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<title>The Thoughtpukes RSS Feed</title><link>63.247.142.24/index.html</link><description>My latest blog.</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>chuckpace@mac.com</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2009 Chuck Pace</dc:rights><dc:date>2010-11-30T07:12:37-05:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Tue, 30 Nov 2010 18:30:43 -0500</lastBuildDate><item><title>Frankenstein&#x2c; History Pt. 1</title><dc:creator>chuckpace@mac.com</dc:creator><dc:subject>Thoughtpukes </dc:subject><dc:date>2010-08-08T23:22:21-04:00</dc:date><link>63.247.142.24/files/eab060b025646a1ca5c48e5eefd471e3-420.html#unique-entry-id-420</link><guid isPermaLink="true">63.247.142.24/files/eab060b025646a1ca5c48e5eefd471e3-420.html#unique-entry-id-420</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[From day one, the right front shock was a rattling, noisy, scary mess, but the car still handled pretty well (better than most cars I'd driven to that point) and I endured.  After a few weeks I got used to the foibles and appearance, and started to enjoy the pluses of the car. Then the day came when I was driving home and the shift selector rod snapped and I was out of commission for the immediate future.  That future went on for around two years, with another BMW in the mean-time but that's another story (and one that is well detailed in previous "Projectile " posts here at chuckpace.com).

When I finally found the correct shifting mechanism (after the death of the 2nd Bimmer the M&auml;dchen) it was decided that we (I) would rebuild the Blue beast that I got in 2005, to that end I began the resurrection of the car. And because of it's appearance, and the fact that I would be getting other parts from multiple sources, I started calling it the Blue Frankenstein.

...Jenni drove Harold the truck and I drove the "Vert for most of that time, leaving the Blue Frankenstein to be worked on at my leisure and discretion, but brought out of the garage often enough to keep it nimble and alert.

...Sanding and primering for three days and the car .looked better than I've sever seen it, still there are some imperfections that only show up when you do that kind of work, so I'll bee taking care of those soon.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Prometheus Driven</title><dc:creator>chuckpace@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Projectile</category><dc:date>2010-08-07T01:24:54-04:00</dc:date><link>63.247.142.24/files/f9532b73da05c96b3574eaad2d98831c-419.html#unique-entry-id-419</link><guid isPermaLink="true">63.247.142.24/files/f9532b73da05c96b3574eaad2d98831c-419.html#unique-entry-id-419</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[In my last post about the Bimmer, the 535i, the Blue Frankenstein as it were (or was) way back in the first week of May I mentioned my dilemma of restoring the unrestored strut assembly to the BF so as to be able to work, eat, live and transport self and soul to all necessary situations and locations.

...Since I found out that the problem of shake, rattle and hum was not just mine (or U2's) and that everything was Helter Skelter, I had to put my desire aside and forsake my pride (in the name of love), I had to drive the drive, as it was always since I had acquired it.

...I lost the delusion that it was just a bad shock absorber, I lost the innocence of thought that it would be alright until I got a new shocks (always replace front's and rears in pairs) I lost hope that throwing another $1000 or more at the problem would end all problems (at least I'm smarter than most politicians in that respect).

...I've been working on the outside, while oblivious to the real problems of the inside, the heart is strong, the drive is there, the comfort in each other's capabilities is real, but the knowledge of the true nature of the damage is worrisome.

...Now every railroad track, pothole, bump and uneven pavement patch wasn't just an opportunity to cuss and fume, it was a mental premonition of collapse, collision or casualty.

...I've been working on the outside, while oblivious to the real problems of the inside, the heart is strong, the drive is there, the comfort in each other's capabilities is real, but the knowledge of the true nature of the damage is worrisome.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Disconnected</title><dc:creator>chuckpace@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Up Chucks</category><dc:date>2010-07-12T22:43:49-04:00</dc:date><link>63.247.142.24/files/61f0da16bdaf5a819c768f0397f0298a-416.html#unique-entry-id-416</link><guid isPermaLink="true">63.247.142.24/files/61f0da16bdaf5a819c768f0397f0298a-416.html#unique-entry-id-416</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I talked to the VP of ATT before it was all done and he told me point-blank that he didn't care if I was unhappy or not, or that an employee in his company had intentionally lied and deceived me.

