Welcome to the Addison Road “Open Mic Monday.”
Big or small, profound or perfunctory, funky or flunky, dish us the hip squeeky, cats. Comments are go!
As you were saying:
- Consumerific! 1
Ryan - my little babies are all growed up... 23
Chad, Zack, Gretchen, corey, Gretchen [...] - Heaven, Hell, Lucifer, Free Will, and Colbert 23
Chad, michael lee, Dan, Ariah Fine, Chad [...] - One Small Step 11
june, Erica, Gretchen, aly hawkins, Erica [...] - The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism 2
harmonicminer, harmonicminer - Vote for Jesus...er, Obama. 2
aly hawkins, In Telligent - $100 Oil 2
Bobby, michael lee - Show and Tell -- I'm a Cheetah Girl's Boyfriend 5
JC, James, Chad, aly hawkins, Erica - Christmas in August 7
James, corey, michael lee, Chad, sharolyn [...] - gmail freakout? 7
Gretchen, Sharolyn, PortcullisChain, michael lee, michael lee [...] - The Opening 42
harmonicminer, aly hawkins, june, aly hawkins, harmonicminer [...]
michael's links
- RSSFWD - RSS Straight into your email inbox. A service by Blue Sky Factory.
- Connexions - Sharing Knowledge and Building Communities
- Physics Flash Animations
- long_wave
- Blue Palms Brewhouse
- Won't You Be My Neighbor?
- The Moral Instinct - New York Times
- Classic Schematics
- Remember everything. | Evernote Corporation
- BibleMap.org
Is my slang getting out of date? I try to stay up on what the kidz are jivin’ …
Glad as heck, on this seventh anniversary of our wedding day, to be married. Yo.
happy anniversary!
Hey - what? HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! I’m glad you married someone lovely and sessy and talented, for that is what you are and we here at HawtSpouses.com wish for every couple to be tidily matched.
Happy Happy Anniversary! (You too Chad and Erica- last Thursday). April’s a cool month.
My thought today: I like the IDEA of things better than the reality of them most of the time.
This is your gift to our daughter as well. (-:
Mikle - Is the CP thing today?
yes
I got confused. Tentative maybe. Let you know by 3 PM.
I sit here in my comfy house staring at the Front Range of the Rockies in Colorado, doing the things that an (almost) 56 year-old does in a “early-retired” condition (clean the house, golf, drive my tractor, play hockey, help keep Chad on track for The Dailies second CD, run, play Guitar Hero with my 10 year-old girls, drink margaritas with my wife after the girls go to bed, etc.). I was just thinking how amazingly blessed I am, then I go to Add Road and I see it’s “Open Mic Monday” and I just felt like saying it aloud. By the way, I continue to be impressed by you all…your insight, your humor, your deep thoughts, your friendships. It makes me feel, well…connected to you even though I have only met some of you. Hey, here’s a great idea…some night we need to have a virtual Addison Road party. Michael, you ought to be able to figure out how to do that. I’ll bring the drinks.
I drove hundreds of miles across the top left quadrant of the nation last week (Idaho/Montana/Washington/Utah). I met lots of cool people, saw how people outside of Orange County live, and got to see some of God’s prettiest workmanship in those mountains and plains. Oh, and a bunch of buffalo- yes, they actually exist… who knew? Pretty spectacular, to say the least. It made me feel small, petty, lucky, blessed, taken care of, old, and young all in swirling, repeating sequence of one another. It’s a pretty cool thing, this life we get to live.
Youch. I wish I had a more productive weekend. I spent Friday night drinking with friends ’round the fire pit. Saturday, we all drove up to a secret spot in the San Gabriel forest north of Ojai, and shot guns for a few hours. (Met some nice folks with an AK47 and a jar of some kind of explosive fertilizer. Physics is way more fun when there are large explosions and pre-California ban assault weapons involved) Spent most of Sunday recovering from Saturday. I’m tired…..
All right, since this is open mic, how about a little advice?
I’ve got a pretty fine-running 1990 Cutlass Sierra (yep - total old lady beater car). It’s old, we paid about $750 for it, etc. Last night the alternator went out on it. We got it hauled to our usual garage. They asked for $125 or so for the diagnostic, then called back to say that with the diag., parts, labor, tax, it would set us back $540.
