Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
...About to go in the oven. They're yummy! Kid B taught me how to make them, with garlic salt.
Punkin' carvin'!
Here's Kid B, carving up a pumpkin. This is her very first "solo" pumpkin carving. I cut the top off, she cleaned it out, and then she drew faces on it with white board marker until she got one she liked. I showed her how to do one eye, and she took it from there.
Here in AZ, it's still about 90F during the day, so carved pumpkins really don't last long. Carve 'em a couple days before Halloween, leave 'em out, and the day after Halloween they're pretty much done.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
1:30am
Wendy made it to LAX! I watched it happen on an online real-time flight tracker. Kinda cool!
But, it wasn't without incident.
Seems Wendy, the seasoned World Traveler that she is, neglected one important detail:
MANY BAGS LOOK ALIKE! BE SURE TO CHECK THE TAG TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE PICKING UP YOUR BAG!
So, Wendy wound up in Montebello with someone else's luggage.
China Airlines called me soon after she left the airport, since the person whose luggage she absconded with noticed the mistake, the tag had my cell phone number on it (, and I first called the hotel. She hadn't checked in yet. So I had time! I tried calling the travel agency and was forwarded to their "evening service," which is staffed by an Asian-sounding bridge troll I'll refer to as Eric the Rude.
Eric the Rude has a weird little habit: He likes to start his sentences about a half a second after you've started saying yours, and say some smartass comment. I tried repeatedly to tell him that Wendy was traveling with her parents, and all he could keep saying was that she was traveling under her father's name. She's not. I know this because I paid the travel agency, and her parents don't read or write English, at all.
All I wanted from Eric the Rude was either a way to call the car Wendy was traveling in, or at least a contact number for Jessica, who was the agent in charge. I called Eric the Rude back twice, inadvertently, because everything forwards to his stupid face after 6pm. Lovely.
Long story longer, Wendy got to the hotel. Got my message. I called back as she was checking in. I gave her the number China Airlines gave me. She called China Airlines. Montebello is too far out for them to send a car. So Wendy had to take a taxi back to LAX to switch the luggage, at a cost of $130 for the taxi ride to and from LAX.
Yes, it was initially Wendy's "fault" for not checking. But I'd think the travel agency would have the contact info for the car they were sending, in case of this or any other type of emergency.
The second time I talked to Eric the Rude, just before I hung up on him, I cheerfully told him that I hoped he hated his job, because I was going to try to make sure he didn't have to do it anymore. And I will. As soon as Wendy is done with this trip - provided nothing else goes wrong - I'll be calling Jessica at AsiaAmerica.com to tell her what her little minion is up to when she goes home, and then I'll be calling Kenny Fung at Global travel, whom I have used for years for Asian travel, and who recommended AsiaAmerica.com, as one of their affiliates.
Wendy said the driver was also rude to them, and dropped their bags - four large check-in bags for a lady and two people over sixty - on the street behind the van, got in, and drove off.
Welcome to America. The only thing that makes me feel better is that so far all these rude buttholes have been.... Asian immigrants. LOL! So the Ongs are definitely getting the impression that Asians in the US are terribly rude people. Maybe some friendly Caucasians, African Americans, Native Americans, and Hispanics will make them feel more welcome. LOL! ;-)
I really hope the rest of this trip goes better.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Finished! My "Econo-Box"
Believe it or not, this is a $2000 car, which gets 28mpg city. And the air conditioning works.
I've actually been driving it for over two weeks (nice to drive around like crazy and see the gas gauge barely move!) but Blogger had an issue with T-Mobile that prevented mobile uploads, so I didn't get to post the Moment of Triumph at the time it happened.
Kid B and I will post video of us driving in it soon...
Via Colori
These are images from the Scottsdale Via Colori exhibition in the Scottsdale Arts District last Sunday. Kid B and I went and walked around, and watched these artists draw and color... It wasn't bad for a first year effort. Some of the pieces were really good, some amusing, some stretching a bit far to be provocative.
