Nov trip to Glamis

Brandon came out from Ohio for some fun. We headed out almost right away Sunday morning, and headed to GLamis Sand Dunes.
IT was very windy, but we got some riding in.
We spent the night in the Hotel about 25 miles away(thank God!) it was windy and everyone was covered in sand. The shower was very welcome.
The next day we rode a little, and headed back to San Diego. Once in San Diego, we rode the trolley to the stadium to watch the Chargers in Monday Night Football. Chargers beat The Broncos.
The next morning, we wnet back out to the desert, and took Kim and Sasha with us. 'A' drove her truck for the added room.
















The desert was beautiful, there was very few people, and Brandon was getting his first taste of the sand Dunes on a quad and even rode the motorcycle. He did very good on both.



























Took some pictures of Amber and her Truck in its psuedo-preferred enviroment:

revisit

Got a little bit of cold weather here in SD. We were coming back from the desert, and decided to scout my hunting spot. It was kinda cold (38deg) in the morning. When we stopped by it was 50, and there was some snow on the ground.
Brandon, myself and the girls walked out to where I took my buck, and looked for more sign of deer. There was some tracks, a lot of acorns, and I found the rub that may have belonged to my buck.

Success

After countless years of hunting in the Midwest, and only getting one deer ever, I finally bagged a buck! It wasn't in Ohio, or Michigan, but in San Diego. It was in the Laguna Mountains about 60 miles outside San Diego city. It was one of the happiest moments of my life, until I got home then the complaining started, oh well, it was fun while it lasted. When you shoot a California deer, get yourself a Mexican to help you gut, skin, and clean it. (sorry Robert):) My Buddy Robert lent me a gun, showed me places to hunt, and then drove 50 miles to help bring the kill in, and help skin and clean it. What a great friend!!! The antlers are mounted:

Truck project

Started with a 3 in spindle lift on the front,
























Before


After












Truck was sitting a little low, and the suspension was a bit soft. We put on a new set of Fabtech 3" lift spindles. When we took everything apart, we found a lower ball joint was sloppy so we replaced them on both sides.
The front end of the truck was lifted 3" and that means we have to lift the back to level it out. The back got an add-a-leaf , which is one more leaf spring with a sharper bend, added to the stack. Some time this week we will add a 1" spacer in the back under the springs. 'A' was a ble to help only a little, because she was getting ready for Homecoming. We had a spectator. I think it was a wolf spider:















She and 'H' went with two of their Highschool friends. they went out to eat first, then to the dance.

Injury, rain, and Volleyball

'A' started off the weekend with an attempted field goal on the bed post.



Saturday 'A' took her PSAT tests at school. Then, 'S', had a volleyball game, and they had a close battle but came up short. She is showing lots of promise in the sport.

















Saturday night the girls went to the movies.
Sunday morning We had a fundraiser carwash in the rain. We had one car show up, and we all got wet, but it was for a good cause. We raised money( tickets were pre-sold) for the new team, and we bonded.















We left there, and I had an alarm installed on the new rig ( A's Ranger)
While driving around that day, I noticed a horific squeal under the hood. The neighbor and I, troubleshot the issue for 2 hours. We removed the belt, and replaced the idler pulley( that didn't fix it) All the squealing seemed to come from that area. We sprayed some wd-40 on the back of the pully, and the sound temporarity went away. I sprayed again in the clutch pulley of the AC compressor, temporary fix.
I finally took it to my mechanic, and he replaced it with a smaller serpentine belt, and the problem went away. I am glad that fixed it, but I would have bet it was going to be something bigger like the compressor itself.
Serpentine belt installed = $83

Loaded the gun, pulled the hammer back...... Bought 'A' a truck

As the Ad read:
This is very clean inside and out vehicle. Comes with power door locks, power windows, CD Radio, bedliner, quality tires.
No accident.
V6 3.0L engine, 2WD No oil leaks, engine and transmission in perfect condition.
New brakes, oil.
All components in working condition.

She is very excited to have something to drive. She likes the idea of a truck, i guess because it is a little tom-boyish, and rugged. It is small enough to make it maneuverable in Parking lots, and get good gas milage. But large enough to haul her gear, and protect her.
Today she drove it to school for the first time. We picked it up last night.
Our town isn't the smoothest place to drive, as the high influx of immigrants leads to disarray, and indeciscion on their part, leaving her to play dodge-car.

















