The sad state of Music and the lack of lyric writing skills...

I've been meaning to write about his for a while, it's the really sad and desperate state of music now days.

The other week I was listening to the radio on my way home and a song the radio station was playing was from a group that apparently had no skills what so ever. They resorted to using nursery rhymes... Actually, I found the artist and the song...

It's by Korn and the song is called Shoots and Ladders... Apparently Korn has run out of ideas for songs and had to resort to using Nursery rhymes... I can understand doing covers but to start using nursery rhymes... that's pretty sad.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Target Store - Downtown Minneapolis

I went in there to buy a sandwich, which normally they have a pretty good Roast Beef one. After picking one up and walking up to the counter, where a clerk was ringing up another customer, another customer walked up besides me and in front of me. A second clerk walked up to the counter and asked her what she wanted to order.

That just pissed me off, I was there first, I was holding the sandwich in front of me at chest height and at least 2 inches from my chest, ready to pay! Needless to say, I walked away from the counter, threw the sandwich back into the cooler and I mean purposely tossed it back and walked out.

At this time, I'm not going to buy anything from their food court ever again. That was the second time I've received bad service, the first time was when I got back from Colorado and hadn't eaten, so I decided to stop off and pick up something to eat. I picked up a mini Pizza Hut pizza from the warmer and was looking at what I had grabbed and the clerk there yelled "You touch it, you buy it, don't put it back!" That was at the Coon Rapids Target store.

Needless to say, I've never bought any ready made/ready to eat foods from there anymore and now the same for the downtown Minneapolis store. I'm beginning to see a pattern there, low pay, low I.Q. = Bad Service. The thing is, they don't realize people won't return if they have a bad experience and eventually word will get out about the service and eventually they'll be out of a job cause of no business.

つづく ( To be continued... )

World of Warcraft is just the computer version of crack...

I broke down and downloaded the 10 day free trial version of World of Warcraft yesterday, got it loaded and setup, now I've played at least 14 or more hours... On their website, they have a tag of "It's not a game, it's a World" it should be "It's not a game, it's an obsession".

Last time I played a MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online), it was Ultima online. The part that really turned me off to such games was that, like Everquest, you have to pay a monthly or yearly fee to play online. With Battlefield 2, Command & Conquer, Starcraft and World of Warcraft, you pay of the software and that's it, no monthly fees.

つづく ( To be continued... )

I'm drunk with apps for a new phone...

I've just signed up with Twitter... lets see how long that'll last...

つづく ( To be continued... )

Blackberry 9000 Bold

Blackberry 9000 Bold
Originally uploaded by TekBandit66

I had intended to go into town an hour early before I had to start work but ended up over sleeping... I guess I was way excited knowing I was going to get this. I ended up catching the bus at the usual time and getting to my stop about 5 minutes early so I still had time to get money out to buy this.

The clerk at the store wanted to explain some of the features and how to use them but because I was short on time, I just said I'll read the manual. I was able to get my sim card out of my old phone and ended up putting it in upside down. The clerk double check and switched it around. I was good to go!

While at work, in between calls, I browsed the features and looked through the manual to get things setup. I ended up swapping the sim card several times to get my contacts from the Razor to the Bold. I also had to swap the flash memory several times to get my old files over to the new phone...

I'm still learning how to use it and have already found some really handy free apps, especially a free flickr app. Since the Bold has GPS built in, it'll also Geo tag my pictures I take with it. It has a 2.0 mp camera so that'll make it handy when I can't get to my regular camera quickly.

Also for now, I'm keeping the display film till I can get a protective film made specifically for the Bold. I'm also looking at a case by Armor Case, which, if I do get it, I won't need to get the screen protector.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Signs - Doesn't anyone read them anymore?

I've noticed lately that people don't read signs anymore... I've watched people go around a sign that said "Sidewalk Closed, please use the other side". There is a reason that the sidewalk is closed, there's construction going on! So these people prefer to risk their own safety for convenience. At the same time, I've watched people park their vehicles in a no parking/loading zone cause they don't want to pay for parking. What they'll do is turn on their emergency lights and go into the bank to do their deposits or withdrawals... If the parking enforcement people come around they get a ticket and then they'll complain and or even argue for getting one... just take it and pay the fine, it's their fault in the first place for being lazy.

While riding the bus, people are notorious for not reading... on the back door, there is a sign that says watch and wait for the green light, then open the door. They'll get to the bottom step, wait for the bus to stop, then try to push the door open before the light comes on. On some of the buses, there is a sign that says push on the yellow areas... they'll push on the handles then yell "BACK DOOR". Yup, it's a door and yup it's at the back... and yes, everyone on the bus knows what it is...

I've also noticed that people in downtown don't believe in using crosswalks. They would rather cross in the middle of a busy street, stopping traffic or nearly getting hit than to walk an extra 20 or 30 feet than to be safe. Yeah... I'm sure everyone is superman/superwoman and when that 15 ton truck hits them, it's gonna bounce right off of them. I've seen 18 wheelers with a red front end and it wasn't from paint while driving on the interstate... or huge red circles on the highway, that was from hitting a deer, didn't scratch the paint, but couldn't find any pieces of the deer either... So if they can do that to a deer, imagine what a human being would look like...

I'm getting anxious about this Friday, I'll be getting a Blackberry to replace my Razor. Also, finally finished Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. Towards the end, it got really difficult cause the enemy kept sending wave after wave of units that almost didn't stop. By the time I finished, it was about 4 in the morning. Now to get back to Battlefield 2....

