Minor Win thread - Life is good!

In reply to Wayslow :

Awesome!

Datsun310Guy said:

I didn't expect to change jobs but I was given an offer to join a new company and I decided to take it.  

Giving my notice on Monday and it feels weird to be actually leaving.   That feeling will pass 10 minutes after I start the new job.   

Nice! Are you still selling flexible cylindrical fluid transport systems?

In reply to mtn :

Yes, I'll be working for the manufacturer with my current distributor employer still being a customer.

So, it's a fairly established fact that I have at least mild ADD. Usually it's a minor pain in the ass resulting in things like my forgetting to get one of only 3 things I was supposed to get at the store or forgetting what I got up to get from the other room, and I'm more easily distracted than The Dog in a yard full of squirrels. But on occasion, it can result in pleasant surprises. Earlier this month LEGO announced the new sets that would be released at the beginning of May, and among them was one that I knew I was going to want at least one of- the newest addition to their Botanicals line, a collection of LEGO-built succulents, which are pretty much The Dancer's favorite plants. I had gone and looked them up on the site, and remembered having seen them up for pre-order but assumed that though I'd put them in the cart I had (as is far more common than I'd like) just never checked out, and when I'd gone back to the site later the set was no longer available to pre-order, which meant that I was going to have to try and grab them from the site shortly after midnight when they were released.

Then today out of the blue, I get a small box I wasn't expecting that upon opening it turns out to be the LEGO Sunflowers set- which I remembered having put in the cart (though it was backordered) along with the Succulents. So after some digging, I find out that I actually did check out and have 2 Succulents pre-ordered and should be shipped to get here over the weekend!

Was checking health insurance statement of benefits and saw that the insurance company had paid the surgeon the same amount I had to pay up front to get scheduled for the knee replacement  

Called the surgeon's clinic and there will be a $2300 check in the mail to me tomorrow. 
 

I don't suspect any nefarious intentions here, just an overly complex system that probably would have eventually figured this out,  

Vendor bought dinner at Jeff Ruby's tonight.  Couple drinks, a rare filet, scrumptious dessert, and a chance to network with some folks that I haven't seen in two years.

In reply to Karacticus :

Doctors are typically allowed to charge what is assumed to be patient responsibility up front, be it copay, deductible, etc. The less scrupulous ones will keep it and assume you won't chase them down. 

Mndsm said:

In reply to Karacticus :

Doctors are typically allowed to charge what is assumed to be patient responsibility up front, be it copay, deductible, etc. The less scrupulous ones will keep it and assume you won't chase them down. 

My surgeon did just buy a Tesla Plaid. I guess that would be one way to get it paid for. 

Fancy new coffee machines at work! Guess if we have to go back to the office (2 days a week), we should be well-caffeinated...

In reply to nlevine (Forum Supporter) :

You have MatLab on your coffee machine!?!

In reply to pkingham (Forum Supporter) :

I work at MathWorks - we have MATLAB on everything :-)

Funny story, though... We have a strong April Fool's Day tradition here. One year, somebody put a sign on a previous-generation coffee maker saying "Voice recognition beta test in progress. Please say your order slowly and clearly." People were yelling at that machine all day.

nlevine (Forum Supporter) said:

Fancy new coffee machines at work! Guess if we have to go back to the office (2 days a week), we should be well-caffeinated...

I wonder if you could play DOOM  on that screen?

Kroger was playing Disney music today instead of the typical brain liquefying schlock.

"I'll Make a Man Out of You" while I'm shopping for produce and deli meat. Guy at the deli counter was pumped they were rocking his jam.

In reply to Appleseed :

It's been played on a laser printer and a home pregnancy test. I imagine a fancy coffeemaker would be practically native in comparison.

Four cars, and four bikes, a two post lift, a four post lift and 6 sets of wheels in a 3 car garage. 

All have fresh fluid changes, they all have good tires, they all are running well and all are registered and insured properly. Feels good, but also a snese of impending doom. 

Very occasionally the supply chain fails in your favor.  

Went to refill my E size (125cu-ft) argon tank.  No can do because they can't get E size empties.   Here have a S size (154 cu-ft) for the same price.  When you bring it back we will give you an E If we have one.   23% more TIGeration for FREE!  Supply Chain fail WIN!

Moved the Europa from the house garage back to the shop for the race season. This wasn't the win. The win was it started and idled on the first crank.  Gotta love Megasquirt.

