(no subject)

Just a couple of little things. Well, they're not so little to me, but in the grand scheme of things, they're fairly trivial.

1. My long-missing VHS tape, volume one of Dominion: Tank Police, showed up in a mailer yesterday. Bless you, Misty. With everything that's happened to both of us in the last few years, it was gonna be eons before I could drop down and actually visit like a human being. :/ I've not given up on visiting, but it's not gonna be until after the knee surgery and healing. *wry smile* I've even got some oddball movies I could bring with me. :p
2. The new hairstyle seems to have gone over well with everyone else, which is nice in an abstract sort of way. A nice quick trip to higher self-confidence. Not to slight them or anything, but it's at least slightly more important to me that -I- like it... which I do.
3. The mainboard (ECS PF21-Extreme), processor (Intel P4/550 3.4ghz), and CPU fan (yay, ThermalTake!) that got selected for Hobbes' machine showed up this afternoon. I'll be able to do a raw build for testing the wiring layouts and getting final measurements.

Aside from that, things are quiet... unless you factor in the fact that I'm petrified of the upcoming surgery. *sigh* Incisions, incisions...


And a lemming, swiped from shutaro:

The Detailed Starship Quiz LiveJournal Username Spaceship Name Spaceship Size VW BugSedanJet FighterFishing YachtTractor-TrailerAttack SubmarineNuclear Missile SubmarineAircraft CarrierQueen Mary Luxury LinerManhattan How is the spaceship piloted? YokeStickAs above, plus plenty of two-pole switches and buttons that light up when pressedTouch screensThere's one guy with a joystick in each hand, and we all just watch himNeural interfaceA full-body harnessThe pilot must be suspended in gooSome inscrutible alien attached to the ship does itRock MusicMarvin Gaye's Sexual PilotingThe main control is a teddy bear; piloting is by strategically hugging itPassive-aggressive banter with ship's computerThe Time Lords or Somebody tells us where to goThinking really hard about the destination How is the spaceship powered? FissionFusionAntimatterIrradiating CrystalsRock MusicCoal-fired SteamWood-burning SteamGasolineLoveForcing two people who can't stand each other to make out on the bridgeBaby sealsSmilesDimensional AnomalyBy feeding the alien creature that's the engineSexual FrustrationEarl Gray TeaMilkWaterGarbageTickling a member of an alien species while it's hooked up to the reactorOstrich or Chicken Critters on Treadmills What's the upholstery like on the seats? Hard PlasticSoft PlasticCloth UpholsteryLeather UpholsteryCloth like a Louis XIV CouchThat gel stuff they put on bike seatsBeanbag chairsInflatable chairsVinylBaby SealBrushed Aluminum How do you see outside the spaceship? PortholesLarge, hopefully sturdy windowsBig flat screenHolographic projector in center of bridgeSmall screens near each stationWristwatch TVsThe power of imaginationThe computer narrates like a movie for the blindThe computer sings an Australian songline What's the spaceship's primary purpose? PleasureExplorationCombatCargo HaulingGarbage DisposalScienceAgricultureRaw Materials ExtractionTransportationCommunicationsSmugglingGamblingSpreading Love and HappinessRock MusicOther What's the Captain's catchphrase? Main Weapon System: Shredder Cannon Main Defensive System: Force Shield Chance of catastrophic failure at critical moments 7% Voice of the ship's computer: rowandoll Finds mandatory uniform unflattering: westbaylen Looks sexy in mandatory uniform: snowpony Ripped sleeves off mandatory uniform: sapphire_d Spends an unhealthy amount of time in the weapons locker: trajan_lj This Fun Quiz created by Akhmed at BlogQuiz.Net

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...

Less than a week after getting the Explorer finally titled and tagged properly, the Saturn opts to be a pain in the ass.

Around 5:30 this afternoon I got a worried call from Megan; the Saturn had started smoking, and she was getting a burning smell in the passenger compartment. She wasn't far from the apartment, so she limped the car home from there. I popped the hood, honestly expecting something annoying-but-trivial like a blown valve cover gasket, and got a nasty shock.

It wasn't the gasket that was blown. It was the valve cover itself. A lovely pencil-sized hole right through the plastic cover above the camshaft linkages... and a splash pattern of oil radiating out from it. I turned the car over briefly; it rattles a bit, but it's all valve clatter from there not being enough oil in the block. Great. The engine's intact, I just need to call around and find a cover for it. Given that it's plastic, it can't be too expensive, right?

Wrong. Once I had the full specs on the engine and was getting quotes for the proper part, I got another nasty shock: dealer price on the piece in question were consistently in the $310 - $335 price range, nobody has the damned thing in stock, and nobody can get it any earlier than Wednesday of next week (1 place) or Friday of next week (the other 2 places).

It should be noted that my surgery is the 15th. The following Monday. If it's the wrong part or misplaced in shipping, I'm totally screwed. Given how late in the day it already was, there was no way to start in on the various junkyards... that'll be the project for tomorrow. In the meantime, Megan's on the hook for a sewing workshop tomorrow... which means I'm going to have to get up, shuttle her down to Crofton (with two stops), and then return here. My plans for the weekend have gone up in smoke.

The next person that tells me I'm selfish and only think of myself is going to eat a haymaker and likely parts of my cane as well.

*sigh*