つづく ( To be continued... )

New Game, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Picked up C&C - RA3 this past Friday. Installed it and played a couple of tutorials and dove in on Saturday. On Sunday night, I completed the Soviet campaign on a medium setting. Now it's on to the American campaign and after, the JAPANESE!!

I'm hoping that next week, I'll be getting a new phone. I'm planning on getting the Blackberry Bold (9000). My current phone, a Motorola Razor V3xx, unfortunately, I've dropped it at least 4 times by accident, well actually, I didn't pay attention and dropped it. So the call and signal quality is not as good as it was before.

I also hope to get a Xbox 360...

つづく ( To be continued... )



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つづく ( To be continued... )

Power Tools!!

Just got a new power tool today, a Milwaukee 7" Polisher that does multiple speeds from a hardware store in downtown St. Paul, MN called Seven Corners Hardware that is actually an Ace Hardware Store, but on steroids. The store is better than the larger cookie cutter type hardware stores cause the staff there are very helpful and very knowledgeable.

Last month, I picked up a grinder made by Makita in a 4" diameter, it turns out I made a mistake in getting it cause the discs and accessories are harder to find than a 4 1/2" or 5" grinder. So, next month, I hope to get another Milwaukee tool, a 4 1/2" Variable Speed Sander/Grinder.

I've finally finished the full tower case, used the polisher on it and now the finish is very clear where I could get it smooth. I also tried it on my truck after picking up some rubbing compound and was able to get some of the scratches out, I plan to get the right rubbing compound tomorrow and hopefully get the finish glassy.

つづく ( To be continued... )

New hobbies...

I can say for sure that I have 2 new hobbies... 1st one is my truck. This past weekend I spent the day adding a final coat of Herculiner and then letting it dry for 2 days before putting the mats back in and the roll up soft tonneau cover back on the bed. I must say the results were very good and now the coverage looks even.

2nd hobby is case modding. I guess that falls into the line of re-painting the truck, I had an old case that a co-worker bought from me and took it completely apart and down to metal. I've put 3 coats of primer and so far a base coat and a coat of paint. I've wet sanded the 1st coat and have a lacquer coat of gloss black. I still have the side panels to wet sand yet.

I'm almost finished with adding gold leaf to parts of the case. After adding the last coat of lacquer to the front bezel, I'll be adding gold leaf towards the bottom to accent it.

I also recently got a powder coat gun, now I just have to get a toaster oven so that I can do some parts...

つづく ( To be continued... )

This weekend was a bust...

I wanted to get some painting done but due to the weather, I didn't get much done. I picked up the Herculiner and more paint to mod the old computer chassis. I did get all the metal parts sanded down and paint removed. I also got almost all of the parts primed but there are still about 2 more coats that need to be put on before I can paint.

I thought I'd be able to get it done over the weekend but being a full tower, there's a lot that needs to be prepped before I can paint.

I did order and purchase a powder coating kit, I should have that in by next week... Looking forward to trying it out, on what, I'll figure that out when the time arrives.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Love the Grinder!!!

Power tools, gotta love um! I used my grinder for the first time today to get the paint off the truck so that I could paint. First thing I did was get rid of the tail gate cap that was riveted into the tail gate door. I first tried to drill out the rivets, but that didn't quite work. So I got the grinder out and took out the rivets that way, man was that fast and easy!

After removing that, I swapped out the grinding wheel for a sanding wheel and got to work on removing the paint from the top of the bed rails. Once that was done, I got the primer on and then the paint. Total time spent, 8 hours... I didn't get all of it done and now I need to wash the truck with all that dust from the sanding.

Next weekend, hopefully I'll be able to put on the Herculiner and do the rims.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Funniest thing I've seen so far...

After getting home tonight and walking in to Samantha complaining, I noticed that her entire tail was twitching. Now, for cats, when they are happy, the tails are pointing straight up in the air. The only difference was that not only was it straight up in the air, her tail was twitching very rapidly... it was the funniest thing I've seen yet.

Other than that, for the last month so far, she always has the need to crawl under the covers when I go to bed. She'll try and pull the sheet back so that she can crawl under, then she'll just sit there as happy as can be. I've also noticed that in the middle of the night, she'll end up lying next to me and will try to play with me. The other night, she was grabbing my hand, doing those rabbit kicks and end up trying to take a chunk out of my hand.

Other than that, I'm looking forward this weekend, I'm planning on doing some light body work and painting on the truck. I have a list of the supplies I'll need and on top of that, I'll be touching up the bed liner that I put on this past weekend.

つづく ( To be continued... )

More work on the Truck...

Started on Saturday by scrubbing down the bed of the truck. It pretty much took up the whole day and by the time I was pretty much forced to quit on account of Rain, I had pretty much worn myself out...

This morning, my arms and lower back were aching from scrubbing the bed to get the top coat off so that the Herculiner would adhere to the bed. By the time I got out there to finish the job, it was about 10 in the morning. After working on the front rims a bit and debating on putting on the front mud guards, I finally started wiping down the bed with the cleaner for the final prep for applying the bed liner.

The first coat took about 1 - 2 hours to apply. The 2nd coat took about half the time. At this time, there are still a few spots I need to touch up however I was pretty wiped out from all that work. Even with the gloves and trying to be careful not to get the liner on me, I ended up with a couple splatter marks on my face and several spots on my hands.

I think part of it was from the chemicals that is in the bedliner which is the same stuff I had to use to clean and prep the surface called Xylene. Pretty nasty stuff to be breathing in, I didn't have a really good resprirator which would've made a big difference, but at least the cheaper one help prevent me from breathing in the dust.

