Meet Virginia

This is most interesting. Around seven years ago, our last outdoor cat passed. In the last few weeks, another cat has shown up in our neighborhood, and, not having seen her in around seven years, she looks almost exactly the same!!! I suppose it's completely possible that this one of her descendants. My younger boy did the same move we'd done with the original, gave her some food. She's been back a few times. She's a little spooky, but kind of a people cat once you get up to her. Entirely possible that she's someone's pet, and thus far she's eluded the coyotes. The original we'd named Shenandoah, and for the last six months or so, the John Denver classic, "Country Road" has been on the boy's list, on account of Fallout 76. Since Shenandoah Valley is mentioned in the song, he thought the new one should have some name also from the song. I suggested "Ridge", short for Blue Ridge mountains, also unique and monosyllabic. That didn't stick. He dubbed her Virginia.

2018: The Year in Food

Welcome to the end of the year!!! It's been a pretty good one, and at this time, there's always a bunch of lists and retrospectives, so here's another!!! A look back at some of the stuff I ate!!!

To start off, I'm always looking for a good Chicago deep dish pizza. There's a few places that are purported to to serve it up, but the only new to me one I tried was a place called Dough Box. It's pretty decent, but not quite as good as the one I had in Chicago.

Next up is a creation of my own. The Woody Show had a segment on the ultimate stoner foods, and one was a grilled bacon cheese peanut butter & jelly sandwich. I think Menace may have cooked some up. Probably on 4-20. I love me a grilled PB&J, it's a meal and dessert in one, so I tried out the embellishments, and it was pretty good. Added in some grilled onions, and if I remember, I had some fancy kind of cheese. When I went to make it, though, there was only one slice each of two different kinds of bread, so it was a real mash up.

I've been going to the Aldi by my work for some time now. they have some of the best prices on most stuffs. One time while I was there, they had Jeno's East Chicago deep dish pizzas for around $6. Had to get one, and while, once again, not as good as Chicago, it was still quite plausible, for a fraction of the price. I think I got one more before they sold out, and they came back later and I got 2 or 3 more.

Next up, Oinkster had their Burger Week again. I skipped last year, but this year they were bringing back a few of my favorites, so I made it a quest again. I think the winner for my favorite was the Thrilla from Manilla. Pork patty with shrimp & mushrooms in a lumpia wrapper, green papaya relish, pork belly, and sweet sweet Thai sauce.

I was looking most forward to the Pantera burger, with grilled mac & cheese, pulled pork, bacon and garlic aioli. Sounded awesome, but for some reason I was underwhelmed.

One of my favorites from my first time was the Bet it All on Black Garlic burger, with a lot of garlic stuff on it, too. When we got there for this one, they told us they were out of the black buns, so it'd be on just a regular bun, but when I got it home, it was black!!! Didn't seem as garlicy as the first one I'd had.

They also had several of their "tribute" burgers, starting with the Big Max, then the Sourdough Josh, and the week ended with the McRibster, which makes the original seem like the ribwich from the gas station!!!

Habit Burger never disappoints, and I made it by for the limited time guacamole crunch burger, and it was well worth it. Later on in the year they had a French Onion burger that was also quite good!!!

Here's one I happened on. For National Donut Day, Burger King came up with the Whopper Donut!!! Only five locations in the country were going to have them, and one was close to where I was going to be, so I was able to get in on it!!!

Really nothing that special, just a Whopper with the middle punched out. Comes with a "mini Whopper slider", which is just the punched out center. Whopper is a pretty good mass-production burger, so I enjoyed it.

As briefly mentioned, we went to the Orange County Fair this year. Always fair food to be had, and here's a few!!! We got some of the Australian Battered Potatoes, which were quite good.

Of course, deep fried stuff had to be consumed. I got some deep fried cheesecake, the younger boy got some deep fried Oreos.

Mom got the deep fried Nutella. Looked bad, tastes good. She also got some pizza on a stick later on.

Of course, they had the Christmas party for my work this year. Seemed like a lot of people weren't going when you'd talk to them, but once we got there, every place you look you see someone. I'm always tempted to get the fish, but I got the filet mignon, and it was good!!! Mine was kind of thin, but that made it nicely cooked throughout. Dessert was these little cakes.

Just the other day I went to Taco Bell and had them try and make a re-creation of Woody's deep dish Mexican pizza!!! He'd gone to their test kitchen and stacked it to where it'd just barely fit in their oven. I basically just had 'em double up everything, and it looks like it could have gone taller, but it was honestly more than enough!!!

