Dangerous Dave's Debut Dog

This is Geary, our good friend Dave's new - and first! - dog. He got him at a shelter in Plumas County today, and Geary made the 3-hour ride home in good shape.

Just a pup - 11 weeks. Welcome to the pack!

A Very Nice Weekend

It was a very nice weekend in This Land. On Saturday, we took the BMW over to Sonora to have lunch with some friends and see their new house, then after dinner that night we went down to Murphys to try to catch up with the Mother Lode 400 Rally.

As well pulled into the hotel parking lot in my tan 1974 BMW 2002, we see a tan 1974 BMW 2002. Those folks have owned it for 4 days! Nice car - not a single crack in the dash - but it's an automatic so it's a wash. Some cool cars in the Rally (next year!) including a couple of vintage Alphas, several 2002s, a few Datsun roadsters and even a Lancia.

Today started slow and included a lot of small projects, which all got done. Diane spent most of the day with her plants. A BBQ pork tenderloin for dinner, a bit of playing with Gus and we're both pretty well set to hit the ground running work-wise tomorrow.

All in all, excellent!

And Tucker is His Name-O...

Guess they liked that better than Rocket!

(Or maybe they just didn't like the Oldsmobile, and its Rocket 88 engine, as well as the 1948 Tucker Sedan...)

The Newest Edition to the Family

Meet the newest edition to the family. His name may be Reilly, although I'm pushing for Rocket. (Rocket Reilly works, no?)

He's Gina and Ben's new boy, one of the litter Coco had across the street.

When he has an official name, I'll share!

Did I Mention I Like a Project?

It's not the car. OK, it it'll always be the car, but not this very instant.

Right now, it's the ground beneath the car.

This is the parking area just to the side of our garage, and as you can see, it's packed rock. Or at least it was before Monday when I got out there with a pick and shovel and started taking out the rock layer. Got that finished tonight.

Next step will be taking out about four inches of hard-packed dirt, then building forms, putting the rocks back, laying in reinforcement, then pouring concrete. It's a 20 x 12 space, so it's a fair amount of work.

But, when it's done, it'll be much neater and a much safer place to jack up a car (should that ever be necessary...) than it is now. Maybe a carport will also go over the top - who can say?

Bye-bye Pretty Motorcycle...

Sold the bike today to a guy in Angels Camp who, like me, likes vintage automotive stuff.

Sad, but. I'd rather do stuff with my beautiful bride than go off by myself, so the bike never quite got used as much as it should have. And it's going to a good home, so all is well.

And the guy is putting together a team for the 24 Hour of Lemons Race (sub-$500 cars), and I just might be a part of that. So, as AD has already realized, likely not any long-term net financial gain here...

Pomp. Circumstance. Shades.

It's graduation season in This Land - or at least at Cal some three hours west of This Land.

Frankie's two departmental graduations were both nice - political science outdoors without stress, African American Studies indoors with the stress of giving the valedictory speech (which was great.)

That's Frankie and Becca on stage (and in the crowd), and Frankie and his girlfriend Katherine after graduation #1.

The future's so bright...

Geek From Go - Deal With It

Saw Star Trek today and loved it.

As a kid, I loved the original series. Knew all the episodes. Had a phaser flashlight and a viewscreen in my clubhouse.

NO complaints about the series reboot. The original Trek characters were always the coolest, and to see them back in action is fine by me. You don't have to be a fan to enjoy the movie, either. (Karl Urban as McCoy steals the frickin' show, though, and you have to know the original Bones to get that.)

Anyway, highly recommended, But my my cell ringtone is the Doctor Who theme, if that colors the recommendation at all...

Small Saw 1. Big Tree 0.

Just in case it ever comes up, when the borrowed neighbor's chainsaw fails to start, the proper next step is renting a real chainsaw, not seeing if your old 12-inch electric originally purchased by your grandpa will get the job done.

Although, if you stay at it long enough (and the motor doesn't burn up...) it will.

Notice the top half of the big trunk beyond the fence - I had to take down a few sections of fence and roll back the wire to drop the big sucker. The skinny tree next to it I used a hand saw on after the chainsaw motor did give out.

Swine Flu. Bunker. Done.

So if this swine flu thing gets bad, send all correspondence directly to the bunker. That's why all that canned chili and Milwaukee's Best is down there...

It's Actually Not to Keep Gus In

It's to keep Hanna out.

And Dance.

And Coco.

