New family members

If you have looked at my facebook you know that we have a new family member. As I'm writing this there is a vote going on to find his new name. He's a 1 year old Rottweiler/Lab cross. Here's a pic: He's such a cutie!

So far the votes are: Jethro: 2, Nico: 2, Jack: 2, Brick: 1. You can thank my Sister-in-law for Brick. She's pregnant, we'll let it slide... :-) Go to my facebook and vote. :-) He needs a name he can get used to.

As you may have also noticed the title of this post is new family memberS as it plural. This one may not be new, but it has recently returned from where I thought it would never return from.

Here is what it looked like when it left our house 4 years ago: A little beat up, and in need of some immediate engine work, but it was a running and driving car. It's a 1973 Plymouth Duster with a small block V8 and an automatic transmission. I got it from the original owners son in trade for my old 78 Ford 4x4. Here's the story as I remember it.

Dena and her ex had an agreement that he was to provide Jarrett (my step son) with a car when he was old enough. The ex is an Auto Body worker and is quite good, when he wants to be. So he was over at the house talking to Jarrett a few years back, about what kind of car he wanted. A newer car or an older muscle car. Jarrett chose an older muscle car. The ex wanted a little more specific but Jarrett doesn't know much about cars as to what kind it is and that kind of thing. So the ex asked me to help him look online and figure out what he wanted.

That night Jarrett and I got online and looked at Nova's, Camero's, Mustang's, Dart's, GTO's, Imapala's, Skylark's, Javlyn's... you name it, we looked at it. Even a few 32 Ford coupes. Hey, it's not my money... :-) Finally I remembered my first (legal) car. A 1974 Plymouth Duster. Not what I considered a muscle car, but then mine had the trusty 225cid slant 6. It wouldn't hardly get out of it's own way, but it was reliable and I thought it was a good looking car. So I found one, in Lemon Twist Yellow with factory Ralley wheels like mine had been. He liked it. I couldn't believe it. He actually found a car that he really liked. Well, that was easy. So I called the Ex and told him that Jarrett wants a Plymouth Duster. I told him all the others we looked at and everything. He kind of turned up his nose at the thought but said he'd see what he could find.

A very short couple of months later I bought my 1994 Jeep Cherokee to replace my 1978 Ford F-150. I was going to keep the truck because... well... who doesn't need a truck? :-) But then I was talking to a buddy of mine at work who was looking for that vintage truck. And guess what? He just happened to have 3 1973/1974 Plymouth Dusters. So I offered a trade for one and he accepted.

That night I called the ex and told him that I had found it and the car wasn't going to cost him a thing. I took pictures of all body damage and let him know that I would do all the required engine work (he's good at body work, no so much with the mechanical aspects though) and he could do the body work. He said he'd take a look at it. I said no problem, if you don't want to do it, I'll keep it for myself.

A couple of weeks later, Jarrett and the ex loaded it up on a car trailer and that was the last I had seen of it. Over the years there have been stories of some work being done. But to be honest I had washed my hands of it and figured the next time I saw the ex I'd just give him the title and be done with it. He had give Jarrett a "loaner" car. Obviously there is a little more to the story than that, but it's all irrelevant. I had figured the car was lost and gone forever and was done with it.

A couple of weeks ago, Dena called me from work and let me know that the ex was on his way up with (what was left) of the car. "Oh really?" Hmm. I wonder if it's even worth unloading. Remember, when he took the car it was running (had lifter knock from a bent push rod but it ran great) and drivable. I drove it across town to load on the trailer. When he pulled into the driveway this is what I saw on the back of the trailer:

Yep, that's right. Different doors (I had given them to him because of the large dents in the originals) all interior was out (they had brought all that back a few years ago), the wiring stripped out of the engine compartment for no apparent reason, the dash removed for no apparent reason, the trunk lid rusting from being sanded to bare metal years ago and never being primered.

The engine was also removed. In order to get the engine out, they CUT THE HEADER off the drivers side rather than doing the job right and removing it. It's tight, but it can be done. For gods sake, it had to go in there! It's not factory.