Finally, back at the end of August, noted crackpot California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman was calling for a boycott of In-N-Out Burger. All that made me do is want an In-N-Out Burger. The next night, I went by and got one. The boycott doesn't seem to have done them any harm. It occurred to me just the other day, I can't recall the last time I've had an In-N-Out Burger that wasn't prepared animal style!!!

I took this picture and posted it on Twitter. I think it may have been the most liked and retweeted post I've ever done. For the text, I just did three words.

God bless America.

Flat

It has been a while, yet again. I'd wanted to get more blogging in this year, and may have been somewhat successful. Anyway, last month my wife and I went up to northern California for a anniversary weekend. It was pretty fun.

We flew out of Long Beach, which is always a far superior experience than Los Angeles. The options of the flight were early morning or late evening. To keep from blowing the whole day (and as the day wears on, it seems more likely for a flight delay) we elected the morning flight. Of course, this means arriving well before check in time at our lodging. We got our rental car, one of the style I like where they just point you to the class of car you've rented and tell you to take your pick. I like the hatch style of the Hyundai Accent, so we took that and just started cruising about at random. First city areas, then farmlands, then we were in a forest area.

When I pulled off to take a few pictures, I noticed that the Hyundai is a 512'er!!! Pretty cool. Got to catch the end of The Woody Show on KFOG, and then discovered that our rental had satellite radio, and listened to that some. It was getting towards that time, so we started looking for someplace to eat. Rolling down the freeway, and suddenly the tire pressure light comes on!!! It began making a noise of a flat, and there was an exit coming up, so I kept going along to get off the freeway. The road we exited onto had no shoulder, so I continued to the next cross street and turned onto it, then pulled off to the side.

Yeah, it was flat all right. I moved our luggage out of the trunk into the back seat to get at the spare. Surprise, no spare!!! Just a compressor and a can of sealant. I have heard the sealant can foul the tire pressure sensors, so before I tried it, I called the rental company. They said to give it a try, so I went ahead. Connect the sealant to the line and compressor and let it run for 3 minutes. I did that, and it was as flat as ever. I noticed that there were three of one brand of tire, and a fourth was different, and the one that had gone flat had some cupping on the edge. I suspect that there has been some kind of suspension damage that causes one tire to wear quickly.

Called the rental company back, and they said they would send a truck. Could be an hour and 15 minutes, but it was only about the 15 minute. Back to the rental place, where the tow truck couldn't get into the garage because of the height, so he dropped us outside the structure. Went back, and they said to get another of my choosing, and suggested a Kia Rio S that was almost new, less than 1,000 miles. Also got phenomenal mileage.

Where we'd pulled off the road, there was a dead mouse laying there. Not a great sign, but the rest of the weekend was fine. At first I was thinking that this was the first time I'd had such a problem with a rental, but then I remembered the Mazda that had a window come off it's tracks. Was also thinking it's the first flat I've had in a while, but there was the shanking of Jade from earlier this year, as well as tires on Scruffy that would get low on air. So, this was the first time I've had an automotive incident where I've been stuck on the side of the road since the couple of times where AAA Screwed me over!!!

Rollin'

Over the weekend I finally got tires for the rims I got a few weeks back.

I couldn't wait to take some pictures of them, and so I got a few not great shots at night. I'm very pleased with how they look and fit!!!

If you happen to remember way back when all this started, I had some different rims, and you may wonder what became of them. I had them on the back porch area of my house, which is well hidden and not an area where anyone goes. I was waiting until I rebuilt the suspension and got it aligned to put them on. Just a few weeks before I got that wrapped up, some LA DWP workers were towards that area, working on the sewer lines, and when I went to retrieve them, they were gone. While I have no proof, I have a very strong suspicion as to what happened there.

Anyway, I once again started looking for a set of rims. I don't know when it happened, I didn't used to care for them, but at some point the factory Ion rims I ended up getting began growing on me. They are only 16" as opposed to the 17's I'd had, so likely the tires cost a bit less. Keeps it a factory rim, too, albeit one that wasn't offered on this model. Actually, when I was shopping for the transmission, I was already on the prowl for them.

I decided on going with 205-50-16's, which come to find out isn't so common a size. They had 55 series all day long, but I had to special order 50's. Actually came out $10 cheaper going with this size. Look at that, they've got the size right on the tread!!! I've never seen that before. So how do they handle and ride??? The handling, I haven't broke 'em loose yet, even though I have only had a couple chances to really lay into them. This morning I took a 270 degree right turning clover leaf ramp, finally with no one ahead of me. Whenever I get a chance to do this corner like this, I mute the radio and roll the windows down to hear what the tires are doing. Didn't hear a thing. Ever since I put the new springs in, I've slightly regretted it. They are just a tad too harsh for my liking, but for whatever reason, these tires seem to ease the ride somewhat.

