Redwolf's Journal (continued)

After some biking and some walking this week, my truck is back in seems to be in working order. Ye ol' mechanics found some damaged/worn wires near the alternator on the circuit that was constantly blowing fuses and fixed that up. So far, so good. On one hand, I wish I'd told them last time "go ahead and hunt down the source of the problem," as that might have saved me this hassle. On the other hand, though, the symptoms then weren't constant, so they may not have even found the problem or it might have taken longer. After all, when a fuse blows sometimes, you don't really know if you fixed it just because you did something and the fuse doesn't blow. As far as my time goes, I wish it'd been gotten out of the way earlier. When I consider that they charge something on the order of $70 per hour, however, I think maybe this was the better way to handle it since it probably took less total time on the part of the mechanics. Not much progress in Exalted

... don't actually help if whatever is causing them to blow continues to cause them to blow. @whee. Truck's heading back to the shop tonight. Odds are they won't have a chance to look at it 'til Monday. Definitely need to nail down whatever the real problem is, though.

Just another Friday for the most part. Actually, it's pretty nice outside, but I won't see much of it now that I'm at work. Hmm. Maybe time to go for a bike ride this weekend or something... I read Iron Kissed this week. Quick read and decently entertaining. I seem to be reading more and more of the "modern supernatural" genre lately just by virtue of borrowing books. Still, a couple things about the book bugged me that I don't recall being issues in the previous ones (being third in a series). First, the heroine spends much of the book trying to avoid deciding between two guys because (at least in part) she's afraid of losing her own independence. She snoops, sleuths, and pokes her head into things she's told not to in order to get to the bottom of things, and when the shit hits the fan she scrambles back to her werewolf guys to protect her from the big nasties roused by her actions. Now, I have to grant a certain amount of realism there because

An idea put to text that I probably won't use any year soon. But it's there, right? >.> "We followed and worshiped Them, We heeded and praised Them, We marched to war in Their names, We fought under Their direction alongside Their lieutenants, We bled and died, And for this, we are forsaken. The Gods have abandoned us." Chronicled by Lorekeeper Jastin Tayrn It is the year 221 of the Dark Age. We are humble in the declaration, for we know much of what was before. We have seen the ruins, the tomes, and heard the tales of those that survived. This is an age of darkness, an age of striving to rebuild what we once had. By comparison, the time before the Godswar was an age of marvels. Every nation had its patron deity, for those without such blessings and protections had long ago become subsumed by the greater realms. These Gods were worshipped and honored, and in return they sent their emissaries among the mortal people with advice and sorcerous arts to

Ended up putting time into both WoW and GW yesterday. @.@ WoW: First time I've played more than just a brief solo stint to do a couple repeatable quests for money in weeks. While we were predictably slow in gathering, Sunday's run through the Steamvault went so well it was almost silly. Okay, there was one unfortunate pull at the beginning where a tough bog giant spotted our stealthed rogue. That was ugly. The bosses, though, went smooth as can be. I've been in a few times before and wiped repeatedly on Hydromancer Thespia, the first of three bosses. Not this time. After that initial mess, no one died at all. T'was a thing of beauty. It looks like Blizzard is planning to due away with attunements (were you must complete a series of quests to enter) for some of the bigger dungeons, instead just requiring that someone have the key. I had been doubting I'd ever see inside Karazhan, but this means it'll be possible - even if it feels a little like cheating. Wi

So, I got a call from the repair shop today. They more-or-less stumbled across a solution/workaround to my engine abruptly dying: they replaced a fuse. Last time, the fuse seemed secondary - perhaps related to the hazard lights not blinking on both sides and such. This time, the started it up, pulled the fuse, and watched the engine die. Hmmm. According to schematics, this fuse covers the Ignition Coil (which, lacking spark plugs, my diesel shouldn't have), the Automatic Choke (which I'm told the truck doesn't have), the OTC System (California only) and the Regulator. One thinks that would narrow things down a bit, though the mechanic (who generally seems a pretty good, honest guy) pointed out tracking down the source of irregularly-blowing fuses would be difficult and may take some time. He was perfectly willing to work on it, but offered that I might be better off getting some spare fuses and taking the truck back, spending $57 rather than paying for further labor charg

A sad day: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8XyHnUHsOBoCofRxK-5waWoAGrAD8V6PL180

So I met my parents for lunch today. They're leaving town for a while, as they frequently do these days. I spent a fair bit of the time regaling them with stories of our "adventure" to Estrella War and the vehicular difficulties involved. Then we leave and part ways. I get in my truck and drive about a block before the engine dies. ... Yep, won't restart either. It felt a lot like the issue back in December where the engine wasn't getting any fuel (and it was fixed with a new fuel filter), but you wouldn't think that'd happen three months apart. I'm pretty darn sure the gauge wasn't reading empty, though I suppose it's possible it could have been wrong. Better yet, just as the truck was losing momentum and coasting to the side of the road, I saw a tow truck a block away... but too far to flag down or anything. So instead, I call through USAA and wait almost an hour and a half to get a tow truck to me in downtown Durango. Oy. Seems like a lo