Getting my Saturns in a Row

For a change, at the end of last year, I had a few days besides the holidays off. I took the Friday before Christmas as my last personal day (the day after goody day, I wasn't going to miss that!!!), then I had scheduled my last two vacation days for the Monday and Tuesday between the weekend and Christmas day off. The kids are out of school, and the extended family always has interesting time conflicts or constraints for getting together for Christmas, so I figured with all those days off we should be able to get something going. In addition to family time and relaxation (read: playing more Runescape) I'd planned on getting some stuff done around the house. Those were my plans.

Of course, something always comes up, doesn't it??? On the Wednesday before all this I was driving into work, and on the transition ramp, and the transmission shifted down much firmer than usual. Strange. When I got off the freeway, it was acting like it was low on fluid, not wanting to connect and accelerate on the launches. Just a little further, just far enough to get to work, please!!! All the while visions of shot transmissions dancing in my head. On the very last stretch, the charge light starts flickering. Stranger still. When I got parked, I left her running and popped the hood. The A/C compressor and the power steering pump were spinning fine, but the alternator wasn't turning. Sounds right, but what's really going on here??? Shut it down, and checked the alternator. It turns fine, but I shouldn't be able to do that with the belt on there. No belt tension. Belt tensioner goes, belt has no tension and stops turning the higher draining devices. Not enough juice, and a computer controlled tranny acts up, at least I hope that's what it is!!!

Called up my dad, told him my tale of woe, and he agrees to help me out, getting baby towed to his place and swapping his truck with me. So, on my first day off, I end up going down to their house and putting a new tensioner and drive belt on me car, as well as doing an oil change while I've got it up on jack stands. A little battery charge, and it runs like it had never had a problem. Success!!!

All's good, right??? The next couple of days were spent getting the final presents bought and wrapped, and food for the extended family get together, which was going to happen on Monday. Monday rolls around, and we load up the wife's car (name really hasn't stuck, but I call her the Wagon Queen Family Truckster, and ode to National Lampoon's Vacation) and head on down. There's some traffic, and as soon as it eases up, I get to accelerating, and lo and behold, it feels like the transmission isn't hooking up, like it was low on fluid. Deja vu all over again!!! I pull off the freeway and find a car parts store. Checking the transmission this time reveals that yes, the transmission is actually low on fluid!!! I guess all the fluid slicking down the underside of the car should have given me a clue. Bought a couple quarts and filled her up, and headed back homeward with my fingers crossed. Made it about a mile back, and it was slipping again, so I pulled off and called triple A for a tow back home.

Here's where things get interesting. The tow truck shows up fairly quick, but refuses to tow the car back to our house!!! On account of our house is on a hill. Never mind that, just about every year for the last 18 that we've lived here I've ended up having some car or another towed home!!! I called triple A back, and they say they'll get in touch with dispatch and call me back. They don't. I call them again, probably 45 minutes or so later, and they say the same thing again. Same results. Sometime in there, my dad was picking up my nephew a bit over from there, and he swings by to pick up the rest of the family and the presents and the ham. Long story short, it was FIVE HOURS AAA STRANDED ME IN THE GHETTO before I was able to get towed, and the ONLY reason I was able to get towed was I told them to tow it to my parent's house. I think it was four times I called when triple A that they said they would call me back that they didn't, and finally I got in touch with one of the head people there. Not impressed, AAA. What good is it having an emergency roadside assistance plan if they won't tow you home??? I suspect that, since it was in one of those crooked 3rd world fiefdoms along the 710 freeway that the tow company there has a lock on all the business in the area and no one else is allowed to tow cars there. SO, that's how I blew day 2 of all my last vacation days of the year.

Final day off I spent driving down to my parents house (thanks, AAA, there's another hour and a half of my life wasted, could have been doing this in my own driveway) and cleaning all that fluid off the best I could. I suspected one of the cooler lines to the transmission, or the filter, or one of the shaft seals. I was right about that, it was leaking around the filter, which on these Saturns is a spin on, much like an oil filter. Got a fresh one and much fluid, and she was back on the road!!! A little troubling is some of the noises it makes on acceleration, kinda a "nnninnng nnninnng niiinnnng" as it goes, but it feels and drives the same as it always has. Fingers crossed again.

