So much for my relaxing little vacation.

London was fine and dandy, the trip down was seamless and fun, the visit to the car lot in Stratford was mostly fruitless, but not unenjoyable, and the trip back was even alright, until we hit Sudbury. Then it got interesting.

The charging system warning light came on as we were approaching the bypass. The light is the one that looks like a battery. Now when this light comes on, it means that there is something wrong with your car’s electrical system; either the battery is dying, the alternator’s output is below or above the normal range, or there is a fault somewhere in the system, like a bad ground connection. In any case, if you continue driving like that, all sorts of bad things could happen, from the car just quitting, to frying all the electronics on board, so you really can’t afford to take any chances.

It was only 7 o’clock, so we pulled in to the local Canadian Tire, hoping that they could get a look at it right away. This was, apparently, a foolish notion. Best they could do was the next day, and at first, this seemed unacceptable. We had places to go and it wasn’t dark yet. I concluded that if it was either the battery or the alternator, and if they had one in stock, I could just change them out myself in the parking lot, so we went in again to see about getting a volt-meter to diagnose the problem.

After poking around a little, it turned out that the battery was just fine, which is good, because Miatas have a very special, unique, and expensive battery not used in any other car, and so likely not in stock anywhere. It has a different chemical inside because of its location (the trunk) and is extra small and light, like everything else on the car. Though it would have been the easiest to change, I could have substituted a different one temporarily, and even if dead, the car would continue to run from the power provided by the alternator; we could just drive it home and deal with it later.

Checking the alternator revealed the problem; it was only putting out 12.1 volts. That would explain the funny smell on the way into town. Here I just thought it was the smell of Sudbury. A car’s electrical system runs from both the battery, nominally 12.6 volts, and the alternator, usually putting out about 14. Most cars, especially older ones, will continue to run until they’re at about 8 or 9 volts, but lights will be dim, accessories will be sluggish or non-functional, and the vehicle may run poorly, especially if newer. In my case, the altenator didn’t even have enough juice to keep the battery charged (anything under 12.5 volts is unlikely to start the car), and would probably not be enough to keep all the lights on, or operate wiper or blower motors. It was getting dark, and we were back in the North, so it was cooler and would be a little unpleasant without heat. Really, not having enough juice to power the lights was the big issue. I’d also noticed that the car was beginning to idle strangely, so continuing didn’t seem like a good idea.

Looking under the hood, the alternator is actually fairly easy to access and change, and I was prepared to just change it in the parking lot. I was at a Canadian Tire after all, I could just pop in and buy whatever tools I needed to do the job. Being a summer car, there were no rusty bolts to worry about, and I didn’t particularly care about getting dirty. However, it was irrelevant since they didn’t have one in stock, nor did anyone else in town that was still open, nor, as it turns out, did anyone else that wasn’t open. I found that odd, since Mazda uses similar versions of that 1.8 litre mill in other cars, and due to the economy of scale, would likely share as many parts with other cars as possible. As it turns out, after having asked around at my friendly, local junkyard when I got back, that alternator is only used in the Miata, and only in 1999-2000 model years. Similar is not identical, I guess.

So I called home. I was beginning to despair and feel panicky. I didn’t want to pause my trip here. I wanted to spend all of Tuesday relaxing at home, not continuing to drive. I told my parents of our situation and tried to figure out what to do. I determined that we should just get a motel and make an attempt to locate the part tomorrow, or failnig that, rent a tow dolly the next day and have them tow us back. There was a nice eatery close by and I could see several motels from where we stood in the parking lot. I also knew of a nice place near where I used to live in Lively. There was even a liquor store in this plaza. I’d planned to make the best of things; I could get some booze, have a bite to eat, get a room, get wasted and fornicate with my lovely wife in a place that was vaguely familiar at least. But this is Sudbury, quite possibly one of the most hostile places I’ve ever been.

