RichC | April 12, 2022
While ordering Titebond III glue in the 16 oz size (best choice for wood glue) from Walmart.com ($7.98) instead of Amazon, who happened to only have other sizes and bulk packaging (although gone is $67 Prime shipping), I needed to add another item to my order to avoid the shipping charges. The Kubota ZD326 zero-turn […]
RichC | December 14, 2021
Looking at the rear brake wear on Brenda’s 2010 Acura RDX is not a sign that I’ve been taking good care of her car, but she did mention her brakes were squealing a bit last month. By the time I got around to ordering brakes and discs for both the dual-piston fronts and rears, it […]
RichC | November 6, 2021
The Ridgid brand of cordless tools have been my choice for the home workshop for a few years now and until this past week I have had a positive experience. Earlier this year Ridgid even replaced a couple failing batteries under the LSA (Lifetime Service Agreement) … BUT now this brand of choice is a […]
RichC | February 23, 2021
One of the most unappreciated attributes often overlooked when dating and looking for a life partner is that of a handyman, or to be a little more politically correct, a “handyperson.” I do know that having the Mister Fix-it gene, or is it a learned skill (???), has been one of my strong traits, but […]
RichC | September 3, 2020
I shared a question to a few of my automotive friends on a Twitter a few weeks ago … prior to my WordPress post disappeared due to a mysql crash (grrr!) … A question for #Millennials: What is this automotive “thing” and how does it work? So much of what we remember from our youth […]
RichC | May 19, 2020
Sometimes ordering repair “parts” from Amazon is more critical than than others, like last week. On May 14th I ordered a electric fuel pump for our Kubota ZD326s zero-turn mower thinking it would arrive “as promised” by end of day Saturday. Then on Sunday I noticed that the “package was still on its way, but […]
RichC | May 15, 2020
If all goes well, my weekend project on the 2010 BMW X5 35d will be a new blower motor, just as with the old Toyota RAV 4. This past winter has been irritatingly challenging since the squeaky motor bearings have acting up, although sporadically. As the weather warmed and the wear continued, the “only on […]
RichC | March 12, 2020
Question: How old do you have to be to identify this widely recognized sound from our automotive past? What is this sound? My first “real job” was as a Shell gas station attendant when I turned 16 years old (although cut lawns, did odd jobs and worked as “boy” labor for a commercial fishing […]
RichC | January 12, 2020
Being young, and someone who looked to be vying to be listed in this year’s Darwin Award, had me telling this worker, on a questionable set ladder, that he may not be as invincible to injury as he thinks? (he said to me, “oh, I’ve done this before”) We noticed a bit of water seeping […]
RichC | January 15, 2019
With a “heavy snowfall” that amounted to about 10 inches before melting a bit, I was thankful to have put the snow blower on the tractor last week. It was about the wettest snow I’ve ever tried to blow and that’s saying something since I’ve been removing snow with the John Deere 330 since the […]
RichC | January 9, 2019
It was a somewhat frustrating end of year scrabble to get my iPhone 7 battery replaced under the Apple “program” after their throttling older iPhones was disclosed in 2017. My battery was still holding up, but who wants a phone with only 85% “Maximum Capacity” or hidden software artificially slowing down my now older iPhone […]
RichC | November 11, 2018
The "Bells of Peace" will ring out nationwide from smartphones on the "11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" to mark the centennial of the end of World War I in November 1918 – click for app On the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month … one hundred […]
RichC | September 23, 2018
According to my very pleased Volkswagen driving daughter, she’ll likely stay committed to the VW brand IF they continue to appreciate her as a customer. She was one of the first owners of the new 2018 Tiguan last year and has been very pleased with the first year vehicle. The performance, including regular 30+ mpg […]
RichC | September 2, 2018
The nations’ citizens, Washington DC elites and the news media devoted significant time to honor and mourn with Senator John S. McCain’s family last week and especially on Saturday. I watched the funeral proceedings and memorial events along with much of the country who recognized his devotion to country. His loyalty to the men and […]
RichC | February 8, 2018
One realizes just how old in the tooth their cars technology is when taking a car in for service and driving something new. This past week, BMW customer service pulled a few strings to get both airbags into my local dealer in order to do a one stop service of my 2010 BMW X5 35d. […]
RichC | March 7, 2017
Interesting tidbits posted to Marketwatch … I’m thinking a "bottle of water" might be my request the next time I travel? Don’t get ice in your drink on an airplane From a flight attendant here: “Don’t get ice in your drink, don’t drink coffee, tea, or hot water on the plane and don’t touch anything […]
RichC | October 22, 2016
My daughter took her "leased" Juke into the Nissan dealership in Minnesota for a $25 oil change and while it was in the service bay, the service department recommended she do a few additional maintenance items totaling $1200 … "but we can do it all today for a flat $1000" (don’t you just love it […]
RichC | October 2, 2016
This past week I’ve made a few frustrating online transactions and purchases. First, in dealing with NewEgg, I attempted to use a credit on my business account and decided to handled it on the phone with customer service rather than risk it online. I explained that I was using a "store credit" and wanted to […]
RichC | September 28, 2016
Thanks Tim for sending me the video from the Mr. Godwrench service day in Jackson, Kentucky (last week’s post). It was great to see the good times and teaching moments … both "hands-on" car maintenance and emulating what it is to have a Christian heart … and I’m sure it felt good for the givers […]
RichC | September 24, 2016
We are humbled to call Tim Ellison of Mr. Godwrench our friend. A few years ago when he started his automotive repair business I knew his unabashed and outspoken Christian "modus vivendi" was attractive to me, so I quickly promoted his automotive services and did as much business with him as I could. Due to […]
RichC | August 17, 2016
A friend of mine, an automotive journalist, snapped this photo on his way across the country on Route 66 last week and I couldn’t help but crop and copy it for my blog – (above – thanks Wayne, not that you know I’m using your photo). Although my garage shop is not quite ready for […]
RichC | August 6, 2016
After years (30 years to be closer to the truth!!!) of comparing the best cellphones and carriers when it comes to device and service, I can finally say that I’m satisfied. Back in 2014, as our kids (and parents) moved on to their own plans, I switched our two iPhone5s to Ting. From day one […]
RichC | April 16, 2016
What a mess of "tiny snakes" as my daughter call the the organized harnesses of wires connected to my cars ECU. I have to admit, I was taken back at the perception of a rats nest of connectors and wiring all tying into the BMW X5 35D’s computer. The air and water tight box under […]
RichC | June 9, 2015
After my son returned from living in “dusty” Williston, North Dakota for a couple of years, the Chevy Trailblazer he was using came back a bit dusty. We noticed after visiting him last year that one of the big differences from Ohio were the lack of paved roads. Thankfully, we did give some thought to […]
RichC | March 5, 2015
This months bill should be a interesting test for our Ting cellphone service. I will eventually add billing information to this post (below). With two iPhones on our account and a little more travel this past 4 week invoice, we used a few more minutes and megabytes than usual on our phones, but no matter, […]
RichC | November 11, 2014
RichC | June 27, 2012
A change in schedules had me flying into CVG (Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky Airport) on Tuesday and stuck without a way home. I didn’t park my car this trip and expected that “someone” would be available to pick me up and drive me home – NOPE! Anyway this gave me an excuse to look for another way […]
RichC | May 29, 2012
I didn’t want to let this story get away from me so I will post it after Memorial Day. Taylor had a few friends over this weekend and they enjoyed the sunshine, played football in the rain, cooled off in the pool and watched a couple movies. Brenda and I are thankful our kids […]