Tomorrow, I'll have to try and get up early so that I can put the tonneau cover back on, only to have to take it off again later when I re-paint the top of the bed walls. I'll also be getting bed rail covers so I'll have to take them off again to put those on. You must be asking yourself, why paint if I'm just going to cover it up, well... if I repaint it, I'll be able to get the rust off and keep it off by re-painting, also I'll be filling the holes that were left from the previous owner when they drilled into the bed rails to hold the topper that was on there. Oh, and I got rid of the topper cause it was warped and missing the keys to lock it and also because the shocks to hold up the topper door were shot.

つづく ( To be continued... )

The last week in review...

I finally got the Tonneau cover that I was hoping to get from Fleet Farm.  I also picked up a Makita 4" Angle Grinder so I can do some body work on the truck.  There are about 3 areas I want to get before winter.  I've already painted the 2 rear rims of my truck and hopefully will get to the front 2.  I've also put on the rear mud guards and will put on the front 2 this weekend.

I'm also planning on preparing the bed of the truck so that I can put on a bed liner by Herculiner instead of putting in a drop in liner which will be better in the long run.    I've already replaced both calipers and after this, I'll be taking a break of sorts from upgrading the truck.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Workin' on the Truck

Finally got the replacement front calipers on the truck. I had decided a while ago the last time I tried to bleed the brake lines to replace the front calipers cause they were so old and one of them had the bleeder screw broken off. Before I replaced them, I decided to paint them, originally I was going to paint them red but because of the current rims and because you wouldn't be able to see them very well, I went with black. The original calipers looked just that, if they were the original calipers that came with the truck when it was first put together.

The new calipers are Raybestos loaded calipers with super stop brake pads that I bought at Checker Auto Parts and replaced the bleeder valves that came with the calipers with Russell Performance Speed Bleeder valves that I ordered through Summit Racing Equipment. I have to say, I was extremely impressed with Summit, not only did my order arrive in 3 days by UPS Ground, they also gave me stickers and a really nice hat.

For the next thing on my truck, I'm looking at a Soft tonneau cover by Lund. There is a new Fleet Farm that opened close by in Circle Pines, MN which makes it much closer than having to drive to the other one in Brooklyn Park, MN. I also want to get new mud guards that they have over there... looks like Fleet Farm is going to be my upgrade shop of choice now. It used to be Checkers, but when I went to return my old calipers for the Core Charge refund, they Clerk there named Greg (He's in his mid to late 50's, salt and pepper beard and moutache, glasses, about 5'9" to 5'10" in height) gave me a bit of trouble cause I purchased the new calipers at a different store after being told that I can go to any store to get my core charge back.

I won't be going back to that store located in Coon Rapids, MN. There are other stores that I can go to instead or order parts online. If I order online, I may have to wait an extra day or two, but it'll be cheaper and I won't be given a hard time about the core charge...

There are a couple more things in addition to the Genesis Roll Up Tonneau Cover by Lund that I want to get, the other things are bed rail caps for the sides, front and tail. I think I'll order them from LMC Truck cause its cheaper there. If they have it at Fleet Farm for about the same price, I just may have to get them there...

Well, Fall is aproaching a little early. Last night it was a bit chilly outside when I went for a smoke. There was frost advisory last night up in Northern Minnesota and again tonight. Also there are other signs... insects are finding a way into the house... So far I've caught 2 spiders about the size of quarters. On the bright side, the other day, I finally saw a humming bird flying around and about a month ago, a Hawk landed on the lawn about 20 feet from me. The hawk was trying to catch something in the tree when it landed on the ground cause it missed. It looked at me then flew off.

つづく ( To be continued... )

You must be wondering...

About the picture I have of myself. Well... here it is... About 10 to 15 years ago, while working as a Assistant Manager for a restaurant, a friend of mine once called me the "Iceman". This was because of my lack of emotion when something would happen. Most people would panic or get upset or whatever (especially when you spill a drink in the lap of a Vice President for a top travel agency)... There were other incidents but each time, I would not panic or show any emotions. So he would call me the "Iceman".

Later on, back in '95 when I worked at a Computer City, another friend formed a group called the TekLoRdz. I had actually suggested the name of the group after watching the series called TekWar. I then took on the Handle of TekBandit, since then, it's stuck with me since. I picked up the image of SubZero from Mortal Kombat because it seemed like a good fit for several reasons I won't go into detail...

I'm looking forward to working on the truck this weekend. I bought new calipers and hope to have them on by the end of the day... I hope it won't take that long to switch them out. Personally, I don't see it taking very long since I used to work on sport bikes when I owned a Yamaha FZR 600. That'll knock that off the list of needed repairs before I can work on the appearance of the truck. I still have to get the brake lines/hoses replaced, the shocks and some real light engine work.

I also want to upgrade my computer again... I'm looking at a new motherboard that will take the new DDR3 memory at a bus speed of 1600 also a new video card with the new PCI-e 2 slot and new joysticks for my flight sims... So much money, so little of it and so little time...

つづく ( To be continued... )

Minnesota's Farmer's Market in downtown Minneapolis

It's a little late, but it has already started. The Farmer's market in Downtown Minneapolis on Thursdays. All the fresh produce and other great finds. When they have it, I try to make sure I hit up the Saint Agnes stall and pick up some bread. They have the best Zuccini, pumpkin and Banana bread as well as turnovers and danishes.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Disturbing Dream

Early this morning I had a dream that I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so this is why I'm posting this now. I don't know if what has happened with my truck recently and at the time of falling asleep, the X-Files was on when I turned off the T.V., but here goes...

