“Pink Floyd founding member Syd Barrett has died at the age of 60, according to a spokeswoman for the band. Barrett founded the band in the mid-1960s and was the creative force behind its first two albums. He was also the inspiration for the band’s 1975 album, ‘Wish You Were Here.’”

Prepare yourself…I don’t “blog” in the conventional sense, more or less I post news about me.

Anyway, this does hit a nerve with me.  I guess because 3 of my musical heroes were “lost”, all from the same era of the same band–Fleetwood Mac.  Granted, two of them (Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer) have made slight returns/recoveries.  Peter was the first to leave the band, after suffereing a nervous breakdown.  Jeremy followed soon afterward, joining the now famous religious cult, The Children Of God.  The remaining guitarist, Danny Kirwan pushed on for a few years, before suffering a similar breakdown and leaving the band.

Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer are now active musically, and have been for some time.  This is great for fans of the British Blues scene of the 60’s.  But sadly, Danny has not been so lucky, and he is still, more often than not, homeless, unwilling to discuss his time as a musician, and quite possibly mentally disturbed.

Danny has been for some time, my own Syd Barrett.  I personally support his desire to stay completely away from music and the music business.  It’s his life…  I just hope he someday tells his story before passing suddenly as Syd has.

Danny…”wish you were here.”  Syd, we’ll see you on the “dark side of the moon,” Buddy.  Shine on you crazy diamond.
~jp

One thing is now clear…I bought the wrong engine. Yep… It’s not the engine really, just the cam. Unfortunately, the cam is the brains of the engine. It’s responsible for deciding at what speeds the engine makes its power and how much. The cam that came in that engine just isn’t right for a big heavy truck. It’s much more suited to something smaller and lighter, like say a vintage Corvette. Anything but a big, heavy truck.

So, I’ll swap the cam, right? Easier said than done. To do so, I’ll need to pull off the grill, radiator and fan, then the front of the engine including the water pump (probably) belts, pulleys, THEN I can remove the carb, intake manifold, heads (after removing the valve covers and unbolting the exhaust) so that I can remove the cam.

Yeah…it’s gonna be a bitch. But what hasn’t been a bitch so far?? Not a lot.

But at least I know where I’m headed with this thing…

First of all, I haven’t driven it since 12.28.2005. Everything about it was foreign, from the angle of the non-adjustable seats, to the steering, to the suspension and handling characteristics…all of it.

Not to mention that it runs like Hell. The change I made to the carburetor before the fire DID indeed lean out the fuel/air mixture some. But it’s too lean right off idle. Right in that place where you hold the accelerator to maintain speed or take off from a stand-still, it’s lean. Very lean. So lean, it almost dies. So driving involves “idle, acccelerate, repeat”. I must look like a complete jackass driving, because I basically have to gun it to get moving. Going down the road I gotta accelerate, then let off. If I try to just hold it and maintain a constant speed, it shudders and sputters and acts like it’s running out of gas (because from the engine’s perspective, it is).

Nevertheless, I’m driving again. I must’ve gotten bigger balls while sleeping because I woke up and drove myself to work this morning–with no fear I might add. I reaquainted myself with the “feel” of the truck and got a lot more comfortable. I have a solution in mind for tuning the engine better, but it involves new springs in the carb.

Which leads me to another problem…Money.

As stated previously, my bill at Mr. Transmission jumped from an estimated $750 to around $1500 when they discovered that the existing transmission would need to be replaced, and not rebuilt. That basically cleaned out my account. My girlfriend (G) and I had a misunderstanding about our, and specifically her, financial situation. I was under the impression that she had more in her bank account that she actually did. Well…there’s no money. I have $68 in my account. We get paid on the 15th (it’s currently the 7th).

Hmm…

Quick thinking on part led me to put up a couple of auctions on eBay to raise some quick funds. I have a couple of extra parts for the Blackhawk that I’m not using. I bought them way under the market value, so if they sell I should profit. The problem is, the auction has another couple of days to go, and even if they sold right this instant, it’d take a couple of business days for the money to go from Paypal to my bank account. I *really* wish I’d gotten that Paypal debit card.

I haven’t been this bad off financially since like…1998 or something. Actually, twice since then, something has happened. Usually due to a miscalculation. But it’s been well over a year since that happened, and I’ve been a lot better about managing my money.