We'll definitely try to remember to make it next year.
Dining room
The dining room is shaping up nicely... Now that the air hockey table, which no one used, is gone.
My friend Bart is getting a 46" LCD HDTV, which is cool for him. I'd love to get the home theater room done, but we have to wait and see what our finances look like in a year or so before planning the Big Expansion. In the meantime, Bart's giving me his "old" 40" flat screen Sony CRT. It's huge, but it'll fit on my stand, and it's really nice. Bart's tastes are simple: He's always satisfied with the very best (Thanks Oscar Wilde.) So his "hand me downs" are usually nicer than whatever I'd buy new. He and his wife Barbara are just very cool people. Hard to believe I've known 'em over ten years now.
Blogger's back!
Thanks to "Gatsby" from the Google/Blogger staff!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Bad cat.
Ok, so it's dusty from not being driven all summer. Does my poor Porsche deserve such crude treatment? I think not.
It did leave a cat-shaped un-dusty mark on the hood though.
I've been rebuilding the doors on this car (yes, the doors.) All the rubber was bad, and the windows just sort of rattled around. In addition, the driver's side door stay is broken, so I'll need to take that one off and do some welding.
With Wendy coming back in one month :-) I'll need to have either this car or the "new" '87 944 back on the road, so Wendy can claim her BMW.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Ya say ya want a revolution?
This is Mao. He says his name a lot.
Mao wandered up to me as I unloaded groceries from my car, and wouldn't leave. He followed me around, going "Mao."
So I fed him a plate of tuna.
I think he could smell a sucker.
He kept up the "Mao" sounds.
Tried to follow me in the house. Nope.
I took him (her?) to the back porch, and fed him/her another plate of tuna.
He/she stopped going "Mao" to eat. So, while he/she was eating, I said "Mao."
He/she replied (not kidding) "Mfff."
I'm not sure if this is a neighbor's cat - I suspect it is. Way too familiar with the ins and outs of a house, and way too eager to go inside.
That or he's a refugee, and I've just developed a cat.
Friday, October 3, 2008
"Brainstorm"
I created this "by accident" in a brainstorming meeting at work. When I lead meetings like this, I try to have everyone do something creative with their hands to stimulate the right brain centers - non-verbal, non-linear, and much more creative. As we're talking, or listening to each other talk, we sit there and knead the clay, making weird shapes, and today this guy and his dog sort of... happened. Evolved, really. He started as a rod of clay, which became a flat bar of clay, which became a Moebius strip, then came the rectangular chunks which started to be Stonehenge and wound up being a pair or pants. The puppy started out as Shelley (HR/Sales/Marketing) doing a smiley face, and lamenting that it "wasn't creative." Two pinches and a quickly pinched wad of clay and her "smiley face" became a puppy.
We named him Mr. Nth. He has infinity for a head. Sort of fits.
Anyway, yeah, this is what I do in meetings. And it resulted in a clear design direction in just two one-hour meetings, and almost no yelling, and very little in the way of bent egos or hurt feelings (for anyone not familiar with the creative process, this is rare!)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Looks complete.
All the vacuum hoses are routed and connected, as are all the coolant hoses. I need to re-connect the exhaust headers to the exhaust pipes, and reconnect the starter. Add some water, put the distributor and plug wires back in place, plug the computer back in.... and turn the key while saying a silent prayer!
Belts
Balance shaft belt on, and timing belt tensioner installed and adjusted. Everything lines up with Top Dead Center, so there's no reason for it not to run here. I have to leave the covers off and install the alternator/AC belt (forget the power steering for now) to get the belts all adjusted.
Battery Box - finished
After an application of POR-15 rust converter, and some JB Weld to fill some suspicious looking "maybe holes," I slathered on an entire tube of elastomeric roofing sealant. It'll dry hard but flexible within a day, and acid water will never touch metal again. Oh yeah, and I left all the water drains unplugged.