Okay, I guess I've ignored you people long enough.
...wait, nobody noticed that I hadn't updated? No matter, I'll still update this beastie!

I've read a few books and have even seen a movie (ONE movie - how sad is that?) since the last time, so maybe I'll be a little more verbose today. We'll see. But first, the big news of the past few weeks (strap in tight, this could be a long one)...


What is it with Jettas and pumps?

Almost 3 years ago, the Jetta's water pump failed, which caused me lots of stress but didn't actually drain my bank account at all. The symptoms were clear and easily diagnosed by the VW dealer. Apparently, though, not all pump-failures are as easily diagnosed (or as coverable under the Jetta's power-train warranty).

About four weeks ago, the Jetta started behaving strangely. But I wasn't driving during these bouts of bad behavior, so I dealt with them as I do most things I don't want to deal with. I voiced skepticism of a real problem and hoped it would just go away.

Unfortunately, the Jetta didn't acquiesce to my wishes. The misbehaving only became more frequent until I had the misfortune to actually experience it - but only after driving the car for a few days on the Freeway and opining "You're nuts. There's nothing wrong with the car." Unlike the last pump failure, there were no warning light clues to help us with a self-diagnosis of the problem. The car would be driving along fine and then would lose power for a few seconds at a time, but would never actually stall. Or it would be running and then do a weird shuddering thing that would shake the whole car. Oddly, these problems only seemed to happen at lower speeds.

We took it to the local Firestone to be checked out and repaired as necessary (you'd think we would have learned our lesson about Firestone's diagnosis and repair capabilities of this thing after last time). As you might expect, they couldn't figure duplicate the problem or see anything wrong, so we paid their $20 diagnosis fee and took the car back. It seemed to be okay, for the most part, and I concluded - with my unrivaled knowledge of all things mechanical - that the problem was bad gas. Obviously, low quality gasoline was to blame for the car's strange behavior, so I took it to the local Chevron, filled it up with Super-duper Unleaded (the tank was only half-empty), and waited for the high-quality gas I'd used to work its magic as we drove throughout the week (this was about a week before Christmas). And for a while, it seemed that the better gas was helping.

Fast-forward to Christmas eve. Last minute Christmas shopping is the order of the day (on my second-to-last unpaid holiday day off) and we were leaving the local Borders en route to our Happy Christmas Home.

Unfortunately, this was the day that the Jetta decided it was ready to kick things up a notch. As we pulled out onto the busy roadway, it started convulsing like a WoW-addict with no Internet access (I never actually went into convulsions - it was a pretty clean break, really). But this time, in addition to seemingly convulsing a little more violently, there was a new wrinkle. The Check Engine light came on. And then began flashing.

I don't know about you, but I had never seen a Check Engine light flash before. And I suspected it wasn't flashing to alert me to good news about the state of my Junkka...er, Jetta. So I pulled over and turned the engine off as quickly as I could. After digging through the Owner's Manual, the only specific cause of a flashing check engine light was determined to be the failure of the catalytic converter. Uh-oh...that didn't sound good. I don't know jack about cars, but the more esoteric the name of the parts, the more expensive they seem to be to fix.

The Owner's Manual also stated that driving your vehicle with a damaged catalytic converter would be a really bad idea. Really bad. So I called good ol' USAA and arranged to have it towed to...and this is the part that's hard to believe...Firestone! You'd think I would have learned by now. Actually, the VW dealer was closed (this was Christmas Eve, after all), so my options were pretty limited.

I rode with the towtruck driver on the way to the dealer and learned some interesting facts about automobile reliability. Interesting and surprising facts.

Fact #1: German cars are bad bets for reliability. The worst, in fact, are BMWs. I'd always been led to believe by the BMW marketing department that BMWs are the most reliable cars on the road. They wouldn't lie to me, would they?
Fact #2: GM vehicles, especially Chevys, are the least reliable American car make. Not a huge surprise, but interesting nonetheless.
Fact #3: Saturns are quite often towed - but not because of engine problems. The big problem with Saturns? Their steering column. Apparently keys break off, get stuck or just do weird things. Thankfully, that's never happened with our Saturn (and it's going on 15 years).
Fact #4: Ford is actually the most reliable make of American vehicle. There are fewer problems with FOrds than all the other vehicle makes. Honda is the most reliable non-American vehicle make.