To recap, since I left in 1986 or 87, I’ve never really had a good experience being back, or doing anything there. Meghan had a job interview with Rainbow District School Board one time, and we briefly considered moving there. We found only one place remotely suitable, and we got turned down from renting it. We had a flawless record with landlords and good job prospects, and we were turned down. By someone from Blind River no less, who knew me at least by reputation. Maybe that was why. Fucking cunt. While we were there, we had huge issues with Bell gouging us for using credit cards to make phone calls from pay phones rather than burning a zillion minutes on the cell phone. We were camping while househunting to keep costs down because the cheapest motels were 75$ a night, and they were all full. While camping, we had our tent stolen. Yes, fucking stolen. So we had to sleep in the car on the last night (which, with the back seat folded down and our feet in the trunk, was surprisingly comfy). The brakes on the car also decided to fail that trip, and it was by sheer luck that a Midas was able to fix it same-day. Any of the times we’ve stopped there to eat while passing though have been half-assed at best. We once went there to test drive a car (a Subaru WRX), and while on the test drive, the salesman called the police because we’d been gone too long in his estimation. Asshat.

Suffice to say, my plan epic failed. There were literally no vacancies in the entire city. None. I called every place in the book, and none of them had a room for the night, or just weren’t answering (probably for that reason). As it turns out, Sudbury is always full to the brim with out-of-town contractors. They’re a very progressive city, always building, building, building. They’re also working on extending Highway 400 all the way to Sudbury, which is a huge project. It’s really no surprise that every motel and hotel is booked solid. So, we needed a new plan, since sleeping in the car in the parking lot was not an option. We called my parents back, and asked if they would come get us. Sudbury is probably at the edge of the range where that is at all practical. They agreed to get us, and left immediately. We went to Buzzy Brown’s and had a bite to eat while we waited. I had a tasty, if oddball burger and possibly some of the worst coffee in history. We then waited the rest out at the Tim Hortons. That was a creepy enough experience; the parking lot was full of hooligans and loitering locals, pretty clearly up to no good. It made me start to fear for the safety of leaving the car here overnight, not to mention us sitting there for four hours.

Long story short we made it home, but I was pretty tired by the time that happened. It was after 4am by the time I was in bed. Good thing I took that extra day off to recover. I planned to spend it hunting down a part, driving to Sudbury, putting it in and driving back. That wasn’t in the stars either. Nobody had one, and we were not going to leave the car overnight again. We tried a convoluted plan of having the Mazda dealer in Sudbury cut a key from the VIN and bring it to their shop so they could just fix it, but by the time I found out this plan didn’t work, it was getting late in the day again. Meghan located a cheap tow dolly rental, and Dad and I hit the road at about 3 or 4. It was going to be another late night.

We made it there at around sundown, only to discover that the dolly’s straps were too big to fit the Miata’s tiny wheels. We clamped them down as best we could, and augmented that with some locking tiedown straps bought from the conveniently located Canadian Tire. ‘Good enough’ would have to do. We got in at about 2am, and again, I wasn’t in bed until about 4, so this morning I called in to work to say I wasn’t going to be there. I am still really burnt out from the road; it’s a safety issue. I could easily kill/injure myself or others at work if my mind isn’t on track. That’s not a chance I want to take.

My boss was pretty pissed off. I won’t be fired over this, I don’t think, but there’ll be hell to pay. My best bet is to go in tomorrow, nice and early, and give it my best. When he talks to me about it, I just have to try my best to explain, to make him see things from my perspective. Would he have left his 1970 Chevelle SS (the car of his dreams, the one he’s owned since he was 17) there overnight again, at the mercy of the hooligans of an unfriendly city? I hope he sees reason. To him it’s just a Miata, but to my dad, and to myself, the car represents a family project, a focus for bonding. It’s just a used Miata, far from perfect, but to us it’s special, and if he doesn’t understand that, then too damned bad.

On a positive note, Opeth rocked hard, and I snapped some lovely pics of the Grey county wind farm on the way by. Maybe I’ll even get the ambition to post some. Hahaha.

Posted by Ron as Fire-in-a-can, Home Sweet Home, Music, Work at 1:56 PM EDT

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It’s been many moons since I’ve posted here, after what could be generously described as a brief spurt. Being called back to work tends to have that effect, such that with so much less free time, I only post if I’m bored.

Clearly, now is one of those times.

I don’t even have a lot to say that is of any real interest, so as usual, I will fill this space with inane details from my mundane existence.

I’m steadily losing interest in yet another career path. I still like cars, and my co-workers (mostly), but I’m starting to think I don’t have what it takes. Maybe someday I’ll find a career that agrees with me.

