Grrrragh, Grrrrrragh, Grrrrragh

Here's a cool thing about having a cute dog: I don't have to write nothing and my blog is still fun to visit.

Enjoy the cuteness!

Original Doug

It occurs to me that I've never posted the first picture of Gus, taken at the Tuolumne County Animal Shelter when he was still Doug.

This is the picture I saw on my computer that Sunday night last week.

What a face!

You Gotta Keep 'em Carburated

The puppy's not cute anymore, so I guess we'll go back to motorcycle parts.... (Not true, of course, but everyone deserves a break now and again.)

The motorcycle has been good lately. First, I finally found the left-side carburetor I needed on the eBay a few weeks ago. When I bought the bike it had mis-matched carbs and there was no way to balance them (except by ear) and as a newbie my ear had no training to do it. (When you have multiple carbs feeding air and fuel into different cylinders, you want them to be working the same so half your engine isn't working harder than the other half.) I also got it for about $50, and I'd seen the same carbs go as high as $150.

Then I sold some stuff. The factory seat. The original grab bar attached to the factory seat. The squarish-looking valve covers. All stuff I either got originally with the bike or things I had made redundant with upgrades. Let the auctions roll for a week, and made over $400 for all the stuff.

Rode the bike to Modesto last Saturday and spent a good chunk of my winnings at the BMW shop there. Got a device to balance my now-matched carbs. Get a rebuild kit to install all new gaskets and O-rings in my carbs. Found these boots on clearance for half-off because they only had oddly huge sizes left, but as I happen to take an oddly huge size, it was a good thing.

But here was the problem: Inside a carburetor are little parts called jets that let a certain amount of fuel through at different times. They're like little hose nozzles, and they come in different sizes. And to match and balance carbs, they have to have the same size jets.

Which means to make my new carb work, I had to take the jets out of the old one. Which means if anything goes wrong, neither carb will be available and my pretty motorcycle will be garage art until I get it sorted. Last night I started the process and got the jets out of the old carb and into the new and got the new installed on the bike. And it started! There's still lots of adjusting and balancing to do, which I didn't tackle last night, but the fact that it started (and ran on both cylinders) is an encouraging sign. Hopefully today I'll get time to dial it all in.

And the old carb is listed on the eBay, if you know anyone who is looking for a 32mm Bing 64/32/4 carb!

Fuzzy Bunny and the Cookie Man

Until somebody forces us to stop (or, as Koji's Kitchen suggests, Gus get uncute...) I think we'll keep posting pictures.

Unless he eats the camera or both computers, I suppose.

Actually, we haven't lost anything valuable to incessant puppy chewing yet, although anything within one foot of the ground is in Gus's opinion fair game. We'd bought a half-dozen toys before we brought him home, all different textures and types, and that's helped, then yesterday I rode my motorcycle to Modesto and stopped on the way home and bought 11 new toys at the Dollar Store. (INcluding Fuzzy Bunny and Cookie Man...)

Housebreaking is going pretty well. We take him out every time he wakes up, and he's only had a few accidents in the house. I don't think he's learned NOT to go in the house, he just really doesn't have the opportunity. Which works too.

He did have some excitement in the culvert that runs under our driveway yesterday - plunging himself headlong into the 12" pipe and going in far enough we couldn't see him any longer. Heard some growling, too, so I don't know if he ran into things living in said culvert. Fortunately, he still small enough to turn around and with a flashlight we were able to coax him out. (He was a scared puppy!) I put wire fencing in front of both ends of the thing, so he won't get back in. He still goes down and investigates it though, so he's either a) Not a wimpy puppy, b) Is a slow-learning puppy, or c) All the above.

At least he's quiet when he sleeps!

World, Meet Gus. Gus, Go Gnaw the World!

I have been told that not posting new, cute puppy pictures is a bad thing.

I hadn't been putting up new pictures because I don't want to be a bore, but Retired Mama informed me that if I wanted to stay in her good graces, there'd better be new puppy pictures soon.

The dutiful son, I comply.

Plan your attack...

CHOMP!

The Name Game, part 4...

I guess Gus is emerging as a darkhorse candidate...

"Damn Little Interloper" is Idgie's pick.