This next group of pictures is how the engine came to me. For those of you that are not mechanically inclined the block is the large thing with blue paint on it in the back corner that has rust on it. The internal components are in the boxes surrounding it all. It's mostly all there:

Here is what the engine looked like when it left:

Kind of a big change. Which reminds me... I still don't have the radiator. I guess I'll have to call the ex. Don't have the windshield either... damn it. I probably should just cut my losses and buy the parts I still don't have for completion. It's gonna be a LOOOONNNGGG project. I better sell the wheeling rig to pay for it. :-)

I hope you are all in good health and happy in life. I'll be in the shop if you need me. :-)

Wow, words fail me

Another season, another vacation. As you may know, this year I decided to take my vacations evenly spaced and on weeks where there were already days off. Memorial Day week, and Labor Day week. If you have no trouble following a calendar you also know that I just finished my 2nd week of vacation for the year. I'm sad to see it go.


I made the mistake halfway through my vacation of checking my work email. It was a mistake because I found that one of my techs decided to quit without leaving the customary 2 weeks notice. To her defense, she did leave almost a week... kind of. However she had told me two weeks prior that if she decides to leave she will give 2 weeks notice... whatever... water under the bridge. Just makes my return a little more stressful. Especially since the one tech I have left was cut to very part time a while back and has planned things up for the next 2 weeks. So basically it's me for the next two weeks. I have a little help from my network administrator but due to him not doing this job on a day to day basis he doesn't know that he needs to follow a few areas to keep on top of things. It's a constant battle of catch up from open tickets to voicemail and so on. He's doing better than previous times he has needed to help out though. And his help is VERY APPRECIATED!!! Thank you Mike!


My vacation did start out on the right foot though. We went camping over Labor Day weekend. It gave us a chance to take the new Jeep into the mountains and test it out on some light off roading. :-) I did go through a ditch or two. And my little Jeep did excellent! I did put a very minor ding in the windshield frame that I'm not convinced wasn't there before hand. It also came home with twice the weight in dirt and dust. :-) But it was fun, and that's really all that matters. :-)


On Labor Day my friend Erik and I were getting a load of firewood for his house. My foot slid out from under me and before I could get to the chain break, the chain saw and bounced off my leg. As you can see in the picture below, it's not a big deal. Just a minor flesh wound:

That is my index finger to give you a point of reference as to the size of the "scrape". Just enough to make me remember to check my footing before I start a cut, or finish a cut in this case. I got very lucky and I know it.
The remainder of my vacation went fairly smooth. My brother Adam and his girlfriend Kellie came to visit us from Wednesday through Sunday. It was great to see them and we had lots of time to visit. Saturday we had a rather large BBQ even by our standards. I think when I counted there were (including kids) 27 people there. Judging by the "beer mote" (a ring around the fire pit where everyone throws their beer cans to keep the yard clean) we had more than that there though. It's full. Yes, still. I was tired yesterday and didn't want to clean the yard. I'll get to it tonight.

Well, that should pretty well update everyone. I hope all is well with everyone.

You know you're driving a TJ when...