I’m going to see Opeth, one of my favourite bands, in about a week. The show is in London, ON, at Centennial Hall on the 21st. I’m pretty pumped about that. It will be my first time back in London since I moved away in December 2006.

Speaking of which, I’m in the process of looking at moving again. Locally this time. We’re considering going in with my Mother-in-law and getting a really giant old house. You know, the kind with all the old trim left. They just don’t make them like they used to. There are a few possibilities, but nothing sure just yet.

I’d like to find a winter beater so I can retire my SVX to summer-only duty. I also want to replace Meghan’s car with something newer and more reliable than a 17-year-old semi-exotic that was temperamental even when new. She’s a little bitter about it. Go figure.

I’m looking at used Mazda Protege5 or Chrysler PT Turbo as options, mostly because I can’t afford another Subaru that isn’t a base model, and Subarus don’t hold my interest unless there’s a turbo involved. Though I also found a used Mazda RX-8 for cheap… but then I’d need TWO winter beaters.

One of my housemates blew up his computer, so after frying my old system with his faulty power supply, we’re replacing it all with the guts from my current system, and I get an upgrade. I’m going from an Athlon X2 BE-2350 (2.1GHz, high efficiency) on a flaky ASUS AMD 690G-based board to an Athlon X2 4850e (2.5GHz, high efficiency) on what is supposed to be a very reliable and versatile Gigabyte AMD 780G-based board. I wanted one of the 790G-based boards, as they have better graphics, but the only micro-ATX board that I could find (DFI Lanparty) costs way too much.

Anyway, what makes even this new Gigabyte board so much better than my old one is that the onboard video is actually good enough to game with, thanks in part to 128MB dedicated GDDR3 onboard memory and a modern, if low-end GPU (ATi HD3200-based). As long as your taste in games is sedate or old (which is the case), the board packs enough punch that you don’t need a power-hungry add-in card. That helps keep temps down, which is key in a low-noise HTPC like mine. An additional upshot is that it will do what they call “Hybrid Crossfire” wherein you can link the onboard GPU to an add-in card and boost performance further. It still won’t be amazing, but then, I don’t play games like Crysis, so I don’t care at all. Basically, it will run everything I play now, or have played, and will continue to play for the forseeable future. As long as I can run Diablo 3 when it comes out, I’ll be happy with it.

I got some higher-end DDR2-1066 memory for this board, which with the CPU I have is overkill (it only supports up to DDR2-800), but if I decide to upgrade in the future to a Phenom-based chip, this setup can handle it. If I had the budget, I would have bought a Phenom 9350e (quad core, 2.0GHz, high efficiency), but by the time I upgrade, perhaps there will be more AM2+ compatible, high efficieny Phenoms to choose from. As of right now, the 9350e is the ONLY one, and at 65W TDP, it’s still more thirsty than either of the chips I have now, and costs twice as much.

I’ve been filling the rest of my time with RPGs, as usual. I’ve been running a Shadowrun campaign for about 9 months now, and I think that’s about to draw to a close before the year is up. I’m getting tired of running it and need a break.

So, after that, one of our group is going to run a 4th Edition game for us. I don’t have high hopes for it. The game might play just fine, and in fact, I’m sure it will, but I will never switch over to it. The terms of the new “GSL” or Game System License are ridiculously draconian, especially compared to the “OGL” or Open Gaming License that 3rd edition was published under. The OGL is like the RPG equivalent of the Open Source software movement, and like any other fiscally responsible, socially retarded company, Wizards of the Coast, under the iron fist of its master, Hasborg, is doing everything they can to close that little Pandora’s Box.

There are no solid plans beyond that. Meghan might run one of her games again. Or I might start a new D&D game. I’m leaning toward using a D&D 3.5-based system called Pathfinder, published under the OGL by Paizo (former publishers of Dungeon, and Dragon magazines). Basically it fixes a bunch of stuff that was wrong with 3.5, and despite the terrible artwork, it has great promise.

Bad art in the books has been an ongoing complaint of mine ever since WotC bought the rights to D&D and re-published the 2nd edition back in 1996. Not that all the chainmail bikini babes and Conan-ish warriors made better subject material than anthropomorphic creatures (whose females all have big tits and silly armour anyway), but the quality of how they were rendered has suffered. It used to be gritty, or glossy, but recognisably fantasy. Now everything looks like either anime or a comic book, and I hate it. Whatever it takes to sell books, I guess.

