Thing that happened to me today #22

So I am trying to learn how to do some work on my car to save a little money and make sure it is done correctly (and also to not get hosed for the extra things they say you always need at repair shops). So I went to do my rear brakes yesterday, and it didn't turn out so easy. I have changed pads on cars 3-4 times before, but have never done the rotors. Apparently it is actually pretty easy, most of the time they just slide off when you get the caliper off, sometimes they have two screws holding them on that you need to get out.

Now rear brakes only actually do about 20% of the braking on your car, the fronts do the brunt of the work. So they don't need to get changed nearly as often. In fact my car was bought brand new and now has 106,000 miles on it, and the rear brakes had never been changed. Recently they started to make some noise and I knew it was time.

So once I got the wheel off and took a look at it I realized that after 106,000 miles, things can get a bit rusty in there. So rusty that I could not get the two little screws out for the life of me. I was told by several car people that they are useless, only put on there during the car building process to hold the rotor in place, but that they really serve no purpose (the lug nuts actually do the holding on, not the two screws). So the advice I got was to try to drill them out, just past the head of the screw, then the rotor would pop off and no need to worry about replacing them. This was much easier said then done. I actually tried an impact hammer first, which uses the force of a hammer blow to torque the screw out, which didn't budge it. So I went for the drill. After toying with it on one side for about a half-hour, I gave up. So I just figured I would put the pads on the old rotors and see what happened. After installing the pads on both sides I took it for a test drive and boy was it horrible sounding. Rotors definitely had to be changed (I could tell they were in bad shape before I even did it but had no choice but to take a chance).

So I took it to a place this morning and watched what the guy did, he took a welding torch and melted those screws out of there, neat stuff, but no way I could have done it. So in the end, I paid $20 for the pads, which they said would have been around $80 installed, and $177 for the rotors installed, which would have cost me $60 from the auto parts store. In other words, it cost me $117 to have a couple screws torched out (talk about getting screwed, literally).

So is it worth it to try yourself? Depends if you are the curious type who likes to know how things work like myself, and also, of course, the value of your time. For me, saving $60 to do the pads myself, which only takes an hour, less if you are good, is worth it because I learned something while doing it. Would have been even more worth it if I could have gotten the darn rotors off, but oh well. I'd say for most people though, just pay for it!

Thing that happened to me today #21

The mice must be breeding like mice this time of year (or do they breed like rabbits?). At least my house must have some appeal to the few that are out there, because they keep coming in. I caught one recently, and now we have two more. It has been two days of waking up to things having been eaten in the kitchen during the night. First it was a half-eaten tomato on the counter, then the next day they ran off with an ENTIRE BAG OF NUTS. That's right, Sandy left a ziplock bag of nuts on the counter that was to be her snack yesterday at work, and when she got up in the morning it was gone, the whole thing, bag and all. Not to mention a large chunk of a banana eaten out, surprised they didn't take the whole thing with them, or the refrigerator for that matter. I did put a trap out last night, but it was empty this morning. They probably have enough stashed to feed themselves for a month. After I went to work though, Sandy called me frantically, said a mouse jumped on her foot when she turned the oven on, then ran back under it. She said she freaked and the cake batter went flying. I told her to try and pull the stove out. She did a little and said she saw two mice huddling in the corner. I guess I know what I have to do when I get home. The beastmaster is back! I will never buy an 83 year old house again.

Thing that happened to me today #20

In Minnesota you only get a few months a year of really nice weather, so when it rains for 5 STRAIGHT DAYS like it has, you start to get a little pissy. Everything has greened up nice which is good, now if we could only see some sun, we could enjoy it a bit. Hopefully this weekend will be nice. Otherwise I will begin construction on the ark.

Thing that happened to me today #19

Went to the doctor this morning, my eye was itching and irritated for a few days, I knew it was pink eye before I had even called for the appointment. It was clarified by a professional. What is with it being called pink eye anyway? I think it should be called itchy eye, or irritated eye syndrome, or just plain eye infection. Pink eye just doesn't cut it in my book, it's not flashy enough. It doesn't quite describe the symptoms enough, at least the ones that annoy you about having it. Pink eye should just be what you get when you partake in the use of natures number one plant. I have seen this in people before. Doctors should take some notes from newer conditions that are more properly named such as irritable bowel syndrome, genital warts, or acid reflux disease, which, by the way, I was also diagnosed with today (the latter one, not the former two, whew!). Been having acid reflux for awhile, finally decided to ask about it while there, and sure enough, I've got it. On some meds now for both, and apparently they are both curable. Obviously not surprising for itchy eye, but it is for acid reflux disease. They say you can be on the meds for two months and never have problems with it again. I am, as usual, a skeptic. I sure hope so though, I'll see I guess.

Thing that happened to me today #18

My son Sagan, who will be 2 years old in October, has started to string a few words together. His first sentences. The other night when I was hanging out with him on our bed, about to put him to bed, I asked him if he wanted to go to his bed. His response, "No, daddy bed". It was awesome. Watching the development of a child is a remarkable thing. It is the little things like this that not only make your day, but make you appreciate the wonders of human development.

Thing that happened to me today #17

Frank: I told my wife I wouldn't drink tonight. Besides, I got a big day tomorrow. You guys have a great time.
College Student: A big day? Doing what?
Frank: Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time.


Sunday we went to Home Depot, bought a storm door, looked at some flooring. We didn't actually have time for Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I suppose I need something exciting to happen for this blog to work.

Sorry about all the movie references, I guess I can't stop myself.

Thing that happened to me today #16

Yesterday I officially began writing my first research article to be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. I only wrote about two paragraphs of the materials and methods section, which is the easiest part to write, but you have to start somewhere. Hopefully I can crank through this. It is daunting, but I will push on through...