We said that $500 was our cap - above that we were going to take a deep breath, be brave and give Stitch (blue car) to charity and live life on buses, cabs, FlexCar and foot. It’s doable in Seattle.
We told Goodyear that and asked them to hold the car until we could get it hauled off by a non-profit. And promised to pay the diagnostic bill. They then took $90 off the diagnostic bill because it was only electricity related. This is when I got a little nose-wrinkly at their motives. I told them I’d call back when I’d called my Ramon.
I also called my Dad, who’s a mechanic. He thinks we could get a better car (if we decided that NOT having a car wasn’t working out) for cheap. I don’t think he likes Oldsmobiles. So Dad thought giving the car up was a good idea. Ramon was on board as well. I called the garage again and they dropped the price to $300.
What would you do?
Are they lowering the price by skimping on the parts, or on the labor? Either way, this smells shady.
Right. Thank you! No matter what, they’re not fixing my car. Now my question is: are we shooting ourselves in the foot by giving away a car that just needs a new alternator (and brakes within the next 2 months)? Should we just shell out the $300 to an honest mechanic or go with the brave scary plan and not pay insurance/gas anymore as a plus? (We’d also have to walk more, plan more and pay for cabs when we can’t be bothered to do either.)
Well, I think if you take that $300 you would spend on the repairs, plus the $$ you save in gas, insurance, title, etc. on a car, put it into savings, if you decide in a month or two that the footed lifestyle isn’t for you, you’ll be able to buy something at least as good as the car you’re giving away.
But, that’s just my $.02. I never was good at math, or planned savings, so liberal salt all advice given.
I think your mechanic is just trolling for business. You balked at his first offer, and now he’s dropping his price to get your business. An alternator replacement is an insanely easy job, and he obviously knows this. A rebuilt alternator is about $60 to him, and $150 to you. Add in an hour of labor, and he’ll charge you for 2, and you’ve got a $300 price tag.
My advice? Call him back, tell him you’ve got $250 and you need to pick up the car at noon tomorrow. If he can do it, get ‘er done.***
*NOTE: I hate busses, cabs, FlexCar and feet. And Seattle.
“Walk On Water” by Eddie Money is so damn good. “Na na na na na na” chorus and all….
Thank you guys SO much. You’ve both helped the decision process tremendously just by being voices of sense to our fevered brains. Clever, clever men. I’m so glad I talked to you today…
Or, navigate over to Wikipedia, and install that funky alternator yourself. As long as you’ve got a decent set of tools, and some patience for learning, you can do it.
Hey! Happy Anniversary Aly and Ash! 7 years already.
My thought for today is that it is hard work getting a house ready to be on a home tour and to sell. But, it feels good to be productive. Once we get everything done I am not going to want to sell it.
Happy anniversary Aly and Ash! Sorry about the ride Cerise. Today I am angsty about my niece’s future, annoyed with this cough that won’t go away, missing my husband (he’s here, but not really. deadlines.), loving taco salad but trying to remember that I love those new tight jeans I bought for my upcoming show nearly as much so cooling it on the meaty-cheesy salad, feeling cold, feeling a little old, laughing at my small boys playing the big new drumset in daddy’s studio. It hasn’t gotten much deeper than that. I did see an old, ramshackle cello today that someone made into an art piece (that’s kind of a stupid phrase) by painting it all white and I think I must do something similar with my heapish violin. Perhaps after the boys’ bath and the dishes and stories and tucking in and cleaning up. Or maybe I’ll just have tea or a glass of wine and collapse. And seriously, SAT’s for first graders?! COME ON! All week no less. I’m so sick of school. How many days left? Oh, and I discovered (how have I missed him? Seriously!?!) Andy Goldsworthy today. I’ve got to do something Goldsworthish in our yard. I really must.
Karen, where are you moving to?
June, my husband is going to throw some old instruments away and I had the thought that they could somehow be art. Or that maybe we should call TGIFridays.
Two thoughts from the day:
1) A handful of our friends have moved. That sucks. Two of the visited recently. That was awesome. It made me realize that as much as I appreciate the technology that keeps us connected to these loved ones, nothing can substitute for an actual person. It turns out that the smells, sounds of live voices, expressions, shared “bread” and nuances of communication are what I really longed for.