She added her first bit of Flare:

More truck troubles

This "NEW" truck I bought (2004) is giving me nightmares.
I replaced the alternator last night, and for grins, I checked the oil, and saw that it was low on oil. I lift the filler cap to put oil in, and in the cavity of the oil cap, I see water. Condensation. Thats not goodthe oil and water should not mix, and wont, unless you have a blown, or leaking head gasket. While I was at the autoparts store, they tested it with a block tester and confirmed my fears. This could cost thousands of dollars depending on the extent of the parts/damage.
If you believe in Karma for this fucker who sold me this truck, and probably new it had issues,please send bad karma his way.
updates to follow.

socialism and a professor fail a class

As the late Adrian Rogers said,
"you cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

This man is truly a genius!

An economics professor at a local college made a statement
that he had never failed a single student before,
but had once failed an entire class.

That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked
and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich...
"a great equalizer".

The professor then said,
"OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan".
All grades would be averaged
and everyone would receive the same grade
so no one would fail and no one would receive an A...

After the first test, the grades were averaged \
and everyone got a B- (B minus).
The students who studied hard were upset
and the students who never studied were happy.

As the second test rolled around,
the students who never studied
didn't even open their text books
and the ones who had before studied hard,
decided they wanted a free ride too
so they studied little.

The second test average was a D!
No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around,
the average was an F.

As the tests proceeded,
the scores never increased
as bickering, blame and name-calling
all resulted in hard feelings
and no one would study
for the benefit of anyone else.

All failed, to their great surprise,
and the professor told them that socialism
would also ultimately fail
because when the reward is great,
the effort to succeed is great
but when government takes all the reward away,
no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.
(Please pass this on)

Remember, there is a test coming up:
The mid-term election in November 2010!
Be there and vote what you know!

Sold the ol Dodge

She was good to me for many years but after a while you just need something newer and more exciting. I am still only talking about the Truck.


Ode to the Dodge:
You carried the Family, Dirt bikes, and softball gear.
Through the sand and rain, and snow with no fear.
From the beaches to the Mountains and desert sand, From Mexico to Vegas covering lots of land.
The seats have carried Parents, some Friends, and kids as they grew, a German, a Mexican, and even a Jew.
She needed some maintenance once in a while, she made up for it in power what she lacked in style.
A dent here and there and some peeling clear coat, you never got stuck, like this lump in my throat.
Your off to a new project and a hell of a guy. That makes me feel better as I struggle to say Bye.
You have been a great truck I will state it out loud, now go continue to work hard, and make me proud.

Bought a truck but not without issues

I found a truck ( 2004 Dodge 1500 quad cab) on Craigslist for what I thought was a good deal. The price was very good, it was below Kelly blue book. It had an aftermarket exhaust on it, which was very loud. I asked the owner(Nick)if he had the stock exhast system, he said "yes, would you want that.", " yes I would" "Well its at my Dads house, i'll get it for you"
Then a fog light was missing, he said "I have the light assembly, but the lense is craked..... " "I'll take what you have"
HE had seat covers on it, but i looked underneth, but did not see anything. (I will regret that later)
I come back the next day to pay him, and take the truck. I ask for the exhaust, and he replies " what exhaust?"
Me: "ah the stock exhaust"
Nick: " i don't have that"
Me: " you said you have it at your Dads house and you would give it to me to swap out"
Nick:" oh, It's damaged, I think he threw it away"
I assume he just didn't want to deal with it..... you know, a lier, no integrity.
He didn't give me the light either.
I drove home and when my daughter rode in it, she noticed the windows wouldn't roll down from her seat, only the driver could roll hers down. I text Nick. he states I never noticed. Nobody rides in the passanger seat" ( bullshit. He had the truck for 6 years and never noticed it, or his girlfriend never noticed it.... yeah right!
Then we find that a rear speaker is blown ( no big deal) I find a fix on the internet for the window issue. I have to recrimp a wire connector.
The seat felt wierd, so I lift the seat cover even farther, and see that the foam has ripped and the frame of the seat is pushing through and ripped the seat fabric. The back rest also has a huge rip, and part of the frame is pushing through there too. It is very uncomfortable. I notice power steering fluid dripping out, and the alternator seems to be a bit noisey. I text him about this, and he says:
" you bought a used truck USED! get over it, there are going to be things wrong with it, stop texting me, if you don't like the truck, sell it!
WHAT A Dick!!! I tell him "I like the truck, i just want to know if there is anything you were worried about that might get me stranded, and oh by the way, I went to the DMV, and they said you were suppose have it smog checked.
He quipped back: "glad you like the truck but Wow you want me to pay $30 now for the smog check, you sure wern't worried about the State law when you wrote down the price of the vehicle"
ah I am not worried about the state law stupid, I want to stop turning around and paying for something that you didn't take care of.
This asshole has ruined the expirience for me, but I am trying to put him in the past.
When I sell something, I try to make sure to sell it in good condition, or disclose as much as possible , so I don't ave someone coming back and pointing out things that are wrong.
Here are some pictures taken with my phone, I will get some better ones later.