More Important than Iowa Polls: Rufus or Harper?

OK friends and neighbors, it's narrowing down to two favorites: Rufus or Harper.

Your votes and reasoning will be taken under advisement and fodder for the discussion.

I suppose that in the interest of full disclosure that one of Frankie's friends suggested Gooper, but I'm not sure it's a finalist.

The Puppy Formerly Known as Doug

This is the Puppy Formerly Known as Doug.

He came home to This Land today. Didn't expect it. In fact, on our recent trip to visit Koji's Kitchen in Long Beach we stopped and looked at some lab puppies at a breeder in Merced. Decided we didn't want those puppies, and driving back had a long discussion about if I was ready or not.

I didn't want to rush. I didn't want to bring in a new guy before I was done mourning Spanky. And I know puppies are a handful. I even brought it up, warning Diane I wasn't sure I was ready, just to make sure the gathering steam didn't roll me along.

Then last night I got onto Petfinder and found puppies just available for adoption at the Tuolumne County shelter. Including this guy, whom they had named Doug.

When I saw my motorcycle on Craigslist I knew it was going to be my motorcycle. When I saw this guy, I knew he was going to be my dog. We bought toys and puppy food while they checked our vet history at the shelter, and he came home with us about noon.

Diane thinks his name might be Marvin. Darby and Bixby have also been considered. What's he look like to you? He's a mighty mix (Muttus americanis...) and looks like he'll be a big boy. Eight weeks now.

Instant Karma

I stopped at Sears today on my lunch break in Stockton to buy a wrench. (Adjusting the valves on my motorcycle requires the use of two 12mm wrenches, and I have one.) So I rectified the situation.

I used to hate Sears, mostly because the service was horrible. I don't hate it so much anymore and do like their tools, so I shop there fairly frequently. (A tool chest like the one shown here is on my wish list for the medium-distance future...)

But today I had the same lousy service that used to drive me away from Sears. The cashier had no time for me - the conversation with her co-worker was clearly more interesting - and just dumped my receipt and change into my hand. She didn't explain the coupon that also printed out and was just generally rude.

So naturally I looked for a "tell us how we're doing" message on the receipt and found one. Took the on-line survey, told Sears exactly how I was treated and felt much better.

So today's business lesson: If you're gonna treat customers badly, give them the opportunity to complain!

Tagged

Koji's Kitchen tagged me to come up with five things that make me eccentric. I'll do my best.

1) I'd rather fix things than buy them new. Not everything, of course (medical devices come to mind...) but often. I enjoy working on my 1974 BMW motorcycle as much as I enjoy riding it. There was an article in a BMW MOA magazine recently about a guy who had his dad's late-70s R100 restored. Shipped it to some guy and wrote big checks and 18 months later got the bike back. It's beautiful, sure, but he did nothing and learned nothing. There's nothing in that bike that's his.

2) I need a project. Something that needs doing or fixing, and preferably something that requires a chase. A chase for parts, for knowledge, doesn't really matter. Years ago I built a very nice Morris chair. Hand-crafted out of oak. Someone suggested I build more and sell them. Couldn't imagine anything less fun. Building one of something is creation. Two and more is production.

3) I don't read much. Which I guess is a problem, since I've been earning a living as a writer for more than 20 years. I read non-fiction mostly, how-to stuff often. I read magazines. The novels I pick up and stay with I usually in one or two sittings.

Guests have arrived, so three will have to do.

Magic Eye Motorcycle

This is one of those Highlights magic eye games.

Can you find six differences? Five? Three are pretty obvious; the rest don't show as clearly in the photos as they might.

(Hint: The photos being taken at different times of the day does not count...)

New Shoes!!

Yesterday we got new shoes.

Our cars did, anyway. These are the Michelin LTXs I wrote about a while ago, purchased without guilt or regret at the Stockton Costco. The tread grooves look almost freakishly deep (especially after how bald Diane's back tires were...) and they ride very nice. The deep grooves and square edges will be good in snow.

I even think both of our engines sound a little louder now because there is less road noise. I'll look for any changes in milage as well and report back.

Back in the Closet

Now that Diane is back in town with the camera, I can post a few closet pictures.

(Expect pretty New York pictures soon.)