2) Kurt Elling’s “Freddie’s Yen for Jen” is a raw and downright sexy song. Kind of like a certain primal Joshua Redman solo.
Sharolyn,
Don’t throw them away! What are they?
We have no idea where we are moving…not far from where we are but maybe out of our school district. We’ll see, it depends on if our house sells before school starts again in the fall.
Sharolyn, I am with you on thought number 1! As wonderful as it is to be able to keep in touch with friends through the tubes I really do miss seeing people in real life.
I’m with June though! Don’t throw your instruments away! But, that is the pack rat in me talking…
Sharolyn, if someone else doesn’t want them, we are building a new house (well, if our house in LA ever sells!) and we will have a music room. My wife wants to decorate the walls with instruments, so…..I would be happy to strike a mutually agreeable deal with you if you are interested.
Wow, I’m glad they will go to good home(s). Jason, my husband, says it is a cornet and a few clarinets. Candlesticks, anyone?
(tap tap tap)
This thing still on?
This past weekend, I went out with The Agape Singers, my little HS choir that I still direct from church. We spent Saturday afternoon and evening and then Sunday morning singing for, and hanging out with Marines young and old at Camp Pendleton.
My open mic confession is that, after having long conversations with several extremely physically fit young men, discussing their experiences in places like Fallujah, and here at home, in training, for the first time, I was sorta jealous that I had never served in the armed forces.
There was something so refreshing about their utter confidence regarding what it is they were supposed to be doing and who they were and who they were becoming. In some ways, I was totally enamored with a lifestyle with fewer choices, and more obedience. I realize this is an unpopular trend in this day and age, and who knows, I would most likely hate it in reality…
But here he was, Cpl. Brown, on duty, on patrol, smartly dressed in his camouflage fatigues, discussing with mild annoyance the 5 mile beach run they were forced to take earlier in the day for PT.
I was thinking… “Hmm, someone orders me to turn off my cell, ignore the rest of the world, and go run on a beautiful beach for 45 minutes? Normally I have to fight the tyranny of all the other choices and responsibilities in my life for the opportunity to make time for such an activity.”
Where do I sign up? Hoo-ah!
(tap tap tap)
Sibilance, sibilance. Test. one two.
Sudio, suidio…soo-soo s-s-s-sudio.
From the Marine Corps to Phil Collins. Addison Road knows no boundaries.
Please, please, for the love of Jim, let the RoadHouse know some boundaries!
Who is Jim? I once won $700 for being the 7th caller after the song of the day, Susudio (Sudio?) aired.
Jim is my favorite stand-in name for whatever.
Jim was my dad’s name. I take offense to your using it as a stand-in for anything other than Double Scotch & Waters.
what kind of candy-ass adds water to his scotch?
you cut me deep, Mike Lee.
so deep that you bleed skittles and unicorn tears?
Sounds like Chad might feel a call to the monastic life- obedience, separation from the world, mortification of the flesh, mission. Who would have thought that “semper fi” guys would would have anything in common with the brothers of the cloister.
Thank you, Doug. I wasn’t equipped to speak to Chad’s yen for servitude to the State. I mean, if you enlist, Chadders, I’m behind you all the way, but…
ha-ha, you said “cloister”.
wait- what’s a cloister again?
Im not really enlisting. My point was that it was refreshing to be around people who (for better or worse) were utterly confident about who and what they were. It was appealing in a way that I’ve never experienced before.
I think it has to do with our kids. I feel like, now, every decision I make not only affects me, but Erica, then the kids. The stakes are huge for little choices. We’re working on Zion’s food intake, right now, for example. He’s 2 years and 3 months, but his diet is terrible. He’s unwilling to try new things and he makes epic struggles out of small matters, so I have to choose when and where and how to engage him on it.
Young men need strong leadership, of this I am certain, and I have sworn to God that I will not fail to deliver either of our children into adulthood without the necessary tools to be a functional adult. This is the hardest, most second guessing, OMG what are we gonna do type of gig I’ve ever had, so the idea of a ripped-buzz-cutt-drill-sergeant telling me in no uncertain terms that I am to stop thinking and go take a long run sounds like a pretty damn good gig, at this moment in my life.
Hey, I feel you on that one, and I’m not even taking on the task of raising little ones, man.