Imprisoned

Confined. Trapped. Restricted. Stuck.

This is how i felt this morning. On my way to work, i must go through the garage. I do my usual routine and the garage door only lifted about 6 inches. Odd. WTH? Second attempt yielded the same results. Nada. I disconnected the door from the automatic opener and tried to open the door myself. Didn't budge. I look up to see this:



A closer look:



What you are looking at, folks, is a torsional spring...a broken torsional spring to be exact. The torsional spring helps lift the door. The door is incredibly heavy and the spring helps the garage door opener (whether a machine or man) open the garage door.

As soon as i saw the broken spring, i knew i was trapped. And, inside the garage was Delilah. She wouldn't budge until this was fixed. Straight to the internet to find some garage repair service to save me from my imprisonment. I support local when possible and i just picked a local Friendswood company, Allied Garage Doors.

The gentleman on the other side of the line said that he could have a repair man fix that no problem. However, he may be able to get to it before lunch, but after lunch is more likely. I was supposed to give a student a checkout this morning...sent a few emails to let my management and the student know my plight.

Now, what to do with my time. Well, i finally got around to doing some chores that i have been putting off. But luckily, George the garage door repair man was able to get here in the morning.

George was friendly and knowledgeable. He made some recommendations and without hesitation i accepted those recommendations. I enjoyed talking with George and he gave me some hints to keep the garage door operating smoothly for many years to come. Once a month or every other month spray some WD40 on the tosion rod bearings and roller bearings.

My garage door now has a stealth mode...it is nearly silent. I was very pleased with George's workmanship and kindness. If you are looking for some garage door repair work, i recommend Allied Garage Doors. Make sure you ask for George to be your repair man.

Freedom...

Busted Knuckles

It's a good feeling when you bust up your knuckles...especially if it saves you nearly $500. Today i performed the workaround to the problem that the mechanic found regarding my shifter cable. So, Chrysler designed this POS device...in the first picture, you will see a ring around a pin...yeah, that's not supposed to be like that...i don't know what it supposed to be like. According to the mechanic there is some sort of plastic part that centers that pin in the ring. Well, of course plastic does fatigue...and break. It's not so easy to replace that "plastic" part in the ring...Chrysler doesn't make a part for that...you have to buy the entire shifter cable , which costs about $240. Add in mechanic's labor to replace the entire shifter cable system and you're lookin' at about $450-$500.



So...at first i was a little concerned. The mechanic said that the vehicle would be rendered stranded if this thing broke--which is a true statement...i can't shift gears without it. It sounded as though the part was nearly going to break...that was the concerning part.

I popped the hood and searched around and saw what the mechanic was looking at...and that is something that i noticed probably more than a year ago. At least Chrysler designed it so that the cable wouldn't easily pop off the pin.

A quick search on the internet yielded the $3 solution. I spent roughly 20 minutes on this workaround (and it probably works better than replacing the entire cable anyway). I was so excited that things were going together so smoothly, that i complete forgot to take a picture of the workaround before i replaced the air filter box. Well, i took a picture of the fix after everything was back in place...





I busted my knuckles trying to get to the other cable which is under a bracket that i decided was more trouble removing that what it was worth. At any rate, the cruiser is fixed...and i saved $497. So, i charged myself $497...hmm...i think i'll buy some winter clothes...

Make Your Own...

A short while back, Christine forwarded me a website: Guitar Picks. What an ingenious idea...why didn't i come up with it myself? Well, as i was cleaning out some junk mail today, i came across some guitar pick material. I thought i'd give it a try. Interestingly enough, the "credit card picks" work really well. One complaint that i do have is that the picks were a little too slick. A little gorilla snot would cure that. So, thanks to American Express, i know have 3 new guitar picks.
Now, if i could fashion some guitar strings out of something, i'd be set. Hmmm...cat gut? Didn't they use to make tennis racket strings out of cat gut? Yesterday while playing on the Strat i broke a string. I don't have any spares...so the Strat is temporarily out of commission.
What can you make out of your junk mail?

The complete "How To" directory

Yeah, so it's nearly 4am. The night is slow. I have a section on my google homepage: the "how to of the day" section. You name it, and someone has put together a "how to" guide for that item. Now, use the guidance at your own risk...for some of it is quite ridiculous. But for entertainment value, the guidance is priceless. So, i decided to add the link to this page.

On another note, my internet purchase arrived today. Luckily i was home at the time of delivery. Next time you are at my place, ask me about my purchase. I can't tell you what it is here...

How To...

...Not look like you are drowning while swimming. I had a conversation today about swimming. Being a former swim (and dive -- not scuba, but diving board-dive) instructor, it made me laugh. So, i promised this person that this post would be for her...oops, have i said too much. hehe. Your secret is safe with me Lisa. Anyway, i found this link today. It's very basic, but it should be easy to learn. If you still don't get it, i'll give you a private lesson...