coil on plug

Apparently the VW 1.8T engine has a bit of a design flaw.

as we have been having problems with rough idles and stalling.  Having checked the engine over with diagnostic equipment and listening to the motor the coils on cylinders 1 and 3 were found to be the culprits. two coils replaced and everything is peachy.

cars are annoying.

All you haters...

I have managed to sell the Murray. Slightly below asking, but not so I was hurting.

You'll notice that like all my bikes, I expect the instigator to carry its weight in luggage.

Today I discovered the importance of deflation.  I rode home with the tires partially deflated and though there was increased drag, when I got going I didn't feel the bumps.

Last fall at work we got an engraving machine. basically if I can connect two points on an object it can be engraved.  So my "new" bash guard tells haters what they can do in their free time.

a recap of recent happenings

So the last post was about replacing the oil breather hose on our 2001 VW jetta 1.8T.  The very next morning after fixing this hose I had the car in the shop for 1. oil change 2. tires.  My brother had been over seas studyign and having just returned home to the states I was going to take him out to lunch.  So we piled into the Jetta and I took him into the city.  

In the middle lane on Marion on a sunny day at 11:30am, an early 2000s silverado pickup heading the opposite direction cut in front of us to enter I94 East bound.  Thus clipping the corner of the jetta, and continuing onto the Highway.

So the police come by and we fill out a report, and we tried to match the plate I read to the truck that hit us.  Not so much luck.

So we took the car to Superior Collision in Eagan and they did a great job replacing the fender, the hood, bumper, and rehanging the passenger door. The paint is perfect.

And then AAA sent the check to the wrong address. dammit.

Memorial day weekend was a blast, as we went out to Maryland to see the new nephew and my sister's other kids (and obviously my sister and her husband), and some old friends that live outside Charlotte who drove all the way up so we could hang out. 

We went to Annapolis, we went into DC, we drank in a micro brewery.  We had an awesome time. pictures to follow.

Then this past Saturday we went to see Gogol Bordello at the Cabooze.  Which was awesome.  And then we played Settlers of Catan till 1am. And when we got home finally, I hopped onto Craigslist.  And some guy was listing his Surly Instigator for less than the cost of buying the frame. 

So, after sleeping on it, today I bought another bike.

Anyone want to buy a Murray three speed?

random sequence on the pictures of the oil breather hose for a 1.8t Jetta 2001

Which is why you never fix two things in a weekend

So my super awesome plan for the weekend was to fix the oil breather hose on the car.  Hoses are pretty low key as repairs go.

The car had been have some weird idle issues but no error code, so something was wrong someplace without a sensor.  But that hardly narrows the field.  But Chester found a hole in the oil breather hose last weekend.  

The dealerships wanted 73-88 dollars for the hose, Metric Auto Parts on Smith Ave in St Paul had the best price and with tax the hose ran 71.xx.  

Then this morning I had scheduled an oil change and to get two tires put on the car because the Sam's Club specials that it had were quickly balding (I didn't buy the tires). So the car has a new hose, fresh oil, and brand spankign new tires,

Heading North on Marion have just left Kellog in St Paul, were in the middle lane And this guy heading South on Marion wanting to enter I94 East cuts in front of us.

Busted the headlight, crimped the hood something awful, busted the bumper, and caved in the fender. The Passenger front door doesn't open now because the fender is pressing against it.

pictures to follow.

crowd serfing

it was a nice weekend though.

We went to see Flight of the Conchords and it was an awesome show.

somebody pulled the fire alarm just as the last people were filing in to find their seats, so everyone had to evacuate the building.  but of course, since it was just before the concert the "be-yooup" sound was largely mistaken for part of the opening act.  further delaying the evacuation.

The stage performance was even better than the tv show, and they heckled the hecklers. he he he madam.

today I picked up tickets to see Gogol Bordello at the Cabooze.  I'm excited for some wild crowd surfing.

Last night we were talking about the amazing capital that parking garages are.  and how owning rights to bands and the venue and the parking lot across the street would make for some wicked bank roll.

epic failure

So I tried to make hashbrowns this morning.

boy did it go wrong. I didn't use enough oil or heat, and then I worried them to death.

What I did produce was something crispy on the outside, resembling library paste on the inside. Which since breakfast has turned my stomach like a cement mixer.

yay.