Minor Win thread - Life is good!

A couple days ago, my eldest daughter was at work when she saw this guy really struggling with a flat tire on his minivan out in the parking lot.  He had all the emergency tire stuff spread all over and was riding the strugglebus for about 20 minutes before she finally decided to go put him out of his misery.  He couldn't even figure out where to place the service jack, so my daughter got in there, jacked the car up, pulled the tire off, put the spare on, and lowered it back down.  Apparently he was basically floored that she knew what to do, however, it didn't stop him from offering advice.  He was asking if there was anything he could do to help and she told him to go ahead and finish tightening the lug nuts.  As he was basically jumping up and down on the service lug wrench, she advised him to not go too crazy because you don't want to over-tighten them.  All of a sudden, he became an expert in wheel replacement and informed her that it wasn't possible to have the lugs on too tight.  Fortunately, having watched the wheels literally come off of a Sentra on the rallycross course last year, she knows that it is, indeed, possible to have lug nuts too tight.

In reply to wae :

Ah, the fragile ego of an idiot...  No sexism here, either.  I've met lotsa stupid women too.

dean1484 said:

So how does one bend a flapper valve.  Inquiring minds want to know. 😁

When I was young my parents tried to scare me away from the dangers of alcoholism by telling me a story about the "best mechanic they knew" who could "tell you what was wrong just by listening to the car" and would "fix anything just for a couple beers".

Well, bad news there Ma because you just described my hero.

We live in a small village and word is getting around after I fixed two of the mayor's lawnmowers.  One had a bad recoil starter spring (replaced it with a spare I had) and another's self drive didn't work (cable broke, and it was too short after they tried to repair it.  I simply ordered a new one).

Today a neighbor is picking up his Aprillia SR50 scooter that wouldn't start (idle screw backed itself all the way out).

All brought beer when they dropped off said mechanical failures and then again for payment.

In reply to wae :

Love it!  And I'm keeping "strugglebus"

In reply to wae :

Anybody that says a fastener cannot be too tight has never felt a bolt let go after turning it just a smidge too far...

The last few days have been pretty trying- I've gotten up at my usual time, worked most of a 10-hour day doing my 'real' job, and then had to head out to the amphitheater to work outside in 90-degree weather on the rehearsals preparing for The Dancer's non-profit's show this weekend for another 5 hours. But when we're finally done and it's time to head for home, I get a lot of enjoyment from having driven the E46 convertible there and being and able to put the top down, crank the stereo (with its nice new BavSound speakers) and enjoy a nice drive home in the cooler evening air. Last night my phone's shuffle pulled up Fire Bomber's 'Planet Dance' as I was pulling away from the amphitheater which couldn't have been more perfect to start off the drive home with.

Down about 14 lbs in about 7-weeks.  I haven't been at this healthy weight since the pandemic.  Eating healthy and lite coupled with cardio has been the ticket for me again.  Also just staying outside doing yardwork, playing catch with my kids, etc has helped with my goals.  Been able to increase my fitness level drastically.

Last Monday we got our roof redone. Earlier this week we had a ton of rain and wind. I went up in the attic near the end of the rain and everything is dry. Hooray.

In reply to wae :

Played 18 holes of golf today, and played the whole round without losing a single golf ball.  

Thanks for sticking around with me, little Titleist 4.  You're a real one.  

Replaced janky old metal garage door rollers with sweet new sealed bearing nylon rollers. Huge NVH improvement.

Old and busted:

New hotness:

The club's board (before I was on) decided that running a TT scramble and a Hare scramble as a double header event would be a good idea, which it wasn't because, at the time, most of the work was being done by a 90yr old.

We worked our butts off to overcome a wind storm, then a massive rain storm... twice in the week before. The event went off with only a minor hitch when I had to re-route traffic because one section turned out to be too wet and muddy. I made a judgment call. It was either going to get better, or worse with traffic. It got worse, lesson learned.

But Saturday night I was so exhausted from the 12hr days all week at the track, racing and running sighting laps and sweep Saturday, and I really needed a good sleep that night,  which I didn't get. I was on the line for the hare scramble with a headache, and couldn't stop yawning.