The only other thing I’ve been up to is expanding my music folder on my computer. I’ve been hunting down material from bands that I meant to catch up on 10 years ago. Some have been like revelations, while others have been an utter waste of bandwidth. That might make an interesting post all on its own…

Posted by Ron as Computers, Fire-in-a-can, Games, Home Sweet Home, Music, Work at 2:04 PM EDT

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Whew. I was just outside, enjoying the beautiful winter sun, and chipping away at the disaster that I call my driveway. Whilst out there, I thought that I might write about it. Sure, not the most interesting subject matter, but then, you don’t have to read it.

Basically, the situation is this: I have barely ever shoveled the driveway this year, and we’ve had a ton of snow. My wife and I both drive AWD Subarus, so getting in and out of the driveway hasn’t really been a problem. Even sitting low like they do, the ol’ girls still have traction like a proverbial mountain goat. The rally-winning reputation is well-earned. I’m sure driving talent like Petter Solberg helped a lot, too, but us everyday folks don’t need to drive like Solberg (even if some of us would like to imagine that we can) to appreciate The Beauty of All Wheel Drive™. Now, combine that with my near-legendary laziness, working full-time, along with a few other issues (that I won’t get into here), and you have a recipe for driveway disaster.

I let it pile up and pile up, all the while just continuing to drive over the snow, packing it down nice and hard along two narrow humps, leaving everything else a mess of slush, snow and ice. My wife was starting to get a little annoyed by the situation, but in typical fashion, I continued to not give a rat’s ass. I went out and did only the bare minimum that my conscience would allow, and usually only if my wife went out to start shoveling, or if we really got whomped with wintry precipitation. I know; I’m a bastard, but I didn’t feel like one until the other night when my parents came over. My dad didn’t say anything, but I did ask if he had difficulty getting in the driveway, and it was then he admitted to getting stuck.

He got stuck. In my driveway. In a front wheel drive minivan with top-rated snow tires on. That’s when it hit me, that I was, in fact a jackass for not shoveling more. I mean, my mother-in-law had already started refusing to pull in the driveway for fear of being mired in the icy bog, but somehow, I didn’t let that bother me. I think I rationalised it as her just being a bit timid about her driving skills, or her car, or whatever. That part probably makes me more of an arsehat, really, than the fact that I was negligent about it in the first place.

So there you have it, I was motivated by guilt to go out and do something about the problem. Now that I’m on a little vacation of sorts, I have all kinds of time to do things, and more reason than ever to need to get out and exercise a bit. Zero excuses. Time to get it done.

I started two days ago, around 3:15 in the afternoon, thinking that I’d have it done before my wife came home from work that day. I guess I didn’t realise just how bad it was out there. She was late coming home, and I’d only barely managed to scratch the surface. It was that bad. Granted, the graders and snowbank-removal equipment had been by the night before, mangling the end of the drive with hard packed ice chunk soup, but I still had no idea how long it would actually take. I’m not trying to bring it down to bare asphalt or anything either, I just wanted people to not be afraid they’d need to call a tow truck if they came to visit. Not that we get many visitors, but that’s not really the point here, now is it.

I took yesterday off from my travails because I was sore, over-tired, and just generally feeling like a sack of dung. Possibly the sum of the flabby interest I’ve earned on my lazy account, compounded daily. Today, I felt just as rotten, which I’m sure had nothing whatsoever to do with overeating at a greasy diner late last night, but my determination had returned at any rate, so I attacked it again. I must say, progress is being made. Last night, I got in the car a few times and noticed how it was listing at a pretty good pitch, the result of my efforts the day prior, to only one side of the drive. Today, I tried to even the slope off a bit on the other side, which was much more work. That side had more packed ice and snow, but it needed to go, so I worked relentlessly. I’m not even done yet, but it’s much better than it was. I will take another crack at it, maybe come back to it tomorrow or Saturday, after I’ve had another break.