I guess my dad was right about his devotion to Fords. Who knew (surprisingly, his most recent car purchase was a Chevy. Sucker!)

Of course, these results were all based on the vehicles towed by this one towing company, so it could also be that there are a much higher ratio of German cars being driven in the area they serve, which would statistically increase the likelihood of towing a German car. So...take these "facts" with a grain of salt.

And now back to the exciting and action-packed story already in progress...

The Jetta stayed with the Firestone mechanics for a couple of days, undergoing a more expensive $100 engine-problem-diagnosis, during which they determined that the car's computer was telling them the problem was low gas. The mechanics suspected that I had somehow damaged the car by letting it run out of gas. But...I've run the Saturn out of gas many times (sad, but true - I don't learn) and it's never had this problem. And more importantly, the Jetta has never been run all the way to empty before (since slackmaster #1 isn't the primary driver).

Throwing their hands up in defeat, the Firestone mechanics admitted they didn't have any idea what the problem was. So I called good ol' USAA and arranged to have the car towed over to the VW dealer, Miramar Volkswagen. The driver for the ride to the dealer was less talkative, so I didn't gain any new insights into vehicle-dependability on this trip.

The dealer kept the Jetta over the weekend and struggled with the same uninformative computer diagnosis that the Firestone guys had. So I guess they're not the bunch of bumbling incompetents I've made them out to be - Volkswagen just isn't very good with self-diagnosing engine problems.

After a few days of...whatever it is they were doing, they announced that the problem was a malfunctioning fuel pump and would cost around $600-$700 to repair. I didn't really have any alternative, so I agreed to the costly repairs, figuring it was better than buying a new car.

The shiny new fuel pump was installed and ready to go by the next day, so a neighbor brought the little woman down to pick up the car. And the, on the way home, it happened again. Exactly as it had happened so many times before. The engine light wasn't flashing this time (what was with the "catalytic converter failure" warning in the Owner's Manual, anyway?), but it did turn on. So I called for a towtruck and the car was taken back to the dealer, who graciously arranged for a complimentary rental car until the Jetta could be repaired - a Suzuki sedan. A Suzuki? Maybe even the VW dealer knows better than to risk loaning a German car to a customer.

I received a call within a few hours and was told that a part on the shiny new fuel pump hadn't been installed correctly, but they had easily corrected this. They wanted to keep the car overnight to let one of their mechanics drive it home to be sure the problem was really solved. I warned them that the problem had never manifested while driving on the Freeway, but they assured me the car would see enough non-Freeway driving to determine if the problem had finally been corrected. And after putting 100 miles on the car, they were sure it had. So we picked up the car and drove it home. And it's been problem free for about a week.

But I can't help but wonder if the the original fuel pump was really okay and it was whatever they corrected the second time on the new pump that was actually the problem. Man, I should have taken auto-shop in High School and cut back on a math class or two. Who could have known back then?

Books, a movie and other stuff

I was going to say a thing or two about the National Treasure sequel we saw last weekend, but I'm not in the mood anymore. Remembering all the good times with the Jetta took a lot out of me. I will admit that I liked it. And that the comedy relief provided by Nick Cage's sidekick was the best part of the movie. To be honest, I think they could replace Nick Cage with just about any good actor and the movie would be as good. It's worth seeing in the theater, though. Maybe not as much as Beowulf was, but I don't want anyone to think it was bad. It wasn't.

I've read a few books, but the most memorable of those was sort of a children's story for adults called The Plucker. It was written and illustrated by a guy who goes by a Madonnaesque single moniker: Brom. I'd been eyeing the beautiful oversized, hard-cover book for a long time and finally decided to pick it up on a recent shopping trip to Borders (though not the one in which the Jetta decided to scare the willies out of me). The story can be best described as a cross between Disney's Toy Story and a more dark and creepy Corpse Bride. While it borrows a lot from the Toy Story storyline, it's not really much like Toy Story at all. And it's similarities to Corpse Bride are purely visual. The stories are in no way similar.