I was searching or investigating something that had to deal with the Catholic church. I didn't recognize the place that I was in, but it was a room with 4 pillars of Marble, the floor, I believe also of marble, was tiled. In the middle of the room was a raised area, possibly with a marble pedestal.

I forget what it was leading towards, but there was something about combining certain things and it ended up forming a caustic, poisonous gas.

I remember at one point and I don't know how I got there, I was driving in my truck on a road that looked vaguely familiar. It was in the pre-dawn hours, I was in a slight turn and in my headlights on the road, I saw something there. I must not have been going that fast, but I was able to avoid running it over. As I drove past, I had now saw that it was a young female, maybe in her late teens, early 20's, long dark mid-back length hair. It appeared that she had vomited something green and I couldn't tell if she was alive or not. I couldn't tell what her race was cause she was lying face down or away from where I could see.

For some reason, I didn't stop, I kept driving and a very short distance later, came across another female, about the same age, but this female was a blond with the same length hair. It also appeared she had vomited something green. I decided to turn around and see if I could help or check to see if both the women were alive and block the road so that anyone else driving wouldn't run them over.

It was at that point I woke up.

Since I couldn't get back to sleep, I decided to finish up configuring the radio in the truck and put one of the panels under the steering column back on. Had a couple of cigarettes and here I am now, writing about all this...

つづく ( To be continued... )

The Week in Review

For sometime now, I've been having issues with the Truck. It's a great truck however I've had this issue where when it gets hot or if I drive a distance, when I stop off and then try to start the truck to return home, it won't start. No turning of the starter, no clicking of the solenoid. So this past Saturday, my friend and I took out the starter and took it down to the auto store to have them test it.

The starter tested just fine and it appeared to be the OEM starter, so I decided to get a new starter anyway. I get home, put the starter in and my friend decides to remove the non-functioning car alarm. After all that was removed, get into the truck and turn the key... No joy. The power comes on for everything else, the stereo, lights, etc... but no turning of the starter. We double checked everything, got the tester out and tested for power.

Still couldn't start the truck. After working on the truck for 8 hours, we both decided to give up for the day. The next day, Sunday, I jacked up the truck and rolled under it to see if I could trace the lines to find the problem. I was looking right at it, and I'll explain towards the end.

I gave up and called the shop to pick up my truck to have them look at it. That was on Monday, after they picked up my truck on a wrecker, about 6 hours later, I got a call from the shop that my truck was ready. They told me that one of the wires was on the wrong post, not the one directly from the battery, but the other "ground" wire.

Funny thing is on Sunday, I was looking directly at the issue, I kept thinking that the wire was in the wrong place but because I was already tired, it didn't register in my mind.

Now a new issue has come up, not as critical as the truck not starting... the radio doesn't turn on, so I'll have to double check the wiring, it did work before all this, so there maybe a crossed wire or a fuse may have blown.

Ok, now I have everything back. I ended up pulling out the stereo cause it was bugging me and double checked the wires. I made sure I tightened the wire caps for the Ignition and the Power. Started up my truck and pressed the power button... STEREO! Now I just have to reconfigure the stations and the other settings, then it'll be done.

I also now need to replace the 5 amp fuse for the Instrument panel lights... seems like my work is never done... but I guess that's half the fun of owning a vehicle worth working on.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Battlefield 2

Here is my story since the clan I was associated with have since banned me...

I became a member in October of 2007 and have played on their maps, Ghost town and Road Rage. Due to the Holidays, I had stopped playing for about a month to 2 months. When I was able to continue, I was unable to log onto the Road Rage map.

I tried to find a solution but apparently because I downloaded it through a online purchase of the add-on, I was unable to re-install it or re-download the map. After much researching, I decided on purchasing a hard copy (buying the actual disk in a retail store). However since EA (Electronic Arts), stopped any further updates, they didn't have the stand alone copy of the Armored Fury maps for sale anywhere.

I had been getting an error and kick out of the online play by Punkbuster, a MD5 Mismatch in the Settings.ini, now I find this rather frustrating cause, no one had said anything or getting kicked off the clan back in May/June months. I would just stop playing for the evening and try again the next, or I would wait the amount of time it said and get back on...

So I decided on getting the Battlefield 2: Complete Collection, it took me about a month to find one cause EA had discontinued or ending further development of the Battlefield 2 series, I was finally able to find it.

So I re-installed Armored Fury and re-register my copy and was fine for a couple of weeks, then all of a sudden, I started to get the same message again. Now, this time, I get dropped by the clan I'm associated with. Several people, without getting the full information just automatically brand me a hacker/cheater and if that doesn't cap it, the Head of the clan will not listen to the explanation.

Prior to my being kicked from the clan, I had installed 3 additional mods, AIX, Reality Project and Nations at War. I've also installed another game called Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat. Both Battlefield 2 and Call of Duty 4 use Punkbuster. I've also re-installed Punkbuster and manually updated the files... Even after closing out my virus scanning software, I still got the same error...

I've been playing games online since the first FPS / Strategy games came out. Online, I know what happens when you hack much less care to hack a game to cheat. If I cheat, it's offline and offline alone. Besides, if I were hacking/cheating, wouldn't my scores reflect that I was? What frustrates me is that people are so quick to judge and they say that they don't, it's very difficult to dispute once it's in writing at this point and now, I don't think I want be be a member if this is going to happen, be it now or again...

つづく ( To be continued... )

Frustration levels rising again...

Just when something goes good, something else has to come along and drop on top of me like a 10 ton boulder.

I just found out the clan I was associated with in Battlefield 2 had banned me because of Punkbuster, which is screwing up and not me. I've always played by the rules online, even when other were not and now I'm catching the heat from that.

