Monday, September 11, 2006

busy weekend - car, tools, books, tattoo, folding

I had a pretty busy weekend - started off with a little more work on the car and when I finally found the oxygen sensor I realized something terrible. I didn't have enough tools! So, I made a trip to home depot to remedy that - but the depot ultimatly let me down. The tools that I thought would work, didn't. So, I put everything back and called it a night. The next morning I tried again, but still no luck in getting the oxygen sensor loose. Instead, I headed up north to the 1/2 priced bookstore. The drive was uneventful, though I think the directions and signage could have been a bit more clear. I dropped off my big pile of books and did some browsing. I found three books then got called up to get a receipt for my trade. It was a little disappointing, but I did a little more looking around, realizing that I'd have to pay out anyway to get the few items I had. Then I found the comic books section.

Instead of a neatly organizied rack with the comics bagged and boarded - the comics were stacked on a shelf in piles above eye level. No place to look through them, no order, torn covers, etc. It was terrible. A cursory glance turned a couple potentials, but the sheer chaos turned me away. I made my purchase with a heavy heart and headed home.

I stopped off at the depot again, holding out hope that my eye would stumble on the perfect tool. No luck. A mild brainstorm and I headed for the mall and the not-so-soft side of sears.

Ah, yes, this was the tool place. I located a craftsman wrench that should do the job. There is, of course, a problem. To use this wrench, it's going to have to go over top of the current O2 sensor. And to do that, I'll need to cut some wires. Not a big deal in this case - if I've got the right tool and can remove the sensor. If I have to put it back, then I'll need to reconnect the wires. Which I can do, but I'd really rather not. So, that is on hold for a bit until I work up the courage.

And speaking of courage - I decided to get a tattoo on Saturday as well. I headed over to Pain Hate Pain on Market street and met with a nice guy with lots of facial piercings. He called the tattooer in and after a brief dicusssion about the tattoo I wanted, Shad got his equipment set up and got to work. It hurt about as much as the other ones I've had done, but cursiously, didn't bleed at all. I mean no bleeding whatsoever. Not during nor afterward. It was kinda weird.

He did a good job and the price was reasonable - then I went to the drug store to buy some lotion ("It puts the lotion in the basket or it gets the hose again") to help with the aftercare. You can see a picture here:

http://gozips.uakron.edu/~aws/tattoo.html

Finally, got some more paper for another project I want to work on. I may not have picures for a while - the indivdual units aren't complicated, but the assembly may be rough. I also got some transparent report covers for a series of water-proof origami.

Oh, and I made some more progress in Star Ocean. I wailed on what I thought was the final boss and when all was said and done, he was gone in a burst of light while I did a small victory dance. Except he wasn't the final boss - and there are clones of him everywhere. I've got some better weapons now, but it's like a mini-boss battle every 20 feet. And I'm not sure how to advance the story anymore. So, I stopped playing for a bit and went back to God of War.

Back to work...

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