Despite how rotten it sounds to do, I can’t say I minded doing it. It was a beautiful day out, and it gave me some time to appreciate the winter outdoors. It also gave me time to think. Whenever I do manual labour, I always set my mind free to wander. Sometimes I use the time creatively, or other times, just to work out issues in my head, have a conversation with myself, imaginary ones with others, stuff like that. In fact, while I was out there, I came up with an idea for another post. I think I’ll jot down the idea for draft, and flesh it out more tomorrow.

Posted by Ron as Home Sweet Home, Work at 3:12 PM EST

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It’s been a while. Four months. Not as long as some people I know, but hardly regular posting.

The rest of October, and all of November was a pretty busy time, between everyone in Meghan’s family with birthdays (myself included), and sorting out issues with this new computer. December with the manic holiday buying (which, admittedly, I did very little of, so it’s a poor excuse - but that’s what this is about - excuses). At least during the holidays we got together with Luke, Chie, James and Jess. That was quite nice.

January was a little slow at work, so I finally got my car in the shop. I’m still rounding up parts to fix it, but it should be ready for spring. Unfortunately, January being slow has also led me to why I’m blogging at 9:24am on a weekday; I’m laid off. Not that it’s all bad. I get some unemployment enjoyment, and a little vacation, which I haven’t really taken in quite some time. Okay, it hasn’t been that long, but it feels like it has. Maybe I’m a wuss and need more off time than people with a real work ethic.

So I plan to take it easy for a few weeks, and hopefully my boss can score me a temporary position as a parts delivery dude, which would suit me just fine. We’ll see; the success or not, of that will determine if there are more forthcoming updates here, I think.

Still no house pics, Other Luke! :p

And now, in case anyone actually wants to know, the tech section

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by Ron as Computers, Fire-in-a-can, Games, Home Sweet Home, Miscellaneous, Work at 11:21 AM EST

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Last night we had a lovely thanksgiving at my house. Both my parents and Meghan’s mum and sister were there, and we stuffed ourselves. Yum.

When we got up this morning, on the kitchen counter was an opened beer that nobody remembers drinking, and also, the jug of OJ tasted funny. Coincidence? I think not. It happened to be a very good beer, too, so it’s a shame that it was wasted like that. La Fin du Monde is not cheap, either.

I know, it’s been a while since I last posted. Shame on me. I have not posted camping photos, nor wedding pics, nor even the house pictures I promised in January. What can I say? I’m a lazy bum. Plus, my computer is in the bedroom, and has a very uncomfortable seating arrangement. Well, it was in the bedroom. I recently got a new system to play with. Built HTPC-style, it outputs to my new TV, so comfort and the computer are once again friends.

Unfortunately, this new box, while cool, quiet, ultra-efficient and good-looking, has some issues. I think it started with an issue between the keyboard and chair, around the time I thought it might be a good idea to order a copy of Vista to go on this box. Since then, nothing but problems. Issue by issue, things are slowly getting sorted out, but it has been less than ideal so far.

Once I get more of the bugs worked out, I will post more, both about that and maybe catching up on my backlog.

Posted by Ron as Computers, Food, Home Sweet Home at 12:57 PM EDT

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The big reason things have been rather quiet on my site, is that Meghan and I got married. It’s not like a lot of things have changed; we’ve been together for a long time, and have lived together since August 2004. The big thing was that we decided to do this very last-minute. My sister and Meghan’s sister were in town here in the Sault at the same time, and this was not something that would be happening again for a while, so we decided to strike while the proverbial iron was hot.

I haven’t got any pictures to post, as they’re all on Meghan’s laptop and some still on other peoples’ memory cards, and I’m incredibly lazy.

We held the event in my parents’ backyard, and had a BBQ dinner afterwards. Anyway, it went off very smoothly, and it was a very enjoyable gathering. There were only about 15 in attendance which, I feel, was about perfect. I don’t like big crowds, and this way I got to talk to everyone.

The ceremony itself was a  non-denominational handfasting with distinctly pagan undertones. I think all in attendance agreed that it was quite lovely.

Due to the last-minute nature of the event, we’ve also decided to schedule a more formal reception in early September for the benefit of my extended family and other friends who were not in attendance the first time.

So that’s about it. Hopefully I will post some pictures sometime, but don’t hold your breath on that one. Remember what I said about my new house? Yeah, that.

