I had to get the Mazda fixed yesterday. It’s needed a new timing belt since approximately 60,000 miles, and it’s at 101K right now, so every acceleration was coming with a little prayer. Bad times, that. I’d read that usually when they do the timing belt, that’s the time to get the water pump replaced, since doing either of those involves basically disassembling the engine down to the subatomic level and it’s cheaper to only have to do that once.
I also had them look at the transmission, which has been shifting very stiffly, and gave me a scare last week when I couldn’t start it because it hadn’t gone all the way into park, which I fixed by slamming it up and down through the gears (it’s an automatic, sadly) a couple times.
In the end, they had to do the timing belt and water pump, and also recommended a new battery, a full tuneup, and a brake job. I said no to the brake job (I can do that myself) and yes to everything else, which brought the total cost to $989.75, for which I’m pretty sure I could simply have purchased another car. Sigh, says I, with much melodrama.
Charles laughed at me last night. (Or rather, he laughed at something in a dream while I happened to be holding him, but I’m going to pretend he was laughing at me.) Mark the date, people, 7/10/2006: the day my son realized either
- His father is a hilarious comedian, or
- His father is amusingly stupid, like all those folks on COPS.
It could go either way, really. Still, it was a pretty cool moment, and then he improved upon it by sleeping for 7 hours straight, and then screaming for no reason for 10 minutes.
Congratulations to Ryan Howard for winning last night’s Home Run Derby, which is about as boring as I had remembered it. Home runs are fun to watch to a point, and I reach that point about 8 swings into the first competitor’s at-bat. Still, Ryan (a Phillie favorite) kept hitting dingers, so I watched all the way through. Thanks to David Wright, Ryan’s opponent in the finals, for tiring himself out in the first round.
This morning I watched the “Legends and Celebrities” softball game, which I had DVR’d, and which was infinitely more amusing than the Home Run Derby. A few highlights:
- John Kruk, Gary Carter, and Dave Winfield all hit home runs, which was doubly amusing because I’m pretty sure the fence was about 150 feet from home plate. The announcers (I don’t remember who they were) kept talking about how such and such really hit one well, which made me giggle. C’mon, guys, I can THROW a softball 150 feet over a 5 foot fence. I’m pretty sure I’d have a reasonable shot at knocking a wiffleball over that.
- People kept sliding into second. I kept waiting for the Pirates’ groundskeeper to come out and kill someone with a lawnmower blade for tearing up his grass 48 hours before the biggest game that PNC Park will see all year.
- A rivalry between comedienne Sarah Silverman and her boyfriend, late night host Jimmy Kimmel, who were playing on opposite teams, and which culminated in her swinging a bat backwards in an effort to drive a ball into his groin.
The National League team ended up winning, and Gary Carter won the MVP. I found this game far more riveting than any playoff hockey game. I guess that shouldn’t be terribly surprising.