Here's the before - the same light mint color as our bedroom, initially with no shoe cubbies (left), then with shoe cubbies.

I think the best thing I did in this project isn't the paint (and certainly isn't the color), it's the finishing touches before the paint. The original shelf supports stock out past the edge of the shelves and weren't uniform. Now they're all flush and matched. The shoe cubby had some rounded-front shelves and some flat-front shelves. Now every shelf is rounded.

The color is too pink for our taste, but didn't look that way until it went up on the wall. I told Sonnjea it was tan with too much pink, and she said that sounds like flesh and even she wouldn't put that color on a wall. I debated repainting, but decided to put the closet back together first and see if it was OK. It is - you just can't see a big enough expanse of wall anywhere for it to be too bad. When we pick a better color for the bedroom walls, I'll revist the closet if it looks bad in comparison.

At least I started with one gallon of paint and in the closet and don't have five gallons of flesh going to waste!

(And if anyone is wondering why I'm only showing pictures of my side of the closet it's because Diane just got back in town and hasn't had a chance to organize her side of the closet...)

Bam!

I've officially been writing this blog for one year.

I can think of no better way to mark the occassion than a picture of Davey in a chef's coat.

Bam!

Euphoria in Eugene

Well, for folks wearing blue and gold, anyway.

The trip to Eugene was tremendous fun, thanks to wonderful hospitality by the NSO folks. It was a treat to see and stay in their new house and eat much tasty food. (I didn't keep a running log like some people...)

We promised Sara special mention for suggesting and navagating to the Italian restaurant after the game - beating the crowds by moments.

The picture above was just after the game, as you might have guessed. Neither Frankie or Diane actually passed out, but I don't think either was far from it.

This was at the College Gameday broadcast before the game. We were not, however, ever seen on camera.

The Stadium itself is beautiful. The adult fans treated us well. Students - not so much. A pretty hostile place.


But mixed families were not uncommon!

Since I almost never get into the pictures, here's one where I am. However after seeing the hardhat, I suspect people prefer the old way better...

Oh yeah - GO BEARS!

Of Bathrooms and Bolivia

Last week, with no apparent warning, it was time to paint the master bath. It was looking a little raggedy, and I never did like the mirror the previous owners left us.

Diane picked the color - "Hint of Olive" it's called - and I painted the walls and trim. (You can see the old color, the color our bedroom still is, on the right edge of the photo.)

The mirror is new, too. Bought the glass at the Home Depot on Saturday, and I made the frame.

What does any of this have to do with Bolivia? Nothing. But we got word today that Bolivia is where Gina will be going with the Peace Corps. Reports for training in mid-January. Her tour ends in late April 2010.

Coolest Car Ever?

Here's my new dream car. It is a BMW, but not the new M3 or 1-series or even an M6.

It's a 1939 328 roadster.

The chances of my owning one of these are about nil, but I have to wonder - would a Nova frame be about the right size? Or maybe a PT cruiser?

Now that would be a project!

Buying Local, But...

I believe in buying local. I prefer shopping at the local Ace Hardware in Arnold, and at the local Napa Auto in Arnold. Not only are they close, but I'm willing to spend a few bucks more to support stores - and people - in the area.

So today I'm feeling guilty.

We need tires on our rigs. Diane got 72,000 miles on a set of BF Goodrich Long Trail TAs, and I got 40,000 on Bridgestone Duelers. (I'm considerably less enamored with the Bridgestones...) There's a tire shop here in Avery and I've had repairs done there and like the guy and went to price tires there today, knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to beat, say, Costco's price. (I'm not a big Costco fan, but Diane is so we are members.)

Both the local guy and Costco guy recommended Michelin LTX's highly, and so do consumer review sites. I'd spend $50 or $60 more per car to shop locally, I really would. But with a special coming up Oct. 8 at Costco, the difference is $185 - per car.

That's just too much money to leave on the table, so as much as I hate to say it, Costco got the order.

(By the way, this is a slightly different font than I usually use. What do folks think?)