...By then my hatred of the butt dialing , pocket dialing, dashboard dialing monstrosity was legend in the circles I pass through, and as I came back from lunch I was created by Phil Gibson and one of his friends who just so happened to have an original iPhone he wanted (or more accurately his wife wanted) to get rid of....  I had checked the employee price on the item he wanted (I still cannot remember what it was it was so inconsequential by comparison to my renewed happiness) and only got to take about $20 off before taxes and ended with a net gain of $6.40, but I did end up with the real prize.

...Inside, I looked for the friggin' bastard who sold me the Blackberry and a bill of goods, but he was off or somebody had taken him to secluded spot and beaten him so severely that he'd never be able to use a phone again let alone sell one to the unsuspecting (at least that was what I imagined)....  At home I had to wait to be reconnected after plugging the cherished machine into my Mac computer, within two hours I had my address book back (the BlackBerry never did properly sync with the superior Mac system) and within 2 1/2 hours after my reprieve from insanity, I had my preferences set, my alarms loaded and my life back.

...<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.haloscan.com/load/chuckpace"> </script><a href="javascript:HaloScan('7_1210');" target="_self"><script type="text/javascript">postCount('7_1210');</script></a> | <a href="javascript:HaloScanTB('7_1210');" target="_self"><script type="text/javascript">postCountTB('7_1210'); </script></a>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Yard Redeux Memorial Weekend</title><dc:creator>chuckpace@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Toil It</category><dc:date>2010-05-31T23:57:17-04:00</dc:date><link>63.247.142.24/files/bbaf13209646340ca5f26dddd34e66be-418.html#unique-entry-id-418</link><guid isPermaLink="true">63.247.142.24/files/bbaf13209646340ca5f26dddd34e66be-418.html#unique-entry-id-418</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It has been a month of the trials and tribulations, and not a lot of blogging got in the way of that and I'm sorry about that.

...Friday night after work Jenni and I went to dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse with our friend Melissa Shoffner, who asked if I was doing any yard projects since it seems that I normally do on Memorial Weekend.

...A while back Jenni had mentioned that the plantings and ring around the tree in the front yard was getting a bit ragged looking.  I had been thinking about it too for a few month, but was on a long un-inspirational streak and it was not a priority.  Other yard projects took priority, like the back and side yards where we spend way more time, so they had been getting the lion's share of my attention since early April.

Here are the results of the front yard "tree-juvination", I wish I had taken a before photo, but in a way I'm glad I didn't, it was really out of hand (and actually had a few volunteer trees growing in the ring).]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Setback Pseudo-Solution</title><dc:creator>chuckpace@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Projectile</category><dc:date>2010-05-07T21:57:11-04:00</dc:date><link>63.247.142.24/files/b057bcfca7686f626d97f7f106d6ad15-415.html#unique-entry-id-415</link><guid isPermaLink="true">63.247.142.24/files/b057bcfca7686f626d97f7f106d6ad15-415.html#unique-entry-id-415</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Now mind you I don't mind car-pooling with the wife, in fact when schedules allow I thing it a prudent and fiscally responsible choice, but our schedules are usually not biorythmically tuned.  Besides I live to drive, it is something that pleases me, and for a driver to be reduced to a rider is a demotion of the soul and spirit as well as a shock to the system.

...Then one night as I turned more than I tossed I thought about the Bimmer itself, I had been driving it with the funky shock bounce and noise since the day I acquired it, it never got worse, and it never got better.  I had been driving, and turning and bouncing and hitting pot-holes and railroad tracks for several years and cursing the fact that I didn't have the resources to fix it, or the time to be without the car. The deal was that when I decided to replace the shock and ordered the parts I was fixing a long stand problem.

