I love The West Wing. I love being able to have an hour where I can be inspired by what can be great about our country and get away from what is wrong with it now. I love the intelligence and the incredible competence demonstrated by the characters on the show. I love the thoughtfulness and depth which are given to the issues. I love the complexity and the shades of gray that show even though we all want it to be black and white. I love the humanity. I’m going to be sad to see it end in a few weeks because there’s really no other place I can get that.
Bad news on the vehicle front: it “only” cost $200 to replace the motor mounts, but the engine is still jiggling like crazy. It seems that one of the valves is “burnt” (according to the mechanic who fixed the motor mounts) and causing the engine to vibrate violently, which is what broke the mounts. One of the guys in the shop (not the mechanic) gave me an estimate of $500-600 to fix the valve. I’m pretty sure I now regret getting the head gasket fixed last year. Although I instructed them to specifically to fix the mounts, it miffs me a bit that they fixed them knowing that the root problem was still there. Am I unreasonable to think that they should have warned me about this before expending my $200?
Update: Stopped at the shop on my way to work to discuss the burnt valve repair with a mechanic. The guy last night did the estimate wrong: it will be $738 at a minimum and more if they have to replace any valves. I’ll call our regular mechanic tonight and see what he says, but it looks like we’ll be getting a new truck soon.
Bike odometer: 5886 miles
Current reading: Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, 9-11 by Noam Chomsky
McCartney Trivia: While they were at the Maharishi’s, John wrote “Dear Prudence” for Mia Farrow’s sister, Prudence, who had locked herself in her cabin. Evidently, she had meditated for too long and was in a near catatonic state and refused to come out. John sang the song with his guitar outside her door and she eventually came out.
Recent listening: KBOO Bike Show
Recent viewing: The West Wing, Brainiac, Conviction, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, World Poker Tour
Recently Accomplished: Motor mounts fixed, Quicken receipts
Recent playing: Frogger Adventure (on GameBoy Advanced SP)
Imperative To Do: Buy lug nut wrench and jack for van, start taxes, figure out what to do about the truck
Cool link: John Lennon Playboy Interview (1981)