My good friend Donald here at work wants to buy the Blackhawk. I was originally offering it up to him for $250, but dropped the price to $200 to sweeten the deal and hopefully get the cash quicker. We’re tentatively scheduled to make the transaction today. If that happens, my life will be considerably easier. The Blackhawk’s spare parts on eBay should be sold in 2 days, and the money should hold me through the weekend and into early next week in time for the eBay money to come in.

Also, because I can be such a slacker, I never did file my income tax return. I know, you’re thinking “WTF”, but I did get a pretty nice bonus from work around that time, so it wasn’t like I was missing the money. I filed electronically over the weekend and should have the cash in my account around the middle of next week (along with my paycheck).

So…I have money on the way. More than enough to cover the bills and all that. I just need to eat and pay for gas…NOW.

It’ll all work out. It always does.

These are some pics of my dogs.

And starting here are new pics of the house.

Enjoy…

I am never going to use Mr. Transmission again.  Those guys SUCK.  They’ve had my truck since the 26th of May.  That’s 9 days as of right now, and it (supposedly) will be ready tomorrow by lunch.

Great…$1500 for a transmission, a cleaned out bank account and I’ll still have a truck that runs like shit and needs front wheel bearings and an alignment.

Not to mention, that honestly, the K5 scares the hell out of me.  Rather, *I* scare the hell out of me.  I suppose I’m not 100% confident in my repair.  Only time will tell.   At least it will be here at the house and not at the apartment, and I’ll be able to work on it.

I just hope I can get it home in one piece.  I do have a fire extinguisher in there now   But for now, getting both me and G to work with one vehicle is a real problem.
I put up my DirecTV dish yesterday, but was unsuccessful in pointing it.  I’m gonna reattempt it today.  I bought a compass so hopefully I’ll be able to do it.  I’m sick of not having TV to watch.  So is G.

I’ll be posting pics of the house and all soon–maybe today.  I do need to pull out the camera to take some pictures for a couple of eBay auctions.

See ya soon.

I must agree.

Anyway, so I tried to get all the utilities and phone hooked up. That has proven to be an exercise in futility. The electric & gas company agreed to provide electric only–no gas–because of my credit (which is currently under repair) and requires a $200 deposit payable with the first bill. Bastards…

They referred me to another gas company. That company agreed to provide gas, but only after paying a $150 deposit UP FRONT. Fuckers…

And then…this is really good…the phone company, THE COMPANY I WORK FOR, totally FUBAR’d my move order. They instead disconnected my service at the old location and put in an order for new service at the new. I know you’re probably wondering, “what’s the difference?” Well, not much…except when you “move” your usernames and passwords for your internet access stay intact.

And as if that weren’t good enough, they said I wouldn’t get service till the 5th!! That’s next Monday!

Luckily, I used to work in the highest level of the complaint department, and I expected such nonsense. I made some calls, got the username reactivated. I called in another favor and got the installation date expedited for today.

Well the tech shows up, and lets me know that he’s going to install the service. Luckily, I walked outside and told him that the extra phone wire coming through the outside wall was for the DSL modem. He looked at me and said there was no order for DSL.

WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!

So, I again make calls. Order for DSL is placed manually. Of course, at first my phone number didn’t qualify for DSL because the order to install phone service hadn’t been completed yet. Bypassed… He checks the new order, and tries to get it assigned to him. Doesn’t happen. But luckily, another tech picked up the job to connect DSL. At first that was scheduled to take place this Saturday. After more “WTFs” I called in more favors and had the date pushed up to today.

So I come inside, try to boot my laptop. No dice. I do a real quick reorganization on my spare room and setup my PC. Then the ethernet connection (which uses nifty little transceivers to connect via the electrical wiring in my home) doesn’t work. So I stretched my trusty 50ft piece of Cat 5 from one bedroom to the next.

And there you have it. That puts me right about…Here…typing this.

More good news

I finally get a call from the transmission shop regarding The K5. The transmission is apparently not rebuildable–needs a new case. The bill just went up to $1450…nice. It would’ve been even nicer had they told me that a few days ago. They’ve had it for 6 damn days. It shouldn’t have taken them that long to get back to me.

At this point, I’m just trying to take it one day at a time.

Did I mention that I bailed out of work at 12:30pm so I could come home and let the dogs out? That’s right…still no doggie door. Hopefully tonight.

DirecTV can wait (did I really just say that?)

Pickens out…

Much thanks to G’s Dad and sisters, as well as my good friends Clint and Justin.