The clan members that once supported me when I first joined have all turned their backs on me, I'm really gettng sick of this two faced treatment, it happened before in person, at another job and now online... I'm just about ready to say Fxxk it and drop off the face of the Earth and society and just be alone... The only companionship and devotion I'm going to get is from Samantha, absolutely unconditional. I have no expectations of her and she, of me.

I'm tired, frustrated and burned out, I give more than my all, I care too much and work way to hard not realizing what my limits are and end up crashing because of it. Ask me what do I have to show for or prove it and I'll say - nothing.

つづく ( To be continued... )

My life as a song...

I've been relating to one particular song that was released in 1985 that was the title for the Movie of the same name, To Live and Die in L.A. Starring William Dafoe, William Petersen, John Tuturro, Dean Stockwell.

To Live & Die In L. A.
Wang Chung

In the heat of the day
Every time you go away
I have to piece my life together
Every time you're away
In the heat of the day
In the dark of the night
Every time I turn the light
I feel that God is not in heaven
In the dark of the night
The dark of the night

I wonder why I live alone here
I wonder why we spend these nights together
Is this the room I'll live my life forever
I wonder why in la
To live and die in la
I wonder why we waste our lives here
When we could run away to paradise
But I am held in some invisible vice
And I can't get away
To live and die in la

If I let myself go
And for where I just don't know
I'd maybe hit some cold new river
That led out to the sea
An unknown sea
I'd either swim or I'd drown
Or just keep falling down and down
I think it's that, that makes me quiver
Just to keep falling down
Down, down, down

I wonder why I live alone here
I wonder why we spend these nights together
Is this the way I'll live my life forever
I wonder why in la
To live and die in la

In every word that you say
I feel my freedom slip away
I feel the bars come down around me
And I can't get away
I can't get away

I wonder why I live alone here
I wonder why we spend these nights together
Is this the room I'll live my life forever
I wonder why in la
To live and die in la
I wonder why we waste our lives here
When we could run away to paradise
But I am held in some invisible vice
And I can't get away
To live and die in la

I can't get away
To live and die in la
I can't get away
To live and die in la
I can't get away
To live and die in la
I can't get away
To live and die in la

つづく ( To be continued... )

Changed mind, more new parts...

After much consideration, I've decided not to replace the bug shield that I was looking at. I've looked at other trucks that don't have them and I think it looks much better without one... so I may have to put up with bugs on the windshield or an occasional pebble hit on the hood... I'll eventually get the truck repainted, till then, it looks good as it is right now.

This past weekend I was planning on replacing my Oil Cooler Lines, I ended up getting something else cause I needed the gear ratio information in order to get the correct lines. The clerk at Checker Auto Parts was really helpful and gave me a website to look up *RPO codes that has that information.

*RPO stands for Regular Production Option

So, I'm going to wait till next weekend to pick up those lines, replacing them, that's another story, just looking at the location and where they hook up to, might be a long day to replace them.

What I did end up picking up was a locking gas cap, with the price of gas and stories of gas theft on the rise, I decided to replace my gas cap with a locking one. I know it won't prevent someone from stealing my gas but it's a deterrent.

This past weekend was a bit eventful. On Sunday, a storm blew through my area with Tornado sirens going off. Apparently there was a touch down approximately 10 miles west of where I live and it travelled in a north eastern direction. So, talk about dodging the bullet...

The amusing part was that I was trying to bleed my brakes, so I had my front and rear driver side tires off. As the storms approached, I rushed to get my tires back on like I was a NASCAR pit crew. Good thing my friend had air tools cause I wouldn't have made it in time.

つづく ( To be continued... )

and I thought computers were an expensive hobby...

Upgrading a computer can be an expensive hobby with all the different parts to get like video cards for better graphics, larger hard drives, more memory. That's nothing compared to a vehicle, let alone a truck.

Last weekend, I was repairing the bug shield/deflector by gluing the velcro dots that will hold it down. Well, the next day I went to go put it back on and had placed it on top of the garbage cans, the wind came up fast and hard and blew it off the garbage cans and fell onto the driveway, it broke exactly in half. So, last night I ended up removing the velcro dots off the hood of my truck. After removing those dots, I polished up the spots and looks ok for now...

I'll be looking for a replacement this weekend, I want to get the one made by Lund called the Interceptor II. A bug shield/deflector is much better than the hood bra.

つづく ( To be continued... )

New Turn Signals installed

New Turn Signals during the Day
Originally uploaded by TekBandit66

I purchased replacement turn signals since the original ones were getting faded. I got these through a company online called LMC Truck which they carry a lot of parts that either can't or are hard to find for older trucks.

As you can see here, it gives the truck a more aggressive look during the day and night. Eventually I want to replace the headlights with the same type since they are older and have small cracks in them. I also want to replace the front grill to an all black grill and I've been thinking of replacing the license plate holder to a chrome style.

つづく ( To be continued... )

This past weekend...

Worked on the truck this past weekend, took up the most of the day Saturday and part of the day Sunday. Swapped out the factory installed stereo speakers and put in some Pioneer's. I put in 2 way speakers in the front and 3 way speakers in the back. Unfortunately, all the speakers are 4x6's, so I don't have much of a selection for that truck and don't want to cut up the walls to install larger speakers. Besides, the speakers that are installed now put out some very good sound and has pretty good power.

Eventually, I want to install a sub-Woofer to get a little more bass, not a whole lot, but a little bit more than what I have now with the new speakers.