The flag dropped and I got a third place start, not bad. Passed for second and the first place guy had a spectacular crash when he got out of shape at speed, and his rear wheel hit a tree. When I slowed to not run over his head, third place went by us both. I chased her down, passed her 3/4 of a lap later and I was gone. In a 20 minute lap time race I finished the 1 1/2hr event more than ten minutes ahead of second, who everyone was calling a ringer.

That was probably the best ride I have ever had in my life, and it came out of nowhere. I was beat, had a headache and should have ridden like E36 M3.  My lap times would have put me third in pro, which is where I will be going soon if I keep it up.

EDIT: For those that would like to see what a hare scramble looks like, or where I spend most of my waking hours, one the members put up a vid. He's a C class rider, so you have lot's of time to see the surroundings... The elevations changes don't show up well in the video.

I felt the "wouldn't another sailboat be fun" urge toward the end of last summer. I remain boatless 

Puddy46 said:

Played 18 holes of golf today, and played the whole round without losing a single golf ball.  

Thanks for sticking around with me, little Titleist 4.  You're a real one.  

Coincidentally, I just found a Titleist 4 in my lawn.  I live 75 yards off the side of the fairway.  There is a fence, a row of trees, a row of houses, and a street between me and whoever hit that shot, measured perpendicular to the direction they should have been teeing off.

In reply to Duke :

It wasn't me, that time, on that course.

Broke through my 10:00 average pace goal this AM:

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

Wasn't me either. Played again on Saturday at a nice course near Columbus, Indiana over the weekend, and only lost one ball.  Ironically, it was also a Titleist 4 (a sleeve mate of the previous ball).  Averaging less than one ball lost over two rounds is a big win for me. Usually I'm going through them by the sleeve.  

Finally a damn good way to make using saran wrap almost painless. This thing is great!

https://www.amazon.com/ChicWrap-Flowers-Plastic-Dispenser-Professional/dp/B091D78W4C?pd_rd_w=InRNa&content-id=amzn1.sym.378a0f29-5acb-4c80-bc6e-087cd6806daf&pf_rd_p=378a0f29-5acb-4c80-bc6e-087cd6806daf&pf_rd_r=ERNMKGTNVD8VQR4ZJ12X&pd_rd_wg=hmT3h&pd_rd_r=a2cb1435-b25a-422d-bed5-3c47a7e82851&pd_rd_i=B091D78W4C&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_1_ec_pd_rhf_ee_s_rp_c_d_sccl_1_6_i

If you've been waiting to buy some Ford on a dip here's your chance...off 12% in after hours trading due to a big earnings miss.  

Today is Little Monohue's birthday. This will be self-evident to any parent here, but it sure doesn't feel like five years since he came into this world. He's being remarkably gracious today, considering the circumstances.

And I got my Epstein's Day order today, box art and all. Spent more than I should have and less than I wanted to. Little Monohue got his first real tool, a nice little Tekton 6-in-1 screwdriver for taking apart all the things a kindergartner feels compelled to take apart.

In reply to NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) :

DW bought one of those a few years ago.  It's the only thing that makes cling wrap even remotely usable.

-Boss, the truck won't start. Crank, no start.

-Take the key out, lock the doors, then unlock and try again. 

-Still won't start. 

-Disconnect the battery and see if that resets it. Call me back. 

(Meanwhile I'm on Google doing some research)

I call him back - Check fuse 27 and see if it's blown. 

-Oh crap, it's melted. How the hell did you know that? 

-Cause I'm the boss. (laughing)

It's always fun to catch them off guard and get a laugh. It makes work much more pleasant for everyone. 

Got the plates im the mail for the Mini yesterday, I selected the Cape & Islands plates in honor of my FIL since my in laws went to the Cape on their honeymoon and also loved vacation by the ocean through NE. 

The random 4 digit number on the plates is my 2 boys jersey numbers for hockey. 

Spent all day with my daughter standing out in the woods at the finish for stage 3 & 5 for the Boone Forest Rally today.  My only regret is that I haven't gotten around to volunteering for a rally until now!