Ah then, so I've now told you absolutely nothing and have, in fact, made you less aware of what the book is.

So what is the book really about? In a nutshell, it's about a boy and his toys. It's set during World War II, though the glimpses of the adult world beyond the realm of the toys are few. The boy of this story is lonely as misses his parents as his father serves his country in the war and his mother serves her country by being involved in every charitable, patriotic endeavor she can find. His primary companion is an old, black woman who serves as the family's housekeeper/nanny.

Like the hero of Toy Story, Jack is a forgotten toy. Once a favorite, he one day finds himself a pariah passed off to the "underbed" - the last resting place of forgotten toys.

What the hell?
Jack pushed open the lid of his box and peered about the dark, dusty gloom. Where am I? Toys he hadn't seen in years lay scattered about like discarded rags. A cold terror seized him. Holy crap! I'm in the Underbed!
Suddenly he recalled, with chilling clarity, Thomas calling him a little kid's toy.

Sounds familiar, doesn't it? But don't be fooled. Things take a dark turn when a gift from the boy's father ends up being every bot as evil as it looks. It's up to the boy's loyal toys to save the day as the boy's life is threatened.

The story isn't just full of pint-sized action heroes, there are sad and tragic sacrifices and maybe even a few lessons about what life is all about.

Little Bird drew her knife, let loose a war cry and slammed into the Red Knight. The knight's broadsword hissed past Jack and slashed into the web, sticking fast.
Little Bird sliced into the worms on the knight's head. They screamed and shrieked.
The knight abandoned his sword and grabbed Little Bird by the hair. He yanked her up in the air and slammer her onto the ground. Little bird felt something snap, saw stars. She tried to roll away, but the knight's foot came down on her stomach, then her head.
Her head bloomed with an explosion of bright, excruciating pain. Her vision blurred. When her head cleared she heard the worms bawling with delight. Saw the knight wrenching Jack's head back and forth. Saw Jack clawing at the knight's hands. Saw the red pin at Jack's side.
Despite the pain, she crawled to Jack. Struggling to her knees, she pulled the pin free. She held it a moment as she fought not to black out. It glistened with a faint red glow. With all her effort she staggered to her feet. The cavern swam hazily before her. She lunged, aiming the pin at the knight's neck.

Well-told and even better illustrated, this is a book worth adding to your library. Neil Gaiman would be proud. Keep it away from the little kiddies, though. Despite first appearances, this is no children's story.

There have been several other books, but none of them really stand out enough in memory to mention. I did like Tim Power's The Anubis Gates and I do recommend it to fans of Powers's other books and even those who've read and enjoyed Philip K Dick's books, but I just don't feel like talking about it right now.

I didn't want to, but since it's been the focus of my last few rants, I suppose I should mention the job situation. I'm no longer a benefit-less contractor. I've graduated to the rank of...drumroll...benefited contractor. But wait, it's not as bad as it sounds. I am a contractor, but I also have most of the benefits of a regular employee and do, in fact, receive a paycheck from Sempra. There are a few notable benefits I'm lacking: paid sick days, tuition reimbursement (no more UCSD courses for me), floating holidays, two weeks vacation (I get one), and I did take a paycut...but overall, I'm satisfied.

I've parted ways with Perfect Link, Inc. I definitely learned a thing or two about contracting and accepting a job offer without checking into the things I took for granted - like getting paid for holidays that my employer is closed on. Who woulda thunk you even need to ask about that?

Okay, that's probably enough ranting for one day. So until...oh, March or April, this is Mork, signing off. Nanoo-nanoo.



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I actually started to write something to post last week, but I lacked the enthusiasm to finish it. There's really not anything happening (or anything that has happened) that's all that newsworthy to blather on about, so...

One quick thing: the grades for my Java class came in quite a while ago. I got an A+. Sweet.

