1999 Ford Ranger

Is anyone familiar with the workings of a 1999 Ford Ranger pick-up? I think it's haunted!


Every now and then, I'll get in my little pick-up (usually very early in the morning), put on my seatbelt, put the key in the ignition, press the clutch, turn the key and blah - nothing happens. Nothing clicks, nothing whirrs, nothing gurgles, nothing happens! I've sat there until my wrist went numb trying over and over in vain to get my truck started.


A while back when my alternator supposedly went bad, I had it replaced by a roadside towing company who thanked me for my $475.00 contribution. Man, that was a piss-off! During an oil change, I asked the guys at the downtown Firestone to see if they could see what was wrong with my truck. They gave me a long list of things, a quote for almost $2,000.00 and a smile.

"Shyeah, right. Just change my oil and gimme my keys, beeotch. "


I kept the hitlist, and fixed or replaced everything as well as I could. It took a while because I had to do one thing at a time as each paycheck would afford me. Now, with a new alternator, starter, battery, filters of all sorts and case after case of gas treatment and octane booster, my truck is starting to do that thing again.


My only guess is there's something wrong with the electrical system, but I'm clueless as to how to fix that or get that looked at. Does anyone have any ideas? Any suggestions? The number of a good exorcist?!


Monday I'm taking my truck to get the oil changed. I'll see if I can talk the mechanic down from $200 for 4 hours of labor if I let him give my truck a tune-up. Fifty bucks an hour. wow!

Would YOU Hire this Mexican?

I'm definitely "geeking out"!

This weekend I hit the java-enhanced Barnes & Noble at Tanglewood, and bought "How To Cheat In Photoshop". I gave the panicked lady at the register 60 bucks to pay for my $50 book. She asked me if I had the discount card, to which I shook my head no.

"You can save -" "No. Thank you." (Just give me my friggin' change!)

I'm sure if I was carelessly wealthy I'd want to invest a lump sum into the privilege of getting 10% off my purchases at Barnes & Noble. What a crock. Why don't you just give me the card, and keep knocking 10% off my purchases until the discounts have paid for the card itself? Okay? Would that be alright? Hmmm? I didn't think so.

Back to my book...

I bought this book and I'd wanted to get my hands on it since I first saw it about a month ago. Because of this book, I've REdiscovered Photoshop, and now I have to tear myself away from my notebook computer, my computer tablet, and the dozens of manipulated images I've made.

Now you can add "Photoshop geek" to my long list of technical specialties. Here,... I'll do it.

PHOTOSHOP GEEK - just added
DREAMWEAVER GEEK - established
FLASH MX GEEK - working on it
FRONT PAGE GEEK - established
JAVA GEEK - working on it
HTML GEEK - established
MS WORD GEEK - established
MS EXCEL GEEK - established
WEB PAGE DESIGN GEEK - established
PHOTOGRAPHY GEEK - established
DESKTOP PRINTING GEEK - established
CREATIVE WRITING GEEK - established
FICTION & EROTIC WRITING GEEK - established
DOCUMENT TRANSLATION GEEK - established
PHONE TRANSLATION GEEK - established

whew!

Come to think of it... would YOU hire this Mexican?

Expensive Fuel ala Kroger?

I'm probably the only fool who makes it a point to do my grocery shopping at the Kroger's in Vinton just so I can feel good about swiping my deck of worthless plastic cards at the roadside gas pump. I don't even know how much I'm saving!


I saved about three dollars on my groceries by using my Plus card. It says so on the receipt. How much was that bag of lettuce?! I don't know.


The price on the shelf says something, then there's another price posted, too. Which one are they charging me? What if I check myself out at the register and I forget to give myself the Kroger savings? Worse yet, what if I forget to give myself the fuel points?!


CHECK, PLEASE!!!


Back to the pumps...

What if I pump gas and forget to swipe my Kroger card? What price am I getting, anyway? The big, metal numbered thing by the road says one price, the pumps say another price, but the little numbers under the main pump display say something else.
How much did I save?
I don't know.

Saving money at Kroger's is definitely stressful.

Oh wait! I have prescriptions... Do those count? How come the pharmacist never asks to see my Kroger Plus card? And why don't they have self-checkout at the pharmacy? (Like I'd know how to use that one.)


Oh, just forget it. I'm gonna hit the drive-through at CVS and spend twelve dollars in fuel waiting to get to the window only to have them tell me my doctor hasn't called them back to authorize my refill. Sheez!

BrokeBack Shocker . . .

A friend of mine just told me how he went to All-Star video and witnessed a shocking moment in its infancy. (Or is that a "shocker-to-be"?)


An older gentleman, late 50s or early 60s, decked out in his cowboy/western gear sauntered into the place and loudly asked the clerk if they had "Walk The Line" and "BrokeBack Mountain". He sported a cowboy hat, the Wranglers, the big belt buckle and the loud-stomping cowboy boots. You could tell he was hardcore. At his side was his sweet, tiny, timid-looking wife who stood by her man as she clutched her modest purse and smiled like only a favorite grandma could.


The clerk gave them the movies, did the necessary paperwork, and wished them a good evening.


Boy, is that gonna be ONE suprised man! Geez!

Don't Eat The Fish!

Today's story (04/10/2006) about the unsafe condition of fish caught in local waters prompted me to wonder if we should be getting in these waters at all?


Will we get sick with any of these harmful chemicals if we fall into the waters that are making the fish dangerous to eat?


What about the fish we get at seafood places?


How do we know the fish we get at restaurants or local stores are safe to eat?


The quote at the end of the story was priceless, though! A man being interviewed said:

"I always fish and release. If I want to eat fish, I'll go to Red Lobster."

Roanoke Times Dream Job - gone...

Not long ago, I saw a job opportunity at the Roanoke Times. As I read more and more about the job being posted, I realized it was my dream job. I don't remember the exact title, but it involved creating video features, incorporating them into the website, and even doing blogs and blog updates. This was all up my alley! But alas, reality set in.


I'm in a cozy job now, the pay is unbelievable, the benefits are very nice, and I really like the people I work with. (Isn't that a dream job in itself?!) Oh, and get this - I even like my bosses! (I hope they're not reading this, or I'll be really red-faced.)


I never did apply for that dream job out of fear it might lead somewhere out of here. Before I leave this place, I want to get my Associate Degree in Interactive Media Design. That should give me a good spot on any company's payscale. I had no idea what an Associate Degree in ANYTHING could do to your prospective pay rate. Still, I can't help but wonder how cool it would've been to work for the Times as one of the paid daydreamers. Oh well.