On this day, set aside for the remembrance of those who have lost their lives in service to our country, I ask that you join me in a moment of reflection at 3 pm local time wherever you are.

Please, teach your children and any around you why we have this day off from work, why we have this day to share with our family – because so many of the young men and women of this country have sacrificed their family time forever.

To all those families who have contributed their loved one to the cause that is the United States of America, thank you.

As my regular readers know, I’ve been trying to keep the Road Rhino (1998 Infiniti QX4, 170k miles) in a somewhat reasonably reliable running mode. As I type this, the smell of cleaner and soap is still on my hands after replacing the starter. This is another reason I wish to kill some automotive engineers. Or at least make them work on their own creations.

I have replaced the starter on this vehicle many times. I think, but I’m not sure, that this is number four. You would think that after the first three times I would remember that the bolts holding the starter to the tranny case are 14 mm and the electrical connection is a 13 mm, but you would be wrong. You would think that I would remember how to worm the starter out from next to the lower control arm on the passenger side without jamming my fingers or slamming the starter against the palm of my hand and then wedging said hand against the still warm exhaust pipe, but again, you would be wrong.

One thing I have noticed, though – I have to raise the passenger side of the vehicle higher every time I change the starter. I think the suspension is slowly going bad, and that side of the SUV is sitting lower to the ground.

(not mine, but almost identical – same color, mine doesn’t have the rear wind deflector. oh, and my paint has all kinds of aftermarket scratches … )

A big thank you to Harry, for helping procure a new starter at less than I was able to find one.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

“The End Of The World As We Know It” – at least, according to Harold Camping. (pardon the slowness of the linkl, they seem to be receiving a lot of traffic today [May 20, 2011])

Mr. Camping, your billboard advertisements say that you have “Biblical Proof” that the world will end at 6 pm (local time! local time? which local?) tomorrow, May 21, 2011.

Well, Mr. Camping, I have Biblical Proof that you are a liar and a false teacher:

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

That was written by Matthew. It is a transcription of words from the very mouth of Jesus, the risen Son of God. It can be found in Chapter 24, verse 36. In the New Testament, Mr. Camping, in case you missed that part. You see, I believe the Bible to be the infallible word of God. You know what infallible means, Mr. Camping? It means true, without reproach, and unwavering – you know, as in non-contradictory.

Since the Bible, in fact, Jesus himself, says that no man can know when God will return to the earth in Judgement, then there may be a little problem with your claim that you can prove, with information from the Bible, that the world ends tomorrow. Either that, or Jesus lied. And, if Jesus (the risen Son of God) lied about this, then He cannot be trusted about anything. Which means that all the Christians in the world, throughout history, have been believing a lie.

Frankly, I have much more faith in Jesus’ word than in your word, Mr. Camping.

Talk about wanting to choke an automotive engineer or seven:

The black duct work (didjanotice the gorilla tape repair? it’s been on there for four years) is the intake. We aren’t in the area of the leaking hose yet.

The hose in the bottom center of the pic has a pinhole leak under the visible clamp. The other clamp is tucked under the throttle body. I have to remove the throttle body just to touch the clamp with more than a finger.

Not looking like an easy repair yet.

Sure is black in the throttle body. I’ll worry about that later. The clamp on the right side is the same one from two pictures ago. The hidden clamp has been removed and the hose is ready to come off. I took it off, went to O’Reilly’s, and wonder of wonders they had the exact hose I needed in stock on the shelf. Bought some anti-freeze while I was there.

Sure wish I had looked closer at this picture before I ran to O’Reilly’s. It would have saved me a trip. The sharp-eyed among you have already noticed that the shaped hose was not the major leak source. Yes, I had this puppy buttoned back up before you could say Jack Frost – fired it up, and was floored when water was leaking out from the same spot. I tore it back apart, and got the offending short hose off – I had to cut it, and wrestle the clamps off. Another run to O’Reilly’s, a section of straight hose (and some gasket material, because my haste caused me to break off a piece of the gasket, and I had to make a new one … ) and I was ready to button it up again.

This one shows the new shaped hose in place – notice the lower hose, just lurking there, laughing quietly to itself as I stand back and take a picture of my handiwork, confident that I have solved the issue …

All buttoned up, ready to go. After I replaced the lower hose, I had lost any sense of wanting to take pictures, so I didn’t take a second picture after the final assembly. Someplace along the line, I shorted something out, and the Rhino wouldn’t start. Pastor Mike suggested I disconnect the battery, and let the computer reset. Initially, it still wouldn’t start. After a little time, it finally started. Like a dummy, I had not disconnected the battery before disconnecting the electrical connections you saw in the first picture.

Lesson learned.

Update – turns out the starter solenoid is fried. or frying. it occasionally starts, but just as occasionally it decides not to. i have to beat it with blunt objects to get it’s attention. not too bad when you are dressed for working on the car, but in your white dockers and light-colored polo shirt, it wreaks havoc on the clothing. oh, and it was raining today when i got off work and the solenoid didn’t want to work.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

… I have once again fallen off the soda wagon. It’s been happening for a while, and now I am admitting it – I am back on the Coke. Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, straight Coke … you name it, I’m drinking it.

Except Diet Coke. The sweetener they use (aspartame – blech!) leaves a nasty little aftertaste in my mouth.

And, don’t believe the Coke ads about Coke Zero tasting just like regular Coke – it doesn’t. It actually tastes like an unholy blend of Diet Coke and [shudder] New Coke. Good grief, do you remember that taste? It’s been pretty much seered into my memory from when they were saying that the New Coke would be replacing the Classic Coke.

Yeah, that didn’t work out too well.

In other news – the US has hit it’s debt ceiling. There have been comparisons (for those of us too dumb to know what they mean (like a certain 52% of the voting public)) to your credit card spending limits. Now, the administration is worried about not having enough money to finish bankrupting the country.

Here’s an idea – quit spending money you don’t have, you new-coke-personified-as-a-president.

Chat ya later…