On Sunday, I picked up some color matched car wax to get rid of the scratches in the paint. I ended up heading to the car wash and washing the truck so that I could wax it without grinding in the grit and making the scratches worse. That took up half the day after driving my friends family to the theater to watch Ironman. After the theater, that's when I went to get the wax and my friend picked up some gypsum for the lawn where his dog had done it's business during the winter.

On Friday night, I went to see Ironman, if you haven't seen it yet, I would highly recommend you do.

I have more parts on order, so the next weekend might be busy again, got to replace the dash and bleed the brakes again. There seems to be a lot of air still in the brake lines yet. The next thing that needs to be changed it the mud protectors and the truck will need to go into the shop for service soon and the insurance is due in June...

つづく ( To be continued... )

Lack of Sleep, nightmares...

The lack of sleep has been getting to me, but right now there is nothing I can do about it. Well, at least during the week. I don't know what is causing it, either the job or the nightmares or the nightmares that is being caused by the job or what is causing the nightmares. Even if I try to get to sleep early, I keep waking up in the same length of time as I do if I sleep later.

The other morning, I practically bolted out of bed because of this nightmare that I had, which at the time I could vividly remember but an hour later couldn't. The more I try, the only thing that stands out was that I was searching for and found a bokken and that there was something I was trying to defend against.

Another consideration to my lack of sleep would be the secrets that I keep and the things that I have seen from my previous job. I guess the good news is that I don't hear voices telling me to do things and Samantha talks, but still can't understand a word she says.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Truck Upgrade continues...

Well, got a stereo installed and now am looking to upgrade the speakers from the stock speakers already in the truck. I'm also considering putting in an amp and sub-woofer to get a little more bass. The part of the dash that was removed, more than likely when the previous owner took out the stereo to put into their new vehicle, has been replaced as well as the A/C vents, the window seals have been restored. The old window seals were cracked and falling apart so they needed to be replaced with a new set so the water doesn't get into the doors.

The right side vent that I broke cleaning has also been replaced for a new one. Now the only thing left for the interior of the cab is to replace the ceiling that is falling down. That will be done later. For the exterior, I'll have to get the muffler, rear brakes, oil cooler lines and the fuel filter done at a shop. This way if they break it, they'll have to fix it.

Once I get the truck back to it's original condition, I'll be looking to upgrade the looks of the truck by adding a push bar, replacing the front grill, getting new rims and tires then eventually getting the little rust spots fixed and repainted.

In the mean time, I'll be trying to save up to get a new DSLR camera. I've been looking at the Nikon D300 as my upgrade to my current camera, an Olympus SP-350 and also get my costume together for the Renaissance Festival, which I'll have pictures of, hopefully with the Nikon.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Somewhat consistent... but I still hate the snow...

It seems that Winter doesn't want to give up just yet. It's already April and there's still snow with more snow predicted for the weekend. One thing for sure, I'm going to change the fuel filter on my truck no matter what the weather is like.

Within the next 2 weeks, my truck will go from version 92 to 92.A with the parts I'll be getting. I'm also hoping that I'll be finally getting a radio installed so that when I have to drive farther or wait, I'll have something to listen to. Talking about radios, the 3 that I'm looking at all have an Aux. input in the front of the unit. This will allow me to connect my mp3 player without having to use a headset while driving (very dangerous).

I'll also have to pick up some engine cleaner to get the engine cleaner than using Simple Green.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Another year older... or what to expect during the Yakudoshi year...

That time of the year has come and gone and this year is not one that I am looking forward to. You see, the Japanese call it Yakudoshi.

On About.com they had this:

Yakudoshi are the years of calamity. This is a Japanese belief that people at the ages of yakudoshi are likely to experience misfortunes or illness. It is generally believed that men's yakudoshi are the ages 25, 42 and 61, and for women 19, 33 and 37, though there are local and historical variations. One's yakudoshi is measured by adding one to the actual age.

The ages of 42 for men and 33 for women are considered to be particularly bad years, honyaku (great calamity). This is probably because the numbers 42 and 33 are phonetically unlucky numbers. 42 can be pronounced "shi-ni" which is homophonous with the word "to death," and 33, when pronounced as "sanzan" means "hard", "terrible", or "disastrous". When reaching yakudoshi, many people go to Shinto shrines for exorcism (yakubarai). Although this is just a superstition, it may not be improbable because people seem to go through hard times with their health or jobs around these ages.

Many people are also aware that the years preceding and following a major yakudoshi are yakudoshi years too. The year before yakudoshi is called maeyaku, while the year after is called atoyaku.

So I guess I was supposed to have this party to ward off the bad luck, but being by myself, I really don't have anyone that would. Usually this would be with family that would celebrate (so to speak). However, I believe that I maybe in the clear because the Japanese believe your age starts from the time of conception. This way, at the time of your birth, your already considered 1 year old, where I believe in the American culture, your considered 1 year old on your first birthday.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Just like a computer...

I pretty much spent the whole day driving around to the different auto parts stores and the junk yard, looking for parts and some additional accessories for the truck. After getting back, my friend and I spent the rest of the day trying to figure out why I didn't have any parking and dash lights, it also turned out my horn didn't work.

We even took apart the tail lights to see if there was a current getting to the tail lights. None what so ever. So, finally he ended up taking every single fuse out and looking at them. Turns out I had missed a fuse that was burnt out. Replaced that and then every thing worked.

Now for the fun part, upgrading the truck (or as others would put it customizing). I've got some parts that I already have in mind that I would like to get. For now... I have my eyes on something else... A new DSLR camera from Nikon.

つづく ( To be continued... )

A work in progress...

