Random Ramblings

Well, once again a long time has lapsed since my last post. I had good intentions if that counts. Some time ago I started on six drafts. But that was about it. As I've said in a few of my previous posts, I just can't seem to get into the habit of writing more regularly. Odd, I used to enjoy the daily journal that was kept as part of Mr. Cooney's 8th grade English class. Or was that Social Studies?

Now the tricky part is that I don't want to dive into any of the topics that I started on drafts about. At least not too deeply if at all. So I think I'll just give a quick look at what's happening lately.

At work, we had to let one of the Unix/Linux Systems Administrators go a few weeks back. I am somewhat surprised at the lack of qualified applicants applying for the open position. You figure that with 10 or 12 percent unemployment that I'd have people beating down the door. But no. Some applicants are the same that applied for an open position last year, so obviously I'm not the only one who thinks they're not qualified. A couple that had real interesting resumes were quickly unavailable as I was scheduling interviews. They accepted positions somewhere else. Maybe I'm being too picky, but I don' think I am (think the people still looking). But at this point, I may have to revisit some of the resumes that my team and I passed on.

I'm am still digging the Challenger SRT8 and no regrets about purchasing it. Scheduled its 12 month/12K mile service for next week. But the beast has only 4600 miles on it! By the way, I've given her a name. Her name is Arion (or Areion). A horse from Greek Mythology. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areion for more information about the mythical horse. Lately I've been thinking of a somewhat major upgrade to her. A little voice in my head is telling me to buy an Edelbrock E-Force Supercharger. I have to check with the local speed shops and see how much installation would cost me.

I did purchase season tickets for both the SF 49ers and the NY Jets again this year. Haven't made plans to head to NY for a Jet game, and so far I've only been to the 49er home opener. I sold the tickets for the Niners/Cowboys game on Craigslist a couple weeks back. I have a bunch of tickets for both teams listed on both Stubhub and TicketExchange, but no bites so far.

Back in August my good friend JJ Connelly was out this way. We headed up to Arcata for some outdoor type stuff. I had a blast, even though there was a few issues. But I think I'll cover that in more details in a separate post.

As we enter October I am definitely looking forward to my annual trip to Florida for Thanksgiving. I'm not sure if I'm going to spend time with my daughter Reagan, but I'll probably go down again in March around my birthday and spend a few days with her before visiting with dad again.

As I'm sitting here watching the season premier of "Fringe", I am running out of things to ramble about. So dear readers I think I'll call this post done at this time. For now, a goodbye and goodnight.

Mopar Man?

The check engine light once again reared its ugly head on the Durango. This time, code P0900 which has something to do with the "clutch actuator circuit". At the same time, the transmission began doing odd things and would sometimes not go into overdrive. So how did I fix the check engine light this time around? Obviously I wasn't heading to Putnam CJD. Saturday the 14th, I drove the old girl to Stevens Creek CJD in San Jose. A couple hours later I drove home with this.
A 2010 Dodge Challenger SRT8 in Hemi-Orange.

I haven't thought about it, but based on the last few vehicles I've owned, I became a 'Mopar Man'. Not counting motorcycles, my driving life started out with a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass. I had that car for years and close to 200k miles before giving it to a good friend. I had another 72 Cutlass that was given to me, as well as a 1968 Buick Skylark GS that was also donated to me. The other Cutlass was junked, and I in turn gave the Skylark to another friend. In 1986, while I was still driving my original Cutlass, I purchased a new Ford Thunderbird with the 5.0L V8. I remember my dad telling me I bought an "old man's car". :) I forgot exactly when I finally gave the Cutlass to my bud, but the TBird lasted me until I purchased a new Dodge Dakota pickup truck in 1995. Another 5.0L V8 and 4WD. Traded the TBird in. The 4WD turned out to be a good choice as the winter of 95-96 on Long Island was a record breaker! Driving the little pickup around in the snow when others were getting stuck was a blast. I still miss that truck.

Roll back to 1991 when I adopted Jessi, a lab samoyed mix. She loved going for rides, even to the veterinarian. When I had the TBird that wasn't a problem. However the Dakota was a standard cab. Jessi did not enjoy riding in the passenger seat of the pickup truck all that much. So in the fall of 1999 I ordered the Dodge Durango. I half jokingly told everyone that I bought it for Jessi. The front seats were mine, everything behind them belonged to her! ;) Hell, even when I traded the truck in last week there was dog hair all over the place. To that I should add that Jessi has been gone since May of 2008. The Durango was a reliable old friend through the years. Not much maintenance, a trip down to FL to visit the parents once, and drove it out here to the west coast when I moved in 2000.

All good things seem to come to an end. After the fiasco with Putnam CJD, the engine light reappearing didn't exactly give me the warm and fuzzies. A mechanic friend told me that the engine code and transmission behaviour likely meant I would need a new tranny. Things began to seem like the downhill path to monthly repairs that cost as much as a car payment. So, it was time. I've been thinking of two of the "retro" looking muscle cars of late. The Challenger and the Mustang. I rented a Mustang when I visited my daughter and her mom for a week back in March. It was good, but some of the ergonomics in the interior bothered me. Keeping my bad left leg in mind and wanting the 6-speed manual transmission in the SRT8, I went to look, sit, and test drive. The first good sign was I could sit comfortably while driving. Next, the visibility wasn't as bad as one may think (I've been used to great visibility out of the Durango and Dakota for 15 years). Feeling the power during the test drive hooked me and I knew that I would not be driving my once trusty old friend home that day. It was bittersweet as I emptied the small amount of personal belongings from the Durango into a plastic bag to carry over to where my new car awaited. Not only my new car, but my third new Dodge in a row. Somewhere after the GMs and Ford I seem to have become a Mopar Man.