SOMEONE, ANYONE PLEASE FIX MY BRAKES ON MY CAR

It's been 8 days since my problem appeared, and it's still no closer to
being fixed.

My bro in law today finally came out to see what he was going to do only
to realize he doesn't have the tool needed to bend the brake line. My
father is in town and moments ago just frustrated me by mentioning
things that just wasn't helping.

Things like driving the car and having someone else in front to help
slow the car down. I'd rather not risk this.

There's the use of a tow truck. My AAA Gold may help with that. But the
thing is if I was in the realm of just calling a mechanic to work on my
car, I wouldn't have called my brother in law in the first place who at
first seemed to think he could do the work.

As it stands now, I still don't have anyone or any plan to get the brake
line fixed. I need to be somewhere Tuesday. I don't have time to try to
get it in at the mechanic I trust.

It's a leak in the rear brakes, a brake line that supplies them. What
makes me mad is that I had those rear brakes worked on earlier this
year, and there's ANOTHER damn leak???

My dad took me around to do shopping this morning, and even though he
offered and paid for a couple things, I'm feel I'm being criticized for
one of the items I spent money I saved up for that purchase.

It's just so frustrating. I'm depressed to tears over this. DAMMIT.

Somebody, just come work on my brakes!!!!!!!

First Time In This Place

What you need for a Sony Vaio desktop

I can't stress this hard enough - when you buy a new computer, you must keep all the CDs that come with it. These CDs will include a Windows OS install CD, a CD of OEM utilities and drivers for your hardware that work with the OS, and perhaps other software. Let me state that out of all of these, the OS and DRIVERS CDS YOU MUST KEEP SECURE, which makes things easier when it comes time to reinstall everything!

I recently had the chance to work on a Sony Vaio desktop. The front of the case had a number of RX860, but everything on Sony's support website kept saying I was messing with an PCV RX850, and then a sticker on the back said it was a PCV-7762. Did they know where the 2 most important CDs were? No.

My problem with Sony's Vaio support website is that it doesn't have the Drivers per se, they have updates. Well, let me correct that. I did find the Yamaha YMF753 audio driver for XP on there and that worked just fine. But all other files for installing stuff were updates which is why I couldn't get the video drivers installed.

Today, I got a chance to run CPU ID on it, and came up with SiS 651 as the Chipset ID. I really had to dig to find a file that actually installed those drivers. This filename is SI_B20950801BY.EXE. This is a 2003 dated set of SiS 651 drivers for the Sony Vaio desktop I was working on. I found it through what I consider sheer luck, but also knowing what you are looking for helps a LOT. The files on Sony's support website have 2004 dates and are updates. After installing those drivers from the 801BY file, it recognized the SDM S71 monitor and I was able to set it to 1024x768 resolution, higher than the 800x600 I was stuck with up until I got the drivers on there.

Most of the other devices work, but I think the card / memory stick reader still hasn't been installed, and the built-in ethernet is not needed because they use wireless internet and have a USB antenna on that system.

I also found an install for the system's Pioneer DVD-RW burner, a DVR-104 model. It might help to put that in sometime so it will burn faster than 4x. Not really sure what that's for but maybe I'll get a chance to find out.

It could use more RAM having only 512MB and 2 more unpopulated memory slots.

I wasn't able to complete everything I wanted to do. I forgot to put Adobe Reader on there, and didn't get their Epson 3490 scanner working, but did get the printer installed. The driver install for the scanner referred to a Start Here card, and unfortunately that wasn't immediately available. And Audacity wasn't recognizing its MP3 library for some reason. Plus for some dumb reason I downloaded the wrong file for OpenOffice but instead grabbed the English language pack for some reason. Doh!

Unrelated, the entry editor here on Blogger was making the cursor jump around in some odd way and I don't know why.

I thought I had that fixed

My bro in law came by to look at the Kia, and he says it's something he
can fix, but he can't do it until Friday.

It's another brake line leak. The main line that supplies the rear
brakes. I thought I had that worked on earlier this year. Oy vay. Why
don't they powder coat the parts for brake lines? I thought they rust
proofed cars. He tells me he can buy a standard length of the tubing
used for brake lines and replace it, carefully bending it to route it
where it needs to go.

Thing is, I have other corrosing / rusting to be concerned about as
well. I say find some Rustoleum spray paint and put that on there. I
remember there being a product that treated rust spots.

