And now I know for sure...

I was listening to a voice message on my wireless phone this morning over speakerphone. My daughter ran up to me:

Her: "Hey, that sounds just like when Mr. Incredible listens to his message!"

Me: "I guess, that would make me Mr. Incredible then, right?"

Her: (chuckling) "No, you do not have the right hair!"

And that is the rest of the story.

-The Krunchy Krab

Another milestone....

Well, I came here to make a random post, and randomly noticed that this will be my 200th post... I'm not sure this post is worthy of being my 200th, but here goes.

I was wondering this morning... in this age of computers, PDAs, mechanical pencils, and digital voice memos, do typical school classrooms still have the classic metal, super rugged manual pencil sharpeners mounted by the door?

I'm not talking about an electric pencil sharpener, I mean the one where you could feel the steel, where you could just tell as you turned the handle that it was a finely constructed, miniature wood chipping machine. You know, the one from which emanates that pleasant aroma of freshly ground #2 pencil lead and wood? I've included some gratuitous photos below for your nostalgic viewing pleasure. If you put your nose right up to the monitor you might smell the wood.

Happy sharpening everyone!
-The Krunchy Krab

The Chanukah of Spark Plugs

1 Ford Ranger.



1 2.3L 4 Cylinder engine.



8 spark plugs on said engine.



1 quest: replace 1 spark plug per day for an eight day festival of combustion.



Day One (2/16/09):



Starting with the front plug on the intake side. It's conveniently located right next to the back of the alternator. No problem. Re-locate alternator to my workbench, pull boot, unscrew plug, gap new plug, grease it, screw it in, replace boot.



Me: 1, Spark plugs: 0



Day Two (2/17/09):



Continuing towards the back of the engine with the second plug on the intake side. I see that I could remove the PCV valve and get to this one much more easily, but I don't want to take my whole engine apart. Instead I fashion this attachment to my socket wrench:

Here's the breakdown:

3/8" socket wrench
3/8 to 1/4" adapter
1/4" socket
6 inch flexible 1/4" extension
1/4 to 3/8" adapter
3" 3/8" extension
3/8" universal swivel joint
3/4" spark plug socket

I insert this whole assembly into the maze of wires and hoses and manage to get it onto the plug. Torque applied = success! Plug removed, new plug gapped and greased, carefully snaked through everything back into the engine.

Stupid mistake #1: I left the rubber boot that holds the plug in the socket on, and now it's stuck on the plug down inside the engine. No hole leading to the plug is large enough to accomodate my hand so I can get it out of there. Result? I have to remove the PCV valve to get my hand in there to remove the boot.

Remove PCV valve, retrieve rubber boot, replace wiring boot.

Me: 2, spark plugs:0

Stay tuned tomorrow for plug #3!

-The Krunchy Krab

What a difference 3/4 of a year makes...

Remember this?

http://thekrunchykrab.blogspot.com/2008/06/fathers-day.html

I do. It's been in our freezer for a long time now... but I just put it in the refrigerator and poured myself a glass.

Yum!

-The Krunchy Krab