It's hard for me to imagine what this country would look like without an auto industry and the resulting misery of millions more being unemployed will touch us all. I'm an advocate of loaning the companies money but it should be done with lots of strings attached.
Why can't politicians come up with a set of metrics that lay out expectations for quantitative improvement within a specific time? If those expectations are not met then there are consequences - plant closings, salary reductions, et al. Instead all we hear about are parts of the bill that take pot shots at the unions in the form of demands for salary concessions.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Motorcycle Helmet
K and C took me to the local Honda place to get my Christmas gift, a new helmet. The prev one is 14 years old and showing its age. It's an XXL and the new one is XXXL. Talk about a swelled head. I know they loosen up as you wear them but my head felt like it was in a vice when I tried the XXLs on.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tire Mounting
I bought 2 tires. One to replace the flat and another to be mounted on same axle. K took the car to Vince's Saturday morning and asked that he choose the worst of the remaining 3 tires to replace. He chose the passenger rear so the new tires are on the rear. $38 complete.
He asked that when we're ready to replace the others that we get a quote from him for what it would cost if he ordered the tires.
He asked that when we're ready to replace the others that we get a quote from him for what it would cost if he ordered the tires.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Shopping AC
Found ourselves in Atlantic City on Saturday, the day after Black Friday. Part of me wanted to mix with the crowd that I'd seen on the TV news and as we drove into town it was obvious that wasn't going to be a problem.
If you take the expressway to the end it dumps you out on Pacific Ave in front of Caesars where there is a large outlet mall called The Walk. It includes Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Timberland, Banana Republic, etc. And it was mobbed! The first thing Kevie noticed was the long line waiting to get into The Coach Store.
But, behind the casino, off the boardwalk is an up scale mall called The Pier. It includes AG Adriano Goldschmied, A|X Armani Exchange, Burberry, etc. And Apple fan boys understand that The Pier is the true Atlantic City Destination. As expected The Apple Store was packed but the rest of the mall was deserted. Most stores had no customers.
Maybe this is the final comment on this holiday shopping season. Bargains yes, extravagance no.
If you take the expressway to the end it dumps you out on Pacific Ave in front of Caesars where there is a large outlet mall called The Walk. It includes Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Timberland, Banana Republic, etc. And it was mobbed! The first thing Kevie noticed was the long line waiting to get into The Coach Store.
But, behind the casino, off the boardwalk is an up scale mall called The Pier. It includes AG Adriano Goldschmied, A|X Armani Exchange, Burberry, etc. And Apple fan boys understand that The Pier is the true Atlantic City Destination. As expected The Apple Store was packed but the rest of the mall was deserted. Most stores had no customers.
Maybe this is the final comment on this holiday shopping season. Bargains yes, extravagance no.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Flat
On Tuesday I noticed that the driver's side rear tire was flat on the car. Hoping for an easy fix I took the tire to a local garage only to be told that a belt was broken and air was leaking out through cracks around the bulge created by the broken belt.
I didn't think to ask the mechanic what causes such things but wouldn't be surprised to learn that driving over curbs or through pot holes could be responsible. The car is insanely long and it's easy to cut corners short and drive over curbs.
After reading advice about how important it is to have all 4 tires the same diameter on an all wheel drive car I asked myself, "How often do I have the car in AWD?" The answer is almost never. Maybe once every 5 years. So, I fell back to replacing 2 out of the 4.
My experience with buying tires is that I can do my research, pick the tire I want and then end up buying something the salesman says is as good or better. Probably because they don't have that exact tire in the size needed for my car.
This time I hope to get the tire I want. I started at consumerreports.org and chose a tire based on their ratings. Then I went to tirerack.com and ordered 2 of THOSE tires ($108 each). The shipping cost is $35 but, if that's what it takes to get a better, safer tire then I think it's money well spent.
I didn't think to ask the mechanic what causes such things but wouldn't be surprised to learn that driving over curbs or through pot holes could be responsible. The car is insanely long and it's easy to cut corners short and drive over curbs.
After reading advice about how important it is to have all 4 tires the same diameter on an all wheel drive car I asked myself, "How often do I have the car in AWD?" The answer is almost never. Maybe once every 5 years. So, I fell back to replacing 2 out of the 4.
My experience with buying tires is that I can do my research, pick the tire I want and then end up buying something the salesman says is as good or better. Probably because they don't have that exact tire in the size needed for my car.
This time I hope to get the tire I want. I started at consumerreports.org and chose a tire based on their ratings. Then I went to tirerack.com and ordered 2 of THOSE tires ($108 each). The shipping cost is $35 but, if that's what it takes to get a better, safer tire then I think it's money well spent.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Energy Crisis
On Sunday I took the scenic route to Home Depot on the cycle and ran out of gas. I knew I was near the bottom of the tank but had planned to use the reserve to get to the nearest gas station. Imagine my dismay to find the fuel selector already set on 'reserve'. Yes, I am a twit.
A good Samaritan offered me some of his gas but Kevie arrived right before I poured the gas from his can. Cruising range on the bike, including the reserve, is 207 miles.
Replaced the bent front brake handle this weekend.
A good Samaritan offered me some of his gas but Kevie arrived right before I poured the gas from his can. Cruising range on the bike, including the reserve, is 207 miles.
Replaced the bent front brake handle this weekend.
On the House
We're noticing considerable soot around the registers so the heat exchanger in our oil furnace must be cracked. The house was built in the mid/late 70's and the original furnace doesn't owe us anything. Will consider a gas conversion not only because of possible fuel savings but I much prefer to cook with gas and running a gas line to the house gets us closer to a gas range. I plugged in a CO detector we had in the closet so we'll know if it gets really bad.
We had a visit from Ben Franklin Plumbing on Saturday ($347) to fix a pinhole leak in the hot water discharge line. And they replaced the bathroom tub faucet which had developed a hole. The plumber told us that our problems stem from bad water quality, notably iron in the water. The last owner installed a water softener as a condition of selling the house and we've recently tried to stay on top of keeping it charged with chemicals. Hopefully this will address the quality issue.
We had a visit from Ben Franklin Plumbing on Saturday ($347) to fix a pinhole leak in the hot water discharge line. And they replaced the bathroom tub faucet which had developed a hole. The plumber told us that our problems stem from bad water quality, notably iron in the water. The last owner installed a water softener as a condition of selling the house and we've recently tried to stay on top of keeping it charged with chemicals. Hopefully this will address the quality issue.
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