I really hate sub-standard workmanship. If it were up to me, I'd have
all exposed and subject to exposure metal surfaces powder-coated or at
least a decent paint job.

Titanium. That's got to be the secret.

Griz goes to the vet tomorrow. He's so weak. It's sad. He outlived my
grandfather by about 6 years, and my mom by 1.

Still not fixed, but at least got some shopping done

I spent the first half of Saturday depressed and mad. When it comes to
taking a look at things, I say no time like the present. However, I have
severe anxiety over the cost of fixing the brakes. I still don't know
what the problem is. At least someone's coming out today to try to find
the problem. Even in spite of my dad trying to "encourage" me to go do
something with the car, I feel it's best to let someone know what they
are doing take a look. I tried to look but I don't know what the hell
I'm looking for and I don't want to make things worse.

So anyway, my older sister at least offers to take me around to do what
I was hoping to do on Thursday. I was also hoping to see the latest
Harry Potter movie on the opening weekend, at least try to see one of
those while it's in the theaters because my mom didn't get to do that.

A stop at Big Lots spotted English Leather cologne, and I got on the
company's website to beg for them to bring back English Leather Lime.

Griz won't be taken to a vet until Monday. He's just so weak and sad
that it's sad to deal with him. I'd consider adopting an older cat just
to have an "old man" around, but I don't know if Marmalade would take to
a new cat as well as he did with Griz, or if he would do badly as Negi
did with his first impression (Negi went after Marmalade because Marm
looked like a small orange cat from outside that Negi also attacked).
Older cats don't get adopted very often from the animal shelters.
Usually they'd might do best with a no previous cats house and / or with
older people. I just feel it not right without a full complement of 3
cats around here - 1 young (Negi), one not quite as young (Marmalade),
and 1 old (Grizz). Another problem with an older cat is that its habits
are set. I don't want another cat that will pee where it likes or be
picky about food. There could be diseases I don't want mine to get.
Perhaps it's time for a female cat. I'm sure my 2 boys would LOVE that
even if they are shooting blanks.

We had 3 cats for some time back in town. Dottie was the old cat,
Tabbytha was the middle cat, and Tink was the young cat. Also all 3
being female, they got along.

Soon it will be Marmalade being the older cat over Negi, and they don't
get along. Griz and Marmalade are friends and I don't know how this will
be handled among cats. I imagine they grieve.

There is some place I need to be this week (on Tuesday) and I wouldn't
mind finding out if any place is offering cheap LCD monitors like last
year on Black Friday. You just never know. I liked being able to shop
and have it done and back before 9 AM and avoid the stores with
overwhelming crowds.

Even if I did end up buying Susan Boyle's debut CD and played it while
sobbing.

Yet another goddamn problem with the Kia and brakes

I thought I was supposed to help someone with their computer today, but
as it turns out, I didn't have any pressing need to go anywhere. I was
wanting to get some other stuff done though.

So this afternoon, I went out to the car and started it up. I hate
having to fight this car to get it started, but it took more than 3
starts to get it going. I know the fuel tank isn't venting right because
the fuel backs up in the fill thingy and pops the nozzle to off which
requires me to wait for it to flow down into the tank every 7 tenths of
a gallon or so.

Anyway, I back up and get to the end of the driveway and begin to make
my turn to go out on the road and I press the brake pedal. Only it goes
squish all the way to the floor.

I don't think that's supposed to happen.

Anger and anxiety set in as I pull it back into place, and do a few more
squish to the floor pressings and the brake fluid light comes on. Just
F-ing great.

I have some more fluid around here, left over from last year when I had
the rear brake system worked on. I didn't think to have the rest of the
brake lines inspected then, but they weren't giving me problems then.

I hope this is just some stupid brake line that's not extortion-rate
priced to replace. If it's a master cylinder or something... I would
hear an audible squish sound from outside when I pressed the brake
pedal, like how air is forced out of a bellows or some other similar air
bladder. So perhaps the fluid is squirting out of a damn faulty line.

If I had tried to go somewhere with things like this, I'd have had
almost no way to stop. I can't drive it like this.

Dammit.

Griz isn't going to be here much longer

Within the last few days, Griz, my grandfather's cat, seems to have
taken a turn for the worse. He's got a sad meow like there's something
wrong. He's not been eating. Some days he would puke up some yellow
foamy crap, but then go about his day like he just got rid of a
hairball.

