Archived News starting from 06-13-2008 and earlier
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I'm sure at least once a day, everyone finds themselves wondering: "What's in Brad's house right now?" Well I've anticipated your need and created a
UPC based inventory system. When Lisa recently asked if there was milk in the fridge, instead of answering her I decided to buy a
UPC scanner for my
kitchen computer. Now she can use her phone to
search our inventory for milk instead of asking me. I then informed her that talking to computers is always preferable to talking to people and that she should be excited about this new project rather than roll her eyes at me. To avoid typing in descriptions for every item I scan, I harnessed the power of
UPC Database, which is a community database of UPC codes. Over 90% of what I scanned was already in the database, which leads me to believe there are people out there who are much more obsessive compulsive than me.
The next time you're brave enough to stop by, don't ask me what kind of beer I have, just check my
basement stairwell or
cabinets.
After getting all
hot and bothered about my DPFE sensor, I finally found my
AutoTap cable and used my laptop to let my car tell me what was wrong. I was greeted with a "P0340 Camshaft Position Sensor A Circuit (Bank 1 or single sensor)" error, which is about as clear a request for a new
Camshaft Position Sensor my car can make. I promptly complied with the request for the $20 part and after a
quick procedure search had it swapped out in less than a minute. While guessing what's wrong with an engine is exciting, it's much more satisfying to actually solve it.
Lisa finally had her Chicago virginity deflowered this weekend during a
visit to my sisters apartment. After breakfast, our adventure began with our first trip on a
MetraRail train. Lisa would not stop talking about how public transportation needs to expand to alleviate congestion and reduce energy consumption, the rest of us just enjoyed the ride. Navy Pier was our first destination followed by a stop at Tiffany & Co jewelry where Lisa instructed me to purchase at least one item for her and then pretend it was my idea. She proceeded to
act surprised by the gift and spoke in a upper class voice for the duration of the visit. After an x-rated
horse race and
massage chair orgy, it was time to end our visit and return to the awaiting
storm of the century in Michigan.
The company I work for turned 2 years old as of today, and to
celebrate we were bussed down to
Cedar Point for the day. The new
Maverick ride was definitely unique with it's 95 degree drop but
Raptor and
Millennium Force remain my favorites, followed closely by
Wicked Twister. Cedar Point is unquestionably more enjoyable when you're getting paid to ride the rides.
Faced with 12 cubic yards of limestone deposited in the form of a long turd on my rear driveway, I decided to resort to an
unconventional method to spread it out. Rather than toiling with a metal rake all day, I put my Ranger in 4x4 and proceeded to floor it back and forth across the limestone turd. After several passes my dad suggested I drag some bundled 2x4s to smooth it out and voila, a well graded driveway for the price of gas.
With my
Cougar bucking between 1k-2k RPM occasionally, I scoured the internet for possible causes and found a magical sensor called the
Delta Pressure Feedback for EGR sensor (DPFE). It measures a drop in intake pressure that is caused by the Exhaust Gas Recycle valve that opens to allow unburned fuel in the exhaust to cycle back into the engine. The purpose is to prevent unburned gas from making it's way into the environment. The DPFE is a check sensor for this EGR, so it's basically a hippie enforcement sensor. When this goes bad, bucking is a typical side effect. Unfortunately this wasn't causing my problem, but it was a weird enough sensor to share with the world.
After my
initial visits to Sonic, followed by a second one with Lisa last night, today felt like a good day to deflower two more Sonic virgins. My neighbors were up for the challenge, and after only a 15 minute wait this time they finally
broke their cherries. Once the
food arrived it was only a matter of seconds before the
sonic happiness kicked in. Unfortunately, some jerk decided to mouth off to another customer and ruin the atmosphere, but after the cops were called it turned into a mildly exciting stakeout. Why anyone would willfully ruin the happy world of Sonic I'll never know.
As a thank you for bearing the brunt of my shenanigans, in addition to her upcoming July 26th birthday, my dad decided to get Lisa a new gas grille. My suggestion she choose a normal, practical one was immediatly discarded in favor of a rotisserie equipped, 5 burner requirement. The result was a
ridiculously expensive grille that is capable of draining an entire propane tank in one hour. A
Memorial day BBQ was quickly arranged to properly break-in the grille, complete with
rotisserie chicken. After the impressive feast prepared by Lisa (with assistance from the Kelleys) we enjoyed a game of croquet, some
fireworks, and a bonfire competition with my neighbor. Thanks to the Schwartz's, Kelleys, and Josephs for justifying the first (and probably only) use of the mega grille.
A
housewarming party for my
car club today involved the usual excessive food and alcohol intake, but ended with a visit to Hooters. Since it was Lisas
first time at a Hooters, we decided it was her 21st birthday and had the Hooters girls
sing to her. Her 15 minutes of fame made the visit memorable, and her eye roll at my suggestion she work weekends at Hooters was not a full 180°, but closer to a 110° indicating she was at least 70° into accepting it as a possibility.
Few things can get me up at 4:00am, but the
first Sonic in Michigan is on that list. Arriving at 5:15am, I was not sure what to expect. Would I be the only nut waiting or would it be swarming with raving mad Sonic fans? To my relief, there were only 20 some odd people waiting, some of which told me they had been there since 11:30 the previous night. Roughly half were drunk, and the other half had Sonic fever fueling the various dances, songs and chants that took place while we waited for the 6:00am opening time. Channel 4 news eventually showed up and captured the crazies (myself included) for all Michigan to see. As the time grew closer we jumped in our cars and waited for the barricades to be removed. Within minutes all 20 car hop stalls were filled with the blinking red "Order Here" light and Sonic fans sobering up to the fact that what was once at least 7 hours away is now in their own backyard. As I waited for my light to go dark, indicating it was my time to order, I chatted with the owner who promised the Canton location would be breaking ground in the next few weeks. At 6:24am my light finally went dark and my food was on it's way. Later that night, Lisa and I were joined by
the Kelleys for dinner at the new Sonic. On arrival we were greeted with a warning that a 2 hour wait was in store for us if we chose the "Full Service" (car hop) option. With two Sonic virgins in the car the choice was obvious and we began our 2 hour wait. 2.5 hours and several shenanigans later, we finally pulled into our stall and had our order button blinking. This time it only took a few minutes to order and less than 10 before our food arrived. Talking with the employees, we learned they had already made $30,000 by 7:00pm which had broken the opening day sales record for a Sonic. All with 4 hours left before closing. We took our photos and left, stuffed to the max with Sonic goodness. Although the 2.5 hour wait was well worth it for opening day, I don't plan to be back for at least a week when the line will hopefully be manageable.
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