Well, the truck has been one of the best things I've purchased so far. However, it would be nice if I could drive it at night. I'll have to try and figure out the parking lights thing before I can drive it. It does limit where and how far I can drive before I need to stop at night due to a lack of running lights.

The headlights, turn signals and high beams work... but it won't make a difference if someone is coming up from the rear at night. After I get that resolved, I'll be planning on upgrading the truck... I can just see it now... sinking all my money into the truck and not being able to get that Nikon D300... Hmm....

つづく ( To be continued... )

Undocumented features...

Well, as I own the truck further and further out, I've learned a little bit more. Tonight, I got back to the truck, it started just fine. I find out that the instrument panel and parking/running lights don't work... I checked the fuse and it was fine. The headlight turns on, but not the rest. Ok, you've noticed that I wrote headlight and not headlights. Well, when I first looked at the truck, we, my friend and I, that only one headlight worked... no big deal, I'll just replace the bulb later.

Good thing I hung on to the Camry. The bad part, I already transferred the insurance. At least I still have the current cards for the Camry. I'll need to drive the car till this weekend so I won't have to drive the truck until after we can figure out why the above mentioned issues can be resolved.

Just to see what happens, I put my car up on Craig's List but didn't expect to get any response at all considering the condition of the car. What I got was about 15 responses... I guess I should've expected it considering I'm asking $165 for the car. It does run...


つづく ( To be continued... )

I got a new (used) Truck

Chevrolet Sierra 1500
Originally uploaded by TekBandit66

Finally! I have a better than decent vehicle. It's a 1992 but from the actual pictures of the truck, you can't see any rust at all. It did come with a trailer hitch, now just got to buy the post for it. There were other vehicles on the lot that I had considered, but after looking this one over, I just had to get it.

It didn't have a radio and the place where the EQ/Tape player and vent was, that panel was missing. Now I have to see if I can find a replacement. I've already been to a junk yard to see if I could find that piece, but all of the trucks in the yard had that particular piece missing. According to my friend that went with me to look it over as well noticed that the tires are pretty new... that's a bonus! Although it did give me a scare when I took it to the dollar car wash and it wouldn't start.

I got lucky because my friend was close by and was able to help me push it out of the bay. We tried to start it and it wouldn't turn over but all of the electronics would go on. I ended up calling a tow company to have it towed to a auto repair shop and they told me they'd be there in 20 to 30 minutes. About 10 or 15 minutes later, I tried to start the truck again and it started right up as if nothing happened. My friend suspects the starter may have gotten wet when I sprayed the undercarrige down to clean it. I called the tow company back to cancel the tow and drove it home.

After finally getting it back home, the first thing I did was clean the dash and wipe it down with Armor All, cleaned the windows both inside and out and gave the outside of the windows a coat of RainX. My friend cleaned up parts of the engine and took apart the air cleaner and filter just for good measure. He also suggested to get the transmission and radiator a flushing as welll as an oil change since it looked like the oil hasn't been changed and was down a quart.

I think tomorrow, I'll see if I can find my chrome polish and get the chrome parts of the truck, maybe even give it a coat of polish. I do need to get a new light bulb which should be an easy swap out.

つづく ( To be continued... )

DS Lite, Crimson and Cobalt

DS Lite, Crimson and Cobalt
Originally uploaded by TekBandit66

As promised here is the picture of both of them side by side before selling the "Crimson" red and black DS. Other than the color, both are the same in just about every aspect.





つづく ( To be continued... )

Admin, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

I have encountered people who have some skill, some that has skill and those that shouldn't be working with computers at all but in their minds think their doing good. Then again, I tend to be a perfectionist. Whatever job I do, I am compelled to do it very well or at least as best as I can.

It's really frustrating when a person just does things because that's what they were told to do the last time it occurred. For example, a computer goes off line, the last time, someone had told them to reboot and alls well. Unfortunately it isn't always the answer for the same issue. I keep telling these people to call first and let us advise you to reboot or not, but they don't listen, they just reboot anyway. Then they get mad at us/me because they can't work or they don't have the equipment working for them to do their job... Uh, maybe you should use that thing inside your skull called a brain. Think about what you did and then get mad at the right person, YOU, not me.

Another thing that I've really grown to become intolerant about is how I have to keep repeating myself to these people because I only get 10 percent of their attention when giving them instructions. What it comes down to now is that if their nice and listen, I'll go out of my way to resolve their issues but if they want to be a lugnut about it, then it's by the book, no deviations.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Another DS, Observations on a bus and other things...

There is nothing wrong with the last DS I purchased, just the color combinations I really liked. So now instead of the "Crimson" and black version, I recently bought the "Cobalt" and black version. Everything is the same, just the color difference. I'll try to get some pictures of the both of them together before I sell the Crimson one.

Last week while riding home on the bus, I was observing the other riders as they got on the bus and while they were riding the bus to their destinations. This one woman in particular, I've seen before, seems to enjoy stirring up controversy regarding race. She seems like she enjoys meeting new people like a person who enjoys traveling. However, she enjoys engaging only a particular type of people. The male was very passionate about his ancestry, his voice was rising in volume and seemed to be speaking faster and faster and attempting to drive the point to her.

She appeared to be backed into a corner and as if she was trying to defuse the conversation tried to back peddle... What it all ends up to is that she seemed as if to have lived a very sheltered life and came from a very small town...

Other people on the bus, there are those who basically make the bus their own, talking up and loudly without consideration of others on their cell phones. There are also people like me, wearing headphones and trying to drown out those people, appearing to be oblivious of their surroundings but being very observant.

