Minor Win thread - Life is good!

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

please keep the updates coming. start a DarkMonohue self-build thread if you feel like you're cluttering up the minor win thread. we want to celebrate with you through the ups and commiserate / encourage you through the downs.

Copy that. Much appreciated. It's easier for me to visualize volume than weight, and the math says I still have eight or nine gallons to shed to get to a reasonably healthy weight, so there will be many opportunities to check in.

(insert hootus joke here)

Having breathing problems, called the doc on a Friday afternoon and got in. Hopefully a little steroids and an increase to my inhaler and I'll be good. If it turns out to be more look for my next post to be in the rant section 🙂

DarkMonohue said:

Copy that. Much appreciated. It's easier for me to visualize volume than weight, and the math says I still have eight or nine gallons to shed to get to a reasonably healthy weight, so there will be many opportunities to check in.

I agree - volume is a much better visual tool. I use the comparison to the five pound chubs of cheap ground beef at the grocery store, since I am not 92% lean! The 80/20 stuff is probably a very good, if not encouraging, measure of how much volume I want to remove.

In reply to BoulderG :

That's a good idea. Right now I'm using Jerry cans.  I'm wearing two too many.

wearymicrobe said:

42 straight days of vacation starting in t minus 3 hours. I keep thinking I am ready for retirement but I am 43 and this is a real test to see if I can live without work. I have never had more then 10 days off in a row since I started working at 15. 

i retired 6 months ago at age 57 and (minor confession) i read job postings occasionally. this week i've been super lazy, and actually thought i should go back to work. Not gonna, just had the thought. :-)

Freebie alerts came in clutch! Answered and ad for 5 free engines for some future project ideas, came away with:

2x Briggs and Stratton Vanguard engines, horizontal shaft

1x Briggs and Stratton 700cc commercial flat twin- bobcat engine?

1x unknown vertical shaft engine

1x single piston Briggs Genset.

One vanguard has been dropped repeatedly so it's likely a parts motor, but this was a hell of a find!

I got a call yesterday from a customer, the starter I installed in January has quit.

In a Tundra.

That we charged 5.5 hours to change.

Towed in.

Today, I found a corroded ground cable connection. 

Relief.

Despite a forecast promising more of the same Western Oregon wetness we've been getting, I managed to complete an entire driveway mechanical task today without getting rained on. And no blood was shed.

I'm cold...I live in Southern California about 12 miles away from the coast by air but there's fog and moisture and stuff and it's just cold.....John Steinbeck "The coldest winter I've ever spent, is the summer I spent In San Francisco".

I went old school and physically walked into my local Target store and picked out a nice fleece-ish lined, sweatshirt / hoodie I liked and paid for it..I'm now warm...I paid $21.02 after the 40% "Early Black Friday " discount.

I was making some coffee here at the shop and while I was picking a filter out of the stack, the lid to the coffee supplies bin slid and fell behind the kegarator and water cooler.  And then it bounced and rolled out the side so I barely had to bend over to pick it back up.

Yeah, it's a REALLY minor win, but I want to celebrate the positive in life!

Third time's the charm. The new-to-us F-350 is finally titled and registered.

Honestly, the first DMV trip bent my head. I got really the only stupid, ignorant, and/or recalcitrant clerk in 35 years of playing with cars in Oregon. The refusal to recognize WSDOT as the Washington State Department of Transportation was indefensible, especially at an office 20 miles from the Washington border.

The second failure was legit; WSDOT had failed to sign off on the odometer disclosure, required on 2011-and-newer vehicles here. Fortunately, the seller, who bought the truck at WSDOT auction, was able to get a separate signed attestation and dropped it off at my house. The clerk who spotted the odometer disclosure issue also gave me a "go to the head of the line" slip, and I was actually at a counter faster today than I had been with an appointment last time. Today was smooove, and my faith in the Oregon DMV significantly resurrected, though watching a couple of unprepared people in front of me reminded me that we'd probably all benefit from some outreach and resources to help people get their ducks aligned before they show up... Which is also better than it used to be with the online resources, but there's still room for improvement.

