So I was very good at the training day, I spoke to [Sarah] , without prompting. Aren’t I good? I’m slowly getting better at the not-at-work assertiveness; which is cool. I can be very assertive with people I don’t know, and at work, but if I’m ‘trying’ to make friends it all goes a bit odd. So anyway, I’m pleased with myself and currently think I’m fab. (more…)
Category: I’m a mechanic me…
-
Something for the weekend?
So, I dunno, when did I last do an entry? Ah, back on the 14th. Well, yes, so I found doing anything useful on the 14th rather hard work; what with Trey coming on the 15th and me bouncing around with the attention span of a flea on acid.
-
Stufflet
So my bike will be insured from 1400 Hrs today; and my MOT test is at 1500 hrs. Wish me luck. Perhaps I should go and file the end of my brake lever so it doesn’t look quite so snapped off.
I’ll do that after lunch.
I’ve just finished proofing my essay, I need to get dressed and change the condeser on Rebecca, see if that cures the intermittent misfire….
But the thing which prompted me to write is that I just got spammed with an advert for a web-site doing ‘rape pictures’. I do not want these things in my inbox, and frankly I’m *angry* that they dare send them. It is bad enough that these pictures are out there, but that they spam the universe advertising it? It’s not right.
It’s just really, really, horrible. Hopefully Moz’s Junk-mail heuristics’ll take care of anymore, at least, but it just made me really angry. I know people who’ve been raped, and how it must make them feel when this shit arrives in their inbox….
-
It’s sale time…buy! buy! buy!
Only there was virtually nothing worth buying in the sales. The entire world cinema and anime sections weren’t in the sale at all, the dvds I might have considered were discounted by all of a pound (get them online, it’s cheaper…) and the quid-ish section was tiny. I did find 3 cd’s (well, 3 double cds) for 1.99 each (which meets my under a quid a disk price requirement) which allowed me to get some new dancy stuff. Certainly one CD of which is cool.
(more…) -
It LIVES!
All fixed. Apart from that side light bulb. Daubed in new slogans, coated in new tape and ready for a trip to the land of the MOT Meister.
All I need is insurance.
-
I love my bike…. I hate my bike…. I….
Actually, I don’t hate it. I suspected what happened today would happen.
I fixed my bike; it turned out the clutch had moved off it’s tapered shaft enough to no longer grip it. Having got it all assembled I started it…. and staggeringly it started first time (not bad for 9 months without running); having got it going I tried….putting…it in gear. And discovered that the clutch was staggeringly missadjusted. Tried again, still misadjusted. Tried again, still misadjusted…and the cluch was back off its tapered shaft. Grr.
I need to be a big strong bloke; or as Lauren suggested, use a bigger lever.
So tomorrow it’ll be taking it all apart again; hopefully catching all the oil, putting it back together, but this time I’ll abuse the torque wrench in my attempt to get the thing tight enough. Still, it was fab to hear her running again; and *terribly* tempting to just take her for an MOT (although she’d fail, atm, she’s got a blown bulb).
Anyway, if I get her fixed tomorrow…. then I might be back on me motorbike! Woo! Go me!
It sounded so good to get that lovely 250 2 stroke noise and have *huge* cloud of filthy blue smoke wafting around me…
Oh, and I don’t *really* hate it at the moment, I’m just peeved at having to do it *all* again. In rather sad news, the fan I got, my attempt to braze the metal on it lead to the outer ring cracking, so I need to think of another solution to that problem and clean off the braze which, incidentally, hasn’t really stuck very well. :(
-
Modern Components….
…well, they’re rubbish.
I just got covered in crappy oily shite changing a distributor cap, then changing the bloody thing back. Why? Because the new one, from a minor specialist doesn’t *actually* fit. Or at least it fits, but the plug lead holes are the wrong shape, so the HT leads won’t actually stay in the flipping thing.
Having spent about 5 minutes trying to work out why they didn’t fit I realised that the holes were virtually V shaped; so I’ll have to take it back. How crap is that?
-
A Life More Ordinary
So, some stress relief exercises, a good session (apart from the bit about it not being open ended), a new Death in Vegas CD (Scorpio Rising; 5 quid from Fopp. How cool are they?!), 2 new picture frames (need to go buy a third!); and I’m done.
Feeling much better; despite work commitments and having *no* idea what to wear to an Xmas party tomorrow. What do I wear! Shit, best ring someone….
Otherwise, I think that’s about it.
No news yet on ‘the big project’; the alledged Dead Like Me DVDs remain elusive and my car requires that I replace the rotor arm and distributor cap that were completely shagged 1000 miles ago. Despite me cleaning them ;-)
Stepford Wives, incidentally, is a very funny film.
I want to restart my exercise regime. *I* Want to. So, tomorrow, out comes the rowing machine again. I shall post results here. Be aware :-)
-
The Lack of Bike
So, there’s two problems with watching the last episode of The Long Way Round. One: I’m single, most of the time it’s okay, but watching reunions, and romantic stuff (watched a bit of Tipping the Velvet yesterday) really can suck. Two: I MISS MY BIKE!
I know it’s sheer lazyness on my part, and I know that the only reason for it not working is because I broke it though sheer damned stupidity (I knew the oil was low and I still parked on a flipping slope) – but I can’t believe that the frigging thing could kill itself quite so bloody quickly.
So I need to take it to bits.
It’s all I need to do.
Then at least I’ll know if it’s fixable by me, or if I’ve permanently screwed the top/bottom bearings/cylinder.
Then I can fix it.
Then I can ride it.
God I miss riding it.
Watching “Long Way Round” has made me miss my bike so damn much. And every day I see the sorry little object. Every day I look at it. Every day I feel guilty that I’ve not fixed it. I *have* to fix it soon. I miss it. I put so much damn money into it. I must be able to fix it. I can’t explain what riding the bike feels like. The freedom. The connection to the world. You are part of it, it is part of you, it can hurt you, but you feel so alive.
I miss my bike. Frankly, I miss Ais too. She understood. I’m surrounded by non-bikers and ex-bikers. I miss my bike.
-
It’s good to talk
So, I spent an hour and a bit with my councellor today. I feel so much better; apparently it is just ‘good to talk’. Got another appointment next week. I’m slightly disappointed that it’s only a 6 week thing, I feel like I could do with this kind of freedom to talk about anything for the whole of my life!
Yeah.
So that rocked.
And I got some history for Rebecca, one of her past owners e-mailed me with a bit of her history. She was owned by a spinster in the past; how appropriate is that? Apparently, when I got her the 60,000 miles might actually have been about accurate! It’s so nice to have a bit of history behind my car. She’s got some history; she’s not just my random blue minor now. She’s got a past, a present and a future :-)