No intention of advertising on the forum-- though I am posting an ad for my wife's veterinary clinic.  

This feature in our small local newspaper has elementary school students make up ads for local businesses, and I think it's pretty awesome. 

Megan (not our child) really captured my wife's likeness, and though the flying kittens are monochromatic, I find them slightly reminiscent of Chagall. 

I do, however, have no explanation for what she's holding in her left hand. 

I decided to go in today so I could get a few uninterrupted hours in on a 144E.  Pig rich, hesitates, berkeleying rich, horribly rich.  Like, pull the plugs every five minutes and burn them clean with the torch.

I've worked on these things since the early 80s, and feel like I have a pretty good handle on Djet injection, but I was lost here.  Pulled the seat to find the ecu, tested every circuit, tested map sensor for resistance and vacuum, on and on.  Even found another ECU in the closet, and it's the same. Still pig rich.

Well, let's give up and pull the distributor, file the points, adjust the mechanical advance, and pull the triggering contacts out of the bottom.  Stick it back in, and it's perfect.

The triggering contacts were dirty.  Tested fine with an ohm meter, but I'm pretty sure they were making and breaking contact more than once each rotation, and double striking the injectors.  Normally, dirty contacts just turn off the two injectors that they are tied to, or make them intermittent.  I thought afterwards that my lab scope would have probably found it faster, but that's a new tool on an old car, with old habits.

That's a new one on me, after 41 years of working on them...  There's always another way for E36 M3 to break.

wae said:

Vendor bought dinner at Jeff Ruby's tonight.  Couple drinks, a rare filet, scrumptious dessert, and a chance to network with some folks that I haven't seen in two years.

Gotta love a Ruby Steak on someone else's dime.  Well played sir.

Autocross season kicked off today. I had 2nd on raw time (just missed first by 0.2xx seconds), got 5th overall in PAX and absolutely dominated my class. By dominate, I mean I beat second place by 2.3 seconds after PAX and 7 seconds raw.

Sometimes giving in to the urge to mercilessly beat the E36 M3 out of a spiteful,  hateful little car pays off.

Took the snow tires off the Focus, because it finally decided to stop snowing a couple of weeks ago.

I battled through a replacement of swaybar endlinks that culminated in Sawzall and deathwheel. (Dare defy me, you spindly chunks of E36 M3!) Running out of daylight and thoroughly pissed, I move on the the rears.

Rust-welded. Tight to the drums. No amount of wiggling the car side to side will break them free. 20lb. sledge to a 2x4 won't breaknthem loose. I hose the wheel in penitrating oil and start to pick up tools. I'll just have to wait till tomorrow to finish.

Out of frustration I start kicking the E36 M3 out of the rim. Full curb stomp.  And...it comes loose. Rinse and repeat and the regular tires are back on. Woot!

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

I was just thinking on my drove home tonight of a young German couple who landed in Pennsylvania, bought a wasserboxer Vanagon, and set to drive cross country to the PNW. 

The van was getting about 9mpg and running terrible. Dunno how they made it 8hrs to Cleveland, to be honest.

Amongst the hackery was a throttle position switch horribly out of adjustment (looked like someone had adjusted it to hold the throttle open) and the nice coaxial braided O2 sensor wire was spliced, grounding the signal.

Ran great when it left.  They mailed us photos when they got to wherever it was they were going...

NickD said:

Autocross season kicked off today. I had 2nd on raw time (just missed first by 0.2xx seconds), got 5th overall in PAX and absolutely dominated my class. By dominate, I mean I beat second place by 2.3 seconds after PAX and 7 seconds raw.

Danny Kao runs in my class.  I'm never going to see that happen at our events.

Congratulations!

Duke said:

NickD said:

Autocross season kicked off today. I had 2nd on raw time (just missed first by 0.2xx seconds), got 5th overall in PAX and absolutely dominated my class. By dominate, I mean I beat second place by 2.3 seconds after PAX and 7 seconds raw.

Danny Kao runs in my class.  I'm never going to see that happen at our events.

Congratulations!

Thank you. Funny related story, we had Tom O'Gorman come to one of our events at Seneca Army Depot once and one of our guys in a $700 H/Street 5th-gen Celica on castoff RE71Rs somehow managed to raw time O'Gorman in the rain. That is his permanent bragging right.

Oh, I never heard, what are your thoughts on the Nankangs?