I must have a black cloud over my head!

[belfert]

The transmission hose I had made several weeks ago for some reason was 6 inches too long even though I saw them make it the same length as before.  I brought it back yesterday to the hydraulic hose place and they cut it 6 inches shorter, but they didn't crimp the connector on so I could make sure it was short enough.  They said we'll be open Saturday morning 8 to Noon so bring it back in the morning.

The knuckleheads aren't open today!  I think I found someone else who will crimp the end on, but now I have to drive halfway across town and pay someone else to crimp it on.  They WILL be getting a piece of my mind come Monday as they are only 1/2 mile away.  If they wouldn't have specifically said they would be open on the morning I would have tried to get the fit checked and back to their place before they closed last night.

And no, I don't think the hose is routed wrong.  There are clamps that hold the hose so it is taking the same path as before.  I have no idea why the hose was too long.  I'm also certain I am reconnecting to the right place on the cooler.

[jjrbus]

But that's all part of the fun

[Just Dallas]

Ahh, the sounds of fall, when a young rocketeer's thoughts turn too panic!

Brian, you have restored my faith in the inevitable!

As they say in the south, "Bless your Heart"!

[Just A Newell]

Don't hit me with all them negative waves this early in the morning.


Iv'e now wasted a couple hours watching Kelly's Heroes that could have been used on the Newell

[pipopak]

Murphy's Laws:
1) a piece cut to exact size will will end up being shorter/ longer than original (pick most inconvenient one)
2) when several things can go wrong they will at the most irritating way.
3) there are no permanent repairs, just temporary ones that will fail again (see #2).
4) whatever can go wrong, WILL!.

[Brassman]

As far as hoses go, too long is better than too short.

[belfert]

The hose was so long it was rubbing against the engine and everywhere else.  I didn't have them crimp the new end on just in case it was still too long.  The new length is perfect.

I'm not panicking.  I'm just pissed off that these jerks said they would be open today and they aren't.  They have enough workers if one couldn't make it to find another to open the store.  I wouldn't blame them for being closed on a Saturday during the summer, but don't tell someone at 4 pm Friday you'll be open the next morning and then be closed!

I got the hose crimped at a truck parts place so that is good now.  Th black cloud is never going to leave.  Now I lost the lock nut I bought at the hardware store this morning and have to waste time going to get another.

I feel like going back to bed and starting over in the morning.

[Len Silva]

Gloom Despair

[artvonne]

  First it was a month and half of drought, and hotter than any summer ive ever known, 110F several days straight, with a lot of days over 100. Weeks its seemed. Then the rains came. A small portion of my driveway washed out into the highway. Ya'll know my driveway, 1/4 mile of hell road starting off vertically and then all uphill from there.

  So today I take the skid loader down to clean it up. Now im all for advances in technology as long as they are an actual improvement. Sometimes I think engineers change things just because they can, without any real thought that some things are better left alone. When Case built the Skid Loader, rather than use a regular plain old analog dial gauge to indicate fuel level, something thats been around almost 100 years and still works almost flawlessly, they decided the gauge would be a row of LED lights. The stupid thing keeps them all lit until somewhere around half and then starts wandering going from full to empty, back and forth like a Yo-Yo. I have to stick the tank to check the damn thing for fuel level because that fancy freaken gauge is about worthless. What I have found is that when the stupid thing is wandering aimlessly I always had more than half a tank, and when it stopped wandering and actually read empty, I still had over 1/4 tank. That is, until today.

  So imagine my surprise, out in the trafic lane of a State Highway in front of my driveway, pushing dirt, when it quits. I immediately looked at the fancy high tech LED display and see it hunting from full to empty, which I imagined was plenty of fuel. GRRRRRRR. And of course I had to buy a Skid Loader that didnt have the "Flashing Lights" option. Im sitting out in the middle of the darn road deader than a door nail. So I took off and ran up the driveway. I did actually run, about 2/3 of the way up I thought my heart was gonna blow up so I slowed down a bit. Got the kid and the Jeep and flew back down. Parked her just down the road and told her to wave peaople around, and went and got the Ford and a chain and was able to drag it off the road. Then we took off to get some fuel. I get up to the house to grab some tools, go back out and when I start the Ford, I get "Click". WTH? Click. Click. Click. Click. Gotta be the battery, check connections, they look good but I loosened and twisted and tightened. Click. The starter motor is shot.

  That was when all my anger and frustration washed away. I was tired, dirty, still had to get the Skid going and still had to clean up all that dirt. Some days are more of a test than others. Sometimes your the hammer, some days your the nail. I think we just have to learn that somedays were going to keep getting hit until we throw up our hands to God and say thank you. And sorry. Brian, maybe the guy was having a tough week and thought it was Thursday? Sometimes you get to the end and are just so done you forget where your at. You gotta roll with it or its going to beat you down.

[belfert]

I'm pretty sure the guy at the hydraulic place knew the next day was Saturday because he said they would be open 8 to 12.

I'm 98% of the way there on getting the bus running again.  I had to quit early last night to go to Sam's Club to pick up food for 125 people for today.  Sometimes they run out of hot dog buns on Friday or Saturday during the summer, but this time they had plenty.  I could have worked for another hour or two.

I did find another t-bolt clamp that needs replacement, but this is a smaller one I know I can get locally as I already had to replace one this size already.  There is even a NAPA store that stocks them.  I don't know how I got the clamp off as it is so rusty it won't turn at all.  I had another one that was so rusty the bolt broke in half.