Hello all, and sorry that it's been a while since I last wrote. Seems like the slower things are here at work, the more I find that I need to get done. But it's Friday now, and I simply don't care that much. I'm ready for the weekend.
Two weeks ago I took the new Jeep on it's first road trip. Okay, it's first road trip with me at the wheel. I couldn't have picked a worse weekend either. It was hot. And by hot, I mean driving through hell would have been a welcome relief. That is, until I got to the west side of the Cascades. It cooled down to 85 then. It was 109 when I left Walla Walla.
Anyway, the road trip didn't really amount to much that I need to talk about. The Jeep drove like a Jeep, and mechanically the trip was event-less. Although I would like to mention that it lacks a bit of power on the top end. Coming home she slowed down to 55 coming over the pass. That was a bit irritating. But other than that all went well.
This morning I was checking out my favorite website (www.jeepforum.com) to find new ideas for what to do to the Jeep. I found a thread titled "you know you're driving a TJ when..." and I had to take a look. Two of the posts were significantly funny to me and I thought I would share them with you.
You know you drive a TJ when everyone on the highway is passing you by, and you just don't care. This is exceptionally funny to me after my little road trip. Normally I'm in the left lane with the cruise set around 80+. This trip I found myself in the right hand lane with the cruise set at 70 (the speed limit) and I was enjoying every minute of the drive, except the heat.
You know you drive a TJ when you get asked how long it is going to take to get somewhere and you have to take into account the wind speed and direction for your answer. This is no joke. When you are driving a 4500 pound vehicle with the aerodynamics of a house and a 190 horse power engine, a strong headwind is going to slow you down. Especially with the automatic transmission. A 3-speed just doesn't have enough gearing options for the lack of aerodynamics.
Anyway, if you'd like to check out some of the posts, they are pretty funny and will really give you an honest documentation of what it's like to own a Jeep TJ. Here is a link to the thread: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=641522
I hope this summer is finding everyone in good health, and happiness. I'll write again soon. :-)

230LBS? Are you serious?

The title says it all. I'm up to 230 pounds!!! And I say that as I'm eating a small yet significant piece of German Chocolate Cake. As you can also probably guess I'm still on the no smoking wagon which would account for the significant weight gain. I didn't realize I was eating more until a week ago when one of my "not-so-intelligent" techs blurted out "Hey Matt, have you gained more weight?"
Okay, on a more positive note, I am 6'3" so 230 pounds is not all that big, but it's a lot bigger then I want to be. At least as far as body fat is concerned. I wouldn't mind weighing the same, but I really need to exercise more.
So that's the plan. I'm going to sell the motorcycle and by a bicycle. A mountain bike to be specific. I love mountain trail riding. I've even been known to make my own trail from time to time. I'm going to start riding on my lunch break on the path that I currently walk (2 miles) and then I'll do some trail riding on the weekends. That mixed with the cardio exerciser that Dena and I bought and I should be able to get rid of this chocolate cake filled spare tire that I have accumulated since I quit smoking. One thing I have to say for smoking... it does save you time on exercises.
Wish me luck everyone. And if you know anyone that wants a classic "putt around town" motorcycle, let me know. It's a 1974 Honda CL360. :-) Runs and rides great.

Life is better topless

As many of you know, I have kind of a small fetish for Jeeps. I can't help it. I think they are the best constructed, longest lasting vehicles on the planet. Well okay, maybe not longest lasting (I've seen some rust buckets) but for the type of driving I do around here (mud, snow, and pavement) a Jeep is the only way to go.

For the last 3 years I have had a 1994 Jeep Cherokee Sport. It's proven to be the most reliable car I've ever owned. Maybe that can be contributed to the fact that I actually took care of it (maintenance does make a difference) but I think it's a combination of care and a good product. For the last 27 years (how long ago did Uncle John have the CJ?) I've wanted a Jeep CJ or Wrangler, and for the last 10 years I have found a few worth buying. If the deal was right, the credit was wrong, and if the credit was right, the deal was wrong. In the last couple of years I have been actively looking and researching and trying to find just what I wanted. And for the first time, I forced myself into staying picky. And I found exactly what I wanted, at exactly the price I was looking at. It's a 1998 Jeep TJ Sport. It has a 6cylinder engine (4.0L) and an automatic transmission. But you people don't care about that... you want to see it. Well folks, here it is. Matt's new Jeep. I know it's not Forrest Service Green like the Cherokee, but try to like it anyway... :-)

Yes, it has a top. It has two actually. It came with a full soft top and a bikini top. It also has full doors with glass windows rather than the half doors with plastic windows. It also came with a set of diamond plate aluminum half doors for the "custom" look. I have also ordered my first upgrade. If you look closely in the pictures, you'll see no side mirrors. They are attached to the doors. I have ordered relocation brackets that will move them to the windshield frame. Gotta have those side mirrors. :-)

Anyway, I just wanted to share with everyone. It's a blast to drive and I think everyone should own one. :-) If you want, the lot I purchased from has three more. I get $100 referral if you buy one... :-) Just putting that out there. :-)

Vacation or vacation?

