mcnerds

Unhappy Saturn Owner

mcnerds — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:12:16 +0000

I am the original owner of my 2003 Saturn Ion. This was my second Saturn. My first, a 1995 SL1, was the first car that I had financed and paid for all by myself. For the most part, it was a good car. I had only traded it in because it was eight years old, a stick-shift and I was about to have a baby. So I went with brand loyalty and purchased the 2003 Saturn Ion.
In the past six years I have had a number of smallish issues with this car. First I blew turning lights early (like within the first year) and often (once a month or so). Saturn finally acknowledged the problem with a recall and fixed them problem. Since then I have problems with the air bag system, the back window, the water pump and various other things.
This morning was the last straw. I went out to start my car this morning only to have it not start. Lights came on but no crank. After rushing Chuck out of the house, I got to work on time and Olie off to school. I came home today and it started as if nothing was wrong! After some searching I discovered what seems like HUNDREDS of owners who have this problem (one website example has 75 entries: http://www.carsurvey.org/viewmorecomments_review_97661_1.html). Temperature drops below 30 and the pass key system fails. I have to wait until tomorrow morning to see if waiting 10-15 minutes and retrying the ignition will work. Wish me luck.

Incidentally, once we are able I will be getting a new car and it won’t be a Saturn.

Cheap Post

mcnerds — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:16:19 +0000

In an attempt to have at least one more post in 2008…

2008 brought some big changes to the Robinson household. We settled into our new house. Bought a new washer machine and even got it working by about half way through the year. Oliver started Kindergarten and Chuck started Bricklauncher. We learned that a new baby girl is on the way in 2009.

With that lead in, I definitely say that 2009 will bring even more changes…

I wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2009!

Up and Running

mcnerds — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:14:47 +0000

Actually, I have been up and running for a week or so thanks to my crafty hubby. He upgraded my 80gb drive to 250gb and created a 80gb external drive (aka the old drive) for about $100. Here is the web site that explains it all: http://obscuredclarity.blogspot.com/2008/10/500gb-macbook-harddrive-upgrade-for.html.

Not only do I have a bigger drive, but the replacement drive is faster too. Very cool.

Bloated

mcnerds — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:52:15 +0000

It seems I have grown out of my hard drive. Chuck found a hack that should save us a few bucks to get me into a bigger drive. Until then I am keeping my activities limited to surfing. I have some cool video of our trip to Stuart, but it will have to wait.

Wish me luck, I’ll keep you posted.

Back in Business

mcnerds — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:01:09 +0000

My sweet, adorable, little puppy almost became an ex-puppy earlier this week. He chewed on the power cord of my laptop while it was plugged in (I thought he was chewing on his toy, also by my foot). He is fine, the cord was toast. $80 later, I am back on the laptop again. I will be happy when we pass the teething stage.

Harry is less….hairy

mcnerds — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:18:48 +0000

We finally got Harry groomed today. Not a moment too soon. He was, shall we say… scuffy-lookin’.

He looks like a schnauzer again!

You know you are old when…

mcnerds — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:01:40 +0000

Darn DNC and Mountain Time. I was asleep by the time each of the night’s main speeches started. To my defense, one of those nights was a Xanax induced sleep due to dental pain. (Thanks Chuck)
Most people wouldn’t care but last election I watched each night of convention coverage, DNC and RNC. I am definitely getting old. The RNC is only one hour behind us (CDT), wish me luck.

As for the election, I have to admit John McCain’s choice for Veep has made me a little excited about the presidential election. I was about ready to give up on the whole thing. Now I say, let the mudslinging begin!

How I spent my Tropical Storm Fay

mcnerds — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:31:16 +0000

TS Fay finally left our area last night. We were lucky, no major power outages, no damage to the house, a few branches to clean up in the yard.

While Chuck updated the stats of the storm, much of my time was figuring out ways of entertaining a 5 year old and a 4 month old puppy without losing my mind while experiencing 48 hours of wind and rain.

Friday:

Purchased new movie on itunes, Iron Giant because I have a battery-operated player for my ipod- just in case.
Went to Walmart , stocked up on the necessities- sliced turkey, chips, water, bread, etc.
Unload groceries in the rain, convince the dog that its ok to go outside to use the bathroom, put away groceries.
Watch Iron Giant with Oliver during lunch.
Yelled at Oliver as he chased the dog around the house. Yell at dog when he chased Oliver. Repeat.
Try to take the dog outside. He discovered that with me holding the umbrella, between my legs kept him mostly dry. Repeat.
Colored coloring books.
Let Oliver ride his bike in the garage.
Quiet time: Oliver watched Iron Giant, I read my book.
Chuck came home with a replacement for the Playstation. Played Legos Star Wars for the next couple of hours.
Chuck and I spent some time in the hot tub, watching and listening to the storm- pretty cool.

Saturday

Breakfast and Iron Giant.
Played Legos, a lot.
All three of us in the hot tub.
The power flickered on and all for about three hours in the afternoon. It was a good time to teach Oliver how to deal with disappointment. The kind of disappointment experienced when you are just about to finish a level but the power goes out and you have to start at the beginning. Grrrr.
More Legos
More Iron Giant.
Finished my book, Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer.

This morning was muggy but mostly rain free. We made the most of and cleaned in the morning, then spent the afternoon in town…out of the house.

New Puppy

mcnerds — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 12:12:26 +0000

Harry, the schnauzer

Okay so we caved and got a dog before Oliver’s birthday. A cute little mini schnauzer that Oliver has named Harry. Its like having a baby again. We attempted crating the first night and the puppy cried most of the night. Last night we had him sleep with us, which was fine until he woke up at 5:30 wanting to go outside. We have had to scour the floors for little things (and some big things) he might try to eat. He really likes shoelaces. On the upside, the breeder had begun potty training so that hasn’t been to much of an issue so far. He is pretty smart- and did I mention he’s a cutie?
The cat isn’t thrill but isn’t that upset either. She just hisses at him when he invades her space. Harry has a bit of Napoleon complex, so it happens a few times a day. Faux Pas has nipped him once for disrupting meal time. He’ll learn.
This is a bit of a learning experience for me as well. I haven’t had a dog in over ten years. Plus the dogs I have owned have medium to large dogs. He just needs a little different care than what I am used to giving. Did I mention, he’s a cutie?

Puppy Fever

mcnerds — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:47:00 +0000

My son has developed a severe case of puppy fever. It seems every event in our household, no matter how small, warrants the purchase of a “little, tiny dog”. The fence was fixed and the boy looked at me with sweet, wide eyes and said, “You what comes next? We get a puppy”. Today was, “I was a good napper today. I get a puppy.” The main issue is finding a dog that won’t fill the house with allergy-inducing fur. The cat has no comment.