Automotive Maintenance

Recently I have been doing a fair amount of maintenance on our two vehicles. This last weekend I washed and waxed both cars so that they are well protected for the coming winter. The weekend before that I put new brakes on the MINI. The full deal - new rotors front and back, new pads, and new fluid. That was about a 4-5 hour job for me. But let me tell you, having a decent garage to work in really makes these jobs a lot easier to do. That's something that I'm really happy about.

With the two car garage (side by side) I can park one car on the street for the day, and put the car being worked on in the center of the space, giving me plenty of room in which to work. With it up on jack stands, all I need is a creeper to make it easier to get under/around, and more comfortable as well. The only problem is going to be where to store the creeper... as I still need to finish cleaning up quite a bit of other crud (tools... tools, not crud...) before the garage is what I would call "finished".

I could really use some form of cabinets on castors, so that if I needed to move them around I could. And also so that they could be used as work benches... :D

This coming weekend I am planning on replacing the brakes on the BMW, with new rotors and new pads, and fresh fluid as well. In the process I'll put on the winter wheels and tires, and be all set of the cold weather, and won't have to worry about snow. I might also have to look under the hood a bit while I have it up in the air, and see if I can tell where this dang oil is leaking from. Luckily it's not a big leak.

Next spring, before things really get moving for the year, I plan on a big chunk of maintenance on the cooling system - replacing the 150,000 mile radiator and expansion tank, the water pump, thermostat, and any related hoses that have been on the car since 1991. Hopefully I can keep from putting very many miles on it for the winter, just so it doesn't get to much use... and eventually I hope to put a new CD/radio head unit in. I was able to upgrade the speakers some, as a set of MBQuart component speakers became available in my local club. These fit in stock locations, and improved the sound quality quite a bit. Best part is that they don't look any different than stock speakers.

Flickers of Autumn...

Yesterday afternoon, while I was enjoying lunch with my wife Wendy, the strangest thing happened. We were sitting there, watching the news, or the Bonnie Hunt show, or something similar while eating, and a Flicker landed on Wendy's pole that hold the bird feeders and bath. It was a male flicker, looked at us for a few minutes, regarded the feeder and the empty suet cage, and then left.

Today, about the same time, a female flicker came by. It landed, hopped down to the feeder, tried to eat a couple of seeds out of the feeder, then did the oddest thing. We also have a suction cup bird house mounted to the window, should a chickadee or finch ever decide to make use of it. Well, this flicker jumped over, grabbed onto the front of the birdhouse like it was a tree, and hung there for about 20 seconds chirping quietly before heading off for some nearby trees.

Now all we need to do is get some suet for them, and we'll have the pleasure of their company for as long as they are in the area. They really are very attractive birds...

The 2008 Presidential Election

Something to track results by as they come in. From MSNBC.com - Enjoy!