We rented the “big ass” truck from Budget–the 24′ one. I don’t know if that bitch drives anything like a Deuce-and-a-Half but if so I’m SOLD on the Deuce. A buddy of mine is trying to steer me away from the mighty Deuce, but given that they’re so damn affordable (and cool…and tough…) I gotta get me one.

We have just about everything in the house, save for actually unpacking and setting everything up. DirecTV still isn’t working, neither is the phone or DSL, but we’re making due with DVDs and rabbit ears. I absolutely MUST fashion a doggie-door for the back door tonight. I attempted it over the last few days and failed miserably. Actually, I was doing good until I realized that the door I was replacing was in fact 31.75″ wide, and not the standard 32″ like the one I’d bought. I attempted to shave 1/4″ off the door and my jig slipped, causing a tapered cut. Now the door is ruined

I’ll be getting yet another door tonight and attempting it again. Hopefully I can find an attachable fence to allow me to make a consistent cut. Otherwise I’m screwed. Luckily the door was cheap as far as doors go ($50) but still. It was basically a big, heavy ass slab of wood and particle board. I had to cut out the mortises for the hinges, cut the holes for the locksets, and cut it to size. Not fun with the small assortment of tools at my disposal.

The dogs love the backyard. The big one (Mino aka “el Miño”) doesn’t dig the summer heat though. He’s 6 years old, and has spent just about his whole life indoors, except to go outside to use the “facilities”, at which time he’s on a run or a leash. He hasn’t built up the required stamina to stay outdoors all day long, and after a few minutes, he’s right back at the door. He’ll come in panting, drink some water, then lay down and rest.

The smaller dog (Bender) can deal with it. el Miño is black with thick fur. Bender, has short, light-colored fur and won’t come back to the door (usually) until you call him.

el Miño’s main purposes for going outside are to use the facilities, and play a little. Bender has decided that his job is to first, run to the end of the fence to yell at the other dogs. Once he’s stirred shit up and got all the dogs in the neighborhood barking, he barks for a while (loudly) and then decides that his work is done, and goes on “patrol” for a while.

If anyone is wondering as to the fate of my K5 Blazer…well, it’s at the Mr. Transmission. Last I heard they were going to start the inspection of the transmission and report back with any findings. Hopefully I’ll hear something today. The good news is, there’s a $400+ inspection fee, which will be waived if it needs to be rebuilt. If the transmission is deemed “good” then I’ll only pay the inspection fee (which is cheaper than the cost of a rebuild).

Then I can get back to trying to make the truck actually run worth a shit, which is what I was trying to accomplish back in December when it caught (or I caused it to catch) fire.

Watch for an update.

~jp

Not 30 minutes ago, I finished reassembling the distributor after first disassembling it, and reversing the wires on the pickup coil. Basically, the pickup coil tells the spark plugs when to fire. I was right, the two wires were reversed, and that was causing the engine to backfire through the intake, sound funny, and overall run like ass.

Tomorrow, I’ll call Mr. Transmission. They quoted me the lowest price on rebuilding it. This means I will likely meet my deadline of having it running this week!

:-)

To put it in the simplest terms, here’s how the ignition system works: Basically, when a combustion chamber is filled with gas and air, and is compressed to the max, the spark plugs fires and ignites the mixture, causing power. Now, while engine speed can and does increase, the rate at which fuel and air burns does not.

That means, as the engine goes faster and faster, the ignition system has to fire the plugs earlier and earlier to keep up. This is called “advancing the timing”. As the engine slows down, the timing is slowly pulled back to it’s originating point, aka “retarding the timing”.

The problem I’m having is, when the engine revs faster, the timing retards rather than advances! This is apparently stumping even some seasoned vets in the auto-industry. It’s a terrible problem, and the engine is running like complete crap and even backfires through the carburetor! (not good!!)

So, I went to my favorite thinking place (smoking area) at work and thought about the problem. I realized that while reconnecting and replacing all that was destroyed in my engine fire, I may have reversed two wires. I researched that, and it turns out, the symptoms associated SPECIFICALLY with having those 2 wires reversed would be exactly the problems I’m having!

Rock on…

So now I can’t wait for the work day to be over with so I can get under the hood and swap out those two wires. Hopefully everything will work out well. If the truck runs good tonight, then I’ll try to have it towed to the transmission shop tomorrow.

Wish me luck…