General Tso gets new tire and brakes fixed

6/26/06
I took the General Tso to get the passenger's front tire replaced with a used tire at Economy Tire on Third Street. It cost around 28.00. I also purchased from Pep Boys 30.00 worth of brake pads and the adhesive and cleaner I would need to effect the repair. The car drives better. Of course this weekend it rained, even heavily sometimes. This put a damper on all but indoor work.



Speaking of the General Tso I got "The Damn Show" DVD off Ebay. It has too much of the male reproductive system and too little in the way of creativity but there were some moments- such as Willie the bum and "The Gooks of Hazzard" -that were so funny.

Monday (today) I went to the urologist. He gave me some medication to take for a month and then I would report back to him. I saw Denise's mom as I swung by the cafeteria after seeing the urologist in Coliseum Medical Center's C building . I didn't tell her who I was so she might think I'm a fruitcake stalker since I asked about Denise. She works at the hospital's front desk.

I went to the computer show in Perry this Sunday. I bought a 256mb memory wafer, some DVD blanks for 10.00, CD cases, a whole-band FM transmitter for the MP3 player, and CD sleeves for the store. Then I went home, played with my PC a little while, and took Donna to a movie. She apologized for telling me about a job opening on base; it seems she is liking her job less and less. Donna's been there for almost twenty years so she can't really jump into the private sector and lose her retirement benefits.

I have been uptight on the job and coming home tired. More and more I am getting tired. I have been doing more job searching. I have had a tense stomach this week; a few times I could take a dump on a screen door and not hit the wire for the most part. I have taken stock of my life and my attitude towards people and life in general; I don't like the way I feel. I feel so negative and unhappy.

I'll try this; I'll love people and stop myself when I think negative thoughts about them.

Denny's and Oversleep

I had a frustrating day at work on Saturday so I went to sleep. I got up, jumped in the Honda, and went to Denny's in Byron.

For those who don't know, Denny's in Byron started out in the late Eighties as a Shoney's. When Shoney's left most of Middle Georgia the facility became a Denny's. A few years ago it suffered from bad service and lukewarm coffee (Millstone tastes a bit like wee tee anyway). People had to wait at the front for minutes to get seated.

I was the last customer in all likelihood come the night Denny's closed. I heard the manager on duty say that afternoon they waved off someone coming to close the restaurant because of a lack of a court order. The next day I went by and found the place closed.

Today the facility is still a 4500 ft2 behemoth compared to the smaller Denny's such as the Locust Grove store. That means a bigger light bill and lots of rent to be recouped for a 24-hour operation.

Having said that the service needs improvement. I had to wait 15 or so minutes for my food despite there only being 7 other customers there at 11PM. My lukewarm wee-tee did not get refilled promptly. I thought to myself that the labor pool must be from Peach and Crawford counties (can we say redneck?).

I may not go back to Denny's; then again it may be closed down again by the time I change my mind.

General Tso gets new fan

Hello
I got the condenser fan for the Honda (General Tso). It was a used Acura fan which I had to remove from its mount and put onto the old shroud for the Honda. I installed it and works fine.

I am concerned about the brakes on the General. When I put on brakes I find they shake when doing all but sudden braking. I looked at the pads; they have 1/8 in left on them. Honda's service manual says .05 of an inch is serviceable (huh?). I priced some basic metallic pads at 20.00. Hopefully the debacle with the Corsica won't repeat itself (in which I could not get the wheel nuts off as they disintegrated when I used a non-metric wrench). I may just take it to my machinist and let him turn the rotors; they are ribbed for my displeasure. He can then do the pads. Then again 20.00 is so attractive for a car that will last a year or two.

Driving an Explorer makes for a heavy foot on the General. I wasn't doing that great with being attentive to the road so I had to hit the brakes hard at least twice. Needless to say I must be careful. I will say this; the General Tso is in for an oil change. I have the filter to do it with too.

My tooth still hurts upon waking but not to worry; Dr. Arnold the endodontist will have a whack at it come two Wednesdays from now. If he had looked at it to start with I would have had a happy tooth this January but the rear-view mirror offers the clearest view of events. I don't fault my dentist for trying but I would have given him three strikes if I weren't so nice.

I am still debating my educational options. I will likely get my Microsoft certs out of the way and learn MS Exchange Server. Of course I need to memorize my processors and sockets. Today I wasn't sure if one DDR2 stick were needed in a system.

The Letters to the Editor have come to a trickle since I've come home tired. When in good spirits I've been doing housework, chatting online, and making DVD's to play at work when time runs slowly. Tomorrow I don't expect too much slowness. I have a screen to change out for Wood Floor Man and a thorny reload that needs to go out at 2:00 for Ms. Nutty Professor. Thus I'll just bring the MP3 player.

I charged up the NiMH battery but it only lists a half-charge on the MP3's LCD. So I have another one charging; big deal. I did hear a WABC Rewound aircheck with a pretty mellow and happy 1973 song George Harrison did. It was one of those Peace and Love gooey things. The song stuck in my mind because even if he were speaking Greek the vocals and instrumentals sounded good. Agreed, George, but I'm still glad Zarqawi is room temperature.

Pat Topping Dances a Jig thanks to Uncle Sam

Hello

The 6/4 Telegraph tells us there is a rosy scenario for jobs in Middle Georgia. Robins AFB will have a slew of retirees very soon and Pat Topping of the Chamber of Commerce says it is worth several "Brown and Williamsons" in the number of jobs created by attrition.

Once again we see how this town relies too much on Robins AFB. What I would have done had I been Mr. Topping is to say, "Good but not great." We are relying on the federal government to prop up this rotting town and sluggish midstate as we have been for sixty years.

I remember a BRAC-related meeting in which George Israel said that people in the old days felt "to get on (get a job) at the base is to have arrived" Yes- arrived at a potential salary and workplace booby-trap.

Firstly, Robins AFB isn't quite likely to close. It may cut back some aspects but not close. Sadly jobs outside of Robins AFB are scarcer and scarcer. That is, unless you love working retail and getting yelled at on a daily basis as you have coworkers lacking your work ethic. Unfortunately the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce is too lazy to get white-collar jobs into the midstate, let alone skilled blue-collar employment.

Here's how the "base" will be a lower-paid hell in which to work. With workers unable to find alternate employment and the prevailing local wage being lowered, Robins AFB's supervisors can treat workers like a dog and pay what they wish. And not always is the laggard working next to you going to get disciplined.

Just try to get a job at Robins AFB. It's who you know not what you know or can do. A Wal-Mart manager, when I put that down on a psychology exam when applying there, wondered if I ad worked at Robins. I am not jealous of Robins AFB's workers or their jobs. I know several people who prefer private enterprise and its more direct, if still flawed, results-oriented microeconomy.

I don't want to ruin a good Letter to the Editor so I'm shutting up.