Posted by Ron as Food, Home Sweet Home, Miscellaneous at 6:54 PM EDT

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I haven’t blogged this month, so before it’s too late, here goes.

I haven’t been up to much of note. Still anxiously awaiting the day that my boss lets me know what’s going on with my future. I’d really really like to be signed up for an apprenticeship; the sooner the better, as far as I’m concerned.

Once I know how secure my job is, I’m sure there are a few things that will get taken care of. I know I have blogged a little list about it before, but now I may have some things to add to said list.

My computer is beginning to give me some trouble. I don’t know if my hard drives are dying, or if WindowsXP is finally taking a shit after nearly 4 years. I’ve been getting some disk errors lately, and chkdsk has been running at startup a lot recently. My gut feeling tells me it might be one of the hard drives. Either way, it might be time to retire this box to light duty.

I think I’ve found my replacement. I’m tempted to go with an ultra-quiet HTPC from Lix Systems, whose specialty is inexpensive Linux-based set-top systems. To start, I’d likely dual-boot Windows and Linux until I become more familiar with the latter, and am sure it does everything I want it to. This would then be hooked up to the new LCD TV/monitor I’d get for the livingroom. Coupled with a wireless keyboard and mouse, it sounds ideal; kick back on the couch to do all this crap instead of sitting at a desk.

Also on my agenda is replacing Meghan’s SVX. It has a negative association for me, as I bought it from SASS, whom I now hate. Plus, it’s not as nice as Alice, my other one. Meghan spotted a very nice-looking WRX wagon at Sudbury Fine Cars, so perhaps we’ll check it out one of these weekends. However, this is a rather large financial commitment, and I have a mortgage to worry about these days too, so it is by no means a certainty.

Well, that’s more or less all there is at the moment. Naturally, if something interesting occurs, I will be sure to write about it here.

Posted by Ron as Computers, Fire-in-a-can, Home Sweet Home, Media, Miscellaneous, Work at 5:54 PM EDT

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Saturday, the fifth of May today, and I’ve been at my new job for almost 3 weeks now, and I don’t feel like my doom is impending yet, so that has to be a good sign.

Also, I can’t feel my hands half the time, which is not a good sign. I think it may be the early stages of carpal tunnel syndrome. Strangely in years of working on computers and playing guitar, I never got it this bad, but a couple weeks of this and my hands are toast. I will have to make a decicive, conscious effort to limber up and stretch more often.

We played D&D last night. It was a fantastic session, and unlike last week, I was awake, alert and actively participating. Last week I was so tired, I barely said anything and was only half paying attention. I was going to make a move to reschedule games for Saturdays so that I could actually be awake and functional, but apparently that isn’t necessary.

Now, for some well-earned slacking off…

Posted by Ron as Games, Home Sweet Home, Work at 9:58 AM EDT

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I may have finally found another job here in the Sault. Tomorrow I start on a “trial basis” at Reliable Auto. I got the heads up on this from my dad, and he heard from our longtime mechanic who happens to be good friends with the fellow that owns the garage I will be starting at. Goes to show, it’s all who you know. Especially around this town, it seems, since the two years I was down south I had zero difficulty finding work while knowing exactly nobody.

Now, the term “trial basis” strikes dread into my heart, particularly after my experience at SASS in Stratford. This time, I am trying not to put the cart in front of the horse, but I will say that I am trying to be cautiously optimistic.

If this does work out though, I guess I can get on that list of things I want.

• my TV is old and crappy; time for an upgrade. I’m thinking 30-32 inch wide-LCD.
• I have under a gig left on my computer; I need an internal storage drive.
• Dishwasher. I hate doing dishes, and with 4 people around, a lot of dishes need doing.
• finally, I’d like to replace two of my old cars with one newer one, but I’m not holding my breath on this one.

Posted by Ron as Computers, Fire-in-a-can, Home Sweet Home, TV & Movies, Work at 2:39 PM EDT

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March 2007 already. Still no job, though a few prospects here and there. I’ve mostly been keeping to myself, indoors, since there isn’t much else I like to do here. Still doing weekly D&D with Meghan at the helm, and I’m considering starting up a CoC campaign soon. Can you tell that I’m bored?

Posted by Ron as Games, Home Sweet Home, Work at 6:20 PM EST

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