G's cousin just got a 1996 Corvette. Red. I finagled a ride in it on Christmas day. I was going to try to bring it home with me but I wasn't quite sure I could get G' to leave her vehicle out in the driveway so that I could park it in the garage. Did I mention it was red.

According to the spellchecker, I spelled finagled correctly.

Sometimes What Happens In The Garage Doesn't Stay In The Garage

I had an interesting thought not to long ago. I guess I met my quota for 2006.

Anybody got a metric socket set, or a combo metric & SAE set? Is it a 1/4", 3/8" or 1/2" drive set?

Are you with me now? Why is the square driver measured in inches if it is a metric tool set? Is this just an oddity of the USA? Nope. Go ahead and check out the tool section at Amazon.co.uk. See their metrics sockets are the same as ours.

Does this strike you as odd also?

What Happens In The Garage Stays In The Garage

I got a really cool t-shirt for Christmas. It gets funnier every time I read it.

I forgot to write about this but Terry took care of it for me. She failed to mention the multiple trips around the traffic circle though.

This One Will Blow You Away

I finally got around to replacing the fans in my old desktop this evening. One had stopped completely, the other was grinding like a old fan in a computer with bad bearings.

Two thousand seven is on it's way. (Does the possessive form of it have an apostrophe? I thought it did but recently I read something that said otherwise.)

Miata Mod, Well Sort Of

I installed the meter hood in the Miata today. It looks really nice.

After getting everything buttoned up, I drove up to the end of the street and back hoping to verify I had not introduced any new rattles. So far so good.

Who knew replacing a broken piece of plastic could add a few horse power? Or maybe it was something else that I did.

My Seester is visiting with us for the Holiday. She was supposed to wash and wax the Miata while I took a nap today. I haven't been out to check on it yet, but I am sure she did a first rate job.

Parts is Parts

Yesterday I blasted a few more truck parts. This time it was the the three pieces of the transmission cross-member, one spindle assembly, and most of the other. And also the high-flow grill off the Miata.

No painting was done. I need to finish up the other spindle first.

Gotta go, I think I hear hooves on the roof top.

A friend of mine is building an airplane. Check out Jack's build log here. I find this process facinating, but I would never want to do this myself. (Did you just here Ginger breath a sigh of relief.) While building a plane would be pretty cool, I do not want to learn to fly. Ever. For several reasons, and my desire not to hit the ground really hard is at the heart of several of these reasons.

I had a go with RC planes several years ago. Imagine balsa wood splinters strewn out on the ground for several square yards. Imagine this happening several times. Imagine me trading several planes and all my supplies for a nice expedition sized internal frame backpack. It was a good move if you ask me.

And my success with flight simulators on the computer is not a glorious tale either. As far as I can recall, I do not think I ever successfully landed a plane on a flight simulator.

No sense in repeating these successes in real life. Yeah, I know it is not the same. I suspect it hurts more when your in an actual plane.

I am pleased to announce that I am home for a longer than normal weekend. Very pleased indeed.

Meter Hood Update

Last Saturday I won an auction on E-bay for a Miata meter hood. It arrived today. The thing is in excellent shape. Actually it looks brand new. Assuming it doesn't slip my mind, I will install it tomorrow. No more dash rattle(s).

Grades for this semester were finally posted today.

I got an A in the Special Topics Mathematics class I was taking.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The South   That's a Southern accent you've got there. You may love it, you may hate it, you may swear you don't have it, but whatever the case, we can hear it.
The Midland
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
The West
North Central
Boston
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Don't Move

So far I have gotten 12 out of 20. Give it a try you cinema buffs.

http://www.stationerymovies.com/

I put some oil in the Miata yesterday, so that is one less thing to think about. One less thing.

I made the usual Sunday afternoon drive. This time I took a different route. It was a bit longer and took me past Chad's house. I stopped in for a bit to visit, to play with their little guy, and to admire his work shop.

I had something else I wanted to mentioned but I have long since forgotten what it was.

Truck Progress

Today I tapped the hole on the brake spindle. When I removed the dust plate eons ago, I twisted the head off a bolt.

While I had the drill out, I also removed size rivets from the transmission cross member. Removing a rivet consists of grinding off its head then drilling it out. Now that the cross member is disassembled I can clean out all the gunk that was between the parts.

There is more sand blasting in my near future.

Still working on acquiring a replacement meter hood for the miata.

"Don't judge a lid by it's straw hole" - Jordan

I read today that the US mint spends 1.73 cents for each penny it makes. It spends 8.74 cents for each nickel it makes. Pennies made before 1982 were 95% copper and have a commidity metal value of 2.13 cents.

Today there are only three presents under the tree. Hmm.

The official part name is: Mazda Miata Meter Hood and the part number is NA75-55-420B-00.

I found another '95 Miata gauge cover on E-bay, so the bidding has begun. It is being offered by the same guy that sold the last one. Must be a parts dealer. This auction doesn't end until Saturday. Hopefully I will be able to announce then that I have a replacement part on the way. Good luck to me.

I had a pretty rough day at work. When I got home I opened a bottle of wine and had a glass full. Not a half full glass, but a glass full. All is better except now I am tired. I am not ready to retire for the night yet, because once I do, it will almost instantly be time to go back to work.

Still hoping for nice weather this weekend. Weather permitting I will get started on the truck spindles.

Today I learned a few things from Brianna.

Dinosaurs are extinct.
They died and went to another planet.
They now live on Mars.
They left their bones behind.
Not all of that is true.


There are currently five presents under the Christmas three.

The ten day forecast shows highs in the low to mid sixties for the next 8 days.

I took the Charger in this morning to have the tire repaired. The puncture was caused by a what appeared to once have been a drywall screw.

Is it Friday yet?

Time to go check E-Bay for a Miata part.