8/4/06

The relay did the trick for the quad gauge. Here’s how it went down. I left work around 1600 and went home. Mom had just gotten back from a trip; so I thought I'd better stop in and see her before going to the shop. We spoke for a bit and then I changed into grubbier clothes for the shop. I headed to the shop and got there right about 1700, which was when John thought he’d be getting of work. I pulled Mr. Wiggly around front and started looking at the relay I had. I rounded up all of the parts I needed and was suddenly hit with an urgent need to have a “Shaq Attack!” I pulled the roll up door down, grabbed the roll of “tickets to a hockey game,” locked the entry door, and sped to the head in Matilda. After a successful bombing run, I leisurely drove back tot the shop. Feeling much better, I mounted the relay bracket and attached the ground. I spliced in the signal wire from the coil, the switched power lead to the gauge, and the hot lead to the battery. I had one more quick look around to make sure everything was correct and hit the key. Hey, we have a voltmeter! I'm not sure if the tachometer reacted any quicker but like I said the other day, it seems to be fine while driving. I was in the process of setting the shift light when John arrived. We checked the lights and such then had a look at the adapters for the big assed wheels. We came up with two different possible plans for making them work. One is slightly ghetto, while the other is totally ghetto! We’ll see which one my lazy ass chooses and then I'll tell you about it. I mentioned that we really ought to see just how these wheels are going to fit on the van before going too much further. I rolled it to the concrete pad and jacked up the driver’s front. John removed the stock wheel and installed an adapter. We set the BA wheel on the adapter and had a look. It is going to be so awesome! They do stick out just a tad but not too much. We decided that since the wheels are 10” or 254 mm wide, I'd want to go with a 255/60-15 tire. I know I'm not going any smaller than a 245 though. I need to do some pricing and see what I can afford. We put the stock wheel back on and John went around the van with the torque wrench. He asked if I had any interest in seeing “Clerks II” and I answered in the affirmative. We checked the show times and decided to go. He took Mr. Wiggly and I followed. At the theater we each bought a 52 oz Slurpee type drink. Mine was cherry, a fact that will be important in a moment. We sat and drank them while waiting for the film. I really liked it, the film that is. I mean, the Slurpee was good too, but not enough to warrant a separate sentence extolling its virtues. No, I really liked the film. [ Am I the only one who is jonesing to see it again? - SM ] I'm still giggling about the guy pissing off the “Lord of the Rings” geek so bad that he threw up! Classic. Anyhoo, we finished up and stood in the parking lot for a bit afterward. We decided against dinner since… well, now I'm not sure why we decided against it. I know I said I was past the hunger point and that the Slurpee had tided me over. Perhaps that was it. Anyhoo, I noticed that it had gotten dark while we were in the theater and said, “Your brother was supposed to have fixed the charging problem in Mr. Wiggly. I paid for a fixed charging system. Hopefully it will be fine.” He took off to his house and I to mine. When I got undressed for bed I noticed I was fairly grubby and decided to shower before sleep. I further decided to shave before showering and went to do that. As I was returning to my room afterwards, I heard my phone ringing. I answered it and John told me the charging system was not working. Robert had been alerted and was coming this morning to replace the regulator and jump it off. I apologized for sending John home in a lemon and he replied that no good deed goes unpunished. I guess it was a bit optimistic sending Mr. Wiggly across town in the dark before some more trials. Oh well, live and learn. So this morning I get up to come to work and go in for my usual “hostage release” before showering. When I'm done I look in the bowl and to my horror see what appears to be blood! “Oh crap!” I say. I get my glasses for a closer inspection, because I'm not going to panic and assume my guts are dissolving based on my half blind first impression. Nope, it still looks like I've lost a lot of blood out of my ass. I'm really beginning to worry now. I remember that I didn’t eat a real dinner so I start trying to think what I had for lunch yesterday. Pasta, so that wasn’t it. All of a sudden I remember the 52 oz cherry Slurpee I had in lieu of dinner. I had another look and sure enough that was what it resembled. I took off my glasses, showered, and had a good laugh at myself. So any hypochondriacs out there, be wary of thyne poop after imbibing on 52 oz of cherry Slurpee for yon doctor’s test may set thee back quite a few shekels for wont of sufficient reason. [ You should see what it looks like after a great big Sonic Ocean Water... - SM ] And on that note I think I'll call it a week. Talk to you again Monday.