Merry Christmas to my two semi-loyal readers.

And now I return to my previous state of apathetic skulking.


Update: Nov, 12, 2007

I don't really have much to say, but here are a couple of scribblings I've done recently.

Sorry, Steve, no centaurs or explosions. Or unicorns. Maybe next time.

Okay, so things have actually calmed down a lot lately and I have had time to write. I've just been lacking the inclination.

But to avoid having the same phone/email conversations over and over again, I'm going to write about a thing or two whether I feel like it or not!!

The Great San Diego Fire of 2007

Okay, so I'm the only one calling it this. But here are the events of the recent fire from my perspective...

It began on Sunday afternoon (October 21st). The Santa Ana winds were blowing and it was a beautiful warm, sunny California day, so we opened up the windows to let the warm breeze blow through the house. But a few hours later, we started to notice that the fresh air we had been enjoying had become less fresh. The campfire odor became stronger and stronger with each passing minute, so we took a look outside (we hadn't turned the TV on yet or looked at the newspaper, so knew nothing of the wildfire that had started earlier that weekend). We saw a huge brownish yellow cloud of smoke in the air to the southeast of our home and quickly closed the windows.

We turned on the TV to see what was happening and quickly learned all about the wildfires that were raging because of the strong winds (which were up to 70 mph in my neighborhood). It had only been four years since the last huge wildfire in the area that threatened my office and the homes of several family members as well as filling the air with smoke and ash for weeks, so we watched the news unfold with concern. Later Sunday, we received a call from the Poway school district, informing us that all the local schools were closed on Monday due to concerns about air quality.

I woke early on Monday morning and immediately turned the TV on to see what had happened overnight (a night that was mostly sleepless). The fires were still raging, but they didn't seem to be an immediate threat to my home or family, so I prepared for work as usual and was on my way by about 7:30 AM.

On the way to work, I stayed tuned to the non-stop coverage of the fires on the radio...until the station suddenly stopped broadcasting. I switched to another of the stations I usually listen to. Nothing. Four of my favorite six radio stations were off the air. I was beginning to rethink my decision to go into work, so I called in to the office and told them I would be taking the day off. I quickly returned home and started collecting a few things (my computer was one of these) to evacuate with.

We left just before 8AM and headed south - with no real destination in mind. Around 8 AM, we received a reverse-911 call from the Sheriff's department informing us that were were in a "mandatory evacuation area" and had to get out (we didn't actually hear this message until later - we were already gone).

We drove around aimlessly on the empty roads (Interstate 15 was almost empty as we drove around - it was eerie) and finally decided to go see a movie. So we saw Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D (since it was the only kid-friendly film showing at the time). A word of warning about the Edward's Mira Mesa theater: if you go see a 3d IMAX film, be prepared to bay a few dollars extra per ticket. They charge for the 3D glasses you will be using in the theater now. So if you take the whole family, be prepared to pony up. It really adds up.

Afterward, we grabbed some lunch at Submarina and tried, in vain, to locate a hotel that wasn't already booked. We were really hoping to avoid the crowded "evacuation centers" around town. Mainly out of boredom, we made a few return trips to our evacuated neighborhood (deserted and showing many signs of the wind damage from the powerful overnight winds - including a tree that had crushed a car near my home) and picked up a few things that we had forgotten.

Finally, hours later, I called my uncle - who I was sure had also been evacuated - to see where they had gone. I was surprised to learn that they hadn't been evacuated and we were invited to come stay as long as we needed to.

For the next 24 hours, we stayed glued to my uncle's TV as we watched images of homes engulfed in flames and walls of fire tearing across the parched landscape. The same film clips and photos were shown over and over on channel after channel. I didn't return to work on Tuesday (we only only had one vehicle and there was still a possibility that we would have to evacuate from my Uncle's home, so it just wasn't a good idea), though both days were taken off without pay. Ouch.

Here are some images from the fire (these are not my photos, so I don't know where they were taken).

