the girls are on vacation!

i'll miss them!

Cranky Bizzatch

This is how the trip to the store went tonight.
Bryanna throwing a fit pretty much the entire time.
One of those screaming type of fits. For no freaking reason at all.
Some nights are like this. A real stinking joy.

***

I rode in to work today. The weather was nice enough in the morning to wear fingerless gloves. It was a nice ride.
After work was done for the day, I went out to the parking lot to find my bike completely covered in dust from all of today's wind.
It was rough riding home. The wind was blowing me all over the place.
Not cool.

She can fling ice cream about 15 feet.

***

More happy news about my car! A LOT of more news!

Now, the back windows no longer roll up or down.
The front right CV joint is going all of the sudden, and causing all kinds of annoying racket.
The chrome is once again peeling on the rims, so the car sounds once again like a rolling garbage can.
The LOW COOLANT light is on every other time I turn on the car, even though I fill it up continuously. So obviously the oil is probably 50% oil. Basically, when you open the oil cap...you see green coolant.
So the engine is going to blow at some point.
The gas mileage is again suffering from a troublesome, intermittent EGR valve.
Oh, and the transmission slippage has finally taken itself to the next step....it slips fairly regularly.
So then. I am reminded of Adam Sandler's song 'Piece Of Shit Car'.
I think that is fitting for my car.

Smooth Riding

With such beautiful weather, it was time to head out on the bike.
The Bonneville ran as smooth as ever.
I checked out Walnut Creek, Erie Bluffs National Park, and walked on the beach at Conneaut Township Park.
There is sand for what seems like miles and miles at this beach.

It will be a good ride that I'll remember for a long time to come.
***
Now, I am getting cleaned up to pick up Bryanna so she can enjoy some of this sun.

Golf Season Starts

Yesterday Wildman and I went out golfing for the first time this year.I completely sucked. I hope I am able to improve fast.We were suppoesed to stay on the cart path, but of course that didn't happen.
I got stuck in the sand only once, but skimmed across sand a bunch of times. Wildman's new nickname, however, might as well be Sandybottoms, because the sand traps were ball magnets for him.Other highlights for the day were:-Wildman got burned-I proved I still can't hit with a 4 iron.-I have perfected worm burning.***Other than my stanky performance, I had a good time. It was nice to get out...away from work.

Funny Face

Glenwood Park

Today we rode the slides, and made full use of the swing set.
There are pictures of both Theresa and I going down the slide with Bree.
I'll post those soon.
It was a good time out!

Freddy Koo Koo

Bryanna has a thing for monsters.
Every other time you ask her what movie she wants to watch, she replies that she wants monsters. Originally I thought she was referring to the kids movie Monsters Inc, but that wasn't the case. She meant monster movies.
From time to time I would go down into my basement, and watch some of my bad, b-movie grade horror flicks. Bryanna was always interested in watching a bit of them with me.
Well, on Sunday when I asked her what movie she wanted, and she replied monsters...with A Nightmare On Elm Street in her hand, I suggested Popeye instead.
She started throwing a temper tantrum, because she was convinced she wanted a monster movie. Well, me being the responsible guardian that I am, I wanted the tantrum to stop, so I told her that I was going to let her watch some of the movie.

At the main menu, she saw Freddy.
"Eeeew...who's that?"

"Freddy Krueger. He's the monster in this movie."
"Freddy Koo Koo?"
I skipped it to a part where Freddy kills Johnny Depp's character.
Needless to say, she wanted the movie off in an instant.

***
Skip to last night.
When it was time for her to go to bed, she asked me to sit with her. So I did. Then she asked for me to lay with her. So I did. She wrapped her little munchkin arms around mine and wouldn't let me leave.
I woke up some time later, with my back killing me from sleeping on a 3 foot bed with her.
This morning, she didn't want to brush her teeth because she was afraid Freddy Koo Koo would be in the toilet. Not sure why she thinks he lives there.
She was always afraid of monsters in her closet, and under the bed...long before I had the bright idea of letting her watch A Nightmare On Elm Street. But now...now I am to blame for her fears. Looks like Freddy Koo Koo who lives in the toilet is way scarier than the monsters under her bed. Well, I'll just have to kill Freddy Koo Koo for her so that she'll go back to worrying about the monster under the bed. (At least I'm not to blame for that one.)
Until I find a way to kill him off...I might be spending quite a few nights with her.
Me and my bright ideas.

Successful MDA Drive

This was a very successful MDA drive!
Thank you to everyone who donated!

Today we had a 401K meeting at work.
I have grown tired of the stupid speeches about 'staying on the train', and facts & figures that date from 1926.
I don't feel there is a hope for retirement for my generation.
Period.

Blending & Hanging

Bree and I are hanging out.
Something happened at the daycare this morning, and they weren't open.
So guess who showed up at the parking lot of where I work?
(Yes, I was working on a Sunday.)