More Top Gear Madness

For folks who don't get BBC America, Top Gear, the show referenced in my previous post, does have a website, www.topgear.com, and on that website has video clips of different show segments. Here's a typical example: Cadillac CTS clip

Also check out the Cool Wall, where you get to decide if a particular car is seriously uncool, uncool, cool or subzero, and pop-up Jeremy tells you if, in his not-so-humble opinion, you're right and why. It's worth putting cars in different places just to see the pop-ups. (His discription of the Jeep Wrangler, for instance, notes that it was made in the Stone Age. By monkeys. Another car he describes as, "ugly and serves no descernable purpose. Like Wales."

Some Say He is Stumped by Clouds....

I have a new favorite TV show. Or am I supposed to call it a program?

It's Top Gear, a BBC import. They test and review new cars (and some very high-end cars indeed...) and do dumb automotive-related stuff. Some lines from recent episodes:

"This is what it'll be like for me in hell: A TR, a racetrack and a pedantic Scotsman..."

"Odious little man."

"I'm on fire..."

To an audience member: "Have you seen your ears?!" (He really did have big Dumbo ears...)

This one is a conversation:

"It's on fire."

"It can't be on fire. (looks) It's on fire."

"Run!"

We get it on BBC America, and if you haven't seen it (and enjoy sharp-witted British humour) check it out!

Blackouts and Burglars

I often sing the praises of mountain living, but there are occassional downsides as well.

There was the scorpion I found in the garage the other night, for instance. Not a big deal (or a big scorpion...), but I assume there are some folks out there who really wouldn't want to find a scorpion in their garage.

Last night we had an eight-hour power outtage. Power went out around 2:20 p.m. when a transformer blew. Diane was home and saw it flicker around 4 p.m., followed the loud BOOM of another transformer blowing.

More BOOMS followed at 5:45, 6:30 and 7:30ish. Not quite sure what was going on -- nor was PG&E apparently -- but they got it back on at 10:30 p.m. And honestly it hasn't happened much since we've been here. Diane says the power used to go out every time it snowed at her old house in Avery, but we rarely lose power here. The BBQ and propane stove came in handy for dinner last night.

Then about 5 a.m. I heard noises in the house - it sounded like Idgie eating her dry food, which she doesn't often do at 5 a.m. So I got up to investigate and let her out to pee if need be, and I as walk toward the laundry room where the dog food is I head footsteps on the stairs down to the garage.

But the crunching sounds continued. Curious...

I turn on a light and see the masked burglar - a young raccoon calmly munching away on kibble. He hides behind the bag, and I try to figure out the best way to de-raccoon my house. (I'd left the garage door cracked open six inches or so to get some air in the garage over night, which is how he got in.) I set up a little barrier with a blanket and bar stool blocking off the hall coming out of the laundryroom that didn't lead back to the stairs, then just watched. He watched me, ate a few more kibbles, then came out.

Rather than sneaking along the wall as far away from me as possible then running down the stairs, the raccoon walked over to the blanket and stood up and looked at me a while -- and another one I hadn't seen behind the dog food bag followed him and stood and stared too -- then they both waddled down the stairs and took off. As burglars go, they were damn cute. Idgie and Diane slept through the whole thing.

Guess I shouldn't leave my garage door cracked open at night...

Bears and Extra-Large Dogs

Saturday was fan appreciation day at Memorial Stadium, and Frankie's Birthday, so naturally we went.

Diane got that penant you see peeking out behind Oski signed by a bunch of players and Cal Coach Jeff Tedford (see photo), and I got Frankie's football signed by the same bunch of players and coach while he was playing with the band.

The coolest thing we saw, though, was Betty. Betty was about 8 weeks old, and Diane got to pet her. She's an American Mastiff, but I didn't take pictures.

Here are some, however, of grown-up (and not so grown up) American Mastiffs.

The big guy here is Thibodeaux. (No idea who the woman is.) The small photo is also Thibodeaux when he was a pup. American Mastiffs apparently have a very nice temperment - kinda lazy but loving and loyal.
They are usually tan with black masks, or like the girls pictured below, brindle. We're not ready for a new member of the family and I'm not sure I'd go the purebred huge dog route anyway, but I do like big sweet dogs. And what faces!

Clearly Movement in the Right Direction

Yes, it's another electric usage and cost comparison, so you have been warned...