The past few years we have taken vacation as a family. Two years ago, it was Arizona and Las Vegas. Last year it was the Oregon Coast. A few years back it was Wallowa Lake. All of these places were fantastic. Especially Wallowa Lake. It was our honeymoon... :-)
Correct me if I'm wrong here but when you go on vacation it's almost like you need another vacation to recover from it before going back to work. You are so busy at work for the whole year, and then you are busy on vacation, and all you really want to do is relax.
All of that said, I chose this year to be relaxing. I think its the "Year of the Lazy Boy". I decided early this year (January 2nd to be exact) that I was going to schedule my vacation days in advance, but I was not going to go anywhere. I would like to report that I just finished my first of two weeks vacation and all is well. I didn't go anywhere and upon returning to work I actually feel rested. I feel like I had time off. Time away from stress and deadlines and all that cra... uh, stuff. I feel like I can complete the day without wanting to reach through the phone, grab a customer by the throat and squeeze until orange juice flows from their once lively veins. Okay, that may be an exageration, but anyone that has worked in a call center will understand completely.
So that brings up the question: Vacation, or VACATION? Do you go somewhere and enjoy family time, or do you just stay home and do nothing? Which is better? Although I don't really feel like I had any time off when we have gone on family vacations (driving from Milton-Freewater OR, to southern AZ, back through Vegas in 7 days with two teenage boys in the back seat of a VW Passat still gives me nightmares) the family time is still necessary. I love the fact that we are able to go on vacations and enjoy our time together. Well, other than the time spent in the car I suppose... :-) And then on the flip side of that coin, sometimes you just need some time to yourself. Time to stand in the yard and think "I don't have to do anything today". Light a fire in the back yard (we have a fire pit) and sit there staring up at the stars at night. Go to bed when you want, wake up when you want... it was like summer vacation as a kid. It was great.
I guess what I'm saying is I really don't have an answer to the question. Family time is wonderful and traveling to places I wouldn't go myself was priceless. Staying home and enjoying some "me" time was just as enjoyable though. All in all, I feel more rested than I have ever before but I'm not really sure that should be the deciding factor, although the customers I normally would have wanted to cause harm to may disagree... :-)
I hope you have enjoyed my rambling. Let me know what you think...

Ah the life!

Hello again. I know, I know, it's been a long time since my last post. I'm not very good at keeping up on these things. You would think working for a national internet provider that I would be better at it. Oh well. I guess you could say I don't really have much to talk about on the day to day.
It finally warmed up around here though. My Dad was in town this last weekend. We all went out to Dayton and watched my nephews launch their rockets that Dad and I helped them build last fall. We also found out that we can launch them on our own as long as we don't go any higher than a C class engine. That makes this a much more enjoyable hobby for us. We don't have to wait for the organized launches. David was able to take a really great picture as Micah's rocket launched. I'll have to get it from him and post it later.
My two boys were in awe of the rockets, so Dena and I bought them each a rocket to build. Bryan and I will do his this coming weekend and Kaleb and I will do his the weekend visit after that as he's going camping with his aunt and uncle this weekend. At any rate, I think I'm looking more forward to the building then they are. Time spent together is time well spent.
Oh, an update: Haven't smoked in 52 days. At least not first hand. I was surrounded by smokers this weekend so it was hard not to breathe it in at some point, but I haven't smoked on purpose in 52 days. :-) I'll be heading up to Seattle next week on my vacation and considering everyone up there smokes in their houses it's going to be challenging to say the least. I can do it though. I'm strong. :-)
Well everyone, I hope your spring is going well. Ours has been wet and cold so far but is getting better. I'll be posting more as more happens. Love to all.