As for the other things, I've come to realize that I'm becoming like my Uncle that I was afraid of, well, not really afraid of, just didn't care for his strict discipline. You see my Uncle, who has passed away several years ago, joined the Army back in Vietnam at the age of 17. He was supposed to be attached to the radio corps, but ended up driving tanks out in the field. So with that in mind, you get an idea of the kind of person he was (no, not suffering from PTSS) but a very tough, strict by the book soldier. Oh, and if your wondering, he went to work for Martin-Marietta (the company that built the Patriot and Hellfire missile) after getting out of the Army. If you've ever seen the movie Falling Down starring Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall, he used to dress just about the same way, both for work and leisure, without the necktie.

I'm getting pretty close to dressing like that myself...

つづく ( To be continued... )

Funny thing to talk about during Winter...

This past weekend I stopped off at a Cub Foods "Super" Market to pick up some things for the week or two and had this urge to get something sweet and cold to eat. I found something new among the huge selection of frozen confections, as a matter of fact, 2 new items.

The first was Michael's Frozen Custard. If you've never had frozen custard, it's rich, creamy and very delicious. I'm a bit torn between Culver's and Michael's. It appears that both companies are from Wisconsin. Culver's has really good burgers, but are a bit more expensive than most other places. Culver's is famous for their "Butter" Burgers and Frozen Custard. Michael's specializes in Frozen Custard but at their drive in locations, have root beer.

Last night after getting home from work, I picked up some A&W root beer and made a root beer float... Oh the combination was beyond words to describe! All I can say is that if you can find some Frozen Custard you gotta make a root beer float with this. Oh, and the flavors I picked up was vanilla and pumpkin. By itself it was fantastic, but the vanilla in a root beer float just made up for the day...

The other frozen confection I found was a Gelato called Talenti. I picked up Sonoma Strawberry and Lisbon Lemon. Once I started on it, I couldn't put it down, I literally had to force myself to stop so I wouldn't finish it in one sitting (although I have done it with other Ice creams and sorbets before).

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I've been so hooked on Pokemon. I picked up Pokemon Diamond for the DS and have recently picked up Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green for the Gameboy Advance since the DS will also use the GBA games on it.

My friend bought a Wii for his son and so I bought Pokemon Revolution for it since it'll allow you to battle against another DS player. It'll also download your captured Pokemon from Diamond/Pearl. Eventually I'll catch them all and use them on Revolution.

I'm still planning on getting the Nikon D80 in the near future once I get this car thing out of the way. I hope that it'll be just in time for Spring/Summer when I can get out and get some great pictures.

つづく ( To be continued... )

Almost, but then again...

This time, my friend paid attention to the vehicle and not the dog or the female. Unfortunately, the Mazda was not in the shape that would've been a good purchase. The lifters were knocking, the trunk didn't open and looks like someone hit the dash to get the heater to work. The tabs were 3 months past due and the rear tire had the belts showing.

After all that, we stopped in at a Kia dealer and was looking at the cars when the salesman showed me a '07 Rio for about 14k. I impulsively filled out the forms to see if I could qualify for financing (but I knew that I wouldn't qualify) and had 800 in cash to put down. Well, they wanted some personal references (which usually means that they would've been able to do it).

After getting back home, my friends neighbor said he had a car that he was going to sell for about 2k that he would sell to me for 800. Personally, between having to make monthly payments and just owning a car out right, I prefer to own it out right. Yeah, it's older and run the risk of something breaking down more often, but it'll be mine and not on loan from the bank for me to drive.

つづく ( To be continued... )

I'm ahead of -- K --... so far...

I'm currently 3 posts ahead of -- K --.

Well, one of the vehicles that I'm interested in is still available. I have a good feeling about this one, the body looks like it's in great condition. I was just told she had it stored in a garage. If this pans out, I'll be buying a '95 Mazda 626 that practically looks brand spankin' new.


つづく ( To be continued... )

Out with the old and in with the new old...

Well, it's about time I get another car. This winter has taken it's toll and had to replace the battery twice and because I'm missing part of the muffler (the pipe between the end of the header to the begining of the actual muffler), I got stopped the the police for a loud vehicle.
I'm also worried that the CV shaft is about ready to go, to try and fix all that wouldn't be worth the vehicle considering I only paid about 400 for a rusted body that is just about ready to fall apart at the next hard bump or deep pothole....

I've been looking on Craig's list and found a couple of potential vehicles that would be far better (by 1000 times better) than what I have now. Granted I'll be paying between 3 to 5 hundred dollars more, the alternatives would be worse at a lower price.

Lately I've been really hooked into Pokemon (Diamond, Fire Red, Leaf Green and Revolution), I haven't touched the computer much let alone play Battlefield 2 or Call of Duty 4 within the past Month. At best, the most I've done was to check my email and check for driver updates.

I hope that after all this, in a couple of months, I'll hope to buy a Nikon D80 with a lens kit. I'll just have to save money, cause I can almost taste it because I want it so badly.

つづく ( To be continued... )

It's a new year and I'm still here...

Well, still in Minnesota, braving the cold... My car died so now the new hunt begins to find a replacement car. I do have something else to take my mind off my car...

GOTTA CATCH'M ALL!! Pokemon Diamond. My friends son has Pearl and recently I bought him the Pokemon Battle Revolution for the Wii. I'm still learning how to use it and recently got my DS Pokemon transferred over. Now I can use what I caught to battle on the Wii... but the little stinker cheats. After winning the battles, he turns off the Wii without letting me save.

So, in the past 2-3 weeks, I haven't touched Battlefield 2 or Call of Duty 4. I should get on this weekend since becoming a member of a battle clan.

つづく ( To be continued... )