...I took the shake-down cruise, with the same shake-ups I remembered from the right front when a bump was encountered, the same shimmy when breaking from higher speeds, the same grimacing I had always done when encountering a pot-hole.

...<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.haloscan.com/load/chuckpace"> </script><a href="javascript:HaloScan('5_0710');" target="_self"><script type="text/javascript">postCount('5_0710');</script></a> | <a href="javascript:HaloScanTB('5_0710');" target="_self"><script type="text/javascript">postCountTB('5_0710'); </script></a>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Mayday Setback</title><dc:creator>chuckpace@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Projectile</category><dc:date>2010-05-01T19:04:36-04:00</dc:date><link>63.247.142.24/files/a352ee85c23c48379dca4cf30a6aafba-413.html#unique-entry-id-413</link><guid isPermaLink="true">63.247.142.24/files/a352ee85c23c48379dca4cf30a6aafba-413.html#unique-entry-id-413</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Having taken money from my retirement to work on the 'vert and the truck (before it was pronounced dead), I took some of that money to continue restoring and repairing the Blue Frankenstein.  One of the longest and possibly most dangerous problems with the Bimmer was with the right drivers side suspension, which needed a new shock absorber, and upper and lower control arm bushings.

...Today at around 11:30, with the indespensible Bentley Guide at my side I removed the strut, shock, wheel and brake assembly, not without a few real problems.

...Multiple attempts to free either half of the shock having failed, a quick search of the Internet revealed that the cheapest solution available for a new strut assembly is $501.99.  Bavarian Autosports in New Hampshire has those and then next nearest new assembly I found anywhere on the web is just a few dollars shy of 600.

...<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.haloscan.com/load/chuckpace"> </script><a href="javascript:HaloScan('5_0110');" target="_self"><script type="text/javascript">postCount('5_0110');</script></a> | <a href="javascript:HaloScanTB('5_0110');" target="_self"><script type="text/javascript">postCountTB('5_0110'); </script></a>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>UnFlappable</title><dc:creator>chuckpace@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Projectile</category><dc:date>2010-04-29T21:08:02-04:00</dc:date><link>63.247.142.24/files/5dddbd63ead44fc98954e1df4e6dfa2d-414.html#unique-entry-id-414</link><guid isPermaLink="true">63.247.142.24/files/5dddbd63ead44fc98954e1df4e6dfa2d-414.html#unique-entry-id-414</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I purchased new bumper rubber trim elements, front and rear mud-flaps, and replacement "535" and "i" badges for the trunk....  I've already put on the new bumper rubber on the left front of the Bimmer too, but the badges will have to wait until I get the beast painted.  I am going to wait to put the front mud flaps on since I fear they will be in the way of my next major project....  Compressing coil springs is very dangerous, and I will have to be on top of my game I fear.  Rich has warned me a few times that I may be taking my life in my own hands compressing the springs and doing my own install.

...The new bumper rubber on the drivers side is way better looking, time to get out the ArmorAll for the passenger side!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Gone Baby Gone</title><dc:creator>chuckpace@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Projectile</category><dc:date>2010-04-08T23:34:04-04:00</dc:date><link>63.247.142.24/files/40aadda72f20949907086ba27a5b4ad9-412.html#unique-entry-id-412</link><guid isPermaLink="true">63.247.142.24/files/40aadda72f20949907086ba27a5b4ad9-412.html#unique-entry-id-412</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[A couple of days after the Convertible came out of the shop I got word about the truck, which was towed at the same time as the 'vert.  The timing chain was the culprit and the damages to the wallet being greater than the value of the truck Jenni and I grudgingly conceded that the battle was finally lost.  The last two times the truck had been in the shop, both within 6 months of this 'final straw' had added up to nearly a grand of our scarce and hard earned money.  Another $700, plus the inevitable promise of more problems on the 24 year old transport, and third vehicle, made the hard choice the right choice.  It was time to give in and give up on the money pit, especially since we each have a way to get around without relying on the other or re-arranging our schedules on a daily basis to ride in together.]]></content:encoded></item></channel> 
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