I don’t know how to play chess, but I understand the basic concept—it’s the rules I never bothered to learn. It can be used as an allegory for many things in life. Like yesterday, for example. Jen had an early morning client meeting, which meant Finn needed daycare. Which meant I needed to get her there in the CR-V. But Jen had to be able to pick her up, so I had to get the CR-V back to the house and swap it for another vehicle.
Meanwhile, Pep Boys replaced the defective battery they’d sold me late last year, but I hadn’t had the time to drop it into the Slattern, so I was going to have to take the Scout on her inaugural test drive to work when I brought the CR-V back. Got all that? Good.
Jen made it to her meeting on time, Finn made it to daycare on time, and I made it to work about 30 minutes late, but the Scout did just fine. No leaks, no spitting coolant, and everything felt great.
During the day, I called Bank of America to replace my ATM card for our joint account, and after one abortive attempt I was able to get a CSR to order me a new card. before I hung up I asked her to verify the account she’d altered, and she gave me my primary checking account, not the joint account. (This, after punching in the joint account number and my soc in order to access the main menu, then repeating it to the CSR as soon as she got on the line. Isn’t technology amazing?) So I corrected her, verified she had the right account and verified she hadn’t cancelled my primary checking card. See where this is going?
On my way out the door from work, I called to order some kebabs for dinner, because Jen didn’t have time to get anything set up and because it was a LOST night. I turned the key in the Scout and got a lovely click-click-click from the battery, which had fired up just fine in the morning but decided to crap on itself sometime during the day. The guy downstairs in the booth, who couldn’t have been nicer, didn’t have a battery charger, and the garage was pretty deserted by the time I was there, so I reluctantly called Jen, who was in transit with Finn, to come and give me a jumpstart. She made it into the city in record time, and after some fiddling with the jumper cables (they will be replaced next month) we got the Scout to fire up. Driving back to the ‘Ville, we separated so I could go pick up dinner, and I left it running while I ran inside. When the guy ran my ATM card—you guessed it—declined. The BoA lady had, indeed, cancelled my primary card. I made like I was going to run home and get cash, but the proprietor, who couldn’t have been nicer, told me to take the food and come back to pay when I could. So I will endorse Cafe Kebab on Frederick Road not only because their food is delicious, but because the owners are exceptionally nice people.
Returning home, Jen had food ready for Finn, and we all devoured our dinner a full hour past our usual schedule. I ran out to pay for our meal, and then hurried back to help Jen give Finn a bath (she had played outside for a good portion of the day, and thus was covered in sunblock). After putting her to bed, I had 15 minutes for my next mission:
- Pull the good battery from the Jeep, which was parked across the street.
- Drop the new battery in the Saturn.
- Move the Saturn out of the driveway.
- Drop the Jeep battery in the Scout.
- Pull the Scout into the garage.
- Pull the Saturn into the driveway.
- Put the bad battery on the charger for one more test.
Thankfully, I made it inside just before the first commercial break of LOST. Which kicked ass, by the way.
Jen also informed me I’m not allowed to drive the CR-V, because she’s afraid I’m going to fuck it up somehow. Which, after all of this mechanical drama, is probably true.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
Today the U.S. Government charged Goldman Sachs with fraud for their role in the financial meltdown. What took them so long?
Our current fleet here at the Lockardugan Compound has gotten quite out of hand lately. With the addition of the CR-V, we’ve now got four cars clogging the driveway (three, actually, because the Scout is still in the garage) but our plan was always to ditch the least practical of the remaining three. Because the Jeep and the Scout both have two doors, an equal amount of cargo space and similar gas mileage, one of them has to go. I don’t think I have to tell you which one is nominated. (It’s the one without its own website).
I thought we might have a buyer lined up when we bumped into a friend at the coffee shop the day we bought the ‘V and happened to mention we were going to sell the Jeep; three weeks and two snowstorms later she took it in to her mechanic for a once-over, and came back with some disappointing news. He claimed it needs a new catalytic converter to pass inspection, as well as new front tires (we knew this) and pointed out an interesting bug with the reverse lights—they don’t work. She decided to pass, so we’re back to square 1 for the time being. Which suits me fine, because there’s more snow coming this week, I can’t get the Scout out of the driveway without moving the other three cars, and I’ve got at least three trips worth of garbage in the basement to be hauled to the dump.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
There’s an article in The New Republic which argues that the decline of American manufacturing is due in large part to the change in management—from people who were trained to build things to people who were trained to count figures.
“…the conglomerate structure forced managers to think of their firms as a collection of financial assets, where the goal was to allocate capital efficiently, rather than as makers of specific products, where the goal was to maximize quality and long-term market share.”
Saturn was Supposed To Save GM. People wonder why Detroit is doomed? And, there’s an International Harvester link:
“…a new power was emerging at UAW headquarters in Detroit. Stephen P. Yokich… had first made his mark at the union by leading a lengthy 1979 strike against International Harvester, from which the company never fully recovered.”
The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart. I read this last year and I’ve related the story to about five people–I think it’s a fantastic example of good business sense. (via)
Saturn owners hope GM doesn’t abandon them – CNN.com
We have a ten-year-old Saturn, which is an excellent car. I too hope GM doesn’t abandon the brand more than it already has, but I’m not holding my breath. Oh, and there’s this gem:
“Brand loyalty is overrated,” McManus stated flatly.
No, it isn’t, dumbass. Brand loyalty sells cars. If Saturn still made good cars, I’d consider buying one based on my current experience.
Whoever employs this fucknut should drop him like a bad habit.
Paul Krugman in today’s NYT: Financial Russian Roulette. I say, fuck Lehman. It will most likely suck for everybody when the consequences are felt, but I and my offspring shouldn’t be on the hook for the failure of a few assholes and their poor business practices.
“…if institutions need to be rescued like banks, they should be regulated like banks — why were we so unprepared for this latest shock?”
Taxpayers aren’t an insurance policy; that’s what the FDIC is for.
This article in the NYT, about the slow food movement, brings up a fascinating new trend: people are hiring gardeners to plant, maintain, and harvest a garden in their backyard. Have we become this lazy as a society?
According to this gas mileage savings calculator, I would not save any money trading in my Jeep for a Honda Fit. Well, duh.