We went to the beach and played in the sand for a bit, and then the slides were obviously what we had to do next.

She refers to herself as a 'pro slider'.

I guess pros slide sideways. She couldn't slide straight to save her life.

***
We know, we know. We blend it like woah.

Breeboozle

Bree is in love with motorcycles.
At least, she acts like it.
She has already labeled Wildman's bike as being hers (I store it in my garage), and always wants to sit on it.
So naturally I got a decent reception from her when I rode over to hang out with my two gals.
She just loves a handsome dude with a bike.
....
We know, we know. We blend it.

Cycle Weather

I was able to ride my Bonneville to work both Thursday & Friday.

It was a great alternative to driving.
Better on gas, and way cooler.

So far the brake master cylinder is not leaking, so the new seal and cover may have worked after all.
I have had a nasty head cold since Tuesday, but my balance was fine.
I tell ya, it's the perfect stress reliever.
***

Buick Recall

1.5 million cars are beings recalled to correct the risk of engine fires.
The list of cars:
• 1997-2003 Buick Regals.
• 1998-2003 Chevrolet Luminas, Monte Carlos and Impalas.
• 1998-1999 Oldsmobile Intrigues.
• 1997-2003 Pontiac Grand Prix.
It just keeps getting better and better with this car.
***

Zenedge Party (04.11.2009)

***

Thanks, John

Mr. Amato's company is the greatest.

New Garbage Disposal

The maintenance dudes came and swapped out the leaky garbage disposal.
There was nothing I could do to fix it.
Now, I am grinding nasty food from the refridgerator like a mofo.
Hell yeah.
****

Assistant Mechanic

Careful Disassembly

Today the cylinder head (top half of it) was removed. I'm trying to take plenty of notes and a lot of pictures. Labeling and organizing is also a must, since I may never remember how things go back together otherwise.
It's getting close to the point where the guts from the gearbox will be removed.
Just for inspiration I set the new lower case next to the original.
How about that.
***

The Rebuild Has Officially Started

The XS360 has been begging to be rebuild. So, since I have no money whatsoever to work on any of my projects that require cash, I decided to work on this. I won't need any money for quite a while for this project. I have most of what I'll need.
So I strapped the engine to the wall on the bench that was built specifically for this project.
(note the blocks of wood to protect the oil pan - damn I'm good)
So far I have removed the contact breaker assembly and automatic timing unit, as of two days ago (above)....

....and opened up the top of the camshaft. Inside this cover is where all the bolts are to remove the top and midsection of the engine, so that I can get to the lower engine and gearbox. It is this portion of the engine that the kick-start connects to, and it is the kick start that the previous owner snapped off. (Refer HERE for previous reference)
So, essentially the entire engine needs disassembled to fix the kick start. But that is only the tip of this projects iceberg. The carbs are missing some parts, the electrics are a mess, and there are still several parts that I have yet to identify. However, I am enjoying every minute of this.
*********

The Awesomeness Never Stops

(A Weekend Review)

Awesome Marsha came up this weekend.
We did some hardcore hanging out:
1.) We made skettie
2.) We power walked on the isle
3.) we power walked to Zimmerly Rd.

4.) we watched Friday The 13th
5.) We power walked around the mall
-----------
There just ain't no stoppin' Awesome Marsha!

and the bozo of the year award goes to paul j.
i found my mistake. so it looks like i caused my own tax problems.
grrrrreeeeeeeaaaaaat.

added to my list:

screen door is once again broken.
water heater does not remain lit.
bathroom sink leaks, missing drain plug, and has mold growing in the pipe that smells like ass.

i sent probably the nastiest email i've ever sent to the maintenance department this morning.

this is some serious bullshit and i'm growing more frustrated every day with the choice i made to move to this town.

taxes and other bullshite

i did my taxes yesterday.
come to find out, my employer didn't take enough federal out....or i screwed up when filling out my w4....or something. i owe uncle sam.

i've gone way past losing my ass financially.

as a side note, i worked on the triumph yesterday, but i think it was a waste of money. something else is causing the problem, and not the seal.

oh, one final slap in the face: my kitchen sink leaks everywhere as of last night.

how about that?

Triumph Parts

After work today, I'll be working on some bikes.
After two weeks of waiting for parts, I can finally fix the problem with the Bonneville!

Big Hats

This chic absolutely loves motorcycles.
She sat on the hippo tonight, and I fired it up. She had one of those cheesy grins on her face. I doubt the puny-sounding Triumph would have the same effect.

I also put some gas in it from the gas can I filled today (Triumph needed gas so I poured some in the hippo). It needs more gas though, and I'll fill it up tomorrow.
So the above pic is of her with a helmet on. She can't wait to ride her own bike!
And of course I'm including a random pic of her in a construction helmet. No point to it...just the fact that I liked the picture.

*******

Awesome Birthday

Happy Birthday Awesome Marsha!

Love you!
***