I had to drive down to pick up the middlest daughter from school today so it was an opportunity to hit Buffalo Trace.  It was a Blanton's day, though, and I'm in Blanton's Jail until January.  My wife decided to blow off her work afternoon and went with me, so I had a clean ID to use.  So now my bottle of Blanton's has a friend.  I've got to make the trip again on Monday, and I'm really hoping for an EH Taylor day, still.

In reply to Jesse Ransom :

I'll never forget the time I showed up to get my non-temporary registration with my driver's license, title, current temp registration, and emissions test paperwork ready to go.  The clerk sighed and smiled and said "Oh good, you know what you're doing" 

I just got done mounting my new Blizzaks on freshly repaired wheels, and tucked the ECS clad wheels into storage, about two hours ago.

We're having the first snow of the season, right now.

Procrastination level: perfection

Wednesday was the sixteenth day of eating deliberately. Total weight loss was eleven pounds. This weekend is undoubtedly going to undo some of that, and I'm not going to beat myself up over it. Sometimes life throws food-themed social obligations at us. Sometimes people show love by overfeeding and feel loved only when the food is eaten. There's not much we can do about either.

Another minor win - maybe a major win - is that I became physically acclimated to eating less over the first two weeks. During and after going through the Thanksgiving motions, I felt crummy. It's an encouraging indication that my body won't fight me in going back to the diet.

Unrelated, but still positive: the valve cover gasket replacement on the 5 seems to have held. I pulled the #1 coil pack today and found that the boot apparently doesn't have a real vent, so any moisture that finds its way in is going to stay there. So the drill did drill things, and now there's a discreet drain hole that should help prevent the water retention that has plagued that coil in the past.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

I'm waiting to get my blizzaks mounted on the Mini. After suffering sticker shock, I guess it's better than the potential insurance deductible and rate increase if the all seasons let me down.  It looks like this week will be the start of steady winter temps with highs reaching mid to high 30s. 

Minor/major win. Replaced the speed senor in the Ram, shifted better, but got a P0720 code. Crawled under and wiggled wires, unplugged and plugged in sensor wiggles connectors and then cleared the codes. Test drive showed all gears are working (including O/D), torque converter is locking up, and no codes after driving on local roads and highway for about 10 miles total. 

I'll use it to run some errands tomorrow, but if it does t act up I'll call Monday and cancel the Tuesday appointment with the transmission shop.

In reply to No Time :

I'll admit that the WS90s for my car were $200 a pop.

But the supplier had two six year old WS80s for $150 a pop.

Well, hell, they'll be worn out next year anyway, may as well save money.

(I only buy two at a time.  The rears get destroyed because alignment wear back there, so last year's fronts become this year's rears and the front gets new)

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

I just got done mounting my new Blizzaks on freshly repaired wheels, and tucked the ECS clad wheels into storage, about two hours ago.

We're having the first snow of the season, right now.

 

Procrastination level: perfection

I put winters on the SS and put it into storage. The Saab, which is my wife's winter daily, does not yet have winters on it. We got snow today. My procrastination sensor is not quite as finely tuned as yours.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

I guess $143 a tire wasn't bad then for WS90 wasn't bad, although balancing, alignment, taxes, etc did jump up the total. 

If they had only installed the right size 195/55R16 instead of the 195/60R16. 

Going to see the Atlanta Braves play the LA Dodgers in Atlanta this summer with my son.

Successfully figured out how to mount 18" Jeep Wrangler wheels on Mrs. ShawneeCreek's new Pacifica for the winter tires. It took 12.5 mm hub-centric wheel spacers meant for a Porsche and extended wheel studs from ARP for the rear of an NB Miata. Both required modification to work in this application.

It turned out nice. Best of all, Mrs. ShawneeCreek agrees. Win.

- Sean

Just scored a straight frnder in the correct color!!

Dusterbd13 said:

Just scored a straight frnder in the correct color!!

I'm not sure whether that was meant to be "fender" or "friend".  In either case, I'm happy for you.

DarkMonohue said:

Dusterbd13 said:

Just scored a straight frnder in the correct color!!

I'm not sure whether that was meant to be "fender" or "friend".  In either case, I'm happy for you.

I was like what's a straight Grindr?

Double win for the holiday. 

I left my front door unlocked while I was gone for the weekend. Nothing happened. 

I lost 4 pounds over the weekend. I think some is water weight as I'm slightly dehydrated but I'll take it.