This morning at work, I parked next to one of my co-workers who happens to have an Ion with the same rims, with a different style center cap. Who do you think wears it better???

Saturn S Series Technical Bulletin v. #512.0

Just to share a little of the information I've recently acquired...

The smaller oil filter on the right is the specified unit for all S Series 1.9 engines. The one on the left is slightly larger, hence it has more filter surface. It has the same base size, thread size and bypass pressure as the specified one, and sells for exactly the same price as the other, so no reason not to use it. I believe it is the one specified for 2000-2006 Mustang V-6 engines, but the STP one has an easy enough part number to remember.

The next two pictures I took because attempting to do an image search for "Saturn 1.9 Twin Cam Air Injection Ports" came up with only one picture of what I was looking for!!! If I ever get an engine to rebuild, I'll get some better shots. The ports are lined up directly under the studs. In the second picture, I've added in a helpful couple of purple arrows. For a while I've been getting the p0410 check engine code for secondary air injection. At first I thought it was from the connector to the valve, which was damaged in the hood incident, and the code started coming up shortly after that. I replaced it, and it didn't take care of the issue. Next, I took off the metal pipe from the valve to the exhaust manifold and cleaned out the carbon build up inside of it. Still no good.

Smog check time is coming up, and the code keeps coming back. The only thing left to do is pull off the exhaust manifold and clean out the rest of the way. The air conditioning compressor bracketry needs to come off to get to all the bolts. I left the down pipe connected and just made some room between the head and the manifold and was able to get to the ports. I had a couple wire brushes I had intended to use, but the carbon was also rather gummy in this area, and I ended up using a stiff piece of wire to get out quite a bit of gunk. Hopefully it's enough.

In addition, since I had the transmission done, I've been getting a code for the torque converter lock up not working. Took her back to the transmission place (they'd wanted to see her back in a few weeks, make sure all is well) and they told me at that time they'd need a couple hours to see to it. I couldn't do it at that time, so my wife and I came back a couple weeks later. Called them back in a couple hours, and they said they were going to need more time to take things apart. Ended up being there a couple days, and they replaced the external switch, which wasn't making good contact, they said. Made it most of the way home before the light came back on. I took it back to another garage of the same chain, not because they failed me at the first one, but because it's closer to home. They've got it now, and they've replaced the torque converter, even though it looked like it was fine, and are replacing the valve body. Seems to me that's every possible thing it could be, so this should do it.

Just last week 3 turned 100!!! Two and a half years, and I've rolled around 33,000 miles on her!!!

Also a week ago, I finally got a set of the 16" Ion alloys I've been wanting to get for Scruffy!!! Got them from two different Ions at the junkyard, and turns out there's a little difference, do you see it??? Apparently, on some they have a dark gray inside the spokes and machined look faces, and on others they've just painted the whole thing with a metallic silver paint!!! I'm looking into getting them matched, but if not, I'll just put a pair of either style on opposite sides!!!

Classin' Up the Joint

It occurred to me recently that I haven't done much at all to 3 since I got her. I swapped the rims and tires, as well as the 512 Labs exhaust system, backup camera and the speakers, and had the rear window re-tinted, but that's about all I've done to her. Finally did a couple more things recently.

I'd picked up a Vue instrument cluster last time I went to the junkyard (well, technically the time before last, but I digress) and have since installed it. Prior to installing, I realized a flaw. The front plastic had a little crack on the bottom edge. Ended up pulling the front off the one that had been in there, and after a good cleaning, put it on the new Vue cluster.

I'm THRILLED with it's looks!!! Takes the feel up a couple notches!!!

The night illumination is even better!!! Interestingly, the needles aren't illuminated unless the car is running!!!

Only a few shortcomings. Foremost, the check engine light is on. There's no codes, but apparently it doesn't like the new home with slightly different body. If I'd read a little more on the swap forums, I might have picked up on that. I saved the one that had been in Scruffy after swapping the one with the working lights from 3 into her, because I may need to swap that back into 3 to get her smogged. Just under that, you'll see another flaw, now the fuel side arrow is pointing to the wrong side.

Finally, the trunk open icon has the image of a boxy car instead of a coupe. Ah well, still like the look.

Finally, I got the replacement headlights!!! They look great!!!

Don't forget to visine your headlights!!!

