Tie (Rod) Fighters

Almost a year ago, one of the front-left tie rods fell apart on our car while we were passing a semi truck on 270 south of Columbus, Ohio. We were driving all the way back from a show in Chicago, Illinois. I had to keep the steering wheel on the car tilted to the left at a forty-five degree angle just to keep driving in a straight line. We eventually pulled over on the side of the Highway on 33 just north of Lancaster. I was able to put the tie rod back in its socket and hand-tighten it so we could continue driving down to the Sears in the Lancaster Mall. They fixed it that day. All was well.

At times like that, you realize just how lucky you are. I mean, sure, the car broke, but it could have broke in Chicago, or on the way to Chicago causing us to miss our performance. It could have ripped the entire wheel off it's socket. We could have wrecked. Sears could have been closed? So many disasters were averted that day, that it was hard to get upset about the situation.

Time passes.

Now, the front-right tie rods are about to fail. Glorious. Luckily, this time the folks at Alvis Auto Repair caught the problem ahead of time. I thought our alternator was going bad, so we took it into the shop, and it turns out that the alternator is fine. The problem is with the dome light? It was continually draining power. I'm assuming it has to do with the wiring leading to the dome light. Perhaps it is shorting out? A frayed wire might be draining the battery. Anyhow, that's what they say. I don't think that is the problem, but we will find out. Still, they did find the tie rod issue, and I believe that diagnosis. Once again, a potential disaster is averted. I feel a little lucky.

Death to the Hummer

I really don't like Hum-Vee's. I don't think it's a status symbol, I think it's a symbol of wastefulness and dickery. I'm not a green-warrior or anything like that, though I do believe in protecting nature. No, I don't hate Hum-Vee's JUST because they waste tons of gas to reach a top speed of 65 MPH. I also hate them because they are butt-ugly and are typically driven by pretentious A-holes. I love the argument that some drivers use: "It's safer in a collision." For you, maybe. What about the rest of us? We have to share the road with your behemouth.

Well, General Motors recently announced that it is putting the Hummer brand up for sale. They also announced record losses of about $40 billion PRIMARILY because they were not prepared for America's sudden shift from large vehicles, to more fuel efficient ones. Sudden? Really? They weren't prepared? Every scientist, activist, and Earth-concious "nut job" on the planet has been BEGGING the big U.S. auto manufactuors for years to produce more DESIREABLE fuel efficient cars.

Companies like GM used to blame us, the public, for not changing their designs. They said that if Americans want smaller, fuel efficient cars, then they would start making them. The problem is, and this has been true forever, Americans traditionally make LOUSY small cars. The Aries K-Car, The Ford Festiva, The Ford Pinto, The Chevy P.O.S.--just kidding on that last one. It is as if American auto manufaturors reluctanctly design smaller, fuel efficient cars. They only do so if they absolutely have to, and when they do, you can tell their heart's are not in the design. Why do you think American's who DO want smaller cars typically buy a cute or sexy, functional, reliable, well-built foriegn car from Japan or Europe.

Hopefuly, American car companies will get it right this time. The trick is, make a car that is both fuel efficient AND desireable.

And finally...

Garden

This is my second attempt at growing a garden. A few years ago, Jodi and I attempted to grow some tomatoes and peppers. However, we started too late and only got one pepper and one tomato before the frost came. This year, we started towards the end of the growing season. But the important thing is, we actually started during the growing system. So far, we've harvested a bunch of tomatoes. The peppers are taking forever, and we've only got about 50 days until the end of the season. Hopefully we'll get at least one pepper.

The garden is coming along nicely. So far, we've harvested our basil twice and turned it into walnut pesto. The only area for concern is our cucumber patch. Everything was going great until about two weeks ago when the plant became infested with cucumber beetles. I squished as many as I could, but every day I would find a dozen new ones. Luckily for me, the infestation of beetles attracted an infestation of beneficial Assassin Bugs. So, in the end, the problem took care of itself. Strange.

I guess there is one more problem. A couple of our squashes rotted on the ground because water pooled around the fruits. I am going to protect future squashes by propping them up on a mound of dirt, or an upside-down plastic cup, so that they don't sit in water.