles while reading is a good thing, and I was happy to have a book that put me in a good mood after reading sessions.
No obvious grammatical or spelling errors that I could pick out, though the book has a way of jumping around in time that I didn't like. I also didn't really appreciate Hammond's negative attitudes towards hunting, and Americans. Then again, he's British, and those folks just seem like they are born to be arrogant and condescending.
All in all, it was a jolly good read that was quick to get through. Hammond is no Heinlein, not even close, but he holds his own. I'd give this book a 77 on my scale, which could have been several points higher if he'd kept some of his sillier opinions to himself.
Still, my better half is snoozing and I feel like being mildly productive. That, and I'm patient enough to write this review entirely on my phone, so it's lazy streak over and away we go!
"As You Do", by Richard Hammond is one of those books that drew me in immediately, just from reading the description that would be included on the jacket (in this case, it would be the Amazon product description). I mean, come on! He writes about the race to the north pole, the trip across Africa in a tiny little car, and meeting Evel! How cool is that!? Hammond has a particularly conversational writing style, and since he's on Top Gear it's pretty easy to hear his voice while reading the book. Since this book is a behind the scenes sort of affair, that writing style is well served. I could see how that style could be grating in other literary formats, though.
I loved the humor in the book, I don't think I've laughed that much while reading since the last time I read Bill Bryson's "A Walk In The Woods". Completely different types of humor, mind, since Hammond derives his humor from interactions from others while Bryson's humor is more internally driven. Still, giggles while reading is a good thing, and I was happy to have a book that put me in a good mood after reading sessions.
No obvious grammatical or spelling errors that I could pick out, though the book has a way of jumping around in time that I didn't like. I also didn't really appreciate Hammond's negative attitudes towards hunting, and Americans. Then again, he's British, and those folks just seem like they are born to be arrogant and condescending.
All in all, it was a jolly good read that was quick to get through. Hammond is no Heinlein, not even close, but he holds his own. I'd give this book a 77 on my scale, which could have been several points higher if he'd kept some of his sillier opinions to himself.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
30 something.
I remember when the Lion King was in theaters, what the world was like before the internet or ubiquitous remotes, and one of my cars doesn't have power windows.
30 isn't a good number. I like prime years, 29 was a prime year, just like 23 and 19 before it. It's nice for your life to be neatly indivisible. I'll get another prime year soon enough at 31, but I won't get another one until I'm 37. Meh.
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