Long story short, of all the days I had off, Christmas was the only one I was able to do much relaxing on!!!

The Bat Cave

Here's the thing we did on the first day of 2014. We went up to the Bat Cave!!!

Bronson caves is what they're actually known as, and they've been featured in several sci-fi and western movies, as well as countless TV shows and a Jim Morrison photo shoot. We went there years ago, probably around ten or so now. Thought I'd done a post on it before, but I couldn't find it.

It's a really short hike up there, and there were a TON of like minded people there today!!!

It's a nice scenic area, great for taking some pictures!!! Both my wife and younger boy brought along their Christmas presents, and were snapping pictures with them.

The cave itself... actually a tunnel, or series of tunnels. There's four portals.

Since you haven't gotten much of a workout hiking up there, there's plenty of little side trails going off to the sides!!!

Also right in the area is the Hollywood sign.

Just a ways up from Camp Hollywoodland!!!

Up by the end is another trailhead, that leads up to a much better view of the sign.

Interesting artwork!!!

And a naturally occurring half pipe!!!

And there's the boy and mom, taking selfies!!!

Instant Karma

Happy 2014!!!

SO, today we went out to the Bronson Caves in Griffith Park for a little hike. Also known as The Bat Cave, where they filmed the old TV series, as well as many other shows and movies. You can also see the Hollywood sign from there, too. It was pretty cool. My youngest already posted this, so it's mostly copied and pasted from his stream. More pictures and details to come, but now this!!!

The point of this post is to tell how we CHEATED DEATH!!! On the drive home, this guy in a mini truck gets in the right turn lane next to us, then when the light tuns green, he goes straight and cuts back into our lane! I lay on the horn, and the guy just gives us the finger. OK, whatever. Drive on.

A few blocks up the street, he’s still ahead of us a ways (no doubt exceeding the speed limit), when a car pulls out turning left across his path!!! He locks up his brakes, which makes all kinds of smoke, but there was no escape, he hit the back end of the other car and spun them out, doing extensive damage to both the cars. With catlike reflexes and expert skill, I manage to thread the needle between the two cars!!! My son saw the guy’s license plate go flying off when he hit!!! Of course, he was the only one with the foresight to get any pictures (on his new, my old Ipod).

Instant Karma!!!

Looking Back II: Jury Duty

Back in November I had my annual jury duty summons.

I had rescheduled from when I'd originally gotten my summons. That had fallen on the weeks that I had for vacation. I wasn't paying close attention, and almost missed the week it was. Turned out to be the week of Veteran's day, so of course the courts weren't open on Monday. On my first call in day, I was told not to come in. Same for the next two, and I figured that I'd end up skating since it was a short week. No dice, I had to go in on Friday.

For a change, it was at a different courthouse than I usually get assigned to. I usually look forward to jury duty because there's much photogenic in downtown. Not so at this one!!! The one main thing nearby was this giant chair. I know I've seen it before, but I'm not sure if I've gotten a shot of it before.

There's the courthouse in the background of the third shot...

There was still a bit of good architecture around the area for the photographing...

I'm pretty sure that just a block up from there is where I caught a shot of Fred Flintstone, but it was almost to the time we were told to be back by. I think I spent more time looking for the post with that picture than anything else for this post so far...

From a distance, the Ritz Carlton where we'd had a work Christmas party a few years back.

One nice thing, the parking was on site. Two levels down, there's a pigeon!!! What are you doing down here???

...And a shot on the wing!!!

One of my favorite shots, the train in the rear view!!!

The rest of the shots are from the drive home. Another nice thing, the weather was pretty good for taking pictures!!!

Love the downtown architecture!!!

