Pure Gonzo Engineering

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Do you have an eye infection or are you just happy to see me?

I’ve been absent as of late from my blogging duties because I’ve been sick since Sunday.

Carter has a blocked tear duct so his left eye is prone to infection. He’s kind of had a cold sort of congested thing, so we took him to the Pediatrician last week and got him on antibiotics and eye drops. Well I caught what the worm baby was carrying both in my eyes and my upper respiratory track. I woke up Sunday morning and my eyes were a bright red shade and had yellow gunk all over the eyelashes and my throat was on fire.

My wife also had similar symptoms so we all took a family trip to Prompt Care to get some drugs.

Now it’s a few days later and I feel a bit better. No crusty eyes, throat feels better, still snotty.

In other news, I got rid of my truck. What did I trade it in for you ask? A 2006 Hyundai Tucson.

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Now you’re mad, because you know how I feel about foreign automakers and foreign engineering.

You’re a fucking hypocrite lawryde!

I’m never reading your blog again!

Now calm down. I said I would never buy a Japanese automakers truck, and I stand by that. When it comes to a compact SUV, I’m willing to buy Korean. I just couldn’t justify driving a truck that got 15 miles to the gallon when I really don’t use it enough to haul or tow things. If I really need to haul some shit, I’ll just rent the Menards truck for $19.95 for 75 minutes, which I’ll have already made up by getting 22 miles per gallon with my Hyundai with gas at $3.00 a gallon. I also just can’t argue with a 10 year 100,000 mile warranty on the power train and a 36 month 60,000 mile warranty on everything else?

I was still sad to see the truck go. I did like it, but GM kind of pissed me off. This winter I found out it had Piston Slap. This is due to the engineers incorrectly designing the pistons and cylinder liners so that when it’s below 50°F there is enough of a gap so that the piston slams against the side of the cylinder until it heats up. This makes your gasoline engine sound like a diesel for about 60 seconds when you start it cold. GM says it doesn’t do any long-term damage, and won’t fix it. That’s bullshit. They just don’t want to pay the warranty dollars.

Now I’m looking to get rid of my Saturn L200 and get me a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300D Turbo Diesel. Get into some 1980’s luxury with the super reliability of the Benz Diesel. That’ll be a while though.

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3 Comments:

  • I gave money to the Germans when I had the BMW so...

    I never get sick and in three months we get a germ trapper... yay! Eye infections, eeewww!

    By Blogger Steve, at 10:22 PM, April 26, 2006  

  • I gave money to the Germans when I had the BMW so...

    I never get sick and in three months we get a germ trapper... yay! Eye infections, eeewww!

    By Blogger Steve, at 10:24 PM, April 26, 2006  

  • Sorry to hear about Carter's tear duct. Our 3.5 year old had a blocked tear duct, as well. After months of repeated infections, tear duct massages, and an unsuccessful lacrimal probe, we found out that a small bone was blocking the duct. It had to be broken and reset. The anesthesia was the worst part of the procedure. I hope Carter's clears up on its own.

    By Blogger Julie, at 11:42 PM, April 27, 2006  

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