Maximum Cuteness

Finally did it!!! Spent some of the money my parents gave me for my birthday and did as I said I was thinking of doing, and got a new pair of headlights for 3!!! They look great!!! When I'd swapped the ones into Scruffy that I'd gotten from the junkyard, I just took the before and after pictures with my phone, and the GIF I made up you can totally tell the angle wasn't the same. To try and get a better effect this time, I used my Pentax DSLR for the pictures. I knew there were some old pictures on there, so I retrieved them while I had the card out. Guess what!!! They were almost all cute grandkitten pictures!!!

Look at that upside down snuggle head!!! Squweeee~~~~!!!!

Loves for grand-cat-ma!!!

I think he knows when the flash is about to go off, more often than not when taking his picture, he's got the semi-squinty eyes!!!

There's an open-eyed shot!!!

A lot of the pictures I was trying to get him with his tongue out, licking water from the faucet, as he does. Since I was already in the GIF-making mode, I made this one up. Like most of my GIFs, it's not great, but gets the idea across.

Lick it up, boy!!!

Pretty OK Wolf

Most years we go on some sort of epic vacation. This year, with my wife having mobility issues, not so much. We did go to family camp, and that actually somewhat spawned this little trip.

I always need to get my vacation picks in at the end of the year, and always try to get the week for that off. Well, at the end of last year I was told what week it would be, and I requested and got that week. A few months in, I was told it was actually going to be the week after that. Grrr.... I looked, and the only days that week that were still available were Tuesday through Thursday, so I requested those days. Friday is my normal swap day, so that was OK, and Saturdays are a special circumstance, and I was able to get that moved over a week, too. That left Monday, and I had a personal day I could use on that, so I did. Still had the week before off (except the Saturday in between the two) as well as around ten days in a row at the end of last month where I'd been thinking of going on a vacation. I was considering making up another post of a month plus of not working very much. Mostly it consisted of family camp, getting my wife wrenched on, and a fair bit of the recent work I've done on Scruffy.

But that week before family camp!!! It was right in the midst of a heat wave. I had the thought of getting a room near the beach and just enjoying the sea breezes, but we ended up going to the Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove!!! It's not cheap, and the rooms aren't anything much special, but they do have an indoor water park!!! See all our wolf ears??? The pricey lodgings come with a set of those, so, worth it, I guess.

There's my wife and the raccoon character, and me looking like a third wheel. Couldn't get the boy in on it. Except for the first shot, I didn't get any of the water park, so all the shots of it are stolen. They've got all the water park staples in there!!! Wave pool, lazy river (which I'd thought would be an inside and outside deal, but no), kiddy climbing fort with slides and a giant bucket that dumps every several minutes, racing slide, and various other slides.

Even if you're not able to check in early when you get there, they give you access to the water park starting early on. We got there, and headed in. Of course, my wife was in her wheelchair, and after we were there a few minutes, a crew member came by and offered to get her a water wheelchair!!! Rolled her into the wave pool, she got in the lazy river, and we rolled by the splashy fort.

One unique slide they have there is the Wolf Tail, where they put you in what looks like a teleportation chamber. Stand up, leaning against the back. They close the chamber. It has an amplified heartbeat going on. Then the bottom drops out, sending you straight down!!! Into a twist, then a splash down trough. The place seems to be geared to younger kids, so there was usually almost no wait to go on it. I did, several times!!!

All the slides are in the far corner, and there's an extended portion of the roof there to accommodate them. The tube slides and the raft slides actually go outside the building, then splash down back inside. All the tubes are enclosed, though.

The side by side racing slides also do something unique I've never seen before, they all start out in tubes that make a loop before going into the side by side.

One of my son's favorite things to do at water parks is the lazy river. Hard to mess up a lazy river, right??? Well, he wasn't such a fan of this one, it moves pretty swiftly, so I guess not lazy enough for him!!!

So what was the consensus on the place??? Well, you save money on sunscreen!!! First water park I've ever been to where I didn't feel broiled afterwards!!! It was much more comfortable than an outdoor one, being climate controlled, and not cold to where you'd be freezing after getting out of the water. Down side, you have to have a lot of chlorine in all that water, and being contained in there, after a while it feels like it's burning your airways, especially if you're climbing to the top of a slide.

Oh, and just found out that my niece is working there now. Good for her, they should have plenty of money for her!!!

After we stayed our two nights there, we went to the Orange County Fair. That was a lot of fun, too. Wouldn't have stayed as late as we did, but it turned out there was a monster truck competition that evening that we had to stay for!!!