I think Griz is 16 years old. He's persnickety, something he picked up
from my grandfather. He's also stupid, like my grandfather. My mom
bought a covered cat pan which if you just roll it over has a way to
filter out the clumps and turds from the loose sand and then catch it in
a tray you just pull out and empty in the trash. Well, Griz doesn't get
that sort of idea, so he'd get in when the cover is on and instead of
turning around, he'd leave his ass end hanging out of the pan. Marmalade
understands turning around.

My grandfather got Griz on the recommendation of one lady he had coming
out to help him with stuff soon after my grandmother, his wife, was
placed in the nursing home due to Alzheimer's. I'm going to estimate
that around 1994, but Griz might be a bit older than that. 16 years old
for him though sounds about right, though he might be 17 or so.

Griz has lost a lot of weight and his meow doesn't sound very good. I
hope he doesn't go off to hide. I don't even have a box for him. I don't
know where to bury him. At least I did for him what my grandfather never
did for me. While growing up, I had to be upset several times as more
than one dog was whisked away to the dog pound for whatever reason by my
grandfather. First was Dixie, a beagle given to us by my aunt. Then it
was one of her puppies we decided to adopt. And then it was my dog in
the mid-80s when I went off to college.

I don't know why he did that to us. It wasn't until Ariel that we had a
dog from a puppy until she died. We had several cats pass away though.

So instead of putting Griz to sleep, I hung onto him. He outlived my
grandfather by nearly 6 and a half years. I likely won't miss him peeing
where he shouldn't, like in a couple spots in my room for whatever
reason if I don't block off my room. I have to make sure no other cat
takes up his habit. I can put down the area rugs he used to pee on after
he goes.

We couldn't keep Tink because she also had litterbox issues, even when
it was kept perfectly clean. The least little bit she didn't agree with
and she found something else to pee on, like a washcloth left on the
floor. Even though she kept mostly to herself after suffering brain
damage during her spaying, she wouldn't have been able to resist peeing
on the carpet around here since there's so much of it.

Griz looked fine a year ago, but I guess that's how cats are. I have a
lot to do tomorrow, and I hope I can still find him when I get back. I
don't want to find him lifeless somewhere like I did with my mom.

Pinching in my left shoulder

I don't know what causes it other than perhaps I'm sleeping the wrong
way, but lately I've been getting this odd pinching sensation in regard
to my left shoulder. It's like if I somehow move it the wrong way, and
this way is a mystery to me, then something in my arm or shoulder or
whatever decides it can then send me painful pinching sensations. It's
really annoying. I don't know why I get this and I wish I knew some sort
of stretching or whatever to get something in there to pop back where
it's supposed to go and stop trying to pinch nerves or whatever.

Also I've also noticed feeling sleepy during some part of the afternoon
again. I haven't had this happen for a while and now I've gotten it
several days this week. I'll rise up well and all in the morning, then
things go downhill after 1 pm or so. I'll fall asleep and maybe wake up
by 4 pm or sooner if a phone call interrupts things. I'm not messing
with the computer when this goes on. Maybe I'm just bored with the TV
(who wants to watch the news all day or crap on other channels I've no
interest in). Mom would say I'm not getting enough sleep at night.

Maybe the time change affects me like this? I don't know.

I may also post some "typical" job interview questions that I have
problems answering in the hopes of getting some better perspective on
how to answer them. like What outside interests do I have aside from
computers, what is my greatest weakness. Stuff like that.

Let's eat here sometime

I don't think this guy wants to meet with me at all

So anywho, the call for the interview I was hoping for earlier this week
isn't coming. I got told that once again someone working full time at
this place took the part time position, which to me doesn't make sense.
That means taking a pay cut. It is not unheard of - some places promote
from within, but this doesn't sound like a promotion.

Is there something wrong with this place that one guy working part time
can't get enough hours, and the person working full time would rather
work part time? And the pessimistic paranoid part of me thinks the guy
who would do the first interview is discriminating against me because I
have Asperger's, and my BVR people are talking with him and trying to
get me in.

Because once again, he tells them it'll be a month before anything can
happen, if it does. It's been "a month" since March. I've been strung
along all this time, and I'm getting sick of it. Either talk to me or
don't and stop coming up with excuses. I DON'T HAVE THE KIND OF TIME
WHERE I WAIT FOR AN OPPORTUNITY, DAMMIT.