Federer's Shot

Recorded 60 Minutes yesterday and when I watched later saw that the first 20 mins were preempted by the US Open.  Of course I got sucked into the tennis match only to catch the INCREDIBLE between the legs return.  When i saw it the 1st time I thought he lost the point and then when they did the replay and made it clear that he returned it AND that it was in I just lost it.  Have never seen anything like it in my life.

Woke up this morning expecting them to show it over and over on the news but it got secondary treatment to Venus' explosion which doesn't strike me as half as interesting.

Has The Cash for Clunkers Deal Really Expired?

The "Service Engine Soon" light on my 2001 Suburban has come on several times in the last few months but became more persistent as we headed home from Boston on Saturday so... I took it to the dealer for service yesterday.  Good news is that the remedy will only cost $320.  The full story was

• "Service Engine Soon" light referred to misfires on several cylinders.  Doesn't think it's electrical, like spark plug, so recommends cleaning the fuel injectors $320
• Driver's window motor, regulator, and the rubber channel that the window fits through is dry rotted $530
• Mechanic reports loud noise/rumbling coming from front and diagnosed worn hub bearings that should be replaced.  Replacement includes ABS and wheel speed sensor $1167
• Lubricant in front differential "like molasses."  Rebuild $830 + parts
• Transfer case is also bad.  Doesn't know if he can get a used one but new one is $1900
  

Will do the window motor, injector/engine cleaning, and replace the front hub bearings.  Never use the 4 wheel drive so will avoid the front differential and transfer case for now.

We're in it for the long term so I have no complaints about doing this work on an 8 year old car that has almost 150,000 miles on it.  A lot cheaper than buying a new car.

Underway

First day on the road we crossed into Canada at Niagara Falls on The Peace Bridge and stopped for the evening at The Holiday Inn in Burlington, Ontario.  Just nice to have a place to lay our heads after a long day on the road.

Chris and I were up early and managed some uncharacteristic exercise in the morning.  Chris went for a swim and I ran on the tread mill.  Later we played tennis and, when Kevie got up, she and I played ping pong.

Figured we had another 3.5 hours on the road to get to the cottage at The Bruce so we took time to check out the Huron lake front.  The picture is of Chris and I at the waterfront park in Burlington.

Stocked up on some goodies to share when we got to the cottage.  Got some bread from the bakery and an 8 pack mix/match beers (interesting concept) at the state run liquor store - LCBO.

The Network Problem

2.5 months ago Verizon FIOS was installed in my condo. While the tech was still on the premises I cranked up a browser and made sure that I could browse the web. Success!

I soon noticed that updates from Apple could not be installed on my Macbook. The message was that the downloaded files could not be verified. As the list of uninstalled updates grew larger I took the Macbook to the local independent Mac service place - Tekserve. The tech there successfully downloaded and installed an update then looked at me like I had a screw loose. He told me unequivocally that it was my network. Sure enough, I tried downloading other updates while I was still there connected to his wireless network and they all worked.

Other problems soon became apparent. The PlayStation couldn't download its latest software update. The Tivo couldn't download and install its update.

Did some research on the web and the problem is not ubiquitous. There are some reports of a similar ilk but few enough to make it obvious that this is not a generic FIOS problem. There was a lot of condemnation of the Actiontec M1424-WR router that comes as a part of new FIOS installs but I didn't pay much attention to the detail. Something about overflowing route tables.

A last resort call to Verizon support burned several hours of wait time and time with a tech but in the end there was no resolution and I was dumped off the call with him telling me that they do not filter any IP services. And how does that help me?

So I spoke with a fellow in the Accounting Dept and terminated my service. Ha, that'll show 'em! Then thoughts of it being a problem with the house cabling and/or having to fight Verizon r.e. early termination fees started to gnaw at me. An hour later I called them back and rescinded the cancel order.

Experienced a few afternoons at Starbucks downloading updates and then distributing them to different boxes once I got home. That gets old fast.

Next I tried replacing the Actiontec router ($50) via eBay. The replacement behaved exactly like the original.

BOAT = Break Out Another Thou

OnSite Marine replaced the exhaust manifold gasket on the starboard engine, outboard side, on Saturday. I had brought it to their attention because of a big increase in the volume of the engine's exhaust noise. Ken thought "it wasn't that big of a job" but after taking off the manifold and trying to grind both surfaces flat then re-assembling, it was still not a good seal.

Now the head comes off and goes to the machine shop to be milled. Estimated cost $2K.

In 100 Years

On an instinctual level I know this is true.

Trees

The builder planted 2 trees in the back yard yesterday and I agreed to faithfully water them. The forecast for today was originally wet so was thinking that mother nature would stand in for me. But nooooeeee! Now only puny rain in the early afternoon.

This fulfills the builder's landscaping obligation but now we have a yard of mulch with some interspersed weeds. When we bought the place we saw that landscaping was part of what we were paying for in the association dues. The owners will soon form a board and wrest control of the association from the builder. No grass 'til then.