One of the news programs interviewed a local geologist about the local environment and the role that wildfires play in the ecosphere. According to the science-guy, fires of this nature aren't really out of the ordinary or the worst thing for the local environment and some plants even use fires like this to germinate. It was interesting. Granted, the causes of these fires weren't exactly "natural," but I'm sure there have been other fires started by more natural causes (lightning) that were more easily subdued by firefighters who weren't battling against the Santa Ana winds.

When the fires near my home seemed to be under control, we decided to return home (Tuesday evening). All the schools in San Diego were closed for the entire week - including the colleges, so I missed my final for the Java course I was taking. Fortunately, my neighborhood was at least 10 miles from the nearest charred neighborhood, so I lost nothing more than a computer that I somehow killed during the evacuation (which has been replaced with a better one from Costco). Our home was a odiferous from the thick, smoky air, but was otherwise undamaged. The fires were still raging though, so we kept a close eye on the TV and had our evacuation "supplies" close to the door (just clothes this time). Luckily, the Santa Ana winds had been gradually diminishing so the firefighters were able to gain the upper hand and things began to look less scary.

I returned to work on Wednesday (my office wasn't near any of the danger zones) and things have gradually returned to normal. The smell of the fires is still really evident in the mornings, but the air quality has retuend to near-normal.


Escape from Azeroth!

After my computer was killed during the evacuation, I decided to cancel my World of Warcraft account (since the power-packed PC I was using while I waited for my new PC from Costco to arrive has a whopping 256MB of RAM and really wasn't up to the task). And though I was sure the shakes and other symptoms of withdrawal would soon set in, I've made a clean break and find myself free of any desire to return.

I was talking to Dan about this yesterday and realized that the direction of WoW (multi-player cooperation in increasingly difficult dungeons/battle situations) isn't really why I play video games. I'm basically an anti-social troll. I don't go online to meet people or make friends. If I'm playing a video game, I want to escape into a world shaped by me. Dependent only on me. Having to seek out other "people" to play a game makes it a zillion times less appealing to me.

So long, Azeroth.


Call me Java-man

I'm kidding. After my single Java course at UCSD, I now know enough Java to get a job...nowhere. There were only nine three-hour sessions covering the first 10 chapters of the text book and of those nine classes, only a very few really dealt at all with concepts unique to Java. The others were all remedial programming (conditional statements, iterative statements, variable scope, etc) concepts that really didn't teach me a whole lot (though I did become very familiar with Java syntax - so that was good).

Oh, and the last class was canceled because of the fires, so I didn't get to take the final and haven't yet received a grade for the course. The final counted for 25% of the class, so I'm sure the instructor has been deciding how to fairly weigh the other 75% we were graded on.

But here's the worst part: I thought taking this class (which I paid for out of my own pockets - around $800) and doing well would guarantee me a spot with the company I work for (and get me out of this horrible contract position I've been suffering in for the past eight months). But, it appears that this is far from a sure thing. The position that I took this class to prove myself for has been posted to both internal and external candidates (many of whom have much more Java experience than me), so I see it as far from a sure thing. I suppose there's still some hope, but I'm feeling a little bitter...

On the bright side, the final homework project was an Infocom-like text based game that I had a lot of fun with. I've begun porting my game over to PHP (making it work as a JSP page just seemed like too much work) so I may share DorkQuest here soon.

I've actually read a couple of books recently. I finished Terry Pratchett's latest, Making Money, in just a couple of days. And now I have to wait another year for the next one. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (by David Sedaris) took a little longer, but man did it having me laughing out loud. That guy kills me. I really need to share some of the stuff he writes about because it's so hilarious. Maybe I'll feel inspired to put some actual effort into this thing again one of these days.

Other than Nightmare Before Christmas, I haven't really seen any movies worth mentioning. I did finally see Transformers on DVD. That was pretty good (though kinda silly as only a movie based on a children's cartoon can be). There have been a lot of great new shows on TV this season, but the Writers' Guild strike is putting an untimely end to that. I guess I'll be renewing my Blockbuster movie pass after all.

That's all I have to say. I'm sure there were other things I wanted to blather on about, but maybe they'll come to me later.



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