First time, I didn't get called for a jury. Usually I end up on a panel, then getting kicked off because the prosecutor doesn't like me!!!

Pink wedding gown, anyone???

Hey, there's a cat on the roof over there!!!

Finally, a decent shot of the dragon gateway going into Chinatown!!!

Looking Back

As seems to be the case of late, I've had many adventures that are blogworthy, yet I lack time to document them. Here's an attempt to catch up a little.

This was my wife & my anniversary weekend trip. We did a long weekend last year, and now it seems to have become a tradition. This year we traveled up the coast a bit to Carpinteria.

We arrived before our check in time, so we continued North to Solvang. It's been years since we've been there, and it was pretty nice.

We liked the haircut on the bottom edges of these trees.

Aebleskivers is why we came!!! Of course, I forgot to take a picture until I was down to the last one.

Hans Christian Anderson park. I had no idea what he looked like.

Carpinteria is amazingly charming!!! This is the picturesque beach, and there is a picturesque downtown area. I'm thinking this is a cost effective alternative to going to Catalina!!!

Many many seagulls on the beach. Of course, this all occurred during the off season, so during Summer it would likely not be quite as awesome.

Nice scenery!!!

Out of this World Party!!!

As usual, this time of year gets busy busy!!! Last Thursday was gravy announcement day, and while the amount is less than last year, I'm going to end up with a tad more on account of the raise I got this year, so that's cool. Next Thursday is goodie day, and then actual gravy day. Monday will be extended family Christmas observed day, and then of course Christmas.

The subject of this post, though, is the company Christmas party!!!

Something totally different this year, they somehow managed to book the California Science Center, and the main event was in the Space Shuttle's hangar!!!

They've changed it up since last time we visited (when there was no shuttle there!!!) and now as you enter, you go through a clear tube in a huge aquarium!!!

First shot of the Shuttle shows what it would look like if hippies got hold of it and painted it up like an old VW microbus!!!

Endeavour, it's been a long time since I've seen you in the flesh!!!

It is a bit smaller place than we usually have, and seating was insufficient, but it was still pretty awesome!!! Instead of food being served, they had buffet type stations set up all around the place. I saw three with sea bass before I found anything different, "chicken like lasagna", and then beef short ribs. I partook of them all.

Later, they rolled out desert stations. Coolest thing, they had these CO2 frozen puffs. They instruct you to eat 'em within 20 seconds, and exhale as you do so. As you do, the CO2 makes it's smoke come out of your mouth. I happened to have my mouth closed on one, and breathed it out from my nostrils. I was a dragon!!!

Took me a bit before I realized, they had plaques around the wall in chronological order of all the missions. I had to find the one for STS-118, the one we saw launch!!!

Last shot is how one of the thrusters looks with a disco light behind it!!!

Tommy Can You Taste Me

A couple weeks back we went for lunch at Tommy Burger. Never disapoints!!!

Since I've almost always have my 'Pod with me anymore, my younger asked me for it, to take some pictures before we start eating. He knows what goes!!! Thumbs up for me... kinda looks like I'm holding the Coke bottle on my shirt!!! My burger: always extra pickles, tomatoes & chili!!!

Looks like my wife can hardly wait to get going... Extra onions & chili for her, usually on a cheeseburger.

The younger, always such a ham!!! I'd say it's been about a year that he discovered that he actually likes chili fries (depending on the place, of course. Not all chili fries are created equal) He usually wasn't one for burgers, either, but he liked Tommy's just fine!!! Nothing but burger & chili for him!!! Of course, chili cheese fries, too. Two altogether, one with onions, one with none, both with extra chili. Set 'em in the middle & everyone picks.

The older boy, he's perfecting his surly disinterested teen look quite well, isn't he??? I could probably do a post on just pictures of that!!! He noted that the younger and I were both red shirts, and said he'd have to find a yellow shirt to wear that day!!! He got a burger pretty much like mine, and a chili dog with extra chili. The chili dogs have very little integrity, but are quite tasty!!!