Thanks to CFLs, reinsulating our spa and a decent conscious effort to turn lights off and only use the ones we need, our August electric usage was 650 kilowatt hours, down from 998 last year. (22.4 per day from 33.3)

Our bill is $100, down from $200 last year.

Last year we were using an average of 33.4 kilowatt hours a day; this year it's 24.1 Last year from May to now, we'd paid PG&E $858. This year it's $476. (A 44.5% drop) Our usage is down from 4,210 to 2,923, a 30.6% drop.

This is clearly movement in the right direction. Can you imagine if everyone did this?

In Praise of New Parts

I love new parts.

Ordered a couple of small pieces from Bob's BMW in Jessup, Maryland last week and they came in yesterday. One was a plastic threaded knob that holds down the battery, replacing one that was functional but broken.

The other was this, the bleed valve for the front disk brake. (The rear brakes are drums, so no bleed valves there...)

The problem with brake fluid, which is what you bleed through this valve, is that it absorbs water from the air and promotes rust. The valve getting rusty can make it hard to turn, which can lead to rounding off the shoulders if you use a 12-point box-end wrench instead of a 6-point box-end wrench and necessitate buying new parts.

But new parts are shiny and clean and install nicely and make my motorcycle happy and safe, which is a priority, especially when it comes to brakes.

(Hey, here's another benefit of my workbench painting last week - neater pictures of parts!)

Bored & Geeky - A Bad Combination

On Monday afternoon I was stuck waiting for a phone call and didn't have any pressing work until said call came in. So I was Bored.

Decided to paint my workbenches white, since I had cabinet paint and they would look better and clean up easier than the unfinished (and stained) MDF and plywood does.

Did buy the sky blue paint and add the checkered band across the center bench. Like I said, Bored and Geeky...

Superhero Names for Us All

So I went to the post office today to send two more copies of my book proposal to my agent, and they have a Marvel comics promotion for usps.com which includes a $10,000 sweepstakes. So I entered, and after I submitted my entry it takes me to a "discover your secret identity" page. Type in your name and it tells you your superhero name. (It is very poorly named itself, because your secret identity name is your regular boring street name, a la Clark Kent, not your superhero name.

ANYWAY, I did us all.

According to the Post Office, I am really "Sledge Eternal Brain."

Sonnjea is Samurai Barracuda.
Scott is Samauri Krusher.
Sara is Sabretooth Vulcan.
Dave is either Eel Vulture or The Deadly Voyager, depending.
Annoymous Diane is Doomsday Nova
and...
Retired Mama is Radiation Madman! I knew it!!!!

Pie and Parts

Yeah, with that headline I'd be worried too. But the pie is delicious, peach, and entirely Diane-made right down to picking the fruit.

Here's the original picture of my motorcycle, and below it a current picture. I'd used Publisher to put in clever little arrows to point out improvements, but they've disappeared. (Apparently I'm not as clever as I thought...)

But if you look closely, you'll spot them. The front fork brace was chipped and rusty and the

nuts holding it in place were rusty. The rear shocks were rusty. The sidecovers were missing. The valve cover was faded and chipped.

I've also used the ebay to find a tool tray, which was missing when I got the bike, and made the seat lock work so the new tool tray won't go missing.

In other news, I saw Bourne yesterday and it's quite good.

Diane Goes to Football Camp

You know it had to happen.


Diane went to football camp today - about three hours on Memorial Stadium with Cal coaches and players in a camp for women.

She was walking slowly up the stairs when we got home, but I think the only muscle she really strained was her smile muscle!

Just a bit low!

Done and Done

Today I finished graduate school.

OK, I got the degree from Columbia University back in 1993, but it came with strings attached. Those strings were pulled by Sallie Mae, who has enjoyed getting a check from me every month for the past 14 years.

Well, Sallie can go to hell.

A few months ago, I transferred most of my remaining $7,500 balance onto a Discover card with a locked-in interest rate of 3.9%. (Sallie was taking 9%...) Paid off the remaining Sallie Mae balance a few months ago, and have been working through the $5,000 I put on Discover. Today I paid the last of that off and am, finally, DONE WITH STUDENT LOANS!

Unfortunately, Sallie had a buddy named Chase. Working to get him off my back next.