As much as we like the neighborhood dogs - and we do quite like the neighborhood dogs - we decided that they don't need to spend as much time on our front porch as they had been. Most of the time it's not a problem, but first thing in the morning it can actually be dangerous as Crazy Hanna throws herself at us and Gus throws himself at her. One too many mornings when Diane had to start her day yelling at dogs and trying to keep from getting her knees taken out led to the gate.

It swings out, of course, so you can bonk crowding dogs with it, if need be. Had to buy the latch and primer - rest I already had.

Because Everyone Needs a New Automotive Plan

So if nothing else, my automotive decision-making processes are interesting.

Here's the latest candidate - early '80s Mercedes 300 SD turbodiesel. Big, bulletproof, high-20s mpg long-distance cruiser.

Decidely not a sports car, but that's what the '02 can do. Any thoughts from the gallery?

A Picnic Day Picnic

Had a lovely Picnic Day picnic in Davis yesterday. Picnic Day is UC Davis's big spring celebration. (We've gone three or four times now, once in pouring rain....) Yesterday was beautiful weather, but we didn't stay on campus very long.

Gina and Ben had a barbecue at their house, so we were on campus long enough to grab Frankie (who came over on a bus with the Cal Band) and head out to G&B's 40 Acres of Stuff. (Not their stuff, but they live among it...)

Nancy was down from Oregon visiting Dee, so they drove up as well. We brought the dogs, and everybody had a great time. (Great burgers and beans - them young'uns can cook.) Gina's apparently unclear on the whole sunscreen thing though.

It was our second weekend outing in a row with dogs and Gus is a crackup when we get home. He jumps out of the car and immediately launches into his best menacing bark - in all four directions. Not sure what he thinks other people and dogs are doing while he's gone, but he damn sure wants them to know he's back and to knock off those shenanigans!

Unrequited Car Lust; Unresolved Car Issues

I'm having car issues.

One broken nut KO'ed the 2002 for far longer than one broken nut should. (I have a new tranny being shipped from a dismantler on the coast - should get it late next week and hopefully be back to 100% shortly thereafter.) It's on the road, but leaking trans fluid and not a long-distance option.

The little Toyota truck that gets us to and from the dump is probably going with Frankie after he graduates (and it needs an O2 sensor replaced...)

The Hyundai has 110,000 on it, and we plan to keep it around for many, many more. When we replace it, the replacement needs to meet the following criteria:

• Safe
• Reliable
• Economical
• Comfortable
• All Wheel Drive

And that's a list that starts to limit your options...

Without the AWD requirement, there are many decent options. But because of where we live, AWD isn't a convenience. We don't go to visit the snow once in a while. We have to get home in it on a seasonably predictable basis, and yes we can chain up and yes I do chain up but it's not a safe or enjoyable activity.

And, if Frankie does need the truck after graduation, there's that to consider. I haul more than trash (and Diane's shed components won't fit in my BMW's trunk...)

I know even in the short term I probably need to look at a decent used Civic or Corolla, just so we have a second distance-worthy option. And I will.

But all the photos in this post are pictures of cars I've posted before; cars I've lusted after, wanted to buy, or even planned to buy sometime in the last two or three years.

It's a pretty good photo array, I think, and there's not a civic to be seen...

Everyone's a Critic

So I was feeding the dogs the other morning, and apparently I didn't prepare Miss Idgie's food to her liking. I set down the bowls, she sniffed, then proceeded to push the bowl off the back deck into the dirt.

Rude, I tell you.

Guibo Failure and Other Bad Things

As some of you may know, my 2002 has been grounded for about a week. I was driving in Stockton, heard speed-related clicking or tapping coming from the driveline, then a bang.

Here's the culprit and the damage. The rubber donut here is called a guibo and it connects the transmission to the driveshaft. One of the eight bolts making that connection backed out, and unfortunately it was one of the four that face the transmission. (Yes, they were nylock nuts but it apparently didn't help.)

The clicking was the bolt hitting the trans case, the bang was the bolt getting caught against it and breaking it.

The only good thing in all of this is that Anonymous Diane learned a new word and now gets to say "guibo" whenever she wants!

Snow, Snow and More Snow

I'd post pictures, but you've seen it all before.

In other cool news, the Amazon page for my book now has the cover image. Woo-hoo!

A 24-Dog Circle and One Leashed Cat

Our neighbor counted and our block is very dog-friendly, apparently...

Not sure what to say about the leashed cat (or the woman who "walks" her...)

The Christmas of Rubber Chickens

Did I ever mention the time I hid the kids' Christmas gifts in rubber chickens?

A Blast From the Past

Uncle Don sent me this photo yesterday. Has to be what, 1971 or so?